Coraline the Movie

I thought everyone knew about the Coraline Movie coming out February 6th, but then I mentioned it to my mom and she was like "What's Coraline?".

It's a movie based on Neil Gaiman's book of the same name. It's a "children's" book, but think of it more along the lines of children's/adult book, since adults will definitely get a kick out of it. A girl, Coraline, and her parents, move to a large house, and Coraline is left alone since her parents are very busy. She starts to wish that things were different, and gets more than she wants.

So for all of those who don't know here's a trailer for it.

I think I think too much 2

Blanket statements are usually as stupid as the person who makes them.

Stupidity is a specific and varied quality.

Intelligence in one area does not equate to intelligence in all areas.

Don't Doubt

There's a little book that I've had for years called Don't Worry Make Money, that I've read several times. It's a whole bunch of small one or two page points to help you succeed. It's stated focus is on helping you make more money, but I often find it helps in other parts of my life as well.

Just this morning I picked it up and it opened to a page about doubt. It was one of those, "Man, I really needed to read this right now!" moments.

I've been doubting my talent and self-worth lately, due to my on going phobia of stagnation, and this little bit of advice was just what I needed.

Basically, it compares your real life to your dreams. It talks about how we never doubt our abilities in our dreams, if we're flying in our dreams, we never doubt that we can, and if we are strong, or rich, or intelligent, we never doubt it. So it asks why we doubt our abilities in the real world?

Doubting your abilities serves no good purpose, and merely holds us back.

So, Ive decided to not doubt, and just do.

Human-centric

I just read a really cool story called Clockwork Chickadee by Mary Robinette Kowal, and I realized something about myself.

I'm human-centric.

Everything I write about, draw, or paint is on a human level. My characters are human. Their problems are human. I paint humans. I draw humans. And even if there isn't a human in it, everything is still based on a human artifact.

I wonder if it is a good or bad thing. I wonder if it means my imagination is limited. I wonder if there's something that I'm missing.

And I read stories like this and wish I had written something as cool. And wonder if I will ever have a view point like hers.

Does anyone else ever encounter people with different ways of seeing things and just wish you could share that same vision?

I'm smart and I'll make you believe it

Recently I've been reading some blogs of authors whose books that I like. I usually don't do this, but since I have hours of time to fill at work on some days, I occupy myself online.

There is one author who I think of as a smart person technically, but the more I read his/her blog I realize he/she doesn't fit with one of my personal creeds. Which is:

A wise man knows he is not wise, and a smart man knows he is not smart.

(For the picky, feel free to substitute genders at will.)

I won't name the author, since I'm trying to keep this post as a general commentary. This author is not from the USA, which I have no problem with, considering some of my favorite authors are not from here. (If fact I have and still do classify him/her as one.) But, I find this author unselfconsciously Eurocentric, and in my opinion, self-consciously arrogant.

There is no hint that the author is self deprecating, no acknowledgment that he/she has ever been wrong or ever will be. Humility is probably a curse word and something to be avoided, and might even have been banned from the author's respective dictionary. I also find the author is fond of blanket statements, confusing them for enlightened facts, and more than fond of jumping on any bandwagon of political correctness that toots a horn.

But the important part of this, is that he/she, if confronted by these opinions, would deny them unto death or to an unreasonable grudge. And this is the heart of the conflict to the above creed.

This is just one example, but I have met others like him/her, though none so far along in their delusion. So this has prompted me to codify a way of recognizing such.

1. They are usually the loudest. Meaning, they will find some way to speak out about their opinions and "truths" or "facts", and will usually do so unsolicited. Also, they tend to do this with a high frequency, believing if they say it enough, it must be true.

2. Will only present themselves as intelligent. They may or may not be intelligent, but they will never, under any circumstances, let themselves come across as anything other than the smartest person in the group/world.

