Oppenheimer and a Lack of Momentum

My wife and I watched Oppenheimer, and I liked the movie. It was a little long, and while I understand why the third act was there, I felt that the peak of the movie was at the end of the second act. Considering that the movie was mainly conversations, it was cut and edited in a way to make the scenes move quickly. It was definitely an interesting just from a historical perspective, and the man himself had many layers to him, which the movie delved into. It went against Barbie: The Movie, which my wife watched with friends, but I did not. I think that a movie like Oppenheimer would be more my speed.

I have been getting a lot of ideas of projects to work on, but I am no getting any momentum to really be incentivized to work on them. Creative endeavors are very difficult because of this, and as an aspiring author, it is more pronounced that progression is slow and uncertain. I would like to write opinion articles, for example, and writing them is not the problem, but just finding someone to accept them is a tough task. Of course, I can just do everything myself, but it has proven difficult as well. I have a website and social media, but getting viewers and followers has been slow. It is not enough to create content, but getting one’s name out there as well.

I suppose that networking and partnering with others will help with this. Also, just putting more time and resources into advertising would help. Thankfully, my wife is assisting me with a lot, so that is a good start. Hopefully, this is just a phase that I have to go through, and that I will come around on the other end of this.

Sound of Freedom and Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One

My wife and I watched “Sound of Freedom” and “Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One” on consecutive days. We enjoyed both movies. “Sound of Freedom” was the much heavier of the two movies, dealing with sensitive subject matter. The theater was full, which is an amazing feat as this movie was distributed through an independent studio. The movie itself was well-done, not getting too violent or disturbing, but still always carrying a sense of dread. I am glad that it is doing as well as it is, and it goes to show that movies do not always need a one hundred million plus production budget to be good.

Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One was a lot of fun. Tom Cruise still got it, and his trademark intense running was in full display in the movie. The movie never felt too long and kept our attention throughout. The comedy and action, for the most part, worked, and having real-life stunts instead of a green screen was quite noticeable. This movie also had more memorable characters from the good guys to the villains, getting creative with having an entity be a villain.

There are some things to learn watching these movies. For my stories, “The Land of the Wooden Statues” is a much more serious work, while “The Mustard Prince” is more comical with lots of action. There are lessons from these movies on how to balance things, but also when to push the proverbial gas pedal. Hopefully, I can find that right balance with my own stories.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Modern Storytelling

My wife and I watched “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” and quite honestly, I thought that it was okay at best. It was too long with certain scenes that could have been cut out like one of the car chase scenes. Also, Helena Shaw, played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, was simply unlikeable, not having any particularly platonic chemistry with Indiana Jones, and being a femme fatale, a geeky bookworm, a thief, a friend, but never having a defined character. Indiana Jones himself was an ornery, unenthusiastic drunk pretty much through the whole movie. I can honestly see why it has done below projections in the box office, and it looks to be struggling to make a profit.

I think that this speaks to a larger problem with modern storytelling in mainstream entertainment. For one thing, studios are coming out with remakes, reboots, and sequels that no one really asked for. When original material comes out and flop, then they claim that audiences today are asking for known intellectual properties. However, there is no reflection as to the faults of the original material such as bad writing, a lack of real progression with the characters, messaging overtaking good storytelling or something else.

As someone who writes stories, it is understandably very difficult, and at times, tedious. I do think that some of the storytelling that we have been seeing as of late has shown a regression in the process. We are being told things instead of being shown, for example, and the absence of a hero’s journey with certain protagonists has created characters who are not relatable nor particularly likeable. I can only hope that this changes in the future.

Bachelor Life and Sudden Ideas

My wife has been sick, and she has been quarantined in a different room so as not to spread her sickness. I have been living a sort of bachelor lifestyle again, and I have been watching more anime than usual. However, it is quite honestly a bit boring after a few days of this. Even living the bachelor lifestyle, while I was having fun, there was a ceiling to my overall happiness and satisfaction. Having watched movies, anime, television shows, and just going out with my wife, it is just a better overall experience than doing things while single.

Writing has been good lately. I write a little bit of “The Land of the Wooden Statues” and “The Mustard Prince in the Beverage Kingdom” daily. I went on a jog, and I thought up the end of the whole Mustard Prince series while jogging. I already had an idea in mind, but the execution for it was still up in the air. Now, I have a much better idea of how to go about it, but granted, that will not be for a few years down the road, so things can change.

