Runester

I saw this on Firebrand and was blown away. I know it’s just a commercial, but it touches something fundamental.

First, a quick movie review. The gf and I went to see a movie (as we do most weekends) and this time the best we could find was “The Messengers.” It was supposed to be a horror movie, and it did have a few high-tension scenes - so I guess that makes it better then a poke to the eye. On the other hand, the premise was incredibly hard to believe and the plot kind of handed you the “who” in the who-dunnit of the opening scene.

When I say ‘hard to believe’, I don’t mean the whole ghosts in the basement thing - that’s par for the course. I mean, that a family from Chicago would pack everything up and move out to the most desolate place I’ve ever scene and move into the most dilapidated, spooky old house around in order to make a fresh start … growing sunflowers. The second complaint was the transparency of the plot. The first few minutes of the movie are very effective, showing a family terrorized by some unseen force; each disappearing down into the basement even the innocent little boy. The only problem was what they DIDN’T show you … the father. This immediately implied that it was the father of this doomed family on some sort of rampage. So, later on when a mysterious stranger, a man, shows up and volunteers to work long hours for months at a time for no wages other then a place to stay and some meals … alarm bells went off.

I was almost thrown off by some red herrings, but the red herrings weren’t there to lead you to another potential killer, just caste doubt on the right one. In other words, they didn’t introduce anyone else in the movie that it could have been and they didn’t convincingly prove that it couldn’t have been him. So, when they perform the ‘reveal’ and show him in the initial scenes as the ‘unseen force’ it doesn’t really surprise anyone.

Finally, the movie followed a particular plot that is so old and hackneyed in horror that smack’s of Hollywood cheese. Namely, the teenager who knows what’s really going on but who can’t get any adults to believe them. Let’s get this out in the open … (saying I eventually have a daughter) if I were to look into the eyes of my daughter, even a daughter who was a rebellious teenager who’s gotten into trouble as teenagers tend to do, and see abject terror … I’d tend to believe her and not dismiss the entire story as her ‘antics’. This movie wasn’t as bad as others, but in many, the parents have to disbelieve a whole sequence of events including people disappearing, strange wounds appearing, and other creepy signs and portents. In “The Messengers” all the parents had to do was disbelieve strange bruises on their daughters ankles, her repeated stories of spectral attacks, the disappearance of the previous tenants, and the complete terror that came radiating off of their daughter whenever she related the events. At some point, of this disbelieving smacks of abuse.

Here’s a partial review, and radically different from movie mentioned above. It’s the business / organization book, recommended to me by my mother, “From Good to Great.” At first it seemed a little dry and business-book-ish; but as I got past the introduction I found that it was utterly fascinating and the lessons completely believable and utterly applicable. The believability comes from their firm roots in empirical facts, not gilded theory. The applicability is due to their universal nature. I may never be the CEO of a large corporation, but the description of a “Level 5 Leader” applies just as much to a person improving their own lives, or the head of a family improving his family’s life, as to a corporate leader improving the entire organization he heads. This is only a partial review since I’m only about 30+ pages into the book, but if the rest proves to be as good as this section then it was money and time well spent.

I finished the Caitlin R. Kiernan book, Daughter of Hounds, a few days ago.

Of all of her books, this one had the most ‘concrete’ feel to it. Instead of the endless ambiguity in her descriptions of monsters and magic, this book actually came out and described everone and (nearly) everything in it, in fairly unambiguous terms. Good! Also, the final denoument actually felt like a denoument instead of the point where the author just got tired of writing and decided to stop.

This is now my favorite Caitlin R. Kiernan novel, with “Alabaster” being my favorite book (it’s a collection of short works about one of my all time favorite characters, Dancy Flamarion).

Does my review sound a little harsh? Would it surprise you to know that I am actually an avid reader / collector of Kiernan’s works? The aspects that drew me to her writing still recommend her work to others. Namely, her amazing characterization of young people on the fringe of society and the dark (Lovecraftian) fantasy they interact with. The sense of place and gritty realism is expertly counterpointed to the fantastical elements, and each character feels amazingly real and yet so far outside the norm, that you can’t help but be pulled in. And Boy! Can this lady write! The use
of language is extraordinary; with the overly wrought flourishes of her early work tamed as she matured in her craft.

The negatives, are her use of ambiguity to communicate the sense of Lovecraftian horror. I feel for her predicament: if she were to clearly describe what the creatures were and what rules have to be followed in order to survive or defeat them … then the sense of wonder and dread would evaporite right off the page and this would read like a turn-of-the-century zoology paper. But, with very little concrete description it’s hard to figure out exactly what’s happening. Not only is the ‘what’ mysterious, but then the ‘why’ is as well. So the whole time you’re reading you’re thinking, “who is that? why did they just do that? what does that paragraph mean?” and then when you get to the end of the book, it tends to just stop. No real wrap-up or finale or conclusion. It. Just. Ends.

