One of the dangers of science fiction is using dates. When you put a date on something that’s in the “distant future” there’s a very real chance (at least if you’re story is good enough to endure) that you’ll eventually reach that date. Then you will pass that date, and things may or may not have turned out quite the way you expected. 1984 is a glaring example of this, but there are a lot of other examples – particularly in film. Two examples of this have popped up and gotten my attention lately.
The first is Johnny Mnemonic. Back in 1995 the year 2021 felt like it was far away. At this point we were supposed to be using physical implants to improve our lives (faster reflexes, stronger muscles) along with those things connected directly to our brains so we could interface with the deep, inner workings of the cyberworld directly. Well, we’re here in 2021. I’m not faster, nor am I stronger. I am also not seeing chain mail shirts as a fashion statement for body guards. Io9 has a fun look at this in greater depth here. I am glad we don’t have an 80 gig limit in our noggins given that I work with terabytes of information regularly. I’m going to reserve judgment on the rest.
The second is less obvious. Reign of Fire from back in 2002. Yes, a ‘future set’ movie about dragons taking over the world and burning the place down. I went back to watch this one again since it had been a while. The opening info dump actually placed the ‘current year’ as 2020. While the world hasn’t burned to the ground, 2020 didn’t exactly register as a stellar year for anyone that I know. This is definitely an underrated movie. It’s got Christian Bale, Gerard Butler and Matthew McConaughey. Yes, all of them in the same movie. The story isn’t deep, but the movie has got lots of action, a Star Wars reenactment play AND a dragon attacking a castle. Well worth digging a copy up and giving it a view.
So, we’re not wearing chain mail. We’re not hiding from dragons. Are we better off? Debatable I think.
What “future set” movie prediction is your favorite?
Over the past few years I have written about health related things a couple of times. I haven’t written a great deal about the current conditions we live with – here in the middle of a global pandemic. A friend wrote a piece the other day admonishing folks to have a certain level or preparedness when it comes to things going pear shaped on the medical front. I’m going to repost all of the story I’d done previously further down, but I am need to emphasize a few things first.
One of the most important things you can do is be aware of your own health. Don’t lie to yourself about it. That’s not going to help anyone. Once you are honest about things with yourself, try to figure out if there are any things you should be doing to help yourself to maintain. Sure getting better is an important goal, but sometimes stable is where you need to start. Staying healthy is a long term struggle.
Sometimes in that struggle, things go wrong. Stuff happens. It happens to all of us – some of us more than others. (One of the lines from Animal Farm that has stuck with me all these years, “some animals are more equal than others…”). When it comes to being the support person for medical related problems I have gained a fair amount of experience. As I typed in the notes to my friend, this is not my first rodeo. I have been “support guy” for 3 hospitalizations a year (on average) for the past 15 years. Medical problems/emergencies/surgeries can be scary things, even to those who are familiar with the processes involved. There is a list of things you should consider in order to be prepared. I’m going to cover a few here.
It’s a good idea to have what the military guys call a “go bag”. It’s a backpack or some kind of gym bag or something that has emergency stuff in it. Get some casual / loose fitting clothes and put them in a plastic bag in there. Also in there:
Insurance Information List of Medications and Medical Conditions Toothbrush, hygiene products. A novel, puzzle book, electronic game to pass time Extra phone charger, AC adapter Personal Emergency Contacts
Set up a Text Group to notify key individuals at once.
Appoint a main point of contact among your emergency contacts to avoid confusion.
Make sure everyone has a role – who takes care of the pets (and how)? Who gets the mail (where does it go)? Who needs to call others? Who has access to your vehicle and home? Who will secure and watch your home in your absence?
Vital on this list – get your will, your living will / medical directives AND a durable power of attorney done. No, it won’t be free. YES, it matters a lot. Do it as soon as you are able. This is not the territory of the ancient and infirm. You need these documents and you need to put them on record at your doctor’s office. Keep a copy in whatever secure location you have at home. Make sure people on your list know about them and can get to them. This is NOT a secret!
