Author Archive: Percival Constantine

Bane vs. Bain

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Normally, I don’t talk politics on this blog. I do my best to keep my political views separate from my professional writing because I’m just a pulp fiction writer. I’m not trying to push my political views through my writing or to make any statements in my work about politics (if any such statements are made, it’s 100% unintentional). I just write action stories, period. And I avoid political statements because they really don’t need to be made, and I have no interest in alienating potential readers who might be interested in my stories but are turned off by my personal politics.

But sometimes, something comes along in the world of politics that’s just so ridiculous, it deserves to be commented on. So first, full disclosure: I’m Perry, I’m a liberal. And now, I’ll ask you a simple question:

What do these men have in common?

In case you’ve been living under a rock lately, the guy on the left is Bane, the villain from The Dark Knight Rises (played by actor Tom Hardy). The guy on the right is Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee for President. And the question, as you can see in the caption, is a simple one: what do these two men have in common?

If your answer was “absolutely nothing,” then you’d be correct. Congratulations on being a sane individual. But if you’re professional blowhard and successful human/swine hybrid Rush Limbaugh, you believe that The Dark Knight Rises is propaganda against Romney:

Do you know the name of the villain in this movie? Bane. The villain in the Dark Knight Rises is named Bane. B-A-N-E. What is the name of the venture capital firm that Romney ran, and around which there’s now this make-believe controversy? Bain…The movie has been in the works for a a long time, the release date’s been known, summer 2012 for a long time. Do you think that it is accidental, that the name of the really vicious, fire-breathing, four-eyed whatever-it-is villain in this movie is named Bain…This evil villain in the new Batman movie is named Bane. And there’s now discussion out there as to whether or not this was purposeful, and whether or not it will influence voters…It’s going to have a lot of people. This movie, the audience is going to be huge, lot of people are going to see the movie. And it’s a lot of brain-dead people, entertainment, the pop-culture crowd. And they’re going to hear Bane in the movie, and they are going to associate Bain, and the thought is that when they start paying attention to the campaign later in the year, and Obama, the Democrats keep talking about Bain, not Bain Capital, but Bain, Romney and Bain, that these people will think back to the Batman movie — “Oh yeah, I know who that is” That’s — there are some people who think it will work.

Source

So, to be clear, Limbaugh’s thesis is that The Dark Knight Rises uses a villain called Bane in order to create propaganda against Romney because of the ongoing story regarding his ties to his former company, Bain Capital (if you don’t know what the situation is with Bain Capital, feel free to research it yourself, I really have no desire to comment on it). This movie has, as Limbaugh himself admits, been in the works for a while. And it overlooks a number of crucial facts:

  • The term “bane” is defined as “a cause of great stress or annoyance” and an archaic meaning is “a thing that causes death.” That’s what the character was named after.
  • Bane was created by Chuck Dixon, Graham Nolan, and Dough Moench in 1993 for DC Comics’ “Knightfall” story running through the Batman books. Since then, he’s appeared in other media as well, including Batman: The Animated Series, Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City video games, and, I’m sorry to remind you all, Batman & Robin, the film which almost killed the Batman franchise.
  • I can only theorize, but there seems to be a lot of social unrest and upheaval caused by Bane in Gotham, with his partner(?) Selina Kyle (Catwoman) telling Bruce Wayne that he and his kind have been lording over the masses for far too long. If you want to draw a political message, it seems more like Bruce/Batman represents the 1% and Bane represents the 99%. You’d think that’d be reason for conservatives to start claiming The Dark Knight Rises as a pro-conservative movie. After all…
  • In 2008, conservative commentators were hailing the previous film in this series, The Dark Knight, as justification of George W. Bush’s policies and tactics during the War on Terror. Both The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises were directed by Christopher Nolan.
  • Both Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan are lifelong conservatives. As Dixon said, “[Bane]’s far more akin to an Occupy Wall Street type if you’re looking to cast him politically. And if there ever was a Bruce Wayne running for the White House it would have to be Romney.”

In order for Limbaugh’s theory to make any sense, we have to assume that Barack Obama, Christopher Nolan, Chuck Dixon, Graham Nolan (zoinks, same last name, must be a connection!), and Doug Moench all conspired in 1993 to create a Batman villain named after Romney’s company in preparation to eventually make a movie that would smear Romney and prevent him from defeating Barack Obama in a second-term election (and both Dixon and G. Nolan would had to have betrayed their own political beliefs).

