Ultranormal

Author: Kevin Lawver

  • I’m Published!!

    In a different life, I worked in Tech Support. My friends set up a site called Tech Hell where we all posted sad and depraved stories of calls we had to answer. Some of them have been published in a book called Techmares. One of my stories (maybe more than one) is featured in Chapter 3. How cool is that?

    And on the “why haven’t you been posting” front, I pulled a bunch of muscles in my neck this weekend carrying Max around Target (he’s big now). He was leaning over the whole time forcing my head forward at an odd angle. It didn’t hurt at the time, but as soon as I got him down, I couldn’t move my head back to its normal resting location. I could only turn maybe 15 – 20 degrees either left or right, and was in a great deal of pain. So, I spent all weekend on the couch with heating pads around my body. I went to the chiropractor yesterday morning and found I’d only been making it worse with heat. So, after much pain and contortions over two days, I’m covered in ice packs. But, I can turn my head almost all the way; I can type; the pain is gone from my right side and all that’s left to fix is my left side.

    So, that’s why I was gone. Good excuse, huh?

  • Lord of the Fangirls

    It worked… Heather took my bait and ran with it. And to clarify, I only called her a fangirl because she herself said she was one earlier yesterday. I would never go so far as to call someone a fanperson unless they admitted it first, or if I were feeling extremely mean. And, despite my standing as the older brother, I am never mean to my little sister… on purpose.

  • Signs, Signs, Everywhere the Signs… (yuck, what a crappy song… what’s wrong with me?)

    We went and saw Signs today (just Jen and I; Max was playing at Grandma’s). I really liked it. It could have been a side story in Independance Day. It was a global disaster and a huge panic; but, the story took place mostly in the farmhouse. It was beautiful in execution. The acting was spot-on. The direction was perfect more often than it was just good. Jen screamed half a dozen times, and I jumped almost that many. The horror was all psychological, and we got one clear shot of an alien, and it wasn’t the scariest shot in the movie. I’m not doing this well, but this is a really good movie (I’m working on a really bad headache, but I’m downstairs surfing because Jen is watching CSi).

    After that, I watched Lord of the Rings. This movie was made for fanboys (and girls… Heather). It was long. It was good, but I got a little bored with the “Short guys and bearded hunks running from munsters” that seemed to compose two thirds of the movie. The rest was elves, and Hobbitts and tedious exposition. If it weren’t for the fact that Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen were excellent, and Viggo Mortensen was impressive in an understated role, I would have been disappointed. The scene at the end with Sam and Frodo in the boat made it all worth it. It was touching, and perfectly played. It is a beautiful movie, but man it was long (I’m preempting retorts from my sister).

    And completely out of order chronologically, there was a preview for the new Red Dragon, a remake of the amazing Manhunter. If you haven’t seen the original, go rent it right now. They just released a special edition DVD. William Petersen was absolutely amazing, as was the guy who played Dr. Lecter, much more understated and reasoned than Anthony Hopkins’ portrayal. The only reason to see the new one is the cast. Not only do they have Anthony Hopkins with a dye job (because Red Dragon happened well before Silence of the Lambs), they have Edward Norton, Ralph Fienes and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The cast alone is enough to make me see it.

    And that’s all… sorry it was written like a 9th grade term paper, but it’s the best I can manage at the moment.

  • The Best Thing

    The best thing about my sister keeping a blog is that I find out nice things like she has a copy of Lord of the Rings on DVD so I don’t have to go rent it!

    I’m 8 pages into FlatCat, and Jon has graciously reconfirmed his willingness to illustrate it. Jon, if it makes tons of money, I’ll take you out to lunch (just kidding!! 50-50?)

  • 8 Pages In

    I’m eight pages into writing FlatCat and I’m a little stuck. I thought I had it all worked out. This would be the first book, soon to be followed by a whole series of FlatCat stories. How do you end the introductory book though? Do I go back and rewrite it so it doesn’t rhyme? I’m pretty happy with what I have so far, but not thrilled. What to do, what to do?

  • And Speaking of Football

    In keeping with my theme started yesterday, let’s pay homage to the punters of yesteryear.

  • Is This Good or Bad?

    Watching the Pre-season game between the Texans and Giants, I’ve seen about 6 ads for ABC’s new gimmick series, Push, Nevada. It looks like a cheap Twin Peaks ripoff with a touch of U-Turn. The only rays of hope I can see for the series is the use of Social Distortion’s cover of Ring of Fire and the presence of the excellent Jon Polito (who I’ve loved since his turn on Homicide). Not worth changing my viewing habits for, but if there’s nothing else on Thursdays at 9, I may check it out.

  • Let the Pre-Fun Begin!

    An A/C update… We are back to living in climate-controlled comfort. I put in a new filter, washed all of the lint out of the A/C unit outside. Cool air is blowing out of the right vents, and warm air is being sucked in the correct ones.

    On to what I really brought this window up for. I’ve mentioned this before (so long ago that no one who reads my ramblings now would remember, or done well enough to inflict it on anyone): I love pre-season NFL football. Why? The games mean nothing as far as the team goes and are unrelated to standings or stats. But, the drama is there. There are 91 guys who go to training camp. 54 end up making the final team. Watching guys you’ve never heard of playing their hearts out trying to earn a spot on a team in the sport they love is just great to watch. Watching 3rd team offenses against 3rd team defense fills me with hope.

    For example, the Redskins clobbered the 49er’s on Saturday night. The Redskins actually looked really good. For someone who didn’t pay attention, it would be a sign of a good season to come. If you paid attention though, the Redskin’s first team spent 90% of their time in the game playing the 49ers second team.

    The other great thing about pre-season football is that every team in the NFL is full of hope (unless you happen to play for the Bengals), and everyone has a chance to reach the Super Bowl. It’s a great time of year, the end of the summer sports drought (and thank goodness for that.. if I had to watch another SportsCenter where nothing but baseball was shown, I think I would give up and start watching the Soap channel).

    The season starts in less than a month. Two months later, we get the start of the NBA, and the glorious fall and winter of real sports. YES!

  • Off to a Roaring Start

    The vacation’s off to a great start. Our A/C died yesterday, so we spent yesterday sweating it out in 95 degree heat, and last night sleeping in a humid sweaty heap. Now, $390 later, we find out that the dryer has been venting lint right into the outdoor A/C unit, and that means if we don’t get it cleaned out soon, it’ll explode on us. For a townhouse that’s apparenltly worth a ton (at least the county says so on our latest tax appraisal), it feels like it was designed and built as a high school shop project.

    I’m still sweating. I think I’ve lost about 20 pounds in water alone in the last 36 hours. Now, I have to go figure out how to duct the dryer vent out past the A/C… and we all know how handy I am.

    Wish me luck.

  • Are You On The Tree?

    If you blog, check out BlogTree (my branch). I’m not usually into memes, but I think this one could be really interesting, not only in giving credit to those who inspired us to get started, but in seeing the growth of the blog community and a timeline. Go check it out.