Story Idea

As the result of several weeks of work on a collaborative writing effort with Daniel, I was thinking about a Bible passage this morning:

"You will be hearing
of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those
things must take place, but that is not yet the end."

Matthew 24:6. And what I was thinking, specifically, was how valuable that specific anti-prophecy was, because pretty much all of our end-times myths, from every culture, culminate in a final battle style of thing. Armageddon, Ragnarok, wars of that nature.

But then, even as I was congratulating Jesus on predicting that particular misunderstanding and setting his followers straight, my thoughts jumped to another passage, which sort of does the opposite.

I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor
does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the
trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When
the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."

I Corinthians 15:50-54. Okay, well, I'm not one of those who remembers every verse of the Bible in perfect numerical order, so I got the wording mixed up a little. I was actually thinking of only the second verse in that selection, the "not all of us shall sleep" bit, and I sort of mixed it up with some other verse where Jesus was speaking, saying something to the effect of, "it could be any minute now."

Anyway, anyway. I was mainly thinking of the wording from Corinthians, "not all of us shall sleep," taking it in the literal sense (and, as I said, thinking that it was Jesus saying, "not all of you shall sleep," implying the second coming within one generation.

And, y'know, clearly that wasn't what the prophecy meant, and the "us" was a bigger crowd than just those present at the sermon's initial delivery, but I thought another fun interpretation would be if, in that pronouncement, Jesus had made the Apostles immortal (or, since it was Corinthians, Paul admitted that Jesus had previously made the Apostles immortal) .

So, then, the story idea was for a superhero-type story about the immortal Apostles. I'm thinking probably not as Christian missionaries, because they got that business taken care of a long time ago (and it doesn't make for a very interesting story). Also, both of those passages I referenced had context before or after talking about lawlessness as a bad thing, so I'm thinking typical superhero as defender of law and order fits within the demand of the characters....

I was also thinking maybe this one group of immortals made up the clusters of genius that we see throughout history (Renaissance artists, for one example).

Also, for the actual mechanism of their immortality, I was thinking a cool way to write it would be to take the vampire theme -- not for their behavior day-to-day, but just in the temporary death sense. Then, from temporary death (and this already being a Jesus-story inspired idea, I think a fun way to handle it would be to just have them never stay dead for more than 3 days. They all rise on the third day, always. And, over time, this could get pretty inconvenient with mausoleums and vaults and whatnot, so they get in the habit of checking up on each other from time to time, and performing prison-break style rescues when one or another of them ends up getting buried somewhere he can't escape from.



I dunno. Could be fun. Maybe for a lark sometime.

Her Name is Lola

I have a new niece, to add to the already-impressive collection. She was born a couple weeks ago, but I just now got around to posting it. Here's Shannon's new daughter (I've rotated it 20 degrees clockwise, dropped out the background, cropped the picture and changed it to black and white just to save on bandwidth, because I believe in conservationism):




She sure is a cutie! I've spent a little bit of time around her in the last couple weeks. Mostly she just sleeps, but man, her big sister loves having a baby around all the time! Shannon's doing well, and has had lots of visitors to help her out.

Also, on a completely unrelated note, here's a picture of China's Communist Chairman Mao (completely unaltered):

Journal Entry: April 12, 2007

This afternoon, I got a rejection letter from Tor. They don't want King Jason's War. I didn't say here, but I got a rejection letter three weeks ago for Sleeping Kings. That just leaves Taming Fire, but they've already rejected that one four times, so I don't have a ton of hope left....

Sigh. Sad sigh. Anybody know anyone in publishing?

Annabelle

This is my favorite one so far.

Journal Entry: February 23, 2007

I wrote a new song.

I wanted to share it with you guys, but there's something very important for you to understand, first. You see, a song is a literary work. It's just like a story -- it can be true, while still being a fabricated thing. There is a narrator in a story, and there can be a narrator in a song.

We're all used to hearing Garth Brooks sing about how sad his life is, y'know? I mean, just because a story is told in the first person, doesn't make you think that story happened to the writer. But it's harder to remember that sometime with songs. So just because the song is in the first person, I don't want you to think it's about me -- that I'm coming here and posting something embarrassing or strange about the working of my own inner mind. God forbid, no. It's just a song.

