I think I’ll try to be better about that. I have a lot to say, and it doesn’t do much good rattling in my head, coming out incoherently in bits and pieces that my friends and family have to suffer through.
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Voting and Boneheadedness
I sometimes get frustrated by the general boneheadedness that goes into voting–and not voting. How is not voting an act of protest? It’s not like you get to sit out the consequences just because you didn’t vote. It should be simple enough to look at the candidates and see which of them has the potential to move the needle a bit more in the direction of the outcome you want.
This is particularly the case with certain issues that a candidate may not address directly in their campaign. Certain issues that, for good reason, many people are very passionate about (myself included–you know what it is, folks). My rebuke to that is, how the heck do you expect to get elected if you come out and say that on the campaign trail, considering everything? Look at a candidate’s history (specifically the one running under the color of this very blog), and you can see where they stand on the issue. What? You think the other guy is gonna make things better?
A frustration I think everyone can agree on is that lasting change often comes slowly. I guess my point here is that, if you want change but don’t want to vote, what are you doing to bring about the change you want to see? As Americans, our vote is our chance to make our voice heard in the gargantuan machine that is politics. Please don’t waste it to make a point that no one’s going to notice.
Please vote.
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February, Flu, and Mahnoor
Remember in my last post how I mentioned I was recovering from a cold? Literally the next day I came down with the flu. It’s been a while, so I forgot how much it makes you feel like you’re dying. Having a fever of 103° is no joke, but since I had my flu shot, the worst of the symptoms didn’t last long. If you don’t have it already, get it now! It could save your life.
Because I lost two weeks of productivity, I’ve been working overtime this week to make up for the time I lost. I just finished another chapter of KILLER MOON, and the first official chapter will be released in early March, so I hope everyone’s looking forward to it! There will be another illustration provided by Clairekie, this one featuring Evette Kingstone. I can’t wait to talk more about her.
Speaking of characters, I recently posted a character introduction for Mahnoor on my Instagram.
She’s a character I only came up with in the past year, and has a rather unconventional origin that I may get into at some point. For now, just keep in mind that the driving concepts behind her character are “mystery” and “Moon.”
Having the Moon as a motif for a story is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. There was a project I did for college that I may have salvaged some ideas from that heavily featured the Moon. I could probably do a whole post about the Moon and my thoughts on it, but I’ll save that for another.
I hope everyone has enjoyed the prologue of KILLER MOON. Please stay tuned for Chapter One!
-Seven-
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Killer Moon (and other updates)
I meant to write this days ago to coincide with the release of the prologue of my new story, Killer Moon. But I ended up catching a nasty cold that put my brain into hibernation mode for a few days, so only now as I’m starting to feel better am I getting to this.
Killer Moon is the story of young people in a changing world, where the past, present, and future sometimes violently collide. While those themes are pretty constant across all my writing, I hope I’ll succeed in capturing a unique side of it with this story.
It feels like that’s what’s happening all over the world right now, doesn’t it? For something that technically doesn’t exist, the pressure exuded on the present by the past is what pushes everything forward. “Forward” is often thought of as “better,” but that’s not always the case. Better for some, maybe, but change can be impersonal and cruel. “Ah, but what can I do?” Maybe more than you think. Me? I just write my stories and lend a helping hand where I can.
I’ll get more into the history of the project in an upcoming post, but right now I need to get ready for work.
-Seven
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Godzilla Minus One
I saw Godzilla Minus One in the theater over the weekend. What an experience that was! It’s definitely one of my favorite Godzilla movies, and I’ve seen a lot of them. It’s a movie with a beautiful, multi-layered message. The Godzilla of this film can be seen as a metaphor for trauma, war, guilt, and the wrath of nature itself, all of which tie together as a beautifully cohesive whole. I highly, highly recommend seeing it in the theater if you can, it will be an unforgetable experience.
I got chills when the classic theme played, and while I usually try to stay quiet when watching a movie in the theater, I audibly gasped and said “oh no” at a few points. There was one part where I clapped, but at the very end, so did the entire theater, so I didn’t feel as weird about that.
What is it about Godzilla that keeps us coming back every time? How can a giant atomic reptile endure where so many other monsters like it are forgotten? Maybe it’s the sheer versatility with which the symbolism can be layered atop this creature that continues to fascinate us. Godzilla can mean so many things. I love that the current series of American movies allows us to cheer for him as an embodiment of the natural order that we humans have messed up, and I love that it can be something to be dreaded, like a storm or the inevitable consequences of our sins. (I feel more comfortable calling Minus One Godzilla “it” as it feels more like an impersonal force of nature than the ultimately benevolent if destructive version of the character seen in the series by Legendary Pictures.)
There will be mild spoilers in this next section, and it’s also filled with me acting as if I understand the Japanese national identity and political commentary–which I most likely don’t. Everything written here is my view alone.
Anyway, on with the essay.
