A Post About Nothing

Image From Featured Pictures Section of Wikimedia Commons

Pretty cool picture huh? I just found it browsing Wikimedia Commons and had to share. One of the first words my daughter learned to say was “turtle”, which coming from her little mouth was the cutest word ever spoken.

My Pittsburgh Penguins won again last night. They are one win away from the Stanley Cup finals. That’s all I want to say about that, for fear of jinxing it.

Szelsofa had an interesting post today about a prototype paper by Xerox which erases itself! Head on over to her blog to see the details. It sounds pretty cool.

Taffiny had a post the other day regarding sharing some of her writing with her family, and the anxiety of sharing her writing with anyone. I totally understand. It can be so hard to share writing or any creative endeavor for that matter, because it’s as if you are sharing a piece of yourself.

When I first started writing seriously, not all that long ago, I would share stuff with my family. They are always supportive and usually tell me I did a good job with whatever I wrote. Most of their suggestions were grammar related.

Next, I started sharing my writing here on this blog. Again, most readers are extremely supportive. I love that about you all. It was here that I got a few style suggestions.

Finally, I have joined a critique group. These people go into way more depth in my writing, and I hear less of “that’s nice” and more of “you are showing, not telling” or “would this character really do that?”. It’s not all positive stuff, but always done in a nice manner, and always helpful.

So, yeah, all these things work. I imagine the critique group is the one used least by beginning writers. However, I also think it’s the most important. Sometimes we need people who aren’t related, or scared to hurt out feelings to look at our work in a critical way, to find the things we just can’t find in our writing. It has been extremely valuable for me.

Thanks for the post idea here Taffiny and good luck with sharing your writing.  Anyone who reads your work is lucky to be able to do so.

Scruffy McGee

Here’s a picture of my daughter at her birthday party, checking out the awesome coloring book my wife made for all the kids. I lead with this picture because the one that follows is not quite as cute.

Also, my latest Sippy Cup Book Review is up at BeAGoodDad.  This week’s book is Cat’s Pajamas.  Check it out and let me know what you think.  Any constructive criticism is welcome as always.

It’s been a while since I posted any updates on the playoff beard. Our camera has been on the fritz, we’ve been planning our daughter’s birthday party, and so on. Last night, I finally decided to get a picture. As you can see, this one is a self portrait. I really wasn’t in total darkness when I took the picture, just so you know. I had to do some Photoshop magic because the flash was too bright on my face. Also, I’m wearing my glasses. It’s coming along pretty nicely, huh? Should I use this one when my novel gets published?

Here is a link to my last picture, for comparison purposes.

My wife has taken to calling me Scruffy McGee and pleading with me to shave every day. I tell her I’ve come this far and can’t shave now. I’m no quitter! The funny thing for me, not for her, is that she keeps asking people what they think of the beard and they all keep telling her they like it. My grandfather, who I though for sure would be against the beard said he liked it. This weekend, my wife’s two sisters both said they like the beard.

Plus, the Pittsburgh Penguins have done quite well in the playoffs and are up 2 games to 0 against the Philadelphia Flyers. The winner of the best of 7 series will play for the Stanley Cup!

As soon as the playoffs are over, though, I’m shaving the beard. It is just too itchy for me.

An Awesome Day

My daughter’s birthday party went very well. We had 20+ people at our little house. Luckily it was sunny and we were able to have the party in our back yard. Everyone was very generous and my daughter got some really nice gifts. It was fun to see all her little friends, though they were hard to tell apart from behind, as they all have roughly the same colored blonde hair and are all around the same height.

It was also fun watching the little two-year-olds “play together”, as they don’t really play together. Rather, they play beside each other, each one doing her own thing.  So funny.

One quick story.  We had all the gifts on the lawn for my daughter to open.  The video camera was trained on her.  We called her over to begin unwrapping gifts when all of a sudden she spied a Winnie the Pooh umbrella in one of the gifts.  It took all of our might to get her to concentrate on the other gifts.  She just wanted to run around the yard with the umbrella!  Oh well.

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Just a quick follow-up on my post from Friday about the 18-year-old kid with cancer. They reported in the Post-Gazette today that the Pittsburgh Penguins invited him to go to their playoff game last night, which has been sold out since the tickets were first on sale. He was also able to meet Hall of Famer and Penguins owner Mario Lemieux, Dan Rooney (owner of the Steelers), and Steelers quarterback Roethlisberger.

Here’s a video of his visit. Here’s a link to a follow-up story about John Challis, which talks about the attention he’s received in the week since the article was published. He was also voted King of his High School’s prom.

Happy Birthday to my Daughter

This one is for my daughter. Happy birthday honey. I can’t believe you are already two years old! It seems like only yesterday Mamma and I were bringing you home, full of hope and anxiety. Our lives are so much brighter now that you are here. You are “my favorite and my best”.

Here’s a video I know you will like

Boy With Cancer Gets A Hit

I read this one last Sunday in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, have read it a few other times, and decided I had to tell you all about it. After all, it beats the post I was going to write about the Care Bears -vs- Smurfs debate (for the record, the Care Bears would totally win).

The story is about an 18 year old boy named John Challis from Freedom, Pennsylvania (Western Pennsylvania) who has cancer and who got a shot to fulfill one of his wishes, to bat one more time in a high school baseball game. Amazingly, he swung at the first pitch, a fastball, and got a hit.

According to the article, John was told a few weeks ago by doctors that he doesn’t have much time left as the cancer that started in his liver was now taking over his lungs. This young man is amazingly strong. Just read some of his thoughts:

• “I told my mom I still think I can get two more years.”

• “I used to be afraid, but I’m not afraid of dying now, if that’s what you want to know,” he said. “Because life ain’t about how many breaths you take. It’s what you do with those breaths.”
• “I guess I can see why people see me as an inspiration,” he said. “But why do people think it’s so hard to see things the way I do? All I’m doing is making the best of a situation.” “Why can’t people just see the best in things? It gets you so much further in life. It’s always negative this and negative that. That’s all you see and hear.”
• “If I’m mad at anything in this, it’s that I’m not going to be able to have a son, I’m not going to be able to get married and have my own house,” he said, fighting back tears again. “Those are the things I’m mad about. But not dying.”

So yeah, I choked up a bit every time I read this. It’s worth reading, though, because John is truly inspirational. It makes me want to get as much out of my life as I can, because John won’t be able to for much longer.

After reading the article, check out the videos they posted on the left hand side of the article. Here is a link to one of them. Unrelated, if you ever wanted to know what a “Pittsburgh Accent” sounds like, he definitely has one. I think it’s great!

Internetty

I found this image via Wikimedia Commons. Supposedly it’s from a tabasco sauce advertisement from 1900. Would make an interesting writing prompt, I think, if I had the energy for such a thing.

I made a little progress on Chapter 4 of my novel yesterday. A key for me was to print a few pages out and edit them at work during my lunch hour, away from the computer and the evil Internet. The Internet is too shiny for me to ignore. I lack the willpower. In fact, if the Internet were a person, I’m pretty sure it would look like the guy in the image above, waving his products while little devil guys fall out.

My wife worked last night so I got to watch my daughter on my own. We had a pretty good time. We drew on the sidewalk in chalk (I drew a pretty good Lola, from Charlie and Lola), and my daughter drew a couple scribbles on the fire hydrant saying, “the fireman will be soooo happy”.

The end of the night was a little rough as she missed her “mamma” and wanted nothing to do with me. The only way I could get her to lay down on the couch (she was tired, it was 9:00, and she hadn’t had a nap) was to pop in her They Might Be Giants Here Come The 123’s DVD for her to watch. She was asleep before they got to three.

Not much else is new. We have a lot of work and money to spend in preparation for her birthday party of Saturday. There will be 20+ people in our house and my wife’s family will be sleeping over. Should be a fun party, but until we get there it will be stressful.

