Been a Long Time

Been a long loney,lonely, lonely, lonely time.

(Two points for the musical reference).

It's been one of those months where time has slipped by at high speed. I've been working, writing, editing, studying and playing with the kid. Once you get all that together, it leaves precious little time for blogging, which is too bad, because I like blogging.

(Or maybe I just like talking to myself, I'm never sure).

I've also been hanging out with a rather fun group of writers from the Twin Cities over on Wyrdsmiths. The group includes those who are published and those who are working on being published. The conversation is intelligent, and there's some excellent information about writing in their posts.

Small Magics is now two chapters and an epilogue away from going through its last draft and we are on schedule for publication. Cold Magics has taken off again and is starting to get written, though last night it was a token effort. I was tired!

So I'm back, and I'll try to do this at least once a week (yeah, you've heard that before). Meanwhile, how's everyone out there?

Geek Link!

The Mars Rover has lived 10 times longer than they expected. And it just sent back some magnificent photos of a crater. Very cool.

Here's the link.

Neat, huh?

Canadian Politics: What Conservatives don't care about

If you vote Conservative in the next election you will be voting against:

Women
Human Rights
The Environment
Heritage
Volunteers
Literacy

That is all I have to say for the moment.

Back to Work.

American Politics

What Dr. Scoville at The Vanity Press said.

Time to Start Writing Again

And I don't mean at this blog (though God knows I am falling behind on that, too).

No, I am nearly done the edit of Small Magics. Now it's just niggling little stuff and annoying bits. All the major revisions are done, and we're on schedule to have it in at the top of December. And while I wait for my talented young editor to get me the next few chapters, it's time to get back to work.

Cold Magics is the sequel to Small Magics. It starts four months after where Small Magics ends, and follows Thomas and his friends on new adventures. It was on page 310 when I had to turn my full attention to Small Magics, and now it's time to turn back to it. Fortunately, I've been working with the same characters, so I don't feel like I've completely lost track of the story.

I'm hoping to get another 100 pages by Christmas. I'm also going to be working on a play which I've been meaning to finish for some time. Fortunately, the play is an adaptation of a Victorian novel, so there's no writing required, just a good eye for editing and a picture of how I want it to turn out. Cold Magics is the first priority, though.

And once that's written, it's time to start editing The King Below. No rest for the wicked. At least, not for me. At least I'm having fun. And I've got to start thinking about what the next novel will be.

Back to work.

(and you thought I was going to stop sayng that)

The Afghan Government on Canada's Debate About Afghanistan

From the CBC interview with the Afghan Ambassador, Omar Samad.


Q: What do you think about the political debate happening in Canada now?

Samad: We obviously know that all Canadians, regardless of their political persuasions, have the right to express themselves and to take positions. All we're saying is to clarify and let's provide enough precise and accurate information for people to have a better-educated judgment about the Canadian role in Afghanistan. I think that there are certain notions that exist within society here and especially among some political interest groups that are far from reality.

Q: What are the notions?

Samad: For example, the notion that Canadians are invaders and occupiers. I would invite any of them to go and see for themselves because the Afghans have invited the foreign security to help us. The notion that Canada is following the footsteps of the United States, for example, is far from reality. The notion that we should solve the problem by bringing the Taliban into the political governance circles of Afghanistan. That would be an Afghan domestic issue that the Afghan people would reject because they rejected the Taliban mindset and ideology.

Read the rest here.

Yarrr!

It be Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Yarrr!

May your timbers be shivered, your keel nicely hauled, and your bilgerats scurvy!

Yarr!

Why Am I Not Surprised?

No need for brains or strategy to be Tory candidate: party official

Sometimes the jokes write themselves, don't they?

Broke 1000

Happened at some point today. It made me very happy. Of course, the fact that I check this blog about three times a day suggests that the actual number is around 334, but I'll take what I can get.

Made some changes in the links. Hoping to fill them out soon, or possibly move them to the other side of the page. Will seek help from those with more html speak than I have.

Now to bed!

New Blog on the List

I've recently discovered Wyrdsmiths, the blog of a writers' group in the twin cities. They are a nice bunch of folks, and have some excellent insight on the process.

I've added them to my list of fine blogs, which one day I swear I will get around to organizing. You know, in all that spare time I've got.

Reminds me, need to update my website, too.

Meanwhile, I'm at work and I'm in the clock in five...four...three...two...

Got to go!

You Lost Me, Jack

This week Jack Layton has proposed that we withdraw Canadian troops from Afghanistan and demanded an emergency debate on Canada's mission there.

I think he's half right.

I said in an earlier post that I supported the mission in Afghanistan, and gave my reasons for it. My opinion hasn't changed. I think we're needed there, and I think it is very important that we be there, and that we stay there for the long haul.

I also think that we need to talk about this as a nation.

The questions in my mind is not, "should Canadian troops be fighting?" Some battles need to be fought. The question in my mind is, "Is there as strategy for after the battles have been fought?"

It is one thing to kill the enemy, it is another thing to leave afterwards without fixing the conditions that created the enemy in the first place. Once the battles have been won, there needs to be a specific agenda for development, education, economic stability, and democracy. If these conditions are not met, we will only leave a worse situation than the one that was there before.

There was a great deal more I was going to say, but Rex Murphy said it better.

A Night Off

And I'm still sitting in front of the computer. Sigh.

The draft is done and off to my trusty editor, who has to do some miraculous turn-around if we're going to get it done in to have the finished draft to the publisher for Christmas. Still I have faith in her. Me, on the other hand...

Well, enough of this work stuff. Good night, everyone, I'm off to watch TV.

Or possibly to get working on Cold Magics (the sequel to Small Magics).

Yeah, I'm a glutton for punishment.

Goodby to Steve Irwin

Steve Irwin, best known as TV's crocodile hunter, died over the weekend.

Steve was a passionate man who loved the environment, animals, and his family. He was an outspoken advocate for reptiles, a staunch believer in protecting the wilderness, and one of Australia's greatest natural resources.

If you only saw him in action once, you'd think he was a madman. If you watched him repeatedly, you'd realize he knew exactly what he was doing, and did it very well.

Rest in Peace, Steve. The world is a poorer place without you.

A Good Friend Returns

Chet Scoville, once known to the Blogosphere as The Green Knight, is back as himself.

Chet is a longstanding friend, a professor of English, and an insightful and intelligent writer. I'm glad he's back, and look forward to seeing what shape his new blog takes.

He can be found at The Vanity Press.

Stupid Game

Given to me by a coworker Friday morning. I tried to explain to him the problem of giving a game to an addictive personality with a ton of work left to do but he gave it anyway. So here's the link. Have fun.


http://www.ebaumsworld.com/frogleap.html

Fortunately, it's fairly easy to figure out.

Authors in the Blogosphere

In case you're wondering what other authors are out here in cyberspaceland, here's a couple of lists.

http://www.authorsblogs.com/index.php

http://www.internetwritingjournal.com/authorblogs/

Have fun.

Stuck at Home

And wouldn't you know it? Right when I need to be at work.

We're working to deadline right now, so of course my daughter is running a fever and I can't find a babysitter. Argh. Still, she's asleep now, so I'm going to see what I can get done. I'm looking through articles to add to our website (www.managemyhome.com) THere's over 1700 of them, and it needs to be done by Friday. Oy veh.


Anyway, enough grousing (for the moment).

Draft Done!

At 1:30 AM this morning, because sleep is for amatuers.

In truth I'm mighty tired, but very happy with myself. Hats off to Briana, my editor, as well, for keeping the project on track. The next step is to take this week to re-read what I've written, make sure it all makes sense and isn't terrible, then put it all together in novel form once again.

After that, the real fun starts.

We have one more draft to do (I wouldn't mind two, but one is what we have time for) before I send it in to my publisher, Dragon Moon Press. After that, it's all about cover art and proofs and trying to coax a review or two out of other authors, if any will be willing.

And that's all the time I have to gloat/moan about it this morning. Nice to get some done. Miles to go before I sleep.

And Speaking of Writing...

Coleridge's archive is going to have a new home.

Did I mention I'm on chapter 29, now? And that I should be working on it right now?

This is called procrastinating!

Back to work.

The Website My Editor Wishes I'd Found...

...before she had to work on the manuscript.

http://www.grammar-monster.com/

Not that my grammar is terrible, but a little reminder never hurts.

Actually with me, I can mostly remember what to do, but I can never remember what anything is called.

Chapter 29 awaits!

(Yes, I got through 28. Took five days, but I found what I wanted. I just hope I won't think it sucks when I read it in the next draft).

Geek Link: Archeology

Very cool discovery in Quebec:

Archeologists discover remains of Jacques Cartier settlement

Not a lot to go on, yet, but very exciting. The oldest European settlement in the Americas north of Mexico.

