21 Days To A Novel

Michael Stackpole did a few seminars when I was at Gencon a few years back, and I took some notes.  I've actually found these steps to be useful to me in the past, so I thought I would share them here for any aspiring writers out there who are having a difficult time getting started...


Novels run from 90,000-120,000 words long with 2500-3000 word chapters.  Short chapters make it a page turner.  When you hit 2200 words, start looking for a way out.  Don't worry about having 2501 words as long as you are close.

Some people think if you don't write fast, you don't write well.  Find a speed that works for you.  Don't worry if you don't write fast.  Don't edit your work until you are done or you'll never get done.

Day 1

Create a character, and write a single sentence about that character.  Cover five areas with one sentence each.

Possible areas:

Love Life
School Life
Occupation
What makes them happy
A big problem in their life

Day 2

Two more sentences about each one of those areas in that character's life.  That will give you five paragraphs.  Three sentences in a paragraph.  If you can't come up with two sentences, dump the idea or come up with a way.  Day 2 will have 15 sentences.

Day 3

Write a single sentence that is in opposition of the five points.  Example, Bob has a job he doesn't like working for his father in law.

Day 4

Write two more sentences adding to point three.  What Bob doesn't know is his father in law was skimming money from the company and setting him up.  Stories start at the point of change in the character's life.  Now, we have a story.  Don't start with perfect characters.

Day 5

Repeat Days 1-4 for another character.  You don't have to link these characters.  In most stories, people see good and bad guys.  Don't cast these guys into that role yet.

Day 6

For each of your characters, determine their life goals, short term and long term.  Do two short term and one long term goal.  Here's where you can start to connect the dots.  The two characters could have the same goal.

Day 7

For each character, chart the obstacles and fears keeping them from reaching their goals.  Bob wants to retire to Florida, but he doesn't have the money.  Jennifer wants a singing career, but she has a fear of singing in public.  You are just doing an inventory, not making judgement.  What challenges are they facing to achieve that goal.

Day 8

Repeat Days 1-4 and 6-7 for another character.  When you have three characters and you start introducing them, you create energy for the story.  You can have 1 and 2 plotting to screw over 3 at the end of the chapter, but character 3 may not fall for it.  This can be a hook.  Some characters you make may be minor.  You may not use it at all.

Day 9

Try to develop character voices.  How a character speaks gives a window to the mind.  On Day 9, write a letter from one character to another character.  It could be a warning, an apology, a request for advice or whatever.  How will it look?  Write on a paper bag, notepad or whatever.  You need to hand write it.  See how this character communicates with the other.  Bob writes a letter to his wife explaining why he left with his secretary.

Is any of this material making it into the novel?  Probably not, but it will give you an idea of what the book will be about.

Day 10

Dialogue.  Take two characters and have a conversation, discussing the content of the letter.  Don't use he said or she said.  Word choices are important.  Big words for smarter characters, smaller for less smart.  Voice ticks like using slang or things like, "There ya go."  Using names for a person that others don't use.

Day 11

The third character will be watching that conversation, but he can't hear them.  That character should attribute something to the speaker for each sentence.  Bob is watching a conversation between Jennifer and somebody.  What does he do?  Bob sweats as she speaks, or he wipes his bald head.  That's how you build attribute tags.  Don't have a character looking into a mirror.  Don't use he said unless it's building a point.  Its possible to build a novel without he said, she said.  If Bob arranges the things on the table, it shows he's precise when he's nervous.

Day 12

World building.  Ask yourself what roots them in the world.  What is their life in relation to the world?  Bob lives in Chicago, but he wears Packers shirts.  Do it for all the characters.

Day 13

How does where they live or what they do help or hurt the pursuit of their goal?  How does the world nurture their environment?  If Bob lives near the L Train, he's not gonna be able to focus.  He'll go elsewhere for thinking.

Day 14

If the characters succeed, achieving their life goals, how will their life change if they fail?  If they are close to success, how will the world push back?  In LotR, Frodo loses a finger, but Sauron loses everything.  What is their power level within the world?  There will be a push back against this goal.

Day 15

Write a brief scene about each character in a place they all share, or the main character's happy space.  You get to see how they all view that place.  Bob might see a license plate and recall a car he had.  Another character could see something completely different when they see that license plate.  A commonly shared place will help lock the image in your mind, and you will return to that place again.  Observe.  Go to the store and watch people.

Day 16

Character arc plot.  Write up a tag line and back cover blurb for your book.  Bob never thought his life could be any better, but then Jennifer came into his life.  Write back cover blurb.  Tell us what this novel is about in two paragraphs.  If you can't do that, you'll never write that book.  If we know where we think we are going to end, it will make it easier.

Day 17

Characters grow by changing through solving problems.  He changes shampoo, because he doesn't like how he looks.  You want character growth, not just character change.  Bob has problems with his father in law framing him.

Five step process to realize problem

Step 1- Show problem.
Step 2-Character has to realize he has a problem.
Step 3-Catalyst for an event shows character he needs to deal with the problem.  Reason to deal with the problem.
Step 4-Show how character develops resources to deal with the problem.
Step 5-Show the success or failure of our hero in dealing with the problem.

Steps 4 and 5 are especially important as they help build up to the end of the story.  Day 17 will allow you to create 8 or 9 scenes in the story per character.

Day 18

We will identify the complexities and conflicts that come with these arcs.  Jennifer wants marriage and kids, but Bob doesn't.  We have to show how he deals with it.  This causes more scenes.  You may have an idea, but interactive energy will make it a better story.  Go with it.  See where it goes.  Use single lines.  No need for a bunch of words.

Day 19

Go back to 17 and 18 and note physical events.  Bob and his wife are at a party.  He finally walks out on her.  You may decide another character will be at that event.  Jennifer may stay away, because she doesn't want to see Bob and his wife.  She doesn't see him leave his wife.  By Day 19, we have a series of events.

Day 20

Timeline and interweaving.  Interweave the scenes together.  If you have multiple viewpoint characters, you can rotate the chapters (Char 1, Char 2, Char 3, Char 1 again and so on).  You may allow two of some in a row if the story calls for it.  This document is like a road map.  It is where you think you will end up.  By Day 20, you have a working outline.

Day 21

This is the day you start writing.  Every word you write is one word closer to the end of the novel.  Build the novel one sentence at a time if you have to.  Find a time when you can write.  Do not rewrite until you are finished.  Up to Chapter 7 in this novel, Bob has no children.  At 7, we decide we need one.  Make a note, Chapter 1, include child.  Start at 7 with the child and revise it at the end of writing the book.  Keep going until the end.  If writing slows down, go back and get to know the characters.  Interview them.  Do whatever.  If you get yourself into a corner, back up from that point and start at the point where you veered off.

Silence Can Speak Volumes

This was actually written abolition five or six years ago after participating in a Day Of Silence...

I chose to be silent Friday to join in with the students who participated in The Day Of Silence.  It's funny, because when I heard about this, my initial reaction was that this was just something the kids in school were doing.  What would be the point of me participating?  As Friday morning approached, I made up my mind to join this effort.

Why?  There are a few good reasons that I can think of.  For starters, Lawrence King, Matthew Shepard, Gwen Araujo and way too many others are silent.  This is not by choice.  They were killed because they were gay or transgendered or lesbian.  They can't speak up and tell us what they had to endure.  They can't tell us how the words of hate hurt them every time they heard them.

Then, there are those who endure it now.  They hear the words of hate, but they try to push forward.  It can be difficult.  You know, it isn't just murder that will kill them.  Some find the emotional pain so unbearable that they commit suicide.  They think maybe the next life will be more accepting of them.  The words are so strong that some will deny who they are just to be accepted as "normal" by society.

Being young and in school is hard enough.  You're trying to fit in.  You're trying to make friends.  You're trying to figure out who you are.  You're trying to get good grades.  When you add the words of hate that can spew out, it makes it hard to endure.  Words like faggot, dyke, queer, freak or whatever are etched into your very soul.  It will become extra baggage you carry with you for the rest of your life.

I can relate to this.  I was bullied in school.  I didn't look a certain way, so I got picked on.  When you get bullied in school, it does something to you.  It effects your confidence.  It effects the way you view yourself when you are with others.  You may get to a point where you avoid being close with people because you don't feel you measure up or you fear rejection.

Some of these kids will get stronger because of this.  Some will get angrier and fight back.  Some will withdraw.  It's all part of life, you say?  Well, it shouldn't be.  We should not be judged because of the way we look.  We should not be judged by our sexual orientation or gender.  We should not be judged by the color of our skin.  We should be judged by what type of person we are and how we treat others.

These words of hate are not something that kids or adults should just deal with.  It needs to stop.  Words of hate can do as much damage as a weapon can in the long run.  These words need to be silenced.  That's part of the point of The Day Of Silence as well.  It's about educating people about the hate and why it's wrong to say such things.

