Crimes of Grindelwald: Fun Yet Confusing

The second installment of the Fantastic Beasts series is out. This one is called The Crimes of Grindelwald, and I'm not entirely sure of the name's significance. I'm also not sure what exactly happened, and what was accomplished. It was a visually stunning movie with awesome music and epic scenes, which I'm sure will make more sense later, but I think a little more editing and/or explanation could have helped to make this even more of an enjoyable movie.

The movie is also full of fun Easter eggs, as well as some explanations of what happened in the past, some of which ties in with the Harry Potter series. With this is mind, I'm sure many fans would be ecstatic to see this movie. So what was so wrong with this one?

My son pointed out the biggest issue. It was almost as if the writer(s) went out of their way to keep information from the audience. I'm not sure if this was Rowling's idea or some other co-writers, but it doesn't fit the story telling in any of the other Rowling movies. My son notes one scene in which one character had no reason not to tell the other character important information except to not spoil the later surprises for the audience. "Shh ... I can't tell you because some mysterious audience is watching." This was also a major issue for another visually stunning, epic-filled movie that featured Redmayne a couple of years ago, which didn't do so well.

There were a few characters, even some major ones, that existed, but were never explained. I couldn't remember them from the first movie, nor did I understand who they were related to. Most importantly, I didn't understand their incentives or desires, so I had nothing to latch onto. For example, who was that evil looking lady working in the library? You'll know her when you see her. Who was that lady working with Grindelwald near the beginning of the movie? Who was that who helped Grindelwald escape in the beginning, and what exactly happened in that scene?

Also, I think the writers had established that there was a parallel magic world in Paris, but it was confusing as to which scenes were happening in magic land, and which were happening in the real world. And how exactly did the two worlds interact with each other?

And how again was Grindenwald able to get so many followers and why did it take so long for him to escape?

Out of the four of my family who were watching, none of us could figure out what was going on. We tried to piece it all together after the movie, but there were still some questions. I think we figured most of it, but it might take another viewing. The funny thing is, I don't think it would have taken that much editing to make it all work better. I'll most likely continue watching, but it's hard to get very excited about future movies.

2018 Checkpoint #5

Here I am again ... another couple of months gone past without any sizable output. Music business ... blah blah ... tired after work ... blah blah ... more excuses. I can forget all of that, because I finally had an epiphany.

The reason why I've stopped writing is because I've placed myself in one of those infinite loop things. I know I need to write, and I have all kinds of ideas in fiction, non-fiction, and rantings, and so on. But most of these tasks happen to be large.

For example, I set aside a little bit of time -- say Monday night -- to write a passionate blog entry, but then it takes forever. I do research. I end up changing and even deleting large sections. Then I edit the final for grammar, flow, and spacing, etc., and when I hit send, three hours have past. Groan!

Then the next day I want to write another story or just about anything, but another three hours? Hmmm ... isn't there something I should be doing with my music business? In other words, I allow myself to burn out. Funny how it's always my fault!

The answer is so simple: one hour a day. Once I hit an hour, I stop, and continue the next day. I can write about anything: fiction, blog posts, letters to my friends, in my journal. Hopefully this will help me avoid my burn out, and help me make real progress, and still have time for my music business and relaxing, and whatever else. A little more discipline to get back into the habit, and never stop again!

I hope your writing is good and consistent!

Alpha: A Decent Movie

Ever since I saw the first trailer, Alpha was one movie I had been anticipating for over a year, even though I'm more of a cat lover. But as the months passed and having heard nothing, I feared that I had missed it. Then one day at the movie theater, I happened to look at the "Now Showing" posters, and recognized it. We went to go see it the very next week. It turns out they had delayed the release several times, and evidently decided not to advertise when it finally came out. So, I fully anticipate that most of you have never heard of this movie.

It was decent. It feels more like an independent film, not following the usual annoying Hollywood formulas, but rather just telling a story. In that way it was more fresh and intimate rather than pandering to the lowest common denominator. But this also means the intended audience may be smaller.

Keda is a young man living in a prehistoric post-caveman nomadic tribe. On his first hunting trip, he ends up lost and injured, and must make his way back before winter comes. On the way, he helps to nurse an injured wolf back to health and becomes good friends.

What originally attracted me to this movie was a semblance of the Akela story from Kipling, which was incorporated into the Cub Scouting program. "Law of the Pack" and all that good stuff. The idea of watching man and wolf becoming friends sounded interesting.

At the same time I feared that it would be dumb as other recent pre-historic movies (think 10,000 BC), but in the case of this movie, I was pleasantly surprised. Pre-historic man was not portrayed as ignorant cave dwellers, but rather as resourceful survivors. In fact, some scouts may recognize some survival techniques throughout the movie. The humans didn't speak in English, but rather some made-up language with subtitles, thus adding to the sense of reality.

The cinematography was superb, almost as good as Life of Pi, though at times it got a little too dark, and the stars didn't seem to have enough contrast. (Then again, it could have been because I was at a cheaper theater.)

The story was also good, providing all the feels. When the father thinks his son is dead, you know exactly what he's thinking. When the son thinks he won't survive, you know exactly what he feels.

My only complaint is that it felt too short. It was as if this film had so much potential that could have been reached if they had fleshed out the script a little more. For example, the "Alpha" concept that was introduced never really seemed to play out later in the movie. When it was over, I think we all asked, "That's all?" Maybe it just needed a more satisfying ending.

Even with that said, I highly recommend this film, especially if you like animals. It may be too late to catch it in the theaters, but rent it when you get a chance. It's a great family movie.

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Just like it's predecessor, Ant-Man and the Wasp was exactly what I was expecting: funny, exciting, light, full of action, imaginative, and different. And certainly a needed break from Infinity War.

Scott and Hope continue their story as they try to rescue Dr. Pym's wife. Along the way, they come across a new villain, Ghost, who can phase in and out, and as such becomes very difficult to fight.

Though this sequel relies heavily on gimmicks and techniques introduced in the original, it does add new material and even a tad bit of development among some of the characters. The amount of humor is just right. The villain is believable. The plot is tight.

As you may expect, it has some crazy science that falls apart if you think about it even a little, but I didn't care much. I was impressed with the actual topics of physics they touched on, even if used incorrectly. Either way, the writers let us in on the joke when Scott asks, "Do you guys just put the word 'quantum' in front of everything?"

