Avatar

It’s not very often I come out of a movie speechless, but it is challenging to put the way I felt about Avatar into words. To put it mildly, I had several * BLINK * BLINK * moments trying to convince myself I want to be plunged back into the real world again. Coming out of the Avatar cinema, you kind of feel like the main character Jake who is forced to wake up from his dreamlike experience in the body of a Na’Vi (his avatar).

A breath-taking visual feast, Avatar might be described as World of Warcraft and Mech Warrior meet Last of the Mohicans and Fern Gully. It combines some of the most popular elements from fantasy and sci-fi stories of all different mediums; comics, novels, movies and especially computer games. With so much to offer Generation Y and younger--the digital natives who thrive on virtual realities--you might think Avatar cannot deliver on storyline and character development as well. But it does.

There were so many interlinked components to the film, it seemed likely to fail at one or more of them, but Avatar delivers the goods. Setting aside the jaw-dropping CGI and 3D technology that made it seem like the movie was happening right in front of you, the characters and storyline are truly riveting. It’s not a new story—the nasty boys with the big guns want to kill the technologically under-developed natives and mine their ore—but it is vibrantly and uniquely told.

[Director James Cameron] wanted a picture as big as the epics of his youth, like The Man Who Would Be King or Lawrence of Arabia, and one that dealt with a similar clash of cultures. “A person comes in contact with a different culture and has to make changes,” Cameron explains. “He must change his perceptions, learn how to assimilate and prove himself within that new world.”

—Hollywood Reporter

In today’s staid environment of sure-things in movies (aka comic book and novel adaptations), Avatar is a breath of fresh air.

The forest scenes, creatures and the Na’Vi themselves are exquisite, providing an orgasm of colours and light for your eyes. I could barely blink when the wide open panoramas of the flux zone, with its floating islands and waterfalls came into view.

About 95% of the visual effects were done by WETA, the New Zealand based company that brought Lord of the Rings to life and put NZ on the map for visual effects wizardry.

Cameron says WETA has the largest computer “farm” in the world. It ran continuously for three years for Avatar, as the staff in Wellington grew to nearly 900, even with ILM in San Francisco doing a few extra shots.

—Hollywood Reporter

The battle scene at the climax of the movie is indescribable. Who would have thought that with all that was happening on the screen, you could still keep up and feel intimately engaged with what was going on? This is unlike Transformers 2, a movie which I felt went too far with the fast-paced action and enormity of what was happening on screen. Avatar balanced the close-ups and slow-motion with the rapid, distant shots perfectly.

As the soaring imagery of the end credits gave way to black, I turned to my husband and said simply, “Well, I think I have a new favourite movie.” Nuff said.

Avatar knocks The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings, Narnia and the Star Wars series right off their perches on my top slot, effectively saving me the embarrassment of not being able to decide on just one favourite movie. Avatar is it. Incredible. Bravo.

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Here are some more free wide screen Avatar desktop wallpapers for your personal enjoyment. Designed by me, so I thought it OK to add my logo for my Brisbane-based graphic design, layout and email marketing business Greenslade Creations.

Why do people love Edward Cullen?

Edward Cullen is one of the main character's in Stephanie Meyer's teen angst vampire romance saga, which begins with Twilight. I haven't read anyting in this genre before now, and I must say I've been converted (or should I say "bitten"?). The characters in Twilight connect with each other, and with the reader, on a level that transcends most other books that I've read. Instead of being tormented by what I read on the page, despite the angst the characters go through, I found myself pleased and gratified by each turn of events.

At one point, Edward must face the fact that the love of his life, Bella, has feelings for another man, albeit different feelings than the ones she has for Edward. As I was reading this section of the saga, I found my subconscious mind preparing itself for the onslaught of jealous rages, hurt and bitter disappointment you would expect. But it never came. Instead, Edward's love for Bella and her best friend Jacob outshone the jealousy, and he gave her the space she needed to work out her feelings for them both.

Of course Bella freely chooses Edward, the only man she has ever loved with such soul-shattering loyalty. This was a profound moment in the saga because it really demonstrated why it's so easy for readers to love Edward Cullen. In her videos on YouTube, Stephanie Meyer says she doesn't know why her series has been such a hit, other than the fact that she loves her characters and other people do too.

