Wherever I Am

Prezi Test

2011-06-14T22:56:00.001-05:00

Husbands/Dads, Do You Shepherd Your Families?

2010-11-23T06:56:00.001-06:00

I loved this short article. I would really like to implement this sort of thing at home.

"How I Pastor My Family" by Justin Hyde

So You Want to be Holy?

2010-11-11T07:06:00.000-06:00

"Let no man think he makes any progress in holines, who walks not over the neck of his lusts."

--John Owen

The Mortification of Sin

The High Priests Have Spoken--Trade Your Geneva Gown for a Lab Coat

2010-09-06T08:17:00.000-05:00

Stephen Hawking has recently declared that, based on his work in physics, God is not necessary to explain the origin of the universe.

“Because there is a law such as gravity,” writes Hawking in his new book, The Grand Design, “the universe can and will create itself from nothing."

Christians have been quick to respond, of course (see The Solas Centre's response here), and I'm sure there will be many more articles to come in the future so I'll keep my response short.

Hawking says that, given gravity, the existence of the universe is inevitable. Now I need his help in completing this sentence:

"Given _______, the existence of gravity is inevitable."

Bono, Bonhoeffer, and Carl

2010-08-30T06:52:00.002-05:00

"It would be tragic and a travesty of New Testament church life if, in spending so much time listening to everybody else out there, pastors ended up with no time on their schedule to listen to the voices of their own people."

--Carl Trueman in "Life Together--or Maybe Not"

I love Carl Trueman. Lately it seems like half the quotes that grab my attention are from him. If you're a pastor, I highly recommend the above-linked article. If you're not . . . read it anyway and forward the link to your pastor!

Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community

#651; Those Volatile Menu Options

2010-08-24T06:52:00.000-05:00

I currently work at a hospital. A doctor, you ask? No, I'm a receptionist. And being a receptionist I spend a lot of time on the phone. It's startling how accurately Dave Malki captured my "on-the-phone" experience in today's Wondermark. Enjoy!

#651; Those Volatile Menu Options

Good Reading + Raising the Bar for Biblical Studies=the everlasting covenant

2010-08-17T21:01:00.000-05:00

I met a lot of cool people in seminary, but one of the coolest was definitely Chris Morgan. We had a lot of fun getting to know him, his wife Michelle, and their kids while we lived in St. Louis. I was thrilled when I found out he started a blog because that meant I could regularly hear from a friend I miss.

As it turns out, Chris's blog--called the everlasting covenant--serves a two-fold purpose. First, it will allow Chris to share his learning with the rest of us, and believe me, Chris is a sharp and careful thinker. There's plenty to share.

Second, it will help Chris and Michelle prepare for their future. All that learning and careful thinking Chris did in seminary lead him to three different opportunities for PhD work in Biblical Studies. That's exciting, but Chris and Michelle are facing some financial hurdles. The blog, along with the rest of Chris's website, will serve as their on-line 'home base' for fundraising.

I know Chris will do excellent work as a Biblical scholar and I want him to be able to take advantage of the opportunities God has given him. We need evangelical voices in Biblical studies, so go to his website, find out more about him, and pray. Pray to see if God wants you to support Chris and Michelle, but most of all just pray that God will buoy the Morgans up during an uncertain time in their lives.

Straightforward Words from a Straightforward Boy

2010-08-16T22:30:00.001-05:00

This conversation took place yesterday:

Max: Dad, can I talk to you?

Me: Sure, buddy.

Max: There are three things I know about you, Dad.

Me: Yeah?

Max: Your skin is the same color as mine.

Me: True.

Max: You have blue eyes.

Me: Yes.

Max: And some of your teeth are green.

Suddenly dental hygiene became a higher priority . . .

Gospel Challenge

2010-08-11T21:16:00.004-05:00

"Because of this reality of disobedience, the Gospel will always be experienced as a challenge. It will challenge the mind, for it confronts false belief with the truth. It will challenge the will, for it cuts to the core of our insistence on turning away from God and going our own way. It will challenge our heart, for for our hearts are devoted to many masters in place of the one true Lord."

---Jerram Barrs, The Heart of Evangelism, p. 267.

Whither Joy and Slavery?

2010-08-10T21:50:00.003-05:00

Welcome to "Wherever I Am," the blog formerly known as "Joy and Slavery," which was formerly known as "The Lazy Logician." Back when I started the first incarnation of this blog I wanted to focus on philosophical issues with occasional forays into every day life topics. I did that for a while, but my interests shifted to theology. In the interest of appropriate signage I changed the blog to "Joy and Slavery," which I took to be a "theologically friendly" title. A friend told me it sounded a bit more like a blog for masochists, but the title hung around until this year.

After graduating from seminary (and failing to get into an MFA program) I realized that I had a problem: my interests are too diverse. I kept waiting for something to hook me and keep me forever, but now I realize it's not going to happen. There is no ONE THING that will be my eternal writing topic.

I like fiction, but I also like essays. I like theology, but I also like philosophy. I like football, indie rock, comic books, serious lit, etc. I suppose most of us are like this, but I needed this blog to be a place where I could feel free to write on any of those topics.

So the name change happened. The title "Wherever I Am" can be taken in a few ways.
First, the "Wherever I Am" could be interpreted as allowing a day-to-day topic shift. I'll write from wherever I happen to "be" mentally that day. There is, however, a sort of back door theological reference some of you may have noticed.

In Exodus 3 the Lord told Moses to that his name was "I AM." The second way to think of the blog's new title is to stick a comma in the middle. "Wherever, I AM." In other words, I don't know where you're taking me, but that's where I want to go, Lord.

And that's the way I want to live life: pursuing the interests that God has given me with his direction serving as the backbone.

So, wherever I am I say, "Wherever, I AM."

Good Eating

2010-08-10T21:18:00.006-05:00

Good Eating: A poem about sin.

Sin is a many-toothed mouth;
broad, flat, and iron black.
grinding, crushing, cursed.

Sin is a many-toothed mouth;
wet edges glistening,
broken like glass

Sin is a many toothed mouth;
we gorge tooth to tooth and forget
it is not food if it eats you back.

Still More Applications

2010-01-03T17:05:00.010-06:00

I completed a cluster of applications over the Christmas/New Year's holiday season. The candidates are:

Indiana University

Another Big 10 school not quite in the top tier, but very close. In terms of program quality and funds, Indiana would be tough to turn down. Not that I would turn them down . . . it would just be tough.

UNC-Greensboro

UNC-Greensboro is a good solid program. The funding is good, though not every student gets a stipend as I understand it, and I have heard very good things about the atmosphere cultivated there. It's also much closer to the beach than we have ever lived, so Mary Ann would be pleased with that.

The University of Michigan

Michigan ranks up there with the best of the best in the MFA world. Another tough admit for me, but it doesn't hurt to apply, right?

Washington University in St. Louis

'Wash U,' as it's known, is one of the best academic schools in the country. The MFA does not rank in the top tier, but is still highly regarded. They get fewer applicants, so that's good for me, and they're more known for poetry than fiction. That also works in my favor. It would also mean a mere cross-town move, so that would be less expensive.

University of Iowa

The granddaddy of them all. The first Creative Writing MFA. Flannery O'Connor's MFA. The MFA that has the spectacular Marilynne Robinson on staff. I don't reckon I'd shred that acceptance letter if I got it.

Nearly there. Just a few applications left to go. Then it's that horrible waiting game.

Another Application Completed

2009-12-25T07:48:00.004-06:00

Sent in another submission. Add this one to the list:

Roll tide and stuff.

The Submissions have Begun

2009-12-17T23:03:00.006-06:00

The first two applications are away.

UT-Austin

The Michener Center at Texas, my friends, is one of the most selective MFA programs in this good US of A. Few slots, lots of applicants. Texas is attractive for several reasons: you don't have to teach, the professors are quite good, and the stipend is absolutely unbelievable. Plus there is an excellent screenwriting program that I could basically 'minor' in.

The University of Illinois

Illinois is still in the 'up and coming' category as far as I know. They are one of the programs from the 'Big 10' that have cropped up in recent years and instantly made a splash. I feel like I stand a better chance here than Texas, but they are still fairly discriminating.

So that's it for now. Only 12 more programs to submit applications to. Easy as pie.

Max Duncan, Literary Giant

2009-11-30T17:33:00.003-06:00

In case you're wondering, the previous post is indeed a story dictated by my story-tellin' son, Maxwell Isaiah Duncan. Getting into the family business already . . .

Max and Dad, Kamen Riders by Max Duncan

2009-11-30T17:26:00.001-06:00

Max and Dad wanted to go outside to fish with their own fishing rods. When it was night, they went to bed and went to sleep and when they woke up in the morning they wanted to fish again. When they saw their skin they got so scared of their skin that they tried to get it off but it wouldn’t come off because it was hero skin!

When Max saw himself he looked like a knight from his favorite TV show and his Dad didn’t know what it was. It was called ‘Kamen Rider’ and when Max saw what it was he knew what it was. It was called ‘Strike Knight.’ When Max saw his Dad his Dad looked like ‘Thrust Knight.’ When they saw different cards, Max started to look like his Dad. Then Max started to look like his brother Finn, who was ‘Sting Knight.’ Max’s Dad started to look like his son Leo who was ‘Wing Knight.’

When Leo and Max did ‘Kamen Rider’ training, Max won and Leo hit his back on a wall and erased away. Then guns came drifting down from the sky that go on ‘Torque Knight’s’ shoulders. Max’s Dad decided to keep them.

Something drifted down from the sky. It was ‘Siren Knight’s’ sword, and Max decided to have it. And then something else drifted down from the sky. It was ‘Siren Knight’s’ staff, and Max’s Dad decided to keep it.

The ‘Dragon Knight’ that Clem is, is red. There was another ‘Dragon Knight’ that wanted to fight Clem. This one was called ‘Shadow Dragon Knight.’ They had a surprise. Four of the decks had persons from inside and first came Finn, Mom, Clem and Leo. Then they started attacking Max and Dad. General Zaviax tricked them. General Zaviax made them come back. When they got General Zaviax out of Kamen Rider Ray, they put him back together in his regular Kamen Rider form. And then when they started fighting four of them they tried and tried and Max and Dad won! When they erased away again the older son knew how to bring them back and they all attacked General Zaviax and they put him back in his home.

MFA Anxiety

2009-11-14T09:13:00.005-06:00

Microsoft Office is downloading an update to the ol' computer. So I'm going to flex my writing muscles on the blog this morning. This has been a jam-packed semester, so blogging has been a low priority for the last couple of months. Now, though, I'm going to take advantage of this lull to blog about my anxieties. Hooray!!!

Things are going fairly well for my MFA application process at this point. The GRE is over and done with, I have two out of three people I need to recommend me, and I'm actually staying on top of the process. I have two stories I like and am working on a third. All of these are good.

However . . . I am constantly having to pray about the subjectivity of MFA admissions. You can write an excellent story, but if the wrong people don't like your stuff, you're out of luck. In a recent article in Poets and Writers Benjamin Percy (an excellent writer, in my opinion) mentioned that one of his stories was rejected for publication 39 times. Once it was finally published, Salman Rushdie picked it as an honorable mention for Best American Short Stories. That was a happy ending for Benjamin, but my mind keeps going back to the strong possibility that I won't have a 'Salman Rusdie.'

I suppose it's a good thing that these thoughts move me to pray, but I think it would be better to just not be anxious. "Be anxious for nothing" and all that. I think the anxiety rises from a few sources:

1. I've never been this uncertain about applying for anything. I was quite certain I would get into my undergrad schools and seminary. But for MFAs there are so many applicants and so few slots nationwide that the percentages are against me.

2. I've never wanted something as much as I want this, career-wise. This is the path I want to take, so not getting into the MFA would be a blow.

3. I don't have a good solid idea for what I would do in the immediate aftermath of 14 rejection letters. I reckon it would involve a hasty retreat to West Virginia, but what then? Apply again? Distance programs, maybe? What do I do in the meantime? I can teach, but how many jobs are there available for chaps like me?

All that said, I do have good reasons not to be anxious. I believe God called me in the direction of writing. That doesn't mean that I'm guaranteed an MFA slot, but it does mean that God is taking care of me. God surprises us sometimes (surprise, Paul! You've been bitten by a venomous snake!) but then he surprises again with his deliverance (the venom won't harm you. Surprise again!).

Thanks, God. I feel better.

Marshall vs. WVU

2009-10-17T17:54:00.002-05:00

24-7: This is what happens when you fumble twice in the red zone.

Back to the C-USA schedule!

The Time Draws Near, The Writer Readies Himself . . . Kinda . . .

2009-09-29T11:41:00.004-05:00

MFA application season approaches. I still don't feel like I have a great writing sample, but I've come to the conclusion I never will. I will never feel like I have written well enough until I get an acceptance letter, and even then I'll think, "whew, I snuck one past them." That's the trouble with finding your self-image as a writer in the opinions of others.

Honestly, I do think the stories I've written are good. The fact that not everyone agrees highlights the subjective nature of reading fiction. That's what makes me nervous about MFA applications. I can't be guaranteed a spot by just getting a certain score on the GRE (which I still need to take). I've been recently that I will just stop worrying about others opinions (within reason) and write what I believe God is leading to write.

The good news for today is that I finished the first draft of "Miracles for Americans." It needs a lot of work, but it's good to actually get to the end of a story. It's my longest story so far, coming in at 19 pages and around 7200 words, but I'm hoping to lop a bit of that off. So I'll be editing that and taking another pass at "Come on, Casper" to look over some changes I made a month or two ago. Hopefully I'll be able to communicate the humor I intended in"Miracles." I haven't had a lot of experience at humor writing, so we'll see how that goes. It'll never be a laugh riot, but I think it will have a lighter tone than "Casper."

Still Pluggin' Away

2009-09-17T06:31:00.002-05:00

Just another productivity report:

I've been waking up at 5:30 am this week. On purpose. Mary Ann and I have been struggling to find a good time for me to write these days, and I think this is the best solution. I've tried to do the late night thing; it seems the more 'writerly' thing to do, right? Writers are supposed to stay up late to drink and be tortured by their demons. Unfortunately (?), my demons kept standing me up, so Mary Ann and I broke with our 1-2AM tradition and started hitting the sack at 11:00. Since then things hve gone much better in the writing department.

