Actually...

I think I've pretty much completely transferred my blogging from blogger to Jux.  Join me at Jux to follow the conversation!  We'd love to have you.

My Jux

Storytelling: Legend of Korra

Let me begin by saying that Legend of Korra is a great series.  I'd say it's a phenomenal kids series.  However, imagine if the show were made for an older target audience!  There is so much potential in the story line that is wasted to corniness and feel good moments.  I understand why.  When I was young, I loved watching movies that were hopeful, heroic, sugary, spicy, and everything nice.  I'm not saying the writers of this series should do otherwise.  But in a perfect world, there would be an adult version and a kids version.  :D

Here are some things that would have transformed the story from great to phenomenal:

1)  An extended Amon storyline.  Given that this is a two season series, the writers should have focused the whole story arch on Amon and the Equalist revolution.  However, Amon seems to have perished and the Equalists seem to have been utterly defeated.  Unless the Equalists can find a new leader or Amon didn't really die, there will have to be a new story introduced for the 14 episodes that remain.  


Another thing, Amon had lots of screen time but very little character development.  There was an attempt to develop his character in the finale but it was through his brother.  There were hints behind his motivations, but not enough.

2)  Korra should have permanently lost her connection to the other elements.  This would provide the opportunity to explore how she deals with it and how this affects Avatar-ness.  One of Kurt Vonnegut's rules for a good story is to make your characters suffer in order to see what they are made of (not have her suffer for 5 secs before she gets her powers back).

3)  Also, don't give back Lin's powers either.  She could have even been given a heroic death.  Again, you made the character suffer and gave it back to her.  What is the point of taking it from her in the first place?  At least, have her deal with it first before giving it back to her.

4)  Corny love triangle.  

5)  End the season at the point where Amon takes away her bending.  In the first season of a two season series, a cliff hangar would leave viewers salivating for more.  It's torturous, but you have to admit you like it.   You'll spend the next few months talking about how the writers are going to write themselves out of that one.  You'd enjoy the discussions you and your friends will have.  Perhaps you think Korra will lose all her bending.  Maybe, Bob will think she won't be affected because she is the Avatar.  Bill suggests the possibility that she lose her powers but gains the elusive airbending powers she's been training for.  He won't know it, but Bill is right, despite all your bitter arguing.

6)  General Iroh was a one-dimensional character.  His purpose was to make Zuko fans happy.  Why is he one-dimensional?  The purpose of his fleet was to introduce the byplanes.  After that, the Korra crew didn't really have need of him.  But since he was there, he was in some cool action scenes.  Obviously, this is something that can be remedied in season two.  Personally, I would have introduced him earlier in the story.

7)  Also, I would have shortened the first half of the season, where everyone is mostly safe and sound, and extended the second half.  Pro-bending dragged on way to long and sort of out of place.  Kurt Vonnegut rule again!  Be a sadist and see how characters deal!  Plus, it makes the readers anxious.  In fact, I would have had the Korra team fail in the finale and be forced to go back underground.


Sorry for the rant.  I actually really like Korra.  But once you've been exposed to stuff like Game of Thrones, you just want to see all your characters suffer (because it makes the story better. I'm not a sadist).  That is all.  I can't wait to see what the writers have in store for us next season.

Hello!

Sorry for the recent inactivity folks.  I've recently started interning at a tech startup called Jux.  Jux is a relatively new digital publishing platform.  It's stylish and modern.  Web design is changing and Jux lies at the end of the web design spectrum opposite dull 90s websites.  It fills the gap between pure sharing sites (Facebook and Twitter) and blogs (Wordpress and Blogger).  Jux's closest competitor is probably Tumblr.  However, Jux gives the individual an identity that gets lost in the atmosphere of reposting that exists in Tumblr.  Plus, it just looks stunning!  I wish I had a tablet jux to browse Juxes on it.

Now, I'm not here to promote Jux (well, I am. Use it).  I'm just trying to explain why I haven't updated this blog recently.

