a little light, a little peace

This is dedicated to my family, friends, and homies in the slam.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

the story

lots of big new announcements about the story.

i got a link on a online serial link site by jennifer l. armstrong. mucho thanks.
http://www.free-online-novels.com/

i will hopefully be starting a new story by the end of the summer. it's called feed. keep checking in...
http://www.feedtheneed.wordpress.com

getting ready to leave...

today i am excited. there is only one day left. yesterday with two days left, it felt unreal. the day before, i got unabashedly stared at by some girl probably between 12-16. it made me uncomfortable.

can't wait to be home. on the money clock. gotta go.

noor

i have watched this show. its pretty sweet from what I can understand. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/28/DDUT120FDE.DTL&hw=noor&sn=001&sc=1000

Sunday, July 27, 2008

memories of recent past.2

one of my first meals, i believe it was my first dinner, was at the cairo khan restaurant on the top floor. the food was nothing to write home about (although this is sort of what i am doing now) but it was significant because it was my first dinner, and i ate it by myself (another first).

i got a chicken sandwhich some french fries and some guava juice. the bill was 25 pounds or around there. which when i got there was nothing but now to me that is a lot of money as i know where to eat a better meal for 5 pounds or less.

one of the biggest things though was eating by myself. now that i look back on it, that showed a pattern that would stay with me throughout the next six months. i felt weird eating by myself in a restaurant as the only time you ever see people doing that is in the movies when they are really depressed or have been stood up by their significant other.

now however i can eat by myself just fine though i don't know how i would do in a restaurant proper as i never repeated that experience here. i still think it would be weird. but living here on my own has made me even more self reliant and independent, if for nothing else than just sheer necessity. it is a different experience but not really a better one. i am really looking forward to dinner with my family again.

4 days and counting

Thursday, July 24, 2008

the other side of the fence

so as many egyptians do here, i've started staring at the big tour buses as they drive slowly by on the streets through the really thick traffic. it is weird and good being on the other side with the roles reversed as i can as easily remember being in that bus looking down at all those staring at me as i can be egyptian and stare back up at them in their air conditioned mini fortresses. just a little thought i've had today.

cats

i had the distinct listening pleasure of the chorus of cats from hell last night. all i could think about while lying there at three am was the garfield comic strips where he gets shoes and tomatoes thrown at him while he is singing on the fence. too bad i didn't have any spare shoes or tomatoes.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Losing Latitude by Cory Cramer

so working on another online serial. this one has been published as a paperback and is now being put online. it is called Losing Latitude by Cory Cramer. i've just finished part one and when i am not tired will write a review for it. but for now take my word that is it pretty well written with good action. there is a hint of supernatural which intrigues so i shall keep reading. cramer says that if you are fans of buffy or indiana jones you will like this novel. i agree.

memories of recent past

lately as my time here draws to a close, i have been reflecting on when i first arrived in cairo.

the first arabic that i distinctly remember speaking was trying and failing to ask the bellhop at my hotel how the weather was. the first arabic i distinctly remember being spoken to me was the next morning when i went to breakfast. standing uncertainly in the doorway of the small dining area the women working said khosh which means enter. i didnt know that at the time but have since learned to love that word.

the peoples are gone

at last all the people who have come and visited me have safely come and gone, from my brother to my cousin to my friends in Germany. as exhausting as all their visits are i wouldn't change any of the total 25 days that they were here.

with all these people, i am glad they came to cairo. not only did i get to see them but i got to share with them a different side of my life but also a side of what they are not used to seeing. we have all been changed by meeting here in cairo and i believe all for the better. more eyes are open and realtionships are stronger, whether family or friend, and this is something they and no other can stake a claim to.

fortune smiled upon all of us invovled and i hope it will continue to do so in the future for all parties concerned. thank you for coming and enriching my life abroad, i hope i was able to do the same.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Jewelry Work to Contest

Hey everybody.

My friend producer over at ponoko.com got his two of his pieces into the final competition.  There are ten days to vote and his pieces are perforated band rotating earrings.  Take a look at the others and vote on the ones you like (especially my friend producer).  


