Modblog

I’m one year old today! I get to be out of the cage all day.

Can I have some carrot cake?

I’m no longer a wiki virgin. My first post to survive the process unedited describes the Epoch sf anthology, published in 1975. Now that I understand how the process works, there’ll likely be more articles. I won’t write about them all, I promise;)

I’m hoping to hear some good news about a job, having applied for many more this week, and having had two interviews, which brings my grand total to eight (out of just under 800 applications). There are more jobs advertised the last month or so, and many of the employers have actually written back, which is a positive sign. I appreciate good manners even if they’re not offering employment.

Lots of scammers out there, though. I keep getting come-ons from an outfit called Career Network, who want me to participate in some kind of conference call (on my dime) while watching some webathon. Feel free to Google them-they’re notorious. I don’t believe there are legitimate work-at-home jobs anymore. Most of them seem to be attempts at get money and info…those that at first appear to have legitimacy, like some of the writing/translating sites, have so much chaff that one can’t find the wheat. The “employers”  seem to want unrealistic production for peanuts, and are largely from non-English-speaking countries.

During my copious spare time, I’ve been editing some of my older novels, trying to get them in shape for shopping. I’m a little disappointed in most of them-not severely, mind you, but a little. Too much topicality, which makes for hard edits. Last year’s NaNonovel Milk, though, that’s coming along nicely. I may actually do a rare (for me) second draft, after finishing the first draft of Fallen Earring, which will appear here as a blognovel.

This year’s NaNonovel Carcosa has hit a wall at @375k. I don’t know which of the thousands of dangling plot-threads to pick up at this point, since most of the thing will have to be excised…my inner editor has kicked in, and the project has ground to a halt, for now. Might end up cannibalized, I dunno yet. Quite an experiment though-a long, virtually actionless novel with an unreliable sessile narrator, in an environment which approaches absolute zero and absolute darkness. Can’t really say it’s been FUN to write, but it’s been an experience I wouldn’t trade.

Everything hinges on the job front. If I find work, keep a roof over all of our heads, etc., then everything else falls into place. I have the writing bug and can crank stuff out, but the stress level right now is stultifying. I feel creative enough, but that energy is necessarily pointed in a direction other than writing. Drained some of it for the RPM Challenge, which I have just about wrapped up. I just need to do a few vocal tracks, write one set of lyrics, and I’m done. If I don’t do those, I have more than enough material to do the album as an instrumental.

Hoping for good news. Everything is crossed, and it’s starting to feel uncomfortable.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I should meet the RPM Challenge with room to spare. The challenge asks for 35 minutes worth of original music, and I’m already past that. I’m shooting for the full 70 or so minutes that make up a modern cd.
I’m using Band in a Box to compose things, for the most part, and then replacing some of the midi files with live instruments, edited piano rolls, loops, whatever seems to fit.
Right now I have an intro, space/classical/prog in nature, that’s @eight minutes long, and barring any additions from a potential collaborator is mixed, mastered, and ready to roll. Sonic Dave says it’s Genesis-esque and might try to layer some pads onto it.
The second track has some problems and is in the process of being reworked. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll make something else. I need it to be in a certain key and style to fit the general theme and can always do an Iommi-ish short guitar piece.
The third track is in the vein of my recent track Floydian Slip, using the same combination of instruments as that track. It needs a little more work and perhaps a new bass track, but I could let it go as is and that’d be okay. None of these three tracks have any more than a working title at present. Eight minutes long, more or less.
The slide guitar sequence from the third track leads directly into the track I worked out last night, called Arizona. The instrumental portions are done…I’m trying to fit some lyrics into it and will then do some vocals. It’s got a little bit of pedal steel that I synthesized from a couple of BiaB parts and a simple progression made of cowboy chords. It sounds more or less like an Eagles tune. It’s about six minutes.
After that I have a hard rock piece, with some loud electric guitars, a bit more uptempo than the rest. I’m not happy with it, though I need something of that nature for the dynamics, and may well write another one to fit. That’s also between five and six minutes long, and that’s thirty-five minutes right there, if I don’t go any further.
There’s likely to be a few more tracks before I get to the coda, which has some of the same chord progressions as the intro, though in a different key. That’s a ten-minute workout, with a lot of different instruments playing the same sequences for maximum tonal density. Has a nice lead part that I fashioned by sequencing a guitar line and then monkeying with the piano roll editor, and (I think) a good repeating progression, with some small variations.
I’m using some of my newer toys for these tracks…my Korg mini-midi keyboard, my Casio 61-key, and my Jay Turser hollowbody bass. The Ovation is the main axe as there are a lot of acoustic parts, and the Ibanez solidbody for leads. I haven’t been playing much these last few months, and my fingers are a little clumsier than I’d like-it’s taking multiple takes to get something decent.
So far so good, though. I’m pleased with the genre-hopping and the overall sound, am hoping to do more than one vocal track, maybe a cover, maybe one of my older tunes that hasn’t been recorded…and I’m practicing scales every night while everyone else is asleep, trying to have some semblance of dexterity.
Once the thing is done, I’ll go back to my “covers” album and get cracking on the rest of Children of the Atom, which I’ll have to re-do as a good portion of it is on a hard drive that I can’t access because my external enclosures both gave up the ghost (before I could get them backed up). Can’t afford new ones right now, and that’s the only loss besides some vsts, which can be replaced when I need them. Since I have 2 1/2 Tb of memory on this system, there’s no need.