I was moved by some of the pictures I viewed in one of my friend's videos.  There were protesters, supposedly speaking for God.  They had pretty posters and shirts saying things like "God Hates Fags".  They had their kids wearing these shirts.  This is simply not acceptable.  It's parents like these who raised the kid who brought the gun to the school and shot Lawrence King in the head.

I was struck by what I read when I saw that King's family doesn't want the kid to be tried as an adult, because there's no sense in having another tragedy.  Educate the boy.  I know, that's not religious either.  An eye for an eye and that stuff.  I do understand the sentiment though.  If you fight hate with hate, you get more hate, but if you fight hate with love, you can change the world.  Isn't this sort of what Jesus was trying to teach us?

It's hard to think of it that way when you have a pastor from another state coming to California to protest at an event remembering Gwen Araujo.  On top of that, you have the murderers using the "I was tricked" excuse to try and get away with it.  It makes me angry enough to wish I could enact my own revenge, but that wouldn't bring Gwen back.  This is why we have days like The Day Of Silence to call attention to what is happening so we can stop it from happening.

When you aren't talking, you have time to think.  What would these kids have grown up to be?  I understand Gwen had dreams of being a makeup artist.  Matthew was involved in the community theater, loved to act and had an interest in politics.  What might have been for these two if given a chance?  What would Lawrence have grown up to be?  Why did the hate have to take them away?

How can we start to educate the parents that it's okay to teach their kids to accept homosexual and transgendered people?  How can we get them to understand that teaching acceptance to their kids won't make them gay?  How can we teach the religious bible thumpers that God is love and that how we treat others on this Earth will go a long way towards determining what comes next for us after our lives here are through?

So many thoughts raced through my mind that they raced out before I could catch them.  It's funny how you are more in tune with your thoughts when you don't speak.  I had the choice to not speak, but others had that choice made for them.  Still others are afraid to speak or be who they are because of what they think might happen to them.  Living in fear is no way to live your life, and it's time we start to make a change for the better.

Being gay is not wrong, just as being straight is not right.  It's just who you are.  If two consenting adults make a decision to be together, they should be allowed to do it without a bunch of "moral" judgements being placed on them by people who think they know because of what they think their religion says.  We don't know what awaits us on the other side, but if there is a judgement, it isn't up to us to make it.

What's funny is the word straight isn't thought of in a negative way, but the word gay is.  Once upon a time, the word actually meant happy.  I like feeling gay myself.  It's much better than feeling sad.  But, in addition to being another word for homosexual, gay is also used as a word to put down others.  It's ingrained in our society.

Just yesterday, there were three or four instances I saw on television where gay was used as a put down for a joke on one show or another.  We are fed this sort of hatred almost subliminally, and we don't recognize it.  This method is used for other things, but I want to stick with this subject.  Fact is, I have caught myself using gay in a derogatory manner, and it stops now.  I made this decision on The Day Of Silence.

When I have seen things I didn't like on TV or wherever, I have made the comment, "that is gay" or something like "Liberace gay" or "Village People gay".  The irony being I own one of their albums from when I was a kid, and I always liked their brand of happy dance music.  Well, that's it, no more.  If I don't like something, I'm going to use the language skills I was taught in school, not a slur.

It's funny, because I am for gay marriage and gay adoption and gay rights in general, and I would still go around and be part of the problem.  Sure, it's not as bad as what's on the signs I saw in those pictures, but it's still a negative.  If I make one person feel like less a person because I call something gay, even if I wasn't calling them that, I just participated in the hate.  That's simply not acceptable to me anymore.

I can't go back and apologize to anybody I ever hurt by being insensitive.  None of us can.  I am sorry though.  The best way I can make amends is to realize the basic truth, that our words mean things.  They inspire actions, and if the words are negative, what do you think the actions are going to be?  I want to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.

As I am prone to do, I have rambled on and on.  I hope I can make a difference somehow.  I want to bring about positive change.  The Day Of Silence may be over, but the crusade to bring change is only just beginning.  For Lawrence, for Matthew, for Gwen and all the others, we must fight on.  We can save lives.  We may never know what lives we will save, but one of those lives could go on to change the world for the better if they just get the chance.

Life As We Don't Know It

People come and people go.  Empires have come and gone.  Have you ever wondered how long we've been here?  Have you ever wondered where we really came from?  I'm not talking about the religious question.  That's for another chapter.  Since I was young, I have had the belief that the human race has lived on Earth for hundreds of thousands of years.  I didn't come by this belief by reading it in a book or seeing it in a movie, though I have seen movies and read books since then that suggest the same thing.

This would mean that civilizations have come and gone that at least the average person knows nothing about.  I say the "average" person, because I believe there are individuals on this planet who know more than they are telling.  Every now and then, information gets out to us about ancient cities now underwater.  Atlantis is now popular in our mythology with several movies that include the lost city.  I believe it existed once upon a time.  Now, it's gone without a trace, but the name and legend live on.

But what about other civilizations on planet Earth that weren't as lucky?  They came, they saw, they died and nobody remembered them.  Maybe that's a reason we as a people are so obsessed with leaving behind some legacy to be remembered.  We want to write a song, design a building, create a painting, hit a baseball, just do something that will be remembered for years to come.  It's part of our own ego.  People desire to make a difference and be remembered.  It's understandable, but the reality is most of us will go through life, and when we die, we may be missed at first, but life will go on and we will be forgotten.

At least in the world we know, there are places to go to read about the people who have made a difference.  Not that many people even care, wrapped up in their own little worlds, but there are libraries filled with books on our history.  There are newspaper archives.  There are video records.  Anybody who cares to have a look at our history can go to these places.  But, what if a disaster of a huge magnitude struck the Earth and wiped out most of mankind, sending the rest into caves?  Buildings and technology destroyed.  Humanity starting over again.

In a generation, it would be stories of the past told to children.  A generation later, nobody would be left who even remembered those days, and those stories might be considered mythology.  Then, the attitude creeps in that these are just children's stories.  In the time we are in now, we must put food on the table and give shelter to our families.  Fairy tales can wait.  Suddenly, the ways of creating these technologies are forgotten again, and we are effectively starting over.  We literally have to reinvent the wheel.  It's a scary thought, but it's a reality I believe mankind has faced before.  It's a testament to the strength of man that we have made it this far.

It was the great songwriter Kerry Livgren of Kansas who wrote the song Dust In The Wind.  This is something I don't believe.  What we do does make a difference to others.  Even the seemingly insignificant person makes a difference to somebody.  We do matter.  If you have people in your life, and that includes your animal friends that you see just about every day, than you are probably making a difference.  Maybe it's because you give them advice or help them out, or maybe it's as simple as them seeing you alive and doing your thing.  Just seeing a familiar face can make a difference in somebody's life in helping create a sense of stability.

But what about that civilization that existed and is gone now?  We don't remember them, so what difference did they make?  Well, even if we don't have their knowledge, I would submit that the fact that we made it to where we are now makes all the difference.  If everybody is destroyed, then our journey as a species in this world is over.  But, I believe we have a lot to accomplish in the meantime.  We probably have a lot to accomplish before we even catch up to the advancement of previous civilizations that were either taken down by nature or some other force.

There is a place called the Hall Of Records said to exist under the desert in Egypt.  In it are the Akashic records that tell of the history of this planet clear back to 500,000 years ago.  We've been here longer than that, but these records only go back to that point due to something that happened at that time.  I don't know any of this to be true, but I can believe that there is a way of connecting to this information through our subconscious, through meditation or astral travel.  I would point out that what I'm saying here leads to what they call the "New Age" movement, and anybody seeking to travel that path should beware and guard their pocket book.

The shame of it is we are cut off from whatever we achieved in the past.  I can imagine there were civilizations that we now have surpassed, but there were some that far surpassed us.  They mastered antigravity technology.  We had free energy.  We could teleport from one place to another in an instant.  Life was very different for those people.  There were others who didn't live in the midst of all this technology.  They were in tribes.  When the destruction came down upon the Earth, the people with the technology left aboard their ships.  They had left technology behind, but it was ultimately destroyed.  They never came back to check on things or see if there were any survivors, but the survivors picked up the pieces and started over.

There are some interesting theories as to what may have been before.  The religious person might believe their particular Holy Book.  Bob Frissell wrote briefly of the history of the Earth as told by Drunvalo.  This involves channeling, which I know many people will dismiss on sight.  Still, it's an interesting read, and I'd recommend Nothing In This Book Is True, But That's Exactly How Things Are, even if you don't believe it depicts an accurate history.  Of course, one of the more popular people in this area is Zecheria Sitchin.  Zecheria has done exhaustive research and has chronicled it in several books.

The basic theme from Zecheria suggests we were created as slaves by another race, and the tale is interwoven with his research from Summerian History and early history as recorded in The Bible.  The thought that we all may be decedents from slaves, who were actually created by another race to serve them certainly won't appeal to a certain segment of society, but I believe until we ever come across a definitive accounting of where we came from that can be backed up with some facts, perhaps it shouldn't be dismissed so quickly.