My only complaint is the same as with the original. The writers had to tie this into Civil War and Infinity War. Scott starts out being under house arrest. Sure, it makes for funny shenanigans. (I loved Agent Woo's parts.) But, it wasn't necessary to the "real" plot. And the tie into Infinity War doesn't make sense if you think about the timing of events and the overuse of coincidences. But -- meh! The writers had no choice but to do things the way they did.

Due to my lateness in writing, you may laugh while I say, "Go see it in a theater," but then again, I think it would be just as enjoyable on the small screen.

2018 Checkpoint #4

Another two months have passed, and this time I don't have much to report. I've bumped up my blog post counts, mainly in my sister blogs, and I've also worked a little more on my current short story, but not much output to show for it.

Though I'm having fun with my new goal system, I'm still waiting for the momentum to hit. It appears that I've been attacking this large wall of tasks I had been avoiding in the past -- almost like I'm trying to come out of some kind of time debt.

I have no choice but to keep pushing forward, and try to allot more time specifically to fiction/blog writing. There are things on my mind that need to be said and stories that need to be recorded, and they're not doing any good just sitting around in my brain.

Stay tuned for more details.

Incredibles 2: Fantastic Sequel

Overall, Incredibles 2 is a good continuation of The Incredibles. It's a good story, good plot, good flow, excellent music, decent humor, and awesome animation.

The only thing I didn't like was the "apology" that aired before the movie even started -- something about being sorry for taking 14 years to make the sequel. Look guys, we get it. You've been busy making other great Pixar movies. Sure, the actors supplying the voices look noticeably older in the apology clip, but the first movie is timeless, as this second movie is, also. It fits. The characters remain consistent between movies. At least you guys didn't give us another Cars 2 and all the other movies that came after in that series. You should have no regrets making this movie.

At the start of this sequel, our heroes combat the Underminer, picking up exactly where the first movie leaves off. As the general public still doesn't accept supers, a Walt-Disney-like billionaire decides to step in and help boost their image, hoping that good PR can help bring supers back into favor, thus helping them to become legal again, until a new super villain tries to stop them.

If some of this sounds familiar, it's probably because the story does rely partially on tropes from other mutant/super stories, but the writers bring it together with fresh twists. I particularly like the use of new technologies.

There do seem to be a few slow parts, but it's mainly due to setting up the story. It all leads to a very satisfying ending.

I'm glad I caught it in the theater, but I think it will perform well on the small screen as well.

One thing to watch out for. One part (repeated a few times) can evidently cause epileptic seizures. Check out the trailer above at time 2:06 for an example. In hindsight, I wonder if the animators really needed to do that. When this happens, it might be a good idea to look away if you're susceptible.

For good family fun, be sure to catch this movie.

Old Man's War: An Okay Book

Old Man's War is the second time I've tried John Scalzi. I was annoyed with Redshirts, so this book was definitely a step up. It's well written, well edited, flows nicely, easy to read, sets up a nice and rich world, and has a mostly good story arc.

The overall concept is innovative. By the time John Perry turns 75, his wife has died and he has nothing to look forward to, so he decides to join the Colonial Defense Forces. They have technology that can make him young again, but there's one small catch: he must be declared legally dead and start a new life off-world, never to return to Earth again.

Once he enters the intergalactic war, he learns that Earth fights not to conquer, but rather to survive. As many different civilizations compete for limited resources in the galaxy, they have no choice but to fight. Conquer other worlds or die--much like the Dark Forest philosophy from the Three Body Problem series, but instead of hiding, all worlds come out fighting.

As I read on, something kept bugging me, though. It was a good book, but I didn't see anything that made it a great book. I'm going to be extra picky, as this novel placed first in Tor's top ten SFF novels of the decade.

The book suffered from some annoyances common among early novels. Even though Scalzi did a decent job in distinguishing his different characters, he yet had all of them acting the same. It was as if he had instilled his own funny pessimistic satiric view on life. For example, when our heroes are youngified, the first thing they do is go have sex with themselves -- for an entire chapter! At first, a reader might say, "Well, why wouldn't they? Wouldn't you do that if you were young again?" There's no question that Scalzi himself wouldn't hesitate, and I know a majority of people would likewise indulge, but I also know several people in real life who just wouldn't do it. Scalzi missed a wonderful opportunity for further character distinction by having one of the characters decide not to participate.

The same comment goes also for the F-bomb dropping by everyone. Not everyone does that. Several books I've read recently are not in the Tor list, and they do a better job at character distinction than this (having only certain characters cussing). It's understandable that their first drill commander would let the F-bombs fly, but wow, was that character the most cliche character in the book. It just didn't flow naturally.

And finally, the book's form was disappointing. The whole purpose of the plot was to build the world for the readers. John just happened to find himself at the right places at the right time to learn different aspects about how things worked. As I saw the future pages in the book were getting fewer, I started wondering why it was chosen as #1 of the decade. Was there some great Ender's Game reveal coming at the end?

When I got to the last page, it didn't happen, and it seemed that so many things were left unresolved. The book just ended. I sat there staring at it and scratched my head. I had enjoyed the other three novels I had already read from the Tor list much more than this one. How did it get to be #1? Popularity? Does the series get much better in the sequels, now that the world has already been established?

Old Man's War was a fun read and well done, but for now I'm not too excited to continue the series. Eventually I'll get around to it, ... maybe in a couple of years ...

Solo: Fun Fan Fodder

Next up in my catch-up-athon: this awesome review of Solo: A Star Wars Story.

I'll be honest and say that going into the theater, I wasn't too excited about this movie, even though I loved The Last Jedi (review). It felt like I had just seen a Star Wars movie, it was way too close to Infinity Wars, and most of the trailers out at the time didn't hook me. (Though, the trailer attached here is a lot more exciting than what I had seen -- why didn't they lead with this one?) I had no desire to catch this movie on review night, nor any desire to watch in IMAX or 3D or with any other gimmicks. But still, as a Star Wars fan, I had to go.

Despite a few slow parts, I ended up enjoying it more than I had expected. Why? Because it had action, a decent story, and a whole slew of nods and easter eggs geared toward fans. If I had to make a comparison with Star Trek, I would compare this one to #3: The Search for Spock. That was another movie made entirely for the fans, but lost on most everyone else.

If there is any question you previously had about Han Solo, this movie most likely covers it. My personal favorite was an explanation of the Kessel Run and the 12 parsecs remark. It was a BIG stretch, but I approved with a good laugh.

