Iron Man

Note: This is my second post today. Scroll down to read my other entry or click here.

Despite being somewhat of a comic book geek growing up, I never read a single Iron Man comic. I couldn’t have told you anything about Tony Stark (the man behind the Iron Man’s mask) or any of Iron Man’s special powers. None of that, however, stopped me from going to see the Iron Man movie on opening day.

*** Minor Spoilers Follow ***

Robert Downy Jr. plays Tony Stark, the rich and famous owner of Stark Industries – the world’s top weapons manufacturer. Stark is out in Afghanistan demonstrating his latest weapon to the U.S. military. But he’s captured by a powerful Afgan warlord who demands Stark create the same weapon for him. Instead Stark creates a suit that allows him to escape and starts him on the path to becoming Iron Man.

Part of the first superhero movie is setting up how the person actually becomes the hero and Iron Man is no different. After his escape, Stark begins to question the purpose and mission of his company becomes obsessed with building another suit. Yet this part of the movie doesn’t seem to drag. There’s enough testing or the suit gaffes and company-issues with Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) second in command that it keeps the plot and tension going. And when the action gets going – look out! There’s a surprising amount of real-world tension that many superhero movies lack.

Iron Man is one helluva superhero – one that I actually admire because – like Batman – Tony Stark has no superpowers. Instead or special powers or genetic mutations, it’s Starks’s obsessive drive to make the world a better place that leads him to become Iron Man. (And all these years I thought it was only Bruce Wayne/Batman who fit the bill. It’s nice to be proven wrong.)

You don’t have to be an Iron Man or even a comic book fan to appreciate this movie. Downy Jr. delivers a wonderful performance and the writers create a wonderful complex and driven character that fun to watch even when he’s not in his Iron Man suit.

The only place the movie falls flat is the tension and "relationship" (I use that word very loosely) between Stark and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). Not enough time is spent on the Potts character or their relationship so romantic tension between the two characters in nonexistent. The scene where Stark tries to make a move is painfully bad. Thankfully, that’s only a small part of the film.

Overall, Iron Man is a fun summer movie and a must see for anyone looking for a well written, action-packed thrill ride. Oh, and if you sit through the credits, there’s a nice surprise at the end. Can you say, Iran Man 2 in 2010? I hope so!

Iron Man *** ½ stars (out of 4)

LOST: Something Nice Back Home

Sometimes I wished I lived on the mysterious island of LOST. Sure, I’d have to put up with a smoke monster, Ben and the rest of the Others, a bunch of crazy plane crash survivors, and mercenaries hell-bent on killing everyone, but the one thing I wouldn’t have to put up with: Snow on the first of May. That’s right. Snowflakes fell yesterday and we had to turn the heat on because it was so darn cold. Where’s that global warming when you really need it? At least on the island I’d be running around in tropical weather. :-)

But on to last night’s episode…

It appears the Island will not go gently into that good night. Maybe it read my last post where I raved about Ben being such a great main character and decided it was time to come back into the picture. Whether it be taking Claire off into the jungle by her father(?!) or letting Miles know where Rousseau and Karl are buried, the Island wants to get back in the game. My gut tells me that despite everything Ben and Charles Widmore are doing to possess the Island, it will not have masters. It is really in control of things.

A little confused about when the Kate and Jack romance begins. I’m assuming it’s after he becomes drunkenly obsessive about getting back to the island. (One site dated the paper Jack was reading as August 31, 2007 but wasn’t sure.) Too bad. I liked the Jack who was totally focused on getting back to the island. I’m sure they’ll find a way back either next season or the final one.

The best part of the episode was the Sawyer/Claire/Miles trek back to the beach. Filled with tension. Now we know why Aaron isn’t with his mother anymore. Of course the question is what happened to her. (I think the island wanted to protect her. But why not Aaron?)

Everything comes back to the mysterious Island. One day it will reveal all of its secrets.