Voting closes August 3rd so be sure to check it out.

women

women are one of God's gifts to men but are enternally bound to confund them until the day we die

Thursday, July 17, 2008

yarrgh! i be finished me book.

hey check out the last chapter of sunset or as it is better known the epilogue. thanks for reading!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

something truly scary/creepy

last night i had my first scary experience in a long time. right now i am living alone as my roommate is traveling in israel. i also am on a weird schedule where i stay up until 4 a.m. last night at 12:30 i was watching the mothman prophecies. it is a pretty creepy movie especially when you are by yourself in the middle of the night. the movie ended at a 1 so it was just reaching the climax of creepiness right before the end of the movie.

the suspenseful music is up and the phone rings. richard gere answers it and the guy he has been talking to on the other end is upset/scared/not making sense because the mothman is there or something. then richard gere says what? what is it? carl (or something) what's happening?

that is when my power decided to go out. all of it. My pulse jumped sky high and adrenaline flooded my body. It was pitch black no glow from street lights nothing. I walked to my room to get my flashlight which my parents gave me to take with me (thank you thank you). On the short walk to my room I kept expecting to be attacked or run into thick furry arms or see glowing red eyes. My imagination of course went wild.

Then I went on my balcony 2 minutes after the power went out with my harmonica and as I am sitting there, still freaked out and high on fright and adrenaline, I see on the adjacent building a shadow of a person moving and then disappear into more shadow. what a wicked night.

I stayed out there for a while calming my nerves playing harmonica and drinking tea. By the time I went back in the power was back on and I stayed up a bit more and then went to bed fine. but boy what a night.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

anniversary

just realized (literally 30 seconds ago) i have now been blogging continuously for 7 months exactly. cool stuff.

Review of Blood Moon: Vampire Chronicles by Belial

This review was posted up to Chapter 8 being puslished. Ready to jump in the deep end of the world of vampires, weres, zombies, and ghouls? Belial does just that with her multiple postings per week of Blood Moon.

The protagonist Erika is an unacknowledged vampire master, pretty blond, and smart alec. She manages to piss off all the wrong people all the time human and otherwise but manages to make it up with her wit and capability. Called in by a vampire master Alasdai MacArthur to solve a murder, Erika starts right off with a confrontation that almost takes her past recovery. Beginning down the path of discovery with a variety of allies from a sorceress, a human servant, and a baby vampire she has at her command a stunning array of vampire powers not all of which hold to the traditional mythos.

The story reads like an old noir detective novel, except the detective is undead and a bloodsucker. The action has been non-stop in the chapters so far, and Belial manages to create order amidst the chaos of all that is going on. The read of story could be improved if there was a little more proofreading, but it doesn’t detract from the story significantly. The most difficult thing to get used to, however, was the massive amount of information about vampire abilities and the introduction to the supernatural world in the preliminary chapters. It was a bit overwhelming, but is responsible for the frenetic and exciting pace of the plot. Belial does help out by creating an incredibly detailed character list of the major players.

This serial is easy to read and get hooked on due to Erika’s spunkiness and the author’s well written plot. If you are a fan of vampire novels and don’t mind a slight break from the dogma of tradition, then this is for you.

Reveiw of Untitled Thriller by Cryptic Bindings

This review was written to the point of Chapter 16 and 17 being published. Untitled Thriller is a once a week ongoing serial hosted by Cryptic Bindings at http://www.crypticbindings.com. It is a very well written and engaging thriller that keeps the reader coming back to complete the cliffhangers each and every week.

The story centers around the research department for a university in Seattle and the suspected misuse funds for other project by a scientist named Raj Gupta. Each chapter is told from the perspective of a rotating cast of characters including Nick, the unhappy paper editor; Morgan, a college student and Nick’s lover; Michel Renoir, the department chair; Jeff Pepper, the impulsive billionaire funding the research; and Tim, the terrorist. Pepper visits the research center concerned that it is being used to create something less scrupulous than a machine to deliver vaccines by air. Chaos reigns supreme after Pepper arrives as a team of terrorists take over the research part of the facility in order to get their hands on whatever Gupta has created. Things go from bad to worse as everything doesn’t go according to plan. A bullet and some cool explosions later, finds many of the main characters in trouble and the situation growing worse by the minute.

The author does an excellent job in creating his characters. They seem alive on the page, well, screen, complex and well rounded. He explores with acute introspection the tangles of relationships and the often inane life of an office worker while at the same time managing to put it in all into perspective once the poo hits the fan. The plot moves very well between character introspection and great action scenes.

