D.R. MacMaster's Blog (41)

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Rest In Peace Number 6

Patrick McGoohan passed away at the age of 80.



He is probably best known for The Prisoner, a bizarre, surrealistic take on the 60s spy genre that he helped create, and even wrote episodes for under the name Paddy Fitz. In the show he played a spy who resigned for unknown reasons, someone, it's never identified who, kidnapped him and placed him on The Island, a strange, creepily pleasant prison for people with secrets.



His captors take away his name, which is never… Continue

Added by D.R. MacMaster on January 15, 2009 at 8:46am — 2 Comments

The Case of the Fractured Future

The following is one of the Private Eye parodies I do for my main blog about the business of showbiz, and thought I'd post it here too. Enjoy.



_______________________________



It was a quiet day in my humble little office wedged between the Happy Ending Massage Parlour, and Big Dick's Discount Double Entendre Warehouse. Christmas was right around the corner and I had to get a new tree for the office because the one I had… Continue

Added by D.R. MacMaster on December 23, 2008 at 5:54am — No Comments

I really am a Know It All

Now my smug-know-it-allness is official.



;)





There Are 0 Gaps in Your Knowledge


Where you have gaps in your knowledge:



No Gaps!



Where…
Continue

Added by D.R. MacMaster on December 9, 2008 at 4:29am — 5 Comments

Sometimes I Do Too much at once...

Currently, I'm working on a non-fiction book about the business of pop culture, I'm writing a sci-fi adventure, and last night I got hit with the beginnings of a mystery story, that had me writing until 1:30 AM.



Goes to show, you can't really control inspiration, and you gotta go for it when it comes. I had been stewing the idea for a while, a sort of geeky take of the classical "cozy" structure, and I needed something to help intro the detective, the victim and the suspects, and… Continue

Added by D.R. MacMaster on December 8, 2008 at 12:23pm — 1 Comment

The Case of the Junked Jobs

At my main blog I do a series of Private Eye parodies to illustrate problems with the business side of show biz, and I've decided to start posting them here too.



------------------------



It was a busy day for my lone wolf operation, my phone was ringing off the hook, people were missing stuff, and when their stuff went missing they needed me to find it.



Because I'm Furious D, and I'm a dick, a private… Continue

Added by D.R. MacMaster on December 5, 2008 at 6:30am — No Comments

Things Are Happening On My Main Blog...

My main blog has a post discussing the possibility of a strike by the Screen Actors Guild, and how it can hurt both the Guild, and the major studios, and neither side seems to see it.

Added by D.R. MacMaster on November 24, 2008 at 12:37pm — No Comments

The Self Fulfilling Idiocy of Hollywood Keeps on Fulfilling, Idiotically...

I usually blog about writing and books here, but my main blog is about the business of pop culture, and since this post is also about the rights of writers, I figured I should post it here to.



Oy gevalt.



I just can't understand the people who run Hollywood these days. I mean I can contemplate their motivations, and even theorize about them, but I just can't picture myself doing the same things.



That's because I… Continue

Added by D.R. MacMaster on November 20, 2008 at 1:47pm — 2 Comments

A Moment To Remember

Today is Remembrance Day here in Canada where we take a moment to look back at the sacrifices made by our veterans over the course of two World Wars, the Korean Conflict, and the current conflict in Afghanistan.



World War 1 holds an important place in Canadian history. It was on those bloodied fields of France and Belgium, in places like Ypres, Passchendale, and Vimy Ridge that Canada felt for the first time that it was truly a nation. And it was a Canadian army doctor who composed… Continue

Added by D.R. MacMaster on November 12, 2008 at 12:40am — No Comments

Over at my main blog...

Every Saturday at my main blog I do a little piece about comedy videos. Today I did a little retrospective of the classic British show that warped my childhood, The Goodies.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Added by D.R. MacMaster on November 9, 2008 at 4:57am — No Comments

A Quantum of Me...

The new James Bond movie is breaking all sorts of international box-office records, and not just by people wanting to find out what a Quantum of Solace is. Bond is back, and, in many respects, bigger than ever. I've talked about Bond before, in fact, my very…
Continue

Added by D.R. MacMaster on November 5, 2008 at 9:19am — No Comments

Non-fiction update.

My attempt to turn some of things I've discussed on my main blog into a coherent non-fiction book is preceding apace. So far I've discussed the process of pre-production, what box-office numbers really mean, and about a dozen other topics. I've structured the book in a way that it's to explain how Hollywood works as a business, an art, and a state of mind.



