Off Shopping

No time to post. I'm heading out early to go shopping for stuff. Not sure what stuff yet--that remains to be seen. I usually go off to go shopping thinking it will be fun, and then about halfway through realize how little fun it really is. Probably will be the same way today, but we'll see. Have a nice Labor Day, all.

And go BYU Football!

Hulu

Every now and then on my blog, I like to take a minute to give back to my faithful readers. To enlighten o ye of little technological know how. Today is one of those days. I can't recall blogging about this before (and forgive me if I repeat myself), but today's topic is on the wonders of free online video. I'm not talking about that bastion of anti-copyrightness that is YouTube. No, I'm talking about a site where you can go and watch television shows and movies for free. Legally. What's the catch? Well, there's a fifteen or thirty second add every ten minute or so. But considering you don't have to have a guilty conscience while you're watching, then I think that's a fair trade.

Hulu is NBC's online presence. What can you see on it? Good stuff. Check out my favorite television comedy, Arrested Development. All three seasons, complete and uncut. Free. Oh yeah. How about the most recent episodes of The Daily Show or The Colbert Report? Free. You can watch them right now. Buffy? First two seasons free. Firefly? The whole series (well, all of the one and only season made), free. I'm going to stop linking now, but you can also check out vintage series, from Bewitched to ALF to the A-Team.

Movies more your style? How about some Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day(!), Sleepless in Seattle, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Master and Commander, The Karate Kid, Secret of NIMH, Raising Arizona(!), Three Amigos, and Some Like it Hot? F-R-E-E. They get new content frequently (and old content goes bye-bye sometimes)--but it's by far one of the best LEGAL places I've found to see all this stuff, on demand, whenever you feel like it.

Don't you feel enlightened?

Lawn Mowers

Why is it that lawn mowers pick the exact wrong time to decide to break? If there were lawn mower gods, they would be spiteful.

And I would curse them.

Little Time

I've decided that August and I no longer get along. She's just used and abused me this time around. Sure, we had a brief blueberry fling, and she's showered me with blackberries and other sundry garden produce, but I've been swamped at work, and that's just unforgivable. You hear me, August? UNFORGIVABLE!

Still busy today. I managed to finish Octavian Nothing, which I highly enjoyed. Very interesting insights both on the time period of the American Revolution and racism/slavery. Recommended.

I've also discovered that I'm out of practice taking criticism about my writing. When I was going every week to writing group, I got in a good groove of taking hits like a champ. Suddenly when my writing's getting critiqued again, I feel like Rocky in the ring after a while. No longer to take the hits quite as well. That doesn't mean that I don't appreciate the criticism. Especially when it's accurate. But when you shadow box for a year ago and start thinking you're pretty darn good, going back into the ring with real opponents can be a rather rude awakening.

Late Post

Sorry it took me so long to post today. Busy day at work, and I woke up at 4:30 this morning to give the missionaries a ride. Why a ride at 4:30 in the morning? Every six weeks, Missionaries might get "transferred"--told they need to go to a new city. They don't get to choose when or where, and when this happens, they also need a ride to get there. So that's what I was doing. And that's why I'm exhausted right now. I'm watching the kidlets while DKC works this evening, but I'd really like to go to sleep. Sigh.

China

Okay. DKC and I watched some of the closing ceremonies last night, and I have to say that this Chinese Olympics affair has been a bit of a let down for me toward the end. Not the actual competitions--I loved watching the Olympics (though I'm happy to have my life back now that they're over). No. What I mean is that when we watched the opening ceremonies, I was astounded. It was just so elaborate and well done. Incredible. Then I started reading about how it was done. This interview with the director was particularly eye opening. I'm sorry, but any time you find yourself bragging that you're almost doing something as well as North Korea, it's time to shut up. I mean, it would be like saying you're almost as good as the Nazis were at something. Come on. 16 hour work days? Saying Americans are too big of babies because we demand something like . . . what's it called again? Oh yeah: basic human rights. Sheesh.

So when I watched the closing ceremonies, I couldn't help but wonder and think about how phony these Chinese Olympics have ended up seeming to me. They put a bright shiny face on for 16 days, stopped all their factories from belching out pollution, made their people be only able to drive every other day, set up "protest zones" and then penalized anyone who applied for a permit to protest . . . I could go on griping, but I won't. I'll just say that my general impression of the Chinese government from these Olympics is that they are willing to do and say anything they have to to make other people accept them--and then they're willing to do and say anything they need to in order to get ahead. I've got nothing against the people. I mean, come on--these are the people that gave us Jackie Chan. But China as a government? Yikes.

