I decided to make resolutions for myself in July. I needed to set some goals and that was just the time to make them. Here are my resolutions and how I fared.
Originally posted July 8, 2009:
I’m making some new resolutions. Why not? Why make January 1 the only date where we impose formidable goals for ourselves? Besides, I'm tired of the January resolutions (that maybe didn't work out so well.)
Actually, I sort of like the idea of a mid-year goal. Yes---I know. The year is more than half-way up. Even better, though! I’m making a resolution to do things that I’ve actually already started.
I think I’m going to impose time-limits and reviews on my resolutions. See how they’re working out for me or if they need to be tweaked in a few months.
Now, without further ado, my resolutions:
Do a better job with my record-keeping for my taxes. (Pictured—me giddily thinking how nice it will be to write stuff off on my taxes next spring.) My inspiration for this resolution was a recent post on Diane Wolfe's blog. I’m going to use the stuff-everything-into-an-envelope method. But at least that means that I’ll have the receipts next year. I was really kicking myself this past March when I did my taxes---I could have written off many things if I’d just kept the darned receipts.
Update: I’ve got a big paper bag stuffed with receipts for everything from pencils, paper, and printer ink to hotel and gas receipts for my trip to Memphis. I give myself an A+ on this resolution. Tax season? Bring it on.
Keep more on top of social media, marketing, and publishing trends. I have this really foreboding feeling that everything is about to turn topsy-turvy and if I don’t pay attention, I might go the way of the dinosaurs. If we’re all heading to e-books I should just keep my mouth shut and try to adjust. Que sera sera. And I need to find out exactly what the heck Flickr is (and why the application leaves out the ‘e’ from its name. Which really irritates me.)
Update: I’ve kept on top of social media, but I still don’t understand Flickr and its odd and annoying spelling. I give myself a B+ on this one.
Read more. I miss the time I used to spend reading. Nowadays I’ve just got to schedule it in instead of acting like it will just spontaneously happen. But I think you’ve got to keep reading to be a good writer. Besides, there are so many books on my to-read list right now. And spending time at my local bookstore (and having the staff know who I am) has got to be a good thing.
Update: I have read more. It was in spurts and I didn’t make a dedicated time for it, but I fit it in daily. I’ll grade myself as an A- for this resolution.
Balance my writing schedule better. So I’ve got to write, revise, and market all at the same time. I just need to get over it, stop complaining, and thank my lucky stars I'm in this situation. Figure out how to keep from shortchanging one book for the sake of the other.
Update: I’ve still got room to grow for time management. The days I followed my plan, it worked out really well. The problem was when I got off-course and ended up taking time away from my family. My goal remains to finish writing tasks before 2:00 each afternoon. Grade: B.
Just say no. Because I can’t. And my time is getting completely eaten up by stuff I shouldn’t be doing.
Update: Bleh. Grade: C. Or maybe a D. :) I tried to divest myself of one big responsibility but then was talked back into doing it! I’m a pushover. But I’m working on it.
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Sooo….it went pretty well, overall. I think I’ll keep these same resolutions and check back in with my progress later. I think I do better to have resolutions that get updated and graded every 5 or 6 months. :)
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to become a better writer. That’s a good thing because most writers don’t have a ton of money to throw around.
The library has all the resources a writer needs. It’s always been one of my favorite places on Earth. Here are the reasons why libraries are writers’ best friends:
Research
*Researching your book: Libraries have computers with internet capabilities. They have books and periodicals on a multitude of different subjects. They also have research librarians/information specialists who can help you with research and find reference materials to help you in your search.
*Researching your genre: You can easily check out a dozen recently-published books in your genre. It’s a quick way to see what publishers are looking for.
*Need help with grammar and writing style? The library will have reference books to help you. My favorite style book is Elements of Style by Strunk and White. It’s been around for ages.
*Books on the writing craft? Different libraries have different books, but there are some that will be in nearly every branch: like On Writing by Stephen King, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, and On Writing Well by William Zinsser.
*Some libraries will havesubscriptions to helpful periodicals like Writer’s Digest.
A Place to Write
*Has your house gotten crazy? Kids/spouse driving you nuts? Is a coffeehouse too expensive? The public library is a great place to write.
Help With the Submission Process
*Looking for an agent? Look at the acknowledgements page in one of the recent releases in your genre. Agents are nearly always thanked.
*Another great way to find agent and editor names is by using Writer's Market and Literary Market Place. Using these books at the library means saving lots of money—these books are expensive.
*Need help quickly summing up your book in a query letter? Look at back cover copy of novels in your genre.
*Don’t have email and you need to email some queries? You can set up a Gmail or Hotmail account that can be accessed from a computer at your local library.
Promotion
*Libraries are major book purchasers. Find out which libraries have your book. Go to WorldCat.org, which searches libraries for content worldwide. You just plug in your book’s name, hit the search button, and find the results. Fora listing of public libraries, go to Public Libraries.com. You’ll get physical addresses, phone numbers, and websites (from which you can get the library’s email address).Send the acquisitions librarian an email or postcard with your cover photo, ISBN number, title of the book, publisher’s name, your name, release date, short summary, and any good review snippets.
*The librarians at my local branch are my friends, too. They’ve been incredibly supportive—my book is nearly always checked out of the library or on request because of their generous recommendations of my book to patrons. They’ve also put my book on a display with other regional authors.
*If you’re looking for a place to give a writing workshop or talk, your library usually has a meeting room that’s perfect for your event. Many of them will allow you to sell your book as well (it’s nice to give a donation to their Friends of the Library program if your signing is for-profit.)
*Libraries also provide locations for writing groups and book clubs to gather. For some writers, meeting with other writers and readers is a great way to network and find support and encouragement.
There are many expensive paths a writer can take toward professional development. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Writing shouldn’t have to cost more than the pen and paper you’re writing on.
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2010 is a happy and successful year for all of you! And…if you’re throwing a party tonight, I have a party idea for you on the Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen.
Evidence that the US military planned to harness the power of ball lightning
The announcement came in May 2006 that – after decades of secretly investigating UFOs – the Ministry of Defence had come to the conclusion that aliens were not visiting Britain. The MoD’s claims were revealed within the pages of a formerly classified document – entitled Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in the UK Air Defence Region, and code-named Project Condign – that had been commissioned in 1996 and was completed in February 2000.
Released under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act thanks specifically to the work of FT contributor Dr David Clarke and UFO researcher Gary Anthony, the 465-page document demonstrated how air defence experts had concluded that UFO sightings were probably the result of “natural, but relatively rare phenomena” such as ball lightning and atmospheric plasmas. UFOs, wrote the still-unknown author of the MoD’s report, were “of no defence significance”.
Inevitably, many UFO investigators claimed that the MoD’s report was merely a ruse to hide its secret knowledge of alien encounters, crashed UFOs, and high-level X-Files-type conspiracies. And although the Government firmly denied such claims, the report did reveal a number of significant conclusions of a genuinely intriguing nature.
The atmospheric plasmas which were believed to be the cause of so many UFO reports were “still barely understood”, said the MoD, and the magnetic and electric fields that emanated from plasmas could adversely affect the human nervous system. And that was not all. Clarke and Anthony revealed that “Volume 3 of the report refers to research and studies carried out in a number of foreign nations into UAPs [Unidentified Aerial Phenomena], atmospheric plasmas, and their potential military applications.”
That such research was of interest to the MoD is demonstrated in a Loose Minute of 4 December 2000 called Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) – DI55 Report, which reveals: “DG(R&T) [Director-General, Research & Technology] will be interested in those phenomena associated with plasma formations, which have potential applications to novel weapon technology.”
This was further borne out in an article on Condign written by James Randerson and published in the Guardian on 22 February 2007 (“Could we have hitched a ride on UFOs?”). It stated in part: “According to a former MoD intelligence analyst who asked not be named, the MoD was paranoid in the late 1980s that the Soviet Union had developed technology that went beyond western knowledge of physics. ‘For many years we were very concerned that in some areas the Russians had a handle on physics that we hadn’t at all. We just basically didn’t know the basics they were working from,’ he said. ‘We did encourage our scientists not to think that we in the West knew everything there was to be known.’”
And it wasn’t just the British Ministry of Defence and the Russians who recognised the potential military spin-offs that both plasmas and ball lightning offered – if they could be understood and harnessed, of course. Official documentation that has surfaced in the United States reveals that only two years after pilot Kenneth Arnold’s now-historic UFO encounter over the Cascade Mountains, Washington State, on 24 June 1947, the US military secretly began looking at ways to exploit such phenomena.
While the US Air Force was busying itself trying to determine whether UFOs were alien spacecraft, Soviet inventions, or even the work of an ultra-secret domestic project, the US Department of Commerce was taking a distinctly different approach. In its search for answers to the UFO puzzle, the DoC was focusing much of its attention on one of the most mystifying and controversial of all fortean phenomena: ball lightning.
A technical report, Project Grudge, published in 1949 by the Air Force’s UFO investigative unit detailed the findings of the DoC’s Weather Bureau with respect to ball lightning, which it believed was connected to normal lightning and electrical discharge. The phenomenon, said the DoC, was “spherical, roughly globular, egg-shaped, or pear-shaped; many times with projecting streamers; or flame-like irregular ‘masses of light’. Luminous in appearance, described in individual cases by different colours but mostly reported as deep red and often as glaring white.”
The Weather Bureau’s study added: “Some of the cases of ‘ball lightning’ observed have displayed excrescences of the appearance of little flames emanating from the main body of the luminous mass, or luminous streamers have developed from it and propagated slant-wise toward the ground… In rare instances, it has been reported that the luminous body may break up into a number of smaller balls which may appear to fall towards the earth like a rain of sparks. It has even been reported that the ball has suddenly ejected a whole bundle of many luminous, radiating streamers toward the earth, and then disappeared. There have been reports by observers of ‘ball lightning’ to the effect that the phenomenon appeared to float through a room or other space for a brief interval of time without making contact with or being attracted by objects.”
Possibly unknown outside of official circles – until I made the discovery at the US National Archives, Maryland, two years ago – is the fact that a complete copy of the Air Force’s Project Grudge document was, somewhat surprisingly, shared with US Army personnel at the Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland, in early 1950.
Even more surprising is a curiously-worded entry contained in the covering letter from the Air Force to Edgewood staff that accompanied the Grudge report: “You are aware we have already discussed with Mr Clapp the theoretical incendiary applications of Ball-Lightening [sic] that might be useful to the several German projects at Kirtland. Useful data should be routed to Mr Clapp through this office.”
Precisely who the mysterious Mr Clapp was, I have thus far been unable to determine; however, the fact that he is described as ‘Mr’ is a strong indication that he was not a member of the military. ‘Kirtland’ can only be a reference to Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. Named in 1942 after Roy C Kirtland – the oldest military pilot in the Air Corps – the base is located in the southeast quadrant of Albuquerque, New Mexico, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport airport, and employs over 23,000 people. Moreover, Kirtland AFB has been the site of numerous mystifying UFO incidents since the late 1940s.
As for the reference to “the several German projects” apparently in place at Kirtland at the time, this is almost certainly related to the US Government’s controversial Operation Paperclip which, in the post-World War II era, saw countless German scientists – some of whom were Nazis, and many of whom were engaged in advanced aerospace research – secretly offered employment in the US, and particularly at military installations in New Mexico, such as the White Sands Proving Ground.
HARNESS-CAVALIER So, can we assume from the hints contained in this letter that by early 1950 some sort of combined Army-Air Force project, or at the very least, an exchange of information, was underway at Edgewood Arsenal – possibly working in tandem with a similar project at Kirtland Air Force Base – to try to understand and harness the power of ball lightning?
The answer would appear to be yes. Documentation has disclosed the identity of a project nicknamed Harness-Cavalier, the purpose of which was indeed to understand and capitalise on the true nature of ball lightning, and which, from 1950 to at least the mid-1960s utilised the skills of personnel from Edgewood Arsenal, Kirtland Air Force Base, and also Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio.
Via the Freedom of Information Act, a whole host of documents from the files of Harness-Cavalier – now numbering more than 120 – have surfaced, demonstrating that those attached to the project were kept well-informed of any and all developments in the field of ball lightning, and particularly how it might be exploited militarily.
Such documentation includes: “Theory of the Lightning Ball and its Application to the Atmospheric Phenomenon Called ‘Flying Saucers”, written by Carl Benadicks in 1954; “Ball Lightning: A Survey”, prepared by one JR McNally for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee (year unknown); DV Ritchie’s “Reds May Use Lightning as a Weapon”, which appeared in Missiles and Rockets in August 1959; and “An Experimental and Theoretical Program to Investigate the Feasibility of Confining Plasma in Free Space by Radar Beams”, which was written by CM Haaland in 1960 for the Armour Research Foundation, Illinois Institute of Technology.
The strongest evidence that confirms Edgewood Arsenal’s deep interest in the potential use of ball lightning on the battlefield can be found in a December 1965 document entitled “Survey of Kugelblitz Theories for Electromagnetic Incendiaries”. Written by WB Lyttle and CE Wilson, the document was prepared under contract for the US Army’s New Concepts Division/ Special Projects at Edgewood.
According to the opening words of the report: “The purpose of this study was to review the theory and experimental data on ball lightning, to compare the existing theory and experimental data to determine whether ball lightning is a high or low energy phenomenon, and if it is a high energy phenomenon define an effective theoretical and experimental program to develop a potential incendiary weapon.”
Lyttle and Wilson continue: “Three major categories were established for the purpose of grouping the numerous theories on the subject. These categories are the classical plasma theories, the quantum plasma theories, and the non-plasma theories. A theoretical and experimental Kugelblitz program is recommended by which the most promising high energy theories could be developed so that a weapons application could be realised.”
As far as the specific theories that the authors addressed were concerned, these included the possibilities that ball lightning might conceivably be explained as (a) a “plasma created by a lightning strike and maintained by electromagnetic standing waves”; (b) a “non-plasma phenomenon… in the form of a highly ionised gas”; and (c) the “nuclear theory”, which was “based on the assumption that the content of the ball is radioactive carbon-14 created from atmospheric nitrogen by the action of thermal neutrons liberated by a lightning strike”.
Although it was conceded that many of the theories required further research to substantiate them (or otherwise), Lyttle and Wilson did state that “since the high energy Kugelblitz is clearly the only type weapon of importance, we believe that the major effort should be expended along these lines”.
One of the areas that the authors addressed was how man-made ball lightning might be controlled in the air and directed to a specific battlefield location: “If Kugelblitz is to be developed as a distinctive weapon, a means of guiding the energy concentration toward a potential target must be achieved. Some preliminary considerations on this subject have resulted in the idea of applying laser beams to such a task.”
They elaborated that “modulation of the vertical component of laser incident” would indeed permit “control of the Kugelblitz” and concluded that “forces necessary for guidance only will depend on local charges, as well as the net Kugelblitz charge and wind forces.”
Such was the pair’s belief that the possibility of turning ball lightning into a laser-guided weapon was theoretically achievable, that they stated: “The problem is a difficult one, but some light is beginning to appear on the subject. A concentrated analytical and experimental effort should be made soon as the implications of successful work could be far reaching. Only an adequately planned programme, utilising a full-time, competent staff with adequate equipment, can hope to succeed within a reasonable time period.”
In essence, that is the gist of the document. Of course, it raises a number of issues: research at Edgewood had apparently begun in early 1950, yet the “Survey of Kugelblitz Theories for Electromagnetic Incendiaries” document written in 1965 was still very much theoretical in nature. In other words, it could reasonably be argued that throughout that 15-year period, very few practical advances had been made in terms of turning ball lightning into a military weapon. On the other hand, the very fact that the project was allowed to continue for such a long period of time – and possibly longer – is an indication that it was considered of real value to the US military.
And it should also be noted that Lyttle and Wilson were merely contracted to write a report on their own findings on ball lightning and the possibility of harnessing it for the military’s ever-burgeoning arsenal. There is no available evidence to demonstrate that they were provided with any background data on the earlier years of Edgewood’s interest in this particular field. “Need to know”, it seems, was the order of the day.
