S. Evan Townsend's Blog, page 135

Another Blog Interview

Find out how I got my first paid writing gig at Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews Blog.  Also read a character interview with the star of Book of Death , Peter Branton.

Sunday Six: Ball Bearings

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

"What is this?" Vaughan asked.
"A ball bearing," Karamessines stated without mirth.
"And why do I care?" Vaughan queried, handing the ball bearing to me.  It was heavier than I thought it would be.
Helms looked at us seriously.  "You'd be amazed how much national security rides on ball bearings."

 

Driving

Anyone who knows me knows I like to drive.  And when I drive I prefer to drive fast.  I just got back from a little excursion that probably burned $20 worth of gas on basically entertainment.  I know of a back road near here that is very little traveled, mostly straight, and has nothing built up around it.  Perfect for exceeding the speed limit.

I've always liked driving.  I'm old enough I drove when the National Maximum Speed Limit was 55.  When they raised it to 65 (circa 1986) in rural areas it was wonderful.  When they eliminated it, it was amazing.  I even got to drive in Montana when they didn't have a speed limit (lasted about two years, I think).  Here in Washington State rural interstates are at 70 but really, there are places it could be 80 easily.

Driving can be a chore such as in traffic, around town, or stuck behind a slow-moving vehicle.  It can be a challenge that I admit I enjoy when the weather gets bad.  But mostly I enjoy it and the faster the better.  This is why I don't welcome driverless cars.  And they are coming sooner than I ever thought.  It may be a boon to safety and reduce congestion, but it will eliminate the fun, too.  If I couldn't drive I would miss it.

Buried Treasure of a Movie

For some reason I put October Sky on my Netflix queue ages ago.  It finally peculated to the top this week and I watched it last night.  I often say "so many books, so little time."  The same could be said of movies (although my opinion is there's a lot fewer movies worth watching than books worth reading).  I don't know how I let this 1999 movie slip by me for so long.  It's a gem of a film.  It does play to one typical Hollywood trope: the overbearing father who wants to quash his offspring's dreams.  But in this movie (perhaps because it was based on a true story) the father comes off more sympathetic and believable.  He just wants what's best for his son, but he's basing his beliefs on outmoded thinking.  In fact, the contrast couldn't be more stark between the father (coal miner, underground, looking to the past) and the son (dreaming about rockets and space, looking up, thinking about the future).

It's a very good, uplifting film that extols the virtues of "book learning" and looking beyond the horizon.  It's set in a coal-mining town in West Virginia where every man pretty much works for the mining company and every man's son is expected to do the same.  As the school principle states, a "few lucky ones" might escape on football scholarships.

If you haven't seen this film, gather the family around the flatscreen and show it to them.  Very good movie.

Another Blog Interview

Read an in-depth interview with me at My World Blog.  Find out who my favorite character is that I've written and what I like to read when I'm not writing.

Voted

In Washington State we have all vote-by-mail elections.  They send you a ballot, you fill it out, and send it back by midnight election day (I think).  I like this because it's easy, convenient, and I can have the ballot there while I'm googling about people I'm not sure about.  Actually, this year, there was only one of those, a non-partisan judge position.

But I don't like vote-by-mail because I like the idea of the community coming together to vote.  You meet your neighbors,you put some effort into voting, and I always took my kids to inculcate them in the responsibilities of being a citizen.  But since vote-by-mail it's sorta "hey, kids, I'm voting" and they glance up from the X-Box (actually, they are all of voting age now; scary thought).   Plus it seems vote-by-mail has too many ways to game the system (one woman registered her dog to vote).

Unfortunately, I live in a very blue state so my vote for president doesn't really matter, much.  But it still feels important to vote and there's a lot of "down ballot" votes, too (Senator, Congressman, etc.).  Just wish I didn't have to wait two weeks to find out who won.

Snow?

Just checked the weather forcast and they are talking snow possible for tomorrow and Wednesday.  Maybe I waited to long too put the snow tires on.  On the bright side, it's supposed to be above freezing so probably won't stick around.

Six Sentence Sunday: The Club

Today's Six Sentence Sunday from Chapter Two of Book of Death :

The music assaulted me like a barrage of noise.  The band on the stage was amazingly loud for a trio of scraggly-haired men.  I was sure the place was in violation of the fire code judging from the number of bodies writhing on the dance floor.  It was dark and the only lighting was flashing and changing multi-colored lights that battered the eyes.  Even so, I could see there were a few men without shirts dancing in the throng of flesh in the center of the room.  There may have been some topless women, too, but with most of the hair both male and female reaching the back, it was difficult to be sure.

Go Dawgs!

As of this moment, the University of Washington Huskies are 3-3 (1-2 in conference).  They have played the #3 team in the nation at the time (LSU; lost), the number 8 team (Stanford; won), the number 2 team (Oregon; lost), and the number 11 team (USC; lost).  So being 3-3 with that schedule is nothing to be (too) ashamed of.

Tonight they play unranked but not doing too badly Arizona.  And I'm hoping they win (of course).  Then the week after they play Oregon State who are currently ranked 8.  But after that the Huskies' schedule gets much much easier (Cal, Utah, Colorado, Wazzu).  If they win tonight I think they can easily pull off a 8-4 record (assuming they lose to OSU).  If they lose tonight they still should be 7-5 but that's worse than last year.

The problem is, they went 8 and 4 last season so 8-4 this year would not be an improvement (unless they win their bowl game and go 9-4).  Yes, this year they've been plagued with injuries (and it shows every time Keith Price has to scramble out of the way of a sack).  But eventually fans are going to get tired of saying "maybe next year."  To me the perfect Husky season (other than a 13-0 national championship) would be a winning record, winning their bowl game, and beat Oregon, USC, and WSU.  Is that too much to ask?  So far this year it looks like we'll at least do two of those.  (Sorry, Sare, for the stupidball post.)

UPDATE: we lost … badly.

Another Great Review for Book of Death

Another great review for Book of Death at Worlds of Escapism.