I FINALLY Got Arrested

2009-08-17T07:13:00.003-05:00

So I finally gave in. After years of people telling me I should watch Arrested Development, Mary Ann and I rented the first DVD from the first season. The straw that broke the camel's back was the fact that the guys who do The Steelehouse Podcast named it as one of their top ten shows of the decade. You should check out that podcast, by the way. A thoughtful and enjoyable look at pop culture from a Christian perspective.

But back to the show: Typical. Really. I don't mean Arrested Development was typical. What's typical is that it was cancelled after three seasons. Good shows don't make it much longer than that. Mary Ann and I are joining the chorus. Arrested Development was quite hilarious.

For those of you who are slow to take recommendations like me, now is the time. Outside of 30 Rock I doubt there's a show that even approaches Arrested Development's level of hilarity. Quirky characters can get old quickly if poorly written, but the cast of Arrested Development, while quirky, never fail to surprise.

If you watch the show now, you can see how much of the writing and direction has pointed the way for comedies currently on the air. If you promise to watch the show that started the trend, then I promise to stop reviewing shows that have been of the air for six years.

A Breakfast Tragedy

2009-07-21T07:37:00.004-05:00

I went to open my cereal this morning--a new box. Carefully, I pushed my finger underneath the cardboard tab. I gingerly scooted said finger to the right, in order to preserve the integrity of the cardboard tab. It helps in the resealing process.

But, as you might predict, my efforts were fruitless. My finger tore through that fragile box top as though passing through the air unimpeded. My cereal is compromised.

And THAT, my friends, is how you know that General Mills hates you.

Writerly Frustrations

2009-07-13T17:30:00.002-05:00

If I could just write 1000 good words a day, I would be so happy that I would wet not just my pants, but everyone else's too.

Two Gross-Out Haikus

2009-07-06T00:28:00.003-05:00

Here are two Gross-Out Haikus stemming from the same incident. I'm thinking of making these a significant part of my writing sample.

Finn's oranges, juice
and pizza revolt, dripping
down in my pocket

My Steeler's T-Shirt
Piled high with half-gnawed foodstuffs
The Superbowl one

He Thinks as He Types

2009-06-11T12:48:00.002-05:00

I'm at the library right now. It's time to write, but I'm having a hard time bringing myself into the 'writerly mindset,' whatever that may be. It's that post-lunch energy dip, I guess. It's annoying because I have these times carved out to write every day, and if I don't do it now then I'll get nothing. But the ol' brain is in sleep mode.

Besides, I'm not sure what I'd write right now. I can always do VFO, but Rex is alerady working something I sent him a few days ago so I feel kinda 'caught up.' It's a dangerous feeling, but I'm going with it. I'd like to do some short story work, but I don't want to do any more editing on "Come On, Casper" until my group of readers give me their feedback (Thanks for yours, by the way, Mary Ann and Rex. You were both quite helpful). I could try and figure out a title, but I don't want to spend two hours on just that. I can brainstorm for titles while I clean at work tonight, or do my security runs.

I have a bunch of story ideas, but I don't want to work on another story where the protagonist is a jerk. I'd like to do something with a pleasant lead character, but I most of my ideas involve bad things happening big jerks. I do have one idea, though, that might fit the bill. But I've started on it before and it didn't feel right. All I have is a fairly bare concept. I guess I could work on plotting that story . . . I don't have to jump right into the first draft of the thing.

I think that's what I'll do. Thanks for helping me figure this stuff out, guys.

Joshua Duncan: Now with Productivity!!

2009-06-09T13:13:00.004-05:00

It's only just June and already I feel like I've had a full summer. For one thing, I've been working a lot these days. Relatively speaking, I guess. My hours still don't equal full time employment. Still, it's more than I've worked (outside of class) since I got here. It's taken up a lot of time I would have liked to use for other good things (GRE study, writing, family time). But enough of the whiny stuff!

One great thing about this summer is the amount of time I've had to actually write--and the fact that I've utilized that time to do so. I've written the first couple of installments of the webcomic I'm doing with Rex Queems, and he e-mailed me today to express his excitement with them. That's always a bonus.

Not only that, but I've actually finished a story. An eleven pager, no less! I know of writers who could weave an eleven pager before breakfast, but nearly everything I've written fiction-wise has been fairly short. There were one or two longer pieces, but they got clunky and are in need of a good trim. So eleven pages is a good length for me. It gets me over halfway to a number of the page requirements for MFA applications as well, so that's bonus number two.

It's quite nice. After failing to write anything in the early months of this year I've made serious headway on a couple of long-standing projects. It's really a lovely feeling. I'm seriously reconsidering my love affair with procrastination.

"It's not you, sweetheart. It's me."

I like the sound of that.

Is Something Wrong With Me?

2009-06-07T22:12:00.003-05:00

Mary Ann and I just watched the Tonys. Yes, the Tonys. That's the award show for plays and musicals and such. I can count the number of plays I've seen in my life on one hand. Maybe two if you count my elementary school glee club musicals. Why, then, did I watch the Tonys, which featured many people I've never heard of in my life? Dunno.

I liked it, though.

Except for the bit from Hair. I mean, I get it. Hippies were the greatest people ever. Can we move on now?

Wanted: Humidifier for Dry Text

2009-06-02T23:51:00.005-05:00

I spent about an hour working on VFO tonight. I'd been doing background work, but today I actually wrote a scene. I've discussed this scene with Rex already, and I think it has potential to be a nice, mysterious beginning. As it stands, though, the passage is about 500 dry-as-dust words. I'll come back to it and try to make it a bit more vibrant.

Still, it's nice to get this thing going after about a million false starts. I think it just needed more time to percolate. I'm not saying it's ready for drinking yet, to continue the metaphor, but we're closer now than we've ever been.

Grand Achievement

2009-06-02T08:12:00.002-05:00

I just finished reading through over 10 years worth of PvP strips. It's because of my awesome fortitude and willpower.

Thanks, Scott Kurtz!

I Didn't Even Have to Use My AK . . .

2009-05-29T00:20:00.002-05:00

I'd have to say it was a good couple of days.

My goodness, it feels good to sit down at the computer and write. Blogging is fun and all, but I'm not passionate about it like I am about fiction (as evidenced by this being only the fourth post this month). It has been sooo sweet. So sweet, in fact that I'm going to describe it to you.

DAY ONE:

I got a bit of a late start in the morning. Still working out the kinks in the schedule. Still, I sat down and worked on VFO. I actually sat down and worked on Vintage Furniture and Oddities for the first time in ages. It was all character background and concept development, but it was a lot of fun and it's pushing me in the right direction. I don't want to start a project like this without understanding my characters or having a decent plan as to where I'm going.

As an aside, I think that's been one of the problem's I've had with VFO. It started as a writing excercise I gave myself. I wanted to write 500 words and make up the story as a I went along. That became a problem once Rex Queems and I talked about doing VFO together. It was no longer a thing I could play with whenever I want and with no pressure. But those days are over! Developing the concept in more detail was nigh unto exhilerating.

Then I ate lunch.

After lunch, Day One took a downward turn. I worked for a couple of hours on the stuff I want to use for my MFA writing sample. HORROR. I couldn't write a word. "Come On, Casper" didn't flow at all. I actually tried my hand at a bunch of the stories I have unfinished on my laptop. Nothing. That was a discouraging afternoon.

DAY TWO:

I decided to do "Come On, Casper" in the morning this time, hoping that my mind would be a bit more fresh. What I didn't realize, though, was that the 'freshness' wasn't the issue. The issue was that I was so worried about theme and structure that I got stymied. I've been reading John Gardner's On Becoming a Novelist, and it really helped remind me that I was primarily doing this to tell stories. After that, a new direction for the story emerged and I worked happily through the morning.

Lunch again!

More VFO in the afternoon, and it just kept getting better. I got a handle on something that will be integral to the storyline; something that will provide direction and (I hope) suspense as the strip continues. Hopefully I'll be able to actually get to some of the writing soon. Anyway, day two was excellent.

DAY THREE:

Day three was a bit of a problem because I had to do some work this morning. That meant the morning session was out so we could get school and everything in.

And lunch.

The afternoon was truncated as well because I had a work meeting, but once that meeting ended I got right to it. I decided to go with "Come On Casper" rather than VFO because I wanted to keep yesterday's juices flowing. Happily, the story continued very well. I'm not cranking out tons of pages, but the story is moving along and I like the language and the direction (right now at least . . . ask me again tomorrow).

Tomorrow will be DAY FOUR. I'll miss the morning session again, but I'm looking forward to another couple of productive hours tomorrow afternoon. It'll be VFO, I think, so I can keep things moving.

Creating makes me happy. Doing that for a living . . . that would be a beautiful life.

Attention: All of My Devoted Fan

2009-05-25T15:05:00.003-05:00

And yes, I left 'fan' singular on purpose. All I do, I do for comedy.

Anyway, I added a new feature to the blog. Anyone who loves me should 'follow' my blog by clicking on the little widget on the right of the screen. After you do so, you will receive your 'Joshua Duncan' decoder ring and t-shirt in 8-10 epochs. Absolute proof of identity is required, so don't use a pseudonym, unless I already know you by said pseudonym.

Again, if you TRULY care for me, follow my blog and forward this message to ten friends.

Absentmindedly yours,

Anonymous, aka 'Josh'

The Rich, the Vivid, and the Beautiful: Priorities in Reading and MFAs

2009-05-19T08:18:00.008-05:00

A friend of mine recently made his Facebook status something like, "You know you're a nerd if, once you've finished your semester, your first thought is, 'what books can I read now?" I laughed because that was exactly what thought I when I was walking away from my last final this semester. I have a long list of novels and short story collections that await my attention.

I started getting back into The Best American Short Stories of the Century before the semester actually ended. I'm still dedicated to reading through in order, and I've only just hit the 1940s. I enjoy getting samples of some of the best authors of the 20th Century in such a quick succession. Somehow it satisfies my truncated 21st Century attention span. You'd think the short story would be more popular these days, but I guess no matter how much you shorten a story it's still not a video game.

Another book I've given a second shot is Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping. I bought it last year at the Trinity Arts Conference because I enjoyed Gilead, but for some reason I got bogged down early with Housekeeping. It fell by the wayside and I moved on to other things.

Later, as readers of this blog are well aware, I began sorting through MFA programs. The list has changed repeatedly, but an early entry was the University of Iowa, where Marilynne Robinson teaches. Like Housekeeping, though, Iowa fell by the wayside. I wasn't sure about funding, so I took it off my list.

Recently, however, a couple of factors combined to put Iowa back on my list. First, I reread The Creative Writing MFA Handbook, and the ever-helpful Seth Abramson wrote that at Iowa they do whatever they can to make sure their students have the funding they need. That doesn't guarantee fully paid tuition and a stipend, but it means that there's at least a chance. So the money question was answered.

The other factor was a brief conversation I had with Jerram Barrs about MFA programs after class one day this past semester. It wasn't a momentous thing; he just pointed out that Marilyn Robinson was the head of the program there and that she was a Christian. I realized I that in the quest for funding I had lost sight of something important: A place for connection. I don't reckon Marilynne Robinson is in the PCA or anything, but there is a definite worldview connection there. I felt it when I read Gilead. I happily added Iowa back to my list.

My renewed interest in Iowa and Marilyn Robinson lead me to a renewed interest in Housekeeping (the book, not the activity). I began reading, and I have had a much different experience this time. I think I must have been impatient with it last year. Most of the fiction I enjoy conjures vivid images in my imagination, but Housekeeping does that less often. I am on chapter five and the images of the characters are still developing in my head. That is usually not the case for me, and it would normally drive me away from a book, but the treasure in Robinson's writing does not lie in the vivid image as much as the beautiful sentence. The story is compelling, but the joy of staying with Robinson is the unusually lovely turns of phrase she uses. It's makes for a slow read, but it's worth the time. Why run through the forest when you can stroll, touch the trees, and smell the growing greenness around you?

So thanks to Marilynne Robinson, for reminding me that there's more to an MFA than funding. And thanks for helping me understand that there's more to reading than the vivid image. Thanks from the bottom of my slightly-less-truncated 21st Century attention span.

This is How the Semester Ends . . .

2009-05-14T15:10:00.002-05:00

I took my OT History Books test today. That means that I officially have one more year to go at Covenant Theological Seminary. I'm gearing up for a busy summer, so pray for us!

The To Do List:

1. Get a good writing sample ready
2. Take the GRE
3. Find three people to be references for me
4. Write VFO webcomic with Rex Queems
5. Make some rent money somehow

And finally . . .

6. Actually be there when, y'know, my wife has our fourth child

OK, so six things doesn't sound that big, but most of these aren't 'one-off' type things. I'll keep everyone posted.

One Last April Post

2009-04-30T23:45:00.002-05:00

I'm entering the home stretch. The semester will be over soon, and I will be one year closer to finishing my MDiv. Then comes the summer, in which I will apply to MFA programs and play the most painful waiting game I've ever played . . . g'night.

Bonus Post!!!

2009-04-18T15:35:00.001-05:00

Just to let you know, according to google my blog contains the only reference to 'airbrushed catkin' on the internet.

Something That Could Probably Stop Now

2009-04-18T01:20:00.005-05:00

Any story, strip, article that begins 'In which . . .,' as in 'In which Waldo receives an airbrushed catkin.' It's usually done in sort of a playful, ironic, pseudo-Victorian way, but it's over. It needs to stop. I enjoyed it at first, but it's become a substitute for an actual clever title (as my 'airbrushed catkin' line demonstrates).

Of course, Wondermark is exempted from the 'in which' ban because the cleverness of the strip, but also because the 'in which' bits are not featured prominently.

In the Cool of the Morning

2009-04-12T09:42:00.003-05:00

Today we rejoice in the most explosive, unlooked for, eucatostrophic event the universe could have ever longed for.

The stiff-knuckled hand of Death had its bony fingers peeled back; his power melted away while his brother Sin was made bankrupt.

The world was shattered, but the centerpiece of history came into place two thousand years ago--

--when Christ walked the garden in the cool of the morning.

A Day of Note

2009-04-08T16:52:00.004-05:00

I'm trying to improve my art for my Children's Lit project. This cartoon is not related to the project, but I got the idea this morning so I drew it up. Click the pic for the details.

