Two More John Themes

Working out - last Tuesday (12/7) after Wordos I went to the gym.   I spent about a half-hour on the elliptical reading about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.  For a while I was trying to properly say Nebuchadnezzar and it sort of works as a running chant.  I also managed to reset the machine about three minutes into my run because I was trying to hold the book down on the console. 300 calories.  Downstairs I increased my weights a notch:  pec flies 3x12X40 lbs, lat pull downs 3x12x80.  I did some free weight work with 15 lb Dumbbells and then it was getting late so I went back upstairs and did some assisted dips, about 4 or 5 reps of 7, decreasing the assisted weight each time from 15 to about 10 (the first weight is something like 36lbs, and each additional one is 6, and I wish they'd just list the amount of weight because I'm never quite sure what the calculation is.

Writing - The Wordos Holiday reading is coming up.  Luckily, the themes match some rough work that I already have.  Not quite as lucky, it turns out I have enough material for four and a half stories, and I only need one thousand word short.  The story that I'm polishing is threatening to turn into a talking heads story, so I'll have to fiddle with the action and make characters' motivations very clear.  

In the course of going through older manuscripts, for this story and for others that I'm struggling to get into e-book format, I've discovered two more John Themes:  The Marvelous Device, and The Bracelet.  The Marvelous Device is usually a cross between an orrery, tarot cards, a music box, a disco ball, and possibly an insect.  It can be made of gold or silver, but any shiny metal will do.  If it is made of more mundane materials, these will be enchanted somehow or otherwise Highly Symbolic.  The Bracelet is typically a form of personal assistant; it usually shows up in science fiction stories as a combination smart-watch/comm-link.  The fantasy version tends to function as a magical electronic pass identification card.  Very likely The Bracelet has its origins with the women who steal Spock's Brain.

Working out - last Thursday (12/10) I went to the gym.  Umm.  200 calories on the elliptical, 100 on the rowing machine.  Pec flies 3x12X40 lbs, lat pull downs 3x12x80.  Triceps pull-downs, 3x12x30lbs.  I think I did a few other things, but I don't quite remember what they were.