Ode to the Two-Day Work Week

Tyr's heart was heavy one blustery day
for he had no source of merriment
the judge had ordered the war god pay
for six weeks of anger management.

Ever and always for battle he lusted
yet this was the world of well-fed
so lately his bow and sword, they had rusted,
all warriors he'd long since struck dead.

As he passed by a stall a voice cried out
a sound both ancient and clear
belonging to lips set in a full pout
and Tyr begrudgingly drew near.

Frijjo was spinning stories of lust
that she sold from her stall on the street
for the love-goddess knew that she must
pay the company to keep on her heat.

Tyr was awkward around her sex
for in ancient times they knew not war.
Women had always been able to perplex,
the war-god knew not what they were for.

"I see you also have had a bad fate,"
the woman said from her stall.
"The world is old and the hour is late,
and we no longer hold these people in thrall.

"The men battle pushing buttons in chairs
the genders stand in equality.
A god can succeed only if she dares
to sell her likeness for a royalty. "

"Times are hard all around," said Tyr,
"and I can't fault you for trying
but I cannot drown my sorrows in beer
and I produce nothing worth buying."

"My living is modest I will admit
and it's hardly a noble vocation
but I'm looking for help if you will submit
a valid employment application."

Tyr had no better idea that day
so he set down his sword and shield
and began to work for minimum pay
in a dead-end, hard-labor field.

But when Tyr does Frijjo's tasks
the week is almost through.
In that knowledge this poet can bask.
So a very Merry Christmas to you!

Meme: Giving and Getting Books

Penguin asked a bunch of their authors what books they're giving and what books they'd like to get this holiday season. Someone turned it into a meme. Someone tagged me. Soooooo, here we go. First, some initial rules:

1. Post a link to the original list from the Penguin Group.
2. Tell us what books you're planning (or would like to) give this holiday season.
3. Tell us what books you'd like to receive this holiday season.
4. Tag others, if you so choose.

GIVE

House of Leaves

Everyone should read this book. Not just fans of horror or of experimental fiction, but everyone. It should be handed out to literate people like candy to kids at Halloween. If I'm ever a millionaire, maybe I'll give this book out to people at Halloween instead of candy.

Dune

One of the classics of science fiction, this book changed the way I looked at the world, government, people, religion ... if ever there was a life-changing tome, this would be it for me. I always suggest it to friends, but aside from Tony, nobody I regularly talk to ever actually read it.

Postsecret

Postsecret is an ongoing art project that almost everyone already knows about. If you don't, go HERE and see what all the fuss is about. The site has a new batch every Sunday, but the older ones go offline. When looking through these printed archives, the amount of sharing and honesty and beauty and fear and everything else is ... very impressive. It's worth seeing and experiencing.

GET

Sandman

I really really really want to read these. Everything I've heard has made me want to read it more and more. But ... well, I'm not going to spend the money on them. They're expensive and there are a lot of them. The perfect gift is something I would never buy for myself, but want. This is the pristine example.

Only Revolutions

By the same man who wrote House of Leaves. I'm not sure why I haven't picked this up, but I'm pretty sure whoever was so kind as to get it for me would become my new favorite person.

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness

This is kind of an odd-ball on the list. It's a nonfiction book about decision making and how our minds are influenced by an infinite variety of stimulus that we aren't even consciously aware of. I don't normally read nonfiction, but I read an article about the author in Esquire and wanted it ever since. I would have bought it, but for now it's only in hardback and as a rule I don't buy any book in hardback if I can help it.

And that's it. Short, but I haven't been in a reading mood these past few months and so it's hard to get particularly engaged in this meme. I think the only person I'll tag for this one is Morgetron, who will have to get off her bum and blog for once.

In Where Matt Unloads About NaNo and Not Writing

So I finished NaNo. This was despite blowing out my hands (I have chronic hand/wrist problems) by week two and running out of steam. I crossed a joyless, difficult 50k that made me question my choice of artistic endeavor. It was the worst of times, it was the worster of times.

But I did finish, and this year saw a pretty impressively high failure rate. I'm frustrated that I was so far from my own goal, but my own goal was obviously well beyond my abilities. But at the same time, I suppose I have to put up with it and be happy that I actually succeeded in writing 50k in a month. That is, of course, no small feat.

So I have a novel that's half finished. And thanksgiving break thankfully allowed me the down time necessary to become physically capable of typing properly again.

One of the major themes of my novel is my main character dealing with the mortality of her father. Which just came as a natural extension of the story, not due to me being particularly enamored by that particular aspect.

On Sunday, either through twisted serendipity or karmic irony, my father had what appears (at this time) to be a mini-stroke. He's mostly okay, it seems, though he sometimes have trouble speaking. I'm not quite sure the extent of the damage yet. We'll find out later this week.

So ... I don't know. It hit rather close to home, and sapped all of my enthusiasm for the project. I'm dealing with similar things in real life, and they're taking up most of my time and energy with concern and trying to coordinate everything. When my creative life and my real life overlap so strongly, I just can't muster the energy to throw myself at the problem at an entertaining way.

So I'm not writing. And right now I have no intentions of writing. Not on my novel, anyway. And maybe not on much of anything. I'm mentally stretched very thin, and by the time I get everything squared away each day all I'm concerned with is sitting there until I get sleepy with a minimum of fuss.

That said, I'll try to focus on the blog. I have two-ish weeks of Movie Roundup to do, a few features I have to write, a short story I promised Sarah for her birthday (which was a few weeks ago) and the one year anniversary of the blog to celebrate (don't get excited, it passed last week without notice).

So we'll see. I'll try, but no promises. Which is the best I can do until everything settles down a bit. Unfortunately, the real victim here is ITMeat, which might end up being shelved for a few months until it doesn't make me more than a little unsettled to even think about it.

