I have a complaint

Welcome to America, where complaint posts seem to get the most attention. That’s not the goal here, but I want to air some things out. I even researched my archives, and it seems like I’ve noted similar issues in passing years ago, but never a dedicated post.

What am I talking about?

I know most people are not happy with NBC’s Olympic coverage. Count me among them. I’ve been around a while and seen it done better back when ABC had the contract.

ABC only had three prime-time hours available to them each night. NBC has 24 hours per day, and about seven channels at their disposal, and somehow the coverage feels less.

Way back then, it felt like ABC covered everything. We got to see sports we didn’t usually have access to. They bounced from gold medal event to gold medal event, worked in some great bios, and even dedicated a bit of air-time to a travelogue of sorts. We got to know something about the country or city hosting the games. They taught us about the obscure sports so we could understand the scoring.

NBC seems to cover every unimportant racing heat while gold medal events never even get mentioned. They show every qualifying round of some sports, and none of the others. Some of it was probably available, but I never saw a baseball game, weightlifting, fencing, kayaking, most throwing sports, wrestling, judo, karate, boxing, and none of the shooting sports.

I did see two guys throw a discus, some pentathletes throwing the shot, a couple of softball games, and two arrows hitting bullseyes. That’s not a lot of coverage. I had to google the baseball results.

I heard the national anthem one time. It seems the award ceremonies were cut and with all the hours they had at their disposal, I don’t understand it.

NBC did go out of their way to push various agendas. This might earn me some hate comments, but I’m tired of hearing about, “The first_____ to ever win______.” I’m glad they won, but I cheer for everybody and would rather see some kid win in an obscure event than worry about race, sexual orientation, or even nation. I enjoyed seeing the Kenyan win the marathon with nobody behind him for many blocks. Allyson Felix is my new hero. Mad respect for Suni Lee who had to compete under some unfavorable conditions.

I suppose, I’d like to make it about the sports, the hard road to earn a position on the team, and the thrill of victory. Oh, wait, that was an ABC line.

Where is the next Jim McKay to ramrod the broadcast? I’d even take Howard Cosell back if they could do a few things differently.

Maybe they just need a good editor. I have no idea what the answer could be, but it sounds like people avoided the broadcasts in droves. Advertisers are asking for perks or replacement advertising, because NBC did not deliver the traffic.

I love the Olympics, both summer and winter. I searched the alternate channels frequently, but had a hard time finding anything other than the mainstream stuff.

My wife just told me she’s glad they’re finally over. I’m sorry to say, I feel the same way.

Go… somebody Rah Rah Rah

I got the last interview checked off my list. This makes the weekend a success. I didn’t really hit it very hard today. I have a three day weekend coming up, and will make a more substantial list for that.

I tried to watch some sports this weekend, but didn’t see all of anything. It wasn’t a good weekend at the Boyack house for sports. The following teams all lost:

• Boise State
• Pittsburgh Steelers
• Arizona Diamondbacks (Twice)

I know some of you follow sports, but this was kind of a bummer weekend for it. If you’re into it, I hope you fared better than I did.

I never started my last micro-fiction piece, but I know what I want out of it. The ending line is solid, but there are a million ways to start it. Maybe I’ll gain some clarity during the commutes this week. Sometimes the Muse hitches a ride downtown with me.

A short weekend deserves a short post, so I’ll wrap this one right here.

With a Little Help from my Friends

It feels like it's been a long time coming, but The Enhanced League is a genuine book now. I played the usual games with my Mac before uploading it. It generally works like this:

“You've been logged out. Please enter your iCloud password.”

I loaded my password.

“You have upgrades.”

I start downloading the newest and greatest to the operating system.

“Your upgrades have just been upgraded.”

I start over. Looks like it will take about thirty minutes. I check back in half an hour. Twenty seven minutes remaining.

Play with he dogs and talk to my daughter before checking back.

“You've successfully upgraded your operating system. Please enter your iCloud password.”

When I clicked the keys, nothing happened. Replace the batteries in everything.

“Something went wrong. You have upgrades.”

Start all over again. Repeat the waiting times, and password entry.

“Do you want to activate Siri on this machine?”

“Whatever! Just get on with it already.”

“Please enter your messenger password.”

“I don't even want messenger on this machine!!!” I click the red dot to close the window.

“Please enter you messenger password.”

“FINE!”

Anyway, after about three hours I was allowed to do the only thing I need the Mac for. Everything else can be done on my iPad.

I just got the email from Amazon that I am live right now.

