Blog Archives

Interview: The New American Dream

11/29/2012

It is with much pleasure I share with you all my most recent interview. The BlogTalkRadio show, The New American Dream, was gracious enough to invite me to be a guest, and I'm very happy with how the interview went. We discussed my novel World-Mart and the implications and warnings embedded within the text.

For those who missed it, you can catch the feed here. My interview begins at precisely twenty-three minutes into the show. I think we were able to cover some poignant points, and our discussion on World-Mart and the warnings it holds for the future were covered nicely.

My thanks to the hosts for having me. It was a blast, and I hope your audience enjoyed listening as much as I enjoyed the chat.

0 Comments

AHS Asylum: “Dark Cousin”

11/29/2012

5 Comments

I’ve read great literature and I’ve watch amazing cinema, but not since reading Faulkner and Woolf have I encountered the level of brilliance I saw in tonight’s episode of American Horror Story.

Aptly titled “Dark Cousin,” the episode was themed around parallels on numerous levels. From Sister Mary Eunice (and the Devil presiding within her) encountering the Angel of Death, Lana Winters’ escape from the “Bloodyface” serial killer, to Kit’s escape from jail, “Dark Cousin” brings together parallels and contrasts that could only be forged by master storytellers.

The decision to place the actress who played the maid Moira O’hara from Season 1 makes clear the larger picture slowly coming to life in Season 2. By casting the dead as the Angel of Death, the minds behind this series are showing their audience just what they are capable of. Similarly, the decision to cast Jessica Lange (Constance Langdon, adopted mother of the Antichrist) as Sister Jude, the nun desperate for redemption, Evan Peters (the misunderstood yet troubled Tate) as Kit, innocence corrupted by his institutionalism, and Lily Rabe (the desperate, barren mother) as Sister Mary Eunice, exemplifies the writers’ desire to create a confusion between past and present, season to season, and good and evil.

Sister Jude’s moral dilemma over having run over the innocent child, Missy, which drives her to become a nun, is a prime example. Jude joins the convent in an attempt to redeem her soul, only to learn years later that the child she had hit during her drunken bender survived. She had dedicated her life toward saving those whom she deems in need of a second chance—hoping she might save herself in the process from a murder she unwittingly committed in her past—only to find that her intentions have been driven by mere perception. In the process, she brings in Nazi hunter Sam Goodwin, hoping to find the truth behind her lead doctor, only to put him directly into harm’s way—possibly even placing undue guilt upon herself in the eyes of authorities, uncannily similar to Kit’s plight.

In the meanwhile, Kit, who is adamant of his innocence, is driven to murder when he learns that his recently newfound love, Grace, is on death’s door. By killing his attorney, he adds credence to his perceived guilt. Similarly, his escape from jail parallels reporter Lana Winters’ escape from psychopathic Dr. Thredson’s deadly basement, her successful flight only landing her back into Briarcliff Asylum.

Sister Jude’s guilty conscience nearly leads her to give in to Death’s finishing kiss, and when she resists, a waitress observing her horror and confusion observes to another waitress, “Maybe we should call Briarcliff. They could give her a bed for the night.” This full-circle logic plays against the full circle she has embodied in her attempt to reconcile with her past. As Missy’s parents declare, unknowing they stand before the perpetrator, “We get to live with our daughter. The monster who left her there has to live with himself.”

Sister Jude is a monster, although she strives to be a saint, just as Kit incriminates himself in his desire to make right the wrongs against both him and Grace. Her awakening from her binge in front of the monastery, with black and white clad nuns moving through black and white film, illustrates the contrast demonstrated throughout the rest of the episode. The whore becomes the nun, the innocent bystander becomes the killer, and the Angel of Death comes to challenge the Devil himself.

I look forward to the coming episodes, certain that each will offer more than the one before it. The writers responsible for this season and the last have proven their merit, showing they can entertain while enlighten, tell a story while painting a complex picture, and surprise their audience with a level of genius and intensity that only grows as each episode builds upon the last.