It's a lot of work, but so far it looks like it's going to be worth… Continue

Added by D.R. MacMaster on November 5, 2008 at 5:48am — No Comments

Halloween The Post Mortem

Halloween was pretty quiet this year, only had about 100 kids at the door. Usually we had anywhere between 125-150, but the weather was crappy, although my own childhood memories had over 200 kids on the street, and that was even during the year we had the blizzard the day before and I had to wear my snowsuit under my Wolf-Man costume.



While I've been procrastinating on my book-projects, I have been busy with my main blog, which is related to my non-fiction project. For new readers I… Continue

Added by D.R. MacMaster on November 3, 2008 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Scribbling Update --Friday

Very productive day.



Did over 1000 words of my crime novel, a meeting between my protagonist and the female lead, with lots of loaded dialogue and such, and about 20,000 words of my non-fiction book about the movie business.



Gotcha!



I don't write that fast, I just collected a bunch of my original articles together.



What comes next is the new material, and the long hard slog of adapting the older articles into a coherent whole.



Plus I got… Continue

Added by D.R. MacMaster on October 25, 2008 at 1:08pm — No Comments

Scribbling Update

I've started some of the heavy lifting with my non-fiction book. To those who are new to this blog, I'm doing a book based on the writings and ideas of my main blog which combines satire and common sense to dissect how pop culture, mostly the movie business, is run.

I know I can't just paste in my articles, no matter how tempting that is, so I have a lot of updating, editing, and adjusting to do.

Wish me luck.

Added by D.R. MacMaster on October 23, 2008 at 5:44am — No Comments

A Decision Is Made...

After getting some encouragement, I've now begun my non-fiction project trying to explain what works and doesn't work in pop culture. It's going to be a lot of work, and I'll be doing it alongside my crime novel, but I think I'm up to it.

Most of the non-fiction project is editing the posts I did for my blog. Wish me luck on it, I'm going to need it.

Added by D.R. MacMaster on October 21, 2008 at 5:02am — No Comments

An odd development....

I do a blog where I talk about the business behind pop culture. How movies are made, or not made, how studios are run, and not run, and other business issues.



I've developed a small, but apparently loyal following. Ironically, a couple have started saying that I should write a book about my ideas. And now that I look back, I think I just might give it a crack.



There are too many books about celebrities out there, and insider gossip. My work has been to try to make sense of… Continue

Added by D.R. MacMaster on October 19, 2008 at 12:55pm — 1 Comment

My Experience With Democracy...

While I was working the poll, so to speak, during the recent Canadian federal election I learned a few things about people.



About 5% of people go around town, and even drive, without their wallet and I.D., driver's licences included.



1 person in 171 will actually get offended by getting asked to see their driver's license at the poll, and then storm out, muttering curses at the universe in general.



1 person in 170 will actually take the time to go to their… Continue

Added by D.R. MacMaster on October 18, 2008 at 1:21pm — No Comments

Scribbler's Progress Report...

Didn't get much work done on my crime novel yesterday and today.



Yesterday was spent protecting democracy in Canada. I was working as a poll monitor, assisting with the Canadian federal election. That meant spending 14 hours in a creaky old Masonic Hall with 70s faux wood panelling, and a bipolar furnace, having the two worst meals I ever had, and dealing with the endless paperwork a functioning democracy needs.



Still, wasn't a complete loss, I got paid, not enough for the… Continue

Added by D.R. MacMaster on October 16, 2008 at 9:31am — No Comments

The Scribbler's Progress Report....

Work on my first crime novel is chugging along pretty well, 1 1/2 chapters, and about 8400 words in. I'm also writing it with a "novel writing" program called yWriter which was invented by a sci-fi writer from Australia. It allows me to create detailed files on characters, locations, and even props in advance. It's still pretty new to me, and I'm still finding my way around, but it all seems to be coming together in new and exciting directions.



It's a hard-boiled story about… Continue

Added by D.R. MacMaster on October 13, 2008 at 9:54am — No Comments

I'd have been an important fellow in 1400 AD....

Your result for The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test...

The Cardinal

You are the real power behind the throne. No one dares dispute or refuse you. Which is good because that's how you get things done. You are also, however, completely corrupt and highly immoral. This doesn't bother you in the least as you lounge around your rich comfortable surroundings, reveling in wealth and authority.…

Continue

Added by D.R. MacMaster on October 11, 2008 at 12:24pm — No Comments

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