Make copies of your (general/big item) medical history and your list of meds. Shrink these copies down to a small but readable size. Get self laminating sheets from the dollar store and make them durable. Jamb those things in your daily carry item (wallet/purse/fanny pack). Have an extra (durable or not?) copy that you can simply hand to the EMT/Paramedic/nurse/police officer and not worry about losing. Keep this information up to date!
Laminate!
Don’t Panic. You help nobody if you can’t help yourself remain calm. Freak out later, take care of your people first. IF it’s possible, get a second person to listen to what everyone says. Don’t be afraid to take notes. YOU must be your own advocate!
Track all the things. Discharge paperwork, dates of service, home instructions/restrictions. Yes, it’s like homework but it matters. Keep all this in a safe and accessible place. The insurance company doesn’t know what happened and will probably have lots of questions later.
Ask friends for help, and give help to your friends when they need it. It’s a very hard lesson to learn when people you thought were “tight” with you bail at the first sign of trouble. Take care of yourself and those you care for.
This is an edited version of what I wrote before, chronicling our early roller coaster ride of heart and health related issues. There has been a LOT more since this was written:
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I wrote this for our fanzine as part of our first meeting at The Midtown Scholar. I felt it was important to give a little sample of how the community of fans of science fiction and fantasy can really come together and make a difference, but I don’t want to limit the number of people that see it. I have had many wonderful experiences with this fan group and genuinely hope to have many, many more. Rare Constancy was originally written as part of an advocacy fanzine to help raise awareness of heart problems among fans. I’ve kept the advocacy bits in here, but I also hope the connections I’ve made to some wonderful and amazing people show through as well.
I’ve not experienced heart problems myself. I hope I never have to. I hope you never have to either. I’ve got some small experience dealing with hospitals, ICUs, cardiologist visits and all that mess. You can keep it if it’s all the same to you. Nothing against the people doing those jobs, I’m just not a fan of hanging out there more than I really have to.
Rare
Just over 5 years ago (at the time of this writing) my wife and I were expecting our first child. It wasn’t a simple process with the doctors because there was a certain amount of risk involved. Rebecca, my wife, had been diagnosed with a heart condition when she was very young. She had been taking medication for this “condition” which was diagnosed as various things, including Cardiomyopathy, all her life. The doctors monitored and checked and made copious notes, but in the end we were ready to go. We were thrilled, excited and running about trying to “be prepared” just like any other first time parents. We thought we had it all nailed down. As the saying goes, just when you thought you had all the answers somebody changed the questions.
A couple of weeks after our beautiful daughter was born wonderfully healthy and without complications, my wife started having trouble breathing. She had a cold and was as tired and wrung out as any first time parent. We did our best to cope with everything. Despite our best efforts my wife’s health got worse. Worse to the point where we needed to get back to the doctor. As it happened, this was fortuitous timing. She described it as drowning. Very, very slowly drowning. My wife had pneumonia. That’s bad in and of itself, but it didn’t respond to medication well because as it turns out pneumonia wasn’t all she had going on. That was where things really started to go downhill.
In terms that I can understand, congestive heart failure means the heart weakens leading to things like fluids building up through out the body and that does things like puts pressure on the lungs making it hard for them to expand properly. The fluid also adds pressure to the heart (already less than perfect in my wife’s case) and makes it’s beating less able to pump things out, therefore allowing more fluid to build. Lather, rinse, repeat until dead. My daughter was born mid November and before Christmas my wife was in the hospital with congestive heart failure. I was home with our newborn and lots of long days and nights.
I’ll be honest. Those days are a blur to me now. I don’t remember what I did other than sleep mostly dressed with one hand on the baby basket rocking it in my sleep. I could mix formula without conscious thought and have a diaper changing time that would shame most pit crews. Christmas in the hospital isn’t a great thing. The staff there do their best to keep spirits up, but tinsel on a gurney doesn’t look festive to me, it just looks sadly out of place.
After a couple of weeks attempting to get things cleared up and get medicines straightened out my wife was released from the hospital. The doctors gave directions to have very limited fluid intake and a low sodium diet in order to avoid a reoccurrence of the fluid buildup (and therefore more heart failure).
