Jul 03 2008
You saw it here first: THE END IS NYE
Picture of Earth courtesy of the HSCD School Board, atomic bomb courtesy of the Department of Energy, and Bill Nye courtesy of TVgasm. All blame for the low quality Photoshopping is ours.
Archive for July, 2008
Jul 03 2008
A brief argument: reviewers don’t have to be credentialed to be relevant
When authors or fans challenge negative reviews, they sometimes say something like “what have you written, because I bet it’s awful.” I think that reflects a fundamentally wrong conception of reviewing. Every day, people evaluate and suggest things without any experience of having made them. For example, over the past few years I’ve suggested that friends stay away from (ugly) Pontiac Azteks, (shoddy) Craftsman tools, and (inedible) McDonald’s food. But I’ve never designed a car, built a tool and hardly ever cook. Does my lack of experience disqualify me as a relevant reviewer?
Jul 03 2008
A funny but useful reality check for sword-and-spell fantasy authors
Sword-and-spell fantasy is a genre that attracts many prospective writers, which is good. Unfortunately, many of those authors are unpolished. Fortunately, there is an author’s test that will help fantasy authors diagnose some of the most common problems in their book. I find the following list of plot elements particularly useful:
Jul 02 2008
Adapting and Updating Cartoon Franchises
The New York Times has an interesting run-down of cartoon updates, from apparently successful endeavors like Strawberry Shortcake and the ugly-but-popular TMNT series to horrible flops like Magic Earring Ken and Warner Brother’s Loonatics…
Jul 02 2008
I’ve decided you need a Summer Fun Cthulhu
Jul 02 2008
Season 3 of Heroes will have MORE characters!
The creator of Heroes, Tim Kring, has promised that season 3 will have more villains. Yes, more characters… that’s exactly what Heroes needed.
“You’re going to see a lot of bad guys,” he said to Sci Fi Wire. “We’re playing off the idea of our characters as heroes or villains. So it’s really the duality of good and evil.” T.K., I will see your duality of good and evil and raise you character development, interesting traits and a well-rounded cast. For one, I’d start by killing off about half the cast…
Jul 01 2008
