S. Evan Townsend's Blog, page 83

Someone I Find Fascinating

Continuing on with the thirty-day blogging challenge that, being the rebel I am, I'm not doing in thirty days. Today's prompt is "Someone who fascinates you and why."

This is hard to do without getting into politics or
Someone who fascinates me and is not a politician (or someone having to do with politics such as a reporter) or a crush, is . . . Michael Dell.

Dell was the founder of Dell Computers. Big deal? Well, yes. Dell started a computer business in his dorm room when he was a pre-med student in college. He then moved it to a condominium. Finally he started Dell Computers in Austin Texas with $1,000 of capital.

At age 27 he was the youngest CEO of a company ranked in Fortune magazine's list of the top 500 corporations. This was 1992.

Dell, who is now 50 years old, is very rich, with an estimated net worth of $22.4 billion. And it all started with $1,000 and hard work. Lots of hard work, I suspect.

Dell's success shows that hard work, creativity, and more hard work pay off. Or at least they did in the '80s and '90s.

And, despite his success, he's been married to the same woman since 1989. No trophy wife for him.

I, personally, have had great luck with the Dell computers that I own. And I love being able to configure them almost exactly as I want them on their website. So I'm not only an admirer, I'm a customer.

And that's a person I find fascinating.

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Marina Fontaine and Pembroke Sinclair

Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are happy to welcome writers Marina Fontaine and Pembroke Sinclair.
Marina Fontaine

Marina is a Russian by birth, American by choice and a hopeless book addict. After years of reading and reviewing books, especially in the fantasy and speculative fiction genres, she entered a flash fiction contest with a story that became an inspiration for Chasing Freedom, her first novel. Marina lives in New Jersey with her very supportive husband, three children and four guinea pigs. She works as an accountant by day and a writer by night. Her other interests include hard rock music, action movies and travel.

Marina's Book:

Chasing Freedom

Marina's Links:

Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Liberty Island

Pembroke SinclairPembroke Sinclair

Pembroke Sinclair is a literary jack of all trades, playing her hand at multiple genres. She has written an eclectic mix of fiction ranging from horror to sci-fi and even some westerns. Born in Rock Springs, Wyoming--the home of 56 nationalities--it is no wonder Pembroke ended up so creatively diverse. Her fascination with the notions of good and evil, demons and angels, and how the lines blur have inspired her writing. Pembroke lives in Laramie, Wyoming, with her husband, two spirited boys, a black lab named Ryder, and a rescue kitty named Alia, who happens to be the sweetest, most adorable kitty in the world! She cannot say no to dessert, orange soda, or cinnamon. She loves rats and tatts and rock and roll and wants to be an alien queen when she grows up.

Pembroke's Books:

Life After the Undead

Death to the Undead

Good Intentions

Pembroke's Links:

Blog
Facebook
Twitter

From Today's Show: A Nearby Supernova May Have Affected Human Evolution

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

The Force Awakens . . . Again

Last night (on May the 4th) I watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens again. I watched it in the theater when it first came out and I watched it last night on a Netflix rental Blu-ray.

On second viewing I stand by what I said before about Rey.

Now I have some more complaints.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

J.J. Abrams is doing to the Star Wars universe the same thing he did to the Star Trek universe. Now in Star Trek interstellar travel is near instantaneous and interstellar communication is instantaneous. In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the time it takes to get somewhere at hyper seems to depend on the needs of the story, not on any consistent technology. If the story needs time to have some discussion and show Rey is so wonderful she can fix the Millennium Falcon while it's in hyper, it takes a while to get someplace. But if J.J. Abrams simply wants to move the story along, it takes mere moments to get somewhere, including the far away unexplored outpost where Luke Skywalker is hiding.

The same thing happened in Star Trek into Darkness. It took the Enterprise moments to get to the Klingon home world from Earth. But when they went back and were being chased, it took longer. Why?

Also, in Star Wars, Leia somehow knew instantly that Han had been killed. How? She was a long ways away on another planet. And C3PO knew the shields were down on the planet-killing weapon at the same distance. If that was possible, why didn't General Akbar know that they were being jammed in Return of the Jedi? He didn't until they got there ("It's a trap!").

What Abrams has done to Star Trek (ignoring science and consistent technological abilities for the sake of the story he wants to tell) he's done to Star Wars.

A Place I Would Live (But Have Never Visited)

Italian Lake DistrictThe blogging challenge continues and today's subject is "A place I would live but have never been to."

