Monday, April 30, 2012

[Moon-dæg] "Switch off the Mind and Let the Heart Decide"

Opening Generalities
Wind Turbines Are Eyesores: Revisited
On Futuristic Landscapes
Health Effects Mini-Rant
Closing

What better way to start of a stream of consciousness/rant entry than with some of the electronic musical stylings of Mr. Thomas Dolby (specifically a song named "Wind Power")? At any rate, let's get right to it.

{Spinning blades and rainbow shades, a perfect day for a rant. Image from wpclipart.com}



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Opening Generalities

This whole issue of wind farms and such in Ontario really seems to come down to a generational divide, at least in some senses.

Any generality is like a day at the beach - you're bound to get sand in your shoes if you make them, but sometimes they've got to be made, just as you might have to go to the beach to really relax.

Nonetheless, the older generation is generally opposed and the younger generation is actually for. But the sand's about to be kicked out of those shoes, since the reason behind this seems to be the simple fact: the old live in the country and the young live in the city.

Perhaps not major cities, like those clustered around South Western Ontario, but definitely in more densely populated areas where wind farms are quite removed from everyday sight.

This is another generalization, but it definitely holds true. There are, of course, the young who don't care for wind power and the old who are for it, and the young who live in the country and face the brunt of these wind farms and there are the old who live in cities and are removed from the physical presence of the issue.

Really, though, that's it. Those living in towns and in cities who are opposed to wind farms might be so because of the reasons cited in last week's blog entry, or because of others, but those urbanites are not quite in the fore of the issue.

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Wind Turbines Are Eyesores: Revisited

Wind power, though, is definitely something futuristic, something that is at least a little bit inevitable, even if its greenness in both senses might be seen as a handicap by some. The biggest argument against them that carries any weight, and that seems to have no real solution is that they're eyesores.

In response to the eyesore argument, though, it must be said that the landscape is going to change no matter what kind of power is generated - green power or old power. The generation of power means that humanity is present, and as long as humanity is present there's going to be a need for power - so long as any kind of apocalyptic disaster doesn't render human society completely ignorant of electricity and its uses. Why not let the landscape change in a controlled way?

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On Futuristic Landscapes

The change into a futuristic landscape, assuming that a "futuristic" landscape is indeed the end result of human progress to the "Future" of hover- and teleportation and meals-in-pills technology, is definitely going to be a long and slow one, but as long as wind turbines don't knock down any trees or destroy any escarpments or cause damage to homes, they're just another addition.

How did people feel about radio towers when they first went up in the countryside, with their constantly blinking lights?

How did people feel about the giant metal power lines and their supports which cut swathes through the Ontario landscape when they were first erected?

Progress means change, and if it's a change that can be controlled, isn't that for the better? Isn't that what should be striven for?

So what if solar panels and wind turbines change the face of the landscape just a little bit?

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Health Effects Mini-Rant

As per the other effects that wind turbines are said to have, it seems that no evidence has come forth to back up claims of health problems due to them, and their effect on wildlife is considered in their construction and erection. 50-150 years ago when things were being built in the Ontario countryside, was wildlife considered? Were health concerns related to the impact of building a major issue?

It's the opinion of this blogger that the health issues that people attribute to wind turbines are the result of anxiety triggered by the presence of something new and radically different.

A power plant is sequestered and out of sight. A hydroelectric dam might be miles away from the homes and businesses that use its power. Wind farms are much more immediate, much more noticeable, and more more conspicuous.

If anything, the wind turbines are causing health issues not because of their motion - though being near any moving object like that does take some getting used to - as much as they are because of turbines' inescapable presence. They're there. They're always there, but unlike solar panels, they make noise and they move about. These facts may cause some people to become distressed, but they are what they are.

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Closing

Check back here Wednesday for an article about some of the newest news and on Friday for a hunt for the good in Johnny English Reborn

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Friday, April 27, 2012

[Freya-dæg] A Dim Light in the Darkness

{Survival horror in 3D--this could go either way. Image from Filmofilia.}






Introduction
Plot Summary
The Good
The Bad
Judgment
Closing





Introduction

The Darkest Hour is a movie that had quite a bit of buzz going for it. A slick preview, the promise of some spooky effects, and suggestions of a new take on the old survival movie genre. Plus, it originally came to North American theaters on December 25th.

Let's see if it fulfills these holiday promises and lives up to its hype.

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Plot Summary

Five young people come to Moscow for various reasons. One pair (Ben and Sean (Max Minghella and Emile Hirsch)) for a business deal that will make them overnight millionaires, another pair (Natalie and Anne (Olivia Thirlby and Rachael Taylor)) for...reasons, and the other (Skyler (Joel Kinnaman)) for reasons related to Ben and Sean.

However, from the business deal to human supremacy on the planet earth, things go wrong for these young people after strange invisible aliens invade the city and they find themselves stranded in Moscow.

The movie follows this group of five as they find each other, avoid the aliens, and learn how to defend themselves and how to survive. However, as one day bleeds into the next, and the aliens are ever in their path to safety and salvation the group's only hope is to live through...(you guessed it) The Darkest Hour.

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The Good

Olivia Thirlby being an otherworldly attractive brunette who might just be the best actor in the bunch to boot is a fixture for the good in this movie. However, being the best actor in this bunch isn't as meaningful as it could be.

However, that fact makes this movie slightly more rewarding. Unlike most other survival horror movies, this one seems rather merciless in who it kills off. Because seeing just who lasts until the end is part of this flick's fun, nothing will be spoiled on this front, but rest assured that you're in for a ride if you watch this one.

The science fiction elements in the film are rather soft, given the movie's focus on alien invasion, but to its credit the movie brings the basic principles of electricity to bear on how the aliens (made up of waves of electricity) act quite nicely. For example, the aliens are blinded by glass since they see people by their electrical charges, and they are also blinded by a special kind of cage that holds a charge, or blocks it, or some such.

The scientific details aren't always perfect, but at least nothing ridiculous (like doing a load of laundry without a dryer sheet) is part of the solution to the alien problem.

Speaking of aliens and slightly sketchy details, one good thing about the aliens is captured in a character's explanation of their simultaneous disregard for and lack of interest in human activities: "we're just in their way."

Even though it's just a subtle nod, this line is still acknowledgement of the fact that a true alien race should be one that is completely different from us, and that nod is more than most movies of this caliber offer.

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The Bad

Sticking with the aliens like socks fresh from the dryer, they're also one of the lamer parts of the movie.