I believe it was Sitchin who also suggested that we traveled from planet to planet in our solar system and beyond as a routine occurrence once upon a time.  We had bases on Mars.  This drifts into the territory of Richard C. Hoagland, who has theorized that perhaps we are The Martians.  He has suggested that once upon a time, we lived on Mars and had a thriving society.  When disaster struck, our best and brightest provided a way for us to leave the dying planet for Earth.  This happened hundreds of thousands of years ago.  We don't remember it because civilization has since had more major disasters on Earth, but remnants of Martian civilization, including the Face On Mars, still remain to remind us.

It's amazing to hear the new discoveries we are being told of thanks to the rovers and the satellites orbiting Mars.  I wish I could believe we were getting the whole truth, but I believe we are being carefully fed the truths they want us to know.  As long as they possess the knowledge, they have the power.  One of their revelations, which Hoagland was one of the first to predict, is that there were oceans on Mars.  In fact, they are very close to admitting there is, at the very least, microbial life on Mars now.  Perhaps the truth about Mars will be revealed to the average person one day.  One can hope anyway.

I can imagine an ancient Mars with beautiful blue oceans, filled with life.  Land with green grass and tall trees, bearing fruit, some of which we on Earth have never tasted.  Animal life, some of which we never saw on Earth.  The people created beautiful music, wrote plays, created works of art, built beautiful architecture.  They were our ancestors, and they lived a rich and peaceful life for generation upon generation.  What ended life on Mars is still a mystery to me.  One theory that I've heard is another planet collided with Mars, destroying the other planet.  I don't know what happened, but something did.  There are many interesting books and web pages out there if you look.

But, I don't want to rule out the spiritual side of this and the fact that people could have ascended.  Again, this is another "New Age" theory, but one that needs to be put out there for consideration.  I know enough in my limited experience to know Astral Travel or OBE's are real, and if somebody has truly mastered that ability, who's to say how much more their spirit and consciousness can accomplish.  I am a believer in the theory that the human race has only accomplished a small fraction of what they can, at least in this version of civilization.

When we think of other life out there in the universe, and I'm a believer that it does exist, we probably think it is humanoid like we see on Star Trek, which is an excellent show, in my opinion.  However, I don't think we fully comprehend the possibilities of what life can be and how other civilizations might exist.  There exists life in the universe that we probably can't comprehend.  Maybe it's because it is that much more advanced than we are.  I don't know.

I recall John Lear on Coast To Coast with Art Bell.  Now, John is an interesting man, and I believe there's more to him than people realize.  He put forth the notion on one of his appearances that there is life on Venus, and that NASA is covering it up with faked imagery and data.  He says the people there are just like us.  What a huge story that would be if that were true.  This is not something I necessarily believe, but I found it interesting when he said that.

Not long after that show with John, I heard it reported elsewhere that there may be life in the clouds of the gaseous planet.  Can you imagine a gaseous life form with intelligence floating in the clouds of Venus, perhaps even a civilization of these beings?  Could an exchange of ideas occur between our race and theirs one day?  What might we learn from each other.  Of course, all of this is mere speculation on my part, but when I heard there might be life in the clouds of Venus, it got me to thinking.

It boggles the mind when you consider all of this and the possibilities.  I believe there is a lot more to the story of our existence than we may realize.  I also believe there are people who know the truth and won't tell us.  Why would they do such a thing?  There is a saying that knowledge is power, and that is so true.  If there are secrets in these past histories that can, for instance, make the elite more powerful, why would they say anything and sacrifice an advantage?  Well, it's something to consider.  As always, though, don't take my word for it.  There is plenty of material out there on the topics covered here for you to research and make your own conclusion.

Pay Close Attention To What They Say

Michael Jackson once sang a song called they Don't Care About Us.  Occasionally, you get glimpses of that fact when those in elite circles start talking.  Jonathan Gruber is the most recent example of that, and we can cite some others here as well.  All it takes is a quick internet search to find the comments.

Gruber is called one of the architects of Obama Care, which forces people to buy insurance.  We were sold all kinds of lies to get this thing through, including the infamous "You can keep your doctor" lie.  Before I go any further, I would just ad that I don't come at this from a one party is better than the other point of view.  There are bigger things at play here than party politics.

Gruber has been quoted on different occasions taking an arrogant attitude on heath care, but his comments admitting about lying to get the bill passed are what is important here.  He also commented on how stupid the average person is.  If you are a cheerleader for the party who ram rodded this thing through, you may agree with his statement.

The real problem is obvious.  If this bill was so fair and really for the good of the people, why hide the full truth of it?  If it's so good, it can stand up to the scrutiny.  Instead, we were lied to, and it is now admitted that the lie was the only way to get this thing passed.  That doesn't sound like it's for the good of the people to me.

Let's not forget about previous president Bush and the dawn of his War On Terror.  After 9/11, we were told we must invade Iraq because they had weapons of mass destruction.  They never found any link between Iraq and 9/11, so they needed to make up a pretext for war.  In the end, they found no WMD either.

At least people can take comfort that the president wasn't losing any sleep over the death toll and the destruction his war under false pretense created.  At least the proper corporations made money.  I recall his indifference.  He made a an attempt at a humor at a Press Club banquet in which he joked about looking for those weapons.  People died, but yeah, it's funny isn't it?

If you listen to some people, the population needs to die.  Billionaire Ted Turner openly talked about this years ago when he said the population of the planet was too big and needed to be reduced.  Why should anybody take Turner seriously?  Don't think for a minute people with his kind of wealth can't effect the kind of change they want.

Another "humanitarian" billionaire named Bill Gates talks about similar things.  He's heavily involved in the push for vaccines. I'm not gonna get into vaccines too much here, but you can see reports of the damage they cause in some cases.  I'll just get into the discussion that links somewhat with Obama Care and the "death panels" people were talking about.

In a speech where he was talking about the money that goes into health care for the elderly, Gates discusses how ending treatment of the elderly could save money to hire more teachers.  He added that this is called "the death panel, and we aren't supposed to have that discussion."

The idea of depopulating society is a major topic, and with the various diseases that are killing people all around the planet, maybe they are already working on their solution.  In a speech to college students in Texas, Dr. Eric Pianka spoke of an air born virus that would kill billions and how good it would be for the planet.  He later tried to recant that, while still harping on how there are too many people.

Of course, when you want to think about who will live and who will die if they have their way, it won't be most of us "useless eaters" who will live.  They want to get rid of us, and they will use whatever means they can to make it happen.  If we sit here and act like nothing is going on, it will be easier for that agenda to go through.

One thing they will use is environmentalism.  They call it global warming, global cooling, climate change or whatever term they can use to say the climate is changing and it's all our fault.  While I wouldn't suggest we shouldn't try to find alternative energy sources, the idea is to make us live on less of everything by saying we are either hurting the planet or we are running low on supplies.  Finding energy sources that are cheaper and cleaners are worthy of pursing for their own sake.

But the global warming movement is making people like Al Gore rich, and some of their predictions have already been proven wrong.  It doesn't stop them from continuing to push the agenda.  One of the aims is to take more land and push people into smaller and smaller areas.  Look up the term Agenda 21 for a better understanding of this.

In Nevada, rancher Cliven Bundy had an agreement, but the feds tried to strong arm him off of his property and take his cattle.  They ran virtually every other rancher off of the land, but he is still fighting.  They attempted to use heavy handed tactics, but the people rose up and fought for justice.  The feds had to back off, at least for the time being.

This provoked an outrageous statement from Democratic Senator Harry Reid, who called the protesters domestic terrorists.  Since when is standing up for rights covered in our country's founding documents terrorism?  The founding fathers may have been considered terrorists to Britain, but these protesters hardly qualify as terrorists.  They weren't attacking, causing harm or damaging property.  They were standing up for Bundy's rights.

As these outrageous comments get made, like Reid's comments or Gruber's recent remarks, they are greeted with a yawn by the average American.  This is one reason you can expect more over the top statements.  The powers that be think people don't care, and they will be getting bolder and bolder in the days ahead.  When you think you can get away with anything, you go for as much as you can get.

Americans ought to give a damn.  It's not about being in a political party.  We are free to believe as we will.  It's about standing up for our rights and our freedoms and not putting up with being lied to.  It's about not letting them push an agenda that could bring about our destruction.  If we don't bother to stand up and say no when they go too far, there may come a time when we can't do anything at all.

Lives Of Every Color Matter

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, an attempt was made to take the day from the corporate interests and bring attention to the tragedy of the deaths that black people have suffered at the hands of police officers.  They called it Black Out Friday, and this protest spread throughout the country.

On one hand, I thought it was nice to see.  They were making it difficult for people to go shopping.  They disrupted the flow and even effected the BART trains in Oakland.  People were late for work as well.  It wasn't completely related, but Wal Mart workers took the opportunity to protest their working conditions and push for a pay raise.

