S. Evan Townsend's Blog, page 133

The Hobbit

Last night I saw The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey .  I'm still sorta gathering my thoughts about it.  I drove 100 miles (each way) to see it in high frame rate and I gotta tell you, technically it's beautiful.  Peter Jackson has a wonderful eye for beauty (and for ugly) and he uses 3D to enhance his movie, not the other way around.  It was nice to visit old friends (Blibo, Gandalf, Elrond, and even Frodo makes a brief appearance).  I like that they put some of the songs that Tolkien had in the book in the movie (the dish-washing scene/song is pretty funny).  As with all Peter Jackson films the CGI is flawless to the point you forget you're watching a CGI character.

But (you knew that was coming), they strayed from Tolkien a lot.  They added new characters and new plot Tolkien never devised.  The dialogue in some of those scenes clunks badly.  I know they are making three movies (why? greed?) so they need more plot than Tolkien provided.  Maybe if they'd stuck with two movies, stuck more with Tolkien, it would have been better.  They also used any excuse to have a sword fight.

And, I know it's a fantasy, but I doubt even dwarves could fall 100 feet onto rock, groan a bit, and jump up and fight orcs as if nothing happened.

I find myself wondering if I'll pay to see the other two movies in the theater or just wait for them to come out on Blu-ray.

Oh, and this wasn't the film makers' fault but there were 20 minutes of previews before the movie.  I found that excessive (especially for a two-and-a-half hour long movie).

Winter Driving

I like to drive.  I guess I'm weird that way.  Now, I prefer to be driving fast, but even tooling down I-90 with the cruise control set at 75 (five over the limit) is something I enjoy.  As I get older it is getting harder for me to drive long distances without a break.  I used to drive 20 or more hours and only stop to fill the car and empty me.  But now I pretty much don't want to drive more than 6 or so hours straight at a time.  Last summer I did a 650 mile drive in one day which was about 11 hours of driving.  The next day I was wiped out.

Now winter is approaching and I'm also, in my old age, becoming a wimp about driving in snow.  I used to be the guy for whom nothing stopped me.  I was the guy who drove over Snoqualmie Pass in a Mustang GT without snowtires when the state patrol had chains required and did fine.  But lately it's sort of like driving in slick conditions makes me nervous and just doesn't seem like its worth the hassle.  Oh, I'll still do it if I have to be somewhere.  But I won't enjoy it.

This worries me a bit.  Will the time come when I no long want to drive fast?  Yesterday I drove to a town about 70 miles away.  The pavement was bare and dry the whole way.  But for a long time I was stuck behind a cop so I had to do the speed limit.  And I was bored to death.  So so far I'm not turning into a slow driver on dry pavement.  And I still enjoy the occasional burst of felonious velocity, although I haven't had the courage to repeat my highest speed ever (I'll plead the fifth if you ask)(but I have done 155 on a racetrack).

I guess getting old sucks.  I do know my reactions have slowed (I don't play video games anymore).  But I hope I never become one of those people who drive slow and block traffic.

Community Service

A week ago I got an email from an acquaintance I know through Toastmasters.  The email read:

I have written a book can you guide me how do i get it published ? please can we meet about it ?
(In that font and color.)  So I wrote back and said "Yes."  And I got back:

WHERE AND WHEN PLEASE

(Yes, all caps.)  I suggested the person buy me lunch (I could tell this wasn't going to be easy) and they suggested a restaurant today at 11:45.  I said "Okay."

So, since then, I've been thinking "what do I know about getting published?"  Last October I did a presentation at Toastmasters (this woman may not have been there that day) on what I know about getting published today (traditional publishing, going indie, small press publishers).  Then I realize something, all the success I've had getting published has been through networking and a lot of that networking has come from working in the community.

Almost all of my freelance work comes from people I met through my community service work.  And my publisher I met through a friend.  We met when she called me after the local paper published an article on me.  The local paper knew about me because of mine and my wife's community service.

If you're looking for more writing jobs, it might be a good idea to join local service clubs/organization.  And make sure the local newspaper publisher or editor is a member. 

Sunday Six: The Mob Doll

Today's Sunday Six from Chapter Eleven of Book of Death :

A man walked in wearing an expensive suit that somehow didn't fit him right.  Two other men followed, also in suits, also looking out of place.  Then a girl came in, blonde, chewing gum, in a sequined minidress, her hair all piled on top of her head and too much makeup on.  She sat at the bar, looking bored.  The bartender gave her a martini without her asking.  She must be a regular, I thought.

12/12/12

I missed it.  I was busy.  At 12:12:12 on 12/12/12 I should have done a dance or something.  But I missed it.  For 12:12:12 A.M. I was sleeping.  For 12:12:12 P.M. I was at a lunch meeting.

This will be the last chance for alliterative dates until 2101 (for 01/01/01).  Probably won't live to see that day.

