My Novel is Done!

I finished today, and got my official word count in. Yay for me! I wrote a novel. Too bad it's not very good. But there's potential to refine parts of it and turn them into short stories.

This Novel Writing Thing is KILLING Me

So I'm feeling very overwhelmed right now. I haven't done a post on the His Dark Materials trilogy, now that I've actually read it, and there are so many other things whirling through my head. But things will have to wait. I only have so much time that I can spend writing for free. And this month the whole novel writing thing is it.

It's halfway through the month, I'm not halfway done, and I feel overwhelmed. Now I'm repeating myself. But, by golly, I'm going to finish this novel. And then I'll probably never want to write again.

Blackstone: Logan's New Restaurant Not Worth the Money

***Update 6-16-08*** I have been back to Blackstone (about a month and a half ago). Although better than my initial visit, I remain unimpressed. It is an okay restaurant, but charges too much for me to want to eat there. Blackstone just isn't my cup of tea (or rather, hot chocolate). For those who like it, fabulous. For you it is money well spent, and nothing wrong with that. I just don't happen to be impressed with the restaurant, and would prefer that my hard-earned cash (especially in the current economic climate) be spent on meals that I find more rewarding.

So late last week, my husband and I went to try out Logan's new restaurant, Blackstone. We like food, and we like to eat out, so when we pay what the Blackstone charges, we expect something a little better. Well, in the case of Josh's seafood scampi, much better.

The restaurant itself is trendy. It is in a much improved old-D.I. building. The atmosphere is what, I guess, could be called, in Logan, high-class casual. They do have a children's menu (they're not stupid). But the food was disappointing.

My favorite part was the appetizer. We got the sampler. The fried calamari was quite good, as were the mushrooms. Unfortunately, the meals weren't nearly as good. I got puttenesca, since that's not something you find in Logan that much. And while it was okay, they went a little heavy on the capers. And it was obvious that fresh ingredients and genuine chefs were in absence. It was kind of like eating at Hamilton's. (Yes, yes we're the only people in Logan not impressed in with Hamilton's. We don't like Cafe Sabor, either.)

When I spend $60 (or more) at Le Nonne, I don't feel bad about it. Why? Because the guy is a real chef who makes authentic Tuscan food. And when he experiments, it tastes good. When I go to Idaho Falls and drop even more at The Cellar, I feel good about that, too. Because fresh ingredients are used, and it is a very satisfying meal.

But $60 was just too much to spend at Blackstone, where the food is average at best.

Tags: Blackstone Logan, Logan restaurants, Le Nonne, The Cellar Idaho Falls

Professional Blogging Roundup: Nov. 9

Another week has gone by, and that means another round of shameless self promotion!

1. I'm video blogging again over at the Personal Finance Corner. Why read about ways to improve your credit score when you can watch me tell you about it?
2. Michael Jackson has all sorts of problems. And now he has yet another money issue (those have been cropping up a lot lately among celebs). Neverland Ranch is in foreclosure.
3. Anyone can get published nowadays. Especially online. Over at WorkShak, I mention ebooks as a tool for marketing. But you can also write ebooks of fiction or whatever else you want. People do it all the time now. If I'm not too embarrassed, I'll put my novel in ebook form. I know it's not going to get published any other way...
   

Tags: professional blogging, Neverland Ranch foreclosure, get published, improve credit score

A Mormon President and the Constitution Hanging By a Thread

One of the reasons I love reading Orson Scott Card is because it's fun to see LDS church references in some of his books. He isn't always overt about it (although anyone who has even started reading 1st and 2nd Nephi can't miss it when they begin reading the Homecoming series), and lots of people don't realize they're in there sometimes. It makes me feel like I'm in on some sort of an inside joke. Maybe I am.

I recently finished reading his new book, Empire, and in light of current events, it seemed relevant.

The book is set at some point in the relatively near future. Political rhetoric and divisiveness have led to a small-scale civil war. Of course this happens right after the president and vice president have been assassinated. And who happens to be the Speaker of the House? Why, a Mormon boy from Idaho! And what is the Constitution doing? Why, it's hanging by a thread!

A reference to the Constitution hanging by a thread, in those words, is used in this book. Classic! It's what sustained me when Card killed off my favorite character.

