...and the VERY distant future of technology as a whole...

It is simply mind boggling to imagine a world 50 years from today. In the 1960s, we delt with the civil rights movement, the Cold War, and building our first walk on the moon. By the year 2060 I think augmented reality, cybernetics, and general high reliance on technology in general. Overpopulation will be quite a big problem by then, so I wouldn't be surprised if colonies floating in the sky will become a reality and not just in Gundam. Speaking of which, robotics and other enhancements will probably be the norm in that time. Especially considering that we may be facing some nuclear war as well.

...and the distant future of media technology...

In 15 years time, I truly believe that TV as we know it will be obsolete. With many channels still just sticking to the same tiring reality shows and sitcoms, the internet is creating original content not getting in the hands of corporate suits trying to appeal to the masses/lowest common denominator. I've abandoned TV nearly 4 years ago since the internet appeals to pretty much every niche I like, and more are doing the same. In fact, I think the whole idea of a home entertainment system will be kind of pointless in that time frame. Mobile tech will be at a level which will be more than acceptable to fulfill all our needs, and we'll probably even use cars less often in favor of a better public transit.

The near future of media technology...

In the next five years, I believe that for the most media technology will be mobile and more user based than ever before. Even today, smart phones, laptops, and other handheld devices are on the rise in popularity and showing no signs of stopping. The 25 and younger crowd get most of their important news information through blog post or other independent sources rather than through big broadcasting channels like CNN and BBC. In retrospect, I don't think the next five years will not change too much when compared to today.

Blue Man Group

On a whim, my roommate bought the Avatar extended edition on Blu-ray, which we decided to watch on that same day. As a person who watched the theatrical release in 3D, I didn't have much reason to watch this, especially since I thought it was just “entertaining, but not that great”. Since we had nothing better to do that night, we watched it anyway. Three long hours later, we watch the credits with more or less, the same opinion we originally had of the movie. One new thing I can say is that the extended scenes helped more than hurt the movie.

The visuals and world created in Avatar are by far the best things about this movie. Even without the 3D and the super huge theatre screen, Pandora looks very beautiful and vast. It really shows how much time James Cameron put into the environments. It's also one of the few CGI movies that doesn't end up looking too awkward in terms of animation and detail. As a result, I never really felt disconnected with the world.

The story left a bit to be desired, but I can understand why Cameron made it so simple. A thought provoking story combined with all the visual candy would be hard to absorb for the average viewer. With that being said, the story was straight forward and cliched. I'd hate to jump on the “Pocahontas in space!” bandwagon, but Avatar does blatantly borrow from other popular stories/movies. Fortunately (at least to me) the story wasn't really a flat out deal breaker in this case.

While I don't have the most favorable opinion of the movie, I have to say that the two people out there that still hasn't watched it yet really should. The visuals alone are just too good to pass up.

The Golden Compass

While we are still on the heroic journey, I decided to read another well known children's fantasy novel. The Golden Compass, written by Philip Pullman is different take on the fantasy genre that takes place in a less “Tolken high fantasy” setting. Instead the story takes place in a parallel world similar to ours in many ways. This detail was a plus for me, because as much as I like elves and dwarfs, it really felt like a breath of fresh air. Another aspect I loved was the whole concept of the Daemons, or the animal manifestations living in every human's soul. They have their own personality and can have influence on the soul they're living in.

The story starts out with our heroine Lyra going against her Daemon's order of hiding in the Retiring Room of the collge she is currently living in. What results is overhearing an attempt to poison her uncle and the kidnapping of her good friend (among other things). Something I found really amusing was how Lyra always ended up coincidently getting into her various adventures simply due to others actions besides her own. This causes somewhat of a snowball effect when it comes to the problems she has to face. We go from rescuing a friend to stopping multiverse conquerers within the span of this novel.

With all this in mind, I have to say I really enjoyed this book. The scale of the problem at hand is simply not what I'm used to, and I like it. For a children's book it really doesn't talk down on it's audience, with some parts that even I thought was questionable for younger readers. I recommend this book to anyone that wants to read something a little different in the fantasy genre. I'm hoping to eventually read the other books in the series.

The Hobbit

 Man, what a great Thanksgiving weekend! Had good eats and had quite a lot of reading material done. I started off by reading the classic novel “The Hobbit” which is my first foray in the actual literary work of J. R. R. Tolken. While I haven't read anything from him until now, I am quite a fan of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy and was really looking forward to reading one of his works at some point. What I was presented with was a very charming story about the unexpected adventure of Bilbo Baggins.

One thing that Tolken is really known for is creating a living, breathing fantasy world, and this book is no exception. The attention to detail put into society is quite amazing for a supposed “children's book”. Due to it being a children's book however, it is still susceptible to the common cliches you would expect to see in a fantasy novel. However, due to Tolken's influence to the fantasy genre and epic novels as a whole, they can be easily excused. It's also a great example of a novel that follows the hero's journey cycle (which was brought up in class).

The protagonist Bilbo Baggins, an aging hobbit, is lead to an adventure by wizard Gandalf to take back the gold belonging to the dwarf's family. He goes through numerous trials that often lead in danger but in the end, succeeds with his goal. A hero's journey never ends however, and the ending leads to another adventure. With that, the hero's journey begins again.

With such a rich world and good writing, The Hobbit is a really great story for younger readers and fantasy fans in general.

