tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26413801036745112092024-02-19T03:37:34.710-05:00The ByproductWelcome to the journal of writer Daniel Powell.
Movies, books, and the occasional discussion of life and family...Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.comBlogger974125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-72745647213416463212023-02-21T10:14:00.001-05:002023-02-21T10:14:19.163-05:00February Reviews: Gray Mountain, John Grisham<p style="text-align: center;"> <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-AEbyrOXpMjVRRnK0hGmCznoR9ShQ8Z5yzBxJAYQdeiOzQpguXsqhX99cEZ6b5CfJdeyUhrdwoCme-p3ALbVbS5tLxlYhnHXpRoPuJGYrabrgtub0665fioWVLqRKPAhawuikQiWY32FM_Sges5dUAQftcOEommVMao1keTriPqHcuNyn2aE6DFk1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="182" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-AEbyrOXpMjVRRnK0hGmCznoR9ShQ8Z5yzBxJAYQdeiOzQpguXsqhX99cEZ6b5CfJdeyUhrdwoCme-p3ALbVbS5tLxlYhnHXpRoPuJGYrabrgtub0665fioWVLqRKPAhawuikQiWY32FM_Sges5dUAQftcOEommVMao1keTriPqHcuNyn2aE6DFk1=w263-h400" width="263" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I enjoy John Grisham's books very much and I usually knock out a couple per year. I have read three so far in 2024, and his writing is clean, active, and very fluid. He is an excellent plotter and--for the most part--his characterization is keen and compels the reader into a sympathetic investment with the story.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Samantha Kofer is our protagonist in this legal thriller. She is one of the faceless minions in a large New York legal firm charged primarily with reading and revising huge, opaque real estate contracts. The Great Recession looms large in the opening passages of this story, however, and Kofer finds herself out on the street with few options as the firm cuts staff. Her only option is to take a free internship with a non-profit agency of firecracker lawyers in rural Appalachia. Their task? Securing settlements and benefits from big coal for the downtrodden, unskilled workers that toil in the mines under the specter of the dreaded black lung disease.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This book surges forward and Grisham's attention to detail on the ins and outs of the coal industry is admirable. As is the case with most of his books, the research is thorough and the legal tactics employed by big coal are both crushing and draconian. It's sad, really, so read about these small towns whose citizens have been used up and left for dead. Some of the miners have only worked in the mines for a few years before they develop the incurable disease, and that part of the story is heart-breaking.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">While critics generally enjoyed the book, I found it a little light overall and thought that the tale needed a bit more exposition and some additional space to really breathe. As Kofer unravels the thread of a major lawsuit against a particularly aggressive mining company and their strong-arm tactics to level mountains and poison the groundwater, death, covert intimidation, and general mayhem ensue. It's interesting enough, to be sure, but the story feels rushed and the conclusion is short and a bit unsatisfying. It shares a kinship with the movie <i>A Civil Action</i> in the sense that there is no real hope for meaningful reform. The big take-away is that these large companies are above the law, and the human capital in rural America will be exhausted without any meaningful recourse.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is a page-turner and an interesting read that most audiences will enjoy, but it lacks the moral gravitas of many of his better novels (I have read <i>A Time to Kill</i> three times, and still find it one of the best American novels of the last half century). I recommend it, but it's not in the same category as much of Grisham's production, and the other pair of books I have read by this wordsmith in the new year...</span></div><p></p>Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-26119868305915427842023-01-28T09:29:00.001-05:002023-01-28T09:29:17.805-05:00January Reviews: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, by George R.R. Martin<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Knight-Seven-Kingdoms-Song-Fire/dp/1101965886" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="182" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXd7z-XjXrEJSNtgjO7vhcAQxs5SwbqIrdTGdK-IpWzxsom9Frt4wJ0WG7F92LzorUVAYb1TesNEbtM3J0ktW3sTYTFT0BWA13yFBCe4FVqwiLrK2KXttvWYGs4o7t9-R6gCQKhRK9yg7nKJa47OM2YxN1Meet3Y55W69RRWdN3BMx6ArKVvfnMS5O=w263-h400" width="263" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">I continued my January reading with George R.R. Martin's excellent collection of three novellas, <i>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</i>. These longish tales follow a humble hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall after the young squire loses his own knight, Arlan, on the road to a tournament. Duncan (Dunk) is leal (loyal), noble, and freakishly strong. He stands close to seven feet in height, and Gary Gianni's excellent pencil illustrations bring him to life with stunning aplomb in this tome. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Dunk is ambitious. He is poor, but he aspires to such much more and really only wants some stability in his life. When he stumbles upon a young bald boy bathing in a creek, his future takes a new path as the boy takes an instant liking to Dunk and schemes to become his new squire.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The dynamic between Dunk and Egg (so named for his bald pate) early on is endearing, as Dunk doesn't want a squire and thinks the boy will only slow him down. But Egg is tenacious and hard-working, and before too long the pair become inseparable.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I won't get into too many of the plot dynamics, but Egg is so much more than a humble squire. He is descended from royal blood, and he has an acid tongue, a strong personality, and a full grasp of the turmoil that has rippled through the Seven Kingdoms over the last two decades.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The three novels are consistently well-written, with separate, interconnected adventures. Poor Dunk has a knack for finding himself in tough spots, but his honorable demeanor and thick frame suit him well as he navigates the vagaries of a dangerous world.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Martin's characterization is excellent, and Dunk and Egg are drawn with meticulous care. Dunk's consistent laments that he isn't good enough to claim the honor of calling himself a knight can be tedious at times, but it serves the story well as he ingratiates himself to the various forces to which he aligns himself. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There is a complex dilemma at the heart of these stories (and one that I won't divulge here), but Dunk and Egg are just a few of the figures in these stories whose hearts are in the right place. It's a very satisfying trio of tales, and I hope that Martin revisits their adventures in future stories. They are certainly worth being told...</div></span><p></p>Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-4297630130233202312023-01-26T09:06:00.004-05:002023-01-28T09:33:23.129-05:00January Reviews: Fire & Blood, George R.R. Martin<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.powells.com/book/-9780593357538/1-0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="329" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2ufflA28Oyo7rfd0EW0c1elIUiQHeazrM4acLK2HFYsXNyFi1uccMaaV_8evrCcPtUaWC3-9GXH1qYbIFx8_O21GemETf1LRSMUtd_bFkgmLofvb2G0NNCzM2H-7XZftDCtfgUz8pkV_blQs2EIV1L3bHPoAkO4sKF6tBXnpMLcJZ8paxkqKici50=w263-h400" width="263" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Two or three years ago, I mowed through the six current books in George R.R. Martin's <i>A Song of Ice and Fire</i> saga. That's a figurative embodied metaphor, of course, because I can mow my own lawn here at the house in thirty minutes and reading those amazing books took me the best part of a full year. It was like going to Westeros boot camp, and I was a lowly hedge knight for three hours every evening, eager to lend my sword to any liege lorad with mutton and mead.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It was exhilarating, and I looked forward to those reading sessions all throughout the day.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Martin's stories are told from multiple points of view, allowing the readers all kinds of insights into these lively, round characters. Even though I was reading at the same time that HBO was releasing new episodes of their televisual adaptation (also appointment viewing for us), it was such an enhancement to read those books while seeing the characters on the small screen.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Martin is a wordsmith, a master plotter (I thought we'd never see another writer that could build worlds as adeptly as Tolkien, but perhaps even the great master of the fantasy genre would be impressed with the depth and detail in these tomes...), and a perceptive student of the human condition. He really understands conflict (some of these books will make you wince and squirm and feel a flush of love and joy in a single sitting), and he writes with an active, engaging voice. His understanding of language is impressive, with so many antiquated terms and phrases peppering the writing with great ease.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I loved these books, and <i>Fire & Blood</i> is every bit their equal. In some ways, it exceeds them in its focus on familial history and the broader scope of governance and struggle in the Seven Kingdoms. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Told in the form of a maester's textbook, the writing is humorous, pointed, and fluid. The work covers long centuries of triumph, tragedy, and conquest before the <i>Ice and Fire</i> books. It's spicy, with lots of sex and romance (if you can call it that) subplots, and there are <i>dozens</i> of dragons in this book. The tale of the Greens and the Blacks, which forms the foundation for HBO's spinoff equally excellent <i>House of the Dragon</i>, is simultaneously heart-breaking and revolting, as these characters stoop to the very depths of treachery in their lust for the Iron Throne. The violence is not for the faint of heart, but it never feels gratuitous or indulgent. It merely serves the narrative arch that sitting atop the Iron Throne and ruling the Seven Kingdoms is Westeros's finest drug--a narcotic so powerful that it causes men, women, and children alike to cast aside any façade of human decency in its pursuit.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is one of the best books I've read in the last year or so, and I most highly recommend it to those that love the venerable fantasy genre... </span></div><br /><p></p>Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-18908307287184706292023-01-25T09:19:00.006-05:002023-01-25T09:19:53.648-05:00It Was Always the Jaguars!