Why Did the Chicken Cross the Blog?

Well, that's the way the water falls!

Hello everyone! I figure, if I pretend all of my faithful blog readers have, say, ten personalities each, I can, with a clear conscience, say "welcome, to all 30 (or so) of my readers!" Even though comments make me happy, I placate myself by saying "almost all of my readers are shy, and it pains them a little bit inside to have to open up, emotionally, and leave a comment. It takes a strong, brave soul to click that comment link and post some words!" You know who you are, *wink wink, nudge nudge*...

Happy Siete de Mayo!

I didn't post on Cinco de Mayo, so I'm trying to make up for lost time...

Of course, I should be working on the already-behind-schedule Piranha newsletters right now instead of blogging, but hey, I drank a caramel macchiato at about 8pm, so it's going to be a long night. I can take a few moments to free-associate here... until I run out of things to say, that is...

I finished A Feast for Crows the other day. I am officially caught up on ASOIAF, well-ahead of July 12. Well, unless I want to track down the 4 or 5 sample chapters for A Dance with Dragons that are circulating out there... I may, who knows?

Final Thoughts: A Game of Thrones is awesome, A Clash of Kings even better, and A Storm of Swords darn near perfect. Then A Feast for Crows falls startlingly off the precipice, into the realm of mediocre. Still, I'm apt to agree with Pat from Pat's Fantasy Hotlist, that a mediocre GRRM book is still better than most of what's available out there in SF/F.

Now that my colossal trek through the 1.35-million+ words of the series is complete, I'm at a loss as to which author to try now. I have some downloaded samples at my fingertips. I read the sample of Among Thieves, by Douglas Hulick, and it was solid. But it's first person, and I have a hard time with that. Still, his style is similar to mine, so I can connect with the dialog well. Plus, I read part of the (admittedly massive) sample of Daniel Abraham's newest, The Dragon's Path, and that's good reading as well. Tons of goofily-named characters and new races to track, though, which is trying. I may grab The Way of Kings (Sanderson) or Empire in Black and Gold (Tchaikovsky) off my shelf and go old school for a while.

I'll be sure to let you know what I decide, since I'm sure you're all just dying to know!

What can I say? That's where my mind and my life are at right now. I'm reading a lot. And writing. I gave my Eldest Daughter that "book" I wrote for her, for her 21st birthday. It's been about 2 weeks, and she hasn't said anything. I don't think she read it. Ah, well, so be it. Maybe next year, when I scan and paste in a bunch of pictures, it will be easier to read...

Are you proud of me? There have been great sales on EA games this week on Steam, and I haven't bought a blessed thing! Being broke has its advantages, eh?

So I've made mention a few times to the home management place that is responsible for the home I live in, that the carpet is in need of replacing. I take good care of it, but five and a half years of five people tromping on it every day has taken its toll. I finally got a reply today -- the owners have agreed to re-carpet the place, but they will have to increase my rent by $100/month to compensate. I say BS. I'm going to reply and say, "does that mean if I pay for someone to re-carpet the place out of my own pocket, you'll lower my current rent by $100/month?"

Gee, I wonder what they'll say?



Rabbits are now officially cool....

You have to check out a cool website/blog called From Me To You, which features the work of a photographer named "Jamie", who does what can only be described as high-end animated GIFs. I doubt that strikes you the right way - you really do have to see them. They're like really nice photographs with a small aspect of the picture that is animated. I would post one in here, but I don't know how... you really should go check it out, scroll through the gallery, and marvel at how beautiful they are. Click this screen cap of the website to go there.

Wish I knew how to create stuff like that...

OK, well that's it for me. Sunday is Mother's Day. If you're a mom, thanks for all you do for your child(ren)! You deserve a medal. Made of chocolate.

Adios for now.

Dave the Gump