It is funny writing a story because it is thoughts in your head being put into paper. However, the characters change over time in ways that I do not expect, almost as if they are alive. By the end of it all, even I am curious how everyone’s outcomes will turn out.

No Hard Feelings and Modern Entertainment

I watched “No Hard Feelings” with my wife, and I liked the movie. I am always wary of movies these days looking out for any sort of messaging that interferes with the storytelling. This movie actually made fun of the younger generation, which was relatable but showed my age. There definitely is a mentality now of it being better when I was growing up and things from back then being smarter and more creative. I see modern art and entertainment generally with more hesitance, as I see a lot more shock, style and sensationalism overriding a need for good storytelling.

I try to just make a fun, cohesive, and simple story with The Mustard Prince. The Land of the Wooden Statues has a revenge storyline and is much darker, but with all my stories, I try to focus on character over plot. I try not to make a “Mary Sue” female character or the male version of that. I like my characters being vulnerable and relatable instead of having no weaknesses. What I see in modern entertainment is a lack of a hero’s journey and an immediate progression for many characters, especially protagonists.

It would be easy to fall into these modern-day storytelling pitfalls. It is a grind to write about a character starting at point A and ending in point E. However, laziness and comfort do not make for good stories or good storytelling.

The Flash and Playing It Safe

My wife and I saw The Flash movie, and it was entertaining. This was the third comic book movie that had a multiverse used, which definitely feels played out considering the MCU and the Miles Morales Spider-Man movies are utilizing it. The movie also suffered from having far too much of the same tone and humor as a Marvel film. Nonetheless, it was fun and really played off nostalgia while having some heartwarming moments. It is difficult to recommend comic book movies these days as there are just so many of them, but if it is ever on streaming, it would not be the worst two plus hours spent.

One thing about comic book movies, and movies in general these days, is that they play it far too safe. They use specific tropes, nostalgia acts, reboots, remakes and whatnot to capture audiences. In Brazilians Jiu Jitsu, I realized that I was playing it quite safe myself, stopping my progress. It is fine to go into a vulnerable situation and find positions of safety, but it is a matter of putting oneself in those positions. This extends to writing as well, and it is still an idea that I am tackling.

It is a matter of exiting one’s comfort zone in order to progress, and it applies to martial arts, writing, movies, and pretty much everything. I think that as I continue this writing journey that I will play around and experiment more with plot, execution and characters.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and Action Scenes

My wife and I watched Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and it was surprisingly good. I was used to the Michael Bay directed Transformers movie where there was nothing but action, and more action with a hint of plot in there. I liked the first and second one, but the ones after that, save for Bumblebee, contained far too many action set pieces one after another. This one was more spaced out, and the main human character actually had some depth to him. Add in a pleasant surprise in the ending, and this movie definitely brought a little more interest in the franchise for me.

As much as I just criticized Transformers for having too much action, I started out doing the exact same thing, especially with The Mustard Prince. I still struggle with letting the story breathe and have the characters not just fight all the time. Having practiced kicking and Brazilian jiu jitsu, and trying to be a real student of the game, I have an affinity towards writing action scenes. However, I am slowly learning that building towards those scenes is an important aspect of the story.

I am still learning. For me, action scenes were something of a shortcut to hide an inability to write anything else. I have learned from breakdancing and Brazilian jiu jitsu to just slow down and let things breathe, and the same goes for writing.

Coyotes and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

My wife and I were walking our small dog at night this week around our complex, and a pretty big coyote lurked towards us. It was the first time that I saw one in our complex in the two years that I lived here, and it was close to us. Thankfully, we got away from it. The next morning, my wife walked our dog, and another coyote approached. This time, she came prepared with a weapon and managed to get away from it. However, one coyote encounter was already uncommon, but two on consecutive days is unheard of. We are just more cautious during certain times of the day walking our dog now.

We also watched Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in theaters this past week, and I thought that it was very good. It is a sequel to the 2018 movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The different comic book style animation was a nice touch, and the focus on the personal worked. It was different from the MCU superhero offerings as it did not have that trademark MCU humor, it had darker themes, and it felt closer to a comic book. It was a bit long, and the way that it ends left a lot to be desired. Overall, I would recommend it.

