Writing in the Speculative Fiction/Alternative History Genre

One of my many writing ideas falls under the Speculative Fiction category, particularly the Alternative History genre. In the field of writing, and the arts in general, original ideas are important to find your niche and reader base. I learned early on, in my quest to become an artist, that there is a blurry and tricky line to originality and plagiarism. In both my art classes and creative writing classes I was taught that there is a practice called artistic licence. What this basically means is that an artist can use various types of works or ideas from others, but change things to create a unique work. The same applies to the alternative history genre of writing, whereby an author is using the factual real-world events or timelines and persons, but changes the course of history as we know it, to create an alternate universe of their creation.

An idea I have been fleshing out involves time travel, alternate realities, and corporate global take over. My inspiration comes greatly from the movies Timeline and Time Cop, and from watching an episode on the t.v. show the Universe, which talked about a branch of science called string theory.

The movie Timeline, based on the novel by Crichton, was about archaeologists on a site from the middle ages who discovers one of their own has vanished. Strangely they discover his eye-glasses and a note which carbon dates to the middle ages, but how-in-the-world could it have gotten there? Turns out a supporter of the dig is a company that has been working on time travel. The story sees the characters traveling back in time to see and experience the lives and the events surrounding the importance of the dig, with great thought to not changing history, or being stuck in the past.

Time Cop is a lot more sci-fi-ish, dealing with a police order who gos back in time to stop criminals who have traveled back to take advantage of particular eras to get rich or try and change history. There is involved a corporation who wants to exclusively own the rights and use of time travel, and some crooked up-and-coming politician. The basic premise here is changing history for the greed of power and money in corporate and government politics.  

String theory says that you cannot actually change our own time by going back and making changes. It is based on the theory that there exists multiple and alternative universes of our own world. Basically everything we do sets in motion the future, and to have done things differently creates an alternative and parallel world. For instance, if we could go back in time and somehow not have voted for Obama, and came back home to our own time, Obama would still be the President, but in that past time-world we visited to prevent his election, he is not the President, and a new alternative world was created and is being lived out in sync with ours. Supposedly there are near infinite strings alongside our own world-reality, ever splintering as we make day-to-day choices and think, what if ?

In the comic book world there has been a whole series of What If? alternate realities. In shows like Stargate the heroes have often visited alternate realities where things are either for the better or worse...it is a pretty interesting and complex concept- time travel and alternate histories. 

Without title, fleshed out characters, or even a true outline for the making of a story, I have been toying with these concepts for such a book. My take on it involves the research and development for the means of time travel some years back, and unbeknown to the public, people have been going back in time for decades. It is discovered through these experiments, that time never changes here for us, no matter where we go or what we do, things still remain the same here. Unfortunately for other alternative worlds we visit, things change a lot, and higher-powers with less than altruistic motives have been using time-travel and these alternate worlds as their personal playgrounds.

Imagine a corporation, government, or multiple entities, with the power of time travel; and though our world is relatively safe from having our histories and lives changed when we wake up one morning (but never realize it), what would be the ethical ramifications of changing history and the lives of our alternative selves? Though we could not change our own world by going back in time, what if we could go back and set into motion certain events to study the outcome, and apply those findings to our own world? Could we go back knowing when, how, why the economy became as it was, and make changes to see if it fixes our problems as they are, like a lab test with multiple rats and a control group, other alternate worlds could be our own testing lab. Are these "other" people even really real? Is it akin to playing God? If it saves lives and makes our world for the better, does it make it right, being that these alternative time lines and people are really us? I don't know, but I'd like to explore the idea. 

Imagine too, being able to go back in time as a historian or archaeologist to see first hand how things really were, imagine what we could learn. I could also envision some sort of tourism in time travel; how much would people pay to visit other eras, experience past cultures, live as a king or general in a war? After all anything is possible.

