The Scent of Pineapple

It's finally November, which means once again it's National Novel Writing Month and for some silly reason, I'm taking the 50,000 word challenge on again. After the solicitation of ideas from several friends (since all I really had was something about a slow motion train wreck and black waves of depression), I'm running with a story about one woman's search for the Lost Tablet of Kramenya.

So who is this girl and why is the tablet worth 50,000 words of anguish?

Short answers: Tatyana Cavender, and I don't really know yet. But that's the beauty of NaNoWriMo, you just have to let the story come out and see where it takes you.

23 Hours To Go

Quick 3-Day Novel update before I catch some shuteye: I'm currently sitting a little more than 10,000 words, which is roughly two thirds of what I managed to churn out last year, and this after a highly unproductive Sunday (I've had a hell of a time focusing today, and taking care of an ailing mother in the absence of both my father and my sister isn't exactly helping). But the setting up the pieces is pretty much done and the action is rolling. Clones are attacking Laramie, rabbits are swooning, 90 Shilling and Dead Guy Ale are being drunk, and the Iron Cock is living up to his name. But most of all, I'm having fun, and that's the important thing.

As tough as today has been, the last day tends to be both really hard and ridiculously enjoyable. The deadline looms large, and no idea is too crazy to be thrown on the page, regardless of whether it sticks. It's probably going to come down to the wire, but that's just fine with me - it's no fun if it's easy.

Almost... there,
Regis

Here We Go Again

It's Labor Day Weekend, and that means one thing. Okay, it means a couple of things, but the big damn important thing it means to me is the return of the International 3-Day Novel Contest. Once again, I'm abusing my muse in pursuit of fortune and glory. This year's story is going to be pretty silly, what with anthropomorphic rabbits, ducks, and beavers; a horde of idiot clones; and visitors from both the future and parallel universes. Mix in a robot, beer, and D&D and it's bound to be fun, even if it becomes a trainwreck.

Time's a-wasting, so I'm done here. Check back for updates and events warrant.

-Regis

Greenland, Ho!

Tomorrow is my first Star Wars: Customizable Card Game tournament since the summer, and I will play my first actual game since Christmas break when Cates was in Sheridan. I won't say what I'm playing tomorrow (so as not to give the Coloradans an advantage, not that they need one...) but I'll post a tournament report detailing my glorious triumphs (likely of a moral persuasion).

Huzzah!

Fresh Start For a New Year

Happy New Year, gang. I've been more than ready to put 2008 to an end, so here's hoping that '09 is better all around.

In local news, Meg finally filed and has moved to Laramie, leaving me with what feels like an exceptionally spacious apartment. Granted, that probably has a lot to do with there being not much of anything in the living room, but it's still a little bit shocking. The only big thing I really need to get is a small couch or loveseat, and I could use another lamp or two, but all in all I'm in pretty good shape. One could say my life has turned into a Darkness song:



I got a part in a local play, and rehearsals start next week. Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar and Grille looks to be a lot of fun, or at least as fun as a play set against nuclear war can be. If you're looking for something awesome in Sheridan come February (super sweet Valentine's Day date, anyone?), come check it out. I play an asshole, so I'll leave it to you whether I've been typecast or am just that good at dramatics.

Is it just me, or am I all on my own again?
Regis

Seek Versus Expect

The Casper Star-Tribune had this piece up today, and it's worth a read. It's mainly about Nick Carter's campaign for the Senate seat currently held by John Barasso. But I read something more than just some anecdotes about former prom dates and putting up yard signs - it's about a fundamental difference between the candidates running to represent our state in Washington for the next two, four, or six years.

It's the difference between seeking and expecting votes.

Which candidates are going door to door across the state? Which candidates are showing up at forums in our towns (and then sticking around for a bit to talk face to face with those in attendance)?

Those would be the same candidates that actually have to work for votes: Gary Trauner, Nick Carter, and Chris Rothfuss, all of whom face an automatic uphill battle because they don't have an "R" after their names. After last week's candidate forum at Sheridan College, I overheard a woman I know to be a staunch Republican tell Rothfuss that he had some good ideas, but it was too bad he was "in the wrong party."

This blind allegiance to party (which I've heard each of the three address in some fashion at least once, if not at some length, as a problem that stretches back to the founding of this nation) is an issue, especially when coupled with the staggering advantage that our Republican senatorial incumbents have in fundraising (both Enzi and Barrasso have over 100 times as much cash on hand as their opponents). Limited funds make it harder for these challengers to get their names and messages out - in recent polling, 37% of Wyoming voters said they didn't recognize Carter's name and 55% Rothfuss'. Which is nothing short of a big damn shame.

Should that really be such an issue? Despite the fact that Wyoming has twice as many registered Republicans as Democrats, we've had a Democratic governor for 24 of the last 32 years; current governor Dave Freudenthal won reelection in 2006 with 70% of the vote. Trauner lost to Barbara Cubin by a fraction of a percent in 2006 and is currently polling dead even with Cynthia Lummis.

Clearly this isn't a permanent situation, nor is it utterly hopeless. But if our incumbents don't have to do much of anything to win, why should they do more? Why should they have to reach out to their constituents when it makes no change in the outcome? Why should they seek when they can expect they'll get the votes? They're going to win, right?

It just the people that lose.

-Regis

Brace For Impact

Just a reminder: National Novel Writing Month is just around the corner. If you're even remotely interested in writing, I highly encourage you to check it out and give it a shot. Yeah, 50,000 words in thirty days is a lot, but it can be a lot of fun. And if I can do it, with my amazing dearth of insight and lack of originality, then you probably can too. Oh, and if you join and want a writing buddy, hit me up.

