Wandering Mind

Is insanity a sign, I wonder,

A sign of creative thought.

I ask myself, but before I answer,

The question has been lost.

Instead I find only riddles

And ideas I have bought.

Why do my thoughts desert me

When I think I need them most?

Why don't they stay and waste away,

Idling at their post?

Perhaps it is because I am

Such an ungrateful host.

I wonder where my mind dwells

When I am at wit's end.

If what it says is true, then you

Are truly a good friend.

I know myself to lie though,

So the whole thing I contend.

The Quest

If you seek an explanation,

I'm afraid I can help you not.

All I know is what we're told:

That answers stem from thought.

If instead you search for reason

I must warn you none are sure.

We all depend on foes and friends

For something to adore.

You ask what will make you happy

But my answer you forsooth.

Why do you think me lying

When I tell you "Seek the Truth"?

Why ask me all these questions?

Why not find out for yourself?

Weren't you taught that cautious thought

Is a sign of your good health?

I support the search for knowledge

Of things we'll never know.

Where else might we wander,

And where else would we grow?

Last Requests

This is an under 75 word story I submitted for an online contest. Before writing it I never realized just how short 75 words is. There will likely be more of these to come, as the site does one of these every month and I find them a healthy exercise in brevity.

The string quartet played on in the corner. Whether they were completely oblivious to, or trying to enhance the panic in the room, I knew not. My drink was empty but the musical rapture carried me beyond sobriety. The rest of the room stared at me as I shouted requests to the cellist, but I saw no harm in it. We were all about to die, the least we could ask for was good music.

Both Earth and Man are Born in Fire

This is essentially the creation story as told by a priest of fire in a short story that is still in progress. The short story connects to Kronicle, (the novel I am also writing) because it is the story of a character who will eventually meet up with the narrator of Kronicle. This story is told to that character when she is feeling depressed. I will post the short story this belongs in when I have finished it but for now here is an excerpt.

“Once, long eons ago, when the world new in its creation, fire ruled the planet. The fire was so hot that the whole Earth burned with it, a smaller flame emulating the Sun. Agnor's strength on this planet was so mighty that no others challenged it. He took this power to the space around him, and his enemies of stone and ice which he saw he burned and added to his strength.

“But soon there were fewer enemies in the Earth's path, and Agnor tired of it. He had almost forgotten it entirely when he was visited by the mysterious father of the gods, Kaos. Kaos promised Agnor that he would be greatly rewarded if he relinquished his fiery grip on Earth, but the fire god was young and headstrong in his own plans of burning Earth to an ash. It was not until Kaos offered Agnor a chance to severely harm his enemy of ice that the fire god accepted. Since he was so mistrusting of Kaos, who is said also to be the father of all lies, he continues to this day to hold on to Earth's core, ready to bathe it all in fire again.

“For many long years the Earth grew steadily colder, and Agnor could feel the chill growing even from the planet's fiery depths. Great quantities of water boldly sat upon Earth's face, and Agnor raged at them from the Earth's core. Eons passed and a thick tangle of plants covered most of the Earth and swam in its water. Eons more and animals came to live in the great oceans of Earth, and then its rich variety of land. Many times the ice god threatened to destroy all the things that lived on Earth, but they were Father Kaos's creatures and he made sure that something survived every time. Eventually the ice and stone gods worked together to hurl a massive frozen boulder at the Earth's face in an attempt to once and for all end life. This impact toppled the order of life on Earth, but so clever are Kaos's plans that the asteroid only played into them, allowing true chaos to spread throughout the world and fulfill the promise made with fire.

“When the icy stone hit the Earth its impact caused a burst of fire which momentarily caused Agnor to again control the planet. Everything above ground perished, and even many in the great oceans were burnt. But deep underground in tunnels they dug with their own claws, our earliest and dimmest ancestors survived the fire and found themselves kings of a new world. It was during this age of fire that man was born into the world.

“As time passed Agnor grew increasingly disappointed with his bargain with Kaos. He had temporarily consumed the planet in flames again, but already the cold crept back onto its surface. All that had changed was the life on the planet. He sought an audience with Kaos to demand an explanation. 'Patience,” Kaos advised the fire god, 'for when I dip my hand in the stream of time, all things are possible.' So again he waited as the forces of the cold and wet built their strength.

“Infuriated by the slow attainment of his promised power on Earth, Agnor retreated to the planet's core to fume. Occasionally he could feel fire on the surface as the skies cast down lightning to burn to the fauna, but even this brought him no pleasure, such was the extent of his anger. He eventually became aware of a prolonged, if not very intense burning on the Earth's surface. Ascending to view the cause of this, Agnor discovered a tree which had apparently been struck by lightning and toppled to the forest floor. The tree was mighty and would surely burn for a long time, but there was an odd activity about the burning tree. Small, hairy creatures were poking at the flames with branches, sometimes accelerating the flames and sometimes dampening them. One of the creatures prodded at the flames until his branch also caught fire. Alarmed, he dropped it to the forest floor where it began to singe other plant life nearby. This greatly lifted the fire god's spirit, for such a curious creature would surely set the world ablaze again, fulfilling Kaos's promise.

“But years passed without the curious creatures reigniting the world. One day, when Agnor was again becoming impatient, Kaos appeared to him and beckoned him to the surface. 'Behold!' spoke the father of gods, 'For today I present to you the product of my interest on Earth. This thing which is the adaptable human will bring fire and chaos to everything they touch for so long as a single one survives.” Agnor looked again upon the curious creatures, and was unimpressed. Before he could voice his displeasure, however, one of the furry things started smashing rocks together while yelling at a small pile of sticks. To Agnor's amazement, this action eventually resulted in the creation of a small fire.

“'With your blessing, these people will live always with fire in their hearts,' spoke Kaos. 'It will pump through their veins so that they both create and destroy with it. It will bring them to new worlds, and they will always bring it with them. With these people you can melt your icy foe, for the cold has always been their enemy. Protect them and they will go far.' And so with the blessing of Agnor, mankind has survived and thrived, though we never forget our allegiance to the fire."

Last Second Thoughts

This started off as an attempt to make something in an interesting rhyme scheme, but I started moving words around when it was just starting out and saw a way to keep the rhyme scheme I found and make the whole thing mostly coherent and not just an exercise in rhyming. The title might change, for now it is just the pun of last second and second thoughts that I slapped on.

You lie there staring solely at the floor,

You thought that life was meaningful before.

The persistent wave of overwhelming difference

Pours in past the windows and floods through the front door.

With nothing left for which to live or die,

You slowly bow your head and start to cry.

Waiting for the rising of the tide

To take away what's left of you, and leave you nothing more.

All the things you fought for were untrue,

Fairytales became your point of view.

When reality lay right there in your sight

You simply passed it by, you were too caught up in the lie.

And what exactly did you think you'd gain?

Respect because you were so very vain?

Acquitted for you were found not quite sane?

Or did you just not want to bother to think of something new?

You spent your whole life waiting for your death,

But now that it's impending you're having some regrets.

Was it right for you to not think for yourself?

Too late to wonder now, you've just taken your last breath.

The Lesser Evil

Say one thing for the First Law Trilogy, say it's far from your typical fantasy series.

With The Blade Itself, Joe Abercrombie creates a unique fantasy world so dark and manipulative, that it has produced skewed versions of the stereotypical fantasy heroes. The amazingly well-crafted characters all blur traditional moral lines for their own purposes, creating unpredictable plot twists and reinforcing the underlying principle of the series that the ends always justify the means. Every character is fatally flawed in their own ways, but the fairytale notion of justice is scarcely found in the series.

Sand dan Glokta is a scheming torturer with nothing to live for but his hatred of everyone and everything. Once a rash young soldier, Glokta was captured by his country's enemy and held for years as a prisoner before being ransomed back. Years of torture left him crippled, spasmodic, and hateful, yet he survived to work his way up in his nation's Inquisition out of pure spite. His attention to details, capacity for bluffing and taking risks, and utter ruthlessness allow him to plot his way through any task and justify anything he needs to do to succeed. His character is hard to sympathize with, and is by no means likable, but one can't help but respect his cunning and above all, his perseverance.

