The Vancouver Canucks are currently in a nine game losing streak, stuck in the basement of their conference and safely out of the playoff picture. Because of this, the city of Vancouver will once more be free from any hockey-related riots.
So thanks, Canucks. I will remember your noble sacrifice when I walk along the streets of the downtown core this summer and there are no overturned cars on fire.
Day Four by Sarah Lotz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Note: some minor spoilers ahead.
While not a direct sequel to Lotz’s previous novel The Three, Day Four does take place in the same timeline, one where the mysterious crash of four airliners on the same day and the decidedly weird doings of the three (or was it four?) child survivors leads to talk of the Apocalypse being on its way and the election of a deeply religious President in the U.S., one who oversees an extremely conservative federal government that seems to be doomsday preppers writ large. And official.
Day Four references the plane crashes, survivors and spookier stuff while sidestepping talk of the political landscape. The main story is largely self-contained, though, so reading The Three is not a prerequisite.
One might glibly describe Day Four as The Love Boat from Hell–and you would actually not be far off. As the story begins, the first three days of a cruise on The Beautiful Dreamer, of the fictitious Foveros Cruise Line, encounters nothing out of the ordinary after leaving Miami. On the fourth day it runs into mechanical problems. Then virus problems, rapist/murder problems, why-isn’t-anyone-coming-to-help problems and finally, possible ghost and maybe worse-than-that problems.
Lotz does an excellent job of ramping up the tension as conditions on the ship deteriorate, switching between a large cast of characters with the same ease she demonstrated in The Three. The crew of the ship is split into cabals and cliques, divided along lines of rank as well as ethnicity, each group typically speaking in their native tongue to better exclude others from the conversation. Even with the cruise running optimally it’s clear a lot of the people on board are never going to get along. And there are enough skeletons to fill a walk-in closet.
The passengers are a quirky mix of gossip bloggers, psychics, tourists and suicides-in-waiting. As things go sideways (literally, as the days without rescue go on) clashes among the passengers and crew increase. The power goes out. Toilets stop working. Ghosts start working.
To say more would be to enter into major spoiler territory but suffice to say the ending seems very much to set up another book, though whether it will follow the characters of Day Four or not is unclear (though I lean toward no). What is clear is that the people that inhabit this alternate present-day timeline are likely in for a bumpy few years.
If you approach Day Four on its own, the references to The Three may feel a bit oblique and the ending may be less satisfying but I still feel it works well on its own. As a companion to The Three, Lotz has crafted a nightmare cruise that neatly sets up even worse things to come. Recommended.
Run 417
Average pace: 5:28/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 27:31
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 17ºC
Wind: low
BPM: 165
Stride: n/a
Weight: 167.7 pounds
Total distance to date: 3374
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6
Which is not to say I ran in the river, I ran next to it.
My first after-work run of the year went well. The weather–on the last day of March–was more like an early summer day, with the temperature a warm 17ºC. The sun was still high enough to mostly be out of my eyes, though I had to duck my head a few times. All the more incentive to run faster so I could get to the end of the trail and run back with the sun behind me.
I tried pacing myself in the first km but felt positively springy. That changed to “lungs somewhat on fire” and I moderated until I found my rhythm. I ended with an average pace of 5:28/km, significantly better than my first few 5Ks of the year, so that was nice.
The color leeching on the Hokas has almost given up after seven(?) runs. The shoes are otherwise performing well. I finished the 5K with no discomfort at all in the left foot, which was also nice.
I keep saying I’m going back to my TomTom Runner Cardio watch but the Apple Watch is already on my wrist and it’s just so convenient (and honestly, it’s easier to use, though the taps aren’t nearly as noticeable as the TomTom’s vibration alerts). Still, I may switch over on the weekend. Maybe.
In order to meet the minimum of one-post-per-day (on a monthly basis) I need to write twelve more posts after this one by the end of tomorrow.
It’s not inconceivable I could do this.
Could I do it without spamming a lot of one-liner nonsense? Quite possibly.
Could I do it without posting any cat images? Probably.
