Site Update: Okay, Okay, Okay

I was going to do a Twilight Zone essay. Still am. But I've been doing (gasp!) research and my thoughts are still bubbling. So it might be a bit

Sorry about that.

Dan Curtis

I'm not positive on the accuracy of this, but Wikipedia has it that Dan Curtis passed away yesterday.

Dan Curtis was the producer on the horror soap opera "Dark Shadows" as well as the producer of the original "Night Stalker" movie. He directed several genre related movies, including "Trilogy of Terror", "Dracula" (with Jack Palance as the Count), "Scream of the Wolf", "House of Dark Shadows" (based on the series), and "Night Strangler" (sequel to "Night Stalker.")

Verdict on Christopher Eccleston's Doctor

We will no doubt delve into this subject more at a later date, but as it stands after watching three episodes of New Who, my parents rank Christopher Eccleston's Doctor quite high. Mom calls him the best Doctor since Tom Baker. Dad likes Eccleston because his preformance is reminisent of the same Baker. As Baker was their first Who, the comparisons do not surprise.

Me personally? Like I said, I'll get into that later. Right now, I think he's an excellent Doctor.

More jabbering about Who later. I think I'm going to talk a small respite from the Time Lord. Maybe a brief trip to an area between day and night, light and shadow, reality and fantasy...

Site Update: The Hell?

Came on board today and found the second part of my Doctor Who essay all in orange. Wasn't like that yesterday.

Was it?

Any way, I went through it and fixed it.

Ugh. Blogger, why d'ja do it to me?

Glee! Gojira! (II)

So it has come to pass... More Godzilla films slated to be released in their intended format!

Not as joyous this time.

Swore I'd never buy "Godzilla's Revenge", and now it's a part of a package deal.

I dunno. Maybe the sets not worth it...

I know I'm not foolin' anyone here. Owing a DVD version of "Ghidorah" alone makes it worth it. Just means I'll have a new Frisbee... Or drink coaster...

Doctor Who and Me (II) - Early to Middle Years

Pinnacle

On my eighth birthday I received my first Doctor Who Novelization. It was, by coincidence, "Revenge of the Cybermen." I remember next to nothing about reading it, but, then again, that was one of the most eventful periods of my young life, so I'm not surprised. I do know that it was published by Pinnacle (the link should lead you to the cover and a bit of info about the book.) Pinnacle published twelve Doctor Who books, both Third Doctor and Fourth Doctor stories. I had each and everyone at one point. Like most treasured items of youth, they are all gone now.

I remember looking at one of them and being most impressed with the cover. Two space ships side by side in front of a blazing sun. The one on the right was okay, but the one on the left looked really weird. All these sticks poking out of it. Bumps on the side, too. Never saw anything like it.

Also on the cover, was this monkey face. As the title of the book was "Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks" I knew for a fact that that was a Dalek. Pretty cool alien, too.

I don't have to say how wrong I was, do I?

(With the exception of the Dalek links, all links in this portion of the essay lead to On Target, a site covering Doctor Who zations. Most interesting, for a long time fan, that is.)

Lead to Sin

Around the fourth, maybe fifth grade, I was to be an alter boy. I discussed this with my mother and we can't decide if it was her idea to do so or mine. Doesn't matter in the end; I was fine with the idea. Went to practice, even kind of looked forward to going to church for a change.

And then PBS started broadcasting "Doctor Who" in regular episode format on Saturday mornings. Same time as alter boy practice.

Well I wrestled with my conscience a bit...

That's a lie. There was no wrestling. I quit and watched "Doctor Who". It didn't stay on Saturday very long at all, but it was worth it. Oh so worth it.

Fan Fiction

In fifth grade, we were allowed to write stories and put them in a box to be read by the class. We might have read them in front of the class, but I'm sure I didn't do that.

I wrote one of the few pieces of fan fiction I would ever write. It was a Doctor Who story, of course, and it had a whole bunch of monsters and villains in it. Even ones who should have been dead.

For the life of me, I can not remember the plot or even the title of this opus. But it was stapled together and had a cover with all of the Doctor Who Monsters I could think of on it. It was probably a better read than most fan fiction.

Which is damning it with faint praise.

Birthday Present

Also during my fifth grade, Brother Todd was born. On the day it happened, Brother Eric and I stayed home from school and even got to sleep over at a friend's house. Big day indeed. After Todd was born, Dad took us out and bought us both a book a piece, a big deal in those days. Eric got a Garfield collection. I got "The Invasion of Time".

