Writer's Updates, and Other Random Things

Well, greetings once again...I'm sitting in the Office for the first time in several days, and I'm in one of those contemplative moods. This could be trouble...for a lot of folks other than me.

Here's a link to the new job:

http://widget.geotraffic.com/

You can install this useful little widget onto your own website, please do. I have yet to figure out how to incorporate the damn thing into this blog, but oh well...

Geo has given me lots of fill-in work, and I apparently am doing a decent job. I am thankful! Nice to work with old friends again, and to meet new ones. We've got a future, and it's nice to be part of it.

OK...company blather outta the way...yes, I'm feeling positive. It is a long drive on Route 30 to Paoli, and then the short drag down 252 to Newtown Square, but it's all good. Time to think, listen to obscure music on my iPod, and find out what else is happening.

I tend to listen to NPR (except when they are on yet another beg for money drive...a certain station seems to be doing it all day, all night, all the time), but I also listen to other stuff on occasion. This leads me to my first observation of things that make me want to do an obscenity-laden rip job on people who seem to think they know what's what in the news.

The vaunted KYW Newsradio 1060 (my friend David Payne went off about this on Facebook) last night, led with the Earth-shattering, End-of-the-World-As-We-Know-It headline...wait for it...

...DESEAN JACKSON WAS CUT BY THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES! HOLY MOTHER(FUCKER) OF GOD & GODDESS! HOW WILL WE EVER RECOVER?????!!!!!?????

Yeah...WORLD WAR FUCKING 3 could be ready to break out in Europe (if certain politicians and the military-industrial complex have their way)...the futility of declaring war on Russia could come, 100 years after Germany proved its utter idiocy...we STILL don't know where that Malaysian airliner went down, and WTF happened there...the Taliban (read radical Islam's answer to fundamentalist Christianity) are again operating with impunity in Afghanistan...BUT OH MY GOD D-JAX GOT CUT FROM THE EAGLES!!!!!!

I never cared for the Eagles, never...the Andy Reid follies were amusing, and the Chip Kelly saga was good for a chuckle...but back to the news thing, and it's here that Jackson could have ground for a major fucking libel suit.

Basic points: Jackson came off a career year...true, a prickly personality, moments where he didn't seem to give a shit, then suddenly making an impact. Supposedly the Eagles tried to trade him, but couldn't.

Price tag? Yeah, he makes damned good money...and the Eagles are notorious for pinching millions. Thing is, there have been rumblings and mostly rumors and innuendo spread about the Philly area and beyond that Jackson was acquainted with LA gangs.

No one has accused him of being affiliated or a member, and Jackson flatly denies that. But the bigots around these parts and elsewhere have pushed that rumor without any proof for a long time. Now a New Jersey website is claiming it.

Jackson has not been accused of any crimes. Did the Eagles dump him because of the money? Or did the NFL tip them to something?

Either way, it's a smelly story...but does it rate being the top story on a supposed news leader? NO.

But then, I guess I'm an old guy who doesn't know much about today's media. Hell, I'm working in a company that's entered a new realm, so I'd like to think I'm seeing some new things.

###

Okay, I had to get that one off my chest.

Now...next up:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1494401975/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1494401975&linkCode=as2&tag=coverscroll-20

Yes, a shameless plug for "Parasite Girls!" Getting ready to hopefully move on some more promotional readings, but that thing called work has been a matter I've had to take in hand.

Meanwhile, I'm sorting out ideas, and getting a plan in place for the future. I believe that a next step for my follow-up is a story I recently wrote, that is adult fiction with a serious crossover to the young adult world. Half-step, but a good one:

https://www.behance.net/gallery/A-Moment-in-the-Sun-Chapter-1-Rough-Draft/13569033

"A Moment in the Sun" I really feel is that step. This turned out to be a good story; it carries on with my ideas of handling certain concepts, and might work as the next step.

Then, we might be able to make a full step into the YA world with "The Drifters."

https://www.behance.net/torygates

See everything and more here.

