tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74268304550756764362024-02-07T20:00:46.523-05:00The Archives of The Diogenes ClubThis has comments on my writing and reading. Primarily about Mycroft Holmes and stories involving him. Secondarily about whatever I'm reading at the moment.Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.comBlogger323125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-32788137926183064702015-05-04T18:04:00.002-04:002015-05-05T23:29:51.092-04:00A Most Readable Anthology<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGlFT1gb_Pwkoo5ojza05tlQuwyhZmmz0jXm_8l55mmbx7jmvOpMPPfPYjejscmqfWSA64xso9i5jvYNA-KXK81ZekkYwj_xzYQRP1XFkoYadcQm4_WLI-xzTKibO2Z9XPdx6tQVxtmTb7/s1600/Indian-food.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGlFT1gb_Pwkoo5ojza05tlQuwyhZmmz0jXm_8l55mmbx7jmvOpMPPfPYjejscmqfWSA64xso9i5jvYNA-KXK81ZekkYwj_xzYQRP1XFkoYadcQm4_WLI-xzTKibO2Z9XPdx6tQVxtmTb7/s1600/Indian-food.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
First, a wee disclosure. My review of Martin Shoemaker's story Unrefined may be colored by our friendship and mutual admiration of Indian food. That said, I found WotF v31 an enjoyable anthology of SF stories. More enjoyable than other SF anthologies I've read. Maybe it's something to do with the fact that most of the prose is by newbies who are more concerned with demonstrating their storytelling chops than by making some literary statement--but I digress.<br />
<br />
"Switch" is a police procedural set in the near future about a drug called "switch." Imagine a drug that takes your normal Mark 1 Model A human and amplifies him by 10 or 100. Sounds good, right? Yet Alexandr Solzhenitsyn said, "the line between good and evil runs through the heart of every man." And on this axis turns an excellent story about a cop investigating an illegal drug ring.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaPWHrXUCrtcyQrl8qF7Z41rEb_uWKLzVtnJgW1v0Xt4c0eeSM7iHLSZo-g0U2EFa7S-yp86qTUW0UAz7v2XGDynTuLomZmaM9b-Ie6jc5g5MiLob4JAA3_AlSP29hlc1UT5rR46F0R-JZ/s1600/Tired_20-year-old_cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaPWHrXUCrtcyQrl8qF7Z41rEb_uWKLzVtnJgW1v0Xt4c0eeSM7iHLSZo-g0U2EFa7S-yp86qTUW0UAz7v2XGDynTuLomZmaM9b-Ie6jc5g5MiLob4JAA3_AlSP29hlc1UT5rR46F0R-JZ/s1600/Tired_20-year-old_cat.jpg" height="241" width="320" /></a></div>
"The God Whisperer" is a fun little story of a suburban everyman who keeps a death-god as a pet. Be grateful your cat just pukes on your furniture next time you leave it home when you have to work late.<br />
<br />
"Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light" is a story that explores the ecology of an alien world and the sociology of a struggling colony. Speaking of love it reminds us of the Bard who invited us to ponder, 'What a piece of work is a man!"<br />
<br />
"When Shadows Fall" is a golden-age story that suggests that there are times when a Poet can manage that which Bankers and Generals cannot.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmaL4AySrMPrO2wmMp88HcCbeN6Viao-bAu6eQIGhEqMBgZDt5aTdUcS0Fl6TdYvDmF2SePmhKefzycyNjo7DCo7M4SAbzHWYY10nHW5QgcoJQdGvnsxKNjLcog-fz5dQZ2uZV5fDMaBak/s1600/800px-Old_book_bindings_NR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmaL4AySrMPrO2wmMp88HcCbeN6Viao-bAu6eQIGhEqMBgZDt5aTdUcS0Fl6TdYvDmF2SePmhKefzycyNjo7DCo7M4SAbzHWYY10nHW5QgcoJQdGvnsxKNjLcog-fz5dQZ2uZV5fDMaBak/s1600/800px-Old_book_bindings_NR.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
"A Revolutionary's Guide to Practical Conjuration" is a sly tale of a haunted book of magic and the revolutionary-naif who somehow manages to own it. When you sign a contract make sure you read the fine print.<br />
<br />
"Twelve Minutes to Vinh Quang" is a most satisfying crime story that reminds us that some business is always personal.<br />
<br />
"Planar Ghosts" is a story that takes place in one of those depressing post-apocalyptic settings where an underdog manages to lose everything but use his wits to win much more in the end.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUXJW1ysDTsvmsSG9NthmX9lAFgEhhryFrB8gYnGFLiQzPkv_I2Uxrh_3Ts9AEInxE1xwy949W2-Xk8KkvPRqFy_0ho8QYVDJRJCCq05gn_dRrgOh87xLXRrVx1FqyqK2gxK3V7uCFqfCE/s1600/Grandville_-_Un_Autre_Monde_-_Juggler_of_Universes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUXJW1ysDTsvmsSG9NthmX9lAFgEhhryFrB8gYnGFLiQzPkv_I2Uxrh_3Ts9AEInxE1xwy949W2-Xk8KkvPRqFy_0ho8QYVDJRJCCq05gn_dRrgOh87xLXRrVx1FqyqK2gxK3V7uCFqfCE/s1600/Grandville_-_Un_Autre_Monde_-_Juggler_of_Universes.jpg" height="320" width="260" /></a></div>
"Rough Draft" is a story about an award winning SF writer who receives a draft of a sequel to his only award winning novel. Only problem is that he wrote it in a parallel universe. There's a lot of insight into SF writing, publishing, and fandom in this cute little story.<br />
<br />
"Between Screens" is a story about a bunch of teenage thrill seekers who hack a galaxy-wide teleport network like the phone phreaks and joy riders of old. Joseph Stalin once said that when millions die it it a statistic and the story's young protagonist learns this first-hand.<br />
<br />
"Unrefined" starts with a bang and follows a hard-pressed group of people through a difficult time. The physics is good--a necessary thing in a Hard SF story. But so is the human element. Mr. Shoemaker does a good job of evoking human emotion. I was made to care about the characters and their relationships in the story. Anyone familiar with project management and technical leadership in organizations will resonate with the protagonist's challenges and what he manages to accomplish.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8s2cnNLHLNz5Nu_W3Ywt8F-kL0h9wVdN5A8x8hF0rXrrZmWBT2yAoZefqXC4kem5bqD4aW76dIeCwGO9p9X5I0TIpCgvkj2N6PaiS9Z0Huic3bM7zn36e2j3fsTy5_kUgdpPjoMoQlIF/s1600/Jupiter_family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8s2cnNLHLNz5Nu_W3Ywt8F-kL0h9wVdN5A8x8hF0rXrrZmWBT2yAoZefqXC4kem5bqD4aW76dIeCwGO9p9X5I0TIpCgvkj2N6PaiS9Z0Huic3bM7zn36e2j3fsTy5_kUgdpPjoMoQlIF/s1600/Jupiter_family.jpg" height="254" width="320" /></a></div>
"Half Past" is a bittersweet tale of anger, sadness, and magic that has a satisfying disclosure at its end.<br />
<br />
"Purposes Made for Alien Minds" This is a gimmick story. Do you like iambic pentameme? Each sentence has five words. Its meter soon annoyed me.<br />
<br />
"Inconstant Moon" is a story I first enjoyed many years ago. It could not be set in this time, so dated references to Johnny Carson and Apollo are OK. A beautiful night holds a terrifying portent.<br />
<br />
"The Graver" is a dark story of grief and regret and the souls of lost loved ones.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizDE8axRXOEoBdqsn8YUus1yDn__gjv7ePQjwGB9PW28SxERAngkl3iOZByt2vHLasG7WuYJ3nx9A-gDhfX7gfr9c9RYWGVAhsU3F6DbddAh9PmrBE7ss-rq9uV4oL2niLlA-wVYoEMp-N/s1600/Glicine_foto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizDE8axRXOEoBdqsn8YUus1yDn__gjv7ePQjwGB9PW28SxERAngkl3iOZByt2vHLasG7WuYJ3nx9A-gDhfX7gfr9c9RYWGVAhsU3F6DbddAh9PmrBE7ss-rq9uV4oL2niLlA-wVYoEMp-N/s1600/Glicine_foto.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
"Wisteria Melancholy" bids us imagine psychological disorders manifesting themselves not with phobias, cutting, or delusions, but with superhero powers straight out of the X-Men. In this context the protagonist deals with the guilt he feels over losing his sister.<br />
<br />
"Poseidon's Eyes" is a beautiful tale of a haunted village by the sea. Like "Switch" the story shows us the good and evil of every man amplified (in this case) by supernatural means.<br />
<br />
OH MY. I was a little disappointed when I read this anthology because all of the illustrations were rendered in black and white and wished that I could see them in color. When I finished the book just now I discover to my delight that all of the illustrations are reprised in color at the end.</div>
Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-39261603825978350542014-12-20T02:51:00.000-05:002014-12-20T02:51:57.309-05:00The Unfinished Symphony<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmAiYvcTe0B6c9VqPTLKnxSgtlTtKTyWiGsEOhZ_4EwB61VAA6T-jPynFJ9Gku_VG7IOH51alSRwhWeWn64icIuiTDHCB0YgttsU5p0ukTfnTla7AJneF1jpjxMTyNg3bF-k3nAb5z1lMw/s1600/1208112-cylon_out_of_work.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmAiYvcTe0B6c9VqPTLKnxSgtlTtKTyWiGsEOhZ_4EwB61VAA6T-jPynFJ9Gku_VG7IOH51alSRwhWeWn64icIuiTDHCB0YgttsU5p0ukTfnTla7AJneF1jpjxMTyNg3bF-k3nAb5z1lMw/s1600/1208112-cylon_out_of_work.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
"Steve, you have GOT to see X," my friend said.<br />
<br />
He didn't say X, he said, "Battle Star Galactica." and later he said, "Lost" instead of X.<br />
<br />
Battle Star Galactica was on a channel that my cable company didn't carry. So, he could tease me with what I was missing. And for a couple years I felt I was missing a lot.<br />
<br />
The story was a little different from Lost. I missed out on the first few episodes. So, I figured it would be available in reruns, on Instant Netflix or something.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1W38bGgmTuziMGnxlzXOG1DfD7wdZM9entfdW17nhMTeOSpnBmWENrog6G77x_KmDrp68HwYPurIeSQg_-qiE4EgVbyq5Mz5PyxOrEpUTcXnRdsOKMoTsbxbLOXfxnEzMyy6PaP2BID_4/s1600/550px-Compass_rose_browns_00.svg_.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1W38bGgmTuziMGnxlzXOG1DfD7wdZM9entfdW17nhMTeOSpnBmWENrog6G77x_KmDrp68HwYPurIeSQg_-qiE4EgVbyq5Mz5PyxOrEpUTcXnRdsOKMoTsbxbLOXfxnEzMyy6PaP2BID_4/s1600/550px-Compass_rose_browns_00.svg_.png" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
Before Lost finished, Battle Star Galactica did, and from what I heard online and from friends, it had a sort of politicized, lame ending. I heard they made it a metaphor for President Bush's foreign policy or something equally political.<br />
<br />
Eye roll. The bottom line is that it didn't finish as well as it started.<br />
<br />
About that time I started hearing people say about Lost, "how are the writers going to do it." The general consensus was that the series had written itself into a corner and getting out was seemingly impossible. And as it turned out, Lost ended poorly.<br />
<br />
Neither of these are as incredibly lame as Dallas that resurrected Bobby by making the entire previous season just a dream, a horrible dream. (Happily, this did set up the best series finale ever a few years later when <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JHH1VUU/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00JHH1VUU&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20&linkId=CMIDPS7FHC3LK757" target="_blank">Newhart</a> mocked Dallas.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNptsps_88MNVLNyDyaS2jHs58t8iyYWqKD2_8GsRSn0TVIJq9oPMzOJKIDnsqKrXHXtOrTbCkTZPeWRJ_Q1vEVPW0m-tAYLc2s9Zv9tyPgSPCybg_lWgcUoQ_83eKSIY8c8A1i5rZcZ7Y/s1600/newhart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNptsps_88MNVLNyDyaS2jHs58t8iyYWqKD2_8GsRSn0TVIJq9oPMzOJKIDnsqKrXHXtOrTbCkTZPeWRJ_Q1vEVPW0m-tAYLc2s9Zv9tyPgSPCybg_lWgcUoQ_83eKSIY8c8A1i5rZcZ7Y/s1600/newhart.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Mindful of the fact that I knew the endings of Battle Star Galactica and Lost would be unsatisfying, I decided never to watch any part of them. I feel a little good that I managed to skip the whole thing.<br />
<br />
I've mentioned before that the absolute worst thing you can possibly read is a story that's in-between. If you pick up a story that's a horrid, no big loss. You figure out real quick that it sucks and then you put it down.<br />
<br />
The longer it takes for you to find out the story is unsatisfactory, the worse it is. BSG & Lost cost me zero time. Thank you.<br />
<br />
I mention this now, because I read a novel I really loved. And then I read its sequel. I really loved that, too. It was like when I burned through all the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QB5JNAQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00QB5JNAQ&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20&linkId=SUX4UEEPCVGNERSL" target="_blank">C. S. Forester</a> Hornblower novels in a week or so. Or all the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LUZNVQO/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00LUZNVQO&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20&linkId=TPSVPPP3ANRIXERQ" target="_blank">Ellis Peters</a> Brother Cadfael novels that I read all of them in a month. I figured it would be this way with this series of six novels.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7pTEZzVf9WGjR4se3EVm8obzSGGUdqUwZ3aXvN9C6HJF2NTQwizV9t1cgtbpcR0Fz7z8EQHv2EMexlVpsFYd1cyGk2nuG3cgR_ZfU8vLkiCvtH7taD59iucwOBaW0Ojxjz9pWAjoVIqQ8/s1600/coca+cola+kid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7pTEZzVf9WGjR4se3EVm8obzSGGUdqUwZ3aXvN9C6HJF2NTQwizV9t1cgtbpcR0Fz7z8EQHv2EMexlVpsFYd1cyGk2nuG3cgR_ZfU8vLkiCvtH7taD59iucwOBaW0Ojxjz9pWAjoVIqQ8/s1600/coca+cola+kid.jpg" height="320" width="227" /></a></div>
I was at the half-way point through the series when I got on Amazon to buy the fourth novel in the series. On a lark I read the reviews for the unread novels of this series. Then I noticed a whole passel of one-star reviews of the last novel.<br />
<br />
If you'll allow a slight digression in service of my main point, I also want to remind you of the movie Coca Cola Kid. I never saw it when it came out in 1985. But when it came out on Instant Netflix, I gave it a watch for nostalgia's sake. It was a passable romantic comedy with a twist at the end. They just put these words in a graphic just before the ending credits: "A week later... while cherries blossomed in Japan the next World War began."<br />
<br />
What? In? The? World?<br />
<br />
Where did that come from? What did they mean by that?<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>The gist of my remarks is that endings are important.</u></b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgB_RBChEcwWoWiOdIcr35D-GCJWIiTqfA3aQ21Qow-HmJAsLMQIR9BaJPntH64jjPxSd88nhrufDcB2U65oou1qsuQMwbPDTbFlbRKiHjahMPQJohKqNDWwQ0bzLA39247lQWVu1PP6eW/s1600/MushroomCloud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgB_RBChEcwWoWiOdIcr35D-GCJWIiTqfA3aQ21Qow-HmJAsLMQIR9BaJPntH64jjPxSd88nhrufDcB2U65oou1qsuQMwbPDTbFlbRKiHjahMPQJohKqNDWwQ0bzLA39247lQWVu1PP6eW/s1600/MushroomCloud.jpg" height="320" width="280" /></a>And let me tell you now, I'll never, ever consume anything written by the idiot responsible for that <br />
ending graphic. It completely changed my mild disappointment in a movie with a weak 3rd reel into cold fury. Nowadays, I have little else to think about the film but that.<br />
<br />
By the way, my review of Coca Cola Kid: Passable story with a weak 3rd reel and a total WTF at the end. 0-stars. Avoid. You won't get those 98 minutes of your life back.<br />
<br />
Where was I?<br />
<br />
When you write a series of novels, it's important to finish strong. They say that the last chapter of each novel is where you sell the next novel. And in the case of a series of novels, the last one establishes your reputation. Goof up the ending of one series and you'll hurt your sales prospects for everything else you'll write.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaUgqmegXucG7k2jxQMgZLuE3Zi48qY8gdHY2cnv-siu8gFdW0PYN8PD3NjmwR_16CwbY8uzUjTW_CjNuxha1asXzN7_k3a9cTWUWsXC9x2w88xUEKiGs4TIeZmgeLIzGY-eaSTV6s2ixg/s1600/AdmiralHornblower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaUgqmegXucG7k2jxQMgZLuE3Zi48qY8gdHY2cnv-siu8gFdW0PYN8PD3NjmwR_16CwbY8uzUjTW_CjNuxha1asXzN7_k3a9cTWUWsXC9x2w88xUEKiGs4TIeZmgeLIzGY-eaSTV6s2ixg/s1600/AdmiralHornblower.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
In C. S. Forester's Hornblower series he starts out with Midshipman Mr. Hornblower being horribly mistreated. He barely survives, but he overcomes adversity. Whereas others may get the credit and reward, he makes friends of his peers and the reader. He falls in love with a girl, but she's married and he's in a loveless marriage. As Hornblower accomplishes more and more, his competence and faithfulness becomes impossible to ignore. Tragedy strikes and his wife dies, but it also clears the way for him to marry the girl he loves. He starts getting rewarded and recognized. Promotions follow and his career advances. When you get to the final Hornblower novel, he's Lord Admiral Hornblower, happily married, and living in a huge manor house.<br />
<br />
All the prior hardships are forgotten and we feel our friend has received a well-deserved reward. And we regard Hornblower as a friend because he suffered so as a lad. If you make a character too perfect, the reader can easily hate him like Jim Rockford hates <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0688097/" target="_blank">Lance White</a> in the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0074O8SQI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0074O8SQI&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20&linkId=GREOQCXWILBMNR7M" target="_blank">Rockford Files</a>. The pattern is adversity and unfairness at the beginning of the series, tragedy in the middle, and contentment at the end.<br />
<br />
Reverse this pattern, and you risk angering your readers so much that they start talking about the Coca Cola Kid.Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-32416653033447302832014-12-14T18:33:00.001-05:002014-12-14T18:33:12.400-05:00Quarter Share<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyA9ox5ro_G-ROnflmx0qhAUWYwm7wSLE1VaHw59Lb_LJChSz6hJ9YyQ0dLbp0iAh10LqdYUg0_x6qvRUr5nxMnutSROIRYetSM-CoRVY8D_cLqz0WFuyzi75Y848YL7K97EN5rcKdN3tf/s1600/quarter-share-cvr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyA9ox5ro_G-ROnflmx0qhAUWYwm7wSLE1VaHw59Lb_LJChSz6hJ9YyQ0dLbp0iAh10LqdYUg0_x6qvRUr5nxMnutSROIRYetSM-CoRVY8D_cLqz0WFuyzi75Y848YL7K97EN5rcKdN3tf/s1600/quarter-share-cvr.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a></div>
I've been reading a lot of SF lately. And this has included a lot of Libertarian military SF where aliens and space marines are duking it out in huge battles and such. And since it is Libertarian the villains are often as not venal guys such as you'll find inside the beltway running the Democrat and GOP parties.<br />
<br />
If you haven't read Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, you're unfamiliar with the pattern of political manipulators fighting against hard working businessmen who are just trying to create wealth. On the other hand, if you're breathing the typical cultursmog, you are quite familiar with the recurring trope of greedy corporations plotting to poison/kill/cheat their customers.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1940575001/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1940575001&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20&linkId=6PRFQTEH7H6ZNC25%22%3EQuarter%20Share%20(Trader%27s%20Tales%20From%20The%20Golden%20Age%20Of%20The%20Solar%20Clipper)%20(Volume%201)%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=find99centboo-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1940575001" target="_blank">Quarter Share</a> does none of the above. There's math in this space opera. And that makes it far more subversively libertarian than anything Ayn Rand ever preached.<br />
<br />
Math? Subversive?<br />
<br />
The story starts with the hero, Ishmael Horatio Wang. Yes, the hero has a name that's evocative of both Melville and C. S. Forester. I was almost put off by this, but I'm glad I didn't. The author lampshades this. Every time he introduces himself he says, "Call me Ishmael," and whoever he's talking to rolls his or her eyes. But the allusion to familiar sea stories should give you a good idea of the arc of this series of stories.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFEfr5R61l2Wv4Y2Ky4QIYzf3lPECpVHYCJ-JGsCIfjPetnzIGki1lpJh9hJA_0ezlUjd4cnxxoBBxk3ysSqd0aBU1gPbnt81zacXsgtwL95C7PZ2KeCpxPiks3oKpsBq0J5MjTMs9cOZb/s1600/Mr.MidshipmanHornblower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFEfr5R61l2Wv4Y2Ky4QIYzf3lPECpVHYCJ-JGsCIfjPetnzIGki1lpJh9hJA_0ezlUjd4cnxxoBBxk3ysSqd0aBU1gPbnt81zacXsgtwL95C7PZ2KeCpxPiks3oKpsBq0J5MjTMs9cOZb/s1600/Mr.MidshipmanHornblower.jpg" height="320" width="196" /></a>Quarter Share starts off with an 18 year old Ishmael suffering the accidental death of his mother. Since he lives on a "company planet" and he has no job, he is forced to leave. Instead of preaching about corporate evils, the author Nathan Lowell simply shows the company acting as if all it cares about is the bottom line. And this forces our young protagonist out of his mother's apartment and onto an interstellar freighter.<br />
<br />
Since he has no training or connections, he starts out, like Midshipman Mr. Hornblower, at the bottom of pecking order. Things start out well for young Mr. Wang, because he knows how to make coffee and he shows initiative in the ships mess. He proceeds to work hard and shows a willingness to do the dirty jobs others wouldn't like.<br />
<br />
He also has a tendency to think non-linearly and sees unexpected opportunities for trade. As a crewman, he can use his limited wages and limited mass allotment to make a few bucks on the side. His buddy, another quarter-share crewman happens to have the ability to sense what's abundant on the current planet they're visiting and what's rare on the next planet. Between the two of them they start making money on bigger and bigger deals. Before the book is done, the senior officers on the ship take notice.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGWSJ3UUwMSLJY8HgJD81Fsq8dwRklu3SN_4vPjcmhu0ny7hsvFyBO6udYwi1qo2-nl_GE7nybCMyTslaiV82FUiEzatpiRVtZLuunF8pRFra4vYlUZC5r9Jpa4TDubWXKoJFgl5hPTq-d/s1600/AynRand.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGWSJ3UUwMSLJY8HgJD81Fsq8dwRklu3SN_4vPjcmhu0ny7hsvFyBO6udYwi1qo2-nl_GE7nybCMyTslaiV82FUiEzatpiRVtZLuunF8pRFra4vYlUZC5r9Jpa4TDubWXKoJFgl5hPTq-d/s1600/AynRand.jpeg" /></a>One of the things you can see if you ignore Ayn Rand's preaching is that people in business are often pleasant to deal with, they make friends with their customers and vendors, and enjoy doing business with their friends. It is enjoyable to set up a trade where both parties come away better than they were beforehand. The process of dickering and haggling over price often seems like a negative sum game, but only if you're short-sighted. When you look at the larger picture, both parties are enriched when a trade can be negotiated.<br />
<br />
Free trade creates wealth.<br />
<br />
Quarter Share can be a little bit math heavy as Ish and Pip work out, say, the relative merits of shipping gemstones versus mushrooms. And that's not a problem. If you're going to succeed in life, you've got to be sharp enough to recognize a profitable opportunity when it presents itself. Or ways to make something valuable out of something nobody wants.<br />
<br />
I highly recommend Quarter Share. Five stars.Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-27508203689273459212014-09-11T19:21:00.002-04:002014-09-11T19:21:49.211-04:00Patriots Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4EQA0gU3z_EhRWuR6bMk8uA94YGDYMf7JPIUcdLobqULrbBZtWHn-AvyvBrHtMg5FmT0f4-dWX8G8W7fqt_AUSLm-_EXaAyuJt9TmHoH0zhOzjJM-w_oiCbGXM2Q4xy-BltDV93zrthth/s1600/world+trade+towers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4EQA0gU3z_EhRWuR6bMk8uA94YGDYMf7JPIUcdLobqULrbBZtWHn-AvyvBrHtMg5FmT0f4-dWX8G8W7fqt_AUSLm-_EXaAyuJt9TmHoH0zhOzjJM-w_oiCbGXM2Q4xy-BltDV93zrthth/s1600/world+trade+towers.jpg" height="320" width="215" /></a></div>
One of my more vivid memories of the post-Vietnam era was the angry cries of those who had recently given aid and comfort to our enemies during a time of "cold" war. They said, "How dare you question my patriotism." It became commonly repeated refrain, and "treason" became a meaningless word. Likewise, "patriotism" came to include behavior and advocacy counter to the national interest.<br />
<br />
On the eve of "Patriot's Day" the leader of the free world said on television that ISIL is not Islamic. I do not know what he meant by those words. I'm not singling him out for criticism for so saying, because his two immediate predecessors have also arrogated to themselves the right to pontificate upon what Islam is or is not.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqYDx4-7iqKNCZqJQyDjaadBFxOT7Y2hn8SRsZFybhrGKIHMnxZKY6GkiTBGWvr_RC9EL1CUwi3unk56tnYQ1t7y6vASNdWYgz8YO4xQc_U8dgc2oIofgtiGQMnrXwmTPl-3qckUchGgOs/s1600/Ad_apple_1984_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqYDx4-7iqKNCZqJQyDjaadBFxOT7Y2hn8SRsZFybhrGKIHMnxZKY6GkiTBGWvr_RC9EL1CUwi3unk56tnYQ1t7y6vASNdWYgz8YO4xQc_U8dgc2oIofgtiGQMnrXwmTPl-3qckUchGgOs/s1600/Ad_apple_1984_2.png" height="236" width="320" /></a>These events have inspired others to opine on the subject and I recommend <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/387761/obama-islam-and-cs-lewis-ian-tuttle" target="_blank">Ian Tuttle's essay in National Review</a>. In particular, he cites C. S. Lewis and his defense of the orthodox definition of the word "Christian."<br />
<br />
Words, as Rush Limbaugh has asserted, have meanings. What El Rushbo does not say is that those meanings are just another partisan football. We leave that to George Orwell who posited the wide-scale demolition of language known as Newspeak whose purpose was to make disagreement with the regime unspeakable.<br />
<br />
Or we can go back further to Lewis Carroll who wrote this exchange between Alice and Humpty Dumpty:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUhwsy6j_GYdWpDzOjaC2kdW_qjY25rYTIMI2pQucYHfrtquWCOlmyczobaQLf7UiTbbAfiXDkqUaZVMbw1SnRed7hYI4c8tJf6CaeduJEPg7eeILa-rdWp7bxhJZLgiY7Id5Nv-0AOVq-/s1600/Alice+and+Humpty+Dumpty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUhwsy6j_GYdWpDzOjaC2kdW_qjY25rYTIMI2pQucYHfrtquWCOlmyczobaQLf7UiTbbAfiXDkqUaZVMbw1SnRed7hYI4c8tJf6CaeduJEPg7eeILa-rdWp7bxhJZLgiY7Id5Nv-0AOVq-/s1600/Alice+and+Humpty+Dumpty.jpg" height="400" width="280" /></a><i>'I don't know what you mean by "glory",' Alice said. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. 'Of course you don't — till I tell you. I meant "there's a nice knock-down argument for you!"' </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>'But "glory" doesn't mean "a nice knock-down argument",' Alice objected. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.' </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different things.' </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master — that's all.'</i></blockquote>
<br />
I think Carroll got it wrong, the question is not "which" is to be master, but "whom" shall be master. Modern rhetoric has often reduced itself to empty power games played by sophists. And this shifting of the meanings of words is mere sophistry.<br />
<br />
The savages beheading people and flying airplanes into skyscrapers know precisely what they are and what they mean when they say "Islam." To paraphrase C. S. Lewis, we may call them Bad Islamists, but they are Islamists nonetheless. You may not like this. I know I certainly do not like it. But the facts will not become better through fuzzy thinking.Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-18435380558722019512014-09-09T02:29:00.002-04:002014-09-09T02:29:57.729-04:00On Asymmetrical Conflict<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtvAEKJCgBcHIkV4XPgSXrPk4k6-NmzycChLcSURcCC8BtPAspxmqSkXl9uGACJZ3-0GVs_7eRQSQYgbwRnGydIsHbjLwF6MGtbn2YIcQk922wGTyq52IXirNuNyC3XjEgnndT5Vkz-dUd/s1600/rubens_david_goliath_grt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtvAEKJCgBcHIkV4XPgSXrPk4k6-NmzycChLcSURcCC8BtPAspxmqSkXl9uGACJZ3-0GVs_7eRQSQYgbwRnGydIsHbjLwF6MGtbn2YIcQk922wGTyq52IXirNuNyC3XjEgnndT5Vkz-dUd/s1600/rubens_david_goliath_grt.jpg" height="320" width="262" /></a></div>
Very few conflicts take place between identical twins.<br />
<br />
Often the adversaries are mismatched in any of a number of ways. For instance, imagine a basketball team of short, suburban girls who go up against another team of tall, inner-city girls. Malcolm Gladwell described how the short, suburban girls managed to win using a zone defense devised by a soccer coach.<br />
<br />
Gladwell goes on to describe how Davids can beat Goliaths without divine intervention.<br />
<br />
In World War II, the Japanese had the best fighter aircraft flying. This is despite the fact that Americans freaking invented aviation. The American pilots soon learned that you never get into a turning fight with Zero. American planes were faster, more powerful, and better armored. We could take more punishment, but they could dish it out better. In many cases, the only smart move was to lay on that power and flee.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg983lmi8NOSlttMJb_sjQh9T3C0XHCq8Nmzoo8e17h0PMGFZzulda1ynWM5w3xzVp2X9WiOAOpDAzJR9an9kVwaaEcz_Rmn-iiDH-lrm_ckDHbxHaXodCqlJ5UOacI997NGSuPyEeoFkvS/s1600/a6m-5-zero-type-52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg983lmi8NOSlttMJb_sjQh9T3C0XHCq8Nmzoo8e17h0PMGFZzulda1ynWM5w3xzVp2X9WiOAOpDAzJR9an9kVwaaEcz_Rmn-iiDH-lrm_ckDHbxHaXodCqlJ5UOacI997NGSuPyEeoFkvS/s1600/a6m-5-zero-type-52.jpg" height="231" width="320" /></a></div>
American aviation learned the strengths and weaknesses of Japanese planes and matched them against the different strengths and weaknesses of American planes. With that knowledge, American strategies were formulated to avoid situations where Japanese strengths hit American weaknesses, and sought out situations where Japanese weaknesses were matched against American strengths.<br />
<br />
Most conflicts are asymmetrical, but we don't like to think of them that way. If heavily armed French knights come out to battle, they don't like to go against lightly armed English archers. Red jacketed imperial British infantry don't do as well against Yanks with Kentucky long rifles skulking about forests.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGA_8caXJa_o2Ege6EW3TQdZtrYB5YEs4JDFguGf1QAHAJQNpV4UVCB06MBMn9w8nPSVNXkk00k6Q-Wx0W2TYt0diDxW7kMZ14uLdtZ4u6OQVhgDDRdYn_EavA1Y79fjmpwyljBMAURA4/s1600/penn-kentucky-rifle-500-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGA_8caXJa_o2Ege6EW3TQdZtrYB5YEs4JDFguGf1QAHAJQNpV4UVCB06MBMn9w8nPSVNXkk00k6Q-Wx0W2TYt0diDxW7kMZ14uLdtZ4u6OQVhgDDRdYn_EavA1Y79fjmpwyljBMAURA4/s1600/penn-kentucky-rifle-500-16.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></div>
Vietnam and the "War on Terror" (a stupid term) are asymmetric conflicts with large organized armies going up against dispersed insurgencies. Whereas in Basketball everyone follows the same rules, the antagonists in these wars follow different rules.<br />
<br />
Then there are wars of words.<br />
<br />
It is infuriating when the other side doesn't follow the same rules you do. It feels like they're cheating, but they're just playing their strengths against your weaknesses.<br />
<br />
Consider the situation where you've just made a very subtle point about something interesting. Let's say that you can appreciate what the Federation scientist, John Gill, was doing in the Star Trek episode "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002PQ7JQK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002PQ7JQK&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20&linkId=WGLVL6K2ZZA6RQFK" target="_blank">Patterns of Force</a>." You agree that his intention was good and you may think that he was following the most efficient system of government ever devised.<br />
<br />
"Hold it. That's the episode with Kirk wearing a Nazi uniform."<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ9E7LUsb1M5l8dsSInGQeLwlJK-Y-432w7zPcitbRxhVpfLAAHhcj6mRDLMDyjFF4pUbx2u8xwO2iUrV2pMR5z4obpFle47if9oihCnkUSvI2gROcP3kv3wwxv76U8zsRMNyDlDgdpUN9/s1600/Patterns-of-Force-star-trek-women-13190520-720-530.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ9E7LUsb1M5l8dsSInGQeLwlJK-Y-432w7zPcitbRxhVpfLAAHhcj6mRDLMDyjFF4pUbx2u8xwO2iUrV2pMR5z4obpFle47if9oihCnkUSvI2gROcP3kv3wwxv76U8zsRMNyDlDgdpUN9/s1600/Patterns-of-Force-star-trek-women-13190520-720-530.jpg" height="235" width="320" /></a>"Yeah, Hugo Boss could really design a sharp-looking uniform, couldn't he?"<br />
<br />
"You're advocating Nazism! You want to murder Jews!"<br />
<br />
"I did not say that."<br />
<br />
"You antisemite, racist jerk!"<br />
<br />
"I never said anything like that."<br />
<br />
"Nazi!"<br />
<br />
The exchange is rather silly, but it illustrates a point. I like to explore the boundary between truth and falsehood. What are the distinctions that make one form of collectivism acceptable versus unacceptable? Suppose a large man is quarreling with his girlfriend and he punches her out? Is he a mere thug to be expelled from society? Or might he have been incited to violence?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDxnExVL1wuCNTwMsf0G21V3h6WzOK_qcjzPca_GJi_a4vZwj9zp2xOiw2FNyUe0-FBhwCubeB5lt2JP63K3bD0c7R8CqBNx5SI3_pJLFPFogdwpiv1Bhq2ZUi7Kl0auB-TyacgioI5ir/s1600/obtuse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDxnExVL1wuCNTwMsf0G21V3h6WzOK_qcjzPca_GJi_a4vZwj9zp2xOiw2FNyUe0-FBhwCubeB5lt2JP63K3bD0c7R8CqBNx5SI3_pJLFPFogdwpiv1Bhq2ZUi7Kl0auB-TyacgioI5ir/s1600/obtuse.jpg" /></a></div>
Any attempt to talk about this in an even-handed fashion runs the risk of offending the "deliberately obtuse." In my little Nazi exchange, I identify with the accused, not because I'm a Nazi sympathizer, but because when this has happened to me, I've made a terrible rhetorical mistake.<br />
<br />
I've assumed the person making the accusation is ignorant or stupid. This is because it is kinder to think this than to think that the person is evil. Evil? It is evil to twist the meaning of another's words into something ugly and unrecognizable. And to do so knowingly.<br />
<br />
Some people feed off outrage, and use bogus accusations to make themselves larger and to hurt their perceived enemies. In a world where everyone is busy, it's easy to ignore the nuanced argument, and just glom onto falsehoods: Steve admits he's a Nazi sympathizer. He said it himself, "I'm a Nazi sympathizer."<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1li_DuKSXbDaA9u5Z7q0FF2O8LRiBsRug8248kmxd-vEBpET-rkl7jV_aJh23bqQzAC0Gb-ogDR-tfiH1wNMPVBXNNzzW9IxhpMYwvfkhY1ny5sO-yYDrqRggGGFHAr12ruhHnVYUImFk/s1600/Plato_i_sin_akademi,_av_Carl_Johan_Wahlbom_(ur_Svenska_Familj-Journalen).png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1li_DuKSXbDaA9u5Z7q0FF2O8LRiBsRug8248kmxd-vEBpET-rkl7jV_aJh23bqQzAC0Gb-ogDR-tfiH1wNMPVBXNNzzW9IxhpMYwvfkhY1ny5sO-yYDrqRggGGFHAr12ruhHnVYUImFk/s1600/Plato_i_sin_akademi,_av_Carl_Johan_Wahlbom_(ur_Svenska_Familj-Journalen).png" height="265" width="320" /></a>Therefore, when you say something and another person takes it the way you did not intent, ask if that person is being deliberately obtuse.<br />
<br />
I think that reason and truth are useful rhetorical tools to increase my store of knowledge. I hold an old-fashioned notion that if we know more, we'll act better, and by understanding each other we'll get along better.<br />
<br />
However, Mao said that truth flows from the barrel of a gun. Post-modernists do not believe in truth and regard language as a mere power game. Logic is just a tool of the patriarchy to oppress the downtrodden. And all that.<br />
<br />
You might think this is bad, but it is a mere asymmetrical conflict between what Ancient Greeks would call realists and sophists. Don't get mad. Recognize they're playing by different rules--rules where a grammatico-historical hermeneutic of your words are irrelevant to how those words can be spun.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXcxwcjRToObpqhE_ay8HK-djkUapGX9ZQSpg7TICF0gzAKkT02Tv233rfOOG8raKUdxrVtFpHIgbbn5z8RlhZP3nzpIZE-x-QQ4brRO1csO1MRYdTZ63nosJajBaDq7hgOHTY5lHapsuz/s1600/richardjacksonbaddog-modern-art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXcxwcjRToObpqhE_ay8HK-djkUapGX9ZQSpg7TICF0gzAKkT02Tv233rfOOG8raKUdxrVtFpHIgbbn5z8RlhZP3nzpIZE-x-QQ4brRO1csO1MRYdTZ63nosJajBaDq7hgOHTY5lHapsuz/s1600/richardjacksonbaddog-modern-art.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
If you are dealing with a sophist, do not expect honesty--expect a power game. If you detect your interlocutor is deliberately misconstruing your point, here is my permission to call them an ignoramus.<br />
<br />
My sainted philosophy teacher once told me that sometimes the only rational response to modern art is ridicule.<br />
<br />
Same goes for sophists.Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-47739196481242578292014-09-06T14:35:00.001-04:002014-09-06T14:35:12.086-04:00The Art of Illiterates<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijfvafFy9ZPpBo5IS1kQMyvDR0chB9zAn2UOJEjif1Ht1lSwCbVUonnj5H96s1Bzj_uHaTrP7_-9ppjDQQ70SoGzrNhFZJMjBruDmptUxtjTqkCuJ_XzB1kG2H1EfvcL6yEqwCuuI0xsot/s1600/Roy_Lichtenstein_Drowning_Girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijfvafFy9ZPpBo5IS1kQMyvDR0chB9zAn2UOJEjif1Ht1lSwCbVUonnj5H96s1Bzj_uHaTrP7_-9ppjDQQ70SoGzrNhFZJMjBruDmptUxtjTqkCuJ_XzB1kG2H1EfvcL6yEqwCuuI0xsot/s1600/Roy_Lichtenstein_Drowning_Girl.jpg" height="320" width="315" /></a></div>
After Labor Day in Grand Rapids, MI the "next big thing" is <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2011/09/taxonomy-of-artprize-entries.html" target="_blank">ArtPrize</a>. I've <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-taxonomy-of-artprize-venues.html" target="_blank">commented</a> on it before. This usually gets me thinking about art qua art. (And saying <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2012/10/camille-paglia-needs-to-get-out-more.html" target="_blank">hifalutin</a> words like "qua.") My wife remarked at breakfast this morning that one of the profs (who teaches movie-making) repeated this quote: "<b>Film should be looked at straight on, it is not the art of scholars but of illiterates.</b>"<br />
<br />
I believe the point he was trying to make was that film naturally puts few demands on the viewer.<br />
<br />
Keep in mind that illiterates are not necessarily stupid. There have been some very clever people who never get around to learning to read or write.<br />
<br />
Film, by presenting brute imagery and sound to the consumer, is consumed without necessarily engaging the higher cognitive functions.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxALCKsepH5tWrbUI3lDQedGxXCObsm7krI4GjYQjXg5PecGBT7kp2fgbEBbNUM-n19lMtE0z2OI4Z5hGY321qKk6vOjgokRHc9O2L6r-b4n3ngCSgrX4BNjkJXymgrBDYEydOrmvYhwNz/s1600/TonyAbruzzoSecretHearts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxALCKsepH5tWrbUI3lDQedGxXCObsm7krI4GjYQjXg5PecGBT7kp2fgbEBbNUM-n19lMtE0z2OI4Z5hGY321qKk6vOjgokRHc9O2L6r-b4n3ngCSgrX4BNjkJXymgrBDYEydOrmvYhwNz/s1600/TonyAbruzzoSecretHearts.jpg" height="320" width="243" /></a></div>
I suppose this means the screenwriter must strive to represent the mythic or iconic in her screenplay, because that is how it will be best consumed.<br />
<br />
Conversely, the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604596902/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1604596902&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20&linkId=SU7TVNIGPZFQWQDA" target="_blank">Russian novels</a> realizes her readers have strong arms and great upper-body strength to lug around those long, heavy tomes. The author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C0UMDY4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00C0UMDY4&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20&linkId=63QS2LJJN4PU7IQZ" target="_blank">Victorian novels </a>realizes her readers have long attention spans. And the contemporary author expects her readers read at at least a sixth-grade level.<br />
<br />
The gallery viewer of walls-sized canvases brings different expectations to the art than the comic book reader who sees virtually the same thing.<br />
<br />
When you produce art, there's more than just "the medium is the message." Each medium brings a different audience.<br />
<br />
The different audience brings different eyes and ears to the work depending upon their expectations. We all should work to understand our audience and work with their expectations as opposed to against them.<br />
<br />
There is a time for the mathematics lecture that you can find in Neal Stephenson's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC11A6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC11A6&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20&linkId=2XAANY5MLJA5RLC4" target="_blank">Cryptonomicon</a>. And there's a time for breathless action scenes as you can find in Larry Correia's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00APAH7PQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00APAH7PQ&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20&linkId=J5OAERLP3EPT52ZU" target="_blank">Monster Hunters International</a>. Your job is to sense who is buying your books and produce the time they are expecting.<br />
<br />
Apology: i fear you might draw the wrong conclusion from my choice of pictures from Roy Lichtenstein and Tony Abruzzo. Though I question the <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2012/10/rich-people-can-be-stupid.html" target="_blank">intelligence</a> and common sense of those who spend big bucks to fill modern art galleries, I do NOT want to demean any comic book readers and intended no slight toward Mr. Abruzzo by juxtaposing his art with a derivative copy.Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-751650692589053472014-08-28T17:32:00.000-04:002014-08-28T17:32:27.069-04:00Get On The Train<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRgBp8GqxaUltpXDBtx6PsZ9qnX8K3VsraqsVZ8-PByNXgxyJZagq0YrQPnfnb_RHz2b3wHOz4uVh9A25VYeazFxCMxhiJ4ivSScuWFo3dF07icTxfuEXRxmG9fjRC2Z1N3dB_qracKME/s1600/chennaiExpress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRgBp8GqxaUltpXDBtx6PsZ9qnX8K3VsraqsVZ8-PByNXgxyJZagq0YrQPnfnb_RHz2b3wHOz4uVh9A25VYeazFxCMxhiJ4ivSScuWFo3dF07icTxfuEXRxmG9fjRC2Z1N3dB_qracKME/s1600/chennaiExpress.jpg" height="320" width="304" /></a></div>
I had lunch with one of my more successful friends who spoke of writing and what editors look for. He related that you want to get readers INTO the story and keep them there.<br />
<br />
There is a real sense that reading transports the reader from where they are to where the story is. The reader finds a comfortable chair in her study, begins reading, and finds herself hurtling between Earth and Mars.<br />
<br />
At least this is what the writer is trying to do and the editor is looking for.<br />
<br />
It is painful to give up on a story. It is also painful to stick with a story that sucks. When you hear me gripe about throwing William Faulkner against the wall, you know it was as painful for me as it was for Mr. Faulkner. And it's more painful when I get to the end of a miserable novel and say, "I won't get that time back."<br />
<br />