<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzJsX1ni8Y06WoX9TaFJ80SZaSdIQoP_sH6mGkcr-jWvZLYOoNvGx8MaXNZPwz9aHR_KWHb-25nb3ztG5Pdb-TUwfHSwEP_AOFOWT8Wi49-iWDoxNDStmKOyiCeC37sFmQMUbdS_y1zHEd_L_2p4JHDue3v5-rus28LfUkNRliltXSK66QXRuB8Ebr" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2266" data-original-width="3399" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzJsX1ni8Y06WoX9TaFJ80SZaSdIQoP_sH6mGkcr-jWvZLYOoNvGx8MaXNZPwz9aHR_KWHb-25nb3ztG5Pdb-TUwfHSwEP_AOFOWT8Wi49-iWDoxNDStmKOyiCeC37sFmQMUbdS_y1zHEd_L_2p4JHDue3v5-rus28LfUkNRliltXSK66QXRuB8Ebr" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trevor Lawrance on the run, via the <i>New York Post</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Well, that was one the most remarkable seasons that I can remember in all of my years of watching sports. It's taken a few days to process everything that happened this year after that loss to the Chiefs, but we sure had a wild ride out here in Duval County this year.</p><p>These Jacksonville Jaguars were a revelation, and the future of this franchise looks very bright. The Jags were in just about every game this season, only suffering a single blow-out to the Detroit Lions, and they illustrated a unified, cohesive, and skilled approach to the game in winning both the AFC South Division and a playoff game over the L.A. Chargers.</p><p>Doug Pederson's influences on this young team were immediate and profound. After the clown-show that was Urban Meyer's brief tenure here in Jacksonville (he literally didn't know our players' names and couldn't talk about their status in pre or post-game interviews, and ignorance was the least of his transgressions...), Pederson (we all just call him 'Doug') proved to be motivational, even-keeled, and innovative. I've never seen a coach scheme guys open the way that Doug does. He calls the offensive plays, and our wideouts, backs, and tight ends are consistently open. He coaches with aggressive instincts. I've never seen a team go for it this much on fourth down, but he never becomes a prisoner of the moment. He assesses things, crunches the numbers, and he seems bound by his convictions. He coached one of the most masterful games I've ever seen in my life in that comeback win over the Chargers in the first week of the playoffs and is one of the finest coaches in the league.</p><p>Doug is the <a href="https://www.jaguars.com/news/nfl-101-pederson-coach-of-the-year-2022" target="_blank">AFC Coach of the Year</a>, and the award is well-deserved.</p><p>The defense showed steady improvement over the course of the year, playing its best football throughout that amazing winning streak we finished the year on. There are some huge financial decisions to make in the offseason, but the future looks bright. Travan Walker flashed (he had a pick and a sack in his first game) some dominating skills and Devin Lloyd won the <a href="https://www.news4jax.com/sports/2022/09/29/good-start-linebacker-devin-lloyd-named-nfls-defensive-rookie-of-the-month/#:~:text=Linebacker%20Devin%20Lloyd%20was%20named,has%20won%20that%20since%202010." target="_blank">AFC defensive rookie of the month award</a> to begin his career with JAX. He hit a lull midway through the year, often getting burned in coverage, but finished the season on a much better note. I expect that he will have a really positive offseason and come back ready to start and dominate in 2023/24. He is the answer to guys like Kelce once he gets a better feel for the NFL game, because his athleticism is off the charts. </p><p>Foye Aluokun was last year's best free-agent signing, and the future looks bright for the defense with him as the captain and the defensive maestro. A Yale graduate, he does a good job of setting the defense and putting his teammates in position to make plays. He's a tackling machine that should have been awarded Pro-bowl status, at the very least. I hope defensive coordinator continues to find ways to get Foye into blitzes, because he can go get that quarterback down on the ground just as well as he flies to the football.</p><p>Tyson Campbell, Rayshawn Jenkins (our second-half defensive MVP), Andre Cisco, and Darious Williams form the core of a fine secondary. Jenkins is an unrestricted free agent and will garner much interest on the open market. I don't know that he'll be back in Jacksonville next year, but I certainly hope they can find a way to make it happen.</p><p>The Jaguars offense was led, of course, by Trevor Lawrence. His maturation in his second season was astounding, and it's pretty clear we've never had a quarterback of this skill level (and we all love you dearly, Mark, Blake, and David!) here in Jacksonville. He threw for more than a thousand yards, distributing the ball in a remarkable balanced fashion to a wideout corps that led the NFL with forty-one drops. Just think of how many more yards he might have if that number is cut in half? That's twenty more completions right there...he is mobile, instinctive (he improvised that two-point conversion in the win over the Chargers in the playoffs), and has a cannon for an arm. He makes throws that only a few others in the league can make, and we're talking the likes of Allen and Mahomes. Lawrence is a superstar, and he just gets it. He's <a href="https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/local/trevor-lawrence-celebrates-victory-over-chargers-waffle-house/77-7e75942d-016c-45a2-bb6c-5f411fa9635a" target="_blank">embraced Jacksonville</a>, and I truly think this team will be competitive (and maybe dominant, if Trent Baalke can surround him with some transcendent young talent via the NFL draft) as long as he is at the helm of this offense. We are blessed to have him, for many reasons beyond his prowess on the field...</p><p>Travis Etienne went over a 1,000 yards rushing for the first time in his career. He is a homerun back with surprising grit between the tackles. He also catches that little flair screen and gets north/south quickly. He needs to work on ball security and pass-blocking, but I sense that he will come into his own as one of the top eight backs in the NFL as soon as next season. His future is very bright, and I hope we can get JaMycal Hasty extended to continue in his complementary role this offseason. I've read some pundits calling for another back for the room, but I think Snoop Conner can continue to grow into that role as a thumper and we are good at that position for the near future.</p><p>Let me say this without qualification: I love Christian Kirk. He is a pro's pro, an engaging, smart young man, and a fast, talented wideout. He had two glaring drops that I can recall off the top of my head (both against KC, and one in each game), but he also made at least ten remarkably difficult, hotly contested catches. He gets credit for those of course, and none was bigger than that catch at the boundary against L.A. in the playoffs. When Calvin Ridley lines up on the opposite side, he'll have even greater opportunity and I expect that he will eclipse this year's fine season next year with some help taking the pressure off of him. </p><p>Zay Jones was awesome as well. Despite a bad game at midseason (he was clearly playing injured), he made contested catches, ran away from defenses, and converted loads of third downs. Ridley, Zay, Christian, and Ags (Jamal Agnew) comprise a formidable wideout corps. Marvin Jones, Jr. possesses some of the best body control I've ever seen and has been a steadying, consistent presence on the team. I'm not sure if he will come back on a cheaper contract next year, but I hope we can find a way to keep him and maybe draft a developmental prospect in the second or third rounds of this year's draft.</p><p>Evan Engram is a force, and his play improved on a weekly basis. A true stretch tight end, he is fast, tough, and plays with a chip on his shoulder. Doug schemed him open a lot, and he had a few huge games late in the year. He <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/evan-engram-wants-stay-jaguars-164519954.html#:~:text=Evan%20Engram%20had%20a%20career,to%20stay%20with%20the%20team." target="_blank">wants to be here</a>, but he will be expensive. That said, we need to sign him up. He's young, hungry, and has a great rapport with Trevor.</p><p>The previously mentioned Agnew was also consistently amazing. He is a weapon returning punts and kicks, and he made a ton of plays on offense. This is his second excellent year in Duval, and he is deserving of a new contract.</p><p>Roy Robertson-Harris, Agnew, Engram, Jenkins, Adam Gotsis, Arden Key, Jawaan Taylor, Andrew Wingard, Dawaune Smoot, and kicker Riley Patterson are the most critically important free agents I'd like to see back. Smoot tore his Achilles tendon and I really feel for him, because he has been a consistently solid performer throughout his tenure as a Jaguar. I hope we can bring all of them back, but that is probably asking quite a lot. We need to take care of another batch of rookies, and Doug and Baalke will be working together to scour free agency in the offseason.</p><p>That said, the core of this team is talented and impressive. I see more AFC South titles in the near future (the other three teams are all rebuilding, each has QB issues...), and I think Trevor has every tool necessary to mix it up competitively with the likes of Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, and Herbert over the next half-decade.</p><p>It was an exhilarating year that culminated with a seven-game win streak, another banner for TIAA Field, and a couple of worthy off-season honors from the NFL. This team will be on prime time next year more frequently, and they will be heavy favorites to repeat as divisional champions.</p><p>In short, the future is bright and the foundation has been set. We look young, skilled, and hungry, and in the space of one short season this team has proven its resiliency in a way that none of us--even the most die-hard among us--ever saw coming. </p><p>It was always the Jaguars, my friends, and the positivity surrounding this team is well-deserved and refreshing after a few truly dreadful years of football.</p><p>Say it with me: DUUUUUUUUUUUUVAL!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhik8FqwjUR9xaj0fMqqerZPnoteJIbyDkYXG5kjVaSyll4aSlkFQuQqlLqRhalVxCwtB64pLBUbD1lzBGaApUxA3tEfIoC245w3lSgrpmA66n9yrqj38fd1s5zmFH-rfF1m0jGJVTrC2ffTm1EjUk-OP4ZVml-NayyQrf-Hw1f_QqMO3rKNcx9fm_r/s4032/IMG_0121%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhik8FqwjUR9xaj0fMqqerZPnoteJIbyDkYXG5kjVaSyll4aSlkFQuQqlLqRhalVxCwtB64pLBUbD1lzBGaApUxA3tEfIoC245w3lSgrpmA66n9yrqj38fd1s5zmFH-rfF1m0jGJVTrC2ffTm1EjUk-OP4ZVml-NayyQrf-Hw1f_QqMO3rKNcx9fm_r/s320/IMG_0121%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Powell Family Attends the Jags' Win over Tennessee</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-76567300459953884702023-01-07T12:49:00.001-05:002023-01-07T12:49:06.803-05:00Interesting Articles on Communication Theory...<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Happy New Year! This post is meant merely as a repository for some of the more interesting articles on communication theory that I've looked at in the last few years. If anyone reading this is interested in how we connect with one another in a rapidly changing information ecosystem, this list should include some interesting food for thought...</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/08/how-teens-use-social-media/" target="_blank">"Like. Flirt. Ghost: A Journey into the Social Media Lives of Teens."</a> Mary H.K. Choi, writing for <i>Wired</i></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.ucf.edu/pegasus/is-cancel-culture-effective/">"Is Cancel Culture Effective?"</a> Nicole Dudenhoefer, writing for <i>Pegasus</i></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.cjr.org/redpen/who-or-whom-one-weird-trick-melts-away-years-of-confusion.php" target="_blank">"Who or Whom? One weird trick melts away YEARS of confusion."