Constancy.
You are educated people! If something is vague or unclear, ask questions consistently! How much is “limited fluid”? Turned out they wanted to limit my wife to a liter of fluid per day. One liter – any and all liquids – that’s it. How low is “low sodium”? How about less than 1500mg per day. For perspective, a typical candy bar has about 150mg of sodium in it. Yeah, 10% of your daily allowable total for a snack. Try that sometime – see how it works out. The key is to ask every time you don’t understand something. Get specifics. This isn’t easy to do in emergency situations, but once the immediate crisis is past there really isn’t any excuse. Read everything they give you. Consistently follow their recommendations. The only person you’re lying to if you don’t is yourself. The ones that truly suffer are those around you. If you’re in the support position, as I was, this is the key to getting by.
Rare.
Be one of those rare folks that takes the time to ask the questions. It’s your (or your partner’s) health, be interested! You don’t need to be like my wife and ask if you are allowed to watch procedures while they’re happening, but you should get the scoop on them. Usually once the doctor knows you’re interested they’re more than happy to expound endlessly about the minutiae they were forced to memorize that nobody cares all that much about on a day to day basis.
The end you say? Hardly.
Sometimes despite your best effort things don’t go the way they should. After ten months of following this strict plan, counting everything, residing within the limits given, and taking all the medicine as ordered Rebecca started having trouble again. Yes, for those of you scoring at home that brings us around to another holiday filled with heart problems.
Here is something from the glory of e-mail archives, a message to friends in my wife’s own words:
“About 3 weeks ago I started to have a tight heavy feeling in my chest. When it kept coming back after a few days I called the cardiologist. They are a little cautious about these sorts of things considering the situation, so in I went for tests, tests, and a few more tests. The nuclear stress test they did led them to believe I had a blockage which led to a recent heart catheterization. During the cath they realized that I did not have a blockage, but that my arteries don’t all go where they’re supposed to. In other words I was born with an abnormally formed heart. (I blame Dad’s Polish heritage…probably had the freakin’ blueprints upside down or something when they made me. What the hell? I blamed his German heritage for my liver processing the Coumadin so fast that they couldn’t get my levels high enough and I was stuck in the hospital for weeks over Christmas. Good thing Daddy’s got broad shoulders, huh?!) Don’t ask how someone can be seen for a heart condition for as long as I have and they just now realize what exactly the problem is. Apparently, the whole thing is pretty rare…”
Rare.
There are times when it’s not such a great thing to be the rare one – and despite television’s take on all things medicinal – heart trouble is one of those times. The rare condition my wife had is actually called ALCAPA (Anomalous Left Coronary Artery originating from the Pulmonary Artery). Rare in the United States means it affects 1 in 300,000 live births. ALCAPA represents approximately 0.25-0.5% of congenital (born with) heart defects. When it does happen (these days at least) they either find it in infancy because the baby shows signs of heart failure and they fix it or it kills the baby. In the odd instance where the child survives and reaches adulthood with a misdiagnosis or without being diagnosed at all, the defect is most commonly found post-mortem. Usually the person just drops dead with no signs of anything having been wrong – because the heart is only working in the neighborhood of thirty percent of its actual capacity.
Thankfully we have a fantastic cardiologist. Once he figured out what was wrong and how rare it was to have an actual, still breathing case of this he told us the straight version of things. He said there was a pretty good chance this was a once in a practice kind of thing for him. He may never see another case like my wife if he practices from now until retirement. I say he’s fantastic because rather than try to fix it himself he wanted to direct us to his mentor (who had seen three or four of these cases). Rare indeed.
To make a very long story a little shorter, we ended up consulting with the mentor (a fine thoracic surgeon). He, in association with his partner, had written a peer reviewed paper on the condition and had done some studies on surgically repairing the condition. I say if you need a repairman, get the guy that wrote the directions when you can.
So at age 33 my wife joined the zipper club and had open heart surgery to repair the defective arteries and place a new valve in her heart. It was a very successful procedure with fewer complications than expected. The only glitch in the entire process was with the camera they had set up to record the procedure for teaching purposes. If something in the process is going to fail – let it be the camera that’s recording the whole thing. The procedure was smooth and the hospital stay relatively short. Recovery time from open heart surgery is not so short.
