tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56088828296584187192024-02-24T13:00:54.837-06:00The Log of the Antaresantareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.comBlogger186125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-81742889903248223802024-01-28T00:33:00.000-06:002024-01-28T00:33:45.689-06:00Mash-id Potato<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi9u-tE6A5KNOwXz3g2swnFN7CR_OglDdJ1eTALEBLG_T8KHv9tWzFCTmgM4wswTX-gCQVQ3p1wYo3_v1AMzUgHgAwr-6w33rJ7IAZYxkJMhRNYudIOh474w9PqBpvhDow0hc-pd68loK_4-YNGFWYiP5d-OFWQWvj2aS-_6zVZ0EHkeCmme-rIbM4RGjep" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="2700" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi9u-tE6A5KNOwXz3g2swnFN7CR_OglDdJ1eTALEBLG_T8KHv9tWzFCTmgM4wswTX-gCQVQ3p1wYo3_v1AMzUgHgAwr-6w33rJ7IAZYxkJMhRNYudIOh474w9PqBpvhDow0hc-pd68loK_4-YNGFWYiP5d-OFWQWvj2aS-_6zVZ0EHkeCmme-rIbM4RGjep" width="320" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">TGI Friday operates
a few stores in South Korea. One used to operate in downtown Daegu.
The menu was strictly American and appealed to American tastes.
Foreigners patronized the restaurant, but it was a novelty to
Koreans, and they rarely went there.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A short aside. There
are fifty-two million citizens in South Korea. There are two hundred
thousand foreigners. What I am telling you is that foreigners in
Korea comprise less than one half of one percent of the customer
base.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">TGI Friday in
downtown Daegu failed, but resurrected itself in a tower near the
train station. We discovered this by happy accident when my wife had
an interview with a restaurant in the tower. That is how we came to
the food floor. Leaving the elevator, we passed TGI Friday on our
right.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Bunny finished her
interview and made a beeline for TGI Friday. You see, in her mind, I
need Western food. She takes me to 'Western' restaurants as often as
she can. I put Western in quotes, because Koreans do Western cuisine
with a heavy Korean accent.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">For example, Korean
chefs cook omelets with olive oil, not butter. French chefs use
butter. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1XoCQm5JSQ">Watch
Jacques Pepin cook omelets</a>. Korean chefs know that classic
omelets are cooked with butter. Why do they use olive oil?
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">90% of Koreans are
lactose intolerant. Korean chefs know this. That is why they use oil
olive, not butter.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Yes, Koreans eat
yogurt; yes, Koreans eat cheese; but both yogurt and cheese are the
products of bacteria that eat milk. That means the bacteria ate the
lactose and excreted lactic acid and carbon dioxide. Evidently
Koreans have no problem with lactic acid.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">What about ice
cream? How do Koreans – with their lactose intolerance – consume
ice cream? I don't know. I do know that Korean markets sell small
bottles of bulgaris – yogurt-making lactobacilli – to drink. It
appears that drinking bulgaris together with milk products protects
the intolerant from trouble with digestion of lactose. I do know that
Koreans LOVE ice cream, and they will eat all they can get.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">One more thing.
Koreans have a low tolerance for salt. How low? They eat French fries
without salt. All Korean fried-chicken houses cook without salt.
Instead they add a packet of salt to the order so the customer can
salt the chicken if they choose. Koreans sell pork belly unsalted.
Koreans cook beans without salt – and what an abysmal flavorless
concoction that is. I once made a 10-inch pizza for a girl with 1/8 t
of salt in the dough – and she said it was too salty.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Back to TGI Friday.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">We entered and sat
down. Bunny ordered chicken. And pasta. She encouraged me to order a
steak.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Ordering a steak in
a restaurant in Korea is like ordering a Model T. Ford gave its
costumers a choice of colors but delivered black. Likewise, in Korea
steaks come well-done. You can shout 'Medium rare!' until you're
hoarse, but the waiter will bring you well-done.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">So I ordered a
burger. If it will come to me well-done no matter what, might as well
be a burger.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The French fries did
not appeal to me, so I ordered the 'Mashed Potato'. Koreans pronounce
this 'mash-id po-tay-to'.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The burger came. I
found it satisfactory. Some while later our waiter delivered the
mash-id potato.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Recall that most
Koreans are lactose intolerant. So no butter, no milk in the mash-id
potato. All Koreans have low salt tolerance. So no salt. Oh, and
Koreans use red pepper powder liberally – that is what gives kimchi
its color – but black pepper is foreign and rare.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In short, what I had
before me was a mashed potato. Nothing more.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I called the waiter
over and asked for salt, black pepper, and lots of butter. With these
and effort I got some taste from my mash-id potato. But not much.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">When in Korea, do as
the Romans do. Eat pasta.
</span></p>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-56069859019481503192024-01-08T18:04:00.001-06:002024-01-12T14:15:49.582-06:00Dingfelder's: Beef Tongue on Rye (Six of six)<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqjwVtXieC2rcbdEbx6ooDbZuAdXD1D1O3k5tRfluNYano7Lx8v3l2Hs0FrdmdCroFCCQfgwrFppFjnAqE5MGqlAzJrgL21vtOQ1zHiv9lJAeJLGWQ20YJa1hcj-w1T2rcceADOH8liLspJvyNKeSViTCXAC3NnHQPDUaKjo0duisPA4Te6dUSQkKypP45/s747/beef%20tongue%20on%20rye%20snip.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="747" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqjwVtXieC2rcbdEbx6ooDbZuAdXD1D1O3k5tRfluNYano7Lx8v3l2Hs0FrdmdCroFCCQfgwrFppFjnAqE5MGqlAzJrgL21vtOQ1zHiv9lJAeJLGWQ20YJa1hcj-w1T2rcceADOH8liLspJvyNKeSViTCXAC3NnHQPDUaKjo0duisPA4Te6dUSQkKypP45/s320/beef%20tongue%20on%20rye%20snip.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://dingfelders.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #0b0934; font-family: georgia; text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Link to Dingfelder's Delicatessen</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; text-align: left;">. </span> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">You may think beef tongue is an acquired taste. It isn't. Not if the tongue is done right. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">To do tongue right, it has to be 1) cooked right and 2) sliced right. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Dingfelder's does tongue right: Just cooked and sliced paper thin. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Bought the sandwich on Thursday. Friday, the sandwich du jour was the chopped liver, and you know about that already. Tongue took Saturday in the schedule. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Except Saturday we flew out of SeaTac at oh-dark-thirty. Changed planes once and flew home. Or as close as we could get. Snuck the sandwich through customs and got on the train to go home. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">My wife gave me grief about sneaking a sandwich through customs, but halfway into the train ride, hunger overcame her habit of civil obedience. She asked me to share the tongue sandwich. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">It was a good sandwich. Don't have to make allowances for the day it sat in a refrigerator and the day it spent travelling in my luggage. It was good. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Here I have to pause and say the sandwich lacked something. Don't know what. I think next time I shall swap the rye bread for an onion roll. The mustard was okay, but I think next time I shall try a different spread. Note that I will not add or subtract anything from the meat. The meat was as close to perfect as it could be. I have eaten tongue many times, and never had I better than that on Dingfelder's sandwich.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Wife enjoyed it. So there's that. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Beef tongue on rye: A </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">+++++ </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Question you have been waiting for. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Will I choose Dingfelder's Delicatessen again? </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yes. In a New York heartbeat. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">If I eat the same things again -- gribenes, latkes, Reuben, Chopped liver on onion roll, Beef tongue (on onion roll this time); borscht (maybe not) -- I will be happy. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But variety is the spice of life, so next time we shall get the Pastrami. I will still get the chopped liver, because it is SO good. Now, my favorite sandwich is the Reuben and Dingfelder's is the best I have eaten, so keep that in mind when I tell you I want the chopped liver again. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">How much was it, you say? </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">IIRC the price on the Reuben was twenty-eight dollars. Steep for a sandwich. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Was it worth it? Did it give value for the dollar? </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Oh! yes, and then some. And isn't that what matters? </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Want to go on a Wednesday, 'cause I like lentils, or a Friday, 'cause I like cabbage soup. Yeah, really I do. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Wife wants to see Alaska this summer. All the flights to Anchorage I see have stops in Seattle. Betting chance (2 to 1, maybe 3 to 1) that we will stop and ask Vance Dingfelder for sandwich suggestions. Maybe meet the Unseen Steve. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yeah, I say Dingfelder's is a good place to spend your money. If you like great sandwiches, you will go away happy. We did. </span></span></p><p><br /></p>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-43948410802051412452024-01-02T19:47:00.001-06:002024-01-05T13:48:14.512-06:00Dingfelder's: Chopped Liver on Onion Roll (Five of six)<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfgyyponG3pX8Fqf7IecZlXUiBnRWeRgM40QPM3kWWXwNh9xKieAIN8DsqvrCWUuzsuNiBrc-6paZf_fzBEflR-TTLxm9RF2KBwMZxTFTMYPiZEcnxwYrN-AFCaouRu-s7Fep5Jzep7YpkuFYeV0fApEp3Ee7JU2qwSXib3bh0t8IPxIn2kitN1uaiTdDy/s2000/chopped%20chicken%20liver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1414" data-original-width="2000" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfgyyponG3pX8Fqf7IecZlXUiBnRWeRgM40QPM3kWWXwNh9xKieAIN8DsqvrCWUuzsuNiBrc-6paZf_fzBEflR-TTLxm9RF2KBwMZxTFTMYPiZEcnxwYrN-AFCaouRu-s7Fep5Jzep7YpkuFYeV0fApEp3Ee7JU2qwSXib3bh0t8IPxIn2kitN1uaiTdDy/w287-h202/chopped%20chicken%20liver.jpg" width="287" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRaSat9KSv_FReyIUcNhMVNiuwgGynAAigVOHz4afMIgS2M-EiWAdjji-TNxByHOj466JYqfLgsiZbaGCo976hCLM5EK7aQ-Mg_IokvSVsIV2jMjND7Bu3X4NgJ1ZBOd2AhNcNgmlKIXpwCiMSw3_IRj4gz14B39dA6aNaJbo7e322Xg71YC23bc9yLgFv/s1200/onion%20roll.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRaSat9KSv_FReyIUcNhMVNiuwgGynAAigVOHz4afMIgS2M-EiWAdjji-TNxByHOj466JYqfLgsiZbaGCo976hCLM5EK7aQ-Mg_IokvSVsIV2jMjND7Bu3X4NgJ1ZBOd2AhNcNgmlKIXpwCiMSw3_IRj4gz14B39dA6aNaJbo7e322Xg71YC23bc9yLgFv/w257-h203/onion%20roll.jpg" width="257" /></a><br /><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://dingfelders.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #0b0934; font-family: georgia; text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Link to Dingfelder's Delicatessen</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; text-align: left;">. </span></div></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">An apology.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I took no photos of my food at Dingfelder's deli. My bad. Worse, I found no photos of chopped liver on onion roll on the internet. What you see above is a chopped liver sandwich on the left and onion rolls on the right. Please imagine those together minus the rye bread and the lettuce. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">We sat with Vance and ate our gribenes and latkes, and Vance gave us his mother's chicken soup to sample. I told Vance I wanted to enter my order for sandwiches and asked him for suggestions. He in turn asked for my choices. I answered, "Reuben, chopped liver, and beef tongue." Vance agreed those were good choices and asked what bread I wanted. I said, "Rye for the Reuben, and what do you suggest for the chopped liver and beef tongue?" </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Vance said, "I think the liver is best on an onion roll, but the onion rolls weren't good yesterday. Lemme check and see if they are good today." He stood and disappeared into the kitchen where -- according to legend -- worked the Unseen Steve chopping meat. Vance returned and proclaimed today's onion rolls good. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Looking back, Vance's concern with the quality of the onion rolls may have been a ruse. Why do I think that? I have searched Dingfelder's online menu and pictures of Dingfelder's menu boards but cannot find any offering of a chopped liver sandwich. Perhaps Vance used the time he alleged to spend checking the quality of the onion rolls to set a price for a choppped liver sandwich and communicate that to Olympia. If he did, I thank him for that courtesy. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">It is called chopped liver, but it looks more like pureed liver. And it all sticks together by some kosher magic. We did not finish the Reuben at the deli and we took the remainder of the Reuben and the chopped liver sandwich back to the hotel to enjoy later. And the tongue sandwich, too. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Next day, I unwrapped the chopped liver sandwich. The meat that lay between the split onion roll was two fingers thick. I cut the sandwich in two. Surprise, surprise! The liver held together. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">My wife is a professional chef, but she does not like organ meat. Not just liver. She feels the same about heart, kidneys, tripe, brains, and sweetbreads. She knew this was chicken liver, but I persuaded her to sample it anyway. She loved it! Devoured her half and asked for more. Disappointed to find there was no more. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">On the menu or no, I encourage you to order a chopped liver sandwich. On onion roll. Dingfelder's chopped liver sandwich is delicious. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Chopped liver on onion roll: A++ (This is really, really good!) </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: x-large;">Next: Beef tongue on rye. </span></p>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-71602157701196816172023-12-28T01:37:00.000-06:002023-12-30T23:41:41.527-06:00Dingfelder's: Reuben (Four of six) <p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVSjw5D3PHt4svs6Q-cTTN-SNEv1UQJOEFb4Li3P5X2LRAathWjMhfHWhKVE5chxfFTzoLUaiyHjaTnVq8YB9uaj_gedLBihHNtJnLkPM9V4mg-pk9ooq6U8z2e_WH9kK_3kmpXCmLL-acQypxBOyLFaxmPmgpv1p_zsEm8lZHnml0kc_m1ZflkgRXvAZ/s1000/reuben.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="1000" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVSjw5D3PHt4svs6Q-cTTN-SNEv1UQJOEFb4Li3P5X2LRAathWjMhfHWhKVE5chxfFTzoLUaiyHjaTnVq8YB9uaj_gedLBihHNtJnLkPM9V4mg-pk9ooq6U8z2e_WH9kK_3kmpXCmLL-acQypxBOyLFaxmPmgpv1p_zsEm8lZHnml0kc_m1ZflkgRXvAZ/w581-h327/reuben.jpg" width="581" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://dingfelders.com/" style="color: #0b0934; font-family: georgia; text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Link to Dingfelder's Delicatessen</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; text-align: left;">. </span> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">For them as do not know, a Reuben is corned beef and sauerkraut on rye with Russian dressing. Not a fan of Russian dressing, so I ordered mine with mustard. In my German-blood opinion, the Reuben can be the best sandwich ever made. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">On a Reuben, I want the sauerkraut bone dry. If you lean that way, too, I suggest at Dingfelder's you order your Reuben for take out. I shall tell you why in a bit. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">When I saw the meat in the sandwich displayed on Dingfelder's site menu, I wondered if that was for real and always or just for the photo. 'Cause I been fooled before. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Proud to say it was for real and always. Big slabs of tender meat. Crisp sauerkraut in the Goldilocks zone: not too strong, not too weak, but jussst right. A thin schmear of mustard that added a hint of heat. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">If not Sandwich Heaven, it is as close as mortals can get. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Plentiful, too. My wife and I ate half the Reuben and got the other half wrapped for take away. Could be the gribenes and the latkes sated our hunger. Could be. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The wrap is where the magic happened. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I ordered three sandwiches from Olympia. Where Ari went I do not know, but Olympia took care of us. She and invisible Steve wrapped my half Reuben in butcher paper and boxed it with pickles and a side. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Long trip back to the hotel (Embassy Suites-SeaTac). Stowed the sandwiches in the fridge and took a nap. Woke up and pulled the half Reuben from the fridge. I noticed that the wrapping paper was moist. The butcher paper had rubbed against the sauerkraut and wicked away the brine. Left me with bone dry sauerkraut. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Another step closer to Sandwich Heaven. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I recommend you get the Reuben for take out and give it some hours for the paper to magic the sauerkraut to bone dry. If that's the way -- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0_H3F84Yjk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">uh-huh, uh-huh</a> -- you like it. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reuben: A++ </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Next: Chopped liver on onion roll. </span></span></p>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-21785237399547729862023-12-15T14:45:00.000-06:002023-12-15T14:45:30.950-06:00Dingfelder's: Gribenes and latkes (Three of six) <p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvtWpn1oRenEw8fseEpYQoQWWjL1rVhDm7qC8g01eEWguvT7LtRjdTvC7A7R__fMBJ1OahyphenhyphenPaIm_uDfRnxKJkyS_CjHkshG7gXdeNqOHEiSQeFz6bDnPLbwfGacl7TI266VBM3_rL-oppfnq-wf0WhjY8EGcKnxXeOXMSZw9hi87wdhltaS-e3-virK3LQ/s1004/gribenes%20snip.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="1004" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvtWpn1oRenEw8fseEpYQoQWWjL1rVhDm7qC8g01eEWguvT7LtRjdTvC7A7R__fMBJ1OahyphenhyphenPaIm_uDfRnxKJkyS_CjHkshG7gXdeNqOHEiSQeFz6bDnPLbwfGacl7TI266VBM3_rL-oppfnq-wf0WhjY8EGcKnxXeOXMSZw9hi87wdhltaS-e3-virK3LQ/w160-h116/gribenes%20snip.jpg" width="160" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzy5BC8uTUD8dyUDgQgoRuegUnYu5ZLAIUku6q9hSjjjOLt3SLy-vVD4rqvayl91QWcTr60v15TUcuW0GB1PJtOMxMVX4h2-5sllmWA-JdSe6az-FnvODoonHRKsO81S3NntaA8o0u5dT6x0aqy6NXZ2C0O5VmE56bZXjuJ8rAg71F75y2XEhPNF_DMlLE/s758/Vance%20Dingfelder%20snip.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="524" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzy5BC8uTUD8dyUDgQgoRuegUnYu5ZLAIUku6q9hSjjjOLt3SLy-vVD4rqvayl91QWcTr60v15TUcuW0GB1PJtOMxMVX4h2-5sllmWA-JdSe6az-FnvODoonHRKsO81S3NntaA8o0u5dT6x0aqy6NXZ2C0O5VmE56bZXjuJ8rAg71F75y2XEhPNF_DMlLE/w131-h189/Vance%20Dingfelder%20snip.jpg" width="131" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5cVTT-NyeVYsqARq1EEN0iWG86Uvly4RH23jOct1P2AOPLBs6b1q2q_Rnyk6HaptEZ_gvB0cHCXs1bWNpykX2kq4InKPP6QE-PYAlsLP-whLX9JCt2lpKmhHKakZfAf3MeTa2IsK4MJvr5NK4kQq7F4NLPr4lLzoHhBdEWiwYhnQqtMHNqtGYDhIJHlNP/s414/latkes%20snip%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="414" height="103" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5cVTT-NyeVYsqARq1EEN0iWG86Uvly4RH23jOct1P2AOPLBs6b1q2q_Rnyk6HaptEZ_gvB0cHCXs1bWNpykX2kq4InKPP6QE-PYAlsLP-whLX9JCt2lpKmhHKakZfAf3MeTa2IsK4MJvr5NK4kQq7F4NLPr4lLzoHhBdEWiwYhnQqtMHNqtGYDhIJHlNP/w173-h103/latkes%20snip%202.jpg" width="173" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://dingfelders.com/" style="color: #0b0934; font-family: georgia; text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Link to Dingfelder's Delicatessen</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; text-align: left;">. </span></span></div><p><span style="font-size: large;">First we gotta talk about schmaltz. What is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schmaltz" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">schmaltz</a>? Schmaltz is to chicken fat as <a href="https://www.bonappetit.com/story/what-is-ghee" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ghee</a> is to butter. Don't know what ghee is? Okay, let us try . . . schmaltz is to chicken fat as lard is to pig fat. If you still have questions, click the link. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I am goy, but I had a good friend who called himself a 'completed Jew.' That is, he converted to Christianity. His heart did, anyway. His stomach still kept kosher. He rendered his own schmaltz and used no other cooking fat or oil. He invited me over to eat with him every week. Most times I accepted. I am familiar with schmaltz. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">When Vance Dingfelder (picture above) related his tale of schmaltz I did not flinch. My lack of response seemed to impress Vance. He told me that once upon a time he rendered chickens for schmaltz. Then some supplier persuaded Vance to give his schmaltz a try. Vance said the outside product was as good as his own, and when he costed out his own production, the outside product came out cheaper. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Vance switched from house-made schmaltz to outside-supplier schmaltz. Then he found that that cooking copious amounts of chicken soup left schmaltz as a by-product. Thus, he returned to house-made schmaltz, right? </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I dunno. The story was long, and I got lost. In either case, Dingfelder's cooks its gribenes and its latkes in schmaltz. Makes a difference. A big difference. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span>'Gribenes (Jewish Chicharr</span><span style="font-family: "DejaVu Serif", serif;">ó</span><span>nes) kosher Skins.' That is quoted from Dingfelder's deli menu. For them as know not Mexican delicacies, c</span><span>hicharr</span><span style="font-family: "DejaVu Serif", serif;">ó</span><span>nes are fried pork skins. Usually deep fried in lard. </span><span>That Vance knows c</span><span>hicharr</span><span style="font-family: "DejaVu Serif", serif;">ó</span><span>nes suggests that he breaks the Jewish dietary laws sometimes. Gribenes are fried chicken skins. Between the two, I prefer c</span><span>hicharr</span><span style="font-family: "DejaVu Serif", serif;">ó</span><span>nes, but my preference is not strong. Do c</span><span>hicharr</span><span style="font-family: "DejaVu Serif", serif;">ó</span><span>nes taste better by a preponderance of the evidence? Yeah. By a clear and convincing standard? No. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Gribenes are pictured above left. Call those golden brown. Dingfelder's gribenes were two shades darker the day we tried them. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Latkes were next (pictured above right). I have eaten more latkes than I can count. Had a lot of German potato pancakes, too. In my humble opinion, Dingfelder's were the best I ever had. No doubt. I think the schmaltz made the difference. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Gribenes: A+ <br />Latkes: A+ </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Missed the chance to include a couple of pictures last time, and for that omission, I apologize and atone. Dingfelder's pickles and Dr Brown's Root Beer:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79KdLxyUdTgaXQqt5-HayASMGD0Y81Mqjp1kZdvNxHp26cSbdWhCTeVeAUYwIovL5qWqaVD9UsRqUcJaoyMedPxBuFWOl6gNrKUID_GvlvGoLXTCDDKtOzN81JpSsTyVAmNsVrf10dlvB3I6kKTAKYQKKvMJLD28OLT8HmA4dmpQbXHWCny8CChEhzSAg/s501/Dingfelder's%20pickles%20snip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="501" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79KdLxyUdTgaXQqt5-HayASMGD0Y81Mqjp1kZdvNxHp26cSbdWhCTeVeAUYwIovL5qWqaVD9UsRqUcJaoyMedPxBuFWOl6gNrKUID_GvlvGoLXTCDDKtOzN81JpSsTyVAmNsVrf10dlvB3I6kKTAKYQKKvMJLD28OLT8HmA4dmpQbXHWCny8CChEhzSAg/w277-h264/Dingfelder's%20pickles%20snip.jpg" width="277" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5u1CMGYccVkp5QXKXGfO89Oks8Buo20QDi-diA7bIRzI0ZYwhGn5JpSM7F6iN-kGvV21y80XIdKcbV4LirUuyVssahfvYs3qEbBVRR-4UJbLIWsuFnlZiM8Qo8mDuJMBTPi_GDr5Bk4BVoLMNtDtMRJZH_CX1jrVF0N8k9onEOQEpNBRPkpfMOgk_XUN5/s800/Dr%20Brown's%20Root%20Beer%20snip.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="411" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5u1CMGYccVkp5QXKXGfO89Oks8Buo20QDi-diA7bIRzI0ZYwhGn5JpSM7F6iN-kGvV21y80XIdKcbV4LirUuyVssahfvYs3qEbBVRR-4UJbLIWsuFnlZiM8Qo8mDuJMBTPi_GDr5Bk4BVoLMNtDtMRJZH_CX1jrVF0N8k9onEOQEpNBRPkpfMOgk_XUN5/w145-h283/Dr%20Brown's%20Root%20Beer%20snip.png" width="145" /></a><br /><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I really enjoyed Dingfelder's pickles. My only complaint is that there were too few of them with my order. Next time I shall order a to-go container filled with these delicious pickles. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Never had Dr Brown's fizzy drink before. Surprised to learn that the company has been in business since 1869. Good stuff. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Next: Corned beef on rye. Do not miss this one! </span></p><p><br /></p>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-60587499888751915482023-12-05T17:27:00.000-06:002023-12-14T13:27:47.535-06:00Dingfelder's : Borscht and Dr Brown's Root Beer (Two of six . . . I combined some posts.) <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpsN6u3mDCFmLFPfn4n6tq4nJC9krq2RE1G0HPF4cbHDqYMmnJyYhXMzwu-JuS3WR_qMo690CTAuEkwCTAy7sWcIyYItBa1fEYh5n8xGXcBWEFOjzMJFMsyXyiK7NFsbkfOgFGXiSlcXSyEjpQ8AQfO_7fI5ztYP8umNhBECZDJD8DTt6VMX8P26_k7-9/s1208/borscht.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1208" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpsN6u3mDCFmLFPfn4n6tq4nJC9krq2RE1G0HPF4cbHDqYMmnJyYhXMzwu-JuS3WR_qMo690CTAuEkwCTAy7sWcIyYItBa1fEYh5n8xGXcBWEFOjzMJFMsyXyiK7NFsbkfOgFGXiSlcXSyEjpQ8AQfO_7fI5ztYP8umNhBECZDJD8DTt6VMX8P26_k7-9/s320/borscht.jpg" width="212" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">*</span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://dingfelders.com/" style="color: #0b0934; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Link to Dingfelder's Delicatessen</a>. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">We arrived at Dingfelder's on a Thursday. Soup-of-the-day was borscht. Was not always borscht. I saw a photo of Dingfelder's menu from years back on Yelp that gave Harvest Vegetable as the soup for Thursday. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">When I ordered, Ari told me that this was the summer borscht and asked if I still wanted the borscht. I said, "Sure." Had never heard of summer borscht. How does summer borscht differ from winter borscht? Or fall borscht? Or spring borscht? </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">There is a difference. Dingfelder's summer borscht uses gold beets. Big surprise for me. Never had gold beets before. Until that moment, I did not know gold beets existed. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Summer borscht looked nothing like the red beet borscht I like. Looks more like a vegetable soup. Hmm. Shades of Harvest vegetable, what? On the plus side, the textures were good. Not overcooked and mushy, not undercooked and chewy. On the minus side, I tasted vinegar. That was the dominant note. My wife took one taste and never touched the borscht again. The vinegar was a deal killer for her. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Dr Brown's Root Beer. I like root beer. FWIW I like sarsaparilla, too, but that's a rare find. I like ginger beer, too, and have been meaning to brew some. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Anyway, Dingfelder's displayed the sodas they offer. Dr Brown's Root Beer was one of 'em. Decided to try it. Glad I did. Whoever chose this drink for </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Dingfelder's</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> did well. Good taste but not brash. Not too sweet. Excellent choice. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Borscht: B+ </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Dr Brown's Root Beer: A </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/dingfelders-delicatessen-seattle-3?select=5cBDdUkIm8DMoB61K81ZYA" target="_blank">Yelp photos</a> of Dingfelder's food, Dingfelder's menu, and Vance Dingfelder. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Next time . . . Gribenes and Latkes. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">* This photo I got off the internet. It is not from Dingfelder's. I took no pictures that day. My bad. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><div id="gtx-trans" style="left: -4px; position: absolute; top: 370.4px;"><div class="gtx-trans-icon"></div></div>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-85959622235405091722023-11-30T14:38:00.002-06:002023-12-01T10:56:26.633-06:00Dingfelder's : Mother's chicken soup (One of eight . . . or nine) <p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkEghinDdpLDQfRJSc_vrIuTMvYBFfmLNlWRrs8zAMfZUjwTZ1NQdIerZZEVdYzkQifO8Sdt8LJuGejYZOckYCYN5AVa8_1xgyj4UPOXMU1AY4zqUVlm3YSOK4GRhd-Mp-ERoJ3B7FM4EITeRBFgtdgzmMEqIKNT8GwbMx6GXL_cKyPCyp9drRiUJweqih" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkEghinDdpLDQfRJSc_vrIuTMvYBFfmLNlWRrs8zAMfZUjwTZ1NQdIerZZEVdYzkQifO8Sdt8LJuGejYZOckYCYN5AVa8_1xgyj4UPOXMU1AY4zqUVlm3YSOK4GRhd-Mp-ERoJ3B7FM4EITeRBFgtdgzmMEqIKNT8GwbMx6GXL_cKyPCyp9drRiUJweqih=w267-h356" width="267" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I want to start this review off right. Here is the <a href="https://dingfelders.com/" target="_blank">link to Dingfelder's Delicatessen</a>. </span> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span>We had mom's chicken soup, pickles, borscht, gribenes, latkes, a Reuben Corned Beef sandwich on rye, a chopped chicken liver on onion roll, and beef tongue on rye. </span>I shall treat each item in a separate review. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Today I shall review mom's chicken soup and the pickles. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">If you chased the link above to Dingfelder's, you may have noticed that mom' chicken soup is not on the menu. There is a story there. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">When I planned this trip, I saw a blog that listed Dingfelder's Deli among the ten best sandwich shops in Seattle. There were others, but Dingfelder's . . . there is a name that stands out. I put Dingfelder's Deli on my 'Must Visit' list and continued my planning. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I executed my plan, and we arrived at Dingfelder's one afternoon. One Thursday afternoon. This will be important when I review their borscht. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Ari, polite and helpful, took our first order. Soon after our order arrived, Vance Dingfelder -- the owner his own self -- joined us and struck up a conversation. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">For his cooking skills and business, Vance credits his grandmothers. There are photos of them on the walls. Not small photos. Billboard-size photos. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Vance asked me how I found his eatery. I told him Dingfelder's Delicatessen popped on on my computer as one of the ten best restaurants in Seattle. Vance lost his smile and peered at me through narrowed eyes. It was clear he did not believe me. (I swear it was true.) Vance keeps a cynical appreciation of his deli's place in the Seattle restaurant pecking order. </span>We then talked about Bateau restaurant. Vance said he goes there once a month, but from all the stories he told me of his sojourns there, I think he eats at Bateau more often than that. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">My wife and I each finished a latke while Vance talked. That is when Vance excused himself to the kitchen and brought back two cups of Mother's Chicken Soup. The soup was full of vegetables and goodness. Serious Jewish penicillin. Don't know, but I think this is the base for "Grandma" Matzo Ball Soup. Wife liked it. I liked it. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Pickles. Dingfelder's serves pickles as sides to sandwiches. Their pickles include cucumbers and green tomatoes. Pickled together? Don't know but to me the tastes say yes. Kosher? I think so, but mild with a hint of sweetness. Reminded me of the taste of bread-and-butter pickles. Excellent. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Mother's Chicken Soup: A- </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The pickles: A </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Next time . . . Borscht. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">One more time, the link : https://dingfelders.com/ </span></p><p><br /></p>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-21985217915048182262023-11-17T23:54:00.000-06:002023-11-17T23:54:55.583-06:00Embassy Suites - SeaTac – Good, Bad, and Ugly<p></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bunny and I stayed
at the Embassy Suites – SeaTac; that is, not the Embassy Suites in
downtown Seattle.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dark when we walked
out of the airport at 10.40 pm to hunt for a shuttle bus. Called for
a shuttle and went to the hotel.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Good:</span></b></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Most of my
experience with Embassy Suites is with the Embassy Suites – Santa
Clara. A Silicon Valley company put me up there when they brought me
in to interview. First time in an Embassy Suites hotel. I enjoyed the
space.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">After a day of
interviews, I returned to the hotel and freshened up. As I washed my
face, my tongue said to me, "Sashimi." I heeded my tongue.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Descended to the
reception desk where I found two young men. I asked the one on my
left if he knew a good sushi bar. He turned to his partner – a
Japanese-looking young man – and said, "Hey, Steve*, you know
a good sushi bar?"
</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">*
Honestly I do not recall his name, but Steve popped into my head when
I thought back to that evening, and it is no more wrong than any
other name, so let's go with Steve.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Steve glared
sidelong at his partner and answered, "Yeah, the one my parents
own."
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don't know about
you, but I found this amusing. I thought, <i>Have you two met?</i>
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, Steve
directed me to his parents' sushi bar. Even drew me a map. FYI this
was before Google. Yeah, I'm old.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Drove to the sushi
bar. Matsuri. That was its name. Means 'festival'. Yeah, I speak
Japanese. No, I don't read Japanese. Well, maybe eight words.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Enjoyed the food and
the ambiance at Matsuri. Steve's mom played hostess. She saved a seat
for me at the bar. Evidently Steve called her to make a place for me.
Steve did well.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">When I got home, I
wrote a letter to the president of Embassy Suites to praise Steve.
Had to go to the library to find who was the president of and what
was the address of Embassy Suites. FYI no worldwide web at this time.
Yeah, I'm old. Posted the letter.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Other companies
brought me to Silicon Valley for interviews. None of them put me up
in a hotel as nice as Embassy Suites. The company that did put me up
in Embassy Suites offered me a job, and I took it. Moved to Silicon
Valley.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">One evening after I
moved there, my tongue said, "Sashimi." Drove to Matsuri
again.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Place was packed. No
seat open anywhere.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Steve's mom
recognized me and came running over with a big smile. DEEP bow . . .
and a handshake! "Come. Come," she said. She made all the
customers at the bar scoot together and put up another stool for me.
All the while, she called me 'Keith-sama.' If you know Japanese, you
know what a big deal that is.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">I sat, ordered tako
sashimi, and cleaned my hands with the oshiburi. Big guy with a beard
next to me looked me over and said, "You must be somebody
special."
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">I smiled. "Must
be."