So I have to try and focus what brain cells I have left to decide how to proceed with this. My thoughts are to release these next two into the wild over the next 12-18 months. I have to see if this will work.

Getting "Parasite Girls" in motion was a year-long operation. I have more to do with it. So much to think about, but then actually move on.

I really do need to get going...work, my brain, various thoughts on different stuff. For once, I've felt in a state of mind where I'm calm enough to actually sit here and write this, and get it into a form where I can look back at it.

This is what I do, folks...the writer writes, always. I did not like that movie, but a true thing. As someone else noted, even if you are just thinking about it in your head, that's writing. It counts.

See ya.

One Year On, Two Years On...& the Question of the Use

I do wish for a bit better feeling than the one I have going right now. As it stands, I can look back from the end of July and see some definite steps forward, and really positive ones at that. But I still don't feel it.

Two years ago, I gave up smoking (read this as, buying $7 packs and sucking 'em down in two days...I now bum on occasion) and went back to the gym. Well, I've never really been in a gym, per se...but I went back to trying to get myself into some kind of condition, and I have to say I rather like what happened there.

I am not a weightlifter, and I have no interest in it. I primarily swim, and except for the past month as I recover from Giant Cyst Removal (you DO NOT want to know more or see pictures), I've been hitting the pool and the sauna. I meditate in the latter, and do whatever it is they say you do, when it's your body and your weight is being moved, worked, etc.

Result? I am 27 pounds lighter than when I started. I was never overweight, but the muscle is back, and I feel better than I have in about 20 years. I have not grown tired of it, though I do get pissed that I have to be very careful about this ice cream scoop sized hole in my lower back. It is healing though, so all good.

Now, about one year and a little more away from something else: Zoloft. I noted in my last blog that one of my writings, about "Post-Zoloft Psychosis" is still getting regular reads. People seem to be wanting to find out about it, and how it is going.

Well, here's where that lies: after about 14 months off the little blue pills, I find that life has returned to a semblance of "normalcy." But I am NOT normal...normal sucks, normal is boring, normal is far too mundane. Especially where I live.

I'm sorry...but you know what, Pennsylvania? With rare exceptional cases, we could lop off Pittsburgh, Philly and a portion of Harrisburg, and we could say you live in 1954. One of my old colleagues liked to gripe that the vast majority of Pennsylvania thinks, "Kennedy is still president."

No...it's Eisenhower. Hate to say that, but a lot of folks really do live in the past around here. I won't get into the political/religious/social whatever's about it, but you know what? The world has changed, beyond your door, beyond the county line, and even the state line. 

For all the people who sit glued to their iPhones, laptops, i-This and i-That (I admit, it seems my laptop and I are connected, too), there is still a non-nostalgic view of life. Instead of looking back, you still live it! The "Way it Used to Be" is OVER!

Now, that is an example of what I feel, post-Zoloft. My feelings are returning. They were always there, but I will tell you this: they are heightened once more. Not in a bad way (most of the time), but they are there, and they do again exist.

For the most part, my everyday life is all right. I do still feel the highs and lows, ecstatic and crushing respectively, and they are not always fun. I do not have delusional behavior, such as certain people do suffer when in the throes of the higher aspects--you will be relieved to know I do NOT consider myself a deity, an enlightened being or someone who lives with a view that I am a cut above. 

I am Me. Deal with it; I have to every day.

The upper and lower case emotions, feelings, etc. are 95% of the time pretty much okay. These are no different than what any person deals with; so I think for the most part what I am contending with is mild in comparison.

The darker side of it is not always so accommodating, however. There are days, were it not for the sun coming right through my bedroom window (and my cats jumping on me to alert me that the food dishes are empty), I might not get up in the a.m. Sometimes that move out of bed is near-impossible.

I write of this in my forthcoming novel, "Parasite Girls." One of the characters, Sora suffers from Bipolar Disorder, and we have talked of this here. I have a relative whom I shall not name, who is in the throes of it. 