The most disappointing example of this is her sci-fi book, “The Dry Salvages.” If any book ever gives the impression that the author got bored with the topic and just tacked on a bullet-point list of what would have happened if she’d felt like finishing it - then this book would be it! The whole intro was fascinating, the characters intriguing, and the situation very original. Then you get to the last few chapters and wish you hadn’t. In fact, without those chapters tacked on, I would be free to fantasize about the ‘unfinished manuscript’ and what could have happened had the author ever completed it.

In summary: Caitlin R. Kiernan, an absolutely fantastic author who can accomplish the near impossible. The ‘real thing’ in a genre replete with pretenders and poseurs. Someone more then worth reading, if you can overlook or at least tolerate her few, minor foibles. If you “absolutely have to know!” then she definitely is not for you. If you can immerse yourself in a world full of vibrant characters and decaying settings, and tolerate never really knowing the full story or the real ending, then this definitely is for you!

Well, I’ve spent another low-key weekend with the gf. We went and saw a movie called “Notes on a Scandal.” It stars Dame Judy Dench, Cate Blanchett, and Bill Nighy. The acting was top-notch, and was what really made the movie. At only 92 minutes and with a single threaded plot, it felt more like a short story instead of a novel (which it is allegedly based on). My only complaint with the movie, is not much actually happens, plot wise. The real ’story’ is in the complex relationship between the two women and the eventual realization of Blanchett’s character to the duplicity and neediness of Dench’s character.

Personally, I’d like to see “Flags of our Fathers” and then “Letters from Iwo Jima.” I’m fascinated that we have both sides of that war story … something almost never done, especially as it relates to WWII.

I’m nearly done reading the latest book by Caitlin R. Kiernan, namely “Daughter of  Hounds.” This book is very different from her usual, and I’m not sure why she’s changed her modus operandi. Most of her works are filled with loose ends and ambigious situations and rather disappointing endings. I’ve admired her for that, except for the cases where I was thoroughly frustrated by her (”Dry Salvages” comes to mind). In this novel, she’s as explicit as she’s ever been. The monsters are described, the hero’s call on magic and it’s quite obvious, and (for the most part) it reads more like an action / adventure novel then an atmospheric horror novel. To be brutally honest, I like it better this way! Let’s see if my opinion remains the same when I get to the end.

Well, my diet is pretty much on a holiday hiatus. I haven’t binged or anything, but I’m not sticking super close either. Part of it is the desire to enjoy shared meals with others, from the office pizza party to the upcoming Christmas dinner with Lisa’s mom. The other part of it, is the odd ‘out of the normal routine’ these two weeks always elicit. In any case, I’ll probably have two or three “Christmas Pounds” to lose before I’m fully back on track.

In other news, I’ve going podcast crazy! I started with one or two RPG related podcasts, but now have been listening to a podcast about ‘real women’ from Leann, and to a couple of music podcasts. The music podcasts, especially “Well Made Music” reminds me of the college / indie music shows that used to be on 89X radio in Detroit - back when alternative music was actually alternative and not just another variation of pop. This music is totally different, but the sense of musical exploration, of being introduced to something that I’ve never heard before and to a whole music scene that is ‘not from here’ is certainly present. And, the host Neil, has a cool Scottish accent.

The only downside to this amazing wealth of resources and communities and podcasts available online is how easy it is to live in a bubble completely unique from anyone else around you. In other words, there are over a thousand people listening to “Fear the Boot” - but I’m the only one living in my area. The same goes for “Well Made Music” and probably some others. Some activities are funner to do in groups, but that’s hard when the ‘group’ you belong to is geographically dispersed around the world.

Interestingly enough, the “House of the Harping Monkey” has a virtual inn in the online world called “Second Life.” They’ve had meetings there and used that shared virtual space to meet listeners and fans whom they’ve never met in RL (real life). Is this the harbinger of things to come? Is this some indicator of trends that will continue or just a momentary fad that will fade when people ‘get serious’ and pull out of their virtual lives? Who knows? It just occurs to me that the pull of human hearts and human minds to form communities of interest and families of intention is stronger then geography.

I’m just wrapping up a very pleasant weekend spent with Lisa. We went and saw the new James Bond flick, “Casino Royale” - and it was very good! Daniel Craig makes a great James Bond, and this film really seems to be getting back to the roots of action hero instead of gadget-guy. Well, done.

I wasn’t exactly on-diet this weekend, though Saturday was my “day off” and I did pretty good on Sunday (well, there was that piece of pumpkin pie!). Tomorrow morning, I’m back in the gym and back on track. I can say I’ve lost what little weight I gained before my two (2) weeks in vacation in Michigan. Everything from this point on will be new progress.

After speaking with my brother about his business ventures this weekend I learned something new and disheartening. Nothing is ever as easy and straight forward as you hoped. He does research on a business and gets to know the current owner and looks at the books and assembles his co-investors and then … the soap opera begins. These facts were hidden and that person who hadn’t even made an appearance before decides to cause trouble now, etc., etc., etc.

The point? That the hard part of being an entrepreneur is not the financials or the operations or even the risk. The hard part is managing the intangibles and the constant background level of chaos that exists. Do you know why you’ve never read that in a book on business management? Because while high-falutin’ intellectuals are theorizing about how business should be managed with fancy whiteboard diagrams, the reality is stuffed up toilets in the women’s room and a vindictive ex-employee spreading rumors to your regulars.

Snow Update

All of her staples (all 25 of them) were removed last Monday. Her scar has healed up nicely, and she seems to be doing fine. I did feel a lump near the top of her scar and took her back to the vet, but he suspects it’s just scar tissue from the surgery.

I also asked what would happen if the cancer does come back and spread, and his sobering answer was: it would invade her lungs and make her breathing very labored.

Anyway, I’ve got an appointment for two weeks and will be taking her back every two weeks to make sure she is thoroughly checked out.

RPG Update

My Wednesday night game of The Puddle (using a customized Everway setting) is going swimmingly. I’m being mentored by a friend and very experienced GM in Michigan. Meanwhile, the players seem as motivated to play and as involved in the world as I could ever have hoped for. I certainly have made mistakes, and trying to introduce a new character (a replacement for a player who’s first character died) - I handled the situation ham-fisted. I hope to do a little repair tonight.

On the other hand, the players have begun to question their character’s motivation for the direction I’m leaning the story. So, under some mentorship, I’ve come up with an excellent way to reinvigorate them and show them that handling the plot as presented is fully inline with their character’s motivations as well as their own self-interest.

So, the gf and I went to see Superman Returns, in IMAX no less (with several 3D scenes!) Monday evening. I’d really, really, really been looking forward to it. She was eager, but not nearly as geeked out as I was. All the reviews were (generally) favorable, and the previews were great.

My opinion? Disappointing. It’s not that the acting wasn’t great, or that the special effects weren’t great, or that this wasn’t a faithful and well done homage to the 1978 classic - it totally was! The primary problem was that the Superman-Lois relationship stuff was very slow and didn’t forward the plot, hardly at all; plus, the villain wasn’t nearly as villainous as I’d hoped.

Lex Luthor is a great villain! Kevin Spacey is a great Lex Luthor! The plot was rediculous … yet another real estate scheme to make him rich (ala the first Superman movie)? Give me a break! In the comics and in the TV series, Lex Luthor is a billionaire, to no small part due to his genius and ruthlessness. In the first movie (and redone here) he is a scheming, conman, broke or hustling money from aging widows, or trying to purpetrate a far fetched real estate scam. If this was really the Lex Luthor of the comics, no 12 year old boy would have bothered to read it. I mean, come on! Why not insider trading or junk bonds? Ooooooh, how villainous!

As has been proven time and again, superhero movies rely heavily on the villain. The hero’s just aren’t that interesting unless they’re fighting a really interesting, and powerful villain. Spiderman has done that very well, X-Men have done this very well, Superman has not. In fact, the better Superman movie was the second one, in which he had to fight three (3) Kryptonian villains - that was awesome!
Here’s “Stephen’s Superhero Movie Formulae” - Create a complex, conflicted hero who has an extreme motive for purforming their extreme acts. Add a really powerful, and fascinating villain, either driven to their path in desperation or madness or grief. And stir in a complex world that could conceivably contain both of them. This is how you tell a good superhero story!

I’d give Superman Returns a B-.

This is UN-BE-LIEVABLE!!!

In my last post, I was wondering what it would take to implement my blog in WordPress instead of blogger.com … and it literally took me minutes! That’s it, just minutes. In fact, I spent FAR LONGER backing up my website then I needed to install, config, and import my entire blog into WordPress.

Talk about performing beyond the hype … this is super-duper to say the least. Now, I get to play with all of the advanced settings and features.

Cool.

First: Snow is doing fine, she’s showed a great deal of energy recently and her newly trimmed and stapled scar is healing very nicely. She’s due back at the vet’s next Friday night … maybe they’ll even remove the staples then - who knows.

I’ve been wondering lately if I shouldn’t change my blog software from Blogger.com to WordPress. I’d hav to host it myself, no big deal, and then import all of my current content (now possible with an ATOM module for Perl I’ve experimented with). The main selling point is all the extra features that WordPress offeres including TackBack and BlogRolls. Blogger.com only allows you to integrate these features as 3rd-party websites and you have to manually edit your template.

I’ll have to do some local testing / staging first. I’m not messing everything up just on a whim … my last template change has already dropped the links to all of my static content and I want all of that stuff back, too!