And for a bit more in depth information on French colonization attempts:

Unsettling disasters: colonizing New France before 1600

Back to work.

(Literally this time. I got to work early and am blogging from my desk before the day begins, which is in two minutes.)

Stuck

Like a hampster in a honeypot. Flailing about in the goo and going nowhere.

I'm on chapter 28. After this, four left, then we're done the draft. It's a small scene but an important one, dealing with the relationship between the hero characters before the final facedown with the villain. it shouldn't be this hard. It's a page at most. Maybe two.

Do you think I can rewrite it?

Argh.

No, really: Argh.

This is day 4 since I got stuck and it's really annoying me.

Anyway, enough whining. I'm going to take another kick at this particular cat and see if I can get it going again.

(And what's with the cruelty to animals theme tonight?)

Back to work.

At Loose Ends

It's heading for midnight, and I should be in bed, but I just... don't... wanna... go.

My wife and child are spending the week at a cottage, which is very nice for them, though apparently everyone has caught a cold. They're still having fun, though.

I've been working and editing all week, and have found myself in the rather strange position of being all caught up. I got tonight's work done in about an hour, and found myself still completely at loose ends. I stayed at the computer for another two hours, had dinner, and here I am again.

And why, you might ask?

Well, it's my own damn fault, really. I bought new speakers for the computer today after work, and have spent most of the evening listening to all that music I put on the computer. It's good music (well, I like it) and it's really nice to hear it properly.

And for the record, I paid for all of it. Downloading is fun but speaking as an artist, infringement of copyright sucks. I know record companies charge to much, but artists still need to get paid. So pay for your downloads!

(all my music came from my CD collection, which reminds me, have to put my Tragically Hip collection on this machine)

Anyway, I should head to bed, but I'm awake and enjoying myself and really don't want to go.

Pity the alarm is going off in six hours.

On the bright side, I've started doing a bit of work on Cold Magics (the sequel to Small Magics) again. Finishing it (it's about half done) is the next major project, and I'm looking forward to writing (instead of editing) once again.

Good night everyone. This time, I am definitely going to bed, and not...

Back to Work.

A Lament for the Green Knight

Over the weekend The Green Knight decided it was time to shut down his blog.

I didn't find out until Monday and you'll find my comment near the bottom. It's succinct and not very erudite and sums up exactly how I feel about it.

The Green Knight was an intelligent, educated blogger who had a gift for clarity and bringing to light complex issues. His analysis of world events, of the behaviours of our leaders, and the forces that drive those events and behaviours was clear, concise and always enlightening. His sense of humour was wonderful, and his taste in art amazing.

Those of us who regularly visited his blog got a taste of it all, and are thankful for it.

Thanks, Green Knight, for sharing part of yourself with all of us. We'll miss you here in the Blogosphere, and hope you're having fun in the real world.

Back to work.

Fun with Words

Because if I didn't think words were fun, I would be an accountant.


http://www.etymonline.com/index.php

Wondered where your favourite words originated? Have a look.

Back to work.

I'm Ahead!

Or at least, I was until I opened the email tonight. But suffice it to say I'm caught up, which is a nice change. My editor and I are steaming along and we'll have a draft done for the end ofthe month. Yay! One down, one to go (because I only have time for one more).

It has been a rough few weeks. Sleep has been at a premium and my wife is getting mighty tired of staring at the back of my head while I'm writing and ignoring everyone else. Then my baby brought home a cold from daycare and guess who she gave it to?

Great to have a kid who loves to share.

Still, I'm caught up, and may actually get some rest in the next couple of days. The addition of the laptop has helped greatly. Being able to go away and work for a few hours last weekend made life much easier. Got two chapters done on Sunday, and have been working steady ever since.

Two geek links:

Article 1: Charles V had Gout

And they figured it out from his severed finger. Anyone know why his finger was severed? Anyway, cool science stuff.

Article 2: Interesting Trenches in India

The possibility of it having to do with ancient astronmy, while still completely speculation at this point, is kind of a cool idea. As the geologist in the article points out, however, it's too early to draw conclusions.


I'm still not ready to blog about Israel, Palestine and Lebanon. There's a lot of bad happening down there, and not a lot of ways any good can come of it. When people start lobbing explosives, bad things happen.

The Green Knight has a good article on it. He, like me, is still not sure what to say.

Hope for peace, for everyone's sake. Healing from this will take generations.

Back to work.

Digging in the Dirt

I haven't had much to say, lately (been editing, been working, been avoiding talking about the Middle East) so I thought I'd send you to someone who has.

http://oldontario.blogspot.com/ is the blog of an archeologist friend of mine who is doing some contract work in what people in Toronto call Northern Ontario, but what is really just middlin' Ontario. Sounds like an interesting dig, and she's starting to find some stuff.

Meanwhile, back to the edit. Six more pages before I sleep.

Maybe.

Back to work.

Good Weekend/Bad Weekend

Good weekend: Now have a laptop (a loan from my mother-in-law) so I'll be able to write on the go and not have to kick my wife and child out of the house one day each weekend. My wife and I saw a fine show starring our friends, The Rude Mechanicals Friday night. My wife's mother came down for a visit on Saturday and had a fun afternoon with her grandchild. I took my daughter to visit my Dad and his wife today and she called them "Nana" and "Poppa" for the first time and we took her swimming in a pool (which she was not at all happy with at first, but began to enjoy towards the end). Also got two chapters edited and am nearly caught up and ready for our next deadline, assuming I get the time to write this week.

Bad Weekend: The kid cried the entire time we were out on Friday, and Saturday night was up from 12:30 AM until 4:30 AM. I got three and a half hours sleep. At Nana and Poppa's house, she refused to let me out of her sight, screaming every time I did something silly like go to the washroom or try to take a nap. I had to caffeinate myself to keep functioning which is why I'm still awake now. I have to get up for work in six hours and I'm still at the computer.

This week I will be very, very tired.

And here's a great archeology link I haven't had a chance to post until now:

http://www.archaeologica.org/

By the way, Nestle just bought Jenny Craig. Anyone else see the irony?

Back to work.

And then to sleep!

Nuances? What Nuances?

Michael Wilson on George Bush on Stephen Harper:

"The president looked right at me and said, 'You know, your prime minister is a very direct man ... I like that because I know what he's saying. I don't like this nuance stuff,'" [Michael] Wilson [Canada's ambassador to Washington] told CBC television on Sunday.

Okay...

So, the President of the United States of America doesn't get nuances, and Stephen Harper apparently doesn't have any.

Frightening? Yes.

Surprising? Not so much.

Back to work.

Long Weekend Round-up

Happy Canada Day (four days late) and Happy Independence day , USA (one day late)!

I was visiting my mother-in-law on the weekend (out of Toronto! Yay!), so no posting got done.
I was very pleased to only have to spend part of the weekend in front of the computer (and displeased that I didn't get what I wanted accomplished). Would rather have been swimming, but the edit must go on and Lake Ontario is bloody cold this time of year (really. I nearly froze my ankles off. I would have gone in deeper, but I was carrying the kid at the time and there's no way I'm exposing her to that).

Speaking of the edit, and of freezing, last week was a week of sticking points. First, a section in Chapter 7 got me completely flummoxed for about a day, then another section in chapter 8. In both cases it wasn't until I was walking to work the next morning that I got the answer, which meant immediately getting to my computer and firing off the idea before I forgot it.

My personal favourite, thought, came on Wednesday. The line was originally, "The watch tower was a dim shape in the distance." Briana, my editor, asked, "What sort of shape?" I thought, good point. No problem, it's a...

a...

Two hours over one word. I must have been tired or something. I ended up quitting in favor of television that night, got the answer on the way to work (again) and emailed it to myself. Sad, really.

Now, as we approach the middle of the first week of July, I've made it through chapter 9, which contains a pivotal conversation and reveal, which meant re-writing nearly the entire chapter so it made sense. All the information was there, sure, but the order was atrocious. Had me confused, and I wrote it.

Fortunately, it's much better now.

So that was my long weekend. Hope yours was good.

Back to work.

The Perfect Wave

Yesterday was the summer solstice (hope you Pagans out there had a good party!) and my boss showed me something very cool.

If you visit the offical US time website, and click on your timezone, it will give you the time where you are. More importantly, it will show you a map of the world, with which areas are currently in daylight, and which ones are in shadow. At the solstice, the shadow forms a perfect sine wave, which will turn into almost a straight line as we move towards the equinox, then a sine wave the other direction as we move to the next solstice.

Neat, huh?

Yeah, I'm a geek, but in a world full of wonders, its the geeks who go looking that see the most.

Back to work.

Oh, look

Not-for-profit health care is better than for-profit

Anyone else out there not surprised?

Good God!

Stephen Harper said something smart.

