Lunchtime Blogging and Big Dragon Moon Press News

Haven't got my office set up, so I'm putting this in while I'm finishing my lunch.

Got 1/3 of the second layer of times up out of the study, and 1/4 of the third layer (they tend to come up together). So far, looks promising. With luck, I'll be seeing hardwood by the end of tomorrow night. Without luck, I'll be shopping for laminate.

And my hands are killing me from all the prying and ripping and shoving of tile. I mean, typing hurts today. Still, getting near the end, which is all that matters. I have promised myself I will not look under the plywood until all the tile is off. Otherwise, I might lose heart.

Now onto Dragon Moon Press!

Dragon Moon Press, publisher of my book, Small Magics, is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, making them together the largest independent publisher of Sci-Fi and Fantasy in Canada. Hooray!!

Good on ya, guys!

Renovations Continue

So, I got three quarters of the first layer of tile off in just under three hours. Not bad. Of course, I nearly dehydrated myself into trouble, which was extremely stupid.

For the next round, a friend of ours brought over a heat gun and the rest of the layer was gone in 30 minutes. Got to love doubling your pace.

Also got the washer and dryer installed and I have to say that making sure the damn washing machine is level side to side as well as front to back would be made a lot easier if you didn't have to adjust the heights of the feet from inside the washing machine. Good thing Ive got long arms. I'd hate to try to do it if I was short. Anyway, it's up and running like a dream. Too bad one of the hoses leaks but, eh, what you going to to do?

We've got the bedroom set up (mostly; still need wardrobes and thinner bedside tables), the kid's room set up (she likes it, too) and hte kitchen mostly done. Not bad for a weekend.

Now if I can just get those other two layers of tile off in the next couple of days, I can get the office set up and have my computer back!

Small Magics news and Dragon Moon Press news coming soon!

The Movers Come in Eight Hours

With luck, I'll get to sleep for five of them. Unlikely, but I can hope.

We're packed for the most part, but we're at the stage where we can't tell anymore because everything is surrounded by boxes. I was going to take down the computer tonight, but after all the trouble I'm having with the damn washing machine (bloody front loaders), I may just head for bed early.

Early. Yeah, right. It's 12:30 AM as I write this.

Anyway, once the move is underway I will have no comuter access for at least 2 or 3 days, so have a good weekend, and when I get back I'll tell you how pulling the rest of the goo off the study floor went.

The Renovations Begin: The Study

Know what happens when you assume? Major renovation projects, that’s what happens.

The hallway and master bedroom of our new home is covered in laminate flooring. The room that’s going to be our daughter’s room is good old-fashioned hardwood flooring. Nice hardwood, too. The room that is going to be my study/workout room/library was carpeted. And I wondered why.

I asked the old owners what was under the floor of the room that is going to be my study. The old owners told me linoleum. Interesting.

I went looking through the second floor and discovered in the hall closet that, in fact, there was linoleum under the laminate floor as well, both of which ended in the closet, and underneath both of which was hardwood. Nice hardwood.

Now, I don’t want carpet in the study. I want hardwood. And with that in mind I decide that, if there’s hardwood under that linoleum, I want it.

So Sunday night, I went over to the new house and pulled up the carpet. Not a hard job at all. A pair of pliers and some elbow grease got the carpet up. Used a utility knife to cut it into strips, rolled it up, put it in a corner.

Getting up the under-padding took a little longer and if you’re going to do this wear kneepads and work gloves. Eye protection is a good idea, too. Those staples can spring out at you. Pulled up the under-pad easy enough then went over every inch of the floor looking for staples. Got them all up. Some people recommend going over the floor with a scraper to look for other staples. I used my hands – remember those work-gloves – and ran them over every inch of the floor. Got them all and swept the debris out of the way at the same time.

Next step: the tack strips. A tip from a friend of mine saved me a lot of time. Instead using one pry-bar and a hammer, use two pry-bars. Once you’ve got the first one wedge in, wedge in the next one beside it, pull up, move the first one over, and keep going. Got all the tack strips up in about five minutes. Then I stood back to survey the work.

That is the ugliest linoleum I have ever seen. Ever. And it wasn’t put down properly. And it has paint on it. Good thing it’s coming up.

Packing...

Packing, packing, packing, packing, packing, packing, packing, packing, packing, packing, packing, packing, packing, packing, packing, packing, packing, packing...

Taking break to complain about it on my blog...

Packing, packing, packing, packing, packing, packing, packing, packing...

I'm moving this week, so you won't hear much from me.

Small Magics is in the hands of the printer, and as soon as it is available on Amazon, I'll let everyone know.

Signed All the Papers to Close on the House this Morning

Holy Crap.

Tomorrow We Close on the House

Holy crap.

Body Weight Exercise

Just a quick note tonight (I'm supposed to be working on Cold Magics and my website) to talk about a website I've been visiting fairly regularly these days: Body Weight Culture.com.

I prefer working out with body weight (push-ups, burpees, sit-ups, etc.) instead of weights, and this website is completely dedicated to the concept. Very cool people there, and some great information. I'm enjoying myself there, picking up some good tips for my workout, and learning some excellent things from the folks in the forums. I am also fairly stunned at how strong some of these guys (and gals) are. There's some great wokout advice there, and some good folks to talk to and answer questions.


And now, got to work that website. And write.

Another Day Packing

Got all the kid's spare clothes packed away, and a bunch of ours. The goal is to trim ourselves down to just enough to get from now to the 23rd (moving day). Should be all sorts of no fun, but the majority of it is nearly done.

The worst for me is the day before, when you look at all the odds and sods you still have left over, and wonder what the heck to put them in.

Got the gas and power ready to be switched over, too. God, I'm a homeowner. In Toronto. Who would have thought?

Anyway, time to get some work done. I've been promising to update the website (www.erikbuchanan.ca) for about a year now, so let's see if I can manage it.

And there's all that writing to do.

Small Magics First Review!

I've been reviewed! Yay!

The review is courtesy of Jeanette Cottrell, herself an author published by Dragon Moon Press, and appears on Simegen.com.

The review is overall very positive and complimentary, and she rates the book at 4 stars!

Yay!

You can read the full review here, but this is my favorite part:

Small Magics is beguiling entertainment. Character motivations are understandable and compelling, whether they agree, conflict, or are in deadly combat with each other. The color provided in village and festival scenes are as lively as that shown in a mob rebellion or sneaking into a cemetery at dead of night. This is a good read. Sit down with a cup of coffee, put up your feet, and read Small Magics. You'll be glad you did.

Sounds great, doesn't it?

So, hey, if you haven't already, why not buy Small Magics?

Moving!!!

The great struggle has begun. We packed about 2/3 of the main floor over the weekend with the help of our friends Chet and Kim (Thanks, folks!) and are up to our quickly sinking necks in trying to figure out when to pack the rest.

Back to packing. Miles to go etc., etc.

And where the heck was I that missing week, anyway?

We got the chance to take a week at a cottage. We took it. Here's the view from the porch:



It was a great week. Here's our daughter, Maggie, discovering the water:



...And after playing in the water:



And visiting a friend on the way home:



And we got home just in time for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows madness back home in Toronto:



Got my copy that night, thanks to my friend Kat, who managed to get a wristband (yes, you needed a wristband) so she could line up for the book at midnight.

A good week it was.

Polaris 21

Some time ago I said I'd talk about how Polaris 21 went. And now I am.

