..:: Written .:. Off ::..

I have a purely technical question. When is it not okay to use contractions? I am looking at this purely from a fiction stand point. My characters use contractions during the dialogue segments. People generally talk in contrations, for example, most of say:

“I can’t do that.”

Instead of:

“I can not do that.”

But what about all of the non-dialogue text in your prose. If you are describing something, do you use contractions? To me, the rest of the text seems to be more formal than dialogue. I’ve checked the style manuals that I have and can’t seem to find any reference to this usage. Maybe I’m not looking in the right spots.

An example of what I’m talking about would be something like this:

He couldn’t write a blog post today because he was too busy.

or

He could not write a blog post today because he was too busy.

Which usage would you use in your fiction?

You Wanted The Best And You Got The Best!

What else is there to be said about this awesome double live CD? There are rumors of it being completely overdubbed and rumors of the whole thing being a fake. I say, who gives a shit. This may be one of the best live albums of all time! Kiss were okay in teh studio, but live, they just ruled. Instead of doing a formal review, I will just list why this is so great!

1. Great Cover and a cool booklet…the back cover has that picture of all those stoned people.
2. Those cool letters to the fans!
3. Explosions!
4. Killer live versions of their songs that make the studio versions pale in comparison.
5. Extended version of 100,000 years with the drum solo.
6. Extended version of Black Diamond complete with the explosions at the end!!!!
7. The crowd chanting Kiss and screaming through all the songs!

I’ve seen videos of Kiss live during this time period, and while they were not always tight, I didn’t matter, they just destroyed!

Track Listing:

Disk 1:

1. Deuce (3:44)
2. Strutter (3:17)
3. Got to Choose (3:35)
4. Hotter than Hell (3:12)
5. Firehouse (3:59)
6. Nothin’ to Lose (3:29)
7. C’Mon and Love Me (2:53)
8. Parasite (3:22)
9. She (6:55)

Disk 2

1. Watchin’ You (3:40)
2. 100,000 Years (11:59)
3. Black Diamond (5:51)
4. Rock Bottom (3:36)
5. Cold Gin (5:26)
6. Rock and Roll All Nite (4:06)
7. Let Me Go Rock N Roll (5:46)

I’m on the road to recovery. Late last week I woke up out of my cloud of the blahs and decided to do something. Part of the reason for my lack of motivation is my inability to get focused. My mind is always swirling with things that need to be done. I never, ever write anything down. So, when I Ackley sit down to do something, I am constantly bothered by all of the other stuff that I’m supposed to be doing. I rely solely on my memory for things that need to be done and to be frank, my memory is shit.

On Thursday, I woke up feeling good and ready to get a handle on my situation. This good mood came in conjunction with me finding out that I will be jobless on June 1st. Until now, the date was unknown to me. Instead of being upset, I felt relieved. I know have something else driving me to get my motivation going.

I picked up an eBook (yes an ebook which was the catalyst for my last post) about getting organized. The book is called Getting Things Done by David Allen. You basically do a brain dump of every thing that you need to do in your life and organize those things into either a paper or computer system. It took about an hour to dump all this stuff out of my head but since I didn’t have to remember every thing anymore, I started to feel more in control. I used the system in conjunction with a PDA that I just purchased and managed to get more things done this weekend than in weeks.

My biggest problem with organization, is keeping it up. I have to stay on top of those rogue piles of CDs and paper that start amounting up on my desk! I tend to get lazy and fall back into my old routines. I am hoping that this time, it will be different.

I hope that all of you had a great weekend!

The Mule has posted his Top 10 Progressive rock albums of the 90s to the present. Check out his list and his site at:

Top 10 Prog Rock of the 90s to Present

I own a few of these CDs but need to check out the rest of the list. Great post!

I’m going to dedicate the next week to reviewing live albums that I think are great.

First up is Yessongs by the band Yes. For some reason, I rarely pull out this CD. I usually don’t go for a live album when I’m in the mood to listen to a band since live
albums are generally shit. I’ve been on a Yes kick lately, so I finally got to the bottom of the barrel after an airing of Tales From Topographic Oceans and decided to listen to Yessongs.

I have to tell you that I was blown away by the band’s performance on this CD. I don’t remember this album being so good, but it is! It captures the band at what most would consider their highest point in the 70s. What I like about it is how different the band sound live. They even change a lot their songs and do some jamming. The CD also has a beautifully raw sound which somehow works for them, in spite of Yes usually being considered very polished.

