Rami Ungar The Writer

The Power of a Symbol

Posted: November 11, 2012 in ideas, Reflections
Tags: entertainment, ideas

What does this image mean to you?

I started watching The Dark Knight trilogy recently. I’ve seen all the films, but never one after the other, especially with the most recent one, and I thought I’d see them with a new perspective if I watched them as an adult than if I watched only the first two as a teenager. I do have a better understanding of the concepts presented in the films, but I also started thinking about something apparent througout the movies: the power of symbols.

Symbols do a lot in The Dark Knight films, making the men who use them more than just men. Batman is a symbol of fear to the criminals of Gotham, something that can’t be tamed or limited by rules and regulations. The Joker is a symbol of chaos, a psychopath with a sadistic streak who destroys for the sake of destroying…and getting to wear a skirt. Harvey Dent is both a symbol of how one can be twisted and how one can be a lighthouse for good. There are numerous more examples I could use, but let’s face it, Batman is rife with people-as-symbols, and The Dark Knight trilogy goes to great lengths to point that out.

This has made me think about some of the major symbols that men and women embody in some other works of literature and film that I admire. The Phantom of the Opera is both a symbol of fear of the unknown, and a symbol of tragic beauty. V from V for Vendetta has become a symbol for overthrowing tyrannical government through unconventional means (whether that government is tyrannical or not depends on which hacker you ask). Lelouch Lamperouge, the protagonist from my favorite anime Code Geass, symbolizes both mystery, the struggle of every oppressed Japanese man, woman, and child, and finally unconquerable rebellion. Heck, I’m not even Christian, but I can see what Jesus and the cross do for so many Christians around the world!

Even in my own works, there are people who act as symbols. The Snake is a symbol of rebellion against the Camerlengo family, a symbol that some are willing to use to their advantage (see my excerpt a few posts back). And in a work I plan to write someday and a work that I plan to make my personal magnum opus, the main character references the Phantom of the Opera when he decides to take on the evil government in the story, becoming a symbol of revolution by donning a mask and doing things others can’t (I would have him reference Batman, but this guy is operating about a year before Batman ever hit the bookstands).

So what does this tell us, besides that the only examples I can think of are men? Well, that humans-as-symbols are extremely powerful, especially when they are able to cause a stir, a wave in a criminal underworld or in the working staff of an opera house. They represent that which is impossible, that which can’t be imagined, that which shouldn’t come to pass but passes anyway. Why? Well, that depends on a number of reasons. But the point is, a symbol is a powerful thing, and when a man embodies it, it becomes even more so.

“Doll’s Game”–Beginning the Revision Process

Posted: November 10, 2012 in Progress Report, short story, Writing
Tags: college life, editing, scary stuff, short story, writing

In my creative writing class, I have to do a revision exercise due two days after my workshop date. Yes, that means I have to turn in a new draft on Sunday. By noon, too. Jeez, what if I want to sleep past one in the afternoon?

Well, I can’t sleep in that late apparently, not without getting a lowered grade. So I did my revision exercise and I plan to send it in after I finish writing this post. What I had to do was take a certain section of the story and, taking into account all the suggestions I got on the day of my workshop, rewrite it. And that’s what I did, editing one of the early sections of Doll’s Game. And now, I think I’ll work on the rest of the short story, doing an entirely new version of the story based on all the feedback and critiques I got on Friday.

What does that mean, though? Basically I’ll be writing an entirely new story with the same main motif at the center. What was that motif? A girl raised in captivity by her kidnapper gets free and gets a real shock when she escapes. The original story focused on her entire life after she escaped, but now I’ll be focusing on her time in captivity, and what happened immediately after the escape.

And yes, I do write that sort of creepy subject material. Why? I blame a childhood trauma I wrote about several posts back.

But back to the main theme of this post: I’m basically doing an entire rewrite. At the center will be the main character and her experience, but it’s less about her lfie growing up after her trauma and more about what happened immediately afterwards, which is just as terrifying, if not more so, than her time in captivity. Imagine how terrifying an unfamiliar world might be after escaping one that was familiar but filled with pain and fear. It’s horrible.

Which works to my strengths, since I’m writing disturbing material whenever I’m not writing a term paper or something along those lines. But still, it’s going to be quite a lot of work.

Oh well, that’s the challenge I’ve taken up, isn’t it? And besides, I’ve got about a month. If I work now, I should have plenty of time to do any necessary revision. And if I get a good grade, who knows? I may seek to get it published somewhere. I’m not sure where, though; even hardcore horror magazines might pass on a story involving this sort of story if they feel it’s a little too disturbing for their tastes.

Well, wish me luck. I’ve got some work to do.

Review: Skyfall

Posted: November 10, 2012 in Review
Tags: entertainment, films, review

British theatrical poster for “Skyfall”. Looks kind of…nostalgic, doesn’t it?

BOND IS BACK!

And he’s better than ever, showing that in an age of enemies without countries and cyberterrorists with no faces, Bond can still kick ass and take prisoner. Daniel Craig returns as Bond, but this time the serious spy comes with quips and self-referential humor. After faking dead for a while after a failed mission, Bond returns to England to defend M and MI6 when the latter comes under attack by Javier Bardem’s Silva, who apparently has a history with M (a really weird history). A tight plot spanning the globe from Istanbul to London to Hong Kong and Macau and finally a climax in the Scottish Moors that would’ve made Emily Bronte say “My word!”, Skyfall shows that the Bond era is not dead, but coming back with full force.

Craig is in his element aa s slightly older, unshaved, tired 007, who still will go to great lengths to help his country and his boss. We also get to see an entirely new side to Bond, one that’s not England’s killing machine or what every man wants to be, but a more human side only briefly glimpsed in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and Casino Royale. Javier Bardem fulfills his villain role by being creepy. He’s also possibly bisexual, definitely Oedipal, and you don’t want to see him without his dentures in, but above all, he’s just creepy, especially as he goes about trying to kill (or possibly be reunited with and forgiven by) M. Speaking of which, Judi Dench is still one of my favorite Ms, a cold, calculating leader who, underneath it all, really cares for the agents she employs. You will not believe what happens at the end of the movie with her character.

In addition, there are some newcomers that definitely deserve mention. For starters, Naomi Harris as Eve, who will definitely be making some appearances throughout the movie and will appear in later films as–you guessed it–Moneypenny. Saw that one coming, didn’t we? Ben Whinshaw takes the role of the Q character, redefining the role as the young computer genius who prefers the power of a computer over the agents of the field, but seems to like Bond well enough. He’s also filled with some self-referential humor, especially when we see him make a quip about exploding pens. And Ralph Fiennes, formerly known as both the Red Dragon and Lord Voldemort, gets a very important role in MI6, one that brings Bond back to its early days (that’s a hint, if you don’t get his role yet). And Albert Finney plays Kincade, the gruff Scottish gameskeeper of Bond’s boyhood home. Although he’s not a secret agent, we can see where Bond picked up his shooting and joking skills.

The plot, like any Bond film, went all over the place, but it was much better than anything I saw in Quantum of Solace. To say the least, I’m looking forward to what happens in the next couple of films, especially if director Sam Mendes comes back, because he obviously can present a strange, sprawling storyline without boring or confusing Bond fans. In addition, Thomas Newman’s soundtrack is simply excellent, working in the old Bond theme with new music that reminds one of The Dark Knight Rises. Overall, this is one of the best Bond films I’ve ever seen.

For managing the old Bond of espionage, womanizing, and awesome storylines with the new Bond of shadowy organizations, cyberterrorism, and showing that old dogs can learn new tricks, I give Skyfall a 4.8 out of 5. Well done, Mr. Craig, Mr. Mendes. Well done.