It's not that great, and the gag has been done, but I enjoyed doing it. I was thinking about taking the colored pencils to it, but I'm not sure if I will. It would help contrast the mountains in the background with the cliff in the foreground, but I'm not sure if I want to take the time. What do you think?

I'll Eat it Up I Love it So!

2009-03-25T19:02:00.002-05:00

What movie do I want to see more than Watchmen?

This one.

Click the link, come back, and tell me how many times you watched the trailer.

Do You Like Drawrings?

2009-03-24T13:51:00.002-05:00

I've got to acknowledge a couple of links my brother has passed along to me. He's turned me on to two comic strips. I suppose I'm a bit late in starting reading these two comics because one has been around for five years and the other for around three, but they're worth reading no matter when you hop on board.

The first comic I read was Wondermark, a strip by Dave Melki that uses old Victorian-era illustrations to great comedic effect. Start in the 'A Good Start' area and then move on to reading the entire archive. You'll find good laughs with regularity. My favorite strips are, of course, the silliest ones.

The second comic is called The Abominable Charles Christopher. I was pretty much made a fan by the title alone, but I found the comic itself was even better than its title. Charles Christopher is a sasquatch who is in the midst of discovering the world. He doesn't quite understand how some things work, and can't quite communicate, but he's learning. The animals who live in the forest provide a healthy dose of humor, while many of Charles Christopher's adventures appear to be leading somewhere more dramatic. Combine that with the absolutely superb art, and you have a comic I'll be coming back to week after week. If you're new to Charles Christopher, start at the first episode and move forward. If you're like me, you'll catch up to this weeks episode much more quickly than you'd like. I could've kept reading for another hour or so.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't point out the link to another wonderful website I've run across. The site just happens to contain the work of Mr. Rex Queems himself, frequent commentor on these pages and excellent cartoonist in his own right. It's only fair that I point out this link, since he was the one who introduced me to both Wondermark and The Abominable Charles Christopher.

Ladies and Gentlemen, follow me to the Illustratorium. Enjoy.

Children's Lit and the Loveliness of Trees

2009-03-10T16:56:00.004-05:00

Have you ever found yourself in the midst of the semester, an avalanche of assignments hurtling at you, but you only have the desire to work on one of them? I think this might be the first time I've had that experience, since I usually don't want to work on any of them.

The assignment in question is the one from my Children's Lit class. I'm writing and illustrating a story for my boys and I am thoroughly enjoying working the story out in my head. I don't want to tell the story yet, but it has (of course) given me a million ideas that I could incorporate. I'm going to have trouble keeping the story as small as it should be, I think.

I've done some preliminary drawings for the story as well, and it has revealed some of the deficiencies in my art. In particular, I have trouble with trees. I've always found people more interesting and more fun to draw than anything else: trees, animals, buildings, cars, what have you. This has lead me to attend to the actual trees around campus, and I've found that . . . well . . . they're quite beautiful. I mean, I've always loved springtime its flowers, summer's warm greenness, and the spectacular splashes of color that come with autumn.

But it's winter now. The trees are brown and bare, but they're still quite beautiful.

In the yard by the playground stand two white birch towers, with their branches forked like lightning . . .

Out my living room/office window a shaggy barked tree is lined with narrow branches, jutting out like bony fingers . . .

Near Founders hall are two trees standing like old friends, their tops bent back and branches to the sky in praise of God . . .

I guess I had lived under the illusion that trees are basically the same, but the variety is amazing, even among trees of the same species. What makes the trunk divide in two when it does? Why do the branches bend and twist where they do?

So while anyone can appreciate a tree covered with foliage, I encourage you: don't stop there. Love a leafless tree.

Bare is beautiful.

Visit Maple Mountain

2009-03-05T10:00:00.003-06:00

A while back my old friend S.D. Smith asked if I could write a post he could put up on his blog, The Maple Mountain Story Club, when he and his wife had their baby. This was probably in January sometime, but I can't directly recall. I like S.D. and I like writing for other blogs, so I thought I would take him up on his offer.

I immediately realized I was faced with a problem. Most of what I post here amounts to hand-wringing about the future or attempts at humor that die miserably. I was guessing that S.D.'s crowd of readers didn't want to hear my progress toward MFA applications (there hasn't been much, by the way), nor did they want a one line humor post that likely involved the word 'butt.' So I had to come up with something good.

As it turns out, I had a decent idea percolating in my head. I had been thinking about The Band's song "The Weight" a lot, and I wanted to do a post on the concept of sainthood Robbie Robertson has in the song as opposed to a true Christian one. So I did. It worked out well because I knew I was never going to write a substantive post to put up here. It would be too much work. But for a friend, I would do it.

Go to S.D.'s blog and check it out. I read part of the post, but I find it hard to revisit my own writing once it's out there for public consumption. I see too many changes that need to be made. I've gotten a couple of nice comments though.

By the way, be sure to read S.D.'s introduction. It's probably the better piece of writing on the page and it captures me pretty darn well. Except I was a c-section baby, so I never went through the birth canal.

See, now you're curious. You'll have to check it out.

A Mini-Meditation on Writing

2009-02-27T20:27:00.004-06:00

I should be doing something productive right now, but I'm not. I'm blogging. It's not that I think blogging is a waste of time; it's more like I have a number of things I could be doing. Like school reading. Paper writing. Heck, I could even be watching Princess Mononoke, which I rented today. At least that would get my imagination going.

I'm a big fan of the imagination. I guess that's why I keep wanting to add elements to the story I'm writing for Children's Lit this semester. It began as a straightforward LotR-esque adventure story, but as I've thought more and more about it--and watched a few Miyazaki movies--I've wanted to expand the world. I want to crack open the top of my head (metaphorically) and build a world that amazes. I don't want to populate a fantasy world with elves and dwarves and orcs, though there's nothing wrong with doing that. I want to bend categories. I want to invent critters that hang in the imagination long after you've read their stories. I want to blend the stuff of differing historical eras into one and make it seem as natural as breathing. That, to me, sounds exciting.

I haven't abandoned adult fiction, though. "Come on Casper" is still in the works. It's just not something I'm working on for a class these days. That story is a different kind of challenge. It's more about structure and getting the language just right . . . not giving away too much before the end of the story, etc. Of course, as I typed that, I recognized that children's lit requires all that too. I just don't get to 'play around' as much with "Come on Casper."

Is it less fun then? Yes and no. It's not a blast like inventing monsters and other whimsical doodads, but there's an intense pleasure that comes from actually constructing a story and using structural elements to guide the reader when the subject matter doesn't make reading the story 'fun.' That's what I like about adult lit. Still, though, I plan on incorporating the fantastic into my 'serious' adult fiction later. I just have to figure out how to work it out.

OK. Time to be productive.

It's a . . . Blog Post!!

2009-02-19T23:37:00.002-06:00

After a rip-snortin' start to my blogging year in January, I fell off the wagon in February. Part of it has to do with classes, but that's not the full reason. Facebook also takes its share of the blame. After all, I hear Facebook is killing little blogs like mine. Meh. I'll keep going.

So that's out of the way. The biggest news in my life is obviously finding out the sex of our baby. Most of you probably already know that the baby is a GIRL. That's right! We're having a girl. So many doubted, but we did the improbable.

Now, if we could just figure out a name . . .

Writing Update: "Come on, Casper"

2009-01-21T18:33:00.005-06:00

I've posted lately about submitting stories, researching MFAs and plain ol' nonsense, so I thought I'd make a post about how my writing is going. Of course, I wouldn't make this post unless there was news, so I wanted to say I'm pleased to announce I've finished the first draft of a story. Not huge news, I know, but news nonetheless.

The story, now titled "Come On, Casper" but due for a name change, weighs in at about 1700 words. Much of what I do seems to fall in that range. That total will go up or down depending on how the editing process goes, but I wouldn't expect much fluctuation.

It seems odd to me that I worked on "Keep Thinking, Keep Moving" for one day and it hit just under 1000 words, while I've worked on "Come On, Casper" on and off for a couple of months and it's 1700. I guess I'll never write a 20 page short story. I'm not sure why that is. I'll have to think about it.

Anyway, I think the story has some potential, but it needs a good hearty tweak or two. The structure is basically there, and the thread of the story as well, but it needs shaping and polishing. That's still a new process to me. I never used to edit the stories I wrote. I suppose that's why I never considered them worth keeping. I want my stories to be worth keeping, though, so editing is a necessity. Thanks for reading, and I'll keep you posted.

Amazingly True Educational Fact 2

2009-01-20T18:25:00.002-06:00

The original title of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" was "The Curious Butt of Christopher Cason."

Amazingly true.

From the Journal of Amazingly True Educational Facts

PCA Churches in MFA Towns

2009-01-17T08:16:00.003-06:00

One of the factors we need to consider in choosing an MFA is how we like the location, and a big part of that depends on what kind of churches the community has. We've been in the PCA for a couple of years now, so if I could find a good one in the MFA program's community that would be a big plus. Here's how they stack up.

1. UT-Austin-Austin has five PCA churches: CrossPointe, All Saints, Redeemer, Christ the King, and Choongmanhan. Lots of choice there.
2. Syracuse-No PCA presence. A friend told me that there is an OPC presence, but we probably don't want to move in a more conservative direction.
3. Purdue-Two Cities serves Lafayette and West Lafayette.
4. Indiana-No PCA presence in Bloomington. I may do some research to see if any of the PCA churches are within driving distance.
5. Notre Dame-Michiana Covenant Church is in South Bend
6. Alabama-Trinity and Riverwood serve Tuscaloosa
7. UNC-Greensboro-Friendly Hills, Summer Oaks, Spring Garden.
8. Ohio State-Grace Central Presbyterian Mission is in Columbus.
9. Florida-Gainesville has Faith Presbyterian and Christ Community
10. Penn State-Found nothing in College Park, but again I don't know what towns are within driving distance.
11. Wisconsin-Lake Trails and Madison Sah-Lang
12. Minnesota-No PCA churches in Minneapolis/St. Paul
13. Illinois All Souls in Champaign-Urbana
14. Iowa-One Ancient Hope Mission Church

Of course, even if the town has a PCA church/churches that tells us nothing about the vitality of that/those church(es). That will take a bit more research, and may be best left for a time after I get accepted to one of these programs. If I get accepted.

After I Wake, Before I Shower

2009-01-12T07:19:00.002-06:00

Though the title of this post could by itself earn it a number one vote on the "Posts No One Will Ever Read" list, I couldn't think of a better one. The time between when I awake in the morning and when I get in the shower is usually the time I have some of my weirder thoughts. They're usually silly and/or nonsensical, and are often sentence fragments. I want to start recording them, though, so I'm going to do the foolish thing and do so publicly. For today:

"Three things a sitcom needs: Razor sharp wit, sparkling political satire, and a cat with a big butt."

Anderbo? AnderNO.

2009-01-11T16:15:00.003-06:00

Well, Anderbo got back to me slightly faster than the one to three months than I expected. They politely declined to use my story. I didn't even have time to get nervous. At this rate I expect journals to start sending me preemptive rejections.

EDIT: And just for the record, I harbor no ill will toward Anderbo. I would submit to them again any day. I was just surprised to receive notice that early.

Submitted for Their Approval

2009-01-11T00:38:00.002-06:00

For the first time in my life, I have submitted a story for publication. I sent Keep Thinking, Keep Moving to Evening Street Press and Anderbo. I wanted to send it to a few more places, and probably will, but some of the others I was looking at don't accept on-line submissions.

I'll keep everyone posted.

AMAZINGLY TRUE Educational Fact

2009-01-06T06:50:00.005-06:00

There is a word that rhymes with orange, but its meaning is so filthy that Penn Gillete reflexively yanks the head from his 12-inch, fully articulated Lenny Bruce action figure every time he hears it.

Amazingly true.

-from the Journal of Amazingly True Educational Facts

I Got the Gift of Music

2009-01-04T13:57:00.006-06:00

I got a couple of iTunes gift cards for Christmas. I've kinda sorta fallen in love with cherry-picking favorite songs. They don't have to be great songs, just songs that appeal to me. My number one criterion is they have to be mood-changers. Whatever mood I happen to be in, any one of those songs should be able to take me where it's going emotionally. I had $30 to play with this time, and here's what I've gotten so far:

1. The Weight-The Band
I honestly didn't even know about this song until the last few years, which is surprising considering how much 'oldies' radio my parents listened to as I grew up. As soon as I heard it, though, I knew why it was a classic.

2. The Worst that Could Happen-Brooklyn Bridge
I'm a sucker for songs like this. The guy is mourning his lost love, but glad that she is finding happiness. I'm pretty sure this was Brooklyn Bridge's only hit.

3. Oh Girl-The Chi-Lites
Another 'lost love' song. Nice and melancholy.

4. Fox on the Run (Live)-The Country Gentlemen
This is probably my favorite bluegrass song. If you'll notice, it also has a bit of a melancholy, lost love element. This was taken from a live concert from their tour of Japan.

5. Old Salty Dog Blues-Flatt and Scruggs
I first heard this bluegrass tune at my Aunt Sue's birthday party more than a decade ago. I loved it instantly, but never put forth the effort to track down a copy. The situtation has been rectified.

6. Sweet Child o' Mine-Guns 'N' Roses
Contrary to what Rex Queems might think, this song has one of the best opening riffs in rock music.

7. Don't Pull Your Love-Hamilton, Joe Frank, and Reynolds
Another one hit wonder, another 'lost love' song. I also really enjoy the harmony in the chorus. This one is very fun to sing along with.

8. With a Little Help From My Friends-Joe Cocker
There are not many Beatles covers that surpass the original, but Joe Cocker does it easily with this one.

9. The Letter-Joe Cocker
Hear me now: This is the definitive version of this song. Don't get me wrong; I liked The Box Tops' version. It's remembered for a good reason. However, Cocker's cover from Mad Dogs and Englishmen is powerful and dynamic in a way that The Box Tops can't approach.

10. Take Me Home Country Roads-John Denver
I'm from the WV, man! How can I not love this song?! Don't give me that "the song's really about Virginia 'cause the 'blue ridge mountains, shenandoah river' line." Almost Heaven, West Virginia.

11. Ave Verum Corpus-London Festival Orchestra
We did this in my 'Wayne Singers' class back in high school. Great harmony and beautiful in a way I don't have the musical vocabulary to describe

12. Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)-Looking Glass
A pure fun song. Great for singing at the top of your lungs in the car.

