Podcast review for KUEC

Podcasts. Podcasts are fun. Podcasts can be informational, entertaining, or a combination of the two. I listen to a few podcasts from NPR, TED Talks, and my favorite KUEC. KUEC stands for Kevin and Ursula Eat Cheap.

Let me explain what Kevin and Ursula Eat Cheap is. Kevin Sonney and the rather well known artist Ursula Vernon (if you have kids you've probably seen the Dragonbreath books, a web comic named Digger, and many pictures on DeviantArt. You can also find many of her books and works on Amazon here.) What they do is review convenience foods and other things like chips, dried squid, and foods of dubious content.

This is not a podcast for children. It's not really one for teens either. They talk about adult things and swear. A lot of their commentary is enough to make even me laugh, and I don't laugh at much at all. There is always the chance of a beagle baying in the background, cats loving up against the microphone or demanding attention, and a couple who try to steal the food as they go.

They're up to 142 actual episodes and they have several travel interludes because of Ursula's popularity at cons. Kevin also works security at some and also has a job that carries him out of town so there are times where they'll skip a week or two.

If you can handle adult humor, talk about things that are sometimes inappropriate, and can deal with the occasional use of swear words, I do recommend it. You can find KUEC here. All of the archives are there back to the very first episode. Over the almost four years they've been doing this, the episodes have gotten longer and the reviews have gotten funnier. I hope, if you go find it, you get as much pleasure from it as I do.

Book review - Ready Player One

I

'm going to introduce you to a favorite book of mine: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. It's a good story and I absolutely love it. (Not to mention the audiobook version of it is read by Wil Wheaton.)

The story begins in a near future world that has been devastated by global warming, depletion of natural resources, and the occasional city going up in a mushroom cloud. The world is in bad shape, and the only thing that makes life worth living is the OASIS. The OASIS is a virtual reality simulation that the entire world can access and live in a world of fantasy, science fiction, and comfort when their normal lives are anything but comfortable.

The story follows Wade Watts, a young man stuck in the stacks in Oklahoma City. He's poor, an orphan, and has no idea how he's going to improve his life. Then a wealthy game designer, the man who created the OASIS, dies. His last will and testament is converted into a massive video game contest that the results of which will lead to wealth and control of his company.

Wade goes through a lot in his search for the Easter egg that's been built into the OASIS. He runs into some problems with IOI, a multi-national company with negative plans for the OASIS. Wade must contend with them, all of the other “gunters” who are hunting the egg, and a relationship with his friends that don't always go the direction he intends.

It's an incredibly long book but it's a good one to get through. Now, I will say the author comes up with some things that are too convenient. There are a few places where his details don't match. But if you can overlook these places you may enjoy the story.

Depression and the artist

I've been asked a few times how I write while I'm depressed. The truth is I don't. I try to. Don't get me wrong. And I may get a few words down on the page. But I have a hard time making them connect. I also have problems getting into books when I'm depressed. In short, it's very hard for me to do anything when I'm depressed.

This doesn't mean my world stops when I'm feeling this way. I find myself drawn to reading blog posts, other people's short stories – since that's all I usually have the attention span for, and social media. I don't participate as much but I will reblog interesting things on Twitter and like things on Facebook. I won't comment but I'll at least read them. I avoid the things I know will make me cry and carry on.

I've heard it all before. How I should write through it. It's not that bad. If I can't get through it maybe I shouldn't be a writer. Blah. Blah. Blah. As I've told someone before, you're not inside my head space. You don't know what I'm feeling, thinking, and how much I'm hurting. That's enough to derail most people who suffer from severe depression (like a lot of people do) from doing anything. Not just writing. But living. We stop wanting to do anything.

I've been lucky in having a husband who notices when I'm that way and tries to talk me out of it. He encourages me to listen to music, to do anything I can to break the cycle. Sometimes it works. More often it doesn't. But knowing he's there to force me to take care of myself (believe me, this is important when I'm depressed), to convince me to do what I know I need to do, to find something that makes me relax. I've also been very lucky to get a therapist who understands these moods and gives me several good ideas to try as well. She helps me work through them after the fact so I can get better at stopping the downward spiral before it consumes me. There are just days where nothing works.

One of the things I've noticed is how people talk about artists and their depression, how it inspired them and helped them do glorious things. That they worked while they were in the throes of emotional agony and painted/wrote/built these amazing things. I call bullshit on that. Speaking from personal experience, it is almost impossible to work through those things. I won't say it's completely that way because perhaps there are a few out there. But from personal experience, and the experiences of several other authors and artists I've talked to, it doesn't work to try to work through the depression.

So when you talk to an author or an artist, and they say they're depressed and having a hard time getting to work, don't tell them to suck it up and do it anyway. Don't tell them that it'll be brilliant and they only need to sit down at their computer, pick up their pencil or brush, or open a notebook with a pen in their hand and do what they love doing. Because it's highly likely that nothing will happen.