I often wonder if Eric remembers what book he got that day. Me, I don't think I'll ever forget.

Taping

Now here we get a little hazy in my memories. At some point during this period we bought our first VCR. Also during this period, I believe, the Chicago PBS started playing Doctor Who... from the beginning. The parents got the wonderful idea of taping each and every last one of them.

Finally my brother and I were able to see "Doctor Who" whenever we wanted to.

It was... glorious.

Tagged! Song Addendum

No, I'm not continuing my list. Though I should.

Instead, I'm happy to report that not only have I tagged Brother Eric, but Eric has put up a list of his own. The curious may go here to read more. Those who have been tagged already may, of coure, ignore his unusual tagging methods.

Some of it surprised me... Some did not.

Tagged! Seven Songs

I have been tagged by Beckoning Chasm to do the following:

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

Last thing first. I don't have seven people to tag. Some of the people I could have tagged have already been tagged. I am a sad, lonely creature with only myself to blame for my miseries.

I'm glad everybody in the world knows my secret shame now.

That being said, here be my seven songs. This list is in no particular order, may change at whim, and is in no way comprehensive. I listen to a lot of stuff.

---

Hillary Duff - Coming Clean

This is the only song of hers I can stand. I love it dear. For whatever reason, I see it as a part of an anime opening sequence dealing with my Krevan stories. This may well sound incredibly sad, but... can't be help. Just like the sound.

Bear in mind that the song really doesn't have the same meaning for me and my thoughts as it might for any rational human being. I can't help that, either.

---

Linkin Park - Breaking the Habit

Not only is this connected for me to the whole Krevan stories, it served as an inspiration for, say, the third novel or so in the series. In fact, a lot of the first two novels is working up to it. (On this, the first three novels are setting the stage for the fourth novel, which is a parody of the Hobbit, which is what I thought was going to be the first novel. It's all a bit complex.)

I tend to see a fight scene in it, dealing with a known coward battling an incredibly evil force bent on the coward's painful demise. I want desperately to write this story right now, I have the whole thing plotted in my head, but I want the back story and reader/character the two novels will bring.

Damn frustrating. Part of the reason the failure of "The Crawl of Chufule" bugs me so.

Once more, the lyrics may not match what I ultimately produce any more than the Duff song, but there is a connection and I would be wrong not to point it out.

---

The Tomorrow People Opening Theme

Beckoning Chasm mentions the Doctor Who theme in his post, and I should be listing it here as well. But when I thought of Doctor Who's glorious music, the bombastic end credits for Blake's Seven leapt to mind. Then, almost without warning, the Tomorrow People's theme came, and even as I write this, it's echoing in my head.

I can't believe I ever forgot it.

I don't have it on my computer, I don't listen to it as often as some of the other songs on this list, so it might not be completely in the spirit of the post, but my God is it good.

---

Kermit the Frog/Jim Henson - Rainbow Connection

I sing along to this one. I'm not ashamed to admit it. Sad and sweet, hopeful and, in a way, romantic. It really fits Henson's voice which, when you think of it, might be a bit insulting...

Oh well.

I heard a punk version that was equally great that I also listen to quite a bit.

---

Weird Al - Hardware Store

Oh man, this almost didn't make my list. What was I thinking?

I have been a Weird Al fan since... forever. If I hear his parody before I hear the original, I will inevitably prefer his version. (Lola is one of the few exceptions.) But his original music tends to be glorious and this is the cream of the crop. I can listen to it over and over again. Thrilling stuff.

And, again, I've visualized this as an anime opening. A sci fi series, actually...

---

Defying Gravity

You wonder why I didn't bullet this list, this part is the reason why. I was doing well with condensing my thoughts on the other songs, but this one... this one needs a bit of meat.

Brother Eric's into musicals. He's big on "Rent" and "Avenue Q" and all of that jazz. He'll listen to them over and again, no matter how many times you beg him not to. He has been known to push people into seeing musicals. (At least, that's the way I remember it...)

Me, I can't stand musicals. People stopping dead and singing for no apparent reason... Puh-lease. Either all singing or all talking. No half and half*.

On this, "Defying Gravity" is a song from "Wicked", which is based on Wicked the novel**, a story from the Wicked Witch's side of things. I find stuff like that a wee bit irritating and a trifle lazy. Sort of riding on someone else's coat tails.