You want to know how bad it is? In a black mood, she physically attacked her husband...she was at Maximum Rage (and I honestly don't think she realizes what she is doing)...he locked himself in a bathroom to let her run...she went THROUGH the door to get at him.  Yes, THROUGH it.

So, there's a pretty good example of the extreme side of these illnesses and disorders. My own dark side is a sight more laid back than that, but it has its moments.

When I feel the tension building inside, it does so slowly, and I've been able to kind of detect it and defuse it. Not always so easy, though; it can be black, and not fun. There are triggers, and each of us has to figure them out.

So far, I have done pretty well at it, but again there are times when I will admit I am not the person you want around when it's going down. 

I will also tell you I am not the person you want near you when you're having your own bad day. Sometimes, I just don't want to hear it. Not saying mine is worse than yours, but it feels that way.

The let-down where I begin to move in the darker direction usually comes from exhaustion, lack of sleep, lack of food, and so forth. I try to obey the law of nature when it comes to me. That sometimes does not put me on the same "clock" as the average person.

Tension again comes when I move too fast, or try to "multi-task." I have since learned that multi-tasking is the WORST FUCKING THING any of us can do!

Everybody says it's hip to be a multi-track minded person...NO. I used to be good at it; I could think on different tracks and projects, and juggle the plates well.

Not anymore. Age is part of it, but also my capacity for juggling is not there any longer.  I am not a person who has to focus 100% on one thing and one thing only, don't get me wrong. It's not OCD stuff; I just have to do things a little differently.

Story of my life right there.

What comes along with the body again making the stuff that the Big Z no longer does? Well, mine did start producing Serotonin (I think that's what it is) again after years of not having to or being able to. I am for the most part feeling okay with my body doing the things it does.

I have to add to it--my physical activity is a part of the well-being, that is for certain. It needs to be done. 

My diet is vegetarian, but believe me I'm not a flesh-of-dead-animals nut! What you eat is your own damn business. This works for me.

Ah...you know this fits into what I want to talk about next...wait for it...

SOCIAL MEDIA.

Yeah...we are connected to it aren't we? I admit as much as the next person. I am not one of those people that's against it, but I'm seeing over the years just how that can be death of you. The things you say, post, etc?

Learning that lesson, believe it.

My Facebook Newsfeed is interesting...I will tell you a lot of people that are my friends are NOT on it, because of the content and the stuff that people consider newsworthy to put up there. I admit...I confess...I put shit up there that most of you would scratch your heads and say, "Wha....?"

I'm working on it...each day I try to work on everything, I really do.

Now...one thing that may have estranged me from "friends," is the perception, and it is often incorrect, of when a person posts something...what is the intent behind it?

A joke? A deeply-held political view? An emotion that must be released, right this second? Or how about this one...ARROGANCE?

I am pretty sure that I'm wrong, but some of the things people put up make me feel like if you said that to my face, I'd be like...WTF?!?

I try not to even look anymore. So what else does this say?

Even with a bright sunny day and less humid, oppressive weather, I cannot feel that good about it. Some days I get it, and it's alright. Others, not so much.

As I write, a letdown is coming, and I try to not think too much about what it is doing to me. You don't need drugs to feel this way...some of us are to quote George Carlin, "paranoid on (our) own."

This is the world I live in. It's not a terribly depressing place on its own, but has its moments. I do my best, each day. I am not a devotional person, meaning I do not feel the need to ritualize my life. There are things I do, on my time that work when they do. I do not expect things to be handed to me; I do what I need to, in order to make those things happen, but it's nice when the universe is cool and lets you see something that says to you, you're doing it right.

Just as I've said, these blogs are not edited, hardly. I don't go back and check for grammar or any of that. You get Me, in the raw unadulterated form when I write on this blog. If anything, I am honest, heh.