BALL LIGHTNING UFOS? Of course, the biggest question of all must surely be: does such research continue to this day? Maybe; and if so, that same research might go some way towards demystifying some of the high-profile alleged UFO incidents that have been reported in recent years.
The controversial events that occurred deep within, and around, Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, in late December 1980 (FT204:32–39) are viewed by many ufologists as prime evidence that aliens exist. It should be noted, however, that the entire area surrounding Rendlesham was for years a veritable hotbed of classified military activity.
For example, the nearby coastal strip of land known as Orford Ness was home to Britain’s early radar-based research in the 1930s. As World War II loomed, much of that work was transferred to RAF Bawdsey, several miles south of Orford Ness, but still on the fringes of Rendlesham Forest. And sensitive projects continued to be developed in the area for many years, such as “Cobra Mist” – an “over the horizon” radar system developed in the late 1960s to provide advance warning of any attempted aerial attack on the British Isles.
And perhaps much more of a secret scientific nature was afoot, too.
On 13 January 1981, Colonel Charles Halt of the US Air Force, a prime witness to the curious events in Rendlesham Forest, wrote a one-page memo to the Ministry of Defence that outlined a wealth of extraordinary UFO-like activity in the area that spanned the course of several nights.
In Halt’s own words: “…a red sun-like light was seen through the trees. It moved about and pulsed. At one point, it appeared to throw off glowing particles and then broke into five separate white objects and then disappeared. Immediately thereafter, three star-like objects were noticed in the sky… the object to the south was visible for two or three hours and beamed down a stream of light from time to time.” To this writer, at least, reports of beams of light seen in conjunction with moving lights that emitted glowing particles, sound very much like someone putting into practice the theoretical plans cited within the pages of the “Survey of Kugelblitz Theories for Electromagnetic Incendiaries” document, namely the control and utilisation of ball-lightning phenomena via lasers.
Indeed, Halt’s reference to the object in the woods appearing “to throw off glowing particles” sounds astonishingly like the words the US Weather Bureau used back in 1948 to describe ball lightning: “It has been reported that the luminous body may break up into a number of smaller balls which may appear to fall towards the earth like a rain of sparks. It has even been reported that the ball has suddenly ejected a whole bundle of many luminous, radiating streamers toward the earth.”
Was some sort of clandestine experiment of the type envisaged in the 1965 Edgewood Arsenal documentation secretly undertaken in Rendlesham Forest in 1980? It should be noted that practically all those implicated in the affair were members of the US military. In view of this, it may very well be an indication that someone was very interested in determining the psychological reactions of military personnel when confronted by phenomena perceived to be both extremely unusual and potentially extraterrestrial in origin.
There is one final issue that may be of relevance to this latter point: the Edgewood Arsenal’s Bio-Medical Laboratory was, from 1952 to at least 1974, the site of a series of controversial experiments that involved the extensive testing of hallucinogens such as LSD, THC, and BZ (see FT213:48–52), as well as a dizzying variety of chemical and biological agents, on military personnel. That some of the military witnesses to the Rendlesham events reported having been drugged by unknown officials in the immediate wake of the affair, might not be as unbelievable as it initially sounds.
So, we have a combination of hallucinogens, laser-guided weaponry, a “New Concepts Division”, and the harnessing of ball lightning, all connected to the Edgewood Arsenal – a distinctly heady brew.
We would do well to realise that these new revelations pertaining to secret ball-lightning research may ultimately help to shed some welcome, if controversial, light on key elements of the UFO mystery.
Time for all the year-end retrospectives. I sort of like them…but sort of not. So mine is more of a recap of things I learned this year and resources I gathered.
January—I discovered that you can get out of jury duty by being a mystery writer. Yes, there I was, pen and notebook in hand. I was completely ready to do my civic duty—and get an insider’s view on courtroom proceedings for a criminal trial. The defendant’s attorney? He did not want me there. I guess if you’re a lawyer, it’s best to stick with what you know. And he didn’t know how a mystery writer might react.
Feb-March—I worked through the revision process with Midnight Ink for Pretty is as Pretty Dies. I realized that promoting a book had changed since my first book was published in 2006. It had become a much more virtual process than a matter of a physical appearance. This was a huge relief since I’m 1) an introvert and 2) a stay-at-home mommy for whom appearances are difficult.
Early April—I got the green light to write a new series for Penguin’s Berkley Prime Crime—the Memphis Barbeque series.
April—I became curious about blog touring and discovered that several successful authors had attended Dani’s Blog Book Tour class on Yahoo Groups. Although she doesn’t have an upcoming class on her rota as far as I can tell, she has some great info in her archived Blog Book Tour blog.
June—Welcome to Twitter. I start to make many new online writing friends and discovered what a fantastic writing community there is online. For a great sampling of my new friends, check out my blog’s sidebar or my award list.
Early July—Joined the fabulous mystery writing cooks at the Penguin/Berkley Prime Crime blog, Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen. I met some really welcoming authors who inspired me to ramp up my writing, as well as my cooking.
July—I learn that yes, you can write the bulk of a book while you’re kids are home on summer break. I wrote at the swimming pool and skating rink. (Link: How I Survived My Kids’ Summer Vacation.)
August 1—Pretty is as Pretty Dies is released. I guested on a variety of blogs and increased my book’s visibility on Google.
August, September, October—I made a lot more public appearances than I usually make…to promote the release of the new book. Here are my “Thoughts on Public Speaking.”
November, December—Revisions, revisions! Learned to juggle revisions on two separate books and write the first draft of a third. Still working on time-management. :)
Thanks so much to all of you who have made this such an incredible year for me. I’m looking forward to 2010 and connecting more with all of you! Your comments and support have meant so much to me.
I’ve frequently been guilty of tunnel vision. I’m very Type A, and to me, staying the course sometimes means completing a project or train of thought.
You’ve sent me a Christmas card? You’re on my Christmas card list for life. I will continue sending you a card each year until I have proof of your demise in triplicate.
Change in schedule? I try to continue the original game plan for the day, while incorporating the change. In years past this meant carrying a squalling, unhappy toddler with me to lunch with a friend because someone eschewed naptime.
My first draft of my first book was the same way. Although I’ve never been a fan of outlines, I definitely had a plan for my book. I received well-meaning advice for my manuscript from first readers and a professional editor—but I was loath to take it. To me, it meant compromising my project. I wasn’t staying the course. And I felt the WIP was losing something that made it mine.
This inflexibility with editorial direction was, I now think, a sign of my immaturity…both as a writer and person.
At this point I’m open to both criticism and ideas. Bring them on! Usually even the toughest critique or harshest review has something useful I can take from it. Maybe it’s not something I can use for the current manuscript, but it might make a future book in the series stronger.
Tips for handling criticism and making it helpful:
Thank them for it. Even if I’m gritting my teeth, I’ll thank someone who criticizes my work in a non-nasty way. If they’ve taken the time to read my book or draft and think up ways to improve it, then they deserve some appreciation.
Don’t be defensive. When I’m defensive, I’m shutting down. I can’t be receptive to new ideas if I’m trying to defend something I wrote. And…it doesn’t really matter. Whether someone likes something I wrote or not isn’t up for debate. I don’t have any control over anyone else.
Consider the change. I write a quick version incorporating the advice and see if it’s better than I thought it would be.
Consider the essence of the criticism. Maybe there was a part that bothered your reader that they couldn’t exactly put their finger on. Perhaps they know there’s a problem with the protagonist, but they’re not a skilled enough reader to hone in on the exact nature of the problem. If a first reader says they didn’t like the character, find out why they didn’t. Was the character too static? Was the character whiny? Unbelievable?
Look for a second opinion. Have you got anyone else to read your draft? Did they stumble at the same spot? If not, ask them what they think of the criticism and whether or not it’s valid.
Is the criticism from your editor? Then…If my editor asks for the change? I just make it. For me, it’s always worked out better that way, even when I wasn’t jazzed about the change.
I’ve realized now that my books aren’t extensions of myself. They’re more of a collaborative effort—between me, my agent, my publisher, my readers…and even my critics. Once I came to that realization, it was all gravy.
Six or eight of us were planning to explore some of the Chassahowitzka Swamp yesterday Sunday, but instead a whopping thirteen people showed up! Our quarries were sinkholes that extend like a string of pearls along an on-again, off-again clear water karst stream called Blind Creek. One group wanted to snorkel the sinks, another wanted to photograph the nature of the place and a third group preferred to explore for outliers. I guess I should also mention that Bruce felt responsible for the entire assemblage, so we let him get mad once when he finally realized that this collection of cats, including a couple of us ferals, simply could not be herded.
The first stop was at Buford Spring and Buford Siphon. These two sinkholes are connected via a short segment of Blind Creek, the water resurging at the spring and disappearing into the ground at the siphon (naturally). Although the water looks dark in the photo, and it is partly tannin-stained, it was clear enough underwater for snorkelers to see the sink’s bottom and spring cave entrance. Later, we encountered two cave divers from Maryland that dove the spring using rebreathers. I never dove this site when I was a cave diver even though I share its uncommon name. The photo shows Manuel (red-and-black) and Alan tripoding up for some photography, plus a wood duck nest box with raccoon excluder.
From there, James and I walked NNE about 0.13 miles to Brown’s Sink, named for James by Tom Morris but possibly known by other cave divers under another name. Its water also appears relatively clear from above, but none of the Sunday group swam there so I don’t know whether Brown’s Sink has a cave dive. James said that yet another sinkhole was a little further northward in the swamp, so off I strode to try to find it. I walked a third-mile loop to the NE without finding the sink, so circled back to Brown’s Sink but James was gone. I then walked back to Buford Spring and everyone was gone. Hmmm, alone in the woods… How to find them? I figured that the snorkelers were probably cold and ready to head back, so I started walking back to the parked cars, and then decided to try and use the cell phone to call Alan even though I felt certain that we were out of range of the cell phone towers. Nope, I reached Alan’s voice mail and left a message, and he called back a few minutes later to tell me they were at Warm Spring. So I turned around and took a compass direction based on the GPS and struck off, and danged if I didn’t serendipitously encounter James waiting patiently for me at Buford Siphon. The need for better communication became evident.
Warm Spring is the resurgence of Blind Creek downstream from Buford Siphon. It was the largest sink we encountered that day, and again the water was far clearer than the photo might indicate. In case you are wondering, no one saw any alligators Sunday in any of the sinks even though the habitat looked right for monsters. After swimming there, the students of geology and archaeology had had enough and walked back to the vehicles to leave. Bill and John accompanied them back, leaving only six of us to continue the day’s explorations.
We followed the clear-water spring run NW from Warm Spring to a sink I call Warm Siphon (formerly Pool 7 to those who were there on Sunday). Most of the water appears to sink into the siphon, but a small portion of it overflows and continues in a NW direction. Here it separates into a defined channel and a broad region of shallow braids, all of which goes through a slightly deeper section of the Chaz Swamp. The small stream finally goes to earth in a linear sink containing one or more small swallets, which we named Mitis Swallets. Some of the guys still had not seen Brown’s Sink, so we made a beeline there for more photography and then walked back to the cars.
Walking through the Chassahowitzka Swamp is not easy. First, the swamp is permanently wet, so we wore neoprene socks (two pair for me), boots and polypro thermal underwear bottoms. Most of us were wet up to mid-thigh for the day even though we were seldom in water deeper than 6 inches. The quaking earth is soft or very soft everywhere, being composed of silt and organic detritus. If too many people in your party walk a path ahead of you, you will often suddenly break through the root mat and plunge down into the mud another unexpected foot or so. Tie those bootlaces tightly! Cypress knees and sweetbay root loops rise up out of the mud, blending cryptically into the background leaf litter and tripping the unwary gawker, or in my case banging the crap out of my knee and crippling me during the late evening. Ouch! I walked only 5.5 miles through the swamp on Sunday, but the mud and the cold water and the roots wore me out. Oh, but it could have been worse! There could have been lianas to trip over, pesky mosquitoes to swat incessantly or pickup-stick logs to maneuver over and around, but there weren’t. There could have been a whiner, because after all there were thirteen of us, but other than Bruce’s exasperation there was not.
We saw some neat flora and fungi, of course. Nodding nixie (Aptera aphylla) was occasional. I have seen it blooming around here from summer to mid-winter. Alan spotted several individuals of Florida adder’s-mouth orchid (Malaxis spicata) scattered around singly, not in bloom but seeding. Fragrant ladies’-tresses orchid (Spiranthes odorata) was commonly sighted, again thanks to Alan’s attentiveness, and I got a pic of one of them, below. Also blooming were swamp aster (Aster carolinensis), an unid blue-eyed grass (Sisyrhinchum sp.) and Spanis needles (Bidens mitis). Mitis swallets was named after the Spanish needles that were blooming there. There were many species of ferns in evidence, including macho sword fern (Nephrolepis biserrata), plume polypody (Pecluma plumula), shoestring fern (Vittaria lineata), giant leather fern (Acrostichum danaefolium) and several very common species (cinnamon, royal, ovate shield, resurrection, lady and netted chain fern). There was a single patch of the invasive exotic Boston fern. Oh, and I flushed a pair of woodcocks! Apologies to the birds.
And saving the best for last, Alan (there’s that name again) spotted a sphingid moth carcass that had been parasitized by an other-worldly fungus known as Cordyceps sphingus. This organism invades the living body of a moth in the family Sphingidae. You can barely recognize the moth in the pics below, with its head-body and wing remains covered over completely by the fungus’ yellow hyphae. The long spine-like things are actually the fungus’ ascophores, or fruiting branches, that bear the spores of the species. A sister species, Cordyceps militaris (http://www.nifg.org.uk/cordyceps.htm), parasitizes only pupae, and looks totally different from C. sphingus. Cordyceps is related to an ant-parasitizing fungus, which causes the ant to climb to the top of a shrub or tree, impale a twig with its mandibles and then die. The fungus then consumes the ant’s soft tissues and sprouts an ascophore from the ant’s head, from which spores rain down onto the bodies of ants scurrying below.
Now if you will excuse me, I have this strange urge to climb a tree and gnaw on a twig.
Have you ever watched something unexpected happen?
My now-8 year old daughter was a cute baby. She was roly-poly and liked singing to herself in baby babble. Her hair stuck straight up and her serious eyes stared directly at or through you.
When cooing strangers in the grocery store came up to my baby? She’d fire them an unblinking, belligerent glare that could curdle milk. Then she’d recoil--withdraw her arm, her head, her whole body from the stranger’s looming proximity. She looked like an outraged adult, offended by an unwelcome advance.
The strangers would draw back and laugh nervously. I’d mildly say, “ I’m sorry. She’s so funny sometimes.” And then I’d laugh hysterically as soon as the stranger left my aisle. The strangers’ reaction to her unexpected response was always so funny. Just like watching “Candid Camera.”
I’m really fond of the unexpected in my writing and I lenjoy reading it, too.
What surprises are good for:
For adding humor or quirkiness: You think a character is going to behave in a particular way. You’ve carefully portrayed Edna as an uptight prude. Your protagonist views Edna that way. Then Edna says something outrageous and brazen that completely shatters this stereotype. Or Edna invites the protagonist to lunch—and serves McDonald’s Quarter Pounders with Cheese on her delicate china. And Bloody Marys.
For suspense: Your character juggles his groceries on one hip while he fumbles with his house key. It’s a ho-hum scene with a character focused on doing two things at once. Ho-hum until he feels the gun pressing into his side.
As a distraction: Mystery writers need to put in clues. We don’t particularly want our readers to notice the clue until it’s time for the case to be solved. A suddenly erupting argument or a quickly-contained but alarming grease fire provides a wonderful opportunity to slip in a clue under the radar.
As a breath of fresh air: Is your scene getting stale? Is your character going through the same motions every day? Are their days a little too ordinary. Liven things up with something unexpected. It doesn’t have to be something major (scary landing during their plane trip)—it could be something as minor as a flat tire or a broken air conditioner that takes their day on a different and surprising trajectory.