That's why editors see themselves as gatekeepers. They seek to spare the reading public pain. This should not be mere altruism, because readers who buy one book from an author will look to buy more books from him/her. A successful imprint will spare readers pain. A superior imprint will establish a reputation of consistently bringing readers prose they want to read.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqXjDXM_Vhy_c7anN9jfuq62xPssKAkacB2MMuagiZ7Ih1ltN1HwMo726fcncubksfHgfPzPldqkB3z9iaN-EvQi2oXS227KCe9kZF11rijWs_DKAz0DzLGT32Ek8HB41AmmfMuN-DF9H/s1600/'Twenty_Thousand_Leagues_Under_the_Sea'_by_Neuville_and_Riou_093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqXjDXM_Vhy_c7anN9jfuq62xPssKAkacB2MMuagiZ7Ih1ltN1HwMo726fcncubksfHgfPzPldqkB3z9iaN-EvQi2oXS227KCe9kZF11rijWs_DKAz0DzLGT32Ek8HB41AmmfMuN-DF9H/s1600/'Twenty_Thousand_Leagues_Under_the_Sea'_by_Neuville_and_Riou_093.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a><br />
I have seen that the best stories define a world alien to the reader and puts her in that world. And I'm not just thinking of Mars or Mordor, but of the way Tom Clancy put you inside the Reagan Military Industrial Complex, or the way John Grisham puts you inside a high powered legal practice.<br />
<br />
OK, sounds good. How do you do that?<br />
<br />
And that's where my conversation with my friend took me. He related three things. I'll do an imperfect job of representing them, so bear with me if you've heard them elsewhere:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Description/Setting</li>
<li>Character/Emotion</li>
<li>Plot/Ideas</li>
</ul>
<br />
One of the best compliments I've received in my writers group was, "I felt I was there." I described a scene where Mycroft Holmes is sitting on a lonely Victorian train platform a little nervous because the last train for London should, but might not, be along shortly and was late.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8Q4TSUi3XhfGxAh-6hOyWHuOUK4oCIFM6BoAqhqrzvfXd5fE1LnuVYwY3ULKjb93bu_Oum3aw9FnJ9F0CWzKstfca1sN6-yVgYq0olzJIyupaqZIyi8HFSLEXes4Dk8hzkv5ctd-zvI7/s1600/Hoffmaster_parabolic_dune.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8Q4TSUi3XhfGxAh-6hOyWHuOUK4oCIFM6BoAqhqrzvfXd5fE1LnuVYwY3ULKjb93bu_Oum3aw9FnJ9F0CWzKstfca1sN6-yVgYq0olzJIyupaqZIyi8HFSLEXes4Dk8hzkv5ctd-zvI7/s1600/Hoffmaster_parabolic_dune.jpg" height="320" width="230" /></a></div>
At every moment of our lives we are inundated with sensa. Millions of details impinge upon us, and somehow we ignore all of them save for the sound of wind rustling in the trees, bicycle tires crunching on gravel, and a bird squawking in the distance. Light filtering through those trees dapple cars, tents, and travel trailers while children call out to their siblings.<br />
<br />
The writer selects those details most significant to the story and paints them with words. It takes a good grasp of the language, an awareness of how perception works, and an artistic sense to guide what details to include or exclude.<br />
<br />
The purpose of this work is to take the reader out from in front of her computer and into P J Hoffmaster State Park. If you were there two paragraphs ago, I've succeeded. If you're someplace else next time you read "It was a dark and stormy night," that writer has succeeded.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgetm8ZGoo-FE6qnIkODNeb4eROz7W0JxNJ7XbbXApYaFez5lUdhj4ipNHmCcHDubkgizwFN7hA4LH82wqYMTc0myAszTtEZgGo8hvjullA49NYLtsBoYLPKEdQgXV_q0SqUDfFL8tWSy7M/s1600/Tarzan_All_Story.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgetm8ZGoo-FE6qnIkODNeb4eROz7W0JxNJ7XbbXApYaFez5lUdhj4ipNHmCcHDubkgizwFN7hA4LH82wqYMTc0myAszTtEZgGo8hvjullA49NYLtsBoYLPKEdQgXV_q0SqUDfFL8tWSy7M/s1600/Tarzan_All_Story.jpg" height="320" width="223" /></a></div>
Then there is character and/or emotion. We are people who are all the same and we're all different. Others attract us and fix our attention with their beauty, whereas others are more like the cobra who paralyzes his prey. I used to wish someone would kill Darth Vader in the very next scene, until I realized that he was as important to the story as a worthy antagonist as the young hero opposing him. The similarities within us to elements within Jane Porter or Tarzan attract us to them. The differences hold our interest as we wonder what it would be like to be raised by the apes and consort with animals. Or to love and marry an English Lord who is prone to savage violence, yet nonetheless civilized.<br />
<br />
The characters you can devise and populate your stories with is one thing, but the acid test is making them real to the reader. I say to avoid superlatives, because in our lives we encounter superior people, but we never meet THE BEST Olympic high jump champion (because he's at the track practicing). Yet we encounter fellas who can jump higher than we imagine possible. And that superiority is (in real life) the result of talent, learned skills, and relentless practice.<br />
<br />
I find it most annoying when a character is described with certain attributes useful to the story, but without any of the antecedents of that attribute. You're the Empire's greatest swordsman. And you're the Empire's greatest pilot. And you'r the Empire's greatest Admiral. So, how much time do you spend in the gym practicing? Or on the flight simulator? Or writing memoranda justifying the next quarter's budget?<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNUG-ZTGI8h4-inkSpdAlEt3MWgbYqPNAD4XV0CtwxGCCWziFpR7f6dnnKHQcz-nhyphenhyphenBHsGJwVmOrdWYSOyuv_3r7tqsQ8Wh5SIbfVvip07Wz9ufTglYi0MS7_6-DzQHXY8P5jB3K5dJ5mQ/s1600/Captain-Blood-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNUG-ZTGI8h4-inkSpdAlEt3MWgbYqPNAD4XV0CtwxGCCWziFpR7f6dnnKHQcz-nhyphenhyphenBHsGJwVmOrdWYSOyuv_3r7tqsQ8Wh5SIbfVvip07Wz9ufTglYi0MS7_6-DzQHXY8P5jB3K5dJ5mQ/s1600/Captain-Blood-poster.jpg" height="251" width="320" /></a>The reader must find your characters and their interactions believable. If two women want to sleep with the same man, they are likely to feel some hostility toward one another. Or if they are contending for the same promotion at work. Is the subordinate unusually loyal to his boss? Maybe the reader should know the boss saved his life in Afghanistan. Or showed up at the hospital when he had cancer surgery.<br />
<br />
This requires the writer to be a keen observer of psychology.<br />
<br />
Finally, there is plot or ideas. This is what I love about an Agatha Christie novel. Each mystery is a puzzle story for the reader to figure out. Is Lord Peter Whimsey the most interesting detective? No. Is Harriet Vane a bit too bitchy for my tastes? Yes. Ah, but look at how they work together to break a Playfair cipher? Some readers are as crazy as I am and we will eat it up when Neal Stephenson interrupts his novel to write a chapter of mathematics text. Note that many more readers will skip this chapter like I skipped twenty pages of John Galt sermonizing. The idea must be interesting to most people, not just crazy people like me.<br />
<br />
If you've got a "wow" idea you're at risk of putting that idea ahead of the story.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHMv9dLmjMxw85UjYvaAiTGKqnxOX0AWIx0GyJt1LWbYrT-LatRwrpEhMV8IRuiGKaUYcYAQqIL8G4cYcwEKHwmw0QcX8FXKY0p2erk3yZksIj6IIxdxsARnTrYiI-E4dEaz2SJnsBsTqd/s1600/NoPreaching.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHMv9dLmjMxw85UjYvaAiTGKqnxOX0AWIx0GyJt1LWbYrT-LatRwrpEhMV8IRuiGKaUYcYAQqIL8G4cYcwEKHwmw0QcX8FXKY0p2erk3yZksIj6IIxdxsARnTrYiI-E4dEaz2SJnsBsTqd/s1600/NoPreaching.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
If you are a Social Justice Warrior, you may want The Message to take priority over story. That's your right, and I'm sure lots of editors out there will oblige you. But keep in mind there are politicians, talk-show hosts and reporters out there better suited to bringing out cutting-edge propaganda.<br />
<br />
Since I'm none of the above, I want to give the story priority. And I'll seek out editors of whatever politics who'll put story over message. It's important that you do not insist too much on political agreement, because only totalitarians insist that everything is political. Our shared humanity is more interesting than today's two-minute hate.<br />
<br />
Whatever the idea, the writer has to be an expert in it so that s/he can capture the details that other experts will expect and that non-experts will subconsciously sense are missing. You can fake it a little, but if you get caught faking it, you risk alienating the expert-readers who would otherwise promote your work with great passion.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6eh83X9Op052ILNPFTPRE_7DMgd1rEjryOQIwi32VF43xE17-6gh4UECUOOHbcG1mKiWOOQPI-5AK2JciT_D3k2_Hkn9U3Are559HyIzD0GT-X5WukeyQWlXlfEES_3nKORNL6kQ_XNgw/s1600/CyYoung.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6eh83X9Op052ILNPFTPRE_7DMgd1rEjryOQIwi32VF43xE17-6gh4UECUOOHbcG1mKiWOOQPI-5AK2JciT_D3k2_Hkn9U3Are559HyIzD0GT-X5WukeyQWlXlfEES_3nKORNL6kQ_XNgw/s1600/CyYoung.jpg" height="297" width="320" /></a>They say you shouldn't mix your metaphors and so far we've had this metaphor of the train where you want to entice readers to get on and make them want to stay on for the ride of their lives.<br />
<br />
But I've been talking as much about what you the writer want to do as much as you the reader want to experience. And I think that you-the-writer should have a different metaphor when you are thinking about your skill-set. In American baseball, the pitcher can throw the ball in different ways. There's what's called a fastball where the ball is thrown hard and straight and fast. The ball must be past the batter before he can get the bat around to hit it. Then there's the curve, it's a slower ball that bends in flight. The batter swings and misses because the ball "broke" in an unexpected direction. Finally, there is the change-up, a ball that appears to be a fast ball, but is much slower than the batter expects. The batter swings before the ball gets to the plate. (There are other pitches, but we'll ignore them for this metaphor.)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPh_ADJOqStgkbecQ8hnXJO_wQssmemIBTjPsXlYKzM6e14Xw_tyh0x0F77VWY7VqmNCZKAO3JaG0xUbDRFSphafDGY2kTorbBWzLWdSEzDYX_hg1ZJuRgSwBRPvr1YZeEIV3Ej9ycDco0/s1600/train.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPh_ADJOqStgkbecQ8hnXJO_wQssmemIBTjPsXlYKzM6e14Xw_tyh0x0F77VWY7VqmNCZKAO3JaG0xUbDRFSphafDGY2kTorbBWzLWdSEzDYX_hg1ZJuRgSwBRPvr1YZeEIV3Ej9ycDco0/s1600/train.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a>A baseball pitcher won't get to the major leagues without mastering at least one of these pitches. He'll be able to consistently get batters out if he can master two of these pitches. And if he can master three of these pitches, he stands a good chance of being a hall-of-famer.<br />
<br />
You, gentle writer, should improve what you do best--be it description, character, or plot, but you should also be aware of, and try to improve those other attributes of writing that bring a reader into the story and keep her there.<br />
<br />Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-24302436994072353062014-08-23T18:05:00.001-04:002014-08-23T18:05:40.956-04:00Hire the Morally Handicapped<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXoW95v0A-NIUQ3xLlRhcZylaaxk3cK4NqAkCat0gTwBv2U5WVIUPcIj3HO2Ki_COT94q63-KK1IIDT4Td3Zt3GYrBvafsNPjhXtmsNpBS6-chC_HA1aMsBNJQcAYwbOcrkktD44yNUhx/s1600/HireTheMorallyHandicapped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXoW95v0A-NIUQ3xLlRhcZylaaxk3cK4NqAkCat0gTwBv2U5WVIUPcIj3HO2Ki_COT94q63-KK1IIDT4Td3Zt3GYrBvafsNPjhXtmsNpBS6-chC_HA1aMsBNJQcAYwbOcrkktD44yNUhx/s1600/HireTheMorallyHandicapped.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
A long time ago, as a student at a Baptist <a href="http://www.cedarville.edu/" target="_blank">college</a>, I was on a Christian service assignment that took me to a hotbed of <a href="http://antiochcollege.org/" target="_blank">liberalism, homosexuality, and recreational drug commerce</a>. There I saw a bumper sticker, "Hire the Morally Handicapped," and I've been chuckling about it ever since.<br />
<br />
In fact, every time I drive up to a store and see all the empty parking spaces reserved for the handicapped, I remind myself that I can say I am morally handicapped after all...<br />
<br />
Of course, you can't say someone is good or evil in our society. It's double-plus-ungood. And I suppose that saying one is morally handicapped is single-plus-ungood, too. So, to be politically correct, let's just say that those Republicans (if you're a Democrat) or those Democrats (if you're a Republican) or those Republicans and Democrats (if you're a Whig like me), are neither evil nor morally handicapped, but <i><b>differently ethic-ed</b>.</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkJJHsYPA77epQj8zHaCkl7-16Cj5jyot95PmkGRRxZDeg_D5BpWssoctbT-KmLY5yRanFmCyuLKfpUkpeEjguxQlt8qHpK-s79NFlthgNoMvoNMo0S79fMjREjQMCzxYWM1OsHb2luym/s1600/Dabangg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkJJHsYPA77epQj8zHaCkl7-16Cj5jyot95PmkGRRxZDeg_D5BpWssoctbT-KmLY5yRanFmCyuLKfpUkpeEjguxQlt8qHpK-s79NFlthgNoMvoNMo0S79fMjREjQMCzxYWM1OsHb2luym/s1600/Dabangg.jpg" /></a></div>
Though I started out joking about being differently ethic-ed, the term has explanatory power. Though moralists have had to go underground in Hollywood (unless it's attacking Christian hypocrisy), you can find moralists alive and well in Bollywood. And I'm cool with this, because I like a moral message in the stories I consume.<br />
<br />
I've mentioned before that watching Bollywood and paying attention to its morality is illuminating. For instance, when a bad guy <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabangg" target="_blank">kills</a> the good guy's mother in the 2nd reel of a movie, it is obligatory for the good guy to exact an eye-for-an-eye, tooth-for-a-tooth vengeance in the 3rd reel of that movie. Contrast this with the American pattern of killing the antagonist just as dead, but after s/he/it goes for its gun leaving the hero No Choice.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmyJD6CfLCi1SR7U5sfQwxvcQ9MHbPhTvFuzx_fxYyPJsFvWUi_1jSvcnwwHfR-kZrMbNV49fGo_lRU4TdVJIeBsxGrawiO6KxcisG4YdEkW9vJEWNitHvrvuAJotTCS8AaI3OLJLCez8S/s1600/Pardes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmyJD6CfLCi1SR7U5sfQwxvcQ9MHbPhTvFuzx_fxYyPJsFvWUi_1jSvcnwwHfR-kZrMbNV49fGo_lRU4TdVJIeBsxGrawiO6KxcisG4YdEkW9vJEWNitHvrvuAJotTCS8AaI3OLJLCez8S/s1600/Pardes.jpg" height="400" width="299" /></a></div>
Mindful of this I watched a snippet of a Shahrukh Khan movie. It didn't have subtitles, but it was very interesting. It is called Pardes. So, I looked it up on Wikipedia for an explanation of what I'd just seen.<br />
<br />
(By the way, if you ever see a Shahrukh Khan movie and he's all bloody in the climatic scene, it's likely a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai_Express" target="_blank">romantic comedy</a>.)<br />
<br />
In Pardes, we see a conflict between Indian and American morality. The presumption in Pardes is that America is morally corrupt and it has no problems with smoking, drinking, or sexual infidelity. And that Indian morality is much better.<br />
<br />
This isn't quite fair. Unless you're President Clinton, Americans think that adultery and sexual infidelity is morally wrong.<br />
<br />
If you're a good Baptist who doesn't drink, smoke, or chew, nor go with girls that do, we think these things are as moralistic as Indians. Nevertheless, many good Baptists do not live up to these moral aspirations. (BTW I hear there are more Baptists in India than anywhere outside the US and Britain.)<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
The antagonist of this film is morally handicapped in both the Indian and the Baptist sense, while the heroic Shahrukh Khan works to protect the antagonist's reputation at great cost to his own reputation. And his own happiness, because he hides the antagonist's evil from his love interest who happens to be engaged to the antagonist.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6BnR0xQYypvJAcca-FDGKsLLxzNCxLKOFFkCXZ9xB_41wYiV8-y0RStMAeVEQYSZAYF2IGM7kjeVx2kyuex_efI_CdS-dh4cDQAPLGn8QKPRjhIdRIVw6xDMdtEoGnMaJJNg4T0iDmoB/s1600/AmrishPuriCrazyEyes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6BnR0xQYypvJAcca-FDGKsLLxzNCxLKOFFkCXZ9xB_41wYiV8-y0RStMAeVEQYSZAYF2IGM7kjeVx2kyuex_efI_CdS-dh4cDQAPLGn8QKPRjhIdRIVw6xDMdtEoGnMaJJNg4T0iDmoB/s1600/AmrishPuriCrazyEyes.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
As you'd expect of Bollywood, the source of conflict is family honor: it requires the girl to marry an obviously unsuitable fellow.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, the antagonist's father relents, acknowledges Shahrukh Khan's virtue, and grants a happily ever after to everyone save the lothario. The Moral Of The Story is clear: Indian Morals are better than American Morals, as seen by Shahrukh Khan's nobility versus the Americanized antagonist's vice.<br />
<br />
I was nodding and going along with this line of thinking until I tripped over this little bit of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardes_(film)" target="_blank">wiki plot summary</a>:<br />
<br />
<i>"Ironically, it also highlights one way in which Western culture can be viewed as more just and compassionate than Indian culture, since a Western bride can break off an unsuitable engagement without risking death at the hands of outraged family members."</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE6CVyI6Qq6gBCmP2c4vo8U8mbSVKT85uvSwvBJfgDFw8NYiFoOnuzg8Mw_nneB1HjbOdA35nu5IpKffVRTKAXfeuFQvci41I5jMWgU8pfcbg6K9ePNNdvXRhRIYWaOej1aUWizUsbTAwr/s1600/MoteInEye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE6CVyI6Qq6gBCmP2c4vo8U8mbSVKT85uvSwvBJfgDFw8NYiFoOnuzg8Mw_nneB1HjbOdA35nu5IpKffVRTKAXfeuFQvci41I5jMWgU8pfcbg6K9ePNNdvXRhRIYWaOej1aUWizUsbTAwr/s1600/MoteInEye.jpg" /></a>Oh.<br />
<br />
That.<br />
<br />
Good point.<br />
<br />
This shows us something important about moralizing. It's easy to be blinded by the customary, and traditional to that which is obviously very wrong. The Savior's warnings about <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7%3A3-5&version=KJV" target="_blank">motes and beams in eyes</a> come to mind as do his woes upon those who idolize tradition.<br />
<br />
I'm not suggesting that your storytelling refrain from moralizing or from espousing a moral position or condemning wrongdoing when you see it. However, when you do, maintain the humility to recognize your own moral shortcomings.Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-87519149740389651472014-08-17T16:55:00.000-04:002014-08-17T16:55:38.745-04:00Don't Sell Your Soul<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqaxX_t9uO-hrQW2ZIyBxxalAw-eF3S4jT1UFZUCZnCzDoPpYjhtCgRfQ9BZ-VqAckeIMe3uUyD3RRdR4gWXH_nhClgUtOG2l76qhMaohYePPhc1rvuhoX3uDH2-MIsH6XIGMJHBLXjb0/s1600/D-AIHK_right_wing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqaxX_t9uO-hrQW2ZIyBxxalAw-eF3S4jT1UFZUCZnCzDoPpYjhtCgRfQ9BZ-VqAckeIMe3uUyD3RRdR4gWXH_nhClgUtOG2l76qhMaohYePPhc1rvuhoX3uDH2-MIsH6XIGMJHBLXjb0/s1600/D-AIHK_right_wing.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
I tried to ignore <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2014/08/07/Another-Reason-to-Love-Andrew-W-K" target="_blank">this story</a> about a guy complaining about his father who is a "right wing a-hole." Depending upon the day and my mood, I can fit or be made to fit into this pigeonhole. And when I have participated in such conversations, it's generally been unpleasant.<br />
<br />
But then I heard just enough of Andrew W. K.'s reply that I realized he was making a point closely related to one that <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2012/03/anti-turing-tests.html" target="_blank">I had made</a> a while back. So, if he's agreeing with me, he must be right. Right? I had noted that when interacting with someone who is selling something, their humanity becomes eclipsed by their sales pitch. And if the product is the Republican/Democrat party, the sales pitch is political propaganda. Talk to a spokesman/activist and you can find yourself conversing with someone who is indistinguishable from a spambot.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKuZ1T2mAvhmqzxnCT-pwsHqoLhtRZFhMMT9DBQsjZQWh2DD14PQnBStm9dLC9bw_DFh-pAoe3VRECCdeYvAY-q3PeJlSZrKl1dwAQ6jYhJdv2rVnCFRT75E9XdxF5e-h8X41_FMekOL2T/s1600/grumpy-cat-andrew-wk-sxsw-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKuZ1T2mAvhmqzxnCT-pwsHqoLhtRZFhMMT9DBQsjZQWh2DD14PQnBStm9dLC9bw_DFh-pAoe3VRECCdeYvAY-q3PeJlSZrKl1dwAQ6jYhJdv2rVnCFRT75E9XdxF5e-h8X41_FMekOL2T/s1600/grumpy-cat-andrew-wk-sxsw-2.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a>"I'm sorry, Ms. Social Justice Warrior, you just failed my anti-Turing test."<br />
<br />
What Andrew W. K. said that snagged my attention was this sentence: "Try to find a single instance where you referred to your dad as a human being, a person, or a man." Maybe the dad was so monomaniacal in his right-wing advocacy that it eclipsed his humanity. That's a real risk. OR maybe the "Son of a Right Winger" was so monomaniacal in his left-wing beliefs that it blinded him.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1tIr4zq6aUbE7s5LH_35s2ACZK01CBuKQEe0m2w9MOLrQXI4JXXDDvcXSShpint9PaFsDqn1Hm7vD1Msw4kOzYc5fNmG7rI_0ypr-YyRsUQugF-EdaDnqjgm-XZ3hv9zJ2pA019egbDIK/s1600/Adolf_Hitler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1tIr4zq6aUbE7s5LH_35s2ACZK01CBuKQEe0m2w9MOLrQXI4JXXDDvcXSShpint9PaFsDqn1Hm7vD1Msw4kOzYc5fNmG7rI_0ypr-YyRsUQugF-EdaDnqjgm-XZ3hv9zJ2pA019egbDIK/s1600/Adolf_Hitler.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a><b>I have to acknowledge the humanity of humans who are anti-Turing test failures.</b><br />
<br />