Could I do it with a dozen sober, substantive messages? Let’s not get crazy here.
Let me start by singing the praises of spring, which truly arrived today with sunny skies and unseasonably warm temperatures. I almost expected delightful cartoon birds to alight on my shoulders while fluffy cartoon bunnies hopped around my feet. I mean while outside. It would be kind of weird if that happened at my cubicle and if I’m going to have weird things happen I’ll take winning the Lotto 6/49 jackpot over the appearance of cartoon animals at my work desk.
Speaking of the 6/49, I actually matched four out of six numbers last week. That sounds impressive until you realize it’s only 66%, which in school is a mediocre grade. I won $43.70. I have not, as a result, taken early retirement.
On that still-not-rich note, here’s to 12 more posts in the next 25.5 hours. That’s less than one post every two hours. Easy peasy.
Prompt 4
(from Chapter 1: Time and Place):
What is your biggest regret from the past and why? What did you learn from this incident and how has it helped you going forward?
Answer:
My biggest regret from the past (I do not know my future regrets yet, what with them being in the future and all) is dropping out of school before finishing my university degree and being saddled with student loan debt and an incomplete education that required creative thinking to explain away on resumes (“A dragon ate my last two years of post-secondary.”) I learned that being saddled with student loan debt sucks and to never go to school again unless someone gives me a million dollars first.
[spoiler title=”Explanation of this exercise” icon=”plus-circle”]These are prompts featured in 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts, Volume 2 (Goodreads link). My intent is to write ultra-short stories that are no more than a few paragraphs long, working through the prompts in order. When I am done I will perhaps have a party of some sort.Sometimes the short stories will be longer and sometimes instead of a story I will answer the questions (most of the prompts are in the form of questions).[/spoiler]
Run 416
Average pace: 5:51/km
Location: Burnaby Lake CCW
Distance: 7.12 km
Time: 41:41
Weather: Sunny with some high cloud
Temp: 9-11ºC
Wind: low
BPM: 166
Stride: n/a
Weight: 167.7 pounds
Total distance to date: 3369
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6
A repeat of Friday’s run and the first time I’ve done multiple runs in a week all year, woo. The weather was nicer, with little wind and mostly sunny but still a bit on the chilly side. I wore my new long-sleeved running shirt (which is still much lighter than my old gray one, which is currently stinky and unwashed thanks to a broken washing machine) and it was a good call, at least on the walk to the lake.
Although the actual timing on the run was basically the same as Friday it felt better, with the last km not being “oh god please let it end.” I also switched back to the Hoka’s, which meant sacrificing another pair of socks. I need new socks, anyway. My left foot was grateful, though, and was remarkably well-behaved for the run. This, too, was a good call.
Despite primarily sunny skies I still encountered the worst weather while jogging–dogs. In this case it was one of those little dust mop dogs running around off-leash (shocking, I know). For reasons only it knows it veered from its side of the path and ran directly in front of mine. I had to put on the brakes to keep from stomping on it. Dear idiot who didn’t put his dog on a leash: This is why your dog should be on a leash, because dogs are dumb but humans are generally smarter. In this case it was more dumb and dumber. There were other holiday walkers out today and you can always tell them from people who regularly walk the trails because they will almost always fan out to block the entire path, then act surprised when they encounter other people who want to get by.It makes me long for the invention of the holodeck.
Overall, though, the run was fine. I felt decent and having a few days off instead of a week had no real effect on my performance.
And the bug? It hit my upper lip and bounced off, which is a good thing because that sucker was huge. It would have been a choking hazard.
Prompt 3
(from Chapter 1: Time and Place):
What past decade or century would you consider your favorite and why? Do you think you’d be happier living back then or in the present day and why?
Answer:
Let’s start by ruling out a few centuries, like those from four billion years ago when the world was all poison skies, seething oceans of acid and generally quite inhospitable to life*. I’m pretty sure I would not have preferred living back then because your life would be over in a few seconds.
I’ll also rule out eras like the Dark Ages for obvious reasons.
