Owner: Coscomment URL:http://coscomentertainment.blogspot.com Join Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 01:42:15 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Commentary blog of Canadian author A.P. Fuchs - thoughts on publishing, writing, politics, religion and more... Site statistics:Click here
Why God Can't Jump 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Don't let the title fool you. God can jump—but not because we ask Him to.Last week I posted about my issue with smoking. It's a battle, I gotta tell ya. Anyway, some joker whom I've had problems with in the past emailed me and made a comment that spurred this entry. You see, this individual suggested God didn't have the time to help me with my smoking problem. The way it was written was a slight against my Creator, as if God didn't care.First off—and this goes for all of us—don't take a shot at God. He'll squish you faster than a heavy boot on a cockroach.Second, it isn't about God not having the time to help me out or His inability to. A large part of it has to be my willingness to let Him help. (And, no, it isn't true that God helps those who help themselves; there's zero Biblical basis for such a statement so ignore it every time you hear it.) As powerful as God is, He's also an enormous Gentleman and doesn't push Himself on anybody. Anybody. He's giv
Life as a Smoker: Take One Million 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Smoking sucks. Sure, it's enjoyable and I find it helpful when I'm stressed out or just need to think—but the side effects are many and it's beginning to weigh heavily on my wallet. Since I have a wife and a kid, the latter is a consideration that needs to be taken seriously. Anyone who has tried to build a life from the ground up knows this and you try and save a few bucks every which way you can.Since my last report on my effort to quit smoking, everything's gone bust. I was doing great for awhile but then life got in the way and things regressed. I'm well aware most if not all smokers do not successfully quit their first time. I heard that it takes something like at least seven times before you get the ball rolling.So though this is A.P. Fuchs Quits Smoking take one million, I'm trying a new method which I've never tried before: herbal cigarettes and, no, that's not code for marijuana. As per the package, they're nicotine and tobacco free cigarettes. The brand is Read more:Smoker
Public Speaking 1970-01-01 00:59:59 It's grade two. Our music class is having a talent show. After racking my brain, I decide to put a little skit together, something comical. Everyone loves a good joke and I love to tell them. I talk to my parents and the three of us come up with a "little play" that I'm to perform as a one-man show. I rehearse the night before in front of them, my mom and dad putting in their two cents every time they think what I'm doing needs tweaking. We're having a blast.The lights go up:Still rehearsing. The story is called Good Morning Sunshine and it follows me as I get up to begin my day. It starts with me sleeping. Then the alarm goes off. I open my eyes, sit up, stretch and yawn extra audibly...then fall out of bed. My hair's a massive mess and my PJs and housecoat don't fit right. I make my way to the little table and chair—my "kitchen"—for some breakfast...but not before tripping over my feet. Getting myself together, I sit down and grab the cereal box. The cereal po Read more:Public
, Speaking
, Public Speaking
Human Ailments: Jerks 1970-01-01 00:59:59 This past Friday night, a friend and I grabbed a bite to eat and then for old times' sake went to Rookies, a bar located in Transcona (Trashcona, as it's commonly labeled around here; long story). Anyway, he and I haven't been there in a good five years, if not more. Back in my bar-going days, he and I went there often particularly because it was one of the few fun bars where they'd play rock "n' roll instead of the trashy hip-hop-bee-bop-dance-till-you-drop garbage that pollutes most bars' airwaves.We parked a block or two away and headed toward the place. As I was walking along the sidewalk out front of the bar, I heard this splash then plop behind me. I turned, looked down, and the first thing that crossed my mind was that someone threw a snowball at me (don't ask me why as it only began snowing yesterday). The splash-then-plop was soon followed by the hoots and hollers of some young punks in a beat up, old car at the stop sign. The punks yelled something I couldn'
Laughter 1970-01-01 00:59:59 One of the most fascinating subjects is the study of human behavior. And though understanding the why of why we do something is amazingly interesting on its own, I love just picking a behavior of ours and stepping back and objectively looking at what we're doing.Take laughter, for example.What's the deal with saying "Ha ha ha" in rapid succession, the words coming from deep within the pit of your stomach instead of from your throat? I mean, really, what is that? Or am I the only one who finds it amusing? I've always found it interesting what triggers laughter, and I'm not talking about whatever image or sound we hear, but rather why such an image provokes a response resulting in a fast-paced "Ha ha ha" And, in truth, that's something we as humans don't know conclusively. There are many professional opinions as to how laughter works and what areas of the brain are involved, but as to why a joke is funny and how our recognizing of its "funniness" triggers a laugh
