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Tee Morris

Writer, podcaster. and streamer

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Blog

Looking to Mix Things Up: Thoughts on Ninja Leaving Twitch

On August 1, 2019, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins made the Internet implode with an announcement:

The next chapter,https://t.co/lvn9KBjEYq pic.twitter.com/tljVgyM3bG

— Ninja (@Ninja) August 1, 2019

Ninja’s move reminds me a bit of Howard Stern’s jump from terrestrial radio to satellite, only done with a lot more subtlety and grace. (You can only say “When I go to satellite…” so many times until I stop listening.) What was even more astounding was how Ninja brought thousands of new viewers to Mixer even before his first stream there. This announcement  carried such an impact that while at GenCon, I had someone ask me “Are you going to make the jump?” on noticing my “World’s Okayest Streamer” shirt. This was less than 24 hours after Ninja’s tweet.

So…what am I planning for the future?

As I say on my stream, “Let’s talk, Chat…”

[Read more…] about Looking to Mix Things Up: Thoughts on Ninja Leaving Twitch

Why Fake News Works: Internet Audiences Cannot Be Bothered

Yesterday, I had a pretty rattling exchange on Facebook. (I know — a bad back-and-forth on Facebook?! Inconceivable!) The headline reading “Hollywood Film Depicts Trump Supporters Being Hunted for Sport by Liberals” appeared in my feed, and immediately my “Peter Tingle” kicked into overdrive. I went to Google and looked up “The Hunt, 2019 film” as that was what this news article (not flagged by Facebook, mind you) was pertaining to. The official plot of The Hunt is as follows:

Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don’t know where they are, or how they got there. They don’t know they’ve been chosen… for a very specific purpose … The Hunt. In the shadow of a dark internet conspiracy theory, a group of globalist elites gathers for the very first time at a remote Manor House to hunt humans for sport. But the elites’ master plan is about to be derailed because one of the hunted, Crystal (Betty Gilpin, GLOW), knows The Hunters’ game better than they do. She turns the tables on the killers, picking them off, one by one, as she makes her way toward the mysterious woman (two-time Oscar® winner Hilary Swank) at the center of it all.

[Read more…] about Why Fake News Works: Internet Audiences Cannot Be Bothered

Getting My Writing Game On: GenCon 2019

Remember when I said I was going to get better at blogging?

Yeah. Good times.

It’s been an incredible few months, and a summer of change, of ideas, and of opportunities. I’m working now on two simultaneous projects. The priority project is the next novel in the Verity Fitzroy and the Ministry Seven novel, Secret of the Monkey God. Once again, Verity is uncovering the mystery of her parents’ untimely deaths and the enigmatic mastermind behind them. The second is an idea I’ve been kicking around for a few years. Villainy LLC is a comedy set in a world of superheroes that maybe should not have quit their previous careers. It’s partially inspired by The Boys and Watchmen with a bit of inspiration from my new day job, so I will see where the story will take me. I’m also casually working on another Destiny-inspired short story/novella from my favorite video game, Destiny. Shadowkeep is just around the corner and I feel like exercising some creative juices in that world from Bungie.

And throughout all this, I’m hitting the road once again.

[Read more…] about Getting My Writing Game On: GenCon 2019

The Hero’s Journey: A Spoiler-Free Review of AVENGERS ENDGAME

When the Iron Man trailer first appeared in theatres, there was a sense of optimism shared between moviegoers. We all thought the same thing: This looks pretty good. Iron Man was also the truest definition of “high risk, high reward” that studios rarely if ever do today. Instead of reboots and sequels and low-hanging fruit box office talent, Iron Man dared to launch Marvel Studios — a studio independent of the bigger institutions like 20th Century Fox and Sony — with a superhero not as familiar as X-Men or Spider-Man (still property of the earlier mentioned studios) and with a leading man saddled with a lot of bad baggage. Robert Downey, Jr. was well known for being an actor’s actor with talent to spare, but he also had a darkness that overshadowed his talent. His infamous quote to the presiding judge about his addiction “It’s like I have a loaded gun in my mouth, and I like the taste of metal.” made him, regardless of his talent, a potential powder keg of negative publicity. Still, in 2008, Marvel Studios kicked off their ambitious “Phase One” with a lesser-known superhero and a risky leading man.

But we had seen the trailer, and we all thought “This looks pretty good.”

What we didn’t know was how good Marvel Studio’s Iron Man would be.

