Chill out, Celtic Woman fans

I was goofing off on youtube (since my laptop is currently out of commission thanks to the non-working power cord, I get to search youtube freely without it locking up my computer) earlier today on the bedroom computer. I was watching videos from Celtic Woman's "Isle of Hope" tour because, frankly, my current CW collection is old and I needed a dose of some new stuff (though I wish someone had recorded "You'll Be in My Heart" because it's a new favorite and I only heard it once... back in March). Anyway, I started off with "Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears", moving on to "Fields of Gold" (it's growing on me, though I don't think it's Lisa's new "Caledonia" as fans are calling it") and then ending with Mairead's encore (amazing piece by her!). On the encore, I noticed comments that had been given so many negative responses so that they disappeared. From what I can guess, the comments looked like they were from fans who said that they wished CW would go back to Celtic music instead of the pop they did on the recent tour. My first thought was "why in the world do fans take delight in butchering those who disagree with them?" Now, granted, the pop music may have been added as more or less a tribute to Americans, but some of the pop was done by British artists Sting and Phil Collins, not by Americans. Anyway, that aside, I wondered why fans were getting so defensive. I myself have come under attack from fans when someone asked if Chloe had lost weight; I answered that it was probably just the dress she was wearing because with girls of larger size (me included), clothing either fits or it doesn't. I was not making an attack on Chloe or anything of the sort (though I would be more likely to make a polite one against the dress designer in this regard); it was a general comment from my own experience and my post gets shot-down and disappears, though I've yet to delete it. If someone can't speak their own opinion about CW without getting shot down by fans, that tells me there is something seriously wrong with the fanbase.

On a related note, I was watching the video from Meav's solo concert back in December 2007 when I saw more comments from another guy who claims to have inside information from within CW, and my, you should have seen the responses. Fans were leaping all over him, saying that he was lying. One was even bold enough to say that he (or she) posted on the CW forum and that there was no information about such things there. First off, fans are not going to know that one of the singers is getting a divorce or that one of the management is in jail; generally, you don't tell your fanbase that unless it gets out in the news, then it's over. Second, I don't think CW forum is the right place to get your information. I've watched it for some time and have seen the evidence that it's under strict control and that you can't say anything bad about the show or PBS without getting the topic locked or losing your membership there. I myself don't have an opinion on this news and will wait until it's confirmed elsewhere, but I'm not closed to the idea that such things could truly be happening.

All this being said, I still love listening to CW's music, even if I don't agree with the whole commerical showiness, but I love the beautiful music they produce. So before fans jump over me, look at the title of my post. Chill out. Don't rant about me being an idiot because the girls are angels and can do no wrong. Everyone has their faults, and not every singer is going to produce songs that all the fans adore. But that doesn't mean that those people with their own opinions should be shot down for speaking their mind about a group or singer that they like. In regards to the other claims, fans, if you don't think they're true, then ignore them. Slamming them like they did in youtube was very immature and only made them look all defensive about it. So, I repeat to you fans, just chill out. Sit back and enjoy the music for what it's worth, not go hunting anyone else who disagrees with you.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

Story Evolution

It's amazing in writing a story how you have a character who acts one way and then over time, quite unexpectedly, that character completely changes.

On the Binding of the Blade forum, I joined a story about gladiators in a fantasy world similar to that of the Roman empire. I wrote two characters: a man named Vladisk who hides his emotions well and has a stony face and a woman named Temini who is very emotional. It's interesting now how different they are. Vladisk is in love with another female character, and Temini now has become emotionally and probably mentally unstable, believing that Vladisk was bewitched and that he betrayed her. If you were to look at the original post and meet the two chars, you wouldn't expect them to turn into what they are now... especially just over a period of about a month. It's amazing, and I didn't even plan on it.

Anyway... that was just a random thought of mine.

Corruption of Music Industry

Yesterday I was on pandora when a song called "Already Gone" by Kelly Clarkson came on, and I was hooked on it. When I looked it up, I discovered that Clarkson had been very unhappy to discover the similarities between "Already Gone" and Beyonce's "Halo." As I listened more closely to the song, I too realized how similar the two songs sounded. Clarkson's producer for that song Ryan Tedders, who had worked with Beyonce as well, denied that the two sounded similar or something to that extent. Then what made me mad was Clarkson telling her record company not to release "Already Gone" as her next single, but they decided to go ahead and do it anyway.

