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Saturday, December 26, 2009

Philosophic

Another Xmas has come and gone, and I have one week left before I'm back to work. I also have two books waiting for me at the library. I'm presently getting through a book about Hegel. An examination of his works and theories, to be precise. I'm up to the part about the ego and the consciousness. This chapter reminds me of the quote 'to be is to be perceived'. It all goes back to perception, I guess. I know the year isn't over yet, but I think this would be a great time to examine 2009 as I perceived it and make a few remarks about the year. 2009 dawned (for me) with Matthew Arnold and some major introspection. Work was great and I was looking forward to the year and to what it might bring.
I duelled numerous times with my fears and wondered why I was so fear-ridden. When you get down to it, I guess it was fear of the unknown and what bad it may bring to my life. This flies in the face of much of what I have read concerning Buddhism. One should neither embrace the good nor flee the bad, but take both as they come. Of course, there is a big difference between reading this truth and living it. I'm still examining this whole matter, and short of visiting someone skilled in past-life regression, introspection is all I have. It could also be an inherited issue, as I learned during the year as well.
Probably the biggest change in my life was my move into higher independence and solitude. I took possession of my bachelor apartment August 1 of this year. On New Year's Day, it will be 5 months since I moved out of the house. I continue to enjoy every single day of solitude and quiet. No regrets whatsoever about moving out. All in all, this has been a wonderful year of thought and growth. I'll admit I've been lax on some things but right on target with other things. My diary speaks of many books read and reactions made. I'm closing this year down feeling pretty excited about the year to come, and that's pretty good.
I guess that's all I've got for this year. The next post will probably come in January 2010. BYE.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Much misc.

Ahhhhh. Free at last! Let the Xmas vacation begin! Electronic Arts still hasn't gotten their act together with their patches for Sims 3 and Sims 3 World Adventures. A crying shame, considering how many Simaholics lurk in the shadows, gnashing their teeth and screaming their collective frustration to the uncaring skies. A few pretty words, eh? I don't mind uninstalling if I need to, but I'd rather just play the game and enjoy pushing my Sims around. In the meantime, the fortnight of rest and mass consumption is just around the corner. I need to get mas shopping done. I just felt too lazy to get any shopping done after work today. Saturday is going to be a real beast, so I'll sit it out as well. Monday, I promise!
Time for some meaningless muttering. I'm going to talk about Geoff. The name, not any particular dude with said name. When I was growing up, I knew two dudes named Jeff and as far as I knew, that was the only way one spelled the name. Then came the Geoff to end all Geoffs. Chaucer, the dude who wrote 'The Canterbury tales'. Like the Will to end all Wills (otherwise known as the Bard), Geoffrey Chaucer has long been cherished (or perhaps not, depending on who you are) and respected. But, outside Chaucer, I just assumed that the name had changed and that Jeffrey was the correct spelling. (Oh, and there's also Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, but again, we're going far afield). In the last couple of years, the tide is turning, I have found. It seems every time I turn around, I come across the older/British spelling. Like this guy's name, for instance.
Okay, the meaningless muttering is over. Meanwhile, I started reading a bio on Chaucer, which might explain the make my muttering a little clearer. This book came out in the 1930's and could be better, but I'm only 50 pages in. Better to give this elder a chance, right? Xmas Day in a week's time. Scary, eh? Okay, I guess I'm done. BYE.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Geez, it's cold!

I'm pitying my car in the morning these days. It's a 2008, so it probably won't conk out any time soon, so long as I keep plugging it in overnight and keep running out during recess to start it for several minutes. Still, I do feel like a brute to put it through such a struggle in the frigid mornings. Is it wrong to pity one's car? Maybe it's better than feeling sorry for myself, having to get up and struggle to the car in the -25 stillness and shiver my way through scraping the windshield. I think I need to spend more time around other living, breathing, individuals. Pitying my car might be a sign of lunacy. Naming it was probably a big mistake. Better to focus pity on the kids that don't bring their tuques, mitts, or scarves because they don't have them at home. There are kids who just don't bring their winter gear because they forget, and I pity them, too.
When it's cold like this, snow doesn't fall, and I would like there to be more snow on the ground. It's looking like a pretty paltry White Christmas out there. I would like to make better use of my boots. The cold also knocks out stop lights, which causes nothing but trouble on the road. This cold weather does keep the roads from being greasy, but I'd rather have slightly warmer weather with lots of snow. No matter how bad the traffic is with snow on the road, I want more snow! There's still a week to go before Xmas break, so I am going to continue to hope for snow.
I finally started my shopping, but there's still a lot of ground to cover, and the malls are going to be insane next week. Maybe I should try ordering stuff online? The one thing my folks were going to get me is now a bad idea until the company that makes this item starts thinking enough to fix all the problems. It's game-related, and that's all I am going to say about it. So, I guess that's about all I have to say for now. BYE.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

On the Literary Front #6?

I'm doggedly working at a rewrite of a project. Much of this is going to get cut back (assuming it ever sees a publisher), but I needed to flesh the world out big time and understand where my protagonist was coming from. I just couldn't see my main character or understand him. How can I send this character on his journey without knowing something about it. Under the previous take of the project, I could barely see him or the world he inhabited. Shame on me! I've also been reading a lot of Cornelia Funke, and her work just makes mine look barren. I guess what I'm writing is just background stuff, which is why it's going to get cut down in time. That or I still won't have enough description. There's no fast and hard rule as to the length of a chapter, and that's something that bugs me. It's a power thing, I guess. Just the need to know what the rules are. In the end, I guess it's just a matter of writing until the chapter feels done.
Of course, an 8 1/2 x 11 page full of description and dialogue is different from the page in a book. I'm not sure how much of the former becomes the latter. It's something I've wondered about for some time. Meanwhile, I've reached ch. 3 in this project and am introducing another character into the mix. A guide of sorts for the protagonist, if you will. One thing I set out to do with this project was to keep prophecy out of the mix as much as possible. As you might know, I find prophecy to be far too prevalent in Fantasy and Sci-fi genres. Of course, without the crutch of prophecy, I've needed to look deeper and see what is driving my protagonist. Is he just a pawn for greater forces or just a guy trying to find his way in the world? I've been trying to put myself in my protagonist's shoes. Not easy with the character I've come up with.
Meanwhile, I'm trying to get through a rather dull book of essays that examine Karl Popper's work and theories. I'm just about done, and I'm close to breathing a sigh of relief about that. This is definitely not a book I wish to revisit in a year's time. Did you know that Xmas break is just two weeks away for me? Pretty remarkable stuff! And my tree is decorated and the snow is finally falling. Time to get started on Xmas shopping! BYE.