What Makes Lasting Fantasy: Part I

Today I'm going to start a five-part blog series about what I think makes a fantasy story that can stand the test of time. Most of the examples I'm going to refer to will be series, because those seem to be the ones that stand out the most.

Part I: A Clear Definition Between Good And Evil

I'm all for a good book that can blur the lines, but honestly, I haven't found one that I'd call a "classic" that can do it well. All of the books that I would call my favorites, the ones that I want to read again and again, clearly define who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. Some minor characters can waffle a bit and the main characters obviously make mistakes, but the protagonists and antagonists know their roles and stick to them.

Examples:

Harry Potter - Harry Potter is a classic example. Good guys: Harry, Ron, Hermione. Epic bad guy: Voldemort. There is no question throughout the entire series where these two parties fall. You know who the bad guy is and you know whose job it is to take him down.

Lord of the Rings - Again, a very clear definition. Good guys: The Fellowship, the elves, the Rohirrim, you name it. There are a lot of good guys in this series, and most of them are awesome.  Epic bad guys: Sauron, Saruman, the orcs, pretty much anything associated with Mordor.

Star Wars - Another perfect example. Good guys: The Jedi, the Rebels, Han, etc. Bad guys: The Sith, the Empire

Clear cut sides give us something to cheer for without fear of hitching our ponies to the bad guy in disguise.

Exceptions:
I honestly can't think of any really timeless fantasy books where there isn't an obvious "good vs bad" battle. I can think of characters who don't necessarily fall on one side or the other (Snape and Boromir for example), but no books. I initially thought of Frankenstein here, but decided against it in the end as most of the notion of the monster being bad comes from the movies, not the book itself.

 One of my most favorite movie scenes ever 

How many of your favorite books follow this rule? Can you think of any exceptions?

Jar Jar Binks: Awesomeness in Disguise?

No, I'm not really that insane. I still think Jar Jar is possibly one of George Lucas's biggest mistakes. Not only was he the most obnoxious creature ever created, he could be considered a racial slight. But that's a whole other blog topic.

Today I want to talk about an article I read that one of my guildmates pointed out. This person very eloquently sums up why the Star Wars prequels (The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith) may indeed be better than the originals, including the addition of the highly flawed Jar Jar Binks.

I won't quote it all, but it's here if you want to read it in full, which you should. The gist of it is that the reason the prequels are so much better is because they are more complex.

"A New Hope," "The Empire Strikes Back," and "Return of the Jedi" reflect the Cold War milieu in which they were created, offering up a comforting us-vs.-them story told in bold strokes lacking nuance, complexity, or intellectual ambiguity.

And it's true. If you think about it, you know very clearly who the good guys and bad guys are. (Except Boba Fett. I know he has a softer side that he hasn't shown yet.) Luke, Leia, and even Han are all clearly good at heart. Vader and the Emperor, not so much.

The prequels, in contrast, offer a completely different tale. The good guys are the ones in charge, and the good guys are the ones who inevitably let evil take control (kudos to George Lucas for giving Jar Jar the big hand in that). The prequels are scary for today's American, because they show us a possibility for our future. I personally liked the prequels anyway. They may be slightly cheesy, but they offer new insight into the Star Wars universe. This article made me look at them in a new light.

Did you read the article? What did you think about the prequels before you read it? Did it make you look at them in a different light?

What's Your Obsession?

I'm not a hoarder;

I'm a collector.

 For some, it's ceramic cats on shelves. Others prefer teacups or baby dolls, but almost everyone I know collects something. It's the accumulation of stuff that is near and dear to our hearts, whether we realize it or not.

Ms. Evil collects creepy felines
Image courtesy of Wikia

You may know exactly what it is you collect, but you may be thinking "I'm not a collector." Look around you, though. Do you find that certain items just manage to multiply? Maybe you have an inordinate number of old cell phones. You don't use them anymore. You don't need them. But you're loathe to get rid of them. Maybe it's boxes of tea (I have those).