So I'm thinking for my story, a corporation and/or the government is using this technology to test advancement of products and technologies, and to "time-test" the changing of events for use back here in our own "ground-zero" world. It has been a secret for many years, but some how the technology and practices has been leaked to a select group of individuals, and it is threatened to be divulged to the public. "They" wouldn't want to allow that! I toy with ideas of a very selective and wealthy group who offer time-travel journey licenses for small fortunes, by which groups and individuals can act out, in real life, but in an alternate reality, being a conquering king, a victorious general in war, or some savvy financier who bankrupts an entire nation or even the world to apply financial theories as to how to make trillions in our own world. I too think of a group of people, who with knowledge of this technology and the practices, also go back in time to apprehend these meddlers of time, and who fight for the cause of justice for the poor people who are victims of our own worlds lusts for power and riches.

Cable Woes

My cable and internet service provider is Comcast and over the past year I have had nothing but problems with various aspects of my service/equipment...

First it was the constant disconnection of the internet. We have one PC connected to the modem, a wireless device connected to the modem, and I use my laptop which connects via the wireless modem device. It seemed every week there was connection issues and finally it came down to just having a bad modem; apparently it was a used one and we were offered a newer model by the tech. It has been right as rain since...the internet anyway.

The cable service? Not so much...

I don't know if it is standard with these cable boxes, but if they are unplugged for a length of time they have to be remotely reset, and more often than not a tech must come out to check the box and reestablish connectivity. I should know, they are nearly on a first name basis here with me.

The real issues started when we realized that we were being charged for a DVR/HD box as part of our subscription service...I didn't know much about using a DVR and as far as HD, having an HD t.v. I tried to view the HD channels but all I got was sound. HD sound I guess...and I repeatedly pressed the DVR button on my remote with no luck.

So I call tech support, and they tried this and that over the phone...stumped...then we checked the box numbers and found the issue. We did not have a DVR/HD box in the house, but according to Comcast we did, and were being charged. Bummer.

I disconnected the box and took it in to trade for what I needed and had been paying for. For sure, it was a shiny silver box...took it home, hooked it up...booo, nothing...call tech support...nothing...had to schedule a service visit.

Come to find out too, the lady at the shop hadn't input the correct box number, so it wasn't making the connection. I feel like someone out there was watching my channels then. Damn them.

The tech guy was really helpful, I was pleased with his service and help. He checked the outside lines and connections, as well as inside. We have multiple splits, some in use, some not, and he explained that the splits cause "bleeds" in the service feeds, and he showed that we were supposed to be getting "x" amount of cable power and were not. He also divulged that it was a recurring issues with neighbors, part our fault for the splits, part the cable providers because there were issues with the outside boxes that he was resolving. So he cleaned up our lines, cosing off useless lines and reconnecting the multiple lines we wanted for use in various rooms of the house.

Hooray for cable, and HD, and DVR!

All was good in cable land for a time...until we decided to move things around in various rooms and disconnect boxes for a new t.v. or switching out a t.v. from one room to the other. Again we lost the connection, the folks on the other end of the phone tried their magic, but no...a tech must come out again. At least we were not charged for them to come out, that would have been a whole other story, believe you me.

Well here I am today...times are a little rough and we are trying to cut down costs. We have taken back the DVR box and scaled down our cable subscription. Having disconnected boxes and reconnected boxes...you can see where this is going.

Still waiting on the tech guy to come by this morning. No Robin Meade and my morning dose of HLN today.

AMERICAN CHOPPER: SR. vs. JR. PART 1

AMERICAN CHOPPER: Sr. vs. Jr.
Ratings Ploy or Real Reality Show Drama?
By G.J. Lentz , and based solely as a viewer and fan of the show...

Originally a Discovery Channel reality-tv show that started in March 2003, American Choppers has followed the challenges and successes of the Teutul family and their increasingly more popular and prosperous business of building custom bikes from their New York based Orange County Choppers (O.C.C.). In December 2007 the show moved to Discovery's sister channel TLC, it has maintained a broad cult following as the show has not only offered a look at custom bike building, but into the working and personal dynamics of Paul "Senior", Paul "Junior", and Mikey, the three main characters at the heart of the show. Now, I say characters, because these guys are true "characters"; their antics, and often conflicting personal and professional values, are as-much-if-not-more, a driving force of the shows success- as are the fantastic designs and builds of their custom bikes. TLC announced the cancelling of the series in 2010, but then announced that the Teutuls would be starring in a new version of the series, American Chopper: Sr. vs. Jr.