This turned my notion of an anti-Turing test inside out. Or it provided a hint at what an anti-Turing test should look for. Humans can recognize other humans. And should recognize other humans. Seriously bad things happen when people ignore/deny the humanity of the other. Prior to the Civil War Huck Finn might say, "Nobody got killed except some n-----s." Hutus deny the humanity of Tutsis. Turks deny the humanity of Armenians. Nazis deny the humanity of Jews. (Yes, I've <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law" target="_blank">Godwinned</a> this note. Deal with it.)<br />
<br />
If you can't/won't see the humanity of the other, your own humanity is jeopardized.<br />
<br />
<b>Perhaps this is what older generations meant by "selling one's soul." </b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjphv3Odfzfv_BTico6aI6QlAdep2LDCgejGFT3LzNUzKfgfJO1QXwD05QQ6OkIiLGnt0IQTNPMM7ezLJYYuHrnliWlbWoLS3OIOWxFq-QfyqQ893DuqdT0_ku5yzG3Ufm1o8rDv9GsPQGV/s1600/Paul_Wellstone,_official_Senate_photo_portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjphv3Odfzfv_BTico6aI6QlAdep2LDCgejGFT3LzNUzKfgfJO1QXwD05QQ6OkIiLGnt0IQTNPMM7ezLJYYuHrnliWlbWoLS3OIOWxFq-QfyqQ893DuqdT0_ku5yzG3Ufm1o8rDv9GsPQGV/s1600/Paul_Wellstone,_official_Senate_photo_portrait.jpg" height="200" width="154" /></a></div>
Democrats turned the funeral of Senator <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Wellstone" target="_blank">Paul Wellstone</a> into a political pep-rally. They got spanked by the electorate because of its obvious ghoulishness. But the ghoulishness wasn't obvious to them because the humanity of everyone involved had been sacrificed on the altar of partisan interests. The same lack of perspective is on display when a "Pro-Lifer" murders an abortionist.<br />
<br />
When you read classics, the ancients' axe-grinding occasions only a quizzical "what?" But we read classics because the ancients did more than just grind axes: they shared some truth about humanity they understood. <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2012/03/truth-and-pornography.html" target="_blank">Propaganda</a> has a limited shelf-life after which it becomes--at best--a joke, then irrelevant.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKiVpczWbHBexsGxOmgfb_IyHfBKZZRck7jd1mgm1fhD71tSfvTRF9Wo1l2t0N_Xfn65s9C0SWuA9HA9f2ix1nM-88KchRA2AL9xDNCtrKXK5JOvVXQFeMsl-rgLGafPv0qKm2coITQRg/s1600/SovietWoman1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKiVpczWbHBexsGxOmgfb_IyHfBKZZRck7jd1mgm1fhD71tSfvTRF9Wo1l2t0N_Xfn65s9C0SWuA9HA9f2ix1nM-88KchRA2AL9xDNCtrKXK5JOvVXQFeMsl-rgLGafPv0qKm2coITQRg/s1600/SovietWoman1920.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><br />
One must retain one's soul in order to create art. Art manifests something transcendent and it flees pornography. This makes some think that Liberalism is <a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118958/liberals-are-killing-art-insisting-its-always-political" target="_blank">killing art</a> when it asserts that Art is always political. Political totalitarianism is a blight on our culture.<br />
<br />
If you deny the assertion that Art must put the correct political message first, you'll be called an <a href="http://monsterhunternation.com/2014/01/28/ending-binary-gender-in-fiction-or-how-to-murder-your-writing-career/" target="_blank">International Lord or Hate</a>, a cismale gendernormative fascist, or something as bad. Of course, I'd rather be called that then sell my soul to The Cause--any cause.Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-69238181338842035132014-08-07T02:06:00.000-04:002014-08-07T02:06:28.014-04:00Gun Magic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8moh0zurtCX8mk8L7w5Tatl2prhm_wtJ21EoPMJiLwBfFcYH8pTdJ8VE50195RvTh0G8hBHackVQ6w7cSU-Zf9UxSZBDzm5__y4wAyDHj3ncyuyZWrd9j-4_3jU_2vKzGGeB1z6NSWMvU/s1600/child_gun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8moh0zurtCX8mk8L7w5Tatl2prhm_wtJ21EoPMJiLwBfFcYH8pTdJ8VE50195RvTh0G8hBHackVQ6w7cSU-Zf9UxSZBDzm5__y4wAyDHj3ncyuyZWrd9j-4_3jU_2vKzGGeB1z6NSWMvU/s1600/child_gun.jpg" height="320" width="299" /></a></div>
There is a lot of infantile thinking about guns. It is nothing new. If you do not understand guns, they are sort of like magic. You point them at something you want destroyed and pull the trigger. And something bad happens to whatever you're aiming at. Hollywood perpetuates this sort of magic thinking by having guns somehow kill all the terrorists when Jamie Lee Curtis drops a machine pistol in True Lies or all those old westerns where the two gunfighters face off at the edge of town. One shoots, the other falls immediately dead.<br />
<br />
Louis L'Amour complained about this in the '70s. He knew his stuff because he was exacting in his historical research. Sorry Toshiro Mifune, but the Seven Samurai isn't a perfect translation into the Magnificent Seven. Americans do not do unarmed peasants.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiILcSnX-nn7JjfUwnautP8_W3Zk02g_6oGV9ak05sVpU7MlB6IBhnT1LUkwvXbe2bT-NGe0ijWl1mZV8yGdH-9boJkQQbXuQIvZ91EDXfoOAkjIVhPqiqlfC5t_rNc2fH6fjn1PMeG3KBy/s1600/Hondo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiILcSnX-nn7JjfUwnautP8_W3Zk02g_6oGV9ak05sVpU7MlB6IBhnT1LUkwvXbe2bT-NGe0ijWl1mZV8yGdH-9boJkQQbXuQIvZ91EDXfoOAkjIVhPqiqlfC5t_rNc2fH6fjn1PMeG3KBy/s1600/Hondo.jpg" height="320" width="229" /></a></div>
Black Bart couldn't terrorize a town full of Civil War veterans who were trained in warfare. Maybe he was the fastest gun in the west but he could still die from a shotgun blast in his back. Or if the town is mad enough, he might face six shotguns with the warning that you might kill one of us but you won't kill all of us and you'll be just as dead.<br />
<br />
L'Amour claimed the face off at the edge of town was exceedingly rare. And when it did take place, a big guy full of adrenaline won't go down with only one shot. Because he had been a boxer as a young man, his fistfights are often better than his gunfights.<br />
<br />
A gunfight isn't a duel between magical weapons where one shoots and the other dies. It's a fight where damage causing attacks are exchanged until one or both sides can no longer hit the other.<br />
<br />
People who know something about guns understand this. Most of what you read in books or see in movies does not reflect this understanding. The gunfight brings the climax of the story with a bang and you immediately segue into the denouement and start selling the sequel.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHce0kZWlvjCxxgn3r6Clo5TwndlYpat3RWzCSN0A5sY6uMA1x1Soy6WOSA3YiwCPueXaK2HJs3PBaOnkqYj71CsN5x8eQi-sjND2HuwxcMrBC9ulHghU0Lc5aj9r-7uhTUu6K4A__tTGm/s1600/half-man-half-woman11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHce0kZWlvjCxxgn3r6Clo5TwndlYpat3RWzCSN0A5sY6uMA1x1Soy6WOSA3YiwCPueXaK2HJs3PBaOnkqYj71CsN5x8eQi-sjND2HuwxcMrBC9ulHghU0Lc5aj9r-7uhTUu6K4A__tTGm/s1600/half-man-half-woman11.jpg" height="320" width="266" /></a>Mindful of this I was reading a thumbsucker about the N most important Science Fiction novels. I was impressed by the inclusion of stories that inspired nothing but eye-rolls when I tried to read them, and I was impressed by the omissions.<br />
<br />
(Likewise, I was reading a collection of the best SF stories of last year and after reading one that I knew was excellent, I was impressed by the next two that made me think, "what made that special?" I suppose I would have to be a Social Justice Warrior to understand.)<br />
<br />
I figure an SF novel is not important if it reiterates The Message that the SJWs are pushing, but it is important if it changes the direction of the genre. Someone in the '40s and '50s got everyone to writing novels with a rocket ship on the cover. Someone in the '60s got everyone to writing novels with a mushroom cloud with grateful dead in the foreground on the cover. I'll call those important SF stories.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5KLY8cQEyEMiyVbRsC47btfDybVfR7jYp4ZzHuMtS32uv0_DyqQmdJfnQOlYngNTUMEeQu4j4hKwEPPfwTSDcvCfJV0luEiRW8MJTizaA7Gg0zoKCMnOU98wEQimgV5jSDoCknRT6WpOS/s1600/kg_red-october_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5KLY8cQEyEMiyVbRsC47btfDybVfR7jYp4ZzHuMtS32uv0_DyqQmdJfnQOlYngNTUMEeQu4j4hKwEPPfwTSDcvCfJV0luEiRW8MJTizaA7Gg0zoKCMnOU98wEQimgV5jSDoCknRT6WpOS/s1600/kg_red-october_002.jpg" height="220" width="320" /></a></div>
Tom Clancy's Hunt For Red October was important because it got a lot of stories about the Reagan military build-up. The whole field of military SF took off at this time.<br />
<br />
But let's backtrack to those 1950s B-quality SF movies. Not the high brow ones like Forbidden Planet, but the cheap ones with giant ants, spiders, etc. You know, like Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. The ones made on the other side of the pond were a little more posh, like The Day of the Triffids, but they all followed the same pattern:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmxliBO9-2mI6pfi2fbebfJh2vZDUDrUnKeTAT_MMGhEip8UQse2X9SxFKckKrbVmGiCoUlUDe45q8obw569nT8oqVOh572whtE52oRTrKpNX3t3phansxg2SKtpkpyyBAxXgQzXX0D0n/s1600/day_of_triffids_poster_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmxliBO9-2mI6pfi2fbebfJh2vZDUDrUnKeTAT_MMGhEip8UQse2X9SxFKckKrbVmGiCoUlUDe45q8obw569nT8oqVOh572whtE52oRTrKpNX3t3phansxg2SKtpkpyyBAxXgQzXX0D0n/s1600/day_of_triffids_poster_02.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
Radiation or something mutates ants into the size <br />
of houses. Or a space comet drops spores on Earth and blinds people while the spores grow into giant people-eating plants. In such a movie the first reel is spent learning Something is Not Right. The second reel is spent convincing someone official to Take Action. The third reel is then divided in two halves: Our Guns Have No Effect on the monster, and finally Something Trivial devastates the monster.<br />
<br />
(Something Trivial? Consider something as ubiquitous as water. If you're the alien in Signs, it'll kill you. Same for those carnivorous plants in Day of the Triffids. (Don't forget the wicked witch of the west.) In these movies it serves as Something Trivial to be pulled out at the Dark Moment to act as a deux ex machina and save the day.)<br />
<br />
This happens because <b>if guns are magic, then the writer can turn off their magic. </b><br />
<br />
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/g1_NY4n2rg0/0.jpg" height="266" style="clear: left; float: left;" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/g1_NY4n2rg0&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/g1_NY4n2rg0&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>All this made me grow bored and tired of the entire Horror genre. I wanted to just yell at the idiot who tries to escape the chainsaw wielding fiend by jogging backwards in the forest. The slasher movies were the most annoying. There were tantalizing glimpses of a better way. The scene in Nighthawks with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpAZCwpogWo" target="_blank">Sly Stallone in drag</a>, or the world's shortest slasher film.<br />
<br />
But the old tired pattern is risible to anyone familiar with guns. If you shoot a vampire, the kinetic energy of the round has to go somewhere as it goes through the monster's body. And if the round doesn't interact with the matter of the vampire, then how can the monster interact with other matter, say the girl's neck to be bitten or her blood to be sucked?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-0aRzJKI7t4ch7NHWTzwJp4Olta9KadNOm-uCLRzFRk72TVjXOflXFKhtkl8yGJQfXpO5ep6SUsm5LiQ2QGMOZ4aMS5QhWMVoSTG4zOsVHHOzbSzAmbBYqmpf6HRZSf-LRANcBwa8mfB/s1600/ForceIsMassTimesAcceleration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-0aRzJKI7t4ch7NHWTzwJp4Olta9KadNOm-uCLRzFRk72TVjXOflXFKhtkl8yGJQfXpO5ep6SUsm5LiQ2QGMOZ4aMS5QhWMVoSTG4zOsVHHOzbSzAmbBYqmpf6HRZSf-LRANcBwa8mfB/s1600/ForceIsMassTimesAcceleration.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
This sets the stage for someone like Larry Correia to write Monster Hunter International novels. He's a firearms instructor and he's trained civilians and lawmen in how to use guns effectively. You can call him a gun nut, but you'd better smile when you say that.<br />
<br />
He respects guns enough to have the round do SOMETHING to the monster, even if it is less than sufficient to kill the beastie. Consider the opening scene of the first Monster Hunter International novel. Our Hero encounters a werewolf. You know, werewolves cannot be killed except with wolfbane and silver bullets. But Our Hero empties his gun in the beastie and it keeps coming, and he uses his fists. It keeps coming, he pushes it out a fourth-floor window, then he drops a desk on top if it.<br />
<br />
No wolfbane, and no silver bullets. The werewolf (a young one) cannot regenerate fast enough to survive the blunt force trauma of a desk falling on his head.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnGBjUdzccnuGs670RA197BeiTmS4TcvOFhtuKCdzwi8koDEMQPlCWGomNmOFAkHxu2aN4fM9nGGU7H-kiGl9xOTjsZrDQKHqblU4MOBGOPuhTZMMYQQ33Q11eRWoORIIqzuz6N1XPWd1m/s1600/FriedCthulhu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnGBjUdzccnuGs670RA197BeiTmS4TcvOFhtuKCdzwi8koDEMQPlCWGomNmOFAkHxu2aN4fM9nGGU7H-kiGl9xOTjsZrDQKHqblU4MOBGOPuhTZMMYQQ33Q11eRWoORIIqzuz6N1XPWd1m/s1600/FriedCthulhu.jpg" height="192" width="320" /></a></div>
At some point, even monsters have to obey the laws of physics. And that awareness is what Larry Correia brought to the telling of monster stories. It changes the entire horror genre. Instead of being helpless, or utterly dependent upon a stupid gimmick, the forces of good can innovate and come up with better ways to fight evil. When "our guns have no effect on the monster" let's try bigger guns. (And if your heroes don't have bigger guns, they can make do like the Finnish did when they beat the Russians in WW2. Like <a href="https://www.libertyislandmag.com/creator/stpoling/content.html?ln=southernfriedcthulhu2" target="_blank">this</a>.)<br />
<br />
Making guns less magical<br />
is a very helpful thing for the horror genre. And I think that when more writers realize that guns are not magic, they'll use them more effectively in their storytelling. This makes Monster Hunters important SF/horror stories.Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-11477358348384188942014-07-11T20:13:00.002-04:002014-07-11T20:15:30.724-04:00On Exercise<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR74UNB064nOwDNf6PLyhpM341GGNqBekvc01DXV9SKoNFL7mKuFkbZAnJIU_UlozE-hDjtC_PpKIymbO0vQY63ewl36JFrmCBuPJKVM60QRIGVjKn0A1hzP2NZWkHVLkFov4bSz5dAveJ/s1600/nordic-track-ski-machine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR74UNB064nOwDNf6PLyhpM341GGNqBekvc01DXV9SKoNFL7mKuFkbZAnJIU_UlozE-hDjtC_PpKIymbO0vQY63ewl36JFrmCBuPJKVM60QRIGVjKn0A1hzP2NZWkHVLkFov4bSz5dAveJ/s1600/nordic-track-ski-machine.jpg" height="300" width="320" /></a></div>
I read the <a href="http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/" target="_blank">Instapundit</a>, Glenn Reynolds, almost every day. He often recommends things he finds on Amazon. Often as not, I'll check them out--particularly, <a href="http://accordingtohoyt.com/" target="_blank">authors</a>. Some months back, he linked to a treadmill desk.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I have some experience with exercise equipment. I get excited about something I see advertised, then talk myself into buying it. I then spend a few weeks getting excited and using it faithfully. Then my ardor fades and it ends up unused, gathering dust in my basement.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My wife knows this and we have an agreement that if I spend more than a nominal amount, I need to involve her in the buying decision. Most of the treadmill desks I saw on Amazon were in the hundreds of dollars. When I broached the subject, she pointed out that I had a treadmill that I was not using. Hmmm. So, I started using the treadmill in hopes of getting an upgrade.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnudukoHNX04SIxLtKPwFj4I4PtA1XdovIGbxiRlMwbKDoxW7d4tBNa86XZX04y_GFL5QrbhW1dFOKhDHw_wvZs7n_ZX5KyvS-IOzYt13Aa2xJYm-kK4-4IIQVNbxJPBEueo-d-HBLqpkg/s1600/LaBelle_Blueprint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnudukoHNX04SIxLtKPwFj4I4PtA1XdovIGbxiRlMwbKDoxW7d4tBNa86XZX04y_GFL5QrbhW1dFOKhDHw_wvZs7n_ZX5KyvS-IOzYt13Aa2xJYm-kK4-4IIQVNbxJPBEueo-d-HBLqpkg/s1600/LaBelle_Blueprint.jpg" /></a></div>
<div>
This notion of upgrades spilled over to the television I keep next to the treadmill. THAT I could and did buy. The next time I got on the treadmill, I noticed I was juggling remotes and had no space for them and the book I was reading and a pad for taking notes. I needed just a little space to put these things on.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Shortly thereafter I got out a tape measure. If I had just one foot just at the height over the treadmill, that would work. How wide? About three feet. But it would have to be stable. If I made the space L-shaped, it'd be a lot like a proper desk top and it would be stable if I have a couple feet by four feet on the right.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBUvcJT16NYg0HmV0YQQwn9NfAT2EzK_WN4RYa8No310zCLylftdBjnI9FCtTYPbXoXO5r66wiigZqmbFdjbXLVqqZhp9mu6h14sOieJbaB0JZPotWMjHb5NRzP1gOsuuqJDEVQHhxyK6l/s1600/TreadmillDesk1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBUvcJT16NYg0HmV0YQQwn9NfAT2EzK_WN4RYa8No310zCLylftdBjnI9FCtTYPbXoXO5r66wiigZqmbFdjbXLVqqZhp9mu6h14sOieJbaB0JZPotWMjHb5NRzP1gOsuuqJDEVQHhxyK6l/s1600/TreadmillDesk1.jpg" height="234" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
At this point, I started laying out how this desk top could be cut from a 4x8 sheet of plywood. But how would I hold this desk top up? I help with the toddlers at church and they have these hand-made tables for the kiddos that are held up with 2x4s. So, I could make a framework of them and attach the desk top to this.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I spent the idle hours of a few days drawing this up and working out the simplest joinery I could think of. Simple, because I didn't want to exceed my limited carpentry skills. And I came up with a nice bill of materials.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpf2tQcJZsvUnEMnIO6Pt1d8-SmFhEZIUwHVIwfmqzw5ut-ZgTQyQc-WJgH4JvQlVlOqJqeRr0-KaSBly8s4oE2ZIg8Jy4OeMmethD6oqJoJcc1PjRwJpLZTBDyNRorWFWuhezw0Vha5N_/s1600/FrontFeet2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpf2tQcJZsvUnEMnIO6Pt1d8-SmFhEZIUwHVIwfmqzw5ut-ZgTQyQc-WJgH4JvQlVlOqJqeRr0-KaSBly8s4oE2ZIg8Jy4OeMmethD6oqJoJcc1PjRwJpLZTBDyNRorWFWuhezw0Vha5N_/s1600/FrontFeet2.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
<div>
One Saturday last spring I had breakfast with my friends, then went to Menard's, a local lumber yard. They sell 4x8 sheets of plywood that are already finished on one side. I snapped that up and a bunch of 2x4s, some 1x3s and a box of deck screws.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The hardest part was sawing the desktop into the proper L shape with a handheld circular saw and rounding the corners with a saber-saw. We used a sophisticated Maxwell-House coffee can gauge to get the curved corners to the right radius.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My across-the-back-fence neighbor did the hard parts for which I'm grateful. After that it was an easy matter of cutting boards to the right length and screwing them together according to plan.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Turned out that I miscalculated and needed one more 1x3. So, I didn't finish until the next day after I bought another board.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I didn't keep careful records, but I spent less than $100, one day of labor, and a lot of obsessive planning on the project.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
