Writing

I write things when I can actually get enough letters together to make sense.

Shattered Reflections -R.D Excerpt

To Be The Best

Jamie was someone who did not really know me. We met through her boyfriend who was sympathetic towards everything that happened as well as playing me in Yu-Gi-Oh. She has wanted to spend more time with him, and thought the best idea was to play the game next year. The summer was coming up fast, and mom was trying to light all of her finances that were joint with pops in to a bonfire. Wondering why I was the one she had asked to teach her, and she told how everyone would ask for different handicaps to play against me.

Others had believed me to be one of the best especially since we had our five on one contest that I still had won. Considering she also wanted to be competitive against him then she would like to learn from the best person she could find. She knew how I would take jobs, and just wanted to spend one summer training how to play this game. Hearing how much her boyfriend complained about me winning nearly every time we decided to talk over the job. Adding the cherry to the cake was that there was no female players despite the group being fairly large when it came to trading card game groups. She wanted to be the representative.

She would need multiple sessions a week to catch up as her boyfriend had been playing for a few years. Payment would be in cards after she felt comfortable playing, soda when I was there, and an open mind. Living a few blocks away from the house it would not that hard to walk there. There was enough cards in my own stores that we could use until she felt comfortable. Each training session would be for an hour minimum. We could go longer if we were both up for it and no plans had to be changed.

Going over the various basics, media, mistakes that were common, how to test a deck, how to make a deck, what you want in a deck, sizes and proportions. After that it turned into how to play the people because the person’s style was a strong variable when it came to preferred strategy. We would have lessons once or twice and sometimes three times a week. We had asked her boyfriend to play seriously against her after the first day of school giving a good test of her skills. I couldn’t help her in any way when they had their game, but I could watch.

Over the summer her ability to learn was on full display taking more time with the difference between the actual game. The difference of the card types working in to combinations were something that intrigued her. Working from my extras after half the summer she had begun to get cards to flesh out a style that was her own. Teaching someone to play that was always one of the hardest parts I found out because when you teach someone one of the things that you would need to be clear is where style differs from technical ability. You do not want someone to just mirror your style because while the teacher has had experiences over their time that maybe the student would not understand. While she would gather information there was extra efforts to go over what was more of style. Doing that she had actually began to feel comfortable with cards that while I would not play could be used in a very competitive match.

Harpies were the cards that she had really fallen in love with. That was a set of cards based around the Harpie Lady all the cards that worked well with were tracked down within reason of cost because one would be surprised how expensive some cards can be. Building her own deck she had asked for some of my extras that were not expensive, but as it was easier for her to use I had decided at the end of the summer to do something.

My tournament had not gone well, and it had gotten around from other sources. I was just boiled at the incident rather choosing to wave off the question. Judging seemed to be a better fit doing it when there was need at some of the smaller stores in the city. People enjoyed that it was more about the players and the experience while keeping things fair. A judge should never have to be calculated on in a game like that because it can ruin the entire experience. Back to the point at hand she picked the game very quickly and to act as the cherry because she did push herself to learn.

Respecting that intensity, and feeling that the game did not have a whole lot of love left. My deck became hers with it all the cards in it that she had hated when she was practicing were now hers. Black Tyranno had been able to find a new home with someone who had found a love of the game which was good enough for me. She wanted to use those cards in the deck in the match with her boyfriend, but she thought better of it. Playing him in a three match series she had swept it easily earning the ire of her boyfriend even going through a game without taking damage making him rage for a moment leaving a smile on my face.

When she left high school she had begun to make her way to California where her tournament lifetime in the state went better in mine, and one of my favorite moments was an email about her successes including a picture from one of her events after a match she had won. The picture showed her field with the various cards that could be called beautifully artistic cards except for one. Sitting in her monster field years after she had been taught was the Black Tyranno in attack mode ready to go. It was a sign of something that made me smile all those years later. Games really can be so magical when you think about it, and getting someone to find a passion for a game was a nice little thing in a world that seems to be bass ackwards.

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Typey Typey Typey

Shattered Reflections is just about 30k in words with a goal at just about 65k. What gets me more then the writing is the typing because now to allude to 2 the Ranting Gryphon. I have a shoulders and neck made out of candy corn. Things happen it just cuts my speed in half, and I have gone over that before. That does not mean that we can’t learn from it. I hate having something negative. I do not like cons that can’t be turned in to a pro through either a style change or something.

Despite my speed being dropped by half, but it has given me a better process to add or edit details in the various forms of typings. Maybe exchanging the speed of the old school gunman for more of the calculation of the sniper if we want to look at it in a action hero inspired light.

Looking at NaNoWriMo coming up all I would hope is that my big two writing projects are at least typed up. That will be difficult to do, but part of me is kinda relishing the challenge because I know what I can do the question is can it be pulled off. Can the mental strength get past all the problems that may pop up physically. Which is the stronger side of people, mental or physical?

To get some of the works done would be great to have it ready to go and then more of the advertising would begin again. If the pictures can be added to the other books then there is a possible of four books that could be released. Wanting to be a writer that can sustain on his own works can be. Trying to break in as writing for a job has been a little more difficult. That’s okay though because the harder the trip, the sweeter the victory.

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Wrestling Article Attempt

Recently I tried to senda sample to a wrestling webstie to have me on as a content provider, and with a promo done by the Miz that really made me want to try to write for a pro wrestling website. If it is something you love then it will show more of the natural emotion I would think.

 

THE MIZ HITS THE TARGET, SHOOT OR WORK.

I have not seen a full show bell to bell in quite a long time. Keeping track from the wrestling news all over the world tends to make it hard to see everything for what it is instead of the single words on the screen. Until something happened on Smackdown recently.

The tag teams were fresh, and Dolph seemed to be moving back up with A.J Styles and Dean Ambrose firmly in the next match for the gold. Diva’s and Tag belts were unveiled as well as what would be done to crown the first champions. Six pack challenge for the female superstars on the blue brand while the smackdown tag belts would be given to the winners of a tournament. From the first two matches having American Alpha and The Uso’s moving on to the story of Heath Slater looking for a partner it seems there would be a lot there to fill a show.

Found out Nikki Bella was back, and was actually really feeling how she was going to be used as her work as been known to not be the greatest, but she also has been really pushing herself to grow. It will take some time, but Carmella and Nikki may seem like a good pairing because both have something to prove Nikki from her injury and Carmella as a draft pick getting used to another audience. Which was strange because usually I can nitpick to a hair splitting level. Overall though the show seemed good, and I was thinking about watching it bell to bell next week.

I crossed paths with a certain well moment would be the best way to describe it. It came from the post show on the network called Talking Smack, and I saw the mix in the picture so I clicked. If there was anything good I have done this week it was watch that video. I’m a fan of the Miz. The whole thing were people didn’t respect him for what he wanted to do struck a chord with me. He was insulted for a wrestling style that Daniel Bryan called “Cowardly”. Where some people would expect Miz to go off like a pouty actor were not getting what they wanted tonight. You know what, go right now, tab this page, look up “Miz talking smack”, listen to it, and then come back because words cannot do it complete justice. It is just about three minutes if you go to the WWE Youtube channel. Go.

Finished?

Where was this hiding? One moment that perfectly encapsulates what wrestling should be not because he was perfect in his speech. He did stutter at times, but it made it more authentic. No, the reason why this was a defining moment was because I had watched wrestling for years since being cap high to a milk gallon. Since then we hear so much behind the scenes and then this happens and for a moment you look at it and go.

“What did I just see?”

Suspension of disbelief is a hard thing to grasp. After so many years watching the shows, reading the articles, hearing the interviews with everyone under the sun. This three minute clip where no flips were done, no tables broken, no clinics held, and just had two people for the most part talking made me remember why this held magic for me. This moment made me feel like there would have been a five year old me screaming “Awesome” instead of “Oh Yeahh”. Wanting to try and do the Skull Crushing Finale in backyard wrestling instead of the Perfect-plex or the Macho Man elbow drop. In one single span of a video the guise of the jaded critic always looking back was gone replaced with the child sitting next to his best friend’s family while we booed and cheered for who we loved and hated.

If you can listen to that video and not hear the great promos of Flair, Austin, and Shawn Michaels then you need to just go. Come back when someone on the screen is almost crying because he feels like everyone in power has looked past him. Angry, because he is holding a title and feels like others say “You aren’t good enough to be a true champion”. Which made me think to my own memories again being places where one should have more respect, but for some reason felt like it wasn’t there. I’m sure everyone has had a moment or two like that somewhere in their lives.

The Miz isn’t back. He never left, but this has to be just plain awesome. Because of this Smackdown will be the first show I have seen in it’s entirety on the T.V realize just how much of a fan I really am of the whole wrestling genre.

