The Chain: Link Four

“We think she had an aneurysm,” said one of the paramedics debriefing the now-smaller group of mourners that still remained.

“These things happen, sometimes. There’s no way you could have prevented it, or saved her once it happened, so don’t blame yourselves,” continued another.

The man who had first pronounced her dead, a tall, thin man whose cheeks were bright red– whether from anger, exertion, or simply the chill, Timothy wasn’t sure–nodded solemnly.

“Tragedy today at the funeral of former Chief of Police Jonah Bradley . . .” one of the reporters was saying, away from the crowd, but close enough that her words still carried. Other members of the press were pressing in, and pressing people still in shock with questions.

Timothy was about to leave (after all, the funeral was effectively over), when a thought struck him. He had no idea who the woman was, really, other than that she was a friend of the departed Chief.

“Samantha Mien,” said the paramedic, seemingly in answer to Timothy’s thoughts, but in fact a response to a question from one of the reporters. Well, Samantha, Timothy thought, I suppose I’ll get to know you a bit better. He decided he would go to her funeral. But first, he needed a little background information.

Timothy was at his best when using his combination of excellent hearing and keen observation skills, rather than actually interviewing people. For whatever reason, his social interactions–no matter how hard he practiced at home–always felt stilted and forced. If only he knew what the cause was, perhaps . . . but that was a subject for consideration some other time. For now, there was work to be done. By unobtrusively (and sometimes obtrusively) hovering at the edge of the conversations between the few stragglers that remained, and their tired responses to the pestering questions of the media, he was able to piece together a rough picture of who Samantha Mien was.

In her late thirties, bright, cheerful, and ambitious, Samantha worked for the Mayor’s office as a sort of go-to woman who liaised with a number of different departments and agencies across the state. She had met and befriended Jonah Bradley some years ago, and it had been largely thanks to her recommendation that the Mayor had chosen Bradley to be Chief of Police. She was a jogger, a socialite, and a painter in her spare time.

“The candle that burns twice as bright,” murmured Timothy to himself as he finished his profile. He considered his calendar briefly, and guessed that her funeral would probably be a little more than a week from now. In fact, it was a week and a half later, on a dismal, dreary night in the middle of a snowstorm.

Overall, it was a much better affair than Bradley’s. Indoors, better music, tasteful decorations, and a eulogy that was both touching and original. It was so good, in fact, that Timothy decided to delay his usual hurried exit after the ceremony and stayed to nibble some delicious snacks.

It was then that Timothy learned that Samantha’s cousin had just passed away.

Versatility, linkativity, insightitude

Hey! Hey! Listen! Hey!

Alright, enough video game references.

(For now.)

Anyway, I was recently nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award!

The Rules:

1. Add a picture of the award.

2.Thank your nominator

I want to begin by first thanking fellow blogger Kitty Roads for nominating me! It is much appreciated. It is by far the best blogging award I have ever received.

(This is, however, not saying all that much, given that it is currently the ONLY blogging award I have ever received. But no matter.)

While my blog is focused on imaginative fiction, I try to be versatile in my coverage of it, including thoughts on writing IF, reviewing IF works, and also periodically offering some of my own original work, although as of late I’ve been trying to get The Chain up and running, so that’s been the focus.

2. Choose 15 other deserving bloggers and inform them.

Anyway, as a part of the award, I am supposed to then choose 15 other blogs that I believe are versatile (see also: “awesome”), and apparently I have good taste in blogs (if I do say so myself) as it was incredibly hard to pick only 15. But “dig we must,” as they say, so here (in no particular order) are the 15 blogs I’ve chosen, and a few brief words on each. Congratulations to everyone!

http://projectfraeya.wordpress.com/

Luna’s blog about reading and writing is thoughtful, insightful, and clearly written with a great deal of care. Give it a try!

http://jennifermeaton.com/

Jennifer’s blog discusses writing, but with a great deal of helpful tips, thought-provoking posts, and practical advice for plotting, world-building, and all the other things that go into a successful novel.

http://katiaraina.wordpress.com/

Katia’s was one of the first blogs I came across when I stumbled into this bold new cyberworld. She posts about writing, about her life, and reviews of very interesting books.