They're invisible throughout most of it, but become visible in the final fights of the flick - and their visible form is not really worth the wait. Plus, the animation used for their true forms is far too polished, or rather, too unpolished to look truly realistic. The animation of the aliens' bodies needs to be roughed up, they need more texture, to look realistic.

Again, aliens would be different from us, but it seems unlikely that the movie's director extended this to the aliens' actual appearance - aliens that actually look like obvious CGI would be curious beings indeed, but that's giving this movie too much credit.

The way that the people in the movie interact with the aliens is also somewhat unrealistic.

This is because, like many allegedly "survival horror" video games, the emphasis on the movie drops from "survival" to "destroy all aliens" rather quickly. After all, instead of developing character or overall plot through the hardship that our heroes face, they learn the aliens' weakness and exploit it to blow them to bits. Unfortunately, this appetite for destruction is so great that it also cracks the movie's premise.

And those cracks leave questions. The people behind this movie must have been expecting a sequel, though movies that are made with just the possibility of a sequel and not the expectation of one are much more likely to get said sequel.

This expectation of a sequel comes across in the absolute lack of an answer for questions about immediately important details. For example, questions like why one character freaks out so much (almost as if she's been in this sort of situation before), or why another character just up and ran over to Moscow for some guy, or why Skyler is found giving Ben and Sean's presentation entirely unannounced remain entirely unanswered.

Survival might be reason enough to run from aliens and try to find their weak point, but that survival becomes more meaningful and audiences can become more engaged if it's for a clear reason and even better if that reason is personalized for the lead characters.

The Darkest Hour, however, does not give a reason for these characters to want to survive beyond it being necessary to meet with other survivors and fight back.

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Judgment

The Darkest Hour is a movie that has some definite strong points. But it's also a movie that seems better suited to a science-fiction TV channel or a direct-to-DVD/Blu-ray release than to a theatrical one.

However, this isn't because the movie itself is bad, rather it's because the movie itself is unpolished - things seem like they were rushed.

The relationship between Ben and Sean, for example, is something that could have used just a bit more straightforward clarification; the aliens could've used more work in the animation shop; and Veronika Ozerova (playing the "tough" Vika) could have had more direction than "you're playing a bright-eyed, naive, tough Russian girl."

Nonetheless, the movie at least shines dimly. So, Freya, drag a net over the field of fallen films to bring this one up, for even a dim light is still a light.

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Closing

Next week, check out Monday's stream of consciousness entry on wind farms in Ontario, an article on the newest news, and a hunt for the good in Johnny English Reborn.

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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

[Wōdnes-dæg] (Korean) Robots on the Rise

{The robotic Maria from Metropolis. Image from Dear Rich: Nolo's Intellectual Property Blog}


Introduction
Robots in the Workforce
Robots in South Korea
Closing
References

Introduction

According to an article in the Korea IT Times South Korea is really pushing to become a major player in the field of robotics.

And why not? More and more robots are entering the workforce in various ways: "lights-out" factories that can operate for up to thirty days without any human intervention (and so the lights and air conditioning are turned off); surgeons operating on patients hundreds or thousands of miles away via robotic arms; teacher and health care robots; as cleaners and cooks.1

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Robots in the Workforce

The transition into a much more robotic society seems inevitable. Granted, the article is from April 2011, but Rodney Brooks - a professor emeritus at MIT - robots will make the American economy more efficient and competitive.2 He bases these point on the facts that robot labor can be quicker, and a robotic manufacturing base on American soil will cut out the cost of bringing in goods from China and elsewhere.2

Plus, increasing the presence of robots in manufacturing might make the overseas production of Apple, and Sony products much more ethically palatable to those who care about such things. A fact that Foxconn seems well aware of, since they plan to employ 1 million robots by 2014.3

However, though Brooks and Bill Gates have said that the robot revolution is happening in a way similar to the computer revolution (slow and specialized, marching towards quick and ubiquitous), Brooks said in 2011 that the robots of the near future will have an eight year old's social skills, a six year old's dexterity, a four year old's language skills and a two year old's object recognition2 - not exactly as dexterous or quick witted as a T-1000 or a Bending Unit 22.

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Robots in South Korea

Still, the ambition and drive of countries like South Korea when it comes to robotics makes it seem like advanced robots are not so far off.

After all, Korean society's "pali-pali" mentality is indeed evident in plans to spend 322 million US dollars between 2012 and 2016 to turn the city of Daegu into a "robot city and hub to the nation’s robot industry."1 Perhaps, in some way, this push for robotics is meant to complement the global spread of its culture.

As wind turbines crop up in more and more places, and with robots apparently well on the way to becoming everyday fixtures, one question that comes to mind: Does this mean we're going to be getting flying cars soon?

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Closing

Check back here on Friday for the hunt for the good in The Darkest Hour

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References

1. Ji-Hye, Shin. "KIRIA Robotics - The Future is Here." Korea IT Times 24 April 2012.

2. Young, Grace. "Are Workforce Robots the Next Big Thing? Rodney Brooks Gives a Definite Yes." MIT Entrepreneurship Review 12 April 2011.

3. Schroeder, Stan. "Foxconn To Replace Some of Its Workforce With 1 Million Robots." Mashable Business 1 August 2011.

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Monday, April 23, 2012

[Moon-dæg] Logical Defenses Of Ontario Wind Power

Introduction
Wind Farms Forced on Rural Ontario
Wind Turbines Are Eyesores
Wind Turbines Don't Turn When Power's Needed Most
Closing

{Turbines aligned, like solid arguments for and against them. Image from an Earthy Day 2012 blog}


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Introduction

There are a number of arguments that have been raised against wind turbines in Ontario. A mere three are that: The wind turbines were forced on residents of rural areas by the current Liberal government; the turbines are eyesores; the turbines don't generate power when it's needed most.

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Wind Farms Forced on Rural Ontario

Although there appears to be little record of it on the internet, many residents of rural Ontario feel like the provincial Liberals have forced wind turbines into the landscape, giving the affected residents and municipalities little say in the matter.

At the least, Energy Minister Chris Bentley has said (in February 2012) that rural municipalities will have some say in the locations of wind farms, but there's little to suggest that rural municipalities will be able to outright refuse wind farms.

On the one hand, it makes sense that this lack of democratic choice has caused so much protest on the part of rural Ontario, but on the other it could be seen as a provincial government simply doing what a provincial government does: govern.

