You're Not Very Important

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11294921195877203192011-11-27T18:17:52.615-06:00You're Not Very ImportantAuthor Douglas W. Texter blogDoug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.comBlogger701100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-33343400927693414142008-10-03T16:27:00.003-05:002008-10-03T16:29:36.679-05:00Relieved and Klingons

Well, somebody tried to do something pretty nasty to me. But that's over. If anybody read my blog last weekend, you'll note that it was very, very weird. Somebody locked me out for a couple of days. That's not going to happen again.On a less frightening note---had a discussion with the MCTC fantasy and SF club that I mentor about Klingons. Quite nice.Doug

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-76033842688294071232008-10-01T08:38:00.001-05:002008-10-01T08:39:46.647-05:00At School and an old friend

Well, at work. Yesterday was a pretty good day. Got a lot done and helped a few students. Tomorrow, the lego assignment for professional writing.For my old friend, gmail messages for you. Read em while they're hot!

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-63214882950004991852008-09-29T18:29:00.001-05:002008-09-30T04:36:36.708-05:00Back

I am finishing up two writing projects, and things are going pretty well. Busy, though.Later,Doug

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-26483845220242456402008-09-22T08:12:00.002-05:002008-09-23T06:53:27.187-05:00Back from seeing Mom and a brief message to a friend

Back from seeing Mom this weekend. It was good.Doug

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-86750980311293677642008-09-17T22:04:00.003-05:002008-09-17T22:05:42.552-05:00Long Day

Long day of teaching and prepping. It was a good one, though. I'm getting ready to go see my mother this weekend. It will be good to see her.Goof of the day: a student from one of my classes called. I got him confused with another student and gave him great advice for the wrong class. OOPS.

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-36846350023560305722008-09-15T17:55:00.003-05:002008-09-17T22:07:25.679-05:00Working

Well, school is definitely in session. Things are going pretty well. I have to come up with a way to deal with DeVaca. But things are pretty good.Anyway, back to work.

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-17936206629068010552008-09-15T17:15:00.002-05:002008-09-17T22:08:17.826-05:00Student Evaluations

Well, got some feedback today from my MCTC students. They essentially liked what I was doing. It's been a long day and more to do.Doug

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-36638591700337498612008-09-13T15:32:00.003-05:002008-09-13T19:45:46.318-05:00Supplemental--Nebula awards

Supplemental: I read that my story Primetime made a very long list of stories given at least one nod by a SFWA pro. I'm nowhere near the award. But that my name and Nebula are on the same page, that's nice.Doug

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-82851038785390110292008-09-13T07:54:00.004-05:002008-09-13T08:37:18.784-05:00the Chronicle and The Game of Ethnic Identity

Well, I just heard back from the Chronicle of Higher Education. They're paying me 500 dollars for my piece. I'm very excited about this. They even are doing a kill fee if we can't agree on a final version. The article will draw some fire, but I'm quite happy I wrote it.Jobs: Took a look at the Job Information List at the MLA. Sigh. It's about what I thought. "Ethnic" literature rules. What does

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-7935216551844899762008-09-10T19:01:00.004-05:002008-09-10T19:07:27.920-05:00Teaching

Well, haven't heard back from the Chronicle in a while. Are you out there?Hopefully, things will be ok.I'm taking a quick look at the Jobs Information List that the Modern Language Association puts out. Now, I have some hope, but I can guess what I will find: hundreds of jobs for "Ethnic American Literature."Now, as a white guy who's also a liberal, I'm appalled by this. Why don't the schools

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-37920162066251271392008-09-07T13:51:00.001-05:002008-09-07T13:53:32.612-05:00Chronicle of Higher Education

Well, I sold a piece on Friday to the Chronicle of Higher Education. The piece is called "How to make 100k a year as an adjunct English Instructor." It was a fun piece that I pumped out in about three hours. A few glitches, but it was pretty good.I tutored this morning and now have to prep for class. Time to go.Doug

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-68137549325290770712008-09-01T10:09:00.003-05:002008-09-10T18:46:32.955-05:00Labor Day

Well, I'm beginning a new school year. Lots to do. Let's see. I'm trying to revive an old relationship. Will I succeed? I don't know. I've been known to attempt the impossible. Sometimes I fail miserably. Other times, I pull it off. But one never knows. Keep the faith. Enough about that.I'm teaching nine classes this semester. I'm truly privileged to be able to do this. I hope I can keep the

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-91776371418037961192008-08-28T18:42:00.002-05:002008-08-28T18:46:43.981-05:00Back at the mines

Well, summer is definitely over. Teaching several classes at MCTC and a few at various other places. It's challenging but in a good way.I'm finally finishing Toni Morrison's Beloved. I don't know. I know this is heresy, but I'm not sure I like it very much. Yeah, she deals with the sexual abuse aspects of slavery. But we all knew that. I suppose the kinds of stories about slaves I like involve

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-89589246918664837672008-08-25T10:15:00.003-05:002008-08-25T15:06:33.995-05:00Internet out

The wireless internet at my apartment is down. Couldn't get online yesterday. that absolutely sucked. Ick.Now, class has started again. I'm back at MCTC and a bevvy of other places. So, now, off to work.Doug

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-14005554807105086582008-08-23T15:16:00.006-05:002008-08-25T16:30:57.497-05:00Updating

I've been updating all of my blog posts here, and I'm going to update my Myspace tomorrow, and click in on my addsense the day after. Slowly, but surely.I've been reading The Diary of A Young Girl for my captivity narratives class. This is one of those books that I probably should have read when I was thirteen. But I never did. One of the things that strikes me about the narrative is the way in

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-80587143856249884012008-08-20T08:13:00.001-05:002008-08-20T08:14:15.172-05:00Meetings

Well, I'm at my workstation at MCTC noticing that they've taken my name off the door and I can't find it anywhere else in the department. That's a bad sign. I'm about to head off to the University of St. Thomas English department for a useless meeting. But life is absolutely full of useless meetings. On another note, I spent last night watching Black Hawk Down, one of my favorite movies.Off to a

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-69855407893573211292008-08-19T15:41:00.001-05:002008-08-19T15:42:42.459-05:00Home

I'm home from visiting my mother again. Ran into my old trombone section leader, Dave Stevens of the Dave Stevens Big Band. More later.Doug

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-48144902730563496762008-08-13T08:31:00.004-05:002008-08-13T08:47:55.946-05:00Tags and other online stuff

Sometime this week, I am going to go back and edit all my posts on both my blogs to update them with tags.I don't really think its necessary but someone told me that search engines like them and it will boost my online profile ranking.Do I need to be so popular?I am also working on my website. I welcome input. What should be on an authorsite?Doug

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-16701753995167793562008-07-29T06:55:00.005-05:002008-08-19T15:39:27.601-05:00Back to Work

Today I have a bunch of stuff to do. Lots of writing, lots of grading. Lots of report writing to do. I've been focusing on long term goals here. What do I actually want out of life? It's a good question. Money, power to do good, love, etc. Not in that order, though.Doug

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-75179371145181361392008-07-27T20:16:00.010-05:002008-08-19T15:40:58.020-05:00On my way back to Midwest

I've spent the last few days in PA, my home state, visiting with my Mom in a nursing home. She seems to be doing quite well. We had lunch in a bar today, and I'm winging my way back to MN tomorrow.My mother is in a nursing home in PA. She has vascular dementia from a stroke about four years ago. I feel terrible for her, since she was such a bright and charming person before this happened. She was

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-82812200177484546212008-07-22T22:06:00.010-05:002008-08-23T14:51:27.968-05:00Class Ending and crappy couple of days

Well, I'm done with work for today. Didn't do very much. I've been slow for the last several days. I blog at My Space.com as well. Check me out there.But, Primetime, the movie script is done. I have to review the letter from Roy in the morning, and then we send to California. Hoo boy!Taught my penultimate utopian studies class and had an interview for another teaching job. How many classes have I

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-52054743711140829592008-07-14T10:54:00.004-05:002008-08-23T14:52:48.406-05:00Monday

Good morning.Have lots on the agenda for today. I biked twelve hundred and seventy five calories in an hour this morning, and I'm moving toward my goal of 1500 in an hour.I'm fifty pages into Beloved. Not sure that I like it. This may be one of those cases in which I'm left scratching my head wondering what all the fuss was about. Morrison is one of those people. I don't know Morrison, but I used

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-68636514708786965292008-07-12T13:47:00.005-05:002008-08-23T14:53:14.093-05:00House Cleaning

