Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Annotated Links #12: Bully for Japan

1. Ruble, Cynthia. "Parent-child relationship key to solving bullying problem in Japan." The Japan Daily Press 30 July 2012. Web. 31 July 2012.

This is a first person, opinion-based piece written as part anecdote and part observation. It identifies two major issues in Japanese culture that may make bullying ubiquitous: a willingness to accept hardships as part of life rather than try to improve them (related to the Japanese concept of "gaman"); and the unwillingness amongst adults to stand up against bullying for social reasons.

This article is of interest because it offers a cross-cultural look at bullying, and at some of the universals (unwillingness to defend oneself, fatalism) that may perpetuate bullying.

2. Gale, Bruce. "Tackling the bullying culture in Japan's schools." The Straits Times [found on Asia News Network] 18 July 2012. Web. 31 July 2012.

Gale analyzes bullying in Japan based on Herman Smith's The Myth of Japanese Homogeneity. Specifically, Gale notes and includes analysis based on the three characteristics Smith writes of: "intense competition for scarce educational advantages;" "that girls are rarely victims;" and "that the victims are usually transfer students who do not yet have friends to protect them." Gale also makes an interesting connection between bullying, gang violence, and heterogenous/multicultural societies, and another between bullying and the art style found in many manga. The article is written in a straightforward, easy to read style.

This article is of interest because of its analyses and because it offers a good sociological overview of the problem of bullying in Japan.

3. Nelson, Christopher. "To cut down on bullying, transform school culture." MPR News 23 July 2012. Web. 31 July 2012.

A first person opinion piece based on Nelson's experiences as a student and educator. Nelson writes that it's important to tell bullies that bullying isn't what's done, and to get them to feel included after being reprimanded, not ostracised. He states that the best solution is to have a strong, school-wide sense of where the school is going and what's important to it, yet he notes that there is no one formula for this sense and its enactment that can be universally applied. The article includes a brief summary of Nelson's experience and credentials.

Though it isn't about bullying in Japan, this article is included because it offers an interesting counterpoint to the otherwise ignored sense of school spirit found in Japanese schools that may also underlie bullying new/transfer students.

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Closing

Tomorrow's editorial will be about the increasing grittiness of popular fantasy, and this Friday check the blog for a search for the good in the infamous Plan 9 From Outer Space. Plan 9 currently sits at a 66% among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but because of a special request, and the movie's reputation, I'm going to relax my usual 50% cut off point.

And, of course, don't forget to check out "Annotated Links #13" on Thursday!

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Monday, July 30, 2012

[Moon-dæg] Words and Their Stories

Context
Collisions
Persuasion
Closing

{Shadows, mentioned and unmentioned, are a common element between today's two stories. Image found on www.foundshit.com via dimitridze.}


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Context

Tonight's creative writing entry is something of a double feature. The exercise that these works came from asks you to take five words that are rarely used in everyday speech and to create meanings for them. They can be nonsensical meanings, serious meanings, or meanings that are just plain wrong. Then, as an additional part of the exercise, you write short stories using each set of words.

So, here are the words that I used and their real definitions:
  • quaquaversal: something that protrudes in every direction at once (a geological term).
  • adynaton: an impossibility.
  • petrichor: The scent of the air after it rains over an area that's been dry for a while.
  • auto-de-fe: A ceremony used by Inquisitors to affirm the faith of converts in South Western Europe; the destruction of something by mob; the destruction of something by fire.
  • millefleurs: a perfume made by mixing various flowers together; the pattern, as in tapestries, of various plants and flowers woven together.
  • ombrifuge: anything that protects a person or thing from percipitation (an umbrella).

And here are the words and the definitions that I made up:
  • quaquaversal: something commonly known among private school headmasters (because they all know Latin, right?)
  • adynaton: the Neo-French term for a particularly delicious cut of tuna, which is most often served at dinner.
  • petrichor: the fossilized form of a nuclear reactor's core.
  • auto-de-fe: the kind of car that the faeries use to get around.
  • millefleurs: extra large bouquets found in country shops in rural Europe. OR The mush that you get from mising flour and water
  • ombrifuge: a machine that spins things around so fast that it separates them from their shadows.

Curiously, both of these stories are about science in one way or another, and particularly about machines that move things at very high speeds.

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Collisions

"Millicent, power up the grid. We need to run this test today."

"Today? But the instruments aren't ready. The necessary precautions..."

"We need to throw caution to the wind. Albert is coming to the lab this evening and he'll snap up our funding faster than a duchess snaps up millefleur on the high street if we don't have results."

The woman stiffened her shoulders and was about to cross her arms. But Jones' hand at her elbow made them go slack instead.

"Alright we've tested enough to know that hull fracture is an adynaton."

"Alright." Jones' look carried the scent of petrichor.

Maybe he's forgiven me? Millicent tried to catch a glimpse of Jones' eyes, but he had already turned back to his clipboard.

She walked over to the throw switch and turned the power loose on the control panel before her. She stood and waited while Jones stepped into the collider and pulled the rock into it behind him.

"This will crack the bastard open. I'm sure of it." He turned from the rock, set snugly into a ring raised in the collider's bottom.

"Sending particles flying at each other and putting rock between them isn't the usual way to crack a walnut."

"This isn't your usual walnut." Jones had climbed out of the collider and now stood beside the control panel. "Throw the switch Millicent." He must have sensed her hesitation through sound alone. He looked up from the controls. "You can relax. If this doesn't work nothing will reach us - like you said. The hull's defenses have tested positively. The worst to happen will be a little splatter that the ombrifuge will keep from hitting us - even if debris flies quaquaversally."

"I know, but I'm still concerned that this will all end in an auto-de-fe." She leaned onto the panel that housed the switch.

"Bah. There aren't any peasants around. Besides, what could we have done to have called on the wrath of a mob? We've done nothing wrong."

Millicent tried once more to get a look at Jones' eyes. She could see the same certainty in them that she had seen that night, weeks before. It churned her stomach, but she saw her hand reach for the power switch and pull it downwards, completing the circuit and powering up the collider.

As the machine wound up all of its sprockets and gears it roared behind them like some hideous animal struck with a rock.

Millicent's arms crossed. "No. Not yet."

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Persuasion

Alton struggled to keep his expression from changing as he muddled through his mind. Password. Password...what was the password?

"Come on, bub. It's quaquaversal. All your kind knows this."

"Alright. So then let me in." Alton leaned heavily on the hood of the auto-de-fe he'd stolen.

"I don't think so, mac. We need more than that if you're to get in here."

The man slid his eye slot shut, but Alton flung a stone into it before it closed completely. In the same second, the stone was caught in the slot, and the man's eye bulged and blinked.

"Hey! This is very un-headmaster like of youse!"

"Maybe so. But this stone's important."

The man made no move to loose his eye slot's cover. "It's just a stone. Get it outta here before I call up security."

"It's not just a stone. It's a piece of petrichor."

Alton could see the curiousity rising in the man's eyes.

Typical underclassman. Alton fought the smirk from his face.

"Petrichor? Where'd you ---"

"Don't ask questions of me here. I'd much rather discuss this over a nice adynaton - something more than the millefleur we get out here."

The man on the other side of the door was silent.

"Well? Can I come in now?"

"Uh." The man loosened his slot and the stone fell through. The absence of the sound of stone hitting stone assured Alton that the man had caught it. "Sure. But don't get loud. Just follow me."

