I haven’t had much to say lately.
Toilet Gator has just begun the editing process. Meanwhile, I’m working on the sequel, Son of Toilet Gator.
This has kept me busy.
What are you all up to?
Bookshelf Battle
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Category Archives: Daily Discussion with BQB
Happy Sunday, 3.5 Readers
Below, inform me of your book projects, writing projects or barring that, projects you are working on so that you suck less in January 2020 than you do right now.
What’s up, 3.5 Readers?
I hope all 3.5 of you are doing well. Have you been keeping your New Year resolutions, or are you screwing your future selves over already?
Daily Discussion with BQB – Is Indiana Jones Immortal?
Hey 3.5 readers. BQB here.
Just re-watched “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” Such a great movie. So, at the end, Indy drinks from the Holy Grail. Shouldn’t he remain immortal and never get old?
Then again, the knight said the grail can’t leave the tomb, so I’m going to guess you have to keep drinking from it to sustain immortality.
Discuss.
Daily Discussion with BQB – They Always Die in 3’s
Mean Gene the Wrestling Announcer, Super Dave and the Captain. The year has barely started.
2019 isn’t screwing around, 3.5 readers.
Daily Discussion with BQB – What Are Your New Year Resolutions?
Hey 3.5 readers. Your old pal, BQB here.
It’s sad that we don’t always pick a random time of year to start doing better. Hell, if you realize on October 7th that you’re a blind, stinking drunk alcoholic then you should really stop drinking on October 7th, rather than wait and say, “I’ll just keep drinking and stop on January 1.”
But at any rate, the New Year is often a time to reflect on the past year and to think hopeful thoughts for the incoming year.
In other words, you had such high hopes for change in the past year. You were going to eat better, exercise more, finally get that project done, save more money, work harder, etc. Then by March 1 you were freebasing Big Macs while spending your money on losing lotto tickets and using your treadmill as a coat rack.
Think about what you wish you had done in the past year. Now realize that although it seems so far away, January 1, 2020 will be here in the blink of an eye. What do you hope will have done by then? Then, go do it, or do as best as you can to get close to it.
Think about your future self for once. Your past self, that lousy mooching fuck, didn’t think about your current self, did he? (or she because in the current year, women can be lousy mooching fucks too).
So think about what will make the you that will exist on Jan 1, 2020 and work towards that happiness. Come on. Don’t be a lousy mooching fuck, screwing up your present life so future you will have to pay the bill.
Eh, this is all well and good. I give myself pep talks like this all the time and then in reality, little ever changes. But maybe you can change.
What are resolutions, 3.5 readers? Post them in the comments and you never know, maybe on Jan 1, 2020 I’ll revisit this post and congratulate you if you achieved them or subject you to ridicule if you didn’t.
Daily Discussion with BQB – I Will Try to Discuss More
Hey 3.5 readers. BQB here.
I blogged less in 2018. I still blogged a lot, but not as much. I was making an effort to get Toilet Gator, the best book ever written about toilets, gators, or toilet gators, done.
2019 I will have to blog even less. I feel 2019 needs to be the year that I turn a profit, otherwise this little enterprise can’t go on forever.
So I will have to focus on books and less on the blog. That means less writing funny columns and so forth.
At any rate, I will do my best to check in once a day with a daily discussion. At some point, this blog may just become all about movie reviews and daily discussions.
In the meantime, if you could all start to multiply, I would appreciate it. Stop being 3.5 readers and start becoming 350,000 readers.
My Rant on the Sentinel Island Murder Story
Hey 3.5 readers.
BQB here.
Up front, I want to say I’m not making fun or light of or disparaging the 27 year old missionary who died recently on Sentinel Island. What happened to him is terrible and I can’t say that enough.
I am, however, going to use this as a springboard to bitch about millennials, one of my favorite pastimes on this blog.
I’ve noticed that millennials tend to put life experiences over material possessions. Ergo, they (and not all but a good amount) prefer to spend money on vacations to exotic lands instead of say, putting a down payment on a house.
Not going to lie. There are times when I think about spending my meager savings on a trek around the world but alas, the thought of having to eventually come back and live with my pain in the ass family when I go broke makes me want to gorge myself to death on avocado toast.
But perhaps there are millennials with fams that are more tolerable than mine. At any rate, fun is for the young and I can’t blame a youngster for wanting to see the world. Hell, if you’re older and in relatively good shape, you should see the world too if you can.