Watching Spider-Man in the theaters, it made me think about how iconic and original characters are created. There is the origin story, rogue’s gallery, and whatnot, but also, the little things matter as well. With my own characters, that’s something that I’m still working on. I started out having characters being blank slates, but that made my characters quite bland. Having learned, I am trying to make my characters deeper and have more substance, which has helped my writing especially in figuring ways in which characters will react to certain situations.

Memorial Day Weekend 2023 and Discipline

Memorial Day weekend was good spending time with family and relatives. I went to a high school graduation party with my parents and my wife. Things are different being married and having to introduce my wife to these new people. Thankfully, my relatives were very excited to meet my wife, and it is nice not going to these family gatherings and whatnot still single. It is different being middle aged and seeing someone young achieve a milestone like graduating high school, and it is just so distant to me. I have not been in school for years now, and I would be a better student now than I was back then.

Somehow, I became much more disciplined about getting stuff done, including writing. The movies, anime, television shows, video games or something else can wait, which is not something that registered with me when I was younger. Not just that, but I am trying to create my own form of entertainment through my stories. It feels like a next logical step, in a sense, consuming different forms of media and entertainment and now wanting to create it.

Life experience, passion, motivation, learning and a want to create have made me want to become an author. It was not enough to just be a viewer or audience member but a creator.

Fast X and Humanizing Characters

I admit that I am a big fan of the Fast and the Furious franchise. On the week leading to the premiere of Fast X, I had my wife watch a few of the previous Fast movies to get her up to speed. Fast X itself, in my opinion, still had a lot of over-the-top and unbelievable stunts that we have come to expect with this franchise, but not one of the stronger offerings. Jason Momoa though really played a good antagonist, but the abrupt ending along with some of the ensemble cast just kind of meandering about did not really help the movie. If one likes the franchise, then by all means, watch this one. However, I would not have someone start the franchise with this offering.

I have been listening to critiques of movies and other media, and one thing that stands out and makes something good, most of the time, is when the characters are humanized. As someone who writes primarily fantasy, that is actually difficult for me to do. I am already working on a premise that is not based in the real world that has things like magic and special abilities. Some of the characters can defeat multiple opponents at once, so it does make it difficult to humanize characters when they are stronger and more able than average. I suppose that they can still face the same problems that everyone else faces, making them much more relatable.

If the Fast and the Furious franchise taught me anything, it is that no one knows what will just click with audiences. I would hope that the Mustard Prince series could click with a large audience, but you just never know. However, I have to put it out there sooner rather than later to find out.

Mother’s Day 2023 and Growth

It was an interesting Mother’s Day this year. Before any festivities, my wife and I went on a walk to a local sports park nearby. It turned out that there was a hiking trail there that I did not know about even though I have lived here for about two years. That night, our family had dinner. It was nice not being the only single family member amongst my married siblings who also have children. These days, less people are getting married and having children, so it is times like this that give good reason to get married have children, and see them grow to the point where they have children themselves.

My writing journey was one of growth as well. I did not think that my love of fantasy would start by playing the video game, Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest), on the NES. Subsequent video games, movies, books, and a lot of anime would eventually nurture my fascination with the fantasy genre. It would eventually get to the point where as an adult, I would literally create my own fantasy adventures with my own characters, worlds and stories. I suppose that it just was not enough for me to partake, but create.

I can only hope that audiences will have the same experience from my stories as I did with all the other stories that I indulged in. Who will be the readers, who will want more of what I wrote, and how will they enjoy my stories? These are all questions that I am curious to find out.

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 and Movies

My wife and I watched Guardians of the Galaxy volume 3 in theaters in 4DX, and it was a different experience. Besides water and air being shot at us, the seats moved similar to certain rides in a theme park. The movie itself was fun but a bit long, and while there are always things to criticize, it was overall an enjoyable movie that did not have any particular messaging. The Guardians of the Galaxy has carried with it a lot of goodwill with its audience for years, so we know the characters and the tropes that James Gunn likes to use for this franchise. It worked, for the most part with an audience just looking for a fun time, and it ended well.

When the first Guardians of the Galaxy came out, the MCU could do no wrong at that time. It was not a particularly well-known intellectual property of Marvel, but they somehow made it one of the better franchises in the MCU. I can only hope to come out of obscurity with my own works, starting with The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom. It is now a patience gaming waiting for the final touches, and I really do want to see it out there.

