Calaquin.com

It's still five months away, but it's never too soon to get people informed about the National Novel Writing Month!

NaNoWriMo is a yearly event where thousands of people around the world attempt to write their own 50,000 word novels. It takes place in November, giving participants only thirty days to do it.

This will be my fifth year, and right now I have no idea what I'm going to do. If you're interested in giving it a try, go to the official website to find out more.

Wow, the response I've received from my Box O' Memories idea has been very positive!

I've been having a lot of fun so far putting the posts together. There's a ton of stuff in The Box, and just yesterday I added a few more things.

It has actually been helpful because I've been deciding what should be taken out of The Box. However, anything that is taken out of The Box will also be revealed.

There's now an About page for The Box O' Memories, and I will be posting more items very soon!

If you have a site similar to it, please let me know using my contact form. I would like to get connected with people doing this sort of thing. Also, you are welcome to totally copy my idea, just please let me know about it!

I have just launched the newest section of Calaquin.com:

The Box O' Memories

I have a box full of things that remind me of special things in my life. Every post, which will probably once every few days or so, one item within the box will be revealed, and I will give the story of the item.

This is probably the most personal thing I've ever done on my website, but it should be a lot of fun. There's a lot of stuff in it, and I'm always adding things, so this could go on for a while.

Right now I don't have my good camera, so I'm going to have to use my webcam for the first few items. When I do get my good camera, I'll replace the images with higher quality ones.

The first post has been placed on the new site, and it's about The Box itself.

I'm sorry I haven't posted chapters of my serial novel, but the more I look at it, the more I don't like it. It's severely unedited, and I keep cringing at some of the crap in there that would normally be cut out of something I'd post online.

So I'm going to just post the rest of the chapters in one day. I know some people are reading it, so I don't want to betray them. It will probably be in the next week or so, because it takes a while to format it. The story is not finished, but I might add something to the end that explains where the story was going. I don't know. It's really lame, but I'm sick of that story.

The problem with it was that I really had no plans for a plot when I first started. Normally I write with a premise in mind. This one really didn't have one (which is why the plot doesn't really begin until about eight chapters in). The idea of a serial novel was purely experimental for me, so I'm glad I at least gave it a try.

I've got other stuff written that I'd like to post on this site fairly soon. But with my recent graduation and current job hunt, my website has been pretty far down on my list of priorities.

Right now, my goal- aside from getting a job- is to get published. I'm going to be submitting stories to literary magazines all over the country with the hope that someone out there likes my work. I have several short stories I think are nearly ready for submission.

I have to be honest. I haven't been working on my serial novel lately. I've been working on other projects. There are currently over 25 chapters ready to be posted, so that gives me plenty of time to get back to it before I start missing dates.

The most recent chapter, Chapter Six is where the story really begins. Before that, I didn't really know where the story was going.

I promise I won't leave the story hanging on chapter 25 when I get to it.

Last time I said chapter six was posted, but it was in fact chapter five. This time it is chapter six.

Click here to read it!

Enjoy!

I've just posted the fifth chapter of my online serial novel, Sometimes, James.

Click here to read it!

I've just posted chapter four of my online serial novel, Sometimes, James.

Click here to read it!

Update: Chapter will now be posted weekly on Fridays instead of Saturdays.

Young’s Luxury Double Chocolate Stout

Alcohol Content: 5.2%
Color: Very Dark
Flavor: Chocolatey and very sweet
Price: $3.99 for a 1 pint bottle

I know I’ve already reviewed a chocolate beer, but this one was cheap. While the other kind cost around $13 a bottle, this was only $4 for about half the amount. I’ve seen this beer at several liquor stores, but something compelled me to pick it up the other day. Maybe it was my lack of alcohol at my apartment, or maybe it was that chocolate is so awesome.

The bottle has a really cheap looking purple label. All that really matters is that it’s a fairly large bottle at a full pint, a little more than enough for a full glass if you include the head. The label claims that the beer is “chocolate malt and real dark chocolate.” Why isn’t this more common?

My first sip was all head, but the chocolate stuck out much more than I expected. It smelled like it would be bitter, but the taste was far from it. The beer itself tastes almost like a float. It’s very heavy, though that hasn’t been uncommon with the darker beers I’ve tried. It’s almost as if a scoop of ice cream was totally dissolved into the beer.

Each sip is sweet, with almost no bitterness at all. The chocolate definitely tastes dark, as well as very rich. The aftertaste, which sort of reminds me of shisha flavor, doesn’t linger for long, and I’m glad for that. There is almost no alcohol flavor. I’m thinking that there might be a lot of sugar not converted to alcohol, so this probably isn’t a safe one for diabetics.

Final Thoughts:
This is very much a dessert beer. The chocolate is not just a part of this beer, but makes up what the beer is. The flavor is very unique, even having had another chocolate beer not too long ago. The shisha aftertaste is a little weird though, and I think it would be a much better drink without it. (If you don’t know, shisha is tobacco mixed with fruit flavor, smoked through a hookah. Try it sometime. It’s fun, and goes great with lighter beers). It’s a nice, interesting beer. Considering its price, I’d recommend it to anyone who likes root beer floats, but wants to try something a little different. I do remember enjoying the Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence a lot more though. Also, what’s with chocolate beers having long names?

Grade: B

These beer reviews grade brews on a scale of A+ down to F-.

I've posted the third chapter of my online serial novel, Sometimes, James.

Read it here!