Saturday, November 1, 2014
Likability in Politics
*Originally published on 9/21/09
A lot of people hate George W. Bush. I mean, they despise him with every fiber of their being. It's really weird. I know his policies weren't the most popular, but it seemed like some people had sworn some sort of blood oath against the guy. I never understood it, he seemed like a nice enough guy. I wouldn't qualify myself as a supporter, but I certainly don't bear the guy any ill will. Even liberal celebrities like Ben Affleck and Craig Ferguson pointed out that Bush was actually a very affable fellow.
The left tried to spin this saying that people only voted for him because they wanted to have a beer with him. Since when is likability a bad thing? Clinton was likable and they called that charisma, Bush is likable and that's beer swilling. Obama's likable too for the record, so I don't really see the complaint. I may not agree with everything Obama's doing, but I'd have a beer or go bowling with him. Anyone who reads Spider-Man and calls Kanye West a jackass is OK in my book.
Why would you vote for someone you didn't like? That seems counter-productive to me. It would be like Al Franken voting for Bill O'Reilly or me voting for Keith Olbermann, it's just not going to happen.
Now with all of that being said, I will grant you that voting for someone simply because they're likable is not a good thing. If the person seems like a nice guy, but you don't agree with his policies, don't vote for him.
Charisma has always played a large part in politics. Kennedy had it, Reagan had it, one of the reasons why I didn't really see McCain winning this last election was because he didn't have the same sort of energy that Obama did. Palin picked up the slack on that front a little, but only opened up another can of worms.
Liking a presidential candidate is one factor among many that you should take into account when deciding who to vote for. The person's views on various issues, of course, is a key factor as is how competent you think the person is to run the country.
Conversely, just because you disagree with someone, doesn't mean you need to demonize them. This is true on both sides. Politicians need to be more internet savvy as they seem to have a problem with constantly invoking Godwin's Law. It could be worse, they could try to cite rule 34....ugh.
Long story short, liking a political candidate is not a bad thing. It shouldn't be the only thing, but pointing out that a candidate is affable and friendly does not reflect negatively on you or on society in general.
A lot of people hate George W. Bush. I mean, they despise him with every fiber of their being. It's really weird. I know his policies weren't the most popular, but it seemed like some people had sworn some sort of blood oath against the guy. I never understood it, he seemed like a nice enough guy. I wouldn't qualify myself as a supporter, but I certainly don't bear the guy any ill will. Even liberal celebrities like Ben Affleck and Craig Ferguson pointed out that Bush was actually a very affable fellow.
The left tried to spin this saying that people only voted for him because they wanted to have a beer with him. Since when is likability a bad thing? Clinton was likable and they called that charisma, Bush is likable and that's beer swilling. Obama's likable too for the record, so I don't really see the complaint. I may not agree with everything Obama's doing, but I'd have a beer or go bowling with him. Anyone who reads Spider-Man and calls Kanye West a jackass is OK in my book.
Why would you vote for someone you didn't like? That seems counter-productive to me. It would be like Al Franken voting for Bill O'Reilly or me voting for Keith Olbermann, it's just not going to happen.
Now with all of that being said, I will grant you that voting for someone simply because they're likable is not a good thing. If the person seems like a nice guy, but you don't agree with his policies, don't vote for him.
Charisma has always played a large part in politics. Kennedy had it, Reagan had it, one of the reasons why I didn't really see McCain winning this last election was because he didn't have the same sort of energy that Obama did. Palin picked up the slack on that front a little, but only opened up another can of worms.
Liking a presidential candidate is one factor among many that you should take into account when deciding who to vote for. The person's views on various issues, of course, is a key factor as is how competent you think the person is to run the country.
Conversely, just because you disagree with someone, doesn't mean you need to demonize them. This is true on both sides. Politicians need to be more internet savvy as they seem to have a problem with constantly invoking Godwin's Law. It could be worse, they could try to cite rule 34....ugh.
Long story short, liking a political candidate is not a bad thing. It shouldn't be the only thing, but pointing out that a candidate is affable and friendly does not reflect negatively on you or on society in general.
