I See Small Bottled People...

 In our new house, we have a couple of things we've lived without for decades. When we built our house almost twenty years ago, we opted not to put in a fireplace. As we lived in that house, it was something we wished we had done, especially when the power went out in the winter--it would have been nice to have a secondary heating source.

So, we found a new house that had a fireplace and a fireplace mantel, two of the things we didn't have for a long time. We love both. But, when it's not Christmas (or in our house, Halloween...), the mantel looks a tad bare. That's why my wife found some nice home decor items that add a touch of class to the mantel, the fireplace, and the entire room.

Trouble is, she inadvertently encased in glass a couple of what appears to be little hobgoblins. One looks like Jack Skellington, though not a skinny one, and the other reminds me of a foot soldier holding a shield. Yes, you sort of have to look use your imagination a little bit to see them, but every time I look at the glass containers at a certain angle, they're there.

Of course, there aren't little people in our decorative jars. It's just a coincidence the dried flowers and yarn balls and other things she bought to fill the jars just happened to be placed just so, and those placements just happened to look like a couple of entities now reside on our fireplace mantel.

I guess it's all how you look at it.

I've Often Wondered If They Should Bring Back Firefly...I'm Re-Thinking My Opinion

 There's an opinion I've had about the long-defunct TV series Firefly. It's not a popular opinion, and I have very little evidence to back it up, but here it is...

I believe canceling was one of the best things that could have happened to the series.

For many, that's sacrilege, blasphemy, a bad thing to think, let alone, say.

When I say, it was a good thing, I only mean it thrust the show into a very special place, a place of reverence, of honor. It became more than it was because of the untaped and unrealized potential...what could have been. Each fan of the show has thought this...considered this.

Myself included.

Since the show was given such an undignified ending, we all have an idea of the show continuing--of Mal and the crew fighting injustice with irreverence, Chinese cursing, and humor. I think those lofty aspirations of a show discontinued would never be fully realized had the show been allowed to continue. That's why--my opinion, of course--it's probably best to let show, the stories, the world die. After all, a key character was killed in the movie, Serenity, and an actor of the series has since passed away. Many of the actors have gone on to other projects...I don't think that original magic can be resurrected, and if it was tried, it would be a poor imitation.

But I think I'm changing my mind.

For the past couple of weeks, I've been watching the Firefly series as I work out, about fifteen minutes at a time. After watching the series this time, I think they could bring back the series and have it not shatter those "what if" expectations we all have. The reason I think this is because the world building is so good. And if you've constructed a believable world, you can get new characters to fill that world.

Every now and then, there's a new rumor about the show coming back. In the past, I've thought that would be a mistake. Now, I'd welcome a new series. Whether or not that ever happens, who knows? If not, at least we'll still have our "what could have beens."

So Next Time People Ask, "Is That Your Photo The News Posted On Instagram?" I Can Say...Yup

Having a somewhat popular name comes with the potential for interesting experiences. Years ago someone with my name was hit by a car that his wife was driving while they were both drunk and arguing (it didn't help that man with my name lived in the same town as me...).

Not always are the stories so extreme. With the advent of social media, if a person with my name posts something, it has the potential to be seen by billions of people. Take, for example, Scott Taylor, the photographer. Yes, there are a lot of Scott Taylor photographers out there including me, but there's one specific photographer from the Salt Lake area and he's amazing. His shots are so amazing, so much so, that many are picked up by the local news media. I hope it's okay to post here, but if you're interested in seeing some of these pictures on his Instagram account, you can see them by clicking: HERE.

Every once in a while I'll get a message from a friend--a friend who knows I dabble in photography--and they'll ask me if the beautiful photo they saw on the news or online was mine.

In the past, I've always said, "No."

But...maybe I don't have to say that now.

At least, for one photo I took.

Earlier, I posted a photo looking east in the early evening after a storm. I think it turned out great, so great I decided to submit it to a local TV station's website. Turns out, someone at the station liked it and posted it on their website and Instagram account.

I don't submit many photos and I don't see that changing any time soon. Still, for once, if anyone asks me if that photo taken by a Scott Taylor was mine, I can say, "Yup."

