Don't worry. I'm going to try to not name any more of my blog entries after the number of words I manged to write that day. I do feel vindicated over yesterday's abysmal effort though. I started the morning off with about 2200 words in about 3.5 hours of writing. All the while I was still feeling quite exhausted, much like I have all week. I could understand if I felt mentally exhausted. I have been writing quite a bit. It would make sense that my brain would be tired, but it's all physical.
Afterward, I took a nap for about an hour and woke up to the sound of a thunder and lightning storm. As always, a quick rain shower is a nice change of pace around here. Since I didn't feel any more awake than I had before my nap, I decided it was time for a soda. I took a nice walk in the rain, since everyone likes walking carefree in the rain, but it was interesting in that as I walked I could feel the rain trying to cool the desert air, but it wasn't quite able to win. I could feel pockets of cool air and hot air alternating around me. The two dichotomies mixing without completely coming together.
Victoriously, I hauled the soda back to the apartment and made myself lunch. I finished eating about 4:30pm and decided I had to either complete another round of writing or find something else useful to accomplish. As I said before, I seem to be looking to avoid actively seeking a job, so I decided to give the writing another shot. Another three hours of writing produced another 1600 words for a total of 3809 on the day.
It's my best effort ever, I should think. And that includes the writing days I had back when I was eighteen and working on that project that remains unfinished to this day. I think John is the only one who knows the title of that effort. Now that the Harry Potter books have become so popular, I'm not sure I want to go back to writing that story. Maybe I'll finish it for John. I already know how it ends. He's been waiting 17 years to read the ending. Getting back to today's writing, I've had entire weeks where I haven't written this much. Now, I'm not so physically tired thanks to the caffeine, but I am quite a bit mentally tired. Finally,....
That's probably not a good thing. Oh well. I think I'm a little more than half way done with the 11th volume. I've written 7750 words so far this week, so I think I'll modify my 5000 word weekly goal to finishing the 11th volume by the end of next week. This is actually a safety measure for fairness. I can see myself finishing this volume by Monday or Tuesday and then needing a few days to organize the next volume. It hardly seems reasonable to write 10-12 thousand words this week, only to finish the volume with another 2-3 thousand words at the beginning of next week, and then calling the second week a failure for not hitting my 5000 word goal. This way, I can keep writing the next three days if I want rather than forcing myself to take them off simply because I already achieved my goal for the week.
The caffeine will likely keep me up half the night. I've messed up my daily cycle, but those are the breaks. I may cut my sleep short and take the day off from writing in an effort to maintain the cycle. I'll see how I feel. At the moment, I am mentally tired enough that I may just fall asleep at my normal hour.
Sorry for the second post in a row that's so meaningless, but yesterday I was embarrassed; today I'm just tired of writing.
I'll try to do better tomorrow.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
376 Words
I put that in the title to let everyone know how embarrassed I am at my progress for the day. I've always worked well against negative reinforcement. It sort of drives me to work harder. I have always found it strange how it has the opposite effect on most people. I seem to work well with positive reinforcement also, so I guess it has less to do with the outside effects and more to do with what's going on in my own head.
In my own defense, Moose called me today and we talked for a couple of hours. His call interrupted my work at the 376 word mark and I never got back to it. Since he bought his precious iPhone and as a result was forced to switch to AT&T, we have the same cell carrier making it free for us to call each other. It seems the two or three days when I'm between volumes I call him and use him as a sounding board for ideas and for the in between two or three weeks when I'm writing these ideas, he's the one calling me out of boredom.
Once I decided I'd be lazy and not do too much work today, I felt I had to do something useful to make up for it. I did a couple loads of laundry and vacuumed the apartment. I also did my duty and ordered myself a Family Special #11, which apparently has changed in the six weeks it's been since I ordered one. It no longer comes with three XL pizzas with two toppings and a two liter of soda, it's just two XL pizzas with two toppings (and no soda!). I guess it's for the best. I don't need to be eating pizza every other meal for a week.
But come on! Who doesn't want to live like that?
Alright. I admit it. I'm just a Frat boy who doesn't like to party with anyone else 99% of the time. And thus, the pizza ended my one month and one day binge vegetarianism. I had wondered if going so long without meat would have any adverse reactions to my stomach and indeed it did. It was so yummy and delicious I just had to cram one extra slice into it than I normally do.
Anyway, getting back to beating myself up for not writing enough. If I had had another good day, I could have hit my 5000 word goal in three days. Now, I guess, I'll have to make do with four days.
I really think I have finally hit a "writing groove". Admittedly I have a day like today now and again where I decide to let myself get distracted, but I think I have really fallen into a certain mode for writing. I feel I have been much more serious about it the past five weeks and it has shown.
Last year, I read some advice from a writer I had never heard of, but the advice was sound. To paraphrase he said something along the lines of, If you're going to be a writer. Just write. Don't make excuses for why you're not writing. Just write. Everyday you write, because that's you're job.
I feel like that has how things have been for a while now. I just get up and write because it's my job. Too bad there's no money in it. At least, not when you're doing the actual writing, and well, for 98% of the people who do finish writing something, there's still no money in it. Go figure.
Oddly, the work is it's own reward. I honestly don't care if I make money doing this. It'd be nice so I could write as long as want, but I just don't care. I am simply enjoying the moment of just telling this story. I'm sure I'll look back on this time as an incredible experience, though I understand most could not lead such a solitary life. I really do spend days at a time ignoring the outside world only to realize, "Oh, it's Thursday. Guess I'll check the mail since I haven't yet this week."
As a result, I have been putting off preparing for the inevitable job hunt. I think I know once I start that process, I'll be less focused on my writing. Heaven forbid I actually get a job. I have no idea how that will ruin my progress. It's depressing to think about. I'll stop.
In my own defense, Moose called me today and we talked for a couple of hours. His call interrupted my work at the 376 word mark and I never got back to it. Since he bought his precious iPhone and as a result was forced to switch to AT&T, we have the same cell carrier making it free for us to call each other. It seems the two or three days when I'm between volumes I call him and use him as a sounding board for ideas and for the in between two or three weeks when I'm writing these ideas, he's the one calling me out of boredom.
Once I decided I'd be lazy and not do too much work today, I felt I had to do something useful to make up for it. I did a couple loads of laundry and vacuumed the apartment. I also did my duty and ordered myself a Family Special #11, which apparently has changed in the six weeks it's been since I ordered one. It no longer comes with three XL pizzas with two toppings and a two liter of soda, it's just two XL pizzas with two toppings (and no soda!). I guess it's for the best. I don't need to be eating pizza every other meal for a week.
But come on! Who doesn't want to live like that?
Alright. I admit it. I'm just a Frat boy who doesn't like to party with anyone else 99% of the time. And thus, the pizza ended my one month and one day binge vegetarianism. I had wondered if going so long without meat would have any adverse reactions to my stomach and indeed it did. It was so yummy and delicious I just had to cram one extra slice into it than I normally do.
Anyway, getting back to beating myself up for not writing enough. If I had had another good day, I could have hit my 5000 word goal in three days. Now, I guess, I'll have to make do with four days.
I really think I have finally hit a "writing groove". Admittedly I have a day like today now and again where I decide to let myself get distracted, but I think I have really fallen into a certain mode for writing. I feel I have been much more serious about it the past five weeks and it has shown.
Last year, I read some advice from a writer I had never heard of, but the advice was sound. To paraphrase he said something along the lines of, If you're going to be a writer. Just write. Don't make excuses for why you're not writing. Just write. Everyday you write, because that's you're job.
I feel like that has how things have been for a while now. I just get up and write because it's my job. Too bad there's no money in it. At least, not when you're doing the actual writing, and well, for 98% of the people who do finish writing something, there's still no money in it. Go figure.
Oddly, the work is it's own reward. I honestly don't care if I make money doing this. It'd be nice so I could write as long as want, but I just don't care. I am simply enjoying the moment of just telling this story. I'm sure I'll look back on this time as an incredible experience, though I understand most could not lead such a solitary life. I really do spend days at a time ignoring the outside world only to realize, "Oh, it's Thursday. Guess I'll check the mail since I haven't yet this week."
As a result, I have been putting off preparing for the inevitable job hunt. I think I know once I start that process, I'll be less focused on my writing. Heaven forbid I actually get a job. I have no idea how that will ruin my progress. It's depressing to think about. I'll stop.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Exhaustion
I said yesterday after my lengthy writing session was over and the plumber had worked his magic on my sink I decided to take the rest of the day off. That wasn't exactly true. I was hit with a pretty tough case of the tireds. I forced myself to stay up until a decent hour. I didn't want to throw my cycle off by taking a nap.
