Sofi's Miracle

April 8th: My 2 little ones and their grandma are involved in a car accident. My little daughter has the worst damage.

April 10th: Neurosurgery at UC Davis Children's Hospital. She would remain a month in ICU battling for her life.

May: transferred to Kaiser Hospital in Oakland, still in ICU, on a ventilator and paralyzed completely on her right side.

May 3rd: Tracheostomy...we can once again see her beautiful smile now that her mouth is not all taped up from being intubated. A couple of days later, she moves her right leg and one finger on her right hand!

May 13: Transferred to Children's Hospital in Oakland, where she spends a day of evaluation in PICU, and then transferred to the Rehab area.

June 10th: Sofia is taken off the ventilator...she is tired the first couple of days, but handled it well.

June 17th: She is decannulated (trach is taken out). Everything goes well, she handles it!

August: Sofia is released from the hospital....shortly thereafter, she is enrolled in school.

____________

Sometimes, life confronts us with tragedy and unthinkable grief. Sometimes, all we can do is walk with God and trust in his divine mercy. God may deliver you, or he may grant you the strength to face your adversity. Whatever the case, he will be by your side.


Music: R.A. Fiallos, Carlinhos Niehues, Ron Kenoly

The Commute

I am one of the thousands of people who has a long commute every day. The trip can range anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours (each way) depending on the traffic.

Is it healthy to do this?

I doubt it.

Will it lead to an early grave?

Perhaps.

So why in the heck do I do it?

To pay my mortgage, bills, and provide a better overall standard of living for my family.

Let's face it people, home prices in metropolitan areas are astronomical, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area (my former stomping grounds). Sure, I would love to live in the area, but I would be paying top dollar to rent a smaller place in a so-so neighborhood. Instead, I subject myself to hours of driving in order to pay my mortgage and so that my wife and kids can have a decent place to call their own. To me, it's worth it and I typically don't complain about it unless there's an accident on the road that turns a 1.5 hour trip into a 3 hour nightmare. If I become aware of the accident before I'm half way to work, I can turn the car around and fire up the laptop from home...but if I've reached the half way mark, I grit my teeth and ride it out.

I fought the move for years. In fact, I used to make fun of my colleagues who moved out to the "boondocks" while working in Silicon Valley. I used to crack jokes about cows, pastures, and country music. But that stopped when I saw property prices in the Bay Area reach ridiculous levels. There was no way I was going to buy a 1200 square foot older home for half a million dollars. It just seemed plain stupid. Yes, the area is chock-full of entertainment options. Yes, there's a buhzillion restaurant choices, and yes, there are waaay more choices for cultural enrichment...but half a million for a crackerjack box type place??? Stupid. At least for me.

So in 2003, I joined the masses who looked to the boondocks as a chance to fulfill their American dream. You know, the one of the house with the white picket fence and 1.3 pets. I pulled the trigger and jumped on the boat before it sailed away.

Forward to early 2005. My house had gone up over $200k in value. Yes, I know, ridiculous...but it was nice to see houses being put on the market and selling quickly. It made me feel good about my choice to buy a house. It made the drive a whole heckuva lot more pleasant.

Forward to mid 2008. Mortgage/Credit crunch in full effect. The $200k added value? Bye bye. In fact, it's now worth less than what I owe on it. I've never been great with money, but the one time I thought I made a good investment...oh well, I count my blessings--I still have a place to live, and of course, my greatest treasure: my family. They are worth every mile and more.

Peep this:




You can also view it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88VT-so36zA

Uh Oh, Where Are The Customers???

One lone attendant, no cars in sight. Not good.


















Remember the days when people were freaking
out that gas was going to pass the $3 mark? Now
we're happy when it's below $4.


So my city had been growing rapidly due to the hot housing market. Many folks moved out to Manteca in an effort to buy a home at a decent price. I did so in 2003, right before the home prices skyrocketted to ridiculous levels. In fact, the Tracy-Manteca-Stockton area has been a popular choice for folks looking to avoid the insane Bay Area home prices. Since 2005, I've seen the city attract businesses such as Kohl's, Chili's, Old Navy, Circuit City, and Ross. More recently, a Costco (complete with gas station) has opened up. In another part of town, a Bass Pro Shop is almost complete and retailers such as Best Buy, JC Penney, and a 16 theater Cineplex will be opening soon...but will the town be able to support these businesses?