Edward, in particular, is a fascinating study on morality, humility, selflessness and love. He goes from cold to hot in a heartbeat, and for someone with no heart, he has the most love to give out of all the characters in the book. One of my favourite lines in Twilight the movie is Bella's,

"Your mood swings are giving me whiplash."

It is Edward's tormented sense of self-deprecation that leads him to leave Bella for a time. This is the only moment in the saga where Edward causes another person so much pain, but, as Bella realises later, he was only doing it out of his great sense of love and selflessness, wanting to protect her from a life of danger and evil.

Even after he returns to be by Bella's side, he remains conflicted about her desire to become an immortal like him. He is afraid that vampires have no soul, or no afterlife. But Edward is one of the most soulful characters of all and it's this very hesitation and torment that demonstrates the depth of his soul. Aside from the fact that he is almost perfect in every way, almost godlike (as Bella describes him), you find yourself relating to Edward.

Edward is conflicted about the sins of his past—even though Carlisle was the one who turned him, Edward admits to having killed humans before. He finds it his duty and his burden to work out his salvation by being the best that he can be. Perhaps there is a little of Edward in all of us, as we each seek our own personal salvation.

Download an Edward Cullen/Bella/Robert Pattinson wallpaper I have on AmandaGreenslade.com here. Copyright belongs to the film producer/photographer etc. This is purely a work of fan-art.

Fantasy genre paradigm shift

I was having a conversation with a fellow fantasy fan recently, who also likes to write, and we were laughing about the way some people compare all fantasy to Tolkien's work. Don't get me wrong--I think The Lord of the the Rings is a phenomenol series and I loved the movies. On a certain level, it makes sense to compare other epic fantasy writing to arguably the most famous epic fantasy series ever written.

But here's what my friend had to say about someone who was reading his writing:

"It's funny how we perceive things, especially when we're so close to the issue. She compared it to Tolkien and I had to laugh out loud! I don't think she's ever read all the way through The Lord of the Rings."

And I replied:

"Yeah well people who don't know much about fantasy usually do compare any fantasy they do come across to Tolkien. It may be a valid point or it may not. It's kind of like if someone had never seen any flowers before, except a bird of paradise and a rose. Then one day they saw a dandelion and said it was like the rose. The thing is, a dandelion may be more like a rose than a bird of paradise, but there are hundreds, if not thousands of other flowers that are even more like it than a rose."

My friend is probably being too humble about his work in the above conversation, but the point remains that people will compare one work to another even though such comparisons are skewed by the limitations of how much reading they have done in the genre. I read a lot more fantasy than the person my friend was talking about, but even so, I admit to not having a broad enough perspective to be able to make the best comparison between one fantasy work and another. All I can offer is a limited viewpoint.

When it comes to my series, The Astor Chronicles, I would consider it an honour to be told it was like Tolkien or Lewis, but I would also have a sneaking suspicion the person making such a comparison was not very well read in the genre. Fantasy has come a long way since those two great epics, and there are countless thousands of great books to choose from, some more epic than others.

Another problem with comparisons is that the series you would most like to compare another series with may not be as famous as The Lord or the Rings, and what point is there in making comparisons for people if they've never heard of the work you're referring to? For example, I could say that The Astor Chronicles is somehwhat like The Chronicles of the Cheysuli meets The Chronicles of Narnia. But that comparison would only be useful to someone who was familiar with the latter series by Jennifer Roberson.

It occurs to me that what I'm writing about here is a paradigm shift. "Paradigm" is one of those wonderful words you generally don't learn until after High School and then you can't seem to have an academic conversation without it. Pronounced "PARA-DIME", it refers to a class of elements with similarities--a philosophical or theoretical framework of some kind. See the Wikipedia definition for "Paradigm" here.

A shift occurs when the rules that were set down for a paradigm are changed, such as when Einstein's special relativity challenged Newtonian physics. Perhaps with the fantasy genre, The Lord of the the Rings was the most well-known, mainstream story for such a long time that it posesses the Ring of Power over the paradigm for this genre. But with such a proliferation of fantasy books, and especially movies, in the last ten years, the paradigm for the fantasy genre is being transformed.

