Í dag, föstudaginn 16. maí, rennur út skilafrestur í dægurlagasamkeppni Hamingjudaga sem nú fer fram í fjórða sinn. Hamingjudagarnir verða...
Leave a comment
Reading List
16 May 2008 @ 10:38 am
Change in Line Up for the Campbell Award (the one from Kansas).
I'm standing down. I've spent the last decade reading books because I had to, and now I want to read books because I want to.*
I'm really pleased to be able to tell you all that![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
peake is to be my replacement immediately after this year's award is announced. See here for his comments.
*Only four years on the Campbell committee, but what with the books I've been working on etc...
I'm really pleased to be able to tell you all that
peake is to be my replacement immediately after this year's award is announced. See here for his comments.*Only four years on the Campbell committee, but what with the books I've been working on etc...
16 May 2008 @ 08:30 am
Tchotchkes: Junk or Juju?
What do you get when you cross a tiny house with a bibelot hound? Living Small!
Sure, I try to limit my intake. Souvenirs are just stuff, right? Clutter, correct? Or are they?
As you may have deduced, I revere old things. Storied things, with all their bumps and bruises. A cat-shaped bottle of long-gone Avon perfume that Mommo kept on the bathroom counter (above). A Parthenon postcard from 1954, with a message to Nikolais Dombroussuis of 720 South L Street, Tacoma, Washington, written in Greek. But what’s the use of old things if they aren’t serving a need? What’s the point of a shelf-sitter?
I know, I know: knickknacks are the cush of a home. They’re the jewelry, in a sense — they are the things that make us remember, and the things that can tell us who we are and where we’ve been. It would take a Hannibal-worthy elephant stampede to get me to cast off my Parthenon postcard, even though I have no clue who Nikolais Dombroussuis is. (If you know him, please tell me; that would be so small-world cool.)
But why can’t I imagine a life without a 50-year-old photo of the Parthenon and a message written to someone I’ve never met, and can barely read? Probably the same reason I’m itching to get a brick or two from the recently demo’d cold storage building of the old Rainier Brewery — history. Feeling the age of a thing, imagining the who and the where of it, gives me a thrill. Seriously. Plus, not only are these old items beautiful in their senectitude, they’re beautiful in their Greenery: paying homage to a mannequin head likely bound for the landfill isn’t only about design sense; it’s a good way to add a little timeworn trash to a room without contributing to the cycle of new consumption.
Is this normal? I’d bet. And while I’m no hoarder, I know there are things in my home that feather my nest without furthering my downsize. But what’s the real harm in tchotchke tableaux? A little more dust?
I’ll take it.
16 May 2008 @ 01:23 am
To Begin, the Gods - Amazon, Lulu, CreateSpace, Kindle, and free!
I've been experimenting with the ways to publish on the web. I took my Genesis version and tweaked it, restoring the literal translations of the names of God, using "Yahu" for YHWH and "the gods" for Elohim. Then I made a 102-page 6"x 9" book that looks like this:
It's available at Lulu:
And CreateSpace, who should be making it available through Amazon in a couple of weeks. I'm not providing CreateSpace's link, because Lulu does nicer work.
I hope to do a proper blog post about what I've learned later—the quick version is Lulu's finished books win for two reasons: Lulu will print on the spines of thinner books than CreateSpace, and CreateSpace's bindings feel a little lumpy, while Lulu's are nicely squared. But Lulu and CreateSpace both create acceptable books.
To continue the experiment, I made the text available for the Kindle:
To Begin, the Gods (Kindle Edition)
And there's a free .pdf that should download if you click:
More book news tomorrow, most likely.
16 May 2008 @ 01:03 am
"I do pretty well till after sundown"
Current Mood: rambly
16 May 2008 @ 01:00 am
Dollhouse Trailer (yay, new Joss Whedon)
15 May 2008 @ 11:20 pm
My Mom's Birthday
It was just luck (I think) that had my mom visiting while it was both Mother's Day ( and her birthday. )
15 May 2008 @ 09:54 pm
The power stayed on at work, but the house was 81 fucking degrees when we got home. We don't have a/c. It's the Bay area. Who needs a/c, right? We had a shitty night's sleep because it didn't cool down much at all and it looks like tonight will be the same.
I let myself get snookered into taking on another area of responsibility at work, one that is more related to writing than it is to other areas of game design, but which sure isn't in my job description. However, we don't have a Creative Director, so certain areas of the "vision" end up being assigned to various Lead Designers. Luckily, I know how to delegate and guess what -- most of it gets delegated to Randy. {evil grin}
I let myself get snookered into taking on another area of responsibility at work, one that is more related to writing than it is to other areas of game design, but which sure isn't in my job description. However, we don't have a Creative Director, so certain areas of the "vision" end up being assigned to various Lead Designers. Luckily, I know how to delegate and guess what -- most of it gets delegated to Randy. {evil grin}
15 May 2008 @ 11:12 pm
I posted the Drum Beat Heart Beat picture on Manga Revolution. If you could go to its page and click "Major Style!" to the lower right, I'd be glad of it. :D (And then just visit my main page there because with 30 more visits another site scheme opens up for me and I'm curious to see what it is. XD)
Thanks!
Thanks!
15 May 2008 @ 09:01 pm
squeeeeee
I really hope that none of you have anything that you need me to do tomorrow. Cause I will be busy.
15 May 2008 @ 08:38 pm
Yet more on YA
Specifically on YA reading. Via jmprince and others on my reading list, this Newsweek article on the surge in teen reading.
All sorts of things in there that had me nodding, including this:
jmprince and others on my reading list, this Newsweek article on the surge in teen reading.All sorts of things in there that had me nodding, including this:
Levithan and others cite several reasons for this perfect storm for teen lit, the most obvious two being the increasing sophistication and emotional maturity of teenagers and the accompanying new freedom for writers in the genre to explore virtually any subject. Another is that bookstores and libraries are finally recognizing this niche and separating teen books from children's books.And this:
Still, most of these books, even the darkest ones, cling to some semblance of hope. And most are smart, well written and do not pander or talk down to their audience. That's a welcome change, because for more than a decade, the common knock on young-adult books has been that there were too many so-called problem novels that self-righteously told kids how to behave in a "just say no" fashion. "A lot of those books were based on fear, they were cautionary and sermonlike. Teen readers rejected them," explains Martin. "Too many books for teens just stated obvious messages, like 'doing drugs is bad.' But now the messages are imbedded into the story. This new crop of writers would rather present drugs as a miserable existence and show what it's like to live through this experience than to preach."In other words, much of the content that's making adult readers so uneasy? It's not part of the problem with YA--it's part of the whole reason teens are willing to bother with YA literature at all now. Because it's willing to be real, and true, and to show the world instead of delivering lectures about it.
15 May 2008 @ 10:50 pm
Of Macroinvertebrates and Multiple Choice
Guess what?? I'm going on a field trip tomorrow! (I know that makes me sound like a third grader, but I love field trips just as much as a teacher as I did when I was a kid.)
We're taking our 7th graders to the river to release the baby salmon that they raised from fertilized eggs in their science classroom.
Then we're putting on hip waders and collecting macroinvertebrates for a watershed survey.
And then we're having a picnic lunch and lounging on the grass and reading our novels until it's time to go back to class. Now that's my kind of school day.
My students have also been working on another interdisciplinary English-Science activity called the River City Project. We're participating in a Harvard University School of Education research project to determine how video game concepts can best be adapted to engage kids in academic settings. In this game, kids travel back in time to a 19th century river town where residents are getting sick. Students work online in collaborative teams, use their 21st century research skills to gather data, form hypotheses about the causes of the illnesses, and design experiments to test their hypotheses. Afterwards, they write letters to the mayor of River City explaining their conclusions and making recommendations to improve the city's health. You can read more about the River City Project here.
I thought this was all worth posting because there's been an awful lot of talk online lately about No Child Left Behind and the damage that high stakes testing has done to many schools. It's a huge problem -- one that's chasing many great teachers out of the classroom. (Read Jordan Sonnenblick's heartbreaking SLJ column.)
But there are also lots of teachers likecfaughnan, whose recent post on testing reminds me to keep fighting the fight for authentic learning.
We don't test our kids to death at my school. We don't have them fill out bubbles in workbooks for weeks on end. We read and write and think and question and get outside and learn. I have faith that these kids are going to be critical thinkers and real-life problem solvers when they leave us. And you know what else? When it comes time to fill in the bubbles on the test, they do just fine.
