You know, it occurred to me that I could fill all of My Writing Heroes blog posts with novelists and other famous writers, with writers like Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Douglas Adams and Bruce Coville. And more than likely, I will write about these writers and probably many more. But a thought has crossed my mind. Many of these writers are already well known and their praises have been sung in ways more elequent than I could ever put them. Not to say that makes me not want to write about them. But I wonder how many good writers I know are not so well sung as someone who might have a novel series or an award beside them. And my next hero falls under that line. I want to talk to you about the wonderful style of Jason Steele, YouTube's Secretagentbob, creator of Charlie the Unicorn.
I discovered FilmCow the same way that most people in the world discovered him, through Charlie the Unicorn, a short animated piece about a disgruntled unicorn, harassed by two other nonsense spewing unicorns who lead him on a journey of misery that ends in... well even more misery. The video is random and funny, but more importantly, it was catchy and quite quotable. "Candy Mountain, Charlie!" "Oh man, they took my friggin' kidney". I enjoyed it immensely. So much so that I decided to check out more of their work. I was not disappointed.
Jason Steele and company has made dozens of videos, from short skits to short animations, on a variety of subjects, but they all have some things in common. They're all over the top, they're all incredibly silly and they're all very, very catchy. And that's what I think I enjoy most of all. Some of them (okay, many of them) require a morbid sense of humor to appretiate, something I thankfully have. Violence, blood and death are common amongst their videos, but so is their witty banter mixed with brilliant comedic timing. And that's something I can truly appretiate.
When someone can write something that sticks with you, long after you've read it, it means a bond has created between the viewer and the creation. Steele has created work that is catchy, lovable and wonderful that has lasted me for a very long time and he and his production company have made themselves a fan of their antics. Cause after all, we all need a good laugh once and a while. Especially one worth remembering.
Look for secretagentbob on youtube or FilmCow on the net for Steele's work. I recommend Charlie the Unicorn for starters and for the more morbid out there, the Cloak is excellent.
Peace and blessings
Eric Rawlinson
20110126
Showing posts with label My Writing Heroes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Writing Heroes. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
My Writing Heroes: Robert A. Heinlein
Before we start, I just want to say that I don't know anything about Robert A. Heinlein. I don't know who he is, where he's from, what nationality he is or how old he is/was. The first time I've seen him was a few seconds ago during a Google search to make sure I spelt his name right. And quite honestly, none of the information from before really matters to me. All I do know is that what I've read of Heinlein's work, which is about five books, maybe more, is that I think he's a genius.
I remember my first Heinlein book. Remember the first three pages off my heart, if I sat down and thought about it. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of my favorite books and in my top ten of all time. It's a story about a man who lives on the moon, who's best friends with the central computer that runs the entire colony. Through his friends, he inadvertently gets tied up into a revolution to take down the dictatorship. It's a little hard for me to summarize, but what really struck me about this story was the voice. Heinlein is a master of something I want to master myself. Voice in the first person.
Through Manuel, the main character, he's not only created a voice and the tone, but the slang of a whole new world, as fluidly as though I were a tourist listening to the locals. It was even more beautiful by the fact that the first time I heard this story, it was on an audiobook and the performer was so fluid and relax, that it struck me in my very soul. Being used to only narratives that used usual words or first persons who were proper and stagnent, it was so fresh and exciting. And I still get that rush, even after so many read throughs. Even sitting here writing about it, I'm tempted to start reading it once again, and I have to remind myself I'm already reading three other books scattered through my apartment.
But many of Heinlein's novels got me the same way, and I'm amazed by their variety in characters and tones, each with their own little voices and challenges that make each of the books I've read so interesting. Which reminds me, with my new outlook on religion and spirituality, I might take another look at Stranger in a Strange Land. Maybe I'll have to make four books after all.
Peace and blessings
Eric Rawlinson
20110122
I remember my first Heinlein book. Remember the first three pages off my heart, if I sat down and thought about it. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of my favorite books and in my top ten of all time. It's a story about a man who lives on the moon, who's best friends with the central computer that runs the entire colony. Through his friends, he inadvertently gets tied up into a revolution to take down the dictatorship. It's a little hard for me to summarize, but what really struck me about this story was the voice. Heinlein is a master of something I want to master myself. Voice in the first person.