Surprises may not be as fun in real life as they are in books. Do you enjoy throwing in unexpected elements to your story? Do you use big or little twists?
Tell your friends your mother writes books. Have them convinced you’re a liar. Have Mom verify later she actually does write. Maximum impact!
Your name is in actual, printed books (because Mom can’t resist putting you in the book somehow.)
You meet other writers sometimes.
Not Cool:
The teacher will definitely ask Mom to teach a class on writing at some point during the school year. And your mom can be soooo embarrassing.
If your mom is a writer, you always have to do your reading and English homework.
Your teacher will write notes on ‘B’-grade essays that say, “I know you can write better than this.”
Sometimes you have to go to conferences or book signings. These are tedious and even Mom doesn’t look like she’s having fun.
If you’re at a dental appointment after school, you can’t claim you can't do your homework because you don't have a pencil. Mom has at least fifty pencils in her massive pocketbook.
Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. I’m taking a short blog break for Christmas and reposting some of my older posts from 2009. Thanks so much to everyone for making my blogging year a happy one.
And…my friend and fellow Midnight Ink author, Keith Raffel, is guest blogging for me at the Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen this morning. Hope you can pop over. He’s got salmon with almonds that’s ready to serve!
The April 5, 1909 edition of the Arizona Gazette featured an article entitled "Explorations in Grand Canyon: Remarkable finds indicate ancient people migrated from Orient." According to the article, the expedition was financed by the Smithsonian Institute and discovered artifacts that would, if verified, stand conventional history on its ear. Inside a cavern "hewn in solid rock by human hands" were found tablets bearing hieroglyphics, copper weapons, statues of Egyptian deities and mummies. Although highly intriguing, the truth of this story is in doubt simply because the site has never been re-found. The Smithsonian disavows all knowledge of the discovery, and several expeditions searching for the cavern have come up empty-handed. Was the article just a hoax? "While it cannot be discounted that the entire story is an elaborate newspaper hoax," writes researcher/explorer David Hatcher Childress, "the fact that it was on the front page, named the prestigious Smithsonian Institution, and gave a highly detailed story that went on for several pages, lends a great deal to its credibility. It is hard to believe such a story could have come out of thin air."
On April 5th, 1909, there appeared a front page story in the Arizona Gazette. It told of an archeological expedition in the heart of the Grand Canyon funded by the Smithsonian Institute. (a full transcription of the article can be found at: www.keelynet.com/unclass/canyon.txt) It is a rich story of finding a labyrinth of man-made tunnel systems high above the Colorado River, a virtual citadel filled with ancient artifacts, hieroglyphs, armor, statues of deities and even mummies. Anyone contacting the Smithsonian Institute will receive a polite "no records found" reply to an inquiry about their supposed role in the Grand Canyon.
The following narration shows how I came to be convinced of an exact location in the Grand Canyon that is a key to this story (regardless of whether the newspaper article is a hoax or not), and contains mathematical proof. This story also reveals an ancient cartographic code that led me to this conclusion, and the meaningful coincidences that unfolded as I pursued this mystery. The location is known as "Isis Temple" and is paramount in a well kept secret that is just now being uncovered in ways far richer and more important than material wealth. The cherished gem of Arizona, the Grand Canyon, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, contains a legacy and a link to a history known only by a few; suppressed not only by greed and politics, but by a forgotten code hidden right beneath our very feet. It is all beginning to come to light now.
I first came across the information about the newspaper article in 1998 via the www. To satisfy my curiosity, I went to the Phoenix Public Library, found the article on microfilm and made a few photo copies of it. I didn't give it too much thought at the time, other than mentioning it from time to time to people who attend free speaking engagements and classes I offer. As a 30 year independent researcher in the field of sacred geometry, (sometimes known also as hyper-dimensional geometry, living geometry, and alchemical geometry) and other related subjects, I found the topic relating to Egypt synchronistic, since a lot of my studies revolved around the ancient schools of thought and geometry of sacred sites and temples of Egypt. Like others, I thought it was rather odd, if indeed the article was not a hoax, that evidence of ancient Egyptians would be found in Arizona, of all places!..... After all, the Egyptians did not explore the Americas, everyone knew that, and it was not taught in any school. We thought this also of the ancient Romans, until ancient Roman headgear, armor, swords, coins and other artifacts were found just North of Tucson, not far from Interstate 10 !
Now that the subject has come up about suppressed information, if indeed that is what it is, there is a well researched book of 914 pages by Michael Cremo and Richard Thompson titled Forbidden Archeology, which can open anyone's' third eye to a history of mankind that has never been taught, except in those 'mystery schools' so well cloaked in myth, secrecy and ridicule. Some good information can be found by searching the archives of www.dailygrail.com and also www.mcremo.com.
Then in October of 2000 I came upon a another web site that had lots of information and photos of Egyptian hieroglyphs found a hundred years ago in Australia ! The hieroglyphs were on the stone wall next to a cave entrance, and told of ancient Egyptian explorers getting lost and stranded, left to die in Australia. (see: www.ozemail.com.au/~classblu/egypt/egypt.htm)
At around the same time I happened to read in a book titled Ancient Secret of The Flower of Life, Vol. II, page 302, the story of two backpackers who ventured into the Grand Canyon. What they claimed to have found first, while on their way to a location known as Isis Temple, (see photo at: www.hitthetrail.com/mikespages/isis.htm) was a rather large pyramid made from the native rock. Once at Isis Temple, at an elevation of about 800 feet, they claimed to have seen several cave entrances, just as reported in the newspaper article. They also noticed that they all seemed to be sealed shut or destroyed, as if to keep everyone out. (the question here arises, why deliberate sealing of caves in such a remote, hard to access, area?) Because they were also expert rock climbers, they climbed the 800 feet to the most promising looking cave entrance. Upon reaching the entrance they discovered that it too had been sealed off several feet in with native rock. They did notice, however, that the entrance seemed to be man made and that there was a 6 foot circular pattern clearly hewn into the ceiling. This story was told to the author of the book, and from the context of the material presented in the book and from the nature of the author's character, of whom I am familiar, I could not for the life of me imagine why such a story would be fabricated and told to him unless it were absolutely true.
And yet, Isis Temple (which can be seen from the South Rim visitors areas) is at least 40 miles from the location given in the newspaper article. So, if the newspaper article was not a hoax, and Isis Temple was the real location, the other location could have been misinformation to keep people away. Then again, if the newspaper article was a hoax, what then had the two backpackers stumbled upon ? And why were extremely remote cave entrances sealed ?
A question arises here also: why are there so many geographical locations in the Grand Canyon named after Egyptian and Hindu deities?
Then, approximately two weeks later, on October 13, channel 10 (one of our local t.v. stations), did a short segment on their weekly t.v. news magazine show about the 1909 article and some local people actively looking for it out at the Canyon. I contacted the producer of the segment and left my name and phone number, telling him to give it to a couple of the people he had interviewed, as I could supply them with this information regarding Isis Temple. At the very least they could go with good telescopes and look for cave entrances from the Rim to confirm their existence. Simple.
As of yet no one has called me back.
I plan to check the condition and strength of my old telescope and go there myself soon. A severely damaged disc in my back prevents me from an actual backpacking trip to Isis Temple, as the trip is extremely arduous and requires at least six days of backpacking in some of the most challenging terrain on the planet.
The next thing I did was call the "Back Country" information line (520-638-7875) at the Grand Canyon, where permits are bought for backpacking and extended hikes, both on and off trails. The lady was very talkative, polite and helpful. She even suggested two books I should read on possible routes to Isis Temple since there are no trails to it. Then I casually brought up the subject of possibly exploring caves I had heard about at Isis Temple and asked her if she could confirm their existence. Her reply was a simple, but emphatic "NO". Then a long pause. Then very curtly she said the Park Dept. was about to engage in a Canyon-wide research project into the bat population and habitation, to make sure they were not being endangered. Everyone was to stay out of caves she said. That ended our conversation. Interesting, but not conclusive.