That still leaves plenty of decades and/or centuries to choose from, so I will narrow my focus further, to the last century. Surely there’s one decade from back then that would be totally awesome to live in versus today’s world of myopic politics, global warming and reality TV.
1900s: Not all of them, just the first ten years or the aughts as they call them. This decade saw the birth of powered flight, a pretty exciting development. Early powered flight mostly consisted of crashing and death, which dulls the excitement a little. I’m also pretty sure a lot of people still got scurvy and polio and died by age 30, just like in Logan’s Run. Pass.
1910s: I remember this decade for two things: The Titanic sinking and World War I. Pass.
1920s: A giddy, freewheeling era if you believe movies set in the 1920s. This was also the time of Prohibition but since I don’t drink booze that wouldn’t affect me. No TV would almost be a bonus. I’d consider this decade except I’d be afraid of getting shot by gangsters because they were everywhere, right?
1930s: Would you want to live in a decade known for something called The Great Depression? Neither would I.
1940s: World War II was a bigger but not better sequel. Pass.
1950s: Prosperity and the rise of the nuclear family. Radio, TV, movies, cars with gigantic fins and grilles. The birth of rock ‘n roll. It was a crazy, groovy time. Unless you weren’t white. Also not a particularly enlightened era. Pass.
1960s. A time of turmoil, war, assassinations, peace protests and moonshots. I actually lived in this era for the first six years of my life but didn’t particularly experience any of the aforementioned things. Would I want to as an adult? Maybe for a week, just out of curiosity.
1970s: I was there once already. Once was enough.
1980s: Where all the bad taste and terrible music of the 1970s continued, but with more synthesizers. I was an adult in the 80s so this doesn’t really count. That also rules out the 1990s.
In review, the last century sucked. We might have a lot of problems here in the early part of the 21st century but we also have electric cars, gay marriage and the ability to order anything–anything–online and have it delivered to your doorstep. The good outweighs the bad, at least for now.
My answer may change in ten years if Vancouver is fully submerged under the Pacific Ocean.
* this may not be an entirely accurate description but it nonetheless captures the essence of “you wouldn’t want to live here because you would actually die”
[spoiler title=”Explanation of this exercise” icon=”plus-circle”]I am using the prompts featured in 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts, Volume 2 (Goodreads link) to write ultra-short stories that are no more than a few paragraphs long. I will work through the prompts in order. After that, I will perhaps have a party of some sort.Sometimes instead of a story I will simply answer the questions (most of the prompts are in the form of questions).[/spoiler]
I find myself sitting at the computer. I am relaxed and at ease after a nice walk out on an early spring afternoon. I’m also a bit stinky because I walk like a hurricane and my deodorant apparently can’t keep up. My interview doppelganger will be called Dopple for short.
Dopple: Introduce yourself to the audience.
Me: I’m Creole Ned, just like it says in the title of this blog.
Dopple: That’s not your real name, though, is it?
Me: No. It’s all explained here.
Dopple: Can you provide a brief summary for people averse to clicking links?
Me: It’s a random name I made up for a gaming lobby back in the early-ish days of the Internet. I don’t have a particular love for creole food, it just seemed like a funny title to go with a nerdy-sounding name like Ned. The combination is also pretty rare. There aren’t a lot of Creole Neds out there.
Dopple: Does that make you feel special?
Me: Not really.
Dopple: Tell me a little about this blog.
Me: I started this blog back in February 2005 because it seemed like an interesting way to collect my thoughts into a journal that could be read by anyone with an Internet connection. In retrospect I’m not sure it was a good idea but fortunately very few people actually read it.
Dopple: Does it bother you that you don’t get many hits or views or whatever they call it when someone looks at your site?
Me: Sometimes it bugs me a little, but the blog has no real focus, so there’s no “hook” to lure people back, like funny pictures, a serialized story or high-quality porn. I mean, 462 posts are about jogging. Jogging is not interesting to read about (though I try to spice things up by swallowing bugs and injuring myself when I run). Do you know how many hits the site got on March 19th? None! There are about five hundred billion people on the Internet and no one came to this site on March 19th, not even by accident. Sometimes it gets a little depressing but the blog gives me a place to write lists, so there’s that.