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Spent many, many
happy evenings at Matsuri. That letter in praise of Steve did as much
for me as for him.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Spent many happy
evenings at Embassy Suites – Santa Clara, too. Made a habit of
spending New Year's Eve and New Year's Day there. I recall watching
the movie 'The Fugitive' for the first time there.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Stayed at other
Embassy Suites, too, but my guess is that all other stays added up
will not equal the number of my stays at Embassy Suites – Santa
Clara.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Back to Embassy
Suites – SeaTac.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tyler worked the
desk at Embassy Suites – SeaTac. I talked to Tyler on the phone
before we booked our stay, and he impressed me with his local
knowledge. Met him the morning after we arrived and he impressed me
again. The man knows his job and more. He went beyond his job to help
me while I was a guest at his hotel. Outstanding individual effort. I
am confident if I book the Embassy Suites – SeaTac again, Tyler
will take care of me.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jon drives the
shuttle bus during the day. Every time I saw Jon, he brightened my
day. Big smile at all times. Cheerful. Helpful. Went out of his way
to make our day better. Outstanding individual effort.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">It is the people who
make an experience good or bad. Tyler and Jon made my experience at
Embassy Suites - SeaTac good.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Honorable mention:
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Julia and the
breakfast crew. Each of them was pleasant, cheerful, and good at
their job. I name only Julia because she was the only one whose name
tag I saw. The others had their backs to me while they worked the
grill. Good food made by good people.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Maria with
housekeeping greeted me with a smile when she brought us extra
towels. Humored me by conversing in Spanish, too.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">My wife is a
professional chef, and she sees things I do not. The woman who bussed
tables impressed her. My wife tipped her for her good work.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Bad: </b>
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">I like to think I am
a patient man, but after two long flights, TSA Kibuki-theater, and
wandering through SeaTac airport to find a way out, my patience
evaporated.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The courtesy phone
to call for a hotel shuttle at SeaTac Airport is ridiculously and
unnecessarily complicated. I do not know, but I suspect it is the
product of the fevered imagination of a local government committee
with zero experience in design.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">With some study –
believe me, after two flights, clearing customs, the
drunk-with-authority hassle of TSA Kibuki-theater, and treks through
three airports, I was tired and in no temper to study – and three
failed attempts, I got through to our hotel and called for their
shuttle bus.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The hotel clerk told
me to go to D4. Or C1. Somewhere.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">"No. You tell
the driver to come to me. I'm at," I looked up, "C3."
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Clerk said, "Okay.
Look for a van with Embassy Suites on a paper in the window."
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">I swear to God that
is what she said. Aye and begorra, a white van showed up with an
eight-and-a-half-by-eleven sheet of paper taped to the front window
on the passenger side with 'Embassy Suites' in large, bold letters
printed on it.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Embassy Suites.
Look. You are not 'Joe and Mabel's Roadside Cottages'. Pay to get
your van painted with your name. All the other hotels have their vans
painted that way. I counted two off-airport parking lots with
shuttles that were painted with their broadsides. Get with the cool
kids.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you have not read
Nick Stephenson, I recommend you do:
<a href="https://www.yourfirst10kreaders.com/">https://www.yourfirst10kreaders.com/</a>.
Sign up for Nick's emails. They contain droll musings on his
children, his life, and his fancies. They also contain useful,
valuable information.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">One series of emails
Nicks sent reflected on his family trip to Disneyland France (the
cold one) in December 2020. He analyzed Disney as a business. His
analysis boiled down to this: Disney works hard to make the Disney
experience frictionless for its guests.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">You should strive to
do the same.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Christ and Buddha, I
should strive to do the same.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Can I explain what
'frictionless' means? Nick said it means 'stress free'.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The shuttle to
Embassy Suites was not frictionless.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The ride was good.
No problem. Getting in the hotel sucked.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Our driver unloaded
our bags and strolled over to sit and chat with someone. We took our
bags and went to the entrance.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">I tried to open the
door. No joy. Then I notice the sign that read 'DOOR IS LOCKED AFTER
11 PM'. Guess what time it was. I rattled the door, turned and called
to the driver to open the door for us. A clerk ambled to the entrance
and unlocked the door.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Embassy Suites –
SeaTac, when guests arrive late, GET THEM IN THE DOOR! Make this the
duty of the driver.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The desk clerk told
me the hotel was full. I pulled out my phone and showed her a photo
of my Embassy Suites confirmation. Lo and behold, they did have a
room for us. We got our keycards, wife bought some instant noodles,
and we took the one working elevator to the fifth floor. Found our
room; that search was easy. Went in. Found the lights. Two full-size
beds. I ordered a suite with a single king bed. Descended to the desk
and asked the clerk to change my room.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">"We're full.
Maybe I can change your room tomorrow."
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Not what I wanted to
hear. Especially since I had PAID IN ADVANCE for the room I wanted.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Not frictionless.
Most definitely not frictionless.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Asked for a 5am
alarm call.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Back to the room,
unpacked, fell into bed. <b>The Good:</b> Comfortable bed.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Awoke at 6am. Honest
to Buddha, my first thought was, <i>I did not get a wake-up call.</i>
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Got dressed. Left
wife asleep and went down to breakfast. Passed by the reception desk.
Clerk called me to the desk. Same clerk as before.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">"What time did
you want your alarm call?"
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Five A-M."
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">"This is what I
wrote down." Showed me a scrap of paper with 3am and my room
number written on it. "I called then, but I wasn't sure. I heard
it ring once and hung up because I was scared I got it wrong."
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">I know that I will
never waste my time asking for a wake-up call at Embassy Suites
again.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Wife woke at 8am and
hurried to get to breakfast. Tyler showed up to work and – miracle
of miracles – things got smooth. Told him I had business downtown
and he told me how to get there with the least fuss. Told Tyler of my
woes and he promised to see what he could do for me while I was away.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jon showed up and
things got brighter and easier.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Then we got on the
Light Rail and things went to shyte.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some years ago,
there was a fire in the subway where we live. The planned reaction
did what it was designed to do, but that was not the right thing to
do.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Two hundred people
died.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Less than a year
later, a crazy man squirted lighter fluid in the aisle of a subway
car and lit it. As a result of the previous fire, the cars had been
fitted with extinguishers. Nobody died including the crazy arsonist
who was tackled by other passengers and beaten unconscious. He was
lucky that the transport cops sped to the scene and took him away.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">So we were riding
the Light Rail when a crazy woman squirted light motor oil in the
aisle of the car we were in. My wife panicked 'cause she remembered
the events in our town. When the train stopped at the next station,
she herded everybody off the train and pulled the alarm. Transport
cops came and finished unloading everyone from the train. Crazy woman
hefted her belongings in a black garbage bag, swore at the cops, and
made her escape. The transport cops did not follow her.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Minutes passed.
Train left the station empty. Everybody piled into the next train,
and away we went. Minus one crazy woman.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Seattle is a failed
city. Whoever is responsible for the Light Rail is incompetent and
MUST BE FIRED. By your gross negligence, you endangered the lives of
hundreds of passengers. Worse, you endangered my wife's life.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Ugly: </b>
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Both Tyler and Jon
spoke of the hotel manager in glowing terms. As a paying guest, my
opinion differs.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">When I returned to
the hotel, Tyler was still working. He collared me and informed me
that, when he checked, I was still being charged for a king-sized bed
(!) but that he had changed that to the lower rate and added a $20
discount. He asked if I wanted to swap rooms. I told him my wife
liked the room and wanted to stay. Tyler smiled and said he would
discount my two remaining nights.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is great
service. Where did Tyler learn to give such great service?
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">I cannot believe he
learned it from the hotel manager. IMO the other clerks have not been
trained at all. I doubt they can find the toilet without someone to
hold their hand.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">For instance, the
night I arrived I asked the clerk if the hotel had courtesy
toiletries – including a razor – for guests. She said, 'No.' The
next morning, I asked Tyler the same question. He said, 'Of course',
turned around, and pulled out a big drawer that was filled with
toiletry packets. Grabbed one and handed it to me.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The hotel had two
elevators. One was out of service during the duration of our stay.
Never saw a workman on it. The other elevator ran hot all day every
day.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Why was there no
workman on the elevator?
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is a failure of
management.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Embassy Suites. At
the corporate level, who is responsible for employee training? Fire
him.<sup><span style="font-family: DejaVu Serif, serif;">†</span></sup>
<i>Pour encourager les autres</i>. Find the best clerks in the
company – like Tyler – and ask them 1) what they do and 2) what
is their attitude about what they do. WTSD and drill it into every
clerk in the company. Same with shuttle drivers. Those drivers are
the first contact your guests have with your company. Do they
represent you well or ill?
</span></p>
<p class="sdfootnote" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><sup>†</sup> If you say 'We have no such position', then the
responsibility falls to the president. Fire him.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Best if you follow
each of these top performers with a videographer all day and record
everything they do so you can figure out what makes the great
emploees great and share that with others.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Embassy Suites
hotel manager must be doing something right to generate such loyalty
in employees like Tyler and Jon, but I did not see it.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The money question:
Will I book another stay at the Embassy Suites – SeaTac?
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">For Tyler, Jon,
Julia and the breakfast crew, and Maria, yes, I will. Great people
make a great experience. Maybe next time my wife will swim in the
pool.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Coming up: Reviews
of Dingfelder's Delicatessen and its food. That's right. Reviews.
Plural.
</span></p><br /><p></p>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-34336094456759382592023-11-10T01:32:00.000-06:002023-11-10T14:13:24.565-06:00Hawaiian Airlines – Good, Bad, and Ugly<p><span style="font-size: large;">"</span><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;">Next
time: Our trip to Seattle and Hawaiian Airlines good and bad.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;">
"</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">That was the end of
my last post. Time to fulfill that promise.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bunny and I flew
Hawaiian Airlines redeye on an Airbus 330 to Honolulu. Landed minutes
after 11am and collected our bags to pass through Customs. Surprised
to find Customs easy and the Customs officer friendly. She smiled the
whole time.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Got lost in the
airport. Finally made it to our next plane to fly to Seattle. TSA was
not fun.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Landed at SeaTac
airport after 10pm. Found the courtesy phone at curbside. Takes a
genius to figure out the hotel courtesy phone. Fortunately I am a
genius. Dialed up Embassy Suites SeaTac and their shuttle bus came
for us.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Good:</span></b></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">M, our flight
attendant, was the best thing about our flight from Honolulu to
Seattle. Only my stewardess on a Korean Air flight was equal to M.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">M was attentive,
helpful (suggested a way for me to get my bag into the overhead bin),
and cheerful (always smiled). We flew economy class, and a good
attendant makes a big difference.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">It is the people who
make an experience good or bad. M made my experience on that flight
good.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Bad:</span></b></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">I do not like Airbus
planes. The passenger space feels cheap to me. I had trouble finding
the earphone jack. Some A330s have it in the arm rest. Some have it
below the screen. When I got plugged in, I had to turn the jack in
the socket to get a connection. At Airbus, quality is job four
hundred eighty-seven.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The light switches
and the call switch are not intuitive. Any rational person – that
is, not a Frenchman – would place the switch next to the device. So
where did Airbus put 'em?
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the screen.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">That's right. Along
with the list of movies and cartoons available, there is an icon to
bring up the switches. In a previous life, I worked man-machine
interface design. I am qualified to judge this design.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is a FAIL.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hawaiian Airlines
in-flight food gets a C. Not a C+. I got a drink with the meal. When
I asked for water later, the attendant (not M) brought me a bottle
and said, "That will be four dollars."
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Look, Hawaiian Air,
rather than charge your customers for water, fire some executives. If
your executives are okay with the nickel and dime treatment, you need
to get rid of 'em anyway.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hawaiian Airlines
has in-flight video documentaries and in-flight magazine articles
about the lives of their employees doing good deeds in Hawaii.
Hawaiian Airlines has in-flight video documentaries about native
Hawaiian life.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">That is all well and
good.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">But it is wrong.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Seems to me that
Hawaiian Air is in the business of selling Hawaii. That is stupid.
People have already bought Hawaii. Hawaii is on my list of places to
go and visit for a while. How to get there? That is the question.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The head of Hawaiian
Air needs a two-by-four counseling session to remind him that he is
in the business of selling transportation. Seats on flights. Nothing
else.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">When I flew Hawaiian
Air, the attendants had the last row of seats screened off. These
seats were for use of the attendants. By my reckoning that was $4,200
lost. Woulda paid for my water.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Ugly: </b>
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">No real ugly but
asking four bucks for a bottle of water comes close.
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the end, the
question is this:
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Will I choose to fly
Hawaiian Air again?
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Maybe, but you can
bet and give odds that I will shop around.
</span></p>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-72637384271854255702023-11-03T20:26:00.000-05:002023-11-03T20:26:42.780-05:00What happened? <p><span style="font-family: georgia;">My record shows I made my last post February 2019. Been -- what? -- four and a half years and a bit. Why the delay? </span></p><p>First. </p><p>Wife opened her cafe. Working the cafe took all her time and money. Took all my time and a good portion of my money, too. After some months, got within spitting distance of breaking even. Then -- </p><p>Second. </p><p>The Great Wuhan Flu Epidemic hit. For those who believe the lie that the Wuhan Flu started with a bat in an open air market, please leave. </p><p>Well, that put an end to the cafe. Despite the shutdown of many restaurants, wife got a job as the chef in a company cafeteria. She liked the work, but the job had two drawbacks: long commute (hour and a half each way) and a crazy boss. The crazy boss is not an exaggeration. Turned out she had a brain tumor. When she got the diagnosis, she sold her business. That was -- what? -- September. So two months ago. </p><p>Wife signed up for some cooking courses to get new certifications. In the space between wife leaving her job and her first cooking course, we took a trip. </p><p>Next time: Our trip to Seattle and Hawaiian Airlines good and bad. </p>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-22181165328545167022015-08-01T06:31:00.000-05:002015-08-08T20:40:14.533-05:00The Trojan War For one week only, <b>The Trojan War</b> (part 1). Be of good cheer. Part 2 is coming soon.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Image result for trailing trojan asteroids images" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTvsrGW37xgHR0Ow7G5XBvx9xaWiwz6M7QEpD0PfSDaFppuj0slmw" width="600" /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>The
Trojan War</b><br />by h lynn keith</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
. . .is <i>gone!</i> Part 2 coming soon. (Wait for it.) </div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">TO
BE CONTINUED</span></div>
antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-60946418663064554952015-07-25T06:47:00.001-05:002015-07-25T06:47:54.315-05:00Apostate 2.2<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
<img src="http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/images/apostate-apostasy.jpg" width="600" /><br />
<br /></div>
Weeks have passed since my last post in the Apostate series. That is because I am going to do something I do not want to do.<br />
I am going to disagree with <a href="http://libbiehawker.com/" style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker</a>.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #292f33; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; white-space: pre-wrap;">"OMG I met the perfect guy! Maybe I can fix him." –Women
--@MensHumor (Twitter)</span></blockquote>
In my view, that quote encapsulates Libbie's paradigm. Libbie sees her hero as starting with a flaw. (She uses the word 'flaw' 155 times in <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Off-Your-Pants-Outline-ebook/dp/B00UKC0GHA/" style="color: blue;">Take Off Your Pants!</a></i>) The hero has two quests: 1) one to achieve an external goal (toss the ring into Mount Doom) and 2) another to overcome an internal flaw (give up the love of power). The hero fails to achieve the external goal until he has repaired his flaw, overcome his flaw, or grown beyond his flaw.<br />
One of those. I dunno.<br />
<br />
Libbie's paradigm is valid, and it works. I know it works. I have seen it over and over and over again in countless stories.<br />
But I find those stories cookie-cutter predictable and a little boring. And they feel 100% fake.<br />
<br />
Who is the hero of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D0ZQPqeJkk" style="color: blue;"><i>Star Wars</i></a>?<br />
If, like me, you are old enough to remember the movie as just <i style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D0ZQPqeJkk" style="color: blue;">Star Wars</a></i> and not as <i style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNbzSH84mj0" style="color: blue;">A New Hope</a></i>, you may think <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyqxWU1QkrE" style="color: blue;">Luke Skywalker</a> is the hero, and it is a coming-of-age story. But once you have the series -- either Episodes IV, V, and VI or Episodes I - VI -- according to Libbie's paradigm, the hero is clearly <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A94xPtf_iD0" style="color: blue;">AnakinSkywalker</a>, aka <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bzWSJG93P8" style="color: blue;">Darth Vader</a>.<br />
I don't buy it.<br />
<br />
In <i style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RFYoZ7H67A" style="color: blue;">The Return of the Jedi</a></i>, Darth Vader 'fixes' his flaw and defeats the Emperor. (Click the title for the clip to see how contrived the ending is.) At the beginning of the scene, Vader offers Luke a choice: join me or die. Five minutes later, paternal feeling arises and Vader saves Luke from death by flinging the evil (and needlessly ugly) Emperor to his doom. Flaw fixed. External goal -- return to the Light Side -- achieved. All is right with the galaxy.<br />
Really?<br />
<br />
When did Vader develop this paternal bond?<br />
Anakin Skywalker was not present when his children were born. He never held either in his arms when they were babes. He did not read to them while snuggled in blankets. He did not walk them to the park. He had no hand in their upbringing.<br />
Parenting is not instinctual. It is learned. The bond between parent and child is a chainmail shirt that is forged link by link, day by day.<br />
Vader never had it. George Lucas forced the ending to fit the paradigm.<br />
<br />
That Lucas's story fails is not an indictment of the paradigm. The paradigm of the 'flawed' hero can work.<br />
But it ain't for me.<br />
As I see it, people have strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes a trait that is a strength in on situation can be a weakness in another.<br />
<br />
There is a scene in <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2012/03/movie-review-john-carter.html" style="color: blue;">John Carter</a></i> that defines the man and the movie for me. John Carter dismounts and tells Sola to take Dejah Thoris to safety while he fights the Warhoon to buy them time. He says to Dejah, <b>"I was too late once. I won't be again."</b><br />
That's it. That is a man. That is a character.<br />
A man is defined not by some 'flaw' that he 'fixes' in an epiphany. No. He is defined by all the moments in his life that have gone before, and these build his character and motivate him to rise above the commonplace and fight.<br />
That is the message of <i style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ6zXDSgwIY" style="color: blue;">Robin Hood</a></i>: <i><b>Rise and rise again, until lambs become lions</b></i>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Helgeland" style="color: blue;">Brian Helgeland</a>'s version of Robin Hood's story is the best I have seen. It neatly explains the reason a nobleman, Robin Locksley, was capable with a yeoman's weapon, the longbow. But I ask you, at what point does Robin Hood overcome his internal flaw?<br />
He doesn't. He is as flawed at the end as he was at the beginning. But he follows the maxim his father chiseled into stone: <i><b>Rise and rise again, until lambs become lions</b></i>. And he wins.<br />
To beat a dead horse, what flaw did Sherlock Holmes overcome? As he was when each story began, so he was when each story ended. Okay, maybe he was a little more arrogant and disdainful of others, but flaw-fixing? Nah. That's not Sherlock's thing. (I'm talking about the original, the Basil Rathbone movies, the Jeremy Brett TV episodes, the Benedict Cumberbatch TV series, and the Robert Downey, Jr, movies. Not the TV series <i style="color: blue;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elementary_(TV_series)" style="color: blue;">Elementary</a></i> which tries to inject some flaw-fixing into Holmes. I pay little attention to it, but I do watch it, because I am a big fan of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_Liu" style="color: blue;">Lucy Liu</a>. I would watch this show just to see her walk into a room. Hey, you like what you want and I'll like what I want.)<br />
<br />
I say again, Libbie's approach is valid and you can use it to write some great stories. If you go down that road, your skeleton outline is right there in the book <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Off-Your-Pants-Outline-ebook/dp/B00UKC0GHA/" style="color: blue;">Take Off Your Pants!</a></i> All you have to do is add some meat here and there.<br />
But it ain't my way.<br />
<br />
I shall go back to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/2k-10k-Writing-Faster-Better-ebook/dp/B009NKXAWS/" style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron; </span><i style="color: blue;">2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better</i></a> and her three pronged approach: <i><b>knowledge, time, and enthusiasm</b></i>.<br />
Next time, Apostate 3.0.<br />
<br />
Stay tuned.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Happy trails.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HMqXdrUjEe8" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
Links to the posts in this series:<br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/06/apostate-21.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 2.1</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/06/apostate-20.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 2.0</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/06/apostate-14.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.4</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-13.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.3</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-12.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.2</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-11.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.1</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-10.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.0</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate-02.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 0.2</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate-01.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 0.1</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate</a><br />
<br />
Links to the books:<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/2k-10k-Writing-Faster-Better-ebook/dp/B009NKXAWS/" style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron; <i>2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better</i></a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Off-Your-Pants-Outline-ebook/dp/B00UKC0GHA/" style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker; </span><i>Take Off Your Pants!</i></a><br />
<br />
Links to the authors' websites:<br />
<a href="http://www.rachelaaron.net/" style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron</a><br />
<a href="http://libbiehawker.com/" style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker</a>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-70473709117774730682015-07-15T01:00:00.000-05:002015-07-15T01:00:01.700-05:00Coat<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 150%;"> coat</span><br />
<div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> That
was the first word I ever read. </span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> It
was the first hour of the first day of my first year of school. Like
my classmates, I sat obedient and quiet and happy and quite a bit
curious and more than a little excited in my seat. The teacher walked
by the desks and placed a book on each one, each book open to the
first page. I saw a picture of a winter coat on one side of the page
and another of a country road on the other side. Below each picture
was a collection of letters. I knew because I knew my letters from my
building blocks. </span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> All
the books distributed, the teacher stood before us and asked, "Who
can tell me what the first word is?" </span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> Jim
Morgan raised his hand. The teacher nodded to him and Jim said,
"Coat." </span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> In
that instant my world changed. I stared wide-eyed at that word. Coat.