My favorite quote is:

"It is true that somewhere, in some communities we do find promoters of terror, people who use cultural, religious symbols to perpetrate violent crime. They abhor open societies, pluralist societies, democratic societies, because they advocate the exact opposite: a closed, homogeneous, dogmatic society."

Hmmm. Who does that sound like...

Say, do the Neocons know that you're badmouthing them, Stephen?

Evolution and Anthropology

No, I'm not going to join the debate about Evolution vs. Intelligent Design. I've already picked my side, and it isn't Intelligent Design. If the universe was intelligently designed, George Bush would never have become president, and Stephen Harper would never have become Prime Minister (of course, neither would Paul Martin).

While looking up something entirely different at work, I stumbled across the Anthropology home page of Palomar College in San Marcos, California, which has a couple of very interesting tutorials about anthropology, including the evolution of evolution theory.

So have a look if you like.

Back to work.

A Quick Post

Because I haven't posted in a while. Things are busy. Relatives have been coming to visit so it has been cleaning, entertaining and editing, editing, editing. My editor and I figured out the problem the computer was having with the chapters she was sending, and it has been nose at grindstone ever since.

Having an intersting time with one section. A couple of astute questions from my editor turned a few notes into a major revision of one bit which has improved the section to no end. It also has left me slightly stumped, as it changes some of the motivations for the next bit, and requires some working around to get fixed. I figured it out on my way to work this morning, and just have to remember it for when I get home tonight.

Meanwhile, dwarf dinosaurs here, because sometimes science is neat.

Back to work.

Well, Dammit

I have just discovered that my computer is not showing all the changes that my editor has put in Small Magics Chapter 7. This is annoying, because without seeing them, I can't tell whether or not I agree, and we will have nothing to argue about.

I meant discuss. Really. I'm not argumentative at all. Really.

Stupid computer.

I have contacted my editor, who is very good and will no doubt get back to me quickly. Annoying, though. It means I am paused.

Drat.

Oh well.

Back to work.

(On something else for the moment)

Editing Small Magics

It is very late and very hot (ten degrees above seasonal), and I am no longer tired.

I have just finished editing chapter six, which puts me far behind where I wanted to be at this point, but beggars cannot be choosers as the saying goes, especially when it comes to time. I am working all day, as is my wife and we have a one and a half year old. Time is our most precious commodity right now, and I hoard it when I can.

First, hats off to Briana, who is my editor. She is doing a fine job of seeing the things I have missed and asking pointed questions that make me take long, hard looks at sections of my manuscript and ask myself "Why?"

Editing is a strange process. You are taking something deeply personal and subjecting it to the scrutiny of someone who does not know you, or your work, which is what makes them so valuable. They can see the garbage parts for what they are and say so.

I have a slight advantage with Small Magics. I have not truly looked at this book in a year at least. I have written another book since then, and am a third of the way through another one (the sequel to Small Magics, in fact). Nonetheless, it is still deply personal to me, and there are parts of my heart that cry out "Noooooo!" when I realize some things have to change to make the book better.

I have been putting two to three hours every evening into the edit, and the result has been an average of six or less hours sleep a night since the editing process began. Funny, I thought I'd be more tired, but you can get used to anything, really.

Of course, I may just be hallucinating at this point.

I am about eighty pages behind where I wanted to be, but I'm getting the rythm of it, and expect to be making up for lost time soon.

Briana, if you happen to chance upon this, keep up the good work.

Back to...

Ah, who am I kidding. I'm going to bed. I have to get up in five and a half hours.

I really didn't want a political blog...

I wanted a nice, fun blog where I could talk writing, books, authors, archeology and other neat science stuff, , how my latest book is coming, what workshops I'm running, how the editing process is going on Small Magics, and occasionally comment on current affairs.

But come on, Stephen. What are you thinking?

• You whine about the press not liking you.
• You grandstand on Afghanistan and actually use the phrase "staying the course."
• Your accountability act actually reduces accountability and would remove from the ethics code a clause that says politicians are required to "act with honesty."
• You've cancelled the one-tonne challenge, and 14 other environmental programs.
• You're you're looking for a way to weasel out of the Kyoto accord.

What are you? George Bush's Canadian lickspittle?

There is so much more to say, but I've wasted one evening on this already, so I'll make it short:

Stop doing stupid stuff so I can get on with my editing.

Anyway, my next post will be about the fun I'm having editing Small Magics, which will be on shelves in 2007. It has nothing to do with Canadian politics, and is a very good read. Click here for a preview, then rush out and order it so my publisher will like me.

On reading Spike Milligan

I've just finished "Rommel?" "Gunner Who?" by Spike Milligan.

The man was mad.

Utterly mad.

And utterly brilliant.

Spike Milligan, for those who don't know, was a British musician, comedian, writer, and a member of The Goon Show (a brilliantly funny BBC radio program) along with Peter Sellers and Ned Secombe. He was also certifiably insane, and for part of The Goon Show was driven from the asylum where he lived and wrote to the studio to perform, then driven back again at the end of the show.

This book, written in 1973, is a ramble of thoughts and memories, paying only lip service to the idea of chonology, interspersing personal memories with scripts of imaginary performances starring Hitler and Winston Churchill and remembered nightmares so horrifying they had me in chills. It is funny and profane and horrifying without apology. The boredom, humour, fear, humanity, cruelty, absurdity and insanity of men at war spills out in a stream of consciousness that pulls the reader along with it.

It is one of the best recollections of war I have read in a long time, and I highly recommend it for those who haven't read it.

The New Budget: Harper's Hate Letter to Canadians

I've just read the lead-up to Harper's budget and I'm seeing red.

The basics:

Harper wants to give more money to the provinces to address what he calls a "federal-provincial funding imbalance." He is also going to spend $5 Billion on the military, and $2 Billion on his baby bounty (which offers you $1200 a year for each child you have under six).

So how is he going to to pay for all this?

Well, currently, thanks to federal taxes, the price of oil, and good fiscal policies on the part of the previous government, Canada is is running a $10 Billion federal surplus. Do you think he's going to use that?

No, because he's a Conservative. His job is to make those with money richer, and punish those who don't have it.

So, he's going to cut the Good and Services Tax by 1%. This means, if you can afford to buy stuff, it will now be cheaper. This will also take $5 Billion out of the federal budget. He's also going to cut taxes for those earning between $36,000 and $118,000, and taxes for corporations and small businesses (did you know that Canada already has the best corporate tax rate in the G8?). This will also take money from the budget.

So, where is he going to get the money?

Why, by cutting government programs, of course. The national childcare program, which was going to cost $1 Billion a year and created affordable daycare spaces across the country, is gone. The Kelowna Aboriginal Accord, which would have spent $5 Billion to provide housing education, health care and infrastructure for Canada's First Nations, is gone. The funding for the Kyoto Accord to stop global warming is gone. Other government programs will be gone.

And of course, there's one group whose taxes he will raise. Those who earn less than 36,000 a year got a 1% tax cut in the last budget. That's going to be rescinded.

I would love to say Harper is doing this because he is stupid, but that is not why. He is doing it because he represents the interests of business, not of Canadians.

Harper is using the exact same program that the Harris Conservatives used provincially in Ontario in the 1990's. Cut taxes. Cut programs to pay for those tax cuts. When the budget balances, cut more taxes. Cut more programs to pay for them. Explain how the government can't afford to supply Canadians with services, and hand it over to private industry to do it at a tidy profit. And if you're too poor to pay for those services, too bad.

The budget is going to be released this afternoon. If it is what they've promised (and what I have written here is they've promise), I will be writing to my MP to tell them to vote down this budget. I encourage you all to do the same.

Back to work.

Shame on Stephen Harper

This post is about a day behind, but with the new job and the baby delighting in 3 A.M. wake-ups, this is the first chance I've had.

How dare he deny media the right to cover the arrival home of the bodies of Canadian soldiers?

How dare he not fly the flag at half-mast?

These are men who gave their lives working for peace in a war-torn country. They deserve our respect, and they deserve to be seen.

Shame on you Stephen.

For better coverage on this, read Rick Mercer's Blog and The Green Knight here, here and here.

I'll blog more later, but tonight it's 10 PM, I haven't written anything yet, and the alarm goes off in less than 8 hours.

(Of course, the baby usually goes off in less than 6)

Back to work.

On the Dangers of Reading Dickens

I am currently making my way through "David Copperfield," and in doing so, have noticed, in both my writing and my speech, a sudden urge towards the loquacious; an insatiable need to express in many words what could best be said in few; and worse, the willingness, indeed, the desire, to so so at a moment's notice upon any person unfortunate enough to venture the idea of beginning a conversation. In short...

I'm talking too damn much.