This is reference, of course, to the infamous White Horse Prophecy, which LDS folks (especially here in Utah) quote around election time. And I've heard it bandied about this go by hopelessly hopeful Mitt Romney supporters. Of course, the White Horse Prophecy was one dismissed by Joseph Fielding Smith as "trash," but one can see the appeal.

Empire itself was okay. A little melodramatic, and Card's obvious conservative leanings are apparent. But he does try, and he seems to be trying hard to depict most liberals as reasonable people (the baddies are radical liberals, still smarting over the 2000 election, who have taken over New York City). But, there are always some good action scenes in Card's books, and I do like his delving into questions of history and politics.

And I had a great time with the whole Mormon president and Constitution thing. And -- spoiler alert! -- the Mormon president does usher the country through this crisis, saving the Constitution and decently not running for re-election.

Tags: Orson Scott Card, Mormon president, White Horse Prophecy, Constitution hanging by a thread

My Thoughts on Yesterday's Election

Well, I'm not all that surprised at the way things turned out in Logan yesterday. Sad in some cases, but not surprised. I figured that people would decide to see the road tax and CVTD tax as an "either, or" issue, and that roads would win out (they did). I voted for both taxes. Why? Because I don't mind paying more taxes on consumer goods. I'd be happier in general if we had more taxes on consumer luxuries (NOT food) and fewer income taxes. But I digress.

At any rate, obviously people would rather pay for more roads. It means that they don't have to change behaviors. Vote to increase service by the CVTD and you feel like you have to use it. And heaven forbid we all change our behaviors. Because progression (in both an eternal and temporal sense) is all about...doing the same thing? No, wait. That's stagnation.

And even though he lost by less than 400 votes, Joe Needham still lost. Which is sad to me. Jay Monson's main argument against him was Joe's forward-thinking and insightful vote to pull out of IPP 3. Good move. Since IPP 3 is struggling since most of California pulled out. And coal is still dirty, dangerous and much less efficient, in the long run, than wind or solar power. So we voted in a guy who thinks coal is the future? Well I didn't vote him in. I voted for the guy who thought dragging us aboard a project that is sinking financially was a bad idea. Other people did. Apparently a resource that is outdated, dangerous (and deadly - Crandall Canyon) and more difficult to turn into electricity is a sound investment to many of the fine folks here. Oh and more polluting. But we already knew that pollution isn't a big deal...

But my faith in humanity isn't completely destroyed. Laraine Swenson pulled through, easily smashing the competition. Not even Loganites could stomach Val Ewell (bless them!). And perhaps "we the people" finally sent a message to our Utah Legislature representatives: "Represent us, not special interests!" with the defeat of school vouchers. But we'll see. I can see those wiley folks in Salt Lake trying another trick. The other implication is that we want more money for education here in Utah.

And, finally, I do feel bad for Steven Taylor. I liked that he pounded the pavement, looking for votes. And since, really, there isn't much of a difference between him and Herm Olsen, I voted for Taylor because he pulled my heartstrings.

Tags: Logan election results, Jay Monson, Joe Needham, school vouchers,
IPP 3, road tax

Go Vote Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Elections Day. I did early voting, so I've already done my thing. But if you haven't, get on in there!

This year, there are several issues in Cache Valley, and in Logan specifically, that you can influence. There are people running for City Council with different ideas for how the future should look, and of course there measures in which "we the people" get to decide where we want our tax $$$ to go.

• School vouchers
• Road tax
• Tax to increase spending on CVTD

Oh yes. You can make a difference in this year's election. Head on over to the Herald Journal's election coverage to get an idea of what the issues are and to see fun campaign videos.

And of course, make sure you show up Wednesday for a rant or a sigh of relief, depending on how things turn out.

Tags: school vouchers, school vouchers Utah, vote tomorrow, early voting,
early voting Logan, tax CVTD, election coverage

Bring on the DVD Releases

This was a fantastic summer for movies -- best I can remember. And I only saw a few in the theater. So I'm exceptionally happy that it's DVD release season. From now til Christmas I can see all the movies I missed this summer, but wanted to see:

1. Pirates: At World's End
2. Spider-Man 3 (watching it this weekend, courtesy of Netflix)
3. Ocean's 13
4. Amazing Grace

And, of course, buy the movies I think worth buying. We already bought Transformers, but I can't wait to get:

1. Stardust
2. Bourne Ultimatum
3. Shrek the Third

Unfortunately, The Simpsons Movie was a bit of a letdown. I've seen much better episodes. Plus there's little snatch of cartoon nudity. Won't be getting that...

