This was previously published in Watch The Skies fanzine – November 2020
As we wrap up our final fanzine of 2020 I wanted to move away from some of the things I have been recommending lately that definitely skew younger and generally more positive. Saying you ‘should’ be watching this one will be considered a stretch by more than a few folks.
The Titan is a cerebral science fiction film that appeared under the radar back in 2018. Starring Sam Worthington, Taylor Schilling and Tom Wilkinson. The film, set in the relatively near future of 2048, is the story of scientific research to save the human race by expanding into space. Normally when you see this theme it involves either finding a Goldilocks planet (and getting there) or going to a distant planet and changing it to meet our physical needs. This film does neither of those things, but rather comes at the problem of adaptability by attempting to change the biological function of the people going to the planet.
The characters in the film are all forced to look at and deal with what physical adaptation means, how that effects many of the aspects of life and how to change their lives here before departing the planet. There are a number of times where one could draw comparisons to somebody like Frankenstein attempting to manipulate the core of what makes us live. There are also a number of questions about what actually makes us human. Do humans have to breath oxygen? Are you still human if you can’t speak? If you can’t see the way others do? If you can’t remember the people you love?
The movie is not action based. The characters are diverse. The special effects and body prosthetics toward the end of the film are very well done. Yes, there are a number of plot holes and unanswered questions when we get to the end of the film. I can’t say that this was one of the best films I’ve seen, but it certainly meets the criteria of giving a lot of things to talk about. If you have access to Netflix, you should be watching The Titan.
I had hoped to squeeze in a number of notes about this episode, but as happens from time to time real life got in the way. Have no fear, there will be more! Until then enjoy the second part of mood setting, player expectations:
In The Mood! Had the opportunity to discuss Dungeons and Dragons with my friend Jon again. There was a lot of good stuff tucked into “setting the mood”. We both thought the topic wouldn’t be super deep, but as it turns out there are quite a few things to consider about it. Check out the latest video!
I was quite taken with the first book. I wanted to jump right into the continuation of the story. The first book wrapped up enough that I didn’t feel like I was forced to go and get the next book. That is refreshing and I appreciated it.
This story follows Jane and Kate on their continuing journey.
There was a lot to enjoy about their travels and the things that happen to them along the way. The path of the characters is easily believable and they are real, whole people. I often have a hard time when the protagonist is a young woman/girl. There are a lot of things that just don’t relate for me. This story had none of that. Very well written.
It was also nice to see the variety of life that is not often shown in American westerns. The world building was consistent and didn’t break its own rules.
It’s been almost a decade since I moved off strictly paper and onto an e-reader platform. I’ve been writing about it for just as long – back when the Pretend Blog was a Live Journal page and not my own site (check it out if you’re into old news). I’ve long been considering what I want to have as part of a physical collection of things in my home and what I don’t have a desire to physically handle. There are some things that are inherently tactile, and those that are not. There are some that you’ll want to have a copy of, just to be sure you’ve always got access to that copy of it.
Books, and many other forms of entertainment media fall into this category. I’m going to tie books and movies and television together on this one as electronic media actually makes the same argument for a physical copy of something in each case. The most recent thing that has come up for debate is animation or films. Here in the digital age we (nominally) have access to all the media that has gone before. Remember a show from your childhood? Look it up and check it out. Want to watch an entire ‘season’ of a show without waiting? Binge it on Netflix. Have a tradition of watching something every year? Just flip on the TV and go! Right?
Well ~ that’s what’s gotten everyone’s attention right now. “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” will NOT be shown on network TV this year for the first time since 1966. That’s right – 54 years in a row and not this year. Television has been part of the American household for so many decades at this point that there are generations of people that have watched the same shows as part of their favorite holiday season. It is something they never miss.
They never miss until some massive corporation decides they want you to pay for it again and again rather than allowing the ‘payment’ to be in the form of watching advertising. Apple has decided they’re going to miss it this year. Sure, there’s some Byzantine way to give up some of your personal information and sign up for a “free” version of a service and watch the show on your computer – IF you can get the app to load right, if your internet is strong enough for streaming like that, if you have a device that allows more than one person at a time to watch comfortably, if you really feel like going through all that…
Not so much…
There’s this assumption that everyone is on board with paying for all these services and bending technology to their will in order to enjoy the chosen form of media. Then there’s the assumption that people will only want to see that when the company that has purchased the rights says it’s acceptable to see it. Then you will be able to see it, but only in the way or format that the company that purchased the rights deems acceptable. There are now content warnings in front of old movies. Smoking is listed under movie ratings now in case you don’t want your child to see that. They control and edit what version of the media you get to see.
It’s the way things are moving. I’m not entirely opposed to the way things are moving. I think there are a few things that border on the ludicrous, but the truly ridiculous generally resolves itself over time. What worries me is that people consider this loss of continuity in media to be the loss of their personal tradition. Wrapping up your tradition (happiness?) in something that belongs to others is dangerous.
It was Halloween season and we were down for good old scary movies. I wanted to show my daughter a great older movie the other day and was disappointed to discover that I didn’t actually own a copy. Fine, we’ll pull it up on a streaming service and watch it there. Only it’s now behind a pay wall. I can subscribe for an additional $5 per month OR I can buy a DVD copy off Amazon and have it shipped to me for about the same cost. There are times when owning a personal copy of something really matters. I don’t want to wait until some corporation decides it’s time to watch a movie. I want to allow our family traditions to grow and develop and continue without the influence of whatever is going on in the general media.
So I’ll be ordering a copy of ‘great pumpkin’ on DVD to be sure we can watch it when we want. I’ll get a copy of the movie that’s good enough to stick in my memory for 15+ years. I’ll be sure that when I want to watch something, read something, listen to something that I’ve got a copy here. Most of these things will still be digital, but they’ll be here when the time is right.
