They really thought of everything

Remember that guy who faked his death to try and get out of a cell phone contract? He probably could've used this article as a reference. (I came on this through research browsing, not because I'm planning anything, I swear.)

How to fake your own death

It lays everything out in steps for you, nice and bite-sized.

1. Choose the method of your demise. What's your cuppa? They all have their pros and cons, like having to produce a body or getting the police involved.

2. Research. This is key, especially with all the CSI shows going on these days. People are a lot sharper at spotting stray hairs, footprints, blood samples and all those nasty things that they could track you down by.

3. Remember not to tell anyone that you're going to do this. Kind of spoils the surprise.

The article even tells how to reemerge as a new person, including one person's statement that it's supposedly easy to go officials in Haiti to draw up fake death certificates for a meager $500 bribe. The circumstances that led to them knowing this remain a mystery.

So has anyone done this and succeeded? Feel free to brag.


I see that smile.

Develop your marketing plan

You've got this amazing story. Maybe not the next great American novel, but at least next greatest in your county. So what're you gonna do with it?

Yes, get it published. I know.

But what about after that? Sit back and enjoy all the literary accolades? The harsh reality seems to be that even after all the mental crunch of producing the book, even after the hurry-up-and-wait of finding an agent, getting the book contract, and at least a year's delay in publication process, your job still isn't over. You've now got to be part of the marketing plan that gets out there and sells the book.

Here then, to help with this, is a good rundown of what a marketing plan is, why you might want one, and some steps to get you started in preparing for it

The Novelist Goes To Market:
Developing Your Marketing Plan

I know. This falls into that shadowy "business" realm of writing, with trolls under bridges, and baby-snatching gremlins lurking in legal matters and sales numbers. Isn't this the whole reason you wanted to become a writer in the first place? To avoid having to do "business" stuff?

While you certainly don't have to do powerpoint presentations in front of a bunch of suits, it always pays to know your audience (demographic) and implement some strategies to get your book to that audience in the most effective and profitable way possible. Who else knows your book better than you do? Who better to present it to the soon-to-be adoring public?

This quote from the article says it well:

"Be prepared to take the initiative when it comes to promotion. And follow up on everything. The squeaky (but pleasant) author gets reviewed and asked to speak." (Susan Perry, social psychologist and author of the bestseller, Writing In Flow)


I see that smile.

Hoaxipedia

In an interesting twist to the Wikipedia phenomenon, I present Hoaxipedia. Your one stop resource for urban legends, pranks, scams, and tall tales.

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/hoaxipedia

As they recommend, it's fun just to click the "random page" link and see what info pops up. For instance, I found this list of Medieval End of the World hoaxes, such as the Toledo letter, and the panic of 1524, when mass hysteria gripped Europe. Or the Case of the Miraculous Bullet. Apparently, this Civil War story documented how a bullet passed through a boy's testicle and then lodged within a girl's abdomen, impregnating her while she remained a virgin. Medical journals repeated this story as true until as late as 1959.

You can also look up specific categories, like Crime, Death, and even Hoaxes that aren't Hoaxes. See what kind of twisted truths, lies and ridiculous accounts the world has believed in over the years. Maybe you'll find something in there that you once thought was truth. Let me know if you discover any favorites.


I see that smile.

Poetry contest with "different" standards

If you've ever wanted the chance to show off your bad poetry, here's your chance. Technically the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest isn't about bad poetry, per se. The actual idea is to have fun at the expense of those vanity poetry contests, where aspiring poets are made to shill out bunches of monies in order to submit their poems and get cheap anthology copies, CDs, chintzy plaques/medallions, or whatever these scammy (you like that word?) contest organizers can come up with.

So, if you've ever submitted a poem to such a contest that ends up accepting everything you and all of Miss Myrtle's fifth grade class sent in, and then lauded it all as total genius, the Wergle Flomp contest is a way to redeem that entry. There are three easy steps.

1. Find a vanity poetry contest. (Here are their examples.)
2. Make up a deliberately absurd, strange, laugh-out-loud humor poem. (More examples.)
3. Submit your parody poem to a vanity contest as a joke.

Then submit this same poem to Wergle Flomp. There's no fee, but there are cash prizes--almost $4k worth. Nothing to lose here, and you might have fun doing it.


I see that smile.

How many ways can you say it?

Living in NYC, I hear a lot of different languages spoken every day, from tourist groups crowding the subways, to people just chatting as I walk by on the subway.

Unfortunately, my own attempts at learning a new language have left me with those smatterings of voulez-vous and je sais pas that we like to throw into random conversation, thinking it might prove we're cultured...or something. I took French in high school, and then figured, for some logic-defying reason, that it'd be a great idea to switch to a year of German in college. Brilliant, huh?