I realized that the letters on my building blocks held a power
unknown to me before. I saw on that very page that there were other
words, and I wondered how many more words letters could make. </span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> My
parents were not readers. They grew up in hard times when all able
hands were needed to earn bread to feed the family. But they wanted
me to have the education circumstances denied them. They thought
books might help with that, and they were easy marks for an
encyclopedia salesman. They bought the World Book Encyclopedia (with
the yearly update subscription), Lands and Peoples (a multi-volume
geography), and the twenty-volume Book of Knowledge. They arranged
these books in a built-in bookcase in our living room and never
disturbed them. </span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> I
came home from my first day of school with the wonder of words still
gripping my imagination. I sat cross-legged on the floor in front of
the bookcase and pulled a book from the middle and opened it. There
on the page I saw flocks and herds and stampedes of words. I could
not read any of them, but I knew that would change. </span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> I
looked up at the books standing in the bookcase and I saw the future,
that I would learn the words and one day these books would yield me
their secrets. </span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> coat
</span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> That
was the first word I read. I never stopped. </span>
</div>
</div>
antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-52242457500086010492015-06-24T01:18:00.000-05:002015-06-24T01:18:23.822-05:00Revelations<br />
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<img src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRyIVbPNjP4esRTjxcPSTHwqpTlzvGIracYQOrJ-TCRa6G7XSWM" width="600" /></div>
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_deGrasse_Tyson" style="color: blue;">Neil deGrasse Tyson</a> is a man of faith.<br />
When I was flipping channels last week, I happened on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_deGrasse_Tyson" style="color: blue;">Neil deGrasse Tyson</a> in debate with a Jesuit priest over the difference between faith and science. At least that was the frame that Dr Tyson put on it. I wish I had a link to a clip of the show, but all my searches have turned up naught. If you have a link to the show, please leave it in a comment. Thank you.<br />
Anyway, Dr Tyson argued against faith and for science. Science, according to Dr Tyson, is based on evidence and reason. Faith, according to Dr Tyson, is based on assertion. Dr Tyson's argument boils down to <i style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaiSHcHM0PA" style="color: blue;">show me the money!</a></i><br />
Don't get me wrong. I like Neil Tyson. I think he is affable, personable, and likable. He has accomplished much. And he makes strong arguments.<br />
When arguing science against faith, it is necessary to know what 'science' is. 'Science' comes from the Latin '<i style="color: blue;"><a href="https://translate.google.com/#la/en/scientia" style="color: blue;">scientia</a></i>', meaning knowledge. The American Heritage Dictionary defines science as --<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
1. a. The observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena: <i>new advances in science and technology.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
b. Such activities restricted to a class of natural phenomena: <i>the science of astronomy.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
2. A systematic method or body of knowledge in a given area: <i>the science of marketing</i></blockquote>
Notice there is nothing in that definition about a search for truth. Science is not about the search for truth. Science is about the quest for knowledge. Knowledge is that which makes our universe comprehensible.<br />
Dr Tyson argued in favor of science. The priest answered by saying there are two ways to seek knowledge: 1) by systematic discovery (science) and 2) by revelation.<br />
At that point, I had to leave, so I turned off the TV. But the priest's answer planted a germ of thought in my widdle head.<br />
<br />
Knowledge by science. Knowledge by revelation.<br />
<br />
I meditated and pondered on the priest's answer for days. I have reached the conclusion that almost all our knowledge is gained by revelation.<br />
Put aside God and a Higher Power and Holy Scriptures and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita" style="color: blue;">Bhagavad Gita</a> and all that. Let us restrict ourselves to the subjects that are taught within the college of sciences at universities.<br />
How do you know the structure of DNA is a double helix?<br />
How do you know that a water molecule is composed of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen?<br />
How do you know that the Earth orbits the Sun?<br />
<br />
You know these things by revelation.<br />
<br />
Someone told you these things, presented them to you as established facts.<br />
Someone revealed these things to you.<br />
Let's take the last question: How do you know that the Earth orbits the Sun? Can you yourself demonstrate this without resort to any authority; that is, books or astronomers.<br />
Unless you are an astronomer yourself, you cannot. Astronomers themselves could not do so until 300 years ago when the optical quality of telescopes improved enough to give them good resolution. And the proof was not trivial and depended on the eccentricity of the orbit of Mars.<br />
Most of what we know, we know by revelation. Someone else has made the observations and changed humankind's view of the world. We have faith that that someone gave a true and honest report. If he did not . . . well, we are well and truly screwed.<br />
Albert Einstein depended upon the accuracy and honesty of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_A._Michelson" style="color: blue;">Albert Michelson</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_W._Morley" style="color: blue;">Edward Morley</a>. Einstein took the results of their experiment at face value and from those crafted his Theories of Relativity.<br />
What if Michelson and Morley had not been honest? What if, through no fault of their own, their instruments were inaccurate? What if the transcription of the results was in error? There is an historical example of errors in transcription.<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Nicolaus_Copernicus" style="color: blue;">Nicolaus Copernicus</a> was hampered by the fact that the astronomical tables he used to build his model of our planetary system were, in fact, wrong. Errors had crept in when the books were copied. Because everyone used the same tables, nobody realized that they were wrong until <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tycho_Brahe" style="color: blue;">Tycho Brahe</a> ordered <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Kepler" style="color: blue;">Johannes Kepler</a> to confirm their accuracy. (I suspect Brahe gave Kepler the assignment to punish him with the execution of a menial task. It is certain Brahe did not know that the results of the task would revolutionize astronomy.) (Despite what Wikipedia says, Copernicus did not put the Sun at the center of the planetary system. He put it <i>near</i> the center, but even the Sun orbited the center of the Copernican system.) For an exposition of how humankind stumbled to its current understanding of who-orbits-what see <a href="https://tofspot.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-great-ptolemaic-smackdown.html" style="color: blue;"><i>The Great Ptolemaic Smackdown</i></a> and <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www2.fiu.edu/~blissl/Flynngs.pdf" style="color: blue;">The Great Ptolemaic Smackdown and Down-and-Dirty-Mud-Wrassle</a></i>.<br />
The fact is that you cannot eyeball the Sun's path across the sky and by that and that alone determine that the Earth orbits the Sun rather than the other way around. No. You need observations of planets taken over a period of years to an accuracy of four decimal places combined with a philosophy that prefers one all-encompassing rule to six partial ones.<br />
It is doable, but it ain't easy.<br />
Which is why <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_deGrasse_Tyson" style="color: blue;">Neil deGrasse Tyson</a> is a man of faith. He has not done the observations and run the mathematics to show that a heliocentric model of our planetary system is preferable to a geocentric model. Someone told him it was so, and Dr Tyson believed him. Dr Tyson had faith.<br />
What if the guy was a self-serving liar? Or just had bad data?<br />
We live more by revelation than by science. It has always been so. It will always be so.<br />
As it was, is, and shall be, world without end. Amen.antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-73486360587374098722015-06-16T10:35:00.001-05:002015-06-16T10:59:43.123-05:00The sky is falling: Amazon changes the way it pays on Kindle Unlimited. In case you missed it -- and the odds are you did -- Amazon changed the terms of its payout to authors with works in Kindle Unlimited (KU) and Kindle Owners' Lending Library (KOLL). For convenience, I shall refer to KU and KOLL together as KU.<br />
What was it before?<br />
Before, if a reader read more that 10% of a work -- in essence, the 'LOOK INSIDE' portion plus one more word -- that read qualified the work as a 'borrow'. Five readers read the same work past the 10% mark, that made for five borrows. For the author, each borrow earned a portion of the KU pie; that is, a portion of the monies that Amazon allocated from KU subscriptions to pay authors who entered into the KU arrangement. I shall steal from <a href="https://bradvanceerotica.wordpress.com/2015/06/15/the-end-of-days-or-the-beginning-kindle-unlimited-makes-big-changes/" style="color: blue;">Brad Vance</a> and call these monies BorrowBux.<br />
I and many others noticed that the Great and Powerful 'Zon did not distinguish among borrows. A borrow of my <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Skid-short-story-science-fiction-ebook/dp/B007WHDIMG/" style="color: blue;">Skid Row 'Bots</a></i> (14 pages) counted as much as a borrow of <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/War-Peace-Translated-Volokhonsky-Classics-ebook/dp/B005JSZJVS/" style="color: blue;">War and Peace</a></i> (1,298 pages) (not to be confused with <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1131019/" style="color: blue;">Warren Piece</a>, about whom, the less said, the better). The Great and Powerful 'Zon had biased the game in favor of short stories. My reaction was to leave my short stories in KU and withdraw my novels. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAEpLMTjCC8" style="color: blue;">I got a feeling I'm not the only one.</a><br />
How much each borrow earned Amazon determined by dividing that month's BorrowBux by the total number of borrows of all titles enrolled in KU. Each month's BorrowBux amount has been significantly north of $10 million. The consensus among authors was that each borrow earned $1.33 to $1.35 depending on the month. A good deal for any work priced south of $2.99. A bad deal for any work priced at or north of there.<br />
The amount of monthly BorrowBux is noteworthy for a program that started July 2014 and costs $9.99 a month for each subscriber. Eyeball the numbers and you can see that Amazon has enrolled a million subscribers and then some.<br />
The question in my mind is whether the Great and Powerful 'Zon was satisfied with a million subscribers and then some. I'm thinking not.<br />
I'm thinking the Great and Powerful 'Zon wants to move that number up. I'm also thinking a library of short stories ain't gonna make that happen.<br />
<br />
I'm going to step off this logic carousel and catch it at another location. Fear not. I shall put all this together.<br />
<br />
Among KU authors . . . well, among <i>some</i> KU authors there is much crying and moaning and gnashing of teeth. 'Zon changes one thing and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-gf29nuYYA" style="color: blue;">everyone loses their minds</a>. "Why, the Great and Powerful 'Zon gave us only two weeks notice of the change! We can't change our business plan that fast! The Great and Powerful 'Zon shoulda woulda coulda given us six weeks notice. Then we would be able to adapt."<br />
<i style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yopNkcDzQQw" style="color: blue;">Cry Me a River.</a> </i><br />
July 2014 KU was not there. August 2014 it was. You adapted. So did I. Adapt now or die.<br />
Me? I'm surprised Amazon futzed up KU with BorrowBux per borrows to begin with. From the beginning, everybody could see that pay-per-borrow skewed the game in favor of short stories. Why did 'Zon do it that way?<br />
Have you ever worked on a large, I mean truly large software project? I have. Did it deliver when scheduled?<br />
I think the Great and Powerful 'Zon wanted to launch KU to compete with <a href="https://www.scribd.com/" style="color: blue;">Scribd</a> and <a href="https://www.oysterbooks.com/" style="color: blue;">Oyster</a>. The original design was to pay by pages read, the system KU will go to starting July 2015. But the Great and Powerful 'Zon could not get the software to work by the launch date. So the minions of the Great and Powerful 'Zon threw together this pay-by-the-borrow kluge which they could get to work by the launch date. And after it launched, the minions returned to work on the original design. Now that they have it working, the Great and Powerful 'Zon is taking it public. I think the Great and Powerful 'Zon wanted to make the switch yesterday, but that would have turned June into an accounting nightmare. Instead, 'Zon did the next best thing: first of next month.<br />
You get that, kiddies? The pay-by-the-borrow was a caterpillar. The pay-by-the-page is a butterfly. KU was never meant to be a caterpillar. It was always supposed to be a butterfly. The period from its inception to now was just chrysalis.<br />
<br />
Now another location on the logic carousel.<br />
<br />
The Great and Powerful 'Zon is seen by many and most to be solely concerned with its customers. "Customer first, last, and always." From this perspective, this move is incomprehensible.<br />
<a href="http://www.thepassivevoice.com/06/2015/kindle-unlimited-pages-read/#comments" style="color: blue;">Some (Alan Tucker)</a> say 'Zon changed to answer 'KU subscribers . . . complain[ts] about all the short trash that's been accumulating . . . in the KU pool'. Really? Show me the data.<br />
Besides, if that were true there are cheaper and more direct ways to clean out the trash. 'Short stories, outa the pool.' 'You must be this tall to ride this ride.'<br />
Or at the far end, 'Okay, you got a borrow. Your work is X pages long. You will be paid for X pages portion of the total number of borrow-pages as we -- the Great and Powerful 'Zon -- define the total.'<br />
I don't see how changing the way KU authors get paid directly improves the lot of the KU subscribers. I have strong doubts that 'Zon going to see a great flood of novel-length works entering into KU in July 2015. Looking at 'Zon's previous pattern of behavior, I have Herakles-strong doubts that such ideas cast even a shadow on 'Zon's thoughts.<br />
Why did the Great and Powerful 'Zon do this? Doing this now means change. Whenever change happens, some win and some lose. Win or lose, many gripe. (A side thought: This is the most remarkable thing about Apple. Apple changes crap all the time, and nobody gripes. Instead, they got fanboys camping out like they were buying tickets for the Rolling Stones Steel Wheelchair Tour, waiting in line to buy an iPhone 6. Man, if Apple could bottle that magic and sell it as perfume, they would drive Chanel out of business.)<br />
I'm just spitballing here, but I got a thought:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
'Zon changed to pay-per-page-read because it's the right thing to do. </blockquote>
Who denies that that is fair? It's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2l4bz1FT8U" style="color: blue;">Truth, Justice, and the American Way!</a><br />
We have become so cynical that we mistake virtue for vice. Shame on us. (Yeah, I know, corporations cannot have virtue, but do not mistake for one second that the soul of the Great and Powerful 'Zon is Jeff Bezos. Jeff Bezos is a man, and men may have honor.)<br />
<br />
By now you have figured out that the Great and Powerful 'Zon means to pay you for each page read. That fee per page is going to be really, really tiny, so you need to get a lot of pages read to keep the money flowing your way. How do you do that?<br />
You could work your ass off trying to <a href="https://bradvanceerotica.wordpress.com/2015/06/15/the-end-of-days-or-the-beginning-kindle-unlimited-makes-big-changes/" style="color: blue;">jigger the system</a>.<br />
Or you could write the best story you know how and give it life. Put it in KU, don't put it in KU. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt_gr1zah14" style="color: blue;">What difference at this point does it make?</a><br />
Maybe it makes a difference.<br />
The consensus is that, in order to take advantage of the pay-for-page-read schema, you want to write page-turners. That means <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilton_Company" style="color: blue;">Chilton Publishing</a> and their car-repair manuals are out of the picture. Oops! Chilton is out anyway because the company is dead. But while it was alive and kicking, besides giving me the info I needed to work on my <a href="http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h65/tbcboo/P1000442.jpg" style="color: blue;">Audi</a>, it managed to publish two Hugo nominees and one Hugo and Nebula winner, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(novel)" style="color: blue;"><i>Dune</i></a>. (Rejected 88 times by conventional publishers, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Herbert" style="color: blue;">Frank Herbert</a> had to turn to the publisher of frelling <i>car-repair manuals</i> to get his book into print. All you defenders of traditional publishers -- I'm looking right at you Mike Shatzkin -- suck it.)<br />
Who are the <a href="http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Kurchatovium" style="color: blue;">kurchatovium</a> readers?<br />
They are the voracious ones, the ever-hungry. I bet they read two books or more a month, 'cause otherwise the subscription is not economic. They may read bestsellers, but they read more than just bestsellers.<br />
For KU, LitFic looks like a dead end. Who reads two books a month by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Henry_James" style="color: blue;">Henry James</a> anyway?<br />
Genre will be king. Romance will thrive; on the slow side, the readers of romance consume a book a week. Mystery/Suspense/Thrillers will do well. So will space opera and other scifi. And Fantasy.<br />
Maybe Westerns will stage a comeback.<br />
Erotica will earn its keep.<br />
<br />
Before I wrap this up, a word about how the Great and Powerful 'Zon counts pages.<br />
I use typesetter's count: 250 words to a page. Makes it easy to figure: 1,000 words = 4 pages.<br />
'Zon does not use typesetter's count. My count for <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Skid-short-story-science-fiction-ebook/dp/B007WHDIMG/" style="color: blue;">Skid Row 'Bots</a></i> is 14 pages. That is also 'Zon's count. But my count for <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Stone-h-lynn-keith-ebook/dp/B006K99PQA/" style="color: blue;">Heart of Stone</a></i> is 412 pages (novel) + 36 pages (bonus short story) + 5 pages (excerpt); 'Zon's count for everything is 307.<br />
As near as I can determine, 'Zon counts 325 words to a page. This is what I call editor's count 'cause that's the word count that <a href="http://www.ericflint.net/" style="color: blue;">Eric Flint</a>, the senior editor at <a href="http://baen.com/" style="color: blue;">Baen Books</a>, uses. It turns out to be the word count per page for mass market paperbacks.<br />
If you have a different estimate of 'Zon's word count, leave me a comment.<br />
<br />
That's it.<br />
Now you know<br />
1) how Amazon used to (and through this month, still does) figure each KU authors share of the BorrowBux;<br />
2) how Amazon is going to figure shares of BorrowBux;<br />
3) that Amazon always meant to pay this way but, you know, shyte happened;<br />
4) this is the right way to pay;<br />
5) that like as not, genre books will clean up with the changed schema; and<br />
6) that Amazon counts 325 words to a page.<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saQJ8z4714w" style="color: blue;">That's all folks!</a>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-90182612604983680072015-06-14T06:00:00.000-05:002015-06-14T06:00:02.762-05:00Apostate 2.1 <div style="text-align: center;">
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
<img src="http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/images/apostate-apostasy.jpg" width="600" /><br />
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I shall not comment on the 'outline' method in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Off-Your-Pants-Outline-ebook/dp/B00UKC0GHA/" style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker; </span><i style="color: blue;">Take Off Your Pants!</i></a> To do so, will be to give it all away. If you want to know, buy the book.<br />
Libbie's method is, to my mind, not an outline. It is a structured way to conceive a character-driven book. There are other ways, but Libbie's way is good.<br />
What I choose to write about this time is<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Antagonist.</span></div>
<br />
"How do you determine your [main] character's key antagonist? His external goal will reveal the antagonist to you. <i>The antagonist is always the person who is most heavily invested in achieving the same external goal.</i>" --Libbie Hawker, <i>Take Off Your Pants!</i> (LH, <i>TOYP!</i>) (italics in the original)<br />
<br />
I swallowed that whole for two seconds, but it came back up in a heartbeat. Counter-examples flooded into my mind. Within a few lines, Libbie contradicted herself.<br />
<br />
[In the book <i>Lolita</i>] "Humbert's goal is to possess Lolita. Lolita's goal is to achieve and maintain autonomy." --LH, <i>TOYP!</i><br />
<br />
Humbert's goal is not the same as Lolita's goal. Libbie herself sees that:<br />
<br />
"The conflict between them is clear . . . ." --LH, <i>TOYP!</i><br />
<br />
Your protagonist and your antagonist need not have the same goal. Likely they will not. But their goals must conflict and not a little. A lot. To the point that achievement of one precludes achievement of the other. Maybe to the point that achievement of one requires someone to die.<br />
<br />
Anyway, Libbie got me thinking. What makes the antagonist? Not <i>an</i> antagonist, but <i>the</i> antagonist.<br />
<br />
The antagonist is the one whose goal conflicts with and precludes the goal of the protagonist.<br />
<br />
Okay. What makes a 'good' antagonist?<br />
Let me think about this a little. Or maybe a lot.<br />
Start with the protag. I want a protag that the reader can identify with and empathize with. I want the reader to feel he walks in the protag's shoes as the story moves forward.<br />
How does that help me define the antag?<br />
I want an antag that the reader can also identify with and empathize with. I want the reader to think 'There but for the grace of God go I.'<br />