Cold!

It's freezing in my office right now. Well, not literally. Literally, it's a balmy 59 degrees. My fingers have stopped typing all that well, and it's a struggle just to get the work done. NOT FUN! I hate having to constantly retype my work. Sigh. So I'd blog today, but the fingers won't let me. Have a nice weekend, all, and hopefully I'll be fully functional by Monday.

Reading

The other day I finished Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which I thoroughly enjoyed. For those of you who don't know, it's the fictional journal of a seventh grader, complete with pictures. Very snarky, and very funny. At the same time, it also got me thinking--the character is so self-absorbed and snarky, and I started wondering how old I'd want TRC to be before he read the book. A lot of the jokes I thought were great, but then there were the ones where the kid makes fun of his dad. Silly of me, I know, but I was like, "Wait a minute! You can't make fun of the dad. That's ME!" The idea that my son will one day think I'm a doofus and out of touch with "reality" is disturbing to me--but I suppose it's inevitable. I love the fact that right now, TRC thinks I'm the best thing since Animal Crackers. He loves to be around me, loves to do whatever I'm doing--I don't want that to change. But alas, maybe it's fated. What can I do to keep in touch with him and make sure I never become the Dad from the Wimpy Kid series? (Or from pretty much all the books I write myself, for that matter.) I guess that comes out as a rather strange goal . . . I don't know if I've fully formulated what I'm trying to say. Hopefully it makes a bit of sense to you. Any thoughts? Ideas? Anyone want to share what their parents did to stay "in touch" with them?

Finished

That's right. This morning I finished the first draft of my next book. I'm still going through and polishing a bit of the dialogue here and there, but for all intents and purposes, this baby's done. What does that mean? It means I need your help, faithful readers! If you'd like to read it in the next few weeks and are willing to give more specific feedback than "it was good," then I'd love to email it to you. Just post a comment or send me an email. If now's a bad time for you, no worries. After the first round of readings, I'll assess what changes need to be made, then ask for more readers once those changes are done, so there'll still be another round.

What's it about? Think of it like this: what if a classical save the world type fantasy happened in the modern day, and the Chosen One turned out to be a snarky sixteen year old boy? It's your typical boy and girl fall in love battling zombies YA fantasy. If it were adapted into a movie, it would probably border between PG and PG13 rating, if that makes any difference to you. So be warned. :-) And please do volunteer to read.

Retreat!

Not going to post much today. Technically, I'm on a library retreat. In my library. This redefines the meaning of the word retreat, but then again, what does that word mean anyway? Why do companies even have "retreats"? So they can run away from all their problems? Because I hate to break it to you, but right after that retreat, you gotta go back to work. Not that I'm complaining about having a day that's different--especially not one that involves food I don't have to pay for. Quite the opposite. As far as I'm concerned, we can retreat whenever we want to.

Better (Somewhat)

Yes, I'm feeling better. Although TRC and DC are under the weather now--I hope they don't have what I caught. At least DKC remains healthy. She's out trying to pick blackberries without getting eaten alive by our thriving mosquito population.

What did I do with my weekend? Well, Sunday was taken up with church meetings the whole day, both here at home and then off in Bangor. So I didn't see much of my family that day. Saturday I was pretty much out of commission still--the Codeine finally kicked in and zonked me out. So the weekend, as far as weekends go, Left Much To Be Desired. I managed to watch some Olympics, as well as finish a book I enjoyed: Watchers, by Dean Koontz. Gotta love books about sentient canines.

Watched two movies, as well. The second one was Bewitched, which gets a two star rating from me, but a dose of disappointment as well. I love films that are aware of themselves as film--post structuralist sort of mish moshes. And this one had the potential to be great. If you don't know, the film is about people who go to do a remake of the Bewitched TV series, only to accidentally cast a real witch in the role of Samantha. Will Ferrell, Nicole Kidman, Steve Carell (who was fantastic in the small part he had), Michael Caine . . . you see where I'm going with this? See all that potential? And the result was a two star movie. How depressing. The elements were all there, but they just never gelled together for me. The plot came off as rushed and hurried . . . makes me wonder if there isn't a director's cut drifting around somewhere that I'd just love. Sigh.

However, I also had the chance to watch Bachelor Mother, which I'm pleased to say I can heartily recommend. Easy three stars, maybe even three and a half. It stars Ginger Rogers and David Niven, and the premise is a misunderstanding where David Niven believes Ginger is the mother of a child left at an orphanage. Hilarity ensues. It's got some great dialogue (even if some of the acting isn't up to today's standards), and the plot naturally unfolds to much humorous effect. Highly recommended--even if you typically refuse to see black and white movies. (And if you do, shame on you!)

Of course, some of this highlights what an effect expectations can have on a viewing (or reading) experience. If I go into something with high hopes and am let down, or if I go in with low expectations and am surprised, that can make all the difference. I still remember the first time I saw A League of Their Own. Hated it. I'd somehow been led to believe it was a slapstick comedy, and it was awful. Of course, then I found out the real genre, went and saw it again, and really enjoyed it. Even if it was about girls playing baseball. :-) It's all about the expectations.

Haiku: Ode to Codeine

In honor of Friday, I've composed a special Haiku. Ready? Here you go:

Oh orange bottle,
Full of promised healthiness--
Why won't you grant sleep?

Codeine

I'm still sick. Hacking so much I didn't hardly sleep last night. But prescription meds are on the way. Here's hoping they help.

Not a Book Snob, After All

I'm pleased to say I just finished a book I thoroughly enjoyed. If you like epic fantasy along the lines of George R.R. Martin (but with less graphic . . . everything) and Stephen Erikson, might I recommend Acacia? Fantastically written, with great characters and an intriguing plot that goes beyond what's normally encountered in fantasy today, I really got wrapped up in it and had a great time reading it. Check it out from your local library today.

And yes, I'm still sick.

Olympaholic

I'm still sick. It's now devolved into a hacking cough that makes me sound like I've started chain smoking or something. No fun whatsoever, and my energy levels are really low right now. Sad. Thank goodness for all that Olympic goodness on the telly these days. At least if I'm not feeling well, I can watch a bunch of energetic powerhouses do amazing things. It compensates somewhat for the way I feel.

In good news (because that happens as well), my current novel had a breakthrough this morning. I'm finally at the climax, and I kept on having to change things around, because nothing felt "right." It's so interesting sometimes--writing can feel kind of like a Rubiks Cube, where you keep adjusting and tinkering and tweaking, but it never works until suddenly it all clicks into place. It feels right. I'd struggled with this on and off since I was sick, and then this morning, just after I'd gotten into my car to drag myself to work, the solution popped into my head. Lovely.

Still Sick

I've been in bed since Friday. Well, technically I'm at work now--not in bed. But I SHOULD be in bed. I just had things that had to get done at work. Rest assured that I'll be going to bed as soon as I get home. Thank goodness the Olympics are on. I can just lie there and feel like I'm supporting my country by being sick and watching. Go USA!

Sorry Folks

I am totally sick today. Awful sick. I'd post, but it hurts to type. No kidding. So you'll have to make it through Friday without me. Good luck with that.

Depressing Things

Those of you who read my blog with any sort of frequency have no doubt noticed that I try to avoid Truly Depressing Things. I complain, grouse, whine, murmur, grumble, groan and bemoan various trivial things in my life, but for the most part, I try to keep things chipper around Bryce's Ramblings.

Today, I can't really muster a whole lot of chipper out of myself. So if you want to stay sun-shiny and happy, I'd advise you to move along and not read the rest of this post.

Still here?

Well, don't say I didn't warn you.

A family in my ward (church, for you non-Mormons out there) lost a child last Friday. Seven years old. Cancer. She'd been diagnosed three years ago. I have known about this and watched events unfold from a relatively distant perch. When I moved out here to Maine, they were already two years into the ordeal, and I haven't really had a chance to get to know them well. I have refrained from posting at all about their experiences--and my reactions/thoughts to those experiences--mainly because I don't think it's any of my business, and certainly not any of yours. So I've kept mum, and I still intend on keeping mum except to fill you in on those brief details above.

So what am I posting about, if not about that?

