Wordlar

I’ve discovered a startling fact about myself.

I’m a researcher.

Historians, Non-fiction writers, reporters, and the like all do research to learn more about their topic. When I think of such a worker, I imagine Shelby Foote. I think of Ken Burns. I never thought of myself as someone who had to learn about his topic before he sat down to write it. Amazingly, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing these past months.

My novel project takes place in the far future, hundreds of years from now. It’s not a post-apocalyptic novel in the modern sense, like I Am Legend (The BOOK!). It’s about a world that has arisen from ashes, a world in which we as humans face some of the very issues that plague us today– racism, discrimination, and a terrible tendency to throw aside works of power and beauty to make a buck– and yet we are removed in this far-future from our current hatreds and racial groups. the slate is clean, and we can look these issues naked, square in the face. In it, I hope to capture what drives humanity most, the truth of existence that escapes most of us in this material world.

What does this have to do with research? Well, where does that world come from? My head and my heart. but it has to be worked out. the customs of the world, the way it works, the people, even the way their shoes look must come from my words. First, I have to research how this world exists. I am as much a cultural anthropologist as those in that field. I dare anyone to say truthfully why a course in architecture, or economics, in art, or many others cannot aid me in this task? In order to be able to create such a world one must be versed in many diverse topics so as to have training and examples to make their own imaginary world believable.

Tolkien did this with language. Since I have not been trained thoroughtly in that, I’ll have to make it come to life in other ways, things which I have an affinity for. Sculpture, architecture, art. Technology, warfare, seamanship. Agriculture, politics, society. Spiritualism, religion, faith. These are where my world will come alive. These are my specialties. And so, on with the research.

In the age of instant messenger and Facebook, our language is undergoing alterations which are far different than any it has undergone before. The essence of speech has taken a turn for the surreal. Instead of Norman invasions or linguistic revision by learned men, we are undergoing change by popular culture.

It’s not as if popular culture hasn’t changed language before, but now in the information age, there is faster growth of linguistic alteration without the necessary sifting of time. It has been the job of the linguist throughout eternity not to shape language, but to study and quantify it. Now it seems that our language is changing faster than we can keep up with it.

I have been hearing new phrases that are confusing, like “epic fail” or “That’s so rude.” I wonder if others who grow older are beset by this perplexion so early. I mean, my parents probably don’t say “far out, man” anymore, but it probably took a good few decades before it was totally eradicated. we still say something is cool to denote that we like it, like when I was younger. I believe that the typing culture of our day is altering the way we speak, and think. As Jack Matthews, a good friend of mine, used to say, “The limits of language are the limits of our world” and so they are.

I wonder, though, if it isn’t happening too fast. there must be grammatical rules and distinct meanings for slang and regular English. if we allow the language of LOL to enter into our college academics then we are destined to fail. I recently was made aware of a student paper which was full of “haha’s”  and “LOL.” apparently I’m not alone. Other TA’s and professors have the same problem.

If we become accustomed to this type of communication, I also fear that the less time we spend in front of actual people, we may lose the ability to succeed socially. If we learn to read emotions from emoticons ( ) then we may lose the ability (albeit slowly) to read those of humans.

Invite people over to grill. Talk with them. Smile. Think about what you type before you hit enter. it shapes the way people think of you, and respect you.

If I was told that I had one year left to live, there’s no doubt in my mind what I would spend it doing.

I would work on my novel.

The desire for a human being to be recognized as a significant positive force in the lives of others is the most fundamental and fulfilling motivation in the human experience. The American dream of financial domination and entrepreneurial ecstasy can approximate this feeling, but many people have said before me that money won’t bring happiness. Acknowledgement by your peers will. J.R.R. Tolkien, Dickens, Faulkner, and Stevenson all achieved something that no money can truly buy.

More than any other thing in life, satisfaction in personal achievement is what makes one feel like they matter. Even if you build the worlds tallest house of cards, and moments later the wind blows it down, you’ll know: I did it. That feeling is more important than owning the biggest TV, the priciest car, or anything that money can get.

Go get what you want. Do the thing that makes your blood boil, your heart leap. That is the stuff of life.

Why is it that I post at the very beginning of the month, then at the end? 

Daniel Goleman’s book, Social Intelligence, has been on the bestseller list for a long time. It’s a psychologist’s version of How to Win Friends and Influence People. The beauty behind this book is that it shows us physiologically how our bodies react to emotions and how we can become more aware of those feelings that affect minutely and intensely how we live. 

Ever wonder why women are from Venus? Goleman explains how men and women have developed keenly different emoional bodies, Men involving themselves in competition and feats of strength from an early age, and women developing strong emotional and intrapersonal skills in smaller, close-knit groups. 

After reading this book, I was able to more fully become aware of the role that emotions play n my own body. This book has helped me in everything from understanding how my emotions were first seated as evolutionary adaptations, and how outmoded some ways of thinking are, to being able to strengthen the relationships in my life through mutual understanding.

My advice: check it out.

Tolkien wasn’t published often in graduate school. He wrote few papers, although those he did publish, for example Beowulf: the Monsters and the Critics, were highly influential. He had a low quantity, high quality body of work.

Why are we judged by the quantity of publications we have under our belts as students now? Our legacy as writers won’t be buoyed by a mound of crap. Why encourage grad students to devote their energies to spitting out as many pages as burgeoning carpel tunnel will allow?

Allow minds to relax; peruse what they can, and in time choose something which sparks interest. The papers produced then would be varied, creative, and few. Few, which is good because there would be more quality and less bull to wade through. We’d have less reading that was more useful to our academic and intellectual unfoldment.

Even more importantly our own sense of identity and self-worth will be greater as writers.

