To Beard or not To Beard...

Beards... they are everywhere, and the trend has come back with full force. 
But why?

Hipsters. Walking down the street looking clean-cut, apart from this unruly protrusion foresting from their chin. Red-haired or blonde, they don't care. They want the world to see it.

For the Hipster, this is his growth-trophy. For the onlooker, this is a trend nightmare that makes you want to grab them, pin them down and shave them. You know that one day they will look back at those pics of themselves, when they were once full beard, and say "What was I thinking?"

The real question is; why can't that day be today?

Of course most men look upon this as a challenge. Most men have let that wildness overtake them, but another thing to consider is does a beard make you better?

Let's go back in time, the great beards of history, men of influence that will make you wonder will the beard make a difference.

I could sprout off a lot of names here; Otto the Great (wiki that shiznaz), Leo Tolstoy, Will Shakespeare, Abe Lincoln, Darwin, etc, but these are random figures through history, not all of them well-off but there beards seeming more of an expression rather than a statement. If we look at King George the V, here is where we see the "Class meets core man" or "Style meets savage," or even "aristocrat meets aristocat."

For certain these are influential figures, but did the beard do it? Was it the beard that wrote War & Peace? Hamlet? Look at how many great figures have contributed to the changing of the world without facial hair to shield them; Churchill, Washington, Mandela, Elvis, Schwarzenegger... 

On the other side of the spectrum are the so-called villains of bearded society; Charles Manson, Rasputin, Che Guevara, Colonel Sanders, Osama Bin Laden - let's be honest, no one was beard crazy during 9/11. Did having a beard influence their decision making? Religiously, you could argue that Osama seemed to think so.

Psychologically, it has nothing to do with the beard, scientists say. It has to do with the confidence of having accomplished something. At it's raw essential, to grow a big beard is to become a manly figure, an achievement of non-conformism as everyone tells you to shave said beard, it proves you have the control of whether the beard comes or goes. 

You keep it, and it's a choice.

You shave it, and you are a conforming, but now it's so popular, you have to have one to fit in with your group of bearded villains.

People can shun you, call you unruly, laugh when there is food left behind, but they can't really take it away from you. It's your trophy, and in a world where only a small handful of people do something that truly matters, this is important to a man's soul. Man must accomplish something in his life, even if it is as trivial as letting your hair grow. 

Why has the trend come back? Who truly knows, but take comfort in knowing that a beard does not make the man.

- James K. B. Brough

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How do incomplete books / novels become rich & famous?

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We've seen it happen over a dozen times; books that do not even have an ending are taking over the world commercially.

Harry Potter was already a film before the release of the final book. The (gulp) Twilight saga. Game of Thrones (which can take up to an epic five years per release of each novel). The 100.

The real question is; why are we investing in a series that we do not know the ending?
The answer: marketing and producers don't care about how your precious series ends.

Yes, it's about money. Creating hype for your series is what's important, and who loves hype better than a novelist and backing publisher who stand to make millions from this?

I was guest at a book reading club a few years ago, and at the time I was in Part 3 of my 5 Part series Save the World Academy. One of the women at the club blatantly refused to read my series as she didn't feel it was "complete." (-which my series is complete now BTW). But this same woman was also on the pre-order list for the final Twilight book. What makes Twilight more special? Perhaps a movie and young teens going ballistic makes someone invest more in a series.

People are sheep.
We as people can't wait for the next Game of Thrones episode (or book), but as individuals we realise we just don't care.

Media Hype means everyone gets on board. Marketing feeds us the latest phenomenon. And we don't get a choice. In the beginning Harry Potter was a quaint little bed time story for kids, and word got spread around. Then someone with money saw their child reading it and realised it had a market.

Another truth is; Every book has a Market.