In a democratic society the governing process needs to involve the say of the governed, but going around that brings up one major question.

Were wind turbines, in any form, mentioned in any of the Liberals' platforms for the 2003 and 2007 elections?

No, not specifically, at least.

But a quick Google search turns up the 2003, the 2007, and the 2011 platforms.

A search for the word "energy" in these platforms reveals an emphasis on "clean" and "renewable" energy in the 2003 platform; the statement that the Liberals will

"Make our energy greener and cleaner, with the province’s first long-term energy plan in a generation. Our plan will replace coal by doubling renewables and doubling conservation" (page 6)
in the 2007 platform; and energy that's described as "clean," "green," and "renewable" is mentioned throughout the 2011 platform (which also includes dramatic shots of people in front of wind turbines).

The references to renewable power are vague, yes, but they do hint towards things like wind power - it may sound cruel, but Ontario got what it voted for.

Because the Liberals have had a majority in the past three elections, running on a platform with a mention of such energy (though not explicitly "wind power" or "wind farms"), it's logical to conclude that even if rural Ontario wasn't unanimously for the Liberals in the 2003, 2007, or 2011 election, the province at large was, and the Liberals could take that acceptance (even as narrow as it was in the 2011 contest) as a green light to do what they thought best for the province.

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Wind Turbines Are Eyesores

To argue that wind turbines are eyesores and blots on the previously pristine Ontario countryside is to do what some likely did when skyscrapers first began to be built. City skylines have indeed been changed by the presence of the skyscraper, but these former eyesores have since become part of the cultural idea of what a city is - arguably worldwide.

Now, it's true that wind turbines can't exactly be compared to skyscrapers in all respects - it's much easier to make a building aesthetically pleasing because all it has to do is stand firm, when moving parts get added to the mix and these parts' motion needs to be efficient things get more complicated. However, places like Germany, where wind power is used to a great degree, don't seem to have much of a problem with the turbines and their appearance.

They're clumped together, sure, but that doesn't really make things that bad.

Anyway, having wind turbines dot the landscape is not a bad thing, it adds variety to an otherwise repetitive skyline. Forests and fields and cliffs and ravines are excellent, but adding in some wind turbines isn't necessarily that bad.

And though they may make some stretches of countryside less appealing to some people, they have attracted tourists to others, and will help to make those spaces left untouched even more prized than they are already.

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Wind Turbines Don't Turn When Power's Needed Most

Another argument lobbed against wind power (in Ontario, at least) is that when the power that these turbines generate is most needed it's nowhere to be found. The best example of this are hot summer days where the oh-so-necessary wind isn't blowing, and the turbines sit idle.

However, if excess power generated by wind turbines is stored in the grid during peak hours/days, then this argument is rather toothless. On the other hand, if excess power from wind turbines is not stored in the grid (or elsewhere), then more planning in that regard is definitely necessary.

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Closing

Check back here Wednesday for an article on the newest news, and check back on Friday for a hunt for the good in The Darkest Hour.

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Friday, April 20, 2012

(Freya-dæg) Titans Clash, Movies Crash

Introduction
Plot Summary
The Good
The Bad
Judgment
Closing

{Bubo the mechanical owl's cameo - utterly pointless or an affectionate nod the 1981 original if you've seen it. Image from Poop Creek, Oregon}


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Introduction

Clash of the Titans is a rather curious movie. Definitely all Hollywood with its CGI and key male-demographic-type writing, but before judgment is made, let's weigh its case.

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Plot Summary

After the gods won a war with the titans, their parents, one of the gods (Zeus, Liam Neeson) makes humanity so that their prayers can power the gods' immortality. However, humanity eventually gets frustrated with the gods' unresponsiveness and decides that it would be better off without them.

Enter the movie's hero, Perseus (Sam Worthington), the son of Zeus and the unnamed wife of Acrisius, erstwhile king of Argos. Acrisius is virulently anti-gods, so when he finds out that his son is Zeus' he demands that both his "befouled" wife and his bastard son be killed. But Perseus survives and is raised by a foster family of humble profession (fisherman).

Perseus winds up back in Argos where he meets Andromeda, hears Hades (Ralph Fiennes) threaten the city with the kraken because of the queen Cassiopeia's boasting of Andromeda's beauty, and winds up looking for a way to defeat the kraken. He's helped along his way by a cast of characters, including a mysterious woman named Io (Gemma Arterton) who has watched over him from his youth. Perseus succeeds, Andromeda is saved, and he becomes king, though he refuses to indulge his divine nature by joining Zeus in Olympus.

To its credit, the movie's plot follows the original myth of Perseus and Andromeda more or less properly. Aside from some details, the biggest change is that Perseus relies much less on divine help in the film. Names are also changed, mostly for the convenience of pronunciation and coherency, I imagine. After all, how can an audience member be expected to make out ancient Greek names over the sound of themselves chewing handfuls of popcorn?

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The Good

Although they aren't strong enough to carry the movie alone, this flick puts forth two good characters.

Perseus himself is interesting because he isn't just some "chosen one" who struggles with his being chosen, but he actively works to do as much as he can "as a man" - refusing to take advantage of his divinity. When he does take advantage of that side of his nature, he doesn't exactly go through a conflict of conscience, but, the movie deserves some points for effort. Especially since main characters in this genre have a tendency toward a flatness that rivals a carpenter's level on an empty office desk.

The other character worth watching for is Io. Although her back story is altered from her myth, she's still given one, and one that acknowledges the rapacious nature of the gods. As Perseus' guide throughout much of the adventure she's fairly well-defined and *spoilers* when she's killed */spoilers* it comes as a real blow.

This impact comes because Io's one of the more developed characters in the movie and partially because there's not much else with the depth of her relationship with Perseus. Unfortunately, this impact is practically reversed when Zeus himself reverses her story's twist at the end of the movie.

Since Immortals is a movie in a similar vein, though for whatever reason not in as rich a portion of that vein, as Clash of the Titans, it's also to this movie's credit that it outdoes Immortals in two key areas.

First, Clash of the Titans acknowledges the fact that the gods are the titans' children, and accurately shows the kinds of mythological dealings that go on between the gods themselves. Second, Clash of the Titans is superbly lit. Rather than every scene being dark and drear with lots of grays and browns and blacks, this movie has bright forests, a dank underworld, and a shimmering Olympus.

The idea that prayers feed the gods' immortality is cool, and its nicely complemented by Hades' being fed by humanity's fear.