3. Call others on the carpet over minutia. If someone else talks about learning something, or knowing something, they will be the first, or most obnoxious, to point out where the person got such and such wrong. And will do so with no care or thought of the consequences for interpersonal or emotional damage.

4. Does not let up on points 1, 2, or 3, ever.

I think that most of us have or do fall into these behaviors once in a while (I know I have, and unfortunately, still do.) but it's point 4, that is the crux of the definition.

So, this has prompted me to make a decision. I will no longer purchase this author's books. I will read them, borrowed, free, or from the library, but otherwise will eschew them, unless I can get them for no cost.

The Digital Plague: System of Federated Nations Department of Public Health

An author I've been reading, Jeff Somers, who wrote The Electric Church and The Digital Plague, has these Alternate Reality Games or puzzles for each of the books. The first one was already solved by a forum called Unfiction, which is a ARG gaming forum. But the second is still going.

So, I've been trying to figure it out. There are a couple posts on the Unfiction boards and a member says that he emailed someone from the game and they emailed him back. But when I emailed him, a different person emailed me back. But here's the fun part, it was another person, who I took to be a character from the game!

So, the only conclusion is that the person I emailed, has to be the same person as the person on the Unfiction boards. Which means it's a plant, a la Pattern Recognition, a novel by William Gibson to get the game up and rolling. But I believe that I may be one of very few who are actually doing this, based on the small amount of signed up users, and the low post count on the Unification boards.

So I've figured out a couple things. There are number and letter combinations that seem out of place to me. I tried to figure out what they meant, like maybe they were a password and username, or maybe if you replaced the numbers with the corresponding letters from a telephone keypad you would get a meassage, but so far it hasn't worked, or I've chosen the wrong letters, or wrong substitution key for the numbers.

I thought that I was going up the wrong path, but then after I got this email from a character in the game from someone who professed to be a player of the game I examined "her" posts and found a puzzle that confirmed I'm on the right path. It's a first letter puzzle, where the first letter of each sentence, if read down, gives another sentence. Which is a trick Cordwainer Smith used in one of his books to say something about Kennedy.

So, the post I found says this:

Even now, I am afraid to move.
My batteries on this handheld are low
and I have no way of charging them.
Instinct tells me not to trust communications anyway.
Lines are party these days--they're sussing out survivors.
So I have to find other, more obscure ways of communicating.
In fact, a lot of what I say will mean nothing.
Going to die here, I suspect.
Not without a fight, of course.
And why should I survive anyway?
Too many others, dead, half the city or more--maybe everyone.
Unfair, isn't it.
Rightfully, I should have been one of the first to go.
Even now, I am afraid to move.

And if you read down the first letter you get this:

EMaIL SIGNATURE

Which is where I've been finding the numbers and codes!

So, I know I'm on the right path, I just have to figure out the solution.

If you want to check it out it's at http://the-electric-church.com/forum/index.php

If you figure something out let me know!

Why William Gibson is awesome

Here's a post from William Gibson's, the author of Neuromancer's, blog.

A Steely Dan concert is akin to witnessing the passage of a single multiplex vehicle the size of a motorcade or convoy, its various segments comprising limousines, ice-cream wagons, hearses, lunch-carts, ambulances, black marias, and motorcycle outriders, all of it Rolls-grade and lacquered like a tropical beetle. The horns glint, as it rolls majestically past, splendid, a thing of legend, and utterly peculiar unto itself.

Can you imagine thinking like that? I mean it's not in a book, he didn't spend 2 hours and 10 rewrites to write it, he just thinks that way.

Man, I'm jealous and hope my book has anything as cool as that in it.

Goose!

I was walking on my break at work and talking on my phone and almost ran into this goose. It was so calm and didn't move even when I got within 2 feet of it. I think it was a female, possible trying to find a place to lay eggs. After I got done taking its picture I noticed its partner off to the side walking back and forth trying to hiss at me. He wasn't very threatening though. You can kinda see him in the shadow on the upper right behind the bright edge of the container. I checked later and they were gone. I guess I ruined their plans for a nest.

