tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87948053293232658102024-03-14T00:30:08.203-07:00Houston At NightAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-29427623608939282642016-06-13T07:01:00.002-07:002016-06-13T07:01:33.794-07:00The Struggle to Find Acceptance is Holding Back the Human Race<br /><div class="row-story-byline">
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<br />
Growing up as a child, I was raised among a variety of different
cultures that included European, Middle Eastern, American and Mexican
societies. Before I was a young adult man, I had personally practiced
Protestantism, Catholicism, and Judaism. I was acquainted with Buddhists
and Muslims. Over that time, my ongoing, regular exposure pushed me
from places of tolerance to compassion, which I considered to be two
different things.<br />
<br />
I remember tolerating gays and Muslims. They were in circles of of
acquaintances I had. However, there were always lines drawn,
particularly in my teens. Gays could get civil unions, but not
marriages. Muslims could be citizens, but should have to endure
additional rigors in order to retain citizenship.<br />
<br />
It’s the qualifiers we put on people that make them outsiders. This
happens in cultures around the world, and people in positions of
privilege benefit from it. Their own status as the cultural standard
earns respect and admiration, while people in minority positions, be
that sexual, religious, ethnic, and so on, are forced to struggle for
acceptance in the larger cultural landscape.<br />
<div class="align-center">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<figure class="image-captioned width-xl"><img alt="ST_TOS_Cast.jpg" class="width-xl" src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/262770/large/ST_TOS_Cast.jpg?1465825464" title="ST_TOS_Cast.jpg" />
<figcaption data-image-attribution="" title="">One people, no borders.</figcaption>
</figure></div>
</div>
What that has created, in the 21st century, is a world that is more
accepting but still full of hesitation at embracing the person next to
them when differences exist. This leaves individuals in minority
positions having to do absurd things for acceptance. Ethnic minorities
change their names to sound more popularly ‘white’ and less ‘ethnic.’
Religious minorities practice in secret. Gay people in the United States
continue to have to fear for their lives, and coming out continues to
be an event precisely because we continue to stigmatize sexuality.<br />
<br />
I'm not perfect in this, either. I continue to be a product of
countless millennia of evolution, thousands of years of tribalism, and
decades of socialization. I am better, but not perfect, in my acceptance
of others. I still find the impulse, at times, to blame Islam — and
have to check myself and remind myself, as Chitown Kev did in his diary,
that gay individuals are victimized by members of religions and
societies around the world, and not just any single one.<br />
<br />
Greater acceptance, though, must be ongoing. We need to continue
growing as a race so that loving each other is instinctual, even when
there are vast cultural, religious, or sexual differences. As it stands,
humanity is currently churning through generations of people who have
to come together and unify simply for the right to exist. Imagine if
that were not the case. Imagine if generations of people did not have to
worry about fighting for acceptance. Imagine if they could focus their
energies elsewhere, without having to worry if they would find equal
standing before the law. Imagine if those energies could be put toward
art and the sciences.<br />
<br />
Which is not to argue that the work of activists of all backgrounds
isn’t valuable. It is, in fact, necessary, and among the greatest works
needed by mankind today. It is necessary, though, because we as a
society continue to carry a fear of anyone different from ourselves. I
want to imagine a time when this is no longer the case. I want to have
dinner with friends without a person’s religion or sexuality causing
antagonism or anxiety for some of the members present. I want the
idealized vision of the United States, not the ugly truthful one, in
which all people stand as equal citizens of equal value, with no one
having to avert their eyes or bow their faces for fear of the majority’s
anger.<br />
<br />
I want to see the gay atheist stand beside the straight preacher and
know both will have equal standing before society and the law. I want to
see the Shia and Sunni Muslim enjoy equal rights and prosperity as they
live side by side. I want to see the Nigerian, Venezuelan, French, and
Chinese gathered at a single table in a society of human equals. I want
every person to look at one other and not say “sir” or “ma’am” in
deference, but to call one another “citizen,” with the pride and
knowledge that the labor worker contributes as much to his society as
the businessman, that the teacher gives as much as the soldier, and that
the politician gives as much as the restaurant worker. Society is the
sum product of all of us, not the few of us.<br />
<br />
I want to see the equal society of humanity that can divert its
energies to the maximization of its potential and the dream of taking
its place among the stars. That will always be impossible, though, as
long as we struggle simply to recognize our neighbor as human. So, I
will dream of a better tomorrow, where acceptance is given, not fought
for, in which we all stand shoulder to shoulder.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-52263219617029619262016-05-04T09:17:00.001-07:002016-05-04T09:17:49.750-07:00Black Americans Can Never Be The "Smart Ones"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RynCydWj_Ik/VyogCbWneUI/AAAAAAAAA74/EWMiyxzVdJk1U9IIdzOrobv6vxOa9zH3gCLcB/s1600/Ghostbusters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RynCydWj_Ik/VyogCbWneUI/AAAAAAAAA74/EWMiyxzVdJk1U9IIdzOrobv6vxOa9zH3gCLcB/s400/Ghostbusters.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Very recently, the trailer for the new Ghostbusters reboot has been
making the rounds and garnering a number of negative responses. In fact,
according to <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.ew.com/article/2016/05/03/melissa-mccarthy-ghostbusters-trailer-confusing" href="http://www.ew.com/article/2016/05/03/melissa-mccarthy-ghostbusters-trailer-confusing" target="_blank">Entertainment Weekly</a>,
it is the “most disliked movie trailer in Youtube history." Now, there
are a number of reasons why this could be the case, from the general
opposition to a reboot to some level of misogynist responses that refuse
to acknowledge females as heroes in roles traditionally limited to
males. Personally, I just didn’t find the trailer funny, which despite
its horror elements, the original Ghostbusters movie was incredibly
funny.<br />
<br />
However, the reason I dislike what I’ve seen of the film so
far, comes specifically from this line in the trailer: “You guys are
really smart about this science stuff, but I know New York, <i>and </i>I
can borrow a car from my uncle.” For the purpose of this discussion,
I’d like to focus on the first half of that statement: “You guys are
really smart about this science stuff, but . . .”<br />
<br />
I would classify
Ghostbusters in the science fiction & fantasy genre of film. For
that reason, I took a look at the best 25 science fiction films
according to <a data-cke-saved-href="http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-25-best-sci-fi-films-of-the-century-so-far-20150507" href="http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-25-best-sci-fi-films-of-the-century-so-far-20150507" target="_blank">Indie Wire</a>. While I won’t recount the entire list, they include such venerable entries as <i>Children of Men </i>to <i>Solaris </i>and <i>Sunshine</i>. I’ve <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/5/28/1388577/-My-experience-writing-FLOOR-21-and-African-American-leads-in-Science-Fiction" href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/5/28/1388577/-My-experience-writing-FLOOR-21-and-African-American-leads-in-Science-Fiction" target="_blank">previously discussed</a>
the fact that black Americans rarely make up the leads, and that still
holds true. Casts are still top heavy with white actors, with blacks
almost never in the role of the lead protagonist (except when the Will
Smith rule is in play) and typically relegated to a supporting role, at
best (Billy Dee Williams, as cool as he is as Lando Calrissian, still
falls outside the lead trio of Luke, Han, and Leia).<br />
Things have
improved, with John Boyega’s portrayal as Finn a recent example of a
black actor in a lead role in the area of science fiction. Still, black
actors continue to find it difficult to break into particular genres of
film, science fiction being one of those. When they do, they are rarely
the lead, and are constrained by tropes that demand certain ethnicities
dominate certain roles.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kb2poRGiZn0/VyogJqxh8jI/AAAAAAAAA78/KLEJ0tF7zc0ktXqovxmHSohocOiUxr8BgCLcB/s1600/Finn.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kb2poRGiZn0/VyogJqxh8jI/AAAAAAAAA78/KLEJ0tF7zc0ktXqovxmHSohocOiUxr8BgCLcB/s320/Finn.png" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A rare portrayal of a black actor as a lead in science fiction.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
If
not for the fact that Ghost Busters had a black actor, Winston Zedmore,
in the original film, I don’t doubt that this reboot would be
whitewashed as are so many films in Hollywood. However, the fact is that
there is a black actress in this film, Leslie Jones. So, we must once
again return to that same line we began with, the one Jones says in the
trailer: “You guys are really smart about this science stuff, but . . .”<br />
<br />
So
what role does Leslie Jones, the black actress portraying ghostbuster
Patty Tolan, fill in this film? The role of Patty Tolan is of the
street-wise, sassy member of the group with an edge the rest, while
funny, just don’t have. Now, Jones has <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/04/ghostbusters-leslie-jones" href="http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/04/ghostbusters-leslie-jones" target="_blank">previously defended</a>
her portrayal and, actually, so do I. I would never argue that this
role isn’t one that black actresses should fill, because they exist.
Hell, Xosha Roquemore, who plays nurse Tamra on <i>The Mindy Project</i>,
communicates herself through social media to be at least as flippant
and colloquial in her speech as her counterpart on the show.<br />
<br />
These people exist. There’s nothing wrong with portraying them. That’s not the root of the problem.<br />
<br />
The
larger problem in Hollywood comes back to that line: “You guys are
really smart about this science stuff, but . . .” In film and
television, the sassy black woman is so persistently portrayed that
there is an entire page dedicated to it on <a data-cke-saved-href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SassyBlackWoman" href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SassyBlackWoman" target="_blank">TV Trope</a><a data-cke-saved-href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SassyBlackWoman" href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SassyBlackWoman" target="_blank">s</a>.
Again, the trope isn’t the problem, and there are both good and bad
versions of the portrayal. The character of Patty Tolan may very well
turn out to be a good version of the sassy black woman, rather than a
portrayal that skirts at exploitation. Bad versions of the sassy black
woman reduce her to <i>just </i>being sassy rather than a complex character,<br />
However,
the stereotype of the sassy black woman is abundant to the degree that
it infringes on the ability for black women to play roles as anything <i>but </i>sassy. This has been addressed by <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PefZk3q0U_U" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PefZk3q0U_U" target="_blank">black actresses</a> who <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI_SFm-txRI&noredirect=1" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI_SFm-txRI&noredirect=1" target="_blank">have spoken</a> on the issue and recalled times they went into casting calls, only to be told they needed to be “sassier.”<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2P_egozj3Bo/VyogS2v0_II/AAAAAAAAA8A/CQDYQzy73hwAl7ncPBU8wwKRQR_xznakQCLcB/s1600/WillonaWoods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2P_egozj3Bo/VyogS2v0_II/AAAAAAAAA8A/CQDYQzy73hwAl7ncPBU8wwKRQR_xznakQCLcB/s1600/WillonaWoods.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Willona Wods is the Trope Codifier of “The Sassy Black Woman.”</div>
<br />
Why
is it that Leslie Jones plays the role of the street-wise character,
and not the role of the lead engineer or the quantum physicist? Why is
it that the character of Patty Tolan is an addition to the team, rather
than one of its founders? This has partly to do with the limited roles
available to black actors and actresses across the board, but also has
something to do with the writing process.<br />
I’ve spoken before on my
own intentions when writing my series to portray a black female in the
lead of a science fiction novel, as well as some of the negative
responses I received from readers when they made the connection she was
black. This is similar to the response that the original Hunger Games
film received, when Rue died. There were actually audience members who
said they couldn’t sympathize because they found out <a data-cke-saved-href="http://jezebel.com/5896408/racist-hunger-games-fans-dont-care-how-much-money-the-movie-made" href="http://jezebel.com/5896408/racist-hunger-games-fans-dont-care-how-much-money-the-movie-made" target="_blank">she was black</a>.<br />
<br />
Black
actors and actresses continue to be told to “act blacker,” an
infuriating phrase for countless individuals across the country. They
continue to find themselves pushed away from lead roles and into
sidekick, peripheral, or secondary roles. Often, these roles are
contoured by society, and require a certain amount of “acting black” in
order to succeed. What results is a toxic environment in which the
character of Patty Tolan was written, and is why we have that line: “You
guys are really smart about this science stuff, but . . .”<br />
<br />
I want
to see intelligent, black female scientists who conceives the
Ghostbusters. I want to see the black lead of a new Star Wars style
blockbuster series. I want to see diverse portrayals of black culture
and society on the screen because, for many of us living in diverse
communities, we get to interact with those every day. We get to interact
with scientists, doctors, lawyers, insurance agents, artists, and
professors who just happen to be black.<br />
<br />
So why aren’t there more of those roles available in both film and television?<br />
<br />
(Although
the following video has to deal with the Indian American experience, it
does relate to the pressure that POC experience in casting and
Hollywood, and shows both sides of acting to stereotype: those who do it
and those who can afford to say not to.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ejg0xseDlSM/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ejg0xseDlSM?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-24676464379869140502015-12-10T22:44:00.001-08:002015-12-10T22:44:29.908-08:00FLOOR 21 Promotional: Bargan BooksyLet's talk about advertising your book.<br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">So today is another in
week 2 of two months of promotions push for FLOOR 21. In addition to
the advertisement push that I'm getting from my publisher, I've also
contracted with multiple ad sites. I'm going to be reviewing each site
on the day of the promotion to help let other authors know about the
services offered at the site. Today, I'm covering Bargain Booksy. </span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span>
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">Bargain Booksy offers only one tier of promotions, but the prices vary for every genre. The following is a list of prices and the number of subscribers for every genre they promote: </span></span><br />
<br />
<table class="pricing-table"><tbody>
<tr><td>Mystery / Thriller</td><td> 115,200 </td><td>$50</td><td><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td>Romance / Chick Lit</td><td> 108,800</td><td>$70</td><td><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td>Fantasy / Paranormal</td><td> 86,200</td><td>$40</td><td><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td>Literary Fiction</td><td> 76,200</td><td>$35</td><td><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td>Nonfiction</td><td> 75,500</td><td>$40</td><td><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td>Science Fiction</td><td> 66,800</td><td>$35</td><td><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td>Young Adult</td><td> 62,800</td><td>$25</td><td><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td>Religion / Spirituality</td><td> 56,300</td><td>$25</td><td><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td>Horror</td><td> 48,600</td><td>$25</td><td><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td>Children</td><td> 44,100</td><td>$25</td><td><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td>Erotica</td><td> 42,500</td><td>$70</td><td><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span><span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span>
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">To promote your book on Bargain Booksy, your book has to be no more than $5.00. Other than that, there don't seem to be many more requirements. For your money, you get a featured place on the website in your genre, and in the Bargain Booksy newsletter. These include blurbs about your book. With some genres claiming over 100,000 subscribers, you'd be expected to really get your money's worth from this venture. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">However, my experience did not back up this claim. When I previously reviewed <a href="http://houstonatnight.blogspot.com/2015/12/floor-21-promotional-many-books.html">Many Books</a>, I jumped the gun and proclaimed the boost to sales to be less than Just Kindle Books. However, by 10 p.m. that night, I'd been proven wrong. I saw additional ranking bumps until I cleared the 10k rank, and I have no problem declaring Many Books a success. Even when it wasn't doing so well, Many Books still helped to bump me a few thousand ranks upward. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">But Bargain Booksy? No movement, all day, in the ranks. I waited as long as 10 p.m. to make sure I wasn't jumping the gun again, but there simply wasn't the level of success I'd need to justify an investment even as small as $35 again. Not when offers a cheaper promotional and brings a lot more results. Maybe if you're in the Mystery genre you'll see some return on your investment, but I'd guess for anyone in the literary fiction genre or lower, you just won't see results. Unfortuately, this makes Bargain Booksy a dud in my book. I've done some searching on the internet, and I don't think I'm alone in my opinion. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">Again, if you're promoting your mystery novel, this may be a place to check out. You can find them at </span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">http://www.bargainbooksy.com/ </span></span><span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="72gln-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="72gln-0-0"><span data-text="true">And if you're looking for a rousing Dystopian Sci Fi read that's getting rave reviews, check out FLOOR 21</span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="72gln-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="72gln-0-0"><span data-text="true">here:</span></span></div>
<span data-offset-key="72gln-0-0"><span data-text="true">http://www.amazon.com/FLOOR-21-Jason-Luthor-ebook/dp/B00UNLBJN</span></span><br />
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-89690737255122706482015-12-09T20:07:00.001-08:002015-12-09T20:13:08.251-08:00FLOOR 21 Promotional: Many BooksLet's talk about advertising your book.<br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">So today is another in
week 2 of two months of promotions push for FLOOR 21. In addition to
the advertisement push that I'm getting from my publisher, I've also
contracted with multiple ad sites. I'm going to be reviewing each site
on the day of the promotion to help let other authors know about the
services offered at the site. Today, I'm covering Many Books.</span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span>
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">Many Books offers two tiers of promotions:</span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">Basic Promo ($10)</span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">Plus Promo ($35)</span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span>
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">There are different requirements for each promotional</span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">Basic Promo is for anyone advertising a book that is free or on sale for discount. Plus promo is for anyone advertising a book that is permanently free. Depending on what type of indie author you are and how you're offering your book, either one might suit you. </span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span>
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">Both promotions share most of the same common features. Each gets featured in the Many Books newsletter, which claims "110,000 quality subscribers." This increases exposure for your book, of course. However, the Plus Promo goes a step further. Plus Promo offers an upload to the Many Books website for download, and a featured position on the Many Books website for 1 week. </span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span>
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">I expect that the additional exposure of being on the website must be where Many Books gets any good reputation it has. Because FLOOR 21 is not permanently free, I went with the basic promotional. At the start of my sales day, before the newsletter, I was in the 15,000 rank. Four hours after the newsletter, I peaked a 1,000 ranks higher, but not much more. By the end of the day, I'd dipped back down to the 16,000 rank. With my previous promotion using <a href="http://houstonatnight.blogspot.com/2015/12/floor-21-promotional-just-kindle-books.html">Just Kindle Books </a>my sales results not only increased but lasted through the end of the day. I'm assuming I saw some bump from Many Books into the 14,000 rank, but nothing I would consider earth shattering.</span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span>
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">For the price, I suppose it's decent, but Many Books seems as if it's trying to attract authors with permanently free books more than anyone else, especially since permafree books get so much more exposure through them. If that's you, you can find them at </span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">http://manybooks.net/</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="72gln-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="72gln-0-0"><span data-text="true">And if you're looking for a rousing Dystopian Sci Fi read that's getting rave reviews, check out FLOOR 21</span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="72gln-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="72gln-0-0"><span data-text="true">here:</span></span></div>
<span data-offset-key="72gln-0-0"><span data-text="true">http://www.amazon.com/FLOOR-21-Jason-Luthor-ebook/dp/B00UNLBJN</span></span><br />
<br />
<span data-offset-key="72gln-0-0"><span data-text="true">MASSIVE UPDATE: Nevermind, by the end of the day, FLOOR 21 had broken the 10,000 ranks. Many Books may be a lot more effective than I thought! Maybe the newsletter readers just wait until the end of the day before checking their emails or something. </span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-89759503313361665602015-12-07T08:29:00.000-08:002015-12-09T20:01:36.323-08:00FLOOR 21 Promotional: Just Kindle Books<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">Let's talk about advertising your book. </span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0">
</div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="a4huo-0-0"><span data-text="true">So today begins week 2 of two months of promotions push for FLOOR 21. In addition to the advertisement push that I'm getting from my publisher, I've also contracted with multiple ad sites. I'm going to be reviewing each site on the day of the promotion to help let other authors know about the services offered at the site. Today, I'm covering Just Kindle Books.sdfsdf</span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="6rl0b-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="6rl0b-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0"><span data-text="true">Just Kindle Books offers three tiers of promotions:</span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