Jezal dan Luthar is a parody of the chivalrous knight that can sometimes be found amongst sword and sorcery. He is a loud-mouthed buffoon who's rich family bought his position as a captain in the Aduan army. When we first meet Jezal his goals in life are to marry rich and get drunk while playing cards with his fellow officers every night. Jezal starts off as an infuriating character who comes across as even more unlikable than Glokta, (Jezal is referred to by more than one character as a pompous ass) though his blundering is often funny, but he is the character who changes the most throughout the series, and I found myself eventually warming up to him.

Logen Ninefingers, or the Bloody-Nine, was my favorite character throughout the series, possibly because he starts off as the simplest and most well-meaning character. Logen seems to ascribe to the principles of the typical fantasy warrior hero: courageous, fierce, honorable, for the most part. He is hideously scarred all over his body from years of experience fighting, but his philosophy of being realistic and doing whatever it takes to survive have allowed him to beat every opponent he has faced. Losing the middle finger from his left hand in a battle earned him his name which is feared throughout his homeland. However, there is a much darker aspect of Logen's personality that haunts him and caused him to wander away from his people aimlessly. One of my favorite quotes from the series without giving anything away comes from the third book when a man is describing The Bloody-Nine to his children. "He'd send you back to the mud. Faster than the [lightning] killed Willum, and with no more regret. Your life hangs on a thread every moment you stand within two strides of that nothing-looking bastard there."

Of these three characters which the First Law Trilogy offers as protagonists, Logen is my personal favorite, though none of them are fit to be called heroes. Most of the minor characters are more easily distinguished as good or evil characters, though a few are even more ambiguous than the main characters. Because so many of the characters do terrible things out of self-perseverance or ignorance as well as to advance their own goals, it is incredibly hard to judge any character as plainly good or evil.

The web of character interaction spreads the moral ambiguity throughout the major and minor characters of the trilogy, causing each character to change the others' situations and attitudes. This only multiplies the reader's difficulty in trying to decide which characters are in the right and which are the real "bad guys." The twisting, character driven plot makes the First Law Trilogy an excellent read that will leave the reader guessing even when they think they know all the answers. When you plunge yourself into this series remember that nothing is as it seems, rules were meant to be broken, and the only thing that matters in war is winning.

How the Music Industry Plans to Cope

I recently posted the basis for this essay as "What's in Store for the Music Industry." I received a lot of feedback on it and after more research into the topic, I ended up with this very different essay.

In 1999 Napster popularized the software that led to the music industry's biggest decline in revenue in its history. Peer-to-peer networking changed the way anyone with a computer acquired music and other media. Today, the music industry is a shadow of what it once was, due largely to the illegal downloading of music. After failing many times to fight the technology that now makes music so widely available, every aspect of the industry is undergoing drastic changes to try to maintain profits. These changes will affect how we listen to both old and new artists, and we brought them on ourselves by deciding we'd rather not pay for music.

A 2010 CNN Money report stated that 10 years after Napster's creation, revenue from music sales dropped to half of what it had been in 1999. This does not even factor in the massive legal fees from the industry's many low payoff lawsuits against file sharers. Despite their best efforts, there is just nothing that can be done to quell the frenzy of illegal downloading. The music industry has been desperately trying to change their approach to downloading since they found out it's here to stay. File sharing can be used to acquire music at zero cost and almost instantly, but there are elements of music that can never be downloaded.

The concert experience cannot be digitally handed out on the internet, but is instead unique to each individual attending any given concert. Artists generally strive for perfection while recording, and are often led and edited by a music producer. All artists sound different in concert than in studio, but nothing compares to the feeling of seeing your favorite artists on stage, performing the songs you get stuck in your head. Nothing can duplicate the excitement of cheering on a band with hundreds of other fans, the hope when begging the stars for just one more song, and the awe when they come back onstage and play the one song you wanted to hear. Because of this, we have seen a tremendous inflation of ticket prices while record sales have been declining.

