Agent of Argyre, Alterpedia, FICTION, Mythology World Tour

Alterpedia: Naga

In the Alters’ World (and the series of books found here), creatures of legend reveal themselves to the world. Born through genetic abnormalities, defects and mutations, the Alters have lived for centuries as outcasts of human society, hiding their true nature from the world while colorful stories have been written by many to describe what they’ve seen. How are these creatures different from what was described in the stories? What relationship do they have with humanity? Every entry of the Alterpedia will delve into a new creature from around the world. This week we cover:

Naga

Source: Ninsianna

The enemies of Garuda, the Naga is an entity of many forms and functions in Hindu mythology. Though they are often depicted as violent aggressors, the tormentors of all living creatures, they also have been known to serve the gods and bring balance to the Earth. Because of this, Naga, and the snakes they are based on, have a love-hate relationship in many parts of South East Asia, with some villages even worshipping cobras and the deities they represent.

But are they just snakes or is there something more to them? What are the Naga really? Continue reading Alterpedia: Naga →

Observations, Publishing, Writing, WTF

WTF Wednesday: Publishers Price-Fixing?

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Years ago, when the eBook market was just beginning to form, there was a problem that everyone faced: what the hell do you charge for digital content? To this day, we still don’t have an absolutely settled price-point and it’s hard for all of us to come to a decision just what our work is worth (especially for independents).

But then along came this strange stigma that made some sense in a way but in truth was a fabrication. According to conventional wisdom; if it’s priced low, it’s a shitty book that wasn’t ready for prime-time. This perception is guided primarily based on the fact that the higher-end authors came onto the market with books that were near or completely full-priced compared to their print companions. In essence, the stigma of the vanity press started to bleed into the image of independently published eBooks.

And it makes sense, doesn’t it? Obviously, those big names were offering their books at full price and managing to do really well despite competing against each other. The traditional publishers were right: quality material didn’t have to drop below a certain price to get a market shar-

Oh, they price-fixed the market and made back room deals so they wouldn’t have to compete with each other?

Well then… Continue reading WTF Wednesday: Publishers Price-Fixing? →

Observations, Publishing, WTF

WTF Wednesday: Twilight was GOOD for feminism?

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So, let’s get it out of the way, you’ve read the title and you know what this is about. And, more than likely, you disagree with it. Most people do. But let me clarify something right away: I am not saying Bella Swan or the story around her is good for feminism, I’m saying the success of the series is good for feminism. No role that could accurately be portrayed by Kristen Stewart has the depth necessary to be good for anyone.

Btw, it’s still not funny she’s in an adaptation of 1984.

I know making that distinction isn’t quite enough since Twilight has been held up by some to be one of the most misogynistic things to have ever been written by a woman. This is accurate as the story is terrible and full of problematic elements. It’s the story about one of the weakest characters of all time being stalked by a man old enough to be her great, great grandfather. Over the course of the series Bella even goes so far as to try to kill herself in order to see him in her near-death hallucinations. The idea any of this could be good for feminism is enough to make just about anyone scoff – including myself from last week.

But recently Divergent came to theaters and the reviews came in. Many of those reviews were lukewarm, but one brief discussion about the film pointed out something to me that I had not thought about. Despite the fact the movie has had some rough reviews, everyone can see that it is a clear success as its opening weekend was damn impressive. And because movies like that continue to succeed, we’re going to continue to see more YA adaptations. And that’s where the revelation kicks in.

The fact is: YA adaptations are responsible for the casting of more female protagonists in big budget movies than any other trend in cinematic history. So, despite everything… Continue reading WTF Wednesday: Twilight was GOOD for feminism? →

About me, Observations, WTF

WTF Whenever: Censorship For God?

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For as long as there have been movies, there have been religious fundamentalists trying to bring an end to them. Since the things started there’ve been people proclaiming them as the work of devil and some would argue it’s appropriate Charlie Chaplain shared facial hair with Hitler. Their general argument over the years has been that having something you can actually see is going to somehow corrupt the minds of the people seeing it. This is an understandable position for someone with a third grade education: anyone who can make still images move is clearly a witch.

Some even claim to be “warlocks”
After a century or so of dealing with angry villagers at their gates, studios have gotten pretty good at tuning these people out and just selling the four cardinal sins: sex, drugs, violence and popcorn. The turning point was probably about the time when literacy rates spiked enough that everyone could actually read the book rather than just leaving it to one guy per town. Because anyone familiar with the Old Testament knows it’s 90% sex, drugs and violence in the first place.
Including massive amounts of incest!
But in recent weeks they’ve gone to new lengths. Just this last week Frozen was accused of being gay propaganda created by the devil to convert children into new homosexuals. Aside from the fact that it takes some stretching to even see how one character might be gay, I have it on good authority that my girlfriend and her roommate went to see that movie together and haven’t once made out since. Aside from proving they might be wrong it could also stand as ground on false advertising if these guys keep it up.
“I was promised hot lesbian action involving ice cubes.”
But the real prize winners have to be for the people who protested Paramount and Fox recently over Noah and Cosmos. You see, Paramount had the gall to do a version of Noah’s ark that was filmable while Fox went and tried to teach kids science. But the part that really gets me is that, in both cases, the nutjobs won. I expect crazy to come out of the fundamentalists, but for the studios and their affiliates I’ve gotta ask…

Continue reading WTF Whenever: Censorship For God? →

Mythology World Tour, Writing

Mythology World Tour: South Asia

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The fantasy genre is a domain of great imagination and potential, drawing not only from personal creations but ancient religions and mythology, but at times it starts to feel a little well-trodden. Maybe it was the bombardment of at least 12 hours of Tolkien film (great as those hours were). Maybe it was the cheap knockoffs of those movies that got churned out in their wake.

I dare you to try to remember the name to this movie.

Or maybe it’s because almost all of the stories draw from the same basic lore.

As I started with in the last entry, I’m going to continue touring other regions of the world that aren’t part of the lands involved in the Crusades and give a small taste of what makes those places interesting source material too. With our last entry I pointed out a few interesting but often overlooked ideas from the far east with lore from China and Japan. But today, I move a little south of there and look into the regions more influenced by Hinduism. It’s time to take a look at…

Continue reading Mythology World Tour: South Asia →

Observations, Publishing, Sci-Fi, Writing, WTF

WTF Wednesdays: Another Book Deal For The Kardashians?

Haha, the news media is talking about there being a new novel from the “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” brood. Stupid media, they did that years ago, polishing up their lives with “interesting” bits and releasing it as a novel called Dollhouse. Yet you guys are acting like it just happened. We all know the Kardashians haven’t gone back to reading and writing since disagreeing with the dietary advice they got from “Green Eggs And Ham“. Man you guys are slo-

Oh crap, there’s more of them?

Who the hell is that? Jenner? What the hell is a Jenner?! And what do you mean they have a publishing deal for a book that releases next year? They look like they’re still in high-school!

Apparently, if you’re in that bloodline it doesn’t matter if your manuscript is written in crayon. Though it wouldn’t be the first time a member of the family managed to make a lot of money with only a 9thgrade reading level.

So WTF is up with…

Continue reading WTF Wednesdays: Another Book Deal For The Kardashians? →

Mythology World Tour, Observations, Writing

Mythology World Tour: Introduction and East Asia

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One of the things that sometimes makes the fantasy genre a bit stagnant is the lack of new source material. There’s a lot of work required to just write a novel, movie or television series, let alone build your own mythology from scratch. So when you look at anything within the genre you’ll typically find they have all of the same earmarks and it can seem impossible to come out with something different.

The problem with that thinking is that we definitely haven’t tapped into all of the world’s mythologies. There’s still a lot of room for the genre to grow. In an effort to broaden my horizons, I often look to the world at large and see what exactly we’ve missed. Seeing all the great lore out there, I decided to share a small glimpse of the other interesting folklore, legends, and mythologies in the world. But first, let’s take a look at the problem…

Continue reading Mythology World Tour: Introduction and East Asia →

About me, Observations

“Globalization”

The Earth is a crowded place now, we’ve filled it to every corner and have found ways into even the most inhospitable of places. From hot, arid deserts to frozen wastelands, if there’s an opportunity to be had, you’ll find a human being around there somewhere. We are the most adaptable creatures to have ever walked the Earth and we have spread so far that you cannot find any place not in some way claimed by us without going to the very depths of the oceans.

So it makes sense that in today’s age a lot of people wonder about the effects there are on us as a people when we have no where left to go. There are no new countries to be founded, no new lands to explore. We must accept where we are and that means dealing with neighbors that we cannot change. Human expansion has gone from a physical act to a purely academic one and that can be frightening. Do we find middle ground with those neighbors or do we cut ties to them?

Where exactly do we draw the line on…

Continue reading “Globalization” →

Agent of Argyre, FICTION, Satire

Striking Out: How to get a date as a Sasquatch

Valentine’s Day is coming, the day of love, romance and feeling like someone would care if you were struck down by a freak accident. Someone will come to your funeral, you’re technically not dying alone. Or, hey, maybe you’re just out to get laid. That’s cool too.

But you’re not doing any of those things, are you? You’re reading this blog instead. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that as a part of my audience you’re a Sasquatch.

There’s nothing wrong with being a Sasquatch. But let’s be perfectly honest, it’s hard getting a date when you’re wandering the woods in your birthday suit. The only person respected for disappearing in the woods for weeks at a time with nothing to their name is Les Stroud.

So let’s see if we can figure out how to fix you up so you can have a date next Valentine’s.

Continue reading Striking Out: How to get a date as a Sasquatch →

Sci-Fi, Writing

Finding Their Humanity: How To Approach 4 Popular Sci-Fi Archetypes

The future of humanity is going to see a lot of changes as to what it means to be human. We’re going to create new versions of ourselves that we didn’t previously believe to be possible. But more than that, we’re going to create new things that look like us which may eventually even begin to think like us.

bicentennial-man1

And we know this, we can’t escape it. Every time we successfully produce a robot that can walk on two legs or even fake an awkward smile, we’re stepping closer to that day when we may have to redefine humanity. And so, it makes sense that we have a lot of stories in science fiction that explore these things. We need to write them to explore the possibilities and address the issues we have with the ideas of a new, unfamiliar world that may be come.

Robocop-5

One of the best examples of these sorts of stories is the film Robocop. Alex Murphy, killed in the line of duty, is brought back from the dead in a Cyborg shell, stripped of his memories and his sense of identity. The people who created his new body, OCP, don’t want him to have that humanity intact because it would get in the way of making him a cold, calculated law enforcement machine. But in the end, isn’t that free will and sense of compassion part of what makes a good police officer? It’s a fascinating question to explore and seeing Robocop’s new life unfold is both inspiring at points and incredibly tragic at others.

robocop-soul-crushing
Seen here: gathering the pieces of one’s soul

But when looking at the remake, it becomes clear that the new take on Alex Murphy’s life is going to go in a very different direction. The new Alex is aware of who he is and how he has been changed. The new Alex remembers his family and he remembers what they mean to him. There are decisions clearly made in the production of this new film to try to make Robocop more human than he was before. But does it really help make him more human? Wasn’t the tragedy of the original Alex Murphy already human enough?

It does lead one wonder just how exactly you approach making some of these sci-fi archetypes more relatable despite their superhuman qualities. Continue reading Finding Their Humanity: How To Approach 4 Popular Sci-Fi Archetypes →