The musicianship is incredible on every level. John Andersons vocals soar; Steve Howe’s guitar work is stunning; Chris Squires bass playing is up front and bass-tastic; and Rick Wakeman is cheezy and incredible at the same time. The only disappointing thing is that the great Bill Bruford only plays drums on a few tracks while the rest of the drums are done by Alan White. Fortunately, White is great drummer and more than capable.

The only thing that I don’t like on this is the horribly cheezy Rick Wakeman keyboard solo. He must have been trying to out do Keith Emerson in pompousness.

It must also be mentioned that the gatefold artwork on both the album version and CD are nothing less then beautiful.

Track List:

Yes
Yessongs

Atlantic (82682-2)
UK 1973

Jon Anderson, vocals; Alan White, percussion; Steve Howe, guitars, vocals; Chris Squire, bass, vocals; Rick Wakeman, keyboards; with Bill Bruford, percussion

Tracklist:
1. Opening (Excerpt from “Firebird Suite”) — 3:45
2. Siberian Khatru — 8:50
3. Heart of the Sunrise — 11:26
4. Perpetual Change — 14:08
5. And You and I — 9:55
a. Cord of Life
b. Eclipse
c. The Preacher the Teacher
d. The Apocalypse
6. Mood For a Day — 2:52
7. Excerpts from “The Six Wives of Henry VIII” — 6:35
8. Roundabout — 8:33
disc 1 time: 66:10

1. I’ve Seen All Good People — 7:00
a. Your Move
b. All Good People
2. Long Distance Runaround / The Fish — 13:45
3. Close to the Edge — 18:41
a. The Solid Time of Change
b. Total Mass Retain
c. I Get Up I Get Down
d. Seasons of Man
4. Yours is No Disgrace — 14:21
5. Starship Trooper — 9:25
a. Life Seeker
b. Disillusion
c. Wurm
disc 2 time: 63:39

total time 129:49

I recently purchased an ebook about getting organized. Part of my lack of motivation issues stem from me being completely disorganized. I have tons of things that need to be done and files all over the place. What a mess!

Anyway, I was checking out a book online and reading the reviews, when I saw that the book was available in Ebook form. I decided to purchase the Ebook for the following reasons:

1. I could have it instantly

2. It would save me a trip to the bookstore (I love the bookstore but I didn’t have time to go).

3. It was about $6 cheaper.

I downloaded the Ebook in Adobe format (screw Microsoft Reader). I went out to Adobe’s site and downloaded their Reader. I installed the read, which to my annoyance, installed some other Adobe products that I didn’t want. I’m not going to go into all of the steps, but installing and registering Adobe reader and the ebook was a pain in the ass. Something like a 4-5 step process.

So I had the book installed on my work PC and I also installed it on my Mac Powerbook so that I could read the book on the train. I have read about 200 pages of the book so far and have decided to report on my Ebook experience.

The Good:

1. As listed above, it was cheaper and I had it instantly.

2. The book is pretty easy to read off the screen since the text can be zoomed in or out.
3. You can search the text which is really handy for Non-fiction reference books like the one that I’m reading.
4. You can easily use the Contents sidebar to quickly skip around chapters.

The Bad:

1. You can only read the Ebook in places where you can sit with your laptop. This is a major bad point. I can’t read the book while waiting for the train or during the all important bathroom trip (Well you can but…yuck).

2. Initial installation of the ebook and reading software was a pain.

3. If you want to read your ebook on a different computer, you have to reinstall it.

I know that some Palm or mobile devices have ebook capabilities. I have never tried this so I don’t know what the experience is like. I would think that this would make your ebook more portable and readable but I’m not sure what it would be like reading from that small screen.

Overall, I’m not to thrilled with the ebook experience. It’s just so easy to pull a paperback out of my bag and read it anywhere.

What do you think about Ebooks? Have you ever read one? Do you avoid them for any reason?

Have a Great Weekend!

The first blog post that I ever did was called, “Chinese Democracy Syndrome”. This post was on my first blog that was subtly titled, “Smash Your Head Against the Writer’s Block.” That blog has since morphed into the blog that you are reading now, but my old posts are lost.