Alton smiled to himself as the door's hinges protested their being moved. He knew they had an ombrifuge inside and that all of the petrichor he carried would be more than enough to convince them to change their minds. Just as long as he was far far away when they tried to extract the stones' shadows.

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Closing

To let me know what you thought about these stories you can leave a comment or check out my Contact page for other ways to reach me. And, don't miss tomorrow and Thursday's Annotated Links (Nos. 12 and 13), Wednesday's editorial, and Friday's movie review!

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Friday, July 27, 2012

[Freya-dæg] Nicolas Cage Month Pt. 4: Seeking Justice Review

{Seeking Justice's movie poster, found on Wikipedia.}

Introduction
Plot Summary
The Good
The Bad
Judgment
Closing

Introduction

We close off Nicolas Cage month with a movie very similar to the one with which we opened. Seeking Justice, though not film noir and not a movie featuring a terribly over-the-top Nicolas Cage, is strikingly similar to Deadfall in that it's plot also tries to be a complex of twists and deceptions.

Both of these movies were veritable flops (taking in $12,355,798 out of a $30 million budget and $18,369 out of a $10 million budget respectively), but let's see just what's so bad about Seeking Justice - and what's good about it.

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Plot Summary

Wil Gerard (Cage) is just another high school English teacher in the modern city of New Orleans. He's married to the musician Laura Gerard (January Jones), friends with his school's principal (Harold Perrineau), and an all-around good guy.

But then the unthinkable happens - his wife is brutally attacked and raped. A strange man (Guy Pearce) asks a shaken-up Wil if he wants to wreak vengeance on the criminal responsible for his wife's condition, and he says yes. The hit happens and Wil has his vengeance, but the man who offered it can now ask a favor from Wil whenever one is needed.

As the mild-mannered English teacher gets deeper and deeper into this network of vigilantism, will he be crushed by its ever-encroaching presence or will he come out as the only one who's truly Seeking Justice?

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The Good

Seeking Justice is definitely an action/thriller that runs very much by the book. But, it has rigorously highlighted some key parts of that book.

Most rigorously of all, perhaps, the movie does a great job of making the viewer despise its villain. The precise moment when he reveals himself for what he is comes fairly late into the movie, but not so late as to make his getting his comeuppance any less satisfying. This underlines the hatred stored up for the character throughout the film.

The movie's major twist is also amazing, though if you're familiar with Lost it might be less of a surprise, since Perrineau is at the twist's center.

Also to the movie's credit, though it plays by the book, it knows well enough how to keep an audience's attention even amidst its clichés. For example, it becomes clear that Wil is going to be blackmailed at one point, but how the blackmail plays out is quite ingenious.

The movie also uses what it establishes, namely the network of vigilantes, in an excellent way.

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The Bad

Yet, at the same time, Seeking Justice does little to keep its pacing even.

The first and third acts are fine, but things sag in the movie's middle. This sag is caused mostly by things becoming too convoluted - it becomes unclear just who is a part of the network that Wil stumbles into and who isn't, not to mention why this should continue to matter as much as it does.

While this convoluted storytelling is definitely a good way to show the character's confusion, it isn't useful when it lasts as long as it does and makes little effort to connect with the rest of the movie. The second act would be greatly helped by a line like: "That Simon guy is no good, we want to get him out - permanently." Instead of being given such a signpost though, things just remain unclear.

Although his English teacher cred is definitely restored by a scene late in the movie, all of the other scenes involving this aspect of Wil's character just aren't that great. Instances of him teaching especially seem only to be used to show aspects of the character but without any kind of subtlety.

Ultimately, the movie's ending also lacks subtlety, as loose ends aren't tied off so much as they are cauterized. Major details that should have been addressed for proper closure are entirely ignored. In particular, Wil isn't called in to clarify the circumstances of a death that turns out to be a suicide and not a murder.

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Judgment

Seeking Justice is a fine example of a movie that can really reach an audience. It's also an example of a movie that doesn't try to remain aloof from the audience in that characters are easy to relate to. Though, empathy and sympathy are generated more by their situations than characters' individual traits or personalities.

Nonetheless, it's a movie that presents a good use of the elements that it introduces, and that can get you empathizing with the characters and their plight - if you let it.

It's not a great one, but it's messiness can be excused. So, Freya, when next you swoop for one nobly worthy, also grab this worthy one from the field of fallen films.

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Closing

That's it for Nicolas Cage month, but don't miss next week's short fantasy tale, editorial, and the search for the good in a generally frowned upon flic. Plus, watch for Annotated Links #12 and #13.

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Thursday, July 26, 2012

Annotated Links #11: Getting Technical And/Or Long

1. Bird, Winifred. "Fish-loving Japan begins to embrace sustainable seafood." The Christian Science Monitor 24 July 2012. Web. 26 July 2012.

A lengthy article that details much of the action being taken both inside and outside Japan to move the country into using sustainable fisheries since they consume 6% of the world's fish harvest. The article is flush with consumption and fishing industry statistics. It is written in the style of a report, and includes very little to no human interest element.

2. Julian, Hana Levi. "Sci-Fi Comes Alive in New 'Temporal Focusing' Microscope." Arutz Sheva 25 July 2012. Web. 26 July 2012.

Professor Yaron Silberberg and Dr. Dan Oron of the Physics of Complex Systems Department at the Weizmann Institute have created a microscope that views cells in both time and space. The microscope works by controlling the focus of a laser light beam in time rather than in space. It has been used primarily for brain tissue analysis so far. The article is written in a revelatory fashion, and dwells on explaining just how the microscope works.

3.Johnson, Carolyn Y. "Boston scientists use light to control behavior in monkeys." White Coat Notes 26 July 2012. Web. 26 July 2012.

Using a technique called "optogenetics," (a process by which algae genes are inserted into brain tissue) a team of scientists in Boston have successfully used light to control monkey behaviour. The team is optimistic that their work will help scientists to breakdown and figure out complex human behaviours and diseases in the future. The article is lengthy, but gives a significant amount of background information on the experiment and where it may lead in a straightforward fashion.

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Closing

Don't miss tomorrow's conclusion to Nicolas Cage Month - a search for the salvageable in Seeking Justice!

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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

[Wōdnes-dæg] The E-Book Shades and the English Classics

Introduction
The Article Summed Up
A Classical Fixation?
Fan-Fiction and a Possible Future
Closing

{All three books in the Fifty Shades series, covered. Image found at the telegraph.co.uk.}


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Introduction

Fifty Shades of Grey and its sequels are exploding all over the internet. Though some might be too shy to buy it from brick and mortar stores, they will soon be able to use convincing cover stories when buying other racy reads.

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The Article Summed Up

In today's Globe and Mail, Russell Smith reports on Total E-Bound's announced e-book series of re-vamped literary classics.

These re-releases aren't abridged versions, or copies re-written with androids, zombies, or werewolves (that's all been done, after all), but instead will have "graphic sex scenes" added to them. Rightfully so, this series of e-books will be called "Clandestine Classics." According to Total E-Bound, the series was planned before Fifty Shades came out.

Smith ultimately regards the re-release of classics with addition prurient bits as positive as it potentially brings new readers to the English classics.

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A Classical Fixation?

Smith definitely has a valid point in his closing paragraph. Total E-Bound's altered classics do have the potential to draw new readers to the established classics of English literature. But is that really a good thing?

