No Mo' Mojo

I admit it.  I've been in sort of a slump lately, and I just don't mean the topics for this blog.  Yes, I have been grasping at straws quite a few times here in the last few weeks, but this type of thing frequently occurs.  No, I am talking about a few other things.  Mostly, it is about my games.  I am on multiple losing streaks, and it is starting to frustrate me.  On one game, I hadn't won in three days until I finally beat my opponent in a very haphazard playoff.  I was getting so bad that I not only had to drop down a level, but I also was nearing the point of giving up on the game for awhile.  On another game, I was stuck on the same level for about as long, before a few lucky moves finally got me through, not to mention the use liberal use of a few tools.  I also missed out winning the contest for a major bonus, by less than one hundred points!  I could have won, if I had just remembered to double check my competition and played one last round to help my chances.  Speaking of special tools, I used up pretty much all of my resources in a third game.  It was a moment of weakness.  I stuck past two really hard levels that had been giving me trouble, but I had to use up the last of my uncommon bonuses.  I still have a stockpile of starting bonuses, but I try not to use most of them up unless things get super desperate.  I hadn't realized that how much I had been relying on my "free" bonuses, those I get by just logging in every day or completing easy challenges.  Many of these challenges haven't been showing up as often as they used to.  In fact, I managed to use a bunch of such freebies to pass through many levels on one of my games just this past weekend.  Still, one in five games is not that great.  The same things I happening with my puzzle skills.  I had been trying to finish up all of my favorites in my oldest puzzle magazine, but I somehow left all of one type to the end.  Unfortunately, solving forty of the same type of puzzle gets very boring after a few days.  I don't want to start on the next magazine until I finish this one, with only eight more to go and a month to finish of the next one before a new one comes out.  I had even skipped some of the puzzles I only sort of like, just so I can finish the stupid thing a little bit sooner.  I mean, some of these puzzles didn't seem fair.  They were using words that even I had never heard of, and I'm an English major with multiple interests, as well as being a lifelong puzzle enthusiast.  There aren't that many words that I am totally unfamiliar with, but somehow, these puzzles are finding new ways to befuddle me.  I could go on with my problems, but you can get the picture.  I am slowing getting my enthusiasm back, but it has been tricky.   Well, that's all I can write this week, so don't expect a well-written ending.  I just don't have it in me right now.

Can or Cannot, There Is No Pop

Last week, I had to pick up a new carton of pop.  I would be drinking my last can that afternoon, so it was time to pick up some new.  However, I was expecting problems.  You see, for the last few weeks, if not longer, I had been noticing a distinctive lack of variety in most brands.  So, instead of picking up a carton of Cherry Dr Pepper or the new Cream Soda flavor, I had to go with the regular.  I was fortunate enough to find one bottle of Cherry hiding in one of the coolers in the checkout aisle.  Supposedly, the reason for this lack of variety is a shortage, not of ingredients, but in aluminum cans.  Not the aluminum, just the cans.  Because of all the restrictions on restaurants and other food places, people have been buying more pop to drink at home.  I honestly didn't think that most people drank pop while eating out.  Admittedly, until the shutdowns, I only ate out two or three days a month, max. Well, since people having been eating out, there's more of a market for buying for home use.  The majority of this has been in cans, as they are supposedly more environmentally sound, over plastic bottles.  [As an aside, I have always found it strange that the materials that are the most likely to be recycled are the ones least likely to be used up.  Aluminum is the most common metal found in the earth's crust.  It will take a long time for al resources to run out.  The only elements more common are silicon and oxygen, pretty much found in every rock on earth. They are also the major components of glass, another commonly recycled material.  Sorry about the rant, but I had to mention it.]  While there is no shortage of aluminum, the plants that manufacture the cans are running behind in making them.  In an effort to keep up, most beverage companies are shifting plants away from many of the niche flavors to focus only on the tip sellers.  Apparently, the smaller plants, like my local one, starting changing over much earlier than the larger ones, who only began shifting a week or two ago.   I kind of expected this, as I had known that my local bottling plant didn't produce all flavors.  A few years ago, when I still drank diet pop regularly, I had a hard time finding my favorite, Diet Cherry Dr Pepper.  I was only able to get it when I went to Lexington, once or twice a year.  Then, one year, I finally started going back to Virginia, after a long time from traveling there.  Starting just one county over, I was finding it everywhere.  Even the smaller stores carried it.  I had never known that a different bottling plant took over just one county away.  Of course, I no longer drink diet pop on a regular basis.  I still only average one can every two days, like I have for decades now.  This still doesn't explain why plants aren't making more flavors available in bottles though.  It probably has something to do with keeping large amounts of ingredients around.  Still, I like flavors and variety.  I will be on the lookout for bottles, if nothing else, until this shortage has ended.  Who knows?  This might finally allow the return of one of my most favorite flavors of all time to be made again locally, Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper.  The only thing I like better is Crystal Pepsi, but at least I can hope for a comeback.

