10 Mar 2011
Television Permalink

bonus content!

03/10/2011

I totally meant to include this image in my Star Trek Re-Watch post this week for “All Our Yesterdays,” but then I forgot–repeatedly. But I can’t let my masterful photo editing and the roughly thirty seconds of work go to waste, so here it is, with the accompanying text from my review:

Kirk’s also lonely in his cell, but soon a prosecutor visits to interrogate him about the spirits he’s been consorting with. Kirk defends himself, saying he was just minding his own business in the library when he heard the woman scream. At the mention of the library, the prosecutor pulls a serviceable Dramatic Chipmunk take. This subtle clue tips Kirk to the fact that the man knows where he’s from. The woman in the cell across from him unhelpfully insists Kirk is a witch and the lawman who arrested him confirms he was talking to spirits. Thanks, guys.

Yes, that dramatic music and abrupt zoom on the prosecutor’s face is one of the more ridiculous moments in the episode, but hey, this is just another example of how Star Trek was ahead of its time, even anticipating internet memes before there was an internet. (Speaking of which, you’ve seen “What’s in Spock’s Scanner?”right? Mildly NSFW.)

Even though “All Our Yesterdays” sounds like some kind of soap opera, and plays like one much of the time, it’s a solid episode. It’s the last voyage of the original series chronologically, and would have allowed the show to end on as high a note as the third season could muster. Instead, due to the whims of production schedules and air orders, we’re getting “Turnabout Intruder” next week, in which Captain Kirk body-swaps with a woman, with predictable results. But never mind that for now. This week’s re-watch was my last TOS review (as the main author, which I switch with Torie), so please take a look and let us know what you think. And you should absolutely make an effort to watch it for yourself.

It’s hard to believe we’ve finally made it to the end of the series! Torie and I started the re-watch nearly two years ago, and it’s been some of the most fun and lucrative writing of my career so far. Thanks for following along and putting up with all my blog posts about it. (It may not seem like it, but there’s more to my life than Star Trek–a claim I couldn’t have made when I was 13. Ahem.) If you’ve enjoyed this little project, please consider following The Viewscreen on Twitter (@theviewscreen) and becoming fans of our Facebook page–and blog, tweet, and share with your friends!

08 Mar 2011
Novels, Process, Writing, Young Adult 1 Comment Permalink

where I went

03/08/2011 1 Comment

*tap tap* Anyone still there?

Hey! Sorry for the recent silence, but I’ve been busy moving to a new city, unpacking a new apartment, and starting a new job. As you can imagine, life has kind of taken over my life. Did you miss me?

Art by James Silvani & Sabrina Alberghetti, Darkwing Duck Annual #1, Boom! Studios

My new day job, though wonderful so far, requires a lot of energy and brain power. I guess that’s what real jobs are like? Let’s face it, my last position gave me a lot more free time and wasn’t too demanding once they started laying people off, so this really takes some getting used to. I can’t complain because at least I’m writing full-time, sort of, but I’m paying much less attention to the internet (not necessarily a bad thing), and consequently blogging and tweeting less. Not that I was blogging all that often before. My daily commute is shorter too (I know, boo hoo!), so I don’t have as much time to read. And at home there are still boxes to unpack, furniture to build, a wedding to plan, and oh yes–books to write and revise.

I’m most concerned about figuring out a good writing schedule; I used to write in the mornings before going to the office, but I work earlier hours now, and time has been hard to carve out in the evenings, except for the weekly Star Trek Re-Watch reviews. I was really happy with my old routine, and it takes a while to settle into a new one that works for me.

I’ve made slow progress though. I reread QUANTUM COIN for the first time since I drafted it a couple of years ago. I was mildly anxious about that, but it turns out a lot of it is in good shape, though it’s pretty rough and naturally will need significant work. Once I finish up my revisions on FAIR COIN, pretty soon now, I’ll focus on rewriting and revising the sequel. I’m tempted to try the PC version of Scrivener for this project. Has anyone had a good experience with the Windows beta? My early experiments were not encouraging.

I’d like to say I have more free time on the horizon, but… I don’t. There’s another Clarion West newsletter to put out soon, and a few other commitments that aren’t going away, so I’m just going to have to buckle down and get it done. That’s never been a problem before, once I became serious about writing, but I’m trying to tackle things one at a time. Possibly it’s as simple as sleeping less–it’s a nasty habit anyway.

Oh yeah, and I joined SFWA! This was a big milestone for me, since it’s been my goal since I started writing short fiction ten years ago.

Since I’m so behind on everything, what’s been going on with you? I heard something about a YA Mafia?

18 Feb 2011
Media, Television 1 Comment Permalink

“the way to eden” is through hell

02/18/2011 1 Comment

Excerpted from my comments on this week’s Star Trek Re-Watch:

I’ve been dreading this day for nearly two years, since Torie and I started this re-watch.

When I first saw “The Way to Eden” as a teen, I thought it was the worst episode ever and vowed never to watch it again. A couple of years later, when the pain had finally faded, I decided to give it another try–surely it wasn’t as bad as I’d remembered. Damn you, selective memory! I found it just as awful as before, and once again I decided never to watch it again. And I blissfully stuck to that promise… until now.

In case anyone thinks I’m exaggerating the sheer pain this episode brings me, I watched it on my laptop so I could record my facial expressions. The accompanying four images sum up my experience better than mere words can, but I hope you’ll drop by The Viewscreen anyway to read Torie’s excellent recap–so much more entertaining than the episode itself!–and share your thoughts on my least favorite hour of Star Trek so our sacrifices won’t have been in vain. (I considered adding the corresponding time codes to the images, but I’ll leave it to you to figure out what horrors elicited these responses.)

Guys, I watched this crap for free. I’m stupid.

15 Feb 2011
Books, Internet, Media 3 Comments Permalink

cutting teeth

02/15/2011 3 Comments

Please check out these two short videos I cut for Teeth: Vampire Tales, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. Each poses a question of the contributors to the anthology: “Would you like to be a vampire for a month?” and “What attribute of a vampire would you like to have?” These were a lot of fun to work on and I’m looking forward to reading the stories when the book comes out on April 5, 2011 from Harper Teen.

The videos include responses from Nathan Ballingrud, Chris Barzak, Steve Berman, Holly Black,  Emma Bull, Cecil Castellucci, Suzy McKee Charnas, Cassandra Clare, Ellen Datlow, Jeff Ford, Neil Gaiman, Kathe Koja, Ellen Kushner, Garth Nix, Lucius Shepard, Delia Sherman, Cat Valente, Genevieve Valentine, Kaaron Warren, and Terri Windling.

14 Feb 2011
Media, Television Permalink

a trekkie valentine

02/14/2011

I’ve been a bit quiet online recently because I was in the middle of moving. But what better way to celebrate the just-installed Wi-fi in my new apartment than with a quick post? And since it’s Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d point out that my latest Star Trek Re-Watch review, “Requiem for Methuselah,” aired on February 14, 1969. So what did lonely Trekkies see that Friday night?

I guess nothing says “love” more than Captain Kirk forcing his affection on an unfeeling woman–or a reasonable facsimile, as it happens. Sadly, I’m sure some Trekkie dates ended exactly like this. Am I right?

This episode is also notable because Torie and I completely disagreed on its merits, or lack thereof. When you have a moment, take a look at our commentary on The Viewscreen and add your two cents to the discussion!

Also, I hope everyone celebrated today in their preferred fashion! I unpacked boxes, connected our video game consoles to our TV, and watched The Matrix an episode of Smallville.