My son graduated high school in 2007 and of course they had James Bond tie ins for their graduation ("class of 007").  In 3007 I doubt anyone will remember James Bond so this was the one and only time in human history this will happen.

Of course, if the Mayans are right, 12/21/12 is going to be a bad day for all of us.

Did you observe 12:12:12 today?

Sunday Six: The Great Conclave

Today's Sunday Six from Chapter Ten of Book of Death :

The Great Conclave was scheduled for the summer solstice on Friday, June 21st, in Paris, France.  I don't know why Paris was chosen.  Maybe tradition.

Inter-guild messages flew back and forth by both modern and meta means as arrangements were made and guilds contacted.  Some guilds still hated each other after various slights, such as helping Hitler during World War II.  Vaughan wondered out loud to me if the Cuban Guild would show up, or if they’d be embarrassed by their working with Communists in an attempt to take over the world using zombie armies.

Still Freelancing . . .

I may have bitten off more than I can chew.  I currently have three freelance projects pending.  One is pretty much finished but I was letting the subject look it over before I send in the final version.  He's supposed to get it back to me tonight.  In a few minutes I'm, I hope, interviewing a hay expert (I do a lot of writing about agriculture due to where I live) which is the second interview for a second project.  After that I can write the story.  And finally, I'm doing a year-end wrap up thing that means I'm talking to lots of people, including big corporations you've heard of.  Dealing with corporations is painful because they always want to control the message.  So you end up going through their PR people.  One is going to email me answers rather than let me talk to someone.  And I have one guy who is just simply not returning my calls.  It's very stressful.  My deadline is the 13th but I've been working on this story since November 26th.  But people will not get back to me in a timely manner.  My stress level then goes through the roof.

I'm hoping once I get all three stories done I can take the rest of December off.  At least that's my hope.  I know if any new assignments come I will take them.  I love to write and I love to learn about stuff so freelancing is nearly the perfect job for me.  Just wish it paid more.

Sunday Six: The Secret

Today's Sunday Six from Chapter Nine of Book of Death :


Ernestine caught me in a vulnerable moment, our sweat-damp skin clinging as we cuddled in bed in Vali's apartment over the garage.
"Peter?" she whispered.
I grunted something sleepily.
"You can't tell anybody."
I opened my eyes, turned, and looked at her.  "Tell anybody what?"

Rock Killer Free

Today (December 1st) and tomorrow, Rock Killer is free on the Kindle or the Kindle app on your favorite device.  This book is my best reviewed novel with six five-star and two four-star reviews.

Here's the back-of-the-book blurb:
Space Resources, Inc. (SRI) mines asteroids for the riches a populated Earth needs without degrading the planet. Yet there are those opposed to progress in whatever its form such as the Gaia Alliance, a front group for eco-terrorists. During a violent attack on the Moon, the terrorists steal an exploration ship, arm it, and rename it the Rock Killer. Charlene "Charlie" Jones of SRI security is trying to infiltrate the Gaia Alliance's cabal to find evidence linking them to the murder of her fiancé. But a run-in with the law threatens to reveal her identity to the dangerous men of the Alliance. Simultaneously, SRI Director Alexander Chun is traveling to the asteroid belt to bring a kilometer-long nickel-iron rock back to Earth orbit to mine for its valuable metals. Following him and his multi-national team is the Rock Killer. Without armaments, millions of miles from help, Chun must stop those who threaten him and the lives of his crew

Sensual Blogging Award

Well, my good friend Sare has nominated me for something called the  Sensual Blogging Award which I think is just an excuse to link between people's blogs.  So here's the deal:

When nominated for the Sensual Blogging Award the blogger must:
1) Visit and thank the blogger who nominated you.
2) Acknowledge that blogger on your blog and link back.
3) Answer 7 sensual questions
4) Select some nominees and notify them on their blogs.
5) Copy and paste the award on your blog.

Now anyone who knows me knows I don't take orders well.  I have this rebellious streak.  So I've done #1, #2, I'm about to do #3, I'm not gonna do #4, and I don't exactly understand what they mean by #5 unless it's put the picture above on my blog.

So here's the seven sensual questions:

1. Most romantic memory: When Rose asked Jack to draw her in the nude wearing only her huge blue diamond.  I squealed like a 15-year-old girl.  But then again, I was one.

2. Most sensual music: "Kill the Wabbit" by Michael Maltese and Richard Wagner. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI9Nbt7oJG0

2. Most sensual season: Wabbit season.  Or duck season. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-k5J4RxQdE

4. Favorite flower: Amorphophallus titanum or the "Corpse Flower."  Love those carnivorous plants.

5. Favorite fruit: Citrus sinensis or the "Sweet Orange" (no snark, I love oranges, orange juice, orange flavored anything pretty much.  Arby's had an orange creamsicle shake for a while, oh my god, it was amazing except when they screwed it up and it then tasted like sour milk).

6. Best gift received: My wife brought me an Arbys Orange Creamsicle Shake.

7. Love is… never having to say you're sorry.

So, there you have it.