In 1996, $25.81 was the average price for a concert ticket. This price reached its highest peak in 2008 when the average price was an outrageous $67.33, but has declined over the past two years to $60.77. In July, pollstar.com reported the ticket pricing information for the top 100 North American tours of the first half of 2010. New York Times music reporter Ben Sisario, who responded to this report says that this recent drop is partially because ticket vendors are reducing service charges and offering discounted package deals. Concert promoters are still demanding high prices, but ticket promoters are forced to reduce their asking prices in order to appeal to those affected by the recession. With record sales at their lowest and concert tickets at an almost unsellable price, the music industry will have to compromise, most likely by adjusting ticket prices until the economy is more stable.

Adjusting ticket prices does not necessarily mean lowering them. Concert ticket prices depend on the artist's popularity, the extravagance of their performance, the location, and the number of shows the artist will play. The price to see little known artists will likely decrease to raise demand, and to bring in a more diverse audience. Tickets for already famous artists, however, rarely have problems selling at high prices. Popular artists who tour infrequently or arrange fewer concert dates per tour are especially in high demand, and loyal fans continue to pay exorbitant prices to attend these shows. According to pollstar.com, the band with the most revenue generated from concert ticket sales this summer was Bon Jovi, bringing in $52.8 million. They sold 560,000 tickets at an average price of $94 each. Paul McCartney was the fourth highest earner with $31.6 million from 243,000 ticket sales. McCartney's tickets, at an average price of $129.50, were the most expensive tickets of the summer. The top three grossing bands each played between 33 and 39 shows this summer, selling an average of 17,000 to 20,000 tickets per show. McCartney only had to play seven shows, selling about 40,000 tickets per show to come in fourth.

Well-known artists like Paul McCartney can actually generate more revenue with less effort simply by playing fewer shows. Of the top 100 North American tours, McCartney was by far the summer's leader in gross revenue per show, with an average of $6.3 million from each of the seven concerts of his tour. Second was Coldplay with $3.2 million for each of their four shows, and a combined Elton John and Billy Idol tour took third, playing 12 shows that earned an average of $2 million each. These artists may not have ranked high in total gross revenue, but they received more than their money's worth for the amount of effort they exerted. If this tactic continues to work for popular artists and their record sales continue to decline, concerts for big-name bands may become scarcer and more expensive. Fortunately, the media sharing technology which is partly to blame for our concert catastrophe could become an essential tool for emerging artists.

When Radiohead originally released their self-produced 2007 album, In Rainbows, no hard copies of the album were manufactured. The band released digital copies of the album on their website for whatever price the customer chose to pay. This was a bold move from the already popular band, and many record labels feared that it would be the start of a new trend, but not all artists are well-off enough to let the listeners decide what to pay for their music. Internet research companies estimated that about 62% of the people who downloaded In Rainbows in its first month chose not to pay anything for it. Even though many people obtained the album for free, Radiohead received a great deal of publicity, and likely gained many new fans from this stunt.

Since the use of personal recording and editing technology is becoming more widespread as the technology continues to become more advanced, we can expect to see many more self-produced artists emerge. Digital distribution of self-produced albums should become more common, as it removes the cost of manufacturing hard copies and allows free global distribution. While Radiohead dropped their record label to release In Rainbows digitally, many emerging artists could start off using similar strategies to gain popularity while trying to get a label to sign them. Radiohead's strategy wasn't exactly effective in generating revenue for the band, but it did make some money, and it definitely contributed to the band's popularity.

Despite the music industry's decade long downward spiral, we have seen a flood of new artists emerge as if out of nowhere. I believe that this is in large part because of the availability of media granted to us by the internet. New artists create music everyday, and we listen to them, but we no longer take the time to appreciate their art like we used to. Without our support, many of them will not go on to become great musicians. So if you love a song, the best way to show the artist some gratitude is to pay for it so they can keep playing what you want to hear.

Barefoot's Never Tasted So Sweet

Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, though not even a 50 year old company, has produced many award winning wines at affordable prices. What started as a small “garage wine” project has become a California wine empire, and their new Sweet Red certainly adds flavor to their selection.