I'm impressed by those people who actually can engage speak fluently in other languages. That's a skill I don't think I'll ever conquer (so, I adapt by writing fantasy books where I can make up my own freakin' languages and no one can tell me I spelled asterlalalfuner wrong! My language. My rules.). Whether it's through a year abroad, coming to the U.S. from another country, or growing up in a bilingual family, language skills awe me.

Ahem. Sorry. Anyways, all this to say that I was astounded to discover a new term--

Hyperpolyglot

This is a person who can speak six or more languages fluently.

The most accomplished hyperpolyglot is considered to be Harold Williams, a New Zealander who lived in the 1800s and is said to have known upwards of 98 languages and dialects. Holy crap. What else did this guy have room for in his head? Nowadays, Ziad Youssef Fazah is acclaimed for reading and understanding 58 languages, most of which he learned before the age of 20.

This boggles me. Boggles, I say. Does anyone out there speak another language, or two, or six? Please, let me know so I might be in awe of you as well. Oh, and does anyone write in another language? Writing is hard enough, but that would seem like quite the task.


I see that smile.
Veo esa sonrisa.
Je vois ce sourire.
Ich sehe dieses Lächeln.
Eu v esse sorriso.

Yeah. That'll teach 'em.

We'll call this a Weird News Weekend. Maybe I can make this a semi-regular thing, since there is no shortage of these kind of articles and happenings around our world.

Does this article then say anything about the culture we live in today?

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/08/verizon-custome.html

Your challenge, whether or not you choose to accept is, is to imagine a more extreme or dramatic method that you could use to get out of your cell phone contract.

Oh, and yes. We do have the new kitten. 9 weeks old. Male. Black stripes on gray. Very energetic, a bit frightened of the puppy still, but they've at least established boundaries. If China (our dog, not the country) gets too near, a simple swat or hiss makes her hop back. We just want to make sure the kitten is not considered a chew toy. His name is Munchkin.


I see that smile.

Bears and alcohol don't mix...nuff said

Well, we're off to the pet store once again. This time we're picking up cat supplies. We'll have our own family starter kit now. One boy, one girl. Their being a cat and a dog makes a little difference, I suppose. I'll post pictures of the cat once he's arrived.

In the meantime, read up on why you should never play around with bears while drunk. I know you needed me to tell you that. I'm such a public servant.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/08/20/bear.death.reut/index.html


I see that smile.

Research...that's what we'll call it

Both fascinating and disturbing on many levels. A book that covers the means and motives behind the more than 4,000 killings over the past fifty years.

How to Kill

The book tells the stories of not just "how" they died, but "why." Why were these people, either important or seemingly innocent, knocked off? Was it for fame? Power? Money?

Here's a list of some of the methods that the book touches on:

Exploding telephones, pipe-guns and bullets made of teeth, aspirin explosives, cobra-venom darts, a rifle that shoots around corners, a ‘piss bomb’ (10 cups of boiled urine mixed with nitric acid), exploding clams, samurai swords, karate chops, poisoned umbrellas and a fuel-laden light aircraft. Sometimes even a regular gun.

And some of the victims:

Popes, politicians, presidents, prime ministers, pop-stars, spin doctors, judges, businessmen, writers, revolutionaries, actors, royals, generals and dictators.

Realize, this isn't a how-to volume. It's more an expose of how assassinations and murders have shaped our history, though it touches on the assassin's psychology and shows how removing a single person from the scene in a violent way can have such a powerful impact on the world. Sounds like a good resource. Another one to put up on the book shelf along with my encyclopedia of serial killers. Real cozy reading.


I see that smile.

The next Mistborn book...and cover art for Sly Mongoose!

Wonderful news. Brandon Sanderson's next Mistborn book, The Well of Ascension is now out. I'm nabbing it up first chance I get. I like how Sanderson, as one of the review mentions, is showing how people who overthrow the evil empire must then deal with the difficulties of remaining in power. So many times a series shows the final battle of death of icky-bad-guy as being the end of the story, with the heroes trotting off into the sunset and never facing the practicalities of destroying a kingdom's power structure. But here, we get a look at some more political and assassination power-plays, along with the reemerging, ancient threat of the Deepness (which we still have no idea of what it is).

Also, Tobias Buckell reveals the cover art being made for his next book, Sly Mongoose. Check it out here, in all its space-battle glory!

http://www.tobiasbuckell.com/2007/08/22/sly-mongoose-cover-art-progression/

Just from seeing that, I can't wait to read the story. See? Cover art really can sell a book.


I see that smile.