All in all, I'd say I made a better investment in lumber and time than I have for any other exercise-related expenditure. I've been on the treadmill on most days for at least a half-hour. In fact, I wrote this while walking and standing on the treadmill.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It was a fairly straightforward project. If you'd like to do one like it, feel free to ask me anything. I'll post some more pictures here and on my facebook page.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvFZ9CU-Xq26b64mqjJpr_7g7qWWW3bfRzMgxoFKEBWD0kSNGUYaHQxEGz8YEaFjV7CLFTPOdfstzdF1dwluf_QFVN0CtTZAd80cUMnKJbQWgXVlA2Q6YBdTtrPXPrByeMEurRh7fAveZM/s1600/OldTVStand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvFZ9CU-Xq26b64mqjJpr_7g7qWWW3bfRzMgxoFKEBWD0kSNGUYaHQxEGz8YEaFjV7CLFTPOdfstzdF1dwluf_QFVN0CtTZAd80cUMnKJbQWgXVlA2Q6YBdTtrPXPrByeMEurRh7fAveZM/s1600/OldTVStand.jpg" height="292" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This shows the desk as you stand on the treadmill facing forward. If you don't like the view, that's a problem.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdxXdhIWId3aAqM9LbQSSBkBHL_1sfcGRYmqAF3ExnJs-gkZFXZV-yX7kqceoiHP-1h7bh5zJGY0hY21V2_UpBw61s_i-FDojlMAcHcdZgKYlCGUslmDfiogg1x3nNE326xQJ8nPZLD3DM/s1600/UndersideOfDeskWithLEDs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdxXdhIWId3aAqM9LbQSSBkBHL_1sfcGRYmqAF3ExnJs-gkZFXZV-yX7kqceoiHP-1h7bh5zJGY0hY21V2_UpBw61s_i-FDojlMAcHcdZgKYlCGUslmDfiogg1x3nNE326xQJ8nPZLD3DM/s1600/UndersideOfDeskWithLEDs.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This shows the strip of adhesive LED lights I bought to spruce up the appearance of the treadmill desk and maybe see the treadmill display better.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiShhPl6-508sXpmohmEyNvZgwvFk7oe-i8ltm1An2sEgrbU4pwSYxCuJ8qRtv92K0kq5g8f2P3rzgUXiBoyTZlMgmdnSWzM5_uDSY92BPE5S7M_FpZ0pA8uXel7M26YKk765ZdVr6K7__C/s1600/JoineryDetailForTop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiShhPl6-508sXpmohmEyNvZgwvFk7oe-i8ltm1An2sEgrbU4pwSYxCuJ8qRtv92K0kq5g8f2P3rzgUXiBoyTZlMgmdnSWzM5_uDSY92BPE5S7M_FpZ0pA8uXel7M26YKk765ZdVr6K7__C/s1600/JoineryDetailForTop.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This shows how the desktop is held to the 2x4 legs which hold it up.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1mvvoFpQmQMy-QZkPHCBnnM5iS56IXNB1Bin69i5g9GFYYXOFziQGe7Qg1oKFP0lKK34Wv0XILwWAOJgaEorBmdktE0ruDx7W_w6Oo1lHYFsDexiDBhcS_zbnUkoqSakM5S3vV_mVWy4/s1600/JoineryDetail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1mvvoFpQmQMy-QZkPHCBnnM5iS56IXNB1Bin69i5g9GFYYXOFziQGe7Qg1oKFP0lKK34Wv0XILwWAOJgaEorBmdktE0ruDx7W_w6Oo1lHYFsDexiDBhcS_zbnUkoqSakM5S3vV_mVWy4/s1600/JoineryDetail.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This shows how the rails at bottom and almost top keep the legs square. Everything was screwed together using deck screws.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguoovSIHcbkMudjY6QXJUBRHGDdqjseuPvu8whjIGkeDBUX3gOT1myMmdtZQOHO-ou_wokzMYTzV2Id6zO4qWOvL2AKbp0hv3cJYOF9fu4i6OskwMYeZNe-E2GpqYE6mIjEblgEN2HWIOk/s1600/FrontRightCorner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguoovSIHcbkMudjY6QXJUBRHGDdqjseuPvu8whjIGkeDBUX3gOT1myMmdtZQOHO-ou_wokzMYTzV2Id6zO4qWOvL2AKbp0hv3cJYOF9fu4i6OskwMYeZNe-E2GpqYE6mIjEblgEN2HWIOk/s1600/FrontRightCorner.jpg" height="292" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This is looking right at the desktop. The pre-finished birch plywood is worth the $44 I paid for it.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ1VJZV5XHy-PbPwcw3L030QQ8nu6V9fVbgNIZNuo8GbYpMu2HQZgOWJv-lEu4OXKFZG6uVu0NehBblrRyok6A85acRs0BTUpuCMGtCUxUkOjFN9rmmAwU2JVRlI8MYHcINdh3tNhmdq0R/s1600/FacingDeskFromFront.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ1VJZV5XHy-PbPwcw3L030QQ8nu6V9fVbgNIZNuo8GbYpMu2HQZgOWJv-lEu4OXKFZG6uVu0NehBblrRyok6A85acRs0BTUpuCMGtCUxUkOjFN9rmmAwU2JVRlI8MYHcINdh3tNhmdq0R/s1600/FacingDeskFromFront.jpg" height="292" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This shows the treadmill under the desk.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-55170145598811453632014-07-04T17:52:00.000-04:002014-07-04T17:52:02.980-04:00Nemesis<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3mGdjNyhyphenhyphenSbKe-TMcgvC9qiLKT7HcYX1wIwvMTqCvX36A_szcOapgeh1TuJRusyQVlNBjB5Ab-D39jT4LaZuyGWNs2Hfd7Os015a9v9pEHC4MuLP643m3a-wdZN5IFYp2t9fuNK85JbZ/s1600/monster-nemesis-final-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3mGdjNyhyphenhyphenSbKe-TMcgvC9qiLKT7HcYX1wIwvMTqCvX36A_szcOapgeh1TuJRusyQVlNBjB5Ab-D39jT4LaZuyGWNs2Hfd7Os015a9v9pEHC4MuLP643m3a-wdZN5IFYp2t9fuNK85JbZ/s1600/monster-nemesis-final-2.jpg" height="400" width="262" /></a>Larry Correia is the best action writer in the world. He understands guns and he understands fighting. If the dates worked and if I believed in reincarnation, I'd say he was Louis L'Amour come back.<br />
<br />
But I don't believe in reincarnation. And that's my one gripe about Larry Correia's novel, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1476736553/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1476736553&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20&linkId=LWEUYC52Y2T7B2XJ" target="_blank">Nemesis</a></i>. I'll come back to this later.<br />
<br />
In the preceding novels of the Monster Hunter International series, we've been introduced to the original Combat Accountant, <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2011/07/monster-hunters-international.html" target="_blank">Owen Z Pitt</a>. Over the course of the next few novels, Pitt <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2011/07/monster-hunter-vendetta.html" target="_blank">nukes a Lovecraftian entity</a> (something I've always wanted to see), then introduce the <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2011/08/monster-hunter-alpha.html" target="_blank">Alpha werewolf</a> (and his yooper chick girlfriend), and then he trashes <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2012/12/monster-hunter-legion.html" target="_blank">Vegas baby</a>.<br />
<br />
I had a chance to reflect on my first review of Mr. Correia's work and I realize how far he's brought me. I used to absolutely <b>despise</b> the horror genre with no inclination toward anything but mocking it. There was always a lot of screaming and helpless people flailing about while someone really stupid takes forever figuring out that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AYELJ2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000AYELJ2&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20&linkId=MT7CBOAL5SF773JL" target="_blank">triffids</a> or <a href="ttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005JL3T/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00005JL3T&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20&linkId=NSPYEXMLB6NWKIE5" target="_blank">aliens</a> are allergic to seawater--as opposed to well aimed hot lead at high velocity. Hurray for Larry Correia for showing us that maybe our weapons can have some effect on the monster.<br />
<br />
The pattern of Mr. Correia's Monster Hunter books of late has been to tell an interesting foreground story and mix in a big of the backstory that answers questions about the more interesting characters. Alpha explained how Earl Harbinger became a werewolf and learned to cope with it. Nemesis is like Alpha in this way.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtErazA_Z4PMQk3mwy0PZ423qjNf3ZuI70CQPmYunZEQqD2rXNi7U5sdTB6ow1cinTYTXGSDqlY5JEliLLqpDgn872prEuMYAZ28a76MaH8VAvTdINaqtuvILu2d-70Vx-rn74fEXcyvaO/s1600/Burg_Frankenstein_bei_Nacht.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtErazA_Z4PMQk3mwy0PZ423qjNf3ZuI70CQPmYunZEQqD2rXNi7U5sdTB6ow1cinTYTXGSDqlY5JEliLLqpDgn872prEuMYAZ28a76MaH8VAvTdINaqtuvILu2d-70Vx-rn74fEXcyvaO/s1600/Burg_Frankenstein_bei_Nacht.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1476736553/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1476736553&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20&linkId=LWEUYC52Y2T7B2XJ" target="_blank"><i>Nemesis</i></a> turns the focus on Agent Franks of the Monster Control Bureau of the US Federal Government. In Larry Correia's universe, the story of Victor Frankenstein's creation is "based on a true story." And after bouncing around Europe for a century, Agent Franks runs into George Washington, doesn't kill him, and contracts with Benjamin Franklin to work for the US. This beats being a Hessian mercenary, but Franks has one stipulation in his contract...<br />
<br />
Do NOT try to make any more frankenstein monsters. If you do, Franks agrees in his part of the contract to do everything in his power to destroy the project and the government who authorized it.<br />
<br />
So, this leaves you one guess about what the inciting incident of <i>Nemesis</i> is. Yup, the government and the shadowy Special Task Force Unicorn (STFU) decide to create a bunch of weaponized frankenstein monsters. Not that the original is not already a formidable weapon...<br />
<br />
Lots of action ensues.<br />
<br />
Is there gunplay?<br />
<br />
Yes. Lots of gunplay.<br />
<br />
Are there fistfights, knife fights, sword fights, and heavy blunt object fights?<br />
<br />
Yes. All of the above.<br />
<br />
Is it a lot of exciting fun?<br />
<br />
Definitely.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghOJ771Y64pihF4g5RyvOtOoECIAUU9dKQPzdCiLG3_ijtFmojk1Qxr-WnvCZ0V7NQTYWurMU1cho0aDT3uYcMIPQ5WDWAvcoMtdNz1-OpOosm08x3I94sD8OteyCDeSjwTMTmdaqyguxM/s1600/Ghost_Stories_December_1930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghOJ771Y64pihF4g5RyvOtOoECIAUU9dKQPzdCiLG3_ijtFmojk1Qxr-WnvCZ0V7NQTYWurMU1cho0aDT3uYcMIPQ5WDWAvcoMtdNz1-OpOosm08x3I94sD8OteyCDeSjwTMTmdaqyguxM/s1600/Ghost_Stories_December_1930.jpg" /></a></div>
When the STFU, led by the evil albino named Stricken, realize they've bit off more than they can chew, they call in monster hunters from all over the world. Leading to some dandy firefights in unsavory parts of Washington DC and exurban Virginia.<br />
<br />
Of note are the Vatican monster hunters who want to know if Franks is still abiding by the terms of "The Deal." What's most intriguing about the Vatican hunters is summed up in two words: combat exorcists. Yes, I want to hear more about these guys.<br />
<br />
This brings us to that bit about <i>Nemesis</i> and reincarnation. I've tried to avoid spoilers to this point, but if you want to read the book before you read the following paragraphs, I'll wait.<br />
<br />
Waiting...<br />
<br />
<br />
Still waiting...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKSo6cv5BpEwTYqSwkuJlQkAp8Ya1zeEMkWdmfr8C7a8Lat1cDwRpRj3khiqGqkOD_c46zJJKGxlLXSTfbl0TmY1vLR0mFKDk2zW3jR6fe_hqrMqioMQxaMnpOksYEOslu8bUPf1_EnAqH/s1600/intermission_feature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKSo6cv5BpEwTYqSwkuJlQkAp8Ya1zeEMkWdmfr8C7a8Lat1cDwRpRj3khiqGqkOD_c46zJJKGxlLXSTfbl0TmY1vLR0mFKDk2zW3jR6fe_hqrMqioMQxaMnpOksYEOslu8bUPf1_EnAqH/s1600/intermission_feature.jpg" height="193" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
No, it's OK, I'll be here when you get done...<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Spoilers ahead...<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtvvT2BeHeHcmdxytjx21VrDWElh2GzF4bOnwl_fdA1yEroeYhLfoc-Qv3LEjD02QPiXkayGuq1e4p4ezz3d4UUmhnwZrnMmQbGjmaEwYUkZoejafBRKK617xhV6sJqbnRBp1K4YilcSfW/s1600/Blake-Ho%CC%88llensturz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtvvT2BeHeHcmdxytjx21VrDWElh2GzF4bOnwl_fdA1yEroeYhLfoc-Qv3LEjD02QPiXkayGuq1e4p4ezz3d4UUmhnwZrnMmQbGjmaEwYUkZoejafBRKK617xhV6sJqbnRBp1K4YilcSfW/s1600/Blake-Ho%CC%88llensturz.jpg" height="320" width="233" /></a></div>
When asked what Agent Franks is, he always says, "Classified." But he ends up telling his bosses at the government this is classified. He gets away with it until he says that to the Archangel Michael, with whom he fought when he fell with Lucifer and one third of the angels in heaven.<br />
<br />
Yes, that Archangel Michael.<br />
<br />
Let's back up a bit. Have you ever wondered what a soul is? I know <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2013/11/mind-body-and-spirit-some-speculation.html" target="_blank">I have</a>.<br />
<br />
You see, according to Mr. Correia's cosmology, every human soul is an angel who's been granted permission to inhabit a human body. When any baby is born, some angel who's on a waiting list gets the green-light to take up residence. Somehow, only approved angels get the chance, and when they do get the chance, they forget everything that went before. This leaves the fallen angels imprisoned in Hell, but sometimes they find a way to escape Hell, whereupon they wander Earth influencing humans to do evil.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjP8wWLJkKfBJ_YzZfjLe3b_u4VDw-qnPgSdBh9kUcOpRUfug7KFLrH9tHBdTqwjKlRY30VhTJd2a4YhP1CE-0MHKYqADQsKmykiaG38e7cPBOLZ535Qx3oFZR3KOC69utHk1eV47qi0SF/s1600/ThatHideousStrength.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjP8wWLJkKfBJ_YzZfjLe3b_u4VDw-qnPgSdBh9kUcOpRUfug7KFLrH9tHBdTqwjKlRY30VhTJd2a4YhP1CE-0MHKYqADQsKmykiaG38e7cPBOLZ535Qx3oFZR3KOC69utHk1eV47qi0SF/s1600/ThatHideousStrength.jpg" height="320" width="192" /></a>This is quite similar to the scheme C. S. Lewis put in his novel "<a href="ttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006L8768O/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B006L8768O&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20&linkId=T5W2X6AT46M6RRK6" target="_blank">That Hideous Strength.</a>" However, instead of reanimating a dead human brain to serve as a fallen angel's presence in this world, Mr. Correia posits that when you make an empty human shell, like a frankenstein monster, then any fallen angel can "possess" the body. This is consistent with the bible stories wherein the Savior casts out demons.<br />
<br />
The notion is that a human body is a sort of receptacle that can house a soul. This is a dualistic schema wherein body and soul are completely different sorts of stuff. You can see this is where the reincarnation folks are coming from. A soul may be victimized and murdered in the first reel of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karzzzz" target="_blank">Bollywood movie</a>, and be reincarnated in the 2nd reel to exact his revenge two decades later in the 3rd reel. This was going on in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002DUJ9Q6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002DUJ9Q6&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20&linkId=YE435PEE6FCJQZOO%22" target="_blank">Babylon 5</a> when the Minbari noticed that some of their best souls were missing and had been getting reincarnated into Humans.<br />
<br />
I think it is a Mormon notion that souls of men are all unfallen angels put here on Earth for a reason a Mormon might explain better than I could. This drives the backstory of Agent Franks, a fallen angel of some distinction who escapes Hell, comes to Earth, and inhabits a body of corpse parts enervated by alchemical means sometime in the 17th century.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN4RZZaotNYq4-5PNznR-tVa7bDRr154kqtE_mf4le7q29o3dDd4sLtrzOpcMH8VydT9Gl9LlRIC7y-EiGZPBdFTbJwt42hwLgSdAGXb4kyn2_fPM-lJr5exBXqo-LoY-N18NWVxDK7TOG/s1600/Reincarnation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN4RZZaotNYq4-5PNznR-tVa7bDRr154kqtE_mf4le7q29o3dDd4sLtrzOpcMH8VydT9Gl9LlRIC7y-EiGZPBdFTbJwt42hwLgSdAGXb4kyn2_fPM-lJr5exBXqo-LoY-N18NWVxDK7TOG/s1600/Reincarnation.jpg" height="320" width="221" /></a></div>
This is a cool idea even if I don't believe in it. I think a soul is an emergent property of a sufficiently advanced neural network. But my idea doesn't matter as far as Mr. Correia's story is concerned, it's just a quibble. It doesn't hurt the story, it just serves as a distraction to the philosophically minded who will step outside the story for a bit to contemplate the transmigration of the soul. (I'm not suggesting Mormonism believe in reincarnation. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-existence#Latter_Day_Saints" target="_blank">It's different from that</a>.)<br />
<br />
The debate about where and how the soul comes about is a lot older than anyone reading this. If it is a matter of Mormon doctrine, no argument will suffice to change a Mormon's mind. Nor would I want to argue to this end.<br />
<br />
I don't think it is possible, but if <i>Nemesis</i> could be written in such a way that the reader was not distracted by metaphysical considerations. In a story with the supernatural as the main source of conflict, I suppose metaphysical considerations are a necessary component.<br />
<br />
How many stars? 5 well earned stars.Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-14136593263260515202014-07-01T11:25:00.001-04:002014-07-01T11:25:26.499-04:00Freebies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdRg4xOPXVejs13k6-NGuUZqLrTj1xfBThbFsR3Z_TaPl1HKhKY8zug6yb18WyGMHOfsxLWMpe0hww0T6bDtBL8cgRfoVmQpRxfYC746nUHPR5NdzPcl0H4usISVSsEn8Pig2oQeBUG4ey/s1600/Three_jolly_kittens.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdRg4xOPXVejs13k6-NGuUZqLrTj1xfBThbFsR3Z_TaPl1HKhKY8zug6yb18WyGMHOfsxLWMpe0hww0T6bDtBL8cgRfoVmQpRxfYC746nUHPR5NdzPcl0H4usISVSsEn8Pig2oQeBUG4ey/s1600/Three_jolly_kittens.png" height="234" width="320" /></a></div>
I've been involved with software for a few decades now and one of the things I really enjoy about software is how it costs nothing to reproduce and redistribute. This means that a lot of it gets given away freely. Linux is like this. It's free and you can run Linux on your laptop for just the time it takes you to download it and put it on your machine.<br />
<br />
And then there's the Internet. Do you want to find all the web pages that talk about kittens? Do a google search and you'll get hundred of links to sites related somehow to kittens. And what did you have to pay for this? Nothing! It's free.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP1khw2YFQrIPv_6wV5P_bwvHibUdebetpMF8E4fVl_nMOUORx0k0igy18O3VDJlfxZM9VO6rEEi3ZtV_uvZaFiFXZnG6BXnP8C7NHG68qRtEknaupDJbraxaXDh2YiSULcggqSkcJ39vy/s1600/Gnulinux.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP1khw2YFQrIPv_6wV5P_bwvHibUdebetpMF8E4fVl_nMOUORx0k0igy18O3VDJlfxZM9VO6rEEi3ZtV_uvZaFiFXZnG6BXnP8C7NHG68qRtEknaupDJbraxaXDh2YiSULcggqSkcJ39vy/s1600/Gnulinux.png" height="320" width="280" /></a></div>
Aside: The Grammar Nazi would like to point out that it is "free" or "for nothing" or "freely" and that it is improper to say "for free". But don't take him too seriously, because he left out all the commas in that last sentence.<br />
<br />
If you have a smart phone, you can go online to one or another web site and search for applications. And if you're lucky, there's an app for that. And most of the time that's free, too. Which is great.<br />
<br />
If you're a writer, particularly an indie writer, you may have noticed that your biggest problem is obscurity. The people who know you look up your work on Amazon or wherever, and they can buy it for a nominal amount. But you aren't rich and famous because nobody knows to look up your work on Amazon.<br />
<br />
One approach that indie writers adopt is giving away free samples. You can find some of their stories for sale for $0.00. This is in hopes that you'll realize you like their work and you'll buy other stories at $3.00 or more.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3g6dEJX0XktA5lzcKs_R3mJ5DTQwvnNxT2vIc2VJHzE0kQbPYEK6edJcbEvAUi303v2C0b2wHV35LzExxDbCJ_QliqFStRlngLAqdGrr4_6E1rRu8dM8Xvw0BzTkSX2wcqr08jYyZpMOE/s1600/free_lunch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3g6dEJX0XktA5lzcKs_R3mJ5DTQwvnNxT2vIc2VJHzE0kQbPYEK6edJcbEvAUi303v2C0b2wHV35LzExxDbCJ_QliqFStRlngLAqdGrr4_6E1rRu8dM8Xvw0BzTkSX2wcqr08jYyZpMOE/s1600/free_lunch.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
One thing I've discovered that does NOT work for me is offering a free minimalist smartphone app, that has all its best features teased, but unavailable unless you pay for an upgrade. It's gotten to the point where there are things which I just naturally expect to be free, and it is unreasonable, but I resent it when someone expects me to pay for it. It's like internet news sites that are hidden behind a paywall. I won't pay, I"ll just go somewhere else that doesn't charge.<br />
<br />
If I change roles, and think of myself not as consumer, but as producer of software, of ebooks, of cell phone apps, of music, of videos, etc. I have a problem with this attitude. As a producer of works art, I'd sort of like to get paid for it, otherwise I'll starve. Or do something else.<br />
<br />
So, I've got an opportunity to build my reputation online via giving away freebies, but I can't start charging for anything I've been giving away. Once I start charging, it's like the girl who's been giving you sexual favors announcing that henceforth she's raising her prices to match the hooker standing on the corner. It changes the entire dynamic.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5eCBwYQoA3iUm1F5ciLanImGNFcrtfnr_TJmeI8mzPBOCRGow3w4-4MepkVAg75dNO9z8SNA1Et294xNPLUbWwnfP7hHs9A4scs0P7Fd7EPlTfGVYPoYgq1BTWOIUkjbd1nLCH73tzNVh/s1600/Zhigan_i_prostitutka_by_B._Grigoriev_(1917,_priv._coll).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5eCBwYQoA3iUm1F5ciLanImGNFcrtfnr_TJmeI8mzPBOCRGow3w4-4MepkVAg75dNO9z8SNA1Et294xNPLUbWwnfP7hHs9A4scs0P7Fd7EPlTfGVYPoYgq1BTWOIUkjbd1nLCH73tzNVh/s1600/Zhigan_i_prostitutka_by_B._Grigoriev_(1917,_priv._coll).jpg" height="400" width="213" /></a>However, suppose you've enjoyed the sexual favors of some toothsome lass and after you're enjoying the afterglow, she casually mentions her favorite brand of champagne, or chocolate. This will transfer some of the good feelings you've recently gotten from the free goods to these other goods. You may then realize that you're thirsty for champagne or hungry for chocolate.<br />
<br />
What I'm saying here is this:<br />
<br />
The only thing you can reasonably expect from a freebie give-a-way is a referral.<br />
<br />
Suppose you give away a really great iPhone app. You won't be able to raise your prices, but if that app creates value for a lot of people those people will think well of you. And if you ask them to refer their acquaintances to a related-but-different product, I think you can reasonably expect them to mention it. For instance, I might give away the sound track, but sell a movie. Or give away an iPhone app, but sell computer consulting.<br />
<br />
The trouble with indie writers giving away book A in hopes of driving sales to book B is that the reader of book A holds in her hands proof that the book can be reproduced so cheaply you can give it away, so there's little reason to believe book B is not produced just as cheaply.<br />
<br />
If you're an indie writer who wants to drive business to your stories, you'll have to find something related-but-different that you can give away freely. And all you can expect from that freebie is some gesture of gratitude on the part of the recipient. I don't quite know (yet) what that related-but-different freebie might be, nor do I know how to create a system that enables gestures-of-gratitude.<br />
<br />
