Molasses up Monadnock Midwinter

Is the speed of my progress with the “Novelization.” It’s okay, I made one paragraph sound really spiffy. While life is the way it is, I have to be satisfied with the little I can do. I got myself on here working on it 3 out of 4 days this week. Bravo, Rhiannon. Keep it up, you lazybum!

How the Hell…

…do you write poetry that’s not cliche?

…do you write a blog that’s not passe?

…do I work the words “I love you” into my speech, everyday?

…do I describe my feelings…

I feel like a complex creature, but it’s only an illusion.  I know this.

I want the same things you do, and I feel the same things you feel.

How the hell am I supposed to write words resounding eternally from now…

…to myself, and to everyone?

Random update

-I have now managed to get myself to work on the book two days in a row.  Not much to show for it, but we’ll get there.

-Because of Joey, I am now obsessed with Barenaked Ladies’ Snacktime! album.  I’ve listened to it for nearly two weeks straight.

-I picked up the ole Biblee tonight because Josh made me feel guilty; I felt less guilty after reading and praying a little.

Goodnight…*headdesk*

What a To-do

I wrote a hand full tonight.  Yay me.  Finished off the first sequence of the screenplay.  Finally.  Maybe this is a sign of things settling down, and regular progress will continue from here on out.  There still isn’t enough time in the day though.  I really should be in bed within the hour.

I also worked a bit on a Taftkan short story.  Trying to make it good enough to submit to magazines.  It’s got to be in gold shape.  Only wrote a tiny pinch more there, but hey–I’m writing a blog now!  Go me.

Now I’m going to read a little.  Just a little.  Trying to get just that, a little, into every day.  Who knows.  Some days may turn into more than others just by getting myself to do a little.  Also, announcing it here may get me to actually do it.  So here’s to doin’.

PS  Anyone wanna sign a petition to add eight non-working hours to the day, and two additional days to the weekend?

An Asian InVasion

And by invasion, I mean I’ve learned a bunch of things today that ALL tie together by their Asian roots.  First up:

The Difference Between Kai, Kai Lan, and Kai-lan

Kai – A butt kicking dead guy from Brunnus-2, in the light universe, by way of The Cluster.  While in The Cluster he served as an undead assassin to the leader of the Divine Order, the Divine Shadow.  He did this for two-thousand and eight years, at which time he regained his memories (as well as many thousands of others from the Divine Predecessors), and joined Zev/Xev of B3K, robot head 790 (a precursor to Bender) and Stanley Tweedle on the Lexx–the most destructive, and most phallic-ly shaped, force in the two universes.  (See: Lexx for more info…and that was all from memory people, lol.)

Kai-Lan – The little girl and main character in the Nickelodeon kid series, Ni Hao, Kai-Lan.  Who has many friends that help little Kai-Lan on her adventures and teach children the basics of the Mandarin Chinese language.  My niece is four years old and hooked on this show.  She was very pleased when she was finally big enough to wear the Japanese style pajamas I bought her when she was one, while I was stationed in Okinawa with the Marines.  Good times.

Kai-lan – is also known as Chinese Broccoli.  It’s green; it’s leafy; it’s great in a stur fry with garlic.  I suggest you all go get some and try it tonight!

Chang Apana

First came across this guy a LONG time ago.  He was the inspiration for the famous Chinese detective of literature and film, Charlie Chan.  Chan was very similar to Agatha Christie’s Poirot, but Chan could NOT have differed more from Chang.  A scrawny, whip carrying, cowboy, better describes this detective on the Hawaiian Police force.

I found Chang while reading a book review in last week’s The New Yorker.  Did my google research, and I am feeling inspired MYSELF, by this man.  Not by his impressive gift of being a great sleuth, but by how WILD the real man actually was.  Called “paniolo,” meaning “cowboy” in the Hawaiian language, it was more of a description of what he did BEFORE he became a detective.  Work, where he made sure the locals were treating their horses right.  I imagine he gained a lot of his later, super-human abilities here.

This guy, in one form or another, will appear in the Taftkan Materials series.  We’ve been looking for some unique American Legends to incorporate in our themes. I love how inspiration still manages to find us, even while working full-time, having full-time lives, and spending all of our left over energy on writing.  I definitely feel the stress … and I DON’T know if it’s the awesome tunes I have playing (Main Street Rag – A Mighty Wind) … but I’m gonna say it “hurts so good.”

Lexx, Season Two: The Web and The Net

Lexx, a cult classic by my own definition (if not any other … I don’t think I know any other Lexx fans), is the strangest SciFi show I’ve ever seen.  It is also my favorite; I’m not sure why.  It may be from the brilliant way the show is written–a show that makes fun of scifi shows, while itself maintaining all the elements of a traditional scifi show.  The through plot in the first season was genius, albeit a little ridiculous at times.  However, that may be due to the show’s nature to resemble porn.

