Movie Review: Percy Jackson & The Olympians--The Lightning Thief

Zeus is not happy.

Someone stole his master lightning bolt and unless it is returned to him, then a war among the gods will erupt.

Unbeknownst to Percy Jackson, a troubled teen with dyslexia and ADHD, this is a big problem for him, because everyone on Mount Olympus thinks he stole it.  Percy is then catapulted into an adventure where he discovers he's the son of Poseidon and sets out to find Zeus's missing lightning bolt.

The Lightning Thief is based on the first young adult (YA) story of Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan. The premise of the series is that the gods of Greek mythology are still with us, and often get the urge to "hook up" with mortals every now and then. Unfortunately, these unions never last, because Zeus issued a restraining order against the gods, forbidding them from having contact with their demi-god offspring.

I haven't read any of Riordan's books, so the movie was my first exposure to the Olympian series:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Jackson_&_the_Olympians

Some movie reviewers considered The Lightning Thief a "cheap knock-off" of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter.  While a couple of elements are identical, where a boy discovers his unique powers and attends a special school, Riordan stays strictly within the realm of Greek mythology.  (A case of being "the same--but different").

While the plot was a formulaic quest and the real culprit was rather obvious, I found the movie to be fast-paced, which was supported by several well-known adult actors.  There were however, moments in the movie where I felt Percy and his companions should have handled the encounters better.  Especially when one of them, Anabeth, is the daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom and warfare. 

Despite such weak moments, this was an enjoyable movie worth taking the family to see on the big screen.  Children already reading YA books will probably get the most out this movie and may encourage them to read the series.

I give The Lightning Thief 3-stars. Since the adult actors were chosen for their "sequel capability,"  we can expect to see more of Percy Jackson's modern mythological adventures.

For a full synopsis of the movie, including plot spoilers, check out Wikipedia's entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Jackson_%26_the_Olympians:_The_Lightning_Thief

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's all about the chocolate, right?

Here's Wikipedia's version of the origins of today's "Hallmark Holiday":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine's_Day

Games of Another Sort...

The 2010 Winter Olympic Games opened today in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Sci-Fi's "Periodic Table"

Nothing new is under the stars.

Someone very clever--or with too much time on their hands--came up with the "Science Fiction Periodic Table." This chart catalogues sci-fi movies and TV programs considered to be"pure elements." While some of the shows not listed on the chart are considered to be compound derivaties of the elemental stories.

(Click on the picture to enlarge it)

However, there is a debate on The Miniatures Page (TMP), where I found this, on why certain movies & programs didn't "make the chart":

http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=190986

Book Review: The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl

The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl, by Karen Burns, earned a slam-dunk of 17x5-star ratings out of 19 on Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Adventures-Working-Girl-Real-Life/dp/0762433485

The two low scorers though, both gave 4-star ratings to Karen's debut book. Of which, only one gave a reason for her low review: She felt the real life career advice you can actually use was more suited for lower-tier careers and not for someone with an MBA or PhD. She was also concerned that most readers might feel inhibited about reading a book in public titled "Working Girl."

Fortunately, I have no such inhibitions and I'm siding with the 5-star reviewers on Amazon. In fact, the book, which is illustrated by the author, is more "girly" than risque in appearance.

While the saga of Working Girl is geared for women in the workforce (as opposed to the mini skirt and stiletto heels-attired working girls), it contains career advice anyone can use--even guys.

Okay, maybe getting "...your bras fitted by a professional..." (illustration, pg 120), doesn't apply to men--or most of them anyway--but just about everything else does.

Karen's warm, witty and uplifting prose, highlights what she's learned in each of the 59 jobs she's held before becoming an author. Despite the girly appearance, this book is not just a fluff piece of amusing anecdotes. Although many of predicaments Karen (aka Working Girl) found herself in, were funny, Working Girl addresses issues like stress, unethical bosses and even sexual harassment. In each situation Working Girl recommends how best to resolve the issue with grace, charm, aplomb--and if necessary--filing a grievance or initiating litigation. (Document everything!)

While the chronicle of Working Girl's amazing adventures came out in April last year, she continues to dispense sound career advice from her website:

http://www.karenburnsworkinggirl.com/

But if getting job counselling from such a girly-looking website is too effeminate for your taste, then try the more manly US News and World Report Money Section, where Working Girl is a contributing writer:

http://search.usnews.com/index_library/search?keywords=Karen+Burns

Okay, so how do I know so much about Working Girl, instead of the stiletto-heeled working girls?

Well, I met Ms. Burns at last year's Pacific Northwest Writers Association (PNWA) Summer Conference. Her seminar, "Building a Platform from Nothing" was the first workshop I attended.

(Click on PNWA 09 Author Workshop Review under the Studio Contents Section and scroll down to the bottom to "Workshop with Working Girl," 7 August 2009).

I was impressed with her seminar and learned a lot about making my presence known on the web, without making a nuisance of myself (I hope). A standing-room only crowd also learned a lot that day too. In fact, her workshop drew more people than Deborah Schneider's and Chris Humphrey's "Writing Sex Scenes" seminar.

