IT'S SUPERMAN! by Tom De Haven

Part of me will never tire of seeing, hearing, or reading the Superman story. That said, I have been known to criticize the more far-fetched interpretations, so I was excited to learn that Tom De Haven's retelling was perhaps the most grounded of all.

De Haven ignores Metropolis in favor of a 1930s New York full of local color and period detail. Lex Luthor is an up-and-coming politico looking to unseat LaGuardia. Lois Lane is a go-getter who defies everyone's ideas of who she ought to be. Clark Kent is a shy farm kid coming to grips with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Giving each character quirks, De Haven makes them present in his story beyond any preconceptions readers may have.

Willi Berg, De Haven's own character, starts the chain of events that brings the principals together when he surreptitiously photographs Luthor trying to cover up a multiple-murder. After an attempt on his life, Berg's girlfriend, Lois Lane, calls in some favors to get him a new identity a long way from New York—Kansas to be exact.

Much of the book builds the legends of Lex, Lois, and Clark. True they don't meet until two-thirds through the book, but those first meetings deserve the hype. That's the point of greatest potential, launching all the other tales.

Honus Wagner Card Sold

The AP reports the 1909 Honus Wagner rookie card once owned by Wayne Gretzky has sold for $2.35 million. The card was at the center of my C.J. Stone story "Gypped".

"Mask"

Not the movie with Cher and Eric Stoltz or the cartoon with hi-tech headgear and transforming vehicles, BJ Bourg has accepted my poem "Mask" for the December 2007 issue of Mouth Full of Bullets

Early Lent

Thanks to my dental work, I've effectively been fasting and abstaining from meat since last Saturday. Yesterday I had the stitches out, but because work was done on both sides of my mouth, the doctor recommended I stay on softer foods for another week. I don't mind much. I can brush my top row of teeth again. I can recite poems without whistling. Life is good.

Justice League Movie?

Zap2it.com relays Variety's report that Warner Bros. has hired screenwriters Kieran and Michele Mulroney to work on a Justice League movie.

Dennis Johnson Dies

Dennis Johnson, a key contributor to three NBA championship teams with the Seattle Supersonics and Boston Celtics, died today, collapsing after coaching the NBDL's Austin Toros in practice. To me, Johnson embodied heart and hustle. More from the AP.


Johnson in 1988, guarded by the Pistons' Joe Dumars

"Surprise Party"

My poem "Surprise Party" is now available in the Winter '07 issue of Contemporary Rhyme. Thanks again to editor Richard Geyer.

Yankee Takes

I've been a Yankee fan since 1976 (age 2), and the team's late 90s championship run is enough to last me a lifetime. My rooting interest has waned some with the additions of Jason Giambi, Alex Rodriguez, and Gary Sheffield, but here are my takes on the three big stories of Spring Training '07:

1) Bernie Williams. Last season's injury to Hideki Matsui was the only reason Bernie played as much as he did. He can still hit, but can't throw or run well. If the Yankees didn't need more defense at first base, moving Giambi to DH, they'd have a spot for Bernie. Even then, though, Bernie thrives on regular work, and the Yankees can't offer that unless another outfielder goes down.

2) Mariano Rivera. He's in the last year of his contract and wants an extension. The Yankees want to wait and see how much is left in his arm. I'm with the team on this. Why extend him when they don't know how much he can deliver? He's already been paid well. If the team likes what they see, a deal will get done.

3) Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. Perhaps Jeter could voice more support, but there's no guarantee Alex would play better with Jeter's support. If only he showed he didn't need approval.

Onomatopoeia

It's been a quiet week as I'm restricted until Saturday to foods that don't require much chewing. I've discovered how much I enjoy and miss that snap of shrimp, that bite of burger, that crunch of cereal.

Today for breakfast, Fruity Cheerios soaked soft in skim milk. For lunch, extra-gooey macaroni and cheese. For dinner, cream of mushroom soup.

Boar-ing

Today begins the Chinese year of the Boar (or Pig, but Boar sounds cooler). I was once very interested in Chinese astrology, and if you are, go here, or here.

