Boys And Girls Are Different: As I was reading Ship Of Magic something occurred to me about the differences between men and women writers that I thought was interesting.

Even though the stereotypes say that it's women who care about helping other people and men who care about themselves, in fiction, it's usually the opposite. Fiction by men is usually concerned with helping others (eg the world is about to be destroyed, and the protagonist has to stop it) and fiction by women is usually more concerned with establishing an identity (eg a person has to work to establish his/her own place in the community).

I remember a scene in Erin Brokovich that confused me tremendously. There's a part, right when the evil corporation's plans are starting to be exposed to the public that Erin storms out of the room, furious. I was baffled. Shouldn't she be excited? Her work was starting to pay off!

My wife had to explain it to me. She was upset because the lawyer she was working for was getting all the credit. It suprised me--thats just not the kind of thing would expect to matter that much to her. Is that really conflict, or just whining?

It fills women's fiction. Think Member of the Wedding, or any number of books you had to read in school. All about one person pretty much worrying about themselves.

Of course, when I thought a little more about it, I realized it wasn't playing as much against stereotypes as I thought. Guys, deep down, do want to be the "knight in shining armor, riding up on the nice horse to swoop the girl up or slay the dragon or take back the kingdom or all of the above. And women, being more nuturing, are more likely to be empathetic towards a single character dealing with their own personal problems.

I think it's the same in the blogosphere. Girls are more likely to write (and read) blogs that talk about day-to-day mundane things, identity issues, etc. Guys are more likely to have save-the-world blogs about politics or information (My own weight loss blog is less personal than informative, probably partly for this reason).

The Politics Of Money: I do not understand the current climate against Bush's social security plan.

I mean I understand it, from his political opponents. Naturally, they don't want him to be remembered as having "fixed" anything. Establishing social security has long been the biggest feather in the hat of the Democrats, even though more and more evidence and arguments are pushing the idea that the New Deal may have prolonged the Great Depression rather than preventing it.

So naturally those guys have to oppose the plan and pretend it's the worst thing ever, even though Democrats all over Washington have proposed just about the same thing for years, up to and including Al Gore himself.

Financial institutions--I can also see why they wouldn't dig this. A bank's idea of helping you provide money your retirement is to get you to re-mortgage the home you've already paid off so you can continue to make monthly payments to them until the day you die and they get your house.

And the press? Well, now that there's the internet, the only people who read newspapers or watch TV news any more are all old people, and there's no better way to bring in that demographic than to say scary things about Social Security and Medicare.

But why the general opposition to this? Why does Joe Six-pack in suburbia think this is a bad plan? What nefarious thing do they think the President has in mind when he agrees to actually give some of your money to you?

Imagine this scenario: A Father and Mother watch their only get on the bus to go to college. She just turned 18, and now she's off to school to make something for herself. Her Mom, who has never worked since her little girl was born, is now starting to work a part-time job to raise money to pay her daughter's way through school. They wave good-bye to their girl, get in their car and start for home, when they're hit by a drunk driver and both die.

Under the current system, there'd be nothing for that daughter. Even though Dad had been paying into Social Security all his life, now that he's gone, the government gets to keep all of that money. The daughter now has to fend for herself.

Under Bush's proposed plan, part of the money her father contributed would have been set aside for him. Upon his death, that money would stay in his family. His daughter would have something to continue her education with.

How much? Go check out this online calculator, courtesy of Dave Ramsey. Punch the numbers, and see who you think wants to rip you off.

Hugos: Here's the info page for this year's Hugo nominees, including the full text of all the short fiction. (via Locus Online)

I'm It: Sandefur (as he is wont to be called) also "Tagged" me on his way out. So here goes:

1. Total Number of Books I've Owned: Not sure. Probably a 4 digit number. Definitely a 4 digit number if you count my wife's books.

2. Last Book I Bought: If you want to be literal, the last book I bought was Shadow Of The Hegemon by Orson Scott Card. I found it at the dollar store and couldn't resist buying it even though I had a copy, since I knew I could find it a good home eventually.

