Almost the New Year

Hello. God I'm bad about blogging. I need to just get into the habit of blogging. Period. Though, I really never have much to say about my life, and if anything, it's about a book or film or TV show or band...etc. Well, maybe I'll start blogging about that more often. Right now, during this winter break, I've read a lot of stuff, watched a lot of stuff, wrote a lot of stuff, and thought about a lot of stuff. Plus I went to Vegas.

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I briefly talked about The Road last blog. But I've been thinking about the book and how it was written (I need to read more from Mr. McCarthy), and they way emotion was shown through mostly the outward impression, and the characters--while being the main focus--were just pieces of the landscape. The novel is so bleak, but as a reader I couldn't put it down. It was hope. The hope in the novel is false hope--hope that at the sea things will be warmer and better--because in the end the only hope is to stay alive. There is no colony, there is no group of scientists looking for a way to reboot the world. Everything is gray and disintegrating. There were no explanations, no reasons. Just a boy and his son, trying to stay alive. I found myself constantly becoming a part of the novel. When they found food and stuff, I found it. When they were looking and couldn't find anything, I felt hungry or disappointed. This novel connects you to the characters, but not through their emotion or thoughts, but through their actions; the struggle to stay alive, the struggle to remain hopeful, even if, in the end, it is kind of pointless...or is it?

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I just finished reading The Lovely Bones. Which, by the way, you all need to read if you haven't. See it before the film, because I think it might be different. I think Peter Jackson is great, but I'm afraid the films going to be more of a mystery and a clue-hunt, rather than the story it really is. There are no chases. There are no court justices or revenge. It is all about little victories and enormous tragedies. It's an easy read. Em and I read it in two days each.

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I read three of Ian's stories this week. And they were rad. I actually found myself laughing at loud at some of his scenes. Two seem to fit within a post-college narrative. The stacks however, was a very interesting young-adult story. I dug them and want to read more. So, Ian. Send 'em.

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I just finished the first (readable draft of The Story Thief) and sent it to my friends. For those of you who did not get it and read this, email me and I'll send it. There's a big chunk of the book that I'm thinking needs a lot more work...and I'll probably be working on that pretty hard while the novels in everyone's hands. There's a scene with a gas truck that I forgot about. That I never wrote down, but has been floating in my head, and their's a connection the BIG flashback that I hadn't really figured out, till last night when I couldn't sleep...so...It's exciting. I wrote the first sentence in November 07.: "They were lying boys." I wrote the title that September. "The Story Thief." And started writing the story January 08. I've had a lot of help from my fellow grad students and I don't think it would be what it is without their help (and I wouldn't be the writer I am without them).

It feels good to have that done...for now. I got a good bunch of work once I hear back and once I start working on that bigger section.

But for now, I can breathe.

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My Novel/Collection of Stories/Novella Bumping (aka How we Started Bumping) is in the process of review at a small press. Well, the query's been approved and I'm sending the proposal and first four chapters this week. Now that I started writing in 06...maybe 05. My friend at Home Depot started telling about his life in gangs and drugs in Whittier, CA. I wrote down everything, started writing, writing, writing. I had a ton of stories about the gang stuff, and even wrote a screenplay with him and Caleb. But in the end, the most interesting stuff to me was his time as a tweaker. And that is what happened to Bumping. There's a lot of reference to the loss and violence of their life in Bumping, but it never fully explores it. I wonder what the staff of the press will think. Otherwise, they might make me explore that more. We'll see.

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I wrote a ton, ton, TON of poems over the break. Trying to detached myself from a project (I haven't wrote something outside of a project in over 5 years...everything has been for one project or another). So I wrote a good 70 poems over the break. Honestly, though, I think about 20 were good, which I revised and sent out. The rest need a lot of work. And I'll think I'll bring those into the workshop this semester. I also started taking my old thesis We're Not Murderers (a screenplay) and started adapting it into fiction. I'm not sure how it will work, but we'll see. I think it could be interesting. I want to explore different ways of narrating. Having one section be from the POV from the house, the gun, and the car. I'm not just, though.

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I just started watching the Wire. Jesus. (I'm speechless).

