Mann Hunt

An FBI agent racing against time to catch a grisly serial killer before he strikes again seeks help from an even more cunning and brutal killer who plays mind games with his interviewer from behind bars. This adaptation of a Thomas Harris best seller took a bit to gain traction…
May 20, 2021

Ideas Are Cheap

"I've got a great story idea. You write it, and we'll split the profits 50/50!" If you're a working writer, chances are you've been approached with an offer like this. Usually it's an earnest and well-meaning layman who makes the pitch. What ordinary folks don't understand is that ideas are…
May 20, 2021

Money Isn’t Real

"Money isn't real." That's the advice Fred Jung, played by Ray Liotta, gives his son George in the 2001 crime drama biopic Blow. Though more workmanlike than visionary in its execution and more of a noteworthy mid list film than a classic, Blow has an abundance of wisdom to share about…
May 20, 2021

Mech Data: PT-20

PT-20 Plasma Tank "Mahdi"   Technical Data     Model number: PT-20 Code name: Plasma Tank Type 20 Nickname: Mahdi Classification: prototype energy weapon-optimized main battle tank Manufacturer: Xining Experimental Weapons Facility Operator: Coalition Defense Force First deployment: CY 20 Crew: 1 driver, 1 gunner, 1 sensor officer, 1 tech…
May 20, 2021

Stealing the Limelight

The clearest creative vision can be thwarted if a writer's own characters get other ideas. Sometimes a secondary character can emerge from the background and steal the limelight from the rest of the cast. These breakout characters often start out benign, but studio and network interference are notorious creative carcinogens. Here…
May 20, 2021

Final Fantasy IV Retro-Spective

  A quick reminder to all my readers that my new live stream series, Final Fantasy IV Retro-Spective premiers tonight on Geek Gab's channel at 10:00 PM Central. We'll be playing through the JRPG classic on the original SNES hardware. That means all kinds of fun glitches to exploit, so…
May 20, 2021

Shadowrun (1993)

We've documented Gen Y's vices in copious detail these past few years. But if Gen Y has one virtue, it's a knack for remembering what the Pop Cult would prefer stayed memory holed. For example, the AAA video game publishers really don't want you thinking about pre-Ground Zero 2D video…
May 20, 2021

OG #StarWarsNotStarWars

Now that #StarWarsNotStarWars has secured its place at the apex of newpub, it's worth looking back at what made the original Star Wars successful. I've long maintained that George Lucas achieved his genre-redefining opus by solving old storytelling problems in fresh and exciting ways. Specifically, he presented refined expressions of…
May 20, 2021

Aircraft Data: YFS-101

YFS-101 Courtesy of ArtAnon Studios   Technical Data Model number: YFS-101 Classification: test type energy weapon-optimized fighter Manufacturer: Browning Engineering Corporation Operator: Browning Corp First deployment: CY 20 Crew: 1 pilot and 1 navigator/gunner in cockpit Length: 17 meters, wingspan 16.70 meters Weight: 84 metric tons Armor type: “1D” carbyne…
May 20, 2021

Beato Finds What He’s Looking For

Veteran record producer and audio engineer Rick Beato helped lay more of the groundwork for Cultural Ground Zero theory - at least in the music sphere - than any other pop culture observer. In particular, he contributed the crucial datum that rock & roll died in 1996. The cause of…
May 20, 2021