Is it too early to start thinking about National Novel Writing Month? November feels far off, but it’s only 36-days away. A length of time that could easily slip past without notice with the ramp up to Halloween and the onset of winter. And yet it is plenty of time to come up with a story idea and some sort of framework to hang that story on; a bit of prep time if you jump on it now and take advantage of it. I called Doug earlier today and mentioned to him that I was thinking that this could be the push I need to get started and the deadline I need to get me working steadily. He agreed. I asked if he was up for it this year. He seemed to think that maybe he was. So I’ve added the NaNoWriMo progress bar to the sidebar and we’re going to restart the weekly writing call in an attempt to get the creative juices flowing again. I’m feeling good about this. I really think this will be the event that’ll get me back on the writing wagon. A wagon that I really want to be on. But a wagon that I seem to keep falling off.
Did you see that we got a release date for Grand Turismo 5 in Japan? March 2010. Not much of a release date is it? I mean it’s really more of a target month. And even with that vague date there’s no talk about a release date for the U.S. or Europe. Stupid game. At least Forza is coming soon for the 360. In fact, I think they’ll have released two games in the time that GT5 has been in development. And good games at that.
Tasha’s heading east tomorrow. Whether or not Karin will be coming back with her is still up in the air. I’m going to take the opportunity to wash and wax the Triumph and go for a ride. I know, I need to get back to that side of the state to see my friends and take a look at Gary’s furnace, my brother’s boiler, and visit my kids…. but it’s such a god-awful drive. Maybe next weekend or the next or the next.
I finished listening to Gold Coast by Elmore Leonard today, actually I finished it first thing this morning and was a little annoyed that I didn’t foresee that event and have another book ready on the iPod. It was good, as everything I’ve read or listened to by Leonard has been. But the ending was unsatisfying and I would say a little weak. The whole book had an overly familiar tone and characters that seemed stock, as if he wasn’t really trying. I enjoyed it, but it’s not my favorite.
What else have I listened to lately… seems like a lot of Stephen King. After listening to the Dark Tower series (I’m thinking Father Callahan here) and then having Tasha listen to Salem’s Lot, my interest was piqued. So I listened to that. I followed it with the authors edition of The Stand. I enjoyed both stories. But here’s the thing. I haven’t ever watched the movie versions of these stories, but I’ve caught bits and pieces of them over the years, so when I’m listening to these stories I have a vague idea of what is coming and a annoying tendency to picture the actors as the characters. It’s annoying. More so because I’ve never been very impressed with the casting of the movies based on King’s work. And I borrowed and listened to Spook Country by William Gibson from the library. A good book, but not one I’d normally listen too. I had a bit of a hard time with the beginning and figuring out what the book was about, and that feeling carried much too far into the book for my comfort. Not sure what I’ll listen to next, but I’ve got until Monday to figure it out. Later.
It’s official, Denis is in the PS3 Madden 10 Franchise. We played a practice game tonight. I didn’t do so well. I completed 3 passes for 38 yards and ran for another 18. I had 3 balls intercepted and another 3 knocked out of the air. Fortunately, he didn’t play that much better or it could have been a real blowout. It was not a good game. Final score was, 14 Vikings @ Packers 3. Ah well, we’re calling it preseason. And anyway, I’ll whoop up on his purple ass in the regular season when it counts. Which leaves only Jay to test myself against, and that seems odd; odd only because his Chicago Bears are my first game of the season, so if we played a preseason match we’d only be turning around and playing an official match right after. I had intended for him to be my first game, but things didn’t work out that way. I guess I’ll leave it up to him.
Yesterdays Corn whipped up all over me in the fantasy league, beating me by better than 30-points. Everything I said yesterday still applies. No changes for me, I had nobody playing in the Monday Night game. Needless to say, he did. Final score was: Yesterdays Corn 138.8, Rampant 108.5. Here’s hoping that I get better results next weekend.
My Packers and I played my unofficial, preseason game against Kevin and his Lions team on the PS3 earlier. And the Packers (28) came out on top of the Lions (14). Jay was in the background, probably sitting on Kevin’s couch, and I like to think he was watching film and wondering how he’ll ever be able to beat this powerhouse that is Green Bay with his lowly Bears. He was hard to hear, but the fear and trepidation came through loud and clear. And Denis? rumor has it that he’ll pick up his copy of the game tomorrow. Not that it matters, he’s not very good at sports games or any games for that matter. I have no fear of his weak skills.