Because caring is sharing

If you were wondering why I sometimes post things that are way off the topic of writing and publishing like elephant polo and led sheep, it's because a story idea popped into my head when I saw it. Since caring is sharing, I share them here with you. If it gets the creative juices flowing, then my work is done. If all you do is smile, then my work is also done. :)

Landfall in Norway?

This is a screenshot that I pulled from the National Hurricane Center. It shows the potential track of Hurricane Katia.



If the storm does as it is predicted to, then it will bypass the US, brush Scotland and make landfall in Norway. And while it will be called a posttropical cyclone, the strength of the wind will be the same as for a category one hurricane.

With all the extreme weather that we've had this year, I thought that we would have something extreme in the hurricane season. Hurricane Irene causing so much destruction in Vermont was strange enough, but this possible landfall in Norway (Norway ?!? WTF?!?) takes the cake.

Extreme Sheep Art

Mix a flock of sheep, LED lights, some shepherds, and a camera, and you get this:

The Tough Guide to FantasyLand by Diana Wynne Jones

I heard about this book several years ago as a must have for anyone writing fantasy. I finally borrowed a copy from the library several months ago. It was so funny that I ordered a copy from the bookstore.

Even if your only knowledge of fantasy is The Lord of the Rings movie, I think you'll find this book really funny to read. And that is a bit odd because it is organized like a dictionary, but I read it front to back occassionally stopping because I couldn't breathe as I was laughing so hard.

A small taste of what's inside:

CLOTHING. Although this varies from place to place, there are two absolute rules:
1. Apart from ROBES, no garment thicker than a SHIRT ever has sleeves.
2. No one ever wears SOCKS.
See also CLOAKS, COSTUME, and KNITTING.

The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynne Jones; put it on your books to buy list.

Plot or Sequence of Events?

Recently I read a bit of historical fiction set during World War II. One of the subplots of the book got me to thinking about plot and the difference between plot and a sequence of events.

To summarize it, two pairs of nazi spies sneak into Jacksonville, Fl then proceed to create chaos by blowing things up. One pair heads west blowing things up until one of them screws up the timer. The bomb goes off early killing that pair. The other pair heads north blowing things up until one of them gets involved with a mob prostitute. An altercation with her mob boss ends up with the pair of spies being killed. Game over.

The thing is even though the bad guys end up dead and thus stopped from creating further chaos, the telling of it doesn't feel satisfying to me. There was no one actively trying to catch them. Those who were looking into the bombings dismissed it as not being the work of nazi spies. These spies did not have a goal that they were trying to achieve other than wander around the continental US and blow things up. And they encountered no real obstacles, in terms of local law enforcement, blowing up their targets. If these guys hadn't run into misfortune, they would still be running around blowing things up today with no one having a clue that they were doing so.

So what this really is is the telling of a sequence of events like one would read in a history book and not a plot or a story. And what turns a sequence of events into a plot or a story is having a goal and having obstacles to that goal. Otherwise what you get is they went here, they went there, they did this, they did that; all of it without purpose and no reason to keep reading unless one finds a recounting of events fascinating.

Tour de Turtles

Tour de Turtles: It's a sea turtle marathon race. "Created by Sea Turtle Conservancy, with help from sponsors and partners, this event follows the marathon migration of sea turtles, representing different species, from their nesting beaches to their foraging grounds. 2011 is the fourth year of the TdT and will follow the migration of 15 sea turtles, representing four different species."

If you have kids or know someone who has kids or if you're a kid at heart, this is pretty cool. You can find out all about it here.

"Your Life is Never Going to be the Same Again"

Watch this video of Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr's audition for America's Got Talent:



Surprising, isn't it? Not at all what you expect when you hit play. Even though we've seen it before with Susan Boyle and then the Korean man a few weeks ago, we still don't expect to hear that quality of voice. They come out of obscurity and blow you away with their talent.

As Howie said here, "Your life is never going to be the same again."

I guess I admire them because they didn't give up hope. How many people in similar situations to theirs have given up their dreams and their hope for a better life?

Don't give up. Never give up on your dreams.