This is tough because it's hard to say you want to live someplace you've never been. I've been to Santiago, Chile and I thought it was very nice. It reminded me of central California except without the Californians.

True story: I got to Chile from Peru. Now you know you're not supposed to drink the water in South America. I checked into a Holiday Inn Express with a Jaguar dealership across the street. The room look so much like an American hotel room, I went to the bathroom and got a glass of water and drank it down without thinking. Then I realized I was drinking the tap water. But I tasted chlorine so I think it might have been okay.  I did get violently ill a few days later (with explosive diarrhea), but I think I picked that up in Peru.

I like Florida but my air conditioning bills would be murder in the summer because of the heat and humidity. Plus, I think I would miss having mountains.

But the one place I could see living that I've never visited is Northern Italy. Not only is the Ferrari factory there, but so are the Dolomites (extension of the Alps) and the Italian Lake District. Plus there's the wine and the food.

Italian is like Spanish as it's supposed to be fairly easy for English-speakers to learn. Plus being immersed in a language is a great way to learn it.

So if I had to live someplace I'd never been, it would probably be northern Italy. Where would you like to live that you've never been?

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Kim Alexander and Sara Dobie Bauer

Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are pleased to welcome Kim Alexander and Sara Dobie Bauer.
Kim AlexanderKim Alexander

Kim Alexander grew up in the wilds of Long Island, NY and slowly drifted south until she reached Key West. After spending ten rum-soaked years DJing in the Keys, she moved to Washington DC, where she lives with two cats, an angry fish, and her extremely patient husband. She began writing when she ran out of authors to interview (and they pulled the plug on her channel, Sirius XM Book Radio.)

Kim was in her twenties when she finally read a book not prominently featuring spaceships and/or wizards. Turns out Jane Austen was pretty funny!

The Sand Prince is Kim’s first novel and begins a fantasy series called "The Demon Door." Her husband tells her she needs to write at least ten more books if she intends to retire in Thailand, so thank you for your patronage.
Kim's Book:
The Sand Prince
Kim's Links:
Website Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr WattPad
Sara Dobie BauerSara Dobie Bauer
Sara Dobie Bauer is a writer, model, and mental health advocate with a creative writing degree from Ohio University. She spends most days at home in her pajamas as a book nerd and sex-pert for SheKnows.com. Her short story, “Don’t Ball the Boss,” was nominated for the 2015 Pushcart Prize, inspired by her shameless crush on Benedict Cumberbatch. She lives with her hottie husband and two precious pups in Northeast Ohio, although she would really like to live in a Tim Burton film. She is the author of Life without Harry, Forever Dead, and Wolf Among Sheep. World Weaver Press will publish her novel, Bite Somebody, summer of 2016.
Sara's Books:
Bite Somebody (preorder)

Wolf Among Sheep
The Saguaro Apocalypse
Sara's Links:
Website Facebook Twitter
From Today's Show: Laser Cloak Could Hide the Earth from Aliens.
Listen to today's show at 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT, or in archive here.

Ten Interesting Facts about Me

Continuing on with the "blogging challenge" the next category is "Ten interesting facts about you."

Not sure I can come up with ten interesting facts about me. I'm pretty boring.

1) I have owned at least one computer since 1981. I still kick myself for not going into computer science in college in the early '80s. I could be a Microsoft millionaire by now. But the math intimidated me.

2) I have a BS in Forest Resources earned from the College of Forest Resources at the University of Washington (go Dawgs!). Side note: the College of Forest Resources is now the School of Forest Resources in the College of the Environment, a change I did not support. My major was Pulp and Paper Engineering. I know more than I want to know about how paper is made. Ironically, I had almost as much math earning this degree as I would have had in computer science.

3) I was in the U.S. Army for four years. My job (or MOS) was linguist. I learned Korean at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. But that was nearly 30 years ago and I can barely speak a word of Korean now.

4) I was in Military Intelligence in the Army. I still know secrets although I Googled one a while back and found the "secret" all over the internet.

5) Some of my earliest memories involve politics. My mother was very active in local politics and took me to all sorts of events. To this day, I'm very interested in politics and enjoy watching the tactics and strategies of various campaigns.

6) I like to drive fast. I have even driven on a race track.

7) I worked as a disk jockey at a country music station for two years between high school and college. When the ratings came out, I beat Paul Harvey in our local market. I felt kind of bad about that.

