Month: February 2019

Here’s something interesting: Eli Manning ranked 8th in passing attempts this season behind Patty Mahomes (7) and league leader Big Ben. He ranked 21st in overall passer rating, which is what that horrible farting sound you hear whenever someone says Manning comes from. Objectively, he did not suck as nearly as bad as people are saying he did provided you take into account the limited play of Beckham and the expected ‘sophomore’ slump of Shepard. In fact, what he did is exactly in line with what he has always done in the first year adjusting to a new offense. In fact, he is primed to have a legitimate top 10 QB season this coming fall.

Yeah, I’m saying Eli still has game left.

Not a lot. The man is 37 and scared, but continued improvements along the line, a better schedule of matchups, and a clearer understanding of the nuances of the offense will move him towards a successful season that may be his last. This is a significant change from my previous position on the issue. I say this now because I ran the numbers. I listened to the coach. I watched the tape. Turns out Eli ain’t quite done.

That doesn’t mean we should pass on a QB this draft. I watched Murray’s tape too, and the kid could be exactly the kind of player NY needs. The fact that he isn’t a stand out vocal leader in the mold of The Browns new leader is not an issue. More of an issue is the leadership already in place and how the coach can reign in Beckham or, at least, direct that energy towards more positive means. Facts are facts and the fact in this is that Beckham struggles with emotional control. The fact that goes right with that is his emotional energy helps the team win games, and if they are winning they are likely to keep winning.

I think the Giants have a recipe for goodness in the coming season.

Game of Thrones is really well done. I’ve said this before, but I believe it is important to note that this is not the first time people have efforted to do a show about this type of fantasy world. Few have succeeded. I believe that the most successful of this type is in fact the show in question: Game of Thrones. As I say, it is good. Second watch good. I feel like it is working for reasons beyond the sex stuff. It does simmer down quite a bit in season two and beyond. I feel that it is working because there are dynamic characters that we love and that we hate. In specific there are characters that we love to hate, and that has absolutely led to a situation where we are drawn in to the world by the characters and we stay long enough to appreciate their arc and outcome.

Jaime Lannister is among my favorites. Two of my favorites are indeed Lannisters. I like the Lannister men, but love to hate Cersei. She’s awful and I am waiting patiently for her to suffer long. Still, there is no final outcome to this Game of Thrones beyond that which is to be created by the makers of the show… Martin has failed us.

I am not yet ready for the challenge Martin presented to me—to all of us who write in the realm of fantasy. This is a story that needs to be bested. As he is likely (and sadly) to go the way of Robert Jordan it is on us few to write a world that builds upon the beauty and horror of his world and yet gives us a new memory. One that is complete.

Some Thoughts:

1. I miss the MMQB blog post in the fashion it was meant to be written.
2. I am on day 3 and the writing has continued wonderfully. I’m proud and believe I can do it.

Perhaps this blog is more useful than I thought. I’m two days into my new habit of 1000 words a day. It is a supplement to the rule in some ways and a completely different pursuit in another. The 1000 is entirely story based and a way to ensure that I am writing story material and publishing on a far more regular basis than I have been in the past. In other words, it is my effort to live a writer’s life. Now I thought 1000 words a day was a nice minimum because it would only mean a few hours of writing, but the truth is that this short limit is extremely manageable, thanks to the training I’ve been doing over the last few years on the blog.

In truth, I can burn through 1000 words in a ten minute session if my fingers move fast enough. In certain cases I am moving basically at the power of thought. I am writing down everything I know about a scene or story as fast as my fingers will let me. This is how I used to draft fiction before I was caught up in the rigamarole of thinking that the first draft is the only draft. Part of that has to do with the simplicity of making corrections on a digital platform vs. a pen and paper situation where I would write and write without any thoughts of going back right then. Built into the handwritten draft is the promise of a revision that comes with the act of transferring handwritten files to a computer format. Without that promise I suppose my subconscious convinced me to make those corrections on the fly.

Two days in and I’ve hit my mark relatively easily both times. Each time corresponded with the chapter of a book I am working on–day 1 chapter 1 and so on. This is going to work for the next 28 days or so, leaving me with a more refined draft that I can later add and subtract from, transforming hurried language into languishing beauty. Or just cleaning up stuff. Whatever happens. We’ll see how I feel about that 28 days from now.

Meanwhile, I have been stopping right around 1000, and it feels more or less natural. What I have noticed is that after I hit the artificial mark I have an urge to write more. I’m not following that urge as of late. I’ll follow the thought I am on to its conclusion, but I don’t push it. The daily count is still a very fragile thing and I am unwilling to break it.

For now it is just about firing up and keeping this writer’s engine running hot for the foreseeable future and on through the next story.

460+ that time, by the way.

Disciplining kids in a split household is a difficult thing. I’ve watched kids decide that they don’t want to be in one place and be supported in leaving that place for good. In this case it was with just cause and really wasn’t resisted by the other parent, but I have a tendency to put myself in other people’s shoes and worry quite a bit as a result. All this is to say that I disciplined my youngest and it ended with him holed up in his room for the rest of the evening and into today. Normally this would be okay. However, in this specific instance he decided to call his mom this morning and ask her to pick him up. She refused. I know this because he told me. This only deepened his disappointment in the entire situation teaching him one or more valuable lessons. The first is that there is no escape from punishment. The second is that –in his mind– he can’t rely on his parents to get him out of situations like this one.

I want to focus on the second one. Now this second one is largely speculation on my part, as he never actually argued that he felt betrayed or couldn’t rely on anyone. The truth is he’s bored and sad and largely a spoiled brat at this point in his life who is completely unaccustomed to not getting his way. This is crushing him, and while I feel a twinge of sadness for his emotional sag, screw that kid. He had it coming.