Well, I feel I can talk about my personal reaction to what I've seen happen. Not this case in particular, but losing a child in general. I went to the viewing last night, and it was a very sad occasion for me, imagining what it would be like to lose TRC or DC--or DKC or anyone else close to me. For a long time in my life, I didn't have to deal with death. No one I knew close to me died. Yes, there were some kids at school who passed away, but they weren't close friends. I had a step grandmother and step grandfather who died, but I never really knew them that well. When you're young, old people die. You come to expect it. Then an uncle died, then another, then a grandmother and then another . . . death is becoming increasingly unavoidable--as it will no doubt continue to be the older I get. And it's not just that it's becoming unavoidable. It's hitting closer to home. It's forcing me to acknowledge that I might die, or anyone else. Not just "old people."

But something about children dying . . . it just doesn't seem right. Not right at all. And the idea that one of my children might die gives me nightmares, literally. I have no idea how I would respond if that happened, and I'm superstitious enough to not want to discuss it. I don't know . . . I realize that this post is fairly rambling, and that's the way it goes with my posts sometimes. I suppose I just have a question for all of you:

What do you think happens after we die?

Fellow Mormons, please realize I'm already well aware of what you think. I'm more interested in what other people think. Because for me, the only thing that keeps me from getting really angry with unfairness of it all is the belief that life goes on after this one, and that families are eternal. None of this "till death do you part" crap in my theology. TRC and DC are my children forever. DKC is my wife forever. The little girl who passed away Friday will be reunited with her parents in the world to come. And for me, that makes everything even out. It all Makes Sense.

So I wonder what it's like for those not of my faith. How do they make sense of it all? Because I think that in one way or another, this is a question we all deal with--we're forced to. Death happens. I'd love to hear some comments from some of you--here or as an email. Mormons are allowed to post, too--naturally. :-)

In any case, my condolences go out to the family. There is no way I can know or understand what you're going through, but I wish you well and pray you continue to find comfort.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Where's Bryce

Just found an online version of my senior class picture. No--not me individually. I mean my whole senior class. There's a lot of us. So--can you find me? I'll give you a hint, I'm sitting next to Kevin Albert and Aaron I-Can't-Remember-His-Last-Name-Right-Now-Yes-I-Am-A-Loser. Another hint: I don't have a beard in this picture, so if you've gotten to know me recently, then bonus points to you if you can find me.

I also realize that I look pretty thin in this picture, which is funny, because I have always thought of myself as overweight. This means that either I had a serious weight-perception in high school or I'm quite a bit overweight now (as opposed to just a bit then) or this was a good picture. Then again, it can't be the last one, because I look so darn bright eyed and bushy tailed I ought to be slapped. In any case--fun times looking it over. Ah, the memories.

Busy Busy Busy

Not too much time today. I'm deep in the thick of stuff at work, getting new machines ready for the next semester, weeding the English literature collection, working on the new library website. Plenty to keep me busy. What's weeding, you ask? Well, besides being something I was forced to do as a child, involving plants, gloves and plenty of gnats, weeding refers to keeping a library collection tidy. Basically what I'm doing right now is weeding for condition. I'm looking over the collection (Library of Congress Call Number: PR) and checking each book to see if it's damaged, defaced (DON'T WRITE IN LIBRARY BOOKS, PEOPLE!) or just plain old and ugly. If it is, then I look up the check out statistics in our database: check and see how many times the book has checked out and when the last time it checked out was. If it's not seeing much usage--especially recent usage--and it's in crummy shape, then VOOP! Out it goes to the Donation shelf (after being removed from the catalog, of course). I'm not sure when the collection was weeded last, but it's in dire need of it. The shelves are too full down there, and there are some downright scary books. Poor things. Lots of books from the 1800s, which--while they might sound like potential E-bay specials--really aren't that much use when they've been used and abused by a library for over 100 years. Have a moment of silence for them, then let them go.

Anyway. Now you have a slice of insight into some of the stuff I do at work. Yes, I actually enjoy this sort of thing. I'm crazy like that.

And for all you people who want to do something interesting for a few minutes, here's a link to something completely unrelated. See if you can tell where all these people's accents are from. I got an abysmal 17 points. Really bad, for a linguistics major. Sigh. I fail. How did you do?

