Category: Outside the Box

Non-mainstream thoughts and musings

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Book Review: Ted Dekker’s “Circle” Series

I just finished reading through The Complete Circle Series (Black, Red, White, and Green) by Ted Dekker. Known for his faith-based fiction, Dekker has a large following for his fantasy/fiction approach to retelling spiritual battles. I picked up the Nook version of it and immediately dove in to the Circle (little inside joke, there!)

About the Book: I hadn’t read any of Dekker’s other works, so I was anxious to get started. I’d heard several good reviews of his writing, and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. For those who haven’t heard of this series, the four books are cyclical, which means you can start on any book and still get the whole story. In this collection, Dekker includes an alternate original ending to Green in case you wanted to start with that book. This set starts with Black, and we begin with the main character, Thomas Hunter, running from mafia thugs and eventually getting clipped by a bullet that knocks him unconscious. When he awakes, he realizes he is either dreaming, or he has been transported to an entirely different reality. From there, he struggles to piece together remnants of his memory, but every time he sleeps in one world, he awakes in the other. Before long, events in one begin to affect the other, and Thomas discovers the worlds are more connected than he could ever have imagined. Continue reading “Book Review: Ted Dekker’s “Circle” Series”

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The Circle Series by Ted Dekker

Circle Series 4-in-1 (The Circle, #1-4)Circle Series 4-in-1 by Ted Dekker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Very good realization and imagery, bringing spiritual struggles into stark physical reality. Extremely creative and colorful writing. The books were written in a cyclical path, this particular collection starts with Black, but contains an alternate ending to Green if you wanted to start there. Overall, the series started off slowly, but the intensity ramps up continually until the ending/beginning. Overall, a great read, and a great twist on a timeless tale of redemption.

View all my reviews

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Consumer-Driven Writing

So, I’ve been thinking about the popularity of my few posts on computer-y stuff. I’ve been a computer tech/geek for 20 years, and have been using Linux since 2001. I guess over the years I’ve learned a lot about how to use computers, and I suppose I should write more on that! As much as I like posting pics of my bikes, or interesting music things, I really spend most of my time (up until 2 months ago) working with computers.

What are some topics you’d like to see? What’s a cool trick on computers you’ve always wanted to learn? Want to learn to compile your own Linux kernel? Custom device drivers? Want to know how to customize Ubuntu, or compile certain programs? I can do that! Maybe a virtual machine server, or domain/file/print servers for free, using old hardware? I can do that too!

Hmmm. I’ll have to see what I can whip up for the hungry public. Everybody loves free stuff!

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Book Review: Stalking The Story

I picked up a copy of the e-book Stalking The Story the other day after reading through “Everything You Need To Write Great Essays You Can Learn From Watching Movies” (we were looking at it as curriculum for our homeschooled high-schooler!) . I was impressed with the author’s style, and after reading a bit about him, I understood why… needless to say, it’s catchy, and I like catchy.

Anyway, since I’ve been having a bit of trouble hammering out the actual story for a few of my ongoing projects, I decided I needed some help with the plot. Stalking The Story looked like it would be just the ticket. (Plus, I’m a big fan of the detective show Monk and the foreword is by one of the show’s producers!)

The book basically gives you step-by-step guides to outline the major points of a story, under the assumption that finding the story is a mystery, and you’re the detective. Every good detective looks for clues, interviews people of interest, documents anything relevant, etc. and hopefully by the end, you can solve the mystery and find your missing story.

The Breakdown: I really like Jay Douglas’ style. It’s informal, slightly tongue-in-cheek, and very easy to read. There’s plenty of references to fictional detectives and their methods, and even worksheets for hammering out the details of your characters and how they fit into the plot. It’s a virtual “Plot EMT” and just going through the chapters can very quickly make you realize that your plot is dead, and needs reviving.

Does it work? Well, yes. If you have a corkboard full of scene snippets, colorful characters, cool ideas, but no story, then this book is exactly what you need. It will guide you through pulling the pieces together and drawing out an actual story from nothing more than your characters’ idiosyncrasies.

The Lowdown: If you’re looking for a miracle, well, this book won’t write your story for you. However, I used it, and it opened up a lot of possibilities for story sources (right there in my own character’s head!) that I hadn’t thought of. Brainstorming, writing it down, thinking it through, and then putting the pieces back together is what happens.

I recommend this book for people with writer’s block. It helps you think outside the box, and look for clues to a story where you couldn’t see one before.

Check it out!

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Happy Birthday to Me!

Went for a 50-mile bike ride this morning with the local bike club (they’re awesome) and when I got home, my mother surprised me with this little gem she had found in the trash!

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38 Years, Looking Back

I admit it, I’m an old fogey. Sometimes I get grumpy, and I am getting to where I like things just so. I get irritated with noisy neighbors, I eat my vegetables, and gosh darn it, some days I just feel old.

But on the other hand, I’ve seen a lot of amazing things in the 38 years God has blessed me with. I’ve seen people’s lives turned around, I’ve traveled the country, I’ve begun an incredible journey into being a husband and father- and been blessed with outstanding children (not to mention my one-of-a-kind wife) and so I have nothing to complain about. In the last two years, I’ve been at my lowest, and my highest, and everything in between. I’ve stared God in the face and what He reflected back to me was something I’ll never forget. It’s humbling, it’s encouraging, it’s exciting, and it’s frightening all at the same time. I now know what I am to do with the fleeting days that God has given me. It’s just up to me now to live them out, and do the very best I can at it.

I’ve come to realize that if I’m being the father I’m supposed to be, it doesn’t matter if I never get a publishing deal, or a recording contract. Those things are cool, but they’re fleeting. They don’t last. I am thoroughly happy doing whatever God wants me to do. For now, it’s writing on my blog. Tomorrow, it might be writing a national bestseller. I don’t know.

All I know is, without God in your life, you don’t have much of a life. Do you know where your life is headed?

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Frugality Defined

Okay, I admit it. I stink at being frugal. Now, granted, I’ve done a lot of minimizing in the last year or so, so I’m not totally inexperienced at it. The sad truth remains, however: I stink at it. Why? Because I like stuff.

“Hi, my name is Jeff, and I’m a stuff-aholic.”

I’d like to blame my upbringing, but the truth is it’s my own fault. I just like stuff! This will probably be my downfall in the grand scheme of things, but I’m still stuck with the problem of “How do I live frugally if I like stuff?”

I don’t have all the answers, obviously, but I’m willing to work through it. Bear with me, it will be a bumpy ride.

So, today’s One-A-Day simplifying project was redo my entertainment center (this alone is enough to send frugal people packing!) I had it thrown together with all kinda of wires, remotes, stuff that was disconnected, and so forth. It needed to be organized.

I ended up removing the computer I had attached to it (we use the Wii to watch Netflix shows now, that’s eliminating something!) and removed the cables for it. I added wheels and cooling fans to the cabinet (for easy cleaning and keeping the devices cool). I painted the bare wood spots, redid all the wiring with zip-ties, and mounted all the boxes (power bricks, network hub, etc.) so nothing has to be moved. You unplug a couple of wires, and the entire center rolls away for cleaning, temporary rearranging, etc. This project took me a few hours, but I think it will help keep things more orderly. As far as simplifying, well… heh. I’m working on it.