Serenity Weekend 2
Mood:  blue
Well, weekend 2 of Serenity has come and gone. It fell from #2 to #8, which all-in-all isn't that bad a fall, and it could comeback a bit next weekend. I'm going again, this time with my father.

I guess it just fails to have any mass appeal.


I'm bummed.

Not only that my blood sugar just hit 200 and I'm having great difficulty thinking.

I'm bummed.

Once more unto the breach. . .

Two very important topics as I once again attempt to develop a habit for blogging. I received in the mail a brand new invitation to retry my hand at Nanowrimo again this year. Well, I believe in second chances and the idea is a good one to develop the habit of writing (which is part of the reason I started this Blog in the first place--but I will have more on that later).

Right now I must state for all adults and children over 14: GO SEE SERENITY!!!!!! Currently 81% fresh on the Rotten Tomatoes Site (87% in the cream of the crop section!).

I am, admittedly, a big fan of Firefly, the aborted TV series, and I have apparently liked nearly everything Joss Whedon has produced, so I'm, as the saying goes, partial to the project.

Find out where it is playing and go see it. It is a truly fine piece of action adventure space opera with an out of this world score (very beautiful).

Okay, now that that's over, time for Nanowrimo. First of all, there's a nifty logo this year to indicate your involvement in the process. I'm unsure how I'm going to get around to it between trying to learn everything I can about the Solaris OS, rebuilding computers for my church, and trying to build some music compositions. Currently, efforts will center around doing some preliminary work before November 1, just to have some characters and situations in place. I don't want to sit down and do a cold write for a month, and I need time to organize my thoughts. If that doesn't get done, odds won't fall in favor of writing this year. However, that being said, I'm going to NOT let that dictate my involvement in the project and will write, even if it is only nonsense!

So, that's what's on my mind tonight as I slack off an evenings work. Hope all has been well with those who haven't been reading my posts before and anyone who stumbles across it.

Tempest in a D-cup

Well, almost everyone has heard of the dire circumstances surrounding last Sunday's Super Bowl and how terrible MTV exposed the better part of Janet Jackson's right breast for all of .5 seconds. There is moral outrage, wailing and gnashing of teeth (Justin and Janet took care of the rending of garments themselves).

My reaction goes something like this: How dare they interrupt the annual family festival of violence and barely dressed cheerleaders with less partial nudity than appears in a single episode of Baywatch! Really, CBS doesn't know what an MTV video is like? They didn't know what to expect? I was frankly more distressed by the nature of the lyrics and the dance in general (all the stuff they "approved" of in advance) than I was by Janet's mountainous asset popping out. In fact, just a glance at the backup dancers and what they were doing makes the overexposure Miss Jackson has experienced seem tame by comparison.

Also, I think we need to ask ourselves what kind of wholesome family entertainment we're dealing with in the case of football. In a world over-sensitive to curse words, violent video games, and addicted to shows like Jerry Springer does any of this really matter. Football is by its nature a violent activity. People are injured, people fight, and they don't apologize for it, but instead vow to hit the opposing team harder and push them back. It seems to me that a brief flash of a partially covered breast just does not matter in the face of that.

I went to see "Cold Mountain" a few weeks ago with my father and it contained a bit of gratuitous nudity (female), anachronistic sexual practices, and there were nearly a dozen kids in the audience under the age of 12 - with their parents. No one left in outrage. No one complained to the management. These same kids probably stay home and are exposed to soap operas in which the main characters switch partners more than a politician switches positions during an election year. I'll drag out all the Jerry Springer-like shows (which do seem to be dying off) that these kids watch unsupervised. Janet's breast is hardly the downfall of western society - it is at best a symptom, but certainly not as big a deal as everyone seems to want to make it.

Matrix Three -- a rambling on what might have been. . .
This is a speculation posted months before the final chapter of Matrix came out. Lots of theories, but this is my interpretation of things and how they should have worked toward a resolution.

