Here is my commitment. I'll be doing it this year one way or another (though I think I said that last year).
What is NaNoWriMo? Simply put, it is 50,000 words (~175 pages) of a novel that is begun November 1 and ends November 30. I have a few ideas of what I will be writing, including perhaps a second attempt (from the beginning) on my last year project (which crashed and burned in week 2).
Once I start writing I will probably have no time for revision; revision traditionally starts December 1. But if the opening chapters are not too horrible, I may revise them enough to post online here or in a blog made for that purpose.
The novel will be either Horror, Fantasy, Sci-fi, or more likely something that spans two of these genres. I will not be the great american novel. But if you like dark fantasy or speculative fiction, then maybe you'll be interested. If you are an editor or publisher, then just know that everything about me is up for sale :-)
So here is the first step!
Only 50,000 words left. I'm almost there!
Jim
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Everything I Needed to Know I learned from Pat Robinson
On the Monday edition of the 700 Club (a Christain talk show) Pat Robinson made the following comments about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez:
"If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it."
We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.
"We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability."
This is not spin, they are direct quotes. They are not an out-of-context but the theme of his larger statement (which you can watch for yourself on the CNN website here). When I first heard about this quote, I didn't believe it. But after listening to his statement a few times--and coming to grips with its inner truths--here is what I have learned:
1. Thou shalt not commit murder applies to everyone, so long as you are not a commie and/or a Muslim Extremist.
2. Political assasination is a valid and moral form of politics according to mainstream popular Christian thought.
3. What Would Jesus Do? Assasinate commies to save the money of a war.
4. All that talk of turning the other cheek in the Holy Bible was meant to be taken figuratively, as is the sixth commandment.
Okay... enough of that. I really only learned one thing from that statement by Pat Robinson:
Pat Robinson is the biggest hipocrit in American Christian Politics. He should resign in shame and spend his life in repentance to save his soul.
People like this make Americans look like idiots. Osama is laughing his ass off and pointing at the TV, saying "See, I told you!" In fact, what Pat Robinson said is so similar to the things that Osama says in his speeches that I am still geeking out about it. Osama says that Americans should die for who they are: infidel imperialists. Pat Robinson says that Chavez should die for what he is: a communist supporter of muslim extremism. I might add that Chavez was elected by his nation (though under the cloud of fixed elections).
I am not defending Chavez. If he died today, I would not cry. To say he is a threat to the US and the region in general is not overstating the problem. Chavez is a dictator in the style of Castro and Kim Jong-il, and under his leadership we can expect in his country the kind of prosperity we see in Cuba and North Korea. His country sits on a third of the world's oil, which could have a tremendous effect on world economies, a power I don't think is safe in his hands. I want him out. I find it hard to believe any free-minded person in America would support his tenure, but calling for his assassination by the US is so stupid as to be absurd.
Other thinks Pat Robinson has said:
If Robinson was an elected official he would be driven out on a rail. But he is only a very prominant Christian evangelist politician/preacher who failed miserably in national politics (thankfully). It is up to those that he has supported in the past (read: Bush) to tear him a new one and put him in his place. That place must be absolute political isolation, the kind we give to KKK members.
Pat Robinson is lucky enough to live in a country where his right to be an abject asshole on national TV is protected by the constitution. It is incumbant on the rest of us to show him just how much we appreciate his opinions. In the American discourse on politics statements like this cannot be allowed to represent us, no matter if you are conservative, moderate, or liberal. This kind of speech is unamerican.
What is the difference between an extremist arab calling for the death of americans and an extremist Christian calling for the death of Chavez?
Answer: not a whole hell of a lot.
I will be carefully watching the responses from those in America who call themselves religious. How they react to this kind of terrorist-like statement will massively modify my opinion of them. Anyone backing up this kind of statement deserves to be pushed off the political bus.
"If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it."
We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.
"We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability."
This is not spin, they are direct quotes. They are not an out-of-context but the theme of his larger statement (which you can watch for yourself on the CNN website here). When I first heard about this quote, I didn't believe it. But after listening to his statement a few times--and coming to grips with its inner truths--here is what I have learned:
1. Thou shalt not commit murder applies to everyone, so long as you are not a commie and/or a Muslim Extremist.
2. Political assasination is a valid and moral form of politics according to mainstream popular Christian thought.
3. What Would Jesus Do? Assasinate commies to save the money of a war.
4. All that talk of turning the other cheek in the Holy Bible was meant to be taken figuratively, as is the sixth commandment.
Okay... enough of that. I really only learned one thing from that statement by Pat Robinson:
Pat Robinson is the biggest hipocrit in American Christian Politics. He should resign in shame and spend his life in repentance to save his soul.
People like this make Americans look like idiots. Osama is laughing his ass off and pointing at the TV, saying "See, I told you!" In fact, what Pat Robinson said is so similar to the things that Osama says in his speeches that I am still geeking out about it. Osama says that Americans should die for who they are: infidel imperialists. Pat Robinson says that Chavez should die for what he is: a communist supporter of muslim extremism. I might add that Chavez was elected by his nation (though under the cloud of fixed elections).
I am not defending Chavez. If he died today, I would not cry. To say he is a threat to the US and the region in general is not overstating the problem. Chavez is a dictator in the style of Castro and Kim Jong-il, and under his leadership we can expect in his country the kind of prosperity we see in Cuba and North Korea. His country sits on a third of the world's oil, which could have a tremendous effect on world economies, a power I don't think is safe in his hands. I want him out. I find it hard to believe any free-minded person in America would support his tenure, but calling for his assassination by the US is so stupid as to be absurd.
Other thinks Pat Robinson has said:
- He called for a meator to hit Florida because Disneyworld had a Gay Day.
- He suggested it would be poetic justice if a nuke would be tested out on the State Department building
If Robinson was an elected official he would be driven out on a rail. But he is only a very prominant Christian evangelist politician/preacher who failed miserably in national politics (thankfully). It is up to those that he has supported in the past (read: Bush) to tear him a new one and put him in his place. That place must be absolute political isolation, the kind we give to KKK members.
Pat Robinson is lucky enough to live in a country where his right to be an abject asshole on national TV is protected by the constitution. It is incumbant on the rest of us to show him just how much we appreciate his opinions. In the American discourse on politics statements like this cannot be allowed to represent us, no matter if you are conservative, moderate, or liberal. This kind of speech is unamerican.
What is the difference between an extremist arab calling for the death of americans and an extremist Christian calling for the death of Chavez?
Answer: not a whole hell of a lot.
I will be carefully watching the responses from those in America who call themselves religious. How they react to this kind of terrorist-like statement will massively modify my opinion of them. Anyone backing up this kind of statement deserves to be pushed off the political bus.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Class of 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011...
School starts next week and I can't wait.
I am beginning to think that I will be a perpetual student. I don't mean that in a trite way ("I will never graduate") or in a philosphical way ("I will always be learning as I grow old in this world of ours"), but rather I really will be in one school or another for the rest of my life, by choice and for fun.
I graduate this Winter with my BA in English Writing (that should get me a job about as fast as Darren's philosphy degree) and will be going on for my Masters in the Spring. I will be teaching as a substitute in the AV next year, assuming they will accept a non-credential degree. One of my goals is to be a college professor, but while I work that out I may be going back to undergrad work and completing my credential classes to get my English Specialist (whatever that is) rank so I can teach middle- and Highschool English and Language Arts while working on my Masters. Happy happy joy joy.
What I really need to do is to sell a series of novels and become a world famous author. Then I can get lots of honorary degrees for speaking at graduations.
But even as I write this I am thinking about what my "second" degree will be in. Perhaps history, anthropology, photography (they offer that?) or some science. I would make a great theoretical physicist if it didn't include mathmatics. I really hate math, but there I am listening to KITP lectures on superstring theory and particle physics (not understanding most of it except as general concepts), and hating math is one of those things that kind of precludes a career as the next Stephen Hawking. BTW, the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics is a great site. They have all their lectures, workshops, and discussions recorded in Realmedia. Hawking seems to present there at least once a year, and some of them are actually understandable by novice fans of physics and astronomy like myself. If you have an interest in the state of particle physics, superstring theory, M-theory, or just want to be taken down a notch on the pride scale, listen in.
Perhaps I will go for my PhD in English. It is kind of premature to think about that, but as I am already conteplating another discipline, well, maybe not.
Griffin was pretty surprised when I told him that I had already read my Astronomy textbook for the class that starts in two weeks. In fact, I will probably have the books assigned by all my professors for the Fall schedule read once through before classes start. During the Summer I have listened to eight complete classes-on-tape (well MP3) on subjects that are similar to my schedule (e.g. A 40 hour course in Astronomy, The Civil War: a Narrative, A couple pop history courses with titles like "everything you learned in highschool is wrong" and stuff like that).
So, I am here to report that my OCD is doing just fine, thanks.
I should be putting up a couple smallish sci-fi stories that I have written and do not plan to sell, so stay tuned.
I am beginning to think that I will be a perpetual student. I don't mean that in a trite way ("I will never graduate") or in a philosphical way ("I will always be learning as I grow old in this world of ours"), but rather I really will be in one school or another for the rest of my life, by choice and for fun.
I graduate this Winter with my BA in English Writing (that should get me a job about as fast as Darren's philosphy degree) and will be going on for my Masters in the Spring. I will be teaching as a substitute in the AV next year, assuming they will accept a non-credential degree. One of my goals is to be a college professor, but while I work that out I may be going back to undergrad work and completing my credential classes to get my English Specialist (whatever that is) rank so I can teach middle- and Highschool English and Language Arts while working on my Masters. Happy happy joy joy.
What I really need to do is to sell a series of novels and become a world famous author. Then I can get lots of honorary degrees for speaking at graduations.
But even as I write this I am thinking about what my "second" degree will be in. Perhaps history, anthropology, photography (they offer that?) or some science. I would make a great theoretical physicist if it didn't include mathmatics. I really hate math, but there I am listening to KITP lectures on superstring theory and particle physics (not understanding most of it except as general concepts), and hating math is one of those things that kind of precludes a career as the next Stephen Hawking. BTW, the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics is a great site. They have all their lectures, workshops, and discussions recorded in Realmedia. Hawking seems to present there at least once a year, and some of them are actually understandable by novice fans of physics and astronomy like myself. If you have an interest in the state of particle physics, superstring theory, M-theory, or just want to be taken down a notch on the pride scale, listen in.
Perhaps I will go for my PhD in English. It is kind of premature to think about that, but as I am already conteplating another discipline, well, maybe not.
Griffin was pretty surprised when I told him that I had already read my Astronomy textbook for the class that starts in two weeks. In fact, I will probably have the books assigned by all my professors for the Fall schedule read once through before classes start. During the Summer I have listened to eight complete classes-on-tape (well MP3) on subjects that are similar to my schedule (e.g. A 40 hour course in Astronomy, The Civil War: a Narrative, A couple pop history courses with titles like "everything you learned in highschool is wrong" and stuff like that).
So, I am here to report that my OCD is doing just fine, thanks.
I should be putting up a couple smallish sci-fi stories that I have written and do not plan to sell, so stay tuned.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
The State of Jim et al
I 'spose it's time to start actually blogging on my blog, so this can be my first attempt at living up to the title, though I am pretty much convinced that no one but me ever reads this stuff. So I guess spilling my guts to the whole world is still rather private.
The State of Jim:
I start my last undergraduate semester at CSUNorthridge in a few weeks. The class schedule looks like this: Senior Seminar in Narrative Writing, Issues in Astronomy (yeah, I know, but it's GE credit), Folklore, and my last class at AVC which will be an American history class. Oh, and I squeezed in a photography class, just because I want to take a class that can't help me at all toward my degree.
I wonder if the history class (colonization to cival war) will be a long thesis statement on why the war in Iraq is bad, like the last one I took there...here's hoping. I can use a good fight. I wonder if I will have any Marxist professors this year. Last semester I had two, and even though I was the most royal pain in their supersanctimonious asses, they are the only ones I still want to talk to now that the semester is over. I wonder if every cute college girl that I make friends with this year will call me "sir" and treat me like their bald eccentric Uncle Jim.
Growing up sucks. Even dressing for college has been a challenge. Do I dress stylish to fit in? No way. The poser thing is not my style. Do I go in jeans, polo shirt and a Nascar hat? I have to admit it is kinda fun being the token redneck in a class of bleading-head liberals, the "white boy" representative in ethnic discussions, and of course the one that was losing his virginity when the rest of the school was still in training pants. So far I have been older than two professors, both who were doctors.
I wonder if I will get published this year. If that happens it will be the first New Years resolution I have completed since, um, ever.
I should start my Master's in English Writing in the Spring. My Master's Thesis will likely be a novel, but I guess I have to get into the program first before worrying too much about that. I am applying to be a Teaching Assistant as well, just so I can say I have a job if anyone asks. One day I may even be a college professor. Professor Jim. Hmm.
For some strange reason I am still holding out hope that I will be able to make a living as a freelance writer and not have to go back to writing Client Order Fulfillment Process manuals for some IT Service Industry company again. But I think I hear the wage-slave chains clanking. Getting published is hard. Too damn hard.
I finished the new Harry Potter book less than twelve hours after it was released to the public. That is right, I have no life.
I wanna be a hippie. But once they see me up close I think they'll just laugh and ask me what the hell I am thinking. Sigh.
The Rest of the Family
Jessica is almost thirteen, wearing a bra that is too big for me to deal (though not nearly as big as Susan was at her age, so there is hope), and is now on both her middle-school and the local all-star cheer squads. She can almost do her back handspring, and is currently in flyer class. She is on chapter 3 of the new Harry Potter Book.
Griffin is twleve and is talking about joining the junior marines in September. We'll see about that; his two year stint in football didn't go that well, but I am not going to tell him no. He is on chapter 5 of the new Harry Potter book. He reads about a 500 page book a month. Anyone who badmouths J. K. Rowling for being trendy can kiss my ass; she has done more for kids reading than all the RIF busses put together, and Griffin is living proof. He is a reading machine all because of Harry Potter books.
James is seventeen and is currently in a private school/group home in Petaluma, CA. It has been very rocky with him this year, but he seems to be on the path again; we are trying to be positive and he is giving us reasons to be lately. He has not tried to kill himself since Februrary. I don't think he reads books outside of school.
Susan is working too much because I am not. She is as energetic as ever but burning out. She is almost done with the Harry Potter book. She is looking forward to Darren's wedding at Burning Man, which is giving her the iron-clad reason to go that we just haven't had before. One way or another we will be there for it. She is, of course, as sexy as ever.
Chewy still sleeps under our waterbed (which is annoying as hell) and Mouse (our cat) still won't let anyone but me near her. I understand dogs but have no clue about cats, still. Perhaps Connie can fill me in. Or maybe it is just a chick thing and I am out of my depth.
I would post some short-short stories here if I thought anyone would actually read them. There is no reason to do it if no one but me cares, though. I mean, I HAVE to read them!
Anyways, that is me and mine. Give me a call or email if you want to chat. Until then, I'll be off in a corner muttering to myself.
Jim
The State of Jim:
I start my last undergraduate semester at CSUNorthridge in a few weeks. The class schedule looks like this: Senior Seminar in Narrative Writing, Issues in Astronomy (yeah, I know, but it's GE credit), Folklore, and my last class at AVC which will be an American history class. Oh, and I squeezed in a photography class, just because I want to take a class that can't help me at all toward my degree.
I wonder if the history class (colonization to cival war) will be a long thesis statement on why the war in Iraq is bad, like the last one I took there...here's hoping. I can use a good fight. I wonder if I will have any Marxist professors this year. Last semester I had two, and even though I was the most royal pain in their supersanctimonious asses, they are the only ones I still want to talk to now that the semester is over. I wonder if every cute college girl that I make friends with this year will call me "sir" and treat me like their bald eccentric Uncle Jim.
Growing up sucks. Even dressing for college has been a challenge. Do I dress stylish to fit in? No way. The poser thing is not my style. Do I go in jeans, polo shirt and a Nascar hat? I have to admit it is kinda fun being the token redneck in a class of bleading-head liberals, the "white boy" representative in ethnic discussions, and of course the one that was losing his virginity when the rest of the school was still in training pants. So far I have been older than two professors, both who were doctors.
I wonder if I will get published this year. If that happens it will be the first New Years resolution I have completed since, um, ever.
I should start my Master's in English Writing in the Spring. My Master's Thesis will likely be a novel, but I guess I have to get into the program first before worrying too much about that. I am applying to be a Teaching Assistant as well, just so I can say I have a job if anyone asks. One day I may even be a college professor. Professor Jim. Hmm.
For some strange reason I am still holding out hope that I will be able to make a living as a freelance writer and not have to go back to writing Client Order Fulfillment Process manuals for some IT Service Industry company again. But I think I hear the wage-slave chains clanking. Getting published is hard. Too damn hard.
I finished the new Harry Potter book less than twelve hours after it was released to the public. That is right, I have no life.
I wanna be a hippie. But once they see me up close I think they'll just laugh and ask me what the hell I am thinking. Sigh.
The Rest of the Family
Jessica is almost thirteen, wearing a bra that is too big for me to deal (though not nearly as big as Susan was at her age, so there is hope), and is now on both her middle-school and the local all-star cheer squads. She can almost do her back handspring, and is currently in flyer class. She is on chapter 3 of the new Harry Potter Book.
Griffin is twleve and is talking about joining the junior marines in September. We'll see about that; his two year stint in football didn't go that well, but I am not going to tell him no. He is on chapter 5 of the new Harry Potter book. He reads about a 500 page book a month. Anyone who badmouths J. K. Rowling for being trendy can kiss my ass; she has done more for kids reading than all the RIF busses put together, and Griffin is living proof. He is a reading machine all because of Harry Potter books.
James is seventeen and is currently in a private school/group home in Petaluma, CA. It has been very rocky with him this year, but he seems to be on the path again; we are trying to be positive and he is giving us reasons to be lately. He has not tried to kill himself since Februrary. I don't think he reads books outside of school.
Susan is working too much because I am not. She is as energetic as ever but burning out. She is almost done with the Harry Potter book. She is looking forward to Darren's wedding at Burning Man, which is giving her the iron-clad reason to go that we just haven't had before. One way or another we will be there for it. She is, of course, as sexy as ever.
Chewy still sleeps under our waterbed (which is annoying as hell) and Mouse (our cat) still won't let anyone but me near her. I understand dogs but have no clue about cats, still. Perhaps Connie can fill me in. Or maybe it is just a chick thing and I am out of my depth.
I would post some short-short stories here if I thought anyone would actually read them. There is no reason to do it if no one but me cares, though. I mean, I HAVE to read them!
Anyways, that is me and mine. Give me a call or email if you want to chat. Until then, I'll be off in a corner muttering to myself.
Jim
Monday, March 21, 2005
April 24 is Worldwide Pinhole Photography day
So there I was in the bathtub, thinking about photography (yeah, I know) and suddenly I decided to start exploring pinhole photography. Below are a couple links that I found (after I got out; no I do NOT take the laptop into the tub with me). Anyways, I am currently looking at making a pinhole camera or two and working on a set of pinhole shots. Some of the possibilies are amazing, and it is probably the cheapest way to make a photo.
Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day - obviously
The Pinhole Gallery - A good all-around site for info and great examples of pinhole work.
Pinhole Resource - Great all-around site for info, charts, etc. They also make and sell a number of pinhole cameras (like the de Vinci models) and even 35mm camera body caps for pinhole photography on your high-tech SLR--gotta love the poetry in that. This site is great for the technical details, such as hole size to focal length to exposure time.
Kodak Site: How To Make a Pinhole Camera - Some useful info from Kodak
Photo.net article on pinhole photography - A very good history and how-to on pinhole photography.
I'm making my first camera now, and will post what I make here by the day :) Maybe a trip to 165th street East to do an hommage to that famouse photomosaic "Pearblossom Highway" that is in the Getty. Something with gravesites too. Hmm. The possibilities are endless.
Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day - obviously
The Pinhole Gallery - A good all-around site for info and great examples of pinhole work.
Pinhole Resource - Great all-around site for info, charts, etc. They also make and sell a number of pinhole cameras (like the de Vinci models) and even 35mm camera body caps for pinhole photography on your high-tech SLR--gotta love the poetry in that. This site is great for the technical details, such as hole size to focal length to exposure time.
Kodak Site: How To Make a Pinhole Camera - Some useful info from Kodak
Photo.net article on pinhole photography - A very good history and how-to on pinhole photography.
I'm making my first camera now, and will post what I make here by the day :) Maybe a trip to 165th street East to do an hommage to that famouse photomosaic "Pearblossom Highway" that is in the Getty. Something with gravesites too. Hmm. The possibilities are endless.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
An Original Sketch - Number Four
(The following is a sketch from a collection I am currently working on. It is pretty harsh, so if you don't like that sort of thing I wouldn't read on. )
Number Four
They pushed the fucker blindfolded into the hall. He was brown and naked except for these butt-huggers that were bright white. White like snow white. They were God-bless-America Fruit of the Looms, and I remember how white they were on the fucker's dirty brown skin.
He knew what he had done. There was no doubt. Blew away three marines at close range with an RPG. Too bad for him he got caught. So there he was in the hall, all alone and all but naked, and we gave him to Number Four. Don't ask me Number Four's real name because I won't say and that is the way it is going to stay. Number Four was the driver, and too bad for the fucker he didn't get all four.
So they pushed him out and were shouting at him to get down on his knees, but he just stood there like a dumbass. Just stood there in his khaki rag blindfold and those virgin white butt-huggers till someone finally butt-ended him in the kidney and he dropped like a dog to his knees.
Number Four pulls out a .40 and yanks down the blindfold so the fucker could see it. One eye exposed. Big and round, but still saying fuck you if you know what I mean. Fuck you. Showing some balls.
Well, Number Four works the action of the .40 and points it at the guys head. You know that picture someone took in Viet Nam; the one where one guke is discharging his pistol into another kneeling guke's head, execution style, and you see the moment stopped forever still of this poor guke fucker getting his head blow away? It was like that picture, but real life, and no one had a camera.
So Number Four just points it at the fucker's head and then--this is the kicker, because Number Four is crying like a baby, like he is the one on his knees--Number Four says something in Arabic, and the fucker just loses it. I mean, that's it for the balls. He starts pissing himself, crying and begging and it was the sickest thing I have ever heard. No one except maybe Number Four had a clue what he was saying, but I felt it in a way I still can't explain. It was like the sound a puppy makes when it is hurt bad. It was the real shit.
I mean, we knew what he had done. There was no doubt the guy was guilty as shit. Number Four had driven his buddies back to camp, their gutts all over his windshield. The fucker deserved the same. Worse. But no one could speak. Number Four let the .40 drop and just walked away. Just like that. Gone. Leaving us to put the fucker back in his cell and clean up the piss.
***
This is one of a set of sketches I am working on as part of a larger work. It is one of the more graphic ones, so if you are disgusted, well sorry (okay, I'm not really all that sorry). The pieces will not take any clear side, but will try to describe small out-of-context events in a way that can explore something about war, human nature (the good and the bad) and something of the realities of being in combat. As much as one writer who has never been in combat can fathom.
I'll appreciate any comments to what I post. Send me email or just post here.
- Jim
Number Four
They pushed the fucker blindfolded into the hall. He was brown and naked except for these butt-huggers that were bright white. White like snow white. They were God-bless-America Fruit of the Looms, and I remember how white they were on the fucker's dirty brown skin.
He knew what he had done. There was no doubt. Blew away three marines at close range with an RPG. Too bad for him he got caught. So there he was in the hall, all alone and all but naked, and we gave him to Number Four. Don't ask me Number Four's real name because I won't say and that is the way it is going to stay. Number Four was the driver, and too bad for the fucker he didn't get all four.
So they pushed him out and were shouting at him to get down on his knees, but he just stood there like a dumbass. Just stood there in his khaki rag blindfold and those virgin white butt-huggers till someone finally butt-ended him in the kidney and he dropped like a dog to his knees.
Number Four pulls out a .40 and yanks down the blindfold so the fucker could see it. One eye exposed. Big and round, but still saying fuck you if you know what I mean. Fuck you. Showing some balls.
Well, Number Four works the action of the .40 and points it at the guys head. You know that picture someone took in Viet Nam; the one where one guke is discharging his pistol into another kneeling guke's head, execution style, and you see the moment stopped forever still of this poor guke fucker getting his head blow away? It was like that picture, but real life, and no one had a camera.
So Number Four just points it at the fucker's head and then--this is the kicker, because Number Four is crying like a baby, like he is the one on his knees--Number Four says something in Arabic, and the fucker just loses it. I mean, that's it for the balls. He starts pissing himself, crying and begging and it was the sickest thing I have ever heard. No one except maybe Number Four had a clue what he was saying, but I felt it in a way I still can't explain. It was like the sound a puppy makes when it is hurt bad. It was the real shit.
I mean, we knew what he had done. There was no doubt the guy was guilty as shit. Number Four had driven his buddies back to camp, their gutts all over his windshield. The fucker deserved the same. Worse. But no one could speak. Number Four let the .40 drop and just walked away. Just like that. Gone. Leaving us to put the fucker back in his cell and clean up the piss.
***
This is one of a set of sketches I am working on as part of a larger work. It is one of the more graphic ones, so if you are disgusted, well sorry (okay, I'm not really all that sorry). The pieces will not take any clear side, but will try to describe small out-of-context events in a way that can explore something about war, human nature (the good and the bad) and something of the realities of being in combat. As much as one writer who has never been in combat can fathom.
I'll appreciate any comments to what I post. Send me email or just post here.
- Jim
Friday, December 31, 2004
Not a Resolution
This is the time of year when I remind myself that it is just another day, then go about trying to believe it. So, here is the obligatory self-assessment (or at least the parts I plan to post here).
First, my last year’s resolution was to be published, as in "Yes I am a published writer." So perhaps that will be this year’s resolution too. I wrote a lot but didn't submit anything. I have a few things going on right now, and maybe I can break through and get my first rejection letter this year. College this year will force me to write, at least, even if it is things like "Amerindian Issues in American Literature" or something exciting like that. I failed to keep up with the NaNoWriMo thing this year, but I had lots of good excuses. My English Composition class (yeah, I actually had to take one of those) professor forced me to write some experimental essays, which was fun but hard work. I have most of the first "book" of my novel done, but now I actually have to start writing it. In short, I fell way short of my writing goals this year. No book signings this year. Maybe in '05.
Second, I did go back to college (the community variety) and got all A's except for my statistics class (they made me take it, and I got a B after three F's on tests; thank god for "the curve"). In the Spring I get to take a KILLER schedule. Technically I will only be taking 18 units at CSUN and three at AVC, but in reality I may be taking as much as 28 units, if one counts classes I will be taking on audit or "for fun" reasons. I literally skated last semester, so I am cocky going into this next semester. Stay tuned for my "Oh My God What Have I Done" post in the near future.
Third, I promised to write here a few times a week. Well, as with the rest of my public promises, I meant well and performed less than well. So here are some more promises! I will be posting some of my writing as soon as I can figure out how to do it without making it its own post here (maybe a new blog for my novel exerpts). I will try to write more.
Forth, I survived the year without losing any friends (that I know about) to politics. That is saying something, as it was an election year and I have a lot of rather fanatic friends. I was right about the election outcome, wrong about WMD, and end the year still behind the President’s foreign policy. I believe Iraq was a net positive (I can almost hear my friends’ incredulous screams) and that elections will happen in January with limited success. We may still have a civil war there, and to be honest I think that going to that level will actually be a way to end the fighting with less bloodshed, but you will have to guess why I think that. I tried very hard not to vote for Bush this year, actually, and failed. Kerry was such a fake and refused to give me anything at all to stand on, so I went with Bush. Perhaps next election I will have a candidate that I actually believe in enough to volunteer for. One can hope. I end the year as I began, a fiscal and political conservative, but a staunch social liberal. Mostly, though, I remain a devout believer in the credo of the Independent. There is no leap-of-faith in my future to turn me into a Democrat or Republican.
I did have fun in a History class that had the stereotypical agenda-driven professor. I think his whole goal of the year was to convince us that the Iraq war was just like Vietnam. The fact that I passed the class without getting a F for calling him on his lowsy proofs is amazing. I don't mind fanatics, but people with unfounded opinions annoy the hell outa me, doubly so if that person is supposed to be a scholar. I mean, if you go so far as to state an opinion, at least be able to defend it. Sorry, but the fact that you may be a college history professor holds little weight. And to think, now I get to go back to the University department that once told me "you have to be a woman to be a writer." Oh what fun. I will continue to fight for a fair treatement of politics in classes with the famous CSUN writing department feminist agenda. It is like digging a hole in water, but I just can't help myself.
So here is my New Years Resolution: I will try to begin less sentences with the letter I.
Susan, James, Jessica and Griffin all say hi. If you want to feel old, James is 16, Jessica is 12 and Griffin in 11. Susan is [Deleted on the request of a reader]. I am 36.
So how do I end this year? I just learned how to use "izzle" in a sentence. That is something right? No, I don't plan on using that knowledge any time soon.
- Jim
First, my last year’s resolution was to be published, as in "Yes I am a published writer." So perhaps that will be this year’s resolution too. I wrote a lot but didn't submit anything. I have a few things going on right now, and maybe I can break through and get my first rejection letter this year. College this year will force me to write, at least, even if it is things like "Amerindian Issues in American Literature" or something exciting like that. I failed to keep up with the NaNoWriMo thing this year, but I had lots of good excuses. My English Composition class (yeah, I actually had to take one of those) professor forced me to write some experimental essays, which was fun but hard work. I have most of the first "book" of my novel done, but now I actually have to start writing it. In short, I fell way short of my writing goals this year. No book signings this year. Maybe in '05.
Second, I did go back to college (the community variety) and got all A's except for my statistics class (they made me take it, and I got a B after three F's on tests; thank god for "the curve"). In the Spring I get to take a KILLER schedule. Technically I will only be taking 18 units at CSUN and three at AVC, but in reality I may be taking as much as 28 units, if one counts classes I will be taking on audit or "for fun" reasons. I literally skated last semester, so I am cocky going into this next semester. Stay tuned for my "Oh My God What Have I Done" post in the near future.
Third, I promised to write here a few times a week. Well, as with the rest of my public promises, I meant well and performed less than well. So here are some more promises! I will be posting some of my writing as soon as I can figure out how to do it without making it its own post here (maybe a new blog for my novel exerpts). I will try to write more.
Forth, I survived the year without losing any friends (that I know about) to politics. That is saying something, as it was an election year and I have a lot of rather fanatic friends. I was right about the election outcome, wrong about WMD, and end the year still behind the President’s foreign policy. I believe Iraq was a net positive (I can almost hear my friends’ incredulous screams) and that elections will happen in January with limited success. We may still have a civil war there, and to be honest I think that going to that level will actually be a way to end the fighting with less bloodshed, but you will have to guess why I think that. I tried very hard not to vote for Bush this year, actually, and failed. Kerry was such a fake and refused to give me anything at all to stand on, so I went with Bush. Perhaps next election I will have a candidate that I actually believe in enough to volunteer for. One can hope. I end the year as I began, a fiscal and political conservative, but a staunch social liberal. Mostly, though, I remain a devout believer in the credo of the Independent. There is no leap-of-faith in my future to turn me into a Democrat or Republican.
I did have fun in a History class that had the stereotypical agenda-driven professor. I think his whole goal of the year was to convince us that the Iraq war was just like Vietnam. The fact that I passed the class without getting a F for calling him on his lowsy proofs is amazing. I don't mind fanatics, but people with unfounded opinions annoy the hell outa me, doubly so if that person is supposed to be a scholar. I mean, if you go so far as to state an opinion, at least be able to defend it. Sorry, but the fact that you may be a college history professor holds little weight. And to think, now I get to go back to the University department that once told me "you have to be a woman to be a writer." Oh what fun. I will continue to fight for a fair treatement of politics in classes with the famous CSUN writing department feminist agenda. It is like digging a hole in water, but I just can't help myself.
So here is my New Years Resolution: I will try to begin less sentences with the letter I.
Susan, James, Jessica and Griffin all say hi. If you want to feel old, James is 16, Jessica is 12 and Griffin in 11. Susan is [Deleted on the request of a reader]. I am 36.
So how do I end this year? I just learned how to use "izzle" in a sentence. That is something right? No, I don't plan on using that knowledge any time soon.
- Jim
Friday, December 17, 2004
Your Christmas Card
They said there'll be snow at Christmas,
They said there'll be peace on earth,
But instead it just kept on raining,
A veil of tears for the Virgin birth.
I remember one Christmas morning,
The Winter's light and a distant choir,
And the peal of a bell and that Christmas tree smell,
And eyes full of tinsel and fire.
They sold me a dream of Christmas,
They sold me a silent night,
They told me a fairy story,
'Til I believed in the Israelite.
And I believed in Father Christmas,
And I looked to the sky with excited eyes,
Then I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn,
And I saw him and through his disguise.
I wish you a hopeful Christmas,
I wish you a brave New Year,
All anguish, pain and sadness,
Leave your heart and let your road be clear.
They said there'd be snow at Christmas,
They said there'd be peace on earth,
Hallelujah! Noel!, be it Heaven or Hell,
The Christmas we get, we deserve.
"I believe in Father Christmas" - Greg Lake
They said there'll be peace on earth,
But instead it just kept on raining,
A veil of tears for the Virgin birth.
I remember one Christmas morning,
The Winter's light and a distant choir,
And the peal of a bell and that Christmas tree smell,
And eyes full of tinsel and fire.
They sold me a dream of Christmas,
They sold me a silent night,
They told me a fairy story,
'Til I believed in the Israelite.
And I believed in Father Christmas,
And I looked to the sky with excited eyes,
Then I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn,
And I saw him and through his disguise.
I wish you a hopeful Christmas,
I wish you a brave New Year,
All anguish, pain and sadness,
Leave your heart and let your road be clear.
They said there'd be snow at Christmas,
They said there'd be peace on earth,
Hallelujah! Noel!, be it Heaven or Hell,
The Christmas we get, we deserve.
"I believe in Father Christmas" - Greg Lake
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Everquest 2 - update
Okay, I am on Crushbone as Dainn and Fidget.
They wouldn't allow Longbottom, saying it is too "naughty." Funny, cuz I got it from a children's book.
Level 9 chanter and running. Fidget is my evil rat (still level 1).
Send me an email once you are in.
jim.h.duncan@gmail.com
They wouldn't allow Longbottom, saying it is too "naughty." Funny, cuz I got it from a children's book.
Level 9 chanter and running. Fidget is my evil rat (still level 1).
Send me an email once you are in.
jim.h.duncan@gmail.com
Monday, November 08, 2004
Everquest 2 - Server = CRUSHBONE
I will be on Crushbone server. So will most of my friends from EQ1 and SWG. If you want to play with me, and you are going to play EQ2, that is your server.
Hope to see you there. I'll be online asap (tomorrow is earliest, wednesday latest).
Hope to see you there. I'll be online asap (tomorrow is earliest, wednesday latest).
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Misunderstimated
Well, the Democrats lost big. I predicted that Bush would win, but I underestimated the level of his success and was way off on how it would happen (here is my prediction post). Look at what happened.
If this isn't a mandate, I don't know what one looks like.
The Bush-haters and their ilk lost big. The Michael Moore crowd did Kerry a huge disservice, I believe. Bush was the only one running. I still have no clue what Kerry's policies would have been. Kerry dodged interviews and refused to be specific, rather he attacked Bush and pushed his one message of "I will do it better." This was clearly not enough for the American people.
I am now in awe of the poitical genius of Carl Rove. What he accomplished in the 2004 election will be studied in the future. Whether you love him, hate him, or (like me) have no feelings whatsoever toward him or his politics, you have to admit that he has pulled off a masterpiece of a political victory here. Look at the events that I think lead to the surprising win.
1) In 2000, Carl Rove says that there were 4 million Christians that didn't vote. He begins working to get these voters in the 2004 election.
2) Nov. 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Court declares the ban on same sex marriage unconstitutional. State officials begin giving marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. Throughout the first few months of 2004, marriages are licensed in Mass. and San Fransisco, and the issue of gay marriage is a national topic of discussion.
