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My thoughts on art and culture.

[songwind]

10 Books That Have Stuck With Me

I’ve seen this meme (or ones like it) on Facebook, G+ and over at Chuck Wendig’s Terrible Minds. I like it. It means a bit more than “favorite,” because sometimes they are and sometimes they’re not.

1. Jack of Shadows by Roger Zelazny– Lots of firsts here. First Zelazny for me. First real run in with the anti-hero. And Morningstar was the first character I can remember making me ache with a sort…

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[songwind]

Stock and a Mascot

Stock and a Mascot

I have been a busy bee since the last time I posted. I finished up the mascot/logo for Dapper Dragon. I like how he turned out. It’s a bit cartoony, but smooth. Which is what I was hoping for.

I’m not 100% sold on the color scheme.

I also got some feedback on the lotion bars. It seems like they’re pretty universally enjoyed, and considered to be effective. On the other hand, they are maybe a bit…

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[songwind]

A Busy Week for Dapper Dragon

Things are really starting to roll, now.

This week I spent a not-insignificant chunk of change on…

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Dapper Dragon is Approaching and Picking Up Speed

My soap hobby cum nascent business is gaining momentum lately. I’m getting pretty excited about it. I have a planned launch inventory, though who knows if it will be enough. I guess I’d rather have too little and have to reorder and adjust, than order too…

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Writing and Soaping Update, 12/04

As I suspected, my NaNoWriMo novel didn’t hit 50,000 words during November. C’est la vie. I has,…

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NaNoWriMo is almost certainly a "failure" this year

It’s November 25th, and I’m sitting at 19,200 words. It doesn’t take a degree in math to know that’s not nearly enough to “win” NaNoWriMo.

While I’m disappointed that things didn’t work out, I can safely say that it was never really in my hands to win or…

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Dapper Dragon v3 Makes For A Nice Shave

After a week of “curing” (actually just drying) on my desk, the third version of my shave soap was…

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NaNoWriMo 2013 - Here we go!

At the last minute, I decided to go ahead and participate in National Novel Writing Monththis year. My wife is behind me, and ready to work with me to be sure I get the time to write my 1667 words/day. If you’re also trying, feel free to add me as a…

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A Scattershot Approach to Creativity

I haven’t been very active here since this summer, but I have been keeping busy. Fatherhood and a…

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Time to go back to paper and ink

One of the challenges of being a writer and the father of a young child is when and where to write.…

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Review - Gravity's Revenge by A. E. Marling

Gravity’s Revenge is the third book of the Enchantress series, and continues the development of Elder Enchantress Hiresha, Tethiel the Lord of the Feast, and others.

This book is by far the most straightforward of the three, following a basic fantasy…

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Review - Brian Keene's "Blood on the Page"

Blood on the Page is an excellent collection of short stories. I’m a fan of Keene’s longer works, but this collection contains some of the best writing I’ve yet to read from the man.

It’s always difficult to give a collection a single rating, because no…

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[songwind]

My New Hobby - Soap Making

I have been interested in the process of making soap in a vague way since I started shaving with a double-edged razor, in December of 2011. The concept of soaps and their different properties and ingredients came to my attention in a way that they never…

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New Soap: Orange & Cedarwood Hand and Facial Soap

My latest batch of soap seems like it’s going to be a good one.

My very first soap was a…

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Review - Old Blood's Fate by Michael Merriam

Old Blood’s Fate by Michael Merriam is a fast-paced urban fantasy with heavy elements of thriller and romance.

Jack Clausen is a Creek man transplanted to Minnesota from his native Oklahoma. After a trip back to his old stomping grounds to write a travel…

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Review - The Devil's Hand by M. E. Patterson

M. E. Patterson appeared on my radar completely by happenstance. He was one of those random Twitter adds that you can never remember after the fact. Either he added me based on the other people I follow, or I saw him mentioned in a Twitter post and…

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[songwind]

Time to interrupt the crickets

I’ve been neglecting this place, and writing in general. I posted about the scary hamburger fingertips that prevented a lot of optional keyboarding before. I’ve also been helping my wife get off the ground with her website and part time crafting business,

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