The Millennium will have come by then
My latest post on Times and Seasons is up, regarding an objection to science fiction.
As a special bonus, the post includes advice in an email I received years ago from Orson Scott Card.
Archive for January, 2005
A favorite passage from The Space Willies
The Space Willies, by Eric Frank Russell, was the first novel I read that was not written for children. Over on the Hatrack River writers’ forum, someone was asking for specific examples of humorous passages in science fiction, and the following came to mind. A bit of background: the story centers around Leeming, a human space pilot who is taking an experimental ship deep behind enemy lines. This segment is about a radio conversation overheard in alien space. (Note: This passage contains some mild profanity.)
The unknown life-form manning the vessels had loud, somewhat bellicose voices, but spoke a language with sound-forms curiously akin to Terran speech. To Leeming
Becoming a human being
My fourth post is up at Times and Seasons, regarding what makes a human being.
Film Festival Musings
My third guest blog entry at Times & Seasons is about the direction of the LDS film industry.
Ads Aimed at Mormons
My second guest post at Times & Seasons is up, talking about advertising directed at Mormons.
Guest Blogging Stint
I’ve been invited to be a guest blogger at Times & Seasons for the next couple of weeks. (For those of you unfamiliar with Times & Seasons, it’s a Mormon group blog.)
You can read my introduction or just skip right ahead to my first post, on the subject of “Prodigal Artists.”
Membership has its privileges
In the mail today, I found a preliminary ballot for the Nebula Awards. How cool is that?
It’s the science fiction genre equivalent of getting to vote on the Oscars.
For those unfamiliar with the Nebula Award, it is one of two major science fiction and fantasy awards (the other being the Hugo.) The Hugo winners are chosen by fans, while the Nebula winners are chosen by writers. Since I’m an active member of SFWA, I get to vote.
I’ve read some of the nominated stories (and seen two of the three nominated movie scripts), but now I feel an obligation to check out the others.
It’s time to let this clich
I’m sure you’ve seen it, either in a TV show or a movie:
Character D has no pulse and is not breathing. Characters A and B try desperately to revive D using CPR or those shocky-things. But it appears to be no use.
Finally, B says, “D’s gone. We have to accept it. It’s time to let D go.”
A and B stop trying to revive D. They cry.
Then A desperately starts trying to revive D again, usually prefacing the attempt with something like, “Come on, D! You never gave up on anything in your life! Don’t give up now!”
After a few more pounds on the chest or shocks with the paddles, D coughs and sputters back to life.
Now, I don’t object to seeing characters revived through the use of CPR and/or defibrillators. (Did you really think I didn’t know what the shocky-things were called?) What I object to is the dramatic device of having A and B stop resucitation, in order to make the audience believe the character really is dead, and then allowing the character to be revived by a second effort.
Think about it. CPR scenes basically fall into three categories:
1. Initial CPR attempt succeeds.
2. Initial CPR attempt fails, and the character remains dead.
3. Initial CPR attempt fails, there’s an emotional pause, and then a desperate second attempt succeeds.
Every desperate second attempt I recall seeing seems to have been successful — which means the only reason characters in category #2 remain dead is because they didn’t have anybody desperate enough to try again. How sad.
Screenwriters should just let this clich
