New Daredevil--Superhero gets reboot with issue #1 in July

I'm reservedly excited about this. The thing that will win me over that wasn't mentioned in the linked article is this comment by Mark Waid:

as well as emphasizing his powers and perception of the physical world

Daredevil is the only comic I've followed (off and on) into adulthood. I haven't picked up an issue in years because 1)where they took his character just didn't interest me, and 2)they seemed to forget what made him unique as a superhero. Which is exactly what is mentioned they will emphasize more of in the quote above. His perception of the physical world, and how those perceptions have been altered due to his blindness are what made him interesting. Not only was he a flawed and often tortured soul, but how his other senses overcompensated for his blindness gave him unique powers and also an interesting viewpoint both in daily life and especially during his battles with assorted villains.

I'll be picking up the first few issues and if the new writer can successfully explore these themes I will be a happy DD fan once more. I was one of the four people that actually liked the movie adaptation that came out a few years back, and thought that was one of the things the director really got right--the portrayal of his blindness and how his other senses worked--something I think would be even more difficult to depict in a movie format than in the comics.

Quote of the Week

I've recently taken an interest in author Michael A. Stackpole, who was just at the Origins Convention here in Columbus, OH. Although I didn't get a chance to make it to the convention (partly by circumstance and partly by choice--the choice quotient I am now kicking myself for) I was doing some research on the authors that were attending and Mr. Stackpole is definitely one of the pioneers of the digital age and how it is affecting the printed word. He sometimes manages to come off as both cocky and humble at the same time (as in the quote below, taken from the dialogue that transpired regarding his article/linked above), but I think that's only because he knows what he's talking about and has a long history of experience to back up that knowledge.

The article itself is IMO hilarious, so if you have a spare five minutes it's worth the read. Otherwise, enjoy the quote below.....

Thanks, but you’re giving me too much credit. None of this digital revolution would be happening except for those authors who believe enough in their work that they’re willing to do the tough stuff which will get it out there. Sure, I may be one of those, and I may have started shooting my mouth off early, but it’s everyone else coming up and saying, “Damn, I’ll give that a shot,” that got the thing going. Remember, one guy is a CRANK. One guy who is a crank early and has folks see merit in what he’s saying is a VISIONARY. Same guy, same vision; but it’s the others who make that vision real.

P.S. If there isn't a word in the English language that portrays both arrogance and humility at the same time, I feel the need to make one up. 'humiligance'? 'arromility'? As far as words already in existence, I was thinking maybe 'shrewd,' but that doesn't really convey much humility, or 'astute,' but that doesn't possess enough arrogance.

I think I'll go with 'arrogility,' defined as "the ability to speak or act in an arrogant manner while conveying an attitude of humility." Arrogility is nice because it also contains part of the word 'arrow' which conjures up the image of speed, flight, and precision, and also part of the word 'agility,' which one would need to walk the fine line between humility and arrogance.

9 Must-Have Clauses for Digital Rights Contracts

Interesting article by author Michael Stackpole, who is attending Columbus, Ohio's 2011 Origins Game Fair.

Learn the F**king Rules

Very interesting commentary by Ann Patty (link above) and I found the comments that followed the article even more thought provoking. A couple that really stood out:

Mark Thornton

The comments here sum up the rubicon that we are about to cross: are written standards of language important enough to defend and where do we draw the line? Some people think you are just being pedantic about the ‘lain/laid’ thing, some see barbarians at the gate. It’s a lot more subtle than that though. If we are moving to a digital/crowdsourcing world, where stuff can be rushed through, and then corrected based on feedback after the event, we then have to rely on enough of the crowd to be educated enough to make those judgement calls.

I'm seeing the same trend in the current state of console video games. The hardware has advanced to the point where a buggy game can be released and then a patch (or often multiple patches) is downloaded later to fix whatever may be wrong.... For many developers who hold themselves to high standards regardless, this can be a good thing, but on the flip side it can just lead other developers to be lazy and put out an inferior product thinking they can just 'fix' whatever is wrong later. The same could be said about digital books, etc. Similar to Mark's conclusion, we have to hope the consumer is educated enough to vote with their wallets.