Discordia articles
New Dark Tower Web Series to be Launched...I Think
*Originally published on 10/19/09
A post on Stephen King's website announced a new Dark Tower project they created with Metro DMA. If it seems like I'm getting a lot of my King news from his main page, it's because I kind of am. While I frequent sites like Newsarama and Aintitcool, they don't really post about stuff like this very frequently so I turn to Stephen King's main web page to get updates and such. I don't post every update because that would become redundant, but the big stuff like this, I figure it can't hurt to put out a little heads up to the readers.
They posted a video trailer. I don't really know what they're advertising though. The impression I got was that it's going to be another web series similar to N. On the one hand, it's frustrating because I don't know what the product is, on the other it builds up a sense of mystery and that breeds excitement and interest.
Whatever it is, it will be released on November 30. So we can find out then. It's a cool trailer and I got the impression that this is going to be additional material that expands the mythology so it should be interesting.
Preview Video for Discordia is Launched
*Originally published on 12/1/09
You may remember that an announcement was made about an upcoming Dark Tower web series called Discordia. With the release date drawing nearer, a preview video has been released, which can be found on Stephen King's homepage.
The video's pretty dark; I mean that in a literal sense I could barely see anything. From what I could see it just looked like an empty room so it didn't really do anything for me. When this was first announced, I expressed confusion about the fact that I didn't know what it was that they were releasing and I'm still not sure. Even Wikipedia doesn't have any information about what this thing is going to be or what it's about.
There's less than a week to go before this thing gets released. I kind of forgot about it myself, so it's a good thing that they released this to revive excitement about the upcoming project. I'll be interested to see how this turns out.
First Chapter of Discordia Goes Live
*Originally published on 12/14/09
The mystery Dark Tower project that has been brewing for months finally came to light the other day. I was expecting another sort of animated web mini-series, something akin to N. That's not what this is, however.
No, this is a web game. You play a member of the Tet corporation and you get sent out to find magical artifacts and orbs. It's not the most fast paced game, but it does make you work. I ran the mouse over every screen in the bar (and there are quite a few of them) only to come out with only a handful of items. At first, I figured the other items would be in other locations, but I haven't been given the option of going somewhere else, which leads me to believe that the other items are in there somewhere.
You need to login, but all they need is an email address and a password so there isn't some lengthy registration form or anything. This also allows you to save your progress so that you don't have to start over every time you play.
The artwork for this was really good, everything was very detailed. It's clear that Robin Furth, who directed the project, really likes the slow pan out as a lot of the opening introductory shots are that style.
The shooting range "tutorial" was pretty tough. Near the end of the round, the models only pop up for a second and I often found myself overshooting my target so that the mouse moved just past the dummy, giving it enough time to go back under without getting hit. I haven't gotten into combat in game yet, but we'll see if enemies become a factor in later levels.
It's an interesting game though. I suggest checking it out. It's free so that's always a good thing. While a console release for a Fallout/Borderlands style RPG Dark Tower game would've been pretty cool, this is a pretty impressive release in its own right.
*Originally published on 10/19/09
A post on Stephen King's website announced a new Dark Tower project they created with Metro DMA. If it seems like I'm getting a lot of my King news from his main page, it's because I kind of am. While I frequent sites like Newsarama and Aintitcool, they don't really post about stuff like this very frequently so I turn to Stephen King's main web page to get updates and such. I don't post every update because that would become redundant, but the big stuff like this, I figure it can't hurt to put out a little heads up to the readers.
They posted a video trailer. I don't really know what they're advertising though. The impression I got was that it's going to be another web series similar to N. On the one hand, it's frustrating because I don't know what the product is, on the other it builds up a sense of mystery and that breeds excitement and interest.
Whatever it is, it will be released on November 30. So we can find out then. It's a cool trailer and I got the impression that this is going to be additional material that expands the mythology so it should be interesting.
Preview Video for Discordia is Launched
*Originally published on 12/1/09
You may remember that an announcement was made about an upcoming Dark Tower web series called Discordia. With the release date drawing nearer, a preview video has been released, which can be found on Stephen King's homepage.
The video's pretty dark; I mean that in a literal sense I could barely see anything. From what I could see it just looked like an empty room so it didn't really do anything for me. When this was first announced, I expressed confusion about the fact that I didn't know what it was that they were releasing and I'm still not sure. Even Wikipedia doesn't have any information about what this thing is going to be or what it's about.
