S. Evan Townsend's Blog, page 121

Mini-Vacation to Glacier National Park Part One

I promised more pictures in my last blog post if the internet cooperated.  It didn't (I first tried posting that Thursday, ended up posting it Sunday night when I got home and had good internet).  So I guess I'll post some pictures now, more later. 

All these pictures were taken with an iPhone 5.  Also, the weather was not cooperative and we didn't see much blue sky.  Here is a selection of the best pictures of the approximately 80 pictures I took (thank heaven for digital).  As my friend Gavin Seim would point out, they are "snapshots" but even then I tried to take the best pictures I could.

We arrived later than planned due to road construction delays and me taking a wrong turn.  By the time we had dinner and got to our hotel parking lot, it was dark.  And we were greeted by this fellow: a coyote.  He didn't seem to want to come into the lighted parking lot so I snapped his picture but due to low light and zooming it, the picture is very poor quality.  I wondered at that point how much wildlife we'd encounter.  And actually, it wasn't much.

Parking Lot CoyoteThe next morning we drove into the park from the east side on the Going to the Sun Road and when we saw the scene below was when we first got a clue we were into something special.  We stopped by the road to take this picture of St. Mary Lake along with some of the mountains in Glacier National Park.
St. Mary Lake and MountainsAfter seeing that we stopped to take a picture of Wild Goose Island in St. Mary Lake and that picture is here. Glacier National Park was named so because of the abundance of glaciers on the mountains in the area.  This was the first glacier we saw that morning.  Glacier in Glacier National Park The mountains and valleys of Glacier Park are just breath-taking.  Verdant low-lands rise swiftly to rocky, craggy mountains, as in this picture:

Mountains and Valley in Glacier National ParkBecause of the low clouds, rain, and haze, it made the lighting in some spots interesting.  This picture seems to capture it best (taken at Logan Pass on the Continental Divide at the visitor center parking lot).

Logan Pass Visitor Center Parking LotThere are still more valleys to see as you descend west-bound from Logan Pass.  It started raining which added another dimension to our pictures' lighting.

Glacier National Park valleyIt rained until after lunch at the nearly west-end of the park and the Going to the Sun Road.  But then the sun came out and we actually saw some blue patches in the sky at the west end of Lake McDonald.
Lake McDonald at Apgar We turned around and headed east on the Going to the Sun Road, stopping at Lake McDonald Lodge to snap this picture.
Lake McDonald at Lake McDonald LodgeWhen I first thought of going to Glacier National Park I thought "Mountains, trees, lakes, hmph, a Jedi seeks not these things." No, what I thought was "Been there, done that." But what amazing mountains that seem to claw at the clouds with their jagged sides, what pretty trees (as the leaves were beginning to change on the aspen and the evergreens were everywhere) and what blue, calm, pristine lakes.

More pictures tomorrow from this amazing place.

Glacier National Park

Vacationing at Glacier National Park in northern Montana. Here's a picture I took Thursday.  More to come if Internet cooperates.

Free Peaches

I love fruit.  I really like oranges and peaches and pears (although it seems pears are hit-and-miss, they are perfectly ripe for about half an hour, otherwise they taste like wood or are much).  So when I had a chance to get some peaches right off the farm, I took it.

Last week I was driving south of where I live to interview a man for a freelance writing assignment.  I sort of took the back way (that was shorter) and on the way there I passed a sign pointing right that said "Peaches."  And I thought "Hmmmm, peaches."

So on the way back from the very successful interview (which turned into a great story), I saw the sign again, except this time pointing left (because I was going the opposite direction).  So I turned left and followed the road.

Now in that part of the county, the roads tend to be a) straight as an arrow and b) one mile apart.  So I kept going (west, incidentally, away from home) and passed one road (one mile) and then passed two roads (two miles) and kept wondering if I'd either missed it or it was a long ways down this road.  I was driving between row-crop fields and fruit orchards on this west-heading vector.

