Author Archives: Bob Evans

The Between Projects Break

Sunday I sent out the first of five acts from my latest Work in Progress to my Beta readers. This leaves me, at the moment, without an active writing project on my desktop. Oh, there’s a secret project that I work on intermittently as practice and an experiment into adaptation, though steering clear of anything that’s still under copyright, but for original material that I’d be sending straight to a market, nothing is currently in progress.

I don’t know if it is a good sign or a bad sign but for the novel that has just started its beta read process I have really good feeling about it. I am quite happy with how it turned out and it’s overall tone and effect seemed on target. That said I have had a few projects die at the beta read step. It’s hard when you’ve worked on a novel, banged out 80-90 thousand words and the result is a flawed piece that needs to be rewritten from the ground up. Though it is hard to hear that news it is also important to accept it, to look upon the wart and faults with honest eyes and learn from the failure. Failure teaches far more than success provided you listen to its lessons.

So with no active projects that means I have more time for relaxation and recharging the creative juices. Luckily I recently obtained a number of cool Blu-rays with tons of bonus material and the 15-episode documentary The Story of Film. This is perfect for soaking in knowledge and growing as an artist while I lazily sit on the loveseat not writing.

One of the movies I picked up was the most recent Blu-ray edition of The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eight Dimension.The documentary is longer than the film it documents and has been wonderful to watch. Its interesting to speculate on what sort of film it would have been had Tom Hanks been the lead, as apparently nearly happened, or if Jordan Cronenweth, the cinematographer who shot Blade Runner, had remained as the Director of Photography.

This pause in creative output will not last very long. My mind is already banging out the rough structure of my first horror novel and I can feel the anticipation and drive building, soon the muse will once again be in command.

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Who Knew that Kim Jong-Un Read Peanuts?

A few months ago, though really I think it has been a matter of weeks, things looked strangely good for Trump as a diplomat. He brought the North Koreans to the table apparently willing to talk about giving up their nuclear weapons and his followers chanted ‘Nobel’ like it was a sports championship.

But now it seems that thing are falling apart and it seems the North Koreans are unwilling to surrender their prized and expensive nuclear weapons.

Some have blamed this on Bolton, Trump’s senior National Security Adviser and a man who still thinks that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a good idea. Bolton has compared the North Korean talk tot he deal made with Libya, you know that place where the citizens revolted, overthrew their dictator, and killed in cowering in the street, Granted that image I am certain does not prompt good feelings and pleasant dreams in the mind of Kim Jong-um, a man, despite his resemblance to the Pillsbury Dough Boy, brutally slaughters his own family members. I do not think it was merely Bolton’s mouthing-off that has now derailed the summit.

Trump has announced a date and place for the summit and after he did that Kim comes out and yanks the prize away. This leaves Trump with two options, go to the summit with the one things the rest of the world really really wanted, North Korea nukes off the table, making the summit a prominent propaganda coup for Kim, and make no mistake sitting at the table as an equal with the President of the United States, even this one, without having to even discuss surrounding his bombs is a huge win for Kim, or Trump cancels and is humiliated on the world stage by ‘little rocket man.’ Kim will gain a win no matter what Trump does and we will be left with a bunch of commemorative coins proclaimed Kim as ‘Supreme Leader.’ (Just imagine Fox news if Obama or any Democrat had called Kim by that status.)

My bet is that Trump will go, rather than face public humiliation but I would place money on that.

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Sunday Night Movie: The Beyond (1981)

Originally, I had planned to watch my new Blu-Ray of The Adventure of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension, but in the end I decided I wanted a fresh cinematic experience rather than the comfortable pleasure of re-watching an old favorite. Following some comments from the Cinema Junkiepodcast, I discovered that Shudderhas The Beyondavailable for streaming and so Italian Horror won out.

Part of Lucio Fulci’s ‘Gates of Hell’ trilogy, preceded by City of the Living Dead(which I have seen) and followed by The House by the Cemetery(which I have not), The Beyondfollows the story of Liza (Catriona MacColl) and young woman from New York who has inherited a closed hotel in Louisiana. Having run out of financial options in Liza is committed to reopening the hotel and making it work. Accidents during renovations start injuring workers bringing in a local doctor (David Warbeck) and the two are drawn into the hotel’s history of murder, sorcery, and attack by the undead.

The Enlightened let loose upon humanity that concept that the world is ultimately a rational place and can be understood by way of the powers of reason. This concept is so ingrained in the Western culture that it permeates even our supernatural stories with explanations for who ghost, demons, and all assortment of otherworldly events transpires. This usually provides for horror stories a roadmap based on mystery. Once the character discover the clues and assemble them in the proper manner not only an explanation but a solution to the horrific emerge. Methods for closing gates, laying souls to rest, or even just understanding and surviving in the new conditions follow by the power of reason.

This is not how The Beyondis structured.

The Beyondtakes its structure from dream-logic.

That is to say there is no logic, there is no cause-and-effect chain of events, but rather the story is a sequence of events, each building in horrific intensity, each less moored to conventional reality, until at the end of the movie, staircases connect disparate locales, reason falls away leaving only madness.