NOW...a little shameless plugging:

http://www.behance.net/torygates

Again, on this page you will find a proof of Chapter 1 of "Parasite Girls." The update is thus: Mitch Bentley of Atomic Fly Studios is working on the cover, and soon I hope that we shall have something to share as we get ready for the launch. 

There are also audio tracks from my radio work (my prime income source for the moment), plus other writings, and bits. Hope you'll take the time to check them out.

Each day is a day, and you do what you can with each one. To borrow another colleague's phrase, "That's it, that's all."

Updates, and New Steps Forward

Well, it has been a while, hasn't it? An awful lot has occurred since my last post, and I'll try to keep it concise. I'm not very good at that, as my posts are all one draft, not the edited, sculpted crafted work that is my writing.

"America Drinks and Goes Home" is going thorugh my iTunes and headset. Jean-Luc Ponty's version...my old school friend Jeremy sent me two boxes of CD's after he burned everything to computer...thank you, for turning both me and my friend Alice onto him. "King Kong," for those who don't know is Ponty's album of mostly Frank Zappa compositions. Works for what I'm doing here.

So...first a brief medical update: on the 1st, I underwent minor surgery to repair the old cyst issue in my leg which I wrote of earlier. The sebaceous cyst on my jaw is gone, and the one on my back is gone, kind of.

These things are not cancerous or dangerous, just there. The one on my back was the largest my surgeon had ever seen. The healing process is a long one, because it must heal from the inside out. So it's keep it clean, keep it bandaged, and stay outta the pool. I will not bore or gross you out further; I'm okay.

Now: it's time to shamelessly plug things!

https://www.facebook.com/ToryGatesMedia?ref=hl

The above is my new Facebook page: Tory Gates Media is a hub, which will direct you to the various places that you shall find my work. This includes the ReverbNation page of the Dharma Fools, and this:

http://www.behance.net/torygates

Behance is a site that is primarily used by graphic designers, so far as I can tell, but I fell in love with the site. Here you will find audio tracks from music projects (more as time goes on, bear with me), snippets of audio projects specifically for radio (in particular, WITF, Radio PA and others), and my writing.

Up at this point are rough cut openings for "Parasite Girls," "The Drifters" and "Time the Healer." I am very interested in what people think of these. As I say, apart from "PG" they are works in progress. I shall put up more as time goes by.

I appreciate the feedback, good or bad. I need to know. I am thankful to friends interested in the Young Adult and Anime worlds who have taken the time to check my stuff out. Their thoughts are constructive and useful.

This is a long, slow haul and an exercise in patience. I was talking with a friend recently, and at times you get a feeling that you've been braked to a stop. It's like, okay, I've done all this, but I don't feel like I'm moving at all.

Sometimes you have to take a break, stop, etc. Not much you can do at times, but you also have to know the limits, and that sort of thing.

So that is where we are: now, one last thing:

I have noticed in recent weeks, that a blog post I wrote over a year ago is getting slow, but steady traffic. It is the one I wrote about Post-Zoloft Withdrawal--the title included Psychosis, and that was partly a dark attempt at a joke. 

In my life, and my family's that took a pretty dark turn recently.

I am interested that so many people are still reading that blog about what happened to me when I went cold turkey on the Big Z. I think it's time to write the "Year After" blog, and I will do that soon. It has been a rough year at times, but in other ways it has been better.

I hope it will help.

"Parasite Girls," Updates, and "The Drifters" Prologue

Well, it has been a while since I have blogged, and there's much to bring you up date on.  So, the short part first:

My upcoming debut, "Parasite Girls" is finished.  It will soon become an eBook, and available through Amazon.com for eReaders such as Kindle and others.  I will also put it into the KDP Select program, which will let readers borrow the book.

Tomorrow my intrepid friend Alice will introduce me to a fellow in Harrisburg who may become my cover designer.  We need a good one, and I like what I have seen.

Legal matters, such as the "Doing Business As" or dba are being put in place, and I have a few other similar bits to deal with.  But it's coming together, and I hope before summer you will have my first in your hands.

