Adventures of a lego spaceman

This is where my new web log is going to be from now on. I gave up my main web site, so I thought I would try out livejournal from now on.

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Thinking of dropping my blog
I get the impression I'm communicating with about 4 people with my blog. I'm wondering if I should just stick with email and delete this thing.

By the way, the music was something I put together years ago and just actually found as one of those files that kept popping from one computer to the next as I kept upgrading. To this day, I don't honestly remember if the music was original, created from a previous score or part of my little phase where I was trying to create music programs (I created a whole bunch of them at one time, although most of them have been lost). I know I was using this one on a business web page I was maintaining some years back. That's probably the only reason it has survived this long.

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Kind of overwhelmed right now
I think I bit off more than I can chew this semester. Teaching 4 classes, working at the Herald and then trying to actually think about dissertation work (while preparing to finish off the orals) is dragging me down big time.

Last night, I finally went to bed after being completely exhausted. Mentally exhausted. I had this really weird dream where some police officer showed up at my door and said there was a noise complaint, and then for four hours (real time) he proceeded to search every nook and cranny in my apartment. Don't even remember what he was looking for. I do remember his name was either Officer Bor or Officer Bol (can't remember exactly which one). Then I woke up and felt even more exhausted than when I went to bed.

Lately, I haven't had the time to do more than teach at KVCC, teach at Western, work at the Herald and then sleep (while preparing for teaching in the few moments that I'm not sleeping).

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Some good news on a busy day
Taught my first two classes at KVCC today (PSI 100 and 101). While I was preparing for my first class and at KVCC, I checked my email and got some great news (more about that later). So I taught my two classes and then headed off to the Herald to prepare the newspaper for tomorrow. Then about 6pm, I finally got to go home.

Well, a couple of things. First, I think my computer is about to collapse. It's been making strange grinding sounds for about a week now, and no matter how hard I try, I can't tell if it's one of the fans or the hard drive itself. The sound doesn't continue non-stop, so I can't use my old method of just unplugging the hard drive and listening to hear if it's still making the sound. It gets really aggravating because it feels like my computer is about to just stop working. I really don't want to buy a new one right now. Money is okay, but I'd like to avoid stupid spending if possible.

Anyway, back to the email I received. My novel, Thompson's Bounty, was accepted for publication. It could take anywhere near a year for the actual publication, but they're going to send me a hard copy contract, and then it will begin the publishing process.

This is the first science fiction novel I've had published. My last novel was a mystery/suspense novel.

Aside from that, another rejection from an agent for one of my other books, but that's kind of expected these days. Just gotta keep sending out the queries.

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Founding my own religion...Shaniaism
I was thinking about this earlier this evening. Why can't I just form my own religion and worship Shania Twain? I mean, let's examine this.

I tend to often talk about morality as the reason why I would be religious.

Well, in my personal belief system I believe that Shania would like me to be a good person and do things to help other people. So, in order to make Shania happy, I try to live my life in a good manner, always trying to keep in mind the needs of others as well as my own.

I stated that I worship no others but Shania. I never take Shania's name in vain. I would never kill anybody, because I know that Shania would never condone such behavior. I never steal because Shania would never condone thievery as well. I never talk back to my parents because this would also displease Shania.

Now, granted, I haven't spoken to Shania personally about this, but I have read all of the lyrics of her music, and while some of the lyrics contradict each other from time to time, the general tone of her lyrics indicates that one should love Shania Forever and For Always and that In Her Car, She'll Be the Driver, and even if I Feel Like A Woman, That Don't Impress Her Much.

So, what more do I need to make this a legit religion?

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Got this from Melanie's page

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well. An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly. You are also good at remembering information and convicing someone of your point of view. A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary. You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

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Alexander and Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone, the director of the movie Alexander, seems to believe the only reason the movie did badly is because of the U.S. focus on the sexuality of his Alexander character. The movie did HORRIBLY practically everywhere.

Perhaps Mr. Stone should revisit the idea that maybe his movie just sucked. I didn't watch it, not because it was about a gay relationship. I could care less. The movie didn't attract me enough to cause me to even consider that as a reason for not seeing.

These stupid epics that put popular actors of today (i.e. really stupid people most of the time) in as great historical figures, really bug me. It's why I have no desire to see them. I don't care if it's Angelina Jolie going at it with Shania Twain. I'm not going to see it. Oh wait. I take that back. Never mind.

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Lastest article: "Good Guy" problem exists only in the mind
The Western Herald - "Good Guy" problem exists only in the mind

There’s an old adage about dating that I believe transcends all current generations. You can go back twenty years and read the conversations about dating, and not surprisingly, you will see the same arguments being discussed today. What I am talking about is the infamous statement of “why do women always date bad guys?” The Chicago Tribune printed an article on this situation in the Dec. 1 “Women’s News” section of its newspaper; the article proposed that women are attracted to the “bad boy” type of guy because they have a “rebel attitude” that women desire to tame. Okay, after we get past the obvious “um, Duane, why are you reading the Women’s News section of the Chicago Tribune?” we can continue to unpack this situation I consider to be a problem.

