Year: 2015

Do have to use Flamenco strings on my flamenco guitar? (YouTube video)

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New youtube media is up!

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Muramasa Updates

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So this week I did a rather large update of Muramasa: Blood Drinker, going through all of the back postings on this site and updating formatting, html code, and graphics integration. All of the pages should now conform to the standard CSS and html tags used on DVS Press. I did this mostly because I want people to be able to read the book here, with all the advantages of the new site, with its better navigation and scripting capabilities (which has resulted in footnotes that actually work!) , rather than have to go back to The Tears of Prometheus to go through it.

When doing this it should be noted that the now current version of Muramasa on DVS Press has had its text derived from the original working file. This means that the version found here is effectively beta 2, having lots of little fixes that are different from the original run, yet containing no large revisions. Enjoy!

Muramasa: Blood Drinker table of contents

American Doublethink

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Democracy is the best political system. I’m glad the courts threw out that voter initiative.   Discrimination is wrong. We need hiring and admissions quotas to correct past injustices.   I care about the poor. Let’s raise cigarette, sales, and gas taxes.   I believe in charity. We need to collect more tax money for assistance programs.   The war is evil, but I support our troops.   A volunteer army victimizes the poor. We should conscript the troops.   I would never assault someone just because they are doing something I don’t care for. I’ll call the police instead.…

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Sex and Society part 2: Monogamy!

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Previous A man’s commitment to reproduction is short and pleasurable; a woman’s is long and arduous.   From this simple truth arises most of our social conventions, societal norms, and expectations when it comes to the sexes interacting with one another. In the absence of the state (whose interference will be discussed in a future installment), it becomes imperative that women not only choose fit partners, but require those partners to contribute resources and support offspring. The problem is that the fun, fulfilling part of male reproduction happens first while all the work that arises from it happens afterwards. There…

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Creating when you aren’t passionate

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My whole life I have been an artist, with my focus moving between music, visual art, and the written word. Countless times I have dealt with the cycle of creativity, which is the slow or sometimes drastic switch between uncontrollable excitement and enthusiasm about projects to apathy. The well runs dry from time to time, and creation becomes nearly impossible. Some people call this “writers block,” but I think more that it is a disconnect of emotion, and I consider it part of any creative process. From time to time you have to let the well refill, and be content with what you have done until the next exciting project sweeps you away.

Historically, I have always found things to do when I found creation of new art difficult. In music, there was the ever-present demand of practice, which requires repetition far more than passion. With art, it was technical exercises. Writing, however, is a bit more difficult. I have considered spending a week writing non-fiction, and I have more than a few ideas in the pipe for that sort of thing. Editing seems ideal, but at the moment is difficult. Right now I am editing an old manuscript, but because of the primitiveness of my writing (it was my first book), it has become a re-write, which has demanded I tap new sources in my process.

It’s hard for me to find technical things to do with writing to pass through to the renewed well, but I can also look at this situation as an opportunity to grow. Finding ways to keep working through dispassion can be applicable to many other things, like day jobs, or parenting. Either way, I’m determined to slog through my current projects!

Just a few thoughts for the day.