</a> Amanda Darrach, writing for <i>Columbia Journalism Review</i></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/07/opinion/media-message-twitter-instagram.html" target="_blank">"I Didn't Want It to Be True, but the Medium Really Is the Message."</a> Ezra Klein, writing for <i>The New York Times</i></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/07/03/stories-from-experts-about-the-impact-of-digital-life/" target="_blank">"Stories From Experts About the Impacts of Digital Life."</a> Pew Research Center</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Just a few enticing epistemes, and I hope to add at least a dozen more in 2023.</span></div><p></p>Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-16319899751865281292022-02-08T14:58:00.002-05:002022-02-08T14:58:17.910-05:00A Few Odds and Ends as We Shamble Into 2022...<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Well, it's been a few months since I dropped by these digital digs and turned the sign around on the front door. As I type this, it's cold and dreary here in Jacksonville. We've had a chilly foray into the new year here in Northeast Florida, and I can't say that I haven't enjoyed getting some cooler air here in Duval County.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It's just lovely running the local trails in shorts and a sweatshirt.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The kids are heading into the second half of the year with good momentum. We all enjoyed some restful and restorative vacations together to Oregon (Thanksgiving) and Washington (Christmas) in the fall. These were our first flights since the beginning of the pandemic, and they were surreal, to say the least. We missed our connection between Atlanta and Jacksonville on the trip home from Washington, and we endured the longest lines I've ever seen for TSA screening. We waited well over an hour to get screened, and the labyrinth was probably a mile long if one could stretch it out.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We enjoyed time with family and friends, though, and we saw some beautiful country and played in the snow. We sledded, went wine tasting, had some really fine meals, played golf, went to the Market in Seattle, and enjoyed a fine turkey dinner at my sister's house in Athena. All in all, the kids loved seeing their cousins, and my daughter has an affinity for travel that she was happy to satisfy with a few long flights. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We will maybe take another longish trip later in the year, only this one will be just the four of us. We're talking about a trip to the Capital to see the historical sites, or maybe a little jaunt out to Yellowstone in the late summer. Not sure quite yet, but I'm excited at the possibilities.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Down in the Sawgrass Boneyard</i> has been doing fairly well, and I've enjoyed getting started on a new novel and also working on some short stories. I have a few classes that I'm teaching online at present, and then I'll get back into a regular schedule when my contract resumes in the summer. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Jeanne is doing well in her work at Fletcher, and the kids have enjoyed their experiences in school out at the beach. At some point, we will likely have to look pretty closely at making a move to the beach as the kids immerse themselves in clubs and sports. Lyla is running track, and I'll be coaching Luke's soccer team starting in March.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I just finished re-reading Stephen King's <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V3KJZHU/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1&asin=B00UDCI1AG&revisionId=b940ea9a&format=1&depth=1" target="_blank">The Bazaar of Bad Dreams</a></i> and really enjoyed it. Highlights include "The Dune," "Blockade Billy," "That Bus is Another World," and "Summer Thunder." That last tale leaves a pretty good bruise, and I think I'd like to try my hand at something in a similar vein very soon. I enjoyed Jane Campion's truly excellent <i>The Power of the Dog</i>. I think <i>Archive 81</i> is some of the most tension-filled episodic television that I've seen in a good long while, and <i>1883</i> is more than a worthy prequel to the fine show <i>Yellowstone</i>. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I hope this note finds you hale and hearty wherever you may read it. Keep your wits about you and your eyes on the horizon. Things will continue to improve, even if it doesn't always seem like it...</span></p>Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-65291454123444381412021-08-16T14:26:00.005-04:002021-08-17T11:44:46.779-04:00Down In the Sawgrass Boneyard<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLz8y_OHhEB99DxU6k2nxnzBNiLdTsHrf5EToDEKoP4pejudgIlP8JGZUg8F0mSTI566Cd-c_Echq4RgXjGUHSkDMX5oB31GXwcABwfLkx-U4_uZ85_Fs7NZ9OcaYi-dG2rhRqzIHrr2E/s2048/DOWN+IN+THE+SAWGRASS+BONEYARD_ebook.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1363" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLz8y_OHhEB99DxU6k2nxnzBNiLdTsHrf5EToDEKoP4pejudgIlP8JGZUg8F0mSTI566Cd-c_Echq4RgXjGUHSkDMX5oB31GXwcABwfLkx-U4_uZ85_Fs7NZ9OcaYi-dG2rhRqzIHrr2E/w426-h640/DOWN+IN+THE+SAWGRASS+BONEYARD_ebook.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">On an
otherwise ordinary spring day in sunny Jacksonville, Florida, an unhinged gunman
shreds the fabric of a nation in yet another outburst of senseless gun
violence. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">His
victims are children—innocents walking home from school in those final fleeting
days before the promise of spring break and time spent with family and friends.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">When the
families of the loved and the lost unite in a push for meaningful reform in the
national gun laws, the National Rifle Association squelches their efforts with
a series of backroom dealings and political saber-rattling.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Nothing
changes; but, for so many, nothing will ever be the same again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">This is
Darren Torrance’s sudden reality—a life without his family in a world that no
longer makes sense.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">But there
is something <i>he</i> can do. A change that
<i>he</i> can make in the names of his son
and his wife.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Every few
years, a celebration of opulence and excess known simply as the Gathering takes
place in the heart of the Florida Everglades. Similar to the infamous Bohemian
Grove meetings in California, the Gathering is a week-long celebration of
privilege and wealth as attendees shape political policy and forge business
deals. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Jackson
Ashcroft—the controversial and charismatic President of the NRA—is attending this
year and celebrating yet another successful anti-regulatory campaign season. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">If Torrance
can utterly transform himself and blend into his surroundings in the River of
Grass, he just might be able to provide Ashcroft with the ultimate Everglades
survival experience.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Down In the Sawgrass Boneyard</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> is Darren’s story of
transformation and redemption, as vengeance blooms among the swamp lilies in
this gritty thriller about the power and persistence of a father’s love for his
family.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p></div><p><br /></p>
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</div><script src="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/widget/330594" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script>Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-12510536395440309662021-06-21T09:57:00.001-04:002021-06-21T09:57:15.273-04:00Summer Reading, Gratis...<p>It's summer here in Florida, which means beaches in the morning and an inevitable series of thunderstorms and rain showers in the afternoon. Whether you might be lounging in a beach chair or cozying up in your favorite reading spot while the winds rage outside, it's a great time to get some restorative reading knocked out.</p><p>Reading is the mind's creative battery for the productive writer, and reading widely certainly stretches out a writer's range. In that spirit, I'd like to post links to a pair of excellent anthologies that you can purchase for free right now on Amazon.</p><p>TOR remains one of the finest publishers in the business of commercial fiction, and I love their taste in short stories. If you are interested in an eclectic mixture of intriguing plots, strong writing, and creative speculations, these are superb books. Enjoy!</p><p>They typically create an annual anthology of their finest stories, and I just picked up the following tomes:</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082ZGFHPD/ref=pe_385040_117923520_TE_M1DP" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYHCeHvD_7_4orUTnBJjJfjEzGxYCwhMU-ktaSvkVgleB36Uogc05FQ6eckgE3jquB0v2RWE4p9cO0pmz5TxWirNgUYv9sChAJrlnVn6V2jJmyuWxKfoXTaiUO0e50z4SfROHmYq7U6E/w267-h400/image.png" width="267" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082ZGFHPD/ref=pe_385040_117923520_TE_M1DP" target="_blank">2019 edition<br /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P9B5P5B/ref=pe_385040_117923520_TE_M1DP" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkp1LPvVFPtTx0VXBT9_5PhoOM1ugZiVcL71Ai7-kSj9JS6JJ8db1KK9Ombh-CtyfUA0WxjCsnVuqhMpMSedYnRsiofkKI3yD1GbN5yRDruPlQLoc0PJdyd_C1ujG3Eu1xyG86-MClLN0/w267-h400/image.png" width="267" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P9B5P5B/ref=pe_385040_117923520_TE_M1DP" target="_blank">2020 edition</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p>Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-25342479391566487232021-01-09T10:52:00.003-05:002021-01-09T10:52:53.751-05:00Movie Review: Da 5 Bloods (2020)<p><span style="font-size: medium;">One of the serendipitous outcomes of the 2020 stay-at-home orders (depending on your movie-going habits, of course) was a flood of excellent Hollywood fare migrating directly onto the various streaming platforms. Spike Lee's <i>Da 5 Bloods</i> (2020) was one of those highly anticipated films that you can now view on Netflix. It's one of Chadwick Boseman's final roles, and it's a doozy of a film that takes a while to fully process. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The film is vintage Spike Lee. He's one of my favorite filmmakers for both his ability to tell stories creatively and for the various signatures that stamp his films as uniquely his. Delroy Lindo is amazing in this film as the complex character Paul, and he has one of those great Lee monologues late in the film when he's tramping through the jungle, spouting his philosophy directly into what is probably a steady cam. The film is spliced through with famous stills from the Vietnam War, as well as archival footage of such Civil Rights luminaries as Muhammad Ali and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. These hallmarks of Lee's narrative style add historical context and serve to underline the persistent narrative that both the natives of Viet Nam and the disproportionate number of African American soldiers killed and wounded in action were heavily traumatized by the war. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitZx8KDqisiI6-gxHBjRIKBnhMgHgo2iAm9LAWmQGyNm-CrDbIAj4WYxAu3mVjUTXdziwGgtdiSkQY0BOViN2U5qGPqJlEwAbeCMnBlUsAgbaTIMNpfvRyALdSokYsKc4-83VXnNQYWlE/s1000/five+bloods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="1000" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitZx8KDqisiI6-gxHBjRIKBnhMgHgo2iAm9LAWmQGyNm-CrDbIAj4WYxAu3mVjUTXdziwGgtdiSkQY0BOViN2U5qGPqJlEwAbeCMnBlUsAgbaTIMNpfvRyALdSokYsKc4-83VXnNQYWlE/w400-h225/five+bloods.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">The film spans multiple genres. It's a political film, a buddy caper, a heist movie, and an action film all rolled into 150 minutes of compelling, unsettling imagery. The piece builds slowly while characters bond, and the chemistry among the principal cast is authentic and rich. The third act is a pedal-to-the-medal sprint toward redemption, however, and in this way it's also indicative of a few types of film melded into one cohesive work of art.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The plot involves a group of war veterans returning to Viet Nam for two purposes. They hope to recover the remains of their leader, Boseman's Stormin' Norman, but they're also searching for a large cache of gold bars they'd buried in the jungle during their last tour in Viet Nam. Along the way, they encounter all manner of trials and assaults in the run-up to the bloody, strangely satisfying conclusion. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It's a fine film, illustrating Lee's work at the height of his creative powers. The acting, staging, and writing are superb. It's never a comfortable watch, but it's always compelling--the calling cards of a good Spike Lee film. Give it a watch, but be warned that it can get a little graphic toward the conclusion. </span></p><p><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-83703316553914009552021-01-08T11:31:00.006-05:002021-01-08T11:31:44.705-05:00Shame and Disgust<p><span style="font-size: medium;">When the United States of America began an aggressive bombing campaign against top Iraqi government figures in 2003, the campaign was initially labeled one of <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2003/fyi/news/03/22/iraq.war/" target="_blank">"shock and awe."</a> That's a military phrase meant to characterize an effort to assert "rapid dominance" over the enemy, and I remember with great clarity the images from CNN depicting a surreal nighttime apocalypse in the Middle East. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">That phrase tripped through my mind two days ago, albeit in a markedly different context, when I watched in horror as hundreds of misguided traitors stormed the United State Capitol building, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/capitol-reels-damage-destruction-left-violent-rioters-n1253383" target="_blank">destroying property</a>, <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/congress-adam-kinzinger-capitol-building-house-of-representatives/9412651/" target="_blank">inciting terror</a>, and <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-01-07/world-reaction-to-the-storming-of-the-us-capitol" target="_blank">diminishing the hard-fought legacy</a> of American democracy.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">News broke this morning that one of the defenders of the Capitol Building, Officer Brian D. Sicknick, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/capitol-police-officer-has-died-after-clashing-pro-trump-mob-n1253396" target="_blank">perished last night</a> as a result of injuries he sustained in the melee. So very sad for his family and friends, because this never should have happened!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Nothing else can quite crystallize the toxic effects on logic, rational thinking, groupthink behavior, and misinformation that digital communication platforms have had on the American informational ecosystem as can this particular case study in idiocy. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">While this group of dithering delinquents of despotism claim <a href="https://www.wvlt.tv/2021/01/07/who-is-elizabeth-from-knoxville-and-why-is-she-trending/" target="_blank">"revolution"</a> in their unvarnished responses on air, there is nothing so romantic or authentic afoot in this "movement" by hate mongers, conspiracy theorists, and ill-informed conservatives. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In two short decades, digital communication tools have done so much to inflame the worst behaviors in a small subset of the American people. Their effects include (among so many others that won't be discussed in this blog post):</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: medium;">Inspiring previously hidden bigots to step out into the light, spewing their hatred indiscriminately and mucking up the larger social media infrastructure with incivility, anger, and misinformation. Sure, these people existed before Twitter, but their reach was confined to shoddy newsletters and clandestine F2F meetings. Now, they congregate online, egging each other on, which leads to:</span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">Toxic groupthink idiocy. When swept up in the throws of a riot, most human beings behave in ways they never rationally would on their own. This group in particular, being both ignorant of reality (there were more than <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/politics/elections/2021/01/06/trumps-failed-efforts-overturn-election-numbers/4130307001/" target="_blank">sixty attempts</a> by trump to overturn election results; few among them were successful) and emboldened by their leader, took things ten steps too far earlier in the week. Goodness, gracious people...</span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">The fomenting of paranoid conspiracy theories. Look, it's easy to retweet things. It's easy to like things, and to read headlines without checking the veracity of a story. A discouraging percentage of the people that stormed the Capitol believe in the outlandish, ridiculous theories espoused by nameless writers on private threads in the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-qanon.html" target="_blank">QAnon movement</a>. Look, some of the stories this group disseminates are simply insane. I won't get too deeply into it here, but their reach into the lives of marginalized, disgruntled, ill-informed loners and social pariahs seems to be a serious threat to those doing the difficult work of serving the American government. Some of those duped by these outlandish theories <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/pizzagate-shooter-apologizes-in-handwritten-letter-for-his-mistakes-ahead-of-sentencing/2017/06/13/f35126b6-5086-11e7-be25-3a519335381c_story.html" target="_blank">now regret it</a>, and I think the QAnon presence at Wednesday's debacle was pretty significant.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">Lack of quality content-moderation practices. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other platforms either don't care or don't have the wherewithal to delete these inane posts, although I do credit Facebook and Twitter for <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/facebook-will-block-trump-from-posting-at-least-for-the-remainder-of-his-term/ar-BB1cyBhN?li=BBnb7Kz" target="_blank">locking down trump's accounts</a> in the wake of his damning videos whipping these folks into a frenzy.</span></li></ul><span style="font-size: large;">Ease of dissemination. Inability to discern truth from conspiracy. Toxic hatred. Lack of oversight.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">These four ingredients combined in a horrible stew of anti-American destruction on Wednesday, and I didn't feel any sense of shock and awe in the sense of its original meaning. Of course, I was shocked by their behavior and in awe of their brazen stupidity, but that isn't a recipe for "rapid dominance," is it?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Instead, I felt shame and disgust. These people represent a small (but vocal and growing) minority of our American population. They are followers (those same sheep they love to crow about in their tweets) from the margins of American life and society, content to travel around "protesting" (proud boys my ass) instead of improving life in this country. They are divisive, destructive, and deluded. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Thankfully, our American legislators returned to their work later in the evening and certified President Biden's election victory. That, in my view, is heroic work that speaks to the strength of American democracy.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I am an Oregon democrat living in Jacksonville, and I didn't vote for either George W. Bush or donald trump. In both cases, however, I accepted their victories as the will of my fellow Americans, and I supported them in their efforts to guide our country and move us forward. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I am a patriot--and no, that isn't a bad word. I am proud to be an American and thankful to live in this country. It's not perfect, of course, but I still feel optimistic about America's promise. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">But, even as a patriot, I cannot support trump. I think he's both dangerous and ignorant, and that's a potentially combustible combination. I echo Colin Powell's views that trump <a href="https://www.today.com/news/trump-should-resign-nixon-colin-powell-says-today-t205335" target="_blank">should resign</a>. Powell is a great American, by the way, and his interview touched me because it was so reasonable and assertive. Heck, even that conservative bastion <i><a href="https://www.today.com/news/trump-should-resign-nixon-colin-powell-says-today-t205335" target="_blank">The Wall Street Journal</a></i> is calling on this man to step down. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">You know, in twelve days all of this is going to change. I felt shame and disgust all day Wednesday and on into yesterday afternoon. I was saddened for this great country. But all of this is about to change, and I feel optimistic again for the future in the wake of Congress completing their work and the national reaction to the heinous actions of so many depraved traitors. May part of their punishments be to actually read the United States <i>Constitution</i>...</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVcsNamogGlyjwZN0SGnay8yfYMSFdm2tMMbNLKYNCm7fM7vfNWdKNK4AuIoei1zYGR4ZH7ArkJRL4Yp0hMJGA78J0AY5BKx8vtDbfi2GYJ6PhALznweO29nDuegEr75oc_u_9ZG_72E/s780/210106162409-01-us-capitol-riots-0106-exlarge-169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="780" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVcsNamogGlyjwZN0SGnay8yfYMSFdm2tMMbNLKYNCm7fM7vfNWdKNK4AuIoei1zYGR4ZH7ArkJRL4Yp0hMJGA78J0AY5BKx8vtDbfi2GYJ6PhALznweO29nDuegEr75oc_u_9ZG_72E/w400-h225/210106162409-01-us-capitol-riots-0106-exlarge-169.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Figure 1-1: <i>Not</i> Democracy, <i>Not</i> Revolution</div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><br /></p>Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-6272422578679146842021-01-07T08:58:00.003-05:002021-01-07T08:58:29.179-05:00Turning the Page on 2020...<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3AY1K6Wdd3xZnYwnAxDGdxV0ObQ9b-mwxYJtn5JeH5kFouYSvmd6RAxZae7EydspCT2c4qL_FYQgmKU1SM8bKlBcFVYxvdbItpXv5ncky2nBHfYC-tFiua6wOCoFdj4-fMLCVZEtSo-k/s2048/20200311_125157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3AY1K6Wdd3xZnYwnAxDGdxV0ObQ9b-mwxYJtn5JeH5kFouYSvmd6RAxZae7EydspCT2c4qL_FYQgmKU1SM8bKlBcFVYxvdbItpXv5ncky2nBHfYC-tFiua6wOCoFdj4-fMLCVZEtSo-k/w400-h300/20200311_125157.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">We snapped that photograph back in March, in the middle of what was one of the most enjoyable and surreal family vacations that we've ever taken. We travelled down to Everglades National Park over spring break. It was our first trip to the Glades, and the park is simply stunning and one of the world's most wondrous places. I enjoyed it every bit as much as I have such national landmarks as Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park and the Redwoods National Scenic Area in California. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsvZ9xMyR2es6bdywXYG6ptAvvN6oXRK0zDGzHf5H0Sl0VmT0S1MVjW06OlLXy3Q9XOHRnU2rjuIUf10TvPBIGlROi4gsZV5O8njr3C-NPHX0Xnxdu_qGHdrW79Qqt-sz-3w0PxjjDo7U/s2048/20200310_105423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsvZ9xMyR2es6bdywXYG6ptAvvN6oXRK0zDGzHf5H0Sl0VmT0S1MVjW06OlLXy3Q9XOHRnU2rjuIUf10TvPBIGlROi4gsZV5O8njr3C-NPHX0Xnxdu_qGHdrW79Qqt-sz-3w0PxjjDo7U/s320/20200310_105423.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">We saw every manner of wildlife that you would expect, from enormous alligators to docile manatees. We explored the entire park and spent a few enjoyable nights in one of the strangest towns I've ever visited. Stay crazy, Homestead! We spent the night at a resort inside the glades and explored Fort Myers on our way up the gulf side en route to spring training. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Alas, that was when things got surreal and COVID-19 swept across the face of American life like a Montana whiteout, shuttering sports leagues, restaurants, hotels, museums, and all manner of public venues. We cut the vacation short by a day and, while driving home to Jacksonville through Florida's horse country, sat in silence while the anchors on NPR discussed teh scope and magnitude of the Coronavirus and how it was altering our near future. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">We circled the wagons back at home, sliding into the new normal fairly easily. Luke attended a few more weeks of daycare before taking a long hiatus while Lyla finished the spring semester fully online. My classes for the summer and fall were migrated fully online via Canvas, and Jeanne worked from home throughout the summer before heading back to Fletcher in August. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">We haven't eaten in a restaurant since that trip to the Glades. No Nights of Lights, Spooktacular, corn maze, Riverside Arts Market, or movies since March. Basically, it's been visits to the grocery store and walks in the woods. I've visited Deerwood a few times to retrieve items from my office, but I won't be fully back on campus until May. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Our families are weathering things as best as can be expected, and for that we are deeply grateful. My mom has a pretty fragile constitution, and she and my dad have done an amazing job of keeping themselves safe. My sisters and their families are doing okay, although my nephews miss being in school with their friends. My niece is thriving in Eugene at the University of Oregon, and she is navigating these strange times as best as can be expected. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I won't reiterate here what a strange, heart-breaking year 2020 was. No need for that. It strained our relationships and taxed us mentally. The four of us were not immune to that strain. But we made it through and I find myself typing this in early January with a renewed sense of optimism, some new coping skills for dealing with stress, and a fresh perspective on what it really means to struggle and stare into the abyss of self doubt. I am thankful for so many things, with the health of Jeanne, Luke, and Lyla at the top of that list. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I think we have greatness ahead of us, as a country and as a species. The same existential threats that have plagued us for many years--climate change, inequality in human rights, and global aggression--remain, but I feel slightly better about our ability to persevere after what we saw last year. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">That's not to say that we've done a good job here in the United States with our response to COVID-19. We haven't, and my heart aches for the more than 350,000 Americans that have died in part as a result of COVID. I grieve for their families, and I hope that we can turn our inability to administer these vaccinations around quickly and efficiently. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Happiness is never more than partial, of course, and we can expect ups and downs in all areas of our lives. But there were many downs in 2020, and I'm optimistic that we'll see just a few more ups in the new year. Happy New Year to you and yours. Stay safe, stay the course, and try to inject positivity in your days as much as you're able...</span></div><br /><p></p>Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-48196808264020593932020-09-18T14:15:00.003-04:002020-09-18T14:15:47.284-04:00Friday Throwback Music<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1RwtwdV9PWE" width="320" youtube-src-id="1RwtwdV9PWE"></iframe></div><br /><p></p>Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-25265601121578652452020-08-03T14:41:00.002-04:002020-08-03T14:41:29.111-04:00Summer Reading for the Stay-Inside Set<font size="5">I don't know about anyone else out there, but I'm on pace to shatter my previous record for total books consumed in a year by the end of 2020. In an ordinary year, I might actually knock back forty-five or fifty traditional book-length works (50,000+ words on the short end, with most checking in around 80,000 words) before Christmas, with another twenty or twenty-five cookbooks mixed in for good measure. I love reading cookbooks, but that's a post for another day.</font><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">I've reached the end of my patience with Kindle Unlimited, so I have been borrowing books via the <a href="https://www.jaxpubliclibrary.org/" target="_blank">Jacksonville Public Library</a> and purchasing odds and ends at Costco to round out my home library (<i>If It Bleeds</i> is good!).</font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">As good fortune would have it, however, I encountered a pair of worthy stories in the last week that are both skillfully written and downright creepy. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">Matt and Harrison Query <a href="https://deadline.com/2020/07/netflix-7-figure-horror-short-story-my-wife-and-i-bought-a-ranch-shawn-levy-james-wan-scott-glassgold-1202994855/" target="_blank">recently sold</a> their tale <i><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/f5up4c/my_wife_and_i_bought_a_ranch_in_the_mountains/" target="_blank">My Wife & I Bought a Ranch</a></i> to Netflix. It's a six-part tale unfolding on Reddit, and the piece has an enviable, slowly mounting tension beneath its intriguing plot. While it reads a bit like a stream-of-consciousness nightmare in places, that style is also part of its charm. The central characters (I enjoyed Dan's gritty, no-nonsense approach to discussing such absurd shenanigans) are multidimensional and believable. I enjoyed it quite a bit and read it on a stormy afternoon, which enhanced the experience a bit.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">Josh Malerman is one of my favorite new authors. I was riveted by <i>Bird Box</i> long before it became a film sensation, and I think his serial novel <i><a href="https://joshmalerman.com/carpenters-farm/" target="_blank">Carpenter's Farm</a></i> might be even better than that earlier effort. Characterization, setting, and the author's keen approach to phrasing have made this my favorite novel I've read thus far in 2020. I won't get into the text for fear of spoiling a great story, but I loved the sense of alienation and the uncanny that the author explores here. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">What's scarier, after all, then losing track of ourselves? Of our personal identity?</font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">I hope you are well where you are. As I write this, I haven't been teaching at FSCJ on campus with any regularity in 2020. I won't be, either. We are going fully online again in the fall. While in some ways it feels like a wasted year, in others it has been revelatory. I hope for some calm and positivity in the months to come, and I look forward to brighter days ahead...</font></div>Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-9885642569539426152020-04-07T13:18:00.000-04:002020-04-07T13:18:55.345-04:00Blogging from the Edge of the Apocalypse...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Stephen King's The Stand: a chapter by chapter breakdown" height="253" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcQbcKeIBrofieHBENUHL_Ca3DKpZBK8BASctrlpdDI1G-GeWCN8&usqp=CAU" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captain Trips, from Stephen King's <i>The Stand</i><br /><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As I write this, my wife is driving though Lot J down at TIAA Bank Stadium (home of the Jacksonville Jaguars) for a drive-through COVID-19 test. We live in strange times, to be sure, and I'm thankful that she has been isolating in a separate part of the house and following CDC guidelines for testing after her symptoms began to emerge. We are praying that it's merely a chest cold, but it's important to take every precaution we can to stay healthy in these uncertain times.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">There have been so many great books about pandemics for those that have been bitten by the macabre voyeurism bug. Stephen King's <i>The Stand</i> is an epic tome, of course, and Giovanni Boccaccio's <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/watch/700-year-old-italian-book-about-the-plague-now-a-best-seller/vi-BB12bzpb" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">The Decameron</a> is once again surging in popularity. Justin Cronin's novels are probably selling like hotcakes, and I'm sure Edgar Allan Poe's <a href="https://www.public.asu.edu/~cajsa/eng200_fall07/The%20Masque%20of%20the%20Red%20Death.pdf" target="_blank">"The Masque of the Red Death"</a> is getting a lot of attention as well. <a href="http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/tight-little-stitches-in-a-dead-mans-back/" target="_blank">Joe R. Lansdale</a> and Robert McCammon (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Swan-Song-Robert-McCammon/dp/1501131427" target="_blank">Swan Song</a></i>) write these types of stories with such style and humanity that they will inspire you to scratch out your own tales on the subject. I've always enjoyed (and often taught) Stephen King's "Night Surf." It's one of his first published short stories, and it perfectly illustrates the frustration and futility that many of us have experienced in the last month as life around the globe has changed so drastically.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Our kids are doing fine. Children are so unbelievably adaptable. We can learn a lot just by watching them navigate huge life changes in these strange times...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Jeanne and I are doing okay as well as we adjust to new work protocols and practices. As I mentioned to my students at FSCJ last week in a video--this, too, shall pass...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I miss my office. I miss running the trails at the Arboretum and the Timucuan Preserve. I miss sports. I miss trivial, banal complaints about morning traffic. I miss not getting the side-eye if I have the temerity to cough in public.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">But these are surreal, interesting times and I know we'll come out of them wiser and more prepared as a result of all of this discomfort. I hope you and yours are safe and healthy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Oh, and for my own take on the subject of the pandemic, you can read <i>Remnants: A Record of Our Survival</i> for free <a href="https://www.wattpad.com/14469963-remnants-a-record-of-our-survival-chapter-one" target="_blank">here</a>, or pick up a Kindle copy for a song <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D6VG5RW" target="_blank">here</a>...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Take care...</span></div>