I slept last night from about 11:30pm to 7:15am, so a decent nights sleep, but I just couldn't get myself going today. Strangely enough, I did a good day of writing, 1300 words (exactly!). I didn't care for what I wrote. It was a bit boring, but it served a minor function and I guess not every scene can be average or better. If not for the occasional bland scene there would be no comparison I suppose.
Anyway, I am still just ridiculously exhausted. I can't seem to figure out why. It's not even 8pm and I feel like going to bed. I'll probably waste another hour or so first. I guess that clock will start tickin' once I finish this blog post.
About the only exciting thing I can comment on is my purchase of some new printer ink. I know, that's pretty sad if that's the best I can muster up. I am always leery of buying printer ink that's not from the manufacturer, but decided to try some of the recycled cartridges. I know, I've heard the rip off stories too. Who would have guessed twenty years ago that printer ink would become such a cut throat business today?
I suppose I could mention my full month of not eating meat. Actually, it'll be one month and one day tomorrow. I think I am going to order a pizza with my ham and pepperoni favorites. Don't worry, I'll be sure to savor this lard pack, but good!
Okay, I think I'm really out of things to mention now. I may just have to get some caffeinated beverages with that lard pack and throw my cycle off. Maybe it's all this day time living that's tuckering me out.
I slept last night from about 11:30pm to 7:15am, so a decent nights sleep, but I just couldn't get myself going today. Strangely enough, I did a good day of writing, 1300 words (exactly!). I didn't care for what I wrote. It was a bit boring, but it served a minor function and I guess not every scene can be average or better. If not for the occasional bland scene there would be no comparison I suppose.
Anyway, I am still just ridiculously exhausted. I can't seem to figure out why. It's not even 8pm and I feel like going to bed. I'll probably waste another hour or so first. I guess that clock will start tickin' once I finish this blog post.
About the only exciting thing I can comment on is my purchase of some new printer ink. I know, that's pretty sad if that's the best I can muster up. I am always leery of buying printer ink that's not from the manufacturer, but decided to try some of the recycled cartridges. I know, I've heard the rip off stories too. Who would have guessed twenty years ago that printer ink would become such a cut throat business today?
I suppose I could mention my full month of not eating meat. Actually, it'll be one month and one day tomorrow. I think I am going to order a pizza with my ham and pepperoni favorites. Don't worry, I'll be sure to savor this lard pack, but good!
Okay, I think I'm really out of things to mention now. I may just have to get some caffeinated beverages with that lard pack and throw my cycle off. Maybe it's all this day time living that's tuckering me out.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Not For Everyone
Sorry Kim, this post isn't for you. No need to read any further. If you do, I can't be responsible for anything negative you may read into it. You've been warned.
Today was a really good day. I started off with an 800+ word writing session. Talked with Kim and Moose on the phone for a bit. Ate breakfast, and then set out to do my dishes only to discover that my kitchen sink was leaking. Rather horrifically in fact. I'm not sure what precipitated the issue, but it was a serious problem nonetheless. I went to the rental office about noon to deliver the bad news and the secretary punched the report into her computer.
Within 90 minutes a maintenance guy was in my apartment and within another hour, he was finished with the job. He even replaced the head of the faucet so that it would run faster. I was stunned. It was so nice to have instant service. I was in such bliss, I took the rest of the day off.
Before that, the time prior to and during the maintenance call, was utilized for more writing allowing me to finish the day with 2269 words. No caffeine, I swear!
Gee, could it be that all this time the key to writing was inside of me and not in that magical wonder drug called caffeine?
Don't be ridiculous. The true secret was actually due to the three days of planning I did prior to the writing session. I always write a lot when I have a bunch of stuff worked out in advance rather than having to figure it all out as I'm staring at the computer screen. Funny that.
Later, a notice was posted to my door letting me know that a seal on the "chiller" for my cell block (I'm assuming they're talking about the air conditioner) partially ruptured. (I'm also assuming this is independent of my sink troubles.) The air conditioning will still be available until tomorrow morning 4am, when the special order for the seal should arrive and the healing will begin. They say the air conditioner will be offline for about 8 hours, sorry for the trouble, feel free to stop by the clubhouse to enjoy the air conditioning where we can read, socialize, or watch TV and eat the pastries they'll have available for us.
That's service! I love it. I have said for years I'll probably not own property again and this is exactly why! All this shit goes wrong and I barely have to lift a finger and it gets taken care of by someone not so lazy as me. (Thank God for industrious legal and illegal Mexicans.) If Kim were reading this post, but she's not, she'd tell everyone what a hassle owning property can really be like!
Of course, the worst part about the real estate boom that's been happening for a number of years is the property taxes boom. I doubt those are going to go down. All you suckers that own property. HA! HA! I'm free of all that nonsense! (Real estate booms always happens when the economy is in the toilet because people think property is a safe investment. However, this time the economy has been taking a shit for so long, even the real estate boom has been declining.)
What a good day. Perhaps tomorrow morning, after my air conditioning has been off for 5-6 hours and the temperature in my apartment rises to the unbearable low 80's, I'll go to the club house with my laptop and write there. It's been a while since someone offered me pastries in the morning.
Right Kim?
She's not reading....
Today was a really good day. I started off with an 800+ word writing session. Talked with Kim and Moose on the phone for a bit. Ate breakfast, and then set out to do my dishes only to discover that my kitchen sink was leaking. Rather horrifically in fact. I'm not sure what precipitated the issue, but it was a serious problem nonetheless. I went to the rental office about noon to deliver the bad news and the secretary punched the report into her computer.
Within 90 minutes a maintenance guy was in my apartment and within another hour, he was finished with the job. He even replaced the head of the faucet so that it would run faster. I was stunned. It was so nice to have instant service. I was in such bliss, I took the rest of the day off.
Before that, the time prior to and during the maintenance call, was utilized for more writing allowing me to finish the day with 2269 words. No caffeine, I swear!
Gee, could it be that all this time the key to writing was inside of me and not in that magical wonder drug called caffeine?
Don't be ridiculous. The true secret was actually due to the three days of planning I did prior to the writing session. I always write a lot when I have a bunch of stuff worked out in advance rather than having to figure it all out as I'm staring at the computer screen. Funny that.
Later, a notice was posted to my door letting me know that a seal on the "chiller" for my cell block (I'm assuming they're talking about the air conditioner) partially ruptured. (I'm also assuming this is independent of my sink troubles.) The air conditioning will still be available until tomorrow morning 4am, when the special order for the seal should arrive and the healing will begin. They say the air conditioner will be offline for about 8 hours, sorry for the trouble, feel free to stop by the clubhouse to enjoy the air conditioning where we can read, socialize, or watch TV and eat the pastries they'll have available for us.
That's service! I love it. I have said for years I'll probably not own property again and this is exactly why! All this shit goes wrong and I barely have to lift a finger and it gets taken care of by someone not so lazy as me. (Thank God for industrious legal and illegal Mexicans.) If Kim were reading this post, but she's not, she'd tell everyone what a hassle owning property can really be like!
Of course, the worst part about the real estate boom that's been happening for a number of years is the property taxes boom. I doubt those are going to go down. All you suckers that own property. HA! HA! I'm free of all that nonsense! (Real estate booms always happens when the economy is in the toilet because people think property is a safe investment. However, this time the economy has been taking a shit for so long, even the real estate boom has been declining.)
What a good day. Perhaps tomorrow morning, after my air conditioning has been off for 5-6 hours and the temperature in my apartment rises to the unbearable low 80's, I'll go to the club house with my laptop and write there. It's been a while since someone offered me pastries in the morning.
Right Kim?
She's not reading....
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Horrible, Just Horrible...
Last week I downloaded Joss Whedon's, "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" and this weekend I had the opportunity to watch it a couple of times. You can guess from the fact that I watched it twice, I enjoyed it very much. I've always had a penchant for musical's, but they have to be clever in some way. I have sat through a number of those old Rodgers and Hammerstein classical musicals from the '40s, maybe they were something innovative way back then, but man are they boring today.
Moose asked me today if I was jaded coming out of the womb. We were discussing movies made in the '60s because there is a character in "Dr. Strangelove" he wants me to incorporate into the book. That movie is 45 years old. EGADS! I have never seen it and told him I really didn't like the old '40s, '50s, and '60s movies because of the lame theatrical acting. Films became ten times better once the method actors took over and kicked out that old crappy style of overacting. There's only two actors I like from those years and they were Vincent Price and Danny Kaye. Sadly, I haven't watched enough of their work because I really don't the actors supporting them.
