Within the World at Large

Not quite a year

2009-09-22T09:11:11Z

Hmm, since the last time I've updated, I've been laid off from my job and spend most of my time searching for something new. There's just not a lot out there right now, which is a sob story heard a lot these days, so I won't bore you with the details.

I'm just hoping the fall brings some good news.

Yo!

2008-10-26T04:24:05Z

Stupid real life keeping me away from the 'net. That often seems to happen to me.

I'm thinking I'll start posting my book reviews again. Or, at least I'll try.

The rest of my summer went well. Camping and hiking were wonderful. Now, fall is here and I should probably get the plastic out and cover my windows.

Rendezvous (Barnaby Skye) by Richard S. Wheeler/*****

2008-07-04T08:04:23Z

In this book, the reader gets to know Barnaby Skye before he was Mister Skye, before his name was uttered with reverence by men. It's strange to read about Skye, where he's brand new to everything this continent has to offer, but interesting to see how his character develops. And, as always, Victoria is a delight!

This was another very enjoyable story, made very likable by the author's ability to write a wonderful series that can be picked up anywhere. I also find, that since I grew up in an area not far from the Three Forks, that Wheeler's descriptions of the places in these books are spot on.

5/5
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You don't have to be a fan of Westerns to enjoy this series. It's set in the 1830-50s and profiles the life of Royal Navy deserter Barnaby Skye, his Crow Indian wife Victoria, his other wife Mary (Shoshone), and how their adventures. In most of the books, Mister Skye is a backcountry guide.

These don't need to be read in any particular order.

Enjoy!

City of Bones-Cassandra Claire/x

2008-06-26T06:37:17Z

This book was set out as a staff favorite at a bookstore I shop at. The recommendations sounded promising but found this simply didn't live up to what was said about it. Once you get past the very purple prose and the attempt at incest as a plot twist, it's just a dried up old husk of Star Wars, which is of course a rehash itself.

0/5

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The Queen Bitch of Fanfic just couldn't woo me. I've never read any of her fanfic, but this book was utter crap.

One thing nice about posting these here, I can give things a zero rating. And this one, was a big goose egg.

Futurama: The Beast With a Billion Backs/**

2008-06-25T07:54:10Z

I'm not sure if this is going to be another "That's Lobstertainment", which took a few years and several viewings to grow on me, or not.

While the animation was top notch, the story, what there was of it, relied too much on gross outs and rehashing. It felt like I was watching a combination of brain slugs and Bender's sour relationship with Planet Express Ship that went on for eons too long.

I'll admit, there were funny bits, but there just wasn't enough to keep me interested, especially with Emo!Fry.

I should have saved my money.

2/5

___

I'm sure I'm going to get bitch slapped for this review, but honestly, this movie was a piece of shit. I don't usually watch movies, even if they are based on my favorite shows, because they always turn out to crap of one vein or another.

I doubt anyone will be interested

2008-06-24T09:03:14Z

Sylvia and I got to talking the other day about how book reviews at places like Amazon and B&N seem to "disappear". Anyone who doesn't like a book is in danger of either getting ripped apart by the author/author's rabid fans and having said review deleted.

I have a problem with being terribly honest about things I've spent a lot of time on, like reading books. If I don't like it, I'll tell you why. I'm not going to candy coat it either.

I'm thinking, thanks to the GF planting the idea in my head, that maybe I should repost my reviews in my journal. That way, I won't forget about my buddy, LJ, for months at a time, while preserving my reviews.

Yeah, I might just have to do that.

Oh, and I don't envy the midwesterners right now.

Life is interesting sometimes

2008-04-25T06:36:25Z

I find that I manage to piss of a lot of people on Amazon with my book reviews. I think that's funny, especially since there are One Star ratings available, and the last time I checked, it was still okay to have a differing opinion about a book, even on teh intranets.

Books I think suck: The Disposessed, Left Hand of Darkeness, Harry Potter (all but 3#), anything by Tami Hoag, Satanic Verses, Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, Da Vinci Code, anything and everything by Patricia Cornwell (even her stupid cookbook), Huckleberry Finn, and these are just the ones I can rattle off right now when I'm tired.

