Jamie Wakefield

I am in the middle of writing “I’m not an alcoholic, I’m just a European.” Having transcribed hundreds of notes I am now forging them into a travel journal the likes of which the world has never seen! Well, unless you know who Bill Bryson, Peter Mayle, or Chris Stewart are, then, well, it will be a lot like theirs. Only funnier. And easier to read. I hope… It amazes me how much my life has changed in three years. My screensaver on my computer is my pictures folder. We watch a lot of TV from my computer hooked up through the HDMI port to our widescreen Bravia and when there is a pause for bathroom breaks, food or opening another bottle of wine, the screensaver comes on and I am endlessly amazed at what I see. Mountains in Ecuador, Christmas celebrations in Columbia, Italian fountains, the mountains of Candeleda, seafood holocausts in Baiona, the sand castle of Heidelberg, the endless pictures of Stefan grabbing Lena’s boob at locations around the world, or the simple pleasure of me eati...

Figured I'd make an entry so that people could comment if they felt like it. I'd like to do a vanity press book about "Quest for the Pro Tour II" but I don't think it would be worth the work. At the same time, I do wonder how many people would be interested in a collection of essays like "Technically perfect play", "Last days of the Peaceful Village", "It's all about the Dinosaurs" and other articles that I think were some of my better work. Let me know what you think.

My website hit counter says that Monday's are my busiest days so I try to have something up for people to read. Todays will be short as I am typing this handicapped. Working on a chair I sliced one of my fingers very badly. Typing is one and a half handed right now. Blood went everywhere, even the ceiling. I am such a dork. I have approached over seventy-five agents concerning Marilyn's cancer memoir and only one requested to see more and she wasn't moved by the writing enough to want to see the whole manuscript. (Insert frowny face.) I received twenty-three rejections and over fifty silences (which means rejection, sorry, can't be bothered to write you since our agency gets a hundred queries a day.) Because of my past, I believe I have what it takes to be a writer. I believe I will get a following someday for my books; I just need a few breaks. I believe the rejections are coming in because of many reasons. 1. The economy. 2. Memoir? Too common. 3. Cancer memoir? Um, w...

Above is the tribute card that Wizards of the Coast made for Marilyn. (I bought the original artwork, I hope Dan Dossantos doesn't mind me directly copying it from his site.) A wonderful gesture that touched me to my core. Such an amazing honor for an amazing woman. You can read the write-up I did explaining the card here. Marilyn didn't want me to be sad when she passed on. "What good would it do for me to look down from heaven and see you crying? And know I couldn't do anything to help?" I know she feels that way for everyone. So, today, do something you love in tribute to her. Read the things she loved in the text below and honor her by doing one of them. Play a MMORPG, work in your garden, watch the birds, watch some UFC or one of her favorite movies. Marilyn's Obituary. Marilyn Jane Wakefield passed away from ovarian Cancer on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 at 6:00 p.m. She passed away at home, in a bed looking out French doors at her birds, and dogs playing in t...

In a nicely balanced article by the NYTimes on Global Warming, I am glad that they keep the scare tactics to a minimum and tell the whole story. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/science/earth/18juneau.html?em Glaciers are receding. They do that. Sometimes they advance. They do that too. The article is interesting and an easy read. Make sure to note these two quotes. "Greenland and a few other places have experienced similar effects from widespread glacial melting that began more than 200 years ago, geologists say." I don't need to explain why the "200 years ago" remark is important, right? "The rise is further fueled by the movement of the tectonic plates that form the earth’s crust. As the Pacific plate pushes under the North American plate, Juneau and its hilly Tongass National Forest environs rise still more. “When you combine tectonics and glacial readjustment, you get rates that are incomprehensible,” Dr. Molnia said. "In Gustavus, where Mr. DeBo...

"Stephen King compared the Mormon author to JK Rowling, saying that both authors were "speaking directly to young people". "The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn. She's not very good," he told an interviewer from USA Weekend." In bizarro opposite land, Time magazine reports this week that one out of every seven books sold last week was written by Stephenie Meyer.

Warning : This post eventually devolves into a religious discussion. If exploring the nature of God in a way contrary to the way the Bible depicts him upsets you, you might want to just move along. Thought for the day: It only takes putting your passport through the wash once to realize you should always check your pockets before doing laundry. I am really enjoying my friend John Loggin’s blog. John’s dream is pretty simple. Sail the oceans with his family. See new places. The reality is a lot more complex. Quit a good job, buy a boat. Live on said boat, learn how to sail, learn how to scuba so you can fix said boat in the middle of the ocean, spend your retirement money, give up your security… and dream. There are of course two sides to every coin. Ten years ago I would have thought he was crazy and all I wanted to do was stay in my house, play video games and watch my retirement fund grow. I firmly stand behind everyone in that camp. I am now in the camp of experiences are more impor...

In my continuing quest to find out what causes me to go to (what Wendy and I have dubbed) “The Dark Place” I have had blood work done and they showed some interesting things one doctor could not explain. A few things were elevated in my liver but in the opposite order of what he was expecting to see. We have had new blood work done with me having been off alcohol for seven days to see if they can find more clarity in the results. I have to be off all alcohol for a month while they run a battery of tests on different parts of my body. My vague comment before about tissue damage and liver was my lame attempt at trying to figure out what my blood test results meant with no medical training whatsoever. I was just looking up terms on the internet that the tests showed were abnormal. This was before I had consulted with any doctor on the results. When the second blood tests come back, I will meet with my primary doctor and I’ll have more information. The Dark place has a recurrence cycle of ...

My computer has died. My Spanish teacher has suddenly found herself pregnant (unplanned) and is having complications that require her to be in bed for weeks, cancling all our classes. Blood tests reveal that I am suffering tissure damage on a massive scale and it points towards my liver. Shocking no one. HP is willing to fix my laptop for free, but only inside the US. See, they bought these cheap ass motherboards that are failing all over the world and will replace the motherboard, even out of warrenty, because it is such a pile of crap. They have sent a box to my house in Vermont and all I need to do is ship my computer there, have Doug put my computer into the box and ship it to HP. It comes back fixed, he repackages it and sends it back to me in Spain. Cost to ship my computer home - $207.00. Wait time for shipping and repair - hmmm, maybe a month. Cost to ship computer back to Spain - another $200 plus. Import taxes from the thieves at customs who will think it is a new computer an...