13. Mr. Bojangles-Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Probably one of the saddest songs I know. A true, tragic, story about a popular culture icon from the early 20th Century. NOTE: Thos ain't true. See comments

14. Sea of Love-Phil Phillips
I vacillated over whether I'd buy this version or The Honeydrippers' version, but I went with the original. I'm glad I did. Both are good, but I just like Phillips vocals more than Robert Plant's.

15. Handle With Care-The Traveling Wilburys
It was a shame Roy Orbison passed away so soon after The Traveling Wilburys recorded their first album. I would have loved to hear more from this most super of super groups.

16. Buddy Holly-Weezer
A '90s classic. One of the most fun songs Weezer ever recorded, though I can't say that I followed their career. Not a huge fan, but I appreciated what they did.

That leaves me with $14.39 to play with. I'm open to suggestions, but my list is going to be very idiosyncratic. Don't be offended if I don't pick songs you like!

One Clean Slate with a Heaping Tablespoon of Uncertainty

2009-01-01T07:27:00.004-06:00

Clean slate, folks. We have a new year to muck around in. I usually don't make a big deal about the new year (after all, it is technically just another day), but I feel a bit different today. There's something about having a specific goal for the year that changes my perspective. I know I have a lot of work to do for the MFA applications, and I know it has to be good work. I can't work on my writing sample with, say, the same forethought and effort I give to these blog posts. Nor can I let the MFA requirements slip for a month or ten. Procrastination is not an option this year. With the the number of application fees I'll have to pay, I can't afford to wait and do them all at once.

Then there's the GRE. My general impression is that the GRE doesn't matter much for the MFA programs themselves, but the grad schools in general require them. So I'll need to study for that. The GRE has double the pressure, though, because I have to beat my brother's score, and he hasn't left me much wiggle room. Right bro? Seriously, this test is a big deal. There's at least the possibility that my score could be a tie-breaker between me and an equally qualified candidate.

The more I think about it, the more I feel like a high school senior applying to some top colleges. When I applied to college I had no doubt I would get in to my schools of choice. Marshall University and Tri-State Bible College are fairly non-competetive. I was even confident about getting in here at the seminary. Covenant is a good school, but it's not primarily a scholar's seminary. Now, on the other hand, I'm applying to schools that are among the best in the field. That means I'll be up against the best writing students in the nation. If it was just a standardized test, I wouldn't worry about it so much, but writing is more subjective. Add to that the fact that I don't have a good sense of what quality of work I can do consistently, and my consternation increases.

So hopefully in the next few months I can crank out a couple of perfect 10 stories, which will then lead to me getting into every program I apply to. Then I can stroll onto campus as a superstar, and writing success will inevitably follow. That's how it works, right?

2008=Set Up, 2009=Rising Action

2008-12-31T14:01:00.005-06:00

2008 is gasping, wheezing as he stumbles toward his rest. The earth has been turned, his grave awaits. That is to say, the year's up. Pencil's down, class. So, to continue with the test image, did we pass or fail? I think 2008 will go down as a year in which I really acheived something. That's right, in 2008 I blogged more than I have in any previous year. This makes post 62, whereas my previous high was 59. High fives all around.

Seriously, 2008 has been a fairly productive year for me. In 2008 I decided to pursue an MFA in creative writing. In 2008 Mary Ann and I conceived child #4. I had a decent academic year in 2008. On the other hand, I haven't done tons of writing this past year. That's a big problem, but I'll remedy that as early as possible in 2009, though. On the positive side of the writing ledger, I had positive responses to almost everyone I let read "Keep Thinking, Keep Moving".

Writing will play an increasingly large role in 2009. I've got to prepare for MFA applications, so I have to have a good writing sample, and I also want to get involved with some local writers in St. Louis to get some more good feedback. And heck, I'd like to get published a time or two as well. We'll see how that goes.

The MFA application process is the thing that looms largest on my horizon right now, though. I need to get the aforementioned writing sample shaped up, take the GRE, scare up some references, save up the cash for application fees, etc., etc . . .

Fortunately, I have a pretty good list of schools picked out. They are, in no particular order:

1. UT-Austin
2. Syracuse
3. Purdue
4. Indiana
5. Notre Dame
6. Alabama
7. UNC-Greensboro
8. Ohio State
9. Florida
10. Penn State
11. Wisconsin
12. Minnesota
13. Illinois
14. Iowa

I still have some research to do on some of those schools, and others of them I know I am unlikely to accept because they're the best. But I'm going to take a shot. As the list changes over the course of 2009, and as I get my applications sent off, I'll keep everyone posted.

Calling Brent Bourgeois . . .

2008-12-19T13:40:00.004-06:00

Bourgeois Tagg. Obscure '80s band. Remember them? They had a couple of top 40 hits and then vanished, like a lot of pop groups. The thing is, they had this one song that has been stuck in my head for more than 20 years. It was called "I Don't Mind at All" and it had this melancholy, string quartet feel to it. Now, in this age of iTunes you'd think I'd be able to find a digital copy and download it quick as you please, but such is not the case.

Perhaps if Bourgeois Tagg had continued their rise, their entire catalogue would be available. Sadly, they did not. The 'Bourgeois' part of the duo developed a nasty drug habit, and things began to fall apart. The happy part of the story is that Brent Bourgeois kicked the habit when he became a Christian. Bourgeois Tagg finally broke up in the aftermath because Brent's lyrics were increasingly Christian (at least that's my understanding), so they faded into the '80s history.

So here's my plea to Mr. Brent Bourgeois: I want to download "I Don't Mind at All." Legally. Help me remember that I was just as melancholy before I was 10 as I am now. Put it on iTunes!

The Contest is Dead, Long Live the Contest

2008-12-06T13:09:00.005-06:00

So the big news of the week is that the Missouri Writers Guild Flash Fiction Contest has officially ended. The winners have been announced, and I am not among them. No cash prize, no honorable mention. I'm definitely disappointed, but I'm not heartsick about it. I was more disappointed, I think, before I remembered that I sent the unedited version of the story to the contest. There were a lot of typographical errors, plus some slightly confusing language at the end of the story. I guess that's why I was initially only hoping for an 'honorable mention' in the contest.

The aggravating thing about it, though, is that the story wasn't the best it could have been. I'll never know how the story would have done if I had polished it more, tightened it up a bit. That's the price I pay for waiting until the night of the deadline to do the bulk of the writing, though. My fault.

On the other hand, I'm happy that the thing's over. I can move on a bit more now. I have other stories I can work on, and the contest had left me hamstrung. Since it was my first real contest, I was too concerned with waiting on the results to move on. That's a good lesson for me, I think. I've got to keep plugging away and not worry about contests, or whether some magazine will accept my stuff for publication. I think I felt this way because it was my first real contest. Losing will be beneficial, though, because it will help me approach the rest of my writing with a greater eye toward detail.

The blow is also softened by the fact that I know I wrote a good story, so there's none of that "My writing is just crap and that's why I lost" attitude. I've had good feedback on the story from all quarters, both from people who have a vested interest in me and those who don't know me from Adam.

I guess my next 'contest' needs to be developing a portfolio of good work that I can send to MFA programs. I've got less than a year to develop 20-30 pages of butt-kickin' lit. It's kind of scary. 20-30 pages doesn't seem like it should be that daunting, but it is because I haven't done it before. I don't have 20-30 pages worth of completed material. I can't let that bother me, though.

I must, as the French say, "Keep on truckin'."

Under the Gun

2008-12-04T01:52:00.001-06:00

Test tomorrow. Big assignments due.

Yeah. My time of the semester.

Woof woof.

WORD FACT!

2008-11-27T01:27:00.001-06:00

The plural of 'enema' is 'enemata.'

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Sometimes Life is Like . . .

2008-11-27T00:51:00.003-06:00

. . . spilling a glass of ice water and then cleaning it up and then trying to use the glass again but finding out that the ice you put back in the cup has hair and sand on it.

Desperately Seeking Laughter

2008-11-22T23:44:00.007-06:00

I like to think I don't watch much TV, but that's not true. I watch plenty of TV. I watch cartoons with my boys. I watch CBS Sunday Morning every week. I eagerly anticipate Antiques Road Show every week. I also like The History Detectives, and I watch football.

Here's the thing: I like to laugh. Not surprising, I guess; a lot of people like to laugh. I ask you, though, what is there to laugh at on television? None of the aforementioned programs are comedies. I've watched episodes of How I Met Your Mother. I've seen Chuck. I'm half watching SNL right now. They don't get it done. I'm not saying these shows are unfunny, but I don't crack up when I watch them. I chuckle regularly, but I never get that good, cathartic belly laugh I'm looking for. I've resorted to perusing YouTube for Mystery Science Theater 3000 clips.

That's why I would like to, publicly and in writing, thank Tina Fey. Thank you Tina Fey, for 30 Rock. Yes, I'm aware that the show has been around for a few years now, but until recently I had never seen an episode. I try to avoid being trendy, you see, and if a show gets popular I usually avoid it. This had been the case with 30 Rock until my wife recently started watching it. Since she was watching (and enjoying) the third season, she wanted to see the earlier seasons. We have Blockbuster Online, so we got the first disc. We made short work of it, and traded it in at Blockbuster for Season 1 Disc 2. That was earlier tonight, and we've watched over half of the episodes on that disc.

So thank you Tina Fey. 30 Rock is the only show on TV right now that keeps me laughing. The concept is good, the writing is absurdly hilarious, and the cast is spectacular. I haven't been pleasantly surprised about a TV show in a long time, but 30 Rock has done it. They consistently hit the mark. Keep up the good work, folks. Thanks for lightening my heart.

Dental Adventures in Theological Perspective

2008-11-17T12:07:00.007-06:00

NOTE: At the behest of the masses, I post again. I'm not sure why youse guys are putting so much pressure on me lately since I've had much longer posting gaps before, but I'm caving. You only have yourselves to blame.

*****************************

As some of you may already know, our oldest son Max has been shedding teeth like a shark. By the time one tooth comes out another one or two start getting wiggly. He lost another one last night, but . . . well, let's just say the tooth fairy got one a little earlier than she expected.

I was sitting at the computer sorting through our Blockbuster Online queue when I heard a big thud. No big deal. I've heard thuds before. Only after this thud Max started crying. Nearly any cry merits parental attention, but this one was different. There was a decidedly hysterical sound to this cry, and not in the humorous sense. This wasn't a bonk on the head or a banged shin. This was real pain.

I shot up from my chair and hurried to Max processing an amazing number of potential problems in the seven feet from the computer desk to the ottoman where my son lay. Broken arm/hand/finger(s)? His arm was positioned awkwardly, but it didn't look broken. And as I said before, the cry was too powerful for a simple head bonk. I didn't see a pool of blood, no evidence of puncture wounds . . . what was it? Then I picked Max up and looked him in the face.

"Oh gosh, buddy!!"

Yes, my exclamation at the sight of my son's bloodied mouth was really that G-rated, but 'unprofane' as it was, it was also that unhelpful. My boy needed calm, and I was not providing it. He stood there crying, and I could see the blood in his mouth. Finally my eyes fixed on the gap where his incisor used to be. It was a baby tooth, thankfully, and it was already getting loose before Max's face-first collision with the armchair, but it was far from being ready to come out. I got him to the bathroom, Mary Ann brought a wet wash cloth, and we got him settled in.

Max was still freaking out a bit at this point, which was understandable. Mary Ann continued to try and stem the bleeding, so I went out to get a cup of saltwater. I can still remember that when I lost one of my teeth when I was a kid my Dad sent me out to the front porch with a cup of saltwater in hand. The instructions were to swish, spit, and repeat. So I did what my Dad did.

I went into the bathroom and handed Max the cup of water. The biggest struggle at that point was keeping him from 1)freaking out over how bloody his spit was in the sink, and 2)freaking himself out even more by looking at himself in the mirror.

Soon the cup of saltwater was gone, we were out of the bathroom and in front of the TV. By the time Aang vanquished Fire Lord Ozai the psychological trauma was, for the most part, over. Max's psychological trauma, that is. Mine is still going. Every time I look at him and see his purpled gums and that raw toothless gap, I'm reminded that I can't always protect my boys.

Max's tooth will grow back, and we'll probably laugh about this story one day. Heck, if he's anything like me Max will milk this story for every laugh, wince, and gasp it's worth. But I'll always remember the heartsick feeling that, even though it happened in a small way this time, life can change irreversibly in a heartbeat.

I must confess I feel foolish, having such a strong reaction to such a small event, but I guess that's because I've lead a pretty easy life to this point. God has been merciful to me and mine. Still, even small traumas can help gain a little perspective.

I can't go through my life expecting every detail to work out, even where my kids are concerned. We were never promised that. God never said, "be faithful to me and you'll raise a quiver full of healthy kids, live comfortably, and die surrounded by loving grandchildren." We get trials like everyone else. In fact, as Christians we have a target on our backs from Satan as well as human enemies of the Gospel. They hated Jesus, and they'll hate us.

So instead of falling into the 'comfort' mindset that is so common for Americans, I want to use last night's drama as a wake up call. Ladies and gents, we are not guaranteed comfort, but we are truly in God's hands. And uncomfortable as that may seem, it's the best place you'll ever be.

A Fraction of a Pinch of a Part of a Hint of a Taste of . . . Writer's Block

2008-11-09T16:02:00.003-06:00

I'm having a tough time with my writing right now. I haven't written much since the middle of October. When I wrote "Keep Thinking, Keep Moving" I did it in one night. It turned out alright, too. I was fairly happy with it and, as I wrote in a previous post, I have gotten a decent response to it. The problem with writing something that quickly is that I start expecting to continue in that fashion. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen. My experience with "Keep Thinking, Keep Moving" was highly atypical in that way.

I think that one reason I'm having trouble with my other stories is that I don't know my characters well enough. I can't write them as naturally as I would like. Their dialogue and reactions to certain situations aren't obvious to me like Stooke's were in "Keep Thinking, Keep Moving."

I was wondering why I knew Stooke so well and am having trouble with other characters. Eventually I realized that 1) Stooke is based on a real person and the story is based on a real incident, therefore 2) I've really been working on that story for about seven years. It was ready. That could be problematic. If a 1000 word story takes seven years I'm not going to be very productive. There is hope, however. Stooke's character, while based on a real person, is not identical to that person. He changed while I was writing the story. I've also written other stories in one large chunk; stories that didn't involve characters I knew before. So that's encouraging.

