Doomtown

Tried to find Girl by the Beatles from their Rubber Soul album on iTunes. All I found was dreck done by cover bands. The Across the Universe soundtrack was the best version I could find. The singer did a good job, but only sang part of the first verse. My first reaction was annoyance and dismay. My next was to go in search for answers. This is what I found on Wikipedia: The Beatles are among the few major artists whose recorded catalogue is not available through online music services such as iTunes and Napster.[273] Apple Corps' dispute with Apple, Inc. (owners of iTunes) over the use of the name "Apple" is partly responsible, although in November 2008 McCartney said the main obstacle was that EMI "want something we're not prepared to give them."[274] In March 2009, The Guardian reported that "the prospect of an independent, Beatles-specific digital music store" has been raised by Harrison's son, Dhani, who said, "We're losing money...

New updates will be delayed until further noticed due to school, car problems, and life in general.

Argh! I've spent the past couple days fighting with the people at Nissan to fix my car. $300 later and I still don't know what's wrong. This has set my story schedualing back a bit, but I've updated Blessing Curse and will try to add something to Tree of Knowledge tomorrow or Monday at the latest. Enjoy.

You know, when I wrote the article about Old Red I had a feeling someone would get offended and call me out for it. As it happens, I was right . First, I'd like to say I'm not a marine biologist. I can pick a lobster out of a line up of other crustaceans but that's about it. Ask me about their natural habitat or to name their most common natural predator and I'm at a loss. I didn't do my research on this. Bad one on me but hey, I didn't think I would be tested on it as I was attempting humor, not a dissertation on the plight of homarus americanus. Second, I don't eat lobster. Not for moral reasons but for reasons of taste. I prefer crawfish and shrimp. If you plan on laying a sermon on me for this, don't bother. Lions and tigers and other carnivores don't make apologies for their eating habits. Neither will I. I was raised to be an omnivore. I will die one. I have to admit it does raise certain questions. If the planet were suddenly taken over by ra...

As the next semester of school approaches, I've come to the conclusion that I need to better organize my time. I don't want my writing to fall by the wayside even though I'll be taking *deep inhale, deep exhale* five classes at once. I promised myself I'd update at least once a week and, by golly, that's what I aim to do! With that moment of melodramatic insistence out of the way, here's my proposed update schedule: Lost Days : updates every Wednesday Blessing Curse : updates every Friday Tree of Knowledge(tm) : updates every Saturday Doomtown : Whenever I have the time...I promise...really...I've got to sleep sometime ya know!

From MSNBC: updated 10:05 a.m. PT, Sat., Jan. 10, 2009 NEW YORK - A 140-year-old lobster that was destined to adorn a dinner plate is back in the ocean after a seafood restaurant in New York City granted him a reprieve. The 20-pound crustacean, named George, was returned to the wild Saturday in a rocky cove in Kennebunkport, Maine, less than a mile from the summer home of former President George H.W. Bush. George the lobster was transported to Maine by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which had beseeched City Crab and Seafood to allow the lobster to go free. I can just imagine this poor creature swimming around in a restaurant's fish tank, waiting for the sweet release of death only to be thrown back into the wild because of some tree hugger with good intentions. I can also imagine the indigestion some unsuspecting whale or shark will get when they chomp down on Old Red the second he's out in the open water. Such is life.

Both The Blessing Curse and Lost Days have been reviewed on the Web Fiction Guide. The reviews were better than I expected. You can read them here and here . I've also added updates at both sites as promised. Yay me!

Started a new Blog from. It's the creation story...if the Creator were an evolutionist: In the Beginning... In the Beginning…testing…testing…one, two, three…Is this thing on? In the Beginning the Great Scientist created the heavens and the earth…wait, I’m getting a big ahead of myself. Let’s try that again. In the Beginning the universe was a void without form ruled by dark matter {for definition, see end notes document 13924, Tree of Knowledge (tm)}. And the Great Scientist said, Let there be a singularity. And there was a grand explosion or implosion depending on your point of view. And then there was light. Gasses and particles expanded throughout the void colliding and commingling and dividing thus creating the nebulae and the stars. These stars combined and commingled creating the galaxies, creating the solar systems and all the satellites therein. And thus the heavens were born and everything within the firmament. And the Great Scientist looked upon these conditions seeing th...