Another moment near the end takes a swing, mocking George Lucas' digital adjustments to the original trilogy. Again, I approved with a good laugh.

My main complaints are these:

I and others in the theater evidently spent too much time trying to figure out where this movie fit in the whole anthology. How many years after #3 did it come? At one part, a lot of people seemed confused, wondering if it were possible that this movie might be happening before #1. I think a quick paragraph in the beginning could have better set the stage and avoid this confusion.

I felt that a large part was missing from Qi'ra's story. How exactly did she come to her position after three short years? And how could her character allow for it?

I already mentioned the timing of the release ... way too early in the year, and way too close to other blockbusters. November or December would have been much more enjoyable. And now we must wait a year and a half for the next installment?

Other than that, I rather enjoyed the movie, and I'm disappointed that it performed poorly in the box office. One of the reasons for this came to light when I read a recent column blasting again The Last Jedi and saying why it was prudent to miss Solo, even though he listed it as being a "good movie." That made me scratch my head. "You mean to tell me you're a Star Wars fan, but you're so mad at The Last Jedi that you would happily skip a movie written by one of the original screenplay writers for people just like you?" Their loss. There are yet millions of true fans who are sticking with the series while things are starting to get interesting.

2018 Checkpoint #3

I'm happy to report that my new goal system appears to be a success. Over the past two months, I've noticed that depression has been way down. I don't feel so stuck anymore. I still get depressed over world events sometimes, but I've learned a trick in that area: stay away from the news! Last week was awesome while I was on vacation.

My biggest milestone is: I've started writing fiction again! Yay! It hasn't been much, but just doing it makes me feel good.

And yes, I have plenty of excuses for my low output: pressures from my music business, the day job sucking the life out of me, getting caught up with organizing the home, and so on. You've heard it all before, but this time it's okay, because I see a path now. Things are getting done. Once I put a task on my list, it will get done, even if it takes a couple of weeks to get around to it.

I expect that as I push forward, things will start gaining momentum, and I'll be able to do things faster.

My plans are to first spit out some shorter fiction pieces, and then move on to some moderately longer ones I've been planning. And then perhaps by the end of the year, I'll start working on my books again.

I'm also going to spend more time in the near future working on my Mormon blog, as I'd like to relate some recent stories and experiences -- and evidently it's easier to write when you have something to say.

I've got more plans for what comes next, and I will succeed.

Avengers: Infinity War

Yes, this review is pretty late. I'm still doing catch up, and also, it's pretty difficult to talk about this movie without revealing any spoilers. I'm still going to try, somewhat comforted that most of you reading have already seen this movie.

Infinity War is by far my favorite Avengers movie. Not so much because it's big, awesome, and fun to watch, but because it did something different. It broke its own Marvel formula.

After years of waiting, Thanos finally makes a move on the Infinity Stones. If he can collect them all, he can become invincible, and all kinds of bad things can happen. And do you think the Avengers are going to let him get away with it?

Most impressive was the writers' ability to put together this ensemble and still maintain each individual's character, entirely consistent with earlier movies.

I caught this movie Preview night in standard -- no 3D, and no IMAX. I didn't miss the 3D at all, though I wish I had gone back and seen it in 2D-IMAX. I would have liked to have seen many scenes on a bigger and clearer screen.

That's pretty much all I have for this movie, but I wanted to make one further observation. This movie is similar to the first Star Trek reboot movie, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi in that all three movies went out of the way to change things up and totally upend their respective franchises. In two of these franchises, the changes were well received. The third was blasted by its fans. By most cinematic standards, all three are good movies, each earning more than 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. Just an interesting observation worth mentioning!

The Movie List - 2010

Here it is: the Mel Movie List of 2010. With this list, I take us all back to when this blog first started. Man, I was so young back then! As always, this list is subject to change as I watch more movies.

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Top 10:

Inception
Shutter Island
Tron: Legacy
Toy Story 3
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
True Grit
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1
How to Train Your Dragon
Chronicles of Narnia, The: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

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And the rest in alphabetical order:

Alice in Wonderland
Alpha and Omega
Clash of the Titans
Despicable Me
Devil
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Dinner for Schmucks (Yuck)
Frozen
Furry Vengeance
Gulliver's Travels (Yuck)
Hereafter
Iron Man 2
Karate Kid, The
Knight and Day
Last Airbender, The (Yuck)
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
Megamind
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Salt
Shrek Forever After
Skyline
Sorcerer's Apprentice, The

Spy Next Door, The

Tangled
Tooth Fairy

2018 Checkpoint #2

There's not much to report this time, though I'm trying something different. It's come to my attention that making too many goals and failing to meet them has contributed to a lot of depression and lack of productivity in some areas. I am dinging myself for the tasks I'm NOT accomplishing, when I should be patting myself on the back for the tasks I AM accomplishing.

Even though I haven't been writing, I still have big plans for the future as pertaining to my fiction writing. I have to first reboot the writing engine, and then more fun things will be coming. You'll have to stay tuned for more details.

One thing I'm going to stop here and now are the numerical stats. They're boring, they're useless, and they're evidently punitive. I'm just going to have to find other ways to measure success.

We'll see how this goes. I hope that "What do I WANT to do today?" instead of "What do I HAVE to do today?" will make all the difference in the world, and I can finally accomplish everything I want to accomplish in the world of fiction.

I hope you all are doing well in your own writing.

First Exposure to Philip K. Dick

Here I am -- nearly half a century old, and having watched and loved several films inspired by Philip K. Dick, I finally got around to reading a couple of his stories. I can see why a lot of people like his writing, and I can see why others don't. It took me a while to get over how he seemed to break many rules that get pushed on aspiring writers these days. For example, in both stories I read, PKD did more "telling" than "showing."

But yet, his stories felt organic. He was simply telling a story, he was going to tell it his way, and if people didn't want to listen, he couldn't care less. This taught me a lesson--something I've heard before from Orson Scott Card, but here I say it again in different words. An organic story is much more important than technique. If you spend all the time showing off how well you can follow all the rules and forget to tell a story, you will have succeeded in boring the whole world.

In a way, I appreciated PKD's ability to avoid flowery language and to stay out of the way to let the story be told. As a friend explained to me: PKD gets straight down to business and tries not to waste our time.

Here are the stories.

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"Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?" (1968)

Of course, I had to start with the book that launched two of my favorite movies. (That and I chose to go with what the library had available at the time.)

