Sunday, July 20, 2008

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

I just finished watching the third act in this very interesting side project by Joss Whedon.  Originally conceived during downtime from the writer’s strike, this musical is an experiment in distribution (Internet) and delivering quality without serious expense. 

In essence it’s a throw away side project, a “what if” made real.  What surprised me was the emotional impact at the end of the 3rd act.  The characters are really fleshed out for only three 15 minute episodes and they just draw you in.  So when everything falls into place in the last episode, you don’t notice the hidden emotional “punch” till its smacked you upside the head.

This not only made me appreciate the show more, but made me reflect on the power of the short story.  It’s not a format that is financially viable for most writers yet when used properly can have as much of an impact as a novel.  Sometimes even more impact because the points made are sharper, more raw and less encumbered by prose.  You can see it plainly in the furious discussions between fans of this series.

I’ve had a hard time getting underway with my writing goal and in conceiving of novel-esque ideas.  But after seeing a short story executed so well, I think I may have to dip back in those waters.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Wordle?

I stumbled upon this site from a writing technology blog I hit every so often.  It creates a nifty Web 2.0 style word cloud out of any RSS feed or block of text you give it.  For shits and giggles, I popped in my RSS feed and here’s a couple I came up with:

Gabu-kun Wordle 07-11-08_resize

Gabu-kun Wordle 07-11-08 #2

I get the feeling I might be writing a lot about books, reading & writing… hmm….

There she goes…

June was the month of death by apathy.  July seems to be the explosive change month. 

Pieces I’ve been personally waiting to fall into place, not only fell, but are slamming several layers deep into the Earth’s crust from orbit.  I’m undergoing some intense career related and personal direction changes to say the least.  Getting more of a grip on where I want my life to go, as opposed to just trying to hold onto the bucking bronco.  

Ra’s career has suddenly exploded in the same manner.  Just today I dropped her off at the airport for a two month internship she’ll be doing in Cebu, Philippines.  Yup, the fucking Philippines.  She’ll be working on the set of an ongoing movie in production and post-production capacities.  On top of that, she’ll be working with Fashion TV Asia.  There’s also a film school there where she can partake of classes and workshops on her non production days.  And if that’s not enough, she’ll be training for underwater photo shoots/movie work. Of course this will all occur in tropical weather with lush beaches.  Nope, I’m not jealous in the least.

These are some of the examples of the radical change our lives are undergoing.  Positive, much needed and in the right direction, but very intense with no signs of letting up.  Frankly we thrive on challenge.  If I’m not under pressure then I’m bored.  Ra’s a workhorse to a ridiculous degree.  I honestly believe she could physically give 110%.

We’re all for challenging activity over mind numbing lulls.  This is also the beginning, since other phases of plan “kick ass and take names” haven’t started yet.  All in all, 2008 started with a whimper but is looking to end with one hell of a bang.