Continuing on a non-thematic blog post of the visual kind that was originally touched upon last week, this week is pretty much the same: lots of work stress; preoccupied with gathering bits, pieces and parts for a well deserved break from reality; and no idea whatsoever for a blog post this week.
Again.
Oh yeah, sure, I have a fresh post up at I Are Writer! that continues the info dump for THE UNKNOWN NOVELLA. But that was sort of easy to write. This post, however, was not. This was originally written two days prior to posting, which is directly due to the fact that I'd received shot the 3rd (out of four I believe) in the eye Tuesday afternoon. Which pretty much means that I can't see diddly-squat for the rest of the day (BRIGHT LIGHTS! MY EYES!!!!!!! MAKE IT STOP!!!!!). Which also means that I'm pretty much bored out of mind for the rest of the day as well.
Which also means that I'm almost at a lost for words. Which is unusual, but not unexpected. I'm starting to find it harder, yet again, to write new material for this blog. Could this be the end of this latest blogging incarnation of G.B. Miller? I certainly hope not, 'cause I've invested just a shade over 9 years of my life blogging for the masses.
I thought it would be easier to deal with blogging just twice a week (once here and once on Tumblr), but after a moderate spike in getting my 4th wind, things have once again slid downhill and leveled out. I don't believe I'm suffering from blogging burnout, but probably more like life burnout. No depression or anything like that, just simply suffering from long term half-life/half-work burnout.
Since a slight break from reality and the 'Net is needed to decompress and recharge the batteries, a slight break is what I will take. Tune in next week to read something truly unique. As for this post, comments are off. Which is a rarity in and of itself, because as you know, even when I'm taking a break, I still take the time to publish everyone's thoughtful comments. But a complete break from the 'Net is also a rarity too.
Catch you on the flipside next Wednesday.
(c) 2016 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.
June 29, 2016
June 22, 2016
And The World Is Rectangular
So anyway, I was relaxing this past weekend, 'cause you know, like, I was taking vacation from reality. The sun was shining, it was drier than a dry martini and it was a good day for doing nothing. In fact, the weekend was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good for doing nuthin', that save for a continuation of THE UNKNOWN NOVELLA info dump at I Are Writer!, nuttin' is what I did.
And you darn well tootin' know that when I's has dun nuttin' in da way of bloggin', that we slipped on a banana peel to get jiggy wit it, but not fiddy cent. Ya's, I's knows, gettin' jiggy wit it is so 90's, but hey, what you see is often what you get: bad free form fiction.
All joking and seriously bad writing aside, I really did take a vacation this past weekend, as I had 3 1/2 days off from work. And my family really did give me peace and quiet for that weekend (a rarity as of late), and I actually made an honest attempt at reading a book of fiction (Dodgers by Bill Beverly) this weekend too.
But, to sound like a broken c.d. that skips repeatedly, I could not think of singular nifty topic to write about. At least, one that people would understand.
Seriously. Not. One. Singular. Nifty. Topic.
But, all hope is not lost, nor strictly abandoned.
To whit, younger child:
Is going to Lake Placid (yes, that Lake Placid, not this Lake Placid) this week to do some figure skating testing, and if you've ever watched even a smidgen of figure skating in the past 25 years, then you'll have a basic understanding of what I'm talking about. So the house will be sans younger child, and pretty much older child, who has turn the house into a basic pit stop for sleeping. And for those of you have childrens above the age of 15, you know what a blessing this will be.
And on another side note, I should in the next couple of weeks, have the cover for my short story anthology. The designer did a really fantastic job and I'm now toying with the idea of her redoing the cover to A Taste Of Pain.
So as you can see, this post wasn't a Little Joe (no, not the good blogger from the U.K., but if you click on the link, you'll know what I mean), but just the same, it took a lot of brain cells to get the job done.
(c) 2016 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.
And you darn well tootin' know that when I's has dun nuttin' in da way of bloggin', that we slipped on a banana peel to get jiggy wit it, but not fiddy cent. Ya's, I's knows, gettin' jiggy wit it is so 90's, but hey, what you see is often what you get: bad free form fiction.
All joking and seriously bad writing aside, I really did take a vacation this past weekend, as I had 3 1/2 days off from work. And my family really did give me peace and quiet for that weekend (a rarity as of late), and I actually made an honest attempt at reading a book of fiction (Dodgers by Bill Beverly) this weekend too.
But, to sound like a broken c.d. that skips repeatedly, I could not think of singular nifty topic to write about. At least, one that people would understand.
Seriously. Not. One. Singular. Nifty. Topic.
But, all hope is not lost, nor strictly abandoned.
To whit, younger child:
Is going to Lake Placid (yes, that Lake Placid, not this Lake Placid) this week to do some figure skating testing, and if you've ever watched even a smidgen of figure skating in the past 25 years, then you'll have a basic understanding of what I'm talking about. So the house will be sans younger child, and pretty much older child, who has turn the house into a basic pit stop for sleeping. And for those of you have childrens above the age of 15, you know what a blessing this will be.