I could easily drift into an argument against the idea of Black Friday and the stores getting people to practically kill each other for cheap electronics.  I could get into the discussion of how sad it is that we have to take on careers at places like Wal Mart and take government assistance in addition to that non living wage just to get by.  Both things annoy me.

However, I want to get into the idea that police are brutal against blacks and that blacks need to get violent against whites because of it.  I despise what is happening to some black people due to heavy handed police officers, but whites and people of other colors are suffering too.  People of all colors die this way.

When a cop acts like Judge Dredd and becomes judge, jury and executioner, it is very wrong.  It must stop.  I support protesting against it, because too many times these cops have gotten away with murder.  This is not acceptable, and if we sit here and take it, it will get worse.

In Ferguson, Missouri, we had the officer who killed an unarmed suspect, Michael Brown.  Some things have come to light that question the officer's response.  These are fair questions.  From what I've heard, a response was required, but did it go to far?  Would a tazer have worked?  I don't know. 

Officers at times have to use force when they are threatened.  Every good cop knows this.  Do they go overboard?  Yes.  Do they intimidate, rather than try to position themselves as part of the community?  Yes.  Are there bad cops?  Yes.  Are there many good cops?  Yes.

We have to be very careful as we walk down this path that we don't make it us against the police for the actions of some bad police officers.  They are not all like that.  However, when they shoot a camping homeless man to death, shoot a man in the back as he lays on a train platform or mercilessly beat begging suspects to death in cold blood, it's bad.  When they get away with it, it's worse.

My concern is the race baiting going on that is making this a white vs black thing.  We have certain prominent black figures who get on TV and go to the scene to stir the pot.  Often times, they do it before they have all of the facts.  They know there are angry black people out there, and many times those people have a right to be angry.

The problem is they stir these people up to get violent and cause damage and injury.  The recent Brown case is the latest example.  The cop will not be charged, and they are out there burning down businesses, looting stores and beating random white people.  It's doubly senseless because they didn't know Brown and they don't know their victims.

Picture a scenario where a family member gets murdered and you know who did it.  That person gets away with it.  You go down the street and pull a person of the same color as the person who murdered that family member out of their car and beat them to death.  Why do that?  What did that person do to you?  Why burn down the business of somebody who had nothing to do with anything?

They are mad because of Brown's death.  I get it.  Brown made a mistake, but he didn't deserve to die.  From what I understand, the officer could have used force to subdue him, even shooting him in the leg if need be.  He was in a position to make that judgement call, but he basically emptied his gun chamber on him until he died.  Then, he left him bleeding to death.

Now, we have the cry that black lives mater.  You're darn right they do.  From the blacks who get aborted at a bigger rate than any other race to the ones who die from diseases to the ones who die in violent confrontations.  We should care about all of them.

However, all life maters.  This is something we should never forget, because we all bleed the same color.  White lives matter.  Asian lives matter.  Hispanic lives matter.  Arab lives matter.  All life matters.  We should care about each other and stop the violence.  We need to be very careful about the race baiting going on, because it will take this country down a terrible path.

There is a problem with police officers thinking they are above the law, and though black people tend to suffer from this, they aren't the only ones.  There is an us vs them mentality that is being cultivated here, and it needs to stop.  We need to have real discussion about this and bring a real chance.  Police should be our friends, not out enemies.

The problem is, we are going to head down a path where something very bad will happen.  People want change, and I don't blame them.  We can't continue this way.  However, if we don't start having a real discussion about the change we need to see, the change we will get will be worse than what we have now.  The answer won't come through violence and destruction. 

In this case, the anger comes down to police procedure and what is the proper protocol.  Cops tend to get away with things because procedure allows them to do things that anybody with a soul knows is crossing the line.  Those things need to change.

I don't know what the answer is.  When an officer has a suspect that must be apprehended, they need to take appropriate action.  What needs to be incorporated into their training?   What actions are required, and where does it cross the line?  The things that cross the line need to be spelled out.

I also believe that having officers who interact with the community and are a part of it will help things.  Just seeing an officer who is friendly in every day situations will go a long way towards building trust.  Knowing that he doesn't see you as the enemy, but as a person he's here to protect.  And, you see him as somebody doing a sometimes dangerous job, but still as a regular person.

We shouldn't let the race baiters turn this into a black and white issue when there is so much gray area to it.  This effects people of all colors, and it has to change.  The voice of the people should be heard, and we should all be united when we say, "Life matters, no matter what color.  Treat it with respect."

Why, The Eternal Question

Some people think they have it all figured out.  Maybe they do.  Maybe all there is to our existence is to live in the moment and be happy.  But, how often do we really sit and ask ourselves the big question of why are we here?  What is the point of it all?  Sometimes I sit in amazement and watch.  People are scurrying off to their jobs.  They've got bills to pay.  If they save enough, they'll be able to take that big vacation or retire and live comfortably.

We are wound up so tight these days, and it's getting even tighter.  It's sort of like a quickening.  The world is changing so fast, and either we as a people don't notice or we just don't care.  We work and sleep and in between that time just try to find a way to entertain ourselves.  Many of us don't stop to think about it, and I mean really think about it.  Some of us may go to church and get preached at for a few hours, but what do we really learn?

But, some people still feel they get what the man is preaching to them on Sunday, and it comforts them.  That's not meant as a put down, but rather an observation.  If it is making a person feel better and helping get them through another week in this reality, it's not all that bad.  Some people don't have two dimes to rub together, and it's their faith that gets them through another day.  They long for what they think is coming to them in the end, but in the meantime, they exist here, trying to make the most of those good moments that come to us all from time to time.

But, this world is ruled by the dollar.  "In God We Trust" is what it says on the dollar bill.  It also says something about a New World Order, but I won't go there.  Money is the point system of this "game" that seems to be our existence on this planet, and whoever has the most, wins.  Or do they?  How much is enough?  How much more stuff do you need in the quest to try and make yourself feel better?  At what point does a rich person, even with all that they have, ask themselves that all important question, "What's the point of all of this?"

But to so many of the working men and women of this world, what they see of these rich people makes them envious.  They want that life too.  They want to be able to relax in the lap of luxury without worry of how they are going to pay that next bill.  But the reality is that they have to get to work.  Gotta get that paycheck.  They are only a few missed paychecks away from losing it all.  Some of these people play the corporate game of, "Put it on the card", and this has left them in debt up to their ears.  But, it motivates them to get out of bed early in the morning, day in and day out, week in and week out, to get that job done.

You gotta do what you gotta do, or so they say.  So, off to work they go, making that stop along the way to worship at he corporate "Temple Of Chevron" to fuel their vehicle.  But, you must pay a handsome fee at that temple, where you visit two or three times a week, and it's getting more expensive by the day.  When you get through feeding the corporate machine, it's off to do that job.  You may be one of the lucky ones who got the job you "wanted", and it's not really work to you, or you may be one of the many who is stuck in that dead end, dreary job, because you have bills to pay.

But, where is this all heading?  Why are we here, really?  What's the point of all of this?  Is it some cosmic plan that we can't understand?  Is Sitchin right about man being bred for slavery thousands of years ago?  Do we just keep getting reincarnated over and over again?  That's a somewhat depressing thought to me.  Is it all over when we die?  Or, is The Bible the book with all of the answers?  There are so many things to consider as possibilities.  Certainly, the teachings of the officially sanctioned churches (pick your faith) are the most well known theories.

Were we kicked out God's beautiful garden after what happened with Adam and Eve, and are we born sinners because of what they did?  Is Jesus the answer because He died on the cross for our sins?  If we accept that fact and proclaim Him our Savior, will we have a path into Heaven when we die?  The Jesus that I read about in The Bible was a great man, who changed the world with his teachings, but there are some who believe that such a man existed, yet they deny he was the Son of God, sent here to save us all.  These people are religious in their own right, and many of them are decent enough people.  Are they to be excluded from Heaven?

The Bible offers hope to many, but interpretations of The Bible made by "religious men" have been used to kill millions throughout history.  And then you hear things about how homosexual people are going to hell.  A guy may, for instance, live a good life, help others when he can, never hurt anybody and even accept that Jesus died for him, but because he was gay, people say he's going to hell anyway.  There are things in religious doctrine that I'm not so sure of.  I firmly and whole heartedly believe there is a force out there, call that force God if you want, that created all of this.

I don't know who or what God is, but I know God exists.  I don't know why God created us and why we are here, but I continue to search for answers.  I don't understand God proclaiming everybody since Adam and Eve sinners and needing to send Jesus to us to change things so we can all get to Heaven if we accept Jesus.  I mean, this is God, isn't it?  God created all of this.  Couldn't God just change the rules without, what some might even go so far as to call, a ritual like the sacrifice of Jesus.  But, then again, who am I to question our Creator?

And, if we are fortunate enough to make it into Heaven, what is waiting for us there?  A life of servitude to The Lord?  Are we to follow Him around like sheep to a shepherd?  What will our lives be like?  Would they be much like they are now, only in a different environment?  I'm not sure I understand what Heaven is to be like.  Somehow, even the idea that all of the things you ever wanted on Earth becoming yours in Heaven doesn't sound like how it would really be.

If we are to follow God in Heaven, will the feeling in our souls be of euphoria and joy and contentment, where we don't long for anything?  Do you want to go to a place where your desire to learn and grow and evolve is gone?  Where do you want to go?  What do you want to do?  Do we even really understand what all of this is for and where we may be going in the end?  There are so many questions, and it seems like there are even more answers that lead to more questions.  So when you ask yourself why, you may get a different answer today than you get tomorrow.  All I really know at this point is that I believe there is a lot more to our existence than we can even begin to understand at the moment, but one day, we will.

Who Killed Jesus?

A lot of killing is done in the name of religion and who's interpretation of God is correct.  I'm personally of the opinion that our relationship with our Creator or God is unique to ourselves.  A church isn't how that path is made, and they don't have the power to absolve us from any sins they claim we made against God.

I may offend with that opinion, but I'm just being honest.  Reading The Bible and being preached to in a church are two different things.  But, I find the story of Jesus fascinating, just as I do the story of the Roman Catholic Church and the people who get blamed for the death of Jesus.

There has been a love/hate relationship with the Jewish people through the years.  It can be easy to start hating the Jews because sometimes they pull out the "we have suffered more than anybody" card, and it gets old after a while.  I'm not saying the Jews haven't suffered, because they clearly have.  WW2 Is only one instance.

I also believe some of that hate is thrown at them over the idea that they killed Jesus.  That is an outright lie.  Now, the story tries to frame it that way, especially when we get to the story of the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate.  He gave the Jewish people the choice, and they chose to free Barabbas, the known terrorist at least as the Romans saw him.  To the Jews, he was a hero.

Jesus going around claiming He was God was enough to offend a lot of people, especially when it's somebody performing miracle after miracle. But the Jews were fighting for their own cause, and preaching love of your fellow man isn't likely to win the hearts and minds of the people who want to fight. 

Sure, they chose the terrorist, but they weren't the ones making the legal decision.  It matters not what Pontius says in this story.  The story cleverly tries to shift the blame from the Romans to the Jews, when the Romans were the ones who held all the power. 

Yet, people still want to hate the Jews for killing Jesus.  It wasn't like every Jew in the world was there at that moment and took a vote, nor was it that they ran the government that was intent on putting him to death.

What's interesting is what happened after that day.  While the Jews were scattered, the Roman Empire may have fallen, but it didn't die completely.  It became the Roman Catholic Church.  The Pope became it's figurehead leader, called the Vicar (stand in) of Christ.  By who's authority?  Where did Jesus say that man speaks for Him?

So, the very government that authorized the killing of Jesus is the one in charge of officially speaking for Him.  Interesting how that happened.  Maybe, as the story goes, He had to die for our sins, but I find the whole story fascinating.  The Jews get blamed, and the government responsible for nailing Him to the cross essentially takes over as official spokesman. 

And, through the years, how much killing have we had in His name?  Would Jesus approve of that?  Not the Jesus I read about in The Bible.  This is one reason I don't believe in the church as spokesman for Jesus.  They can relate His story, but our relationship with God is our own. 

Nobody on Earth can broker that relationship.  It is up to us by trying to live as good and righteous a life as we can, filled with love and respect for others.  None of us are perfect.  I know I'm not.

What's Your Sign?

Have you ever had somebody ask you want your sign is?  It's like a cliche, a pickup line at the bar.  Or, people believe that their signs make a difference in compatibility.  I'm a Virgo, so they say Capricorns, Tauruses and Virgos are good signs for me.  Also, Pisces, Cancer and Scorpio.  I don't know if that's true.  I know two of my best friends are Libras.

There are traits that people in certain signs have.  Like us Virgos are sometimes very analytical and can live inside our heads a bit.  Or Leo's like to be the center of attention, the big stars.  Leo and Virgo are not compatible, or so they say.  I don't think that's the case.

I think we can be compatible with any sign, provided we know and understand the person we are entering a relationship with.  If each person understands the other and their traits, and there's give and take, it can work for them.  I don't believe in absolutes.  There are shades of gray.

I used to laugh at astrology.  You see Horoscopes in the newspaper and just know they are pretty much B.S.  Today you will have success at work if you are a Virgo.  That's not necessarily true.  Those horoscopes are pretty much for entertainment purposes.

But, an astrologist who really knows what they are doing can use the stars to help a person understand when it's best to pursue business ventures, relationships, buy a new home and all of that.  There is something to all of it, and some rich and influential people understand that.

So, I guess I can understand why "What's Your sign" can be a question people get asked when they meet. It can give them a basic understanding of a person, but your sign isn't all you are.  Staying away from somebody because of their sign may not be a good move.  That person could be your best friend or more.  You never know.

Jumping Through Hoops To Write At A Blog Site

As I continue to search for places to write articles and earn money, I have found that some places  want you to jump through hoops to get something posted.  I understand some of that, but I've read the stuff others have posted at two places in particular.

There are some good articles, but there are others that look like they could easily be posts on a message board.  One site gave me issues about violating their links policy when I didn't post links.  I used a feature their site has that put links in my articles.  Those links did me no good.  I just assumed they helped the site, and that's why the feature was there.

They monitor new writers for three posts, and my third post had no problems.  I assumed the fourth one would clear, but it's a week later and still pending.  It's not a big deal to me.  They pay half a penny per view, so I have earned a couple dimes at this point.  They aren't even bothering to respond and tell me if the article is good or not.  They just ignore me.

It's a bit humiliating to be treated like my writing isn't good enough when I have been published in magazines and newspapers.  I may not be the best writer, but I don't suck either.  Some of the stuff they have posted is questionable in my opinion, but it is there.  Yet, I must wait.  The site looks like a waste of time, and I may pull my articles.  I don't have time to waste over mere pennies.

I joined another site that pays a little better, but now I must wait to see if my first article clears there too.  I almost don't even care at this point.  This is the way these sites go.  It's their playground.  It's their rules, and they can do what they will.  You agree when you sign up.  I know the drill.

I'm in the wrong business.  Perhaps I need to open up a content mill website and let others write for me.  If I had the programming skills and the connections for good ad revenue, I'd do it.  Some of these sites are making good money.  Some don't even care what goes through there as long as its not adult oriented.  They take a cut of everything that goes through.

On the other hand, is opening up a click mine for worthless content really something to do?  I guess you do what you can for the almighty dollar.  After all, I'm posting articles on the internet to try and earn a little money.  And this article is complaining about the process.  How sad is that?

Being Politically Complacent Helped Create This Mess

It seems like things are just getting worse in the world. Quality jobs get harder to find as our quality of life gets worse. The value of our money is going down as well. Could our complacency when it comes to voting and how much thought we put into it be part of the problem?

How many times do you have a conversation about “throwing the bums out” of congress?  It probably happens more times than you recall, but you dismiss those comments as quickly as they are spoken.  How many times is one of the politicians you voted for part of the problem, and yet you don’t even realize it?  Are you paying attention?  Do you just vote out of instinct for the familiar name?

When it comes to voting, people talk on and on about it being our right to vote.  It’s true, it is our right.  However, I believe our founding fathers expected us to put the same amount of effort into voting as we put into our favorite hobbies.  This means learning about the people and the issues we are voting for.  This means paying at least as much attention to the issues as we do to the statistics of our favorite sports team, the latest fashion news and gossip or whatever is happening on our favorite TV shows.

The supposed two party system (there are more than two choices in case you are wondering) has many people in a trance.  You register for a party, and when the election cycle comes around again, you get your party’s “marching orders” flyer in the mail and obediently cast your vote the way you were told to.  That’s the way some people approach it, and it’s really doing as much damage to the process as not voting at all.  What’s the point of that?

If you are on the Republican versus Democrat bandwagon, take a look and ask yourself a question.  The country has leaned one way or the other very heavily at times during the past 20 years, putting one party in control.  What has really changed for the better?  How many politicians are still in office after all these years, acting as if they are entitled to be there no matter what they do?  Do you think this is how it should be?  I’m pretty sure a majority of people shrug their shoulders and say, “That’s just the way it is.”

You have about as many people eligible to vote in this country that chose not to as there are people who do vote.  Why is that?  Are they looking at the system and saying it is so corrupted that they don’t even care?  Maybe they heard the tired old saying that if you don’t vote for either of the two “main” parties, you are throwing your vote away.  That is such an arrogant and condescending attitude.  No party has a right to your vote.  The politician has to earn it, or at least they should.