Conventions of the Sci-Fi genre

Humans moving beyond Earth

Overpopulation of Earth

Earth generally a dystopia

Exploring the uncharted territory

Space travel

Artificial Intelligence

Heavy reliance on technology

Cyberspace/The Internet

Transcending beyond human (or trying to)

Kwaidan/J-Horror

Ah, the J-horror genre. While Japanese horror and ghost stories are nothing new, it has been on an upward surge of popularity in the Western world by both the mainstream Hollywood crowd and horror aficionados. The main attraction to this genre simply comes from the differences we find in it compared to a traditional Western horror film, with J-horror usually having a bigger emphasis on tension, the unknown and psychological fear rather than shock value or clear explanations. Kwaidan is a series short Japanese ghost stories that gives a good idea on the general range of J-horror genre. While a few of the stories may be dull or not scary, there is enough variety in each story to make sure you're reading a unique tale each time.

One of the main things of note here is that a majority of the stories are set the feudal era. By doing so, we are exposed to not just a unique setting but also a bit of a cultural lesson as well. The stories themselves range from creepy, to depressing, and sometimes just boring or weird. Despite this, I can't really count that as a negative for Kwaidan. The stories are all based on a deep rooted culture with many stories relating to ghost and the spirit world.

While I'm not a fan off all the stories, I do appreciate the aspect of learning while I'm reading. On the other side of the spectrum, modern Western horror doesn't really give much of a history to it's monsters/antagonist. Overall, I'd say Kwaidan is an interesting read worth the time to anyone into horror. It gives a unique take on the genre and there's bound to be a story that interest you in the lot.

Interview with a Vampire

The vampire, a unique monster archetype that has went through dramatic changes over the years. While many people have very...”passionate” views on them, no one can deny that they have been so ingrained into our culture through books, movies, television and games. Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice is a really influential novel in a sense that many modern vampire stories borrow assets and themes from it. The “vegetarian” vampire (feeding of animals rather than humans) and the whole morality issue they face has been made popular thanks to this book, turning the vampire into more of a cursed human rather than a true monster. The different breeds of vampires is also a common theme made popular thanks to this story.

Despite seeing all this before, I still felt that Interview with a Vampire was refreshing and unique. It's told through the perspective of a reporter (only known as “The boy”) interviewing our main vampire Louis. The story starts off in 1791 New Orleans, where Louis turns thanks to his “friend” Lestat, and enters a moral struggle trying to accept the fact. They gain a “daughter” Claudia, who also ends up developing a deep hate towards Lestat and creates a scheme to kill him. Claudia and Louis decide to travel to Europe shortly after to find more vampires.

Anne Rice is known for writing stories of the more risque variety, and this book is no exception. While I wont go much into detail, the book certainly alludes to many things that would not be very acceptable in the 1970s. In my opinion, it makes for an interesting narrative and adds to the moral issues so often talked about. Overall I'd say that this book was pretty good. If you're not a fan a vampires, this book will probably not change your opinion, but anyone with a passing interest should check it out.

The (undead) rise in the Zombie genre

I think the zombie genre is popular mainly due to the fact that it's a type of monster genre where the humans feel as if they have some sort of chance of pulling through. The whole idea of a monster that is obviously vulnerable yet can still be deadly (in numbers) provides for an interesting experience. Because of this, the story can be told through the perspective of a soldier, businessman, photographer, and just about anyone else while still seeming somewhat believable. Survival skills play a huge roll in survival compared to most other horror stories. Also, the idea of a mass pandemic causing the global zombie outbreak is not too farfetched in our world where every new disease causes hysteria within the general public.

Monster Island

The zombie genre has been on the rise for the past few years in pretty much every form of modern media. From video games like Left 4 Dead and the Resident Evil series, to movies such as Zombieland and 28 Days Later, the living dead has been on an upward surge in popularity. In traditional literature however, finding stories about it is slightly more difficult, which is understandable since the zombie genre itself is relatively new. Besides World War Z and The Walking Dead, one can barely even think of a good zombie related book/graphic novel. Monster Island takes a different approach when it comes to literature and what we think of the typical conventions of the zombie.

I have to admit, the beginning of the story started off slow and a bit confusing. The switches from flashbacks to the present and the focus on two different characters didn't really seem all too compelling. However after reading a few chapters I realized how unique the overall premise really is. Delkalb, our first protagonist, has no real way to retaliate and is completely unfit for this apocalypse. The United States and every other “civilized and developed” country are the first to get wiped out due to the average citizen's lack of survival skills.

On the flip side, the corrupt and lesser developed countries have more resistance due to them being desensitized to bloodshed. What results is Delkalb being forced to be protected by child soldiers in order to survive. In fact, the only driving force that even keeps him alive is knowing that his daughter is safe. Then we have Gary, who in my opinion is one of the most unique interpretations of a zombie in recent memory. As he slowly starts to become one of the undead, he figures out a way to retain his intelligence.

Unlike the other zombies, he is fully aware of his current situation. He would try to rationalize all of his actions and eat the flesh of humans with little hesitation. I felt that the first person perspective really added to this story and helped to question our views on Gary. It really makes you think whether he is truly “evil” or if he just does this for survival. Either way, it makes for a very unique character.

Though I haven't read much zombie literature, I know my zombie lore, and Monster Island is a breath of fresh air for the genre. What's even more surprising to me is how the author would post the chapters as blog post and make changes in the plot based on fan comments. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in zombie related media.