Logocentric (adj).Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics).
Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:
I have always enjoyed the longer distance running and skiing. The Marathon in Summer Olympics and the 50km Mass Start in the Winter. My wife can't understand how I can watch the same race for several hours. But they are fascinating to me. I like the Downhill Slalom, Bobsled and Luge sports. Attending a Winter Olympics remains on my bucket list.
My favorite sporting events in the Winter Olympics are the Luge, Bobsled, Figure Skating and curling. Initially, I thought I would be bored with curling but I'm not. It's fascinating how they determine each glide's angle and potential score.
When my children were younger we built them a luge course, they loved it. We were lucky that winter to have lots of snow to build up the walls and with some help with pallets that we covered with snow, it kept them and the neighborhood kids busy until it warmed up and melted. I was a lot more at ease with the luge course than I was when they decided to try arial jumps off our house roof. Never a dull moment when you live in Maine.
I am reading ESV through the Bible this time. Like you, I've explored a bunch of translations. My church uses NIV but my women's Bible study group (part of the same church) varies based on what Bible study we're doing.
Hope you enjoy the Olympics! I agree that the every four year thing makes them feel more special.
I read the New American Bible, which is a Catholic Bible. (NABRE) They include Tobit, Judith, 1 & 2 Maccabees, which generally aren't included in other versions of the Bible. I would be curious to read an orthodox bible or the Ethiopian Bible as I hear they have differences as well.
As for the Olympics, I love the Winter Olympics. I'm just crossing my fingers I have time to watch!
In terms of the original texts the NASB has the best reputation among conservative scholars. It looks at more translations, has a sensible hierarchy of text selection and the best principles for approaching the translation task. It favors original texts when possible. The ESV and NKJV are on a similar level. The Net Bible gives the best overview of the discussions in its commentary. The NIV renders the original text to make it more readable. It is a more functional text which is why many churches use it but it is also less precise. Greek or Russian orthodox are more Septuagint orientated and there is a considerable amount of ethical or emotional rendering to the text.The disadvantage of the NASB is that it loses much of the Hebrew poetical style in its effort to be precise as this does not translate into the English
I'm very fortunate to have met some practicing and humble Christians. Truly humble people seek to serve, not attain power and influence. The actions of many Christians make me run the opposite way... as fast as I can.
In his book, Sit, Walk, Stand, Watchman Nee states: "Nothing has done greater damage to our Christian testimony than our trying to be right and demanding right of others. We become preoccupied with what is and what is not right. We ask ourselves,' Have we been justly or unjustly treated?' and we think thus to vindicate our actions. But that is not our standard. The whole question for us is one of crossbearing".
Jeff, this is an excellent book. Perhaps one for your reading list?
Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing
Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision
Always had high, high hopes
Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Didn't know how but I always had a feeling
I was gonna be that one in a million
Always had high, high hopes
Mama said
Fulfill the prophecy
Be something greater
Go make a legacy
Manifest destiny
Back in the days
We wanted everything, wanted everything
Mama said
Burn your biographies
Rewrite your history
Light up your wildest dreams
Museum victories, everyday
We wanted everything, wanted everything
Mama said don't give up, it's a little complicated
All tied up, no more love and I'd hate to see you waiting
Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing
Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision
Always had high, high hopes
Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Didn't know how but I always had a feeling
I was gonna be that one in a million
Always had high, high hopes
Mama said
It's uphill for oddities
The stranger crusaders
Ain't ever wannabes
The weird and the novelties
Don't ever change
We wanted everything, wanted everything
Stay up on that rise
Stay up on that rise and never come down
Stay up on that rise
Stay up on that rise and never come down
Mama said don't give up, it's a little complicated
All tied up, no more love and I'd hate to see you waiting
They say it's all been done but they haven't seen the best of me
So I got one more run and it's gonna be a sight to see
Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing
Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision
Always had high, high hopes
Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Didn't know how but I always had a feeling
I was gonna be that one in a million
Always had high, high hopes
Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing
Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision
Always had high, high hopes
Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Didn't know how but I always had a feeling
I was gonna be that one in a million
Always had high, high hopes
Panic! at the Disco is a band that I never really appreciated when they first gained popularity, but have started to grow on me in recent years. The song "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" off their first studio album never really struck a chord with me, and it was actually this song from their latest album Pray for the Wicked in 2018 that really caught my attention. This song, along with and a handful of other appearances, notably their cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" for the Suicide Squad soundtrack in 2016, and Brendon Urie's most recent collaboration with Taylor Swift on the song "Me!" off the latter's 2019 album Lover.