I've always claimed I wasn't a collector until one day I looked around and realized my socks wouldn't fit in my sock drawer anymore and I had more notebooks than one human could possibly use. Pens, especially colored ones, seem to be falling out of random places and why on earth do I need so many paperclips? So I stand here before you today and proudly declare:

I AM A COLLECTOR

In creating this blog, I also realized I collect pictures. My camera has so many of them, it takes forever to load up. Maybe it's time to do a little camera cleaning. 

A very, very, very small sampling of my super awesome sock collection

A small collection of notebooks. There's even one hanging on the wall!

A few of my Star Wars toys. Notice how Boba Fett outnumbers the others?

Have you discovered that you're an unintentional collector? What odd items tend to accumulate around you? Do you have any intentional collections?

The End of an Era

My character donning a dress instead of her typical armor

It's time for another geekalicious post. Two days ago, one of the best (and worst) video games ever came to a long overdue death. Star Wars Galaxies, my very first mmorpg (massively multiplayer online roleplaying game - similar to World of Warcraft), was shut down on December 15th. The game made some major breakthroughs in mmos at the time of its release back in 2003 and is still revered by many as one of the best games ever. Sadly, the makers of SWG decided to "upgrade" it, taking away the best parts of the game and chasing away even the most dedicated players. We all look to Star Wars: The Old Republic in hopes of reliving some of those great SWG memories.

The video below, while not the most entertaining, captures the final moments of the game. *raises a glass* May greatness rise from the ashes of defeat.

Dun Dun Dun Dun Dudun Dun Dudun

I'm sure some of you already have it stuck in your head. The Imperial March, Vader's theme song, the most powerful earworm known to man behind Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up (great, just Rick-rolled myself). One of my guildies posted the video below on our forum and I have to say that it tweaked my Star Wars dork bone. I've always been an Imp at heart, despite the fact that I'll be playing with the Galactic Republic in SWTOR and I just wanted to share this lovely piece of genius with you.

So, what do you think? Awesome? An amazing use of archaic technology? A total waste of time?

Now, onto the winners of the Scavenger hunt! Huge congrats go to Natalie, winner of the Kindle Mini! Megan gets her hands on some delicious homemade goods from August McLaughlin, and Na will be receiving a wonderful bundle of books by Lynn Kelley and Sheila Seabrook! Thanks so much for the wonderful participation by both bloggers and hunters! You made this birthday special.

I'm So Freaking Excited!

I'm so thrilled about the upcoming release of Star Wars: The Old Republic that I'm literally bouncing around the house. Sure, it's still a good three weeks away, but I can't help myself! I found out recently that some of my absolute favorite people ever will be playing and they're going to be nice and let me play with them! I haven't seen some of these guys since my SWG days, so I'm totally stoked to finally get to play with them again. I was tempted to cancel my pre-order, but then I found out how many of them will be playing and I have to play now. I can't pass this chance up.

I wasn't able to play during beta weekend, but I've been doing a good bit of research and I think I'm settled on Trooper (Commando). DPS and healing combined into one, which is what I tend to go for. Plus, you get a BFG. Who doesn't love a BFG, right?

Will you be playing SW:TOR? What class are you leaning toward? Are you going to be a good guy or will you join the dark side? 

Who Designed That Ship??

Even as an action figure, he's badass
From Flickr - ShaunWong

I'm a huge Boba Fett fan. There are no two ways about it. When someone asks me what fictional character I'd like to meet, the answer is always Boba Fett. The man is, hands down, the most awesomest epically badass dude in any galaxy, world, fictional setting you want to name. He rocks.

But in my late-night, pre-dream fantasizing about Boba Fett meeting me on some far away planet and falling head-over-heels in love with me, I've run into some mind-boggling and troubling issues. I tend to be a realistic fantasizer. If I'm crushing on a Hollywood celeb and find out he has a girlfriend, I have a hard time pretending he doesn't. I feel like I'm making him cheat in my mind, and it kills the crush pretty quickly. So the issues with the ship put a huge wrinkle in my plans to spend the rest of my life (and his) on Slave (whatever number he happens to be on at the time). I'm sure some of you are looking at me like I have two heads now, but that's ok. Bear with me. I'm going to focus on Slave I, but all of his ships are the same model, so they all have the same inherent issue.