</div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0"><span data-text="true">Budget Book Promotions ($10)</span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
</div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0"><span data-text="true">Premium Kindle Book Promotions ($25)</span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
</div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0"><span data-text="true">Premium Book Promotions Plus ($30)</span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
</div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0"><span data-text="true">Let's talk about what each of those entails.</span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
</div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0"><span data-text="true">Budget Book Promotions is the most affordable of the promo packages. For the cost, get you get homepage placement for a single day, a spot in the Just Kindle Books newsletter, and posts to multiple social media channels including Google +, Tumblr, and Delicious (Notice: NO post to Facebook, the most widely read social media site. That leaves incentive to upgrade to the next package).</span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
</div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0"><span data-text="true">Premium Kindle Book Promotions is the next tier of promo packaging and offers a top spot on the home page (increases your overall visibility), a top spot on the newsletter (again, increases visibility), a custom written Facebook post (differentiating this package from the social media offerings in the lower package and increasing visibility), as well as postings to all the social media packages offered at the lower tier.</span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
</div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0"><span data-text="true">Premium Book Promotions Plus offers the highest tier of promo packaging and includes everything in the Premium Kindle Book Promotions including a top spot on the home page and newsletter. When your spot on the homepage is over after the first day, you get moved to a Hot Books section for the next week that's located on the left side bar of the website. These are located just along side the main page posts.</span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
</div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0"><span data-text="true">So which did I opt for? I went for the Premium Kindle Book Promotions package. Why this and not the Promotions Plus package? To be honest, I believe there's a steep drop off as visibility decreases. So, what I chose to do was to buy the Premium Kindle Book Promotions package, AND THEN choose the add-on option of keeping it on the main page under the 'spotlight' section for an additional three days. The difference between the Spotlight and Hot Books section is that Spotlight retains your story blurb, and Hot Books does not. I essentially pay nearly as much as the Plus package, but I keep my book more visible over the next three days. At least, I believe so. This isn't science here, just observation.</span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
</div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0"><span data-text="true">Now! The numbers. Last week Tuesday (the first day my book started getting promos through the publisher), my sales rank was 30,000. Over the weekend it was between 20,000 and 30,000 Today it's broken the 20,000 barrier and has hit the 18,000 rank. So, I have to say my gut feeling is that there's been a positive impact from Just KIndle Books for a very reasonable price. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0"><span data-text="true">Update: By the end of the day, I'd broken into the 16k=15k categories. </span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="63l6u-0-0"><span data-text="true">If you're looking for affordable promotion for your book, you can go to Just Kindle Books at </span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="72gln-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="72gln-0-0"><span data-text="true">http://www.justkindlebooks.com/</span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="72gln-0-0">
</div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="72gln-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="72gln-0-0"><span data-text="true">And if you're looking for a rousing Dystopian Sci Fi read that's getting rave reviews, check out FLOOR 21</span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="72gln-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="72gln-0-0"><span data-text="true">here:</span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="72gln-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="72gln-0-0"><span data-text="true"> http://www.amazon.com/FLOOR-21-Jason-Luthor-ebook/dp/B00UNLBJNI</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-23641058862691142742015-11-30T03:07:00.002-08:002015-11-30T03:07:12.510-08:00Writing in Media: How Stacraft 2 Fails as a Narrative<i>Another in an occasional series of discussions about how writing is done in media, from television to gaming. This post, regarding the full narrative of Starcraft 2, contains spoilers. </i><br />
<br />
The original Starcraft was a monstrous hit in the PC gaming world, one that would partly move to consoles in adaptations for systems such as the Nintendo 64. The Blizzard created Real Time Strategy game cams as a break from the studio's traditional swords & sorcery RTS, Warcraft. Starcraft represented a foray into the realm of science fiction and space opera. With an exceptional balance between three playable races (the Terran, Zerg, and Protoss), Starcraft won a place in the hearts of gamers.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/93/StarCraft_box_art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/93/StarCraft_box_art.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Game Changer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Its follow up, the add-on Brood Wars, kept the strategy flowing with the introduction of new units and a demonstration by the gaming studio that it was committed to keep innovation and new challenges. Along with gamer created maps, competition ladders, and tournaments, Blizzard kept finding ways of keeping Starcraft fresh in gamer's minds. At least, until it let the franchise go dormant for a decade. Before that, though, it was obvious that the game's complex dynamics of three races, each with their own strengths, was popular.<br />
<br />
What sometimes gets under appreciated and overlooked is the impact the game's narrative had on fans. Let's recap the landscape of narrative and storytelling in gaming at the time. 1997 saw Squaresoft's landmark hit, Final Fantasy VII, shock the world with its massive world, engaging sci-fi setting, and the shocking in-story death of fan favorite, Aerith. It was a storytelling move that few were prepared for at the time. Gamers who spent time levelling her found their favorite character permanently removed.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/e/e5/Death_of_Aeris.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130516210036" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/e/e5/Death_of_Aeris.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130516210036" height="224" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These were good graphics in 1997.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Some even reported crying at the loss of a beloved, innocent character. This all occurred in a Japanese Role Playing Game, and Squaresoft had spent a decade establishing that it was willing to try and tell complex narratives in its games. What many didn't foresee was the success Blizzard would have in creating its own, complex science fiction world. The Terrans were inspired by the U.S.' southern Confederacy - in space. They talked with country accents while fighting across the stars against two foreign alien powers.<br />
<br />
It was Firefly before Firefly. Parts of the setting were blatantly derived from the Warhammer 40k series, but what separated Starcraft apart was its characters. Each of the three races was prominently represented by a character that defined their species. For the Terrans, it was the southern sherriff and protector of the people, Jim Raynor. For the Zerg, it was the cruel, infested version of Sarah Kerrigan. For the Protoss, it was culturally defiant and sideways thinking Tassadar.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/starcraft/images/9/94/Tassadar_SC2_Cncpt1.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100710231810" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/starcraft/images/9/94/Tassadar_SC2_Cncpt1.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100710231810" height="133" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original Protoss commander in chief. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Each was a 'cool' character in conception, in their own way, but Blizzard's commitment to characterization made them more than simply story stand-ins. Jim Raynor, a loose gunning Confederate sheriff on a backwater world, fought for his people while trying to understand Tassadar, a religious leader of a rigid, caste based alien system. Nobody won more hearts than Sarah Kerrigan, though. <br />
<br />
Sarah Kerrigan had a dark past that served two purposes. One, it put a personal face on the cruelty of the Confederacy. The storyline reminded us of the corruption of the government, but Sarah verbally spoke of how she suffered beneath them. Two, it humanized the battlefield. Jim Raynor's interactions with Sarah, both between missions in story 'briefings' and in-game on the field, were lighthearted and eventually affectionate. This was something gamers had not seen in an RTS before.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://orig06.deviantart.net/7cfe/f/2011/209/7/0/bllizzcon2010_by_fluxen-d41yi5n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://orig06.deviantart.net/7cfe/f/2011/209/7/0/bllizzcon2010_by_fluxen-d41yi5n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: Fluxen, DevianArt.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The Terran missions of the original Starcraft was made more entertaining as the rogue sherriff Raynor won over the heart of Kerrigan. At the start of battles, at the end, and at times in between, their banter lightened the mood. These characters bonded, winning over supporters for the two of them to grow closer. This is what made the betrayal of Sarah Kerrigan by her commanding officer, and her eventual infestation and transformation into the Queen of Blades, so tragic for both Jim and the gaming audience.<br />
<br />
This isn't to argue that the original Starcraft was brilliant storytelling, but it was <i>good </i>storytelling. Despite a universe partly derivative of Warcraft 40k, the characters, and their interactions, made the narrative come alive. You became attached to the outcome of each race, not simply because you were supposed to root for the good guy and win, but because these characters won you over. Sarah Kerrigan's betrayal by her own commander ranks as highly as Aerith's death in the scheme of gaming shock moments.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Aj47_qT8dFY/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Aj47_qT8dFY/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It didn't look this good in 1997.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Starcraft 2's narrative fails for many reasons, not the least is the introduction of an eldritch god that took away from the more personal nature of the fighting occurring in the original Starcraft. Where the sequel really loses in comparison to the original is in the loss of character interaction to personalize the conflict. In this respect, Wings of Liberty came closer to being a narrative success than any other edition of the Starcraft 2 series.<br />
<br />
Matt Horner, rigid commander of the <i>Hyperion</i>, has to deal with Raynor's drunk ways and regrets over Sarah. Meanwhile, he has a mercenary he was unintentionally married to hoping to reignite their 'love.' Tychus Finchley, a roving Southern badass with no respect for order or authority, was a hilarious break to the heavy mood of Raynor and Starcraft 2 in general. Raynor lost a little of his lightheartedness, and was a worse character for it, but the interesting cast he played off of continued to invest us in his story.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://gabblegaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/tychus_findlay.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://gabblegaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/tychus_findlay.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tychus, the hero we needed, but the one we deserved. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Neither Heart of the Swarm nor Legacy of the Void give us a single quality relationship of the sort we received in the original Starcraft, something to carry us through the doldrums of the game and invest us emotionally. Heart of the Swarm's opening levels have the Raynor-Kerrigan dynamics to keep us interested, before she soon essentially becomes a solo queen with nothing but subservients around her. Some are interesting, such as Abathar, but none make you invest into the story.<br />
<br />
Lack of characters to attach to lowers the stakes invested in winning, but the game is further worsened b the way it chooses to use the characters it does have. Starcraft has become a franchise in which emotions are boldly communicated at all times through intense proclamations, speeches, and dramatic moments. However, real life doesn't have many of these, and some of the most binding moments between characters are subtle times in between all the action. In this respect, the Protoss are the worst offenders.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/F2EC8D4TNL4/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F2EC8D4TNL4?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
When people aren't busy shouting out how they feel and spouting B-movie worthy speeches about heroism, the game is busy making the Overmind, which in the original Starcraft was a soulless being driven to perfection through the assimilation of all life, into a sympathetic hero. Manipulated against its will by Amon, the aforementioned eldritch horror, the Overmind was simply trying to find a way to save its Zerg.<br />
<br />
The undermining of the Zerg collective damaging. Prior to this, the Zerg had been similar to the Borg and were, in essence, a force of nature. Uncaring, unceasing, the death of thousands, millions, or billions meant nothing to them. They were simply driven by their instinct, and posed a frenzied horror that threatened to wipe out civilization as we understood it. Blizzard chose to do with Starcraft 2 what it had done with its Warcraft franchise, and introduce a hidden god spoken of in prophecies.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://ci.memecdn.com/796/7987796.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://ci.memecdn.com/796/7987796.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PROPHECY!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
They didn't even accomplish this well. Kerrigan, who in Wings of Liberty is discussed as a key to stopping the dark god, goes almost entirely absent from the final entry in the series, Legacy of the Void, until the epilogue missions of the game. Although I don't want to speak for the writers, it seems almost as if they remembered at the last minute they had set her character up as the key to defeating Amon (who had, only an episode before, been defeated by the Protoss). <br />
<br />
It's difficult to sum up the many levels of how Starcraft 2 fails to live up to modern expectations of narrative in gaming. Considering what's been done in games such as Last of Us and Bioshock Infinite, though, there is some expectation of a quality narrative in a Triple A game with characters as beloved as Raynor and Kerrigan. However, due to a lack of characters to invest in, over the top dialogue lacking and subtlety, and the forced introduction of fantastical prophecies, Starcraft 2 simply fails to be an engaging story.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100814212604/starcraft/images/7/78/Hybrid_SC2_Cncpt1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100814212604/starcraft/images/7/78/Hybrid_SC2_Cncpt1.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At least these things look cool. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Nothing better sums up Blizzard's failure to convey a tense scenario full of emotional investment than the difference between Blizzard's final episode in the Legacy of the Void epilogue, and a mission that occurs halfway through Wings of Liberty. Having just seen Kerrigan transform into an angel (you did not misread that), you then zip her across the map in a fairly easy quest of destroying large crystals to end Amon.This is the fateful, final moment, and it never feels as if you can lose.<br />
<br />
In Wings of Liberty, meanwhile, one vision of the future pits the last of the Protoss in an unwinnable battle against an endless stream of Zerg. Heroes die. They bravely sacrifice. They speak of the legacy they must leave behind, even if their culture ends. There are strains of true heroism. This also might say something about the sort of dread threat the Zerg present in the gamer's mind. It's tense, and sad, and emotional, everything that almost the rest of the Starcraft 2 series is not.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://guides.gamepressure.com/starcraftiiwingsofliberty/gfx/word/80572218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://guides.gamepressure.com/starcraftiiwingsofliberty/gfx/word/80572218.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protip: Don't Die.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
For a narrative to succeed, it has to have stakes with emotional investment, and rarely does Starcraft 2 create that in the gamer. It parades one-note, shallow character templates across the screen, performing bold speeches that just become tiresome. It removes the fear of the endless Zerg and their threat to all existence in a tensionless final battle during which Sarah becomes divine. Even if this story is about aliens, it still needs to connect to the human emotions and desires of its audience. Starcraft 2, unfortunately, does not.<br />
<br />
<i>Jason Luthor is the author of the Amazon contest winning <a href="http://www.amazon.com/FLOOR-21-Jason-Luthor-ebook/dp/B00UNLBJNI">FLOOR 21</a>, a science fiction dystopian novel that tells the story of the last of humanity as it struggles to live at the top of an apartment tower, safe from horrific threats in the floors below. You can buy it <a href="http://www.amazon.com/FLOOR-21-Jason-Luthor-ebook/dp/B00UNLBJNI">here</a>. </i><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-11758570144214170742015-09-22T13:31:00.000-07:002015-09-22T13:31:49.407-07:00Pluto: A History<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Tuesday, July 14<sup>th, </sup>2015. Maybe you were at work,
stressing out about a deadline. Or, maybe, you were with friends, distressing after
having to fight off your boss one too many times. LeBron James was probably
sitting at home somewhere, trying to understand how he could lose in the NBA
Finals yet again. His Cleveland Cavaliers had just fallen to the Golden State
Warriors less than a week before. South of the border, the Mexican government
was putting out a bounty on the infamous drug kingpin, Joaquin “El Chapo”
Guzman.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With everything that was happening on Earth, you’d be
excused for not looking up at the stars and realizing something historic was
going on. Space is the last thing we’re thinking about between family, friends,
work, politics, sports, and all the other little things that are always
grabbing for our attention. Out there, though, roughly five billion miles away,
humanity was getting its first close-up of the dwarf planet, Pluto. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You’re excused if you didn’t realize that, but you need to
know this was important.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The history of Pluto’s a complicated one. As early as the
1840s, men like Urbain Le Verrier were making sophisticated predictions, which
were based on Newtonian mechanics, to assert that there had to be other planets
beyond Uranus. Uranus, at the time, was the planet we thought was farthest out
in the Solar System. The problem for astronomers was that Uranus didn’t have a
steady orbit around the Sun. Something was interfering with it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That planet wasn’t Pluto. It was actually Neptune, but for
the first time in human history, mankind was pushing the limits of the known
Solar System. Once people realized Neptune was out there, governments started
making huge observatories to start searching further and further out. Neptune
was discovered in 1846. Pluto, though, wouldn’t be found for nearly a hundred
years more. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The problem for astronomers was that Pluto was legitimately
hard to track. That’s understandable, considering the distance was far outside
the scope of most observatories that existed at the time. In 1906, the equivalent
of an outer space manhunt was declared to track down this rouge “Planet X.”
Astronomers started scanning the skies and predicting possible locations. Some
of those involved in the search even accidentally picked up images of the
wandering planet, then failed to realize they had.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The epicenter of this search was occurring at Lowell
Observatory, in Flagstaff, AZ. Created by a wealthy Bostonian named Percival
Lowell, whose pockets were deep enough to self-fund such a massive project, the
Lowell Observatory’s mission for decades was to track down this undiscovered
planet. Most people are aware that space is big, but what they don’t realize is
just how big it actually is. You have to carefully pick your battles when it
comes to taking photos out there.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, the Lowell Observatory staff did the best they could to
make predictions about that path Pluto was travelling. It was the kind of
obsessive mission that Captain Ahab of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Moby
Dick </i>fame would have been proud of. In fact, it was a never-ending pursuit
that drove Lowell until his death in 1916. He died, never aware that he’d
actually captured faint images of Pluto, and went to his death without having
ever found his version of the white whale.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After his death, a legal battle started to brew as his widow
attempted to claim a multi-million dollar settlement from the observatory. Over
ten years, that legal battle raged, bringing the search for Pluto to a halt.
Once the dust settled and the observatory returned to work, Vesto Melvin Slipher,
the observatory director, handed the mission of finding Pluto over to a young
astronomer named Clyde W. Tombaugh. It was the beginning of the end to the
30-year mission.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Clyde Tombaugh was the kind of guy that would beat anyone
else in a game of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Where’s Waldo?</i> because
his mission for a full year was to basically do just that. Instead of finding a
happy-go-lucky, glasses wearing oddball, Clyde’s mission was to take photo
after photo of space. Then, one by one, he’d search those images for even the
slightest changes. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Over the course of six days, from January 23<sup>rd</sup> to
January 29<sup>th</sup>, he finally noticed that there was an object that
seemed to be drifting through the photographs. He had to confirm this before
making any big declarations of the world. He was looking for his smoking gun.
That came in the form of a picture taken on January 21<sup>st</sup>. As he
compared all the photographs, he found the streaking Pluto yet again, and made
a path for its movement over sets of multiple pictures. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With a predicted line of motion, the observatory was able to
take even more pictures, confirming for good that Pluto was out there. All it
took to make the news official was a telegraph to Harvard College Observatory
on March 13<sup>th</sup>, 1930. The mission to find Pluto, that began with
predictions by astronomers in the 1840s and became the obsession of Percival
Lowell in the early 20<sup>th</sup> century, was over. Clyde Tombaugh had made
history.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The discovery of a new planet created a tidal wave of
scientific investigations. It’s a curious little place out on the edge of the
Solar System, and it has some odd behaviors. Its orbit around the sun, for
instance, makes it intersect with the orbit of Neptune. Pluto moves at an angle
to the sun, and the only reason it doesn’t collide with Neptune is that Neptune’s
rotation is just a little bit slower. Otherwise, instead of planets beyond
Uranus, you’d have just asteroid belt.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pluto’s got a couple of other quarks, just like any person.
