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Thursday, Apr. 24, 2025

5:23pm EDT

Members: 875

Guests: 2,335

Total Online: 3,210

Ramblings of a Samurai and his Duct Tape

by Ducttape Knight

Rated: 18+ · Book · Other · #1723228

What amazing and/or disturbing things are crossing my mind now? Enter and find out...

This is your first and most likely only warning. But I've been known to change my mind. Anyways, the warning is that my mind can be a pretty scary place for the uninitiated. By entering you waive all rights to sanity, and very well may be haunted by any manner of creature that is contained herein. If you're really lucky, you may be hunted by many of them at the same time! CHANGE PLACES! Ooh, this chair is quite comfy. Now back to the show, er, tour. To your left you may notice cracks in the fabric of reality itself. Don't worry about them, they're mostly harmless. To your right is the duct tape orchards. Mind that you don't pick the fruits, they're not the tastiest buggers, and they tend to sting. Above you'll see several chandeliers, and no, you don't need your umbrellas today. Tomorrow is a different story. You'd like to hear a story? OK, maybe a quick one. It may be larger than it appears inside that mirror. But before we begin, try this shot here. Yes, it is a potion of my own concoction. Drink it, and who knows who or what you might become. Also, you might wonder what happened to your pants... What about my pants? Oh dear, where did I put them now?

** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

SilverMoon

Feb 18, 2022 at 2:32am
In response to "New Blog"

Oh jeez. I left a detailed comment and then realise you'd not been here since we.. 2011? LMAO. Oops

SilverMoon

Feb 18, 2022 at 2:31am
In response to "We want bad things to happen"

Forgive me, but this may be long.i hope to make a point. This is not about sympathy in no way.

This makes me think about how people can come across as kind and considerate, then suddenly they allow something horrible to happen. Okay, maybe not horrible, but negative.

I should explain. Before pandemic this one woman befriended me. We went places together. We talked often I was fine with her, until she referred to me in a derogatory way. I was stunned. I was hurt and angry, but instead of lashing out I decided I didn't want to hang out with her. She disrespected me for no reason I could remember. I chalked it up to onset dementia. I wasn't going to own this problem.

I didn't see that coming. I believe she thiught I want one of her potential men, which is truly a laugh as in no way am I interested in any of them for a number of reasons.id talk to them but not be anything but a distant friend.

So during the pandemic and before I had no contact with her. In fact, I had no contact with anybody. I just went about my day and tried not to dwell in it, right? It's not like I had a choice since peeps were afraid, if not downright panicked. I respect their right to be careful.

It's been what two yearsand she came around, while I was chatting with one if those male friends. His car had a flat. I came along asking if he needed help. He had AAA and they were on their way. Well the wait ended up being over 3 hours.

He was in and out of my car off and on. Guess who had come along, mad as a hatter, for some reason which I don't know

At first she didn't say anything. But, after about fifteen minutes she wandered over to my driver's window and talked about random things. No problem, except at one point her biggish dog had stood on it's hind legs and scratched on my newish car.

Great. Shiny new car and now it's blemished. But honestly I think she caused him to do that. She'd dine stuff before. Not to my car. I'll not go into it but it had to do with the political scene and the crazy ness that brings. Again, I was crushed. Even not talking to her, things almost became an issue ir did..

So there you see you just don't know what peeps are up to.

She must be miserable to go that far to cause a problem. I should have drove away, but I try to give benefit of the doubt. How stupid is that? Shrugs.

This kind of thing can be used in a story. Showing conflicting things going on. Showing trust, believing certain things then tension mounts and we start to see with new eyes.

What evil or goodness really lies within the heart of man and woman kind? What's shaped this type of contrast?

[Visit the entry for more...]

SilverMoon

Feb 18, 2022 at 2:00am
In response to "Everybody likes lists! Not sure where to start though"

At the mention of Lord of the Rings, I saw the movies..didn't read the book.though. I know. Shame 😣 in me.

The other books mentioned, I'm not familiar with.

The good news is even if you didn't finish those stories you started. You can always edit and rewrite some parts especially if you write in scenes. Or you can use parts of them in other stories.

Jay's debut novel is out now!

Oct 25, 2011 at 2:02am
In response to "Everybody likes lists! Not sure where to start though"

Oh! and I forgot: for *writing* sci-fi: my go-to book for theoretical mumbo-jumbo is Michio Kaku's Physics of the Impossible. Breaks down tech in terms of *how* impossible and distant it is, and provides some pretty plausible explanations. (I hate the word "warp" so I use "jaunt" in homage to Alfred Bester, but it's the same shit.)

Oh! Speaking of Bester:
The Stars My Destination
-- not the first book on your list, but I like him more than Asimov for that paranoid pre-Cold War space racey stuff. He has an influence on my style I'd be hard pressed to deny.

Ducttape Knight

Oct 25, 2011 at 1:58am
In response to "Everybody likes lists! Not sure where to start though"

I got Ender's Game supercheap from a salvation army store, I may have to take a quick look through the nearby goodwill for some of these. I didn't even think of that option. I've added Passage to my list as well, and will be bookmarking that elfquest in a minute too.

I can see how Gaiman could be hated, though he does do certain things well. After watching the fantastic DW ep 'The Doctor's Wife' I looked him up and got american gods. That was an interesting read, though I wasn't sure if I was satisfied with it or what. I liked some of the things he did in it and other things I just couldn't fathom why. I figure I'll read at least one more thing by him before I make a decision.

Jay's debut novel is out now!

Oct 25, 2011 at 1:31am
In response to "Everybody likes lists! Not sure where to start though"

I'd read anything Zelazny more or less "first." He has a very forward style emulated by people like Palahnuik and King.

If you like animal fantasy, all of Anne McCaffrey's Dragons of Pern stuff-- it is very weirdly crossed with sci fi, too. (Pern means "Parallel Earth, Resources Negligible" if I remember my Pern history.) God, I lost those books but I loved them so much!

I also recommend (not on your list):

Memory Sorrow and Thorn trilogy/quartet by Tad Williamson (best contemporary sword & sorcery post Tolkien)

City Of Saints & Madmen, Shriek, and Finch by Jeff VanderMeer

ElfQuest by Wendy and Richard Pini. (the entire ENTIRE run is available totally free on ElfQuest.com... ignore the cheesy howling wolf intro. It is epic, awesome, fun, weird, and one of the most original fantasy stories I ever read, totally the reason I read and write the kind of stuff I do now)

If you want a good primer on hard SF: Glen Cook's Passage at Arms. (it is an obvious influence on Last Voyage)

I

Neil Gaiman, some people hate him. I think i like his short stories best. (I own Smoke and Mirrors, which has the best Snow White retelling ever written (Snow, Glass, Apples) in it!)

Other thoughts:

Hyperion is all right.

I would skip Stephenson and Gibson until you feel like reading really dense cyberpunk. I have 2 copies of Cryptonomicon given to me by well-meaning friends and I still haven't got past the fifth page I don't think.

2/3 of the items on here could probably also be found at a second hand store for supercheap, excepting probably Pern, and a few of the others. I know I have seen most of these at the church book sale near me and they are far from having an infinite selection.

Ducttape Knight

Oct 3, 2011 at 2:48pm
In response to "Evaluating Goals 2.0, Setting goals 3.0"

I was getting very ambitious over the summer. You did send me that and I checked it out, but I have so much on my plate right now it's not a possibility for me. Thanks for mentioning it again though

SilverMoon

Oct 3, 2011 at 2:09pm
In response to "Evaluating Goals 2.0, Setting goals 3.0"

You must have an incredibly high energy level or just very ambitious. That's good. Determination helps unless you go into overload mode.

Not sure I mentioned this but you might really enjoy this challenge. I'm in it right now and although it might seem daunting, it's pretty good and teaches you so much. The hostess/owner is quite helpful, considerate, and has structure. Everything is easy to understand, and if not she is willing to help you in any way she can.
Just sayin.

What more could you want? Here is the link if you want to check it out.
"Experimental Plot Challenge"

[E].
.

