S. Evan Townsend's Blog, page 58

The Huskies are 6-0 (and so are the Cougars)

We're half-way through the NCAA FBS regular season after playing six games. As of now, there are only two undefeated teams in the Pac-12 Conference: the University of Washington Huskies and the Washington State University Cougars. That's because yesterday Stanford beat Utah yesterday.

Last night the Huskies played the California Golden Bears. And it was, like so many of their games this year, a blow out. Ten minutes left in the fourth quarter coach Chris Petersen, as is his habit, put in back-up players. The Bears only scored once, on a fumble scoop-up and ran it in for a touchdown. The Bears had no offensive points. The final score was 38-7.

The one weak area for the Dawgs is the kicking game.  The starting kicker missed a field goal he should have made. The back up kicker did make a field goal. And all the kickoffs tend to be short, meaning there's always a run-back and usually past the 25-yard mark. This needs to be fixed before we face Stanford, USC, or go to a bowl game.

Also yesterday, the WSU Cougars beat the Oregon Ducks, keeping the Cougars at 6-0 for the season (and the Ducks at 4-2, 1-2 in conference). And it would be easy to say that they have had a harder schedule than UW, having played USC (and won) and not having such a wimpy non-conference schedule. UW doesn't play USC in the regular season this year.

The Pac-12 South is in turmoil. USC is on top with a 5-1 record (2-1 in conference) with that loss to WSU last week. Utah is in second with a 4-1 overall record and 1-1 in conference (they had a bye last week).

The Polls

Oklahoma lost yesterday to Iowa State (!). Why do we care? Because Oklahoma was ranked at #3. They are now ranked at #12. That means a lot of teams moved up one, including the Huskies, now at #5 in the AP Top 25 poll, their highest ranking this year. Also, they are for the second week in a row, the highest-ranked Pac-12 team.

Washington State is at #8 having moved up from #11 (Michigan, which was at #7, also lost, so more teams moved up). WSU is at their highest ranking this year (and probably in a long time). USC is at #13, having moved up one slot. And Stanford is back in the top 25 at #23. Utah dropped off from #20 after their loss to Stanford.

Next Week

Next week the Huskies face the Arizona State Sun Devils at Tempe (or Tuscon, I always get those mixed up). ASU is at 2-3 overall so the Huskies shouldn't have any problem with them.

The Cougars play California on Friday. Again, the Cougars shouldn't have any trouble with the Bears.

The Future

Looking at the Huskies' and the Cougars' schedules, I don't see where either team is going to have any huge problems until they meet each other in the Apple Cup. Stanford is the only team that could be a spoiler. The Huskies play them at Stanford on November 10th (a Friday) and the Cougars host Stanford on November 4th.

Author Appearance

Today from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM I will be at the Moses Lake Business Association's Art and Wine Walk in downtown Moses Lake, WA. I don't know where I'll be on the walk, so I guess you'll have to do the entire thing to find me.

I will be with fellow authors Judith Ann McDowell, TR Goodman, and J.M. Scheirer. Genres represented include:

Science FictionFantasySteampunkIndian RomanceHorrorWerewolvesWesternsCome check it out, try some fine wines, and pick up a good book (or three) to read on the upcoming long winter nights.

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Jon Mollison and Anthony R. Howard

Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are pleased to welcome Jon Mollison and Anthony R. Howard.
Jon MollisonJon Mollison

One of the Twelve Champions of the Pulp Revolution, Jon grew weary of searching for works that captured the adventure, romance, and heroism of the early pulp stories so he set out to make his own.  Inspired by the likes of Burroughs, Dunsany, Haggard, and Howard, his novels breathe new life into speculative fiction by focusing on the freewheeling fun of stories where anything can happen, virtue leads to victory, and nothing can thwart the love shared between a good man and woman.

Jon's Books:


Space Princess (Pre-Release)

Adventure Constant

A Moon Full of Stars

Jon's Links:

Website
Twitter
Gab

Anthony R. HowardAnthony R. Howard

Bestselling, Award-Winning author Anthony R. Howard has studied Christianity for over 15 years, as well as secret societies, basic theology and angelology (the study of angels).  Howard has won several awards, appeared on many national media outlets and is also the bestselling author of The Invisible Enemy: Black Fox , The Invisible Enemy II: Vendetta ,  Devil's Diary: The Coming . Howard also has a passion for Christianity, prophecy and spirituality.  Howard has served on ministry teams and religious leadership groups, each which give astounding insight into many of the characters developed in Devils Diary. Presently in Atlanta, he is a leading Technology Specialist for one of the world’s largest Information Technology firms where he was Named #1 IT Super Hero by InfoWorld and ComputerWorld , was the winner of the National Federal Office Systems Award (FOSE - Nation’s Largest Information Technology Exposition Serving the Government Marketplace), and the winner of Government Computer News Best New Technology Award. Several case studies have been published on Howard’s solutions across the Information Technology industry. Currently he provides enterprise technology solutions and advisement for America’s most distinguished clients including a sizeable amount of work for the U.S. Defense Sector, Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security.

Anthony's Books:


Devil’s Diary: The Coming

The Invisible Enemy: Black Fox

The Invisible Enemy: Vendetta 

Anthony's Links:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Goodreads

From Today's Program: Snow on Mars at Night.

Listen to today's program at 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT or in archive here.

Self Censoring

Years and years and years ago (okay, 1994) I took a community education class on the internet. It concentrated on Usenet (is that still a thing?) as back then that was the most active part of the internet. They also talked a bit about the World Wide Web (www) and introduced the Internet Movie Database (yes, it existed way back then, it was one of the very early parts of the World Wide Web).

But the instructors said something that has stuck with me. They said, "Don't put anything on the internet that you wouldn't put on a public bulletin board." (They meant the flat board made of wood or cork that you would tack papers on and people read as they walk by.) What they didn't say, probably because no one realized it at the time, is that what you put on the Internet is there forever. Even if you manage to delete it.

This is why on all social media, I self-censor. I don't post very personal things such as personal drama. Because who needs to do that? And who needs to read that. I have friends to talk to (or in one case, text to) about that.

Some of the stuff I see on Facebook and Twitter just amazes me. Don't these people realize what they post is forever? And on this blog I censor myself. I never get too personal. I hope. And I don't discuss politics on this blog (but if you read between the lines, you might figure out where my loyalties lie).

Do you censor what you post online? Or do you let it "all hang out"? Let me know in the comments.

The Huskies are 5-0 (And so are the Cougars)

Editors note: This is late because I was travelling all weekend. I watched the game last night on DVR.

The University of Washington Huskies are still undefeated after beating the Oregon State Beavers 7-42. There was little doubt as the Beavers are the worst team in the Pac-12.

But, it wasn't the blow-out it could have been. On their first series, the Huskies marched down the field and scored. But then they never scored again in the first half, with miscues and missed opportunities, they never reached the end zone.

After halftime they looked like the team they are supposed to be, and scored 35 points before late in the fourth quarter, coach Chris Petersen did his usual thing in blow-out games, and put in back up players. The Beavers then managed to get a touchdown against our second stringers.

The Huskies are 5-0 overall, 2-0 in conference. No one is surprised at this. Next week the Huskies play the California Golden Bears at home. The game will be on ESPN at 7:45 PM PDT. Which is an awful time.

Upset!

But, elsewhere in the Pac-12, the Washington State Cougars defeated #5-ranked USC. So the Cougars
are 5-0, also, and 2-0 in conference. That was not a game USC was supposed to lose. In fact, USC wasn't supposed to lose any games on their way to a Pac-12 South championship and then play the Pac-12 North winner (probably Washington) for the Pac-12 championship on December 1st. But right now the Utah Utes are the only undefeated team in the Pac-12 South at 4-0 overall, 1-0 in conference (they had a bye this week). USC is 4-1 overall, 2-1 in conference.

The Pac-12 North Division championship might come down to the Apple Cup, the annual cross-state rivalry game between UW and WSU. Could be interesting.

Now the Pac-12 South Division championship will probably be between USC and Utah.

The Polls

As you can imagine, USC's defeat dropped them in the AP top 25 poll, from #5 to #14. WSU jumped from #16 to #11. I was hoping that since USC dropped out of #5, Washington would slip into that spot. But Georgia is now #5 and Washington stayed at #6. Washington is now the highest ranked team in the Pac-12.

Utah stayed at #20.

Television Review: iZombie

I have watched the first season (of three, so far, with a fourth coming) of the show iZombie.

The premise of the show is that a medical student is turned into a zombie and she has to eat brains to be high-functioning (my term). So she works in the medical examiners' office where she has access to the brains of the bodies brought in. As a side benefit, she sees visions from the dead person's life (not always a good thing) and helps the police solve the murders that way. Only her boss (at first) knows she's a zombie.

Here are my thoughts.

