Real Life People — Fictitious Lives

2010 February 9

One of the incredible attractions to creative writing is the opportunity to flesh out characters and lives that otherwise don’t exist. Ah, the power of the written word—with just a few words typed out anyone can make up a mythical persona. Fictional people, whether they be characters in a novel, childrens story book, or elsewhere, inspire real life people to greatness.

We are drawn to fictional lives because fictional people have nothing to loose and their lives are an open book (no pun intended, honestly). The fake man has no reason not to be honest with the real man. Authors can divulge sins of make-believe characters without offending those people in the real world. Then, they can express the depths of the struggling spirit to overcome all obstacles without being too dramatic for the real world, so to speak.

Thus, when I create a fictional character, I aim to tap into the greatest depth of human emotion, intelligence, and spirit. The artificial reflection of fiction serves a great impact on our own lives; the non-real inspire us to make the virtues of the non-real real in our own lives.

Medieval Help Desk – Comical Short

2010 February 8

With every advancement of culture-making (in this case of this video, the invention of the book), people have to learn something new to be equipped with the new conveniences of cultural tools. This is a curve that many older people don’t keep up with, and each new generation adapts to their own generation of cultural improvements with natural ease.

And, of course, this happens with today’s cultural advancements as well as those of medieval times. This video will relate to our generation of new tablet users and their need for expert assistance. Sad, but it is true; people want to be shown how to do everything. Few want to learn things on their own.

The better we assist the young and old to adapt to our culture-making improvements, the more likely culture will adopt our cultural advancements.

Photoshop Turns 20 Years Old

2010 February 7

I began using Adobe Photoshop in the mid nineties with my computer whiz next door neighbor to guide me. I had in mind to invent a company for graphic imagery production, and I called the corporation Prime Images (named after my favorite Autobot). My neighbor sat down with me at his computer and showed me the wonders of this application called Photoshop. In no time, he had made me a logo in a sophisticated black text with what looked like a blue comet forming the dot on the “i” in “Prime.” I just knew that I needed to get my hands on a copy of Photoshop, and I did. It was the best investment in my life up to 13 years of age. By the time I was 15, I had a rudimentary knowledge of the application and began learning to apply it to professional work. read more…

For Productive Artists, Dreams Come True

2010 February 6

Beginning to advanced artists enjoy the process of imagining. Coming up with the new, imagining the possibilities, thinking up something that can make people laugh and cry at the same time get’s artistic designers on a temporary high. Then the realization kicks in that to put those ideas on paper, film, or web would be work. read more…

I’m in Favor of the Apple iPad

2010 February 5
by Joseph Darnell

Over the last twelve months I heard many of the rumors from tech news sources about the potential for an Apple tablet; how it would solve all our problems; how it would save us from the hum-drum of computers today; how it would blow our minds with the power and endless tools and compatibility it might offer. I, for one, realized very quickly that these were lofty dreams of the misguided masses that want only the best and think there is a specific company out there that was born to give it to them (i.e. Apple). read more…

The New Tablet – iPad

2010 January 28
by Joseph Darnell

A little over a year ago, people saw on the market new portable devices dedicated to reading books and the news. The Kindle stirred up the reading media market. Soon, Sony and altogether new brands joined the market for reading devices.

Apple was still going strong with their advances in iPod technologies — the iPod rubbing backs with the iPhone. Essentially, by January of 2009, the iPod Touch was an iPhone without the phone. So the Touch and iPhone were capable of joining the e-book reading and mobile news selection of devices. There are more than 140,000 apps in Apple’s App Store to date. You can do practically anything with the devices that a laptop can achieve; maybe not as well, but you can do practically anything with these devices. read more…

George Washington Carver – An Uncommon Way

2010 January 25
by Joseph Darnell

Culture makers are not just artists, politicians, scientists and and the like of the present. There are many unsung heroes of culture from the past that got society to where it is today, and the memory of them slowly fades into the distant past. We should not forget them, and one great documentary has been made to remember one such great of American history: George Washington Carver.

This is one documentary I don’t want to miss! There are few men that walked the line as Carver did, and I think we should reflect his character and sheer diligence in every area of culture in our way of life.

If your are interested in this new documentary, you can check it out here.

