Aaron Ross Powell - Latest Comments in General

Re: Part 81

Aaron Ross Powell — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:35:06 -0000

Thank you, Marie.

Re: Part 81

marie — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:23:35 -0000

That was a really awesome!

Re: Karaoke Quintessence: Chapter 2: Tweens

aaronpowell — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:24:08 -0000

Thanks for the feedback, George. I think you may be right on this
one, though I'll need to think about it a bit more. Of of the
interesting things I've come across while writing is the disconnect
between the characters in my head (where I'm wholly aware of their
inner workings -- sort of) and on the page, where only their language
and descriptive text shows their motivations. What makes sense to me
doesn't necessarily make sense on the page.

I'll keep this in mind when I head back -- eventually -- for the
second draft.

Re: Karaoke Quintessence: Chapter 2: Tweens

georgedonnelly — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:00:16 -0000

The detective's motivation is weak. That he was curious doesn't seem like enough to outweigh the objections he voiced earlier.

Re: Karaoke Quintessence: Chapter 1: Juju

aaronpowell — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:07:03 -0000

Ah, okay. The stuff about the finger is probably necessary exposition, since that plays a big role later on. But I'm gonna do my best to get information out via dialog as much as possible, since that tends to be more fun to read -- and a lot more fun to write.

Thanks for the feedback.

Re: Karaoke Quintessence: Chapter 1: Juju

George Donnelly — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:09:45 -0000

I mean the parts between the paragraphs that start with the following fragments, inclusive:

The driver smiled at him

</li>
<li>

The streets were empty

</li>
</ul>

I'm not saying it's all bad, just saying it drags a tad compared to the paragraphs before and after it.

hth

Re: Obama’s Prayer and the Problem of Religious Leaders

aaronpowell — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 22:14:07 -0000

Thanks. Spellcheckers don't catch the really stupid errors... The article's fixed now.

Re: Obama’s Prayer and the Problem of Religious Leaders

Fredrik Bränström — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 22:04:22 -0000

Is Hillary any better?

Btw, "diety" = "deity"... (I figure you could at least spare yourself of any badwill that might register in the minds of your readers by stupid spelling mistakes, and let it be limited to the actual content of your immoral, God-hating ramblings ;)

Re: What Atheism Offers: Life’s Mysteries

aaronpowell — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 19:26:08 -0000

A good friend of mine actually started doing just that. Trouble is,
he's in the Navy and got awfully busy. He had to stop after the first
five parts. I'll maybe see about getting him to start up again (he
has a much better voice than I do).

As an aside, I was wondering why you were using the Disqus comments
system when I turned that off some time ago. Turns out there was a
problem where Firefox was showing a very old version of the site.
I've fixed that. So you might want to visit again to see what's new.

Re: Karaoke Quintessence: Chapter 1: Juju

aaronpowell — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 18:20:15 -0000

Thanks, George. By the bus part, do you mean just the couple paragraphs actually on the bus or the whole section between when Jimmy leaves the bar and when he meets Ellison?

Re: Karaoke Quintessence: Chapter 1: Juju

George Donnelly — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:32:52 -0000

The ride on the bus drags a bit. I found myself wanting to skip over it.

The part in the bar carried my attention.

It's an interesting start. So far it seems like a rather unique concept.

Keep up the good work.

Re: What Atheism Offers: Life’s Mysteries

Branstrom — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:22:02 -0000

I take that back - not as a radio theater. Just read aloud, maybe by the author himself? You should investigate it, anyhow.

Re: What Atheism Offers: Life’s Mysteries

Branstrom — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:18:28 -0000

I wish you would have it played out like a radio theater podcast. That would probably be enjoyable, don't you think? I could try recording the first part with a couple of friends perhaps... my cousin has some audio equipment ^_^ (I'm only half serious, but the serious half is very enthusiastic.)