Short Story - Kayin's Wrath, Part Two

Sometimes people try to destroy what they don't understand. Sometimes it works. Sometimes those things come back to bite them in the ass.

___

 Agata helped Kayin fill a tub with hot water. Kayin took a quick bath before changing into some clean clothes. They were serviceable, though no match for the finery of the mayor. “I think Fenrod missed the valley,” Agata said.

“The valley is the safest place for us,” Kayin said. “We have an easier time defending ourselves. It's also our home. We ran there when we didn't have anywhere else to go. Now we choose to leave only when we're curious and for the most part we are left alone.”

“There are some who fear you mean to use your powers to enslave others,” Agata said.

“Our purpose now is to have and raise children in the service of our Goddess and encourage those with our gifts to come forward instead of hide away,” Kayin said.

“Fenrod said your Goddess is very demanding,” Agata said.

“She's not like the Guardians,” Kayin said.

“Why doesn't your Goddess help protect people like my da?” Yrian asked. “Why does she let them die?”

“She expects us to fight our own battles,” Kayin said. “It's not for Her to step in if we aren't worthy of her attention.”

“Wasn't my da worthy of her attention?” Yrian asked.

“Fenrod was, but again we don't ask Her to save us,” Kayin said. “Our honor depends on standing up for ourselves and our families, protecting all even if it means our deaths.”

“Da shouldn't have died,” Yrian said.

“You're right, Yrian,” Kayin said. “He didn't deserve to die just because he was different. That's how the world works sometimes. You destroy what you don't understand or frightens you. People can be very ignorant when they want to be.”

“Yrian, when Kayin leaves, you and I are going to talk about why men hunt those like your father,” Agata said.

“How many more will the bad men kill?” Yrian asked. “Why doesn't someone stop them?”

“We're trying to,” Kayin said. She stretched out her leg and lifted her trousers a little. “See the scar? I got that fighting for that very purpose.” She gestured to the socket where her missing left eye once sat. “This too. Ours isn't an easy life, Yrian. Things are better now than they were a hundred cycles are. But it's going to take a lot longer before we're seen as equals to everyone else.”

Agata and Kayin talked about Fenrod for a little while before Agata rose. “It's almost time for you to be at the mayor's house. I'll show you the way. Yrian, stay here.”

“Yes mum,” Yrian said.

The two women walked through the streets. “Do you think it would be safer for us in the valley?” Agata asked.

“Yes,” Kayin said. “Agata, it's possible Yrian has the gift. There are those who would kill a child just to prevent him from growing up like us.”

“Will you take us with you when you leave?” Agata asked. Kayin nodded. “When do you want to go?”

“As soon as the meal with the mayor is over. I don't stay too long in one place. For obvious reasons,” Kayin said.

“I'll put together some things as soon as I get home,” Agata said.

“Good,” Kayin said.

Agata left her at the door to the mayor's mansion. Kayin knocked. A servant answered. “May I help you?” he asked.

“Mayor Kolar invited me for the midday meal,” Kayin said.

“You must be Mistress Monette,” the servant said. “Mayor Kolar is expecting you. Please come this way.”

She was led into a rather opulent dining room, far more suited to the house of a noble. Algar was already seated at the table. “Mistress Monette, welcome to my home,” Algar said. “Please, be seated.”

Kayin dropped into the chair that was pulled out for her. “You provide a sumptuous meal, Mayor Kolar,” she said. “There are many foods here I didn't expect.”

“You'll find, Mistress Monette, that just because we are small does not mean we don't have our luxuries,” Algar said. “I trust the valley has something similar for your people?”

“We tend to keep things simple, but I will admit that there are days where we indulge ourselves,” Kayin said.

“Please, enjoy the wine,” Algar said as his servant poured it into her goblet. “It's an old vintage, set down by my grandfather.”

“Thank you, Mayor Kolar,” Kayin said. She took a small sip. She frowned and took another. Her eyes widened and she set the cup down.

“Is something wrong Mistress Monette?” Algar asked.

“Poison,” she gasped.

“Yes, I hoped you wouldn't figure it out so soon,” Algar said. “While I am grateful you killed Siward, I can't have your kind roaming my town at will. Fenrod was enough of a threat that I looked the other way when he was killed. Since I can't do that with you, I knew I would have to come up with a different way.”

Kayin gasped a few more times before breaking down into laughter. “Mayor Kolar, I find your attempt to kill me rather amusing,” she said as she stood up. “Mage made poison. That's certainly a new one for me. It's easy enough to diffuse however, if you know what you're looking for.”

“I see,” Algar said. “Well, I suppose it was worth a try. Perhaps the others I've sent to kill Fenrod's family will have better luck.”