Barefoot currently produces a total of twelve different wines and five champagnes. Their wines win hundreds of awards every year in the U.S., and in 2008 they were the most awarded California wine for under $15 a bottle. Since she became Barefoot's chief winemaker in 1995, Jennifer Wall has greatly increased the reputation and variety of their wines. In addition to handcrafting the wine recipes, she hosts a blog for Barefoot where she posts drink recipes, cooking recipes, and food and wine pairing suggestions.

For Wall, the art of wine making goes far beyond grapes, as she includes a mixture of fruits in her wines. Her whites contain honeydew, nectarine, pear, peach, apple, orange, lemon, and apricot, depending on the type. Raspberry, cherry, blackberry, boysenberry, plum, pomegranate, and even blueberry can be found in the reds. Barefoot's single blush wine is made with pineapple, peach, strawberry, and pear, in addition to the traditional grapes. As with her previous wines, Wall does not hesitate to use bizarre ingredients with her newest creation.

Sweet Red is Barefoot's newest wine, and is sure to be enjoyed by those who do not prefer wine. Unlike many red wines, Sweet Red is very moist, and, as its name implies, sweet. It is made with raspberry, pomegranate, and cherry, giving it a delicious cocktail of flavors. Its low 10.5% alcohol content and this fruity combination give Sweet Red an almost fruit punch taste.

True wine snobs will likely not appreciate Sweet Red because it is so very different from most other reds wines. Its fruity taste is not what traditionalists prefer, but for those who do not generally drink red wine it is a welcome change. Its taste, though very sweet, is not as overwhelming as many others, allowing it to go down more smoothly. Because of its moist medley of flavors, Sweet Red drinks more like a heavy white wine than most reds I have tasted, and is an excellent choice as a table wine with dinner.

The pairing suggestions listed for Sweet Red are “grilled vegetables, marinated flank steak, spicy beef kabobs, and all fiery treats.” I enjoyed a glass with some teriyaki pork tenderloin and white rice, and while not a suggested pairing, I think they complimented each other well. Though I normally prefer a beer with dinner, I found the Sweet Red an interesting change of pace. The food sat better in my stomach without the carbonation, and the wine's strong flavor left a refreshing taste in my mouth after every sip. I look forward to trying this wine with a spicier dish, as its sweetness must neutralize the hot food.

Barefootwine.com offers recipes for both foods and drinks that can be made using their wines. Some of these are posted by the company, but most are from fans who like to cook using Barefoot wines. Though Sweet Red is the newest of their line of wines, there are over 20 recipe submissions in which it is the preferred wine. The foods include desserts like blueberry crepes, pork, seafood, chicken, and steak recipes, salads, and a variety of dips, sauces, and marinades. The only drink recipe for Sweet Red is a Sweet Red Sangria, but this could easily be because there is no need to add to this wine. It already contains a strong mixture of different fruits, and its sweetness only intensifies the flavors.

Sweet Red is an excellent wine for those who do not enjoy the traditional dry red wines. It is a good dinner and desert wine, and would be a good choice for entertaining guests with a variety of tastes. Barefoot wines are usually sold for between six and eight dollars a bottle, making them a cheap wine, but they are definitely some of the best wines in their class. The only thing to be wary of with Sweet Red is overindulgence. Its juicy taste and low amount of alcohol will leave you literally thirsty for more, but its sugary content will give you one nasty headache if you're not careful.

Burden of Thought

A wise man said to me once,

"Son, be thankful you are smart.

It won't help you make money,

But it's priceless as a work of art.

The setting sun, the waning moon,

The tremblings of the Earth,

So too does your intelligence

Have no definable worth."

"Stranger," I, to him implored,

"I see no cause for gratitude.

Compared to them, clothed in their sins,

The two of us seem nude.

I ask you why, do you decry

That we should be so elated?

Ignorance is bliss, we know,

And they are all quite sated."

"But don't you see?" Was his reply,

"That's exactly the thing!

They have become blind, deaf, and numb

To life's perpetual sting.

And every day we feel it

We seek a way to ease the pain,

But those poor souls can't feel it,

Because it's dulled their brains.

"We suffer more than them, it's true.

If you feel for them, let it be pity.