It's a habit I fall into, to write like the books I am reading. My first novel (which will never see the light of day) sounded like Heinlien, Hambly, Cherryh and Stephen King had created as bastard love-child by tossing out bits on similar themes that they didn't like and having them accidently land in the same pile.

I've improved, of course. Every writer finds their own voice eventually, and I think I've found mine, but I need to be careful. When I read a good book, the old tendencies kick in and I'll find myself writing in the style I'm reading instead of my own.

It does make the editing fun, though. I can remember where I was in my library when I was writing a particular chapter.

Speaking of which...

Back to work

Mountains Blowing Up

My brother is a geologist in Alaska, and from him I heard of this website where you can go to see Mt. Augustine blow its top.

Things have quieted down now, but look back in the archives for some really good eruption pictures. Also, check back regularly. You never know when another eruption may occur.

Back to work.

Happy Over-Easy!

"Over-Easy" is a phrase coined by a Christian friend of mine whose husband is Jewish. They celebrate both Passover and Easter, so "Over-Easy"

I will be away from my blog for most of the weekend, but wish all who visit it a happy holiday, whether it is Easter, Passover, Hanuman Jayanti, Baisakhi, Therevadin Buddhist New Year, or just the fact that you've got an extra day off work that you are celebrating this weekend.

Take care and enjoy.

Back to work.

Gainfully Employed Again

And thank god. The cupboard was beginning to get pretty bare.

A writing job, too, which is neat. I'll be writing articles on improving home energy management for www.managemyhome.com. Start date to be determined in the next few days, but it should be by the end of this month.

What a relief. Now I can get focused on the important stuff, like my daughter and getting Small Magics edited for its release in 2007. And getting my last book ready for submission. And the next one finished. And the next one started...

Sometimes, I think I overbook myself.

(Pun intended)

Back to work.

The Fish that Walked Like an Alligator!

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Tiktaalik Roseae.

Sometimes science is just neat!

And yes, I am a geek.

Hat Tip to The Green Knight, who had it up first, though I saw it in the New York Times this morning.

Back to work.

It is Late

And my writing has ground to a halt.

Exhaustion is taking its toll right now (baby teething), with stress from being unemployed and a lack of focus from being stuck in the house writing résumés all day contributing to my lack of progress. I can't seem to get more than a page a day going right now, which is annoying as hell. Three is my usual minimum. Five is preferred.

I'm going to have the section I'm working on done in a couple of lines, then I'm going to bed. The baby's teeth are in, which means I should get a couple of nights sleep with a little luck, before the next set.

So, I needed to grouse. Grousing done.

Back to work.

No, wait, the baby is waking up.

Sigh.

Something Cool

Ever wonder what eagles do around the house?

Here is the article that led me to it.

Here's the actual link. You have to watch some ads, but after that, you get to watch eagles!

Can't wait for the eggs to hatch.

Back to work.

Let the Editing Begin!

Heading into the home stretch now with Small Magics. The editing process is underway, and the publisher wants it done for Christmas for a 2007 release. Almost seems like enough time.

I'm very excited, though somewhat worried about time management. Aside from Small Magics, I have another book I need to start pre-publication editing (meaning editing before sending it off to the publisher), another I need to finish writing, a novel I'm turning into a play that I need to finish adapting, and another book (non-fition) in the pre-proposal stages.

Oh, yeah, and I'm unemployed at the moment. Imagine what my time is going to be like when I'm working for a living.

Still, I'm very happy. Here's hoping for good editing, good results, and that everyone out there buys a copy. And by everyone I mean all six billion people on the planet. Not just the dozen or so that read this blog.

I should really install a counter.

Back to work.

Anyone Got Six Million Dollars?

I want to buy a book.

Down with Morality Part 2 - Morality Laws and what to replace them with

A morality law is a law written specifically to prevent a behaviour that members of the community feel uncomfortable with, or believe to be against God's will, or against public standards of decency, or against whatever uptight feelings they have on a specific day.

Interestingly enough, some morality laws are kept on the books long after their original purpose has vanished. For example, in Toronto, you need a permit showing you live in the area to park your automobile on the street over night. This was originally a morality law that kept unmarried individuals from staying overnight at the homes of other unmarried individuals. Since that time, it has become a huge cash cow for the city, and the only way to keep neighbourhoods from clogging up with unwanted parking congestion.

But I digress.

I have said before (see previous post) that I stopped believing in morality, and instead believe people should focus on behaving ethically. The same, I believe, applies to the law. So how does one change from morality laws to ethical laws?

In my mind, the ethical approach is to have laws deal with harm. In looking at an action, rather than saying whether or not the action is moral, determine whether or not the action causes harm, which Merriam-Webster's dictionary of law defines as: loss of or damage to a person's right, property, or physical or mental well-being.

Now (and let us brace ourselves for the reactions of the narrow-minded), most morality laws are about sex; who should be allowed to have sex, when they should be allowed to have sex, how they should be allowed to have sex, and whether or not they should be allowed to create images of themselves or others having sex, and whether or not anyone should be allowed to look at those images.

Many of the laws currently in place are arbitrary, poorly thought out, and designed to keep specific groups--usually young people or gay people--from engaging in sexual behaviour. This is done not because of evidence indicating that these groups having sex causes harm, but rather because the people making the laws are afraid or disgusted or otherwise misguided as to how these laws should be written.

If these laws are changed to no longer reflect what people think is "moral," and are instead based on whether or not an action causes harm, things become much simpler. Here's the basics:

If two (or more) individuals, capable of informed consent (that is, understanding what they are agreeing to) engage in consensual sexual activities of any type, then there is no harm involved, and those activities should be legal.

If a person (or persons) who is capable of informed consent forces another person who is capable of informed consent into non-consensual sexual activity, or engages in sexual activity with a person who is not capable of informed consent (unable to understand what they are agreeing to), or uses a position of trust, authority or dependency to influence another person to engage in sexual activity, or sexually exploits another individual for profit, those activities cause harm, and should be illegal.

Interestingly enough, in Canada, the laws about sex (that is, heterosexual sex) are written specifically to deal with the possibility of harm. For the most part they seem reasonable. However, section 159 blocks young homosexuals from enjoying the same rights as are extended to heterosexual couples. This section has been declared unconstitutional in the appeals court of Ontario and Quebec, and one would hope will eventually be struck down across Canada.

In the USA, on the other hand, laws vary from state to state. In other countries, other laws prevail. In some places, sex outside of marriage is a death penalty offence. In many more, homosexuality is the same. Many people have been imprisoned or put to death, not based on proof that their behaviours are wrong, but because someone else believes them to be. "Morality" is used as a tool for repression and control.

So, down with morality. Let us embrace ethics. Who knows, we might all just be better for it.

Back to work.

Down with Morality: Part 1 - Language Issues

Every time I hear people talking of "Morals," I get nervous.

I have heard people use the word "moral" to define actions that I believe are reasonable. I have also heard those on the opposite theirs are the moral actions and ours are immoral. I have heard about immorality of gay marriage, about the morality of George Bush. I have read of the immorality of women in the workplace, whites marrying blacks, Christianity, Non-Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Yoga, Meditation, the lower classes, the upper classes, the middle class, and the list goes on.

"Morality" has become just another buzz word; a tool used by those of those who wish to force their world view on others. Its meaning changes with the time, the speaker and the location.

So let's stop being moral. Instead, let's be ethical.

Now, "moral" and "ethical" are really not that far apart in meaning. If you look in a dictionary (and I did) you discover that moral and ethical are considered synonyms, and that some of their definitions are fairly similar:

Moral: 1. Of or concerned with the judgment of the goodness or badness of human action and character:" moral scrutiny; a moral quandary." 2. Teaching or exhibiting goodness or correctness of character and behavior: "a moral lesson." 3. Conforming to standards of what is right or just in behavior; virtuous: "a moral life." 4. Arising from conscience or the sense of right and wrong: "a moral obligation." 5. Based on strong likelihood or firm conviction, rather than on the actual evidence: "a moral certainty."

Ethical: 1. of or relating to the philosophical study of ethics; ethical codes 2. conforming to accepted standards of social or professional behavior; an ethical lawyer 3. adhering to ethical and moral principles; "it seems ethical and right"; "followed the only honorable course of action"; "had the moral courage to stand alone"

The interesting thing for me is that "goodness," "right," "just," and "conscience" all appear in the definitions of "moral." All these words describe things that are subjective and personal. Further, according to the fifth definition, a person does not need evidence that their actions are right or just or good, they just have to have a firm conviction. If a person thinks an action is right, then taking that action is a moral thing to do. This means that the man who walks a girl through the crowd of anti-choice protesters to an abortion clinic and the man that blows up that clinic are both acting morally, each according to his definition of the word.