Every series has an audience. Even badly edited material can drag in the hundreds of thousands as long as it is marketed correctly. It's a TV nation out there. Had anyone even heard of Harry Potter, Twilight, Game of Thrones, Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Vampire Diaries, True Blood, The 100 before it was a TV series or movie? In fact the only book I can consider as a media frenzy before the release of the film is the overly bloated 50 Shades of Grey.

Television is perhaps the most powerful medium on the planet. All writers know this, and they also know to write drivel that gets thrown on television is a literary sin. Selling out to commercialism. Only greats like Tolkien and Twain reserve the right to fame before the screen. And until your book is in the hands of producers, enjoy the art of creating your own world. Because that's what it's all about.

Check out my complete series here: www.jamesbrough.com

My man is a baby... why women think men should grow up.

So you're a woman.

You walk in to your apartment/house to find your husband/boyfriend playing videogames/watching cartoons.

"Oh my god, he's dragging me to another Avengers movie."
"If I see one more movie about planets that don't exist I will kill myself."
"Avatar. What a pile of crap." "Star Wars... ridiculous...."

Does this sound familiar?

And the obvious conclusion becomes this:

"Why won't my boyfriend/husband grow up?"

ANSWER: He isn't acting like a child. He doesn't need to grow up at all.

#Shock# you say. #Horror# I hear.

When Bob Kane first created Batman he was in his mid twenties. Along with Seigel and Schuster (Superman). Walt Disney was in his late thirties to early forties when he conceived Disney Land. Stan Lee was in his forties when he was Art Director on Marvel titles (X-men, Fantastic Four, Spider-man).

The point is this: Ladies, you are in the belief system that your husband/boyfriend is trapped in some Peter Pan complex when the simple truth is that there is no Peter Pan complex. All this material that is supposedly designed "for children" is created by adults. Children don't create these works of art. Adults do. Highly respected, well paid artists. I think some of the youngest, biggest talent to emerge in the comic/graphic world (Joe Mad - one of my personal heroes) were in there late teens to twenties regardless and are growing and still making an excellent career for their obsession with escapism. Because that's what it is. It's not about "only kids will like this." Have you even seen Ninja Scroll or Cowboy Bebop? It's about Art. Escapism in Art. Their is nothing childish in that.

Next point is: wouldn't you rather see your husband/boyfriend reading a comic or playing a game then lying to you and going off somewhere with his mates doing who knows what?
Do men ever say to women: "Stop painting your face with crayons and grow up."

No.

Men aren't babies. What's more childish is looking for drama where there needn't be drama.
As men; We need escape. We need Turtles. We need Batman. And you need us to need these things.

Check out my books at www.jamesbrough.com

 -- James

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles : FRANCHISE Monday #turtles #tmnt

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I wanna talk about my favourite franchise:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Why? Because they are cool.
It's not just because they're awesome. It's not just the amazing catchphrases, it's the character development, the personality behind 4 turtles that all looked exactly the same (until Michael Bay got ahold of them).
The idea was genius. The complex name reinventing the epic "people won't remember" ideology. Named after Renaissance artists that were also talented geniuses (and gay and bisexual but somehow that escaped the sensors radars). I was there when UK took away the "ninja" and made it "hero" (ninjas can't be heroes?)... Too late- they are and always will be ninja. As if that wasn't enough they took away michaelangelo's nunchucks. Kids already know he used this. It came with the toy - Sensor morons!
For die hard fans: the original turtles all had red bands. Then came a stroke of Disney genius by the team at Murakami-Wolf-Swenson (their company is just missing a Donald Draper and Roger Sterling at the end of the title) television show, running in line with the off-green colour figurines sold in stores. Where I lived in Witbank, you couldn't get the turtle van. It was rarer than a lump of gold.