Public Appearances

If you check out the menu bar, you'll notice I've added a Sightings tab. This is where I'll list my upcoming public appearances. There are two in the coming weeks. Book Signing

May 17, 2008 Pioneer Books 2820 E University Dr # 102 Mesa, Arizona 85213 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Directions

Writing Conference

June 7, 2008 Cedar Fort Writing Conference 2373 West 700 South Springville, Utah 84663 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Presenters include Abel Keogh, Janet Jensen, and Eloise Owens. The cost is $25 and includes lunch. Seating is limited. To register call 801.489.4084.

Update: You can find out the details of the writing confrence here.

Young Widows Unite

Ember sent me an interesting article that appeared in the (Ogden) Standard-Examiner last month about a young widow support group.

After Kimberly Love Killpack's husband died, she didn't want to see anyone but her immediate family -- and the stranger who sent a book to her during the viewing.

The book, "Tear Soup," was left to help comfort Killpack. Inside was a picture of another young widow by the name of Kimberly Kemp and her four children.

"I immediately called her," said Killpack, 43, of Pleasant View.

"She came up that night, and we talked for hours. It was so nice to talk to someone who said she knew how I felt and really meant it."

Kemp, 45, of North Ogden, said she knew she had to reach out to others because others had reached out to her…. Kemp told Killpack about other widows she had met, and they decided to arrange a time they could all get together.

"I met Michelle from a group in the Layton/Kaysville area. Her husband passed away two weeks after Sam. I knew I had to include her," Killpack said.

"Tonya was on the news a month after Sam died, and I had this overwhelming feeling she would be an important part of my life. I had known Angie's family ... We all became soul mates -- and we saved each other."

The group has grown from two women to more than 40.

Two thoughts.

First, I’m glad there’s a group like this out there. I know I would have liked another young widower to talk with after the late wife died. I felt so alone during that time it would have been nice to have another person to talk to who understood what I was going through. I think the service these women are performing is a vital one for those who have lost a spouse.

The second is because of the differences between men and women, I wonder if young widowers would ever form a group like this. I can see a couple of young widowers getting together and talking for a night over food and drink. However, forming some sort of social group that meets monthly (or on a regular basis) doesn’t seem like something most men would do. It seems like after an initial meeting, asking questions, and getting things off their chest, they’d lose interest in the group.

Awhile back Nothing Good About Grief belonged to a widow group in Florida that met occasionally. I remember reading about the gatherings she occasionally attended but, like the Utah group, it seemed to be comprised of just women. I don’t ever remember her mentioning men attending unless they were dating one of the widows. (Please correct me if I’m wrong.)

Thinking back to my own experience, though I would have appreciated someone or a group to talk with all those years ago, I doubt I would have met up with other young widowers more than once unless I became good friends. But I would have been happy with the fact that I talked with another young widower and could have emailed him if a future question or issues came up. A monthly meeting with other young widowers wouldn’t have been necessary for me.

LOST: The Shape of Things to Come

Sometimes I wonder if LOST would have lost its way if it wasn’t for Benjamin Linus.

Before Ben became part of the series, we had a bunch of intriguing characters who survived a plane wreck but none of them could really be considered a main character of the show. (You could make a strong case that Jack or Locke fit this bill. I would say that the island itself was the main character through the first season and half.)

After Ben was introduced, we saw how everything revolves around him, his decisions, and his actions. All the other characters are responding and reacting to whatever he does. And last night’s episode illustrated this perfectly. We saw how Ben manipulated Sayid into becoming an assassin and how Hurly, Claire, Sawyer and others now rely in him for their lives, and how even the rich and powerful Charles Widmore is simply reacting to whatever Ben does.

But it isn’t the fact that the LOST universe revolves around Ben that makes him a great main character. The writers have shown us enough of his background and human side that we feel sorry for him. We’ve seen enough of his sad childhood and his unloving father that we can’t help but see that maybe part of the reason he’s evil is because, in part, some of his past experiences.

