Thank Ya, Thank Ya Very Much

A call from Elvis is the topic of this week's column in the Ashland Beacon.

It's on page 2 and you can read it here.

American Horror Story News

Entertainment Weekly has an article on the next season of American Horror Story. 

The season's subtitle will be Freak Show, and the cast includes the majority of actors from the recently completed third season Coven.

Producers must have enjoyed their season three stint in New Orleans, since the Big Easy will stand in for Freak Show's Jupiter, Florida setting.

11 Essential Stephen King Books

Every list is subjective, but I can't find much to quibble with on this one.

I would also put The Stand at the top. I would've placed 'Salem's Lot much higher and skipped the short story collection--it's in novel length fiction that King is at his best.

Overall, though, an excellent list for someone wanting to sample King's greatest hits. I also concur that Needful Things belongs here, though many readers and most critics disagree.

What's On the DVR

Because I am occasionally asked, he's a current list of shows I record. My TV viewing time is very limited so I'm usually way behind. And the list continuously changes. My one guilty pleasure reality show, Storage Wars, has just been replaced by another too-rehearsed-yet-oddly-entertaining series, Barry'd Treasure. That's because of the star, Barry Weiss, pictured above. Here's the current lineup:

The Good Wife
Doctor Who
Marvel's Agents of Shield

Cosmos

Once Upon A Time

Castle 

Supernatural 

Arrow

Justified

Modern Family

Big Bang Theory

Elementary

Pardon the Interruption 
Veep
Episodes
American Horror Story

I'm also hooked on Sunday morning news shows, particularly Face the Nation. I wish our local CBS affiliate, WOWK in Charleston, WV, would run the full hour instead of The Wiggles or whatever they fill the second half hour with.

The recently completed True Detective on HBO was brilliant. If you haven't seen it, immediately catch a re-airing or find it On Demand.

I've also tried HBO's Girls, but it's clear to me that I'm not the audience for that one. That's okay. There's a universe of shows out there for all audiences and tastes. if you love Girls, good for you. My list is not suggested viewing. It's merely some of the stuff I regularly watch. On the weekends I tend to surf a lot and sample sports and many shows on the Science Channel. To each his or her  own.

So what are you watching that I should try?

Selfie and an Update

I hoped to get a blog update done last weekend and it didn’t happen. So this will be the make-up entry.

It’s Friday evening, and in addition to a busy week at my day job, I’ve also been battling some weird combination of cold and sinus infection. Pity me not, for I am on the mend. Or pity me some, for it couldn’t hurt, I guess

More importantly, we’ve been preoccupied with caring for Clark, our 18-year-old cat who has had a bad week. He suffers from a few ailments and every time he struggles we fear he’s near the end. At the moment, he’s bounced back and is acting like his old self. Or, at least the best version of his 18-year-old self. I’ll take that. Most pet owners will understand that he is part of our family, a huge part.

I feel no need to explain that to people who aren’t animal lovers. They will never understand nor do I need their understanding. In fact, here’s a small confession: as open-minded as I try to be, I never completely trust anyone who doesn’t like animals.

Egads! My prejudice has been exposed.

I want this to be a good weekend for writing. My day job has taken over my life for the past few months, but things seem to be settling down to something close to a normal schedule now. Hopefully this means being able to strike a healthy balance between my two passions.

Yeah, I love what I do for a living. My mania for radio is worthy of a few blog posts in the future. My writing is equally important to me. Sometimes, though, I find it tough to switch gears between the two. More on that later.

I’ll be back later to report on how the weekend is going. Until then, whether you’re searching for jets or seeking the meaning of life, follow the evidence. Question everything.

And don't forget: mac and cheese will never let you down.

Still Alive

I'm just very busy. I'll try to do a catch-up post this weekend. Meanwhile, my latest column in the Ashland Beacon is a case from my days as a private dick (as opposed to, I suppose, a public dick). It's right here on page 2.