In the meantime, this whole thing was getting under my curious skin a bit. I decided to approach the subject a little differently. I was going to see if there was a geometrical connection between Isis Temple and the Great Pyramid of Giza. Why the Great Pyramid? From my knowledge of sacred geometry I knew it to be a central figure in a planetary grid system. As a former, avid backpacker myself, and having some knowledge of cartology, it took me no time to get the exact longitude and latitude of the center of Isis Temple. I then began searching on the www for the exact coordinates of the center of the Great Pyramid in Egypt.
That's when things started to turn REALLY curious and informative.
My web search brought me more than I could have hoped for. It led me to the work of a man named Carl Munck. (see: www.pyramidmatrix.com) Over ten years ago he had started doing a similar thing that I was attempting, but he had started at Stonehenge, trying to find a longitude/latitude relationship with the Great Pyramid. His continued work led to the discovery of what is now called Archeocartology, and the key to the system is using the Great Pyramid as Prime Meridian rather than Greenwich . What he had done was eventually find a whole code system that the ancient's knew about and had used in determining where to place sacred temples, and sacred sites. It is simply known as THE CODE, or Code of the Ancients. He has several books out on the subject, a newsletter and several videos.
From THE CODE we get factual, mathematically provable evidence that all ancient sites, megaliths, temples, stone circles, effigies and certain natural formations and vortexes across the entire face of the globe are very precisely located on a global coordinate system in relation to the Great Pyramid. ( I know, this is hard to believe, but read on) Not only that, but an ancient numerology system known as Gematria (used by Egyptians, Greeks, Persians, Babylonians, Romans and others of the ancient world) is used in the manipulation of the numbers that relates the numbers to other key locations, mathematical constants such as Pi and the radian, and the positions of the sites themselves given in the geometry of their physical construction.
GEMATRIA and THE CODE can be considered to be "whole brain" methodologies. In other words, both bi-lateral functions of the brain must be employed to reach applicable and functional results. Or, the left, rational/verbal/lineal, side of the brain and the right, intuitive/imaginative/non-lineal, side must work together, in much the same way as when viewing stereo-gram images, sometimes known as 'Magic Eye' pictures also. (Those pictures that were popular a few years back that looked like just a mass of colored dots when first seen, but after gazing in a particular manner for a while a complete 3-D picture or scene 'popped' out to your vision. Usually children and young adults have an easier time seeing the pictures because they are not yet as completely absorbed with just left brain, rational, thinking habits, and their right brain, creative, side is more flexible.)
THE CODE of Carl Munck dovetails perfectly with the planetary grid system and the related Platonic Grid Lines found by Ivan Sanderson, Bruce Cathie, William Becker and Bethi Hagens. The world grid system (www.ascension2000.com/convergence/9918.html) is commonly known as the Unified Vector Geometry 120 Polyhedron. Interestingly enough, THE CODE also is applicable to the Planet Mars, when the North/South Prime Meridian passes exactly through nose of the famous "Face" in the Cydonia area and the "D & M Pyramid".
Still with me? I hope so, because this is all mathematically verified.
Aside from the obvious question that this arouses regarding how such ancient people could have knowledge of such a system and implement if for thousands of years, (which, because there is no short answer for that question, I will not address here) there is also the question of how such feats were accomplished with so much accuracy without the aid of modern technology, like our Global Positioning System (GPS) which uses satellite telemetry and computer accuracy to achieve what the ancients accomplished with ... what ?
When this sort of question arises in my talks and classes, I pull out an object to demonstrate the dynamics of geometry and simplicity. It is a solid object with no moving parts or batteries, and it fits in your hand. It has a unique property about it that no mind on Earth, that I am aware of, can explain. (and it has been under heavy scrutiny by some of the best minds of engineering and physics at University levels) It absolutely defies one of the basic laws of physics and motion. (and this is not my imagination! Just ask my wife.)
People usually gasp and don't believe their eyes when they first see what this object does. And it does this without high technology. I show it to them over and over again, and let them try it for themselves, and it always works. And the key to the object is in its proportions, its shape, its geometry...the mathematics involved. Plain and simple. (Ask me and I'll show it to anyone at any time, anyplace. It is not my invention and it has been around for almost 30 years, yet few people know of it.)
If you know the key to something, or have the something that employs the key, optional methodologies are available to use. It is obvious the ancients had optional methodologies in finding, plotting and implementing building sites based upon a longitude and latitude not all that dissimilar to our own. It is also obvious from the data that the ancients new exactly where the equator was and employed it.
Another device that should be mentioned is a survey and navigational tool designed by Crichton Miller, who received a patent on it just recently in the United Kingdom. The device is nothing more than two pieces of straight wood formed into a cross with a pivot point where they meet, a plumb line coming down from the pivot point, and a semi-circular scale (similar to a protractor) attached. It looks very much like a Celtic Cross. It is very accurate and requires no batteries. (see: www.dailygrail.com/ misc/cem130700.html for complete details ) A book about the device is due in the Spring of 2001. It is believed this device, or similar, was used in surveying for the Great Pyramid, and also employed as a navigational tool for ocean-going explorations. And speaking of accuracy, as well as complexity of problem solving capabilities with no complex technology or batteries, think for a minute of the slide rule and the abacus.
Anyway, back to the story here....
Well, now I had the longitude and latitude of the Great Pyramid, and a mathematical system for finding a relationship between Isis Temple and the Great Pyramid. But, I got lazy here. I contacted Michael Lawrence Morton, who I had found through another web site . ( www.greatdreams.com/gem1.htm ) ( also http://hometown.aol/marscode/giza.html) I gave him the coordinates for Isis Temple and let him do the math and find the mathematical correspondences. Since Michael was very familiar with THE CODE, also familiar with all the mathematical constants and numerous other sites and their mathematical connections, and had also discovered and applied THE CODE to the local stars and astronomy (the Archeo-Sky Matrix ), I felt confident in his abilities and expertise.
In his words, Isis Temple is a "...major....major site !!!" This he could safely say with confidence because the numbers related to so many other major sites, including the Great Pyramid, and with numbers typically accurate to complete whole numbers, to within 7 and 8 decimal places, and decimal harmonics from 7 to 8 decimal places !
The following is a brief synopsis of just some of the mathematical connections to Isis Temple. The search is still ongoing. Statistics relating to certain "dates of occurrences" and the Gematria of a personal nature that were found have been left out. The math proof of the following findings is attached at the end of this narration, with full credit graciously attributed to Carl Munck and especially Michael Lawrence Morton, without whom this search would have come to a dead halt.
Isis Temple is mathematically connected to:
* slope angle of the Great Pyramid * grid point value of the Great Pyramid * derived height of Great Pyramid with capstone included * decimal harmonic of the East longitude of the Sphinx at Giza * decimal harmonic of the West longitude of the Chephren Pyramid at Giza * decimal harmonic of the tangent of arc-distance from Earth's equator to either pole * radius of Moon * ratio of radius of Stonehenge's Sarsen Circle and Radian (deg) * decimal harmonic of generic area of a circle * grid point value of the star Sirius, circa 2000 a.d. * grid point value of the star Regulus, circa 2000 a.d. * East latitude, in arc-min., of the "Face" at Cydonia on Mars
At this point, it doesn't matter if Isis Temple is the location mentioned in the 1909 article. At this point it doesn't matter if the article was a hoax or not. Maybe it doesn't matter if archeological information has been withheld from the public (in this regard I am more inclined to believe it is a matter of information filtration brought about by a social process rather than a conspiracy). Maybe it doesn't matter if there are or are not sealed caves in Isis Temple. But I, for one, continue the search. There is still a vast treasure to behold that makes that which we carry in our pocket quite moot when compared to the big picture.
Archeocartographic findings of ISIS TEMPLE based upon THE CODE of Carl Munck and the ARCHEO-SKY MATRIX Code, mathematics and correlations found by Michael Lawrence Morton.
location of Isis Temple N. of Equator and West of Great Pyramid, Giza: 36 deg 08 min 27 sec N. 143 deg 16 min 14.8 sec W.G.
36 x 8 x 27 = 7776 N. 143 x 16 x 14.8 = 33862.4 W.G.
