This update is a little later than usual since I was busy writing a new story yesterday. Usually I write a new one every Friday or Saturday, but I was a couple of days past my deadline thanks to the weekend's festivities.

Once again, the new story (The Boatman) was built around the crit group's Weekly Word for this week. I was going to write one for last week's word instead, but that idea seemed bigger than I could write in a flash piece, and I still needed to figure a few things out (that one's next on the list, however). The new one was supposed to be a flash piece, but it ended up turning into a short story and took me longer to write, too. I guess there's no arguing with how these things turn out, except during the editing phase...

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On Friday night the circus came to town, and that was a lot of fun. This one was the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Hometown edition, and took place in the local arena where hockey games and concerts are typically held. I'd never been to a circus before, so it was quite an experience :)

On Saturday we went to the movies, did some shopping and had dinner at the Steak and Shake. On Sunday we didn't do much, although I did catch a movie based on an Australian outlaw called Ned Kelly. This was the original one starring Mick Jagger, and not the newer 2003 version with Heath Ledger.

I first saw it in a high-school history lesson, and thought it was a decent enough movie. The folk ballads that frequently played in the background got a little trying at times, however. Incidentally I've also been to the Ned Kelly museum in the town of Glenrowan in Victoria, Australia. That's worth a visit if you're ever down that way.

We saw Troy on Saturday, which I thought was rather good, but it could've been better. The cinematography was rather unspectacular, the acting of a few left much to be desired (Brad Pitt was so-so, and Orlando Bloom was poor, in my opinion), and the movie just felt long (other epics of similar length have kept me absorbed for the duration).

I haven't read The Iliad yet so I can't comment on how it compares, but I imagine they made changes for pacing purposes and to simplify things. Still, I don't think it's as bad as the critics painted it. It's worth a look if you like big epics or you're a fan of any of the actors :)

2004 Stats:

2004 Word count:	16,107
Stories written:	7
Total submissions:	16
Total acceptances:	0
Total rejections:	13
Waiting for response:	5
Books read:	7
Fiction Mags/Chapbooks read:	11