So, I've been having trouble sleeping the past few weeks. Tonight, especially, is strange, as it's the last night before my roommate moves out. And such, I've decided to write a blog post, and hopefully it'll make me sleepy.
I'm not sure how living alone is going to suit me. I've never lived alone before, and while I really don't consider myself a social person, I also don't consider myself a loner either. I think I'm selectively social, and having your best friend as your roommate makes that a pretty easy disposition to maintain. Wanna be alone? Chill in your room. Want to socialize? Walk down the hall to his room. I think the change is really going to set in late tomorrow night when I get home from work to what will then by MY house. 3 bedrooms, one dude. Living large, I guess.
I don't want to whine too much about the whole deal. It is what it is, to use a saying that people use, and I'll just have to adapt. So let's just talk about something else.
How about press boxes? High School football season is back on, which means my Fridays will be spent in the press boxes of North Texas for the next few months. Here's the thing, I love press boxes, but they inspire a strange phenomenon for the people who are inside them. People are drink obsessed in press boxes. Think about it, when you go out somewhere, how many drinks do you require? Go to the movies, you usually require 1 drink, right? If you go to a sporting event you get maybe what, 2 drinks? Okay, the men and women in press boxes, from scouts to coaches to reporters to announcers, they drink like 8 drinks each. It's like this mania that overtakes you. I remember last season I was just grabbing drinks without realizing I was doing it. I had this moment where I looked at my work station (in addition to covering the games for the paper, I do stats for a radio show that broadcasts the game on the internet) and I had 5 drinks in front of me. I had a half empty Dr. Pepper, an unopened Dr. Pepper, a freshly opened Sprite, a freshly opened bottled water, and a red Gatorade. And you look around, and this is the norm! Dudes are stocking up on drinks like the apocalypse is nigh. Maybe it's just the strange appeal of facing down a big cooler full of drinks and knowing that you're free to grab them. It's like having a license to shoplift. I'd like to say that I'm going to be a better press box citizen this year and only take what drinks I need, but I'm not sure that's a pledge I can live up to. I'll try, but I won't be surprised to look up week 3 and have a plethora of drinks set before me once more.
"Would you say I have a plethora of pinatas?"
"A what?"
"A plethora."
"Oh yes, you have a plethora."
"Jefe, what is a plethora?"
"Why, Guapo?"
"Well you told me I have a plethora, and I just would like to know if you know what a plethora is. I would not like to think that a person would tell someone he has a plethora, and find out that that person has no idea what it means to have a plethora."
Boom, you just got Three Amigoed. I watched that movie like 100 times when I was a kid. I don't even remember liking it all that much...
I'm listening to a random "rock" radio station on Sptofiy right now and it's pretty bad. Paramore, Rise Against, Goo Goo Dolls, and Credence Clearwater Revival, so far. Not your typical mix, and not one that's doing much for me tonight. There, I switched to some moody rock. That's better.
Hmmm... what else can I blab about? I've had some really strange novel ideas lately. I'm kind of toying with the idea of tackling a bad idea for an upcoming project. Let me explain that. I know when I have good ideas. I can think it up, and go "yeah, that's a good idea". I know how to write a novel based on a good idea, and I'd go as far as to say that while still challenging, it's something that I've gotten good at doing. Know what would be a challenge though? To take a bad idea, and write a good book based around it. I have one pretty crappy idea that I'm sort of in love with. It's an outrageously dumb thing to base a novel around, and the possibility of crafting it into something that's actually good and enjoyable to read about sounds like a delightful challenge. I had another bad idea when driving last week, but the more I've thought about it I'm starting to think maybe it's not so bad after all. I ran it by a friend, who was oddly transfixed by it, despite its weirdness.
There's always another idea for the next book, which is something I'm super thankful for. I know that it's not like that for all writers, and I stockpile my novel ideas like they're gold, because deep down I have this fear that one day the ideas won't come so easily for me. If that day ever comes, I'll have an emergency supply I can dip into. The problem I've found is, every couple of years when I go back and read old novel ideas, they're actually kind of stupid. I think my sensibility of what makes a good book idea changes every few years. Just a few weeks ago I was reading old book ideas and kept thinking "this is terrible" or "I would never actually write this". I think I had designs of being a "normal" writer when I first got started. I had ideas about things like mine collapses in rural mountain towns, and the effect that has on a local family, and then the son of that family who moved away to Los Angeles and became a mildly successful music producer comes back home to help out and has to reconnect with old friends, family, and "the one that got away". If I was going to write that book now, my idea for that would be about some ancient evil creature that caused the mine collapse, and the local family with a legacy of monster hunters that has to rediscover their monster hunting heritage and go after the creature before it collapses other mines and more innocent hard working miners from the town are killed. See, that strikes me as a way better idea than the first one.