I for one fell in love with the show from the very start and had followed their episodes for several years. I have never been very mechanically inclined, or interested in cars and vehicles in general, but I have a great appreciation for classic cars and custom builds. I owned a 1979 Honda bike once, they thrill me, and I would do pretty much anything to have a cool, sleek, custom built American Chopper by the gang of O.C.C. One of my favorite aspects of the show is that they often build custom designed bikes for charity, and had even spawned several series of FANtasy Bikes, given to disadvantaged individuals with a myriad of personal and/or financial set-backs. A staple of the show and the O.C.C. philosophy of giving back has lent a lot of success to the business and of the show as a reality television series.

I actually fell out of touch with the series sometime back, though from time to time I caught an episode, never any less amazed by the designs and the drama that is the very core of the series. I saw an advertisement for the start of a new series, and it caught my attention because I had not heard of this supposed fall out between Pauls Senior and Junior. It intrigued me...I needed to know more! Must! Watch!

I don't know if it was the same-old-same-old that gave way to my losing interest in keeping up with show or not...sometimes I felt the show was a rerun with just a different looking bike, which was always cool, I was never bored seeing those bikes become a reality from conception. I was drawn to the show, as many were and are, by the antics of the three Teutuls, in particular the dynamic of Senior and Junior, as much as the bike designs. So now of course, I catch wind of this falling out in the family...something about a lawsuit between father and son...and Paulie Junior starting his own shop?! What?! The drama that greatly surrounded this show and business was father and son, Senior and Junior, and for a time I felt that the novelty of their squabbles was wearing off, almost to a staged content, when this is supposed to be reality. We all know how the episodes go: a new fantastic bike design, talented designers and builders like the Teutuls and Vinnie and Rick, Paulie is on his phone a lot, goes AWOL a lot, Senior yells a lot, and Vinnie and Rick just kinda look around like, "Really? Can we just build a bike?" The show wouldn't be what it was and is, if it wasn't for the drama and the antics, but sometimes it seemed to be at a point where each Senior and Paulie were overly whining their point-of-views like the same old song and dance, a broken record...broken record...broken record....

Now there is some fresh new drama on the eve of the shows planned cancellation. Coincidence? Perhaps. Ratings ploy? Could be. Revamped reality series to draw back viewers and ratings? Most definitely. I'm hooked either way "really".

So Paulie finally gets fired or quits "for reals" this time, and I find that Vinnie was no longer a part of O.C.C., and apparently a lot of personalities have changed since I had last followed the series. In a nutshell father and son are not speaking, the uncanny Mikey is caught in the middle, and their is a lawsuit in regards to ownership rights and worth of Paulie's part of the business. In the midst of this family and professional, and very public drama, Junior decides to start his own shop called Paul Jr. Designs, to be his own man and show his father once and for all he was an important part of the companies and shows success, that for all of Paul Seniors blustering and ball busting, "Yes Daddy I do too!!"

So for me, here is Paul Senior's view: He brings himself up out of the troubles of his youth and addiction, starts building bikes out of his basement, starts a shop that actually shows some real potential, and with the help of starring in his own world acclaimed reality series, his business, Orange County Choppers flies high. But...he is only one man, and the show wasn't about one man. And...it's about bikes, and not just any kind of bikes, but custom American made choppers, and we all have seen the various contributions these guys of American Choppers have put into the bikes. I kind of see Paul Seior in the background a lot, coming out to check up and critique, and move the work in different directions; sometimes he does so for the good of the bike build and sometimes I think he is a hindrance. From a business owner's point of view, that is his right, to supervise and make judgement calls. The brand and success started with him, and it is his business.