Dopple: Tell me about lists.
Me: I love lists. I bought all those Book of Lists books when I was a kid. I used to devour the Guinness Book of World Records, which was really just a giant set of lists. Lists are easy and fun, two of my favorite things. However, lists don’t make for good discussion, which is why I don’t like lists on forums.
Dopple: Go on.
Me: Someone starts a thread, “Name your ten favorite movies featuring blimps” and every post is just a list like this:
There’s no actual discussion, it’s all just lists. You might get someone disputing Around the World in 80 Days because they used balloons, not blimps, but that’s about it. By the way, The Island at the Top of the World is one of those bonkers early 70s movies that came out of Disney when they didn’t know what the hell they were doing. It’s great. Or at least that’s the way my nine-year old self remembers it.
Dopple: Let’s talk about some of your other favorite things. What’s your favorite color?
Me: I used to say red but I’m partial to pink now, which is really just a lighter version of red. My favorite shade is probably deep pink, which has a solid sturdiness to it.
Dopple: Gay.
Me: Complete coincidence! Besides, assigning colors to gender or sexual orientation is dumb, so I’m doing my bit to help change that.
Dopple: That’s very progressive of you. What’s your favorite food?
Me: Anything with melted cheese on it.
Dopple: So liver with melted cheese?
Me: Yuck, no.
Dopple: So anything you like with melted cheese on it?
Me: Yes please.
Dopple: Who is your favorite author and why?
Me: This sounds lazy because he’s sold a trillion books, but Stephen King. Why? Because he writes so effortlessly. Even his bad stuff just rolls along. He doesn’t put up barriers, he invites the reader along for a ride. It may be a trip in a sedan along a quiet country road, it may be on a roller coaster that threatens to fly off the tracks on every corner. His characters breathe and feel real. He’s even managed a few good endings. I’ve almost forgiven him for It. Almost. But I also like a certain level of absurdity because in many ways I think life is absurd, and for that I find Douglas Adams scratched that itch. Then he died. David Wong (Jason Pargin) is pretty good at capturing an Americanized take on that absurdity, though.
Dopple: Do you read a lot?
Me: I’m not a fast reader but with my longish commute I manage around 32-36 books a year. I mostly read trash.
Dopple: Why do you read trash?
Me: Because I want, above all else, to be entertained. I’m not averse to learning about the human condition, man’s inhumanity to man and all that, but wrap it up in something that’s enjoyable to plow through. Plus I have always had a fondness for things like Bigfoot, UFOs, conspiracy theories and so on.
Dopple: Do you believe in all that nutty stuff?
Me: No. The conspiracy theory stuff, in particular, fascinates me because it shows how otherwise sane people can be led to believe ridiculous things. Look up “chemtrails” or “jet fuel doesn’t melt steel beams.” I’ll wait here.
Dopple: I’ll look them up later. What about Bigfoot?
Me: I think Bigfoot or something like it could be real. Woods are scary. And then there’s the ocean. We hardly know what’s going on way down there at points that are deeper than Mt. Everest is high. Sure, maybe it’s just a bunch of blind glow-in-the-dark shrimp, but it could also be The Great Old Ones biding their time before wiping us out, for all we know.
Dopple: Let’s shift gears a bit. Tell me about your hobbies.
Me: I like to draw. Well, I used to.
Dopple: Why did you stop?
Me: I’m not very good at it.
Dopple: Practice makes perfect!
Me: Lazy.
Dopple: I know you have a Wacom tablet…
Me: It’s gathering dust. I mean that literally. I found it the other day while looking for something. Caked with dust. This place is very dusty.
Dopple: You used to draw a lot as a kid.
