Ostensibly, the reason we were in London in the first place was to attend LonCon3, the World Science Fiction Convention for 2014. As reasons go, it’s not a bad one. Especially since I’m a dues paying active member of the Science Fiction Writer’s of America (SFWA) and make such little use of that it barely registers as more than a line on my CV. So, knowing I was going to the con (that’s what we in the “know” call conventions) I volunteered to be on a panel when they had an opening and got an invite to the SFWA reception and had decided to attend the SFWA informational meeting. I figure if I’m gonna get back into this writing thing, I need to start hanging out with people again. Continue reading “London 2014: Day Three & Four – LonCon3”
Category: Personal
London 2014: Day Two – Walking the walk, talking the talk…
Thursday started bright and early with breakfast at the hotel, which was kind of weird. Most hotels, if they offer breakfast, it’s usually a continental style, with pastries and coffee. Hostels often offer similar. This place had a kitchen so you could make what you wanted and offered up eggs, bread, cereal and some fruits. So we had scrambled eggs and toast before heading out for our day.
First stop, as planned, was the British Library. There was an exhibition on about British Comic Books until the 19th and since we didn’t know when we’d get another chance, today was our day for it (Monday and Tuesday were already blocked out due to the London Pass – to be explained later). Continue reading “London 2014: Day Two – Walking the walk, talking the talk…”
London 2014: Day One – Getting there is half the fun
This trip actually started a few months ago when AAron and family couldn’t make it to LonCon3, the World Science Fiction convention, this year held in London. Since they couldn’t go, but had already gotten memberships, Rasa and I took them over and planned a tourist trip around the con.
Of course, this wasn’t the only way AAron was involved. See, we were flying RyanAir which is notorious for how cut-rate they are. Until very recently, they would only allow one carry on bag, no more than 10kg, and anything else would be charged an exorbitant fee. They’ve since loosened policy a bit, but not much. In any case, we still weren’t checking any bags, but we had the ability to take two onboard. Continue reading “London 2014: Day One – Getting there is half the fun”
“It doesn’t have to be good, it only has to be finished.”
Yesterday I did something I haven’t done in quite a while – I finished an original script (first draft) for a TV pilot. 60 pages written in 23 days, from starting the outline to typing “Fade Out.” In those 23 days, I wrote a total of 16,514 words – in addition to the script, I wrote two lengthy blog posts, an original short story for David Magazine (which will be out on September 1) and a book review.
Now, the blogs and reviews, I do those with regularity, so no need to mention them in any detail but the other two, that’s what I want to talk about, for my own sake, not necessarily for any one else’s. Continue reading ““It doesn’t have to be good, it only has to be finished.””
The Stones of Anykščiai
A few days back, my friend Monika asked what my weekend plans were and if I wanted to go to Anykščiai, a village of about 12,000 people in the north midwest area of the country. Now, for those playing at home, Monika is a great friend and in the past we’ve done some great road trips like to Tallin and Finland, just to ride the roller coasters (of course, that trip was before I was blogging so no good record of it exists outside of incriminating photographs). Now, though, Monika has a car so there’s a whole new world open to us. Add in the fact that LAST year for my birthday, she gave me a stuffed creature and a book of 100 sites to see in Lithuania in which I had to take pictures of the creature and I was falling behind due to my lack of independent transport. Continue reading “The Stones of Anykščiai”
What I did on The Assets
Remember last October when I filmed a tiny little scene for the ABC series The Assets? The show was supposed to air in January – in fact, my episode was supposed to air the week I got back to the States. Would have been fun to watch it with the family.
Unfortunately, ABC decided to cancel the show during it’s initial run and it wasn’t until this summer that it ended up airing all 8 parts.
But now, rather than put you through that grinding ordeal of having to watch all 8 hours, here’s my scene (I’m the guy with the silly mustache – the other guy is the wonderful stage and screen actor Jonjo O’Neill who has enormous street cred as McGillop on the Doctor Who episode – “The Day of the Doctor“)
Wet and Wild
On my birthday I got a gift certificate to go and spend a few hours at the Vichy Water Park in Vilnius and yesterday, we decided to go.