I brought all this up, because I am slowly working my way through the series (it’s currently available–in its entirety–on hulu), and I’ve come to this even stranger pair of episodes.  “The Web” is labeled episode thirteen, and the plot is nearly identical to the one in the “following” episode, “The Net.”  Upon Google-research, I discovered that “The Web” was not actually aired on the SciFi Channel due to this similarity.  It was originally “aired” online, the same night “The Net” aired on the SciFi Channel.

If you decide to watch either of these, skip “The Web” and go with “The Net.”  The episodes are SO similar, I don’t see any worth in watching the first.  There is more detail in “The Net,” and no loose ends.

I WAS disappointed that these two episodes weren’t related in any way further.  When I started watching “The Net,” (which was immediately after watching “The Web”) I thought there might have been an error in the videos on hulu, that was when I conducted my “research,” and decided it was a good idea to write a post about it.  Just wanted to clarify for other fans who may also have been confused.  I had hoped “The Net” would turn out to be a furthering of the story “The Web” … as if they were reliving everything, because they actually hadn’t escaped.  I was so sad to find out that wasn’t the case.

Kelsi is Driving

Yeah.  It’s true, and Rhiannon is in the car with her.  If I didn’t spend the past three days driving with the world’s scariest drivers, I might be worried for the other half of this gig.  Not that I don’t already LOVE my new friends (who shall remain nameless, but you know who you are) … the two hour drives these past three mornings have certainly turned me into a more aware passenger.  And they’ve kept me awake … for most of the ride at least.

So, I’ve been listening to the Barenaked Ladies‘ Snacktime album for this month.  I cannot stress how great this album is–for kids as well as adults.  The lyrics are creative. The images the lyrics spark are vibrant and hilarious.  Many of the songs are very short, under a minute on some, but all are packed a unique energy that can only come from a Barenaked Ladies song.  They sample various styles, sometimes more than one in the same song.  Pollywog in a Bog (one of my personal favorites, and see video to the side for the song) sounds like a traditional story-time song, then gets injected with rasta-rap in the bridge.  Eraser features sounds that are both Pink Floyd AND Queen … yeah, wrap your brain around that one.

And I’ve got to wrap this one up.  Need to put in the links, then I have a hot date at 7.  I’ll tell you guys more about him sometime … maybe.

P.S. Rhiannon made it though the drive, alive.

What Not

What is there to say,

That is not, already, cliche?

That’s my poem.  Like it?  I do.  I’m considering another verse somehow incorporating the word “rhyme,” but the idea is not yet fully conceived.

I really, sincerely, need to commit myself to writing something everyday.  For the site … for the novel.  I haven’t written nary a word in two weeks.  That is unacceptable.

I keep telling myself–you’ve JUST started a new JOB, Joseph!  Calm the hell down.  It’s okay–but it’s NOT okay.  I’ve come home each night, telling myself to write just one page.  I fail to even open the document.  This isn’t cool, Joseph.  Are you committed?  Will posting this for the world to read scare you enough to make you start writing on a more regular basis?  I sure as hell hope so.

I also hope you liked my “poem in progress.”

Thoughts on Heaven and Hell

I’ve been thinking about Heaven and Hell today.  Kelsi told me this joke: All the Christians are up in Heaven partying it up until you get to the some who are sitting around silent.  God says, “Shhh, it’s the Baptists, they think they’re the only ones up here!”  I laughed at that, because lucky for the Baptists, God takes ANYONE who believes in Jesus.

Kelsi also asked, “Now that you’re Christian, you’re not going to try to turn me, are you?  Cuz that’s not cool.”  No, I don’t want to turn her.  She doesn’t want God in her life, so when she dies, she won’t have God in death.  She gets what she wants because God respects her choice.  But, what if she sort of still believes it with a tiny bit of her heart? From what I’ve read so far – and I’m not holding a book in front of me, so there won’t be any references at the moment (and feel free to correct me if I have this wrong!) – there are levels of heaven and hell, correct?  Somewhere in “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist,” it says that everyone will experience the afterlife differently, that our lives on earth prepare us for how we experience eternity.  I wonder how she would experience it.  Is it like the “Celestine Prophecy” suggests: constantly living out the control dramas of our lives for all eternity?  If that’s Hell, I’ll take Heaven…

In Joey’s article from almost a year ago, Riding the Wave? he talked about the sensation of surrendering to the Higher Power, whatever it may be.

I’ve chosen God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

He’s chosen…something I don’t quite understand completely, but it works for him.  If he feels that for all eternity, I’m sure he’d be plenty pleased with it.  All I know is that surrendering to the Higher Power is an incredibly freeing and secure feeling.  Funny that this song just came on:

A Brother’s Price

A Brother’s Price

by Wen Spenser

Chapter One

Well, that first part was strange.  An alternate world where woman are in charge, and men are “sold into marriage,” because they are so rare.  Not only that, but it’s done western style.  I’m in for a ride I see.  Still, it only seems strange so far.

This chick in the ditch Jarin and Heria are going to save–totally the love interest for Jarin in the story.  I predict that now, lol.

