I'm feeling guilty because my cat (one of the two), Leia, passed away on October 10th at the much too young age of nine and I'd been meaning to write about her here because writing is how I deal with these kinds of things and she obviously made a huge impact on my life. She was a truly extraordinary creature and I will tell you her story very soon. I promise.
But I'm feeling guilty because what's moved me to FINALLY write something here is the death of someone who was not a member of my family. I'm talking about Michael Crichton, who you'll remember is one of my listed authors on this page, who passed away a few days ago after a private battle with lung cancer. As it hadn't been publicly known until....well, the end there, I was shocked when the news reached me. He was 66 but certainly didn't look it from recent photos I've seen. Anyway, you can criticize this guy and put him in the same category as someone like Tom Clancy, who sells a lot of books without ever doing any especially good writing, relying almost completely on technical knowledge to drive his stories. But I disagree. Here was a storyteller of the highest calibre who put absolutely everything he had into his craft. There are so many great authors I want to emulate and Crichton is no exception....but I also realize my own limitations and know that I could never match him for his scientific knowledge and imagination where such is concerned. I don't think I'll ever write a book or comic or even short story that requires the degree of research and know-how that Crichton poured into pretty much everything he ever did. He was a master of the "techno-thriller" and I'm not about to challenge that myself. I'll stick to simpler fiction and fantasy, thanks.
I'm pretty sure in an early post I mentioned that reading Jurassic Park was a huge event in my life. Well, it was. Firstly, intelligent as I was as a kid, I was basically too young to properly absorb and appreciate it the first time through. To be fair, I was barely ten. But like any book that I really enjoyed, I revisisted it again and again over the years. I'm twenty-five now and I'll estimate I've read Jurassic Park somewhere around seven times so far. Obviously, the biggest attraction was simply the dinosaurs but I discovered so much more between those pages.
It may well have been Crichton who first impressed upon me how useful character backstory can be if done right. What I recall best is an account of the book's Dr. Woo - an Ingen scientist chiefly responsible for developing the cloning techniques used to create real dinosaurs. There's a digression of about two pages or so that takes us back in time and tells us of Woo as he first graduates university and begins his work before being approached by John Hammond, the man who would found Jurassic Park.
Maybe this little bit of info on a character who was actually quite secondary to the novel's actual action wouldn't impress most people but I know it made a big impression on me. As technical as Crichton's novels could often be, I always found his characters to be very human. That's why I was rooting for Ian Malcolm and Alan Grant - because I genuinely liked them. They weren't just vehicles to drive the plot - they were compelling, interesting characters and Woo was interesting too.
Aside from his obvious mastery of knowing his subject matter inside out and deploying it in an intelligent and believeable manner, I really find Crichton's other main strength as a storyteller to be his sense of pacing and ability to build suspense. Timeline remains one of the most intense novels I've ever read and I always enjoy re-reading it. If you've seen the movie and not read the book, do your best to purge any memory of that "film" from your mind and pick the book up. It's awesome. Like King, almost everything Crichton has written has been made into a movie but with the exception of Jurassic Park (one of my favourite movies despite how different it actually is from the source material), these movies don't even come close to doing these stories proper justice. And if techno-thrillers about dinosaur cloning, time travel and deadly AI aren't your thing, I guess you could always give Disclosure a shot. It was the only Crichton novel I ever read (there's like three I have yet to read) that didn't really do it for me. I've also been told to avoid Airframe as it supposedly strays into Clancyesque territory in regards to technical details but I'll still give it a shot someday. Give the dude props for creating ER too - pretty much every medical drama out today (and god knows there are a TON of them) owes something to that show. Oh, and you're welcome too, Mr. Clooney.
The last novel Michael Crichton ever finished was called Next and I have yet to read it. Maybe it's fitting that something with that title was his last - up next, Mr. Crichton goes beyond this life and as for we who are left behind, what's next is up to us.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
PaSsIoN
I was supposed to be writing about sleep depravation and writing and my own experiences with it but something else has been bouncing around in my head.
Two weeks ago I went to see the Star Wars: Clone Wars movie. While using CGI caricatures rather than real life actors and not even having all the official actors on board for voices, it still is an official Star Wars movie, bridging the gap between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. although he didn't direct it (hell, he didn't direct Empire, remember?) George Lucas worked on it and obviously endorsed it and approved of it in every sense.
Besides the factors mentioned above, it's also pretty short and the music isn't done by John Williams (although some of his existing themes are worked in in places). I thought it was ok but there were things about it that bugged me. Needless to say, it's not up to the standard of the rest of the series. I think of it as just a little extra side-story so I don't really care. But the hardcore Star Wars fans, of which there are trillions, care very much. So message boards everywhere are flooded with complaints and opinions flying every which way.
I was on one such message board on imdb just to see if anyone actually liked the movie when i came across a thread in which the original poster basically said everyone should just shut up and stop complaining about this movie, and they should especially stop criticizing Lucas himself. Addressing the argument that Lucas was "selling out" and ruining the great name of Star Wars, this poster stated that Star Wars and everything encapsulated within it (and that's quite a lot) belongs to George Lucas, NOT the fans. It was his vision, his creation, his property, period. He can do as he pleases with it.
This of course lead to a response with one of those speeches saying how Star Wars is art created for its audience and it belongs as much to them as its creator. That as soon as Lucas released the first Star Wars to the public in 1977, it became in part, public property as well. Over the decades, Star Wars has spawned many, many fans who are absolutely nuts over it - they know everything about it and care very, very much about anything that is added to it. This obviously leads to a level of snobbishness - the diehards feeling they are "true" fans and much more deserving than people who only enjoy the movies and so on on a casual level. These fans become very opinionated over time and extremely protective of what they like. So it was one of these fans talking here. The basic idea being that fans like him/herself care SO MUCH about all things Star Wars, they are perfectly entitled to criticizing Lucas for any "mistakes" they feel he's making with his own creation.