Some say that spring is the time for house cleaning. Today is the middle of high summer, and I've been scrubbing away. My landlord just put in a new dishwasher, but he had to turn off the water in the entire building to hook it up to the water source. So, for now, I'm still in dish drainer territory.Spent this morning scrubbing and washing. I also did some framing. I inherited a couple of years

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-40125140518344724172008-07-11T16:28:00.004-05:002008-08-23T14:53:34.445-05:00Dishwasher

I'm very excited to announce that my landlord put in a new dishwasher in my apartment today. Yee Hah. It's a small thing, but it's a great one.Hot as hell in Minneapolis today. Ick. I'm at school right now, but I just about melted getting here. I've got the AC at home cranked up as high as it will go.Anyway, I just did LDA drops for several of my students at MCTC. I love teaching here, but the

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-39846999988295963612008-07-10T13:32:00.004-05:002008-08-23T14:53:57.631-05:00Biking again

Actually, I never stopped. But I've been increasing my time and my distance. I'm up to 1200 calories an hour for a full hour.In addition, I'm busy helping my students at MCTC work on their papers about dystopia. It's really been a lot of fun. I love dystopias, and I hope they will too.This afternoon, I'm applying for yet another adjunct teaching position. It should go well.Doug

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-70027021331500105142008-07-08T08:05:00.006-05:002008-08-23T14:54:30.269-05:00Back to Work

Well, the long July 4 weekend is over. And I'm heading back to work. I spent this morning journaling, and I'm going to be working on a couple of writing projects today, in addition to getting back into teaching.Work will progress on the script for Primetime, which I'm writing with Roy C. Booth. In addition, I'm working on Much To Do About Nothing, and I'm still working on my article about

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-55878010102406321202008-07-07T12:49:00.003-05:002008-08-23T14:55:01.216-05:00Plagiarism

I just had an exchange of emails with somebody at the community college at which I teach about the issue of plagiarism.I said that I thought that plagiarism was a witchhunt that shouldn't be jumped into lightly.Here's why.I think the entire notion of plagiarism is completely linked with the notion of intellectual property rights. As I writer, I certainly wouldn't want some big gun somewhere

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-89714670283209884462008-07-06T12:42:00.004-05:002008-08-23T14:55:24.201-05:00Back from Convergence

I'm back from Convergence. It was quite fun. I met a few interesting people, got yelled at for sleeping in a chair, and served on some panels. I also got a chance to meet Len Wein, a comics writer and editor. I thanked him for making my childhood fun. It was neat to meet someone who made a positive impact on your life. I felt the way I did when I met Harlan Ellison last year and he signed my copy

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-53340549978815334972008-07-03T22:54:00.005-05:002008-08-23T14:55:55.471-05:00Convergence

Well, here we are. Almost July 4.I'm off to Convergence tomorrow. I'm on three panels:Literature and Sexualitity.Classic Literature and SF.Guilty Pleasures.I'm hosting writer Roy C. Booth and his wife Cynthia at my place tonight and for the remainder of Convergence.Had dinner with one of my colleagues at MCTC. Good discussion. We also decided to launch a competition. Each month, we will see which

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-53564569131797545662008-07-02T14:13:00.005-05:002008-08-23T14:56:29.630-05:00Self Help Literature

Well, I'm at MCTC for what I hope will be my daily blog.Well, turns out I won't be reviewing Tom Moylan's book for JFA. That's ok. I've got plenty of irons in the fire.Well, I'm working on my article about financial self help. It's really interesting. There's not much written on the financial side of things. What's available is mostly about personal self help. Much of the research goes back to

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-27684690143682326132008-07-01T23:49:00.004-05:002008-08-23T14:57:02.611-05:00Self Help, financial style.

Well, let's see if I can manage to blog every day.Today, I taught and worked my newest article about self-help literature. It's going to trace the development of self-help literature from Ben Franklin to T. Harv Eker. I went to the Millionaire Mind Intensive in San Francisco in May. It was quite fun. It was a little over the top, though. But more about that in the article.Here's where we are in

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-68855010082534030772008-05-17T15:34:00.003-05:002008-08-23T14:57:25.291-05:00Summer and writing and news from Down Under

Well, summer is here.Finishing up work on my piece on gifted children and Octavia Butler and Paul Theroux. Hope to have that out for consideration at Utopian Studies in the next few days. That will be four journal articles out, if it works.Anyway, did a morning of bill paying. It went pretty well. Finished critiquing a bunch of manuscript for a friend. Also got word that my story "Bringing Work

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-31533259381175464042008-05-13T11:02:00.003-05:002008-08-23T14:57:48.088-05:00Post Mother's Day and Gifted children

Well, I'm back from Erie, PA. I saw Mom for Mother's Day. We went to a bar for lunch for Mom's Day. Then we went for a DQ. Mom had chocolate, and I had vanilla. Returned to find chaos from the IRS. Oh, dear. Did some house cleaning yesterday and started planning my summer reading and writing projects. I'm working on a bunch of things. I'm writing an essay on Gifted Children, that I hope will be

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-38366911663444739372008-05-08T21:40:00.004-05:002008-08-23T14:58:30.648-05:00Back to Work

Ok, now that I've posted all the personal stuff I think I ever care to, it's time to start blogging about the things that matter.Writing and teaching.Just had a goodbye dinner with the students from my English 3029 class at the U of Minnesota, probably the last class I will teach there. It was fun. Goodbye all.Doug

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-68274991822420921692008-05-06T10:06:00.002-05:002008-08-23T14:59:01.881-05:00Supplemental

Hope springs eternal. I have a feeling something very good is about to happen, in the midst of all this chaos.Doug

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-63194203417485661772008-05-06T08:06:00.005-05:002008-08-23T14:59:48.198-05:00Getting Back in the Saddle--Life Goals

Been biking this morning and listening to books on CD. This morning, I'm a little groggy. I'm feeling disoriented. But that's nothing terribly new.I'm going to be reading a friend's manuscript. I'm not going to be commenting on it here as much as I'd like to, because he's asked for confidentiality.I've seen the last few days as an opportunity to reflect on the past and move into the future. Well.

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-19969527822875701572008-04-17T09:27:00.003-05:002008-08-23T15:00:12.222-05:00Getting to End of Semester

It's April in Minnesota, almost the end of term for the two places I'm teaching at this year. I can't wait for it to be over so I can begin bartending lessons and really cranking on direct mail. It's going to be wonderful. I'm teaching one class at MCTC this summer.I'm still waiting to hear back on a bunch of submissions. I'm so impatient. But, no news is generally good news.Off to writing

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-77668726202178672592008-04-16T14:56:00.003-05:002008-08-23T15:00:39.408-05:00Wednesday

Just another Wednesday. Taught three classes today. Worked on my two writing projects. First was the Much To Do About Nothing book project. Then I worked briefly on my script bible for Primetime. We're doing ok, but it's slow going at the moment.In the class that I'm subbing for, I'm currently working with students on papers on death issues. I did not pick the topic, but it's somewhat interesting

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-50291641572265102292008-04-15T19:17:00.004-05:002008-08-23T15:01:15.510-05:00Spring new stuff

Well, I'm back.It's been a long winter. I've got several stories out there under consideration.First, "You've Got a Problem," which is about my dissertation advisor, is under consideration at AlienSkin.Second, "Bringing Work Home with Her," which is about a guy married to a spy, is under consideration at Andromeda Spaceways.Third, "Rescue Man" is under consideration at IGMS.Fourth, "Jacobite

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-17176075616788347892008-02-14T20:32:00.003-06:002008-08-23T15:01:49.821-05:00Supplemental Just Read Empire

Just read Orson Scott Card's Empire. It's strange, about a very near distant future in which the left (the Progressives) take over the US in some kind of coup. Card, in this novel, reads a little bit like a right wing version of Kim Stanley Robinson. Both are pretty politically driven.Card's characters are pretty good. They're conservative. But they're not monsters. And Card does have a pretty

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-54242654403470181262008-02-14T11:34:00.003-06:002008-08-23T15:02:17.045-05:00Good Morning

Well, I'm finally finishing the ending of Rescue Man. Figured out what has to happen. A battle between Good and Evil. I can't wait to finish this one and get it off my plate, for better or worse.Made over six hundred calories with Marcus Buckingham. It was really good.Tomorrow, I'm going on a fool's errand. But, maybe I'm doing the right thing.Now, I have to go to correct some papers.Doug

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-19600057516903820542008-02-11T07:53:00.002-06:002008-08-23T15:02:44.663-05:00Monday Morning

Another Monday morning. Back into the fray. Only about 540 calories. OK and have listened to all the Marcus Buckingham I can possibly stand for right now. What I've gotten out of all of this is that Buckingham is really about contesting the myth that we can all become really better at everything. Not so, Buckingham claims. All of us have certain talents. If we don't have a talent in a certain

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-44292724310661922712008-02-07T09:40:00.002-06:002008-08-23T15:03:26.236-05:00Back in the Saddle and Gifted Children

Back after several days of being sick. That chest cold I wrote about a week ago turned into a lovely week-long illness. Lots of languishing. I'm doing ok now. But I've had to do a lot of sleeping.Anyway, back to the routine. Did 598 calories and listened to Marcus Buckingham again this morning. It was very interesting--the difference between somebody like him and all of the scholars I read. No

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-9956028898461525522008-01-31T10:29:00.001-06:002008-08-23T15:03:49.771-05:00Thursday

Well, it's Thursday. The temperature in Minneapolis is just ghastly. I'm getting a chest cold as well. Lovely. Flem everywhere. Ick. On the lighter side....I've cut hundreds more words from Rescue Man this morning. One of favorite creations in this story is Frank, a 60s radical who is a professor and a pain in the butt to everybody around him. Want to get this beast under control shortly and get

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-38823724471701041172008-01-30T08:07:00.002-06:002008-08-23T15:04:15.413-05:00Power

Good morning. did around 540 calories this morning. Switched up my pattern and my CD. Listened to the 33 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. Read by Don Leslie. I was listening to the story about Count Von Lustig being able to trick Al Capone by simply using a little bit of honesty to cover up his ultimately nefarious designs. It was really very fun. Honesty, as Greene says, is really a weapon to be

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-70193949307803488952008-01-29T09:57:00.001-06:002008-08-23T15:04:39.929-05:00Tuesday and Coins

Good morning. Went biking with Marcus Buckingham this morning. 620 calories and 548 words cut from Rescue Man. Not bad. Now, it's getting really difficult to cut down words now. We''re getting to the point where I have to save words by cutting prepositions. That's a good sign, though.Anyway, I'm about to call to see how much two Morgan silver dollars are. They might be worth absolutely nothing.

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-48582675728252423262008-01-27T10:03:00.002-06:002008-08-23T15:05:45.283-05:00Sunday Morning Biking and Strength Assessment

Went Biking with Marcus Buckingham this morning. About 700 calories in 30 minutes.More important, I listened to Buckingham talk about the fact that strengths are things that come out of your appetites. If this is true, I believe that my strengths revolve around Tuna Hoagies and cheesesteaks.Seriously, I think that my strengths revolve around key childhood coping strategies. Let's see what they

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-47272946309197355572008-01-26T14:10:00.001-06:002008-08-23T15:06:08.489-05:00Late Morning

Starting my morning later than usual. Last night I bought a book called The Last World War by Ward Dayton. It's a first contact/war story. A group of reserve Marines in MO are on duty playing war games. The only trouble is that aliens have constructed a portal and have traveled across the universe and show up in the show me state. There are two groups of aliens, the Grays, who are fighting the

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-88288330416754625752008-01-25T08:11:00.002-06:002008-08-23T15:06:38.420-05:00Professional Writing

Went biking with Marcus Buckingham this morning. It was great. Tried a different biking pattern and only burned about 505 calories. But that always happens when I try another pattern. Re-listened to the opening tape of Putting Your Strengths to Work. Buckingham was saying that most people when working get into a flow experience at least once a week. But that really doesn't "feed" them enough.

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-3386311084025242702008-01-24T11:20:00.002-06:002008-08-23T15:07:04.235-05:00New Story, Campbell Awards

Went biking with the Donald this morning. 608 calories. I thought about what Donald and Zanger were saying about thinking big. That's very important. I don't think that many people do this at all. The bigger you think, the bigger opportunities you have. I know that in the last few years, I've begun to think bigger and my horizons have expanded. I've had more and more opportunities.Speaking of new

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-79622643748157011842008-01-22T09:51:00.002-06:002008-08-23T15:07:21.047-05:00Back from Iowa

I was in Iowa this weekend,. Its even colder than Minneapolis. The town is kind of odd. Very small. One of those towns that seems to arise from nowhere out of the landscape. Flew there on a small NWA prop plane. I absolutely love those prop planes. Snow everywhere.On my way down, I flew next to a woman from Philly who was going to take care of a friend from college who had met a pig farmer on E