(But not at all like rewriting fairy tales to suit your own purposes, like I'm doing with "Foul Lady Fao." Totally different, he says, rolling his eyes at his own galling hypocrisy)

Revealing asides aside, I heard this song by accident on Yahoo Launchcast and fell in love. It's the only song from the musical I've heard, which is the only reason why I don't own this album. I have been since pushing the musical on Brother Eric, which is the first time such a thing has ever happened.

Such a reversal of positions no doubt for tells the End of the World As We Know It. (But I feel... okay.)

* In the interest of full disclosure I must mention that I do indeed like some musicals. "Fiddler on the Roof" (which is the own Eric forced me to see) and "Little Shop of Horrors" (movie version) are in this number, but the greatest musical ever made is "The Blues Brothers." I kid you not.

** I link the book and not the musical as the Wiki entry for the musical had major, irritating spoilers. The book entry might, too, but I didn't care enough to read, and, considering the spoilers from the musical, I am sure not nearly as aggravating. Examine either at your own peril.

---

Meat Loaf - I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)

Oh God, did I ever come close to blowing past this one. I had a vapid bit on Pink Floyd's Keep Talking written up and everything. But this song... all eleven minutes fifty eight second of it... like an opera unto itself.

Words fail me. I just love it. Loved the video too. Hated the Dr. Pepper commercial, though. Talk about missing the point of a song...

Incidentally, this is one of the few instances where I bought an entire album for just one song. The Floyd song is another, as is Dave Edmund's "Creature from the Black Lagoon"

---

The Also Rans

I had an entry for "Speed Racer Opening" theme but I cut it for "Hardware Store". I mentioned cutting Floyd's "Keep Talking", but I could have easily put in "Dark Side of the Moon", "Learning to Fly", "Dogs of War", "Yet Another Movie", or "A New Machine Part One and Two" (The last one always makes me think of I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream.)

I list no AC/DC. No B. B. King. No Louis Armstrong or blues songs. The Beatles are absent, as is the music from the Godzilla films. Evanescence and Eminem have a place there, as does Real Life's "Send Me an Angel", Boomtown Rats "I Don't Like Monday's", D-12's "My Band", L L Cool J's "I'm That Type of Guy" and several Insane Clown Posse raps.

There's also Biz Markie... No, I take that back. Pretend you didn't read that.

No Tori Amos songs listed...

Crap. Mentioned Hillary Duff and not Tori Amos.

Well that tears it. Going to have to do the whole list again. Damn it, damn it, damn it.

And no classical music, either! "In the Halls of the Mountain King"! "Danse Macabre"! My God, where was my head at!

Where's the Kingston Trio? I should have listed them, too, damn it. Greatest folk band there is. Music playing in my mind most of my life...

Queen! I need to mention them to! And... And..

NO! Must Be strong... Must... post... article... spellcheck first...

Happy Anniversary!

Welltun Cares Presents turns one today. It has grown so big. Now if we could only get it to use the potty chair for something other than a hat.

I had some thoughts to put down, but right now I'm a bit too tired. Rough day. Be seeing you soon.

Doctor Who and Me (I) - Early Memories

In the Begining

I can tell you the first Doctor Who story I saw. More, I can tell you the exact episode.

It was Revenge of the Cyberman Part 2. I was maybe six, maybe seven at the time and I had no idea what I was watching. There was this pretty lady and she was attacked by this metal snake thing. She fell to the floor and glowing red lines appeared on her face.

This man comes in and throws something at the metal snake, causing it to fall over. He then kneels beside the pretty lady as more men arrive. They talk a bit and what they say goes right over my head. The man who killed the snake picks up the lady and leaves. But before he does, he mentions that more of the snakes might be around.

Everyone leaves the room except for this old man, who stays there, staring at the metal snake.

And I knew, I knew, that another snake was coming...

That it was going to jump out and get the old man...

Any moment it was going to get him...

I had my mom change the channel.

Second Try

I can tell you the second Doctor Who story I saw, again, down to the episode. Horror of Fang Rock, Part One. I was perhaps the same age. Might even have been the same year.

This time I didn't even see the monster. Just two men standing at the top of a lighthouse. Of them sees a light in the sky.

I knew the monster, whatever it was, was coming...

Knew it was going to get the guys at the lighthouse...