3) In response, many State initiatives are submitted to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Bush and the Republican-controlled congress make the motions of submitting a change to the US Constitution defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Reports that the gay marriage wedge issue may sway the US election begin to appear (example). The religious right is mobilizing for a fight against what they see as the eroding of American values.
4) Republican get out the vote campaigns target churches and religious groups, especially in swing states such as Florida and Ohio.
5) Eleven states have initiatives to ban same-sex marriages (CNN story).
Get out the vote campaigns on both sides worked across the board. The problem with this for the Democrats is that though more people voted, the percentages of people voting didn't change. Said another way, more of everyone voted. A higher percentage of Republicans voted in 2004 than voted in 2002 or 2000.
The big story here is the Christian right. They were mobilized by an effective campaign including major cultural "moral" issues on the ballots in key swing states. That got them into the voters' booths on Tuesday, and was the main reason for the massive route of the Democrats in this election.
Carl Rove saw the problem in 2000. He found his solution when Mass. judges allowed gay marriage, kindling the firefight over this wedge issue. Rove capitolized on this issue to ensure that his missing four million were enraged enough to get out and vote. They had something to vote for (e.g., marriage initiative) and by-the-way voted for Bush while they were there. Moral Values becomes the number one issue on election day, a sleeper issue that wins Bush the election and gives him more Senators and Congressmen. Kerry didn't take a single state in the South.
The Democrats now have to lick their wounds and try to figure out how to recover from a surprisingly harsh defeat which shows their platforms to be out-of-sync with the mainstream of American values.
- Bush won 51% of the popular vote, most since his father.
- Bush won most of the counties in the US, and took almost all of the South.
- Republicans took five more Senate seats, including ousting the Democratic Minority Leader.
- Republicans took at least three house seats (with three still undecided as of this post)
If this isn't a mandate, I don't know what one looks like.
The Bush-haters and their ilk lost big. The Michael Moore crowd did Kerry a huge disservice, I believe. Bush was the only one running. I still have no clue what Kerry's policies would have been. Kerry dodged interviews and refused to be specific, rather he attacked Bush and pushed his one message of "I will do it better." This was clearly not enough for the American people.
I am now in awe of the poitical genius of Carl Rove. What he accomplished in the 2004 election will be studied in the future. Whether you love him, hate him, or (like me) have no feelings whatsoever toward him or his politics, you have to admit that he has pulled off a masterpiece of a political victory here. Look at the events that I think lead to the surprising win.
1) In 2000, Carl Rove says that there were 4 million Christians that didn't vote. He begins working to get these voters in the 2004 election.
2) Nov. 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Court declares the ban on same sex marriage unconstitutional. State officials begin giving marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. Throughout the first few months of 2004, marriages are licensed in Mass. and San Fransisco, and the issue of gay marriage is a national topic of discussion.
3) In response, many State initiatives are submitted to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Bush and the Republican-controlled congress make the motions of submitting a change to the US Constitution defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Reports that the gay marriage wedge issue may sway the US election begin to appear (example). The religious right is mobilizing for a fight against what they see as the eroding of American values.
4) Republican get out the vote campaigns target churches and religious groups, especially in swing states such as Florida and Ohio.
5) Eleven states have initiatives to ban same-sex marriages (CNN story).
- These include Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and Utah. Bush will ultimately win all these states, except Michigan.
- Florida had a similar initiative requiring parental notification for a minor to have an abortion, another issue that would be sure to mobilize the religious right. Bush wins Florida comfortably.
- States in which a cultural issue such as Marriage Protection or Florida's Parental Notification have large turnouts of blacks and hispanic voters. In these contests, Bush gets a higher percentage of these voters than in states without such measures. The percentage of registered Republicans that vote is equal to the percentage of registered Democrats for the first time in many elections.
- The number one issue for voters in this election according to exit polling is moral values, beating out terrorism, economy and Iraq as main issue. This surprises most political pollwatchers.
Get out the vote campaigns on both sides worked across the board. The problem with this for the Democrats is that though more people voted, the percentages of people voting didn't change. Said another way, more of everyone voted. A higher percentage of Republicans voted in 2004 than voted in 2002 or 2000.
The big story here is the Christian right. They were mobilized by an effective campaign including major cultural "moral" issues on the ballots in key swing states. That got them into the voters' booths on Tuesday, and was the main reason for the massive route of the Democrats in this election.
Carl Rove saw the problem in 2000. He found his solution when Mass. judges allowed gay marriage, kindling the firefight over this wedge issue. Rove capitolized on this issue to ensure that his missing four million were enraged enough to get out and vote. They had something to vote for (e.g., marriage initiative) and by-the-way voted for Bush while they were there. Moral Values becomes the number one issue on election day, a sleeper issue that wins Bush the election and gives him more Senators and Congressmen. Kerry didn't take a single state in the South.
The Democrats now have to lick their wounds and try to figure out how to recover from a surprisingly harsh defeat which shows their platforms to be out-of-sync with the mainstream of American values.
Saturday, October 30, 2004
NaNoWriMo - Taking the Plunge
50,000 words. One Month. No Problem.
I have decided to take the plunge and try the National Novel Writing Month challenge. This means I will be writing, a lot. My goal is 1500 words a day, so that if I have to study, play soccer dad or have to have another appendectomy, I will still be able to make the novel goal.
The contest starts Nov 1, and that is when I can start writing. It ends Nov. 30, and that is when I party.
I have little idea what my novel will be about, just a couple of characters and a basic outline, some background work, and a choice of genre.
If you are interested, I will be posting my novel in a blog format, which I will link from this one. Please don't judge my writing prowess off of what you read, though. 50,000 words in one month means no revision (or precious little). The revising will all happen in December, assuming what I have is worth revision. We shall see.
Tune in to see my novel take shape. And if you are a writer, don't be a coward. Sign up.
I have decided to take the plunge and try the National Novel Writing Month challenge. This means I will be writing, a lot. My goal is 1500 words a day, so that if I have to study, play soccer dad or have to have another appendectomy, I will still be able to make the novel goal.
The contest starts Nov 1, and that is when I can start writing. It ends Nov. 30, and that is when I party.
I have little idea what my novel will be about, just a couple of characters and a basic outline, some background work, and a choice of genre.
If you are interested, I will be posting my novel in a blog format, which I will link from this one. Please don't judge my writing prowess off of what you read, though. 50,000 words in one month means no revision (or precious little). The revising will all happen in December, assuming what I have is worth revision. We shall see.
Tune in to see my novel take shape. And if you are a writer, don't be a coward. Sign up.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
For My Castle Club Friends
On the latest Mitsubishi commercial, you can see a shot of a car crossing "The Bridge." The camera for this shot was obviously placed on "The Castle."
The commercial I am talking about is the one with the car driving down the road lined with people in jumpsuits. You probably already know the one. If not, here is a pic of the people in the jumpsuits.
For those of you that have no clue what the Castle Club is, don't ask. Trust me. :P
Something light, for a dark and raining day. Sunny California my ass.
The commercial I am talking about is the one with the car driving down the road lined with people in jumpsuits. You probably already know the one. If not, here is a pic of the people in the jumpsuits.
For those of you that have no clue what the Castle Club is, don't ask. Trust me. :P
Something light, for a dark and raining day. Sunny California my ass.
Who Will You Vote For?
I am almost positive that I will vote for George W. Bush next Tuesday. This does not make me very happy, to be honest, but there is no better choice (read: all the other choices are worse).
Here is my thinking.
Bush screwed up on the Iraq war by not having a real plan for the aftermath. That is plain. I wish he would admit it, because I think most rational people would take him on his word if he did. We know he made a mistake, he knows it, so why he continues to pretend that he didn't make a mistake is beyond me.
Bush had bad intelligence about the WMD in Iraq. Saddam, in his biggest shocker ever, apparently decided to destroy his stockpiles and then pretend he didn't (perhaps to use them still as a deterrant.) Everyone believed he had them. USA, Russia, France, Germany, John Kerry, Hans Blix (yes, I watched Hans Blix say that he belived that there were WMD there, but the evidence of his inspections told him something different). I am not sorry, though, that we went in. Saddam was a cancer on the face of the world and would have been a perpetual threat for as long as we have given him the freedom to do his own thing. He belongs in prison, and I am glad he is there. And, given all the same data, I would support the invasion again. Given hindsight, I would not, but we never will have hindsight in any decision, so that is useless.
Bush has the worst record on environmental policy in the history of the word environmentalism. I agreed with his larger plans, but he has allowed regulation and enforcement of many of the nations environmental policies to undermine them to the point that they are essentially facades of what they had been before he was elected. This is a big deal, and was one of the major reasons why I was considering voting for Kerry. I even wrote the Kerry campaign, asking them to tell me more of his enviromental policy committments, but alas, all that got me was on their email newsletter lists (somehow Moveon.org got my email too, so if you think they are not working together closely, well, there is the proof you are wrong LOL!)
So why am I voting for W?
First, look at Kerry. Kerry is anti-war. Anyone who doesn't believe that is ignorant to his history, or believes his constant retelling of his history. He spoke out against Vietnam vets and the war, calling himself and those he served with warcriminals. This is documented. He threw his medals away (well, not his medals, if you believe his current retelling; they were someone else's medals and he was only pretending.) I don't buy The Swiftboat Veterans for Truth BS, but what I have seen of his post-war activities convinces me that he is no more a warrior anymore than John Lennon. And I wouldn't have voted for Lennon either. Vietnam sapped any will for fight out of Kerry, I guess. The last thing we need, in the face of the only real threat to our way of life that has been upon us since the end of the cold war, is someone who is only pretending to be a warrior. Kerry is pretending. Face it. If he is elected he will pull us out of Iraq, soften our stance against terrorism, and allow it to grow again inside states that he will not interfer with. Afghanistan will happen again, maybe in Sudan, Syria, or of course, Iraq.
I have waited with baited breath for Kerry's Iraq policy. So far I have seen maybe 10,000 words on the subject, and let me summarize it for you. Kerry's position on Iraq is "I will do it better than Bush." That is it. When asked about his policies, he always presents a generality, followed by an attack on the president's record, followed by a statement that is roughly "I will do it better." That is it. If someone can show me some committments that he has made, please, do so.
Getting our "allies" to back us up? BS. Kerry would not have had to get allies to back us up, because he never would have considered invading. We would have continued with the same thing we did under Bush 41 and Clinton: if they go too far we would have used cruise missiles and claimed a minor victory. There is little doubt that France and Germany want Kerry elected. That is obvious. There is also little doubt that France was selling weapons to Iraq during the UN embargo, as well as participating in the corruption of the Oil-for-Food program. If you have not heard about this scandal, stop reading the LA Times or watching CNN for all your news.
The worst thing you can do in the face of terrorism is look weak. Reagan did this by negotiating for the release of the embassy hostages (arms for hostages), and the result was years of more kidnappings in Lebanon, marines getting blown up, etc. When we look weak we get attacked, at least until the USA changes the constitution to adhere to Sharia law. Bush was wiser and did not negotiate, and that ended that crisis--one of the rare victories we have had. Clinton was worthless. He would take action, as long as it involved hurling missiles from ships and not getting dirty. Under Clintons watch, 911 was planned and set in motion. 911 is Clinton's baby, pure and simple.
The fundemental difference is that I think Kerry really believes that terrorism against us is based on our policies. It is not. It is based on our position in the world (we are the strongest, more prosperous, and that breeds jealousy,) and our core belief systems that govern our nation. Terrorists think of us the same way that the judge thought of Bridget Biship in colonial Salam (witch trials). They hate who we are. They don't want us to change. They want us to be gone. And their blindness to the absurtidy of this goal is due to their belief that they have god on their side and cannot lose.
They are a real threat. A dirty bomb = economic recession at best, depression at worst. Their attacks are on our economy and the success of the 911 attack is evidenced in the economica state we are in today. Kerry blames our current economy on the president. That is a joke. If you had to blame a president, it would be Clinton that caused the crash. But that is wrong too. Wall Street over optimism caused the internet bubble to burst, and that drove us into recession. 911 exaserbated that horribly, causing it to drag out so long. Why are we not hiring? Why are so many jobs still lost (mine included) while the recovery is happening and we are no longer technically in a recession? Simple. Businesses are afraid of the next terrorist attack and the cost to their bottom line that will cause.
We will be attacked again. In fact, we can look forward to years of attacks. The question is how bad it will be, and where will those attacks happen. Right now, they are happening in Iraq.
Take away the threat of terrorism, and I vote for Kerry. He is a better peacetime president.
But we are not at peace. Not for a while and not unless we win some major battles against the terrorists, both militarily and economically. Kerry won't win the war on terror, because he won't fight. His words of war are a facade to get elected.
Bush will fight. He will make mistakes doing this, and it will be dirty, but the fight will be on them and not a defensive battle here at home. That is the main reason why he has my vote.
Here is my thinking.
Bush screwed up on the Iraq war by not having a real plan for the aftermath. That is plain. I wish he would admit it, because I think most rational people would take him on his word if he did. We know he made a mistake, he knows it, so why he continues to pretend that he didn't make a mistake is beyond me.
Bush had bad intelligence about the WMD in Iraq. Saddam, in his biggest shocker ever, apparently decided to destroy his stockpiles and then pretend he didn't (perhaps to use them still as a deterrant.) Everyone believed he had them. USA, Russia, France, Germany, John Kerry, Hans Blix (yes, I watched Hans Blix say that he belived that there were WMD there, but the evidence of his inspections told him something different). I am not sorry, though, that we went in. Saddam was a cancer on the face of the world and would have been a perpetual threat for as long as we have given him the freedom to do his own thing. He belongs in prison, and I am glad he is there. And, given all the same data, I would support the invasion again. Given hindsight, I would not, but we never will have hindsight in any decision, so that is useless.
Bush has the worst record on environmental policy in the history of the word environmentalism. I agreed with his larger plans, but he has allowed regulation and enforcement of many of the nations environmental policies to undermine them to the point that they are essentially facades of what they had been before he was elected. This is a big deal, and was one of the major reasons why I was considering voting for Kerry. I even wrote the Kerry campaign, asking them to tell me more of his enviromental policy committments, but alas, all that got me was on their email newsletter lists (somehow Moveon.org got my email too, so if you think they are not working together closely, well, there is the proof you are wrong LOL!)
So why am I voting for W?
First, look at Kerry. Kerry is anti-war. Anyone who doesn't believe that is ignorant to his history, or believes his constant retelling of his history. He spoke out against Vietnam vets and the war, calling himself and those he served with warcriminals. This is documented. He threw his medals away (well, not his medals, if you believe his current retelling; they were someone else's medals and he was only pretending.) I don't buy The Swiftboat Veterans for Truth BS, but what I have seen of his post-war activities convinces me that he is no more a warrior anymore than John Lennon. And I wouldn't have voted for Lennon either. Vietnam sapped any will for fight out of Kerry, I guess. The last thing we need, in the face of the only real threat to our way of life that has been upon us since the end of the cold war, is someone who is only pretending to be a warrior. Kerry is pretending. Face it. If he is elected he will pull us out of Iraq, soften our stance against terrorism, and allow it to grow again inside states that he will not interfer with. Afghanistan will happen again, maybe in Sudan, Syria, or of course, Iraq.
I have waited with baited breath for Kerry's Iraq policy. So far I have seen maybe 10,000 words on the subject, and let me summarize it for you. Kerry's position on Iraq is "I will do it better than Bush." That is it. When asked about his policies, he always presents a generality, followed by an attack on the president's record, followed by a statement that is roughly "I will do it better." That is it. If someone can show me some committments that he has made, please, do so.
Getting our "allies" to back us up? BS. Kerry would not have had to get allies to back us up, because he never would have considered invading. We would have continued with the same thing we did under Bush 41 and Clinton: if they go too far we would have used cruise missiles and claimed a minor victory. There is little doubt that France and Germany want Kerry elected. That is obvious. There is also little doubt that France was selling weapons to Iraq during the UN embargo, as well as participating in the corruption of the Oil-for-Food program. If you have not heard about this scandal, stop reading the LA Times or watching CNN for all your news.
The worst thing you can do in the face of terrorism is look weak. Reagan did this by negotiating for the release of the embassy hostages (arms for hostages), and the result was years of more kidnappings in Lebanon, marines getting blown up, etc. When we look weak we get attacked, at least until the USA changes the constitution to adhere to Sharia law. Bush was wiser and did not negotiate, and that ended that crisis--one of the rare victories we have had. Clinton was worthless. He would take action, as long as it involved hurling missiles from ships and not getting dirty. Under Clintons watch, 911 was planned and set in motion. 911 is Clinton's baby, pure and simple.
The fundemental difference is that I think Kerry really believes that terrorism against us is based on our policies. It is not. It is based on our position in the world (we are the strongest, more prosperous, and that breeds jealousy,) and our core belief systems that govern our nation. Terrorists think of us the same way that the judge thought of Bridget Biship in colonial Salam (witch trials). They hate who we are. They don't want us to change. They want us to be gone. And their blindness to the absurtidy of this goal is due to their belief that they have god on their side and cannot lose.
They are a real threat. A dirty bomb = economic recession at best, depression at worst. Their attacks are on our economy and the success of the 911 attack is evidenced in the economica state we are in today. Kerry blames our current economy on the president. That is a joke. If you had to blame a president, it would be Clinton that caused the crash. But that is wrong too. Wall Street over optimism caused the internet bubble to burst, and that drove us into recession. 911 exaserbated that horribly, causing it to drag out so long. Why are we not hiring? Why are so many jobs still lost (mine included) while the recovery is happening and we are no longer technically in a recession? Simple. Businesses are afraid of the next terrorist attack and the cost to their bottom line that will cause.
We will be attacked again. In fact, we can look forward to years of attacks. The question is how bad it will be, and where will those attacks happen. Right now, they are happening in Iraq.
Take away the threat of terrorism, and I vote for Kerry. He is a better peacetime president.
But we are not at peace. Not for a while and not unless we win some major battles against the terrorists, both militarily and economically. Kerry won't win the war on terror, because he won't fight. His words of war are a facade to get elected.
Bush will fight. He will make mistakes doing this, and it will be dirty, but the fight will be on them and not a defensive battle here at home. That is the main reason why he has my vote.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Everquest 2 - UPDATE
Everquest II Ships November 8.
We have no idea what server we will be on, because SOE in their infinite wisdom has decided that they will not announce server names until the day of or before release. We will continue to try to change their mind on this, but that is assuming they will even listen. They think that they can control overcrowding on servers if they do this stunt.
Stay tuned. Once we know, we will tell you.
Dainn the Dumbfounded, level 18 Enchanter, Beta-1
We have no idea what server we will be on, because SOE in their infinite wisdom has decided that they will not announce server names until the day of or before release. We will continue to try to change their mind on this, but that is assuming they will even listen. They think that they can control overcrowding on servers if they do this stunt.
Stay tuned. Once we know, we will tell you.
Dainn the Dumbfounded, level 18 Enchanter, Beta-1
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Everquest 2
As many of you know, I am a long-time Everquest player. A month ago I was invited to the Everquest 2 beta, and now I can talk about it without having the non-disclosure agreement police chasing after me.
For the Non-EQ Initiated...
For those who have never played Everquest, the game is a massive online game that is a rough estimation of a role-playing game. Those of us that play it play almost nothing else, because the game takes so long to get good (chr level and player skill). My main character, Daynn, has been at it for three years. Those who have no clue about the game call it too addictive to play, and compare players like myself to crack addicts (evercrack is one common term for the game). It is hard to explain the game to someone who hasn't experienced it, but image a combination of chatroom, role-playing computer game and Elk's lodge. On a typical day I will log in to a "raid" where my guild (like a team) will be attacking a god. Fifty to Sixty people all working together can bring down a god, if everyone knows their job and performs well. The only thing I can really compare it to is a crew on a sailboat. Everyone doing their role to achieve a difficult goal. And we do it sometimes two to three times a night.
Everquest 2
The first thing you notice is that there is no computer around that will run it at full settings. The graphics are intense. Character avatars are totally customizable, much the same way they are in Star Wars Galaxies, though it is hard to make an elf that doesn't look prissy, and all Erudites look alike no matter what you do. I play with the graphic settings as low as possible and still lag out when there are a lot of PCs around (I have a p3 900mghz, 512mb ram, 256 GeForce graphics card, which is technically below the min. reqs..) But I can make it for now till I can upgrade my CPU.
I have Dainn (level 16 enchanter) and Longbottom (level 18 druid) both on Beta 1. My chanter is also a crafter and makes spells for my guild. Crafting is cool in eq2 because it is like a second class. You earn experience in crafting, have levels (my chanter is level 12 scholar), and even can take damage or die if you are not careful doing your work. The items you can produce will be vital to the economy of the game too, so I play on being a supplier of spells to my server when the game goes live.
The combat system is okay. I am still not sure about it, but I am relatively low level still. You have "heroic opportunities" that allow you to do extra damage when you do certain things in a certain order. But so far I don't see anywhere near the complexity of combat tactics you see in EQ1 (e.g., there is no kiting, and buffs cant be cast on you unless you remain in the group with the buffer)).
The real big deal is the end-game content, and so far very few peopel have been able to see it. That is what will keep me in the game, and was the reason I left Star Wars Galaxies. I have faith that it will be there though. Sony caters to the end-game crowd, maybe too much. Honestly, I can't wait to figure out how to do 50-person raids in EQ2.
I still plan on starting my own guild in EQ2 once it goes live. If you want to know more, comment to this post or send me an email.
Jim
Daynn (EQ1, Terris Thule)
Dainn (Star Wars Galaxies, Starsider)
Dainn (EQ2-beta, Beta-1)
Longbottom (EQ2-beta, Beta-1)
For the Non-EQ Initiated...
For those who have never played Everquest, the game is a massive online game that is a rough estimation of a role-playing game. Those of us that play it play almost nothing else, because the game takes so long to get good (chr level and player skill). My main character, Daynn, has been at it for three years. Those who have no clue about the game call it too addictive to play, and compare players like myself to crack addicts (evercrack is one common term for the game). It is hard to explain the game to someone who hasn't experienced it, but image a combination of chatroom, role-playing computer game and Elk's lodge. On a typical day I will log in to a "raid" where my guild (like a team) will be attacking a god. Fifty to Sixty people all working together can bring down a god, if everyone knows their job and performs well. The only thing I can really compare it to is a crew on a sailboat. Everyone doing their role to achieve a difficult goal. And we do it sometimes two to three times a night.
Everquest 2
The first thing you notice is that there is no computer around that will run it at full settings. The graphics are intense. Character avatars are totally customizable, much the same way they are in Star Wars Galaxies, though it is hard to make an elf that doesn't look prissy, and all Erudites look alike no matter what you do. I play with the graphic settings as low as possible and still lag out when there are a lot of PCs around (I have a p3 900mghz, 512mb ram, 256 GeForce graphics card, which is technically below the min. reqs..) But I can make it for now till I can upgrade my CPU.
I have Dainn (level 16 enchanter) and Longbottom (level 18 druid) both on Beta 1. My chanter is also a crafter and makes spells for my guild. Crafting is cool in eq2 because it is like a second class. You earn experience in crafting, have levels (my chanter is level 12 scholar), and even can take damage or die if you are not careful doing your work. The items you can produce will be vital to the economy of the game too, so I play on being a supplier of spells to my server when the game goes live.
The combat system is okay. I am still not sure about it, but I am relatively low level still. You have "heroic opportunities" that allow you to do extra damage when you do certain things in a certain order. But so far I don't see anywhere near the complexity of combat tactics you see in EQ1 (e.g., there is no kiting, and buffs cant be cast on you unless you remain in the group with the buffer)).
The real big deal is the end-game content, and so far very few peopel have been able to see it. That is what will keep me in the game, and was the reason I left Star Wars Galaxies. I have faith that it will be there though. Sony caters to the end-game crowd, maybe too much. Honestly, I can't wait to figure out how to do 50-person raids in EQ2.
I still plan on starting my own guild in EQ2 once it goes live. If you want to know more, comment to this post or send me an email.
Jim
Daynn (EQ1, Terris Thule)
Dainn (Star Wars Galaxies, Starsider)
Dainn (EQ2-beta, Beta-1)
Longbottom (EQ2-beta, Beta-1)
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Marginal Poetry (some older stuff)
--
Here's a toast to my friend Doubt
The janitor of Whatcouldbe
Who with his icy reason numbs
Throbbing infinity
--
sing children
to peace
with kind words of war
When desiring freedom
brothers soft
ly exhaled
death
--
love is to dream
as dawn
remembering night's moonlit
faithless delicious treason
embraces the sun
--
skin dancing
his hard tongue glazing
her throat with dewdrops
madly-delicious graceful
caramel faces sweat into satin
--
These are some of the poems I have written when I was experiencing writers' block. They are "refrigerator poetry" and were done on a poetry website.
Here's a toast to my friend Doubt
The janitor of Whatcouldbe
Who with his icy reason numbs
Throbbing infinity
--
sing children
to peace
with kind words of war
When desiring freedom
brothers soft
ly exhaled
death
--
love is to dream
as dawn
remembering night's moonlit
faithless delicious treason
embraces the sun
--
skin dancing
his hard tongue glazing
her throat with dewdrops
madly-delicious graceful
caramel faces sweat into satin
--
These are some of the poems I have written when I was experiencing writers' block. They are "refrigerator poetry" and were done on a poetry website.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Marriage Therepy
Homework
You assignment for today is to have a discussion about politics with someone you don't know that well and who has no clue what your personal politics are. The only thing is, you have to take the opposing side to whatever you believe, and believe strongly.
Be serious, because this is serious business. Try to win, but listen carefully to what they tell you.
The point to this exercise will come in a day or so, but it has to do with idiology and marriage. Have fun, and if you want, post how it went.
You assignment for today is to have a discussion about politics with someone you don't know that well and who has no clue what your personal politics are. The only thing is, you have to take the opposing side to whatever you believe, and believe strongly.
Be serious, because this is serious business. Try to win, but listen carefully to what they tell you.
The point to this exercise will come in a day or so, but it has to do with idiology and marriage. Have fun, and if you want, post how it went.
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Another Useless Prediction
(edit: Oct 28, 2004 - Okay maybe not in a landslide. That was a bit over-anxious. He will win though, and it will be convincing, if not a "mandate.")
First, I want to make a public commitment. I will only mention politics once a week. Politics is not that important in my life, really. That said, time to flinch:
I can now predict that George W. Bush will win the election by a landslide. This is non-scientific, and you can laugh (even when I am right) but I am now certain of this. Here are my reasons:
1) Kerry is behind in most polls, even though the media is claiming him the winner in all three debates. Personally I think Kerry won big in the first debate and made good showings in the other two. Bush's scowl in the first debate hurt him to no end, but I think he did well in the second two debates. If Kerry were going to make his move on the debates, it would be evident already. He hasn't passed Bush, although the debates got him back into the game. I don't believe in "momentum." That is no more valid a concept in politics than it is in sports.
2) Kerry got zero bump from his convention, while Bush got a significant bump. This is a big deal. It shows that those people who watched the convetion--which is essentially an infomercial on the candidate--already were in his camp. Kerry should have benifitted from some bump, even a few points. My theory on this is that the neo-activist Bush-haters were already with him and were not shy about saying so. If you are a Bush-hater, you are not undecided. So the "bump" of Kerry's convention happened much earlier in the year instead of at the convention. And after all that, Kerry was still way behind Bush. Bush is still changing minds in his favor, and his bump shows. And Bush was ahead of Kerry even before his own convention, after which he got a further bump.