At the beginning 2005, a 2000 square foot home could be bought at a price of around $520k. Unreal, I know, especially for such a "boondock" location (Hey, nothing wrong with small towns, but c'mon, this ain't San Francisco). Forward a couple of years later after the mortgage melt down and the same house (bank owned because of a foreclosure) can sell for $244k.

Wow.

Great for folks looking for an opportunity to buy their first house, bad for the suckers who vastly overpaid for their properties in an attempt to avoid "missing the boat."

Take a ride through my neck of the woods and be prepared to see scores of "For Sale" signs and abandoned homes. What must the retailers who are already building in the city be thinking?

Is it too late to renegotiate my lease???

Costco is generally buzzing with customers, especially the gas station which typically has lower prices. I'm sorry to say that the last couple of times I've filled up on my way to work (at least a half hour after the gas station opens) it has been virtually empty. Yikes. How long until these retailers pack up and leave? At least many of these large businesses can afford to gamble on their business choices, but what about the regular folks who gambled on buying their homes hoping for a piece of the American dream? Folks who spent their life savings on a down payment, folks who felt safe securing the risky loan on the notion (and often times false promise) that they could always refinance when their home went up in value?

Good thing we rely on the Good Lord above for our strength and hope, and not on the economy, the housing market, or our politicians.

How About a Bail Out for Us Regular Joes?

It's now official: the Federal Reserve Board will authorize an $85 BILLION loan to AIG.

Wow.

Things are really spiraling downward for our financial industry. The fact that the government has deemed it necessary to bail out a private company speaks volumes. And now, car makers Ford and GM are asking good ol' Uncle Sam for the same sort of treatment while they deal with "tougher fuel-efficiency regulations." Hey guys, what the hell were you thinking going the SUV gas-guzzling route? Talk about short-sightedness. Yes, there was demand but what about having vision? What about checking out what your competition is doing (ahem, the Prius?).

Hey, how about a bail out for me? My Amex card was declined at the pump this morning and I had to use my debit card. Ouch.

Hiatus...

I haven't posted anything to this site in the past couple of months. Why? Tragedy struck my family when a car accident almost claimed the life of my little five year old girl. 4 doctors told me that she was lucky to be alive. 1 doctor actually used the word "miracle".

Yes, it was a miracle. And I am humbled by the power and the mercy that God showed me and especially my little girl. He knows how much I love her and he answered my prayers. He has been with her every step of the way, and I am grateful. I want to devote more time to this blog, and I will...although right now, things are a bit hectic. If you are interested in reading more of the incident, you can visit:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/sofiafiallos

Take care and God bless,

Qiuvo

Rant

- Jack-in-the-box Ultimate Cheeseburger has overtaken Mickey D's double quarter pounder with cheese in Qiuvo's fast food power rankings. Congrats to Jack and his team for their menu improvement as well as some very clever advertizing.

- Kim Kardasian's booty has bounced J-Lo's booty off Qiuvo's power rankings! Still, she falls waaay short in the talent department.

- The curse of the big Webbino is finally broken!!! Not only has Don Nelson raised the Golden State Warriors from the ashes of mediocrity, he has finally broken the curse that plagued the Warriors after C-Webb split town in the first place. Even though the Webber experiment didn't work out, the fact that Webber and Nelly buried the hatchet and smoked a peace pipe guarantees that the Warriors will not suck so much for a while.

- Whatup with Mormon Elders getting around town in bikes? If there's one thing the LDS Church is good at, it's making money. So how about upgrading to Vespas?

- Ok, I play guitar, so I thought I'd be good at Guitar Hero...NOT! I'm ok in Intermediate, but I still haven't beaten Slash. My kid, on the other hand, who doesn't play guitar, absolutely buries me on GH3. Just more proof that the older you get, the faster you reach the point of diminishing returns on anything.

- Has there ever been a book or movie named AmeriKKKa? That would be cool title for a movie about race relations in the 60's.

Until next time,

Q.

Fast Food

I recently saw Supersize, the documentary that harps on the fast food industry, and in particular, McDonalds. Talk about depressing. Not that I have fast food all the time, but I'll throw down once in a while. This culture of instant gratification is tailor made for the fast food industry so it is easy to fall into the fast food trap for the sake of convenience. But let's face it, it's not just convenience. Sometimes, you just have to have a big, fat, juicy burger.