The animations that accompany Hades are also really well done - from his smoky black wings, to the blue flames that take over the regular orange ones when he enters a fire-lit room.

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The Bad

However, the animation falls apart elsewhere. The giant scorpion monsters that Perseus and his friends fight, for example, look like they're green screened in at some points - they look like they're separate from the actors rather than interacting with them. Likewise, the Stygian Witches' shared eye, looks less like a goopy orb than it does a ball of organized white, red, and black yarn.

The movie's plot offers nothing new, and though it's expansive scope puts it on par with John Carter, Clash of the Titans falls short of really having much "pulp appeal."

The major reason for this lack is the movie's utter failure to make us care about princess Andromeda. She's seen giving Perseus some water, giving some bread to the poor, and being chained up for the kraken to snack on, and that's it. While Perseus is off questing for a way to beat the kraken, shouldn't she be talking about her imminent death with her father? Maybe the unnamed religious fanatic could have some interaction with her?

Moreover, in Hades' original threat, the kraken isn't what needs to be sacrificed to, the kraken is what comes if there is no sacrifice. Hanging Andromeda out for the kraken just as the beast is lurching from the sea should only be putting a tidbit out for it before it gorges itself on the city.

In fact, that is the movie's biggest failing. The fate of Argos hangs in the balance, but the audience is given no real reason to care if Argos is destroyed or not, and further, if Andromeda is eaten or not.

Too much time is spent with Perseus and his companions on their journey and not nearly enough is spent back at the city with the princess. While they're on the road, Perseus and his gang hardly even talk about Argos - there isn't even a line like "What was life like back in Argos?" or "Why's King Kepheus so eager to turn away from the gods?"

Perseus is as much of an outsider as we are, and yet he seems entirely indifferent about the place that he's saving. As such, the audience can't help but follow suit.

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Judgment

Clash of the Titans has slick production values and is acted like your standard episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, but the story’s cast of characters is like that in a big old RPG. However, unlike classic console RPGs that have characters and story going for them, Clash of the Titans has neither. Not consistently anyway.

The plot is poorly constructed, and aside from the slight variation in Perseus' character from other "chosen ones" and the interesting portrayal of Io, the movie really has nothing to offer but a few cool pieces of animation, refreshingly varied lighting, and a neat explanation of the purpose of prayer.

Unfortunately, even if these details were laid on an altar and ritualistically burned, no god's wrath would be appeased. So, Freya, fly high, and worry not about this one, though it offers a pretty face and mesmerizing eyes, its arms are weak and its purpose flabby. There are better picks for film Valhalla.

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Closing

Keep an eye (or both) on this blog - next Monday it'll host a logical look at wind power in Ontario, Wednesday there'll be a blog entry on the newest news, and on Friday a write-up on the good in The Darkest Hour will be up for the reading.

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Monday, April 16, 2012

[Moon-dæg] Winding up for Wind Power

Introduction
Megawhats?
Causes for Concern
More Information
Closing

{Typical turbines. Image from publicdomanpictures.net, taken by Peter Kratochvil}


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Introduction

As the first part in the next four part series here at A Glass Darkly, and since the new moon means a lack of light, this entry is a pooling of information about wind farms - specifically in Ontario. However, it is by no means complete and will point to things that are a little more complete when necessary.

So what's the skinny on these three-armed towers cropping up over the countryside in recent years? In short, they're part of the Liberal party's plan to help Ontario to go green. The cost has turned many off of the idea, and the noise that they are reported to cause has turned off a few more.

However, according to the IESO website's tracker, this is how much energy Ontario's turbines are currently outputting:





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Megawhats?

A megawatt is 1 million watts, and according to WikiAnswers, one megawatt could power 1000 average American homes for 1 hour. Or, it could power an average home for 1000 hours. Since Americans and Canadians have roughly the same power consumption habits (multiple computers, TVs, charging devices like phones and iPods, and electronic kitchen and cleaning implements) using American statistics doesn't seem particularly off.

An estimate of 750 homes on the megawatt by the Toronto Star, gives a similar picture.

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Causes for Concern

What gets people's dander up about wind farms, though, is that they've come in at tremendous cost. Whereas other generators get about 7.4 cents on the kilowatt hour, wind generators get 12 cents.

As Ontario swings into more wind power generation, though, A.J. Goulding of the consulting firm London Economics believes that there's potential for a vicious cycle in which the burgeoning wind industry would create jobs that would only compensate for those lost in other energy sectors.

Among those on the ground, so to speak, there are also concerns that wind turbines are responsible for headaches, dizziness, sleep disturbance, and/or hearing loss. Though these concerns are addressed in a report issued by the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario, the conclusion appears to be that wind turbines are not responsible for adverse health effects from a strictly scientific standpoint.

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More Information

Nonetheless, the groups for and against wind power in Ontario dot the province's landscape as much as the mills that are the cause of their reactions. These include Wind Concerns Bruce, Ontario Wind Resistance, Harvesting Wind Support, and Ontario Highlands Friends of Wind Power.

For more stats check out thewindpower.net, canwea.ca, and/or centreforenergy.com.

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Closing

Check back here Wednesday for an entry on some of the newest news and on Friday for the search for the good in Clash of the Titans.

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Friday, April 13, 2012

[Freya-dæg] Aliens and Last Hopes and Powers - Oooh, Myyy!

Introduction
Plot Summary
The Good
The Bad
Judgment
Closing

{Two teenage kids, a football field, and visible force-type powers - what could possibly go wrong? Image from MsMariah's Space Blog-yssey}


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Introduction

I Am Number Four is a movie that rightfully spelled the end of its franchise.

Now, it's not that the movie is outright bad. No. Rather, it's because it doesn't play enough to its own strengths. One of the common criticisms of the flick is that it's a mash-up of a number of other genres (thriller, sci-fi, action, romance, teen), and that criticism definitely holds up.

In fact, just like the new kid in school (or our hero in the movie's case) who tries to hide his quirks in order to fit in, this movie puts far too much effort into being hot genres and mimicking popular movies of its time that it completely loses sight of just what it actually is and turns out as unoriginal and somewhat convoluted.

However, it still has something, and that something is slightly remarkable.

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Plot Summary

A young man of high school age (John, played by Alex Pettyfer) is hiding a secret. For he's not really human at all, but some kind of alien refugee. And now, the alien species that destroyed his home planet and his people (the Mogadorians) is in hot pursuit, and he's revealed as his peoples' last hope (and member, at least at the movie's beginning).

