La Maison de Tanuki

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La Maison Paurvre
de Tanuki the Raccoon

About WBMS:

This is the first and only web page for the ever reclusive and intensely private author, Write By Myself. I'd tell you all about myself, but that wouldn't be in character would it? However, I'll give you all some details to satiate the morbid curiosity that seems to be swirling about me. If you have questions you'd like answered, drop me an e-mail and I just might consider adding the answers to this page.

I'm a writer and I'm male. You've probably figured that much out already. I like to write and I write often, though much of it is for my own amusement and won't see the light of day anytime soon. Much to the surprise of many of my fans, I am an American: I was born and raised here in the USA. It amuses me greatly when I get letters from Britons hailing me as a fellow countryman. I suppose it means I've done my job well.

I have a great number of opinions and I like to share them. People don't often want to listen to someone pontificate or proselytise, but when you write an engaging story you can deliver any message to a willing, eager, receptive audience. It doesn't necessarily mean they'll agree with you, but you can make yourself heard.

I have one underlying theme in everything I write. Friendship is the ultimate universal truth. It's the same thing Tolkien believed. I suppose when I discovered Tolkien in my early teens, that's what made me fall in love with his works. Sam and Frodo are the physical embodiment of that belief. Every piece of fiction I've written has some take on friendship. I believe it's something very few people really understand. A real friend is nearly impossible to find and something to be cherished above all else. There, now you know one of the few things that makes me tick. A rare bit of information I don't like to give out.

To write well, you have to be a reader. So it is not surprising that I love to read. My interests lie mainly in science-fantasy, though I often dabble in other genres when the mood takes me. If you're looking for a good read, some of the authors I suggest (in no particular order) include David Eddings, Raymond E. Feist, Orson Scott Card, Terry Pratchett, Steven Brust, J.R.R. Tolkien, Mercedes Lackey, J.K. Rowling, and many others. I love to talk about books, so feel free to inquire as to others I may recommend. My favourite newspaper columnists of all time are legendary three-dot columnist Herb Caen and humourist Dave Barry -- both Pulitzer Prize winners. Or, I suppose, as Mr. Caen would put it, pullet-surprise. If Paul Harvey wasn't a radio guy and were a writer instead, he'd be on the list too. There's also the incomparable net-author "Driver Nine" who is second to none on or off-line.

As for music, my tastes are eclectic: I love the Beatles, Eagles, Elton John, Jimmy Buffett, Jean-Michel Jarre, Tina Turner, Simon & Garfunkel, Neil Diamond and, of course, Queen. Genres I like include: rock, pop, new-age, Baroque period classical music, and even, quite predictably, some show tunes. I am sure you are just shocked to learn that.

I love sports, too, and that seems to be a surprise to many of my readers. Hockey and Football (American and what the rest of the world calls Football) are my favourites. I don't mind college hoops either. The NBA and MLB bore me to tears. Additional hobbies I indulge in include: mass transit, travel, and ice skating. Commercial aircraft also entertain me and I love to watch and fly on them, though it's become far more tiresome since 9/11/01.

When it comes to television, I have very little patience with the insipid tripe that is now on television. The Simpsons (Fox), Family Guy (Fox), Degrassi: Next Generation (The-N), Lost (ABC), Heroes (NBC), and South Park (Comedy Central) are what I like for now, though many of these are slipping in quality. It's interesting to note that everything I like is now animated. Some great shows have passed through over the years such as the Wonder Years, Hill Street Blues, I Love Lucy, Mary Tyler Moore, Maude, All In The Family, the Jeffersons, Barney Miller, Daria, and more. Amazingly, you can still find many of them on Nickelodeon's Nick at Nite as well as TV Land because these shows have withstood the test of time. Old TV is much better than new TV.

Having just spoken of television and in advance of speaking of movies, I guess I should mention, in no particular order, some of my favourite actors and actresses. Sean Connery, Chad Allen, Bea Arthur, Patrick Stewart, Max Von Sydow, Jack Nicholson, John Lithgow, Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Jodie Foster, and Mary Tyler Moore are some of the people I think really know how to act, as opposed to doing what is a poor imitation of acting. That being said, sometimes an average actor can steal the show: witness Sean Astin in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Wow. Talk about having an Oscar stolen from you....

I love the movies, though like television, they're getting worse over time too. Some of the best movies I've ever seen include: Gone With The Wind, a Clockwork Orange, Wizards, Contact, ET, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Lord of the Rings (all three), The Sixth Sense, Blazing Saddles, Billy Elliot, and Almost Famous. I also hold a special place in my heart for the Rocky Horror Picture Show, though calling it anything but cult, camp, and fun would be a stretch.

My favourite plays of all time are Les Miserables, followed (in no particular order) by Phantom of the Opera, Lion King, Billy Elliot, Avenue Q, and the oh-so-campy Mama Mia! Somewhere between theatre and film lies a unique experience: Cirque Du Soleil. If you haven't seen one of their shows, you're missing an amazing thing.

I did not vote for George Bush. Either one, to be perfectly accurate. It's a sad day when we, as a country, have to be embarrassed by our own government. Just remember, it's not my fault. Bush sucks -- a simple statement that works on, oh-so-many levels. I am glad Obama is taking over. Maybe people will realize we're not all a bunch of assholes now.

So, my friends, that is the fifty-pence tour of yours truly, WBMS. Also, if you want more details about me, one of my readers sent me this survey, so I filled it out. Here it is (in its own window). If you enjoy it, fill it out with your information and send me a copy.

Want to see the tube station that inspired me to actually write Alone? Want to see a photo of the Rascally Racoon Fan Club? This was provided by Mr. Cole Parker and he gets my undying gratitude for this wonderful photo.

What's My Name?:
Well, I started off without a name except for WriteByMyself which Dude incosiderately shortened to the horrendous Wibby. I needed a name, and one day I was having an IM discussion with Driver about cars, and he sent me a picture of a Stout Scarab, and I thought that was a fantastic name. So that's how I became Stout Scarab. In early 2007, he suggested I name myself Tanuki after the raccoon-like creature with huge cajones. I decided he was right and it was time for a change -- my name should match my long-time avatar.

See a picture of a 1935 Stout Scarab. Read about the Stout Scarab here.
See a picture of the Tanuki. Read about the Tanuki, here and here.

How to find my stories:

Alone With Myself (original)
Alone With Myself (the Director's Cut)
Not Entirely Alone With Myself (a novel related to AWMS)
Into Darkness and Desolation (incomplete)
Another Day In Paradise
A number of short stories (A Fan In The Stands, The Point, Dog, Halfway to Thirty, etc)

All of my works are at www.awesomedude.com and most of my works are also at http://www.dabeagle.net and http://www.codeysworld.com. Some of the old version of these stories may be found at www.nifty.org. New works will not appear at Nifty, though. Sorry.

How to contact me:
WriteByMyself (at) aol (dot) com and also visit my blog at http://www.awesomedude.com/adboard/blog/writebymyself/

Disclaimer: The advertising, pop-up menus, and all that fancy HTML code in front of mine is added by Tripod as part of the posting process. Trust me, all that crap isn't my style. But what do you expect for free, right?

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