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How do I know when I have the right name? When it just… fits.

My WIP, The Adventures of the Sky Pirate, is a hybrid swashbuckling / steampunk / space opera, some of which takes place on a planet that is not Earth but was inhabited by people from Earth. Therefore, some names are familiar to an Anglo reader, and some are new. That gives me freedom to alternately crib from names that fly around me and make up my own. Add to that names based on local color ala Mike Resnick’s space Tall Tales, and you get a nice mishmash of names which are familiar, new, and flat-out exotic.

For instance, the characters on my swashbuckling privateer crew sport a rogue’s gallery of colorful names; Cooper Flynn (Capt), Clarissa McDougall (Flynn’s fiery love interest), Mr. Horatio Pitt (First Officer), Deena Prentiss (Dr, Mr. Pitt’s estranged wife), Cleric Mathen Vaneras (Van-air-es, converted assassin), Bola (Amazon merc and weapons expert), Eggplant (navigator, not his real name), Chain (mechanical genius who keeps the ship in the air), Tuy Meklanek (advisor to the Crown), The Barracuda (legendary assassin), Mr. Humble (sailor, his real last name, if a smidge ironic), Lt. Gillings (Lieutenant, duh, heh), Blind Bart (a once-clumsy navigator who has earned his unfortunate nickname), and the colorful Friar of Briar Island (Long John Silver-ish sometime privateer / sometime pirate). Piro and Miro are father and son servants for The Friar of Briar Island, and the Friar’s Champion is a short, slim, and utterly lethal fellow named Mok Moire. There’s a mysterious figure named Felo who is not of that world, and whose form is variable.

Each character’s name came to me in their own fashion. I’ve labored for days over some of them, and others, like Eggplant’s nickname, dripped straight from my fingertips to the page.
I have a love / hate relationship with names and naming. I hate doing it, and love it when it works out. And it always works out, sooner or later.

But there’s the rub. Some names come to me instantly, while others have taken weeks or months to correctly cobble together.

I was watching the guilty-pleasure film Twister again last night. I’m a sucker for misfit teams, and this team is right up there with the one from Sneakers. I went along for the ride, again, as Bill, former twister-hunter, tries to settle down and be a staid-but-dependable weatherman. But everyone knows that his heart (and art) is in being outside in-country sussing out where the next big one will hit based as much on chutzpah and seasoned feel as on observation and actual meteorology.

That’s how I feel about coming up with names; it is equal parts art and craft, with a healthy dollop of luck thrown in for seasoning.

And, yes, you just /know/ you’ve got the right one when you hit it. It’s like striking a tuning fork and feeling the tone resonating in your belly, in your very bones.

Tags: guilty pleasure films, names, The Sky Pirate, writing

12″ of thick wet snow were dumped on us here in S. WI overnight, and pretty much everything is closed today. I’m working from home today and enjoying a) VPN access to work, and b) lapdogs. The system seems to have sat down over us and slowing spinning as it adds new snow to the total. Tonight, the temperature is supposed to drop and the wind is supposed to kick up. We’ve been under a blizzard warning since last night.

buried

Katie Weiland was kind (or reckless) enough to interview me for the AuthorCulture blog. She asked fun questions, and I replied with what may be considered provocative answers.

In the interview, I talk about the genesis of Ray Gun Revival magazine and my “Adventures of the Sky Pirate” serial novel, as well as the challenges of writing a serial novel, the importance of writing out your million words of dreck, thoughts about the fine line between piracy and obscurity, and the vision I predict for for the future of the publishing industry.

AC: The publishing industry is daily growing more and more digital—something you’ve tapped into with RGR. What do you visualize for the future of the industry?

JC: There was a time that you had to go to a music hall or church or listen to the radio to hear music. The invention of vinyl albums changed that by allowing common people to collect and keep their own collection of music. It was that way for decades. However, today, the vinyl record is a largely historical technology. Few current works are pressed and released, and the only people who continue to seek them out are hardcore fans.

As strange as it sounds, I think we’ll see books as we know them today go the way of the vinyl album; something that was once venerable and ubiquitous that has been bypassed by technology and finally exists only as a rare occasion product. I’m a little surprised that well-meaning government types haven’t already passed regulations to prohibit dead-tree books for the sake of preserving the environment or something.

But necessity if the mother of invention, and I think we’ll see development of as many different kinds of inexpensive digital reading devices tomorrow as we saw portable music players yesterday. I think new generations of readers used to reading content with multiple levels of metadata will find actual paper documents both flat and quaint.

Thanks to Katie and AuthorCulture for the interview, and please do let me know what you think!

Tags: AuthorCulture, dreck, interview, RGR, space monkeys

It’s not V. Will it be The Prisoner with Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen? The reboot of the clever 60’s spy / psychological thriller with Patrick McGoohan looks very promising, and headlines two titans in a war of wills as they play around with the fundamental idea of what is freedom.

