Glowing in the dark, zombies being wronged, and writing advice.
I came across these glow in the dark jeans, and at first I thought they were pretty cool, but then I thought the same thing when I see GITD products now: When will you actually see them glow these days? I can't think of anywhere that's dark enough for anything to cast a merry glow these days, as artificial light even permeates "dark" places most of the time. My only shining (sorry) moment of glow-in-the-dark glory came in high school when I was in a classroom that had been built with no windows or emergency lights. A sudden power outage let my "Close Personal Friend of Al" t-shirt finally shine like the beacon it was meant to be. But all too soon, power was restored, and the shirt and I felt our fleeting moment of fulfillment die. I think this t-shirt is one of the cleverest uses of glowing ink I've seen, but I can't really think of a time when I'd be in light dim enough for someone else to notice. Maybe it's just me, but unless someone in a rural area wanted to start a legend about a pair of "Ghost Levis" roaming the countryside, I can't come up with too many places people would notice your glowing lower half.
Let's all have a moment of silence for the "World War Z" movie that could have been, and lament what where it appears to be going. For those who haven't read the book, the spoiler-free synopsis is this: The book is a collection of stories a reporter is gathering from those who survived the events of what became known as "World War Z," where the dead rose to feast on the living. Each chapter was an individual recollection of events that were part of a greater whole, telling how humanity fought back and overcame the zombie menace (no spoiler there, since it's stated pretty much at the outset). I figured the movie would be kind of a Ken Burns documentary with zombies, or a series of vignettes culled from the book to tell a more linear tale of the zombie war from start to finish. Instead, they appear to just be making a zombie outbreak movie with a more governmental angle. As always, maybe it'll still be a good livin' dead movie, but it won't look a lot like Max Brooks' story. At the very least, I hope they keep his "zombie tech" in the movie. His rationale for weapons, tactics, and survival methods all seemed to make a lot of sense, making his book stand out for me. His version did have the "problem" of the reader knowing that the tale-teller was going to survive his/her experience (otherwise nobody would be around to talk to the reporter), but maybe Brooks has science on his side, as a recent study suggested that perhaps spoilers make stories more enjoyable. I think that may be a personal taste thing, but I do have to think about how many times we re-watch and re-read our favorite fictions, even though we know exactly what's going to happen. Anyway, it's a sad state for a book that was #54 on NPR's Top 100 Science Fiction/Fantasy book list.
It also turns out that Frank Darabont may have been fired from AMC's "The Walking Dead." This comes after news that the zombie-show's budget was slashed, supposedly to pump more money into "Mad Men," a show that, while popular, has lower ratings than TWD. Is AMC run by someone from SyFy? The pattern of behavior is looking disturbingly familiar. And since we're on the subject of the living dead, MIT has possibly discovered a method to kill any viral infection. This is either what stops the zombie apocalypse or starts it, depending on the movie we're in, I think.
Since Darabont has directed some successful Stephen King projects, I can segue into word that King has a few more adaptations possibly pending. "The Stand" might get a multi-picture deal, which is really how you'd have to do it to make it work with a cast as large as the one in the text. His yet-to-be-published novel, "11/22/63" sounds interesting, if for nothing else to see if his time-portal is, as they say, "Dark Tower Relevant." Not to mention I'm sure some FX guys are ready to take another crack at doing a CGI Kennedy that doesn't look like a rubber-skinned android. :)
Back to the ol' keyboard and art desk for me. I'm really hoping this whole "writin' stuff" manages to keep food on the family as the economy slides into the ocean, and to that end I sought out Mike Stackpole at Gen Con. He gave me some pointers, tips, and his "21 Days to a Novel" e-book. It's a great help with some rather simple yet effective ways to get things started. But if you really want to write a novel quickly (not necessarily well; your mileage may vary), you could look at Michael Moorcock's "How To Write a Book in Three Days." Then there's some advice on how to write faster. If those last two are somehow compatible, you may rip a hole in the fabric of space-time, so be sure to have "autosave" engaged.
Onward, if not upward:
- SyFy attempts to pretend it cares about its audience and gives Eureka a 13th season five episode to wrap things up.
- If anyone out there has seen something go whizzing past that kind of looks like the ship from "Flight of the Navigator," but painted black, DARPA would appreciate a phone call.
- As someone who once worked with one of these old beige terminals, it's kind of cool to see that someone rigged up an old VT-220 to work with his modern-day computer.
- The Iowa State Fair has wrought a deep-fried stick of butter on a stick. A boon for mountain climbers and arctic explorers, perhaps, but not so much for the rest of us...
- The name of this game might seem sketchy, but Slow and Blow Kings is an explosives-based game where you try to rid the screen of kings via bombs and the ability to warp time.
- It's another David Mitchell rant, this time about those squished-up credits at the end of TV shows.
- China has built its first aircraft carrier, while also converting an old Soviet one into a luxury hotel.
- Kotaku has an interview with the author of the Half Life 2 Mod, "The Stanley Parable,", which was an amusing diversion, I have to admit.
- If I've ever seen a baccarat table outside of a James Bond movie, I must have mistaken it for blackjack or something. That said, the game has become a target for those out to cheat casinos. If they did so in the name of Her Majesty's Secret Service, I say give 'em a pass.
- I mostly use my Wii for Wii Sports and older N64 games, but you gotta give the system credit for some truly unexpected video game titles. I still think the one called Sukeban Shachou Rena is the most delightfully strange, though.
- Yeah, if I had some heavy earth-moving equipment, I'd probably do this, too.
- Remember how the Human Torch died? Raise your hand if you're surprised by this.
- It was probably inevitable: The first annual MineCon will be in November, celebrating Minecraft. Mind you don't stray out of the hall after sundown without a sword and some decent armor.
- The Book of Living Magic may not be for everyone, but if you're looking for a hand-drawn point-n-click adventure, here it is.
- And for puzzle platformer fans, here's The End. Weighty concepts pepper this end-of-the-world game.