Frenzied Daddy

I’m not posting this as an authority, I’m posting it as a fellow traveller on the path to authordom

Lose the passive voice.

What, you may ask, is the “Passive voice?” It’s the voice of “telling not showing.” When Snoopy writes “It was a dark and stormy night,” he’s using the passive voice. It slows down the narration and reduces action. It also uses more words. It’s the use of forms of the verb “to be” — is , was et cetera. Oftentimes, the verb gets hidden in a contraction. So, when someone says “this passage is in the passive voice,” they’re using it too. Look, I did it twice in the same sentence. Shake up your sentences by using a stronger, more active role.

We turned in the sheet, and are accepting no new sponsors. No, that’s not true– you can still sponsor her, of course, and while Miss B won’t get credit for the Run for the Arts, we’d happily donate your money. Just use the donate link on the right.

When the girls and I were traipsing along the beach looking for the lighthouse, we came across this wrecked UFO. Had to take a few pictures of it hiding in the trees here; it was pretty creepy and weird.

It’s rough for me when Ms B leaves home for a day, leaving me in charge of the girls. A lot of times I feel like a lump, unless I take the girls “out” — a movie, the playground, a park, the library, you name it. Today being no exception, I ignored the mountain of laundry that was threatening to annex the baby crib, I ignored the dandelion farm in the yard, and I ignored the looming deadlines of a million humming projects. I took the girls “out.” Ms B is … scrapbooking (cheers!)

Last time I took them out we went to Kelly Point Park. The thought crossed my mind that it’d be neat to see the other side of the Columbia Channel there at the park, so I was determined to take them to Sauvie Island. There are a number of little wildlife refuges there, and some hikes, and just wandering on the beach. I really like Sauvie Island. When I stopped to get our parking permit, I learned that most parts of the Island were closed until April 15 or even June. So I looked at the list of open things, and one of them was the trail to Warrior Rock Lighthouse.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, of course, there’s still time.

In my defense, I grew up watching Elvira, Mistress of the Dark and B grade movies. And my “tens” are movies like Lord of the Rings, Spiderman Two and Galaxy Quest. My one and only “one” is Blue Velvet. Even Attack of the Killer Tomatos gets a six, slightly better than Food of the Gods.

Frank Miller’s movie Sin City (opened today) I have to give about a seven or an eight. Lots of eye candy, an amazing amount of violence. But some funny, and some touching moments. I admit it got tedious after a bit, and I was ready for the end. But they did a phenomenal job of recreating the image of the graphic novel; black and white with occassional splashes of bright color. Some neat scenes, in terms of sin-imatic vision, a body sinking slowly in the tar, a white cutout drifting down in the blackness (yeah, he was rescued, ok?).

Not a kid movie. Uh no way. Episode Three’ll be a better kid movie than this cartoonish b-grade gorefest. But that’s not a bad thing. For a drinking game, you could pop open a beer and drink anytime some character or other gets shot- you’d go through a lot of beer.

Yes, the link is still up— you can still donate to help Miss B and the Run for the Arts

When I was a kid, I’m not saying I was fat and out of shape; I was just out of shape. I’m thinking back in the Alaska days, not when I was in Portland High School; I couldn’t run a quarter mile, and the weekly run in Gym of a mile was sheer torture. I could barely slog around the track, up over the hill, down around the soccer field, back over the hill and back to the starting point. In fact, I frequently walked it (once a week), stopping for breathers.

Last night, I snapped Baby K into the jogging stroller and lit out for the neighborhood track field. I “jogged” (waddled) most of the way there (it’s about 1/3 of a mile), then around their 1/4 mile track three times (waddling and walking) and then back. It didn’t start raining until we were home. Baby K enjoyed the ride, and the fresh air. It was interesting to see the other waddlers and joggers and walkers out around the track; it was a popular place last night. I liked it because I could put my head down and focus on making the white line go from the underside of the stroller under my feet and then back behind me, and zone out listening to the radio. It was a different kind of run, and a little longer than I usually do.

Miss B wanted to go with us. I had to turn her down though. I only told her half of the truth though, when she asked me why. I told her that I didn’t want to have to worry about her pace as well as mine. That’s true, but it’s also true that I’m more likely to run harder (and wear out sooner) when I’m trying to impress my daughter than when I’m by myself. Baby K impresses easily; Miss B (at least in my imagination) would be a little tougher.