The Middle of the Dark

Somewhere out there was wondering how to make me happy. So they went, what if we took Willow and the Bride and mashed 'em together? Apparently this is from an upcoming film spoof ala' Scary Movie. I'm going to see it just for this alone. And things must be getting somewhat back to normal, since I got another rejection letter for the zombie story today. You win and you lose. I also sent the angel book (dead lesbians) to an agent who requested it. I also managed to explain it (okay, to try and explain it) in two sentences or less, but I won't give that away here, because I'm paranoid like that.

I got into an XL T-shirt for the first time in my adult life yesterday. And it fit. Five months ago I was in a 3X (still am, most of the time, since I can't afford new clothes) and I ain't ever going back. My brother and I are collaborating on an entry for the 10th anniversary of Main St. Waterloo (a local insitituion) that maybe I can explain better when it's finished. Plus another thing that's cool. Sugu (I think I can say) is published! He will have details. Also, even better, he's coming to Waterloo at the new year. There's a girl I like. I don't think she likes me at all, that way anyhow, but it doesn't bother me. It's nice to like someone who makes you feel good. The new Superman trailer is the coolest thing I've seen in forever. They used the music! And Brando! It's perfect.

My uncle Jon in KC died last Wednesday morning, less than a few hours after I posted about our plans to bring him to Waterloo, and just a few hours after I last talked to him. Our last conversation was brief, but he told me he was proud of me. Jon was the closest thing to a father I had growing up. He was a big guy, big smile, big laugh, big spirit, and my brother and I used to climb all over him as kids, as if he were some walking jungle gym. Jon loved movies and books and comics (he got in on Spider-Man, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four from their first issues) and a lot of his enthusiasm for storytelling and heroes and adventure rubbed off on me. I think as a kid I always wanted to create something Jon and his wife Charlene would want to read or go see (they were on the news once back when "Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom" came out, standing in line) and I hope someday I still will. He was a carpenter, worked in the same lumber yard as my grandfather in Waterloo f

Just a quick one: I've been in KC since last Thursday which is why I haven't been updating. My uncle is very sick. It's long and complicated but the important thing is today he started to come back around. I'm hoping and praying. We're going to take it one day at a time but I've got faith. We're hoping to transfer him up to Waterloo to continue his care here. This has put me well off the NaNoWriMo project, obviously. Unfortunately I have to abandon the hope of getting it done by the end of the month anyways, because of my uncle, and because of another, more important writing situation has come up and I have to somehow do that at the same time as all this. So the updates will continue to be few in the coming days, but I plan on getting back to the Exhibits this weekend. Oh, and I noticed Sugu's site (over on the side) is a year old now. This blog will be in about a week. Good lord.

Dig the new Hubble goodness. I wish I had mountains of creation. I'm doing well enough on my Book In A Month, but I'm not feeling very inspired. I have a couple ideas I want to try out, but they don't seem to fit within the structure of the book. I have absolutely no idea what comes next (except for the end) and it's kind of hairy. Not a lot to say. Everything is kind of in limbo now.

NaNoWriMo Update: 75 pages, just under 20,000 words. A.L. Kennedy denounces a culture of 'de-fictionalization.' Check it out, and the Capote goodness on the front page of Maud's . It's day to day it seems with my uncle, or at least the trying to figure out what's next. It's exhausting, worrying, feeling so helpless. I write to get my mind off it but that's proving to be just as tiring. And I've watched ROTS just once since I bought it. For shame.

NaNoWriMo Update: 55 pages, 13,000 words. A link to my author profile. I see some people have already exceeded 20,000 words or more in the forums. Even if it's someone just writing whatever comes to mind, that's a lot of writing in one week. If I managed 12,000 a week, I'd just squeak in at the end of the month. I like the story. I don't know where the hell it's going, but I like it. I always wanted to do a sort of noir detective-story meets Raiders of the Lost Ark, but in space, and that's kind of what this is. I'm using an old turkey of a narrative device in old detective fiction to hopefully unique means. We'll see, I guess.

The lovely Natascha McElhone, who I first saw in "Ronin", one of those movies you stop and watch every time it comes on TV. NaNoWriMo Update: 39 pages, just shy of 10,000 words.

One of the many cool things my brother is doing at his gallery is hosting events for underprivledged youths, to get them into art as an alternative to a lot of the other less than appealing choices we have here in Waterloo. He also hosted a gathering of local artists Thursday night, and about 40 people showed up to explore the idea of the artistic community in Waterloo. I was impressed just by the turnout, but I was really taken with the idea that some people have of Waterloo as a new haven for artists. The traditional places in larger cities where artists tended to cluster in the past have all evaporated due to gentrification, development, etc., and where do you go? Personally I've spent the last couple years of my life wanting to get out of here to some oasis of culture, and now I see there could be one here. The big theme at the gathering was that if there's going to be a culture in Waterloo we can all be proud of, we all have to do our part in making it happen. Otherw

NANOWRIMO Day 3: 28 pages/7000 words It's going pretty well (a quick check of the forum at the Nanowrimo site revealed some people are doing 5000 words a DAY) and I'm having fun with it. I've always worked best under deadlines. The more pressure I'm under to write, the better (or quicker, anyway) I think I do. Aaron Brown is leaving CNN , because CNN doesn't want someone 'reporting at you' anymore. 'Hints' of the very first stars may have been detected recently. Pluto has three moons, not one.

So this will be the first of hopefully many updates on the progress of my Novel In A Month challenge. I wrote nine pages last night (early this morning) which was a great kick off for me. I sort of sprang into my sprint, I had so many ideas percolating since Mandy first turned me on to this. Now I'd like to note the passing of Michael Piller, writer/producer of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. This is very sad. He was a huge inspiration to me when I was a teenager, doubting myself as a writer or artist. I learned a lot about writing from those shows, especially his (like it's not absurd there would be Shakespeare in space) and from his interviews. He loved writing and creating and I thank him for helping a kid realize great writing is great writing no matter where it takes place.