If you have any ideas, let's hear them.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTaui_7OfHVBSqjQFw-DtiG_45-hS1DhdvshYMP1vhZi0ou4bMIpoqcVTut-gWnpK-IWQMIhTCuFGsDuEmpQ6rQRh4HL3CG2jRn5fAovgu_nOeyV2sDAP1gMl6jZBTH9xO903Cy9WZ4b2a/s1600/Mystery.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTaui_7OfHVBSqjQFw-DtiG_45-hS1DhdvshYMP1vhZi0ou4bMIpoqcVTut-gWnpK-IWQMIhTCuFGsDuEmpQ6rQRh4HL3CG2jRn5fAovgu_nOeyV2sDAP1gMl6jZBTH9xO903Cy9WZ4b2a/s1600/Mystery.png" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-37015063834209198142014-06-21T00:04:00.001-04:002014-06-21T00:04:49.144-04:00Violence Never Solves Anything<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs6uPmkA_A6XU12v0bibH8Ys9Mv-6SVDMnlekcT5-T8VYFA0j9Fp2g-3ARlmYKWOOSzis4lJaU-QEAijF8iR_573VKOqLl_X7Pja8DjlXpW1sXxeUJlCEMwx3sKQPxmDbNjdRdGLXOm04k/s1600/Mural_del_Gernika.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs6uPmkA_A6XU12v0bibH8Ys9Mv-6SVDMnlekcT5-T8VYFA0j9Fp2g-3ARlmYKWOOSzis4lJaU-QEAijF8iR_573VKOqLl_X7Pja8DjlXpW1sXxeUJlCEMwx3sKQPxmDbNjdRdGLXOm04k/s1600/Mural_del_Gernika.jpg" height="167" width="320" /></a></div>
There are things that I wish were true. For instance, there are Christians who believe everyone is going to heaven, or that the Kingdom of Christ will seamlessly emerge from a continual improvement of the human condition. Sadly, I find reasons to think these things are not true. Wishful thinking does not make things so.<br />
<br />
I wish that my pacifist friends were right. I wish we could educate people to beat their swords into plowshares. I wish everyone was as civilized as my pacifist friends.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWw0acOlAesvD9gCjlc8UGsJDzUCr9N7fsPgetN_t9QLNcfBo3-c9EoQubwQKLnf_EUMQKclllUl2IvoBPABKWwVIg_dyiHocO-20pxNM__7ouAwhQukrhkfGkSEp0ZKJ2imXwxsbHMdh2/s1600/MP25_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWw0acOlAesvD9gCjlc8UGsJDzUCr9N7fsPgetN_t9QLNcfBo3-c9EoQubwQKLnf_EUMQKclllUl2IvoBPABKWwVIg_dyiHocO-20pxNM__7ouAwhQukrhkfGkSEp0ZKJ2imXwxsbHMdh2/s1600/MP25_1.jpg" height="244" width="320" /></a>The mantra "violence is not the answer" is one of those things that I wish were true. And I wish that humoring this sort of wishful, magical thinking was not evil.<br />
<br />
Evil?<br />
<br />
Violence is learned behavior. The aggressor in a violent confrontation has already acquainted himself enough with violence to believe he can successfully engage his target. The target can counter with violence provided she has the training, experience, and tools of violence.<br />
<br />
People better acquainted with violence than I have opined <a href="http://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2014/06/education-for-rapists-dont-believe-bull.html" target="_blank">here </a>and <a href="http://www.michaelzwilliamson.com/blog/item/rape" target="_blank">here</a> they make a convincing case that violence DOES solve something: namely it can effectively thwart a violent attack.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyo6E3yukd3YnktV-kAc7qQiZSJo9NPvnUbs-cRtVUb3FaQBgso55mS6juSCZ-P3fVFfaRmUNRl9yucim37wwx1IyiKvH3AygXHWRgvDuhJdYH5cLpN35TfUwDja7qVH40XjdkBozcTUbH/s1600/israeli-girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyo6E3yukd3YnktV-kAc7qQiZSJo9NPvnUbs-cRtVUb3FaQBgso55mS6juSCZ-P3fVFfaRmUNRl9yucim37wwx1IyiKvH3AygXHWRgvDuhJdYH5cLpN35TfUwDja7qVH40XjdkBozcTUbH/s1600/israeli-girls.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Social Justice Warriors speak of something called a "rape culture" and stress the need for "education" while they deprecate those who educate self-defense. They do this because self-defense education is education in violence.<br />
<br />
Every so often some madman steals a gun and runs amok shooting up some gun-free zone or another. These stories become tragedies when the victims respond in a pacifist fashion. But teachers need not be packing heat to thwart such an attack. They need to recognize the reality of human evil and be prepared to respond with violence to thwart it. However, this is another form of education in violence.<br />
<br />
The strong emotions about rape or school shootings arise because these events falsify pacifist wish-dreams.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/g1_NY4n2rg0/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/g1_NY4n2rg0&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/g1_NY4n2rg0&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<br />Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-65908241025225112522014-06-13T15:00:00.001-04:002014-06-13T15:00:13.521-04:00You Have Been Disqualified<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-VSZK9DYxHoWM1xAAjqxxk3zA7BZ51ZPAHRM3plEokvYge8okDIUWBXlO_34PwPAPvg86mYAA56ZZZyu_60Hj1zerta8BXG4vOKPYCvXy1ZcNAAGYCkfOWEmJPrdPq-1XyLZsmcdAthv/s1600/SULTANA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-VSZK9DYxHoWM1xAAjqxxk3zA7BZ51ZPAHRM3plEokvYge8okDIUWBXlO_34PwPAPvg86mYAA56ZZZyu_60Hj1zerta8BXG4vOKPYCvXy1ZcNAAGYCkfOWEmJPrdPq-1XyLZsmcdAthv/s1600/SULTANA.jpg" height="234" width="320" /></a></div>
This happens in episodic television enough for me to notice, but it also works with any franchise.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Or maybe I should say <u>doesn't</u> work. Because I'm thinking of a story-killer. Something that takes your reader out of the story, moves him/her to close the book, then throw it out the nearest window.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A friend mentioned a TV series I do not watch and described something the heroes does which is revolting. I won't tell you which show, so I'll describe something similar.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Do you remember in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DH6DS58/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00DH6DS58&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20" target="_blank">Huckleberry Finn</a>, where Huck is describing a steamship accident? A boiler exploded, but "nobody was killed except for a couple n------s." At that time, using the n-word was as common and as accepted in the South as it is between black people today. However, were I to use that word in this post even for illustrative purposes, it would attach a taint to everything else I might write.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDTGIWBhn_mqsaoyEexzpmXsJPPzGwFMLKIAw_p22psHsQiDRlqoL2CX177VBTL5lD2eTDSJQILtU2FMYoyluS-v6mvi0iyrUjLNjlzFQWboVIqtlZ5Wib25ciQC-bOuAYeLujvxsNOttI/s1600/Kitten-prays.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDTGIWBhn_mqsaoyEexzpmXsJPPzGwFMLKIAw_p22psHsQiDRlqoL2CX177VBTL5lD2eTDSJQILtU2FMYoyluS-v6mvi0iyrUjLNjlzFQWboVIqtlZ5Wib25ciQC-bOuAYeLujvxsNOttI/s1600/Kitten-prays.jpg" height="256" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
Suppose you're watching a story and the hero sort of cavalierly suggests killing the black guy to advance the plot. You'd be outraged and you'd rightly disqualify everything else the writer had to say. In my friend's case, she's a cat person, and the TV show rather callously dispatched a feline. Now, my friend hates the show.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When you write something that is a disqualifier, you convert your readers from either a fan or someone who's indifferent into an enemy. If you want to turn me from a fan of your TV show into an enemy, dishonestly or ignorantly malign Christianity. For my friend, it is cruelty to cats.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A fan will say "yeah but" when someone points out something stupid in a story. I watched a lot of really crappy <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&keywords=star%20trek%20the%20next%20generation&linkCode=ur2&qid=1402639555&rh=n%3A2625373011%2Ck%3Astar%20trek%20the%20next%20generation%2Cp_n_format_browse-bin%3A2650305011&rnid=2650303011&tag=find99centboo-20" target="_blank">Star Trek Next Gen</a> episodes, because I was such a fan of the franchise. And my wife would point out how stupid things were, and I'd say, "yeah but." I had this lingering love for the Star Trek franchise that caused me to make excuses.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
My friend, on the other hand, is now an enemy of the show. It can't do anything right. Every weakness in the writing is a glaring omission to her. When you hate something, anything and everything associated with it gets seen in the worst possible light.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjmqakkCrrY0iehNzDYGnNeybfeaTmnQTQEAYUmgp7QYcxwuwsVgM4cuZfkynxYO7H54__N9VmPZB03lmFqoS-s9jvcqGxPwbUddiKjtavLAWVq2jhbHi92RAfZVjj-ps3zwxeLxyyMcE/s1600/OldManPotter.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjmqakkCrrY0iehNzDYGnNeybfeaTmnQTQEAYUmgp7QYcxwuwsVgM4cuZfkynxYO7H54__N9VmPZB03lmFqoS-s9jvcqGxPwbUddiKjtavLAWVq2jhbHi92RAfZVjj-ps3zwxeLxyyMcE/s1600/OldManPotter.gif" /></a></div>
<div>
Suppose you don't care that Third-World Bohemian Have-Nots hate your story. Then you can go ahead and malign them in your writing.<br />
<br />
If they cannot generate sympathy for their cause, they make a great punching bag. That's why Christian businessmen are great villains. Everyone knows, or knows of, a Christian who's been a jerk toward someone. Don't believe me? Three words: Westboro Baptist Church. And nobody feels sympathetic towards businessmen, unless they're the victims of bigger businessmen. (E. g. Old Man Potter in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UHOWXI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001UHOWXI&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20" target="_blank">It's a Wonderful Life</a> would be a sympathetic figure if someone opened a Walmart at the edge of Bedford Falls.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But in the main, you want nobody to hate your story.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Trouble with that is many writers are oblivious to the things they write which disqualify. If you aren't a cat person, you may not appreciate how passionately a reader will react when you feed tabby to a monster. OK, then we'll just feed the black guy to the monster. Right?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg51073K5kADsc4TZSNpLN7DuWdAzO5VnYXHZPW9pMTSixJnOhM4nd6RPa6zPU5Ch6TQyfCJVU0U4oD3F7ZMA5bqAENIDjYHuPrTOGR9fpeucjk9uBKvIOZ49SeBMCl5le45AsJfOTuwXSD/s1600/kambakkht+ishq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg51073K5kADsc4TZSNpLN7DuWdAzO5VnYXHZPW9pMTSixJnOhM4nd6RPa6zPU5Ch6TQyfCJVU0U4oD3F7ZMA5bqAENIDjYHuPrTOGR9fpeucjk9uBKvIOZ49SeBMCl5le45AsJfOTuwXSD/s1600/kambakkht+ishq.jpg" height="192" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
Last week I saw a Bollywood movie, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002MB0W8K/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002MB0W8K&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20" target="_blank">Kambakkht Ishq</a> wherein Sylvester Stallone makes a cameo appearance in the 3rd reel. The scene is a satisfying actioner: The guy drives into the wrong neighborhood and is stopped and threatened by toughs. A fight ensues and he tells the girl to run. Despite having done a great job in the first two reels of literally cutting up Akshay Kumar, she runs and screams. The bad guys give chase with bad intent. Until they run into Sly who proceeds to beat the bad guys senseless.<br />
<br />
Though the girl's flight and rescue is quite acceptable to an Indian audience, I can imagine my feminist friends' heads exploding. The girl is <u>helpless</u>? She is potential victim in need of <u>rescue</u>? Disqualified!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I know a fellow in my writers' group who is perpetrating a perfect trifecta of suck. He has a story with an unsympathetic protagonist. This guy is a tormented captive, but he responds in a weak and passive way. And then gets rescued. And then he turns into a woman. And then gets captured and tormented again...<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOtLwBxPrynfdQ-hdlkJ8Koy7wFlYSSjZ1zWtWcCNqlPsmfC09A841npbzcc0LC1kev5SGKLt9J1OoMddnTbFSYOSUo9-EjQ71FmWB5wY61txNSqZhMKO0Nh7J8suTvsSwuR-JEXeFgY3/s1600/jumped-the-shark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOtLwBxPrynfdQ-hdlkJ8Koy7wFlYSSjZ1zWtWcCNqlPsmfC09A841npbzcc0LC1kev5SGKLt9J1OoMddnTbFSYOSUo9-EjQ71FmWB5wY61txNSqZhMKO0Nh7J8suTvsSwuR-JEXeFgY3/s1600/jumped-the-shark.jpg" height="231" width="320" /></a>Wait. HE TURNS INTO A WOMAN? What's with that? And then gets raped? And doesn't undergo any sort of character development? Oh, and did I say the story has all kinds of vaguely wrong biblical symbology?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
What editor in this or any century, in this or any world would say, "I think this will sell."?<br />
<br />
There are certain expectations one brings to a protagonist. They don't kill babies or innocent animals. They don't passively go along with victimization.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The story was laughably flawed to begin with, but once the protagonist changed sexes, the ick factor took over. Maybe, a writer who is a transexual could pull this character off, but not a straight white man. Once the author indulges in the shark jumping BS it brings to light all his other other problems. </div>
<div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I call this category of writing mistakes "disqualifications." They are immediate shark-jumps. You absolutely must avoid them. And the only that you are going to avoid them is by being sensitive to people and how they respond to your prose.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That includes being sensitive to people who are not like you.</div>
</div>
Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-24661702573057092152014-05-13T01:49:00.003-04:002014-05-13T01:49:35.791-04:00Wedding PactOccasionally I'll see a movie and feel disappointed and/or unsatisfied afterwards. Then I'll ask myself why. And this is what happens.<br />
<br />
<a href="ttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GV8AZI2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00GV8AZI2&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20">Wedding Pact</a> is a romantic comedy. And I've blogged about romantic comedies before <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2012/02/mary-sue-baxter.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />
The set-up is pretty cool. A guy and girl find they've reached the end of four years of college, having known and liked one another, but never actually dated. At a graduation party she points this out and asks him that if they still aren't married after 10 years, why don't they marry.<br />
<br />
I really, really loved the premise, but it hides a terrible secret the casual viewer might not catch.<br />
<br />
And so as you'd expect 10 years elapse and they're both single. He learns of this and embarks on a road trip to find the girl and remind her of the promise to marry.<br />
<br />
We then learn that he has carried a torch for this girl since he first met her on the first day of college. In any story you should see character development. In this story the character arc should be obvious. Something is lacking in this guy's character that prevents him from successfully romancing someone, anyone. And since the girl never marries either, there's something in her character that should similarly sabotage her romantic success.<br />
<br />
Whoever wrote this movie never got around to thinking these thoughts. As a result, it sort of stumbles around and ultimately uses a deus ex machina (in the form of a biker gangster) to force a happily ever after.<br />
<br />
So, gentle reader, let's suppose you've been called in to script-doctor this turkey. Suppose you agree that the premise is sound. Now, here's an assignment for the reader: devise some creative solution to explain why 14 years elapse, they like each other, he doesn't marry someone else, she doesn't marry someone else, but they don't marry each other.<br />
<br />
The cool thing about answering this problem is that it can drive the plot into some really interesting (as in <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2012/08/are-you-trying-to-get-fresh-with-me.html">fresh and original</a>) ground. Obvious solutions: he's caring for a sick aunt or she's obsessed with her career should be avoided b/c they are so UNORIGINAL.<br />
<br />
I played this game with my wife and she suggested that his older sister and her husband died right after graduation leaving him to care for his twin 8 year old nieces who 10 years later grow up and gone to college. My suggestion to her was that he's afflicted with some kind of narcolepsy so that every time he is stressed he falls asleep. And every time he's about to tell a girl he loves her he nods off, whereupon she breaks up with him.<br />
<br />
We could fuse these two ideas by giving her the nieces to take care of. Then the nieces and the narcolepsy can create complications in the second act. Particularly, if the nieces believe some false report about the guy. Meanwhile, he's had a decade to understand his narcolepsy handicap and to devise a clever technological solution (involving a dead-man's switch and a videotaped explanation)--that will malfunction to create a Dark Moment. But the nieces feel bad for their earlier interference and they save the day somehow.<br />
<br />
Sadly, the movie Wedding Pact did nothing even close to this. He starts out the movie as a loser, which creates initial sympathy, but he never really outgrows being a loser. He never asserts himself, but passively accepts the help of the deus ex machina character.<br />
<br />
I think it is safe to assume that you should expect each romantic comedy to start with two potential lovers who each have some character flaw that they have to overcome in order to find love. Then it is the job of the storyteller to put them in situations where they each identify and fix the flaw. Unless you're writing a tragedy...Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-38813270112748816982014-05-01T17:31:00.002-04:002014-05-01T17:44:48.136-04:00Trickster Noir<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHsiCP9BFLvC0XJCKiBkd-JhMU594ZdXptbpWXs3MrlhmkXbHGzmqAziKHaiuS-AqSKToK7sPAPgxlydeat_s_mGqCjtWmpc-aHRLcpmhrus2SV-T-yKyFA431b0XPSFGpBEa8l0meSTca/s1600/mannix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHsiCP9BFLvC0XJCKiBkd-JhMU594ZdXptbpWXs3MrlhmkXbHGzmqAziKHaiuS-AqSKToK7sPAPgxlydeat_s_mGqCjtWmpc-aHRLcpmhrus2SV-T-yKyFA431b0XPSFGpBEa8l0meSTca/s1600/mannix.jpg" /></a></div>
(I got ahold of a pre-release copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615998852/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0615998852&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20" target="_blank">Trickster Noir</a> that I used to create this review.)<br />
<br />
There was a TV show called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00962R0H4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00962R0H4&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20" target="_blank">Mannix</a> that I used to watch long ago. The hero was a private eye. It seemed like every week he'd get in a scrape, there'd be a lot of tough-guy action, and as often as not someone would put lead in him.<br />
<br />
But he would tough it out and solve the crime or whatever. Then he would retire to his sickbed to recover in time for next week's adventure.<br />
<br />
If you haven't read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GZ9SKSE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00GZ9SKSE&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20" target="_blank">Pixie Noir</a>, I will try not to spoil it more than to say the hero doesn't die at the end, but he does get hurt.<br />
<br />
Unlike Joe Mannix, Lom, the pixie bounty hunter, doesn't get all better before the next episode starts. That episode is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615998852/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0615998852&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20" target="_blank">Trickster Noir</a>.<br />
<br />
There's some cleaning up to do of messes left over from Pixie Noir. First, there's a nest of ogres who need to get hunted down. Happily, there's a friendly bigfoot who doesn't want the attention the ogres are attracting. And then there's Bella's friends and family who are pretty good with guns and bomb-making. The ogres don't stand a chance.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjMcuH_QMBfVnAD1lil_RJYSafgVNI5bJaWRAgcPmDzd0FLs6bYcGzCJumBIjKP48NM9lmyNgUoh2SWVv3NWPASEPoXNLqADp1iH-wvI11MHsO_ebB3x2GnKljU7Qmhkbv0ttMOe4hOBlW/s1600/Spirit_in_the_Sky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjMcuH_QMBfVnAD1lil_RJYSafgVNI5bJaWRAgcPmDzd0FLs6bYcGzCJumBIjKP48NM9lmyNgUoh2SWVv3NWPASEPoXNLqADp1iH-wvI11MHsO_ebB3x2GnKljU7Qmhkbv0ttMOe4hOBlW/s1600/Spirit_in_the_Sky.jpg" height="260" width="320" /></a></div>
That gives Lom time to heal before getting on with the main business of the novel. If you know anything about American Indian lore, you may have heard of the Raven spirit. Seems he's got a problem and can't or won't go to Siberia to solve it himself.<br />
<br />
And the Fairy court has a similar mission in Japan. Lom and Bella figure they can kill two birds with one stone if they combine both missions.<br />
<br />
