Garbage Dump

Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:01:49 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

13:02 Feeling quiet, like I'm lying in wait while the last grains of sand from 2009 trickle away. I'll be glad when this year ends. Really glad. #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:00:33 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

10:46 As editor of my own fiction, some days I am surgeon and some days I am butcher. Today... I am a chainsaw wielding maniac. #
10:47 Okay, short story. You're not working and I think I know why. So let's amputate the opening sections and begin *in media res* #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:00:34 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

12:59 Because bandwagons are comfortable: Happy Agent Appreciation Day to my agent, Robert Fleck, Slayer of Verbs and Hero of Nouns everywhere! #
09:35 Great article by Laura Resnick on "self-publishing" your works. www.ninc.com/blog/index.php/archives/publishing-printing-or-scam #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:00:47 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

14:19 Just heard that my short story "Good Breeding" was accepted into the Horror Writers Association's comedy/horror anthology "Blood Lite 2." #
14:30 @graveyardgreg Thank you! #
14:30 @ChuckWendig Many thanks, sir. #
14:42 @ketherian I'll need to verify that : D #
15:03 @thebitterguy And it won't be what folks are expecting. Or maybe it is. I'm an enigma that way :-) #
15:03 @MauriceBroaddus Thanks! If there's a BLIII, I have a short story in mind for it too. #
15:53 @MauriceBroaddus Don't you dare complain about me squeezing your trilogy-writing @ss! Or at least, not in that way. #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:01:09 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

12:23 Working from home today. Man, I keep forgetting how much of a privilege that is. #
07:53 This year was rough professionally, though health-wise it was sterling. Still, despite the woes, I can still say, "I made it this far." #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:02:33 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

15:25 Before the Internet, my pornography was the imagination. #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:04:01 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

21:11 It's a strange bliss. Horror movies play in the background while I write my horror novel. And despite the month-long hiatus, we are in synch #
21:25 @ChuckWendig Thank you, good sir. Any day is worth these moments. #
07:46 Table of Contents is up for Dark Faith, which combines faith, horror and social issues. www.mauricebroaddus.com/blog.htm #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:01:30 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

08:37 I woke up this morning to discover white mold growing on my car. Does my insurance even cover Winter? #

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The views expressed by Lucien Soulban do not reflect the opinions or policies of his brain.
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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:01:45 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

10:49 First short story is edited and ready for one more review before it gets sent out. Second short story is written and needs much more work. #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:02:13 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

13:03 I'm about to snap and lose my shit. The writer in me is curious to see what happens after that. #
08:17 Avatar clip: Gargamel sends his cat Azreal to hunt those pesky Smurfs. www.aceshowbiz.com/video/download/00010825/ #
09:59 It's time to call it a day when I write lines like "You me set-up!" I just turned the game's protagonist into a cavemen...wonderful. #
09:59 Caveman! gah! #
10:29 @jscoble I'll leave that the Dragon Age folks with all their branching narrative. #
10:29 @ketherian I am doubtful considering the gems I'm writing today. #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:02:01 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

13:40 Just told my players that their hamsters better be 3rd level for Friday and ready to rescue the Candy Cane Mayor. That oughta confuse them. #
13:49 @jscoble Dude... I am SO talking like that when I GM. #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:02:04 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

07:47 Short story month for me, it seems. Finished one and plugging away at another to submit to anthologies. December sees a return to my novel. #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:02:47 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

07:42 Dear guy standing next to me at the gym. You take my breath away. No seriously... you do. It's called "deodorant." Embrace the concept. #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:02:56 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

08:57 I really want to like "Avatar," but every time I see the commercials for it, I think it looks like Dances with Wolves meets Steroid Smurfs. #
09:25 @boymonster I fear not. A year ago, I would have called it a drinking game. Guess that learned me, huh? #

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Horror Movies and Why Daniel Robichaud II Must PAY!

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:16:55 GMT

Daniel R. Robichaud II took me to task on my Twitter rant for saying: Torture movies are not horror. CGI monsters are not scary.

For that he must pay!