--

Followers of me on Facebook, Google+ and other areas will know that I embarked on yet another manuscript, which I finished yesterday.  "The Drifters" is one of a long line of YA-type stories with my own twists.  There is kind of a theme with my stories of this genre but I think they're interesting and entertaining.  

Bear in mind, the first draft with me always is bad.  Holes in the plot to fix, character stuff to firm up, and it is a long process with me.  No one despite what they may say ever gets it right the first time.  

In the meantime, along with my hours and hours devoted to hammering away on my laptop, I do have other things to do.  I hope to have other news from the more mundane world one day, but in any case, this is how things go, and we have to roll with that.

--

As much as I love what I do, making a living is not a practical consideration, at least not yet.  Some of us are finding themselves at a crossroads at mid-life or a little bit past it.

I'm 47.  I'm not old, and I certainly no longer feel it.  I've made a point of trying to, not so much remain young, but to maintain some kind of youth in myself, even if I by the number would be considered a boring old fart.  Well, I'll never be that.

It's life, and I do my best to remain optimistic, though it can be hard.  Anyone around me knows that.

So, I'm slowly moving forward in the ways I need to, and we'll see what goes next.  That's it.

--

NOW...would you like to read the Prologue to "The Drifters?"  Bear in mind please, this bit might not even be in the book, and it will be some time before this gets out.  

The opening is narrated by the main character, and we will see much of the story through her eyes and her own recollections.  It's a strange one, to be sure...

Enjoy!

--

Prologue—All Hands on Deck

            Zhac popped his head through the hatch of the Southern Cross and shouted, “It is on, mes amies!”

            We looked up from our work on deck.  Zhac’s unshaven face, his blue eyes alight with unaccustomed excitement flew up the steps, past the wheel and onto the stern.

            I’m in the middle of stitching a sail, which lies over the boat like a disemboweled accordion.  Next to me are my sister Kiku and her BFF Mari-chan; they’re folding and straightening the seams.  Our brother Kenta is forward, testing the foresail with Ariel. 

            “What’s on?” I ask, though I already know from the scratchy marine radio that blasts from below decks.

            “The prevailing winds,” Zhac announced to us, and anyone in earshot on the other boats, “are shifting.  By Sunday, we shall have favorable conditions.  We sail that day, and without fail!”

            Today is Thursday.  As I look across the deck of the Southern Cross, there’s no way in hell we’re gonna be ready for that.  “Zhac,” I politely inform him, “we’ve still got a lot to do.  How are we gonna get this sail fixed, and everything stowed before then?”

            The enormous sail covers boxes of provisions and supplies and tools, all of which has to be put away before we can even think of casting off.  My logic is correct, but I’ve known Zhac long enough to know what he views as practical is different from mine.

            “Oh, we can make it work, Nee-chan,” Kiku chirps as she jumps to her feet, her pigtails flopping about.

            “Yes,” Mari-chan chimes in, “I’m excited we finally have a date.”

            I sigh but on the inside.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my little sister and Mari-chan to death, but they are kids.  If you could see them, you’d understand.

            Kiku is your stereotypical Japanese girl, hands down.  She and Mari-chan are in their last year of junior high.  They’ve both got the cute thing going, the long black hair, all that.  They bounce over to Zhac in their summer gear, and want to know more.

            You’d think both girls were sisters, they’re that close in look and build.  The only difference is that Mari-chan is Korean.  Mariko is her given name, but everyone calls her by the familiar; she’s one of us.

            Our big brother Kenta comes aft.  He’s a year older than me.  Kenta doesn’t walk so much as glide; he picks his way across the deck in a practiced manner.  

            He is a good looker; a lot kids remark how much Kenta looks like guys in anime shows.  I can see it; he wears his hair a little long in back, and it floats about his face.  “What’s the plan, O Captain?” He calls.

            Ariel follows in his wake.  Now, I have to explain Ariel to you.  She is tall for a woman and has a body I have never seen on another in my life.  Ariel’s is a muscular frame, with just enough curve in the right places; her breasts are the perfect size…well, all of her is just perfect.

