The Walker Estate

Let’s be honest.  I haven’t posted anything here for the past month.  For May, I want to try to keep my commitment to this site.  I will start with posting Project Fountain, so look for it very soon.

And yes.  I said soon, so it won’t be another month.  I promise!

Okay.  I lied.  I didn’t start writing Project Fountain.

That would be far from the truth, because I did more than start on it.  I finished it!

So look for this story in the not so distant future.  I plan on releasing the story, but I haven’t decided how I want to divide it.

I have also been reading Tricia McDonald’s Quit Whining Start Writing.  I’ll have a book review on it when I’m finished reading it.

Until then, make yourself at home here!

Oh, and one last thing.  In case you haven’t figured it out, the entry on April Fool’s Day was a joke.  Just click and highlight the invisible text underneath the “ending”.

And according to that hidden message, this update was one week overdue!  Sorry!

I’m sorry.  But the words just aren’t coming to me.  Call it writer’s block in its worst case.

Sure, I used to write a lot, but that I was then.  Looking at my past work, I’m nowhere near where I used to be.  I was clever, witty and was real effective in plot development.

I’ll say it now.  I’m done with writing.  This site will go on, but it will take a different direction than where I intended it to go.

As for my progress on Project Fountain, there really isn’t any at all.  I quit the project and discarded it.  It was a stupid story idea to begin with.

For tomorrow, it’s back to the grind.  I’ll let you know later what I decide to do to the website….

I have one other thing to say about that:

APRIL FOOLS!

Check back tomorrow for a real update on my story….

That book review will be out Sunday.  I’ve been busy today.

Just hang in there…..

Have a nice Friday!

As a start to this, I will be posting a book review to Life With Sally: Little White Dog Tails, by Tricia McDonald.  This will be up in the next day or two, so stay tuned!

Also, there will be more updates on Project Fountain on the way so make yourself comfortable here!

In update news,  I am very pleased to say that my latest short story, “Project Fountain” is moving right along.  I decided on this title instead of “The Infinity Code”, because I feel that fits the story a lot better.

With that update done,  I now have plenty of π for everyone.  In honor of π Day, I encourage all of you to help yourself to the π.  Click below and enjoy!

Happy Pi Day!  I hope that was enough for everyone….

That’s right.  For those of you who are not aware, today is a day dedicated to the mustachioed hero we all know and love:  Mario.

So why is today dedicated to Mario?  To answer that question, all you have to do is look at today’s date.  Today is March 10th.  In knowing that, MAR10 = Mario, hence the reason we have Mario Day.

Okey Dokey! As for this special day, what you do on it is up to you.  You can dress like Mario, talk like Mario, play Mario-related video games, watch the Super Mario Bros. movie (if you dare), play Mario Monopoly, or anything else Mario-related.  Whatever it is, just remember to observe the most famous character in video game history.

Thank you so much for reading my entry!  Bye bye!

Fortunately, a hiatus from gaming, but certainly not from writing.

Indeed this is just another update, but rest assured.  There will be more progress soon.

Until then, have a nice Friday!

Did I say pen?  I actually meant to say “keyboard”, but that word doesn’t work very well in this context and there wouldn’t be any alliteration.  Anyways, I digress.

Getting to the heart of the matter, writers really have their odds stacked against them.  Their chances at success are very little, if any at all.  Even if I were to write something good,  That in itself would only satisfy the status quo.  Tens of thousands of writers can write something good, leaving only a very small number capable of writing something great.

This is where great divide begins.  The bottomless chasm that separates “good” writers from “great” writers.  “Great” writers can actually make a living writing novels and going on book tours.  “Good” writers need to keep their day job.  They amass a portfolio of various writings and continually perfect their novel, in hopeful expectation that their work will be published someday.  They want to be next in line, joining the ranks with all the other “great” writers of the world.

So where do I stand?  I consider myself a “good” writer, with “good” taking on the role as my mortal enemy.  Good is not good enough, so I exhaust all my efforts to best it until it is conquered.  When good is defeated, good becomes great.  It is a rather idealistic goal, but one that is seemingly impossible at the moment.  Good has been tough to master, and I have been wrestling it for a long time.

But hope springs eternal.  A faint glint of hope is clearly visible by those who embrace optimism and are unwilling to let it go.  This hope is given to us by God.  This is what I believe, and I’m not ashamed to say it.  Whether you accept it or reject it, that is up to you.