Of course, they need a decent cover story to explain to all the gossips why they're heading to the other side of the world. And they oblige by providing not one, but two weddings.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2IGgYRQTXicZpa73Q5FrIBUsMENcJvdEfY3X3wypNm2k13FhoXOsnYrp4e9t_9gYP2bjBuLRosRXr4f0MFFuU3JX3lsRABVx9EJFcGaelDv81XCzv30lsDKgCBmUnNIccvW_PyI9kqb7t/s1600/A_Bride_c_1895_AH_Thayer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2IGgYRQTXicZpa73Q5FrIBUsMENcJvdEfY3X3wypNm2k13FhoXOsnYrp4e9t_9gYP2bjBuLRosRXr4f0MFFuU3JX3lsRABVx9EJFcGaelDv81XCzv30lsDKgCBmUnNIccvW_PyI9kqb7t/s1600/A_Bride_c_1895_AH_Thayer.jpg" height="320" width="270" /></a>Ms. Sanderson may be a bit too anxious to depict the chastity of her protagonists. And a bit too elaborate in the wedding planning. Maybe this is because I'm male and leave wedding planning to the fairer sex. I appreciate the fact that Bella and Lom wait until their union has been solemnized in a manner appropriate to their respective cultures before they consummate their relationship.<br />
<br />
One of the things I intimated, but did not state overtly <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2014/04/save-me-from-my-sin.html" target="_blank">here</a> is that I think sexual congress belongs within the context of monogamous marriage. Stories that show 007 jumping from bed to bed should also show his inability to make a permanent connection with anyone. I believe it is untrue to depict sexual promiscuity seamlessly settling into happily ever after without significant negative consequences.<br />
<br />
But that's just my opinion and I've no desire to make you feel bad if you do not share it.<br />
<br />
Ms. Sanderson does not preach at this point, but she does belabor the good example of Lom and Bella enough to notice. And when folks notice they get the idea you might be preaching.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiovwmZy3NQ5d-pKAJ3bZmUNpL-Twp36CF3RSRdNfJrScsQzPMP-TexbSSuOBTyND5MP1w-1EXGJPGJDJNwoQLbfYueqXOXu9FvEYAgi_kIERFywZRhX_oH6k3bVsPrEa76mGE0UxEAzqNf/s1600/cute-baby-seal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiovwmZy3NQ5d-pKAJ3bZmUNpL-Twp36CF3RSRdNfJrScsQzPMP-TexbSSuOBTyND5MP1w-1EXGJPGJDJNwoQLbfYueqXOXu9FvEYAgi_kIERFywZRhX_oH6k3bVsPrEa76mGE0UxEAzqNf/s1600/cute-baby-seal.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
There's been a recent flap wherein Social Justice Warriors have insisted that story be sacrificed on the altar of The Message. They insist that you have just the right number of transgendered third-world bohemian have-nots depicted in a caring and sympathetic fashion. Frankly, this is a demand that writing become preaching.<br />
<br />
Preaching is just as annoying when it is anti-Christian as when it is pro-Christian. If you absolutely must put a Message into your writing. Then encode it in the first letters of each sentence where it won't club the reader over the head with the subtlety of an Eskimo dispatching a baby seal.<br />
<br />
Happily, you'll find no such clubbing in Trickster Noir. It is as much fun as Pixie Noir. A lot of questions about Ms. Sanderson's world-building are nicely answered. And as many backstory questions are left unanswered. What exactly did Lom do to get on the wrong side of the law? And what unhappy fate befell his first wife? I guess we'll just have to wait until Ms. Sanderson's next "Noir" novel.<br />
<br />
Five stars.Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-32428264385509319422014-04-28T02:13:00.003-04:002014-04-28T02:33:38.642-04:00The Empire's Corps<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEvU4abWEYxJkINbpuosiNzlTAg3Lx7qmCCFAJlZb6AIZ2jjHNo3XOkkEqfVWRuEhyphenhyphenxdoQpUH2c3vlrpYd6M8guBjYoMKc_YeIps9HRw3OyLAkQhXncUyAin7IWtXpDTyHc5Y-VdnkUwq/s1600/Amazing_Stories_December_1936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEvU4abWEYxJkINbpuosiNzlTAg3Lx7qmCCFAJlZb6AIZ2jjHNo3XOkkEqfVWRuEhyphenhyphenxdoQpUH2c3vlrpYd6M8guBjYoMKc_YeIps9HRw3OyLAkQhXncUyAin7IWtXpDTyHc5Y-VdnkUwq/s1600/Amazing_Stories_December_1936.jpg" height="320" width="223" /></a></div>
I like military SF. And I liked the Foundation series of novels by Isaac Asimov. Now imagine if <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00APAH4ZE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00APAH4ZE&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20" target="_blank">John Christian Falkenberg</a> were to hook up with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC1PWA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC1PWA&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20" target="_blank">Hari Seldon</a> and instead of founding the Foundation accompanies him and a bunch of soldiers into exile.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008RX4K2G/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B008RX4K2G&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20" target="_blank">The Empire's Corps</a> tells the story of a bunch of elite soldiers, Marines led by Captain Ed Stalker, who get in some political trouble on a future Earth. The galaxy has been settled with human colonies far and wide, all of them under the rule of the Empire. The Empire projects its will through its Marines. Captain Stalker is given a promotion to Colonel, then sent into exile to a remote colony called Avalon.<br />
<br />
Accompanying him into exile is an academic who made the mistake of looking into the Empire's political and economic underpinnings, and discovering the Empire is about to fall. He's had his cushy professorship taken away and his family is forced to live in a bad neighborhood.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIkjeeBsk9d6fLL8H_UwQD2vRoir6F7eMBtgTbmajpx_OSiBNLuVobzdjn9sJW5OXGDVpzkHl5y-bVuNInRo4RomCODTfjzsniKsixIWCBB5zOq8pn1_W_ubgT37UksSZobk2UYPIEtyoI/s1600/foundation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIkjeeBsk9d6fLL8H_UwQD2vRoir6F7eMBtgTbmajpx_OSiBNLuVobzdjn9sJW5OXGDVpzkHl5y-bVuNInRo4RomCODTfjzsniKsixIWCBB5zOq8pn1_W_ubgT37UksSZobk2UYPIEtyoI/s1600/foundation.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>
Earth is over-populated with tens of billions of people and if you're rich, you live in a nice apartment, and if you're middle class you live in a not-nice apartment, and if you're poor you live in a hellish government housing project. Social control is maintained by threatening the middle class with moving into government housing where criminal gangs run free. Step out of line, get caught, and you're shipped off to a colony world as indentured labor.<br />
<br />
This is the Earth that Stalker and his Marines are exiled from. They are exiled to a relatively new colony called Avalon. It has a corrupt central government, rebels in the hills, as well as bandits terrorizing the countryside.<br />
<br />
When Stalker arrives he's got a job, restore order. Trouble is that the fall of the Empire is immanent and he knows it. Avalon will be his home and he has to come up with something more stable than the status quo, that won't survive the Empire's collapse.<br />
<br />
Happily, the only bad guys are the oligarchs running the show and the bandits in the hills. It remains for the Marines to support the government just enough to let it fall of its own weight. Along the way there are lots of nifty space infantry firefights and bad guys defeated and good guys triumphant.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghI9O3FPpc_irx9hC5Jz_5OtmF7dpRMQ20B1CaOxxfcmAGAuZC4G3CIoPqXkkbf7ZaqINGzghHR5PJviRcNKV_PcVCErJJw086g2LNa5vgIaibmbCRWiun1PSDL8yxn9A-l1UGASQVNdwn/s1600/TheEmpiresCorps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghI9O3FPpc_irx9hC5Jz_5OtmF7dpRMQ20B1CaOxxfcmAGAuZC4G3CIoPqXkkbf7ZaqINGzghHR5PJviRcNKV_PcVCErJJw086g2LNa5vgIaibmbCRWiun1PSDL8yxn9A-l1UGASQVNdwn/s1600/TheEmpiresCorps.jpg" /></a>There is a pretty clear message through the whole book that paternalistic central government control is a Bad Thing and that individual initiative and self-improvement is a Good Thing. I liked the Empire Corps, because it handles the military SF well enough and it provides just enough galactic politics to keep things suspenseful.<br />
<br />
All the good guys keep getting thrown into the deep end of the pool and they figure out how to swim fairly quickly.<br />
<br />
And if you like it, there are several sequels available. I'll be reviewing them in a little while.<br />
<br />
The fall of a galactic empire is a Big Deal and it is a story that gets told from multiple perspectives. One thing to keep in mind is Mr. Nuttall's odd-even scheme of telling the story. The first two novels follow events on or near Avalon. Subsequent novels alternate between the Marines on Avalon, and other parties acting on Earth, in the next sector over, and back on Earth. Clearly, Mr. Nuttall is setting up a climax where these disparate threads are pulled together.<br />
<br />
Altogether a most enjoyable read: 5-stars.Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-13785191752937740072014-04-18T17:15:00.000-04:002014-04-21T13:44:59.928-04:00Pixie Noir<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3dwwUpmfwReeayAcqCoIMdnf7ru7doasl_lBX7SKRqOWVTax5KiNJtXpGJGOHuic0hPeyADf6co-grNS3q3aAK44t1n1kW2ZWkQZcLoMrB4o8E3RfvMry_6MhIcTdUncLV38JrPFbA0oF/s1600/wizards_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3dwwUpmfwReeayAcqCoIMdnf7ru7doasl_lBX7SKRqOWVTax5KiNJtXpGJGOHuic0hPeyADf6co-grNS3q3aAK44t1n1kW2ZWkQZcLoMrB4o8E3RfvMry_6MhIcTdUncLV38JrPFbA0oF/s1600/wizards_01.jpg" height="320" width="223" /></a></div>
In the late 1970s, an animated movie named <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001NBMIK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0001NBMIK&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20" target="_blank">Wizards</a> came out. I don't remember anything about the movie except a scene toward the end where one wizard confronts another wizard. And you might expect a big fight with <b>magic </b>being thrown back and forth. Instead, one wizard pulls out a revolver and puts daylight through his opponent. Gunplay in a magical fantasy story was a brand new thing and it had shock value. The scene was as surprising as later when Indiana Jones aborts a sword fight with a big scimitar wielding dude using his sidearm.<br />
<br />
In the decades that have followed, this sort of blending of firearms and magic has become a little more common. Larry Correia does a great job of describing with loving detail the firearms used to dispatch evil in his <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-monster-hunter-series.html" target="_blank">Monster Hunter</a> stories.<br />
<br />
In Larry Correia's world you might not take down a werewolf with a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, but you'll slow him down enough to drop a desk on him. And Larry Correia doubled-down with his magical private eye in his <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2013/09/hot-gat-hard-fists-and-magic.html" target="_blank">Warbound </a>stories wherein John Moses Browning supplies the firearms.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW5bv-WldCIle7nOsIL8OVHRLP_rag9fD58jB1U1RfqW3CpjIuNU75KZfoSpAn_mJigQwxPE1Ve31xg6LzNJIKm-Bnsvc1SO9EZh8sfDU-EZyPOH-6T3pf27Hxd-y9l5wgT6WvgRw_DG7j/s1600/PixieNoir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW5bv-WldCIle7nOsIL8OVHRLP_rag9fD58jB1U1RfqW3CpjIuNU75KZfoSpAn_mJigQwxPE1Ve31xg6LzNJIKm-Bnsvc1SO9EZh8sfDU-EZyPOH-6T3pf27Hxd-y9l5wgT6WvgRw_DG7j/s1600/PixieNoir.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a>The mix of fantasy and noir goes well together and Cedar Sanderson adds a twist in her mystical bounty hunter, Lom. Whereas Larry Correia builds his stories around big dudes--a towering "combat accountant" and a magical "heavy"--Lom is a pixie.<br />
<br />
As in shorter of stature and slight of build.<br />
<br />
When I say a story is about a bounty hunter, one doesn't immediately think of a pixie. Which is cool.<br />
<br />
But all the other things you would expect of a noir protagonist are present. He's got a past. He's been betrayed by those close to him and thus he doesn't trust anyone.<br />
<br />
That includes the dame in trouble with great gams. He meets Bella in the opening scene of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GZ9SKSE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00GZ9SKSE&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20" target="_blank">Pixie Noir</a>. Like a good noir story, the dame is more than a pretty face and smoking hot body.<br />
<br />
Trouble takes the form of various magical monsters who want her dead. Lom's inner demons and his unhappy past add to his internal conflict. They run a gauntlet of evil monsters as Lom tries to deliver Bella to his client. Along the way they use guns, lots of guns.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi0o54tD93H7ae2yc6EGQFZXoHuNcSSo5ShP5X_-VzFjmYqEenro-oPfLrl7ygQLViUGtd9FILtzl45faxpKzmrg1lGHrr26LbU5zHoYwUrxN4HKTOi-7m9n5NQEscOhfyGQHeCis2adNi/s1600/M-32_Grenade_Launcher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi0o54tD93H7ae2yc6EGQFZXoHuNcSSo5ShP5X_-VzFjmYqEenro-oPfLrl7ygQLViUGtd9FILtzl45faxpKzmrg1lGHrr26LbU5zHoYwUrxN4HKTOi-7m9n5NQEscOhfyGQHeCis2adNi/s1600/M-32_Grenade_Launcher.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>Lom and Bella undergo some changes on their road trip and the nature of the relationship becomes more complicated as well.<br />
<br />
It's a fun read and I recommend it heartily. Five stars.<br />
<br />
<b>BUT FIRST a word from our Grammar Nazi. </b>(What good noir story doesn't have Nazis?)<br />
<br />
English Grammar does not use grammatical cases as much as other languages. When I learned English grammar in school, I cheated. My mom spoke grammatically correct sentences, and thus I never learned English Grammar, I just gave the answer that "sounded good." There were exceptions. Nobody says "whom" any more, so any usage with "whom" did not sound right. Thus it was only in the last few years that I learned that "who" is used in a subjective case, and "whom" is used in an objective case.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/N4vf8N6GpdM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
Moreover collections of names and pronouns like "Joe and I went to breakfast" combine names and pronouns with the case of the pronoun depending upon the usage of the collection. If the collection is used in a subjective way, you say "Joe and I" and if it is an objective use, you say, "Joe and me."<br />
<br />
Thus we say, "Joe and I went to breakfast. The waitress brought toast to Joe and me." It is a common mistake to use the subjective pronoun in a collection when one ought to use the objective pronoun. Objects of a prepositional phrase are invariably subjective case. Ms. Sanderson needs to hire an editor to catch these things in her final draft.<br />
<br />
For this reason, the Grammar Nazi insists that I deduct a half-star from Pixie Noir: four point five stars.Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-23780822740337101522014-04-11T21:54:00.001-04:002014-04-11T21:54:31.040-04:00Save Me from My Sin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTmLjTtc1k-fWfbVfkKrLWUbcoWJWKonxPH33Pq9rXJH6-xwMT5gCjLo6QVKdfDJgy1ZPG0LDxjloKlTUbBr7jEKZ2EcPzIcZoujFXUHaY-x_K3FcRfgXvME71OvdU3jtIDgTZexHgNeP4/s1600/robot-hindi-movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTmLjTtc1k-fWfbVfkKrLWUbcoWJWKonxPH33Pq9rXJH6-xwMT5gCjLo6QVKdfDJgy1ZPG0LDxjloKlTUbBr7jEKZ2EcPzIcZoujFXUHaY-x_K3FcRfgXvME71OvdU3jtIDgTZexHgNeP4/s1600/robot-hindi-movie.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
I watched a fun little movie on Netflix, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AENNHOE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00AENNHOE&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20" target="_blank">Robot and Frank</a>. It is about an old man who suffers from senile dementia. His family loves him, but his son lives several hours away and his daughter travels the world, and his wife isn't around. He needs someone around to keep house and mind his health, so his son buys a robot.<br />
<br />
Frank rejects the mechanical valet until it helps him shop-lift a soap from a local boutique. You see, he is a cat burglar who has been released from prison in his dotage. He is surprised at the complete amorality of the robot, and soon he is teaching it how to pick locks.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig8EVbRvVKkQTudHdc2yOtFPs-Vqxs3Qy7ShzDPj9lFm_iNzXHMtWB4Qfzj0RO2oc4nZfbOF1j4ZMnmpIstdrQPl2NhziMCcXtykyiM7EmOEX2RJZni_gRSvdNLwMhALIcOPly2x6fpv49/s1600/Hope_Diamond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig8EVbRvVKkQTudHdc2yOtFPs-Vqxs3Qy7ShzDPj9lFm_iNzXHMtWB4Qfzj0RO2oc4nZfbOF1j4ZMnmpIstdrQPl2NhziMCcXtykyiM7EmOEX2RJZni_gRSvdNLwMhALIcOPly2x6fpv49/s1600/Hope_Diamond.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a>The robot obliges, because its primary mission is to keep Frank engaged and active while monitoring and helping to improve his health. The robot would prefer they work on a garden, but its programming is flexible.<br />
<br />
They burgle the local library, and after that succeeds, they go after bigger prizes. It's a lot of fun because the "mark" is an unpleasant and annoying man.<br />
<br />
If you dislike spoilers, stop reading and come back when you've seen the film...<br />
<br />
It's OK, I'll wait...<br />
<br />
No, really, I'll be right here when you get back...<br />
<br />
What works well in this story is misdirection and uncertainty in the audience about how much or little is wrong with Frank's memory. As the cops close in on him, he summons his son, feigning death. He gives him a packet that's the same size and shape as the millions in jewels he's stolen.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxUcwlONEvbHr5LsbkCb_OwmDukahhESh3OICYKvJ-L6W5b7sSgFXiAmb78AVY8lmhXZ48LB20hJvvgEeWtQOzvgokbDwR74p1GHeYcoEyVL4QNDzcrlxi9H5x8xhzEsPuV0gHq6GuEOx/s1600/Community_Garden.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxUcwlONEvbHr5LsbkCb_OwmDukahhESh3OICYKvJ-L6W5b7sSgFXiAmb78AVY8lmhXZ48LB20hJvvgEeWtQOzvgokbDwR74p1GHeYcoEyVL4QNDzcrlxi9H5x8xhzEsPuV0gHq6GuEOx/s1600/Community_Garden.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>The cops stop the son and demand to see the package. They find useless shoplifted trinkets. The son is furious to discover Frank is not dying, and the cops proceed to search the house with the son's consent. Frank flees and while he's on the lam, he has to erase the robot's memory.<br />
<br />
The movie ends with Frank in a nursing home when his son comes to visit. Frank's dementia seems worse. He joins the rest of his family and they share a bittersweet visit. As his son is leaving Frank say, "Dig under the robot's garden."<br />
<br />
The movie ends with a laugh that Frank has fooled the cops, his annoying son, and the audience who feared that Frank's final score would be lost. A lot of modern crime stories work this way with a similar "happy ending" as the crooks get away scot-free.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjYZHEhO5Wh4PM2d6cvZCZzBvjb-11QWQ7f5b6c2tJff55L1Nyj-RQoDOy3Rlcm_NaNspiZG5lH7YaRjtZwIv8fjUZ3NcAauE68OXxRUlMU8Wf6aWzG789I9qSgIAVpA1fPbRuTELB5Yt/s1600/Moses_with_the_Tablets_of_Law_LACMA_M.88.91.310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjYZHEhO5Wh4PM2d6cvZCZzBvjb-11QWQ7f5b6c2tJff55L1Nyj-RQoDOy3Rlcm_NaNspiZG5lH7YaRjtZwIv8fjUZ3NcAauE68OXxRUlMU8Wf6aWzG789I9qSgIAVpA1fPbRuTELB5Yt/s1600/Moses_with_the_Tablets_of_Law_LACMA_M.88.91.310.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a>Which brings me to my point. I was taught as a child to fear God and believe in Heaven and Hell. My terror of the dark prompted me to seek God's mercy by asking Jesus into my heart. I didn't quite understand this transaction until many years later. (If you weren't so taught, and you do not so believe, that's OK, I promise not to pass an offering plate.)<br />
<br />
My flawed childish understanding that I was "saved" from Hell and the devil's punishments in recompense for my acts of wickedness as defined by, say, the Ten Commandments, the whole of the Torah, or merely Jesus' summary to Love God and one's fellow man.<br />
<br />
I didn't understand that Jesus doesn't save me from Hell, but he saves me from my sins. Whether the movie's Frank burns in Hell or not is immaterial. He's a thief at the beginning of the movie, and he's a thief at the end of the movie. He is never saved from being a thief.<br />
<br />
Stealing makes you a thief. Lying makes you a liar. Adultery makes you an adulterer. And so on.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jfpzcjoDdhOxX7g35_21JuEDZ0ogyeCL1OHkSsjuEgeFiL3GCSSblaKcQYqg4eXctVkW2Sqey8inonT5MTPhZ3Dpd8R-VdPyddUcw8AyvI7g1ZJDAWoiPssq9ir1yxKA9HIq3LHwYECw/s1600/Blake_Cain_Fleeing_from_the_Wrath_of_God_(The_Body_of_Abel_Found_by_Adam_and_Eve)_c1805-1809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jfpzcjoDdhOxX7g35_21JuEDZ0ogyeCL1OHkSsjuEgeFiL3GCSSblaKcQYqg4eXctVkW2Sqey8inonT5MTPhZ3Dpd8R-VdPyddUcw8AyvI7g1ZJDAWoiPssq9ir1yxKA9HIq3LHwYECw/s1600/Blake_Cain_Fleeing_from_the_Wrath_of_God_(The_Body_of_Abel_Found_by_Adam_and_Eve)_c1805-1809.jpg" height="371" width="400" /></a>Stories can swing between the extremes of <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2012/03/truth-and-pornography.html" target="_blank">pornography and art,</a> based on how they handle truth. If your story just panders to the audience's appetites, even non-sexual appetites, I call it pornography. Conversely, if your story tells the truth, even truths that make you uncomfortable, I call it art.<br />
<br />
I once heard that there are some laws you never break, but you just break yourself against them. For this reason I think it unwise and untrue to tell stories where lawbreakers get off scot-free.<br />
<br />
You might think this is moralistic claptrap and that's your prerogative.<br />
<br />
But suppose that instead of being a thief, the movie's Frank were a murderer?<br />