            As usual when on the boat, Ariel is wearing next to nothing, a colorful bikini with some kind of mini-sarong.  It’s not to show off; Ariel is the kind of woman who can make anything look good.  That’s the first thing you notice, and it takes attention from real mystery of her.

            Ariel’s voice is neutral.  It’s not feminine or masculine; her skin always has a tan.  Her features are western, with high cheekbones and a sculpted face.  She never wears makeup, either.

            She is Zhac’s partner on the Southern Cross.  They live on the boat, and have co-existed for several years if the stories Zhac tells are true.

            A face pokes out from the shadows of the cabin, a multi-colored knit cap followed by a thick pair of glasses, bangs of black hair that fall within the frames and without, plus that pale, unassuming face.  It’s Yoko, the last member of our club.  Her t-shirt is knotted at the hip and reveals a pair of ultra-tight cutoffs and skinny legs.  Yoko’s in my class in high school, and my right hand.

            We gather on the stern, and Zhac fills us in on the weather situation.  It’s mostly meteorological stuff I don’t understand, but everyone is excited, except Ariel and me.  Ariel doesn’t get excited about anything.

            Zhac details what needs to be done if we’re to make sailing time Sunday.  We only have a few weeks in the summer break, and if we’re going to do this we’ve got to get moving.  I appear to be the only one thinking of that. 

            “Let’s get to it,” I say.  When I speak, people listen, but I wonder if it’s grudgingly.  I am the type that gets things done, and properly.  What’s the point if not?

            Zhac now sits with us and pulls on the sailmaker’s gloves I was using before.  They’re like heavy gauntlets, and you need them to protect your hands.  Running big needles through canvas is not like stitching a dress; it’s hard work.  I will say this about Zhac; he doesn’t just give orders.  He’s a pro, and never asks us to do anything he would not do himself.

            I sit again with Kiku and Mari-chan, and we listen to Zhac as he goes on about the stitching and the lines we’ll need.  Kenta and Ariel lower the foresail and secure it, then go about to ensure the lines that hold us to the dock are taut.  Yoko disappears into the cabin, tasked with creating space and getting supplies stored.  She has the mind for it.

            The Southern Cross is Zhac’s sailboat, but it’s an odd one.  Technically a ketch, she boasts twin junk sails, like the Chinese vessels.  The boat is not impressive at first glance, but it’s easy to sail and handle.  That’s important, Zhac says, because conditions on the ocean can change in a snap.

            Zhac and Ariel have lived here in Tosa Harbor for some time.  They don’t work, apart from giving sailing lessons to the occasional tourist.  Kenta was in the Sailing Club last year, and Zhac offered our school the use of his boat (for a fee, of course).  Zhac has become quite the character in our village, even among the native fishermen and sailors of this part of Kochi. 

            Zhac is Canadian, but he and Ariel are both fluent in Japanese.  I don’t know how old Zhac is, but I guess in his thirties.  His brown hair is curly and scraggly, his face bears a perpetual two-day growth of beard, and his clothes are all worn and secondhand.  He always wears an old sailor’s coat even in warm weather, and a cap with some nautical symbol on it.  You’ll also find him in the company of his guitar.  Zhac’s a decent singer and does mostly Canadian songs, nearly all of which we’ve never heard of.

            His father and grandfather were sailors like him.  The stories (or “yarns”) he regales people with are entertaining, but you wonder how much of those are true.  Doesn’t matter; Zhac is a good guy, and someone we trust.

            That’s a hard thing for me; oh, and who am I?  My name is Kahori Aizawa; I’m 16 and in my second year at Manjiro High School.  Those I have described are my family and friends.  We are those who make up the club, which I am president of.  This is how it all started, as far as any of us can remember.

            We are the Drifters.  This is our story.

--

Well, there you have it...let me know what you think!

Boston...Breathe...

I feel very unable to do much of anything right now.  