Finally (and looking at my gas gauge) I decided to give up and turn around.  I pulled to the side of the road and was about to turn when I saw a sign ahead that said . . . well, I couldn't read it.  I drove a bit closer and sure enough it said, "Peaches" and the arrow pointed right (or north).  "I must be getting close," I thought.  So I turned right and drove down that road maybe a half a mile.  I was just about to give up again (still nervously looking at my gas gauge that was hovering near empty) when I saw a sign saying the peaches were to the right, now.  I turned.  It was a gravel road with a warning sign: "Primitive Road: No Warnings."  But I kept going (albeit slowly to minimize rock chips on my car).  Went up a hill and behold, there was a sign: "Peaches" pointing into a farmstead.  So I pulled in, parked the car by the metal shop, and got out.  The door on the shop was open and a sign by the door said (you guessed it) "Peaches."

I walked toward the shop and this girl about 15 or 16 years old comes out.  Pretty little thing with long red hair with a slight curl to it.  She had braces on her teeth.  "You want some peaches?" she asked.

"You suckered me in for about five miles," I said, exaggerating sliglty, "so you'd better have peaches."

She didn't react but she said, "They're in here."  I followed her into the shop.  "They are $20 a box or 80 cents a pound," she said pointing to a large commercial refrigerator with glass doors.  Inside I could see boxes or peaches.

"I don't need a box," I said.

She picked up a flat box (like they put stuff in at Costco) and started putting peaches in it, inspecting each one and rejecting those she didn't think were up to snuff.  Then she asked if that was enough when the box was full.  I said it was so she weighed it on a huge industrial scale.  It came to 7 pounds (with the box).  So I was pulling out my wallet when she handed the box to me and said, "Take 'em."

I said, "What?"

She said "Take 'em.  It's not worth it and you didn't buy a whole box."

I said, "Are you sure?"

She replied, "Yes."

So I thanked her and said that that was defiantly worth getting sucked into from five miles away.

I put the peaches on the floor of the passenger side of my car, and drove home.  Did not run out of gas.

And the peaches are amazing.

Washington Huskies are Ranked!

I've been wanting to blog about the University of Washington Huskies' victory over the Boise State Broncos since Sunday morning (the game was late Saturday).  But I wanted to wait until the new AP poll came out to see if after beating the #19 Broncos the Huskies were ranked.  But because of Labor Day (apparently) the poll which normally comes out Sunday evening came out just this morning.

The game Saturday evening was held in the renovated Husky Stadium, the first game in the new stadium and the first game on campus since November 5, 2011 (home games were played at the Seahawks' venue, Century Link Field in the interim).  Going in the Huskies were considered a bit of an underdog since Boise has been a very powerful team and was ranked where the Huskies were not.  Also, in their last meeting, last year in the Las Vegas Bowl, Boise won 28-26.

On the first play of the game, Huskie quarterback Keith Price threw an interception.  But after that hiccup it was nearly all Huskies all evening.  A interception got the Dawgs the ball back and they marched it in for a touchdown.  They help the Broncos to two field goals (blocking one) and won the game 38-6.  The Huskies dominated both offense and defense against a seeming hapless BSU.

After celebrating the victory, I was wondering if beating a ranked team would get the Huskies in the top 25.  And this morning I found out it did.  The Huskies are now ranked #20 (which seems a bit low for beating a #19 team).

Nest the Huskies have a bye but then they travel to Chicago to play the Illinois Fighting Illini.  Then a home game against the Idaho State Bengals (an FCS team), then Arizona Wildcats also at home.  There's no reason to believe they can't win all three of those games.

Then their schedule gets tough: Stanford (currently #5) in Palo Alto then Oregon (now #2) at home.

It should be a fun season if the Huskies continue to play the way they did Saturday night.

Editing Tips

I love to write.  But I'm not so enamored with editing.  Writing is fun; editing is work.  I don't know any writers who really enjoy editing but it is a necessary part of writing.  The other problem is that while I'm an okay editor, I'm a lousy proofreader (yes, there's a difference).

