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Keep Piling On
Gah! What a week.
Familiar
I like to compare the holiday season with the way a child listens to a favorite story. The pleasure is in the familiar way the story begins, the anticipation of familiar turns it takes, the familiar moments of suspense, and the familiar climax and ending. ~Fred Rogers
2022 has been a year for firing the afterburners. Despite any hopes of coasting through the holiday season, we’re doubling down and I’ve got tons to do.
To add to that, there’s been a couple of storms brewing that I could really live entirely without. Thank goodness for storm doors and a gracious measure of serendipity.
Despite the howling gales of late 🍂Autumn🍂, we’re happily hunkering down and doing what we can. Kelly is redecorating the boys’ room and clearing up some clutter.
We’re looking forward to a hygge holiday season and a blessed new year. Hope springs eternal, so we’ll see how it pans out.
A Little Yuletide Warmth
Michael Bublé – Christmas (Full Deluxe Special Edition Yule Log) [4K HD]
Okay, I’ll go ahead and say it. Michael Buble is an excellent singer, and he’s definitely got a ton of Christmas spirit in his album. He’s got the Mr. Christmas mantle for the time being.
I know you’ve been waiting for me to get my geek on.
I’ve been feeling a bit worn down by my accelerated workload, so I didn’t feel as enthusiastic about some new Disney+ projects as they deserve. The Santa Clauses and Willow are quite enjoyable and I’m now eagerly anticipating each Wednesday release.
Both shows have recaptured the magic that made their source material so memorable. The lead performers are acknowledging their age. There’s no attempt to airbrush it, and that’s a good thing. The actors and the characters acknowledge that they are a bit older and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Both are, like a lot of the Marvel projects, working on handing over the responsibility for saving the world to a new generation of characters. As in the real world, this next generation seems unready, unwilling or possibly incompetent.
That’s how it always looks. If we jump back to the origin stories of each of these characters, we’ll remember that they had the very same struggles. That’s what made them seem so relatable.
How would I fare in these conditions? This is what we ask as we watch these epic adventures.
Back when they came out, we cheered for these characters as they overcame their struggles and saved their worlds. We felt a cathartic joy at coming along for the ride. We can, and do, watch these stories over and over to catch that hit of hope again.
Now, these legendary heroes have gotten on in years. They’ve been there and done that. They’re ready to hand the responsibility down to someone who is as young and energetic as they were when necessity led to their heroism.
It’s an interesting message. You can still do what needs doing when heroism is needed, but it’s even better if you can mentor the next generation to take over when you no longer can. A lot of us are feeling that in the real world.
The nice thing about showbiz is that no matter how goofy and inept the next generation seems in the movie or show, they’ll get their act together when they need to. We’re hoping that this spills over to the real world.
We really are.
Begin In Emotion
A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art. ~Paul Cezanne
It all begins with a feeling that you want to share. Enjoyable stories are more about the feeling they inspire than the message they try to convey.
The thing is, people talk about theme and tropes or even the “moral of the story“, but it’s very much about how that story makes the audience feel.
This is why some stories that have all the right pieces wind up falling flat anyway. Stories need to be more than the sum of their parts.
That’s an essential part of what I’m attempting to put together for The Sentinels, Tales Of Olde Auringia and eventually Far-Flung Reaches. Each of these “literary universes” have their own message and feeling.
Once I get a better grip on what those are, it will become far easier to make progress getting these stories written. Amazing what a decent night’s sleep can do for one’s clarity…
That’s it for today. I’m busier than a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest and there are way too many butts in need of kicking while my No Monday Policy is still in force.