Archive for the Category » Visual Arts «

March 03rd, 2010 | Author: von Darkmoor

The DGLA Ravenheart will be awarded to the best Fantasy Book Jacket/Artist of 2009. Both the Ravenheart and the Morningstar Awards join the David Gemmell Legend Award now in its second year. Each of these awards are named after works and in honor of the legendary heroic fantasy author David Gemmell. I’ve already cast my votes for the best fantasy novel and the best cover art/jacket of 2009…I’ll have to skip the best newcomer/debut of the year though, as I’ve read only one of the contenders.

For your viewing pleasure I’ve brought along my top choices for the Ravenheart. There were many spectacular works of art and design, several of which I thoroughly enjoyed and would have caused me to pause and pick them up were I to see them in the store. These five do something better: they catch my eye and hold my attention here online. They make me look up the book information, the artist’s portfolio, and reviews by folks I rely upon. Here, in no particular order, are my favorite four:

and here is the cover with the art that most closely matches its title:

Rating 3.50 out of 5
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March 01st, 2010 | Author: von Darkmoor

Oh. My. God. of. War.

Only thing saving me from being neck deep into this

is that I don’t own a PlayStation. I haven’t played a video game of any sort in over 3 years, but this! This takes the cake. I walked into a Blockbuster Saturday night and they had this demo of God of War III playing…next thing I know I was picking my jaw (and tongue) up off the floor and I’d watched the demo cycle through three times. Sweetness! Now to figure out how to get RBE’s titles to generate that same intense rush of desire and entertainment!

Rating 3.50 out of 5
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January 15th, 2010 | Author: von Darkmoor

Rogue Blades Entertainment’s entry in this year’s Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll more than held its own on the individual story level. With 10 of the 21 stories in Rage of the Behemoth appearing in the final cut as of the close of voting last night, that’s pretty darn sweet in my view. All of those authors should be very happy, especially the three who so far appear in the Top 10.

Final placements won’t be revealed for a bit, but as of right now this is how things stand:

  • Short Story Science Fiction/Fantasy
    • 1-T — Yaggoth-Voor, Bruce Durham
    • 6 — Poisonous Redemption, Kate Martin
    • 10-T — Where the Shadow Falls, TW Williams
    • 14-T — Thunder Canyon, Jeff Draper
    • 16-T — Vasily and the Beast Gods, Daniel R. Robichaud
    • 17-T — As from His Lair, the Wild Beast, Michael Ehart
    • 17-T — The Wolf of Winter, Bill Ward
    • 18-T — Portrait of a Behemoth, Richard K. Lyon & Andrew J. Offutt
    • 18-T — Runner of the Hidden Ways, Jason Thummel
    • 18-T — Beyond the Reach of His Gods, Brian Ruckley
  • Anthology
    • 21-T — Rage of the Behemoth
  • Artist
    • 20-T — Johnney Perkins
  • Book Art
    • 19-T — Rage of the Behemoth, Didier Normand

~~~~~~

Hat’s off to many other friends and acquaintances for their multiple showings as well, folks such as Cyberwizard Productions and Abandoned Towers; Residential Aliens, SFReader, Black Gate, Beneath Ceasless Skies, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Ricasso Press, GUD, EDF, Richard H Fay, Grasping for the Wind, M.D. Jackson – and numerous others I apologize for not listing.

A grand beginning to 2010 and much publishing success to us all!

Rating 4.00 out of 5
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January 11th, 2010 | Author: von Darkmoor

Watch Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of the Dark Knight -- A single 46-minute video (subtitled in English) -- or the below 5-video set from YouTube (subtitled in Spanish).

Impressive analysis of the mind of iconic characters -- be they dark or darker yet. While this is a study of the Batman and his motivations, it is also an acknowledgment and acceptance of his counterparts. Without them, there is no he. It could equally be argued that without ‘he’ there is no ‘them’ either.

First aired in 2008, I accidentally found it late one night last week. While nothing that I did not know or could not surmise was presented, the way the analysis was assembled and delivered is compellingly entertaining and illuminating. Combining actual psychological concepts and thoughts with those of creators, writers, actors, directors of the Batman was fascinating. I’d love to see an entire series of such shows, compiling a collection of dozens of the larger-than-life characters many have come to idealize, idolize, and love.

Granted there would be repetition of content such as motivations and psychoses, even origins and conflicts. Yet combining the audio, video, and paper media life of each character with the thoughts of those who’ve written, played, studied, directed, colored, lived them and the observations of some top analytical minds appeals greatly to me. Imagine the unmasking of:

  • Solomon Kane
  • Aragorn
  • John Carter
  • Wolverine
  • Casca
  • Merlin
  • The Shadow
  • Conan

What fun these would be to watch!

Rating 4.00 out of 5
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December 16th, 2009 | Author: von Darkmoor

Take it for what it’s worth (exactly what I am not sure), but here’s a listing of what Box Office Mojo says are the top grossing S&S movies since 1980.

Sword & Sorcery Movies at the Box Office

I find it interesting that they list Eragon but none of the LotR series.

Rating 4.00 out of 5
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Category: Visual Arts  | 6 Comments
September 14th, 2009 | Author: von Darkmoor

…our tastes grow coarser and the life of the imagination grows smaller,” says Stephen King in his latest The Pop of King culture column for Entertainment Weekly (Sept 18th). I agree with his statement, though not so much with the entirety of his argument.

King takes a look at the changes within four of the biggest entertainment vehicles and cries foul. Since he speaks not only with the authority of an American consumer of pop culture, but as a member of it, he’s mostly correct. Any serious connoisseur of Hollywood movies has been decrying the evolution (or devolution) of serious movies for some time now. Apparently to no avail, as King points out, for one merely has to check the local movie house listings to find the latest drivel repeated ad nauseum, while – unless one checks regularly – the finer movies cycle through quicker than Lance Armstrong visits La Crouzille. This is nothing new, however deplorable it may be. Why, even today I heard evidence of yet another loss of creativity: the first remaking of a John Wayne movie is in the works.

King touches upon network television and leaves a tip on telling just how popular one’s favorite show is: pay attention to the ads. Consider how much primetime advertising costs and compare how many blue chip advertisers there are for every Tom, Dick, and Harry advertiser. Again – nothing new here; longtime viewers have been saying quality shows vacated the ‘free’ side of television long ago.

As for radio – and speaking as an owner – King says it’s just about kaput. Morning talk show voices and talk radio are just about all that’s garnering attention – and advertising. Seems radio is about to follow newspapers and disappear off the face of the earth. Advertising inundation, especially in this medium, has wreaked its havoc. After all, I can’t name a single person who, given the choice between having uninterrupted music listening or not, ever chooses the radio.

Then there is print. Skip the newspapers and even the magazines; except for the niche markets everyone but them has already been to their funerals. King speaks only of books. Specifically of their demise as viable quality entertainment due to the encroachment of ebooks. Here’s where I am not of like mind. Granted, as an author commanding many digit advances he has every right to be concerned about who’ll be paying them once every book becomes an ebook. But I think that’s a valid concern today regardless of ebooks. No matter who the author is, today’s publishers cannot afford to shell out mega-advances – and they are foolish to continue doing so. That’s another post. King’s primary concern here is the quality of the ebooks that will soon be replacing print books en masse. Or so he fears.