I was driving home from a workout when WITF/NPR reported what was going on.  I will not say I could not believe it; because I could.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-22160978

The link is BBC America's live coverage and it is working.  Local service in Boston is pretty much shut down, and sites are jammed.  Sites here in America have their issues with it as well.

So far, the Beeb is doing a very calm, measured job at covering the matter.  We are hearing from reporters and others at the site, and what strikes me about it is how calm people are.  They are not putting distraught people on the air for maximum whatever.

I won't give you figures, because they are going to change.  I do hope there are no more than the two deaths reported.

I felt a strange feeling of dread all day; things were just strange.  I had no idea why.

I am a native of New England, and I lived in Boston for nearly ten years.  I know Boylston Street, the site of the explosions very well.  I walked and/or drove down that street many times, though I never was there for the marathon events.

Today, for those who don't know is Patriots Day.  It is a Massachusetts state holiday; the Marathon runs, the Red Sox play an game at Fenway Park with an 11 am first pitch.  It is supposed to be a day of celebration.

From my own experience of being in newsrooms when things like this happen, believe me when I say that the media (at least...the media I WAS TRAINED FOR) does NOT want to report these things.  

I cannot speak for the new generation of alleged media, and those who have replaced many of my colleagues and me in newsrooms and out there in cyberspace.

I have seen the footage, and honestly?  The marathon has been considered a target for a long time; the one in NY and in Boston as well.

From what I have heard and seen, it appears security was in force and reacted quickly and professionally.  For them, we can be grateful.

I feel I can do nothing but take to the blog and write how I feel, and hopefully I can put this in the right words.

We will find out soon enough who is/was involved.  I cannot say for domestic networks, because I am not monitoring them.  The BBC has made a good point of not racing down a darkened corridor screaming bloody murder about Al Qaeda, terrorists, etc.

The discussion is on about how well coordinated the explosions are or were.  Hard to say at this point, but that two went off very close to one another.  I have no idea.

One thing, too:  they are giving equal weight to domestic terrorists, as well as foreign ones.  

Facebook friends, many of them are reporting they are okay, even though friends of mine were close to the blast site.

In the wake of this, I know what's going to happen...there is going to be a gigantic screamfest.

I have a pretty good idea of which media in Boston will do what.  Suit to be followed around the country, if not the globe.

This is a time when I have nothing to do, except this:  let's hope for the best for those up there, and if we can do something to help, then we must do it.

Please think before you post on Facebook, Twitter or social media.  Please do not spew emotional hatred when you don't have the facts.

I don't have any.  You don't have any.

We'll find out soon enough.

This time, it's really hit home for me.  Great sadness for those involved; let us let the authorities do their jobs.  Say what you will about the Boston police, I have friends on the force.  They do their best under difficult circumstances.  

Stay cool.  Breathe.

We can never be 100% safe, but we must not waste our lives looking over our shoulders, afraid the whole world is out to get us.  Too many people do that.  We need not be that way.

We also find a need to point fingers, and attack.  Do not be a part of it.

A friend of mine made an interesting point:  what "friends" post and write on Facebook may not make them friends of hers anymore.  

Harsh?  Don't know.  I've nullifed the newsfeeds of so many people who are friends, because I will not let social/political views ruin what positives we do share.

Still...makes you think.

I'm lighting incense and candles tonight for my friends, fellow Bostonians and the visitors to a great city.  

Peace, Out.

Hurricane Sandy...the Blogger on the Beach, So to Speak...

2:56 pm, Eastern time...I'm back at my house, after spending the morning and balance of the afternoon out and about.  As I have no specific duties until tomorrow, I've made my preparations to ride out the storm, before I have to ride into it.

I wrote earlier about the cycle of madness when people go out of their minds and buy out the store; based so far on what little I've heard from the eastern shore of the US, we might well have a reason to be a bit worried.

I was up and out early this morning to...and yes, I railed about this, and here I am being a part of it...to replace my cell phone.

