This just in …

[aadler]

 
Playing catch-up after a busy weekend.

First Cut — Personal and Military

Thursday I had my APFT (Army physical fitness test), for which I’ve been preparing since essentially the moment I arrived at Guantanamo. The APFT is differentiated by age ― the younger you are, the more is expected of you ― but there’s a minimum standard everyone is expected to meet. And, of course, different units or specialties can (and do) have additional standards.

On push-ups, I scored 22% higher than necessary to qualify. On sit-ups, 34% higher. Finally, I finished the two-mile run only 18% better than passing, but nonetheless the best run time I’ve ever achieved. As a benchmark, qualification for SOF (special operations forces) requires 10% above minimum, which level I met and surpassed. Heartening, not at all surprising ― that’s about as well as I’ve been performing in my individual practices ― and no reason I can’t do even better if I continue pushing myself.

My duty situation at Guantanamo remains indeterminate. The possibility of extending my tour here for an additional six months, which seemed to have been ruled out, has now returned but not been verified. I have no definitive word on the likely deployment plans of my home unit. I’m giving further (serious) consideration to transferring out of the Reserve and into active-duty Army, but won’t be making any decisions for weeks or months yet. And I’m still ― still ― trying to arrange for regular practice with a native Farsi speaker, with no clear sign that I might be getting anywhere.

Close First Cut

Second Cut — Thoughts on Buffy Season 8

I at last received issue #5 of Buffy Season 8, and of course read it immediately. My reaction …

Well, the issue itself was okay. Not bad, not great, maybe good support material. Mainly it contributes to an overall, gradual, and (on my part) unwilling sense that Season 8 just isn’t quite working.

I want it to. I’m a Joss Whedon fan, a Buffy fan, and a superhero comics fan … and Season 8, so far, hasn’t delivered on any of them, much less on the three-way intersection that seemed made in heaven. I heard of the stint Joss did on Astounding X-Men, but didn’t see any of it; I caught his Justice League graphic novel, though, so I know both that he can manage the pacing and flow of the panel-graphic format and that he can work brilliantly with other people’s characters. Why, then, is he taking so long to accomplish anything with his own characters? So far everything he’s done in Season 8 has been promising, but none of it has really been satisfying.

Just as an example, and by no means my biggest problem: Andrew. The writers played him for comedy and disdain in Season 7, and ― though I despised the character ― he was applied to decent effort in the overall story. The Scoobies/ Potentials were a small group with limited resources, and some advantage could be gained by making use of Andrew. Now, though, they’re a big organization with extensive resources, and Andrew is more ridiculous than ever … but, apparently, a section chief. If he’s such a moron, then what kind of morons are they for letting him run anything bigger than a lemonade stand? If there’s a good reason he’s being trusted with such responsibilities, then why isn’t it being shown? The story is undercutting its own credibility for the sake of a running gag that was never really that funny.

Some things operate better as completed works than as installments. I earnestly hope that Season 8 will prove to be one. Because, unless something happens soon to change my view, I may conclude that canon, post-TV, simply isn’t worth following.

Close Second Cut

Third Cut — Fanfic issues

I continue to make progress in my fanfic writing endeavors, but so slowly that it no longer seems worthwhile to provide ongoing reports. The story is slowly, slowly coming together, and hard experience tells me that I’ll get there eventually if I just don’t stop. Right now, though, I don’t have a lot of enthusiasm. I owe this one to my daughter (and I’ve done three other stories since finishing the rewrite of her original “God Save the Queen”, so it’s not as if I’ve been chained to a single project), but I’ll be very glad to wrap it up and move on to other ideas of my own.

As I had already noted, it’s been a full nine months since I did anything completely original. I wrote “Icarus” at the beginning of November 2006 (and that wasn’t even a Buffyfic), but since then it’s been “God Save the Queen” (rewrite), “Walking After Midnight” (remix), “An’ Foolish Notion” (remix), “X-Factorial” (remix), and now “Queen’s Gambit” (rewrite, unfinished). I’m pleased with all those stories, but damn! I can’t just keep on redoing other people’s work!

