crazietalk.net

Lavabe wrote:

captmojo wrote:Unfortunately, there have been too many like this, this year, for a team that can honestly be called a contender.

So, about my earlier-in-the-season question to wilson regarding a .500 season for the Bravos...

They're still a far better ballclub than that (and frankly, they're considerably better than when you asked that question). That's why I don't get this team. One of the most perplexing teams in my memory.

wilson wrote:

Lavabe wrote:

captmojo wrote:Unfortunately, there have been too many like this, this year, for a team that can honestly be called a contender.

So, about my earlier-in-the-season question to wilson regarding a .500 season for the Bravos...

They're still a far better ballclub than that (and frankly, they're considerably better than when you asked that question). That's why I don't get this team. One of the most perplexing teams in my memory.

Yes, but if I look at the Braves' injury status (especially Hudson), the strength of the Phillies' pitching (through trades), I am left to wonder how Cox has them even at a .505 percentage. Who ARE these Braves? And to make matters worse for the Braves, how do they compare with other teams in the Wild Card race?

It's sort of like the Red Queen Hypothesis: you have to get considerably better just to keep in place.

I don't disbelieve that the Braves won't end up .500 or better. They have talent.
Every year they seem to have just a handful of teams that they just can't get over. It also seems that these teams happen to hang near the bottom of the standings, while the Braves do fairly well against the upper part. Look at this year's record with Philly, for example. I don't think bad match-ups are as true a case for baseball as they are in other sports. Especially when you consider how often the two meet during a season.

The folks that run the show at the workplace have called. They want me to come in and select a new "Mule" for to call my office of operation. As much as that pains them , away I go. They haven't dared to touch the one I was working from. It might cost them a dollar.


They have more money than God.

They should. They've been in business just as long.

bjornolf wrote:Just finished two more chapters of my new book, and I'm going to bed. I've just finished Capter 6 and am up to page 50. it's a good start for three days work, I think, considering I spend so much time chasing the kids. 'Night.

I find this amazingly impressive. I've tried to start writing a novel, and always end up staring at a computer screen for an hour with nothing coming out.

Lavabe wrote:

TillyGalore wrote:

Lavabe wrote:Aside from wilson, are any of us in real life known by our crazietalk names?

I've been called Tilly a time or two. I like Tilly better than my real name.

FWIW, the last movie I saw on TV Madagascar in Antsiranana was Goldfinger (dubbed in French). And yes, the person who did Pussy Galore had exactly the same voice as Honor. The Sean Connery voice sucked big... too Parisian an accent.

Do you think Honor did her own French dubbing? So weird to call someone else "Honor".

DukeUsul wrote:

bjornolf wrote:Just finished two more chapters of my new book, and I'm going to bed. I've just finished Capter 6 and am up to page 50. it's a good start for three days work, I think, considering I spend so much time chasing the kids. 'Night.

I find this amazingly impressive. I've tried to start writing a novel, and always end up staring at a computer screen for an hour with nothing coming out.

Thanks, doesn't mean it's good though. ;) If you want a hint, here's an exercise that I do that helps me get started if I'm stuck. If you're writing Sci-Fi or Fantasy or something you're creating from whole cloth, I write a little history of the world/setting. For fantasy, I write some mythology, who are their gods, etc.? What kind of mythical creatures are present, and what are the rules for them? What nations are there, and what kind of political system do they have? I even get down to what their people are like (Nordic v. Arabic v. Eastern European v. Western European v. south Asian v. east Asian etc.), what the climate is, what kind of clothes they wear, what the political system for each country is, what the different nations' economic fuel is (agriculture v. warfare v. magic v. mining v. industry etc.), what weights and measures they use, what money denominations they have, is there a language barrier between countries, is there a common language that all speak along with those native tongues? You can even have a little history of the world. Which countries hate each other? Which are allies? Have wars actually been fought? Then, I write a little blurb about each of my main characters. Describe them: physical, mental, social, financial, occupation, education. A lot of this stuff is pretty EASY to think about, and once you have that, you find you've already written a bunch of pages that you can use as a handy reference later. It's also kinda fun. I find that once I've done a lot of that, I find a lot of inspiration, and a lot of it writes itself. You figure out the problem, then you just have to plug the characters into the situation and BAM! Sine you have the characters and "know" them already, they do what they do in the situation. Your mind will tell you how they'd react and what they'd do and say.

