Synaptic Misfires
on Dec 05 in Blog Post by johnhornor
Been awhile since I’ve done one of these, the freeform, stream of consciousness Synaptic Misfires blog posts. So, here goes.
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Saw Scorcese’s HUGO this weekend with the kids. It was the perfect movie for a) Francophiles, b) adults, c) students or aficionados of film history, or d) Scorcese fans. My kids are none of these things (I am only 3 out of the 4, and I’ll let you guess the one I’m not) and consequently they were asking me at the halfway mark – the movie was long – when the movie would be over. I enjoyed the flick immensely, but I think they missed the target marketing it to children. With a little more realism, it could have been even more effective.
However, Sacha Baron Cohen nicked every scene he was in, I’ll tell you that much. He’s a buffoon, but a very good one.
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About a month ago, I went to Dallas and attended an event where Stephen King spoke, did a little comedy – seriously, the guy is really funny – and read a little of his new book, 11/22/63. I met John Rector down there and we enjoyed eating and drinking at SMOKE restaurant and hanging out at the BELMONT bar.
I usually always enjoy King books, but I have a little pet peeve with them – I don’t like his constant use of authors as protagonists. It seems like a cop-out, unimaginative, and an easy way to incorporate literary themes. Despite all that, I started reading 11/22/63 late last week and now I’m 2/3 of the way through and even though there’s a writer/teacher as a protagonist, damn, it’s a great read. It’s been too long since I’ve been swallowed whole by a book and held tight in its clutches. This was a wonderful diversion.
I hope Mr. King continues to write many many more books, because, despite what the literati say, he truly is a national treasure.
Long live the King.
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Time marches on. With the new year fast approaching, I start realizing that the release of THIS DARK EARTH is just around the corner – next summer. I’m very excited about its release and I recently did a little blog post about the end of the world and zombies. If you like that kind of stuff – and if you’re here I’m sure you do – you should check it out. Here.
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My back feels like a pillar of cement and I can barely touch my toes. Is there a stretching program for middle aged novelists to increase limberness?
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I’ve gotten to the point that I hate the Christmas season. And the news. If it isn’t healines like “The apocolyptic news you haven’t heard” or “George Soros: Global Financial System On Brink Of Collapse” or the imminent demise of Barnes & Noble and the publishing industry or even the dwindling interest people have in literature and books, it’s the fact that the whole of America is geared to separate me from my money. Oy vey, we’re living in a world that’s totally borked with no help in sight. Government’s totally corrupt, and its doing its best job to destroy peaceable protesters voicing a need for change. But of course it is. The needs of the privileged few outweigh the rest of our needs.
We’ve had people at work leave and either sabotage client relationships or take clients with them, nuking our profit sharing Christmas bonus.
I wish I had a rabbit hole to duck in back to 1958 when the world was simpler and John Wayne still strode the screens. I just hope my kids aren’t totally fucked from the get-go. I hope they have a chance.
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My interest in Twitter and Facebook is at an all-time low. Maybe I’m depressed or something, I just want to read, write, and keep my head down. Scares me to think of all the time spent on social media. But you gotta communicate, I guess.
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In some good news, SOUTHERN GODS is on both the Bram Stoker Awards and the Nebula Awards suggested reading lists. Don’t know if that means anything or not. But it’s a nice first step.
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Everything is doom and gloom and then I see this article that states -
So, can private health insurance companies manage to make a profit when they actually have to spend premium receipts taking care of their customers’ health needs as promised?
Not a chance-and they know it. Indeed, we are already seeing the parent companies who own these insurance operations fleeing into other types of investments. They know what we should all know – we are now on an inescapable path to a single-payer system for most Americans and thank goodness for it.
Whether you are a believer in the benefits of single-payer health coverage or an opponent, mark this day down on your calendar because this is the day seismic shifts in our health care system finally get under way.
If you thought that the Obama Administration chickened out on pushing the nation in the direction of universal health care for everyone, today is the day you begin to understand that the reality is quite the contrary.
And I think, “Ahahahaha. Hahahah Ha ha HAHAHAH. In your FACE, YOU GREEDY BASTARDS.” Sorrry, sis (she’s a large group policy broker and millionaire and she won’t let you forget it), you’ll have to figure out other ways to bleed us dry.
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So, in other places online I called China Mieville’s prose “laughable” (and NO I’m not bothering to look up where the accent marks go on his freakin’ name) . I couldn’t get through Perdido Street Station, because of his… um… laughable reliance on $64,000 words. But I started reading The Scar and I have to say, I’m starting to see what the big deal is about him. Towering imagination coupled with a big-ass vocabulary. He’s a little shallow on characterization, but he’s doing much better in The Scar than he did in Perdido Street Station. So, I’m not necessarily a “fan,” but I am starting to see his genius.
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Don’t know how informed you folks are on music but I’ve really been enjoying some 3/4 time songs lately. Waltzes, to the uninitiated. If you were counting the rhythm, you’d say, “One, two, three. One, two, three.” Imagine a couple in a large ballroom, streamers above a parquet floor, French doors open to darkness and night air, and a couple – your choice on sex – dancing in the middle. One two three TURN one two three TURN one two three TURN. Country waltzes are slow, and sad, speaking of heartbreak and loss and sorrow.
And this one.
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Not much else doing in my neck of the woods, other than a small addiction to Angry Birds and my children suddenly becoming Doctor Who fiends. Each one has a favorite doctor, and call Christopher Eccleston the “Welsh one” but even I don’t know if he is Welsh, after all. They seem to like Rose more than Martha and don’t like Donna at all. I’m kinda a Donna fan. She’s a hoot and a half.
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I hope soon to be able to reveal the cover of THIS DARK EARTH to you all. It’s pretty damned wonderful.
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Also, I’ve been reading Weston Ochse fantastic collection MULTIPLEX FANDANGO. It’s been hard for me to collect my thoughts regarding this wonderful collection. It deserves its own blog post and I’ll do that as soon as I can. However, you’d be totally grateful to me if you went out and bought it right now. The stories – each one like a jewel – move with the force and urgency of someone with terrible knowledge. Indeed, terrible knowledge is a recurring theme throughout the stories and I can’t help thinking that Wes’ experiences in the Army for so many years might have given him that insight into human nature – his own and others. Each story comes from a core of honesty and earnestness that’s charming and terrifying by turns – centered and focused on very human and flawed and sympathetic characters – each narrative unspooling for the reader to inevitable endings that either uplift your spirit or make you shiver. It really is a remarkable collection. So do yourself a favor and pick it up for Christmas. You won’t regret it.
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That is all.
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So Random
Get Some Books, Y’all
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There are several good back stretches for your back.
Some desk stretches: http://backandneck.about.com/od/exerciseandsport/ht/deskstretch.htm
There are ton of back exercises on YouTube.
Good excercises recommended by a friend’s physical therapist:
Planks – strengthen’s core muscles
Superman – lie on your stomach and lift your legs and chest off the ground, reaching out in front of you
Partial crunches – just enough to flatten your lower back to the floor
Bird dogs – Down on all fours, reach out with one arm and extend opposite leg, then opposite arm/leg
Spread your legs just a bit, lace fingers and reach up high to stretch spine, then bend at hips and reach down toward floor.
I went to a standing desk at work to try to avoid the problem altogether:
http://www.mikeoliveri.com/2011/12/05/my-new-standing-desk/
Not even a week yet so hard to say it works one way or the other yet.
I actually have a standing desk I had made to my exact height. It’s at home, though. I should probably bring it up here.
Thanks for the heads-up on the stretches. Much appreciated.