Recently I've heard a lot of critics of 'The Hunger Games' say that both the books and the movie are 'too violent'. Sadly, even Christians have jumped on that bandwagon.
Christian fiction has a rep of being the opposite of violent. Bland romances in Amish or Prairie settings with nothing to do with the real world.
But should Christian fiction be like that? The Bible is violent--- from the murder of Abel to the wars in the book of Revelation (which is really all about the Eucharist, but still...). History is violent--- Masada, World War III, I mean II.... Mythology is violent--- remember that proto-god who ate all his children? Even peaceful anti-war protests often turn violent.
Violence is necessary to good fiction because fiction is about conflict. And it's hard to have serious conflict if there is no actual or threatened violence. Would we have been mesmerized by the Harry Potter series if Lord Voldemort had been threatening to lower Harry's grades rather than threatening to kill Harry?
The need for violence in fiction is an evidence of Man's fallen nature, as taught in the Christian apostolic tradition (which includes the Bible). Because there is so much violence around us, conflicts without a hint of violence possible strike us as bland, trivial. We don't buy mystery novels where the mystery involves finding a lost Latin missal in time for next Sunday's Latin Mass--- since the prospect of someone going to Latin Mass without their own missal and having to use the Latin Mass booklet provided doesn't thrill us the way the threat of murder does.
This does not mean that every Christian science fiction or fantasy series has to include a character-bloodbath like the ones at the end of Harry Potter or Left Behind, or the recent one in the BBC TV series Being Human. Character bloodbaths are harder for the Christian reader/author because most of us are firmly part of the culture of life and want every human life respected from conception until natural death. Which makes us worry about staging a massive character bloodbath, or even worry about reading one.
I think it's no mystery why the Left Behind apocalyptic fiction series broke out of the Christian fiction ghetto and onto secular best-seller lists. The Left Behind series is not only Christian fiction, but it's centered on a theological belief--- the Rapture theory--- that the majority of the world's Christians believe is invalid. One would think it would not only repel secular readers but most Christians. But it sold, because it was set in a world where the main characters were under threat of death all the time as the Antichrist, Nikolai Carpathia, took power. In fact, several of the important Christian characters did die before the final battle. And this is what made the conflict in the story real and compelling to the reader.
Christian science fiction and fantasy, like Pagan science fiction and fantasy, or secular science fiction and fantasy, have to reflect the real world. Perhaps our worlds will have elves with enchanted spears or semi-Roman emperors with laser swords instead of Crips and Bloods with guns. But there has to be violence--- or at least the implied threat of violence--- to show that the conflict in the story matters.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
The One-Page Method: Before You Snowflake
Lately I've been doing the Snowflake Method to plan my new novel Kirinia. I've even bought 'Writing Fiction for Dummies' which was authored by the Snowflake guy, which helped me understand I shouldn't have been so rigid the first time I Snowflaked--- the steps do NOT have to be done in that order. Which is good.
The first step in the Snowflake is to sum up your book in one sentence--- a storyline. Like, for the Harry Potter series: "A fallen Dark Lord seeks to regain his power but is thwarted by a bratty kid wizard." (There is a more normal example on this post at Fortnight of Mustard.)
My current storyline/elevator pitch sentence for Kirinia goes something like this: "A Kristan cultist girl, condemned to fight in the arena, must choose between her faith and saving her family's lives."
This was actually the third one I wrote. I wrote the first from the viewpoint of a different character, and a second from the viewpoint of the villain. I thought it was weird to write storylines for three different characters until I got to Step 3 and found I was going to have to write storylines for all of the characters.
The hard part for me was getting to the point where I knew enough about the story to write storylines. Because I not only had to create characters and bits of story for them, I also had to do worldbuilding.
The problem with doing these preliminaries is that I tend to get bogged down, ramble and such, and then never get things done. But I am good at writing short things--- poems, blog posts, and so on. So I invented the One-Page Method.
This is how you do it: you take something you know about the story--- a character, a bit of the storyworld's history, an event from the story--- and write about one page about it.
By 'one page' I mean the maximum is the amount of text you can get on one computer page. You can write part of the page as well.
What I do is I write the topic of the proposed page in boldface on the left top, and on the right top write the title (or working title) of the novel. If it is more of a worldbuilding topic, I write the name of the world and the name of the kingdom/empire within that world that the page is concerned with.
This is a very unstructured way to get started. You only write pages for the stuff in your story you already have worked out. My early One-Pages were about the settlement of the empire in the story, called Kirinia, about the Twelve Cities of Kirinia, about the enemies of Kirinia, the Eaters-of-Men, notes about some of the main characters--- Mija, the Kristan cultist girl, Kamilla, the girl from a patrician family who loves Mija, Tiberio, the emperor, who finds out that the Kristan cult is growing at an alarming rate, which he believes threatens the ability of his empire to defeat the Eaters-of-Men....
Once I had a bunch of One-Pages (which I keep in a binder) I was ready to start doing the early Snowflake steps. (The early Snowflake steps have the advantage of being compatible with One-Page, some of the later steps, such as the Long Summary, I intend to break down into One-Page portions.)
As I'm starting to do the Snowflake steps, I'm continuing to turn out One-Pages as well. I'm also updating One-Pages and Snowflake steps as I discover more about the story. For example, I had to change certain character names when I decided that characters who were slaves would have the affix -el- in their names (Markelo, Lukelo). I decided that names which naturally had an -el- in it would modify it--- so Aurelio, the family name of the current emperor, becomes Aurilio.
