Whilst we're still busy with after-Christmas goings on, I can't help watching the tragedy unfolding in the wake of the Indian Ocean earthquake on Sunday, the 26th December. I thank God that no one I know is there at the moment, but my honeymoon was in Phuket and I really feel for all of the lovely people that made it such a great holiday for us.
There are some good sites up for people to get information and help from, here are two of the ones I've found best:
The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami blog has lots of very helpful information for people affected by this disaster, or who want to help those affected.
Wikipedia's 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami web page is full of interesting technical information and some very well organised up to date information.
If nothing else, this is a great reminder that Christmas is meant to be about giving help to others, so check out either of those sites for ways you can donate, or otherwise help out.
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Monday, December 13, 2004
Postcyberpunk Detective Fiction
I've been recently re-reading the Moreau Omnibus by S. Andrew Swann. That got me thinking about some interesting topics:
Postcyberpunk Defined
Notes Toward a Postcyberpunk Manifesto
Detective Fiction Defined
Postcyberpunk Defined
Notes Toward a Postcyberpunk Manifesto
Detective Fiction Defined
Friday, December 10, 2004
Lanthium Petal in Flight
Andrew Boulton rendered this picture from the previous deckplan, with some minor input from me as to how it should look.
It's very cool seeing it come to life like this!
It's very cool seeing it come to life like this!
Monday, December 06, 2004
Pirates of the Caribbean 2-Disc DVD
I spoiled myself this Christmas and got the Pirates of the Caribbean 2-Disc DVD set. It's been a lot of fun revisiting the world of Captain Jack Sparrow and the Black Pearl.
This is the first time that I've found myself interested in a commentary about the movie by the cast and writers. There are three commentaries on the DVD, each of which brings to life a part of the production or the story in a new way.
As a fan it was great hearing the director Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp discuss the highs and lows of the shoot, and it was really funny listening to Kiera Knightley and Jack Davenport with their tongue in cheek commentary.
But as a wannabe writer, the most interesting commentary was that of the four screenwriters, Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio (a team), Stuart Beattie and Jay Wolpert. Having learned a little about fiction writing from Dramatica Pro, it was great fun hearing these writers describe Miss Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley's character) as the protagonist, the trickster archetype shown in Sparrow (light) and Barbossa (dark) and the various difficulties they had (such as letting Will Turner fnd out the name of the Black Pearl's captain).
One of the writers (Jay?) described how he wrote this story originally as his version of Raiders of the Lost Ark, hmmm ... good idea there. Perhaps I could write Pirates of the Caribbean in space? ;-P
This is the first time that I've found myself interested in a commentary about the movie by the cast and writers. There are three commentaries on the DVD, each of which brings to life a part of the production or the story in a new way.
As a fan it was great hearing the director Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp discuss the highs and lows of the shoot, and it was really funny listening to Kiera Knightley and Jack Davenport with their tongue in cheek commentary.
But as a wannabe writer, the most interesting commentary was that of the four screenwriters, Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio (a team), Stuart Beattie and Jay Wolpert. Having learned a little about fiction writing from Dramatica Pro, it was great fun hearing these writers describe Miss Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley's character) as the protagonist, the trickster archetype shown in Sparrow (light) and Barbossa (dark) and the various difficulties they had (such as letting Will Turner fnd out the name of the Black Pearl's captain).
One of the writers (Jay?) described how he wrote this story originally as his version of Raiders of the Lost Ark, hmmm ... good idea there. Perhaps I could write Pirates of the Caribbean in space? ;-P
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