When we last left our bungling hero, I was stumbling around the house until 3:30 AM the night before, having gotten the dates for Polaris 21 completely wrong, and now was desperately scrambling to get organized. Finally, I succumbed to exhaustion at 4:30 AM.

Up at 7:30, I finished getting the stuff ready and them proceeded to call my assistant way to early to see if he was available. Of course he wasn't, so I went by myself.

And I had a blast.

There were great costumes, wonderful displays, great merchants (I bought a Bokken!). I sat on five panels ranging from the effects of TV, Film and Video game violence to how to manage using technical talk in your sci-fi writing without completely driving off the reader. Met some great people including Tanya Huff, who's vampire books (blood line, blood ties, and many others) are being made into a TV series. Good for you Tanya!

Both stage combat workshops went well and were reasonably well attend (though scheduled at the same time as Tanya Huff's and Barbara Hambly's signings, dammit), and the two people who showed up for my reading both said they liked the book very much and would buy it as soon as it comes out. And one of the people who was coming in to kick us out for the next group, said what he heard sounded really tense and interesting.

And if you figure that that makes three people who were there and three people is a crowd, then there was a whole crowd of people at my reading and everyone in it loved my book!

And if you're reading this, guys, go here to get an advanced copy!

Oh, well, that's what happens when you get put opposite Marina Sirtis signing autographs. I wouldn't have been there myself.

I'm on the clock in three minutes, but I wanted to end by saying I had a great time and thanks to David at Polaris for inviting me, and to everyone I met, played with, and talked with.

See you next year!

Who Do I Play with Now?

I just finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In fact, I just reread the entire series from beginning to end.

I will try very hard not to give away any of the plot because I know there are many out there who haven't finished it yet. Instead, I wanted to talk about how I feel.

Bereft.

Not because what's in the book itself (I won't say anything about that yet), but because the series has ended. Definitively.

Harry and Hermione and Ron are done their adventures, and even though I can go back and read them again (and will) it won't be the same. I know what happens now, I know all the clues and all the stories and while each time I read it I will find new things and learn a bit more about the characters, it won't be the same.

It feels like all my friends moved away, and I am standing in the middle of the street alone.

Who do I play with now?

And that is the sign of a very, very good book, and a very, very good series.

I promised I'd talk about Polaris 21, and while I'm at it, I'll talk about where I've been for two weeks. But not today. Today, I'm going to think about my friends whose adventures are done.

I am going to miss them.

The King of Stupid

No, this is not a blog about politics. It is a blog about what happened to me on Friday night.

See, I have trouble going to sleep on Friday nights. My brain says, "Hey, you've got tomorrow off, you can sleep in" even though there is no sleeping in when you have a toddler. Nonetheless, I end up doing silly things like staying up until 1 AM or later.

This Friday (actually Saturday, 1 AM) I decided that, since I wasn't sleeping, I should start prepping for Polaris 21, where I thought I was scheduled to do my first public reading of Small Magics and teach two stage combat workshops on July 14 and 15.

Note I said "I thought."

I open my email and discover what everyone who is reading this and follows conventions already knows. Polaris 21 is actually July 6 to 8. I've missed the opening party, one of the panels I was supposed to be on, and I am completely unprepared.

Crap!

I end up awake until 3:30 AM pulling together stuff for the convention, then 4:30 trying to calm down enough to get to sleep. My assistant is not available this weekend, my weapons for the course are not ready, and I have to create promotional materials for Small Magics on the fly using what little office supply type stuff I have around the house.

Did I mention CRAP!!!!?

My next post, I'll tell you how it all went.

Well, How About That...

Back in high school I knew a girl named Angie Abdou. Now Angie is an author with a book of short stories out and a new novel. Here they are (click on each picture for their Amazon link):



Angie is launching her new novel, The Bone Cage, on September 21, 2007 at Pages on Kensington in Calgary, Alberta.

Congratulations Angie!

On Writing and Arguing: Logical Fallacies

This post by my friend Chet at The Vanity Press led to some thinking on my part on logic and the nature of language, which in turn led me to a list of common logical fallacies created by Dr. Michael C. Labossiere and posted on The Nizkor Project website.

Now, I took logic in university and did absolutely horrid at it (something to do with the class being at 8:30 AM, I suspect). Even so, I believe that understanding logic is very important. So much so that I believe we should be teaching it in high school along with rhetoric (the art or study of using language effectively and persuasively) so our kids can tell when politicians (or teachers or parents or advertisers) are lying to them.

So there's the link. Have a read. Then try to remember it the next time you listen to a pundit.

We Bought a House

Semi-detached, close to subway and schools, private drive, parking, and only needs a little work.


(It's the one on the right)

Cool or what?

Small Magics Update 2 (and other stuff)

All right, the beast is off. Gwen at Dragon Moon has it, and is putting together a final copy to send to the printers. Here's hoping I found all the erratta.

Gwen should get it out in a week, the printer should take about 4 weeks, which means a late start for it, I know, but not overly late, and not unexpectedly so, given my life these days.

So a new release date to be released soon.

In other news, I've just about got the new computer up and running (yes, it's taken me this long. Like I said, I'm busy). Which soon means more time for writing, rebuilding the website (the next project) and little fun things like, oh, I don't know. Going to a movie maybe.

Meanwhile we are also house hunting. I'm not going to put any details here for fear of jinxing it (yeah, stupid superstition, I know, still what can you do?) but I'll let you know when we've got it.

And now, back to work. I'm on the clock in 7 minutes.

And It's Off!

Small Magics is back in the publisher's hands, along with a list of erratta I missed the last time I went through it. It should be headed to the printer shortly, and then available for all who want it.

Thanks for your patience. I can't wait to see it!

Small Magics Update

For all those of you who have been awaiting the release of Small Magics, there was a slight glitch on my side involving a large amount of work to be done, a small amount of time to do it, and a new computer which, like all new computers, takes forever to get set up with all the right information.

I am expecting Small Magics to be out in two weeks, and will keep everybody abreast of developments.

Thanks for your patience.

Erik

New Computer

Well, we got a new computer, in case you've been wondering what is going on.

I've got the driviers installed, found a version of Windows XP (because from everything I hear, Vista is not good) and have started adding in the software.

My big concerns are transferring my Norton Anti-virus subscription, Dreamweaver, and several other programs so that we can use them on the new machine.

I have decided to try going open source, rather than with Microsoft Office because, again, Vista has issues and I couldn't find a copy of 2003 or XP. SO far, the office suite looks good. I need a calendar program, but I've got Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird for Web and Email respectively.

The next challenge will be getting the files off the old computer and onto the new one. If everything works, the old machine goes to a new home, and the new one takes its place.

And that's what I've been doing. That and and writing and editing and working on a film and my day job and looking after the kid and looking for a house and developing a publicity campaign and being the treasurer for FDC.

So, not busy at all, really.

And Now, Get in Shape Month is Over

And you know, it went pretty well.

I declared May, for any who might be new to the blog, to be Get in Shape Month because I was feeling all sorts of out of shape. I had four goals:

• To get back to working out 6 mornings a week (3 days strength and martial arts, 3 days running)
• To do more swordfighting
• To make it through my core program without resting
• To be able to push myself hard through my entire calisthenic circuit training

And how did they go? Not bad, but not great:

• Worked out 5 days instead of 6 most weeks but that's more than I was doing
• Didn't get to swordfight once (dammit). Rapier Wit is in teaching mode right now, so open nights were taken up with rehearsals
• I can now make it through my core program, which is essentially three minutes of variations on the plank, without rest and with only a little crying
• I can almost push myself hard through my entire calisthenic training program (its a twenty minute, no rest program).

