Wynderlon.com is the personal website of Himani, an aspiring author. Here, she chronicles the daily struggles of trying to get a word count down on paper (or computer screen), the foibles and challenges of life, and the usual random insanity.
NPR had a nice editorial on Indian mangoes today and how much more awesome they are than any other mango.
Apparently, the US has finally agreed to import Indian mangoes.
If you listen to the audio, you’ll get to hear vendors in India selling mangoes. It made me all nostalgic. I haven’t had a good Alphonso since I last went to India in 2006 (one of the few benefits of visiting India in the summertime). I can still taste the sticky sweet rasa (juice). Mmm. I’m going to have to go to India Plaza while I’m up in Phoenix next time and see if I can scout out some mangoes–and hopefully I’ll be able to afford them.
(I have a picture of when I was a year old and visiting India for the first time. I’m covered in mango pulp and juice, literally from head to toe, with a huge grin on my face. So this is a life-long love affair with mangoes. )
Great galloping stars, Borders, stop sending me coupons. I can’t take it anymore. I can’t afford it and yet the temptation is too great! Do you love hearing me gnash my teeth in need? Is that it??
(Yes, I’ve already picked out the book I’m buying with this coupon. It’s an urban fantasy set in Hyde Park, Chicago. That’s like my old haunt, yo! How could I not resist?…)
I went to see the new Star Trek movie with John and a friend of his today. I only saw one guy in a Kirk T-shirt (didn’t even have the pants or the boots!), which was disappointing. Where’s the people with Spock ears and Klingon heads? There was more dress-up when the Star Wars movies were being re-released in theaters. Tucson, you have let me down.
Anyway, I’ll keep this post plot-spoiler-free, even though I’d REALLY like to mention some stuff. *sigh* The things I do to avoid being pelted by rocks. Anyway, I will warn people: this movie is an action flick with great special effects and really loud noise (at times to the point where I winced), so there’s something to be said about watching it in theaters. However, don’t go in there expecting much more than action flickness with the usual action flickesque plot (yes, I just added two different suffixes to “flick”).
STAR TREK, the Old Crew vs. New Crew: (Huh, New Spock looks really hot in that picture)
The first 20 minutes sucked butt. Personally, I think all the back story at the beginning could have been cut in half, or maybe even explained in flashbacks or Vulcan mind meld (hey, they do it later on for exposition). Basically, until Kirk decides to join Starfleet, it’s just one cliche after another. Kirk’s rebellious, we get it! Yeesh! By the time he finally did get onto the Enterprise, all I wanted to do was sing him the “Daddy Wasn’t There” song:
But the cool factor went up significantly once everyone was aboard the Enterprise. There were a few good fight scenes and a really funny moment involving Kirk and McCoy (although there wasn’t enough McCoy for my liking ).
The bad guy is pathetic and a complete write-off. His motivations have been done time and again (think Khan but not half as good) and they never explained how a guy who was a miner on a mining ship somehow got the ability to travel through time — or even had the scientific knowledge to do that, since he said he was “just a hard worker making an honest living” before he went all evil and shit.
Yes, the plot involves time travel, but it actually is done in a very interesting way without MOST of the usual paradoxes that hurt people’s brains. (There is one, but in the interest of non-spoiler, I won’t mention it, although I could SO make a masturbation joke) They use what I call the “Back to the Future Time Travel” where basically every time someone goes back in time and fudges with stuff, it creates an alternate dimension. So, while this is a restart of the Trek mythology…it isn’t really. Somewhere in another dimension, Kirk is still the guy portrayed by William Shatner with an alternate history because the baddies didn’t time travel and change things. As a result, some stuff in this new timeline is really interesting, especially if you’ve watched the Star Trek series.
This first Star Trek basically is a prologue to the new series (if they make more, but I think they will). It gets everyone aboard the Enterprise and it gets Kirk into the position of captain. There’s a lot of winks for fans who have seen the original series. Kirk and Spock start off as enemies but end as friends (almost like a romance novel. Do I sense a Totally Heterosexual Guy Love moment? Yes, yes I do). Vulcans are even more like space elves, so be warned. If I had to choose who got the most screen and story time, though, I’d say Spock. We really get to see his struggle with his human self versus his Vulcan self and some really interesting things that pound home the fact that, yes, this ain’t the Star Trek of our moms and dads. Some other things that happened in the movie:
The laser beams (er, I mean photon torpedoes) still make a pew pew sound.
Spock gets more action that Kirk!*
Red shirts still die first, and in really stupid ways
Kirk is still a horn dog. WE GET IT ALREADY.
New Scotty may be the best actor out of all of them, but then it is the Hot Fuzz guy
Chekov still can’t say his “V’s” (if anything, they’ve made his Russian accent even more pronounced)
And the federation council’s police force are scary, faceless people that refer to everyone as “citizen”
The aliens (and space) look much more believable. Amazing what 40 years will do to a special effects department.
* Yes, Spock gets more action. In fact, that whole subplot was really sweet. But, it’s definitely a change. Spock? Liking vagina? REALLY? In the original series, the most interest he ever showed was to Kirk.
Final Verdict: I liked it. It was a good action flick, even if the first 20-or-so minutes sucked. While it didn’t bring anything new to the genre, it was entertaining. I think I even liked seeing it in theaters, because it had that “big action flick production budget,” so seeing it on a big screen was fun.
…that should be a rule of life. Last night, I dreamed that I was writing. It was so life-like, I remember the sound of the tapping keyboard. When I woke up and checked the file for the story, I was really confused for a moment because I remembered typing stuff. I had to mull it over for a moment before it dawned on me that the characters I was typing about hadn’t actually been done in the story yet, they were just stuff in my head. So, it had to be a dream.
When I told John the dream, he said, “That’s kind of sad.”
“Yeah, I suppose so. When you start dreaming about your mundane, real life, you know you need a vacation…or something.”
In other news, I’ve DVRed a few episodes of this new show called The Unusuals. It’s a crime-drama on ABC. It seems the thing for TV shows nowadays is to have weird, quirky characters. Bones, Chuck, Dexter, etc. It’s a nice change, but I gotta wonder how long it’ll last before it gets old and I’m saying, “Oh look, another weird character because of XYZ who’s saying strange things”? As it was, a few times someone would say something in The Unusuals, I would think, Does every character have some form of Tourette’s? No one in real life would actually say these things out loud.
But, The Unusuals has some really nice dialog between characters. For a crime-drama, it doesn’t spend much time or attention on the actual crimes, and they are usually mundane things with weird twists (like a woman who wants to steal everything for her wedding). I like the characters. I mean, a detective with a brain tumor who refuses treatment and as a result has nothing to fear — yet has survived three near-death experiences (much to his confusion). His partner is a man whose father and grandfather have died when they were 42, and he’s in his 42nd year and afraid he’ll die too.
Anyway, I dunno if it’ll last longer than a season. I think I’d like it to. It also got me thinking about dialog. What makes good dialog? I think it’s not just that the characters have something interesting to say; there’s a kind of rhythm of good dialog, a back-and-forth that seems to bounce off the characters’ tongues. Lately, a lot of my dialog has been sounded flat to my own ears. I don’t know how to make it better though and most my efforts lately have been icky. Writing really good dialog is a talent.
I also just realized that that was a really long segue to talk about dialog. Oh well.
My desk is trying to kill me
Himani — April 16, 2009 at 1:27 pm {1 Comment} Category:Journal Tags:
So, I really like my desk. It is an executive style desk done in black with a cherry wood looking top. I found it at Office Max on sale, so it was very affordable. Considering my last desk, which I loved a lot, had finally disintegrated after 10 years (it used to be Dad’s, and it was the size of a dining table. It had so much space, but usually took up one whole wall of any room) I was glad for a new one. And this one had drawers and a door that hid what was meant to be a CPU area. I put in the optional shelf instead because my CPU would get hot in there and I’ve had a computer break from overheat before.
So, that CPU area door is held on by a magnet. Except the magnet is way too small and faulty to adequately hold the door closed. As a result, while I work on the computer, that door will silently open halfway and I won’t realize it. I’ll get up — and walk smack dab into it. I have a bruise people!
I’m thankful I’m not a guy, because there’s been one time that it could have been very painful if I had been.
It’s kind of creepy how silently the door will open. Kind of like every 1980’s ghost movie I’ve ever seen. No furniture rearrangement, dripping blood walls, or backwards letters in mirrors, though. Nor have I stumbled upon any Indian burial grounds.
John’s solution is to look before I walk. Yeah right, like that’s ever going to happen — let’s be honest. My solution is buy one of those door security hook thingies and make sure the desk knows who’s the boss.
And yes, I know…in the words of a friend, “Furniture problems AGAIN?!” I don’t know what it is. Maybe I need an exorcist.
For the last few days, I’ve been banging my head on a scene. I just need to figure out how to begin a conversation without it sounding weird and awkward (although, at this point, I’m considering just letting it be weird and awkward. Conversations can start out weird and awkward, right?). The annoying thing is if I can just make this conversation work right, I get my candy bar scene (it means the scenes you really want to write. The saying “candy bar scene” is from Holly Lisle).
John and I went to see Aliens vs Monsters on Sunday. It was “meh.” It had a few cute moments, but when all’s said and done, it wasn’t anything special. I’m guessing that people want to do what Pixar are doing with their films, but they aren’t quite getting it. And I don’t know why something like Monsters Inc. is better than Aliens vs Monsters. Although it might be because Billy Crystal is funny. Anyway, it was cute but definitely “worth renting” cute and not “worth $7 matinee price” cute.
I hate it when I can’t sleep the night before, yet I have to get up early. I took John to his bi-yearly checkup at the doctor really early in the morning (it was odd, actually; the time they gave us for the appointment was 7:50am, but when we arrived 10 minutes early, we found that the clinic doesn’t open until 8:00am!) which wouldn’t have been a problem except for my night of tossing and turning which ended up allowing me 3 hours of sleep.
It’s been a while since I’ve been this tired. And the reasoning was stupid; before going to sleep I wrote a paragraph on “Morgan” so I’d remember what I was thinking of when I woke up. But, because of that, I couldn’t quiet my mind down, it just kept on thinking.
Now, I feel tired enough that it’s hard to work on “Morgan.” Argh! It’s like inadvertent self-sabotage.
Oh well, there’s plenty to do, like the big stack of “To File” papers on the corners of my desk.
OK, seriously, I like urban fantasy novels. I like contemporary fantasy novels. Really, I like reading. Period. But I am sick of the fact that it seems like going into the sci-fi/fantasy section has become a chore. I had a 40% off coupon from Borders bookstore and I thought I’d splurge a bit on myself, right? I went into the section and it seems like every book I picked up was an urban fantasy — and I even purposefully tried to stay away from the ones that shows a chick’s back. I don’t quite get the whole fascination these book covers have had, recently, of showing some chick standing with her legs slightly apart from the back.
I don’t understand why the backs must always be facing the reader. Is it supposed to make them look more tough? Intense back-flexing action!
I’m not saying that these books aren’t good just because I don’t get the back-loving trend. I really enjoyed a few of them; Jacqueline Carey is one of my favorite authors (and I didn’t know she was coming out with a new series! I’m excited. ). But, the story that also has switched me off to the current urban fantasy trend is also in the above list.
Because I’m sick of stories that involve werewolves, vampires, and other monsters being an excuse for rape fantasy. I think this genre has such potential — men AND women who can seriously kick-ass! Instead, I found myself reading about a woman who’s basically abused and raped by her pack alpha. I skipped to the end, because I would not allow myself to read 200-some pages of the woman thinking over and over, This is wrong, I should be stronger… and yet still taking it because of her “inner Wolf” just wanting to “be loved by her pack.” In the end she does get away. Sure, a guy has to die protecting her but she swears “never again” so I guess that’s some improvement.
Maybe I’m just a weirdo who likes her heroines strong and take-no-shit — even when they have to take shit, if that makes sense. I mean, Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel series is about a woman who has the “gift/curse” that she finds pleasure through pain, but yet not once did I feel that the heroine, Phedre, was weak. She goes through hell and back, yet she manages to save people and countries using her wits. She isn’t a victim, even though she’s into pain. I was impressed.
So, I’m done reading this kind of mediocre genre fluff that’s coming out. I think I’ll finish up the Stephanie Plum series, the Alphabet Murders series, and a few other books I’ve got on the back burner. I’ve also been told by multiple people that I should try out the J.D. Robb books. I also really want to read Tanya Huff’s “Summon the Keeper” series again. That’s old school “urban fantasy” and completely hilarious; different from what’s coming out now and I haven’t indulged in it since high school. I lost my books when I moved to attend University.
Yes, I realize that this post could be seen as one giant rant, but really, it was some time in the making. I just cleaned out my books and got a box ready for Bookman’s and realized that of all the urban fantasies I’ve bought in the last two years, 90% of them were mediocre quality literature. It got to a point where I was re-reading old books I had simply because I couldn’t find anything new or fresh! It’s definitely frustrating to have so many fails in the good literature department, especially since all of them had such potential.
Note: Considering I went to the Tucson Festival of Books somewhere around March 16th, this is a very late post. My bad.
I was able to go to the Tucson Festival of Books both days and it was an awesome experience. It was the first Festival of Books and I hope Tucson does it again and again for years to come, because I’ve always thought that there should be more festivals in Tucson.
Unfortunately, a lot of the workshops I wanted to go to were scheduled at the same time, so I had to pick and choose quite a bit. My itinerary was full for both days — in fact, the experience reminded me a lot of being back at University. I would rush to campus, pray I found parking (although this time it was free ), rush onto the Mall, and then run between buildings for different workshops. When I had half an hour free, I’d devour lunch. Am I crazy because I felt some nostalgia for the University days as I was running around like a chicken without a head?
I brought along book plates because I didn’t want to lug all my books (plus the books are still in piles waiting to be sorted onto a bookshelf ) around for the whole day. I got signatures from Emma Bull and Charles de Lint! It’s always fun to see Emma Bull, she has a great personality. Charles de Lint was a special treat, as I’m a fan of his Newford series. I love how Charles de Lint takes urban fantasy and makes it lyrical, and of course, Newford is really original and unique. Great world building.
One thing I didn’t like were some of the people that asked authors questions. I went to a workshop for mystery writing. One of the authors mentioned they didn’t like the ending to a John Grisham novel and that’s what prompted him to write his own mystery/thriller. I can relate to that — the reason I started “Tayce” was because I was sick and tired of reading horrible urban fantasy with vampires, werewolves, and fairies. But, his one little comment spurred three people to start ragging on John Grisham — one person went as far as to ask “Why do you think John Grisham is so popular yet his books are so bad?” I could see the authors in the panel were extremely uncomfortable; they didn’t want to rag on John Grisham. They didn’t care — Jim Nisbet finally stopped the questions by saying, “I don’t really care.” — I had to agree. I didn’t care, either.
The same happened to Charles de Lint. The first question someone asked him was basically an insult about his own books. I forget exactly what it was, but I turned to Dave and said, “Is it just me or was that really mean?” And he nodded and said, “Yeah. It was mean.” I wanted to say, “WTF, people? If you don’t like the person’s books, then don’t go to their panels! Save the hour! But don’t take valuable time from people who actually came here because they’re meeting an author they admire!” Hell, there was an author there who writes books I seriously have issues with. I don’t like her stories (they’re historical romances) because of one specific scene. Sure, I’d like to ask the author, “I understand the value of historical accuracy, however I can’t help noticing that in your first book in the series, you devoted more word length to the scene where the heroine is being beaten by her ‘true love’ than you did for the first time they made love or were married. I also felt it was strange that a woman who is from the relative future — at least when women had the right to vote and could divorce a spouse that hit them — wasn’t more outraged by a husband that punishes his wife by using a belt. What was your reasoning?” But, I didn’t. I just didn’t go to her panel — and I don’t read her books anymore. Mostly because I can’t root for a hero that would do that. Historical accuracy or not.
ANYwho, I suppose this harks back to what one author said at a panel I went to entitled “10 Things I Wish I Knew About Being an Author” — you’ll always get those inane people who want to just ruin everything.
But besides that, and the fact that eating lunch out for two days cost me more than the bookplates I bought to be signed by authors and the Tucson Festival of Books keychain…it was all good. I enjoyed myself a lot and I hope they keep this thing going. Considering the University of Arizona has such a prestigious MFA program in Creative Writing (or it did when I was doing university research some six years ago; funding cuts may have made it slip a bit, I haven’t checked), there needs to be more literature venues in Tucson!
These are the novels that are works-in-progress. For a full synopsis, including my notes and comments on the projects, go here.
Tayce
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48%
Morgan
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67%
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In other news, I’ve DVRed a few episodes of this new show called The Unusuals. It’s a crime-drama on ABC. It seems the thing for TV shows nowadays is to have weird, quirky characters. Bones, Chuck, Dexter, etc. It’s a nice change, but I gotta wonder how long it’ll last before it gets old and I’m saying, “Oh look, another weird character because of XYZ who’s saying strange things”? As it was, a few times someone would say something in The Unusuals, I would think, Does every character have some form of Tourette’s? No one in real life would actually say these things out loud.
John and I went to see Aliens vs Monsters on Sunday. It was “meh.” It had a few cute moments, but when all’s said and done, it wasn’t anything special. I’m guessing that people want to do what Pixar are doing with their films, but they aren’t quite getting it. And I don’t know why something like Monsters Inc. is better than Aliens vs Monsters. Although it might be because Billy Crystal is funny. Anyway, it was cute but definitely “worth renting” cute and not “worth $7 matinee price” cute.
). But, the story that also has switched me off to the current urban fantasy trend is also in the above list.
I was able to go to the 
) around for the whole day. I got signatures from 
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