The Bodhisattva

I have been meaning to write something on this for awhile, but I could never put my finger on exactly what ‘this’ is. I still have no idea, and I admire people who have such clear, structured thoughts with functional and related titles to their blog posts

So much of my time is spent on reading or writing on what I have read and I find we cast ourselves in this box, either with a mob or by ourselves in our more contemplative moods. Trying to find what has effect, what has meaning has become this barometer of skill of value different - what can we dig up and expose, for our own fancy and that of others and let us revel in the accomplishment. I do not know if it is because of my age (late 20’s - for all single - or even married-on-the-side super models out there) but I have over the last year or so caught myself being incredibly moved by the most simple and dumbest of things. What I ‘m talking about sounds a lot like nostalgia, but I have come to not like the word because it comes with a semi-negative connotation of value based something else beyond ‘true’ worth. It’s not that I haven’t thought of these things before, but lately I have had this clarity on the effect some rather benign moments have had - how SF/F and other hobbies have effected me and the opportunities that have come back to bring these aspects to my attention. You know how writers will always tell you to read and experience other mediums (you can tell what writers don’t read real books - ahem Newcomb) and life in general as advice to aspiring SF/F writers? In reverse it’s awesome to see my genre-related experiences cause reactions elsewhere.

That is a horrible description of my thoughts so I hope midst this ramble some cohesiveness that will warrant this worth read - if not, it may will be worth writing for me…

I really do hate musicals…

I probably have to apologize to say I have watched American Idol right? I can use the excuse of having limited English channels here but let’s move past that. When (I don’t even know her name) sung Somewhere over the Rainbow it was the first time I had heard that song in decades - at the time it had little effect on me and the only thought that came to me was that she made a mistake to sing the song in that order - but I think I’d be lying if it didn’t plat a seeds in me. A bit later I somehow found myself discussing Liza Minnelli with someone and my opinion of her is basically somebody who had no lasting effect and that her claim to fame was being the daughter of Judy Garland. Famous for being famous (and yes I’m aware of her accomplishments) but the comparison arose - accomplished perhaps but no effect. Months later, The Wizard of Oz was on (I knew it was on but didn’t care) and as I was flipping channels I caught Garland mid-song and I found all that shit that gets talked about the beginnings of our journey and the numerous thesis-like material written and you watch this movie and Somewhere Over the Rainbow explains it all. We are a society of audio and visual and make no mistake, if speaking of the greatest American fictional characters the top 10 is not frequented by Severian, Sawyer, Conan, Gatsby or Ahab -it does include Mickey Mouse, Superman, Dorothy and Batman. Anti-intellectual? Only to deny it. In the 1930’s, a farm girl from depression-era Kansas layed it down for us and everything I had read since was post-OZ, following the voice over the rainbow and I think I may have just stopped the chase for a moment - and for the first time and just listened and to take in the view.

Why do I read the fantastic? Fuck that - that’s hipster shit, for people who look at the yellow brick road and see - why do I read Fantasy? Listen.

On a side note has anybody rewatched Return to OZ? I remember it being that ’sequel to OZ” - but it really is a delightful, little weird movie. It’s kind of damn freaky.

*poof*

Italian Dark Elf…

In the very first episode of Columbo (the Peter Falk Columbo) from 1968 called Prescription for Murder the killer calls Columbo a Drow. It was the first time I had ever seen the word used in a decidedly non-fantasy setting - and the way he puts it is so apt. Columbo just boggles my mind because because it’s a mystery show that you already know the answer to but yet I not only watch and enjoy them all, I rewatch and enjoy them.

I think Columbo is a Superhero. Regard (some Poirot flavor there in starting a sentence). He’s got that crazy manga hair and wears this long, cape-like rain coat constantly - in Southern California. He even has his version of Krypto and an iconic car.