Oh, and before I forget, my friend Michael Geletka and I went in costume to see this movie, I as James Blond, he as Dr. Geletka. It was great. We should have our own film.

Rami Ungar and Michael Geletka as James Blond and Dr. Geletka in the new movie “No Country for Bad Hair”, out this March. Rated PG-13 for violence, sexuality, innuendo, and 80s hair.

“Doll’s Game” Post-Workshop

Posted: November 9, 2012 in ideas, short story, Writing
Tags: college life, editing, short story, writing

Alright, so I just got back from lunch, and now I’m writing about what happened at the workshop, where Doll’s Game was discussed and we talked about ways to improve it. Surprisingly, people didn’t hate it. Some actually liked it, and one person said that compared to the other stories we’ve read this semester, mine was “a breath of fresh air” (I’m going to chalk up that last part to the fact that I’m probably the only person besides the teacher in the class who’s ever been published, so I might have a little more experience than my classmates).

However, there were plenty of things to be improved upon. One was that my story spans about twenty years, summarizing unimportant bits while going into detail about life-changing bits. The gist was that all this information would make a great book as well as a novel (not that I’d write such a novel; in addition to the projects already in progress, I don’t want to write something that has nothing to do with horror). However, my classmates and my teacher recommended that instead of making a novel, I should focus on when my character Renee is eight years old and her life is changed forever, which sounds challenging and interesting to write.

There were some other parts that were pointed out as implausible, and now that I think about it, I can see the logic in this. So I’ll have to fix those areas up as well.

So I’ve got to do some rewriting to do, starting with a short revision exercise that I’ll do over the weekend. Finally I’ll turn in a rewrite in early December, and aftar I get the grade…well who knows? Maybe I’ll have something publishable. Fingers crossed and hope for the best, right?

Workshopping “Doll’s Game”

Posted: November 9, 2012 in Living and Life, short story, Writing
Tags: college life, editing, Ohio State University, short story, writing

Some of you know that I wrote a short story for my creative-writing course, Doll’s Game, and that I turned it in last week. You may also remember that I thought it was the worst piece of fiction I’d ever written in my college career, and I made a point of telling my classmates that it would be the worst story they read this semester.

Well, I stood corrected on that last point: mine’s the second-worst. The grand prize goes to the guy who’s story, although interesting in terms of plot, had so many point-of-view switches that it left me dizzy. Not too mention the guy couldn’t properly signify dialogue to save his life. It just took down the quality of the story so much.

But today I’m getting my story reviewed. And I am not looking forward to it one bit. I mean come on, my strength is in scary stories, not literary ones, and my plot goes all over the place. I sent everyone the link to my recently-published alien invasion short story Ripple just to make up for the quality of Doll’s Game.

Well, maybe they’ll give me an idea to improve the story. Who knows? I’ll let you guys know how it goes after class and we’ll see. Wish me luck.

My Favorite Obama Speech Yet

Posted: November 8, 2012 in Politics and Leadership, Social Activism
Tags: activism, government, politics and leadership

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while now, you know I’m a fan of the President, and that I think very highly of him. I’ve watched a few speeches by him, seen him address politicians and regular people. I’ve heard him sing, I’ve heard him laugh. I’ve watched him do well and do poorly in debates. I’ve seen him be a leader and a husband and father to Michelle Obama and Sasha and Malia Obama. I been to see him speak live during both his campaigns, and I had the distinct honor of voting for him this past election. I even danced Gangnam Style with some friends of mine when we found out he won the election.

Yet this video here is the best speech I’ve seen him give yet. Obama speaks to some of the organizers for his campaign–most of them young, fresh out of college, on their way to amazing things–and he thanks them from the bottom of his heart. He tells how they look up to him as an example, yet when he was their age, he didn’t have a clue what he was doing, even though he was supposed to be trying to help organize churches on Chicago’s South Side to better the community. And about four minutes in, President Obama starts tearing up, telling the crowd how proud he is of his organizers and thanking them for sticking with him.