Close Third Cut

It really was a long weekend. Lots of rain, rum, fajitas, movies, various other forms of recreation. It’s good to be back at work so I can get some rest.

Comments

[texanfan.livejournal.com]

Many congratulations on your APFT scores! I know you worked hard for them and I'm glad that work paid off for you.

I'm beginning to suspect Joss my be being paralyzed by his own success. Such a stir has developed around his Buffy characters that he may no longer be willing to take chances with them as he once was.

[aadler]

Or maybe he’s just working on so many different things that he’s taking this one — theoretically his home ground — for granted. I don’t know; I just know that, if comic-Buffy was the only one that had ever existed, I never would have become a serious Buffy fan.

[texanfan.livejournal.com]

Besides his comic book endeavors is he working on anything at the moment?

[aadler]

I believe he’s supposed to be doing another run in Astounding X-Men, and I heard something about him actually putting together a ballet specifically for Summer Glau. And those are just the things that have come my way, I don’t make a point of keeping up with his schedule.

[tessarin.livejournal.com]

congratulations on the physical scores. I like you have mixed views on S8 although I would probably describe my view closer to dislike at this point.

May I ask as a serving member of the military what do you make of the rehashed initiative plot ?

[aadler]

I made some observations, after reading issue #1, regarding various items of military accuracy or the lack thereof. For the plot itself, though, I don’t have much of an opinion yet. Viewing the Slayer organization as a threat? there’s a certain plausibility to that, though I haven’t seen what evidence they used to reach their conclusion, but it’s really not so much a military decision as a national security decision.

In the larger sense, I’d have to say that the Buffyverse depiction of U.S. armed forces is not necessarily disapproving, but definitely condescending. (As is its attitude toward any larger authority, including police, government, and the Watchers themselves.) The Initiative was shown as a bad idea springing from good (but ill-considered) intentions; the implication was that the serious stuff should be left to the professionals, i.e., the Slayer and her BFFs.

Right. Don’t take responsibility for your own protection, don’t take pro-active measures against things that pose a threat; wait for the designated superhero to come save you. This is underscored by the way Buffy regarded firearms: “These things? Never useful.” Nice attitude, if you can get away with it … but, unless you happen to have supernatural abilities, you can’t. For those not belonging to the mystical elite, but still wanting to work toward their own survival, organization and firepower are more than ‘useful’, they’re indispensable.

I don’t object to the current plotline. I do hope some intelligence is put into developing it. The Sixties were forty years ago; the military-industrial complex is no longer automatically stupid and/or villainous.

[trinfaneb.livejournal.com]

I haven't read the S8 comics yet, but I have mixed feelings about the spoilers I've read on Wikipedia. I like some of the ideas (about Buffy and "The Blonde in Question") but am not too sure about others (like the identity of the "big bads"). "Fray" proves Joss can write good comics, but perhaps what he produces as a sole author feels different from alot of Buffy episodes because of the influence of the other writers and producers. The tv show was a big collaborative effort and the comic is a much smaller enterprise. Also you really can't tell much story in one issue, so it takes longer for stories to develop.

That being said, I agree with you about how the military was handled in season 4 of Buffy. I don't think any of the Buffy writers/producers had military experience so part of it may have been ignorance. They needed someone to play Dr. Frankenstein and also the soldiers were handy for making Buffy look good.

I much prefer Angel's "Why We Fight." Lawson was a pretty good officer, at least in my book. And the government was smart enough to keeps tabs on Angel and know how to threaten him and when to use him. Shawn Ryan used to write for Angel and he went on to create "The Unit" so I guess the writing staff had exposure to good information about the military at some point.

I've always wondered about what happened to those invisible kids the government snatched up and what Ethan Rayne is doing. Hopefully something useful for the nation.

