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November 03 National Novel Writing Month I discovered an intersting event that has been going on for about 10 years, called National Novel Writing Month. The premise is simple. See if you can churn out a 50,000 word novel in the space of 30 days. The object isn't to write the next "great American" novel, but simply to be an excuse for anyone (like me) who has always wanted to write a full-length book, but has never managed to find the time. There is no great cash reward or any reward other than the satisfaction of a job well done. The organizers don't keep your IP or anything like that. Just an informal race against the clock, with 200,000+ others around the world. If you are interested in this project or even just interested in how I am doing, click the banner at the top of the post. If you want to do a search for my profile, just search for "iamtheeviltwin".
So for my project, I have many novel and story ideas that have been circulating in my head. Everthing from hard-core science fiction to modern slice-of-life to sword and sorcery fantasy. I have actually started working on the manuscript a fantasy novel, but I have been on and off about actually working on it. In the spirit of the event I wanted to choose a story that I had not done any writing on. Also at the recommendation of the sponsors I wanted to choose one of my stories that I didn't have a great emotional attachment to. So I dusted off an obscure idea I had back in college, completely based on the look of a certain individual there. That germ of an idea formed the bare-bones idea for a supernatural thiller, or horror, based at the school and centering on a number of students. Nothing heavy and something I think I can "churn"out during the course of the month. This first week won't be too difficult since I have most evenings to kill at the hotel, after that we'll see. My goal is about 2000 words a day, but who knows. Below is an excerpt of the opening of the book and a brief synopsis. Just to note I am doing very little editing, so if it seems rough, forgive me.
Title: Dream Weaver
Synopsis:
Senior Ethan Hale attends Midwestern Christian University, a small christian school on the outskirts of Oklahoma City, he begins to notice strange occurances around the school. Animal attacks, strange symbols, and Black Eyes looking out from the shadows. What evil is being unleashed among the students at this quiet college? Excerpt: ‘What’s wrong with me,’ Danielle thinks, ‘I’m not normally this nervous about walking across campus.’ She knew why she was worried this evening. It was the news of attacks on young women recently in the nearby neighborhoods. Seven women had been attacked in the past week. According to the news each of them had been alone after dark and was attacked by some sort of animal. The police claimed the attacks were done by a rabid dog or perhaps a wolf. Midwestern Christian University was located in a rural area around Oklahoma City and it was not unheard of for wild animals to attack some of the neighborhood pets, but attacks against people were rare. No one had been killed yet, but all of the women were being treated at St. Anthony Hospital. Normally that wouldn’t bother Danielle, she had been raised in the country and wild animals were old hat. However, tonight she had just felt wrong ever since she left the apartment. Like something was watching her from the shadows, but whenever she looked there was nothing there. So here she was making a mad dash across campus to reach the safety of her own dorm room and looking around her like she was being hunted. She paused at the next emergency pole and reveled in the momentary feeling of safety when she heard a noise behind her, a low gurgling sound. October 06 Free(dom) Love My overriding philosophy in life has become one based on freedom. Freedom, or Liberty, is one of the pillars of our society, but it is perhaps one of the hardest to accept or practice. Freedom is the one of the foundations of Christianity, but is often missing in many Christian's lives. Freedom is also a scarce commodity in this world. Being free means taking chances, it means failing, it means taking responsibility for your actions, it means letting others be responsible for their actions, and most importantly it means letting others be free. This is a concept that is easy to say, but difficult to live. So in a celebration of freedom, I found some incredible quotes from historical figures through the ages. Read and enjoy.
Finally, a quote that seems to be about freedom, but is really not. It shows where the thinking of many in our society has moved in regards to Freedom.
Think about it.
Enjoy your freedom and let others enjoy theirs.
Evil Out
September 03 OMG! Ninjas on the Catwalk!  Well not quite more like Power Rangers or Foppish Supervillains (can you say Lavender Man?).
Seems like at the recent Barcelona Fashion Show, the designers made sure to include some trendy H1N1 fashions with surgical mask included.
There were a few other nifty outfits in the show, you can view a slide-show here. I'm not one to keep up with trendy fashions, but would you really pay primo dinero for this:
 I think I have have some left-over tattered clothing that I could wrap around an old pair of sandals. Think they would sell?
Enjoy.