I hope some other writers, particularly those who have problems being organized, will try the One-Page method and see if it helps. In my own case I've been able to sustain my interest in and belief in my current writing project for a much longer time than I usually do. I hope it works for other people as well.
The first step in the Snowflake is to sum up your book in one sentence--- a storyline. Like, for the Harry Potter series: "A fallen Dark Lord seeks to regain his power but is thwarted by a bratty kid wizard." (There is a more normal example on this post at Fortnight of Mustard.)
My current storyline/elevator pitch sentence for Kirinia goes something like this: "A Kristan cultist girl, condemned to fight in the arena, must choose between her faith and saving her family's lives."
This was actually the third one I wrote. I wrote the first from the viewpoint of a different character, and a second from the viewpoint of the villain. I thought it was weird to write storylines for three different characters until I got to Step 3 and found I was going to have to write storylines for all of the characters.
The hard part for me was getting to the point where I knew enough about the story to write storylines. Because I not only had to create characters and bits of story for them, I also had to do worldbuilding.
The problem with doing these preliminaries is that I tend to get bogged down, ramble and such, and then never get things done. But I am good at writing short things--- poems, blog posts, and so on. So I invented the One-Page Method.
This is how you do it: you take something you know about the story--- a character, a bit of the storyworld's history, an event from the story--- and write about one page about it.
By 'one page' I mean the maximum is the amount of text you can get on one computer page. You can write part of the page as well.
What I do is I write the topic of the proposed page in boldface on the left top, and on the right top write the title (or working title) of the novel. If it is more of a worldbuilding topic, I write the name of the world and the name of the kingdom/empire within that world that the page is concerned with.
This is a very unstructured way to get started. You only write pages for the stuff in your story you already have worked out. My early One-Pages were about the settlement of the empire in the story, called Kirinia, about the Twelve Cities of Kirinia, about the enemies of Kirinia, the Eaters-of-Men, notes about some of the main characters--- Mija, the Kristan cultist girl, Kamilla, the girl from a patrician family who loves Mija, Tiberio, the emperor, who finds out that the Kristan cult is growing at an alarming rate, which he believes threatens the ability of his empire to defeat the Eaters-of-Men....
Once I had a bunch of One-Pages (which I keep in a binder) I was ready to start doing the early Snowflake steps. (The early Snowflake steps have the advantage of being compatible with One-Page, some of the later steps, such as the Long Summary, I intend to break down into One-Page portions.)
As I'm starting to do the Snowflake steps, I'm continuing to turn out One-Pages as well. I'm also updating One-Pages and Snowflake steps as I discover more about the story. For example, I had to change certain character names when I decided that characters who were slaves would have the affix -el- in their names (Markelo, Lukelo). I decided that names which naturally had an -el- in it would modify it--- so Aurelio, the family name of the current emperor, becomes Aurilio.
I hope some other writers, particularly those who have problems being organized, will try the One-Page method and see if it helps. In my own case I've been able to sustain my interest in and belief in my current writing project for a much longer time than I usually do. I hope it works for other people as well.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Naming a Character? Visit this Blog!
This is to announce a relaunch and refocus of my old Korean Names blog. It's now Writers Guide to Korean and Global Names.
So far what I have gotten done is that I took down all the old posts--- not very many--- which were topics like 'Korean Male Names beginning with J'--- and replaced them with three new posts. One for Korean female names, one for Korean male names, and one for Korean family names.
These three new posts were a cut-and-paste job of some files on my computer to which I've been transferring my Korean names lists. These posts will be updated as the files are added to.
I've also put in a list of word verification words, for those who collect and use such things. I'm also going to be adding names from other ethnic groups, starting with Quechua.
Posts planned for the near future will be ones on Roman names, Esperanto names, Frisian names and Low German names.
Since it takes a long time to prepare these posts, I'm also using the blog as a place to post info on the most current Korean soap operas I'm watching on KBS America. This is relevant because Korean soap operas are where I get names from.
I'm hoping the revamped blog will be useful to writers who are naming characters. Check it out and see what you think.
Writers Guide to Korean and Global Names
So far what I have gotten done is that I took down all the old posts--- not very many--- which were topics like 'Korean Male Names beginning with J'--- and replaced them with three new posts. One for Korean female names, one for Korean male names, and one for Korean family names.
These three new posts were a cut-and-paste job of some files on my computer to which I've been transferring my Korean names lists. These posts will be updated as the files are added to.
I've also put in a list of word verification words, for those who collect and use such things. I'm also going to be adding names from other ethnic groups, starting with Quechua.
Posts planned for the near future will be ones on Roman names, Esperanto names, Frisian names and Low German names.
Since it takes a long time to prepare these posts, I'm also using the blog as a place to post info on the most current Korean soap operas I'm watching on KBS America. This is relevant because Korean soap operas are where I get names from.
I'm hoping the revamped blog will be useful to writers who are naming characters. Check it out and see what you think.
Writers Guide to Korean and Global Names
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
7 Reasons Why People with Asperger Syndrome can Never, Ever be Writers
Sorry, Herman Melville, Jane Austin, Hans Christian Anderson, but you can't have existed. Or at least, not existed with the Asperger Syndrome folks are convinced you had. As it says in Xanthippa's Chamberpot: "Writing is one of the major woes for people with Aspergers."
Here are the three reasons she gives, followed by more cynical ones of my own:
A bit gloomy, isn't it? And I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with Xanthippa, in spite of the cool name. Writing has never been MY woe, but the one area in which I could shine. Here is some commentary on the above list:
So, maybe it's true that with Asperger Syndrome I can never ever be a real writer. Maybe I'm doomed to be a failure like Herman Melville. I can live with that.
Here are the three reasons she gives, followed by more cynical ones of my own:
- Children with Asperger Syndrome have too much trouble with the mechanics of writing.
- Short term memory problems--- the ideas rush by so fast, you forget what you were writing by the end of the word.
- People with Asperger Syndrome can speak on any topic at great length, but are inhibited when it comes to writing it down, because that makes it too official.
- Aspies soon learn that if you write things down, people, especially schoolteachers, can find it and ruin it for you. So you must never, ever write things down.
- Aspies have odd special interests and so won't want to write on the topics that the mass market wants to read about.
- Aspies find it near to impossible to attract friends, so how can they possibly attract readers for their book?
- Aspies have something called a 'lack of executive function' which is pretty much the same thing as Attention Deficit Disorder. How can you be a writer when your novel-notes are in a giant paper-pile along with old Christmas cards and a list of your Vampire Wars friends?
A bit gloomy, isn't it? And I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with Xanthippa, in spite of the cool name. Writing has never been MY woe, but the one area in which I could shine. Here is some commentary on the above list:
- The mechanics of writing has never been my problem. But if it is for you, who cares? Schools aren't even teaching handwriting any more. Folks can use a computer instead.
- Who cares if you forget some of those fast-flowing ideas? Jot down notes to capture enough of your brilliant ideas to finish the project at hand. Your brain that generates the idea-flow can generate all the ideas you need no matter how many you forget.
- If you can speak about it, you can write about it. Ever notice that the fellow who can't get around to writing a college paper or finishing his novel can spend an hour or more goofing off online--- writing to express himself? Just transfer that writing-energy to your novel and you are set.
- As you grow up, you learn that the rude things folks might have once said about your writing were pretty dull-witted rude things. You CAN learn to have a thicker skin.
- Those weird aspie special interests are what make your writing interesting and unique.
- The things that make an aspie unpopular as a real-life friend makes him more attractive as a writer.
- You can learn to organize your paper pile with paper trays, and put all the stuff from your current writing project in a binder so you can find it.
So, maybe it's true that with Asperger Syndrome I can never ever be a real writer. Maybe I'm doomed to be a failure like Herman Melville. I can live with that.
7 Reasons Why People with Asperger Syndrome can Never, Ever be Writers
Sorry, Herman Melville, Jane Austin, Hans Christian Anderson, but you can't have existed. Or at least, not existed with the Asperger Syndrome folks are convinced you had. As it says in Xanthippa's Chamberpot: "Writing is one of the major woes for people with Aspergers."
Here are the three reasons she gives, followed by more cynical ones of my own:
A bit gloomy, isn't it? And I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with Xanthippa, in spite of the cool name. Writing has never been MY woe, but the one area in which I could shine. Here is some commentary on the above list:
So, maybe it's true that with Asperger Syndrome I can never ever be a real writer. Maybe I'm doomed to be a failure like Herman Melville. I can live with that.
Here are the three reasons she gives, followed by more cynical ones of my own:
- Children with Asperger Syndrome have too much trouble with the mechanics of writing.
- Short term memory problems--- the ideas rush by so fast, you forget what you were writing by the end of the word.
- People with Asperger Syndrome can speak on any topic at great length, but are inhibited when it comes to writing it down, because that makes it too official.
- Aspies soon learn that if you write things down, people, especially schoolteachers, can find it and ruin it for you. So you must never, ever write things down.
- Aspies have odd special interests and so won't want to write on the topics that the mass market wants to read about.
- Aspies find it near to impossible to attract friends, so how can they possibly attract readers for their book?
- Aspies have something called a 'lack of executive function' which is pretty much the same thing as Attention Deficit Disorder. How can you be a writer when your novel-notes are in a giant paper-pile along with old Christmas cards and a list of your Vampire Wars friends?
A bit gloomy, isn't it? And I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with Xanthippa, in spite of the cool name. Writing has never been MY woe, but the one area in which I could shine. Here is some commentary on the above list:
- The mechanics of writing has never been my problem. But if it is for you, who cares? Schools aren't even teaching handwriting any more. Folks can use a computer instead.
- Who cares if you forget some of those fast-flowing ideas? Jot down notes to capture enough of your brilliant ideas to finish the project at hand. Your brain that generates the idea-flow can generate all the ideas you need no matter how many you forget.
- If you can speak about it, you can write about it. Ever notice that the fellow who can't get around to writing a college paper or finishing his novel can spend an hour or more goofing off online--- writing to express himself? Just transfer that writing-energy to your novel and you are set.
- As you grow up, you learn that the rude things folks might have once said about your writing were pretty dull-witted rude things. You CAN learn to have a thicker skin.
- Those weird aspie special interests are what make your writing interesting and unique.
- The things that make an aspie unpopular as a real-life friend makes him more attractive as a writer.
- You can learn to organize your paper pile with paper trays, and put all the stuff from your current writing project in a binder so you can find it.
So, maybe it's true that with Asperger Syndrome I can never ever be a real writer. Maybe I'm doomed to be a failure like Herman Melville. I can live with that.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Got Green? Blog Hop
Just in time for Saint Patrick's Day..... An Irish-themed 'blog o'hop'.
So hop on over to Mark Koopmans' blog for details and to sign up.
There are prizes, which include:
1. A $30 gift card
2. A query critique
3. All the snakes St. Patrick drove out of Ireland
I may have made that last one up....
Bloggers will be posting on Mar. 17 and visiting one another's blogs.
So hop on over to Mark Koopmans' blog for details and to sign up.
There are prizes, which include:
1. A $30 gift card
2. A query critique
3. All the snakes St. Patrick drove out of Ireland
I may have made that last one up....
Bloggers will be posting on Mar. 17 and visiting one another's blogs.
The Obama Mandate that Jewish Families buy Pork
Once upon a time in a kingdom far, far away, there was a wise king named Barack Obama. He was a very fair minded man who thought all of his humble subjects should be treated exactly the same.
One year when the kingdom's pork industry had fallen on hard times, King Barack agreed to help them out. He decreed that every family in the kingdom be required to buy a supply of pork every month.
In other years when such a decree was made, there had been a provision that Jewish families be exempt. Their religion required that they keep kosher, and pork was forbidden, non-kosher food. Trafe.
But King Barack thought that being fair meant treating every subject exactly the same. He wouldn't let women get maternity leaves unless men got them too. So he wouldn't let Jewish families be any exception to his rule.
The heads of the kingdom's Jewish families came to King Barack. They pleaded that their faith forbade that they should eat such a thing as pork.
Wise King Barack told them that this was not so. They personally did not have to eat the pork. They just had to buy it, make their wives cook it, and feed it to their children. It wouldn't be fair for Jewish children to be denied access to pork dinners, would it?
The Jewish fathers objected. Their children did have access to pork dinners. Sometimes the Jewish children bought the pork dinners for themselves from a restaurant. And if the children were poor, there were charitable organizations that provided free pork dinners for all. There were even government organizations that did the same.
King Barack shook his head. Children must not be treated differently just because they happened to reside in a Jewish home. They must have access to pork dinners at home, lest some child somewhere not have a pork dinner at all.
The Jewish fathers went home angry, and spread their tale all over the kingdom. Most people agreed that the Jewish religion might be permitted to survive. But pork dinners?
“I don't see anything wrong with eating pork dinners,” said a woman. “Except during Lent of course, and on Fridays.”
“Yes,” said a man. “Pork dinners are not evil, they are a wonderful thing. Where would our sad old world be without pork dinners?”
And many people began to agree with this and decided not to petition the king to reverse his decree where the Jewish families were concerned.
But one old man spoke out. “I don't keep kosher myself,” he said. “I don't see the use of it, being a Christian. But if the Jewish families are ordered to violate their faith--- silly as that faith might be--- what about us? What if some future king decided that we need to violate our faith? Or that those of us who don't have a faith be required to acquire one?”
But the people scoffed. “Just because they come for the Jews doesn't mean they will ever come for us,” said a man. And all over the kingdom, people decided the same way. The king's decree stood, and life went on as normal. Unless you were Jewish.
Twenty years later a new king arose and passed a degree that every church, synagogue and temple in the kingdom hire a man specially trained in scientific atheism and sexual versatility as their new head clergyman.
People went to the courts for relief, but the judges looked to precedent and found the decree of King Barack. “There is nothing to be done,” they said.
Most religious groups refused to comply with the new king's decree. The new king burned down every church, synagogue and temple that did not follow the new law. And somewhere up in heaven, an old man said, “I told you so.”
This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance between characters in the story and real Barack Obamas is a coincidence. Really.
If my little tale has pleased you enough that you want to share it on your blog, you may do so, provided that you don't alter/rewrite it and that you provide a link back to this blog post.
One year when the kingdom's pork industry had fallen on hard times, King Barack agreed to help them out. He decreed that every family in the kingdom be required to buy a supply of pork every month.
In other years when such a decree was made, there had been a provision that Jewish families be exempt. Their religion required that they keep kosher, and pork was forbidden, non-kosher food. Trafe.
But King Barack thought that being fair meant treating every subject exactly the same. He wouldn't let women get maternity leaves unless men got them too. So he wouldn't let Jewish families be any exception to his rule.
The heads of the kingdom's Jewish families came to King Barack. They pleaded that their faith forbade that they should eat such a thing as pork.
Wise King Barack told them that this was not so. They personally did not have to eat the pork. They just had to buy it, make their wives cook it, and feed it to their children. It wouldn't be fair for Jewish children to be denied access to pork dinners, would it?
The Jewish fathers objected. Their children did have access to pork dinners. Sometimes the Jewish children bought the pork dinners for themselves from a restaurant. And if the children were poor, there were charitable organizations that provided free pork dinners for all. There were even government organizations that did the same.
King Barack shook his head. Children must not be treated differently just because they happened to reside in a Jewish home. They must have access to pork dinners at home, lest some child somewhere not have a pork dinner at all.
The Jewish fathers went home angry, and spread their tale all over the kingdom. Most people agreed that the Jewish religion might be permitted to survive. But pork dinners?
“I don't see anything wrong with eating pork dinners,” said a woman. “Except during Lent of course, and on Fridays.”
“Yes,” said a man. “Pork dinners are not evil, they are a wonderful thing. Where would our sad old world be without pork dinners?”
And many people began to agree with this and decided not to petition the king to reverse his decree where the Jewish families were concerned.
