One Down

            One month of summer is already gone. Why is it that time seems to move faster outside of the semester? I’ve still got plenty of work to do. Fortunately, I can say that I have chalked off plenty on my to-do list, but there’s more to go. Well, back to it.

M3 Eternal Athena

            Athena, like most of the Greek gods, reveals herself to have some complexity. Being the goddess of wisdom does not gain her automatic entry into sainthood. She has her moments, as we saw with Arachne.

            For one thing, Athena is very competitive. Even barring Ovid’s version of the Arachne story with its direct contest, Athena judges Arachne as if in competition. Athena bests Poseidon to win Athens. She competes against both Hera and Aphrodite in a beauty contest. The aftermath of that contest becomes the Trojan War, where she, in a symbolic fight against Ares, demonstrates that she is more skilled in battle than he is. Her involvement in the fights of heroes, to have them triumph is also part of her competitive nature. She not only wants to win, she needs to win.

F3 Customer Service . . . Again

            I was almost out of patience listening to the muzak on the phone, but it did finally give way to a person.

            “Thank you for calling Milpack Customer Service. My name is Debbie, how can I help you?”

            “Yeah. I need to send my backpack in for some repair.”

            “Can I have your name, sir?”

            “Reilly Hawkins.”

            “H-A-W-K-I-N-S?”

            “Yep.”

            “I see you have two of our backpacks. Is this the charcoal or the navy?”

            “The navy.”

            “I see. Can you describe the damage? It might be covered under our warranty.”

            “Heh, doubt it. So there’s this real douchebag takes a disliking to me. A Hothead who was showing off with his flamethrower, and he got it too close to my pack. Entire front is roasted, almost gone.”

Re-shifting Focus

            It’s hard devoting myself to my own projects. I struggle every week, going back and forth. I’ve got this ever-present threat of the semester looming, and part of me wants to work on it, to cross it off the list. Another part of me still can’t bear to face it, so I only cross off simple stuff instead of working on the meat of it.

            I think I can finally put it aside until August, putting my own projects front and center, which is where they should be. I’ve got a lot to do, and I actually want to get this stuff done. I feel like I’ve been away from it for too long.

M3 Arachne: Athena's Jealousy

            The story of Arachne tells the origin of spiders, and is a story that only gets more tragic the more I read it. It also shows a disturbing side of Athena, who, up until now, has been an admirable goddess. Full of wisdom, the inspiration and protector of heroes, on the surface she seems ideal in every way. Her ability to get the best of Poseidon is not a trick, but a reflection of who she is. With the story of Arachne, though, we begin to see another side to her.

F3 Date with a Storm Rider

            I was apprehensive as Kate and I sat down. I had never been to Ben BBQ Boulevard, probably because it was in Wyoming. Of course, that was only a few terrifying, life-screaming minutes away as Kate hauled me behind her as she lassoed a lightning bolt.

Dust

            I’ve been planning some overhaul to this site for a while, never getting very far with it, but that ends, now. I’ll be tinkering with the site all summer, trying to decide, exactly what kind of look it’s going to be. I’m also flirting with another website, focused solely on providing a service for authors, but I might just fold that into this site for the time being. Keeping things separate might be good, but then it might hearten other authors to know that an author can design and implement a website independent of paid templates and services.

            Anyway, excuse the digital dust as I play with some things.

M3 Athena's Birth and Nature

            Athena is a favorite of many people, and it’s not hard to see why. She’s the goddess of wisdom, crafts, and battle strategy. She can kick some serious butt all on her own, but she’s also the patron of heroes. Perseus, Odysseus, Diomedes, and other heroes frequently receive her aid as they go about trying to make the world a better place. But she’s more than just her titles. She has layers of personality and complexity. So let’s get to it.

            Most people are probably familiar with the basics of Athena’s birth. Zeus had a splitting headache, so they decided to actually cut into his head. Athena flew out, fully grown and armored. But this is only part of the story, a story which reveals a lot more about both Athena and Zeus. So, we go backwards, when Zeus found out about a prophecy. His son by the goddess Metis would one day overthrow him.

F3 The Fight for More Funding

            Virginia Meyer scrunched her forehead as she pored over the pages, feeling a migraine whenever she tried to understand the words. Next to her, Terry Sandhurst, the Chairman of their committee, did the same. Finally, she closed the 300 page proposal for Frontier.

            “Just tell us, Jim, why do you need a second Argo launch?”

Summer of Productivity

            The semester is well and truly behind me. Thank goodness. Now I can focus on my projects, and I’ve got a full plate to work on. A good chunk of this is going to be evaluating my own productivity and setting up new habits that will carry on even after the semester begins.

            I recall a time when I was able to teach 4 classes, write 1000+ words a day, and keep up with my blogging. I should be able to do it now.

            Part of this will be reevaluating how I grade, how much I grade, and how to reserve time for my projects. But I will be finishing at least one manuscript this summer, hopefully, two, and work on some websites, as well.

M3 Knowledge Myths: Norse: Odin's Quest

            The majority of knowledge myths detail how mankind comes by knowledge, always at some price. The gods, or God, has knowledge already, but mankind is completely ignorant. The Norse, however, have a knowledge myth where the gods seek out knowledge.

            We begin with Odin, who knows about Ragnarok, which will destroy not just the world, but all of the gods as well. This is fated to be. It will happen. No one can change that, not even the gods. However, Ragnarok doesn’t have a set tour date. It can be postponed. And that is Odin’s quest.

F3 Frontier Specs

            “What do you mean it’s bigger, now?” Jim Macomber scratched irritably at his grey beard. “We don’t have the budget for bigger. Frontier is already pushing the boundaries of everything we’ve got. We already scrapped Icarus to merge it into Frontier by using the gravity engine. Bigger means more mass, more mass means more fuel, and . . . you know this already. The elevator won’t be done for ten more years, and you don’t want to wait on this.”

The Next Adventure

            I’m going to Phoenix Comicon this week to fully indulge in my geekiness. I already indulged my gamer side with PAXEast, and now my comic book geek is going to take center stage.

            This could be an opportunity for me in other ways as I see there is a panel on mythology and folklore. Perhaps I can begin expanding my horizons to speak not just at writer’s conferences, but these events. I will be making some inquiries to be sure.