Old Seattle police car colorsFirst of all it's set in Seattle but filmed in Vancouver, B.C. (this is to save money). They get Seattle culture/geography down pretty well. although they use "U-Dub" for the University of Washington too much. At first I thought they messed up the police cars. Seattle police cars used to be blue. But apparently, Seattle has gone to traditional black and white and that's what the cars look like in the show.

New Seattle police car colorsThe show is very well written. The writing is clever and delivered well by talented actors. The show started out sort of whimsical and then got darker as the season progressed. The last episode is really dark.

Rose McIver does a very good job in the lead role as Liv Moore (get it?). She takes on the personalities of the persons whose brains she eats, so each week she has to have a new personality. It's fun to watch.

My biggest complaint is I get so tired of the "evil corporation" trope. Why isn't there ever an evil welfare office, trapping people in poverty so the bureaucrats can keep their jobs?

I recommend this show despite my one complaint. The writing is superb, the acting well done, and the premise is interesting. I'll probably start watching season two on Monday since I'm busy this weekend.

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Meg Hafdahl and Mark Wallace Maguire

Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are pleased to welcome writers Meg Hafdahl and Mark Wallace Maguire.
Meg HafdahlMeg Hafdahl

Meg Hafdahl’s suspense and horror stories have appeared in several anthologies including Spider Road Press’ Eve’s Requiem: Tales of Women, Mystery, and Horror. Her own short story series, Twisted Reveries, is published by Inklings Publishing. Her work has been produced for audio by the Wicked Library, and the screenplay for her original story “Guts” has recently been named an official selection of the Women in Horror Film Festival. Meg’s forthcoming debut novel, Her Dark Inheritance, will arrive soon. She is also the co-host of the popular podcast Horror Rewind, available on iTunes and iHeartRadio.

Meg's Works:

Twisted Reveries 1

Twisted Reveries 2

Her Dark Inheritance (coming March 2018)

Meg's Links:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Mark Wallace MaguireMark Wallace Maguire

As a preacher's son, Mark Wallace Maguire spent his childhood crisscrossing the South soaking in the lilting dialects, oral traditions and cultural idiosyncrasies. After a brief career in music, he settled behind the desk as a reporter at the Marietta Daily Journal and has spent the last 20 years as fixture in the metro Atlanta media scene. He currently serves as director of Cobb Life magazine and Cobb Business Journal. His writing has been published in many regional and national publications including Snake Nation Review, Reach of Song, Cobb Life magazine, neighbor newspapers and The Blood and Fire Review. He has been honored for his writing by several organizations including The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists and The Georgia Poetry Society. In 2005, he was named the Berry College Outstanding Young Alumni of The Year. In 2017, he was nominated for Georgia Author of The Year for his first novel, Alexandria Rising which was described as "magical" and "phenomenal." Letters from Red Clay Country: Selected Columns was published in 2015 and features the best of his award-winning newspaper and magazine columns. When he's not writing, Maguire produces musical projects inspired by his favorite authors and books as well as painting, gardening and making Star Wars puns with his sons.

Mark's Books:

Alexandria Rising

Letters from Red Clay Country (nonfiction)

Mark's Links:

Blog
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube

From Today's Program: Relativity Works Under Extreme Conditions.

Listen to today's program at 6:00 PM ET/ 3:00 PM PT, or in archive here.

Depression is a Disease, Not a Human Failing

I see these memes on Facebook every now and then. And they piss me off. Here's an example:



This comes from ignorance and the belief that depression is a human failing, not a disease. You might as well label the forest as "This is a cure for cancer" and chemotherapy drugs as "shit."

(Full disclosure: Prozac is not my favorite anti-depression drug. But it's been around for 30 years and better drugs have come along since.)

Now I try not to argue on Facebook (anymore). So I don't argue with the people. But next time I see one of these ignorant memes, I might post this (that I found Googleing to find the above meme):


Depression is a disease. That's why they call it "mental illness" not "mental weakness." Yes, you can have a bad day and be situationally depressed and a walk in a forest may help you. But if you are chronically depressed, you have a disease and you need drugs. There is no shame in it, there is no moral failing. You were born that way (probably inherited it from a parent or two).

I'm type 2 bipolar with dysthymia. Which means, without drugs, I'm depressed a lot (with occasional bursts of mania). The drugs literally saved my life.

So don't tell people to go for a walk when they have a disease. Including depression.

Huskies are 4-0!

(This is my 800th post on this blog since starting this blog September 19, 2012. Or five years and five days ago. How about that?)

