That’s right, the long-awaited reboot of my award-winning serial, The Watchmage of Old New York, is here! Click here for the Amazon buy site, or buy on Barnes & Noble, iBooks, or Kobo. Don’t miss out on this, old fans and new will love what I’ve done with the story.
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You’ve probably figured this out, but I read a lot. Books, comics, the backs of shampoo bottles, if it has words, I will consume its soul, therefore gaining its powers.
This is a metaphor, but apt.
A few months ago, I wrote about how Inside Out explored human emotions by personifying them. Instead of being something abstract, suddenly Joy was a character, a joyful one, but with significant flaws. Sadness was a pariah, but with a hidden virtue. Anger, Fear, Disgust, all given life. This is how the mind works…
I finally got around to seeing Inside Out last week, and I was stunned at how great it was. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a movie that managed to be funny, moving, and intellectually compelling. Disney continues to nail it.
Disney always puts out excellent movies, and I think that the big reason is that they hire the best writers and directors. Pete Docter–the director and one of the writers on Inside Out–is a certified genius. He’s been nominated for 6 Oscars, and won 1 (For Up, a beautiful movie) Check out his filmography. He’s hardly had a single miss.
It doesn’t matter if it’s in a song, a book, tv show, or a movie, story must always come first. Disney gets that.
Warning: Some spoilers below
Feelings suck
What really struck me was how well they portrayed how the human brain works, and especially the function of Sadness. It’s all a metaphor of course, but it’s true. Sadness is the hero of the story. The other emotions stifling her is what causes the trouble, and her taking control at the end is what ends it. As Rosey Grier once sang: “It’s alright to cry. Crying gets the sad out of you.”
It also created a great allegory for depression. One by one, the aspects of her personality crumbled until her emotions were locked out of the controls and she felt nothing. That’s what Depression is. it’s not Sadness, it’s Apathy. You don’t feel joy, you don’t feel anger. You don’t feel. You lose your personality. As someone who has fought with depression (and mania, and anxiety) for most of my life, I understand. I hope other people understand too.
And when Bing Bong (Riley’s childhood imaginary friend) sacrificed himself…
Feelings suck
Yep
The moral of the story is that as you age, your emotions and memories become more complex. A memory can be colored (in the movie, literally) with joy, sadness, fear, anger, and disgust. To a child, everything is one emotion or another. To an adult, nothing is.
This chart only shows when two emotions combine. What do you get when three, four, or five do?
Feelings suck.
On a side note, the short in the beginning, Lava, was emotionally manipulative and made me cry. Fuck that shit. I hate crying at movies, and I hate having my buttons pushed.
Feelings suck.
Like my posts? Follow my website or “Like” my facebook fan page and/or follow me on Twitter. You can also purchase my debut novel, Song of Simon, at any online bookstore or a real one (they both exist). Song of Simon currently has a 4.7/5.0 rating on Amazon, so it’s pretty damn good. If you’re looking for something FREE, you can read my serial (soon to be an expanded series of novels) The Watchmage of Old New York. Though it ended in February, 2014, it remains one of the most popular serials on JukePop OF ALL TIME!
Ok, I swear that I’m going to start adding more source material on NYC History today. I already have something on 19th century slang written (my own notes for Watchmage). I just have to rearrange it for consumption. Right now it’s in a form that only I can understand.
I should organize my files better. One day I’m going to be dead, and people are going to need to find my important files…
Inner Critic: Wow, Craig, that’s freaking morbid. Neuroses: Yeah, people are gonna think you’re all emo and shit. A 38 year old emo. Good job. Muse: “Whateva, whateva, I do what I want.” Brain: Will someone make another pot of coffee…PLEASE?
Anyway, I have to do some more editing, but hopefully I’ll get it up soon…
Id: Hehehehe, you said “get it up.” Sex Drive: You rang? Neuroses: You’re ruining your blog with dick jokes! Id: “Moar dick jokes, moar gooder.” Neuroses: Now you’re just making obscure references. Id: “I resemble that remark…” Neuroses: SEE!!! Brain: If you get me some damn coffee, I’ll be more original!!! Stomach: *growls* Brain: “Quiet, you!” Neuroses: ENOUGH WITH THE DAMN REFERENCES!! silence…. Id: “Fatality…Neuroses, wins.” Brain: *sigh*
Now you’ve seen what goes on in my head. Take that, Disney!
Neuroses: You haven’t even seen the movie, and you’re doing a parody.
Brain: It’s ok, I used to watch Herman’s Head.
To be fair, I heard that Inside Out is very good.
This post really went off the rails.
Brain: This wouldn’t happen if YOU GOT ME SOME GODDAMMED COFFEE!!!
Fin
Like my posts? Follow my website or “Like” my facebook fan page and/or follow me on Twitter. You can also purchase my debut novel, Song of Simon, at any online bookstore or a real one (they both exist). Song of Simon currently has a 4.7/5.0 rating on Amazon, so it’s pretty damn good. If you’re looking for something FREE, you can read my serial (soon to be an expanded series of novels) The Watchmage of Old New York. Though it ended in February, 2014, it remains one of the most popular serials on JukePop OF ALL TIME!
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