Unions are scourging the Shire

It has been a long time since I have blogged so I thought I would come back when I had something to ramble about again, and here it is.

For those that really know me they know I have always had a beef with the "Lord of the Rings" films. While they were masterfully put together and acted, especially for doing all three of them at once, my trouble was ultimately not with certain aspects of the films but with the story itself which jumped around and confused pieces of Tolkien's work (and No I'm not talking about Tom Bombadil.) Here me now and mark this day well for I am now standing on the side of Peter Jackson on this issue. Unions are destroying the Shire. I don't like to see anyone unable to do their work because of this nonsense.

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movie-talk-peter-jackson-running-into-union-trouble-on-the-hobbit.html

My biggest disappointment came in the form of Guillermo Del Toro leaving the project because it was taking too long for the movie to get off the ground. This isn't a war against something like child slave labor or extortion in the workplace, this is just political. I want to go back to easy days when the bad guys were Orcs and you could smash them in the head with a sword. Instead the Shire is being scourged by legal fees and strikes. Maybe the Hobbits should get their swords back out and have an old fashion cleansing. Hobbit street justice would actually make a great film. While I leave now to start that screenplay just know that if movements such as this are allowed to happen things will only get worse before they get better, and like most other union involvements this will only bankrupt the business's that they are involved in. When that happens we all lose, not just our hairy toed friends.

Dark Wing Duck!

So, just thought I would share a quick blurb about my love for this character. When I was young, we used to get up early to watch "Dark Wing Duck" on television, and we didn't have cable so we would go outside with a wrench and turn the antenna until we got it just clear enough to imagine what pictures would look like if they came through the TV. Just the other day I was wondering what ever happened to this crime fighting Quack, and then I read that Disney is in fact releasing a series of comic books about him. Don't know if that's all there will be, but it's a good start. Maybe it will spawn a tv show again or video game... and a costume.

Why Nerds are Cool

The term "Nerd" has gotten a bad rap over the years. (Except for the guys who greet you in an alien dialect when they introduce themselves. We're still trying to find a word for them.) At one time the word was meant to insult. Today the word conjures up a whole different meaning. You do something geeky today and you usually get a following. Me, I like nerds and it's probably because, deep down, I'm one of them.

I had the privilege of attending a local comic book festival today with my son. My son, in his two year old state, doesn't really care what's going on as long as there are super heroes involved. But, you should have seen the look on his face as he walked in and saw, not only the merchandise with his favorite heroes, but the heroes themselves. While we were there we saw many familiar faces even if we didn't know the ones under the mask. A man walked by in a Super Man outfit (and jeans...) and my son flipped out! Most who would pass by something like this would either smile or think, "What a bunch of nerds." Me? I'm thankful for crowds like this. When you enter this world you enter a place where dreams are reality and discussions can literally go anywhere from the weather to the weakness of a humanoid assassin. Most people spend their lives following up to date issues on matters that leave as quickly as they arrive, and often have little relevance on anything. Others follow the adventures of a crew of deep space cowboys with the same determination. Most of the time I'd rather have a conversation with the latter of the two. I mean really, who doesn't want to be a hero for a day and use their magic ring for justice?

See you Space Cowboys...

A Serious Author

A recent movie was made retelling the story of the man, Job, from the Bible. This movie was called "A Serious Man", and it was a comedy. A dark comedy yes, but a comedy none the less. Still, when you read the book of Job you don't really feel like laughing. Maybe, in no small way, this is why we, sometimes, fail as authors. Because you know, in many ways, the movie was right. 

     Life is a comedy, and that is why we do not always laugh.  If we were to look at some of our faults  and troubles from the perspective of a film they would seem much more comical at times. For instance, what if I told you the story of a musician who feared God and everything was right in his world, and he feared God so much that the Lord finally blessed him with the piano of his dreams. The movers begin hoisting it up into his loft apartment with a series of pulleys and his loving family watched from the street below, smiling all the while, patting one another on the back as they gave thanks for their many blessings. Then the piano falls on his family and kills them to the key of E minor. At that very moment, the "Precious Moments" candles in his living room catch fire to a poem that one of his children had written about how all dogs go to heaven even the one they just lost yesterday to cancer, and the whole apartment burns to the ground. As terrible as it sounds, one can't help but chuckle at the thought. When we as authors write we often try too hard to tell a story that we hope will simply, "lift people up." So we take the piano away, even though in Job's life it certainly wasn't taken away for quite some time. Or we doctor up the trials to make them more bearable. This can often lead to a false redemption. 