As it is the most recent Japanese Godzilla film, following 2016’s Shin Godzilla (that’s Godzilla: Resurgence for all of you not in Japan or the U.S.), it’s easy to compare and contrast the two. They are very different movies, both of which I enjoyed greatly. I’m not going to judge which is the better movie because that’s no fun, I just find it interesting to note their differences and similarities. Ultimately, I feel like they start in two different places but ultimately end up in a similar place.
In Shin, we’re presented with a contemporary Japan that is unprepared for disaster, bound by the red tape of its own government and it’s relationship with the United States. The film has been condemned by some as anti-American, but I saw it as America-critical, reflecting the frustration many Japanese feel at being so closely tied to the nation ever since World War II. It never struck me as anti-American, especially as Godzilla’s defeat in the climax is the result of an international effort, in which America plays a supporting role. The key to solving the “Godzilla problem” is ultimately scientific. Military might will only get us so far, and may just worsen the problem in the long run. In the face of a crisis, international cooperation and scientific progress is what ensures a better future, even if the risk isn’t totally eliminated.
In Minus One, we’re placed into a Japan that has been ravaged by World War II. Interestingly, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki aren’t even mentioned, as the film focuses on the lesser-known devastation of Tokyo and its immediate aftermath. This is a Japan that has been thoroughly defeated and occupied, with a traumatized population. The title references how Godzilla’s arrival takes the country from “zero to minus.” In contrast with Shin, we’re shown Japan at its lowest, with Godzilla serving as a metaphor for the war and its aftermath–from the literal ruins to the psychological effects on all who survived and served. More than any other, this Godzilla feels like the embodiment of WWII’s senseless violence. Once again, military might does little to stop Godzilla, and its defeat comes from largely demilitarized vessels and scientific progress, and most notably, the abandonment of the martyrdom that was so central to the Japanese war effort. While the threat of war will never go fully go away (shown by hinting at Godzilla’s survival at the end), the country can heal and rebuild if it faces its past without letting itself be consumed by it.
Both movies are quintessentially Japanese, with one showing its transition from a bleak past to a more hopeful present, and the other taking more of a realist–or perhaps cynical–view of contemporary Japan and offering a more cautiously hopeful vision for the future. Mainly, I feel the difference between the two movies is realism (Shin) and optimism (Minus One). Whether or not the two can be reconciled remains to be seen, but even a cynic like me can be hopeful sometimes.
-Seven-
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The Walk Home
One of the things I enjoy most about having a job within walking distance of my house is the evening walk home. It’s especially beautiful when the days get shorter, allowing an amazing view of the sunset and—even later in the year—the night sky. Attached are some pictures I’ve taken on this walk.
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The Physics of Creativity
I’ve always approached my inner world from an analytical viewpoint. If our inner world is the lens through which we view the outside world, it follows that the barrier between the two isn’t particularly easy to define. All experience is inherently subjective. Even if the greater details match up to someone else’s experience, they can never know what it looked like through your eyes, and vice versa.
Regardless, by viewing ourselves as part of the world and not apart from it, it follows that our inner worlds are subject to the same rules as the outside world. This isn’t to say I believe the processes I’ll be describing are literal. In fact, I believe it would be foolhardy and even dangerous to claim any of these concepts as universal or literal. “Idea physics” is simply a metaphorical framework to describe how my own creative process works. Whether it resonates with others or will just be seen as the ramblings of someone who thinks way too much, I don’t particularly care. Much like the design of this site, idea physics is for me to enjoy, and everyone else to behold and just kind of deal with.
Idea physics as a concept first began to take shape in a conversation I was having with my friend and fellow writer Joanne over on Instagram. We were talking about the nature of ideas, and how stories coalesce from a bunch of little ideas sticking together. I likened it to planet formation, with ideas gaining mass and energy, getting bigger and more complex. That’s when I first used the term “ideamatter.” At the time I was working a lot on developing a magic system for my fictional world, and the concept ended up being compatible with some scattered ideas I already had, becoming a self-demonstrating article in how it grew beyond the scope of that initial conversation. So, idea physics is mainly intended as a world-building device, but it also happens to reflect the literal world-building seen in our universe. Kinda neat, huh?
I don’t feel any pressing need to rush into an explanation beyond that. I’ve rambled enough already. All the basics are covered over on the Magistics Glossary page, but I also don’t expect anyone to scour that whole document for such a small nugget of information. Instead, I think idea physics is something I’ll discuss over subsequent posts, at my own pace.
-Seven
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A place to be myself.
Since last year, I’ve tried to find a place for myself in online writing communities. In the process, I’ve made some wonderful friends and learned a lot, but I’ve never been able to find somewhere that feels like home. Writergram (the Instagram writing community) has been amazingly supportive, but marketing trends scare the hell out of me, and what’s with everyone’s obsession with Taylor Swift?
I’m not leaving behind Writergram, because not only is it a helpful tool, but the friends I’ve made through it are people I look forward to interacting with and seeing the amazing things they create. I just need a place to be myself. So, I created one.
So, whether you’re here to hang out or just passing through, thank you for your time. I hope you find something you enjoy while you’re here.
-Seven
i·de·a·mat·ter 