With summer approaching, there will have a lot of movies coming out. Thankfully, my wife and I have a Regal Unlimited Pass to watch whatever we want. These are stories not to just enjoy, but get ideas and inspiration from.

A Traffic Incident and Suzume

My wife and I witnessed a pretty grizzly scene on the road. Right when we were turning into our condo complex, a driver turning right and hit a teen on a bike. Somehow, the bike and the teen got stuck under the front bumper. The driver went forward a little, then he reversed a bit, dragging the teen as he was screaming. The driver called the police, and we went home to park our car. When we came back, police cruisers, a fire truck and an ambulance were on the scene. Somehow, the worst thing that happened to the teen was that he was limping, but otherwise, seemed okay. We gave the police a statement and went our way.

While that was the craziest thing that happened to us this week, we finally got to see the anime movie, Suzume, by Makoto Shinkai. It was a great movie, and my wife displayed various emotions throughout the movie. It had great animation, music and was something of a travelogue without being too upfront about it. The story contained romance, drama, comedy, action and pretty much everything else. Shinkai definitely has a particular style that he works, and audiences can see it in his other works such as Weathering With You or Your Name. As an author, I am still trying to find my own unique style, but even I have been noticing certain elements to my stories that seem consistent throughout my works.

I am still waiting for a few things before publishing. Quite honestly, I am champing at the bit to get The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom out there. Patience is what is necessary right now, but it will get there.

Disneyland and The Mustard Prince

I went to Disneyland and California Adventure with my wife. It was her first time there, and it has been fifteen years since I last visited. It truly is a magical place, and once we walked onto Main Street inside of Disneyland, we can really feel that this was pretty much its own world. Every attraction and performance were great, and it was a treat that so many attractions were interactive. I could not pilot a Star Wars ship to save my life, but I appreciate that so many rides really involve the park guests in some way.

We watched the fireworks show at night, and it truly was beautiful. They played movie clips on Sleeping Beauty Castle with some voice clips and fireworks at the same time. It was both a show and a performance. A lot of families were there with strollers everywhere, and while the adults can enjoy the park, it really is special for the kids. It is this reason that I am not fond of some of the more socio-political moves that the Disney corporation has made, as Disneyland itself is a wholesome, apolitical, family-friendly place. I would personally like it if it just stayed that way.

Nevertheless, it was all quite enjoyable. The thought of one of my works being animated did cross my mind, especially The Mustard Prince. I think that would be extremely satisfying, and I could only wonder how I would react to see my own characters come to life in that way.

My Fair Lady and Making Sense

My wife and I just watched the 1964 musical film, My Fair Lady, starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. It was an amazing movie that is the predecessor for The Princess Diaries, Pretty Woman and other movies of a similar vein. The music, sets, costumes and performances were all masterfully crafted and just cannot be done again on that level. So many musical numbers and phrases originated from this movie that I did not know coming in. This movie definitely deserved every accolade that it received and deserved to be in the annals of movie history.

There is a lot to learn from a movie like this. Things made sense, for the most part, and as a writer, I try to make sense of things in my stories. I tend to be meticulous about my characters and how they would act in certain situations. Also, their actions have to make sense and work in sequence. Other authors can play it a little loose with their writing, but I just cannot. If a character woke up from bed and will go to the kitchen, I am writing all the events leading up to that from fixing his bed, putting on his clothes, walking down the hall and finally arriving at a destination.

That is something gained from writing every day and working on my craft. I want to put as vivid an image that I can into the mind of the reader. Others would have the audience guess and fill in the blanks, but I want to describe everything so that my audience can have a clear picture of what is going on.

The Super Mario Bros Movie and Having a Team

My wife and I had a busy weekend. We watched The Super Mario Bros movie, and it was a lot of fun. I felt that it was loyal to the spirit of the games and was also happy that there was not anything in terms of messaging. It was just a fun movie with characters that many of us grew up with. Sometimes, simple and easy is the best way to go with storytelling. I can easily imagine a sequel to this, as there is still a lot of material to work with and many more characters to introduce.

Also, this weekend, we threw a third wedding reception that was just more of a casual get together. It was nice seeing old friends and family that I have not seen in a while, and some of these people have not met my wife. Catching up was of course fun. One thing that is interesting in events like this is seeing who will talk to who, and who is the “life of the party.” I also made it a point to introduce people to other people that they have not met, and it was interesting.