Finally, A Cop Who Cares 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Those who know me know I don't think too highly of Winnipeg's Finest. Too many incidences in the past where—when I've been personally involved with the cops as a victim of crime or been around a crime—they've let not only me but, in my opinion, the entire city down. I even take a jab at them in my novel, Axiom-man, and, I admit, while I was writing that story, thought that if it was at all possible, having a real superhero in the city would be a good idea, someone to pick up the slack where the cops always seem to fall short.Just now, my perception changed. A little.I have just gotten back inside after going for a late-night smoke. As is my routine, I usually walk around the apartment block as something to do while smoking. I exited via the back tonight to throw out a bag of used diapers and put an empty milk jug in the recycle bin before making my way to the front. My original plan was to do one lap around the building, grab the kid's new box of diapers from the car, the Read more:Finally
, Cares
Novels and Haircuts 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I'm not one for haircuts. Never have been. Though I did get my hair cut regularly up until six or so years ago, I never really liked it. The whole process was a breach of the comfort zone, if you ask me. Too much of the hairdresser getting so close to you you can smell their breath, too much hair pulling with a comb, too much of the monotonous metallic snip snip snip of the scissors. No, not for me.There's too much risk with haircuts. Too much left to chance. When you go in to see the barber (or in the case of my school years, my mother, nine times out of ten—yeah, yeah, cheesy, I know, but it saved my family a fortune), you go in with this grand vision of what you want to look like when he/she is done and in your mind's eye, you can't think of a better way for you to reveal how truly good-looking you really are. What you're usually left with is a cheap version of what you envisioned and though the barber usually makes your new hairstyle work while at the shop, you can neve Read more:Novels
, Haircuts
Mr. Media 1970-01-01 00:59:59 The countdown has begun, the clock ticking toward September 29th, the official release date of my latest novel, Axiom-man. And so now I'm off to bother every Tom, Dick and Harry who'll give me the time of day to promote my latest work. So far, my efforts are going along quite swimmingly. Since the novel's gone up for pre-order at Shocklines, I've sent the word out to over 2000 people online (and, no, I'm not spamming), and have gotten word-of-mouth going on my end. I've received interest from a major radio station here in Winnipeg (CBC Radio) and was to call them the moment my proof copy of Axiom-man arrived (which it did after business hours this past Friday so I'll be calling them Monday), I've established connections at two newspapers which I'm due to follow up with this week and, once the final draft of the press release is done up, send it off to Breakfast TV. (I appeared on their show last year promoting The Way of the Fog and they said I was welcome back any ti
Tell 'Em What They Want to Hear 1970-01-01 00:59:59 *Disclaimer: this will probably rub some the wrong way*The publishing industry is an industry of reputations. Like any form of show business, to a degree it's about how good you look, especially if you're just starting out. I had a recent epiphany this week in regards to what may be going on behind-the-scenes in some writers' lives. I mean, let's face it: there are three major tiers to the publishing industry and a writers' success. There's the Top Tier reserved for guys and girls like Stephen King, James Patterson, Dean Koontz, Nora Roberts, J.K. Rowling and Mary Higgins Clark, people who are instant bestsellers even before their books hit the market. Realistically, the aforementioned names could write an I.O.U. on a napkin and have copies of that napkin shipped to every bookstore in the country and still make the New York Times bestseller list. Then there's the Second Tier, the mid list, where an author has several thousand copies of their book shipped to stores but if
Jesus is Coming Soon 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I recently found out my friends have been talking about me behind my back. One told me that a buddy of mine mentioned in conversation, "You know, I think Fuchs is looking forward to the Apocalypse" And guess what? He was right. I am looking forward to it. Big time. But not to all the war and destruction that will come to pass. Granted I won't be here for that (thanks to the Rapture), but I certainly do not wish any harm to come to those I know—and those I don't—who won't be taken with me. For the record, when Christians get all excited about the end of the world, we're not excited for the judgments and chaos that'll reign upon the earth prior to Christ's glorious physical return. We get excited because we want to see our King and our best Friend. We get excited because, though we're not perfect ourselves, we're also tired of this world and its sin and no longer want to be here. And believe me, that last bit is normal for a believer. Once we gave our lives over Read more:Jesus
