I suppose though I ought to get this quickfix out of the way and on with something of more substance though eh?
Now of course as everyone ought to know, Canada has a new future monarch in the form of the young Prince George (I actually had the name right btw) and he is such a cute little baby prince! Hopefully he will someday sweep another common girl off her feet and continue what seems to be a good pattern amongst the monarchy and bring in some fresh blood and establish a strong tie with the people.
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| He's also adorable |
Many people of course took the opportunity of the hype surrounding the royal baby to bring out their rabid hatred of the royal family whether they had a legitimate point or not. I am a firm supporter of the monarchy and since many of the people who hate them seem to think that the royal family's biggest sin is either a) being a royal or b) being wealthy I can't stand the uninformed and idiotic criticism. Much of it is also hypocritical in my opinion since I saw far fewer people complaining over the media circus which was the birth of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's daughter, North West.
Long live the Queen and hail to the new born prince I say!
In other less happy news, it seems that the military take over of Egypt is going nowhere. Mind you the Muslim Brotherhood wasn't exactly a bastion of democracy and liberal values, and Morsi probably deserved to go. My greatest criticism of the military is for their brutal crackdown and rather ugly handling of the protests which have been dispersed with liberal ammounts of tear gas and bullets.
This in many ways though is like the French Revolution, there was no real power structure ready to take the place of the monarchy in France when they overthrew the king, and likewise when the protestors topples Mubarak the only group which had the political apparatus and popular support in place was the Muslim Brotherhood, who much like the National Assembly proved unpopular and were consequently overthrown. We can only hope that the military government in Egypt however, turns out nothing like the French Committee of Public Safety.
In news from around the internet and popular media I am pleased to announce that the first trailer for the new film 47 Ronin is out. Though I was a little disapointed it would not be the historical thriller about the true forty-seven ronin I had been expecting, I will admit the film looks to be the Japanese version of 300, and that could be something. It seems like it is worth watching, but here look at the trailer and decide for yourself.
Speaking of 300, the sequel, Rise of Empire continues to astound us with a lovely parade of teaser trailers which merely make me want to see it more. See for yourself!
In other news Matthew Quinn is releasing a slew of short stories right now. I've just finished his most recent story in the Afrikaner verse, Picking up Plans in Palma which I will be reviewing soon. It is a wonderful espionage thriller. Taking place in a world where a hyper-Calvinist South African federation/theocracy faces off in a cold war between a larger US it details one agents plan to pick up where his predecessor failed to obtain battle plans for a new orbital space station mounting space planes and kinetic weapons.
Its a fun read and a great universe with a fascinating alternate history!!
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| The World in question. |
Combined with that he is doing a series of short stories centering around the ubermenshe Andrew Patel. I have yet to read these stories but I would recommend picking them up for sure! His writing was already wonderful, and thus far it is only improving.
As a final note I would like to share something my fellow blogger Korsgaard has also shared. There is an attempt ongoing right now to create a mini-series on kickstarter called The Confederation. The series deals with the question 'What if the Confederacy had won the Civil War?' Now this is of course one of the most often asked and contentious questions asked in alternate history, it is an interesting answer this project provides.
In this scenario the Confederacy is bogged down in a brutal Vietnam-esque occupation of Cuba and is fighting a guerilla war to keep a hold on the island. It follows a group of female snipers (showing the Confederation is really pressed for manpower) and former slaves as they tromp across the island in a savage war for control of the land.
It is an interesting take on a war series and an awesome bit of alternate history, I sincerely hope it gets off the ground.
This is a link to their Facebook page and website. It doesn't seem to have the support they need so I would ask that people please look into it.
Though I must note they seem to be going through some trouble right now so the project may simply be on hold. Only time will tell though.
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Well readers this caps up the 'Weekly' Word #3. I have some new posts coming up, and God willing I will keep up with the Weekly word scheduel now! Thank you for your patience and please keep on reading!
I saw the 47 Ronin trailer before Kick-Ass 2 last night, and it quite surprised me by how entertaining it looked (although Keanu Reeves acting still looks pretty bad). There's a lot of negative hype for it because it's budget's somewhere in the area of $300+ million, and from all the effects shots in the trailers you can certainly see where that went. However, as I've said, it actually looks pretty interesting and might just break even if it's lucky.
ReplyDeleteYeah the 300 million + budget seems a tad excessive considering you can probably do good CGI for less these days, mind you I hope it does break even if its good. If it isn't good I suppose it is a just dessert :P
ReplyDeleteI'll be seeing it for sure because samurai and a fantasy Japan mix well...even if they have to have Keanu Reeves in there.
At least for me, my small backlash against the royal baby was a combination of over-coverage and the fact that I'm American, so I have a slight anti-monarch bent encoded on a genetic level. I was essentially frustrated over watching my countrymen fawn over a yet to be born infant who won't really deserve massive amounts of news coverage until he reaches adulthood/relevance, when the BBC actually covered it less. When the Brits and the Commonwealth are more low key about the monarchy than American morning news, you can understand the frustration of many people.
ReplyDeletePlus, it also helps that like you pointed out, at least the folks in the Commonwealth seemed to be approaching it from a more reflective manner... here in the States, it was just 'awwww, look at the little ankle bittter, he's so cute, and so rich!' like any other celebrity snob's brood. I was more against the coverage and reaction then little William I suppose.
I do think the folks waiting for him to be King need to be aware he and dad still have to see the monarchy survive a King Charles III - seeing how well it worked for the last two kings who shared his name, if anyone will cause the monarchy to be put to an end, it will be Charles. Also, Prince Harry - he already has that 'evil uncle planning a coup' vibe about him. Like the Simpsons said:
'You treat me like some kind of tyrant, like Hitler or Prince Harry!'
'Ah, Bloody Harry... he sure brought beheadings back in a BIG way...'
Good to see Quinn's fantastic stories getting some deserved coverage as well - happy to see you used the map I made for him for the world map too, and again, a mention of myself talking about the Confederation :D
As for the movies, I'm one of the folks who's not too optimistic for 47 Ronin... if anyone can screw up that movie, it's Keanu Reeves, the 90s male version of Kristen Stewart. Canada still owes the world an apology for him, FYI ;)
Great stuff as always Stienberg!
Thanks for the praise Korsgaard! I can also see Reeves screwing it up as well sadly. Though you forgot we also have to apologize for Nickleback ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm also glad you brought up the Confederation, and I'm hoping to see that project actually get off the ground as it sounds fascinating!
I completely understand any backlash against the Royal Baby in America, its not relevant to either politics or tradition, and all in all would just be another sound bite on those terrible celebrity shows!
If we're bringing up Canadian musicians, Canada has far more to appologize for than just Nickleback - Bryan Adams, Avril Lavine, Justin Bieber, to name just three. There's actually a bumper sticker in the US that reads:
ReplyDeleteJustin Bieber - the best case for conquering Canada since 1812