T.K. Wade -- Author: January 2023

Monday, January 30, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Have You Noticed the Birds?

Lately, I've come to realize something about different types of birds. Every single bird seems to have a different emotion behind them. These are emotions we as humans relate to other humans. Essentially, we are anthropomorphizing them based on how we feel, but most of the time these feelings are unanimous.

Here is a fun little exercise. Pull up a picture of a bird, any bird at all. You can perhaps just pull up a long picture list of them and then pick one at random. Look at the bird carefully. Look at the colors, the plumage, and the supposed expression of its face. From there, take note of how it makes you feel. You can also pretend how the bird might feel as well. Write it all down. Rinse and repeat. It's very interesting.

One of my favorite birds is the duck. They have a sort of awkward feeling to them. They also seem shy while still somehow interested in your attention. The noise they make is reminiscent of a grumbling, griping person.

I like looking at macaws as they seem to be very high spirited with their bright colors and confident movements. They seem super friendly and actually make me feel like I have a friend. Really very charming.

Condors actually scare me a little. They are a mix of both ugly and big. Vultures tend to be scary for their ugliness, but condors can back it up with power and strength. There is also a sort of royalty to them since they put their nests so very high up where nobody can contest them.

These are just three examples that I came up with. Why not try it out yourself. Drop one or two of them in your reply. I just think its fascinating that birds are so easily interpreted into actual words and feelings. I'm pretty sure it was meant to be that way.

This blog was written on January 16, 2023.

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Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Loyal Henchman

Just so I am not misunderstood, I am talking here about a singular henchman. It's a bit like how Igor is generally portrayed. The whole idea of it is one guy who serves some sort of mastermind. I like this idea, and I'd be lying if I denied obsessing over it constantly.

For me the idea of the loyal henchman is a very personal thing that takes very few forms. Although those forms may sometimes seem comical, I am actually taking them seriously. The idea that someone can dedicate all their efforts to a man greater than them is as frightening as it is fascinating. It takes a particular drive to do that. It's a bit more than just mere hero worship, and sometimes it can lead to an eventual betrayal attempt.

To get that close to power, one often decides that they want or even deserve the power that they serve. In many cases, they can even think that they are just using the mastermind for their own purposes. That was certainly the case with Ygor in "Son of Frankenstein." In many ways, he probably felt like he was the mastermind himself. That can happen with henchmen, and it's completely natural.

The best henchmen live life by their egos. They are completely selfish but see their master as a way to make their dreams come true. Torgo from "Manos: Hands of Fate" is a good example of this. It was very clear that Torgo was outmatched, but he still felt as if he could somehow take his master on, something that was clearly impossible. But Torgo might have been a problem for a master who was less aware. Henchmen can be very dangerous, even to their masters, if left unchecked.

I often think of Willie Loomis from the "Dark Shadow" soap opera. He was the sentinel of Barnabas Collins, a vampire. He was in charge of getting things done for Barnabas and would be punished severely if he failed. Willie is terrified of his master, but he still shows ambitions of his own throughout the show. Although he looked small and weak, he was actually a dangerous person. That's a quality in a henchman I rather enjoy.

The loyal henchman is a trope I never grow tired of. I often imagine myself as one of them, even to the point where I am trying to selfishly usurp my boss. I love how the utter submission contrasts with the hidden mischievous grin I make when master isn't looking. It's exciting, and I'll probably never grow tired of it.

This blog was written on January 8, 2023.

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Monday, January 23, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Hop-Frog [Short Story Review]

[This blog spoils the main plot of the story but leaves much of the details out.]

"Hop-Frog" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, and it was published in 1849. It is flatly a revenge story, but it isn't a depressing one, as those tend to be.

The story revolves around a dwarven (short) court jester who is mistreated by a tyrannical king, a king who likes playing practical jokes. At first, it almost sounds like a children's story, but it gets dark pretty quickly. As far as I can tell, no other Poe story starts off in such a silly and relaxed way. I liked it.

As I said, the tale is a revenge story, but the revenge is taken up by a very clever jester, and that is what makes it special. He doesn't just kill the king; he kills the king in style. He kills the king in both a hilarious and frightening manner, and I won't spoil how. In fact, I've already spoiled a bit much, and I think the picture I chose may spoil it a bit more.