Here's some personal observations:

- Best Fast food burgers

1. Carl's Jr 6 Dollar Burger. I like all of their variations: jalapeno, portabella mushroom, guacamole, etc. If you want to be extra naughty, make it a double. The most over-the-top I've had was a "Double six dollar PASTRAMI burger".It was damn good, but the food coma that follows is not very pleasant.

2. Fat Burger: Double Chili Cheese King Burger. Talk about over the top, but it's damn good.

3. McDonalds: double qarter pounder with cheese and Jack in the Box: Ultimate Burger.

---

Best Sub fast food place:


1. Togo's: hands down, best pastrami for a big franchice joint.

2. Quizno's: Really good flavor but vastly over-priced. Frankly, it takes the joy out of eating there.

3. Subway sucks...correction, Subway in the Bay Area sucks. It seems like the only people buying Subway franchises are skimpy folks who pass their skimpyness on to the consumer.
The best Subway I ever went to was in L.A., in a strip mall owned mostly by Magic Johnson. That place did not skimp. While there, try Magic Johnson's TGI Fridays. Again, no skimpiness there.

- What is up with McDonalds Filet of Fish costing over 3 dollars? This should be in their dollar menu.

- With all the fast food bashing going around, why don't these fast food joints offer things such as whole wheat buns and decent vegetarian burgers? A turkey burger on whole wheat buns doesn't sound bad...

More to come...

Halleluia!!!!

Ok folks, I signed an offer letter with a great Software company in the Bay Area. I will be starting work next week, so I'm really excited about the opportunity. I was fortunate enough to receive 3 offers around the same time, and I must say, faith and prayers played a huge role in my success with the job hunt.
I'm not going to lie; there were times when a sense of desperation came over me and I felt helpless and vulnerable, but these were the times when I would talk to God at length and somehow come through the storm ready to deal with my set back. In the end, I had to let go and fully put muy trust in God, believing that he would open a window to make up for the closed door of my unexpected unemployment. It was only when I put my full trust in the Lord that the "floodgates" opened and I received the 3 job offers. I went from stressing about my unemployment to stressing about which job to take and who I would reject. All three companies were terrific for different reasons, and all the hiring managers and recruiters I spoke with were awesome individuals. When all was said and done, the company I chose felt like the right choice, and I am once again flabbergasted with God's goodness and the uncanny way in which He answers prayers.
If any of you find yourselves going through a storm, if you find yourselves alone, scared, or down for the count, trust in God! He will see you through. He will put people in your life, or put you in the right circumstance, or he will simply comfort you and build your strength. Trust in Him!

I normally don't write about religious themes, but today, I felt compelled to do so.

God is good.
God is love.
God bless you all!


- Qiuvo

La Vida Loca

Happy Friday, everyone.

I just received this link by email. Check it out.

On the Job Hunt

Ok, so the last 2 posts took a while. I wasn't kidding when I said I was looking for work, so my time has been sporadic. Taking care of 2 little ones while job hunting eats up a lot of time. Anyway, I'm still looking, and I am now finding out that job hunters are subject to location prejudice.

At a recent interview in Foster City:

"You live in [insert Boondock city here]?"

"Yes, I do."

"That's really far, isn't it? How long did it take you to get here?"

"Oh, maybe an hour and five minutes."

"What, were you going like 90 miles an hour the whole way?"

Bastard.


I almost nailed a job in Sunnyvale. I think I would have nailed it if I hadn't lived where I live. My commute was a big concern to 2 of the 4 people who interviewed me. I tried to pull out all the stops:

"Oh, I'm used to it, I've been doing it for years..."

"I really enjoy commuting, it gives me an opportunity to think and reflect on what needs to get done..."

"This is a great opportunity...I would definitely consider relocating to be closer to work..." (I know, this one's lame. I might as well tell them, "Yes, it's a long as commute, don't hire me."

But anyway, I can't blame hiring managers for being concerned. They don't know me from Adam, so they don't know that I rarely ever miss work, even when I'm legitimately sick. In the past four and a half years, I've called in sick maybe twice.

So what should I do--should I fake the address in my resume, and then do the ol' switch-a-roo once I've signed the employment paperwork? Nope, not going to do it. Bad karma.

I've been praying for a job. I'm a bit stressed out, but not as much as I would have thought a couple of years ago. I have this feeling that God will put me in the right place at the right time.

Well folks, time to work on a thank you email--a follow up from an interview I had in San Jose last Friday.

Until next time,

Q.