Well, it all seems to be stuck in some kind of infinite loop. Perhaps Zion is a program that is used to generate the energy needed to power everything and the Matrix we currently know of is a decoy (or a sub-program to deal with certain given personality types). By giving humans a bogus cause to fight for -- an enemy to defeat -- it does two things:

1. keeps them from actively fighting the actual menace
2. Provides additional energy

That would explain Matrix related prophesies (when is the last time you met a truly rational person who bought into prophesies). It would make sense to plant some kind of hope like that to distract humans.

Of course it could be VR's within VR's within VR's.

If Smith is a virus (or a machine bound to a virus) and Neo is a human bound to a program, then clearly there is a third party. Also, it is likely that others could have less active (or obvious) bonds to programs. Morpheus for example could have been bound to a routine that pushes him toward finding and helping the one. He is somewhat monomaniacal in his beliefs about the the prophesies and risks everything to accomplish this.

If we accept that there are programs -- then there is a certain amount of pre-determination in the world (Programs designed for specific outcome -- like an assembly line robot). Two plus two will always equal four unless programed to equal 5 (or programed incorrectly or designed to give an answer based on some variable rather than a constant). Whatever the final answer is, it won't change unless the variables of the given programs and the routines that handle them are designed without constraints. However, if the program is designed to be self-correcting (that is, it compensates for variables that are out of bounds and answers outside a certain range of parameters) then it will always get the desired end.

This leaves us with two basic possibilites:

1.) The programs governing the world(s) either have a set outcome or an unexpected outcome. (That is it knows how things will end or it doesn't and is designed to output whatever comes of it).

2.) There is an error in the programing that will in effect either reset or stop the program if something occurs outside of its given parameters.

If we accept that the primary function of the program is to keep the humans subdued and producing energy, then it follows that the program is designed to reset to that end, regardless of variables or outcomes. i.e. when all is said and done, the program reboots and the whole affair starts over -- either with the initial set of constants and variables, or it mutates based on input from the last iteration. So, it reaches it's conclusion, and then filters the final set of variables, reassigning them either new or pre-set values then resets constants based on outcome of some "standard" set of values. If it also compensates by altering the running of the program, it can base it on outcome or random variables: available_cities = city_array[LA, Chicago, New York, Paris, London, Orlando, Moscow]; Neo_Lives_in = neo_city[city_array[random_city]; and so on.

In effect, everything is probably being done to distract both the machines and the humans, and is designed to manipulate them in a war among themselves, to keep them from their true function -- which we actually shouldn't have a clue. This would force the whole ending to be a Deus ex Mechina in which the the likely outcome will be a Mechina ex Deus.

Finally a new project

I had a bit of a breakthrough yesterday, and began sketch work on an libretto for an opera based slightly on a cult movie "Carnival of Souls". The movie itself plays out like a prolonged "Twilight Zone" episode, the pacing isn't very good and connections are incomplete, but the imagery and basic idea I find compelling. There is ample opportunity in the basic premise to question life and death and their relationship.

I've also had a job interview that went well at the University of Louisville School of Music that went well. I hope to be called back for a second interview. If I get it, I will be the sole tech support person for the school. It is quite a job, but I think I would enjoy it greatly.

I'm driving down to Bowling Green today to pay for Kayleigh's Spring Tuition -- that's where I'm off to now.

No real fear of developing a habit -- good or otherwise

Well, so much for accidentally posting every day. That, clearly, is not something I have to worry about. I would like to write every day, but can't seem to structure myself to do it. There's just too much going on in the family and such. I have idea after idea after idea and I can't force myself to sit down and write even once a week on a regular basis. I know that the ADD is a factor, but what to do about it. It isn't like there's a hungry market for fiction by me (or much of anyone anymore), but darn it, I think if I could at least get something down that would count for something -- even if it never sold.