It truly is a moving speech, but it teaches us something important: great leaders are only as great as the people willing to follow him. I think we see how these youths are the essence of the Obama campagin, and how, even if they were drawn to the man himself by his charisma, intellect, and leadership, they are the ones who put him back in the White House. And the President is aware of this fact, and shows his gratitude to them.

It is the best speech I’ve seen any politician give, and I’ll be hard-pressed to find one I’ll like better in the future. Thank you, Mr. President.

Update on the Self-Publishing Front–Part 2

Posted: November 8, 2012 in Living and Life, Progress Report
Tags: publishing, writing

Okay, remember my last post, where I said I’d probably set up my press as a sole proprietorship? Well, I got an email from an uncle of mine who has to deal with lawyers from time to time (including his brother-in-law), and he said I’d do better with an LLC. I believe him, but I also plan to talk to my other uncle on that side of the family, who, although not in business, is a lawyer, jsut to check one or two things about the differences and the benefits and disadvantages of LLCs and sole proprietorships.

So, just wanted to let you know about that. I’ll hopefully figure this out quickly and won’t have any problems setting things up. Wish me luck.

News on the Self-Publishing Front

Posted: November 8, 2012 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Writing
Tags: college life, publishing, Reborn City, writing

I’ve mentioned this once or twice, but I’m preparing to self-publish my science-fiction novel Reborn City (still being looked over by a friend at this moment, hope for some new news soon). I’ve also mentioned that I’ll be starting up my own independent publishing press, both as a way to gain more legal control over my published work and as a way to gain maximum profit if, God-willing, my books are picked up by a major publishing company.

Well, I contacted Ohio State’s Student Legal Services to see if they had any advice in that area, because I have no idea whether or not forming these sorts of businesses requires any paperwork to be filed or fees to be paid to the state or whatever. They emailed me today, about an hour after I’d sent my email to them, attaching a document with all the different business types here in Ohio and what was required to create any of them. Looking over the document, I think my best bet would be to create a sole proprietorship, which would give me all the control over the business and its assets, and all I’d have to do would be to file a form with Ohio’s Secretary of State if I’m using a business name other than my own (which I plan to do). I’ll probably download both the document SLS sent me and the forms for the business once I can get to a printer, so until then I’ll be making sure no one else has the name I plan to use for the press (I’ll let you know what it is as soon as the paperwork’s filed and I have everything in order).

You know, this self-publishing process is easier than I thought it might be. So far, the only fees I might accrue are copyright and trademark fees, especially given I’ll be formatting my work as e-books and the sites I’ll be using don’t charge for the formatting. Hopefully my books will be successful as well (fingers crossed). Now I just have to put the final touches on Reborn City, get a cover, set up the business, set a release date, and do some advertising. Not too much trouble, right?

A Plethora of Short Stories

Posted: November 7, 2012 in ideas, short story
Tags: editing, short story, writing

Or to be more specific, short story ideas.

You see, over the past couple of weeks I’ve had several bursts of inspiration, each leading to an idea for a short story. Today, I’ve reached ten ideas I could run with. The bad news? It’s National Novel Writing Month, and while there’s no rule excluding short story writing during NaNoWriMo, I want to focus on my two novels, one being looked over and edited by a friend, the other at forty-one chapters with the forty-second on its way.

But you know, there’s a silver lining in all this. If I can get through Part III of Snake by the end of the month, I might sit down and punch out one or two of those short stories. And who knows? That might lead to me working on several more. I could end up having a whole collection of short stories…which I could put out as a collective e-book. Oh, that’s a great idea. One sci-fi novel, one thriller, a collection of short stories. Sounds like the beginning of a great bibliography, if you ask me.

So I’ll keep collecting ideas. If I come up with thirteen, I’ll know it’s meant to be for me to do a short story collection. I even have a title in mind (but I’m not sharing it here; it’ll be a surprise).