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-77426230935044629852008-01-18T07:29:00.002-06:002008-08-23T15:07:48.637-05:00Friday is here: Courage and Writing

Good morning. Biking with Marcus Buckingham went well. 430 calories, but I'm trying a different pattern. Buckingham was talking about a manager who does these spreadsheets called clarity reports. For the manager, these reports seem to order not only the work world but the universe itself. For everybody else, they are a pain in the keyster. I've had managers like that. Buckingham also talked about

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-4951035953150100592008-01-17T11:19:00.002-06:002008-08-23T15:08:57.063-05:00SUPPLEMENTAL--end hack

Just finished hacking my story "Bringing Work Home with Her," in 30 minutes I took out 1021 words and am slowly getting in range of my target of a 5000 word story, exactly. This one is going out to Strange Horizons and F&SF after Tom takes a look at it.Well, off to Direct Mail. DT

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-8619748998058141682008-01-17T10:27:00.002-06:002008-08-23T15:09:32.536-05:00The Strong Week and the MCTC SF Fantasy Club

Good Morning. Outstanding biking this morning. 700 calories in 30 minutes, exactly. Someday, I will reach 1000 in 30 minutes. A flow experience. One of the reasons why I love exercising on the bike is that the calorie counter and the clock allow you to do goal setting. You can break down your ride into 5 minute intervals and 50 calorie increments. I read a Harper's article once where some lame

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-8092359602815162072008-01-16T07:14:00.002-06:002008-08-23T15:10:03.802-05:00Good Morning, Minneapolis

Well, went biking with Marcus Buckingham this morning. Only 548 calories burned. I'm slowing down as we head into the mid week. However, I enjoyed Buckingham's discussion about strengths. These are activities that make us feel strong after we do them.What are they, for me?WritingFundraisingTeaching (some days)BikingEditing (to some extent, in the same way that I liked rock climbing a long time

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-76897186286522404792008-01-15T16:59:00.002-06:002008-08-23T15:10:40.189-05:00SUPPLEMENTAL--review done

Just turned in my first draft of my review of Modern Utopian Fictions. Awaiting editorial feedback. It's good to get writing projects at least in the pipeline. Next--get my story to Tom in the next few days. DT

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-5895685440272327382008-01-15T08:53:00.002-06:002008-08-23T15:11:00.526-05:00More strengths

Went biking with Marcus Buckingham this morning. Did 651 calories in thirty minutes. It's interesting. Buckingham talked about natural strengths, things we're just good at. What are they?As hackneyed as it sounds, they are the things that we would continue to do long after we stop getting paid. For example, although I have strong analytical abilities, I'm comfortable using my imagination.It's my

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-80678763773609924152008-01-14T17:23:00.002-06:002008-08-23T15:11:19.739-05:00School's In

First day of class at MCTC. Said hello to my students in an English 900 (developmental reading) and English 1110 (freshman comp). The first day of class is very important. I hope I've started this off right.Did not bike with the Donald this morning. Damn! I will tomorrow.Am busy revising "Rescue Man," this afternoon, my 25k story about a hero. I've realized that one of the themes that recurs in

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-21575949595966900132008-01-13T10:02:00.002-06:002008-08-23T15:11:51.808-05:00Discover Your Strengths

Went biking with Marcus Buckingham this morning. 648 burned calories in 30 minutes. I want to hit 750 tomorrow. I enjoyed listening to the CD and agree with Buckingham that discovering and capitalizing on your strengths is really important. I remember right after college when I worked at W.B. Saunders Company, as a medical copy editor, I was stuck in a cubicle every day, trying to help doctors

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-48768405239918585492008-01-12T10:11:00.002-06:002008-08-23T15:12:38.235-05:00Saturday: Emotions in SF

Did my biking with the Donald and Zanker this morning. Only 480 calories. I'm in a weekend lull. One of the subjects on the CD this morning was loyalty to employees and employers. I think that's right. If you don't have loyalty, you have nothing.I'm still very excited for Andrea Kail, who was nominated for a nebula this week. I hope she gets it.In terms of my own reading, I am trying to plow

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-77879527905212555482008-01-11T18:55:00.003-06:002008-08-23T15:13:05.211-05:00SUPPLEMENTAL--GREAT NEWS FOR A FELLOW WRITER