Thanks to Facebook's "On this Day" feature, I was reminded this morning that last year the University of Washington Huskies struggled in their first conference game against Arizona. They still won that game, 35-28.

For their first conference (Pac-12) game this year, the Huskies had to play Colorado in Boulder. Colorado was looking for revenge for last year's Pac-12 Championship Game where the Huskies destroyed them. Also, while Husky Stadium is at probably 20 feet above sea level, Boulder is at 5,430 feet, or more than a mile high. I worried about our guys struggling with the altitude. How do you train for at at 20 feet altitude?

Yesterday, at least for the first half of the game, the Huskies struggled against Colorado. The Buffs received the first kickoff and marched 75 yards down the field to make a touchdown. The Huskies got the ball, struggled to get down the field, were stopped in the red zone, tried to make a field goal, but it missed. The first quarter ended 0-7, Buffaloes in the lead.

By the half, it was 10-7 Huskies, but they struggled to get those points. But they were looking better and the defense was stopping Colorado.

The second half was a blow-out. The Huskies out-scored Colorado by 27 to 3 in the second half to win the game 37-10. With nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, UW Coach Petersen took out our starting quarterback, Jake Browning, and put in the back up quarterback. That's how badly we were beating Colorado. While I worried about the Huskies getting winded at that altitude, it was the Buffs that were acting worn out and fatigued by the end of the third quarter.

Unfortunately, Donte Pettis didn't have a run back from a punt for a touchdown so he won't break the record of consecutive games with that accomplishment. But he can still break the NCAA record for career touchdowns from a punt return. He has at least 8 games to go.

The regular season is one-third done. In the Pac-12 only four teams are undefeated. In the Pac-12 South division, it's USC and Utah. In the Pac-12 North Division it's Washington and Washington State. Next week WSU plays USC (at home) so one of those teams will no longer be undefeated.

UW and WSU are tied for the number one spot in the North Division at 4-0 overall and 1-0 in conference.

Washington visits Oregon State, a team that they should have no problem beating. And Utah as a bye next week. Their next game is against Stanford on October 7th. Stanford, who were supposed to be the Huskies' main rival in the Pac-12 North, are now 2-2 over all, 1-1 in conference.

The Polls

USC stayed at number 5 in the AP top 25 poll. Washington moved up one to #6. Washington State moved up to #16 (from 18) after beating hapless Nevada yesterday. Utah moved up to 20 from 23. And Oregon, who lost to Arizona St. dropped off the top 25 after one week at #24.

The problem is, USC and UW are running up against the top four teams in the country which, unless one of them loses, will not give up a spot. This may be, for a while, the highest they get in the AP poll.

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Sherry Peters and James M. Corkill

Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are pleased to welcome writers Sherry Peters and James M. Corkill.
Sherry PetersSherry Peters

Sherry Peters is a certified Success Coach for Writers. She graduated from the Odyssey Writing Workshop in 2005 and earned her M.A. in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in 2009. She credits the year she spent in Northern Ireland as one of the best years of her life and a daily inspiration and motivation in her writing. Her debut YA Fantasy novel Mabel the Lovelorn Dwarf placed First in the 2014 Writer's Digest Self-Published e-Book Awards in the Middle Grade / YA category. She is also the author of the non-fiction book Silencing Your Inner Saboteur is available. Both books are available in e-book and paperback formats at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, all major online e-book retailers. For more information on Sherry Peters, please visit her website at www.sherrypeters.com


Sherry's Books:

Mabel the Lovelorn Dwarf (Ballad of Mabel Goldenaxe Book 1)

Mabel the Mafioso Dwarf (Ballad of Mabel Goldenaxe Book 2)


Mabel the Notorious Dwarf (Ballad of Mabel Goldenaxe Book 3)

Sherry's Link:

Website


James M. CorkillJames M. Corkill

Bestselling and award-winning author James M. Corkill, is a Veteran, and retired Federal Firefighter from Washington State, USA. He was an electronic technician and studied mechanical engineering in his spare time before eventually becoming a firefighter for 32-years and retiring. He began writing in 1997, and was fortunate to meet the famous horror writer Hugh B. Cave, who became his mentor. He now lives in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina.

James's Books:


Gravity: The Alex Cave Series Book 4

Pandora’s Eyes : The Alex Cave Series Book 5


DNA : The Alex Cave Series Book 6

James's' Links:

Website
Facebook
Twitter

From Today's Program: Saturn's moon Titan has molecules to make cell membranes.


Listen to today's program at 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT, or in archive here.