We're taking our 7th graders to the river to release the baby salmon that they raised from fertilized eggs in their science classroom.
Then we're putting on hip waders and collecting macroinvertebrates for a watershed survey.
And then we're having a picnic lunch and lounging on the grass and reading our novels until it's time to go back to class. Now that's my kind of school day.
My students have also been working on another interdisciplinary English-Science activity called the River City Project. We're participating in a Harvard University School of Education research project to determine how video game concepts can best be adapted to engage kids in academic settings. In this game, kids travel back in time to a 19th century river town where residents are getting sick. Students work online in collaborative teams, use their 21st century research skills to gather data, form hypotheses about the causes of the illnesses, and design experiments to test their hypotheses. Afterwards, they write letters to the mayor of River City explaining their conclusions and making recommendations to improve the city's health. You can read more about the River City Project here.
I thought this was all worth posting because there's been an awful lot of talk online lately about No Child Left Behind and the damage that high stakes testing has done to many schools. It's a huge problem -- one that's chasing many great teachers out of the classroom. (Read Jordan Sonnenblick's heartbreaking SLJ column.)
But there are also lots of teachers like
cfaughnan, whose recent post on testing reminds me to keep fighting the fight for authentic learning. We don't test our kids to death at my school. We don't have them fill out bubbles in workbooks for weeks on end. We read and write and think and question and get outside and learn. I have faith that these kids are going to be critical thinkers and real-life problem solvers when they leave us. And you know what else? When it comes time to fill in the bubbles on the test, they do just fine.
15 May 2008 @ 06:29 pm
cafepressing the public domain (plus Cap Confederacy!)
I blame the folks who asked about the Buccaneers illo I posted recently. Okay, and I blame my research into publishing on the web (more about that in the next post). I've been cafepressing, mostly from the public domain. If you go to steeldragon @ cafepress, you'll find merch based on—
A cleaned-up version of the Buccaneers illo (the text has not been touched, because who could improve on it?):
A few public domain images I like, also tweaked in Photoshop:
And a new Captain Confederacy image:
And because windrose was curious about the rest of the Buccaneers story, click the following icons to read it:
Best five-page pirate comic book story from the 1950s ever!
A cleaned-up version of the Buccaneers illo (the text has not been touched, because who could improve on it?):
A few public domain images I like, also tweaked in Photoshop:
And a new Captain Confederacy image:
And because windrose was curious about the rest of the Buccaneers story, click the following icons to read it:
Best five-page pirate comic book story from the 1950s ever!
Yes, Shadow Unit merch is in the works, but don't expect that immediately.
15 May 2008 @ 10:43 pm
Letter From Congressman Wexler
This is what Congressman Robert Wexler sent out to his list today re the Don Siegelman case.
* * *
Last night, I appeared on MSNBC's Verdict with Dan Abrams to discuss Karl Rove's outrageous refusal to appear before Congress regarding serious allegations that he used the US Justice Department to take down a prominent Democratic politician. It is alleged that Mr. Rove personally instigated the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegleman. The case has been criticized by legal experts, and 52 former state attorney generals – both Republicans and Democrats – have criticized the case and called for an investigation. (You may view the clip here.)
If Rove refuses to testify voluntarily and ignores the subpoenas that will certainly be issued, he should be held in Inherent Contempt of the House of Representatives.
No American is above the law. None of us should be able to ignore Congress without consequence. If Mr. Rove ignores a subpoena from the Judiciary Committee, then the House of Representatives should pass an Inherent Contempt citation and exercise our right to send the House Sergeant-of-Arms to gather Mr. Rove and bring him before Congress to testify.
I do not advocate this option lightly, but the reality is that Congress has few options left against an Administration that totally refuses to submit to any type of reasonable Congressional oversight. Congress has both the right and obligation to investigate these matters. Never before has an Executive so upset the checks and balances inherent in our Constitution. If we back off or delay, we effectively forfeit the power of Congress to investigate the Executive branch.
Rove is not the first White House official to ignore Congress. We have seen a pattern of refusals based on laughable claims of executive privilege. First, White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers ignored subpoenas on the investigation into the firing of US Attorney Generals for partisan political motives.
