Who is Kenmore Thompson?
On Halforums he is known as Rob King, a take off of a high school nickname. In the real world he is known as Joshua Thompson, since that is what his parents named him. Professionally, however, he has started going as Kenmore Thompson, since "Joshua" is a very common name, and "Kenmore" is the more interesting of his middle names.
If you ask Kenmore Thompson what he does today, he will tell you that he works with the Salvation Army, and is additionally a struggling writer. His ultimate dream is to be able to answer the question "What do you do?" with "I am an itinerant writer, and professional adventurer."
Selections from Kenmore Thompson's work:
The Santa Claus Apprenticeship
During the Christmas of 2009, Kenmore Thompson maintained a blog called "The Santa Claus Apprenticeship" (santasapprentice.ca). The blog was a day-to-day account of the work of the Salvation Army in a small Canadian city (St. John's, NL) as the Community & Family Services department there prepared for Christmas. Here are a few choice posts from that project:
The Genesis of a Food Hamper (10.11.02009)
Mike was Right ... (3.12.02009)
War Stories (16.12.02009)
KenmoreThompson.com (Blog)
Several months after the end of the Santa Claus apprenticeship, Kenmore commissioned a new personal website, which was to include a blog. While KenmoreThompson.com has not been as busy as "The Santa Claus Apprenticeship" was, it is still active, and Kenmore occasionally posts there.
Jared 3:16 (2.04.02010)
Reading Habits (8.07.02010)
Aside from maintaining a minimal web presence on KenmoreThompson.com, Kenmore has also been working on a few other projects, some of which follow:
The Haiti Project
The first was "The Haiti Project" which would have seen Kenmore travel to Haiti in order to assemble a general training resource for churches and NGOs intending to send first-timers to Haiti. Unfortunately, the January 12th earthquake postponed Kenmore's church's plans to travel to Haiti until 02011, and this project had to be put on hold. Kenmore hopes to return to this in coming years, hopefully with support from one organization or another.
A Folk History of the Robot Apocalypse
The second project which is still nominally active is A Folk History of the Robot Apocalypse. Inspired by the narrative philosophy behind The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z, Kenmore intends to write and record (with the aid of some friends) a handful of folk-songs about a fictional robot apocalypse and subsequent invasion of Kenmore's home, Newfoundland. Only one set of lyrics has been completed, which is still waiting for musical accompaniment, but here is a link.
Captain Steele
Acts of God
Third, begun after "The Haiti Project" was placed on hold, is a novel set in Haiti surrounding the events of the earthquake. To Kenmore, while reading can be about entertainment, and writing can be about expression, the most important function of literature is to inform a wide audience. The novel, who's working title is Acts of God will draw upon Kenmore's own experience in Haiti in 2007, and the experience of a few friends who traveled there post-earthquake. It will hopefully bring to readers the impression of a country rich in culture and personality, which does not value the same things as the west, and is better for it. Follows is a short extract (still very early in the writing process)
Extract from "Acts of God"
Other Fiction
In addition to Acts of God, Kenmore has also been working on other bits of fiction, from a fantasy set on a frozen world where cities and empires crowd around volcanoes and geysers, to a Mythopoeia written in the style of a new biblical testament about the colonization of Mars. From the story of a man stranded in Singapore by an airliner and by advancing social mores, to a story set in a future where all international aid is done by robots. From a Harry Potter satire about a lazy and confused Newfoundland wizard named Harvey Porter, to a story about a master chef who bends the laws of space-time in order to more effectively serve restaurant patrons. Unfortunately, many of these are not in a state that would bear them being shown off, but below is the first section of the Martian Mythopoeia. It is the first chapter of the book of Daŭrigo, a book of Genesis for a new world.
Martian Mythopoeia - Daŭrigo 1
KenmoreT's Vlog
The final project worth mentioning here is Kenmore's recent attempt to begin Vlogging. Kenmore initially approached the idea of Vlogging with much skepticism. Only two or three Vlogs Kenmore had experience with were (in his opinion) worth anyone's time. Returning to the genre as a viewer very recently, however, Kenmore witnessed a multitude of Vlogs with high production quality, and worthwhile subject matter. These were enough to convince Kenmore to abandon his prejudice against Vlogs, and he has started a channel on youtube under the name kenmoret. The prime purpose for starting a Vlog at this time, however, is simply to gain experience and practice in video capture and video editing, with a desired end-goal being developing the skills necessary to produce polished Vlogs from Nepal (details to follow)
YouTube channel for KenmoreT
What is next for Kenmore Thompson?
Kenmore's tenure in Newfoundland is drawing to a close. He has committed to teaching English in Nepal on a volunteer basis through the Global Volunteer Network. His time in Nepal begins in November and will last for four months. Kenmore is still soliciting donations to make this effort possible, and you can donate through either the sidebar of Halforums.com, or the homepage of KenmoreThompson.com.
While in Nepal, Kenmore hopes to keep friends, family, and strangers alike informed through blog posts on KenmoreThompson.com, and (if resources such as high-speed internet are available) his Vlog.
Kenmore/Josh/Rob King would like to thank Halforums.com for this opportunity to showcase what little of his work is ready to be showcased, and the Halforums community for the creative and emotional support it has shown for him in the past year. He hopes someday that he will be able to give back even a fraction of what has been given him.