For today's generation, the fantasy genre is starting to conjure up all manner of stories in people's minds--from Harry Potter, Eragon and Twilight to Underworld, Pirates of the Carribean, Beowulf and Stardust. In movies, fantasy is largely a genre for kids, which is probably having an effect on the paradigm as well, but in time we will see more serious attempts at adult fantasy. With such a wealth of fantastic books out there, it is only a matter of time before the fantasy transforms itself again in the mainstream imagination.

But that's a topic for another post.

Ky Vatta

I've been reading one of my favourite author's recently, Elizabeth Moon, because I finally found Books 2 through 5 of her Vatta's War series. As with Moon's other series (Paksennarion, fantasy and Serrano Legacy, sci-fi), I was waiting for every chance to keep reading. And when one book was finished I would quickly pick up the next one and devour it.

It makes me wonder why I love her writing so much. It is quick writing, with just enough description to keep the imagination flowing. Moon actually flaunts the old rule of 'show don't tell' and spends a good portion of her books telling the story! With worlds as vast and complicated as a future earth that has expanded into space, it would be painful to read slow, dreamy descriptive passages. Instead, Moon gets on with it. And the dialogue carries most of the important information.

Below is Kylara Vatta, star of the Vatta's War series. What a fantastic name, too! "Ky" for short is just lovely. It is strong, yet feminine, a perfect match for this deeply moral, gifted leader with a surprising knack for killing and space warfare.

I just love the words Moon chooses for her characters and places. They sounds just right, yet they seem believable and match with the rest of the series. The male lead Rafe (short for Rafael) reminds me of Rhett from Gone With The Wind, such a worldly-wise man yet with a patient, loving heart. And say the word "Cascadia" out loud. Doesn't it just roll off the tongue? It sounds so neat when I say it in my head. This is the name of one of the main planets featured in the series. But the names aren't the reason I loved reading the books.

Here are some unique qualities about Vatta's War:

• Female lead character commanding a space force


• Other characters of all different types, creating interesting clashes and differing points of view at times


• Human beings only (no aliens)


• Technology advancements are most notable in the fields of communications (with realistic hurdles from the limitations of light-speed signalling) and modding for the human body (brain implants, sensory nodes, growing limbs etc.)


• Unseen enemy consistent with modern warfare - the main characters have little or no direct interaction with the bad guys (they're in space ships so they never come into personal contact with the pirate leader)


• No mention of evolution (it just isn't needed)


• Very low-key references to religion (all new and made up from what I can tell)


• Slight aspect of romance

The storyline itself, and especially finding out what Kylara is going to do next, is what keeps me reading. Top that with the slightest aspect of romance and you have a page-turner. What I would really like to see is something similar to the above, but with a strong love story to it. Maybe this is something for me to consider when I'm finished writing the Astor Chronicles. A sci-f love story.

So much to do. So much to look forward to.

Caged Tiger

This is me. Or at least, this is how I feel throughout much of the working week when I'm slogging day in, day out and not getting to my writing. Inspiration comes at the most inopportune times - mainly when I'm on my lunch break or driving. So is it just me? Am I supposed to be able to switch on the creative muse for those few snatches of personal time I get during the week?

6.00 AM
Alarm sounds, it is snoozed or ignored (this goes on for up to 40 minutes)

6.40 AM
I stagger out of bed, rush to get ready so I can leave by 7.00 PM

7.10 PM
Hurry out the door, drive to work

7.50 AM +/-
Arrive at work, slog away at the computer

4.40 PM
Leave work, drive home or to shops

5.20 PM +/-
Arrive at shops or home, go shopping or do some exercise

6.30 PM
Put some music on, greet husband, stumble into kitchen and cook dinner

7.00 PM +/-
Eat dinner while watching TV, or checking emails

7.45 PM
Pay bills, go through mail, check a few emails, work on websites, blog, freelance jobs, groan at in-tray, rarely get to end of to-do list

9.00 PM
Yawn, contemplate writing, decide it's too late, go get ready for bed

9.30 PM +
Crawl into bed, spend time with husband, go to sleep

6.00 AM
Rinse and Repeat...

Weekends are generally spent with family or friends, doing housework, checking emails, getting some exercise, working on websites and freelance projects and with the odd block to work on my writing. Often, getting to my writing means sacrificing one or more of these things or doing them very hastily.