Gonna get them at any moment...

I had my mom change the channel.

Fan For Life

I can tell you what made me a Doctor Who fan for life. Image of the Fendahl, Part Four. The ending stuck with me. The Hero and a different pretty lady running out of this house filled with monsters, the house expoding, the fire burning backwards. Neat stuff. Not too scary at all.

In fact, it made such an impression on me that I drew a picture of the scene. Needless to say, it wasn't a good picture (I had big ideas, but not yet the talent to pull them off.) But it was a sign that I was a Doctor Who fan. For life.

Early Years as a Fan

The first episodes I saw back them were broadcast in the daytime, but that didn't last for long. We lived in a suburb of Chicago back then, and the PBS that played the show did so late Sunday nights. Which meant I seldom got to watch them except during the summer. It was a lousy thing to do to a young fan, but the Chicago PBS made up for it by showing the entire story as a single movie.

(The longer, six part episdoes were the exception to this; they were shown in two parts.)

So in the summer Brother Eric and I would stay up late. There would be "Dave Allen At Large", which we adored, and then there'd be "Doctor Who". Glorious, exciting, funny "Doctor Who".

During the school months, we indured. There was always the novelizations to read. On this, Dad had become a fan and watched the show when we couldn't. He'd describe the plots for us the next day. Sometimes (not always) he'd get a bit wrong. But that was the best we could do.

(In fairness to Dad, his summeries were sometimes better than the actual story. Creature from the Pit was an excellent example of this.)

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

I reiterate:

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

May it be jolly and fun for all!

Except for snakes.

That wouldn't be right.

There should be a second post later in the day. However, there is a slight chance of a five day absence from me. So if I go silent, don't worry. I'll be seeing you.

Helpful Warning

Julius! Watch out!

Glee! Gojira!

Word has it that the original Godzilla is being released in its original form on DVD in the US.

I can not express how happy I am. This is not my failure as a writer. It is a failing of the English language upon which I rely.

More Rough Sketches

I hope I can be forgive another excursion into my other art field. I had essays planned, but right now I feel like loafing. Not a good idea, but it's what I'm in the mood for.

Oh well. On with the show.

---

Our first subject is a Unicorn, and before anyone points it out, yup, that's a deer head. Pliny described one as having a deer head and I ran with the image.

(Technically this isn't the full truth. According to the Unicorn entry at Wikipedia, Pliny is describing an "Indian ass". However, I first read the description in The Last Unicorn and that's where my misunderstanding stems from. Serves me right for using a novel as a source.)

Aside aside, the horn is the worst part about this picture. Too damn thick. Everything else I like. Once more, I used an picture from my How to Draw Animals book as a model. That books been real good to me.

---

Next we have this charming scene. A shack beneath a mammoth bridge, its inhabitant cooling his feet in the river water.

I really like this one. The stick figure person is a bit too sketchy, but that's a minor gripe. It seems real peaceful.

I seldom do this sort of full scenery work, as my eye for perspective tends to be off. (It's probably off here, too, but that's neither here nor there.) I assume that with more practice I'll improve, but some of the atrocities I've committed to perfectly good paper doesn't bear thinking about.

Rough Sketches

In lieu of actual essays, we give you a series of images. None of these have been touched up by Jasc in anyway, as to give a true feel for where I stand with my art. All of them are roughly three to four months old, erring on the side of sooner rather than later.

---

First the girl.

This was to be a character in "The Crawl of Chufule" redo, but I'm not as sure now as I once was. No harm ether way, as she'll pop up in sequels.

She is supposed to be in her twenties, though the exact locality of the age I can not say. To me, she looks much younger than that. Thus the girl rather than the young woman.

I'm not sure about the ear. It should be either lower or larger, I think.

Still, I like her.

(The Veronica Lake look is most definitely not an attempt to avoid drawing the other side of her face. How could you say that?)

---

Next we have Manda attacking a castle.

I of course kid. This dude doesn't look that much like Manda. Not that that's bad, mind you.

All in all, I think the Dragon here is something a triumph. The hands are off, but that's about it. I think he looks like he's wrapping around that tower. Not bad at all.

Pity the tower is so crappy. Ick. On touch up, I might add brick work, make it look less like it's uneven, fix the roof, add windows... This that and the other.

Still, I like it. It has charm. On further looking at his head, it reminds me of Q for some reason.

Now if I could only tell if it was a good guy or a bad guy...

