Tag: just for fun

Thoughts on history of the entire world, i guess

There’s this really fantastic video on YouTube that’s been making the rounds, and if you’ve found any of my discussions of history interesting (like this one, which I need to do a followup on), you’ve probably either seen or are going to really love it:

Some thoughts/reactions:

  • That’s actually one of the most fascinating explanations of the Big Bang theory that I’ve ever seen. Kind of makes me wonder: was anyone (like God, perhaps) there to witness it? Because I imagine it would be very much like that.
  • It’s interesting how we start out jumping billions of years every minute, but by the end, it takes half a minute or so to cover just one decade.
  • Meso-American history really doesn’t fit into the narrative in any way. Even China is part of the story from the beginning, and connects in a distant but relevant way to all the stuff going on everywhere else. But until the Spanish arrive in the Americas, it’s just “oh look, some big heads. Must be the Olmecs,” or “the Mayans have figured out the stars!” But who are the Mayans? Who are the Olmecs? They kind of come out of nowhere.
  • Technically, money wasn’t invented until after the bronze age collapse, but whatever.
  • Did 9/11 happen so soon after the internet was invented? I guess it was. Doesn’t seem like that, since I remember checking the news online every day. In fact, I was tracking Al Qaeda at the time, with the Kenyan embassy bombings and the USS Cole attack. Still remember where I was when those happened. And I was really upset that we weren’t doing anything to stop Osama Bin Laden. Then 9/11 happened and everything changed.
  • If you watch closely, you can tell which way Bill Wurtz leans on some issues (especially toward the end). But it’s still a really fun overview of history/science/religion anyway.
  • My single biggest criticism is that there isn’t an easy way to get rid of all the profanity. I would love to share this with my nieces and nephews!

With apologies to Abraham Lincoln

Four score n’ seven muthafuckin years ago our fathers brought forth on dis continent, a freshly smoked up nation, conceived up in Liberty, n’ all bout tha proposizzle dat all pimps is pimped equal.

Now we is engaged up in a pimped out civil war, testin whether dat nation, or any hood so conceived n’ so dedicated, can long endure. We is kicked it wit on a pimped out battle-field of dat war. Shiiit, dis aint no joke. Our thugged-out asses have come ta dedicate a portion of dat field, as a gangbangin’ final restin place fo’ dem playas whoz ass here gave they lives dat that hood might live. Well shiiiit, it be altogether fittin n’ proper dat we should do this.

But, up in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — dis ground. Y’all KNOW dat shit, muthafucka! Da brave men, livin n’ dead, whoz ass struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our skanky juice ta add or detract. Da ghetto will lil note, nor long remember what tha fuck we say here yo, but it can never forget what tha fuck they did here, so peek-a-boo, clear tha way, I be comin’ thru fo’sho. Well shiiiit, it is fo’ our asses tha living, rather, ta be dedicated here ta tha unfinished work which they whoz ass fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. Y’all KNOW dat shit, muthafucka! Well shiiiit, it is rather fo’ our asses ta be here all bout tha pimped out task remainin before our asses — dat from these honored dead we take increased devotion ta dat cause fo’ which they gave tha last full measure of devotion — dat our crazy asses here highly resolve dat these dead shall not have took a dirt nap up in vain — dat dis nation, under God, shall gotz a freshly smoked up birth of freedom — n’ dat posse of tha people, by tha people, fo’ tha people, shall not perish from tha earth.

Made with Gizoogle Textilizer. I am so sorry.

On the way to 10k

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how I plan to achieve my writing goal of hitting 10k words of fiction in a single day. The steps I laid out to getting there were:

  1. Write first thing every day.
  2. Write in timed, focused sessions.
  3. Strive to achieve 2k words per hour.
  4. Strive to hit at least 6 writing sessions.
  5. Pre-write each day for the next day.

I’m happy to report that the writing has been coming along very well! Ever since I started timing my sessions and keeping track of how much and how fast I write, it’s been as if someone turned on a switch inside my brain. The words are flowing, the story is coming along very well, and I’m a lot happier and more productive than I was only a month ago.

The main thing that does it is, ironically, forcing myself to stop every half hour or so. When I wake up in the morning and thing of how much I want to write that day, it can be a little daunting. By writing in short bursts, it helps to break the big goal down into parts. When you think too much about all the writing you want to achieve, it’s very easy to get caught up in the procrastination trap. But when you think of it as just a half-hour session of 400-600 words, it seems a lot more doable. And it is!

So things are coming along very well with Gunslinger to the Stars. My goal is to finish the first draft by February 6th and send it out to my first readers shortly thereafter. If things keep going the way they have been, I may actually finish it sooner.

As for reaching 10k words, I’m still a ways off but headed in the right direction. For now, I’m laying the foundation for it: building good habits and hitting a consistent stride. Once I’ve got that laid out, I’ll start to stretch myself, pushing the limits further and further until I’m ready to make the final approach to the summit. No sense in pushing too hard and burning out along the way.

In other news, I’ve sent Captives in Obscurity (Sons of the Starfarers: Book V) off to my editor, and should be getting it back in early February. The cover art should be ready around the same time. If all goes well, the book should be up for pre-order by the end of February, with a release date of May 15th.

I’m not sure when Patriots in Retreat (Book VI) will come out, since I’m still writing it, but as of right now I’m tentatively planning for a release sometime in August. After I’ve finished with Gunslinger to the Stars, I’ll move on to Patriots and see if I can’t knock that out before the end of February. If so, I might actually push the release date up to July.

As for other WIPs I intend to tackle, The Sword Keeper and Edenfall are on the top of the list. The free month for Genesis Earth went a lot better than I had expected, leading me to believe that there’s enough potential to make finishing the trilogy worthwhile. Besides, Edenfall is already plotted out, so if I can keep up the 10k pace it should be a cinch to write. Same with The Sword Keeper.

That just about does it for this post. I intended to write another Self-Sufficient Writer post responding to some of the craziness going on in the world right now, but that will have to hold off until next week. I’ve also got another trope post planned for Monday, so that should be interesting.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this video about how many twinkies it would take to power the Death Star. Take care!