Six-Shot: Some Insight & Miscellany

One.  Our birthdays were celebrated over the course of four days, beginning with Keisha's on Thursday and ending with my Birthday-Part2 on Sunday.  Saturday was spent across the river in a bigger city where we could dine on exotic Indian cuisine and lollygag around Babies-R-Us for a few hours.  We also stopped by the Guitar Center, Borders, and Sam's Club.  The night ended with a rematch game of Rook against the Winslows, wherein the Stewarts were utterly trounced.  Sunday brought the normal church activities, as well as an afternoon boring game of Bears v. Seahawks, Lego Star Wars, and an evening rematch of Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit (which I won).

Two.  Was it mere coincidence that my flash-fic piece, "Fate & 15th," ended on my birthday, January 15th?  Let us examine.  Coincidence: an event that might have been arranged although it was really accidental.  I can't say, though I would be inclined to say yes.  Some, however, would cry irony, and I would have to disagree with their incorrect word choice.  Further demonstration can come from an incident that happened last week, where my mind mistakenly chose irony when it clearly was coincidence.

Example:  I work a lot of crossword puzzles.  I was thinking one night (not sure why...) that I had not seen Nils Lofgren's name in one in a while, and his name appears quite often.  Nils, for those unfamiliar, is part of the E Street Band of Bruce Springsteen fame.  The next day, the crossword clue had ____ Lofgren.  This, dear friends, is coincidence, an expected outcome that I hadn't intended on happening happening.  Irony would have been ____ Springsteen. 

Three.  I enjoy dark songs, as I mentioned last January, so it seems a logical extension that I would enjoy dark fiction.  The stuff just seems so real and honest, usually offering more insight to the human psyche than a field of wildflowers beneath a rainbowed sky with unicorns chomping on some grass off to the side.  As such, my writing is often dark (evidenced with nearly every bit of flash fiction I've written, and many of my short-stories, too).  My most recent piece, "Fate & 15th," was designed to pursue a dark tone, create a story by using the same or similar opening lines for each vignette, and confuse the reader by making things unexplainable yet realistic.  In part in was inspired by Neil Gaiman's short story "Other People."  My love for Lost also seems to come in with these related arcs, too.  "Fate & 15th" began with only Part One, but when I was finished I wanted to know more.  The shadows needed more, and they seemed to permeate throughout all five parts.  Are the shadows inner demons?  Yes, but they're more than that, too.  I do write and read fantasy, and who's to say that this tale is in our familiar world setting?  (As Dave pointed out, an 8-chambered .44?)  Perhaps these dark beings are more than just inner demons, or perhaps they have much more power over their victims.  Who knows?  All I know is that it was fun and could provide fodder for something else down the road...

Four.  Generosity keeps begetting generosity.  I don't know if it's because I've been part-time laid off or if it's just Providence taking care of me, but things keep happening and I keep finding myself more and more impressed with people.  Even though my paycheck is now two weeks late and I should technically get paid again this week, I'm not worrying.  I know God provides.

Five.  Pat Rothfuss recently announced his book tour for his next installment in The Kingkiller Chronicles, and he's coming nearby again.  I've already made preparations to drive the 3+ hours to see him.  If he's coming close to you, consider visiting the man.  Here's his tour schedule.

Six.  Was my aforementioned example somewhat pretentious?  I hope not, for I meant not to be, only musing on my own enlightenment.  Oh, the new Decemberists album The King is Dead is currently available on Amazon as a $3.99 download.  I abandoned 2666.  Yeah.  That's number six...  Book review (likely) tomorrow.