Although John tries to fit in as a regular human teen and remain invisible, he's always doing something out of the ordinary that forces him and his guardian Henri (Timothy Olyphant) to move from place to place.

The movie follows John and Henri in their newest locale: Paradise, Ohio. John falls in love with a local girl (Sarah, played by Dianna Agron), there's a bit of romance, the Mogadorians find him, someone close to him is killed, and John and the small group that he's gathered by the movie's end successfully face off against the Mogadorian band that's currently after him.

With the immediate threat of the Mogadorians dealt with, and on the advice of Henri, John and the mysterious Six (Teresa Palmer) set out to find the rest of the survivors from their planet (since, apparently, there are actually four more).

What exactly happens when all six of John's species come together is left ambiguous, but it's said to be good, and it's the stuff of sequels. Sequels that will probably never be.

So, given its fairly bland plot, what's the good of this movie?

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The Good

In spite of the standard storyline, the movie itself - the way it tells the story, the writing at points, and the sci-fi elements - has a kind of "pulp appeal." Just as was the case with John Carter, it has a kind of 90s JRPG feel to it. There's some imagination at work in the details and the aliens, though these seem to have been toned down since the movie is, after all, trying to be almost all genres to all people.

Nonetheless, the movie's action is consistently impressive; the action sequences are tight and short. This movie's fight choreography is excellent, and in it all of the attacks and counters and blocks look like they're being thrown for real. So the animators definitely need to be congratulated on this count.

Characters are not this movie's strong point, but one character stands out: Sarah.

She's the token love interest, but with a twist. Rather than being some humdrum local girl, the quarterback's babe, she's the quarterback's ex-girlfriend. However, she's not torn up about it and trying to force herself on John as some sort of replacement.

Instead, she's entirely over the quarterback, and openly dreams of what the world holds for her. She's a photographer and runs a blog that's so popular locally that everyone seems to know her name. The fact that she's totally cool with John just spontaneously looking through her private scrapbook is definitely questionable, but otherwise, she's a gem amongst coal.

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The Bad

The rest of the movie's characters, however, are much less undeveloped.

The main is just a handsome guy with chiseled abs that loves to display these for the camera time and again.

The quarterback is your standard high school jock, though, out of nowhere, he apparently still has feelings for Sarah.

The nerd character is, well, a nerd.

And Six is just an aimless blonde bad-ass who blows shit up and uses big guns while speaking with an English accent.

Characters are not the movie's strength.

The CGI used for the monsters in the movie is also lacking. Rather than being clear and crisp, its dark and murky. This works from an atmosphere point of view, and is consistent with the dark tone of the scenes in which these creatures show up, but even then crisper textures would make them look all the more real.

But where most of the characters are good attempts, the animation is hit and miss (remember those fight scenes!), and the plot itself is unoriginal, the acting is where this film takes its biggest spill.

The only character on screen that's acted well is Henri, John's guardian.

John himself is too emotionless at the wrong times (in the scene where he and Sarah first kiss he looks more dumbfounded than impassioned even though they both go in for the kiss at the same time); the quarterback plays the jock well, but clumsily brings in emotions; and Sarah, though seemingly eager for the romance and her photography, plays the rest of her role lukewarmly.

The epitome of this off acting, though, is delivered by John when he so wittily replies to Six's exhortation to "I just saved your ass" with "you should be watching your own ass" delivered in a strange teenage deadpan:

I Am Number Four Clip by the_penmin

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Judgment

Now, this movie does have the same sort of "pulp appeal" that John Carter had, and the idea of a teenage love interest whose fairly self-sufficient and actually matures and becomes stronger after a breakup rather than more and more obsessive (*cough* Bella Swan *cough*) are both great things.

But what sets this movie far apart from the unfortunately under-viewed John Carter is that the bulk of I am Number Four falls flat.

The movie's plot is derivative, the acting lame, the CGI not quite crisp enough. Nonetheless, this is the sort of movie that you might want to have playing while you're doing a lengthy, quasi-monotonous task, like baking bread or a making a bulk batch of cookies.

Plus, the movie is based on a co-authored book. I'm less intrigued than curious, but I would still give it a flip through, and so a little bit of the "Green Lantern Effect" is at work here as well.

So, Freya, raise this one up, but feel free to do so whenever you're next in the vicinity.

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Closing

Next week check back here for the first part in the next four part series on a major issue, an article on some of the newest news, and the hunt for the good in the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans

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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

[Wōdnes-dæg] The Korean Wave: Soft-Power-ful K-Pop Culture

Introduction
Soft Power
Soft Power too Soft?
Closing

{A visualization of the Korean Wave. Image from eyeswideopen21.wordpress.com.}


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Introduction

Something that's been in the news here and there over the past few years is the presence of a cultural Korean Wave.

This Korean Wave, or Hallyu, refers to the slow spread of Korean pop culture throughout Asia, Europe, and North America.1 When the National Post reports on something, you know it's got to be good, right? Plus, there's even a North York couple that moved to Korea, started out as teachers, but that now blog full time about Korean culture and music.1

In some sense, this trend could be compared to the rise in the popularity of Japanese culture abroad in the 80s and 90s in the form of increasingly easily accessed anime and the console wars between Nintendo, Sega, and Sony. Perhaps Korea has less that's unique to offer in the realms of animated TV shows and video games, but both cultural spreads are definitely prime examples of "soft-power"

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Soft Power

Soft-power "is the ability to obtain what one wants through co-option and attraction."2 This definitely describes the kind of cultural influence that foreign lands have had on Western culture and aesthetics for quite some time. Rather than trying to do what the West itself did in many colonial instances and force their culture back on the West, places like Korea and Japan are merely creating things that appeal to Western consumers.

In some cases, this means creating a hybrid culture. As Kim Seong-Kon points out, the Korean Wave is just such a hybrid form since K-Pop and K-Drama tend to be combinations of traditional Korean and Western cultures.3

Kim argues that this sort of hybrid culture is not a true representation of traditional Korean culture (the "high brow"), but he also cedes that the hybrid culture that's set off the Korean Wave is something like "John the Baptist, preparing the path for Jesus’ arrival."3

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Soft Power too Soft?

Yet, with soft-power, and the appeal of hybrid cultures, is introducing someone to a 'lite' version of a culture really going to entice them into a full-blown interest in more traditional forms? Not everyone who watches anime is going to try to learn about the Sengoku period or try to find out just who Bashō is.