It takes 24 hours for the Earth to make one rotation from day to night. Pluto
is a bit lazier. It takes a little over six days for it to make a rotation.
Because it rotates at an odd angle, it doesn’t have constant seasons. A quarter
of Pluto is in constant daylight, never experiencing nighttime. It’s like
living in Alaska over the summer and never leaving. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not that you could live on Pluto if you wanted to. Its
surface is almost entirely nitrogen ice, with just small traces of methane and
carbon monoxide. There’s no oxygen, so there’s nothing to breath. It’s also
incredibly cold. We’re talking -390 degrees Fahrenheit. That would be -233
degrees for the Europeans out there. Either way, when you start talking about
temperatures that are anything below zero, you know it’s not going to be
pleasant.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course, the most infamous debate surrounding Pluto’s
history revolves around its status as a planet. When Clyde Tombaugh found it,
he naturally just declared it a planet. By 2003, the way astronomer’s categorized
stellar bodies had changed. There’s another object beyond Pluto, named Eris,
and it was that discovery that sparked the discussion of what made a planet.
Pluto is too small and because of its odd place in the Solar System, it no
longer made the cut as a full planet. Now it’s a dwarf planet.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, Pluto has an odd history and place in the Solar System.
It’s also incredibly distant, which made close up observations impossible for
decades. That was the case until a group of scientists started planning to
launch a new mission to Pluto. Much like the astronomers of old days, it took a
group of science obsessed, space loving individuals to lay out a plan that
would actually get a space probe close to Pluto.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Scientists like choosing cheesy names too, so they called
their group The Pluto Underground. Established in 1989, they started lobbying
NASA to begin seriously looking into a mission that would capture close
photography of the distant dwarf planet. The biggest problem was that there was
no real understanding of how Pluto’s atmosphere behaved. How would a space
probe react once it was in orbit?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The project started picking up some serious steam in the
halls of NASA until it was declared a mission of “low importance,” which really
meant that the funds were taken out from underneath the scientists looking to
explore Pluto. There’s nothing quite like a group of angry scientists, though,
and groups like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Planetary Society</i>
started hitting back hard at NASA. All the complaints and lobbying finally got
a new exploration program started: The New Frontiers program.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Begun in 2000, it would take six years of around the clock
research and work to create the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New
Horizons</i> probe. Even once it was off the ground, there was a period of nine
years of anxious breath holding. Would this work? Would the probe intersect with
Pluto’s orbit and get the photos people had been dreaming of for so long?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back to July 14<sup>th</sup>, 2015, almost 175 years since
Pluto had been predicted by early astronomers. The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New Horizons </i>probe wasn’t intended to land on Pluto, but to get
close enough to take the kind of pictures that would scientist better
understand the planet. It did its job. Within a week of the probe’s flyby, new
pictures were emerging of alien atmospheres full of stellar rays, great, flat
plains that rise up into mountain ranges, and frozen rivers of nitrogen ice
flowing along the planet’s surface.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The mission to better understand Pluto is not over, though.
Two new probes, launched in May and August of 2011, are expected to pass along
Pluto sometime in 2016. These newer, more advanced probes will bring back even
more stunning imagery and scientific data of Pluto. It’s the sort of
photography that men like Clyde Tombaugh could only have dreamt of years ago.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-91932275420183355432015-09-09T20:48:00.001-07:002015-09-09T20:48:19.372-07:00An Englishman from Mexico <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
His name was Reginald Benedict Gonzalez.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He
hated his last name.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Reginald,
or Reggie, as he liked to be called, was born the first and only son of Charles
Benedict Senior. If there was a junior, no one could say, but Charles had
always announce himself by that appellation. Unlike the entirety of his family,
avowed Shakespeareans who lived in Stratford-upon-Avon, Reggie was born in the
far more American town of Waxahachie, Texas, before relocating to Manhattan.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Charles
claimed Reggie was a Texan. Reggie hated him for it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Reggie
spent his earliest years abroad. His father, an oil businessman with offices in
China, Venezuela, Scotland, and Houston, took his son with him on his business
trips. Whether by airplane or boat, Reggie was accompanied by the finest tutors
in the world. Charles often, and proudly, announced the hundred thousand dollar
salaries he paid his employees. “This is my son,” he said proudly at dinner
parties. “Did you know just one of his tutors costs me a hundred grand?”
Charles had never been shy about his wealth, and by all accounts was something
of a bastard. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He was
also a renowned world traveler, seen on the cover of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yacht Owner’s Fancy </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Delectable
Boats. </i>He was particularly proud of standing with his finger stretched outward
to the sun, his leg propped against the railing of his boat with a cob pipe
jutting from his teeth. Reggie, for his part, did not stay out of the spotlight.
He was quite often featured alongside his father, and the child’s great
intellect was often put on display. In Russia he played a series of chess games
against some of the world’s most renowned Chessmasters. He took his first game,
lost his second, and stalemated his third. He was only eight at the time, so it
was considered quite the accomplishment by all. His father was slightly disappointed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Despite
some of his other unsavory predilections, Charles Senior was an avowed conservationist.
He took his son beneath the Arctic Circle during whaling season, where the two
of them boarded a Japanese whaling vessel. The sight of a nine year old boy
being taken prisoner was considered an international scandal, and the official
whaling season was called off that year. It made for a good summer vacation,
and in the fall, Charles and Reggie returned to shore. They stopped off in
France, where Reggie took music lessons from the acclaimed artist, Pierre-Louis
Courbet. The child’s painting, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Vision
of Terror</i>, was featured in the winter edition of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Painter’s International. </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
In short, his father took him
everywhere, and so it was that, by the age of ten, Reggie had seen the Great
Wall of China, Edinburg Castle, Angel Falls, and the Alamo. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Reggie’s
mother was a Spanish woman with family in the states. She knew him for only a
brief time, and he knew her even less. She had family in Texas, where she had
met Charles. The two of them had what some described as the “erotic heights of
tempestuous love” before they split in a firestorm of accusations and broken
hearts. She was a passionate woman with a desire for close affection, and he
was a man of the sea who could never stay still long. She left their suburban
home in the Houston area, leaving only a half-written note that began, “Dear
Charles, I…” before running out of ink. She hadn’t bothered trying to find
another pen.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Charles
kept his son on into his teen years, when he began to travel more frequently
and found less time to stay in any one place. Reggie increasingly spent time in
the States, a turn of events he despised. His aunt and uncle, Mary and Gil, would
go on to permanently adopt him. This was shortly after Charles’ fateful voyage
around the tip of South America, during his attempts to replicate the fateful
circumnavigation of the world first completed by Ferdinand Magellan.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So it
was that Reginald Benedict Gonzalez, future heir of the Benedict fortune, a
globally travelled prodigy who once sat at the feet of the world’s greatest
instructors, found himself once again in New York. From the age of 14, he
stayed on with his new parents in the house Charles Senior had left to them. He
attended the prestigious <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Westington House</i>,
a private all-boys school attended by the children of princes, diplomats, and
business tycoons. Charles’ name continued to haunt him, since it was engraved
in stone over the library’s main entrance.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>By 21,
Reggie found himself commuting to the private college of Saint Bartholomew.
Rumored to have been established by a fraternal order whose wealth was
plundered from the Orient during the Boxer Rebellion, Saint Bartholomew made
all its students sign a pledge promising they wouldn’t look too closely into
the history of the school. Reggie hadn’t particularly cared about the pledge
either way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
only thing Reggie cared about was the dwindling money that was draining out of
his bank account. For as rich as he had been, Charles Senior had not made it
clear where he had stored the family fortune. Reggie had the house that had
been left to him, and the sizeable sum of money that he inherited, a sum that
was nearly exhausted after a lifetime of private schools. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So it
was that Reggie, in his final semester of college and nearing his 22<sup>nd</sup>
birthday, began to face down the reality that he would never again be known as
the globe travelling genius. After a lifetime spent training at the hands of
masters, being featured in magazines, and living the life of a trust fund
enriched nomad, Reggie found himself with the greatest challenge of his life.
Soon, he would have no money.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And
that’s when the letter arrived. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-14562369954633505102015-06-18T01:38:00.003-07:002015-06-18T01:40:13.421-07:00Writing in Media: The Divergent Courses of Archer and The Venture Bros<i>Warning: Spoilers for at least the first three seasons of these shows is most likely to occur.</i><br />
<br />
Satire isn't a new genre in writing. As long as mankind's been able to look inward at his own absurdity, he has been making it a point to make fun of himself and the people around him. It's an act that goes back to man's earliest days. Hell, in 2000 B.C. the Egyptians were satirizing the hard work and employment that merely <i>being </i>an Egyptian required. Of course, you also have the satires that are considered Western classics. <i>A Modest Proposal, </i>in which Jonathan Swift argues that the Irish should eat their children as a solution to country-wide hunger, was actually a mockery of England's wealth and the habit rich people have always been in of ignoring the needs of the poor.<br />
<br />
These satires, which were aimed at serious topics of employment and wealth, were replaced in the 20th century. Media grew at a blazing pace over the last century, exploding into forms of radio, television and film. As these forms grew, they took on tropes and tried to represent life in the form of straight comedies like <i>Leave it to Beaver, Mary Tyler Moore </i>and <i>The Dick Van Dyk Show</i>. Decades of this helped grow a huge wealth of material, tropes and patterns about what life <i>should </i>be like but what people knew life <i>wasn't </i>like. It shouldn't be a surprise that America eventually made a habit of satirizing <i>everything </i>it could get its hands on. The turgid comedy <i>Married... with Children </i>was a satire of the classic American family comedy. Its lead, Al Bundy, was a deadbeat father who just wanted to work his shift at the shoe store, come home, drink a beer and zone out in front of the television. Of course, he wanted this done while expecting his wife, Peggy, to cook and take care of the home. That idea, that women were the housekeepers and men were the breadwinners, had been engrained in American society for centuries. It has its roots in social transformations that occurred in England hundreds of years before, and <i>Married </i>took the notion and spat on its grave. Al was constantly humiliated for his performance in bed, his meager income and his poor role as a father. Peggy's homecooked 'meals' were microwaved quick dinners. It was a complete inversion of the wholesome families of portrayed in earlier decades of television.<br />
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<br />
It was never incredibly witty, though it was probably a necessary part of American television. Sometimes you just have to take a hammer to social structures, and <i>Married </i>did that to the typical family that had been idealized for decades, one that never existed in reality. Satire found other sources to mine besides Americana, though. The 90s found pleasure in mocking entertainment that had come before it. James Bond, long a male sex symbol and a dashing representation of England and its spy network, found himself lampooned in the guise of Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery. Mike Moore's original <i>Powers </i>film deserves an article all its own, but it was one of the original attempts at mining the vast source of pop entertainment that had developed throughout the 20th century. It varied between the worst toilet humor, to quick and witty repartee and chuckle inducing physical comedy. The film may not have won everyone's love, but it stands as one of the great satirical breakthroughs specifically because it mocked the great cultural touchstones that had developed over the last few decades. Better, it opened the door to even greater satirical pieces.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<i>The Venture Bros. </i>came to life in 2003 on Cartoon Network's late night broadcast block known as <i>Adult Swim</i>, which had been home to a long trail of decaying anime carcasses and the cheapest animation that American studios could produce. <i>Venture Bros.</i> was, from the start, something very different. First of all, it had the benefit of writers who actually had a theme that would unify the show: <b>Failure. </b>The fevered vision of genius creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer, two names that most men can only dream of themselves inventing, <i>Venture Bros. </i>took the ancient <i>Johnny Quest </i>formula and, like its predecessors, subverted its entire source material. Where <i>Quest </i>had shown a triumphant Doctor Quest adventuring across the world with his son Johnny, while showing the triumph of Western society and the technological marvels of the Space Age, <i>Venture </i>dares to ask "What if Doctor Quest was a failure?" This lead to a show in which the lead scientist, Doctor Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture, is only making ends meet because he's been selling the inventions of his deceased father to the U.S. government for money. Thaddeus is, himself, almost incapable of inventing anything worth owning, and the great corporate and scientific empire his father had created (itself a mirror of Quest's own vast wealth, as well as that of other moguls such as Tony Stark) is rapidly falling apart. In this show, Thaddeus was what Johnny Quest would have been if he'd grown up humiliated, embarrassed and unable to step out of the shadow of his father. Thaddeus' own two sons, Hank and Dean, are Johnny Quest types themselves. However, they, too, mock the original Quest show. Young boys don't miraculously find their way out of one dangerous situation out of another without some scars, and the two of them end up dying in a (hilariously) fiery explosion at the end of Season One.<br />
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<br />
<i>Archer</i>, in contrast, had little vision to unite it as a show and instead chose to rely on quick gags, sex humor, and an endless mockery of the 'international spy' trope in a way that was similar to Austin Powers before it. Where <i>The Venture Bros.</i> attempted to develop, mockingly, a deep universe for its characters to inhabit, <i>Archer </i>was, from its inception, a show that relied on an endless series of gags. Archer, although an admittedly gifted fighter who can handle himself with a gun, is endlessly inept, unable to comprehend basic numeric and geographic concepts, and is outshone intellectually by his partner, Lana Kane. Yet Archer is the darling of the spy agency in many ways, largely because his mother owns it, but also because, despite his idiocy, Archer manages to survive an infinite number of dangerous situations while parading through a stream of sexual escapades. It really throws up James Bond's tropes in many ways, and it does remain funny. Whether it's agent Pam's addiction to Cocaine, or creepy scientist Krieger's holographic anime bride (yes, you read that right), <i>Archer </i>bombards the senses with endless mockeries, humiliations, gags, and sex humor.<br />
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<br />
And this is where <i>The Venture Bros.</i> and <i>Archer </i>largely divert as storytelling mediums and why <i>The Venture Bros</i>. is the superior show (which is not to say that <i>Archer</i> is a bad show by any means). <i>Venture Bros. </i>is now about to begin its sixth season while <i>Archer </i>is concluding its sixth. Let's work our way backwards, beginning with <i>Archer.</i> Faced with a boredom dilemma, writer Adam Reed introduced a number of changes at the end of Season Five and leading into Season Six. One change, which reduced Archer's spy agency to a drug dealing agency, was fitting with the overall tone of the show. It introduced new ways to use the characters in different situations. However, the show has essentially remain unchanged. It's still a constant parade of gags that runs wide, not deep. That lack of depth is why the second change, making lead character Lana Kane pregnant (and Archer's admission that he loves her), is undeserved. These type of deep character moments only <i>mean </i>something when depth has been applied to the characters over time.<i> Archer </i>is fast paced, ruthlessly mocking and essentially a Gatling gun of jokes, but it could never be accused of being deep. It's the lack of depth that makes the character admissions and changes so, well, meaningless. They're the sorts of things shows do to stay fresh, but they don't change the audience, characters or story in any way that feels like any of those elements will have a lasting impact.<br />
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<br />
<i>The Venture Bros.</i>, on the other hand, spent years not only creating an increasingly deep mythology, but also using its unifying theme of failure to evolve its characters. Thaddeus Venture, at forty, is not suddenly going to become dad of the year. He's still obsessed with becoming greater than his father, mostly by making a horde of money and proving to his younger brother, Jonas, that Thaddeus is the greater scientist. It's shallow, sad and the ultimate demonstration of failure in the show. The thing is that it's true to the character, and you feel bad for Thaddeus when you see the way his domineering father treated him. People learn from the failures of others, though. Bodyguard Brock Sampson moved on when he realized his life had become stagnant working for Thaddeus. Brock, another version of the 'international man of mystery' trope, is a former spy himself that has fought, and fallen in love with, a former KGB operative named Molotov Cocktease. However, Brock has slowly pulled away from her and his stagnant bodyguard lifestyle, to reach a point where it seems he may even find love elsewhere. Venture children Hank and Dean, having been cloned, also grow. Hank has come to understand the world he lives in is incredibly absurd, embraced it, and grown into a daring young man that still makes hundreds of mistakes, but that is definitely <i>not </i>repeating the self loathing steps of his father. Dean, forever romantically obsessed with Triana Orpheus and beat down by his own fears, humiliations and sense of inadequacy, seemed the most likely candidate to grow into the same self hating man that his father Thaddeus is. However, Dean has slowly been asserting himself, rejecting his father's attempts to remake him into another 'mad scientist' type, and has generally become confident and assertive. At least, more assertive than he used to be.<br />
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<a href="http://static.tvguide.com/MediaBin/Galleries/Shows/S_Z/Va_Vh/VentureBros/crops/VentureBros1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://static.tvguide.com/MediaBin/Galleries/Shows/S_Z/Va_Vh/VentureBros/crops/VentureBros1.jpg" height="320" width="261" /></a></div>
<br />
That difference between <i>Archer </i>and <i>The Venture Bros., </i>the willingness to create character depth versus not, is why <i>The Venture Bros. </i>triumphs in a way that <i>Archer </i>has struggled with. <i>The Venture Bros. </i>makes for an almost nonstop laughfest. This isn't just a matter of personal opinion, everyone from Comic Con to <i>The A.V. Club </i>laud <i>The Venture Bros. </i>hilarity. However, the show has also slowed down to give its characters time to breath and grow. Rather than relentlessly make pot shots at each other's expense, <i>Venture </i>has sacrificed a few jokes for character development. That's also why, if someone got pregnant on <i>Venture, </i>it would feel earned in a way that <i>Archer </i>does not. Again, this isn't an argument that hopes to slam <i>Archer</i>. However, in ten years, when you think back on stories that had significant impact, <i>Venture </i>is going to stand out. It had the jokes to stay on television just as long as any other show, but also gave its characters the room to develop will make them memorable for years to come. It's also why the show has so much life left in it. That deep mythology it invested in, alongside its rich characters, give it ways to grow that <i>Archer </i>simply doesn't have available to it.<br />
<br />
<i>Hey, if you like my writing, don't forget to give my book <b>FLOOR 21</b> a try! It's only 2.99 and it's basically the best dystopian piece you'll ever read. </i><br />
http://www.amazon.com/FLOOR-21-Jason-Luthor-ebook/dp/B00UNLBJNIAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-81968599338126069032015-06-10T12:58:00.001-07:002015-06-10T12:58:21.239-07:00Gas Station Racism (and being shocked by it).<div class="article-body">
<div id="intro">
So, I'm a pretty angry guy sometimes.<br />
<br />
What do I mean by that? Well, first of all, in my head I go through
some daily battles with insulting people. That gets balanced against my
conscience, which tells me I'm an idiot. Finally what comes out of my
mouth is generally respectful. But that doesn't mean I ever skip the
angry part.<br />
<br />
If you ever went through a basic psychology course, you probably
understand Freud's theory that we have three levels to our
consciousness. You've got what's at the base: The <strong>Id</strong>.
