Category Archives: General

General

USB…typewriter?!

Absolutely fascinating article from Stylelist about Jack Zyklin, an individual who has taken old, obsolete typewriters and allowed them to “interface” with computers, thus giving writers the old time feel of typing on a typewriter while being able to simultaneously use the latest computer technology.

The article can be found here:

http://www.stylelist.com/2012/09/19/usb-typewriter-etsy_n_1896793.html

There is an included video in the article, which I’ve embedded below:

There is a certain whimsy to Mr. Zyklin’s work that appeals to me, as unlike him I can recall the time when typewriters were still the way to write.  By the time I reached High School, personal computers were just starting to come out and the concept of a word processor, introduced to me in my sophomore or junior year of High School, portended the demise of the typewriter.

As an author with seven novels and one graphic novel behind me (and more to come!), I’ve thought long and hard about how fortunate I was to be born when I was.  As a young child, I was completely fascinated with writing and by the time I was in third or fourth grade knew that I wanted to be an author.

However, I quickly realized I was a perfectionist and whatever I wrote needed to be refined before it was “good enough” to satisfy my taste.  Early writing was frustrating because this meant that whatever I wrote needed to be completely re-typed (and re-re-typed and re-re-re-typed) whenever it was revised.  Depending on the length of the original story, this could mean many hours of grueling and tedious work.  It was hard enough to get the original first draft typed out, but the idea of returning to the draft and re-typing it as many as five to seven times (or more!) made the task all that much more daunting.

Thus, the arrival of computers and the word processor couldn’t have come at a better time for me.  I still longed to be a writer and hadn’t yet given up on that dream.  The word processor allowed me the freedom to write longer and longer works.  After reviewing the printed versions of them, all I had to do was make the necessary revisions without having to completely re-type the entire manuscript.

Had I been born even five years earlier, I suspect none of my works might have ever come to light and I might have drifted into a different career.  My latest novel, Nox, required seven full revisions and a whopping eleven revisions of Chapter 50 (the BIG chapter, storywise) before I was satisfied enough with the manuscript to go ahead with publication.  Needless to say, I’m happy with my computer and its keyboard, though the thought of getting one of those USB typewriters does seem attractive…in a retro kind of way!

Computers/Electronics, General

Distance record set for quantum teleportation…

Fascinating article from MSNBC.com concerning a new distance record for the process of “quantum teleportation”:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48933348/ns/technology_and_science-science/

The subject matter is intriguing and opens the door to what may lie in the future regarding the next generation of the internet, an internet that will be considerably faster and far more secure.

Intriguing stuff!

General

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar

One of the more intriguing things to be found on Sirius/XM satellite radio is the RadioClassics channel.  This particular channel is devoted to replaying the radio dramas, mysteries, horror, and comedy of the past before television essentially took over the medium.

Nonetheless, in listening to the radio classics station I’ve found that much of episodic television originated here.  Gunsmoke, for example, was a popular radio mainstay for many years before reaching television and making its mark there.  Likewise, if you ever find Lucille Ball’s My Favorite Husband playing on radio classics, you quickly discover that this show was very obviously the genesis/basis for I Love Lucy, perhaps the most groundbreaking -and arguably still one of the most popular- of all sitcoms.

While some of the shows on the radio classics channel haven’t aged all that well, particularly some of the many comedies (though I can’t get enough of the wonderful Jack Benny Show), there is one show among them all that intrigues me the most:  Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.

This detective series starred many different actors in the title role of Johnny Dollar, an insurance investigator who managed to get himself into plenty of hard-boiled (and action packed!) mysteries.  Of those various actors who played the title role for the series 12 year run, the most intriguing of the lot is easily Bob Bailey, and the best of the best of the series are the 5 part episodes that allowed for greater character depth and mystery.  The series, alas, ran In this particular format for just a little over a year, but I can’t get enough of the stuff.

I sniffed around Amazon and found the following link for a 2 DVD set of some 732 (!) episodes.

http://www.amazon.com/YOURS-TRULY-JOHNNY-DOLLAR-DVD-ROM/dp/B004I4KR1G/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1346941328&sr=8-5&keywords=yours+truly%2C+johnny+dollar

I suspect the 732 episodes presented here are what remains of the 811 total episodes of the show recorded, which means that a little less than one hundred of them may be lost forever.

Still, this set, priced at a very reasonable $10, gives you more than enough Johnny Dollar to last you many, many hours of drive time (indeed my iTunes lists the total run time of these two DVD discs at a whopping 10.9 days worth of listening!).

So, if you’re in the mood for something truly unique and entertaining -and, no, I don’t receive any royalties from the sales of these discs- you might want to give Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar a look.

General

Oh, Clint…

Of all the famous and talented movie stars out there, Clint Eastwood has to be, if not my favorite, certainly way up there on my favorite all time actor’s list.

Sure, some of his films were controversial in their time (the original Dirty Harry, in particular, was viewed by some as a fascist screed) and there is an argument to be made that he tended to play the same character over and over again…though he certainly did try to vary his output and branch out into other genres…including, believe it or not, musicals!

Yesterday, Mr. Eastwood tried his hand at something else…delivering one of the concluding speeches before Mitt Romney delivered his acceptance speech during the finale of the Republican Convention in Tampa.

His performance was…bewildering.

I didn’t see it live…My wife did and what she told me about it, immediately after it occurred, sounded like it just couldn’t be.  “He was talking to a chair!” she said.  Come on…you’re joking, right?  “He didn’t make any sense!” she said.  No sense?  Though I may not agree with all of Mr. Eastwood’s politics, in the interviews I’ve seen him in he’s usually well spoken and intelligent.  Indeed, whenever he strayed into political talk during interviews (he was the Mayor of Carmel-By-The-Sea, California, after all) he always seemed to be well reasoned.

And then, after the fact, I saw it.

…wow…

I suppose it’s easy to shrug Mr. Eastwood’s convention speech as the work of someone who’s clearly showing his age.  He is, after all, 82 years old and…nah.  That’s just too easy.  Maybe Mr. Eastwood simply got caught up in the moment.  Maybe he (mistakenly) thought he could just “wing it” with his speech and didn’t need to have much preparation.

Regardless, Mr. Romney’s handlers must be pretty livid.  After all, following a (hopefully) successful convention one would like to think that the candidate for the party has been given a push toward election.

Instead, it appears what’s on most people’s lips, for better or worse, is Mr. Eastwood’s very strange performance.

General

100 Year-Old Mystery Package Set To Be Opened…

2 Comments

I’m a complete sucker for these type of stories:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/23/100-year-old-package-norway_n_1825464.html

Basically, in Norway a man by the name of Johan Nygard left a package for the mayor of his town with the written instructions on the front to not open it until today, August 24th 2012.  He claimed that the contents of the package would “benefit and delight future generations.”

Will they?  Or will they find assorted junk?

If you’re curious, you can check it out for yourself:

http://www.vgtv.no/#!

UPDATE!!!

Here’s an article from Forbes online that details what was discovered inside the package.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisbarth/2012/08/24/norways-100-year-old-mystery-package-opened-guess-what-was-inside/

Perhaps the most surprising thing is that it wasn’t actually wrapped up in 1912 as originally thought.  It appears items were added to the package before it was turned in around 1920.  Regardless, though the contents might not be “earth-shattering”, they are nonetheless interesting and do give a window on events occurring in that corner of the world roughly one hundred years ago.

A fun, interesting story!

General, Music, Uncategorized

David Bowie again…

The Olympics ended yesterday with a very, very big show that lovingly displayed the things that make Britain Britain.  There were fashion models, theater, and psychedelic floats.  There was much music, even a performance of “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” by Eric Idle.  This song, which appeared at the very end of The Life of Brian, my favorite Monty Python film, was aired complete, though the single profanity uttered in the song was heavily (and loudly) bleeped for American viewing.

Given all the Britannia on display, I was curious if David Bowie might make an appearance at the event.  After all, his song “Heroes” was played in a very prominent spot at the very beginning of the Olympics while the British athletes made their very first appearance/entrance into the stadium.

While the closing ceremonies were going on, and the show focused on the British fashion industry, they of course played Mr. Bowie’s song “Fashion” and, I suspect, that might well be where the show’s makers might well have loved to have him appear and sing…

But he didn’t.

Mr. Bowie wasn’t the only musician whose songs were played during the Olympics and didn’t show.  Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here,” for example, was sung live, but neither Roger Waters or David Gilmour showed up to perform the song.  I believe Nick Mason, the band’s drummer, was the only Pink Floyd member present.

Yet Mr. Bowie’s absence felt to me like something more.  There have been articles written here and there hinting if not outright saying that Mr. Bowie has effectively, though quietly, retired, and not seeing him at the Olympics seemed to further that notion.  After all, this is a man who tended to release a new album almost every year and was constantly touring or making appearances in movies or TV shows.  His last album, 2003’s Reality, is rapidly approaching a decade since release.  While he toured in support of the album, he was diagnosed with an acute arterial blockage and had emergency angioplasty in 2004.  From that point on, his appearances have been sparse.  His last stage appearance was in 2006, his last recorded song was a collaboration with Scarlett Johansson in 2008.