Constancy.
I am amazed and blessed with the friends my wife and I have through fandom. They are chosen family for me, and they are always there. I had a friend from this crowd volunteer to sleep on the couch one night each weekend during those recovery months so that I could get some rest (my wife wasn’t allowed to pick up our infant daughter for six months after the surgery for fear of tearing something). When my schedule became too tight and I couldn’t manage everything I had a friend from the group burn one of her vacation days to help out. I know how few of those everyone gets, and to have a fellow fan surrender one in the name of helping out is something I am grateful for to this day. Be constant for your friends and fellow fans, it means more than you know. When times get really tough your true friends remain.
Cooked meals, companionship and helping hands all from connections I made through fandom. Fellow fans are my chosen family and have been for a very long time. The sense of community is amazing for such a diverse and scattered crowd. Once connected all those years ago I found a rare and constant bunch. They all showed me how amazing (and crazy) they could be when the chips were down. I’m hoping to continue to expand the circle of fans I know because I can’t imagine who might need my help out there, but if I can pay even a little of these things back it will be worth it.
This weekend was one of productivity. It was nice to be able to get back to a place where I felt good about time well spent. There were games with the family (I even won one!), story submissions made, contracts signed, galley proofs checked and plans set in motion for a new secret project.
Research was done, writing was done, new equipment was set up and hooked to the computer. Blog posts made, news feeds checked and household chores polished off with ease.
When I posted about the sad and numb feeling I had after giving in to a lost weekend and comparing it to an addiction, this is what I meant. I missed being relaxed and doing the things I enjoy. Spending time with the family is important. Games, relaxing and generally having a good time matters. Yes, we watched about twenty minutes worth of television. Having a form of entertainment like that around is not in and of itself a terrible thing. Giving in and doing nothing else is. We thoroughly enjoyed the new series of short cartoons from Pixar, then got take out from a local Korean restaurant. Was it perfect? No, of course not. Some of the plans I had for the weekend fell apart. I was prepared to do some filming for YouTube and that totally didn’t happen. No big deal. Changes happen. Things evolve.
Sound like a lot of stuff for a single weekend? That’s the point. I’ve maintained for a very long time that there are too many cool things to do in this world and not enough hours in the day to do them all. That’s a small part of why I always seem busy. I want to do… everything. Why wouldn’t you want to create or play or chat or whatever it is that you enjoy the most?
Coming soon – new work! The contract I signed is for a story that will be coming out in March. I’ll definitely let everyone know when it’s available for sale!
This was originally published in Watch The Skies Fanzine – January 2021
The house where J.R.R. Tolkien lived when he wrote some of his most famous work is up for sale. There are a number of people making a concerted effort to purchase this house and turn it into some kind of literary center, including a garden of some significance. There is a news article about it on Tor’s website. This article sent my mind wandering down the path of historic preservation and the collection of authorial works. There are other displays from famous authors in many forms, in many places but I realized I don’t know the first thing that goes into creating or curating a collection like this. Thankfully the wonderful world of fandom allows me to connect to people that know an awful lot more than I do. I decided to reach out to one!
Mary Spila is a long time member of our fan group here at Watch The Skies and just so happens to be one of the librarians for our state. I pulled together the teeny amount of info I know about this sort of things and asked her a few questions about it. Here is the interview:
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First, thanks for being willing to help fill me in on these sort of things. I think the work you do is important and more people should know about it. What is your official job title and what sort of things are entailed in the work that you currently do?
I am the cataloger at the State Library of Pennsylvania. I am responsible to cataloging everything that in put into the collection. This includes books for the Main Library, Law Library, Government Documents, and the Rare Materials Library.
Does the state library have a collection of letters (or more than one) similar to the sort of works that might be on display at the Tolkien house, should that project become a reality? What sort of things are in that collection?
