tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39249772010-02-15T16:25:22.959-08:00"Look at me: I worked my way up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty." - Groucho Marx, Monkey BusinessMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.comBlogger240125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-90332917598230753912010-02-15T16:25:00.000-08:002010-02-15T16:25:22.970-08:00

Air is fantastic ambient music when you need to relax, focus, and/or write. I'm not big on pure electronic stuff, but something about this just gets my brain in the right frame for creativity. Their album Moon Safari is full of gems like this one, highly worth checking out.

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-50230586460768815792010-02-11T08:11:00.000-08:002010-02-11T08:11:39.675-08:00

Last summer I was all set to begin work filming a short script I wrote, and for reasons too various to mention, the project kept getting pushed off, pushed back, ignored...I canceled a trip to Oregon in hopes of getting it done, but it was not meant to be. The good news is that my filming partner is doing some camera shopping for a different project, but it's going to open up possibilities of

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-32760001449556713802010-02-08T12:22:00.000-08:002010-02-08T12:22:19.066-08:00

I love a well-traveled voice, and it blows me away that the voice owned by Brandi Carlile is younger than mine. She was born in 1981! But the heartache, and true passion in her voice amazes me. Give it a listen and have your heart broken just a l'il bit.

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-41338263025469090442010-02-03T09:30:00.001-08:002010-02-03T09:30:44.758-08:00

Blogger (the software that powers this here thing) is stopping support of FTP blog publishing. What does that mean? I can no longer host this blog on my own web server. Not too happy about that. It means everything I post has to be hosted on Google's servers (good for visibility, I suppose), and it also means I have to get creative with some custom domain naming. The awful part is that I have

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-10090445271905642752010-02-01T09:00:00.000-08:002010-02-08T12:23:31.982-08:00

"Language just happened, it was never planned; and it's inadequate to describe where I am, in the room of my house where the light's never been, waiting for this day to end..." I was going back through my CDs, looking for music I haven't listened to for a while, and came across "Fevers and Mirrors" by Bright Eyes (Conor Oberst). The man has a way with words. Every song attacks emotion and

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-32960810691359402342010-01-31T09:52:00.000-08:002010-01-31T09:56:33.692-08:00

This book is more of a long article, really, as it was part of a series of Quick Read Books published in England. Danny Wallace is one of my favorite comedic writers. He has a child's fascination with the world around him, always willing to go anywhere and do anything in the name of...well, mostly he only needs a very small reason to do anything. In this case, after having discovered his new

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-83304778546608313212010-01-30T16:28:00.000-08:002010-01-31T09:58:30.657-08:00

This is book 2 in Sanderson's Mistborn Trilogy. I was quite taken by Sanderson's first novel, Elantris. It was an amazing work of fantasy told in one volume, a rare find these days. I'm not a huge fan of Fantasy in general. The books all tend to be cookie-cutter, spending a few chapters building their world, explaining magic, creatures, the lay of the land, etc. I prefer books that get into

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-20590390759902244042010-01-25T16:35:00.000-08:002010-01-27T12:56:10.456-08:00

My short story, "White," is now live at a new web magazine called Lobster Cult. They're just getting started, but there's also a short called "Signs" by Brandon Tietz, author of Out of Touch. Enjoy! Also also, I'll be entering Angel Falls in this year's Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards Competition. So, soon you'll all be pestered by me for votes and hits and etc. We can make this happen!

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-77018583791712790732010-01-22T14:03:00.000-08:002010-01-22T18:41:01.329-08:00

Man it's raining a lot here. A LOT. Nigh biblical, it is! The lagoon across the street form our apartment is typically shallow or empty most mornings, but it is approaching street level slowly but surely. I'm not too worried just yet. The beach is being eroded and eaten away as well. This is a shot from my morning bike ride to Santa Monica, somewhere near Shutters on the Beach. Typically, the

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-81048885315857177262010-01-19T23:59:00.000-08:002010-01-20T06:51:02.788-08:00

This is a guest post from Caleb J Ross, author of the chapbook Charactered Pieces: stories, as a follow up to his Blog Orgy Tour. Visit his website for a full list of blog stops. Charactered Pieces: stories is currently available from OW Press (or Amazon.com). Visit him at http://www.calebjross.com. Why have a blog? Sadly, the personal blog is a reflection of our culture’s growing egotism.

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-47296679118323189872010-01-19T23:58:00.000-08:002010-01-20T06:52:19.522-08:00

A fantastic collection of short stories from up-and-coming author Caleb J Ross. He's been all over the place lately (even HERE with a guest blog! Is he man or is he machine?) The table of contents is presented as a faceted gem, which is highly fitting, for each story presents a different facet of human nature. The stories are at times uplifting and insightful, but more often haunting and

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-26397928439897477832010-01-18T20:44:00.000-08:002010-02-08T12:23:14.142-08:00

I think I'm going to try to post a music video here every Monday. Something I'm listening to as I write, or just something that catches my attention, but hopefully nothing you've heard before. Jason Webley is a bit like a young Tom Waits with an accordion (in this song at least). He's got range, he's always willing to try new things with different artists. He's even one half of a Siamese twin

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-66583069501020697902010-01-15T13:07:00.000-08:002010-01-15T13:07:42.353-08:00

I had to meet with a potential client in Thousand Oaks this morning. I live by LAX, so this was a 55 mile commute on the motorcycle in what should have been no traffic (north of the 10). Instead, there were three accidents on the 101, and none of these jerks knew how to properly stay in the middle of their lanes so that I could split lanes. Still made it on time. I met a bird, a parakeet of

