Hole in a Field, Chap 1

A little while ago I wrote a short story for the L. Ron Hubbard "Writers of the Future Contest".  I did not win, and I know why, my story is really more horror than Science Fiction or Fantasy.  But I decided that I will post each chapter here on my blog.  There are 37 very short chapters, for a total of 15,000 words, about a fifth of a modern novel.  Here is the start.

Chapter 1:

            The hole was new, as the farmer had evidently not noticed it before driving his tractor over the edge and disappearing into the maw of the thing.  Unfortunately, any other feature that would denote newness or method of construction was distinctly absent.  Were it not completely impossible it could be concluded that the hole had fallen from the sky and made itself at home in this particular field.  Then having fallen proceeded downward in the way holes tend to, such a thing being in their nature.  Those riddles of the nature of most holes aside, this hole’s nature remained entirely and wholly in the unknown category.  Sent to discover the origins of this thing was a group that currently stood some dozen feet from the hole's mouth, among the untrimmed corn that filled the non-hole portions of the field.

            “Well?  Does anyone have any thoughts about this thing?”  Maxwell was not the team leader, or really all that key a person to the function of the investigation, but he was good at asking questions and that skill did tend to denote a great potential for growth in the investigative arts.

            “Aside from how it got here, we know everything we really need to about this particular phenomenon for the moment.”  Wilton was the sensible one, never failing to put things as simply as possible, and was the senior man on the field.  “One, it is a hole; perfectly round, nearly 6 meters in diameter, that extends to an unknown depth into the earth.  Two, it is a new and distinctive feature that quickly drew the attention of the White Hats.  And three, there appears to be no immediately evident supernatural thing about this geographic feature beyond its inexplicable existence.”

            “And why are we here looking into this hole?”  said Maxwell.

            “Because it’s weird and that is the sort of thing we look into,” replied Wilton.

            “Yeah, that sums it up," said Clair.  She knew what they had to do next.  "Except for what we are going to have to do next.”

            “Do I have to ask?”  Maxwell, not-quite-cringingly, asked.

            “It is time we went spelunking.”

Prior to This

There was a time in which a person could have visited all the sites on the entire internet

Prior to that a person could have played every video game that had ever been sold

Prior to that a person could have watched every TV show ever broadcast

Prior to that you could have listened to every radio broadcast in history

Prior to that a person could have seen every movie ever filmed

Prior to that read every magazine that had been printed

Prior to that read every newspaper that had been edited

Prior to that read all words that had been written on paper

Prior to that skimmed all words on cloth

Prior to that looked over all words chiseled into tablets and walls

Prior to that you could have heard every word in every language

Prior to that you could have heard every word ever spoken

Prior to that you could have dreamed every dream

Prior to that you could have seen every sight a human had ever looked upon

Prior to that you couldn't have done anything, as that was the earliest thing a human could have done, and been called a human...

My Thoughts on "Rise of the Guardians"

I have decided to write a couple blogs.  This is after way too long without writing, and even when I am just commenting on things out in the ether I still feel a creative pressure valve has been turned.  To that end, I am going to write about "Rise of the Guardians", which might be the most poorly titled movie I can call to mind... Maybe "Inception" has a worse title, and the title of "Mind Heist" or something more touching like "Dreams of Home"... I am off topic, "Guardians".

This.  This is the movie that I am talking about.

"Rise of the Guardians" is an uneven movie, when it is good it is great, but there are so many little hiccups that keep it from breaking out.  It is a timeless movie, I imagine this will be played and watched for years to come whenever Easter or Christmas rolls around, but it is not special, it is not "Toy Story" or "Shrek" when it comes to impact or emotional weight.

If you want a short review: 6/10.  It is good, certainly worth watching.  The imaginative worlds that are portrayed take into mind so many cool ideas and expand them in original ways that still make sense and give them a beauty that is more than skin deep.  There are some problems with the animation, like Santa's beard doesn't move like hair, but nothing that breaks the movie.  The jokes are small, punchy, and used to lighten a scene but never detract.  The main character has a good back story that is explored well in the film, and his growth and arc as a character do a good job of framing the story and bringing the audience along for the ride.

All that being said I want to talk about the three big things that I thought were wrong with the movie.  Each of these things could be considered to cost one or two points, if each of these things had been fixed, than I think this would have been a 10/10.  SPOILERS.

