Oh, John McCain, No
By Dave Klecha | August 19, 2008
I thought about doing another open letter in response to this sweet bit from the McCain camp, considering I play Dungeons & Dragons and am a veteran, but I decided I’ve already done my one blog open letter for the year, and I was going to be a little too nasty.
Instead, I e-mailed them. I’ll let you know if I get a response.
Topics: politics | 1 Comment »
Wisconsin Trip
By Dave Klecha | August 4, 2008
So, this weekend we moved my sister to Wisconsin so she could start her new job in academia. The driving itself was … ridiculous to say the least. Maneuvering a moving truck through Chicago traffic? Not my idea of an awesome time, but we made it through okay without too much trouble. It took all day, but could have been much more eventful, really.
Saturday we took the Lake Express passenger/car ferry home and got picked up on the other end. I was hoping for some better pics, but the clouds got in the way a little bit. The ferry ride itself was pretty awesome, though I wasn’t exactly prepared for the rolling action–a couple of times we had the old “only water visible on port side, sky visible on the starboard.” Ironically, for six years in the Marines, I never spent a second aboard a ship, so this was a bit of an education, on a pretty still lake.
I also watched Disney’s The Gameplan … with no sound. Turned out, I don’t think I needed it. It was all pretty clear, in a heavily over-acted, obvious Disney sort of way.
They also had food service onboard, which was relatively inexpensive and pretty good, if microwaved. Definitely a great way to travel to Wisconsin. If I can make it to WisCon, I think that’s how I’m going to go, maybe even just travel without the car and rent on the other end. They have a Hertz on-site in both the Muskegon and Milwaukee terminals, which the $140 round-trip ticket for the car all by itself makes rather attractive.
Anyway, had a good time, saw my sister all moved in and set up, and now I’m back, looking forward to a fun week of work. Or, you know, not.
Topics: life | No Comments »
Twitter?
By Dave Klecha | August 3, 2008
There’s more I’m sure I’ll be blogging about this week, but for now I just wanted to say that I’ve caved into the complete lack of peer pressure and gotten a twitter account. Username, imaginatively, is davidklecha. I know, shocking, right?
Follow me at your peril.
Topics: internets | No Comments »
Context is King: Some Personal Observations
By Dave Klecha | July 27, 2008
“Lewis Nixon had some tough times after the war. He was divorced a couple of times. Then in 1956 he married a woman named Grace and everything came together for him. He spent the rest of his life with her, traveling the world. My friend Lew died in 1995.” — Maj. Richard Winters, Band of Brothers
Five really simple sentences that make me cry like a baby when I hear them… in context. Right now, queuing up the DVD and listening to them in isolation so I could transcribe them, did not affect me quite so much. They come in the waning moments of the tenth episode of the very excellent Band of Brothers miniseries, as Winters is recapping the lives of many of his paratroopers, and those lines (and all the recap lines, really) when heard at the end of such an emotionally wrenching show, are devastating. At least for me.
The question is why, and it’s an interesting question to me because recently I was able to step back and look at the question of context through a couple of somewhat emotional entertainment events recently. Taken without the perspective I had, the events probably would not be as emotional, and it struck me that I’ve seen people try to pull this kind of thing off in fiction, but they fail to really establish the context. Anyway, rather than talk about negative examples, I’ll mention three personal, positive examples.
The first is the Band of Brothers example above. The key thing about context with that quote is not just that you have to view the whole mini to see Nixon and Winters and the rest of the Easy Company men really bond in their experience of combat, but you also have to have some appreciation of the greater context in which it occurs, what WWII means to us in the West and especially in the US. Now, it can be argued that Band of Brothers is also exceptional storytelling–and it is. I happen to think it’s possibly the definitive portrayal of the war experience, at least in the ETO. (Incidentally, Spielberg is producing an analogue, “The Pacific” which hopes to do the same for the Marines in the other half of WWII. And it’ll feature Chesty Puller and John Basilone onscreen at some point.)
So, you need the context of WWII and further the excellent storytelling of the Band of Brothers creators to make that line really have an impact.
And then there’s images.
Does that bring a tear to your eye? No? Probably not a Red Wings fan, then. That’s then-Captain of the Wings Steve Yzerman hoisting the Stanley Cup for the first time in 1997 after what seemed like a million tries at it and a millions years of hockey futility in Detroit. And you could know that, and I could tell you how Yzerman gave his heart and soul (and body) for the team and all that, but the key is if you haven’t followed the team, if you didn’t live and die with the team each playoffs, chances are it’s still not going to move you. Just another picture of just another player.
The sports angle to context came home to me this summer when the Wings won the Cup again, and how it moved me, and how I realize that you can’t have that if you haven’t come along with the team all these years. There’s that organic context which is hard to manipulate or duplicate, it just comes from being invested in something.
The third one was Lord of the Rings, which has been a bit puzzling to me, and I don’t have much to say about because I don’t really understand it myself, especially since Frodo’s departure at the end is one of the things that gets me the worst and really, by the end (of either the movie or the book), I am sick to death of Frodo. But it’s certainly something Tolkien did well, given the following the book (and movie) enjoy, and something that Peter Jackson managed to capture in the process.