I'm not the best blurb writer, but here's what I wrote:

The Enhanced league is a collection of short stories and anthems centered around a year in a fictional baseball league. It has a slight science fiction background. This league has a lot more pomp than you might be used to, and nobody seems to care if the players use performance enhancing drugs.

Stories involve existing heroes, up and comers, and falling stars. While there are the obvious stories that take place on the field of play, there are also human interest stories that take place around the baseball gyrations. These stories involve scouting, trades, ruthless business decisions, and even relationships.

I enjoyed researching and bringing you The Enhanced League, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. — CB

***

This is where I ask for a little help from my friends. There are a few things you can do to help, if you're willing.

First is to reach down inside the couch and find ninety-nine cents (99¢), then go to Amazon and pick up a copy of The Enhanced League. This is the link. The widget on my sidebar is also linked. If you need an e-reader, there is a link for one of those on the side too. Grab a hotdog and a beer and have some fun with it.

Second, I need some blog hosts. I have several different posts already written. Let me know in the comments if you'd like to participate. You can request me, or a visit from Lisa Burton, and Lisa has some awesome new posters to share with a baseball theme to them. Let me know in the comments.

I also have a couple of posts I've written by request, and need to get them out to the hosts.

Third, don't be afraid to share the news, reblog one of the posts that pops up online, and tell your friends. I'll be doing the same on your new releases.

Finally, to the awesome group of volunteers who served as beta readers. I used many of your suggestions to improve this book. There is no expectation whatsoever, but if you'd like to post a review I'd really appreciate it.

I'm off to do a whole list of things next. These involve Goodreads, pinned tweets, my book club and more. I'll surf through and keep up with the comments.

More Muse teaching

Lorelei* surprised me this time. I backed out of my garage in my usual morning fog to get ready for the commute. She stepped up and rapped on my window as the overhead door closed.

“Hey, give a lady a ride downtown?”

Lorelei has a way of getting what she wants, and a ride was probably the last thing she wanted. I’ve learned to simply go with the flow at this stage of my career. I hit the button and unlocked the passenger door. She walked around the front of the truck in her cutoffs and non-committal baseball tee-shirt, her raven hair pulled through an equally non-team specific baseball cap. She even had little baseballs painted on her nails.

If nothing else, she was always nice to look at.

“So what’s on your mind these days?” she asked.

“Short fiction.”

“Ah, the next Experimental Notebook.”

“I’ve run into a snag. I finished a micro-fiction piece this week that I really like. I like it so much that I think it deserves a second story.”

“I’ve kept track of the ideas I’ve sent your way. Which one is it?”

“I called it The Enhanced League. It’s science fiction about a future baseball league. Do you think I could pull off a second story in that environment?”

She turned toward me and batted her eyes. I realized I ‘d been played. The outfit, the cap, even the sneakers. “Why stop there?”

“Come again?”

“Why stop at two stories?”

“I don’t know, because a cluster of them doesn’t seem right for a collection.”

“Why not?”

“Experimental Notebook covers a broad spectrum. It’s all about my experimenting with new things, and sharing them. It would almost have to be its own collection of stories.”

“Uh huh.”

“Are you saying I should write a book of stories about The Enhanced League?”

“Why not?”

“Why not! Because I’m neck deep into other projects. There’s The Yak Guy and I’m not going to rush him. Then there is the next Experimental Notebook, and I’d like to do Macabre Macaroni on my blog again in October.”

“So do them.”

“And just shoehorn in The Enhanced League in my spare time?”

“No. Pull the story about the damaged pitcher and put it in a different file. Start making a list for that book.”

“It would be fun to have one about umpires, sportscasters, various teams, and players. I could explore the long term effects of performance enhancing drugs and computers calling pitches. Maybe change the whole game in small degrees like metal bats. Change the leagues to North and South, instead of East, Central, and West.”

“That’s my writer. You’re starting to get inspired.”

“I could cover an entire season by skipping from event to event. Then the book tells an overall story too. Baseball is full of triumph and tragedy, so it makes a good environment–”

“Don’t miss your turn.”

“Oh yeah.” I pulled into the parking lot. “Did you need me to drop you anywhere specific?”

“No, this is fine.” She reached over and kissed my cheek.

“What’s that for?”

“You’ve just been kissed by a Muse. It’s kind of traditional. Have a nice day at work.” She got out and headed toward the back of the truck. I looked in my mirror, because Lorelei is always attractive. She had simply disappeared.

*Lorelei is a genuine Greek Muse, my Muse. She’s been with me since before I started blogging, and keeps me pretty busy. My commute is where she does some of her best work.