Talia Sianne Rivas.
Apparently I could think of no better introduction for you than to quote a mediocre Will Smith movie, wherein he punched an alien in the face and then mispronounced the name of his own planet. You’re worthy of more, but this is the man that will father you, the one that you’re stuck with — a grossly under-prepared geek that makes jokes when confronted with things too big to grasp. Continue reading →
I can’t seem to make up my mind these days. I’ve got lots of life stuff going on and I’m zipping around between a million ideas. The most achievable of these is a short story concept that I’ve been sitting on for a little bit, so I decided I would knock that out this month before jumping back into another big project. It’s been so long since I’ve gotten to really polish something that I wanted (or needed) the satisfaction of doing something short and sweet that I could finish quickly.
That doesn’t mean it’s been easy, though. After all these 100,000 word dragons, I’m discovering the 5,000 word eagle still has talons, too. Continue reading →
This weekend, Jen and I went to the Alley Theatre to check out the much celebrated Toxic Avenger musical. While that might sound strange or awesome to you depending on whatever whacky lens you use to view the world, rest assured — it was one of the greatest live performances of anything I’ve seen, ever. Continue reading →
This made me laugh way more than it should have. Continue reading →
Prior Incantato: In Harry Potter, a spell that can reveal the last spell performed by a particular wand. In other words — magic revisited.
Several months after part 5, here we are at Part 6 (of 7) of my re-read of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. And here I thought I’d knock this thing out in just three short essays. I apologize for the delay, but Jurassic Park knows best when it tells us that “life finds a way”, and that includes interrupting all of our plans to write about wizards.
In this edition, we talk about Ridgebacks, centaurs and the stars. The end of our last session found Harry spying on Severus as he threatens Quirrell for the Sorcerer’s Stone. Or so it seems. Dun dun dun, and so forth. Continue reading →
I suck at writing novels. I’m not being down on myself, it’s just a simple truth. Unfortunately, I would like to write novels for a living one day. So yeah, those two things kind of collide in the worst way possible.
In many ways, being a writer is like being one of those dudes that spins plates. I’m not really sure if there’s a technical name for that, and I really don’t feel like Googling “that dude who spins plates”, but I’m sure you get the gist of it. Basically, with first drafts, there’s always something else to fix. Whether it’s general copy, something thematic, a dumb character, a bad piece of dialogue or just terrible story crafting, some plate is always going to be wobbling. You might drive yourself mad trying to keep up with it all. Continue reading →
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been fascinated by an idea that sort of tumbled into my head fully-formed. For those of you who are creative types, you understand that this is something about as rare as catching a unicorn with your bare hands and convincing it to make you a sandwich afterwards. Continue reading →
Two days ago, I ran for 13.1 miles, finishing my second half marathon in the last few years – and well, ever, I guess. To be able to say that I’ve done two of these things now is something I never would have believed back in 2009, when I was in the midst of some Internet shows, 110 pounds heavier and largely (pun entirely intended) unsatisfied with my creative and professional trajectory.
The most recent half marathon was much more fun than the first one. Continue reading →
I’ve got a bit of a confession to make. As much as I know and love movies, there is a tremendous gap in my experience when it comes to classic films. I can’t really pinpoint why, but for some reason or another, I haven’t seen a few movies that many consider to be among the all time greats.
Naturally, this results in a lot of balking and the “What?! You’ve never seen (movie that everyone claims is mind-blowing) before?! And you call yourself a movie buff?!” line of questioning that just makes me want to hammer punch people in the throat before they can finish the sentence. I think some day, some poor soul’s utterance of these words will finally make me snap, and then things will get very real. Continue reading →
Yikes. Sometimes time pulls away from you. That’s normal, I guess. You get busy, bogged down, tied up in things, and a few days slip by before you can even realize it. But sometimes, it’s a few months.
I feel like I hopped in a DeLorean or fast-forwarded through the last 90 days or so of 2011. Things have been bananas, and not in the fruity, delicious way. As a result, I accidentally abandoned my Harry Potter blog, but that shall return soon. I promise I have a few good reasons. Continue reading →