My Short Story

I started from my reverie, and the horse twitched under me. We had been going at a slow plod for several days, and the prairie was utterly unchanged. The sky had been an overcast grey blur for hours, and I had been staring at the long, muscled neck of my horse for lack of interesting scenery.

I looked around, and was startled to see that the sun was setting to the west. It was a brighter spot behind the clouds. The clouds had changed as well. Looking to the right, I could still see the featureless grey roof, but directly above were higher, lighter shapes. My mood lightened as I watched the stringy, fluffy bits of cloud wrap themselves around each other. They were bright streaks of almost pure white, next to long inverted valleys of dark inner-cloud. It looked like a giant cat had swiped repeatedly at the sky, and left the clouds torn and roiling. There were occasional patches of blue peeking through the cover, and they became more and more frequent as I looked west, where the sun was setting.

The sun flared briefly through an opening in the cloud, but was covered quickly. The sky was a deep, dark orange settling slowly into pink; the clouds caught the dying light and played with it, bouncing it at each other even as it died.

It was twilight. I unsaddled the tired horse, and tossed my bedroll to the ground. The clouds were still clearing. I was tired from the day’s ride, but I couldn’t bring myself to sleep. Stars began peeking out of the deep, almost black sky. They grew stronger, and the cloud grew sparser, as the sky lost the last of its color. Bits of fluffy cloud still stifled many stars, but I could make out parts of glittering constellations. The twinkling little diamonds sat there in their bed of velvet, little prizes that no jeweler could match.

I looked for the moon, but it was still obscured by the mass of cloud to the east. I would see it tomorrow, I mused, as the clouds lazily departed. I fell to sleep.

Dawn found me before I found it. As I rose the sky was already brightening. The stars were giving up ground unwillingly, but soon they admitted defeat as the blue haze reasserted its position. The clouds today were light, wispy horsetails, still high, but this time they seemed aloof.

I looked around at the grass. It was dark, and it was hard to see the hidden depths at the roots. The dark, lush greens seemed inviting to my horse, which was nuzzling around in a particularly thick patch of it.

The high clouds were already brightly shining in the sunlight, but the sun itself was still not visible. I watched as the dark blue of the sky lightened to an enchanting grey. Light crept up from the depths of the distant horizon, and I watched the advancing line of sunlight sweep inexorably toward me. The first sliver of sun became visible as I swung my leg over the saddle, and I stopped to watch its entrance.

It grew on the horizon; growing there like the most dazzling blossom this prairie had ever produced. The sky around was a bright, almost white, blue, darkening as I looked west. The roof that had shut the sky for most of yesterday was nowhere to be seen, but the last of the stirring, streaked texture greeted the sun enthusiastically. In reds and pinks slowly growing to orange, the clouds set as the sun rose above them.

I watched the sky around for several minutes more, but my horse recovered before I did, and nudged my leg. It was time to go.

Writing Visual

Lately I've been asked to write a short story that "paints a picture" in the reader's mind. This is in my Language Arts class, and it is due next Thursday.

We had just finished reading another short story that very graphically describes a sex scene. It was called "the storm" and was about an adventurous Cajun housewife that takes an old flame into her home while her husband and child are sheltered in a store down the road.

The "visual" part was during the sex scene, as you may have guessed. We speed-read the story in class, and discussed writing in a visual fashion.

Next it was our turn. We were told to write a short story that is very visually oriented. I had a hard time coming up with something that would work as a "visual" piece, but finally I landed on something that no one would associate with sex, or with women.

I had made it my mission, you see, to make something very much distinct from the theme of the short story we read in class. I was frankly disturbed by the piece of what could certainly be classified as "porno" that we were reading in that class, so my story was going to depart as far as possible from that model.

My subject, cliché though it was, was a sunset; with subsequent sunrise. Speaking in visual terms, it is an excellent starting point for your "visual" story, that is no doubt why it is such an obvious cliché.

Above is the story I finally hammered out, if you wish to bother yourself with reading it.

The Origins of Alcazabedabra

I thought I ought to explain how I came up with this wacky name I use online. It has become the name I use the most online, and if you see it anywhere again, it will be because of me.