And on another side note, I should in the next couple of weeks, have the cover for my short story anthology. The designer did a really fantastic job and I'm now toying with the idea of her redoing the cover to A Taste Of Pain.
So as you can see, this post wasn't a Little Joe (no, not the good blogger from the U.K., but if you click on the link, you'll know what I mean), but just the same, it took a lot of brain cells to get the job done.
(c) 2016 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.
June 15, 2016
The 5 W's And How Am I Gonna Tie This Together?
As per the norm, we have a freshly made, freshly toasted, and for you health geeks out there, non-GMO post at I Are Writer! for you to peruse at your leisure. Which you really should, since it'll make a dandy companion piece to this post.
I thought for a semi-refreshing change of pace, I would talk about my writing. Specifically, what I like to affectionately call THE UNKNOWN NOVELLA!
Yes, THE UNKNOWN NOVELLA. The one that I wrote some 4 years ago. The one that does not have a title of any kind (hence the nifty moniker). The one that will become my next release. The one that gave me the great-grandmother of all reality checks. If you're a writer, then you know the kind of reality check I'm talking about.
To bring everyone up to speed, roughly two weeks ago I had a fellow writer from FB, whose main job is a freelance writer and all the various tangents that go with it, go over my novella in her official job title as copy-editor with a fine tooth comb, strand-by-strand. I just got that first draft back yesterday (6/14), and while I have not actually looked at the manuscript, I did read the wonderfully detailed/nuanced/straight from lip e-mail that she wrote.
Once I'd scraped my lower jaw from the floor and reattached it securely to my face, I re-read the e-mail. Thrice. I actually had just one question for her about something she'd mention, simply because I was fortunate enough to understand the remaining 99% of what she'd written. Upset I did not get, because not only did I ask for it (the masochist that I am), but quite frankly, I needed it.
I know it sounds very strange for someone to say, "Please sir, may I have another.", especially if they ain't Oliver Twist or Kevin Bacon from Animal House, but if I want to take my writing to the next level, I needed a Moe Howard Drive-By. And a vicious Moe Howard Drive-By is what I got.
A writer is someone I really want to be, especially since I have about a half dozen good quality slushies knocking at my chamber door, so the job for me this coming summer & fall, will be to expand and expound, tighten up and loosen up,and pull out my hair follicles with a pair of zicron encrusted tweezers while screaming, "Please sir, may I have another." open the eyes and clean out the ears, and hope to the deity of your choice that I can write a viable and useful 2nd draft.
Now, where did I put that bottle of Jose Cuervo?
(c) 2016 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.
I thought for a semi-refreshing change of pace, I would talk about my writing. Specifically, what I like to affectionately call THE UNKNOWN NOVELLA!
Yes, THE UNKNOWN NOVELLA. The one that I wrote some 4 years ago. The one that does not have a title of any kind (hence the nifty moniker). The one that will become my next release. The one that gave me the great-grandmother of all reality checks. If you're a writer, then you know the kind of reality check I'm talking about.
To bring everyone up to speed, roughly two weeks ago I had a fellow writer from FB, whose main job is a freelance writer and all the various tangents that go with it, go over my novella in her official job title as copy-editor with a fine tooth comb, strand-by-strand. I just got that first draft back yesterday (6/14), and while I have not actually looked at the manuscript, I did read the wonderfully detailed/nuanced/straight from lip e-mail that she wrote.
Once I'd scraped my lower jaw from the floor and reattached it securely to my face, I re-read the e-mail. Thrice. I actually had just one question for her about something she'd mention, simply because I was fortunate enough to understand the remaining 99% of what she'd written. Upset I did not get, because not only did I ask for it (the masochist that I am), but quite frankly, I needed it.
I know it sounds very strange for someone to say, "Please sir, may I have another.", especially if they ain't Oliver Twist or Kevin Bacon from Animal House, but if I want to take my writing to the next level, I needed a Moe Howard Drive-By. And a vicious Moe Howard Drive-By is what I got.
A writer is someone I really want to be, especially since I have about a half dozen good quality slushies knocking at my chamber door, so the job for me this coming summer & fall, will be to expand and expound, tighten up and loosen up,
Now, where did I put that bottle of Jose Cuervo?
(c) 2016 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.
June 8, 2016
Be True To Yourself And Answer To (Almost) No One
I seldom go off on any kind tangent that is deeply flavored with anger on this blog. I often do in the real world, but seldom do on the blog. FB has its own set of peculiarities that causes me to rant over there, albeit very carefully.
A few weeks ago, Memorial Day weekend to be exact, which coincidentally was my anniversary of year #9 in blogging (click here to read the opening salvo heard 'round the corner and down the street), I went surfing through my vast collection of photographs, specifically looking for anything that I could post for Memorial Day. Amongst those pics that I found usable were these three gems:
Now, being the super duper smart readers that I know everyone to be, please take a guess at what two pics were ultimately posted on Facebook. If you guessed left and center, you would be absotively posilutely correct. Plus you would win a Kewpie doll, or a good quality cigar from a good tobacconist, whichever rocks your boat or floats your world.
Now it just so happens that all three pics were taken at the same place in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, during my last real/normal vacation in 2008. I'm into the Civil War, just like my later father was. But, I'm not here to talk about that, I'm here to talk about that pic on the right.
The main reason as to why that pic didn't get posted on Facebook, is directly due to political correctness run nuttier than peanut brittle (apologies to peanut brittle). People often react sans a functioning brain without knowing the full history about the item that they're hyperventilating over. In this case, it happens to be the Stars & Bars battle flag (contrary to popular opinion, it wasn't the flag of the Confederacy).
Taken out of context, which people often do, posting a innocuous photograph of a battle flag will get you labeled all kinds of vicious untrue things. If done online, it can get you the application of the double standard, say like on FB, where your post can/will be pulled, can/get sternly reprimanded, and can/will be put into cyber jail.
Now normally, I don't give a you-know-what about what simple-minded-thin-skinned people think about me. I am what I am, and what you see/hear is what you get. But, sadly, when it comes to FB (who also owns Instagram btw), I have to watch what I do or say. I still need FB more than they really need me, and considering that not only do I have one blog labeled suspicious, but I have a book cover labeled as obscene, it really sucks to have to censor myself.
Thus, the pic on the right was not posted on FB. Instead, it's posted on this blog, for reasonable people like you to discuss amongst yourself about how a symbol or a word, can be hijacked and turned into something bad. In this particular case, the battle flag was part of a reenactment that was performed by some Confederate troops.
Life indeed can be weird, and it can be made depressingly weird by those who have translucent skin and brains to match. Which in turn can make you feel like a hypocrite when you're trying to keep your principles and morals intact.
(c) 2016 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved
A few weeks ago, Memorial Day weekend to be exact, which coincidentally was my anniversary of year #9 in blogging (click here to read the opening salvo heard 'round the corner and down the street), I went surfing through my vast collection of photographs, specifically looking for anything that I could post for Memorial Day. Amongst those pics that I found usable were these three gems:
Now, being the super duper smart readers that I know everyone to be, please take a guess at what two pics were ultimately posted on Facebook. If you guessed left and center, you would be absotively posilutely correct. Plus you would win a Kewpie doll, or a good quality cigar from a good tobacconist, whichever rocks your boat or floats your world.
Now it just so happens that all three pics were taken at the same place in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, during my last real/normal vacation in 2008. I'm into the Civil War, just like my later father was. But, I'm not here to talk about that, I'm here to talk about that pic on the right.
The main reason as to why that pic didn't get posted on Facebook, is directly due to political correctness run nuttier than peanut brittle (apologies to peanut brittle). People often react sans a functioning brain without knowing the full history about the item that they're hyperventilating over. In this case, it happens to be the Stars & Bars battle flag (contrary to popular opinion, it wasn't the flag of the Confederacy).
Taken out of context, which people often do, posting a innocuous photograph of a battle flag will get you labeled all kinds of vicious untrue things. If done online, it can get you the application of the double standard, say like on FB, where your post can/will be pulled, can/get sternly reprimanded, and can/will be put into cyber jail.
Now normally, I don't give a you-know-what about what simple-minded-thin-skinned people think about me. I am what I am, and what you see/hear is what you get. But, sadly, when it comes to FB (who also owns Instagram btw), I have to watch what I do or say. I still need FB more than they really need me, and considering that not only do I have one blog labeled suspicious, but I have a book cover labeled as obscene, it really sucks to have to censor myself.
Thus, the pic on the right was not posted on FB. Instead, it's posted on this blog, for reasonable people like you to discuss amongst yourself about how a symbol or a word, can be hijacked and turned into something bad. In this particular case, the battle flag was part of a reenactment that was performed by some Confederate troops.
Life indeed can be weird, and it can be made depressingly weird by those who have translucent skin and brains to match. Which in turn can make you feel like a hypocrite when you're trying to keep your principles and morals intact.
(c) 2016 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved
June 1, 2016
It's Just A Step To The Right
Once again, it's time for yet another fluffernutter post from the fluffy mind of G.B. Miller. As per the norm, we have a fresh writing related post, chock full of fresh goodies, at I Are Writer!
Then we have a two fer, as in two short posts, one here and one at Pictures For Smarties.
The short post here basically includes a very short op-ed piece, totaling 20 words.
And that, is the end of this post. If you take a step to your right or left, you can find the other part of this post.
(c) 2016 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.
Then we have a two fer, as in two short posts, one here and one at Pictures For Smarties.
The short post here basically includes a very short op-ed piece, totaling 20 words.
I am a Republican, therefore, you can have a pretty good idea on whom I'm voting for this coming November.
Followed by a video entitled, Serenity in Suburbia:
And that, is the end of this post. If you take a step to your right or left, you can find the other part of this post.
(c) 2016 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.
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