As I was researching this song, it didn't really have a deep, fascinating backstory... a handful of the writer/producers originated this song at a writing camp in Aspen, Colorado in 2015. It was sent around to a number of different artists and Panic! at the Disco expressed interest in putting the song on their next studio album, at which point Urie collaborated with the original writer/producers to make the song what it is today.
I suppose not every origin story is a memorable one.
The part of this song that really catches my attention at first is the part of the chorus that says:
Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Didn't know how but I always had a feeling
I was gonna be that one in a million
Always had high, high hopes
I've always been fascinated by humanity's tendency (including my own) to assume that we're going to be the exception to the rule. Whether we're buying lottery tickets, applying for a limited number of slots at a highly-competitive and prestigious university, or - for those of us who write in hopes of being published - that our work will become a bestseller, or an award winner, or both.
One of the podcasts I listened to this past year talked about a research project that analyzed why so many individuals in the middle class are reticent to vote for increased taxes for the wealthy (even when that money would be apportioned to the middle class), and the study found that a lot of people essentially vote against their own current economic interests because there's an inherent belief that we're just one great idea or one lucky break away from climbing out of the middle class and into the ranks of the elite. It's a belief that's almost uniquely American, and tied to the American Dream and the belief that anyone can change their circumstances and make something of themselves regardless of any odds, data, or historical precedent to the contrary.
I fully admit that I'm in that group of people as well. I grew up in an upper middle class family that never wanted for any of the basics, but also didn't have the money for the luxuries that some of my friends had growing up. When I was younger, I had dreams of attaining those lavish luxuries: fancy cars, a big house, lavish trips all over the world, etc. For a long time, I assumed I would have these things because I was that exceptional person; that one in a million rarity.
Over the years, I've had a lot of those notions dispelled, as many of us do when we move from the naiveté of youth into the realities of adulthood. Nobody was going to do the work for me; nobody was going to pluck me out of obscurity and raise me up to the heights of success. Now that I'm a little older, and a lot more realistic about the way the world works, I find the following lyrics from this song more resonant:
Mama said don't give up, it's a little complicated
All tied up, no more love and I'd hate to see you waiting
They say it's all been done but they haven't seen the best of me
So I got one more run and it's gonna be a sight to see
As a writer and someone who works in the entertainment industry, I do have to have high hopes for a living. I have to believe that the things I work on have the chance of being that one in a million difference-maker. I have to believe that eventually the things I'm working toward will happen, because the alternative is to get discouraged and not do anything at all because I spend all day looking at the long odds and thinking, "Nah, that seems a little too risky" or, "Maybe I should do something else that has better odds of success."
It's not about the odds. It's not even about the success. It's about doing what you love, not giving up, and accepting the fact that it's complicated and may not end up exactly how you imagined it. And, at the end of the day, I have to believe that the world hasn't seen the best of what I have to offer because I'm constantly learning and evolving and growing. I tend to be an optimist by nature and therefore always believe that my best days are right around the corner. Am I going to be that one-in-a-million in terms of wild, fantastical success? Maybe, maybe not. But at least I can be that rare person (whether it's one in a million or not) who loves what they do, continually pushes to be their best, and - as the song so eloquently says - has high, high hopes for what the future holds.