Whine, whine, whine, I'm just an old malcontent. Again, much to do tomorrow, I've been sick these last few days and found it more difficult than usual to focus.

Take care all.

What's eating me today. . .

Well, I was listening to Mike Gallagher because he's fun to listen to and because he often has something valuable to contribute. Just to make it clear, I am rooting for Al Gore to have a successful left-slanted talk radio network. I welcome it, because in terms of clearly stating with unity, the right is currently kicking the living daylights out of the left. If Gore is successful, I can listen to the left and the right in their own little self-congratulatory camps and, as one network would have me do with just their view, decide.

Anyway, the subject was obesity. Now I've had problems with it -- thyroid issues that the medical community doesn't think worth treating (i.e. Hashimoto's Thyroiditis) and it makes maintaining a healthy weight difficult no matter how little or how healthy I eat. I make a serious effort to not eat large portions or generally unhealthy foods. I drink a good deal of water, but get little exercise because of certain physical issues. I've watched my wife battle her weight since she gave birth to our daughter nearly 18 years ago. I've seen her work with a personal trainer and spend 5 days a week doing a serious workout at the gym with little effect. All of this in spite of a fairly decent diet.

So, for me obesity is like depression. It is difficult to find the root cause and treat that. And saying you have to eat less is like saying you have to cheer up. It is a more complex issue than that.

To that end, I wrote Mr. Gallagher the following letter:

Mike:

Most of the time I support and agree with you. However, obesity is actually a more complex issue than it initially appears to be. I want to clarify that I find the idea of suing anybody for a personal willful act ridiculous at best. I feel the lawsuits against the tobacco companies were unmerited and have led to this obesity and even gun manufacturer lawsuits that make no real sense.

However, obesity is not a disease, it is rather a symptom. Unfortunately there is no one single reason why people are obese. There are those who sit and eat deep fried twinkie after deep fried twinkie and don't get it. They drink soft drinks instead of water (when in fact soft drinks only dehydrate you). There are also a great number of people who have tried Weight Watchers and anything else you care to name with no results. Telling an obese individual that they simply have to stop overeating is like telling someone suffering from depression that they need to snap out of it and start thinking happy thoughts. For some it is a genetic trap and the diet that they pursue doesn't fit well with their genetic background. For others, the culture in which certain eating habits were fine, have not been properly adapted to modern life. Others may eat because of depression, loneliness, isolation, poor sleep patterns, or even fear of other people. There are sometimes inherent self-worth issues in many obese people. Sometimes it is a cocktail of all of the above. While it is true that our society really doesn't help us in our quest to pursue a healthy diet. In fact, good information is hard to come by. There is also the issue of finding a diet that is suitable for your given lifestyle. (Sedentary work, low energy levels, inability to afford good food choices, or other issues). We are often given impossible ideals in terms of what ones body should look like. It can be very confusing for people not used to sorting through disparate and conflicting information to find the few scraps of useful data among the tons of (diet fads) misinformation and nonsense with which they are bombarded.

Treating obesity is like treating a cough. We can make you stop coughing, but unless we eliminate the actual root cause of the cough, you will always need cough medicine. Obesity is not the disease it is the symptom. The western medical community needs to look past the symptom and treat the actual disease.

Thank you, etc. . .

So, that was what was eating me today.

Tomorrow is a long year

Something has possessed me to make another entry -- two days in a row, if I'm not careful, this could become a habit. I've been running around preparing for New Year's Day (I will usually make some cabbage dish with a quarter in it) and have this year decided to try Corned Beef and Cabbage.

Oddly enough, it seems that Corned Beef and Cabbage is not festive enough for holidays in sweet mother Ireland, nor is it a native dish. Apparently it hails from New York City's Irish immigrant community. I'm too lazy for a cite right now. I doubt I'll make it to midnight, though lately I've found that staying up until midnight sober isn't nearly as interesting as my youthful experiences with New Year's Eve.

