StanleyWheeler

I came across a series of three lighthearted articles I wrote a few years ago when I was in a production of  Dial M for Murder at the community theater. The first of those three articles follows after a message from our sponsor and some observations on two things brought to me by the magic of television. First, I'm pleased to announce that Power to Hurt has passed the 70K word mark. Strive as I might, I may not have it ready for purchase before the end of July because I may need an additional ten-thousand words beyond my original projection to complete it--so I may have another 20K words to write. That also means longer to proof and to edit. However, the end of July remains my target date. **If anyone would like to read and provide feedback on the novel up to this point, let me know.*** Second, I have a few thoughts on two shows: Rogers and Hammerstein's South Pacific , and the more recent  Good Omens . One of the very few things these two offerings have in common is th...

In preparation for a future viewing of The Forbidden Planet , I decided to re-read Shakespeare's play upon which the film was loosely based. "Now would I give a thousand furlongs of sea for an acre of barren ground..." "Good wombs have born bad sons." The two quotes above come from  The Tempest ; they illustrate a part of my view of the play. They also underscore one of the problems with magic in literature. The Tempest , according to Wikipedia and others, was the bard's final play that he wrote on his own. The play relies heavily on magic and fantastical elements. Prospero has been exiled to a small island by his brother Antonio who has usurped his station as Duke of Milan. During his twelve years on the island, Prospero has mastered the art of sorcery which allows him to control Ariel and other spirits. By magical means he conjures a storm which casts his brother; Alonso, the King of Naples; and Alonso's son Ferdinand, along with some others...

I sauntered into the courtroom with the ardor of MacArthur wading ashore at Leyte . It was 3:30 in the afternoon. The outside air was hotter, and only slightly less moist, than an ogre's armpit, but the air conditioning in the courthouse blew as cool as the kiss of a barrow wight's blade. I enjoyed the refreshing chill brushing across my toes. The hair on the tops of my feet rose in joyous celebration of the exchange of hot pavement for the invigorating caress of cold carpet. I had information for the attorney that was about to blow his case as wide open as the mouth of Charybdis. I had never been privileged to see Gordon Q. Vlengelman wet himself in court, but I suspected that this would be my chance. There are some joys, even for a halfling, that money can't buy. --Except from an unfinished story sloshing around in my brain pan-- I may have to take out the MacArthur bit (and the air conditioning) as I've not entirely decided upon the setting. *** First in big...

Oathbringer is Sanderson's third book in the Stormlight Archive series following  The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance . The file size on this e-book is gargantuan. It is listed at 1220 pages. TWoK weighed in at 1009 pages, and WoR tipped the scales at 1088 pages. That's just over 3300 pages to get to this point.What is this point? I don't know, but this series isn't over; this isn't a trilogy. Let me point out that Sanderson has chosen the word "archive" to describe this series. Merriam-Websters indicates that "library" is a synonym for "archive." Are you starting to get a sense of my feelings about this? I understand that there are ten volumes planned. Let me praise where praise is due. Sanderson is a brilliant writer. Oathbringer has received over 2,000 reviews and has a 4.5 star rating on the big river site. My praise is as but one simple bead in the vast sea of Shadesmar, and I'm certain that my criticism will pass wit...

Earlier this week between writing and working and mowing and etc, I wedged an episode of Combat! into my schedule. I also caught about 22 minutes of The Wrath of Khan . I'm only including a write up on one of those here. Season 1 Episode 12:”The Prisoner” Written by Robert Kaufman. Directed by Robert Altman. The setting around the camp reminds me of a Star Trek Halloween episode (“Catspaw”  which also has something else in common with this Combat! episode as you will see below). Braddock sneaks into camp. He says he lost his watch; that’s why he’s late. Littlejohn reminds Braddock that he sold the watch to him. (I can tell that Braddock is lying about the watch. He’s about to lie some more). Hanley wants Capt. Harper on the radio but Braddock says it doesn’t work; the batteries are dead. There’s a guy I haven’t seen before: Bialos. He’s the runner for Lt. Booker’s 1 st platoon. Why has he come to see Braddock? Because he traded good k-rations for dead batterie...