Release the Kraken! Or the craft. You know, if that’s better for you.
One of the great parts of social media is that it allows people with similar interests to connect with each other (this can be a big downside too, but that’s a different discussion). I’m super happy that I found the Tabletop Crafters Guild group to be part of. There are some amazingly talented people there making inspirational works.
This group, for any of my readers not familiar with them, also runs contests for members on a regular basis. I saw the build contest for the September/October time frame and thought I would try my hand at entering a contest there. A single, life sized prop of a potion bottle – not allowed to use dice in the build. While I didn’t understand the dice restriction, I went with it. I have a handful of old bottles saved up. My wife and I have made a few different crafts with them over the years, so it was just a question of finding the right one and then working up some inspiration. Contact the muse. Get a really good idea and run with it…
OR
Stare at glass thoughtlessly for far longer than I should have. I do love sparklies.
I was reviewing various artwork and reading up on a few things game related for a show I was going to be part of when I came across this full page piece showing a wizard’s shelf of wonderous things. It may truly have just been a muse poking my noggin at just the right time, but I saw tentacles crawling out of a jar in the middle of that art. A horror / nautical thing would be just the ticket.
Inspiration!
I rummaged around the place and found this old bottle with a distinct curve. Waves crashing, getting that lean to one side. I grabbed some ‘goo gone’ and started scrubbing it clean. Once it was completely dry I wanted to give the clear glass a tint from the inside. I’d seen this concept on a YouTube channel. Mix some water, a little food coloring and some glue. Make the mix just viscous enough to coat the inside of the glass container, then bake it at a low temp for about 20 minutes.
Post oven coating-ish
Sometimes listening to YouTube is helpful. This was not one of those times. I can’t all is a total fail. The boiling remnants of that past bit gave the corner where everything settled a nice blue – that was mostly not dry. I would not be put off. I decided that some glue and craft paint might do the trick, so I whipped up a yogurt cup size mixture and poured it in.
Paint-glue crackle sort of fail
Here’s the thing… the bottle has 4 sides being relatively rectangular, and we here on Earth have gravity. The mix just slid to whatever side was down. Also, the stupid oven coating must have done something because the mix wasn’t really sticking. What it left could, maybe, if you were out of focus (squint I tell you!) say it was a misty splash of a wave on the inside of my nautical theme potion.
FINE. I have some glass etching paste for the next step. I can work with a vaguely blue interior. I grabbed the vinyl contact paper and masked out waving tentacles around the bottle. I would have backlit waves with frosty glass etched tentacles and we’d be fine… or not. I couldn’t find any of the gloves we have in the house. None. Anywhere. I’m not about to chance the burns with acid etching paste. Wait! Rubber cleaning gloves – there are some of those under the sink. Sized for my daughter. I couldn’t even get my fingers in. Working to keep the frustration from my voice, I asked my lovely daughter if she’d be willing to help me in my crafting endeavor by applying this paste for me. Happily she agreed. Donning mask and gloves she spread the paste all over the bottle. We followed the wait time on the directions and rinsed it off. Nothing. No visible effect.
Can you see the etching? It *is* there. Sort of.
Undeterred, we still had all the gear out, we went for another round. This time I directed her to smear the paste on much thicker. We waited longer before rinsing it off. Maybe. Maybe there was some etching going on. I don’t know, I sure couldn’t see it or feel it. Another fail.
I moved on to paint. I can paint tentacles and waves and clouds, it’s fine. I grabbed up the craft paint and went to work.
I used air dry clay from a kids brand to model out the rocky coast where this bottle would be set. It was fun to model the clay. Air dry was needed because I couldn’t exactly bake this creation anymore. And then the air wasn’t dry. Seriously. So humid here (hurricane season! Shakes fist at sky) that the clay didn’t dry for painting even after a day. It wouldn’t bother me so much except that I know the next time I go to use this clay it’s going to be hard as a rock – even inside the air tight container I put it in.
The rocky coast pre-painting
I forged ahead. I had an old, rechargable set of LED lights attached to a cork that would be just the thing for a creepy background. I’d charge them up, pop the cork in and the light would help the whole thing…
sure it would. IF the cork actually fit – and it didn’t. Wrong size opening on the bottle, too small.
Back to the ideas part. I needed something nautical… burlap netting. That would work. Add some hemp like cord and just wrap the top of the bottle high enough to cover up the plastic of the LED connection and fake that the cork is actually in the bottle. Cool.
Then to grab the costume tentacles from my daughters Halloween collection. They were the ones that fit on the ends of your fingers so you could make a handful of tentacles wave with your fingers. Will wrap those up around the bottle for effect…
See where this is going yet? Thwarted again. Those costume bits were gifted off to a friend some time ago. No tentacles.
I did have a few, smaller pirate type pieces I could add. I would do that and wrap it all up. I tuned down the lights and bemoaned that I couldn’t make a misty effect to go along with the haunting yellowish green glow. My lovely wife just said, “incense”. Then she proceeded to light a couple of sticks up and waft the smoke across my little scene while I did pictures.
My contest entry – “Release”
In the end this contest entry looks very, very little like the vision in my head. I am however much happier with how it turned out than I thought I would be given how many times my plan just didn’t work. At the time of this writing I don’t know the results of the contest. I have seen some of the competition and they look great. I don’t really expect to win, but there’s always hope right? Even without a ‘win’ in contest terms I will consider this a ‘win’ in learning and experience. I’ll take the things I learned on this project and apply them to my next project. Win, lose or draw, absolutely worth entering a contest.