Finally, writing has been good. With me being the content creator, my wife doing the administrative and promotional work, and us having an artist, it feels like we have a team. I read that for self-publishing, it is beneficial to have a team behind the author. Having tried to do nearly everything by myself in the past, I simply did not have enough time and failed. This time, things feel a lot different now.

WrestleMania 39 and Finishing Up

I watched WrestleMania with friends and family, and overall, I enjoyed the experience. However, with the main event of Night 2, Roman Reigns went up against Cody Rhodes. From a story perspective, I thought that this did not deliver. For one, the audience was led into a particular journey with Cody Rhodes, so there is investment in him winning at WrestleMania. When he did not win, it did not allow a payoff to the investment and journey that we, the audience, went through. Also, because it is the biggest night of the year for professional wrestling, a potential moment with Cody Rhodes winning against Reigns at WrestleMania cannot be done again. There probably is a further story here, but certain opportunities were surely missed here.

Speaking of opportunities, I was anxious to put The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom out, as the final draft of it is completed, and I settled on self-publishing. However, after talking about it with my wife, it was decided that the story needed more illustrations so that it would be truly completed. Thankfully, the artist who created the cover agreed to do more art for this project, and it is really exciting.

Things are coming together nicely, and the timing could not be better with my wife now helping me with this. Depending on what this looks like with the added artwork, I will have to strongly consider putting in a few pieces of artwork for my novels. That can wait, but for now, I cannot wait to see what the finished product of The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom looks like.

Things Looking Up and Back to Short Stories

It is funny how things can look bad but quickly get back on the up and up. Things like adjusting to new situations and especially financial issues can really drag one down. All it takes is a little prayer, some good news or a new opportunity for things to turn around. Bad things tend to happen all at once, but it is a pleasant surprise when good things happen all at once as well. Things can change quite quickly, and a little perseverance and patience can go a long way.

Speaking of perseverance and patience, writing is another thing that really needs that. My wife has read through all of The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom, and moves will need to be made in the near future for that book. Also, I am re-editing my short stories to participate in short story competitions once again. Knowing what I know now about writing, there are some real good changes and edits being made to these stories that make them read much better than before.

It goes to show that the focus on my writing craft is of utmost importance. I can think about getting money from writing, awards, possible movies from my works and all that, but it all starts with just working on my craft. As I get better at all the things that go with writing, my confidence in being able to create a good story gets higher.

Roman Holiday and Working on Your Craft

I finally watched Roman Holiday, starring Gregory Peck and Aubrey Hepburn, the other day with my wife. It was in black and white, but it was a golden age of film. The sets were stunning, the acting was good and believable, and everything had a purpose. There was not the typical Hollywood happy ending either, but one that made a lot of sense. Hepburn definitely shined on the screen that is unlike modern actresses. There was simply an air of grace and dignity that just cannot be captured in today’s cinema.

I have been editing my short stories as of late. Having more knowledge, wisdom and experience with writing, I can now spot certain things in these stories to enhance them. Paragraphs were out of order, there was much that I could delete, but more to add as well. I always think of “making it” as an author, getting a fanbase for my works and whatnot, but that may be pulling the cart before the horse. Working on my craft has been much more imperative and should be the first priority.

If I cannot even write well, then what am I thinking of trying to “make it.” It is similar to that advice of making your bed first thing in the morning because if one cannot even do something as simple as that, then what is that person even thinking of trying to do something even more complex. This process of writing, or the journey, is more valuable than the result.

The Mundane and Being Patient

Doing totally mundane things with my wife is a lot different than when I was doing things by myself. Even something like making a pizza was a lot more enjoyable. We decided to put different toppings with it, and it turned out better than expected. Things like going to the store, a restaurant that I have been to, or cooking take on a new meaning so far. One day, it will be just another thing, but starting out, it is all new and different. There are more things like going to comic conventions or watching comedians live that will also be fun experiences in the future.

With writing, I now have a new set of eyes reading my works. There is a level of putting yourself out there when writing any sort of works, and this is no different. However, having someone and making a team towards writing instead of doing it myself has been very helpful. Even something like planning the next move, finding contests to participate in and whatnot is better as I am not doing everything myself. Talking about writing or future plans has been very good as well.

I have been admittedly impatient with getting something out there. I have to learn to be patient so that nothing but my best is brought to the world. While I do not know what will happen, what I put in will hopefully be brought back to me.