Kayin spun around and hurried out of the house. She couldn't run fast but she was already extending the tendrils of her power, testing the weave for recent death. As she neared Fenrod's house, she heard a scream. She cursed her leg and tried to increase her speed.

Kayin found the door splintered. She pushed past it to find four men advancing on Agata and Yrian. “It'll be your bodies added to the graveyard today,” Kayin said. She reached out and seized hold of two of the men's threads.

She twisted and turned them until they were standing between the others and Fenrod's family. With a tug on their threads, she forced them to attack their comrades. Swords clashed and soon two of them lay dead.

“Let us go,” one of those left standing said.

“No,” Kayin said. She turned him against the other. “Not until you're dead.” A third fell. Kayin turned to the fourth.

“What are you going to do to him?” Agata asked.

“Him I'll spare,” Kayin said. “Carry this message back to your mayor. Those who try to harm us or those we've sworn to protect will soon find themselves under siege. Do not get complacent, for you never know when we'll strike.” She gave him a shove with the weave and he staggered out the door. “Agata, did you get your packs made?”

“Yes I did,” the other woman said.

“Let's go. Before more show up,” Kayin said. Agata pulled on her pack and lifted her son into her arms. Kayin led them out and onto the road.

Short Story - Kayin's Wrath, Part One

This takes place a century after the events in Marked, so you can see a glimpse of the world that was. The Majin, or so they call themselves now, are only beginning to venture out of their valley. They're curious how the world has changed. But it's not as different as they hoped.

___

Kayin Monette stood on the edge of the crowd gathered around the fresh grave. The cleric finished his eulogy and people began tossing flowers and dirt onto the casket. Kayin unraveled the threads that kept her from being seen. No one seemed to notice her odd entrance. Thank the Goddess for that, she thought. The last thing she needed was a panic to cause more deaths.

Kayin tossed a wreath made of star eye blossoms and golden drops onto the wooden lid before turning and limping away. It was harder to get around and soon she would have to give some thought to returning to the valley. She was like so many of the Majin, curious about the world but uncomfortable in it. It was only one hundred cycles since their flight to the valley. It was now easier for them to move freely about Lytharia, but things weren't settled yet. There were those in the valley, among the oldest of them all, who still remembered the dark days.

Most of the mourners barely glanced at her. All they saw was a half-crippled woman. They passed her by without taking note of her eye color. Only one person stopped to take a very good look at her face. He looked like just another villager, slightly wealthier than most, but still very common.

She made her way towards the village, ignoring him though she kept an eye on his threads. When they began to shift, she dove to the side. A globe of burning light passed over where she'd been.

“You do not know who you've challenged,” Kayin said. Her hands moved and the man screamed as his body bent and contorted. “Tell me, are you the one who killed Fenrod?”

The mage managed to get one hand free. He gestured and Kayin heard a low growl. She looked over her shoulder. A construct that looked to be a remorth crossed with a bronmar lunged towards her. The antlers sprouting out of the beast's head were spiked at the end.

Kayin threw the mage back as she dodged his monstrous creation. She reached out and started unraveling its threads. She dodged it a few more times before with a groan the creature collapsed, falling into its separate parts.

Only the rush of air warned her of the mage's spell. She whirled around and caught him once more in her threads. “Demon,” he yelled.

“Look who's talking,” Kayin said. “You're the one who attacked me. Did you kill Fenrod?”

“All of you silver eyed devils must die,” he said. “My grandfather taught us that. The Emperor was tricked by you. You used your unnatural power on him and seized your freedom by trickery and force.”

Kayin twisted his threads. His scream was cut off as she wrapped one around his throat. “Fanatics like you are the reason we're still being murdered,” Kayin said. “That is something we do not tolerate.” She tightened the line around his throat. He scrabbled at it with his hands, turning purple as she cut off his air. She held him until he went limp. She released him. He dropped to the ground in a heap.

“Murderer,” a woman cried.

“He attacked me first,” Kayin said. “Of course I'm going to defend myself. Not to mention he killed one of my dearest friends.”

“You're a murderer,” the woman repeated. She looked around. “She should die.”

“You stand accused of a grave crime,” a man in the flowing robes of a cleric of the Guardians “You will have to face judgment.”

“I'll pass that now,” an aging man in fine clothes said. “Siward was the aggressor. She didn't do anything more than protect herself. Also, Siward created an abomination when he was told to stop his experimentation. I'd have put him to death anyway. This woman just saved me the time.”

“My husband did nothing wrong,” the woman said.

“He deserved his fate and that's my final word on it. If you don't like what I've done, take yourself out of this town because I have the final word,” the man said. He approached Kayin. “I'm Algar Kolar, mayor of Clearhaven.”

