Dylan Charles's Blog, page 14

The New Year

Every year, I’ve made a habit of trying to do more things for the next year. I’ll read more books, I’ll write more stories, drink more beers. I feel that if I don’t do more, than I’ve achieved less.

What generally happens is I accomplish less and feel depressed that I didn’t hit my arbitrary goal or I’ll accomplish what I wanted, but with lesser quality and higher stress. For example, in 2011, I wanted to read 100 books. I ended up reading a lot of shorter, badder books and still feeling worn...

Settling Down

I don’t think I ever want one career. Whenever I’m in a job, I’m always wondering what will be next. It’s how you keep life interesting; you bounce from job to job and learn new skills and meet new people and learn more about the world than you ever would doing the same thing for fifty years. At least, that’s how I see it.

And, now that I think about it, that’s how I view where I live as well. I know there are benefits to living in the same place for years, decades, for the entirety of your li...

Beer Review: Harpoon’s Leviathan Imperial IPA

There are two big breweries based in Boston proper; Samuel Adams and Harpoon. The Sam Adam brewery is only for small batches and experimental brews, while the Harpoon brewery is in full production.

I’ve taken tours of both facilities and while I was initially a bigger fan of the Sam Adams tour, I’ve started to lean more toward Harpoon. Their tasting portion is much more extensive; you have fifteen minutes to try any of the 7 or so beers they have on tap, as opposed to the three beers that Sam...

Hitting the Wall

Running, for me, is awful. Whenever I do it, I’m tired and sweaty and angry and taking it all out on my tiny girlfriend, which doesn’t really make me look like the best of people.

But…the last time I ran, I hit a moment.

It was toward the end of the run and I was badly flagging and all I wanted to do was stop and throw up under a bush and then sleep it all off under that same bush.

And then…there was a this moment where it was easy. I had hit a point where I could not only keep running, but I co...

I Have Done It

It took me three tries and a lot of elbow grease, but I did it. I beat NANOWRIMO.

It’s hard for me to be ecstatic right off the bat. For the most part, I just feel tired. And I hate my book. I think it’s a dreadful thing, only fit for burning and as quickly as possible.

But, as the organizers of NANOWRIMO are so fond of saying, it’s not the quality that matters here. It’s about actually completing a novel. And I’ve done that. I’ve written 50,000 words of complete and utter terrible that will ne...

Push it to the Limit

Writing every day and for between 1500 to 2000 words at a time (and sometimes more) has been one of the harder things I’ve done. It’s not about the amount of words. I can write that much in an hour and then I’m done. That’s not bragging, at least I don’t think it is. 1000 words does not take much effort to put down on paper, if you actually care about those words anyway.

No, it was the writing everyday and pushing myself to write every day. It’s the writing when I’m worn out from work and all...

It’s Coming…

I am, by nature, a cynical, awful person. I love horror movies and horror books and horror stories and horror in real life. I wallow in bad news and throw myself bodily into situations I know I’ll hate. When I hear there’s a hurricane coming, my eyes brighten and glitter and I ask, “How soon?” with a barely restrained glee. My pessimism is only limited by my imagination.

But my favorite time of year, my absolute favorite time, is Christmas. I love the lights on houses. I love the idea of Santa...

The Many Bonds Theory

The Many Bonds Theory is simple in its premise. The theory goes that James Bond is not a man, but a codename and that several men have operated under this codename. Each of the actors who portrayed Bond portrayed a different man. It should be noted here that this theory is not my own and that the arguments are also not my own, though I did introduce my own wrinkles here and there. The words are mine though. I’ll claim those.

Now, in order for this theory to work we must do two things right off...

One Dry, Vodka Martini

We expect, in our heroes, the ability to last. They last from generation to generation, fighting the good fight, no matter if that good fight completely changes from now to then. As the times progress, so must our heroes. Their methods grow more modern. Their attitudes fit our own. Their morals reflect what we expect in a good person.

James Bond has been around, in one form or another, since the early 1950′s. The world is an extremely different place since he first stepped onto the stage. The...

Ranned Out

As we ran yesterday, I attempted to shove Emily into a wall. Luckily for us both, I was not at my peak strength, and thus, it could best be described as a half-hearted and feeble push, the kind one expects from little old men or, perhaps, dead people.

Let’s back up.

Emily, being the more experienced exerciser, is the one who guides how the running is to go. Generally speaking, this is better for me, as I have no concept of what running well is. I used to run by running badly very quickly until...