Garrulus Grommeler

I like to write. I’ve always made this patently clear. I also like writers who write well, but what does “writing well” mean, actually? I recently left a comment at a writer’s blog in which, among other things, I mentioned why I don’t care for John Grisham’s writing. My comment was summarily deleted. Why? The context of my comment was this: one professional writer (not the owner of the blog to which I’m referring) noted that it’s common for readers, in online reviews of books, to criticize editors for writers’ work. This writer wrote a blog post addressing that point, saying that writers, not editors, are responsible for what appears in print. What follows is my comment in reply to that statement:  I’ll readily admit that I’ve done that before (but only in terms of what are obvious snafus and not because the book “sucks”), but it was also your blog entry, [name deleted], that later disabused me of that idea. I’ll even admit that one guy I like to pick on most (regardless of how we...

Well, this has been a most interesting experience, and as with the old Chinese curse my use of "interesting" doesn't mean "interesting good." Since I'd shared briefly in my writing blog about some medical concerns, I thought that now the whole ordeal is over, I'd share what happened. I'd been experiencing some pain in the area where the bladder is located, as well as feeling the frequent need to urinate, which was the cause of my concern in my previous post. My doctor ordered a urinary culture to determine if there was a bacterial infection, and also prescribed Levaquin, an antibiotic, as a precautionary measure. Fair enough. When I picked up the medication (which wasn't at all cheap, especially for someone who's unemployed — $155 for 20 tabs), I went through the literature included with it, and there was a damned long list of side effects, many of which I found scary, especially when it starts with the phrase: "can cause side effects t...

So, I'm reading a news article about the ship in the Mediterranean that was struck by those waves and then I turn my attention to the comments that follow. The first comment I see reads: And that folks is why this girl will never go on a cruise.... I guess it's impossible for any car, bus, train, or airplane which this woman graces with her presence to have an accident, even a freak accident. Immediately following is another brilliant comment: i like how they said they had 1,350 people on board, and they sent all 1,350 people back home. 2 people dies so should be 1,348 Why would the cruise line keep the dead? The bereaved aren't allowed to take their loved ones home to bury them? So far as I know, commercial cruise lines don't bury the dead at sea. And then, of course, there was this magnificently enlightening observation: i feel that they should have been aware of the weather, and had told everyone not to be out there, sounds like they just didnt care, as long as they...

I'm wanting to buy myself an air purifier. Some, obviously, come with ionizers installed. Some of the reviews I've been reading are nothing less than pure idiocy, saying things like "This model has an ozone producing ionizer." If ionization produces ozone, then someone had bloody well better turn off all the fucking lightning storms around the planet! Good, strong lightning storms leave the air smelling and feeling clean and fresh because of the ionization caused by the lightning . There are too many ill-informed comments in reviews on air purifiers that contain ionizers. Your body ionizes the air you breathe, believe it or not, so the process called ionization can hardly be considered unhealthy. What is ionization ? It's a process whereby electrically neutral atoms are converted into electrically charged atoms by the removal or addition of electrons or other electrically charged ions. Admittedly, ionization is one means by which radiation is detected, but the ion...

Master and Commander , starring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany, I saw months and months ago, so that when I chose to put it on my list of movies to see at Netflix, I completely forgot about it. No matter. It's still a damned good movie and I enjoyed seeing it again.

I've had fun translating this particular passage into both French and Portuguese: Dhammapada We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. Speak or act with an impure mind And trouble will follow you As the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart. We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world Speak or act with a pure mind And happiness will follow you As your shadow, unshakable. How can a troubled mind Understand the way? Your worst enemy cannot harm you As much as your own thoughts, unguarded. But once mastered, No one can help you as much, Not even your father or your mother. — from the DHAMMAPADA, translated by Thomas Byrom Dhammapada (en français) Nous sommes ce que nous pensons. Tout ce que nous sommes se pose avec nos pensées. Avec nos pensées, nous faisons le monde. Parle ou agit avec un esprit impur Et le trouble vous suivra Comme la roue suit le boeuf qui tire la ...

I've an opinion I've been holding in for some days now, but I think it would be best to give it some air. The past few years I've had the pleasure of meeting — if 'meeting' someone online can be called 'meeting' them — several professional writers, folk who make their living at a keyboard. They've all been great people, without exception. When talking about the business, they're honest, which is important when one desires to ply one's living using things as nebulous as words can be. However — you know there's always an 'however,' there's always an exception — there's one who has grated on me. I'll name no names. I see no need to. The one to whom I refer, their writing is sloppy, imprecise, and stylistically vagrant. This person's online persona, the way they interact with folk, is presumptive and unprofessional, lacking both grace and compassion. Regarding the writing samples by this person that I have read, both onlin...

