So I decided to start a new series called, The Wander Years, where I'll go back and blog about old school memories that have stuck with me during my life. Sounds real exciting, doesn't it?
But first, I want to jot down a little background info on how I started blogging. After all, this huge audience I've garnered is hanging on my every post....shaaahh... Seriously, I think my profile has been viewed 56 times, and I know I must have viewed it at least 52 of those 56 times (while updating the blog). Perhaps that's why I like this new exercise--Blogging. It's like shouting out into the great beyond. Ranting and raving, or just whispering at an open field with little chance of being heard by anyone. But there's still the possibility (risk?) that someone will hear you!
Before Qiuvo, I had never blogged before. In fact, I wasn't doing much writing when I started this blog--with the exception of business writing at work (reports, manuals, lengthy emails, etc). I've written short stories, poems, a couple of unfinished novels and a bunch of ideas, but I had not been working on any of this for 5, 10 years? My goodness, has it been that long? And then one day, I was looking up my past schools on the web, when I came across a short obituary for my old Jr. High Principal. I searched for more info, and finally found a nice article that was written about him by the local paper. The search also landed me on the website of one of his children, who happened to go to the same Jr. High around the same time. It was a blog, and I dug the concept. Yeah, yeah, I'd heard of blogging before, I wasn't living under a rock. It's just that you get so wrapped up in life sometimes--mostly mundane bullshit, if you really break it down. So there I was, trapped in the mundane, not having written anything meaningful in ages, when I thought, What the hell?
The funny thing is, after I started blogging, I started waking up my dormant desire to write stories. All of a sudden, I pulled out old manuscripts out of a large plastic bin in the closet. I reacquainted myself with some of my works. I thought, Some of this stuff isn't half bad...if only... And I would blog again, and I would go back to my old stuff once more. Until finally, I began working on an unfinished story. A paragraph here, a couple of words there. If lucky, a full page in one day. I realized that I could do this, lack of time and all. Mundane bullshit and all.
I have to be honest, my writing right now is not at the same level as before. My mind has felt like I've been clearing an attic full of cobwebs, or like I'm rehabbing a muscle after a long period of apathy and inactivity. But it's slowly coming back to me. Blogging has helped. The writing can be sloppy and unspectacular, and so what? The important thing is that a process is taking place, and in that process, I'm discovering and re-learning many things about myself, and of course, I'm writing.
Until next time...
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Friday, September 7, 2007
It's The New Millenium And Still No Conan III
What gives? Conan The Destroyer--the second and last Conan film--came out in 1984. It has been over 20 freakin' years since the last Conan movie came out. There have been a ton of remakes made recently, why not Conan? Why not one of the most recognizable heroes of all time? Why can't we get this movie made, people?
In a recent article published in moviehole.net, an Australian website, Clint Morris reports that New Millenium (the people behind the Rambo flicks) have purchased the rights to the next Conan movie from Warner Brothers. And apparently, New Millenium has to start from scratch, because what had been done towards a 3rd movie by WB is also owned by them (Didn't your mothers tell you that it's nice to share???).
Screen Writers, please submit your Conan III scripts to New Millenium, attention Joe Gatta (producer). Let's get this done. We are talking about one of the greatest characters of all time here.
Link to moviehole.net article:
http://www.moviehole.net/news/20070813_conan_for_the_new_millennium_f.html
Another short article published on ropeofsilicon.com by Brad Brevet:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/news.php?id=6911
-Qiuvo
In a recent article published in moviehole.net, an Australian website, Clint Morris reports that New Millenium (the people behind the Rambo flicks) have purchased the rights to the next Conan movie from Warner Brothers. And apparently, New Millenium has to start from scratch, because what had been done towards a 3rd movie by WB is also owned by them (Didn't your mothers tell you that it's nice to share???).
Screen Writers, please submit your Conan III scripts to New Millenium, attention Joe Gatta (producer). Let's get this done. We are talking about one of the greatest characters of all time here.
Link to moviehole.net article:
http://www.moviehole.net/news/20070813_conan_for_the_new_millennium_f.html
Another short article published on ropeofsilicon.com by Brad Brevet:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/news.php?id=6911
-Qiuvo
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Feel Good About...