33862.4 / 7776 = 4.3547325 G.P. (grid point)
4.353957151 (G.P.) = Pi x 1.177245771 x 1.177245771 ( 1.177245771 = ratio of the radius of Stonehenge's Sarsen Circle in British feet and Radian (deg.) .....1.177245771 = 57.29577951 / 48.6693441...also the decimal harmonic in arc-seconds of the West longitude of the Chephren Pyramid at Giza, the East longitude of the Sphinx at Giza, and the tangent of arc-distance, adding to actual statute mileage figure, in statute miles, from Earth's equator to either pole....6214.85528 )
4.353957151 (G.P.) x 248.0502134 = 1080 (248.0502134 = grid point value of Great Pyramid.....1080 = mean radius of Moon in statute miles, and 1080 is also the feminine gematrian number for alchemical fusion where 1080 + 666 = 1746 )
33862.4 (W.G) x 57.29577951 x 57.29577951 = 10.31324031 ( 10.31324031 = decimal harmonic of the square arc degrees of a circle, the generic area of a circle, where Pi x 57.29577951 x 57.29577951 = 10313.24031)
10.31324031 = 4.3539557149 (G.P.) x 2.368705056 ( 2.368705056 = grid point value of the binary star Sirius, circa 2000 a.d. )
270 / 4.353957149 (G.P.) = ( Pi x 19.7392088) ( 270 is average number of human gestation days...divided by Isis's Temple grid point value of 4.353957149 = the grid point value of the binary star Regulus, star in the heart of the Lion constellation Leo, or 19.7392088 x Pi. Also, 270 = 9 x 30, and 30 is the grid point value of the intersection of 7th Ave. and Indian School Rd. in Phoenix, Arizona, which is where, on March 13, 1997, 8:30 p.m., the "Phoenix UFO" was witnessed to hover for 4 minutes. March 13, 1997 is 5764 days before December 21, 2012 a.d., end of the Mayan calendar. 5764.166073 is the derived original full height, including capstone, of the Great Pyramid in regular British inches. )
30 / 4.353957149 (G.P.) = 6.890283706 (6.890283706 = arc-minutes East of Mars Prime Meridian = latitude of "The Face" at Cydonia. ) (see also: http://farshores.topcities.com/farshores/mlmindex.htm for all of the above)
credited to Barry McEwen & Michael Lawrence Morton source
This post functions as a follow up to the last one. What if you do need your protagonist to go down into a dark basement?
I think most readers agree that one thing that immediately forces them out of a story is when a character does something out of character. Occasionally authors need a plot device to forward the resolution of the story and some poor character will have to do something totally contrived.
“Why,” wonders the reader, “would Kathy go into the clearing alone when she knows there’s a ravenous T-Rex there? She’s always been perfectly rational before…did she have a small stroke?”
Sometimes I can suspend my disbelief and just try to forge on and enjoy a book. But it’s gotten harder to do so. As a writer, I’m determined not to humiliate my characters by making them do something they wouldn’t ordinarily do.
But I still need a plot device. Usually, there comes a point in my story where I need my sleuth to confront the murderer. Naturally, this meeting never happens in the police station. Oh no, it’s got to happen in a scary, deserted location where my detective’s life is at stake.
But my sleuth is a smart woman. How to reasonably get her there? Was she expecting to have a partner present to ensure her safety during the confrontation? Did that partner end up in a car crash or unavoidably detained somehow?
I try to think like my character—what kind of excuses would they give for behaving like this? “I realized I’d seen something odd at the scene of the crime, so I went back to have another look. But the murderer went back too…to collect the evidence that pointed to him.”
I try to think of as many excuses as possible why a character would act out of their normal behavior pattern. Then I pick the most plausible reason, write it, and see if it works.
If none of the excuses seem plausible, it’s back to the drawing board. It’s worth some extra work to make sure I’m not losing a reader’s interest.
I’m thinking most fiction writers have the same problem. Why is the protagonist not using his magic powers to solve the problem? Why is the female protagonist making the same mistakes over and over again for no reason but to provide more plot conflict? I think it’s good to point out what the readers are already thinking and have the character answer their questions: (“Wish my magic powers could be used to stop time, but….” or “I know it seems like I keep making the same mistakes, but…”)
Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. I’m taking a short blog break for Christmas and reposting some of my older posts from 2009. Thanks so much to everyone for making my blogging year a happy one.
What makes a good protagonist? This is a pretty subjective question since different readers like different types of heroes and heroines. But I see some common traits among the protagonists I admire:
They’re likeable. Now, I’ve read plenty of books with unlikeable protagonists (Catcher in the Rye, anyone?), but although I sometimes appreciated the talent of the author, I just didn’t care what happened to the protagonist. And that’s just a major problem. What if you have your whiny, unpopular protagonist and you’re building up to the major climax of the novel. He’s about to be thrown off a cliff….or is thrown off a cliff. If the guy isn’t someone I like, I’m thinking: “Eh. Too bad about him. Let’s see….what’s that next book on my reading list?”
If they’re not likeable (Ebenezer Scrooge) , they experience an epiphany and a radical change of heart.
Readers can relate to them. Or, if they can’t relate to them, they admire them, at least. Does anyone relate to James Bond? Anybody out there a crack shot, a pilot, a scuba diver, extraordinarily handsome, etc? But we can admire him. He’s one of the good guys.
They solve their own problems and, possibly, the problems of others. I don’t enjoy it when my protagonist gets rescued. Even in romances, that gets old (if they do get rescued in a romance, can the favor be returned at a later time? One-way rescuing all the time makes someone look weak.)
They’re intelligent. Or, if they’re not intelligent (Forrest Gump by Winston Groom), they have plenty of personality to make up for it. People who take the time to read are usually pretty intelligent. I think most readers have little patience for protagonists who aren’t too bright.
Related, but slightly different to the observation above: they behave intelligently. So, maybe they are smart. So why do they go down into the basement when they know the killer is down there? Why would they arrange to meet a murderer in a deserted location? Why?
Things happen to them. Maybe they have amazing luck—maybe they have amazingly bad luck. Maybe they’ve landed in a crazy family, or fall over murdered bodies all the time (Miss Marple), or have an interesting way of looking at the world. But they’re not boring and their life isn’t, either.
They have flaws. It’s so tedious to have a protagonist who is just too perfect. Unless they’re the Christ-figure in the book, they need to have some flaws. We’ll like them a lot better for it.
Do your favorite protagonists share common traits?
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! I’m taking the day off to celebrate Christmas with my family (and then clear tons of wrapping paper off my den floor!) I’m reposting an older post from June 2009. Thanks so much to everyone for making my blogging year a happy one.
Like many writers, I’m a huge fan of books. If I hear a recommendation, I’m there. The library has made it so easy for me—simply sign in online, request a book, and go check it out. My favorites are purchased at bookstores and recommended to other book-loving friends.
But I seem to come up with roadblocks when I’m writing a book (which is, actually, all the time now.) I’m reluctant to read anything in my genre (cozy mysteries), even though they’re my favorite reads for escape. I have several reasons for this:
One is the fact that it’s less of a pleasure; I’ll read the book critically and pick it apart. Were the suspects introduced in an organized way? Were there too many/not enough suspects? Am I picking up on a clue or a red herring? Is the author’s description of setting distracting or does it add to the book? Blah, blah, blah.
Another reason is that I compare my work-in-progress to the completed, edited, marketed, beautified text that I’m reading. And, guess what—my book lacks in comparison. This brings on a huge case of insecurity and heebie-jeebies that may take me hours to shake off.
Another reason is that I’m afraid I may somehow, subconsciously, change my writing voice while reading someone else’s cozy.
The final reason? I have so little time when I’m writing a book.
At first, I felt stuck. Now I’ve come up with some ways to work around my love of reading and my love of writing.
Read something short: Pick up a book of short stories. There are books of short story collections in every genre out there. Check one out. This also helps with the low-on-time factor.
Try something different in the genre you enjoy: Broaden your horizons. If you enjoy cozies (and write cozies), try thrillers, PIs, and police procedurals.
Try something completely different: Now may be the time to read an inspiring biography. Or a nonfiction book on organizing your life. Or literary fiction.
