Yours Truly
Janet Fauble at home
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Writing skills
I have been debating whether to submit my manuscript from the nanowrimo group to Create Space or not as the deadline is June 30 if I want to have a free copy made from my first draft. I am really reconsidering it as I do not want it to be published in its present form and while I can naturally correct all the typos and errors of grammar, spelling,etc. easily enough, the real work is in revising the novel as it is in its rough stage at which point it is not ready for publication.
I am very self critical, and while I like much of it, as my basic premise is that I want to show the importance of Alexander's childhood on his adult decisions, I am imitating Homer's use of the Iliad and other Greek authors of the day who incorporated the use of the gods and goddesses into their writings. I do it minimally but enough to remind the reader that Alexander was always under the influence of the gods around him.
In real life today, I likewise believe in spiritual entitites that are around us.
So it is easy for me to accept that Alexander and others like him did recognize and visually see some of the gods whenever they would make their appearance to be seen by whoever it was that they wanted to recognize them. In the Iliad, Achilles is able to see the gods or goddesses when they chose, and so in my novel, Alexander likewise is able to see the gods and goddesses as is also Philip and Olympias.
This is very important to understand so that it explains much of Alexander's behaviour as he works his way through the Persian countryside and deeper into other regions surrounding that area, including India.
So while I am imparting this to the modern reader who is not so educated to this belief, it is quite a challenge to make it believable. Myself, I believe in it.
However, modern day methods include a lot of conflicts, and usually modern novelists have to create tension, problems to be solved, and otherwise, similar tricks of the trade to keep reader's interest. My novel lacks a lot of tension at this point as it is mostly keeping to the historical narrative of all that happened to Alexander in an accurate depiction.
Most of the real tension in the study of Alexander is between him and his father. This shows up a bit in my version of his youth but I did not develop it as much as I probably will need to show how Alexander stands up to his father but acquiesces to his tutor. There is a great deal of tension in Alexander about his teacher Leonidas but he seems to swallow his feelings and bottle them up, until he is forced to throw a fit or two to get his way.
Actually, all I am doing right now is talking aloud to myself about the problems I am having with the novel before I can get it published. So in essence, this post is just letting it all hang out. To publish it now or not...that is the question...with absolutely little tension, just a skeletal construct...what to do? I decided I will write another blog on blogger and turn it into a book someday!
I am very self critical, and while I like much of it, as my basic premise is that I want to show the importance of Alexander's childhood on his adult decisions, I am imitating Homer's use of the Iliad and other Greek authors of the day who incorporated the use of the gods and goddesses into their writings. I do it minimally but enough to remind the reader that Alexander was always under the influence of the gods around him.
In real life today, I likewise believe in spiritual entitites that are around us.
So it is easy for me to accept that Alexander and others like him did recognize and visually see some of the gods whenever they would make their appearance to be seen by whoever it was that they wanted to recognize them. In the Iliad, Achilles is able to see the gods or goddesses when they chose, and so in my novel, Alexander likewise is able to see the gods and goddesses as is also Philip and Olympias.
This is very important to understand so that it explains much of Alexander's behaviour as he works his way through the Persian countryside and deeper into other regions surrounding that area, including India.
So while I am imparting this to the modern reader who is not so educated to this belief, it is quite a challenge to make it believable. Myself, I believe in it.
However, modern day methods include a lot of conflicts, and usually modern novelists have to create tension, problems to be solved, and otherwise, similar tricks of the trade to keep reader's interest. My novel lacks a lot of tension at this point as it is mostly keeping to the historical narrative of all that happened to Alexander in an accurate depiction.
Most of the real tension in the study of Alexander is between him and his father. This shows up a bit in my version of his youth but I did not develop it as much as I probably will need to show how Alexander stands up to his father but acquiesces to his tutor. There is a great deal of tension in Alexander about his teacher Leonidas but he seems to swallow his feelings and bottle them up, until he is forced to throw a fit or two to get his way.
Actually, all I am doing right now is talking aloud to myself about the problems I am having with the novel before I can get it published. So in essence, this post is just letting it all hang out. To publish it now or not...that is the question...with absolutely little tension, just a skeletal construct...what to do? I decided I will write another blog on blogger and turn it into a book someday!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Nook application reveals Stieg Larsson
Thanks to my Nook sample on my cell phone, (which now I have to learn how to erase or delete the books that I have sampled and read so that it does not clog up my SD card) I am learning to dislike blogger right now. All the material that I just wrote has been erased and that frankly pisses me off!
But Stieg Larsson is a former journalist turned detective/author and I discovered him today. I placed three videos from youtube which are made from his books. He had watched a gangrape which apparently impressed him so much that he created a heroine of a sort and wrote a series of books using her as his protagonist to take on social forces of the world. His own life story is quite interesting and serious. Apparently, he was very careful not to let anyone know of his whereabouts as he was under threat from many enemies. He had a live in girlfriend who he did not marry to protect his and her privacy, but she is getting dissed by the government while his father and brother are reaping the rewards of his success instead of her.