After reading this, it makes me see how corrupt the music industry has become. The artists have little control over what they can release, and producers milk the artists for money and fame. In short, the artists are the "slaves," the ones who do all the work while the producers and the record companies get most of the reward. It reminds me of Clarkson's last album "My December," which received little promotion and no tour because she broke with her producers to do what she wanted. Sadly, that is the way the music industry works: give us what we want you to do, and we'll promote you to the heights; but if you don't do what we want, we'll make you see reason when your album is a flop. It is a sad business, but I fear too many aspiring musicians don't realize the ugly truth until it's too late.

I commend the following artists for forming their own record labels and having the liberty to produce what they want in an honest way: Loreena McKennitt, Anuna, Jars of Clay, and to some extent Hayley Westenra (though she had issues with her recording company recently about promoting herself). To all aspiring musicians and singers, you don't need a big record label and big producers to be famous. Would you rather seek fame in return for slavery to the record companies, or would you be an indie artist with the freedom to perform the music you really want?

The Idiocy of Paleoanthropology

Thanks to Virginia and Jessy on the Binding of the Blade forum, a new debate has begun: facts vs. faith i.e. evolution vs. creationism. Pretty much, the creationists are getting slammed for not going with the flow and believing in facts, so I decided to do my own research. I went to secular websites and those that promote the idea that man evolved from apes, and I studied up on a few different genuses like homo, paranthropine, and australopithicine. After spending a few days on this research, I have come to a conclusion: paleoanthropologists are idiots. They find a few bits of a skull and then draw an entire creature as being bipedal. Then they can't get their facts straight. Regarding the australopithicine "Lucy" (I was suspicious about the circumstances about the finding, and I was later told that it is a hoax), one website says the complete skeleton was found then a few paragraphs later it says 40% was found. I don't know about you, but there's a big difference between 40% and 100%. And another thing, reading about the different species, it makes me wonder if all these are just a previously undiscovered ape species in several variations to adapt to the environment and not a line of the evolution tree from ape to man.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to get stoned to death by Virginia and Jessy for posting those notes, but, hey, at least I look at the evidence from the source and not just buy into it. Besides, I'll never forget something that Charles Hapgood said. In his book "Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings", he said something to the extent that it often takes an amateur to look at the evidence and point out fallacies that the experts don't see. I think of Berry Fell (who studied fish but decoded the Irish language Ogham on both sides of the Atlantic), Leuwenhook (science was his hobby, and he's considered a master in the science field), and someone else whose name eludes me at the moment (he discovered fossil layers during his hobby of geology), and I think that Hapgood is right. Not that I think I'll change modern thinking about various issues, but I do think that sometimes we don't need to trust the experts but that we need to look at the evidence for ourselves.

Well... that research is done. Now either to research something new (not sure what yet) or go back to writing (more likely). All I know is that I'm tired and that I should be in bed.

A Poem

I'm not much of a poet, but when the occasion rises, writing a poem is good therapy for me, as it enables me to get out my feelings in a way that novel-writing can't. I dedicate this poem to my closely-knit Cunningham clan back in Georgia and to my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ at Covenant Presbyterian.


There is a bond between us,
A bond that has been grown over time,
A bond that remains over long distances,
A bond stronger than any other in this world.
When you laugh, I laugh.
When you are sad, I am sad.
When you celebrate, I celebrate with you.
When we gather in fellowship,
There is great joy in our midst,
A joy that can only come from above.
We laugh together over events that only we know about.
We rejoice when we learn of expansion.
There is a bond between us,
And none can break it.
We meet together on the Sabbath,
And together we worship our Lord and our God,
The One who brought us into His family.
We meet together on the weekends and holidays,
To talk and eat, to debate current events,
To laugh over our pasts, to talk of more sober issues.
There is a bond between us,
And none can break it.
We come together for special days,
And we enjoy each other’s company for hours,
With no sense of boredom or longing to go home.
We catch each other doing stupid things,
And then we laugh afterwards.
We run up and down the beach,
Enjoying the happy chaos while we can.
We jump in the water and tease each other,
Of beaver sharks and giant catfish.
We gather for a movie,
And we end up pulling pranks instead.
We watch new members join our merry group,
And we rejoice exceedingly.
We gather in reading, singing, and hearing,
All learning and worshipping together.
There is a bond between us,
And none can break it
It is one of God’s greatest gifts;
It is called family.

Whoo!

As of this morning, I have completed the second draft of Book 2. Granted, it is a piece of disorganized crap and is far from ready to be seen by others except for critiquing purposes. There is still a lot of work to be done, but I've never gotten this far in writing anything! The last chapter was a joy to write, with a battle and then a happy ending with the birth of a child.

I've also decided Book 2's official name (for now): "Waning Silver Moon."