Over at the Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog, author China Miéville offers up an intriguing essay titled, " Why the Na’vi Are Making Me Blue ," on the current fad of CGI in movies. He speaks in particular to James Cameron's hugely successful Avatar, as well as makes reference to Peter Jackson's work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy of movies.

Avatar , starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver, is fabulous! It amazes me the criticisms that some can concoct about any movie. I don't go to a movie to look for what's wrong with it. I don't expect any movie to be perfect — nothing is. I don't go to a movie to be preached at. I don't go to a movie to hear propaganda. Movies, novels, short stories, stage plays, television shows, all have one main purpose: to entertain. If it entertains me without anything else getting in the way of that, then I like it. Period. I think critics trump up all sorts of reasons to not just praise movies, novels, short stories, stage plays, television shows, etc, but also to criticise them, because they seem to think that they'd short change their audience with a simple: I loved it. Go see it. Their frequently inflated reviews often serve only to justify their existence and purpose as reviewers. Yes, I love movies that make me think. I'm not one who generally...

Knowing is, I think, a creepy, but excellent science fiction thriller that has the all-too-rare attributes of portraying events that are — except for the more speculative aspects — very possible. Definitely one to see if you haven't already. The blurb for this movie reads: Nicolas Cage stars in this edge of your seat sci-fi thriller as John Koestler, a professor who deciphers a coded message with terrifyingly accurate predictions about every major world disaster. Looking to protect his family and prevent future calamities, he enlists the reluctant help of Diana Wayland (Rose Byrne), daughter of the now-deceased author of the prophecies. His quest to understand the messages and his own family's involvement in them becomes a heart-pounding race against time as he faces the ultimate disaster.

Back in January 2008, I posted a list of 25 items that I called a "Bucket List." In my original post, I referenced this article at the New York Times . The title "Bucket List" comes from the movie of the same title starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman and is a reference to the idiom "kick the bucket." In other words, the items on a "Bucket List" are those things you wish to do before you start pushing up daisies, to use yet another idiom. One of my goals for this year was to accomplish one of the things on my "Bucket List," so it only seemed appropriate to recap the list. To wit: Get a novel published/make my living as a writer. Technically, "get a novel published" is a dream, not a goal, as it involves something I have no control over. But "make my living as a writer"? I have some measure of control over that, as there are things I can do to move in that direction. Learn to fly a plane. I've always wante...

I've been wondering if I should do a goal post for this blog or not. One thing I hadn't considered when I decided to use this template was my goals, and where I'd stuff 'em. With my previous template, I had a sidebar in which to stuff 'em. I suppose I could stuff 'em in one of the three columns down below, but that'll likely mean rearranging things. And then there's the goals themselves. I typically write a post rehearsing the previous year's goals, noting where I succeeded and where I failed, and I usually failed more often than succeeded. This year there shall be no rehearsal of last year's goals. I failed miserably. Enough said. Ah, what the hell. I must be insane. Here's some dumbass goals: Find a job. Goal: A–S–A–fucking–P! Yeah, employment would be nice. Lose weight. Goal: 150-159 lbs (68,0-72,1 kgs). This might actually happen . . . sometime during the next century! Of course, it would help if I actually did something to make it ha...

Based on a true story, Defiance is a powerful movie about the Bielski brothers — Tuvia, Zus, and Asael — Jews from Belorussia who started their own community, a refugee camp of freedom fighters in the forests of Belorussia, during World War II. The blurb for this movie reads: Daniel Craig ( James Bond: Quantum of Solace ) stars as Tuvia Bielski, an ordinary citizen turned hero, in this action-packed epic of family, honor, vengeance and salvation. Defiance is a riveting adventure that showcases the extraordinary true story of the Bielski brothers, simple farmers — outnumbered and outgunned — who turned a group of war refugees into powerful freedom fighters. Tuvia, along with his unyielding brother, Zus (Liev Schreiber, X-men Origins: Wolverine ), motivate hundreds of civilians to join their ranks against the Nazi regime. Their "inspirational story" is a true testament to the human spirit.