Just like in Blade Runner and its sequel, the short novel stars Rick Deckard, the android bounty hunter, and also the robot Rachel Rosen. He is tasked to track down and retire the last of eight rogue androids after one of them shoots his colleague. Along the way he comes across an interesting cast of characters, many of which are androids that do not know they're not human. Toward the end, Rick even wonders if he, himself, is an android with implanted memories.

Expecting the book to be just like the movie was a mistake. The movie throws out many important aspects of the book, and ends up being a different kind of masterpiece.

Animals play a large role in the book, as most of them had been wiped out by the recent nuclear war. Thus, each living human feels duty-bound to raise and protect their own real animal. However, some like Rick, purchase electric animals to masquerade as real. And wouldn't you know it? Rick has an electric sheep.

The book introduces the idea of a mood organ, in which one can dial up a specific emotion to feel. There is also a strange religion called Mercerism, built on a story of a man who perseveres against all odds, and humans can tap into empathy boxes in order to relive the story over and over again. These two aspects dropped from the movie show that technology had gotten advanced enough to basically program humans, raising the question: what's the difference between humans and androids if we humans can be equally manipulated?

The book also gives Rick a current wife, though they appear to be struggling. At one point near the beginning of the story, during a disagreement, Rick orders his wife to dial her mood organ to an emotion of compliance.

When all is said and done, the book ends without answering most of the questions it raises, all while depressing the heck out of me, just like the movies. I highly recommend giving it a read.

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"The Variable Man" (1953)

I include each story's date, so you can understand my next comment. The writing in "The Variable Man" is pretty bad. There is a lot of repetitive dialogue, and all the characters are shallow, but the story was yet captivating. I can understand why the copyright was allowed to lapse on this story (it is available for free via the Gutenburg project).

Terra (Earth) is surrounded by the Ancient Centaurian Empire, based at the closest star of Proxima Centauri. As Terra is unable to reach out and explore the stars, they are planning a war against the Empire. Daily, they run calculations to predict the outcome of such a war, and it constantly show a Terran loss until a secret weapon is developed.

As soon as Reinhart, the head military man, hears the news of a possible Terran victory, he prepares for attack whatever the cost. They must strike before the enemy learns of the weapon and has a chance to compensate.

All goes well until a man from the past, Thomas Cole, is accidentally pulled into their time. His mere existence causes the calculations to fluctuate widely, inspiring Reinhart to order the death of the man.

What happens next is actually a pretty good story. As you can guess, Cole doesn't want to be killed.

In addition to the not-so-good writing, there are some interesting plot holes in the science. For example, FTL plays a large role, but after establishing that Terra can't control FTL, how is it they can receive information faster than the speed of light? And if Terra is surrounded by the Empire, how could Terra even think of getting their warships anywhere near enough to attack, let alone communicate with home base? But whatevs -- fifteen years later, PDK would prove how much his writing had improved.

It was interesting to read this story shortly after having read the entire Three Body Problem trilogy, which has a similar plot.

I also wonder if James Cole of 12 Monkeys fame got his name from this very story.

Despite the semi-bad writing -- what do you have to lose? It's available for free, and it's a quick read. At least the story catches and maintains attention.

I'll come back later to read more of PDK's stories. In the meantime, it's time to try out some other books on my list.

Ready Player One: Game On, Dudes!

Are you looking for the perfect movie to take you away and forget about this crazy world? If so, Ready Player One may be the movie for you, especially if you happen to be a gamer.

As a standalone movie, it holds its own. The CGI is beyond amazing. The action sequences are fun. The 70s/80s/90s references are all cool. And it depicts something that could actually happen in the near future.

Wade Watts is a money-poor gamer living in the stacks -- future slums where trailers are stacked on top of each other. Despite his lack of resources, Wade joins the search for the ultimate easter egg, one that would give the winner full control of the ever-popular OASIS virtual world, worth a gazillion dollars. Along the way, he'll have to fight the affluent corporation IOI and their sixers. They have the money, but Wade has his passion.

I would strongly advise watching this movie while still in theaters so you can get the full effect. I must admit there were times I felt I was part of the movie and had to remind myself I was just watching.

My only complaints about the movie are nerdy in nature. For starters, I don't think the music fit as well as it could have. Silvestri seemed to be channeling a John Williams vibe, but not as well. For example, the incidental music at the start of the car chase wasn't exciting enough. Most of the 80's/90's song cues were cool, but even some of those choices seemed weak, especially the opening song.

If John Williams were scoring this, he would have hidden a Willy Wonka cue, much like "When You Wish Upon a Star" hidden in Close Encounters, but I didn't catch anything. (Yes, I know "Come With Me" is in a trailer, but that's not hidden, and I don't think Silvestri arranged it.)

Those who have read the book may find some parts annoying. I believe the movie adequately captures the most important parts of the books, but the three tests are so "easy" that most any nerd could have figured them out in real life. The tests in the book are much more nuanced and intelligent.

Also, Wade has much more character development in the book. For example, he already has most of his cool gear at the beginning of the movie -- so he's not nearly as poor. Then again, Spielberg is really good at creating empty main characters -- think Indiana Jones. This can be both good and bad. Bad because the character comes across as shallow, and their motives can be confusing. Good because the shallowness allows for the watchers to more easily insert themselves into the main character.

Either way, I didn't notice much of this until after the movie was over and I started analyzing.

I watched it in 3D IMAX. I generally choose not to watch such movies not shot in 3D (and I am disappointed Spielberg chose not to go this way in the real-life shots), but as most of the movie occurs inside the virtual world, which is by nature "shot" in 3D, I figured it was worth a shot. I'm not sure how much it added, but wearing the glasses was kind of like wearing VR glasses -- so maybe that helped with the feeling of being inside the movie.

Go have some fun. Catch this movie.

The Movie List - 2011

The long anticipated Mel's Movie List of 2011:

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Top 10:

Source Code
Hugo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (7.2)

Help, The
Thor
Battle: Los Angeles
Adjustment Bureau, The
Sucker Punch
Super 8
War Horse

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And the rest in alphabetical order:

Adventures of Tintin, The

Arthur Christmas
Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 (Mostly Yuck)

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The

Captain America: The First Avenger

Cowboys & Aliens
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2): Rodrick Rules
Gnomeo & Juliet

Hanna
I Am Number Four

In Time (2011)
Johnny English Reborn
Limitless
Mars Needs Moms

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Pirates of the Caribbean (4): On Stranger Tides
Puss in Boots
Rango

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Rio
Smurfs, The (Yuck)

Three Musketeers, The

Transformers (3): Dark of the Moon (Yuck -- except for awesome opening scene in 3D)
We Bought a Zoo

X-Men: First Class
Zookeeper

2018 Checkpoint #1 -- Why I'm Slow to Submit

For my two-month checkpoint, I'd like to share some thoughts.