Re: What Atheism Offers: Life’s Mysteries

Branstrom — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:08:36 -0000

Re: What Atheism Offers: Life’s Mysteries

aaronpowell — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 00:52:30 -0000

Thank you, Branstrom. I always hope, as I write them, that the articles do some good.

I hope, too, that you enjoy The Hole. I just finished writing it a couple days ago and launched my new novel this afternoon. Let me know what you think.

Re: What Atheism Offers: Life’s Mysteries

Branstrom — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 00:48:01 -0000

"This are huge questions" should be "these are huge questions" I presume. (Sorry for the double post...)

I can't tell you how much I appreciate all these articles. Thank you for being so articulate and outspoken.

(And for The Hole, too, I'm just about to embark on part 1...)

Re: What Atheism Offers: Life’s Mysteries

Branstrom — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 00:39:21 -0000

This are huge questions

Re: Part 81

Lee — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:58:36 -0000

"Ending are awfully hard" is an understatement :) I have never been able to finish anything over a short story. I applaud your efforts and commend you on a wholly entertaining novel. I hope you didn't take my comment as a slight on your writing abilities. Some how my email feed had gotten bunched up again and I didn't get the last 6 or so "episodes". I read them all yesterday in succession and I have to say it was a shock when I realized that the novel was over. Kind of like saying good bye to an old friend when you turn the last page (so to speak).
Will be looking forward to the new one.

Cheers!

Re: Part 81

kate — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:56:21 -0000

I´m glad that hope was rescued from the trailer,I was wondering what would happen to her after she had been left.
Great read Aaron,I´m looking forward to the next one.

Re: Part 81

Aaron Ross Powell — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:43:53 -0000

Thanks, Lee.

Endings are awfully hard and I wanted to make sure it didn't turn into "Elliot and Evajean: The Action Heroes" at the climax. I imagine it'll get revised a bit for the revised draft, however. Still, it felt like the right ending to me.

I'm really glad you enjoyed the novel. And thank you for reading it. That, by itself, is a terrific compliment for any writer.

The next one's launching soon. I'm tweaking the first chapter now, in fact. Look for it in the next couple days.

Re: Part 81

Lee — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:35:18 -0000

WoW! Very good read over all... a little anticlimactic at the end here, but overall very enjoyable... Can't wait to read the next one.

Re: Part 2

George Donnelly — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:35:05 -0000

A suggestion. Make it available in Kindle format. I prefer to read stuff on my Kindle now, and I bet a lot of other Kindle owners do as well. It's a lot more pleasant. Thanks!

Re: “I Am Legend” and Those Awful, Incredulous Atheists

aaronpowell — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:38:44 -0000

Matt, I haven't read that book, though I am familiar with its variety of arguments. The trouble with scientific arguments for god's existence is that they fail to prove anything meaningful about god. Even if we establish that there must have been a first cause for the universe, that doesn't mean Jesus is Lord or Yahweh made a covenant with Abraham. It only gets us a first cause.

As to your last point, about the Jewish victim, it expresses a troubling attitude toward humanity. It says that we will only behave morally if we believe there is punishment for doing otherwise. That means, effectively, that we're all evil and just scared of bad stuff happening to us. I like to think we're better than that. Additionally, the staggering weight of horrible acts perpetrated by religious believers -- and often explicitly in the name of religion -- indicates that fear of divine retribution is not an effective deterrent of immoral acts.

Re: “I Am Legend” and Those Awful, Incredulous Atheists

Matt — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:29:58 -0000

I would highly suggest for you, and any one else interested to read the book ""The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and its Scientific Pretensions." by self-professed secular Jew and mathematics/philosophies teacher David Berlinski.
This tells the story of a Jew who was forced to dig his own grave prior to being shot by a German soldier. Prior to being shot, the old Jewish man advised the German that “God is watching what you are doing.” The Jewish gentleman pointed what i think is the real problem with atheism. "If you have the time please check the book out

Re: Part 80

Colin — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:39:33 -0000

You can't just keep stopping for weeks at a time!