http://everonword.wordpress.com/

Let me put it this way: I love this blog. Deshipley’s writing is clever, funny, and touching. Check her out.

http://momsomniac.wordpress.com/

Momsomniac’s blog covers parenting, writing, reading, as well as original work, and does it all with terrific talent.

http://littleredreviewer.wordpress.com/

As the name implies, Redhead’s blog is devoted to reviews, particularly of science fiction works. Even if that may not be your cup of tea, you should check this blog out if only for the quality of writing on display.

http://maasmith7.wordpress.com/

Maggie’s blog, if you’re not already familiar with it, is consistently engaging, with concise, precise writing, and excellent (and varied) topic choices.

http://debrakristi.wordpress.com/

Debra’s blog is awesome. But it is ESPECIALLY awesome, if you enjoy science fiction, fantasy, and other things geeky and/or nerdy. Which, as you have probably noticed, I do.

http://barbrude.wordpress.com/

Barb’s blog may be the most truly “versatile” of all of these, given that she posts about a lot of different things, including delicious, delicious food.

http://blog.carriemumford.com/

Carrie has a lovely blog where she discusses writing, reviews books, and most importantly, makes me feel excited to go get writing and meet my daily goals.

http://victoriaoldham.wordpress.com/

Victoria brings an editor’s perspective to her blog where she discusses life and love as a lesbian. Personal, personable, and well-written.

http://coldfirewriter.wordpress.com/

A self-described “hormonal teenager” (but weren’t we/ aren’t they all?), Ann discusses writing, with a special emphasis on YA. If you’re into that market, you should give her blog a read.

http://ashmp.wordpress.com/

Ashley’s blog describes her writing journey and her progress on her debut, The Milestone Tapes. I like her coverage of the ups and downs and ins and outs of writing, which are both entertaining and informative.

http://cmstewartwrite.wordpress.com/

CM would get on this list just for the diversity of genre, style, and form she demonstrates with her frequent flash and short fiction entries, but they’re well-written to boot!

http://authorlorilotto.wordpress.com/

Lori’s blog is one of my favorites. She writes about writing (she has several successful e-books that she’s published, you should check them out), she writes about reading, but most of all she writes from the heart.

UPDATE: Rule 3: Share 7 random facts about yourself

“Augh!” as the characters of Peanuts are wont to say. I forgot the third part of this, which is to share 7 random facts about one’s self. I take all responsibility for this grievous mistake. I will rectify this shortly.

UPDATE (again):

Some random facts!

1. I’m a man of diverse interests, at least when it comes to video games. Shooters (Far Cry, Halo), sports (football, basketball, baseball, hockey), strategy (Total War, Civilization, C&C), RPGs (Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, Persona, TES), action and platformers (Assassin’s Creed, Zelda, Mario, RDR), and others too numerous to count.

2. I once got up out of bed and delivered a standing ovation (by myself, alone in my room) after reading the last page of The Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan. Yes, I’m that much of a nerd.

3. As an academic (or wanna-be academic, at least until I get my PhD), my main focus of study has been on hurtful events and reconciliation, with an emphasis on apologies and responses to apologies. I’ve presented several papers at regional and national conventions on the subject, and am working on a few more for publication in journals.

4. In addition to my academic work, and my current novel project “The End,” I’m working on a collection of short stories including several stories set in larger universes that will have multiple entries. The title of the collection will be “Vision 21,” to reflect the number of stories contained.

5. My favorite movies include (to name a few): Children of Men, Blade Runner, and Sorcerour.

6. I used to be involved in policy debate on the high school and college level. I wasn’t very good at it, but I did have a lot of fun.

7. I was also on the speech team in high school, where I once qualified for the state tournament in Storytelling.

The Chain: Link Three

“Here come the vultures,” murmured Timothy as he watched the press corps descend upon the scene, microphones thrust forward like cavalry sabres, cameras held like rifles. The result was a terribly mixed metaphor that conjured images of uniformed buzzards charging into battle, but he was willing to let it pass for now.

