Mark R. Hunter's Blog, page 72
May 5, 2016
Seven, Seven, Seven
I was tagged by Mari Collier on Facebook to do a seven, seven, seven. That means posting seven lines from the seventh page of a work in progress, and then tagging seven other writers. I don’t do the tagging thing because I’m a buzzkill, so I’m doing a seven seven, which equals fourteen, which is my favorite number. So there.
This is from my boring old history book, which is also my humor book, which I’m currently polishing: Hoosier Hysterical: How the West Became the Midwest Without Moving At All. Turns out the lines are right at the end of “Forward: The Part Where I Explain Myself”:
_________________________
As hinted at earlier, the name Indiana is thought to mean “Land of Indians”, for reasons that are probably obvious. Presently the capital of the state is the imaginatively named Indianapolis. “Polis” is a Greek word for city, or city-state. Thus, Indianapolis is the city of Indiana. We’re a plainspoken people.
On an unrelated note, “Acropolis” means high city. So does “Denver”.
So sit back and learn something fun about history. When you’re done, read this book.
This is from my boring old history book, which is also my humor book, which I’m currently polishing: Hoosier Hysterical: How the West Became the Midwest Without Moving At All. Turns out the lines are right at the end of “Forward: The Part Where I Explain Myself”:
_________________________
As hinted at earlier, the name Indiana is thought to mean “Land of Indians”, for reasons that are probably obvious. Presently the capital of the state is the imaginatively named Indianapolis. “Polis” is a Greek word for city, or city-state. Thus, Indianapolis is the city of Indiana. We’re a plainspoken people.
On an unrelated note, “Acropolis” means high city. So does “Denver”.
So sit back and learn something fun about history. When you’re done, read this book.
April 30, 2016
A Flowery State Debate
Still working hard on getting the next book ready ... but I needed a pause to get my column out for http://www.4countymall.com/.
SLIGHTLY OFF THE MARK
Ah, spring! That time of year when we give up complaining about one set of annoyances, in favor of complaining about another set of annoyances. It’s kind of like the aftermath of a Congressional election.
Here in northern Indiana, spring starts sometime between mid-March and late May. Signs of spring include hungry insects; excited weathermen; and columns of smoke, from people whose first action on shedding their winter coats is to go outside and burn something. Sometimes it’s even what they intended to burn.
But it’s not winter, and that’s something. Have you already forgotten the spinning tires, the blue fingers, the loss of feeling in exposed skin? Winter kills, man. Has anyone ever died from spring weather, or bee stings?
Okay, bad examples.
One of my favorite signs of spring is flowers. It used to be bikinis, but I don’t have the body for them anymore. When I was younger I didn’t think much about them (flowers—I thought about bikinis a lot). Now I quite literally like to stop and smell the flowers, a harmless occupation if you’re not the guy walking behind me. When I was researching my upcoming book, Hoosier Hysterical: How the West Became the Midwest Without Moving At All …
Whew. Let me catch my breath—long subtitle. Whose idea was that? Oh, mine? Well, it’s not too long.
Anyway, I discovered while researching Indiana history that our state has suffered long bouts of infighting over, believe it or not, flowers. Specifically the state flower. Like most states, our leaders spent long hours deciding what should represent us. Indiana has a state beverage, stone, poem, rifle—even airplane. (You have to read the book to find out what they are. Or you could go to an encyclopedia, but I’d prefer you read the book.)
When it comes to the flower, in 1913 the Indiana General Assembly declared it to be the carnation, which is a nice flower—and also a good way to identify your blind date across a crowded room. Unfortunately, as someone pointed out after we made it the state flower, the carnation isn’t native to Indiana.
So a decade later the General Assembly picked the tulip tree blossom, instead. It only took ten years. Then, in 1931, they traded that in for a zinnia. Zinnia? It’s a flower, apparently, and related to the sunflower tribe within the daisy family, and isn’t Google grand? That’s right, sunflowers are related to daisies, and zinnia is their illegitimate child who someone named while still on labor pain medications.