“Kayin Monette of the Majin,” Kayin said.

“Mistress Monette, I would very much enjoy it if you joined me for the midday meal in a candlemark,” Algar said.

“It's very obvious I'm not welcome here,” Kayin said.

“If anything happens to you I'll either exile them or have them killed,” Algar said. “Please, don't let the actions of one man sway you from enjoying my hospitality.”

“I would be honored, Mayor Kolar, to accept your offer,” Kayin said.

“Then I'll see you in a candlemark,” Algar said. “You may ask anyone here to show you to my house.” He strode off.

A woman in black came forward, a young boy clinging to her skirt. “You're Kayin Monette?” she asked.

“I am,” Kayin said. “You must be Agata.” The woman nodded. “Fenrod often talked about you.”

“I'm glad he was so fond of me,” Agata said. “There were some days where I know he wanted to be back in the valley, but I didn't think it would be safe for Yrian to travel so far until he was older.”

“The road can be dangerous,” Kayin said. “Fenrod could do many things, but we're not all powerful. We can be killed, as you saw.”

Agata nodded. “Do you – do you know if Yrian will have the silver eyes?”

“There isn't any way to know until someone starts playing with the threads,” Kayin said. “That's what turns our eyes silver.”

“Why would anyone want to kill my da?” Yrian asked. “Da never hurt people. He just farmed and went to market. He took care of us.”

“Agata, did Fenrod ever tell you or Yrian the history of our people?” Kayin asked.

“He told me,” Agata said. “He said he'd tell Yrian one day.”

“Then I think he should know why someone hunted his father down,” Kayin said. “I could tell him but it might be easier for him if you did.”

“I'll do that,” Agata said. “When we get home. He deserves to know how cruel people can be.” “Mistress Monette, it's not going to be safe for you on the streets or at the inn. Why don't you come to our house for a little while? When it's time I'll show you where the mayor lives.”

Kayin saw several of the townsfolk watching her again. The wary look on some of their faces warned her. “I think I'd better,” she said. The three of them walked off together.

Reviews - the problems that can arise because of trolls and what we should do

So many people have already talked about this, but I'm going to put in my two cents' worth too. Book reviews. Book reviews are not for the author. They are for other readers. They tell us people's opinions and why they thought that about the book. Whether it's a one star, a five star, or something in between, it's to let people know the writer's opinion. It's not to bully the author or badmouth them.

Then we get to the cyber bullies. The ones who post one star reviews that blast the author as an individual. They threaten physical harm or post personal insults to the author themselves. They are there only to drive down the author and damage his/her ranking online, to injure their self esteem, and to bring others into their damaging mindset.

There are also author bullies. They are the ones who go batshit crazy about a negative review. They go off on the reviewer and start a flame war that leads to people chiming in about the author's bad behavior. This just leads to more drama from the author to the point where people are put off from their books because of this behavior.

The truth of it is reviews can lead to many different things. We need to stop and take a look at what we're doing. Are we reviewing the book because the author insulted us in some way? Then we probably shouldn't post it. Are we reviewing it honestly because of our opinion? That's a little better. Do we disagree with another reviewer's opinion? We keep our mouths shut and respect that it's their opinion. The only time we intercede is if it's a bullying opinion. Then on Amazon we can vote it down. Goodreads we can report it (as far as I know...I haven't been on there in a while because of the cyber bullying). There are ways we can bring these to the attention of those in charge of the website and hopefully someone will take care of it.

To summarize, be respectful of the author but don't be afraid to voice your opinion. Make sure it's on the book and not on the author. Authors, don't answer reviews. Keep your mouth shut and let your readers speak their minds. If you see someone cyber bullying another person, report it.

Internet panic attacks

I want to talk a moment about causing yourself a panic attack when you read an article online on what you think is a reputable site. It can happen to all of us. I know it happened to me last week. I saw this article here and about had a heart attack. I'm on food stamps and being forced to buy products made in Idaho would wipe out my budget faster because they're more expensive.

Now, I've done more research and none of the other local news feeds have picked up on this. Which means they either don't see it as big news or it's not going to happen. I don't really know which one it is. But I've also checked the Department of Health and Welfare's site and I don't see anything on there about it either. So I don't know if it's going to happen or not.

I trust Boise Weekly because they've had some interesting articles but sometimes I don't know how accurate they are. No one else reports on them. So I never know if it's accurate or just not reported. But what's important here is by reading something, I need to stop reacting to it and do the research first.

That's what we all need to do. There's a lot of stuff on the internet and a lot of it is not accurate or even true. We can't take a page at face value. Snopes is a good place to look for some things. It can debunk or confirm some of those stories people post on Facebook or you get in the email. Always check another source – or two, or three – before you decide it's true.

What about you? Has there ever been an article you got upset about before researching it? What was it about?