Evil Out August 07 Return of the Weekly Round-Up 8/07 editionWith a whimper I stopped doing the Weekly Round-Up a few months back, but I decided to restart it this week. Basically the WRU is a chance for me to provide a dumping ground for all the news and weirdness articles I read every week, but don't have the time or inclination to actually blog about. This is a good forum for others to perhaps find some informing or entertaining nuggets of info from around the net over the past week.
You gotta watch this...
OMG! You killed Twitter, you bastards! So the anti-healthcare reform MOBS are actually racists… Are the Democrats running scared? Is the President losing his support from comedians?
Evil Out
July 20 One Small Step...Today is the 40th anniversary of this momentous occasion:
Forty years after the first moon landing it feels like America has lost the drive to make another large push into space. There was a lot of lip service on the news today to the future NASA programs, but the national energy isn't there. I think we are seeing the result of the Government monopoly on space. Although the country pooled together and worked hard to achieve the first moon landing (and all the steps up to that point) it was because we were treating the space race in the same fashion as we treated WWII. The nation stood behind the program and invested a lot of energy and effort into beating the Russians. Once Apollo 11 reached the moon and the race was won, the brain drain at NASA began almost immediately. The innovators and the risk takers that had gotten NASA to the moon slowly left and what was left became a typical Government bureaucracy.
Until private industry can truly move into space and start to industrialize and utilize the resources that are there, I believe we will never see the speed and innovation that characterized the first race to the moon. Space exploration has always been one of my dreams and as I age the possibility that I will ever be able to visit orbit become more remote. I hate to see my dream slip away because the Government would rather limit what could be done, rather than foster the possibilities.
One small step for man...and that was really all we have taken. I salute the brave and innovative men who both went to the moon and made it possible. I mourn the dreams that may never be because we have let ourselves become slaves to a bureaucratic behemoth.
Evil Out. July 15 Drive-By BloggingJust a few random thoughts:
The Proposal - I'm not a huge fan of romantic comedies, but there are a couple of individuals that will draw me into one. Hugh Grant is one, movies like Mickey Blue Eyes, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones Diary, and Two Weeks Notice are all enjoyable movies. The other is Sandra Bullock. Besides being one of the few actresses that I find incredibly attractive, she is a talented actress and rarely fails to deliver an enjoyable movie. So my wife and I hit this movie (yes it's been out for a while) and enjoyed it completely. Bullock and Reynolds have a good chemistry together and play their parts well. The supporting cast also make this movie great, everyone from Craig T Nelson to Betty White (who always steels the screen). This isn't a "ground breaking" movie in any fashion, but it is a sweet and touching movie with some great laughs.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - The sixth installment of the Harry Potter series was "brilliant", so to speak. The art direction, mood, lighting, and visuals of this movie are incredibly well done. Much of the mood of the story is portrayed visually (something odd for a movie critic to complain about, but I did read one) and I think it had the most striking look of any of the movies since the third. I've heard a bit of complaints about the "relationship" focus of this movie, comparing it to teen romance Twilight...obviously most of those complaining didn't read the sixth book, which did focus on the budding teenage romances of the main characters. They are all seventeen during this portion of the story and it would be unusual if their hormones didn't direct some of their lives. There are many liberties taken away from the book, as there were in all the films, but the spirit of the story comes through clear. Some of the performances are quite good, from the tortured silence of Draco Malfoy (who is a suprisingly sympathetic figure) to the quiet rage of Severus Snape, there are some great moments. They changed some of the climax of the movie in a way that I felt would give Harry more desperation and anger with himself in the next installment. He made a choice instead of having it made for him as happened in the book. Great watch, saw it at a midnight showing which I always enjoy and is actually much easier when I'm not working the next day (that furlough thing).
Thomas Sowell - There are a few columnists who I always try to read. John Stossel, Camille Paglia, Dick Morris, and Thomas Sowell heads that list. He is an economist who has an uncanny ability to tell things like they are. He uses great metaphors and writing to make economics understandable in so many ways. His two most recent articles Personal Inequity and What constitutes Racism are insightful looks into some of the current social and judicial theories of "equality". In Personal Inequity he looks into the question of equality of outcome and how exactly would you truly achieve that in society. In his examination of a recent supreme court decision on racism he looks at whether discrimination is about "different treatement" or "different outcomes" and how these two measuring sticks affect judicial policy.