I understand the realities of the world all too well.  We need to make a living and pay the bills.  Life gets stressful, and we deal with it by diving head first into the things we love the most.  Politics is rarely one of them.  In fact, people hate politics and politicians.  They believe they are getting screwed by the politicians, and in a way, they are right.  But, if somebody came to your house every day and stole something from you, would you just accept it or would you try to stop them?  This is what is happening to this country, and the people we vote into office aren’t stopping it.  It’s just getting worse.  It needs to end.

Part of the reason we got into this mess is because we stopped really paying attention to what happens in Washington and our state houses and local governments.  It became too much work for us to bother with.  We need to pay attention and we need to get informed.  We need to know what that proposition is that we are voting on and just who we are electing into office.  It doesn’t stop there either.  We need to stop just listening to news sound bytes and really pay attention to how what we voted for effects our lives.  Then, we need to remember that when the next election comes around.  If we don’t, it’s likely that things will just get worse as our rights and our quality of life goes down the drain.

Dealing with The High Cost of Cable TV

A look at the cost of cable TV, how it has changed through the years, options some people would like to see, the growing movement to leave cable TV behind and the technology brought about by the FCC that shows how people could be getting most of what they get on cable TV for free.

Dealing with The High Cost of Cable TV

Television is a regular part of most of our lives.  Some would even say it’s too much a part of our lives.  You may say you can do without TV, but do you have at least one night where there is something on that you want to watch?  Many people do, and they even schedule their plans to ensure they are home to watch that show.  For a few dollars extra, some just record it on DVR.

Sadly, it seems like every year we get a new increase in our cable bills.  Oh, it’s not much, they say.  It’s only another dollar for this and fifty cents for that.  You may not even pay much attention until you are looking at your bill one day and wonder why it went up so much.  In my neck of the woods, our bill has gone up over $35 in the last five years.  Of course, we get internet too, which doesn’t come cheap either, but it’s very fast.

There comes a time when some people will even ask if it’s worth the bill.  Over the last five or ten years, the “cut the cable” movement has grown due to other options.  You can use the antenna, which I will get to in a moment.  You can make use of various free and pay (at a cheaper rate) services online to get most of what you were paying for before at a cheaper rate.  The realty is that we do have options, though the cable company counts on the fact that most of us would rather just pay the high bill than bother making the effort needed to do something else.

Once Upon A Time On TV

Over the past 30 or so years, the options for TV have grown at an amazing rate.  I can remember back in the 70’s when we had cable, but it was basically the 12 channels we got on the dial, plus whatever the antenna picked up on the UHF dial.  The “Big 3 Networks” (ABC, NBC, CBS) provided much of the new entertainment.  The funny thing is, I seem to recall having more to watch back then.  Even in the 80’s, the early days of cable, we had more to watch it seems.  Remember the days when MTV actually played music videos?

Cable in the early days was that box that got you the movie channels.  No commercials and unedited.  There was Channel 100, Marquee and, somewhere along the way, The Playboy Channel.  You paid for that box with the idea that you got entertainment with no commercials, other than the ads for coming attractions.  Of course, movies did get played over and over again, and it sometime felt like there was nothing new for that extra $5 or $10 dollars.  That seems like chump change now.

More And More Channels

In the 80’s, cable grew and grew.  Turner Network gave us WTBS and all the Braves and Hawks games we could handle, plus the first 24 hour news network (CNN).  The phrase “I want my MTV” was everywhere, and the USA Network was launched, featuring a fledgling wrestling company known as WWF.  Country music fans asked for an alternative to MTV and got it with The Nashville Network.  Those were among the first, but other channels gradually followed.

Another trend began as these new cable channels that we paid for ran plenty of commercials.  It seemed like too many commercials back then, but these days we have even more commercials per hour.  The thing is, Cable TV was supposed to be about no commercials and customers paying for it through the cable bill.  If that really ever was the case, it went out the window fast.  At least back then it seemed like they made a better effort to put good programs on every week, and they had fewer channels in which to do it.

As often happens in the business world, the bigger companies bought out the smaller ones until we got what we have these days.  What am I talking about?  There are five really big corporations that own a majority of the channels on cable TV.  If you were to eliminate just those five, you wouldn’t have many channels left.  That is an interesting, if not disturbing, fact to consider.

They Have A Bill For That

Another thing that has happened as a result of technology and how the Cable TV industry has changed is the things you get billed for.  Some things, such as your remote control and cable box, have been on the bill all along.  We were fortunate in that the boxes we had to get a few years ago came free, but I could have bought the modem I have now at least a couple times over with the fees we’ve had to pay.  You would think once you have paid so much money they would eliminate that from the bill at least until you need a new one, but that’s not the case.

The cable companies have done a masterful job with their tiers.  Basic is cheap, but there’s a good reason.  You don’t get much.  Expanded Basic (Some companies call it something else) is double the cost in some places, but it has more choices.  However, there are a few tantalizing carrots they dangle over your head for a few dollars more, and I’m not talking about the movie packages.  Things like the NFL Network and a few more games, racing on Speed TV and music channels that actually still play music videos would be nice.

For us to get just those three things, we would have to pay another $30.  We’d get a bunch of channels we have no interest in watching if we did pay, but we decided it wasn’t worth it.  I’m still trying to figure out how the NFL could make a channel with so many new games and make us pay for it.  Oh wait, it’s about the money.  Never mind.

If you have a TV with HD as most people do, you still have to pay extra for the HD signals.  Isn’t that wonderful?  You can plug your cable directly into the TV or split it between your box and TV to get local channels in HD as is mandated by the FCC.  Your cable company won’t tell you that, but it’s good to know for watching network TV in HD.  The reality is the tuners on the newer TV’s are capable of picking up all that cable has to offer without the box.  The cable company has the ability to scramble what you don’t pay for, but still they make you get a box and pay more for HD.  This is because they love you as a customer, of course.

The DVR capability is nice, but again, it’s another fee.  Plus, you have franchise fees and a service fee.  I found that last one out the hard way when my internet went out.  The problem was the box in front of the house had switched off, but they still wanted to bill me $100 for the visit that wasn’t even caused by something on my property.  They did credit us on the bill before adding that monthly service fee, now $3 per month.  I know, it’s only $3, but when you add it all up, it’s not cheap.

A La Carte

With the “cut the cord” revolution gaining steam, one answer is to allow customers to pick and choose the channels they want and just pay for them.  This would lead to people probably just having the local channels and the dozen or so other channels that they watch the most, but we are told they can’t do this.  Can’t or won’t?

What they say is it will drive up the cost of the channels, but I wonder.  Remember, the Big 5 ultimately own most of these channels.  We can’t even get an honest answer as to how much each channel gets from our cable bill.  However, some estimates available on the web suggest channels like ESPN 1&2, TBS, TNT and USA Network grab the biggest chunks.  This is interesting, but not surprising.  ESPN’s estimated $7-$8 dollars for it’s two top channels might annoy non sport fans who never watch ether channel.

The movement to allow people to pick and choose what they want has gathered very little steam over the last five years, and I doubt it will happen anytime soon.  This is why you have people cutting the cable cord and going with internet and antenna TV.  It’s cheaper in the long run.  If you are internet savvy, you can find places that charge little to no cost as well as a few good sites that do charge for content you actually want to watch at a time convenient to you.  With all the connections TV’s have these days, it’s not very hard to run cords from your computer to your TV set.

Surely, you would think that cable companies know this is happening and would change the way they do things.  The realty is that the migration from cable TV is not happening at a rate that concerns them yet.  When it does, perhaps we will see some changes.

Not So Green After All

It’s worth noting that forcing people to plug one more thing into their power outlet is not very green now, is it?  This is at a time when we are inundated with messages of green this and green that almost daily.  Before we were forced back to the box, our cable went from the wall to the TV sets.  Pretty simple.  With the addition of the box, we had to plug one more thing in.  This, they said, was because of what the FCC was doing with antenna TV.  People on antennas at the time had to get a digital box to continue to watch TV that way.  They were told it would make their TV better, and they were right.  Still, it was another not very green thing to plug into the wall.

However, the cable company did not need to force the box on people who were content with expanded basic, even if there were a few extras on the box, such as tons of PBS and foreign language channels and free on demand for the channels you pay for.  We still could have lived without it.  Recently, even the Basic Cable subscribers were forced to the box.  I haven’t even touched on the fact that our bill went up noticeably when we had to get the box as we lost channels we watched and gained nothing we wanted at that time.

Cable Not Needed For Many Viewers

I said it before that with the new TV’s, we don’t even need a cable box for cable channels.  Our provider can scramble channels without the box and does so whenever we scan for new channels with our TV directly plugged into the cable.  We begrudgingly got new TV sets, and I’ll admit we were impressed with what they could do.  It was before we made those purchases that I made my most startling realization.

We didn’t need antenna boxes, but we accepted the two free ones that the government offered.  We had done this before we purchased the new HD TV’s.  Our home is in one of those locations where the network affiliates offered on cable are different than what we get on antenna, and, for one thing, that means different football games during the season.

I was impressed with the antenna box.  It was easy to scan, and we did pick up more channels.  The picture was crystal clear.  With digital antenna TV, you either get the signal or you don’t, and there are ways to make the signal come in stronger too.  Another thing I liked was the built in feature that lets you see what programs are on and what’s up next.  Very nice.

What startled me was the fact that some channels had sub channels.  You might get a network channel on 3.1, but MeTV is on 3.2 and maybe a Spanish Speaking channel is on 3.3.  Very nice.  That’s when it hit me.  They could broadcast all of the cable channels this way and make cable TV about movies and Pay Per View Events, and it’s really very simple to do.

Going back to when network TV started, the signals were sent to the affiliates all across the country and beamed from there to the viewers in that area.  I won’t get into the technical aspect, but I think the signals came from New York or Los Angeles headquarters.  As we went from antenna to where most of us were on cable, it still worked that way.

You need to understand that we still have the old Big 3 (ABC, CBS, NBC), but we have FOX and CW with new content nightly as well.  All five of those networks are part of the Big 5 cable companies.  They either own or are owned by them.  You have CBS Viacom (National Amusements), NBC Comcast, ABC Disney, Fox (News Corp.) and Time Warner.  So, hypothetically, they could handle this very easily.

Let’s say your ABC affiliate is Channel 5.  The local affiliate for ABC would be 5.1.  The channel might have two or three sub channels, but given the importance of the cable channels, they might go with other ABC Disney channels next.  So, 5.2 would be ESPN, 5.3 ESPN 2, 5.4 Disney, 5.5 ABC Family, etc.

Suddenly, you are getting all the channels on antenna in many areas.  Some might still have signal issues that require cable until a work around can be found.  For any of the other smaller cable networks, deals could be worked out with the other channels on the antenna dial.

So, I know the little secret.  We can be getting all of these channels without the $100 or more monthly cable bill, and these channels can still pay their bills with commercials as they do now.  They just won’t be getting double paid, and I really don’t think they should be anyway.  That’s just my opinion, of course.  Others may see it differently.

Losing Weight is More About Lifestyle Than Dieting

I’m not an expert or a dietician, but I managed to lose over 100 pounds by changing my eating habits. I wanted to share my story of what worked for me. I don’t believe it’s about dieting. I think it’s more about a having a healthy lifestyle. I probably didn’t do everything the way the experts would suggest, but it worked for me.

I was pretty fat for a number of years.  In fact, I was at about 300 pounds six years ago.  I’d have to say the biggest factor in my weight gain over the years was I really didn’t give a damn.  I didn’t care what people thought, and I didn’t see myself as being attractive.  So, I ate and didn’t exercise.

Over the years, I picked up some terrible eating habits.  Why is it that the least healthy foods taste the best?  I drank big Slurpees from 7-11 daily, downed a bag of Doritos in one sitting at times, three hamburgers and large fries at Burger King, a big bowl of ice cream at night.  Generally speaking, I ate big helpings with seconds and thirds at dinner.

At least for me, it was bliss to eat that junk.  Years after giving that stuff up, I can still taste it.  It made me feel better in a way.  No matter how I was feeling about life, I enjoyed eating junk food.  To make matters worse, I didn’t exercise at all.  I spent my time at the desk writing and didn’t really have a social life.  I threw myself into my writing.


Then, my sister died almost seven years ago.  I still miss her a lot.  A few months later, I started feeling ill myself.  I felt like it was a matter of time before I went next.  I began to worry about who would be there for my father.  He had always been there for me, so I needed to be there for him.  Sadly, he recently passed away, but I’m happy I made the changes in my life so I could be here for him.

One of the first things I did was shut off the computer.  I should write something about that sometime.  It was off for over a month before I turned it back on again.  You almost forget there is a world out there when you are in front of a computer all the time.  We all should take time away from the computer screen and even our smartphones and interact with people.  I don’t own a smartphone and don’t intend to get one.

I knew I had to change the way I ate.  I tended to sleep in and skip breakfast, but that changed.  I started getting up earlier and having a bowl of oatmeal, some raisin bread, some apple juice and a banana.  Most of my life up to that point, I never cared for breakfast, but now I enjoy it.

Doritos, Slurpees and fast food were banished from my diet.  This actually happened completely within a few months of changing my habits.  I loved Slurpees too, but I found a better way to replace that.  I eat fruits.  That’s another thing I never really did.  It wasn’t that I hated fruit, but I never ate it.  Now, my night time meals consist of watermelon, grapes, cantaloupe and other fruits, a bit of orange juice and some milk and cookies for desert.

Lunch is my big meal of the day and a good walk afterwards.  I tried to include a vegetable with lunch, which is something else I never did before.  I try to avoid seconds and have a moderate plate of my meal, which varies from day to day, from hot dogs to spaghetti or whatever.

The walk was what made the difference.  It started off slowly.  A quarter mile a day, a half mile, then a mile, then two.  I’ve had days where I walked for over ten miles, and I loved it.  Just being outside among the people, seeing all the green and pretty colors of the plants, saying hello to people.  I was feeling better too.

Within a matter of months, I had lost over 100 pounds.  I wasn’t paying much attention, because I never weighed myself.  I simply didn’t want to put that kind of pressure on myself.  This was about feeling better, not about what I weighed.  What I noticed was people I didn’t even know were stopping me and congratulating me on my weight loss.  That sort of thing made me feel good, but seeing other people begin to get out and walk or jog made me feel better.

I think the secret to losing weight and keeping it off isn’t some special diet or supplement.  In fact, those things fail many times in the end, even if there are success stories too.  No, the secret is that it’s up to the individual.  You have to want this, and you have to believe you can do it.  Nobody can do it for you.

You should evaluate what it is you are eating and make note of the junk food you are eating.  Cut back and eliminate it, while replacing it with healthy alternatives.  If you like soft drinks, replace them with fruit and natural fruit juices.  Don’t switch to diet drinks, which are even worse for you than regular soda.  Aspartame and High Fructose Corn Syrup are not good for you.  Look it up for yourself.

Eat slower when you eat your meal.  This was something I learned.  If you are eating faster, your body won’t get the message to your mind that you have had enough until it’s too late and you have over eaten.  So, pacing yourself when you eat is a good thing.  Eat home cooked meals over fast food.  I know the commercials make it look good, but fast food is one of the causes of obesity.

I’m not saying this to take your coke and burger away from you.  Moderation is the key.  An occasional soda or burger may not be bad, but daily consumption is not healthy.  It’s not about being on a diet, it’s about a healthy eating lifestyle.  You don’t just do it until you lose so much weight.  You make a commitment to eat healthy as part of who you are.

Exercise is important too.  Some people keep busy schedules, but even a half an hour is better than nothing.  You can walk or jog around the block, aerobics, exercise at home or the gym.  If you make an effort, it might be hard at first, but you will soon look forward to it.  You will definitely like the way you feel.

As for myself, changing my eating habits and exercising more was the best decision I could have made.  It could be for you too if you want it to be.

The Shows I Like Always Get Canceled

I have the worst luck when it comes to TV shows. Every time I start watching a new show, it gets canceled. It can be very frustrating trying to get into a new show when you wonder if it will be given a fair chance to evolve. I know everybody has had this happen to them. These are some of the shows I’ve enjoyed that were canceled early.

It never fails.  I start watching a show on TV, and it gets canceled.  It gets frustrating to me.  I don’t like reality TV, and I don’t care for the cop and detective shows out there.  That eliminates a big chunk of the shows out there with new content.  Frankly, if I had a time machine, I’d be hard pressed not to go back in time and stop MTV from ever airing The Real World.  It is to TV what Kurt Cobain was to Rock & Roll.  Sorry, not a Nirvana fan, though at least I respect them.

Reality TV is lowering the IQ of the country.  I know I probably have upset a few people here, but that’s how I feel.  You’ll probably say that I have no room to talk since I watch Days Of Our Lives and will watch All My Children online when it starts, but at least it’s new TV with stories.  I’ve been known to watch HSN and QVC as well a Pro Wrestling (I know it’s predetermined.  Notice I didn’t say fake since they do get hurt?).  So, I guess it’s a matter of taste.

So, when a show with an interesting premise comes along, I start watching.  I know it’s a matter of time before it’s canceled if I really like it, but I cant resist.  There was a show called Madman Of The People with Dabney Coleman.  I’m a fan of his.  I loved him in the movie Short Time and his old series Buffalo Bill.  I’m convinced he pissed somebody off in Hollywood.  Madman Of The People was another sitcom he starred in, and it was top ten rated.  Then, they replaced it with Friends and banished Madman to Saturdays, where it died.

TV doesn’t have enough good sitcoms these days, though there are a few.  Rob Schneider had a show called Men Behaving Badly.  I liked that show.  Canceled.  William Shatner did a show called Bleep My Dad Says.  This was expected to be a train wreck, but it was actually pretty funny.  Screw the “professional” TV Critics.  I don’t need to be told what to like.  Canceled.  Remember that show Cavemen, based on the commercials?  It wasn’t really that bad.  Canceled.