Seven months later, I'm still wondering which attendees had the better set of priorities...

Book Review: Hunt At the Well of Eternity

They say "you can't judge a book by its cover." But in the case of Hunt at the Well of Eternity, by James Reasoner, what you see is what you get: A babes & bad guys B-movie, in book form.

(And yes, the heroine was wearing a red bra while crossing the rope bridge. Her blouse though, was only ripped, not torn off completely as depicted in the picture. I guess the artist Glen Orbik, decided to exercise some artistic licensing for the book cover).

One reviewer on Amazon.com called this tribute to the pulp fiction genre of the '30s and '40s, a "beach read for guys!" Seven others felt the same way and gave this book a 5-star rating, while six readers considered it a 4-star novel. However, not everyone was happy with this modern-day pulp novel, which received 2x3-stars, 2x2-stars and 1x1-star from other readers:

http://www.amazon.com/Hunt-at-Well-Eternity-Gabriel/dp/0843962461

Charles Ardai, editor of Hard Case Crime books, created Leisure Books to chronicle the exploits of Gabriel Hunt, a 21st Century Indiana Jones. So far, a total of six books are planned, with several authors contributing their voice to the life & times of Gabriel Hunt. James Reasoner is the first author to join the "hunt for adventure" club:


http://www.huntforadventure.com/

Initially, I wasn't impressed with the first several pages Well of Eternity and would have concurred with the 1 and 2-star raters on Amazon. I found the characters, especially the evil mastermind, to be shallow caricatures; while the dialogue seemed awkward and the story loaded with cliches.

However, despite these shortcomings, James Reasoner, the author of more than 200 books, maintained a blistering pace throughout the adventure:

http://www.jamesreasoner.net/

Snippets of Gabriel's backstory were deftly sprinkled throughout the narrative--along with an unsolved mystery haunting Gabriel and his brother Michael--while the "what-is-the-mastermind-after" exposition occured at a natural point in the story. Since it only took 8 pages to clarify the mystery, the remaining 218 pages of the book were chock-full of non-stop, two-fisted, guns blazing, action. (How's that for cliche?).

This book was a quick, easy and enjoyable read that deserves at least a 3.5-star rating.

As an aspiring writer myself, I have a personal bias for liking this book: It's the kind of story I'd like to write! The gaming articles I've penned so far contain the same (or worse), literary gaffes than the 1 & 2-star raters on Amazon gave this book.

And speaking of games, the resurgence of pulp fiction hasn't been limited to the passive art of reading either. "Pulp Gaming" has been gaining popularity among my fellow wargamers for some time now. Instead of commanding vast armies, players lead bands of heroes (or cuthroats), against the minions of an evil mastermind and attempt to thwart his diabolical plans. For some, like "Dr. Merkury," pulp gaming is their primary passion:

http://doctormerkury.blogspot.com/

(A link to the "Doctor's Lab" can also be found under the Wargaming Blogs Section).

So whether you're gaming it, or reading it, pulp fiction can provide hours--or a lifetime--of great fun.

Finding My Niche, Possibly in Flash Fiction

Last November a number of my writing friends took part in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo):

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

A synopsis of NaNoWriMo from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Novel_Writing_Month

I on the otherhand, decided to pass, since I was much too busy with my other projects. At this point in time, my writing is more of a hobby rather than a profession. In fact, the stories I write, are about my wargaming hobby--a hobby within a hobby, so to speak.

While I've written several gaming articles these past few years and created YouTube movies within this past year, the question lingering in the back of my mind is: What nich does my work fall in to?

Wargame "battle reports" or "after action reviews (AARs)" can combine the elements of military history, historical fiction and narrative non-fiction, to name a few. Some wargames are even set within the realms of science-fiction and fantasy, like Star Trek, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, each with a literary "history" of it's own.


None of my work fits neatly into any of the genres mentioned above. So I was still looking for a niche.

Then a couple months ago, I came across a book review of Rose Metal Press' Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction in The Writer Magazine (Dec 09, pg 44, by Amy Wallen).

http://www.rosemetalpress.com/Catalog/Field%20Guide_more.html

After reading this, I ordered a copy of the book, which was the subject of my last post, and examined my YouTube movies. Of the 18 shows I've produced so far, the longest runs just over 8 minutes with a narrative word count of less than 800 words.

The definition of flash fiction, or short-short story, varies, but is usually a piece of work containing anywhere from 250-1,000 words:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_fiction

So can my YouTube movies be considered flash fiction?

Maybe.

One of the best ways to create a lasting impression in a short story or flash fiction is to hit the reader with surprise twist at the end, even if it's only in the last sentence.