Far worse is the curse of thoughtlessness

Than that of the painfully witty.

So bear your intellect with pride

And remember that we're not born equals.

We are both men, but some are dogs,

Some cattle posing as people."

More Stereotypes, Please

Fox is a widely known television network because of its sometimes funny sitcoms, and often hilariously biased news broadcasts. It is perhaps most famous as the host channel of both The Simpsons and Family Guy, part of their “Animation Domination” lineup. While once the network that could boast a large number of comedies which appeal to a diverse audience, Fox has sacrificed what remained of their integrity for simple-minded shows in which everyone fits into a certain stereotype.

Fox has a history of canceling any show that seems too “outside-the-box.” Whenever a show comes around that is innovative, unique, controversial, or just plain weird Fox pulls the plug on it. It's understandable that they would cut shows that receive low ratings, but oftentimes these shows are canceled before they even have a chance to gain popularity. Shows that started off slow are quickly sidetracked for something which was immediately popular in a particular demographic.

A perfect example of this is their innovative new comedy Running Wilde which has been compared to cult classic Arrested Development. Both shows revolve around bizarre concepts and characters which are hard to identify with because of their ridiculousness. Running Wilde ran only five episodes this season before being preempted for the new sitcom, Raising Hope. Raising Hope is everything that Arrested Development was not. The show's central, and seemingly only, concept is that a young man is forced to take care of an infant which he fathered on a one night stand. Of course, the man has no idea how to raise a child, and as he blunders about each episode, he learns something about being a good father.

Fox is also the host channel of Glee, a popular show that shows all high school students as members of cliché cliques. The show is complete with a flamboyantly gay boy, ditsy cheerleaders, a shy Asian girl, an outspoken overweight African American girl, a downtrodden handicapped boy, the know-it-all valedictorian girl, and the noble captain of the football team. Some argue that the inclusion of these minority characters allows the show to surpass boundaries set by stereotypes, but it does just the opposite. The minority characters are all pushed aside so the show can focus on the perfect football captain who was willing to sacrifice his popularity to interact with the school's biggest group of losers.

Last year Fox also picked up its third animated series by Seth MacFarlane, The Cleavland Show. While Fox knows that their original spurn of Family Guy in 2000 lost them many viewers, they now seem to be sticking with any idea MacFarlane creates in an attempt to avoid losing another breakthrough series. Family Guy is often very well written despite its often childish humor, and even American Dad has its moments, but The Cleavland Show is centered around the stereotypes of African American communities in the south. The Cleavland Show has already been renewed for a third season in May, a feat not even yet achieved by The Simpsons or Family Guy.

So why does Fox favor these simple-minded, single concept shows over witty, well-written ones? Sadly, shows that revolve around stereotypes which are commonly found in society appeal to larger audiences. When we watch characters perpetuate certain stereotypes we are pleased because with very little thought process, we were able to anticipate the actions of that character.

Fox does air shows that break stereotype molds, such as Fringe and The Good Guys, both depicting far from average law enforcers. Fringe is a drama following a branch of the FBI dedicated to investigations of events which seem paranormal, but are actually the results of complex theoretical science experiments. The Good Guys is a comedy depicting two Texan police officers who stumble across large criminal operations while investigating petty crimes. In one episode, an investigation into a vandalized vending machine turns out to be linked to a large prostitution ring, and the officers save many of the girls from their cruel pimp.

The main characters in both Fringe and The Good Guys are far from the average CSI or Law and Order style law enforcement. Sadly, with Fringe in its third season and The Good Guys still in its first, it is questionable whether either show will return next season, as both receive low numbers of viewers compared to shows like Raising Hope or Glee. Similarly, Running Wilde also reports low viewer numbers, and is almost certainly destined for cancellation. After being preempted several times, this is to be expected; the show was never even given a chance.

Fox's new motto, “So bold, so brash, so Fox,” perfectly describes the image the company is projecting. They're bold enough to keep force feeding us several different takes on a single idea. They're also brash enough to cut any hint of wit or subtlety out of their programming. They're Fox, and they like to think of you not as a person with specific opinions, but as an individual belonging to a large group that shares the same thoughts.