When CM Punk had his infamous pipebomb it set him up as the cornerstone of what was called the ‘reality’ era. After the brand split has the Miz stepped into the position of being the flag bearer where everyone else is graded against? Considering now there are two top level titles and he is not holding either one if he can make the correlation then he has done a great bit of work no matter how you cut it being real or not.

Obiously, there is some work that can be done, maybe too much honesty to start with. In either case it is a starting point on working to write. Worst case scenario a start is better then nothing.

The article asked for 750 word minimum and on opinions or lists. Looking back I couldsee that some more polish is needed, but overall I am still happy with the product if anything to show how much further I can go.

 

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Risque Whiskey or Risky Whisky

So I recently wanted to get some more writing experience, help my efforts trying to network in that industry. Their was an open position for a website called The Whiskey Wash. They have not answered back after multiple attempts at contact which is fine open positions got to have a lot of people applying for it one would figure maybe I just don’t cut it. I hate to have it happen, but one can move on.

Except something caught my attention. I’m a fan of whiskey and on the web site itself their were two spellings of the word. One with the “E”and one without which I thought were strange. Normally that would dictate that someone would have majorly screwed up. It is rare though for something like a specialty site to do that so I did some research.

For anyone who reads this blog they will find I spell it w-h-i-s-k-e-y. This is the spelling found on many American and all Irish and since my whiskey experiences stem from the Jack Daniels and Jameson brands over my two and a half decades on this planet, and that would be why it seemed strange to me. W-h-i-s-k-y is the spelling used by Canada, Japan, and Scotland. If there are any other countries then I am sorry I just do not know which one you use, no insult meant.

Some people actually get legitimately angry about it like the inclusion of a single “E” can throw all their good memories they ever had with it in to the river. Going so far to insult those who use the spelling in reference to the wrong original country. Now with writing some people will only look at it and go..

“Huh, they got multiple spellings here, they can’t know about what they are writing about.”

Nope, there is a reason although it is slightly strange to see two different spellings on the same website over and again.

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Shattered Reflections – Excerpt

Every week there was a semester being made up and over my year there at CALC my challenge was never lost. Testing was monotanous to a degree, but it was something I excelled in so it worked.While I was trying to salvage my grades there had been some who wanted to beat their chest before fighting for various reasons. To save space all of them will be here as there was not a grand fight among them.

One pair of gang banger wannabes were grabbing at a girl at lunch one day. She had come to talk to me to get them to stop. After trying once talking like human beings she had come out saying  and it ended with Harper kicking one in the skull while I tackled the other in the doorframe hard enough to break the doorframe.

Invented an armbar waltz when another male student tried to push a smaller female teacher around. The armbar waltz was just holding the standing armbar while I would negotiate him around spinning this way and that just to anger them and if I ever needed I could resort in to a hammerlock transition or give up the arm to take the leg.

One of the baby daddies thought he could sleap his girl around which is the theme of this place. Not a gang banger wannabe though he was a goth metal deadhead who got floored by a nut kick/ facejam combination then proceded to maon how that was fighting against the rules.

I did not understand such behaviors so Harper had to explain to me after another such incidents why people did such things. Supposedly it is because they think the girls are cute or they have some relationship with them, but I had to think that it would be much easier if they were treated like people first. Relationships were never a strong suit of mine. Thinking about such thing as the meaning of beauty or the understanding of the common students when I was choking someone out or grappling with them. No one got serious enough that a couple hits couldn’t stop. Put enough people on their head and eventually the message will sink in at least until the headache subsides.

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Writing Contest – 1 down

I am also doing writing contests. One of which that I had found was interesting. You had to write a life lesson you have learned with fifteen hundred words or less. It does not cost anything to enter this contest.

Recently, I took some time to get in to the spirit of the contest. What would I want to tell myself from an earlier age. What my life lesson was may seem a bit strange, but I have a fair amount of words to explain it and so it can be surmised just as.

Learn to fight.

Now, fight in this case is specifically the definition of concentrating your efforts towards something. I have been in enough fights of the other variety for a lifetime and really throughout my life if I didn’t go through those moments then I would have never get the grasp of this one. Violence is in all honesty something that is almost tiring even if it was for the best reasons. My body looks like a roadmap of scars sometimes, and considering how little I went to the hospital. Well, there is going to be a price to pay on that.

Learning to concentrate one’s efforts does not mean going out to pick fistfights with everyone that passes by. You can fight in ways when it comes in refrence to a skill or competition. Fighting for a goal is what some people should really work on more, myself included.