So when his songs were presented in such prominent places during the opening and closing of the Olympics, I couldn’t help but think the event organizers were hoping to lure him out to do a live performance.  And given how long it had been since he did such a thing, one might have thought that Mr. Bowie would enjoy the opportunity to do just that.

The fact that he didn’t, as I said before, suggests to me that perhaps the whispers were right.  No, I’m not privy to Mr. Bowie’s personal life.  For all I know, he might be furiously working on a new album or acting in some film or doing something that deprives him of the time to head over to the Olympics and perform.

On the other hand, and given the fact that we’ve seen so little of Mr. Bowie since 2008, I can’t help but wonder if, indeed, those whispers of his retirement are indeed accurate.

If they are, I take that news as bittersweet.  After several decades of hard work, the release of many classic albums, and what must have been a very frightening health emergency, it would not surprise me if Mr. Bowie has decided he’s done enough.  I will continue to hope for new songs/albums from Mr. Bowie, but if Reality represents his last major work, I will cherish it along with his other albums, which never seem to grow old.

General

Why Shopping Will Never Be The Same…

Absolutely fascinating article from USA Today exploring what may become of the whole shopping experience not too many years in the future:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-08-05/future-retail-tech/56880626/1

Some of what Jon Swartz, the author of that piece, notes has been on my mind for a while.

I’m not a huge mall rat, though there was a time I enjoyed heading to the mall and looking in on the bookstores and record/music stores.  When MP3s appeared, the record/music stores effectively were done.  I still love to purchase music, but I do so over the internet and find this the most effective way of getting my hands on what I want.

Bookstores, similarly, appear to be going the way of music stores.  Nowadays, you can purchase almost any book you want (including mine!) via Amazon or Barnes and Noble online.  Movies and TV shows, likewise, are appearing more and more online as well, either through pay per view services or instant viewing via Netflix or (again) Amazon.

Purchasing books, music, or movies/TV shows via the internet is incredibly convenient.  You don’t have to physically go anywhere and risk not finding what you’re looking for.  You also know right away whether something you’re seeking is available and can be purchased.  Downloading the material is almost instantaneous.  But purchasing a physical copy of said material (ie a CD or an actual book or a DVD/BluRay), isn’t all that hard either.  While you have to wait for it to be mailed to you, to me this wait is not a huge inconvenience.  In a matter of a couple of days or, at most, a week I have the material in hand.

Which brings us to what else is sold out there.  Most electronics are available online and I’m certain many people try them out in stores and may search online for the best price for items (there’s even a term for that: showrooming).  Clothing, I suspect, will take a little bit longer to enter the internet purchasing sphere.  You can buy items, but part of purchasing clothing is seeing how it looks on you.  And how can you sample clothing via the internet?  The article does provide a glimpse into that process, and chances are that this too will soon be something people search for on the internet.  The same goes with jewelry, although in that case and because of the cost one often wants to see the actual piece they intend to buy.

Food stores I suspect will survive the digital age.  We all make our trips to supermarkets for the week’s food, and while online services will offer this for some, I suspect many shoppers want to see the food they eventually pay for.  Bruised bananas are not an option!  As for restaurants, there will be more and more online ordering, especially for chains that specialize in “to go” foods like pizza.  However, I suspect people will never lose the urge to go out of the house now and again and spend a couple of hours in a restaurant eating a good meal.

Another store that will probably continue to exist is the hardware store.  Not only will people always head to such stores for home improvement products, but there will continue to exist moments when such products have to be bought right away and cannot wait for the mail to deliver them (from emergencies involving plumbing, electrical, or roofing problems to simple things like needing new lightbulbs or air conditioner filters).

What all this means, in the end, is what the above article notes.  The days of the shopping malls and strips malls may be coming to an end.  There may come a time when small “satellite” stores are the norm, where people go into those shops to see the individual items they want to purchase and examine them but do the actual purchasing over the net and get the items delivered to their house.

The world is indeed changing.

General

About the coming Presidential election…

Fascinating article by Michael Tomansky at The Daily Beast concerning the upcoming Presidential election…and the possibility it might be an Obama landslide:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/04/michael-tomasky-on-the-possible-coming-obama-landslide.html

I tend to agree with Mr. Tomansky, though I would hardly consider myself a political junkie (my wife might argue otherwise).