The Id is instinctual drives and urges that you can't control. Like me, I
get angry at everyone almost right off the bat. Maybe it's the cost of
living in a high stress town in a high stress profession.<br />
<br />
Then you've got the <strong>Superego</strong>, which are all the
rules culture and society teach you. Think of these like ideals. You'll
never perfectly meet them, but they're the standards that get set for
you depending on how you were raised. Finally there's the <strong>Ego</strong>, which satisfies the basic drives of the Id by balancing them against the realistic rules set by the Superego.<br />
<br />
So, for instance. I get angry at someone (often for little reason;
say they cut me off). I want to get out of my car and start yelling at
him for being an idiot. My Superego intervenes and says that type of
stupidty could get me locked up. And my Ego, still needing to satisfy my
lingering angry urges, turns up some aggressive music for me to rock
out to and get my impulses satisfied in a way that does no harm to
anyone. According to Freudian theory, people go through this cycle on a
daily basis, no exception. We all have some urge we realize isn't
appropriate that makes us say to ourselves, <em>"Hey, dumb dumb, quiet down with that nonsense."</em><br />
<br />
</div>
<div class="divider-doodle">
</div>
<div class="article-body" id="body">
<div class="dkimg-c">
<span class="image_container"><img alt="A decal advertising E85 ethanol is displayed on a pump at a gas station in Johnston, Iowa." height="309" src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/26102/large/ethanol_wide-95e568093849243fed81bf9601a5cd02be9ac7c4-s40.jpg?1364833115" width="550" /><div class="attribution" style="display: block; left: 516.5px; top: 1339.3px; width: 540px;">
<br /></div>
</span></div>
Now let me tell you a story about how that Id-Ego-Superego thing can
play out in real life. I've talked about this with other people so I
know I'm not the only one that does this, but sometimes I'll mentally
pick out something about a person's race and use that to insult them. I
do that about white people, black people, Hispanic, asian, and on and
on. Sometimes that means I'll get angry and think something like,
"Asians should learn to speak English." At which point the other parts
of my conscience kick in and say, "Hey idiot, your own grandmother
didn't speak English." And finally it resolves itself in good social
behavior where I try to treat everyone with some respect because, as my
thinking mind points out, we're all humans facing our own struggles. </div>
<div class="article-body" id="body">
</div>
<div class="article-body" id="body">
Hell, my entire Facebook wall is a bleeding stream of angry rants
against racism and inequality in America. So while I can think a huge
jumble of positive and negative things about people based on race,
color, creed, sexual orientation, and on, the arc of my behavior has
always been on a trajectory of despising inequality and treating people
with some human decency. And, much like the Good Book argues, I believe
sin starts in the mind and leads to bad actions. So how do you get rid
of negative thoughts like the ones I have? Well, meet more people not
like yourself. Understand their struggles. Get to know them. This is
like, basic kids stuff. They taught you this on G.I. Joe twenty years
ago.<br />
<br />
That leads us to the gas station incident of yesterday. Now, I've
talked before about how I enjoyed writing a black female lead into my
book, <em><strong>FLOOR 21</strong></em> (which is selling quite nicely,
thank you). Most of my friends are black, a happy consequence of living
in Houston. I've also talked about how I had to drop a friend of mine
after showing a picture of my ex-girlfriend to him. He might have been
drunk, but when he said, "Oh, you like those n****r girls", that was the
end of the friendship. Being my skin color and dressing nicely means I
overhear a lot of stuff that's borderline, but when you can't even hide
your racism, and don't even want to try, well we don't need to be
friends.<br />
<br />
And maybe it was me being naive, but I really didn't think talking
bad about black people was that persistent. But, apparently, people feel
like because I'm white skinned and wear a nice suit I'm the guy you
feel comfortable sharing your racism with. And the weird part is, this
time it was so subtle, I didn't even realize what had just occurred
until I was driving away from the gas station.<br />
Scenario: Me, standing in line behind a black man taking a long time
at the counter. He tells his son he won't buy the child a particular
candy because at $3.00 it's too expensive for its size. So, the father
takes the child into the aisles to find another candy.<br />
<br />
Thoughts: Your internal reaction to this could range from inoffensive to highly racist.<br />
You could think<br />
1.) Nothing. Oblivious to the situation.<br />
2.) Man, it's just three bucks. Just pay.<br />
3.) Well, this is a responsible adult teaching his son to choose wisely when buying something.<br />
<strong>4.) Black people have no money and this guy shouldn't be here.</strong><br />
<strong><br /></strong>
I highlight that last option because of what happened next. I've
already gone through my rolling number of thoughts. I'm in a rush,
annoyed, want this guy to hurry. I've done my, <em>"Don't think negative thoughts because we're all humans who struggle and have priorities and this guy obviously loves his son."</em> So I've put the situation behind me.<br />
The clerk hasn't apparently. After the man walks back into the aisles, he says<br />
Clerk: "This guy."<br />
Me: "What's that now?"<br />
Clerk: <strong>"I'm not surprised he didn't have money. Probably shouldn't have been in here. Looks like he's on the wrong side of town."</strong><br />
Me: (Not digesting what I've just been told) "I know right?"<br />
My response was one of those things you do when you're not really
sure you've heard a person correctly, or can't really understand what
you've been told. So I'm pulling away in my car and thinking to myself, <em>"What did that guy just say? Did he really say the black guy was on the wrong side of town?"</em><br />
<br />
<strong>The black man in the store was wearing glasses, a nice pair of slacks and a nicely pressed shirt.</strong>
Not that you should have to defend a black man's choice of clothing
anyway, but this was the least threatening or offensive way a person
could have been dressed. But the clerk still thought it was okay to tell
me, a white dude, that this black guy was on the wrong side of town.<br />
<br />
This goes back tot he Id-Ego-Superego thing. Somewhere along the way
in society, a lot of people have apparently had the rules in their
Superego programmed in a way that says it's okay to talk bad about black
people or insult them. Maybe not with everyone, but this clerk's
Superego obviously told him, "Hey, this nice looking white guy's going
to appreciate me insulting that black guy in the back who didn't want to
spend three dollars on candy."<br />
<br />
Candy. He felt it was okay to make this insult over candy. I don't
want to know what he would have felt justified doing if the situation
had been even a degree worse. Because small thoughts, like that, if left
uncontrolled, manifest in words. Words help shape our realities. And
then we create environments where it's okay to discriminate against a
segment of our society. Everything builds on itself. That's why it's
important to keep having discussions and broadening your experiences, so
that you get it in your head that those thoughts and actions <em>aren't right.</em><br />
<br />
<strong>AS AN ASIDE,</strong> now that I'm actually a published
author I'll be doing a lot more writing. Probably a lot about race,
since I deal with it so much in Houston and because my books revolve
around portraying people of different races in science fiction settings.
I previously wrote about black heroic leads here:<br />
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/28/1388577/-My-experience-writing-FLOOR-21-and-African-American-leads-in-Science-Fiction<br />
And my next piece will be on interracial relationships. Until next time this is DAISHI, signing out.<br />
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-54930522122440592202015-05-28T12:50:00.001-07:002015-05-28T12:50:22.140-07:00My experience writing FLOOR 21 and African Americans in Science FictionIndulge me for a moment while I rattle off a list of titles. Recognize any of them?<br />
<br />
<em>Guardians of the Galaxy<br />
Godzilla<br />
Lucy<br />
Divergent<br />
The Hunger Games: Mockingbird<br />
Transformers: The Age of Extinction<br />
The Maze Runner<br />
Robocop<br />
Jupiter Ascending<br />
Ant-Man<br />
Jurassic World<br />
High Rise<br />
Scorch Trials</em><br />
<br />
This is a brief – and brief really is the phrase I must emphasize
here – of science fiction films that have been produced from 2014
through 2015. If you bother to take a look at the film posters for these
movies, you’ll notice the current trend of advertisement in film: stock
poses by the lead protagonists, or demolished wastelands of the
apocalypse. However, those are choices made by the advertising team. The
creative teams behind these films and writing these stories are the
ones choosing to populate the leads with one common thread: white leads.<br />
Is that a problem?<br />
<br />
<div class="divider-doodle">
</div>
<div class="article-body" id="body">
I would never argue that our film and narrative leads haven’t become
more diverse, if by diverse we mean that we’re seeing a rise in females.
However, even that admission comes with the caveat that leads in these
narratives are still overwhelmingly male. That’s an entirely different
essay I could write, however today I’m focusing on the African American
lead in science fiction. Let me create a new list for you, and I promise
this one will be far more brief.<br />
<em>Men In Black<br />
After Earth<br />
…</em><br />
I tried, I really did, to conjure up as many black leads in science
fiction as I possibly could. I’m not talking about side leads. There’s
always a Lando Calrissian that plays a side lead to Han Solo or Luke
Skywalker. These roles are far more abundant for African Americans, and
include heroic duties for a black actor, but never as the central role.
General Stacker helps the hero Charlie Hunnam in <em>Pacific Rim</em>; Morpheus helps Neo in <em>The Matrix</em>; Lt. Uhuru serves under Captain Kirk in <em>Star Trek</em>; Mace Windu serves the Jedi Counsel in <em>Star Wars</em>,
but the stars are Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. As the central
character, though, African Americans rarely take the lead. The only
exception is for Will Smith, in a phenomenon literally known as “The
Will Smith Exception”, in which Hollywood finds him bankable and
acceptable enough to white audiences to place him in the lead. This
problem of color in leads exists in other media as well. Literature is
more diverse but still dominated by white heroes. Television shows with
science fiction bents either place black actors into the side roles or,
worse, allow for only one strong black lead at a time. <em>The Walking Dead</em>
is a perfect example of that last phenomenon, as the introduction of a
new black male character to the show always signals the death of the
previous one.<br />
<br />
Science Fiction and Fantasy has been my genre of choice since I was a
child. I also had the good fortune to be raised in a diverse
environment and while I’m definitely aware of privilege and my built in
advantages due to my complexion, I have tried to be an active part of my
community. As a resident of Houston, Texas, I live in what is arguably
the most diverse population in America. Indian food is as easily
available as Nigerian, while the local population of whites and
Hispanics still make up a sizable portion of the city. However,
diversity doesn’t always equal access.<br />
<br />
Houston is diverse, but it’s also incredibly divided. A central part
of town, Midtown, is known for its combination of enjoyable restaurants,
slightly overpriced living, and of course its drinking scene. That same
drinking scene has led to report after report of discrimination when
black patrons have tried to enter these bars. ‘Saggy’ pants is a common
reason given for why a black American isn’t allowed inside, even if the
pants are designer jeans and no saggier than the white person that just
got into the bar. The level of division is strange to the degree that I
could mark for you the street where Midtown divides into ‘black’ bars
from ‘white’ bars. However, that same sense of segregation was something
I found as a doctoral candidate at the university. In my years there, I
met only a single black candidate that was also in the History program.<br />
<br />
Why raise these issues of barriers to African Americans in a piece
aimed at science fiction? Well of course, context is everything. I
originally joined the program because I am a writer and feel my greatest
impact is not in doing research, but in how I communicate. I tell
tales, spin yarns, weave webs, and whatever other cliché you want to use
to describe writing. Recently, I made it an issue to get my novel
published, <em>FLOOR 21</em>. When I did that, I made a conscientious decision: My lead will be black.<br />
<br />
To which some might ask, why? Do I have an agenda? Yes, I have an
agenda. At this stage in my life, almost all my friends are black. Some
are from Nigeria, some are from Liberia, and some are from good old
American states like New York, Rhode Island, Louisiana and Texas. These
are people I’ve spent time with at graduation parties, celebrating
birthdays, sharing business success with, or toasting to over drinks.
So, to answer what my agenda was: to give greater representation to
blacks in the one field I love most, science fiction.<br />
<br />
And so was born Jackie. Writing, as they teach you at the highest
level, is about identifying your audience. I had a certain, ‘teenage’
voice born from a slate of films that fall from the ‘twee’ genre to more
popular high school escapades like Juno. However, this voice was also
based on people I knew, such as the younger sisters of ex-girlfriends I
remembered. In the end I created a character that fit my personality, an
amalgamation of diverse influences. Jackie was black in a post
apocalyptic world, enjoyed playing baseball and basketball, was a mild
genius as the daughter of two brilliant scientists, and desperately
introverted due to her hard upbringing. I liked Jackie. I loved her,
really. So did a lot of other people.<br />
<br />
Then came the day I released my artist rendition of her. I was
formerly a comic artist and so I typically try to draw scenes from my
book. In the climactic final battle of the book, Jackie, dressed fully
in her baseball uniform and padded by body armor, battles a creepy
monster born from people’s nightmares. It’s a great closer and a scene I
was really happy with. The drawing came out excellent, and all was
well.<br />
<br />
Except not for those people that seemed to have missed the idea that
Jackie is, indeed, black. Not that I spent tons of time trying to
describe these elements, since I believe overly long descriptions of
characters’ physical appearances to be boring. But her description was
no less brief that that of other characters, and if nothing else, the
description of her family should have clued in readers that Jackie was
actually African American, if America still existed in the world of the
book.<br />
<br />
So, of course, while most people were fine with the character choice, there were those questions:<br />
“Is she really black?”<br />
“Why did you make her black?”<br />
“Are you trying to be politically correct?”<br />
“Don’t you think that makes it harder to identify with her?”<br />
“She doesn’t sound black.”<br />
<br />
The statement “She doesn’t sound black” is one of the most ear
grindingly, soul crushingly, terribly irritating statements on the
planet. My last girlfriend, a graduate of A&M and a reporter,
complained constantly of being told by older friends and some family
that she talked white. She complained that white people made
condescending comments growing up about being well spoken. Even some
current acquaintances of hers made the comments that she didn’t ‘sound’
black, a refrain I’ve heard other of my black friends complain about to
this day.<br />
<br />
For me, the objective was to create a character. She had a certain
color of skin because I had an agenda, but that choice should say
nothing about what she sounded like, what her interests were, what she
enjoyed to do with her free time, how intelligent she was or her
capabilities of being a hero. Fortunately, the negative comments I got
back were disproportionate to the praise, but there’s always this
niggling thought in the back of my head. Say, one day, the book were to
sell so well that it became a movie. Would I have people not realizing
Jackie’s black and trying to cast white people into the role? Would this
become a situation of white washing, with a person of color being
replaced by a white lead? That situation has happened in movies such as <em>A Tale of Earthsea</em><em>, Celopatra, Prince of Persia, 21 and Avatar.</em><br />
<br />
I don’t know. That’s such a distant hypothetical that to me, it’s not
worth wondering about. This is my first book to be published, I’m
damned proud of it, and I hope that I can contribute to opening the
doors to greater diversity in the lead roles of science fiction. Of
course, science fiction by its nature is speculative, so for now I’m
okay for settling with the statement, “Only time will tell.” But then
again, even my ability to say that might just be a result of my
privilege. So instead I should say that we need to be asking for greater
diversity in film and media together.<br />
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-23709695117466048952015-04-24T03:04:00.000-07:002015-04-24T03:04:15.025-07:0030 Days of Hell - The Road to Winning Kindle Scout and Getting Published, Part FourMy campaign closed on Sunday night, March 7th. I was notified by email that a review board would be reading my manuscript to determine whether if they felt it was something they could sell and that I would hear back within five business days.<br />
<br />
In practical terms this means a person participating in the Kindle Scout program may wait a full week after their campaign is over to be told whether they will be published. In practice, my email came on Tuesday. The results?<br />
<br />
Congraulations. You are being published.<br />
<br />
A series of emails follows the initial contact email. A series of 'milestones' are set for you to accomplish before you get to talk to anyone at Amazon, and the first is getting your account setup, across multiple countries in the world, so that purchases of your book will be deposited to your account. It's a relatively straightforward process as information entered for the United States can be copied directly to forms involving other countries without an issue. Following the completion of this tax information, you are notified that you will receive an advance within 30 days. That was certainly the case for me, as my money was deposited by the first week of April.<br />
<br />
After your tax information has been completed and a few days have been passed, you're finally presented the opportunity to speak with those running the Scout program at Amazon. While I won't divulge specific names here, all Kindle Scout winners (to this point) become well acquainted with the same names. The phone call itself, which takes place roughly within a week of your email notification, is to determine your plans, give some insight into Amazon's position, and to notify you of the rough timeline your book will follow before publication.<br />
<br />
Of course, by the time of this phone call it's been a month since your Scout program began and an additional three weeks of email tag. That makes the waiting frustrating but in the end, quite worth it. Among some of the key information you're given is the fact that your book will be edited. While Amazon remains unsure as of now whether they will continue providing copy edit services to Scout winners, so far it seems they've been pleased with the results and the positive media that's resulted. One of the initial concerns with Amazon's Scout program was the lack of copy editing despite the massive retailer acting like a publishing label; the use of copy edit services helps dismiss that concern. Of course the edit won't begin until roughly two weeks after your phone conversation, and then will take somewhere in the area of a month and a half to complete. That means, from beginning to end, that the Scout program will take four to five months of your life before it's finally out of the door for publication. My current date is set for the first week of June, six months after I wrote <i>Floor 21 </i>and four months since I submitted it for consideration.<br />
<br />
In writing this four part series, I've touched on everything from my writing process, the development of my book and finally, the obvious details of the Scout program. So what key points of advice could I leave for anyone considering submitting to the Kindle Scout program?<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Be in it for the long haul. After writing your book and submitting it, it can be close to half a year before you're able to finally see your book out of the door and being read by buyers.</li>
<li>Be able to market yourself. A consistent trend among winners is their ability to get onto the Hot list for at least two weeks, and almost every winner I've talked to either has a following from past published works or has been able to effectively sell their current work to prospective readers. I myself generated a fandom by relentlessly lobbying my work to fans of the genre, taking out small advertisements and encouraging my readers to share the book and its general story with others.</li>
<li>Marketing is partly the ability to pitch your work and partly the ability to draw random viewers coming to the Scout website. What's the easiest way to do this? Create or contract compelling, high quality cover art that draws a reader's attention. Sales start with someone noticing your book. This goes for both traditional retailers and ebooks. Make your cover shine. </li>
<li>On the same note, any good cover needs a good pitch. Cut and refine your two or three sentence elevator pitch until it's so good that you can sell the concept to someone in less than 30 seconds. If you have to take more than a minute to sell your book, you've lost the buyer.</li>
<li>Once again picking up off the last two points, a good cover and pitch won't help you win buyers and voters if your work is sloppy. I personally edit a book four times and sometimes five times before I feel it's complete, and did so with Floor 21. Amazon doesn't provide editing services until after you win, so if your readers are turned off by your terrible writing, the blame is on you.</li>
<li>Network. Social media is powerful if you use it wisely. Tweets thrown into the wind and Facebook posts that garner no responses are worthless. Post to places and writing groups with your idea first to see if you can garner a following. Cultivate that following by updating your fans frequently and engaging them in the voting process. If they don't give you word of mouth, your book won't win and it certainly wouldn't sell. So make a compelling story people <i>want </i>to talk about.</li>
<li>You're not as good as you think you are. Listen when people voice concerns about your manuscript or campaign.</li>
</ul>
Over the years I've dealt with editors, publishers, agents and middlemen involved in the writing industry. The common thread, from my time at Blizzard Entertainment, to my time as a sport journalists and my time in the Scout program, is that you have to write well and be aggressive in pitching your material. There are a thousand writers out there. Don't be the one that gets rejected, learns nothing, never improves and gives up. Maybe it's your writing that needs improving, or maybe it's your marketing, but either way get better and keep pushing.<br />
<br />
Time's gonna' pass either way, whether you're working at it or not. So work.<br />
<br />
I hope this series of posts has been helpful to all of you aspiring writers. <br />
<br />