Forewarned is forearmed

I believe that the better informed one is about publishing as a business, the better equipped you will be in handling your interactions with agents, editors and book-buyers with an impressive level of professionalism and savvy. Yes, you are an author--or at least hope to be sooner or later. However, your job does not stop at writing the book. That book must then be sold. Your name must be scrawled on a contract that gives a publishing house the right to publish you, while they give you money and a chance to help them make more money.

So what are those big heaps of paper that they will someday send your way?

http://www.sfwa.org/contracts/

If you want a peek at some of the more common contracts floating around the business, take a look at the link above. It shows model contracts that cover everything from Author-Agent relationships, what you might get if you sell a short story to a magazine, and both a hardcover and paperback version of what a publishing house would offer you.

Yup. It's a lot of words that are three syllables or longer. Fortunately, we're supposed to be comfortable with long, complicated and obscure verbiage, right? Do yourself a favor. Read through these. Get a basic comprehension of what they're saying. This way, when the wonderful day comes about that you receive a hefty envelope in the mail, your first words upon opening it and reading the contained contract won't be..."Guh?" Even if you have to talk over some of the details with your agent, just being slightly familiar with the contract elements will make you that much more confident in dealing with the sometimes murky business end of the craft.

Also, I know some writers out there choose to represent themselves and skip getting an agent entirely. If that's your situation, then understanding contracts is even more important, because you don't want to skim over these things, sign it, and then realize there was some clause in there that you either didn't see or had no clue what it meant, but now the company owns your book rights for life.

That just wouldn't be fun now, would it?


I see that smile.

Miss Snark's query letter process

Dug this out of Miss Snark's blog, which, even though it is no longer in operation, still has a bus-load of precious writing gems waiting to be mined from the archives.

http://misssnark.blogspot.com/2007/04/yea-this-works.html

I figured this post was particularly applicable since it's the process I'm caught up in right now...er...minus all of the gin of course.

Right now I've got about twenty-something queries floating about in both the postal service and cyberspace. These are for both short stories and a couple of my novels, specifically the ones that are the most polished and, in my opinion, the most unique and intriguing. I've had a few false alarms with sample page requests and all that, but other than those nibbles, nothing yet. As I wait for a solid bite there, one hand on the fishing pole, I've also turned one eye to a new manuscript and am about 10k words into it and enjoying it so far.

That's often the measure by which I track a work in progress. Not necessarily how fast I'm getting it written, but how much I'm enjoying the process. Because if I can't have fun with the world and characters that are fleshing out on the page, then the likelihood is the reader won't have fun with them either.

So, I'm off to see what waits for me around this blind corner...


I see that smile.

An unfortunate review

Unfortunately, this book review is a bit negative. Mainly because the book I read didn't live up to my expectations. If you've browsed around the blog a bit, you've seen my mostly positive reviews of the Nightside series, by Simon R. Green. I found it incredibly imaginative, and it hit the right nerve of my morbid humor, with lots of insane situations and clever get-aways.

The first few were enjoyable, if dark and sometimes rather macabre. I liked the main character, John Taylor, a private eye with an actual Third Eye that lets him see all sorts of hidden secrets and find those things that never want to be found.

However, on reading the next one, Paths Not Taken, I found myself disappointed. For a couple of reasons. First, a lot of the writing remains repetitive. The same stock character descriptions are employed numerous times, and Green's solutions to the characters' getting into tight situations almost always feel like deus ex machina in this book. Oh, there's tension and such, but you can almost always guess how they're going to get out of their current predicament because you've seen their same tricks in the previous books. Also, this book becomes entirely morbid and shows the characters in an increasingly distasteful light, I thought. Maybe it's a way for Green to set them up to redeem themselves in the next book, but I don't know. I was honestly turned off to Taylor's methods and the methods he employs in this book. That might be a sign of how well Green portrays this guy and the character arc he is traveling, but I'm afraid that it's just going to get worse.

Basic plot: John Taylor has discovered his mother is the Biblical Lilith, the creator of Nightside, and so he is trying to discover a way to fight her--a journey which takes him back in time with a few choice allies, all while trying to prevent a horrible future that will destroy everything they love.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy all the creative situations, the colorful setting and all that, but if I can't even make myself root for the good guy (or if there really isn't even a "good guy" left) then what is there to enjoy?

The problem is, I really liked this series up until this point. So do I try the next book in the hope that it will be better and show some more originality and fresh plot twists? Or do I let it go and try to find another author to snag my interest? Maybe I'll browse the first few chapters and see if I can keep going, or I'll find a place to buy it real cheap so I'm not risking too much in case it disappoints.

Anyways, if you have read this series, or are reading it along with me, let me know what you think.


