Barack Obama's Acceptance Speech

Have to echo the sentiments of Chet at The Vanity Press. Wow.

I don't have TV so I didn't see Barack Obama give his acceptance speech, but it looks mighty impressive on paper.

My favourite quote:

"Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility, that's the essence of America's promise."

A politician who actually understands democracy. Nice change.

Read the whole thing here.

H/T to Chet at The Vanity Press

Science Fiction and Fantasy Fun

Stupid Fun.

But fun nonetheless.

Geek Link!

Been a while since I've done one of these, which is sad, really, because my inner geek wants to spread its geekiness to any who come near. So here's two cool archaeology articles from ScienceDaily.

Virtual Archaeologist' Solves Ancient Puzzles


Stone Age Graveyard Reveals 'Green Sahara'

Neat stuff, eh?

Now must go. Applying for yet more work, and I'd love to get some writing in tonight.

Done the Interview!

Phone interview for the job. This is round 1 as they attempt to create a short list. Hope I make the cut. I'll find out next week.

Job Interview Tomorrow!!!

Not saying much more, but it's a phone interview and the first step. Hope I get it. It looks like a cool and very challenging position.

And tonight, off to see Batman!

And Cold Magics is moving along nicely, too. Another 4000 words today. All in all, not a bad day.

I have been staring at a computer for four days straight...

Time to take a night off. I'm curling up with a book.

Speaking of books, Cold Magics is coming along nicely. Had hoped to be finished by now but life, as usual, interrupted. High hopes for the end of August, though.

And maybe popcorn. I could use some popcorn.

Stress Days

We did our household budget last night, and things are not looking exactly shiny at the moment. Need to magically come up with a couple of million dollars so all my pains and cares can be washed away.

Unfortunately, I already checked the weekend's lottery tickets and for some strange reason, I didn't win. I am stunned. Stunned, I tell you.

Money is one of life's big stressors, especially if you haven't got enough of it. Coping with money stress in in fact one of thebiggest problems couples have to deal with, according to some studies. Unfortunately, I manifest stress in lack of sleep, so I'm feeling mighty baked this morning.

Anyway, working away at finding work, as well as writing and organizing and budgeting and retraining and all the other fun stuff that makes unemployment such a joy. Had my first coffee in about a month and a half this morning, which is why I'm functioning to type this.

The plan for the rest of the day: more of the same, plus cooking dinner. Orange Pork Stir-fry. Yummy.

Back On the Set Again

Feels mighty odd, let me tell you.

My good friend Daniel Levinson, Stunt Coordinator, Fight Director, Firearms Wrangle and all around good man, was asked to supply some bodies for Paradise Lost and here I am, doing three days on set as "Abducting Man #2." We're doing some fill in stuff now, and on Thursday, there will be a big fight scene. Lots of fun.

It's odd, being back on TV. Been a long time and I never really did that much before, but who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?

Being an actor on a TV or film set means a lot of standing around while the director and crew work like demons to get everything set up. Really, all I was in yesterday was four short shots, and the amount of work that goes into creating those moments is incredible.

I'll be back there again tonight. More fun and games, and this time, there will be car driving and handing over of prisoners.

I'm having a hoot.

And best of all, today's schedule allows me to get some writing done, which is very happy making.

Polaris Day 3

So it's all done for another year. I had a blast.

Only had one panel on Sunday: designing magic systems. The sum total of all our opinions: you can get away with anything as long as you are consistent. Inconsistency can drive readers nuts.

I taught my Instant Kung Fu workshop, which went well, but more importantly, had my first official BOOK SIGNING!!!

It was so cool! I sold ten books and signed them, plus signed another from a woman who was at Polaris last year and bought my book when it first came out. It was brilliant!

I'd like to give a special thanks to the folks at the Indigo table, where the signings were who, despite not actually carrying my book, were gracious and helpful and a lot of fun.

Sales total for the weekend: 15 copies!!!

Yay!!!

Spent a lot of time talking to people (still didn't see any actors) and hanging out. Finally got Tanya Huff's autograph in one of her books (Blood Price) though I had to run from one thing to another.

A note about Tanya Huff: She is a gracious, wonderful, friendly woman, who is nice to everyone and even trats us juniors in the business with respect. May I grow up to be just like her.

And I managed to snag my poster off the wall. It now hangs on my bulletin board. so cool!

All in all, a good time was had by all.

Oh, apprently the fire alarm went off at the hotel three times Sunday: 6 AM, 8 AM, 9 AM. The last two they had to evacuate the hotel. I'm so, so sorry I was at home in bed and missed the excitement.

Really. I'm sorry.


A great time, and hopefully I'll see you all next year.

Polaris Day 2

I had forgotten how much fun panels are to do. Yesterday I did panels on avoiding procrastination when you write, getting from writing to being published, and an expertise panel, where those of us who know something offered info for those who don't.

I also taught my "Things That Make You Go EEEWWWW!!!!!" course which was all about joint breaks and eye gouges and all that fun stuff. A good time was had by all three participants,

Sigh.

But I heard a rumour the "Instant Kung Fu!" if going to be fairly well attended. I hope so. I want to give the convention their money's worth.

Also held a reading and had more than twice as many people attend this year as last year (that means five people came). And three of them bought the book right there! Yay! I sighed them and then people asked to have their pictures taken with me. It was so cool!

And then I went home.