My family combined a new year celebration with the anniversary of my grandmother's birth (which was actually yesterday). Lots of good food that incidentally I couldn't eat because I had dental surgery yesterday to repair newly-detected damage from having my wisdom teeth out years ago. I'm not in any pain worth mentioning or I wouldn't be here to mention it, but I am on a softer diet until next Saturday.

For dinner last night, I had lukewarm chicken noodle soup with bread bits. For breakfast today, lukewarm oatmeal with semi-sweet chocolate chips melted in. Mmm. For lunch, lukewarm beef and spinach soup with rice. As of today, I think it's a nice change pace. Ask again later in the week.

In a Flash

Having enjoyed the first two blog short story projects, I jumped at the chance to participate in the third, as described by Bryon Quertermous:

It's that time again. This time we're doing things a little differently. The word limit is only going to be 1000 words. Some people may find it a bit daunting to work a whole story into that small of a space, but it's allowed us to increase the participation which is what this whole thing is really about. Now the theme. This year, every story will have to include something about blogging into the story. You'll have about 3 weeks to finish the stories and we'll all go live with them on Monday, March 5. If you have any questions feel free to shoot me an email. And have fun with this, people!

PS- I know I've probably forgotten several people, so send this to anyone you think might be interested in participating. Everyone is welcome regardless of skill, or lack thereof (look at John and Dave).

Gerald Wins Dunk Contest

"I am so excited. I have always dreamed about being in the dunk contest. I never dreamed about actually winning it."

Me? I wish. Last night's All-Star Dunk Contest was won by Boston Celtic Gerald Green, whose array of dunks, which included a leap over defending champ Nate Robinson, easily surpassed Robinson, who after missing eleven attempts on a single dunk last year, missed nine attempts this year.


AFP File photo

"I didn't think Nate was going to let me use him. But I wanted to use Nate since he was the champ. I wanted to take it away from you, so I am going to use you as a prop,"

Now that's showmanship!

Why did Nate agree to be used? If he were injured and not participating or retired. fine. But why give an opponent any edge whatsoever?

Of course, after this weekend, Green returns to a miserable Celtics team. You gotta let Ainge and Doc go, and I say that as a Rivers fan.

Renewed

Zap2it.com reports FOX has renewed House and Bones for the 2007-2008 season.

AP: Mauritanian hijacker gets in hot water

By JUAN MANUEL PARDELLAS, Associated Press Writer

TENERIFE, Canary Islands — A fast-thinking pilot with passengers in cahoots fooled a hijacker by braking hard upon landing, then accelerating to knock the man down. When he fell, flight attendants threw boiling water in his face, and about 10 people pounced on him, Spanish officials said Friday.

Jump to article...

STORM FRONT by Jim Butcher

I'm not a big fantasy reader. I tend to respond better to visuals than written descriptions of fantastic happenings. The same held for a while as I read Jim Butcher's first Harry Dresden book. A lot of the lore of magic was lost on me, but the action descriptions were straightforward enough that I got the gist of how magic worked in Dresden's universe and followed the climax without a problem.

Like many debuts, the book had some rough edges. While I don't feel compelled to collect the whole series, Harry is likable enough that I'll probably check out the highlights as determined by Butcher's podcast, The Butcher Block.

Smallville: "Freak"

In tonight's episode, a scientist exploits a blind teen able to detect the meteor-infected townsfolk of Smallville. These subjects are abducted, studied, brainwashed, and then eliminated. The boy doesn't read Clark because he is from Krypton, not infected by kryptonite; however, we learn Chloe is infected and as yet not showing powers.

This episode, directed by Michael Rosenbaum, had great subtext with Lana growing more accepting of Clark and Lex trying to keep his connection to the scientist a secret from Lana. My only quibble was with Rosenbaum's acting. Along with John Glover, he's consistently one of the best reasons to watch, but this time out his performance seemed offkey. Anyone else think so?

More from behind-the-scenes on this episode from Zap2it.com.

Another one I didn't win

The most excellent Stephen Blackmoore won Patrick Shawn Bagley's Heavy Metal Noir contest with 26 votes for his story, "Like That Japanese Chick What Broke Up Van Halen". Congratulations, Stephen.