<br />
What if there's a body under the robot's garden.<br />
<br />Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-81428558974615988592014-04-05T12:56:00.003-04:002014-04-05T12:56:34.847-04:00Perfection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkaapFTRrrYYXBUHRFTeRnxV3ynPkQVFsfoKeJsQcvxZC-AVzXlyDPD5SqsasrXsYf6PAm5LYDQmzHvehWDPQwk7V0ULiAHFTcRZMIt9RvvQV2SxmrUM2R1gOaZKhroeKv6DJhiD84xgz/s1600/A_target_used_during_a_Maldives_National_Defense_Force_(MNDF)_annual_rifle_qualification.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkaapFTRrrYYXBUHRFTeRnxV3ynPkQVFsfoKeJsQcvxZC-AVzXlyDPD5SqsasrXsYf6PAm5LYDQmzHvehWDPQwk7V0ULiAHFTcRZMIt9RvvQV2SxmrUM2R1gOaZKhroeKv6DJhiD84xgz/s1600/A_target_used_during_a_Maldives_National_Defense_Force_(MNDF)_annual_rifle_qualification.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
You know that perfection often exceeds our capabilities. We may strive for it, but we'll invariably slip just a little bit. I'm told that the aim of a marksman will jiggle a little with each heartbeat. The olympic competitors learn to slow the heart and time the shot in between beats.<br />
<br />
I found myself with a bit of woodworking that needed doing. Keeping the saw blade on the line is nontrivial. The longer the cut the more likely you'll grow a little tired or your hand will shake a bit.<br />
<br />
You have to tolerate small errors that detract from perfection.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF6NtGrvb2C3Isd0jlx_HCEU_GiUQW86rJ0lStouKR9nCANKg0Pxt4-0D6wiQzGMFGPEdAe_cbHp3_MuOcyUsLAyYW4iknZw7ZGeo1aX1wJKtnZ1O-7zLtZhgplptOs51nIe0xORuqQsfX/s1600/Shaker_style_pantry_boxes_on_desk.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF6NtGrvb2C3Isd0jlx_HCEU_GiUQW86rJ0lStouKR9nCANKg0Pxt4-0D6wiQzGMFGPEdAe_cbHp3_MuOcyUsLAyYW4iknZw7ZGeo1aX1wJKtnZ1O-7zLtZhgplptOs51nIe0xORuqQsfX/s1600/Shaker_style_pantry_boxes_on_desk.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Or know how to hide them: If you look at the woodwork in your house, you'll see the boards do not line up perfectly. They are offset by about a 16th of an inch. The eye will see every tiny discrepancy, but the offset will hide smaller variations.<br />
<br />
I had a task which had me flummoxed. I had a piece of plywood that needed to be cut with a four-inch radius on two corners and a couple uber straight runs of several feet. I have a circular saw and a saber saw, but I lacked confidence in my skills.<br />
<br />
So, I went to my neighbor who is an expert woodworker. While I looked on and helped him, he cut the plywood. And he did a great job. But it wasn't perfect.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaawqXcONMBbh_Xb7nUxEjiFqj2XBppun0tZmaFFkhppPbmnJ4NcJlXOQF_nJJSppxhlzYjxVgPbDlU-RX4tGuCABNqjueONvm1YeGIq5F9ePjvLeve0M8bqnwCxL6lqq2kTcJjcDEtkHe/s1600/Winslow_Street_south_of_Fayetteville_Station.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaawqXcONMBbh_Xb7nUxEjiFqj2XBppun0tZmaFFkhppPbmnJ4NcJlXOQF_nJJSppxhlzYjxVgPbDlU-RX4tGuCABNqjueONvm1YeGIq5F9ePjvLeve0M8bqnwCxL6lqq2kTcJjcDEtkHe/s1600/Winslow_Street_south_of_Fayetteville_Station.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
This showed me something: He used the same tools I had and it wasn't perfect. It was more than good enough. That 64nd of an inch where he drifted from the line is nicely hidden by a bit of trim.<br />
<br />
I learned that I'll tolerate errors when someone else does the work, that I won't tolerate when I do it myself. The standard of "perfection" is higher when I do something myself.<br />
<br />
It is lower when I ask a favor from a friend.<br />
<br />
And when I hire work from an expert, he's must know the craft well enough to hide the inevitable imperfections.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAMnB_4-ouvjHlWkth6_toxb5nIseszKTvAWXMmC2TUQlWjUuaoAcFfHc5vNQebPUgPHICcDQQ4vJrR2dwjisQyILEK50QqasGFM7fV0a3KZ-kOLlj2rwvq0EuIxsheHyLt4MCCHSKDxjj/s1600/Treadmill+desk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAMnB_4-ouvjHlWkth6_toxb5nIseszKTvAWXMmC2TUQlWjUuaoAcFfHc5vNQebPUgPHICcDQQ4vJrR2dwjisQyILEK50QqasGFM7fV0a3KZ-kOLlj2rwvq0EuIxsheHyLt4MCCHSKDxjj/s1600/Treadmill+desk.jpg" height="292" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-51672901078452917112014-03-22T18:27:00.001-04:002014-03-22T18:27:28.676-04:00Bracing and Jigs<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAOqVpqTsmtWY0MeWXoSiCfka6VVC8GY1nck1BMjVqWzEC3BrEPjYrjpkd6q6tyyo-P5uP2hnV7f3jqXqXA6JW0dIFcGO90vuJCHoGnUIe4ncnUkjk3Iij2ETeEq_urOfIxPhYrE_2kaDR/s1600/Bracing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAOqVpqTsmtWY0MeWXoSiCfka6VVC8GY1nck1BMjVqWzEC3BrEPjYrjpkd6q6tyyo-P5uP2hnV7f3jqXqXA6JW0dIFcGO90vuJCHoGnUIe4ncnUkjk3Iij2ETeEq_urOfIxPhYrE_2kaDR/s1600/Bracing.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a>It has been a while since I wrote about <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2012/01/scaffolding.html" target="_blank">scaffolding</a>. But just recently I built a treadmill desk. I spent some time Friday designing the unit and obsessing over details. Then Saturday I assembled the front and the rear of the desk. Then I ran out of wood, because I failed to plan as carefully as I ought to have. So, Sunday after church I bought the wood I needed.<br />
<br />
In the mean time I found a few extra boards and I was tempted to use them. But I did not, because I needed them for bracing. The front and the rear could be squared up and assembled while lying on the floor of my basement.<br />
<br />
However, when I went to put the sides on, they had to stand up. And they had to be leveled. My son helped by holding things in place while I used the level, but at some point human arms grow tired and the attention wanders. If you've ever done anything like this you'll recognize my next step. I grabbed some clamps and extra boards and I clamped those boards in place. This gave me quick ways to engage and release these bracing boards and I was able to level and square everything.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit8hKx6Br99qxnqO4fmMJpiy7iuZ8F-nsb3_XxL6elMdEFZp2BuMhaVXAhkoxOnrY4pwz-5lh4BLVl9GZRkiKdOqghkgFQrnhOpbNpOTZtCUGVBS_m_FtM-13m_6ofduKKeoEUT67zdW6y/s1600/Treadmill+desk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit8hKx6Br99qxnqO4fmMJpiy7iuZ8F-nsb3_XxL6elMdEFZp2BuMhaVXAhkoxOnrY4pwz-5lh4BLVl9GZRkiKdOqghkgFQrnhOpbNpOTZtCUGVBS_m_FtM-13m_6ofduKKeoEUT67zdW6y/s1600/Treadmill+desk.jpg" height="234" width="320" /></a></div>
Once things were leveled and squared, I could permanently affix the side boards to the framework. With a nice rigid framework I could mount the plywood top and I was nearly finished.<br />
<br />
If you look closely at the two photos you'll see a discrepancy. The bracing boards in the first picture as well as the clamps are gone. Of course, after I'd mounted the side boards and gotten them perfect, the bracing boards were redundant. I released the clamps and put aside the bracing.<br />
<br />
I've taken several pictures of my completed desk, and I've spread them around to my friends showing, "look what I did." And when friends come to the house, I show them the desk and I'm duly proud.<br />
<br />
But I don't show the clamps and the bracing boards. When I worked in a factory, we had jigs that held parts together during assembly and welding. We never shipped those jigs to any customer.<br />
<br />
I don't know how you write, but a lot of people have to work out a lot of backstory and details about <br />
their characters before they can really "come alive." The trouble is that when an editor, or God forbid, a reader trips over this massive block of prose that does not directly advance the story, s/he may skip ahead, or worse, set aside your work.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxbbcux34McB4-YDo7K99s7DWycgDjR5USm8LcVELOTkR2zFoJoH_LklOVUCnLoknfAISKaBalh0XjpzDABdswCuFd5dM_KwXK8X1gLAbSbSuZ8u9vUZ3G_3u15CvhCrseL1HtRSKYCbi/s1600/ZeppelinteaserFinal_color.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxbbcux34McB4-YDo7K99s7DWycgDjR5USm8LcVELOTkR2zFoJoH_LklOVUCnLoknfAISKaBalh0XjpzDABdswCuFd5dM_KwXK8X1gLAbSbSuZ8u9vUZ3G_3u15CvhCrseL1HtRSKYCbi/s1600/ZeppelinteaserFinal_color.jpg" height="277" width="320" /></a>You want people turning pages, not turning aside. You have to set the hook and keep them in your story. Which means that the beautiful character study you just wrote that gives you those deep insights into your character's psyche SHOULD NOT BE PUBLISHED. Or maybe it should be kept under wraps until after you've so thoroughly addicted people to your work, that some will want to read that formative background information.<br />
<br />
By all means you have to write these scenes if that's the way you work things out, but by NO means do you have to include them in your story. It's like those braces you see in the first picture that have been removed in the second. This means you should write like the wind, and then edit with a keen awareness of where your story starts, what parts belong in and out of the story, and when your story ends. The stuff that you cut out aren't necessarily bad, they may simply be bracing.Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-18778067900657233592014-03-17T11:15:00.000-04:002014-03-17T11:15:39.879-04:00Marketing Versus Publicizing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholYJ7lnuYJvv4bTqPk9TCTKhhGrFMvPAH41hzzhqna5vjFv__1s2nySoxIDqKUWRn7cHj7gsUCQE9SEivftbbzj48ToKefL8U_-LgEI7kkJH62WA15VAbiHVP-aV64aXeoUqHvqcsHfEn/s1600/Megaphone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholYJ7lnuYJvv4bTqPk9TCTKhhGrFMvPAH41hzzhqna5vjFv__1s2nySoxIDqKUWRn7cHj7gsUCQE9SEivftbbzj48ToKefL8U_-LgEI7kkJH62WA15VAbiHVP-aV64aXeoUqHvqcsHfEn/s1600/Megaphone.jpg" height="260" width="400" /></a></div>
I was at the <a href="http://jotwritersconference.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">local Jot conference</a> and I heard something that's wrong about "marketing." This bears on <a href="http://diogenesclubarchives.blogspot.com/2014/03/inside-baseball.html" target="_blank">my earlier remarks</a> about the business conversation between successful writer and editor.<br />
<br />
When you're writing and hoping to make money doing so, you hear about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CF6WHNA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00CF6WHNA&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20" target="_blank">an author's platform</a>.<br />
<br />
I think we make a mistake to focus exclusively on author's platform, and we make a mistake to call that "marketing."<br />
<br />
Well, yeah, it's getting your work in front of the people with money who might spend it on your work. Those people are called a market. And you want them to know what you have for them.<br />
<br />
But it's telling, not listening.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbEf0FIdjCz2TDDpSvp-cL8wBqD7Ow-6CQC3uYCxcP5SYtyeFuYuGTqw2IsOs2xeVd_qotW8nXul3kfRvv-CVuOnnrGru5HMKaDPOwrIFcZgXAO-1P57TDVLqMCCbwweKEHcKmpSkjdX5u/s1600/Sitting_Room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbEf0FIdjCz2TDDpSvp-cL8wBqD7Ow-6CQC3uYCxcP5SYtyeFuYuGTqw2IsOs2xeVd_qotW8nXul3kfRvv-CVuOnnrGru5HMKaDPOwrIFcZgXAO-1P57TDVLqMCCbwweKEHcKmpSkjdX5u/s1600/Sitting_Room.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>The writer should think of marketing as a dialog. When you speak, but not listen, it is not a dialog, it is a monologue, a speech, a sermon. Maybe you ought to do some listening.<br />
<br />
I want you to imagine you've got all the people who buy books in a comfortable sitting room. (More likely a stadium, but please suspend disbelief for a moment.) You know that book buying people are hungry for something cool to read. They've got money and they want to exchange it for a way cool story.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaPTUM3H4WhdQ5S5wI4TjtKZB_4fD1Es1CDsoEAWRnyyksBc7P6kh_UTw1m73n-RDufChBmylvcCa0ef8CkeVMJuWnSAW4ob_AOcX474iCFiSvIhjMSbQsqC-Y6WSufPSrIYhdZo4rN8Kw/s1600/Studearring.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaPTUM3H4WhdQ5S5wI4TjtKZB_4fD1Es1CDsoEAWRnyyksBc7P6kh_UTw1m73n-RDufChBmylvcCa0ef8CkeVMJuWnSAW4ob_AOcX474iCFiSvIhjMSbQsqC-Y6WSufPSrIYhdZo4rN8Kw/s1600/Studearring.JPG" height="320" width="170" /></a>Some of those people will say, "I like C. S. Lewis or I like Robert A. Heinlein," so you can get their money by simply being that guy. And after you're established as a famous author, you can get people's money by just being you regardless of what you write.<br />
<br />
But since both of those guys are dead, and the people in this imaginary sitting room have read all their books, you want to find other things they like. You can only find out what they like by LISTENING to them.<br />
<br />
Do those people in this virtual sitting room like sparkly metrosexual vampires? OR are they sick of them and want someone to stake the twee nitwits?<br />
<br />
Most likely both answers are yes. Learn what folks like, and if you don't naturally grok the market, talk to someone who does. I'm not suggesting you write trash just because the public demands it. You know better than anyone what you can do a good job at, and if you're like most creatives, you have more ideas than you have time to implement them. I'm suggesting that listening will improve your target selection.Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-60375945104929618332014-03-14T15:22:00.001-04:002014-03-14T15:22:09.632-04:00Inside Baseball<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU6O6xDk3L7lvBOGtv1fkyHMb7wktaEco9GT8-nU_Sz2Ybqv203DBzmfEGxbhS5v9mRmF8MaOmSJ3L7AqIBOgmPwDrdP0REPStDB65LdKMZbAg5-JjnKHs9cdHmMElVIrAhc1PxO1yJZXJ/s1600/larry-friggin-correia1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU6O6xDk3L7lvBOGtv1fkyHMb7wktaEco9GT8-nU_Sz2Ybqv203DBzmfEGxbhS5v9mRmF8MaOmSJ3L7AqIBOgmPwDrdP0REPStDB65LdKMZbAg5-JjnKHs9cdHmMElVIrAhc1PxO1yJZXJ/s1600/larry-friggin-correia1.jpg" /></a>I was reading <a href="http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/2014/03/13/world-building-my-next-project/" target="_blank">Larry Correia's blog</a> when I saw him write this about a discussion with his editor, <a href="http://www.baen.com/" target="_blank">Toni Weisskopf</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I bounced several things off of Toni to see what she wanted me to focus my energy on next, (Having a ton of books under contract to be written is a really good problem to have) and she really wants to see this epic fantasy that I’ve been talking about for years.</blockquote>
This is a glimpse into the relationship between a successful author and editor. It struck me how businesslike the conversation was. Here's the deal, Mr. Correia and Ms. Weisskopf have a common goal: make gobs of money by selling books.<br />
<br />
Mr. Correia has a good idea of how to put words on paper that make awesome stories. Ms. Weisskopf has a good idea of the sort of people she can reach and sell books to. Neither one of them have the whole picture, so they compare notes, brainstorm, and try to find out which stories will do better than others.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzlIV609ZpQdwr4cyICoX_2ZG1pJiGf_hL_CpuNJdtGfrDCKuxVn5cYS5FgZMfSe6gBkkf7bG2W_Kp8xyfTcqMCUCrUteGUQ3ikpyw8S0avA_IeDiuE44OAADUiVj_yml23z2M-KYXkYgy/s1600/New-church-in-Kalenovtsi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzlIV609ZpQdwr4cyICoX_2ZG1pJiGf_hL_CpuNJdtGfrDCKuxVn5cYS5FgZMfSe6gBkkf7bG2W_Kp8xyfTcqMCUCrUteGUQ3ikpyw8S0avA_IeDiuE44OAADUiVj_yml23z2M-KYXkYgy/s1600/New-church-in-Kalenovtsi.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
It's every bit as much a business conversation as one between a General Contractor and a Realtor about building a spec house. I know a few small businessmen and this glimpse of Mr. Correia makes a lot of sense when seen through this lens.<br />
<br />
Contrast this with the depictions of authors in the mass media. You never see <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Castle/e/B001HD1RBU/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1394824782&sr=8-2-ent" target="_blank">Richard Castle</a> or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DYQ1G78/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00DYQ1G78&linkCode=as2&tag=find99centboo-20" target="_blank">Robin Masters</a> talking to their editors like this. The popular conception is that the writer is some kind of free spirit whose creative outputs drop from his fingers in an arbitrary and capricious fashion as his muse takes him.<br />
<br />
NO, the successful author is a successful businessman who builds things on spec, if s/he doesn't have a book deal, or to spec if s/he does. Most businessmen are normal people who relate to their vendors and customers who also happen to be normal people. And unless there's trouble, normal people conduct business with each other in a pleasant and cooperative fashion.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz5O5b3qL8h8_tJ1zj1we44Yu6P86v_zxqvzyuyfKqkweBzrwpow7YZBH869nocc5NWSb-bqCHmpKMLRZMZr2pqKs4bcfimtKrm5ua7t2M5gwwHy69Vrn8IquGK742XxMqfIrEUeE_bJBg/s1600/colorgantt.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz5O5b3qL8h8_tJ1zj1we44Yu6P86v_zxqvzyuyfKqkweBzrwpow7YZBH869nocc5NWSb-bqCHmpKMLRZMZr2pqKs4bcfimtKrm5ua7t2M5gwwHy69Vrn8IquGK742XxMqfIrEUeE_bJBg/s1600/colorgantt.png" height="169" width="320" /></a><br />
Once you've figured out how to devise a cunning plot, fill it with dazzling characters, and render your stories in breathless prose, think about how you can be a reliable business partner. This includes communicating clearly, meeting deadlines, and exceeding your partners' expectations.Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426830455075676436.post-80493069882383725052014-03-10T22:04:00.001-04:002014-03-10T22:04:24.139-04:00Knowing What To Do<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6W4ytw2I982QobGKvZLjXyfskaLUldcK6NwGGxEd4lqY68KEqam32ui-LDf5pRgXwNeF1kp5pee8tOHpitTY3JVKOAMlhdN54q8aYDhqWBoPoM7mq7PKgHC4HhLZuJ90rQlyh1EBwqXm/s1600/CedarvilleCollege.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6W4ytw2I982QobGKvZLjXyfskaLUldcK6NwGGxEd4lqY68KEqam32ui-LDf5pRgXwNeF1kp5pee8tOHpitTY3JVKOAMlhdN54q8aYDhqWBoPoM7mq7PKgHC4HhLZuJ90rQlyh1EBwqXm/s1600/CedarvilleCollege.gif" height="262" width="320" /></a></div>
I got my BA from Cedarville College, a Baptist college that had chapel every day. One day I walked into chapel and sat down. I heard something that sounded a little off. The music from the piano and organ was doing a prelude to the service, but I could hear much more quietly a sort of huffing sound. I turned to look and saw a girl lying in the aisle shaking.<br />
<br />
I said this was a Baptist institution, so you should realize she wasn't speaking in tongues nor was she slain in the Spirit. She was in convulsions from an epileptic seizure.<br />
<br />
I felt a little embarrassed. Looked away, and wondered what I should do about this. The girl was clearly in some kind of state. Something had to be done, but I didn't have any idea what. I felt quite helpless. Others noticed and started whispering to each other, obviously feeling much like I did.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMiOWD6rE02GLUPzDQFLjcQrVGGbJJytDanHBjHLeHBjl0Y_FU3o7yKPsjd254Quh-cVVDV0-08NfaF35vKazfXRJVQ8M6BjFovpYMhyphenhyphenHYeZ4J9tRenTBqozskqeiwXN-kKqfReoir0Vz/s1600/kisner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMiOWD6rE02GLUPzDQFLjcQrVGGbJJytDanHBjHLeHBjl0Y_FU3o7yKPsjd254Quh-cVVDV0-08NfaF35vKazfXRJVQ8M6BjFovpYMhyphenhyphenHYeZ4J9tRenTBqozskqeiwXN-kKqfReoir0Vz/s1600/kisner.jpg" /></a></div>
Then my friend <a href="http://www.whbc.org/about/staff" target="_blank">Dave Kisner</a> walked in. He sat down in a nearby pew. Looked around, saw the fuss, and without pause he strode out of the room to call in a medical emergency. He returned moments later and ministered to her needs until a couple EMTs took over. Then he resumed his seat.<br />
<br />
While I was dithering and feeling helpless, Dave knew what to do. He took charge and got help. I remember it over three decades later.<br />
<br />
I vowed that if ever presented with that situation again, I'd follow Dave's example.<br />
<br />
Today I read <a href="http://www.tickld.com/x/even-robert-downey-jr-is-humanand-heres-why" target="_blank">this story</a> about how Robert Downey, Jr. administered first aid to her grandmother.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJHmxIJ67SwazfUoRjJ_TYZni4qkbGxglj6NRyDgz7Bhj43U52gsqn0CzU_yAponuIDXbgliHwJ6f8bBeOhC2JtzOTrNdSPxOi-4xPpoFXwZMTTL8dHqQfbjr-jWCNVdr0QpUTaYP3tJi_/s1600/IronMan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJHmxIJ67SwazfUoRjJ_TYZni4qkbGxglj6NRyDgz7Bhj43U52gsqn0CzU_yAponuIDXbgliHwJ6f8bBeOhC2JtzOTrNdSPxOi-4xPpoFXwZMTTL8dHqQfbjr-jWCNVdr0QpUTaYP3tJi_/s1600/IronMan.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I must admit that I have little in common with ACLU and Hollywood folk. I think you might say our respective orbital inclinations differ by about 180 degrees.<br />
<br />
Nevertheless, I could really empathize with Ms. Dana Reinhardt who related her experience. I've been there. It wasn't blood, and the victim wasn't my grandmother, but I recognized her helpless feeling.<br />
<br />
Life administers pop quizzes. We may choke like Ms. Reinhardt or I did. Or we may excel as Mr. Downey or Mr. Kisner did. I suspect more of us choke than excel, but this doesn't mean we can't learn and be ready next time.<br />
<br />
It's all knowing what to do then doing it.Steve Polinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095291939072131815noreply@blogger.com0