Coming soonish

I've started making notes for my next novel. Just as a teaser, ask yourself this question: How much more fun would it be to read about the Brownings' (Robert and Elizabeth Barrett) love for each other if they were space pirates instead of Victorian poets? Well, this next book will not answer that question at all, but it will definitely be fun. I'll be writing it in November as I take part in NaNoWriMo, so you won't see it probably until next year, but if you're jonesing for something entertaining and not at all heavy to read, you might like to read my effort from last year. You can find it on Amazon or at my own personal e-store at CreateSpace.

Is Number Six the paragon of modern man we think?

Don't get me wrong--I love The Prisoner, and who doesn't want to be as fiercely individual as Number Six, but I had some thoughts on the issue while I was watching an episode the other day.

Number Six is an example of a man who stands for himself. He refuses to cooperate simply for the sake of being a good citizen. He draws boundaries between himself and the community, seemingly just for the sake of having his own thoughts and reasons. To his way of thinking, it shouldn't matter to The Village why he does the things he does. He isn't harming any of the citizens, participates with the community to the extent he wishes (which is very little), and yet the constantly-changing streams of Number Twos keep attempting to coerce him into sharing information he doesn't see as relevant to them. I can appreciate that desire for privacy.

Starting with the idea that The Village is obviously an analog for society in general and Number Six is an example of a man who wants to live his own life within that society. The big question I asked myself then was: How well would a man like that function in real life?

He's unnecessarily harsh with people because he begins every relationship with a paralyzingly high level of distrust toward everyone. They must somehow prove worthy of his trust, which is nearly impossible, since there's some conspiracy theory that could discredit anyone's actions and motives. It just wouldn't work because nothing could get reliably done.

Life depends on some basic level of trust towards each other.

Question about business card titles

I know it's been awhile since I wrote anything on this blog, but I've got a question that's been bugging me for the last few weeks, so I thought I'd post it here, on the off chance that anyone reads it and has any insight for me.

What does one have to do to be able to put "Adventurer" on your business card and not be lying?



You hear that term used to describe people like Steve Fossett or Richard Branson, Shackleton, those kinds of guys. What about Hemingway? Would be be considered an adventurer? It seems like the kind of job title I'd like to have, but I have no idea how to go about it so that it's accurate.

My nightmare

Last night, I had an awful nightmare. I dreamt that I had gotten to the theater to watch The Dark Knight and couldn't find my ticket. It was awful because everyone went into the theater without me. I looked everywhere for my ticket, but I couldn't remember where I had put it, so I was retracing my steps. I had just started when I was nudged awake. Let's hope I don't forget the tickets on Saturday.

In the meantime, I can't decide whether I'd rather be Batman or Joker.

Outdoor Ballet

I'm at the outdoor ballet and testing this app.

Posted with LifeCast

Good morning, Mr Phelps

I've been watching episodes of Mission: Impossible on my bus trip back and forth to work and noticed that those guys did everything in suits. Everything. Digging tunnels, shaking down mobsters for money, blowing stuff up, schmoozing with corrupt government officials, everything. And they looked good doing it.

So I've been thinking that might be a good look to resurrect. I'm going to think about that one some more, but in the meantime, check it out. What do you think? Should this look come back? I'm certainly metro enough to pull it off.

My new writing pal

For my birthday, I got a nifty program to help me organize all my notes and other things that I'm really excited to really get into using. It's called Scrivener and I've gone through the tutorial a couple of times. Now all I have to do is collect the notes in it that I've been writing down in a notebook. I'll let you know how that goes. Probably.