Was reading Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith (125 pages in). Was enjoying it because I really like Lincoln. As a politician in general, let alone at that time, he had to be very careful what he said. I suspect he was actually a far better person than the record shows. Think he was an atheist and today, would be a vegan.

Although OTOH I think we'd be better off if the South had seceded. Today they'd be a third world country and we'd have forced them to give up slavery. Thus the most powerful nation in the world wouldn't be so damm right wing.... Although perhaps not as powerful either....

Anyway read a review that gave too many spoilers and ultimately just put the book in it's place too well and now I don't plan on finishing.
I will say I thought it better done that GRR Martin's 1850's vampire book. Ultimately it makes Lincoln into less than he really was. The real Lincoln wasn't motivated out of revenge for a personal wrong. But Lincoln as a hero is definitely something I'm down with.

1:48 for the half marathon. Enjoyed it so much I really want to increase my mileage. The faster I run, the funner it is. Want to get close to 40 mpw. A 12 and an 8 on the weekend hopefully 3 6 milers during the week....

Also, longer distances are much more enjoyable. A 5k is uncomfortable from the start. For a half marathon you really have to decrease the intensity. I didn't start hurting until 11 miles in. And then unfortunately I ran the last bit too hard and crashed, but definitely want to try to mainly do 6 to 13 mile races in the future....

Just can't find anymore decent fantasy fiction. But i should say, low tech setting with mysticism instead of "fantasy fiction" perhaps. So sick of reading bad fantasy fiction that I'm going back to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit was very much a story for children. LOTR though is also still very child oriented actually. Love the level of detail and just showing normal life in the Shire before the quest starts. Reminds me of Mel Gibson's Apoptaliptica (sp). Made one care about the slaugther a bit by spending some real time showing the tribe happy in the beginning. Who cares otherwise? And usually not enough time is put into this.

Then of course there's Rothfuss giving LOTR as an example of too much detail about the setting. (sigh). I wonder if LOTR would even get published today?

Anyway, there's also just a nostalgia attached to LOTR such that reading it is enjoyable. And i wonder, why virtually no one has written more stories that have hobbits? Dwarves and elves are OK but not hobbits?

Little silly but I ordered a map of Tolkien's Middle Earth. Eh. GRR Martin's Westoros too. What the hell. The HBO show is done surprisingly well.

Moderate to hard intensity runs. Logged on Garmin.

Otherwise what to say that matters?

It's still the last instant of the world. I start a new job tomorrow. Looks like my new bosses/coworkers are more intelligent. Although old job was pretty good. Biggest complaint was just that coworkers were a bit boring. This new job though ought to be better... 10 hour days instead of 14 hour ones. Research!! Chance to play the cello daily. Possibly go running more often.

I'm running a half marathon next saturday. Worried I haven't properly prepared.

My health is wonderful. Sleeping well. Lots of energy. Joints feel good. (Excepting aches and pains that go along with running.)
Loving the hot weather. Now have a second frog in the pond. Water lilly looks like it's going to be huge this year. Ravenous fish though are eating the hyacinths and I don't want to put so much food in this year like I did last year. Can't have the fish multiplying every year like they did last year. Just won't have many floating plants I guess.

Thinking I should start some new creative hobby. No one would listen to my music. (Although I'm possibly going to work on improving gear still, maybe eventually will record more music.) But as no one could be bothered to give 5 minutes to listen, it makes it pretty hard to bother writing. Was thinking of drawing/painting. Thing that holds me back on that is that I've so rarely seen anything done by anyone else that I considered worthwhile. Ordered a Beksinski book though.

running is on garmin thus not here.

Started kol nidre on cello.

Less than two weeks till new job that is 5 8 hour days instead of 3 12+ hour days. Hoping this will be better for me. Hope my cello playing improves. Running too, though I'm less hopeful on that. Right now wish I hadn't entered a half marathon as I feel too slow to bother with that distance. But, shall do "omega training" starting 5 days out, hopefully. (Unless fertility stuff coincides.) And the effects of that for longer distances will be interesting to see. Worried I'll run really abnormally fast, but then be incredibly sore/tired and make a bad first impression in new job.

Recently partly read some book, Bachiyr (33AD) by David McAfee, about vampires plotting to kill Jesus. Has a lot of nice elements. Not a christian but the idea of a really good person getting horribly killed long ago, is somehow very compelling. Always liked Paar Lagerkvist's Barrabas. This though is written so just damm stupidly that it's almost kind of blasphemous.