An eleventh-hour grant will allow this website to continue unabated. I thank you, and the Planet thanks you. Potential readers, however, may not *stifles guffaws*
We’re moved into our new digs, across town from the old place, and are unpacking and settling in nicely. All of our fellow travelers are alive and well. Special thanks to Jordan and David, who I abused unmercifully (and I bet they’re still sore).
We were without internet for a couple of days (Oh noooooooo! The horror!) and I managed to pound out three tunes (and the bones of a couple more) for the RPM challenge (even worse! AAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!), and read some short stories from Elwood and Silverberg’s venerable Epoch anthology.
I’m still sore…spent a full 18 hours moving, from 10 am Sunday til 4 am Monday, with an additional hour between 8 and 9 am Monday (I literally didn’t have the strength to move the two end tables and the dresser at 4).
This place isn’t as ritzy as the other place, and the mountains aren’t right across the street, but it’s quite a bit bigger, and the neighbors are friendly and quirky-we’ve met a number of them already. Tomorrow I’ll get out and start pounding the pavement…today we’re unpacking and relaxing some. I’ll have pictures and stuff another time.

This is likely to be the last post on this blog as, for a variety of reasons, hosting won’t be renewed. I’ll be moving blogging to modblog and uploading all of the music to Last.FM/moderan.
It sucks but there’s nothing I can do about it.

I’ve been running a discussion group at writingforums.com for quite some time, six months or so, and, while the discussions are interesting, the format leaves a lot to be desired.
Instead of creating a forum here or going through the steps of learning how to run forum software while I have other stressful activities on my plate, I’ve set up a ning.com site for that series of discussions. The network is called the Gernsback Continuum, after the justly celebrated William Gibson short story, and I’ve just begun sending out invitations.
If any of you who are reading this are interested in the group, please visit the Gernsback Continuum.

If you have any trouble accessing the site, shoot me an email at moderanathotmaildotcom and I’ll take care of it.

Well, it looks like we’re out of the woods for another month, thanks to the efforts of a whole lotta people and the sale of my prized Epiphone G400 for quite a bit less than it was worth. Still don’t have a job but that’s bound to turn around if I keep poking into dark corners waiting for something to bite.
I’m still going to keep the donation links active, and the Save the Bunnies ning network will stick around for the foreseeable future. Denise is still going to sell yarn and fabric, and perhaps revive the Kreative Kitties business. We’ll have to wait and see about that last-it depends on a number of factors.
A heartfelt thanks goes out to those of you who have been kind enough to help us out over this rather large hump. You know who you are. We’ll pay forward that generosity as soon as we have the opportunity.
A gutfelt no thanks goes out to email scammers, fake job offers, and other bottom feeders. People, if you feel that you are being scammed via email, forward the email in question to spam@uce.gov
More information is available at FTC-Spam.
I got a couple of these solicitations and have forwarded the info both to that agency and to their respective email services. Don’t get duped. If someone says they cannot use PayPal for donations, but instead want to work via check or money order, and they want contact info, don’t fall for it. Continue reading Scamsville

I’m not sure I believe there is gonna be a dawn. I’ve spent two months searching for a job to no avail, and now I find that the relief agencies nearby aren’t much help either. Our savings are nearly gone-I spent most of the last of it to keep the electricity on so our food won’t spoil and the pets won’t die.

I tried to sell some of my instruments, and no takers at any reasonable price. So I’ll probably sell them at unreasonable prices in some effort to keep a roof over our heads for another month so I can keep pounding the pavement. Merry Christmas! Our court date for eviction proceedings is 12/23. These assholes that run this complex soaked me for an additional month’s deposit after everything was in motion-after I’d paid the deposit to the movers and gotten completely committed. The movers soaked me for an extra 600.00. I just paid most of the last of our money to keep the electricity on.

Tomorrow I’m embarking on a rerun of my first week’s efforts, hitting all of the local places with resumes, applications, phone calls, and my increasingly desperate presence.

How desperate? Pretty damn desperate. Just about desperate enough to freakin’ pray. And I’m an agnostic leaning toward atheism. Probably won’t help but can’t hurt.

If you’d like to make a donation to the cause, go to Digital Charity, where I’ve setup an anonymous donation thing, since I’m offically a charity case now.
There’s also Wish Upon a Hero, where I’ve set up a similar page.

Yeah. Boy, didn’t that feel great. Good goddamn thing I sold my gun back in New York.