Me: Yes, I did a lot of drawing through my teens and twenties. I made comics like The Ever Continuing Saga of the Round Balls, Bablee Duck, Angry Carrot and so on. I started scrawling with pencil crayons and ballpoint pens (tip: not the best tool for drawing), then moved to a Koalapad on a Commodore 64 and eventually a Wacom Bamboo tablet on PC. The tablets always felt awkward, like I was drawing by remote control. I can see why tablets with built-in screens like the Cintiq are popular with artists, even if most artists can’t actually afford them.
Dopple: You see the iPad Pro and it tempts you, doesn’t it?
Me: Maybe. Yes. Yes, it does. But I’m looking at something like $1500 to doodle for half an hour and then give up forever. It’s not a good investment. And I already have a Surface Pro 3 with pen. I’ve tried doodling on that and it didn’t take.
Dopple: But the iPad Pro is so much sexier…
Me: I’m not listening! This interview is over!
Dopple: Aw, come on, just a few more questions. We haven’t even talked about your writing or sexual preferences.
Me: Ho ho.
Dopple: So tell me about–
Me: Two more questions. Then I have to do something important, like check my garrison in World of Warcraft.
Dopple: That doesn’t sound important.
Me: Don’t judge me.
Dopple: Can we continue this interview later, then?
Me: I will permit that, yes.
Dopple: Very generous of you.
Me: I’m a generous guy, as you know.
Dopple: What’s the most private thing you’re willing to admit?
Me: Isn’t that a profile question from OK Cupid?
Dopple: Yes.
Me: It’s a dumb question.
Dopple: Indulge me.
Me: I wear socks when having sex.
Dopple: Ew.
Me: You asked.
Dopple: All the time?
Me: Is that the second question?
Dopple: No. How about this: Is the Apple Watch worth it?
Me: Not really. But I would hate to forget to put it on.
Dopple: How seemingly contradictory!
Me: That’s my motto.
That’s all we have time for today. Check out the second part of the interview where we learn more about growing up in Duncan, writing, singing and UFOs.
Run 415
Average pace: 5:52/km
Location: Burnaby Lake CCW
Distance: 7.02 km
Time: 41:13
Weather: Sun and cloud mix
Temp: 11ºC
Wind: low
BPM: 166
Stride: n/a
Weight: 167.7 pounds
Total distance to date: 3362
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6
The nicest thing about today’s run was the weather. There was some actual sun! When it wasn’t sunny it was still mild with little wind, so my choice to wear a short-sleeved shirt proved wise.
I bought a pair of Brooks Cascadia 11s and tried them out today. Unlike the Hoka’s they have a neutral stance, similar to the other trail runners I’ve had. At first they seemed fine, if a tiny bit snug, but more in that new shoe way than anything. After awhile my left foot started to hurt but it was in a way that felt different than the Hoka’s. The foot actually felt like it was going numb, the side effect of which was that it did not seem to hurt as much.
Unfortunately the numbness subsided and then it hurt more than the Hoka’s. Not enough to affect my pace, but enough to be noticeable. Worse, they failed the shoe lace test, with the right shoe coming untied with about 500 or so meters left in the run. If I really want to I can solve this with better laces or superglue or something.
The walk home the left foot felt initially worse but then, almost paradoxically, felt better as I continued to walk. As expected, there was no color bleeding on the shoes.
In the end I was a bit disappointed by the Brooks. I’ll try them again, but I’m thinking they may end up relegated to becoming street shoes like my last pair (which actually turned out to be very comfortable in a role they were not designed for).
The run itself found me feeling a bit tired, especially toward the end. My pace was a bit slower but only a touch, but I really wanted this run to end. I kept looking at my watch and you know what happens when you do that.
Heart rate was down slightly, though.
Overall this run was decent to middling. I didn’t feel like I made progress but neither did I feel like I back slid, either.
Oh, and the bug? Around a kilometer in I suddenly had this huge need to hack. Fortunately it didn’t persist but I’m pretty sure it was caused by the intake of a big, juicy bug. The sun has no doubt awakened a bunch from the numerous ponds dotting the edge of the trail. Also, the skunk cabbage was super-stinky today. It definitely motivates you to pick up the pace.