Going Back or Not

I don't really have anything I want to write about today.  Sure, there are a lot of things I could be writing about that are on my mind, but most really aren't appropriate for this time.  Instead, I will write about something somewhat pressing on me, my upcoming online classes.  I am currently registered for two graduate courses for the fall.  However, I am still in doubt about whether or not I will actually take them.  On the one hand, I will be getting closer to a Masters degree, even if it is not the one I initially planned on.  Actually completing my degree will look better on any resumés or applications then just having a few random classes.  It would also give meaning to all of the time and money I have already put in on these classes.  On the other hand, I am not all that enthusiastic about the classes.  To be honest, I'm not too thrilled about anything at the moment.  I should be taking two classes, but I really don't have the finances to pay for that many classes all at once.  I might be taking the class that will be offered during the shortened Winter term.  It would be about the same amount of money, but spread out so it wouldn't be such a hard hit.  Also, these are the only two classes for the fall that I am even halfway interested in.  They are also the classes that look like they would have the fewest total books needed.  I'm still not sure if I want to take either of them, though.  None of the other classes that I could take seem right for me, or my ultimate goals.  I'm just unsure about if I should be doing this at all, especially at this time.  As I mentioned, I don't really have the money.  I'm not sure if I will have the time.  Even with the limited schedule, I might be stressed.  I took three classes my first semester, and I wound up having to read first thing in the morning just to make sure I finished a book on time.  For my second semester, I had assignments that took much longer than planned, sometimes taking twice as long just to format the work correctly.  I'm worried that such a thing could happen again.  Worse, closings might limit my access to research materials.  Even with internet connections, I having problems finding all of the materials I needed.  Fortunately, I had local sources.  (I even got to use some of my private library to compensate for a few things.  Don't ask how I got to tie some of my more esoteric interests into a research paper, just be advised that I could.)  I am just having so many doubts about having another semester.  Even if I manage to get these three classes by the end of the year, I still have a least two more classes to go, as well as an exit exam to look forward to, which I'm not.  I don't know if I can find two classes for the spring.  I am not even sure if I need just two more classes, as the qualifications changed for the degree at the end of my first year, so I might need three classes instead of two.  The exit exam is a different problem.  I am only somewhat familiar with many of the works that could be covered.  Others, I am not interested in at all, almost to the point where I don't want to even think about reading them.  I don't even know if I could find a proctor that would allow me to take the test.  Everything just seems to be pointing to me that I shouldn't be going back.  I have about a month to make the final decision, and I honestly don't have an opinion either way.