There's less than a week to go before this thing gets released. I kind of forgot about it myself, so it's a good thing that they released this to revive excitement about the upcoming project. I'll be interested to see how this turns out.
First Chapter of Discordia Goes Live
*Originally published on 12/14/09
The mystery Dark Tower project that has been brewing for months finally came to light the other day. I was expecting another sort of animated web mini-series, something akin to N. That's not what this is, however.
No, this is a web game. You play a member of the Tet corporation and you get sent out to find magical artifacts and orbs. It's not the most fast paced game, but it does make you work. I ran the mouse over every screen in the bar (and there are quite a few of them) only to come out with only a handful of items. At first, I figured the other items would be in other locations, but I haven't been given the option of going somewhere else, which leads me to believe that the other items are in there somewhere.
You need to login, but all they need is an email address and a password so there isn't some lengthy registration form or anything. This also allows you to save your progress so that you don't have to start over every time you play.
The artwork for this was really good, everything was very detailed. It's clear that Robin Furth, who directed the project, really likes the slow pan out as a lot of the opening introductory shots are that style.
The shooting range "tutorial" was pretty tough. Near the end of the round, the models only pop up for a second and I often found myself overshooting my target so that the mouse moved just past the dummy, giving it enough time to go back under without getting hit. I haven't gotten into combat in game yet, but we'll see if enemies become a factor in later levels.
It's an interesting game though. I suggest checking it out. It's free so that's always a good thing. While a console release for a Fallout/Borderlands style RPG Dark Tower game would've been pretty cool, this is a pretty impressive release in its own right.
Journey vs. The Destination
*Originally published on 8/13/09
As a writer, I've often heard it said that it's the journey, and not the destination that matters. Script writers, however, say that the backbone of the movie should be the last 20 minutes. In essence, they say that the destination is more important than the journey.
Even though film and prose are two different mediums, one would think that story telling is story telling and that no matter what form the story comes in, the rules would essentially remain the same.
If I had to choose one, I would say that the journey is more important. You can't build something on the climax alone. Look at Transformers 2, it ended with an hour long slugfest in Egypt with all of the Autobots joining up with the military to stop the Decepticons. The story, however, was all over the place and the film managed to go nowhere even with two and a half hours of run time.
If movies did rest solely on the climax, Transformers2 should have been great. It's true, there were other problems like the fact that you couldn't tell the robots apart and robot heaven, but the movie still proves that a movie needs more than a big climax to really work.
My only problem with the "journey being more important than the destination" mantra is the fact that writers usually pull this out when people aren't satisfied with the ending of a work. Stephen King brought it up when some readers were less than satisfied with his ending to the Dark Tower books. I could see how it was the right ending, but they weren't wrong. Seth MacFarlane also used this to justify his ass-pull ending of a 2 part episode. The episode had Lois finally discovering Stewie's evil nature and trying to stop him. The whole thing is retconned by being revealed to be just a computer simulation, restoring the status quo.
The truth is that you need both. The journey is very important, make no mistake. It's the journey that allows the character to grow and develop, but you can't create a great journey only to cop out at the 11th hour, nor can you build a whole movie or book around the climax. I like big dramatic confrontations as much as the next guy, but it works far more effectively when it's the result of the story and not just shoehorned in for the sake of having it.
Think of it like an Oreo, you need both the cookies and the cream filling for it to work. In the same fashion, a story or film needs both a compelling journey and a deserving climax in order for it to be effective and enjoyable to the fans.
As a writer, I've often heard it said that it's the journey, and not the destination that matters. Script writers, however, say that the backbone of the movie should be the last 20 minutes. In essence, they say that the destination is more important than the journey.
Even though film and prose are two different mediums, one would think that story telling is story telling and that no matter what form the story comes in, the rules would essentially remain the same.
If I had to choose one, I would say that the journey is more important. You can't build something on the climax alone. Look at Transformers 2, it ended with an hour long slugfest in Egypt with all of the Autobots joining up with the military to stop the Decepticons. The story, however, was all over the place and the film managed to go nowhere even with two and a half hours of run time.