If you promise to keep that in mind, then you're allowed to keep scrolling, and read the song I wrote.

Here goes:

---

Anna, A-N-N-A
-belle, B-E-L-L-E
Annabelle, Annabelle,
That is me! (Cheering, as appropriate)

(And, yes, there's a second verse)

Grace, G-R-A-C-E
Is my middle name
Annabelle Grace is
My full name!

The Love Story in King Jason's War

---

Jason immersed himself wholly in his quest for Miriam's attention. He devoted even more of his time to studying, learning the topics that interested her and reading anything he hadn't already seen. He attended every class offered at the Academy, and did everything he could to engage in the conversation whenever she was there, to draw her into it as well.

One day, when they were both reading in the Cathedral's sprawling library, Jason looked up from his book and asked Robert, "How does a boy land a girl, here at court?"

"Piles of gold usually does the job," Robert said. He shrugged, "But sometimes the just use gemstones." Jason glared at him for several long moments before Robert noticed. When he did, he laughed. "To be honest, I've never paid close attention, but the tradition where I come from is for the father of the boy and the father of the girl to have a polite discussion in a stuffy sitting room, and two years later everyone's married. Something to that effect."

Jason sat back, and sighed. "So that leaves me where?"

"That leaves you chasing after a girl whose father has already had a polite discussion with one of the most powerful men in the kingdom, even without land. She's promised to David." He grinned. "It's not unheard of for promised girls to go sneaking off with young men in the last years of their freedom, though. You could hope for some of that."

Jason shook his head. "Could I meet with her father? She once said that he likes me. Maybe if I could convince him I'm something special--"

"Oh, you are that," Robert said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "You go get that girl." He set his book down, one finger marking his place. "As a matter of fact," he said, "I hear her father is in town for a Council meeting. Perhaps you could arrange a meeting."

Jason did, and only two days later he found himself waiting in the stuffy sitting room in a rich manor off High Street. He'd arrived early, and was beginning to regret it as he waited, his stomach dancing with nervousness. Servants bustled past in the halls, the noise of life filling the halls, but Jason sat quietly in a side room and waited for his appointment.

And then there came a smell of roses and violets, light on the air, and he raised his head to see Miriam standing in the doorway, considering him with a small smile on her face. He met her eyes, and still she stood there for a moment or two, then she stepped into the room, and drew the doors closed behind her.

"What's this foolishness, then?" she said, her voice light and teasing.

Jason rose from his chair and nodded to her, then sank back down. "I've come to speak with your father, while he is at Court. I hear we may have some opinions in common, and, umm, some similar concerns. I thought it might be fun to--"

She shook her head. "You're going about this all wrong," she said. "For one, you should have worn your red shirt. He likes color, and all the black, no matter how fine, won't really impress him." Jason only stared, and after a moment she blushed, but her voice held the same confidence. "And the red shirt is quite flattering."

He smiled, "Thank you," he said.

"More to the point," she said, coming around in front of him, "it's all a waste of time, really. Unless you really do want his opinion on affairs of state."

Jason sat back. He met her eyes. "What exactly are you...."

She shook her head. "I thought you were a southern boy." She moved directly in front of him, and sank down onto the footrest in front of his chair. "You should know better."

Jason laughed. "I was seven when I left, and my childhood wasn't the sort that left a lot of room for cultural niceties."

She smiled. "I like it when you use phrases like that." She shook her head again, a smile on her lips. "Okay," she said, "Here's how it works. The Lords of the Ardain are a jaded bunch, and they've all heard the stories of forbidden love one too many times to put up with it anymore. These days, they always let their sons choose their first wives. Promises don't really take effect until the first marriage falls apart. So you're wasting your time with Daddy."

Jason considered her. "You really are a little too smart for me," he said. "You're dangerous."

She shrugged. "A girl's only got so many defenses."

"So," Jason said, "you're saying that David gets to choose his own--"

She stopped him with a narrow finger on his lips. "Stop drawing conclusions," she said. "No, I'm not talking about David at all. Daddy hasn't got a son, and he's never let it bother him. I'm his legally adopted heir, and he treats me like one." She sat back. "I'll choose my own first marriage."

