LET'S GO RED SOX, AGAIN

I'm 1800 words into my next story. I don't think I'll be done any time soon; I'm seriously taking my time, and nothing has actually happened yet. I'm simply developing the characters and revealing the workings of their society. This society and its members will undergo an important change soon, so it's necessary to give some small impression of where they came from. I believe I'll make this whole thing publicly available once it's done, rather than sending it off to a magazine. With any luck, it will exceed the usual submission word limit anyway, and I'll be forced to publish it myself! Writing this story is making me truly happy. It's already my best yet; once it's done, I'll either have a great thing on my hands, or I'll lay it down and start writing something even better.

If you want a piece of the action, e-mail me. I'll be glad to leak previews. I even developed a formatting program so I could share it with others (I've begun typing this one before completing it in writing; anything longer than a few thousand words needs to be typed in parallel if only to avoid tedium later).

Underworld has had to cancel the European leg of their world tour because one or several of its members are very ill. Let's hope they recover their vitality soon!

Nature!

For the creepy, tree-humping Whitman in every one of us, I've posted a new Sketch War.

Dub, Edits, and Whiskey-Coke

Chab is a musician from Switzerland. His album, Dub, Edits and Whisky-Coke, is a recurring favorite of mine. Most of the tracks harbor some hidden bitterness or sadness that is so cold it's beautiful to hear. Next time you're feeling just a little bit alone, listen to "Sunrise." You'll shiver and look around yourself. If you want to know what I listened to as I was writing "Subject B," have a listen.

I've begun a new story that will be part of a trilogy. The focus this time is not only a superb plot, but more character development than my writing of the past two years has attempted. It's a spin-off of Equinox, but beyond happy coincidence on the part of the characters, nothing is shared between Equinox and this trilogy. I have a very positive feeling about this project; it's the beginning of a steep ascent.

Speaking of Equinox, those of you who haven't read it and would like to: let me know. I'm not going to put it on this site unless it is rejected from the magazine to which I'm sending it. I do not want to get into legal trouble for providing a free online version of something that another party would own. In any case, I can certainly send it to individuals, so e-mail me if you want it.

I received Oblivion With Bells a few days ago. It is an album of singular beauty. There are parts that grate on me a little, but the more I listen, the more I like everything. This record is a masterpiece. Every time I start listening to it, I say to myself, "this is the last time." But once it's over, I put it on again. Underworld is to music what I want to be to writing: an entity of pure artistic freedom. I'm glad that they now have complete control over their music (the Oblivion cover proudly displays that the music inside is (c) Karl Hyde and Rick Smith, trading as Underworld. Can you imagine what that's like?

I think it's also about time to do another batch of Sketch Wars. Perhaps if readers tune in tonight, they will see a new sketch.

Supplemental Materials

With my recent exile from Boston University has come the chance to dig through my old writing docket. It contains such relics as the last printed manuscript of my book, the only handwritten version of it anywhere, the original 50-page story I wrote in eighth grade, various versions of other stories, and notes for all of the above. The Armored Core notes are the most interesting, so I've added them to the new AC Supplements section.

Let's Go Red Sox

Public Dispersion of Equinox Begins

To Be Me

New sketch

Underworld Live Backstage

Phonestrap 6/Autotrader 4 by Underworld is amazing.

Softskines

My Moleskine dream comes true

Nicenet

I just visited an old friend from my Milton days. It was the site we used to collaborateo or whatever outside of sophomore year English class. Mrs. Graham was trying to get with the program and do stuff on the Internet, but it was really lost on us. Why not just hand out these assignments, turn them in, and talk about them in class? Well, we usually did that, but she insisted on Nicenet sometimes. 2001–2002 was still a time when high school kids used computers exclusively for counter-strike and AOL (and probably pornography). Class on the Internet? What!

As for these screenshots, this was the first time I got away with academic murder. Ah, 10th grade. Where has the time, and the GPA, gone?

What was this paper going to be about? I'm glad you asked! Can you tell I'm Lutheran?

Can't Type No More

Stretch

Got a deadline? Feeling like you'll never reach the end of something? Well, maybe what you need is a good old dose of nonsense to enlighten your poor soul.

You can also read the following facts:

It doesn't eat people directly. Instead, it feeds from their screams. Now, they don't have to be screams of fear, but those are the easiest for it to harvest, thanks to its special skill. It'll loch you. What's that? Yes, loch you. It'll make you make no sense. Does an inside-out skull or buttock make no sense? Then he can do it to you. Does a finger with eyelashes make no sense? You'll have twenty of them in no time. When you or your friends scream at the sight, he'll get fat and go away.

And you'll still make no sense.

Notebook not ARChed

I found me a soft-cover Moleskine that is similar to the little pocket Volant series. It was bundled with the useless (to me) pocket daily planner (special red version). Look in the link for a "Twin Set." It really wasn't worth the high price, especially because I have a nice notebook already, and because the little softskine has only 48 pages (40 if you are like me and don't count idiotic labels as pages). It's still nice to look at. I might find a use for it at some point. Until then, I'll consider it a prototype for the NeoVolant line that will come out on my birthday.

This made me think of Lisa. It was a pleasant thought:

Do the things I do

Check out the latest Sketch War.

In other news, I have begun typing "Equinox." This step should be complete soon.

Also, "Spikee" is one of Underworld's greatest early works. Spin it some day.

The Sun Rises on Equinox

I received "Spikee/Dogman Go Woof." Still have to listen to it (that comes tomorrow).

Oh, yes, and "Equinox" is finally done! I wrote over 2,000 words today for an exhilerating to a thrilling story. Next comes typing and revision!