Huck Walker's Blog, page 6
March 6, 2013
I have a problem.Sometimes I get a bee in my brainbowl ab...
I have a problem.
Sometimes I get a bee in my brainbowl about the use of certain words. Here's one that really bugs me;
'Natural'.
I observe people using this word to separate the workings of humanity from the environment we inhabit. At this point I would probably give some examples for clarification, but I don't want to labour the point too much.
As I see it; a human is a product of nature and a part of the natural world. Therefore, any behaviour a human exhibits, including the artificing of objects from the environment, is natural.
It follows then that a computer is natural. Homosexuality is natural. Growing plants in a hydroponic system is natural, artificial food is natural... I could keep going all day but again, I don't want to labour the point [more than I already am].
Like all forms of discrimination the underlying problem with the innacurate application of the word 'natural' is the inherant value judgements that accompany its use; 'Natural' does not equate to begnign and 'artificial' does not necessarily mean unnatural or malevolent.
The only time something isn't 'natural' is when it is supernatural.
Everything we do is natural. Everything around us is natural and we are natural. Once this is accepted the challenge is to work out what actions are balanced and prudent in the absence of an interventionist deity (or the complete absence of a deity if that floats your boat).
Here's a purdee pitcha...
"I 8 u"[4 colour pen on paper...A5]
Sometimes I get a bee in my brainbowl about the use of certain words. Here's one that really bugs me;
'Natural'.
I observe people using this word to separate the workings of humanity from the environment we inhabit. At this point I would probably give some examples for clarification, but I don't want to labour the point too much.
As I see it; a human is a product of nature and a part of the natural world. Therefore, any behaviour a human exhibits, including the artificing of objects from the environment, is natural.
It follows then that a computer is natural. Homosexuality is natural. Growing plants in a hydroponic system is natural, artificial food is natural... I could keep going all day but again, I don't want to labour the point [more than I already am].
Like all forms of discrimination the underlying problem with the innacurate application of the word 'natural' is the inherant value judgements that accompany its use; 'Natural' does not equate to begnign and 'artificial' does not necessarily mean unnatural or malevolent.
The only time something isn't 'natural' is when it is supernatural.
Everything we do is natural. Everything around us is natural and we are natural. Once this is accepted the challenge is to work out what actions are balanced and prudent in the absence of an interventionist deity (or the complete absence of a deity if that floats your boat).
Here's a purdee pitcha...
"I 8 u"[4 colour pen on paper...A5]
March 2, 2013
This post is about 'The Griefing'.It's all my fault...
This post is about 'The Griefing'.
It's all my fault.
After much deliberation I've decided I should never have approached the promotion of my book as a 'zombie' book. Yes, it's true that the 'z' word is used, but to closely associate it with the zombie genre is to invite an audience that is looking for a quick descent into mayhem and a fairly predictable, fairly two dimensional read focusing on gore and survival and the way the individual characters react to the absence of socialising norms in a violent environment.
My book just doesn't work that way. It's a piece of speculative fiction exploring a wide range of ideas and taking its time to explore the characters and places before the 'action' sets in.
I'm going to see what I have to do to change the search trigger words and genre on the Kindle and Amazon searches to remove any 'Z' word references. I think the audience I am looking for will enjoy what I have written for its depth and complexity, it's detail and the slow development of character before the abject chaos towards the end.
Here are three pics from a dying diary. I want to record them before the paper falls to bits;
Pen on lined paper. [about A6 size]
Unfortunately the lines on the paper are the same colour as the pen that I used, so now I'm stuck with them.
BUNNY! [I really like this bunny. There are a few of them hiding among the many little sketch pads in my cupboards, but this one is particularly fun.]
'Perambulating Landscape'Ballpoint on A6 crap paper [there are a few of these too, but the detail is lost when they scan.]
It's all my fault.
After much deliberation I've decided I should never have approached the promotion of my book as a 'zombie' book. Yes, it's true that the 'z' word is used, but to closely associate it with the zombie genre is to invite an audience that is looking for a quick descent into mayhem and a fairly predictable, fairly two dimensional read focusing on gore and survival and the way the individual characters react to the absence of socialising norms in a violent environment.
My book just doesn't work that way. It's a piece of speculative fiction exploring a wide range of ideas and taking its time to explore the characters and places before the 'action' sets in.
I'm going to see what I have to do to change the search trigger words and genre on the Kindle and Amazon searches to remove any 'Z' word references. I think the audience I am looking for will enjoy what I have written for its depth and complexity, it's detail and the slow development of character before the abject chaos towards the end.