The definition of "ethical" on the other hand, contains none of those subjective words (though it does contain the word "moral," which shows how the words have been used interchangeably) Instead it talks of "accepted standards of... behaviour" and "principals." Of course, these words bring up their own difficulties. What are "accepted standards of behaviour?" Each culture is different. Each family is different. What seems acceptable to one group is certainly unacceptable to another. How do we judge?

Well, a friend of mine who knows far more about religion than I do, pointed out that "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is not a moral statement, it is an ethical one. This statement, known as "The Golden Rule" appears in almost every major religion in the world. It does not judge the person you are facing, it does not decide whether their behaviour is right or wrong, it does not question the value of that other person's beliefs or code of conduct. It very succinctly says how we should behave towards other people: as we would like them to behave towards us.

So, let us stop worrying about being moral. Let us instead worry about being ethical. We will all get along better.

Part two: "morality laws" and what to replace them with, coming soon.

Afghanistan

I believe in the Canadian mission in Afghanistan.

With the deaths of several Canadian soldiers, there's been a lot of questions raised about our mission; some new, some old. I'll address four of them:

• What is Canada doing in Afghanistan?
• Should Canadian troops be there?
• Should they be engaging in the more combat-oriented missions?
• Isn't our presence there just freeing up US troops for Iraq?

Before I weighed in I wanted to have some idea what I was talking about, so I went looking and found the Canada in Afghanistan website. I suggest you visit it, too. Reading the information there made me realize that we are doing what we have done since the second world war: building peace. The role is difficult. Afghanistan has been a war zone since the Soviet invasion in 1979. After them came the Taliban, terrorism, and finally, civil war supported by Canadian, US and other troops. The country is a mess.

Canada and the international community are now working to clean up the debris of war and make certain it doesn't happen again. We are cleaning up landmines. We are supplying food to the needy. We are helping to build infrastructure and local business. We are working with local police and courts to create a judicial system that works and is enforceable. We are working to disarm the militias and help the members return to society, and we are making progress.

So, my answers to the questions above:

What is Canada doing in Afghanistan?
From the website: "The Government of Canada's main objective is to help Afghanistan to become a stable, democratic and self-sustaining state that never again serves as a terrorist haven. To this end, Canada is working with other countries, the UN, NATO and various international organizations to provide the security and stability necessary for the implementation of multilateral and bilateral development programs in Afghanistan, to ensure a systematic reconstruction of the country and to rebuild its economic, political and judicial institutions."

Should Canadian troops be there?
In my opinion, yes. We helped start the war that overthrew the Taliban, we helped to create the system that brought the new government into power. To leave now would be to abandon our responsibilities, damage our international reputation, and undermine the very important work that is being done in Afghanistan.

Should they be engaging in the more combat-oriented missions?
Unfortunately, yes. Part of peacekeeping is preventing those who would disrupt the peace from doing so, and in this case, that means searching out the remaining Taliban and Al-Qaida fighter in Afghanistan.

Isn't our presence there just freeing up US troops for Iraq?
No. When George Bush invaded Iraq, he did pull troops from Afghanistan to do so. He would have done this whether or not Canadians were there, and in doing so, made a very serious mistake. The war in Iraq is one of the biggest obstacles to peace in the middle east right now. The US is being seen as an ineffective bully who does not have the will or strength to hold the country or to leave it peace (as opposed to in pieces, which seems to be happening). Afghanistan, by contrast, was a chance for the US to show that it could help the people of the region; that it would not abandon its allies like it did in the 1980's following the collapse of the Soviet Union. George Bush could not see this. He could not understand that, by building peace in Afghanistan, he could salvage the US reputation in the middle east, and gain respect both from allies and enemies.

We are needed in Afghanistan, and we need to stay there until the job is done. And yes, it may take ten years. If we commit to Afghanistan, if we help rebuild the nation, we will do far more to bring about peace and end terrorism than the so-called "War on Terror."

So that's my opinion on the matter. While you think about yours, why not take some time and write a message to our men and women in uniform? They'd love to know you are thinking about them.

Back to work.

Instant Kung Fu Success!

Today was the Instant Kung Fu! workshop, and it was a blast.

It was a small workshop (five of a possible 12 attendees) but a good one. The students were receptive, the material worked well, and the comments afterward were both helpful and encouraging. I had put together a survey for the class to fill out afterwards and the reactions ranged from very good to good with a few neutral, but with no bad comments at all. I will soon have the photos and some video (taken by my good friend and a talented film director, Alexander Galant), and you'll be able to see both on my website

From what I learned today, future workshops will be four hours instead of three, to allow maximum time for the participants to learn the material. We did start late, but even so, it was not enough time. So next time, four hours, and more fun will be had by all.

So thanks to Melanie, Pearl, Richard, Mike and especially to Shanna who had come from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to attend the course. Also, a special thanks to Kevin Robinson, my assistant and a talented fight director and teacher in his own right.

Watch out for my next course, Instant Musketeer! coming soon!

And now I have some writing to do.

Back to work.

Goodbye Cleopatra

To one who ate anything as long as it wasn't in her bowl
Who could jump four feet up and slip into spaces three inches wide
Who didn't know what mice were for and chased them anyway
Who shed in places we still can't figure out how she reached
Who fought plastic rings and bits of string with ferocity and delight
Who hated getting her nails cut and wouldn't let anyone brush her
Who was ready to take on the raccoon outside the window
Who took up half the sofa and had to have her own cushion
Who nearly took out one of my eyes while escaping from being pilled
Who slept on my chest and pushed her paws against my chin
Who bit my nose at 2 a.m. because she wanted to play
Who purred like a racecar when she was happy
Who sat on my lap when I was writing late at night
Who never clawed the baby even when it hit her

She was a kitten for twelve of her fourteen years. When she got sick we did all we could to make her better. When she stopped eating her food we gave her tuna. When she could no longer eat that, we gave her water and tried to comfort her. And when we could no longer do that, we released her from her pain.

Cleopatra died February 18, 2006. Her autopsy revealed that she had cancer in her liver, and spreading through most of her body. She never complained, and was never vicious or violent while she was sick. We loved her and we miss her.

Cleopatra

1992 to 2006

Beloved Friend

Page 200!

And now I am way to tired to say anything intelligent.

My kid has been sick for the last week and a half, and writing has been pulling a Shakespeare (creeping in this petty pace from day to day to the last recorded syllable). As a result, these last 18 pages took way too long.

But before I go, some things I've been wanting to say:

Danish Cartoons: Get over them. Move on. To the 99.9% of Muslims who did not bother to react to these deliberately provocative cartoons, good for you. To the Danish newspaper, what were you thinking? To the Saudis who stirred up the whole mess, shame on you. To the right-wing papers who helped keep it going. Double shame. For those who torched and destroyed and killed, shame does not begin to cover it. Go find something worthwhile to fight about people. This isn't it.

Cheney and Firearms: Who let him hold a rifle? And did you hear the guy he shot apologized? How stupid is that? And will no one charge Cheney for hunting illegally? Please someone. I dare you, if it will help.

Archeology: New intact tomb discovered in the valley of the kings. Anyone got a link?

Olympics: Yay! Go Canada! Is it me or does Skeleton just look scary?

Instant Kung Fu!: February 26. It is a definite go. Check out my website: www.erikbuchanan.ca for details. It will be fun, and a good learning experience. And the price is good, too!

Other news: Like I've had time to see the news. Have you ever had a sick one year old? I promise to catch up soon, and post more when I can.

Back to work.

(Actually, I'm knocking off and watching TV now, but I like ending the posts that way)

No Blogging until Page 200

I am way behind where I want to be at this point (note when I posted 100 Pages!).

And so, no blogging until page 200.

Despite the Conservative win, the American Ambassador informing Canada that the USA does not recognize our sovereignty over our Arctic waters, the opening of private for-profit health care clinics in Ontario, and my daughter's first birthday, I need to stop blogging right now and focus in on writing.

But I am on page 182, so I should be blogging again soon.

Back to work.

No, really.

Back to work.

Instant Kung Fu! for Actors

In case some might be visiting with an interest in these sorts of things, here's a class I'm offering:

Instant Kung Fu!

for Actors

Always wanted to study Martial Arts?

Always wanted to learn Stage Combat?

Do both!

Instant Kung Fu is a introduction to martial arts for stage and screen. Learn to combine martial arts moves and stage combat techniques to create a Kung Fu-style fight that is action-packed, safe, and fun!

Time & Date: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., February 26, 2006

Location: 575 Wellington Street West, Toronto

Cost: $125 ($100 for Equity, ACTRA, FDC and Rapier Wit members)

To Register: email kungfu@erikbuchanan.ca

Register before Feb. 19, 2006 and save $25!

Erik Buchanan is a Martial Artist, Fight Director, Actor and Writer. He holds Black Belts in Shaolin Kenpo, and Moh Kempo, and has also studied Arnis de Mano, Aikido, Kung Fu, and Wu Gar Mo Sut. His fight director credits include: Don Juan, The Three Musketeers, Robin Hood, Henry V, The Taming of the Shrew and Man of La Mancha. Among his acting credits are: Charlie’s Aunt, Corpse, Zastrozzi, Henry V, Taming of the Shrew and Macbeth on stage, and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Hero, Magnus Opus, Shadow Warriors and Pools, Patios & Decks on TV and Film. His novel Small Magics, is hitting shelves in 2007.

Visit www.erikbuchanan.ca for more info.

Guess What?

My website is up!
My website is up!
My website is up!
My website is up!
My website is up!

(And you thought shouting was just done with ALL CAPS!)

Took all day and two calls to support at web.ca (thanks, Geoff!) but it is done!

So I'm happy. Very happy. Extremely happy. Did I mention happy?

Come and visit: www.erikbuchanan.ca Let me know what you think.

Back to work (finally!)

Canadian Politics: Greed, Cowardice, and Proportional Representation

In Canada more than 50% of the people will not have their views reflected by their local Member of Parliament. This is because we are only one of three nations in the world (Britian and the USA are the other two) that uses a "first past the post" system to decide who will represent the people. This means that, in any given riding, no candidate actually needs 50% of the vote to win. In fact, the more parties running in a given area, the less votes the winning candidate has to have in order to take control. All he or she needs is enough votes to beat out whoever got second place.

This is not a good system, especially for Canada.

We are a very large nation. We have a very diverse opinions and that diversity goes across the nation. That diversity, however, is not at all reflected in the political landscape. If one looks at the results of the last election, one would think a large majority of the west is Conservative, a large majority of Ontario is Liberal, and almost all of Quebec wants to seperate. This is not true. At all.

What we need is a system of proportional representation, where the Members of Parliament are picked not by who got the most votes, but by who voted for whom. Instead of having one candidate per small area, each party would run a slate of candidates over a larger area, and voters would get a chance to vote both for the party and for the candidate. That means that if, in a given area, 20 seats are available, 20 candidates would be run by each party. If the Liberals get 35% of the vote, the conservatives 30%, the NDP 25%, and the Green Party 10%, the result would be 7 Liberals, 6 Conservatives, 5 NDP and 2 Green Party MPs, which would actually reflect the political landscape of the area. True democracy instead of false democracy.

Think specifically about Quebec. Think about what sort of a difference it would make in Parliament if the Bloc Quebecois's stranglehold on Canadian politics was gone. The most recent poll I could find shows that the Bloc Quebecois has 52% of the popular vote. A commanding lead, and one that, according to some, will give them 67 of the 75 seats in Quebec. If our government was elected by proportional representation, they would only be getting 39 of the seats. Quite the change, eh?

Under a system of proportional representation, the government would represent the entire Canadian political spectrum. Think about how the myth of Canadian regionalization would change if people could see that, yes, there are NDP in Alberta and Conservatives in downtown Toronto. It is a change that is long overdue, and would be a change for the better.

So why isn't it happening? Greed and cowardice.

Look at the Liberals and the Conservatives. Both of them have held power with majority governments that have run rough-shod over any dissenting opinions, attempts at compromise, or suggestions of change (actually, in the case of the CPC, it was their predecessor, the PCs). Both know that, in a system of proportional representation, they would probably never hold majority power again. Neither likes the idea, neither accepts it. What they want is power; complete, total control over Canadian policy and the Canadian people.

As for the Bloc Quebecois, I found the records of a House of Commons debate from 2001 in which a Bloc MP goes on record as saying that, while the Bloc supports proportional representation for an independent Quebec, they do not support it as a system for Canada. Not a surprise. As long as they have the "first past the post" system in Quebec, they can wield a great deal of power in the House of Commons, whether or not they should.

And so we see it: greed and cowardice. The Bloc would rather deny the people of Quebec true representation in Parliament than lose some of their power. The Conservatives and the Liberals would rather risk the destruction of our country than weaken their grasp on power. The lot of them refuse to see beyond their own political agendas to do what is best for the country.

A shame, really, because I think proportional representation would do more to unite the country than most of the other things we've tried. And certainly more than the current state of things.

Back to work.

Civility, Grace, Dignity and Integrity

Can you think of four better things to strive for this year than these?

I can't.

Thanks to the Progressive Traditionalist.

Guns, Hope and Societal Failure

It is January 2nd and Toronto has had its first homicide of 2006. A young man died of gun shot wounds.

At this point, a fair number of us are asking, "what is wrong with these people?"

The answer to that is that they are criminals. They are members of gangs shooting one another and others to defend turf, control drug trade, show how tough they are, and get respect. They are causing the unnecessary deaths of many young men and many innocent by-standers, including several children. They need to be hunted down and put in jail.

So now we know what's wrong with them. Here's a better question: How did they get that way?

No one is born a criminal. Even those with sociopathic or psychotic tendencies will not necessarily become criminals. Criminals are made by the society which surrounds them, and once someone is on a criminal path, it is very difficult to lead them off of it. So how did these young men become criminals?

The reasons vary: poverty, a sense of marginalization from society, a need to belong, a chance to do something exciting, a lack of understanding of the pain they cause, inadequate parenting, lack of community support, lack of social programs. The reasons young men become criminals (and I say young men because that's what the majority of them are) are as varied as the young men themselves. There are several common elements, though, and one of the most important is a lack of hope.

If you look at the society in which you live, the circumstances in which you grew up, and the people around you, and see no hope for improvement in your life, why would you continue to support that society? Why would you follow that society's rules when it offers nothing to you?

To put it another way, young men playing on sports teams don't tend to run around shooting people. Young men with jobs don't tend to run around shooting people. Young men going to university don't tend to run around shooting people. This is because all of them have something to work towards. They have hope.

Young men with nothing to work towards - with no hope - will search for something. And if that something is status and a sense of belonging in a local gang, guess what they're going to be doing?

The majority of these young men are lost. We can offer programs to get some of them back; gun amnesty, job creation, social counselling can all help. Unfortunately, the majority of them won't escape, and will end up as burdens on our social systems through welfare, jail time, and medical expenses. We as a society have failed them, and we as a society have to pay the price.

The question is, how long are we going to keep paying it? We have lost these young men. Do we want to lose the next generation as well?

There is much talk in this election from various parties about tougher gun laws, more police on the street and tougher sentences for offenders, and these may all help with the current problem. What they will not do is prevent the next generation of lost young men from taking the same path. We must offer hope to the next generation of at-risk youth; we must show them that there is a better way than the gangs, and better opportunities than being a drug-dealer.

We need to work within our communities; to identify those that are at-risk of falling into criminal activity and offer them a different path. Some steps have already been taken, but much more needs to be done, if we are going to save the next generation.

Back to work.

Happy New Year

The holiday season is nearly over. I spent Christmas with my mother and her family out west. My mother got some quality time with her grandchild, and we actually got a night out, courtesy of Granny, who managed to get the kid down and asleep without Mommy for the first time. It lasted about 2 hours, but not bad, all told. Also, we took the kid tobogganing for the first time (She's less than a year old, so it was it was a very, very small hill). You should have seen her face. Arms wide, head thrown back, laughing to beat the band. It was wonderful.

And now, the new year is almost here and it is time to get back to work.

On the agenda for 2006:

1. Finish the current novel
2. Finish my website
3. Edit the previous novel and get it out
4. Edit Small Magics for publication by Dragon Moon Press
5. Finish the adaptation for the stage of the classical novel I'm working on (I'll give the name when it's done)
6. Finish the Pantomime to put up next Christmas
7. Find a way to pay for it all, plus the kid's daycare and the rent (i.e. get a day job)

And of course, there's the new year's resolutions:

1. Drop 15 pounds (fat and muscle; I'm too bulky)
2. See above.

That's what I'm up to for the next little while (okay, the next year), so blogging will return to its usual sporadic pace. Hopefully, I'll find some good stuff to talk about. The election looms here, so I'm certain that I can come up with something.

Happy New Year everyone.

Back to work.

Richard's Revenge: A Christmas Eve Ghost Story

Introduction

Some time ago, I began writing ghost stories for Christmas Eve - a Victorian tradition perfected by Robertson Davies which I think is just fun. This is the third of those stories. I was planning to get it out on Christmas eve, but I was in a hotel, no where near a computer.

So, I give it to you tonight as a bit of post-Christmas cheer. If anyone happens to enjoy it and says so in convincing enough terms, I will post the one that started it all, and the one that came after that.

Richard’s Revenge

There are times when one is faced with questions about one’s sanity. Times when one’s relatives look at one strangely and say things like “That’s not true” or “You’re making that up” and, when assured of one’s belief in the truth of what one has said, immediately follow up with, “You’re looney.”

And so, with trepidation, I reveal to you now events that are so far from believable that I expect to hear such reactions immediately upon the completion of their recital. I hasten to add that the ability to keep such comments to oneself until the end of the recital of these strange events would be greatly appreciated.

Now, for those who don’t know, some years ago I decided I would follow in the tradition of Robertson Davies—the great curmudgeon of Canadian Literature—and write a ghost story every Christmas. A way to have a little fun over the season, I thought; a way to keep my skills sharp.

Now, Robertson Davies claimed that all his stories were absolutely true. I thought that this was just a conceit, to make them that much more interesting. After all, a claim of truth has never hurt a good story.

So imagine my surprise when, upon first attempting to write such a story, the ghost of Robertson Davies himself appeared and informed me that, not only was it not a conceit, but that it was, in fact, a curse. Ghosts visited every Christmas. And since I had decided to take up the tradition, I got to take up the curse, too. The ghosts that had visited him would now start visiting me.

I had hoped he was bluffing. Unfortunately, a visit the following year from my cousin Charles convinced me other wise (And yes, Charles Dickens is a cousin on my mother’s side, seven times removed).

Well, once is accident, twice is coincidence, and the third time was last week while I was waiting to teach a class.

I was at Rapier Wit, Canada’s oldest and best stage combat studio on an empty Thursday night, waiting to teach the last martial arts class of the year. Unfortunately, twenty centimeters of snow were falling outside and those with any sense stayed home. I, being raised on the Canadian prairies, had no sense and was standing alone in the studio, stretching my muscles and waiting just ten more minutes for the third time when a rather non-descript fellow walked through the door of the armoury, holding a sword.

“Who the hell are you?” was on the tip of my tongue. I clamped my teeth together and kept it there. You see, I knew I was alone in the building. I knew that Christmas was coming and I knew that I had an unopened bottle of Jamieson’s Irish Whiskey in my bag.

It was the Jamieson’s that decided it. Ghosts never showed up when I was dry.

I watched the man walk towards me, taking in the loose shirt with laces at the neck, the wrinkled hose on his legs, the high boots on his feet, and the paunch that his belt was struggling mightily, if unsuccessfully, to keep in place. I wondered, who he was. What spirit had stepped out of the netherworld this year? I began to formulate a greeting; one that would take over from those words still balanced on the tip of my tongue, when he stepped close, raised a hand with a glove in it, and smacked me across the face.

I stood, stunned, as he stepped away, raised his blade, and assumed a guard. I discovered that those words sitting on the tip of my tongue were both still there and ready to break loose. I obliged them.

“Who the Hell are you?” I said.

“One who would end your life!”

I waited for more. None was forthcoming. “All right,” I said. “Why?”

“Why?” he repeated. “Why?!” he said again, this time adding an exclamation mark. “Why??!!!”

Given the five pieces of punctuation at the end of his last “why?” and the fact that I could hear them all, I could only come to one conclusion. “So, you’re an actor, then?” I said.

“An actor?” he said. “An actor?!”

“You’re not going for five punctuation marks again, are you?”

He glared. “I was not.”

“Good.”

“I was going for six.”

“You can’t.”

“Watch me.”

“All right.”

He cleared his throat. “AN ACTOR???!!!”

“That was six,” I said, rubbing my ringing ears, “And fully capitalized, too. Well done!”

“Thank you,” he said, bowing deeply. He resumed his pose. “I am no mere actor! I am the greatest performer the world has ever known!”

“I thought Olivier was blond,” I said.

“Olivier?” He sneered and waved a hand that at once displayed his distain for my comment and suggested my idiocy for making it. “A popinjay.”

“Oh,” I thought about it. “Gielgud?”

“No.”

“Macready?”

“No.”

“Forrest?”

“No!”

“Kean?”

“No!”

“Barrymore?”

“Barrymore has his own play!”

“Oh, yeah. I Hate Hamlet.”

“So do I!” he thundered gesturing emphatically with his other hand. I hit the floor, as this was the hand with the sword in it. “That overly verbose hack didn’t know who he had working for him. “…and let those that play your clowns speak no more than is set down for them…” Twelve years after my death and he still has to make his point. Like he ever wrote anything funny!”

There was a clue! I picked myself off the floor. “You are Richard Tarleton,” I declared. “Elizabeth’s court jester. The clown!”

“Clown? I am the greatest performer of my age! Of any age!”

‘No, the clown,” I said.

“The greatest performer of any age!” he said, advancing on me, point of the sword foremost.

“You may think so, but everyone remembers you as a clown,” I said, retreating. “It’s in all the history books.”

“Of course,” he looked disgusted. “My King Lier brought audiences to tears. My Famous Victories of Henry V made them scream with applause. My True Tragedy of Richard III made them tremble with awe. And what am I remembered for? Pratfalls, slapstick and eating a live chicken on stage!”

“Actually, no one remembers the chicken.”

“They should!” he declared, “It’s a good bit!” He sighed. “You know, all this rage makes a man thirsty.”

“I’m sure it does,” I agreed. “But I’m not giving out drinks until you tell me why you want to kill me.”

“Because history demands it!” He said, and before I could say, ‘it does?’ he added, “I demand it!” The sword was up again, and he was once more advancing. “En garde, you knave!”

“With what?” I demanded. “I don’t have a sword!”

With a sneer he tossed me his. It landed in my hand, an early rapier, well-balanced, and feeling as solid as the steel it should have been made of, but cold, as though it had been left out in the blizzard that had kept my students from coming and made all of this possible. I looked at him and discovered he had a matching blade in his own hand.

“Why me?” I demanded.

“Because you are a writer!” he said. “Your kind never makes proper use of the clowns. You but us in the back, you use us for filler between those boring scenes you think have meaning. We deserve better! I deserve better! History will no longer know Richard Tarleton as a clown! If I am not known as the greatest performer of my age, then I will be known as a villain! As a murderer! I shall kill you and in doing so gain my revenge on all your ilk!”

“And if I don’t want to fight?” I said.

“I will make you.”

How?”

“Your verse is terrible,” said he.

“True, but no reason to kill me,” I said.

“Your paragraphs are too short,” said he.

“Also true but—”

“Your characters are weak and two dimensional cut-outs that barely manage to drive forward those miserable excuses for plots that you scrawl,” said he.

“En Garde,” I said.

Now, Richard Tarleton was a man of his time; an actor, a clown, and above all else, a swordsman. His wrist was like iron. His blows thundered and made my blade shiver. At first, it was all I could do just to block them. He cut a web of steel around me, leaving me breathless and barely able to fight him off.

“You call yourself a swordsman?” he demanded. “You are terrible!”

“Yeah, well...you’re still just a clown,” I shot back, being rather winded for witty retorts

“Hack!”

“Gagman!”

Blades clashed again, and this time I began to enjoy a little success. I began to see his rhythm, began to interrupt it with thrusts and cuts of my own, driving him back a few steps.

He riposted and charged. He thrust and cut at me a dozen times, each one narrowly missing puncturing a vital organ or opening a vein. I stumbled, and in desperation let myself go to the ground, catching myself with one hand and thrusting out the blade with the other.

He stopped, his blade clattering to the floor, and stared at the wound in his stomach. I rose and he stumbled back, pulling himself free of the blade, then falling to his knees.

“I am slain,” he said, looking at me. His face was a wonder to behold, even in this grim moment. It held the horror of his death, the wonder that he lost the fight, and the pain of the injury together in a single expression that threatened to tear open my heart. I fell to my own knees beside him.

I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t want—”

“No matter,” he said, his voice a rich whisper, loud enough for my ears alone. “It was foolishness on my part. A dream of greatness never realized. A faint hope that I should be remembered for more than what I was.”

“Let me get you a bandage, or call—”

“No,” he breathed. “It is too late.” A single tear rolled down his cheek and his breathing shuddered. A moment later he rallied himself, raising a hand and reaching for me. I took it in my own. His voice was barely a whisper when he said, “In your writing… please… let me be remembered kindly… Say…” he stopped, drew in a shuddering breath. “Say that this foolish clown met his end… if not nobly… then well.”

“I will say so,” I promised. “I will.”

“Then I… am happy.”

He drew breath one last time, then let it out in a long shuddering sigh that left no doubt that the last of his life was gone; that his soul had fled this earth. A moment later, his body and the swords both faded from sight, leaving me alone in the empty studio.

It was when I discovered the bottle of whiskey had vanished that I realized what really happened.

Richard Tarleton died in 1588. I had not killed him. I had been snookered. He had put on a death scene that would bring tears to a theatre critic just to prove how good he was, then stole my whiskey on his way out.

So tonight, let us drink to the shade of Richard Tarleton, the greatest performer of his age, and let us say of him, “This foolish clown met his end, if not nobly, then well.”