On Halforums he is known as Rob King, a take off of a high school nickname. In the real world he is known as Joshua Thompson, since that is what his parents named him. Professionally, however, he has started going as Kenmore Thompson, since "Joshua" is a very common name, and "Kenmore" is the more interesting of his middle names.
If you ask Kenmore Thompson what he does today, he will tell you that he works with the Salvation Army, and is additionally a struggling writer. His ultimate dream is to be able to answer the question "What do you do?" with "I am an itinerant writer, and professional adventurer."
Selections from Kenmore Thompson's work:
The Santa Claus Apprenticeship
During the Christmas of 2009, Kenmore Thompson maintained a blog called "The Santa Claus Apprenticeship" (santasapprentice.ca). The blog was a day-to-day account of the work of the Salvation Army in a small Canadian city (St. John's, NL) as the Community & Family Services department there prepared for Christmas. Here are a few choice posts from that project:
The Genesis of a Food Hamper (10.11.02009)
Mike was Right ... (3.12.02009)
War Stories (16.12.02009)
KenmoreThompson.com (Blog)
Several months after the end of the Santa Claus apprenticeship, Kenmore commissioned a new personal website, which was to include a blog. While KenmoreThompson.com has not been as busy as "The Santa Claus Apprenticeship" was, it is still active, and Kenmore occasionally posts there.
Jared 3:16 (2.04.02010)
Reading Habits (8.07.02010)
Aside from maintaining a minimal web presence on KenmoreThompson.com, Kenmore has also been working on a few other projects, some of which follow:
The Haiti Project
The first was "The Haiti Project" which would have seen Kenmore travel to Haiti in order to assemble a general training resource for churches and NGOs intending to send first-timers to Haiti. Unfortunately, the January 12th earthquake postponed Kenmore's church's plans to travel to Haiti until 02011, and this project had to be put on hold. Kenmore hopes to return to this in coming years, hopefully with support from one organization or another.
A Folk History of the Robot Apocalypse
The second project which is still nominally active is A Folk History of the Robot Apocalypse. Inspired by the narrative philosophy behind The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z, Kenmore intends to write and record (with the aid of some friends) a handful of folk-songs about a fictional robot apocalypse and subsequent invasion of Kenmore's home, Newfoundland. Only one set of lyrics has been completed, which is still waiting for musical accompaniment, but here is a link.
Captain Steele
Acts of God
Third, begun after "The Haiti Project" was placed on hold, is a novel set in Haiti surrounding the events of the earthquake. To Kenmore, while reading can be about entertainment, and writing can be about expression, the most important function of literature is to inform a wide audience. The novel, who's working title is Acts of God will draw upon Kenmore's own experience in Haiti in 2007, and the experience of a few friends who traveled there post-earthquake. It will hopefully bring to readers the impression of a country rich in culture and personality, which does not value the same things as the west, and is better for it. Follows is a short extract (still very early in the writing process)
Extract from "Acts of God"
Other Fiction
In addition to Acts of God, Kenmore has also been working on other bits of fiction, from a fantasy set on a frozen world where cities and empires crowd around volcanoes and geysers, to a Mythopoeia written in the style of a new biblical testament about the colonization of Mars. From the story of a man stranded in Singapore by an airliner and by advancing social mores, to a story set in a future where all international aid is done by robots. From a Harry Potter satire about a lazy and confused Newfoundland wizard named Harvey Porter, to a story about a master chef who bends the laws of space-time in order to more effectively serve restaurant patrons. Unfortunately, many of these are not in a state that would bear them being shown off, but below is the first section of the Martian Mythopoeia. It is the first chapter of the book of Daŭrigo, a book of Genesis for a new world.
Martian Mythopoeia - Daŭrigo 1
KenmoreT's Vlog
The final project worth mentioning here is Kenmore's recent attempt to begin Vlogging. Kenmore initially approached the idea of Vlogging with much skepticism. Only two or three Vlogs Kenmore had experience with were (in his opinion) worth anyone's time. Returning to the genre as a viewer very recently, however, Kenmore witnessed a multitude of Vlogs with high production quality, and worthwhile subject matter. These were enough to convince Kenmore to abandon his prejudice against Vlogs, and he has started a channel on youtube under the name kenmoret. The prime purpose for starting a Vlog at this time, however, is simply to gain experience and practice in video capture and video editing, with a desired end-goal being developing the skills necessary to produce polished Vlogs from Nepal (details to follow)
YouTube channel for KenmoreT
What is next for Kenmore Thompson?
Kenmore's tenure in Newfoundland is drawing to a close. He has committed to teaching English in Nepal on a volunteer basis through the Global Volunteer Network. His time in Nepal begins in November and will last for four months. Kenmore is still soliciting donations to make this effort possible, and you can donate through either the sidebar of Halforums.com, or the homepage of KenmoreThompson.com.
While in Nepal, Kenmore hopes to keep friends, family, and strangers alike informed through blog posts on KenmoreThompson.com, and (if resources such as high-speed internet are available) his Vlog.
Kenmore/Josh/Rob King would like to thank Halforums.com for this opportunity to showcase what little of his work is ready to be showcased, and the Halforums community for the creative and emotional support it has shown for him in the past year. He hopes someday that he will be able to give back even a fraction of what has been given him.