Their refusal to testify was unprecedented: never before have executive officials totally refused to even show up before Congress. Bolten and Miers are the highest officials ever held in contempt of Congress. Unfortunately, Attorney General Mukasey – in a dereliction of duty – has refused to enforce the contempt decree and now Congress is suing them in District Court to demand compliance. Then, the Vice President's Chief of Staff, David Addington, refused to testify on the investigation into the Bush Administration's ordering of torture. Now, Rove continues this executive arrogance by also refusing to testify.
Enough is enough. We have a Constitutional obligation to provide accountability to a White House that is trying usurp the constitutional powers of Congress.
These are the very reasons why I have been pushing for impeachment hearings for Vice President Cheney. The Bush Administration has been running roughshod over the Constitution for eight long years. We should not allow the promise of a positive election be used as an excuse to ignore our duty to investigate crimes that weaken the very fabric of our Democracy.
I thank you again for your commitment to the causes that we hold so dear.
With warm regards,
Congressman Robert Wexler
DONATE
Last night, I appeared on MSNBC's Verdict with Dan Abrams to discuss Karl Rove's outrageous refusal to appear before Congress regarding serious allegations that he used the US Justice Department to take down a prominent Democratic politician. It is alleged that Mr. Rove personally instigated the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegleman. The case has been criticized by legal experts, and 52 former state attorney generals – both Republicans and Democrats – have criticized the case and called for an investigation. (You may view the clip here.)
If Rove refuses to testify voluntarily and ignores the subpoenas that will certainly be issued, he should be held in Inherent Contempt of the House of Representatives.
No American is above the law. None of us should be able to ignore Congress without consequence. If Mr. Rove ignores a subpoena from the Judiciary Committee, then the House of Representatives should pass an Inherent Contempt citation and exercise our right to send the House Sergeant-of-Arms to gather Mr. Rove and bring him before Congress to testify.
I do not advocate this option lightly, but the reality is that Congress has few options left against an Administration that totally refuses to submit to any type of reasonable Congressional oversight. Congress has both the right and obligation to investigate these matters. Never before has an Executive so upset the checks and balances inherent in our Constitution. If we back off or delay, we effectively forfeit the power of Congress to investigate the Executive branch.
Rove is not the first White House official to ignore Congress. We have seen a pattern of refusals based on laughable claims of executive privilege. First, White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers ignored subpoenas on the investigation into the firing of US Attorney Generals for partisan political motives.
Their refusal to testify was unprecedented: never before have executive officials totally refused to even show up before Congress. Bolten and Miers are the highest officials ever held in contempt of Congress. Unfortunately, Attorney General Mukasey – in a dereliction of duty – has refused to enforce the contempt decree and now Congress is suing them in District Court to demand compliance. Then, the Vice President's Chief of Staff, David Addington, refused to testify on the investigation into the Bush Administration's ordering of torture. Now, Rove continues this executive arrogance by also refusing to testify.
Enough is enough. We have a Constitutional obligation to provide accountability to a White House that is trying usurp the constitutional powers of Congress.
These are the very reasons why I have been pushing for impeachment hearings for Vice President Cheney. The Bush Administration has been running roughshod over the Constitution for eight long years. We should not allow the promise of a positive election be used as an excuse to ignore our duty to investigate crimes that weaken the very fabric of our Democracy.
I thank you again for your commitment to the causes that we hold so dear.
With warm regards,
Congressman Robert Wexler
DONATE
15 May 2008 @ 07:14 pm
Things to click.
Jan still needs our thoughts! If you haven't seen this book launch 2.0 video, you must clickety!
If you need to feel great about the state of YA books in today's market, be sure to read Newsweek's article on Generation R!
I can't wait to see my fellow desert dwellers at this Saturday's SCBWI conference. I hope everyone else takes lots of pictures and lets me steal some for my blog, since I'm volunteering again and will be running around like a madwoman! :-)
Current Mood: 
crazy
crazy15 May 2008 @ 07:10 pm
Thankful Thursday
Today's random thankfulness:
I am thankful that I finished my work-for-hire projects and got them turned in this afternoon, leaving me three days off from the day job to work with Plant Kid.
I am thankful to my super brainstorming buddy who stirred up lots of gray matter for me today.
I am thankful in today's record heat that we have air conditioning.
I am thankful that since we have a two story house we have a split AC system.
I am thankful we can afford to run the AC.
I am thankful for my husband who does all the shopping and cooking around here.
I am thankful to anyone who reads my blog, whether you comment or not.