How are things with you?

A Bird, No A Plane, No A Superdelegate

This will be a post of things. Things that aren’t entirely related.  Things that may be interesting.

Thing 1

My daughter told my wife and I this morning that Santa is going to come to her birthday and give her a red present.  This is the first we heard that Old Saint Nick is coming to the party, so we’ll have to go out and buy a few more burgers I guess.

Thing 2

I read the first three chapters of Little Brother on my Sony Reader last night, which with all the technology in the book seemed fitting. I like, possibly even prefer, the feel of a real book as much as the next itchy-bearded guy. There’s something nice about the Sony Reader too.

**small digression
I got the device for just this reason, free electronic versions of books. If you download a book from the internet you have a few options. You can print out the contents of the book, which is fine, but offends my frugality (paper and ink cost money, you know). You can read the book at you PC or laptop, which is also fine, but also my computer has a little something called “The Internet” which distracts me from reading. Finally, you can use a device that is dedicated to doing one thing:displaying electronic books. This is the Sony Reader.
**end small digression

About the book?  Yeah, I’m liking it so far. I just got to an interesting point in the story but had to put it down to go to bed.  I’m excited to continue the journey tonight.

Thing 3 (Politics Alert!)

I spent way too much time than I needed to watching the primary returns from North Caroline and Indiana, hoping Obama could squeak just a little bit more from those late reporting counties to squeak ahead of Hillary. It didn’t happen, but it doesn’t really matter. There is really no way Hillary can win without doing some shady things and ripping the party apart. It’s over, even if she and the media don’t want to admit it (why would they, after all, since they are getting huge ratings while this draws on). The only way this will end (other than Hillary dropping out) is with the help from the Superdelagates *bugle plays*.

Whatever, right? I spend too much time thinking about this stuff.

Little Brother and Blue

First of all, if you get a chance, please read my post yesterday. I put a lot of heart into that one.

Secondly, since it is Tuesday, my latest “Sippy Cup Book Review” is up at beagooddad.com. This week’s book is Blue’s Sniffly Day.

I’m pretty excited because I won a book in a contest yesterday at Chris’s blog. The book is Charles Gramlich’s Swords of Talera. Check it out.

Now on to today’s post. Yesterday, Cory Doctorow released his latest novel via Creative Commons. That means it is absolutely free to download and read. I’ve been anxiously awaiting this novel since Neil Gaiman first wrote this on his blog about the book:

I’d recommend Little Brother over pretty much any book I’ve read
this year, and I’d want to get it into the hands of as many smart 13 year olds, male and female, as I can.

Because I think it’ll change lives. Because some kids, maybe
just a few, won’t be the same after they’ve read it. Maybe they’ll
change politically, maybe technologically. Maybe it’ll just be the
first book they loved or that spoke to their inner geek. Maybe
they’ll want to argue about it and disagree with it. Maybe they’ll
want to open their computer and see what’s in there. I don’t know.
It made me want to be 13 again right now and reading it for the
first time, and then go out and make the world better or stranger
or odder. It’s a wonderful, important book, in a way that renders
its flaws pretty much meaningless.

As authors recommending books of other authors, this one was pretty effective on me. I’m pretty sure I’d have checked this book out anyhow. 1984 is probably the work of fiction that has had the most influence on me and the way I view the world. As you may gather from the title, Little Brother, Doctorow’s book is 1984 for the Young Adult crowd.

In the intro to the book, Cory Doctorow has some explanation on why he released the book for free(at the same time it is also being sold in print).

For me for pretty much every writer the
big problem isn’t piracy, it’s obscurity (thanks to Tim O’Reilly for this great
aphorism). Of all the people who failed to buy this book today,
the majority did so because they never heard of it, not because
someone gave them a free copy. Mega-hit bestsellers in science
fiction sell half a million copies in a world where 175,000
attend the San Diego Comic Con alone, you’ve got to figure that
most of the people who “like science fiction” (and related geeky
stuff like comics, games, Linux, and so on) just don’t really buy
books. I’m more interested in getting more of that wider audience
into the tent than making sure that everyone who’s in the tent
bought a ticket to be there.