The frantic and tabloid treatment of the woman’s death would no doubt have suited one of those lurid FA (for “funeral aficionado”) websites that Timothy abhorred, like DethJunkie. He himself ran a much more tasteful site, FuneReal, which had a small but vocal online community (consisting of Timothy).

Timothy wasn’t one of those people who enjoy seeing the pain and suffering of others, unlike some FAers. While watching the pained and heartbroken expressions of those who were probably the woman’s friends and family, he truly wished for them to find peace, as difficult as it may be, as they came to terms with this tragic turn of events.

That being said, this was Timothy’s 1,321st funeral as an (un)official Recorder. While it never got easier to witness the scenes of sadness, his vast experience did allow him a sense of perspective and objectivity. Memento mori. Remember that you are mortal. Death is the great equalizer–except, as had Timothy found, when it comes to funerals.

Do not judge him too harshly, then, if Timothy treated the woman’s untimely passing with somewhat less shock, empathy, and solemnity than we might, were we in attendance that dreary day. After all the ceremonies he’d attended, he reasoned, this death at a funeral was merely another set of notes in his little yellow pad.

And any other time, any other place, he would have been right.

The Chain: Link Two

Blast it all! thought Timothy, who affected a slight British accent even in his head, despite being born and raised in Milwaukee.

The mourners, once placid as tranquilized cows, now moved with a sense of urgency and, in the case of some, panic. Most of the black-clothed figures were huddled around something Timothy couldn’t see, while others appeared to be fleeing for their lives.

What the devil had just happened?

After a few seconds of vacillating indecision, Timothy sprang, or more accurately, slowly ambled, into action. With the strange mix of anxiety and arrogance common to those who engage in imagined social interactions more often than real ones, he approached the confused scene before him.

“This is . . .” began a woman in a broad, black hat with a veil, before her voice choked to a halt.

“Tragedy upon tragedy,” concluded a short, balding man in an ill-fitting suit, patting her on the shoulder. The two of them slowly walked away, shaking their heads in bewildered unison.

Trying with some difficulty not to touch anyone, Timothy sidled and sidestepped his way closer to the crowd’s nucleus, but eventually found his way blocked by an impenetrable wall of people. He scowled and was about to give up when he heard someone say, from the clearing inside the ring of dark suits, “Where’s the damn ambulance?”

The damnbulance, thought Timothy with a smile, who, in addition to alliteration, found such inadvertent portmanteaus to be amusing. But his good humor faded when the voice continued, “Not that it matters. She’s already dead.”

The Chain: Link One

“Jonah Bradley was a good man,” said the tall, dark-haired woman speaking from a podium.

What a terribly clichéd way to begin a eulogy, thought Timothy. Well, at least a cliché conformed to expectations, even if the rest of the funeral was a train wreck. Figuratively speaking. He’d only been to one funeral that was also an actual train wreck. That was a messy business.

He blinked and refocused his attention on the matter at hand, brow furrowing in annoyance at his wandering mind. Bad as it was, the funeral still deserved his full attention.

Timothy resumed jotting notes in messy shorthand into a yellow notepad, hunching slightly to protect it from the intermittent rain. He stood a good fifty feet back from the milling mass of mourners—a nifty bit of alliteration, that, he’d have to remember it for later—far enough away so that no one walked up to him by accident and interrupted his observation, but close enough to record all the important details.

It was easier at events like this, major ones where the press were usually in attendance so he didn’t stick out so much, to do his work unimpeded. He had to be more careful at smaller affairs, where the presence of a somber, script-scribbling stranger—alright, he had to admit, that one was a bit forced—usually prompted some awkward questions. Questions like “Who are you?” “Why are you here?” and “What the hell is a ‘funeral aficionado’?”

Timothy sighed. Great minds were so often misunderstood and reviled by the common folk. Being no stranger to thoughts of death, he was quite content with his life’s work never being appreciated in his lifetime. In fact, the thought of receiving the accolades he so richly deserved while still living offended him slightly. Not that the occasional accolade would go amiss. Something small and tasteful, like—

His meandering train of thought was, appropriately, derailed, as a commotion below caught his attention.

Something was happening.