And I agree. To a point. Of course, ANYONE, diehard fan or casual fan, has the right to have a freaking opinion. Call George Lucas the biggest moron of all time - it's completely legal, I assure you. But I'd like to talk about where I disagree with this poster and this argument. It's pretty simple, really. George Lucas does love Star Wars. If he didn't, it would never have even happened. He had to fight like crazy to make the first movie and completing the original trilogy the way he wanted to was a huge struggle. I think people do know that but some will argue that over time, all Lucas really loved about Star Wars was the MONEY it was making for him. This would lead him to cut corners or not try as hard when it came to making the prequels. A lot of people believe that. And now they see this latest movie as just a quick cash-grab, capitalizing on the Star Wars name. But I just don't think so. Cause, yeah, I know there are tons of fans out there that love Star Wars SO MUCH. They care SO MUCH. I know. But you know who's on an even higher level in that category? The people that worked on these newer films with Lucas. The guy who directed Clone Wars had been a fan of Star Wars his whole life. He loved it SO MUCH. He cared SO MUCH. How much? Well....he became a director. He wanted to make movies like his hero, George Lucas. So he went out and worked hard to get where he is today. Obviously, he's done a fair share of work before ever getting handed what he considered to be a dream job. And he probably didn't absolutely love everything he worked on. But it didn't matter because he was prepared to do whatever it took to get himself in the position to work on projects he really cared about. The animators, the artists - they all love Star Wars so much they're animators and artists. These people didn't sit in their basements and complain when a sequel to a movie they liked wasn't up to their standards. They said "i'm going to make movies too" and they went out and worked to make that happen. OK, so not every single one of them was inspired to what they do by Star Wars but it's the same principle - there was SOMETHING, some movie or show or comic or whatever that moved them in such a way that they wanted to be part of that world too - to create.
It's how I feel whenever I read a letters section in a comic book. Reader feedback is of course an important part of the comics industry, more than ever these days with the Internet. It's important for writers, editors and artists to listen to their fans. But Christ, you should see some of the DEMANDS some of these people are making. "I don't like this character, you should kill him off." "I think the whole whoever and whoever relationship is overdone." "Could you maybe put x character into this book? Get them on x team?" And on and on and on. Some people downright attack Marvel and DC and whoever, sometimes even vowing never to buy another one of their books because something has upset them so much.
And as I huge fan, I can of course relate. I'm not in love with every single decision that is made in, say, the Marvel universe. I don't adore every character, story arc and plot twist. Sometimes I'll read something and think something like "Mr. Fantastic would never do that. That's dumb." I live in that world. I love that world SO MUCH. I care SO MUCH. But you know what? I don't think that entitles me to much. No one's holding a gun to my head, forcing me to spend my money on these comics. How I feel about it is this: I love these characters, this world SO MUCH, that I want to be a part of it. I'm going to work my ass off so that I can be. To someday work on a title I've spent years enjoying reading. To write stories about the characters I've grown up adoring. Then they'll do what I want them to do. I'll try my best to appeal to as many people as I can, to not fuck up these things they love so much. But any idiot knows you just can't please everyone.
So if I ever get there it's cool with me if you want to talk to your friends or go on message boards and call me an idiot and go on and on about how I'm ruining this or that. Go ahead and vow to stop reading. I'd hate to lose any readers but that's how it goes and you can do as you please. But if you think you're more entitled or smart when it comes to this stuff then don't complain to me, accusing me of not trying or not caring. Step right up and do my job. And if you're not prepared to do that or you're just incapable, well, then I think we'll both know which of us is the bigger fan and who actually cares more.
Two weeks ago I went to see the Star Wars: Clone Wars movie. While using CGI caricatures rather than real life actors and not even having all the official actors on board for voices, it still is an official Star Wars movie, bridging the gap between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. although he didn't direct it (hell, he didn't direct Empire, remember?) George Lucas worked on it and obviously endorsed it and approved of it in every sense.
Besides the factors mentioned above, it's also pretty short and the music isn't done by John Williams (although some of his existing themes are worked in in places). I thought it was ok but there were things about it that bugged me. Needless to say, it's not up to the standard of the rest of the series. I think of it as just a little extra side-story so I don't really care. But the hardcore Star Wars fans, of which there are trillions, care very much. So message boards everywhere are flooded with complaints and opinions flying every which way.
I was on one such message board on imdb just to see if anyone actually liked the movie when i came across a thread in which the original poster basically said everyone should just shut up and stop complaining about this movie, and they should especially stop criticizing Lucas himself. Addressing the argument that Lucas was "selling out" and ruining the great name of Star Wars, this poster stated that Star Wars and everything encapsulated within it (and that's quite a lot) belongs to George Lucas, NOT the fans. It was his vision, his creation, his property, period. He can do as he pleases with it.
This of course lead to a response with one of those speeches saying how Star Wars is art created for its audience and it belongs as much to them as its creator. That as soon as Lucas released the first Star Wars to the public in 1977, it became in part, public property as well. Over the decades, Star Wars has spawned many, many fans who are absolutely nuts over it - they know everything about it and care very, very much about anything that is added to it. This obviously leads to a level of snobbishness - the diehards feeling they are "true" fans and much more deserving than people who only enjoy the movies and so on on a casual level. These fans become very opinionated over time and extremely protective of what they like. So it was one of these fans talking here. The basic idea being that fans like him/herself care SO MUCH about all things Star Wars, they are perfectly entitled to criticizing Lucas for any "mistakes" they feel he's making with his own creation.