It's the end of 2019, which means it's time to review all the reading and listening I've done over the past calendar year. Overall, it was a mixed bag... similar to last year, I listened to a lot of podcasts (though not nearly as many as last year), hit my book reading goal (just barely), and didn't get into too many screenplays or comics this year. Here's how 2019 breaks down:
FICTION: SCI-FI/FANTASY The 28th Gate by Christopher C. Diamond Age of Heroes by C.C. Ekeke Apocalypticon by Clayton Smith Camp Red Moon by R.L. Stine Damned by Chuck Palahniuk Dan Deadman: Dial D for Deadman by Barry J. Hutchison Dan Deadman: Dead Inside by Barry J. Hutchison The Dark Lord Bert by Chris Fox Dropship by Jonathan Yanez Earth - Last Sanctuary by Christian Kallias The Event by Nathan Hystad Fool Moon by Jim Butcher Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman Godswar by Chris Fox John Tosh Will Save Us by Jason Anspach Junk by Les Bohem Nefarius by Chris Fox Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Prominence by A.C. Hadfield Renegades by Marissa Meyer Rip-Off by John Scalzi, et al Shadow Corps by Justin Sloane Soul Jacker by Michael John Grist Sovereign by Jeff Hirsch Space Team by Barry J. Hutchison Space Team: The Wrath of Vajazzle by Barry J. Hutchison Space Team: The Search for Splurt by Barry J. Hutchison Space Team: Song of the Space Siren by Barry J. Hutchison Space Team: The Guns of Nana Joan by Barry J. Hutchison Space Team: Return of the Dead Guy by Barry J. Hutchison Space Team: Planet of the Japes by Barry J. Hutchison Space Team: The Time Titan of Tomorrow by Barry J. Hutchison Space Team: The King of Space Must Die by Barry J. Hutchison Space Team: A Lot of Weird Space Shizz by Barry J. Hutchison Supers - Ex-Gods by Jamie Hawke Time Salvager by Wesley Chu We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor The Wraith by Jeffery Haskell
FICTION: MYSTERY/THRILLER Ballistic by Mark Greaney Bluff by Michael Kardos Burglars Can't Be Choosers by Lawrence Block Daemon by Daniel Suarez Dead Eye by Mark Greaney Demon Next Door by Bryan Burrough Don't Believe It by Charlie Donlea The Dragon and The Ghost by Mark Dawson The Driver by Mark Dawson Front Page Fatality by LynDee Walker I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells Iron Orchid by Stuart Woods Inauguration Day by Claude Salhani Killer By Nature by Jan Smith The Killer Collective by Barry Eisler A Litter of Bones by JD Kirk The Mystery of Alice by Lee Bacon Next Exit, Three Miles by CW Browning The Olympus Project by Ted Tayler Out of the Dark by Gregg Hurwitz Path of the Assassin by Brad Thor The President is Missing by James Patterson & Bill Clinton Protocol by Robert J. Kennedy Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard The Serpent's Fang by Ryan Mullaney The Spies That Bind by Ally Carter The Tower by Gregg Hurwitz Whiskey & Roses by Bradley Wright Wired In by Toby Neal The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz
FICTION: OTHER Ghost of a Girl by Carol Alwood Joyland by Stephen King Love Amid the Ashes by Mesu Andrews We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix
NONFICTION The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib 5-Minute Book Marketing for Authors by Penny Sansevieri 27 Fiction Writing Blunders And How Not To Make Them by James Scott Bell The Author Blog by Anne R. Allen Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods by Gill Rapley The Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Peterssn Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis Focused Backstory by Carol Alwood The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell How to be Filled with the Holy Spirit by A.W. Tozer The INFJ Writer: Cracking the Creative Genius of the World's Rarest Type by Lauren Sapala Kiss My Asterisk by Jenny Baranick Let's Write A Short Story by Joe Bunting Love Worth Making by Stephen Snyder Mythology by Edith Hamilton Power Moves: Lessons from Davos by Adam Grant Real Artists Don't Starve by Jeff Goins The Sacred Enneagram by Christopher L. Heuertz Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne & Dave King Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life by Nassim Nicolas Taleb Storyworld First by Jill Williamson Structuring Your Novel by K.M. Weiland Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know by Malcolm Gladwell That's Not The Way It Works: A No-Nonsense Guide to the Craft and Business of Screenwriting by Bob Saenz Tidy the F*ck Up: The American Art of Organizing Your Sh*t by Messie Condo The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris The Write Novel by Carol Alwood Yes We (Still) Can: Politics in the Age of Obama, Twitter, and Trump by Dan Pfeiffer
I just barely managed to surpass my goal of reading 100 books this year after starting the year strong and on pace for a record-setting reading year, then having my reading habits decrease dramatically in the second half of the year. Apparently having kids in the house really cuts into your personal reading time!