An update to the cult favorite series from the 1960s about a government agent who is kidnapped and sent to a remote island known as “the Village”.

The Prisoner, on AMC

Tags: Gandalf, Jesus Himself, Smart TV, The Prisoner

I am extremely sad to report that the rebooted ABC sci-fi series V is neither fresh nor bold, but is instead merely vapid¹ and vacuous². I know, that sounds harsh, especially considering the show’s ‘MASSIVE’ ratings, but it is what it is.

Look, I knew within the first five minutes that Joss Whedon had a brilliant show when I watched Firefly, and I knew equally quickly that this show was, well, a rock. (As Halloween has just passed, I’m thinking here of Charlie Brown. When trick-or-treating, while everyone else is getting candy, Charlie Brown’s refrain is ‘I got a rock.’) The pilot episode was one clunky cliche’ after another; the divorced cop parent with the rebellious teen, the ambitious upwardly-mobile TV anchor, the Catholic priest who’s questioning pretty much everything, the buddy partner with a dark secret. Even the special effects were cliche’. The alien capital ships hovering over city centers were done better in Independence Day or even the prior V series. (Serieses?) The dialogue was predictable and cringe-worthy, and the Big Reveal was exposed what felt like twelve minutes in.

I mean, really? Steve Davidson didn’t give it more than A Passing Glance, but he spent enough time on the show to rip it a new one.

Yawn o-rama. City sized ships. Way, way advanced aliens. All your diseases cured. Mein Fuhrer, I can valk!

O sweet whatever you invoke during moments of total incredulity:

Chad: “You mean ‘universal health care’”?

Anna: “That’s what your people call it.”

Been there. Done that.

I’ll repeat here what I wrote over there:

I mean, I’m probably the demographic they’re going after, but could you be any more ham-fisted and obvious? The only surprise in the entire first episode was just how cliche’ and clunky everything was. I laughed out loud when divorced FBI mom stepped in front of her son to protect him as they stared up at the green screen.

Look, I’m all for serious discussions of, well, all these issues. But this isn’t a loving canvas painted by a master. It’s a mass produced paint-by-number set that we’ve already seen before. I’m a Theist, and even I hate preaching to the choir.

I’d rather go back and watch reruns of Firefly. Again.

That’s not to say the show is completely hopeless. Showrunner Scott Peters (4400) was replaced after four episodes by Scott Rosenbaum, a former executive producer for the quite excellent show Chuck. After these first four episodes, V will go on hiatus until March. I’ll give it another shot then to see if it’s gotten any better. At this poing, it really can’t get any worse.

If you’re in the mood for smart, more serious science fiction, give the new Stargate Universe series³ a try. SciFi author John Scalzi is a consultant for the series, and the questions they grapple with feel genuine, something anybody in that situation could be faced with. There’s even some geeky humor provided by a genuine geek.

1. Vapid
   –adjective
   1. lacking or having lost life, sharpness, or flavor; insipid; flat: vapid tea.
   2. without liveliness or spirit; dull or tedious: a vapid party; vapid conversation.

   Synonyms:
   1. lifeless, flavorless. 2. spiritless, unanimated, tiresome, prosaic.

   [↩]

2. Vacuous
   –adjective
   1. without contents; empty: the vacuous air.
   2. lacking in ideas or intelligence: a vacuous mind.
   3. expressing or characterized by a lack of ideas or intelligence; inane; stupid: a vacuous book. [↩]
3. Stargate Universe follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational, exploration team unable to return to Earth after an evacuation to the Ancient spaceship Destiny, which is traveling in a distant corner of the universe. [↩]

First, Jesus is my Lord. I say that clearly and easily. The Jesus of the Bible is more than just a sage or a wise man, he is the living Son of the living God, and has literally changed my life for the better. He is as heroic a historic character as there is in all recorded literature, and I like a good hero.

Second, I understand the impulse to defend the one I serve. I completely understand the reason for creating the group. Which leads me to the next point.

Third, I think Jesus himself is in no way damaged by those words. He either is Lord or he isn’t, and nothing on Facebook will change that either way.

Furthermore, I think strong-arm censorship helps no one. I’d rather show somebody a better way than tell them they can’t do something. I know my own reaction when somebody tells me I can’t do something.

Finally, I think the better way to honor Jesus if you believe in him is to act Christ-like, which has more to do with demonstrating grace than telling people what they shouldn’t do. I have a theory that if one engages in a habit that is bad for them, the closer that one gets to the living God, the more they will want to live according to God’s design.