Likewise, the current rise of Korean pop culture isn't going to necessarily lead people to delve deeper into traditional Korean culture. At least not in the numbers that people who say that "hallyu will conquer the world" or that compare the current Korean Wave to John the Baptist imply. Watching My Girlfriend is a Gumiho or listening to the latest by Super Junior, won't necessarily bring people to look into Dangun or research the poetry of the Goryeo period.

That's the thing with soft power, it can be the hand that brings a horse to water, but the horse is ultimately the one who will either dip its tongue in the water, slurp a few waves, or just stare at its own reflection.

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Closing

Check back here Friday for a search for the good in the series stalling I Am Number Four.

And for some insight into what the big news stories are in South Korea itself (the dark side of hallyu, some may say), check out KoreaBANG

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References

1. Donnelly, Aileen. "Riding the Korean Wave: Latest cultural trend driving Kanadians krazy for music, dance moves." National Post 8 April 2012.

2. "Soft Power." Wikipedia.

3. Kim Seong-Kon. "Future of hallyu: Pop to highbrow." The Korea Herald 4 April 2012.

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Monday, April 9, 2012

[Moon-dæg] Finishing Off on Freelance Writing

Introduction
Musings
On Organization
The Teaching Alternative
Closing

{If only he could speak from 1893. Image from public-domain.zorger.com}


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Introduction

This is the final piece in my four part series on freelance writing. It's also written in a more freewheeling style, though a logical order is still loosely imposed. You've been warned.

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Musings

Freelance Writing is it? The sort of thing that requires a quick mind on the page, and in the checkbook. It'll keep you sharp, but it can tear you apart, too. Academics have GoogleScholar to figure out how many people reference their research, but to think of how many people could see your writing if you had hundreds of articles, stories, and clips circulating about. That just adds to the rush.

Teaching can impact a room, but the written word can impact an audience severed by space, and even by time.

Writing in general seems to have more of an impact than teaching - though teaching might have the potential for a deeper impact.

Freelance writing doesn't need to be something you go broke for, either. It's just about keeping up on the jobs. And with stuff like content farms out there now - forget about it. If you can take the pittance they pay when times are tight, then those times will be loosened just enough. Of course, that's if you've got the time - or will.

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On Organization

Signing up for all of those sites takes a lot of organization, too. You need to keep all of that account information straight, and then you need to figure out how best to keep them all checked and responded to.

Yeah, being a freelance writer is maybe more possible now than ever, but it also seems to require more organization, too. Makes you much more of an entrepreneur when the whole damn internet could use your article. Not to mention the few offline publications still afloat and hungry for words.

The offline ones (and those "e-zines") pay better, too. Then again, with the old procedure of query, draft, submit, you deserve extra. Not like write, submit, pass, get paid. Gee-zus.

Anyway, all that organization's needed up front. Being a freelance writer isn't like becoming a cop or a getting into med school program. You need to plan your specific moves much more carefully if you want to be successful right out of the cage.

You need to know how much you'll charge, how much you can do in an hour, what sort of work you want to concentrate on, how many hours you can work a week, what sorts of outlets you'll use to look for work in the first place. So much more organization, and all up front. None of this dicking around with training and learning in a place separate from the real thing, only to be faced with something almost entirely alien when you finally get to the job itself.

No, as a freelance writer you know up front what you're getting into or you just don't make it. Some might muddle their way in, but they're the ones who learn quick. Real quick.

Quick learners get ahead as freelance writers, too. They know just what it is they need to do for a client, they can see it in their job offer, smell it in the proposal or description. Then it's no problem to just go with it, and run along with all that cash flow pushing you on.

Yeah.

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The Teaching Alternative

Back to that teaching alternative - if you know enough to write things, you know enough to teach things, right? - it's not entirely a sure thing anymore. Anywhere local, anyway. Even according to the recent Transition to Teaching Report, only 21% of graduates say they've got full-on teaching work within their first year after graduating (in Ontario). Shit. That doesn't look good. But writing, that's always gonna be around. As long as you get a good start, find your stride, it'll just keep going.

Y'know, more than anything, writing's more liberating, too. Teacher's can keep their summers off, freelance writers are doing what they love and what they love's not work to them at all. But teachers college is like a band-aid being used in the place of gauze and surgical tape, a temporary solution that might help in the long run, but that just doesn't stand up to the potential in writing.

Still, I plan to accept one of the offers I've gotten for teachers college and to see where writing takes me in the interim. Writing and teaching might be like feuding brothers in my mind, but they're still kin.

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Closing

Watch this space for Wednesday's piece on the newest news, and check back Friday for a review of 2011's I Am Number Four.

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Friday, April 6, 2012

[Freya-dæg] Peeking into an old Jeff Goldblum Hideaway

{Image from Movie Screenshots}




Introduction
Plot Outline
The Good
The Bad
Judgment
Closing



Introduction

Hideaway is a movie that went the way of its featured musical acts: around in the 90s and now long since forgotten. But, it starred such 90s stars as Jeff Goldblum and gave Alicia Silverstone one of her early roles. And it's based on Dean Koontz's New York Times bestseller by the same name.

Given that sort of pedigree, let's see where the movie takes us.

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Plot Outline

Hideaway is the story of a father (Hatch Harrison, played by Jeff Goldblum) who is killed in an auto accident. But, despite being dead for over an hour Hatch is resuscitated - just as he's settling into the afterlife. Unfortunately, something follows him back into the physical world, and Hatch finds himself psychically linked to a crazed satanic serial killer known as Vassago. Eventually this serial killer sets his sights on Hatch's daughter Regina (Alicia Silverstone).

So, as Hatch struggles with the apparent madness brought on by the shock of his psychic connection, he also works through its repercussions with his family (his wife Lindsay is played by Christine Lahti) and ultimately strives to protect his daughter from a threat that only he can see coming.

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The Good

It's a hard sell, but this movie gets really good after the first hour. Around that time Hatch is fed up with his visions and becomes recklessly intent on gunning down this serial killer himself, since the police have proven ineffective. So, he does what any god-fearing American in the 90s would - he grabs a shotgun and drives around, following his visions to Vassago.

The action starts at about the 1:08:00 mark, and involves an awesome chase section in which all aspects of the movie's scenario finally come together. The section then ends around the 1:33:00 mark, some 10 minutes before the movie ends.

Thirty minutes before this chase section starts, the movie finally begins to explain things in a relatively clear way, drawing connections and covering plot holes. But it's also around this time that Hatch begins to do some very light Goldbluming. Not up to Jurassic Park levels, but it does begin and come back on and off throughout the rest of the movie.

