2018, and still no flying cars!

Blade Runner is set in 2019, so we have one more year to make that dystopian future a reality. Chances are pretty good that' ll happen. However, we were also promised flying cars. Giant tech companies like Tesla and Google have been working on self-driving vehicles, for a while now. Said companies have also made minor developments with flying cars, but I don't see them becoming commonplace by next year. Hundreds, if not thousands, of sci-fi movie promises, have gone unfulfilled over the course of the genre. If you followed brainoutloud you would know that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has essentially consumed me, but with the multitude of styles used over the course of 17 films (and still counting), and all those films constituting ONE story, I don't consider the MCU as any particular genre. Of course, the Star Wars saga is high on my list, but Blade Runner may be my favorite sci-fi movie of-all-time. Which is why I want my affordable, consumer-available, flying car by this time next year. I don't want Deckard to be a liar, like all the others.

Not to put too fine point upon it, but the last year has been a challenge. Among other things, my writing has suffered. Not technically. In fact, in that aspect, I'd say my writing has improved. In 2017 I have read book after book on how to be a better author. I regularly pick up a Writer's Digest magazine and find I can't put it down. I've watched hours of YouTube videos from other authors, who offer advice. A clear demonstrable example of my progress is evident when I cut and paste a paragraph into Grammarly. For those of you who are not familiar, Grammarly is writing-enhancement software that not only spell-checks your work but also proofreads for syntax and proper punctuation usage. When I first installed the program, a typical paragraph would be marked with dozens of errors. Just now, when I checked this one, there were only 2 critical issues. I misplaced a couple of commas.

If you want to write a book, a blog post, an email, or anything,  I can't recommend Grammarly highly enough. Brainoutloud is not sponsored, in any way, by Grammarly. I legitimately think its the bee's knees. Click here to try it for yourself. Its free!

Where my writing has suffered, is the lack of it that I have completed in 2017. Out of all the books, articles, and videos, I mentioned above; a common piece of advice is to "Write every day." Over the past month, I have gotten back on track with my third GI Joe fan-fiction for Amazon's Kindle Worlds program. Tentatively titled, GI JOE: Sandcastle Détente.

The downside is that I have not blogged as often as I'd like to. Completely missing the backlash and scrambling at Warner Brothers, caused by the disastrous Justice League failure. As a rabid GI Joe fanatic, I should have posted about a currently publishing cross-over, where they face off against...and I kid you not.... The Six Million Dollar Man. Speaking of The Real American Hero, Paramount has announced the release date of its third GI Joe film, slated for March 27th of 2020. It is expected to be a reboot. Quite frankly, the two existing films are awful, a reboot at least offers hope to Joe fans. I didn't even review the GI Joe episode of the Netflix documentary series, "The Toys That Made Us." Needless to say, it's amazing. Even though I already knew most of the facts covered, its great to see them all in one place, in neatly packaged, chronological order.

I had no time to add my input too, without a doubt the most exciting news of 2017. Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox, and the return of key Marvel properties. Seriously, nothing in the geek community has happened in 2017, that was more exciting than Disney buying Fox. Here is a quick brainoutloud.

You know when they hype something, by saying it will "change everything," this is one of those events. To those who feel Disney will ruin Deadpool, relax. Disney has produced R-Rated movies before. Ever heard of Pulp Fiction? One of the bloodiest movies of the 90s, with a record-setting 206 F-Bombs, sodomy, drug abuse, as well as a few racial slurs, and it was produced by Miramax; a division of Disney. Besides, if you believe Deadpool was a great movie because he repeatedly dropped the F-Bomb, you completely completely overlooked a fun, action-packed film, true to its source material, with a decent plot and the impeccable comedic timing of Ryan Renolds. Same with Logan, no critic gave that film high-praise because of the expletives. If you want to talk about a studio ruining Marvel characters, watch any of the Fantastic Four movies, or The Wolverine, or X-Men Apocalypse, or....You get the point.

So, in an effort to focus on my writing, I may not blog as often. As much as I've enjoyed providing my two-cents, it takes far to much time away from my personal, story-telling goals. Please continue to follow my Facebook and Twitter, to get updates when I do brainoutloud. Keep up-to-date with my progress on GI JOE: Sandcastle Détente. Get a sneak-peek at the new, original action/sci-fi series I've been excited to develop. More on that latter.

 My 2018 resolution; to write every day.