How to Review a Movie

2010 January 15
by Joseph Darnell

Most people don’t know how to digest the information they get in a news article, let alone a movie or television show. When we read the news, we often miss how the news story relates to other news stories, the whole of current events, and what the news reporter believes about the news they reported. We get guided to believe something about the news without using our thought processes to digest the information, but we should. Likewise, as a great culture study exercise, we ought to methodically deduce the meaning and significance of entertainment. Contemplate movies with the following simple rules of thought. read more…

The Case for America’s Christian Heritage: Volume 2

2010 January 15

I am in production for the last half of The Case for America’s Christian Heritage DVD lecture series. I would say that I am almost half way through the trenches. Since this is a second volume, I am able to take much of what I created for the first and use it in the second as a template. read more…

A Product of Culture Building – RSS Feeds

2010 January 8

I don’t usually write about technology. I think that readers/writers should be responsible enough to pick the gadgets, apps, and what-not that suites them. Even so, I know that in the large vat of the ether of the World Wide Web we readers and writers often overlook some of the best technologies at our disposal, thus, leaving most of us behind the times technologically. I don’t want you to be left behind. We culture-minded folk need to stay sharp and up-to-date. This is why I want to highly recommend that you take the time to learn what RSS feeds are and how they would optimize all your web surfing. read more…

Cultural Product Humor: The iLid

2010 January 7
by Joseph Darnell

Condemning Culture – The Culture Vacuum

2010 January 5

Growing up in a conservative Christian home, it was easy to assume the role as a critic of society. Don’t get me wrong. My family was able to find plenty good in culture that our family could enjoy. I played video games early on, watched movies in the theaters, went out on social engagements to theme parks with friends, etc. I had a taste of most arenas in culture — even as a homeschooler. Really. read more…

Before and After Representations of Beauty

2009 December 29

My wife is an awesome, smart, beautiful woman. I love her to infinity. Regrettably, we all have our moments when the lighting and cheap digital cameras we have to take snapshots with don’t show us how attractive we actually look. My wife has been dealt the card of “not-so photogenic for life.” She looks much better in life than in most of her pictures.

Example of before and after image of my wife LizFor this reason, I am here to help sweeten her pictures from time to time. Here’s a recent shot I took with a before and after treatment in Photoshop. This is a simple cleanup in Photoshop, and it’s not very difficult if you know what you’re doing in the application on a Mac or PC.

Why do we care about the way we look? Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? I think not. There are fundamental consistent values we all think deem something beautiful. However, we often confuse beauty with our personal tastes and preferences. There is a subjective and objective quality to beauty at the same time. read more…

Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths New Cover Art

2009 December 11

The final cover

I create cover art every now and then. I like the creative. I could do without producing creative for others. : ) I like every mockup I create just about. For each book cover I work on I mockup at least 5 unique covers. Inevitably, the authors choose my second or third favorite of the lot. For once, I wish my preferred mockups would be chosen. Maybe one of these days….

The cover that was chosen was inspired by some new book covers I’ve seen at Barnes & Noble in the past year. Maybe the next time you’re browsing a book store, you’ll recognize a cover or two that also have a torn cover effect. read more…

The Christian Character of Sherlock Holmes

2009 November 30

I do not delve too deeply into my undying interest in classic films on this blog. I find them to be most tasteful, thought-provoking, and pleasant movies in general — movies that proceeded the invention of color, and those just after color came to screen. Alas, today’s readers, and web community at large, hardly understand or appreciate classics of any nature. People of any generation, it seems, are consumed with what’s modern for them. Back in the day, Shakespeare plays were modern and exciting to audiences that had the pleasure of being the first to watch a Shakespearian play. Today, we consider such classics as ancient even before we’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing them, watching them, or seeing them for the first time. read more…

The World Glass Music of Dean Shostak

2009 November 16

My brother was on vacation in Williamsburg Virginia recently, and brought back with him a music album of an American artist. Dean Shostak, a different sort of musician, has a focus of skill in glass musical instruments. Honestly, glass instruments took me some getting used to as a child when my Dad played selections for me and my siblings. Now, I am rather fond of their unique reverb and hollow quality. read more…