The biggest thing that I have been happy to see is his approach to the terrorists. So far they have appeared more complex than just your average flat evil villain terrorist possibly from the Middle East. They are described as very American looking, one is even blond, but the author has dropped hints that position them in my mind as from Palestine with words such as ‘infidel’ and their desire to prevent people from taking their homeland. Whatever their nationality, I hope that the author continues to develop them and show that they are human, not great people, but ones that don’t indict a whole nation.

I have found very little to critique about the novel. The chapter titles vary between very effective to slightly distracting and though the plot moves, I want it to move faster. Possibly that is the side effect of really focusing on creating great characters (if it is, it’s worth it) or it is the effect of good writing and me pining each week for a new chapter. I heartily recommend this thriller to anyone looking for a good action novel, interested in reading about relationship dynamics, or if they have that office job (and want to see what happens to all the people they hate when bad guys come a knocking).

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Jewelry Work

Okay for those of you interested in jewelry, check out my friend’s work that he recently posted online. He does great stuff and is very sustainable material/production oriented. (something we need more of in this world). He is a student at RISD and doing this sort of thing and things like it, is what he does. Enough said. It’s good quality, good ideas, and good innovation.

If you like his work give him some comments about it (you can contact him on the site). These works were entered into a competition. If his work gets selected to be voted on, I will let you know so you can give him a vote if you like his work. I personally dig the rotating earring.
http://www.ponoko.com/showroom/Producer

blog and online serial update

howdy,

be sure to check my review of J.C. Hutchins novel seventh son on another post.

I have jumped into Jack Palms 2: This is Life, the sequel to Jack Palms: Jack Wakes Up. So far I am liking it better than the previous, unusual for almost any sequel. I am listening to the podcast rather than reading the pdf, so that has something to do with it. We’ll see how it goes. Check it out at Seth Harwood’s website.

Unable to finish Infection! (for right now). Boo, I deleted one of the episodes on my iTunes and have been unable to figure out how to get it back, just need to do some poking around on his website I think. Also a great novel! With all the bug bites I get here in Cairo, I keep wondering if some of it is the Infection. http://www.scottsigler.com/

Picked up some new reading material as well, well turned on my computer. Blood Moon: Vampire Chronicles by Belial. It is a new novel about, uh, vampires. The mythos in this story is incredibly detailed and the same goes for the character descriptions. The story moves and feels like one of those old detective novels except quite supernatural. Check it out at her Blogger account and review it at Pages Unbound.

Also, sad news. The Harvest Cycle by David Dunwoody has been postponed due to personal matters. I hope that everything is okay with the author and he is able to start posting soon because this novel rocks. It is an apocalyptic trippy sort of novel as humans struggle to survive weird disturbing monsters, harvesting the dreams of humans while also trying to survive genocide by teams of bots. Pretty intense and as I heard it described once, very ­­­­­­­­­­­­­Lovecraftian.

lastly I would be super excited if you check out my new title artwork at Sunset. If you want to give me any artwork, I will create a page for it. Also if you want to review it, you can! at pages unbound.

Review of 7th Son: Descent by J.C. Hutchins

As Hutchin’s first book in the 7th Son trilogy, he does not waste time getting into the action. The story concerns seven men grabbed from around the country to a secret facility in Virginia. They have been brought together to combat a force that was guided by this government facility: a man by the name of John Alpha. These seven men must solve riddles created by him specifically left for them by their ‘father.’ They play his game in hopes to be able to stop him from doing worse things than assassinating the president of the United States. As this group of men discover who they are and how they are related, they encounter incredible new technologies such as MEM R I, nepth charges, and psyjack (read the novel if you want to know what they are!) As smart as they are, the seven always seem to be one step behind John Alpha and his plans at the end of each chapter and then end of the book.

The author creates a complicated plot full of twists, bends, and turnarounds that leave the reader unable to see what is coming next and what is going to happen to whom. He provides the reader with seven developed characters and through his writing lets you keep track of them easily. The action throughout the book keeps the novel moving, so much so, that I found myself pulling late nights in order to listen to new episodes. The only detraction to this novel is that the reader is slammed in the beginning by a waterfall of characters, all with similar names and histories. It makes it a little confusing at first but Hutchins keeps you straight throughout the novel allowing the reader to internalize the seven different men.