, Coming Soon
Thief in the Night Indeed 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Christians are divided into two camps when it comes to the End Times. There are those like myself who are Watching (as we're commanded to by Jesus Himself in Matthew 24:42) and those who are Not Watching. When one of us Watchers tell a Non-watcher that the hour is late and Jesus is coming soon, we're often met with a single phrase: "You don't know that" Or, we're told, "Yeah, well, maybe, but probably later"What I find disconcerting is not that folks don't agree with me (and a few million others) but rather that they are clueless as to how late the hour really is. I showed last entry a few of the proofs that time is short. As said last entry, to outline them all would fill an entire book, which is not the purpose of this blog. Truthfully, I fear for those who won't acknowledge the times or take the time to look in to how far along the course of human history we really are. Why? A) If they knew how late the hour is, they would be more motivated to share the Gospel. Read more:Thief
, Night
Writing Methods: When the Muse Hits 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I have a routine when it comes to my writing sessions. I pull up the project I'm working on in MSWord, read the last line or two so I get my bearings again, then go outside for a smoke and a coffee. While I'm puffing away, I usually walk around my building and let the next scene come to me. Sometimes it comes within an instant of stepping outside my apartment door and sometimes I have to wait till after I light up. Either way, it comes. Then the magic begins and I "rehearse" what's going to go down on the page, what the next scene I write entails, what bits of dialogue a character might say—and by the time I'm done my smoke, my story is already pre-written. I just need to do the actual typing. However, there is one downside to this routine and that is what I usually commit to paper isn't quite what I had rehearsed (verbatim, that is) and, sometimes, what comes out isn't as good quality-wise. Try as I might, I can't make it sound as good as I had originally had when Read more:Methods
What This Business is All About 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Being a writer ain't easy.The writing aspect of it, that's a breeze and is a most-rewarding experience. To sit down and create, to put dreams to paper, to speak one's mind on various subjects and provide commentary on life all wrapped up in an exciting tale—that is sheer joy. There's nothing I'd rather do. Ever since as far back as I could remember, I was always making stuff up, living in my head more than I lived in the real world. It started with superheroes and my own superheroic fantasies as Superman and Batman. When I got older, those fantasies turned into creating my own heroes (Axiom-man, for example, whom I first created the story for when I was 13) and, as I got older still, creating other stories that were non-superheroic but had more to do with life and the ups and downs thereof.Writing is cathartic in a lot of ways. The latter part of my novel A Stranger Dead and the whole of my unpublished novel For The Cause helped me deal with some strong emotional issues I h Read more:Business
Writing Methods: Being a Doer 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I believe writers are a dime a dozen. I also believe nearly everyone has the capability of writing a complete novel. Yet I also believe, in comparison, that very few actually finish what they start or even attempt to begin.It's about passion.Many folks have told me that they have this great idea for a book, or they say almost dreamily, "I'd like to write a book one day"My question to them is always, "Well, why not write it right now?"Then I'm hit with a myriad of excuses, many of which aren't excuses at all. The most common one is the old favorite, "Maybe I'll write it when I have more time"The main problem, I think, is that most people look at a book in terms of the final outcome, that is a multitude of pages slapped between two covers. This is the wrong way to look at writing, an act that is in and of itself not only a creative one, but also a process. No writer has ever sat down and suddenly a book has appeared before them. Each and every author out there has Read more:Methods
Appearances 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I will be the first to admit that I'm not the greatest looking guy in the world. If you were to rank me on the scale of "1-to-hot," I'd be somewhere around a -8. It's a truth I've come to accept after years of seeing myself side by side with other gentlemen and those who look like they belong on the cover of GQ. However, this self-knowledge of mine hasn't seemed to stop others from pointing it out, out of the blue. I may not have the most phenomenal body and I may not have the most stylish hairdo—but in the end, I also understand the greatest truth, and that is outward appearance amounts to nothing.But tell that to the image-oriented, sex-obsessed world we live in.The truth is, I'm not insulted when someone decides to bring up my looks in a conversation and how if I only cut my hair or shaved my beard, I'd be a good looking guy. I've been the victim of such talk from not only family members and friends, but strangers as well.A classic example was a buddy of mine a Read more:Appearances
Figuring Out God 1970-01-01 00:59:59 A friend of mine is an agnostic, which means that he doesn't believe in God but yet also doesn't deny the possibility that He is real. In other words, he's not sure. He and I have had many conversations on God and Christianity in the past, most if not all of which have taken place since I decided to get serious with the Lord back in the fall of 2005. My friend is waiting for a confirmation on the inside, a feeling of "Yes, God is real so now I will believe" Fair enough. A person should know that what they believe in is true. I've also encountered similar sentiments on various message boards from others who are on the same path, ones where they're either waiting for something or waiting to figure this whole God thing out before giving their lives to Him.This sort of thinking poses a danger on two fronts, the immediate one being that you might die today. Who among us can say with 100% full confidence that we will get of bed tomorrow morning? Who among us can confirm that w
The Final Mile 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Being on the verge of finishing a new book is like being on the last leg of long a race. You can see the finish line clear before you, you're tired, out of breath; your heart races and you can almost feel that ribbon break across your chest. And despite your fatigue, the excitement to finish the race gives you a second wind, makes you push yourself a little bit harder and you begin running the race afresh, as if taking off from the starting line for the first time.I'm almost finished a new novel. A little over 4/5 done, give or take a few thousand words. I started October 9, 2006. It's now almost four months later and I expect to be done within the next week or so, if I keep up my current pace. A part of me wants to finish the novel right away and just get it over with; not for lack of ideas or of story, but because I'm eager to finish the journey. For those of us who are regular readers (and even more so if one is a writer), we live many lives. Not only do we live our own life Read more:Final
Getting a Screwdriver in the Face 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Nearly ten years ago I had my wisdom teeth removed.All FIVE of them.It was one of them two times I got so high I couldn't remember a thing (the other was one night when I took a few too many extra sleeping pills in the hopes of crashing after being unable to sleep for over a day, before going out with a friend to see Entrapment; to this day I can't remember going to the movies at all).I was 17 and my parents took me down mid morning for the surgery. All I remember is the nurse hooking me up to the IV, pumping me full of morphine and sedative, and placing a warm cloth over my eyes. All went black. Until......I awoke mid surgery, darkness my only sight, feeling a profound pressure on my jaw. Soft voices spoke jumbled words on each side. I grunted in objection to the pain.Then all was quiet.The next thing I knew I was sitting up in the operating chair, my jaw and cheeks sensitive to the touch. I didn't know where I was or even who I was. My dad came up beside me, let me sit a few mo Read more:Screwdriver
Human Ailments: Crosswalks and Superpowers 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Everyone likes to wish they had superpowers now and then. Some—like myself, admittedly—more than now and then. Either way, we all dream of being capable of something more. For some it's the wish to fly, others it's super strength. Some would love to see through solid objects and many would like to read minds (especially guys who have no clue about the fairer sex). Some would like to be invincible. And then there's those who use crosswalks. They think they are invincible.Every city needs crosswalks, but not every city needs the people who use them.Back when I got my learner's permit, I was in my parents' van, the rest of my family with me. It was rainy lightly. All of the sudden, the massive van with the enormous silver bumper in front of me slammed on its brakes. Seeing the bright red lights at the rear of the vehicle, I quickly took my foot of the gas and applied it to the brakes. Immediately I was hydroplaning so I began to pump. Within a second I crashed my parents' Read more:Superpowers