(That's not the full context of Moose's comment. We were also talking about the cold war fear of the Russians from back in the '50s and '60s, a la Dr. Stranglove. He said as a child that grew up in the '80s I should have an inkling of understanding, and I simply do not. Back then I never understood the old or new shows that portrayed this irrational fear of the Russians and no one ever sufficiently explained to me why I should have been afraid or why the average american was so afraid of that propaganda in the '80s or earlier. I guess I really was jaded as a kid. Either that, or just too smart to buy into the bullshit even at that age.)
Anyway, back to Dr. Horrible. The musical was created specifically for free distribution over the internet. Whedon financed it himself and expects sales on iTunes and DVD sales to pay for it in the end. Basically, he is being a pioneer in the new media system of getting people to pay for something after they've gotten to see it and enjoy it, rather than trying to sucker people into paying to watch something metiocre before watching. If reasonably priced, and I am sure it will be, I will probably buy the DVD to support the new model. Hopefully, it will encourage other people to be pioneers and offer up some quality entertainment rather than the boiled down to the lowest common denominator crap that we currently see on TV and coming out of Hollywood.
People can still see it for free on the official Dr. Horrible website http://www.drhorrible.com/ as well as on Hulu.com.
I am sure there are people out there saying, "If it's available for free, why pay for it?" Again, it is for the purpose of paying for good quality entertainment. If you don't feel it's worth paying for, then don't. You can stick to the metiocre stuff you're already paying for. Me personally, I don't watch much of that stuff anymore. Over the last ten years, the supposedly best and most intellectual shows on TV (e.g. CSI, Law and Order) have slowly jaded me to the point where I can only nitpick the ridiculous parts. These shows, CSI in particular, have noticeably dropped in quality since their beginnings. Their efforts to wow the average audience, have put me in a stupor because they botch the science in the process. To me, these shows are not worth paying for anymore.
Actually, as long as I am recommending stuff. I really recommend Showtime's original TV series, Dexter. A quick synopsis of the show would be that Dexter Morgan is a serial killer who only kills other people who are sufficiently bad. He is a truly frightening sample of vigilante justice. The first two seasons of that show were nothing short of stunning! For the record, I believe that USA is running edited repeats of the show with all the "graphic" stuff cut out. I have not seen an edited episode, but even without seeing them, I can assure you, don't waste your time on them. (Also, each season is a twelve episode story arc so you can't come in during the middle.) Taking out the intensity of the show is akin to cutting your own achilles tendons and trying to run a marathon. Don't do it! Buy the DVDs you won't be disappointed.
And finally, for a quick writing update. I have plotted out the next book, so I should be in good shape to start writing again tomorrow. For the record I think I am going to start calling them "volumes" instead of "books". I think this will help in some of the people's confusion on the matter. Plus it'll sound better once I start releasing it as a serial.
After a long weekend of three days off (that is, if you don't count prep work as work) I guess I'd better be ready to get back into the grind.
Moose asked me today if I was jaded coming out of the womb. We were discussing movies made in the '60s because there is a character in "Dr. Strangelove" he wants me to incorporate into the book. That movie is 45 years old. EGADS! I have never seen it and told him I really didn't like the old '40s, '50s, and '60s movies because of the lame theatrical acting. Films became ten times better once the method actors took over and kicked out that old crappy style of overacting. There's only two actors I like from those years and they were Vincent Price and Danny Kaye. Sadly, I haven't watched enough of their work because I really don't the actors supporting them.
(That's not the full context of Moose's comment. We were also talking about the cold war fear of the Russians from back in the '50s and '60s, a la Dr. Stranglove. He said as a child that grew up in the '80s I should have an inkling of understanding, and I simply do not. Back then I never understood the old or new shows that portrayed this irrational fear of the Russians and no one ever sufficiently explained to me why I should have been afraid or why the average american was so afraid of that propaganda in the '80s or earlier. I guess I really was jaded as a kid. Either that, or just too smart to buy into the bullshit even at that age.)