The Rare Collections Library of the State Library of Pennsylvania holds items from the founding of theState of Pennsylvania, and the United States. This includes the “Assembly Collection”, books that were purchased by Benjamin Franklin for the General Assembly, and the beginnings of the State Library Collection.
The library has The largest collection of Pennsylvania Newspapers, some of which go back to the late 1600s. There are copies of materials that were printed in Pennsylvania back to 1685.
The collection also contains rare items that include a copy of Hartman Schedel’s Nuremberg Chronicles; a map and documents signed by Hannah Penn and Lord Baltimore regarding the borders between Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Several years ago we were gifted with a collection of materials from Steve Didko, Pennsylvania Comic Book artist best known for his work at Marvel and DC. That collection contains pencil sketches, ink drawings, and published comic books. It is the basis of the State Library’s graphica collection, which highlights the works of Pennsylvania authors and artists in the comics industry.
How does the library team decide what to keep and when? There has to be a limit on space, right?
There are library policies and procedures for purchasing and removal of materials from the Main and Law Libraries. For the Main Library this includes genealogical materials, Pennsylvania newspapers, things that are about Pennsylvania and its history, as well as materials requested by State Agencies and Legislators. The Law Library contains materials that directly related to the courts, laws, and legislation of Pennsylvania and the United States.
We are also a Federal and State Documents Depository Library, and those materials are kept until superseded.
Outdated, damaged, and superseded materials from both libraries, are removed from the collections and replaced if needed.
Does the library have special systems in place to care for the works in their care?
The Rare Collections Librarian and Technician have some basic skills with materials maintenance and repair. For materials that are in need of more extensive work they are sent out to professional restorers.
Materials in the Main and Law Libraries, are generally replaced if they are damaged beyond use, as repair of modern books is not cost effective.
Are there special rules about who can see these collections and when?
For materials in the Rare Collection, an appointment needs to be made with the Rare Collections Librarian. Permission may be denied based on the condition of the item.
Given the significant increase in authors using electronic means to both write and communicate with each other in recent times, what sort of things might the library have to display in the future? Have there been discussions of this among various members of the librarian community?
Electronic resources can be “Displayed” in electronic formats such as the Library’s website and social media.
I’d really like to focus more on that last bit. I wasn’t clear about how I phrased my question about displays. I didn’t consider the internet as part of the library at all, I was visualizing some kind of digital kiosk on location in the library itself with a big ol’ touch screen or something like that.
Even if there were a physical device for an electronic display, what is displayed would still be tied into the library’s website. Physical tech requires the library to have the time, funding, and personnel to maintain it, and most libraries don’t have any to spare.
People are already carrying personal devices where they look for information and entertainment. It is more cost effective to put things on the website and the library’s social media, where it will reach a wider audience and is not limited to times when the library will be physically open. Many libraries are even recording their current physical displays and putting them on their websites. The website, or some future incarceration, will end up being the primary way that libraries interact with users.
I know this isn’t what you are looking for, but that is the reality, especially considering that library budgets have been falling.
A very big thank you to Mary Spila for being willing to share her time and expertise with us on this subject! IF you have knowledge about an industry that relates to the publishing world or science fiction in general, we’d love to hear from you too! Let us know ~ we want to hear what you have to say!
I had commented recently on the sinking feeling I had when it was announced that a Dungeons & Dragons movie was in the works. It makes sense as the traditional swords and sorcery genre seems to be on the rise, but is filled with potential pitfalls.
Recently I read reports (here and here) that a Dungeons & Dragons television series is in development.
Spell effects will be a challenge
I had a moment when I thought, “Lord, here we go. The market is going to get a glut of embarrassing fantasy stuff…”. Then that moment passed. The longer I thought about it, the more I believe that a television series could be the best possible answer for Dungeons & Dragons. If it’s done well it can have significant staying power and inspire a whole new set of folks. This might work…
Pro-
Fantasy television has had success. I will point to what seem like disparate shows but I think both Xena and Game Of Thrones show that serialized fantasy can work and have staying power. GOT is clearly the more up to date example here, but it had certain advantages that Xena didn’t get – and Xena got SIX season. Yes, that’s enough to go into syndication. It was also contemporary with Hercules. That was the 90s. In the 2000s we got two seasons of Legend of the Seeker. Fantasy as TV can work.