Speaking of writing books, I'm like 85% done with my next novel. It's been on hold for the past month while I played catch up with Hall Brothers Entertainment administrative stuff, and then had my mini-mental breakdown over my roommate leaving. I'm looking forward to getting back to it and finishing it up in the coming weeks though. It's about terraforming, which is a subject that fascinates me. Mostly it's just a big adventure, which you can probably say all of my books are really. And of course it's about love, because most books I write include a love story. I tend to enjoy my entertainment more when there's at least a little romance in it, and so I tend to write that way myself.
I wonder where I'm at in my writing career? I've been thinking about stuff like that lately, as it provides a great excuse to think about writing without actually doing any writing. I'm a "learn on the job" kind of guy. But I'm a six year full time newspaper veteran now, and my journalism work goes back over a decade total. I've got 7 years being a serious fiction writer, 6 finished novels, 3 short story collections, 1 novella, countless short stories, 2 nearly finished novels. I'm 31 years old. I feel good about the output level. I feel good about the quality of what I've done. I think that until you reach Stephen King status, you'll always wish for a wider audience, but that's not something I'd ever really complain about. You kind of just hope it'll happen one day, while reminding yourself to stay humbled by each individual reader. The fact that even a single human being has thought my work worthy of being bought, and more so deemed it worthy of giving up some of their time to read, that's a huge deal. I like to keep that attitude, because it's true. Time is the most valuable currency in the world, and the fact that hundreds of people have spent that currency reading my books, man, that's just crazy to think about. That's inspiration right there. I'm not going to lie and say that I don't wish it was thousands of people, or even tens of thousands, but even if it never really blows up past the level where I'm at, I'll forever be truly grateful that people read my stuff.
I really should go to sleep, as I have a bunch of stuff to do tomorrow, but I still don't feel tired. I'm sure anyone who managed to slog this far into this blog post is tired of reading though, so I'll shut it down here. I'm probably going to start blogging a lot more, and while I'd like to say they all won't be this long, well, we both know they probably will be. I hope everyone is having an awesome week, and that your weekend is full of some kind of adventure, some kind of rest, and some kind of laughter.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
My Death Note Overdose
So, Death Note is one of those animes that I had no doubt I would enjoy. I've owned the entire series for years, but never watched past the first disc. I'm a finicky anime fan, and as much as I proclaim to love it, sometimes I wonder if I really do. It's like I love the theory of it, but something about actually watching it never leaves me quite as satisfied as I feel watching shows with real actors.
However, lately I've been migrating back into anime and enjoying myself so far. I think I'm finally in a place where I can enjoy it for what it is without worrying too much about what it isn't. So, when my roommate suggested we watch Death Note, it seemed like a great thing to do. For the past few years, he's mentioned that we should watch it off and on, but we never did it. Now that he's leaving in a few weeks, it seemed like a great thing to do, so over three LONG nights, we devoured this 37 episode series. And what a series it was. Below I'm going to share my spoiler free thoughts on it.
For any of you who aren't into anime, or don't know what Death Note is, it's a series about this guy named Light who finds a notebook that was dropped into the human world by a bored Shinigami, which is basically like a death god. Light learns that if he writes the name of someone in the notebook while picturing their face, they'll die. Seeing a chance to clean up the world, he decides to use the notebook in an attempt to wipe out all the terrible criminals, thus becoming something of a huge mass murderer (or a savior, depending on how you wanna view him). The world quickly becomes aware of his existence (though not his identity) and a huge investigation is started to bring him to justice.
So that's the basic idea. If it sounds dark, that's because it definitely is. For 37 episodes you kind of have to constantly fight the moral battle that the show presents. How bad is someone who kills murderers and rapists? Every character, even the ones who are trying to find the killer, has to confront this. They also have to contend with the fact that just by trying to find this guy, they are putting their lives at risk, because if he ever learns their name and face he can kill them easily.
The show is insanely good, with an emphasis on insane. This is some of the bravest storytelling you'll ever see. I don't know if it's always the best, but it's definitely among the bravest. This show produces jaw dropping twist after jaw dropping twist and stands proud and tall beside each one. Obviously this is a great quality, but it does mean the tone and direction of the show can veer wildly at times. In the heat of watching it, there were sections that I was a little unhappy with, as it broke away from my favorite elements of the series, but looking back on it I mostly just admire the show for having a no fear attitude towards completely demolishing itself and building it into something different a few times over the course of 37 episodes.
One thing that amazed me is how easily followed Death Note is. The story is complex to a nutty degree, but at the same time it never feels like its getting away from you. I think this was greatly helped by the fact that we watched 12 episodes a night, 3 nights straight, so there wasn't much chance of us forgetting any plot points. But still, it's definitely a strength of the series that it was able to remain easy to follow despite delving into some of the craziest, twisting, complex ideas and plots you'll ever see.
The only thing I have to compare Death Note to is The Shield (or maybe Dexter). In both shows, you're mainly watching someone who is probably defined as a villain. Also in both shows, you live every moment with your stomach in knots, eyes wide as you watch the intricate ways in which the characters weave their web and stay one step ahead of those who are after them.
The ending of Death Note was definitely satisfying. I felt a lot of conflicting emotions over it, and you really can't predict which way it's going to go, which is nice. For a show this crazy, the sky was the limit for how they wanted to close it, and that works to their advantage, because you really can't even begin to have a clue as to where things will end up when the final credits roll.
So there you have it, my thoughts on Death Note. It was fantastic watching it in one huge chunk, and I think I'll probably watch more anime this way in the future. I'd definitely recommend this series to people, as long as they're into this kind of super dark, complex, kind of thing. It's definitely not for everyone, as you spend the majority of the time with some really morally bankrupt characters, but it's just such a smart, engaging, deep, and insane show, I'm really glad I finally sat down and watched the thing.
However, lately I've been migrating back into anime and enjoying myself so far. I think I'm finally in a place where I can enjoy it for what it is without worrying too much about what it isn't. So, when my roommate suggested we watch Death Note, it seemed like a great thing to do. For the past few years, he's mentioned that we should watch it off and on, but we never did it. Now that he's leaving in a few weeks, it seemed like a great thing to do, so over three LONG nights, we devoured this 37 episode series. And what a series it was. Below I'm going to share my spoiler free thoughts on it.
For any of you who aren't into anime, or don't know what Death Note is, it's a series about this guy named Light who finds a notebook that was dropped into the human world by a bored Shinigami, which is basically like a death god. Light learns that if he writes the name of someone in the notebook while picturing their face, they'll die. Seeing a chance to clean up the world, he decides to use the notebook in an attempt to wipe out all the terrible criminals, thus becoming something of a huge mass murderer (or a savior, depending on how you wanna view him). The world quickly becomes aware of his existence (though not his identity) and a huge investigation is started to bring him to justice.
So that's the basic idea. If it sounds dark, that's because it definitely is. For 37 episodes you kind of have to constantly fight the moral battle that the show presents. How bad is someone who kills murderers and rapists? Every character, even the ones who are trying to find the killer, has to confront this. They also have to contend with the fact that just by trying to find this guy, they are putting their lives at risk, because if he ever learns their name and face he can kill them easily.
The show is insanely good, with an emphasis on insane. This is some of the bravest storytelling you'll ever see. I don't know if it's always the best, but it's definitely among the bravest. This show produces jaw dropping twist after jaw dropping twist and stands proud and tall beside each one. Obviously this is a great quality, but it does mean the tone and direction of the show can veer wildly at times. In the heat of watching it, there were sections that I was a little unhappy with, as it broke away from my favorite elements of the series, but looking back on it I mostly just admire the show for having a no fear attitude towards completely demolishing itself and building it into something different a few times over the course of 37 episodes.
One thing that amazed me is how easily followed Death Note is. The story is complex to a nutty degree, but at the same time it never feels like its getting away from you. I think this was greatly helped by the fact that we watched 12 episodes a night, 3 nights straight, so there wasn't much chance of us forgetting any plot points. But still, it's definitely a strength of the series that it was able to remain easy to follow despite delving into some of the craziest, twisting, complex ideas and plots you'll ever see.
The only thing I have to compare Death Note to is The Shield (or maybe Dexter). In both shows, you're mainly watching someone who is probably defined as a villain. Also in both shows, you live every moment with your stomach in knots, eyes wide as you watch the intricate ways in which the characters weave their web and stay one step ahead of those who are after them.
The ending of Death Note was definitely satisfying. I felt a lot of conflicting emotions over it, and you really can't predict which way it's going to go, which is nice. For a show this crazy, the sky was the limit for how they wanted to close it, and that works to their advantage, because you really can't even begin to have a clue as to where things will end up when the final credits roll.
So there you have it, my thoughts on Death Note. It was fantastic watching it in one huge chunk, and I think I'll probably watch more anime this way in the future. I'd definitely recommend this series to people, as long as they're into this kind of super dark, complex, kind of thing. It's definitely not for everyone, as you spend the majority of the time with some really morally bankrupt characters, but it's just such a smart, engaging, deep, and insane show, I'm really glad I finally sat down and watched the thing.
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