Bryce Moore's Blog, page 338

These Wood Stoves . . .

Are making me crazy. DKC and I are in the market for a new one. The one we have is an old Ashley, and it burns through wood like I'd go through brownies if calories were not an issue. Add to this the fact that we just don't like how it looks (it's encased in a big gray box, which is pretty darn ugly) and the fact that the government is giving us up to 30% off a new one (if we get a fancy pants high efficiency model), and it's clear that the time has come. A new wood stove would burn the wood lon

Your Input Wanted!

Howdy All--

I'm preparing for an eventual rejection on my latest novel (not because there's been any indications of that, but because I want to be prepared for the worst, just in case), and so I'm working on a query letter for it. However, I have very little experience with those little beasties, and so I'd like your help with it. The following is an EXTREMELY rough draft. Any and all comments are most welcome. Thanks in advance!


Dear INSERT EDITOR/AGENT'S NAME HERE,

When you get down to it, it was

Michael Jackson

I've been a fan of Michael Jackson's music for as long as I can remember. The music, mind you. I've never really been able to make my mind up about him as an individual, but since I never met the man, I suppose that's logical. (Side note: I always do my best not to confuse a person's public persona (in movies, music, writing, etc.) with their actual personality. I can think a person is a total slimeball in real life, but still have no trouble respecting the work he or she produces. Likewise, I c

Twitter: Still Not Getting It

I've tried Twitter. Repeatedly. And each time, I shake my head and wander away elsewhere on the internets, unable to figure out just what the appeal is behind Twitter. 140 characters? I struggle sometimes to limit my blog lengths to something people will actually read instead of just gloss over. All Twitter is to me right now is a collection of Facebook status updates without Facebook.

I'm sure I must not be getting it.

Therefore, would one of you out there mind explaining to me why it's the bee's

Alice Referral Code

So I came across an interesting site today: Alice. Basically, it's supposed to work as a general tool to help people buy household goods from home, with free shipping. I'm looking into it right now--have no idea how much there prices are, or if it's worth it, but the concept intrigues me, so I thought I'd pass it along to all of you. Check it out and tell me what you think. Oh--and if it asks for a referral code, you can use mine, too: 1390C8F

FYI--This is their sales pitch:

"Let’s face it; you c

Book Review: The Fires of Heaven

The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan

My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
So this is the first one of my reviews that I've downgraded. I originally rated Fires of Heaven five stars, based on memory alone. Now it's four, and if it weren't for an awesome finale, it would have been lucky to have three. What did I think about it? I think the book took a tremendous turn from the epic fantasy roots of the first three in the series--a turn that started in book four, but which didn't really become apparent un

Yes Man

DKC and I watched Yes Man last night, and I have to say that I actually really enjoyed it. I wasn't expecting to, if you can't tell. Something about Jim Carrey in serious/funny movies just never feels quite right to me before I actually see the film. I only reluctantly watched Truman Show, for example. But then again, now that I think about it, I realize that he's been in some of my favorite films, too--I adored Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, for example. But then again, he was also in t

Feelings of Inadequacy

*NOTE: I can't get into specifics here, but hopefully this post makes sense anyway. If not, oh well.

Riddle me this, Batman: why is it that one of the best ways to feel better about yourself is by putting other people down? It's not really like it moves you at all--you don't become a better person by someone else failing, just as you don't become a worse person by someone else's success. And yet when someone succeeds, it can be easy to feel like you've failed, and when someone fails, you can feel

Going Black Ops

I'm going to be away from the world o'blogdom for a day tomorrow--I'm heading down to New Hampshire to go to a conference. What I mean is: I don't think I'm going to be able to post tomorrow. And what's worse: I don't really have time to post today. This post you're reading right now? Yeah. It's about all you're going to get from me until Monday. Buck up, though. I'll be back. Don't cry. You can live without me for a day, right? Don't look at me like that. You'll make me feel guilty.

I'm leaving

The Sub-200 Club

So, for those of you who check my Facebook status, you know that as of today, I'm under 200 pounds for the first time in 12 years. That means I've now lost over 26 pounds. (Yes, three of those pounds came off yesterday due to my food poisoning, but I'll take whatever help I can.) As I recall, I was 180 for a while during my sophomore year of high school. Working at McDonald's put on 5 pounds in about 2 weeks that never came off, and then cafeteria food all freshman year of college got me to 190,