And I agree. To a point. Of course, ANYONE, diehard fan or casual fan, has the right to have a freaking opinion. Call George Lucas the biggest moron of all time - it's completely legal, I assure you. But I'd like to talk about where I disagree with this poster and this argument. It's pretty simple, really. George Lucas does love Star Wars. If he didn't, it would never have even happened. He had to fight like crazy to make the first movie and completing the original trilogy the way he wanted to was a huge struggle. I think people do know that but some will argue that over time, all Lucas really loved about Star Wars was the MONEY it was making for him. This would lead him to cut corners or not try as hard when it came to making the prequels. A lot of people believe that. And now they see this latest movie as just a quick cash-grab, capitalizing on the Star Wars name. But I just don't think so. Cause, yeah, I know there are tons of fans out there that love Star Wars SO MUCH. They care SO MUCH. I know. But you know who's on an even higher level in that category? The people that worked on these newer films with Lucas. The guy who directed Clone Wars had been a fan of Star Wars his whole life. He loved it SO MUCH. He cared SO MUCH. How much? Well....he became a director. He wanted to make movies like his hero, George Lucas. So he went out and worked hard to get where he is today. Obviously, he's done a fair share of work before ever getting handed what he considered to be a dream job. And he probably didn't absolutely love everything he worked on. But it didn't matter because he was prepared to do whatever it took to get himself in the position to work on projects he really cared about. The animators, the artists - they all love Star Wars so much they're animators and artists. These people didn't sit in their basements and complain when a sequel to a movie they liked wasn't up to their standards. They said "i'm going to make movies too" and they went out and worked to make that happen. OK, so not every single one of them was inspired to what they do by Star Wars but it's the same principle - there was SOMETHING, some movie or show or comic or whatever that moved them in such a way that they wanted to be part of that world too - to create.
It's how I feel whenever I read a letters section in a comic book. Reader feedback is of course an important part of the comics industry, more than ever these days with the Internet. It's important for writers, editors and artists to listen to their fans. But Christ, you should see some of the DEMANDS some of these people are making. "I don't like this character, you should kill him off." "I think the whole whoever and whoever relationship is overdone." "Could you maybe put x character into this book? Get them on x team?" And on and on and on. Some people downright attack Marvel and DC and whoever, sometimes even vowing never to buy another one of their books because something has upset them so much.
And as I huge fan, I can of course relate. I'm not in love with every single decision that is made in, say, the Marvel universe. I don't adore every character, story arc and plot twist. Sometimes I'll read something and think something like "Mr. Fantastic would never do that. That's dumb." I live in that world. I love that world SO MUCH. I care SO MUCH. But you know what? I don't think that entitles me to much. No one's holding a gun to my head, forcing me to spend my money on these comics. How I feel about it is this: I love these characters, this world SO MUCH, that I want to be a part of it. I'm going to work my ass off so that I can be. To someday work on a title I've spent years enjoying reading. To write stories about the characters I've grown up adoring. Then they'll do what I want them to do. I'll try my best to appeal to as many people as I can, to not fuck up these things they love so much. But any idiot knows you just can't please everyone.
So if I ever get there it's cool with me if you want to talk to your friends or go on message boards and call me an idiot and go on and on about how I'm ruining this or that. Go ahead and vow to stop reading. I'd hate to lose any readers but that's how it goes and you can do as you please. But if you think you're more entitled or smart when it comes to this stuff then don't complain to me, accusing me of not trying or not caring. Step right up and do my job. And if you're not prepared to do that or you're just incapable, well, then I think we'll both know which of us is the bigger fan and who actually cares more.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
reminder
I've been thinking about talking a little about sleep depravation and the writing process as it relates to me. i don't have time to do it right now. i'm just posting this to remind myself about it. i forget so many ideas, good and bad.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Therapy
I just need to write this out somewhere where it will...stay. I would like to state here and now that I DID NOT WRITE THIS - this is the work of another artist. I don't know if I need permission to post it here or not but I can't see what kind of disservice I could be doing by doing so. I doubt this blog gets much traffic anyway. This is called Miss America and I did not write it. I just like it.
Miss America
Another lonely night in Amsterdam
The stars are coming out in waves
And I miss my Miss America in Park Hotel
But I'm too stoned to call today
When everything you wanted
Seems to hide behind your eyes
And I'm locked in my hotel room
Turning over our goodbyes
I will write this down for you
So you can read it
I will hold my breath for you
Till you can feel it
Another lonely night in Amsterdam
The water moving through the sound
Of the blood that's boiling in my veins
And the food I can't keep down
And I don't care if you don't love me
And I don't care if you don't change
I could live inside these shadows that I cast for you
If it meant that you would stay
I'll be home before the morning comes
And you won't have to be alone
I will write this down for you
So you can read it
I will hold my breath for you
Till you can feel it
You don't have to see me this way
Cause this way I'm ok
I will write this down
I will write this down
Oh Love, I'm tangled up again
Oh Love, when does this twisting end?
I will write this down for you
So you can read it
I will hold my breath for you
Till I can't feel it
You won't have to see me this way
Cause this way I'm ok
I will write this down for you
So you can read it...
Sure, it's cheesy to say but it really is how I feel right now. How I feel a lot of the time. Next one will be more productive but for now, I need my therapy. Peace.
Miss America
Another lonely night in Amsterdam
The stars are coming out in waves
And I miss my Miss America in Park Hotel
But I'm too stoned to call today
When everything you wanted
Seems to hide behind your eyes
And I'm locked in my hotel room
Turning over our goodbyes
I will write this down for you
So you can read it
I will hold my breath for you
Till you can feel it
Another lonely night in Amsterdam
The water moving through the sound
Of the blood that's boiling in my veins
And the food I can't keep down
And I don't care if you don't love me
And I don't care if you don't change
I could live inside these shadows that I cast for you
If it meant that you would stay
I'll be home before the morning comes
And you won't have to be alone
I will write this down for you
So you can read it
I will hold my breath for you
Till you can feel it
You don't have to see me this way
Cause this way I'm ok
I will write this down
I will write this down
Oh Love, I'm tangled up again
Oh Love, when does this twisting end?