Now, I have been hearing and reading this type of explanation for a long time. The terminology changes over time, but the current terminology, at least in this article, considered the “cad” an individual that women attempt to win over, but then walk away from, frustrated, because they can never successfully tame him. What was interesting about this particular article is that it was absolutely nothing new. I swear I’ve read this article so many times over the years, that I’m shocked that newspapers and magazines even print them as if they’re breaking new ground.

Now, this usually leads into the other infamous commentary that comes from guys who claim that they are “good guys” but are continuously frustrated because women are seeking the “bad boy” kind of guy. Well, I have a further commentary on this idea, and that is the belief that I perceive most of these “good guys” really are not as good as they would like others to think they are. When I first arrived at WMU, there were a few guys I knew who were constantly whining about this particular phenomenon, and they would talk nonstop about how they were always finding themselves the “friend” to these women who were always dating the wrong guys, i.e. the bad guys. They used to complain that they were always there for these women, yet they were never given a single bit of attention. Thus, these women would go right back to the bad guys once they finished griping to these “good guys”.

Well, as someone who spent his younger years making some of the same complaints as these “good guys”, I think it is probably important to point out that I don’t believe them anymore. I don’t even believe myself (from before) anymore. You see, we all want to be seen as the good guy, but in reality we’re probably no better than the bad guys; we’re just not as obvious about it.

I personally think something different is going on here than the psychologists and analysts put forth in their reasoning. I don’t think it has to do with good or bad guys at all being the victors in these types of relationships; I think the victors are actually the ones that make themselves available. I honestly think it is as simple as that. These studies always quote women who complain about how good guys are so hard to find. Well, that may be the problem because the bad guy is always so much more in the spotlight trying to make contact than the good guy who seems to feel that somehow women are going to contact them.

Women are constantly complaining that the good guys are never around. Well, quite often they make these complaints to the good guys who happen to be their friends. I mean, I have probably ten close friends in my life. About eight of them are women. I’m in relationships with none of them. Why, you might ask? Well, several reasons. One, I feel they’re probably not interested in me because I buy into the whole “women want someone more exciting than boring me” idea. Also, I tend to believe that once they started dating me, they probably wouldn’t be as comfortable with me as they are now. I’m the easy guy, or the easy boyfriend without benefits, to be put more succinct. If I was smart, I would probably end most of these relationships and become more elusive, but I’m not, so I tend to maintain these types of friendships anyway.

The point is: I can make plenty of complaints about how many times I’ve had close female friends complain to me about really bad relationships they’ve been in with really bad guys, but it’s really my fault for being that person they can turn to. Quite often, I’ll help them through the bad situation they’ve experienced, and I’ll think I’m helping out a friend, but in reality what I’ve done is help them get over the last bad situation so that they can get into the next bad one much sooner than if they didn’t have me around to help them through the experience. And more often than not, they go back to the same guy that fits that “bad boy” mentality that becomes a big part of the complaint process.

Even with all that said, I do believe that there are some good guys who actually do exist. I tend to believe they are far harder to find, and rarely are they the ones complaining about being unable to find dates. I think most of them pull themselves out of the dating environment and focus on bettering themselves in hopes of one day finding the right person and then having something decent to bring to the plate. A few very fortunate ones may be in the right place at the right time, but I tend to believe that’s the Hollywood version more than reality. In this day and age, I tend to believe that if a woman is truly seeking the “good guy” in a sea of “bad guys” masquerading as “good guys”, perhaps they need to be a lot more careful about what they are seeking. When they find the right person, they may have to make the move themselves rather than wait for the next opportunist “bad guy” to intrude on their plans. If not, they can always find a good guy-friend to complain to about why they can’t seem to attract the right guy.

Duane Gundrum, the Western Herald opinion editor, is a Ph.D. student from Santa Monica, Calif., studying political science.

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School starting back up
To be honest, I could have used a lot more time during the Winter break. But school starts up today. My first class I have to teach is tomorrow at WMU. But I have to work at the Herald today. Next week, I start teaching my other three classes at KVCC. I'm thinking I might be overstretching myself.

To be honest, I'm really not working forward to continuing at the Herald because it's a constant reminder of partisanship. Plus, it's sometimes a nightmare just trying to get people to send in the articles they should naturally be sending in anyway.

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Sometimes I think TV just gets it wrong
We all know about the success of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. It doesn't take much analysis to realize that there's a stereotype the show is playing upon, and that's the belief that gay men are generally more fashionable than straight men. It may even be true. Most of my gay male friends in the past tended to be much more fashionable than me. Then again, prisoners on death row are usually more fashionable than me, but that's another issue.

Anyway, there's a new hybrid of that show coming out (or is out) which is essentially something along the lines of a Queer Lesbian Eyes for the Straight Girl, or whatever it's called. Now, this is about where I draw the line. I've known MANY gay women in my time. You might even say that before coming to Kalamazoo, most of my friends were lesbians; I don't know why...they just tended to get along with me.

But the important point IS: gay women don't usually have the stereotype of dressing better than straight women. Not by a long shot. In my opinion, it just seems like a strange concept to try to sell as they're not even going off the correct stereotype.

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