Another factor that has worked against me lately is the Flash Fiction contest. I'm still waiting on the results, and I've allowed myself to become sort of paralyzed in the mean time. I just need to forget about he contest until the results are released and focus on writing. I think, now that we're nine days into November, I'm ready to do so. Hopefully I'll be able to come on here and report on new stories very soon.

*********************

Happy now, Sam and Aaron? :-)

The Contest Drags ON

2008-10-29T07:53:00.003-05:00

It's thumb-twiddlin' time!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'm still waiting. The Missouri Writer's Guild Hottest Flash Fiction Contest is due to be decided in the next couple of days. The deadline for the judges to decide is the end of October, we're just about there. Frankly, I'm having trouble being patient. I checked the website again this morning and there are still no winners posted. Including today, there are three days left in October. My fear is that the 31st will come and go with no announcement, and then I'll probably go nuts. Once October passes there is no longer a deadline to wait for. There is just (seemingly) interminable waiting.

Still, the news on the writing front is not all frustrating. I got two more reviews on the Zoetrope website for "Keep Thinking, Keep Moving." Both were positive, and my rating for "efficiency of language" has been brought up to the 'very good' level. If I can get one more review in I will be eligible for "top rated stories" in october. I wonder if I'll have to get that fifth review before October ends, or will it not matter because I posted it in October?

Either way, it's encouragement to keep writing.

Not My Second to Last Sermon

2008-10-29T07:42:00.003-05:00

I posted when I preached the second to last sermon of my seminary career, so I guess I should post after preaching my last. Yesterday I spoke on the topic of 'the ache.' The goal of the message was to affirm that intuition that there is something wrong with the world we live in. The world is broken, and though many people have recognized this I wanted to use that intuition to point them toward Christ.

It was an 'apologetic' sermon. I tried to avoid using Christian lingo in it, and I think I did alright on that front. It was a fun sermon to write because I was able to work in literary and pop culture references and was not overly bound by the structure of the sermon. I may post a revised version of the sermon on here sometime, but we'll have to see.

Right now, I just want to celebrate that this part of seminary is coming to a close. I've fulfilled my preaching requirement, and I'm one step closer to graduation and an MFA program. Now all I have to do finish seminary, take the GRE, and write a story or three that's good enough for a high quality MFA program to let me in.

No problem, right....?

A Fraction of a Pinch of a Part of a Hint of a Taste of Writerly Success

2008-10-20T07:49:00.007-05:00

No word on the contest yet, but I've still had quite an eventful weekend. As previously stated, I wrote a piece of flash fiction five days ago, which I called "Keep Thinking, Keep Moving." I was happy with it, so I started showing it around. I felt a bit nervous, but if you're going to write you've got to put yourself out there, so I went for it. Or at least I eased into it.

First I showed the story to Mary Ann. She liked the story a lot and had a recommendation or two for its improvement. She also pointed out a few editorial errors. Her remarks were encouraging, so I decided to show the story to some more people. Since he had said he would like to read it I sent it to S.D. Smith next. He reacted quite positively as well, with some recommendations for improvement. Some of his suggestions were the same as Mary Ann's so I changed those.

My next step was to send the story to two more tough critics: My mom and my friend Randy Maynard. My Mom does her best to look at my writing objectively. I get the impression it's difficult, but she strives for it. She was also impressed with the story. Downright effusive, even! She thinks I should win the contest. Thanks Mom!

This was the first time I'd sent a story to Randy. If you know Randy, you know the man is a connoisseur of the short story. If I remember correctly he owns a copy of every volume of Best American Short Stories. If he doesn't have them all he's close. Anyway, Randy knows stories. I was nervous once again, but I was thrilled when I got his e-mail response. He paid me one of the best writing compliments I've ever gotten: He's ready to read more of my stuff. That means a lot to me. Thanks, Randy!

I realized, though, that I couldn't just send my stories around to friends and family. I only have so many, you see, and I'll need more people to buy my books than that. I'm fully expecting to make a fortune writing, you see. That being the case, I needed an unbiased audience. This gave me the chance to actually use my account at the Zoetrope Virtual Studios. I've had my account for a long time, but I hadn't posted anything until last week. I put Keep Thinking, Keep Moving up and waited. No one has to review your story there, after all. It could come and go with no activity. Then your just outta luck.

I think about a day and a half passed after I posted the story before the first review came up. I was thrilled, but at Zoetrope, even though they let you post your first story immediately, you have to post reviews for five other stories before you can read what another reviewer says about your story. Consequently, I spent a chunk of time reviewing this weekend. It was flash fiction, though, so the stories weren't long.

I finished my five reviews and then read the review of my story. Now, there are two parts to a Zoetrope review: written and numerical. The reviewer rated "Keep Thinking, Keep Moving" as 'Very Good,' which means she gave it either a 7 or 8 out of 10. In her written review my reviewer said that the story was touching to her because of the issues about aging it dealt with. She had some sound recommendations, which I will consider for the second draft of the story.

Late last night I checked again, and another review had appeared! This reviewer had also rated me very good. In fact, the average of my two reviews gives me all 'very goods' except for one category, 'efficiency of language.' I think that's probably the most common knock on my stories so far. Too much detail. This reviewer, a physicist, suggested that I could reduce the size of my story by 'about 20%' and it would pack a better punch. Both reviewers thought I should get to the action sooner.

Still, the response was overwhelmingly positive! I feel a bit like a director celebrating the goodreviews of his play to come out the morning after opening night. Then again, I wonder if my happiness a bit out of proportion--like the director in The Goodbye Girl who exults because his mother half-heartedly said she liked his play.

Hopefully I can repeat these results on a larger scale with my next story. The truth is, though, I've got to forget about the events of this weekend. I'll revise the story, to be sure, but when I move on to the next one I can't worry about 'reviews.' I've just got to keep on telling stories the way I want. The results belong to God.

"Keep Thinking, Keep Moving": The Morning After

2008-10-16T08:01:00.002-05:00

Last night I said I would reread my flash fiction story "Keep Thinking, Keep Moving," and post some thoughts about it. I did reread the story, and for the most part I actually liked it. I thought it started well and ended well. There are some phrases that I would change now, but that ship has sailed as far as the contest goes.

Problem is, though, I made some dumb editing mistakes. There were a couple of places where I left out a definite article where one was needed, and another where I left in a superfluous 'and.' I think each error stemmed from a time when I altered a sentence. The thing is, I still think the story is good, but the editing mistakes probably make me a dead duck. I'm still going to cross my fingers and hope for the best though.

The Writer Sticks His Neck Out

2008-10-16T00:20:00.003-05:00

I done did it. I entered me a contest. The Missouri Writer's Guild Hottest Flash Fiction Contest (TMWGHFFC) ended at midnight this morning, and I just got in under the gun. I think. I mean, I'm pretty sure, but I haven't gotten an e-mail confirmation or anything. Honestly, I'll be surprised if I win anything because I wrote the story over the last two days, but who knows? Maybe I'll win. I'm hoping for at least an 'honorable mention.' They'll post the winners in a few days, I think, so I'll keep you posted.

The story is called "Keep Thinking, Keep Moving" by the way. It's about a college professor who just retired and his prospects for life in the future. All under 1000 words! I'm ready to call it a masterpiece, but it's past midnight and I need sleepy. So 'masterpiece' is probably excessive.

One thing I'm interested to hear is how people perceive work I did in a 'flash.' As I stated in a post this summer, I think the some of the criticisms I received for my work at the Trinity Arts Conference were due to overwriting. I kept going back and adding more detail. It bogged my story down. That certainly didn't happen with "Keep Thinking, Keep Moving." There wasn't time. I think I might try to read it tomorrow morning and post my opinion of it once I have a little distance from it.

Regret: Haiku for The Barefooted

2008-10-13T14:07:00.007-05:00

Things my feet have felt:

The honeybee sting, dog scat

And a ruptured slug

I Said, "Hey--What's Goin' On?"

2008-10-09T08:50:00.004-05:00

I know I haven't posted much for the last few days, but I have a few kicking around in my head. I'll get to them as soon as I can, but midterms are at the gates. I suppose the singular 'midterm' would be more appropriate since I only have one, but I have a lot of studying to do for that class.

Since I've read The Final Solution now, I would like to subject it to a little review. That's project one. I've also read several of Breece Pancake's stories and would like to write on them one at a time. A third project I've considered since the recent Nobel Prize flap is a comparison between the Nobel Prize Committee and the BCS. Both tend to be elitist and perhaps unnecessarily exclusive, after all. That would take a lot of research, though, and I doubt I'll have the time to do anything meaningful with that.

For now, I'll occupy my time with study and with continued work on my fiction. It would be really nice to actually finish something. Even if whatever I send out doesn't get published or win a contest, I think just putting it in the mail would lead to some sort of satisfaction.

The Second to Last Sermon

2008-09-30T22:40:00.004-05:00

Today was a monumental day . . . sort of. I preached a sermon today in my Advanced Homiletics class, and I realized it's the second to last sermon I will preach in my seminary career. It feels good. I also felt good while I was preaching, which is unusual for me. I got a number of compliments on the sermon and on my delivery. One guy in the class actually said I was a 'natural.' He wasn't marveling at my abilities or anything, but it was a much appreciated compliment. The whole thing seemed odd at first, but I realized that I was comfortable preaching today because I'm not going to be a preacher. The pressure is off, as they say.

But should that make a difference? If my nerve problems were a result of a desire to perform, to be better than the other guys who were preaching, then it's certainly a good thing. The scary idea is that maybe I'm not taking the task seriously. Whether I'm going to be a pastor or not, the Word of God is still the Word of God. It's still worth a serious treatment.

My usual posture is to assume the worst about myself. I would naturally assume I'm not taking the Word seriously enough. Against all odds, however, I am confident that my lack of nerves came from a lack of pretense. I didn't want to cast the illusion that I'm going to be the next great preacher (not that anyone thought that).

I'm going to preach once more this semester, and I hope that I can have a similar experience. But even if I don't, the Holy Spirit is powerful, and He determines the effect of the Word preached. That, I think, is the key to preaching.

The Agony of Defeat

2008-09-29T08:47:00.002-05:00

Those of you who follow Marshall sports will know that this weekend's high hopes were dashed. Marshall played a miserable game, WVU got some offense going, and that was that. 27-3, WVU.

That is all.

Big Game Day

2008-09-27T09:18:00.002-05:00

I am a football fan. I haven't watched as many games since I've been in St. Louis since we don't have cable, but I've picked up the pace this year. One reason I haven't watched as much football is that I'm more of a college fan and they don't show quite as many college games as the did back in West Virginia. This year, though, I've had to find a way to get it done. I need football, dangit!

I especially need football this weekend because my beloved Marshall is playing WVU. "The Friend of Coal Bowl" it's called, and it has been dominated by WVU. Of course, WVU has had some excellent teams in the last few years, but this year has been down for them. I don't know if it's the departure of Rich Rodriguez or something else entirely, but WVU has gone 1-2 thus far. Marshall, on the other hand is 3-1. Maybe WVU has played tougher teams, but they haven't been impressive in their losses. This means that maybe, just maybe, this weekend might be Marshall's first ever victory against WVU! It will be a tough game, but it can be done.

"But," you say, "surely they aren't showing Marshall vs. WVU on network TV in St. Louis! After all, Josh, you don't have cable!"

You're right on both counts. However, God created ESPN360 for just such an occasion. At 2:30 Central I will be watching the state of West Virginia's two 1-A programs go toe to toe. And if things play out just right, the green and white will come out on top.

Bring on the Herd!!

What's Your Palin Name?

2008-09-23T00:18:00.005-05:00

I just saw this at Sam Smith's blog. Follow this link to find out what your name would be if you were Sarah Palin's child. This is what my name would be:

Recoil Zoo Palin

Yes.

Birthday Haul!!

2008-09-22T23:15:00.005-05:00

I'm tellin' ya, folks. For all my whinging about my 30th birthday, it turned out to be pretty cool. As I wrote previously, I was pulled up from the doldrums by my wife and sons, but my birthday weekend continued on a good note afterward. Saturday morning my parents showed up and we had a nice little celebration. The boys all had presents and I got $100 tucked into a two pack of Red Bull. Very nice. Not only that, but my in-laws sent me $30, as did Mary Ann's aunt Barbara. So what does a guy like me get with $160? Books, my friends. All books. I shall now list what I got in my haul.

The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake- Some of you are probably familiar with this tragic story. Pancake was a West Virginia native. He grew up in Milton, in fact, which was very close to where I grew up. I've been to Milton on numerous occasions. He was widely acclaimed and looked to be on the road to literary stardom, but in 1979 he apparently committed suicide. Some believe the gunshot wound was accidental, but it was officially ruled a suicide. After his death, Kurt Vonnegut wrote this in a letter to John Casey: "I give you my word of honor that he is merely the best writer, the most sincere writer I've ever read. What I suspect is that it hurt too much, was no fun at all to be that good. You and I will never know." I'm looking forward to digging into his stories.

Town Smokes: Stories by Pinckney Benedict-Benedict is another West Virginia-born author. I've read a couple of his stories in All-Story and Image and I came away quite impressed. I'm looking forward to Town Smokes a lot.

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra-I picked this up because 1) you can get the classics cheap at Borders and 2) it's on the list of novels in The Well-Educated Mind. Most people consider it the first novel ever written.

The Final Solution: A Story of Detection by Michael Chabon-I have become an bona fide Chabon fan. I've read Wonder Boys, The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, and The Yiddish Policeman's Union, and all three were quite good. I'm trying to work through the rest of his stuff now.

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut-I'm a big Kurt Vonnegut fan, but I hadn't gotten to this book yet. It's considered one of his best, so it's probably about time.

Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold-I bought this one on the recommendation of a friend, so it better be good. I'm looking at you, Rob Taylor.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain-I read this book years ago, but I just didn't like it. I'm not sure why, but I think I've matured as a reader since then. It's time for me to give Huck another shot.

How Fiction Works by James Wood-The New Yorker critic has written about his understanding of the nature of fiction. I've enjoyed reading his work in the past, so when I heard this book was coming out I knew I was going to buy it. So I did.

