Happy Thanksgiving...

    Hey everyone. 

    Thanksgiving has finally arrived, and I hope you all have a wonderful time today.  I personally plan to eat myself into a fat and happy state of food-borne euphoria.  It should be a nice time, but, unfortunately, my family will also be there, and though I love them all very much, dealing with this mob of relatives can really shred the fibers of one's sanity.

    It's been busy here the last couple of days with house guests, visitors, freeloaders, and one brand-spankin' new in-law who was so desperate to make a good impression that she damn near lit the kitchen on fire trying to whip up a batch of Saganaki.  It's one thing to be a little afraid of fire, but it's a whole 'nother kettle of fish setting a plate of molten cheese ablaze and then hurling it into the sink while screaming as though you've just stepped in a bear trap.

    Needless to say, DogCat was not impressed, DeafCat didn't even notice, and I pretty much just leaned against the fridge with a bottle of Metaxa and remembered that I keep forgetting to get a new fire-extinguisher since I used the last one to show my friends how to make a case of beer really cold in a hurry.  So, if my house burns down, the blame falls squarely on my friends and their propensity for buying piss-warm Miller Lite. 

    On the plus side, no one was injured, and my cousin's wife kept apologizing for putting cheese in my sink.  As far as I'm concerned, no harm, no foul.  But, I kept the flammable Metaxa out of her hands by disposing of it as promptly as possible.  Unfortunately, as a result of my disposal practices, my head feels not entirely unlike the pile of scalded cheese in my sink last night. 

    Anyway, today is the Big Feast, and if the appetizer of arson is anything to go by, it should be a tremendously fun time.  In fact, I can't wait to see what my cousin's wife will do next.  Hopefully, it will involve an exploding pie.

    So, Happy Thanksgiving everyone (and to my non-US readers:  Happy Thursday).  Say hello to your families and friends for me.  I'm sorry I can't be there, but I'll be kind of busy keeping Wisconsin from blowing up. 

Take care,
Dan

Brain Mush...

   I really should be writing something in this journal today.  I'm just not sure what.  Editor Jeff asked about Thanksgiving entries, and I'll probably get around to writing one of those tonight to slap up here tomorrow. 

    The thing is, even though I said I'd take a smidgen of time off from writing the Little Monster, I found myself back at it again today grinding out a chapter involving all sorts of --hopefully funny-- insanity.  However, as I was writing away like an industrious little worker, somehow a growing whisper of a doubt began to creep into my head, and by the time I put the wraps on the day's efforts, it was an all-out scream. 

    Nonetheless, as I usually do when the weather is pleasant, when I finished up, I went for a walk in the woods down to the beach and back to try and find things to yank me away from the collection of words I'd written and to silence the grunting creative engine shaking the walls of my head, but that odd doubt was there when I returned.

    Normally, I don't make a habit of reading other people's books when I write, but this time around, I broke that mold, and I have been squeezing little perusals of AOL's own John Scalzi's latest novel The Android's Dream, and though it's purely coincidental, the chapter I'd just finished writing very loosely mirrors the chapter in his book I'd just finished reading.  And, by "mirrors" I should say that the only similarity they really share is that they both involve a date gone very wrong.  I believe mine is funnier though.  His has, a lot more gravity. 
   
    As a result of this weird little voice inside me, I had a genuine Chicken versus Egg moment, however, and I found myself asking "Did that just influence what I'd written, or is this just some odd coincidence?" 

    Fortunately, when I poured over my words checking for typos and whatnot, I realized that these were two totally, entirely different episodes, but the coincidence was actually something which made me smirk.  I found it funny that whole thought would even cause a murmur in me. 

    For what it's worth, I really am having a great time reading Scalzi's novel, and I recommend it to everyone who reads this.  Even though I rarely read Science Fiction, I have to admit, it's a damn fun read, and it's got bits in there which will have you laughing quite loudly.  I'm not sure if I can compare it to anything I've ever read before.  It's simply a novel that yanks you in and refuses to let go.  And, I will admit, there are certain aspects which I find do inspire my own writing.  It's not a question of one voice, or plot, or anything.  It's more the fact that I find myself thinking "Oh yeah.  I can throw humor into a serious situation." 

    If I have a knock against the novel, it would be to say that I find the inundation of a multitude of different characters to be a tad confusing, but the motives of the bad guys and good guys are there and easy to keep sorted out.  Perhaps it's just me that has trouble with that sort of thing, but when I read a novel, I tend to gravitate toward and embrace one particular character in any story or book.  Perhaps it's an attempt to empathize with that character or whatever, but in The Android's Dream, I find myself enjoying every single one of them. 

    In this novel, John shows he's a master at tempo and dialogue.  And, unfortunately, the only thing which upsets the tempo of this genuinely exciting read is the result of the somewhat shoddy proofreading that went into this novel before its publication.  I know.  It's a small thing of me.  But, those typos hit my eyes like a speed bump; however, I've got confidence that they'll be tidied up in subsequent printings.  And, though they slow me down, they sure as hell aren't going to keep me from reading this damn fine novel. 