<i>"You're gonna carry that weight."</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-12304304072110553742015-04-13T23:29:00.000-07:002015-04-13T23:29:19.180-07:0030 Days of Hell - The Road to Winning Kindle Scout and Getting Published, Part ThreeKindle Scout took quite a bit of flack for posing as a hybrid publishing outfit. While claiming it was seeking to be reader powered publishing that would allow it to market indie authors whose works would go completely unedited, it was also posing partly as publishing outfit that would put its advertising power behind the books that were chosen (complete with a cash advance to published authors). This put Amazon into what was an awkward position in the press; it claimed its authors were independent yet they had the Amazon advertising budget behind them. That meant Amazon's brand was on the line, and that meant the sales giant felt the need to step in and provide editing assistance with manuscripts.<br />
<br />
Not that the winners had badly written manuscripts. A brief survey of the winning authors revealed a number of previously published authors as well as novices with a fair amount of experience in other writing venues. In other words, almost all knew the rigors of self-editing and the value of a copy edit. It also became apparent that the winners were helped by previously established fan bases, since many were able to appeal to readers of their previously published books. In my case, having developed a fan base for <i>Floor 21</i> through my various writing groups, I was able to multiply my votes by making simple requests to supporters who in turn passed those requests to others that were interested in the genre. I also benefited from taking out select advertisements. In this case I used Facebook to target friends of people that had already supported my author page; in other words, my ads were going to friends of supporters, and specifically they were targeted at fans of young-adult science fiction with a dystopian twist. This guaranteed the correct audience was being found and my click through rate was fairly decent. I never felt disappointed in my ad selection and responses.<br />
<br />
The thirty days of voting was nerve wracking and I found myself checking my standing every hour of every day up until the final week. Over that time frame I never saw Floor 21 fall off the Hot List for more than hour before rebounding.<br />
<br />
Books placed for selection on Kindle Scout are sorted into a variety of categories including Science Fiction & Fantasy, Mystery, and Romance. However, those books with the most votes on an hourly basis move into Amazon's 'Hot List'. The Hot List is important because it is the first set of books a visitor sees when they arrive on the Kindle Scout splash page. This is consistent with sales and marketing in general; be first, be loud and be present. People like winners and think they're sitting at the top for a justifiable reason. If a book's on the hot list, it <i>must </i>be because lots of people like it. This inclines them to vote for yours first. Even during periods when I wasn't advertising or wrangling my supporters into votes, I was constantly shuffling through the Hot List.<br />
<br />
It's worth mentioning that the Hot List doesn't seem to be a 'ranked' list; books with the most votes aren't necessarily at the top of the Hot List. The sorting seems randomized, so generally it's just important to be on there. Being on the list shows you're getting votes, and if you're on the list even when you're not marketing it means that people are arriving at the Kindle Scout page, seeing your book and voting for you even if they've never previously seen your work.<br />
<br />
You also don't need to be on the list every day of the week or even the entire month. While my book remained on the list for 30 days, other books that were on the list for perhaps two weeks were selected. This is because a flood of votes only fast tracks your book for consideration by Amazon's editorial board, which then makes decisions on whether to choose your book or not. Several books on the Hot List consistently for the majority of their time in the program were not chosen while other books that vanished after two and a half weeks were selected. The decision by Amazon's selection team is not only based on votes but also based on whether Amazon thinks it can sell your book.<br />
<br />
At any rate, after 30 days you're notified that your book has finished its campaign and that now it's in the hands of the selection team. That began the next few days of waiting... days that created even more hell for me. <br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-36843657212825472572015-04-13T22:55:00.002-07:002015-04-13T23:05:37.547-07:00An Englishman from Mexico "I met you on the 13th of October, a date I shall remember forever but that you will never remember. If there were ever a more fitting metaphor for a relationship then I cannot imagine it. You were smiling beneath the crimson lights of the bar, washing away memories I would later find out were of your ex-fiancee and the relationship you'd left behind. I was there reluctantly, dragged at the pestering of my friends for an evening of revelry I neither craved nor desired. My heart had already been broken ten times over in the course of the past few years and my desire for marriage and a lasting relationship was thoroughly buried. Yours was just beggining. I was older. You were younger. I was remembering. You were forgetting.<br />
<br />
We were, from the start, ships drifting in opposite directions.<br />
<br />
So of course it was to my great surprise when a friend of mine dragged you to our table. In the ensuing hours the alcohol would flow, far greater for you than me, and we'd fill the evening with tales and confessions of lost loves and broken hearts. Somehow, in the midst of beer drenched conversations and tear filled admissions, we'd find a moment in which our two hearts were joined by our hurts. Which in retrospect was perhaps not the greatest way of beginning a relationship and yet, there it was.<br />
<br />
You could barely remember me the next day while I remembered you all too well. You barely wanted to venture a date with me given the grounds of our first meeting. And yet we found ourselves having drinks and meals, sharing laughs and joys, yet our ships still sailed by two different winds. I was tired of trying to marry. You were still, unexpectedly to me, seeking it with passion.<br />
<br />
How ironic that in the end you were the one person I wanted to be with more than I'd wanted to be with anyone in years and yet I could not give you the one thing you wanted. Our destinations were far too different, our journeys taking us into different waters. And so, one day, our ships lost communications. That day you were gone, and my first true happiness gone with the whisper of the wind.<br />
<br />
Which is why I find it so strange now to sit here, my journey having come full circle. I've returned to the port I departed all those years ago. Of course you have long found your destination and vanished over the horizon while I linger, alone once more. And yet I find that, somehow and perhaps miraculously, I have found the will to again commit. It is likely on account of you. If I hadn't known the pleasure of your company and the warmth of your voice, I might never have found the desire to give myself to a person, utterly and completely, again. Such a shame it took the loss of someone so incredible to make me realize that."<br />
<br />
James Pemberton paused as he lifted his thumb from the recording button on his phone. For a long moment he stared at its screen, his eyes pinned to the file shining at him from behind the illuminated glass: <i>To Christina.</i> Finally his finger slid over the file, illuminating it in red before striking a final button at the side.<br />
<i> </i><br />
"Deleted," he grumbled as the file was lost into the ether. "If only memory was so easy to discard."Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-83333042491739799332015-04-12T21:20:00.000-07:002015-04-12T21:21:12.102-07:0030 Days of Hell - The Road to Winning Kindle Scout and Getting Published, Part TwoI originally heard about the Kindle Scout program in early November and at that time decided to submit my book, <i>The Dream Map, </i>to see if it would get a shot. Unfortunately I'd already set it to sell through the standard Kindle system and so it was ineligible. Of course rejection wasn't a new phenomenon in the world of writing. Though I'd found success in academia and doing short stints for Blizzard Entertainment, a fully published novel still eluded me. As far as my experience with Kindle Scout, I assumed at the time that my relationship with it was over. Brief, experimental and completely nondescript, it was much like an unmemorable movie or inoffensive book. Simply state, it was not something that would stay in my mind either way.<br />
<br />
I flirted in the halls of NaNoWriMo groups that November month, engaging with others in discussions of technique and style. I had more experience than some others, including time negotiating with agents, dealing with editors and the like. At its worst I was bored by repetetive questions and authors unwilling to understand the rules before attempting to break them. At its best I was intrigued by story concepts and found myself in lengthy discussions of 'why' we write.<br />
<br />
However, it's important to remember that I never <i>actually </i>started writing a novel for NaNoWriMo. I had no reason to. After all, I'd never had any difficulties motivating myself to write and I already had books I'd completed, though they lingered unpublished. I had no reason that simply write another novel just for the purpose of saying I 'won' NaNoWriMo. No, <i>Floor 21 </i>started for completely different reasons.<br />
<br />
It was a late Sunday and I was catching up on episodes of <i>The Walking Dead</i> when I saw a young woman rappelling down an elevator shaft. At its bottom awaited hordes of zombies but if she could only make it through, she'd find her way to freedom. The girl had been imprisoned by hospital authorities for weeks and this was her moment to flee. As I saw her working her way down into a pile of broken and zombified bodies, I wondered to myself: What if she had <i>always</i> lived in that building? What if this wasn't her returning to her group? Instead, what if she'd always lived at the top and had no idea what awaited on ground floor?<br />
<br />
That was the initial inspiration of an idea, and I quickly typed out a 1,200 word 'recording' of Jackie. This writing exercise was experimental for me since I'd never attempted to write in first person, never attempted to write a female protagonist and was attempting to write it as if she was leaving recordings behind. That idea, of leaving recordings behind, was taken from a staple of horror conventions used in horror video games from <i>Bioshock </i>to <i>Dead Space</i>. But somehow it just worked and the premise was intriguing. I posted the sample to several writing groups, including my NaNoWriMo group. And you know what?<br />
<br />
It exploded.<br />
<br />
Just about everyone who read it had an overwhelmingly positive response to the material and the character. Inspired by the response, I worked furiously that week. It was Thanksgiving week and my workload was light since students were not holding classes (I run a small tutoring agency). Within the week I was done; I'd written 50,000 words in a week, finished the first draft of <i>Floor 21 </i>and inadvertently won NaNoWriMo.<br />
<br />
Now all I had to do was get it published. Enter Kindle Scout. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-12772766878043622952015-04-06T21:11:00.003-07:002015-04-06T21:11:53.601-07:0030 Days of Hell - The Road to Winning Kindle Scout and Getting Published, Part One<h3>
<b>A bit about me. </b></h3>
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My name is Jason Luthor and I am a former writer for Blizzard Entertainment. During my time as what was essentially outsourced writing talent, I worked with the writing team to develop Protoss storylines that at the time were going to be part of the Protoss campaign for Starcraft 2. I'm not saying I was the greatest writer, but I was good enough to get paid working for a really well established entertainment company, and I had fairly solid mastery of the short story writing form.<br />
<br />
In 2012 I was completing my Masters Degree. During what I can only call a hectic hell on earth situation, I was splitting time as a full time Masters student and a high school teacher. It wasn't glamorous and I was exhausted all the time, but one thing I did learn along the way was the importance of editing. For a few years, since my time with Blizzard, I'd been trying to get a book out the door. However I, like many short story writers, did not 'get' what it took to take a short story and keep it interesting over the length of a novel. A lot of my problems would have been solved with just some decent editing.<br />
<br />
The major problem was that the graduate program was so writing heavy that somewhere I lost my passion. That summer, with my Masters degree in hand, I was sparked by the movie <i>Man of Steel </i>to start writing some Superman fanfiction. I had great reviews and decided to try Batman fanfiction and again, great reviews. One of the constant comments was that they loved my characterizations and that I'd nail the personalities.<br />
<br />
That part's important, because it's exactly what I <i>didn't </i>do when I tried my hand at writing a book again. My next novel<i>, The Dream Map</i>, had an intriguing plot that got interest from agents. In fact I went through a lengthy process, and still maintain a close relationship with, an agent in Los Angeles. One of the greatest pieces of feedback he gave me during the editing process was this: "I can't tell your characters apart."<br />
<br />
Something he mentioned to me that always stuck was that he could flip to any page in a Harry Potter book and tell who was speaking without having to be told by the author. <i>That</i>, he said, was why my book wasn't sticking. I started to think about that and realized that the successes I'd had in fanfiction were assisted by the fact that my characters had been <i>per-developed </i>for me. It was easy for them to each have their own voices because I'd been hearing those voices on tv, in movies, or reading them in comics for years.<br />
<br />
Giving characters their own voice is, in my opinion, one of the greatest problems amateur writers face. So many people come up with intriguing concepts or plots, and put so much into world building, that they forget to make their characters really come alive as individuals. As one fellow writer told me, <i>"Disney doesn't sell original stories, it sells characters." </i>This was exactly what I'd been missing for years. I'd nailed it in short story form where you didn't need to pay so much attention for such a long span of time to characterization, and my novel length fan fictions came naturally because the comic world was hammered into my subconcious. But me? Coming up with my own characters with their own voice? Even going back to rewrite <i>The Dream Map</i>, I was discouraged because I realized I'd have to tear it apart root and branch to really invest it with snappy dialogue and character moments. I just didn't have it in me.<br />
<i> </i><br />
So from the verge of abandoning my individual writing entirely, how did I end up here, with people praising the character of Jackie and with my book, <i>Floor 21</i>, on the verge of publication?<br />
<br />
Let's just say thank God for NaNoWriMo and the digital age of book publication. But more on that soon. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-66818909432418856982015-03-20T15:50:00.001-07:002015-03-20T15:50:21.319-07:00Floor 21: Descent - Recordings Nine and Ten <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Recording Nine.</i></div>
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It’s my
first time in the Deep Creep. </div>
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I’m
scared as hell.</div>
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It’s not
the ‘real’ Deep Creep. I mean, we’re above Floor 21. But they’ve taken us to a
lonely part of the north wing. The more we walked, the more and more Creep
there was. At first you could feel the humidity from all the moisture that the Creep
produces, not to mention its, uh, ‘body heat.’ My pants literally melded with my
legs as the moisture glued them together. Then the Creep started to get
thicker, piling on top of itself as it grew along the hallway floor into those
colonies that dad warned us about. I mean this was a legit serious situation
and we had a full team of Security, all with those wicked flamethrowers
strapped to their backs. That should tell you something about how worried they were
about this part of the tower.</div>
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Still, I
didn’t really get stressed until we got to the end of a hallway. It was just a
dead end with a single door, but there was this pale red light that hugged both
sides of its frame from overhead. Lowered over it was the metal shutter used to
close rooms during a Lockdown. You know, to keep the Creep out. Abbot nodded to
the door before talking. ‘”This is what we call The Red Room. In actuality it’s
an apartment with a series of rooms, each of which is saturated in Creep.
That’s partly the result of natural development and partly the result of the
Science department stimulating growth here. There’s a singular purpose as to
why we encourage that much growth in this room, and that is because it is to
test you to see whether or not you can stand up to the paranoia and
hallucinations that the Creep evokes.”</div>
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At the
time I thought he was trying to scare us, but the look on his face made me
think twice. “There is a legitimate danger to this room, which is why we’ve
brought along a full Security compliment. Should you get into danger, we hope
to be able to pull you out before you’ve suffocated to death.” Abbott tapped at
a keypad on the wall and a slamming rattle echoed into the hall as the shutter
lifted. My eyes went to the handle and suddenly I felt like time was just
screeching to a halt. The commander gestured to the door. “You will each enter
alone. You will each spend a half hour within the apartment. Finally, you will
each activate a hidden sensor that has been secured within. It looks similar to
the Pocket Space Generator, albeit a dark color. It is hidden somewhere in the
room and must be activated. Afterward, only listen for the sound of the red
door when it opens. That is your time to come out.”</div>
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He left
the convo hanging like it was just that simple and after that we were called at
random. A few people had to go in before me, but I’m not sure if it’s a good
thing or a bad thing that I had to wait for my turn. I mean, it was kinda’
weird just sitting around outside. At first I tried to joke around with Tommy
but that red light just creeped me the hell out. I think the first half hour
was the easiest, since we didn’t know what to expect. Actually, yeah, it was
pretty chill. There we were, all camped out in the hall like we were on
vacation or something. We talked and of course it was all about what could be
inside. A lot of the new recruits were just like me, wondering if the commander
was just trying to psych us out or something.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
Thing
was, the whole time, Abbott looked like he was on edge. The Security members he
had with him weren’t playing around, either. These were big guys, like, Floor 1
sized giants, and none of them relaxed or even tried talking to each other. The
commander kept walking down the hall and back to the door, eyeing us, then
saying something real quick to some of the Security. Once in a while he’d check
his tablet, but every time he’d go back to the red door and just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">stare </i>at it, like he knew something was
coming.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
I don’t
remember exactly what I was saying to Tommy when it happened. I was probably talking
about something stupid, like what flavor of gum I like most. All I know is I was
looking at him one second then flying onto my feet the next. A scream pierced
the hallway and suddenly all of us were backing away while Security moved to
the front. Abbot held out a hand, holding them back while he withdrew his
sword. Somehow its orange light was comforting, probably because I knew it
could cut through anything that would try to come through the door. The
commander checked something on his tablet then gave the team a hand signal. We
all tucked back down onto the ground while Security eased up but, nothing was
the same after. I couldn’t joke about gum after hearing that scream, and it was
a long ten minutes until I saw Abbott move to the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>door. He’d barely opened it before a guy I
don’t know well, I think his name’s Hershel, literally jumped out into the
hall. He was breathing super heavy and his skin was about as white as the paper
in a book. Immediately one of the guys from Security had a blanket around him while
they took him down the hall.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
So, not
all of the team reacted like that. I’d probably even say that most didn’t, and
nobody else ever came back out as bad as Hershel. But what stuck in my head was
his look when he hit the ground. His fingernails were carving into the carpet
and his eyes… just when he looked up he stared right at me and… it was like he
was trying to scream but nothing would come out of his mouth. He just gasped
and heaved while he was trying to pull himself forward, and the way he was
looking at me… I felt like he was burning something into my soul.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
Abbot
acted like it was nothing and while Hershel was getting help, the commander was
already calling up the next member of the team. I kinda’ just sat in a daze and
time kept rolling even if I couldn’t notice it. I was just… I dunno’. I kept
staring back at Hershel as he took drinks from his bottle of water, but he
avoided looking at any of us for the rest of the time we were there. Anyway, I
was so out of it I didn’t realize my name‘d been called until Tommy elbowed me
in my ribs. I snapped him a look until before I realized everyone was staring
at me. It was my turn. Abbot already had the door open.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Cadet Coleman,” he said as he gestured toward
the door. I couldn’t see anything inside. It was like the open jaw of a monster
and I was about to step inside. Tommy gave me a pat on the shoulder and wished
me luck which, I mean, of course I appreciated it. Still. It was my time to go.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
Did I mention Hershel never came
back to the program?<br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Recording Ten.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
I stare
into the darkness as the door clicks behind me. The sound is kept company by
the endless darkness that fills my vision when the light from the hall
vanishes. It’s got me freaking out already and my hands are already shaking by
the time I grab my flashlight. The click when it comes alive explodes in the
quiet as a halo of light burns away parts of the darkness. I flip the light
back and forth, spying out the room as quick as I can, but the first thing I
notice is that this place is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">huge. </i>Like,
I’ve talked before about how big my apartment is compared to people that lived
on the lower floors. This is something else though, something bigger. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
I’m
staring at what had to have been be the living room, once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s a couch facing a television and two
big, comfy looking chairs on either side. At least, once upon a time they were
comfy. Now they’re slick with Creep juice and the light reflects off their
surfaces. The tv’s been hit by something and there’s a big crack across the top
right, which probably happened because of some panicking rookie. It really only
has my attention for a second as I try to keep cool, but I can feel my breath
struggling to get out of my lungs as I take a few steps into the black. The
next thing I notice is a desk and some drawers against the wall. I have to find
that sensor before my half hour is up, so I slide along over there. Literally,
the floors are slick and I can already see drips of moisture falling in long
strings from the ceiling. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
When I
get to the desk I feel pretty psyched that they gave us gloves, because the
amount of juice on the drawer handle is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">thick</i>.