I will write this down for you
So you can read it
I will hold my breath for you
Till I can't feel it
You won't have to see me this way
Cause this way I'm ok
I will write this down for you
So you can read it...
Sure, it's cheesy to say but it really is how I feel right now. How I feel a lot of the time. Next one will be more productive but for now, I need my therapy. Peace.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Digging into the archives
It's occurred to me I haven't included anything old here yet. And a couple days ago, digging through some of my old notes from university, i stumbled upon something even OLDER. It's the lyrics to a song I wrote about ten years ago. The song never got completed or performed but I never got rid of the lyrics. The song is, of course, about Mega Man.
Although you'll never hear it, I can tell you the into is simply a direct rip-off of the music in the first Sigma stage of Mega Man X (not ten). It's just several chords repeated on synthesizer over a slap-tastic bassline. The music does pick up quite a bit eventually and turn into something quite original (although I don't know how good). Anyway, while the intro is poached from a game in the X series, the lyrics are just about "classic" Mega Man. Enjoy.
Mega Man
in the year 200X lived brilliant Doctor Light
who laboured night and day
to better serve mankind
the doctor liked the blues
he liked rock and roll
into a metal being
he infused a noble soul
Rock was a great friend who only wanted peace
but Wily stole those dreams
(and he stole some robots too)
and there was only one thing left
for Light and Rock to do
Mega Man, crashing through the sky
diminutive blue hero
he's not afraid to die
Megabuster blaster
it can't fail him now
evil robots beware
he will take you down
Wily's army grew
and the Blue Bomber fought on
fire, ice, bombs and blades
all fell and now are gone
wielding his foes' own weapons
Mega Man wins the day
Mega Man, crashing through the sky
diminutive blue hero
he's not afraid to die
Megabuster blaster
it can't fail him now
evil robots beware
he will take you down
Proto's got his shied,
his scarf and badass shades
but Mega Man's the one
whose legend never fades
Mega Man, crashing through the sky
diminutive blue hero
he's not afraid to die
Megabuster blaster
it can't fail him now
evil doers everywhere
he will take you down
.....right. How about that? I said it was genuinely old. Not genuinely good. Whatever, i can sort of recall the tune and it was pretty rockin', so there.
See you next time.
Although you'll never hear it, I can tell you the into is simply a direct rip-off of the music in the first Sigma stage of Mega Man X (not ten). It's just several chords repeated on synthesizer over a slap-tastic bassline. The music does pick up quite a bit eventually and turn into something quite original (although I don't know how good). Anyway, while the intro is poached from a game in the X series, the lyrics are just about "classic" Mega Man. Enjoy.
Mega Man
in the year 200X lived brilliant Doctor Light
who laboured night and day
to better serve mankind
the doctor liked the blues
he liked rock and roll
into a metal being
he infused a noble soul
Rock was a great friend who only wanted peace
but Wily stole those dreams
(and he stole some robots too)
and there was only one thing left
for Light and Rock to do
Mega Man, crashing through the sky
diminutive blue hero
he's not afraid to die
Megabuster blaster
it can't fail him now
evil robots beware
he will take you down
Wily's army grew
and the Blue Bomber fought on
fire, ice, bombs and blades
all fell and now are gone
wielding his foes' own weapons
Mega Man wins the day
Mega Man, crashing through the sky
diminutive blue hero
he's not afraid to die
Megabuster blaster
it can't fail him now
evil robots beware
he will take you down
Proto's got his shied,
his scarf and badass shades
but Mega Man's the one
whose legend never fades
Mega Man, crashing through the sky
diminutive blue hero
he's not afraid to die
Megabuster blaster
it can't fail him now
evil doers everywhere
he will take you down
.....right. How about that? I said it was genuinely old. Not genuinely good. Whatever, i can sort of recall the tune and it was pretty rockin', so there.
See you next time.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Professionalism
In December I wrote my first post here in many months. I hadn't written anything in a long time. Because of Anne. Then I created that post. Because of Anne. The post was about Anne.
And maybe that wasn't very professional. When I started this blog, I stated that its purpose was for me to post some of my creative material and also some of my insights regarding the writing process and what my life is like as a "struggling author". Then I went and had a personal crisis, like all of us do at one time or another and I let it get in the way of other things, including my writing. And then I blabbed about it here.
I won't do that again. But I've also decided to leave the December post intact and on this blog for anyone to read at any time. Because writers don't live in a bubble anymore than anyone else does. We aren't insulated and protected from the outside world and our writing is affected by what happens in our lives. So I'll leave it up and unchanged.
I don't know if anyone ever reads this blog - but when I started it, I knew there was at least one other person in the world who would. She probably doesn't anymore but in any case, I won't throw her name around or use her as an excuse to vent my frustrations. From now on, this blog will just be about what I originally said it would be. What goes on here will continue to be affected by what happens in my personal life but no longer will I drag all that out into the open here. I promise.
I love you, Anne. Thankyou for believing in me as a writer. At least for a little while.
And maybe that wasn't very professional. When I started this blog, I stated that its purpose was for me to post some of my creative material and also some of my insights regarding the writing process and what my life is like as a "struggling author". Then I went and had a personal crisis, like all of us do at one time or another and I let it get in the way of other things, including my writing. And then I blabbed about it here.
I won't do that again. But I've also decided to leave the December post intact and on this blog for anyone to read at any time. Because writers don't live in a bubble anymore than anyone else does. We aren't insulated and protected from the outside world and our writing is affected by what happens in our lives. So I'll leave it up and unchanged.
I don't know if anyone ever reads this blog - but when I started it, I knew there was at least one other person in the world who would. She probably doesn't anymore but in any case, I won't throw her name around or use her as an excuse to vent my frustrations. From now on, this blog will just be about what I originally said it would be. What goes on here will continue to be affected by what happens in my personal life but no longer will I drag all that out into the open here. I promise.
