Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Webcomics Examiner update
Progress is going well on the site. The HTML coding is on a solid basis, and you can expect an attractive, professional-looking site on launch date (June 14). The articles are all in progress, with more than half of them in first draft state or beyond. We plan to have two feature articles, five reviews, and of course the interview with Eric Millikin.
One of the most encouraging signs is that I'm already receiving inquiries from other writers who want to contribute-- and they haven't even seen what the site looks like yet!
Our official URL, webcomicsreview.com, is currently out of service while we are transitioning it over to our permanent webspace. In the meantime, the mission statement and writers guidelines are on view here.
Just 11 days to go...
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One of the most encouraging signs is that I'm already receiving inquiries from other writers who want to contribute-- and they haven't even seen what the site looks like yet!
Our official URL, webcomicsreview.com, is currently out of service while we are transitioning it over to our permanent webspace. In the meantime, the mission statement and writers guidelines are on view here.
Just 11 days to go...
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Monday, May 31, 2004
The Day After Tomorrow
I was disappointed to see the critical drubbing that 'The Day After Tomorrow' received. It wasn't a perfect film by any means, but still-- this is a thrilling and entertaining film, sometimes moving, and basically relevant.
My favorite scene is in the library, where a man is holding tight to a copy of the Guttenberg Bible to prevent others from throwing it on the fire they have built to keep warm. A woman asks him if he believes in God, and he says no. 'For somebody who doesn't believe in God, you sure are hugging that bible awfully hard.' At which point he explains that the book he is protecting is one of the first books ever printed, and that the printed word is the greatest invention of mankind.
How often do you see someone portrayed as an atheist in a Hollywood movie, without his beliefs being a character flaw? How often do you see an atheist being portrayed as admirable? If your answer is 'NEVER,' then you've scored ten for ten in that little quiz.
'Deep Impact' is a stranger and in some scenes much more moving film, but it has a rather perverse view of intelligent people. Tea Leoni and her intellectual mother and father all commit suicide in the face of worldwide destruction. By contrast, all the heroes in 'The Day After Tomorrow' are intelligent-- scientists, a doctor, and a group of bright kids competing in a scholastic championship. And they are all focused on the rational goal of surviving and saving as many people as they can.
As for the science of the movie, nobody would argue that it's anything but a fantasy. But it lays the groundwork for making that fantasy believable, like any good science fiction. The fast-freezing effect, for instance, is linked to an exhibit of a wooly mammoth which supposedly froze instantly (I've no idea if it's true.) And when you see a fault opening on an ice shelf that stretches all the way to the horizon, you buy into the idea that this might have catestrophic repurcussions.
Unfortunately, most critics are scientific illiterates. They think that the exaggerations in 'The Day After Tommorrow' lack credibility, but they give a passing grade to the fantasies in 'Minority Report.' But for the premise of 'Minority Report' to be true-- that the future can be seen by a psychic-- it would mean that all of science, every single fact of science, would have to be false. That seems to be taking a somewhat greater liberty with scientific fact, if you ask me.
Finally, 'The Day After Tomorrow' works as an action picture, with many thrilling scenes and memorable images, like the sky filled with migrating birds, and the tanker drifting up the street in the middle of New York. I especially appreciate how the director managed to make a pack of roaming wolves look threatening. From end to end, this film is a visual treat.
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My favorite scene is in the library, where a man is holding tight to a copy of the Guttenberg Bible to prevent others from throwing it on the fire they have built to keep warm. A woman asks him if he believes in God, and he says no. 'For somebody who doesn't believe in God, you sure are hugging that bible awfully hard.' At which point he explains that the book he is protecting is one of the first books ever printed, and that the printed word is the greatest invention of mankind.
How often do you see someone portrayed as an atheist in a Hollywood movie, without his beliefs being a character flaw? How often do you see an atheist being portrayed as admirable? If your answer is 'NEVER,' then you've scored ten for ten in that little quiz.
'Deep Impact' is a stranger and in some scenes much more moving film, but it has a rather perverse view of intelligent people. Tea Leoni and her intellectual mother and father all commit suicide in the face of worldwide destruction. By contrast, all the heroes in 'The Day After Tomorrow' are intelligent-- scientists, a doctor, and a group of bright kids competing in a scholastic championship. And they are all focused on the rational goal of surviving and saving as many people as they can.
As for the science of the movie, nobody would argue that it's anything but a fantasy. But it lays the groundwork for making that fantasy believable, like any good science fiction. The fast-freezing effect, for instance, is linked to an exhibit of a wooly mammoth which supposedly froze instantly (I've no idea if it's true.) And when you see a fault opening on an ice shelf that stretches all the way to the horizon, you buy into the idea that this might have catestrophic repurcussions.
Unfortunately, most critics are scientific illiterates. They think that the exaggerations in 'The Day After Tommorrow' lack credibility, but they give a passing grade to the fantasies in 'Minority Report.' But for the premise of 'Minority Report' to be true-- that the future can be seen by a psychic-- it would mean that all of science, every single fact of science, would have to be false. That seems to be taking a somewhat greater liberty with scientific fact, if you ask me.
Finally, 'The Day After Tomorrow' works as an action picture, with many thrilling scenes and memorable images, like the sky filled with migrating birds, and the tanker drifting up the street in the middle of New York. I especially appreciate how the director managed to make a pack of roaming wolves look threatening. From end to end, this film is a visual treat.
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