I still have no idea what I'm writing about this year, but that's okay - I was in the same boat last time.

Catch the excitement,
Regis

A Brief Reprieve

I've got good news and bad news for Cynthia Lummis.

I'm about to leave for Rock Springs to do some concrete testing - yeah, I'm beside myself with excitement. As such, I doubt I'll be able to keep much of an eye on the wacky things that come out of her mouth and campaign, so she gets a break for the next few days, probably through Thursday or Friday. That's the good news.

Of course, I'll comment on anything that looks worthwhile when I get back, so it's really just a short reprieve. Rust never sleeps, or something.

I'll try to get a Hump Day Happy Hour to post automatically, so be sure to come back on Wednesday for that.

On the road again,

Regis

Round Two Reaction

Once again, no knockouts but we did see some action tonight. Obama wasn't exactly dazzling, but then he never has been in a debate. He still came across as cool and levelheaded, particularly when viewed next to McCain. At least the senator from Arizona looked at his opponent tonight with something other than a look of utter disdain and disgust, but he largely came across as smug and, for lack of a better way to put it, a prick. Cracks about hair transplants, "did we hear the size of the fine?" and a smartass "thank you" didn't give him an air of respectability. Some more observations:

• McCain seems utterly incapable of subtlety. Obama's repeated comparison of taking a hatchet to the budget instead of a scalpel, McCain's reuse of the already debunked misleading claim that Obama voted to raise taxes 94 times (by the same standard, how many times have you, Senator McCain?), equating military strikes against Bin Laden inside Pakistan - an area that hasn't if the Pakistanis can't or won't act with all-out invasion of the nation as a whole... the last thing we need is another four years of a black-and-white view of the world in the White House.
• The format sucked. Either there wasn't enough time, or there needed to be better enforcing of the time limits. Mics can be cut, you know.
• The way McCain rants about earmark spending all the time, it was kind of odd to hear him admit that there are some earmark projects he considers worthwhile.
• "Nailing Jell-O to the wall?" Seriously? If you're going to make an analogy like that, follow through and don't mush it together with the claim of new proposals that keep popping up. 
• McCain also seems incapable of balance - $18 billion in earmarks versus cutting $300 billion in taxes, the US having 3% of the world's oil supply when we consume 25%.
• How many heros does John McCain have? When you say that Ronald Reagan is "my hero," it's kind of lazy to call Teddy Roosevelt "my hero" as well. 
• Speaking of TR, in addition to "speak softly and carry a big stick," he also said "it always pays for a nation to be a gentleman." Continuation of not talking to "enemy" nations a la Bush is not being a gentleman.
• For crying out loud, McCain needs to stop using Senator Lieberman as an example of bipartisanship. He isn't a Democrat any more, and won't be caucusing with Democrats in the Senate come January.
• Apparently, just knowing there's an increased supply of oil (by, say, drilling offshore) will cause the price of gasoline to come down, regardless of how long it will actually take to get that extra oil flowing. Maybe this is just a mental recession after all.
• It's pretty damn ballsy of McCain to talk about how great his judgement on when we should send our troops in and when we can win without even mentioning his support for and claims of easy victory in Iraq.
• Excellent riposte by Obama.
• I like how Obama sat and focused on McCain while he talked. I was less than impressed with McCain getting up and moving around while Obama was speaking.
• Yes, history shows that countries that are strong militarily need a strong economy. It also shows that you can't win an occupation.
• Contrast this with a consistent emphasis on diplomacy and working with our allies around the world by Obama. Who offers the "steady hand on the tiller?"

There wasn't really a clear winner; I'll give the edge to Obama again, since he was the grownup to McCain's brat. The real loser was the debate format - we need a forum where they have more than sixty seconds to reply, and the ability to actually go back and forth.

Only one more to go (thank God),

Regis

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

There were a series of candidate forums in Casper yesterday. I guess they'll be broadcast at a later time (they weren't yesterday, LAME), so for now I only know what the newspapers report. In the mean time, I'm keeping my eyes open for a complete transcript.

It looks like Cynthia Lummis may be planning for a new career in the event she loses the upcoming election to Gary Trauner, given what I can only guess is an attempt at comedy:

Lummis proudly declared her Republican pedigree.

"I believe my party stands for limited government, low taxes, for keeping spending under control, and for balancing budgets," she said. "As a member of the Wyoming Legislature for 14 years, we did exactly that."

While the Republican Party, at the state level, has certainly been a part of Wyoming's current time of success (note: state-level Republicans can still go above and beyond), the Republican Party on the national level has become a Bizarro-style inverse of what it was supposed to stand for. An additional $4 trillion to the national debt is not my idea of "under control." The last balanced budgets we've seen were under President Clinton; George H. W. Bush (aka Bush the Elder) and Saint Ronnie Reagan, that shiningest of stars in the sky of modern Republicanism, never submitted one. And I guess we still have "limited government" after the PATRIOT Act, Bush's expansion of the executive branch, and stuff like No Child Left Behind - but you kind of have to compare it to IngSoc.

Of course, Lummis could just be another mindless Republican rubber stamp in waiting or a complete idiot (not that the two are mutually exclusive), but calling her either would be so much worse than suggesting she's just an aspiring comedienne. So let's give her the benefit of the doubt and go with that, shall we?

So Dubya, Cheney, and a duck walk into a bar,
Regis