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Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-66799461393596517632020-02-18T15:58:00.001-05:002020-02-18T15:58:32.773-05:00Book Review: The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise<a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1470646014l/30798021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for grunwald the swamp" border="0" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1470646014l/30798021.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MGATWQ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I just finished Michael Grunwald's <i>The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise</i>. The book left me filled with conflicting emotions. I feel pride for my adopted state of Florida and the people that have worked so hard to make it such a fine place to live, and for our species for recognizing what a remarkable natural resource that The Everglades are. As Grunwald notes in his epilogue, there is "only on Everglades, and we have just about destroyed it. It is our ability to recognize this, and to make amends, that sets us apart from other species" (369). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's a fine point, and one can't help but thank folks like Ernest Coe, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Nathaniel Reed, Paul Tudor Jones, Lawton Chiles, countless leaders of the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes, and an untold list of other journalists, politicians, environmentalists, and citizens that dedicated their lives to the restoration of the River of Grass.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But I also feel disgust that the twentieth-century ethic of "slash, cut, dredge, and pave" has left the Glades a shadow of its once-majestic self. I spent some time looking at some of the most recent <a href="https://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/nature/cerp.htm" target="_blank">CERP</a> findings (data set 2012-2017) and, while restoration has yielded some positive benefits, sprawl is still encroaching on the western Everglades and remains a threat to environmentally sensitive areas such as Big Cypress. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">South Florida is essentially built out. Grunwald notes this in his meticulously written book, which was published fifteen years ago, and that statement is even more true now. The limits for horizontal growth in South Florida have been met, and there will need to be drastic changes in how communities continue to <a href="http://1000friendsofflorida.org/florida2070/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/florida2070technicalreportfinal.pdf" target="_blank">plan and develop</a> as we move forward in the new millennium. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I loved this book, and I purchased a copy for my father--a hydrologist that spent more than forty years with the United State Forest Service watching commerce and conservation clash in communities throughout Oregon, Washington, and Colorado. Grunwald is both a lyrical science writer with an active prose style and a careful technical writer that is able to connect the dots between a vast amount of disparate research items. He covers the topic of the Everglades evenly and fairly, acknowledging the various usurpations and thefts of the American government toward the native people of the region with sympathy and pathos. Like many other chapters in American history, the attempted settlement of the Everglades isn't all butterflies and rainbows, and it's clear that various interests with both positive and nefarious intentions collaborated to severely damage America's Everglades. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And yet, the text concludes on a slightly optimistic note by pointing toward a twenty-first-century dynamic of restoration and conservation that will allow the River of Grass to return to some semblance of its former glory. I hope I live to see that day, although the projections for restoring water flow to only 70% of its original capacity are still not scheduled to be met for another twenty years into the future. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I hope to visit the Everglades in the coming months, even if only for a short time, and I wanted to post a quick review saying kudos to Michael Grunwald on writing an important book, and kudos to the various agencies now working to restore these great wetlands to their former glory.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As Marjory Stoneman Douglas said, <i>There are no other Everglades in the world</i>.</span><br />
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<br />Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-6504440732312065842020-01-27T13:50:00.001-05:002020-01-27T13:50:09.290-05:00The Majesty of the Round Marsh<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-391032163075570202019-08-26T12:42:00.001-04:002019-08-26T12:42:38.581-04:00Odds and Ends and the Start of a New Term...<span style="font-size: large;">We enjoyed a productive summer around these parts, for the most part. My daughter attended day camp at Neptune Beach Elementary and had a fun time at junior lifeguard camp (a common rite of passage out at the beaches) later in the season. The kids learned aspects of CPR and other life-saving techniques, and they swam in the ocean and came home happy and tired each day. She is off and running for fifth grade and will be playing soccer on Saturdays at UNF this fall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My son is doing well with his letters, numbers, and shapes. He enjoyed water days at his daycare center, and he loves Italian shaved ice. Luke is learning how to hold his own with the big kids on the street in neighborhood basketball games, and he loves watching <i>Goosebumps</i> with his big sister.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm excited to begin a new term at Florida State College at Jacksonville today. I have new curriculum in a pair of classes, and my course on the philosophy of horror is almost full. I can't wait to explore those texts with our students! We are reading Bradbury and King extensively, with articles by Oates, Barker, Barron, and Dickstein. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have spent fourteen years jogging various nature trails in Jacksonville. In all of that time, I've never seen an alligator on the trail unless it was within sight of a major body of water. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the last three weeks, however, I've had two such encounters!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Three weeks ago, I jogged out to the birding platform at the Round Marsh. I stretched and had a little quiet time for meditation before heading back up the trail. I was a half mile into my run when I glance up the path and see a large creature lumbering toward me. It was about a quarter of a mile away, so I wasn't sure about what it might be.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sure enough, it was an eight-foot alligator. That sucker was covered in lime-green duckweed. It was up doing the gator walk, but it stopped and hunkered down when it saw me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There was no way that I was getting around it, so I had to backtrack and take an alternative route. It was exhilarating, to be sure, but I couldn't help but feel a bit nervous on the return journey.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For those familiar with the area, I encountered the gator just west of the Willie Browne Cabin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Last Wednesday, I stopped at the <a href="https://www.jacksonvillearboretum.org/" target="_blank">Jacksonville Arboretum</a> for a run and I encountered a little three footer at the entrance to the Live Oak Trail. It cracked its mouth open at me and stared me down. I took two steps backward and it kept on trucking--right into the heart of the woods! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I've walked a lot of Florida trails. I've even been off trail at the GTM Preserve (with the aid of rangers), but I've never seen an alligator in the middle of the woods. Frankly, it's a scary thought. It makes sense they would be there, of course, but it's not a common occurrence. I was shocked when I met the big one, but then seeing that little guy last week was really odd. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oh, well...back at it today. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My wife is doing well at Fletcher, and I enjoyed a productive summer at the word processor and in the classroom with students at FSCJ. I think we completed some quality work, and I am excited for the fall term here at the College. Our new president, <a href="https://www.fscj.edu/discover/governance-administration/college-president" target="_blank">Dr. John Avendano</a>, strikes me as an intelligent, inspirational leader. I was very impressed with his candor and attitude last week at Convocation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I don't often jog with a camera (or a phone, for that matter), but I might have to start bringing one in order to document my encounters with Florida fauna. This is an amazing place to live and in which to spend time outdoors, and I am thankful for the chance to get out and enjoy it...</span>Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-77311149120639427772019-07-23T12:57:00.003-04:002019-07-23T12:57:46.544-04:00Taking Stock at Forty-Two<span style="font-size: large;">You've probably heard this one before. I first encountered it years ago, while playing golf with a gentleman a decade or two my senior. I'm paraphrasing, but he told me something a bit like this:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">If you're young and not a Democrat, then you have no heart. If your older and not a Republican, then you have no common sense.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">I bring this up only because I had a birthday a few weeks back. I'm no sage, to be sure, but I thought I'd test my mileage with that saying above and maybe offer up a few insights on the view from here:</span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">People are inherently decent. If you treat others with respect, you stand a much better chance of getting respect in return.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Honor your time and <i>use it</i>. Time may be a human construct, but it keeps us on track. An important personal mantra, by the way, when it comes to time management: <i>Do it now.