Having watched the political shows here and there, I’ve been struck by how incredibly weak a candidate Mitt Romney is.  He may be a nice guy, he may be an intelligent man, but as a candidate he’s stiff and prone to saying silly things.  And when not saying such silly things, he has been caught contradicting or denouncing what should be his core beliefs.  This is a man, after all, who was once pro-choice and valued Planned Parenthood.  Now he’s anti-abortion and threatens to “defund” Planned Parenthood.  In the past he was a proponent of gun control but now he’s a 2nd amendment purist.  And then there’s what’s perhaps the biggest inconsistency:  As Governor of Massachusetts he pushed through the state’s health care act, which was essentially copied with “Obamacare”.  Now, as a Republican candidate, he can’t say enough bad things about this system.

And I haven’t even gotten into issues of what taxes he paid and his stubborn belief that he should not release his IRS records.  Finally, there’s one more little thing:  One gets the feeling that hard core Republicans simply don’t trust him.

Yes, President Obama has issues to deal with, primary of which is the still fragile economy.  Having said that, unless President Obama stumbles really badly and does something colossally dumb, I just can’t see him losing to Mitt Romney.

Then again, we’re still a ways from the election and there’s plenty of time for things to change.  I doubt it, but we’ll see…

General

Five atheists who ruin if for everyone else…

Fascinating article by Ian Murphy and found on Salon.com regarding the above, five famous atheists who, according to the author, make all atheists look bad:

http://www.salon.com/2012/08/04/five_most_awful_atheists_salpart/

The author’s choices are fascinating, but the one that I found myself most agreeing with is the last of the five, S. E. Cupp.  I have watched a couple of episodes of MSNBCs’ The Cycle, a show that features a grouping of four different hosts including Ms. Cupp, and one of the episodes I saw featured a guest (I forget who) who was promoting a book about his philosophy of being.  Anyway, the hosts of the show and the author eventually ventured into the subject of religion and Ms. Cupp mentioned she was an atheist.  As an atheist myself, I thought this was a refreshing thing to hear.  While I do not share Ms. Cupp’s conservative philosophies (of the four hosts, she represents the “right”), I was curious to hear what she had to say about her atheism.

What followed was rather depressing and goes right in line with what Mr. Murphy wrote about Ms. Cupp.  Her statements on her atheism were bizarre and bordered on self-loathing.  When the segment was done, I couldn’t help but wonder how someone goes through life apparently hating a part of oneself.

Or does she?

Afterwards, I wondered if Ms. Cupp’s atheism was real or simply a tool for some other goal.  Was admitting to being an atheist her “clever” way of denigrating atheism?  A couple of times she noted how she envied people with religious convictions and wished she could experience that element in her life.  Pity us poor atheists, she appeared to say.  For we live a life of wandering, without having a God to look up!

As I said before, I’m an atheist.  Unlike Ms. Cupp, I’m comfortable in my skin.  I neither envy or miss religion.  However, neither do “look down” upon those who are religious.  I’ve lived in enough places and experienced enough cultures through my life to know that what works for me may not work for others.  Thus, if there is any one abiding philosophy I abide by, it is that one should strive to do what makes one happy inside, provided that doing so doesn’t hurt or annoy others.  (If there’s one thing I can’t stand is someone who thrusts one’s own philosophy, religious or not, onto others).

But to live your life as a self-described anything and talk as if that particular aspect of your being is a burden to you seems like such a colossal waste of time and energy.  If you aren’t comfortable being an atheist, then by all means stop being one.  There are many philosophies and religions out there.  Instead of going on about how much being an atheist brings you down, why not instead use that energy to look for something that will instead lift your spirits?

As the saying goes, life is too short.

General, Uncategorized

So I went to a 7-Eleven yesterday…

…and as I walk to the counter and get in line behind the person the cashier is currently attended to, he asks for and receives two packs of Camel cigarettes.  As the attendant rings him up, she notices a can of cold beer on the counter beside him and asks if that’s his as well.

The man grips his two packs of cigarettes, shakes his head, and replies in one of those how-could-you-possibly-think tone of voices: “No, dear, I don’t drink.”

Reminded me of that scene in Airplane! where one of the passengers takes a swig of liquor while an old lady sitting next to him watches.  He realizes she’s staring at him and offers her a drink.  The old woman appears horrified by the man’s attempt at politeness and frostily replies “Certainly not!”.

She then proceeds to put a straw in her nose and snort a couple of lines of what looks an awfully lot like cocaine…