Ducttape Knight

Oct 3, 2011 at 12:50pm
In response to "Evaluating Goals 2.0, Setting goals 3.0"

Hotel Restaurant and tourism management degree

Ducttape Knight

Oct 3, 2011 at 12:50pm
In response to "Sometimes you..."

yeah, he's just a malfunctioning kid. But now he's moved out and I have a new roommate, one who is mature. We're getting along pretty good here, and it's actually a room again rather than two halves of a room

#45. New Blog
ID #745512 entered on January 25, 2012 at 1:29am

#44. This years failure is next years motivation
ID #740718 entered on November 30, 2011 at 2:41am

#43. Why didn't I post this before?
ID #738387 entered on November 2, 2011 at 12:41am

#42. Everybody likes lists! Not sure where to start though
ID #737804 entered on October 24, 2011 at 11:50pm

#41. We want bad things to happen
ID #736619 entered on October 11, 2011 at 2:54pm

#40. I may have a single dorm room in my future.
ID #734570 entered on September 20, 2011 at 3:17pm

#39. Sometimes you...
ID #734482 entered on September 19, 2011 at 3:04pm

#38. Whoa, I'm back
ID #733931 entered on September 12, 2011 at 11:48am

#37. Heroes/Villains
ID #729819 entered on July 27, 2011 at 2:58am

#36. Evaluating Goals 2.0, Setting goals 3.0
ID #727664 entered on July 1, 2011 at 3:31pm

#35. Just another little stop along the epiphany train
ID #726262 entered on June 15, 2011 at 7:18am

#34. Goals 2.0
ID #725399 entered on June 4, 2011 at 6:23pm

#33. The community amazes me sometimes.
ID #725329 entered on June 3, 2011 at 1:50am

#32. Baffled
ID #724352 entered on May 20, 2011 at 4:05pm

#31. On bad writing
ID #723797 entered on May 11, 2011 at 4:30am

#30. Taking the moron by the horns
ID #723604 entered on May 7, 2011 at 6:31am

#29. Game of Thrones
ID #723426 entered on May 3, 2011 at 2:07am

#28. Breakin through the block
ID #723249 entered on April 29, 2011 at 8:21pm

#27. Results of first goal
ID #722774 entered on April 22, 2011 at 8:32pm

#26. Setting some goals
ID #722125 entered on April 13, 2011 at 3:29am

#25. Back to school!
ID #719636 entered on March 26, 2011 at 5:29pm

#24. School
ID #718579 entered on February 25, 2011 at 3:58am

#23. Wondering if I made the right choice
ID #716194 entered on January 23, 2011 at 4:53am

#22. Wasted effort.. or not
ID #715766 entered on January 17, 2011 at 7:29am

#21. So glad I'm on my weekend
ID #714755 entered on January 5, 2011 at 6:47am

#20. Red Ring of Death
ID #714364 entered on December 30, 2010 at 8:09pm

#19. So far the holidays are kicking my ass.
ID #714051 entered on December 24, 2010 at 5:56pm

#18. Pleasantly surprised
ID #713908 entered on December 21, 2010 at 2:38am

#17. The next project
ID #713749 entered on December 17, 2010 at 5:00am

#16. Yay! Blizzard!
ID #713457 entered on December 12, 2010 at 6:10pm

#15. Deserving of a hearty chuckle
ID #713195 entered on December 8, 2010 at 4:00am

#14. I made it! WooHoo for Nano! no, not the sims way
ID #712796 entered on December 1, 2010 at 12:45am

#13. Brain dump! Wait, I have a brain?
ID #712508 entered on November 28, 2010 at 4:38am

#12. Argh! My wish for the weather backfired
ID #712270 entered on November 25, 2010 at 7:19am

#11. Here's hoping the weather gets really bad
ID #712167 entered on November 24, 2010 at 8:04am

#10. Round one: FIGHT
ID #711840 entered on November 20, 2010 at 8:20am

#9. Hello caffiene!
ID #711831 entered on November 20, 2010 at 2:59am

#8. F&*^ amazing, is about the only way to describe it
ID #711774 entered on November 19, 2010 at 6:12am

#7. Drained
ID #711651 entered on November 17, 2010 at 5:45pm

#6. the simple things
ID #711473 entered on November 15, 2010 at 7:31pm

#5. Writer's block, smashed!
ID #711247 entered on November 13, 2010 at 7:22am

#4. I can't believe I did this...
ID #711165 entered on November 12, 2010 at 2:26am

#3. Wow. I really don't know what else to say.
ID #711054 entered on November 11, 2010 at 2:21am

#2. More than little PO'd right now
ID #710886 entered on November 9, 2010 at 10:49pm

#1. Entry 1: Welcome to the insanity =D
ID #710809 entered on November 9, 2010 at 6:55am

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