Either way, the story is short, and you should read it. I recommend "Hop-Frog" mainly because it is extremely entertaining for a Poe story. Really, I think this places a good second for me of all the stories I have read of his, and I don't really care for much of his works. Good stuff!

This blog was written on December 25, 2022. Merry Christmas!

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Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Mother 2: Giygas Strikes Back [Book Review]

I sometimes feel like I was steadily traveling down the road of one dimension and then slipped into another. I wasn't looking for this. I didn't believe that such a thing could even exist. But it does. It does and I am still bowled over by the fact that I live in a world where this book is real and readable in my language.

"Mother 2: Giygas Strikes Back" is a novel written by Saori Kumi. It was published in 1994. It is the novelization of the Super Famicom game of the same name which we know in the States as "Earthbound." Yes, this is the actual full, complete novelization of "Earthbound," and it is wonderful.

I've always struggled to explain to people what makes Earthbound so charming. I can barely do it to myself. The best I've been able to do is this: It takes a serious situation but delivers it in as quirky a manner as possible. For most of the game, you are spending more time laughing and smiling until you realize that things are actually very serious. The writing of this book follows that same formula perfectly. It is like reading the experience of the game. But the question should probably be: Is it worth reading if I have already played the game? Yes, absolutely. If you haven't played it? Perhaps!

Saori Kumi was very familiar with the game, but she did not want to just rip the story of the game off. After all, that's what the game is for. This book should be looked at as a different perspective to the game. It follows the basic milestones and plot points of the game, but it explains how everything happens very differently. This is never accomplished in a bad way. The new content is more fleshed out and almost always interesting.

The story of Earthbound is about four children going out to save the world from an evil interdimensional demon creature called Giygas which has possessed a fat kid named Pokey. Ness is the main protagonist who is a baseball-loving boy. There is Paula who is a cute girl raised in a religious family. Jeff is a nerdy kid who comes from a boarding school for boys. There is also Prince Poo who comes from a far away land in the clouds.

All of these characters backstories are far more fleshed out than they were in the game. In particular, I'd say that Jeff's backstory was the most shocking. I don't want to spoil it, but the whole Jeff plotline made me feel as if someone had an "emotions gun" and was constantly shooting me with it. It's not a complaint! I was really impress with Saori's interpretation of him. He wasn't really all that well explained in the game.

As in the first book, Christianity is pretty well acknowledged with no negativity behind it. The difference here is that it rather shares the room with a few other religions and beliefs. They all sort of just exist together, although it still sort of acknowledges that there is one overarching supreme being called God with a capital "G." This actually mostly matches up with the game, so I was not surprised. The only thing that annoyed me a little was the misunderstanding about humans turning into angels when they die. I'm always surprised when people make this mistake, but to be fair, there are probably twenty other things that happen in the story that are much weirder. I must have been reading a book about Earthbound or something.

Like I said before, if you've played the game, you're not going to really be able to predict anything in the book. It's just too different, and that's why it's worth picking it up and reading it from cover to cover. "Mother 2: Giygas Strikes Back" is worth your time, and I recommend it probably more than any book I have ever recommended.

You know... this book isn't perfect. I'm not sure I've ever read a perfect book before. There were even a couple places in there that I got a little frustrated (the opening to the Deep Darkness chapter mainly). But I don't know if I have ever had so much fun reading something. I spent so much time laughing or just giggling to myself as I shot through this incredibly long novel in about two weeks. It may be my favorite book to date. I'm always going to be looking back on it fondly for the experience and the memories that it left me. I am so happy to have been given the opportunity to read this book in my lifetime.

This blog was written on January 15, 2023.

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Monday, January 16, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Mother: The Original Story [Book Review]

There are moments in my life where I feel as if I have quantum slipped into another dimension where good things that I never expected to happen actually do happen... at least in one particular instance. In the case of today's blog, I am going to talk about one of those times. I was not looking for this book. I was not even wondering if the book existed. It was mainly because I never thought that it would exist. It's very existence is fantastical and nearly unbelievable, but it is real. It is extremely real, and it is my pleasure to present a review for it today.

"Mother: The Original Story" is a novel written by female author Saori Kumi. It was published in 1989. This book is the novelization of the Famicom video game called "Mother," which was later localized in the US under the name "Earthbound: Beginnings." Yes, this novel absolutely exists, and I read it.