But Stieg Larsson is a former journalist turned detective/author and I discovered him today. I placed three videos from youtube which are made from his books. He had watched a gangrape which apparently impressed him so much that he created a heroine of a sort and wrote a series of books using her as his protagonist to take on social forces of the world. His own life story is quite interesting and serious. Apparently, he was very careful not to let anyone know of his whereabouts as he was under threat from many enemies. He had a live in girlfriend who he did not marry to protect his and her privacy, but she is getting dissed by the government while his father and brother are reaping the rewards of his success instead of her.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Nanowrimo deal
I just finally decided to check the winner's page to get the information to create a CreateSpace account. I read it and had to wait to decide if I agree to continue so that I can get a free copy of my novel that I had written. It is really not ready to be published in its present condition as first draft means just that, errors and all, as there are many typos and problems in the first version. I just let it go as is.
I now understand why some said that they are continuing what they had done earlier. I could probably write the entire second draft for the second nanowrimo deal and get it published that way. But I won't.
I am not sure what to do now. Should I or should I not join this group and get a free paperback version of my novel? I have to think about this. Very painful to me.
I now understand why some said that they are continuing what they had done earlier. I could probably write the entire second draft for the second nanowrimo deal and get it published that way. But I won't.
I am not sure what to do now. Should I or should I not join this group and get a free paperback version of my novel? I have to think about this. Very painful to me.
New York Bill
I just read an interesting story about a Catholic who voted for the bill authorizing gays to be legally married in the state of New York. I saw a photo of gays cheering wildly as if this were some great achievement.
Personally, I do not think it an achievement of any kind. The statement by the Catholic church intrigued me. Christian faith is indeed something to consider when one reads the Bible well. One has to wonder if the Bible has been correctly written over the ages before one can truly believe every word of it. Nobody knows for sure. It is all a matter of belief and faith.
Marriage is a long term commitment and usually happens to people in their teens or early twenties as it is the accepted way for horny people to have sex together. After losing the glow of fresh young love, finding that each personality is not always so congenial, so compatible, and so handsome or beautiful as thought when madly in love, ( a serious disease imho)the pair eventually admit they made a mistake, go to the trouble of getting a divoce, and sooner or later, due to bad habits of needing someone to escape simple loneliness, find someone to tie the knot with once again.
I am a cynic when it comes to marriage as I learned long ago in my teens that real marriage is not Hollywood and they lived happily ever after nonsense, but a pain in the ass, and a bit of a death sentence.
In the end, we have seen many mothers murder their young children just due to the fact that having babies is no fun, is difficult to handle, and when only a child oneself, one does not want saddled with kids to raise.
So why on earth this extreme attitude from gays who cannot possibly bear children but have to depend upon their errant straight cousins to bear a child for them to adopt? Why do they want marriage so badly? It makes no sense to me. I find it utterly daft.
Legal protections for people who live together should become a part of civilized law in states throughout the nation, but it should be uniform and the same in each and every state. For one state to think that it is acting in a way that is superior to another is stupid as I read some political pundit tonight who seemed to think that he had opened the gates to heaven to the world of gay. Probably more like the gates of hell, but so be it, whatever saying til death do us part means to anyone anyway.
Sorry, if this is offensive to anyone, but frankly, that is how I feel. Marriage is probably for the right kind of people but some of us still believe the Biblical statement that Jesus made about marriage in Heaven...there is no such thing. Marriage is for earthlings to cohabit, bear children, raise them into adulthood, and to continue the race til the end of the planet...but those who are Angels do not marry.
Thank Heaven!
Personally, I do not think it an achievement of any kind. The statement by the Catholic church intrigued me. Christian faith is indeed something to consider when one reads the Bible well. One has to wonder if the Bible has been correctly written over the ages before one can truly believe every word of it. Nobody knows for sure. It is all a matter of belief and faith.
Marriage is a long term commitment and usually happens to people in their teens or early twenties as it is the accepted way for horny people to have sex together. After losing the glow of fresh young love, finding that each personality is not always so congenial, so compatible, and so handsome or beautiful as thought when madly in love, ( a serious disease imho)the pair eventually admit they made a mistake, go to the trouble of getting a divoce, and sooner or later, due to bad habits of needing someone to escape simple loneliness, find someone to tie the knot with once again.
I am a cynic when it comes to marriage as I learned long ago in my teens that real marriage is not Hollywood and they lived happily ever after nonsense, but a pain in the ass, and a bit of a death sentence.
In the end, we have seen many mothers murder their young children just due to the fact that having babies is no fun, is difficult to handle, and when only a child oneself, one does not want saddled with kids to raise.