---

Last but certainly not least, we have this little fellow.

Isn't he a scamp? Looks like he's just pulled a prank. Probably something nasty with your shoes. Hey, didn't you have a cat? Don't ask him where that feline went. I'm sure he doesn't have the foggiest clue...

He was supposed to Fizzgig from the Dark Crystal, but he didn't turn out right at all. Not that I care too much. I mean look at him! He's great.

Expect a reappearance of this guy with the full Jasc treatment...

(again with the hands... and i started out thinking eyes were hard...)

Lucky

On whim, I went to Google, typed in "Cullen Waters", then clicked the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button.

Guess which fabulously cool, never square web site I went to.

Go on, guess! Hint: Right now it has a wizard in the background.

I can't stop smiling. I can't.

Site Direction

BeckoningChasm's considering stopping Blogging. Henry's rethinking about what he's going to use his Blog for. A lot of introspection, a lot of thought. I wish I could help them out one way or the other. But that's a task suited for better minds than mine.

I can't say that I haven't done the same of late. Thought about Welltun Cares Presents, wondered where the Blog was heading, if I was doing something worth while, and the like. Especially with the Anniversary coming up.

But the whole truth is that I've only done so out of curiosity. Nothing major or deep. Nothing that would merit a change.

When everything is said and done, all this little Blog is is my Writer's Journal. It's where I practice my trade. I tend to be a bit breezy here, more so than in my regular writing, but writing is writing. Practice is practice.

Everything I've posted, consciously or not, is geared towards my line of work. Even the art (as some days I consider trying to be a web cartoonist.) The forming of paragraphs, the communication of ideas, the clarifying of thought. All this and more.

I believe I'm a better writer now than when I started. I believe that the long I keep this up, the better off I'll be. I should be doing this daily again, in fact.

I might stutter. I might burn out of things to say. But I'll be back. I'm here for the long haul. Another year, another five, another ten. So long as I love writing, I'll be here.

Clarity of purpose in a Blog as haphazardly done as Welltun Cares Presents. Tell me that's not an oxymoron of some sort...

T-Minus 08 days and counting till DW USP
T-Minus 12 days and counting till AoWCP

Fantastic and Romance (III) - Greatest Romance Movie Ever

Thus another series ends. Wonders of wonders.

Bear in mind that this was written first, before the rest of the series and hasn't been touched since (sans this intro, natch.) Not because it's wonderful, not be cause it's even good. Just because I'm lazy. And I couldn't think of anything else to say. Better essay in the days ahead. Hopefully.

---

I would have to say that my favorite romantic movie, bar none, is Casablanca, followed closely by The Shop Around the Corner. Which is unfortunate because neither film fits this site kind-of sort-of motif of Fantastic stuff.

In fact, I spent more than a few minutes wracking my brain for a decent movie. As a rule, Romance tends to be like an appendix to most genre films. Everyone's got one but it could be cut out without serious harm. And occasionally it goes bad and kills...

Okay, so it's a bad metaphor. It happens to the best of us. I'll just walk it off.

There is one that ranks high with me that does fit the site, and I can't believe it didn't just jump out at me at once: Sinnui yauwan/A Chinese Ghost Story. Problem no doubt was that I don't think of this as a Romance most the time. Just one of THE BEST MOVIES EVER! Guys on wires, undead monsters, stop motion animations, killer tongues, singing swordsmen, descents into Hell, what more could you want? This movie single handedly ruined the action scenes in Big Trouble in Little China for me, I kid you not. Just out of sight.

But driving all the wild and wooly excitement is a sweet little story. Ning Tsai Tsen is a nice enough man, but an utter failure at being a tax collector. While trying to do his job, he encounters the beautiful Nieh Hsiao Tsing, whom he falls for in a major way. When he discovers she is in trouble he does everything he can to help her. It does what few movies can do and makes me forget the Hour Romance (more on this at a later date) that drives the plot.

The version of Sinnui yauwan I have has a really terrible translation which, I'm sad to say, adds to my enjoyment of the film. But that's neither here nor there. It's a great film, worth seeing.

---

I can't end this portion of the series without mentioning that I came this close to claiming that Ôdishon/Audition was my favorite Romance. Which is a really terrible thing to do, all things considered. Oh, the movie's great and there is a courtship in it that runs the plot, but it's not for everyone. Specifically, it's not for anyone easily grossed out or not into seriously intense situations.

