...writing is hard.
Well, not the actual writing. It's the editing - the keeping of consistency, the tying up of loose ends, the ensuring congruity of symbols and motifs...ugh. That's probably why I decided to just have a couple of beers and watch hockey when I got home form work tonight. And then I wasted time on the internet. Some highlights of my travels:
Failbooking
xkcd
slashdot
and of course, facebook, blogger and youtube.
Back at it tomorrow. Bleah.
----------------
Listening to: Camera Obscura - French Navy
via FoxyTunes
Showing posts with label Zen in Iceland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zen in Iceland. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
If life has taught me one lesson repeatedly, it's to know when I'm beat...
Seriously? It can't be! Has it really been a month since my last post? Urg...blogging is hard! Well, I suppose I ought to do a quick update:
First of all, FAWM has been, for me, an abject failure. Sure I could place the blame for this failure on external factors...in fact, yeah, that's what I'll do. Pretty much the entire month of February was dedicated to finishing my rough draft of my novel from NaNoWriMo (tentative title: Grave Accent. Or, maybe, Imp. Haven't decided yet.)
But it's finally done! At least, as much as you can call the first draft of writing "done". Now begins the work of editing. Ugg. If writing were basketball, the task of editing would be analogous to wiping up the sweat from the floorboards. I'll also start to deconstruct my writing methods, to try to make future NaNoWriMos a little more smooth and manageable. Kinda like ScarJo's hair.
You're welcome.
Despite not having the time to finish FAWM, I was somehow able to squeeze in a few movies this weekend, all of which I'd recommend heartily:
Zombieland: Not the best zombie movie ever (Shaun of the Dead takes the honors there), but definitely makes the short list. You know any movie where the sentence "The worst part was the bit with Bill Murray" has to be pretty awesome.
Moon: Trippy, heady movie with great atmosphere (Ha! Get it?!?).
A Serious Man: Man oh man, I love the Cohen Bros. This is not their best movie ever; in fact, I thought it was a little weak after I saw it. But the more I think about it, the more I realize what a great job they did with the theme of "The Uncertainty of Life". Very meta.
The Invention of Lying: Ricky Gervais has an amazing talent for combining comedy with a genuinely touching story. On a whole other level than almost all other RomComs.
Oh, and one more recommendation: Check out this cover of Britney Spear's Toxic, by alt-country band "Or, the Whale" (no idea what the story is with the name...). Seriously. Better than the original (don't get me started on my love/hate Britney sentiments; maybe some other time). Free download here.
That is all.
----------------
Listening to: The Pixies - (In Heaven) Lady In The Radiator Song
via FoxyTunes
First of all, FAWM has been, for me, an abject failure. Sure I could place the blame for this failure on external factors...in fact, yeah, that's what I'll do. Pretty much the entire month of February was dedicated to finishing my rough draft of my novel from NaNoWriMo (tentative title: Grave Accent. Or, maybe, Imp. Haven't decided yet.)
But it's finally done! At least, as much as you can call the first draft of writing "done". Now begins the work of editing. Ugg. If writing were basketball, the task of editing would be analogous to wiping up the sweat from the floorboards. I'll also start to deconstruct my writing methods, to try to make future NaNoWriMos a little more smooth and manageable. Kinda like ScarJo's hair.
You're welcome.Despite not having the time to finish FAWM, I was somehow able to squeeze in a few movies this weekend, all of which I'd recommend heartily:
Zombieland: Not the best zombie movie ever (Shaun of the Dead takes the honors there), but definitely makes the short list. You know any movie where the sentence "The worst part was the bit with Bill Murray" has to be pretty awesome.
Moon: Trippy, heady movie with great atmosphere (Ha! Get it?!?).
A Serious Man: Man oh man, I love the Cohen Bros. This is not their best movie ever; in fact, I thought it was a little weak after I saw it. But the more I think about it, the more I realize what a great job they did with the theme of "The Uncertainty of Life". Very meta.
The Invention of Lying: Ricky Gervais has an amazing talent for combining comedy with a genuinely touching story. On a whole other level than almost all other RomComs.
Oh, and one more recommendation: Check out this cover of Britney Spear's Toxic, by alt-country band "Or, the Whale" (no idea what the story is with the name...). Seriously. Better than the original (don't get me started on my love/hate Britney sentiments; maybe some other time). Free download here.
That is all.
