Club High Castle Pre-Pandemic

2001: Assignment Turkey! I was immediately enthralled by their culture, the Mediterranean spices in their food (particularly lamb), and their pop music. However, my first obsession wasn't the delicious food or the pop music. It was their stop signs. They were prevalent on base and off base. This, my friends, is a Turkish stop sign--my very own piece of Turkey. No, I don't have any wild stories of riding in a dolmuş full of friends while Tarkan blared through the speakers as we embarked on a rebellious quest to get ourselves some stop signs....Although, that would have been pretty awesome (if it wasn't against the law, of course!). I can see my imaginary caper of stop sign thieves dining on Adana kabobs and naan bread afterwards, relishing in our shenanigans. No misadventures were to be had in my acquisition of my favorite household decoration. There was an alley of shops right outside the base (conveniently dubbed The Alley ). The major thing I remember about T...

Today's update is a pic spam sort of post with a dash of what's been going on in my neck of the woods. I've been working on March's issue of The Outlanders, editing The Year is Now, and working on short stories. "The Moon Colony" has a real title now, but I'm putting it aside to let it sit for a while. It may end up being a severe writer's case of kill your darlings . In the meantime, I've finished an outline and started a new short story. "The Moon Colony" didn't have an outline, and that was part of the problem! If you want to write a solid story, create an outline first. Always create an outline. Always. Here is some art I've done over the past few weeks: Based off of a colored pencil drawing I did in 2011 Babylon 5 fanart of Talia Winters and Jason Ironheart  More Babylon 5 fanart! This one is actually a redo. I was never happy with the original picture. It finally dawned on me one day that it was the eyes...

The Great Snowpocalypse of ’14 (with more snow on the way) has given many of us a snow day or two. Whatever are we to do with this sudden influx of free time?   Five great Sci-Fi classics that just may curb your boredom: 1 .     The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) This black and white film is plot driven and isn't flash-bang-flash like a lot of the movies you see today. It isn’t a puppies and roses sort of movie either. The human mind is a fascinating thing; The Day the Earth Stood Still did a great job of contrasting irrational fear of the unknown and curiosity. There are a few dated aspects of it, but they aren't campy and don't take away from the story. 2 .     The Flight that Disappeared (1961) Like The Day the Earth Stood Still , this one is driven by characters. Suspense flows through subtle things like the plane mysteriously climbing altitude, the air traffic control office tracking the flight and watching it vanish, ...

Star Trek: The Original Series Peg Dolls Wooden peg dolls are fun, they make great gifts, and they make wonderful additions to your collectables shelf. For those who have been following this blog for a long time, you have seen my intricate Babylon 5 peg dolls. I decided it's time to take a minimalist approach and post a DIY for you all! I chose Star Trek: The Original Series because their uniforms are basic, and skimping on the details won't matter. Why? They still look great, and you can identify them as Star Trek from a mile away. What you will need: 1 (or more) blank wooden peg 1 Pencil 2 Paint brushes - 1 tiny brush, and 1 small/medium brush Acrylic paints - you can get a basic set fairly cheap 1 Cup of water and paper towel (to wash/dry the brushes) 1 flat surface to hold the paint - a paper plate will do just fine The first thing you want to do is to sketch your design onto the peg(s). The trick is to emphasize characteristics unique to that charac...

Anthem by Ayn Rand I forced myself through this book for two reasons: 1. I've always wanted to read something by Ayn Rand. 2. The novella is public domain, so it is free on the iBookstore Anthem is set in a dystopian future (I love a good dose of dystopian fiction if you haven’t guessed it by now). Rand’s writing in this particular work is unique and daring, especially considering that Anthem was published in 1938. What makes it so different? The futuristic society has no conception of “I.” All manner of individuality has been stamped out over the years. I’ve seen complaints about how it is hard to follow because the main character refers to himself as “we” instead of “I” and “he” as “they.” I found it refreshing. If done right, experiments in writing (such as point of view and setting) are a thrill to read--this is coming from someone who has read her fair share of bad paperweights!   Anthem follows the plight of a young man stuck in a pluralistic soc...

It is a snowy Monday here in DE, and with the exception of the photos you see on today's blog, I have done nothing but nothing. Sometimes you need a good dose of lounging around just for the sake of it. I am working on my next short story. Its working title is "The Moon Colony." I suppose that is better than what I originally had for Lucius Sinclair, "Patrick the Telepath." Lucius's name was originally Patrick. I'm looking at my documents, and I see some doozies of rough drafts including "NextStory" and "Dustybadhabit." This is where I am thankful for the ability to revise. And on that note, here is a passage from "The Moon Colony." Keep your eyes peeled because I have something awesome in store for this story once I finish revising it. "The Moon Colony" This snippet is subject to revision before I finalize the story! Aside from the dust, the greys of the hallway were just as pristine as the glowi...