That's all I've gotten so far. I still have a about $45 left, so I'll probably end up getting the Reader's Hebrew Bible off of Amazon. I should have some left over still, but I'm not sure what I'll get. I'll keep you posted. In the mean time, look at my book pile in awe.

At 30

2008-09-19T21:54:00.005-05:00

Last night, on the eve of my 30th birthday, I watched a dozen people try to squeeze through holes in moveable walls. It's a game show. They call it Hole in the Wall. It's based on a Japanese game show called Brain Wall. I'd seen clips of Brain Wall before--on Conan O'Brien I think--and I was hopeful. It was silly, and there's just something inherently hilarious about Japanese game shows. Unfortunately, as Brain Wall traversed the Pacific it was captured by FOX executives and injected with the irradiated blood of Jerry Springer. Of the twelve contestants I saw, three were extraordinarily effeminate waiters, three were "little people," and three were female bodybuilders. The bodybuilders were voiced by Harvey Fierstein. All wore tight, metallic silver jumpsuits.

Then at midnight I turned 30. I must say I started my birthday in a bit of a 'mood.' I thought about the hour I spent watching body-builders wriggle through yellow styrofoam, and it felt like a microcosm of my life. Seriously. I had hurled an hour into oblivion. It was dead. I sacrificed it in the name of distraction. I sacrifice a lot in the name of distraction.

When I awoke this morning, I didn't feel any better. All I could think about is what I haven't done. I haven't been able to provide a stable living for my family. I'm unpublished. I don't even have a complete short story I can be proud of. I end sentences with prepositions. So I moped. I moped while I drank coffee. I moped through my oatmeal. I moped as I went to class. Class was good, but I got my mope back on the way home.

I entered the apartment building and then . . . MAGIC. Mary Ann had gotten the boys to make birthday cards for me. Leo had made some scribbles on one side of the card and signed the other. Mary Ann had traced Finn's hand on one card, and the last card, Max's card, had a picture of me driving a giant 'drill tank.' Max had drawn it himself. He had also written me a happy birthday message. Mope melted away as I was reminded of my family's love for me.

Ladies and gentlemen, when I come through the door of my apartment my three boys run to meet me. They run and shout, "DADDY!" Even Finn, who just turned one. My wife worked hard to make my birthday good today. I am thrilled to have the family I have.

I may not be a published author, and I may not have as much money as I think we need, but I won't surrender to self-pity. I'm know I'll keep distracting myself. There may be, heaven forbid, another 300 lb., silver jump-suited waiter in my future. But the love that lives in this apartment will remind me that I have am not a failure. At 30, I am a man blessed by God.

Ending the Bender

2008-09-17T15:12:00.003-05:00

Mary Ann and I have been bingeing on Heroes for the last few weeks. As fans of the show realize, the third season of Heroes begins this Monday, so we needed to play catch-up. Let me explain: I'm a contrary sort of guy. If a TV show gets popular I do my best to avoid it. There's something satisfying in the look of bewilderment on a Lost fan's face when I tell them I don't watch the show. The same goes for 24, though I'm not sure that one has as big a following as it once did. Up until a couple of weeks ago Heroes fell into the same category. Fortunately for Milo Ventimiglia, I recently regained an interest in comic books, which lead to a softening of the heart when it comes to shows involving super heroes. We were picking up some $.99 movies at Blockbuster, so I grabbed season one, disc one. We got hooked.

Two weeks have passed, and it's all over. We have seen seasons one and two, often watching two or three episodes in a night. Most of the time we would start at 10:00 PM and continue until about 1 AM. This hasn't been great for our ability to think clearly during working hours which, I'm certain, has contributed to my anemic post-count in September. I can't seem to write anything good these days.

This will seem a bit over the top, but I feel a bit like I've gone on a bender and am just now sobering up. My head is clearing up, and soon I'll be able to write . . . for my classes. That's frustrating. I haven't kept up with my reading very well this semester. It's been hard because I am heading in a different direction now. It's not that I don't want to learn the stuff being taught--it's the Bible after all--but I need to be writing so I can have something good ready for an MFA program. And I need to prepare for the GRE. But hey, at least I remember what I need to do now. That's the first step in recovery.

A Brief Exchange

2008-08-28T16:31:00.002-05:00

Max: "Why was Jesus as bright as the sun?"

Me: "Because he had the glory of God all around him."

Max: "Eyebrows are made of hair."

The End.

Vintage Furniture and Oddities: The Sketches

2008-08-25T00:20:00.010-05:00

I got the go ahead from 'Rex' so I'm going to post the sketches he's worked up for Vintage Furniture and Oddities. It's good stuff, too. He captures something about the characters so that, even when they diverge from my mental picture of the character, they work perfectly.

As you can see, the above picture features both Dale Stain and Esther Mayo. Dale will play a large role in the story, but he is not one of the main characters. He works with Esther, Lucy, Sam the Rook and others in order to prevent the villain, Big Box, from achieving his goals.

The second picture is Esther Mayo, the character through whom the action is perceived, at least in the regular prose version. Esther is a bit aimless, but she basically wants to do right by people. She gets dragged into the conflict of the story through now machinations of her own.

This handsome gentleman is Malcolm Gamble. Gamble has yet to appear in portions of the story I've written, but he will play a big role. He is an appraiser of fine furniture, but that means a bit more in the Vintage Furniture and Oddities than it does in our world.

The last picture 'Rex' has sent me is of my favorite character in the whole story.

Sam the Rook is a pretty cool character and 'Rex' captured him well in the drawing. He's leaving the Vintage Furniture and Oddities store, looking alert and ready to throw himself into any challenge that comes his way. That's Sam.

So you can see why I get excited when 'Rex' sends his sketches. They're a pleasure to look at.

Me and Rex: Graphic Novel Ahoy!

2008-08-23T00:24:00.004-05:00

As you may have seen in the comments of my "Are Comic Books Subversive 'By Nature?'" post, Rex Queems (the Phony) and I are working on a graphic novel together. This 'Queems' fella is actually one of my brothers. I'll leave his actual name a mysterious SECRET. Anyway, this brother of mine took a liking to my short Vintage Furniture and Oddities pieces and wanted to work up a graphic novel for it. I liked the idea, so we've been talking long distance (St. Louis to Athens, OH) about it. The concepts have shifted a bit since the early stages, especially since I only had half of an idea as to where I was taking the story.

Lately 'Rex' has been sending me some pictures of the characters I wrote into the story, and one who hasn't shown up yet. I don't want to post the pictures just yet because I want to have a better idea of what direction we're going to take the story. Plus I haven't asked 'Rex' if it was alright with him. Let me assure you, his art is infinitely better than mine. His characters have a cartoonish quality, but also a depth that keeps them from looking a cheap Saturday morning cartoon. It's exciting to see the pictures because I can get a richer concept of what the characters are like. Good stuff.

Alright, Rex?

Get the Fountain Flowing

2008-08-22T16:20:00.003-05:00

I'm tellin' ya, it's been a frustrating few weeks. As you can see, I posted nothing on this blog between August 8 and August 22. What you might not know is that I wrote just about nothing during that time frame. No blog posts. No short stories. No comic book plotting. I haven't even written a grocery list, but that's usually Mary Ann's domain anyway.

My life was full of work (15-20 hours/week), class (10-12.5 hours/week), church work (a couple o' three hours/week), and family (all the rest of the hours/week). Add to this the fact that Mary Ann uses the laptop for her job and that reduced the hours even further. The thing is, I want to be a writer. I'm planning on pursuing an MFA after seminary. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that means I need to have some decent stuff written before I apply. I would do all these things all day and then after the kids went to bed I could barely stay awake, much less sit in front of a laptop and write. Classes ended last week, but then I had gotten so far out of the writing 'groove' that for the first few days all I could do was stare at the screen, give up, and play Text Twirl on Facebook. Not good.

I am pleased to report, however, that as of last night I'm back on the right track. I took a baby step with some writing on The Familiar Game (nee The Brown Sisters) and today I continued on that story as well as doing some more detailed plotting for the first issue of My Zombie Wife Wants Me Dead. Not only that, but I had yet another concept for a comic. Right now I'm calling it The Seven Functions of Robot M, but that title could change. It's fun because I never thought I'd write a book, comic or otherwise, which involved robots. And this book has a LOT of robots. I'll tell you more about that later.

So the fountain is flowing once again at the Duncan house. The Fall semester starts next Thursday, so hopefully I can get some solid hours in before the time comes for me to focus more on academics. Time is ticking away, and I've got a lot of writing to do!

Are Comic Books Subversive "By Nature?"

2008-08-22T00:38:00.003-05:00

I've been on a comic book kick lately. No, I haven't been snapping them up left and right. In fact, the last one I bought for myself was Cerebus 300 in 2004, and that was for nostalgia's sake. I have no idea what the last one I purchased before that was. A Madman maybe? I must've bought it before I got married in 2000, so it's been a while. No, the kick I've been on has to do with following the conversation around comic books. I've really been enjoying going to websites like iFanboy, Newsarama, and Comic Book Resources just to see what's new and what's been going on with some of my old faves. Frankly, I like knowing what's going on without having to buy a bunch of comics.

Lately the most interesting talk has been surrounding writer Robert Kirkman's manifesto encouraging creators to work on books they own and not for Marvel and DC. It's generated a lot of conversation, and yesterday Ron Richards--one of the iFanboy guys--weighed in. Ron seems to be a laid back guy. I like listening to the iFanboy podcast in part because of Ron's personality, so I hate to risk offending him by nit-picking about his post ('cause, y'know, he probably reads my blog all the time). But, nit-pick I must.

In his post Ron rejects Robert Kirkman's idea that Marvel and DC should focus on attracting younger readers in part because "comics are a subversive medium by nature and we should continue to embrace that." That's quite a statement to make. Comics certainly can be subversive, as in the works of Robert Crumb, but are they subversive by nature? Let's not forget that Archie is a comic book. So was Little Lulu. And Casper and Richie Rich and Donald Duck. Not only that, but if comics are subversive by nature, then the Franklin Richards comics Ron has been enjoying are by nature not comic books because as far as I can tell they are not subversive, unless we stretch the definition of 'subversive' to the breaking point.

I think that what Ron could have said is something like, "Comics have always had a subversive element, and we should continue to embrace that." That's a less extravagant claim, and one I agree with. There usually are things in a culture that need subverting and in ours comic books are well suited for that role. This less extravagant claim does not provide strong support for Ron's conclusion, though. Marvel and DC could provide kid-oriented content and still be producing comic books that are by nature comic books.

There's a lesson in all this, boys and girls: be careful what you say on the internet or some goof who's scraping the bottom of the barrel for blog posts will overanalyze any and every phrase you turn. Thank you and good night.

Zombie Wife Characters

2008-08-08T16:40:00.006-05:00

Turn your computer upside down to see three of the chief characters in My Zombie Wife Wants Me Dead. I have no idea why this picture ALWAYS loads upside down, because it's not upside down on my computer and none of my other pictures load that way (see below).

Anyway, the upside down man is Burt Flipp, the main character. He runs a video game review website for a living and is a bit aimless otherwise. He's good hearted, though, and he tries hard

to make up for his natural carelessness. He truly loves Becky and wants to keep her happy.

Becky Flipp is the aforementioned Zombie Wife. She doesn't start as a zombie, but she ends up that way pretty quickly. She is a medical assistant to Dr. Andy Perch (see below) when the series begins, but once she comes back as a zombie she has a little trouble at work. She's the more driven and perfectionistic of the pair, and her perfectionism leads her to continually put off her revenge against Burt (who she blames for her death). Until then, she sticks around to make sure he doesn't make a mess of the home that she strove so hard to maintain while she was alive. Like many wives, she alternates between loving her husband deeply and wanting to kill him.

The little monster guy is named Mossy, and I'll leave him a bit of mystery at this point.

This character will show up in issue two or so. This is the Mighty Fyodor, Gentleman Zombie Hunter. He starts out as an adversary but eventually makes himself comfortable in the Flipp household.

These are some of the background characters from Zombie Wife. Shelly is Burt's mom. I'm not sure how much of a role she'll have past the first issue. Dr. Andy Perch is Becky's boss before she dies. Once she comes back, who knows?

So that's it for the characters, except for a couple of incidentals I haven't done sheets on yet. Comments?

Odd Crap from Blogger

2008-08-02T17:17:00.005-05:00

I wanted to put my drawings from My Zombie Wife Wants Me Dead here on my blog, but whenever I try to add my picture it turns upside down. I even tried to flip it upside down on my own. No luck. So you'll have to wait to see it. Tra la.

Totally New Project!!

2008-07-27T00:53:00.004-05:00

One truth about me: I'm not happy unless I have too many stories churning in my head. I've got The Brown Sisters (my "serious fiction"), and I have Vintage Furniture and Oddities (my project with my brother), but I needed something else just to do for fun. I kept wondering and wondering, and it came to me in a flash. The title to my next great project. I already have a basic story line, character designs, and material for a few issues (it's probably going to be a webcomic). I also designed a logo for said project:

Oh yes. In case you can't read that it says My Zombie Wife Wants Me Dead! That, my friends, is the sort of title that grabs the attention. I'm pretty excited about this. The comic will be black and white, of course, because I'm not doing a whole issue in colored pencil. I only hope I can do a decent job drawing. I feel pretty good about my character designs, and I'm using a cleaner style of art than my sketches, but I don't know if I'll be able to convey the sort of action I want in the story. I'll have fun trying, though!

I'll try to post some of my character designs soon.

Who Watches the Watchmen . . . Act?

2008-07-25T07:45:00.004-05:00

The first trailer for The Watchmen is out. It looks excellent. Dr. Manhattan is stunning. Max and Leo have been cracking me up because, since they saw the trailer, they have been playing Watchmen.

"I'm Dr. Manhattan," Leo says.

"I'm Rorschach," Max replies.

Then they run around and battle and fight the bad guys. It makes me laugh because their perceptions of what Dr. Manhattan and Rorschach are like are, shall we say, a bit off. I just don't have the heart to tell Max that Rorschach is a mentally unstable far right conspiracy theorist and not a noble hero. I also don't want to tell Leo that if he wants to be Dr. Manhattan he needs to be naked. Because, y'know, he'd probably be fine with that. They'll find all this out anyway when I take them to see the movie next March.

Just kidding. If you've read Watchmen you'll probably remember that it's less than kid-friendly. I do plan on seeing myself, though. The trailer was one of the best parts about going to see PART of The Dark Knight this past weekend.

That's right. PART of The Dark Knight. The story goes like this: A few of us guys who live on campus here at the Seminary got together to go see The Dark Knight Sunday night. We all rode together and had a good time chatting. I was a little disappointed that only a couple of us were old comic book junkies so I couldn't talk comics with them, but we had a good time anyway.

We arrived at the theater later than we had wanted so we couldn't all sit together, but I sat with one of the guys and another found a seat directly behind us. We had been there for about an hour and a half, I think, when it happened. At one moment Harvey Dent's large, dimpled chin was occupying the screen, the next, darkness. The emergency lights came on, and a theater employee told us that the power went out and when it came back on the movie would pick up where it left off. Unfortunately, it was not to be. They never got the power back on. 10:30 rolled around and they bounced us from the theater. We got vouchers for a free movie, of course, but here it is Friday and I've still never seen the end of The Dark Knight. Hopefully I won't have to wait until it comes out on DVD.

Sketches: Faces, etc.

2008-07-14T15:27:00.013-05:00

This batch of drawings represent what I typically draw. I draw faces, often profiles, and I draw monsters. There are other more complex drawings as well, but no other comics. The 'elder' picture is actually much larger than the other pictures, and I think the whole thing would look better if I could figure out how to put a border on these pics, but this will do for now.

Buck-Toothed Monster

Elder

Elegant Woman

Tae Kwon Do Joe

I was trying to use different arm and hand positions here.

So that's all for this round of my sketches. I have plenty more, so check back often. If you want to see scribbly, mediocre drawing, that is.

Sketches: All the Good Dragons

2008-07-14T08:45:00.006-05:00

I promised I would post some of my drawings, so here's the first. It's a cartoon I drew yesterday when I should have been studying. The scanner blurred the upper left corner, but that doesn't affect the cartoon much. Enjoy.

Graphic Novel Fever

2008-07-13T23:10:00.003-05:00

My brother has done something incredibly unfair to me. My life is hard. A few weeks ago he casually mentioned that he thought doing a graphic novel of Vintage Furniture and Oddities would be cool. Since then I had a discussion with Chris Gensheer about our mutual love of comic books. Those two things combined have sparked an virulent strain of Graphic Novel Fever. I've been cruising the internet to find out the news about some of my old faves (Madman, for instance).

Since my brother has expressed interest in drawing the above graphic novel, and since he is a better artist than me, I am happily giving him that opportunity. The problem is, I want to get the ball rolling. And he's entering a doctoral program. Writing big papers. Drinking martinis with the President of Ohio University. One of those sentences might not be true. Anyway, he doesn't have the time to do a lot of drawing right now. That means I got the fevah with no hope of a cure unless I can come up with another cool-as-heck idea. Ugh.

I guess I'll just have to stick to writing "The Brown Sisters" and VFO. Hopefully that will be enough to scratch the creative itch.

By the way, I will be posting some of my drawings on this blog as soon as I can figure out how to work the scanner.

The Critique Arrives

2008-07-07T12:09:00.003-05:00

It's nice when something you've been waiting for finally happens. Ever since June 17--a long time ago, I know--I have been waiting for Ann McCutchan's final critique of the bit of The Brown Sisters (working title) I read at the Trinity Arts Conference. For those who don't know, Ann is a professor in the MA in Creative Writing program at the University of North Texas. She led the workshop in which I read the piece, but there wasn't enough time for a good, thorough critique of the whole chapter.

This morning, however, I get up, make my coffee, and sit at the computer, and what do I find? Ah! The critique! I'm a bit surprised I didn't click on Ann's e-mail with trepidation, but I was just plain excited. She did not disappoint me. Well, I was a bit disappointed that she didn't use the phrase "the next Hemingway" with reference to me, but I'll get over that. What she did was deliver the sort of specific critique I have been longing for.

For instance, I really wanted to know my strengths and weaknesses. While this is difficult to judge from one piece, she wrote that I have a "fine imagination" and that I should trust my ability to "'nail' a character first time out." She referenced a specific character and said that the sort of description I applied to her was a strength of mine.

My chief weakness, she thought, was providing too much small detail. She said I should pare things down, and recommended an exercise to help me with that. She said I should try to take what I wrote in four paragraphs and, without cutting the scene itself down, rewrite the material in two paragraphs using only my strongest descriptors. This is just what I needed! I am looking forward to following her advice.

I definitely agree with her that the story drags a bit because of the detail. I was just talking to Mary Ann about that yesterday as we were traveling back from a family reunion in Indiana. She said she has enjoyed reading "Vintage Furniture and Oddities" (parts one and two) much more than The Brown Sisters, and I think she's onto something there. I've been heavy handed, and I think Ann's recommendations may be just what I need.

On top of all that, she recommended a book to help me. It's called Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, and it sounds like it will be quite helpful. Thanks, Ann!

Meeting With Dr. Calhoun

2008-07-02T13:45:00.003-05:00

I met with one of my professors today. Dr. David Calhoun is the freshly retired professor of Church History at Covenant Seminary, but he is continuing to teach. Last semester I took the elective "Christianity and Imagination" to him, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, the class proved pivotal, helping me to decide what I want to do in the future.

I'm also taking Reformation and Modern Church History to Dr. Calhoun this summer, and I met with him after class today. We'd been planning on that since the end of last semester, but this was the first chance we had to get together. It was a good meeting. His comments on my story were encouraging and his advice for me was helpful. Beyond that, it was just nice to have a conversation with him. He is one of the kindest men you could meet, and he understands what a writer needs to do in order to do good work. I must say, I was a bit embarrassed by showing him some of the story's content. It's not pornographic, nor does it have a Tarantino-like level of language and violence, but there is some cursing and a reference to a sexual situation. Dr. Calhoun is a Flannery O'Connor fan, though, so he understands what it takes to craft a powerful story. You have to deal with the warts of reality in a realistic way.

All in all, a good meeting. He has encouraged me on my way toward pursuing an MFA, and he even said he saw that I had some talent. Hopefully I can continue to develop said talent and write something that is worthwhile for both Christians and non-Christian. He also advised me to continue to go to conferences and make contacts with people in the field. It's nice when you get advised to do exactly what you wanted to do anyway . . .

A 'Creative' Future

2008-06-29T07:45:00.005-05:00

As my faithful readers know, I have been fretting over the future here for a long time. I have bounced between being a pastor and pursuing a PhD, probably in Moral Theology. Well, I think I've come to a decision. Mary Ann and I have been discussing this for the last few days, and I think I'm going to pursue an MFA in creative writing. You'll notice that this is neither the pastoral track nor the PhD track. There are PhD options in creative writing, but most programs just offer the terminal MFA.

How did I come to this decision, you ask? By weighing the options, of course! I looked at PhD work and realized that I could not really get excited about Moral Theology. I had also come to the conclusion that the pastorate was not the place for me a long time ago. Then I took a long look at my writing abilities, and I came to the conclusion that I'm a better "creative writer" than I am a theologian. So the "subjective experience" criterion was definitely in the MFA's favor.

Then I thought about how I feel alive when I'm writing fiction. I feel like I'm doing something worthwhile. Like I'm where I'm supposed to be. It's a spectacular feeling, and one I'm not used to. I realized then that God designed me to write. That's how I'm built. And if I can put in a commercial for Covenant Seminary here, this place has really helped me come to grips with how God made me, and how he can use the arts for his glory. Coming here for the MDiv was worth it, even if I won't be using the degree in the expected way.

To continue the process I had a conversation with Mary Ann a few days back. I was still clinging to the idea that I might use the PhD as my primary goal, but keep the MFA as a side option. During that conversation she helped me realize that practically speaking the PhD was not all that much better than the MFA. Both the PhD and the MFA will open up teaching jobs, the PhD in theology and religious studies, and the MFA in creative writing. Neither field has huge demand, but MFA programs are popping up all over. There is more growth there, I think. Also, if I get the MFA jobs in the book industry open up a bit for me. I could get an editing job more easily than before. Theology doesn't offer a similar non-professorial option. I know there are think-tanks, but there are certainly more publishers than there are think-tanks. So there's that.

I also think I stand a better chance of getting into an MFA program with funding than I do a similarly funded PhD program. As I said before, I'm a better writer than a theologian. The question is, of course, which program? I've started trying to figure that out, but that's a post for another day.

Vintage Furniture and Oddities, Part 2

2008-06-25T01:49:00.011-05:00

Ages and ages ago I posted the first installment of a little thing I called Vintage Furniture and Oddities. I intended to post more, but I never did. Then, earlier today my brother called me. He is a dang fine artist, and since he liked the little story he wanted to see if we could maybe put into a graphic novel, just for fun. That was cool with me, and naturally it made me want to write a bit more. This installment isn't as dynamic as the first. It shows how Esther and Lucy met, and also drops the hint of oncoming conflict.

*************************************

The bell over the door chimed as she entered the store behind Sam. Dust particles floated in the sunbeams that stole through store windows; windows which were mostly obscured by dark, heavy furniture. Esther rubbed her nose and sniffed away the itch brought on by those tiny particles. Lucy was nowhere to be seen. It was just her, Sam the Rook, and some old squatty man with thick glasses. He ignored Esther and Sam, instead thumbing briskly through what looked like an old library card catalog. Esther was surprised his stumpy fingers could move so quickly. It seemed almost unnatural. She squeezed Oliver's flag in her hand inside her pocket and wondered why she was there.

"Why should I have ever listened to Lucy?" she thought. "I knew she was a weirdo from the first time I met her. But here I am."

Her thoughts drifted back to Pak-Mart and the job that would probably not be there for her when she returned. Her shift should have started twenty-minutes ago. Esther thought of Lucy's grandmother and then of Lucy and, in search of some clue as to what was going on, she rehearsed their first meeting in her head.

*******************

“So Gemma was your grandmother?” Esther began.

“Yeah,” Lucy replied. “I knew her health had been slipping for a while—”

“But still.”

“Yeah.”

Esther remembered leaning on the conveyer belt in front of Lucy’s register and staring into her face, trying to gauge her emotion. Instead she noticed Lucy’s exotic features; some mix of asian and African and plain ol’ white. There was a tiny jewel in her nose and a definite sadness around her eyes, but mainly Lucy just looked burdened.

“Um . . . She was a great greeter. Your grandma.”

Esther winced over her absurdly bad eulogy.

“Thanks.” Lucy smirked. “She talked about you a lot.”

“Did she?”

“Oh yeah. ‘Esther’s a good kid,” she said, putting on a quavering voice. “‘Needs some direction, though.’”

“Sounds about right. She talked about you, too.”

“Really?”

Esther remembered how Lucy’s eyes brightened. She was embarrassed because Gemma had really not mentioned Lucy much at all. It was just over the last couple of weeks that Gemma worked at Pak-Mart that she started talking about Lucy. Nonsense mainly. Lucy’s face remained expectant though, and Esther, failing to find a lie sputtered the truth.

“It was a sort of a . . . joke, I guess,” she said, stroking her bone straight hair. “She would tap her temple and say, ‘That Lucy, she’ll take over the family business.’ I guess she was kind of . . . going.”

They were both silent.

“I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

“No, thank you.”

There seemed to be genuine gratitude in Lucy’s face, which was a shock to Esther. Emboldened by the reaction, Esther told her the other thing Gemma used to say.

“There was one more thing, if you want to know it.”

“Sure!

“She told me, ‘Mr. Chalmers had his estate sale.’”

If the gratitude had been a shock to Esther, it was nothing compared to the waves of emotion that crossed Lucy’s face. Shock, panic, then terror hardening into determination. Lucy reached across the conveyer and grabbed Esther by her blue smocked shoulder. Her fingers dug in slightly.

“She said ‘Chalmers?’”

“Yes, Chalmers,” Esther replied, swatting Lucy’s hand from her shoulder. “I reckon you missed the big sale, though. That was a few of weeks ago. Sorry you missed your china, or whatever you buy at estate sales.”

Lucy covered her face with her hands.

“How did I not hear about Chalmers?” she said. “Dale. I’m going to kill Dale Stain.”

“Yeah, sorry ‘bout your luck,” Esther said. She had been disturbed by Lucy’s behavior.

"That's when I should have walked away," she thought.

Instead she said, “I’ll tell you what though. I’ll just give you what she gave me.”

A few aisles away, a cash register chimed a sale.

“She gave you something?” Lucy asked. Her voice shook. She was struggling to maintain control.

“Yeah, a handkerchief with a bug stitched on it. But seriously, it’s yours.”

In a split second Lucy had switched on her ‘calm.’ She waved her hand.

“No, she gave it to you. It’s yours. Just,” here the panic stirred the surface of her face again, “take care of it. For Grandma.”

“Deal.”

A customer entered the line behind Esther.

“I’m going to go,” she said.

“Yeah. Okay.”

“Do you have any padparadscha?” the man asked.

Lucy flicked off the light illuminating the bright number ‘12’ over her head.

“I’m sorry sir, this lane just closed.”

*****************

"Yep. Totally weird."

The sound of a door scraping a warped floor pulled Esther's attention up the stairs. The upper landing was an exposed walkway, but it was just as crowded with antiques and knick knacks as the downstairs so Esther couldn't see what was going on. Sam rose to his feet as Lucy rounded the corner and began to descend the stairs.

"Got the girl and the flag. Saw a truck."

"Corundum?"

Sam nodded. Lucy hurried to Esther and hugged her.

"Glad you're safe, girl."

Esther extricated herself and eyed her friend.

"Any reason why I shouldn't be?"

Trinity Art Conference: Ruminating on Art and Change

2008-06-21T22:26:00.008-05:00

I have now looked at my notes from the Trinity Arts Conference. As I suspected, they're bad. In fact, after the second lecture they become non-existent. I did alright in the first lecture, which is nice because that was given by Greg Wolfe. Greg is a brilliant guy so he had a lot to say. The topic of the conference was 'Change.' One thing that Greg said is that people tend to hate change in art because they want to shoot the messenger. Society changes, artists respond by expressing that in word, music, paint, etc. This 'new art' is decried, called non-art, and sometimes anti-Christian (depending on the context). In reality, the artist is often just holding up a mirror to society. Understand, I'm saying what Greg said only as I understand it now from my notes. Don't hold him responsible if I misrepresent his ideas.