He also describes how he wrote the book in only eight weeks, and the feeling of the book writing itself:

I wrote Little Brother in a white-hot
fury between May 7, 2007 and July 2, 2007: exactly eight weeks from the day I thought it up
to the day I finished it (Alice, to whom this book is dedicated, had
to put up with me clacking out the final chapter at 5AM in our
hotel in Rome, where we were celebrating our anniversary). I’d
always dreamed of having a book just materialize, fully formed,
and come pouring out of my fingertips, no sweat and fuss but
it wasn’t nearly as much fun as I’d thought it would be. There were
days when I wrote 10,000 words, hunching over my keyboard in
airports, on subways, in taxis anywhere
I could type. The book was trying to get out of my head, no matter what, and I missed so
much sleep and so many meals that friends started to ask if I was
unwell.

So yeah, the download is worth it for the introduction alone. I’m fifteen or so pages in right now and am enjoying it already. If I continue to enjoy it, I will certainly buy a copy. It’s the right thing to do. To get the book in a variety of formats head on over to Craphound, Cory Doctorow’s website. I’m certain you won’t be disappointed.

Over the River and Through the Woods

We had a pretty good weekend, the family and I. Saturday afternoon my wife worked, so my daughter and I took a little trip to the park. We fed bread to the ducks and trout (huge, huge, trout there, mostly because fishing is prohibited), swung on the swings (she liked swinging on the “big girl swing”), and stepped in some mud (which she talked about for a while). It was a good day.

Saturday evening we had a message from my little sister, and when I called her back she told us her boyfriend proposed. Great news! They have been dating for some time, and we have long considered her boyfriend part of the family. This will just make it official. Congrats Ta-Ta.

Sunday we took the two hour drive to my Grandfather’s house to eat Sunday lunch and to see my Aunt and Uncle who were visiting from South Carolina. Near the end of the ride my daughter got a bit antsy, so I sang her a few rounds of “Over the river and through the woods, to Great-Pappy’s house we go). She enjoyed that. Be glad you didn’t have to hear it, though.

My grandfather lives in a little town called Cherry Tree, which influenced my picture above (the picture is from wikimedia commons - not from me). From wikipedia:

Cherry Tree was named for a large cherry tree that stood at the confluence of Cush Cushion Creek and the West Branch of the Susquehanna River.

Interesting. If I didn’t have this blog, I would never have looked that up and would never have known the origins of the town’s name.

I always enjoy going to my Grandfather’s house.  So many nice memories there.  It just so happens that Cherry Tree is situated half-way between my parent’s house and the town where I attended college (an hour and a half car ride total).  When I visited home on weekends during college, I always stopped at my grandparent’s house on my way, partly because they wanted me to, partly because I wanted to, and partly because my VW Beetle was so drafty and lacked a heater, that I needed to stop just to regain feeling in my near-frost bitten hands!  No matter how much of a hurry I was in, I wasn’t allowed to leave without eating something and having at least one Pepsi.

We took a bit of time to walk across the street to the little Methodist Church.  My grandmother used to play the organ at this church, as well as teach Sunday school and make crafts for their annual craft show.  The church had a little stone in front in honor of my Grandmother (she passed away three years ago due to ALS aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease).  It was a modest stone, with her name and such, but it was a really nice touch.  She is the only one such honored, and I get a real sense that little church greatly misses her, as we all do.

Anyhow, it was a great time Sunday as well.  We ate a ton of food and watched the hockey game on TV.  A good end to a good weekend.  Next weekend, my daughter’s turns two!

Song About Ewoks

I saw this Star Wars Ewok Gospel Music Video on Wired.com’s GeekDad yesterday. It’s all types of awesome. Look for a cameo from Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams).

Apparently, this was produced by Runawaybox.  Thanks!