I posted this on Facebook earlier, but I felt like putting it here too (now with bonus content!) Keep in mind that this is coming from someone for whom the original is a contender for “most watched movie in my life”. It’s the first movie I remember seeing in the theater (as Geena Davis pulling her face off is burned into my brain). I wasn’t a fan of the cartoon, so I don’t have that lore rattling around in my head. But to be clear–I have my biases (and I’ll attempt to be spoiler-free). There is… there is a lot going on in this movie. Four stories are fighting for…
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The Books I Read: July – August 2024
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak(re-read) I know this is sacrilege for an author, but watch the movie first. When I first tried to read this, I didn’t “get it”. The narrator is erratic, seems to have synthesia, lives in multiple times, and is always flashforwarding. This makes the book difficult to read if you don’t know the plot going in. I couldn’t grasp the basic storyline when I was being told so-and-so is going to die later on. It’s like when you pass something around in class. You got one person looking at the object, the person in the desk next to you is leaning over to look at…
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We Need to Stop Using the “Strong” in “Strong Female Protagonist”
Or at least we need to change what it means. I think the trip-up is on the word strong. We say strong and we think this: We keep equating “strong” with “powerful”. Which is fine… ish. Women with atypical powers or abilities is good, in the same way that men with atypical powers or abilities is good. But the women above, even though they are powerful, still exist in service/subordination of men. Batman and Superman and Iron Man and the like are power fantasies. Black Widow and Catwoman and Black Cat are sex fantasies. They are intended to appeal to men and men only. When we say “powerful” female antagonists,…
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Analyzing the Marvel Cinematic Universe Villains: Doctor Doom (Fantastic Four)
DOCTOR DOOM Real Identity: Victor von Doom Fantastic Four (2005) Characteristics and Powers: Doctor Doom has a strong personality. He’s smooth and calm. Never loses his cool. Smart, powerful, successful. And extremely vain. He thinks he’s better than everyone else. As far as powers, he starts turning into “organic metal”, whatever the hell that means. In real terms, he’s becoming a metal man. Plus, he gains the ability to channel electricity. This is because, during the cosmic storm, he was in the special “shielding” that Reed Richards needed in the first place. How those two connect I don’t know. A wizard did it. This is a pretty pitiful depiction of…
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Gun Control Compromise: Treat Guns Like Killer Robots
Hey, how about we talk some more controversial politics? I know you all like that. We have a gun problem in this country. Both sides can agree on that. What they don’t agree on is what that problem is. We know that one side wants to restrict access to guns. The other wants them freely available. Never mind what their reasons are. Never mind the statistics, the motivations. Let’s just look at it as simply as possible. We can all agree that the purpose of a gun is to do harm to another person, right? First, let’s accept that as a given, regardless of what intent of the user. What…
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At the End – An Anthology (that I’m in)
My short story Cog, which is about a robotic apocalypse, is now available in At the End, an anthology about what happens at the end of the world. Buy it today!
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How I Would Rewrite Star Wars: The Force Awakens
I thought about this one night as I was trying to go to sleep. The big problem with the sequel trilogy was that there was no unifying vision for all three movies. One person just copied A New Hope. Then a different director wanted to challenge expectations. That was controversial, so they got the same person from before, only now he has to deal with plot points from two movies that he has no idea how to resolve. Plus it’s got to be Star Wars-y. He provided what he thought Star Wars fans wanted–a twist parentage, last-minute heel-turn from the villain, feel-good ending, etc. This results in three big problems:…
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Suggestion: The Rape Compromise
Just like abortion, there is a problem with rape in this country. And this is a spiderweb with lots of rays coming off of it. Reporting it, cops that do nothing about it, the emotional aftereffects of the victim, of the accused, worries (unfounded) about false accusations, post-rape interaction with the victim, how doctors and judges and other people treat you, etc. But I think the biggest problem is that the definition of rape hasn’t been established. You’d think it’d be basic, but it’s not. Terms like “penetration without consent” and “force” and “deceit or seduction” can get shapeless when you pick them apart (as you do in court trials)…
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The England Write-Up
England is fun. I spent about twelve days in London, York, Leeds, and Edinburgh in July for vacation. I had a great time. Everyone is so nice there, helpful and polite. We spent three days in London, going to the usual places like the Tower of London, the British Museum, the London Bridge, Hyde Park, Kensington Palace, etc. The day we arrived we had to stay up for almost forty-eight hours or we’d suffer from jet lag throughout the vacation, so that wasn’t fun. It’s weird when a country has so much history. It makes America feel small and stupid. We only have 250 years and still can’t fit everything…
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Things I’m Angry At Right Now
Democrats for sitting on their asses and doing nothing while Republicans run ram shod on them. They just let them pass laws that take rights away from people, give benefits to billionaires, revoke regulations, provoke a monarchy, lie their asses off, and cultivate division. DO SOMETHING! Do you not see it? Strike back. Get angry. Stop sitting with your thumbs in your asses like everything will all work out in the end. Make good art is not going to cut it this time. Stop mumbling and bumbling while the GOP plays the American people like a business. Don’t tell me to write to my congressman. It does nothing and just…