The podcast itself is innovative in itself and lots of fun to listen to. Hutchin’s voice acting is great and the sound effects in it give external audio to the internal soundtrack a person has while reading a book. On top of this he starts or improves many techniques which add to the fluidity of the story and popularity of the podcast including having important podcasters read the summary of previous chapter in “The Story so Far.” He also plays promos for other novels at the end of each podcast promoting other people’s work which increases the connectedness of the podcasting world. The only critique of the podcast is that Hutchins can be a little chatty at the beginning and end of each episode on the Legacy podcast (there is a just straight story available on his website and podiobooks.com).

Overall, if you like fiction and podcasts and you aren’t listening to this author, I have to ask why not? This is one of the best novels/podcasts I have heard/read. Every time I finish an episode, I usually manage to talk myself into one more (and quite easily too). Check it out at http://www.jchutchins.net/.

Friday, July 11, 2008

it ends?

the second to last chapter of my novel is up at its NEW DOMAIN NAME http://www.sunsetvampirenovel.wordpress.com

check it out and stick with me, one chapter and epilogue to go!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

just fyi

hey all,

for those of you who read sunset, everything is cool. it is just at another site http://www.sunsetvampirenovel.wordpress.com

my original site http://www.timtheyounger.wordpress.com is undergoing reconstruction-major reconstruction. As Sunset comes to a close I have plans to make another novel or other media applications. I needed a home page and a separate page for Sunset so that way everything can be linked all together in one big happy family. maybe i am dreaming big, but i can dream can't I.

just bear with me and go with the flow. Sunset is as it was before it was tranferred including all comments. Stick around for the end! It is coming up soon.

p.s. be sure to catch all the posts today. at least five i think.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25616572/

mini dose of mogamma--AUC style

mmm…gotta love that egyptian bureaucracy. come have a taste of my world.

My landlady and her sister wanted me to post notices for their flats at AUC. I said okay wanting to help them out. I get to the first office I need to go to and fill out the forms which will be posted, little blue thick sheeted paper thingies. Then he tells me to go to the security office to get them stamped. I have to go around the corner to a different building and then the secretary in the security department glances at the first one and then stamps all four notices. She barely even looked at them. After this necessary action was completed I had to return to the original office where I filled out the forms and turn them in.

Ahh, not frustrating as I am used to it, but just noticing that it is there. At UMBC, for those of you who know, this would be the equivalent of going to Reslife then to the police station and then back to Reslife.

My solution: They should either move the stamp lady to the student services office (stop #1) or move the forms to the security department.

simple-easy-condensed

grey's anatomy and the racing mind

how is it that I have only seen grey’s anatomy twice and both times seen the same show. the first time was over a year ago and then tonight. same episode. weird.

I am trying to get some lucid dreaming going on while I sleep, so I have started a dream journal again as part of the process for encouraging lucid dreaming.. Any weird ones I have are getting put up so you all can see what goes on in my head at night. I swear sometimes my brain must take leave of my body and go to a rave party and then digest all the drugs it took at the party.

I was a victim of mind racing last night. Not mind erasing but mind racing. I usually get the most creative in the evening which is a problem if its three o’clock in the morning and I am trying to sleep. With Sunset almost finished, I was thinking about new books, new medias, and how they would connect if at all to Sunset, and what my blogs would look like. Good stuff but not needed at that early in the morning. Fell asleep after morning call to prayer, my late night indicator, and after five a.m. Woof.

pizza time!

as I have a lot of time on my hands, I’ve decided to do some backing. so far, with the help of Nicholas we made a pita vegetable and spice concoction for dinner all baked in the oven. now I have cooked basboosa, somewhat successfully, and now pizza.

well this was beyond messy. I didn’t add enough flour to the mix at first and tried to start kneading the bread. it was still too sticky coating my hands and counter with gooey dough. once I got that mess back into the pot and added more flour I had some workable dough. then I created a pizza, not using pizza sauce but more like spaghetti sauce or its Egyptian equivalent. the toppings I used were onions, green peppers, tomatoes, and Egyptian cheese. it turned out to be a pretty decent pizza. I even half leftovers and half the dough stored in the freezer for later pizza time.

making the pizza reminded me of making it with my mom and brother like we used to do when we were little. my mom would give each of us a little bit of dough to work with and we would fashion pizzas in whatever shapes we could think of. I miss that and I hope I will get my mom to make some pizza with me when I get back.

good learning experience and cleanup tasks (there was flour everywhere and dough all over the place-down the front of the counter, on the floor, dried on the hair on my arms and pants and shirt.)

there is even flour on my computer when I was scrolling through the recipe on my computer. rock on.