I love you, Anne. Thankyou for believing in me as a writer. At least for a little while.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Character list PART TWO
So read PART ONE first for the rules. Besides that, this isn't a top ten or anything like that - there's no particular order and I don't know how many there are going to be. OK. Moving on.
Ebeneezer Scrooge (creator: Charles Dickens. first appearance: "A Christmas Carol")
Even without his redemption, Scrooge would still make this list. He's so great as a heavily flawed "villain"-type but I guess his eventual 180 does add to his overall appeal. But for now, let's talk about "classic" Scrooge. Dickens gives amazing descriptions of this guy - I wish I had the book here so I could directly quote some of them. Paraphrasing will have to do with this wrenching, grasping, covetous old sinner.
It's said no one can stand looking him in the eye and that even dogs leading blind men know to lead their masters away when Scrooge is in their path. The guy is so cold on his own that no summer sun can warm him nor any winter wind chill him. He keeps his clerk Bob Cratchitt living in abject terror and working with only one piece of coal to fuel his pitiful fire. And don't get me started on the crappy salary this guy earns.
And let's not forget the man's own quotes: "Keep Christmas in your own way and let me keep it in mine." , "Bah! Humbug!", and the amazing "If they'd rather die then they'd better do it and decrease the surplus population." (!!!)
He likes darkness since "darkness is cheap", he tries to crack jokes when dealing with ghosts, he scares the hell out of carolers and freezes his jolly nephew out of his life. But you've gotta love him! There's always appeal to be found in a great villain and there's tons in old Scrooge as we find ourselves liking him for all his negative qualities. What makes Scrooge unique is that by the end of the book, he's reformed and become a new man. But that's great too and we're glad to see it happen. Because the story of Scrooge re-enforces the idea that there is good deep down in everyone and that it is possible to bring it out even if it's been deeply buried for a long, long time.
He also gets to do some pretty cool things like re-visit his past (although he can only watch), spy on his nephew and employee and hang out with spirits the whole while. OK, the final spirit was scary as hell but it all worked out in the end.
While Scrooge has been portrayed by tons of different actors and some of them very well, I can honestly say his inclusion on this list has not been influenced by any of that. I read the book every year (guess when!) and I never find myself picturing any specific actor. It's just "Scrooge" as Dickens writes him and that's just perfect.
Eponine (creator: Victor Hugo. first appearance: "Les Miserables")
If her last name is given somewhere in the 1500 page monstrosity that is Les Mis, forgive me if I forget it.
OK, so I am kind of cheating on this one. Sort of breaking one of my own rules. Let me explain: in my love for this character, I could very well be being influenced by her portrayal in another medium. But it's not a TV show or movie (hell, they left the poor girl out of the movie), it's...um, well, it's the musical. Eponine is far and away my favourite character in the stage musical and more than a little of it has to do with Frances Ruffelle playing her in the original version. But I'm still including her here. So, yeah, I love Ruffelle's voice and her parts in songs that obviously have NOTHING to do with Eponine in the novel but oh well.
Cause I still do love the Eponine of the novel and that's why she's here. She's not a main character. She has the unfortunate fate of being in love with Marius while he barely even notices her. He's too busy being in love with Cossette.
Not only does she have the unrequited love angle to work as a tragic character, she is also unfortunately the offspring of the wretched Thenardiers, who sure as hell don't give a damn about her. No big loss there though - they're pretty terrible people.
Although to date I have read too many books to even fathom, I do know that Les Mis is easily the longest of them. And I REALLY need to re-read it. So sorry if my Eponine details are lacking here. But I just know that I love her and empathize with her as she's in love with a man who only has eyes for another and yet she (Eponine) continues to do whatever she can to help the guy, eventually sacrificing her life to save his.
The line itself might not be in the book, but as she sings in the musical, "[the] world is full of happiness that I have never known" that's what you certainly glean from her if you read it.
Ebeneezer Scrooge (creator: Charles Dickens. first appearance: "A Christmas Carol")
Even without his redemption, Scrooge would still make this list. He's so great as a heavily flawed "villain"-type but I guess his eventual 180 does add to his overall appeal. But for now, let's talk about "classic" Scrooge. Dickens gives amazing descriptions of this guy - I wish I had the book here so I could directly quote some of them. Paraphrasing will have to do with this wrenching, grasping, covetous old sinner.
It's said no one can stand looking him in the eye and that even dogs leading blind men know to lead their masters away when Scrooge is in their path. The guy is so cold on his own that no summer sun can warm him nor any winter wind chill him. He keeps his clerk Bob Cratchitt living in abject terror and working with only one piece of coal to fuel his pitiful fire. And don't get me started on the crappy salary this guy earns.
And let's not forget the man's own quotes: "Keep Christmas in your own way and let me keep it in mine." , "Bah! Humbug!", and the amazing "If they'd rather die then they'd better do it and decrease the surplus population." (!!!)
He likes darkness since "darkness is cheap", he tries to crack jokes when dealing with ghosts, he scares the hell out of carolers and freezes his jolly nephew out of his life. But you've gotta love him! There's always appeal to be found in a great villain and there's tons in old Scrooge as we find ourselves liking him for all his negative qualities. What makes Scrooge unique is that by the end of the book, he's reformed and become a new man. But that's great too and we're glad to see it happen. Because the story of Scrooge re-enforces the idea that there is good deep down in everyone and that it is possible to bring it out even if it's been deeply buried for a long, long time.
He also gets to do some pretty cool things like re-visit his past (although he can only watch), spy on his nephew and employee and hang out with spirits the whole while. OK, the final spirit was scary as hell but it all worked out in the end.
While Scrooge has been portrayed by tons of different actors and some of them very well, I can honestly say his inclusion on this list has not been influenced by any of that. I read the book every year (guess when!) and I never find myself picturing any specific actor. It's just "Scrooge" as Dickens writes him and that's just perfect.
Eponine (creator: Victor Hugo. first appearance: "Les Miserables")
If her last name is given somewhere in the 1500 page monstrosity that is Les Mis, forgive me if I forget it.
OK, so I am kind of cheating on this one. Sort of breaking one of my own rules. Let me explain: in my love for this character, I could very well be being influenced by her portrayal in another medium. But it's not a TV show or movie (hell, they left the poor girl out of the movie), it's...um, well, it's the musical. Eponine is far and away my favourite character in the stage musical and more than a little of it has to do with Frances Ruffelle playing her in the original version. But I'm still including her here. So, yeah, I love Ruffelle's voice and her parts in songs that obviously have NOTHING to do with Eponine in the novel but oh well.
Cause I still do love the Eponine of the novel and that's why she's here. She's not a main character. She has the unfortunate fate of being in love with Marius while he barely even notices her. He's too busy being in love with Cossette.
Not only does she have the unrequited love angle to work as a tragic character, she is also unfortunately the offspring of the wretched Thenardiers, who sure as hell don't give a damn about her. No big loss there though - they're pretty terrible people.
Although to date I have read too many books to even fathom, I do know that Les Mis is easily the longest of them. And I REALLY need to re-read it. So sorry if my Eponine details are lacking here. But I just know that I love her and empathize with her as she's in love with a man who only has eyes for another and yet she (Eponine) continues to do whatever she can to help the guy, eventually sacrificing her life to save his.
The line itself might not be in the book, but as she sings in the musical, "[the] world is full of happiness that I have never known" that's what you certainly glean from her if you read it.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
2008
So ive been gone a long time. Wonder if anyone noticed. Sorry, but ive been distracted by the hell my personal life has become among other things. Things such as the cursed Facebook (which i have forsaken in every way) that siphoned off some of my creative offerings. Fuck Facebook. My creative offerings belong here. My personal life? Don't ask.
So I though i'd kick off 2008 (here in late May) with one of my favourite things - not to mention something easy - a list.
This list is called "Favourite Literary Characters Whose Original Incarnation (assuming any more followed) Was in Books". Don't i rock at titles? Ridiculously long even without the added bonus of a section in brackets. What can I say? It's a gift.
So Indiana Jones cannot be on this list. Yes, there are many novels with him but he started as a movie character. So Spider-Man is not on this list - he started in...duh, comics.
one little aside before i get to the list is that while I did briefly consider characters such as Decker in "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and Thomas Harris's Hannibal Lector, I realized as cool as those characters are in their original forms, it is their portrayal in (good) movies based on the books that made me really, really love them. I don't think I could enjoy Lector quite as much if I didn't have Anthony Hopkins to picture while I read him.
At this point (way too long in coming, as usual) you understand the rules and parameters of my list (unless you're a retard - political correctness be damned! also, there might be spoilers ahead)
So here you go:
Bruno Walton (creator: Gordon Korman. first appearance: "This Can't be Happening at Macdonald Hall!")
The famous Bruno of the acclaimed "Bruno and Boots Books". The...um, yin or yang to Boots's yang or yin depending on which one is the fiery, enthusiastic one. Cause that's what Bruno is - enthusiastic. Often dangerously so. Possessing a school spirit that goes beyond sanity (except when it comes to actually studying and working hard scholastically), Bruno is constantly dragging his reluctant pal Boots (and eventually many other students) into zany, possibly expulsion-worthy schemes, all in the name of his beloved MacDonald Hall. He'll take anyone on: a discipline-obssessed, computer-worshiping teacher out to "revolutionize" education, a beloved Hollywood heartthrob and his entire movie crew, even total bankruptcy!
All the while, doing his best to sidestep the attentions of the school's strict (but still loveable) headmaster, "The Fish". However, Bruno's trademark claim "I never get caught" is a little less than accurate. But he doesn't care. He'll wash dishes, pick up garbage or endure any other punishment with a smile so long as he can still labour to "save the Hall" in one way or another.
And he does it all with charm. How else would he get his somewhat less passionate friends to follow him into one debacle after another? Bruno's the kind of guy you'd follow into hell without ever really understanding why.
Drizzt Do'Urden (creator: R.A. Salvatore. first appearance: "The Crystal Shard")
With apologies to Legolas, there is no more badass elf in all the realms. Probably helps that he's a Dark Elf - a Drow. But this one isn't evil and he felt so strongly about not living in an evil world that he did everything he could to valiantly bust out of the EVIL city of his EVIL kin. It wound up costing him dearly but he endured it all: his family repeatedly trying to kill him after realizing they couldn't corrupt him, years of isolation and solitude and constant scrutiny and racism from the peoples of the surface. But he never gets bitter, never gives up. He just forges ahead, and, in doing so, proves his heroism and uncompromising morals over and over again. And he does a lot of it with two wicked swords.
Cause as noble and loyal and brave etc. as Drizzt is, one can't overlook the fact that he is badass. He's fought hordes of orcs, trolls, orges and goblins, fellow Dark Elves and even a few demons and he's beaten them all. He is grace and athleticism personified with phenomenal fighting skills thrown in. Once again with apologies to Legolas, he could kick Legolas's lily "light elf" ass. Fire all the arrows you want - you'll hit nothing but air. And no sword or dagger will keep those twin scimitars at bay for long - for most opponents, it's barely a few seconds.
Drizzt fights for what's right again and again in a world that mostly judges and condemns him for the colour of his skin. His intelligence, integrity and amazing fighting prowess make him one hell of a character. Hero, anti-hero, whatever - he is Drizzt Do'Urden.
Nick Andros (creator: Stephen King. first appearance: "The Stand")
Easily my favourite King character. The deaf-mute loner with the heart of gold, Nick is one of the survivors of the crazy "Captain Trips" superflu that wipes out something like 99% of the world's population. These survivors are basically "good" people who dream of Mother Abigail or "bad" people that dream of The Dark Man, Randal Flagg. Luckily for the "good" side, that's where he stands (ha, stands!)
