A Note on Count Olaf and Other Fictive Scumbags

One thing I like to see in villains is rottenness. It's OK for them to have traumatic back-stories as long as their wickedness is not excused by them. One of the best examples, I think, is Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter. He was indeed bullied as a kid, but that's no reason to be a complete monster, i.e. attempting to kill an infant. Cowardice helps, as do dishonesty and vile temperaments. Redwall's Cluny the Scourge is really cool but I don't remember him being especially horrible. Stated in a post from January is my view of being unethical instead of simply opposing the antagonist. Slagar from the same series was pretty horrid, though, but he was not allied to Cluny (the latter tried to have the former executed).

Earlier this evening I finished listening to a short (but shiver-sending) book known as The Bad Beginning, the first of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, of which there are thirteen installments - of course. On the one hand I felt the explanations to what the "big words" meant were not entirely necessary, but that was mostly made up for by the absolute bastard of a villain: Count Olaf. He was so evil that I actually felt my blood boiling whenever I heard his voice or name. At the same time, my spine went cold when he spoke; I think the fact that Tim Curry narrated the book helped this greatly. He was a manipulative, heartless, violent creep who intended to kill three young orphans in order to inherit their parents' vast fortune. Not something most folks would smile upon! He threatened to kill a toddler by having her dropped out of a tower window by an ally, and struck a boy across the face hard enough to bruise. The thing that made it all work, I think, is that while he had a plausible motive, there was no sympathy whatsoever for the man. This might sound dark of me, but I sincerely hope he dies in the end!

Screenwriter and novelist Alexandra Sokoloff has a post somewhere on her magnificent blog which instructs aspiring writers to name their ten favorite villains from books, movies, and the like. In no particular order, here are mine, based on evilness as well as coolness:

1. Voldemort from Harry Potter
2. Dracula
3. Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious (Star Wars original trilogy)
4. Randall Flagg (The Stand, The Dark Tower series, and The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King - among possible others)
5. Grendel from Beowulf
6. Gollum from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy
7. The Joker from The Dark Knight
8. Count Olaf
9. The Beldam from Coraline
10. Iago from Othello

These will probably change, but they are what came to mind. Stephen King, being a writer of horror, has many great villains, such as Percy Wetmore in The Green Mile and Annie Wilkes in Misery as well as Kurt Barlow ('Salem's Lot) and The Dark Tower's Crimson King and the demon-infested corpses in Pet Sematary, but I don't think that'd be fair to let Steve have all the slots. The nameless monster created by Dr. Frankenstein did a few truly awful things but I felt sympathy for it. Mary Shelley did this so beautifully that that is still my all-time favorite novel.

Currently my mind - and hopefully soon my pen! - is at work on what is hopefully a completely horrible villain. It's hard work, the creation of characters. Wish me luck!

PS. - Unseen villains, namely the Blair Witch, can be incredibly frightening if properly pulled off.

60 Page Review: Vampire Crush by A.M. Robinson

Dear oh dear.... What can I say? The title and cover pretty much review the book's content on their own, do they not? No. Well, not all of it. I found the writing to be very sloppy and at times awkward, as well as the narration. I don't have the book on me now, but I remember something like: "I poked at the grapes on my plate with my fork. They looked like little grenades, and I wondered if they might explode. They passed the test."

What? Even when not considering the total randomness of this thought (leave out unimportant words!), it doesn't make logical sense, either: grenades are not mines! They don't just explode when touched! They have pins!!

Another thing was the lack of subtlety. The vampire's name was not Edward Cullen, or even something cool like Richard Sklenar or Kolo (the latter two being of my creation; I write the occasional vampire tale too, just not lame type of which we see so much today). No, no, his name was Vlad. FREAKING. VLAD!!!! Are you gods-be-damned kidding me?? And this got published! What's scary is that the author works in New York City - in publishing. Gulp.

And while Stephenie Meyer, the infamous author of the Twilight series (often referred to as a "saga") did not invent the concept of vampire romance (not even sure who did, if not Bram Stoker - but his was not nearly as stupid; in fact, Dracula has become a favorite of mine), this book rips off Meyer's work in numerous ways, what with the strange family moving in and the Hot Guy ignoring her and sitting with her in class and...you get the idea. This book, or at least the sixty pages I forced myself to read in order to get it off the list at my book club, is unoriginal, poorly written, and ultimately a sheer pain to read. I think I'll read something by Stephen King now, or maybe Mary Shelley's Valperga when I can find a copy. And I do hope Jenny Hubbard writes another book. I intend to be done with Robinson, but who knows? - I might have to do this again. Wish me luck.

Final grade: F

A better review here.

Au revoir!

- Lewis

Velut Luna, Statu Variabilis, or, The Wheel Turns

"O Fortuna / Velut luna / Statu variabilis / Semper crescis / Aut decrescis...." - Carl Orff, "O Fortuna" from Carmina Burana (translates from Latin to say "O Fortune / Like the moon / With its many changing phases / Always waxing / And waning / Hateful life....")

"Nobody wins a war." - A friend from elementary school. I first read this quote by him in fifth grade. Incidentally, between seventh and eighth grade, he introduced me to the writer Stephen King, who is mentioned in this post. I haven't seen this chap in a good while, but I sometimes talk to him on Facebook. Anyhow, on with blogging!

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More emphasis on the fact that life goes on and on, like the wheel of ka (Dark Tower reference, sorry) - although I believe I mentioned in the long-ago post "Into the Jaws of [Almost] Certain Failure" that I had a tarot reading. I only briefly mentioned it then, and this will probably not be intensely detailed (I'm not John Tolkien, after all, and besides, my memory is far worse than it once was [bloody pills!]), I will relate one thing the lady said. I cannot actually remember what she called them - turns? phases? - but she said I was coming to the end of what was basically a chapter of my life. Of course, my life would likely be a long series of volumes, each with several "parts" and "chapters" and maybe even numeral dividers such as the ones sometimes used by Stephen King.

In fact I actually was coming to the end of a phase (I don't doubt the existence of energies) - one that did not altogether end well, but I was nonetheless relieved. One cannot win every battle, what, what?

I'm through with my finals, but a new semester begins tomorrow. Not quite a turn/phase - school terms are separate from those of life itself - but it signifies my drawing ever closer to an escape from this volume of life and toward that of college and hopefully freedom. At the moment I'm thinking to become a teacher or a professor - or perhaps a freelancer - and I'll be free to travel the world at my own leisure. Most European countries sound so lovely - I feel like Lennie from Of Mice and Men talking about "them rabbits" - and as soon as I am able to flee, I shall be free like a bird, or a horse...or a mix of both: a hippogriff.

Lunch Post #1

I am in school as I write this. I am at lunch in a relatively calm room, particularly when juxtapositioned with the cacophony of the school cafeteria. It is also a good place to check email, seeing as they have a number of computers in here. I'm perfectly capable of eating with the crowd, but I see no reason to. The other students in here pretty much always want to chit-chat, so it is difficult to get much reading done, but I am able to get online, which is a rather good advantage if you ask me. I read in hallways, sensing traffic with my eyes' outer rims and corners; I also read on the bus when I'm not listening to music, audio books, or a podcast. I find it useful to read in the crannies of time, as I intend to make the most out of these things. I wrote a poem in class at least once, called "The Resting Field" - it's in the post prior to this.

When I cook, which is becoming more often, I try to read a paragraph, look at the meal, read a few lines, and so forth. The legendary horror master Stephen King is known for reading in said time crevices, such as when he is waiting for a meal at a restaurant or between innings at the baseball games he attends. Even if one does not write purely for writing's sake, reading is a good thing to do. Writing is also a valuable skill, but that's beside the point, is it not? Speaking of that, I need to read more blog posts - I write them but my reading focus seems to eb elsewhere!

I must hasten to French I now. Love to you all.

Au revoir,

LMW

The Writer vs. The Writing

"The worst tragedy for a poet is to be admired through being misunderstood." - Jean Cocteau

   You have clipped my wings

   And now I cannot fly.

   I am a lonely bird

   Imprisoned in this cage.

- "Clipped Wings" by me. I didn't think the poem was long enough for its own post, so I thought I'd include it here. Of course, it's also on Figment.