Ethical Vampires and Readers are Misunderstood

2009 October 27

Vampire DiariesI don’t have to tell you what’s clogging up the young adult fiction section at Barnes & Nobles these days. Everywhere you turn, there is another display with overloaded stacks of books of teen vampire and werewolf stories. Apparently, they’re selling, and all the publishing houses want in on the profits. Culturally centered media outlets are saying all sorts of things about how this reflects on American youth. It’s assumed the vampire craze is a trend that is repeated every time monsters stories — especially vampire related ones — rise to the forefront of pop culture (as they have in the past with the introduction of classic monster stories like Dracula). read more…

The New E-book Reader: Nook

2009 October 21
by Joseph Darnell

nookI haven’t seriously considered e-readers for personal use until now. In this growing market, something that has been lacking is significant competition with the all-too-well-known Amazon Kindle. Now that B&N has joined the market with their new Nook, I think that the power play for market share will seriously increase — and thus improve the over-all quality of the devices to grab the investment of potential e-reader customers. read more…

Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

2009 September 28

The Harry Potter series of books is completed. When the series was hot discussion in years past, little did people know where the series was headed. I’ve heard fans and those disenchanted of the stories amongst Christians. Obviously, a story relating a system of magic is not one to be taken likely for Believers. Magic in the real world is supernatural. Real world magic is either spiritually good or evil. Real world magic is usually engrossed in some form of religious worship — and not worship to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Literal vs. Fictional Magic
In fiction, magic usually takes on fictional characteristics that are inconsistent with real-world magic. While there are stories that relate ideals of magicians, wizards, and witches to be true and good, a many “hocus pocus” stories don’t want to be all that literal. Is Harry Potter attempting to be literal magic or fanciful? Is Harry Potter propose that magic is truly an acceptable, universal, truthful, and positive force of the “real” world?
It doesn’t seem so, based on the telling of the first installment, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” A lot of imagination and creative ingenuity tell a fantasy of a young boy called to a specialized school of magic in a dimension set apart from the world of non-magical people. Most of the magicians in the story are fictitious, and their magical methodology is non-descript. The teachers of magic at this fictional school say that there is a good magic and an evil magic. The evil use of magic is usually called “the dark side of magic.”
Sound similar to another popular fantasy? In relation to how the magic all works in the Potter book, it frequently reminded me of the force in Star Wars. Do Christians everywhere have a moral problem with the force?
Yes. Christians should understand that the supernatural in the real-world is what the Bible describes. There is not an abstract force governing the destinies of man and alien throughout the galaxy. Darth Vader is a fantasy character. So is the evil wizard Voldemort of the Harry Potter fables. If Christians are struggling with what is real and what is fictional when they hear/see these stories, they have major struggles with discernment and probably shouldn’t enjoy such stories. If you have sense and know where to draw a mental line between just good imagination and reality, I don’t think that the fictitious laws of morality and magic should hinder one’s understanding of the real world.
What’s to Like About the Story?
Harry Potter is an intricate story well-told. It’s good youth fiction that adults may enjoy to read as well. The distinctions between right and wrong are mostly consistent with those of the real world (magical or no magical forces). Several mysteries are introduced in this first book and just enough of them are answered (and some unanswered) to keep people entertained and interested in continuing the rest of the series. The characters have good dynamics (relationships). Side characters that appear to have little relevance in the beginning have significant developments of their own throughout and to the very end of the book (before the end of the story, you realize just how important seemingly insignificant characters are).
Harry is tested many times over with making simple, yet difficult, ethical decisions. Faced with bullies, family, peers, trolls, and magic itself, Harry must practice discernment to make the wisest choices in his unusual circumstances. Harry doesn’t always make the right ethical choices, but given his developments we see Harry learns from some of his mistakes; making progress towards maturity in his early youth (I think Harry is supposed to be eleven in this book).
Adults in the school that are meant to be role-models have high expectations of their youthful students. While not all children are positive examples to other students, all children are expected to practice self-control and face their academic and social challenges responsibly. It would seem (because it is implied) that the children are not only taught magic but given a moral standard of the right and wrong use of it — quite a feet for this alternative school to pull off.
What’s Not to Like About the Story?
Given this is a magical, fanciful world of magic, some times I would like to know what’s at the foundation of the magical universe and what governs it. It’s not clear that the world Potter lives in does or does not have God, or a force, or something that defines absolutes. Absolutes are all throughout the story, but you’re left to assume their meaning to life without knowing why there is meaning — there just is.
At times, legendary icons of magic history are mentioned from history. Most of these people named are real-world men and women of history (some aren’t) and in all their cases they really weren’t good examples of moral upstanding. One magician mentioned as a “great from the past” is Agrippa — Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (c. 63 BC-12 BC) [ADD LINK]. If the Agrippa mentioned is the Agrippa of Rome, you can see why conservative and Christian families would object to uplifting such a foe as a positive role-model of times past. Agrippa may not be one of the more notorious historical figures, but there’s little saintly about him either. I’ll also note that it is clever in the story to mention real-world historical people because it returns interest to the real-world and history, but it is misguided at the same time in this book (in my opinion).
In “The Wizard of Oz,” it’s stated very clearly that “there are good witches and there are bad witches….” This statement does not make up for the fact that it isn’t true in the real-world, but it does make it clear that Oz is very different from the real-world. In this story, witches and wizards are just professions, as it were, and it is the individual witch and wizard that is judged on their own merits as good or evil. This is basically the same scenario as in Oz, but it isn’t as clear an explanation. Very young children might not pick up on this position in the story, and thusly respond more open-mindedly to witchcraft in the real-world.
What About the Movie?
After I finished the book I saw the film. Here’s what I think: it’s consistent with the book, but not as well-told or thorough. The book is rushed at moments in the film. Relationships of characters, places, events are not explained, so you are left assuming a great deal more from the film. In favor of the movie, there are excellent elements of cinematography, special effects, and soundtrack. I could tell a lot of effort was put into the film to drive the audience’s interest back to the books.
Conclusion
It’s not a story to be taken lightly. There are good reasons readers should gird their minds when reading the book, but no reason why the story cannot be enjoyable, insightful, and scrutinized by readers. More story-telling like that in the story of “The Sorcerer’s Stone” could lead to some very positive reinforcement of good, clean values and beliefs.