I am nonetheless proud to reveal that I wrote "Sweet Child O' Mine", did not vote for myself, and tied for 4th place with 3 votes. Thank you all.

Day of Days

It's a white Valentine's here in New York, thanks to a Nor'Easter, the perfect excuse to dodge public displays of affection. I direct you to my Valentine's Powder Burn Flash story, "Call Me Cupid". Comments welcome here or there.

Also, check out the latest issue of Quertermous and White's Demolition.

And at Nasty. Brutish. Short. I've reviewed "The Night I Died", proving even Mike Hammer can fall in love.

Pass It On

David Terrenoire blogs:

Another family member is in Iraq. This time it's my niece's husband, a doc stationed with a Forward Surgical Team (FST).

As anyone who has ever been in the service knows, boredom is an unavoidable part of military life. Books help, especially the kind of books we read. Nothing takes your mind of the brutalities and war like a good multiple homicide.

So I'm sending out a call to all the people who read this blog. I want you to send books. More important, if you blog and I know most of you do, I'm asking you to post Brett's address at your place and ask your readers to send books. Paperbacks are probably best, but hardbacks are fine, too.

For those who don't know, there are some restrictions. You can't send porn (I'm looking at you, Stephen) and there's some restriction against religious evangelism that I don't think will be a problem here.

I don't ask much of this crowd. I give and give, always for your amusement and edification. Oh, sure, I urge you to buy a book every now and then, and occassionally I invite you to say something that would derail any potential political career you're considering, but other than those small sacrifices you're pretty much free to come and go as you please.

But not today. Today I'm asking you to step up. You can send your books to me and I'll forward them, or you can send them direct. And please, if you want to do something more than slap one of those three-dollar magnets on your car, pass this address along to fans, friends and family.

I know you guys won't let me down.

Here is Brett's address:

Cpt. Brett Sachse, MD
240 Med Det 28 CSH
APO AE 09348

Here is my address:

David Terrenoire
5 Chipley Ct.
Durham, NC 27703

I'll let you know how it's going in future posts.

Superman vs. Superman

Got together with my friends John and Deshant yesterday specifically to compare and contrast the original theatrical cut of Superman II credited to Richard Lester with last year's restoration of Richard Donner's vision for the movie.

John set up two DVD players in his living room so we could switch between the movies, and of course I lost track of which we were watching. In any case, it was Deshant's first viewing of the Donner Cut, and we all agreed there was more to love about the Donner. Unfortunately, we also agreed that its coolness was undermined by the infamous turn-back-time super-spin to before the Phantom Zone villains were released.

Say what you will about the Lester cut and its kiss of forgetfulness, at least the events of that movie technically happened.

Kim Possible Continues

The 2005 TV movie Kim Possible: So The Drama was billed as the series finale, but last night the show returned for a fourth season. Always great with continuity, the new episodes cover the start of Kim and Ron's senior year, their first Valentine's Day as a couple, and more. It's great to see the gang back. Episodes air Saturday nights at 8.

More Thursday Night TV

Possibly the most pointless episode of Smallville I've ever seen. To escape a stalker, Lana goes to the Kent farm with a team of LuthorCorp bodyguards in tow. Guess who the stalker turns out to be? Clark does the usual hero thing, but Lana and Clark gain no insight into each other from sharing space. Just another Thursday night in Smallville.

By contrast, Liev Schreiber's stint on CSI ended with a bang last night as Mike Keppler's mentor from the Trenton PD showed up asking him to cover up a murder. This brought to the fore an act of vengeance Keppler took after his fiancee was raped, subsequently covered up by his old mentor. A fine punctuation to Keppler's shady storyline that reminded me of Dave White's Bill Martin and Jackson Donne. Am I invested enough in the other characters to keep watching? We'll see.

My AntiMuse

Editor Michael Haislip of AntiMuse has accepted my poems "Gotta Wonder" and "On Seeing an Old Classmate" for future publication.