Steny Hoyer - or the House Majority Leader, admitted something remarkably candid, and sad, about the current state of Federal Legislation. In response to a question about whether or not members of the House of Representatives had actually read the massive Healthcare Reform bill they are preparing to vote on he said, “If every member pledged to not vote for it if they hadn’t read it in its entirety, I think we would have very few votes,”. So...If no one actually voted on the bill before they bothered to read its' contents, there would be few votes? In fact not only did he state that few have read the bill, he laughed during his response saying, “I’m laughing because a) I don’t know how long this bill is going to be, but it’s going to be a very long bill,”...He went on to say that the staff of the Representatives have read the bills and provide summaries for their bosses. I don't know about the corporate environment that you work in, but in mine several thousand pages of actual planning, rules, regulations, instructions, and design is often boiled down into a 5 min power point presentation or a two page memo. If that is what they mean by briefing members of congress is it any wonder none of them remember discussions on torture during the Bush administration...or that none of them caught the billion dollar slush fund packed into the House Cap and Trade bill? I didn't elect a CEO for my district. I elected a Representative, who should be knowledgable of not only the laws that he is passing, but also the laws which are the foundation he is building on. I have been trying to find video of this press conference, but haven't found it yet. To me it would be a reminder of why most politicians in Washington deserve to be removed.
And if you ask me, would it be such a bad thing if less legislation was passed or smaller bills were passed in order for the majority of members of congress to actually bother to read them?
Evil Out July 09 I Am Still AroundAll's quiet on the Western Front...or at least on my blog. I've been on furlough for the past few weeks (and the next few) because of the effects of this economic downturn on the aviation industry. At least I have survived the layoffs so far. I thought, "Cool, I should have plenty of time for blogging and such while on furlough", but reality can always be a bit of a drag. I've spent a good chunk of my furlough time working small jobs for extra cash (after all no paycheck coming in) and doing work around the house. Between that and the rather depressing state of the news in recent weeks I just haven't taken the time to put any coherent thoughts up here.
Here are some quick hits:
My baby died: Not my real son, but my portable brain. My ever trusty and reliable iPaq hx4700 went to the great big circuit board in the sky. Was using it and without fanfare it just died. So I attempted to fix it over the course of a couple of weeks and then resigned myself to having to buy a new PDA. So I went with the iPaq 211, which is basically the newer version of my old 4700. There are some things about the new one that I like much better, it has more operational memory which makes it faster overall. There are a couple of cosmetic issues that I don't like, it is thicker and actually feels less solid than the 4700. There is only one real complain about it so far operationally and that is the sound output seems to be considerably lower than the 4700. Since I use my PDA to stream internet radio out in the factory at work, this could be an issue. However, since I am on furlough I haven't had a chance to test it yet.
Sarah Palin: Interesting way to bow out of the political scene for a while. Not sure if this is the best thing for her political career, but I think it is a smart move for her family. Here is an article by Camille Paglia that offers up a good analysis of the Palin issue. (BTW, I recommend catching Paglia's column every month. It is usually well worth the read, she is one of the few liberal voices in the media who offers up intelligent discourse and doesn't seem to wear her politics on her sleeve)
Michael Jackson: Was surprised to hear he died. Was a bit saddened, after all he was a huge music icon during my childhood. Like many people in the entertainment industry you have to separate his personal life from his art. Was he a freak? yes. Was his life a bit tragic? sure. Was he a child molester? probably. Will any of that stop me from enjoying his music? no. I just wish the wall-to-wall media coverage would go away...maybe it will now that the big memorial service is done.
Healthcare: What can I say so far? It seems the primary arguments are still between the "we want Government to run it all" or the "we want Government to run most of it" camps. The real problem is the "we don't want Government to run any of it" camp isn't being heard. The primary problems in our current healthcare system are the Government run programs (medicare, medicaid, VA) and the excessive Government regulations on insurance (you must offer maternity coverage, you can't drop someone who is high risk, you can't offer limited coverage to someone, etc). By artificially restraining prices and raising paperwork and regulation, the Government has done more to raise the costs of our healthcare than any "greedy" private company in the past 40 years. You want to see healthcare costs drop? Let the Government run services actually pay for the real cost of healthcare and free up insurance companies to offer true insurance as opposed to forcing them to be surrogate health gateways. Finally if you really want to lower overall healthcare costs in this country, find a way to convince the lard-asses (myself included) in this country to get up and lose weight, eat healthier, and exercise more often.