The last time I bought books for myself, I got three: The Game Of Work by Charles A Coonradt, Entrepreneurs: The Men and Women Behind Famous Brand Names and How They Made It by Joseph and Suzy Fucini, and The Art Of Playing Real Life Monopoly by Duncan Lindsey, to replace the one I've been "borrowing" from my Dad since my second daughter was born. I got them off the discount rack for a buck apiece.

3. Last Book I Read: Dang it! You caught me on one I'm not excited about. I read Middle Of Nowhere by Ridley Pearson while I was waiting in line for the midnight showing of Revenge Of The Sith. Don't get me wrong--I really enjoyed reading it. It was a page turner and all that. But after I finished, I didn't feel like it had done anything for me.

On the other hand, Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb, which I've been reading at the hotel, is fantastic. I'll blog more about that one in my coming "Author of the month" post.

4. Five Books That Mean A lot to Me: (Insert usual disclaimer about how this isn't in order, isn't complete, blah blah blah)

1. Prentice Alvin by Orson Scott Card (Of course, there's also Ender's Game, but that's what everybody expected me to say).

2. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. No other has the mastery of metaphor that Bradbury has. It is impossible to exaggerate this man's talent, and this is him at his sentimental best.

3. Mr. Mysterious & Company by Sid Fleischman. Fleishchman and Roald Dahl were the two who taught me there were interesting worlds to read about outside of comic books.

4. And as long as we get sentimental--the book that taught me how much fun reading could be: The Monster At The End Of This Book by Jon Stone. Needs no explanation.

5. The Scriptures. I know I don't usually get religious on this blog, but no set of books has as much influence on who I am as these.

5. Tag five people and have them do this on their blog: If I were to do this part, I would only discover five people I think read my blog who really don't.

Tell you what--if you do it, email me and I'll link to you.

So Should I Copy Him Again?: When I first started blogging, way back whenever, it was because Tim Sandefur made it look so fun. Well, now that life has become busier for him, he's decided to call it quits. He lists a bunch of very good and legitimate reasons for his decision, none of which do I think will keep him away permanently, but which are quite wise and mature. Wisdom and maturity are a large part of what the blogosphere will lose with him gone.

Return Of The Doc: Yes, I'm back. For details, check out the other best blog on the net.

Rumblings: There will be a sequel to The Dark Crystal.

Obscure Movie Review Of The Week: Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events

I'm a big fan of the Snicket books. Well, maybe I have to revise that. I've never actually read a single one of them.

I'm a big fan of having Tim Curry read me the Snicket Books. His performances on the books on tape is a whole lot of fun, and you can pick them up at just about any library.

I was delighted to hear they were making movies. I was a little disappointed to hear they'd feature Jim Carrey.

Count Olaf, you see, I always pictured as less polished an actor than Jim Carrey. Yes, I realize that Carrey isn't the greatest actor ever to grace the silver screen, but the man is polished. He's precise. His every movement is planned--part of why I've never bought the comparisons between him an Jerry Lewis is that Lewis came across as so spontaneous, as if he has simply stumbled into whatever actions he was making, while Carrey is so forced you never, ever, believe for a second that he is doing anything but acting.

Don't get me wrong--it works for Olaf. In fact, this may be Carrey's most believable role yet. He pulls it off. It just wasn't what I had in mind.

I was worried how they would handle the intertwining of the three storylines--would it feel too episodic? Like they were jumping from place to place haphazardly?

Kind of yes, kind of no. In some places the scenes flow seamlessly, but in others they feel bound together with the tiniest pieces of sticky chewy gum.

Perhaps the most spot-on performance in the whole movie, however, is that of Jude Law as Lemony Snicket, providing the narration. Without him, I don't think the movie would have made the slightest bit of sense to audiences. With him, I think they can buy into it completely.

I Wrote Today: Okay, so a little accountability is a good thing. I learned that from my other blog--it's easier to exercise and eat right when you know all eyes are on you.

Rather than turn this into my "365 Day Writer's Turnaround," I'm simply going to post over at Speculations whenever I write.

And speculations is a great site. I recommend the forums to all commercial writers looking to keep up on things.

And if you get the chance to write, post along with us.

Things Start Getting Crazy-Go-Nuts I've long promised people who don't read the books that Goblet of Fire is the book where things start getting wild.

If you haven't seen it yet, check out the teaser trailer.