Current Mood: 
content
content15 May 2008 @ 08:21 pm
Thursday night, wondering where May went
It's almost June. How did this happen? Received a letter from the local women's health center reminding me that it's time for the annual 'mash 'em in the copier' appointment. I thought, dammit, I just went through that. Then I remembered that I had gone around the time Mom entered the hospital last year, so yeah, mid-June.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Current Mood: 
discontent
discontent15 May 2008 @ 09:32 pm
California Same-Sex Marriage Decision
As everyone has said, California's highest court today ruled that "the designation of marriage" must be made "available both to opposite-sex and same-sex couples." I am so happy about this, though my happiness must pale besides that by those more directly affected by the decision.
That decision, by the way, is 172 pages: 121 pages of majority opinion (including 73 footnotes), 40 pages of concurring and dissenting opinions, and 11 pages of administrative stuff (PDF, 500KB). I've only had time to skim the majority opinion (and I am, alas, not the sharpest knife in the drawer at the moment thanks to sleep deprivation), but the only word that comes to mind is "exhaustive." Which—to go off on a tangent—interests me, because there are several different potential audiences for all this exhaustive discourse, and talking to multiple audiences is a tough thing to do.
( legal natter )
Have any of the non-lawyers here ventured into the decision itself? What did you think?
15 May 2008 @ 08:20 pm
Should You Be Poking Me There?
Nothing like a doctor visit to make you feel fat. *sigh* Nuff said on THAT topic.
Today, I spent half the day writing and managed to get 1700 words written. My official first day after the end of the semester. (Yesterday was spent at the book signing and Meet & Greet, which went well. A special thanks tolibwitch for sending down her posse. They didn't all intend to buy books, but I charmed them into forking over the cash. *grin*) Not bad for the first day, although tomorrow I need to DO MORE if I'm going to get the novel done before I head off to the AP Calculus grading session in Kansas City. I'll push to see if I can get twice that tomorrow. This shit it hitting the fan, so typically I can keep up some high word counts.
But the real reason for this post is to let everyone know my Balticon schedule. So here it is!
Friday 7 pm : The Outlaw Panel - Let pirates, highwaymen, and bandits assemble! Why do we like them and turn them into heroes by rewriting their history?
Friday 8 pm : Opening Ceremonies (assumingpbray and I can get there on time)
Saturday 1 pm : Writing the economics of magic
Saturday 3 pm : Reading
Saturday 5 pm : Autograph table - Hotel Bar Lobby
Saturday 9 pm : How Not to Make the Book of Your Trilogy a Letdown for Readers.
Create a plot that continues the story.
Sunday 10 am : Playing in Someone Else's Sandbox: What can you expect if you write
stories for a tie-in/shared world created by another writer? Tell us how this
works for an interested writer!
Sunday Noon : Getting Published: Learn about how to handle query letters, fiction and
non fiction book proposals!
So who all is going? Who will I see there? Which of these panels do you find interesting?
Today, I spent half the day writing and managed to get 1700 words written. My official first day after the end of the semester. (Yesterday was spent at the book signing and Meet & Greet, which went well. A special thanks to
libwitch for sending down her posse. They didn't all intend to buy books, but I charmed them into forking over the cash. *grin*) Not bad for the first day, although tomorrow I need to DO MORE if I'm going to get the novel done before I head off to the AP Calculus grading session in Kansas City. I'll push to see if I can get twice that tomorrow. This shit it hitting the fan, so typically I can keep up some high word counts.But the real reason for this post is to let everyone know my Balticon schedule. So here it is!
Friday 7 pm : The Outlaw Panel - Let pirates, highwaymen, and bandits assemble! Why do we like them and turn them into heroes by rewriting their history?
Friday 8 pm : Opening Ceremonies (assuming
pbray and I can get there on time)Saturday 1 pm : Writing the economics of magic
Saturday 3 pm : Reading
Saturday 5 pm : Autograph table - Hotel Bar Lobby
Saturday 9 pm : How Not to Make the Book of Your Trilogy a Letdown for Readers.
Create a plot that continues the story.
Sunday 10 am : Playing in Someone Else's Sandbox: What can you expect if you write
stories for a tie-in/shared world created by another writer? Tell us how this
works for an interested writer!
Sunday Noon : Getting Published: Learn about how to handle query letters, fiction and
non fiction book proposals!