----------------
Listening to: The Pixies - (In Heaven) Lady In The Radiator Song
via FoxyTunes
Friday, December 4, 2009
Two things
OK, two things:
#1: I got my NaNo badge! Woohoo!!
I'm still working on my novel, and probably have at least another 30,000 words to get to the end. Then, I've got to get it edited into some semblance of non-suck in order to get my free proof copy, another goodies for making it to 50,000. I mean, I could get the free proof copy of my unedited rough draft, but why?
#2: Heard this song on the radio two days ago, then went home later that day and found a free download of it. Now, can't get it out of my head. Enjoy!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Long Overdue NaNoWriMo update
Wow. It's been a while, blogosphere. I've just been too busy with NaNoWriMo to post anything, but as you can tell from the widget in the sidebar, as of today I am three-fifths done. On the down side, the month of November is more than three-quarters done.
But this is OK! No need to panic! I have all along planned for a sustained push over the long Thanksgiving weekend. I figure that I should get at least 15,000 words over that period, and added to my current total (approx. 30,000), that leaves me only 5,000 to get between tomorrow and Wednesday. Totally doable! That weird Viking helmet blog badge is so mine!!!
As far as my novel is going, it's not as great as I had hoped, but not as bad as I had feared. I'm sure it'll need the recommended two revisions before it's ready for another person's eyes. There have been some really pleasant surprises, little stories within the stories that just sort of popped into my head as I was writing, and the overall generalized outline I had made while prepping for NaNoWriMo has held up quite well, with only a few minor adjustments along the way.
One of my greatest fears going in turned out to be baseless: I have plenty of story to get to 50,000. In fact, just getting my two main characters to meet each other so that the story could begin in earnest took nearly 12,000 words. And now I'm sitting at around 30,000 words, and not halfway through the story. This is a little worrying, and I'm sure some of the first part will have to be cut to keep readers from falling asleep, but all in all, I'm very happy with the way things have gone thus far. We'll see, I guess, if this attitude still holds around November 28th. I'm guessing, probably not.
----------------
Listening to: Björk - One Day
via FoxyTunes
Friday, September 4, 2009
Fiction Friday - Northern Lights
Wow, Friday already. My work today is a rough draft of a story I'm prepping for entry to Storyglossia. The theme for entry is "Musical Obsession". I am fully aware there is not too much of that in my offering this week - that will be woven in between now and the deadline for entry, 9/15.
As always, constructive comments (and, of course, encouragement, be it genuine or bald-faced lies) are welcome.
NORTHERN LIGHTS
Katja leaned back, propped up on her elbows, the high sun glinting off her shiny horns. She was young and beautiful, and couldn't have been more exotic, Jake thought. Her eyes were squinted into tiny slits, scrunching up her nose in an adorable way. She was much
more tan than a girl from Finland ought to be. Her head swayed gently from side to side, as if she was listening to music only she could hear. Jake was immediately drawn to that particular idiosyncrasy, almost fell in love with her on the spot because of it.
"I don't want to die...don't get me wrong," Jake said. He was looking out where the river from the melting glacier met the ocean, watching the chunks of ice flowing swiftly out into the wavy blue infinity. A seal popped his head above the surface of the river, looked around momentarily, then went down again.
"Do you ever think you might be of...possessed?" Katja asked.
"I have thought so many things...I used to think, back when I was a little kid, that everyone could see music. I don't know, the kids seemed to sort of understand at first, but as we got older, I got more and more weird looks." Jake picked up a handful of black sand and let it slowly sift through his hand. It was a thrilling sensation; the sand on top was hot from the summer sun, the sand underneath was cold, the way you would think it would be in a place called Iceland. The temperatures mixed as they traveled between Jake's fingers, creating a sensation that his nervous system didn't quite know how to deal with, and so just got all tingly. He lost his train of thought momentarily.
"Weird looks?" Katja prompted.
"It was so familiar and natural to me - I assumed everyone could. I still kind of think that it's something we all have when we're born, something we lose as we grow. Of course, I realize that it's more likely all here." He pointed to a spot on his head a little above and in front of his right ear, where the tumor that caused his vision resided.
Katja sat up and scooped up a handful of sand herself, and let it slip through her fingers, just like Jake did. She also experienced an odd sensation, Jake noticed, as goosebumps raced across the bare skin of her arms and chest above her breast plate. She scooped up two more handfuls before giving her head a little shake and brushing off her hands.