The Romans were one of the most successful civilizations in human history. Their power spanned millenia and the territory they controlled was vast. Yet their workday was surprisingly short. They would rise around sunup, go to the forum where they would conduct their business. Around noon, there would be a siesta to escape the hottest part of the day and to eat lunch. after that, they would take an hour or so to wrap up their affairs and call it a day. This data was taken from information found at Pompeii.

How did the Romans accomplish so much with so little time?

They were efficient, they worked hard when they were supposed to, and they took time to come home and be with their families and, most importantly, to relax.

Why can’t we live like Romans? Let’s do good quality work, and less of it. After all, one needs time to be human every day.

What constantly suprises me is that I am getting things done in life, and having fun at the same time. I always thought that growing up meant that the world slowly took on a black and white tone, like an episode of I Love Lucy. Your fingers would wrinkle over the years, those age marks creeping up your arms like some god-forsaken plague bent on reaching your face. Each morning as you head off to a job you would’nt like, you peer into the mirror at someone else’s face, old, depressed and haggard. 

That isn’t my life. 

I don’t feel like my life is work at all. I’m happy to get up, and my work engages me to the point where those close to me can’t pry me away from the screen. 

The life of a student may not appeal to everyone, but for me it contains the most exiting thrills that can be had in a vertical position. I live for exitement and stimulus, and there is nothing like the jolt one gets from a masterfully crafted story. Or, for that matter, sharing it with others who appreciate the jolt as much as you. 

Responsibility? I have none. My world is joy. I have the gift of growing my mind through tales. What a glorious life!

Batman was by far the coolest hero for me as a child, next to Obi-Wan Kenobi and Gandalf the Grey. At the time, I was probably most attracted by the arsenal of gadgets portrayed in the 1989 film, including the jet-powered batmobile. Being a self-proclaimed inventor, I emulated Wayne’s example and produced my own array of somewhat less lethal crime fighting gear.

Why was Batman so interesting then, and more importantly why is he still to this day? The Dark Knight has existed since 1939, and has only recently (the last few decades) shed his dualistic approach to justice and assumed his rightful role as a superhero who is conflicted, imperfect, and perhaps most significantly, human. Batman is the only major DC or Marvel hero who isn’t an alien, has no mutations, and who is deeply complicated emotionally and psychologically. In other words, Batman is attainable.

If I were 4 years old again and were asked what I wanted to be when I grew up (although I still don’t know the answer), if I answered “Batman” there would be a small possibility, however faint, that I could comport myself in a cowl and tights and fund a secret cavern full of technology used to fight crime. At least until the authorities showed up and packed me off to the loony bin.

Silliness aside, the most important thing I learned from Batman is what it takes to create a character who can stand the test of time. Amidst all the legions of superheroes created by others to populate my adolescent mind, Batman was the only one who was real. This single fact makes him more tangible and more attractive to the armies of comic book and movie fans.

So why do we care?

I’ve been trying to develop several characters over the last several years for a work in progress. It is to be a modern epic as I see them. A fractured world where growth and conflict, as well as growing technology have shoved many diverse ethnic groups into one blender. The trick here, I have decided, is that in order to make a story good, its characters must not only be memorable and believable, but their dialogue mustn’t feel forced. they need a voice of their own. You need to be able to think of a question to ask them, and deduce what they probably would say based on who they are. They need to become real.

This is what Batman has become for me. He has a past, nightmares, fears. The reason that he is so memorable is that he has those fears, and the bravery to overcome them. That’s the source of my admiration for The Dark Knight. And it needs to be in the characters I create as well. I need to be able to make a framework that I can breathe life into which will then move about on its own, laughing and crying to its own individual tune.

For the first time in my entire existence as a writer, I am perturbed at a recent inhibition I’ve experienced: I am nervous about writing. Not about the act itself, but rather that my material will not be up to par.

With the upcoming fiction workshop at CSU, I will for the first time be with a large group of writers who are as dedicated as I in their pursuit of literary accomplishment. I’m not the first person to feel this way, although I suspect that the feeling is a detriment rather than a boon to my abilities. I imagine that constant re-writing will sharpen my dialogue to a point that is too fine; one that breaks off easily against the paper.

I’m interested to see examples of the fiction that other graduate writers produce. I think it will be a great benefit to finally be around others who share my passion. I recall my frustration while at Ohio University attempting to start a writer’s circle, really just a roundtable group, aimed at sharing our fiction and growing as authors. Only one of my good friends, Ryan, actually showed a definite interest. I could not have chosen a better or more creative writer to work with, but two people do not fill up a round table!

I imagine that here at last I will find people who would have gladly taken up the rest of the empty seats at our unborn roundtable.

I just checked out a new product, indeed a new company, on my favorite computer part website, newegg.com. the company is called Cowon America, and they have a beefy new (to me) mp4 player called the S9. This nifty little device is great for tech savvy people because it’s software was recently released as open source. For those of you who don’t know, that means that Cowon has (albeit unofficially) allowed anyone to modify it legally in any way they see fit. It’s the same concept behind Linux operating systems, most notably Ubuntu, which is by far the most popular of the linux platforms. 

The S9 also looks sleek, has a bulletproof touchscreen and a lot of customizable features. For example, you can choose to lock only the touchscreen so that you can still adjust the volume form the side of the machine. Some of their higher-end models also carry wifi, but they are much larger. 

It also comes with a lot of proffessional grade audio software, and boasts increased ability to separate and define low-end and high-end sound. 

The fact that this is out there is a sign of hope for all of you who hold a bit of disdain for everyone bouncing around with little white earbuds trailing form their ears to their pockets. Hurrah for the linux movement!