Avatar and immortality

Seeing the film 'Avatar" has helped me break through the writer's block which overcame me when my mother died last July. Grieving for someone who had so inspired me, I was not sure why I should continue writing the Behind the Sun series. What do I want to say? Watching Avatar, I wondered too what exactly Cameron was trying to tell us. The visuals are so fantastic that it's hard to concentrate on deeper meaning while being whirled around another planet. The ecological themes and the parallels to 'Dances with Wolves' are pretty obvious. Avatar raises the question of why we would abandon our own kind and 'turn native'. As one character asks Sully - 'What does it feel like to betray your species?
But Avatar provides no clear view on that and completely ignores a question which is deeply connected to avataras, a question which has always preoccupied humanity - immortality. The Sully character gets the chance to overcome his injuries and as you watch his first exuberant steps in the alien body, it's pretty clear he isn't going to give that up without a fight. In the movie the technology exists to allow anyone to do that, for any purpose, but this idea is never explored.
The idea of avataras used to mean the manifestation of a higher entity into a lower one, usually when the earth was in trouble, to set things right. Now it is used so much in computer games and reality shows that its original meaning is lost. The avatar may not be a force for good, only a way to expand and perhaps prolong our own lives, as it does for Sully in Avatar. In the last chapters of Behind the Sun, the characters have to confront the possibility of their own immortality - what it would mean for their sense of humanity and personal identity to be able to live indefinitely, in their own or other bodies. Gilgamesh (pic) gave up the search for eternal life, but medical science is leading us on. Organ transplants, artificial aids and the possibility of repairing the telomeres of our cells - in the end, what do we become? What do we want to become? The sequel to Behind the Sun is back on track.

Supanova super guys!!

No, I am not kneeling down! Great to catch up with ICT past students - Lance and Rappo at the Behind the Sun stall. The axe has no significance. They are both charming young men (even if they did major in software engineering instead of information systems :(

Richard Hatch at Supanova

Supanova 09 was terrific. Best memory was meeting Richard Hatch and getting a pic with him holding my book - which he made nice comments about - that's why they call them film stars! But really, a lovely guy - total charmer and even better looking than when he played Apollo. If I'd had the nerve I would have asked him to audition for the role of Rick Jones in Behind the Sun. Never mind, I'll keep him in mind for Annomee Awakening.

Amazing costumes and some great performances. Up for special mention is the Doctor Who - dead ringer for David Tennant - almost paid for his autograph.

Special thanks to Jen Gasston who struggled valiantly against the flu (managed to look amazing anyway in that blonde wig!), Ellie who stayed the whole day and Colleen Box who kept me amused for hours on end (and pushed me towards the Richard Hatch squee moment).

Annomee Awakening

After I finished writing Behind the Sun I couldn't wait to start on the sequel and The Golden Apples is well underway. But I also wanted to tell the stories of some of the Annomee, so I decided to co-write a prequel with Jen Gasston. Annomee Awakening should be finished by mid-year. It is set two years before the action starts in Behind the Sun so none of the characters from Earth know that Earth 2 even exists. The story follows the adventures of a group of young people who are abducted and taken to Earth 2 and their encounters with the Annomee (and all the other bizarre people on Earth 2). Of course, we couldn't get it all into one book so there will be at least one more Annomee book before their story intersects with that of the Millennium team.

Earth 2 - a great view

At last a clear picture of Earth 2, created by Jen Gasston from her memories of the return voyage from behind the sun (only joking Jen).
An article in National Geographic discussed what life would be like on a planet with a 45 degree tilt; greater variation in temperature between seasons and possibly less stability in the axial tilt (more wobbling). Apparently Earth's tilt has been a lot more extreme in the distant past. There would be an ice belt around the equator. What else?
We don;t find out in Behind the Sun because the climate on Earth 2 is not what it seems (nothing is).

Parents of Deaf Children workshop

Yesterday I attended an all day workshop run by the POD group, to help (grand)parents of deaf children improve their parenting skills and handle difficult situations which are particularly important for deaf children.
What an inspiring day! Not only because of the range of topics and skills which we covered but also because of the other participants. I met parents from six families all of whom are facing challenges which seem overwhelming. All of them have kept their sense of humour, gratitude for the things which go well and acceptance of things which they cannot seem to change. Most of these parents had children with multiple handicaps/illnesses and it was an inspiration to watch them interacting with their children and listen to their stories. I was humbled and grateful for the experience. Check out the website at
http://www.deafchildrenaustralia.org.au/

Live forever?

As I write both the prequel and sequel to Behind the Sun, I am thinking hard about the pros and cons of immortality (the characters', not mine!!). What do you think? Would you like to live for ever (or as long as you wanted to)?

I've been fascinated by this topic ever since reading The Epic of Gilgamesh (check out Silverberg's version - Gilgamesh the King). There's a good summary on the wikipedia page.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortality