So Much Stuff I Can't Recall

Print out two coupons and go back later and get my birthday (12/20) present.

Thanks in advance.

The coolest of the new ones:

• Dodge Tomahawk
  
  
• Fatbax Exhausted
  
  
• Cool One
  
  
• Hammered Coupe
  
  
• Slideout

At 2973, it may fluctuate over and under for awhile, but it's cool to be under the 3K mark for now.

Here's mine:

When David Graham arrived in town he expected to write a quick human-interest story and be on his way. Instead, a revivalist tent-meeting causes him to confront demons from his past - as well as a present-day demon intent on raising the dead and unleashing a harrowing zombie attack on the community.

(one part Elmer Gantry, one part Herbert West, Reanimator, two parts Oklahoma (by The Call), shake well, pour over ice, serve with a twist)

"… you should lower the bar from 'best-seller' to 'would not make someone vomit.' "

I've set up a second blog (they're free, take two), where I'll post selections of the least vomit-inducing prose from each day's work. Some days it may just be punctuation; other days, not even that. We'll see.

Special note to literary agents and publishers: I am, of course, kidding in the preceding paragraphs. It's gonna be a masterpiece, with hardly any execrable passages at all (unless you're into that kind of thing; in which case - hoo boy! - are you in luck).

It's hypothetical not because I doubt it'd ever get published, but because I doubt I could actually get Disney's permission to use the "Haunted Mansion" font on the front.

The background is supposed to be genuine simulated cowhide, like Grandma's Bible used to be. Feel free to make snarky remarks about my Photoshop skills.

Here are some more samples of covers for books being written next month by other hopeful authors (the page can take awhile to load as many covers are quite large and not optimized for dial-up download).

In the book, No Plot? No Problem! the author includes tips from past NaNoWriMo participants, suggesting ways to make the month-long novel writing ordeal exercise more manageable. One person commented that she (if I recall correctly ("IIRC" for AFs, or acronym fans) the commenter was a she) got the names for characters in her stories by looking at the fake names used in the "From" portion of spam e-mails.

Right now I have a Ricky Singh, a Rupert Manley, a Caitlin Hensley, and an Esmerelda Mayo (really!) all wanting to sell me Rolex watches.

Got any good names in your Spam or Trash folders? Make a snarky remark about 'em. Maybe they'll make the book. At the very least they should be good for a laugh.

Finally, on my latest run to St. Vincent de Paul's, I found it.

Because the ending of the book played a big role in homicide detective J.P. Beaumont's financial independence and is referred to frequently in subsequent books, I already knew how the book ended. And while the book wasn't all I hoped it would be, it was still good to check it off my list ... plus, it gave me something to review this week.

Why you should read my review of Until Proven Guilty: As I mentioned, the book wasn't all I had hoped it would be. Read the review and find out why.

Still a few weeks left until Nov. 17th, the anniversary of the first review I wrote.

How high will it go? I'm hoping at least 803.

So what does BNW have to anything? Well, you'll notice that at the bottom of this entry there's a number in parentheses followed by "snarky remarks." I've turned on the Blogger "comments" feature.

This means that you can now click on the snarky remarks link, read other peoples' remarks (which don't have to be snarky, I just thought the two words went well together) and click on the "Post a comment" link to leave one of your own. (In theory that's how it works, no one's tried it yet ... we'll see ... is anyone out there? is anyone reading this blog? any one? any one? Bueller?)

If the feature gets abused, or no one wants to play along, or I desparately need a subject for another filler blog entry, I'll get rid of the comments.

But for now they're there.

Enjoy.

Now Papa John's is in on the act (I got Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy (with a bonus Munsters episode) and Large Spicy Italian (we call him Ant'ny)).

Check it out.

The organizer wrote a how-to book/survival manual and I picked it up at 20% off at Borders today. So ... after I finish that book and the Straub book I may go on a reading/reviewing hiatus throughout November.

I'll try and keep notes of my progress here on my blog, but that may be it for commentary. Who knows, but with family visiting and at least one trip out of town and post-Thanksgiving shopping, I don't know how much time I'll have for non-NaNoWriMo writing. If Philip does something extraordinary, like finishing his novel before me, I'll try to find time to note it in the blog.

Why you should read my review of The Mind of The Maker: In case you've been wondering "who you are?" and "why you're here?" I provide a short answer from the book. Also, if you happen to be in the toilet manufacturing industry (I don't know anyone who is, but I don't know who-all might come across this blog), I've included an especially encouraging comment just for you.

We'd had severe water damage to the walls and floors because of plumbing problems that stretch back years and years before we came out to live here. After a couple partial fixes (replacing the floor covering and shower walls) we decided to address the root plumbing problem and stop just covering up the obvious cosmetic problems. Consequently, we had the shower/tub and sink removed (the commode was briefly removed to fix the flooring below, but immediately reattached to the plumbing).

Today we got the tub hooked back up to the system. Phil gave it a test drive (photo).

Almost made me want to sign up.

Since there's not a good website for Camp Rilea online, here are some photos:

• Our barracks are off to the left
  
  
• A blurry pic of the dorm I stayed in
  
  
• My bunk
  
  
• A friendly reminder that you're not at Disneyland
  
  
• Another friendly reminder

We golfed Saturday afternoon at Highlands Golf Course in Gearhart. Well, they other guys played golf. I had a nice stroll around the course, swinging my clubs and 2-3 times connecting with the ball in a not totally embarrasing fashion. I broke even on balls. I played the same ball for the first seven holes, at which point it fled deep into the rough. Fortunately, I had found another ball while looking for that first ball in a different patch of brush a few holes earlier. Needless to say, there were no water hazards on the course or I'd have gone through a lot more balls.

Why you should read my review of the Hamilton Beach Stay-or-Go coffee maker: Did I "love it" or "hate it"? Read the review and find out.

Why you should read my review of When the Wind Blows: I suggest a movie you could watch and another book you could read with essentially the same plot, but where it's executed much better. And speaking of execution I run down a brief list of things an FBI agent can an cannot do. Would-be Mulders and Scully wanna-bees, check it out.

• A Phil's eye view of the lake
  (pay attention to that speck of red on
  the far shore, you'll see it again later)
  
  
• Phil & Mama
  
  
• Phil has some lunch
  
  
• Fall Colors have begun

Why you should read my review of An American Werewolf in London: I pass on some good advice from the movie re: taking late-night walks in deserted countrysides as well suggest a way to make singing Santa Lucia more fun. Plus, I speculate as to why there are so few werewolf movies out there, let alone great werewolf movies like this one.