S. Boyd Taylor's Blog, page 8

The Interconnectedness Of the 1970's – Monty Python, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Timothy Leary

I've been reading quite a few books; in case you haven't been reading my other posts, here are just a few:

The Life of Python

Michael Palin's Diaries 1969-1979

A Liar's Autobiography (Graham Chapman)

Timothy Leary: A Biography

John Lennon: The Life

What strikes me about Lennon (and the Beatles), Timothy Leary, and Monty Python is how they intertwine through the years, indeed how all the icons of the era — including the Rolling Stones and the WHO — all seemed to hang out together on a...

Monty Python is the Meaning of Life

Well, I've done it. To improve the silly, Monty Python-esque, surrealism-inspired book I am currently writing (in truth, I'm currently writing two books simultaneously, and only one of them is silly) — I've determined that I need to come to a greater understanding of stand-up, skit, and other forms of comedy. Essentially, I need to rapidly, efficiently develop a high level of expertise in something I've never done. Yay! MORE impossible goals!

So, how do you graduate from being just a snarky...

Your turn: What drives YOU?

So in my last post I talked about MY dream — to one day meet all the living members of Monty Python, despite the (very Pythonesque) ridiculous impossibility of it ever happening.

It's not a very big dream, all in all.

No one's going to die if I don't do it (Okay… I'll grant you that if you believe in the butterfly effect and random chains of causality, someone WILL die (unavoidably), but we will never know it's linked).

There's no guilt involved here. No money (except my own, if I ever get...

A Fun Stylistic Analysis of Monty Python, and a Request for Help

If you know me at all, you know I like Monty Python. It would not be far from the truth to say I was raised on a steady diet of Python (and, of course, Doctor Who. But that is off topic — GET BACK IN THE BLOODY BLUE BOX, TIMELORD!! It's not your post!)

The result is that I have a zany, surreal sense of humor, and I tend to like my humor British. Despite the fact that I have lived most of my life in Texas. You can imagine the complications (the skits write themselves, don't they?)

So… When I...

Review: DEATHMATCH by J.S. Ridler

Are you into thrillers with lots of violence and femme fatales? Do you like underdog heroes, social misfits, and professional wrestling?

Then DEATHMATCH by J. S. Ridler is for you. Ridler's hero is a former local cowpunk rockstar named Spar Battersea, a down-and-not-out-yet ex-alcoholic who is just getting his feet back under him, thanks to his buddy Ray who — literally — pulled Spar out of a toilet.

Ray works a dead-end job by day, but by night he's the Clown Royale, a hero of the local...

Update

Things seem to be roaring along. +1350 words today.

I wish I had hit 2,000 words, but I think I need to build back up to that kind of output or I might sprain my brain. I also did quite a bit of work visualizing and high-level outlining Book 3 in the series. I just want to crank these two books out, so I have them done — mostly so I can prove to myself that I can write a series.

Once they're done, I have dreams of going back and completely retooling my Epic Fantasy (Trunk) Novel from the...

Writing Accountability and Monty Python

‎"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it." (EB White)

It's mostly due to this quote that I find myself resisting the urge to write out scripts longhand for my favorite Monty Python skits and tearing them apart to find the gears and levers, the way I tear fiction and poetry apart.

Perhaps I should do it anyway? I'd really like to write something completely, utterly mad.

—

BTW, +1000 words today. I really want to start writing twice a day to s...

1200 words written today, and I think I

1200 words written today, and I think I've solved a major plot snag on Novel 2 #wip

FenCon!!

Went to FenCon this weekend and met soooooo many people. Pardon me, I am part geek, I'm not good at keeping lists of them — but everyone (really everyone) was so nice. It was a blast to be there. Among the many great folks:
- The usual suspects (you guys should know who you are!)
- Chris of Books-a-million (who gave awesome insight into the state of libraries and book stores and what people are expecting to happen next, technologically)
- Felicia of Geeky Blogger Fame, and crew.
- Lou Anders...

Trifecta-in-waiting

1) Already did Kung Fu today — 2 hours, different forms. I think I have finally learned the second Yang Fan form all th way through; it is a gorgeous form, and I'm happy to have finally learned it. Now I just need my knee to cooperate enough to hit the low stances cleanly.

2) About to take a shower and leave for writing; I have work to do reformatting my novel slightly. It is not new words, but it is something I can do to increase my chances of getting a novel sale; this will be writing for t...