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-16381987346149300372010-01-08T21:57:00.000-08:002010-01-08T21:57:14.973-08:00

So much happening this weekend. Anybody that knows me knows I've been a Cincinnati Bengals fan since waaaaaay back in '88. I jokingly made a post in week 3 of this season that their 2-1 record meant they'd be playoff bound, and well...wow. Who knew? I'm nervous, because they played so magnificently in the early part of the season, and in the stretch run have shown that they're heading back to

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-75630391368559444162010-01-06T21:05:00.000-08:002010-01-06T21:05:12.185-08:00

Take a gander around the sight! Things are streamlined. Old things have been discarded. STORIES are now linked directly on the website, so you can read my stuff. I'm taking greater advantage of the tags in Blogger as well. On every page except the blog, you can see a direct Twitter/Facebook feed. And within the next day, the homepage should be renovated so you can see each new blog post. AND by

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-14283975222226535212010-01-05T19:43:00.000-08:002010-01-06T20:09:00.705-08:00

FINALLY! Everyone I was surprising has received their surprise! SO! It is with great pleasure that I present the finished first draft of my book. I just sent this stack o' books out to some close trusted readers last week, and they seem to be arriving on pace! It's called Angel Falls (in case the photo quality is bad). Summed up thusly: Since being banished from Heaven, Lucifer Morningstar

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-78526627265545635622010-01-01T07:58:00.000-08:002010-01-01T08:38:16.550-08:00

I was hoping things would have timed out differently and I could make a small minor announcement here and discuss a certain something, but it's a surprise for a few people, and now I have to wait until they get it before I can really start talking about things. I'm gonna try to hit the ground running in the New Year, as soon as I can organize my desk. I got a great deal on a hutch yesterday, but

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-57895685467337799772009-12-30T22:07:00.000-08:002009-12-30T22:24:15.571-08:00

This is a fantastic and grotesque mystery from author Pablo D'Stair. The titular Traulhaine is a man on the run, haunted by guilt and hunted by forces he doesn't understand. He's recently committed a murder, and seemingly gotten away with it, until one day a strange man approaches and claims to have witnessed everything. In three days time, he'll turn Kaspar over to the authorities. Thus

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-18034685993909046252009-12-08T22:10:00.001-08:002009-12-15T12:01:59.647-08:00

On December 31, 2006 I began work on a novel that I was sure would fly from my fingertips and pretty much write itself in a couple of months. Tonight...pretty much three years later, I got to write my two favorite words of the story: THE END!This is what it feels like to finish a novel (especially the bit around 2 minutes until the end):And, for those too lazy to google the lyrics:Nobody shall

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-76313935543474512702009-11-29T16:20:00.000-08:002009-11-29T16:32:25.818-08:00

I'm somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 words away from finishing my novel. I hope. I need (for secret reasons) to make that happen this week, but I've been doing a good job of forging ahead. Hence, my blog updates have become somewhat lax, but we'll rectify that right now! Mostly, it's been more of the same, bike rides, exercise (I found a new spot on my route with exercise stations so I can

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-84841451880384076132009-10-30T14:35:00.000-07:002009-10-30T14:58:40.487-07:00

In an effort to stay in shape, I recently bought a bike, and it's a thing of beauty. I've done a lot of riding from home to the pier in Manhattan Beach, but I realized that Venice and Santa Monica are pretty much the same distance away. The only drawback is a few traffic lights heading that way (plus a brief ride in traffic), whereas going to Manhattan beach is all bike path. Venice is just a

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-9455845021323966812009-10-23T13:21:00.000-07:002009-10-23T13:26:18.363-07:00

get it, get it? A bike ride, kinda slow, through the fog? okay, okay...when you're done laughing lookee at my pictures.... I've been trying to remember to bring my camera on my bike rides, and this morning it was totally worth it because THE MIST had rolled into Playa del Rey. I was lucky to escape with my life! Anyhoo, that boat that came ashore is still there, lonely and foreboding in the

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-70395468263973268902009-10-17T11:13:00.000-07:002009-10-17T11:19:41.240-07:00

Kitamura's first book focuses on Cal, a mixed martial artist who's just crested the hill of "this kid is great" and started the descent into "this kid's a has-been". The story takes place over the course of a few days leading up to a big fight, and witnesses the slow tension build with Cal and his manager Riley as they prepare to face the sport's most dominant fighter, Rivera. It's not so much a

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-69057735240829314482009-10-12T14:47:00.000-07:002009-10-12T14:51:26.472-07:00

So I helped crew a shoot for a series of webisodes recently. Pretty cool concept - superheroes with substance abuse issues. You can catch up on Episodes I-III at the homepage for The Sanctum. Anyway, I also got to do a bit part here as a background actor. I'm in a bar, and so is a drunken superhero (my friend Adam). I'm the guy who sounds like a muppet and gets thrown around. Enjoy!

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3924977.post-219533939712391992009-10-11T14:30:00.000-07:002009-10-11T14:34:03.973-07:00

...but the Bengals have now won four games in a row! Unfortunately, they're playing ultra scrappy come from behind football. I've never known a team to earn the nickname "Cardiac" to perform well into the playoffs. I remember Commander Cody and his Cardiac Kid Oilers, the Cardiac Colts, the list goes on and on. None of those teams went to the Super Bowl, and few of them were in contention come

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16265027174698059474noreply@blogger.com0