The upside arguments here are many. A series gives characters time to develop and plots time to unwind. You can have individual episodes along with longer, over arching stories. The episodic nature lends itself entirely to the D&D format. Each season could be considered a campaign. Actors, settings and even entire worlds could change between seasons. There are absolutely VAST options here. YouTube has shown that there is a sustainable audience for this too.
Con-
The downside or potential negatives are equal in number and variation. Going “cheap” on this will not help. Cardboard swords and rubber monster masks slapped on extras are going to be a tough sell in the land of 4K sets. Locations will shine through. Movies can spend more on this and have a limited time they will be in place, so picking the right place matters. The wilds of New Zeland or a city in Spain that’s hundreds of years old are clear and obvious ‘characters’ in the movies they’re in as much as any on screen actor. Locations like that cost $ and a new series might not have that kind of backing. Special effects is going to be another hazard. Go cheap there and you will fail. Get too deep and your budget and schedule will fail. Spells are a major part of D&D and must be part of the show. If they are done poorly it will hurt any chance of the show living on.
Landing Spot-
This will also be a major factor in how this potential show comes off. Will it be network or streaming? IF it’s streaming, will it be a major player or “off brand” looking for success to build on? Network shows will have a different, broader audience potential but will be strictly limited by what can and cannot be shown on said networks. They will be cut down and sliced up in a different way to allow for commercials. This changes how the story is told. A streaming service will hit a more niche audience directly, but it’s just that – niche. You’ve intentionally capped your number by subscriber base. You’ve given a lot of options for what the story can do that can’t be shown on a network though, and that might help draw people that might not otherwise “tune in”.
The story itself ~
The most important success factor for any movie or show is the story and the people that populate it. IF you have a story about people you don’t care for or about, the show will die. IF you have a set of people you care about and they don’t DO anything but sit around and have anxiety and bad relationships with each other, you’ll have an art house film and that will die too.
A lot of this comes down to expectations. The writer they have talked about gives me some hope. A good writer matters. A film or television series needs to set a reasonable bar to attempt to hurdle. IF the show comes off the starting line thinking it’s going to become GOT and doesn’t immediately reach that kind of “buzz” or viewership, it’s likely to get dumped. If it doesn’t aim for that level of quality, it will never garner any attention (other than perhaps from places like RiffTraxx). It’s an incredibly challenging mark to hit.
My suggestions ~
First, having a writer doesn’t say if it’s an original script or if it’s an adaptation of something. I’d say an original script could give the best chance at success here. Something that people can create a new fandom of their own with. Original might just be the best chance.
Second, IF the stories will be adaptations, there are some specifics to stay away from. Despite the immense popularity among players, stay away from Drizzt and the Underdark. It would make gamers happy but anyone unfamiliar with the background or game at all will instantly file this under “Witcher knock-off”. Stay away from Dragonlance. I know, longest running, super popular, etc. BUT the dragons would feel like they were reaching for GOT territory, the special effects would be a major hurdle AND they’re in a lawsuit right now. Not a great combo. I would also stay away from anything related to Conan. It’s a favorite, but the pulpy nature of it combined with it’s age doesn’t feel like the right fit for the modern political era.
Lastly, stay away from using DUNGEONS & DRAGONS as the sole title. Give it a different title first and let D&D be in the second line or description or tags or something. Calling it just or only “Dungeons & Dragons” implies that this will cover any and all adaptations that go with the game. It’s one aspect (of the many) that I really hated about the movie they did all those years ago. One title and they killed it for how long? Follow the pattern that adventure series inside the game follow and give it an interesting hook followed by “A Dungeons & Dragons Series” or something like that.
There is a much greater chance of upside with a television show. I still have that anxious feeling, but it is moderated. I am eager for some quality sword and sorcery that I can watch. I really hope they manage to pull off something wonderful.
This was previously published in Watch The Skies fanzine – January 2021
The lost Star Wars film.
A very Star Wars look, right?
Diving into 2021 does not mean we’re charging forward and looking at something new. In fact, this is a retro view that I had somehow missed along the way. Like 40 years missed along the way. I admit I’m not a super fan when it comes to all things Star Wars. Yes, I saw the original films when they came out. Yes, I had a ton of the toys. No, I’m not a member of the Jedi church. I love them and they hold a place within me even if I don’t keep up with every single release. It’s a film (and TV show and book and toy…) franchise like no other and it turns out that something really interesting was tacked onto it. Fantasy.
That’s right, fantasy. George Lucas commissioned a fantasy film. He wanted this fantasy film to be shown before or in association with Empire Strikes Back. You read that right. Empire Strikes Back – tied directly to a swords and horses fantasy film. It was made, it was shown, then it was lost.
Recently, during the preparation for a discussion about the influence of films on fantasy gaming I was digging for clips and information about various movies I’ve watched or heard about over the years. There are a lot of excellent films out there is you love fantasy. Then I stumbled onto a thread about fantasy and Empire. That’s how I came to know about Black Angel.
The age of Black Angel is part of why I wanted to put it here, along with the story of how it was made, lost and subsequently recovered. It is a very moody piece. The scenery is amazing. The background music is haunting. There is a look and feel to this film that is undeniable. In the notes about the film it was revealed that parts of the crew for the movie Excalibur watched this and took copious notes. The look and feel of Excalibur and Black Angel are quite similar. Some of the techniques used in Black Angel were picked up and used in Empire as well.
As a fan of the history of science fiction and fantasy it’s a neat treasure that’s available for free. The mood, the look, the sound all make Black Angel worth the short run time.
I’m so happy to have gotten this book as a gift. While the text is not lengthy, it does give an excellent primer on the life of the photographer. I suspect many people see the name and think something like, “Oh, yes. Tree pictures…” and then move on. Well, the essay in here gave me a lot more things to dig up and sink my teeth into.
If you’re looking for a quick hit of biography, just enough to get you interested, and you can get a copy of this book, I recommend that you do.
I had every intention of being very busy and productive over this past weekend. Some of what I planned on doing was being on here and getting more posts lined up. Clearly I failed at that. I was thinking about it and I genuinely believe it had everything to do with a level of addictive behavior from me.
I know there are folks out there that will think this is a pile of nonsense. I half agree honestly, but I want to put it out there because edging toward understanding is important.
I really think that I have addictive behavior and tendency when it comes to watching television. It’s a feeling I have. Don’t know how to explain it. I’m not generally an addictive personality but I AM a complete child of media. When you see those memes about GenX being that “lost” generation that were the first of the latch key kids? That’s me. Come home, let yourself in, lock the door and entertain yourself until we get home from work. It’s not good or bad – not trying to judge here, just giving context. It’s also when MTV started (among many other networks you may feel have “always” existed). I watched a lot of television, saw a lot of movies and this learned behavior has stuck with me ever since.
So what I’m saying is that, as stupid as it sounds, I really can’t break away from TV. I find myself floating back to it even when I *know* there’s not a damn thing worth watching. Then I get all depressed and disappointed when the stuff I watch is total shit. I know this probably sounds even sillier when you couple it with the facts that I was a Nielssen household member at one point AND I write a monthly piece for Watch The Skies called “You Should Be Watching” where I suggest fandom related content to go and check out.
This past weekend I estimate that I watched somewhere between 16 and 20 hours of TV. Maybe more. I lost track of all the stuff I streamed across YouTube. That’s way, way too much. I know this. I couldn’t help myself. I lost all productivity as I jumped from movies to football games to binge watching a cartoon series on Netflix (yes, both seasons of it). Football is really tough to sit through these days, but I did it. All four playoff games. Yes, some of it was likely to become history as very famous players end their careers, but it’s just a mess to watch. The ad time alone has stupid marketing stuff swirling in my head (OK – I’ll give the Tag Team ad props – it makes me laugh more than it should). I saw the new film “Outside the Wire” and it wasn’t bad… it wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad. I watched Bill and Ted Face the Music. I had really high hopes for it… and those really high hopes weren’t matched.