And the evidence keeps on piling.  She is totally going to fall in love with Jerin.

A western with swords and queens and princesses.  I didn’t see that this woman would have been important.  I thought she might be a rogue something or other.  I guess this could be good for Jerin.  He may get to marry up because of it.  I was also skeptical throughout this chapter, until I got to this last bit.  It’s clear this is a fantasy story.  I’m wondering if this started as a thought experiment.  At first, I thought it was going to be feminist propaganda, but this isn’t that at all … at least, it doesn’t seem that way.  In either case, I’m going to keep reading.  So good job, Spencer!

Chapter Two

The famous, infamous Whistlers, huh?  What’s that all about?

What an interesting moment.  I couldn’t see this scene played by men.  Not really.  Clearly feminine, but not one I know all that well.  Talking about boys, but in the detached way men do, but still with an element of playfulness that is typically female.  This world is definitely interesting.  Spencer has definitely gotten me to suspend my disbelief, because I’m totally into the plot.

Yep, this is totally a fantasy … that near sex scene. Haha!  Maybe I was wrong about the “love interest” thing.  I’m not sure this world works that way.  He’s totally got these sisters’ attention though.  He’s got to get a good marriage out of this deal!

Chapter Three

Well, I guess women still tend to be paranoid.  That chase was dramatic, mostly because Ren was freaking out!  She’s not a Down with Love girl!

Something crazy is going on.  Would those women really do that to their husband?  Doesn’t seem plausible.  Maybe it is though, I don’t fully understand this world yet.

Wowza.  It’s kinda hot in here right now.

Chapter Eight

So, the reason there are no notes for chapters 4-6 is because the power went out today, I’m too lazy to write them by hand, and the book is WAY too good to take the time to jot.  Typing is so much more convenient.  If you’ve been reading along with me, you wouldn’t have wanted to stop to read this commentary.

Jerin has just made his first public appearance.  Many stares.  He’s got to marry Ren and her sisters.  That’s the only way.  Where the heck is Halley?

Chapter Nine

Nothing but dead ends, and leads going no where.  I must be missing something.  Still entertaining (even after taking a few weeks off from reading it).  I like that there are action sequences like this throughout the book.  It really keeps my interest.  I’ve never heard of grapeshot before.  Cool.  Good to know.

Chapter Ten

This book is a little wicked in places.  These princesses stealing kisses from Jerin.  Total fantasy, and something I expected out of this book.  In fact, it was the ONLY thing I expected out of this book.  There was a little woman-power propaganda thrown in to boot, but it was amusing.  This whole book is amusing.  And it’s one obstacle after another.  Trini, the hold out … but she does have a good reason.

Let’s face it.  We all know Jerin’s going to end up marrying the princesses.  The Whistlers are going to get their brother’s price (maybe even more), and be catalyst to the recovery of the stolen cannons.  The only thing that remains a mystery to me who is behind the cannon stealing and how does it tie in?

Chapter Eleven

Well, it’s good that Halley is alive, and that she approves of Jerin … but … does SHE have anything to do with the stolen cannons?  She’s close by.  Is she “undercover?”  Hrm.  Many things to consider.  Also, will this letter be enough for Queen Mother Eldest?

Chapter Twelve

Okay, so maybe this can be a (straight) man’s fantasy too.  Hah!

I KNEW things were going too well.  Keifer!  DAMN HIM!

Yeah, totally a man’s fantasy too there at the end of the chapter.  I didn’t think we’d get to the marriage this early in the story.  I guess things turned out alright, but now I’m wondering what this has to do with everything else.  This betrayal of Keifer’s has to be connected to the stolen cannons by something.  And Halley is involved in some way.  Maybe she already knows all this and is already at work against it?

Chapter Thirteen

A romance turned action, but we knew there was going to be SOME action.  Jerin escaped his kidnappers.   I think Cira is Halley.  It makes so much sense, and Spencer was basically SHOUTING it in the end of this chapter.  Kij, Keifer’s sister, was also his lover.  Joy!  Haha.  I hate to say it, but this sorta reminds me of Twilight.  Not that there are glittery vampires or anything, but the main story is a romance … the action is thrown in for kicks.  Let’s see how serious it’s going to get.

Chapter Fourteen

“‘We can start a new trend.  One wife per husband.’”  Wen Spencer, you are the master of timing.  I’m glad this joke found a nice spot–I wasn’t expecting it!

Chapter Sixteen

A nice ending.  Personally, I think Stephanie Meyer can take some notes out of this book.  It’s definitely a romantic adventure that doesn’t fail to deliver on the epic portion of the story.  So much happened there at the end, I wasn’t sure I had guessed it right.  Alas, I had and all’s well that ends well!  The role reversal was interesting.  I’m not sure it was altogether realistic, but I was totally into Spencer’s world.  I wish there were more stories to come from here, but I don’t think there will be.

Now I need to decide what to read next!