Some might say that the English classics are horribly under-read nowadays, and as a result the Western world's literacy and taste are slowly slipping. Genre fiction is eroding what was once a great literary tradition.

But what the apparent manipulability of English classics suggests is that they're anything but un-read.

Back around 2009 and 2010 we saw nineteenth century novels re-written with horror and science fiction elements added to them. Now, sex is being explicitly added to them, and they'll be read anew.

At its heart, the desire to see the classics read and thus to add things to them to entice new readers seems like a sound strategy. But, it also seems like sugar is being added to medicine. English classics are considered classical because they speak to various aspects of human nature in a rather direct way, and shed light on much of the foundation of Western society. Yet, there's no end to new books that do the same, both those considered genre fiction, and those considered regular fiction.

And that's where the focus needs to be. Nineteenth century classics are a fine literary cornerstone, but that cornerstone has plenty of sound material built on top of it as well. Why not look up?

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Fan-Fiction and a Possible Future

Although Smith only mentions it briefly, fan-fiction, a form that often involves the "a gleeful uncapping of [established] texts’ repressed fountains of desire" merits expansion.

Fifty Shades of Grey started out as Twilight fan-fiction. Many young writers cut their teeth writing fan-fiction under an alias or anonymously. Projects like Total E-Bound's "Clandestine Classics" are definitely a variety of fan-fiction.

Yet, they're obviously something more - most people on fanfiction.net aren't getting paid for their efforts, after all.

And so, the question that we need to ask is: To what extent does the success of Fifty Shades of Grey and the existence of a project like "Clandestine Classics" validate fan-fiction?

Ultimately, though industry-validated fan-fiction might see success and may open for more in the future, the track that some publishers seem to be on now seems dangerous. Re-hashing classics by adding what is essentially fan-fiction portions seems to be a perilous few steps away from going the way of Hollywood and making a senseless number of sequels and re-makes rather than focusing on original ideas.

Though, at the same time, were the mainstream to become more predictable, all of the vibrancy and life that's to be found in genre fiction would get more and more exposure.

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Closing

Don't miss tomorrow's Annotated Links #11, or Friday's Nicolas Cage Month finale featuring Seeking Justice! Watch this blog!

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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Annotated Links #10: Massaging Media

1. Chung-Un, Cho. "‘Focus on human nature, not unique cultural aspects’." The Korea Herald 18 July 2012. Web. 24 July 2012.

Robert McKee explains why he finds Korean film so intriguing. He also highlights the importance of speaking to human nature rather than cultural elements in stories intended for an international audience. This article is part reportage, part interview between McKee and the Korea Herald. It is written in a straightforward style with only some minor typos.

2. Dvorsky, George. "How An Alien Invasion Inspired Kevin J. Anderson to Start Writing Science Fiction." io9 16 July 2012. Web. 24 July 2012.

Kevin J. Anderson's accomplishments are listed, and it's noted that his novelization of Rush's Clockwork Angels is due out in September. Included is a long quote about Anderson's seeing the War of the Worlds movie lead him to writing science fiction. The article is written in a light, direct style.

3. MSumm. "Dear Nintendo, Please Give Me a Zelda Game Tougher Than Majora’s Mask." Kotaku 17 July 2012. Web. 24 July 2012.

A rant/letter directed at the major players at Nintendo, asking for a new Zelda game that is as difficult as Majora's Mask. MSumm considers Majora's Mask difficult because of its utter lack of hand-holding and un-skippable tutorials. Difficulty is sought because beating such a game grants the player a great feeling of satisfaction. This article is posted from Kotaku's "Speak Up" forum, so there are some typos and grammatical errors. The article's style is quite casual.

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Closing

Tomorrow, watch this space for an editorial entry, and don't miss Annotated Links #11 on Thursday! Then, come Friday, the final part of Nicolas Cage month, a quest to find the good in Seeking Justice, will be posted.

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Monday, July 23, 2012

[Moon-dæg] Gesturing towards Science Fiction

Context
The Train Ride to the Freeholds
Closing

{Another world, but similar trains. Image found on www.guardian.co.uk.}


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Context

This short story was written based on an exercise that asks you to write a scene between two people where all of the communication happens in body language.

The lack of dialogue really opens things up, while the fact that you need to describe the gestures that you want to use means that you really need to pay attention to your description. Everything has to work well together for such a piece to work, and after some minor edits, this piece is a decent example, I think.

It's definitely the start of something bigger, and possibly a story from the world that my five part fantasy epic is set in (though possibly further down the timeline).

Enjoy!

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The Train Ride to the Freeholds

There was a lot of nodding going on. Everyone in the box car seemed to be bobbing their heads, wagging their chins. But it was al silence. Like a tunnel the train had entered that would only be left at sunrise when the windows and the thin drapes could not hold any more light at bay.

It helped that everyone was asleep.

Except for Roscoe, whose eyees swept the train car's passengers over as the auto duster had swept the car clean while it was still in the station. Some people stirred, but only to shift their positions. It was a difficult maneuvre but one that Roscoe was impressed to see carried out so flawlessly. The new chips really had improved the brain's higher functioning in sleep. The boy's gaze stopped at one of the windows behind a line of heads, its drapes waved back and forth in time with dull metallic chug of the locomotive. The resulting shafts of moonlight slid between people's feet like a reluctant ping pong ball.

One of the feet kicked it away. Or seemed to. Roscoe looked up to see the rest of the foot's owner, beyond the leg. A young woman, maybe from the facility just before he was started, looked back. Her eyes struck him clearest of all the aspectsof her face, for they were as large as the moon most nights now, and the irises were such a pale blue that her eyes looked almost entirely white except for both of her ebony pupils. Roscoe thought back to the city's mascot, the eyes simple white circles with black dots. But the young woman's eyes were more life-like. More genuine. Especially when he noticed them looking at him.

The young woman shrugged and looked around. She put her hands on the seat beside her and pretended to dangle her legs in the space between seat and floor, although her feet had no difficulty reaching the cold steel bottom of the car. She lowered her face and then raised her eyes to Roscoe.
He could feel his cheeks redden and hoped that the car was too dark for the girl to see what he knew was an imminently rich color. He stared back at her and shrugged as well.

Then, without any thought, he crossed one leg over the other at the knee, set his elbow on top and leaned into his arm, resting his chin in his hand. At first, he returned his eyes to her feet, but then raised them to hers.

She pointed to her head and then shrugged as she leaned forward.

Roscoe immediately dropped his hand across his chest as if presenting something there and used the same hand to point at her. The moonlight helps, but even if she was wearing her id I couldn't read it from here. Not without those other upgrades.

The young woman mimicked his gesture and then sat still for a moment. She drummed her finger on her lower lip and seemed to be looking everywhere but directly in front of her. She straightened herself and then threw her hands into her lap. She curled them upwards and slowly raised them towards the ceiling, fingers first. Once her elbows touched she fanned out her fingers and swayed the figure made by her arms and hands almost imperceptibly.

Ah. She's definitely from the facility from before me. Animals come two after flowers, so she's two cycles older than me.

Roscoe put his hands over his eyes, separating his middle and ring finger so he could look through them. He could see her nod off-rhtyhm to the rest of the passengers though his hands. Her lips rose into a smile and he copied the motion as best he could, hoping that she noticed it rather than the color he felt filling his cheeks once more.