There's A New Author Website Out There...Bennion Ellsworth

 Scrolling through Facebook today I came upon a post from a writer acquaintance. He's created a new website to highlight him and his works.

Good for him!

I met Bennion a few years ago at a school book fair. We got to talking and it turns out I know both his parents. Another interesting fact...both his parents speak Danish, and neither are Danes. There was a time, decades ago, when the three of us roamed around the Danish countryside, name tags on our clothes and pamphlets in our pockets.

Now, decades later, their son is writing books and making the world a better place. If you want to check out the website, click: HERE. 

Being a writer can be tough. Even if you come up with the most brilliant idea, betting the story written, then edited, then critiqued, then published can seem an overwhelming exercise. So, if you want to check out a new author website, check out Bennion's blog. I'm sure he'd appreciate it.

Funny How You Learn Things...

 I ran across this picture last month. I'm the first to admit that I don't understand all things, especially things on the internet. This happens a lot because of my age. I guess I'm not "hip" enough to understand all the hidden messages--it's because I don't spend a lot of time checking out the latest things.

This picture showed up. I screenshot it and sent it to my friend (unfortunately, I do not know where I saw it originally...). I saw a dinosaur and a creche--two things you would not normally associate together. It wasn't until I took another look at the screen shot, I learned something knew.

I had no idea what the Miskatonic University is.

I'm learning more about it now.

I am a fan of H.P. Lovecraft. I've read some of his stories and even wrote a short story that was published in an awesome anthology called, Redneck Eldritch. You can order it by clicking: HERE. Many of my writer friends know volumes more about Lovecraft so I'll be they knew about the Miskatonic University. 

From Wikipedia (because the other sites about the university are more examples of self-promotion...):

Miskatonic University is a fictional university located in Arkham, a fictional town in Essex County, Massachusetts. It is named after the Miskatonic River (also fictional). After first appearing in H.P. Lovecraft's 1922 story Herbert West--Reanimator , the school appeared in numerous Cthulu Mythos stories by Lovecraft and other writers. The story The Dunwich Horror implies that Miskatonic University is a highly prestigious university, on par with Harvard University, and that Harvard and Miskatonic are the two most popular schools for the children of the Massachusetts "Old Gentry". The university also appears in role-playing games and board games based on the mythos.

I love how I came upon this information. And thanks to the internet, I was able to find this information immediately. Funny how you learn things.

Give Thanks...Modern Machinery

Yesterday I spent the morning and afternoon in the yard, and because of an incredible machine, we only needed one half of one day to pull all our sprinkler pipes. Those of you who have put in a sprinkling system before (or even if you haven't...) might be thinking, "Big deal. It should only take a few hours."

Um...not where we live.

We live in the Rocky Mountains. The hill on which our house sits isn't exactly a mountain, but it's definitely full of rocks. Last fall I watched our across-the-street neighbors hire a crew to put in their sprinklers. Those poor workers. They trenched, then had to shovel-dig the rest of the way for their PCV system.

We decided on something different.

We hired a neighbor's John Deere 60G.

It worked AMAZINGLY well. We hooked up the pipes to the claw The claw dug into the ground pulling the pipe, and the 60G backed up moving rocks and boulders out of the way as the pipe reached its destination. In a few hours, we were done.

It would have taken at least a day with a trencher, and a month with shovels and picks. Even though I did a lot of shovel digging yesterday, and I was exhausted by the day's end, I am so grateful for modern machines and the incredible people who created them. Literally life saving.

 

The Writing Retreat That Was...

 I survived the week. I didn't write everyday--today, we put in half our sprinkling system, though I could do a little writing tonight. I did not write 50k words, like Husberg (the guy's a machine...), or even 28k like Ritchey (another machine...), or the many many pages produced by the grand marshal Butler himself.

Mine was more modest output.

I was in the 5-6k rang.

When it comes to word count, maybe size doesn't always matter.

I had several first with this writing retreat. I--for the most part--finished a story that I have tried to finish at least two times in the past, at two previous writing retreats. The story contained three storylines told by three main characters. I've never done that before. And I wrote a battle scene involving werepigs (sort of like werewolves, but with pigs...).

I've got to clean it up, tie up some loose ends.

I've had a good couple of months, writing-wise. And I had a good writing retreat week, writing-wise.