Through Manuel, the main character, he's not only created a voice and the tone, but the slang of a whole new world, as fluidly as though I were a tourist listening to the locals. It was even more beautiful by the fact that the first time I heard this story, it was on an audiobook and the performer was so fluid and relax, that it struck me in my very soul. Being used to only narratives that used usual words or first persons who were proper and stagnent, it was so fresh and exciting. And I still get that rush, even after so many read throughs. Even sitting here writing about it, I'm tempted to start reading it once again, and I have to remind myself I'm already reading three other books scattered through my apartment.
But many of Heinlein's novels got me the same way, and I'm amazed by their variety in characters and tones, each with their own little voices and challenges that make each of the books I've read so interesting. Which reminds me, with my new outlook on religion and spirituality, I might take another look at Stranger in a Strange Land. Maybe I'll have to make four books after all.
Peace and blessings
Eric Rawlinson
20110122
Thursday, January 20, 2011
My Writing Heroes: George Burns
Since we share a birthday, I think it's only appropriate that our next candidate for my writing heroes be one of my heroes in more than just his writing. I want to talk about, and mostly praise, the late George Burns, who, if alive today, would still be in show business and probably have his own YouTube channel.
Unlike Robert Munch, I can claim to know George Burns fairly well. Mainly cause I've read so many of his biographies and memoirs, but also because I've heard many of his radio broadcasts, seen a couple of episodes and seen a few of his films. He is a wonderful performer, but he is also a wonderful writer who's books I enjoy and would recommend to anyone who is interested in show business or just listening to a good story in general.
George Burns was a performer in almost every medium. He performed in vaudeville, radio, film and television. He
But what I wanted to talk about was his books. George Burns wrote several books. "Not bad for someone who's only read three" as he would say and puff his cigar. I've read many autobiographies over the years and I've seen them pulled off in many ways. Some people talk as though their just telling you the story. Groucho Marx wrote his as though he were performing. The way that George Burns writes feels like he's telling the story from the heart. Reading the book made me feel like I was right there, listening to him telling his old stories.
My personal favorite is Gracie: A Love Story. It's the story about the love of his life, Gracie Allen, his wife and partner for many, many years. He talked about their career together, their life together, the family and friends they shared and all of the good times. What I loved was that I could feel everything. The excitement he felt when he first met her, the rush of falling in love with her, the struggle in their careers and, overall, I felt in my heart just how lucky he must have felt his entire life to have known that wonderful woman.
Not sure what else to say. Happy Birthday George. Here's to your inspiration and may it last me and many others all of our days.
Peace and blessings
Eric Rawlinson
20110120
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
My Writing Heroes: Robert Munch
What do you do when you have trouble coming up with new things to write about? Why, you make a series and you write installments for it over time. And that's what I'm doing here. Welcome to My Writing Heroes. This is where I'll talk about the authors, writers, story tellers and general influences on my style, my passion and my life in general and I think I'm going to start big by talking about one of my first and greatest heroes, Robet Munch.
I have to be honest when I say I've never been much of a reader. I know it's a bad trait for a writer, but reading is something I've always found slow and maybe just a little bit hard. Not to say I hate stories. I LOVE stories. Just reading them is something I've always found difficult and in my experience, not the best way I learn. I'm an auditory learner, which means I learn best when I hear something, or it's spoken to me. So, naturally, my favorite way to learn a story is to listen to it.
When I was younger, the library had so many books on tapes, read by one person or by a cast ensemble. I must have went through the entire children's section of library and all of the Star Wars audiobooks growing up. But my absolute favorites were not the ones where it was someone reading the pages of a script. I loved the ones where it was someone telling the story off by heart. These stories were always so magical and thoughtful. Some of my favorites included Native Americans telling their legends and another by a woman who told such poetic Celtic stories. But one of the best were the stores by the writer Robert Munch.