And if anyone sees him, he owes me a bottle!

Tagged

I hate The Green Knight

So, I'm visiting family out in Regina, I go to check my blog, and what happened? I've been tagged! By the Green Knight of all people! I mean, really. I'm on vacation. Worse, I'm on dial-up!

All right, here it is, for better or for worse.

Seven Things To Do Before I Die
Write several best-sellers & hit plays
Learn to play piano again
Visit China
Visit Africa
Get a Masters degree
Star in a feature film
Study Kung Fu

Seven Things I Cannot Do
Eat cabbage without being sick
Quantum Physics
Surgery
The Iron Man Triathalon
Stand on the edge of a cliff without vertigo
Believe without evidence
Read Latin

Seven Things That Attract Me to...Blogging
A community of thought and ideas
Blatent self-promotion (buy my book!)
Conversations with people around the world
Sounding off about things that annoy me
Did I mention blatent self promotion? (buy my book!)
Learning how other people think
Getting the chance to tell people to buy my book!


Seven Things I Say Most Often
F**k!
What did I do with the...
Eyejabah? (only my wife knows what it means)
Ow.
No! Danger! (to my daughter, who is beginning to understand it)
You should really buy my book!
I love you (to my wife, child and friends)

Seven Books That I Love
The Lord of the Rings
The Dhammaphadda
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Tao Te Ching
Anything by Barbara Hambly
Most of C.J. Cherryh
Small Magics by Erik Buchanan (buy my book!)

Seven Movies That I Watch Over and Over Again
Monty Python's The Holy Grail
The Lord of The Rings
Shrek
The Princess Bride
Jesus of Montreal
It's a Wonderful Life
Serenity


Seven People I Want To Join In Too
You know, I don't actually have seven people to tag, so I give this out to whoever wants to take it up. Have fun, out there.

No, wait, it did work

Yes, Haloscan is on and working. Sorry to those who lost comments. More in the new year.

Or Not...

All right, so the Haloscan thing didn't work. I thought it had. When I tried it at home I got Haloscan comments. Now that I'm at a different computer, they seem to have vanished.

Say the short, perfunctory anglo-saxonism of your choice here.

So, the comments may or may not be there. Haloscan may or may not be working. Sigh. I should really learn more HTML.

And I know I said I wouldn't be posting over Christmas, but when the baby gets you up a 4:30, then goes back to sleep at 6:30, there's not a lot else to do.

Merry Christmas everyone, except Bill O'Reilly. To him, Happy Holidays.

Back to work. I have a ghost story to write before Christmas.

Changing Comment Tools

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

This was a long and tedious process, which has finally worked. This now provides me with track-back abilities and a few other things.

Unfortunately, it means that previous comments have been lost. My apologies to all those who posted comments. Please feel free to post again, and I'll try to find something interesting for all of us to talk about.

My next step will be recreating the links bar on the page. GK, if you're out there, help?

Back to work.

Happy Holidays

Which I direct to Fox New's Bill O'Reilly, who believes there is a war against Christmas. There isn't. Get over it.

For the rest Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Joyous Ramadan, Happy Yule, or whatever holiday it is that you are celebrating. May the new year bring us all better times.

I am off for Christmas with the relatives out west. Comment where you like, if you like. I will not be doing any blogging until after Christmas.

American Politics: The Democratic Party

I don't usually talk about American politics, except to leave comments on the blogs of those who do (among them The Green Knight, Shakespeare's Sister, and The Dark Wraith).

That having been said, I have been reading on these blogs and many others the annoyance that the American Left has with the Democratic Party, who seem unable to offer a unified front against the juggernaut of the GOP (Grand Old Party a.k.a. Republicans).

I was listening to CBC radio talking about the Canadian elections. One of their guests was Stephen Clarkson, whose book "The Big Red Machine - How the Liberal Party Dominates Canadian Politics" has just come out. In it (and in fact, on the dust cover) he quotes Sir Wilfred Laurier, Canadian Prime Minister from 1896 to 1911:

"It is not enough to have good principles; we must have organization also. Principles without organization may lose, but organization without principles may often win."

I believe that the weakness in the Democratic Party of the United States is that it need to first, define itself, then get itself organized. What are the principles of the Democratic Party? Each time we think they are one thing, a Democratic congressman or senator comes along and votes the other way. The Democratic Party needs to put together a solid statement of principles and have all of their members adhere to them. It needs to be a contract between the party and its representatives saying "This is how this party stands on these issues, and this is how we, as its representatives, will vote on these issues."

Now, obviously, this does not work on all issues, and it does not have to. It does need to work for the key issues of the day: the war in Iraq, abortion, The economy, health care, the environment. By developing a specific, consistent statement of principles, the Democratic Party can show Americans where it stands on the issues, and that it stands firm. By enforcing that stand among its representatives (i.e. through removal from committees or other means, or at worse, through expulsion from the party) it can present a unified front against the Republicans.

Remember, a good number of people who voted for George Bush did so not because they believed in his policies, but because they thought the Republican stood for something. Wouldn't it be good to get them voting for a party that actually does stand for something?

Canadian Politics: The Election Campaign

Well, once more the Conservatives have managed to annoy the hell out of me.

I was watching Stephen Harper's latest ads, which are set up to look like a newscast interviewing him.

Actually, I should correct that. I have never been able to sit through one of his ads.

The thing is, I am not a conservative. I support gay marriage, I believe that Canada needs public not-for-profit health care, and a national day care program. Stephen Harper does not. I don't believe we need more tax cuts. Stephen Harper does.

Now, I have not been following this campaign as closely as some. I know who I'm going to vote for, and it isn't the Conservatives. But I did want to talk about child care beacuse my baby just entered day care and it is costing us $62 a day. $310 a week. Put that to a year and it is $15,500, assuming 50 weeks. Now, Stephen Harper wants to give me $1200 a year towards that child care and to give tax breaks to for-profit child care companies to encourage the growth of more spaces.

He calls this "having a choice."

What he carefully doesn't say is that the Liberals (albeit with some NDP prodding) are working towards a national child care strategy which will create more not-for-profit, regulated, cheaper spaces. The example we should all strive for is Quebec's, where provincial child care programs cost $7 a day. This is a rate which no privately run child care program can match, because it is subsidized by the people of the province.

Public daycare, properly run, with proper standards of health, safety and education, ensures that all the children of the country will have the opportunity to gain valuable skills, learn to get along with one another, and get a jump on their education, at a price that we can all manage.

Private child care subsidies mean that private child care companies will pocket the extra money and keep charging the same amount.

I'm not voting Conservative, I hope you aren't either.

Back to work.

Going Again...

But not quickly. The big push on the first project is nearly over, which is why I'm taking a couple of minutes to write this.

The actual writing is continuing apace, though not quickly, and I actually got the chance to do some work on the website earlier this week.

I have decided to get a front page up on the website as soon as possible, just to get things started. The rest of the website will follow soon after, but or now I need to get the first page up so people can stumble across me and wonder who the heck I am.

Meanwhile, the world is moving into the holiday season, so whether you are Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, or of another religion that has an occasion at this time, happy holidays.

Back to work.

Grinding to a Halt

So much for getting the website up in a timely fashion.

The good news is I now have some paying work that will cover our bills, help out a great organization (The Osteoporosis Society of Canada) and keep me in beer and skittles.

The bad news is that I have to cut back the amount of time I can spend on my website. Between the new contract and the rather busy schedule for the next week, I'm going to be lucky if I can find time to write, let alone work on other projects.

Still, money is good.

So, sorry about the website teasers, but I swear it will be up and running soon.

Back to work.

Damn Spam

Why, oh why, must there be a way to advertise in everything? Why, oh why, must there be spam? Have I not got enough to do without dealing with this garbage?

Okay, enough whining. A spam-bot has found me, and now I must activate the word verification feature on the comments. Hope it doesn't inconvenience anyone.

Back to work.

Thanks to the Green Knight

The Green Knight has recently posted a welcome to myself and another blogger who has recently joined Blogtopia (a term first coined by skippy the bush kangaroo).

It is nice to be part of the blogging community, even if I am using my blog for the purposes of shamelessly flogging my book and yapping about my writing. I promise postings on other topics, too , if I can ever think of something intelligent to say.

My thanks to The Green Knight, and if anyone aside from him is reading this blog, I highly recommend visiting his. He is an intelligent and thoughtful blogger whose posts on politics and religion are well-thought and well-written, and whose sense of humour rings out through his work.

Also thanks to Shakespeare's Sister, who was nice enough to drop a welcoming comment after the Green Knight's post. I also recommend her blog as well. Good posts, intelligent comments, fun questions.

Thanks both, and I will be adding you to my list of blogs, once I figure out how to set up links on this page.