Or what’s more likely is that it’s simply coincidental and people should stop looking for political statements in a freaking Batman movie and just sit back and enjoy it.

These are the kinds of conspiracy theories that make other conspiracy theorists shake their head in embarrassment.

Four books for the price of three!

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Amazon has a new promotion going on right now, where if you purchase select items, you can get four books for the price of three. This only applies to paperback books, not Kindle versions.

Here are the details from Amazon’s site:

To take advantage of this 4-for-3 promotion, follow these steps:

  1. Add at least 4 eligible items to your Shopping Cart. Eligible items will have a message such as “This item is eligible for our 4-for-3 promotion.” on the product detail page. Eligible products include select books and Home & Garden items. You may include items from different product categories in a single order to qualify–for example, you can order an eligible book and an eligible kitchen item.
  2. Proceed to checkout. When you’re done shopping on our site, click the “Proceed to checkout” button in the Shopping Cart. Your shopping cart should include at least four qualifying items during the checkout process to qualify for this promotion. Additional conditions are listed below.
  3. On the final checkout page, we will discount the lowest-priced item. A promotion credit for the amount of the lowest-priced item will appear in the upper right corner of your Order Summary during the checkout process. If you use 1-click ordering, the promotion will be automatically applied.

I went ahead and checked, and all my books are included in this promotion! That means you can pick up both books which comprise The Myth Hunter series and both books which comprise Infernum! So if you go to Amazon right now and buy Love & Bullets, Outlaw Blues, The Myth Hunter, and Dragon Kings of the Orient, then the lowest priced book (in this case, Dragon Kings of the Orient) will be yours for free! 

So what are you waiting for? Head on over to Amazon and pick up these books!

The Amazing Spider-Man

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Back when it was first announced that Sam Raimi would not be directing Spider-Man 4, you’d think Sony collectively torched the comic collection of every single Spidey fan, because the Internet exploded with rage. Funnily enough, some of the same people coming out of the woodwork to defend Raimi were also raking him over the coals just a few short years ago when Spider-Man 3 came out — damned if you do, damned if you don’t, I guess.

Then came the news that Sony would not continue with the existing franchise — instead, they were going to reboot it and keep the films with Peter Parker in high school. More nerdrage followed. The casting of Andrew Garfield in the title role, again met with hatred and disdain. When the first images of the slight redesign of Spidey’s classic red and blue costume, my god, you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting someone who was bitching about how this movie would completely ruin Spider-Man. People even complained about the freaking texture of the suit, saying it looked too much like a basketball and that this meant Spalding must be a sponsor on the movie (which I thought was particularly amusing, because the texture is pretty much identical to the texture of the suit worn by Tobey Maguire in the original films).

Throughout all of this, my comment was the same as it is about every comic book movie that hasn’t even come out yet — you’re being premature. Just wait until you get the chance to actually see the movie before you start hailing it as a harbinger of the end times. It’s something that I’ve found increasingly annoying about the fan culture — particularly comic book fan culture — and it’s why I’ve pretty much backed away from the comic book forums I once frequented (and in one case, even worked for). In the past (and I’m not an old guy, mind you), comic book fans were people who loved comic books. Today, comic book fandom seems composed of people who hate comics, but can’t stop buying them. I don’t get it, because it’s not as if Marvel and DC lace the pages of their comics with opiates (although that would be one way to boost sales — if anyone from Disney or Time-Warner is reading this, I’ve got a patent on opiate-laced comics but a price can be negotiated if you wish to use it).

What was I talking about? Oh yes, The Amazing Spider-Man. Well, I’ve finally gotten the chance to see it (for once, Japan gets a movie slightly early as opposed to getting it a few weeks before it’s due for a DVD release in all other countries — we’ve still got about another month before Avengers comes out here). And I don’t want to say I told you so, but… I freaking told you so!

This movie improves on the Spider-Man franchise in virtually every single way — the only place it falls short is the exclusion of J.  Jonah Jameson (and if they do have Jonah in the inevitable sequel, I hope they get J.K. Simmons to reprise the role, because I doubt anyone else could do it). My major criticism of Tobey Maguire in the first three films is that he made a great Peter Parker, but he could not handle Spider-Man. Maguire is a great actor and he plays the nerdy aspect of Parker extremely well. But when it comes to the sarcasm and the wit of Spidey, Maguire looks like a poor amateur at a stand-up open mic night. Pretty much every joke he attempts to deliver in those movies falls flat on its face.

Garfield, however, completely embodies every aspect of the character. He’s got the teen angst thing going for him, he’s got the shy awkwardness, he’s got the slight selfish streak that Peter’s been known to display, and he’s also got the sharp, witty tongue. When Garfield makes a joke or a witty comeback, it’s actually funny. Cliff Robertson’s Uncle Ben was one of the best things about the first Spider-Man, so that would be a difficult role to top. But when you’ve got the great Martin Sheen, you’re on the right track. I wouldn’t say Sheen is better, because he plays a slightly different Uncle Ben than Robertson. He’s a lot more stern and gruff and it’s a great way to handle it. Sally Field’s Aunt May is also a bit more stern, but we don’t get to see enough of her in this film, so it’s a bit hard to compare her to Rosemary Harris.

The rest of the supporting cast is similarly on-point. Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy is pitch-perfect casting. I’ve loved Stone ever since I saw her in Easy A. And if there’s one person who can keep up with Garfield’s wit, it’s Stone. The two have wonderful chemistry together. And unlike Kirsten Dunst, who fell into the screeching damsel role in the first three films (and I say screeching because that’s virtually all she did — I do not like Dunst at all, it was the one time when I rooted for the villain to kill the damsel), Stone’s Gwen is actually capable in her own way. She doesn’t play the damsel role, she’s proactive and helps out. Whereas Maguire and Dunst’s interactions were driven by cheesy dialogue and overdone melodrama (try watching those movies again and not cringing whenever these two have a heart to heart), Garfield and Stone feel like real people when they interact. Even when they’re talking about the strange circumstances they find themselves in, they still feel real.

Denis Leary plays her father, Captain Stacy, and Leary is always a joy to watch. And now we come to the bad guy — Rhys Ifans as Curt Connors/the Lizard. He plays both roles perfectly, going between friendly and good-intentioned Connors to the vicious and twisted Lizard. Plus there are definite openings for sequels, which I’ll get to shortly. Even Flash Thompson, played by Chris Zylka, gets more development here than he got in Spider-Man. Whereas in Spider-Man he was just a meathead bully, he gets a little bit more here. After Uncle Ben’s death (that’s not a spoiler, everyone knows Uncle Ben always has to die), Flash has an interaction with Peter in the school and you think it’s going to be another bullying incident — but it turns out not to be. That one scene gives Flash more depth than he had the last time he appeared in this franchise and it hints to the future of the characters in the comics where they eventually become close friends.

The way Spidey moves in this movie reminds me a lot more of the Spidey from the comics. He’s quick and agile and no contortion is too difficult. He’s got very insect-like movements and it’s thrilling, especially on the big screen and in 3D. They’ve also got an interesting way of linking his back-story between the past and present by having his father a former scientist at Oscorp. I thought Oscorp would just be used as a nod to the comics, but we do get a bit more insight into Norman Osborn, although he remains an off-screen presence.

And now, to get into some spoiler territory. Continue on to read the rest.

Continue reading→

PULPED!

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PULPED! The New Pulp Podcast is exactly what it sounds like — a podcast focused on the New Pulp community. It’s hosted primarily by Tommy Hancock, with Ron Fortier, Derrick Ferguson, and Barry Reese serving as regular co-hosts.

These four gentlemen are pretty much the heavy hitters in the New Pulp community. So getting them all together and listening to them go back and forth is absolutely awesome. I suggest you check out the show, there are a ton of episodes to sample.

Looking for something to start with? Well, why not the latest episode, Double The Pulp? You can listen to me discuss Dragon Kings of the Orient and some broader discussion on Elisa Hill and her universe. And once you’re done listening to my segment, stick around and hear what Altus Press’ Stephen Payne has to say about Master of Menace, is latest Secret Agent X novel!