So why on earth this extreme attitude from gays who cannot possibly bear children but have to depend upon their errant straight cousins to bear a child for them to adopt? Why do they want marriage so badly? It makes no sense to me. I find it utterly daft.
Legal protections for people who live together should become a part of civilized law in states throughout the nation, but it should be uniform and the same in each and every state. For one state to think that it is acting in a way that is superior to another is stupid as I read some political pundit tonight who seemed to think that he had opened the gates to heaven to the world of gay. Probably more like the gates of hell, but so be it, whatever saying til death do us part means to anyone anyway.
Sorry, if this is offensive to anyone, but frankly, that is how I feel. Marriage is probably for the right kind of people but some of us still believe the Biblical statement that Jesus made about marriage in Heaven...there is no such thing. Marriage is for earthlings to cohabit, bear children, raise them into adulthood, and to continue the race til the end of the planet...but those who are Angels do not marry.
Thank Heaven!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Health
I have been very lucky most of my life, having only suffered a few minor health problems, childhood diseases, a few bouts with colds, flu, and other minor problems but mostly always coming out of any examination truly healthy! So it has been a long time since I have ever complained about health other than being always tired...I never get enough good sleep it seems.
But this morning I suddenly remembered this when I bent down and had a bad pain strike me in the back, and suddenly I was an invalid, unable to stand up straight and walk properly. I was really worried for awhile. It did go away while I did the laundry but returned to bother me later in the afternoon. I began to think that I might have to go to a doctor, something I do not want to do. But tonight my cat cured me for good as he all of a sudden overcame his fear of the front door, and shot out of it, making me run after him. He gave me quite a chase, and I found I had no trouble running after all. He did prove that he knows where home is, and let me catch him once to escape a second time, and then proved to me that he knows how to get around, and did earn my trust by coming in the open door that was in the patio...but I learned my lesson from him...I will not give him another chance to prove how quick he is to me again. I don't dare to take many chances with him for as he gains confidence he would venture even further. I did take him out later with his leash and harness and he led me around the front of the apartment to a tree, where I finally brought him back, and closed the doors to the bathroom and bedroom so he could not get out when I had to go out to the patio again. This little dickens is really giving me a run for the money! But he did prove trustworthy for this night! I won't take another chance like this again!
But this morning I suddenly remembered this when I bent down and had a bad pain strike me in the back, and suddenly I was an invalid, unable to stand up straight and walk properly. I was really worried for awhile. It did go away while I did the laundry but returned to bother me later in the afternoon. I began to think that I might have to go to a doctor, something I do not want to do. But tonight my cat cured me for good as he all of a sudden overcame his fear of the front door, and shot out of it, making me run after him. He gave me quite a chase, and I found I had no trouble running after all. He did prove that he knows where home is, and let me catch him once to escape a second time, and then proved to me that he knows how to get around, and did earn my trust by coming in the open door that was in the patio...but I learned my lesson from him...I will not give him another chance to prove how quick he is to me again. I don't dare to take many chances with him for as he gains confidence he would venture even further. I did take him out later with his leash and harness and he led me around the front of the apartment to a tree, where I finally brought him back, and closed the doors to the bathroom and bedroom so he could not get out when I had to go out to the patio again. This little dickens is really giving me a run for the money! But he did prove trustworthy for this night! I won't take another chance like this again!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
More on Kittens
So, I remembered that Sandy had told me that the place where she would send her kittens would be connected to a petstore, but I never dreamed that I would find them at Petsmart. I am convinced that two of those kittens were hers, which means that they are Alexander's nephews and nieces...Alexander is my cat, son of Snowball, who is grandmother of these kittens.
One is a little black cat with deep blue eyes, because his grandfather is a Siamese, and the other was a tabby which is why I realized all of a sudden that I knew those kittens after all. I had seen them at Sandra's home often enough but I failed to realize when I saw them in the cage that that was who they were. I remember the black one staring at me, and it had such a despairing attitude...I am utterly distressed by all this.
Cats have real personalities. My Alexander has taught me so much about cats that I never knew. I know that these kittens could be as loveable and desirable as anything if given the chance to have the right loving owner.
In the end, the owners determine the lot and life of the cats. My cat is so much fun for me, loves me, comes up to me, plants kisses on me, and engages in bad behaviour enough to keep me on my toes. I am paying a high price for the pleasure of this cat, but the sorrow is to know that other cats, due to excessive population of cats, and neglect from human beings, go unloved and unwanted. I am truly upset but like with everything else in life, resigned to the fact that there is little I can do about it.
And to think I came home and even spoke of it to Alexander telling him how lucky he is. Later, I realized that those kittens were his relatives...very sad to me. I am dwelling on this enough to write it out.