After years of going the "cheap" route and commuting to work in small, economical cars (screw you, OPEC!), Mr. Qiuvo decided that it was time to look for a bigger car. After all, commuting to work 42 miles each way--which is not a looong distance but may mean anywhere from an hour (if weekday traffic is ok) to two hours (if there's any sort of accident)--means a lot of damn time spent in the car. Add the 2 little rug rats to the mix (daycare facility is in the same city as Mr. Qiuvo's work), and it gets more complex.
Picture Mr. and Mrs. Qiuvo sitting up front, while the 2 little ones sit in their bulky car seats in the back...in a Chevy Aveo! Not the most comfortable situation, but hell, we did it for a while in mostly a Ford Focus or the aforementioned Aveo.
Well, good fortune fell on our laps when a dear friend decided to get rid of his minivan. No charge, which was a great blessing, although it needed some work. We dumped some $5000 in repairs (back brakes, struts, shock absorbers, tune up and other engine work in order to pass the dreaded smog check, fix an exhaust leak and warped pistons, etc) and thought, Ok, we're good to go!
WRONG!
I would get this nasty grinding noise when using the brakes sometimes. I took it back to the place that did my back brakes (Midas) and was told, "Oh, you can expect a grinding noise for a while. Eventually the break pads will settle into the grooves and you won't get that noise anymore." So like an idiot, Mr. Qiuvo thought, Hell, why not?
The grinding noise came on and off, so it was a bit deceiving. Eventually, almost a year went by and the noise seemed to stop for good.
Until today.
On our way to work, the grinding noise came back strong! And it continued, even when my foot wasn't on the break. Not good, folks. Something was majorly broken. I tried to "ride it out" since I was only some 15 miles from a car dealership near my work. Eventually though, I threw in the towel--this was a major safety hazard (especially with the kids in the car). Not to mention the huge headache I incurred from the sharp, stabbing pains emanating from the wallet in my back pocket. I saw an automobile repair shop and pulled in. I hope these guys are honest, I thought, because I'm completely at their mercy.
I got to work a good hour and a half late. I was running behind, way behind. As I frantically prepared for a metrics meeting I received the call from the auto shop.
Me: Hello?
AS: Hi, this is Charlie from XXX Auto Repair, is this Qiuvo?
Me: Yes it is, how are you? (like I'm building rapport with a customer)
AS: Fine. Listen, checked your car.
Me: Holy shit, please don't let it cost so much. Please don't let it cost too much.
AS: Your front brake was sitting on the rotor. You're going to need new brakes, including the brake pads. We can salvage one rotor, but we'll have to put in a new one.
Me: Ok...Please don't let it cost so much, please don't let it...
AS: It'll come to about $307 plus tax
Me: Yes! Not as bad as I thought! Could that really be it? So that was it? There was no other sort of structural damage?
AS: Well, your transmission casing is broken, that's going to need to get replaced.
Me: Shit! Ok...what would it take to get that fixed?
AS: Well, you'd have to put in a new transmission.
Me: And how much does something like that generally cost?
AS: Well, I can get you a rebuilt transmission with a 3 year warranty for $3000.
Me: @#%&%#@&#%@#&%!!!!
AS: Hello? Are you still there?
Me: Uh...yeah, let's do the brakes. Go ahead and work on the breaks. Damn it to hell!
So all these thoughts came through my mind: Is he scamming me? He only mentioned the transmission after I probed him for any other problems. Wouldn't he have told me about the transmission without me having to ask first? Maybe it's not so bad. Maybe it'll last a while. Maybe I'll be driving on the freeway and end up with the transmission on the ground.
AAAARRRGGHHH! Another $3k on top of what we've already spent on repairs would mean that we got a "free" car for about $8-9k. I ultimately decided to hope for the best with the transmission situation. There will be a lot of under-the-breath prayers uttered during certain times on the road, I'm sure. If it comes down to it, a new car would probably be the way to go. Isn't it funny how life just tends to grab you by the balls sometimes? And to add insult to injury, once it has you by the balls, it also tends to ask you to "Cough."
@$#%#&*@&#@!!!
--Qiuvo
Picture Mr. and Mrs. Qiuvo sitting up front, while the 2 little ones sit in their bulky car seats in the back...in a Chevy Aveo! Not the most comfortable situation, but hell, we did it for a while in mostly a Ford Focus or the aforementioned Aveo.
Well, good fortune fell on our laps when a dear friend decided to get rid of his minivan. No charge, which was a great blessing, although it needed some work. We dumped some $5000 in repairs (back brakes, struts, shock absorbers, tune up and other engine work in order to pass the dreaded smog check, fix an exhaust leak and warped pistons, etc) and thought, Ok, we're good to go!