And even though we know he’s very evil and manipulative person, we couldn’t help but feel his shock and sadness when his disavowment of Alex backfired and she was executed. No one really blamed him for turning the smoke monster on the soldiers. And now his quest for revenge in flashforwards doesn’t seem pointless – even if we don’t agree with his actions we can last least see the motivation behind them.

Ben makes LOST tick. And I’m looking forward to (hopefully) two more seasons of this intriguing character.

Questions from Weber State Univesity Students

Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to talk to a literature class at Weber State University that is using Room for Two as one of their books. I was very impressed with the students and their questions, comments, and insight they had. The following are some of their questions and my answers I thought others might find interesting.

Q: What audience did you have in mind when you wrote Room for Two?

A: I was trying to write for a very broad audience. I wanted to tell my story in such a way that even those who have never lost a spouse, child, or had a friend or loved one take their own life could enjoy it. It seems to have worked. Though I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from young widows, young widowers, and suicide survivors, most of the emails I receive have been from people who don’t fall into any of those categories. No matter what group the reader falls in, however, the vast majority of respondents tell me the book has touched their lives in very positive ways.

Q: Why did you write Room for Two?

A: The biggest reason was that I read or, rather, tired to read a lot of “memoirs” about losing a spouse soon after my late wife’s death. I found most of them to be completely worthless. Most of the time the writer would try to make him or herself out as a “wronged hero.” I felt authors were being less than honest about their experience and were hiding their own faults and imperfections. Because of this, I had a hard time relating on any level to the story they were trying to tell. I wanted to write a book that, in my opinion, showed the human side of the surviving spouse as well as the pain that that accompanies the death of a loved one.

In the case of books that dealt specifically with losing a spouse to suicide, I thought the authors were trying to make excuses or justify the actions of their loved ones that killed themselves. Some of the books went as far to romanticize suicide. I find that to be extremely dangerous. The reasons people take their own life is very complex and trying to rationalize or validate their actions is impossible without being able to talk with that person. And since they’re dead, that impossible. Instead of justifying the actions of my late wife, I tried to portray the devastating effect suicide has on those left behind.

Q: There’s a strong religious undercurrent in Room for Two. After reading the book, one can tell that you’re very religious but you don’t much in the way of specifics about what faith you belong to. Was that intentional?

A: Yes. Outside of the mountain west, most people don’t know much about the LDS (Mormon) Church. I didn’t want to alienate or distract readers who are unfamiliar with the church. Hence the reason I used very generic terms to describe my religious affiliation. Those who are familiar with the LDS church will, I think, know what faith I’m a member of rather quickly.

Q: If you were to rewrite Room for Two for a Mormon-only audience, what would you change?

A: Nothing.

Q: How did you come up with the title for your book?

A: The working title of the book was Running Forward. However, that never seemed to fit with the story I was telling. One day I was editing a part of the book where I was struggling with making room in my heart for another person. Though the exact phrase “room for two” doesn’t appear in the text, while reading that paragraph, those words formed in my mind as I read it. I immediately knew I had the perfect right title for my book.

Q: I really enjoyed reading your late wife’s poem “Ten Toed Children of Eve” that was in Room for Two. Have you considered about publishing the rest of your late wife’s poetry?

A: I’ve thought about putting a website up that contained her poetry and some of her other writings. Right now it’s more of a time issue. I have other writing projects are more pressing.

Q: Which writers have influenced you the most?

A: Orson Scott Card, Ethan Canin, and my dad.

Q: How do you find the time to write?

A: I make time. Once my kids are in bed, I spend some time with my wife and then write until I can’t keep my eyes open. It’s easy to talk about being a writer but hard to actually put in the hours required to write something worth publishing. I went to school with a lot of “writers” that were more talented than me. However, I’m the only one with a book. Though talent has something to do with getting published, most of it has to do with dedicating the time to writing, editing, and rewriting your manuscript.

Q: Are you writing more books?

A: I’m currently writing a work of fiction. If I can hold to my self-imposed deadlines, I should have a publishable manuscript sometime this summer.

Q: Do you have any plans to write a follow-up to Room for Two?