Nov. 2: Professional Blogging Highlights from This Week

What a week it's been. Stock market plunges! Fed rate cut! Atheistic movies! Halloween! Here's some of what I've blogged about for pay this week:

1. Over at Yielding Wealth, I blogged about steps you can take to avoid foreclosure. This is on a lot of peoples' minds as mortgages threaten to reset, leaving budget crunches in their wake.
2. Another musician tries to make it as an actor. My Harlem Hip-Hop Tours blog post on RZA in American Gangster is great. Only in America could I get paid to blog about a hip-hop artist I've never listened to and the movie he's in -- that I'll probably never see.
3. Roll your eyes and say "SO what?" to the Fed rate cut. Well, here are some of the ways you might be impacted by the Fed rate cut.
   

The Golden Compass - Bring on the Atheism!

The His Dark Materials trilogy has been on my reading list for a while. I love all sorts of fantasy, and that includes children's and young adult fantasy. But since I have a rather long list of books to read, His Dark Materials hasn't been really high on my list. It keeps get replaced by such things as The Conscience of a Liberal by Krugman, and the new Orson Scott Card (more on him below) book, Empire. Until now.

I've heard all the rumblings regarding the movie, The Golden Compass, which is based on the first book in the trilogy. Oh no! The author of the books that the movie is based on is atheist! Oh no! The author made a comment to the effect that the books are about killing God! Oh no! He says he's the anti-C.S. Lewis! (Disclosure: I love C.S. Lewis.)

And, finally, the moment I've been waiting for has arrived. I received a chain email regarding the forthcoming Golden Compass movie (I love these things):

If you stand firm in your belief of God, I suggest that none of us go see this movie, ever, and to tell all of our friends and family to not see this movie.

Of course, now I want to see the movie even more. And I certainly still want to read the books. In fact, I'm ordering the whole trilogy off my son's book order. Since the library is all out. Does that mean I don't firmly believe in God?

Honestly, it looks like an interesting movie, and it's based on books that are, by all accounts, interesting and well-written. I've been reading fantasy and science fiction about gods, demons, magic and atheism since I was six years old. So, I guess instead of being an active Mormon, I should be Wiccan. Or an atheist. But I shouldn't believe in Jesus. And yet, despite all the stuff I've been exposed to, I'm a Christian.

Can you imagine what would happen if they made movies out of Orson Scott Card's Ender series? Well, Card may be LDS, but last I checked his protagonist, Ender, was a humanist and probably agnostic (if not an atheist). But because Card is Christian, movies on his books probably won't be boycotted (well, maybe by evangelicals). And don't forget that the "Zoram" character in his Homecoming series (a blatant rip-off of the Book of Mormon) is gay. And Card uses more profanity in some of his books than I think I'll find in the His Dark Materials trilogy. Just because Philip Pullman is atheist doesn't mean his books are worse than Orson Scott Card's (or any other Christian author's -- I mean, the Left Behind series wins full marks for gratuitous violence).

I doubt my the first thing a 9-year-old is going to think when watching The Golden Compass is "Wow. What a great movie about atheism. I think I'll abandon the beliefs of my parents!" My guess is that kids watching the movies will be thinking, "Awesome! I wish I had a talking monkey for a friend!" or "A movie where kids are better than adults! Cool!"

When I read the Chronicles of Narnia in first grade, I didn't think of it as a tale with Christian underpinnings. I thought it was an awesome story where kids were doing fantastical things. And the animals talked. And there was magic.

I doubt very highly that child readers (and watchers) of His Dark Materials are going to discuss the religious (or lack thereof) beliefs of the creator. Any more than my youngest brother abandoned the Church for the world of witchcraft after reading Harry Potter.


Tags: The Golden Compass, The Golden Compass atheism, The Golden Compass movie, Orson Scott Card LDS,
His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman