rlfj: Blog

Keep an eye out for a quickie submission. Not my next story. That will be in January.

For those curious, I am still writing. My current project is tentatively titled The Contractor and will probably be published early 2021. This story is going to be considerably different than my last big project. For one thing, the protagonist is not so much a hero as he is an antihero. This is a complex fellow. The sex is minimal, being about the same level as the Grim Reaper series; it is definitely not a stroke story. In addition, this is unlike anything I have written before, and I am not at all sure how it will work out. I am about two-thirds of the way through; also, it's not going to be as long as some of my other stories.

For those curious as to the content, here's snippet from the middle of the story:

"Do you really think James Bond was born James Bond? Or was he actually born Joey Numbnuts and then changed it after he became Double-Oh-Seven? How do you get to be James Bond? Where do you start? And how do you leave? How does James Bond retire? What happens when he runs out of spies to catch? Does he go back to being Joey Numbnuts?"

Anyway, that's the latest. I hope you enjoy it when I finish.

Got this answer on copyright and trademark law. "I'm a retired lawyer, so this isn't a "legal opinion." I can't charge you because my law license is "inactive." Titles of books and names of fictional characters normally can't be copyrighted. So, don't worry about this. If you want to make and sell dolls with Jeannie's name, beware of trademark issues." Not in my plans!

For those curious, no, I don't plan to make this the start of a series. This was a one-off type of piece that I started a decade ago and decided to finish off. Nor do I intend to write stories based on any of the story ideas listed in either Future Plots or Memo - Reply. Those ideas were simply part of the story within the story. Thanks for the interest.

Interesting final comments on beer: "You're both right and wrong. Yes, beer at the time of Cyrus the Great would have been flat, and probably sour. And the brewery you worked in would have forced CO2 into the beer in an industrial process. However wooden casks will hold pressure and have been used for roughly 1,000 years. Carbonation would have been at lower, but still noticeable, levels. And while the CO2 is vented off during fermentation, it's a simple matter to add a small amount of sugar just before bottling/coopering to create the carbonation level desired." Thank you, GregB. The discussion is ended!

A curious question was recently raised. Am I in legal peril for using a television series and the names of the characters in an unauthorized story? I know that using real people, which I have done in several stories, is okay. A Fresh Start and The Grim Reaper, et al, used many famous politicians as characters, but Hustler Magazine v Falwell protects me as they were public figures. The television series involves copyright and trademark law, and I'm no lawyer. Now, I don't plan to take down the story, but I am curious. Any lawyers out there want to comment? Thanks.

In any case, this marks the end of the story. As I mentioned earlier, I can't remember why I let the story sit for ten years, but it was fun to finish. I hope everyone enjoyed it. I'm turning on voting. It will be quite a bit before I finish my next story. We'll just have to wait.

I had an interesting email from a reader: "Without a modern industrial base, how could a brewer capture and contain carbon dioxide. It's simple, fermentation produces CO2. Keep a stopper in the bottle and you have a carbonated alcoholic product. Even Americans know how champagne is made." At least one other response was in the same line, though not quite as condescending.

I guess this is supposed to show how little I know about beer, but as an ex-industrial chemist, I can guarantee it is more complicated. The issue is not the brewing of the beer. It is the storage! Cyrus the Great lived from about 600 BC to 530 BC. There were no beer bottles! Glass was very expensive and would have only been used for ornamental purposes, or for holding djinnis! Cork, which is what stoppers are usually made from, is not native to Persia; it would have to be imported from Southwest Europe or Africa. Rubber would not have been available, either, since it is from Southeast Asia. A different option, a wood dowel wrapped in leather, is not something that will hold pressure for any length of time. Next, during the production of beer, the carbon dioxide is allowed to bubble off; most (not all) modern beers have the carbonation added during the final stages of production. Making beer was a large-scale enterprise and it was stored in large clay pots, not something you could put a stopper in. Other containers included wooden casks, not a vessel capable of long-term high-pressure storage. Glass containers did not become common until glass-blowing machinery was invented in 1880. The same applied to metal kegs - the first large scale production of aluminum didn't occur until 1886. Industrial-scale production of carbon dioxide didn't occur until the mid-1800s. So, even though I'm an American, I think I know how beer is made, especially since I worked in a brewery one summer when I was in college.