I was obsessed with this franchise and in some ways I still am. The new movie wasn't spectacular, but it proves that the Turtles have a staying power that outways He-Man. That's right, I said it. He-Man did a reboot in 2000 and something to no ones interest. And it wasn't a bad reboot. All characters were redrawn modern like, skeletor wasn't his old silly blue self but a bad guy with weight. Maybe He-Man couldn't cut it in this world because a buff, tanned blonde guy is actually common these days  (and perhaps not so manly).
The turtles aren't about power. They are about skill and brains- that's what Turtle Power means. And I hate to piss off die hard original Turtle fans but Jon Liebesmen, producers who should call their company Bay-Fuller-Bryce-Form-Mednick-Walker (see what I did there 😉 ) actually DID A GOOD JOB!
The turtles had more than just different colour skin, their appearance gave away their individualality. I always used to think "why is Leonardo the leader when Donatello is smarter?" And the truth is that Donnie was a nerd... But he looked like a buff nerd that could kick ass (contrary much)- but in the new movie it made sense; his manner and appearance suited his personality. He wasn't leader material. For some reason the conflict is always between Raph and Leo. I get it, the alpha turtle thing, but maybe I'm just used to the Chandler Bing version of Raphael from the 80s cartoon.
Next was April O'neill.
Sorry Megan, you would have been ideal for this role seven years ago, but they should have gone with a fresh young face. Otherwise I would say the character of April in the movie was how it should have always been; she is bound and fated with the Turtles. I loved it.
Also - Will Arnett. I'm a huge fan and was psyched to hear he's Vern Fenwick. I laughed at his moments but found the April love obsession a little out of character for Vern. He could be funnier, but there's always the sequel.

Shredder was maybe a little OTT at the finale, but it's the Shredder. They had to upgrade him to take on four giant mutants. I enjoyed the fact that he was just a ruthless killer, not a plotting mastermind that seems like a dipshit throughout the cartoons and original films.

Let's talk Splinter; he's had all kinds of makeovers. He looked like a weasel in the original films, a dog in the original cartoon, and now a kind of rat guinea pig thing. But his seriousness can be commended. He is Yoda. That's it.

Ending off I can't wait to see this franchise grow. I have to see Krang made in hardcore 3D. Bebop and Rocksteady are rumored to be back in the mix. Baxter Stockman (black or white it don't matter) might make an appearance. Turtles has a franchise following that has the potential to be as big as Batman (it can happen 😬) and I don't doubt one day my kids are going to be running around outside screaming "COWABUNGA!"

Check out my books here: www.jamesbrough.com

STAR WARS VII: The Force Awakens (Franchise Galore) #Starwars #jjabrams

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Where to begin?
The Original Trilogy: Epic, amazing, inspiring.
Let's cut to many years later where George Lucas plunges right back into a prequel trilogy;
The funny thing is, George's new trilogy was SO bad that it inspired me to write my acclaimed Save the World Academy series. So was it really that bad? Yes and no.
George was going back into the industry with an untrained muscle. Writing is an art, much like painting, sketching, sculpting. You can't just put down a pen for two decades, pick it up and expect it to perform magical wonders. The sad part is everyone was praising him along the way, instead of being honest about JarJar. It didn't live up to the hype, and I think he knew it. There were obvious mistakes with the Phantom Menace (from a writing point of view.) The characters and actors were there, but the trilogy overall had too many political overtones that was boring.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens; a very vague preview (watch it here) was thrown on YouTube, revealing Storm Troopers (seen it), a Storm Trooper that looks like Tracy Morgan (that's new), a desert planet (seen it), and a lightsaber with bizarre red extras (Oooooohhhh).
Already their is a stink about this new lightsaber resembling an upside down crucifix - are you kidding me? Technically, these people who have these 'Religious Rants' about movies - everyone in their religious community should be asking "why are you watching this if you think it's wrong?" That's the real question.
But let me put down my Darth Maul ForceEffects Lightsaber for a second and let's put some things in perspective; the REAL worry that has fans biting their nails. Will JJ Abrams pull it off?
We know he's an awesome director. We know he can keep us entertained, but the big problem with JJ is he relies on the element of mystery a little too much (LOST, Alias). He likes to keep us guessing, but then when it comes to the final act, he can't follow the grand spectacle he dazzled us with in the beginning. This is JJ. He had us all asking 1 million questions at the end of LOST, only to leave a "meh" ending. If he does this with Star Wars, fans will be peeved.
Like all you Star Wars fans out there, I can't wait. I never want this franchise to end, and gladly George did the best thing in the world and let a respectable label take the mantle. Here's to many more Star Wars films... not just rehashes of the original trilogy.
Check out my books here: www.jamesbrough.com