WRONG!
I would get this nasty grinding noise when using the brakes sometimes. I took it back to the place that did my back brakes (Midas) and was told, "Oh, you can expect a grinding noise for a while. Eventually the break pads will settle into the grooves and you won't get that noise anymore." So like an idiot, Mr. Qiuvo thought, Hell, why not?
The grinding noise came on and off, so it was a bit deceiving. Eventually, almost a year went by and the noise seemed to stop for good.
Until today.
On our way to work, the grinding noise came back strong! And it continued, even when my foot wasn't on the break. Not good, folks. Something was majorly broken. I tried to "ride it out" since I was only some 15 miles from a car dealership near my work. Eventually though, I threw in the towel--this was a major safety hazard (especially with the kids in the car). Not to mention the huge headache I incurred from the sharp, stabbing pains emanating from the wallet in my back pocket. I saw an automobile repair shop and pulled in. I hope these guys are honest, I thought, because I'm completely at their mercy.
I got to work a good hour and a half late. I was running behind, way behind. As I frantically prepared for a metrics meeting I received the call from the auto shop.
Me: Hello?
AS: Hi, this is Charlie from XXX Auto Repair, is this Qiuvo?
Me: Yes it is, how are you? (like I'm building rapport with a customer)
AS: Fine. Listen, checked your car.
Me: Holy shit, please don't let it cost so much. Please don't let it cost too much.
AS: Your front brake was sitting on the rotor. You're going to need new brakes, including the brake pads. We can salvage one rotor, but we'll have to put in a new one.
Me: Ok...Please don't let it cost so much, please don't let it...
AS: It'll come to about $307 plus tax
Me: Yes! Not as bad as I thought! Could that really be it? So that was it? There was no other sort of structural damage?
AS: Well, your transmission casing is broken, that's going to need to get replaced.
Me: Shit! Ok...what would it take to get that fixed?
AS: Well, you'd have to put in a new transmission.
Me: And how much does something like that generally cost?
AS: Well, I can get you a rebuilt transmission with a 3 year warranty for $3000.
Me: @#%&%#@&#%@#&%!!!!
AS: Hello? Are you still there?
Me: Uh...yeah, let's do the brakes. Go ahead and work on the breaks. Damn it to hell!
So all these thoughts came through my mind: Is he scamming me? He only mentioned the transmission after I probed him for any other problems. Wouldn't he have told me about the transmission without me having to ask first? Maybe it's not so bad. Maybe it'll last a while. Maybe I'll be driving on the freeway and end up with the transmission on the ground.
AAAARRRGGHHH! Another $3k on top of what we've already spent on repairs would mean that we got a "free" car for about $8-9k. I ultimately decided to hope for the best with the transmission situation. There will be a lot of under-the-breath prayers uttered during certain times on the road, I'm sure. If it comes down to it, a new car would probably be the way to go. Isn't it funny how life just tends to grab you by the balls sometimes? And to add insult to injury, once it has you by the balls, it also tends to ask you to "Cough."
@$#%#&*@&#@!!!
--Qiuvo
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Just Read...
Sailor At The Seas of Fate, by Michael Moorcock
Book 2 in the Elric series.
Brief Summary: Elric has "temporarily" abdicated his throne in order to journey through the "Young Kingdoms" and find out more about himself and the world outside of Melnibone. He boards a vessel in order to escape pursuers and finds himself out at sea, adventuring through a different plane(s).This book takes a departure from the first--it's more esoteric (i.e. "out there"), with passages that may be dream sequences because of their really fantastical happenings. Elric's surroundings are very dream-like. Not my cup of tea (I preferred the first book) but still some good writing by Moorcock, especially the last half of the book.
Book 2 in the Elric series.
Brief Summary: Elric has "temporarily" abdicated his throne in order to journey through the "Young Kingdoms" and find out more about himself and the world outside of Melnibone. He boards a vessel in order to escape pursuers and finds himself out at sea, adventuring through a different plane(s).This book takes a departure from the first--it's more esoteric (i.e. "out there"), with passages that may be dream sequences because of their really fantastical happenings. Elric's surroundings are very dream-like. Not my cup of tea (I preferred the first book) but still some good writing by Moorcock, especially the last half of the book.
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