As such The Beyondis a movie that some will adore for it unconventional narrative and others will find only frustration as ultimately nothing is explained and the chaos reigns. I actually fall in the middle; I found the structure interesting enough to watch the entire feature but the lack of a cohesive narrative ultimate robbed me of any emotional investment with the characters and their plight. I will also state that the tarantula sequence, while inventive, dragged on far too long. The Beyondis from that branch of horror cinema that features graphic, gory, and gruesome death scenes, another aspect that does not work for everyone.

In the end I do not regret spending my Sunday Night Movie slot on this horror film but your mileage may vary.

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And Now for Something Different

For several years now I have had vague notions bouncing around my skull for a potential trilogy of horror novels. While I have written a number of horror short stories and many years ago even a horror film script I have never attempt a novel of that genre.

The notions bouncing around I like but they had refused to assemble into a full story or even a decent plot; so I just kept them bouncing hoping that someday that they might finally fall into place.

The other, while listening to the Cinema Junkie podcast, something a guest said sparked that final epiphany that I had required. The approach, the theme, and most important of all, the ending of the first book suddenly snapped into focus. I can see how it opens, the general shape of the rising action and stakes, and the new balance that is achieved at the end of the tale.

I am still finishing up work on my military SF book and once that is out the door then I can start outlining and beating into shape the details of my first horror novel.

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Style versus Genre

I fist started seriously think about style versus genre on the subject of film noirand what mattered more to classifying a story as a noir, the content or the stylistic elements. My thoughts have expanded and I find myself looking at other divisions and wondering just how far can this analysis go?

Consider science-fiction, just as with film noirit too seems to possess a slipper definition that comes down a great deal to personal taste. For the most part SF is fairly easy to define, stories in which a technological or scientific advancement or theory plays a critical element in its structure; so critical that if removed the story collapses. The novel and the film The Martianis a perfect recent example of a piece meeting this definition. However at the other end of the spectrum we have a film such as Star Wars, which is a story about space knight, space princesses, and space wizards in a grand conflict dealing with good and evil. While the film takes place in outer space, and the characters utilizes technological weaponry and transportation everything about that tech and setting is fanciful ignoring that facts of science.

The Martianfits if we define SF as a genre with boundaries and rules that delineate what is and more importantly what is not science-fiction. Star Wars fits if we define SF as a style, stories that have the look, feel, and trappings of advanced technology but are unconcerned with valid scientific underpinnings or theories.

Here is the crux of so many debates over what is and is not science-fiction. Some people use the style model while others use the genre one and quite often the people themselves are not aware of their mode of thinking and so when a person of one camp engages in a discussion with someone from the other discord and unresolvable debates follow because at heart they are speaking of two very different viewpoints.

As with all art there is no ‘right’ answer to selecting between the viewpoints and we

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Fascinated by Film Grammar

Many times I have gone to a local Landmark Theater to take in an Art House film and before the feature presentation experienced the chain’s promotional material that ended with ‘The Language of Film is Universal.’ (BTW the idea that Universal Studios never took up this as a slogan is terribly amusing.) Of course Landmark Theaters uses that bit of advertising copy because Art house feature heavily favor international production, but it has the side benefit of being true.

Film has a grammar, cut two shot together and they create a meaning from that context that neither possessed, fade to black and then back up and the audience understands that a lengthy segment of time has passed, have one character look to the right and speaking while cutting to another character looking left and speaking and we draw the connection that they are conversing. (Beautifully demonstrated in The Last Jediwhen Rian Johnson used the simplest film grammar instead of showy special effect to connect Kylo and Rey.) There is a lot to film grammar and I listed only a few possible ways that you can see it; what fascinates me is that it is truly universal.

Take the bit about two shots creating a third meaning. This was explored near the birth of cinema by Soviet filmmaker and theoretician Sergei Eisenstein, looking here as though he inspired David Lynch’s Eraserhead. One of Eisenstein’s more famous experiments involved an actor looking directly into camera with a neutral expression, then cutting from the actor to various other shots of food, death, danger, and so on. When projected for an audience and asked what emotion the actor expressing the juxtaposition of the two images always created meaning where the actor had expressed nothing. Hunger is the next shot was food, horror at death and so on.

This was true not only for the peoples of Russia, but Western Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Again and again we find that the actual grammar of cinema transcends language and culture. It doesn’t matter where you come from, how you are raised, what your religious thoughts and convictions are, film works the same way for you as it does everyone else. It is a staggering thought and example of the commonality of humanity once you strip away the surfaces differences.

The Language of Film isUniversal.

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Noir Night: Fallen Angel (1945)

Technically this was two nights as coming down with a cold I found my late night energy flagging, sending me to bed early on Saturday and Sunday nights.