I had a lot of favorites this year in both fiction and nonfiction... overall, it was a really good reading year in terms of finding books that I really liked. There were some standout standalone works (Daemon, Bluff, Catch and Kill), some exciting new authors that I discovered (Barry Eisler, Brene Brown), and quite a few familiar authors and series had new installments that didn't disappoint (Michael Lewis, Malcolm Gladwell, Gregg Hurwitz, Mark Greaney).
However, I think Barry J. Hutchison wins top honors on my reading list this year for being a new author I discovered and whose backlist I voraciously devoured. His Space Team serious is hysterical (and I highly recommend the audiobooks which include narrator outtakes starting about halfway through the series). Who would have known that humorous sci-fi would be such a hit? (Answer: pretty much anybody who knows me )
The Adventure Zone - 12 episodes
Androids & Aliens - 27 episodes
The Creative Penn Podcast - 57 episodes
Dead Pilots Society - 11 episodes
The Dungeoncast - 54 episodes
The Ezra Klein Show - 52 episodes
Freakonomics - 32 episodes
The Glass Cannon Podcast - 19 episodes
How Did This Get Made? - 3 episodes
How I Built This - 5 episodes
Imaginary Worlds - 17 episodes
The Impact - 1 episode
Impeachment Explained - 9 episodes
Lovett or Leave It - 44 episodes Pod Save America - 132 episodes
Pod Save the World - 50 episodes
The Q&A - 5 episodes The Rewatchables - 30 episodes
Rubicon - 9 episodes
Sci-Fi & Fantasy Marketing Podcast - 10 episodes
Scriptnotes - 54 episodes
The Sell More Books Show - 32 episodes
The Self-Publishing Formula / The Self-Publishing Show - 52 episodes
Self-Publishing Podcast - episodes
Six Figure Authors - 18 episodes Slate Political Gabfest - 59 episodes
The Story Studio Podcast - 30 episodes
Story Works Roundtable - 33 episodes
TED Radio Hour - 12 episodes
That Sounds Like Fun - 1 episode
The Way - 1 episode Weeds, The - 92 episodes
What A Day - 39 episodes
Writer's Panel - 8 episodes
Writing Excuses - 51 episodes
I cut out a lot of podcasts from last year, especially the daily news podcasts (and the actual play tabletop RPG podcasts after getting tired of them a few months into the year), and started skipping individual episodes of a lot of podcasts that I wasn't particular into. I'm a bit of a completionist so that was difficult for me, but I really tried to value my time more this year and not spend it listening to a podcast episode on a topic that didn't particularly interest me. Mostly, my favorites from last year are still my favorites this year, although a few of them are growing a little tedious. I'll probably listen to fewer podcasts next year, or at least look for some new ones to keep things interesting.
UNPRODUCED Birthright Dogsbody Lenny's Doing Great And His Family's Terrific The Manger Thief Pearl Powder Blues The Recent Calls of Annabelle Phipps The Rich Inner Life of Penelope Cloud Sexy Justice Small Town Love Sterling Victoria Woodhull, Presidentess Whatever Happened to Gigi's Pants? Yogurt World
I'm not putting any favorites or highly recommended on the script section of my reading list because a lot of the writers on this list are my friends and/or colleagues and I don't want to play favorites with my friends and business associates.
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= favorite
= also really enjoyed
)