Just do it: Galley Cat recently revealed that Barack Obama is reading Joseph O’ Neill’s Netherland right now. If he’s got time to read, what excuse do the rest of us have?
Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. I’m taking a short blog break for Christmas and reposting some of my older posts from 2009. Thanks so much to everyone for making my blogging year a happy one.
And...today is Thursday! If you're hungry, please just pop over to the Mystery Lovers' Kitchen for a piece of frittata. I'm Riley there.
An altered aromatic sensation based on an exact copy of the aroma of what we called “Rosa Maris”- the rose of the sea; inspired by foundings from German perfumer Adolphe Saalfeld’s bag of perfumes that had been found in the debris field of Titanic. A central theme of the composition is rose - The Rose Jacqueminot.
Scents of Time as a Company started when we originally contacted RMS Titanic in Atlanta after reading in January 2001 that a complete bag of perfumes had been found in the debris field of Titanic and that when the submersible placed the bag on the mother ship it literally smelled of roses! The bag’s story is as follows:
Adolphe Saalfeld originally hailed from near Leipzig in Germany, but settled near Manchester in England. A chemist by trade, he diversified into perfumery, and decided to seek his fortune in America, boarding RMS Titanic with his bag of samples. Adolphe travelled first class return ticket, numbered 19988 and costing thirty pounds and ten shillings for cabin C-106 aboard the White Star liner.
Here is a note from his diary:
“I just had an hour’s roaming about on this wonderful boat. I liked my cabin very much – it’s just like a bed-sitting room and rather large. They are still busy to finish the last things on board.”
And later, on departure from Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland:
“Dear Wifey,
After a fair night’s rest and an excellent breakfast I am enjoying a promenade in glorious weather. The wind is fresh and the sea moderate, but on this big boat one hardly notices any movement. I write these lines just before we are getting into Queenstown so that you get them tomorrow morning. I shall not be able to write you again before getting to New York.
Fondest love to all
Adolphe
P S shall write to office on arrival and Eric will no doubt phone you at once”
(When eventually auctioned many years later, the letter was seen to be postmarked “ Manchester 4.30 pm April 12, 1912”) Adolphe survived the sinking of Titanic, and was rescued by the Carpathia some hours later on Lifeboat number three. But his leather bag containing two wallets with over sixty phials of assorted fragrances and essential oils, went two and a half miles down to the Atlantic bottom:
“The Captain and Officers of the Carpathia did all that was possible to make us comfortable and to those that were sick or injured, they gave their tenderest care. The icebergs were huge and the weather extremely rough on the voyage to New York.” Adolphe’s bag plunged to the ocean floor taking over ninety years to be re-discovered. RMS Titanic Inc. were salvaging in the debris field when the claw of the small submersible, which took four hours to gain the ocean floor, grabbed a leather bag to bring to the surface.
Here is the newspaper article of that event:
"April 17, 2001
Dik Barton is a salvage expert working with RMS Titanic Inc. – the company that holds the rights to the ship’s wreckage. He and a diving crew were on a mission last summer to recover personal effects for an exhibition when they came across a small leather pouch. “We didn’t know what we discovered until we hit the surface,” says Barton. “But we knew this was special immediately when we took the pouch from the collection basket [of artifacts] and brought it to the laboratory on the ship. Ascent filled the entire lab with Edwardian perfume.” In a secret warehouse location near Detroit the bag of samples were examined and restored by a team from Eastern Michigan University, and Scents of Time were called in to take over the recovery process by sampling the phials. Many were intact as they were safely kept in aluminum tubes, and since the liquid inside acquired the pressure of the ocean water outside, had not exploded.'
Scents of Time brought this ocean treasure back home to the UK to examine with sophisticated apparatus – gas layer chromatographs and a mass spectrometer. A combination of the nose of an experienced perfumer and the “aroma print” thus captured allowed an exact copy of the aroma of what we called “Rosa Maris”- the rose of the sea., which was tempered a little for modern tastes without altering the aromatic sensation.
And there was something else of interest in the perfume formula. A central theme of the composition is rose. And it may be a particular rose. In 1906, six years before Titanic sailed, Francois Coty brought out a fragrance called La Rose Jacqueminot.
The Rose Jacqueminot was first grown in France in 1853, and has a strong rosaceous aroma. General Jacqueminot had been a revered veteran of the Napoleonic wars and the Rose was named in his honor.
It is known that as a newcomer to the industry Adolphe Saalfeld visited Grasse, European centre of the essential oil business, many times. He modeled some of his fragrances on the best sellers of the day, and La Rose Jacqueminot was one of them.
What makes this story of interest is that in the name of this particular rose we have the two lovers of the recent Titanicmovie – Rose and Jack! Saalfeld was also experimenting with the new chemistry of synthesis from the later 1880’s in using Vanillin, the key aroma ingredient of Vanilla.
Finally, in the form of its essential oil, Mayflower (Hawthorn) too had once again set sail for America. A perfume is composed of up to a few hundred aromas living peacefully together in their container. Any form of energy or chemistry - such as heat or light - and in particular oxygen - can affect the perfume dramatically, which is why Scents of Time always advise that fragrances are kept in the cold and in the dark.
What better proof do we have of this sage advice than those sixty phials of fragrance and oil which rested on the sea bed, in the cold and dark, for nearly one hundred years before being recovered and brought to the surface – most as intact aromatically as the day they were first created.
A description of that fateful night when Titanic sunk was given by passenger Lawrence Beesley: “The night was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen: the sky without a single cloud to mar the perfect brilliance of the stars…and in the place of the ship in which all our interest had been concentrated for so long…in place of Titanic, we had the level sea now stretching in an unbroken expanse to the horizon…with no indication on the surface that the waves had just closed over the most wonderful vessel ever built by man’s hand; the stars looked down just the same way and it was bitterly cold.”
As a research exercise this had been a magnificent achievement. But it stopped there. After all, Titanic’s disaster was less than a hundred years ago, fifteen hundred perished and the experience was still raw in some people’s memories.
We genuinely believed Adolphe would not have approved of a replica fragrance being marketed. Adolphe carried his bag onto RMS Titanic with a tag labeled “Wanted First Class – For baggage room”.
His treasures would travel with him in cabin C106. It is reported that Adolphe moved from Manchester to Twickenham on his return to England, in part to try and get away from the terrible memories of Titanic’s demise. But they never quite left him alone. He had his chauffeur drive him around London at night when he couldn’t sleep.
And there was another probable detractor. From conversations with Elizabeth Dean I felt that she too would not have approved. Millvina (Elizabeth) Dean , the last survivor of that fateful night, died aged 97 on May 31st 2009 near Southampton , England. She was the liner’s youngest passenger just two months old at the time. Her family were third class passengers moving to Kansas. She and her mother and brother survived. Her father did not.
And so the brief was radically changed. Chris Sheldrake, sorcerer’s apprentice to Serge Lutens and now working for Chanel was asked to create a fragrance of the future- NIGHT STAR. For steam ship read star ship. For latitude and longitude read galactic coordinates. And Night Star, a symbol of future hope, would be dedicated to Millvina, who, along with Adolphe, has now joined the night stars above.
There is apparently a planet – the third from its own star, just under twenty one light years away. The planet exists in what NASA term the “goldilocks “ zone. Not too hot, not too cold. it is likely to have water and to support life. What kind of flowers would it have? They would not be green, as the radiation from this star is different from our own sun. And so photosynthesis would not make chlorophyll. What would the perfume of ASTEROSE smell like? It would be composed of the elements of the periodic table, which exist throughout the Universe- Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen and Carbon. The brief on NIGHT STAR was to create a fantasy fragrance based on earthlike aromas which would be both alien in make up, and yet have a comfortable, earthly feel, reflecting Gliese 581d’s potential as our new home.
THE PERFUME NAME
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet. - William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (II,ii)
NIGHT STAR - From the star Gliese, and its planet Gliese 581d - a possible new location for humankind.
It is known that as a newcomer to the industry Adolphe Saalfeld visited Grasse, European centre of the essential oil business, many times. He modeled some of his fragrances on the best sellers of the day, and La Rose Jacqueminot was one of them.