I am slow to submit stories to magazines. So far this year, I've only submitted twice. However, I may be okay with this. I've come to realize why it is I don't submit as much as I "should."

Let's talk about this.

When I started this blog eight years ago, I was all gung-ho about breaking into the business. I read up on what I was supposed to do, so that I could make sure to do it all right.

Part of this was to follow Ray Bradbury's persistence advice. Writing one story and submitting one story each week was the key to success. It worked for Bradbury, so it could work for me. I saw getting published in magazines as a rite of passage for those on their way to becoming established authors.

I tried it for a while, but all it seemed to do was to get me more rejections faster.

Then I saw a particular X-Files episode where the Smoking Man really wants to get published -- funny, right? After years of trying, he finally gets a hit. An obscure magazine decides to take one of his stories. He's so excited that he decides to quit his nefarious day job -- that is until he realizes the magazine changed the ending to fit their own purposes.

You can check out the clip here ...



But then, this also hit me: how many people actually read the magazines that I'm submitting to? There are a handful of sci-fi buffs who watch movies, TV shows, comics, books, blogs, etc. But what are they not reading? The short stories in sci-fi magazines!

I think that's it.

#1) The magazines are looking for specific stories and styles that fit their mold -- thus rejecting good stories while accepting others that might not be as good.

And #2) If my potential audience isn't even reading where I'm submitting, how exactly do I get to them?

If one thing, the pile of rejection letters I've received has toughened me up and taught me how to react like a professional, and how to understand the business concept of "no deal." Each rejection I receive has a little less sting in it.

However, the pile in total sends a strong message -- the 'zines aren't interested in my style. It becomes difficult to spend that 20 minutes putting together a package to send to a magazine, knowing it's just going to be rejected -- wasting both my time and theirs.

Then again, my sci-fi friend tells me, "It costs nothing to submit to a magazine. If you have the stories, go ahead and submit."

And then it hit me: it's not the submitting that's important, but rather it's the writing. It provides practice for writing bigger projects, and the stories can always be compiled into anthologies.

It's been a while since I've written a short story. That's where I need to be focusing my efforts. I can keep submitting to the 'zines and pile up the rejection letters -- but when the time comes, I'll end up self-publishing if I have to.

It's not recognition I need, but rather volume.

The Movie List - 2012

Here is my movie list for 2012:

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Top 10:

Life of Pi
Les Miserables
Dark Knight Rises, The
Cloud Atlas
Skyfall
Hunger Games, The
Avengers, The
Looper
Brave
John Carter

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And the rest (in alphabetical order -- I believe I liked all of these to some degree):

Amazing Spider-Man, The
Argo

Bourne Legacy, The

Flight
Hobbit, The: An Unexpected Journey
Hotel Transylvania
Ice Age: Continental Drift

Jack Reacher

Lorax, The

Red Dawn

Total Recall
Wrath of the Titans

Wreck-It Ralph

Black Panther Shines

Marvel has done it again. They have released another original standalone movie that rocks.

Black Panther takes us to Africa to the country of Wakanda, site of an ancient meteor strike that left a material so strong, it could be used to build amazing technology.

Prince T'Challa, first introduced in Civil War two years ago, returns to save his country from new threats while working to protect their secrets.

The result is an action-packed adventure, good plot lines, and even a few emotional moments mixed with some fun African music.

And my favorite part: the other Avengers do not show up at all throughout the whole movie! They're only mentioned in passing. So, I was able to enjoy this standalone in its entirety without annoying cameo appearances.

What was there not to like? Perhaps there are a couple of large plot holes, but that should be expected. The CGI was pretty awesome, though I may have noticed a few flaws. My 12-year-old daughter reports that the bit rate was slow enough to catch. I thought I noticed the same in a couple of scenes where a moving object seemed to skip across the screen, but then again, it could have been a not-so-great projector at our theater. And there was one scene where I could have sworn T'Challa's necklace was floating over/in front of his outfit. (Was his outfit largely green-screened? Or green-suited?)

Yeah, that was the most I could come up with. Go catch this movie while it's in the theater. We went to go see it the 2nd Saturday and it was still packed. There was a lot of clapping at the end of the movie.

The Movie List - 2013

Here is my movie list for 2013.

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Top 10:

Gravity
The Book Thief
Oblivion
Hunger Games, The: Catching Fire
Star Trek: Into Darkness
Ender's Game
12 Years a Slave
Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The
Man of Steel

Warm Bodies

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The rest in alphabetical order:

Captain Phillips

Croods, The

Despicable Me 2
Epic

Frozen

G. I. Joe: Retaliation (why can't I remember this one?)

Her

Hobbit, The: The Desolation of Smaug (yuck)

Host, The

Iron Man 3

Monsters University

Now You See Me

Oz the Great and Powerful

R.I.P.D. (I think I saw this one)

Thor: The Dark World

Turbo
World War Z

The Movie List - 2014

Here is my list for 2014 -- subject to change should I watch more movies.

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Top 10:

Interstellar
Selma
Edge of Tomorrow

LEGO Movie, The

Guardians of the Galaxy
Hunger Games, The: Mockingjay -- Part 1
Signal, The
Imitation Game, The
Theory of Everything, The

X-Men: Days of Future Past

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The rest in alphabetical order:

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Big Hero 6
Boxtrolls, The

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Divergent

Earth to Echo

Giver, The

God's Not Dead (Ugh)

Grand Budapest Hotel, The

Hobbit, The: The Battle of the Five Armies (Not as bad as I thought)

How To Train Your Dragon 2

Into the Woods

Maleficent

Maze Runner, The

Monuments Men, The

Mr. Peabody & Sherman
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

Non-Stop

Snowpiercer

Transcendence

The Movie List - 2015

Here is my list for 2015 -- subject to change should I watch more movies.

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Top 20:

Peanuts Movie, The
Martian, The
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (7)
Ex Machina
Cinderella
Mad Max: Fury Road
Ant-Man
Mission: Impossible -- Rogue Nation
Spectre

Inside Out

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And the rest (in alphabetical order):

Age of Adaline, The

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Cobbler, The

Daddy's Home
Divergent Series, The: Insurgent (I think I fell asleep.)