"Maybe this is from God, do you think?" she said, reaching into her bag and pulling out cheese, bread and a tin of tuna, which she spread out on the blanket they were sitting on. She then reached back in and retrieved two bottles of water, handing one to Jake.
Jake scoffed at the idea, waving his hands as if the very idea was a pesky insect that wouldn't go away. "Some people in my family think that. I don't know, maybe that's how they're making sense of my thinking."
"Your thinking about the surgery?" Katja asked. "I understand...I think."
"Like I said, it's not like I want to die or anything. I just think about how...different my life will be. I won't have this special gift or talent, or, I don't know...curse, affliction..."
"What does it look like?" Katja interjected. "The music when you see it?"
Jake paused, rolling his eye up towards the heavens and then closed them. He took a couple deep breaths and appeared to be lost in thought for a few moments. He turned his gaze back towards the water and saw the seal's head come back above the surface, closer now. He exchanged a glance with Jake before slipping back under.
"Sort of like the Northern Lights, I guess," Jake finally said.
"I have seen the Northern Lights," Katja said. "They are beautiful, but I don't think I should want to see them all the time."
Now finished with their lunch, she reached bag into her bag and pulled out two cups of skyr, handing one to Jake. Jake reached for it with a reluctant slowness, wondering how long they had been in there - were they still safe to eat? And how deep is that bag? It's like a cornucopia or something. Sensing his apprehension, Katja said, "It's OK. It keeps without refrigeration." Jake opened his and tucked in. He had grown fond of skyr.
"Is it distracting?" she asked.
"The Music thing? Sort of. I can't listen to the radio when I'm driving - at least not when I'm driving in the city, anywhere where I'd need concentration. I drove through the desert once listening to some CDs. That was...a... great time."
Katja's eyes never left Jake as he talked. She brought the little fold-out spoon up from the cup of skyr to her soft mouth, twirling it in there to lick the concave side clean, slowly withdrawing it through her pouty lips. Jake tried hard to not keep his eyes on her the whole time and turned his eyes again to the water, where he saw the seal again, by the shore, nearly half way out of the water. The seal was waving his nose in the air, sort of like the way that Katja's head would sway slowly from side to side. As he sat there observing it, the seal was suddenly pelted with a scattershot of small pebbles. Jake turned immediately to Katja; it took a couple seconds to get his head around the fact that she had thrown the rocks.
"Pesky," she stated, just the slightest hint of contempt in her voice. "They will come and try to steal food."
She leaned back again, propped up on her arms, her body in that revealing costume spread out in front of Jake. She reached a hand up to hold her horned helmet, to keep it from sliding off. She craned her neck toward him, squinting into the sun behind Jake, one eye completely closed, as if she was winking, and said, "I think you should have the operation." This had the effect of plunging Jake into a complete state of indecision.
----------------
Listening to: Nine Inch Nails - Lights In The Sky
via FoxyTunes
As always, constructive comments (and, of course, encouragement, be it genuine or bald-faced lies) are welcome.
NORTHERN LIGHTS
Katja leaned back, propped up on her elbows, the high sun glinting off her shiny horns. She was young and beautiful, and couldn't have been more exotic, Jake thought. Her eyes were squinted into tiny slits, scrunching up her nose in an adorable way. She was much
more tan than a girl from Finland ought to be. Her head swayed gently from side to side, as if she was listening to music only she could hear. Jake was immediately drawn to that particular idiosyncrasy, almost fell in love with her on the spot because of it.
"I don't want to die...don't get me wrong," Jake said. He was looking out where the river from the melting glacier met the ocean, watching the chunks of ice flowing swiftly out into the wavy blue infinity. A seal popped his head above the surface of the river, looked around momentarily, then went down again.
"Do you ever think you might be of...possessed?" Katja asked.
"I have thought so many things...I used to think, back when I was a little kid, that everyone could see music. I don't know, the kids seemed to sort of understand at first, but as we got older, I got more and more weird looks." Jake picked up a handful of black sand and let it slowly sift through his hand. It was a thrilling sensation; the sand on top was hot from the summer sun, the sand underneath was cold, the way you would think it would be in a place called Iceland. The temperatures mixed as they traveled between Jake's fingers, creating a sensation that his nervous system didn't quite know how to deal with, and so just got all tingly. He lost his train of thought momentarily.
"Weird looks?" Katja prompted.