The Mother universe is a very quirky thing in both its original Japanese and in its strange localizations. There is a friendly spirit behind what seems to be a very serious and even sometimes severe story. To capture the feel of a Mother game is very difficult. I know this because I tried to do it. How do you properly manage the serious and the funny so that they blend properly. Such things are like oil and water. They just don't mix well. There is something about the Mother formula that allows the two to combine in a flawless manner. This book captures that feel wonderfully.

The story of "Mother" revolves around a bat-wielding boy with psychic powers named Ken, a nerdy kid named Floyd, a psychic Christian girl named Ana, and a biker/rocker named Hurricane Joe. These four children come to the realization that the world is nearing it's end. Mothers from all around the globe are disappearing, and the only way they can win against this unknown power is by collecting eight parts of a melody. They don't know how this melody will solve the problem; they only know that it will.

Along the way, they run into some very strange things. They are forced to fight odd creatures and even some people who's minds are clouded by evil thoughts. They run into eccentric people who help them along the way. Everything feels a little off and surreal as if the entire planet turns into an international Twin Peaks. Nothing was uninteresting, and I was always looking forward to the next leg of the journey.

The male/female dynamic is extremely present in this book. Male and female roles are super traditional, and I really respect the author for writing it this way. Also Christianity was not only treated respectfully in the book; it was also hinted that God was directly involved with certain instances in the story. Jesus is also directly mentioned. The over-prudishness of the church is challenged in this story, and I am glad it did. It was done in an entirely appropriate way.

Those of you who have played, or attempted to play, "Earthbound: Beginnings" may have been put off by its poor game design. If the game is too much for you and you aren't having much fun, you may want to consider reading this book instead. I have beaten the game, and I just think this book is a better story and presented in a better way. It feels more like what the game would have been like if it had been made later on better consoles. It is truly the ultimate way to experience the first part of this wonderful video game series.

I'm not joking when I say that this is one of my most favorite books I have ever read. "Mother: The Original Story" gets one of the highest recommendations I can possibly afford. It was such a long book, yet I read it so quickly. I just could not put it down. It took over my mind, and I just had to keep going. At times, I sat somewhere alone and just read it for hours. It was so worth it, and I think you should too.

And yet... there is more to come. The book has a sequel... and I'm about to begin the next journey.

This blog was written on December 29, 2022.

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Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Old Yeller [Book Review]

[Many spoilers ahead for this book.]

"Old Yeller" is a book written by Fred Gipson, and it was published in 1956. I was surprised to find out that this is officially considered children's literature. I agree with that, but there are some things you need to understand about it.

There were a couple of reasons I wanted to read this book. Firstly, it is considered to be a classic. I like to tick those off whenever I can. The second reason was because of the Disney film which came out one year after the book's publishing. I saw it as a young child, and even though I remembered very little about it, the idea of it always got stuck in my head. I just wanted to settle the story once and for all.

The story mainly deals with life in post Civil war Texas. The family was all on their own in the middle of nowhere, and the father had left them to go make money elsewhere. This puts the eldest son, named Travis, in charge of the whole place. And yes, there was a dog named Old Yeller, but I'm serious when I say that the bulk of the story is more about Travis than the dog.

The book mainly dealt with what life in this place and time was like, and it does a flawless job explaining it. But towards the end of the book, it begins to drift into the realm of a horror story. When a rabies plague breaks out in the area, animals start roaming about like zombies and attacking people with no reason. It scares the family and causes them to take some very serious actions to deal with it. The atmosphere of this part of the book is very severe and startling. And yes, Old Yeller famously contracts it too, but I have something I want to say about that in a minute.

"Old Yeller" does not shy away from the gory details of life in that period. There are quite a few scenes with blood and extreme bodily harm happening to both animals and humans. I don't mind that it's there, but I just think parents need to know what is being depicted in their children's book. The book does respect the person it's talking to without patronizing them. It treats the reader as maturely as Travis in the book, giving them a similar responsibility. I find that to be a very interesting way to deal with difficult topics in a children's book.

As for Old Yeller's infamous euthanasia scene at the end, I believe I remember they tied him up at the end of the Disney movie and waited to see if he changed. This led to the dog going mad, forcing the boy to grit his teeth and shoot. In the book, the boy suggests tying him up, but ultimately just calls him over and shoots him "just in case" he contracted it from a fight he had with an infected wolf. It was done quickly and in cold blood. The book makes more sense realistically, but it is harsher. I also want to point out that, in the movie, the shooting of the dog felt more like a surprise, but in the second paragraph of the entire book, the narrator, who is actually Travis, spoils that he will kill him later on.

I know this blog was full of spoilers, but there was still a lot of stuff I didn't mention. By now, most people know what happened to Old Yeller. It has sort of become a cultural bullet point. I do recommend "Old Yeller" to anyone who may be interested in what life in those times was like. It's more a story about that then the dog you might see staring at you on the cover. I quite enjoyed it, and I don't think it's too much for a child to read as long as their parents allow it.

This blog was written on December 24, 2022.

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Monday, January 9, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The First Three Frankenstein Movies [Movie Review]

[This is a blog full of spoilers. Avoid it if you don't want these movies ruined.]

I recently watched Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939). They were loosely based on the book "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, but they go off on their own tangent.

Honestly, my disappointment for the book had much to do with it being nothing like the movie tropes that had been commonly associated with the franchise. That said, there were also a lot of other things I disliked about the book. It wasn't just that. I went over those things in an earlier blog, so I won't go over it again here.

The first movie, "Frankenstein", is all about the creation of the Monster. It plays with the idea that there are good brains and criminal brains. The monster ultimately gets a criminal brain due to the actions of Frankenstein's hunchbacked minion. The story plays with that idea without making a strong decision one way or another. It shows the Monster showing signs of innocent behavior, even in a scene where he murders a child. He does it innocently and not because he wants to kill her. Ultimately, it's too much for the town to stand, and so they do what any town would do in such a situation: create an angry mob and take out the monster.

The sequel, "Bride of Frankenstein", continues asking the question of whether or not the monster is innocent or not. It shows that he does have feelings and desires in his new life. There is this one very interesting scene where he befriends a blind man. It ends up being one of the most touching scenes I have seen in any movie. However, once this friend is forced away from the Monster, he selfishly pursues a new one. It was like he had his comfort blanket ripped away, so he went looking for a replacement. He then tries to force Frankenstein to make a bride for him, a plot point that was taken from the book surprisingly.

Frankenstein is kind of forced into it by an evil scientist named Pretorius, who had a very sociopathic view of the creation of life. He was more of a mad scientist than Frankenstein was. Although the Bride is created, she doesn't want the Monster, and so the whole thing goes out with a tantrum on behalf of the Monster. He destroys everything. At this point, I was really thinking that the Monster was not really a good person.

In "Son of Frankenstein," the literal son of Frankenstein comes to take over the castle and soon finds out that the Monster is still alive and under the hypnotic control of Ygor... and that's cool and interesting, but it's not really what made the movie so good. This is, by the way, my favorite of the three films, and the reason is for a supporting character named Inspector Krogh. He was a would-be military general who's life was routed by the Monster who ripped his right arm off. This character 100% steals the show from his introduction all the way to the very last climactic moment of the film. He made it a good movie.

The story is really about him being suspicious that the son of Frankenstein will end up getting involved in his father's experiments. He worries that this will mean the return of the Monster and intends to deal with the situation in a very clear-headed, strategic way... and he does. The story builds this character up so well, and the ending brings him to his ultimate best. He wins and he wins handily. I love him and find his entire story inspiring.

As for the Monster in the third movie, he was a bit out of it. He feels like he is just going through some sort of mental breakdown. He is out-rightly murderous and seems to dislike how he looks... or something. It was a bit hard to read him.

All three movies are good. They are worth seeing in order. Although there are many more movies in the series after this, it doesn't look like they are particularly good. I'm getting serious cash-grab vibes from the titles and descriptions. I may watch them, but I don't really care too much about them honestly. If I watch any of them and end up liking them, I'll let you know. But in case I haven't made myself clear, the first three films are, in my own opinion, much better than the book. Watch them!

This blog was written on December 22, 2022.

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Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Island of Doctor Moreau [Book Review]

[This blog spoils the general mystery of the book but not the ending.]