Here's a good point:

Cheryl Pickett

A note about editing costing a lot has been noted at least a couple of times so far and I think that’s where the issue starts at least in part. If a publisher doesn’t value the extra editing it often takes to make a book shine, why on earth would the average writer make the effort?

I’ve recently read a comment on another blog which pointed out that if you cannot afford proper editing for example, then you probably aren’t really ready to self-publish or you need to rethink your business model. Would a bakery say well we can’t afford sugar or eggs, but hey, we’ll make do with what we have and expect to not only stay in business but to be viewed as putting out high quality product? Can a writer write half a song and expect it to be played, purchased and recommended? The same goes for artists, clothing designers, carpenters or anyone else. Performing your job, working at your craft half way is generally not a formula for success. Why should publishing be viewed any differently?

Yes, mistakes are going to slip through and less and less people will notice. I understand and can deal with that. What is tougher to accept is that a top notch effort was not put forth in the first place. If someone is fine with “good enough or average” then expect reaction and results to most likely be about the same.

And this one probably sums up my thoughts the best:

Marco

This article makes me sad. Not because there was an error in a published book, but because of the tone and the insistence that grammar trumps all else. That, to me, is a poor editorial viewpoint. I’ve been a copyeditor, a proofreader, and a senior editor for a combined 21 years, and the attitude of this article’s author is one I often see in unseasoned new editors. They don’t have the experience to understand when rules should be bent and broken, and when not. They latch on to rules because then they can’t be wrong. But while a text that is free of any grammatical issues is certainly clean, that doesn’t make it good. A good editor understands that each book is its own thing, its own world. Some authorial voices are more prim and proper than other. Not all follow the rules of grammar.

That doesn’t mean it’s okay to input the flat-out wrong word (“they” for “there” or some such), but it does mean that voice (of authors, characters, and readership) must be considered.

Now, let me be clear. I’m not arguing that there’s no mistake in the book mentioned. I’m arguing that it may have been a conscious choice. Perhaps there was an editorial decision made that it scanned better as is; we’ve seen in the comments that some people think so. That’s a choice the author and publisher have the right to make. You are free to go ballistic about it being improper if you like, but that does not mean it was a mistake.

Of course, it might have been. None of us know for certain.

My point is that your article doesn’t go far enough. Yes, editorial professionals must absolutely know the fu**ing rules. That way, if they need to fix something they can do it properly.

Maybe we don’t know enough about the writer of this article, but I too am appalled that she would stop reading a manuscript because of a grammatical error on the first page. That’s symptomatic of an editor who is looking for reasons to reject, rather than looking for reasons to accept. Grammatical errors can be fixed; poor story control, pacing, characterization, and writing style are much more difficult to fix. If a single error like that pushes you away from a story, then you’re looking at grammar, not language. Not story. And that is a rather sad thing.

Grammar and punctuation are not the “highest standards” to which the printed word should be bound. They are important, certainly, but the real value of literature is in its impact on readers and society. When people remember the books that affected them, they don’t remember the sentence structure of the verb tense. They remember the emotion and the meaning.

And I am a proponent of correcting all errors except for those changes that might adversely affect the emotion and the meaning and the characterization, etc.

Much food for thought there, definitely.

Sick Puppies - Riptide MP3

Sick Puppies - Riptide MP3

Not only is it awesome to see such a talented band as the Sick Pups getting the attention they deserve so early in their career, but even better that they realize the gift they've been given and are not only "seizing the day" but grabbing onto the reigns with both hands and kicking it into full gear. It's only their second CD and they've already released an acoustic EP, then another EP called "Polar Opposites" that has exactly that--"opposite" versions of some of their songs with string arrangements, etc. in them. (I still get chills every time I hear "You're Going Down" on Opposites--mainly because it's one of their loudest and heaviest tunes on Tri-Polar, but this version is totally stripped down and yet Shim manages to still keep that raw intensity inherent in the track, almost like a race car at the starting line, you can feel the power under the hood just waiting to get out, barely held back.....)