Fallen Angelis the story of a down on his luck con man, Eric Stanton (Dana Andrews) stranded in the California coastal town of Walton without even enough money to buy bus fare out. After helping a pair of fellow conmen running a traveling fake medium show Stanton becomes embroiled with two women, Stella (Linda Darnell) a fiery brunette, tough and no nonsense that nearly every man in town is pursuing, and June (Alice Faye) a sweet, sheltered, blonde who plays keyboard in the church with a large sum of money held by her suspicious guardian sister Clara. Intent on winning Stella with riches, Stanton begins a love affair/con with June. Things do not go as planned and Stanton finds himself on the run from a murder rap.

Spoilers from here on out.

I enjoyed this movie but it is not destined to become of my favorite noirs. My tastes in noir tends towards the darker films with fewer ‘happily ever after’ endings. Sam broken heart in The Maltese Falcon, or Walter Neff’s doomed end in Double Indemnity, these have more punch and more noir than the ones that work out in the end. Sadly, Fallen Angelis one of those with a happy ending. You can nearly hear the production crew flipping back and forth through the production code as the film progresses, shying away from anything that strayed too close to the line and thereby neutering the film.

When Stella turned up murdered I perked up. It was clear that Stanton wasn’t going to be the killer and at first I had pegged the guardian sister Clara. Later as June insisted with conviction that Stanton could not have killed Stella I really hoped that she turned out to be the killer. The sweet quite girl lashing out to keep what was her’s would have been verily cool. You could have still had the arc of Stanton growing as a character and learning to love, but losing it all as they took June off to prison. In the end it turned out to be one of Stella many thwarted admirers leaving Stanton and June to live happily ever after.

Of course, your mileage may vary.

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A Staggering Level of Corruption

People get used to things and what was once unthinking quickly becomes the new normal. Think upon gasoline, if the price were suddenly changed to $2 per gallon their would be cheers when at one time $2 a gallon would have provoked sharp and pain political punishment. This effect is found in narrative fiction as well. For continuing heroes, be they superheroes or slick spies, the stakes have to increase with every adventure or the audience becomes uninterested in the outcome.

With the current political administration we have, less than two years into its run already contracted scandal fatigue. Every single day it seems brings some new crisis, some new scandal, and some new evidence of corruption. The White acts besieged when its allies control both houses of congress.

It is my personal opinion that this is the most corrupt administration since the 19th century. If the stakes weren’t so high this would be farce, instead it is likely to end in tragedy.

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Don’t Confirm Gina Haspel

In general a President should get the people that they want for their administration. Sadly Trumps picks tend to be boot-licker and brownnosers who tell him what he wants to hear. That terrible Cabinet meeting where they all took turns praising the President as he sat there basking in the adulation is a symptom of a very dangerous man.

On a recent episode of the podcast Intelligence Matters the host and the guest, both men who formerly were quite high ranking at the CIA administration advocated for Ms. Haspel’s confirmation. They spoke of her experience, her intelligence, and her commitment to this country. All great qualities for someone wielding terrible powers in the service of their country, but the pair also praised Ms. Haspel as someone who would tell the President ‘no.’

If I had faith that she would act in such a manner I would fully support her confirmation, this president more than most needs strong capable people to tell him ‘no’ and check his worst impulses. Not an easy task to do with the President of the United States, particularly when that President is known for verbal rages when thwarted and who possesses a fragile ego.

Unfortunately Ms. Haspel as already been tested in the manner and she failed. When directed to carried out torture she did so. When directed to destroy evidence of that torture, she did so. From person far less power than a sitting president when did not tell them ‘no.’

Called before congress for her confirmation she dodged and evaded, going so far to refuse to label torture as immoral.

When we select people for power positions, the Congress, the Senate, and so one the most important character trait is judgment. That is the real job we are hiring them for, not to follow public opinion polls, not to be a weather vane for shifting moods, but to render judgment on our behalf.

Ms. Haspel’s judgment has been found wanting.

 

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Brief Thoughts on the Met Gala

Certainly High Culture and Fashion are not my areas of expertise but there area few observations I want to make about the controversy surrounding this year’s Met Gala. At the fund raiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art a number of celebrities wore fashion that was inspired Catholic Regalia. This took place in hand with the exhibition Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.

There have been voices raised protesting that their religion is not an excuse for someone else’s fancy dress. I can understand that viewpoint, though not a member of the Catholic faith, nor of any organized religion, those of the faith feel quite strongly, passionately, and deeply about their beliefs. I can see how it would appear as trivializing one of the core aspects of their identity.

But I also wonder how many of those people protesting the eroticism of these alter regalia gave any thought to cultures beyond their own?

When people think of American Indians one of the most comment images is of the elaborate feathered headdress, or of the tribal dances, but these are part of their religious practices. It is their regalia and that iconography is used for selling products and sports franchises. Do these same people hurt and insulted by the Met Gala speak up in support of the tribes who feel the same way about their culture?

Naturally I do not think that there should be a law on this. The people at the Met Gala have a right of expression, just as those who protest what was expressed. One thing I do believe is that if you are making an argument from principle and then you need to make is fairly otherwise you are simply placing your comfort and your outcomes above those of others.

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