They can’t take the S away from me…

Not everything has to be old. I’m not somebody who watches a lot of television but I have come to that age where I’m walking in the room to watch even my favorite shows a minute or two after it’s scheduled to start - when the show actually starts, but they started rerunning Firefly here and let me tell you - my ass is in front of the TV and I make sure I get there for the theme song because I just don’t think you get the full experience unless you do. Rationally it could only possibly take me back a few years but like Baum it resided in the presence but has me looking beyond. In a basic sense one could condescendingly view this as an escapist state of mind - if you are watching Television to learn or experience else I’d suggest you go outside and live a little, don’t pay for your cable/satellite service for a year or two and go on a vacation. One of things I hear a lot here is about how much Americans miss TV and more often then not they will say The History Channel and I’m like, dude, you live no more than two hours away in any direction from where real history actually happened. Back on topic (or not, I forget)…

We get or fulfill some kind of emotion (hopefully) from whatever we watch but I’ll be damned one of the rarest is happiness. This show comes on and I’m fucking happy. It’s quite…well pathetic but it’s one of two shows that does this for me, the other being Smallville. Smallville has some absolutely atrocious acting in it and completely runs with the idea their audience consists mostly of retards. I have finally realized what it is that causes grown people to admit they like something like Robert Newcomb novels. They accept and embrace that inner-retard. Sure, I’d just tell Lana to shut the fuck the up so the audience doesn’t have to hear the same thing for 7 minutes every episode, I’d shank Lex just out of rational thinking and potential future grief, I’d move the hell out of Smallville (which is just way to dangerous apparently) but what I think draws me to this - and this corny as hell - is but its one of the few shows that kind of makes me proud to be an American. Now, Superman is portrayed by many as this hero of the world, an alien, that represents us all - great marketing spin when necessary, but dude grew up in Kansas and was created by two cats living in Cleveland. Maybe because I’m overseas and I know what American shows local nationals identify with the States (at least here) and I don’t know it just seems to all the sows are the same now. Some federal liaison to a bunch of damn jerks who use forensics to solves crimes: in this group will be at least two hot girls,a geeky guy, and some prodigy with the token minorities to keep that universal appeal. I swear they could interchanges the cats of these shoes and I wouldn’t even notice. Superman saves me from this shit and just because something isn’t real doesn’t mean it’s still doesn’t have any obtainable ideals.

So…ahem…I like Firefly and Smallville.

*poof*

Everyone know Check the Rhyme by Tribe Called Quest?

“If knowledge is the key then just show me the lock…”

Now some people can’t even identify the lock, some can but don’t have the key, others have the key, open, and are able to venture between the lines, through the words and see the story, and unleash and share the bounty.

I’m starting to think that is not the optimal goal, it’s fool’s gold (just look at all the fools), it’s not about what you can unearth, or the puzzles and secrets within books, skill is not what the writer - and how cleverly they can hide for you to find - can bury it’s what they can bring out in you.

The book is the key not the lock, the lock is in the mirror. Throw the book at it and see what pieces you find.

Impressionist…

- You know on various boards we always talk about what may have molded the reader in us all but I offer the real answer: Does anybody remember those damn Time Life Commercials - “Read the book”. I lived overseas where commercials get played over and over (even more so than regular networks) and years of my childhood life was bombarded by this commercial at least a dozen times a day. Literally my vocabulary consisted of “Read the book”, Where’s the beef?, “Roll Out”, and knowing is half the battle.

In turn, I read a lot, view vegetarians with some amount distrust, have traveled a lot, and always have half the battle won.

Joe on the big screen

I’m optimistic because I really liked Transformers and I tried not to. I really did:

atrocious dialogue - check
dumb plot circumstances - check
comedy for the sake of comedy - check
made for kids - check
No Dinobots - check

In other words it was exactly like FF2 which was a disaster…

But you can’t be fake, I walked out and was thinking this movie kicked ass. When it comes down to it and it’s giant alien robots kicking each other’s asses on earth. What may have been the prevalent comment in 2007 was, “I don’t like Michael Bay films”. It was as if the hottest girl at every school and work place simultaneously broadcast they didn’t like Bay so every spaz in front of a computer just followed suit. I heard it, I may have even said it, then I really took a look:

Bad Boys
The Rock
Armageddon
Pearl Harbor
Bad Boys II
The Island
Transformers

These are movies he directed. First of all, everybody (my age) has seen Bad Boys I don’t remember people then not liking this movie, it’s not Coffee and Cigarettes but it’s not dire. The Rock, ditto - a bit far fetched, but you telling me you walked out hating this movie? Armageddon? I don’t give a shit, I like this movie…

*tears up for a moment thinking about Bruce saying goodbye to Liv*

Anything Liv does is cool with me. She gets a free life time pass for making me not hate her appearance that wasn’t supposed to happen in LOTR. It was magical - I would get a job for her, like Aragorn did. Billy Bob and Steve Buscemi? Good actors. Sure it’s sappy, sure the plan itself scares me, but damn it I didn’t hate the movie.

Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys II and The Island? Sucked ass.

Transformers was the sweetness. It’s really one of those subjects where people who aren’t usually critical put on their critical hat. People who get all fanboy-circle jerk when a dynamic forces variant cover of some comic where Spidey fights the Green Goblin for the 100th time suddenly turn into Harold Bloom when a movie based on a 1980’s cartoon comes out and isn’t a Fellini film. I see and listen to people who talk about things Fox’s attire and I’m thinking myself “Motherfucker, you read and enjoy comics that have nothing but the same”. Do people remember when I interviewed Catherynne M. Valente and she said:

is there some kind of problem with flowers?

So I ask: Is there something wrong with being a hottie? Is it really uncommon attire? I go the hell outside it’s all I see. I see the parent point of view - a bit too revealing. Would it be any better if we put some holy fat ass on the screen? It’s part of the story, the teenage kid at school isn’t trying to mack the mediocre looking girl wearing a suit of armor. It’s superficial as hell - but if one word described high school, it’s superficial. Your 8 year old went to school the next day and found his Megan Fox to torment him for the next 10 years and well that’s adorable.

Let it be said that The Bodhisattva supports the rights and chosen fashion of good looking women and does so proudly and truly appreciates their contributions to bad film making and will continue to do so because…well isn’t the other choice literally ugly.

…and that’s my thought on the G.I.JOE movie.

Podcasts…

I love me some comic book podcasts. I’m going to be brief because I fucked around and left an Itunes review for one and ended up hearing my name on a show and that’s unacceptable. Sith lords don’t like being broadcast, but here are my favorites:

Raging Bullets - First podcast I ever listened to dedicated to and completely DC Comics. These shows/discussions are long. Features two regular Dr. Norge and the Sensei of the What Not (I’m not lying). Really just has this aura, these guys love their comics and the affection is infectious. They are about to do their 100th recording and definitely worth catching up on. There show listings are here.

Around Comics - My favorite podcast. They have recently went to two formats. A Monday shows which is more formal featuring individual features and the Thursday show which is a roundtable (sweetness). These guys uttered the Tomio name in its audio form (do it 3 times in one podcast in the dark with ruby slippers - and well..) so I”m being careful and that’s all I’m saying.

…except this. They have this episode that I’m putting up there like I did Chapelle’s Rick James skit the year it came on as the funniest thing I heard all year anywhere. If you go the part about Boom Studio’s announcement of a book about Salem Queen of Thorns - it’s comedy gold.

Comic Geek Speak - Updated a lot, their volume is kind of amazing. Love the shows with artist Sal Abbinanti (and also the rep for Alex Ross art). these are the OG’s of comic podcasting.

Comic Timing - these are younger cats and sometimes it shows, but I feel offers a unique perspective because of that.

Word Balloon - awesome interview podcast with host John Siuntres. I guess there are comparable shows but this the best interview podcast on the net.

Back to me…

When I last spoke to Damon we were talking about our About Us section at Fantasybookpot.com (apparently a lot of people have been checking it out for some reason recently- my enemies are making a move!) and I just looked over it and laughed:

Jay Tomio is the token multi-national, minority owner of FBS. Although he is a co-owner and member of admin at Fantasybookspot.com, in a show of solidarity with reviewers has forsaken categorization in the admin listing, to be listed among the soldiers of FBS, somewhat reminiscent of a Kingslayer in Whispering Wood.

Who is a real Martin fan?

Next post will be Five Sweet Horror Reads Nobody Ever Recommends and are not written by Ligotti, Danielewski, Jeffrey Thomas, Michael Cisco, Nick Mamatas, Graham Joyce or named The Terror to answer a question that was asked of me around Halloween. It will probably be groundbreaking.

*poof*

Little story now concluded. But history of world unfinished. Lovely ladies, kind gentlemen, go home to ponder. What was true at beginning remains true. Pain make man think, thought make man wise, and wisdom make life endurable. So, may August moon bring gentle sleep. Sayonara.

*sips tea*