My go-to source for examples of what works and what does not in fiction is <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_SG-1" style="color: blue;">Stargate SG-1</a></span>. I shall cite to it again and again in this post. I shall cite other works, too, but <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_SG-1" style="color: blue;">Stargate SG-1</a> provides on-the-nose examples of everything right and wrong with protags and antags.<br />
The first thing I can think of when I think about antags is that the antag has to want something. If the antag does not want something, who cares?<br />
SG-1 tried this to some degree with the Replicators. The Replicators debuted in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemesis_(Stargate_SG-1)" style="color: blue;"><i>Nemesis</i></a> (season 3 episode 22). The Replicators want to consume everything in order to make more replicators. The protag does not want to be consumed. I think the conflict is simple. And thin. It does not generate a lot of complex relations. You destroy the Replicators or they destroy you.<br />
I cannot identify with nor empathize with Replicators. Can you?<br />
Perhaps more to the point is the movie <i style="color: blue;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K2_(film)" style="color: blue;">K2</a></i>. It is a man-against-nature story. A bunch of guys scale K2. They deal (or not) with their interpersonal problems along the way but man-to-man interactions pale beside the struggle to stay alive. Who is their antag? The mountain. What does the mountain want? Nothing. And the film fell into a crevasse at the box office.<br />
I cannot identify with nor empathize with a mountain. Can you?<br />
Or let's take <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Hemingway" style="color: blue;">Ernest Hemingway</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Old-Man-Sea-Ernest-Hemingway-ebook/dp/B000FC0SH8/" style="color: blue;"><i>The Old Man and the Sea</i></a>. Man against the Fates, with the Sea standing in for the Fates. Who identifies with the sea? No one. I read this once. Once was enough, Nobel or no.<br />
I cannot identify with nor empathize with the sea. Can you?<br />
<br />
Thus --<br />
1) The antag must have a goal he strives for, and that goal must conflict with the protag's goal so much that the achievement of one precludes the achievement of the other.<br />
<br />
Is that enough?<br />
No.<br />
Even if all the members have the same goal, nobody can do antag by committee.<br />
SG-1 tried to do antag by committee with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ori_(Stargate)" style="color: blue;">Ori</a>. The Ori first appeared in season 9 and by season 10 they succeeded in killing the show. For the same reason, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_Atlantis" style="color: blue;">Stargate Atlantis</a> (SGA) started from the get-go with shackles on its feet. The antag in SGA was the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wraith_(Stargate)" style="color: blue;">Wraith</a>, a race of beings who were, in essence, vampires. I never saw enough difference from one Wraith to another to distinguish the two. They were not separate beings. They were clones.<br />
Antag by committee did not work for SG-1 and did not work for SGA. Antag by committee does not work ever. I cannot identify with nor empathize with a committee. Can you? The antag can have minions who do his bidding -- <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauron" style="color: blue;">Sauron</a> in <i style="color: blue;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings" style="color: blue;">The Lord of the Rings</a></i> had thousands -- but "in the end, there can be only one."<br />
Antagonist is singular, not plural.<br />
<br />
Thus --<br />
1) The antag must have a goal he strives for, and that goal must conflict with the protag's goal so much that the achievement of one precludes the achievement of the other; and<br />
2) The antag must be an individual, not a committee or a group.<br />
<br />
<i style="color: blue;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey_(film)" style="color: blue;">2001: A Space Odyssey</a></i>; <i style="color: blue;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus:_The_Forbin_Project" style="color: blue;">Colossus: The Forbin Project</a></i>; <i style="color: blue;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_The_Motion_Picture" style="color: blue;">Star Trek: The Motion Picture</a></i>; and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Dean_Foster" style="color: blue;">Alan Dean Foster</a>, <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2012/05/odd-thoughts-mocking-program.html" style="color: blue;">The Mocking Program</a></i>. What do these movies (and one book) have in common.<br />
The antag is a machine.<br />
In each case, the machine fails to satisfy as an antagonist. Have you heard of <i>The Mocking Program</i>? Did you enjoy <i>Star Trek: The Motion Picture</i>? Will you pay to see <i>Colossus</i> again? Even <i>2001</i> is not known for its antag but for its visuals. What did you feel when <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Odyssey#Characters" style="color: blue;">Dave</a> overcame <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAL_9000" style="color: blue;">HAL</a>? (BTW wanna know where HAL came from? For each letter in HAL, take the next letter in the alphabet. <img alt="*;) winking" class="yahoo-ignore-inline-image" src="https://s.yimg.com/ok/u/assets/img/emoticons/emo3.gif" style="background-color: white; border: none; cursor: pointer !important; font-family: garamond, 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 24px;" title="*;) winking" />) I was a kid when I saw <i>2001</i> and I felt nothing when Dave took out HAL. Not triumph, not excitement, not elation. Nothing.<br />
But wait, you say. What about <i style="color: blue;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Terminator" style="color: blue;">The Terminator</a></i>? you say.<br />
Good point. In fact, great point. Great point because the Terminator started with a human form and ended with a machine form. When it had human form, I identified with it when it busted up that biker bar. When the lights went out on the machine under that hydraulic press, what did I feel? Nothing.<br />
I cannot identify with nor empathize with a machine. Can you?<br />
Which leads back to SG-1. In their native state, the Goa'uld are short extra-terrestrial rattlesnakes. In their native state, they are dangerous to each other and little more. But once one inhabits a host, he is dangerous to all the inhabits of the galaxy. The Goa'uld are <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Puppet-Masters-Robert-Heinlein-ebook/dp/B00APA1EN2/" style="color: blue;">The Puppet Masters</a></i>. In appearance, the Goa'uld are no longer short extra-terrestrial rattlesnakes. In appearance, they are their hosts.<br />
SG-1 began its two-hour pilot with <a href="http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Apophis" style="color: blue;">Apophis</a> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Williams_(actor)" style="color: blue;">Peter Williams</a>), a Goa'uld system lord. Before the pilot was over, Apophis became the antagonist for SG-1 and remained so for two seasons. Yeah, during those two seasons, there were episodes in which Apophis did not appear (for examples, <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.gateworld.net/sg1/s1/103.shtml" style="color: blue;">Emancipation</a></i>, <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.gateworld.net/sg1/s1/106.shtml" style="color: blue;">Cold Lazarus</a></i>), but even when he did not appear his presence loomed over SG-1. I knew SG-1 would return to the fight against Apophis.<br />
Peter Williams's portrayal of Apophis was masterful. Handsome, charismatic, disdainful, powerful, and evil. He cared not at all for others. Do not underestimate the point that Apophis was handsome and charismatic. Given these traits, I saw why some would follow him. Peter Williams played a god and looked the part. He inhabited the role.<br />
Peter Williams made SG-1.<br />
<br />
I cannot identify with nor empathize with a short extra-terrestrial rattlesnake, but I can identify with and empathize with the inhabited host. <br />
We have a winner.<br />
<br />
Could SG-1's antag have been done differently?<br />
They tried. All other attempts failed. (That the writers tried other means <i>after</i> they succeeded with Apophis tells me that they were jackpot-lucky the first time. They did not know what they were doing or why it was working, so they did not know why they failed.)<br />
After the writers killed off Apophis, they tried antag by rotation: here a Goa'uld system lord, there a Goa'uld system lord, everywhere a Goa'uld system lord. Male and female they tried, skipping from one to another each week.<br />
Didn't work.<br />
Then they tried the faceless menace of <a href="http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Anubis" style="color: blue;">Anubis</a>. Even the Goa'uld feared him. Or so it was said. Me? What did I think? He was a faceless bogie-man in a hoodie.<br />
Didn't work.<br />
Screw him. I've faced scary things on the streets of Oakland.<br />
Once they tossed Anubis onto the trash pile of forgotten nemeses, the writers descended into the pointless insanity of faceless evil by committee, the Ori. I doubt that Apophis himself could have saved the show once it covered itself in that abomination.<br />
Didn't work.<br />
<i style="color: blue;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farscape" style="color: blue;">Farscape</a></i> did much the same thing. When <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Farscape_characters#Bialar_Crais" style="color: blue;">Crais</a> defected to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Farscape_characters#Moya" style="color: blue;">Moya</a> I knew the show was dead. I just did not know how long it would take for the rot to become apparent.<br />
<br />
Thus --<br />
1) The antag must have a goal he strives for, and that goal must conflict with the protag's goal so much that the achievement of one precludes the achievement of the other;<br />
2) The antag must be an individual, not a committee or a group; and<br />
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3) The antag must show a handsome human face. </div>
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This lays open the question 'Can the antag be a woman?' </div>
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SG-1 tried women as the antag time and again after they offed Apophis when they were doing the round-robin nemesis-of-the-week bit. </div>
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Didn't work. </div>
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I cannot think of a single franchise in which the antag was a woman. Star Wars, X-Men, Batman, Mission Impossible, Hannibal, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter. Even when there was a woman baddie (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_Ivy_(comics)" style="color: blue;">Poison Ivy</a> in Batman), she never carried the load of evil alone. There was always a male antag to share the load. </div>
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Protags are another story. Lots of women protags. But that's another post. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Thus endeth the reading from the Book of Antagonists According to Antares. </div>
<br />
Stay tuned.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Happy trails.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HMqXdrUjEe8" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
Links to the posts in this series:<br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/06/apostate-20.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 2.0</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/06/apostate-14.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.4</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-13.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.3</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-12.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.2</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-11.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.1</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-10.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.0</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate-02.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 0.2</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate-01.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 0.1</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate</a><br />
<br />
Links to the books:<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/2k-10k-Writing-Faster-Better-ebook/dp/B009NKXAWS/" style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron; <i>2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better</i></a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Off-Your-Pants-Outline-ebook/dp/B00UKC0GHA/" style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker; </span><i>Take Off Your Pants!</i></a><br />
<br />
Links to the authors' websites:<br />
<a href="http://www.rachelaaron.net/" style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron</a><br />
<a href="http://libbiehawker.com/" style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker</a>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-28002252960512914642015-06-10T19:00:00.000-05:002015-06-10T19:00:11.144-05:00Apostate 2.0 <div style="text-align: center;">
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This post, I shall write about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Off-Your-Pants-Outline-ebook/dp/B00UKC0GHA/" style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker; </span><i style="color: blue;">Take Off Your Pants!</i></a><br />
Like <a href="http://www.rachelaaron.net/" style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron</a>, <a href="http://libbiehawker.com/" style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker</a> has a construct with three legs.<br />
Rachel's three legs: 1) knowledge, 2) time, and 3) enthusiasm. According to Rachel, if I have these then I will write faster. I tried this and reported the results in <a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-13.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.3</a>. Yeah, it helped me write faster. Significantly faster.<br />
Libbie's three legs: 1) Character Arc, 2) Theme, and 3) Pacing. (Caps in the original.)<br />
According to Libbie, these three are the elements of an effective outline.<br />
When I read that, a sizable part of my brain said, "No."<br />
Note that plot is not included. She explains that by saying "[P]lot is not the same thing as story -- at least, not within the context of this book, or within the practice of outlining."<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">?</span></div>
To Libbie, story is all about 'character growth'. Just so's you know, growth means a change of attitude in a way that the author finds better. After all, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" style="color: blue;">Adolf Hitler</a> changed over time, but the view of the majority now is that he changed for worse, not better. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Keller#Political_activities" style="color: blue;">Helen Keller</a> changed, too. She became a radical Socialist and supported <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_V._Debs" style="color: blue;">Eugene Debs</a> for president. Not just once. Many times. (Betcha didn't know that, didya?)<br />
Well, I read that and I thought, "Chick lit." Libbie's telling me not how to write faster but how to write chick lit. That's fine.<br />
But I don't write chick lit.<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Scott_Card" style="color: blue;">Orson Scott Card</a> says there are four kinds of stories and the mnemonic to remember them is MICE: 1) milieu, 2) idea, 3) character, and 4) event. All are present in a story, but one dominates. According to Libbie, character should dominate. Always.<br />
Nonsense.<br />
I just finished <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Patrice-Sarath/e/B0026BRPTK/" style="color: blue;">Patrice Sarath</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gordath-Wood-Ace-Fantasy-Book-ebook/dp/B001BJUZW2/" style="color: blue;"><i>Gordath Wood</i></a>. It is all about the milieu; that is, the world on the other side of the gordath. Maybe Patrice thinks it is about the characters, but it is not. How do I know that? Once the characters escape through the gordath, once they return to their world, the story is over. Any character change that happened was incidental to or directly driven by the effort to return.<br />
OSC says that Lord of the Rings is a milieu story. Yeah, Frodo or Bilbo or Dildo or whatever-his-name-is undergoes some personal change, so some will say it is a character-driven story. There is a quest and lots of things happen, so some will say it is an event-driven story. But the story ends with the end of Middle Earth. It is a milieu-driven story.<br />
For the same reason, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars" style="color: blue;">Star Wars</a> saga-in-six-parts is a milieu-driven story. The Empire rises; the Empire falls. And the story ends.<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov" style="color: blue;">Isaac Asimov</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spell_My_Name_with_an_S" style="color: blue;"><i>Spell My Name with an S</i></a> is an idea-driven story. The idea is that large consequences may follow from small events. The same idea drives <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Bradbury" style="color: blue;">Ray Bradbury</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Sound_of_Thunder" style="color: blue;"><i>A Sound of Thunder</i></a>. Once the idea is expounded, the story ends. Likewise, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clockwork_Orange_(film)" style="color: blue;"><i>A Clockwork Orange</i></a> is idea-driven.<br />
Now we come to character-driven stories.<br />
I expect that all of Libbie's works are character driven. All coming-of-age stories are character driven. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Haldeman" style="color: blue;">Joe Haldeman</a>, <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/All-Sins-Remembered-Joe-Haldeman-ebook/dp/B00PI1858A/" style="color: blue;">All My Sins Remembered</a></i> is character-driven. The separate parts are event-driven, but the book as a whole traces the changes in Otto McGavin. I modeled <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Stone-h-lynn-keith-ebook/dp/B006K99PQA/" style="color: blue;">Heart of Stone</a></i> after AMSR, but I bet you cannot guess who is the character that changes. Character-driven movies abound: <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_by_Me_(film)" style="color: blue;">Stand by Me</a></i>, <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Harry_Met_Sally..." style="color: blue;">When Harry Met Sally...</a></i>, and <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dances_with_Wolves" style="color: blue;">Dances with Wolves</a></i> to name three. Make it four: <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Durham" style="color: blue;">Bull Durham</a></i>.<br />
Last there are event-driven stories: guy lit. All the detective stories ever written are event-driven. Sherlock Holmes. Hercule Poirot. Nero Wolfe. Nick Charles. Peter Gunn. Jim Rockford. These characters never changed. They just found themselves thrown into threatening situations (events), and they figured out a way to succeed. Movies? <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission:_Impossible_(film)" style="color: blue;">Mission Impossible</a>, </i><i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fast_and_the_Furious_(2001_film)" style="color: blue;">The Fast and the Furious</a>, </i><i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shawshank_Redemption" style="color: blue;">The Shawshank Redemption</a>.</i><br />
It is clear to me that if I follow Libbie's three-legged construct, I shall be limited to character-driven stories. I don't want that.<br />
I will read further, but, as of this writing, I'm sticking with Rachel Aaron 's triad: knowledge, time, enthusiasm.<br />
<br />
Stay tuned.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Happy trails.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HMqXdrUjEe8" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
Links to the posts in this series:<br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/06/apostate-14.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.4</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-13.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.3</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-12.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.2</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-11.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.1</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-10.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.0</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate-02.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 0.2</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate-01.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 0.1</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate</a><br />
<br />
Links to the books:<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/2k-10k-Writing-Faster-Better-ebook/dp/B009NKXAWS/" style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron; <i>2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better</i></a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Off-Your-Pants-Outline-ebook/dp/B00UKC0GHA/" style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker; </span><i style="color: blue;">Take Off Your Pants!</i></a><br />
<br />
Links to the authors' websites:<br />
<a href="http://www.rachelaaron.net/" style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron</a><br />
<a href="http://libbiehawker.com/" style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker</a>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-69358975866477224032015-06-06T19:00:00.000-05:002015-06-06T19:00:12.362-05:00eBook Review: Beat the Last Drum redux<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Fleming_(historian)" style="color: blue;">Thomas Fleming</a>, <i><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U2MF8WG/" style="color: blue;">Beat the Last Drum: The Siege of Yorktown</a> </b></i></span><br />
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<li style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><b>File Size:</b> 3851 KB</li>
<li style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><b>Print Length:</b> 278 pages</li>
<li style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><b>Simultaneous Device Usage:</b> Unlimited</li>
<li style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><b>Publisher:</b> New Word City, Inc.; 1 edition (February 26, 2015)</li>
<li id="sold-by-merchant" style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><b>Sold by:</b> Amazon Digital Services, Inc.</li>
<li style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><b>Language:</b> English</li>
<li style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><b>ASIN:</b> B00U2MF8WG</li>
<li style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><b>Text-to-Speech:</b> Enabled</li>