Day 2 of Nipon Aikido Seminar

Day 2 of the seminar was a little less exciting for me. I didn’t sleep well the night before, despite being exhausted so I was actually tired for the first time during the day in a long time. I had forgotten how crappy you feel and wondered how I ever did it during high school and the school year.

Most people arrived at 7 but for some reason or another there were other classes going on. We had to wait until eightish to start the seminar. It was all weapons work except for a few hand to hand techniques which were done to complement the weapons work. We worked individually on jo and bokken and in pairs jo v jo, bokken v bokken and bokken v jo. Good stuff but frustrating for me. Weapons work is very interesting to me but one where I have the least experience and the exercises with them, especially with partners, are still very difficult. On top of that I was tired. The seminar finished at its normal time which means that we had a shorter one than yesterday and we finished with the shihan talking a little and our sensei giving him, the other guest sensei and the two other accompanying students presents from Egypt. I then went home, crashed and watched a little tv, and slept quite soundly.

I am fortunate to have been able to attend two seminars while out of the country and get to experience the different teaching styles of the higher ranked practitioners of the art. I am, of course, really looking forward to going to practice Aikido back home.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25572774/

2nd Aikido Seminar, Day 1 (Hi-ya!)

I’ve been back from the first day of my second Aikido seminar in Egypt. I have been really fortunate in being able to attend these seminars. The class was taught by Gakku Homma Shihan of Nipon Aikido, and he is based in Colorado. The shihan is an eighth dan (out of 10) and was the last uchi deshi for O’Sensei. This means he was the last live in student for the founder of Aikido (something very impressive).

The shihan seemed like a great person. He was very funny, relaxed, and completely full of knowledge about Aikido. The first thing he did while we were lined up waiting for class was too stand in front of us and press he jo (staff) against his belly trying to make it stick. Then he tried it on his back. The first time it didn’t work the second it did. The staff was floating held against his back. I at first thought this was some Aikido secret, but then he laughed and turned and everyone saw that he had tucked the jo into the stiff part of his hakama. (martial art skirt). That was a great start to class.

The class consisted of doing some techniques out of nikyo including headlocks and full nelsons. Then he moved onto pressure points. I learned some new tricks. (Miguel, Pete, and Sempai watch out!) After that pain ended we did work with the jo. His staff seemed to be an extension of his body moving fluidly as an extension of his arms. Shihan said that the jo is not a weapon but a dance partner. He said that he didn’t focus a lot on kata because it can make you very stiff. Rather he focused on fluidity and natural movement, and we did some cool twirling warm-ups. He taught us an 18 jo-kata, which I promptly forgot, and then we watched some demos of the kata by the two students who came with him.

I am exhausted and a little, but there is another class tomorrow and I have a little more to say. For the past five almost six months I have practiced Aikido at the Shooting Club Dojo solely with Egyptians. It was really weird to be practicing Americans again up close and personal (besides my roommate who is actually out of the country for two weeks). Instead of working with guys (and great guys they are) named Nour, Omar, Abdel-Rahman, and Hasan, I worked with a guy named Brian and the other American there was Jason. It was just weird to me to see Americans in the dojo in the first place. I have been the only one there for a long time, so it was different and good to not be alone on the mats (not that the Egyptians haven’t made me feel 100% welcome).

During the call to prayer, shihan moved with the call with his jo fluidly and beautifully matching the voice’s rise and fall in his own movements. It was really something to see and something that I had never even pictured or considered. The fluidity and the jo warm up techniques were the really eye opening things that I learned today, something that I will take back with me. I really can’t wait to get back and put my own jo and bokken (sword) in my hands again.

Cultural Experience #37 An Egyptian Movie in Arabic

Two firsts just happened. One, I saw a movie in a movie theater in Arabic without subtitles. Two, I saw a movie in a movie theater by myself. Needless to say I am just a little confused.