For the 90s, the animation in the scenes of the afterlife are also fairly well done. The tunnel sequence and the "soul" animations are pretty smooth and look quite clean. If you're thinking that the animation's like that in the game Microcosm, you're way off.

And, although he might not have been a name on any theater marquis where this movie was playing, it also stars Kenneth Walsh as a hardboiled cop. His performance here isn't as madcap as his Windom Earle in Twin Peaks, but he's still fun to watch.

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The Bad

This movie is an unfortunate sufferer of Mistaken Suspense Syndrome. The first hour is spent slowly and awkwardly establishing the psychic link, the serial killer, and the impact of the link on Hatch's sense of self and home life. During this hour it also confuses itself for a melodrama as character's go from calm to furious in seconds, and relatively small incidents are made out to be bigger than necessary.

In fact, aside from that golden 25 minutes near the movie's end, the most action packed sequences of the film are tight zooms on circling and underlining.

{Two of the dramatic high points in the movie.}


Of course, as a horror film it's necessary to build suspense, but the entire movie is sandwiched between two cgi scenes that suggest that it's really about some kind of spiritual psychic battle between light and dark. Thus, suspense around the outcome of this battle isn't really built up at all but meandered around as if the writers didn't know how to fill the first two acts with interesting build up.

Audiences are prepared for the excellent pursuit of and clash with the serial killer when it comes at the movie's climax, but the hour spent establishing everything could be trimmed down to 30-40 minutes with ease.

After heaping so much praise on the movie's climax, it might seem odd to mention it as one of the movie's failings, but the climax could also be shortened. Right around the hour and thirty three minute mark, in fact - why so precise? Because that's when the 90s animation comes into full, crappy effect as a dark and light creature are animated into the real world to fight it out.

The CGI in the climax's end is so obvious that it completely destroys any suspension of disbelief you might've had going and changes the movie's tone so radically from searing psychological thriller to campy horror monster fight that the film implodes.

But, the final nail in Hideaway's coffin comes when, after the credits, Hatch and Lindsay are in bed and share a good laugh after Hatch dreams that they've resuscitated the serial killer. Because there's nothing like a good, lighthearted joke after living through a psychically and psychologically terrifying event, right?

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Judgment

Ultimately, Hideaway fails to offer coherent storytelling, suspense, or resolution except for those shining 25 minutes near it's end. If that was released as a short film, I would gladly say, Freya, raise this one up, but since it's trapped in an hour and forty seven minute long maggot-ridden corpse, you can, lady of the Valkyrie, leave this one to fester in its pit.

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Closing

Next week there'll be more in this space - Monday's update is the last in my four part series on freelance writing (I'll be considering it in light of teachers college acceptances), Wednesday's will be all about the newest news, and Friday's is set up to be another attempt to resuscitate a 'terrible' movie.

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Wednesday, April 4, 2012

[Wōdnes-dæg] Arcade Culture Gets its own Documentary - Quarters All Around!

Introduction
So, Why Do Arcades Matter Now?
Friday's Entry
References

{A classic cabinet. Image from Wikimedia}


Introduction

Since getting back from a jaunt in Toronto to see the inestimable Thomas Dolby at the Mod Club late yesterday evening, things have been busy around here. But I had just enough time to pop into my inbox and find an article of great interest.

It's a piece about Brad Crawford and his documentary about arcade culture in Japan and the US. A child of the (mid) 80s, I missed the brunt of the arcade scene in North America. Luckily, however, small towns tend to change at a slower pace than the rest of the world, and so the small beach town that we spent a few weeks in during each of my childhood summers is fondly remembered not just for lakeside shenanigans, but also for the rolls of quarters spent in the town's arcade.

Reading this article got me thinking, though, just what is the difference between the US (and, being similar at least in gaming culture, Canada) and Japan when it comes to their arcade scenes? Why did major arcades die out in North America but stay alive in Japan?

Since Crawford's documentary (called 100 Yen: The Japanese Arcade Experience) is still in post-production it's not possible to turn to it for answers, but Crawford reveals enough in the article to suss out a few of the reasons why the arcade suffered such a diverse fate in the East and West.

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So, Why Do Arcades Matter Now?

Unlike the present perception of Japan as a high-tech, video game-accepting culture, around the time that arcades were at their peak (in the 70s and 80s), it was a common view that they were gathering places for hoodlums.1

But, rather than let this image linger, the parent companies in Japan (Crawford mentions Taito and Sega specifically) actually worked to help clean up this image and to make arcades more family friendly, the kind of places where people could meet up after school/work for a few friendly virtual bouts.1

And, wouldn't you know it, the makeover worked. Arcades are now just that - a physical space where people can gather to play live, in-person multipayer games.

Apparently, along with nostalgia, the same desire fuels the indie arcades in North America. As Jared Rea, lifelong arcade gamer, puts it, playing games like Street Fighter online is like “playing [against] a ghost.”2

But is this desire for a more intimate multiplayer experience really such a major force behind the arcade scene in North America?

Why aren't people just playing at home and inviting friends over? Unlike Japan (where inviting people to your house is rare),1 it's pretty common to have some friends over to play video games in North America.

Though if you have people over, you inevitably wind up playing equal parts host and gamer. Arcades take the hosting concern off of your shoulders and foist it onto people who are actually in the hospitality business. Through tournaments and such, arcades are also places where people can more easily make new connections and feel a stronger sense of community.

Of course, such a sense of community can also be gained at tournaments based on console games, something that a few indie arcades host in addition to those based on cabinet games.2

So then, why continue to have places that have cabinet games? Arcade cabinets are expensive, it's hard to get newer models and upgrades, and arcade gaming is still a niche that makes for a poor profit-oriented business.2

Is the power of nostalgia over those who grew up with arcades so great that it's worth the time and effort of a few to offer a glimpse back at 'simpler times'?

Is the North American gamer so starved for a feeling of real, physical community that they don't mind paying to play games that they could play with friends for free on a home console?

Is this indie arcade culture a reaction to the trend toward putting more and more of gaming online?

Feel free to add your thoughts to the comments.

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Friday's Entry

And keep your eyes on this blog come Friday - for then you'll find a review of the Jeff Goldblum horror flick Hideaway here.

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References

1. Orland, Kyle. "Documentary Explores Why Japan’s Arcades Didn’t Die." Ars Technica (featured on Wired.com) 4 April 2012.