Talk to You Later

Dave White wants to talk about writing again. I commented:

I find it difficult to talk about my process while I'm writing because I'm still figuring it out as I go, For me, part of the fun of writing is discovering ideas in my subconscious. When I see the full picture, the near-finished or finished product, then I can retrace my steps and tell you how I came up with it.

The problem with that is, do I want to be talking about what I've written or writing something new? Often, I choose the latter.

I think the business side of writing is discussed so often at conventions precisely because promotion doesn't come naturally to people concerned with creating works of higher purpose (i.e. artists). In an ideal world, we'd all write from our hearts, our work would speak for itself and be recognized instantly by everyone we met. In this world, promotion is necessary.

A further comment on promotion:

I don't mind promotion on blogs. The most wide-ranging blog is about a person's life, and an artistic person (performer, writer, etc.) will want to talk about his accomplishments in the field. If there's a time and place for everything, a blog is the place for promotion. For me, the major appeal of reading a blog is getting to know the blogger on a more personal level.

A comment on Dave's reply, more to do with hearing other writers' creative processes:

Often I don't want to hear too much about what was going through the writer's mind when... Once the words are on the page, they should be open to some interpretation. If a reader wants to think about a passage one way, the author's actual thought process shouldn't interfere. This is why it bothers me to see Parker's life blurring with Spenser's (e.g. when he brought Pearl into the books, started naming characters after his wife...)

I don't like to pin creativity down to abstract principles (not that you do). I think settling into any rigid routine--ala Robert Parker's ten finished pages a day--is detrimental to creativity. I prefer something along the lines of an outline/sketch that I'm free to break from and adjust once the characters become more independent.

I do believe imagination and writing skills need daily workouts, just as you would eat right and exercise to maintain/improve your overall health. If we can make these tasks more voluntary they seem less like drudgery, and that's the goal: to create space for creative thinking.

And a comment on writing vs. selling, art vs. marketing:

Because creative writing is subjective by nature, everyone reacts differently to talk about the writing process. As you said, there are some blogs more about process than sales. If you want to read about process, read those blogs and not the ones about sales. It's much easier to ignore a blog about promotion than to ignore a writer shoving his book in your face and giving you the hard sell.

Cue the March

Paramount plans to release the fourth Indiana Jones movie on May 22, 2008.

MR. MONK AND THE BLUE FLU by Lee Goldberg

As expected, Mr. Monk and The Blue Flu has the distinct humor of USA Network's hit series. Goldberg raises the stakes in his third tie-in novel, however, with his most pressing background event to date. With a left shoe-stealing strangler at large during a San Francisco PD sick-out, the mayor offers to reinstate Adrian Monk with a promotion to captain of homicide, in charge of an oddball team of replacement officers.

All I ask as a fan is that my favorite characters face people and situations that truly challenge their abilities and sensibilities. Monk jumps at the chance to regain his badge, but doing so not only strains his friendship with Capt. Stottlemyre, it also forces the aloof Adrian to work with others, juggle several cases instead of obsessing on one.

With any tie-in, the question is, "What can the adaptation offer that the original can't?" Goldberg offers a premise rife with external and internal conflict, not easily resolved in an hour of television but just right for a novel.

Whedon-less Wonder Woman

Zap2it.com reports on Whedon's exit from the in-development Wonder Woman movie. While this leaves me less interested, I wouldn't want a Wonder Woman who was too much like Buffy.

I watched the 70s Wonder Woman mainly for Lynda Carter, but I really liked the Wonder Woman on Cartoon Network's Justice League. Her relationship with Batman was intriguing.

My Favorite Bonds Only

This week MGM begins releasing the Bond DVDs individually. The first wave includes Goldfinger, Thunderball, and Licence to Kill, pretty much my favorites right there.

I can live without the Roger Moore movies altogether. Convenient, and a little sad.

Super Busy

I busied myself today submitting Thrilling Detective's three nominations for the 2007 Derringer Awards. This year in particular I wish we were allowed four. I've contacted our nominees, so if you haven't heard from me and are a member of the Short Mystery Fiction Society, please do nominate your own Thrilling story. As Fiction Editor I enjoyed them all; I wouldn't have chosen them for publication otherwise.