Number one, the metaphysics of this universe are a little unclear and move at an unhealthy pace.  It makes sense from a narrative perspective, the Boogey Man has been slowly taking over the role of the Sandman without Sandy knowing, gathering nightmares to serve as minions, then Pitch attacks the North Pole so that Santa will gather the Guardians, since the Guardians are not protecting their home bases this allows Pitch to then attack the Tooth Fairy's kingdom since she works everyday of the year this quickly starts to spread disappointment and disbelief across the globe, as the Guardians fight back Pitch Black then defeats Sandy, the groups most powerful member and the other member that works each day of the year, Pitch then shuts down Easter and at that point all of the members are knocked off balance... But it all happens in a week.  Not every child in the world had a nightmare, not every child across the globe lost a tooth, and not everyone celebrates Easter, but yet every child except one stops believing?  That is a bit much.  It makes sense narratively, but not logically.  Maybe this is just more of a heart-not-head movie, but even there I have a problem.

Yeah, it really doesn't make sense.  Though I suppose that was half the point of having a main character with amnesia, so that he can serve as an audience surrogate, that as the audience asks questions, Jack can ask the questions on there behalf thus allowing the world to be explained organically through dialogue according to the needs of the story...

The Guardians are powered by belief, they raise belief by fulfilling their task, they have the ability to fulfill their task because they have power, power granted by being believed in... It is a Mobius Strip of faith.  What starts the ball rolling?  What spurs the belief that causes them to be real and to be Guardians?  That makes no sense.  Also, I find Jack Frost's core principle (fun) to be at odds with the others, Wonder (Santa), Hope (Bunny), Dreams (Sandman), and Memory (Tooth Fairy).  The current four seem to be part of growing up: dream of new things, wonder at new things, hope for better things, and remember the good from before... Fun is more an ideal of the present, it is a shirking of responsibility in favor of living in the moment, that is not really in tune with the others... It is odd, and that is why I don't really think Jack Frost was an ideal main character, good not perfect.  What would make a better protagonist?  Well, that takes me to my next point.

Number two, the bad guy has a valid point.  Pitch Black is fear, and fear is a healthy part of growing up, it is facing that fear that allows us to push beyond and grow as people.  It is how we move from child to adult, and it is in facing fear that allows the little boy Jamie is able to bring Sandman back to life at the climax (more on that in number three).  The Boogey Man does not have a balance though, he just wants everyone everywhere to experience fear unending, and that is clearly bad.

This is my real complaint: they did not compromise in this movie.  There was no Halloween character... A black cat, an old witch, Dracula, or a Jack Lantern to represent Halloween, the fun time of year to be scared and it be a part of being a child.  I think a fight between Dracula and Pitch Black would be good, they could talk about how fear has a place in growing up, but that Pitch is an aberration and is breaking the system.  This debate would underline what is really wrong with the character, not fear, but imbalance.  But a conversation like this never takes place.

Though I suppose if you try to make Dracula a good guy you'll just end up with something that looks like a piece of shit... Like "Hotel Transylvania".

Conversely they could have had an alternate ending, with Pitch Black beaten he could repent and join the Guardians as that Halloween/fear type of character.  Pitch would become the scary but still heroic member of the team (like Batman) and try to make things right, correcting the system he threw out of whack.  This would make for a strong arc on Pitch's part, and would have been a better ultimate ending... This type of redemption ending actually happened in the two part pilot episode of "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" in which the night god (Nightmare Moon) is shown the error of her ways and asked to rejoin the civilized world in her role guarding the night.  That is good story telling.

Number three, and this is the one most people will probably differ with me on, but this is the biggest and most important one, PAY OFF.  In this movie, two very big things are shown on the topic of death, the first is how Jack Frost became a magical entity, heroically saving his sister from thin ice and dying in an icy grave from doing so; the second death is Sandman being killed by Pitch Black, Sandy had been invested with a lot of personality and was ostensibly the most powerful member of the group, Sandy's death showed Pitch to be a threat, and gave the movie weight.  When they bring Sandman back at the end of the movie, a lot of that weight is lifted, and that causes the film to lose a lot of oomph.

Now, I am not just saying Sandman should have stayed dead, I am saying the movie should have ended with a new Sandman being born.  The movie started with Jack rising out of the ice, and the movie should end with the new Sandman rising to be the rookie protagonist of the next movie.  So who should have been the new Sandman?

In the movie there is a young boy named Jamie.  Jamie still believes in Bigfoot, the Tooth Fairy, and all the other magical creatures of the world, he is the last boy to still believe as Pitch starts to extinguish belief throughout the world.  Jamie has a little sister that is adorable and is present during the final confrontation with Pitch.  Logically, Jamie should die saving his sister from Pitch, just like Jack died saving his sister from the ice.  Then Jamie would rise as the new Sandman, that would be the pay off of his character, he went from believing in his dreams, to being the supreme dreamer.  That way the movie bookends with the RISING of two different GUARDIANS... You know, like the title.  You keep the emotional weight of Sandy's death, you also have Jack's death, and then you have Jamie's death, but from that a new beginning... Helps that the movie takes place on EASTER, you know, new beginnings, hope... The theme of the movie.

It makes his character have an arc too.  Arcs are important to narrative.  Without that, he starts the movie as a believer, and ends the movie as a believer, he is in a holding pattern for the film even though he practically saves the day anyway.

            What is more, much like the redemption ending I recommend in number two, this sort of ending has happened in this type of story too.  In the Vertigo comic book, "Sandman" written by my favorite author Neil Gaiman.  The titular Sandman dies during the course of the story and is replaced by a child named Daniel who is invested with all the power and memories of the previous incarnation.  This comic book is so different in tone from "Guardians" though that these similarities are skin deep, this series has a lot of violence and murder in it.

But yeah, those three things held the movie back, each more than the previous.

Some Thoughts on Death

            I have recently been thinking about the nature of reality and life and death.  Mostly because I am far too sullen for someone in his mid twenties who is as attractive as I am, and partly because I am deep and intellectual and actually do write poetry from time to time.

            While musing to myself, drinking tea, listening to podcasts of people describing psychedelic experiences, and staring at an optical illusion image that always seems to be moving I remembered this chestnut: when you die it is said that your body looses 21 grams.  How they could possibly measure such a thing, as a gram is only about 1/27th of an ounce and could literally be placed in the palm of your hand without you noticing, they don't seem to have a real answer to, but this little bit of factoid has led people to claim that it might be (or in the more extreme cases just flat out declare that it is) the soul leaving the human body.  I am somewhat skeptical.

            Regardless of this, I found myself having to do what I always do and came to this conclusion, be an incredibly cynical raincloud over everyone's afterlife picnic.  You might inexplicably loose 21 grams when you die, but there is something more certain, you do empty your bowels.  Guess which of these two things has a greater impact on the world you leave behind.

            Death is not majestic, graceful, or romantic.  Death is at best an escape route for the one doing the dying, at worst it is the final punctuation to a life that meandered and left unfulfilled.  For those left behind it is a pyrrhic victory, hopefully the person who just died will be thought of as no longer a burden or threat, at worst we are denied the further much needed or desired companionship of a person who is now beyond the veil.

            So I guess those are the thoughts I had while waiting for my tea to steep.  Now I will go listen to some aimless melodies and do some stretches before I head off to bed.

Tik-Tok on the clock and the Party don't stop...

Thoughts on "The Dark Knight Rises"

            I'm not going to mince words, my favorite movie this year is "The Avengers" I loved it.  A sense of adventure runs through the whole thing; the heroes are battered and wrung out by the end; it has variety, color, and personality throughout; and it is a fun well paced story.  All that being said, "The Dark Knight Rises" is pretty good too, but it suffers from some things.

It's like it is missing something that I can't quite put my finger on.

            In "Rises" time and pacing are the enemy of the story, there are scenes that transition with ticking clocks running, and the transition is between bright daylight and stark night.  This happens twice.  That is a serious oversight.  But let's ignore that because really that is fridge flaws (flaws you notice when you are walking to the fridge to get a snack and the split second you are not being bombarded with media allows you to have some revelation because of the momentary window of clear thinking... This also happens while in the shower, or when you are pooping and have nothing to read).  the real problem with "Rises" is that it is two movies.