As Christians, we were left with the Great Commandment (love God and your neighbor as yourself) and the Great Commission (be active making disciples – mentorship is a one-on-one proposition, it is long and slow and entirely unsuited to dramatic Facebook proclamations, however, it is the only method I know which helps a person make the transition from Jesus-hater to Jesus-lover if they have an open mind and are willing for Jesus to make himself real to them. I have faith there is a better way. We should always been looking for it).

Tags: censorship, Christians, Facebook, Jesus

The obituary for Linda’s brother Charles is up at the Clovis News Journal online:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/cnjonline/obituary.aspx?n=charles-dean-widner&pid=133116221

I added the following memory of Uncle Charles at the site:

Linda Widner and Charles had a special relationship, and Charles was very protective of his little sis. When I started dating Linda Widner in the mid-80s, I was concerned about three things; offending God, disappointed her parents (the Bobs), and antagonizing Uncle Charles.

What I remember about Charles was his sense of humor, his ability to do practically /anything/ (I still remember the time we walked around the Bob’s home in Conchas Dam and nearly stepped on a rattlesnake sunning itself – we backed up real slow and careful-like, and Linda’s dad came and took off the head of the snake with a shovel. Charles skinned the snake and made me a belt).

In recent years, Charles drove truck over-the-road and stopped by to visit us in Wisconsin where we live. We met him at a truck stop on his way through and had a nice meal. We talked about laptop computers and his uncertain view of the future.

Not long after that, he suffered a physical ailment while driving his truck and nearly died. Family and friends flocked to his side but it was touch-and-go there for awhile. Later, as he slowly recovered, he squared things with the Lord. After recuperating with Bob and Bobbie, he was happy to get his own house in Clovis. I understand he enjoyed inviting people to go to church with him.

Charles called us a week ago Saturday out of the blue. We chatted briefly and I gave the phone to Linda. They chatted for thirty minutes. I haven’t seen Linda so happy in quite some time. Because we live in Wisconsin, Charles comically chastised me for not being out fishin’. He was intelligent, funny (in his own way), a heckuva cook, and as fierce an ally as a person could hope to have.

I never antagonized Charles with regard to taking care of his little sister—Linda and I celebrate our 24th anniversary this December. And I like to think that Charles is now in heaven, fishin’ with Jesus.

Copy and paste the list (including links) of speculative fiction ‘zines below to your blog or website (include this informative introduction as well). Add your ‘zine (and link). Any ‘zine of any size and format that publishes speculative fiction of any kind can take part. Let other people, especially people publishing ‘zines, know about the meme. And help publicize Support Our ‘Zines Day by linking back to: http://damiengwalter.wordpress.com/sozd/

Asmiov’s science fiction

Analog science fiction and fact

Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

Ray Gun Revival magazine

MindFlights

Digital Dragon magazine

Tags: RGR, SOZD, speculative fiction, zines

I used to read a lot. Voraciously. But I used to have neither television nor phone nor stereo, just a cassette tape boom box I got for High School graduation. Now, I have all these choices, and they all clamor for my attention.

This graphic is chilling. I realize the phrase ‘time management’ is a misnomer more correctly labeled as ’self management,’ but the end result is the same. There are things I know I should change, but don’t currently know quite how.

http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/magazine/17-08/by_media_diet#

Balance your media diet

For the record, I have not bought any videogames for myself yet this autumn, despite there being some really interesting ones hitting the market. Also, having a built-in one hour commute each way each day to work gives time to listen to podcasts. However, I think the real answer to why I’m not reading is simply that I’m not carving time out for it on my calendar, and that’s a crying shame. And I’m a lifelong reader! What’s going on for those people whom we’re trying to woo to become readers? Are we losing them, or should we find ways to put reading material in front of them in places where they already are?

What’s clear is that things are changing right in front of our eyes, and the publishing industry had better change with it or perish. So far, I generally like what I see from Tor.com (as distinguished from Tor itself as a dead tree publishing house). Baen led the way, but he died, and I don’t know if they remain as relevant in the wake of his passing.

I saw Quentin Tarantino’s latest love letter to the movies yesterday, Inglorious Basterds. I very much enjoyed it, although the usual criticisms of QTs work hold true here. One thing I wanted to mention was Roger Ebert’s reaction to the film.

After I saw “Inglourious Basterds” at Cannes, although I was writing a daily blog, I resisted giving an immediate opinion about it. I knew Tarantino had made a considerable film, but I wanted it to settle, and to see it again. I’m glad I did. Like a lot of real movies, you relish it more the next time. Immediately after “Pulp Fiction” played at Cannes, QT asked me what I thought. “It’s either the best film of the year or the worst film,” I said. I hardly knew what the hell had happened to me. The answer was: the best film. Tarantino films have a way of growing on you. It’s not enough to see them once.

Therefore, if you’re not a better reviewer / lover of film than Roger (freakin’) Ebert, you might want to see ‘Inglorious Basterds’ more than once before pronouncing it a bad film. Or even a merely good one.