IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Titan A.E.

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/titanae.mp3] “Science fiction” is a broader term than you might think. It covers a wide variety of stories, from the space exploration and future cultures of Star Trek to the time-travelling shenanigans of Doctor Who. In the best cases when it comes to science fiction films, these stories use their outlandish or otherworldly settings to… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Titan A.E.

The Fine Art of the Catherd

I’ve been in therapy quite a bit in my adult life. You’re shocked. I can tell. One of the most effective pieces of advice I was given by a therapist involved dealing with the internal mechanisms of my brain. Specifically, the phenomenon she called “racing thoughts.” Basically, if a notion came into my head or… Continue reading The Fine Art of the Catherd

Mind Crimes

“I respect a movie that kicks me in the balls.” This comment was how I summed up my initial feelings after watching Repo Men. It’s a Jude Law near-future picture about special ops guys who go after people and rip out their cyborg organs, since they’re 90 days delinquent on payments. I listed it as… Continue reading Mind Crimes

There Is No Sex

Art courtesy Lucian Once again I’ve provided a provocative title to try and get your attention. Is it working? Is it? Yesterday’s post on females in fiction has generated some feedback, but thoughts from one of my friends got me thinking. He said, “Why not disregard gender entirely? Why not just write characters?” This is… Continue reading There Is No Sex

Doing Girls Right

Women in fiction can be tricky things for writers, especially male ones. Every individual, regardless of gender, is a creature of nuance, and unless you want your work to be regarded as lacking substance, easily disposable and the sort of thing no publishing house will get near with a ten foot pole, your ladies are… Continue reading Doing Girls Right

Checkered Flags Ahead

It’s important to have goals, in just about everything you do. The somewhat tricky part is that not everything will have defined goals laid out for you. The deadlines of a dayjob, the billing dates of utilities, the expiration on a gallon of milk – these give us tangible goals. Other goals aren’t usually as… Continue reading Checkered Flags Ahead

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/gijoe.mp3] Ours was a Transformers house. G.I. Joe wasn’t on anywhere near as much when I was growing up. In retrospect, this might be why my initial impression of Michael Bay’s Transformers movies was a little bit rosier than my overall take has become. So I went into G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra expecting… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra