Paddy's Wanderings

High Noon at Kochville

I had a blast yesterday, playing the games we love with good friends. It is always a good time, hanging with Paddy's Heroes. I think we will be having another big game day get together soon, we just have to do that more often. Look at how goofy we are..

Playing some Warhammer..

and The Tim being.. well.. The Tim. You can see the xbox corner which was going full swing all day as well.

What a geeky crew.. and there is the tyke, Simon is slo-mo, cause I am here to tell ya, he was go go go all day long. We are training him for future geekery-ness. In most pics he is a blur, the kiddo moves that fast. This game, Big Jeff spanked my poor Brets while behind us, Blake was stomping on Brian's rats.

 and of course, Mr. Piddles showed up with his shovel in hand to dig into better 1/2's cooking ~ that was some yummy dip!

So yeah, we had a good time, foraged some food, played some games and talked non-stop from noon to midnight. It was a very long day, but seemed too short. We just don't do that enough anymore. At one time, when we ran the game store, it started Friday about noon and but for the brief 6 hrs of sleep Friday and Saturday night.. er morning, it was go go go. Good times man, good times.

A Tale of Voice

I got this germ of an idea for a story last summer and scribbled out the opening scene and dropped it in a file. Well it has been simmering in the old cooking pot for awhile until about two weeks ago. Then, like a sleeping volcano, it spewed forth into my awareness, grabbed a lobe or two, and will not release my brain until it is done. It has been a pretty wrenching two weeks.

Sometimes, that happens. This has been good and bad.

I have been writing away every day, sometimes just a painful couple of hundred words, but the story is almost done and I am tweaking and fixing spelling and a plethora of grammar boo boos. Did a wee bit of language change, got tense over the tense of the story, and basically have thought of nothing else or done anything else, writing wise, except that. That is the good part.

The bad part is the other projects are suffering and that.. irritates me. I have another short I want to finish and send out before the end of March, and it needs finishing and editing and, well a lot of work, but I think it is a fine story and worthy of the time and effort. But it just sits there. I also have a dozen or so sestina in various stages of completion that I want to finish. And lets not forget our old friend, the.. Project. Oh and sheeple stories and the blog in general.

My head has turned to mush. I get out some time on this story and boom, hit the wall and I am mentally tired. So I shift gears, or try to at least, and attempt some words in other stuff. Well call me a monkey's uncle cause I just can't switch voice that fast. The voice is important and I just have not learned, yet, how to shift into another tone.

My poetry has a voice all it's own. Different poems may have different accents, but it is the poets voice coming out. Two of the shorts are kinda like old school science fiction and are similar, again same voice, different accent. The third story, the one possessing me, is science fiction but of a totally different bent, for one thing, it is written in first person and it sounds totally different. Then the.. Project is fantasy and has it's own sound and voice, unique to itself. Then there is the Paddy voice of the blog, which is just me being me.

So I am starting today just being me, and complaining to boot. I really have no reason to at all. To be honest, it has been a long time since I have focused so intently on writing that I need to just go with the flow. The dreaded block has not appeared in about a year and it has been a fun ride. Of course, all other creative endeavors are poof! gone, but that is fine too. It helps to just ramble on here, get the focus back, and go on. The trick is to go with the voice and put in the effort, really not that easy some days. Sometimes, you just need to take that deep breath and take a peek around, then dive right back into it. I think that is true for most things..

Watching Stuart, Remembering Childhood

Lately, I have watched Stuart Little, The Movie, about a gajillion times with the tyke. It is his latest much watch movie, over and over. I admit I like the movie, but it is getting a tad bit.. old. It is kind of funny though, all of our kids have gone through that stage of watching a movie repeatedly. But it brings to mine all those cool stories I read as a kid, like Stuart Little.

E.B. White, what an interesting fellow in many ways. As a kid, I loved Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web and I think it is safe to say that I still do. Both stories are part of that vast array of books I have read over the years that have been influential in my desire to tell my own stories. Stuart and Charlotte are two characters I love and the world they live in will always be part of my own.

A. A. Milne and Dr. Suess also should be mentioned in this ramble. After all, Pooh and The Cat in the Hat were favorite friends of mine as a wee lad, and I still look back fondly on them. I have read many a book to the young lads and watched a a lot of TV shows and movies about those two.

I also like to mention The Pearl and The Red Pony, by John Steinbeck. I read both books in junior high and they had a big impact on me, much more so then The Grapes of Wrath or Of Mice and Men. Then again, Steinbeck in general was a big influence to me in those formative years. I find Steinbeck's stories to be sad, but really good and a must read for anyone.

I have no idea where I was going with all of this. I started out in children's stories and ended in my young teen years. I guess what I am trying to say is that, those stories, those characters, have burned into my brain and I still carry them with me. I loved those stories and it is with great pleasure I can share them with my own kids. That, to me, is fine reading and good story telling.

Maybe when the tyke gets older, we can explore Steinbeck together, I hope so. Maybe I can tell a story or two myself that someone, somewhere, will think fondly upon. Well.. besides me.

Happy Reading!

Paddy's Poetry Corner - Fakirs

This is from an ongoing project I have been working on since the 80's. Yeah.. that long now. I wrote this around the mid eighties when I was in college. It has that feel too. From the book Variegated Voices, here is a poem different from my normal stuff.

Fakirs

Caught in the cycle
of alcoholic philosophy,
a round table discussion
on social metaphysics
echoes through passing voices.

Waves of quiet discontent
wash over golden-age hope
outing inherited failures
and misbegotten dreams
of generational heirlooms.

Mushroom clouds shadow
midnight burning rain,
underscoring the struggle
for victory in the now,
escaping from the future.

Wallowing in fashionable depression
like armchair reformers,
their voices slur to incoherency
as whiskey and exhaustion
release them from blinding visions.

A Poem finds a Home

Good Day fellow poetry lovers.

I have been sending poetry out again and for the past year I have received mostly rejection letters. That's just fine, I keep writing and sending them out. On occasion, a poem hits the right chord with the right editor at the right time, and I get published. That's cool too.

One of the magazines I read and really enjoy is Greensilk Journal.  So, like I always do, I sent out a couple poems, hoping to get in an issue and they were kind enough to choose one. Go check 'em out, there is some quality stuff there, and in this issue, I have a poem too. Major cool.

Pardon the happy dance, but it is nice to get into a fine publication with some of my own stuff. Check it out and enjoy the issue!

Happy Wanderings!

Paddy's Poetry Corner (Robert Nixon)

Greetings wanderers, and welcome to the corner!

I once new this grumpy old poet named Robert Nixon. Ol' Bob was a character, no doubt about it. He was a great old guy who wrote some damn fine poetry and I had the pleasure of knowing him for too brief a time. I was digging around and found an old chapbook of some of his collected work, it is such a small portion of a life of writing that it seems so little to have as a memory. What I do remember of Bob, is his love of words and his rough way of of speaking. The man could read poetry though, and write so vividly and truly touched me when I was a young poet.

Bob was delivering packages on Mackinac Island when I met him. A good friend of mine, Rosemary, introduced us at a poetry meeting and he gave me the old one eye squint.

'You a poet?' he asked in that rough, direct way of his.

'I think so,' I mumbled.

'Well don't think about it, do it or not,' he said, and shambled off.

Rosemary, ever the kind hearted soul, apologized and blushed in embarrassment. Old Bob had me thinking right off the bat, and he was spot on too. I got to know Bob and he was right. Bob passed away many summers ago and today I found his chapbook, Shades of Autumn. Today I thought I would put one of his poems on my blog, to share with all of you.

So get the fingers snapping(Bob loved Beat Poetry), que the bongos, and stop shinning that damn spotlight in his eyes so he can find the stool..

Death of a Rose by Robert Nixon

the flowers on the wallpaper
are for you
the fishmonger's wife
who dances with me
joyously
and the roses
by the sea make music
in our wind swept sea scape
as we bridge the gap of love
and after we have reckoned with
the sounds of savage minds
then and only then
shall i return
the music of the roses
to that sleek and wild darkness
of our final meeting place

Let the Games Begin!

It's that time again, Olympic time! Yeah, I  watch the Olympics every chance I get, because it is one of the many things I enjoy. I have been catching them since the Fashion Challenged Seventies and have not missed one yet. Someday, I will get to wander and see 'em in person.. someday.

I missed the last two Opening Ceremonies although I did catch a bit of a repeat showing for both Beijing and Torino. I have to say, Vancouver did pretty awesome, even with the technical difficulties. That was a very original, very unique way to usher in the games. Chalk up a big win for Canada and the city of Vancouver. Here's hoping the rest of the games go smooth.

And in ye olde household, we have carried on a tradition better 1/2 and I started during the '88 Winter Games in Calgary. We will be catching as much as action as we can. We watched our first Olympics together on her very tiny TV way back when, the screen was maybe five inches and we had to adjust the rabbit ears to get any kind of reception. Was it snowing or was it the reception? Hard to tell sometimes. We have watched ever since and it is cool.

For the winter games I like bobsledding, luge, and speed skating, and of course hockey. But I have no doubt we will get to watch the figure skating. I am kinda meh about figure skating and ice dancing. I figure I have seen the ultimate performance(Torvill and Dean in Sarajevo doin' Bolero) and there is no need for any more. But I'll watch whatever is on, cause the Olympics are just cool.

Happy Olympic Wanderings!

I was a Wolf, a Bear

I had meant to post a bit yesterday on the 100th Birthday of the Boy Scouts. Once again, day late and a dollar short, but I digress. Happy Birthday to the Boy Scouts! It is nice to know that an organization founded long before the distractions of modern day is still cruising along. I raise a glass of milk and a chocolate chip cookie in celebration.

Seriously. I was a boy scout in my youth. I was a cub scout and graduated to the boy scouts. I loved being a cub, and it is true I only did one year as a boy scout, but I loved that time as well. Once into my teenage years, I got kinda lost and stopped going to scouts, that was my fault. But as a wee lad I loved everything about doing scouts.

I loved all the craft projects, the trips to camp and all the fun stuff a wee lad can do as a cub scout. Camp was a blast, shooting a .22 and a bow, canoeing, and a day chock full of activities. You had a goal, a purpose to all the fun and you learned some truly amazing stuff. You learned big people stuff, to be patriotic, to be a good citizen, and to do your best. I learned a lot while having fun.

I never did very well in the pinewood derby, my cars, painstakingly crafted by me, were not very fast. I'll admit I was disappointed, but that was part of the learning process. You know what? I still had oodles of fun and kept doing it every year. Perseverance and sportsmanship, that is what I learned. I still have my cars too, because it's cool.

We also did a pinewood rocket race. Yeah man, little Paddy making a rocket out of balsa wood and racing it down a wire, that was cool. All just part of the fun of being a kid, and that my friends, is what it is all about. That is what scouts was for me and so many others. A chance to have fun, learn some very important lessons and be a kid. I still love that rocket too.

So yeah, I salute the Scouts and sing happy birthday. It's a good day when kids can be kids and learn and have fun. During the Fashioned Challenged Seventies I would wear my shirt and neck cloth proudly. I believe it was the only tie I ever willingly put on for anything, but that was cool too.

Happy Wanderings!

Flame of Youth

Time sucks. What else can I say? After watching the remnants of The Who last night on the Super Bowl, I can firmly say, time sucks. It is unfair of me to think so, and very much unfair of me to even speak it aloud, but there it is.

Where has the time gone? I remember the flame of youth as if it were yesterday. The first time I watched the Kids are All Right back in the days of high school, I was amazed, astounded. The raw energy of The Who is what drew me into their music. It is what keeps me there. Some of their performances, way back in the Fashioned Challenged Seventies, are pure energy, wrapped in awesome. The primal scream of Roger Daltrey still gives me goosebumps. Where has it gone?

Oh yeah, Roger and Pete are my dad's age, I forget that. Well so what? Like my dad, those guys still rock. Last night was bitter sweet in so many ways. Every note hammered into me, every misplaced sound punctuated into my nervous system. I could not even sing along. You see, I am still trapped in the past. Those crazy days of youth are still uppermost in my wee mind. I was sadden.

Today though, I can see that it is okay. You see, being of a certain age, you get smarter. I understand the passage of time, I think it sucks, but yeah, I get it. I understand that those old guys still got it, they still can produce, and can still rock. Pete and Roger, even last night, out perform most everyone out there, even now.

Those old guys still got a lot of balls. They still produce, and even if the raging fires of youth are a bit banked, its still there. You can see it in their eyes, feel it in their presence. They still got it, even if the younger generation thinks of them as those guys who do the CSI songs (shudders). I was born under the sign of The Who, and still cheer 'em on. I almost grabbed my guitar and smashed it on the living room floor.. almost. There's that age thing again.

The burning edge of time slips by before you know it. Time is the enemy, embrace it and you'll go far.

Novel-Tone News Feb 2010

Welcome to the continuing saga of.. the..Project.

It has been a couple of weeks since I posted an update so here goes. I have added a bit to the first draft and added/subtracted from the beginning parts. I also did a little more on some of the bit players, kinda doing some work on that, make 'em better and not so.. wooded, as if they were just props. Granted, they are just there for the main body to interact with through the story, and they have just minor scenes, but still, they should be alive. I re-read some early stuff and thought ewww.

That is about it really. I'll admit that I have slowed down in production, still going along, but slower. Oh not because the story is stuck or stale, but because I have limited time and get caught up in other writing. That is just fine by me, I don't have a deadline, except one self imposed, and I personally want it done! Its cool. My attention and my time has been consumed by two other projects. Let us take a look at the easiest first.

I have been tinkering with poetry, like I always do, and writing a sestina is difficult and time consuming. I have finished one and sent it off for consideration. I have a handful that are in the last stages of re-write and almost, almost done. I also have another handful that are in the note stage. Plus I have other stuff floating around. I never thought I would write notes for a poem, but to work a sestina and get what you want where you want it, how you want it, takes plenty of preparation and thought.

I also have two short stories that are vying for attention. I have dabbled with the one a bit lately cause I want to submit it to an anthology. Deadline is approaching and it is a big shot at the moon that pays and is a great publishing credit, all reasons to give it a go. At worse, I get a nice rejection slip and the story goes into the closet. But the other story, now, that is a real screamer. I can not stop thinking about it and really need to finish it before I go on to other things or it will be a major distraction. Well.. it already is a pain in the butt, but a good one.

So with After the Fall of Darkness, it is just a matter of adding more to the chapters of the first draft and working through all the notes and editing and tinkering. It just has slowed down. I don't know if anyone will make sense of this, but the 'voice' of the novel is different then the aforementioned short stories and definitely different then writing poetry. I am here to tell ya, it is freaking hard to switch voices rapidly, and I don't want one thing sounding like another, it doesn't work that way. AtFoD is a fantasy story. One short is science fiction old school. The other short is cyberpunk meets noir. The poetry has been.. not anything like that.

So onward and upward, writing everyday in something, be it blog and shorts, or the blasted novel or a poem or two, it is every day. That is a huge improvement from a year ago and I am swimming unknown waters with the novel, so all is good. I am getting there.