True Life and Fiction

I went to an advance screening of the new Disney movie, "John Carter of Mars" this weekend, so I thought I would post an advance review. See the movie trailer here: Overall, I give the movie a rating of seven on a scale of one to ten. The special effects in the movie were outstanding and the action was great, but I must say, the storyline became confusing at times. This movie begins with the apparent death of John Carter, a wealthy explorer. His nephew, oddly enough, named Edgar Rice Burroughs, is summoned, and when he arrives at the Carter mansion, read the last will of John Carter with instructions. The boy is given a journal and told that only he can read it, and this is where the action begins. As he begins to read the journal, the real story develops. John Carter, a fresh veteran from the Civil War, is prospecting for gold, and is chased into a cave by Indians. A series of events leads him deep into the cave where he discovers a strange medallion that, when taken

Over the past few weeks, I've spent my time finding ways to avoid stuffing my hindquarters into a chair and writing. I'm approaching the end of a first draft for a novel project. This always seems to happen when I'm approaching the end of a writing project. My last few chapters seem to take me forever to finish. From a psychological (did I spell that right?) perspective, I suppose my subconscious does not want to let go, or let the story end. But end, it must, because I must then conquer the dreaded editing process where other people tell me where I screwed up the story. Well, for a wonderful new pasttime, I've been creating some book covers for a few authors. I do this free, of course, because I'm no professional. I do enjoy the process though, and try to treat each cover as if I were doing it for money. Here's what I've done lately: The above cover is my latest work. I'm most proud of this one because it was a collaboration between the author, an

Some time ago, I participated in a little exercise while attending a local writers group meeting. In this exercises, one must write about something for five minutes, and then read their works to the group. In this particular exercise, our unofficial group leader dug a toothpick out of her purse and threw it on the table. She said, "Write about that for five minutes." So, our subject was a toothpick? Well, what I'm about to show you will, unfortunately, reveal how my mind really works. I'm not talking about the things I write about on occasion, or the light, fluffy, flowery prose I spend hours manipulating and forming into something that doesn't look like the crap it truly is. No, I'm getting ready to expose you to the dark forbidding underbelly of my mind. So here's what I came up with in five minutes: "Toothpick" No one could've imagined the results that led to the creation of Tommy, the toothless wonder, but it's all true. Tom

Well, not so much ‘Union.’ More like, ‘Me.’ I haven't posted in awhile so now I'm feeling the need. To give you an idea of my state, I’ll broadcast a play-by-play of what’s happening right now. I’m at work, sitting at my desk, pretending to work on something important, while a rude workmate stands beside my desk, clipping his fingernails. I look up at him with that expectant look in my eyes that clearly says, “Move the hell away from me before I come up out of this chair and start beating you about the head and shoulders.” I give this look while placing my hand over the top of my coffee cup, and inching it away from the shower of fingernail clippings raining down all over the place. In my head, I imagine ripping those clippers out of his hand and shoving them down his throat (or maybe some other orifice) and then throwing my cup of nail-laden coffee in his face. But, in real life, I won’t really do that. Instead, I’ll wait patiently and quietly while he finishes his personal