Good Dinosaur, The

Goosebumps

Hotel Transylvania 2

Hunger Games, The: Mockingjay -- Part 2
Jupiter Ascending

Jurassic World
Minions

Pan

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2

Pixels (Okay -- I liked it.)
Poltergeist
Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The

Self/less

Shaun the Sheep Movie
SpongeBob Movie, The: Sponge Out of Water

Terminator Genisys (Why did they do this to me?)

Tomorrowland (I think I enjoyed this one more than most did.)

The Movie List - 2016

I've decided to continue my movie list idea back to 2010, which is the beginning of my blog. Today you get the 2016 list. And just like I said with 2017, if I see any further movies, I will adjust the list accordingly, only ranking the top 10 and separately listing the rejects. If I did a review, you can click the link to check it out.

Arrival
Passengers
Doctor Strange
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Star Trek Beyond

Batman: The Killing Joke
Kubo and the Two Strings

X-Men: Apocalypse
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Moana

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Didn't make the cut -- though I enjoyed most of these and despised at least one (in alphabetical order):

10 Cloverfield Lane

Alice Through the Looking Glass (ugh)
Angry Birds Movie, The (actually watchable)
BFG, The

Captain America: Civil War
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (it had so much potential and -- nope)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Finding Dory

Finest Hours, The (much better than I had expected)

Founder, The (some fun learning -- mostly true, but biased)

Hidden Figures (would be higher if it were actually historically accurate)

Ice Age: Collision Course

Independence Day: Resurgence
Jason Bourne

Jungle Book, The
Kung Fu Panda 3

Magnificent Seven, The

Masterminds

Pete's Dragon
Risen
Secret Life of Pets, The

Suicide Squad (what? I liked it.)

Sully
Trolls

Warcraft (lots of good scenes but not strung together well)
Zootopia

Honorable Mention: Writers of the Future

Boom, baby! I finally got my name recognized. Earlier I mentioned getting Honorable Mention in the 4th Quarter 2017 Writers of the Future contest. This time I have proof.

Check out this list of winners. I'm 7th name from the bottom. I had them send me a certificate ... I was so excited. It all starts somewhere, right?

What does this mean? I'm not sure, as I don't know what percentage of participants are chosen. I count 177 names total. It's said that thousands submit each year, so maybe I made the top 10%?

Anyway, I submitted another story. Fun!

The Last Jedi Revisited

In this spoiler-filled review, I will analyze The Last Jedi and respond to some of the critique against the film. For my spoiler-free review (like you haven't already seen the movie), click here.

Overall, this movie presents a conundrum. Most critics seemed to love the movie, while most fans hated it. Well -- certain fans. It seems that those who have dived into the whole Star Wars universe (read the books, seen the cartoon series, frequented the fan boards) tend to hate the movie, while those like me who saw just the movies and stayed away from the other media tend to enjoy the movie.

This reminds me of The Empire Strikes Back when it first came out to mixed reviews. It was definitely not my favorite movie at the time, and I resisted the whole "you are my father" thing for at least a couple years after that. That was a twist I didn't want to accept. But now, that movie is at the top of my favorite Star Wars movies, as all fans know that you're supposed to say this. When Return of the Jedi came out, it solidified Empire and demonstrated what made it so great.

Episode IX could very well have the same effect on The Last Jedi. Only time will tell.

When analyzed as a standalone movie in terms of plot, character development, musical score, cinematography, etc., The Last Jedi turns out to be a great movie.

Plot: It's simple to follow; a lot happens in a short amount of time; it follows a classical drama formula; several classical techniques are used such as the Rashomon effect (the differing memories of Luke waking up Kylo) not used in any other Star Wars film.

Character development: This is severely lacking in the first six movies. In the prequel trilogy, you get a little with Anakin and Obi-wan, but it doesn't feel organic. In the original trilogy, there is development mostly for Luke, a little bit for Darth Vader, Leia, and Han Solo, but practically none for anyone else. In The Last Jedi, we see development for Rey, Kylo, Luke, Poe, Finn, and a tiny bit for Leia. Hux also provides comic relief.

Musical score: I think absolutely nobody complains about John Williams' work. As always, he continues hitting each cue perfectly, either foreshadowing or reminiscing with the proper leitmotifs.

Cinematography: Again, I think hardly anyone complains. This movie gives us, hands down, the best fight scenes of all Star Wars movies, amazing special effects, and moving scenery. The only exception is some bad CGI in relation to animating living characters -- something was off with Snoke's body movements, and some creatures on Luke's planet looked fake.

Where I agree with the die-hard Star Wars fans:

The new type of humor didn't fit. In the opening scene where Poe is ribbing Hux, it felt like I was watching Guardians of the Galaxy. And Luke throwing away his light saber just seemed to make it worse. That was not too much removed from this spoof I saw just before the movie came out.

At the end of The Force Awakens, we see a view of the island from different angles, and it appears to be empty except for Luke and Rey, but all of a sudden there are animals and a race of caretakers? Well, this one doesn't bother me too much in hindsight, but at the time, it really caught me off guard.

Admiral Holdo was very stupid in not revealing the whole plot to Poe, though I'll talk more on that shortly.

I did not appreciate the political statement coming from the visit to the casino planet.

There were indeed too many twists in the movie. Twists are usually good, but the event of Finn and Rose failing to acquire the flower man combined with them ultimately being caught in the end was disappointing to me -- at least one twist too many.

How ever, there were so many fun things happening in the movie. A few responses to criticisms:

"This is not my Luke Skywalker": I respect Mark Hamill, who's come a long way from whiny teenager to nefarious Joker. But he's still an actor, not a writer. He did say that he would act as asked to act, and he did his job well.

The weaknesses and strengths shown to us in The Last Jedi are consistent with his character in the original trilogy, and even enhance his character. He had tried to raise the Jedi back to what they were before. Disaster ensued, and he decided humans weren't meant to use the force and cuts himself off. By the end of the movie, he learns that he was wrong. He realizes there is hope in Rey. He ultimately decides to show one last awesome demonstration of the force and saves the day. (Bonus: you can hear the Whilhelm scream embedded in the light-saber sounds when Kylo first charges Luke.)