I think social media has something to do with this. When I was young, the most you could do was try to impress a date with your story of a far flung expedition. Now you can take photos of yourself in an exotic locale and post them and make your friends hella green with envy. Not saying that’s why millennials do this but I mean, come on, surely a few do.
Unfortunately, sometimes the millennials go a little too far. Otto Warmbier, for example. Now, I’m not saying in any way that North Korea is excused for what they did but whenever I hear about an American who was caught and imprisoned and tortured in a hellhole that is constantly on the news and known well to be a hellhole my first reaction is, “Damn it. Did these people not see that Carnival Cruise commercial? Did Kathie Lee Gifford sing her heart out for nothing?”
Look, my vacation time and funds are limited. If I get to go away, it is going to be to a tropical paradise and my preferred form of torture will be to ogle hot babes in skimpy outfits that I will never be able to obtain (unless 1 million of you buy my book tomorrow).
Where was I? So this young missionary went to India. Off the Indian coast, there’s a series of islands. One of them is Sentinel Island (I could have my facts wrong so see the news for better info) and there is a long isolated tribe. This tribe knows nothing of modern ways. They live off the land. There are documented cases where they open fire with bow and arrow attacks on all trespassers.
At any rate, this guy hired some fishermen to take him to the island even though doing so is against Indian law and though he hoped to preach the gospel, it sounds like he was arrow attacked and killed pretty much instantly.
Part of me says the tribe were dicks for doing this. Part of me thinks this is like putting your hand in the tiger cage at the zoo and then thinking the tiger is a dick when it rips your arm off.
I don’t want to make fun of this kid. His death is tragic. I don’t blame him for wanting to experience great things while he was young. Personally, I look back on my youth, wishing I had great stories to remember and am saddened that it is largely a cloud of me on the couch playing video games and eating doritos, so I hand it to this kid that he did more with his life than I did but still…I just hope millennials will chill out a bit.
Go on fun exotic vacations? Yes. Go to places where you are most likely going to be killed, tortured or imprisoned? No. Please don’t.
End of rant.
Is Hell Other People?
Hey 3.5 readers. Your old pal, BQB here.
John Paul Sartre’s play, “No Exit” is often summed up as “Hell is other people.”
Forgive me if I get this wrong, but my understanding is the play consists of three deceased people in a waiting room who are waiting to get into the afterlife. They each try to get the other to do something but the other won’t give in to what is wanted.
Thus, if someone would just do what you want, your life would be so much better, but they won’t, so it sucks.
Have you ever felt that way? If only that special someone would love you. If only your spouse would help out more or make more money or do that thing you like in bed or whatever. If only your boss would give you a raise. If only that company would hire you. If only your dumb neighbor would turn his music down while you’re trying to sleep.
The good news is we all have free will. The bad news is we are unable to bend people to our will, at least not without becoming strong-arming dictators that we don’t want to become and that others don’t want to be around.
A lucky few get the breaks in that they find the perfect combo of family, friends, and business colleagues who open the right doors and offer what is desired.
Alas, the rest of us have to put up with squirrel brained circus folk who will make us feel lucky if they close their mouths and look down when it rains so they don’t drown.
Discuss.
Self-Publishing Seems Like an Uphill Battle
Hey 3.5 readers.
BQB here.
So here’s what surprised me about self-publishing.
I never thought my books would take off overnight and turn me into an instant millionaire.
I am surprised that there’s so little interest in them.
Call me naïve but I just figured, wow, the Internet, you know? You put your book on Amazon and Amazon is checked by zillions of people so someone searching for a topic related to your book so just by pure chance there should be at least a hundred bucks worth of purchases right there.
100 purchases at .99 cents a piece? Is that a lot? I don’t know. Is it a lot in comparison to the millions of people who go on to Amazon constantly?
It’s like being the guy that sells oranges on the side of the road. At least 5 people out of the 1000 who drive past you will buy an orange.
I don’t know. I’m just surprised because I haven’t made enough money to count on the fingers on my right hand yet.
Am I complaining or being a crybaby? Yes, though that’s not the intention. I guess I just thought Amazon was the ultimate tuna filled ocean and if I dipped my net into it, surely just by random luck I’d cash the occasional fish.
Do I need 100 bucks? No. Would 100 bucks change my life? No. I’m just surprised I’ve barely made a couple bucks.
During my recent giveaway, I did give out roughly 75 free books so I guess that’s cool. I hope people liked them.
It’s a little frustrating and makes me wonder if it is worth it to continue but…who am I kidding? I couldn’t stop writing if I tried.
Bookshelf Battle 