Another post...FINALLY!

Ok, ok, so it's been a while.

Why??? you might be asking yourselves.

Too many things going on right now, like looking for a job. Yep, I got laid off recently. Needless to say, it's been somewhat of a stressful time, but hey, like my pastor told me recently, "When a door closes, God always opens a window..."

But enough of that nonsense and on to Qiuvo...

I uploaded a Salarrue short story entitled "Buena Noche" (Christmas Eve) to the Qiuvo.com website. It is a wonderful story (a short-short, seriously, you can read it in five minutes) and you should all read it!

Don't read Spanish?

I have you covered. I was given permission to use an English translation by Dr. Janet N. Gold of the University of New Hampshire. Some of you may know that Dr. Gold is the author of "Sagatara Mio," a beautiful book about the amorous relationship between El Salvador's most famous author, Salarrue, and New York socialite Leonora Nichols. Unfortunately, it is currently only published in Spanish and available from MUPI (Museo de la Palabra y la Imagen, http://www.museo.com.sv) but I'm hoping that more people will find out about this wonderful book so that it can be published in English.

Anyway, please do yourselves a favor and acquaint yourselves with Salarrue.

Thank you all for visiting Qiuvo!

A Little Background Info

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...

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

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

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.

Random Quote...

"When I think I only have a short time to live, I'm horrified. Not because I want to go on living at all costs, but because I feel I've frittered away my time and should have lived very differently."

- Ernst Tugendhat, German Philosopher (when asked about his new philosophy dealing with the fear of death.)


I was reading an interview with professor Tugendhat and this short snippet caught my attention. I think this feeling might be quite common if we really take the time to reflect on where we are and what we've done to get there. Scary, in some cases.

Random Quote...

"There's nothing as soft and dangerous as the curves of a woman."

- R. A. Fiallos



Perhaps I should add: addicting, wonderful, and powerful. God knew what he was doing Folks.

;-)

What Ever Happened To Short Books?

I was visiting a relative in Concord, California, when I saw a guy on the sidewalk holding a huge "BOOK SALE" sign. I noted the place where the sale was being held (Bay Books on Willow Pass Rd.--had never been there) and made it a point to return when I was done with my visit.

I walked in with my two little kids, so I couldn't stay long (kids are sooo patient, after all.) I gravitated towards the Fantasy and Science fiction section to look for one of my favorite authors of all time, Fritz Leiber. Unfortunately, Fritz has been out of print for a while and you can't really find him at Borders or Barnes and Noble anymore. As I looked through the shelves, I asked myself why I had never thought to look in a used book store before, as opposed to Amazon.com, or eBay.

Voila! They had some Leiber paperbacks. I picked up a couple at $2.50 a pop and looked for some Michael Moorcock (another author that has been out of print). I ended up spending about $35 on used books that day.

I haven't been disappointed. I've been reading both Leiber and Moorcock simultaneously, and it has been a real joy. I hadn't read any "old style" fantasy since the 80s, so it has been a real treat reacquainting myself with a couple of masters.

The first thing that caught my attention when I bought these old books was their length. The longest was only around 250 pages. Most were in the 180-200 page range. If you go to a book store nowadays and pick up a book by any contemporary author, 300 pages is on the "short" end of the spectrum! Writers today are notorious for churning out long works, and it's not uncommon for someone like Stephen King to regularly come out with a 700-800 page tomes.

What's the deal?

Are there new editing standards, or have writers become more verbose? And let me tell you, a long book doesn't necessarily mean a good book. I think it takes skill to write a complete novel in 200 pages. That's not to say that I don't like long books, but in my honest opinion, a lot of new fiction books suffer from a lack of editing. I'll use Stephen King as an example, since he is a real heavyweight in contemporary fiction and has been for years. A book that comes to mind is Insomnia, which if I remember correctly was well over 800 pages (hardback edition). I loved the beginning--the pacing was great, and King hooked me right away. The middle, however, left a lot to be desired. I remember feeling that I was reading just to get it out of the way (since I had already read a couple of hundred pages) rather than for the enjoyment of it. King did redeem himself at the end of the book; the pacing picked up and the conclusion was a bit of a heart-wrencher, but it was still not as good as the beginning. I thought the integrity of the story could have been kept with some 300 less pages and I probably would have enjoyed the book a lot more.

