The Scribbler

Revenge Of The Sith

I am incredibly excited about the new Star Wars. Primarily so we can get past this Anakin worship and see him for the weak-minded putz that he is. I am excited about Obi Wan layin' the smackdown on his darkside walkin' ass. He was seduced to the dark side by whom? A wrinkly old man...sugar daddy? You make the call. I would have been much more likely to walk on the dark side for a piece of the Queen Amidala...maybe even explore HER darkside...eh, wot? What can I say, they should have listened to Yoda when he said not to train the little bastard. What is it about people not listening to the wizened little green dude. I expect it was the start of "short man syndrome" - it did take place "a long time ago" as I recall. Those are my thoughts. I can’t wait for May 19th.

Ode to the Western

Why would a self-described fantasy author write about westerns? I think fantasy novels and movies really resemble the almighty western (that and I watched a few westerns this weekend and was reminded of the similarities). Both usually have interesting ensemble casts. Both fantasy novels and westerns often involve “the quest” to get somewhere or get something. There is magic in both. Westerns can have Native American mysticism and ancient curses and things like that. Finally, both are pure escapism with some similarities to a historical period, but not so much similarity that we don’t feel immersed in a different world. Having said all of that, here is a list of what I think are the best westerns. Why not a list of fantasy movies? Maybe for another post…

1) Magnificent Seven (Any western list I make has this one at the top)

2) The Outlaw Josey Wales

3) The Professionals (I do think you would dig this one)

4) High Plains Drifter

5) Pale Rider

6) The Long Riders

7) The Last Hard Men

8) One-eyed jacks

9) The Wild Bunch

10) the Searchers

11) Hondo

12) Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid

Fanfilms

Just stumbled across the world of fanfilms! Cool site here. www.fanfilms.net.

Some of these are surprisingly good, like Batman:Dead End and the to GI Joe movies. It probably seems CRAZY to some to drop a load of cash and make a film that canot be sold due to copyright infringement, but to me it looks like a blast. There is one called Star Trek: Exeter where they have just created their own little Star Trek ship and crew. Most of these are viewable online. Talk about devotion to their art! Some of these had to cost a pretty penny and take tons of time. I'm impressed!

JG

Art/Media of 2004

Well, for me the holidays have finally officially ended with my annual migration back to Tennessee to see family over MLK day. Now I am run down, tired, and of course a few pounds heavier thanks to Mom's NFL Playoff snackfest. So, today seems like a good day to recap my top ten favorite "art" items of 2004. Of course there is no real rhyme or reason to the list as it includes lots of different things, and of course it is slanted towards sci-fi anmd fantasy, but here goes.

1. Return of the King - Expanded DVD set. Just awesome!
2. Song of Susannah - Book 6 in the Gunslinger Series by Stephen King. I love this series so much!
3. Troy - Awesome movie. I know some were disappointed, but...well...it's my web log and therefore my universe
4. Alamo - I loved this movie to. Maybe all Tennesseeans love Davy Crockett or something and I know the movie tanked at the box office, but the same rationale applies here as in #3 above.
5. The Incredibles - What a great Pixar film (aren't they all)
6. The Two Swords by R.A. Salvatore - I read and write fantasy so maybe I am partial to fantasy stuff. I have been a huge Salvatore fan for years.
7. The Essential Bruce Springsteen - Okay, this was released in 2003, but I got it in 2004 and I think Bruce is awesome. THis collection is a great one.
8. World of Warcraft - a MMORPG PC Game. Okay...not exactly art, but I had a lot of fun with this. I usually only play one or two PC Games a year and this one is really great. Very immersive environment and well thought out game.
9. City of Heroes - a MMORPG PC Game.  Another MMORPG PC Game. I got to be a super hero in this one and fly around and do super stuff. Every guy's dream.
10. Battlestar Galactica - Mini Series. As I said in a earlier post...IT"S BACK! Yay.

So, there's my list. Disagree? Got your own? Reply and let us** know.

**(Us means me and all of my "readers", which probably includes two web junkies, a couple of friends, my cocker spaniel and some typepad executive thinking, "this drivel is what my life's work has become?")

JG