If movies did rest solely on the climax, Transformers2 should have been great. It's true, there were other problems like the fact that you couldn't tell the robots apart and robot heaven, but the movie still proves that a movie needs more than a big climax to really work.
My only problem with the "journey being more important than the destination" mantra is the fact that writers usually pull this out when people aren't satisfied with the ending of a work. Stephen King brought it up when some readers were less than satisfied with his ending to the Dark Tower books. I could see how it was the right ending, but they weren't wrong. Seth MacFarlane also used this to justify his ass-pull ending of a 2 part episode. The episode had Lois finally discovering Stewie's evil nature and trying to stop him. The whole thing is retconned by being revealed to be just a computer simulation, restoring the status quo.
The truth is that you need both. The journey is very important, make no mistake. It's the journey that allows the character to grow and develop, but you can't create a great journey only to cop out at the 11th hour, nor can you build a whole movie or book around the climax. I like big dramatic confrontations as much as the next guy, but it works far more effectively when it's the result of the story and not just shoehorned in for the sake of having it.
Think of it like an Oreo, you need both the cookies and the cream filling for it to work. In the same fashion, a story or film needs both a compelling journey and a deserving climax in order for it to be effective and enjoyable to the fans.
Stephen King Pays for Troops to Come Home
I was emailed a link to an article from the Associated Press that reports that Stephen King has donated $13,000 to pay for two bus trips that will allow 150 soldiers from the Maine National Guard to travel from Camp Atterbury in Indiana to their homes in Maine so that they can spend the holidays with their families.
When one of King's assistants brought up the idea of donating 13 grand, King said that due to the unlucky associations of the number, he would donate $12,999 just to be safe. The assistant put in the extra buck to bring it to an even figure.
The holiday season is both a time of giving and a time to be spent with family so it's nice to see someone like King give money to allow others to spend the holidays at home.
If I may steal a bit from Stephen Colbert for a moment, I will go ahead and say that this warrants a tip of the hat.
When one of King's assistants brought up the idea of donating 13 grand, King said that due to the unlucky associations of the number, he would donate $12,999 just to be safe. The assistant put in the extra buck to bring it to an even figure.
The holiday season is both a time of giving and a time to be spent with family so it's nice to see someone like King give money to allow others to spend the holidays at home.
If I may steal a bit from Stephen Colbert for a moment, I will go ahead and say that this warrants a tip of the hat.
Minority Superheroes
*Originally published on 6/6/09
I've often heard it said that there aren't enough minority superheroes in comics. People make the argument that young African American or Hispanic children don't have an iconic hero to look up to. They tried to create diversity in the old Superfriends cartoon and it pretty much ended up backfiring.
It's gotten better in recent years. You've got Storm of the X-Men, Vixen, John Stewart as a Green Lantern, Black Panther, Cyborg and Steel. Former Gotham City cop, Renee Montoya is now acting as The Question and the new Blue Beetle is a young Latino boy named Jaime Reyes. His book got cancelled due to low sales, but he's still around. Another Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner, was revealed to have Hispanic roots. All of them have grown and developed into rich, fully developed characters.
Most of them have been fairly obscure, only being known by comic readers but they are starting to get more exposure. John Stewart was the Green Lantern on the animated Justice League cartoon. Black Panther was featured in the second Ultimate Avengers direct to video movie and will be getting his own animated series. Jaime has been featured in several episodes of the new Batman: Brave and the Bold animated television series
The only thing I never understood is, why does a hero have to match the ethnicity for a kid to idolize him or her? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for having diverse characters like this, but why can't a young hispanic kid look up to Superman? I always saw him as the type of character that we should all look up to and aspire to be regardless or race, creed or gender. It goes the other way too, I shouldn't feel like I can't look up to heroes like Static or Wonder Woman cause I'm a white guy. It's odd logic.
There is the relatable factor as well. This makes some level of sense as there are things that an African American hero might have to deal with that a white one wouldn't. This is fine too. I just don't think kids growing up should be limited to reading about heroes of only their own background.