Sometimes I think I think too much

Encouraging others in good pursuits, is the greatest thing anyone can do.

Success, is one small step followed by another.

Indecision is more expensive than the wrong decision.

My life in three frames

Via Garfield minus Garfield

Spice Monkey Chip Dip!

This chip dip is awesome!

Einstein Was Wrong

It's .00001 percent inspiration and 99.9999 percent perspiration.

Your City or Mine?

I've never understood the penchant for people to like or dislike certain cities. While I can't say I'm a world traveler, I have lived or visited enough places to set my own attitude.

If it is hot I like that, if it is cold I like that. I try to find the beauty and interest wherever I am.

I try to find joy and comfort inside myself. I don't look to others for my self worth or happiness.

If certain people offend you and you don't like them I can understand that, but to extend that feeling to the place, or everyone who lives in that place, is detrimental to your own well being.

Really, its the only solution. You have to be happy wherever you are.

New Job. Book Update.

Okay, I admit the last post was weird, but no one read it so it all worked out.

Since last time I've quit my job and have another, which is okay but far from my dream job. But At least I have more time at work to do other things (like write this) but at the same time it freaks out my eyes a lot more.

As far as the book is concerned, I'm on page 120 of the rewrite. Which is a good thing, except I keep getting distracted by other story ideas and have to set them aside until the rewrite is finished.

Thanksgiving is almost here and I have my bird in the brine bucket getting all flavorful and juicy. Last year I was told by my aunt that I made the best turkey she's ever had so I have a lot to live up to.

Happy Thanksgiving and good luck to the cook!

My Book is Finished, Kinda

With excitement and loss I finished my book Monday morning (September 3rd) just before noon.

Yay!

Now let the rewriting begin!

Unfortunately, this blog will still not be updated in a timely or reliable matter, but it does mean that I can give you a one line description of my book:

My book is concerning a man with no memory of his origin who's bent on killing the man who stole the minds of the only people he knows.

And of course there will be some probulation, dust mop wrestling, and drowning in meat sauce just to keep the natives happy.

The final count (subject to change) is 315 pages and 83,000 words.

Guess it's time to start the next story.

Not Boring?

You tell me if this is boring:

I wake up and write, then I go to work. After work I write or watch a tv show, then I go to sleep and do it again the next day.

(Content removed due to potential offensive, and job threatening comment.)

BTW I'm on page 262 in my book. When will it be done? Soon I hope.

Six String Samurai, or What The Heck!

(Post simulcast in Utahnics)*

In case you don't know, Netflix now has a feature where you can view movies online as well as get Dividy-Dees (DVD's to the uninformed) in the mail. So I thought I'd try out this new fangled gizmowatchit and started perusing their Sears-Roebuck (catalog to you squares) looking at my options like The Ice Pirates or Zone 39. (With titles like those you know it's going to be good.)

So finally after passing by such high quality movies, I ran across one called Six String Samurai. Now I know what you're thinking, 'How can anyone not immediately hit play with a title like that?' and I'll agree with you, I almost did. But since this intracomputerwidget has changed my habits I decided to check it out first.

My researchin' turned up all sorts of viewer reviews and dang it most people seemed to like it. So what the heck, let's hit play on that sucker!

So's I gets it going and we got some good old farm country with some troglodytes chasing a woman and her son, which reminds me of the good old days. Then this Buddy Holly looking stranger comes in and slices and dices with his sword but he was too late to save the woman. After he kills them he picks up his geetar and heads off to Lost Vegas to become the king. (In the movie Elvis is dead which you know is a lie.)
Then the kid, who doesn't seem too broken up about his momma being killed, starts to follow Buddy.

But this kid is like a eunuch in a whorehouse, (worthless, to you uppity types) and he starts making this sound like someone's gone and shoved a carrot in his bunghole and it won't come out. Now Buddy, he don't cotton to kids none, but this is a persistent little mother trucker who follows him through the whole movie.