I see that smile.

Why is it so hard to swing?

For those of you who don't know, the wife and I enjoy swing dancing together, when we're able to go. We actually started out taking weekly lessons here in Colorado, long before we were engaged. So we thought it would be fun to go back to the old cafe where we learned, where they do Sunday night swing sessions with live bands, plus a lesson if you go early.

Anyways, wouldn't it figure that we get there for the live music, and a cowboy band sets up instead? They even said, "Oh, don't let the getups scare you off, we're still swinging tonight."

Two square-dancing songs later, we decided to leave.

...sigh...

Oh well. It was worth the effort. We're still trying to find a decent swing dance spot out in NYC, if you can believe that. All the music they play at the various dance clubs and such ends up being two beats too slow for the jitterbug, East-coast style we learned originally. Maybe we'll have to take up salsa or tango in the meantime. Anyone have suggestions on dance spots and lessons?


I see that smile.

Mini-vacation and war bots

We slipped out to Colorado yesterday morning in order to surprise my father for his birthday. It's been a fun time, seeing the family and reveling in Colorado's lack of humidity and fresh air, compared to the Big City.

We're out and about most of today, so to keep folks entertained and talking, check out this link:

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/08/armed-robots-so.html

So we've got robots now that are being marketed and used in potentially lethal situations. They've also got an impressive array of devices and weapons they can be outfitted with.

• Multi-shot TASER electronic control device with laser-dot aiming. • Loudspeaker and audio receiver for negotiations. • Night vision and thermal cameras. • Choice of weapons for lethal or less-than-lethal responses - 40 mm grenade launcher - 2 rounds - 12-gage shotgun - 5 rounds - FN303 less-lethal launcher - 15 rounds.

And then some. Is this the way we're going then? Will the next big wars be entirely automated, or will there always be a need for the footsoldier? Certainly a lot of science fiction has shown drones and bots meeting on the battlefield, so once more, we're catching up with our imaginations.


I see that smile.

Love makes us go crazy

And now science is here to help prove it.

Ever hear the phrase, "madly in love"? According to this article, that's pretty much what happens, especially in those hormone-driven teenage years.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn12483-puppy-love-makes-teenagers-lose-the-plot.html

In summary, lovestruck teenagers can show manic behavior in their lifestyle and how they interact with others. Basically, they don't differ from mental patients experiencing a hypermanic episode.

Strong stuff for this thing called love. For a story idea then...what if someone never grew out of this stage? What if every romantic relationship they fell into, they were stuck in this manic phase of heightened tensions, risk-taking, emotional overdrive? Could a relationship survive in such high gear forever? Or do there need to be down times and even some boring periods in between those heart-fluttering "psychopathological" episodes?

Seems like a good character in the making. Which would it work best for though? An angst-ridden protagonist or an antagonist denied the love he so desperately craves? Sounds like intriguing motivation either way.


I see that smile.

Ursula K. Le Guin on Serious Literature

A few months shy of fresh and new, but I came across mini-essay/vignette by Ursula K. Le Guin, which she wrote in response to statement that...in essence...genre fiction has been relegated to the grave by writers of "serious literature."

http://www.ursulakleguin.com/Note-ChabonAndGenre.html

Hysterical. Among my favorite lines is:

No, she would not look at the thing that had squelched its way into her bedroom and stood over her, reeking of rocket fuel and kryptonite, creaking like an old mansion on the moors in a wuthering wind, its brain rotting like a pear from within, dripping little grey cells through its ears.

What more could you add to that?

I see that smile.

What better mental exercise?

Aside from doing inverted quantum physics and string theory equations with nothing but a blank paper and a pencil, is there any better way to put the gray muscle through some circuit training than by writing?

Think about it. You've got to comprehend all the emotional angles and shades that your characters experience. That means a lot of social factors, working the angles of jealousy and anger, finding just the right amount of motivation to push a protagonist forward. Emotional balance and surge is just one part of the mental workout, however.

It shows up in the basic structure of some genres, like thrillers and mysteries, but any plot must have logical connections, often fraught with plot twists and witty dialogue that any modern sitcom would be proud of. Do we wake up, bake an idea in the microwave for thirty seconds and have a finished story steaming and ready to serve? No way. For me, it often takes at least a week or two of mind-to-grindstone to eek out the beginnings of a solid outline and plot synopsis before even starting in on the story. Figuring out the logic of a new system of magic, creating the physics of a new world and how all these factors are going to create a greater sum of the whole...whew. It's exhausting.