I slide open the drawer and take a look Inside. There’s some papers scattered
around with a bunch of numbers scribbled on them, but nothing I think looks too
important. I slide it closed and move to the next drawer, but struggle with it
for a second. It fights me as I try to get it open so I grab the handle with
both hands and yank it. I nearly strip it out of the desk as I tear at it, then
feel my heels sliding on the ground. I’m about a half second away from
screaming as I feel my body tumbling backward, my back slamming into the slick
goo that saturates the carpet. My breath accelerates as I quickly sit up, the
back of my clothes wet with Creep gunk. Worst is that I can feel it on my skin
along with short jolts of electricity that dart through my neck. It’s something
I’ve felt before, whenever I’ve actually touched Creep. It has an effect on
you, but I don’t know how strong the effect is if you haven’t had direct
contact. This is just the moisture so I hope it can’t be too bad. Shaking my head,
I step back to the desk, while the whole time my hands are prying the wet
sweatshirt from my back.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
I have
to shake it off as I inspect the drawer, though I’m already kinda’ keying into
the fact that Abbott probably didn’t hide the sensor someplace this easy. Of course
I can’t be sure so I’m forced into searching every last inch of the thing.
Again, it’s just more paper. They’re moist and on the verge of falling apart
but for some reason I decide to be gentle with them. I mean, I’m sure the next
cadet will want to read these, right? I’m joking to myself to keep calm while I
replace everything and close the drawer. My light glides around the room but
doesn’t show much. Well, besides the fact that for the first time, I’m getting
a really good look at the walls. They’re just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">caked </i>in Creep. It’s sliding down from the ceiling and piling
together along the edges, clumping together into colonies that I know I have to
stay away from. At least, if I want to stay alive. I make a promise to myself
to stay away from the edges if I can possibly do it because, I mean, I just
don’t want to be the cadet that gets themself killed because they stepped into
a pile of Creep.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
The
light keeps traveling until it freezes on the far wall, where my eyes find a
door. It’s like I can’t take a step without sucking wind and force my legs to
move, ‘cause even crossing short distances in here is terrifying. The problem
isn’t the Creep so much, since I’ve had plenty of experience being around it.
At least, I don’t think so. Combined with the darkness though, with not knowing
where I’m going, it’s all really just… okay, I’ll say it. It’s scary as hell.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
I can
hear the soft sound of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">squelching </i>beneath
my feet as I step over the moist carpet, with each step feeling like it’s
sinking into the ground. My eyelids are pinned apart as I get closer to the
door and I feel my palm shaking as it flattens against the wood. At the same
time that I start to push forward on the door, all the breath leaves my body.
With one big gasp I shove my way through and practically burst into the next
room.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
For a
second I’m left confused as my light shoots back and forth while I spin,
desperately scanning everything around me. Still, it’s not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">too </i>bad here, even if there are no windows anywhere to give you
some comfort. Even seeing the black skies from the rooftop is preferable to
being in this darkness, where the Creep feels like it’s crushing down on you
from every side. The worst part is the way it feels like it’s breathing, with its
splotchy skin trembling and exhaling as the muscles underneath shiver. The
walls are alive and moving with veins that pump beneath the skin, something I
notice as I light them up. I’ve… never seen that, ever, even when I had to
fight Creepy Sally. It’s like I’m walking inside of some giant’s lung, and I
can actually hear as wind breathes out of the walls.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
I’m in
some sort of dining room, though. The tablet’s set with dishes and placemats,
like people were getting ready to eat before the Creep struck. Now the chairs
have tendrils of muscle wrapping up their legs and the dishes have shallow
pools of saliva building in them. That’s not really the depressing part though.
When I lift my light I catch a portrait with it. It’s a big painting hanging
above the opposite wall with what you’d call a standard family unit. I mean, there’s
a dad, a mom, a boy and a girl. There’s even a dog in the painting to make you
feel that much worse, and it’s one of those things that reminds you this isn’t
a game. People lived here a long time ago. They might have even died here. The
worst part of the painting is the Creep, though. It’s formed a thick layer over
the paint that’s damaged the material, so their faces looked twisted and black
from rot. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
As I
turn to my right I find a staircase. I’m assuming Abbott wanted to hide the
sensor in the most annoying place possible, so it has to be upstairs. My legs
hesitate but end up forcing me along, carrying me to the first step. It creaks
under my weight and the noise echoes forever into the darkness. Then I take
another step, moving upwards again. The wood beneath my feet bends and
complains as it aches under my legs, and all I can do is keep my light focused
on the top of the stairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
Knocking
raps my ears and I flip around and gaze into the room below me. I’m trapped
halfway between floors, unsure if I should continue, as I listen for any more
noises. The flashlight searches around, lighting up different spots in the
dining room but finding nothing. So, with the pace in my chest starting to pick
up, I turn around to continue my climb. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
My gasp
is almost a scream when I see the wall at the top burst to life with a red hue.
My eyes are pinned to the sight until, after what feels like forever, the light
dies away. “Maybe… maybe it’s a light from the sensor,” I whisper as I try to
take another step up. My shoes are practically filled with concrete and every
new step I take feels like I’m about to break through the stair boards. The
wall above waits for me and gets closer with each step, until finally I can see
onto the second floor.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
As I
settle onto the next level I’m confronted by a hallway. The door at the end is cracked
slightly open, like it’s calling for me to enter, and even if it’s not far it
feels like it’ll take eternity to cross in the dark. There are two more doors
on my left but they’re both closed, so I decide to take my chances with the
open room first. Might as well get it out of the way, right? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
It feels
like I’m walking through an ocean as I force myself forward and struggle just
to take steps. My legs drag while my breath comes in shallow explosions, while
my ears fill with the sound of my heart as I start to reach toward the handle.
My fingers are inches from the door when they seize up at a noise, and I feel
my body clutch up as my breath comes to a stop. There’s a rumbling inside and
the door shakes as a deep moan passes out into the hall. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instantly I yank my hand away while I try to
make sense of it, realizing it sounds like wood heaving beneath a heavy weight.
My feet pull me a step backward and my eyes become saucers as the door start to
groan and swing open, revealing a dark bathroom infested with gigantic Creep
growths spilling down the walls. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
My light
covers every inch of the room before I step foot inside. As I rest my hand on
the doorframe I feel the material give beneath my fingertips, the wood kinda’
disintegrating under the pressure. I pull my hand back and stare at the frame,
wondering if the whole room could collapse if I’m not careful. It’s narrow
inside, and I’m sandwiched between a bathtub, sink and toilet. No matter where
I turn something’s right in front of me and I start to feel my breath racing as
the darkness crushes down around me. I’m trying to keep cool while I spy the
inside of the tub, which is just… ugh. It’s a mucus infested mess overflowing
with saliva and Creep growths that bubble right over the edges. Small tendrils
probe through the air and I twist to keep away. When I do, my hip bumps the
sink and I spin around, my eyes finding the mirror and, inside, my reflection.
Alongside the shadow of someone else’s. I stifle a scream as I spin again, my
light doing cartwheels as I try to find the dark intruder. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
I can
hear my breath and my heart in sync inside of my ears, both of them racing as I
try to force myself to calm down. “You’ve been in this before Jackie,” I say,
bending over and holding my knees while the light stares off at the floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It’s just the Creep playing games with you.
Nobody’s really here.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Jackie.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
I shoot
straight up at the sound of my name and my light explodes into the hallway. “Who
the hell is out there?” I squeak to no answer. “Is this part of the test? Is
someone in here with me?” That’s the thing. I don’t know if the Creep is
supposed to know your name or not. I don’t even know if it’s supposed to be
able to talk. That spill I took downstairs must have gotten more of the juice
into my system than I thought because this is almost as bad as the first time I
ever decided to just grab a handful of the Creep to see what would happen. That
voice might even make it worse.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
“You’re
hallucinating,” I tell myself as I inch into the hallway and light up the
nearest door. “Nothing can happen to you if you stay calm. The Creep only
reacts when you get too scared. It can’t do anything to you if you stay cool.”
I stand in the darkness for a long minute as I regain my breath, then move to
the door nearest the bathroom. For a second I shut my eyes and think about
anything else than where I am. Home, with mom and dad, with all their
weirdness, would be preferable. Better yet, a dance party with Allison. I’d
even take a conversation with Tommy right now.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
If
nothing else, thinking about them helps me keep my head straight. While my
pulse is relaxing I turn the door handle and watch it slow arc inward, like
it’s giving me permission to step inside the room. It’s almost completely
abandoned, with just a desk in the corner and an old bookshelf nearby. I
explore the shelf first, scanning the covers but finding no books I recognize.
Plus they all look like they’re about to crumble into dust, so I leave them
alone. After a few more minutes I’m able to convince myself to head over to the
desk, a soft thud breaking the silence as my feet move across the floor. It’s
not until I’m standing right over the desk that I realize all the drawers have
been removed. I came over here for nothing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
My
scream comes uninterrupted when I hear the door shut behind me, my eyes running
to the entrance while the rest of my body locks up. This has to be a setup. One
of Abbott’s men has to be in here, or at least my hallucinations have to be super
out of control. What I know is that I’m frozen in the middle of the room, but
that doesn’t look like it’s keeping the walls from moving. They’re trembling
and coming closer and it’s not because of the Creep. There’s something darker
than the darkness there, and somehow I force myself to switch off my flashlight
so I can get a better look. Everything goes dark but I can make out these
figures standing in a row against the walls, and they all watch as my breath
stops and my muscles completely stop. The beat of my heart is so intense my
ears feel the drumming and pressure as my pulse starts to hammer out of
control. It feels like my chest is going to burst open as I see the Demons
raising their hands, their faces lighting up in pairs of red eyes, like lasers
cutting through the black. In one motion they all stretch out toward me, then
begin to push against the wall, like they’re ready to pry themselves free. Finally
my heart feels like it’s about to seize up and I dash for the exit, grabbing
its handle and throwing the door open. My feet give out and I fall into the
hallway, spinning around and flashing my light into the empty room behind me. Nothing
is moving. Nothing is there.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
The halo
of sad light explores the hall but everything<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>looks normal or at least, you know, as normal as a Creep infested
hallway full of paranoia induced hallucinations should look like. I’m trying to
be funny, but I’m not laughing. My forehead ismarinating as sweat comes down in
waves and I can feel drops anchoring on the tip of my nose. The only noise in
the hall is my breath as it pounds its way out of my lips, but I’m still
frozen. There’s a long minute before I flash my light at the one door still
closed and realize I still need the sensor and that there’s one place left to
look.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
It takes
a second before I’m able to control my body again and another minute before I
can get myself worked up enough to approach the final door. It’s not like there’s
anything different about it, but it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">feels
</i>like there’s something behind it, like something dark is seeping out from
the cracks. It creates a tingling in my skin that explodes as the noise of each
step I take explodes in my ears. All of this is making my breath race but I
snap to reality when I find myself in front of the door. My hands are drenched
with sweat and can barely turn the handle, but the door cracks open with a
groan before it curves away. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
I’m
staring at a bedroom. The bed is just soaked with saliva and all the sheets are
a wet mess. The nightstand is practically a small pillar of Creep, and the
walls are just piles of colonies growing on top of each other. I can hear the
room wheezing as orifices in the Creep wall breath outward and with gusts of
humid air that glues to my skin. My feet stick to the floor as juices linger on
my shoes and stick to me with every step, a sick <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">squelch </i>coming with every move I make inside the room. There’s
something else, too. My light was a pale yellow until five seconds ago but now
looks like it’s filtered through a red haze. It’s one of the most common signs
that you’re in a deep part of the Creep and it happens on the lower floors.
Still, it feels ten times as terrible while I’m there in the bedroom,
surrounded by the thickest Creep buildup I’ve ever seen. Even the ceiling looks
like it’s about to give from all of the buildup and tumors I can see sagging
from above.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
As I
step inside I check the door behind me because, I mean, of course. I don’t need
it closing on me again. Well, if it ever really <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">did </i>close on me in the other room. I’m slowly walking the edge of
the room, my hands going over the dresser. Nothing’s there except more
pictures. Each one of them has at least the husband and wife, and some of them
have the kids. All the pictures are decaying, like I’m staring at the corpses
of this family. Their smiles are staring at me from behind black rotted masks. It’s
grim but it just gets worse when my search of the drawers comes up empty. I’m
not sure how long I’ve been in here, but I know I want to get out. I just… I
have to get this done. When I look toward the bed I realize if the sensor’s
anywhere in this room, it’s either somewhere in the nightstand, or buried in
the mattress. Not wanting to risk the nightstand first, I shuffle the pillows
and covers around. It’s obvious they’ve already been searched since the covers
are a mess, so I’m not the first Scavenger with this idea. Of course I find
nothing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
Giving
up on the bed I look at the nightstand. More than half of it is buried in Creep
and tendrils are wrapping their way up the edges. I mean, I can still see the
drawer at the top, but as I reach my hand out I pause when my fingers start
shaking. I can remember seeing people grabbed like this when they were close to
the Creep and I don’t have any weapons on me. I know the Security team’s
outside but… that’s a long run up the stairs. At least, it feels like it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
The force
I use to swallow is enough to make me gag for a second and I turn away, heaving
as I struggle to breathe in the thick, humid air. I take as big a gulp of it as
I can, turn, and force myself to yank open the drawer. My heart’s drumming in
my chest as I look over the edge and stare into the dresser.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
And <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">there</i> it is. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
Nothing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
My wrist
jerks downward and I scream as a pulpy tendril wraps its way up my arm,
dragging me to a knee. With my free hand I grab at the top of the dresser,
squeezing the edges as I try to keep myself from collapsing onto the ground. I
can feel splinters digging into my skin and my fingernails cut into the wood
while the Creep pulls at me so hard that I can feel my arm bone about to jerk
out of the socket. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
“Help!”<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>I’m about to scream when my mouth is
suddenly covered shut. My eyes shoot open as what feels like fingers stretch
across my lips and along my chin. Suddenly the humid, hot air of the Creep is
passing over my ear as another hand walks its way down my arm. I struggle but
I’m captured in the grip of the tendrils and this person’s arms, and no matter
how hard I try to pull free, every struggle just makes it seem like my arm is
going to sever itself from my body.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“You interest me, Jackie,” </i>the creature
says, holding my head back to him, his chest rising and falling with his thick
breath. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I have word you would like to
know what Angels are. I hope we might find out together.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
A kick
of air blasts across my face and suddenly I’m free, my body flying backward as
I pull myself from the Creep. I collapse onto my side with my body drenched in
the moist juices of the room. At the same time I feel something in my hand,
metallic and round. Like a Pocket Space Generator. It forces a scream from me
that’s both terrified and relieved, and I slam the top of the device. A red
light bursts from it as I yank myself off the disgusting floor, my fingers
shoving into pulpy muscle and soft mucus as I force myself out of the room. As
I explode out of the door it seems like the hallway’s stretching out to my
right, growing longer and longer so that no matter how many steps I run I can
never reach the end. But suddenly I’m flying down the stairs and there’s a door
of light that’s burning so bright that I feel like I’m running into the sun. I
hit the exit with so much speed that I rocket out and into the main corridor
again, sliding along the ground as I come to a halt, the entire team jumping
around me to see if I ‘m okay.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
Abbott’s
voice calls them off as he tears his way to the front of the crowd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Everyone back!” he screams, his gloved hand
grabbing me by the arm and hauling me to my feet. “She’s covered in Creep! Security!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
Two of
the guards are all over me in an instant, their blankets swiping down along my
body and squeezing the excess juices off my face and neck. I can feel as they
rip the sweatshirt and pants off of me but I’m not exactly in the right mind to
care about modesty. The next thing I know I’m being led away in my delicates
with double blankets draped around me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
That was
when the blackout hit. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-89201978726603958082015-03-05T22:16:00.005-08:002015-03-05T22:16:59.636-08:00Essay: The Slippery Slope That Leads To Rape<div id="intro">
All the world's a flutter with the insistence that we pay more
attention to women's rights and voices. It's an era when the gentleman
of yesterday can no longer be a man and the virtuous women that embodied
society's honor can no longer be found. Of course, under such
circumstances it becomes necessary for our society to look deeply into a
mirror. Within it will not find the abyss, but the answers to the great
malaise that possesses its when any conversation of sexual assault
rears its ugly head. Quite obviously, in a world where the gentleman has
become a relic of antiquity, it has become ever more incumbent upon
women to guard themselves from the brute that is the 21st century man. I
propose that women of all races and cultures look most closely to
themselves to discover the secrets to guarding against the wiles of the
sexually improprietous male.<br />
</div>
<div class="divider-doodle">
</div>
Before we cast our sharpened eyes across the world, it falls to us to
observe those most liberated of women, those of western society, are
those who most obviously present the most prime of targets for the
wandering invader. Or are we not to believe the word of that most
upstanding symbols of civic virtue, the highly trained constables who
daily risk their lives on our streets? Are we to doubt them when they
say<br />
<blockquote>
<b>'You know, I think we’re beating around the bush here. I’ve
been told I’m not supposed to say this, however, women should avoid
dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized."
</b><b> <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1358453/Police-officer-tells-student-avoid-sexual-assaults-dressing-like-sluts.html">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/...</a></b><br />
</blockquote>
It should be quite obvious to even the least educated among us that a
woman's mean of dressing is the most obvious of invitations to lude
gentlemen callers. After all, though she be not a prostitute, she
certainly seems to wear the uniform. Though perhaps, given the raucous
uproars that have so greatly exaggerated the aggressive actions of
police officers, you stand among those that cast a suspicious light upon
those brave fellows that guard our safety. Then may we not at least
agree that those who inhabit the ivory towers of our greatest
intellectual institutions may be trusted when they argue that women are
most likely fabricating these encounters?<br />
<blockquote>
<b>"We have, we had, on this campus last semester three cases
of young women who after having done whatever they did with the young
men, and then it didn't turn out the way they wanted it to turn out --
guess what they did?" he said. "They went to [the university's
Department of] Public Safety and said, 'He raped me.'
</b><b><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/18/college-officials-rape-things-they-say_n_6173254.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...</a></b><br />
</blockquote>
And even if one chooses, in the face of all secular statements, to
question the authority of both our official constabulary as well as our
guardians of intellectual progression, perhaps it may be agreed that at
least the leaders of our great Western religions know best when they
argue<br />
<blockquote>
<b>"Well, there’s always a sin under other sin. There’s a root sin... ‘We have to find the sin in your life that caused your rape."
</b><b><a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/america-tonight/articles/2014/6/18/bob-jones-universitysexualabuse.html">http://america.aljazeera.com/...</a></b><br />
</blockquote>
Should it not be obvious to all by now that the women of our Western
nations, freed from previous shackles, have perhaps overstepped bounds
not set by man but by nature? It seems an analysis of the situation
clearly outlines that those assaulted have by some manner invited the
assault. Why, even a young girl can quite clearly be held personally
accountable for the invitations she sends out. For what young man can
restrain the bodily insistence of nature? Certainly the police of the
great nation of Australia were not avoiding the duties of their office
when they told this young, thirteen year old girl that<br />
<blockquote>
<b>"I didn't have enough evidence to show, because I went out in clothes that was pretty much asking for it. "
</b><b><a href="http://jezebel.com/police-told-new-zealand-gang-rape-victim-she-was-asking-1459395295">http://jezebel.com/...</a></b><br />
</blockquote>
Quite obviously our Western women have badly influenced the younger
sort. However, turn not your gaze only to the naive youngsters being so
viciously set upon by the negative examples being set in our culture.
Even the women in the neighboring Middle East have taken to such
lascivious behavior that they have quite rightly been set upon by their
less inhibited male compatriots. Even the Imams of the Muslim religion
have seen the influence it has had on their clothing.<br />
<blockquote>
<b>“Women are not entitled to respect when they walk around
without a Hijab. They are to blame for it when they are attacked,” Imam
Shahid Mehdi said.
</b><b><a href="http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/muslim-imam-claims-women-who-dont-wear-hijabs-are-asking-to-be-raped-arrested-for-trying-to-rape-woman/">http://www.frontpagemag.com/...</a></b><br />
</blockquote>
And before one assumes that the nefarious influences of Western
inconsideration have affected only those of the Near East, watch closely
its effects on our long treasured relationship with the good people of
India, who argue<br />
<blockquote>
<b>"A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy," Mukesh
Singh, one of the six rapists convicted in the 2012 attack, says in the
documentary, because "a decent girl won't roam around at 9 o'clock at
night."
</b><b><a href="http://www.vox.com/2015/3/5/8156881/india-rape">http://www.vox.com/...</a></b><br />
</blockquote>
It must be set clear from all such evidence as we have before us that
the problem lies clearly with women who have not taken the necessary
precautions to safeguarding themselves from the less savory of our male
societal members. Think not only of the most blatant examples of sexual
extravagance women have demonstrated. Instead we must look to the loose
morals of the 13 year old and the creeping degradation infecting the
other great cultures of the world. For if a woman cannot, at a minimum,
restrict her clothing to a hijab and restricting herself to staying
indoors after nine in the evening, can she truly lay claim that she was
raped?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-28611536060832095742015-01-04T23:21:00.000-08:002015-01-04T23:37:13.933-08:00Review: The Hobbit - The Battle of Five ArmiesI would like to tell you a story.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B2rMS7GxMwA/VKo5eC3VFpI/AAAAAAAAAs0/KOKmD075vqM/s1600/hobbit-battle-five-armies-tauriel-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B2rMS7GxMwA/VKo5eC3VFpI/AAAAAAAAAs0/KOKmD075vqM/s1600/hobbit-battle-five-armies-tauriel-poster.jpg" height="320" width="215" /></a>In 2001, <i>The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings</i> was released in theaters. I was a young college student in a semi-serious relationship, a best friend I saw on a near daily basis, and a core of friends I saw at least twice a week.<br />
<br />
It is now 2014, and none of those things is true.<br />
<i>The Hobbit</i> is about a journey and, in some larger sense, encapsulates a good part of my life. 13 years of my life, to be precise. Over the course of the last 3 years we've seen a Hobbit movie once per year. When they first started releasing I was, yet again, in another relationship. That relationship endured through the second film and then sputtered into nonexistence.<br />
<br />
I don't mean to say the Hobbit sputters out. It doesn't, but it's distinctly changed from its film conceptions birthed over a decade ago. Of course, that should be the case. In many ways, <i>the Lord of the Rings</i> changed how fantasy films were done. The sort of battles we saw on the silver screen were unrivaled in scope and set standards that other films now had to aspire to. Even <i>The Chronicles of Narnia </i>felt compelled to stage every film's end with a mammoth battle. If you go back and look at <i>The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</i>, you can even see filming similarities from its last battle and <i>The Return of the King. </i>Narnia was supposed to be a fairytale!<br />
<br />
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</div>
<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EZ_B-bhN6t8/VKo5dOOCQsI/AAAAAAAAAs4/oIi-6HUoKRA/s1600/The-Hobbit-Battle-of-the-Five-Armies-poster-9-691x1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EZ_B-bhN6t8/VKo5dOOCQsI/AAAAAAAAAs4/oIi-6HUoKRA/s1600/The-Hobbit-Battle-of-the-Five-Armies-poster-9-691x1024.jpg" height="320" width="215" /></a></div>
Which says a lot about how <i>The Hobbit</i>, as influenced by its predecessors and the evolution of the fantasy film market, also had to drastically change the story it set out to tell. Suddenly the film could not be a pair of films. No, now it had to be a trilogy, because of course all good film series come in trios.<br />
<br />
Except that they don't and <i>The Battle of Five Armies </i>suffers not because of lack of talent, directing or writers, but because of artificial demands placed upon it by money figures and the ensuing demands of movie studios. Peter Jackson mines almost every minute detail from the background lore of the <i>Silmarillion </i>that he can to fill in the storyline and stretch this final movie into a third, final installment.<br />
<br />
Let's be clear about the obvious: The camera work is still superb, the special effects are still superb, and the acting is still superb. Legolas is still Legolas, although slightly younger and a bit more rigid in his approach to life. Gandalf is still spectacularly Gandalf, in all his intelligent wizardry, cunning and strength of will. Finally, I can't say enough about Bilbo and the performance given by Martin Freeman, who mines such emotional depth out of the role that I could have been swayed into a fourth film that focused more on Biblbo and Hobbits.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SiEeHzC1Rgc/VKo5dGSU0gI/AAAAAAAAAsw/gbkK0Q3XJR0/s1600/The-Hobbit-Battle-of-the-Five-Armies-poster-4-702x1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SiEeHzC1Rgc/VKo5dGSU0gI/AAAAAAAAAsw/gbkK0Q3XJR0/s1600/The-Hobbit-Battle-of-the-Five-Armies-poster-4-702x1024.jpg" height="320" width="219" /></a>And that's the rub. There just <i>isn't </i>the material to cover that, and so Peter Jackson is caught between <br />
impossible demands. First, he has to honor the source material. Second, he has to create a 'blockbuster' that will sell spectacularly. Finally, he has to have a story to tell.<br />
<br />
I put that final notion last because story was the greatest victim in this demand to stretch the films out. Bilbo's relationship to Thorin Oakenshield, leader of the Dwarves, reaches touching depth. Unfortunately it has little basis in the books and so it never quite balances establishing it while still remaining true to the books. Likewise, stories of love between Tauriel and Kili are great stories to plunder, except for their lack of existence in the source.<br />
<br />
Impossible demands changed what <i>The Hobbit </i>was envisioned as by J.R.R. Tolkien: A children's adventure story. It could no longer be such a thing in the face of what <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> became: a fantasy epic.<br />
<br />
But does that make it bad? Is the version of you from ten years ago bad in comparison to what you are now? Is it vice versa? <i>The Hobbit </i>was changed because of the journey taken to tell it. It is different. For better or worse is hard to tell.<br />
<br />
I can only end this review by saying what I did at the film's end. I sat and enjoyed the touching final song, <i>The Last Goodbye</i>, as the credits scrolled by. I remained, as I have done for every one of these films, until the screen went black. And then I left, having enjoyed a good story, that at times reached for emotions it sometimes hit, and at other times did not. I left satisfied, a changed person, because I felt the story was worth the telling. <br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">4 / 5 Stars. </span><br />
<br />
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fLbtnk3eV2s/VKo5ee82WII/AAAAAAAAAtI/6S3YjVNZFI4/s1600/tauriel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fLbtnk3eV2s/VKo5ee82WII/AAAAAAAAAtI/6S3YjVNZFI4/s1600/tauriel.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kind of in love with Tauriel. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wXCphBQeGjY/VKo6MCeLkAI/AAAAAAAAAts/CtJmiViNsR8/s1600/hobbit2-the-battle-of-five-armies-prepares-for-war-with-two-new-banners.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wXCphBQeGjY/VKo6MCeLkAI/AAAAAAAAAts/CtJmiViNsR8/s1600/hobbit2-the-battle-of-five-armies-prepares-for-war-with-two-new-banners.jpeg" height="145" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How I felt after the movie.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-57828431701689706832014-11-14T03:26:00.001-08:002014-11-14T03:26:15.943-08:00Film Review: The Lego Movie<h2>
The Lego Movie </h2>
<dl class="article-info"><dd class="category-name">
Category: <a href="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/index.php/film">Film</a> </dd><dd class="published">
Published: Thursday, 20 February 2014 00:34 </dd><dd class="createdby">
Written by Jason Luthor </dd></dl>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_800_600_0_00_images_FilmReviews_02TheLegoMovie_09.jpg" rel="iLoad" style="cursor: url('/plugins/content/multithumb/magnify.cur'), auto;" target="_blank" title=""><img alt="09" class="multithumb" height="214" src="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_144_217_16777215_00_images_FilmReviews_02TheLegoMovie_09.jpg" style="float: left;" width="144" /></a>Children’s
movies. For those of us in our 20s and 30s, children’s movies have been
a part of our lives almost since we came to consciousness. Think about
it. If you were born in the eighties you lived through Disney’s greatest
era, the period of Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and
The Lion King. At the tail end of the 1990s we got Pixar and Toy Story,
not to mention other quality works like Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., and
Wall-E. In the post Pixar period Dreamworks made a name for itself with
the Shrek franchise, which made its bread and butter tearing apart
Disney staples.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The
rise of the ‘sophisticated’ children’s film has been a necessary
creation of the 20th century. Adults need a reason to stay in the seats
as much as children, and ‘kids’ movies work best on two levels. While
children cry about Mufasa dying, they don’t necessarily grasp the drama
at work in Halmet-like fashion, between a conniving brother that murders
the king and potentially rapes his nice. Yes, Scar was that bad in that
movie, within the subtext of the film. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The
Lego Movie doesn’t play with such dark themes. Instead, it holds up a
light to capitalism and creativity and asks what are we willing to
sacrifice? On one hand, the movie highly values individualism. The
heroes of the film are brilliant Master Builders that can create
anything from a stack of Lego, whipping together submarines, rockets and
a Batwing. On the other hand, this same film states that only by
working together can we rise to success. While individually we’re all
quite brilliant, together we achieve even more. In the words of Barack
Obama, “You didn’t build that”, at least not all on your own. The great
corporations are lead by titans of industry but they get tax breaks from
the government, roads paid by taxes, contracts extended to them by
politicians, etc. We all build on each other. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Its stand against homogeneity is apparent in two points. President </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Business
wants to build an unchanging Lego world in which there is one amazing
tv show, one amazing song, and an unmoving population that is
permanently in a state of illusory happiness. Literally, he wants to
krazy glue them into place so that they are unchanging. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The theoretical
opposite of this is Coo Coo Land, a land of permanent happiness but
where everyone has to smile all the time and always be at their
happiest. Neither is a Utopia, and only in allowing characters both from
Coo Coo Land as well as the normal Lego World to indulge the full range
of emotions do the characters receive satisfaction.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Capitalism
in the U.S. has bred, to a degree, a homogeneity, so in this way the
Lego movie can be seen as not anti-capitalistic but pro diversity.
Diversity is an ongoing issue in the country and there are, undoubtedly,
many people walking away from the film at least partially offended.
Still, for all the topics it tries to address, the movie has a solid,
emotional heart.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/images/FilmReviews/02TheLegoMovie/01.png" rel="iLoad" style="cursor: url('/plugins/content/multithumb/magnify.cur'), auto;" target="_blank" title=""><img alt="01" class="multithumb" height="372" src="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_372_372_16777215_00_images_FilmReviews_02TheLegoMovie_01.png" style="float: left;" width="372" /></a>The
overarching conflict is, of course, President Business’ attempt to
krazy glue everything into permanent stasis. A prophecy states a hero
will prevent this, leading to the typical hero’s quest in which Emmet,
an ordinary Lego construction builder with few innovative or redeeming
features, somehow becomes the “One”. Think Neo of the Matrix, here. Of
course his skills are far below par and his fellow heroes, including
Lego Batman, are constantly disappointed in him. The course of the film
sees his development not into a hero only due to his personal skills,
but in how he inspires those around him to cooperate for a greater good.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Some
have said it’s just a typical action film, but typical action films
don’t normally so strongly push for heroes as a collective versus the
Lone Ranger archetype. The film subverts action tropes, buying into
them, presenting them, but making them so outrageously over the top as
to border on hilarious. The strong performances by the cast are
constantly engaging, their dialogue sharp and witty and always
intriguing. Peripheral character Superman, for instance, is constantly
annoyed at the side kick attempts of Green Lantern to hang around with
him at all moments. Batman constantly talks up his independent heroic
streak, shortly before departing with Lando Calrissian and Han Solo
aboard the Millenium Falcon. Time and again the movie takes on action
tropes in a way that can only be done using something so absurd as Lego.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Finally,
the emotional core cannot be fully addressed without ruining the film’s
twist ending, but Will Ferrell’s performance here, across the board, is
applaudable. Both as a bombastic and egotistical villain as well as a
sympathetic character, he constantly wins the screen against anyone else
he’s playing against. If people ever do fully tire of his physical film
work, his future as a voice actor is guaranteed.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By
the end, the film’s message to live fully, live with a streak of
independence, but don’t shy away from others and cooperation from time
to time, really struck a nerve. It’s a fine balance we have to strike in
life, but one with a great payoff in the end.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">4 / 5 Stars</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-76230937580075852912014-11-14T03:24:00.002-08:002014-11-14T03:24:40.083-08:00Film Review: Captain America - The Winter Soldier<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-e0c262d9-2bb8-77e4-ff3e-56cebce1622e" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_800_600_0_00_images_FilmReviews_04CaptainAmericaWinterSoldier_9captain-america-the-winter-soldier18.jpg" rel="iLoad" style="cursor: url('/plugins/content/multithumb/magnify.cur'), auto;" target="_blank" title=""><img alt="9captain-america-the-winter-soldier18" class="multithumb_blog" src="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_168_243_16777215_00_images_FilmReviews_04CaptainAmericaWinterSoldier_9captain-america-the-winter-soldier18.jpg" height="243" style="float: left;" width="168" /></a>Patriotism
is a difficult thing. There is nothing wrong in taking pride with your
country, after all, but there’s a line between patriotism and blind ‘rah
rah’ for everything your country does. Over the past century the U.S.
has lived in a relatively glorious era in which it emerged the worlds
most dominant superpower, but not without its flaws. Its citizens can
take pride in its glories, as well as acknowledge its faults. Racism,
gentrification, discrimination against the poor, all are topics we
discuss and debate into the modern day. That does not mean we are any
less proud. Name me a perfect person, and you’ll find none. The same is
true of nations, because they are not made of perfect people.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I write all that to drive home one of the fundamental points of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Captain America: Winter Soldier</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.