Rumors swirled like blossoms that the debate was dominated by an influential farmer. His crop happened to be … you guessed it … no, not corn! Zinnias. But at least that settled it.
Well, that settled it until 1957. The dogwood had gained popularity, and it looked like that might be our new state flower, until one of the representatives stuck his flowery hand into the debate. That rep was also a farmer, only his product was … the peony. At least this time they first confirmed the peony was native to Indiana.
Oh, wait … no they didn’t.
Still, perhaps sensing that this was silly even by political body standards, the General Assembly stuck to their guns—or rather, their pistils. Little Magnoliophyta joke, there. The dogwood lost its bark, while as a consolation prize, the tulip became the state tree. The carnation? Never heard from again.
And what of the Crocus? The Dwarf Iris? The Striped Squill? Trick question: Those are all B-list Batman villains.
This all may seem a bit silly, but hey—we even have our own state soil. Yeah, the Miami, described as a brown silt loam. At least, that’s the dirt I dug up.
If I spend entire sections of Hoosier Hysterical discussing such silly subjects, it should be remembered that I wasn’t going for the profound … unless you mean profoundly silly. Silly it might be, but there really were raging debates over the state flower. It’s not like our nickname, The Hoosier State, which was pretty much agreed on right from the beginning.
Although come to think of it, I spend an entire section on the word Hoosier, too.
As for the flower, I’m personally a fan of the lilac. We have two lilac bushes in our back yard … well, trees now, but don’t judge me on my lack of landscaping care. Also don’t judge me on the fact that, in the short lilac bloom period, I like to spread the blossoms through the house to drive out that we-really-need-to-spring-clean winter smell.
Then they’re gone all too soon, sometimes before the colder days of spring are through. I suppose that’s a good enough reason why the lilac isn’t Indiana’s state flower … not to mention it’s not native to Indiana.
Of course … neither are most Hoosiers.
SLIGHTLY OFF THE MARK
Ah, spring! That time of year when we give up complaining about one set of annoyances, in favor of complaining about another set of annoyances. It’s kind of like the aftermath of a Congressional election.
Here in northern Indiana, spring starts sometime between mid-March and late May. Signs of spring include hungry insects; excited weathermen; and columns of smoke, from people whose first action on shedding their winter coats is to go outside and burn something. Sometimes it’s even what they intended to burn.
But it’s not winter, and that’s something. Have you already forgotten the spinning tires, the blue fingers, the loss of feeling in exposed skin? Winter kills, man. Has anyone ever died from spring weather, or bee stings?
Okay, bad examples.
One of my favorite signs of spring is flowers. It used to be bikinis, but I don’t have the body for them anymore. When I was younger I didn’t think much about them (flowers—I thought about bikinis a lot). Now I quite literally like to stop and smell the flowers, a harmless occupation if you’re not the guy walking behind me. When I was researching my upcoming book, Hoosier Hysterical: How the West Became the Midwest Without Moving At All …
Whew. Let me catch my breath—long subtitle. Whose idea was that? Oh, mine? Well, it’s not too long.
Anyway, I discovered while researching Indiana history that our state has suffered long bouts of infighting over, believe it or not, flowers. Specifically the state flower. Like most states, our leaders spent long hours deciding what should represent us. Indiana has a state beverage, stone, poem, rifle—even airplane. (You have to read the book to find out what they are. Or you could go to an encyclopedia, but I’d prefer you read the book.)
When it comes to the flower, in 1913 the Indiana General Assembly declared it to be the carnation, which is a nice flower—and also a good way to identify your blind date across a crowded room. Unfortunately, as someone pointed out after we made it the state flower, the carnation isn’t native to Indiana.
So a decade later the General Assembly picked the tulip tree blossom, instead. It only took ten years. Then, in 1931, they traded that in for a zinnia. Zinnia? It’s a flower, apparently, and related to the sunflower tribe within the daisy family, and isn’t Google grand? That’s right, sunflowers are related to daisies, and zinnia is their illegitimate child who someone named while still on labor pain medications.