So I guess it's a good thing to run across an article like this:

Brain workout

Keeping the mind active seems to help preserve its functioning and even improve it at times if any problems arise. There are no specifics yet as to how many minutes of I.Q. calisthenics we should engage in per day to keep our brain power from dipping, but it is encouraging across the board that we constantly make ourselves face new experiences, learn new skills, and so on. What pursuit makes us learn more and travel farther than writing and all the effort it involves to distill an entire world and a cast of characters onto a blank page? Anyone have an alternate way of pumping up their gray matter? Am I the only one who finds myself mentally wearied after chopping at a rather knotty plot snag?



I see that smile.

Is anything real science?

I don't know if this article actually surprised me. To physicists at the University of Central Florida have published a paper showing how Hollywood's portrayal of science fiction might be leading to a lot of scientific illiteracy these days.

I guess the same logic could be applied to Hollywood's portrayal of romance, and what people expect out of modern relationships. The Prince Charming, the Love-at-First-Sight, and the Polar Opposites Who Hate Each Other Come to Find Out They Are 'The One'". Yeah, those stereotypes.

So it is with science.

http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/2007/07/hollywood-physics-is-it-all-science.html

Obviously a lot of this comes through such science fiction movies, where the laws of physics, and just plain common sense, are routinely broken for the sake of such things as mutants, radioactive spiders and aliens from other planets. Even more science-oriented movies, which are based on the premise of "this could happen," like The Core, or The Day After Tomorrow can become damaging to viewers (especially younger ones) who come to think that, well, this may not be exactly how the world works, but it must be something close to it. Or maybe, "If I were just strong enough, I could do that stunt."

The full article is pretty fascinating, fancy equations included. Worth a read. It covers various physical impossibilities and unlikelihoods that occur in films such as Speed, The Chronicles of Riddick, and Aeon. Fun stuff.

So, yes. One more thing that Hollywood is doing its just of spreading confusion and disinformation into the mass mindset. What does this all mean? Is Hollywood going to stop making these kinds of films? Sorry. Rhetorical question. I guess the best thing to do is enjoy the movies, if they are high enough caliber to do so, but try to be discerning when the digital special effects pave the way for scientific ignorance. It can even become a learning experience when you look at what is being presented on the screen, and then go try to figure out if what you saw was actually possible. Maybe I'm a geek for thinking that kind of research is enjoyable, but hey, I don't have to defend what I do in my free time.

Has a movie ever affected you in this way? Has seeing something so patently impossible either taken away from enjoying the story, or even inspired you to go out and see what can really be done in our world? Or are movies just supposed to be like magic shows, where you entirely suspend your disbelief for the sake of popcorn and bedazzlement?

I see that smile.

A review of The Man with the Golden Torc

I read through The Man with the Golden Torc at such high speeds that I had to remind myself to slow down and actually enjoy it, rather than simply barrelling through to get to the end. That's probably one of my biggest shortcomings and the reason why I often read a book two or three times through before setting it aside. I have to go back and pick up all the details I missed as I whipped through it the first time. Of course, speed-reading is one of the first signs that I'm enjoying the story.

The Man with the Golden Torc is Simon R. Green's sashay into James Bond territory. It's rather obvious, considering the title. But that's what was so fun about this book. It's a definite shift from his more macabre Nightside series, which I am still going through and enjoying. So if you want something a little lighter and satirical, this would be a great place to start.

Meet Eddie Drood, one of the black sheep of the Drood family, who, using their magical golden torcs, patrol the supernatural world and keep it from causing too much trouble by...say, getting presidents pregnant with demon spawn, or stopping elven lords from wiping out all of humanity just out of spite. The Drood family has a tough job. But recently it's gotten even more ridiculous as it seems there is a traitor on the family selling out all their secrets. Unfortunately, the blame lands square on Eddie, who is just trying to fight the good fight, defeat the bad guys, ya know? Now he's on the run from his own, all-powerful family, and the only people he can go to for help are those he's been battling against all his life.

It's a great ride, and in the tradition of all James Bond flicks, has a rip-roaring car chase to boot, with one of the most tricked-out cars off the lot. There's even a takeoff of the infamous Q, who hands out magical gadgetry that Bond only dreams he could get his hands on. Green has quite a few surprises to dole out, and his characters are as colorful as ever. I would say the biggest flaw comes from his style, which can get a little repetitive at times. Not in a boring, seen-it-before way. Nothing boring here. Pure excitement. But characters often repeat themselves, or dialogue can sound very similar in describing the scenery. I also spotted a few situational parallels that Green also uses in his Nightside series, such as a bar where all the freaks and power-players tend to hang out. I guess it's keeping to his style of imagination.

Anyways, it's a great read, if you can't tell from what I've said so far. A bit brighter than Nightside, with a nice, twisty ending and lots of humor along the way. There is the promise of a series here, so I'm looking forward to the next installment.