2. Bailey, Kat. "In Back Alleys and Basements, Video Arcades Quietly Survive" Wired.com 23 February 2012.

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Monday, April 2, 2012

[Moon-dæg] Writing Towards A Golden Age

Introduction
Three Helps
Writing and Regular Work
Closing

{Image from PRLOG.org}


Introduction

To live off of your words would be like living off of the bounty of the land. At its best it could be like life in the mythical Golden Age, where the earth's abundance came naturally and humanity had no need for toil.

In this metaphor though, things work backwards. Instead of staring in a Golden Age, any writer starts in the Iron Age - maybe even the "Clay Age" considering how low the pay is at many content mills and freelancing sites.


But through your writing, you, like Merlin, could travel backwards in time to a Golden Age. One where your words are being licensed for translations and adaptations, where they're earning royalties, where they're earning you a tidy portion of shared profits, or where the work just flows and your rates are fair and enviable.

Of course, all of that comes after the iron's been turned into gold. If alchemists still haven't figured it out, then it's certainly no easy feat.

Yet, like the alchemists and their mad quest for that mystic formula, the potential to live sheerly from words is what fills the pursuit with promise.

As bipolar as it can be trying to do something so artistic (or even just psychological) in a town of engineers, labourers, restaurateurs, clerks, servers, and such, it is a rewarding thing to do.

On the one hand it's possible to show all of these concrete-thinking, left-brained people that you can live from something as airy as words and ideas, and on the other, well, you can show yourself that you can live on such airy things as words and ideas. Because that's the biggest hurdle starting out. Really, truly, and seriously believing that you can make it as a writer. It's not always a pretty process, but there are certain things that can help you along.

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Three Helps

Being part of a writing group is the best way to start. Regular feedback and the ability to talk to other people about writing can jazz you up and make you feel ready to tackle any project, to mould words into any form.

Getting paid to write, definitely helps. Even if it's not a rate that's going to allow you to work only hours a week, getting something for your writing beyond praise, accolades, or even just serious acknowledgement is great.

Having people ask you to write for them is also a great boost, especially if this contact is made online. For such a person practically could've worked with anyone in the whole wide web, but by coincidence they found your stuff, and your stuff was just what they were looking for. Such an event is great. It's grand. It's a big help when the people around you go silent upon your announcement that you're a writer, or regularly bring up that such and such store has a help wanted sign in the window.

But that's not to say that being a writer means you're a one-job person.

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Writing and Regular Work

People write and hold down "regular" jobs, too. But that's not what every writer does. After all, there's that freedom that comes with writing, that ability to work as hard as you like at it. you can throw all of your weight into it because of one thing or another, or you can just do it, but do it seriously, in whatever spare time you can muster.

Again, here comes a generalization, but if you'd just ended a stint in graduate school and originally been looking to become a professor to "feed your writing habit," then you're probably not going to want to sling fries or assemble boxes while writing on the side.

Turning away from the rush, though, there's the uncertainty. It might mean putting on a happy facade or joining the break room mumblers, but slinging fries and box assembly are at least steady jobs.

People will always love fries, and frozen fries come in boxes. You might not necessarily become CEO of either company, but working at that sort of thing is certain, and probably includes some benefit package or other.

These perks mean there's no need to worry about making it on your own, since you know that at the least you'll be getting your livable wage paycheck at the end of every two week period. And if the work is psychologically draining, well, isn't that what the time that you're not working is for?

Writing isn't necessarily different, though. It can be just as stressful, just as draining at times. But if you're not already plan-savvy, trying to be a writer from a room in your parents' house in a small town definitely gets you planning seriously, planning hard.

Plus, planning ahead doesn't have to be all that intimidating. It could just be a matter of setting goals of having so many articles finished in a given time, or so much money made in a month. Like almost every other aspect of being a freelance writer, it just comes down to will power. Saying you'll do something (even if you're just talking to yourself) and then doing it.

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Closing

So, freelance writing, maybe it's a long climb up to that lofty Golden Age, but you'll definitely have plenty to write about when you get there. I know I will.

Stay tuned throughout the week for an opinion about some recent news on Wednesday, and a review of Hideaway on Friday.

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Sunday, April 1, 2012

Game of Thrones Inauthentic?

In the Arts section of Saturday's Globe and Mail there's an article that I find rather curious.

The article is an opinion piece by John Doyle, wherein the excellent columnist explains his utter dislike of Game of Thrones. He dismisses it as being aimed at teenage boys, as pompous, and as being based on "books, which are written in the most lividly purple prose."

The major thrust of Doyle's argument, or what it all comes down to, is that Game of Thrones doesn't come from "a bona fide cultural impulse," that it is slick and inauthentic. He uses the Arthurian Legends as an example of something coming from a more authentic cultural place, but this makes me wonder what he considers to be "a bona fide cultural impulse."

It's true that people no longer go around in suits of armor waving sharpened beams of steel at each other, nor do we (in North America) live under any kind of monarchy that holds as much power as that depicted in Game of Thrones.

But the stories of knights and quests and damsels and dragons in the Arthurian legends aren't necessarily perfectly in step with the reality of their times either. Stories are always an idealization of their source material. TV series set in the modern (or near modern) day, resonate because their characters or situations can be related to, but that doesn't mean that their characters are any more "realistic" than those on Game of Thrones.

Tales of chivalry and knights were told and retold in the medieval period because of their great symbolic and allegorical potential. After all, these stories were supposed to instruct as much as entertain. These dual purposes of storytelling might not apply as much to the original Arthurian tales, but by the time the stories were committed to vellum/parchment/paper these purposes were of chief importance.

Moreover, after Christianity took hold over medieval Western Europe there was also the sense that things needed to be written solely for the propagation of doctrine. Anything that seemed subversive was suspect, though some writers (like Chaucer) tried to escape suspicion by including written retractions of anything that they thought might seem "sinful" with their work.

But the medieval period is a time from which we really only have written cultural records from a single group - that made up of the nobility, the clergy, and those that both of these classes educated.

In a society like ours where there are multiple major cultures co-existing (and plenty of vibrant subcultures), who can say what comes from "a bona fide cultural impulse" and what doesn't?

It may ring just as inauthentic to John Doyle, but perhaps the columnist should look into the Society for Creative Anachronism. The fact that its ranks aren't swollen with carnage-hungry, hormone-driven teenage boys might just make clear that modern cultural impulses are not so easily nailed down.

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