Anyway, back to Dr. Horrible. The musical was created specifically for free distribution over the internet. Whedon financed it himself and expects sales on iTunes and DVD sales to pay for it in the end. Basically, he is being a pioneer in the new media system of getting people to pay for something after they've gotten to see it and enjoy it, rather than trying to sucker people into paying to watch something metiocre before watching. If reasonably priced, and I am sure it will be, I will probably buy the DVD to support the new model. Hopefully, it will encourage other people to be pioneers and offer up some quality entertainment rather than the boiled down to the lowest common denominator crap that we currently see on TV and coming out of Hollywood.
People can still see it for free on the official Dr. Horrible website http://www.drhorrible.com/ as well as on Hulu.com.
I am sure there are people out there saying, "If it's available for free, why pay for it?" Again, it is for the purpose of paying for good quality entertainment. If you don't feel it's worth paying for, then don't. You can stick to the metiocre stuff you're already paying for. Me personally, I don't watch much of that stuff anymore. Over the last ten years, the supposedly best and most intellectual shows on TV (e.g. CSI, Law and Order) have slowly jaded me to the point where I can only nitpick the ridiculous parts. These shows, CSI in particular, have noticeably dropped in quality since their beginnings. Their efforts to wow the average audience, have put me in a stupor because they botch the science in the process. To me, these shows are not worth paying for anymore.
Actually, as long as I am recommending stuff. I really recommend Showtime's original TV series, Dexter. A quick synopsis of the show would be that Dexter Morgan is a serial killer who only kills other people who are sufficiently bad. He is a truly frightening sample of vigilante justice. The first two seasons of that show were nothing short of stunning! For the record, I believe that USA is running edited repeats of the show with all the "graphic" stuff cut out. I have not seen an edited episode, but even without seeing them, I can assure you, don't waste your time on them. (Also, each season is a twelve episode story arc so you can't come in during the middle.) Taking out the intensity of the show is akin to cutting your own achilles tendons and trying to run a marathon. Don't do it! Buy the DVDs you won't be disappointed.
And finally, for a quick writing update. I have plotted out the next book, so I should be in good shape to start writing again tomorrow. For the record I think I am going to start calling them "volumes" instead of "books". I think this will help in some of the people's confusion on the matter. Plus it'll sound better once I start releasing it as a serial.
After a long weekend of three days off (that is, if you don't count prep work as work) I guess I'd better be ready to get back into the grind.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
January in July!
Just two days shy of being out here ignoring the rest of the world for five months, and I guess if I want to go three more days, a full month of eating no meat. I'm not really sure if the latter is any real milestone, but then, neither of them really are.
Despite it being August 2nd, I was waiting to get a day where I really had nothing else to report. Two days ago, I received a card from my Grandmother. It said on the front, "You're on my mind..." and on the inside it said, "...because I'm wondering what's on yours."
It was very sweet. She also wrote that she loved me and all her grandchildren, so for those of you who only know that their grandmother loves them a bunch through peanut butter sandwiches, HA! HA! (Thus explaining the January in July part. Assuming you read the blog post from last Friday.) Obviously she is on my mind too, or else I wouldn't mention her from time to time.
The rest of the post may not appear so nice to those that don't realize that I can simply state observations without malicious intent. I have been known to draw return fire from friends and family that I didn't realize were unready to accept my cold observations. Alas, it almost looks as though I am verbally attacking my Grandmother and that is, obviously, not the intent.
My Grandmother also said that before I do anymore religious commentaries, that I should read the Bible. I'm not sure I have the time these days for anything that heavy, but when does any of us have time without working hard to make the time. Honestly, I would love to read the Bible, but don't want to wade through all the bullshit. It's just too long a read for antiquated wisdom that's over 2000 years old. I understand that the vast majority of it is timeless, but I don't need to learn the exact lessons of the bible, when I could just as easily watch a Twilight Zone marathon and get most of the same lessons in a fashion that's only forty-five years outdated.
As I have said before, I don't really care to discuss religion because people are usually just looking for a fight. Sadly, they sit and talk about it all being immune to reason because it is faith based, yet they express their faith as though it were fact. But the simple fact is, their beliefs are no more valid than anyone who studies Wicca, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, and all the rest not on Gilligan's Isle.
I'll say that more simply: There's no way to convince me that any flavor of Christianity is any more valid than any other flavor, or indeed, any other religion.