I see that smile.

Stardust

Saw the movie yesterday. Read the book quite a while ago. Twice now, actually. Enjoyed them both immensely. Fortunately bucking the usual book-to-film tradition, the movie was not hampered in its storytelling. Sure, some things changed. Quite a few fun characters that I would've loved to see weren't involved anymore. The hairy gnome. The lion. Tori Amos as the talking tree. Some of the more clever subplots had to be scrapped for sake of time.

But all in all, they preserved the charm and winsomeness of the story. The wife and I both agree that Yvaine could've been better cast, and that center stage was stolen from the main protagonists by Robert De Niro's prancing Captain Shakespeare, and Michelle Pfeiffer's wicked witch. Those provided the most laugh-worthy bits, I thought.

The music was excellent as well. Sometimes in a movie, the music is just white-noise filler, designed to distract you or provide an occasional emotional swell right before the unlikely couple liplocks. In Stardust, I found myself enjoying the adventurous tunes along with the incredible backdrops that the story flew along and over.

What's the movie about? In essence, it's a coming of age tale, where a boy becomes a man and finds true love. Can't get much more basic than that. But the romp that Tristan goes through in order to reach that happy ending is far from ordinary or banal. All the delightful surprises and quirky humor makes this one of the most satisfying movies I've seen in a while. Of course, considering movie prices out here in NYC, I certainly haven't been funding any movie exec's lunch break recently.

I see that smile.

Busy day

A quick post today, in exchange for a morning and afternoon filled with rollerblading, running the puppy through the park to the near point of exhaustion, and then heading to see the matinee showing of Stardust!

If you aren't planning on seeing this movie, I'd highly suggest you reconsider. Besides the fact that it's based on the book of the same name by author Neil Gaiman, one of my favorites, it's also being compared to The Princess Bride...and who doesn't love that classic?

I should report on it tomorrow, plus I've got a few book reviews coming up this week, since I've been plowing through my stack of must-reads.

Enjoy the sun. Hopefully when my body is tired tonight, I will be able to hit the writing grindstone with some mental vigor. Right now I'm fleshing out the world I want this upcoming story to take place in. Both a satisfying and frustrating process. I should be starting on the first few scenes sometime this upcoming week as well.


I see that smile.

How to cut your sleep cycle in half

I've been doing a lot of research into sleeping, dreams and other such nightly episodes for one of my stories, and I came across this intriguing article.

http://discovermagazine.com/2007/aug/tms-sleep

Apparently this study found that by using a electromagnetic wand to zap certain parts of the brain with magnetic energy, they can switch on certain sleep phases at will--such as deep, non-REM (or non-dreaming, as some might interpret it) sleep. The study is still in the early phase, and still very experimental. But they raised the possibility that with this device, one could potentially induce a deeper, artificial and more satisfying mode of sleep than what one might naturally experience. If you experienced this, you might even be able to cut that "8 recommended hours of sleep a night" in half.

So how could you adapt this device into a story? A portable wand that sends people to sleep at the push of a button? Something that people use at home to put themselves into some kind of artificial stasis or hibernation? What if they used this on criminals, or people who are extraneous to society, linking them to an IV and putting them in a constant dream state so they don't use up too many resources? What will happen when we are able to control our waking and sleeping hours at will?

Is this a case of Because-We-Can-We-Should? Or do you see this as having some beneficial applications, like the treatment of depression, or curing of insomnia?

I see that smile.

Art worth staring at

A thanks to Mir for dropping bread crumbs to this link.

Artist Makoto Fujimura has some incredible work that I found, while abstract, somehow incredibly poignant.

http://www.makotofujimura.com/

Robert Kushner gives this description of Fujimura's art.

"The idea of forging a new kind of art, about hope, healing, redemption, refuge, while maintaining visual sophistication and intellectual integrity is a growing movement, one which finds Fujimura's work at the vanguard."

I do find that certain pieces of art make me want to know the story behind them, or at least create one. Here is a favorite of mine, though I do highly recommend visiting his site and blog and seeing the other samples available. I'm not usually one for the abstract, but I enjoy how his pieces play on the edges of imagination and let you construct a mental scene that is unique to the viewer.

I see that smile.

Conspiracy nuts, go wild

The realm of science fiction once more begins to intersect our reality.

We already do this to pets. Micro-chip them so we can track them down, should they get lost, or call up the owner's contact info so wandering dogs and cats can be returned to worried families.