I always liked John Larroquette.  Come on now, Dan Fielding on Night Court?  Funniest show on that famous Thursday night lineup.  Then, he had the John Larroquette show, a comedy about a recovering alcoholic.  It was good until the execs “retooled” it to make it better.  Canceled.  He did a show called Happy Family.  This show struggled out of the gate, but it was actually good.  The ladies were a highlight, and Melanie Paxson should have her own show, not just commercials.  Canceled.

The one that really pisses me off is Nowhere Man.  This show was about a man named Thomas Veil who had his past stolen from him because of a picture he took in South America called Hidden Agenda.  Lots of twists and turns.  Canceled.  UPN blew it with that as well as canceling Enterprise when it started getting good.  We’ll never know what was really going on with Thomas Veil, and that’s disappointing to me.  By the way, it’s time for a new Star Trek series set maybe 60 years in the future after The Next Generation.

NBC had Journeyman about a time traveler named Dan Vasser, who went back in time and didn’t really have control of it.  Lots of potential.  Canceled.  The latest show I liked, 666 Park Avenue, starred Terry O’Quinn and Vanessa Williams, among others.  Terry’s done lots of stuff, and he was good as the psychotic wanna be father whistling “Camp Town Racers” after killing the families he married into as The Stepfather.

666 Park Avenue centered around a fancy apartment building in New York with a dark secret.  The building had a life of it’s own, and Terry’s character tapped into that and used it to his advantage.  Canceled.  Can’t I have one show that I really like in this world dominated by reality TV?  No wonder I don’t watch TV every day.  I just can’t handle the crap.  With all of the channels we have these days, you’d think there would be better programming.

The Challenges Of Earning Money From Writing Online

Working On An Internet Click Farm...

If you're like me, you love to write.  Making money on the internet through writing on a blog site isn't all it's cracked up to be.  There are plenty of frustrations along the way, and the pay is lousy.

I've come to the realization that my attempts to make money on the internet are nothing more than me just clicking for pennies.  You have to engage in heavy social media activity, which is a major drain on your time, and the results can be counted in pennies.  I spend an hour to two hours a day engaging in Tweeting.  That used to be fun before I started using it for money.

My first few attempts at writing for money were disappointing.  At Triond, I started getting hits and literally only earned a couple quarters for a couple thousand views.  Doing the math, that just didn't add up to me.  I mean, I know they must make money, but if I'm not being properly compensated for my writing, I'm being taken advantage of by them.

Then, there was iWriter.  This site has you writing for others, but the site is predatory towards us writers.  We write for them and depend on our ratings for a couple bucks a story.  They can pay us and torch our ratings or even just steal our stories, which happened to me.  The site compensated me for that, but I decided the stress of maintaining my Elite Level for such little pay was pointless.

Then, I headed for Bubblews, and they paid better than any of them.  A penny a read, comment or like for my articles.  The down side is you are in a click farm.  If you want those likes, you better be liking them back.  So, that's a couple hours minimum for that.  Don't ask me what they wrote.  I barely looked at the title.  Just like and go, like and go.  If I read it all, that would double my time.

I don't feel good about that, but that's how it's done.  I used to read and comment at first, but two things I noticed.  First was it didn't make a great difference if I commented at all.  secondly, they responded with "nice post" or other versions of a comment that showed they didn't read but wanted to throw a penny my way.

Bubblews paid all the time, but there's something about the place that has always annoyed  me.  It's not really a blog site in the purest form.  You don't get to track and monitor your posts to see how many views they get.  It's a "McBlogger" type site where you have to keep churning out more to keep the money coming in.  You can't feature your favorite articles on your page.  Plus, sharing an article more than once on social media seems to be a violation of the rules as I understand them.

They are making good money there off of us writers.  The money rolls in from ad revenue, but I wonder how long until their "bubble" bursts.  It appears to be starting.  The format change that happened earlier this year took the emphasis away from the blog aspect as it moved towards the social media side.  Then, they have started hiding views from us so we don't know how many we are getting, and my pay went down a good 30% or so.

They want us to click, click, click, and I won't be doing that.  I will use the site for basic posts now, and write articles elsewhere.  To use good articles there would be a waste of my time.  If something goes viral, I know I can't count on them to share the revenue fairly with me any more.  So, why would I allow them to use me?  I can write decent stuff that isn't too wordy, and I don't mind sharing it.  They still pay better than most, but I won't be taken advantage of.

This led me to Daily Two Cents, where they say they don't pay as well and have rules.  Fine with me.  I want the articles I write to have a fair chance and to know how much each article is being read.  Problem was I submitted an article and used the tags their page suggested and was rejected for using too many links.  I had no links in that story.  It was on their end.

What's going to have to happen is what should have happened a long time ago.  I need to monetize my own blog and make some money that way.  This just seems like it will end up being the best way for me to maintain complete control over my writing, know how each article is performing AND make money.

Social media plays a part in generating those "clicks for pennies" I get, but I'm not doing so well on my books so far.  I can't even give away copies of them at this point, which is beyond frustrating.  However, I engage in Retweeting for an hour or two every day.  I wonder if I'm just caught in a circle with other Retweeters who aren't getting very far with their stuff either.

I've come to realize that I am in the "click farm" and it's a terrible feeling.  I get frustrated and angry enough that I'm sometimes yelling at my computer screen.  I don't like sitting there liking stories I could care less about or dealing with browser crashes from all the Retweets.  This is what is happening as I click for my daily pennies.

I think it was Max Kaiser who spoke of the "Casino Gulag" system that the powers that be are creating.  We click all day for our money.  I know a lot of people are doing that on Bubblews, especially from Aisia.  They seem to be the ones being preyed upon to try and make a buck at iWriter and those other sites too.  I feel sorry for them in a way, but I'm in the same boat with them.

I want to write and have it be read by people.  So, I keep trying as it becomes less fun and less fulfilling.  It's a matter of being more effective with my writing and not  being taken advantage of.  I think I can get there, but I need to keep working on it.

Five Bands Who Lift My Spirits

Sometimes when you're down and nothing seems to be going right, it's the music that can cheer you up.  So, most of us have those "go to" bands that lift our spirits a little bit.  I can't imagine a world without music.  I wish the music industry wasn't so screwed up right now, but that's a side issue.  We all have songs or bands that put us in a better mood.  Here are some of mine.

Transatlantic:  Really, it's Neal Morse, who is a part of this band and was a founding member of Spock's Beard.  When I got the recent news of what was happening at a blog I have been with for a year and a half now, I was pretty upset.  Neal is a Christian, and though I don't claim to be, I like his music.  Transatlantic, on the other hand, is more spiritual.  Great progressive rock.  I love their album, The Whirlwind.

However, it's a song Neal did with Spock's Beard that I turned to the other day.  Its called, The Water.  Kind of a vibe about being on top of the world and then having it all come crashing down.  Feeling abandoned and then just launching into anger.    The "F You" part of this long song had me singing along.  Of course, it's followed by an apology.  The song lifted my spirits the other day.

Kansas:  The early, spiritual and more progressive band is my favorite time for them.  Songs like All The World, Apercu, Miracles Out Of Nowhere and Hopelessly Human.  It's the violin of Robby Steinhardt that gets me.  Steve Walsh and Robby's vocal harmonies.  The musicianship of this band.  People know Dust In The Wind, and it's a good song.  But, there's so much more to this band than that song.

Queen:  I can honestly not stay sad when I listen to his band.  Well, accept for Innuendo. Knowing what Freddie Mercury was dealing with when they recorded that album makes it hard to keep from crying sometimes.  But, early Queen.  Rock Opera Queen is amazing.  The Ferry Feller's Master Stroke makes my cry from happiness.  The Prophet Song. Lily Of The Valley, The White Queen and of course, March Of The Black Queen.  Queen II is my favorite album.  Really, you can't go wrong with this band.

The Flower Kings:  Really, all I have to say is The Garden Of Dreams.  Roine Stolt is an amazing melodic guitarist here and with Transatlantic, and I've grown to enjoy his vocals.  "All We Can Save Is The Love That We've Made" says it all. Flower Power is a great album.

Styx:  You want optimism?  Turn to Styx.  Catchy tunes, great music and harmonies.  When it was the five who played from Crystal Ball to Kilroy Was Here, this band was great.  Very underrated by the music snobs.  Come Sail Away is a song for me and a dear friend.  I'm Okay.  That song is for those who are tired of being told how to be.  The Grand Illusion, Best Of Times, Fooling Yourself.  Dennis DeYoung remains one of my favorite singers and musicians.  It makes me sad to see how he and the talented Tommy Shaw and James Young may never work together again.

Anyway, there are other bands that can cheer me up, but these five rank high for me.