One is a little black cat with deep blue eyes, because his grandfather is a Siamese, and the other was a tabby which is why I realized all of a sudden that I knew those kittens after all. I had seen them at Sandra's home often enough but I failed to realize when I saw them in the cage that that was who they were. I remember the black one staring at me, and it had such a despairing attitude...I am utterly distressed by all this.
Cats have real personalities. My Alexander has taught me so much about cats that I never knew. I know that these kittens could be as loveable and desirable as anything if given the chance to have the right loving owner.
In the end, the owners determine the lot and life of the cats. My cat is so much fun for me, loves me, comes up to me, plants kisses on me, and engages in bad behaviour enough to keep me on my toes. I am paying a high price for the pleasure of this cat, but the sorrow is to know that other cats, due to excessive population of cats, and neglect from human beings, go unloved and unwanted. I am truly upset but like with everything else in life, resigned to the fact that there is little I can do about it.
And to think I came home and even spoke of it to Alexander telling him how lucky he is. Later, I realized that those kittens were his relatives...very sad to me. I am dwelling on this enough to write it out.
Trying to get focused
This has been a heck of time that I have spent in Arizona. Today it was so hot that I turned around and came back to the apartment and would not leave it until after 7:00 when the sun had finally gone down. It is ridiculous to even try to walk anywhere when it is this hot...just blistering...
So I spent some time finally on the computer which I have not done for some time. I did finally read my Alexander novel all the way through, the first draft part that I had done. I had an idea that I wanted to make, and that is to use the Iliad as a background backdrop upon which the story of Alexander would be played out, and I am using Homer's use of gods and goddesses as I believe that Alexander and his Macedonians truly believed in all the stories, all the prayers, and all the help that they received.
Like Homer, I allow certain characters to actually see and converse with the gods and goddesses, but it is a long time before this draft will be finally completed to final draft and publication.
I will get back to writing it in July hopefully and bring it up to snuff. It is very time consuming, and I have had to get my house in order, as it is still a bit of a mess. But my walk in closet is something that I now am able to walk into, having finally put all the boxes on shelves, and managed to get everything off the floors. Not so in bedroom and living room where things are still on floors til I get a place to put them. I have no furniture to speak of, so it really does not matter at all.
But tonight Peter Olson spoke of the Musical Fete that was held in Paris and brought up the sound of Mongolian music as he found a group that enchanted him enough to take a trip in the future to Mongolia for his own personal reasons, and it made me think as I suddenly visualized the plains of Mongolia and was transported back in time to the days of Genghis Khan. Amazing, isn't it, at the number of men who have had to conquer the earth through military might and power and left behind legacies that are very controversial and misunderstood. I never fail to be amazed at the way stories are told that are so misleading and false about historical figures of the past.
Once again, I was able to recall when I first encountered the visual imagery of Genghis Khan in a near sleep experience that caused me to learn all about him as well. His being is so imposing that I can never forget how impressed I had been about his stature and demeanor... It always makes me wonder about how and why these experiences came to me as recent events in real life time at this moment have made me a bit depressed about the state of mankind and its toll on the human race. I wonder at why it is that some are able to become so rich and powerful, whether through birthright, or through accident, achievement, or luck, and why others are so deprived, poor, and really neglected and despairing.
This trend of thought came because of kittens of all things. I went to PetSmart to get something for my cat, a scratching post which was on sale, and some litter for his box. While there, for some reason I spied a group of kittens up for adoption, and the look in their eyes just absolutely floored me and made me feel really sad and bad for them. Later, I realized then which kittens these were which made it even worse for me. I knew them but had only vaguely recognized them, and finally at home, it dawned on me that they were the kittens of the same mother of my cat, but were her grandchildren as one of her females had given birth to them and I had met them when they were just babies. Oh lord, that really has hit me hard.
So I spent some time finally on the computer which I have not done for some time. I did finally read my Alexander novel all the way through, the first draft part that I had done. I had an idea that I wanted to make, and that is to use the Iliad as a background backdrop upon which the story of Alexander would be played out, and I am using Homer's use of gods and goddesses as I believe that Alexander and his Macedonians truly believed in all the stories, all the prayers, and all the help that they received.
Like Homer, I allow certain characters to actually see and converse with the gods and goddesses, but it is a long time before this draft will be finally completed to final draft and publication.
I will get back to writing it in July hopefully and bring it up to snuff. It is very time consuming, and I have had to get my house in order, as it is still a bit of a mess. But my walk in closet is something that I now am able to walk into, having finally put all the boxes on shelves, and managed to get everything off the floors. Not so in bedroom and living room where things are still on floors til I get a place to put them. I have no furniture to speak of, so it really does not matter at all.
But tonight Peter Olson spoke of the Musical Fete that was held in Paris and brought up the sound of Mongolian music as he found a group that enchanted him enough to take a trip in the future to Mongolia for his own personal reasons, and it made me think as I suddenly visualized the plains of Mongolia and was transported back in time to the days of Genghis Khan. Amazing, isn't it, at the number of men who have had to conquer the earth through military might and power and left behind legacies that are very controversial and misunderstood. I never fail to be amazed at the way stories are told that are so misleading and false about historical figures of the past.
Once again, I was able to recall when I first encountered the visual imagery of Genghis Khan in a near sleep experience that caused me to learn all about him as well. His being is so imposing that I can never forget how impressed I had been about his stature and demeanor... It always makes me wonder about how and why these experiences came to me as recent events in real life time at this moment have made me a bit depressed about the state of mankind and its toll on the human race. I wonder at why it is that some are able to become so rich and powerful, whether through birthright, or through accident, achievement, or luck, and why others are so deprived, poor, and really neglected and despairing.
This trend of thought came because of kittens of all things. I went to PetSmart to get something for my cat, a scratching post which was on sale, and some litter for his box. While there, for some reason I spied a group of kittens up for adoption, and the look in their eyes just absolutely floored me and made me feel really sad and bad for them. Later, I realized then which kittens these were which made it even worse for me. I knew them but had only vaguely recognized them, and finally at home, it dawned on me that they were the kittens of the same mother of my cat, but were her grandchildren as one of her females had given birth to them and I had met them when they were just babies. Oh lord, that really has hit me hard.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Three weeks have passed
since I moved to this apartment and I am slowly getting things unpacked and found at last. Found two more items today, but my life is full of strange events happening all the time, and so another occurred last evening that threw me into distress for quite awhile.
The only way we finally understand people in a given age is when we finally arrive at that age ourselves. It is a sorrow that the old lament that youth is wasted on the young is so really true, but unfortunately, time eventually confirms that thought.
When I was living at Palacio I had experienced many strange and unusual events that are truly mindboggling, unbelievable, but nonetheless true...I never learned the whys, wherefores, or whatnots of the strange inexplicable events, but I witnessed them firsthand and knew that they were true. But like anything truly abnormal and completely and totally unusual, they are not explainable. I believe that there are invisible forces all around us, and that some of these forces have powers that we cannot see or understand but we do see the end results. Whether spiritual, magical,or what, I just do not know but one of those same things happened last night and I am still trying to understand it. I will end up going over everything in my apartment to figure this one out. I had a card in my hand, it fell, it disappeared, and vanished totally...my only sane explanation is that the cat may have somehow or other carried it somewhere as the cat was nearby yet I do not know how or where he has placed this card, but because of the state of agitation that I was in at the time, he had to have done it while I was on the phone discussing my power problem with the woman on the other end of the line. I am still looking for this card to show up somewhere in this apartment...and am not certain where or when I will find it if I find it at all...I know that the cat could not have eaten it, and I frankly doubt that he carried it off but perhaps he did...no other explanation will suffice because if it just disappeared out of the blue how did that happen...I was only in two places at the time, and I have looked high and low to find it but to no avail...am still looking...making me upset but in the meantime I did find two other items that I had been trying to find so that helped a wee bit.
Still have not found my nail clippers though..
When mysterious things happen, and you discuss them with people, they just think that you are daft...so it is best to not ever tell of them...but they do happen. I am wondering which is which, did the cat do it, or some mysterious force reappear in my life?
If and when I find this, I will be sure to explain it all away here...but I had it in my hand, it fell, I let it fall, intending to pick it up, and then it was gone...and the cat kept disturbing me while I was on the phone...I am wondering...so I will be looking all this week as I must find this or get a replacement.
Oh boy!
The only way we finally understand people in a given age is when we finally arrive at that age ourselves. It is a sorrow that the old lament that youth is wasted on the young is so really true, but unfortunately, time eventually confirms that thought.
When I was living at Palacio I had experienced many strange and unusual events that are truly mindboggling, unbelievable, but nonetheless true...I never learned the whys, wherefores, or whatnots of the strange inexplicable events, but I witnessed them firsthand and knew that they were true. But like anything truly abnormal and completely and totally unusual, they are not explainable. I believe that there are invisible forces all around us, and that some of these forces have powers that we cannot see or understand but we do see the end results. Whether spiritual, magical,or what, I just do not know but one of those same things happened last night and I am still trying to understand it. I will end up going over everything in my apartment to figure this one out. I had a card in my hand, it fell, it disappeared, and vanished totally...my only sane explanation is that the cat may have somehow or other carried it somewhere as the cat was nearby yet I do not know how or where he has placed this card, but because of the state of agitation that I was in at the time, he had to have done it while I was on the phone discussing my power problem with the woman on the other end of the line. I am still looking for this card to show up somewhere in this apartment...and am not certain where or when I will find it if I find it at all...I know that the cat could not have eaten it, and I frankly doubt that he carried it off but perhaps he did...no other explanation will suffice because if it just disappeared out of the blue how did that happen...I was only in two places at the time, and I have looked high and low to find it but to no avail...am still looking...making me upset but in the meantime I did find two other items that I had been trying to find so that helped a wee bit.
Still have not found my nail clippers though..
When mysterious things happen, and you discuss them with people, they just think that you are daft...so it is best to not ever tell of them...but they do happen. I am wondering which is which, did the cat do it, or some mysterious force reappear in my life?
If and when I find this, I will be sure to explain it all away here...but I had it in my hand, it fell, I let it fall, intending to pick it up, and then it was gone...and the cat kept disturbing me while I was on the phone...I am wondering...so I will be looking all this week as I must find this or get a replacement.
Oh boy!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Adjusting during Adversity
Moving from one apartment to another is as adverse as it comes, and the only reason this move is welcome is because I am moving into a better apartment. But the process of packing, loading, unloading, and unpacking is enough to make anyone think twice about ever leaving any one place at any time. I would advise anyone anymore to buy a house early in life, and to be sure to pick one that one would want to keep until the end of one's life. I have moved far more often than necessary for someone who is not in the military life. That way, the government is forced to pay for your moves. However, when one is young, one thinks that one can do many things easily that when one is older, one realizes that youth is gone and old age makes it far more difficult.
The sad part is that I really am hoping that I will be able to make one final move that will be final, but who knows, I may find myself staying and living here much longer than I presently anticipate.
So today I continued to reread my Alexander novel. God almighty, who would ever believe that I would be interested in a subject like Alexander of Macedon. It is incredible to me to realize how I have become so immersed in times past, and of the likes of the men that I came to learn through a simple q and a.
My book is really quite good if I say so myself, but by reading it aloud to myself now I can see how much work it will take to rewrite and edit this version of a young Alexander that I am penning. I am simply amazed that I even attempted to write the novel as I at the last minute last November decided to try it. I had had an idea all along that if I did take up such an undertaking how I would go about it, and to some extent I am following that mode of thought. But it is fascinating to me to reread my work now after I penned it all in a single month's effort.
And it is slow going just to reread it as I am only in the beginning stages of it. I know that I spent a lot of time at it, and am trying to be faithful to the history, but I had forgotten most of it so that it is interesting to do a cold reading to see if I even like it now. So far, I do like it a lot.
I will be happy if I can get this rewritten so that it can be published soon. I would like to market it after it is finished. So on that note, I am closing and going to bed now...need my rest.
The sad part is that I really am hoping that I will be able to make one final move that will be final, but who knows, I may find myself staying and living here much longer than I presently anticipate.
So today I continued to reread my Alexander novel. God almighty, who would ever believe that I would be interested in a subject like Alexander of Macedon. It is incredible to me to realize how I have become so immersed in times past, and of the likes of the men that I came to learn through a simple q and a.
My book is really quite good if I say so myself, but by reading it aloud to myself now I can see how much work it will take to rewrite and edit this version of a young Alexander that I am penning. I am simply amazed that I even attempted to write the novel as I at the last minute last November decided to try it. I had had an idea all along that if I did take up such an undertaking how I would go about it, and to some extent I am following that mode of thought. But it is fascinating to me to reread my work now after I penned it all in a single month's effort.
And it is slow going just to reread it as I am only in the beginning stages of it. I know that I spent a lot of time at it, and am trying to be faithful to the history, but I had forgotten most of it so that it is interesting to do a cold reading to see if I even like it now. So far, I do like it a lot.
I will be happy if I can get this rewritten so that it can be published soon. I would like to market it after it is finished. So on that note, I am closing and going to bed now...need my rest.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Change of Pace
I went to a potluck dinner tonight and played bingo with the members of the apartment who bothered to show up and share their goodies with us. One interesting item was something called popcorn salad which surprisingly was very good to eat, all crunch with water chestnuts, onions, celery, bacon, and cheddar topped with a special dressing and finally a full bag of popcorn added for fun and more crunch.
I did not win any bingo game but I got down to one and that was as close as I could get. My little group did not get a prize but we stayed with it and hoped.
Very nice people who gathered together for a little fun and companionship. Mostly seniors but a few young people as well...twas nice to see. I brought home the leftovers that were not eaten along with some of the ambrosia and popcorn salad to eat later.
Today I began rereading my novel about Alexander aloud and have to admit that while I am only in the beginning stages of it, I think it is a very good beginning. I could see where it needs a lot of work before it ever can be published, and a lot of revisions and rewrites will come after I get it printed. Good thing I did not print it as I am making corrections as I go and saving them...I may even eventually be able to take it up again and continue with it.
Going to bed soon...very tired and sleepy now.