So I didn't quite achieve those goals, but I did get some other things out of it:

• I can do 50 pushups again
• I can do 12 chinups again
• I can chest press 200 lbs again
• And I lost 5 pounds

Not bad at all. For the next three months I 'm actually going to be concentrating a bit more on the weight loss. I am not fat (according to the charts) but I'm not where I'd like to be, so that's the next step.

Back to work.

Some Nights...

You just don't get anything done.

Late dinner, toddler with sore tummy, suddenly it's 10:50 and I haven't written anything yet.

Annoying, but there you go. Some nights things don't get done. Like the dishes, which really, really need doing.

Back to work. I might get a page in before 11:30 and bed time.

Now that was a weekend!

My wife and I have just returned from Stratford, Ontario, where we spent Friday and Saturday staying in a very posh hotel, eating very good food, shopping and seeing the preview performances of A Comedy of Errors and King Lear at the Stratford Festival.

And to make the weekend perfect, we left the little one behind in the tender care first of a very good friend of mine then of my wife's mother. Both are excellent caregivers and knowing that they were looking after our child enabled us to relax and enjoy the weekend.

And because I'm in the mood for it, here's a quick review of everything we did:

The Hotel
We stayed in the Annex Inn, which was very posh indeed. The price was high, but the room had a king-sized bed, fireplace, whirlpool tub, and a comfortable sitting area for post-show chats and reading. It was definitely worth the price and we may well be staying there again when we go next year, if we can swing it.

The Food
Bentley's: Good food and nice folks. I stuck to pub grub, Sara had the pasta. Both were excellent. And they make a nice Bruschetta.
Fellini's: Our favourite place to eat in Stratford. We have never had a bad meal there and this time was no exception. Their pasta is some of the best I've tasted, and their lunch special was exactly the right size. My wife had the mussels, which were equally good. And they give you wonderful bread.
The Church: Food as art. Dinner there cost as much as the first night at the hotel. I will probably not spend that much money on a meal again in the next five years. A beautiful restaurant, gourmet food, excellent service. Try the scallops in linear and cubist forms.
Foster's Inn: Both breakfasts. Had the Eggs Benedict both times. Nothing beats a home-made hollandaise sauce.
Let Them Eat Cake: We stopped there for scones to start our morning (we're both early risers, and wanted nibbles to tide us over until breakfast. Excellent scones.

The Plays
A Comedy of Errors: A good production of what is arguably one of Shakespeare's funniest plays. It is a farce, and was played as such. Director Richard Monette chose to set his play in classical Syracuse, then completely ignored the period to very good effect. This play was his Shakespearean swan song (he is leaving his position of Artistic Director this year) and was filled with enough festival in-jokes to keep the regulars rolling in the aisles. Those of us who aren't festival regulars still enjoyed it. If there was one complaint about this show, it is that Monette allowed the glitz and the tricks to overwhelm the text, to the detriment of the production (I should mention that many consider that to be his trademark).

King Lear: Directed by Brian Bedford, this is an instance where trusting the text led to a magnificent production. The production was stark, simple, and brilliant. The acting was supurb for the most part, though I found both Edmund and Cordelia to be slightly one-note (they were good notes, but still...). Bedford was supposed to be playing Lear, which I was greatly anticipating. Instead, we had his understudy, John Innes (and we think Bedford was playing one of the serving men, the sneaky so and so). John Innes acquitted himself brilliantly and deserved the standing ovation he received.

All in all it was a great weekend, a great way to recharge, and on Monday, it is back to work. I'm looking forward to it.

And speaking of work, time to do some writing.

Shrek the Third

Well, I was disappointed.

The animation was incredible. The level of sophistication that has been developed, even since the first Shrek film, is incredible. Hair that moves like hair, shadows changing shape on the ground, water looking like water. The quality was amazing.

Pity the same can't be said about the script.

Shrek the Third had some very funny moments, and was well enough written to make it enjoyable, but was not as good as the first or second films. There were a lot of characters, which didn't bother me too much, but no character development, which did. The moral point of the film was driven home with all the subtlety of the last spike (look, Canadian history reference!), and the ending was as much of an anti-climax as driving home alone after a date.

Between the tickets, the popcorn and the parking, I spent $50, to see that film, and it just didn't feel worth it.

But it did look fantastic.

Geek Link!

Solar wind may owe its speed to helium: study

And so folks know, I'm on vacation this week. Sleep (if I can convince my body to do it), time to exercise, time to watch a movie, and househunting.

I'll be blogging still, but look for the posts to be much more relaxed.

On Writing

I had a long conversation with a friend of mine last night about the craft of writing. What makes it fun, what makes it frustrating, what makes an otherwise sane person (okay, aperson of questionable sanity, in my case) sit for hours in front of a computer (or notebook or typewriter or whatever) putting together stories that have come out of God knows what part of the subconscious in the vain hopes tht someone will like reading them.

And more important, how do we do it to the best of our abilities?

I realized that this was something I wanted to talk about and to share with others, and so I'm going to start wtiting on writing here on the blog. I don't know that there will be many entries, and I don't know how original, but it should be educational for me, and some of it may even be useful to so some of you.

So to start, if anyone wants to answer, I'll ask, why do you write?

For me, I write because not writing is painful. I feel like all the thoughts and emotions and ideas inside me will explode if I don't regularly put fingers to keyboard.

I also write because I can see these stories inside me, and I want to capture them before they vanish.

...well, aren't I dramatic?

Anyway, that's why I write. Why do you write?


Meanwhile
I've just gotten the latest copy of the Dragon Moon Press newsletter, which features yours truly as the lead story.

I recommend Dragon Moon Press (and not justbecause they publish me). If you would like to learn more about what the authors are doing, why not sign up for the newsletter?

DMP does not sell their email list to anyone, and you'll learn all about what's coming up for the Press and for all of us.

And now, I have work to do on the new iteration of my website, and on Cold Magics (yay! writing!)

More soon.

And It's Off...

I have just finished going over the final proofs for Small Magics. These come looking like the interior of the book, and are the author's last chance to make sure he hasn't screwed up too badly before the book goes to the printer.

While I'm pleased to say I didn't screw up too badly, I can't say I didn't screw up the last edit. Found a huge number of punctuation errors, and some text that was bad and needed fixing in a big way. All of that is now done. The errata is on its was back to Dragon Moon, and I am getting all excited.

And now to write something in Cold Magics, just to show I have started work again.

(Given how tired I am, I'll be lucky if it's a complete sentence)

Then to bed. To sleep, to dream, to get up and go to work.

Update:
And those of you who read this before I fixed the typos will know why it is so important to proof your work. And most of all, proof when you aren't tired!

Geek Link!

Today, I have two geek links.

For Science Geeks:

Swiss solar-powered boat completes fuel-free Atlantic voyage

Which is very cool. And while it will be a long time before solar power cargo carriers ply the oceans, it is a step in the right direction. Who knows, if solar energy becomes efficient enough, how much less gunk (fuel, oil, exhaust) we could be putting in our oceans?


For Theatrical Geeks:

Get out your ponchos: bloody "Evil Dead" musical opens in Toronto

And I got to say, who could resist "Evil Dead?" It's a Sam Rainey classic, brought to the stage with with hilarity, a ton of blood, and they give free ponchos for the first row or two.

I so want to go see it.


And a Comic Geek Note:

I am currently reading Buffy Season 8. Very good. Lots of fun, good art and very well written.