Those unfamiliar with the name Robert Munch may be more familiar with his most famous work 'The Paperbag Princess', the story of a Princess who went to rescue her prince from a fire-breathing dragon, wearing only a paperbag since the rest of her clothing was destroyed. His works are very creative, random yet structured and tell such wonderful stories and more often than not teach valuable lessons. My favorites of his work include The Mud Puddle, Blackberry Subway Jam and Thomas' Snowsuit.
I don't know to much about the man personally, but I wanted to relate how inspiring he was as a child. I owned one cassette of his performances. Robert Munch would perform in front of a crowd of children, and without a book, he would tell a story. Maybe it was a one he had wrote before, maybe it was one that he just made up as he went along. But all the while, he did the voices, he did the sound effects and he spoke with such animation and energy, you could almost see him in front of you, performing these wonderful stories. My favorites were the ones that were yet to be his books. He would perform these stories off the top of his head and he knew exactly how to keep the audience not only entertained but involved with the process. He didn't just want their involvement. The story was made for them to scream "NOOOO!" or "ROOAAR!" or for them all to laugh at loud at all of the funny things he would do. And sometimes, after he was done, he would ask, "Should I make that into a book?" And of course, the audience would always answer, "Yes!"
I didn't know it then, but everytime I listen to that tape, I knew more and more, that I wanted to be just like him one day.
The tape, sadly, has been played into oblivion, but the stories live on in my head. The man, with his infinite energy, has inspired me to this day to be a writer and a storyteller. Thank you sir. Because of you, I have found my passion. You have given me a gift and I will not let it go to waste.
Peace and blessings
Eric Rawlinson
20110119
I have to be honest when I say I've never been much of a reader. I know it's a bad trait for a writer, but reading is something I've always found slow and maybe just a little bit hard. Not to say I hate stories. I LOVE stories. Just reading them is something I've always found difficult and in my experience, not the best way I learn. I'm an auditory learner, which means I learn best when I hear something, or it's spoken to me. So, naturally, my favorite way to learn a story is to listen to it.
When I was younger, the library had so many books on tapes, read by one person or by a cast ensemble. I must have went through the entire children's section of library and all of the Star Wars audiobooks growing up. But my absolute favorites were not the ones where it was someone reading the pages of a script. I loved the ones where it was someone telling the story off by heart. These stories were always so magical and thoughtful. Some of my favorites included Native Americans telling their legends and another by a woman who told such poetic Celtic stories. But one of the best were the stores by the writer Robert Munch.
Those unfamiliar with the name Robert Munch may be more familiar with his most famous work 'The Paperbag Princess', the story of a Princess who went to rescue her prince from a fire-breathing dragon, wearing only a paperbag since the rest of her clothing was destroyed. His works are very creative, random yet structured and tell such wonderful stories and more often than not teach valuable lessons. My favorites of his work include The Mud Puddle, Blackberry Subway Jam and Thomas' Snowsuit.
I don't know to much about the man personally, but I wanted to relate how inspiring he was as a child. I owned one cassette of his performances. Robert Munch would perform in front of a crowd of children, and without a book, he would tell a story. Maybe it was a one he had wrote before, maybe it was one that he just made up as he went along. But all the while, he did the voices, he did the sound effects and he spoke with such animation and energy, you could almost see him in front of you, performing these wonderful stories. My favorites were the ones that were yet to be his books. He would perform these stories off the top of his head and he knew exactly how to keep the audience not only entertained but involved with the process. He didn't just want their involvement. The story was made for them to scream "NOOOO!" or "ROOAAR!" or for them all to laugh at loud at all of the funny things he would do. And sometimes, after he was done, he would ask, "Should I make that into a book?" And of course, the audience would always answer, "Yes!"
I didn't know it then, but everytime I listen to that tape, I knew more and more, that I wanted to be just like him one day.
The tape, sadly, has been played into oblivion, but the stories live on in my head. The man, with his infinite energy, has inspired me to this day to be a writer and a storyteller. Thank you sir. Because of you, I have found my passion. You have given me a gift and I will not let it go to waste.
Peace and blessings
Eric Rawlinson
20110119
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