The main point of Greg's lecture, I think, was contained in a quote from Walter Brueggemann, which I think I copied down correctly:

"Truthful statements must be continually stated to remain truthful."

This might sound scandalous to ears suspiciously seeking postmodern ideas, but I believe it is true. To use a silly example: Many years ago if you called a girl 'cute' she might have sucker-punched you. Why? Because 'cute' used to mean 'bow-legged.' In order for 'that girl is cute' to be true in its original sense, we must restate the proposition: 'that girl is bow-legged.''

On a deeper level we can look at the word 'Gospel.' One of the speakers at the conference made reference to this. It was either Greg or one of the guys who did a devotion. Anyway, the word 'euangellion,' which is Greek for 'gospel,' literally meant 'good news,' but in its context it was good news of a particular type. One could tell 'the gospel of Caesar,' which would extol his good works and the wonderful things that resulted from his reign. This affected the way 1st Century people would have understood the phrase 'the Gospel of Jesus Christ.' It did not mean 'Jesus died for our sins and rose again' to them. That would be part of it, but not nearly all. That is how most people understand the word 'Gospel.' It's either the formula I mentioned or a reference to a genre of music. In order to help people understand what 'gospel' originally meant, we must restate it.

Greg used an Ezra Pound quote to translate this need for restatement into the realm of art. Pound said, "the artist's motto is 'make it new'." The IT, said Greg, is something unchanging. Great art is still working with the fundamental data of this world. That statement resonates with me. I see it in both Rembrandt and Picasso. Sometimes they might come from vantage points I reject, but even if the images in a painting do not match the world I see in my eyes, I can understand the lens through which it is interpreted and thank God for the truth and beauty contained in the changing form.

Trinity Art Conference: The Aftermath

2008-06-18T00:48:00.003-05:00

I've been back from Dallas for a couple of days now, and I'm still trying to sort out what I learned from the conference. There are some practical things I learned about writing, as well as some specific things about the piece I took with me, but I'm still trying to figure out what I really learned. What lessons about Christianity and the arts will stick with me? I suppose I'll have to go over the notes I took for that. Unfortunately, I take lousy notes.

Anyway, my notes may be lousy, but the conference itself was not. I enjoyed pretty much everything, from the speakers, to the people, to the workshops, to the art show, to the music, etc. The speakers were all engaging, covering the theme of change and the arts. Again, I'll consult my notes and post on that later, but in the mean time you can check out the text of Andy Whitman's lecture at his blog (Razing the Bar) in this post.

Who is Andy Whitman, you ask? Why, Andy is a music aficionado who writes for Paste Magazine, Christianity Today, and AllMusicGuide.com. He loves music of nearly every sort, and he gave us a view of change from the critic's perspective, though he hates the term critic. Andy was one of my favorite people at the conference, not because he spoke so well, but because I had a heckuva time just watching him enjoy the music at the show. As the band played, Andy sat in his seat wearing a smile and moving to the music. There was a look of true delight on his face, and he actually whooped a time or two.

What band was it that filled Andy Whitman with rapturous delight, you ask? Why, Gretel, of course! Gretel is a three-person band, made up of singer/songwriter/guitar player Reva Williams, bass player Phil DePertuis, and jill of all trades Melissa Myers. And let me say, Andy was right to be delighted. I was completely BLOWN AWAY by Gretel this past weekend. Reva writes great lyrics, and her voice is powerful. She is angsty and intense, while Melissa's back-up vocals are more gentle . . . angelic, if I may use the term. Phil's voice is good as well, and he sings the third part in a few songs. They are musically creative as well, and I will definitely make the effort to see them the next time they're in St. Louis.

The other three speakers were Greg Wolfe, Ann McCutchan, and Bruce Herman. Winners all. Hopefully I can write a bit about their lectures later. I was really excited to get to work with Greg in the writers' workshop, but that didn't happen. I wasn't able to shoehorn myself in during one of the sessions he attended. I also tried to strike up a conversation with him, but that proved problematic as well. No, he wasn't rude, it was just one of those situations where I couldn't come up with anything to say. All I could do was ask him questions about literature, which exposed my ignorance on the subject. He was perfectly friendly, but I couldn't get a good conversation going. Alas, alack, a lump.

The upside to getting in on that last workshop was that we had a smaller group, so Ann McCutchan could spend more time focusing on individuals. It wasn't a great deal of time, but it was better than it had been in the other workshops. Ann was a lot of fun and she had plenty of helpful advice. She writes creative non-fic, but she was perfectly capable of looking over my fiction. I got the feeling she's read a novel or two. The people from my workshop decided to give more detailed responses to all the work we brought, and Ann sent out an e-mail today saying that she was going to give a more detailed response as well. That was exciting to me because for some reason I didn't think she was going to be involved in that. She's a pro, after all, and a professor. I figured she would be too busy, but I should have known that she wouldn't just blow us off after the conference. She was too kind for that sort of thing.

Bruce Herman was the speaker I spent the least time with, though I did get to sit with him and a few others at the end of dinner one day. I liked him a lot as a person, and I love his paintings. I can't describe them properly, so just go to his website and check them out. He's phenomenally talented, and he works hard at his craft. Again, I can't really remember his lecture, so I'll have to check my terrible notes.

So the conference was well worth the money we paid for it. Depending on our circumstances next year, I would love to go back. The speakers will be different (except for maybe Greg Wolfe, as he's been there every year but one), but I know a lot of the same attendees will be, and they were also a part of what made the conference so great. Friendly, creative people who love the Lord intensely. How's that for a change?

Dallas Bound!!

2008-06-10T15:21:00.002-05:00

Maybe we're fools, but the Duncan family, having just gotten home from West Virginia on Sunday, will be setting out for Dallas, TX on Thursday. We are a band of strong-willed adventurers, a collection of travelers thirsty for a new challenge . . .

But not really. We're closer to being homebodies than anything else, to be honest. But hey, when a fella gets the chance to go to the Trinity Arts Conference he does what he needs to do to get there.

Yes, the famed Trinity Arts Conference takes place this very weekend! I am getting pumped at the chance to get down there and have some people take a look at my work. It's not like I'm going to come back with a book deal or anything. I would have to have a novel that's closer to the finish line for that. Plus, a publisher would have to read it, and that's about as likely as a publisher reading this post. Anyway, I'm looking to get some good feedback from my fellow-writers at the conference. Criticism is a good thing, and I haven't gotten enough of that in the past.

I'm taking the same piece of work to the conference that I read in my Christianity and Imagination class (The Brown Sisters). It got positive comments there, and I really think I've improved it since then. I've had some other folks take a look at it and gotten positive comments as well, but most of them have been family. They're certainly willing to be critical, but I think the family connection will always color their views. If I get good comments at the conference that will be big for me. I am praying that this weekend will clear up a little bit of my future. If writing is not to be in my future, hopefully I'll know that this weekend.

Pray for us as we make this trip, and pray for me that I will not be too wounded if my story is demolished or simply passed over without much comment! If I get the chance I'll try to blog from the conference.

Thinking About the Future . . . Again

2008-05-30T08:02:00.007-05:00

Today we'll be traveling from Huntington to Lewisburg to attend Mary Ann's sister's graduation from Med School. Cari will soon be starting her internship across the river in Ashland, KY (if she hasn't started already--I'm not sure how that works). This graduation, combined with my brother Aaron's ongoing attempt to get into the PhD program in Communications at Ohio U, has really made me think about my future. I know, I know. Posts about 'my future' comprise about two-thirds of the writing I do on here, but bear with me one more time.

Cari's finishing up her DO, Aaron's (hopefully) about to start a PhD. I'm working on my MDiv, which is a good, comprehensive degree, but I still worry over the possibility of academic work. Specifically, I worry that I won't get into a decent school. I know God is in charge of what happens, but I also know that I'm a sinner who can easily mess things up. God doesn't automatically remove the negative consequences of my sin, after all. I have to battle that hardened habit of laziness that keeps me from really writing that excellent research paper, or studying hard for that test.

Even if I do conquer my lazy habits, what about the past? I can no longer control that I did not go to a prestigious school. I don't think that's a necessarily a killer problem, but if a guy with a degree from Duke and a guy with a degree from Tri-State Bible College are competing, the Duke guy has the edge. I'm hoping to balance that out a bit with my GRE scores. Aaron is my model there. He really busted his butt and got the score he needed for his program and more. I admire that, and I've already asked his advice on how to go about it.

I'm excited, though, because I'm going to take an independent study with Dr. Anthony Bradley in the spring. He advised me to do this because he said the papers assigned in typical classes at CTS aren't designed to show doctoral potential. He said that he took independent study courses to see if he had what it took, so that's what I'm going to do. That means extra reading and writing, but I, along with Dr. Bradley, basically get to pick the topic. Pretty cool. If I can parlay that paper into a sparkling writing sample, I will have done all I can.

Where does this leave the fiction writing I've been harping on lately? The same place its always been: one of a few options. I intend to keep pursuing fiction hard and also pursue PhD studies. As Dad would say, you always need a back up plan. But let's just ignore the fact that both of my plans are risky and have a high possibility of falling through.

West Virginia Livin'

2008-05-29T14:14:00.006-05:00

So here I am in Almost Heaven, West Virginia. It's good to be back in the 'home country.' The sojourn in St. Louis will continue for at least two more years, and even when that ends I doubt we'll be returning to WV, but I'm always glad to get back. I tell people how wonderful West Virginia is whenever I get the chance, but I also tell them how jacked up the government is here. It's a beautiful, welcoming place, but I wonder how it will ever recover from its economic woes. People tend to elect the same leaders over and over, and those people do the same things they've always done.

Another problem for West Virginia is the strong union presence. Don't get me wrong, I think unions serve a noble purpose in the right context, such as early the 20th Century coal mines, but so many of them have become bloated bureaucracies that they can't provide services to their members as they ought. Even so, many West Virginians remain devoted to their unions.

Still, the draw of West Virginia life is strong. I feel tied to the state in a way that is unlikely to be matched by any other place. If I got my PhD and was subsequently offered a job at Marshall University I would have to seriously consider returning. That possibility is only slightly less likely than me becoming an astronaut, but there's no harm in a little day-dreaming.

You'll have to excuse me now . . . I have a song to sing.

Whuddamigonnado?

2008-05-15T14:49:00.005-05:00

Ah, it's good to be back! The end of the semester seriously cut into my blogging time, but I have returned. It's funny, I've been working and studying for these papers and tests for a good while now, finishing my last one at two o'clock today, and suddenly I have nothing left to do. No papers. No tests. There is nothing for me to put off until tomorrow. I can't even procrastinate. It's as though I've been robbed of my identity.

Here I stand, paralyzed by a pulchritudinous pile of possibility! I even did half of my summer reading during the semester, so Godric and The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay do not beckon. That's the price I pay for using them to divert myself from schoolwork, I suppose. But I'll always be able to find new books to read. Or new old books to read.

I think I'm starting to ease into things, though. I picked up a copy of Danny Gospel by David Athey the other day, and it's pretty good. I thought the first chapter was a little shaky, but I'm into chapter three now and it's moving along well. It's not "Good Country People" or anything, but so far it's the best fiction to come out of the "Christian Fiction" world since . . . well, I don't know. I haven't read any official "Christian Fiction" since the first book of the Left Behind series. Danny Gospel leaves that in the dust without breaking a sweat. It's been getting good reviews from others as well, so I recommend it.

Of course this reminds me that I need to revisit my own fiction before my trip to Dallas on June 12 (to the Trinity Arts Conference, for those who don't know and can't be bothered to scroll down a few inches). I haven't even read my chapter of The Brown Sisters (a working title) for a few weeks. Finals have a way of demanding your attention. I'll do that, work on some new parts and hopefully by the time the conference rolls around I'll have a nice fat chunk of prose I can be proud of. I mean "a nice fat chunk of prose of which I can be proud." Yeah.

The Trinity Arts Conference and A Fiction Update

2008-04-19T07:40:00.007-05:00

An update: We have officially decided to go to the Trinity Arts Conference! My wife wrote her way through the decision-making process in this post, we sent in the check, and BAM! We're conference bound. Mary Ann decided not to attend the conference, but she, the kids, and her parents will be visiting her Aunt Pam in McKinney, TX.

This is a big deal for me. I've wanted to write at least since I was a young teenager (it was comic books back then), but this is really the first step I've taken toward putting my fiction out for public consumption. Well . . . not quite the first step. The first step came yesterday, when I read the first chapter of my novel (you read that right!) to my fellow-students in my Christianity and Imagination class.

I was nervous. As I said to the class, I've preached before, bared my soul on this blog, and sent out a non-fiction paper for publication, but I've never shared my fiction with anyone outside of my family (My "Vintage Furniture and Oddities" post doesn't count since I didn't really invest myself in it). I have never been a 'reviser' either, but I actually tried to craft this story, not just to barf it out onto the page.

A negative response would have been depressing indeed.

Fortunately, the response was quite positive. For one thing, three people actually made comments. No response might have been worse than a negative one. Three of my classmates spoke to me as class ended, two of them saying they wanted to hear more of the story. The third said, "So you've finished the novel?" I decided to interpret that as interest.

And no, by the way, I haven't finished the novel. Just chapter one and a few important scenes.

The professor also told me he looked forward to reading what I wrote, so that counts as a positive response too. He is an extraordinarily kind man, though, so he might say that even if the story stunk out loud.

Anyway, I'm taking the chapter and whatever else I can complete before June 12 to the conference for the writer's workshop. Nerve-wracking, but if I want people to actually enjoy reading my stuff that's what it will take. I don't want to make any sweeping pronouncements, but this may just be the start of a new direction.

Reciprocal Linkage

2008-04-12T18:38:00.007-05:00

You know, I didn't realize that so many of my fellow Covenant guys were regular bloggers. Jeez, you think you know people . . .

Anyway, a few of my friends have had me linked for a while, and since they have some decent stuff to say I thought I'd link 'em back:

Chris Gensheer at Intersection

Todd Gwennap at The Unqualified Theologian

Jeff Kerr at The Sojourner

Dave Lindbergh at Changin' Times

Justin McGuire at The Reluctant Unprofessional

Thanks guys! Now write something earth-shattering.