Writer, Agilist, Elder Geek
Got some stories you’ll want to follow!
HBO Go is pretty much going to be a Netflix. Which is bold in light of Netflix’ success. It’s channels all over again . . .
Grade inflation is a problem at universities – this is what happens when you change that. Of course Robert Reich argues the Ivy Leagues are a waste of resources.
For those of you in publishing, the history of closed teen magazines.
– Steven Savage
(This came from an acquaintance who runs a website for sf writers, SciFiIdeas – and its about creating new aliens, I figure it’s right up the alley of folks here! – Steve)
Like sci-fi? Like aliens? Like creative ideas? This is an open invitation for writers, artists, and all creative types to take part in the Alien August special event at scifiideas.com.
For those of you who don’t already know about SciFi Ideas and what we do, we’re a blog specializing in providing ideas and inspiration to science fiction writers. We want people to create great science fiction, and we believe that sharing ideas is the best way to promote creativity in the genre.
Throughout the month of August, we’ll be focusing on one specific aspect of science fiction: Aliens!
We’ll be posting lots of new “alien profiles” detailing unique alien cultures, sharing artwork by various concept artists, discussing the many alien species that already populate the world of science fiction, and hopefully bringing you some original short stories too. Even our weekly “story starting point” feature will be taking on a distinct alien flavour, encouraging you all to write short stories about aliens.
Most importantly, we’ll be encouraging our readers share some of their own alien ideas. And there’s even a prize for the most creative, original, and interesting idea!
The event will take place on the SciFi Ideas website (scifiideas.com) throughout August.
Full details of the alien profile writing competition can be found here. http://www.scifiideas.com/news/alien-august-competition-2014/
There are also lots more details about the event on the SciFi Ideas website. http://www.scifiideas.com/news/alien-august-back/
Also, we’re always looking for fresh content, so if you’d like to write a guest article for us during Alien August, perhaps as a way of promoting your own blog, book, or creative project, please feel free to get in touch! http://www.scifiideas.com/contact/
Even if you don’t plan to share any of your own alien ideas, it’s still worthwhile checking out the SciFi Ideas website during the event and exploring all the new content we’ll be posting. Who knows, you might just be inspired. See you there!
Mark Ball
Mark Ball is a professional writer, semi-professional geek, and amateur podcaster. He is the founder and editor in chief of scifiideas.com.
I just saw Dwayne Johnson’s Hercules film. It’s actually an interesting, if flawed movie, and I wanted to give my analysis, which is rather spoiler-filled. Frankly, if you’re planning to see it, you don’t want to read further, as I will spoil some of the fun in what is a fun, if flawed, movie.
The major themes of the film are twofold:
So the core theme is mostly non-magical. Hercules is a smart soldier turned mercenary, with a band of talented friends, an excellent sense of tactics, a few clever weapons and gadgets, and a publicity-savvy nephew, Iolaus. He’s a smart man, a loyal man, and even as a mercenary a decent person for what he does, but also he and his team know the legend is one of the biggest weapons in their arsenal and they’re glad to wield it.
Though they could be fleshed out far more, Hercules team of friends and soldiers is one of the high points of the movie – an archer, a drugged-out mystic, a clever assassin, a troubled soldier who saw too much as a child, and bullshit artist Iolaus. Combined with a very grounded Dwayne Johnson, they’re both a near-standard fantasy adventure party, a sniping family, and oddly understated. There’s an almost toned-down-Britcom level to their repartee that’s quite enjoyable.
And, yes, I said toned-down. This film, despite some crazy action scenes and dreams, is a lot more restrained than I expected. Which admittedly is a matter of opinion, but still. I appreciate the movie was far less insane than it could be, it added something by not adding too much.
So Hercules and team get a chance to make their last big score so they can retire by helping a kingdom under assault by an infamous wizard-bandit. Not actually believing said bandit is magical, they rally a group of farmers and refugees into a semi-functional, then functional army. Of course this involves a lot of action and death, but rather appealingly the army does not come together magically – it takes time and their first battle is only barely successful. Fortuantely, the legend of Hercules inspires them, between Hercules’ savvy, Iolaus’ total BS, and his friends different skills victory is soon at hand.
Then we discover things aren’t quite as they seem.
Up to the point of “oh wait” this is a pretty good action film with comedy and fun characters. Not great, but really quite good, with deconstructions and poking of tropes, plenty of nice moments, and solid if not perfect acting (the cast does vary in skills). Johnson’s appealingly toned-down and human Hercules makes a great cornerstone to everything, and I really enjoy how he looks more like something out of a painting or a sculpture – he even has his Nemian Lion helmet.
However, when the plot kicks into the second act, it kind of falls apart. None of the plot ideas are bad, in fact there’s some nice additions, but things move too quick or too slow, elements don’t hold together, things that should have been foreshadowed weren’t, and lots of opportunities are missed. The film at first pokes all sorts of tropes, then slides into them too much.
The end result is the first part of the movie is better than the sum of its parts – and in the second half it is less.
What’s odd is a little editing, shortening some scenes and others, adding a few minutes of foreshadowing, could have really changed the second act effectively. It’s the kind of thing a few reshoots and a little script doctoring could have solved. It would also have brought out some of the actual interesting things not explored – that sometimes a greedy man is more trustworthy to another greedy man, use of some nice narrative elements, and when belief is useful and when it is dangerous.
So I really enjoyed the first half, and I liked the parts of the second half – in a way I enjoyed the film more for what it could have been than what it was.
What is was trying to be and partially was was a modern Sword and Sandal film that did a more realistic twist on the legend while poking some action tropes and exploring some human issues – all while having great actions scenes and plenty of humor. Instead it meandered after awhile, missing opportunities.
Perhaps on the cutting room floor is a better film.
I wish I enjoyed the film more, because it sets out so many appealing elements that I like that I wanted to. But I feel vaguely disappointed as well as entertained – there’s more to be had here.
Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach. He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.