My daughter left early this afternoon to spend the holiday with her friends at WKU (Western Kentucky University) and has registered by phone her safe arrival. Driving for her is all about freedom. I suppose it was for all of us once. Funny how such a freedom can eventually seem like a prison, isn't it?

I'm off to watch a little TV, drink some Soy Milk, and rest before I walk the dog this evening -- 10:PM every night. I wish I could do everything this regularly. When the time comes and he's not there to drag me out, I will miss him terribly. Ten PM will become a terrible bittersweet memory. To rest, to rest, for later comes the test.

Once More With Feeling . . .

So many things happen that we have little control over in our lives that when we chance upon something we do possess, we often go sort of crazy with it. Take a Blog for instance: I control this, I can control comments, my posts, I can delete it from all existence, or I can continue to add to it, without purpose or rhyme.

I haven't decided why I'm blogging, which of course is like getting in the car and asking, "why am I driving?" or "where am I going?" I don't have a destination or purpose to this, but thought I'd give it a whirl. How about an introduction as to who I am and the kind of stuff do I do.

You know that question everyone asks you: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" My answer was almost always, "I want to be left alone." I still don't know what I want to be and as a consequence, I've been many things -- and like most people, I am many things. I'm a composer, writer, actor, musician, computer geek, reviewer, and repository of an incredible amount of useless information. I'm 45, but haven't let that bother me. I have all of my teeth, a good deal of my hair, a bulging waistline, and a good number of loyal and good friends. Many people have sought my advice, many have deemed me useless, and many more, just consider me an odd curiosity. I have never kept a consistent journal -- nor do I expect to in the case of this Blog -- but continue to keep records of odd ideas that flash in my mind.

I have music posted at
http://www.soundclick.com/dirkdgriffin
still other music at
http://www.soundclick.com/sixgunsly

I have been published through the writers group I tend to hang out with -- there is a yearly anthology and excerpts can be found at:
http://siw.00author.com/home.html

I have a loving and wonderful wife and a beautiful and talented daughter who is in college, have been unemployed for about six months--due to cut backs at the University--but I have an interview there soon for a different position, and have ill-used that time to advance my creative side.

Sometimes I will, then again I think I won't.

You may gain some insight into the Dirk that is by going to
http://handwritinguniversity.com/newslettersamples/people/live/dirk.html
where there is a sample of my handwriting along with an analysis and an interview.

My blogging seems at this moment to be about me, but I think about many different subjects and wanted you to know from the first who is spouting off, so you can decide for yourself how seriously to take it.

So, there I am and here you are -- the real question is "What's left when memory fades, and your identity, Mrs. Smith?"

Well, that worked well
Well, I'm finally up and able to do things again. I've been ill for the better part of the last month and through the holidays. I'm still pretty weak, but the worst part of this eternal flu seems to have passed.

I will begin the work and post here as soon as I am able. Failing that, I will just generally ramble on about whatever here.

Until next time.

Well, apparently some preparation is allowed

I've looked into it a little more, and it seems I'm okay to sketch out some characters and make some decisions about the story prior to actually writing it. To that end, I will get some preliminaries done this week. Once they are prepared, I'll be posting them here.

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Certainly this is the most ambitious writing project I've attempted since I began writing again, so it will be interesting and hopefully not overly derivative.

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Till the next entry falls.

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Day One -- To Blog or Not to Blog

In what is perhaps a remarkably foolish move, I have created this site and this BLOG for the express purpose of participating in National Novel Writing Month.

In preparation for this task, I've created no plotline, no characters, and have no idea what genre or even what basic setting (time period, city, or whatever) to use.

When the first letter hits, it will hit brand new and incomplete searching for more letters in order to create the first word of 50,000.

Quite frankly, it is Anything Can Happen Month here in the brand new Gryphon's Aerie.

Wish me luck -- I'll need it and some serious drugs to make it all happen.

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Not for honor, nor for glory, but for the full idiocy of having done it.