Anyway, I lied, I think I am going to offer a negative example: and that is the end of Revenge of the Sith which strikes me as stuff that is supposed to be emotional and moving, but largely falls flat. Especially the final confrontation between Obi-Wan and Anakin. Technically interesting scene, but zero emotional impact. And I’m sure the root cause is that Lucas has completely lost whatever touch it was he had as a teller of affecting and moving stories, though there’s all kinds of other causes, I think, in spite of the deep investment that me and so many others in my generation have had in the whole Star Wars property. In that respect, Revenge of the Sith stands as a colossal failure, where the emotional context that so many fans had created for themselves over the years was squandered and ignored.
There’s something to context and nurturing an environment that is going to create that kind of impact, either through out or in the end, and it’s not easily done. If I get ambitious, maybe I’ll write more on it this week, but in the meantime I’m going to leave it with my observations, and go to bed.
Topics: fantasy, movies, sports, writing | 2 Comments »
Stay Classy, FOXSports
By Dave Klecha | July 22, 2008
Yes, that’s right FOXSports. Michelle Wie needs to learn her lesson. She should stop competing against men. Maybe you should get the belt ready in case she doesn’t learn her lesson this time. Danica Patrick and Billie Jean King are next in line, eh?
I’d say more, but it really kind of speaks for itself, and I’m between attempts to resurrect my wife’s laptop harddrive. Noticed this today when I pulled up an MSN homepage on a client’s computer. Grabbed a screenshot in case it went away. The article is still at FOXSports, but with a much less inflammatory headline.
ETA: Don’t blame me if you go to FOXSports and read the comments. I didn’t link to the article for a reason.
Topics: life | No Comments »
Unbalanced
By Dave Klecha | July 21, 2008
I got my oil changed today, and that meant sitting in the dealership lounge thingy watching Fox News. I don’t do that near enough.
First, I saw a bit where the host was quoting a criticism of Obama’s fact-finding trip to Iraq, from the McCain camp, saying that it was just a political ploy. Which I thought was hilarious, because weren’t they just criticizing him for never having been, and formulating policy statements without having been there? They had some nice lady on there defending Obama, though, and the host didn’t seem to be attacking her too much.
Then I saw a commercial for the Pickens Plan, prominently featuring a self-proclaimed Texas Oil Man, promoting a big clean energy plan. And I thought, “Huh. FoxNews, not as crazy as I’d been led to believe?”
And then they had a couple of people on to discuss San Francisco’s rather public status as a sanctuary city (that is, one where illegal aliens cannot be turned over to the Feds by city employees). And the dude on the left side of the screen (doncha know) was trying to say how it’s cool and okay that illegals are here, and it seemed like the host was trying to score more points against his argument than the dude on the right. I swear that dude on the right didn’t have to say anything for the latter half of the bit.
So it occurred to me that there’s balance, and then there’s calling it balanced when you spend equal time tipped wildly in either direction. Not that they seem to be balanced even in that respect, but it’s an amusing image.
Topics: politics, television | No Comments »
Health Care
By Dave Klecha | July 20, 2008
A thought occurred to me recently. Now, before I say this, let me say that I tend to support a broadening of affordable health care coverage on the grounds of social justice. It’s just the right thing to do, setting aside libertarians’ campfire stories about the horrors of socialization. But it occurred to me that there can be multiple good reasons for doing something, and there’s another one that I think has really only been grazed over before, although pretty pertinent to the circles I find myself in these days.
Here’s my quick and dirty: in the industrial economy, it made more sense to have employer-provided healthcare. Employers had huge populations of workers that would start, advance, and retire within their ranks. There was a certain amount of predictability, and at the “labor” level, unionization which helped keep everyone honest.
But now there’s a more creative, information economy. Not only is there high turnover as companies try to stay lean and competitive, but most jobs seem to have a natural half-life. Barring the unthinkable, there’s no way I could go 30 years and retire from my current employer. There’s no way they can keep offering me raises that reach beyond inflation if I’m going to keep doing the same work, and the company is so small there’s not much room for advancement.
And they’re pretty typical. Hell, they’ve been an outstanding employer for the last three plus years, and I hope I can continue with them for a while yet. But eventually I’m going to reach a place where I need to step up and out; nothing personal, no hard feelings, but I can’t be a road tech for the rest of my life. I’ll need to move up the next step, start managing a small IT department, that kind of thing. And then I’ll probably have to move on from there, because odds are good that a small IT department is going to stay small, and I’ll want to move on. And people will be moving on all around me as they advance their careers.
Life in the creative industry is even worse, since most people there don’t draw an actual paycheck. Increasing numbers are freelancing or forming very small and nimble companies. But like my employer, those small and nimble types can’t afford the kick-ass health insurance that, say, my wife’s megalithic employer does. And that’s the flat reality. It just isn’t there.
In that respect, then, universal health care could conceivably make our economy that much more nimble and resilient, if we don’t have to worry about health care, as creative types and freelancers and job-hoppers and small business people. There’s a question of tax burden, and it would take some working out, no question. But I think it’s worth exploring, rather than shoving aside at the first mention of the socialization boogeyman.