Another complaint is in regards to the Justice League specifically. Since Superfriends, many have said that the team is too "whitebread". I mean you've got Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Hawkman, Aquaman, Zatanna, Green Arrow. This has been fixed in recent years, adding some of the minority DC characters I mentioned earlier to the lineup to make it more diverse. I have no problem with this. However, while it is true that the Superfriends were all white. The claim that they weren't diverse rings false to me. You've got a Kryptonian, an Amazon Princess, a Martian (Martian Manhunter), an Atlantean, a Thanagarian, and a handful of humans of varying circumstance. While they share skin color, they come from very different cultures.
A diverse cast makes for better stories and it does help draw in kids who may not be interested in superheroes otherwise. I just hope that it acts as a gateway and not an anchor. If a young African American boy wants to start reading Black Panther, great. That can even be his favorite, but I hope that he would feel free to scan the rack and get excited for a new Blue Beetle, Wonder Woman, or Superman issue as well.
I've often heard it said that there aren't enough minority superheroes in comics. People make the argument that young African American or Hispanic children don't have an iconic hero to look up to. They tried to create diversity in the old Superfriends cartoon and it pretty much ended up backfiring.
It's gotten better in recent years. You've got Storm of the X-Men, Vixen, John Stewart as a Green Lantern, Black Panther, Cyborg and Steel. Former Gotham City cop, Renee Montoya is now acting as The Question and the new Blue Beetle is a young Latino boy named Jaime Reyes. His book got cancelled due to low sales, but he's still around. Another Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner, was revealed to have Hispanic roots. All of them have grown and developed into rich, fully developed characters.
Most of them have been fairly obscure, only being known by comic readers but they are starting to get more exposure. John Stewart was the Green Lantern on the animated Justice League cartoon. Black Panther was featured in the second Ultimate Avengers direct to video movie and will be getting his own animated series. Jaime has been featured in several episodes of the new Batman: Brave and the Bold animated television series
The only thing I never understood is, why does a hero have to match the ethnicity for a kid to idolize him or her? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for having diverse characters like this, but why can't a young hispanic kid look up to Superman? I always saw him as the type of character that we should all look up to and aspire to be regardless or race, creed or gender. It goes the other way too, I shouldn't feel like I can't look up to heroes like Static or Wonder Woman cause I'm a white guy. It's odd logic.
There is the relatable factor as well. This makes some level of sense as there are things that an African American hero might have to deal with that a white one wouldn't. This is fine too. I just don't think kids growing up should be limited to reading about heroes of only their own background.
Another complaint is in regards to the Justice League specifically. Since Superfriends, many have said that the team is too "whitebread". I mean you've got Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Hawkman, Aquaman, Zatanna, Green Arrow. This has been fixed in recent years, adding some of the minority DC characters I mentioned earlier to the lineup to make it more diverse. I have no problem with this. However, while it is true that the Superfriends were all white. The claim that they weren't diverse rings false to me. You've got a Kryptonian, an Amazon Princess, a Martian (Martian Manhunter), an Atlantean, a Thanagarian, and a handful of humans of varying circumstance. While they share skin color, they come from very different cultures.
A diverse cast makes for better stories and it does help draw in kids who may not be interested in superheroes otherwise. I just hope that it acts as a gateway and not an anchor. If a young African American boy wants to start reading Black Panther, great. That can even be his favorite, but I hope that he would feel free to scan the rack and get excited for a new Blue Beetle, Wonder Woman, or Superman issue as well.
A Belated Birthday Wish to the Master of Horror
*Originally published on 9/22/09
So, yesterday was Stephen King's birthday. I probably should've said something about that eh? Well, I didn't. With all the books, stories, movies, and comics to write about, I never even considered his date of birth.
Celebrity birthdays never really registered very high on my radar and didn't seem all that important in the grand scheme of things. Given my status as Stephen King examiner, this one probably should've occurred to me.
Oh well, one day late isn't egregious. I hope you had a wonderful birthday Mr. King filled with delicious cake and ice cream and all that awesome stuff. Hopefully your family didn't use trick candles, that bit's gotten a tad old by this point.
Celebrity birthdays never really registered very high on my radar and didn't seem all that important in the grand scheme of things. Given my status as Stephen King examiner, this one probably should've occurred to me.
Oh well, one day late isn't egregious. I hope you had a wonderful birthday Mr. King filled with delicious cake and ice cream and all that awesome stuff. Hopefully your family didn't use trick candles, that bit's gotten a tad old by this point.
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