Month: April 2012

A 5k in 4 Countries and 9 States

Springing off the great suggestion of the  Automattic Worldwide WP 5k, I decided to extend the offer to my network and bait the trap with a $10 amazon giftcard for top male and female finishers.  The Asynchronous Team was comprised of friends, family, colleagues, and followers.  I asked for a picture, race time (to determine the winner), location, and something stating why they ran.  Many rallied to the call of walking or running a 5k, and those who volunteered to send me a bit about their race are featured below.

Looking good, girl!

Congrats to our female winner, Michaela G. in Montgomery, AL!

Michaela G.

3.2 in 23:59
Montgomery, AL

Despite the fact that I split the categories into male and female, Michaela was the our overall winner.  She’s awesome, and my fiance.

She’s only in Alabama for training, but she’s been working out a lot and it’s paid off!

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Apparently he's so fast you can't see him!

Congrats to our male winner, Nate D. from Easthampton, MA!

Nate D.

3.1 “pretty flat miles”
Easthampton, MA.
23:40

Why Nate’s running?  He’s an avid runner, but the last month he’s been swamped with work and hasn’t gotten out.  This challenge provided the motivation to get out and clear his head.

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The long hair is temporary, but I'm diggin' it.

James Schannep (your author!)

Texas
3.15 in 25:00

I grew up in Texas (mostly) and my parents still live here.  Whenever I visit, my dad and I walk a 5k every morning joined by his golden retriever, Trooper.

This visit, I’m taking care of my dad while he recovers from foot surgery.

Down, but not out.

He was heartbroken he couldn’t participate in my big 5k day, so I made a plan to keep him involved.  He became my official lap counter and photographer.  Trooper watched while I ran with my lab puppy, Buttercup.

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Derek's midnight raid

Derek W.

Singapore, Singapore

Official start time: 2310 Singapore time zone 29APR2012

“I ran for about 6.1k then walked another 3.5k. I did not finish until roughly 0015. Have some amazing friends in Singapore and they invited me to live out here which is why I will likely not be able to attend the wedding… :(”

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This is Tony's happy face.

Tony M.

30 minutes 20 seconds (start time was 1300 EST)
Fort Washington, Maryland (4 miles outside of Washington DC)

“I’m running because I think Facebook users usually emphasize useless things in order to make someone else feel that their life is somehow lacking. This activity doesn’t require money or extensive equipment/planning and it’s built around unification of effort despite distance or dissimilar localities. I think it’s cool and positive.”

Oh, Stephen...

Stephen S.

Killeen, TX
3.1 in 28:27

Stephen did THREE 5ks this weekend with his new bride, Amy.  They enjoy being active together.

No, these are not raceday pictures.

Amy S.

Killeen, TX
3.11 in 37:07

My lovely sister!  She likes to do races, but she ran today solely because of the Asynchronous team.  It was run #3 after all…

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Point to the man in the picture having a good day.

Chris B.

Ponce inlet beach, FL
28:12

Why’d you run, Chris?  “Because I wanted to support a friend’s idea. And for a great view of the…uh… ocean”

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Not much, Mike. Not much.

Mike B.

Los Angeles, CA

“I have no idea how far it was, but it took me about 24 minutes.  Should be around 5k, considering it was pretty hilly and I was going at jog pace.  What else do you need from me?”

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Good to see great friends!

KacyJane & Mike G.

“Time: ME: 37 minutes (I walked) Mike: 27 Minutes
Location: River’s Edge Trail, Great Falls, MT
Me: Trying to get back into shape after a stroke.
Mike: Trying to get back into shape. Thanks for the Idea, it was fun.”

RichRun
Just another day in paradise.

Richard Y.

Hawaii
22:45

Why did you run, Rich?  “PT huah, also I did it to make sure Michaela didn’t get to uppity thinking she was faster than me.”

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Do you see the Irish wolfhound?

Hans C.

Wildcat Hills, just inside The Ghost wilderness area, Alberta.
5.7 km
265 m elevation gain
1620 meter elevation
220 M&M’s
1 hour 37 minutes

I hesitate to call Hans’ hike a “walk”, but if ever there were a badass walk, this is it.  And thanks for the candy stat!

"Going my way?"

Bart and Marcella S.

5k run (walk!)
on the beach in Carlsbad, CA
Start 10:04am, finished in 45 minutes.

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45mins is a pretty fast walk, eh?

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This couple is one of the more fun I’ve had the  pleasure of meeting.  Lucky me, we’re related.  They ran today because Marcella loves two things: facebook and a challenge!

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If they did it...what's your exuse?

Samantha, Brian, Liam, Stella & Chief D.

Queidersbach, Germany
1 hour (we would have run but the stroller weighs 50 lb!)

“We participated so that we could have some family fun walking in the Germany countryside.

Thanks for the idea!”

Sister walk!

Sarah D. and Alison B.

Texas
3.15 in 1:04:00

These are a couple of my sisters, and yes, I walked it with them too 🙂 And then I took a nap.  They’re busy working moms striving to make fitness a priority.