Anyway, now they're releasing a Live CD??? Most bands would wait until later in their careers to do stuff like this, after they've had a number of CD's and subsequent Tours behind them and they just want to coast for a while before putting out new material. But releasing stuff like this just goes to show how truly talented and creative they are.

Peace out.

Chuckles and Mr. Squeezy

Continuing the subject of new musical releases (and one that I thought deserved it's own post), I just found out last night that one of my favorite bands, Dredg, just released(May 2011)a follow-up to their epic 2009 CD, "The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion." If you can't tell by the CD title, 'art rock' is just the tiniest of stepping stones by which they dive into the ocean of musical experimentation.

I'm listening to the CD for the first time right now and at Track 4 I'm already liking it. It definitely 'grooves' more than some of their previous material, if that makes any sense. Although many are accusing this of being more of a pop or commercial effort, I disagree. They are working with a new producer, which comes through in the flavor of the songs. And although it does contain more of a contemporary song structure, much akin to Catch Without Arms, it is still a strong creative effort and much more artistic than anything else in the current generation of music.

Anywho, it's available on Amazon.com for $2.99, so please support a group of true artists and DL this one now. You can hardly lose--it'll probably cost you more than that to drive to work today. And if you at all like what you hear, I strongly urge you to sift through their back catalog, especially El Cielo--one of the best concept musical pieces ever composed, IMO.

"So many people forget to exist..."

Coma Therapy

Well, it appears I've been in a musical coma for the past year (or maybe just a coma in general, lolz), but being unemployed off and on and going through a divorce will do that to you. Anyhow, here are some excellent CD releases I recently learned about in no particular order.

Since October: Life, Scars, Apologies ( I definitely recommend getting the full CD--it contains 3 extra tracks--one of them being an acoustic version of "Guilty" from their first CD. The original was a 'heavy' track, but this version is heavy in a totally different way.)
Also Red: Until We Have Faces--I'm def a fan of their heavier stuff, of which this release has plenty, but like their past CDs all of the tracks tend to grow on you after a few listens.
Then there's Sixx: A.M.: This Is Gonna Hurt. The former Motley Crue bassist follows up his musical opera that chronicled his descent into heroin use and abuse with a fairly good sophomore effort, but in all honesty I need to give this one a few more spins before I can say if it's as good as the first CD or not.
Ill Nino: Dead New World is an awesome release for those into the heavier spectrum of things. I had purchased their debut CD back in the early 2000's and was immediately impressed by their rhythm section, but honestly forgot about them after that. Well, I'm happy to say they've been releasing CD's steadily since then, and their awesome rhythm section is still intact. As if to prove that point, they do a cover of The Smashing Pumpkin's "Bullet With Butterfly Wings." Not only do they change it up a bit instead of doing a note by note cover tune (something I couldn't despise more), but Jimmy Chamberlin is one of my favorite drummers of the 90's and I don't take anyone playing his parts lightly. Suffice it to say, while the basic beat is still there, they somehow manage to make the song heavier and at the same time put their own stamp on it.
Sick Puppies also released an EP titled "Polar Opposite," which is just that--7 of their tracks done not only unplugged but rearranged and in most cases have violins/strings added in certain sections, etc. Very cool listen, especially if you're at all familiar with the original material. It definitely takes a listen or two to wrap your head around what they've done with the song "You're Going Down," which was one of their heavier tracks off of TriPolar, yet somehow it works. Definitely nice to hear Emma doing a little more vocal work on this as well. However, if you don't have the EP yet, I definitely recommend getting the Deluxe Edition of TriPolar instead--it comes with this EP plus some additional extras that you don't get if you just buy Polar Opposite by itself.
There have also been a couple of fairly new bands that I'm still diggin on, one of which I just did a short blog about and still listen to at least once per day--Alien Breed, who's CD "Antidote" practically begs to be cranked. The other is from a group called Cage the Elephant, a young band who's already developed their own sound and can only go up from here.
I may try to do more in-depth reviews of these releases if I get time. However, I just started back up again on (what I hope to be) the final edit of my book. I'm on Chapter 5 (out of 10 chapters) and that will keep me pretty busy in addition to continuing my search for an agent to publish the Space Opera.

Peace Out.