(Also used a personal nomination on "The Observer".)

A word about Derringer submission: We are usually asked to copy-and-paste nominated stories into the body of a plain text e-mail. In the course of this, smart quotes and m-dashes are lost. This is why we ask our authors to use straight quotes and represent m-dashes with two hyphens in their original manuscripts.

In keeping with tradition, I napped through most of the Super Bowl, but was glad to see the Colts won. Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy (Jim Kelly and Dan Marino) are too good to be labeled perennial runners-up.

I made this a Super Sunday by watching some episodes of Lois & Clark Season One and Smallville Season Four.

And about half an hour ago, I accepted an invitation to have my poem "My uncle talks about himself" included in Mannequin Envy's first print anthology.

Smallville: "Crimson"

On Valentine's Day, lovelorn Lois tries a new lipstick that the salesperson promises will make her fall in love with the first man she sees, and wouldn'cha know, she sees Clark.

It turns out the lipstick is laced with red kryptonite, and when Lois finally plants one on our boy, it's like a truth spell has been cast and he leaps a tall building with Lois, tells her Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow, tells his mother off about her closeness with the Luthors (Gotta say I'm with him on that.), and tells a room full of guests that unwed Lana is carrying Lex's baby.

Some great confrontations here. Too bad they don't stick. Most everyone gives Clark a pass saying he's obviously "on something," and once Lois is brought down her high, she doesn't remember a thing.

Ho-hum. Red kryptonite, the biggest character cop-out.

Rock the Vote

The stories are up and voting is now open for Patrick Shawn Bagley's Heavy Metal Noir contest. Patrick writes:

I received five entries for the Heavy Metal Noir Flash Fiction contest, and they are all posted here. The authors’ names have been removed from the stories to eliminate any possible bias. These stories have not been edited.

Now it’s up to you. We need you to decide the winner. Vote for the one story you think is best. Please include the entry number and title. Send your vote for the best story to patricksbagley@yahoo.com with the subject header "Heavy Metal Noir Vote." One vote per person. Please do not cast votes in a story's comments section; I will not count those.

Voting will end at 12 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Thursday February 15, 2007. The winner will be announced February 16. The prize is a copy of The Drummer, signed by Anthony Neil Smith, and the winner’s choice of one CD from a list of “classic” heavy metal albums.

So please give each story a close reading (there are only five, after all) and send in your vote.

BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS... by Giles Blunt

Early in Blunt's fourth John Cardinal novel, the Algonquin Bay detective's beloved and troubled wife Catherine goes out on a photography assignment and does not return. The evidence, particularly a note written by Catherine, points to suicide, but a grieving, very vulnerable Cardinal cannot accept that his wife killed herself.

About a third of the way through the novel, Blunt reveals that Catherine's psychiatrist betrayed her trust along with that of his other patients and indirectly encouraged them toward suicide. The novel's real power then comes not from who-done-it, but from exploring how and why he does it.

In a subplot, Cardinal's colleague Lise Delorme opens a cold child pornography case wherein the sexual predator takes similar advantage of his victims' vulnerability. To Blunt's credit, while the subject matter is appropriately disturbing, the care with which he drew each character kept me reading.

In a novel heavy on human interest, Blunt keeps the procedural elements in sight, intersecting the plotlines believably and providing the right clues at the right moments. Recommended.

Hang loose, bruddah.

Editor Brian Fugett has accepted my poem "Paradise" for the third print edition of Zygote in My Coffee, due in late March.

Deliberate Nonsense

Not to be confused with Asinine Poetry, Deliberate Nonsense is a section of The Hiss Quarterly's 3rd Annual NC-17 Edition where you'll find my poems "Pranksters" and "Overtime". Thanks to Janitors-on-Duty Sydney Nash, Lalo Fox, and Shanna Karella.

Another Asinine Acceptance

More work inspired by my unluck at love: Asinine Poetry Journal editor Richie Narvaez has accepted "When Jamie Phoned", inspired in part by Jamie Powell, for the Valentine's posting. APJ will also be publishing "An English Teacher Rediscovers Her 6th Grade Report on Polynesia".