As Christmas comes crashing in on us please take a moment to stop and think of why we celebrate Christmas. I try not to allow my writing to reflect too much of my personal viewpoints, but I don't hide behind my writing either.
If you are the type who is easily offended by religious matter please stop reading this now.
For the rest of you:
Please stop and give thanks to God that he sent his only Son to dwell on earth with mere humans that we may all be saved. The giving of that one precious gift, through which we received salvation, is far greater than the giving of any gift we could provide in return.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Loneliness sample
As promised here is a random sample from the middle of Chapter 1 of Lonliness (bear in mind that this has only been loosely edited and may need some punctuation or grammatical changes), no segway, just the passage:
Lynn Asher was of average height.
Her comparison to the average abruptly ended at that, as she was without argument the most beautiful woman in Druden and perhaps the entire kingdom. She had the sort of beauty that makes a bard famous just for singing of it, with a figure meant for poetry and prose.
Every part of her body custom made for a song; from her full pink lips to her soft, blue-grey eyes and her gentle nose, the golden auburn hair that fell lazily in large natural ringlets down to the top of her perfectly formed bosom, as well as her curvy hips which lead seductively toward her slender legs giving them the appearance of being much longer than they truly were. Her skin was silk over satin and her smile warmer than the summer sun on the hottest of days.
Many men had hastily sworn fealty to the Ashers due, at least in part, to here historic splendor. She was a dream come to reality, and she seemed to age better than even the kingdom’s finest vintage. And she hadn’t the slightest notion at all that she was different from any other woman, making her more beautiful still.
*please feel free to comment, make suggestions, or critique... I'm a big boy, I can take it.
-JS
Lynn Asher was of average height.
Her comparison to the average abruptly ended at that, as she was without argument the most beautiful woman in Druden and perhaps the entire kingdom. She had the sort of beauty that makes a bard famous just for singing of it, with a figure meant for poetry and prose.
Every part of her body custom made for a song; from her full pink lips to her soft, blue-grey eyes and her gentle nose, the golden auburn hair that fell lazily in large natural ringlets down to the top of her perfectly formed bosom, as well as her curvy hips which lead seductively toward her slender legs giving them the appearance of being much longer than they truly were. Her skin was silk over satin and her smile warmer than the summer sun on the hottest of days.
Many men had hastily sworn fealty to the Ashers due, at least in part, to here historic splendor. She was a dream come to reality, and she seemed to age better than even the kingdom’s finest vintage. And she hadn’t the slightest notion at all that she was different from any other woman, making her more beautiful still.
*please feel free to comment, make suggestions, or critique... I'm a big boy, I can take it.
-JS
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Loneliness Update
For the few of you out there who may have some interest; here is an update on this weeks' progress of Loneliness (again, it is only a working title and will be changed, probably several times, as the book continues to write itself):
I've been at a bit of a roadblock/crossroads in one particular chapter for quite some time and was considering skipping forward in the book instead of staring aimlessly at a blank page any longer, but after much ado I've sunk my teeth into the scene and finally begun making progress.
Knowing me, after several more days of writing I'll turn around and decide that it wasn't the page-turning, major scene that I'd anticipated and scrap the entire chapter, but lets keep our fingers crossed and hope that the words do their job since I've finally re-started doing mine.
I'd love to expound about details, but that would defeat the purpose of ever trying to publish the book.
When it's finished (hopefully within the next year and a half) I may buy a domain for it and post the first chapter as a teaser, but until then you'll only get a few crumbs here and there.
Tomorrow I'll leave another update including a sample paragraph from chapter 1.
-JS
I've been at a bit of a roadblock/crossroads in one particular chapter for quite some time and was considering skipping forward in the book instead of staring aimlessly at a blank page any longer, but after much ado I've sunk my teeth into the scene and finally begun making progress.
Knowing me, after several more days of writing I'll turn around and decide that it wasn't the page-turning, major scene that I'd anticipated and scrap the entire chapter, but lets keep our fingers crossed and hope that the words do their job since I've finally re-started doing mine.
I'd love to expound about details, but that would defeat the purpose of ever trying to publish the book.
When it's finished (hopefully within the next year and a half) I may buy a domain for it and post the first chapter as a teaser, but until then you'll only get a few crumbs here and there.
Tomorrow I'll leave another update including a sample paragraph from chapter 1.
-JS
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Texting the Deaf
I assume that I'm a late-comer to this party, but something rather profound occurred to me recently: The onset of text messaging must have been an absolute God-send for the deaf community.
Seriously, texting (or SMS messaging) has to be, literally, the best thing since sliced bread for the hearing impaired.
Not long ago if a deaf or severely hard-of-hearing individual wanted to receive a phone call they had to have thousands of dollars of specialty equipment commonly known as TDD (Telecommunication Device for the Deaf) which converted the spoken word into closed-caption-like text on a monitor or TV screen. This technology was, and still is, amazing and life-altering for members of the deaf community, but limits them to using only certain phones in limited environments.