Now, for me, water parks are a bit of a double edged sword. About 29 years ago (’85 or so), I was in Salt Lake City and happened to make friends with a guy whose mom ran a scuba shop. Continue reading “Wet and Wild”
Happy Birthday, Marcel Proust: David Bowie Answers the Proust Questionnaire | Brain Pickings
Happy Birthday, Marcel Proust: David Bowie Answers the Proust Questionnaire | Brain Pickings.
Bowie has always been one of my heroes – not so much for his music (of which I enjoy a fair bit but certainly not all) but as a person. I love his chameleon like nature and his creativity. He’s always been an inspiration and role model and these answers just solidify that for me.
The Best Illustrations from 150 Years of Alice in Wonderland | Brain Pickings
The Best Illustrations from 150 Years of Alice in Wonderland | Brain Pickings.
Anyone who knows me, knows I love Alice. I have two different Alice themed tattoos and back in Vegas in storage there are three or so boxes full of different editions of the book along with various paraphernalia and collectibles so this article definitely strikes my fancy.
That said, while I agree these are some great illustrations, I think there are some classics being left out.
Continue reading “The Best Illustrations from 150 Years of Alice in Wonderland | Brain Pickings”
Again with the Zoo
Landing back in Helsinki I found my way back to Jennica’s place and we decided to go out for dinner and visit her friend Emma. We’d met Emma on Thursday night when I got in and we’d taken Donna, Jennica’s dog, out to the dog park for her late night business. It’s interesting… in a lot of cities, the dog park has become the best place to socialize. Jennica has met several good friends at hers and my friends Al & Teya do the same down in San Diego (and they don’t even have a dog!). So we met Emma, who’s a chef and evidently the restaurant she works at is pretty good. Also, they were changing the menus on Monday so a Sunday night trip for dinner seemed appropriate. Continue reading “Again with the Zoo”
A Wedding in Vaasa
“I’ve seen you naked.”
This was the first thing I heard when I stepped into the church for Antti & Tiina’s wedding. “I’ve seen you naked.” Thing was… he had. This was Vesa, whom long time readers will remember from my first time in a Finnish Sauna almost exactly six years ago. Continue reading “A Wedding in Vaasa”
When did “money” become a bad word?
Actually, it’s not even about money. We all like money. We can all appreciate money. Hell, we all want money. No, the issue recently isn’t about money itself, it’s about getting paid. It’s about how we get the money that’s coming into question. I first thought of this when I saw Sean Penn‘s adaptation of Jon Krakauer‘s Into the Wild. In the film (and book, but I hadn’t read the book then), there’s a scene where Chris McCandless decides to burn all the money he has because it’s not “honest” money. He didn’t earn it himself, it was given to him and so he didn’t feel entitled to it. Now, he understood the need for money, he gets various jobs along the way, but that was honest money, necessary money, so it was okay. Continue reading “When did “money” become a bad word?”
21 Harsh But Eye-Opening Writing Tips From Great Authors
This is a great list of quotes.
It’s interesting to me that because most everyone learns to write at some point in their lives, just to exist in society, they all think they can be “writers.” Telling a story with words is a completely different skill set than just being able to convey a simple message but most people don’t see it that way. they figure that since they can string words together for an 8th grade English class (Thank you, Mrs. Mullally) that they can write a book or even a short story, and a good one at that, right out of the gate.
Writing is work. Like all work sometimes it’s hard, sometimes it’s easier, but it always takes effort to get good at it and these quotes just point that out.
No Extroverts on Mars, Please
No Extroverts on Mars, Please.
“Bell said that usually extroverts are good on teams because their tendency to speak up and engage with others makes planning easier. She added that because extroverts are outgoing, they know more about their teammates — their strengths and weaknesses. That helps team coordination.
However, the unique properties of long-haul, confined missions add new elements to that usual dynamic.”
Basically, if you talk to much, in a small space, people are gonna wanna kill you. And since I’ve gotten yelled at for talking to people in an elevator, this may just be the end of my dreams of interstellar travel.
An Apple a Day
On Final Exam day, one of the first students finished came up with their finished exam, handed it to me and then cheekily gave me an apple. It was cute. Then another student handed in their exam… and an apple. Then a third. Eventually, about 150 students all handed in their exams and an apple.
And when the exam was over (first session – there were two) they ave me a t-shirt. I’m wearing it in the picture. It’s the best exam question I’ve ever written (and the answer is on the back).
I do love what I do…
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 