Rumors swirled like blossoms that the debate was dominated by an influential farmer. His crop happened to be … you guessed it … no, not corn! Zinnias. But at least that settled it.
Well, that settled it until 1957. The dogwood had gained popularity, and it looked like that might be our new state flower, until one of the representatives stuck his flowery hand into the debate. That rep was also a farmer, only his product was … the peony. At least this time they first confirmed the peony was native to Indiana.
Oh, wait … no they didn’t.
Still, perhaps sensing that this was silly even by political body standards, the General Assembly stuck to their guns—or rather, their pistils. Little Magnoliophyta joke, there. The dogwood lost its bark, while as a consolation prize, the tulip became the state tree. The carnation? Never heard from again.
And what of the Crocus? The Dwarf Iris? The Striped Squill? Trick question: Those are all B-list Batman villains.
This all may seem a bit silly, but hey—we even have our own state soil. Yeah, the Miami, described as a brown silt loam. At least, that’s the dirt I dug up.
If I spend entire sections of Hoosier Hysterical discussing such silly subjects, it should be remembered that I wasn’t going for the profound … unless you mean profoundly silly. Silly it might be, but there really were raging debates over the state flower. It’s not like our nickname, The Hoosier State, which was pretty much agreed on right from the beginning.
Although come to think of it, I spend an entire section on the word Hoosier, too.
As for the flower, I’m personally a fan of the lilac. We have two lilac bushes in our back yard … well, trees now, but don’t judge me on my lack of landscaping care. Also don’t judge me on the fact that, in the short lilac bloom period, I like to spread the blossoms through the house to drive out that we-really-need-to-spring-clean winter smell.
Then they’re gone all too soon, sometimes before the colder days of spring are through. I suppose that’s a good enough reason why the lilac isn’t Indiana’s state flower … not to mention it’s not native to Indiana.
Of course … neither are most Hoosiers.
April 18, 2016
50 Authors Drawing Winner
I’ve never done an online book giveaway until my recent “50 Authors from 50 States” guest blog. When it came time to pick a winner from the commenters, I figured there must be some random drawing generator online somewhere. But it turns out many people still just draw names out of a hat.
So I did. Well, I didn’t—to keep it fair, I had a friend draw one, and since I’m not a hat person it came out of a bowl. The name, not the friend.
Just the same, congrats to Sally Weigold Charette! Her name emerged … just the first name, but there was only one Sally on the list. Sally will receive a copy of Hoosier Hysteria: How the West Became the Midwest Without Moving at All, as soon as it comes out in May. Sally, all I need from you is a mailing address (which I might already have, but I’m lazy.) I hope you like it!
My thanks to Annette Snyder for hosting me! Her ongoing blog of authors from all over can be found here:
http://annettesnyder.blogspot.com/
So I did. Well, I didn’t—to keep it fair, I had a friend draw one, and since I’m not a hat person it came out of a bowl. The name, not the friend.
Just the same, congrats to Sally Weigold Charette! Her name emerged … just the first name, but there was only one Sally on the list. Sally will receive a copy of Hoosier Hysteria: How the West Became the Midwest Without Moving at All, as soon as it comes out in May. Sally, all I need from you is a mailing address (which I might already have, but I’m lazy.) I hope you like it!
My thanks to Annette Snyder for hosting me! Her ongoing blog of authors from all over can be found here:
http://annettesnyder.blogspot.com/
April 12, 2016
discrepency
Hoosier Hysterical was a 41,000 manuscript, and I added a thousand words while going through Emily's edits.
Now I've written 5,000 words worth of photo captions ... and I'm not done. So, at least no one can complain that it's too short.
Now I've written 5,000 words worth of photo captions ... and I'm not done. So, at least no one can complain that it's too short.
April 11, 2016
Crunch Time
You won’t be hearing much from me for a while (you decide whether that’s good or bad). I’m working on captions for Hoosier Hysteria, for the same photos Emily is busy editing and inserting into the book.