So who all is going? Who will I see there? Which of these panels do you find interesting?
15 May 2008 @ 04:46 pm
Fourth Street Fantasy Convention. Why you should.
Ah, the glamorous life of a writer. The royalty checks have arrived, and are, unfortunately, neither king-size nor queen-size. So Will and I plan to spend the summer months here on the beautiful Endicott Homestead, conserving financial resources, making art, and hosting the likes of the delightful klages.
But I want to tell you all to go to Fourth Street Fantasy Convention.
When I first went to a science fiction convention, my native guides assured me that no one went to programming. Now, the fact is, they were wrong even about the convention we were at, Minicon, and as a result, I missed opening ceremonies and the never-to-be-repeated spectacle of the Dancing Davids.
But Fourth Street is what happens when everyone goes to programming. A single track of it, so you're never torn between Jane Yolen and Patricia McKillip talking about new myths for old, and Terri Windling, Deb Notkin, and Tom Canty discussing the psychoactive qualities of fantasy.
In fact, Fourth Street Fantasy is a single conversation that starts on Friday evening and ends sometime on Sunday. The participants change over the course of the day and night, but each panel, each party, each conversation in the bar or the lobby or the hall adds to the members' accumulated knowledge and growing body of ideas and energy.
And it's a conversation, not a lecture. Small convention, smart membership, all of them interested in exploring the boundaries of fantastical storytelling, whether in literature, art, music, comics, or film. Discussing them interchangeably, all on the same panel, finding the things that unite the media of stories.
If I've made that sound highbrow and stodgy, I've done a bad job. Fourth Street is fun. The excitement of that three-day conversation, of being part of the voyage of discovery, is powerful stuff. And the people you'll be hanging out with are some of the most fascinating I've ever met.
Go. Have fun. Raise a glass to (temporarily) absent friends. I'll see you there next year!
klages.But I want to tell you all to go to Fourth Street Fantasy Convention.
When I first went to a science fiction convention, my native guides assured me that no one went to programming. Now, the fact is, they were wrong even about the convention we were at, Minicon, and as a result, I missed opening ceremonies and the never-to-be-repeated spectacle of the Dancing Davids.
But Fourth Street is what happens when everyone goes to programming. A single track of it, so you're never torn between Jane Yolen and Patricia McKillip talking about new myths for old, and Terri Windling, Deb Notkin, and Tom Canty discussing the psychoactive qualities of fantasy.
In fact, Fourth Street Fantasy is a single conversation that starts on Friday evening and ends sometime on Sunday. The participants change over the course of the day and night, but each panel, each party, each conversation in the bar or the lobby or the hall adds to the members' accumulated knowledge and growing body of ideas and energy.
And it's a conversation, not a lecture. Small convention, smart membership, all of them interested in exploring the boundaries of fantastical storytelling, whether in literature, art, music, comics, or film. Discussing them interchangeably, all on the same panel, finding the things that unite the media of stories.
If I've made that sound highbrow and stodgy, I've done a bad job. Fourth Street is fun. The excitement of that three-day conversation, of being part of the voyage of discovery, is powerful stuff. And the people you'll be hanging out with are some of the most fascinating I've ever met.
Go. Have fun. Raise a glass to (temporarily) absent friends. I'll see you there next year!
Current Music: Barenaked Ladies - Light Up My Room
15 May 2008 @ 08:08 pm
"Ye living Lamps..."
15 May 2008 @ 11:29 pm
Animation
MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.
I've been busy at a conference and at work, so I haven't had time to post, or follow up on several comments left for me. In the meantime enjoy this wall painting animation by Blu; definitely cooler than anything I'm working on.
15 May 2008 @ 07:36 pm
Michael Dooling: Illustrating History
I got a call from the wonderful school librarian in the town next to mine. My mother-in-law used to volunteer there in Deerfield Elementary (how cool is it to have a librarian mother-in-law?), and Bette Schmidt’s kind, soft-spoken husband is our dogs’ vet: that’s how small-town/small-world we are. Bette told me that Michael Dooling, who illustrated two of my picture books, was coming with his wife Jane to do a presentation and I would I care to show, up, too?