And now, I have 4 minutes before work starts. Time to fill up the water and start typing.

Well, I'm All Annoyed Now

And on several fronts. First, because of the Conservatives newly introduced rules for campaign financing, which were written, as near as I can tell, to ensure that only the rich or those supported by the banks can afford to run for office.

Thanks, Stevie, for taking another chunk out of our democracy. And why haven't you disclosed who gave you money for your 2002 leadership campaign?

Second, because I missed posting the ultimate geek post this Friday past. That's right, last Friday was Darth Vader Day and I missed it (two points to the first one to figure out why it was Darth Vader Day).

To be fair, I was exhausted and fell into bed early. And can you believe it? The kid slept until 8 AM. I got 10 hours sleep. It was glorious.

Third, I also on Friday came across a ton of Geek Links to put in, but can I remember any of them now? Sigh. no.

Now, onto happy things. The last reading of the galley proofs proceeds apace. I'm on page 215 and at this rate will be done well before May 15, which is the deadline I set myself. Then they go back to Dragon Moon, off to the printer and soon we'll all be holding books in our grubby little hands.

After that (more happy thoughts) I can start writing again! Cold Magics is pining for me like a Norwegian Blue pining for the fjords, and vice-versa. I am looking forward to getting back to it and getting it done. Not to mention the other two projects I've got on my mind.

Get in shape month proceeds apace. Got five of the six workouts in that I wanted, will shoot to get all six in this week. No swordfighting, but hopefully next week. And I don't know what it is about my workout, but my hamstrings are burnt. Running up that last hill this morning nearly killed me.

And that's all for the moment. More editing to do before bed.

Meanwhile, did you see that they think they've discovered Herod's tomb?

Back to work.

It's Get in Shape Month!

May is Get in Shape Month!

And what evil person declared this, you ask? Me. I'm chunking up and feeling lumpy and need to get back on the bandwagon. Too much deskwork and not enough swordfighting.

So welcome to Get in Shape month! The goal is to get your body moving and yourself feeling good. For those of us with chronic injuries, it's also about making those things that hurt stop hurting.

Remember: No Pain, Good!

The rules:

1. NO STUPID, UNREACHABLE GOALS: Losing 40 pounds in a month isn't healthy. Neither is trying to run a marathon in 30 days when all you've done is walk to the store. Impossible goals set you up for failure and make you feel bad. Make any goals you set this month SMART: Specific, Measureable, Action Oriented, Realistic and Time-specific.
2. NO CRASH DIETS: For exactly the same reason. They set you up for failure. Eat healthily, indulge occasionally, and don't sweat the small stuff.
3. NO FOCUSING ON YOUR WEIGHT: This month is about getting in shape, not losing weight. That is a side benefit of the getting in shape process.
4. HAVE FUN: Find things you like to do and do them. No point in picking activities that you dislike, eventually, you will just stop doing them anyway.
5. HAVE A REWARD AT THE END OF IT: My wife and I are going to Stratford (Ontario, that is) at the end of the month. I'm going to run my 10 km along the banks of the Avon. Also, I could use some new clothes.

My goals:

• To get back to working out 6 mornings a week (3 days strength and martial arts, 3 days running)
• To do more swordfighting
• To make it through my core program without resting
• To be able to push myself hard through my entire calestenic circuit training

All my goals are achieveable in this time period given my current condition and free time. The side benefit will be to make my pants a bit more comfortable, and make me feel a lot better about myself.

So, who is with me? Who wants to jump on the bandwagon? Let me know and I'll start posting some exercise and diet tips here for those interested.

OK, That's Just Cool

Sometimes stuff is just neat:

Musicians unlock mystery melody in chapel

And this is one of those things that took a fair amount more brains than I've got to figure out. Also, check out the website:

www.tjmitchell.com/stuart/rosslyn.html

Some neat stuff there.

Stephen Hawking Breaks Free of his Wheelchair

Some things make me happy. This is one of them.

Stephen Hawking's dream of weightless flight fulfilled

Given all that the man has done for physics, I hope he gets to make it into space.

Geek Link!

Anyone want to go on a little trip?

European astronomers find potentially habitable planet outside solar system

I'll never get there, but wouldn't it be cool to go?

Hat tip to Lyda Morehouse over at Wyrdsmiths

With Sorrow in Our Hearts

For those who died in Virginia



"Death in not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come."
-Rabindranath Tagore

Something We All Need to Read

Because Dave was brave enough to share it:

The Galloping Beaver: The Abyss

My grandfather was in the navy in WWII. He never talked about it either, until recently, and then very little. He told me of being in the harbour in Gibraltar, listening to them dropping depth charges throughout the night, to stop the manned torpedoes that the Gremans were sending.

Thanks Dave, for sharing, and for giving us a small glimpse into the horror that men and women around the world are facing in war.

H/T to Chet.

It's Here...

Ain't it cool? Click on it to buy it.

Sporatic Blogging

For those who read me regularly, an apology.

Blogging will be more sporadic than usual for the next couple of weeks. Work (where I'm blogging from now on my lunch break) is moving to a fever pitch as we prep the launch of the new version of our website (www.managemyhome.com) on April 27.

I'm also doing one more edit on Small Magics, this time, on the proofs. Very neat and hopefully there will be as few changes as possible. Most of what I'm looking at is formatting, but there's been a couple of text changes as well.

So that's what I'm doing. I'll try to keep posting, but time is at a premium.

Once April is done, more posts, more often. Anyone got a favorite topic?

Update:
"Sporatic Blooging?" How tired was I when I wrote that? Anyway, it's fixed.

Condolences

It's been a bad week in Afghanistan.

Killed Sunday April 8, 2007
Sgt. Don Lucas
Master Cpl. Chris Stannix
Corporal Aaron Williams
Corporal Brent Poland
Private David Greenslade
Private Kevin Kennedy

Killed Wednesday April 11, 2007
Master Cpl. Allan Stewart
Trooper Patrick James Pentland

Our hearts, our thoughts and our prayers to their families and friends.

Easter Sunday Night Post

Happy Easter to any Christians reading this post, and to the rest, happy whatever makes this day good for you.

My daughter returned from her first overnight visit to Mum-Mum's house (her maternal grandmother). Apparently all went well, save that my daughter did not sleep well in the playpen we sent, and as a result, neither did Mum-Mum. Good to have a day or two on our own, good to have her back.

I have finished re-reading the draft of Small Magics and am going to send it through the spellchecker once more before it goes back to my publisher (Dragon Moon Press) for final proofs. The cover art is coming along swimmingly (and you'll notice I've added Laura Diehl's link to my list on the side there). Laura has done a great job, and put up with me which is no easy feat.

And now, because I read this recently, and meant to post it earlier, I'm going to put here an abridged quote on the nature of existence by Leo Rosten. It struck a chord with me when I found it on the Walking with Ghosts blog, so I thought I'd share it:

Credo, Leo Rosten

I BELIEVE that you can understand people better if you look at them as if they are children. For most of us never mature; we simply grow taller.

I have learned that everyone - in some small, secret sanctuary of the self - is mad. If we want to stay sane we must moderate our demands - on ourselves and others.

I have learned that everyone is lonely at bottom, and cries to be understood; but we can never entirely understand someone else, no matter how much we want to; and each of us will forever be part stranger - even to those who love us most.

I have learned that it is the weak who are cruel and that kindness is to be expected only from the strong.

I have had to learn that life - so precious, so variable, so honeycombed with richness and delight - is held cheap in the scheme of impersonal events. When a human life is snuffed out in an instant, without meaning, without reason, without justice, how can one deny that all our lives hang by threads of nothing more than luck? I cannot escape the awareness that in our last bewildered moment just before we die three simple, awful questions cry out from our souls: 'Why me? Why now? Why forever?'

I have come to see that every person is subject to fantasies so obscene, yearnings so mendacious, drives so destructive that even to mention them shakes the gates we have erected against the barbarian within.

I have been driven to believe that no despotism is more terrible than the tyranny of neurosis. No punishment is more pitiless, more harsh and cunning and malevolent, than what we inflict upon ourselves.

Most men feel cheated if happiness eludes them. But where has it been written that life will be easy, our days untroubled by suffering, our nights unfouled by the beasts within our nature? Where, indeed, is it guaranteed that life will be at the very least fair?

People debase 'the pursuit of happiness' into a narcotic pursuit of 'fun'. To me this is demeaning. I would question the sanity of anyone not often torn by despair. Euphoria is the province of lunatics. I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be 'happy'.

I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be honourable, to be compassionate. It is above all, to matter: to count, to stand for something, to have it make some difference that you lived at all.

And while looking up the reference to who Leo Rosten was for those who wish to know, I found this quote from the man which nicely sums up one of the major problems with neo-conservatives, both north and south of the 49th:

Extremists think "communication" means agreeing with them.

And now, I am going to bed.

Small Magics: Update

A quick post tonight because I'm up way to late once again and 5:30 AM is coming far too soon.

Laura Diehl, my magnificent illustrator is doing great things withthe cover art, and Gwen, my publisher and I are just working out the schedule for the next two months before the book hits the shelf.

Meanwhile, I'm learning as much about generating publicity as possible, because I want to actually sell a few of these things!

Time for bed.

Theatre Review: The Rocky Horror Show

Live at Canstage, here in Toronto.

You know, when we see the movie, there's one thing we forget amist all the toast throwing, water-squirting, flashlight waving and response shouting.

The music is incredible.

You'd never know it from the film. With a couple of notable exceptions, they cast the film with actors that couldn't sing. They tried, they failed. Not so at Canstage.

The cast is hugely talented, the voices are powerful, the staging is brilliant, the characters alive and lively. Instead of just recreating the film, the director and cast made it their own.

Audience participation was encouraged, though there was no throwing of toast or squirting of water (actor safety, you know). Interestingly enough, a lot of the shout-outs didn't happen, because many of them are dependant on timing, and the timing of the musical is different from the film. Shout outs are welcome, though, so go see it two or three times and you'll be able to time it out perfectly.

So for all of you who think that the Rocky Horror Picture Show is great, I can only say:

It is way better live. Go see it.

Geek Link!

Season 8, in comic book form. Can't wait to get it.

Hey, not all geek links are about science.

Hat tip to Chet.

Late Night...

And I haven't written or edited anything yet.

Spent most of this evening writing an email to Laura Deihl about the cover art she is doing for the book (Hi Laura, if you happen to drop by). She's doing great work and I wanted to make sure that I communicated that as well as talked about the things I wanted to question (we authors are a demanding and annoying lot).

Anyway, that's all for me tonight. More blogging later in the week. Now I must edit and write before I go to bed.

I'm tired.

American Politics: Bill Maher says it right.

From Chet at The Vanity Press:

Bill Maher explains the Plame affair so clearly that even a cable TV pundit
might be able to understand it.

Word.

On Writing: "Grace Always Trumps Pedantry"

I came across the quote in the title of this article while deciding whether to use "then" or "and then" in one sentence in Small Magics (I didn't use either. I changed the sentence). It comes from Jack Lynch's Guide to Grammer and Style (the actual quote is here under "Grace") and it sums up what good writing is as neatly as I have ever seen.

Good writing is graceful.

And graceful doesn't mean short or long or beautiful or grammatically correct. And it doesn't matter whether the language is elegant or foul, or if author uses short, choppy sentences in three line paragraphs or long, languishing sentences that make paragraphs run pages.

What matters is that the writing flows; that it takes the reader from one moment to the next, one character to the next, one scene to the next. And it doesn't matter if the writing guides the reader gently along or hauls the reader like a bouncer tossing a drunk. What matters is that the reader comes along for the ride.

You can always tell when the writer's grace has failed them. It's the moment when you suddenly find yourself stepping back from the book; from the moment and the characters and the scene and the world they inhabit. It's the moment when you actually think about what you are reading, rather than being swept away by it all.

So back to editing. Here's hoping for grace.

Update:

My mother caught a typo in the third paragraph (thanks Mom!).

And in answer to your other note, you are correct, it was intentional. Using the plural "them" to the singular "the writer" is a graceful way of being gender inclusive while avoiding the awkward "him or her."

(See how I worked "graceful" in there, relating this update back to the subject of the post? Slick, eh?)

Geek Link: And You Thought High School Was Bad...

New and interesting discoveries in the world of sexless reproduction.

(Insert own joke here)

Actually some pretty interesting stuff that call into question some of the basic assumptions of how species diverge and adapt. Very cool.

...Yeah, I know. Why do you think I call them Geek Links?

On Writing: What Comes (and Doesn't) with Publication...

First off, a hat tip to the Wyrdsmiths, who led me to two posts by science fiction author David Louis Edelman on what does and doesn't happen when you become a published author.

Here are the high points:

What Doesn't Happen:
1. Money does not suddenly rain down from the sky.
2. Your career worries do not melt away.
3. Your lifestyle and self-image do not dramatically shift.
4. Writing does not suddenly become easy.
5. Your friendships and relationships don’t undergo a sudden transformation.

What Does Happen:
1. Strangers will be strangely deferential to you.
2. You will suddenly become “the writing expert” to your friends and relatives.
3. You’ll have mixed feelings about what you’ve written.
4. Self-published authors will look to you for validation.
5. You’ll have accomplished something that nobody can take away from you.

Both posts are worth a read, as they are both quite funny and a good reminder to those of us starting out that life isn't going to change that much (except the bragging rights).

By the way...

I'm on Amazon!!!!

You can now pre-order Small Magics on Amazon. The book will be out June 15, 2007.

Now, Harry Potter comes out July 21, but ladies and gentlemen...

I have a dream.

For just one day, I want to knock Harry Potter out of the top spot. Just one day, I want to be on the top of the Amazon wish list. An impossible dream, maybe. But who wants to help me get there?

I'll work out a plan this week and get back to you all.

Back to work...

Long Week

All right, I lied about writing on Thursday. Truth be told, I was still recovering from my trip. A good meeting down in Atlanta (nice and warm there, too). Pity I was only outside for 15 minutes in total. Ah, business trips...

Anyway, new and exciting things are happening. My publisher has sent back Small Magics for one last edit before she sends me the final proofs. The neat part: It's in the format it will appear when it's published. Very cool.

Also, amazing how many errors there are in it. I swear we caught all the punctuation and formatting errors, but apparently I was wrong.

So, Cold Magics is going to be slowing down a bit as I take one last kick at the Small Magics cat.

Meanwhile, my cover artist (it's so cool to say that) has come with seven ideas for possible covers and we have started work on them. It's really neat at this point in the process, I must say.

So, that's what I'm going to be up to. I'll work hard on blogging, especially since it looks like the Tories are gearing up for an election. Of course, at this time, no political party really wants one because no one will come out any further ahead.

Quick Note

Off to Atlanta on business, so no time to blog tonight. Will write again on Thursday.

I'm a Bad Man...

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Seventh Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	Very High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Moderate
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Very Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very High
Level 7 (Violent)	Very High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Moderate
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Moderate

Take the Dante's Inferno Test

America in Iraq: To What End?

"I see, as in a map, the end of all."
-QUEEN ELIZABETH, from Richard III, II, iv

Rolling Stone Magazine has put together a panel of experts to talk about the war in Iraq.

And if they are right, the outcome is going to be grim.

By the way, the people on this panel are not a group of granola chewing hippy liberals, as the American right likes to portray everyone who opposes their opinion. Rather, they are:

Zbigniew Brzezinski: National security adviser to
President Carter

Richard Clarke: Counterterrorism czar from 1992 to
2003

Nir Rosen: Author of In the Belly of the Green Bird, about
Iraq’s spiral into civil war, speaking from Cairo, where he has been
interviewing Iraqi refugees

Gen. Tony McPeak (retired): Member of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff during the Gulf War

Bob Graham: Former chair, Senate Intelligence
Committee

Chas Freeman: Ambassador to Saudi Arabia during the Gulf
War; president of the Middle East Policy Council

Paul Pillar: Former lead counterterrorism analyst for the
CIA

Michael Scheuer: Former chief of the CIA’s Osama bin Laden
unit; author of Imperial Hubris

Juan Cole: Professor of modern Middle East history at the
University of Michigan

Now, given the credentials of these people, what do you think the chances are of the administration listening to them?

Yeah, I think that, too.

H/T to Chet, who got it from Dymaxion World. And the quote that's on his page makes it onto mine, because it sums up the whole mess:

This is a dark chapter in our history. Whatever else happens, our country's
international standing has been frittered away by people who don't have the
foggiest understanding of how the hell the world works. America has been
conducting an experiment for the past six years, trying to validate the
proposition that it really doesn't make any difference who you elect president.
Now we know the result of that experiment [laughs]. If a guy is stupid, it makes
a big difference.-- Gen. Tony McPeak (retired), Member of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff during the Gulf War

Oh yeah! Cover Art!

Completely forgot to post this before, which shows how tired I am.

Just began the process of choosing an artist for the cover of Small Magics. Very cool!

Here's the artist's website:

Laura Diehl Illustration

I like her work, especially her ability to make her images a story as well as a moment in time. I'm looking forward to seeing what she comes up with.

Tuesday Night...

And I really don't have a lot to say. I promised myself I'd blog three nights a week, and this is one of them. Unfortunately, I really don't have anything to say.

So here's a couple of writing links:

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/fiction/

http://wyrdsmiths.blogspot.com/

Two good if very different blogs about writing.

And now, it is late, and I still have several pages left to write.

Of Great Books

So, I was reading Hamlet-

(wow, this is already sounding pretentious, isn't it? Bear with me...)

-using a 1955 edition published by the Great Books Foundation. It included a suggested reading list for a year, with some very interesting titles in it. So I went looking to see if they still exist.

They do.

And they are fascinating. Founded in 1947 to promote liberal education for the public, they continue today, and this is their mandate:

The Great Books Foundation is an independent, nonprofit educational
organization with a mission to help people think and share ideas. Towards this
end, the Foundation offers workshops in Shared Inquiry discussion and publishes
collections of classic and modern texts for both children and adults.

They have some excellent collections, ranging from literature to science to citizenship to human rights.

Have a look at their FAQ for a better idea of how they work, then check out their reading list. There's some fascinating reading there, and I'm planning on ordering some as soon as I finish this draft of Cold Magics.

Now I just need to get a book group going...

Geek Link!

Some very nice pictures from the New Horizons space probe, which is currently looking at Jupiter, and has a couple or great close-up shots of the moons.

Meanwhile, I am getting myself organized for doing book publicity, and I will soon have an appearance to announce!

Help Me Help a Friend

Hi folks,

My friend Alexander Galant has applied to get on "On the Lot."

For those who don't know him, Alex is an amazing filmmaker and an incredible director, who've I've had the priviledge of working with as a actor and as a fight director on several projects. Here's his website.

For those who don't know it, "On the Lot" is a show where individuals compete for a $1 million dollar contract to make their own movie. And I want Alex to win.

So, the more people who view and rate his film, the better chance he has of getting in, so anyone who reads this, please, click the link below, and watch his film. It's amazing.

http://films.thelot.com/films/19764

Please watch.

Gone for Three Days

Off the Chicago on a business trip. Should be fun. Only sad I won't get much chance to see the city itself. Such is life.

Hope everyone's week is good, and I'll blog when I can.

I am Spartacus

I am way late on this, but Shakespeare's Sister is a brave woman and deserves all the support she can get, even from an occasional political blogger like me.

And so does Pandagon, who also took the high road.


So I, too, am Spartacus.



Good luck, folks.

Friday Night Mish-Mash Round 1

I was planning to blog last night but ended up at work until 9:15 PM. So tonight, I blog. Three cool things for you this evening:

First, a little history:

Historic pictograph is First Nations view of treaty talks

Very cool to think of someone putting down on paper their view of what was happening. They want the pictograph back in Saskatchewan, but need to raise $175,000 US to purchase it. Haven't found any details yet, but the Royal Saskatchewan Museum is part of the bid, so if you want to help out, give them an email.

Second, a little more history:

Ice anglers discover unidentified shipwreck in Lake Superior

"The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
Superior, they say, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early."

Be interesting to find out what sort of a wreck it is, and how old.

And finally, a little sprituality:

How To Meditate

It's a great litttle website that introduces you to some of the basic skills of meditation, and to Kadampa Buddhism. The meditation information is really good, and it gives a nice bit of insight into the stages of meditation you journey though as a practitioner of this method of Buddhism.

I highly recommend meditation, by the way, no matter what your religion or lack thereof. It calms the mind and body, and helps you to take control of your life.

New Archaeology Links

Been sick for most of a week, and finally got back here.

Archaeology is one of those "if I had another life I'd do this" things for me, and so I've added a whack of Archaeology Blogs to the site. Some are local, some relate to single projects, some cover large areas. Hopefully, there's something interesting there for everyone who wants a look.

Back to work. Have to finish the dishes and maybe write something.

Geek Links!

Been a while since I posted any science stuff, so here's a couple of cool ones I found today.

Archaeologists won't separate prehistoric couple unearthed in eternal embrace

and

Arctic island to house world's first seed vault

And now, I have a proposal to write. And some more of Cold Magics.

Back to work.

Wheeeee!!!

It was great!

Day 1: We got there late, so no skiing, but had a fabulous dinner and shot some pool and got board games from the front desk and relaxed for the evening (yes, we are geeks). Slept without interruption (except to turn down the room heater which would not stop blasting out heat no matter how warn the room got).

Day 2: Skiing!

Now Sara, my lovely wife, had never been on downhill skis in her life, so the larger part of the day was spent teaching her how to get down the hill without killing herself or someone else. Got to say, she picked it up very quickly and was skiing down the longer runs without falling by the end of the morning. She did fab.

As for me, didn't fall once, which is a minor miracle, went down the beginner runs repeatedly, then got the chance, once Sara was feeling confident enough to ski alone, to try my luck at the intermediate runs.

I swear that intermediate runs were much less steep when I was sixteen. Still, made it down those as well, though on one I leaned back so far that My uphll arm hit the snow. Hurt myself but managed to stay more or less upright. Naturally, I did it again. Whee!

And the kid did very well on her weekend with Mum-Mum. Both had colds, so they spent the time indoors, playing, coloring, and watching videos. Mum-Mum had a great if very tiring time and so did Maggie, who went down like a rock.

And that was the weekend. A good time was had by all except Thomas (lead character in Cold Magics and Small Magics) who has been waiting two days for me to get him to the next bit of his adventures.

So, back to work.

Skiing!

That's right, skiing.

My wife and I are off to a nearby resort this weekend for some rest, relaxation and fun while our daughter's Mum-Mum (her maternal grandmother) takes care of her overnight Saturday.

Of course, our beloved Maggie (our daughter) has decided to have a cold and a fever this weekend. Still, Mum-Mum is game and we're heading out (taking the cel phone with us just in case). Fortunately Maggie is now two and both old and big enough for cough medicine. She is sleeping the sleep of the drugged even as I write this.

But that's not the most exciting part. The most exciting part is that we're going skiing!!!

I haven't been on skis in 20 years. Literally. And my wife has only been on them once. Neither of us have proper gear and we're going to rent skis.

It should be hilarious.

So, wish me well, and here's hoping for a minimum of falls as I get me ski legs back.

Back to work...

And then to bed.

When it all goes to...

I'm trying to keep swearing to a minimum. Hence, the incomplete title.

Cold Magics is now363 pages (double spaced, for you writer types out there). The idea is good, the story is good, and it was going along swimmingly until I wrote one really, really good scene about one of the characters. Not even the lead, mind you, but someone important.

It's a great scene, and I was worried it would never fit into the rest of the book, the way it was going. And then I realized why.

Every character you write has a journey (or should). Some have very short journeys. This character's journey is about finding out who she is in terms of one very specific thing, and the scene that I've written is one of the major turning points for her and really about a major theme that needs to be developed. The problem is, that it's not supported by the rest of the book. Which means everything has turned bad, all of a sudden.

It's been bugging me for days; it's put a cramp in the entire process, and it's stopped me moving forward. Now normally, I'd just make a note to myself in the appropriate place in the manuscript and move on, with the idea of fixing it in the next draft. Problem was that, until today, I had no idea how to do that.

Now I do. And I need to go back to 62 to start the process.

Dammit.

Back to work. And I mean, way back...

I did well!

(I was going to say "I done good!" but given the nature of the quiz, I thought better of it...)

Your Language Arts Grade: 100%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

Are You Gooder at Grammar?
Make a Quiz

How's your grammar?

Hat Tip to Chet at The Vanity Press.

Hiatus Over!

Been back at the computer since Tuesday and have added seven new pages to Cold Magics. I have written one scene which I really like but have a sneaking suspicion it isn't going to make it through the next draft. Still, good to be working again.

And speaking of work, I'm on the clock in two minutes, so time to get to it.

Writing Hiatus

Much to my annoyance, I could not magically create extra hours in the day, so I'm having to take a couple of weeks off writing my latest book to study. I'll be putting fingers to keyboard again after January 13 (my exam day).

Meanwhile, blogging will continue sporadically as always.

And The New Harry Potter Title Is:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows


Can't wait to see the cover art.

Back to work (I'm just finishing lunch)

Geek Link: The Global Carbon Project

For those of us who are concerned about the environment (and these days that's most of us who aren't in the pockets of the oil industry) here's a good link with a lot of scientific information about what carbon is, how it works, how it is necessary to life, and how the way we produce it is helping to destroy the planet.

http://www.globalcarbonproject.org/index.htm

Some good stuff here.

And now, back to the dishes (I'm goofing when I should be doing housework). Then I have this writing thing I should do. And at some point I think I'm supposed to sleep.

A Moment of Silence

For one of the voices of my youth.

Dudley Do-Right writer dies

Chris Hayward, a television writer who brought his off-beat sense of humour to the Rocky and Bullwinkle TV show and comedies such as Get Smart and Barney Miller, has died.

Hayward, 81, died of cancer Nov. 20 at his Beverly Hills, Calif., home, his wife Linda said on Sunday.

Hayward is credited with helping create the bumbling Mountie Dudley Do-Right for the Rocky and Bullwinkle show, which debuted on ABC in 1959, then moved to NBC in 1961.

Hayward was part of the animation comedy writing team that developed at the Sunset Boulevard studios of Jay Ward.

Ward's "philosophy was: 'Just write sharp stuff for yourself and the audience will get it.' It was very freeing," said Allan Burns, a Bullwinkle writer who was Hayward's partner.

The show was packed with puns and parodies of classical literature and developed an adult following for the cast of zany characters. Much of that quick wit came from Hayward.

That show used to make me laugh myself silly. Rest in peace, Chris Hayward, and good work.

(Image from http://bullwinkle.toonzone.net/characters-dudley.htm)

Good News About Booze

Brain repairs alcohol damage, scans suggest

Thank goodness. There's hope for us all yet.

Speaking of which, where did that whiskey go...

Geek Link: Good News for Diabetes Sufferers

Latest research on Diabetes. A very cool breakthrough, though not ready for humans yet.

Here's the link:

Canadian scientists reverse diabetes in mice

Meanwhile, writing is proceeding slowly. Got myself stuck but I think I'm almost ready to break out of it. Annoying, but it happens.

So I want to redesign my website...

But I haven't the foggiest idea how to go about it.

I put together the first one using an old version of Dreamweaver given to me by a friend. I was quite pleased with the results, but it is in an out-of-date format (frames, don't ya know) and there is no flash or anything really cool.

Plus, with the book coming out in 2007 (I'm getting chills thinking about it. Really. It's cool) I want to have somewhere interesting for people to land.

So it's off to search for a designer, I guess. I have a concept, sort of an Erik's office-type front page, where every graphic leads you somewhere, but the execution is beyond my current skill levels.

Anyway, that's my blogging for the week. Not much to say except working hard, writing when I can, and getting ready for Christmas (the decorations went up today. The party is tomorrow).

Oh yeah, and here's a link on writing:

http://www.sfwa.org/writing/

And did you hear:

They're digging up St. Paul

(Sort of)

Why am I not surprised?

Via the Vanity Press

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm You're probably in the final stages of a Ph.D. or otherwise finding a way to make your living out of reading. You are one of the literati. Other people's grammatical mistakes make you insane.
Dedicated Reader
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Non-Reader
Fad Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

Went to Beta

So I thought I'd change the look. The other was feeling a bit dark.

Will be updating the links as soon as I have some more spare time.

(or when I decide to miss another night's sleep)

Canadian Politics: The Liberal Leadership Convention

Stéphane Dion is the new leader of theFederal Liberal party.

Good choice.

I have to admit my original choice was Bob Rae, and not just for his electability. I like what he stood for, and I liked how he handled himself. It was unfortunate that he was knocked out in the third ballot, but these things happen (possibly because he went skinny dipping with Rick Mercer). I believe that, in getting Stéphane Dion, we have the better of two remaining choices.

Dion had several advantages over Michael Ignatieff, not the least of which was the ability to know when to keep his mouth shut. Michael Ignatieff's mouthing off is the reason that the whole "Quebecois as nation" thing got raised in Parliament.

Now, I'm not saying that Ignatieff isn't a smart man, or that he might not make good decisions, but the man has no political experience and that made him a major risk. You do not want someone who has never faced down a press scrum or represented your country in a meeting with other leaders (national, provincial or otherwise) taking the helm at a time when the yahoo we have running the country is doing his best to make us a respected world-wide as the USA.

(Sorry to any American readers, but right now, your country's image on the international scene is crap. Hopefully with the Democratic Party in charge of the House and Senate, things will improve)

We need someone with some experience, with a good head on his shoulders, who knows how to talk to the press and to other leaders. And as for smarts, here's a sum-up of Stéphane Dion from the CBC article I linked to at the beginning of this post:

Married with one daughter, Dion, 51, earned a BA and MA in political science from Laval University before obtaining a doctorate from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris.

He was recruited by Jean Chrétien to run in the 1996 federal election and was elected in the Quebec riding of Saint-Laurent-Cartierville.

Dion held the post of minister for intergovernmental affairs for seven years but was dropped from cabinet in December 2003, when Paul Martin was sworn in as prime minister. The move was viewed as punishment for his close ties with Chrétien and unpopularity with several prominent Quebec Liberals.

Martin later brought him back into cabinet as environment minister after the Liberals won a minority government in the June 2004 election. In this role, Dion earned high praise for his work chairing the UN Climate Change summit in Montreal in 2005.

He looks to be a well-qualified, well rounded individual, and he has a vision of a Canada with a sustainable economy that will act as a world leader on environmental and human rights issues.

Let's hope he can do it. The Conservatives are really annoying the hell out of me (see previous post).

Canadian Politics: Jerks

The Harper Conservatives are going to close down 12 of the 16 Status of Women offices in Canada.

Why you ask?

Two quotes from Beverly Oda, Heritage Minister:

"What these offices don't necessarily provide is the help directly to women. There was a lot of lobbying groups, there was a lot of advocacy."

"We don't need to separate the men from the women in this country... This government as a whole is responsible to develop policies and programs that address the needs of both men and women."

And when the opposition suggested that this action was reprehensible, Oda's reply was:

"I'm very surprised that the opposition would say, 'Put money back into inefficiencies,' when you can find inefficiencies and streamline the operations."

So, let's clear some things up.

First: Lobbying and advocacy directly help individuals. These actions allow individuals representation before the government that they would not have been able to afford by themselves. They also result in changes to unjust laws. It was lobbying and advocacy that gave women the vote.

Second: It is not removing inefficiencies if you shut down programs, because an inefficient program that helps people is more efficient than no program at all. Only when you replace a program with something better can you claim to be getting rid of inefficiencies, instead of just cutting programs to get rid of those you don't like. Like the Status of Women, or the One Tonne Challenge, or adult literacy, or job creation programs, or funding for museums.

Third: If you claim that your government is responsible for both men and women in this country, then perhaps closing the government office that is responsible for ensuring that women receive equal opportunities as men is hypocritical and stupid.

Jerks.

I hope everyone out there in the Blogosphere will join me in endorsing a 29% pay cut for Ms. Oda, to put her salary in line with the average Canadian woman, who earns 71 cents for every dollar earned by her male counterparts. After all, if Ms. Oda doesn't believe in improving the status of women, she may as well face up to the realities of not improving the status of women.

Small Magics Has Gone To Dragon Moon Press

After much editing, Small Magics is now in the hands of my publisher, Dragon Moon Press. It has been a long, hard row to hoe, and I am very glad to see the end of this part of the journey.

There is more to do, of course, before it reaches the shelves next year, but the sense of completion is wonderful.

Thanks to everyone who helped, and specifically Katrina, Chet and Kim (my readers), Briana (my editor), and most of all Sara (my wife and another reader). Without your help, this book would never have seen the light of day.

And now that Small Magics is out of the way, Cold Magics needs to be finished (it's about 2/3 done) and The King Below needs editing (check my website for the plots) and there's that novel I'm adapting for the stage and the pantomime I want to get written for performance next Christmas and this year's ghost story and I've got an exam in January and ideas for two more novels...

And much more to do.

Back to work.

Global Warming: More Bad News

So, not only are we changing the climate, we're helping to wreck thousands of years of human heritage, and millions of years of natural development.

Here's the story.

Anyone thought of a way to make the Canadian government pay attention yet?

Found an Ab Workout

And it is nasty. It is actually a Core Muscle Strength and Stability test.

I found this at PowerCentering, which is a commercial website that promotes a core workout to get in shape. I have no idea how well their products or regimen work, but since I'm showing one of their tests here, I need to give them proper credit.

Here is the test:

The Core Muscle Strength & Stability Test is conducted as follows:

Position the watch on the ground where you can easily see it

1. Assume the basic plank/hover position (elbows on the ground).
2. Hold this position for 60 seconds
3. Lift your right arm off the ground.
4. Hold this position for 15 seconds
5. Return your right arm to the ground and lift the left arm off the ground.
6. Hold this position for 15 seconds
7. Return your left arm to the ground and lift the right leg off the ground.
8. Hold this position for 15 seconds
9. Return your right leg to the ground and lift the left leg off the ground.
10. Hold this position for 15 seconds
11. Return your left leg to ground and lift your right leg and left arm off the ground.
12. Hold this position for 15 seconds
13. Return your right leg and left arm to the ground and lift your left leg and right arm off the ground.
14. Hold this position for 15 seconds
15. Return to the basic plank position (elbows on the ground).
16. Hold this position for 30 seconds

Your score is equal to the number that corresponds to your last completed position (1-16) Your Score = _____________

I'll do this twice a week and see how I improve. It tried it and, sad to say, got a score of 7. Still, what's life without a challenge?

Looking for a Good Ab Workout

What, I'm going to blog about the American Election? Everyone and their uncle is doing that. Me, I'm far more self-centred.

Seriously, though, I used to be an exercise junkie. Three hours of martial arts used to be a good way to have some fun. These day, if I want to get three hours alone, I'd have to be in a hospital with something contagious.

So here's the challenge. We get up at 5:45 AM. I do the part one of my workout (15 minutes) while my wife grabs her shower. The reason for this is simple: Toddler. Someone has to be around in case she wakes up. Once my wife is out of the shower, I head down to the gym in our building, and get about another 45 minutes in part two. Now, my workout schedule is as follows:

Day 1 & 4 Part 1: Nothing. Part 2: Running
Day 2 & 5 Part 1: Shadow Boxing. Part 2: Weights
Day 3 & 5 Part 1: Calesthetics. Part 2: Martial Arts

It's a nice workout series, plenty of variety and keeps the body jumping. You'll notice, however, that Part One of Day 1 & 4 has nothing. This is where I want to put in a nice, nasty ab workout.

So, anysuggestions out there?

And by the way, congrats to the Democratic party on taking the House. We are all waiting with bated breath to see what happens in the Senate.

American Politics

To any Americans who happen to drop by, remember:

VOTE!!!

Remember you still live in a democracy (sort of). Help keep it one:

VOTE!!!

(And vote Democratic, if you want my opinion, but hey, it's your country)

How Much More Evidence Do You Need?

The world fish stocks are collapsing and will be gone in our lifetimes unless radical change takes place. With their disappearance will come starvation for many, collapse of industry, and the true beginning of the end for our environmen

Here's the story.

How much more will it take for governments to make changes? How much more will it take before sensible management strategies will be usedto allow for sustainable use, rather than wanton destruction?

Write your MP, Congressman, Senator, Prime Minister, President, and anyone else you can think of. I know I will. We need to fix this while we still can.

Because Castles Are Neat!

And for those of us who write fantasy, they're also necessary. So here's a link:

Castles of Britain

Enjoy!

Stern Warning

A link to the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change.

Since those with the money don't seem to care about the threat to people's health, wildlife, wilderness areas, crops, or housing caused by climate change, maybe a threat to their money might (note: might) make them wake up.

Doubt it, though.