Hand Me My Graduated Cylinder...

Hello to all of you who just hit the "Next Blog" button and were redirected here. Congratulations you have just upped my readership by one person. This brings my readership totals to...well, one (not counting, of course, my fiancee).

The title means nothing. With all the high schoolers graduating I just got nostalgic for all the old chemistry...

So, with the news that I am to be gainfully unemployed for at least another week I have been refinishing kitchen chairs, chopping up firewood, and looking for places to publish.

The kitchen chairs are for the house Megan and I will live in once we get married. I sanded one down and have replace half of the spindles. It sucks. I bought wood filler for the rest. I am so done with sanding.

My parents seem to cut down at least one tree out of their yard per year. That's were the splitting wood comes in. I have done two logs so far. About thirty more to go. Payment would be nice, but is unlikely to come. At any rate, I'm stealing all the wood.

In most of the online journals I've looked into all of the stories seem to be about sex and alcohol and being "deep". That's bull crap. There are hundreds of literary magazines online there have to be some that are just about telling a good story. Whatever happened to virtue? I know alcohol and sex and drugs and all of that stuff are a very real part of life. Those things happen. Those things are a part of who some people are. But why is the dark and the sad things of life that people are drawn to?

I feel that by focusing on these things people begin to believe there is no good in the world. What these people fail to realize is that there can never be good in the world unless people put it there. Humanity is not entitled to good things. Good things are a reward for efforts rendered.

And for those of you for whom wanton sexuality, drug use, and violence are good things congratulations you've already got your reward. No more effort needed. Good luck.

-KJB

Rejection

So this post will be brief. I've decided that rejection letters don't really bother me. And the truth of the matter is they shouldn't bother anyone who is aspiring to be a writer. It's part of the business. Besides it's not like I am scrambling to publish so I can make money to buy groceries. And I've only really submitted like three times. My aunt Wendy just had a book published she had to send it to like sixty publishers. I've heard one-hundred are so is not uncommon. I won't get down though. I refuse to. I must press on.

Here is today's rejection letter (which I received just hours after submitting, 'elimae' is good like that) :

"Good evening. Thanks for thinking of 'elimae.' This one isn't right for us, but we wish you the best elsewhere."

It almost sounds like. Please, please, please don't submit anything to us again! I know it doesn't really mean that. I'm no Shakespeare (nor do I wish to be), but I'm not Danielle Steele either.

So there you have it...I'm sure there will be many more rejection letters to come. And I will post them all up here just for laughs. It'll make the first publication all the sweeter.

-KJB

...and the Livings Easy

OK, so it's been a month. I realize that. I get that. I understand that anyone who actually was reading this has now given up all hope. Oh well. Perhaps reading my blog is to other people what reading J.R.R. Tolkien is to me. Difficult as well as a trial of faith. "It gets better right? It gets less long-winded?" I can't tell you. I've never finished Tolkien.

So I suppose in the way of updates I am home again for the summer. Right now I am sitting around in my gym shorts and undershirt waiting for it to be time to get ready for church (Oh yes there is a specific time. It's 12:13). What has possessed me to update this. I haven't the foggiest.

I have spent the last week watching movies and reading comic books. All in all a rather productive use of my time. I have also done some wedding planning with Meg. I don't know if it's just me, but it seems that hours can be spent on planning and all that is decided is what material we want the tablecloths to be made out of. Is there a point where it picks up the pace? I don't understand why anybody ever wants to do this more than once.

Mostly, I've been waiting for Menards to call me back and say I can start working. I need money. Money for rent, money for the wedding , money for being married. I also need to write. I haven't written so much as one fluent and interesting sentence since I got home (and this blog post is certainly no exception to that). Before I left for home I did edit some of my flashes. I think one or two more revisions and I will start sending them out. See where that gets me. It'd be nice if I had maybe one publication under my belt before the summer ended (0r at the very least a very kind and personal rejection letter as opposed to the very dry form letter the broken plate sent me a year ago. They neglected to send me anything this year).

I guess I wasn't completely honest when I said all I've done is lounge around. I went to the driving range with some friends on Wednesday. Thursday we played ultimate frisbee. Friday we went real golfing. I haven't been in two years. It showed. I might have to go some more this summer. I show potential, but it won't do me much if I just let it lie. I'll go with my dad though. Golf is an expensive hobby.

I'll see if I can't get in the habit of updating this more often. It seemed important to me to have it at the time I made it.

-KJB

It's all lies. And pictures of also lies.

So I am a terrible bold faced liar. I said I would put up a flash fiction for your enjoyment within a day and it has been 17 days. I offer my sincerest apologies to my lovely fiancee. I will never again make fun of your sparse blog postings for at least a few weeks.

But I do have a particularly good reason for a lack of entries. Megan and I have been announcing our engagement to family and friends. We also have been going back and forth to Indy for Easter and doctor's appointments and the like. I got my braces off which is exciting. I am also working on a creative project for Honors 202 which involves me illustrating all of the circles of hell from Dante's Inferno. I am on five now and I only have three more weeks so I am kind of pressing on with that.

So basically, I will put up a flash when I edit one to the point where I want to post it. I have to edit one for class anyway so I will definitely have one by the end of the semester. I know all none of you are aching with anticipation.

As a way of compensation I will give you some bad (tasteless) jokes my dad came up with in light of recent pirate attacks off the coasts of Somalia.

1. Did you hear Johnny Depp died? He's one of the pirate's isn't he?
2. Do you know how they beat the pirates? They came around the side where they have their eye-patches.

Ah, yes my father the master of humor.

Until next time.

-KJB

First Post

OK, so I made fun of Meg for starting a blog so of course I turn around and start one myself. After all, it's only logical. Or maybe it's not. I don't know. I figure it's okay as long as I keep it up better than she does. Which won't be hard at all since she updates like--um--never.

Anyway this blog is going to be centered mostly on my writing and my artwork. I'll post flash fictions and drawings and paintings and photos, etc. hopefully on a regular basis all for the enjoyment of the like 5 people who will actually read this. Nothing like having a fan-base.

Well I guess I can't leave everyone empty handed on my first post so I guess I'll post something a little older.


I took this picture outside of a museum in Ecuador. I've always really liked it and I think that it pretty much sums up how just BEING in Quito makes you feel. Oh and all those little specks in the distance, yeah those are more buildings. Quito's like that in all directions and we were "close" to the edge of it.

I guess that's all I really have for right now. I think I'll try to put a flash up here by tomorrow for your reading pleasure (or displeasure).

-KJB