Towel Day 2011
Today, May 25, is Towel Day, an annual celebration of the life and creative work of Douglas Adams.
I first became aware of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy when I was in junior high, somewhere around 1981. A couple of my friends asked if I had read the book, and when I said I hadn’t, they pretty much left it at that and didn’t tell me any more about it. Sometime later I was at the library looking for something new to read and happened upon the familiar title. I was an avid reader, but didn’t quite know what to make of this; it seemed unlike anything I’d read before. Since the book wasn’t overly long, I didn’t hesitate to pick it up. Read More…
Learning to Write in Public
“I always hear about writers who’ve written four books that end up in a drawer, and their fifth book is the one that gets published. The first book I ever wrote was published, flaws and all. For better or worse, I was allowed to learn to write in public. I think those books are simply early efforts. You have to take them as they are. I don’t think they’re very deep or anything; I think they’re okay, but they simply represent where I was at that particular time.” – Robert R. McCammon interview, emphasis mine
Mr. McCammon made these remarks in 1988. Much has changed since then. With the advent of the Internet, there are now many different outlets, including fan fiction, blogging, self-publishing and more that are allowing more and more people to “learn to write in public.” I include myself among the number of people who still have much to learn about the craft of writing, and am now shamelessly inflicting my learning experiences on you, gentle readers. Read More…
Pruning Violence Out of My Netflix Queue
Over the weekend I watched Public Enemies, with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. I must admit that I couldn’t get very involved in the story and the performances like I normally do, because of the shooting incident in Arizona. When I sent the DVD back today, I thought I should check my Netflix queue and see what was scheduled to come next. I found Inglourious Basterds, and knew that given the circumstances this wasn’t something that I wanted to watch anytime soon.
I wouldn’t say that I’m opposed to violence in the media, nor do I think that media violence is responsible for people who then go on to commit violent acts themselves. There are many examples of movies and TV shows that feature violence, which are also very well done and worth watching. If I have an objection to violence in movies, it’s to violence not being portrayed accurately, the kind of happy-fun-time-pewpewpew that stacks up bodies like cordwood and makes the doing so a cartoonish exercise in making the “hero” an untouchable badass. Read More…