A few years ago, I had the loopy idea of trying to crossover the Buffyverse with John Ringo's Posleen alien invasion books. I wrote a drabble about how the Slayers and tame vampires might fight the aliens. Then I felt I had to provide a backstory for how they came to be a proper military unit. For me that started when both Buffy and Angel realized they needed to think big about "The Second Front" and they applied some of those ideas when they learned of the coming invasion. Add some financing from David Nabbit, some political maneuvering from Wolfram and Heart, some mystical technology from Fred and Willow and Slayers and chipped Vamps and you have an army.

[aadler]

It’s funny that you should mention the Posleen series; I only in the last couple of weeks discovered it, and I’ve read three books of the four (haven’t yet gotten access to a copy of “Gust Front”). Some of your ideas might be promising, but I’m glad I don’t have to try and make them work, because it’s just not clicking with me. I suppose the scope feels too big for Buffy or Angel; they’ve saved the world repeatedly, but always did it on a small stage.

[trinfaneb.livejournal.com]

It took me awhile to grok the Buffyverse and Posleenverse together. I wasn't sure it would work, but I posted a couple of drabbles about the Slayer army fighting the Posleen and got a few reviewers asking for me. That inspired me and I wrote 10 chapters in 2004 before I got burned out and then World of Warcraft started eating up all my time.

I've now quit WoW (for the second time) and am trying to write more. I'm about halfway done writing and editing the next 10 chapters. My eventual plan is to write three novellas; one to cover the preparation for war and combat on Deiss, one to cover the first part of the invasion (Fredericksburg and Washington) and one to cover the last part of the Occupation (Hell's Faire and When the Devil Dances).

That's alot stuff to factor into a story, especially when I'm including characters from more than a dozen other tv shows and books (two of my favorites so far are Beatrice Kiddo and her daughter, B.B. the Slayer).

Its alot of fun to brainstorm ideas for "Alien Apocalypse." If you wish, you can find the two drabbles at http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2040458/1/Trinfans_Book_Crossover_Drabbles and the 10 chapters at http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1848803/1/Alien_Apocalypse

You can read "Gust Front" and the other Posleen books online at www.baen.com. You can read the first 7 to 10 chapters for free and then purchase the rest if you like. "Hymn Before Battle" was my first e-book. I have yet to buy a paper copy of Ringo's works, but I might have to change that fact if I ever find a signed copy in a bookstore. I read from a friend of his that he secretly signs bookstore copies sometimes.

I'm a big fan of good military SF authors like David Drake and finding Ringo was like a breath of fresh air for me. I love the first four Posleen books and most of the rest of them are pretty good too. My favorite of the later books is "Yellow Eyes" which covers the invasion in Panama and the book about fighting in Germany is good too. The most recent Ringo book actually starts to get into Buffyverse territory with the introduction of teleportation, telepathy and mind control. I really wish Ringo would give us some more information about the Aldenata so I could better tie them in with the Pre-History of the Buffyverse :)

[trinfaneb.livejournal.com]

Two posts in this thread and I keep forgetting to address the question of Andrew. I'm assuming Andrew is still the butt of jokes in the S8 comics? That kind of goes counter to the Angel S5 "Damage" when he stands up to Angel and takes Dana. Sure he screams like a girl when he sees a body but he does seem to be maturing. And in "The Blonde in Question" he offers some pretty good advice to Angel and Spike and manages to somehow have two nice looking ladies go on a date with him. Based on this, I tend to agree with Spike's "Maybe there is some hope for the ponce after all."

Perhaps Joss doesn't remember or agree the Andrew from those Angel episodes. In my "Alien Apocalypse" story I have Andrew being good at recruiting American Slayers because he can relate to teenage girls because of his own feminine nature and general childish outlook. He also gets along well with fellow geek David Nabbit and Nabbit's support makes the Slayer army possible.

Anya's last words probably weren't "Earn This," but I'm sure having her save his life has had a sobering effect on his attitude. I never got the impression that he was a real moron, just very deluded about many things. He preferred his own private world, but his experiences have made him connect more with the real world. Right or wrong, he is a survivor of Sunnydale and has earned the chance to be a part of the Slayer family. He may be more Fredo than Frodo, but until he screws up, I'm thinking that Buffy and Giles give him the chance to contribute.