"Ah," Jason said. He tried for a charming smile, and she laughed.

"You could be fun," she said. "I'll consider you." Her eyes narrowed, and her voice grew serious. "You could be a great man, Jason. I can already see that in you. You already have one of the most amazing stories I've ever heard, and I fully believe there's more in store for you."

Jason thought for a moment. He said, "I want you to be a part of my story. It will be a happier story, with you in it."

She smiled. "You're still reading too much Anton." She sat forward, elbows on her knees, her face inches from his, and said, "Will you make the world a better place, Jason?"

"I will," he said. "With every opportunity I am given."

She said, "I'll hold you to that."

He moved forward, mere inches, and kissed her lightly, once, on the lips. "Choose me," he said, as she gasped in surprise. "I'll show you things you've never seen."

She rose, fighting her smile, and looked down on him. "I shall consider it," she said. As she crossed toward the door, there was a light knock on it, and she turned back, smiling now. "That'll be someone to announce Daddy's ready. Have fun discussing politics."

Jason smiled. "I'll try."

---

It needs another 500 words or so, but that's the root of it. Who needs long drawn-out romance plots in a book about war?

Journal Entry: January 22, 2007

I probably ought to do a post on the birthing class that we're taking, but I don't feel up to it at the moment. I'm in a good mood, is why.

It's not an unpleasant class...it's just not much fun to spend nine hours at work, come home for an hour, and then spend three hours at a class. That pretty much counts as a day-not-had. Know what I mean? It's certainly been a useful class -- I've learned a lot, and I'm a lot less scared of the big day -- but I wish it came in pill form, is what I'm trying to say. I guess.

Anyway, no, I'm going to do another snow-day movies post. Because we had another weekend like the last, except a lot more dramatic. In fact, it barely snowed at all. It rained, but it didn't much snow. Even so, the weathermen had been predicting catastrophic levels of snow, and I don't like to embarrass them, so I decided to stay locked up in my house all weekend anyway, and pretend.

So, once again, a lot of WoW and a lot of movies. Here's your review:

Coneheads is pretty good. I've seen SNL movies before, but never one with this scale of participation. It seemed like they had three generations of the SNL cast (the whole cast) in that movie. Good stuff.
Employee of the Month is very good. That's the Dane Cook movie. I'm a Dane Cook fan, but the movie was still better than I expected. Not amazing, not art -- in fact, not anything new -- but they did a good job with the genre.
John Tucker Must Die is very good. Same as above, but without Dane Cook. It's basically Mean Girls and 10 Things I Hate About You. But they did a good job of it, and the sleezy guy is one of the most interesting variations on the sleezy guy character I've seen in one of these types.
Nanny McPhee is good. Trish told me I would like it, and I believed her. Still, ugly chick. It was an interesting Cinderella with a Series of Unfortunate Events feel. Maybe that was just the British kids, though.
Night Shift is awful. Don't see it. 80s Michael Keaton movie (feat. the Fonz as well) about...umm...pimps working out of a morgue. Really not very good.
That Thing You Do is pretty good. Really the only non-Meg Ryan movie that I like Tom Hanks in. Fun, uplifting, and that was back when whatsername was cute.
The Devil Wears Prada is pretty okay. I kinda hated her boyfriend, and he's supposed to be the touchstone of goodness in the movie, so whatcha gonna do?
The Dukes of Hazzard is okay. Meh. I never watched the show. The movie was fun, but it was 2 AM and I'd had half a cup of vodka, so I'm not really recommending.
Jarhead does a good job of what it's trying to do. Don't watch it. As a piece of art, it was impressively realized, but I can't think of anyone I like who I would recommend this movie to.
Say It Isn't So is not good. Heather Graham's pretty hot, but not really worth watching the movie for. I probably should have known that from the synopsis, but it seemed like it could be funny.
Mallrats is pretty good. Watched it in high school, and missed a lot of the storyline. It was fun watching it again after seeing Clerks, so I had a better idea what to expect. Better than I remembered.