King worries that ebooks will be the end of ‘great publishers and layers of editing’ – and thus quality. He is also pessimistic about the currently established $9.99 price, declaring it non-profit making and simply a ploy to hook addicted readers on cheap product. He is right to compare the process as he sees it to the drug trade, for we are agreed on one point: “Good stories are dope.” While every reader has his/her own favorite supplier, the addiction to good storytelling isn’t going away. It’s in humanity’s genes. And that’s where King and I differ. Instead of trying to (or bemoaning the fact he can’t) force the new market delivery mechanism to fit the current way of doing business, he should be encouraging – nay, demanding – the ways of doing business in the publishing world adjust to the new technologies. There will always be those who want print editions; there will always be hard copy collectors and autograph fans. Yet in today’s entertainment market, where the target markets are glutted upon easily accessible and quickly consumed electronic media, e-technologies are the future. To expect such products to conform to today’s historically inept and absurdly crooked publishing traditions is ridiculous.

Certainly there is a risk of lesser quality. As evidenced by the other media it seems inevitable. But it’s not equitable. Radio and television never had ‘editing’; censuring, sure. But they’re advertising driven medias and have been almost since the beginning. Movies? Consumption driven and, so long as the younger market is the primary target, geared to a self -generating and -propagating dumbed-down society. Print has consistently been the market with ’standards’ of professionalism. Simply because the deliver of this medium is transferring from actual paper and ink to monitors and pixels of all sizes and formats is no reason to bemoan the end of those standards.

In the end, it all comes down to money anyway. Every consumer will spend exactly the amount of cash they believe necassary and worthy of their entertainment time. Being the best quality and value at the moment of their purchase decision can’t hurt.

Rating 4.00 out of 5
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Category: Books, Musical, Visual Arts  | 2 Comments
August 27th, 2009 | Author: von Darkmoor

Will Ferrell and I don’t think too much of each other. He probably not at all of I; I very little of he. Other than a few one-liners that can’t help but be remembered (“If you ain’t first, you’re last.” and “Here’s the deal: I’m the best there is. Plain and simple. I wake up in the morning and I piss excellence.” ~ Talladega Nights…and that’s about it), I think he is a one-trick actor whose success relies only upon the stupidity intelligence of his fans. I think he made potentially enjoyable movies unenjoyable, but his greatest travesty was contributing to the severe depreciation in quality of the superbly humorous Wedding Crashers (OK, the writers/director do bear some blame for that).

Yet he performs just fine in Stranger than Fiction, the writer’s movie wherein the main character of a novelist’s latest work discovers that he is just a figment of imagination. Ferrell neither over- nor under- performs as Harold Crick, actually allowing viewers to enjoy the movie as a whole and not monopolize their attention. An entertaining tale, told well and delivered with aplomb, containing appealing performances by Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I did buy this movie (on bargain clearance) and I do intend to rewatch it at some point. Thompson’s nuances as troubled novelist are both odd and accurate and bear reexamination, while Hoffman is simply elegant in his role, one of my all-time favorites for him. I think he alone make watching the movie a real pleasure.

Whether you are interested in writing or not, I certainly do recommend Stranger than Fiction for an evening of fine relaxation and entertainment.

Rating 4.00 out of 5
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Category: Visual Arts  | 2 Comments
August 17th, 2009 | Author: von Darkmoor

It sure ought to be.

I think that  Sofia Vassilieva – the kept sister – most assuredly deserves one. She simply performed spectacularly! All five actors playing the family members played their characters and roles well – and I can even applaud Alec Baldwin’s barrister performance.

My Sister’s Keeper is perhaps the most serious-minded movie I have ever seen in a theater. I was engrossed – though unsurprised – by the plot; pleased with both the writing and directing; delighted by the ease with which the actors carried the story and fit me right in. This is a movie I can recommend without second thought. Which makes my next statement interesting.

Though I have  nothing but good words for My Sister’s Keeper, it is not a movie I will buy.

I won’t watch it again. I buy movies because I’ll watch them – once, twice, innumerable more times; drama, action, even comedy – I’ve bought them all. This won’t be one of them. I find that kind of sad, personally. So go on, go see it. Then let me know if you’ll be buying a copy.

Rating 4.00 out of 5
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Category: Visual Arts, Writing  | 2 Comments
August 03rd, 2009 | Author: von Darkmoor

Today, I learned of two mistakes I made in the past.

One I remedied by honoring one of my biggest creeds: loyalty. Within moments of doing so, I bore the first of what will more than likely be many insults to come.

The second I cannot remedy. At least any time soon. I did not go to see this marvelous vehicle when it was within 20 minutes of me last week.

Airbus A380

The Airbus A380, on its way to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, refueled here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest passenger aircraft in history with a 239 foot length, 79 foot height, and 261 foot wing span. It looks like two regular airplanes stacked atop each other. And it’s all about taking better care of its passengers. Amazing. Too bad I missed it.

Rating 4.00 out of 5
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April 14th, 2009 | Author: von Darkmoor

For a free product, and a first try, this is pretty fun.

I’ll play with it again another day, see if I can find a better way of doing things. Let me know what you think so far.

Rating 3.00 out of 5
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Category: Books, RBE, Visual Arts  | 3 Comments