Here are three pics from a dying diary. I want to record them before the paper falls to bits;
Pen on lined paper. [about A6 size]
Unfortunately the lines on the paper are the same colour as the pen that I used, so now I'm stuck with them.
BUNNY! [I really like this bunny. There are a few of them hiding among the many little sketch pads in my cupboards, but this one is particularly fun.]
'Perambulating Landscape'Ballpoint on A6 crap paper [there are a few of these too, but the detail is lost when they scan.]February 26, 2013
The blockage of writers. I need some writer's prunes to g...
The blockage of writers. I need some writer's prunes to get a bit of movement going. Tonight was particularly annoying; I sat watching the screen, a dribble of words drooling across the expanse of white only to retreat again as their lack of inspiration appalled me. So I did a drawing instead. At least I can claw for some sense of accomplishment today.
The good news is that I think I know what I have to do to get started; leave the main characters alone for a bit and have a bit of fun with 'survivor stories', as this forms a fair chunk of the first act of book two. For tonight, however, here is my boney friend:
[Ball point pen on paper - A5]
The good news is that I think I know what I have to do to get started; leave the main characters alone for a bit and have a bit of fun with 'survivor stories', as this forms a fair chunk of the first act of book two. For tonight, however, here is my boney friend:
[Ball point pen on paper - A5] February 23, 2013
Ok.I guess it was a matter of time until I received my fi...
Ok.
I guess it was a matter of time until I received my first 'critical' review. Now that it's happened, I have to resist giving comment in reply due to frustration. I'm not going to quote it here, just to say that it pissed me off. It seemed like the reader was after pulp fiction rather than a work with some depth and subtlety.
Perhaps some of the criticism was valid, but suggesting that I could have utilised my Australian nationality as a point of difference really got to me. Should I have had zombie drop bears or blood hungry kangaroos to Aussie it up? That was just annoying.
The worst part of the review is that the reviewer didn't read the book, just used the 'look inside' function. Who writes a review on the 'look inside' function?
Oh well... I hope someone with a bit of brains and patience leaves me a review soon.
Here is my visual response to the most recent review:
(The scan loses lots of the detail... and I think detail is important.)
'Bone Wyrm' [Cantankerous ball point pen on paper - A5]
I guess it was a matter of time until I received my first 'critical' review. Now that it's happened, I have to resist giving comment in reply due to frustration. I'm not going to quote it here, just to say that it pissed me off. It seemed like the reader was after pulp fiction rather than a work with some depth and subtlety.
Perhaps some of the criticism was valid, but suggesting that I could have utilised my Australian nationality as a point of difference really got to me. Should I have had zombie drop bears or blood hungry kangaroos to Aussie it up? That was just annoying.
The worst part of the review is that the reviewer didn't read the book, just used the 'look inside' function. Who writes a review on the 'look inside' function?
Oh well... I hope someone with a bit of brains and patience leaves me a review soon.
Here is my visual response to the most recent review:
(The scan loses lots of the detail... and I think detail is important.)
'Bone Wyrm' [Cantankerous ball point pen on paper - A5] February 19, 2013
I speak modern English and have an Australian accent.Let ...
I speak modern English and have an Australian accent.
Let me refine this slightly;
I was born and raised in Australia and have not yet spent a full month out of the country. SO, it would stand to reason that whatever accent I have, it would have to be 'Australian'. Regularly, however, my fellow Australians ask me where I was born, what accent that is that I speak with.
I'm a foreigner in my own country. (As I think are MANY of my fellow Australians feel they are). The cultural enclaves and zones in the cities blur and run into each other. The flux to and from the outback and the coast erodes the old guard in many country towns while the traffic of human particles attract and repel the steady influx of immigrants, spreading and filtering...
This place is a fractured multitude of part-cultures, corralled together by the low fence of policy and cowed by an apathy bred of comfort.I want to belong to a better culture, but no existing culture has presented itself offering the kind of improvements, both politically and technologically that I'm sure humans are currently capable of achieving.
I'm probably ranting. (Listened to too much shithouse political news and didn't flush it out of my head with zombie killing games.)
Here is a picture;
'Fingerlith' [Felt pen on paper - A6]
Let me refine this slightly;
I was born and raised in Australia and have not yet spent a full month out of the country. SO, it would stand to reason that whatever accent I have, it would have to be 'Australian'. Regularly, however, my fellow Australians ask me where I was born, what accent that is that I speak with.
I'm a foreigner in my own country. (As I think are MANY of my fellow Australians feel they are). The cultural enclaves and zones in the cities blur and run into each other. The flux to and from the outback and the coast erodes the old guard in many country towns while the traffic of human particles attract and repel the steady influx of immigrants, spreading and filtering...
This place is a fractured multitude of part-cultures, corralled together by the low fence of policy and cowed by an apathy bred of comfort.I want to belong to a better culture, but no existing culture has presented itself offering the kind of improvements, both politically and technologically that I'm sure humans are currently capable of achieving.
I'm probably ranting. (Listened to too much shithouse political news and didn't flush it out of my head with zombie killing games.)
Here is a picture;
'Fingerlith' [Felt pen on paper - A6] February 17, 2013
My body was invaded by a nasty pathogen during the last 4...
February 14, 2013
Well well well (three holes in the ground).I've fin...
Well well well (three holes in the ground).
I've finished screwing around with an advertisement design for the signing in Canberra on the 30th of March. Nights like tonight I dearly wish that I had someone more skilled to throw together an advertisement but you get what you pay for, and I'm what I can currently afford. Anyhoo, here is the ad that I sent away to 'ACTWrite' for publishing next month;
Besides the fact that I had to use 'real people' instead of celebrities or critics for the reviews, I think this looks ok. I hope people turn up. I'll have to try to get some air time or a newspaper shenanigan...
I've finished screwing around with an advertisement design for the signing in Canberra on the 30th of March. Nights like tonight I dearly wish that I had someone more skilled to throw together an advertisement but you get what you pay for, and I'm what I can currently afford. Anyhoo, here is the ad that I sent away to 'ACTWrite' for publishing next month;
Besides the fact that I had to use 'real people' instead of celebrities or critics for the reviews, I think this looks ok. I hope people turn up. I'll have to try to get some air time or a newspaper shenanigan...
February 12, 2013
I wonder if I should start referring to myself as Emperor...
I wonder if I should start referring to myself as Emperor Huck, at least when people aren't around. My loyal subjects can be the billions of cells in my body and my huge tracts of land can be the square millimetres underneath my feet (or whatever body part is currently encountering the ground). Of course, there will be times when my people become displaced; like when I jump in the air or if I fly in an airplane... but I should be able to conquer a patch of land again fairly easily.
I think being an emperor will be good for my ego, which sometimes needs a padding. I like the thought of all those tiny life-forms working together to support my empire. I'll try to be a benevolent ruler; providing my subjects with a secure environment, stable economy and sufficient entertainment. Then there's the question of what to call my ephemeral domain...
These thoughts spawned from a report on an act of racism on public transport.
I know that while I am able to differentiate between the 'races' there will continue to be an undercurrent of racism that I won't be able to fully expunge from my brain. Asian, African, Caucasian, Aboriginal, American... each word conjures up its own images, its own weighted impressions full of opinion and fragmented experience, subtle value judgements flavouring each 'race' or 'nationality' as a result of my limited memory structures. My personality has been fed by years of localised parochial perspectives, media and opinion that has attempted to teach me to accept racial traits as being limiting and universal. Some of that persists. I try to remove these preconceptions when they become conscious thoughts but it is difficult to quantify to what extent bigotry sleeps in my subconscious
.
I will endevour to perceive all my fellow humans as neighbouring Empires, each with their own miniature host of subjects. I think this might help.
I think being an emperor will be good for my ego, which sometimes needs a padding. I like the thought of all those tiny life-forms working together to support my empire. I'll try to be a benevolent ruler; providing my subjects with a secure environment, stable economy and sufficient entertainment. Then there's the question of what to call my ephemeral domain...
These thoughts spawned from a report on an act of racism on public transport.
I know that while I am able to differentiate between the 'races' there will continue to be an undercurrent of racism that I won't be able to fully expunge from my brain. Asian, African, Caucasian, Aboriginal, American... each word conjures up its own images, its own weighted impressions full of opinion and fragmented experience, subtle value judgements flavouring each 'race' or 'nationality' as a result of my limited memory structures. My personality has been fed by years of localised parochial perspectives, media and opinion that has attempted to teach me to accept racial traits as being limiting and universal. Some of that persists. I try to remove these preconceptions when they become conscious thoughts but it is difficult to quantify to what extent bigotry sleeps in my subconscious
.
I will endevour to perceive all my fellow humans as neighbouring Empires, each with their own miniature host of subjects. I think this might help.
February 11, 2013
Another review, (yays!). Here it is, verbatim: 5.0 out of...