The name is valuable because it is unique. When I encountered it, it was in the James Clavell novel, Tai-Pan. A certain intriguing character named Aristotle Quance uttered it. He was a painter, painting a portrait of a young girl, when he exclaimed "By the beard of Alcazabedabra!". When the girl asked who or what "Alcazabedabra" was, Quance told her that he was an old freind of his, a bearded freind that watched over painters and "little girls like you."

I don't know exactly what Alcazabedabra is, but the name was so unique that I found myself memorizing it and its spelling.

Since then I've used it everywhere and for everything. I use it as a username in online games, I use it for this blog, and I use it in my email addresses (hence, Alcazabedabra@gmail.com).

I doubt Clavell minds my use of the name, I've never had the chance to ask him. In any case, I've made the name my own.

Thank God It's Friday

TGIF, everybody!

My blog has survived to its first Friday already.

Let's get off of the clan subject, I have a separate blog for that.

Did anyone see George Bush's speech yesterday? I didn't. I've seen some of the transcript, but I never listened to him speak. Mostly that was because Presidential speeches nowadays are mostly for the benefit of the press and the masses. Most of Bush's speeches have been a giant collection of sound bytes for the news and talk radio and such.

A president's intentions are much more easily read by his actions, anyway. Look at what actions he's taken, and see if you agree with those. I never really approved of Bush, but to be honest, I liked Kerry a lot less. I'm very glad that Kerry is somewhat out of the picture.

I have a clan blog, now.

As far as I know, no one has even seen my page, let alone taken me up on the clan idea.

If there is someone out there reading this post, comment on it! i'd like to know if I have readers at all.

Anyway, how does one get a blog noticed without spending any money? And, who do you contact about it?

Visit my new clan blog at http://alcazmc.blogspot.com

Make comments there if the clan idea makes you laugh, or intrigues or interests you.

I'm desperate for attention. COMMENT! I would simply LOVE the feedback.

Any takers on the clan idea?

All of a sudden, I can't help but be pleased at the thought of having an open-ended, entirely non-clannish clan. No obligations, no fancy site, just a blog, maybe a small, simple site later...

And no specific game to attach it to.

And you get the benefit of the cute little [AMC] tag that says "yeah, that's right! i'm in a clan!". for all of you gamers out there that never liked clans, this is the clan for you.

My Email Adresses

I have three email adresses.

My hotmail account - don't use this one, it is my repository for spam
Alcazabedabra@hotmail.com

My gmail accounts, use the first one, the second is just extra
Kl.Bear@gmail.com
Thegrizzlybear@gmail.com

If you are actually interested in my sorta half-clan, you can email me at
Alcazabedabra@gmail.com

Clans - thoughts

I have seen the secret underground culture that is -- WC3 clans.

What is it with the clans? you find clans in every game you play, but what does being in a clan do for you? as far as I can tell, nothing much.

There is a clan ladder, ranking within the damn clan, all kinds of clan BS that really doesn't mean anything other than the fact that you take the game WAY more seriously than you EVER should.

I consider myself an avid video game player -- but I just cannot see the logic in getting involved in some kind of group that just wants you to spend even more time on the game than you ever do, and be more competitive about it than you already are!

So, you clans out there, have you ever thought about how much time you are spending on these games? Counter-Strike, Warcraft 3, America's Army, leasing servers, putting up clan websites, and playing for more hours every week than you probably spend working?

I am not, have (almost) never been, and will probably never be a member of a "clan", and I really enjoy the wide scope of games that I play! Someday i'm gonna start an all-purpose clan for people who hate to be obligated to clans. It'll be called Alcazabedabra's Motley Crew, and anyone who wants to be part of it can just add the prefix [AMC] to the beginning of their net names, and call yourselves a clan.

Email me if you have thoughts, but otherwise just leave me alone and enjoy being in a clan.

My First-Ever Post

Since this is my first-ever post on my first-ever blog, I'll just mention a few websites that I find amusing, and leave the rest for later (baby-steps).
First, ebaumsworld.com is an immensely popular, incredibly funny media source that is FREE, infested with the worst advertising gimmicks known to man, and always worth a visit.
Well, now. That wasn't too hard.
Also, if you're into console emulators, you might try checking out emuparadise.org, which is about the only site that offers roms without forcing you to "vote" for their site. However, please observe the copyright laws. After downloading a rom, you HAVE to delete it after 24 hours unless you already own the game.
Alright, I think i've got a good start here. Cya next post...?