Watch American Horror Story on FX on Wednesday nights at 10:00 pm, 11:00 central. For more about American Horror Story, go to http://www.fxnetworks.com/ahs/.

5 Comments

THE WALKING DEAD: Enemy Mine

11/25/2012

2 Comments

It was with great reluctance that I began watching The Walking Dead television series. With the heavy saturation of zombie fiction circulating right now, I had my doubts that there was anything original left to say or do with the genre. I must humbly admit I was dead wrong (pun fully intended).

I got up to speed with the series before Season 2 began, during the Season 1 marathon that aired beforehand. Season 1 was excellent. Season 2 has been brilliant.

While the theme of humanity being tested via zombie apocalypse is nothing new, The Walking Dead has taken it to a whole new level. Tonight's episode, "When the Dead Come Knocking," explores that theme in a way that surpasses even the most meaningful of previous episodes. Humankind is no longer divided by race or religion, but rather vicinity, mirroring the xenophobia of times past, and even the dividing lines of historical events such as the U.S. Civil War. Brothers find themselves at arms against one another--any and all who are not deemed a part of one's core group are by default enemies.

The common theme--man fights against monster, but in the process becomes the monster himself--is best exemplified by the "experiment" in Woodbury in which a "volunteer" dying of cancer is allowed to die and turn, just to prove whether or not anything of his living personality remains upon reanimation. The markers are pictures of beloved family members, and his task is to try to ground himself with their memory once the monster takes over. Of course, family becomes meaningless once he joins the ranks of the walking dead, just as all previous attachments and loyalties crumble for the living during the process of post-apocalyptic survival. The unnecessary rivalry that develops between Woodbury and those living in the prison reflects the manufactured rivalries we all create: differences in faith, country, and even favorite sports teams divide people in significant ways.

Based on a well executed graphic novel series, The Walking Dead television series works on multiple levels, using theme, characterization, and tone to make a point about the world as it has stood in the past and how it stands today. It is a warning of a divided future, told in a way only great literature and thoughtful adaptations of such can portray.

For those who have not seen the series, here is the Season 2 trailer:

For more about The Walking Dead, go to http://www.amctv.com/shows/the-walking-dead. If you've been hesitant to check it out, take my word for it that this series is a cut above nearly all the rest. Watch one episode, and you'll be hooked.

2 Comments

Kody Brown: I'm Calling You Out

11/17/2012

2 Comments

I've watched the TLC series Sister Wives since last season, not because I'm rooting for the family, but rather because it's like a train wreck: you can't help but watch, no matter how ugly it gets.

I'm not one to judge others for their beliefs or lifestyles; I'm an agnostic married to an atheist with a biological father who's a pastor recently broken away from the Assembly of God, a New Age mother, and an adopted father who's a mainstream protestant. I respect religious freedom. I respect freedom of belief.

What I don't respect is abuse of various government agencies and taking advantage of women who have been too downtrodden to know they deserve to be the sole love and be given the exclusive attention of one man, one family, one marriage. You might cite your "religious beliefs" as much as you want; Al Queda have cited "religious beliefs" in the name of terror against our beloved United States of America. I must respect that you have been raised to believe you are worthy of the affection and full attention of multiple wives; I cannot respect that the women who have fallen into your little harem fall into tears in every episode--either out of jealousy over their "sister wives," a feeling of abandonment, or an undue sense of inadequacy when compared to the others.

I'm sorry, but you make me sick, Kody. What makes you think you are all that, deserving of multiple wives, when those poor women have to share your affection? What about them? What about the lonely nights each of those women must suffer, knowing you are sharing a bed with another, knowing you respect them so little as to believe they are not worth your sole attention? I cite the recent article, 'Sister Wives' Kody Brown 'None of My Wifes Can Satisfy My Needs'. Despicable. Who the hell do you think you are? I couldn't imagine sharing my husband with other women. I couldn't imagine the heartache of knowing I alone wasn't good enough for him. I wish your wives would see reason to find "brother husbands" to join your ranks, just so that they might get the attention they each deserve.

