J.J. Goodman: Writings, Musings and More

After yesterday's seriousnessness, I figure we should jump into a little levity. Levitation, if you will. I mean, not the "make R2-D2 float in a swamp" kind of levitation. Only Jedi can do that. Well, and Jedi Knights in training, I suppose, since Luke wasn't really a Jedi yet at that point. I mean frivolity. Don't go making stuff float around. You'll freak out your coworkers.   (Oh sweet bejeebus, how much caffeine have you had already??)   Um, let's see… sixteen ounces, plus a cup of tea, carry the two….   (*bangs head on desk*)   Oh pish posh. Don't be so dramatic. My point is that there has been a lot of travesty in the news lately. I opted to speak my mind about one particularly disturbing story, and while I was generally supported in my stance, I did receive a fair share of negative responses decrying my failure to voice my outrage at other social issues in the same breath. To my detractors I say a) don't eq...

[Note One: Merriam-Webster offers several definitions of "murder." Included amongst those definitions are the following: something outrageous or blameworthy; to slaughter wantonly. Keep these definitions in mind as you read.] [Note Two: Information for the writing of this blog post was gathered from multiple reporting sources, including Foxnews.com: NBCnews.com; CNN.com; The Huffington Post, and the StarTribune, the local newspaper media in Minneapolis, Minnesota.] I generally try to stay out of political or moral debates on these pages, I really do. My purpose here is to share sarcasm, cynicism, songs, stories and whatever else may come to this overactive mind of mine. On occasion, though, a topic arises upon which I cannot help but comment. The murder of the African lion named Cecil is just such a topic. Here are the facts as I've been able to gather: Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer paid in excess of $50,000 to travel to Zimbabwe to hunt and kill a li...

Well, my dear readers, it's about that time of year again. Each year in late July I pen a post that's a little raw, a little dark, and entirely me. I can't help it. I've been doing this for several years now, and by this point in our relationship as writer and reader, you should have come to realize that there are those times when I hold nothing back. I tell you, my friends, my loyal readers, and anyone who should stumble across this blog what's on my mind, with no filter. A lot of times these posts aren't pretty; they're not meant to be. Do I over share when I do this? Probably. Do I give a fuck? Not in the slightest. Believe me, the irony of the fact that I will spew my deepest and darkest here on these pages, yet often close myself off from those closest to me, is not lost on me by any means. And I have no explanation for it other than the fact that writing is easier for me. Speaking? That's another matter, but writing? Writing is a part of me. It...

I've always been enamored with the name "Sabine." There's just something alluring about it, something exotic. For some time now, I've desired to write a character bearing the name but I've not been able to conjure a suitable image of my Sabine in my head. A number of recent events, coincidences, and happenstances, however, have finally given me the inspiration to write a Sabine that will (hopefully) be worthy of her name. It is the combination of spending time with friends, the new season of Star Wars: Rebels , and the revisting of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse that has inspired me to at last put my Sabine to paper. I look forward to your thoughts, ideas, predictions, etc. for the character. And with that, I give you... Sabine. ***** Chapter 1.             She couldn't remember a time when she'd has so much trouble opening her eyes. Of course, she could neither remember a time when she'd been caught, or at least been caught and h...