Are my expectations too high? Is it wrong to have high expectations of media? They can make magic… so why aren’t they? Why does it feel like everything anticipated in the last year/year and a half has been a disappointment? Why are they filling the void with Space Jam 2 and Trolls 3 and Five Nights at Freddy’s and another Saw movie and another Fast and Furious movie and Blue Beetle and Shazam 2 and another Indiana Jones and Disney live-action remakes and, of course, anything from Marvel. MOVIES Avatar 2 was more of the same, another bloated military rah-rah explosions and gunsfest. Lightyear puts its message before the story.…
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I Read the Short Circuit Novel So You Don’t Have To (and here are the differences)
Did you know there was a novelization of Short Circuit? I didn’t. And if you’ve been paying any kind of attention to this blog, you’d know that Short Circuit is my favorite movie. Has been since I was a kid. So when I found this on a used book site, I jumped at the shopping cart. Maybe I’d find some deleted scenes or altered information. Because novelizations are based on the shooting script, not the final product. For instance, the Independence Day novel includes more scenes of Randy Quaid and his family, enduring them to the audience. I’m sure these are deleted scenes on the DVD, but back in 1996,…
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Some Thoughts on Trigger Warnings
I’ve never experienced enough trauma to need a trigger warning. To be like, I was just reading this book and all of a sudden the main character got sexually assaulted or had an eating disorder and I suddenly recalled some bad memories. But I have experienced trauma. Everyone has and I am no different. But I do not expect the world to change because I have a problem. The world is not my therapist, it should not take on the responsibility for my feelings. The reason I hate trigger warnings is that they spoil things. They make me know what’s coming, what to anticipate. If I’m reading a novel about…
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A Check-In On My “To Read” List
Let’s do a check-in on my to-read list. It’s pretty small right now. I’ve had it as many as twenty or twenty-five throughout its lifespan on Goodreads. Now it’s on the smaller end, only four or so away from its lifetime minimum. How do I pick what I’m going to read? Well, some are perpetual staples. I’m going to read everything that John Scalzi or Neil Gaiman or John Green or Peter David or Jason Pargin or Andy Weir releases. What’s the opposite of “your money’s no good here”? Is it “shut up and take my money”? But you know, even a productive author only releases one book a year/year…
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The Books I Read: September – October 2023
Red Rising by Pierce Brown This has been out for a while, but it didn’t really get on my radar until Justin McElroy recommended it on The Besties. At first, I was dubious because I thought “eugh, another dystopian novel where people are separated into castes? And by color this time? Sounds so heavy-handed. Like I read this already in Shades of Grey. Or every other YA novel in the past ten years where teen girls get sorted by some arbitrary trait and enter a love triangle.” That happens, but it’s way better than you think. It’s like Hunger Games, Uglies, Harry Potter, and Leviathan Wakes all mixed together and…
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You Don’t Have to Be Crazy to Be an Author, But It Helps Jason Pargin
Let me see if I can get my thoughts out coherently. I have a lot of thoughts. The other day I listened to a podcast that took away hope for my career. Depresh Mode by John Moe interviews celebrities under the lens of mental health and illness — how it’s served them, how it’s hindered them, having a career with those kinds of struggles. He’s had Jamie Lee Curtis, Comedian Dana Gould, Rachel Smythe (creator of Lore Olympus), and Patton Oswalt. But what I want to talk about is Jason Pargin a.k.a. David Wong, author of the “John Dies at the End” series, the “Zoey Ashe” series, former editor-in-chief of…
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Daughter’s Parents Meeting for Soccer
So yesterday, I went to a parents meeting for soccer (for my youngest daughter). Usually my wife goes to these things, but since she’s regained a job, time is a precious commodity. And she hates these things because they’re so long and all the information is re-communicated in an e-mail anyway. So this time, I went as a favor to her. I came to the realization that I hate them too, but for different reasons. And going made me realize why I never participated in sports or competitive things. When I came home, I felt triggered. I hate to sound like a “woke” bleeding-heart liberal, but I’m a sensitive boy.…
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What Is My Five-Year Goal?
In my list of “blog ideas” I had “what is my five-year goal?” and I’m trying to figure out what that means. Obviously, five-year plans are important for people, especially those with strong careers. I don’t have a career yet. I’m like a red mage–I specialize in two jobs and I’m not really good at either. As far as software engineering, I’ve been sated. I’ve found a job with good people that allows me to work how I want to and pays me well. And now that my wife has started working again, money is no issue for me. Happiness is. And what would make me happy is being an…
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Best Writer Jokes I’ve Found
A writer died and was given the option of going to heaven or hell. She decided to check out each place first. As the writer descended into the fiery pits, she saw row upon row of writers chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they were repeatedly whipped with thorny lashes. “Oh my,” said the writer. “Let me see heaven now.” A few moments later, as she ascended into heaven, she saw rows of writers, chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they, too, were whipped with thorny lashes. “Wait a minute,” said the writer. “This is just as bad as hell!”…
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Back to Naga Story?
For some reason, I find my self revising the second draft of Naga Story. And I’m not sure why. I finished its first draft a long time ago. Two jobs and three (or four?) novels have passed since then. I stopped production because when I was done, I just felt disgusted with it. I felt the quality of the writing was poor, I barely had enough story to make 90,000 words (which would be reduced upon the second draft). I didn’t know what audience this was for. It wasn’t commercial enough (what shelf do you put “lovesick snake girl” on in Barnes & Noble?). I remember being excited during pre-writing–the…