To be or not to be; that is the question.  And another question is: to keep blogger or not to keep blogger.  My Jux (www.jshiau.jux.com) is here to stay.  But should I keep my Blogger?  Blogger is great for text.  Jux is definitely more of a visual medium.  Of course, Jux has an article option but I only want to Jux if my content is high quality.  That means it's not suited for a quick and dirty dump of text or ideas so I'll need to give it more thought and effort (which is not a bad thing).  Anyways, I'll probably keep my Blogger for now (and try to post more frequently too! I know I keep saying that).

Check out Jux!

Over and out...

A Richer Life

The whole of all your experiences, when pieced together, make up the lens through which you view the world.  The richer and more diverse your life is, the easier it'll be to see the world in its numerous dimensions.  Every thing that happens to you expands your ability to relate to others (including non-humans).

There are things that you can't imagine, can't fathom, without experiencing it firsthand.  For example, love.  What is love?  I know what platonic love and unconditional love is.  But I've never been "in love."  I can watch as many movies and read as many books as I can but they are not sufficient substitutes for possessing the real feeling.  People say that "you will know" when you experience it.

Step 1: Experience. Step 2: Write in sand.

Recently, I went skydiving.  Jumping out of a plane is something I've always wanted to do in my lifetime.  It's also something that is hard to truly fathom.  I've seen movies where people skydive and can only imagine what it feels like.  You need to experience it to comprehend the feeling.

My Literary Endeavor

What is the year 1991?  It is a possible future of literature.  It is a project born from the notion that technology has the potential to enhance literary experience.

The Year 1991 is designed to provide a real-time experience for the reader.  Each episode will be released through a blog post as if the character is posting it himself.  I'm not even sure what I should call this endeavor.  It's not a novel.  It could be considered a collection of related short stories.  But there will be more to the experience.  I'm even thinking of incorporating Twitter into the real-time aspect of the series.  

Honestly, you'll get the best idea of what I'm talking about by reading it.  Take the dive here --> the year 1991

BTW, I would love any feedback you have!

Path to Good Writing

First of all, I need to post more.  I should promise a post a week.  Therefore, if I miss a post, I shall be branded a liar and sentenced to a week in the village stocks.  Oh, the ridicule I would have to endure!  Although, the experience could be something to write about.  People like to read about failure, no?

I'm a horrible writer.  I've known since I was a wee little boy in elementary school.  My stories were one-dimensional, featuring characters that woke up, brushed their teeth, ate breakfast, and did things that any average homo sapien sapien would do on a bright, sunny summer day.  Writing was never in the scope of my plans-for-the-future radar.  I scoffed when my parents suggested that I become an author when I was little.  Writing?  Hah!  I might as well be an astrophysicist (sadly, that never worked out)!

I didn't really look like that, in case you were wondering.

My writing continued to disappoint me throughout my primary schooling.  I was never taught proper grammar.  Of course, I was taught basic grammar in elementary school.  A period here and a comma there.  Semicolons?  Colons?  You'll learn how to use those in middle school, my teacher said.  Great!  Hello Ms. Middle School Teacher, I'm ready for my grammar lesson!  Oh, how I was shot down!  Dear, you should have learned your grammar in elementary school.  But, stay tuned, you might learn some advanced grammar in high school, cute little prepubescent boy.  I wish I knew how to roll my eyes back then.

(To my english teachers.  I may be exaggerating a little bit.  Y'all were awesome.  I merely critiquing the state and city curriculum.)

The Prototype of Future Man

"Prototype of Future Man"

I was built for this day and age.  The 21st Century.  The Information Age.  The Digital Age.  It doesn't matter what you want to call it, the fact is, I was born at the right time.  Don't get me wrong.  Like everyone else, I fantasize about living during other time periods.  I'm often loading my musket in the Revolutionary War, trudging down the Silk Road, loading an arrow while defending a medieval English castle, conversing with Socrates, or organizing an uprising against the totalitarian government of the dystopian future.  However, consciously, I would not change a single fact about my life.  Even if you gave me a googolplex number of chances to change the date I materialized in this world, I would choose Jan. 12, 1991 every time.

Why is this time in history so perfect for me?  Why have I always considered myself the "prototype of future man?"  The answer lies in who I am, what I believe in, and how I was raised.  I'm definitely not the first of "my kind."  But this "new kind of living" is something that has always been intuitive to my being.  And because it is natural to me, it's hard for me to express my mindset to other people.  Here is my attempt at it.