You should also give a listen to the preceding episode, Tales of the Rook Gets PULPED! That episode discusses the best-selling Tales of the Rook anthology centered around Barry Reese’s New Pulp classic, the Rook. In addition to featuring a story by me, Tales of the Rook also features stories by Ron Fortier, Mike Bullock, Bobby Nash, Tommy Hancock, and Barry himself. And all these guys appear in this episode (although not all of us at the same time, unfortunately).

Give them a listen and after you’re done, check out what all these fine writers are working on!

The Rape of Lara Croft

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The new Tomb Raider, now 100% more rape-y

The title of the article on Kotaku is You’ll ‘Want To Protect’ The New, Less Curvy Lara Croft. Here is what Ron Rosenberg, executive producer of the upcoming Tomb Raider game, had to say:

“When people play Lara, they don’t really project themselves into the character…They’re more like ‘I want to protect her.’ There’s this sort of dynamic of ‘I’m going to this adventure with her and trying to protect her.’”

Mr. Rosenberg, what the hell are you talking about? Do you really think that when a guy plays a Tomb Raider game, they imagine themselves as some sort of cosmic bodyguard here to protect her? I’ve played a lot of games and I have never viewed myself as that, regardless of whether or not the character has boobs.

I wish I could say that was the most offensive thing Rosenberg said, but it unfortunately gets worse.

“When you see her have to face these challenges, you start to root for her in a way that you might not root for a male character.”

If you’re a woman or a man who respects women, I imagine you’re beginning to feel a little bit sick. Yes, you’re afraid of where this is going. And I wish I could tell you that your fears are misguided.

“The ability to see her as a human is even more enticing to me than the more sexualized version of yesteryear. She literally goes from zero to hero…we’re sort of building her up and just when she gets confident, we break her down again.”

Notice some key things here—Rosenberg sees Lara as more enticing when she’s more “human” – and more human means she needs a big, strong man to protect her. More human means breaking her down. But it gets worse.

In the new Tomb Raider, Lara Croft will suffer. Her best friend will be kidnapped. She’ll get taken prisoner by island scavengers. And then, Rosenberg says, those scavengers will try to rape her. “She is literally turned into a cornered animal,” Rosenberg said. “It’s a huge step in her evolution: she’s forced to either fight back or die.”

What. The. Fuck.

Rape is not “evolution.” When you use rape as a way to make your female character strong, it says two things about you:

1) You are a lazy, terrible excuse for a writer.
2) You’ve got issues with women.

What’s more is Rosenberg goes on to compare this to the origin stories for Batman and Spider-Man. Now, it’s been a long time since I read those origins, but I certainly don’t recall Peter Parker or Bruce Wayne getting sodomized by the criminals who killed Uncle Ben or Thomas and Martha Wayne, respectively.

“We’re not trying to be over the top, shock people for shock’s sake. We’re trying to tell a great origin story.”

You’ve got that backwards, Ron—you are trying to be over the top, you are trying to shock people for shock’s sake. And if this is what you call trying to tell a great origin story, then I shudder to think what half-assing it would look like.

Now look, I’m not going to lie and say that Lara Croft was a very well-rounded character. She was created as an obvious sex object, with her short shorts and comically-oversized chest. But that doesn’t justify what someone on Twitter referred to as Tomb Raider: I Spit On Your Grave.

It’s 2012, people. The twenty-first century. Yet we’re debating whether or not women should have access to birth control, and whether or not they need their boss’ permission for it. We’re debating the merits of whether or not women should receive equal pay for equal work.  We’re debating whether or not a woman impregnated by a rapist should be punished for “allowing” herself to be raped by having her attacker’s child.

Adding fuel to the fire is a pop culture that uses victimization of women as character development. In order to be a strong hero, a woman must be raped or sexually assaulted. Want to put a female character in peril? Threaten her with rape. Want a female character to overcome something? Have her overcome a sexual assault.

It’s sickening is what it is.

A story featuring a strong, capable, un-raped female protagonist?! How is this possible?

In both The Myth Hunter and Dragon Kings of the Orient, I didn’t make Elisa Hill a strong character by subjecting her to sexual assault. In these books, she goes up against a villain stronger and more capable than her, she has to deal with former friends becoming enemies, she confronts her own past mistakes, she’s thrown into situations she can’t control and she has to overcome insurmountable odds. In short, she’s exposed to the same things a male character is!

ANOTHER story with a female protagonist that doesn’t suffer victimization?! How does he do it?!

The comments I’ve received about Elisa have been unanimously positive. Both male and female readers have said she’s a strong, relatable, well-rounded character. And you know what else? I was able to do this without resorting to or even hinting at any sort of victimization.

There is no rape in these books. There is no sexual assault. Not even a little bit.

I’m pleading with every creator out there right now, please do me a favor. The next time you feel the urge to use rape as a character or plot device, don’t. Just for once, try writing a female character without using rape. I’ve seriously fucking had enough. This is not good writing—it’s hackneyed, clichéd, misogynistic bullshit. It has no place in the twenty-first goddamned century. If the only way you can write a strong, female character is by debasing her and victimizing her, then you should not be writing female characters. Hell, I’d argue you probably shouldn’t be writing, period.

The New Scarlet Spider

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Ben Reilly as the Scarlet Spider

I was skeptical about this series when it was first announced. You see, as crappy as the Clone Saga was in the 90s, there was one good thing that came out of it — Ben Reilly, clone of Peter Parker who took on his own web-slinging identity as the Scarlet Spider. In a really convoluted story where Ben was revealed to be the original Peter Parker and Peter the clone, Ben ended up becoming Spider-Man. The less said about that story, the better. It was very poorly handled, and you can read all about how editorial and marketing forced the story into being such a massive pile of crap over at the Life of Reilly (a really good and informative read).

Marvel eventually realized they made a mistake with the way the story was handled and as damage control, they said Ben was actually the clone and Peter the real deal, and so Peter became Spider-Man again. Of course, they also decided to do two other things, which I rank as two of the dumbest moves Marvel’s done with Spider-Man. First, they revealed Norman Osborn (the Green Goblin), who had been dead for years and who died in a very good story, was actually alive all this time and manipulating Peter’s life from behind the scenes all this time. The other thing they did was kill off Ben Reilly, a perfectly viable character with endless potential.

The Scarlet Spiders from Avengers: The Initiative

Since then, Marvel has teased numerous times that they were going to bring Ben back to life. There was Spider-Man: The Clone Saga, a limited series that told the original Clone Saga story in the way the writers had intended. There was a story focusing on a character from Ben’s past in the Spider-Man books, and they even reused the Scarlet Spider name in the pages of Avengers: The Initiative for a trio of characters as the Scarlet Spiders (although eventually all but one of them died). Marvel even said Ben was coming back to life and he was going to get his own series out of the deal. I was ecstatic about that one, until I realized what day they announced it on.

Can you guess what day it was?

That’s right, April Fool’s Day. That’s just mean, Marvel.

The really irritating thing about this whole thing is then-Marvel Editor in Chief Joe Quesada went on a tirade numerous times about how he hated the fact that Spider-Man was married to longtime love interest, Mary Jane. Quesada felt that a married Spider-Man was less relatable to the audience (apparently, only single guys read Spidey comics).

The whole “relatable” argument has always struck me as ridiculous, whenever it’s used. One prime example is people claiming Superman is unrelatable because of his powers but Batman is relatable because he doesn’t have powers. Never mind that Superman’s civilian life and the way he grew up is a lot closer to the way the majority of us grew up as opposed to Batman’s upbringing. And never mind that no one can really relate to being a globe-trotting, Nazi-fighting archaeologist in the forties or a suave, British spy with an arsenal of gadgets, yet no one complains about Indiana Jones or James Bond being unrelatable.

Anyway, I digress. The thing that annoyed me about Quesada’s argument is that in Ben, they had that single Spidey character. The solution? Bring Ben back and then have two books — one with Ben as a freewheeling bachelor and one with Peter as a married guy. Problem solved.

Instead, we got a story in which Peter and MJ sacrifice their marriage to Mephisto and have him muck with the timestream in order to save the life of Aunt May (who’s likely about to croak in a few years anyway). Because nothing bad could possibly happen by asking the goddamn devil to mess with the space-time continuum.

The new Scarlet Spider

But recently, we got a new Scarlet Spider in a snazzy new costume. And I thought this is it, Marvel has finally decided to bring Ben Reilly back to life.