sorcerers_stoneThe Harry Potter series of books is completed. When the series was hot discussion in years past, little did people know where the series was headed. I’ve heard very opposite opinions about the stories amongst Christians; whether it be for good or evil for readers. Obviously, a story relating a system of magic is not one to be taken lightly for Believers. Magic in the real world is supernatural. Real world magic is either spiritually good or evil. Real world magic is usually engrossed in some form of religious worship — and not worship to the Lord Jesus Christ. read more…

The Arts Have Purpose

2009 September 17
Does all art have a purpose?

Does all art have a purpose?

You can’t make art up for the sake of being art that doesn’t have a meaning to the art you create. Many intelligent and prolific artisans think you can, but if you examine the examples around you you’ll find man is a lier if he believes he can create anything without a purpose. Whether you are a student of the arts, a hobbyist, or a professional designer of some sort, you make your piece of art for a specific audience with the express purpose of some message — even if the message is as sad and contradictory as “this piece of art has no message.” Even if you don’t take your art seriously, you’re at least creating it to humor one’s self (this is a purpose also). read more…

Reading is the Best Practice for the Creative Writer

2009 August 18

I have wanted to be a writer since I was twelve. I had a obsession with the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. I couldn’t get enough of Jimmy Stewart’s role of George Bailey, and I so wished there was a novel adaptation of the movie so I could delve deeper into the world of Bedford Falls. Since there was none, I wrote my own adaption.
read more…

The Artistic Quality of Morality in the Bible

2009 August 7

Have you ever considered that audible art (music and spoken word) has more in common with the literary arts than visual arts? A great deal of the visual arts have sound along with them these days, but purely audible art has to compensate for the lack of visuals much the way the written word has to communicate. read more…

Defining Morality in Art

2009 July 22
by Joseph Darnell

Most of my readers know that I am a Christian, and I like to think about the ramifications of Biblical worldview in the arts. It’s not easy to compete with the various worldviews in art and culture since what’s culturally acceptable is so influential. Popularity usually supersedes morality for patrons of the arts. If the majority of people enjoy something  good or bad, the negative peer pressure throughout culture will excuse anyone to enjoy the morally bankrupt movies, books, music . . . and so forth. read more…

Edward Cullen Picks Up Where Dr. Jekyll Left Off

2009 July 7

It was the curse of mankind that these incongruous [personalities—the good and the bad] were thus bound together—that in the agonized womb of consciousness, these polar twins should be continuously struggling.
- Dr. Jekyll

In my last post, I began a review of the book Twilight. Let’s continue. read more…