Well that's it for now. I am looking at a slightly more relaxed schedule the rest of furlough, so I should be posting more often.
Evil Out May 22 For the ChildrenWatch the movie clip below. Warning, this short clip is shocking.
Now ask yourself a question. Why did you find that clip shocking (assuming you did)?
Was is because a person got hit by a truck?
or
Was it because a child got hit by a truck?
For most people it is because the victim was a child. While we might feel sympathy if the victim was an adult, that gut reaction isn't as strong. Think of some books, movies, or even real life situations that really grab at you or shock you. Was The Exorcist more or less shocking because the person possesed was a young child? How about when the young boy gets hit by the truck in Pet Cemetary? Not only was that a major plot point, but it was the most lingering image from an otherwise horrible movie. Why can we raise tens of thousands of dollars for child cancer victims, even creating an organization that grants many terminally ill children their "last wish", and yet we have difficulty raising money or even being too upset over the plight of adults with breast or prostrate cancer?
It is because in this society (American specifically...the morals seem to be different in other societies) we have elevated children to a special place. Not just a special place, but I would say even a sacred place. We justify so many wrongs in this society, so many trampling of rights, all because it is "For The Children". Why was one of the first bills passed by the new congress and President, the updated S-CHIP bill? A bill that extended Government backed medical coverage to children in families making well above the poverty line (I believe a family can make up to $60,0000 now and still qualify). It wasn't because this population of children was underserved with medical coverage and if the debate had been about extending Medicaid benefits to adults making up to 3 times the poverty rate it would never have passed. However, the image of children without medical coverage was enough to make this a winning argument and justified the confiscation of someone's property to give to another. Here is a list of Government mandates and restrictions on freedom off the top of my head that have all been done "For The Children":
The list could go on and on..."For The Children" is one of the most insipid and manipulative phrases ever uttered in a political or social context. Those in power know it and they use it to their advantage to manipulate the public to undertake activities that it would otherwise resist. Think about it. Evil Out March 27 Weekly Round-upOver the course of the week I read many different news sources and find lots of articles that catch my fancy, but never make it to the level of blogging about. I thought I might start sharing some of these with you at the end of the week. Give you some light weekend reading.
Lots of good articles there. Enjoy. Evil Out. March 04 Several of Quick Hits"We have a very diverse party, with diverse opinions. We're working on it." --Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer , D-Md. Speaking about recent troubles with conservative house Democrats. Sounds a bit ominous to me if you happen to be one of those dissenting voices. ------------------------------------------------------- I've been a big fan of Alan Moore's work in comic books, Watchmen being no exception. My son read the graphic novel last summer and has been a huge fan ever since. He is fiending for the movie this weekend. I am excited to see it, but haven't gotten my hopes up too high. Moore's work has been hit or miss on the big screen and he has once again distanced himself from this project. One of my favorite webcomics, PVP, has been doing a spoof of the Watchmen all this week. I highly recommend it. ------------------------------------------------------ Speaking of interesting diversions. If you looked at my book list you will see I am a big fan of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files novels. He has also done a series of fantasy novels called the Codex Alera. It's a well written fantasy epic with an interesting universe and backstory. January 26 Stopping the Boortz PodcastsWell I am going to stop posting the Boortz podcasts, for now at least. I have been streaming the show live from Atlanta for several months now and rarely listen or download my recordings. So unless a need arises I am going to remove the link from my main page and I pretty much stopped posting new shows during the holidays. January 10 Some Interesting Articles and a Cool BlogsiteFirst up, I was directed to an interesting Blogsite this week, Big Hollywood, it is a repository for conservatives from Hollywood to put their thoughts up. There have been some interesting articles including this one about the decaying morals of the superhero genre and this rant by 'one pissed off dude'. It is a great site with lots of news, reviews and opinions.
There were also two articles this week written by two of my "must read" writers, Walter Williams and John Stossel.