<li style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><b>X-Ray:</b> Enabled</li>
<li style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><b>Word Wise:</b> Not Enabled</li>
<li style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><b>Lending:</b> Enabled</li>
<li style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><b>Average Customer Review:</b> 4.4 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)</li>
<li style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><b>Price:</b> $2.99 </li>
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1. Short review: <img alt="*:D big grin" height="25" src="https://s.yimg.com/ok/u/assets/img/emoticons/emo31.gif" style="background-color: white; border: none; cursor: pointer !important; font-family: garamond, 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 24px;" title="*:D big grin" /> (Amazon rating: 5 out of 5 stars -- I love it. Have read it twice.)<br />
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2. Long review:<br />
2.1. What I liked: I enjoyed <i style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U2MF8WG/" style="color: blue;">Beat the Last Drum</a></i> the second time <i>more</i> than I did the first. IMO this is a superbly written history.<br />
Roller-coaster or walk-in-the-park? A roller coaster punctuated with walks in the park.<br />
Outstanding value for the money. Easily worth ten times the price I paid.<br />
<br />
2.2. What I did not like: Does not apply. First to last, it's good.<br />
<br />
2.3. On the basis of reading this book, will I buy the author's next book? Yes.<br />
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2.4. The work in a nutshell:<br />
TF gave his history immediacy with quotes from journals and letters written by American, French, and English generals and sergeants, too. He included letters from German troops pressed into service for England.<br />
At sea: The Comte de Grasse snuck the entire French fleet through the Bahamas straits to surprise the British at Chesapeake Bay. Admiral Graves thoroughly screwed up the Battle of the Capes; his rear squadron -- commanded by Hood -- never got into action because of the way Graves drew up the battle.<br />
Graves retreated to New York to repair his ships. The day his fleet returned to sea, Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown.<br />
On land: Cornwallis's army staggered through Virginia. He kicked Continental butt whenever and wherever he engaged the army under the command of Lafayette. He pitched camp at Yorktown and Gloucester (on the north side of the river) and fortified his position to await supplies and reinforcements Clinton promised him.<br />
Cornwallis was secure in the knowledge that Washington's army possessed only field artillery -- 4-, 6-, and 12-pounder guns.<br />
But he was wrong.<br />
French Admiral de Barras brought heavy siege guns to America. Plus the Allies stripped guns from a frigate. For the first time since the siege of Boston, the Continental Army had all the artillery -- and ammo -- it wanted.<br />
The British maintained two large armies in America: Clinton's army in New York and Cornwallis's in Virginia. Washington spent the summer shadowing Clinton's forces in New York City. TF hints that Washington obsessed over New York because of his defeat there years before.<br />
In August, Washington decided to march south to confront Cornwallis. He was persuaded to choose that course because de Grasse's time on the American coast was limited, and Virginia was closer to the French naval base in the Caribbean than New York. The choice of Virginia gave Washington more time with naval support.<br />
Washington and Rochambeau marched south to join Lafayette and Steuben. The Allied army besieged Cornwallis and surprised him when their heavy guns opened fire. At one point, the Allies fired 150 rounds an hour for days on end. Yorktown ceased to exist. The Brits were living in holes dug into the ground. Their ships and boats in the harbor were sunk. 17 October 1781 Cornwallis opened negotiations for surrender. Two days later, the Redcoats and their German mercenaries marched out, stacked arms, and became prisoners of war.<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2.5. Other: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The personal side of Yorktown. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Americans: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington" style="color: blue;">George Washington</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">: After Yorktown, GW returned to New York and continued to shadow the British army there. He also returned to the Sisyphean tasks of feeding, clothing, arming, and paying his army. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_du_Motier,_Marquis_de_Lafayette" style="color: blue;">Lafayette</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">: Lafayette held his commission from the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Congress" style="color: blue;">Continental Congress</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and commanded American troops. He returned to France, fought </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">for</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> the revolutionists, and still spent a decade in a French prison. In 1824, he returned to the United States and was feted wherever he went. By law, Lafayette and his male descendants are American citizens. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Laurens" style="color: blue;">John Laurens</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">: Washington sent Laurens to France to get money by loan, gift, or graft. Laurens got most but not all the money. Washington sent Laurens to negotiate Cornwallis's surrender terms. Laurens had served under General </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Lincoln" style="color: blue;">Benjamin Lincoln</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> when the Continental Army surrendered Charleston, SC, after a six-week siege and had marched out denied the honors of war. He denied them to Cornwallis. Laurens died in a small unit action the following year. Pity. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Wilhelm_von_Steuben" style="color: blue;">Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">: Steuben was known as a disciplinarian and exacting taskmaster, but the men in his command loved him, because he spent his own money to care for them. Unpaid by the </span><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rascal" style="color: blue;">Continental Congress</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, he sold his horse to finance a celebration dinner for French officers. He left the Continental Army in broken health and bankrupt. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The British: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Cornwallis,_1st_Marquess_Cornwallis" style="color: blue;">Charles Cornwallis</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">: After Yorktown, Cornwallis fought two successful campaigns in India. Named the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and suppressed an Irish rebellion in 1798. Never lost a battle before Yorktown and never lost again. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Clinton_(American_War_of_Independence)" style="color: blue;">Henry Clinton</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">: Dithered away his time in New York City until it was too late to save Cornwallis. Wrote a 575-page book citing the </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2eAT2sgISA" style="color: blue;">Lando Calrissian defense</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, but </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_III_of_the_United_Kingdom" style="color: blue;">King George III</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> blamed him (rightly) for the loss of the thirteen colonies. Never held another command. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Graves,_1st_Baron_Graves" style="color: blue;">Thomas Graves</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">: Never commanded another fleet but was second-in-command to Admiral </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Howe,_1st_Earl_Howe" style="color: blue;">Richard Howe</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> at the Battle of the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glorious_First_of_June" style="color: blue;">Glorious First of June</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. For his part in this battle, he was promoted to full admiral and elevated to the peerage. It is better to be lucky than good. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Hood,_1st_Viscount_Hood" style="color: blue;">Samuel Hood</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">: One of the few competent British naval officers who agreed to serve under </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Montagu,_4th_Earl_of_Sandwich" style="color: blue;">John Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_First_Lords_of_the_Admiralty" style="color: blue;">First Lord of the Admiralty</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. Served as second-in-command at the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Chesapeake" style="color: blue;">Battle of the Virginia Capes</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">; his rear squadron never got into action. Despised Graves. Mentored </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Nelson,_1st_Viscount_Nelson" style="color: blue;">Horatio Nelson</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> when Nelson captained a frigate under his command. Nelson, Rodney, and Hood are the Trinity of British naval heroes. </span><br />
<a href="https://archive.org/details/journalofrearadm00jameuoft" style="color: blue;">Bartholomew James</a>: First lieutenant of HM frigate <i>Charon</i>, at anchor in the river to support Cornwallis. Volunteered for a number of hazardous assignments, including command of a fire-ship and a scouting sloop. On land, successfully led a midshipman and 34 sailors to bring the last British battery back into action. Less than an hour after they fired their first shot, Allied counterbattery fire had dismounted or destroyed five of their six guns. Only James and his midshipman -- both wounded -- returned from the action. For this, he received the personal thanks of Cornwallis. Rose to the rank of rear admiral.<br />
<br />
The French:<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques-Melchior_Saint-Laurent,_Comte_de_Barras" style="color: blue;">Jacques-Melchior Saint-Laurent, Comte de Barras</a>: Carried heavy siege artillery to the Allied army at Yorktown and joined de Grasse in the blockade of Chesapeake Bay. Sailed with de Grasse at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Saintes" style="color: blue;">Battle of the Saintes</a> when the French fleet was decisively defeated by Rodney and Hood.<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Joseph_Paul_de_Grasse" style="color: blue;">François-Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse</a>: Brought his fleet through the Bahama straits to reach Chesapeake Bay. This surprised the British. Fought off Graves at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Chesapeake" style="color: blue;">Battle of the Virginia Capes</a> Six months after defeating Graves, lost his fleet to Rodney and Hood at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Saintes" style="color: blue;">Battle of the Saintes</a>.<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Donatien_de_Vimeur,_comte_de_Rochambeau" style="color: blue;">Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau</a>: Commanded the French expeditionary forces. Loaned money to Washington to keep the Continental Army going <i>and</i> still took orders from Washington. Those times when you think the French don't know how to fight, look up Rochambeau. A consummate soldier and gentleman.<br />
<br />
An observation I made that is not explicit in the book is that the men of Washington's Continental Army were better soldiers than the British or the French. They marched faster than the French: the Continental Army crossed the Hudson River in one day; their French counterpart -- of similar size -- needed four. They fought better than the French: in the assaults on the forward British redoubts at Yorktown, the Americans took their objective -- redoubt number ten -- at a cost of nine dead and twenty-five wounded; the French casualties taking redoubt number nine totaled forty-six dead and sixty-eight wounded.<br />
What made the difference?<br />
The French, obedient to orders, waited for their sappers to cut a breach before they entered the redoubt. The Americans had no patience for that and climbed the palisades individually. The effect was that the Americans were quicker into action.<br />
<br />
A table of casualties suffered at Yorktown from combat (Dead and Wounded) and disease:<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cols="4" frame="VOID" rules="NONE">
<colgroup><col width="167"></col><col width="86"></col><col width="86"></col><col width="86"></col></colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="CENTER" height="20" width="167"><b><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">Casualties </span></b></td>
<td align="CENTER" width="86"><b><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">Dead</span></b></td>
<td align="CENTER" width="86"><b><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">Wounded</span></b></td>
<td align="CENTER" width="86"><b><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">Disease</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">American</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="30"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">30</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="100"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">100</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">French</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="60"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">60</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="193"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">193</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">Total Allied </span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="90"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">90</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="293"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">293</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="1500"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">1,500</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">British</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="156"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">156</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="326"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">326</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="2000"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2,000</span></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
<br />
This ration of 5:1 (disease:combat casualties) continued until the American Civil War and the institution of field sanitation and hygiene standards by the Union Army. The French sent officers to study these standards because, as a result of improved field sanitation, the Union Army suffered fewer losses in combat than the French Army did in peacetime bivouac.<br />
<br />
By the way, the militia were crap. Only at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cowpens" style="color: blue;">Battle of Cowpens</a> did militia acquit themselves. Militia can stand a post and raise an alarm, but they defend badly and they have not the discipline to assault an enemy.<br />
I bring this up only because <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson#Virginia_state_legislator_and_Governor" style="color: blue;">Thomas Jefferson</a> placed his faith in militia for the defense of the nation. It was a failed idea then and it is a failed idea now. Jefferson was an exceptional political propagandist, but on all matters military and naval, he was a table-top amateur who could not defeat a second-year ROTC cadet.<br />
The USA Reserves and the National Guard are not militia even if they are treated so by law. They are trained to regular army standards.<br />
<br />
05 September 1781 de Grasse defeated Graves's attempt to force Chesapeake Bay. Cornwallis was already encamped at Yorktown but not entrenched. The Allied army under Washington was just south of Philadelphia; likely it was on the north bank of the Delaware River, but whether it was east or west of the Schuylkill River, I do not know.<br />
Why Cornwallis sat there and waited until Washington invested his position, I do not know. Did he truly place his faith in the incompetent Clinton?<br />
<br />
There is a significant typo at location 2073. September 7 should be September 17.<br />
<br />
YMMV.<br />
<br />
2.6. Links: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Fleming/e/B000APKRYY/" style="color: blue;">Thomas Fleming</a><br />
<br />
2.7. Buy the book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U2MF8WG/" style="color: blue;"><i>Beat the Last Drum</i></a><br />
<br />antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-73762830914701663422015-06-03T20:00:00.000-05:002015-06-03T20:00:03.524-05:00Apostate 1.4<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/images/apostate-apostasy.jpg" width="600" /><br />
<br /></div>
With some exceptions, I hate doctors. I am old enough that I know from bitter experience what diseases I get and what I don't get. For example, the flu.<br />
If I get the flu, I will be sick, sick, sick for three days. And then I will be well again. If I get a flu shot, I will be sick, sick, sick for three days. And then I will be well again. So why should I trade the chance of the flu for the certainty?<br />
Anyway, I was sick in May -- coughing, rivers of mucus, and brown sputum. The cause was all the drainage from allergies. I knew what it was. It was a bronchial infection. I have had it before. I can diagnose it myself.<br />
Unfortunately, I am not allowed to treat it myself. The treatment is simple: antihistamines and antibiotics. Were I in Mexico, I would stumble to a pharmacy and buy what I know from experience would remedy the infection.<br />
But no.<br />
As a result of the imputed wisdom of our legislators, I require a script written by some goon with a medical license to do for me what I am quite capable of doing for myself.<br />
My favorite doctor was Johnny Jeff Jerome. Hand to God, that was his name. He did FAA medicals for me back when I was a kid, before I went into the Air Force. I remember one consultation with him. His nurse called me and stuck me in one of those little examination rooms. She took my temperature and blood pressure and scratched the results in my file. She left. Less than five minutes later, Johnny came in.<br />
Johnny. "How are you?"<br />
Me. "I'm sick."<br />
Johnny. "What do you have."<br />
I told him.<br />
"Have you had it before?"<br />
"Yeah."<br />
"What did you take for it then?"<br />
I told him.<br />
"Did it work for you?"<br />
"Yeah."<br />
"Do you want it again?"<br />
"Yeah."<br />
Scratch, scratch, scratch. Tear. He handed me the script. "Good to see you. If this doesn't work, come back, and we'll try something else."<br />
He left. I left, went to a pharmacy, and traded the script for meds. Better in three days.<br />
Total time in consultation with Johnny Jeff, 1 minute. Total cost, $80.00. For the consult. Meds were extra.<br />
<br />
Things change. In May, I did not have a doctor with whom I had a relationship. My wife took me to a clinic. You know. One of those 24-hour jobs that have sprung up.<br />
We went in. The nurse took my temperature and blood pressure. In this clinic, the doctor had her examining table in her office. I went in. She looked at my file, slapped a spatula on my tongue, and proudly announced, "You have a common cold."<br />
At this point, I knew she was a quack. I have never had a cold in my life. Other people get colds. I don't. I don't know why I am immune to colds, but I am. My wife drags around with a cold from time to time, and I dote on her but still buzz merrily along, exacerbating her misery by my failure to produce so much as a sniffle. Same for mosquitoes. Mosquitoes don't like my taste and leave me alone, but they flock to my wife.<br />
I suffered through three days of misdiagnosis and failed meds before we returned to the clinic to a new doctor whom I bullied into a correct diagnosis -- acute bronchitis -- who then wrote me a script for the right things: antihistamines and antibiotics.<br />
I got better.<br />
<br />
Why am I telling you this? My health is of no interest to anyone but me.<br />
<br />
I tell you my health woes to tell you the reason the Apostate series is delayed. I have not written a word on my wip since this bronchial infection hit me.<br />
My bronchial infections are bacterial. They come with wet cough that is ripe with the infectious little devils. A few days of antibiotics and the little devils die.<br />
But they do not disappear.<br />
No.<br />
Their hideous microscopic corpses continue to contaminate my lungs. Now I have a dry cough as my lungs try to expel the dead bacteria.<br />
For those of you who have not had a persistent, frequent cough lasting weeks, I envy you. In truth, it is not the cough that bothers me. It is the fatigue.<br />
Coughing consumes a lot of energy. It is tiring. For weeks, I have slept tired and waked tired.<br />
In the midst of all this, I have forgotten almost everything I learned about writing faster through plotting. That is why I am not presenting you with Apostate 2.0 today. The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men / Gang aft agley, / An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, / For promis'd joy!<br />
My plan is to read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Off-Your-Pants-Outline-ebook/dp/B00UKC0GHA/" style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker; </span><i>Take Off Your Pants!</i></a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/2k-10k-Writing-Faster-Better-ebook/dp/B009NKXAWS/" style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron; </span><i>2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better</i></a> again to refresh my memory. This pass, I shall read <i>TOYP</i> first. Then I shall write Apostate 2.0. And -- God willing -- I shall finish <i><b>Navel of the Moon</b></i>.<br />
<br />
Stay tuned.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Happy trails.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HMqXdrUjEe8" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
Links to the posts in this series:<br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-13.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.3</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-12.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.2</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-11.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.1</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-10.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.0</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate-02.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 0.2</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate-01.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 0.1</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate</a><br />
<br />
Links to the books:<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/2k-10k-Writing-Faster-Better-ebook/dp/B009NKXAWS/" style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron; <i>2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better</i></a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Off-Your-Pants-Outline-ebook/dp/B00UKC0GHA/" style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker; </span><i>Take Off Your Pants!</i></a><br />
<br />
Links to the authors' websites:<br />
<a href="http://www.rachelaaron.net/" style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron</a><br />
<a href="http://libbiehawker.com/" style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker</a>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-27862171435731427442015-05-12T23:55:00.000-05:002015-05-12T23:55:45.237-05:00Apostate 1.3<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/images/apostate-apostasy.jpg" width="600" /><br />
<br /></div>
<b>What did I learn from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/2k-10k-Writing-Faster-Better-ebook/dp/B009NKXAWS/" style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron; </span><i>2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better</i></a>? Did it help me write faster?</b><br />
<br />
I learned that Rachel's method for writing faster and better stands on three legs: 1) knowledge, 2) time, and 3) enthusiasm. I learned that this works for me, too.<br />
<br />
<i>Knowledge.</i><br />
Knowledge means knowing what you are going to write before you write it. Think of this as a map to get you from here to there. If you want to go someplace you have not gone before, do you strike out randomly or do you consult a map?<br />
Rachel called this an outline. My idea of outline is formal, and I cannot get that rigid structure out of my head. I use what I call story notes. For example, these are my story notes for the first chapter I will write today:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">[--. 25Oct2012. J sends 4th
installment to Deidre.<br /> [26Oct2012. Friday. Jane's
stitches removed at Hospital de las Mujeres. Maria acts as
interpreter. Doctor impressed with how well foot healed; take
pictures for Jane's medical file. Maria copies the medical file
including pix. </span></blockquote>
<br />
These may be meaningless to you, but they are enough to prompt me to write 1,600 to 2,000 words.<br />
<br />
<i>Time. </i><br />
For me, this means tracking the time I spend editing and writing. And tracking my daily word count.<br />
Last installment -- <a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-12.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.2</a> -- I inserted the part of my spreadsheet that tracked my editing and showed how I reduced my daily editing time from an hour to 20 minutes. To see it, click the link, 'cause bullying a readable spreadsheet into this blog is such a pain that I am not going to do it again.<br />
The purpose of tracking these things is to improve efficiency. It works for me. Yesterday I had the idea to write in bed. I set up my laptop on a little table and sat there propped up with comfy pillows around me. Word count for the day: 848. Before that I cranked out 1,600 words an hour.<br />
I won't write in bed anymore.<br />
<br />
<i>Enthusiasm. </i><br />
Stated in one sentence, are you excited about what you write?<br />
When I wrote <i><b>Heart of Stone</b></i> (see sidebar), the passion for the book drove me to the keyboard and chained me there each day until darkness fell.<br />
You know what?<br />
I don't feel that burning passion for <b><i>Navel of the Moon</i></b>.<br />
Oh, I like it well enough. I think it is a good story. But it does not burn within me with the white hot passion of <i><b>Heart of Stone</b></i>.<br />
This may sound funny, but bear with me: As a pantser, I did not have enough enthusiasm to finish <b><i>Navel of the Moon</i></b>. As a plotter, I do.<br />
What I mean is that plotting moves me forward. That movement generates enthusiasm and that enthusiasm spurs more movement. With pantsing, enthusiasm generates movement. It is a chicken and egg dilemma. This one I solved by plotting.<br />
For me, the benefit is that it frees my subconscious to surprise me with little twists along the way. And sometimes big twists. Like the ending that hit me at lunch last Friday.<br />
<br />
<b>Did it help me write faster? </b><br />
Swapping pantsing for my interpretation of Rachel's method of plotting during April NaNoWriMo Camp changed my daily word count from 723 to 1,635.<br />
07 May 2015 I clocked 3,391 words in 5 hours.<br />
I need to write 1) to become consistent and 2) to reach my goal of 4,000 words a day. I have confidence both of those will come with time and practice.<br />
<br />
This is what I took from <i>WF,WB</i>. YMMV.<br />
<br />
Next time, Apostate 2.0.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Happy trails.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HMqXdrUjEe8" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
Links to the posts in this series:<br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-12.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.2</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-11.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.1</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-10.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.0</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate-02.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 0.2</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate-01.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 0.1</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate</a><br />
<br />
Links to the books:<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/2k-10k-Writing-Faster-Better-ebook/dp/B009NKXAWS/" style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron; <i>2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better</i></a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Off-Your-Pants-Outline-ebook/dp/B00UKC0GHA/" style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker; </span><i>Take Off Your Pants!</i></a><br />
<br />
Links to the authors' websites:<br />
<a href="http://www.rachelaaron.net/" style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron</a><br />
<a href="http://libbiehawker.com/" style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker</a><br />
antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-1905984528740957202015-05-09T05:16:00.000-05:002015-05-09T05:16:35.214-05:00Apostate 1.2<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<img src="http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/images/apostate-apostasy.jpg" width="600" /><br />
<br /></div>
I finished Libbie's book. That means the title of this post should be Apostate 2.0. Well, that's gonna have to wait, 'cause I still have things to write about from Rachel's book. Looks like at least this post and one more before I get to Apostate 2.0.<br />
<br />
In <a href="http://www.amazon.com/2k-10k-Writing-Faster-Better-ebook/dp/B009NKXAWS/" style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron; </span><i style="color: blue;">2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better</i></a>, Rachel mentioned the use of a spreadsheet to track her time: when she wrote (time of day), how long she wrote, and how many words she wrote each day. As I recall, she promised an example of the spreadsheet she used, but I never saw such.<br />
Sometimes just knowing a thing can be done spurs imitation.<br />
I knew Rachel used a spreadsheet for her purposes, so I constructed one for mine. Here is part of mine for the month of April:<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cols="6" frame="VOID" rules="NONE">
<colgroup><col width="144"></col><col width="96"></col><col width="96"></col><col width="96"></col><col width="84"></col><col width="86"></col></colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" colspan="4" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;YYYYMMMDD" width="431"><b><i><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">Navel of the Moon</span></i></b></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" width="84"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" width="86"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;YYYYMMMDD"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="CENTER" colspan="3" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" valign="MIDDLE"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">Editing</span></td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" valign="MIDDLE"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="CENTER" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;YYYYMMMDD"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">Date</span></td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">Start</span></td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">Stop</span></td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">Duration</span></td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;YYYYMMMDD" sdval="42099"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015Apr05</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;YYYYMMMDD"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">.</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;YYYYMMMDD"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">.</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;YYYYMMMDD"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">.</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;YYYYMMMDD" sdval="42115" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015Apr21</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" colspan="5" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><--started using technique from WF,WB</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;YYYYMMMDD" sdval="42116"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015Apr22</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.267361111111111"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">06:25</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.307638888888889"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">07:23</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.0402777777777778"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">00:58</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;YYYYMMMDD" sdval="42117"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015Apr23</span></td>
<td align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">00:00</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;YYYYMMMDD" sdval="42118"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015Apr24</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.604166666666667"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">14:30</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.622222222222222"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">14:56</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.0180555555555556"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">00:26</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;YYYYMMMDD" sdval="42119"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015Apr25</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">00:00</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;YYYYMMMDD" sdval="42120"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015Apr26</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.757638888888889"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">18:11</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.76875"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">18:27</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.0111111111111112"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">00:16</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;YYYYMMMDD" sdval="42121"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015Apr27</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.373611111111111"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">08:58</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.390972222222222"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">09:23</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.0173611111111111"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">00:25</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;YYYYMMMDD" sdval="42122"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015Apr28</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.59375"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">14:15</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.602777777777778"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">14:28</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.00902777777777775"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">00:13</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;YYYYMMMDD" sdval="42123"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015Apr29</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.4"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">09:36</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.418055555555556"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">10:02</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.0180555555555555"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">00:26</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;YYYYMMMDD" sdval="42124"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015Apr30</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.301388888888889"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">07:14</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.313194444444444"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">07:31</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM" sdval="0.0118055555555556"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">00:17</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;HH:MM"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
<br />
(FWIW getting this table into blogger was a huge pain in the ass. Well, getting it in wasn't, but getting it in in a readable form was.)<br />
<br />
<b><i>Navel of the Moon</i></b> is the name of the work.<br />
This post deals with editing. I got my editing technique from Stuart Woods (SW). Each day SW reads what he wrote the previous day and edits that. Then he writes new copy. I do the same. Makes for a clean first draft.<br />
I may post writing times later, but so far I have learned nothing from analysis of my writing times and durations. Rachel wrote that she had two months of data before she noticed anything. Maybe I expect too much from ten days of data.<br />
The first thing you may notice is that the entries from 2015Apr06 to 2015Apr20 are missing. I edited those out, because they all looked like 2015Apr05: nothing. Who wants to look at lots and lots of nothing?<br />
The times are in 24 hour clock. The durations are in hours and minutes.<br />
<br />
The first thing I noticed was how long I spent editing 2015Apr22: almost an hour. What you can measure, you can change. My average (mean) editing time for the last five days is under twenty minutes. I changed my editing habit. It is now more efficient.<br />
<br />
I see now that last time I promised to write about "clocking editing and writing." I've done that for editing with this post. On the writing side, there are three more columns to the right of the editing times. Substitute 'Writing' for 'Editing' and they look similar.<br />
One hiccup I ran into was how to deal with split writing times; for example, write from 07:00 to 07:45, break, and write again from 19:25 to 20:35. What to do with that?<br />
My solution was inelegant. I copied the first duration to the cell to the right, entered the times for the second period, and added the duration for the second period to the copy. Not precise, but close enough for government work.<br />
<br />
No output today because I spent the day editing <b><i>Navel of the Moon</i></b> from the beginning and building a complete timeline for the novel. Looks like those tasks will also consume tomorrow. In the end, these efforts will make for a tighter novel and a better read.<br />
The idea for the climactic scene hit me at lunch on Friday, and I whipped out my little yellow notebook and jotted furiously for about ten minutes. Scared hell out the other patrons in the restaurant.<br />
It's good. It's really good. And it ties up everything in a satisfying way.<br />
<br />
I've not decided if there will be an Apostate 1.3 or if I shall go straight to Apostate 2.0. Stay tuned and find out next time.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Happy trails.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HMqXdrUjEe8" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
Links to the posts in this series:<br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-11.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.1</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-10.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.0</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate-02.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 0.2</a> <br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate-01.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 0.1</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate</a><br />
<br />
Links to the books:<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/2k-10k-Writing-Faster-Better-ebook/dp/B009NKXAWS/" style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron; <i>2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better</i></a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Off-Your-Pants-Outline-ebook/dp/B00UKC0GHA/" style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker; </span><i style="color: blue;">Take Off Your Pants!</i></a><br />
<br />
Links to the authors' websites:<br />
<a href="http://www.rachelaaron.net/" style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron</a><br />
<a href="http://libbiehawker.com/" style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker</a>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-217052124012439142015-05-05T22:18:00.001-05:002015-05-05T22:53:26.351-05:00Apostate 1.1 <div style="text-align: center;">
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
<img src="http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/images/apostate-apostasy.jpg" width="600" /><br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Next time I will put up the numbers from my NaNoWriMo Camp.</i><br />
<br />
That is what I said last time. That means this time is last time's next time. That means I put up the numbers from my NaNoWri Mo Camp.<br />
<br />
As advertised:<br />
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cols="4" frame="VOID" rules="NONE">
<colgroup><col width="86"></col><col width="200"></col><col width="86"></col><col width="86"></col></colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20" width="86"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" width="200"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" width="86"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" width="86"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN"><b><i><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">Navel of the Moon</span></i></b></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="CENTER" colspan="2" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" valign="MIDDLE"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">Word Count</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="RIGHT" height="20" sdnum="1033;" sdval="25"><br /></td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">Date</span></td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">Day</span></td>
<td align="CENTER" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">Total</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="RIGHT" height="20" sdnum="1033;" sdval="12"><br /></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42099"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 05 Sun</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="6424"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">6,424</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="6424"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">6,424</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42100"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 06 Mon</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="1003"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">1,003</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="7427"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">7,427</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="RIGHT" height="20" sdnum="1033;" sdval="3"><br /></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42101"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 07 Tue</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">0</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="7427"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">7,427</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="RIGHT" height="20" sdnum="1033;" sdval="11"><br /></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42102"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 08 Wed</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">0</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="7427"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">7,427</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42103"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 09 Thu</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="2135"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2,135</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="9562"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">9,562</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="RIGHT" height="20" sdnum="1033;" sdval="2"><br /></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42104"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 10 Fri</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">0</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="9562"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">9,562</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="RIGHT" height="20" sdnum="1033;" sdval="3"><br /></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42105"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 11 Sat</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">0</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="9562"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">9,562</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42106"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 12 Sun</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">0</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="9562"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">9,562</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42107"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 13 Mon</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">0</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="9562"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">9,562</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42108"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 14 Tue</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="976"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">976</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="10538"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">10,538</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42109"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 15 