</i></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Memorialize your life. Buy souvenirs. Take (and print) photographs. Collect things (within reason). They all add up to a record that you'll be thankful for later in life.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Be considerate. Let someone else into the flow of traffic once a day when you're out on the roads. It makes everyone feel better and shows a shared humanity.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Read. Write. Run. I can think of nothing better than that trio if you want to stay engaged with the world, your community, and with yourself. I read widely. I write every day. I run often. These things keep me interested in life, connected to my creative side, and healthy in my mind, heart, and lungs.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Count your blessings. At the end of the day, it's human nature to fall into that trap of coveting what others might have. In reality, though, things could always be worse. I'm more thankful now for the good things in my life than I was a decade ago, and it's simply a matter of perspective.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">See the forest for the trees. How can you be your best self? If you trudge from tree to tree, your head down, you'll never look up and recognize the beautiful forest that is your own life. I try to take stock of things periodically, and I want to be my best self in my forties, my fifties, my sixties, and so on...</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Celebrate! When good things happen or when you accomplish something that you've been working for, celebrate it (and memorialize it!) with others.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Be mindful. Whether it's prayer, meditation, yoga, or simple solitude, find moments to be alone with your thoughts. Knowing yourself and being comfortable with yourself is (and always <i>has been</i>) a salve for modern malaise...</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Embrace your passions. If you love something, honor it (Go Ducks!)...</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Help when you can. I try not to say 'no' when friends call for help if I can pitch in. As a great football mind once said, the best ability is availability (<i>yeah, yeah...I guess I can help you move.</i>).</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Be thankful. I have many blessings for which to be thankful, and I am fortunate every day for them.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is a small list, of course, but these are just a few of the maxims that I try to consider in my daily lived experience. </span></div>
Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-80652340305878093952019-03-05T16:13:00.001-05:002019-03-05T16:13:45.285-05:00True Detective: Season 3<a href="https://i.imgur.com/6Y5Eaqa.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for hbo true detective season 3" border="0" height="153" src="https://i.imgur.com/6Y5Eaqa.png" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We live in a golden era for television programming. <i>Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Better Call Saul, Outlander, American Gods,</i> and <i>The Sopranos</i> are classics of the new millennium. I really enjoyed the first season of HBO's <i>True Detective</i>, but the second season left the rails early and never quite found its way. I think I gave it up at about the midway point, so I didn't really have any expectations for season three when I noticed that the newest installment in this gritty, atmospheric series was available for streaming.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Boy, am I ever thankful that I gave it a chance. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I streamed the third season over the course of three days, and it was an utterly absorbing piece of storytelling. Writer and creator Nic Pizzolatto excels at writing compelling dialogue, and he gives his characters plenty of room for depth and development. Season 3 is populated by complex, three-dimensional characters that are struggling to move forward in difficult circumstances. The grim shadow of the Vietnam War stands over the narrative segments taking place in 1980, and the sorrowful spectre of dementia clouds the latter segments taking place in the recent past.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mahershala Ali is spellbinding as Wayne "Purple" Hayes. Hayes is dignified, fiery, intelligent, loyal, and stubborn throughout the series, even as his mental faculties fade with age. Ali's timing and ability to emote are amazing. He might be the best actor working today...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Stephen Dorff plays Lt. Roland West, and he is excellent in the role. While always loyal to his partner Hayes, West is more than willing to play along with the politics necessary to advance in his position with special investigations. Dorff delivers a consistent, complex turn in playing West, and his proclamation late ("What about us?" he says to Hayes as their partnership disintegrates) in the series will stick with you.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is a story about the power of family. Some families are broken by circumstance. Some are ravaged by tragedy. Some are wrecked by addiction or parental nihilism. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But as you watch this show, it's impossible not to think about your own youth and your own relationships with siblings and parents. It's impossible not to consider how chance and circumstance can intervene on a human life, sending a person down an entirely different pathway. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I became engrossed in the series. It's both a personal and philosophical juggernaut, and--like <i><a href="http://danielwpowell.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-beauty-of-haunting-of-hill-house.html" target="_blank">The Haunting of Hill House</a></i>--is well worth your time... </span></span><br />
<br />Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-2327989204975497892018-12-10T12:06:00.003-05:002018-12-10T12:06:53.635-05:00Horror Culture in the New Millennium: Digital Dissonance and Technohorror<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81lYXAr674L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81lYXAr674L.jpg" width="198" /></a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 2016, I began playing around with the idea of writing a non-fiction text that might explore the changing face of dark storytelling. I have always loved weird fiction, and I'm thankful that my parents encouraged me to read widely from an early age. When I was a kid, I devoured the catalogs of C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, Roald Dahl, and John Bellairs. I watched <i>Monsters</i>, <i>Tales from the Darkside</i>, and <i>The Twilight Zone</i> as often as I could. I relished Halloween and the changing of the seasons, and as I matured, my appreciation for science fiction, fantasy, and horror deepened and became more nuanced. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I was fortunate to conduct interviews for <i>Horror Culture in the New Millennium</i> with many of the authors that I now admire. It was an invigorating piece of writing because I was able to synthesize so many of the stories that I love within a philosophical framework that illustrates the saving power of dark storytelling. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As Joe Hill notes in this engaging <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/25/16533574/joe-hill-strange-weather-snapshot-aloft-loaded-rain-horror-social-media-politics-interview" target="_blank">interview</a>, technology enriches the human experience immeasurably, but there is also an inevitable element of loss as we gradually adjust our customs and behaviors. I wanted to wrestle a bit with the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of that loss as communicated in our narrative tradition.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This book explores <i>technohorror</i> and <i>digital dissonance</i>--a pair of concepts located at the center of our modern literary culture. It comments on the changing face of folklore and interrogates such subjects as human longevity, transhumanism, artificial intelligence, and posthumanism. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I am very thankful to Nicolette Amstutz and Rowman & Littlefield for believing in the project and for doing such a phenomenal job of producing this book. The text will <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KDM3S1D/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i17" target="_blank">be available</a> next week!</span>Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-58887899147475680442018-10-25T15:55:00.002-04:002018-10-25T15:55:50.723-04:00The Beauty of The Haunting of Hill House and the Saving Power of Horror<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nell Crain has a Hard Day</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mike Flanagan's </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">The Haunting of Hill House</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> is almost a perfect piece of filmmaking. The ten-part Netflix series is compulsively watchable, brilliantly acted, carefully paced, and beautifully</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> shot. It's been some time since I watched a show that packed this much emotion and artistry into such a consistent and unified piece of storytelling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">From the opening sequence, Michael Fimagnori's camera explores Hill House both steadily and quietly. Shots are staged so the rooms loom over the characters, and the hushed approach to exposition builds tension and fosters serious dread in the viewer. You won't listen to your own home settling the same after hearing the tap of a cane on hardwoods or the scratching in the walls. Sixteen years ago, when Jeanne and I were married, we lived in an apartment complex that had some of that scratching in the walls. It was so unsettling to come awake in the wee hours to the sound of scurrying rodents separated from our heads by a few millimeters of cheap drywall. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ugh!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>The Haunting of Hill House</i> hits the ground running, and it only becomes more engrossing as Flanagan's careful approach to building tension and establishing atmosphere takes root. It is patient, careful storytelling--and it's that care with the details that makes the dissolution of a loving family so hard to bear as the series sprints toward climax.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jullian Hilliard and Violet McGraw are simply amazing in their turns as Luke and Nell Crain. These are children who work their way into your heart. I saw my own kids in them, and I thought often of my sisters and our time growing up in a drafty old house in John Day, Oregon, while watching this show. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Flanagan makes great use of setting. The sixth episode, "Two Storms," is stunning. As a long scattered and deeply scarred family comes together to mourn the second familial tragedy, the episode splits time between a pair of bewildering storms in two macabre locales--a sterile funeral home and the terrifying Hill House. It's an emotional juggernaut to see the terror on the characters' faces as they relive a horrific and resonant memory while attempting to reconcile the wrongdoings they have visited on each other. Siblings and parents alike struggle to articulate everything they've lost, and all the while Hill House and its evil grip on them works its magic. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A house is like a body, and the way we live speaks for who we are. Hill House is a diseased body, to be sure, but--like the black mold blooming throughout its walls--its dark core isn't strong enough to break the Crains. That any of them survive at all is a testament to the power of love and family, and even those left to stroll their haunted hallways seem strangely at peace with their fate. At least they can be together...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Art represents one of the clearest conduits we have for understanding grief and reflecting on ourselves and our past. There is a cathartic, saving power in viewing aggressive horror stories, and this series is visually stunning, carefully crafted, and keenly written. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's also terrifying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I found the conclusion of the series deeply satisfying. I've read contrarian views online about the final sequence and Flanagan's treatment of the Crains in the final analysis, but I thought he nailed it. Of course, my glass is always half filled, but I thought he made the correct narrative choice in wrapping up the first season.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like American Horror Story, I think this show will feature different motifs and familial dynamics as it matures moving forward. The show's creators have already said the Crains <a href="http://collider.com/haunting-of-hill-house-season-2-netflix/" target="_blank">will not be featured</a> in season two. It's a great choice, as the first season was just about perfect and this family has already been through the ringer enough.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Grade: 'A' </span></div>
Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-27887542781981663742018-09-24T13:02:00.001-04:002018-09-24T13:12:46.798-04:00Fear the Walking Dead is...Well, Dead!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="about:invalid#zClosurez" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Image result for fear the walking dead" border="0" 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" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jimbo, another unlikable character, met his end last night.<br />
About time...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">I think I'm done with AMC's <i>Fear the Walking Dead</i>. In its current iteration, and with only Alicia remaining of the Clark family, I simply don't find the show compelling anymore. I watched it last night and it occurred to me that the show does two things so consistently and repetitiously that it's become a joyless slog to even watch casually (it hasn't been appointment viewing for me in years, alas). It waxes (drones, actually) philosophical on the evil things humans do to each other without even remotely approaching profundity, and it has simply become a never-ending stream of run-barricade-escape scenes. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Like its companion program <i>The Walking Dead</i>, the series began with promise and complexity. It was a character-driven ensemble with some impressive visuals and keen acting. Frank Dillane's turn as Nick Clark was excellent, and I always enjoy the work of Garret Dillahunt (John Dorie) and Colman Domingo (Victor Strand), but I've grown tiresome of Morgan Jones. Lennie James is a fine actor, but Jones's incessant moralizing, ridiculous staff wielding, and constant second-guessing is exhausting. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We get it, guys. Morgan loses people. Then he loses himself.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The last two episodes have been nothing but characters finding themselves trapped before accusing each other of various shortcomings and getting away at the last minute. Oh, and they enjoy using walkie-talkies and they like to say, "Copy that." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">There is no compelling characterization here. Even Martha's (Tonya Pinkins) backstory didn't move me. The video montage of her losing her marbles was laughably bad and there is nothing in her whole, "I'm making you stronger" storyline that is even remotely interesting.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Oh, and how did she get away? I guess we just leave details like that out now. And I love how nobody even cares that she is gone. She tried to kill all of them, and they shrug it off like they missed their morning paper (people still get the paper, right?).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">But, hey...Morgan has a plan and they're all going to Virginia.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This show lost its way after the dissolution of the intriguing Otto Ranch storyline. With so much interesting television out there on Netflix and HBO, I think I'm done with each of these AMC franchises. <i>The Walking Dead</i> foundered in its ridiculous Negan storyline and its relentless torture fetishism, and <i>Fear the Walking Dead</i> has gotten so desperate that it's including alligators and hurricanes in this aimless, boring, never-ending season.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Ugh. Last night's episode is my best contemporary example of a series that is ready to wrap up. Somebody needs to find Alicia Clark and her cool little carbine knife to put this thing out of its misery... </span>Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-64496485386572925822018-08-01T16:37:00.001-04:002018-08-01T16:37:34.178-04:00A Trip Down Memory Lane<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e4/The_Outsider_by_Stephen_King.jpg/220px-The_Outsider_by_Stephen_King.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e4/The_Outsider_by_Stephen_King.jpg/220px-The_Outsider_by_Stephen_King.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Stephen King's newest novel checked just about every box for me in terms of including everything I loved about the stories from the early portion of his career into the mid-1990s. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Convincing and nostalgic representation of small-town Americana? Flint City is that and more, from the communal ball fields to the small-town police force...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Vivid, three-dimensional characters that we quickly grow to care about and relate with? Ralph and Jeannie Anderson, Howie Gold, Yune Sablo, and Claude Bolton are living, breathing people in this story--complete with the biases and flaws that nicely balance their basic humanity. The text makes it clear--almost to a fault--that some of these folks are good people that did a bad thing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">None of these characters is as authentic, though, as Terry Maitland. Coach T. deserves his own full-length story, and I couldn't help but picture a close golfing buddy of mine--a local coaching legend in his own right--every time I think about Terry. The thing that happens to Terry is terrifying. It's one of greatest fears, and he keeps it together better than I think I ever could, that's for sure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Supernatural boogie-woogie based on overt childhood fears and a haunting legend? Oh, yeah. The Outsider is the physical manifestation of an infamous international legend, and he's scary as hell. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Trusted characters from other realms of the King Universe? Holly Gibney shows up here, and she's a welcome addition. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I read this last week and it kept me up until midnight two or three times. It's vintage King, and well worth your time...</span>Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-56140578116067842742018-03-05T12:58:00.002-05:002018-03-05T12:58:53.823-05:00You Know When It's Good<span style="font-size: large;">If you spend any real time at the word processor, you understand that sometimes the writing flows and you just know in your heart and in your gut that it's <i>good. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Other times? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Well, other times the words just sit there--stagnant and flacid on the page. That time is better spent washing the windows or cleaning out the garage.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Well, right now I'm happy to report that I'm experiencing the former. The writing is good, and I know it. The last two weeks have been loads of fun, and I'm excited about where this story is going...</span>Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2641380103674511209.post-67104016533608475572018-03-02T14:51:00.005-05:002018-03-02T14:52:36.581-05:00The Hunt<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Hunt</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Charleton checked
his watch—maybe an hour of daylight left.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">There was a cabin about three miles north, and he picked up the pace, the only sound
the rustle of trees in the wind and the almost constant baying of the wolves
that circled him.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This would be his final hunt. Brayer Cattle paid him well, but he
didn’t need the money. Hadn’t needed it in years, really.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">No,
when all was said and done, he simply enjoyed killing them.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">But
this felt different. They were closing fast and there were more than he could ever remember.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He
covered terrain in sips and swallows, ducking from tree to tree and sprinting through the occasional clearings. The sky opened at dusk, spilling snow over the Oregon backwoods. Charleton sighed and hustled hard for the meadow—and the
cabin in the distance. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He
was halfway there when he heard their approach. He wheeled, rifle leveled. A
dozen majestic wolves fanned out around him, stalking him. Herding him. He backpedaled toward safety, just as a horrible clatter of tin bells and thunderous hooves exploded in the air behind him.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He dove onto the ground as a procession of spectral creatures astride
many-legged steeds thundered through the sky above him. Hounds—dilapidated
creatures, their bone and gristle showing through strips of rotted flesh—snapped at the wolves, scattering
them.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The
procession roared past, a demonic maiden leering at Charleton from her saddle.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“The
wild hunt,” he gasped, knowing all too well that the wolves were the least of
his concerns, and that the worst of it all was really only beginning.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The
End</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="File:Arbo The-Wild-Hunt-of-Odin.jpg" height="214" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ad/Arbo_The-Wild-Hunt-of-Odin.jpg/800px-Arbo_The-Wild-Hunt-of-Odin.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Wild Hunt of Odin</i>, Arbo, 1868</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Daniel Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17773792243682789399noreply@blogger.com0