Now I won't go into much more detail, (cause I don't want to ruinate it fors ya) but Buddy has to chop his way through a whole passel of folk like the synchronized bowling assassination team, the Red Elvis's (a real band by the way, I think they're Russian), Slash and the left overs from Gun's N Roses, windmill whorshipping zombie spacemen, garbage bag wearing gas mask faced Morlocks, and the remains of the Red Army all to get to Lost Vegas, because the King is dead and Buddy's next in line. (The show just starts off on the wrong foot with a lie like that.)

So after all of that yer probably thinking that this is a great movie, and I can't blame you, but lemme just say that if it twern't free I'da been screaming for my two bits back. The little bunghole stuffer, ruins the show but I think the biggest problem was that the man who wrote it can't find a decent line of dialogue to save himself from drowning in a teacup that he dang stuffed his own nose into.

But I will says this to ya, if'n you don't takes it too serious, it has some great one liners in there, and I wish old Buddy coulda found someone to trade that kid for a ratchet.

*Utahnics: If the dialect from the American South and the American West met, converted to the LDS faith, and had babies this would be the result.

Change of Direction

Writing this blog takes a lot of time, effort, creativity, and money that I can't spare. And since real life has finally reared its ugly head I've been considering a hard choice.

I am taking on a new project that is occupying all of my thoughts, creativity, inspiration, ingenuity, efforts, time, and brain power. Because of this I am going to have to cut back on my posting frequency.

Instead of posting five days a week I am now only going to post when the mood strikes.

I know that this will disappoint some, but this blog doesn't pay the bills. Since my new project has the potential to pay off and is something that I actually want to do, unlike my current job, I am going to concentrate my efforts on it.

I am being vague about what this project is because in the past when I've announced what I am going to do it seems like the entire world conspires against its completion.

You can still contact me through this blog and make comments because I am still going to monitor and take care of it, I just won't be writing as often as before.

Agent X44

This is some sort of Philippine secret agent show. I can't decide if I should get the dude's hair or the woman's nose plugs. I'm sure both are very discreet on undercover missions.

Battlestar Withdrawals and New Music

Battlestar Galactica ended its season until next year but it took me until last night when my Tivo didn't record a new episode for it to fully sink in. This is seriously one of the best shows on TV. I say one of the best because I couldn't decide between it and 24, otherwise it would be the best. And now I have to wait a full year until 2008 before the next season starts.

But there is some good news. The last 10 minutes of the season finale were simply awesome. It was filled with unexpected plot twists, impending doom, bringing people back from the dead, and more cliff hangers than you can shake a stick at, but wait there's more.

It also had one of the coolest renditions of Bob Dylan's All Along The Watchtower cutting in and out with lines from the song mixed into the dialogue and plot. The new arrangement was done by Bear McCreary, who scores the show, and his cousin sings the lyrics. And I have to wait until August before it will be released on a soundtrack. (The marketing guys should have had this ready to go, but oh well.)

So instead of getting the version I wanted, I went to Napster (not an illegal music site for many years, despite the out of touch with reality Rosie O'Donnell's assertions on her new show "Believe Everything That Spews From My Mouth and No One Gets Hurt") to find a similar version.

It turns out to be covered by quite a few bands but almost all of them took the Jimmy Hendrix route instead of an original one. Surprisingly, Bob's original version was the closest, so I jumped on over to Pandora.com and built myself a Bob Dylan channel (yes even I can't believe I didn't already have one).

But here's the cool part. Up pops this band that I've never heard of before called the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and they're awesome. So I went back to Napster and downloaded all their songs. So the good news is I found a new band and with Tivo's "don't delete until I tell you to" feature I can replay the end of Battlestar until August, when I can get my hands on that song.

(Lack of links are due to the late hour. But you're smart people Google's just around the corner.)