Today's FRANCHISE: JURASSIC PARK #Jurassic Park, #JurassicWorld and #Chrispratt

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I wanna talk about it all! I love franchises... ever since I was a kid I knew I was an uber nerd: it wasn't enough that I have the figurine of my favourite character; I had to keep the box it came in.

My nostalgia switch was triggered this past week with the release of the new Jurassic World trailer: (check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFinNxS5KN4 )

I remember back in 1993, sitting in that movie theater, expecting to see some stop-motion dinos that I would immediately know is fake the second I set eyes upon it. Me, like 65 million others, were disappointed in the negativity department.
Spielberg's team made living, breathing dinosaurs so real that you couldn't rip your eyes away. You were in awe when you were supposed to be in awe, and scared sh*less when the Raptor's made their appearance. It was an unforgettable 2 hours that shaped my destiny into studying 3D animation. I still have all my 'making of' annuals and trading cards.
The problem is; how come Spielberg created such an epic film when he wasn't even totally focused on the project 100%? He was split between this and Schindler's List, and according to my research, he was more focused on his major oscar winner, Schindler's List.
Now cut to 1996-97, when Spielberg is completely engrossed in the project, ditching Michael Crichton's second novel, hiring the much-overrated David Koepp to write a baffling tale of hunters vs gatherers vs fatherhood vs dishonest girlfriend vs dinosaurs vs San Diego.
It was a mess.
My theory is that Spielberg thinks in terms of "shots". Not patron or tequila, I'm talking a "Spielberg Moment". For example; the scene in Jurassic Park where the glass of water ripples, or Close Encounters of the Third Kind where Dreyfuss makes the mountain in his living room. The only Spielberg moments from Lost World were the Twin trailer and Rexes scene (which was stolen from Crichton's dissed novel) and the attack on San Diego (Godzilla much?). It appears to me that Spielberg thereafter turns to his writer David Koepp and says, "I want these scenes... I don't care whatever mumbo jumbo you write inbetween, but I want Rexes pushing a bus, and Julianne Moore to walk on cracking glass overlooking a cliff."
The worst part about Lost World; the T-Rex roar.
 It wasn't up to the standard of the first film. It didn't scare you or hurt your ears. It was actors going through their set pieces. Surprise! Malcolm's daughter sneaks on to the island. Surprise! Raptors show up towards the end. Surprise! T-Rex shows up for the final act... gasp... in the city! Lame-lame-lame!

Thereafter Jurassic Park suffered with an over-the-top third film. The brightly coloured-fake-looking dinosaurs. The Spinosaurus killing Rex, the star of the first two films (need I say more?). Why did Sam Neill agree to this? A fun game to play is 'how many times does Sam Neill say "my god!" in JP3?'

That's why Jurassic World is so important to me. I need this franchise to be good. For the young guy in me that believed he wanted to make 3D this cool. For the writer that wanted to come up with an idea this awesome.
They are definitely on to something here; everyone wanted Jurassic Park to be real. Everyone wants to go see dinosaurs.
I'm happy they have Chris Pratt in this segment. I thought he was awesome in Everwood, and always underrated in his minor roles in big films (Moneyball for example). I have all faith he's going to add a fresh dimension. He's funny and natural (something I expected from Vince Vaughn in Lost World but was sorely let down.)
SO, SPIELBERG... give us natural looking dinos, a great story (not just "moments") and give me a real ear-splitting T-Rex roar.