Topics: economy, politics | No Comments »
I’m … Batman!
By Dave Klecha | July 19, 2008
Tarri and I went to see The Dark Knight last night. Very good movie, and highly recommended. The somewhat funny thing is that I spent today reading reviews of the movie, and I found myself agreeing with parts of the few negative reviews that are out there, but I still think it’s a great film. The buzz seems to like Ledger for an Oscar, and I can’t imagine how he can not get nominated at this point. Superhero movies are already making the jump to critical acclaim, following the box office success. Speaking of which, I read that the movie made $66 million in its first day.
Anyway, what amused me was reading Ebert’s rather positive review which seemed to suggest that The Dark Knight somehow transcended its comic book origins in providing a weighty tale of morality and darkness and all that. And I’m thinking: “Seriously?” I mean, it’s not like the Batman titles have ever shied away from the really tough stuff. That’s kind of been their hallmark in the last few years. So much so, of course, that there’s been criticism that the field has gotten too heavy and much of the original flavor of the superheroes–hope and promise–having been left behind in the interests of gritty realism.
It is a gritty movie, but very well done, and extremely exciting. I only wish I’d been able to watch it from further back in the theatre than the second row.
Topics: comics, movies | No Comments »
Puppet Touchery
By Dave Klecha | July 17, 2008
Delightful author Cat Valente wrote, a week-and-a-half ago, a thoughtful post about touching the puppets and how it applies to writing. Basically, the idea is to stop keeping the strange at arm’s length, and comes from a DVD commentary for the Henson-produced sci-fi drama, Farscape. Actors were encouraged to touch the puppets because it made them more real. And I really dig the advice, vis a vis writing. If you keep your aliens and gnomes and spectacular vistas at arm’s length, there’s a real chance that the reader will fail to engage with the strange and treat is as real.
That is, if your characters do not treat the strange as real to them, then neither will the reader, and it will come across as so much set dressing and cardboard scenery. Great advice, and if it’s not something I already do, I’ll get all over doing it more.
What the entry sparked in me is the flaming hate-on I have for most CG animation these days. For example: the Star Wars prequels, I hate for this. I mean, there’s other things to hate about them, but for all of Yoda’s spastic ass-kickery in the second and third movies, I would rather have seen a puppet Yoda, because as good as CG is these days, it still has the gloss of animation and no one touches it. There’s a bubble, a null zone around most of the CG these days, as though the director is afraid to make the animators do the extra work of mating the actors and animations realistically.
There’s actually a scene in Return of the Jedi where this kind of thing is evident, and it must have been a pickup shot or something, done well after principal filming is done. Basically, it’s a scene between Han Solo and Lando in front of a matte painting of the Millennium Falcon, and you can tell it’s a matte painting because there’s other people in the scene, but they’re practically brushing shoulders with the two stars as they go about their background business, as though there’s not the acres of hangar space the matte wants you to believe there is. And get off my lawn, while you’re at it.
What kills me, especially about the Star Wars prequels was the expense and effort they went through to create puppets and miniatures on which to base the CG. I kinda wish Lucas would have put the effort into revolutionizing practical effects and sets that he put into incrementing the state of CG, in much the way it seemed that Peter Jackson did on LOTR. (For the most part–the bit with Legolas swinging on to a horse by grabbing the bridle from the front seemed just a shade too fakey, for example.) And I don’t want to sound like philistine, and I know that in order for CG to get better, people have to put it out there when it’s not quite good enough and show the promise and all that.
I just know I prefer it when I can see them touch the puppets.
Topics: movies, writing | No Comments »
Paid To Recycle
By Dave Klecha | July 9, 2008
Or: Aren’t We Just Giving Away All Those Delicious Raw Materials?
Okay, maybe they’re not raw materials, but the question occurred to me when I saw this from the Guardian. Or, rather, it occurred to me to blog about it, since it had generally been occurring to me for a while.
That is, when Penn & Teller did their Bullshit! episode on recycling, they said that only metal recycling was actually profitable; metals cost so much to mine and smelt and whatnot that it’s cheaper to use already-processed metals. But now, I’m starting to wonder about plastics. No idea what it takes to recycle them into useful raw material from a consumer standpoint. I do know that when I worked in an injection molding plant making wing mirror assemblies, any bad ones where tossed into an industrial-grade shredder and the pellets of plastic were just fed back into the press, since pellet form was how the stuff got to the plant in the first place. But not sure how that translates to milk jugs.
Still, when the recycling episode aired on April 29, 2004, oil was trading at $37.50 a barrel according to some guy named “Doe”. Since then, it’s nearly quadrupled in price, which sincerely makes me wonder if petrochemical plastics aren’t looking more attractive in terms of recycling.
Which then also makes me think: wait, why the hell am I paying my curbside garbage guys to take away my recycling? Shouldn’t they be paying me for the semi-raw materials? The ones that I have, in effect, already bought since the cost of the packaging is built in to the product?
Then again, that would probably be the end of curbside recycling, especially if someone will swipe an iPod out of my car they’ll probably go around with a bag and appropriate the contents of my recycle bin as well.
Topics: environment, life | No Comments »
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