Also a collection of short stories on Kindle, don't have it with me now, about fantasy preTolkien. First story about elves, which strongly highlighted the theme of verdancy, something I hadn't seen any other writing do. But, it makes strong sense. And reminds me of myself and all my seed sprouting, etc. Currently have pots hanging from the wisteria trellis. Planted more ribbon grass. Bought another wisteria, etc.

4 days left in current job, thank you that it's over. Yesterday was pretty insane. The AMA idiot at the end was almost too much. Definitely can drop the optimism bias about this job now. Thank some magical higher power that it's over.

More steady state runs of at least 6 miles. Have half marathon in less than a month. Today did 6 miles in steady 52:54. Could have gone faster but maybe not a lot. Only did 22 miles this week in 4 running days. Need to do longer runs. Next week hopefully will do a few 7 milers. But just not interested in 10 minute miles so probably neglecting the longer runs.

The Once and Future King by TH White.
Not serious enough for me. But has a lot of detail. Third person. Merlin and "Wart", whom I guess is to become King Arthur. 100 pages in. Feels very random. Now having an adventure with Robin Hood. Merlin turns "the Wart" into animals a lot. If it were to suddenly get more serious it could be good. Here and there it is a little serious. But I can hardly be bothered to read this.

Entered first race, a 5k in Morg, did some "omega male training" 3 days out, ran 21:40. A big PR. And third place. Although last year it would have been 16th. Less than 100 people ran. Was fun. S did well also.

I did 2 miles in 14:29 a month ago? Really? I'm not that fast now. Did a mile in 7:30 and I think two in 15:00 minutes would have been kind of hard, though I stopped before that far. Guess more frequent easier runs might have been useful. Going back to that. All the sickness may have been a coincidence. Or the weightlifting, more likely.

61. Clearly some sort of chase but mixed in with a discovery. You discover something and then you're chasing it. And it leads you into greater discovery. Say an underground world, through an old abandoned subway system or such. What is the discovery though and what comes before it such that it flows smoothly and makes sense? How can this by itself be a short story? I don't think it can...

57. Again that's some inventor sort of person... You're at their fantastic place.... Have to relisten...

Thinking of writing some short stories inspired by my songs. 57. rez noise-lots of crazy off the wall inventions... Wife yellling at me to hurry up. There's my 5 seconds of writing for today...

10/2's for 16 miles in 2:27:40 Last couple hurt. That first mile in 7:50 felt pretty easy.

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart First person. Relatively realistic characters. Pretty richly detailed. An account of Merlin based somewhat closely on what is actually known from historical records, although admittedly not as accurate as possible. Accurate enough that it isn't as good of a story as it might otherwise be. But one of the better books I've read in a while. Curious what Mary Stewart can do if she's just entirely making it up. Now back to book three of Gormenghast. Lately with all the fantasy fiction I've read, I've been increasingly dissappointed and I find myself remembering this book though as having stuck with me much better. Definitely one of the best I read. Dislike that it's in third person. Couldn't bring myself to read the third book earlier because I know the author dies right in the beginning of the fourth as his hands literally lose the ability to write and his scrawl slowly becomes entirely illegible. So far in book three nothing has really happened. (Finds city and meets Muzzle....?) It's really just Peake's magnificent voice. That makes nothing much really happening still enjoyable to read as I lay on a swing on the porch in this nice weather with a glass of lambrusco.

10/2's for 16 miles in 2:29.

Saw interesting concert tonight. Again, three cello's beat an orchestra.

Got a research position. Has positives and negatives. I think it's a much less ridiculous position for me. But I liked my old job. Worry I'm a bit too far gone for the more typical interactions one usually has in a workplace. Shall see.

Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsh
This book made me understand first and foremost that one should never push a book onto others. I posted something critical of society as a whole on facebook. I wasn't locked up for it. Probably just put on ignore by 80% of people. But strangely someone replied I might like this book.

So being just naturally curious I borrowed it, as it wasn't available on kindle. And now for the last two months I've procrastinated and felt bad that A. I haven't finished it yet. and B. as I think it's crap what am I going to tell the person I borrowed it from???

Offering a book to someone is a horrible imposition. Even if it's Manufacturing Consent by Herman and Chomsky, I guess.

I gave up on this book halfway in where with different wording "god" basically says he wants everyone to have an extreme optimism bias and that if bad things happen to you, it's because you actually wanted them to.

But what should I tell the person from work who loaned it to me?

I shouldn't bother saying anything negative about society in any public setting, that's for sure.