I’m going to stick to a specific naming convention for the prompts I use from Creative Writing Prompts, Volume 2, just to be neat ‘n tidy. You can see the format in the title of this very post. Exciting!
Prompt 2
(from Chapter 1: Time and Place):
What past memory do you cherish the most and why? If you could trade that memory for something amazing to happen in the future, would you do it? Why or why not?
Answer:
What do I look like, some incredible brainiac with a steel trap mind that remembers everything and forgets nothing? Did you know short term memory only lasts about 30 seconds and almost everything we take in is immediately discarded as useless junk and forgotten?
I can immediately think of some nice memories–the giddy sensation of vertigo riding a roller coaster on summer vacation, the giddy sensation of awesome sex when I was young and had enough energy to knock over trees, the giddy sensation of coloring inside the lines in grade two (there was one kid in my class who was seriously great at this, which is no mean feat in grade two; like any gifted artist, I imagine he grew up to be a heroin addict, alcoholic or reality TV show contestant) and the giddy sensation of being in a car that got clipped by another and spun off into a nearby ditch. Since I was dozing at the time (note: I was not driving), I was jostled awake, opened the car door and fell into the ditch. Even though I got to ride in an ambulance, the greatest injury I suffered was the indignity of getting out of a car and falling into a ditch. Come to think of it, that’s not really a memory I cherish so much as one I cannot forget.
But let’s pretend that was my most cherished memory ever. If I could trade it for something amazing happening in the future, would I do it? For this exercise I’ll assume the amazing thing is something that would happen to me specifically and not something like world peace or a sudden magic solution to global warming. The answer is yes, I would make that trade in an instant. Why? Because if I traded away the memory, I wouldn’t know it was gone–otherwise it would still be a memory–and I’d have something amazing happen in its place, like developing telekinesis, knowing all the winning lottery numbers, or once again having the energy to knock over trees.
[spoiler title=”Explanation of this exercise” icon=”plus-circle”]I am using the prompts featured in 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts, Volume 2 (Goodreads link) to write ultra-short stories that are no more than a few paragraphs long. I will work through the prompts in order. After that, I will perhaps have a party of some sort.Sometimes instead of a story I will simply answer the questions (most of the prompts are in the form of questions).[/spoiler]
Previously I had vowed to do all 1,000 prompts featured in 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts, Volume 2. I stopped after, well, the first prompt. I found most of the prompts didn’t lend themselves to fiction, being more journal-style exercises. I don’t need ideas for a journal. I have plenty of things I can prattle on about or cat pictures to link to.
But then I found the writing prompt well running dry. A sense of desperation swept over me, like someone with a giant broom doing some serious sweeping on top of me and instead of sweeping up dust or dirt this giant broom was sweeping desperation and instead of sweeping the desperation away it was, in fact, sweeping the desperation directly atop me..
Anyway, I’ve decided I’m going to work through the remaining 999 writing prompts because if a prompt doesn’t suit my needs I will take creative license and make it suit my needs. I’ll show those prompts who’s boss.
I predict a lot of nonsense.
For reference, here is the first writing prompt from the book: Writing prompt 1: Inevitable time travel and my intended goal, which I dropped like a rabid rattlesnake back in April 2015:
Specifically, I am going to use the prompts featured in 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts, Volume 2 (Goodreads link) to write ultra-short stories that are no more than a few paragraphs long. I will work through the prompts in order, one per day. After that, I will perhaps have a party of some sort.
Sometimes instead of a story I will simply answer the questions (most of the prompts are in the form of questions).
I will start on the second writing prompt (which will confusingly appear as writing prompt #9 here) tomorrow. Or else.
Today is the first day of spring (2016 edition). As such I have a few requests to make of Mother Nature regarding this season of growth and renewal:
#3 has already been a bust as today it rained buckets. Well, it rained rain, but the amount was copious. We’re set for the rest of the month, I’m pretty sure. NO MORE.
On the plus side, no major earthquakes or storms today, either, so I’m calling the first day of spring a draw.