            The first movie, perhaps we could call it "Fall of the Dark Knight" takes a broken down Bruce Wayne and draws him into a conspiracy because he is assaulted in his home by Catwoman, over the course of the movie a love triangle (trapezoid) forms between Catwoman-> Batman = Bruce Wayne -> Miranda (another new character whom Bruce grows close to because she is trying to help him save his company), the movie ends with Batman being broken by Bane and the audience is left with the foreboding words, "When your city is in ashes, then you have my permission to die."  That is a whole movie, and it perfectly illustrates why Batman should not be Batman, Miranda is a healthy relationship that is helping him do good outside of being the Dark Knight, Bruce becomes the champion of the downtrodden that Harvey Dent failed to be.  What is more, Catwoman betraying him to Bane illustrates how his life as Batman has no healthy relationships for him.  What is more it has an "Empire Strikes Back" ending in which the hero is beaten by a guy in a gas mask.

Seriously, Luke literally falls for what seems like miles, kind of a pit like image right?

            The second half of "Rises" which should have been called, "The Dark Knight Rises" is Batman escaping from the prison (which is really a strong shout out to the comics Lazarus Pit, and a great literal interpretation of the Hero being at his lowest point), and the Gotham Police fighting with Bane and dealing with being hunted down.  This is also when Catwoman becomes a bigger character as her being trapped in Bane's Gotham is a fitting story metaphor for being guilt ridden over her betrayal of Batman and wanting to change things.  WE also have enough time to see how Batman breaks back into Gotham, a scene that does not appear in the current movie and is hand waved away as "I'm Batman".  Catwoman starts to fight against the reign of terror, Scarecrow's court, representing her trying to become good, Batman sees that she has changed and recruits her to help, the rest of the movie plays out as it did on screen: "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb".

            Yes, this means two movies that are each two hours long rather than the two hour and 40 minute bladder buster that we got, but two movies that would be better paced and have real developed character arcs for Catwoman, Matt Modine (whose lack of real development makes his heroism at the end come far too late and seem extremely weak), Joseph Gordon Levitt (though one might say that his story was the most complete arc left in the movie outside of Batman's) and Batman himself, as he lets Bruce Wayne die with the occupation and let Batman become the symbol he always aspired to make it.  (Link leads to a very interesting history of Bat mythology through history)

 I'm going to show the people of Gotham that the city doesn't belong to the criminals and the corrupt. People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy. I can't do this as Bruce Wayne. A man is just flesh and blood and can be ignored or destroyed. But as a symbol... as a symbol, I can be incorruptible, everlasting.

Overall 4/5 stars.

The NeXt "X-Men" Movie

            Apparently the sequel to "X-Men: First Class" will be based on the X-Men comic "Days of Future Past", generally considered on of the best stories in X-Men.  In the story, the far off distant year of 2013 is a complete dystopia (It was written in 1981).  Giant Robots called Sentinels have wrecked the world, a holocaust of billions ensues.  Turns out the Sentinels were created by humans to fight back against Magneto and mutants in general, but since Mutation is pretty much the destiny of all human lineage, the Sentinels took to scorching the world to stop the proliferation of mutants.  The last of the X-Men send an envoy back in time to stop the rise of the Sentinels.

They have also been Mecha in the past, but that would not serve the narrative very well I think.

            The story has been adapted a few times, giving important roles to different characters, sometimes it is Wolverine (Ultimate Universe) that goes back, other times Bishop (90's Animated Universe), and in the Original story it was Kitty Pryde, a character that was portrayed by Ellen Page in "X-Men: The Last Stand" (a well casted shitty movie).  The story is often mixed with other time travel stories, mostly involving the character Apocalypse, who has yet to appear in the movies and is a very cool and interesting character.  To that end the story has a lot to offer in the way of characters, bad guys, and more over story opportunities that would help to explain why the "X-Men: First Class" film was not entirely in continuity with the other X-Men Franchise... The same reason "Star Trek" (2009) was not in strong continuity with the old series: TIME TRAVEL SHENANIGANS.

            However being a fan of the comics, cartoons, movies, and other X-Crap, I would like to offer suggestions on what should, or could be in this movie.  It's a Top 5 List.