If you're writing something in an existing setting. I still write the character stuff, but for the setting stuff, I do research. I'm setting my current novel in Alexandria, VA. Even though I know the area pretty well, I still went around taking some pictures and checking out the google maps satellite photos of the area. Those are a HUGE help for making sure you put things in the right places. I write a little about the "feel" of the place (is it older, with brick sidewalks and iron street lamps, or is it super modern with skyscrapers and bullet trains). What kind of cars are parked in the streets? Clunkers? All new Beamers and Mercedes? Somewhere in between? If you want it realistic, your photos can help you with that. Anyway, after that, it kind of works the same. You figure out the point of the story, then plug in the characters and see what they do.

Just a thought. Let me know if this helps or if you need more.

wilson wrote:Not to worry though; I'll be otherwise engaged for much of the weekend.

Oooo! Road trip to Charleston for your sweet thang?!!!

bjornolf wrote:

DukeUsul wrote:

bjornolf wrote:Just finished two more chapters of my new book, and I'm going to bed. I've just finished Capter 6 and am up to page 50. it's a good start for three days work, I think, considering I spend so much time chasing the kids. 'Night.

I find this amazingly impressive. I've tried to start writing a novel, and always end up staring at a computer screen for an hour with nothing coming out.

Thanks, doesn't mean it's good though. ;) If you want a hint, here's an exercise that I do that helps me get started if I'm stuck. If you're writing Sci-Fi or Fantasy or something you're creating from whole cloth, I write a little history of the world/setting. For fantasy, I write some mythology, who are their gods, etc.? What kind of mythical creatures are present, and what are the rules for them? What nations are there, and what kind of political system do they have? I even get down to what their people are like (Nordic v. Arabic v. Eastern European v. Western European v. south Asian v. east Asian etc.), what the climate is, what kind of clothes they wear, what the political system for each country is, what the different nations' economic fuel is (agriculture v. warfare v. magic v. mining v. industry etc.), what weights and measures they use, what money denominations they have, is there a language barrier between countries, is there a common language that all speak along with those native tongues? You can even have a little history of the world. Which countries hate each other? Which are allies? Have wars actually been fought? Then, I write a little blurb about each of my main characters. Describe them: physical, mental, social, financial, occupation, education. A lot of this stuff is pretty EASY to think about, and once you have that, you find you've already written a bunch of pages that you can use as a handy reference later. It's also kinda fun. I find that once I've done a lot of that, I find a lot of inspiration, and a lot of it writes itself. You figure out the problem, then you just have to plug the characters into the situation and BAM! Sine you have the characters and "know" them already, they do what they do in the situation. Your mind will tell you how they'd react and what they'd do and say.

If you're writing something in an existing setting. I still write the character stuff, but for the setting stuff, I do research. I'm setting my current novel in Alexandria, VA. Even though I know the area pretty well, I still went around taking some pictures and checking out the google maps satellite photos of the area. Those are a HUGE help for making sure you put things in the right places. I write a little about the "feel" of the place (is it older, with brick sidewalks and iron street lamps, or is it super modern with skyscrapers and bullet trains). What kind of cars are parked in the streets? Clunkers? All new Beamers and Mercedes? Somewhere in between? If you want it realistic, your photos can help you with that. Anyway, after that, it kind of works the same. You figure out the point of the story, then plug in the characters and see what they do.

Just a thought. Let me know if this helps or if you need more.

Awesome tips. I'd love to give this a try again sometime soon.

Write plays, you don't have to describe a thing, that's what directors are for!

It's also probably easier to get a play produced than to get a novel published. But that's only if you don't care about making any money. If you actually want to get paid for your writing, stick to novels. Or, if you're good and lucky, write a screenplay. They get paid but they don't control their own work, it's a tradeoff.

Bostondevil, whose scarf is that in your avatar?

Ah, that's better. I couldn't take looking at myself another minute!

But thanks to all those who complimented my picture.

TillyGalore wrote:Bostondevil, whose scarf is that in your avatar?

It's the scarf I knit for Ronnie's oncologist.

Bostondevil wrote:

TillyGalore wrote:Bostondevil, whose scarf is that in your avatar?

It's the scarf I knit for Ronnie's oncologist.

What color is it? Black, blue?

I've not done anything that requires a cable stitch, though one of these days I will.

It's navy blue. It's hard to photograph that color properly. I tried with the white background but still.

Cables are easy-peasy. Next time I'm in Durham, I'll teach you. It'll take 2 minutes.

I love cables because they make everybody think you worked hard! Two things about cables though, they do slow you down a little bit and a pattern with cables will use more yarn than a pattern without them.

Bostondevil wrote:But thanks to all those who complimented my picture.

Your other picture was much hotter.

Shammrog wrote:

Bostondevil wrote:But thanks to all those who complimented my picture.

Your other picture was much hotter.

If you've got it, flaunt it.