Ok, I could see an editor being intimidated by the legend that is Stephen King. After all, most of his books are best-sellers and many get made into movies. I would not want to be the person telling King, hey Steve, I think cutting 200 pages of fluff from this draft would really make this book better. Any publishing house would love to have that guy--I wouldn't want to risk losing him! But it's not just King folks, fantasy books are usually well over 350 pages long. Are these guys getting paid by the number of words in the story? Or is it just an evolution of the genre where it is more acceptable to really fill out a story in order to justify a $6.99 price tag? If any of you have insight into the book publishing world, let me know.

- Qiuvo

Paul Potts - Brittain Has Talent

On June 14th, Yahoo posted a link to a video clip of Paul Potts, the winner of "Britain Has Talent." Out of curiosity (and because I like classical music in general), I checked out the clip, and wow. Here was this unassuming 36 year old who looked very much out of his element, until he sang the first note to Nessun Dorma. His short performance made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. He sang from the heart, and I felt it. The judges did as well. I loved Simon Cowell's look of unbelief as he listened to the song. I forwarded the Youtube link to family members, and their reaction was pretty much on par with mine. Music's ability to touch the soul is one of life's wonders.

The response to Paul Potts' performance was overwhelming; he touched a lot of folks with his singing. Last time I checked, one of his clips on Youtube had over 5 million views with mostly positive reactions! But as usual, the detractors climbed out from under their rocks. Snobby opera afficionados, Morons, and ne'er do-wellers all chimed in with negative comments. I am not placing them all in the same category, believe me. But most of the "hating" towards the Paul Potts phenomenon was clearly silly.

He sings nice, but he's no Pavarotti.

Who is? Pavarotti is a legend, and only a handful of individuals have that quality of voice. Does that take away from Mr. Pott's performance?

He has had classical training, he attended a couple of master classes with Pavarotti.

And the point is? Master classes are a good way to get insight from a professional, but they do not make you a better singer. There's no short formula, there's no magic wand--you still have to have the voice and the self-discipline to evolve your talent and craft.

Paul Potts will never be a professional singer, Carusso is much better!

Sad but true, there are morons who have nothing better to do than to fill comment sections with this type of drivel. And we wonder why a lot of kids hate going into classical music. Aspiring classical musicians will feel this sort of unwarranted criticism througout their careers. Even established artists get slammed by talentless critics. Kissin sucks, Horowitz was much better, etc. Insane.

Well, aside from the recording contract and money that Mr. Potts won, there was something else that happened: people started listening to opera! Even people who aren't into the genre. All of a sudden, we saw not only Pott's Youtube clips gain an increase in views, but also clips by great tenors like Domingo, Pavarotti, and other heavyweights. This humble man accomplished in a span of several weeks what thousands of artists haven't accomplished in a lifetime. Brilliantly done, Mr. Potts!

Life is Short Folks...

A co-worker called this morning, informing me that she would be late to work. She was distraught as 3 of her nieces died in a car crash early this morning. She started breaking down in between sentences--this was tragic.

Her sister-in-law was driving from Arizona, along with her 4 daughters and 1 niece. They were making the trip to California to attend a wedding near Modesto this coming weekend. It was early in the morning when at 65 mph, the right side of their Chevy Tahoe rammed into the back of a stationary big rig parked along the shoulder of the highway. The right side of the Tahoe litterally ripped appart from the car, ejecting 2 daughters and pinning the other girl amidst a tangle of metal. I hope they all passed away instantly.

I told my co-worker to take the day off--she sounded in no condition to come in to work--but she felt that she didn't have enough PTO available, and she would have to take a day off for the funeral. So she made it in to work. Life's a bitch, isn't it?

She e-mailed me the article, which happens to be on-line, and I was overcome with emotion. I gave her my condolences and choked up a bit. What can you say to someone after such a tragedy happens? Can you imagine the parents?

You just lost 3 out of 4 kids, sorry about that.

She told me that her Dad had been unable to tell her Brother. The father of the girls didn't know until he made it out here to California. His wife had to give him the knews. Something like this is enough to crumple anyone to the ground. It is a stab in the heart, a wrenching of the proverbial serrated sword in the gut.

Life is short, Folks. We can be here one second, and gone the next.

Gone in the blink of an eye.

Tell your loved ones that you love them. Settle your scores. Forgive those who have offended you. Three little girls lost their lives in an instant and a beautiful family from Arizona was broken forever. This can happen to anyone at any time. To paraphrase the Good Book: No one knows the day or the hour...