"The Island of Doctor Moreau" is a book written by H. G. Wells, and it was published in 1896. I find it a little surprising this book is so old because it has a very modern feel to it in both presentation and general concept.

The story is that a shipwrecked man named Prendick ends up on an island where a man named Doctor Moreau is conducting fairly gruesome experiments on animals. Without going into too much detail, he is surgically altering animals to have more of a human form which also allows for human-like functionality as well. It's based on the idea of hurt-then-heal as well as skin-grafting. It's more involved than this, but I assure you that the book explains it well enough.

Wells goes into the idea that animals are probably intelligent enough to act and talk like humans, however they would need to have the ability first and then they would have to be distanced from their inborn instinct. I'll be honest: I'm not really in disagreement here. I think that Moreau may actually have been onto something real... and, by Moreau, I really mean Wells. It's a good and clean idea, and I am glad he wrote about it.

I want to classify this book as both a mad scientist story and most definitely as a horror story. I guess adventure is also there as well, but the first two are more to the point. But the thing that really blew me away about how the story was written was just how casual everyone felt, All the dialog was written to sound like regular people, even to a humorous degree. The captain of a ship towards the beginning was particularly fun to read about, although he leaves the narrative fairly quickly. Throughout the book, however, the story is filled with natural dialog and circumstances that give the whole thing a lot of realism.

I really don't want to spoil the whole thing, so I'm just just going to go ahead and recommend "The Island of Doctor Moreau" as a solid science fiction book. It's one of Wells' best. Add it to your list.

This blog was written on December 21, 2022.

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Monday, January 2, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Hidden Valley of Oz [Book Review]

[Contains spoilers for a book nobody reads anymore.]

"The Hidden Valley of Oz" is the thirty-ninth book in in the Oz series created by L. Frank Baum. It was written by Rachel R. Cosgrove and published in 1951.

The story features a boy named Jonathan Andrew Manley, but he is almost entirely referred to by his names abbreviation "Jam." Jam travels to Oz by way of a collapsible kite and instantly is faced with a terrible giant that is powered by eating magical muffins that grow on an actual muffin tree. Hearing that the boy is named Jam, he plans to eat him for breakfast.

Luckily, the boy did not come alone. He brought with him two cute Guinea pigs that hilariously finish each other's sentences. He also brought with him what may be my favorite Oz character to date, Percy the rat. Percy ends up being the character who solves most of the problematic puzzles throughout the story, showing that rats are extremely intelligent and adaptable to most situations. The author gave him a lot of "street smarts" that allowed him to do this, and I just adore him.

Early on in the story, Percy get ahold of one of the magic muffins which turns him into an oversized rat. Once he is in this state, he likes it too much to give it up. He panics whenever he starts to shrink and desperately eats more and more of the muffin to keep him big. The reason he liked being big was because he liked being a novelty and later got the Wizard's held to keep him at that size without needing the consumable muffins to do it.

Another new character that was introduced was Spots the leopard. He was a leopard that actually could change his spots. They would change into various shapes and symbols based on his emotions. As an example, they might change into tear drops if something made him sad or exclamation points if he was alarmed. Imagine that: an Oz book invented emojis nearly fifty years before they actually happened!

Cosgrove actually wrote two cannon Oz books, but her second one did not get published until 1993, so it may be a long time before I get to that one. I will say about her though that she is very good at creating puzzles out of situations that have to be solved by the characters. They are clever and really made me think. What's more is that these puzzled involved equally clever solutions that felt grounded in reality while still being fairyland-based. I was fascinated by them.

Another thing that separates her work from others was how she focused much on the personality and emotions of the characters. They felt more "alive" than they have ever been. Dangerous situations actually felt dangerous, and characters never acted unaccountably brave simply because they were heroes in a book.

One last thing about Percy: Apparently Cosgrove worked as a scientist in real life, and that's where the rat came in. Percy was based on the many rats that underwent testing in her lab. I had a feeling about this as I read it. I even remember thinking something like, "I bet she has a pet rat or something." Percy really has become my favorite Oz character. I even like the way he referred to everyone as "kiddo."

"The Hidden Valley of Oz" may end up having the privilege of being my favorite Oz book to date. I have no complaints. I just really loved it. It made me feel warm inside. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone.

This blog was written on December 14, 2022.

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