So isn't the next logical step utilizing this with ourselves? This article talks about two workers who were tagged by radio ID chips, a way the company made sure only those with the need to know could access certain vaults of restricted info.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/08/01/chips.humans.ap/index.html

Think of the advantages (for some of you, this is me playing devil's advocate):

If you get lost, you could have an internal GPS system that can orient you to safety. Chips could store medical info which would let doctors process you into a hospital in an emergency. Financial and identification info could be stored, so you'd never have to worry about missing your credit card at the grocery, driver's license at the bar or passport. It'd all be right there for the scanning.

Some people might go so far as implementing them into the criminal system (kind of an upgrade to those anklets that they already use) to keep track of convicts.

The flipside of this, obviously, are those who are scared that this is the big step where the government can start tracking our lives on an even more minute-to-minute basis. As with many things, it could start with innocent intentions, but quickly be twisted into a invasive, perhaps enforced device to monitor and control the masses.

And yes, as the article points out, there are those groups who see these chips as fulfilling the infamous 666- Mark of the Beast role.

Plus, there's the whole "hacker" issue that has to be taken into account. If you basically carried all of your personal info, financial access and medical history everywhere you went, that's a treasure chest waiting to be cracked open. Think of it like someone using wireless internet technology to steal your identity as you brush by them on the street. So long as they had the right scanner...

Anyways, a lot of this stuff is still in the science fiction realm, but as with many things in that genre, it is peeping over the horizon, and is soon going to be jumping into our laps, probably well before we are ready to deal with it.

But say, hypothetically, that all the bugs were ironed out. There were no security risks, and all you had to sacrifice was a little of your anonymity by registering in the system. Would you still get yourself chipped for the advantages it might provide? Or is our paranoia too deeply ingrained?

I see that smile.

Another contest ends

Congratulations to all who placed in the Clarity of Night Short Fiction contest.

Here are the winners, both as judged by the contest moderator, as well as the readers' choices.

1st Place--STEPHEN BLACKMOORE, Beautiful Places (#41)
[Prize: $25 Amazon gift certificate, 8 x 10 print of the "Halo" photograph (inscribed by Jason Evans)]

2nd Place--AMANDA EARL, The Scent of Red (#63)
[Prize: $20 Amazon gift certificate]

3rd Place--JOHN McAULEY, Policies (#77)
[Prize: $15 Amazon gift certificate]

4th Place--DOTTIE CAMPTOWN, Mr. Fifth Date (#72)
[Prize: $10 Amazon gift certificate]

5th Place--ANN OSTRANDER, The Truth (#37)
[Prize: $5 Amazon gift certificate]

Honorable Mention--JAYE WELLS, Faery Rings and Broken Dreams (#28)

Honorable Mention--ROB, Guide Me Home (#29)

Honorable Mention--VICTOR B. MONCHEGO, JR., Three-Fourths of an Ounce (#32)

Honorable Mention--CANTERBURY SOUL, Miss James (#35)

Honorable Mention--SARAH HINA, Chasing the Sun (#54)


READERS' CHOICE AWARD:

Readers' Choice--STEPHEN BLACKMOORE, Beautiful Places (#41)
[Prize: $15 Amazon gift certificate, (already receiving a signed photo)]

1st Runner-Up, Readers' Choice--SARAH HINA, Chasing the Sun (#54)
[Prize: 8 x 10 print of the "Halo" photograph (inscribed by Jason Evans)]

2nd Runner-Up, Readers' Choice--A.H. CAFFREY, Inheritance (#7)


This contest brought a slew of great stories, all borne from a single image. I love the range of creativity people have, and I look forward to the next contest. Maybe I'll see some of you all there as well.


I see that smile.

Luminescent lights

First, a thank you to Mir for pointing folks over to my recently released, The Ways of Monsters and Men.

Let's start the week with some beauty. We've all seen the candle-on-a-skull prop that has adorned the desks of insane and otherwise eccentric artists (and geniuses...though some might argue there is no distinction).

But if you, like myself, like to work late into the night, here are some alternatives to this morbid lantern.

Luminent Designs

These are a series of individually designed and crafted lamps, made out of machined brass and polished wood to reflect, as they say it, the individual's personality, interests and/or decorating scheme.

A couple of my favorites:

While the spider one is as lovely as the rest, I think that during my late nights I'd start seeing it twitch out of the corner of my eye, and the wife would find me huddled in the corner the next morning, whispering, "The spider's watching me! Always watching..."

What would you have commissioned from them? For me, a Chinese dragon might be fun, or some large feline. Or maybe some manner of Shaolin monk. The choices seem endless.

I see that smile.

A new short story is out!

"The Ways of Monsters and Men" is up on the Dragons, Knights, & Angels website. They've also got a print version you can order. Issue 47, August 2007.