Here we are, eleven years and twenty-two films later, and we have reached Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame. This is not so much of a sequel as it is the conclusion to what Marvel started in 2008. Endgame is exactly what the title says. Doctor Strange tells Tony Stark at the end of Avengers: Infinity War “We’re in the endgame now.” just before vanishing with half of Earth’s population. We now see in Endgame the remaining Avengers attempting to cope with the loss, and it is not going well. That is until a glimmer of hope from the last place anyone would expect it offers a way to make things right. If I say any more or get more specific, spoilers will be revealed so I will just leave it at that. This is all you need to know about Endgame, other than this film is the destination for storytelling that began over a decade ago.

If Iron Man is a definition of “high risk, high reward” then Avengers: Endgame is the definition of a “slow burn” in storytelling. There are call backs to many of the films that have come before, and this is what makes Marvel’s storytelling so exceptional. Everything connects, and does so without feeling shoehorned or contrived. Crossovers become essential moments in a story arc that began with Tony Stark meeting the unassuming Agent Phil Coulson of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (“Just call us S.H.I.E.L.D.”), all leading to the events of Avengers: Endgame.The success of Marvel Studios other studios have attempted to capture, most notably DC Studios; but what Marvel took five films to build up to, DC attempted to do across two. And it showed.

Another way Marvel managed to succeed in this incredible storytelling odyssey was in focusing on the story at hand. Details? Backstory? That would come. Bucky’s fate we discover in The Winter Soldier, the sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger. What about Peter Quill’s ability to hold on to an infinity stone with his bare hand? We didn’t find out until Volume 2 of Guardians of the Galaxy. How does Carol Danvers become Captain Marvel? We find this out near the end of her film. Marvel was never in a rush to get to Endgame, and we as an audience are given opportunities to know these superheroes as people. Not as Iron Man, Captain America, Black Window, or Captain Marvel, but as Tony, Steve, Natasha, and Carol. As for things we didn’t quite understand straight away? In Marvel we trust. They would get to it. This journey across the extended Marvel universe has always been something unique, something special. In 2012, The Avengers was regarded as the most ambitious undertaking a studio ever took on — a build-up across five films to this.

Turns out The Avengers was merely Act One.

Avengers: Endgame serves as the coda to a cinematic opus centered around the original vanguard of Marvel icons. Obviously, Marvel Studios is far from done in making movies that both casual and hardcore comic book fans line up for at the box office. Endgame, though, is a curtain call, beautifully captured in the end credits. Torches are passed. The team grows. New stories await to be told. This has been one amazing ride, and looking back on where it all began with Iron Man (which is exactly what we did the night after), it is astounding to see how far we have come since that first step in 2008. We still have other adventures to undertake, but until then, it’s time to take a breath and enjoy the view. There is only one thing left to say at this point…

Thank you, Marvel, for everything.

Getting My Awesome On: AwesomeCon 2019

Welcome to Washington DC’s premier pop culture event!

Last month, the 2019 convention season kicked off and kicked off with a grand time out west. My wife-of-infinite-awesome, Pip Ballantine, and I were Guests of Honor at Clockwork Alchemy, a steampunk event just outside of San Francisco, California. It was a good time, without question, with an additional bonus of a terrific sushi place across the street from the convention. Very convenient. Very nommy.

We have quite a few events ahead of us in 2019, but the one upcoming is more about me than about me and Pip, and this is where and when I begin to feel the butterflies kick up in my stomach.

[Read more…] about Getting My Awesome On: AwesomeCon 2019

The Best “Thank You” to an Author

The final adventure of Books & Braun — OPERATION: ENDGAME — is now live on all digital platforms. (Audio and print coming in January.) Both Pip and I are hoping this final chapter will offer up a finale that leaves you wanting more.

But when you are done with the read, I got a favor to ask…

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  • A New Adventure: Tee Morris on YouTube
  • 4 Lessons Learned in a 3-month Dummies Project
  • 4 Signs an Interview Has Gone South
  • Playing the Toughest Game on Twitch: The Numbers Game
  • Take Me to the River: The 2019 James River Writers Conference

What’s on Your Mind…

  • Cyberpunk 2077: No Patch Can Fix Bad Writing - Cyberpunk 2077 videos on Shop
  • 4 Lessons Learned in a 3-month Dummies Project on Playing the Toughest Game on Twitch: The Numbers Game
  • 4 Lessons Learned in a 3-month Dummies Project on Embracing the Dummie in Me
  • Indiana Jim on Embracing the Dummie in Me
  • 4 Signs an Interview Has Gone South on You Got This. And Other Things You Already Knew.

 

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