In the Interest of Practicing What I Preach

I've always hated hypocrisy above all things. As far back as I can remember, I could stomach nearly anything, but hypocrisy was always the one thing I refused to excuse. Over the years, I've come to realize that, as distasteful as it may be, the truth is that hypocrisy can be found nearly anywhere and at almost any time. We're all hypocrites to some extent, and I know that I'm no exception. That fact hit me again today.

You see, I've been really into baseball this summer. I bought a neat little package from the MLB before the season that allows me to watch almost every game my favorite team plays. And while I've thoroughly enjoyed the deluge of baseball that has resulted, it's an unfortunate fact of life that my favorite team just so happens to be the St. Louis Cardinals.

Now, normally this would be, and has been, a great thing. I don't hide the fact that I'm largely a Cardinals fan thanks to the superb success the team has had over the past twenty years. Sure, it's also a lineage thing. Both my dad and my grandpa are Cardinals fans (when my grandpa was a kid, St. Louis was as far south as the MLB had gone). But the winning hasn't hurt. Sadly, it also hasn't continued to this season.

This is where my hypocrisy comes into play. For much of this year (and last year if I'm being honest), I've been in agreement with the portion of the fan base that doesn't think this Cardinals team is good enough. There's a certain curse in basketball describable as being caught in a holding pattern. In the NBA, all is dependent on stars, and stars are almost always found at the top of the draft. The teams who pick at the top of the draft are usually terrible. The teams who pick at the end are usually in the playoffs and winning series there. But the teams in the middle are just... meh. They don't win enough to feel good about their seasons, and they don't lose enough to draft a star who can lead them to championship contention.

That's kind of where the Cardinals have been for a while. The problem isn't as severe in baseball, and it's far easier to field a very good team without picking at the top of the draft (because the MLB draft is more of a crap shoot and because it takes more than one or two stars to make a good baseball team). But still, that's how the Cardinals have felt for a while, and I've been among those fans wanting to see the front office do something, anything, to change course. What was planned did not come to fruition, and it's time for a change.

So, what does this have to do with me, my writing, and my hypocrisy? Well, I realized recently that I've been like the Cardinals front office. I've been holding on to a dream despite all evidence in front of me. I've behaved like sheer will can be enough to make things turn away from their obvious course. But that's not the world we live in. I'm willing to accept that in areas beyond my control (such as with the Cardinals), and it's time I did so with those at least somewhat in my control.

In particular, it's time I admit that full-time writing isn't going to happen right now. It may happen at some point in the future, and I hope it does. That's the dream. But the world goes on despite our best wishes. It's not a tragedy that it does so. I write of gray worlds and the beauty they hold. I write of the inevitable evil that comes with freedom. I write of the need for bad to appreciate the good. And I do so because that's the world I see around me.

Full-time writing isn't happening right now, but I still get to write. I still live in an era in which I can upload a document and have it almost immediately available to billions of people. I still can follow my dream. I just have to do other things too. So, I'm going to do them. Over the weekend, I uploaded the final book in The Story of Bookland. That's two completed series now. I'm so glad that I wrote them both and that I took the time to write them this quickly, but I expect things to slow down now.

I don't know when my next book will be out. I still hope to have it done this year, but we'll see. I have other things I have to do now. I've chased this dream on a full-time basis. Now, I'm going to do so in conjunction with what I hope is soon to be full-time work of another sort. I cannot thank you all enough for reading this far, and I hope you'll stick with me a bit further. I think I've always been upfront with you about my main story, The Song of Creation, taking years to complete, and I'll reiterate that now. The Kinmark Saga was but the first step. This story is as big as I can imagine, and I hope you're still interested in following along with it as it slowly unfolds in its many parts. If not, just wait for the inevitable movies to come. I'm sure they'll be awesome. I can't wait to see who they cast as Vina.

A Sale is Happening

Funny story: I've been so caught up the past week or so in writing Bookland #4 (Which is going great, by the way. Thanks for asking! It should be out in June. Get psyched.) that I completely forgot that I had scheduled a sale on Amazon. A sale which starts today. Yep, fun.