Also, if you are into awesome stories, check out these books! www.jamesbrough.com

#Rockstar #Ubisoft need to read this

Subscribe in a reader While keeping an eye on my Rockstar games ( TTWO ) and Ubisoft ( UBI ) shares I ran into an interesting article about the quality of games being lower (reference links at the bottom of this post).
All this following the massive apology by Halo Master Chief, apologizing for the poor quality of games that are being forced out to reach investors "deadlines."

For consumers, they feel ripped off because of the amount paid per game, excluding the downloadable content (or DLC) can be anywhere between £40 - £60. This is a lot of money for a teen -adult audience to fork out, but since the early days of Online Gaming, I've been cautious to purchase a game straight away because of gaming company promises. Online gaming has always been a bit iffy, and at best it's always a risk to trust companies that have let you down in the past.

Let's look at some facts; UBISOFT are responsible for some big titles. And as Uncle Ben would say; with great titles comes great responsibility.

For example; Assassin's Creed has been guilty of using cliche mission styles throughout all their games, but this is what the gamers love. While Assassin's Creed 2 was a phenomenal step up in story and gameplay, it seemed Assassin's Creed 3 (AC3) left a sour taste with the whole "pro-America/Evil British" storyline, following a native American Indian (who will be wiped out by his American cousins at a later stage.) The story was weak, and overly sentimental. The big bad guy was not that epic, the clever twist in the beginning was crushed by the weak ending.
On to the missions: while being engaging, the character dialogue was so drawn out and boring that most players would rather skip the yawn-fest and get straight to the action, only to discover that the mission WAS to listen to these characters prattle on. Who's idea was that?
Fortunately for Ubisoft, they followed up their AC3 title with Black Flag. It saved the franchise, in my opinion, taking the best and smallest elements of AC3 (the ship and mysterious island missions) and expanding on them.
Now they've gone back to the snore-fest history lesson with AC Unity.
The problem here is the quality control; (apart from me) no one is honest enough to step into the studio and tell them that some of the elements are complete and utter crap. UBIsoft, feel free to mail me and I'll come in to your offices and set you straight.

Next is Rockstar Games: The big hit was GTA San Andreas. That's where it all went big for the studios. Your character could fly planes, jets, helicopters, jetpacks, use parachutes... the game felt like full escapism. Going back it was as if every prayer that people made on the multi-platinum Vice City had been answered and addressed with a bow.
Then came GTA 4.
No planes. No parachutes. Clunky movement. Getting pulled over quickly if drunk driving. Flying through the windscreen and dying if going to quick. It came so close to reality that it wasn't escapism any more, just a role playing restricted world. A big step backwards.
Was it the censors or investors restricting the creative minds? No planes allowed in virtual cities because of what happened in 9/11. Everyone knows this happened... what's the point in restricting a gamers experience? A virtual world that looks similar to New York can't be enjoyed on a virtual level?

And then there's the time it takes to travel between areas in these new "open world" settings. A player shouldn't have to spend twenty minutes to return to a certain spot because of a failed mission. It's the part of gaming people don't like. Let the gameplay or boss be the difficulty, not the journey (unless the mission is to reach a set marker in a given amount of time.)

Lastly, in closing, I sympathise with the big companies out there. I've run some online gaming projects, and a lot has been compromised for what investors, clients and managers want to see (which is dollar signs.) It's difficult to trust that one person will lead your project to greatness. But from experience, the elements of a good story can't be bottled and formulated. It takes a master storyteller to spin a good yarn, and an excellent team to produce what he was saying. Creatives are people who have been shouted at their whole lives, nurture them and you will have a good product.


Check out more at www.jamesbrough.com  ref: http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/will-assassin-s-creed-unity-change-the-way-critics-review-games
and http://venturebeat.com/2014/11/25/halo-the-master-chief-collection-is-still-broken/