I recently just got the writing portion on it done which sounds easy at fifteen hundred words or less working with that size you can’t mince words. When it’s time to put everything in I hope I do well.

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Excerpt – Time, Fire, and Cuisine

To this day I cannot say how this classifies. It does not have recipes on every page like a cookbook, but it does have a flow I think so it just remains as a food book. Which if you do not know seems to be a good way to surmise my writings so far. I write about food, how food reacts in the world, how it can be made, how it can be tasted, and really I think you get a better appreciation for it that way. Otherwise it is just another food porno in the world where you can get just get a good camera and some clay and tell people what you created.

From one book to two, with pages that will be switched in and out before it is done.  Then begins the illustrations slash the getting the agents to look at it. If they like it then great if not then I will just have to learn and move on

December 1st – At the beginning

Writing this “little project” has been at the best of times vexing and at its worst one of the fastest routes to a migraine I have had to go on. Trying to figure out what recipes would be best suited while balancing the stories and techniques were difficult with some of the experiences as unique as any piece of fiction.

The reason those pages are there though are to help shed light on the kinds of people and situations that may have gone one. To eat a restaurant is a complex issue of so many things done well that sometimes it is just as much fun to watch the whole thing as it is to just eat what is on the plate. In every kitchen around the world there are many people trying to make their way through life from the server to the chef each with a story to tell. Since you cannot make it through the world without listening to a few you might as well enjoy the ones you do listen to.

Now, with the last month of this project I can truly say that with all the techniques, experiences, terms, ideas, and of course recipes there should be something for everyone to learn one thing at least. If I managed that I would call this a success whether it is how to plate, cook, do things on the fly or even my own little opinion in a grand world.

We all seem devoted to the end product without thinking about everything that made it get there. It seems to happen to me whenever I do go out and I have a great plate that I think of the stories that plate of food told of how it got there to the hands making it. Machiavelli, the man often credited to such a school of thinking, is dead. If people sold in to it as much as they say then at least he would have found a way to continue breathing.

Enjoy the last portion of this book as much as I did writing it, even if it just a couple laughs at my own opinion in life.

December 31st – Final Test

This book hopefully has taught some valuable lessons or at the very least made you chuckle once. Now for the exam. In previous tests you had to use what you gleamed to make a meal. After your finished you need to compare to the dish you had to make at the start. For this time make three dishes from previous experience two of them have already been chosen.

For the first dish: Remake your first test dish and improve upon it using everything you have learned.

Made:_____________________________________

Second dish will be the dish incorporating recipes or formulas in your own plates. Improve upon this recipe and truly make it your own.

Made:________________________________________

The last dish will be your own. Have a friend pick one protein, one starch and one vegetable without your knowledge. Cook for them in the span of one hour a dish a full composed plate of food with the three main ingredients and whatever you have in your pantry.

Made:_______________________________________

Friend: ______________________________________

Protein:______________________________________

Starch:______________________________________

Vegetables:___________________________________

See how far you have come in the span of a single year. Every day you spent reading this either for a few minutes or few a couple hours. Learning what can be in the kitchens as well as the techniques and a good many recipes can be enough for a book. If anything I hope this will not sit loveless on a shelf instead being carted around as a fun read or even as a foot stool because this thing was much bigger then I thought at the beginning and I am proud to see it done .

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Excerpt – Time, Fire, and Cuisine

For some reason this salad is on most of the menus I see so after a while I just broke down the plates in to numbers I can handle. Having the walnuts made in larger batches means you can play with them in other things like cereal or your go to grazing snack. For those who do not like blue cheese then I have used a good brie as a substitute and a little more salt on the salad overall to balance. Salads really get the short end of the stick because to do it well you must compose a dish without so many of the long cooking methods found in normal entrees.

Revising wise I think my grammar could be done by a sixth grade who just had his first Jack and Coke but that’s okay because it will be a funny point to start from. Everyone should have that point where they start a project where they can look back and just laugh at how bad it was with their friends.

November 6th – Blue pear salad

For the greens you want equal parts of mache and arugula lettuce as well as whole spinach leaves. Check all of it for rotting bits as well as bugs before putting it down to work on the rest of your items. You can do this in a main bowl where everything else will be added or you can save it all in different smaller containers so you can toss it all and go quickly later in the day.

