You Spared Me From Going Down Into the Pit. (Psalm 30:3)

OK, fine, be that way! >:O - BUUURPP!!!!

Whoa, busted out The Angry Burper a bit prematurely there... haven't even started tonight's post yet!

So I'm off this weekend to a Men's Retreat here in So Cal. My friend Orion (who is one of the 2 Kings in my fantasy novel, by the way!) invited me to go along with him to his new church's men's retreat. It's supposed to be pretty (up by Lake Arrowhead), and at 6,500 feet, there's a chance it will snow on Saturday. I'm taking my camera and an open mind. Maybe I'll snap a pic like that one at the top of this post! Anyway, I hope to have a good report and some nice pics to post on my return.

By the way, "good report" is Christianese for "have a fun and positive experience" in case you were wondering. Though that "Christianese/English" translation is probably pretty easy to figure out. Other Christianese phrases aren't quite as easy. Try explaining washed in the blood, born again, bride of the Lamb, baptized in the Holy Spirit, sanctified, anointed, and/or speaking in tongues to the uninitiated. It really is another language...

That is one grouchy cat...

I'm sorry, the more I contemplate Hurt Locker, the more I hope it doesn't win Best Picture on Sunday. But then that leaves the other front runner, Avatar, which is no better a choice, in my book. Sure, Avatar was visually spectacular, but definitely not a Best Picture caliber story (or acting, for that matter). So what other picture should win, then? There's 10 nominees now! Why on earth would they do that? To "honor" 5 other films that would not have been good enough to make the top 5? Why tack on five additional films that have no chance of winning? So more movies can put "Best Picture Nominee" on their DVD cases, no doubt. It's all about the money.

Best Picture Nominees: Hurt Locker, Avatar, UP, Inglourious Basterds, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, Precious, A Serious Man, and Up In the Air.

I've only seen the first four on the list so far, and really, while all four had their positives, I wouldn't give the Oscar to any of them. I do plan on seeing A Serious Man, Up In the Air and District 9, but not before the Oscars this Sunday. I can't really make the call. Which film do you want to win? Or do you just not care?

And now, a slow-motion video of dogs catching treats...



So I'm still cruising through The Name of the Wind, and enjoying it again. Official Blog Lurker Joseph sent me word that Penny Arcade's Gabe posted about the book, having recently discovered it. I hesitate to link over to the page, since their humor over there is pretty course (understatement), but I will copy/paste the text here, since it's funny... I guess it would be funnier if you knew more about Gabe, but I don't necessarily recommend that for your pure brains...

Tycho told me to read a book the other day and I told him to tear out all of the pages and shove each one individually up his *****. He didn't do that. Instead he opened the book to chapter near the beginning and told me to read just that chapter, only about four pages. I flipped the book over and read the back.

“THE NAME OF THE WIND won't just impress longtime fantasy fans; it will absolutely blow them away -- an unprecedented, utterly breathtaking storytelling tour de force.”

I kept reading things like the greatest story told in either books or film in the last ten years and rolled my eyes. Tycho turned it back over and handed to me. "just read this one chapter." he said. I read the chapter and then immediately purchased the book on my kindle. If this Patrick Rothfuss guy could do that in four pages I had no choice but to read the rest. I am only about halfway through it now but that's because I am trying to pace myself. I don't want to finish it because then I will have to leave this incredible world he has build and who knows when I'll get to come back.

It turns out that Patrick is a huge PA fan. In fact he posts in our forums which I guess makes him a bigger PA fan than me. He sent us a free copy of his latest book which sadly is not part two of the Kingkiller Chronicles. This book is actually called The Princess and Mr. Whiffle and it has nothing to do with killing kings or the chronicles such a deed might spawn. This is actually a creepy/funny story in the style of a children's book. It turns out that Patrick Rothfuss is a good writer no matter what he's doing. It's a quick little read but funny and I recommend you pick it up along with his fantasy epic The Name of The Wind.

-Gabe out

Anyways, it's cool to see people still discovering/discussing this book, which is a favorite of mine. Though this second time reading it, I'm noticing how addicted to adverbs Pat Rothfuss is. It's a small sin, easily forgiven, methinks.

Well, I'm going to hit the sack. Gotta get up early and head for the hills. I'll be back Saturday night, so don't miss me too much!

Dave

PS Oh yeah... >:O - BUUURPP!!!! So there!