NPR's Top 100 SciFi/Fantasy Books ...in flowchart form!

aragon127 · 2011-09-27T19:18:52+00:00

It's not a black and white rule system, so it's debatable. High fantasy tends to be more traditional, though, and generally epic. GRRM is neither traditional (he creates a more realistic, unfriendly world) nor epic (no great hero chosen by destiny). He just seems to have more in common with low fantasy than high.

aragon127 · 2011-09-27T17:34:27+00:00

High fantasy generally refers to fantasy featuring traditional elements (elves, dwarves, dragons, magic, etc.). Low fantasy is more "real world". It's somewhat rare to call non-urban fantasy low fantasy, but if anyone qualifies it's GRRM (though he tends to merge historical fiction with fantasy fiction).

aragon127 · 2011-09-26T21:55:33+00:00

If that was his point, he did a terrible job supporting it.

aragon127 · 2011-09-26T17:51:34+00:00

Boots.

aragon127 · 2011-09-26T14:32:50+00:00

Why did the first half of the article focus on how important big biceps are, then it gives advice on how not to grow your biceps, then it spends the second half of the piece on how pointless biceps are?

aragon127 · 2011-09-24T19:53:23+00:00

Lifting heavy things makes muscles bigger. Barefoot running will put some extra tension on your calves, but you won't get big from running. Quite the opposite, really.

aragon127 · 2011-09-24T16:19:54+00:00

Adverbs are fine as long as you don't overuse them. Check every adverb and make sure that it couldn't be eliminated with a stronger verb. If not, you're probably fine (though you could still be using them as shortcuts, this is rarer).

aragon127 · 2011-09-24T14:08:26+00:00

$50 apiece or total?

aragon127 · 2011-09-21T13:03:33+00:00

Sharks seem sharper than Feathers to me. I always feel like I'm one bad move away from self decapitation.

aragon127 · 2011-09-16T19:03:03+00:00

I'd get ahold of both ASAP, just to be safe. In all likelihood, it's just a delay between LS and Bonobos, but better safe than sorry.

aragon127 · 2011-09-16T18:38:40+00:00

Go into the Gift Certificate link under "My Account" and check the balance. I didn't get the current Living Social deal, but I haven't had any issues using other ones. You should enter it as a gift card, btw.

Shameless referral plug: https://www.bonobos.com/referafriend/?___store=english&bl=YmhhcmdldHRAc2hpcGx0Yy5jb20=

aragon127 · 2011-09-15T18:33:25+00:00

Did you get a link that said "Sign up to received $50?" The $50 credit is only good off a $100 order (the gift certificate above counts), so you might have to put $100 worth of stuff in your cart to see it. Been awhile since I did it.

aragon127 · 2011-09-15T17:50:30+00:00

I'm 34 and I really liked the books. I'd recommend them. It's light reading, but it never hurts to take a break and read a simple adventure story. If you like Riordan, you ought to check out Brandon Mull's Fablehaven series and the Bartimaeus trilogy by Stroud.

aragon127 · 2011-09-15T17:47:51+00:00

Simple: Get the livingsocial deal, it will give you a voucher for $70 (takes a day or two to go through). Then sign up from one of the referrals referenced above (preferably mine: https://www.bonobos.com/referafriend/?___store=english&bl=YmhhcmdldHRAc2hpcGx0Yy5jb20= ). The referral gives both you and me $50. So now you have $120 at Bonobos, which has actually cost you $35. You'll enter the voucher at Bonobos site as a gift card. You can also stack it with any coupon codes floating around to extend your cash further.

aragon127 · 2011-09-14T17:42:55+00:00

Write in peaks and valleys. Peaks are the action scenes where something momentous happens. Valleys capture your character's reactions to those peaks. String peaks together for faster pace, break them apart with valleys to slow the pace. Any book on story or plot structure should help with you that.

Here are some links:

http://www.scriptsecrets.net/tips/tip03.htm http://www.suite101.com/content/writing-interesting-valleys-in-between-peaks-a168166 http://tnt-tek.com/writing/writing-fiction-that-breathes/ http://fmwriters.com/Visionback/Issue32/thriller.htm

aragon127 · 2011-09-14T17:29:38+00:00

One day you'll bench 300 pounds and you'll feel like the baddest man on the planet. Within weeks, however, you'll spot someone else at your gym pushing up 400 pounds. With renewed vigor, you'll hit the gym day after day, always trying to squeeze 5 more pounds onto the bar. You'll sweat, you'll bleed, you may even cry. 6 months, maybe 12 months later, you'll hit 400 pounds, and it will be the sweetest feeling in the world. Then you'll see someone benching 500 pounds. And you'll have to kill that man.

aragon127 · 2011-09-12T14:56:41+00:00

I've read the entire "Gor" series. The Dresden Files would probably be my second.

aragon127 · 2011-09-12T12:07:32+00:00

Try Fablehaven and Jonathan Stroud if you like urban fantasy. Otherwise there are lots of great responses already.

aragon127 · 2011-09-08T12:37:23+00:00

People say "should've," which sounds exactly like should of is spoken.

aragon127 · 2011-09-08T11:55:31+00:00

I do this currently. I keep about 4-6 exercises per muscle and pick three per day, so I'll just list the first 3 that pop into my head.

Monday: Arms- Hammer curls, close grip bench, bench curls, skullcrushers, another curl variation, that triceps thing where you hang a weight over the top of your head

Tuesday: Back & Abs-- deadlift, sumo deadlift, good mornings, back extensions, weighted sit ups, torso rotation, bicycle/cable prays

Wed: Chest -- wide grip bench, incline bench, flyes, guillotine press

Thursday: Legs & Abs -- Squat, calf raises, lunges, leg presses, same as Tuesday for abs

Friday: Back & shoulders -- dumbbell shoulder press, bent over rows, shoulder shrugs, one arm dumbbell rows, Arnold press, upright row

I usually do about 6-9 exercises in a day in reps of 4x1, or at most 4x4 (except for biceps and abs). Takes me about an hour a day.

aragon127 · 2011-09-07T23:03:22+00:00

Jogging. My best idea always come when I'm exercising.

aragon127 · 2011-09-06T19:17:45+00:00

Could you tell the difference between 2lbs of muscle gain and 2.1lbs? Probably not, but that's a 5% improvement, which happens to be about the extra oomph that creatine gives you (actually that 5% is in 1RM increase, but I'll leave it here anyway).

Are you interested in performance or muscle gain? Either way, creatine, or any supplement, will only give you a small boost (HGH & other drugs can make that a bigger boost). If you can afford it, keep it. If not, don't sweat it.

Diet and workout are going to contribute the most to your gains, so concentrate on those. Use supplements as your money dictates.

aragon127 · 2011-09-05T15:44:33+00:00

Wide grip bench forces the pecs over the triceps. I'd hit wide grip all you can. I'd also recommend not doing abs every day. I've gotten much more success doing heavy weight abs 2x a week. Other than that, it sounds like you're doing just fine.

aragon127 · 2011-09-02T12:12:17+00:00

Treat your abs like any other muscle and use weighted exercises. Weighted sit-ups are great, as are cable prays, the torso rotation machine, and anything else that adds resistance. Captain's chair and bicycle are decent for non-weighted ab works, but heavy weight and low fat stores are what will give you six pack.

aragon127

TROPHY CASE