Now, his relationship with his kids has been strained in the past because of his personal failings and addiction. He has this great business concept that is taking off, and part of his new life is to try and make up for the past. He does so in part by having his kids work for him, so they can all share in the passion of bikes together, and share in the success of the business together. We have all seen how hard Senior can be towards Paulie, and one hand we can empathize with Senior because he is running a multi-aspect business while trying to be a positive father figure in his son's life. Senior often claims, in bellowing outbursts and a door crashing manner, that Paulie is lazy, inconsiderate, unprofessional, and just along for the proverbial ride. I can see this from the show, and I can agree...to an extent with Paul Sr.

In any relationship personal or business, we always have to take a look at the other side. Paulie Junior has a talent for design, and his designs have been a big part of O.C.C. success through American Chopper. Many times Senior comes out of the office all huffy-puffy because Junior is just standing around, and the bike is not making progress. Well, in Junior's defense, as a designer, and a lead-designer in the company, he is going to be putting a lot of "thought" into the process, and not always just a lot of "doing". Senior cannot see the cogs and gears working in Juniors head, but if he doesn't see Paulie bending some steel or cranking a wrench, he must be slacking again. Now, Pauie does have his fair share of blame, he does slack often, but he produces and comes through. Senior often argues that Paulie leaves the gang hanging, when he should be leading and should be in the middle of the process. Point True. However, but not always, Paulie does often enough direct and delegate in the tasks of getting the bike complete.

It is without a doubt a drama, it is interesting, we all can pick our sides, empathize with one or the other, even both, and we still get some kick ass choppers out of it. I don't know if it is really reality here with Senior vs. Junior, but it has me glued and watching. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. Right now in the ring of Sr. vs. Jr. I am rooting for Paulie, for the success of Paul Jr. Designs. I have long been in the middle, seeing both sides, leaning towards one or the other at different times, and I find myself leaning towards Paulie's side of things at the moment.

Why? I can empathize with Paulie wanting to be his own man and tiring of feeling like his efforts don't account for what it should in the scheme of things that is O.C.C. the business, the family, and the t.v. show. I truly think his designs were an important part of the business success, that Senior doesn't seem to want to acknowledge to the entirity deserving of Paulie. I also root for Paulie, because I still see and believe in a lot of what Senior says and I have seen it on the show, Paulie does need to buck up, man up. I think he can do it, and while I am a huge proponent of family values, of coming to terms and resolving problems for the positive, and that I would like to see the Teutuls become whole again, I really like this new concept of father versus son. It has been a theme from day one really, but now it has taken on a whole new life, and I absolutely love it.

After only a few episodes so far, Paulie has gotten his shop together, has a crew together, and trying to manage the build and unveiling of two bikes, each having their own importance and meaning to Paulie and to the business. It was a smart move to decide on building a "shop" bike to get things moving for moral and for his own moment. I can understand his feelings that over at O.C.C. there are many concepts he bore but cannot have due to the falling out with his father on the trinity of personal, professional, and legal facets. I really liked his web themed bikes, but I am stuck in the middle on whether it was a good choice of a first bike. Yeah, I see the point and desire to say, "Hey, remember me? See Dad?" But now he has got his first business deal, the Geico bike, which is even more important than the new web bike. Trying to build both with time restraints and talent restraints is both ballsy and chance, but that too has been a staple of American Chopper. The family feud unfolds more, and I see Paul Senior now as more of the whiner: I started this business, I started making bikes...and now that the prodigal son is starting his own competitive business and trying to take a piece of the pie from the old man, we kind of see a different side of Senior. He should be ashamed of his sabotage attempt, in trying to buy out Lee from under Paulie. As a father and business leader, that was not a good move to gain support for his side.

I hope there is more reality in this series than ploy for ratings; the reality aspect is important of course, else it isn't a reality show. Is it bad that we are drawn in interest of the personal trials of these guys and their business? Not so much. They chose to be on t.v. and we choose to keep watching.