So, with very little pomp or promotion, here's the deal. The Kinmark Saga's four books are each on sale for $0.99. That's down from $2.99 for the first and $4.99 for the other three. Also, both novellas set in its world, which are titled Ranger and Outcast, can be downloaded for free right now (until April 23) through Amazon.

The novellas absolutely can be read separately from The Kinmark Saga, in case you want a free taste of my writing before making a monetary commitment, but the whole world is also part of a larger work in progress. For more info on that, you can click the tab above here that says "One Story." It'll tell you about The Song of Creation, the overall story of which all six works on sale right now are a part.

Otherwise, feel free to click the Amazon link to the right or simply to search for Josh Brannan on Amazon itself. As far as I know, I'm the only one who will pop up.

Double otherwise, continue waiting for the next, and final, book in my Bookland series, The Story of Bookland. It's completely separate from my other works and has nothing to do with this sale. It is, however, pretty neat if you like weird things.

Now, get back to your taxes or post-taxes celebration! Maybe Uncle Sam will spend all your money on buying millions of copies of my books. It's for the greater good, people.

The Coming Calamity of Approaching Awesomeness

First things first, Kevin Keatts got the job as State's next basketball coach. He was the guy I wanted, and I think he'll do well. Let's hope so. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that the fanbase needs some sustained success. I've been a diehard fan my whole life, and it's starting to feel like getting kicked between the legs might not be the best thing for peace and joy. Just win, baby.

In matters not involving sports, the world is changing. It always is. Duh. But for whatever reason, it's got me thinking this afternoon. Before I go any further, let me just say that I fall on the libertarian side of the political spectrum. For the most part, I'm a staunch capitalist. I think Ron Paul would have made a great president, and I'm generally against government involvement in most things.

You probably noticed a number of caveats above. I left myself room to breathe, and I did so for a reason. Despite my general beliefs that may or may not approach the level of Ron Swanson's love for the free market, I have to wonder what we're all doing. I have to think about the path we're on, and I have to ask myself if it's the best one. We're all rational beings, and that means we ought to think on these things. Thus, this post.

Let's frame what we're talking about first of all. In essence, our technological advancements are becoming quite extraordinary. Just to name a few, self-driving cars and automated factories are going to change the world in the coming decades. Self-service machines are already everywhere, and they're only going to become more prevalent. Technology is advancing, and as I'm sure you've heard, it's taking away jobs.

And that's fine. New jobs will take their place. New careers will be formed. The Industrial Revolution transferred millions of people from the farms, where the vast majority of the human population had been needed for millennia, to cities and towns and factories. New opportunities arose as fewer workers were needed to create the necessary food, and our species took a giant step forward. We've been doing so ever since.

Now, we've got cars and laptops and the Internet and smartphones. We can talk to people across the world in the blink of an eye and can send people into outer space. We've come a long way, and the quality of our lives has increased exponentially. And I'm left wondering how many more steps we should take in this same direction.

Then again, maybe it would be better for me to say that I'm left wondering if there isn't a better path to be on. We're heading in the right direction, I think, but I also think there might be a better road running parallel to the one we're on. So, let me explain rather quickly what I mean. Better yet, let me give you a quote.

“We should do away with the absolutely specious notion that everybody has to earn a living. It is a fact today that one in ten thousand of us can make a technological breakthrough capable of supporting all the rest. The youth of today are absolutely right in recognizing this nonsense of earning a living. We keep inventing jobs because of this false idea that everybody has to be employed at some kind of drudgery because, according to Malthusian Darwinian theory he must justify his right to exist. So we have inspectors of inspectors and people making instruments for inspectors to inspect inspectors. The true business of people should be to go back to school and think about whatever it was they were thinking about before somebody came along and told them they had to earn a living.”

That was said in 1970 by R. Buckminster Fuller. Now, do I think the ideals embodied in that paragraph were doable in 1970? No. Do I think they're doable today? No. Does every fiber of my being want to rail against the whole notion of there ever being such a thing as a "free lunch"? Yes. Absolutely, 100% yes. It goes fully against who I've always been and what I've always believed (since I started thinking on these things at all), but it also makes perfect sense to me. I find myself contradicting myself.

I firmly believe that the free market, with only a limited amount of interference, will result in an astounding future full of marvels you and I can't even imagine. But I also believe that maybe we can sacrifice some of those marvels, delay a few others, and start moving toward the ideals put forth by Mr. Fuller almost fifty years ago. Instead of finding new ways to employ the maximum number of full-time workers with each change that takes away a significant number of those workers' positions, maybe we should be scaling things back at some point. Maybe we should start focusing a bit more on the leisure time for an individual and a bit less on that individual's productivity.

Again, I don't think we're there yet, and I don't think we'll get there for a long time. But I do think it's all something to keep in mind. Advancement is a wonderful thing, and I'm sure it will bring about true wonders in the decades and centuries to come. But I also think we need to start transitioning ourselves onto the path that strives for something resembling a paradise. At some point, technology is going to make that dream possible, and the notion of everyone having to work extraneous jobs will cease to make any sense at all.

Of course, that awesome paradise could also result in a mass existential crisis as people sit around and think about the sudden pointlessness of their lives and yearn for the order of having work to do, but that's okay. None of this is going to happen in the lifetime of anyone alive today anyway. Let our grandchildren's grandchildren worry about finding the true meaning of life. We've got jobs to do and entertainment to distract us. Come to think of it, they probably will too.

Release of the Ramblings

Well, I released a new book today. It's called Underland, and I hope you'll check it out. If you don't already know, it's the third in my current series, The Story of Bookland. If, on the other hand, you did already know that, it's still true.

In any case, read it if you wish. I haven't deluded myself into thinking it's for everyone. It's weird. It's parody mixed with grimdark. It's beyond ridiculous. I know. It's probably as much the opposite of my first series, The Kinmark Saga, as a fellow work of fantasy can be, and I think that was the point all along. Between the two, I think I've come to know quite a bit about writing in general. Experience really is the best teacher.

Aside from my own writing, however, there is something I think you should read. I've recently recommended Thomas Sowell and Terry Pratchett to you, and a friend's Facebook post just made me think of someone just as worthy of your attention. Just like with those two, I doubt I'll be revealing someone you've never heard of.

I first read Kurt Vonnegut during my final semester of law school. I took a literature elective because I thought it would be easy. In many ways, it was. It was also extremely rewarding. I'll admit that Slaughterhouse-Five wasn't my favorite of the books we read. No, that was Joseph Heller's masterful work, Catch-22. And in hindsight, I probably should be recommending that brilliant book to you, because it truly is absolutely, undeniably brilliant, and also because its style is so remarkably similar to my own narrative in The Story of Bookland (not that my quality does, or ever will, approach that of Heller [spoiler alert: it won't]), but let's stick with Vonnegut for now. If you have the time and the interest, read them both.

No, Slaughterhouse-Five wasn't my favorite, and I'm not even recommending it in particular to you. It was my first exposure to Vonnegut, but my friend's post today made me think of another of his works. This other work also gets bonus points because I'm fairly certain that it can be read for free online. Don't quote me on that, and certainly don't go pirate it, but I think I remember reading it on a website for free. And legally. Seriously, never, ever pirate a book. Unless it's mine. Read mine however you're able.

Anyway, Vonnegut wrote a short story titled Harrison Bergeron that I personally think should be required reading for all those who wish to breathe clean air. Maybe that's an exaggeration, but I do think it's a very easy read that will make you consider a few things. Like all extreme versions of satire, it's not directly applicable to the real-world forms of the issue it deals with (equality of outcome vs equality of opportunity). No, it doesn't leave much room for the gray areas, but that's not the point. It's a thought exercise, and it's a good one. It's reductio ad absurdum at it's finest (sorry, I had to throw in a bit of Latin), and it should be read as such. Maybe best of all, it forces you to provide your own nuance in extracting its lessons and applying them to the real world, and that's something we should all become better edumucated in doing.

See, I know some Latin and a bit of Hillbilly. You might say I'm a well-rounded individual. I blame the pizza.

Anybody Want a Peanut?

No?

Ok, how about a new book cover?

Yep, Wednesday is almost here. Hope you're all looking forward to Underland. Here's its cover.

The Ides of March

I think February was an interesting month for many of us. For a while there, it almost seemed as if the only thing worth doing was to watch the news, see what thing had been done, and then find someone to argue with about it. At least, that's how it seemed to me. I broke my social media rule a few times last month (no talking politics), and the results were what they'll always be. No one changed their mind about anything at all, and bad tastes were left in many mouths. There's a reason I wasn't on Facebook or Twitter before this whole writing thing started.

Anyway, a few other things did also happen last month. Some were better than others. On the bright side, it is, once again, the best of times for we unlucky few who call ourselves fans of Wolfpack basketball. That's right, folks, it's time for another State coaching search. Given the results of the last two, I'm trying to contain my excitement. And I'm failing miserably. You see, this is as good as it gets for us. We've lived on hope for decades, and there can be no greater hope than the prospect of an incoming coach.

Who will it be? The up-and-coming gamble from VCU or UNCW? The alum who's succeeding very well at Dayton but seems to want a different job that might open up? The long shot who would certainly be the dream come true if he can be pried from the hands of the Koch brothers in Wichita? I don't know, and I don't even know which one I would pick if I did indeed have my pick. I just know it's exciting. I also know it'll almost surely stop being exciting within a year or two, but that's alright. These are the good days.

On the opposite side of things, there was Alex Reyes and his golden arm deciding its time for the all-too-common Tommy John surgery had come. I think I'll leave that one be. At least we still have El Gallo this year, fellow Cards fans. May his own golden arm remain forever strong.

What else happened in February, dear reader? What else was done in that month of the strange and unnecessary letter that sounds like the noise a pirate makes? Ah yes, there was one more thing. It was the third thing out of what will end up being four things. In other words, Underland is now complete. I'm formatting it and going through one more edit now and hope to have it fully ready sometime next week. I think I'll shoot for the 15th. It's in the middle and a good and decent number to shoot for. Besides, it allows a title like the one of this post. Happy days.

So, to recap, State still sucks, St. Louis is still trailing the Cubs, and the third book in The Story of Bookland will be released soon. The first two, of course, can be found on Amazon. There's even a link to the right of this page. It calls itself what it is. I hope you can find it.

Oh, politics suck. Try not to think about them. Or it. I think it is best there. Who knows?

English teachers probably do.

A Little Recommendation

For many of you, this post is going to be a "Man Lands on Moon" moment, or if you're from another time and place, a "Golic to the Moon" moment. You might laugh at me for making such an obvious suggestion. You might cry over the fact that such a suggestion needs to be made at all.

 

You see, I'm here to recommend a fellow author. Except, calling this guy a "fellow" author almost feels dirty. I know I'm an author, and I know he was and forever will be an author, but the same word really shouldn't be used for the both of us. His books are on a higher level than I imagine mine will ever be. Don't feel bad for me, though; most authors would be forced to say the same.

 

Yes, I'm here today to recommend you start reading Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. I've recently started doing so, and as with all good things I do, I think you should follow my lead. A few months ago, I read one of his earlier works: Mort. It was great. A few weeks ago, I jumped ahead in the literary timeline and read Going Postal. Also great.

 

Like I said earlier, fans of fantasy are rolling their eyes right now. They know about Terry Pratchett. They know about Discworld. They don't need to be told. But some of you do. Some of you don't know. Therefore, here I am. For this one little blog post, I've found my purpose: to open your eyes to an absolute genius of a writer.

 

The two Discworld books I've read are clever and funny, but they're not just lighthearted comedy. No, there's substance there. Pratchett pokes holes in many of life's commonplace things that become ridiculous once you look at them a bit more closely. He delves into philosophy, and he waxes poetically. But none of that takes away from the best part of his writing: the stories themselves. In both books, the characters are real, and their struggles are the same. Read them as pure fiction. Read them as a means to think a bit more deeply. Read them for fun and for your betterment. Just read them. I promise you won't regret it.

 

By the way, Mort is considered a very good place to start with Discworld. It's not a series you have to read in order, but there are supposed to be a few books that are best for getting your feet wet, and Mort is considered one of those. Here's a link to it.