In grasping this hope, I will continue battling good until I rise above it.  When good becomes great,  maybe then I can pave a brighter future.  A future filled with better things.

I don’t know if I have mentioned it on this site, so I’ll mention it now.

Recently, I have expressed an interest in having my own pizza business.  Upon recent research, however, I guess I’m going to have to kiss that dream goodbye.

With pizza being a $30 billion a year business, there is no such thing as too many pizza stores.  The trick, however, is finding a franchise that your area doesn’t have yet.

Enter Papa Murphy’s Pizza.  This chain is unique, in that it prepares the pizza for you.  From there, you take the pizza home and bake it yourself.

When I looked up the franchise information to start one of these stores, my dreams flew out the window.  It would cost $200,000-$400,000 to start a franchise.  To put things in perspective, my bank account doesn’t even have a comma yet.  The only way to make this kind of money would be to win the lottery, or have the salary of an experienced brain surgeon, dentist or attorney.

And that’s only half of the obstacle.  The other half is actually having managerial experience.  While I’m proficient at making pizzas, I have not become manager yet.  I could work on that and get there eventually, but that still wouldn’t be enough to actually have the money to start a franchise of this scale.  It’s like the old saying goes: “you have to spend money to make money”.  In this case, I would have to spend a lot to even get started.

So kiss that dream goodbye.  Forget I even mentioned it.  With that, I will just go back to writing – something that I’m actually somewhat decent at.

To answer this question, the short story isn’t finished yet.

You see, the Artist is distracted right now.  He’s desperately searching for his muse.  When he finds it, I will let you know.

Until then, you will just have to wait for him to finish it.  He will, soon enough.

Just be patient, and make yourself at home here.  The Artist will be back soon….

For a lot of places, it seems like today was a snow day.

Because of this, the same thing can be said here.  The Walker Estate is having a snow day.

I will see you back on Monday.  Have a nice weekend!

Having read Lord of the Rings in its entirety, I have always wondered where J.R.R. Tolkien’s world came from.

After reading the beginning of The Silmarillion,  I have a much better understanding of this now.  The amazing world that Tolkien created is clearly outlined in a letter that he wrote to Milton Waldman in 1951.  While the original handwritten letter was lost,  the son,  Christopher Tolkien was able to find the typewritten copy that was sent back to Tolkien.  While the typescript contained several errors, including omitted sentences,  I was still able to get a clear understanding of the world that Tolkien was attempting to describe to Milton.

Tolkien started by mentioning that he was unable to provide Milton with a brief sketch of his work,  as it would be difficult for Tolkien “to say anything without saying too much”.

To summarize, Tolkien mentioned how the work began with him, and how he became fascinated with languages.

He then went on to mention how each region had their own lore, and believed that England had nothing unique to offer besides the world of King Arthur.

After this, Tolkien outlined how his world is concerned with three principles – Fall, Morality and the Machine.  With Fall, Tolkien mentions that this motive happens several times.  He then goes into Morality, mentioning how this provides various opportunities of ‘Fall’.

For the Machine (or Magic), he explains the two different kinds of uses of it.  One kind was used by enemies for domination.  The other use was by the Elves for art.

To further summarize,  Tolkien outlined the creation of his world.  The Music of the Ainur created the cycles (or ages).  God and the Valar (or gods) were revealed.

In going through the cycles, the First Age dealt with the three Silmarilli.  These were the jewels that contained the imprisoned light of Valinor (the dwelling place of the gods).  In making a long story short, these jewels were lost forever to the Elves.  One in the sea, one deep in the earth, and one becoming a star of heaven.

The Second Age dealt with the Rings of Power and the loss of the One Ring.  Sauron, a being of Valinor joined the service of the Enemy, becoming his chief captain and servant.  After the First Enemy was defeated, he remained in Middle-earth.  In his deception,  he persuaded the Elves to help him restore the desolate lands, making it look like Valinor.  With Sauron’s lore, they made the Rings of Power.  Sauron secretly made the One Ring, a ring that contained the powers of all the other rings that were made, and was capable of controlling all the other rings. The wearer of this Ring could enslave all the other bearers.  To cut to the end, Isildur cuts the ring from Sauron’s hand and later drowns in the Great River with it.

The Third Age deals with with the finding of the One Ring and the destruction of it.  This matter is not discussed in Tolkien’s letter, but is explained in full detail in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.  Tolkien’s letter ends with him explaining how the Second Age ends.

Having read that letter in The Silmarillion, I now have a richer understanding of Tolkien’s world.  I provided a brief summary, omitting the details that I considered to be unnecessary.  If you want all the details, I suggest that you read The Silmarillion.  It shows Tolkien’s World from the beginning, and the motives that drove him to create it.

With that being a brief overview of The Silmarillion, I will now begin with Ainulindalë (The Music of the Ainur).  I will give you my thoughts on it once I finish it.

Until then, make yourself at home here.

For starters, I will try extra hard to have regular updates.  I will be continuing on the Silmarillion, and will let you know what I think as I read it.

There will also be updates on “The Infinity Code” (title yet to be renamed) and “The Masters Chronicles”.  While I can’t show you any more new chapters from “The Master’s Chronicles”,  I can give you some information about the story so far.  Nothing heavily plot based, as I don’t want to spoil any more of the story.

The gears are turning, so don’t worry.  Until then, stay tuned.

That, however, is no excuse not to update this wonderful Estate every once in a while.

Updates on The Master’s Chronicles and the Infinity Code (or whatever I decide to rename it) will be up soon.

Until then, make yourself at home here.  It still has that freshly renovated smell.  Enjoy it while it lasts….

Have you ever been given an impossible task?  From the beginning, your expectations on the task are positive.  You can do this.  It doesn’t seem so bad….

But after a while, the challenge rears its ugly head at you.  You have failed many times and have not succeeded.  With this many failures, it would bring you to the very edge of insanity.

Well, maybe.  It really depends on who you are.  We all look at achievements differently.  Some of us feel indifferent about our performance.  Some of us take succeeding quite seriously.  Even some of us take succeeding a little too seriously.

For everyone who is on the higher end of the spectrum,  it is actually a rather positive thing to never give up.  The challenge then, is the kind of attitude that is used to pursue that challenge.  Though it may feel like the goal may take an eternity to accomplish,  grind right through it.  If you are able to grind through eternity, the goal is clearly visible and within sight.

Grinding through eternity can apply to serious goals as well as trivial ones.

Who am I kidding?  Grinding through eternity is just a fancy way of saying “never give up”.  On Sunday night, there was a goal that I was trying to achieve on my game.  It seemed impossible.  From the beginning, my expectations on completing the goal were positive.

But after a while, I saw the true challenge.  I failed many times and didn’t succeed.  I was driven to the very edge of insanity.

In spite of this, I never gave up.  Although it felt like it took forever, I grinded through eternity and I won.  I may not have won every race, but it was how I finished that got me the victory.

Upon writing this, I have learned a new lesson:  don’t over analyze everything, especially when you’re playing Mario Kart Wii on a Sunday night.

When someone introduces themselves, they usually give you their name.  For some people, it is an exchange of friendship.  For others, they want to know their name for purely selfish reasons.

Now why would these people want to know their name?  Well, by doing this, knowing their name gives them power and influence over that person.

In the case of the movie Spirited Away,  Chihiro gave Yubaba her name when she was signing her work contract.  Once Yubaba got her name, she was able to have influence over her.  In doing this, she took most of her name, leaving the first character in it.  With that, her new identity was “Sen”.

With that, names are important.  They define who we are and we give them to people that we trust.  I take names seriously with my relationships with people, and when I go about creating new names for characters in my stories.  In going through this process, I want to ensure that I give them the right name.  One that defines who they are.

So the next time someone asks for your name, carefully examine who they are.  Is it someone you know?  Someone you can trust?  If so, then tell them.

Just to let you know, this process of introspective thinking came to me while I was watching this wonderful movie.  Spirited Away is my favorite Miyazaki film, and the  first of his films that I have seen.  (The first time I saw it was at least eight years ago.)

In related news, I have not forgot about The Infinity Code.  I have been a little busy, but will definitely get back to it.

Until then, make yourself at home here.  You know the name of this place, don’t you?  Of course you do, because I’m sharing my various thoughts and stories.  There’s plenty more to see, too.  Remain warm by the fireplace and stay tuned.