To remind everyone, DKA is combining with The Sword Review to create a new magazine, MindFlights. They've only got a couple more issues before everything melds.

Keep checking back to their website, as they'll be publishing the rest of this issue over the next week or two.

On another note, the wife's parents are in town, and we went to see the Broadway show Curtains at a matinee today. The one with the guy from Frasier. David Hyde Pierce--that's the name. Great performance. I thought it was incredibly funny. Everybody dies in the end...

Whoops. Did I just type that out loud? Okay. Not really, but if you come by the area and have to pick one to watch, I'd highly recommend it.

Anyone else see a show lately? Next, we're hoping to check out The Lion King. That'd be the one big regret we'd have, if we didn't see enough shows while we lived out here.


I see that smile.

Talking paper

I guess this could be a new take on audiobooks. Paper that has electronic sensors built in that respond to touch, as well as speakers that are printed along with them.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6723475.stm

People are already considering this for various marketing purposes. While it might not be the best idea for an actual book, it could provide some unique ways of presenting the book to prospective buyers. Instead of having to read a blurb on the cover, you just press a finger to the spine as you browse the shelves, and a voice (think Movie Preview Narrator Guy) tells you why this book is so great, or maybe the author reads his bio to you when you open the inside flap.

Interesting way to add a unique touch (pun intended).

What's keeping this from going into production as we speak? Money, of course. At the moment it's too expensive to make this digital paper en masse, plus the scientists are still looking for a way to make the electronics involved even smaller.

I think it's cool to see all this flexible, papery display technology on the horizon. No doubt within a couple years this kind of stuff (roll-up television screens, paste-on LCD monitors) hitting the mainstream.

I see that smile.

The latest in concealable ray pistols

There seem to be those jobs out there that would be incredibly fun to work at on a daily basis. Things like video game testing, writing (right? writers achieve daily bliss, don't we?), and people who create ray guns as pieces of art.

http://www.wetanz.com/holics/index.php?itemid=438&catid=4

The name makes me think of Tobias Buckell's Caribbean influenced books, Crystal Rain, Ragamuffin, and the upcoming Sly Mongoose. Hmm. I wonder if he could work something like this into the plot.

I see that smile.

The short fiction contest is closed...for now

You'll have to wait until Monday to see who the winners are, as picked by the Jason Evans, the moderator. However, you can send Jason an email listing your top five reader picks, which he will then tally and use to award a "Reader's Choice" entry. The link below takes you to the blog where he explains the process, and you can read through all the submissions.

http://clarityofnight.blogspot.com/

For anyone who missed it, we were given this photograph:

And then had 250 words to write something relating to it. There were over 80 entries, all told, and so many different perspectives on a single image that it was staggering. Fantasy, science fiction, horror, romance, humor, memoir, westerns, surrealism...everything got in there at some point.

Here's what I sent in: http://clarityofnight.blogspot.com/2007/07/entry-53.html

Obviously I can't vote for myself, but I won't have a hard time picking my choices among the many high quality short-shorts to be found among the entries. Let me know some of your favorites, and I'll lob a few back at ya.

I see that smile.

My mother is published! (and more contest news)

For starters, I must celebrate the fact that my mom's book is now officially available. This title was born (pun fully intended) from her experiences as a late-in-life mother, having a caboose baby in the form of Christa, who is now six-and-a-half years old.

Let me now show you every possible way you can see and buy the book, as well as get in touch with her, should you so desire.

Here's the Amazon.com link: Baby Changes Everything: Embracing and Preparing for Motherhood after 35

Here's her website and blog: Mommy-Come-Lately.com

And the MOPS link: Mothers of Preschoolers

I'm incredibly happy and excited to see this dream of hers come true. I can also personally attest to her authority as a great mother. But Twila Paris' foreword probably carries a little more marketable weight than any blurb I could.

And not to put you into a writing rush or anything, but I just found about this contest yesterday and sent in an entry. So I'm giving everyone more than twelve hours to get their own entry written up and submitted.

http://clarityofnight.blogspot.com/2007/07/halo-short-fiction-contest.html

Rules? The main ones are:

250 words maximum.
Titles are optional, but encouraged. Titles do not count toward your word count.
One entry per person.
Any genre or style is welcome. If you choose to submit poetry, you must have narrative movement within the poem if you wish to compete with the prose pieces for the prizes.
The copyright remains with you, the author; however, you grant me worldwide first electronic publishing rights to post your entry on this blog.

You've got until 11pm tonight! Get a typin'! And then check out the list of entries so far listed on the main blog.

http://clarityofnight.blogspot.com/

Some intriguing reads so far, and it is fun to see everyone's different interpretations on a single photograph.


I see that smile.