Then I found out that no, Marvel hasn’t done that. What they did do was bring back Kaine. He was the first clone of Peter, but was imperfect and went a bit crazy and tried to kill both Peter and Ben on numerous occasions.

Now apparently reformed, Kaine was getting his own series as the Scarlet Spider. This seemed to me like another great disappointment. Once again, Marvel had teased with the prospect of restoring Ben, but stopped just short of doing it. Of all the characters Marvel has resurrected in recent years, Ben has probably been the one most-often requested. And yet, he seems to be the new Bucky (previously the only character Marvel would never resurrect…until they did).

The series, however, seemed intriguing. Chris Yost (one of the writers on the excellent Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes TV series) was handling the writing duties, so I decided to give it a shot based on his presence alone.

And despite my reservations, this series is really good! Kaine is a much harsher, darker character than Peter or Ben. The way he handles situations is not the same way either of the other guys would. It’s great fun watching him toe the line between hero and villain in this book.

Am I still upset Ben isn’t back as the Scarlet Spider? Yup. But that doesn’t mean I’m not enjoying this take. Yost has got me onboard for the long haul.

Tales of the Rook

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Tales of the Rook“When The Good Is Swallowed By The Dark…There The Rook Shall Plant His Mark!”

For years, New Pulp Author Barry Reese has masterfully written the thrilling adventures of The Rook, a masked Hero of Reese’s creation who is compelled through dark dreams to hunt down and destroy evil wherever it might hide! Assisted by loyal friends and a vast array of allies from the annals of Classic and New Pulp as well as Comics of a bygone era, The Rook’s escapades have been a hallmark in the world of New Pulp!

Now, for the first time and under the REESE UNLIMITED imprint, Barry Reese has invited some of New Pulp’s finest authors into The Rook’s world to put their unique spin on the character and tell their own tales…TALES OF THE ROOK! Featuring stories by Ron Fortier, Bobby Nash, Mike Bullock, Percival Constantine, Tommy Hancock, and a brand new ROOK tale by Reese himself, TALES OF THE ROOK also features an explosive cover by Bob Hall, stunning interior art by George Sellas, and outstanding format and design by Sean Ali! Ready for the best in New Pulp? Get it today in TALES OF THE ROOK! From Reese Unlimited and Pro Se Productions!

WRITER’S NOTE: This contains my Pulp Ark Award-nominated short story, “The Curse of Baron Samedi,” which features Ian Morris, the Rook of the early twenty-first century!

Buy now in paperback or for your Kindle at Amazon! Buy now in paperback or for your Nook at Barnes & Noble! Buy now for your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch at iTunes! Buy now in ebook format at Smashwords! Buy now in paperback at CreateSpace!

 

Apple TV 3

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Last month, I bought an Apple TV 3 primarily because I wanted to digitize my DVD library.

Why do such a thing? Well for starters, my DVD collection is somewhere around 800 discs. And that takes up a lot of space, especially in a Japanese apartment. I don’t have any cases here, I left them all back in Chicago. The discs themselves are arranged in sleeves in drawers, which means finding what you’re looking for is difficult. It also makes just browsing when you don’t have an idea of what to watch absolutely impossible. So while the process of converting the DVDs is a long one (although I’m close to the end), the ease of being able to access all my movies with the touch of a button is extremely convenient.

Why go with Apple TV 3 instead of Roku? I looked into them both, but Apple TV seemed like a better choice for my needs. I like the iTunes synchronization, and I like the option of customizing the metadata and the cover images. The downside is that iTunes only works with a specific media format — mp4 (or m4v as their extension is called).

Overall, Apple TV works great. I can also access Netflix and other web streaming services. I primarily use it for my movies and TV shows, which are not insubstantial. But I do have a few quibbles, mainly about the GUI.

Mac users may remember that Mac used to have this program called Front Row. You could use it for viewing your movie library as well as browsing things like movie trailers. The Apple TV also uses the Front Row format, and what Front Row basically is is you have the right portion of the screen with a list of all the titles and the left portion shows the cover art, description and any other information about the selected title.