It was a thrill to see them. According to Michael’s website, http://www.michaeldooling.com/ , History through Picture Books, he has visited 600 schools, illustrated 50 books, and sold a million books. I’ve got some work ahead of me. Meanwhile, we had a great lunch at Channing Bete, a local business which sponsors an annual author or illustrator’s visit. They kindly arranged trees to blossom and Mike got only the politest gawking appearing in his 18th century garb.
Then I got to watch Mike in action. The fifth and sixth graders who came in fidgety from a spring morning spent doing state-mandated tests quickly quieted down, and seemed enthralled when Mike began mixing blue and yellow to make green. Some volunteers helped him finish a portrait.
Michael showed slides, including many from MARY ANNING AND THE SEA DRAGON (he said he was nervous with the author, listening, but he was awesome.) Michael talked about the months he spends researching before beginning to sketch, and how, once he begins to paint, he steps back every few minutes to see if something’s wrong, then corrects it. Mistakes are part of the process. The students asked great questions about shading, perspective and, never mind that they haven’t begun middle school, good choices for studying art at the college level. One asked, "Of all the people you've drawn, which would you most like to have been?" The school principal beamed. Afterward one boy came over to me and said, “I know today is supposed to be about illustrating, but I’m not so good at drawing. How do YOU get your ideas?” I gave a quick answer about following what makes you curious, then he told me about how he’d wondered about how turtles breathe, told me what he’d learned, and did he maybe have the beginning of a story? Absolutely.
When I wrote the ms. for ANNE HUTCHINSON’S WAY it was my dream, and luckily my editor’s, too, to have a second book illustrated by Michael. He and I have worked separately, but we’re huge fans of each others’ work and of Farrrar, Straus and Giroux, which has kept Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon in print for nine years. I’m mulling over what I hope will become another collaboration.
It was a thrill to see them. According to Michael’s website, http://www.michaeldooling.com/ , History through Picture Books, he has visited 600 schools, illustrated 50 books, and sold a million books. I’ve got some work ahead of me. Meanwhile, we had a great lunch at Channing Bete, a local business which sponsors an annual author or illustrator’s visit. They kindly arranged trees to blossom and Mike got only the politest gawking appearing in his 18th century garb.
Then I got to watch Mike in action. The fifth and sixth graders who came in fidgety from a spring morning spent doing state-mandated tests quickly quieted down, and seemed enthralled when Mike began mixing blue and yellow to make green. Some volunteers helped him finish a portrait.
Michael showed slides, including many from MARY ANNING AND THE SEA DRAGON (he said he was nervous with the author, listening, but he was awesome.) Michael talked about the months he spends researching before beginning to sketch, and how, once he begins to paint, he steps back every few minutes to see if something’s wrong, then corrects it. Mistakes are part of the process. The students asked great questions about shading, perspective and, never mind that they haven’t begun middle school, good choices for studying art at the college level. One asked, "Of all the people you've drawn, which would you most like to have been?" The school principal beamed. Afterward one boy came over to me and said, “I know today is supposed to be about illustrating, but I’m not so good at drawing. How do YOU get your ideas?” I gave a quick answer about following what makes you curious, then he told me about how he’d wondered about how turtles breathe, told me what he’d learned, and did he maybe have the beginning of a story? Absolutely.
When I wrote the ms. for ANNE HUTCHINSON’S WAY it was my dream, and luckily my editor’s, too, to have a second book illustrated by Michael. He and I have worked separately, but we’re huge fans of each others’ work and of Farrrar, Straus and Giroux, which has kept Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon in print for nine years. I’m mulling over what I hope will become another collaboration.
15 May 2008 @ 04:11 pm
(yesterday) Walk 2.5 miles; 57.5 miles total
(today) Run 2.25 miles, walk 2 miles; 61.75 miles total: This just might be more tedious than the Chetwood.
(today) Run 2.25 miles, walk 2 miles; 61.75 miles total: This just might be more tedious than the Chetwood.
15 May 2008 @ 05:13 pm
Capital Punishment....
After careful consideration, I have taken out the Green Monster.
Not that the plant itself was the primary problem, although getting its weight off the decrepit fence was a factor in the decision.
Instead, it's the GM's children. Everywhere, in every bed, in every corner of my garden, in the front yard. I'm going to be battling last year's copious crop for some time.
Sorry, GM.
Not that the plant itself was the primary problem, although getting its weight off the decrepit fence was a factor in the decision.