From his letter to the police chief, we learn Nick had a pretty tough life even before everyone started croaking and you can only respect him for all the adversity he's overcome. An orphan and outcast, rarely bothered with and even more rarely understood. He goes on to show a fellow survivor, a man of somewhat limited...ahem, intelligence and maturity, unfathomable kindness and support in a world where many others would have simply abandoned him, labeling him as a hindrance. After that, despite his youth (twenty-two) and disability (although the term certainly doesn't apply in this sense), he emerges as one of the leaders of the "good" people and is instrumental in their survival as well as in their hope.
Nick is often frustrated by challenges such as people pre-judging him or his difficulties in communicating with others but he never wallows - he just tries harder until he succeeds.
He doesn't blow away bad guys or save kids from a burning house but his accomplishments are no less important and noble. Stephen King admits that the decision to have Nick killed three quarters of the way through the book was staggeringly difficult and emotional, but he saw it as necessary. It sure made an impression on me.
Here was a character that didn't really have dialogue - instead he is mostly voiced through interior and written monologues and everything he had to "say" just made me love him even more. Like Drizzt, he's another individual who is guided by his principles and won't make any compromises or accept any defeats. He'll do the right thing, or die trying. Ultimately, that's what ended up happening.
If the world ever does come down to a showdown between good and evil, I'd want Nick Andros there with us.
"Charlie" (creator: Stephen Chbosky. first appearance: "The Perks of Being a Wallflower")
We never get to know the kid's real name, so his suggestion of Charlie will have to do. The Holden Caulfield of the nineties, he drips empathy. I love him because I am him. Almost anyone who reads Wallflower can be him in some way or another.
His home life isn't completely tragic - but it's far from completely perfect. Just like any of us. He wants to gain love and acceptance, just like any of us. But how he goes about things may separate him from a lot of us. But still, so many of us can relate.
I think one reason I like Charlie so much is I truly do believe I can identify with him more than most. It comes down to feelings, sensitivity, perception. I don't think he ever actually says it, but one of the great tragedies, as well as virtues of Charlie is that maybe he cares too much. Feels too much. He thinks about other people probably more than most do. Whatever impact someone makes on him, however small, it affects him. He thinks about it. Feels it. Apparently he doesn't even know the person he's sending these letters to. Not personally anyway. He just heard some things about him (we know it's a him) and thought maybe he would understand better than most. I think I'm like that too. I often find myself thinking about various people in my life, many of them who are no longer in my life. I wonder about them. How they're doing. What they're feeling. I don't want to rush to them or try to get them back in my life or even talk to them - I just...care. Charlie strikes me as the same way.
To Charlie, the ultimate expression of feelings is in the form of a mix tape - don't so many of us feel exactly the same way? And he doesn't judge and doesn't pretend to be someone else. He just...is. But is he truly a wallflower? I don't think so. I think he just cares too much about people sometimes so he puts his own wants and needs aside. Honestly, most people really can't relate to that and the guy who deemed him a wallflower definitely couldn't. It's a label that didn't really fit. But Charlie doesn't argue it.
It's hard to pin down exactly what Charlie's personality is and I think that's because he's too raw - just a jumble of strong emotions. I think we can all feel that way sometimes. We don't know who we are but we know how we feel. Throughout the book, Charlie gets it down to an art. I sometimes wonder if that's what happened to me somewhere along the way.
Anyway, Charlie is one of my favourite literary characters because he really does touch my heart. Maybe I'm a jaded prick, but few characters or even real people do that for me these days. Because of peace, love, empathy and M*A*S*H (hell, even The Rocky Horror Picture Show) I love Charlie.
We'll call that PART ONE. Writing about characters I feel so strongly about is pretty draining. Let's hope we don't get to a PART THREE.
So I though i'd kick off 2008 (here in late May) with one of my favourite things - not to mention something easy - a list.
This list is called "Favourite Literary Characters Whose Original Incarnation (assuming any more followed) Was in Books". Don't i rock at titles? Ridiculously long even without the added bonus of a section in brackets. What can I say? It's a gift.
So Indiana Jones cannot be on this list. Yes, there are many novels with him but he started as a movie character. So Spider-Man is not on this list - he started in...duh, comics.
one little aside before i get to the list is that while I did briefly consider characters such as Decker in "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and Thomas Harris's Hannibal Lector, I realized as cool as those characters are in their original forms, it is their portrayal in (good) movies based on the books that made me really, really love them. I don't think I could enjoy Lector quite as much if I didn't have Anthony Hopkins to picture while I read him.
At this point (way too long in coming, as usual) you understand the rules and parameters of my list (unless you're a retard - political correctness be damned! also, there might be spoilers ahead)
So here you go:
Bruno Walton (creator: Gordon Korman. first appearance: "This Can't be Happening at Macdonald Hall!")
The famous Bruno of the acclaimed "Bruno and Boots Books". The...um, yin or yang to Boots's yang or yin depending on which one is the fiery, enthusiastic one. Cause that's what Bruno is - enthusiastic. Often dangerously so. Possessing a school spirit that goes beyond sanity (except when it comes to actually studying and working hard scholastically), Bruno is constantly dragging his reluctant pal Boots (and eventually many other students) into zany, possibly expulsion-worthy schemes, all in the name of his beloved MacDonald Hall. He'll take anyone on: a discipline-obssessed, computer-worshiping teacher out to "revolutionize" education, a beloved Hollywood heartthrob and his entire movie crew, even total bankruptcy!
All the while, doing his best to sidestep the attentions of the school's strict (but still loveable) headmaster, "The Fish". However, Bruno's trademark claim "I never get caught" is a little less than accurate. But he doesn't care. He'll wash dishes, pick up garbage or endure any other punishment with a smile so long as he can still labour to "save the Hall" in one way or another.