Now with nearly every mobile phone carrier offering text messaging as either standard with their calling plans or as an add-on package the deaf can communicate both with each other and with those of us who are blessed enough to have our hearing.
Couple the texting capabilities of most phones with the vibrating ringer-alert that all cell phones offer and those who are deaf or hard of hearing can now communicate at a level they probably never dreamed would be available to them.
So, the next time you flip open your phone to casually send some mundane text, or to forward a joke take a moment to realize that this convenient little novelty is also helping the handicapped live their lives as close to normal as their bodies will allow.
Seriously, texting (or SMS messaging) has to be, literally, the best thing since sliced bread for the hearing impaired.
Not long ago if a deaf or severely hard-of-hearing individual wanted to receive a phone call they had to have thousands of dollars of specialty equipment commonly known as TDD (Telecommunication Device for the Deaf) which converted the spoken word into closed-caption-like text on a monitor or TV screen. This technology was, and still is, amazing and life-altering for members of the deaf community, but limits them to using only certain phones in limited environments.
Now with nearly every mobile phone carrier offering text messaging as either standard with their calling plans or as an add-on package the deaf can communicate both with each other and with those of us who are blessed enough to have our hearing.
Couple the texting capabilities of most phones with the vibrating ringer-alert that all cell phones offer and those who are deaf or hard of hearing can now communicate at a level they probably never dreamed would be available to them.
So, the next time you flip open your phone to casually send some mundane text, or to forward a joke take a moment to realize that this convenient little novelty is also helping the handicapped live their lives as close to normal as their bodies will allow.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Sample of an Opinion Post
Here is an opinion post I did at my other blog (Rays The Stakes) back in the summer in regard to a Tampa Bay Rays player that I was obviously unhappy with:
Jonny's Gotta Go(mes)!
I don't care what anyone else says at this point, Jonny Gomes does not belong on a baseball field under any circumstances.
Period!
Pointe finale!
And if you watched last night's game it'll be hard for you to argue with me while keeping a straight face. Gomes looked like he'd never even seen right field let alone actually played out there. He took a horrible angle on every single ball hit in his direction (I can think of 4 instances off the top of my head, but there may've been more).
I don't care if the opposing pitcher is a lefty (i.e. Lee last night) and every other player in the line-up is left-handed; Gomes needs to be parked firmly on the bench (where he obviously belongs).
Normally I'd say, "Okay, let Jonny do the DH duties", but if the Rays' wonderful manager, Mr. Maddon, had taken the time to check out ol' Gomes' track record against Lee ( 0-17 going into last night) he wouldn't have marched him out there even if he actually did know how to play RF.
If management's plan was to send Jonny out there to showcase him as potential trade-bait, its not working. Actually, if anything, its accomplishing the exact opposite effect. No GM in his right mind would make a move for him unless they were really, really desperate for a DH that's currently hitting an astonishing ...wait for it... .185 !!
Gabe Gross may not be the long-term answer (although he does have plenty of upside), but in terms of the rest of the 2008 season Gross needs to be getting at least 3 out of 4 starts in RF, and Aybar and Floyd need at bats, so guess who the odd-man-out is... you got it... Jonny Freakin' Gomes!
Love your energy Jonny, your work ethic is admirable, but its time to turn in your helmet and jersey, and pack up for your move to, ummm, I don't care where, just not here... thanks for the memories, blah, blah, blah...SEE-YA!
Jonny's Gotta Go(mes)!
I don't care what anyone else says at this point, Jonny Gomes does not belong on a baseball field under any circumstances.
Period!
Pointe finale!
And if you watched last night's game it'll be hard for you to argue with me while keeping a straight face. Gomes looked like he'd never even seen right field let alone actually played out there. He took a horrible angle on every single ball hit in his direction (I can think of 4 instances off the top of my head, but there may've been more).
I don't care if the opposing pitcher is a lefty (i.e. Lee last night) and every other player in the line-up is left-handed; Gomes needs to be parked firmly on the bench (where he obviously belongs).
Normally I'd say, "Okay, let Jonny do the DH duties", but if the Rays' wonderful manager, Mr. Maddon, had taken the time to check out ol' Gomes' track record against Lee ( 0-17 going into last night) he wouldn't have marched him out there even if he actually did know how to play RF.
If management's plan was to send Jonny out there to showcase him as potential trade-bait, its not working. Actually, if anything, its accomplishing the exact opposite effect. No GM in his right mind would make a move for him unless they were really, really desperate for a DH that's currently hitting an astonishing ...wait for it... .185 !!
Gabe Gross may not be the long-term answer (although he does have plenty of upside), but in terms of the rest of the 2008 season Gross needs to be getting at least 3 out of 4 starts in RF, and Aybar and Floyd need at bats, so guess who the odd-man-out is... you got it... Jonny Freakin' Gomes!
Love your energy Jonny, your work ethic is admirable, but its time to turn in your helmet and jersey, and pack up for your move to, ummm, I don't care where, just not here... thanks for the memories, blah, blah, blah...SEE-YA!
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