Unofficially Published

Brandon Sanderson is the author of the wildly popular Mistborn series (and a series that I liked even more - Wax and Wayne). He's also released a couple of his unpublished books. One of them he had recorded as an audiobook. Dragonsteel Prime, which I listened to. He wrote it as his honors thesis. It was fascinating to listen to. He said that in hindsight, he was glad it wasn't officially published as his debut novel, because he still had a lot of growing left to do as a writer. I could see what he meant.

I don't think I've ever read an unpublished novel by an author that I'm familiar with. It's amazing to see how their ideas evolved. His writing skill was amazing back then. His plot/characters/worldbuilding were good, but they did leave room for improvement.

I wonder if I'd be brave enough to ever release some of my older stories that I've since abandoned...

Vinny, my la mancha goat buddy.

Holy Crud, I just unearthed a gold mine for Princess Jade. I'm finally writing a bit more of their story, and I'm at the point where I have no idea what's going to happen next. Then Jade stood up and made so much of her character arc fall into place. 

It's amazing what happens when Arith and Jade get trapped in a tunnel with no exit. They really have to put everything on the table.

You go, Jade. You'll do awesome things! We need you in this crazy world.

 I want to comment on the election results... but I'm just too drained to do so. And I really don't want to think about it.

Why?

I have some books of sheet music from musicals, like Coco and Frozen. The music is always for the vocal songs. 

What I want to know is why they don't ever have songs from the soundtrack? In fact, I can't seem to find most soundtrack songs anywhere. I expect that for obscure movies, but not for Disney movies and other big names. The soundtrack music is actually easier to find if the movie isn't a musical. It's like the vocals completely overshadow the instrumental pieces. 

If I want to play them, it means I have to write them out myself, and it's a paaaaiiiin.

Let's Take a Moment to Appreciate Ballister and Bodhi

I recently watched Nimona on Netflix. It had been on my "watch list" for a while. But Nicole recommended it, so I moved it up the list. 

I loved it. 

Spoilers. 

I was at first excited to recognized the voice of the queen as Shadow Weaver (I love her voice).  Kind of sad to see how short-lived that was though. I would have loved more of her. Especially since she seems like a really good queen.

I also recognized the voice of Ballister. My brain worked its way to Star Wars, and all the way to Rogue One. But there it ended, and I had to look up who he was. The pilot, of course! Can we take a moment to go to Rogue One and look at what Bodhi the pilot does? Bodhi risks his life to defect from an evil organization, bringing vital information to the good guys. He ends up in the hands of a paranoid radical, who has an alien suck on his brain. Bodhi then recovers from that, escapes an exploding city, and volunteers to help with ANOTHER dangerous mission to gather more vital information. He is a key person in getting that information out. But then he's killed in the process. Poor guy. Freaking hero. 

So, as usual, previous characters help me get attached to new characters. In a shocking turn of events, my favorite character in the movie isn't the monster, but the knight! 

Maybe because he's the one that befriends and saves the monster. (I like monsters, so I use the term lovingly). Oh man, Ballister gets so tortured through the movie! (In so many ways).

The end was so stupid, but I loved it. And I loved the stupid debate about what kind of otter it was. And Nimona has so many cute animal shapes. I love how bouncy she is as a rhino.

Oh man, I think every time I watch it, I cry harder...

Just do it Better

I recently watched Dumbo with audio commentary. The old animated version. The guy doing the commentary was trying to justify the crows. At first, the crows seem like everyone else that makes fun of Dumbo. But to be fair, they're only reacting to the idea that an elephant could fly. Not many people would take that seriously. They go on to help Dumbo. Indeed, without their advice and help, Dumbo would not have been able to fly. The commentator says they're like father figures.

Which is all well and good. But that doesn't change the fact that the crows were deliberately portrayed with racist stereotypes. They could have done all those good things without the racism. 

Yeah, the movie was made in a different time. But that doesn't mean that it was right. Then or now.

There is some beautiful animal animation in Dumbo, which I've only recently really appreciated. And some good messages too. But still, watch movies with your brain turned on.

I've Lost Entire Continents

A few years ago, I renamed all of the countries in one of my world. And I swear I named all of the continents too. I still remember part of the thought process of naming them. 

And I lost the names! They're not anywhere with the notes for my world maps.

How can I lose my continents!