Stossel rips into the dual personality of the politcal class that will condemn a Ponzi scheme run my a millionaire like Madoff and then tolerate, laud, and defend the Ponzi schemes run by the government such as Social Security and Medicare.
Williams talks about how people focus on "the rich" as the source of all evils in our society when in truth it is the politicians and bureaucrats who have far more effect and influence on our lives.
Read and Enjoy, Evil Out. January 05 Refreshed and RechargedSorry for the long layover. It's finally time to head to work again after a 2 week hiatus (and a 1 week business trip to Mexico). Been trying to ignore news and politics as much as possible. The PEBO is about to have his inauguration and the congress is preparing to "fast track" his economic "stimulus" package which includes "targetted tax cuts". PEBO is also throwing Bill Richardson under the bus because of some questionable political alliances, guess he is getting on top of this scandal rather than let it fester like the Blago one. Finally, Israel is defending itself with maximum force and PEBO is saying little to nothing, guess that's "the Office of Secretary of State Nominee" Hillary Clinton's job now...
Should be a fun year, Evil Out. December 04 Auto Bailouts, Evil Radio, and John Stossel...oh myJust look under my profile for my internet radio station, Evil Radio. 24/7 streaming of stuff from my massive music collection. Warning some songs have "issues" I have been trying to locate and re-rip them as I find them, but hey I'm only one man with too little time on my hands.
Fortunately it looks like the auto bailout will go down in flames, at least for now. Let the big 3 declare bankruptcy if they need to re-organize like any other business would (or should) do to claw it's way out of problems. I am getting a bit sick of hearing how congress "need to do something" to save this business or industry. Shut the doors to everyone and save the cash or better yet decalre a tax holiday and let us keep our own damn money.
Finally, another article from John Stossel. Letting us know that government interference and mismanagement got us to where we are now and the continued manipulation and intereference is just setting us up for another big fall. November 24 Absence Makes the Heart Grow FonderSorry for the long stretch of dead air. Several things were keeping me from posting:
1) The Election - I wanted to take a step back from politics for a week or so after the election and let things fall in place and to recharge my political batteries. They are recharged and I am ready to go.
2) Business Trip - I took a business trip down to Chihuahua City in Mexico and had limited time and access to the internet. I am going to post about this later with some pictures. It was an interesting trip and gave me some unusual perspective on everything from exporting jobs to the presidential election.
3) The Holidays - We are hitting holiday season and that creates ripples in my free time as early as the beginning of November. Hopefully it won't stop me from posting regularly through the rest of the year.
I am back and ready to go. The Once and Future King has already made some questionable choices in his "Office of President Elect" and I am sure there will be much more to talk about in the coming months.
Oh...and for anyone who was getting the Boortz podcasts, I am sorry about the gaps in last week. I had my system set up to take care of posting the darn things, but something reset my system while I was away and screwed my whole method up. I will pick it back up this week. September 16 Misc RamblingsHackers aren't always Bad
I read this interesting article, 9/11 Anniversary Tape Stopped by Hackers, and had to smile. It's good to know that there are still people in this world who are unafraid to standup to the forces of evil.
M4rk3t 4 th3 w1n
I was glad to see the feds finally do the right thing in this market downturn and let one of these overextended companies and their irresponsible stakeholders taste the bitter pill of failure. There will be pain and gnashing of teeth, but hopefully this is a sign that no more of our money is going to prop up these irresponsible companies and their stakeholders will start to take some responsibility.
The State-by-State race is swinging McCain's direction
The Real Clear Politics electoral count is showing McCain with about a 20pt lead (factoring out toss up states). If you factor in the toss-ups Obama still wins by 8 because he is clinging to a razor thin margin in Colorado. However, if you look at the trend since Sept 7th (The end of the Elephant Primary) every poll is showing a Right-ward shift.
School Woes
I have been going back to school to complete the Bachelor's Degree (Computer Science) that I never bothered to get when I should have. Although I will be glad to finish the "adult program" and get my degree I have been unsatisfied with the overall coursework. I might go into more detail later, but let's suffice it to say that I don't feel I am learning anything I couldn't get from reading a book and the lack of hands-on experience is certainly frustrating.
Site Tweaks
I tweaked the website a bit to make it easier to read the blog posts. I also added a guestbook, feel free to sign it and let me know what you think.
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