The only surprise in my stories occur when a game's outcome differs than what occurred in history, or established lore, in the case of science fiction or fantasy. In some of my previous articles I included a fictional encounter as an introduction. The pattern is the same for each of these vignettes: A leader confronts an enemy host and must decide what to do next. Does he attack? Stand and defend? Or retreat? It is this critical decision point--before the battle is joined--that I find most fascinating, because once a choice has been made and the forces committed to action, there's no turning back.

Even after reading through the flash fiction field guide, I'm still not sure if my work can be pigeon-holed into this genre. But as long as my YouTube movies come in at less than 1K's worth of words, then it makes sense to use it as a template--until I start writing longer stories.

Book Review: Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction

The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction is a collection of 25 essays on the subject:

http://www.rosemetalpress.com/Catalog/Field%20Guide_more.html

Okay, so what's "flash fiction?"

The definition varies, but it's often called a short-short story, with a word-count ranging from 250-1,000 words:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_fiction

In fact, the introduction of this field guide, by Editor Tara L. Misah, is the longest chapter in the entire book, weighing-in at 26 pages. Despite its length, Ms. Misah provides the reader with an interesting history of flash fiction. Short stories gained popularity around the turn of the 20th Century with the publication of weekly magazines. These periodicals, however, began dying-off as television became a more popular form of entertainment. Despite the proliferation of the internet, flash fiction now provides a reader with a story in short amount of time, or "as long as it takes to smoke a cigarette."

In fact, SmokeLong Quarterly, is an on-line literary magazine devoted specifically to flash fiction:

http://www.smokelong.com/home.asp

As to the field guide itself, I found the essays useful and informative. Each essay ranged from 3-9 pages, which included a writing prompt and an example of flash fiction. As you could expect, the authors had some differences of opinion on what makes an effective short-short story. What they did agree on, was that each story should be thought-provoking and leave the reader with an indelible image.

I found most of the story examples, "thought provoking" alright. My usual responses were, "huh?" or even, "WTF was that all about?"

I guess I'm not the literary type. I'm not into deciphering an author's meaning and images in his or her story.

My favorite was Inside Job by Pamela Painter. In this flash, a university couple are attending a party. After noticing her husband hit on another one of his graduate students, Marla goes into the kitchen to grab a drink, but accidently douses her blouse with seltzer water. One of Marla's graduate students tries to help dab off the water and she guides his hand--underneath her blouse.

Whew!

Talk about an "indelible image!"

I rate this book a solid four stars. This is more out of personal bias. With the exception of Inside Job, it's hard for me to get excited over a textbook. However, for anyone interested in writing flash fiction, or improving their craft in this niche-genre, this is an invaluable guide.

Happy New Year!

Acquiring Prime (Miniature) Real Estate

Stern Rake Studio acquired it's first piece of (miniature) real estate!

Four days ago I bought a terrain board from my friend Adrian, which he got it at a wargame auction. This particular board was a fixture at American Eagles, a gamestore in Tacoma, which sadly, closed a couple of years ago.

This board consists of 6, 2'x4' sections and looks like this when fully assembled:

According to Adrian, no one knows who made this winter wonderland masterpiece. From what we can gather it was made for a micro-armor (6mm, 1/285th, 1/300 scale), Battle of the Bulge scenario.

Here's a view of Panels 1-4:


View of Panels 3-6:


Looking up at the "Splatterhorn":


Another view of the "Splatterhorn":


"The road less travelled":

I plan on adding brown flocking to the roads in order to give them a more "dusty" look. I also want to add more color and acetate to the river:

I'm certainly happy with my new acquisition! I've always admired boar ever since I first saw it back at American Eagles.

However, like some greedy land developer, there are "improvements" I'd like to make.

My long-term plan is to repaint and reflock the the entire board so I'm not limited to a winter campaign.

So far, I've discussed with Adrian, two possibilities:

1. Repainting and reflocking only the snowy areas.

2. Repainting and reflocking the entire board.

This will also mean uprooting all the miniature trees, since they're all "frosted" to look snow-covered. I don't intend to re-attach the trees as they are now. I'd like to make the board a bit more versatile by not "nailing down" these kind of terrain features. (The roads and the river will maintain their respective courses).

Michelangelo Exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum

Today, my wife and I went to the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) to check out the Alexander Calder and Michelangelo Exhibits.

SAM website:

http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/

I must admit I've never heard of Alexander Calder until now. According to Wikipedia, he invented the mobile. You know, those things parents hang over a baby's crib to keep it mesmerized:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Calder

While Calder made small, toy-like pieces, including jewelry, most of his work is "industrial strength" sheet-metal and steel wire, which are unsuitable for any nursery room.

After watching some of Calder's pieces maintain their precarious balance, we proceeded to the Michelangelo Exhibit. One of the first things I learned was that Michelangelo, unlike some of today's pop stars, actually had a surname. The great artist's full name was: Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo

The exhibit here consisted of some of Michelangelo's surviving sketches. Near the end of his life, Michelangelo burned most of his sketches and rough drafts, because he didn't want people to see how "crappy" they were.

I guess the phrase: "One man's junk is another man's treasure," was coined after the Renaissance.