Nope

Everything From This 1991 Radio Shack Ad You Can Now Do With Your Phone

From an article at Huffington Post.

More Newspaper Coverage

This article is from the Herald Dispatch in Huntington, WV.

Black and White and Read All Over

The local paper did an article today on the changes at the radio station. You can read it here.

Broken Resolution

So, about that pledge to blog every day...

The last week has been spent on a major work project, with no time for writing. It went a little something like this:

The format flip unfolded over several months but, due to technical constraints, the majority of the heavy lifting had to occur over the final seven or so days. Fortunately, I work with smart and dedicated people, and we managed to get it done on time.

Now I'm ready for things to return to normal, or at least as close to it as it gets in my world.That includes writing. I hope to have more to report very soon.

And While We're Talking About Boneheads

The guy who thought it was a good idea to tape firecrackers to his face and light them would like a moment of your time.

I Know It's Early...

...but, so far, this is my favorite picture of 2014.

Slow Sunday

I made little progress on the book today because I went back to fix a character issue. I don't usually like to do any revisions (other than typos) until the first draft is complete, but this issue affects the rest of the book, so if it ain't right, the book ain't right.

Tomorrow I go back to work after my holiday vacation, and I'm in for a very busy couple of weeks. If I can squeeze out a thousand words a day on the new book, I'll be happy. In fact, I know of one day where I'll probably have zero writing time. I'll have to make that up down the line.

The book is due at the end of the month. It's going to be tight.

Once it's done, I'll move on to a novelette I've promised a friend, then to finish a novel I've been tinkering with for a couple of years.

Also this year, I want to pitch a horror comic called Usher's Furnace, and Dave Wilbanks and I are discussing another Dead Earth book. 

That should take care of my free time.

City Councilman Resigns in Klingon

I bet the city council meetings were full of mIS Dun. Details here.

Aw, Poop

This was not my most productive day, which is indicated by the traditional Internet symbol for disappointment: a cartoon rendering of dog poop. 

Okay, it's a traditional Internet symbol that I just now made up, but still...

Today's Writing

While not nearly as exciting as the magnetic alignment of pooping dogs, I did manage 2162 words on the new book today, my best day's writing in quite some time. I'm at that point where key elements of the story are orbiting my head and starting to fall into place. I just hope I don't end up like the guy who used to repair appliances for us. 

When he once fixed our washer, a couple of big parts were left on the floor. 

"What are those?" I said.

He glanced at them and said, "Aw, don't worry about it. You don't need 'em."

***

I've been reading the year-end recaps on other blogs, and I realized I should tell you that I don't know how many books I read last year. I don't keep track of how many movies I watched. I don't care how many books anyone else read. Apparently I lack the OCD gene necessary to count all of that. Or to, you know, care on any level. Man, it just seems like a lot of work. Isn't life hard enough? I mean, dogs are lining up their poops according to Earth's magnetic field. Wake up, people!

Breaking Dog Poop News

As one who grew up with dogs (grew up with, not raised by; that's a different family member), I always wondered why pooches had to spend so much time picking a spot upon which to deposit their doo doo.  It turns out they have to align their bodies with the Earth's magnetic field. It's explained in this article. And remember, you don't have to magnetically align your body to pick up the poop.

Saving Mr. Ellison

Here's the shy, retiring, polite opinion of one of my heroes, Harlan Ellison, regarding the film Saving Mr. Banks.

A Quick Writing Update

This a brief note because I did say I would blog more and because it's good for me to talk about my writing again. I managed about four pages tonight on the Current Fiction Project (CFP). It's not the total I wanted, not the pace I had during the last book. But I think that's okay. I feel like one of those old steam locomotives, starting out slowly, huffing and puffing, building up energy. I can feel this story swelling, ready to explode. Or maybe that's my head. Regardless, I'm pretty happy with the output. 

Oh, and I also wrote another newspaper column earlier in the day, so today's word count is respectable. 

Let's see if I can do more tomorrow.