A: Yes. After I complete this work of fiction, the plan is to write another book that picks up where Room for Two left off. The main focus will be on the early years my marriage to Julie. The working title is Seconds because the book is going to focus a lot on second chances, second marriages, second loves, etc.

Jury Duty VI

I don’t have to show up for federal jury duty -- again. The case was either canceled or the defendant decided to take a plea. Whatever happened, my four months federal jury service is officially over – at least that’s what the recorded message stated. Sorry Jenn.

Though I think it would be interesting to serve on a jury, this service would have been very inconvenient had I been chosen. Room for Two is being used as a text for one of the classes at Weber State University and I'm scheduled to do a reading and take part in a discussion about it on Tuesday, April 22. Thankfully, there are no potential conflicts now.

By the way, if any of my readers are going to be in the Ogden area on Tuesday and want to attend, email me and I'll let you know the details of the event.

The Bulgarian Ken Lee Phenomenon

When I lived in Bulgaria, bored teenagers would occasionally try to start trouble by swearing at me and my companion in English. Most of the time they had the swear words down pat – even if that was the only English they knew. The best way to handle these situations was to pretend like we didn’t know what they were saying. In Bulgarian we’d ask them what language they were speaking and what they were trying to tell us. More often than not, this would frustrate the potential troublemakers and give us an in to befriending them – thus avoiding any future problems or confrontations.

I was reminded of this when I saw the following YouTube video from the Bulgarian knockoff of American Idol. Here a wannabe Bulgarian Idol contestant trying to sing a Mariah Carey song “Without You.” However, her English still needs some work. (For those who don’t understand Bulgarian, this version has English subtitles.)

For a few of my readers who I know speak (or used to speak) Bulgarian, who want to see how much Bulgarian they can still understand, check out this version.

And for those who want to see a Bulgarian news follow up (with English subtitles) of the “Ken Lee” phenomenon she started, you can watch that below.

(Thanks to HitCoffee for alerting me to this video.)

Update: You can watch Valentina Hasan entire performance below. What's interesting is skipping through the songs and watching the critiques at the end. They really have tried to model it after American Idol thought the Bulgarian Randy and Bulgarian Simon just aren't as good as the American ones. I like the Bulgarian Paula Abdul better than the real one.

Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?

According to The Daily Telegraph, writer Thomas Kohnstamm admitted to faking large sections of The Lonely Planet guidebooks he wrote.

THE Lonely Planet guidebook empire is reeling from claims by one of its authors that he plagiarised and made up large sections of his books and dealt drugs to make up for poor pay.

Thomas Kohnstamm also claims in a new book that he accepted free travel, in contravention of the company's policy. His revelations have rocked the travel publisher, which sells more than six million guides a year.

Mr Kohnstamm, whose book is titled Do Travel Writers Go To Hell?, said yesterday that he had worked on more than a dozen books for Lonely Planet, including its titles on Brazil, Colombia, the Caribbean, Venezuela, Chile and South America.

In one case, he said he had not even visited the country he wrote about.

"They didn't pay me enough to go Colombia,'' he said.

"I wrote the book in San Francisco. I got the information from a chick I was dating - an intern in the Colombian Consulate.

"They don't pay enough for what they expect the authors to do.''

If the pay was so bad, one has to wonder why Kohnstamm agreed to write the travel guides in the first place. If he was talented enough to fool The Lonely Planet’s editors, one would think he should have tried his hand at fiction.

But more striking is why a publishing company (in this case Three Rivers/Crown) would reward a writer who admits to defrauding another publisher with a publishing contract. With other non-fiction books having difficulty passing the truth test, I’d think that a publisher would be hesitant to publish a book from an admitted liar.

(Blog entry cross-posted here.)

Jury Duty V

I forgot that I was still on call for Federal Jury Duty until the end of April, until jury summons arrived in the mail yesterday.

My summons in February didn’t go through because they either rescheduled the case or reached some kind of settlement before the trial. I’m crossing my fingers it happens again.

If not, I’m sure I’ll have an entry that Jenn will enjoy.