The Return of "The Dresden Files" Files

This week will mark the finale of a months-long project of mine, to read the entirety of Jim Butcher's "The Dresden Files" before the latest book in the series comes out next week.  I used "read" instead of just "re-read" because I hadn't actually read all of the books the first time around.  I know.  How can someone like a series if one hasn't read all the books involved.  Don't ask me, as I'm not sure how it happened myself.  In fact, I hadn't read the third through eighth books in the series until aI started this project.  Here is the order of how I first read the books:  2, 1, 9, 10, 11, 12, [A?], 13, 14, 15, [B], 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I had gotten the second book, Fool Moon, for my book store, Booknotes, and I didn't give it much attention until the television show premiered on what is now known as Syfy.  I read the book soon after, and the ordered the first book the try and read the series in order.  I then read all the new books when they came out, which was at the ninth book, White Night, by the time.  Until this year, I never read the intervening books.  The "A" represents the first collection of Dresden short stories, Side Jobs.  Most of the stories had appeared in other collections before, but this was the first time they were all brought together, in a rough chronological order.  The book also had a new story that took place soon after the twelfth book.  I can't remember if I read it when it first came out or later.  That's why it has the question mark beside it.  The "B" is first the second short story collection, Brief Cases.  This collects the rest of the short stories that were written for other collections.  This one I know I read soon after it came out, as it included the first new Dresden works well as the first longer fiction by Butcher, in some time.  The inclusion was a novella that marked the first time Dresden wasn't the main POV character, as portions were told form the views of Maggie and Mouse, Dresden's daughter and dog respectively.  That's right, a dog.  Don't worry though, as Mouse is definitively smarter than Dresden.  [He's a magical creature that could live for centuries, and it is highly unusual that the dog chose to be with Dresden.]  Maggie might be too.  Anyway, it was a good stop gap to last until this month.  Peace Talks is currently on track to be released next Tuesday, July 14.  I was able to read a short excerpt earlier this year when the book was officially announced.  What is amazing is that in might not be the only Dresden book out this year.  See, as a book store owner, I have access to advance knowledge of release dates.    Frequently, these dates can be pushed back, or even bumped up, if there is a need.  As of the last time I checked,  a Dresden book titled Battle Ground is due out in September.  The accuracy of this release is still in doubt, as Butcher has never released two new books in the same series so close together, so I expect this date to change or be revealed as something slightly different than the usual book.  Anyway, back to the reading.  I'll start on the fifteenth book, Skin Game, this Friday.  I'll start the short stories collections immediately after.  I'll then be ready for Peace Talks, soon after it comes out.  I'm giving a a rest period before touching it.  Just to be safe.

Read 'Em and Weep at the Lackluster Writing

While I don't mean to brag, I feel that I am qualified to judge other people's writing.  I was an English major in college, and I am slowly working my way to a Master's degree, or two.  I have an ultimate goal of becoming a professional writer, probably.  I have owned a book store for almost twenty years (and maybe not for much longer), so I know about trends and current tastes.  I feel confidently that this makes me almost an expert, allowing me to assess and critique works.  For the most part, I try not to as it can come across as bragging.  I usually only to so when someone makes such a huge error that the meaning they were trying to convey is lost, or when it was an easily corrected typo or such.  I honestly try not to do so when English might not be the writer's first language.  Such a correction might not be seen in the way I meant it to be.  Honestly, I am trying to help people out, even when it allows me to show off a bit.  There is a downside to all or this, though.  This can take some of the enjoyment out of reading, especially when the work lacks something.  Sure, I can appreciate a work that I have to read, such as for a class, even when I don't like it all that much.  Usually, if I really like a book, I ignore any minor flaws in the writing.  Unfortunately, the opposite can also happen.  I have just finished reading a book that I had been waiting a while for.  [I will not mention the book's title or author, nor will I provide definitive details about the plot and characters, as I refuse to give any book a book review.]  The plot was interesting, and the main characters were intriguing.  However, much of the writing felt off.  The writing was grammatical , and the editing seemed to be correct.  The word choices were off-putting at times.  The narration was handled by the main character.  Much of it was repetitive, detailing events that occurred on a regular basis.  Once something happens, you don't need to go into so much detail when it happens again unless something drastically changes or is otherwise different.  It doesn't help if you add or subtract a detail if it is just the same routine.  The dialogue also felt off.  Sometimes a character would say something that didn't fit their style, or in such a way that most people wouldn't usually use.  The word choices weren't really wrong, just not what most people would use in an everyday conversation.  It wasn't every time, but enough for such stylistic choices to stand out.  A few details were left hanging without any explanation, but this could be due to the fact that it is the first book in a new series and plot hooks needed to be set up for the sequels.  Don't get me wrong, I still liked the book, overall, I just feel that it could have used a stronger editorial hand to guide the work along. This wasn't the author's first work, and I don't think I have read anything else by this author.   I am planning to read the next book in the series in another week or so, but I am still not sure if I will like the writing as much as I will enjoy the work as a whole.