He’s gotten very used to doing what he wants when he wants and I know I am partly responsible for that. Slamming the gate down hard on those habits is going to create neccesary tension between us, but the kid is at the point where he is trying not to respect me or any other parent figure and especially not his siblings.

So, I end up blogging it out on a Sunday morning while he mopes around the house like a blanket covered sith lord. Such is the way of the Talis-house. They mope, I write, we move on…

Eventually.

I’m speaking at a Writer’s Network Meeting in May and I am hoping to show up with something really useful to say. I want to be able to say that I tried 1,000 words a day every day and did it. I’m starting officially tomorrow with the start of the new week. Given that I speak in front of that group on May 16th, I plan to show up there having put 82 days towards the 90 required to form a habit (according to several websites including this one). The specific amount of time is actually a lot more variable (21 straight to initialize and then 60-90) but the idea is correct. In fact I expect to be able to speak to it by the time I meet with the writer’s group. Moreover, I’ll have written 82,000 words, which is simply outstanding.

This idea feels very simple on the surface, but I realize I am going to need to plan for this. I need to find the time and make changes in my life in order to put this–put writing–back on top of the food chain. This is happening. It is happening quickly. I am excited about the possibilities.

Some Thoughts:

1. Had a rough talk with the kids today about how they treat each other–which is not good. There is a ton of infighting happening and I do not understand it. They are blessed with brotherhood and simply don’t see it that way. I wish with all my heart I’d been given the advantages they have. These things they take for granted. They take each other for granted and that cannot be tolerated.

You might want to lower your expectations for the Oscars this year. There are a number of factors leading to this being a sub par situation. For me the key part of it is the buzz being generated by Roma. This is the foreign film that won basically everything at the Globes. I watched this film days ago and did not finish. Roma was basic. Roma was trying to show us a world where there is a strong divide between wealth and poverty yet the problems we face (namely men in this case) unite us. However, that story was highly stylized and told in such a way that it made me feel like the director figured we needed to languish in the scenes in order to appreciate the divide.

Here’s the deal: I appreciate the divide. Don’t rub my face in it and don’t overly stylize it. The black and white was just too far. Nevertheless, it won. That could mean it will win more.

I’m hoping Spiderman wins. I’m hoping Black Panther does not win, because in my mind that makes me feel like they’ll need to nominate Captain Marvel, because that is just how things feel these days. I’m being snarky but only a little.

Some Thoughts:

1. This Nugenix crap is irritating. I believe there are tons of men out there who believe in it and thus find themselves trying it and recognizing that it is bunk. There is no magic pill for aging. You just get old and need to work harder for less results.

They really need to fix the publish button. I logged in today with a ton of confusion about what happened to 3.230. I wrote it, thought it published, and discovered that no such thing happened. This is not the first time this has occurred. I can only blame technology so far. In truth part of the problem falls on me for not being patient and thoughtful at the end of the blog when I should be. I’m rushing to click through and (usually get to class or bed) get to the next thing. Lesson learned, I suppose.

Some Thoughts:

1. Been exposed to the Zion hype machine. Most recently he tore through his shoe, leading to a minor injury. The hype train only intensified as folks are arguing that there needs to be a special shoe for Zion, because his feet are so powerful that normal Nikes cannot contain him. Or maybe he used the damn things so much that they wore out. Or maybe he had a defective pair. Stop the hype. He cannot live up to such hype. He’s being sold harder than LeBron.

The most difficult part in this writer’s life is the space in between stories. From the moment I end one narrative until I put word to paper for the next there exists this dead space in which all of that hope and potential swells, pops, and lurks in the emptiness of my mind. I am not good at starting and even worse and handling being finished. These things, critical to being a successful author, stand out among my glaring weaknesses. Presently I am efforting to deal with this issue. I’m working through the dead space in order to reach my next tale before that space stretches out into a vast void and I am lost until the lure of a paycheck drags me back towards writing.

I have stories in mind and I wanted today to be the day I sat down and wrote them out. Unfortunately, life and work and lazy mornings all conspired against me. So, here I am blogging about my maladies as a form of admission and hoping that the act of admission will morph into the act of correction, because there are stories that need to be told.

It isn’t even Wednesday and I’m deep ‘in my feelings’ about how the week is going to go. There is a lot going on and the logistics of the thing have me backpedaling by Tuesday. The worst part is that this promises to be the way of things straight up to and into the spring break.

This is less about the writer’s life than it is about the hectic nature of being a writer, dad, teacher, and ultimately trying to balance all of these things during a week where they will all demand my attention in the same 24 hour period. This is largely about Fridays. Those are tough ones for me, because everyone has something going on and a good deal of it requires me to play driver to the boys. When I can’t it becomes a situation where I need to find a way to juggle a lot and there is not a lot of help available to make things go. I could be exaggerating it, but there is little by the way of a chance to feel like I can ‘chill’ on those days.

Some Thoughts:

1. Happy days at work and at home. Hectic but happy.
2. Learning to be a better dad and what that means–especially when it comes to teaching kids to be self-sufficient and to learn good habits.

I finished a major writing project on Saturday. I wrote nothing save the blog on Sunday. It is Monday now and the words have yet to flow. They must flow tomorrow and in the torrents required to maintain the consistency of my purpose. The blog is no longer enough.

The next story awaits and lurks in the corners of my mind, though I have worries about pulling on that thread too hard and snapping it off in the process. Mixed metaphors, I know, but forgive me. I am building towards a writing life I can be proud of.

Some Thoughts:

1. Re-watching Game of Thrones from the beginning and I am loving it. The show reminds me of the good that fantasy can be. The sex they use to push this to a modern (read: HBO) audience is a bit much, but it does become something you can overlook after a while.
2. Saw Green Book. It was a fun ride and excellent acting, but it is not Picture of the Year material.