I didn’t original plan to illustrate the book, but hey—people like pictures. And there will be a lot of them: I’ve already written 70 captions, with more to come. We still plan to publish in May, so what little I post in the next few weeks will mostly be about the project.
I'm dancing as fast as I can.
I didn’t original plan to illustrate the book, but hey—people like pictures. And there will be a lot of them: I’ve already written 70 captions, with more to come. We still plan to publish in May, so what little I post in the next few weeks will mostly be about the project.
I'm dancing as fast as I can.
April 7, 2016
Tumbling makes me Flickr
Did you know I have Tumblr and Flickr accounts? What—you didn’t?
That’s okay … neither did I.
Apparently I set up the Flickr account in June of 2009, based on the “Welcome to Flickr” message I found when I, um, stumbled upon it recently. I have no clue when I opened a Tumblr account. It was probably one of those long ago “I don’t know what I’m doing on the internet, but I’m doing it” things.
Anyway, you’ll find little of interest there: I’ll probably repost stuff I already put up elsewhere. Just the same, if you’re interested in following along you’ll find me on Flickr as Ozma914, and on Tumblr at http://ozma914.tumblr.com/
That’s okay … neither did I.
Apparently I set up the Flickr account in June of 2009, based on the “Welcome to Flickr” message I found when I, um, stumbled upon it recently. I have no clue when I opened a Tumblr account. It was probably one of those long ago “I don’t know what I’m doing on the internet, but I’m doing it” things.
Anyway, you’ll find little of interest there: I’ll probably repost stuff I already put up elsewhere. Just the same, if you’re interested in following along you’ll find me on Flickr as Ozma914, and on Tumblr at http://ozma914.tumblr.com/
April 6, 2016
Indiana’s up with a book giveaway at 50 Authors for 50 States
http://annettesnyder.blogspot.com/201...
I’m guesting over at 50 Authors for 50 States this month, with a lighthearted look at Indiana monuments, parks, and history. Comment on the post to get entered for a shot at a free copy of our next book, Hoosier Hysterical: How the West Became the Midwest Without Moving at All.
I’m guesting over at 50 Authors for 50 States this month, with a lighthearted look at Indiana monuments, parks, and history. Comment on the post to get entered for a shot at a free copy of our next book, Hoosier Hysterical: How the West Became the Midwest Without Moving at All.
April 4, 2016
Video, photos of our wonderful Indiana Spring
Ah, April in Indiana. First there's all the property damage from wind, of course. The next day we drive through a sleet squall ... then that night we have what I can only describe as a snowstorm. Then the next day we walk the dog around town while it's 55 degrees--at midnight--and my allergies are acting up. When we get up the next morning it's in the 30s, and our sinuses are exploding.
Here's Emily's video and my photos of the snowstorm,
http://markrhunter.blogspot.com/2016/...
And the video on my brand new youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5H8n...
Here's Emily's video and my photos of the snowstorm,
http://markrhunter.blogspot.com/2016/...
And the video on my brand new youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5H8n...
April 1, 2016
Emily Edits; I Obey
I’m about a third of the way through Emily’s edits for Hoosier Hysterical. She’s a harsh taskmaster! And I can’t even complain to my wife about her.
But a good editor not only looks for typos: She points out what would make a manuscript better. That’s the time consuming part: where she finds things that don’t make sense, or could be done better. I’d rather my editor find that before the reader does.
But a good editor not only looks for typos: She points out what would make a manuscript better. That’s the time consuming part: where she finds things that don’t make sense, or could be done better. I’d rather my editor find that before the reader does.
March 31, 2016
Movie review: Dawn of the DC Movieverse
Warning: a gently spoilery for Batman vs. Superman. Also, you should be warned if you’re one of those automatic haters: I liked it.
Okay, I didn’t love it, and as we all know I’m easily entertained. Still, I don’t get the extreme hatred being doled out with a scoop shovel. The dislike, that I do understand.