The flick I saw was called Al-Raiess Omar Harb, and I think it translates to the president Omar Harb. But I have to go back further than the movie title to explain this event. It starts at the door. The ticket lady told me that the movie started at 9 p.m. I arrived at 8:50 because I didn’t want to miss the previews (those of you who know me know this). Instead of previews at 9 p.m., I got a dose of Egyptian. At the doors, which were unopened waited at least 50 people for the show. The more boisterous lads were up front while the women and respectable couples were further back. I, of course being early, was wedged up into the front. Everyone was carrying on waiting for the doors to be open. 9 o’clock passed. There was yelling and general fun going on until the door, yes singular, opened. There were seven other doors I counted. Then the tide began, I felt very similar to what a piece of dirt must feel as it is sucked down the drain after the tub water is let out: inevitability. The jostling and pushing began along with shouts of ‘enter! and ‘go!’ led by the age group dominated by teenagers.

I get inside at 9:12 and the movie starts at 9:30. I knew what I was in for, no subtitles and everything but I was excited. We saw some previews one in English the other Arabic, and then the movie started. It was confusing. The movie centered around a casino in Egypt led by a powerful man, didn’t catch his name, who runs a tight ship with its own particular set of ugly if you get mixed up in the wrong things. Several men did throughout the movie, again don’t know why or what for but several men were beaten, one guy got his hands chopped off, and another was hung (I think).

The main character was Khalid, a casino worker who did the roulette table. When he wasn’t having sex with the two alternating lead women (not at the same time), he was either being taken under the wing by the casino owner, possibly Omar Harb, or staring eyes bulging out in various scenes (fights between his two lovers, other women’s breasts, his boss’s threats. There was also a weird dream sequence too where he was running through the desert but being stopped by an old wooden gate. I think it was symbolizing his being trapped in his job in which people around him were being killed. The movie ended with all the main characters lining up in front of Khalid and the casino owner and Khalid accepting something, I think the next ownership role of the casino. The two drank champagne and were surrounded by celebrating people except Khalid and the girl he actually liked (one of the two) didn’t look happy. I pictured the end being like the Godfather where Michael Corlione is sitting at his father’s desk now in charge of the family not liking what he had become (if I remember correctly). My energy and focus waned after the entr’acte. My brain just got too tired trying to follow the Arabic.

Couple more tidbits. The girls on screen, especially his main love interest who I am guessing is famous, got catcalls and low whistles. There are also censor cards shown at the beginning of the previews and the movies to show that they have been screened by the censors. Lastly, Egyptian movie theaters are not quiet.

Overall it was a fun experience. I would probably do it again. It also only cost a little less than 3 dollars.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Happy Birthday U.S.A.!

Today is Independence Day, and we celebrate the birth of our nation. How do you celebrate it?

As for me, I baked an Egyptian sweet called Basbousa (like a honey cake).

Listened to a new podcast by J.C. Hutchins about the assassination of the U.S. President by a four year old and the ensuing team created to fight the man behind the killer (or so I assume). I am really liking it and will of course write a review for it at the end. Only a few episodes in so I don’t know too much, but so far it is engaging and psychologically well thought out.

Also listened last night to a podcast Infected by Scott Sigler. Ooohhhh! Fantastic! A review will follow but you should definitely check it out. So far it’s about some sort of disease or parasite that hosts itself in human bodies and makes people go crazy and violent. There is, of course, a team after it and they are a good set of characters too. Oh, and the infection talks-try listening at 3 am like me in an apartment by yourself. Creepy.

Tonight I will drink Egyptian beer, eat Egyptian produce, and watch a movie about a British secret agent, 007.

Overall I am being very patriotic, and I sang the national anthem in the shower this morning.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy fourth of July whether you do parades, cookouts, fireworks, parties, or nothing at all. Keep my country (if your not American and reading this, but I doubt it, otherwise it’s our country) and me in your prayers, and I will do the same.


See y’all soon.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

TT&G II

This is Part Two.

Way back when before I left my country and had just started up my blog, I promised I would make an entry for my friends Taleh, Trish, and Gaby (names again changed to protect the guilty) which I did. I also told them I would probably do a part to in order to help get me through the rest of my time here. Well this is that time for remembering the good friends I have back home and what I have to look forward to when I get there.

There have been several things throughout the semester which have reminded me of them each in different ways that when I see them make me smile.

Regularly throughout the semester I would catch sight of something around me that would remind me of Trish whether it was a building, or something framed by flowers, the way a bird sat just so in a tree, or the way the clouds framed the skyline and bridges crossing the Nile. Every time I saw something picturesque I thought of Trish because she is such an amazing photographer. Last semester most of our floor went through picture sessions from Trish capturing the good side of everyone. Oh and I think of Trish every time my old man muscles and bones creak when I am trying to stretch in warming up for Aikido. Go Gumby!