Any other plot alternative would seem inorganic after what had already been established in The Force Awakens: "I'm the most awesome Jedi Master but I'm just going to hide out here on this island -- yeah -- look at all these boulders floating around me and I won't lift a finger to stop the First Order!"

Leia Poppins: yeah, I love that term, but this is actually one of the more believable developments. In a sense, it's necessary plotwise, as it allows for both the scene of Kylo not being to push the button to destroy his mother, then watching her die, and the later scene of Leia saying goodbye to Luke before he dies. But could Leia actually pull of this cool Jedi trick? All she would have to do is survive long enough in space (a "regular" human can stay conscious about 15 seconds), and then use the force to pull herself toward the spaceship with a little help from Newton's third law of motion, a technique already used in Episode II. Of course, coming back into the ship without ejecting everyone else into space would be an issue, but they conveniently did not show that part. I am in the vast minority for having enjoyed that scene.

"This movie throws away everything from the earlier movies": Well, I will admit that very little of the force vision Rey experiences in The Force Awakens makes it into The Last Jedi. For example, we don't see the Knights of Ren. But we still have another movie left to see, and that looked like a towards-the-end scene anyway, or a flashback of them killing Luke's followers.

Though, we did see a spaceship crumble, like in Rey's vision.

Other than that, I see a natural flow of events from one movie to the next. In The Force Awakens, most of the Republic was destroyed by the big gun, so we're left with a small group of rebels who are evacuating after their last attack. Meanwhile, Rey continues to reach out to Luke. While certain developments are contrary to what many fans expected, from a technical standpoint, there really aren't many contradictions to what has been established in the past.

"Why didn't Hux just light-speed one of his ships around to the other side of the rebel fleet?": It's so easy to criticize Hux's decision in hind-sight, but from a military analysis, his decision seems sound. He had no knowledge of a hidden planet. He knew that if the rebels jumped, they would trace them and destroy them. There appeared to be no escape.

And finally ... there's Holdo's decisions. On a second viewing, I noticed three major exchanges between her and Poe. One was when Poe first approached her. At that point, it was perfectly understandable that she should withhold information from him. He was insubordinate, and did not have proper clearance. She didn't trust him, and thus chose not to reveal the plan.

There was another point when Poe went to her to describe the Finn plan (which was already in progress if I remember correctly). It seems like this would have been the perfect time for Holdo to tell Poe what was happening, but even then it seemed reasonable that she could make the stupid decision not to tell him out of her pride. It was dumb of her, and she ended up paying the price.

The third exchange was after she and Leia stops the mutiny and she finally reveals the plan. Stupid on her part, but worked for the writers in developing Poe's character. Yeah ... I wish they could have done that a little differently, but this isn't much different than any other plot hole in all the other movies.

There is much, much more that I'm leaving out, but this all goes to show how much fun debate this movie has kindled. Sure, it disappointed many fans, but there are still many fans that enjoyed it. I hope that the ninth installment will help us come to understand The Last Jedi, and that it will rise to its proper place in the movie Star Wars universe.

The Movie List - 2017

Here is my list of movies released in 2017 that I saw, in order of my personal enjoyment.

In creating this list, I see I've missed quite a few movies that I wish I had caught -- I may try to catch them in the next couple of months, and I'll come back to update this list (maximum 10). Do you see a good movie that I left off the list? I'm taking suggestions.

Blade Runner 2049
Coco
Dunkirk

Darkest Hour
Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Wonder Woman
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Justice League
Murder on the Orient Express

Dog's Purpose, A

Coco and the Last Jedi

Continuing with the catch up, I'll review one movie where I caught the midnight showing, and one that I caught super late on New Year's Day.

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Star Wars: The Last Jedi

I'll first come out and say that I thoroughly enjoyed The Last Jedi, and I also realize that I'm in good company. Next week I'll give a more detailed spoiler-filled analysis, responding to several of the complaints lobbied against this film. For now, this is the spoiler-free quick review.

The Last Jedi picks up immediately after The Force Awakens. The First Order continues to destroy what is left of the old Republic, and Rey looks to Luke Skywalker for answers and training.

In some aspects, this was the best Star Wars movie I've seen. The plot was interesting, incorporating certain devices never used before in the previous movies. There was an amazing amount of development among several characters such that the sum total may be even more than the total character development of the original six movies combined. (The Force Awakens also has a good amount of development.) The fight scenes were a whole level above anything we've seen before. Some visuals were beyond amazing. And as always, the musical cues were spot on.

In other aspects I was disappointed. The CGI for Snoke (and other characters) looked bad to me. Sure, it was detailed, but there was a large amount of uncanny valley, making him look fake. Some plot twists really disappointed me. (We are warned in the trailer: "This is not going to go the way you think.") Most of the MARVEL-type jokes felt out of place. Someone thought it was a good idea to insert a political statement. The length of the movie was a little too long.

I caught the "midnight" showing on a regular screen, and a week later watched it in 2D IMAX. I can't say how elated I was to learn a non-3D version was available. I realize the studios sacrificed the extra $3 per ticket to allow this to happen, but it was good for us consumers, and I wish more distributors would go this route. Unless the movie was shot in 3D (not converted), most movies are actually more enjoyable in 2D IMAX than in 3D IMAX. Though, with that said, I was disappointed that the 2D IMAX version was nothing more than the regular screen proportions thrown on a bigger screen and louder speakers. In other words, you don't get the extra stuff above and below the standard screen. Instead you get the black bars -- wasted screen.

If you haven't seen it yet, catch it before it leaves theaters, and then you too can decide for yourself if you really love it, or if you really hate it.

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Coco

I believe Coco would be near the top of my list of movies I've seen from 2017. (I'll have to make a list next week.) It may even top my list of all PIXAR movies. The story is awesome, and the imagery wonderful. Plus, it evidently provides an accurately view into the whole Day of the Dead traditions -- Mexicans seem to love it.

Miguel secretly learns to play guitar in a family that has shunned music. When he comes to learn that his great grandfather was a famous musician, he tries to follow his dreams and ends up in the spirit world.

As a PIXAR movie, you can expect the usual tropes, plot twists, and those little nagging things in the back of the brain that tell you, "this can't possibly work" if you think too much about it. But the good story holds it all together, and somehow tricks you into thinking there's something real behind the fantasy. By the end of the movie, my whole family was in tears, even the two kids who never cry from anything.

The music is also amazing, with real guitar playing in the animation. And did I already mention how great and detailed the whole animation is?

If you've missed this movie, it still isn't too late to catch it at a discount theater. It's worth seeing the animation on the big screen, though I bet on the small screen, the story will still captivate you.

A Game of Thrones -- Book Review

With all the hubbub about the TV show, I decided to start reading the books. Book number one is called A Game of Thrones, and the series is called A Song of Ice and Fire. The TV show is named after this first book.

The prologue captured me immediately, and I knew I was in for a ride when two of the three players died instantly, and the third died in the beginning of the first chapter. That sent a strong signal that no character was safe. It turns out that even though one death near the end is predictable, there were plenty of surprises along the way.

I must admit that there was a part somewhere in the first 200 pages that felt like it was dragging, and it took a while for me to really get into it, but before I knew it, the book was done.

The book primarily follows the travels of Eddard Stark as he becomes Hand of the King, but there are plenty of other plots and subplots, and this is where the book shines -- the story is amazing, the world building is phenomenal.

The prose itself wasn't very exciting, and often Martin would go on and on, tempting me to skip a couple of paragraphs. Also, for a fantasy book, there wasn't much fantasy. It was like a Robert Jordan book with 95% of fantasy elements removed, leaving a strong extract of politics and preparations of war. In other words, he successfully provided exactly what's promised in the title: a game of thrones. Those who play it win or die.

The book comes to an end when the pages stop -- small stopping places for each of the plots and subplots -- but no real conclusions. It was like "Come on guys. I had to stop somewhere. You're going to read my next book anyway."

I'll get around to it sometime later this year. I hear it gets even better.

Ragnarok and Justice League

Now to play a little catch up. Here are a couple of superhero movies that came out last November.



Thor: Ragnarok

This movie was a lot of fun, with no slow parts, plenty of action, awesome cinematography, funny dialogue, and decent plot. Yet, I found myself getting annoyed with Marvel's constant tying in with other stories in the Marvel Universe. I would have preferred if this movie were more of a standalone. In fact, you could have removed the Hulk entirely and the plot would still be intact.

Thor and his brother end up facing a new foe that could destroy Asgard. However, they become stranded on some random far away planet. Thus, they must first get off the planet and gather allies to fight this foe.

The movie is bold and is not afraid to change things up. Yet, I doubt I will remember much of the plot a year from now -- like with most Marvel movies.

And how again did the Hulk end up on the same exact planet (evidently on the Guardians of the Galaxy side)? I didn't even remember him disappearing in an earlier movie. Yes, I know that this borrows from an actual Hulk storyline from the comics, which is pretty cool, but still too much reliance on coincidences.

Most people are able to overlook this and yet blast other movies for doing less -- strange, but understandable. Marvel movies do a good job at keeping interest levels high enough so that people don't care much about the plot issues.

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Justice League (2017)

I went into the movie theater expecting a terrible movie, and maybe that helped me to enjoy it. It was ... decent. Then again, I tend to like Zack Snyder movies when others don't. I love the darker feel in these DC movies, and the more comic-book looking effects.

One of the biggest complaints against Snyder is that he tends to jam too much plot into such a short time. It becomes too much to process, and the viewer becomes lost and less able to enjoy the movie. But in "Justice League" the plot is a lot more straight forward. Big baddie shows up, the Justice League bands together, and then they try to stop the world from ending. Perhaps this was helped with the last-minute infusion of Joss Whedon's writing. Funny they should bring in the man who helped Marvel's "Avengers" to be a great success. He is the master of the ensemble script!

Yet, some characters just seem to suddenly exist, and -- big complaint from the masses -- we didn't exactly know who they were. Aquaman, Cyborg, and the Flash were all cool and in character, and there was a small bit of character development, but without having seen their origin stories, they just seemed to exist and not do much else.

As usual in Snyder films, the fight scenes are pretty cool and comic-book looking. It was worth catching in the theater, and I'd probably watch again if this happened to be on TV.

My biggest disappointment was that when it was over, there was this big "is that all?" feeling. The plot was easy to follow, but felt very thin. The resolutions at the end weren't very satisfying, though there is a cute cut-scene in the middle of the end credits.

Mel's Year in Review: 2017 and Plans for 2018

Overall, I think I did worse than I had in 2015, making 2017 my officially worst year in fiction writing ever. It also happened to be a very good year for my music company, Melkim Publishing, in which I successfully reached hundreds if not thousands of future customers. So, at least I can report that I wasn't lazy.

Well, except for the last couple of months, when I got hit by a couple of big things that helped me not want to do anything at all.

Now I have a great opportunity to reboot my fiction writing. I'll be starting in January -- this month.

2017 wasn't a complete waste. I did complete and submit "The Last Actuary" in January. It didn't win any prizes, but at least one person liked it.

Including that submission, I submitted a total of 7 short stories in 2017, which is actually one better than I did in 2016.

"When Time Flows West" received Honorable Mention in the Writers of the Future contest (which should be announced more officially in the next few weeks). So, even if I didn't do too much writing, I still have this new feather in my cap.

General stats for 2017:

• 25 posts in this blog and total 69,456 views (up 9,075)
• The Mormon Mel: 2 new posts and total 2,168 views (up 592)
• The Music of Mel: 4 new posts and total 5,757 views (up 945)
• The Econo-Mel: 10 new posts and total 3,720 views (up 1,721)
• The Melkim Blog: 23 new posts
• YouTube videos: 1 new video, 482 subscribers, and total 348,918 views (up 21,529)
• I reviewed:
• 12 movies
• 12 TV shows
• 1 book
• My favorite posts of the year:
• Journal of an Eclipse: I detail our journeys down to Greenville, SC to visit a total solar eclipse
• Death's End -- Book Review: I review the last book of a really cool sci-fi trilogy
• Global Warming -- Bill Nye vs. Neil deGrasse Tyson: I get in a really good rant about people who can't be reasonable about global warming ... on both sides

For 2018, my goal is to reboot the writing machine. I'd be happy to meet a few reasonable goals rather than crazy audacious goals. So here we go:

• Novel writing:
• If I have enough funds, I will have "Justice" edited and then put out for sale on Amazon
• If no funds (most likely the case this year), I will finish the first draft of "Space Cadets"
• Short stories - complete 4:
• "The Jesse Flag" (flash fiction)
• "The Rainbow Flush" (flash fiction)
• "Godspring" (longer story)
• "Descendent History" (longer story)
• bonus: if I feel like it, work on another actuarial story
• 26 short story submissions

Good luck in your writing, and have a good 2018!