First things first, though. Lunch!

Movie Rundown

I've been mostly playing Fallout 3 and NaNo has snuck up on me for the past three days, so my movie watching has been--in a word--dismal. However, I did go to the movies on Friday, and saw a movie! So that's a plus.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno [ **** ] I assume everyone knows the plot of this one. Boy and girl are just friends, but need cash so decide to make a porn film. Wacky hijinks ensue, and they realize they have feelings for one another. Now, you either like Kevin Smith films or hate them. I haven't seen many of them, but I think I fall on the 'like' side. The film hits almost every note of the most generic romantic comedy, but managed through raunch and clever casting to transcend (or epitomise in the best way) its genre trappings. It was funny, it was cute, and it was heartwarming. Also, mad props for giving Craig Robinson (Darryl from The Office) a great chance to shine.

Anyway, I'm balls deep in NaNo at this point, having pounded out 10k over the weekend. You can chart my progress over on the right, though I'm not sure I'll be updating the word count bar more than every week. Twitter will have my daily successes, though.

And now back to writing.

Seven Things Meme

Thanks, Sarah. Thanks a lot. Here I am, going about my business, and I get slapped with a meme. Not just any meme, though, but the annoying "Seven Facts You Rubes Might Not Know About My Awesome Self" meme. I know it's just a general "This Is Me Trying Hard to be Interesting" meme, but I'd rather skew it towards the person who stuck it to me being evil.

But yes, I am now the recipient of this. And I've got to endevour to provide you all with seven interesting bits about my life. Oh joy and rapture. <_< style="font-weight: bold;">Listing 7 Things That Aren't Interesting, But We'll Play Pretend

1. I was raised Lutheran, though you can't tell. For a while, I wanted to go into religion and be a Reverend or whatever they're called these days. While this might seem laughable to anyone who knows me, I don't think it's entirely out of character. And technically, I am an ordained minister. Just not with any denominational sect of Christianity.

2. I can pop my thumbs out of joint. It amazes drunks and grosses out random passers-by! It's my only random body trick, I'm afraid. Aside from that prehensile tongue trick, but that's not something I discuss in mixed company. ;)

3. I have a Mime Jr. on my keychain. Mime Jr. looks like THIS. No, I have no shame. Yes, it's adorable. Though most of the paint's faded off of it now.

4. I'm allergic to cats, but I do love them. Any time I see a cat (affectionate ones, of course) I pet them and then snuggle with them. Yes, my eyes water and get puffy and I start sneezing up a storm, but I never regret it.

5. I not-so-secretly harbor eventual aspirations to hold some sort of public office, but I'm pretty sure that my views would render me immediately ineligible. Though, if I became a working writer, it would be possible work in something like state senator without too much trouble.

6. If I had the physical aptitude for any sort of athletic activity, it would have to be free running.

7. Most of my friends already know this, but I'm terrified of mirrors. And I follow the Horror Rules of Mirrors, including things like Never Look in the Same Mirror Twice, Always Look a Mirror Square in the Face, Never Look at a Swinging Mirror, and Never Look at a Mirror in Changing Light.

7.5 (because I wanna): This is my wallet.


So yeah, there's a bunch of random stuff about me. I'm supposed to tag people, but I love letting these things die. If you read this and haven't done it, feel free to do it. But I'm not going to throw obligations at anyway, since I already had to be guilt tripped into doing this.

And now I bring you--NaNo 2008!

So we're days away from the beginning of NaNoWriMo 2008. If you haven't signed up, do so now! I think anyone would benefit from the exercise, even if you don't succeed. I have another post about NaNo, which you can read HERE and feel free to go ahead and sign up. Trust me, it's awesome.

A few days out, and my idea is mostly ready to go. So I feel compelled to share it now. So, stay with me, and we'll reveal the first bits of my newest novel (and if you talk to me, you probably know all this already)!

The Inevitable Tragedy of Being Meat

Amanda (that's Mandy to her friends and business associates) is a doctor. Though, not the usual sawbones. In fact, it might or might not be true that she never made it all the way through medical school. She's coy on the subject. But it doesn't matter, because she's found a way to make big bucks in the medical field--off the books procedures. Discreet heart surgery for politicians, pulling bullets out of mobsters, and performing the odd back alley abortion or two.

But to her, it's just the family business. Her father was in the same kind of work, the official doctor of the mob back when the mob still had power. But now he's retired and she's taken up the family practice, motoring around the country to wherever she's called to do her work and help heal those who can't help themselves. Noble work, really.

Great on the bank account.

But now she's called back home to Colston City. Her father is dying. One more job, the remnants of the mobs begged. One more job. Yet the shabby remnants of once-proud organizations couldn't keep a lid on things like they used to. One police raid later, and he's holed up in his home suffering massive organ failure from injuries sustained. And while he might be safe in his sanctuary, he's a wanted man in three countries and there's no way he's going to check into a hospital.

Now little Mandy is left to scour the streets of Colston City for the parts her father needs. But the police are determined to find her father and are hot on her trail. The mob is ready to cover the whole thing up with bullets and cement.

And Colston City already has a resident back street doctor--a madman who doesn't take too kindly to Mandy's efforts to strike out into the city with an open door and a quick scalpel. Without options and with dwindling time, Mandy has to find someone who matches her father.

The hippocratic oath might say to Do No Harm, but blood runs thicker than bactine and the clock is ticking.

Excuses, excuses.

I would put up a movie rundown for this week, but I actually didn't ... watch any movies. I can't remember the last time that happened. Oh well. I'm in NaNo mode, and November 1st is days away, so I expect that my netflix movies are going to spoil on my desk before I get to them. Expect a decided lack (because I'm busy) or glut (because I'm a procrastinator or workaholic) coming in the next few weeks.