CDs Deceased, DVDs Done For

Which outdated technology do you miss the most, and why?

I miss CDs. I miss the days when my computer games were on CDs. I could go to the store and buy an oversized cardboard box that contained a small disc and maybe a booklet, then I went home and popped the CD in my computer. Those were the days.

I miss DVDs. I miss the excitement of the days when DVDs replaced videocassettes and all the possibilities that came with Digital Technology (!!). I miss DVD menus that had cast information and special features and documentaries in addition to the movie itself.

I miss the days when computers had CD and DVD ports. You slid the disc into a built-in player. Nowadays, you need a separate external player or you just stream things online.

More than anything, though, I miss owning my media. I miss having a tangible thing in my hand when I bought a movie or a video game. I miss my row of discs on a shelf and seeing what I own with my own eyes. Those days are gone. They’re just memories now. Should have recorded them on DVD.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

Urban Fantasy is … Where, Exactly?

So, my last couple posts have discussed what urban fantasy is and what it isn’t. Now that your curiosity is piqued, some among you may be wondering: Where can I find works of urban fantasy?

Everywhere, really.

Just to encompass how versatile urban fantasy is as a framework for storytelling, here’s a brief list of films, books, video games and comics that can be defined as urban fantasy.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians

The Tenth Kingdom (the first episode, at least)

Ghostbusters

Gremlins

Kingdom of Landover series (sort of)

Evil Dead

Any Marvel or DC product with magic in it

Any Scooby-Doo movie where the monsters are real

It’s a Wonderful Life

Dog Soldiers

The Secret World

Dracula

Grimm

The Dresden Files

Night at the Museum

The Shaggy Dog

The Shadow Over Innsmouth (most of H.P. Lovecraft’s works, actually)

Alan Wake

The Picture of Dorian Gray

And so many, many more.

Urban fantasy is vast, so expansive in scope that it can serve more as a thematic foundation for different types of stories than a specific genre in and of itself. After all, Dracula and Night at the Museum are very different, but both meet the criteria for urban fantasy. One is horror, and the other is comedy.

Urban fantasy is a genre, but it is also a theme. It is flexible enough to encompass virtually any story you can imagine.

I’ll leave you with a visual representation that I think captures the spirit of urban fantasy very well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX6vSOAPAF4

Enjoy what you’re reading? Subscribe by email for updates on new posts and follow my writing career, musings on fiction and storytelling, and reflections about life in general.