Now Gaby, I always think of whenever I watch Firefly or Serenity (which occurred frequently throughout the semester. I remember her yelling when ________ dies and when ________ and _______ kiss and when ________ and ________ don’t kiss. (haha) I also see Gaby in all the children who I see and who talk to me in the streets. Not that she is childish, (well some times… :) jk) but that she has a youthful spirit always ready to laugh and have a good time. I also think of Gaby when I do Aikido because I remember all the times she either volunteered or I volunteered her to do a technique on her, usually which ended up with her in pain lying half dead on the common room floor.

Taleh, of course, I think of Aikido (really says what I do here don’t you think) with her dance and our numerous stretch sessions throughout last semester. I don’t think I was ever more flexible than last semester. I try to copy the grace she has that I have seen in the performance she showed me and the weird little dances she did on the Humanities Floor every now and then. One of my favorite memories is watching Alex and her waltzing in the common area with all the couches and chairs pushed back to the perimeter. She is also into makeup and so are the girls here in Cairo. They really focus on their face, especially the eyes here, and I know she is a fair hand with it all. (She should be getting a job with it soon, at least that is what I have been led to believe. er-hem :)) Taleh hasn’t gotten her makeup on me yet, wasn’t around me freshmen year (one of my few makeup experiences in college).

These girls are three great amigas. I missed hanging out with them this semester, and though next semester won’t be the same, I can’t wait to see them. Just writing about them brings back the glorious memories we had doing stupid stuff, being weird, and generally living life up at UMBC.

I didn’t look at the first post, so I don’t know if I repeated myself. If I did it is because those are the things that stick out that make me smile some five thousand miles away.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

HAHA! (little victory dance)

I got my story Sunset posted on a website for online serials. May not mean much to you, but for me, this is a glorius day. My name is getting out there, slowly but surely.

http://www.pagesunbound.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=216&Itemid=2

Much thanks to pagesunbound.com for posting my story!

July 1, 2008

To continue my trend of reminiscing about movies and the experiences associated with them from when I was a kid, here is another memory.

I was living in my other house which puts me in middle school and I watched some movie with my grandfather. I have no idea what it was but it was about some prisoners/GIs in prison/or something. I vividly remember watching someone get guillotined (wow spelled that right on the first try) and feeling that my parents wouldn’t approve (whether they would or not, I don’t know). But I was with my grandfather in his room watching the movie, so they didn’t know. I don’t think he was bothered that I was watching, and it wasn’t overly violent either. I think on par with the beheading in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Anyway for some reason this memory sticks out in my brain. I think because I was watching a movie with my grandfather and watching a movie that in my middle school mind was taboo for someone like me.

By the way, today is July 1, 2008 in case any of you were wondering.

Crime Novels: Review

Read two other interesting stories these past two days.

Jake Wakes Up by Seth Harwood

This is the tale of a failed actor who after living a reclusive recuperative life away from his drug addiction reenters the drug world by helping a friend finish a deal. Only his friend’s buyers have bigger problems than dealing with just drugs. Jack gets in over his head and is forced to deal with Czechs, Russians, Columbians, crooked cops, and American drug kingpins. He is forced to rely on his acting skills in trying to figure why the dead people are dead, who killed them, and why.

Harwood does a good job in creating a tortured character in Jack Palms in never letting him forget his troubled past, but I had a little trouble getting past the fact that he could just jump right into this world of violence. If you can get past some of the stereotypical cast types, which doesn’t get too much in the way, then you will especially if you like the noir style.

Men Are Trouble by James Patrick Kelly

A short novella in which half the human population has been wiped out by mysterious devil creatures leaving only women. The story centers around Fay Hardaway, a private investigator, looking for a missing woman. Fay and the other women in the book struggle to come to terms with there daily life which is run by bots, created by the devils to replace the men, and to make something of their lives which have no meaning since everything is taken care of by the devils and the bots.

I liked this novella better than Jake Wakes Up primarily because Kelly does a better job at creating and sustaining the mystery. The twists in this book are less predictable than the ones in the Harwood’s. I had a little trouble buying Hardaway as a PI because it seemed that Kelly merely changed the name from a male to a female one. I wish Kelly had given us more about the devils, but the little information keeps you frustrated yet intrigued hoping he will tell you more.