But one old man spoke out. “I don't keep kosher myself,” he said. “I don't see the use of it, being a Christian. But if the Jewish families are ordered to violate their faith--- silly as that faith might be--- what about us? What if some future king decided that we need to violate our faith? Or that those of us who don't have a faith be required to acquire one?”
But the people scoffed. “Just because they come for the Jews doesn't mean they will ever come for us,” said a man. And all over the kingdom, people decided the same way. The king's decree stood, and life went on as normal. Unless you were Jewish.
Twenty years later a new king arose and passed a degree that every church, synagogue and temple in the kingdom hire a man specially trained in scientific atheism and sexual versatility as their new head clergyman.
People went to the courts for relief, but the judges looked to precedent and found the decree of King Barack. “There is nothing to be done,” they said.
Most religious groups refused to comply with the new king's decree. The new king burned down every church, synagogue and temple that did not follow the new law. And somewhere up in heaven, an old man said, “I told you so.”
This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance between characters in the story and real Barack Obamas is a coincidence. Really.
If my little tale has pleased you enough that you want to share it on your blog, you may do so, provided that you don't alter/rewrite it and that you provide a link back to this blog post.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Being Human series 4: Annie as Referee
This blog post is about episode 2 of the 4th series of the BBC show Being Human. If you haven't watched the episode yet, there are spoilers ahead so don't click on 'Read more' unless you want to see them.
In the earlier series of Being Human, Annie the Ghost was just this meek little sidekick to the real stars of the show, Mitchell the Vampire and George the Werewolf. She couldn't cope with life--- or should I say afterlife? But the new series shows how much she has grown since her death.
After the staking of Mitchell at the end of series 3, and the deaths of Nina and George in the first episode of this series, Annie is now the central focus of the series. She is the protector of baby Eve Sands, the child of George and Nina who is prophesied to rid the world of vampires. And she also functions as referee in the quarrels of her two new roommates Tom and Hal.
Tom, a young werewolf, is Annie's sole roommate at the start of the episode. But there is another trio of ghost, vampire and werewolf around--- Leo, Pearl and Hal. They have been together for fifty years, and now elderly Leo is dying. He comes to Annie's place to see the 'savior' child, Eve, before he dies. (Leo the Werewolf is played by Louis Mahoney, who also played Old Billy in the Doctor Who episode 'Blink.)
Tom does not care for Hal the vampire. But when Leo dies, and Pearl the Ghost chooses to go through the door with Leo who she has been in love with for the past 50 years, Hal tells his old roommates he will join Annie's household. (He is OK with the idea that Eve will end the vampire race, by the way.)
Hal ends up staying but there will be storms ahead. Annie's already had to reprimand Tom once for hiding a vampire-killing stake in the shrubbery with the intent of staking Hal. The 1st series Annie would NOT have been up to the job of serving as head-of-household/referee in this situation. But I have confidence that Annie is up to the job now.
So--- that was episode 2, 'Being Human 1955'. What did you think of it?
Irrelevant meandering: Why did Nina abandon George and her baby after she was killed? (Yeah, I know, the actress quit/was fired). But, seriously, she could have stayed on as a ghost. And if she had, George could have as well. And what about Mitchell? Why didn't he become a ghost? They could have turned their house into the most haunted bed-and-breakfast in the UK!
In the earlier series of Being Human, Annie the Ghost was just this meek little sidekick to the real stars of the show, Mitchell the Vampire and George the Werewolf. She couldn't cope with life--- or should I say afterlife? But the new series shows how much she has grown since her death.
After the staking of Mitchell at the end of series 3, and the deaths of Nina and George in the first episode of this series, Annie is now the central focus of the series. She is the protector of baby Eve Sands, the child of George and Nina who is prophesied to rid the world of vampires. And she also functions as referee in the quarrels of her two new roommates Tom and Hal.
Tom, a young werewolf, is Annie's sole roommate at the start of the episode. But there is another trio of ghost, vampire and werewolf around--- Leo, Pearl and Hal. They have been together for fifty years, and now elderly Leo is dying. He comes to Annie's place to see the 'savior' child, Eve, before he dies. (Leo the Werewolf is played by Louis Mahoney, who also played Old Billy in the Doctor Who episode 'Blink.)
Tom does not care for Hal the vampire. But when Leo dies, and Pearl the Ghost chooses to go through the door with Leo who she has been in love with for the past 50 years, Hal tells his old roommates he will join Annie's household. (He is OK with the idea that Eve will end the vampire race, by the way.)
Hal ends up staying but there will be storms ahead. Annie's already had to reprimand Tom once for hiding a vampire-killing stake in the shrubbery with the intent of staking Hal. The 1st series Annie would NOT have been up to the job of serving as head-of-household/referee in this situation. But I have confidence that Annie is up to the job now.
So--- that was episode 2, 'Being Human 1955'. What did you think of it?
Irrelevant meandering: Why did Nina abandon George and her baby after she was killed? (Yeah, I know, the actress quit/was fired). But, seriously, she could have stayed on as a ghost. And if she had, George could have as well. And what about Mitchell? Why didn't he become a ghost? They could have turned their house into the most haunted bed-and-breakfast in the UK!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Happy Land game: Crop Profit Table
I've been playing the Facebook game Happy Land which is a lot like Farmville (which I'm boycotting). I wasn't able to find any tricks and tips for the game online and so I'm making my own, which I probably shouldn't be posting here....
One of the things one does in Happy Land is plant crops to earn coins. Crops give different amounts of profit so it's wise to pick the most profitable crop. Love fruit is the most profitable crop I've grown so far.
Crops are listed in the order in which they become available in the game. Growth time is assuming no irrigation or greenhouse. There are also other crops in the game which are not yet available to me since I'm only level 33.
YES! I finally figured out how to do a table in my blog!!!
One of the things one does in Happy Land is plant crops to earn coins. Crops give different amounts of profit so it's wise to pick the most profitable crop. Love fruit is the most profitable crop I've grown so far.
Crops are listed in the order in which they become available in the game. Growth time is assuming no irrigation or greenhouse. There are also other crops in the game which are not yet available to me since I'm only level 33.
Crop | Growth Time | Seed Cost | Harvest Price | Crop Profit |
Clover | 4h | 15 | 20 | 5 |
Lavender | 6h | 45 | 51 | 6 |
Grape | 10h | 105 | 116 | 11 |
Wheat | 12h | 35 | 48 | 13 |
Corn | 20h | 60 | 80 | 20 |
Pasture | 1h | 15 | 17 | 2 |
Cucumber | 2h | 42 | 45 | 3 |
Cactus | 10h | 60 | 69 | 9 |
Tomato | 16h | 20 | 37 | 17 |
Coffee Bean | 6h | 110 | 117 | 7 |
Carrot | 8h | 75 | 84 | 9 |
Nitraria | 12h | 125 | 137 | 12 |
Rye | 16h | 50 | 68 | 18 |
White Grapes | 7h | 65 | 73 | 8 |
Love Fruit | 20h | 210 | 240 | 30 |
Rice | 14h | 95 | 110 | 15 |
Daisy | 6h | 25 | 34 | 9 |
Pitaya | 8h | 100 | 110 | 10 |
Hops | 10h | 164 | 177 | 13 |
Blueberry | 3h | 85 | 91 | 6 |
Sweet Potato | 8h | 150 | 161 | 11 |
Rotala | 4h | 35 | 41 | 6 |
Cane | 12h | 105 | 120 | 15 |
Blackberry | 6h | 125 | 135 | 10 |
Barley | 16h | 55 | 74 | 19 |
Blue Rose | 12h | 115 | 129 | 14 |
Raspberry | 5h | 95 | 104 | 9 |
Watermelon | 10h | 255 | 267 | 12 |
Strawberry | 9h | 185 | 199 | 14 |
Bean | 14h | 370 | 383 | 13 |
Red Rose | 15h | 215 | 231 | 16 |
Potato | 18h | 115 | 135 | 20 |
Pineapple | 1h | 200 | 202 | 2 |
YES! I finally figured out how to do a table in my blog!!!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Being Human: So, Werewolf Blood kills Vampires Now....
On this season's first episode of BBC's Being Human, it turns out that werewolf blood can kill a vampire. That would explain the hatred vampires have for 'dogs'.
However, in the first season, a girl vampire bragged to Mitchell that she had almost fed off George before she realized he was a werewolf. Mitchell DIDN'T tell her that werewolf blood would have killed her.
As for the rest of the the episode, the best I can say without resorting to spoilers is that fans of the show are likely to be very sad at certain events. But George and Nina's baby is cute and there are some intriguing developments as well. So I don't completely despair for the season.
However, in the first season, a girl vampire bragged to Mitchell that she had almost fed off George before she realized he was a werewolf. Mitchell DIDN'T tell her that werewolf blood would have killed her.
As for the rest of the the episode, the best I can say without resorting to spoilers is that fans of the show are likely to be very sad at certain events. But George and Nina's baby is cute and there are some intriguing developments as well. So I don't completely despair for the season.
New TV Show 'GCB' (Good Christian Bitches) is Anti-Christianist
If ABC television came out with a television show called 'GJB' and we found out it was an acronym for 'Good Jewish Bitches' every decent person in America and beyond would scream anti-Semitism.
Well, they do have a show called GCB about Good Christian Bitches. And since this kind of vicious hate is NOT OK, that means it is time to get ready to fight this outrage. This show's pilot airs this Sunday (yes, they are doing it on the Lord's Day).
The blog A Catholic View reports that the Parents Television Council is starting to fight against this hate-show.
A Catholic View: PTC Attacks 'Good Christian Bitches' Pilot
If you are not a hater and want to fight this show, here is what you can do:
1. Blog about it.
2. Like Facebook pages about it, and share them. Two Facebook pages are listed below. If you create another, post a comment about it.
3. Create a graphic against the show that people can put up on Facebook, on their blog, and elsewhere.
4. Write to the network.
5. Write to all of the advertisers on the show.
6. Boycott the advertisers of the show and perhaps ABC itself.g
7. Contact Christian and pro-religious-freedom organizations to find out what they are doing about it.
Here are some good Facebook pages on the subject:
Boycott Disney/ABC Network for "Good Christian Bitches" show
BAN "Good Christian Bitches" Ch 7's upcoming show
Bad things in our culture, like Obama's attempt to dictate to Catholic institutions on how to practice their faith and his orders restricting what Catholic military chaplains might say on the matter happen because Christians have gotten too meek and are just trying to quietly get along. But that sure isn't what Jesus did. He confronted evil in His day, and we are called to follow Him in that.
So--- I challenge you--- what are YOU going to do to fight the 'GCB' hate?
Well, they do have a show called GCB about Good Christian Bitches. And since this kind of vicious hate is NOT OK, that means it is time to get ready to fight this outrage. This show's pilot airs this Sunday (yes, they are doing it on the Lord's Day).
The blog A Catholic View reports that the Parents Television Council is starting to fight against this hate-show.
A Catholic View: PTC Attacks 'Good Christian Bitches' Pilot
If you are not a hater and want to fight this show, here is what you can do:
1. Blog about it.
2. Like Facebook pages about it, and share them. Two Facebook pages are listed below. If you create another, post a comment about it.
3. Create a graphic against the show that people can put up on Facebook, on their blog, and elsewhere.
4. Write to the network.
5. Write to all of the advertisers on the show.
6. Boycott the advertisers of the show and perhaps ABC itself.g
7. Contact Christian and pro-religious-freedom organizations to find out what they are doing about it.
Here are some good Facebook pages on the subject:
Boycott Disney/ABC Network for "Good Christian Bitches" show
BAN "Good Christian Bitches" Ch 7's upcoming show
Bad things in our culture, like Obama's attempt to dictate to Catholic institutions on how to practice their faith and his orders restricting what Catholic military chaplains might say on the matter happen because Christians have gotten too meek and are just trying to quietly get along. But that sure isn't what Jesus did. He confronted evil in His day, and we are called to follow Him in that.
So--- I challenge you--- what are YOU going to do to fight the 'GCB' hate?
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Blogger's New Word Verification Ruins it All for Everyone
I love Blogger's old word verification words. I even collected them in a notebook for use in writing--- when I need an alien name or word, I pick one from the notebook either as a temporary substitute for the final-version name/word, or sometimes as the permanent solution.
But I always hated the Captcha WV system. Besides the fact that they were often ordinary words--- useless for my purpose--- there was the fact that they were too distorted for me to read. With Captcha WV, I had to enter the words 2 to 3 times before I got it right.
Now Blogger has scrapped their old system for Captcha. And so I have had to eliminate the word verification step on this blog out of respect for my reader(s).
This led to quite a bit of commercial comment spam. So I've had to disallow anonymous comments. I don't like to do this as I use the anonymous comment thing myself. Not that I want to be anonymous. But under 'anonymous' there is the name/URL option. I use that when I am reading poetry blogs, and want the blogger to find my poetry blog and not my sci-fi/writing blog or my Esperanto blog or my low-carb diet blog.....
I do still like Blogger the best. I've tried many other free blogging platforms and Blogger does a lot of things and makes it easy to do them. So what if Blogger is owned by a mega-successful business and thus is the tool of the progressives' version of Antichrist?
But I always hated the Captcha WV system. Besides the fact that they were often ordinary words--- useless for my purpose--- there was the fact that they were too distorted for me to read. With Captcha WV, I had to enter the words 2 to 3 times before I got it right.
Now Blogger has scrapped their old system for Captcha. And so I have had to eliminate the word verification step on this blog out of respect for my reader(s).
This led to quite a bit of commercial comment spam. So I've had to disallow anonymous comments. I don't like to do this as I use the anonymous comment thing myself. Not that I want to be anonymous. But under 'anonymous' there is the name/URL option. I use that when I am reading poetry blogs, and want the blogger to find my poetry blog and not my sci-fi/writing blog or my Esperanto blog or my low-carb diet blog.....
I do still like Blogger the best. I've tried many other free blogging platforms and Blogger does a lot of things and makes it easy to do them. So what if Blogger is owned by a mega-successful business and thus is the tool of the progressives' version of Antichrist?
Blogger's New Word Verification Ruins it All for Everyone
I love Blogger's old word verification words. I even collected them in a notebook for use in writing--- when I need an alien name or word, I pick one from the notebook either as a temporary substitute for the final-version name/word, or sometimes as the permanent solution.
But I always hated the Captcha WV system. Besides the fact that they were often ordinary words--- useless for my purpose--- there was the fact that they were too distorted for me to read. With Captcha WV, I had to enter the words 2 to 3 times before I got it right.
Now Blogger has scrapped their old system for Captcha. And so I have had to eliminate the word verification step on this blog out of respect for my reader(s).
This led to quite a bit of commercial comment spam. So I've had to disallow anonymous comments. I don't like to do this as I use the anonymous comment thing myself. Not that I want to be anonymous. But under 'anonymous' there is the name/URL option. I use that when I am reading poetry blogs, and want the blogger to find my poetry blog and not my sci-fi/writing blog or my Esperanto blog or my low-carb diet blog.....
I do still like Blogger the best. I've tried many other free blogging platforms and Blogger does a lot of things and makes it easy to do them. So what if Blogger is owned by a mega-successful business and thus is the tool of the progressives' version of Antichrist?
But I always hated the Captcha WV system. Besides the fact that they were often ordinary words--- useless for my purpose--- there was the fact that they were too distorted for me to read. With Captcha WV, I had to enter the words 2 to 3 times before I got it right.
Now Blogger has scrapped their old system for Captcha. And so I have had to eliminate the word verification step on this blog out of respect for my reader(s).
This led to quite a bit of commercial comment spam. So I've had to disallow anonymous comments. I don't like to do this as I use the anonymous comment thing myself. Not that I want to be anonymous. But under 'anonymous' there is the name/URL option. I use that when I am reading poetry blogs, and want the blogger to find my poetry blog and not my sci-fi/writing blog or my Esperanto blog or my low-carb diet blog.....
I do still like Blogger the best. I've tried many other free blogging platforms and Blogger does a lot of things and makes it easy to do them. So what if Blogger is owned by a mega-successful business and thus is the tool of the progressives' version of Antichrist?
New Poem: crucifix hero
he gets condemned a lot
and
sometimes
i flee
but then
he forgives
he gets scourged a lot
and
sometimes
he bleeds
but then
he loves
he gets nailed a lot
and
sometimes
he dies
but then
he rises
(c) Mar 1, 2012 Nissa Annakindt
I wrote the first draft of this in connection with some poetry prompts I was giving in another blog post. I liked it well enough to expand it and declare it a real poem rather than just an example.
This poem was linked at Poets United 89th Poetry Pantry.
and
sometimes
i flee
but then
he forgives
he gets scourged a lot
and
sometimes
he bleeds
but then
he loves
he gets nailed a lot
and
sometimes
he dies
but then
he rises
(c) Mar 1, 2012 Nissa Annakindt
I wrote the first draft of this in connection with some poetry prompts I was giving in another blog post. I liked it well enough to expand it and declare it a real poem rather than just an example.
This poem was linked at Poets United 89th Poetry Pantry.
5 Poetry Prompts for Writing a Christian Poem this Lent
On my Opium Cactus poetry blog, I'm running a 'Write a Christian Poem for Lent' contest. And you don't have to like or read poetry to participate.
I personally was never a poetry geek. I never went around high school with poetry books clutched to my chest. The little poetry I read was what was forced on me in school.
Yet when I first started writing the first thing I did was write tons of poetry in a very modern/avant-garde/weird style. The best of these poems were collected years later in my book 'Where the Opium Cactus Grows'.
How can the ordinary, average writer come up with a Lenten poem? Here are some suggestions:
1. Get a Christian book--- the Bible, a Mass book, a devotional book--- and one secular book--- an antique farming book, a history book, or something cute by Karl Marx. Open each book at random, point without looking to a sentence or phrase, and write it down. Do this several more times. The resulting word-salad can be the first draft of your poem. Or it can serve as a series of poetic prompts.
2. Get a Bible dictionary or other Christian reference book. Open it at random and point without looking. The major topic of the paragraph you pointed to is your first topic. (I used the book 'Catholicism for Dummies' and got 'Gospel of Life')
Then get a regular dictionary or other secular reference work. The word whose definition you are pointing at is the second topic. (I used an ordinary English dictionary and got 'ice'.) Use these two words as a poetic prompt.
3. Find a secular poem you like (or don't like.) Do a Christian parody. Here is an example of a parody of my poem 'soap opera hero':
crucifix hero
he gets nailed a lot
and
sometimes
he dies
but then
he rises
4. If you like rhymed/metered poetry but can't work out how to write it, find a folksong you like. Pick any topics you like. Make a poem whose words have the same rhythm as the original folksong lyrics, and that rhyme.
5. If you have some ideas for a poem but they sound too prosy to you, write them down. Then go to Babelfish.com. Type out the words you have written and translate them into an exotic language like Korean. Copy the result and paste it in, translating it from Korean back to English. The results may be exotic, memorable or incomprehensible. All of these are good things. Try your word-set on other languages. The best phrases that result can serve as the first draft of your poem, or can be your poetic prompts.
So--- you are hereby challenged! Write a poem this Lent. It doesn't have to be profound or wonderful or epic at first glance. It just has to be. And be entered in my poetry contest of course.
I personally was never a poetry geek. I never went around high school with poetry books clutched to my chest. The little poetry I read was what was forced on me in school.
Yet when I first started writing the first thing I did was write tons of poetry in a very modern/avant-garde/weird style. The best of these poems were collected years later in my book 'Where the Opium Cactus Grows'.
How can the ordinary, average writer come up with a Lenten poem? Here are some suggestions:
1. Get a Christian book--- the Bible, a Mass book, a devotional book--- and one secular book--- an antique farming book, a history book, or something cute by Karl Marx. Open each book at random, point without looking to a sentence or phrase, and write it down. Do this several more times. The resulting word-salad can be the first draft of your poem. Or it can serve as a series of poetic prompts.
2. Get a Bible dictionary or other Christian reference book. Open it at random and point without looking. The major topic of the paragraph you pointed to is your first topic. (I used the book 'Catholicism for Dummies' and got 'Gospel of Life')
Then get a regular dictionary or other secular reference work. The word whose definition you are pointing at is the second topic. (I used an ordinary English dictionary and got 'ice'.) Use these two words as a poetic prompt.
3. Find a secular poem you like (or don't like.) Do a Christian parody. Here is an example of a parody of my poem 'soap opera hero':
crucifix hero
he gets nailed a lot
and
sometimes
he dies
but then
he rises
4. If you like rhymed/metered poetry but can't work out how to write it, find a folksong you like. Pick any topics you like. Make a poem whose words have the same rhythm as the original folksong lyrics, and that rhyme.
5. If you have some ideas for a poem but they sound too prosy to you, write them down. Then go to Babelfish.com. Type out the words you have written and translate them into an exotic language like Korean. Copy the result and paste it in, translating it from Korean back to English. The results may be exotic, memorable or incomprehensible. All of these are good things. Try your word-set on other languages. The best phrases that result can serve as the first draft of your poem, or can be your poetic prompts.
So--- you are hereby challenged! Write a poem this Lent. It doesn't have to be profound or wonderful or epic at first glance. It just has to be. And be entered in my poetry contest of course.
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