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I only had to give a few piggyback rides.

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The kiddos followed us the whole time!  First 5k race–29 April 2012.

That's a "go" sign, people.

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Hal W. & Janet S.

Osmanthus Trail, VA
6+ miles, with a 3.1 loop
Loop in 48:12

“It was a great day for a hike/walk here…It was partly cloudy and a tad chilly, in the low 50s. We walked in on a multi-use path called the Cape Henry Bike Path (the photo is from that part of the hike). My wife and I hike/walk (sometimes jog) for exercise, but also as a way to spend time together. We always have fun conversations about art and life and day-dreaming.”

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Thanks to everybody who participated, and to our honorary members as well.  Great job everybody!  Winners can expect their prizes soon.  Let’s not wait a year to do it again…

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A charity that’s no monkey business

Author’s note: From time to time, I have promotions on twitter.  When @Weaverwerx became my 300th follower, I offered a prize.  Highlighting this charity was his request, which I am pleased to honor.

Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary is a  501(c)3 non-profit organization, located on 12 acres in Gainesville, Florida.  Their mission is to rescue and offer a permanent, safe haven for monkeys from around the United States who have been abused, confiscated by authorities, retired from research, or who are ex-pets.

In a way, this issue strikes me on a personal level.  I lived in Great Falls, Montana for a number of years.  There was this little pet shop downtown with a glass facade where the same captive monkey would look out at passers by with a blank stare.  Among my friends, we lamentably called him “the saddest monkey in the world”.  Mostly, the monkey was kept in the back and the few visitors who happened by could clearly see the poor little guy had lost his mind.

monkey behind glass
Such is the life of a captive monkey.

Fortunately, Montana no longer allows the sale of monkeys for pets.  However, that pet store still has a supply of monkeys “for out of state buyers.”  If Jungle Friends aims to end such cruelty, this is a mission I can fully support.  From their website:

Jungle Friends discourages the keeping of primates as ‘pets’ and we hope the practice of stealing baby monkeys from their natural mothers will end. Baby monkeys are literally pulled from their protective mothers, sometimes when they are only three days old, to be sold as ‘pets’. It is not hard to imagine the horror both baby and mother monkey must feel during this traumatic and forced separation. Sadly, it can take a lifetime for the grief-stricken mother to come out of a depression brought on by this thievery and there are always scars left on mother and baby from such cruelty.

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The Power of Editing

This post serves as the official announcement that I’ll be self-publishing an ebook later this year (hopefully this summer).  It’s the new Wild West in publishing, and anything is possible in this exciting time.  I’m proud to be part of  this neo-Gutenbergian movement bringing far greater reach for the written word and empowerment to writers.

I’m still finishing my manuscript, but I’m getting close to completion, so I’ve begun researching ebook self-publishing already.  As such, expect updates chronicling what I learn along the way.

For this entry, I want to highlight editing.  A professional editor is perhaps the single most valuable resource a publishing house deal could provide.  But the indie writer is not without hope thanks to the internet.  Many excellent editors freelance, and I’m searching for one to work with now (so feel free to contact me with any leads!).

All the short stories on this site are, hitherto, unedited by a professional; peer-review only.  As a part of my learning process, I’ll be taking these stories down in the next upcoming weeks, sending them to editors, and then publishing them as ebooks.

I was perusing David Gaughran’s excellent website on the subject and came across a link to a Raymond Carver story, showing the markups by his editor.  It’s originally from the New Yorker, and can be found here: Primary Sources: : The New Yorker.

It’s worth checking out!

by Categories: On WritingTags: , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

The Asynchronous Team 5k

It’s a funny name, but here’s what it is: a 5k run/walk race without any physical location.  I’m inviting friends, family, readers, followers, and first time visitors to the site to join up and run a race together.

This is how I train. Better bring your A-game.

http://www.jamesschannep.com is hosted by WordPress, who’s hosting something they call the  Automattic Worldwide WP 5k:

WHAT IT IS: A 5k run/walk (approximately 3.1 miles). You can run, walk, or skip. It’s up to you. There’s no time limit and there’s just one requirement: that you participate! You can do it inside or outside, on a treadmill or on a track, or even do a swim or a bike ride instead of running/walking – just get moving!

A 5k is roughly equal to:

  • 3.1 miles
  • 12 laps around a track
  • approximately 6000-7500 steps
  • approximately 50-60 minutes of brisk walking

Here’s what makes it cool & unique: I’ll be running with my family in TX, my friends and fellow writers in CA (and worldwide), my fiance Michaela and her flight who’re training at Maxwell AFB, AL.  I’m even going to pressure people living abroad to join in (you hear me Sam and Brian?!).  And I want to invite you too.

All you have to do is move 3.1 miles, any time on the 29th of April.  That’s two weeks from now.  I know, I’ve been slacking too, so we’d better get a few training runs in.  Because the winner (we’re on the honor system here, people) will get a $10 gift certificate to Amazon.com.

Ten-Dollar Holler!

