How Weird Al Yankovic was a Huge Influence on Me

Earlier this year, Jamie and I hurried down to Hollywood to see Weird Al get his star on the Walk of Fame. I'd never done that before, and there are few for whom I'd take that sort of time. 

The reason for this was evident when we accidentally went the week before and saw Jennifer Garner get her star right next to where his would be. (I had gotten the date wrong.) As we drove away, the person speaking at the event said, "Jennifer Garner is better than all of us." No joke, those were the woman's exact words.

What I have always loved about Weird Al is that he's outside all that Hollywood bullshit. Beyond being just a satirist, he's always provided an alternative to what we're told is supposed to be important, while not playing into the childish "conform to nonconformity" either. He's shown that it's okay to be different, to be smart, to be "weird." While much of that may seem obvious, it wasn't obvious to many as I was growing up.

In the '80s,just knowing how to run a computer got you labeled as a nerd and unworthy of popularity. God forbid you should be creative and interested in intellectual pursuits. Even being into Weird Al's music was considered lowbrow. It's a much different, and much better world today; one where differences are more celebrated and intelligence is a bit more appreciated.

But Al got me through a lot of lonely times, despite being seemingly nothing more than a comedian copying other people's music. It was simply the image of "being weird and oddball and different is okay" that was so important to me. So for that I can't think of anyone better to have gotten this star. I'll be sure to step all over it in the coming years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAYgZ_zzyTE

#weirdal #walkoffame #music #comedy #thomaslenon

Why Marvel is a Huge Influence on Relic Worlds

I never thought I'd be such a huge fan of Marvel.  When I was younger I was a DC guy; in particular I followed Batman, and story lines that took a darker turn.  But what Marvel has done over the past 5 to 10 years is nothing short of miraculous.

It's a minor miracle whenever any movie gets made.  I know; I've worked in that industry for a long time.  The number of elements you need just to bring together a single movie is head-spinning.  So for them to be so ambitious as to plan a series of movies that tie together, then one movie that brings them all together... that takes balls of steel.

Thank god it was successful, because it's spawned a franchise that I believe is one of the best of all time.  I've always liked the idea of the larger world around the characters being developed.  Each individual is just a cog in the larger machine.  With the Marvel movies, TV shows, games, etc. that is exactly what they have done.  Like a photo that is made up of many smaller photos, they have all painted a larger image.

This is what I want to do with Relic Worlds, and what I have been striving for.  Even though this particular series focuses a lot more on one central character, I have developed a whole section of the galaxy complete with star systems, planets, corporate governments, etc.  The idea is for there to be a larger story arc in addition to the smaller story told about Lancaster James and his close friends.

It's sometimes hard to know whether a company is doing this just to make more money, or if they're truly expanding to make a larger story, but if it's telling a good tale, I'll bite.