For those of you who’ve ever wondered if there was any truth to the old saying about death and taxes, this site is for you. Written in the style of a blog, the Reaper Man gives us mere mortals a look into the many aspects of his job and his . . . um . . . life? I found it morbidly funny and was hooked after reading the first post. Not to be read as a serialized novel.

I've been out of commision for the past week due to hand trouble again. Imagine tapping your fingertips against thousands of tiny needles and you'll get an inkling of what my right hand is feeling right now. The second my health benefits are activated on the first I'm going straight back to the doctor to get this looked at again. Here's for hoping I don't have to get the thing amputated. Meanwhile I'm doing my best to type this and my other updates with one hand so don't get snippy with me for any misspellings. This is taking me three times as long to type. I'm in pain. Be a spellcheck/grammar nazi somewhere else. I plan on posting updates to The Blessing Curse and Lost Days tonight if my hand isn't throbbing too bad.

Updated The Blessing Curse . I sent it in as a submission to the Web Fiction Guide. Hopefully I can stay on track with that one. I'm also considering removing Agatha's Ghost since I can't figure out what I want to do with the story. I'll save it on Word until a good plot line bites me in the ass.

Found an interesting blog novel on the Web Fiction Guide. It's called Hell on $5 a Day written by Greg Bulmash. Here's a synopsis: Alain Beaudreaux, a vampire, loved a mortal woman for 64 years. Now she’s in Heaven and he’s determined to join her, but he’ll have to go through Hell to do it. Kurt Grey, a junior copywriter, hit on the wrong woman at the wrong time. Now he’s been thrown through a portal into Hell and has an angry vampire hot on his heels. He must find his way to Heaven if he ever hopes to get home. Two men, one amazing journey, and the fate of the universe hangs in the balance. I've read chapter one and I'm impressed. The intro really grabbed me. Give it a read if you're interested in vamp fic. Remember to leave a review. My submission was accepted. Read it! I command you *insert intense meglomaniacal stare here*. Also I've finally added a chapter to The Blessing Curse . Yes, I know it's a long time coming. I'm hoping to put up another ...

I'm working on the Agnostic version of the creation story. Here's what I have so far: In the Beginning…testing…testing…one, two, three…Is this thing on? In the Beginning the Great Scientist created the heavens and the earth…wait, I’m getting a big ahead of myself. Let’s try that again. In the Beginning the universe was a void without form ruled by dark matter {for definition, see end notes document 13924, Tree of Knowledge (tm)}. And the Great Scientist said, Let there be a singularity. And there was a grand explosion or implosion depending on your point of view. And then there was light. Gasses and particles expanded throughout the void colliding and commingling and dividing thus creating the nebulae and the stars. These stars combined and commingled creating the galaxies, creating the solar systems and all the satellites therein. And thus the heavens were born and everything within the firmament. And the Great Scientist looked upon these conditions seeing these things were wi...

Just finished Terry Pratchett's Nation . It was the second novel I've read by Pratchett that wasn't of the Discworld series, the first being Good Omens coauthored by Neil Gaiman. I was reluctant to purchase the book at first because I originally saw it in the young adult section. And as much as I loved Good Omens , I'm more interested in the Discworld series. When I learned the audio version was available on itunes read by Stephen Briggs, I knew I had to have it. I was not disappointed. Pratchett mixes humor with philosophical insight regarding religion, society, and why people believe the wacky things they do. Good for readers of all ages. Here's the product description released by Amazon: The sea has taken everything. Thirteen-year-old Mau is the only one left after a giant wave sweeps his island village away. But when much is taken, something is returned, and somewhere in the jungle, Daphne—a girl from the other side of the globe—is the sole survivor of a ship de...

I've decided to try a little experiment this month since I missed Nanowrimo. I'm going to attempt to write 50,000 words this month before school starts. To make things interesting I'm going to work on three stories at once: a fantasy/sci-fi fic, a fan fic (Discworld, of course), and Book Two of my Karma Slaves series. I don't care if I get a finished novel out of this. Just want to keep my hand in before I'm forced to put my nose back to the grind stone in January.