BTW, here is the blog of my favorite Bush-hater: Fog Blog. Read his stuff. He is interesting even when he is wildly off-base (well, one of us has to be and it can't be me).
3) Bush is the incumbent. This election is essentially a recall election on his presidency. This means that as people think about whether to vote for his presidency or not, he will essentially get most real ties (indecisive people that make their final decision in the ballot box, which is where I usually make my decisions). Kerry has to change minds, and if he fails to do that he fails to get the true undecided. Kerry is failing to do that enough to matter in that voters box. The media is pushing the story of how "close" the election will be, but that is what the media does.
4) The bases have been set for months, and there will be little gain from either party from "getting out the vote" of their base voters that didn't vote in the last election. I could be wrong here, and if I am it will be in the realms of the Christian right (for Bush) and the single woman voter (for Kerry), but I think that any movement from the "flaky" sides of each candidate's base will cancel out the movement from the opponent. So I remove this factor out as a constant.
5) America will not have another close election. The people don't want it, and it will show in their vote. The media can't help but play up the reoccurrence of the Florida election scandal of last election. This has caused both parties to mobilize to eat up the attention the media is giving to this story. Jesse Jackson, of course, will be sitting in Florida threatening lawsuits on election day. Lawyers will be on the starting line in all states where they think they have an issue to fight over (which will probably be all the close states). So while there will be a plethora of lawsuits the day after the election, and voter fraud etc. will be in the news for a few weeks, it won't matter.
For these reasons, I see Bush winning by a landslide.
First, I want to make a public commitment. I will only mention politics once a week. Politics is not that important in my life, really. That said, time to flinch:
I can now predict that George W. Bush will win the election by a landslide. This is non-scientific, and you can laugh (even when I am right) but I am now certain of this. Here are my reasons:
1) Kerry is behind in most polls, even though the media is claiming him the winner in all three debates. Personally I think Kerry won big in the first debate and made good showings in the other two. Bush's scowl in the first debate hurt him to no end, but I think he did well in the second two debates. If Kerry were going to make his move on the debates, it would be evident already. He hasn't passed Bush, although the debates got him back into the game. I don't believe in "momentum." That is no more valid a concept in politics than it is in sports.
2) Kerry got zero bump from his convention, while Bush got a significant bump. This is a big deal. It shows that those people who watched the convetion--which is essentially an infomercial on the candidate--already were in his camp. Kerry should have benifitted from some bump, even a few points. My theory on this is that the neo-activist Bush-haters were already with him and were not shy about saying so. If you are a Bush-hater, you are not undecided. So the "bump" of Kerry's convention happened much earlier in the year instead of at the convention. And after all that, Kerry was still way behind Bush. Bush is still changing minds in his favor, and his bump shows. And Bush was ahead of Kerry even before his own convention, after which he got a further bump.
BTW, here is the blog of my favorite Bush-hater: Fog Blog. Read his stuff. He is interesting even when he is wildly off-base (well, one of us has to be and it can't be me).
3) Bush is the incumbent. This election is essentially a recall election on his presidency. This means that as people think about whether to vote for his presidency or not, he will essentially get most real ties (indecisive people that make their final decision in the ballot box, which is where I usually make my decisions). Kerry has to change minds, and if he fails to do that he fails to get the true undecided. Kerry is failing to do that enough to matter in that voters box. The media is pushing the story of how "close" the election will be, but that is what the media does.
4) The bases have been set for months, and there will be little gain from either party from "getting out the vote" of their base voters that didn't vote in the last election. I could be wrong here, and if I am it will be in the realms of the Christian right (for Bush) and the single woman voter (for Kerry), but I think that any movement from the "flaky" sides of each candidate's base will cancel out the movement from the opponent. So I remove this factor out as a constant.
5) America will not have another close election. The people don't want it, and it will show in their vote. The media can't help but play up the reoccurrence of the Florida election scandal of last election. This has caused both parties to mobilize to eat up the attention the media is giving to this story. Jesse Jackson, of course, will be sitting in Florida threatening lawsuits on election day. Lawyers will be on the starting line in all states where they think they have an issue to fight over (which will probably be all the close states). So while there will be a plethora of lawsuits the day after the election, and voter fraud etc. will be in the news for a few weeks, it won't matter.
For these reasons, I see Bush winning by a landslide.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Figgering It Out
This is the place where the "construction" sign should go. I am new to blogging, but as a writer and aspiring author I can see the value. Make fun of me. Point and laugh. I deserve it all. The world is pulling me into the modern age with all the brute force of a flushing toilet.
I am a wannabe.
These are my thoughts. If you are interested, you can write me. I have a tendency for extremely long and wordy responses. If I can't dazzle you with logic, then burying you with volume is the next best thing. :)
I am a believer in the emote as a valid form of poetic expression. :P
You may notice that all my opinions are up for grabs. I will always be certain when I write something. On the other hand, I will be just as certain when I write something that conflicts with a previous opinion I was so certain about. This is intentional. Nothing about me works, to be brutally honest, and the only way I can figure things out is to try them on for size. I have a tendency to pick a side diametrically opposed to you (whoever "you" is at any given point in time), which is why all my friends think I am an evil bastard. This is not intentional.
Philosophically, I am currently a harsh individualist. This pretty much means I blame you for all the problems you complain about, and if you really piss me off I throw Ayn Rand at you. "The Fountainhead" can make a real nice bump. I have a theory that Ayn Rand made "The Fountainhead" that big for exactly that purpose. I have a disregard for those that take themselves seriously. This includes myself.
Religiously, I am a devout agnostic. This makes all my friends mad at me. My atheist friends think I am indecisive prat (a valid point), and my religious friends think I am going to Hell (a valid point). When I feel particularly spiritual I read Joseph Campbell and maybe some post-modernistic poetry. That usually sedates such feelings. Again, I think that those who take themselves seriously have real issues that should stripped naked and exposed to the light of day. This includes myself.
Politically, I am an independent. Just don't ask me what that really means. This makes my friends mad. My liberal friends see me as an entrenched conservative (this is mostly true). My conservative friends think I am a liberal hippie (this is mostly true). I don't have any independent friends. If you want to be my friend, and you are an independent, maybe we can have a play date. I have no campaign posters. I have a visceral hatred of those who hate, for people who believe political party talking points, and for everyone that thinks they are smart because they believe something that their friends believe. People like that need to be taken out, stripped naked, and exposed for what they are. This includes myself.
To make a short story long, I take things as they come, comment on things as they hit me in the face, and am not married to my own opinions. The search for truth only really fails when you find it.
I have a tendency to be profoundish. I have a tendency to start sentences with the letter I. I am probably a undiagnosed and unmedicated egotist, but I will let you, my implied reader, be the judge of that.
Jim
jim.h.duncan@gmail.com
I am a wannabe.
These are my thoughts. If you are interested, you can write me. I have a tendency for extremely long and wordy responses. If I can't dazzle you with logic, then burying you with volume is the next best thing. :)
I am a believer in the emote as a valid form of poetic expression. :P
You may notice that all my opinions are up for grabs. I will always be certain when I write something. On the other hand, I will be just as certain when I write something that conflicts with a previous opinion I was so certain about. This is intentional. Nothing about me works, to be brutally honest, and the only way I can figure things out is to try them on for size. I have a tendency to pick a side diametrically opposed to you (whoever "you" is at any given point in time), which is why all my friends think I am an evil bastard. This is not intentional.
Philosophically, I am currently a harsh individualist. This pretty much means I blame you for all the problems you complain about, and if you really piss me off I throw Ayn Rand at you. "The Fountainhead" can make a real nice bump. I have a theory that Ayn Rand made "The Fountainhead" that big for exactly that purpose. I have a disregard for those that take themselves seriously. This includes myself.
Religiously, I am a devout agnostic. This makes all my friends mad at me. My atheist friends think I am indecisive prat (a valid point), and my religious friends think I am going to Hell (a valid point). When I feel particularly spiritual I read Joseph Campbell and maybe some post-modernistic poetry. That usually sedates such feelings. Again, I think that those who take themselves seriously have real issues that should stripped naked and exposed to the light of day. This includes myself.
Politically, I am an independent. Just don't ask me what that really means. This makes my friends mad. My liberal friends see me as an entrenched conservative (this is mostly true). My conservative friends think I am a liberal hippie (this is mostly true). I don't have any independent friends. If you want to be my friend, and you are an independent, maybe we can have a play date. I have no campaign posters. I have a visceral hatred of those who hate, for people who believe political party talking points, and for everyone that thinks they are smart because they believe something that their friends believe. People like that need to be taken out, stripped naked, and exposed for what they are. This includes myself.
To make a short story long, I take things as they come, comment on things as they hit me in the face, and am not married to my own opinions. The search for truth only really fails when you find it.
I have a tendency to be profoundish. I have a tendency to start sentences with the letter I. I am probably a undiagnosed and unmedicated egotist, but I will let you, my implied reader, be the judge of that.
Jim
jim.h.duncan@gmail.com
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