Boston and beer...

First things first.  A silent, heartfelt nod to the city of Boston and the great people who live there.  What happened last Monday was a tragedy; those good people didn't deserve to have a celebration marred by someones thoughtless actions.  I know words can't fix the problems of the world, but I hope people will think about the consequences of their actions.

On to an easier topic.  Beer.  Glorious beer.  Sampled a bunch of new beers this past week, some really good, and others, quite awful.

On the good side, Sam Adams Blueberry Hill Lager.  Nice blueberry beer, with good lacing and a strong nose.  Easy drinking, smooth and refreshing.

On the awful side, Blue Moon's Blackberry Tart Ale.  Pours a nice color, but has a somewhat medicinal smell.  Little to no head and rather flat in taste.  They did however, get the tart taste.  Not very good.

If you want to try a blackberry beer, I suggest Sam Adams Blackberry Wit--excellent.

Anyway, as promised, here are a few paragraphs from Killing Machine (better late than never).

      

            Smug son of a bitch.  The Harmons were hateful old codgers and as to the dog being harmless, Jason had a plan for taking care of that, and soon.  And fences were expensive and when it came down to it, Jason liked the openness of his property, free from a ghastly fence ruining the view.

            “I am so sick of those fucking neighbors and their goddamned dog.  I’m going to choke them all to death, but that little shit machine is going to be first.”

            Jason mimicked the act of choking and his face looked like a red balloon as he aped strangling a small dog.  Bruno watched quietly.

Until next time, think about the folks in Boston, and then have a beer.

44 Sucks...

I'm not going to bitch, but 44 sucks.  I turned 44 in February and between arthritis, costocondritis, and a pulled neck muscle, I rarely have days that are pain free.  Yet, I still feel lucky.  But I'm not the blessings counting kind of guy--I just know I have it better than a lot of other people on this big green and blue ball we call Earth.

I've got the Missus who is the most dedicated, persevering person that I know.  I've got a spare fridge almost overflowing with great craft beer (and a few holdouts from St. Patrick's Day).  I've started writing full time and am loving it.  Did I just count blessings?

Anyway, it's Friday and the weekend is here.  I'm going to put in 4-6 hours today on a new story (another robot story), and a longer piece that I'm currently calling The Portrait (an homage to Oscar Wilde's only novel).

It's not even 9am, but I'm already thinking about the day's first beer.  It's not far off.  I think the first victim will be a Sam Adams Blueberry Hill Lager.  I'll give a full review of the beer next week.

On Monday or Tuesday I will post a few paragraphs from a story I finished called Killing Machine.

Have a great weekend.  I'm going to.

Success and Weekends...

Another weekend down the tubes.  I finished "Birthday Wishes" and for good this time.  It was a minor success.  Great weekend.  No plans, no obligations, and no where to go. 

Started with a lazy Saturday morning with the Missus.  Then I got my first real haircut in over two years.  I went with the faux-hawk and I'm not so sure, but I might be too old for this look.  We'll see.

Added two more stories to the "FINISHED" folder on Saturday.  Another success.

Nice day Sunday.  A little XBOX in the am ( I am a Black Ops 2 multiplayer junkie), followed up by a lazy afternoon and evening.  All capped off by a great dinner of crabcakes courtesy of the Missus.

Excellent weekend.  In a future post (and it won't be long), I will put up a few paragraphs from my most recent story--a robot tale.

Keep writing, you bum.

Perils of Writing...

Well, I have had a productive week.  At least until this morning.  On Monday at 7am I started writing as if it were my job.  I logged about 24 hours of writing, editing, and thinking about new stories over the course of four days.  But, I hit a block.

And not a writer's block.  I broke my own rule.  If a story is deemed finished, then it goes into the folder marked "FINISHED."  That was until I reread a story called 'Birthday Wishes' (one of my personal favs).

Three lousy paragraphs...those few sentences have been a tremendous pain in my ass.  But, before the day is out, I'm going to fix those paragraphs, and the story will go back into the "FINISHED" folder and stay there.

On the brighter side, I've started to understand a little bit about myself.  I have more ideas than I can put down at one time.  I started a notebook full of story ideas.  It is filling up fast.

I have robot stories fighting with zombie stories, psycho slashers battling sadistic killers, all for space on the written page.  I'll get them all out...eventually.

After all, I'm in it for the long haul.

Orioles baseball and Easter...

April 2nd.  Easter came and went.  Today starts a new season for the Orioles. Yes, I am a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and a fan of the Baltimore Orioles.  Last season the Orioles gave long-suffering fans like myself a small glimmer of hope.  Going into this season I have high expectations, but with lots of reservations.  I'll keep my fingers crossed for good luck...if I were actually superstitious.

Anyway, back to Easter.  I'm not religious.  In fact, I hardly ever talk about religion to anyone.  It's best that way.  But Easter, unlike Christmas, is a busy day that ends up being crammed into one day.  Two houses to visit.  Two meals to eat, and overall, just too much.  However, as I dreaded this past Sunday like a kid with a cavity dreads the dentist, I was pleasantly surprised to have a great day.

There was no mass in the morning, just breakfast with the Missus.  Then a trip to her aunt's, followed by a trip to my mom's.  And do you know what Easter has in common with Christmas other than the Christ overtones?  It's really about being with family and sharing good times, good food, and good wine and beer.  So, it was a Happy Easter.

Welcome and enjoy.

Welcome to the Musings of Mr. Hyde. It is April 1st and I have no time for fools. This new blog will serve as a window into the mind of a long-time writer, though none of what I have written has ever appeared in print. 

Hopefully, this blog will be the first step in what will become a self-satisfying
writing career. Money and accolades will also help, but that will depend on the merits of my writings.

I will enter new blogs as things cross my mind, and after I mull them over, I will put them into writing. We are one day removed from the Easter holiday, so very shortly, I will post about my thoughts on Easter.

Humor, sarcasm and wit will be the basis of my musings, sprinkled in with the occasional horror and slap in the face candor. I hope you enjoy.