I did not win any bingo game but I got down to one and that was as close as I could get. My little group did not get a prize but we stayed with it and hoped.
Very nice people who gathered together for a little fun and companionship. Mostly seniors but a few young people as well...twas nice to see. I brought home the leftovers that were not eaten along with some of the ambrosia and popcorn salad to eat later.
Today I began rereading my novel about Alexander aloud and have to admit that while I am only in the beginning stages of it, I think it is a very good beginning. I could see where it needs a lot of work before it ever can be published, and a lot of revisions and rewrites will come after I get it printed. Good thing I did not print it as I am making corrections as I go and saving them...I may even eventually be able to take it up again and continue with it.
Going to bed soon...very tired and sleepy now.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Continuation of first week in new apartment
I straightened up my bookshelves, and took out all the books, arranged them according to topic, size, and hardback or paperback, and am awestruck at how much money and time I have put into the lives of men who I would never have given even a small thin dime to consider years ago...it has told a lot to me about myself, and my need to know everything I can about this experience of living the life of a past personality. I certainly let it take control of my reading and buying habits, and am totally amazed at myself. To top it off, I even began to write a novel about one of them, and am still in the process of determining how far I will go with that effort now.
I am at the age to where I want to get rid of the past totally anyway, so it is a bit of shock to realize how I really became so involved in this study, and how it affected me for so long. I would think that I had lost my senses and gone daft too if I did not know the process by which I came to this point. It is utterly ridiculous to see how many books that I have on the topics of Louis XIV and Alexander the Great. I have a few on George Washington but I never let him have that much impact on my buying or reading as I simply did not want to get into that era after I spent time in Virginia studying each nook and cranny there. Once resolved, one does not really care to drown in the past as I have appeared to have done with both Louis XIV and Alexander.
What truly amazes me more than anything else is that anyone really gives a damn about any of these men as much as it is obvious that some people do. I wonder at why. Is it out of a desire to create a book? a desire to understand the person? a drive to satisfy the university's demand to publish? what? I really wonder at the number of people who have succumbed to the temptation to write a book of any kind regarding the topic.
I have always believed that most of history is probably only 75% accurate if even that much. Probably more than likely 60% accurate, and the rest is mumbo jumbo.
I always have to laugh about the dependency upon the sources for the history of Alexander since like the Bible, most of today's knowledge is based upon books written, actually copied, some 400 years after he lived. It makes it very unlikely that more than 50% accuracy could even be hoped for regarding his life.
So in the end, I don't rely very much upon historical data as being any more credible than so called "dream" or "regressive" experiences may be. I have had people criticize me for my "dream" like state of learning about these people from yesteryear.
The point is that the "dreamlike" state is much more compelling than some history writer's cold and so called objection reporting can ever be, and makes it much more likely that a personal interest will be made to study the life of this person. Without all that "inner" knowledge which I have excavated from within my base of knowledge I have at least acquired an interest in a subject that frankly would bore me and leave me cold. The history books are just too speculative anyway to suit my fancy. And a personal involvement is always the real way to gain an interest in any suject, no matter whether a person, a place, or an event.
My "soul" is really what is more important to me than some history books record keeping ability.
Not wanting entirely to get into discussions of good and evil, I am just wondering why it is that we try to turn a god into a passive little breeze instead of a violent and active hurricane or tornado when using the wind as a metaphor for god.
So on that note, I will close...Moving has opened my eyes a bit to how really strangely I have behaved since making this inner journey. My bookshelves betray me as being very self-absorbed...and I find that very unattractive also...but again, truth seekers are never very attractive to indifferent attitudes.
I am at the age to where I want to get rid of the past totally anyway, so it is a bit of shock to realize how I really became so involved in this study, and how it affected me for so long. I would think that I had lost my senses and gone daft too if I did not know the process by which I came to this point. It is utterly ridiculous to see how many books that I have on the topics of Louis XIV and Alexander the Great. I have a few on George Washington but I never let him have that much impact on my buying or reading as I simply did not want to get into that era after I spent time in Virginia studying each nook and cranny there. Once resolved, one does not really care to drown in the past as I have appeared to have done with both Louis XIV and Alexander.
What truly amazes me more than anything else is that anyone really gives a damn about any of these men as much as it is obvious that some people do. I wonder at why. Is it out of a desire to create a book? a desire to understand the person? a drive to satisfy the university's demand to publish? what? I really wonder at the number of people who have succumbed to the temptation to write a book of any kind regarding the topic.
I have always believed that most of history is probably only 75% accurate if even that much. Probably more than likely 60% accurate, and the rest is mumbo jumbo.
I always have to laugh about the dependency upon the sources for the history of Alexander since like the Bible, most of today's knowledge is based upon books written, actually copied, some 400 years after he lived. It makes it very unlikely that more than 50% accuracy could even be hoped for regarding his life.