The plot was “huh?” inducing. Basically Lex Luthor, for some reason long-haired and apparently a scientific genius who got all his dough from a not-nice dad, decides he has to destroy Superman. Why? My best guess is that Luthor is up to something down the road, and knows Superman will try to stop him.
Meanwhile, Grandpa Batman is still Dark Knighting away, as brooding as ever but even more violent. Evidence suggests he’s darker than ever partially because Joker killed Robin. In addition, the knockdown-dragout in Metropolis during Man of Steel led to the deaths and injuries of Bruce Wayne’s friends and destruction of his property. Bruce blames Superman for this, because, after all, Batman never caused injury or property destruction while fighting off villains.
So Luthor tricks Superman and Batman into slugging it out, while also quite literally raising his own supervillain, who DC fans will be chilled to know is Doomsday.
There’s more to it than that, of course. Like, two and a half hours more to it.
So, the dislikes? Okay, what is Luthor’s actual endgame? I don’t think even he knows what he’s trying to do. Kill Superman, yes—or at least get rid of Batman in the attempt—but then? What does he think Doomsday’s going to do after the big battle? Go raise chickens? Also, Luthor discovers an even Bigger Bad is on the way, a dark presence that always sides with evil, and he has to know that only superheroes might be able to fight it off. So … why is he intent on killing off the superheroes? (For you non-DC fans, the oncoming storm is one of the biggest of the DC bads.)
If it sounds like I’m saying the foundation of the plot makes no sense, that’s what I’m saying. The rest is mostly about Superman and Batman being emo, and generally with good reason, although at least Sups is getting laid.
Other problems:
Seriously D.C.: just a little humor? It doesn’t have to be Tony Stark funny all the time, but could we lighten up just a bit? It’s a comic book movie, for crying out loud.
I’m still not entirely sure how everyone figured out who everyone else secretly is.
How did Alfred, the butler, get such mad technical skills? Who’s dusting the furniture?
Lex Luthor isn’t Lex Luthor. It’s as if Luthor is doing his best impression of Joker, or maybe Joker disguised himself as Luthor to hide from an increasingly homicidal Batman. It’s a fun performance, but it’s not Lex Luthor.
Was it really necessary to pad an already padded movie with another look at the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents? Haven’t we pretty much got that down by now?
They should have waited to throw the rest of the Justice League in—it made the movie too long and added too much unnecessary stuff. I say this despite the fact that Gal Gadot stole the show as the unnamed Wonder Woman.
Which brings me to the things I did like:
See this movie on the biggest screen you can possibly find: It’s visually stunning. We watched it in 3D, and I jumped back more than once.
In your face, Ben Affleck haters! I held judgment, remembering how much everyone hated Michael Keaton as Batman—until the movie came out and he silenced the critics. As Grandpa Batman, Affleck does the same.
In fact, the cast as a whole was outstanding. That includes Jesse Eisenberg, playing some Bizaro version of Lex Luthor with Joker DNA in him. Holly Hunter was especially great, and it was nice to see a cameo by someone we thought dead.
For you Walking Dead fans, here’s a head-exploding cameo: Bruce Wayne’s parents are played by Maggie and Negan. *boom* That means Bruce’s dad is also the father of the Winchester brothers on Supernatural, where he also died while they were young. No wonder the guy got targeted, leading a double life like that.
There are nice shout-outs to the comic book fans, which don’t interfere with non-comic fans enjoying the flick.
Hans Zimmer’s music: Loved it. I have no idea how much Junkie XL contributed to the score, but he needs to slap his parents for giving him that name.
My wife swore she saw Chris Pine in a briefly glimpsed 1914 photo. She was right.
So, overall, yes—worth seeing. One of my major problems with Man of Steel was the huge amount of collateral damage, and I’m glad that was addressed in Batman vs. Superman. I just hope they put some script doctors to work on Justice League.
Okay, I didn’t love it, and as we all know I’m easily entertained. Still, I don’t get the extreme hatred being doled out with a scoop shovel. The dislike, that I do understand.
The plot was “huh?” inducing. Basically Lex Luthor, for some reason long-haired and apparently a scientific genius who got all his dough from a not-nice dad, decides he has to destroy Superman. Why? My best guess is that Luthor is up to something down the road, and knows Superman will try to stop him.
Meanwhile, Grandpa Batman is still Dark Knighting away, as brooding as ever but even more violent. Evidence suggests he’s darker than ever partially because Joker killed Robin. In addition, the knockdown-dragout in Metropolis during Man of Steel led to the deaths and injuries of Bruce Wayne’s friends and destruction of his property. Bruce blames Superman for this, because, after all, Batman never caused injury or property destruction while fighting off villains.
So Luthor tricks Superman and Batman into slugging it out, while also quite literally raising his own supervillain, who DC fans will be chilled to know is Doomsday.
There’s more to it than that, of course. Like, two and a half hours more to it.
So, the dislikes? Okay, what is Luthor’s actual endgame? I don’t think even he knows what he’s trying to do. Kill Superman, yes—or at least get rid of Batman in the attempt—but then? What does he think Doomsday’s going to do after the big battle? Go raise chickens? Also, Luthor discovers an even Bigger Bad is on the way, a dark presence that always sides with evil, and he has to know that only superheroes might be able to fight it off. So … why is he intent on killing off the superheroes? (For you non-DC fans, the oncoming storm is one of the biggest of the DC bads.)
If it sounds like I’m saying the foundation of the plot makes no sense, that’s what I’m saying. The rest is mostly about Superman and Batman being emo, and generally with good reason, although at least Sups is getting laid.
Other problems:
Seriously D.C.: just a little humor? It doesn’t have to be Tony Stark funny all the time, but could we lighten up just a bit? It’s a comic book movie, for crying out loud.
I’m still not entirely sure how everyone figured out who everyone else secretly is.
How did Alfred, the butler, get such mad technical skills? Who’s dusting the furniture?
Lex Luthor isn’t Lex Luthor. It’s as if Luthor is doing his best impression of Joker, or maybe Joker disguised himself as Luthor to hide from an increasingly homicidal Batman. It’s a fun performance, but it’s not Lex Luthor.
Was it really necessary to pad an already padded movie with another look at the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents? Haven’t we pretty much got that down by now?
They should have waited to throw the rest of the Justice League in—it made the movie too long and added too much unnecessary stuff. I say this despite the fact that Gal Gadot stole the show as the unnamed Wonder Woman.
Which brings me to the things I did like:
See this movie on the biggest screen you can possibly find: It’s visually stunning. We watched it in 3D, and I jumped back more than once.
In your face, Ben Affleck haters! I held judgment, remembering how much everyone hated Michael Keaton as Batman—until the movie came out and he silenced the critics. As Grandpa Batman, Affleck does the same.
In fact, the cast as a whole was outstanding. That includes Jesse Eisenberg, playing some Bizaro version of Lex Luthor with Joker DNA in him. Holly Hunter was especially great, and it was nice to see a cameo by someone we thought dead.
For you Walking Dead fans, here’s a head-exploding cameo: Bruce Wayne’s parents are played by Maggie and Negan. *boom* That means Bruce’s dad is also the father of the Winchester brothers on Supernatural, where he also died while they were young. No wonder the guy got targeted, leading a double life like that.
There are nice shout-outs to the comic book fans, which don’t interfere with non-comic fans enjoying the flick.
Hans Zimmer’s music: Loved it. I have no idea how much Junkie XL contributed to the score, but he needs to slap his parents for giving him that name.
My wife swore she saw Chris Pine in a briefly glimpsed 1914 photo. She was right.
So, overall, yes—worth seeing. One of my major problems with Man of Steel was the huge amount of collateral damage, and I’m glad that was addressed in Batman vs. Superman. I just hope they put some script doctors to work on Justice League.