Everyone seeks the means to fulfill the spiritual side of their psyche. How they do that, in the grand scheme of things, is immaterial. If a person does not seek to find something spiritual inside themselves, they are unlikely to grow as individuals. Those that leave this side of themselves in a wasteland, leave a significant part of themselves to wither and die or never be born. Fill in either metaphor as you feel appropriate. I have my own personal form of Deism and I'm happy with it. I like to think, in general, I am a good person. I seek to do the right things and I feel spiritually fulfilled by what I do.
I also like to think I'm pretty arrogant. In fact, I'm kind of proud of it because I feel better than 99.44% of the time, I can back it up. However, I am not so arrogant as to think that what fulfills me spiritually is what everyone, or even anyone, needs to make themselves spiritually fulfilled.
Please note there is no logical implication here that I am implying that my Grandmother is arrogant for telling me to read the Bible. I say this only because it is precisely the fallacious conclusion that many mundane people would jump to, especially after I've worked so hard to teach the blogoshpere to avoid it.
Back to the discussion: She's right. I should read the Bible. I should also read the Koran, Buddha's teachings, and so many more. All of them have spiritual value and one day I may need to delve into one or more of them to move to the next level of my own spirituality, but for now, I'm good.
Despite it being August 2nd, I was waiting to get a day where I really had nothing else to report. Two days ago, I received a card from my Grandmother. It said on the front, "You're on my mind..." and on the inside it said, "...because I'm wondering what's on yours."
It was very sweet. She also wrote that she loved me and all her grandchildren, so for those of you who only know that their grandmother loves them a bunch through peanut butter sandwiches, HA! HA! (Thus explaining the January in July part. Assuming you read the blog post from last Friday.) Obviously she is on my mind too, or else I wouldn't mention her from time to time.
The rest of the post may not appear so nice to those that don't realize that I can simply state observations without malicious intent. I have been known to draw return fire from friends and family that I didn't realize were unready to accept my cold observations. Alas, it almost looks as though I am verbally attacking my Grandmother and that is, obviously, not the intent.
My Grandmother also said that before I do anymore religious commentaries, that I should read the Bible. I'm not sure I have the time these days for anything that heavy, but when does any of us have time without working hard to make the time. Honestly, I would love to read the Bible, but don't want to wade through all the bullshit. It's just too long a read for antiquated wisdom that's over 2000 years old. I understand that the vast majority of it is timeless, but I don't need to learn the exact lessons of the bible, when I could just as easily watch a Twilight Zone marathon and get most of the same lessons in a fashion that's only forty-five years outdated.
As I have said before, I don't really care to discuss religion because people are usually just looking for a fight. Sadly, they sit and talk about it all being immune to reason because it is faith based, yet they express their faith as though it were fact. But the simple fact is, their beliefs are no more valid than anyone who studies Wicca, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, and all the rest not on Gilligan's Isle.
I'll say that more simply: There's no way to convince me that any flavor of Christianity is any more valid than any other flavor, or indeed, any other religion.
Everyone seeks the means to fulfill the spiritual side of their psyche. How they do that, in the grand scheme of things, is immaterial. If a person does not seek to find something spiritual inside themselves, they are unlikely to grow as individuals. Those that leave this side of themselves in a wasteland, leave a significant part of themselves to wither and die or never be born. Fill in either metaphor as you feel appropriate. I have my own personal form of Deism and I'm happy with it. I like to think, in general, I am a good person. I seek to do the right things and I feel spiritually fulfilled by what I do.
I also like to think I'm pretty arrogant. In fact, I'm kind of proud of it because I feel better than 99.44% of the time, I can back it up. However, I am not so arrogant as to think that what fulfills me spiritually is what everyone, or even anyone, needs to make themselves spiritually fulfilled.
Please note there is no logical implication here that I am implying that my Grandmother is arrogant for telling me to read the Bible. I say this only because it is precisely the fallacious conclusion that many mundane people would jump to, especially after I've worked so hard to teach the blogoshpere to avoid it.
Back to the discussion: She's right. I should read the Bible. I should also read the Koran, Buddha's teachings, and so many more. All of them have spiritual value and one day I may need to delve into one or more of them to move to the next level of my own spirituality, but for now, I'm good.
Friday, August 1, 2008
This Is My Day off?
After doing so much work the first four days of this week and being in between books, I figured today would make for a good day off. Unfortunately, I have been focusing so intently on my writing the past month, it just doesn't shut off like that. I did manage to get myself to the 7-Eleven to buy myself a soda. My first in about four weeks. It was a pleasant treat.
