iPod Essentials #84: "I'm Only Sleeping"--The Beatles

Revolver marked a turn in the Beatles music. The band began to experiment with ethnic instrumentation and complex melodies. This track is no exception. It features a sitar and John lamenting about being busy, when he only wants to sleep, daydream, or mentally chill.

Fire: It's an Early Morning Wake-up Call

When the phone rang at 5:36 a.m. on Wednesday, September 24, I immediately thought, Who died? No deaths other than the school day at Moorpark College. The Ventura County College District's Emergency Alert System was in full swing on my landline and cell phone.

The Guiberson Fire was burning hills way above the campus, so officials thought it best not to take chances. Can't blame them. Evacuating a campus of 11,000 students and about 1,500 staff and faculty would be a difficult task.

My department chair, in fact, never even got notified by the Emergency Alert System. She drove all the way to campus from Newbury Park and had to turn around again.

Since I don't teach at Moorpark on Wednesday, it was business as usual for me at Pierce College. Because of the calm winds, I knew the fire would never reach the campus, unlike the frightening situation back in 2003. The Simi Hills Fire stopped across the street from campus. Very close. For the rest of that fall semester, the smoky smell always reeked the air.

Regardless, fire is common around Southern California. We learn to live with it. At least no home or lives have not been lost this time, but many citrus and avocado orchards have. Not good for several local farmers.

Oddly, neither my students nor I received messages that the campus would reopen on Thursday. That bothered us. Apparently, that news wasn't worth a wake-up call.

Adding Widgets

Adding widgets to one's website or blog should not be impossible. The instructions seem easy, as they too often do. But do the writers of the instructions physically test out their directions? I think not.

Technology should be reliable and simple. After all, it's how we all communicate nowadays. In a way, it's sad that we have to rely on widgets to get recognition for blogs and websites.

Thanks for all my FB friends for confirming that I am the author of THE FREQUENT HOWLER. Wishing you all working widgets.

Silence

I have five query letters out to search for a new agent, yet I have heard nothing from the agents themselves. Granted, it's harder now more than ever to find a quality agent because so many are not taking on new clients due to the weak economy and publishing perils. Writers must persist to realize their dreams and goals.

This silence, however, is deafening.

iPod Essentials #83: "Photograph"--Ringo Starr

Okay, it's not a Beatles song, but I don't like any of Ringo's Beatles tunes. This is the only song of his I like, in fact. It fits his limited vocal range, and his voice fits the song: "Every time I see your face, it reminds me of the places we used to go." Lost love though told in an upbeat way.

iPod Essentials #82: "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"--The Beatles

I know--The Beatles aren't on iTunes yet. Even so, in honor of the Beatles Rock Band game, these next four selections will be dedicated to the Fab Four.

First comes my pick from George Harrison. This lovely but sad ballad was written toward the end of the Beatles' reign. It's complex yet simple. Full of contradictions like Harrison himself. Great guitarwork toward the end of the song; it almost sounds as though the guitar is actually weeping.

Agent Anguish

Yesterday in my e-mail account, I received something I feared: a rejection from my #1 choice for a new literary agent. The killer was that she really liked my manuscript, liked the dialogue and characters. She loved the premise and the writing. "You have a wonderful imagination," she wrote in my rejection. She just wasn't passionate about the work to take me on as a client.

This is the second letter from an agent that has told me something similiar. If my manuscript is so wonderful, why can't I find an agent who is as enthusiastic as me? Why aren't agents passionate about the tale involving my young protagonist? Terribly frustrating. I've put two years into seven drafts of this novel. By far, it's my best work. But being an agent is a subjective thing.

I have to buck up and believe that there will be my perfect agent match. WRITER'S DIGEST says that there are 1,300 literary agents in the U.S. One of them has to be right for me. Until then, the e-query process will continue.

iPod Essentials #81: "Moments of Love"--Art of Noise

Another ahhhh selection. I'm glad the Weather Channel is playing part of this New Wave song during its Local on the 8's segement. Slow and sexy, this instrumental deals with love and its sensuality. It reminds us all to chill, act slowly, and love the act of love.

It's a shame that in-band bickering lead to its demise. Art of Noise was one of the first bands to use a Fairlight, and its sounds were certainly unique back in the mid 80's.