As you can see, the "9-5" drudgery really gets to me sometimes, but then again I often appreciate the luxuries my husband and I enjoy. Things like our four-wheel-drive, motorcycle, own home, exercise equipment, computers and gaming consoles, DVD collection, plentiful food and household supplies etc.

J.K. Rowling shared an insightful message in the 2008 Harvard University Commencement Address, which a special friend emailed to me recently. It touches upon issues to do with life, including failure, poverty and having enough imagination to look out for others. I highly recommend reading this article or watching the video. Take a look at it here: http://harvardmagazine.com/commencement/the-fringe-benefits-failure-the-importance-imagination


As much as I can complain, I do have a tremendous life. I have a wonderful husband, loving family, accepting friends, the capacity to exercise and lead an active life, food on the table and enough left over for certain freedoms. My only bugbear is that I can't spend a large portion of my time writing.

But, what can you do?

Controlling Your Email Inbox

Do you want to:

• Become more productive by freeing up some time?
  
• Reduce your frustration and/or stress?
  
• Keep up with deadlines better by not having a too-hard basket in your inbox?
  
• Present a more professional image by not ignoring important emails?
  
• Reduce the size of your inbox easily and efficiently?

If so, then you should go read my article over on The Specusphere "Essential Email Inbox Instructions" here.

I have countless email addresses and five or six email inboxes, two of which I check regularly (my work Outlook one and my home Outlook). At home I get 10-20 emails per day, which is fairly manageable, but it's enough to require a system. The system described in my article on The Specusphere is not really all that new. Other people have written about similar systems on the web. Mine is adapted for my particular needs.

The important thing for you, when you're considering whether to use this system (or something similar) is to realise that "Do it now" is a timesaver when it comes to email and "Do it later" is a time-waster. Don't misunderstand me - I don't mean you have to action every email and every task it relates to as soon as you get it. What I mean is you need to DO SOMETHING with it as soon as you've read it. If you aren't going to action it right away, MOVE it to a folder called "To Do". This one critical piece of advice keeps you from having to re-read emails as more and more come in and ones you've put off move toward the end.

I hope you enjoy the article. And if you have an interest in fantasy, sci-fi or horror, why not take a look around The Specusphere website while you're there and register for our free email bulletins?

http://www.specusphere.com

Why fantasy "adventure"?

The sub-genres of fantasy are many and varied. Some years ago I started thinking of my novel Talon as a fantasy-adventure novel, without really doing any research into it. To me, the spirit of adventure is inherant in the plot, the way it moves, the action (especially the fight scenes) and the epic nature of the overarching story.

Some sub-genres of fantasy include:

• historical fantasy
• comic fantasy
• contemporary fantasy
• dark fantasy
• fairytale fantasy
• heroic fantasy
• high fantasy
• superhero fantasy
• sword and sorcery

And more! (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_subgenres)

Of these, Talon most fits in with high fantasy because of the epic struggle between good and evil forces in the world of Chryne. High fantasy is different to sword and sorcery (which can also have epic conflict between opposing forces) mainly because of its moral tone and world-affecting plot. The moral aspects in Talon are obvious to most of my draft readers and editors, however I have tried to make it somewhat open to interpretation.

Why use the term "adventure" at all? Perhaps I should just call it 'high fantasy'. What does the word "adventure" add? And isn't it true that all fantasy, science fiction and horror novels contain an adventure of some kind? Many action novels/movies do as well. How do we define this? This is something for me to think about, and I welcome your feedback by email.

The history of the genre of fantasy is fascinating and the more I study it the more I realise I have read only a fraction of what the genre has to offer. If you're interested in fantasy I highly recommend "Fantasy of the 20th Century: An Illustrated History" by Randy Broecker. If you want to buy it, please click the link in my Amazon panel to the right. I'll close this post with a quote from the book:

"The earliest roots of fantasy literature can be found in the epic poem Gilgamesh circa 2000 BC and in other classical works such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneid. These, along with the mythologies of the Greeks, Romans, Celts, and Germanic peoples all with their various deities, form the basis of heroic fantasy. It is quite possibly the oldest theme in literature."

With a genre that accesses the most ancient themes and speaks to the deepest moral issues in every person's life, fantasy is an escape for just about anyone. But that's a topic for another blog.