Jobhunting, frankly, sucks. Most everyone knows that. Unless you’re part of an in-demand industry like healthcare, you’re gonna be a while looking.

Right now, I don’t have a car, so I’m limited to establishments along the bus route. Fortunately, the public transportation in this part of the country isn’t too bad. The job market, though, is not good. Not as bad as western NY where Xerox and Kodak laid off 70,000+ people just as I was arriving, but not good.

In just about three weeks, I’ve put in 400 or so applications, on the principle that I may arrive just as someone is quitting or getting fired. I’ve trawled every possible job site and beat feet for miles in each direction. So far, I’ve had six interviews, three of which turned out to be for positions that didn’t exist. Why the holy f*ck do people waste your time like that? I’d be pleased to see them burn. I wish them to be in my position. Or worse.

I have one more interview, tomorrow. After that, I dunno. I have some skills, a lot of experience, all of which amounts to wasted time at this point. I’m so frustrated with the process that I’m starting to get the f*ckits and that isn’t good.

Keeping a stiff upper chin has got me feeling like Pagliacci, or Groucho, who had the same problem as Pagliacci and lamented that he didn’t have Groucho Marx to cheer him up. Julius is one of my heroes. Occupying my time is a problem too. I’ve written 123k words of a novel for nanowrimo and I’m still at a loss for something to do most of the time.

Everything depresses me. My guitar playing is rotten. Food still tastes ok but isn’t terribly exciting. I’ve lost 17 pounds since we left New York, still have 30 or so to go before I lose this damnable paunch, and my gray hairs are bugging me.

There are some amusing things online about the subject. I type random phrases like “I need a f*ckin’ job” into the Google window and read the results. I apply for things I’m clearly not suited for, like CEO positions, just to see what the results will be (pretty much a dull thud).

I spent an hour yesterday making faces at myself in the bathroom mirror. That’s entertainment!

WTF? How did I get here? I work hard, treat people well, do the best I can to keep my insomnia under control (extremely difficult under these circumstances). I’m doing the best I can to keep self-pity at arm’s length but I can feel that orbit growing smaller…

Yeah, so call me a Johnny-come-lately, at least as far as posting…I’ve been a Black Hawks fan since the days of Mikita, Hull, Tony O, Pit Martin, Keith Magnuson, and the rest…for a very long time, let’s just say. I was there when they were defeated by the Gretzky/Messier/Kurri Oilers at the old Stadium in the mid-80s. A lot of us stuck by the team through thick and thin, until the elder Wirtz shortsighted policies ran the likes of Jeremy Roenick out of town and killed our Stanley Cup hopes.
When the old man finally kicked the whiskey barrel and son Rocky took over, installing former announcer Dale Tallon as GM, things started looking up. Drafting kids like Patrick Kane, Jonathon Toews, and Duncan Keith went a long way toward restoring fandom, especially after Rocky started putting home games on local tv, for the first time ever, except for isolated playoff games.
Two years ago, I pulled my jersey out of the closet, no longer embarrassed to be seen wearing the Indian Head.

At the time I was living in western New York, and the response was overwhelming. People would actually stop and talk to me about the Hawks. It was kinda like they were a frozen version of the Cubs. Great stuff…and I’m pleased to say they continue to play well. The team is a little hamstrung by Tallon’s overpaying for certain players and they may well be up against the salary cap in trying to sign the three above-named players. Let’s hope not as they’re the core of the team-some kind of backloaded NFLesque contracts may be in the offing. That’s the best-case scenario. As of this writing the team is 12-5-2 and beating the Calgary Flames 6-1 in the middle of the second period. I’m watching them as I type.
As the Bears are going in the wrong direction despite the signing of franchise qb Jay Cutler, who needs a revamped offensive line and a couple of legit wideouts to succeed, and the Cubs are floundering due to idiotic free-agent signings and Zambrano’s indiscipline, it’s a treat and a half for Chicago sports fans-especially ones like me who don’t care for hoops.

Central	GP	W	L	OT	Pts	GF	GA	Home	Away	L10	Streak
Chicago Blackhawks	19	12	5	2	26	57	46	10-2-1	2-3-1	7-2-1	Won 4
Columbus Blue Jackets	20	12	6	2	26	62	68	6-2-2	6-4-0	6-2-2	Won 3
Detroit Red Wings	19	10	6	3	23	63	57	7-2-1	3-4-2	7-2-1	Lost 1
Nashville Predators	20	11	8	1	23	46	53	6-3-0	5-5-1	8-2-0	Won 4
St Louis Blues	19	7	8	4	18	44	49	4-7-1	3-1-3	3-4-3	Won 1

How can you beat that? The Red Wings are in third! Go Hawks!

Is there a Stanley Cup in the Hawks future? Only time will tell…but if their comeback against San Jose is any indication, there very well may be. It’ll take improved goaltending from beleaguered netminder Cristobal Huet and the midseason addition of ubersniper Marian Hossa, signed last offseason despite upcoming shoulder surgery, but it’s possible.

Wouldn’t that be special?