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Closing

Check back here tomorrow and Thursday for Annotated Links #10 and #11, on Wednesday for an editorial on some of the newest news, and on Friday for part four of Nicolas Cage month - a look at the decent in 2012's Seeking Justice.

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Friday, July 20, 2012

[Freya-dæg] Nicolas Cage Month Pt. 3: Trespass Review

{Trespass's movie poster, found on Wikipedia.}

Introduction
Plot Summary
The Good
The Bad
Judgment
Closing

Introduction

For part three of Nicolas Cage Month Trespass is on the block. A film that came out to terrible reviews peppered with a few passing grades, Trespass was pulled from American theatres after only 10 days (in which it made back less than $25 000 of its $35 million budget). Let's see just how bad this movie is, and how Cage fares.

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Plot Summary

The Miller's are a wealthy family, living on a secluded wealthy estate where security is tantamount. Not just because Kyle (Nicolas Cage) is a diamond trader, nor just because Sarah (Nicole Kidman) is an architect - it's all about family.

But the Miller's notion of family comes under threat when a group of thieves invade their home, demanding that Kyle make the most dangerous trade of all - his money for his and his family's lives. Does he do the deal? Or do the robbers double cross him? Just who is in the right and who is in the wrong is hard to tell when everyone involved is bound to Trespass.

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The Good

Trespass offers some chilling moments that showcase the brutality of people when they're at their most desperate. It includes some strong performances from Kidman and Cam Gigandet (Jonah). But, most importantly, it showcases Nic Cage's specially adapted variety of acting.

{Move over, John Hodgman, there's a new Deranged Millionaire in town.}



Cage really shows what he's capable of in this movie. Every line of his dialogue is excellently delivered, and pitched excellently. Plus, Cage gets matched with a line that must have been written for his special brand of over-the-top acting: "That your filthy lust invited them in?"

The film is also plush with style and a smooth finish that are the result of the soundtrack, lighting, and camera work.

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The Bad

But, beneath those performances, and that style, beneath the lovely veneer, this movie is rotted through.

The core elements of any thriller, are suspense and tension. Trespass offers neither.

Aside from the home invasion element of the movie, its other focus is the strength of the Miller family.

Throughout the movie the bonds between Kyle and Sarah and them both and Avery are tested. Mostly, however, the fact that Kyle is always away on business is thrown at the audience and through the use of oddly placed flashbacks, we're told that Sarah may just have gotten a little too involved with the security system maintenance guy, who just so happens to be Jonah.

This could make for a compelling family drama, except for the fact that there is never anything at risk.

The flashbacks show nothing that is explicit about Sarah and Jonah having an affair, except for one picture which is shown to be the result of a set up shortly after it has first been displayed.

What's more, in an early scene Sarah wonders aloud about how much longer she'll have to wait before she stops caring that Kyle is never around - an indication that things aren't going well between them, but that she, up to this point, still cares enough about him to not cheat on him.

The movie's plot is also sluggish and built on a shakey foundation. The introduction to the Millers is fine, but the thieves are simply a group of ne'er-do-wells when they first arrive on the scene. They do a good job of this, definitely, but they constantly change their story, and this not only clouds their motivation, but frustrates rather than interests.

By the time the invaders' true reason for being there is revealed it's hard to really care.

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Judgment

Trespass scores high on two fronts: Acting and being very aptly titled. For this movie is indeed a trespass against interesting, suspenseful storytelling.

It has a handful of moments, both legitimately good and so bad that they're almost good, but so few moments do not a movie make.

Though it may try to talk you out of it, fly high over this one, Freya. Let it linger longer in that field of fallen films - perhaps a green shoot or wide-boughed tree will raise from where it lay.



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Closing

Next week is the last week of July, and so, the last part of Nicolas Cage month. The set of special reviews will be rounded off with a look at Seeking Justice, the story of how far a grief-stricken man will go to exact vengeance.

Plus, next week there will be a new piece of creative writing, an editorial article, and Annotated Links #10 and #11.

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Thursday, July 19, 2012

Annotated Links #9: Changing Our Minds

1. Kesterton, Michael. "Keeping an open mind about vacationing aliens." Globe and Mail 12 July 2012. Web. 19 July 2012.

This is a collection of small news briefs about quirky events and findings. The most interesting of these is one entitled "Seat of self-awareness disputed," which summarizes an article from London's Sunday Times about Dr. Donald Pfaff, a neuroscientist who believes that the center of the brain responsible for creativity and self-awareness evolved in primitive fish to help them escape from predators. These news briefs are written around quotes from the original articles.

2. Feit, Daniel. "Hands-On: Nintendo’s Demon Training Purports to Build Your Brain’s RAM." Wired 18 July 2012. Web. 18 July 2012.

As a 3DS follow-up to the popular Brain Age memory training game, Nintendo is releasing Five-Minute Demon Training on July 28 in Japan. According to Ryuta Kawashima, the neuroscientist who works on Nintendo's brain training games, Five-Minute Demon Training helps to build your memory's speed and capacity. The article is written using the first person, and includes a video of the Nintendo Direct video featuring a demo of the game.

3. Crowell, Todd. "Could Fukushima Cause A Change In Japan's Groupthink?" Asia Sentinel 17 July 2012. Web. 18 July 2012.

Two commissions, a parliamentary commission headed by Kiyoshi Kurokawa (the Kurokawa commission for short) and "The Verification Committee for the Accident at Tepco’s Fukushima Nuclear Power Station" headed by Yotaro Hatamura (the "Hatamura Committee" for short) are on the verge of publishing investigative reports on the Fukushima disaster. These reports will help to answer whether the disaster was an act of God or the result of Japanese risk-aversion and group-think, though the article takes no sides. This article is written in a clear, concise style and includes some quotes.

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Closing

Don't miss part three of Nicolas Cage month, going up tomorrow, as we get into 2011's Trespass.

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Wednesday, July 18, 2012

[Wōdnes-dæg] A Well Placed Documentary Makes Science Fiction Science Fact

Introduction
The Article Summed Up
Not New, But Great
Publishing's Next Stage and Mainstream Acknowledgement
Closing

{Screenshot from the documentary "Mermaids: The Body Found," posted with the original article.}


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Introduction

This past Sunday, the Discovery Channel aired a documentary that has stirred up controversy. The program in question is called "Mermaids: The Body Found," a work of science fiction in the form of a documentary.

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The Article Summed Up

The article (from The Christian Post) gives an overview of the controversy and sums it up by stating that the documentary's description and creators said that it is "based on some real life events." Whether or not this is a case of misdirection is not made clear.

Making things even more provocative, the article ends with some statements from the Discovery Channel that present logical arguments for the possibility of mermaids existing.

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Not New, But Great

The controversy here isn't so much about whether or not mermaids are real, but about media literacy. And, much more specifically, about the power of the claim that things are "based on some real life events" (or "based on a true story" or "based on real events," whichever variation you might encounter).

This intertitle has become so overused that it's almost meaningless. Anything can be "based on a true story." In fact, any story that is in any way metaphorical (such as science fiction and fantasy stories) is "based on" reality, otherwise its metaphor is useless. The same can be said for comic book stories like Batman - society is faltering because good people do nothing, and then those good people stand up (only in an extreme way that goes beyond what most people would do).

Moreover, it's human nature to relate things to what we know, and most of us know some sort of "real life."

This connection might not seem like a strong argument against specifying that certain things are 'based on reality,' but just as people are apt to read things into various stories, so too are stories apt to feed these readings. Stories that don't have some relation to "real life" often don't make sense and often don't become very popular.

To take a risk and go out on a limb, stories that are successful speak to people's basic desires. Many stories that are coming out now are complicating these desires and the road to their fulfilment.

Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, or Geroge R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series are good examples of these desires being complicated. Yet, even they still come down to basic desires like wanting to be the hero, personal growth, or safety.

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Publishing's Next Stage and Mainstream Acknowledgement

In terms of the documentary form itself, especially regarding the "Mermaids: The Body Found" documentary featured in today's article, it is an especially powerful tool for science fiction and fantasy.

These genres are so continuously popular because people are always looking for more than what they have.

As humans we're always trying to reach beyond our grasp. Putting this desire for more into a form that purports to give straight facts says to people, "hey, you know that thing that you really want to be real? Well, it is, and here are the facts."

That we're so willing to believe is also a great sign of our open-mindedness. Some might say that this willingness to believe is something that people need to guard against when it comes to the stuff of fantasy like mermaids and supernatural cures, but open minds are as necessary for advancement as they are for distraction.

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Closing

Don't miss my look at 2011's Trespass for part three of Nicolas Cage month, and be sure to catch tomorrow's Annotated Links!

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Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Annotated Links #8: Wearing in and Wearing Out

1. Turchin, Peter. "Cultural Evolution of Pants." Social Evolution Forum 7 July 2012. Web. 18 July 2012.

Peter Turchin posits that pants are worn not because of any sort of comfort, but because of social norms - and that these norms evolved over time. His central argument is that in the Classical West everyone wore tunics or chitons, and they believed that only barbarians wore pants (and laughed at them for it, just as non-Scottish Westerners might laugh at men wearing kilts today). This is a blog entry, strewn with illustrative pictures and written in a casual professional style. The entry includes a link to part two of his argument, wherein he explains why horses led to the prevalance and social power of pants in Western society.

2. "Wearable Hummingbird Feeder." Heatstick.com 2010. Web. 18 July 2012.

The product known as eYe2eye is a hummingbird feeding helmet. This site contains videos and pictures of people using the helmet, and a detailed explanation of what the helmet is and what it's made from, all of which implies that the asking price is a fair one. All of the information is presented in a bright and stylized format, with text written in a simple and direct style.

3. Oremus, Will. "Hacker Uses 3-D Printed Keys to Crack Police Handcuffs." Slate 16 July 2012. Web. 18 July 2012.

A German security consultant known only as "Ray" demonstrated how 3-D printing can be used to make effective handcuff keys at a New York conference on Friday 13 July 2012. Police departments use one set of keys for all of their handcuffs from the same manufacturer, meaning that anyone with the right digital blueprint and a 3-D printer could create a key to all of a police department's handcuffs. "Ray" plans to make the digital blueprints for the key he used in his demonstration public to show police how new technology is changing the rules of the security game and to help them to keep vigilant. The article is written in a quick and light style.

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Closing

Don't miss tomorrow's editorial entry, or part three of Nicolas Cage month on Friday with a search for the decent in 2011's Trespass. And, of course, come Thursday be sure to watch for Annotated Links #9!

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Monday, July 16, 2012

[Moon-dæg] When the Guard is Down

{A figure, a silhouette, a being - but with what intent and purpose? Image from the Minecraft modding site mcmodding.com.}



Context
Still Not Saved
Closing

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Context

This piece of flash fiction (or scene from a longer work) came from a writing exercise, that, as far as I remember, just involved a phrase. The idea of the exercise is to take a phrase and then to write a piece that starts with that phrase.

So, once the phrase "She could hear them living all through the house" came up, I just took it and ran.

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Still not Saved

She could hear them living all through the house. She felt herself sink deeper into the bed, all of the muscles in her arms and legs loosening for the first time in weeks. Mathias' plan had worked. And he was right about them not wanting to get into this room.

A quick glance to the window still showed a pillar of smoke rising from somewhere below the lintel. And the sky remained filled with the kinds of clouds that brought drabness but no rain.

Yet she knew that they were all living beyond the door and down on the first floor. The still silence confirmed it. Silence enough to hear someone's walk. It's brisk, she mused. A word she hadn't been able to use to describe anything's walk for far too long.

She relished the sound of shoes squeaking on the floor. A stop! Low voices. Low voices that only survived as undulations of sound full of pitch and intonation - but measured and easy - after they crossing through walls and even floors.

But then, a scratching. A scritching against wood that forced Emma back into the fore of her mind. She closed her eyes and tried to melt into the mattress. The memory faded, but the sound did not. She put her feet on the floor, faced the closet and walked over to it.

Her hand reached for a knob of the folding door. Her hand's steadiness caused her no surprise - she knew the door led only to a closet. And nothing terrible had ever come from a closet. They had never seemed to get into them.

The scritching subsided and air rushing through the corner of a canine mouth could be heard.

How on earth did he wind up in there?

She turned the door knob. The hinge creaked and the colour of clothes formerly worn only by shadows rushed to get through the crack of light.

A low growl followed.

Her arm continued to push the door outwards. But before the panel door snapped into place a weight latched onto her neck and she fell backwards.

"No..." she managed, as low as the voices that had now resumed below and around her. But teeth and flesh would not part. "No...bad. Bad...Dog-uugh!"

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Closing

On Wednesday, come looking for an editorial on some of the newest news, and on tomorrow and Thursday be sure to watch for annotated links #8 and #9. Plus, don't miss part three of Nicolas Cage month on Friday, featuring his 2011 thriller Trespass.

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Friday, July 13, 2012

[Freya-dæg] Nicolas Cage Month Pt. 2: Season of the Witch Review

{The Season of the Witch's movie poster, found on Wikipedia.}

Introduction
Plot Summary
The Good
The Bad
Judgment
Closing

Introduction

Part two of Nicolas Cage month is here: A search for the good in the 2011 medieval romp, Season of the Witch.

Generally lambasted and looked down upon among critics (10%) and faring only slightly better among fans (32%), let's see just what's good, what's bad, and how they measure up.

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Plot Summary

It's the fourteenth century and the crusades are in full swing in the Middle East, while alleged witches are being persecuted in Europe. Enter our two protagonists, Behman (Cage himself) and Felson (Ron Perlman).

After realizing that a truly good God would not call upon men to slaughter innocents, the two desert and start out across the country only to find that a strange plague has struck the land.

However, while on the lam the two are discovered, imprisoned, and then contracted to take an accused witch that people believe responsible for the plague to a monastery where she can be properly dealt with.

Having no other choice, the two set out with the priest Debelzaq (Stephen Campbell Moore), the swindling guide Hagamar (Stephen Graham), and Kay, a young altar boy seeking knighthood (Robert Sheehan). Their journey to the monastery takes them over some dangerous terrain, but only when they arrive at the monastery will they discover that it's not bear, wolf, or boar season, but it is indeed the Season of the Witch.

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The Good

This is not a historical movie by any means - but it is a very medieval movie in the way that it's told, in the way that dialogue is written, and in the way that characters interact.

This isn't to say that it's in iambic pentameter and characters pull elaborate schemes on each other, but instead that were there a medieval bard alive today, this is the sort of story that he would tell. For Season of the Witch is the stuff of medieval romances: magic, adventure, characters who play well off of each other, and intrigue.