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I got some dishes to do and some cooking, and some cleaning, so I better get going. I'm think we're gonna watch Away We Go tonight or tomorrow. Then, hopefully, more of The Wire.

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Indie is staring at me from the chair. I better go.

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Love,

Joshua

Winter Break!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK. So my grading is done, my portfolios are in, and I just got back from our mini-vacation in Vegas (we met My brothers and their signifs). It was a blast and we're back.

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I've been very disappointed about things lately, but I'm feeling OK. I've got a lot to do this break--mostly things I've been forced to put on the back burner for time reasons (not really, time, 'cause the pace here is so slow, more likely I just wanted the time to really work on some stuff).

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I just finished two books:

The Half-Known World - Robert Boswell. Hands down the BEST book on writing fiction I have ever read! I'm not kidding. So, good. Memoir-like, yet very focused on writing. Boswell--who has decided to leave NMSU after I get here--seems to be on the same wave length as me and many of my writing buddies (you know who you are). So, go find this and read it. SO GOOD.

The Road - Cormac McCarthy. Ian, I finally read this. And I couldn't put it down. Finished it (like the Boz book) in two days. Now, I want to write a post-apocalyptic novel...

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Right now I'm reading A Prayer for Owen Meany (I taking this slow), and House Keeping by Marilynne Robinson. Yes, and Ian's stories...

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I just finished typing up the rough-rough draft of The Story Thief. I'm reading over it and making notes, and hopefully will start reshaping it the rest the break and have a rough draft for people to look at.

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I thought I had more to say, but I'm gonna get back to my duty on the couch with my Wife and my dog, and watch Iron Chef America.

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Love

Joshua

Snow and the End of the Semester

So, it has snowed here twice in the last week (maybe two weeks). Which is weird. It's actually pretty cold in this mug, and I can wear my coat. Which is nice. Indie had some fun in the snow--didn't really know what to do with it, but when I took her out yesterday afternoon she wanted to frolic through it. I won't post pictures, 'cause I think Em put them up on the book that is face.

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It's the end of the semester and I've got 26 papers to grade (well 24, 'cause I graded two already: one A all the way--she's from Washington--and a C+. The C+ has made extreme strides in his writing and is starting to understand how to make an argument, but my God, he won't listen to hardly anything. In fact, he makes comments about things that are so general and I'll say, "Dude, that's not true," and he'll look at me like I don't know anything about life. YOU'RE 18 WTF do you know about anything!? One example: He said, "All my teachers say I have a great voice, I just have bad syntax, grammar, and spelling." I said, "Voice don't mean shit if you're distracted by the errors. I mean, it's true you have a strong voice, but it took me over an hour to read this 8 pages, because I had to sift through all the errors. If you want your voice to come through, take the time, to really proofread." He looked at me and rolled his eyes, and goes, "Uh, yeah, I don't think so. Anyway...") So, this weekend I'll be grading as well as getting my porfolios for my classes done. Basically, I just have to revise one essay and print everything...which is easy, except that I'm out of ink and out of my paper quota at school (they give you maybe 200 prints. That is note enough for a graduate student. Fucking cheapskates!) But I'll probably be all done with everything by Monday...including entering my grades. Fun times.

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I finished Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. You all need to read it. Actually, read American Gods first then Anansi Boys.

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VEGAS: 8 Days! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

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I watched Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen last night. Holy Fucking Christ! It's so bad, but the effects are so good! I like two maybe three of the actors, but there's so much time wasted on them, and not enough of the Transformers. But when they are onscreen, yes! Emily kept saying, get rid of the humans and have it take place in space. Then she said we need to watch the cartoon. I'm down for that. Maybe netflix has it. Anyway, don't bother seeing it if you haven't. It's sort of waste of time. But if you want to see massive explosions and some transforming, then by all means...

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I went over to my professors place with my class on Thursday and ate Vegetarian Chili and cornbread and hung out. That guy has so many books he had to have a separate room just for books. I thought I had a lot of books! Not even close. They wrapped around one room and went into another.

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OK. That's all for now. I hope you all have a good Holiday! Those of you going home to Pac. NW, say high to Seattle and Bellingham for us. Tell those cities we miss them.

Love,

Joshua