Missed Nanowrimo last month due to school. I'm sick of rewriting the one from last year and have decided to put it up here for your enjoyment...or derision. Whatever. I have it copyrighted, but I seriously doubt anyone would be desperate enough to steal the thing. I'm working on Book Two in the series. I will probably never finish it but the story is burning a hole inside my head and I must get it out. Insert tortured artist pose here . On the glass is half full side, I passed Swedish Massage and Muscle Palpation. I have been making my friends and coworkers very happy indeed as I have used them for practice these past few months. I even have my own massage table now though the one I bought isn't as good as the ones I used to borrow from school. Still, I think it will last me until I graduate. I have decided to take five classes next semester because I'm crazy. And I'm fed up with the gambling industry. I will be taking Special Populations-a class I hear I won't...

Okay, I'm being melodramatic. A week ago, a rash broke out between my right index and middle fingers. After days of self medicating myself with over the counter ointments, the rash got worse and spread. I was forced to seek medical attention when the itching got so bad my fingers swelled up like jumbo sausages and leaked some kind of weird fluid. The receptionist took one look and asked if I had a chemical burn, it was that gross. One hundred and twenty dollars later the doctor tells me I have a severe form of eczema. I really miss health insurance. Ironically, this happened the same week I started back on full time. Ironic because it wouldn't surprise me if the casino is where I picked up the blasted eczema in the first place. An important tip when playing at the tables: Wear disposable gloves. Seriously. You're playing around with chips that other people have been touching and you just don't want to know where these people have been putting their sticky fingers. I onc...

Took my final exam today and boy is my cerebral cortex tired! The final was comprehensive and I really hate having to remember things I could barely learn the first time around, but we were told what was going to be on it-questions from previous tests. I made the mistake of assuming she was going to give the old tests back when she had posted the questions online over the weekend. Shows how well I pay attention. I spent the past couple days cramming. I think I'll pass the class. Probably. Maybe. Knock on wood. Next Monday I start back on full time. I couldn't be more thrilled if I came down with some weird flesh eating disease. Every day in every way I hate the casino more and more but I need the money. I'm struggling to pay bills. Just try finding a gas station attendant that will accept your immortal soul as payment for a full tank of gas! They won't even take sexual favors anymore. Well, not for gas. You can still get a pack of Twinkies and a diet coke for a quickie ...

Name: Dinah Renoir Occupation: Head Seer of the Order of Mages and Inner Circle council member. Age: Born 1973, thirty-five years old by the time of Lost Days. Like most mages, Dinah is a reincarnate. Appearance: A tall Parisian with dark brown hair and brown eyes. Fashionable dresser, wearing the finest designers, prefers feminine styles, and wears a veil or hijab when she wishes to hide her identity. Past: Dinah was discovered before she was even conceived, as her predecessor literally knew where she would be reincarnated. She was taken from her mother the same day she was born and sent to the veil where she mentored under an old seer (a friend from her former life). Dinah’s mentor was the mother figure she never had, became very close to the woman and mourned her passing even before the old woman knew she was going to die. Throughout her childhood, Dinah received visions of the coming catastrophe. She realized before anyone else that the twin souls of Soja would split...

Never take A&P II during the summer semester. I have spent most of today trying to cram two chapters worth of material into my brain for a test I have to take tomorrow. Yes, I've been studying all week. No, it isn't nearly enough time. The problem is there's a test every week and we've already started reading the chapters for the next test after this one. What really irks me is that I don't need any of this stuff. If I had the money to go to Bluecliff I wouldn't have to take biology at all, from what I've been told. All I need is a D to pass this class, but this excelerated schedual is so fucking gruelling I feel like my brains are leaking out of my ears! Meanwhile, at work I'm being forced to learn another table game. Texas Holdem. Yay. I was able to get out of learning flop poker only because I took PTO on the days they annouced the mandatory classes and the previous supervisor at the time didn't see it was necessary for me to learn it since I ...