Wed</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="475"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">475</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="11013"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">11,013</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42110"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 16 Thu</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="2194"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2,194</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="13207"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">13,207</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42111"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 17 Fri</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="123"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">123</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="13330"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">13,330</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42112"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 18 Sat</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">0</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="13330"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">13,330</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42113"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 19 Sun</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">0</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="13330"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">13,330</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="RIGHT" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;0" sdval="722.85"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">723</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42114"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 20 Mon</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="1127"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">1,127</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="14457"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">14,457</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42115" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 21 Tue</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="1424" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">1,424</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="15881" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">15,881</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42116"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 22 Wed</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="814"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">814</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="16695"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">16,695</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42117"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 23 Thu</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="854"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">854</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="17549"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">17,549</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42118"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 24 Fri</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="0"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">0</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="17549"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">17,549</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42119"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 25 Sat</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="3069"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">3,069</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="20618"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">20,618</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42120"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 26 Sun</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="2124"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2,124</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="22742"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">22,742</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42121"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 27 Mon</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="2016"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2,016</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="24758"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">24,758</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42122"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 28 Tue</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="1679"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">1,679</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="26437"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">26,437</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="LEFT" height="20"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42123"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 29 Wed</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="2614"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2,614</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="29051"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">29,051</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="RIGHT" height="20" sdnum="1033;0;0" sdval="1634.7"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">1635</span></td>
<td align="LEFT" sdnum="1033;0;YYYY MMM DD NN" sdval="42124"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">2015 Apr 30 Thu</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="1753"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">1,753</span></td>
<td align="RIGHT" sdnum="1033;0;#,##0" sdval="30804"><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">30,804</span></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
<i><b>Navel of the Moon</b></i> is the title of the work.<br />
I did not track my word count until the fifth when I finished with a total of 6,424 words.<br />
April 1 to April 20, I wrote according to my former pantser model. If you look to the left of the entry for 2015 Apr 20, you will see the number 723. That is my average (mean) daily word count for the first twenty days of the month.<br />
A lot of goose eggs in those first twenty days, eh?<br />
April 21 -- highlighted above -- I began to use part of Rachel Aaron's system. Specifically, the knowledge part. I wrote a note about what was to happen next and then wrote the scene. The difference is clear. My average (mean) daily word count for the last ten days of the month was 1,635, more than double what it was previously. And only one goose egg.<br />
I think the results speak for themselves. If you disagree, leave a question in the comments. I will address it.<br />
Next time, clocking editing and writing.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Happy trails.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HMqXdrUjEe8" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
Links to the posts in this series:<br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/05/apostate-10.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 1.0</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate-02.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 0.2</a> </div>
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate-01.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 0.1</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate</a><br />
<br />
Links to the books:<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/2k-10k-Writing-Faster-Better-ebook/dp/B009NKXAWS/" style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron; <i>2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better</i></a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Off-Your-Pants-Outline-ebook/dp/B00UKC0GHA/" style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker; <i>Take Off Your Pants!</i></a>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-60518398051135211592015-05-02T14:59:00.003-05:002015-05-02T23:59:10.276-05:00Apostate 1.0<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/images/apostate-apostasy.jpg" width="600" /><br />
<br /></div>
<div>
Day . . . ah, who's keeping track of the days of my apostacy anymore? Not I.<br />
This post is numbered 1.0 because I finished <a href="http://www.amazon.com/2k-10k-Writing-Faster-Better-ebook/dp/B009NKXAWS/" style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron; </span><i>2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better</i></a>. Now reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Off-Your-Pants-Outline-ebook/dp/B00UKC0GHA/" style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker; </span><i>Take Off Your Pants!</i></a> When I finish Libbie's book, I shall change the numbering to 2.x.<br />
<br />
These are my highlights from <i>WF,WB</i>, with edits to make things clear:<br />
<br />
1. I was doing the hardest work of writing (figuring out what needs to happen to move the story forward . . .) in the most time-consuming way possible (ie. (sic), in the middle of the writing itself).<br />
<br />
2. If you want to write faster, the first step is to know what you're writing before you write it.<br />
<br />
3. Every writing session after this realization, I dedicated five minutes . . . and wrote out a quick description of what I was going to write that day.<br />
<br />
4. Of the three sides of the triangle, I consider knowledge to be the most important. This step alone more than doubled my word count. If you only try one thing out of this entire book, this is the one I recommend.<br />
<br />
5. I . . . note[d] the time I started, the time I stopped, how many words I wrote, and where I was writing on a spreadsheet.<br />
<br />
6. A happy writer will always produce more and better than an unhappy one.<br />
<br />
7. If writing feels like pulling teeth, you're doing it wrong.<br />
<br />
8. [W]hile I loved <i>having written</i>, I didn't actually seem to like <i>writing</i>, and that terrified me.<br />
<br />
9. [I]nstead of treating bad writing days as random, unavoidable disasters to be weathered, like thunderstorms, I started treating them as red flags.<br />
<br />
10. If you are not enjoying your writing, you're doing it wrong.<br />
<br />
11. If your goal is to become a faster writer, the single most efficient change you can make isn't actually upping your daily word count, but eliminating the days where (sic) you are not writing.<br />
<br />
12. [D]on't blame your subconscious when it doesn't want to write. Listen to it.<br />
<br />
13. [T]he most important step of writing fast is knowing as (sic) what you're writing before you write it.<br />
<br />
14. I can easily explain why other people would want to read it.<br />
<br />
15. [Y]ou can't afford to work for free.<br />
<br />
16. [T]he three pillars of story: characters, plot, and setting.<br />
<br />
17. Figuring out the end of a book is my number one priority.<br />
<br />
18. If the basics (the plot, characters, and settings . . .) are the scaffolding, [creating the timeline, map, character bios, and scene list] is the concrete foundation the will support my novel through the writing and edits to come.<br />
<br />
19. [Y]ou are not nearly as good at keeping track of things in your head as you think you are.<br />
<br />
20. Draw a map.<br />
<br />
21. Write out who knows what, when.<br />
<br />
22. Just because you've already made a decision doesn't mean you can't make a better one. No one has all their good ideas at once so don't be afraid to let go and just write. Plotting exists to make your life easier, not harder.<br />
<br />
23. Even if characters start out as passengers in the story . . . they must eventually get up front and start pulling or they'll never be anything more than a point of view.<br />
<br />
24. [C]haracters with proper agency will <i>write their own stories</i>.<br />
<br />
25. Every character in a book, even the most minor, needs a motivation. They have to want something.<br />
<br />
26. [P]lot and character development should be so tightly intertwined they can't be separated.<br />
<br />
27. Act I, put your characters in a tree.<br />
Act II, light the tree on fire.<br />
Act III, get your characters out of the tree.<br />
<br />
28. The point of the denouement isn't happiness or sadness or even wrapping things up neatly. The point is tension relief.<br />
<br />
29. [T]he core part of the writing triangle is knowledge. In day-to-day terms, this means knowing what you're going to write before you write it.<br />
<br />
30. If you want your writing process to be fast and reliable, it's not enough to just trust your feelings for what works. You need to know <i>why</i> it works and <i>how</i> it works.<br />
<br />
31. [T]rusting you gut is different from being at its mercy.<br />
<br />
32. [S]cenes do three things:<br />
• Advance the story<br />
• Reveal new information<br />
• Pull the reader forward<br />
<br />
33. [I]f all we're adding is bulk and not substance, we're doing more harm than good.<br />
<br />
34. My ultimate goal as a writer is to be able to put out fantastic novels as efficiently as possible.<br />
<br />
35. The most effective way [to get better at editing] is to write a lot of books and edit them.<br />
<br />
36. [O]nce you invite people inside [your book], it's no longer yours alone.<br />
<br />
37. <b>[K]nowledge makes you go faster.</b><br />
<br />
I put that last one in bold because I found it true for me. I write notes about what will occur in my work-in-progress (wip) at the end of the chapter I am writing. When I finish a chapter, I cut out those notes and paste them into the template for the next chapter. I have things in there that I will not write for several chapters, but a short pencil is better than a long memory, and I will not forget them.<br />
That is tangent to the point. The point is that by using these notes, my daily word count rose during April NaNoWriMo Camp from 723 words/day to 1,635 words/day.<br />
<br />
Next time I will put up the numbers from my NaNoWriMo Camp. Until then, happy trails.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HMqXdrUjEe8" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
Links to the posts in this series:<br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate-02.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 0.2</a> </div>
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate-01.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 0.1</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate</a><br />
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Links to the books:<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/2k-10k-Writing-Faster-Better-ebook/dp/B009NKXAWS/" style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron; <i>2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better</i></a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Off-Your-Pants-Outline-ebook/dp/B00UKC0GHA/" style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker; <i>Take Off Your Pants!</i></a>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-2785225040175149502015-04-24T21:02:00.000-05:002015-04-25T06:54:46.202-05:00Apostate 0.2<div style="text-align: center;">
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Day 5 of my apostacy.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
There is no Heaven but clarity, No Hell except confusion.<br />
-- Jan Struther </blockquote>
In our last episode, I was reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/2k-10k-Writing-Faster-Better-ebook/dp/B009NKXAWS/" style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron; </span><i>2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better</i></a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Off-Your-Pants-Outline-ebook/dp/B00UKC0GHA/" style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker; </span><i>Take Off Your Pants!</i></a> concurrently. I stopped that.<br />
Why?<br />
Both Rachel and Libbie use a three-legged stool metaphor and give detailed suggestions for outlining. Reading both concurrently, I confused who said what and was not able to keep them straight.<br />
Since I began <i>WFWB</i> first, I shall read it through to a conclusion. Then I shall return to <i>TOYP</i>.<br />
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So you wanna know my word count? Yeah, of course you do.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Day 1: 1,424<br />
Day 2: 814<br />
Day 3: 824<br />
Day 4: 0<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Addendum: <br />
Day 5: 3,069 (Equal to my best day ever.)</span></blockquote>
If you missed them before, here are the links to the posts in this series: </div>
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate-01.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate 0.1</a><br />
<a href="http://thelogoftheantares.blogspot.com/2015/04/apostate.html" style="color: blue;">Apostate</a><br />
<br />
And links to the books:<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/2k-10k-Writing-Faster-Better-ebook/dp/B009NKXAWS/" style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron; <i>2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better</i></a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Off-Your-Pants-Outline-ebook/dp/B00UKC0GHA/" style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker; <i>Take Off Your Pants!</i></a>antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608882829658418719.post-5945407416427746902015-04-21T09:02:00.000-05:002015-04-21T09:02:05.162-05:00Apostate 0.1<br />
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<img src="http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/images/apostate-apostasy.jpg" width="600" /><br />
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Half an hour ago, I decided to blog my conversion to pantser apostate step by step. Twenty-five minutes ago, I figured out 'step by step' reporting was impossible, so I settled for reporting by milepost.<br />
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This is the first milepost.<br />
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So you can follow along, let me tell you how I will organize these posts.<br />
My conversion shall be based on these two books:<br />
1. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/2k-10k-Writing-Faster-Better-ebook/dp/B009NKXAWS/" style="color: blue;">Rachel Aaron; <i>2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better</i></a> and<br />
2. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Off-Your-Pants-Outline-ebook/dp/B00UKC0GHA/" style="color: blue;">Libbie Hawker; <i>Take Off Your Pants!</i></a><br />
Because I'm lazy, I shall refer to Rachel's book as <i>WFWB</i> and to Libbie's as <i>TOYP</i>. When it's not too much trouble, I shall italicize the abbreviations. </div>
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I read both <i>WFWB</i> and <i>TOYP</i> concurrently on my Kindle. I just started 'em. I've read far enough in <i>WFWB</i> that Rachel has named the three legs of her method -- Knowledge, Time, and Enthusiasm -- and I've read her descriptions of the first two (okay, now I've read all three). In <i>TOYP</i>, Libbie has laid out the Story Core (she chose to capitalize the term) and gave examples, but 16% deep into <i>TOYP</i> she's still selling me the book.<br />
When I finish both books, the post I write then will be Apostate 2.0.<br />
When I finish one book, the post I write will be Apostate 1.0.<br />
Between Apostate 1.0 and Apostate 2.0, the posts will be titled Apostate 1.1, Apostate 1.2, Apostate 1.3, and so on.<br />
Until I finish the first book the posts will be titled Apostate 0.1, Apostate 0.2, and so on. </div>
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Get it?<span style="background-color: white; font-family: garamond, 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 24px;"> </span><img alt="*;) winking" data-id="d3b7d3a9-6960-52db-ff5d-aecf0194ca28" src="https://s.yimg.com/ok/u/assets/img/emoticons/emo3.gif" style="background-color: white; border: none; cursor: pointer !important; font-family: garamond, 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 24px;" title="*;) winking" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: garamond, 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 24px;"> </span><br />
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In the Gospel according to Rachel, Knowledge is the outline. It is the map that shows you where to go and how to get there. </div>
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This is what I expected.<br />
I have mapped out my writing before. I mean, I finished my writing for the day and left myself notes about what I wanted to see happen next in the story, which characters were where, what was at stake, and what I needed to set up the next scene. This was my map. It formed the skeleton for me to write over the next day. And because I appended it to the end of the day's writing, I often literally wrote over it.<br />
I do not know if this is what Rachel meant by Knowledge, but this is the way I took it. So I spent 5, maybe 10 minutes sketching out where I was going and how I was going to get there in the next several thousand words in my work-in-progress.<br />
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So how did I do in my first day of apostacy? That's all you really care about, isn't it?<br />
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Drum roll . . . .<br />
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Day 1 as an Apostate: 1,424 words. </div>
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Disappointed? I'm not. That's my third highest daily word count this month. And here is the kicker.<br />
I spent my morning in a dentist's chair having a crown applied. I started my 'day job' this afternoon, and because I started late, I stayed at it until 8pm. Next came dinner and <i>then</i> I got to write.<br />
My day's word count came from less than an hour of writing.<br />
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But you wanna know what's really great about that? Greater than the speed? </div>
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Drum roll . . . .<br />
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I was <i>excited</i> about the writing. I was <i>enthused</i>. I knew where I was going and the words <i>poured</i> out of my fingers. I enjoyed it more than I enjoyed writing since 'Certified Street' grabbed me in my sleep and drug me to the keyboard at 3 in the morning.<br />
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Dean Wesley Smith calls his style (pantsing) 'writing into the dark', so I'm not going to apologize for calling pantsing <b>The Dark Side</b>.<br />
I now write on <b>The Light Side</b>.<br />
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The Jedi has returned.<span style="background-color: white; font-family: garamond, 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 24px;"> </span><img alt="*:D big grin" data-id="9e35ac17-c4ed-996c-974b-83d16fafbf11" src="https://s.yimg.com/ok/u/assets/img/emoticons/emo31.gif" style="background-color: white; border: none; cursor: pointer !important; font-family: garamond, 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 24px;" title="*:D big grin" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: garamond, 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 24px;"> </span></div>
antareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00928062661776005108noreply@blogger.com0