Wow, just heard some absolutely astounding and wonderful news. Andrea Kail, one of my fellow writers of the future winners just got nominated for a Nebula. CONGRATULATIONS, ANDREA! DT

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-11524075886320167252008-01-11T12:15:00.003-06:002008-08-23T15:13:36.831-05:00Data security and Utopia

Taking a break from writing application letters. Last night I did my University of Minnesota Data Security compliance training online. Pain in the tuckus. But it was important. A couple of weeks ago a TA at the U (not me) (I'm done, and I have the illustrious rank of Instructor) got in trouble for doing something pretty outrageous in class. I didn't know exactly what it was, so when he told me

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-23686958467305224092008-01-10T11:45:00.002-06:002008-08-23T15:14:19.753-05:00I'm back. The Academic Job Market and all that Jazz

Hi, Everybody. I'm back. I had a motherboard go down a couple of months ago.What's new? Well, my fall quest for academic jobs landed in a big zero. No MLA interviews. I'm Dr. Doug these days. But that and a two bucks will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. My advisor's advice about the job market made me almost double over with laughter. She started asking me about my commitment. This is one

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-84677066391777092302007-10-15T08:29:00.003-05:002008-08-23T15:14:47.278-05:00Major Barbara, Jobs, and Interzone

It's early, and I'm at my work station at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. Have to correct a bunch of letters to the landlord. A couple of weeks ago, I gave my students in English 900 a fun assignment. They receive a letter from the landlord, Boris Badinov, telling them that their rent is going up. They have to do an analysis of the rhetorical situation. Then they write a letter back

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-64320671287877249902007-10-14T16:49:00.002-05:002008-08-23T15:15:12.699-05:00Upside Down in Reverse

Well, just got back from Kinko's. They are putting together a bunch of writing samples for me. Unfortunately, they screwed up and put the 15 pages of stuff in reverse order. Oh, dear. The writing sample is a published article on Stephen King's the Running Man, which very strangely predicts shows like America's Most Wanted and Cops!Have recovered from my lackluster showing at the reading at the

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-74145534847231596282007-10-13T15:12:00.002-05:002008-08-23T15:15:30.085-05:00Jobs, Jobs

Just spending a beautiful Saturday in Minnesota holed up in Lind Hall, the English Department, working on my job applications. Had a motherboard die on me three nights ago. Static on the screen, and then Kablooie. Went to the data recovery boys at the University of Minnesota. They pronounced my re-furbished computer dead on arrival. I really liked that laptop. It had been to doctor's offices all

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-7028848787217056582007-10-09T06:23:00.002-05:002008-08-23T15:15:47.915-05:00Back from Toronto

I'm just back from Toronto, where I attended the annual meeting of the Society of Utopian Studies. At first glance it may seem kind of weird to have a bunch of people sit around and talk about the perfect society, but it's really fun. And given the shape that the world is in right now, I think that the world will not be harmed by the meetings. I chaired a panel on George Orwell, and I talked with

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-36116586024345165082007-09-09T19:25:00.003-05:002008-08-23T15:16:10.374-05:00Plato's Republic

Well, it's Sunday night and I'm getting ready to teach tomorrow. In my utopia/dystopia class, I'm going to introduce students to Plato's Republic. We're doing a couple of hundred pages of the Republic this week as an introduction to utopian thought. The Republic is quite interesting and not a little weird. One of the things that I find most troubling about Plato's work is his stance on fiction

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-72827976862895126412007-09-06T21:20:00.002-05:002008-08-13T08:25:59.490-05:00School's In

In addition to being a writer, I'm also a college instructor. I just started semesters at three schools. It's been a good start.What a whirlwind it's all been. During the week of August 19, I was at the WOTF Workshop and Awards Ceremony. It was an incredible week, one full of treats. Then on the 26th I flew back to Minneapolis. And I started teaching at MCTC the next day. This week, I started

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1129492119587720319.post-89522670731081664002007-09-06T14:57:00.002-05:002008-08-13T08:25:35.502-05:00But I'm Not Either

Hi. I'm Doug.I'm a writer.I am a published writer.While I recently won The Writers of the Future contest and I was lucky enough to have my story lead the book. (On Sale here and here), I don't consider myself that important.And neither should you.Which is why my first book "You're Not Very Important" (On Sale here and here) was good enough to spawn this blog.If that is not enough Doug for you, I

Doug Texterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11763348852903663658noreply@blogger.com1