So in the end, I don't rely very much upon historical data as being any more credible than so called "dream" or "regressive" experiences may be. I have had people criticize me for my "dream" like state of learning about these people from yesteryear.
The point is that the "dreamlike" state is much more compelling than some history writer's cold and so called objection reporting can ever be, and makes it much more likely that a personal interest will be made to study the life of this person. Without all that "inner" knowledge which I have excavated from within my base of knowledge I have at least acquired an interest in a subject that frankly would bore me and leave me cold. The history books are just too speculative anyway to suit my fancy. And a personal involvement is always the real way to gain an interest in any suject, no matter whether a person, a place, or an event.
My "soul" is really what is more important to me than some history books record keeping ability.
Not wanting entirely to get into discussions of good and evil, I am just wondering why it is that we try to turn a god into a passive little breeze instead of a violent and active hurricane or tornado when using the wind as a metaphor for god.
So on that note, I will close...Moving has opened my eyes a bit to how really strangely I have behaved since making this inner journey. My bookshelves betray me as being very self-absorbed...and I find that very unattractive also...but again, truth seekers are never very attractive to indifferent attitudes.
Friday, June 3, 2011
One week in new apartment
I had not realized that today is Friday. I have been working constantly and finally took the past two days off from unpacking and reorganizing. I believe it will take me a month or more to be finally finished with all the unpacking as I intend to slow down since I overdid the early more important rooms. I am tired as all get out, seldom go to the computer except to continue my early morning and late night games to see if my mind is fully functioning or not. I feel as though my brain has totally crashed at times. I go into automatic so often that I forget anything that I did just five minutes earlier. It has been a grueling and rough six days so far, seven I suppose actually.
I did manage to get to the jacuzzi twice this week, but having to take care of other important details that must get done made it impossible for me to get there the last two or three days. Age matters, and I am frankly too old for this kind of work now. I am extremely resentful again of all that has happened in the past three years.
But on the positive side. The apartment is head and shoulders above the other one, and suits me to a tee. I have access to so many more things from this location than I did at the other. Since I have been using public transportation (minus a car) it makes it slower and harder to get things done so that today I had to finally learn what was on the srp box that had been left here a week ago. I just did not have the time or the inclination to read it and use it until today. So at the last minute I am headed to the local kiosk to bring it up to date a bit.
I went to Ikea to check on furnishings and shelves for the pantry. I found something that could work but waited til I check out other places before I buy anything. I did buy some potato pancakes and raspberry cheesecake.
The potato pancakes are wonderful. Loved them, but the cheesecake is not up to snuff.
Alexander is adjusting. He is afraid to go out the front door but loves the patio. He has been a great little companion for me, and I have had fun in having him here.
A lot of good things about this apartment which makes it very enjoyable, mirrors in the dining area, and mirrors in the hallway across from the bath area. This will help me to get a grip on my weight maybe. The amenities are very enticing and very worthwhile...jacuzzi, clubhouse with free wifi, (have not tried that yet) and an icecube maker in the clubhouse. Laundry nearby as well as barbecue grill outside my door.
For all those reasons I am very happy with this move, and people I have met so far have been very interesting to meet.
I am just too tired and too busy to spend time on computer so have missed recent blogger posts but I will try to get back asap.
I did manage to get to the jacuzzi twice this week, but having to take care of other important details that must get done made it impossible for me to get there the last two or three days. Age matters, and I am frankly too old for this kind of work now. I am extremely resentful again of all that has happened in the past three years.
But on the positive side. The apartment is head and shoulders above the other one, and suits me to a tee. I have access to so many more things from this location than I did at the other. Since I have been using public transportation (minus a car) it makes it slower and harder to get things done so that today I had to finally learn what was on the srp box that had been left here a week ago. I just did not have the time or the inclination to read it and use it until today. So at the last minute I am headed to the local kiosk to bring it up to date a bit.
I went to Ikea to check on furnishings and shelves for the pantry. I found something that could work but waited til I check out other places before I buy anything. I did buy some potato pancakes and raspberry cheesecake.
The potato pancakes are wonderful. Loved them, but the cheesecake is not up to snuff.
Alexander is adjusting. He is afraid to go out the front door but loves the patio. He has been a great little companion for me, and I have had fun in having him here.
A lot of good things about this apartment which makes it very enjoyable, mirrors in the dining area, and mirrors in the hallway across from the bath area. This will help me to get a grip on my weight maybe. The amenities are very enticing and very worthwhile...jacuzzi, clubhouse with free wifi, (have not tried that yet) and an icecube maker in the clubhouse. Laundry nearby as well as barbecue grill outside my door.
For all those reasons I am very happy with this move, and people I have met so far have been very interesting to meet.
I am just too tired and too busy to spend time on computer so have missed recent blogger posts but I will try to get back asap.
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