Reading Year in Review: 2006 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Earlier in the year I, like many writers before me, stressed the importance of reading as part of improving one's craft. This year, for the first time ever, I kept a list of all I took in book-wise. This year, I read a total of 41 titles, which isn't bad at all. My hope and goal for 2007 is 52 books, so one a week or average thereof.This year I read:1. The Hour Before Dark by Douglas Clegg (finished reading from '05)2. Left Behind by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins3. Tribulation Force by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins4. Nicolae by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins5. Soul Harvest by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins6. Don't Buy the Lie: Living in a World of Deception by Mark Matlock7. The Second Coming by John F. MacArthur8. Apollyon by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins9. Assassins by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins10. The Indwelling by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins11. The Mark by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins12. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd13. Desecration by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins Read more:Reading
Unrecognized (And the Fallibility of Book Returns) 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Axiom-man has been well-received by readers and folks have been purchasing the book through a variety of means either online or through brick-and-mortar stores. Up until this book, my primary readership had been in the US. Kind of strange since I'm Canadian but the way my novels' current distribution system is set up, folks in the States have an easier time getting my books through their bookstores than those in Canada. It's a problem I'm working on rectifying but until then, I'll have to make due with what I have.Anyway, one of the thrills I've been able to indulge in as a result of Axiom-man is a little bit of fan mail. There's nothing quite like receiving a note from someone you don't know (that is, not of the friends and family ilk) and getting a compliment on one of your stories. It's an incredible bit of encouragement and lets you know that the hours you slaved away at the keyboard on a particular tale was actually worthwhile.One gentleman recently wrote me and Read more:Returns
The Two-dollar Sucker 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Last Thursday I was invited out by a friend to attend a DJ performance at a nightclub downtown. First and foremost, I'm not a bar or nightclub person by any means. I've been to a bar maybe three or four times this year and each time I've gone and I'm standing there sipping my Coke, I'm reminded why I don't go to the bar anymore. One, I hate dancing. Two, I'm married so—like it had been in my bar-going days—I don't ogle girls or flirt with any anymore. Three, nine times out of ten the music they play is that hip-hop-dance-till-you-drop rap stuff that's not really music at all. The reason I went with my friend last Thursday was because I hadn't seen him in a good long while, likewise those who we'd be going with. I went for the company and it cost me ten dollars at the door to do so. No problem and no worries. I was happy to be with them and it was great to play catch up and just simply hang out.So the DJ finally came on around midnight and, frankly, I wasn't
It Was Only a Matter of Time 1970-01-01 00:59:59 In the beginning of September I wrote an entry entitled, "Jesus is Coming Soon" It was brief, as doing an entry of all my reasons as to why I think so would have taken up an entire book, something this blog wasn't meant for. (It was meant to share 1000 words or so of my thoughts on whatever topic each week, nothing more.)However, I just read an article from the Toronto Star which, if anything, validated my previous entry.As a precursor to this entry, I'm a Christian and, as I'm commanded to do by the Lord Himself, I'm also a "watcher," that is I "watch" for the Lord's return to this earth. The Bible gives clear signs regarding the end of the age. (For those who don't know, the "end of the age" refers to the end of human history.) That said, the article I just read speaks loud and clear that the fulfillment of a verse in the book of Revelation is just around the corner. The verse I'm referring to is the infamous "Mark of the Beast," a mark by which no
Human Ailments: Kids and Teens Forget Their Place 1970-01-01 00:59:59 My wife and I have been in our apartment building for just over two years. In that time we've seen tenants come and go and have had to say good-bye to those who had grown to become close friends. It's painful to watch them go, but we're also glad for them because they're moving on to bigger and better things.A few months back, some new tenants moved in, two separate families. Both have teenage daughters who have since become pals. You see them hanging around the building, sitting in the halls talking, sneaking off for cigarettes even though they're only roughly fourteen or fifteen years old.I often pass them when I go out for a smoke and coffee prior to writing. Most of them time it's a general "Hi," or "How's it going?" Just mere pleasantries between the three of us. I even spent some time talking to one of the girls back when she first moved in.Here's the problem and the current "human ailment" bothering my brain:I was out having my pre-writing smoke a few Read more:Teens