Blueberries

I like blueberries. One of the reasons I always wanted to live in Maine was because of this simple fact. Blueberries grow in Maine--25% of the world's supply is right here. Not only that, but they're the state's official fruit. How cool is that? So when I knew I was coming to Maine, I knew that blueberries were in my future. Unfortunately, I missed the growing season by a few weeks last year, so I had to wait patiently until I could have the chance to have enough blueberries to keep me happy for the year. Twenty pounds of blueberries, to be exact. Wild ones--none of this high-bush, cultivated junk. No siree. Not for this Mainer. DKC and I spent a couple hours last night freezing them (TRC helped, but he ended up pretty much just eating anything he tried to prepare), and now we're set. I'll still likely go do some high-bush picking, maybe even some wild picking, too--just for good measure. In any case, I'm pretty excited for this. Blueberry muffins, blueberry pancakes, blueberry you name it.

Oh--and how much did those blueberries set me back? $30. Now I know what it's like to live in an oil rich country. One of those places where you can get gas for like fifty cents a gallon. Well, I might have $4 gas, but I've got cheap blueberries.

And blueberries taste better.

Book Snob

Am I becoming a book snob? I have now put down three books in the past week (finished two of them, and the third I just couldn't get into). In the case of the two I finished, one was a train wreck, and the other was just disappointing at the end. (Note to self: Having the entire plot hinge on having the "good guys" withhold information from the protagonist--and then not having a good reason for the good guys to withhold said information . . . kind of lame. That's now on my Things to Avoid When I'm Writing List.) This leads me to wonder: am I turning into some sort of a book snob? I mean, when it comes to movies, I watch just about anything, and it's rare that I'll stop watching a movie in medias res.

(Case in point: I watched five movies over the weekend. Here are some microreviews: Die Hard (Four Star Christmas Classic. Love this action movie.) Misery (Three and a Half Star Creepy Classic. Even more scary when you're an aspiring author yourself. And can we all just acknowledge what a string of great flicks Rob Reiner was churning out in the 80s? In order, from 1984-1992: Spinal Tap, The Sure Thing, Stand By My, Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery and A Few Good Men. That's quite the resume.) Real Genius (Three stars, though not as good as I remembered it being--I still really enjoyed it. A movie that manages somehow to create for me my memories of a summer camp I went to for a couple of years as a kid. CTY. I wonder if it still exists? Go figure--it does.) Frantic (Three Stars. Somehow completely believable tale about a man and wife who go to Europe and the wife gets kidnapped, though maybe I'm rating it higher because I just got back from Europe with my wife. Some more good Harrison Ford for ya.) and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (Two and a Half Stars. Another entry in the stoned buddies sub genre of movies. I saw an edited version. Maybe it gets better if you see the real deal. I doubt I will. It wasn't Bill and Ted, which is the pinnacle of this genre, if you ask me. And you should.)

Um . . . where was I? Oh yeah--book snob. Anyway, as you can see above, I'm very open about the films I watch, and rather resistant to crappiness. (I've developed an immunity over the years, perhaps.) So why am I so snobbish with books? I think it's because they take so much more of my time. I can get through a bad movie in a few hours, tops. A bad book lasts longer.

In other news, I finally got my long, 25 month waited for rejection letter, so I believe all my rejections are in now, though there might be an agent or two out there who I've forgotten. In any case, it's nice to have some closure. The newest book continues to go well. I'm at 52,000 words right now and counting. The total (revised + unrevised) stands at 68,000. So 16,000 more to revise. I've probably revised 32,000 words of the original 48,000 so far. Not like you care about all this math stuff.

And finally, for a family update: DKC and TRC went to the Blueberry Festival on Saturday (while I was sick) and had a great time. DC has learned how to turn herself onto her stomach now, but not how to flip back to her back. This of course means that she gets turned over when she's napping, then wakes up and starts screaming. Poor little thing. Tonight's main event will feature a car ride and twenty pounds of wild blueberries. I'll report how that goes tomorrow.

Hasta la vista.

Sick Squared

Of course, once I'm sick AND my wife is sick, then we're just talking about a whole lotta no fun. Nothing really serious--headaches, mild fevers, sore throats--but still. Crummy. I'll be brief today. Finally got around to watching Chicken Little last night with the family. (Being sick's a great excuse to watch more movies and do less Wii Fit). It's a Disney movie, and I had hopes for it. They weren't high hopes, but they were definitely hopes. Even so, I was disappointed. The movie was just misdirected from start to finish. The plot didn't gel together, I didn't care about any of the characters, their development arcs were way off . . . and it just didn't come together as a movie ought to. It felt more like two or three unrelated ideas that had been slapped together with a bit of tape and called good. You can miss this one. One and a half stars.

And now, I'm off to have a weekend and work on feeling better.