I should have attended the constellation awards but God's truth I was exhausted, and the house was empty so I ate homemade pizza, had a beer, and watched "One Upon a Time in Mexico."

All right, I watched most of it. Then I fell asleep. So I went to bed. Ain't I exciting?

More to come...

Polaris 2008 _ Day 1

Alright, evening 1. Went to the Blastoff Party and had... well, a blast.

Tanya Huff was there and we got to talking along with a whack of other people, and actors drifted in and out, getting cheered by the fans while we writer types smiled and nodded and pretended not to be at all jealous.

And I got my picture taken by several people who liked style and wanted a picture with a guest.

And much to my annoyance ay my own stupidity, my wife has the camera so I've got to go buy a disposable one if I'm going to get any pictures out of this weekend. ARGH!

Now (lying follows) not being much of a fan myself, I acted very cool (read: scared to talk to them) when the actors came in (lying ends).

But I saw him:

Cliff Simon (Stargate SG-1)

...and I saw him:

Gareth David-Lloyd (Torchwoord)

and I saw her:

Ellen Muth (Dead Like Me)

But I didn't get to talk with Gareth because he was talking with all the girls who were absolutely swooning and I didn't get to talk with Ellen because I was talking with Tanya Huff and some other folks about the annoyance of having other people in the house when you are working but Cliff did say "hello" but it was the end of the evening and he was heading out and they all seemed like really nice people.

No, not a fan at all, eh?

More to come today.

Stop a Stupid Law

Jim Prentice has come out with a new copyright bill for Canada.

It sucks.

Help stop it.

Copyright for Canadians is the first place to visit to understand what is going on. Here's a quote from the front page of the website:

Forward-thinking reform to copyright is possible: laws that recognise the growth and importance of the Internet, open source software, and new business models for creators. Canada could take the initiative, and lead the world.

Instead, new legislation proposed by this government is a sell-out to the United States’ government and media’s demands. C-61 includes wholesale import of the worst provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act — a law that the U.S. passed in 1997 and has been widely seen as a damaging failure. Instead of inviting a new era, the current government is intent on repeating all the mistakes of the last decade.

This is not be a copyright law for Canadians. It is a copyright law from entrenched U.S. lobbyists and politicians. Join us, and fight back!

Get the information and send a letter to your MP. This bill is stupid and needs to be stopped.

For more detailed ananysis, go here.

To read the bill in its entirity, go here.

Lazy Man's Post - But Cool Picture

more cat pictures

I Agree

Stephane Dion needs to go.

As soon as possible.

Notes on Self-Discipline

A little lunch-time blogging.

I hang out at BodyweightCulture a fair amount (being an exercise junkie) and came across this thread today, which lead me to Steve Pavlina's blog articles about self-discipline.

The articles are well-laid out and give an interesting perspective into the elements that you need to become a self-disciplined person. For him, they are "Acceptance, Willpower, Hard Work, Industry, and Persistence."

Self-discipline has always been an issue with me. I tend to be a dreamer, and that can lead to procrastination and avoidance and other issues, all of which are most unwelcome in a writer. Hard to finish that next novel when all you're doing is dreaming of a beach or mountain somewhere.

I found these articles useful and recommend them for anyone who is wanting to improve their self-discipline. I plan to re-read them later this week and then start applying some of the principles and see if things improve.

And now, back to lunch. Yummy pasta with bacon. Mmmm.

Time to Dig for the Truth

This week, a group called the Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared (FRD) held a press conference outside the Indian Affairs office in Downtown Vancouver to announce the formation of a non-government inquiry into the deaths and disappearances of children of the First Nations who were put into the residential school system between 1840 to 1990.

They have chosen a non-governmental inquiry because they do not the government or its officers to let the truth come out.

As part of the investigation, they have presented to the press and the public a list of 28 mass graves across Canada that hold the bodies of the children.

This is one of those moments that we as Canadians should find horrifying. Horrifying because of the atrocities that may have happened; horrifying because, if the atrocities did happen, they happened with the the implicit and possibly explicit knowledge of the authorites; and horrifying because they have been so long ignored.

And please note I use the words "may" and "if" not to express disbelief, but only because I don't know enough about this to say what is the truth.

But I do know the way to find out.

If there are graves, dig them up. If there are bodies, examine them. Learn who they are, learn how they died, and return them to their families and Nations for proper burial.

There are a wealth of archeologists, forensic pathologists, and many others across Canada whose skills could be utilized here. Exhume the bodies, collect the evidence, and let the truth come out.

Of course, I believe our current government will do its damnedest to sweep this under the rug, and I believe the media will mostly ignore it. But I hope I am wrong.

As South Africa showed us, there can be no healing without truth. So let the digging begin, and let the truth come to light.

H/T to The Vanity Press

I are so smrt!

Free-IQTest.net - Mensa IQ Test

So there!

I is smartlike!

Getting Closer...

Got another couple of pages on my website done. The HOme page, writing page, Appearance page, bookstore main page contacts page and dragon moon press page all work, as do all the links from those pages. Yay!

The Obsessions and Links pages are still a mess, so don't go there.

But I'm getting close...

You know you're in trouble...

When you're the only parent home, you want to do some work on the computer and youtube is down.

Another step forward...

The bookstore sections of my website are pretty much complete. I need to test all the links and stuff, but so far, looks good.

So, in addition to buying my book, now you can buy a bunch of others off my website and help me pay for the thing!