     Flannery O' Conner once received a letter from a grandmother in California telling her that tired readers don't want to come home and read a story like hers. They want to be "lifted up" at the end of the day. O' Conner replied that if her heart was in the right place, her stories would lift her up, but she knew the old woman was looking for the kind of story that brings Timmy and Lassie home safely, always, even though there are some bumps in the road.  I would argue that a good story will have all elements to it, not just the end where everything is made right again. A good comedy is a dark one that can make you weep as you laugh, and often ends in the key of E minor. 

Instructions

A storm came through my hometown just yesterday. I was at work, but I could see the wind picking up and the clouds darkening. As I stared off into it all, the thing that kept coming to mind was this, "What slumbering, ancient, beast was awakened to bring such a storm, and why is it coming here?" I wondered if someone had uncovered an item of great importance and there was another force on the rise to try and stop it. Or maybe that was the good guy coming on the clouds? Either way, I also thought of stories like Neil Gaiman's "Instructions."  If you have not read this book, then you won't know which way to winter's realm! So you must. Charles Vess does an amazing job of helping you take the journey.

     I have been reading it to my son, Tristan, some nights as he goes to bed. He loves these stories, "BlueBerry Girl" "Where the Wild Things Are". He will ask for them by name. It makes me glad that he is exposed to such wonders early in life. There is no better time to learn than when you're young. It's time to open your mind to some of the way things really are. If you don't know what I mean by that statement then you are welcome to read my last blog and get a better picture, perhaps. Stories like these really do give us, "Everything you'll need to know on your journey."

"K" is for Knox

"K" is for Knox, and for those who might not know who Knox is, that is not as important as his tale. Everyone has a tale, though perhaps not one that hangs from your back. Be cautious, this is a dangerous story.

A wise man once said that if you looked at a hillside in a particular light you would see a giant raise his head over the ridge. He went on to say that only giants would satisfy this longing, nothing else would do. This is a mystery. There is a hunger for something greater that one does not understand. Not all of us see giants. Some have forgotten how to see them. They are tucked away, sleeping in the back of our minds like the star to Neverland. Knox sees giants. He has for some time, and because of this he is dangerous.

No, not dangerous to anyone, but dangerous to the world which cannot see. Far greater and terrible than fire or a storm. Something deeper burns inside of him larger than pain. A passion to point the way to things unseen, the shadow that is actually a monster, or to ride on the back of the wind. Or maybe to speak of trees that want you to rest in their branches just so they can talk of better times. Those who see things like this cannot go back. Their heart has been opened. Their hope resides in the magic of an ancient world when we once believed in such things. So as you tuck yourselves away for the night do not be afraid of the shadow, monsters are not all bad. Do not worry about the creak of your house, it is just the imprint of one who has already passed on and is even now just passing through. And remember, above all those things, "K" is for Knox.

Ideas and Zombie Musicals

I was sitting watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer last night and I thought to myself, "Why aren't there any Zombie musicals?" I thought this in part because we, my wife and I, were watching the musical episode of Buffy, a Joss Whedon classic for sure. The other day I was riding with my cousin and brother, on our way to a wedding, and I asked them the question, "Why isn't there a zombie musical?" Seemed like a great idea to me. Well, point of fact, I discovered that there is a Zombie musical simply called, "Zombie."  Though I don't know anything about it I would imagine it is similar to my thoughts on the subject.  Then I started to think about ideas in general. If you have an idea is it your own even if someone else has that same sort of idea? I suppose it would have to be since your ideas are not exactly the same thing (unless they are). 

     I started to think about how everything is new to my son who is still so small. Even though these things existed long before him and will exist long after him, they are still new to him as he learns. I guess that's how ideas are in general. There are no truly "new" thoughts, just old ones that one could put a "new" twist on. This is true of my writing as well. My ideas aren't wholly original, but they try and put a spin on old ideas. Hopefully they will capture the attention of someone the same way that old things capture my son's attention in a new way.

     I am beginning a book version of one of my screenplays. Hoping to have the novella finished within the next few weeks. It is a children's story, and it is about my son, and most certainly, also, about myself.