Plus, the movie puts the power of language front and center as twice we're shown that saying the proper words (in Latin!) over the bodies of women killed when hung or drowned (tested for being witches, in other words) is the best way to ensure that their bodies are not reanimated.

The fact that these words are in Latin, only weilded by priests, and contained in an ornate book, does a lot to really make the medieval setting accurate. Theatricality is a big part of medieval entertainment, and this movie is definitely theatrical.

This theatricality is further helped by the movie's special effects. They aren't perfectly photo-realistic, but their style helps keep the atmosphere of a medieval story going strong throughout.

The movie also puts forth some really amazing things (especially considering that it's an action movie): The power of psychological warfare on an individual basis, some great suspenseful bits, an excellent cast of characters, and a book that is so obscure it's a triumphant surprise to see it represented on screen.

{The woman Behman slew in a crusade raid, as she appears in his nightmare. This is where over-the-top lives in Season of the Witch.}


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The Bad

However, the movie's an hour and a half long and could easily shed 1/3 of that length if a plot hole was removed.

The reason that Behman and co. need to go to the monastery is because that's where there's a book that describes the necessary rituals for dealing with the witch they have captured and believe to be responsible for the plague. So they only need to get there for the book. A thing that they could have brought to them in the city.

Making this minor change would cut out all of the traveling through the dangerous wastes and forest that the Behman's party has to go through, it would mean that there' be no zombie monks, and it would help the movie keep its complications as the movie's final fight would likely happen in an area populated with innocents rather than re-animated, plague-ridden corpses.

But, because the writer, Bragi F. Schut, has them go the monastery the story becomes very thin very fast.

The fact that two key characters, Kay and the witch, are not given any kind of backstory whatsoever certainly doesn't help matters either.

Kay's backstory could explain why he's an altar boy and not already on the way to knighthood. It could answer questions like: Did his father leave his estate to someone else? And, did Kay disgrace himself in the lists?

And we definitely need to know more about the witch because *spoilers* she's possessed, */spoilers* so knowing whether she was devout or not, and just how and why and when she was possessed would fill in so much about her character. Plus more development of her character would set her up to say something more profound than 'this is what really happened with the plague' at the end of the movie.

As per the final battle scene and its zombie monks, the whole thing is disappointing. It's effectively action-packed and all of that, but the entire trip from the city to the monastery could be expanded and lightly edited into a taut full-length psychological thriller, so an action-packed climax is a let down.

Further, although the power of language and of books is definitely rather accurate, there are other details that are not. Specifically, the oath that Behman has Kay recite when he knights him. This oath mentions on the martial duties of a knight, and perhaps this is the sort of oath that knights would give if knighted in the field, but knighthood isn't just about messing up people's sh**.

A quick summary of an actual knightly oath involves things like avoiding trafficking with traitors, protecting women, and observing fasts and abstinences.

After all, knights were guys with swords, but they were also nobility, and therefore had to set something of an example for the rest of society. Moreover, some knights also fulfilled the role of rulers in the medieval three estates system (a social model that broke society down into those who work (the Peasants), those who rule/fight (the Nobles, including knights), and those who pray (the Clergy)). So their code of behaviour goes a bit beyond smiting enemies.

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Judgment

The Season of the Witch is a movie that balances itself as well as its lead characters do when they cross a particularly rickety bridge.

The story is thin, the climactic battle is disappointing, and there isn't enough backstory given for some of the main characters. But, those characters still play well off of each other, the setting is stylized but rather accurate, and magic and the demonic are very well portrayed.

In the end though, what tips the scales is the modern medieval romance style of the movie as a whole. That's something of a rarity among medieval action movies, a group of films that are more often too concerned with packing themselves with flashing steel and overflowing flagons of sudsy ale to get into any medieval depth.

So, Freya, as you skim the field of fallen films, reach down your powerful arm and pull this one up with you to movie Valhalla.

For that is as true a judgment today as it was when the judged was written, directed, and produced. Amen.

{A peek into the movie's take on the Key of Solomon.}



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Closing

Next week check back here for another creative writing piece, an editorial on a piece of the newest news, and part three of Nicolas Cage month - a search for the good in 2011's Trespass.

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Thursday, July 12, 2012

Annotated Links #7: Old Things Found New

1. "Climate in Northern Europe Reconstructed for the Past 2,000 Years: Cooling Trend Calculated Precisely for the First Time." Science Daily 9 July 2012. Web. 13 July 2012.

Professor Dr. Jan Esper and his team from the Institute of Geography at Johannes Gutenburg University Mainz have used tree-ring density measurements to reconstruct Northern Europe's climate as far back as 138 BC. This research has shown that the coolness of Roman and medieval periods were previously over-estimated, and that there has been a cooling trend of -0.3 °C each millenia over the past two (global warming is credited with causing a rise of less than 1 °C). The article is written in dense paragraphs that summarize and skim the full journal article, a link to which is provided at the end of the article

2. Moore, Karl. "Transcript: Tapping the potential of bi-cultural employees." Globe and Mail 11 July 2012. Web. 13 July 2012.

Karl Moore of the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University talks with Mary Yoko Brannen, a professor at one of the world's top business schools, INSEAD. They talk about the value of bi-cultural people to businesses and the workplace. The article is a transcription of the conversation between these two academicians.

3.Mulrine, Anna. "Army uses 'Xena: Warrior Princess' as inspiration for new body armor for women." Christian Science Monitor 9 July 2012. Web. 13 July 2012.

Men's body armor is not optimized for women's use, and now female-specific armor is being developed by the US Military. The armor worn by Lucy Lawless in Xena:Warrior Princess is being used as an example of female armor that is comfortable and maximally effective. This article is written in a narrative style that delivers the Five Ws while relating how the story has developed.

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Closing

Don't miss the search for the good in Season of the Witch (Part Two of Nicolas Cage month) - it'll be posted here tomorrow!

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Wednesday, July 11, 2012

[Wōdnes-dæg] Crowdsourcing + Crowdfunding = Novel?

Introduction
The Article Summed Up
A Novel Form of Community?
A Return to Crowd-Sourcing Stories
Closing

{An image from when novels were still novel. Image found on Wikipedia.}


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Introduction

While getting through the newspaper backlog resulting from a five day absence, I stumbled upon an article on the front page of the Arts section of Tuesday's Globe and Mail.

Immediately, the headline "Please write his book" caught my eye, and I knew that it had to be the subject of this week's editorial (beating out an article from Monday's paper about the usefulness of drones for Arctic "surveillance and sovereignty").

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The Article Summed Up

Daniel Perlmutter, a filmmaker and writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is not only crowdfunding his first novel, but he's crowdsourcing it as well.

However, instead of offering incentives like copies of the book, or special objects related to its creation, he's instead offering different elements of the novel itself. For 1000$, in fact, a backer can tell Perlmutter how the book ends.

Despite the hodgepodge of responses that this approach is likely to generate, Perlmutter has said "no matter what the project ends up being, it's going to be comedic in nature, just because of the very process."

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A Novel Form of Community?

First and foremost Perlmutter definitely deserves notoriety. Undoubtedly many people have tried to crowdfund their writing in the past (possibly even offering similar incentives), but that it's happening (again?) is great news.

A video game is something that can provide great entertainment and can tell excellent stories.

A piece of music or an album is something that can create a great atmosphere or provoke deep thoughts.

A piece of art or a graphic novel can plunge the depths of human experience and present what was found at its nadir in an easily digestible form that may just be as deep as the experience itself.