8) I have what dermatologist call "type one skin." I sunburn in less than 15 minutes without
protection. I have never had a tan in my life (my freckles get darker and the skin around them burns). If I am forced to be outside in the sun for any length of time, I use the highest SPF sunscreen I can find (usually 75). Even then I can burn in a few hours. This is partially why I took to wearing hats (that, and they are classy).

9) I taught myself to type at age 12. I knew if I wanted to be a writer I'd have to know how to type. My older sister was taking typing in high school, so I borrowed her instruction book and used it to learn how to type. Yes, at age 12, I wanted to be a writer.

10) I am diagnosed ADD and am pretty sure I'm dyslexic. I am on drugs to help the ADD (and they do help) but the dyslexia has meant I've always been a poor speller and not a very good reader, either. I tend to "whole word" read which can have hilarious results as I assume a word is something it's not. Since I'm a poor speller who has trouble concentrating, I decided to become a writer.

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with J.E. Bean and Nicholas Conley

Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are happy to welcome writers J.E. Bean and Nicholas Conley.
J. E. BeanJ.E. Bean

J. E. Bean is a talented young author whose writing style is action-packed while developing strong character relationships. She is an avid reader who wrote her first novel Intellectual entirely at age 11. She is a native of Michigan where she lives with her family. She wants to inspire other persons her age to start
reading books again.  Watch for J. E. Bean’s second novel coming out later this year!

J.E.'s Book:

Intellectual

J.E.'s Link:

Website
Website


Nicholas ConleyNicholas Conley

Nicholas Conley's passion for storytelling began at an early age, prompted by a love of science fiction novels, comic books and horror movies. His novel Pale Highway is influenced by his experience working with Alzheimer's patients in a nursing home, a subject that he has also written about for publications such as Vox. When not busy writing, Nicholas spends his time reading, traveling to new places, and indulging in a lifelong coffee habit. In order to better establish himself on the planet Earth, Nicholas has currently made his home in New Hampshire. More information on Nicholas can be found on his website, www.NicholasConley.com.

Nicholas's Books:

Pale Highway

The Cage Legacy

Nicholas's Links:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Google+

From today's show: A Comet Blew Away Some of Mars's Atmosphere

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

Watch this!

Watch this on the biggest screen you can (it's high definition):

Jessica Jones

I have had it with Marvel.

I am sick and tired of the countless, endless Marvel movies. I have no desire to see Captain America: Civil War. Well, maybe if the reviews come in very good. It seems the public has not lost their appetite for Marvel movies so I'm in the minority here. But I am tired of Marvel superhero movies.

Then I decided to watch Jessica Jones, the Netflix original series. I knew it was Marvel but I gave it a try anyway. And I was immediately hooked. Jones, played by the very talented Krysten Ritter, is a deep, complex, and feeling superhero. Sort of a fallen Avenger, even though she was never an Avenger. She is sarcastic, caustic, and yet you feel, see, and hear her pain. She has a horrifying back-story that during the course of the first season they leak out slowly.

The show also has a wonderful villain in Kilgrave, played by a former Doctor Who actor, David Tennant. Tennant seems to relish being the bad guy. And an awful bad guy he is who uses his superpower in the most horrific ways.

The supporting cast is great. Carrie-Anne Moss as a slimy attorney, for example.

I loved Jessica Jones. I've watched all the first season now and, no spoilers, but it build and builds and builds to a climax in the last episode.

Jessica Jones is set in the Avengers universe (if that's the right way to put it) and there are a few hints to tell you that. But unlike the Avengers movies, Jessica Jones is dark, complex and, frankly, not for the squeamish.

If you have Netflix streaming, watch this. If you don't, it's almost worth the price.

A Kiss and a Cat

Back the the thirty day blogging challenge. The next subject is "your first kiss."

I hardly remember my first kiss. I think it was in the front of a pickup truck as I dropped off a girl after hanging out together (we were in play together).

So I'm going to talk about my first kiss with my wife.

We were on the porch of her house (she still lived with her parents) and saying goodnight. It was a rainy, dark day in the Seattle area and we'd gone and seen a movie (don't ask me which movie, it might have been this one).

So I stepped in and took her in my arms and kissed her.

And a cat jumped on our faces. It was black. I remember it was sitting on a brick ledge as we were saying goodnight but I ignored it. I don't know if it thought I was attacking my wife or was envious of the attention, but it jumped on our faces between us as we kissed.

Needless to say, the kiss was interrupted.

My wife and I still joke about that first kiss and the cat.