Next on topic is the necessary question: how do you all survive? Do you "bleed the beast?" Yes, I've had a Mormon family member (who left the Church to become an atheist after becoming disillusioned with the Church's many ridiculous dogmas) and she learned all the ins and outs of your particular sect. I know what that's all about. For those who do not know what this term means: "Bleeding the beast" is a polygamist Mormon term for having one "officially" married wife and having several other unofficial "spiritual" wives, all of whom are living off of welfare. They pool their money, each wife offering her welfare money for the sake of the "family," rationalizing that the government is evil (i.e. the "beast") and deserves to be "bled." Tell me, Kody, do any of your wives "bleed the beast?"

What it all comes down to, regardless of whatever you do to validate the indirect abuse your "wives" suffer or whatever you do to make money, is that you deny these women what they deserve. They deserve to feel unconditionally loved--not against any other woman, but for who they are and what they have to offer you. Moreover, each of these women deserves to know what it means to be loved alone--not in competition with any other woman--just you and her. You are a pig. You are sick. Your "wives" deserve so much more, but unfortunately, they will never grow the self esteem needed to break away from you while you're still under their thumb. May God--if there is a God--have mercy on your pathetic soul.

Watch Sister Wives on TLC on Sunday nights ... and please do join the fray.

2 Comments

FINDING POE a Featured Review at the SF Site

11/17/2012

0 Comments

This month, Finding Poe finds itself alongside Kim Harrison's Into the Woods and Peter F. Hamilton's Great North Road as a Featured Review at the SF Site. Here's an excerpt:

"It is a story that seems as though it has been written in the dark, as the setting and characters are darker than normal. This is a gothic novel with Poe being one of the main interests in it. The story starts with her trying to find Poe and the answers to her husband's death, but along the way she is subject to some horrifying events that form the dark setting of the novel. Although it is rather short, it has some nerve wracking moments, and some that are downright gory."

Read the full review here.

0 Comments

FINDING POE Named a Finalist in 2013 EPIC Awards

11/13/2012

1 Comment

I'm very excited to share that Finding Poe is a finalist in the upcoming EPIC Awards. EPIC holds yearly awards for books published in electronic format, judged by a panel chosen by committee. I won't know if Finding Poe has won until EPICcon this upcoming March, but I'm honored even to have made it this far. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Here is a list of all of the finalists.

1 Comment

Film Review: SILENT HILL REVELATION

11/7/2012

0 Comments

I typically keep my thoughts to myself when I feel a work rates below three stars; however, given the hack job the filmmakers did with Silent Hill: Revelation, I believe it is my duty to share this review.

I had high hopes for this movie, especially given the relatively good job filmmakers did with the film adaptation of the original Silent Hill, so it is with great disappointment that I write this. Anyone who is a fan of the Konami series has likely anticipated a film adaptation of Silent Hill 3, arguably the best game among the group. For those who have not played Silent Hill 3, here's the intro:

The premise is similar: "Heather" finds herself between reality and the hellish manifestations of Silent Hill, which draws her to the haunted town in her desire to end the nightmares. Unfortunately, that is where the similarities in story line end.

The cinematography is good, and much of the set design captures the feel of the game very well, but those are the only redeeming factors I could find--try as I might.

Silent Hill: Revelation is plagued with mediocre acting, awful dialog, and a script nearly completely lacking in structure. It does no justice to the game is is based on, offering instead one pointless visual after the next--creatures and distorted people at nearly every turn--with no real solid story to hold those images together. What results is a mess of a movie, one I must regretfully rate two stars.

0 Comments

Interview: The New American Dream

AHS Asylum: “Dark Cousin”

THE WALKING DEAD: Enemy Mine

Kody Brown: I'm Calling You Out

FINDING POE a Featured Review at the SF Site

FINDING POE Named a Finalist in 2013 EPIC Awards

Film Review: SILENT HILL REVELATION

Archives

Categories