My Creative Writing teacher from this past school year made a post a while back (which I just discovered) about how a girl's parents were worried about her mental well-being due to her dark poetry and bloody stories. Mr. Nantz's reaction is equal to mine: while there is such a thing as artistic expression, what comes up on paper - or screen - by no means necessarily reflects the writer. I mean, has Thomas Harris been arrested for cannibalism? People often wonder if Stephen King is disturbed and/or insane. I even had a therapeutic instructor once who told me not to write dark things. I didn't listen, of course. She also said that she appreciates King from a distance; she would not go to his signing for fear of his slashing her throat. With all due respect to Miss Anonymous, that's codswallop. This is someone whom also believes that gays choose their sexuality and that it is wrong. I guess if she chooses to appreciate me, it will be from a distance.

Anyhow, I think it's good to be able to seamlessly blend expression with fictive feelings. After all, fiction is called fiction for a reason, and poetry can reflect fictional viewpoints. Mr. King is one of my all-time favorite writers, right up there with Jo Rowling and Mary Shelley, and I have no issue with him as a human being. I know that he once had a drinking problem, but that's not my business. That's one cost of fame: the whole world monitors your affairs.

Be yourself!

Signed,

Daniel Cole Phelan

Lewis Mason Winter

Charles Evan Blackwood

Books, Books, Books!

"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I recently discovered the website Goodreads via my former Creative Writing teacher's blog. I already have a Shelfari, but I went ahead and created an account anyway. I like this site because I can sort things onto multiple "shelves". I don't prefer it to Shelfari, nor vice versa, but it's a good site. I found someone from my book club there and discovered we are both huge Neil Gaiman fans. One of the many things I'm currently reading (semi-reading in this case) is the second Sandman graphic novel by Gaiman, titled The Doll's House. I loved the first one because it was of the mind-bending variety and featured the Lord of Dreams. Very interesting.

I am currently nearing the end of Dracula and really liking it. Vampires - when they don't sparkle - are something I love reading about. Until recently my favorite book was Stephen King's second novel, 'Salem's Lot (it is now The Two Princesses of Bamarre, by Gail Carson Levine). If anyone shares this affinity, he or she ought to check out The Vampire Archives, edited by Otto Penzler. It contains over a thousand pages of centuries of vampire fiction, including M.E. Braddon, Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ray Bradbury, Anne Rice, Bram Stoker, and countless others.

I must read Wither by Lauren DeStefano soon for Printz, so that I know what everyone is talking about. I just wanted to have a post about books, and I can guarantee more of these. But for now I must leave.

Au revoir,

Lewis

Book Review: The Stand by Stephen King

First off, Stephen King is currently my favorite author, my favorite book being'Salem's Lot, and this is not only his longest singular work (his longest work is the Dark Tower series, of which I have read the first three out of seven) - it is the longest book I have read to date. According to Yahoo! Answers, it consists of 464,218 words. Both editions I read from (one was rain-soaked and I bought an older copy) had 1,141 pages. It is an awesome epic novel and I recommend it to the epic fantasy and/or horror fan.

After a deadly plague released by a government mistake sweeps across the world and wipes out ninety-something percent of the population, those who survived take two sides: the good guys flock to 108-year-old Mother Abagail in Colorado and the bad guys run to Las Vegas to Randall Flagg, a demon or devil of some sort who appears human but can both shape-shift and project his soul into animals. He gives off an aura of extreme, cold terror to Abagail's people, and eventually a few brave men decide to journey from Boulder, Colorado, to Vegas on foot to confront the dark man, as Flagg is often called...for the ultimate stand.

I really loved this book, but the climax, shall we say, was a bit of a deus ex machina. Meaning "God of the Machine." I don't want to give too much away, but I will say that God quite literally had a hand in things, where he could have helped the entire time. That is the same problem I had with C.S. Lewis and his Narnia books, which I need to read the rest of still: God reaches in and fixes things. The movie Avatar (the James Cameron one with blue people, not The Last Airbender) did this too: "Jake! Eywa heard you!!!"

But other than that, the writing was quite good. I was never quite sure who the main character was, but I don't think there really was one: Star Wars does that too. More of an "overall epic story" thing.

Final grade: B