It was also nice to get up at 5am and not immediately start cranking away, so I guess I can revel in that, but I chose to call Moose at 8am (that's 11am east coast time) and update him on my progress. I let him know that the latest book was available for him to listen to. I normally send him updates every chapter or two, but this time I finished the book before letting him in on the fun because I wanted to make sure it had a certain level of consistency.
Anyway, we talked about the next book and it gave me some ideas which is a good thing. After all, that's why it is a semi-collaboration. I plan to start outlining tomorrow and writing on Sunday. Hopefully, all goes well in that department. If I can start writing and eek out another 1000 words it could be my second week in a row with 7000 words. Keep your fingers crossed.
I have recently been thinking ahead to the point when I plan on starting the second draft and final draft. My original plan was to come out here and write as much as I could by the end of November/early December and start serializing to the web in January. Some things have popped up that lead me to believe I may want to change that game plan. Namely, the iphone 2.0.
I'm sure most people's initial reaction is: "What's the new iphone got to do with your book?"
The short answer is: "As much as I want."
In a nutshell, the new iphone "system" allows people and businesses to create their own applications to sell for the iphone. They are then sold in the istore for people who want them. One of the apps that people are coming up with are ebook readers. And since I am looking to serialize my book as an ebook,... you get it yet?
That's right, I've spent all morning looking into publishing information for publishing my serial for the an iphone. Alas, after several hours there is little information on the subject because it is such a new topic of interest. I'll likely have to ask an expert directly.
A serial is the perfect medium for telling a story on the iphone. A long 120-150 thousand word novel I can only assume is a bit daunting on such a small reader, but a story that is broken down into small 13-17 thousand word chuncks is a lot more palatable and a bit more ideal for, what I suspect, will be shorter reading sessions.
The basic reason I started looking into this is precisely because it is such a new topic. I figure there is no sense in waiting six months when I can be a part of the ball as it's starting to roll now. The worst case scenario is that I won't be given a shot because I am unpublished and I go back to "Plan A" of releasing it online myself.
As for the title, I question this being my day off essentially because after several hours of research, I feel more exhausted than if I had been writing all morning. My next stop: send a voicemail to that expert I mentioned above.
It was also nice to get up at 5am and not immediately start cranking away, so I guess I can revel in that, but I chose to call Moose at 8am (that's 11am east coast time) and update him on my progress. I let him know that the latest book was available for him to listen to. I normally send him updates every chapter or two, but this time I finished the book before letting him in on the fun because I wanted to make sure it had a certain level of consistency.
Anyway, we talked about the next book and it gave me some ideas which is a good thing. After all, that's why it is a semi-collaboration. I plan to start outlining tomorrow and writing on Sunday. Hopefully, all goes well in that department. If I can start writing and eek out another 1000 words it could be my second week in a row with 7000 words. Keep your fingers crossed.
I have recently been thinking ahead to the point when I plan on starting the second draft and final draft. My original plan was to come out here and write as much as I could by the end of November/early December and start serializing to the web in January. Some things have popped up that lead me to believe I may want to change that game plan. Namely, the iphone 2.0.
I'm sure most people's initial reaction is: "What's the new iphone got to do with your book?"
The short answer is: "As much as I want."
In a nutshell, the new iphone "system" allows people and businesses to create their own applications to sell for the iphone. They are then sold in the istore for people who want them. One of the apps that people are coming up with are ebook readers. And since I am looking to serialize my book as an ebook,... you get it yet?
That's right, I've spent all morning looking into publishing information for publishing my serial for the an iphone. Alas, after several hours there is little information on the subject because it is such a new topic of interest. I'll likely have to ask an expert directly.
A serial is the perfect medium for telling a story on the iphone. A long 120-150 thousand word novel I can only assume is a bit daunting on such a small reader, but a story that is broken down into small 13-17 thousand word chuncks is a lot more palatable and a bit more ideal for, what I suspect, will be shorter reading sessions.
The basic reason I started looking into this is precisely because it is such a new topic. I figure there is no sense in waiting six months when I can be a part of the ball as it's starting to roll now. The worst case scenario is that I won't be given a shot because I am unpublished and I go back to "Plan A" of releasing it online myself.
As for the title, I question this being my day off essentially because after several hours of research, I feel more exhausted than if I had been writing all morning. My next stop: send a voicemail to that expert I mentioned above.
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