Let's just say it was lost in an unfortunate accident and a bit of my own foolishness.  Anyway, I zipped over to the Galleria (Deatheria, some call it) Mall near my house.  I wondered if it would even be open.

Rain had been falling much of the night, and it was steady but not unusual.  The ground was pretty saturated, and there as a little wind.

Well, thanks to the Verizon guy, he was there, and got me fitted out with a new one...a "free" upgrade on my account, so that took no time.  While getting my data transferred, he noted a text that the Capital City Mall in Harrisburg was closing.

I wondered if most of the stores in the mall would even open today.

Anyway, I took a ride up Route 30 to the Office...they were open, and from there I watched as things unfolded.

I even managed a quick workout at the gym; Morebucks closed at 2 pm, the gym closed at 3, and other than convenience stores and gas stations, just about everything else has already shut down.

So far, no real concerns or worries.  I did not detect anyone being really flipped out, like some seemed to be the during the buyout.

So I'm home, and as long as I have power of some sort, I'll be transmitting.

Some shots of the property I just took...the rain is falling steadily still, with a few gusts but nothing serious as of yet.

http://www.noaa.gov/stormcentral/

NOAA is on top of the situation as well...this gives you a pretty fair look of how it's doing.

NPR and one of my employers, WITF have been keeping tabs on the storm as well.  None of the alarmist, Frankenstorm bullshit; we'll have enough time to get into that later.  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20121635

This link is to the BBC, and they are keeping a close watch as well.  Doing a good job.

So, you may ask, why am I not out there reporting?  Well, this is where I am.  I will be on duty for WITF tomorrow, and I am essentially the extra pair of hands.  If they need me, I come off the bench.

I am again "on the beach," but figuratively.  You feel like you should be out there, or doing something, but that's how it goes.  I'll have enough to worry about and do later.

I must be a real geek...while traveling through Harrisburg recently, I realized I was listening to AM 1670.  In that area, that is the NOAA Weather Radio relay station.  If you don't have a specific Weather Radio (as I do at home), you can the National Weather Service forecast and other related information from there.

I found that infinitely more interesting than anything that was on the radio at that moment!  My presets are to the sports stations and the weather channel, because there is NOTHING worth listening to on the AM other than that.  And the sports stations are barely tolerable.

I don't listen to FM radio hardly at all; my car presets are WITF, whom I work for, 91.7 in Philly (NPR, Jazz) and 95.3 (ESPN).  I used to have an XM radio, but no more.  (If you'd like to buy mine, let me know, heehee)

So now I'm listening to NOAA, and the robot voice.  My main plan is to check stuff out online, and my friends on Facebook, Twitter and other places and see how it goes.

Already the New Jersey coast and parts of New York, etc., are getting it.  A tall ship has apparently been lost, and two crewmen are missing.  I'm afraid we're gonna hear more like that.

I picked up the New York Times today, and I have something else to read, so I'll not be idle.  This is kind of how I am...you never stop being on duty, never stop wondering about how it's going out there.  And you be ready, in case of whatever.

So Baldrick is sitting beside me on the desk while I type; my coffee is brewed and I'll keep myself watching and waiting.  Our area is probably gonna get it tonight; I do hope we keep power; my landlady next door is up there in numbers, but I'm glad to see she had visitors, likely her son.  

I'll add more photos to my Facebook page as time goes on:

http://www.facebook.com/tory.gates

In any case, I understand some are trying to ride the storm out in the danger zone.  I certainly hope they're going to be all right; I honestly don't want news of peril, doom, and "if it bleeds, it leads."  

One person interviewed on NPR today said something that portends a not-good situation:  he was either on Long Island or New Jersey, I can't remember where he said.  He had lived through Hurricane Irene, and he said, this already is worse.

Uh-oh.

I am glad I don't have cable...I can just imagine what the major networks are doing right now.  

Well, that's all for now, blurkers...let me know where you're at and what's going on...stay dry, stay safe, and stay cool.