Simple and boring

The thing that really boggles my mind about this user interface (UI) is that Apple is capable of coming up with something better. Hell, the ATV3 already has something better. Just look at this:

Now we’re getting somewhere…

Not only is this format much nicer to look at, but it’s also got a lot more choices for customized views. Each row is a different organization. Imagine something like this, with one row being alphabetical listing, another row being recent movies, another where stuff is sorted by rating, by genre, playlists, etc. Plus all the coverart is right there, which makes it a lot cleaner and a lot nicer to sift through, especially if you have a large library.

The problem here is that this format is only on Apple TV’s iTunes Store interface. For computer sharing with your own files, you’re stuck with the Front Row format. I have no idea why Apple would limit this for people, doesn’t make much sense to me.

See, now we’re talking. These two view options are iTunes grid and coverflow options, respectively. Apple has the coverflow option in iTunes and in the iPad, iPhone and iPod devices. So why have they not added it to Apple TV, or added it in a very limited capacity?

Why all this talk about how it looks? Because that’s pretty much my only gripe with the Apple TV. If Apple could put out an updated UI that gives people the option of switching the view (or at least the option to install custom skins), I wouldn’t have the slightest complaint.

Movies linked to my iTunes library play with no problems. I haven’t had any connection issues streaming over my wireless network. The HD movies I have play in perfect HD quality.

But the UI is annoying.

There is the jailbreak option, where you can install software that allows you to change the UI. Unfortunately, the jailbreak for the new Apple TV hasn’t been developed yet, the hackers are still working on it.

Apple, please correct this one, minor problem.

Dragon Kings of the Orient now available!

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My latest novel, Dragon Kings of the Orient, is now available for sale both in print and digital forms! This book is the sequel to last year’s The Myth Hunter.

I also have an important announcement to make: this book may be my last.

I’ve enjoyed working with PulpWork Press for the past few years, and I’ll continue to help them in whatever way I can. But, at least for the immediate future, that won’t include writing for them, or for anyone.

If you’re looking for a reason why, I don’t really have much of one, I’m afraid. Other than a consistent writer’s block that increasingly plagues me more frequently and for longer periods than in the past. Up until this past year, it used to be I would be blocked for maybe a month, then I’d be extremely productive for three. Now it’s blocked for a month, productive for a matter of days, and back to the block.

I’m not going to say I’m completely done with writing, because I know how quickly and easily the winds can change. But for the immediate future, this (and my story in Pro Se’s upcoming Tales of the Rook anthology) will be my final works.

Enough of that, though. Let’s get on with what you came here to read. Oh and one more final word: if you’re a reviewer, podcaster, interviewer, etc. who would like a free review copy, contact me (contact info found on my About page).

Centuries ago, Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, was imprisoned for trying to make himself a god. Now, he’s been released and he’s out for revenge on the beings responsible for his long exile-the Dragon Kings of the Orient!

Standing in his way is Elisa Hill, the myth hunter. Not only is she armed with ancient weaponry and an incredible set of skills, but Elisa does not fight alone. By her side are Asami, a Japanese changeling; Max Finch, retired myth hunter and Elisa’s mentor; and Jason Shroud, a member of a secret society.

And she’ll need the help, for the stakes have never been higher! Because if the Dragon Kings are destroyed, the oceans of the Orient will fall into chaos! The fate of the entire Asian continent hangs in the balance!

From Pulp Ark Award-nominated author Percival Constantine comes the action-packed sequel to The Myth Hunter!

Purchase now from Amazon!
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The Avengers

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Before I get into the spoilerific spoilers of this review (of which there will be plenty, of spoilers that is), let me tell you some things right up front: yes, The Avengers is the greatest superhero movie ever made. Yes, I have seen The Dark Knight and yes, The Avengers is better. I’ll get to why a little later in the review. So if you’re reading this to get an idea of whether or not you should see this movie, then I’ll save you the spoiler risks—go see it right this goddamn instant.

This is the part of the review where I warn you, those who have not yet seen the movie, that what follows will spoil it for you. So if you do not want to read any spoilers, please stop reading right now before you are spoiled. I’ve now bolded some variation of spoiler several times, so if you are not yet aware that spoilers will follow, you hereby revoke any rights to bitch and moan for having accidentally read spoilers. You have been warned. Many times.

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