Happy Roswell Day!

Ghost Theory

What did they find in Roswell, New Mexico 68 years ago? A weather balloon? A crashed alien vessel with bodies onboard that were dissected in secret? (The film of the operation was finally shown on Fox in the 90s) A series concept by alien authors, later translated and sold by the military to Hollywood, that became the X-Files? I want them all to be true. I want mystery, the unexpected. But, sadly, it was probably the stinking weather balloon.

think aboutit

Yet a Third July 4 Running Post

Twice in the last eight years I've run the Santa Clarita 5k on Independence Day. Back in 2007 it was sizzling hot. Three years later, the temperature was overcast and mild, excellent for short-distance running.

The 2010 event was the last time I ran a race of any kind. That's the way it rolls when your health turns on you like a beaten dog. However, for old times sake, I walked around the Rose Bowl yesterday. Not fast, not even brisk, just a walk. It's been a few years, but the place looks pretty much the same. It took me 48:35 seconds to complete three miles, a distance I haven't even attempted in three years.

Enough sniffling nostalgia. Back to writing. Happy July 4th USA.

Skynet Becomes Aware

First casualty in the war against the machines. An accident? That's what they say. A barrier protected the worker from the machine—ominous enough—but the man violated safety procedures. (Or so they would have us believe.) Now that Skynet has tasted blood, where will it end? As if we didn't have enough troubles.

reddit

h/t: Ace of Spades

Happy Canada Day!

With dominions, provinces, and a House of Commons, our northern neighbor proudly celebrates the Constitution Act of 1867 when three provinces were linked to form one country. Read more here. In honor of their day, I present The 48th Highlanders of Canada Pipes and Drums playing "The Maple Leaf Forever." (Incidentally, this is an excellent song to blast when the neighbor kids crank up the rap too loud.)

Deconstructing Dac Encanto's Poetry

Originally published right here over five years ago.

Designs by CK

(The following verse by truculent poet Dac Encanto appears in the University of California Press anthology, Surly Postmodern Poems for Pre-Retro People. "Deuce Moon" explores Encanto's almost pathological hatred for the moon, a leitmotif critics have called "lunar hatred" or, in German, Mondblindheit meaning "moon blindness." I shall perform a short deconstruction, but no insight has yet surfaced to explain this Mondblindheit. Encanto will only spit in contempt if you ask.)

Deuce Moon 

 by Dac Encanto 

Round and bright, 

idiot face, 

planet wannabe, 

taking up space, 

(Encanto's lunar works always refer to the moon as full. Once, on a Danish talk show, he was informed the moon appeared in phases and sometimes, not at all. Encanto grew confused and sarcastic, storming off the set, taking with him a pen and a coffee mug.)

 Dumb ass satellite, 

so uncool, 

on your dusty surface, 

I'd drop a stool, 

(The threat of public defecation appears in many of Encanto's works. This was not an idle threat or a metaphor — as Duke Professor Gale Bogminder has suggested. If properly disturbed, Encanto will mete out a pooey punishment regardless of location or circumstance. The 2006 panel incident at the UCLA Book Fair is the reason all subsequent poet panels have been required to keep mobile screens and drums of disinfectant at the ready. Bogminder knows this.)

 But I can't, 

(I'd die), 

You lucked out, 

No lie, G.I. 

(Encanto's poems are peppered with pidgin-english phrases often associated with Asian prostitutes such as "You Numba 10," and "Souvenir me carton of Salems, baby." Context often provides a hazy explanation. As to the moon having "lucked out," this refers to an incident at the height of Mondblindheit when Encanto tried bribing NASA to have the moon killed. All charges were eventually dropped. However, Encanto did serve jail time for an incident that took place in court involving the prosecutor's briefcase.)

Author Neil Ostroff on New Amazon Royalty Rules

Amazon.Com narrowly misses squashing a man. Topix

Amazon grips authors by the throat. Listen to mystery writer Neil Ostroff:

"As most authors now know Amazon is going to start paying [them] for the amount of pages read and not for each complete book. I'm not certain how I feel about this. One the plus side, it could free readers up to explore more books if they are only going to pay for it if they like it. On the negative, most casual readers never finish a book or do it over a long period of time. And how about if readers skip a section? What will it do to royalties?"

Excellent point. For instance, I read short fiction and often skim like a great aquatic bug, skipping stories hither and yon. This lets me read more genre fiction from unknown authors. But now, so it seems, Amazon will reap the sales, as always, and short change the authors all because I don't read every stinking page.

This is the problem with giantism, whether corporate or governmental. At some point, the behemoth simply acts as it pleases to increase profits or power and the little guy gets rolled.

Read the rest of Neil Ostroff's post at his blog Always Writing.


Note: My Norma Rae-like shot at giantism notwithstanding,  the above change only applies to Kindle Unlimited and the Lending Library bit of Amazon Prime. Read more at this place here.

Pig, Goat, Banana, Cricket, Paul Rugg

Image: NickALive

Traveling by train from California to our nation's capitol as if this were 1948, Paul Rugg relaxes in the club car as the July 18 premier of Pig, Goat, Banana, Cricket approaches on animated little feet. As mentioned, Paul voices the character of Cricket, a sensitive young creature who discovers that he has been chosen to be the PROMISED TWO—someone second in line behind the PROMISED ONE.  Or I could have this mixed up with my Vision Quest. Find out for yourselves on Nick at 10:30 Saturday mornings.