Steaks Breaks

At least for the rest of this year, due to injuries. Read his race report on the Las Vegas Marathon, where TNT chums Rouman, Elizabeth and Inez also braved the chilly desert air for a bit of 26.2 merriment.

Zombie Update

Wondering where to buy the best vehicle for surviving a zombie apocalypse? These folks have given it some thought, as well as other topics of interest to the undead community.

Another Day, Another No

This time from a wry, snarky humor mag. My story enchanted one editor, but not the three necessary for a spot in the magazine. Still, I was invited to try again. I find myself, more often than not, in what I call the "honored rejection bin." That's where editors acknowledge not accepting my work and invite me to have another go.

Cold and rainy today. But not for a man who works at home.

Not Everyone Mourned

My English nurse mom was grateful for Pearl Harbor. She'd been dodging Nazi bombs in London for two years and knew that with America now in the war, there was no way the British could lose. However, Roosevelt only declared war on Japan. Hitler saved the day by honoring the Axis Treaty and declaring war on the U.S. Italy followed right behind. WW II was on.

h/t: Associated Press

Fond Memory

I wax nostalgic this day.

h/t: libanlibanliban

Marathons

Ernesto, Nick and a few other TNT chums are training for our hometown marathon. From what I hear, the course will be point to point, starting at Dodger Stadium, traveling through Hollywood and ending in Santa Monica. I'll be training to watch it on TV, but I wish them all well. Big writing day yesterday, cranking out another draft on my long short story. (Only 55 pages now.) I'll put this one aside now and work on something shorter. Perhaps a postcard.

Write and Walk

Chi walk, that is. It's a method of locomotion that involves your feet landing under your body and not in front of it, thereby eliminating knee and joint stress. Alas, there are many moving parts to the method. But I"m not in a hurry.

Big old short story - 60 pages - is nearing the end of another draft. My word count approaches 13K, kicking me into novelette range. Its a tale I developed in workshop a few years back, sent out once or twice, came close to placing, then lost interest and put it away. This time its placing. (Remember: fiction pays by the word.)

Research and Rates

My pharmacist father-in-law helped me research a story, providing insight into what sort of items one might find in a small lab. (Apparently, many of the same items you'd find in a regular kitchen.)

Tempers flared at Black Matrix blogsite after some guy dissed the publication for not paying pro-rates. (5 cents a word, I think.) It's similar to ripping independent filmmakers for paying talent a copy of the film. Having produced and directed one independent film (and a short one at that), I know pretty much everything comes out of your pocket. You get to be in charge in return for all the headaches and expenses. (I'm not saying it wasn't worth it, but regular readers may note I'm not blogging about directing a bunch more of my own films.)

And having acted in a few independent films, I acknowledged the trade-off between my time and effort and my meager compensation. Back then, it was one of the fastest ways to build an acting reel. Student films, too.

Duotrope lists hundreds of short fiction markets: paying, non-paying, token payment. Most paying markets list their rates. I'm free to submit to whom I will and do. If I don't like the deal, there's other places to shop.

And if some markets don't pay well, there are certain benefits such as a take-it-or-leave-it approach. This can sometimes trump excellent pay and a page one rewrite.

Noble CIM

When injured last fall, I had to withdraw from the California International Marathon. The kindly folks there said they'd put me in this year. Alas, I'm in no shape to run, or walk, but CIM carried me over anyway. Perhaps 2011?

Walken Rocks

Christopher Walken reads the lyrics to Lady Gaga's "Poker Face."

h/t: Snuclear

A New Runner and New Thin Man

Yesterday, fellow writer (and now runner) Bernadette completed her first 5K without stopping. That's 3.1 miles on a course I ran four years ago and know contains literal ups and downs. Bravo, Bernadette. (I run vicariously these days, eliminating the need for expensive shoes.)

At the in-laws yesterday for dinner. One 23-year-old family member dropped 100 pounds in a year. The last time I saw him, he was wider than Lake Huron. He accomplished this feat with nothing more than a gym membership and a diet of mostly salads. A shout-out to young Ezra for losing the equivalent of a small child.