Laced throughout its script is a character in Steve Rogers, former
World War II hero turned superhero, that takes pride in what he fought
for. He acknowledges the compromises he made in his own era, takes no
great pride in them, but feels that those compromises were brief and
meant to create a population of free people. The fundamental question of
the film, then, is what is freedom?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s interesting because Steve, in World War II, fought against a domineering, power</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/images/FilmReviews/04CaptainAmericaWinterSoldier/Captain-America-The-Winter-Soldier-Chris-Evans-Scarlett-Johansson1.jpg" rel="iLoad" style="cursor: url('/plugins/content/multithumb/magnify.cur'), auto;" target="_blank" title=""><img alt="Captain-America-The-Winter-Soldier-Chris-Evans-Scarlett-Johansson1" class="multithumb_blog" src="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_360_220_16777215_00_images_FilmReviews_04CaptainAmericaWinterSoldier_Captain-America-The-Winter-Soldier-Chris-Evans-Scarlett-Johansson1.jpg" height="202" style="float: right;" width="360" /></a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">hungry</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">organization</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">in the Nazis and, more covertly,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
Hydra. In the modern era, Steve finds it hard to differentiate between
good guys and bad guys, and how could he? Multiple parallels are drawn
between Hydra and the military organization S.H.I.E.L.D., who he serves
under the direction of Nick Fury, due to the organization’s own covert
nature. It develops weapons and threatens military action before a
threat can fully surface. As Steve wonderfully questions, how can it be
freedom if its bought by placing a gun to every citizen’s head? The
price of freedom is living in a world that will always be a little
insecure. As Benjamin Franklin once stated, “They who would give up
essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve
neither Liberty nor Safety.” The topics the film addresses are
especially pertinent in an era in which we’ve just uncovered the depths
of the N.S.A.’s dragnet and the threat preventive military action can
pose on our own citizenry, should we allow the government such
incredibly invasive power.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve
always said the Captain America films have the potential to be the
greatest of Marvel’s franchises, and I believe I can safely say </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Winter Soldier</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> validated my expectations. It is second only to Iron Man and, perhaps, the Avengers. Yet </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Winter Soldier</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
is a much more timely film in the materials it tackles. Beyond that,
Rogers is incredibly relatable as a figure, a man of good character and
conscience. Not a booze hound like Tony Stark, the movie finds ways to
portray a good, average man trying to make his way in this world. The
plight of a war veteran distanced from the world around him is so like
the world many of our real life vets come home to, and that point is
hammered home in the meetings Rogers visits, witnessing testimonies from
those suffering from P.T.S.D. Meanwhile, his relationships to everyday
people are full of hesitation, in defiance to this physically dominant
character.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s a tribute to the writing, which is top notch. It’s filled with witty dialogue that’s right there with the original </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Iron Man </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and
combined with an intriguing plotline. At times you’re not sure if
you’re watching a superhero movie or a script written by Tom Clancy. The
intrigue runs deep, and holds your attention until the final moments of
the film. It is among the most sophisticated plotlines of all the
Marvel films, and ambitious. I cannot give the writing and plot more
praise.</span></div>
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<a href="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_800_600_0_00_images_FilmReviews_04CaptainAmericaWinterSoldier_Captain-America-The-Winter-Soldier-Captain-America-and-Batroc.jpg" rel="iLoad" style="cursor: url("/plugins/content/multithumb/magnify.cur"), auto; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title=""><img alt="Captain-America-The-Winter-Soldier-Captain-America-and-Batroc" class="multithumb_blog" src="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_355_236_16777215_00_images_FilmReviews_04CaptainAmericaWinterSoldier_Captain-America-The-Winter-Soldier-Captain-America-and-Batroc.jpg" height="236" style="float: right;" width="354" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It does falter in some respects. Rogers’ traumatic relationship to his lost friend </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Buckey</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">suffers slightly, the emotional core lost to some</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
degree, and thus the payoff as well. Still, it’s strong enough that in
the end, Captain’s actions are so poignant, so meaningful, that I was
wrapped up in his courage. The direction is well paced and the actions
scenes incredibly done, requiring a deft hand to handle multiple agents
of S.H.I.E.L.D. as they fight against overwhelming odds. Yet the
direction and cinematography during normal scenes isn’t particularly
inspired. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On the other hand, it takes a completely different form of
inspiration to properly handle all these incredible CGI set pieces
alongside incredibly brutal hand to hand combat. Still, those lost
elements add up, and even Captain’s flashbacks to old glory days aren’t
handled with enough touch to sell the emotional element, and the film
deserved better than that. It needed more time to develop its heart, and
was so good I would have gladly sat through another half hour. Which is
really the highest compliment, isn’t it?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In
closing, I want to praise, again, the courage of the plot, which
addresses real issues we’re dealing with in our country today. However I
must also say that the dialogue between Captain, Black Widow and Falcon
was just genius. The pacing between action and comedic bits, the banter
on why Captain finds it hard to date (in between moments that he and
Black Widow are beating the living daylights out of enemies), and
Captain’s war veteran relationship to Falcon are truly nuggets of gold.
Finally, and I don’t want to become a shipper, but Captain America and
Black Widow need to be a couple. I wouldn’t have said such a thing
before this film, but the chemistry and snappy dialogue between Chris
Evans and Scarlett Johansson was, quite simply, amazing. I want more of
Captain America and Black Widow together. His stoic, clean guy image
against her irreverent, slightly shady one brought marvelous results. I
am already begging for a Captain America 3. </span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-45884124488149695522014-11-14T03:22:00.003-08:002014-11-14T03:23:26.269-08:00Film Review: Gravity<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-48b99fae-f273-4e16-898e-fd60d057f984" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_800_600_0_00_images_FilmReviews_01.jpg" rel="iLoad" style="cursor: url('/plugins/content/multithumb/magnify.cur'), auto;" target="_blank" title=""><img alt="01" class="multithumb" src="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_486_210_16777215_00_images_FilmReviews_01.jpg" height="208" style="float: left;" width="486" /></a>3-D
Films, by and large, are dreadful. Well, perhaps that deserve
qualification. The use of 3-D is dreadful, and very often little more
than a way to drive up the ticket price. In many cases the movie is not
even filmed natively for three dimensions but instead converted to be
3-D, lessening the quality. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In the end the final result is rarely worth
the price of admission, with a little needed third dimension added for
gimmicky moments in which characters zoom toward the screen, and
headaches acquired from the badly done conversion process. Almost to a
one, three 3-D films should die a quick death, because most films do not
need to be seen in 3-D.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Gravity </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">is not one of those films.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_800_600_0_00_images_FilmReviews_02.jpg" rel="iLoad" style="cursor: url('/plugins/content/multithumb/magnify.cur'), auto;" target="_blank" title=""><img alt="02" class="multithumb" src="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_403_270_16777215_00_images_FilmReviews_02.jpg" height="269" style="float: right;" width="403" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’m almost at a loss to understand how the particular effects achieved </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">in
this movie could be done without a third dimension. The issue is not
merely that the movie unfolds in space. No, if that were it, then it
wouldn’t require three dimensions by virtue of that fact alone. Many
good movies have used the isolation and deadliness of outer space as a
setting, and to good effect. What </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Gravity </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">does
goes beyond simply the isolation of space. Instead, it presents us with
moments that require 3-D to be as completely effective as they end up
being.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> In many instances the movie takes place from the first person
perspective, with the protagonist, Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock),
whipping about, the earth spinning into view, then out, then the space
shuttle passing into view before giving way to a sight of the sun.
Circle after circle is flipped in which the added sense of depth puts a
churning into your stomach. When Stone flies toward the shuttle and
grabs desperately for a handhold, you feel you’re the one grabbing it.
That’s why three dimensions was needed here. It was a film that demanded
it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What
makes a good movie, though? Could Gravity get by on the strength of its
effects alone? Perhaps, if it were aiming to merely be a thriller. In
fact, many times the film veered on the edge of being just that, a movie
content to indulge in its gut churningly impressive views of space as
Stone tries to make her way to safety. Accident after accident happens
it what can only be described as ‘accident-porn’. Think you’ve seen the
last of a cloud of space debris hurtling toward our hero and threatening
to kill her? Just wait, you’ll see it three more times, alongside
explosions, fires, and escape pods hanging on the edge of destruction. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_800_600_0_00_images_FilmReviews_03.jpg" rel="iLoad" style="cursor: url('/plugins/content/multithumb/magnify.cur'), auto;" target="_blank" title=""><img alt="03" class="multithumb" src="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_391_259_16777215_00_images_FilmReviews_03.jpg" height="259" style="float: left;" width="389" /></a>It
was almost tiresome, but the movie was impressive enough that it could
have danced on the precipice of being a C-Grade, or low B-Grade film.
What was difficult was investing into Bullock’s character. What seemed
to be throwaway lines about her having a child that died and having
nobody on Earth that might miss her if she died, seemed at first to be
ways of forcing the audience to care, faux-sentimental moments drowned
by wave after wave of accidents threatening her life.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And
then, Stone finds herself struggling to survive, trying to pilot a
craft she has little training in, and listening to a radio transmission
from earth. Then, in that one scene, the movie came together. Patience
was rewarded. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Gravity </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">is
not about Bullock’s attempt to survive in space; no, it’s about her
attempt to survive the act of living. Childless, friendless, what is
there to give her reason to survive? Why should she even try? Director
Alfonso Cuaron addresses these questions using space as the scene, and
these lonely moments hammer home the things that Stone misses, wants,
desires, and how those give her the willingness to face life. In finding
the courage to face life, truly the greatest challenge for us all, she
also finds the willingness to fight back against a relentlessly uncaring
void of outer space. The answers she finds in herself give her the
answers she needs to battle against her predicament.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Aided
by composer Steven Price’s wonderful soundtrack, which evokes typical
tense moments but, more critically, captures isolation, loneliness and
the thrill of survival, the movie surges toward a harrowing and
triumphant ending. The sound direction, as well, needs complimenting.
It’s one of the few cases of stereo sound done right, with incoming
radio signals touching your left ear, then your right, as if you were
inside a space suit yourself. Finally, the most powerful moments are
graced by George Clooney’s character of Matt Kowalski. Obsessed with
setting the space walking record, he’s an ever calm presence in quickly
deteriorating circumstances. Not only a source of peace and wisdom,
Kowalski and Stone share such a powerfully moving moment that I all at
once understood what the film was trying to convey.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Life is for the living.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">4 / 5 Stars. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-89664650490962332272014-11-14T03:21:00.003-08:002014-11-14T03:22:02.957-08:00Prospect Sports Bar<br />
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<h2>
<a href="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/index.php/dining/8-prospect-park">
Prospect Park </a>
</h2>
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_800_600_0_00_images_DiningReviews_02ProspectPark_20140309_78.JPG" rel="iLoad" style="cursor: url('/plugins/content/multithumb/magnify.cur'), auto;" target="_blank" title=""><img alt="20140309 78" class="multithumb_blog" src="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_197_262_16777215_00_images_DiningReviews_02ProspectPark_20140309_78.JPG" height="262" style="float: left;" width="197" /></a>Weekend
festivities are always the beck and call that summon me from the home,
though this time of year is the absolute worst on my pocketbook.
Basketball season is in full swing, and the siren call of the NBA has me
out more and more often. So, to no surprise, I found myself heading out
to Prospect Park. Built on the bones of the old Scott Gertner's Sports
Bar, my intent was to take in a Rockets game, sample the decor, the
food, and most importantly the drinks.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The
first, most striking element of this spot is, of course, its size. A
spacious patio and interior almost always assure standing room, though
seating may become difficult as the place fills. Couches line the
exterior as well as interior, while televisions glow brightly in the
comfortable lighting. Two flame torches line the entry with a touch of
class, while the back wall is carpeted in ivy vines while a blazing sign
announces "THE PARK" to all stepping within. As far as appearances go,
Prospect Park is among the best.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">I
preferred the immediacy of the bar, and the bartenders were friendly
and attentive. A few even stuck around to treat out of town guests of
mine, the good gentlemen out of Manhattan, and I was glad to see the
service provided to us. That said, Prospect Park shoots short of the
goal in a few key areas. Let us pray to the heaven that remains my only
sports related metaphor in this review.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_800_600_0_00_images_DiningReviews_02ProspectPark_20140309_79.JPG" rel="iLoad" style="clear: right; cursor: url("/plugins/content/multithumb/magnify.cur"), auto; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank" title=""><img alt="20140309 79" class="multithumb_blog" src="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_248_331_16777215_00_images_DiningReviews_02ProspectPark_20140309_79.JPG" height="331" style="float: right;" width="248" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Food runs the gamut of sports bar fare, but the standout is, as it was with Scott Gertner's, the Buffalo Wings.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> T</span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">hese
are jumbo sized, grilled or breaded, and delicious. At a dozen, their
size justifies the ten dollar price on the menu. In fact, ten dollars
can be the expected price for many of the items on the menu, which might
be justifiable if the food stood up to scrutiny. For instance, the
wings themselves will ignite your taste buds, with both flavor and heat,
but they're not particularly difficult to make. While I cannot say
whether they're pre-breaded or created in the restaurant (I'd suspect
the former), what I can say is that the quality did not transfer over to
their fries or hamburger. For the night, I chose what seemed would be a
delicious BBQ hamburger with fries. Nothing too complicated, yet what i
received back were undercooked fries and an overcooked meat patty. It
was as if the fries were pulled out too early, so that they had a
potatoey texture. Worst, they were bland, with little seasoning to make
them exciting. Yet as a side item I could excuse the fries, if the
hamburger itself was delicious. The patty, though, was a charred mess.
It was so overcooked the interior of the patty was a dark brown, with
nothing of lightness. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The meat wasn't tough but there was no moisture,
and without the liberal dousing of the BBQ sauce, it would have been a
singular disaster. All cooks know that when you resort to such methods
when you've not prepared a good dish. There's no need for A1 sauce, for
instance, on a nicely cooked steak. The flavor and juice are preserved
by the skilled chef. With hamburgers, there shouldn't be blood, but
there shouldn't be a patty you can slap against the wall, either. On a
final note concerning the meals, I can say that drinks are priced on par
with other middle scale locations in Houston, with Jack and Cokes
running around eight dollars and the beers from four to six. If you're
coming to avoid the fries and hamburgers, you'll do well with the drinks
and wings.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Still
I have to be the sixth man here and interrupt Prospect Park's game on
account of a particularly troublesome incident. Simply put, I must
address the lack of professionalism exhibited by the ownership of this
location. At the time of my visit, I was addressing a young woman who
turned out to be a former employee. I did not know this at the time and
was simply trying to see if she'd done former modeling work, given my
own role in the business. Suddenly we were assailed by one of the
owners, berating her, working himself into a fury and generally acting
in as unprofessional a manner as I could possibly imagine. If this was
an owner/employee dispute, that is to be handled away from your
customers, not directly in front of them. Good stewardship of a
restaurant insists that you provide the highest presentation to your
customers at all times, and I was frankly shocked by the breach of
decorum. Restaurants sell an experience, and the one I received in that
moment was of an irate owner, a wealthy man shouting down a young lady
thirty years his junior. In short, it ruined my night.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The
lack of professionalism on the part of the ownership was astounding,
and the only average performance of the food doesn't place this within
the upper echelons of sports bars as of now, though it has the
potential. The many televisions sprinkled throughout the restaurant
guarantee a view of the big game, and the drinks are decently priced,
but it must raise the quality of its service. When it finally does
succeed, the Park will be a home run.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-77075423093516493382014-11-14T03:20:00.002-08:002014-11-14T03:20:31.385-08:00Pizzeria Solario<h2>
<a href="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/index.php/dining/2-01-pizzeria-solaro">
</a>
</h2>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_800_600_0_00_images_DiningReviews_05.jpg" rel="iLoad" style="cursor: url('/plugins/content/multithumb/magnify.cur'), auto;" target="_blank" title=""><img alt="05" class="multithumb_blog" src="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_173_233_16777215_00_images_DiningReviews_05.jpg" height="231" style="float: left;" width="173" /></a>A
jaunt through the Greenway on a crisp Friday evening took my wandering
feet to a hidden gem just off the avenue. I was looking for a bite while
sifting through the hour before my movie began, and I needed something
filling but not heavy. After all, I’d been on the run throughout the
day, with my attention called to Baytown and back to Houston and one
concern after another tugging at my collar. Before I realized it, I’d
gone from sunup to sundown without a single meal. Not bad for those on a
diet I suppose, but it left me ravenously hungry and I knew I was in
danger of over indulging in one of those all too familiar moments we all
experience. We all know it, that second when our hunger overcomes us
and, in a moment of weakness, we consume our entire day’s worth of meals
in one sit down over a burger dribbling with grease or a six course
meal meant for two and eaten by one.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There
are a number of restaurants across the street from the Edwards Greenway
Grand Palace Theatre, but I was in no mood for chain dining and Mexican
food, good as it is, wasn’t quite the taste I was looking for. So, what
should I see, to my surprise, but a sign. Like all good things sent
down from Heaven, it called from the sky, though I suppose the good Lord
never sent a message written in neon light with the words </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Vino + Pizza</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. </span></div>
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<a href="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_800_600_0_00_images_DiningReviews_03.jpg" rel="iLoad" style="cursor: url('/plugins/content/multithumb/magnify.cur'), auto;" target="_blank" title=""><img alt="03" class="multithumb_blog" src="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_173_231_16777215_00_images_DiningReviews_03.jpg" height="231" style="float: right;" width="173" /></a> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A few stumbling miscues greeted me at the front. While people seemed to be seated </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and enjoying themselves both</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">out</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">side on the patio and</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> inside the restaurant, there was no front of house, nobody to greet you, and it made staying </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a
chore. A register off to the right was in use, but was I supposed to
place an order there? Was someone supposed to greet me and seat me? I
shouldn’t have to play guessing games on my seating arrangement after
all, and having to pull someone aside and ask them where I was to sit
made me feel much like the uncomfortable eight year old getting on the
local bus for the first time. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I
was instructed to the bar. After all, I was alone, no need to take up
an entire table to myself. The energy was high and because of the small
area, conversations were flowing with tidbits floating through the air.
With such comfort and ease it was no problem striking up a quick chat
with those on my left and right, with everyone commenting on the other’s
food and how delicious it looked. Really, half of Pizzeria Solario’s
charm is its size. It allows you a moment to be part of something
social, taking you out of the sterility of restaurants that adorn
themselves with too much pomp. For a casual Friday evening, this was
just what I was looking for. Their chalk drawn boards gave it a real
cafe feel and everything came alive with that ambiance one needs to feel
reinvigorated. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_800_600_0_00_images_DiningReviews_01.jpg" rel="iLoad" style="cursor: url('/plugins/content/multithumb/magnify.cur'), auto;" target="_blank" title=""><img alt="01" class="multithumb_blog" src="http://jasonluthor.jelabeaux.com/cache/multithumb_thumbs/b_173_231_16777215_00_images_DiningReviews_01.jpg" height="231" style="float: left;" width="173" /></a>Which
made an unfortunate contrast to the menu, which obsesses itself with
unneeded foppery. I challenge the owner of the restaurant to tell me how
many of his customers are genuine Italians. I’d venture not many. So
why insist on naming your entrees in Italian? It doesn’t sell the dish.
Fortunately, the ingredients do, as did the bartender. Upon
recommendation he highlighted the Parma 600, given my aversion to
anything too heavy. It was a popular choice by all appearance, as both
the couple on my left and right chose it as well. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There’s
a reason for that. The light crust is moist but firm on the interior
with a lightly crisped crust that isn’t burnt. It is decorated in
arugula lightly dressed in white truffle oil and sitting upon thin
layers of cheese, all made that much more delicious by the wonderful
choice of prosciutto. Now this is an unusual choice for pizza at the
more common locales, but prosciutto brings just the right type of flavor
to highlight the cheese. The arugula forms a filling that gives the
pizza an extra punch and that sensation that you’re eating something
truly substantial. Ah, the wonders of vegetables. Truly, though, the
blend of cheeses and the prosciutto mix wonderfully with the truffle
oil. It’s a light pizza, not loaded with layers of meat and cheese, but
just enough to send your senses sailing. Alongside my two glasses of
light Moretti beer, it made for a perfect dinner. Not too heavy, just
enough to fill, and wonderfully tasty.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">After
a rough start, the restaurant closed out well. I’m still not a huge fan
of the two drink minimum on wines, especially those on the lower end of
the price range. Give your customers more choices, rather than
constraining them. Still, the food’s the thing, and it was delicious.
Besides, there’s little compared to the wonderful energy that Pizzeria
Solario exudes. More than content with my experience, I boxed half of my
food to go before stepping back underneath the neon lights of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Vino + Pizza. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ah, Solario. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bellissimo. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8794805329323265810.post-57522681816031337462014-11-14T03:15:00.002-08:002014-11-14T03:15:16.997-08:00Time to Wake UpI'm back. That might not mean too much to everyone. But I'm back.<br />
<br />
;)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992139115183750656noreply@blogger.com0