1:1:1 Arugula to mache lettuce to salad spinach

In the case of the vinaigrette you want to use your best oil and vinegar. A good pair to shoot for is a virgin or extra virgin olive oil matched with either champagne or balsamic vinegar. Each will work with the other ingredients. Make sure to whisk it or even build it in your food processor to keep longer before breaking.

3:1 Good oil to champagne or balsamic vinegar

Mix well before putting away. Add some walnuts to the amount of a quarter of the total greens. Before adding them straight to the greens you can candy them with a mix of butter and brown sugar in the ratio of six to one. Melt the butter before tossing your sugar in to dissolve.

4:1 Total greens to walnuts

6:1 Butter to brown sugar to candy your walnuts

Next take some blue cheese to half of your walnuts to add some salt to the dish. Make sure to not burn your nuts as you candy them.

2:1 Walnuts to blue or Gorgonzola cheese

Toss everything together before topping and enjoying. Finish everything with pear fans cut on top.

Did an extra one since summer is coming around a nice salad wouldn’t hurt.

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Excerpt – Time, Fire, and Cuisine

Coming from the Pacific Northwest there just has to be some recipes with seafood. This one is a good way to do any white meat fish and it doesn’t take million dollars to make either. Chicken works well for those who do not do well with fish. On previous pages you can also see how people are supposed to grow so that nothing is impossible and after reading my books you could cook a lot better. That would be the plan at least

October 6th – Fish a la Piccata

Translating loosely to miller style fish this works best with white meat fish fillet. Trout is the recipe here but halibut and cod can work if you so chose. Any white meat fish is acceptable as long as it can hold through a pan frying. The fat of choice for this recipe is a blended olive oil or clarified butter. Pat the fish fillet dry before dusting with an all purpose flour. In the pan an ounce of your choice of fat should be simmering from the heat.

Place your fish in the fat to let it cook. If one side has skin then you will want to let it cook more on one side then the other. On the other hand skinless fillet can be found although they do break up easier. As the meat cooks you will want to make a sauce to accompany it.

Mince six small capers with a heavy pinch of parsley so that you are left with equal portions of each.

1:1:1 Minced capers to minced parsley to lemon juice

After your fish cooks dump the sauce ingredients in to saute for a moment. Next you will want to remove it from the heat while swirling a pair of small half ounce chunks. Monte Au Buerre in full affect your sauce should be warm and ready while your fish has rested slightly before plating.

Pour a small portion of the sauce under the fish as it rests against your starch and vegetable of choice before ladling a small amount over the top of it. It should have a nice looking dark colored sear that can hold up to the sauce.

If the salty flavor of the briny capers isn’t really up your alley minced sweet pickle or cornuchons can be supplemented for a portion or for the entire part of the capers.

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Excerpt- Time, Fire, and Cuisine

Sometimes when you need to impress people you need to just get them some food. When you use an alcohol for cooking it is always good to use something of a mid shelf booze. A lower one if you need to burn it off first never get the bottom shelf stuff as most times that stuff is not fit to remove fingernail polish let alone drink.

September 17th -Fruit Romanoff

This dessert comes from much the same line as the zabayon sauce. Both are sauces that work to best show the texture and flavors of fresh fruit. Made from whipped cream folded in to an equal part of sour cream this is easier then to whisk heavy zabayon.

1:1 Heavy cream before whipping to sour cream

Mix the sour cream with a shot of brandy for every cup. Then add an equal part of brown sugar to brandy to the sour cream.

8:1:1 Sour cream to brandy to brown sugar

Whisk the heavy cream until it reaches medium peaks. If you have an electric hand held mixer I would suggest using it especially if your not to strong in the elbow or are not making large batches at a time.

Fold your whipped cream in to your sour cream in thirds as to not lose any of the air you worked to put in to it. For making desserts for events it handles well in if it is made the day of the event. If you hold it for more then twelve hours the bacteria in the sour cream will continue to do their work making your sauce more tart and throwing off the balance. It becomes a sweet crème fraiche and is definitely usable just not for the original purpose.

You can use it to layer different fruit between layers of sauce. Compotes of pear and apple can also be used as well as any small dice in a small amount of sauce. Being dairy based it gives you a lot to work with for what else you can use. Other alcohols in reduced form, cheeses, other fruit, some vegetables, classic dessert sauces, chocolate. Being only slightly sweet makes it an easy tool when creating desserts to your own will.

This is not a bad desert when time is working against you and you have some energy to spare. Warmer months and fresh fruit with a homemade sauce

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