And he does it all with charm. How else would he get his somewhat less passionate friends to follow him into one debacle after another? Bruno's the kind of guy you'd follow into hell without ever really understanding why.
Drizzt Do'Urden (creator: R.A. Salvatore. first appearance: "The Crystal Shard")
With apologies to Legolas, there is no more badass elf in all the realms. Probably helps that he's a Dark Elf - a Drow. But this one isn't evil and he felt so strongly about not living in an evil world that he did everything he could to valiantly bust out of the EVIL city of his EVIL kin. It wound up costing him dearly but he endured it all: his family repeatedly trying to kill him after realizing they couldn't corrupt him, years of isolation and solitude and constant scrutiny and racism from the peoples of the surface. But he never gets bitter, never gives up. He just forges ahead, and, in doing so, proves his heroism and uncompromising morals over and over again. And he does a lot of it with two wicked swords.
Cause as noble and loyal and brave etc. as Drizzt is, one can't overlook the fact that he is badass. He's fought hordes of orcs, trolls, orges and goblins, fellow Dark Elves and even a few demons and he's beaten them all. He is grace and athleticism personified with phenomenal fighting skills thrown in. Once again with apologies to Legolas, he could kick Legolas's lily "light elf" ass. Fire all the arrows you want - you'll hit nothing but air. And no sword or dagger will keep those twin scimitars at bay for long - for most opponents, it's barely a few seconds.
Drizzt fights for what's right again and again in a world that mostly judges and condemns him for the colour of his skin. His intelligence, integrity and amazing fighting prowess make him one hell of a character. Hero, anti-hero, whatever - he is Drizzt Do'Urden.
Nick Andros (creator: Stephen King. first appearance: "The Stand")
Easily my favourite King character. The deaf-mute loner with the heart of gold, Nick is one of the survivors of the crazy "Captain Trips" superflu that wipes out something like 99% of the world's population. These survivors are basically "good" people who dream of Mother Abigail or "bad" people that dream of The Dark Man, Randal Flagg. Luckily for the "good" side, that's where he stands (ha, stands!)
From his letter to the police chief, we learn Nick had a pretty tough life even before everyone started croaking and you can only respect him for all the adversity he's overcome. An orphan and outcast, rarely bothered with and even more rarely understood. He goes on to show a fellow survivor, a man of somewhat limited...ahem, intelligence and maturity, unfathomable kindness and support in a world where many others would have simply abandoned him, labeling him as a hindrance. After that, despite his youth (twenty-two) and disability (although the term certainly doesn't apply in this sense), he emerges as one of the leaders of the "good" people and is instrumental in their survival as well as in their hope.
Nick is often frustrated by challenges such as people pre-judging him or his difficulties in communicating with others but he never wallows - he just tries harder until he succeeds.
He doesn't blow away bad guys or save kids from a burning house but his accomplishments are no less important and noble. Stephen King admits that the decision to have Nick killed three quarters of the way through the book was staggeringly difficult and emotional, but he saw it as necessary. It sure made an impression on me.
Here was a character that didn't really have dialogue - instead he is mostly voiced through interior and written monologues and everything he had to "say" just made me love him even more. Like Drizzt, he's another individual who is guided by his principles and won't make any compromises or accept any defeats. He'll do the right thing, or die trying. Ultimately, that's what ended up happening.
If the world ever does come down to a showdown between good and evil, I'd want Nick Andros there with us.
"Charlie" (creator: Stephen Chbosky. first appearance: "The Perks of Being a Wallflower")
We never get to know the kid's real name, so his suggestion of Charlie will have to do. The Holden Caulfield of the nineties, he drips empathy. I love him because I am him. Almost anyone who reads Wallflower can be him in some way or another.
His home life isn't completely tragic - but it's far from completely perfect. Just like any of us. He wants to gain love and acceptance, just like any of us. But how he goes about things may separate him from a lot of us. But still, so many of us can relate.
I think one reason I like Charlie so much is I truly do believe I can identify with him more than most. It comes down to feelings, sensitivity, perception. I don't think he ever actually says it, but one of the great tragedies, as well as virtues of Charlie is that maybe he cares too much. Feels too much. He thinks about other people probably more than most do. Whatever impact someone makes on him, however small, it affects him. He thinks about it. Feels it. Apparently he doesn't even know the person he's sending these letters to. Not personally anyway. He just heard some things about him (we know it's a him) and thought maybe he would understand better than most. I think I'm like that too. I often find myself thinking about various people in my life, many of them who are no longer in my life. I wonder about them. How they're doing. What they're feeling. I don't want to rush to them or try to get them back in my life or even talk to them - I just...care. Charlie strikes me as the same way.
To Charlie, the ultimate expression of feelings is in the form of a mix tape - don't so many of us feel exactly the same way? And he doesn't judge and doesn't pretend to be someone else. He just...is. But is he truly a wallflower? I don't think so. I think he just cares too much about people sometimes so he puts his own wants and needs aside. Honestly, most people really can't relate to that and the guy who deemed him a wallflower definitely couldn't. It's a label that didn't really fit. But Charlie doesn't argue it.
It's hard to pin down exactly what Charlie's personality is and I think that's because he's too raw - just a jumble of strong emotions. I think we can all feel that way sometimes. We don't know who we are but we know how we feel. Throughout the book, Charlie gets it down to an art. I sometimes wonder if that's what happened to me somewhere along the way.
Anyway, Charlie is one of my favourite literary characters because he really does touch my heart. Maybe I'm a jaded prick, but few characters or even real people do that for me these days. Because of peace, love, empathy and M*A*S*H (hell, even The Rocky Horror Picture Show) I love Charlie.
We'll call that PART ONE. Writing about characters I feel so strongly about is pretty draining. Let's hope we don't get to a PART THREE.
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