Another review, (yays!). Here it is, verbatim:
5.0 out of 5 stars Waiting for the next book in the series February 11, 2013 By Handyman Format:Kindle EditionWell Huck Walker, you got me in!
Not what I expected at all - I would never have started reading if I'd known the genre, but now I'm looking forward the the next book.
The character development, realistic techo-speak and word-painting of scenes made it easy to; read, believe, and feel part of the action - and there was no shortage of action.
A lot of the images made me feel very much at home in this story (to start with). . .
I would like to think of it as the 'thinking man's' zombie story.
Give us more!
(self portrait using Mircrosofties Paint programmmm)
5.0 out of 5 stars Waiting for the next book in the series February 11, 2013 By Handyman Format:Kindle EditionWell Huck Walker, you got me in!
Not what I expected at all - I would never have started reading if I'd known the genre, but now I'm looking forward the the next book.
The character development, realistic techo-speak and word-painting of scenes made it easy to; read, believe, and feel part of the action - and there was no shortage of action.
A lot of the images made me feel very much at home in this story (to start with). . .
I would like to think of it as the 'thinking man's' zombie story.
Give us more!(self portrait using Mircrosofties Paint programmmm)
February 6, 2013
NEWS at last;Ok, so I have a date for a book launch/signi...
NEWS at last;
Ok, so I have a date for a book launch/signing. Saturday the 30th of March.
"Where is it going to be, you dopey bastard?" I hear you ask...
Dymocks bookstore in Belconnen. (Easter Saturday morning.)
That gives me seven weeks and two days to work out publicity and sitch.
I've been offered a traditional book launch on a Thursday night leading up to the signing. I don't think it will serve my purposes greatly. A traditional book launch involves family, friends, industry reps and perhaps a special guest or two.
The facts;
* besides my patient wife and crazy kids, my family are all at least 300 km away (with one notable brother currently residing in Mongolia).
* owing to the amount of moving I have done, and the hermit-like nature enforced on me by my work/novel writing lifestyle in recent years there are very few people in the local area I could reliably call apon to attend a book launch and then the book signing afterwards. It would be one or the other for these busy peoples and I don't want to divide what might be an already smallish contingent.
* because it's a self-published novel, there is not the small army of industry types ready to leap into vacant spots and flesh out a group, sending out their feelers to interested parties and generally making any book launch look official.
Well, my aim in this whole venture is to have people read my book, not pat me on the back and smile broadly while drinking 'sham-paggin' and chewing on dry crackers 'n hard cheeze. Perhpaps when people have read my first novel and I'm finished writing the second there will be room for these pleatatudes. For now it is enough that I have a couple of hours of exposure at a major book shop on a busy day. AND I have plenty of time to try and whip up some interest in the surrounding area.
I'm grateful to the people at Dymocks for taking a punt on me and my book. If a few peeps from work, some press and some speculative fiction enthusiasts can rally together on this one Saturday morning in March at Belconnen that would help immensely.
Ok, so I have a date for a book launch/signing. Saturday the 30th of March.
"Where is it going to be, you dopey bastard?" I hear you ask...
Dymocks bookstore in Belconnen. (Easter Saturday morning.)
That gives me seven weeks and two days to work out publicity and sitch.
I've been offered a traditional book launch on a Thursday night leading up to the signing. I don't think it will serve my purposes greatly. A traditional book launch involves family, friends, industry reps and perhaps a special guest or two.
The facts;
* besides my patient wife and crazy kids, my family are all at least 300 km away (with one notable brother currently residing in Mongolia).
* owing to the amount of moving I have done, and the hermit-like nature enforced on me by my work/novel writing lifestyle in recent years there are very few people in the local area I could reliably call apon to attend a book launch and then the book signing afterwards. It would be one or the other for these busy peoples and I don't want to divide what might be an already smallish contingent.
* because it's a self-published novel, there is not the small army of industry types ready to leap into vacant spots and flesh out a group, sending out their feelers to interested parties and generally making any book launch look official.
Well, my aim in this whole venture is to have people read my book, not pat me on the back and smile broadly while drinking 'sham-paggin' and chewing on dry crackers 'n hard cheeze. Perhpaps when people have read my first novel and I'm finished writing the second there will be room for these pleatatudes. For now it is enough that I have a couple of hours of exposure at a major book shop on a busy day. AND I have plenty of time to try and whip up some interest in the surrounding area.
I'm grateful to the people at Dymocks for taking a punt on me and my book. If a few peeps from work, some press and some speculative fiction enthusiasts can rally together on this one Saturday morning in March at Belconnen that would help immensely.