, Place
Until Night Falls Again: Coscomment 2006 Coming Soon 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Just a heads up, folks:There isn't a problem with the blog. All of 2006's entries have been taken down as preparations are being made to publish them as a paperback, with a summer or fall 2007 release date. (Official date to be announced soon.)So get ready--UntilNightFallsAgain
: Coscomment 2006 is coming.(And wait'll ya see the cover art. Some cool things planned.)Seriously, though, thank you for reading Coscomment each and every week for the past 14 months.Stay tuned... Read more:Coming Soon
Good Reviews / Bad Reviews 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Writing and publishing is an industry based on a handful of fundamental truths, one of them being what can be called the "bane of the entertainment industry," and that is you can't please everybody. I'm sure publishers, editors and agents would love for this truth not to exist, but unless anyone in the biz has a recipe for brainwashing, the promise that you'll make 100% of the masses happy is wishful thinking at best.We writers labor away in the shadows for months on end, crafting what we believe to be an astounding tale of fright and terror, or action and adventure, or love and memory, of low- or high-tech fantasy, or a mixture of all of the above. Most novelists I know write for a single audience during their first draft: themselves. It's based on the principle that if they love what they're creating, odds are there are thousands of others out there who'll love it, too, simply because they share the same taste.Now, if only everyone would share their taste. Sadly, that
So, They Found “Jesus” 2007-03-01 05:50:00 News hit this week that a documentary which claims the burial cave of Jesus
and His family has been found. It is called The Lost Tomb of Jesus and will air this Sunday on the Discovery Channel.For those who aren’t aware, you can read the full story by clicking here. In highlight, here is what has been found:1. From an article in Time Magazine Online, 27 years ago while Israeli construction workers were shoveling out the foundation for a building in the industrial park in the Talpiyot (a suburb of Jerusalem), the floor gave way, revealing an ancient cave, reportedly 2000 years old.2. Ten ossuaries (small boxes containing bones) were found with inscriptions on them, and after twenty years of translation, they were reported to read: Jesus son of Joseph, Maria, Maria—“Maria” which is a variant of Mary—and Judah, son of Jesus.3. The theory going is that the second “Maria” is the famed Mary Magdalene, the prostitute-turned-disciple of Jesus, while the name Judah indicates that
POD Pricing: Houston, We Have a Problem 2007-03-07 10:07:00 Throughout my career I’ve made it no secret that the majority of my work is self-published despite the stigma from the publishing industry. I’m proud to be a self-publisher and even if a large traditional publishing break came my way, I’d still self-publish a portion of my work. There are those out there who seem to have made it their mission to verbally attack those of us who have chosen to put our work out ourselves. And though some of their arguments are sound, a lot of them aren’t either.However, there is one of which I do have to side with: the price of self-published books, most notably those which are printed with print-on-demand (POD) technology.And the truth is, I have to wholeheartedly agree with that statement. The vast majority of POD books are overpriced, especially since many of them do not offer much by way of page count but a hefty price tag is still attached to them.Friends, though high-priced POD books are a reality we live in, it is not one we have to live in Read more:Pricing
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Writing Methods: Keeping Up the Momentum 2007-03-15 02:45:00 Ever fill an empty pop bottle part way with water then take another empty pop bottle and tape their necks together in an effort to create a mini hurricane? It’s always wonderful when that clear little watery tornado appears, and especially when that tornado is large in width and fierce in its spin. But there’s a catch, isn’t there? You have to keep moving the bottles in a circular motion to maintain the tornado. If you don’t, the water will settle and you’ll have to start all over again to get the thing going again.In the wee hours of the morning of March 6, I finished writing Axiom-man II. As is my custom when finishing a project, I set it aside for 5-6 weeks and do my best not to think about the story or characters, so when I go back for editing and rewrites, I’m able to come at it with a fresh pair of eyes and a mind that’s forgotten a good chunk of the story. For the most part, after I do this, it’s like being exposed to the book for the first time and any errors th Read more:Methods
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