Book Review: "How to Save the World Trilogy"

This is my first book review that I'll post on the blog. In one sense, it was special to read a published novel by a peer whom I met on-line. I met Nikk Fensterman in 2006 on the Binding of the Blade forum, and though we were not close, we often worked on the same role-playing stories. Because of his aspirations to write a novel, Nikk ceased posting on the forum as frequently and thus I only heard from him when he updated everyone else on his novel. It was exciting to hear that his manuscript was accepted by Tate Publishing and then published earlier this year, even though I have heard that Tate was very dishonest in handling the publishing and charged a fortune for it to happen. That aside, I decided to check out Nikk's book and see how it was. I wish I could be kinder in my review, but I'm afraid it's not possible. Frankly, I was surprised that the story was even accepted for publication. I guess it just goes to show how watered down the quality of books has become, with authors out there like Christopher Paolini and Stephanie Meyer whose books are poorly written yet devoured by thousands of raving fans. But I digress. On to the book review of Nikk's "How to Save the World Trilogy: Twins."

The book is a cross-world fantasy novel, much like CS Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia." Twin brother and sister Timothy and Taryn Davis are living in a broken home situation and mysteriously have discovered swords and bows/ arrows, which they practice with frequently. One day, they run through the door of their house and then find themselves in the ocean. After climbing out and discovering they are wearing different clothes, they meet the wise old mentor Wyrl (much like Tolkien's Gandalf, Paolini's Brom, or LB Graham's Valzaan) who informs the twins that they are powerful individuals who will bring peace to Kumeria and defeat Argor (Tolkien's Sauron or Graham's Malek, basically Satan) forever. Over time, the twins learn to use the powers El Olam (God) has given them, defeat several enemies, travel long distances, and even find romance.

While the book sounds like the usual epic quest so commonly seen in fantasy, that is exactly what it was. I saw little of Nikk as an individual writer in the story, but I saw more of other fantasy novels than himself. The plagarism was glaring in my mind and angered me greatly. Reading it, I could not help but notice several blatant instances of plagarizing from Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, CS Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia" series, and LB Graham's "Binding the Blade" series. Lewis was not as blatant, as Nikk shared some of his concepts, though similarities to Tolkien and Graham were strongly there, such as the trip through the mines that is very similar to the Fellowship's journey through the Mines of Moria and several of the names such as Minas Korinth were similar to Tolkien. Nikk merely stuck with the Lord of the Rings formula for his novel and thus showed a severe lack of imagination in this regard, much like Paolini in his "Inheritance Cycle."

Besides the plagarism, another thing that bothered me was the lack of good characterization. I could not tell the characters apart, as they were all the same. They were very inconsistent, with a character supposedly with a stern personality laughing his head off at something, and even with characters switching personalities. Timothy switched from immature to mature, with Taryn in reverse on various occasions. The wise old mentor Gandalf- er, Wyrl was supposed to be wise, yet he led a bunch of inexperienced fighters to kill a terrifying creature in the mines and often gave in to the whims of the teenagers. A similar problem with the characters was their sheer immaturity. Timothy and Taryn are supposed to be seventeen years old, but they acted and were treated like they were thirteen years old. The twins' peers are no different, acting like young teenagers and not like they have an important task to complete to save the world. Lewis' children in "Chronicles of Narnia" were much more mature than Nikk's older teenagers when Lewis wrote them as being much younger than Nikk's.

The prose of the story was no better. It sounded more like someone trying to imitate Tolkien and ending up with a watered-down version of his excellent, well-written prose. Nikk would often say one word than put a dash then a synonym afterwards, which was unnecessary and very distracting. Oftentimes he would say a word like cogg or palm and then not explain it for several pages or not at all, which made the story confusing. The accents of some of the minor characters were hard to understand, and the teens of the fantasy world often used modern words like "wow" or "ok." There were several points in the story where there was an anti-technology (or against killing animals) few sentence sermon that was not subtle and came off as very annoying and not consistent with the characters. There were several inconsistencies in the story like an all-powerful god who doesn't have power against a dragon's talons or Timothy switching from gracefully to ungracefully leaping on and off his horse when he's never ridden before. There was one romance and then a love triangle in the story, but they were the typical cliche and sappy romances and actually quite realistic for the teens' immaturities.

I wish I could have enjoyed the book more, but I fear I could not. I was severely disapppointed that Nikk has fallen into the trap that so many other young fantasy novelists have fallen into: plagarizing Tolkien, showing a lack of imagination, and not taking the time to let their story grow and develop into something that says "this is mine and not a mishmash of other people's ideas." The story, I think has potential, but it needs several more rewrites to get rid of the plagarism and to let Nikk develop his own writing style. The book may be entertaining for some people, but for those who adore Tolkien and hate Paolini, I would not recommend it at all.

I give the book 1/2 star out of 5.