Orbis Writings

Entries from July 2008

Word Of The Day: pusillanimous

July 29, 2008 · Leave a Comment

So that’s where that word comes from.  You know, the P word, the one you call your friends when they’re too chicken to do something.  You know, “You’re such a pusi.”  When what they’re actually saying is, “You’re such as pusillanimous person.”

This is word I can get behind.  So to speak.

Categories: word of the day
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Godzilla: Final Wars

July 23, 2008 · Leave a Comment

I love Godzilla movies, all of them.  I have to admit that the latest one, Godzilla: Finals Wars, is the best.  Movies can’t get any cheesier than this one.  Scenes that don’t advance the story line, plot that goes all over the place.  A third of the dialog is in English and the rest in Japanese.

The creativity that has gone into this movie is just amazing.  But the effects are all over the place.  In some places they use CGI, other places they use those cheesy tank models.  There are a couple of real car stunts.  They still use the people in costumes, too.

The tension building is much better and the suspense is great.

But in the end Godzilla still kicks ass.

Categories: movies
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Word Of The Day: Supernumerary

July 21, 2008 · Leave a Comment

I love this word, it’s so much fun to pronounce, supernumerary.  It’s almost has hard to pronounce as aluminum.  But much much more fun.  Supernumerary can be used so often.  The amount of weight your body holds is supernumerary in respect to the BMI.

These words serve as supernumerary in this post to provide and example, which I get really isn’t supernumerary.

Have fun.

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My Absenteeism

July 21, 2008 · 1 Comment

I haven’t posted much latelly.  It’s not that I’ve stopped writing or stopped learning.  But I think that I have reached a stage where I know enought; I think; and now I’m just smoothing out the bumps.  Most of the stuff I have been learning recently has been about my writing style more than anything else and learning to flesh out my characters.

I’m at a stage where I am free to have fun and not worry so much about doing something wrong.  Everything recently has all been about style, cause and effect and character relationship.

One thing I will admit that I am having a hard time with is involving more than two characters in a conversation.  But I think this has more to do with definiting my characters and finding their place in the world more than anything else.  Which I think may be a post in the future.  But not sure when yet.

Gotta go.  Keep writing.

Categories: writing

Mini Laptops

July 15, 2008 · 1 Comment

There are a number of mini laptops that have been coming out this year.  But Dell seems to have the best deal.  Starting at $299 you get an 8.9 inch Linux based Dell E laptop which is supposed to be available in August.  The damn thing looks cool compared to the Asus EeePC and MSI Wind and less expensive.

This laptops weight just over 2lbs and are meant to be truly portable.  They do have limited screen sizes and harddrive space.  But I would still love to have one of these to carry with me on the bus to work and not have to carry my 15 inch laptop around.

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Blogging To Write – Great Therapy

July 15, 2008 · 2 Comments

For all those in a learning frenzy I’ve noticed that blogging is a good way to learn.  More than a few times have I started a post thinking that I had something new to write about.  A new expereince that I needed to share just to discover that the process of writing that current post actually helped me understand a lot more that I already knew.

Blogging is great therapy.

I’ve been trying to get back into photography for a couple of years and I can’t.  It’s just not in me.  It feels like a relationship that ended that I want to start again.  So I decided to start a blog to see where that gets me.  Maybe if I write continually I might get the juices flowing again.  We’ll see.

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Tying Actions To Emotions

July 14, 2008 · Leave a Comment

I was re-reading the latest scene of my novel and notice that it was a little empty.  It was mostly dialog with some narration in between to describe the interaction between my two protagonists.

But after I started rewriting it I realized that what had been missing were actions to go along with one of the character’s moods.  She was pissed off, so I had her slam the steering wheel and slam the gas causing the car tires to squeal.  I thought it was better than having her keep all her emotions bottled inside.

Which brings up the fact that most people who are pissed off will often act out.  Not necessarily violently.  But may slam a book closed, or make a fist.  Or may even try hard to keep themselves distracted to make the hate go away.

This I realized after that I may have missed the acting out in a few places in my novel so far.

Categories: writing
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The Trampling – A New Horror Novel

July 10, 2008 · Leave a Comment

I’m reading The Long Walk by Stephen King and thinking how cruel the long walk is to these 16 year old boys.  But then I’m reminded of the running of the bulls in Spain. People willingly putting themselves in front of bulls trying to outrun them.  Many get hurt from being trampled on or gored and sometimes worse.

The prize in the end is the satisfaction that you outran the bulls with no injury.  But imagine the horror if the bulls got smarter.  The bulls are already smart enough to decide to run down an individual and/or swipe their sharp long horns into them.  What if some of the bulls actually took pleasure into it.

http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=w071017A

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