And, knowing me, I'd have sold it as a romance and "forgot" the unpleasant truth of things.

I'd have gotten a good laugh out of it, anyway, but it wouldn't be nice.

I was also tempted to list King Kong, but the more I thought about it, the more I decided that would be stretching things.

Oscar Night

Was at one point a big thing in my house.

Then the Lord of the Ring won its well deserved Oscar.

Now we don't care about 'em again.

Thank Goodness for the DVD!

Sudden Thought

What does it say towards me, as a person, that not only do I own three different versions of Gamera (Gammera the Invincible, the Sandy Frank dub Gamera, and the original Japanese dub Gamera), but I also aquired said copies without fully realizing I was collecting all three?

Fantastic and Romance (II) - Pleasures

This is going to be a bit hit-and-run, I'm afraid. My head's not in it right about now. I'd like to move on to other things. While nothing has ever stopped me from moving on before, the thought of having yet another unfinished series over my head doesn't do me any favors.

The next part is, of course, closer to the done side than undone and will show itself in due course.

---

Romantic Triangles and Quadrangles

I mentioned last time preferring Romantic Triangles, Quadrangles, and various other shapes to the straight-a-head type romance, and it does no harm in repeating it here. It adds conflict as well as shows more sides of the characters. There's a certain danger here, though, of making one or more of the characters involved seem a bit wishy-washy. Or slimy. Or both.

Visibly Building

I tend to prefer watching relationships form between those who aren't exactly looking for romance. I'm not talking Benedick and Beatrice style bickering (or the more common Just-Plain-Bickering), all though that isn't without merit. I prefer seeing people not necessarily interested in love and all that falling into love and all that.

Major Turning Point

This goes without saying. All stories are Major Turning Points. Why would you write about a minor one?

What I mean is a major revelation occurs. Lover A sees Lover B for who B really is and must come to terms. An example would be, say, Rebecca or, my preference, Casablanca, where Rick, who believes Ilsa abandoned him in Paris, discovers the true motive behind his lover's act. The Thin Man could also be considered a Major Turning Point, as it is the first time Nick investigates a murder when married to his wife, Nora.

Concluding Bit

Finally, I prefer my romances with something else. Comedy, action, mystery, Horror, you name it, let's have it

Site Update: Index and Health Update

I've updated the majority of the indexes so that more things may be found. Usually I update as I do 'em, but of late I've been putting it off. Dumb. Real dumb.

The indexes are a pain in my behind, half the time, but a necessary evil. I want new readers to be able to find the stuff they like, and not have to wade through extraneous stuff, the week were I pitched a fit about the coloration of my toenails. (You missed that week? Oh the memories it fails to bring.)

Now granted, the better part of Welltun Cares Presents is my-life stuff, just like every other blog. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just, when push comes to shove, I'd rather point to my art than my life. I'm more proud of the former than the latter.

Of course, I'm more amused with the latter than the former, but that's a whole 'nother post.

As the length of this post suggests, I'm still on the upswing. I went outside for the first time in about a week. My bones feel cold and brittle and the cough hangs in there, but I'm sure that's all just old age.

(Those of the 40 + bracket are free to tell me to quit whining. I'm sure my Dad will after he reads this.)

All this is more or less a warning way of mentioning that the site will be returning to normal in due course. Which means the giant lags in updates will have no explanation at all...

See you soon.

T-Minus 15 days and counting till DW USP
T-Minus 19 days and counting till AoWCP

Better, Family, Brother Eric, Sleep

At this juncture in time and space, I am, and I hesitate to say this, but I am better than I was. Not well, mind you. I still hack. My head still spins. Solid foods sound optional at best. But better. Barring relapse I should be kicking this in short order.

Meanwhile, the majority of my immediate family is now sick, too. Even Brother Eric, and he is in another state. It's nice to have them go all out to make me feel better, but they really shouldn't have gone through the effort.

Speaking of Brother Eric, Eric has started writing poetry, either as a part of one of his classes or a class unto itself, I disremember. He has sent me samples in the hopes of acquiring my opinion. I'm in no state to give it to him right now - this post in and of itself has used up far too much brain cells - but I hope to in the days ahead.

I will say this. I have seen one of his works, through this delirious haze. To my mind, I'm going to have to send him a profanity laced email filled with envy and spite.

As per usual.

That's it from me for now. Brain power fading...