            5) Cast Members from the first three movies.  You could get Ellen Page back playing a more grown up Kitty Pryde, come from the future to warn of time traveling Sentinels coming back in time to kill Prof. X and Magneto, sort of like "Terminator" but with the X-Men.  You could also have Hugh Jackman do another cameo of him fighting killer robots in the Future.  You could also get Taylor Kitsch, the guy who played Gambit, as I think his career is effectively over and he would be an inexpensive character to add.

My lack of necessity is only matched by my complete inability to be recalled.

            4) Master Mold.  The Sentinels are some of the most stylized robots ever conceived.  No where is this more evident than the sky scrapper sized factory, which is also shaped to look like, and is fully functional as: a giant robotic holocaust on poorly drawn feet.  Master Mold is a walking factory bent on the Annihilation of mutants and humans alike.  It is Sky-Net crossed with Mecha Godzilla.  It would serve as a huge set piece for the movie that could out do "The Avengers" in over the top awesome factor.

Seen here in all his 90's animated glory.  By which I mean the tortured attempt to bring to life the over drawn designs of Jim Lee, who never meet a cross hatching or wild inking he did not like.

            3) New characters based around the idea of time travel.  Bishop and Cable are both front runners in this category.  And both have been the time traveling hero in previous adaptations of the story (although when it was Cable, it was really a future version of Wolverine, who was traveling back to stop Apocalypse... but you could cut most of that crap).  Really, I think that Cable would be the easier character to cast, as Stephen Lang (the military leader from "Avatar") looks the part and is comfortable working in genre fiction, but I think Bishop would be the better character to go with, as the X-Men (who are supposed to be a metaphor for diversity) don't really need another white guy on the team.  Jason Mamoa, IdrisElba, Djimon Housou, or Chiwetel Ejiofor would all be good picks to play the character.

Bishop and Cable also share an unlisted super power.  The ability to hold gigantic guns and not look silly.

            2) Time Traveling Villains.  Nimrod, Trevor Fitzroy, or Legion would all be top candidates, and they all serve very different functions.  Nimrod is a nigh unstoppable Robot that even if reduced to component parts can pull itself back together, and would work if the "Terminator" with X-Men idea went forward.  Trevor Fitzroy, is the archenemy of Bishop, and the son of Shaw (Kevin Bacon's character in "X-Men: First Class")  having him come back through time to seek revenge on the X-Men for the Death of his father would be a good starting point for the movie, just have Bishop follow afterword, from a future in which Xavier wasn't around to call for peace.  Legion is the child of Charles Xavier, he traveled back in time to kill Magneto so that Xavier would be able to pursue peace without having to apologize for Magneto's terrorism, thing is Legion is a fuck up and accidently killed Xavier, leading to a world in which Magneto had a full on war with humanity unchecked by Charles.  Each has strengths, each could work.

If Nimrod were the character it has another advantage: You could have the X-Men fighting thousands of Nimrods not unlike the alien invasion in "The Avengers", or the army of Terminators from "Salvation".

            1) Apocalypse.  Aside from Magneto, Apocalypse is the number one bad guy for the X-Men.  He was the first mutant, and with the help of alien technology he has lived forever slowly through war and destruction fostering the growth of Mutant kind.  He made the world into a eugenics crucible to produce the X-Men.  Having him be the ultimate mastermind behind it all, having created the Sentinels as a way to kill of the weakest of the world by the millions and the experiment getting out of hand would be a great story.  You could go so far as to have Apocalypse from 2013 send Bishop or Cable back in time to stop Apocalypse in the 60's (the presumed setting of the next movie).  Hell, you could have it that the Hellfire Club (the villains from the first movie) were trying to start a nuclear war because they were working for Apocalypse, possibly knowingly.  It is major villain, with a major plan, and a lot of power, and a lot of grandeur that would explain the stylized appearance of the Sentinels.  He is a perfect villain for the movie.

"I am the rocks of the eternal shore.... crash against me AND BE BROKEN" 

Poem, "Lonely Dante"

Dante was alone.

Along golden roads

empty, and unowned

vacuous commodes.

Bustling Dis gone.

Sinners disavowed

together, not one

went on head bowed.

Earth and Hell,

that is where

we all dwell.

Does He care?

So few do know,

better to rule

together low,

rather than fool

the crowd

to pray,

quite loud

each day.