The “Chinese Democracy” post was in reference to how Axl Rose from Guns and Roses has been recording the same album for over 10 years. This album has missed every single release date for years. He has had tons of musicians in the band since he started the album but it never seems to be finished. I equated this to my own problems with finishing my book. I used Axl as my bogus inspiration for finishing my novel because I didn’t want to fall into the same trap of working on the same project for years and years.

So now that the skeleton of my book is finished, I find myself toiling over it, chapter by chapter. Unfortunately, this work needs to be my me and it’s not something that can be handed over to an editor.

Editing can be fun but it is also very dry. My motivation to work on it is at an all time low. There is a huge sense of “been there, done that” which is dragging me down.

I have been struggling with my lack of motivation for awhile now. I’m in a creative rut over it. The worst part about it is that I have the time to work on it and I find that I can’t get the motivation to do it.

One of the ideas that I had is to start writing the next book while editing this one. I am a creative person and I need to create. Editing is not creating for me. Back when I was still writing the first novel, whenever I didn’t feel like writing, I would go back and edit what I had already written. I’m glad that I did this because the first 25 Chapters of the book are in decent shape. I’m still worried that if I start something new, I will be editing the first book forever!

If anyone has any advice or was ever in a similar situation, I would love to hear from you.

In the meantime, check out a review for the first track released from Guns and Roses’s now legendary, Chinese Democracy album. The title of the song might be considered offensive to some, so don’t click the link if you think that you may be upset by it. I think it’s just plain stupid. Check it out here.

This is the best rumor that I have ever heard about myself.

My good friend Henry called me today and said, “There’s an interesting rumor going around about you!”

“Really? What did I do now?”

“Mike C. called me and said that he heard that you were in a band and signed to a major label!”

“No way! How the hell did he come up with that one? I’m not even in a band!”

Yes, according to Mike C., he was at a party with a guy named Nicky who I haven’t seen in 6 years. Nicky told him that I was signed to a MAJOR LABEL! How cool is that? I don’t even have a band! Sure, I have a small side project that I work on every 2-3 months but I doubt that counts!

Anyway, you have to love that. I told Henry that he should call Mike back right away and confirm that the rumor is 100% true. I said, tell him that I’m putting the band back together!

I took my two year old daughter to the movies for the first time yesterday to see Curious George. I read the reviews before taking her to make sure that it was age appropriate. I was happy to find out that this movie was a close remake of the books, in that it was not a modern update littered with “pop” culture references. A kids movies without trash-talking Hippos or parodies of the Matrix sounded good to me.

I’m sure that you noticed in the last 5 years that movie theaters have started to sneak in commercials. It first started with a Coke commercial here and there. Now, you have to sit through Cell phone ads and Car commercials on top of those annoying cola ads.

In the old days, you had Previews, The Concession stand ad and the Movie.

I hate advertising. It’s a pet peeve of mine. I can understand having to sit through ads on TV and Radio, because that is what’s paying for the programming. But how can you justify making me spend $20 for three tickets, $30 for food then bombard me with advertisements?

This is the first time I’ve gone to the movies to see a kids flick in years. I was hoping that things would be different for kids movie. Maybe they would have enough sense not to pound a group of 2-4 year olds with ads. Man, was I wrong. We got into the theater 10 minutes early and we easily watched 5 minutes of advertisements.

Coke. McDonalds, Mastercard, Cingular.

Every time one of these ads came on, my daughter looked at me as if to say, “WTF do I need a Mastercard for?” Okay, maybe not but she did get fidgety.

The sad part about this is, that it’s only going to get worse. I’m already pelted with ads from every direction when I walk down the street, take the train and drive my car. I can’t even hit the ATM without having to watch an ad!

And if I have to see Ronald McDonald trying to pitch his unhealthy, fatty food to my daughter one more time, I’m going to punch him in his red nose!

This song just kicks my ass! If you like fast 70s sounding Rock and Roll, check this song out from New Jersey’s The Atomic Bitchwax.

The Atomic Bitchwax - The Destroyer

Click the link to listen or Right Click and Save to put it on your harddrive!

American Rock N Roll that you will never hear on “free” FM.

Note: Free songs are courtesy of Stoner Rock. The MP3s that their site are recorded on low volume for preview purposes only. They are not representative of CDs sound quality.