I'm a whole-word reader.  I see a word and see the word I think it should be.  Now while technology helps, there's lots of things spell-checkers won't catch (for instance, "form" instead of from").  And my eye will see "form" as "from" if that's the word I think should be there.  That's why I'm a lousy proofreader.  If you're a regular reader of this blog, you've seen how I miss typos a lot since I'm the only one who proofreads/edits it.

On editing, however, I'm good with grammar and sentence construction.  I'm not great, but I'm good.

After you finish your first draft of anything you write, there are three things you need to do:
Re-writeProofreadEditYou can do those things somewhat simultaneously but they are slightly different things.  Here's my definitions of the terms:

Re-write means looking for things that need changing in the writing, things to cut, better words/descriptions to use, maybe a section needs better explanation.  It's improving the writing itself.  The actual writer needs to do this.

Proofread is to look for simple errors like spelling/typos.  This is the least technical aspect of manuscript improvement.  Anyone who is good at spotting errors can do this.  I'm not good at spotting errors.

Edit is to look for grammar mistakes, poor construction, wrong words, etc.  The editor needs some modicum of writing ability.  And it's best if at least one of the editors is not the writer.

Here are some editing/re-writing/proofreading tips I've learned over the years of writing:

After you write the first draft, let it sit and do not look at it for a while.  I have a friend who says she lets her novel manuscripts sit at least a month before she goes back and looks at them.   I call this process "festering" but really it's trying to look at it with fresh eyes.  I find if I'm writing something long that by the time I finish, I can start re-writing the beginning pretty quickly because it's been a while since I wrote it.  For short things, like my freelancing articles, I try to wait until at least overnight.Get everyone you can con into proofreading to proofread it.  Also beta reading is a great idea. Print it out.  Seeing it printed seems to fool the brain into this being something new.  Or change the font on the screen before editing/proofreading.Read it out loud.  This will make another part of your brain work and you'll see and hear things you didn't notice before.Have someone read it out loud to you.  This is a great way to hear poor construction or word repetitions.  Also they might spot some errors while reading.And let it sit some more.  The longer it is, the longer it needs to fester.Writing the first draft is just the first part of writing.  You may think (especially if you've done NaNoWriMo) that hammering out a 50,000-word manuscript is all you need to do.  But that's just the start.  Re-writing, proofreading, and editing complete the work.  Yes, your publisher will edit it, too, but you want to send them the best manuscript you can.  Editing costs them money so if you cost them less money, they'll be more likely to publish you again.

Freelancing Tips

I do a fair bit of freelance writing.  The hardest part was, at first, getting the jobs.  I actually kind of conned an editor into taking a chance with me and she liked my work.  I've been working with her ever since.  Then others read what I wrote for her and (with a bit of my prodding) also took a chance on me.  Now I have clippings to use to market myself to others.  But in all cases, so far, all the freelance work I've gotten through "networking" (meeting and knowing people).  My volunteer work in the community is a great way to meet and know people.

But today I want to talk about a few things I've learned about freelancing.  Often times you're interviewing someone (this is 99% of the freelance jobs I do) and then writing about them or something they are involved with.  Here's some tips:
Start calling early. You never know how long it's going to take to get them to agree to an interview or when they will be available for an interview.  The more time you have, the better.  Sure, your deadline is two weeks away and an interview takes an hour.  Start calling now!  You might need all of that two weeks to line up the interview and get the story written.Be persistent. Call them daily, or twice daily, or whatever it takes to get them to talk to you.  I had one subject who did not want to be interviewed and I just called twice a day every day (except Sunday) until he relented (he said, "You're persistent!").  A lot of subjects are flattered and want to be interviewed, but a few will not (I have had outright refusals).Give and get cell phone numbers. Give the subject your phone number in case they need to contact you.  Get their phone number in case you need to contact them (you should have their number but it might a land line and a cell phone is much more likely to be answered).Be prepared. Research your subject, know as much as you can going into the interview.  Even if you know some of the answers you want to ask them to either verify or say it in their own words.  One subject I was going to interview (whom I was told never does interviews) I found out somehow was a University of Washington Huskies fan.  I am too, so I wore a Huskies logo polo to the interview, which helped establish rapport.Write down your questions.  After you've done your research, write down your questions.  It's a lot easier to remember and think up questions beforehand.  I type them up and print them out.  You might want to look at questions you asked in earlier, similar interviews.  If you're interviewing more than one person you might want to ask them the some of the same questions.  Always write down your questions beforehand and take them with you.  But don't be afraid to ask spontaneous questions if something needs following up, clarification, or you think of something on the spot.Be doubly prepared.  Take at least 2 pens (pencils, whatever you write with) and plenty of paper (more than you think you'll need).  If you type into a laptop during the interview, better have pen and paper backup.  I've never used a tape recorder but if you do, have backup batteries, tapes, etc.Be early.  I pad my travel time by 15 minutes, minimum.  If you're on time . . . you're late.  Be early.  This also allows for getting lost, not finding the place, etc.  Yes, I have sat in my car because I ended getting there really early.Be agreeable.  If the subject is a hard core liberal and you're a conservative (or vise-versa) don't let your opinion of his politics come through.  I have found I can get great quotes out of people by agreeing with them or saying something I think they believe (with farmers, I say something about how tough it is to be a farmer).  All of the stories I've written so far are meant to be positive so there's no need to be confrontational.Thank them.  When it's all done, thank them, give them your business card (you have one, don't you?), and thank them again.  Let them know the expected publication date.Also, try to do the interview as far in advance of your deadline as possible.  This will give you time to write the story, let it sit, then rewrite/proofread.  Also, if the subject postpones you still have time to do the interview.  I did (I will admit) one interview the day of my deadline and got the story in that evening but that was because the subject was traveling and wouldn't be back until that day.

And then, write the best story you can.  Some subjects are great, great stories, great quotes.  Some subjects are boring.  No matter what, write the best dang story you can.

Nova and Words

Last Wednesday (the 14th of August) an amateur Japanese astronomer discovered a nova.  According to Space.com it's visible with binoculars or if conditions are right (clear, dark sky) the naked eye.

A nova is when matter (mostly hydrogen) orbiting being sucked off a star into a near-by white dwarf starts to undergo fusion in a run-away reaction.  These are not uncommon events (about 10 per year visible in our galaxy) but not often visible to the naked eye.  There are star maps to locate it on this page.

The word "nova" for an explosion of stellar matter is interesting and part of how astronomy has evolved.  The word "nova" is Latin for "new."  When Tycho Brahe saw a nova in the 16th Century he thought it was a "new star" and called it a stella nova. And then when scientists found out what a "nova" was (i.e., not a new star) they still kept the old term.

Astronomy is full of these kinds of things.  "Planet" comes from Greek for "wanderer" because, unlike the "fixed" stars (as the ancients believed), the planets wandered about the night sky.  "Comet" comes from the Greek for "long hair."  "Asteroid" comes from the Greek for "star like" because when they were first discovered no one knew what they were, just that they appeared star like in their telescopes.

I suspect other sciences have these linguistic quirks.  Let me know in the comments if you know of any in your discipline in the comments.

Movie Review: 42

Last night I watched the movie about Jackie Robinson, 42 . I liked the movie a lot despite its flaws.  And let me get this out of the way right now: early in the film a Negro League bus is shown going down a dirt road and a text at the bottom of the screen says something like "Interstate 24, Missouri."  It's 1947 (or '46, I don't remember) and the Interstate Highway system came into being with the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 (nearly 10 years later) and even then, Interstate 24 does not enter or go through Missouri.  This is the kind of historical detail mistake that I tried very hard not to have in my historical fantasy books.

Here's what I liked about his movie: it wasn't preachy or pandering.  Jackie Robinson did not feel entitled or victimized because he is black.  He knew he had to prove himself on the field and did not expect special treatment.  In fact, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey (played very well by Harrison Ford) tell him he has to be "strong enough not to fight back" against the racism he will be subjected to.  And I liked that Rickey, a devout Christian, is portrayed positively in a Hollywood movie.  And I liked that Rickey's motivation in bringing in Robinson was not out of sympathy for Robinson, but because it was 1) the right thing to do and 2) would be profitable.  Rickey wasn't forced by any government to integrate the Major Leagues, he did it on his own.  There's a line where Rickey says "dollars aren't black or white, they're green."  He thought bringing a black man into the majors would attract more black fans and he wanted their money to buy tickets.  The free market integrated baseball, not the government.  (Later Rickey tells Robinson that he once played baseball in college with a black man and he didn't feel he did enough to help that man, and that, too, motivated him to do the right thing.)

There's another scene early in the movie (right after the "Interstate 24" error) when the Negro League bus stops at a gas station.  The owner starts pumping gas into the bus and Robinson heads for the bathroom.  The owner says he can't use the bathroom so Robinson says "We'll buy our 99 gallons of gas somewhere else."  The owner relents and allows Robinson to use the bathroom.  Again, this shows the power of the free market over racism.  Racists who refuse to take money from some people they don't like are hurting themselves and the smart ones get over it.

I also liked that Alan Tudyk was cast against type, playing a racist jerk manager rather than the usual sorta nuts nice guy he usually plays.

What I didn't like about the movie was that it was a bit heavy-handed in portraying all the racism that Robinson had to endure.  I wished it had spent more time on his accomplishments and triumphs and his personality that allowed him to endure and come through a winner.  And the climax of the film was the Dodgers winning the pennant the first year Robinson played for them.  I think for this kind of film the climax needed to be something more substantive and heart-felt, something that changed in the heart of a character.  But those are minor quibbles.  The movie has a great cast, good acting and production values, and lots of hats (I like hats). 

I thoroughly enjoyed this film.

Movie Review: Olympus Has Fallen

I'm not sure exactly what enticed me to watch Olympus Has Fallen , the movie about a terrorist attack on the White House (not to be confused with a similar movie, White House Down ).  But I put it on my Netflix queue and it bubbled to the top (well, being a new release, I put it at the top).

I have to say, I enjoyed the movie.  For a movie dealing with the President it wasn't overtly political (it did stray into Hollywood pabulum occasionally) and it was fun and exciting and people who didn't serve in the military probably didn't notice a bunch of stuff that wasn't very realistic.  I did find it interesting that Morgan Freeman was cast as the Speaker of the House and a politician to the right of the President, at least on foreign policy.

Basically we have a bloody and violent popcorn movie.  But it suffers a flaw (not exactly fatal in this case) that a lot of thriller movies (and books) have.  That is, the climax (at the end of the movie) is not as exciting as the first act battle sequence that sets up the story.  The taking down of the White House was a very well executed and exciting sequence early in the movie (if unrealistic, I thought).  The climax (with a ticking clock, no less) was less so.  But if you park your brain and enjoy the ride, it's a fairly fun film.  The worst part was watching Lawrence O'Donnell try to act.

More Freelancing Making Me Nervous

I'm a wee bit nervous. 

While I was on vacation I got an email asking me to do two freelance stories for the local paper (the editor actually tried to call but I was in a no-service area of Montana).  Well, one thing led to another and it turned into three stories (all of which I found the subjects to interview and write about).  Last year when I wrote for this publication, they asked for two 300-word stories.  After trying to write them I asked if I could do more words and they said, "Sure."  So they got two approximately 400-word stories.  So this year I'm aiming at 400 words.  I've already sent off two of them that were 423 and 501 words.  So I'm already over the limit pretty significantly in one case (25% over).

But the second draft of the third story is currently at . . .787 words.  I can kind of see pulling that back to 731 by taking out one paragraph that isn't desperately essential to the story.  But even that I don't want to do. But  I'm 97% over the limit!  And, frankly, I don't want to make the story shorter because it's such a great story (because of the subject, not my writing).  I'm going to, when satisfied with it, email it off and let the chips fall where they may.

So I'm a wee bit nervous.

Oh, and staring this afternoon I have another big story (1,000 words plus) to work on for another publication!