All of these media are represented on sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, but books seem like hard sells on these sorts of platforms.

If something goes wrong with a piece of art, music, or digital entertainment, there are options. Art can be hung and forgotten, or accumulate value. Music can be passively enjoyed or remixed into something else. Video games that fail to deliver can be lampooned or re-made into something else.

But if a book fails to deliver, the disappointment can be palpable.

But that's where Perlmutter's project shines.

The success of so many crowdfunding projects hasn't come entirely from the promise of what was ultimately to be delivered, but because they pulled on the heartstrings of a community (thereby loosening its purse strings).

And that's exactly what Perlmutter's project does - it turns the creation of a novel from something solitary into something communal. Again, something done before, but with the power of the internet, the reach and grasp of such a project are greatly increased.

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A Return to Crowd-Sourcing Stories

Truly fascinating about Perlmutter's novel-to-be, though, is that crowdsourcing a work of fiction might just be the oldest way of making works of fiction.

Oral traditions, though often passed from generation to generation with the utmost care, would definitely have been subjected to additions or subtractions based on what the group performed for wanted (the original perhaps privately retained by the singer or maybe kept in a more occult tradition). And adjusting material to the desires of an audience is something that every successful artist does.

Thus, Perlmutter's project, and any others like it, are strange examples of some of the oldest reasons for crowdsourcing stories being brought into the internet age.

There might not be a campfire, and there may not be anyone in the audience who could lop off a head for a line that goes amiss, but the project definitely speaks to the human desire for community and for stories.

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Closing

Tomorrow, another set of annotated links will be posted, and on Friday watch for the search for the good in The Season of the Witch, part two of Nicolas Cage month.

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Annotated Links #6: A Simulated Pair

1. Barnswell, Helen. "Simulation laboratory a cutting-edge tool in training surgeons." Winnipeg Free Press 9 July 2012. Web. 11 July 2012.

Drs. Teodor Grantcharov and Vanessa Palter have released a study comparing surgeons with and without virtual surgery training. According to this study, simulations increase the confidence and overall performance of new surgeons. The article offers almost no counter-argument or counter point, and implies that simulation training is unquestionably the best practice. The article's style is conversational and it's sprinkled throughout with quotations.

2. "Simulations at the Texas Advanced Computing Center Assist Alzheimer's Research." HPC Wire 10 July 2012. Web. 11 July 2012.

Joan-Emma Shea, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has been running simulations of misfolded proteins in the brain related to Alzheimers on the supercomputer Ranger since 2007. Based on these simulations, Professor Shea has discovered that the proteins' precursors, known as oligomers, may be closer to the cause of Alzheimers than the actual misfolded proteins themselves This article is written in plain English, but makes liberal use of technical terms (all of which it defines).

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Closing

Check back here tomorrow for an editorial on some of the newest news and on Friday for part two of Nicolas Cage month - the search for the good in Season of the Witch. Plus, there'll be more annotated links on Thursday.

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Monday, July 9, 2012

[Moon-dæg] A Convention, A Challenge, and A Poem

Context
A Ballad of Polaris
Closing

{Polaris 26's logo. Image found on the Polaris 26 website.}


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Context

Tonight's piece is an early draft of a poem written specially for the 26th Polaris convention. It was held this past weekend (July 6-8), and I wanted to challenge myself to write something narrative about it before it faded into memory.

So I wrote a ballad about Polaris 26 tonight (taking about an hour to get it from brain, to page, to post-able form).

The ballad chronicles the trip to Polaris on Thursday and part of Friday; the convention itself on the rest of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; and the departure on Sunday. It begins with a refrain, and then a verse about Thursday and repeats that pattern for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Some poetic license is taken with form (there are some long lines, irregular rhyme) and content (for the sake of brevity and of rhyme). However, where necessary, I've added hyperlinks to clarify references.

Enjoy, and feel free to let me know how I can improve this one.

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A Ballad of Polaris

A special thing, held but once a year,
Hosted where a cultural heart is,
Full of friends and bright of cheer,
A convention called Polaris.

One leg's journey done and gone
And then a brief respite
First con fellow was well-met
While anticipation reached new heights.

A special thing, held but once a year,
Hosted where the cultural heart is,
A place where fandom runs ever clear,
A convention called Polaris.

The city heart was sought and found,
The lady love to the party was added,
With an old friend we dined, and had
Were funds that would that very night
In the Sheraton's halls resound.

A special thing, held but once a year,
Hosted where the cultural heart is,
To which many a spec fic fan does steer,
A convention called Polaris.

The con was off to a rumbling start,
Friday's karaoke gave voice to our hearts,
But Saturday was solitary,
Though distant victory did carry

Through Ms. Munteanu's editing 'shop great,
Where was found help enough to save
An old story from its sorry state.

A special thing, held but once a year,
Hosted where the cultural heart is,
Place of artists, editors, writers dear,
A convention called Polaris.

All was quiet in the final day's late morning,
The dance and six six three were sweated
Through and past. Bamb'ry on social media
Was clear, and shared how to make people online see ya;

While learning of when best
to leave readers to a guess
Was a fine thing over which to mull
As con and city both from view did fall.

A special thing, held for the year,
Now done and gone; farewell Ms. Lin,
All other guests and staff without peer,
Until, when in a year, comes Polaris 27.

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Closing

Check back here on Wednesday for an editorial on the newest news, and on Friday for part two of Nicolas Cage Month: a search for the good in Season of the Witch. And be sure to come back to the blog on Tuesday and Thursday for more annotated links.

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Friday, July 6, 2012

[Freya-dæg] Nicolas Cage Month Pt. 1: Deadfall Review

{The Deadfall movie poster, found on Wikipedia.}

Introduction
Plot Summary
The Good
The Bad
Judgment
Closing

Introduction

Co-written, directed, and produced by Christopher Coppola, Nicolas Cage may have gotten such a big role because of the family connection (Nic Cage is, after all a Coppola). Upon its initial release, the movie grossed $18,369 at the box office (and took 10 million to make), and critics panned it. As of this writing, the movie sits at a 0% among critics and a 29% among fans on Rotten Tomatoes - though Wikipedia notes that the Cage's role is among the best of his work that isn't supposed to be taken seriously.

So, it seems like Cage might be a high point, but what about the rest of the movie? Let's find out.

{Is Nicolas Cage a bad enough dude to save this movie?}


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Plot Summary

Meet Joe Donan (Michael Biehn), an all American boy with a secret: He's a con man. Joe's been running cons with his father Mike (James Coburn) for years, but when one of their grifts goes fatally wrong Joe follows his father's final wish and finds his twin brother. Joe meets his Uncle Lou (James Coburn) on the West Coast, along with his flunky Eddie (Nicolas Cage) and the mysterious Diane (Sarah Trigger).

Everything seems to be going well for Joe until jealousies and wild ambitions threaten to lead him into the same situation and even the same con that lead to his father's death. Will Joe be able to face up to his past in order to find his future? Or will he only stumble into the Deadfall?

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The Good

Staying very true to the form of the film noir, Deadfall is a very stylish movie. It's full of clean visuals, an excellent (if periodically ill-picked) soundtrack, and great lighting.

As per the movie's content, it also hits all of the necessary noir notes. It has a brooding hero with a past he'd rather forget, a mysterious strong-willed woman (played excellently by Trigger), a wild criminal, a calculating mastermind, and a plot that is all around sound.