That's okay. I'm not a big movie fan either. I can't think of a worst waste of time and money than to pointlessly go to or buy movies/watch them at home. Who can stand that shit, honestly. There hasn't been a good movie made since 2000 and that year's BP was a fluke after a half-decade long drought.

Sylvia and I are still doing good. We spend most of our weekends just hanging out. I like having a low stress relationship.

Oh journal! Why do I neglect thee?

2008-02-24T06:18:24Z

I need to remember this thing exists.

So, a new job has kept me busy. I actually like to be busy. I like to be useful.

Nothing much on the writing front. I have a hard time finding the time, but I'm working on it, slowly but surely.

I've got a new girlfriend. We've been seeing each other for about two months and things seem to be going well. I like that she's level headed and seems to see me as more than a wallet.

Long time no update

2007-10-07T05:51:12Z

I pretty much forgot that I had a livejournal.

It was a long smokey summer and a long crappy move at the end of the summer. I hate moving, but this time it was for the better.

Super fast self publishing

2007-02-12T04:38:42Z

Over the years, I've spent a small fortune on print outs and photocopies of my manuscripts. I like to do my editing by hand and most of the people who read my work like a hard copy. So, the average book is about 2.00 of paper and probably 15.00+ for toner/ink with 5.00 for binding. For a copy, it's a good 20.00 to 30.00 for the copy and another 5.00 for binding.

Most self publishers want at least 200.00 up front and then they'll print your book on a POD (print on demand) format. That's too much for something that's a glorfied rough draft. Not to mention I completely plan on publishing the final draft through more mainstream methods.

Enter Lulu.com. This is the outfit that publishes the infamous "Atlanta Nights". They don't charge for anything but the finished product itself. This means I can get a 10.00 to 13.00 rough draft. It saves me a small fortune. Sweet!

We all have them

2007-01-15T07:06:05Z

Friends who make us wild because they can't quit getting themselves in over their heads. Take a buddy of mine for example. We met at college in 1998 and have kept in touch since. I got my degree and am in graduate school. He's switched his majors so many times that he should have graduated at least five times over by now, but he never follows through with school plans and even switched to the final major he's in because he wanted to flatter me or something. It's been nine years. He's still a junior. And he gripes at me because I've been able to not only break loose of the dead end college town where we met, but that I'm successful in many of the things that I do. If he'd just get up off his ass and make up his mind to get done with school and get the hell out of the town he hates so much, it would be easier to tollerate it when he gets to whining at me.

Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't talk or hang with the guy if I didn't like him, but the 'woah is me' thing makes me wild.

Post Vietnam Flashback

2006-12-31T02:49:57Z

I don't think is was a previous life flash, but it was real. I try to keep my home open to those who have passed and need to talk to someone. Last week, he came to me and gave me a memory of what it was like to be back home after the war.

I thought this was interesting.

2006-12-18T05:05:09Z

Some musing

2006-12-04T08:29:04Z

So, I write books. Fiction. And I don't have anything published yet, but I consider myself a writer anyway.

I was thinking the other day about creative people and mental illness. I myself suffer from clinical depression and anxiety (though I've never personally felt very anxious about things, but the tests say I've got axiety up the wazzo). While I've got things under control these days, for the most part, I've tried to think of what I'd have been like without it. I've suffered depression since I was a child and know that it's one of the things that contributed to my wild imagination and therefore my writing. It drove me to create these worlds and characters, or at least I think. I don't know, I've never really existed without it. But at least it doesn't eat me alive these days.

Strange how some things work.

I still don't know what to think of these cat mood things. I guess they're not boring.

how do you?

2006-11-14T05:11:52Z

How do you tell a friend that you hate her husband because he sets off every bullshit detector that I have? He makes my skin crawl and I've had premonitions of him leaving her after their second child is born because he feels stifled. Kid number one was born in July. My friend is so happy right now and so in love with this creep. I wish she could see that he's going to leave her used and broken. However, even though she asks for psychic advice from me and has for years, she won't let me say anything about the husband or her marriage.

Greetings

2006-11-07T05:38:06Z

I was watcing a program about World War II aircraft and nearly got sick from the sense of dejavu. I wish I could figure out who I was back then.