See? Makes no sense!
From Flickr - Doc_Brown

And that issue is gravity. I don't know who designed the ship or came up with the idea for it to lay on it's back while in port, then stand up while flying, but it was a bad idea. It makes no sense. What about gravity? Gravity has to exist, whether it's real or artificial, or everything just floats around and we know from the movies and books that he doesn't float in his ship constantly.

First, let's think about storage. There is a cargo hold and cupboards and such. Even if each and every storage compartment had its own artificial gravity to keep things from tumbling all over, what happens when he needs something while the ship is landed? He opens the door, breaks the gravity plane, and boom, everything tumbles out onto the floor. Or if somehow the plane stays in tact while his hand reaches in there, if whatever he pulls out doesn't have a cover, it's going to spill all over. And what's going to happen to his hand when half of it is in one gravity plane while half is in the other? That has to mess with his cells somehow.

Looks cool, but impractical (so not Fett)
From Flickr - Justin Good

Anyhoo, problem two: his captives. I know he's not too horribly concerned about them, but he does like to keep them from hurting themselves too much. The less damaged the goods, the better the price, right? He can't have them tumbling all pell mell whenever he takes off and lands. And the same goes for his cargo. He'd have to tie each and every piece down to keep it from shifting. Way too much trouble just to have a ship that looks cool when it's flying.

Not to mention the annoying issue of having to climb into a chair sideways.Remember that scene in Episode 2 (I think) where Boba and Jango had to climb into the ship while it was docked? Yeah, not very comfortable. And the cabin would have to be insanely tiny in order to sit in the chair while you're standing on the wall. Plus, unless they plan on crawling everywhere while the ship is landed, all hallways would have to be as wide as they are tall. Impractical and a waste of space. (And on a semi-unrelated note, I doubt the ship is as small or minimal as images would have you believe. There is no way that someone who spends 90% of their time on their ship doesn't have a place to sleep or an area to relax in. Boba Fett was hardcore, but he's not a robot.)

So there you have it. While Boba Fett is probably the coolest person to ever (not) exist, his ship falls short of his awesomeness.

Are there any seemingly minor aspects of any movies or books that drive you bonkers and make you wonder what the author/designer was thinking?

All this  month, you can be entered to win a free copy of The Faithful Heart by Merry Farmer. Check here for more details!

Best. Commercial. Ever

What more can I say? This is the best car commercial, and possibly the best commercial ever. By the way, you've just been Vader-rolled. Oh yeah.

 

 And if you haven't seen the blooper reel, be prepared to laugh your butt off. That kid gets my vote for best mini-Vader in a commercial, for sure.

What's your favorite commercial? Do you have a commercial that gets stuck in your head all day? Isn't min-Vader just the cutest thing ever??

Star Wars: The Old Republic

The accent gets me every time

I'm going to let you folks in on a little secret that I've been trying to hide: I'm a gamer chick. For awhile, a couple years or so, I tried to deny it. When I play video games, I tend to do so at the detriment of everything else, especially when it comes to MMOs. In World of Warcraft, I was in a guild that was pretty hardcore, and it essentially became a second job. I felt like if I wasn't working or at school, I needed to be in the game. It was too much, so I foreswore all games, even my beloved Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Gaz is so yummy).

But now Star Wars: The Old Republic is coming out. My first venture into the MMO genre was with SW: Galaxies, and though that ended up being an epic disaster, I cling to the hope that TOR will rock my virtual world. I simply cannot deny the call of another Star Wars MMO. I've already pre-ordered. I'm leaning toward Bounty Hunter or Imperial Agent at the moment (yeah, I tend to cheer for the bad guys. I can't help myself). But this time, I'm going to play to have fun, not to please others. If it takes me ages to level up, so be it. I'll enjoy it while I do. I already have a job; the game is going to be my release, not my stressor.

So who else is going to join me in the fight against good? Or evil, if you swing that way, just know I will be coming after you with my full arsenal and pretty pink armor. 

And on that note, I'm going to go finish this book, so I can play Call of Duty and not feel guilty. I need my Gaz fix!