Pumpkin Seeds: Final Notes on the Election Edition

1. Bush won 51% of the popular vote, the first majority victory in a presidential election since his father beat Dukakis in 1988. 2. Bush won 31 states to Kerry's 19. 3. Bush won 11 states with more than 60% of the vote, and another 4 with more than 59% of the vote. 4. Kerry won only one state (Massachussetts) with more than 60% of the vote, and another 2 with more than 59% of the vote. [NOTE: He also won Washington, DC with 89.5% of the vote.] 5. Democrats that are busy debating whether or not Bush can claim…

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NaNoWriMo 2004 Word Count, Day 7

With this entry, or my last NaNoWriMo update, I will have written over 200,000 words in this and my couple of other Blogger journals. That’s roughly the equivalent of a 700-page book!

It took 22 months of writing a little bit every day about a myriad of topics to get there, and yet I somehow think that I can generate 25% of that, on one topic, in 30 days?

NaNoWriMo Word Count, Day 7: 5,709 (-5,960)

My new favorite line, particularly when you get the subtext: “I swear that’s been our team’s problem all along,” Damon shook his head. “We get the narcissists, they get the zombies.”

Snark!

On that note, I should probably throw out a disclaimer for the novel: Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is most likely entirely purposeful. It’s a friggin’ satire, dumbass!

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Pumpkin Seeds: Note From the Editor Editon

1. Anyone that reads this journal and thinks I'm talking specifically to them, or in a more general sense, to anyone in particular, needs to take what they read here with a huge grain of salt. Perhaps a whole tablespoon. This journal is, and always has been, primarily for my own self-interests. It's my way, an admittedly public and exhibitionistic way, of getting things out of my head and into a form that I can more properly analyze, critique and digest. As I have one of the worst memories of anyone I know, tending towards impressions and emotions over details,…

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BABE IN THE WOODS: Interlude (one)

2004-2006; East Coast, United States of America Damon Vargas would be the first to admit he could be something of an idiot. Unlike most politicians, he was unable to disassociate himself from his past record. Not that he was much of a politician, losing the only race he’d ever run, as an independent candidate – translation: no financial backing worth mentioning – for mayor of New York City back in 2005. According to New York City Board of Election Records, he’d received less than 1% of the vote, relatively few of them cast by close friends or family. Prior to…

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You Must Still Act

Six out of seven nights of getting to bed post-midnight took its toll last night, muddling through another 1,052 words as my brain locked up and I half-assed two short "chapters" that severely tested my ability to keep my Inner Editor at bay. NaNoWriMo Word Count, Day 4: 3,512 (-3,156) The only good thing is that, including the 384 words I wrote during lunch, it was the closest I've come to hitting the daily goal of 1,667 so far. I'm in serious trouble, though, if I have to count on my lunch hour to keep me close. In other news,…

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BABE IN THE WOODS: Three

Friday, October 30, 2015: Bronx, NY, USA Diane Rodriguez ran her fingers through her long dark hair, pulling it back from her neck and wrapped it around itself in an inelegant version of a ponytail. The bags under her eyes were full from lack of sleep and she blinked constantly in an attempt to moisten her contacts. “You look like you need some sleep,” offered Damon Vargas. “I probably look worse than you, no?” Diane laughed. “You look like you need a new wardrobe and a doctor. I can help with some clothes but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow…

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BABE IN THE WOODS: Two

Tuesday, October 15, 2013: Mt. Pleasant, NY, USA “Maybe we could domesticate one?” “Dude! No fucking way can you domesticate a zombie!” Anthony DiBlanco passed the cup of warm Budweiser to Jason Reed, his vision slightly blurred, nodding his head in mock annoyance. “You’ve taken one sack too many, I think!” They both laughed like it was the funniest thing they’d ever heard. Jason, star quarterback for Mt. Pleasant High School’s varsity football team and boyfriend of Anthony’s sister, Jennifer, was known for holding on to the ball too long, preferring a sack to an incompletion or an interception. “Scouts…

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