In the end I just came away sort of sad and numb with nothing to show for my time.
I am thankfully not addicted to other things in that way, but this is a small step toward understanding what folks struggling with addiction deal with. It’s not easy to deal with. It changes how I feel physically and emotionally. I’m going to work hard at shrugging this episode off and try to limit how much time I spend with the TV. Yes, I’m going to keep working the Should Be Watching stuff. No, I won’t take the TV out of the house (the only way I know to stop an addiction – take away the thing you’re addicted to and don’t have access). I am not the only person living here with a desire to be passively entertained from time to time… I just can’t let it be ALL the time. Thankfully this IS something that can be controlled.
IF you’re struggling with something, stick with the plan you have to be better. Keep working at staying away. There will be tough days, but don’t let those days beat you. Be strong.
I try to stay away from political things on my site. I don’t want to deal with all the BS that comes along with saying anything political on the internet. There are far too many people out there that only use their time to try to start fights over the inane details of anything one might say. This is MY site and I do with it as I please. It pleases me to stay away from the massive shit show that is the US political system of late. That is not just nationally. It is also right here in the state of Pennsylvania where I now reside.
This is the normal for me. I don’t want to talk about it, so I don’t. Books, movies, gaming, crafting or whatever else catches my fancy, sure. Those are the posts that go up here. That does not mean I am unaware or that I don’t pay attention, I just like to stay away. Today… today was not normal. It feels like something that needs to be marked in much the same way that the September 11th attacks and the start of the global pandemic needed to be noted here.
Today “protesters”, many of them carrying signs in support of the individual currently residing in the office of the president, stormed the capitol building in a (successful) attempt to stop the duly elected officials there from carrying out their jobs. In America. People stormed the capitol.
This is not some third world country. This is Washington DC.
Calling this unacceptable seems like the negligent misuse of understatement.
I, and anyone else that joined the military swore an oath. We signed on the dotted line stating that we would pay any cost up to and including our own death to defend the constitution and our way of life here in the United States.
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
I will defend unto my dying breath the right of any American to shout at the top of their lungs in support of the thing I most despise. That is what freedom means. It is not free. It’s not even cheap. It requires hard work and a lot of personal responsibility. You have to be paying attention and working toward making things better. Every day.
The people that believed what they were doing was the right thing today are the core of the problem. They have not done the work nor have they understood the limits of what can be tolerated. The self righteously over privileged that did this need to be brought to justice.* This was not my initial reaction, but if I claim to be in favor of the rule of law this is the course that must be taken. My initial reaction was one of a significantly more stern reaction. I am still not sure the significantly more stern option should be taken off the table. There are a lot of folks on social media (that gigantic echo chamber) throwing around some big and serious words. Words matter and the ones you pick should be appropriate to the action/event you are discussing. Sedition, treason, instigating violence are all out there at this point (for the people that did the action as well as the person Tweeting them on). Those are big words with serious consequences. They are also not wrong. The penalty for treason against our nation goes all the way up to death. That was my initial reaction and I’m not sure it’s the wrong reaction still. These people DO NOT get to take away what we have here in this country. They need to become an example. The fullest extent of federal law needs to be brought down on as many as can be identified. I don’t care how long it takes. This includes the person Tweeting them on.
What we have here in this nation is special. It’s important. It matters to everyone that lives here, but it also matters to all of those people viewing our nation from the outside. Today a group of people not only made us look like the buffoons we have become, but they have made us look weak and chaotic to those who would plot against us. We must do better. We need to embrace scholarly endeavors, civil discourse and the sort of actions that show us as leading the world in freedom, fairness and compassion. We need to embrace the concept of studying hard and working hard to back that up ~ no matter what it is that you love to do. I love this country and all that it is supposed to be. Today hurt. Today was scary. Is this the world I want my daughter to live in? Today will be marked in history ~ let’s work hard to be sure that it marks a turning point toward a better place for all that choose to live in this great nation.
*Side note – I am also not unaware of the difference in treatment based on color of skin. This deeply embedded racism is also unacceptable. A systemic issue that I feel others have better, more insightful things to say about it.
