If I wished to say in words all that I intended to express in the novel, I would have to write from the very beginning the same novel that I had already written. And if critics understand and can express in a newspaper article what I want to say, I must congratulate them.

With some books, the author’s message and intentions can be so blatant that they are distracting; it feels like the author cares more about preaching his personal agenda than he does about telling a good story. This Tolstoy quote is a refreshing reminder that other authors see the narrative elements of their work as essential to the meaning, not just as an unnecessary cloak that can just easily be removed.

As the web continues to grow in size and popularity, more and more professions require a basic understanding of the core technologies behind the internet. This course will provide undergraduate students with a working knowledge of HTML, CSS, domain registration, web hosting, JavaScript, server-side scripting, FTP, and more. We will look at how these technologies are encapsulated into content management systems, spending considerable time working with WordPress as an example. It is becoming increasingly important for individuals to take control of how they are portrayed online, and this course will explore how individuals can use these tools to do that. The course will include discussion of popular hosted publishing tools and social networking sites, as well, looking at how they contribute to an overall online presence. The final project will include developing a functional web site using the concepts and the technologies discussed throughout the course.

(For my Sooner friends, I want to assure you that UTD has no relationship to UT in Austin. It is completely independent — just like University of California and UCLA are independent — and UTD has its own, non-Longhorn mascot. So everything is good there.)

UPDATES

• 11/18/2009: Paul Boag’s book Website Owners Manual came out last week, a book I had been anxiously awaiting. I downloaded the PDF version, and I will definitely be using it as the textbook for my course.
• 11/29/2009: There’s now an entry for my course in the official UTD online coursebook: I’m affectionately known as “-Staff-” right now in the listing.
• 12/02/2009: I have started my course web site: ATEC 3361 / Spring 2010. I need to add quite a lot of content before January 1, but I think it’s taking shape.

• Similarities: I thought the movie really captured the look of the book well. I also thought the message of the book was retained in the movie. Imagination can be a powerful force for good.

• Good Difference: The movie was a lot darker than the book. I think the subject matter of the story (how to cope with the harsh realities of life) is well-suited for a serious treatment, and I am not at all opposed to the same narrative being handled in two different works of art intended for different audiences. The book was light-hearted and whimsical, appropriate for children and adults alike: the movie was heavy and thoughtful, probably more appropriate for adults.

• Bad Difference: The movie was a lot longer than the book. I didn’t mind the expanded elements of Max’s back story as much as I thought I would: if anything, the movie should have expanded that part of the story even more. The trouble is that the story entrenches you firmly inside a child’s imagination, and that’s a very strange place to be for ninety minutes. In the book, I can smile as Max tames the wild things by staring into their eyes without blinking; but in the movie, the long discussion about double re-crackers was just too much for me. I found the portrayal of childhood to be honest and insightful — but also very tedious.

All in all, Where The Wild Things Are is probably one of those genius films that is just not that enjoyable to watch.

Update: Orson Scott Card, the author whose Alvin Maker series I am currently enjoying, posted about this movie on his blog. I certainly appreciated some of his comments:

• “It’s an art film — which means that it is deliberately strange and unexplained.”
• “I have never seen a more nakedly honest treatment of childhood anywhere, ever.”
• “The actual story and relationships are absolutely real. It’s like going back to kindergarten […] and […] not just kindergartners. All the shifting moods and loyalties and jealousies and rages and heartbreaks also happen in middle school. And high school. And college. And in companies and shops and family reunions populated entirely by adults.”
• “I’ve learned to overlook the pretentious undertelling of arty filmmaking. […] If that were the only negative, I’d simply warn you about it (as I warned people about the artiness of the brilliant Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).”
• “I hate[d] it every bit as much as I loved it.”

You can read his full comments, including why he hated the movie, in his blog School Trip, Wild Things, Barefoot to Zion.