    Aside from that, it's time to watch House.  So, have a great night!

-DP

Zoom...

    Hey folks.  I'm just jetting out the door to make it to a few appointments, but I just wanted to let you know that my little bout of what apparently was the Ebola Virus seems to have cleared up.  I pretty much just spent the weekend on the couch with the remote glued to my hand.  Occasionally, while I gawked at football games and whatnots, a cat would come by and sniff my corpse and then wander off to sleep someplace else.  It was nice. 

    Anyway, before I scoot.  I just wanted to ask a simple question to get my fingers working this morning in an attempt to get your comment leaving skills working.  So, here it is:

    Who's the bigger asshole:

O.J Simpson for going on TV to plug a book and explain how he would have murdered his wife and her friend --even though we all pretty much already know how he did it anyway?

Kevin Federline for blackmailing Britney by threatening to release a sex tape of the two if she doesn't pay him money or give him full custody of their two kids?

      Personally, I think they are both about as worthless as the sludge on the bottom of a barrel of goat shit, and the actions of these two do nothing but make them even more pathetic when I didn't really think that sort of thing was even possible. 

    Anyway, feel free to talk amongst yourselves and share your opinions.  I've got to scamper.

-DP

Ack!

    It started yesterday morning, bright and early around 1:00 am.  I was yanked from a nice dream about robbing a bank.  The thing that dragged me from a sweet sleep was a stomach that felt as though a family of bothersome, noisy little beasties had moved in and started nailing tasteless hotel art to the walls.  So, yesterday, I just sort of rambled around with my rumbling tummy, and as the hours rolled by, I began to feel worse and worse, and I quickly realized that flu season genuinely is a sucky time of year. 

    As for this morning, I feel much better.  The stomach's calmed down for the most part, and instead of feeling as though someone smacked me in the face with a wrecking ball, I now feel like like someone had snuck in during the night and packed my sinuses full of rubber cement.  And, well, as far as my face goes, that's an improvement. 

    Anyway, since I'm heading off to snooze for a bit, here are some links for you to enjoy:

    The first comes from the customer-based rant or rave site My3cents.com with an odd complaint about Wal-Mart's complete lack of altruism.  Damn the man! 

    So, what's been keeping you from going truly wireless?  Well, that damn power cord keeps getting in the way.  But, not to worry.  Some whacky brains at MIT are working on a way to create wireless electricity.  Yes.  My dreams for a morning spent walking around the house with a wireless coffee maker and toaster could soon be realized. 

    Finally, with the release of the Playstation 3, people are going freaking bonkers.  And, one particularly smart and lucky person got his hands on one of the $600 gizmos, and hit eBay where someone actually coughed up $9000 for the thing.  It's madness...

    Okay.  I'm off.  Have a great Friday!

-DP

Scalzi's Photo Assignment.

    I know it's not often that I do John Scalzi's various assignments all that much these days.  Life being what it is and all, sometimes it's just tough to set aside the time, and, quite frankly, these days, this somewhat challenged mind of mine is usually spinning off in entirely different directions.  But, this week, I thought I'd take part because: A) my mind is kind of rumbling in idle at the moment, and B) I remembered that I actually had a picture that I took a while back that fit with this week's theme of floaty things.

    So, here's a photo of some buoyant subject matter I snapped a couple of years back after finishing a monster road trip driving on The Lincoln Highway from Ocean City, MD to San Francisco, CA.  Unfortunately, I don't think hwy. 50 runs into San Fran since I sort of lost it somewhere around Sacramento.  But, since I have a bunch of cousins living in Sacramento, I figured that I'd much rather end my trip in San Fran.  So, I declared that it ends there...  At The Warf...  With a flat tire on my Jeep and a bowl of chowder.  Yum. 

    Anyway, I think I can only spot three things floating in this picture, but if you find more, let me know. 


-DP

I'm in ur...

    Xeni Jardin of BoingBoing has been doing entries this week showing the variations on the "I'm in ur..." meme, and I figured I'd show you the silliness with my cat Harding doing his toilet thing. 

    Aside from that, here are a couple of sites with some hilarious cat pictures: Link and link. 

-DP

*update*    Journal's Editor Jeff put together an entry about this very meme.  Spin over there for a nice explanation and a challenge (of sorts).

Tags: I'm in ur..., memes, BoingBoing, Xeni Jardin

Activist Judges

Judge Rules a Burrito Is No Sandwich - AOL News

    This time, those damn, dirty Liberals have gone too far wanting to change the definition of sandwich.  It's clear we need a Constitutional Amendment to protect the sanctity of sandwiches.  Burritos can be called wraps, but don't you dare call them sandwiches.  If burritos are allowed to be called sandwiches, what's next? Can I call my dog a sandwich?  Will I be forced to order Sandwich Supremes from Taco Bell?

Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Locke cited Webster's Dictionary as well as testimony from a chef and a former high-ranking federal agriculture official in ruling that Qdoba's burritos and other offerings are not sandwiches.

The difference, the judge ruled, comes down to two slices of bread versus one tortilla.

    Discuss?

 

(thanks Tee)