Actually, I like Daniel and I agree with his points, and thought it made for an interesting discusson which is why I widened it. The statement I made wasn't meant to be all inclusive, but that's the limitation of Twitter's word space function and (well) me ranting. Perhaps I should have said “most,” or “most mainstream.” My problem isn't with the use of CGI in films, but with relying on it entirely at the end of movies to create something overblown and unrealistic and, most important in horror’s case, unbelievable. The Haunting, I Am Legend and the House on Haunted Hill remakes smacked of that horribly. The CGI in the Devil's Backbone, was subtle and used to eerie effect while the creatures of Pitch Black were alien enough and in the shadows enough to cover CGI's uncanny valley effect. Then again, those movies would have remained strong without CGI to touch them up. CGI was the cherry, not the sundae, in those films.

That said, the examples we come up with are exceptions and not rules, and it's the rules that seem to be defining horror of late. I feel we've slipped firmly into tropes and are doing a poor job of pushing horror as an intelligent medium. And by we, I mean writers are often being rewarded for writing in a narrow vein (and I'll just leave it at that).

As for torture films, I'd like to see the examples you mentioned, but again, these are not the films of the Hollywood's assembly lines even though Videodrome is a cult classic. It seems that currently, to me, the lowest common denominator is being applied to mainstream horror... the one that relies on trope and requires minimal effort to invoke the imagination. Admittedly, even I have my guilty pleasures in that regard, be they Zombie or Slasher or even set design flicks. That said, the current spate of torture films don't seem to speak to the human condition, but rather focus on the methods of torture. That doesn't challenge me intellectually, psychologically or emotionally unless the movie takes the time to invest in the characters. Maybe that’s a syndrome, though, of the high body counts in these movies and the attempt to draw the audience in on the simple question… who will survive? Too many deaths, not enough focus.

I'll admit, I'm probably not the target audience of these movies, but why should I care for the victims being offered up for sacrifice when more effort is put into the demise of the character instead of the character themselves? Obviously, the exceptions will always remain notwithstanding.

Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:01:56 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

12:13 @strangeasangels You say answer, I say &*^%**^! Or something like that. #
12:15 @ChuckWendig So glad I stopped believing in a bunch of words and chose to believe in the spirit of their message. #
12:18 Torture movies are not horror. CGI monsters are not scary. Stop pretending you're advancing the damn craft! #
13:13 The prophet Muhummad once said that the best Jihad one can wage is to offer a despotic ruler a wise word. Terrorists do not speak for Arabs. #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:02:35 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

07:57 Welcome to Rant Thursdays, where I rant on anything and everything that crosses my walnut-sized brain. #
08:00 Hey, you... Snuggies guy on the couch. Stop raising the roof. You suck at it. #
09:04 Rant Thursday: Dear Maine! 53% of you fuckers need to get donkey punched. #
10:06 Hey, young urban moron with the oversized pants. Gangbangers wore those to hide guns, but I doubt you got anything of interest in there. #
11:14 I love it when morons claim HIV is God's punishment against homosexuality. Really? And God hates all them Africans, Asians and Heteros too?! #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:01:13 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

08:06 And some days, it feels like you've been fucked in absentia. #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:02:34 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

10:33 Office shorts, socks and no shoes, a raggedy t-shirt and a napping couch within easy reach. I love that I can work from home some days. #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:03:02 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

09:42 Got a $154 ticket for an illegal left turn. So if in the middle of my epic fantasy novel, a cop dies for no apparent reason, you'll know why #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:01:01 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

12:42 Gift certificate? Check. Used it to help buy a PS3 Slim + Uncharted 2? Check. Saved receipt for tax purposes? CHECK! #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:00:44 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

08:37 Pushed my workout too much this morning. Got off the leg lift machine and my legs buckled from underneath me. Better watch it next time. #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:05:03 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

15:51 Some days, it feels like I'm working at the speed of backwards. #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:12:40 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

12:49 I hate waiting, especially when it feels like "The Rest of YOUR LIFE" hangs on that email. Of course it doesn't, but I still hate the wait. #
13:01 Okay... seriously? Someone thought THIS was a good idea? bit.ly/3kFvd7 #
13:33 @clumsycrusader Rather than stepping all over it? #

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Twitter Pile-Up

lsoulban@hotmail.com — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:00:55 GMT

Wonder Twitter powers activate! Form of a Verb! Shape of a Noun!

08:31 Awesome way to get more exercise, music and a smile in your day. bit.ly/XBp8P #

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The views expressed by Lucien Soulban do not reflect the opinions or policies of his brain.
-Lucien's Brain