Find a route around you (www.mapmyrun.com), pick a time to race (anytime on April 29th), take a picture of yourself/your team on race day, and send me your photos & race times.  Results will be posted on this site and the #1 racer of each gender (go Michaela!) will get a $10 gift certificate.  And remember, this is for posterity, so…be honest.

Interested?  Hit me up with a comment below or drop me a line to let me know you’re in or for more info/questions.

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Film Review: THE HUNTER (2011)

Disclaimer: I don’t plan on making film reviews the norm on this site but because I already wrote about this movie, I’m willing to make an exception.  I also don’t like giving negative reviews, especially for independently financed projects, as I respect the difficulties of moviemaking and I don’t want to steer revenue away from these hard working artists.  However, my audience is intelligent enough to know that this is only my opinion and that their own millage may vary.  So we shall proceed.

Please be aware that SPOILERS will follow, so if you don’t want to ruin your Monet Experience then go watch the movie now (it’s currently playing VOD) and then come back and share your thoughts.

Here is the trailer for the movie:

The Hunter (2011) – Official Trailer HD

The trailer would have you believe it’s a tense thriller, right?  About a man with a rifle, put in jeopardy by a conspiracy of those all around him–plenty of intrigue and suspense, right?  Wrong.  This 1:38 might be the most exciting of the whole 100 minute movie.

Okay, so maybe the problem was with marketing.  Maybe if I knew I was getting into a slow, plodding drama more about unemployed loggers than a Tasmanian tiger hunt, I’d have enjoyed the experience more.  But probably not.

Don’t get me wrong, this movie has its redeeming aspects.  The cast was stellar!  Defoe and O’Conner brought grace and strength.  Sam Neil perfectly blended as a native (IMDB tells me he grew up down-under, so it’s no surprise).  And what a beautiful film; the cinematographer expertly captured the breathtaking scenery.

I actually wish I liked this movie more.  The topic is obviously one that interests me.  But I just couldn’t get behind it.  It strikes me as another in a painfully long line of films that tries to be profound by having nothing happen.  It’s like someone who wants to write a great work of literature, so they decide step one is “don’t have a plot”.

A fellow friend and filmmaker once shared a bit of wisdom with me he learned while making a documentary on the Air Force Academy.  He said, you can’t show the audience that an event is boring by boring them for ninety minutes.  By the same token, I find that if you spend too much time building the atmosphere, you’re left with nothing but that.

So did I miss something?  Or did the filmmakers?

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A Monet Experience

Monet Experience (noun): The process or fact of personally observing, encountering, or undergoing something for the first time, or without any preconceived notion as to what might be entailed or encountered. To be a blank canvas.  I went into the movie without even seeing the trailer, it was a total Monet Experience.

“Water Lilies at the Bridge” by Claude Monet – 1890

This is the coining of the term; its first non-spoken use.  Monet, like me, often longed to see the world without any preconceived notions, prejudices, or expectation whatsoever.  To see the world for the first time, like a child, but with an adult mind with the capabilities to appreciate such a thing.

When you taste a new dish for the first time, when you read a book with no idea what it’s about, when you visit somewhere you’ve never even seen pictures of — you’re having a Monet Experience.  In the fashion of an Epicurean, I find no greater bliss than experiencing something new; no matter how small.  So when I read that Monet felt the same way, it finally gave a name to what I’d been feeling all along.

“The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.”
– Claude Monet

And to be frank: I’m not narcissistic enough to call it a “Schannep Experience”.  I like the name “Monet Experience”.  Associating a man so full of passion, genius and talent adds an element of beauty to a concept near and dear to my heart.

As both a purveyor and rabid consumer of books and movies, a Monet Experience is essential to my enjoyment.  Friends call me a “Story Purist” because I don’t like to know anything about a book or movie going into it.  The writer intends information to be revealed in a specific way, and it tickles my senses for the process to unfold in such a manner.  Spoilers, an apt name if ever one was writ, ruin that experience.

Ever watch a movie trailer, then say “Thanks for showing me the entire movie”?  This is far too commonplace, in my opinion.  Teasers do much better, but if I know I’m interested in something, I’ll skirt any conversation or exposure to that work.

“It’s on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way. So we must dig and delve unceasingly.” – Claude Monet

My love of the Monet Experience was cemented by a single event.  I’ve served in the military, and during basic training we were cut off from the outside world.  After we were able to leave the gates for the first time, I went to see a movie with a few friends.  We had no idea what any of the films playing were about.  “What should we see?” we asked one another aloud.  A patron leaving said, “The Ring is a really great movie.”  We all shrugged and bought tickets.  It remains to this day one of my favorite movie-going experiences.

“So how do you pick movies and books?” you might ask.  Simple: by recommendation.  Trusted friends and critics say something is amazing and worth my time, and I check it out.  Or by reputation.  There are writers and filmmakers whom I believe produce quality art.  Once I’m a fan, I’m hooked till they lose me.

Bottom line: Sometimes you can’t avoid the hype, but I find it more pleasurable not to seek it out.  Give it a try.  Only a Monet Experience can provide the joy of unadulterated perception.

© James Schannep and jamesschannep.com, 2011-2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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