Nic Cage also adds to the movie, though less through subtlety than through crazed abandon. Although we seldom see his character taking them, it's definitely clear that he's taking drugs, but what's curious about his performance here is that if the modern internet were around in the early 90s it would have been bristling with memes based on his performance here.

Cage's wild hollering, his strange intonation and word stressing, his unplaceable accent and mannerisms. In Deadfall, Nicolas Cage is practically a walking meme. Even *spoilers* his death */spoilers* could be made into a meme, or at the least could be used in a YouTube mashup with a voice over by the Mortal Kombat "Toasty!" guy.

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The Bad

It's unfair to say, but it must be said. This movie was made in 1993 and it shows. But, not in the production values, or in the special effects, more in the style and the atmosphere that it creates.

Film noir from earlier decades (China Town, Detour, The Manchurian Candidate, etc.) relied on subtlety and grit to keep their characters from becoming larger than life or unbelievable.

These elements are cast aside in Deadfall in favour of characters and situations that can only be described as *cue guitar riff* EXTRE-E-EME!

Cage himself is a good example of this, but so too are Dr. Lyme (Angus Scrimm) and Morgan "Fats" Gripp (Charlie Sheen).

Because these characters make the fiction of the movie that much larger, they make it seem a little more far-fetched than some may be willing to believe.

However, much more manifest in the movie is a problem with pacing. Thankfully it doesn't come up until the very end, but the way in which the history of Joe's parents and Uncle is revealed seems too rushed.

It's not until the last few minutes of that movie that we learn what happened between the brothers and the woman who is Joe's mother, and this is just far too late to really develop what could have been a great means of giving Joe and his father and uncle much more depth and intricacy.

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Judgment

Deadfall is a movie that deserves a second chance, a movie that was dealt with too harshly by its initial critics.

Showcasing the ham talent of a young Nicolas Cage, and encapsulating the spirit of driving things to the extreme in the 90s, its a movie that definitely should be watched by anyone interested in film noir, Nicolas Cage's career, or 90s film in general.

It's not perfect - it's definitely no Detour - but it tells its story in a competent fashion and features some great acting and actors.

So, Freya, part the glossy cloak of 90s style in which this one is wrapped and lift it up from the field of fallen films. This movie is one to be saved.


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Closing

Check back here next week for another piece of creative writing, another editorial on the newest news, and a hunt for the good in Season of the Witch. Also, be sure to check this blog on Tuesday and Thursday for more annotated links.

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Thursday, July 5, 2012

Annotated Links #5: Technological Culture, Cultural Technology

1. Totilo, Stephen. "A New, $99 Console Called Ouya Is Real and Radically Different From Xbox, PlayStation and Wii." Kotaku 3 July 2012. Web. 5 July 2012.

This article confirms the existence of a new console called the "Ouya." Apparently the console will sell for $99, run on the Android platform, and come with a developer's kit - inviting people to create their own games and hacks. The article is written in a sparse style that just covers the basics, but promises more information once it becomes available.

2. Mckenzie, Hamish. "The Curse of Culture." PandoDaily 4 July 2012. Web. 5 July 2012.

Mckenzie writes about the limitations that a country's culture imposes on its youth, especially those of an entrepreneurial bent. His analysis focuses on the way in which cultural emphasis on hierarchies, the status quo, and risk evasion found in Asian nations leads to less innovation. This analysis is briefly contrasted with the individualistic culture of America, though with the caveat that Americans often don't know how to handle entrepreneurial hardship since their dreams often face too little criticism. Mckenzie writes in a conversational, yet professional style, and includes some quoted expert opinions.

3. Shin, Ji-Hye. "Culture Technology – a Paradigm Shift from Technology Oriented to Human-Centered." Korea IT Times 3 July 2012. Web. 5 July 2012.

Shin provides two definitions of 'culture technology': technology used to emphasize pre-existing cultural forms, and technology that has stories embedded in its design. Shin also mentions the theory of convergence, and the fact that technology and culture are converging more and more in the realm of the individual as society as a whole puts more and more emphasis on the individual. The article is written in a simple style, but with a few misspellings and grammatical errors that may initially cloud understanding.

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Closing

Be sure to come back to this blog tomorrow for a search for the good in the first film of Nicolas Cage month: Deadfall!

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Wednesday, July 4, 2012

[Wōdnes-dæg] Books with Amazing Argentinian Fading Ink

Introduction
The Article Summed Up
The Power of Mystical Emptiness
New Bounds for an old Medium
Closing

{A book like this made today might be blank before two sheets are flipped to the back of a desktop calendar. Image from stock.xchng.}


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Introduction

Last week's editorial was all about the mainstream acknowledgement of ebooks and indie authors.

This week, we take two steps back from the fore of technology and then one toward it.

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The Article Summed Up

According to Tecca over at Y! Tech (a division of Yahoo News), an Argentine publishing house called Eterna Cadencia is creating books that will not outlast their authors or readers.

It’s not that these books are poorly constructed - quite the opposite in fact.

Using a new ink technology, developed by the ad agency Draftfcb, the Argentine publisher is going to be printing books with short-lived ink. Apparently, these books will fade into illegibility two months after they’ve been opened and exposed to light and air.

However, the publisher isn’t going to be doing this with all of their books, only with collections of new authors’ work. A move that might just help to give them the captive audience that all new writers need.

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The Power of Mystical Emptiness

Although the article closes with a point about the fading ink gimmick only working if people can be convinced to buy “books that'll end up as fancy bound paper within just a couple of months[,]” this might also be the gimmick’s greatest strength.

Many people are reluctant to write in books that they cherish or thoroughly enjoy reading. And rightly so, there’s something special about a book - an inanimate object populated with ink splotches shaped into an old alphabet - that can make you feel or think things that you might otherwise not feel or think.

But what if that book went blank?

Would the book still hold the significance that it did for you while the story was still within? And, if it did, mightn’t that inspire some people to try their hand at writing using their since faded book?

The cost of these fading books, assuming that they’ll be priced at just a little bit more than a standard paperback or hardcover, might be a barrier to their success. But, if Moleskine notebooks can be sold for an exorbitant price based on a link to Ernest Hemmingway, Oscar Wilde, and Vincent Van Gogh, then why wouldn’t these eventually blank books have the same level of mystique?

In a way, they might even have more because they will have actually held what a revered and enjoyed author wrote rather than just having been used by him or her when he or she was alive.

Printing books with fading ink might not be a practice that will catch on for the classics, but it definitely could lead to some interesting stuff down the line for new authors.

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New Bounds for an old Medium

Perhaps this gimmick will become something more than a response to ebooks and will lead to a cross between the two, possibly leading to something like the journey book from Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series.

Or, getting more specific, maybe the idea of disappearing ink will seep into the digital world and lead to some kind of technology that lets fans write directly to the author via their faded out tomes.

That gimmicks are needed, or at least believed to be needed, to sell paper and ink books might be one of the death knells sounded over the coffin of traditional publishing, but bringing the book into the digital age like this, without any computerization to speak of, is quite a feat, and points to better things ahead for traditional paper and ink publishing.

The question shouldn’t be will people buy books that will essentially become fancy notebooks in two months time, but rather: What will the use of this disappearing ink lead to?

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Closing

Be sure to check back here on Friday for the search for the good in Deadfall, part one of Nicolas Cage month. Plus, don't miss tomorrow's annotated links!

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