"It was so familiar and natural to me - I assumed everyone could. I still kind of think that it's something we all have when we're born, something we lose as we grow. Of course, I realize that it's more likely all here." He pointed to a spot on his head a little above and in front of his right ear, where the tumor that caused his vision resided.
Katja sat up and scooped up a handful of sand herself, and let it slip through her fingers, just like Jake did. She also experienced an odd sensation, Jake noticed, as goosebumps raced across the bare skin of her arms and chest above her breast plate. She scooped up two more handfuls before giving her head a little shake and brushing off her hands.
"Maybe this is from God, do you think?" she said, reaching into her bag and pulling out cheese, bread and a tin of tuna, which she spread out on the blanket they were sitting on. She then reached back in and retrieved two bottles of water, handing one to Jake.
Jake scoffed at the idea, waving his hands as if the very idea was a pesky insect that wouldn't go away. "Some people in my family think that. I don't know, maybe that's how they're making sense of my thinking."
"Your thinking about the surgery?" Katja asked. "I understand...I think."
"Like I said, it's not like I want to die or anything. I just think about how...different my life will be. I won't have this special gift or talent, or, I don't know...curse, affliction..."
"What does it look like?" Katja interjected. "The music when you see it?"
Jake paused, rolling his eye up towards the heavens and then closed them. He took a couple deep breaths and appeared to be lost in thought for a few moments. He turned his gaze back towards the water and saw the seal's head come back above the surface, closer now. He exchanged a glance with Jake before slipping back under.
"Sort of like the Northern Lights, I guess," Jake finally said.
"I have seen the Northern Lights," Katja said. "They are beautiful, but I don't think I should want to see them all the time."
Now finished with their lunch, she reached bag into her bag and pulled out two cups of skyr, handing one to Jake. Jake reached for it with a reluctant slowness, wondering how long they had been in there - were they still safe to eat? And how deep is that bag? It's like a cornucopia or something. Sensing his apprehension, Katja said, "It's OK. It keeps without refrigeration." Jake opened his and tucked in. He had grown fond of skyr.
"Is it distracting?" she asked.
"The Music thing? Sort of. I can't listen to the radio when I'm driving - at least not when I'm driving in the city, anywhere where I'd need concentration. I drove through the desert once listening to some CDs. That was...a... great time."
Katja's eyes never left Jake as he talked. She brought the little fold-out spoon up from the cup of skyr to her soft mouth, twirling it in there to lick the concave side clean, slowly withdrawing it through her pouty lips. Jake tried hard to not keep his eyes on her the whole time and turned his eyes again to the water, where he saw the seal again, by the shore, nearly half way out of the water. The seal was waving his nose in the air, sort of like the way that Katja's head would sway slowly from side to side. As he sat there observing it, the seal was suddenly pelted with a scattershot of small pebbles. Jake turned immediately to Katja; it took a couple seconds to get his head around the fact that she had thrown the rocks.
"Pesky," she stated, just the slightest hint of contempt in her voice. "They will come and try to steal food."
She leaned back again, propped up on her arms, her body in that revealing costume spread out in front of Jake. She reached a hand up to hold her horned helmet, to keep it from sliding off. She craned her neck toward him, squinting into the sun behind Jake, one eye completely closed, as if she was winking, and said, "I think you should have the operation." This had the effect of plunging Jake into a complete state of indecision.
----------------
Listening to: Nine Inch Nails - Lights In The Sky
via FoxyTunes
Monday, August 10, 2009
Reykjavic Nights
Good Moleman to you!
Today Part 4 of the agonizing pain in which I live every daaaaaaay.
By which I mean it's New Music Monday!
----------------
Listening to: The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
via FoxyTunes
Today Part 4 of the agonizing pain in which I live every daaaaaaay.
By which I mean it's New Music Monday!
----------------
Listening to: The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
via FoxyTunes
Monday, July 20, 2009
New Music Moday - Uphill Both Ways
No promises, but I pinky-swear I'm going to try to put a new musical piece up every Monday. This particular song is from an unusual project I'm working on; something of a novella/concept album. Not really sure how it's going to work, or if it will even work at all, but whatever. It can be fun to crash and burn sometimes.
As always, there is a media player in the sidebar featuring today's selection as well as blasts from the past. Enjoy!
----------------
Listening to: The Amps - Pacer
via FoxyTunes
As always, there is a media player in the sidebar featuring today's selection as well as blasts from the past. Enjoy!
----------------
Listening to: The Amps - Pacer
via FoxyTunes
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