Instead, it's the GM's children. Everywhere, in every bed, in every corner of my garden, in the front yard. I'm going to be battling last year's copious crop for some time.
Sorry, GM.
Current Music: Kim Richey
15 May 2008 @ 09:48 pm
Overcoming mindcramps
Typically my writing flows, but today I had mindcramps.
So--
I ended up with over 2000 words and about 8 pages. Wow. I wasn't sure I could write today. I usually don't count words or pages. I just write.
This was a stressful scene to write. It includes the inciting incident and a tough situation.
I’m going to workshop these page at my Vermont College residency—therefore my mindcramps. That, plus dealing with multiple pov—I’m writing a different pov each day, and I’m learning to switch from one pov to another from one day to the next. I’m used to having more time to change between different voices.
Tomorrow I’ll read it and make sure that what I wrote made sense.
So--
- I stared at my computer screen.
- Pulled up my file and read what I’ve written.
- Opened up another, earlier file, trying to reach the voice of this character.
- Went for a 3 mile jog by the ocean, then the lake. I wondered how and why a small cottage appeared in the middle of the downtown lake and considered possible intended symbolisms.
- Resisted temptation (mostly) to read LJ and blueboards—this will be my reward for writing this scene.
- Sent email--for research purposes of course--and sent another email venting about my mindcramps.
- Read file. Looked at word count (zero real words so far for the day) and page count for what I need to turn in (11 pages so far out of my estimated 18.)
- Checked email—received partial information that answered my question about Brazilian phrases. (I am writing in English, but will use some Brazilian slang.)
- Ate chocolate—I assume chocolate helps the creative process.
- Created a playlist for this scene, using Brazilian music—I’ll be able to use it in the future.
- Moved upstairs and sat in the sunshine. Hurray. There was sunshine today.
- Wrote one word.
- Liked the word and continued writing—this time I wrote complete sentences. Kids arrived home from school. I checked my word count—not too bad: two decent (I hope) pages.
I ended up with over 2000 words and about 8 pages. Wow. I wasn't sure I could write today. I usually don't count words or pages. I just write.
This was a stressful scene to write. It includes the inciting incident and a tough situation.
I’m going to workshop these page at my Vermont College residency—therefore my mindcramps. That, plus dealing with multiple pov—I’m writing a different pov each day, and I’m learning to switch from one pov to another from one day to the next. I’m used to having more time to change between different voices.
Tomorrow I’ll read it and make sure that what I wrote made sense.
15 May 2008 @ 06:07 pm
Twitter repost
- 10:02 Fall slate seems to be more and more "borrowed" from BBC-A the more I look; CBS' lineup includes "Worst Week" #
- 14:04 Cartoon Research Library takes in International Museum of Cartoon Art collection. tinyurl.com/49ns26 #
15 May 2008 @ 02:57 pm
Outside my office there came a...fluttering sound, barely audible over the hum of my CPU. Must be another bird, I thought. This year, we've had a pair of swallows, two hummingbirds and a junko fly into the house.
Fluttering madly, just at eye level, checking out one of the history bookcases, is a little brown bat. He flutters back a few inches, fakes left, fakes right, and races into the WBH's office, where he does the two dimensional bat trick and vanishes.
Guess we'll take the screens off tonight and shut the door and hope he finds his way outside.
Fluttering madly, just at eye level, checking out one of the history bookcases, is a little brown bat. He flutters back a few inches, fakes left, fakes right, and races into the WBH's office, where he does the two dimensional bat trick and vanishes.
Guess we'll take the screens off tonight and shut the door and hope he finds his way outside.
Current Mood: 
amused
amused15 May 2008 @ 02:53 pm
Two events on May 31st... Love is in the Air and DIRT
A Vancouver Women's Chorus is having its concert on Saturday May 31st--it's called "Love is in the Air," it'll be held at the Moberly Arts and Cultural Center. Admission is by donation, and the Vancouver Men's Chorus will be putting in an appearance too. As the title suggests, we'll be singing about love: new love, old love, break-ups, passionate reunions, passionate kisses, and the happily ever after so many of us dream of.
Or, if that's not your bag but you do want to go out that night:
"What is it about feeling dirty that shames us into silence and disgust?" asks director Meghna Haldar in the feature documentary Dirt. From the slums of Kolkata to Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to a barbeque join in Central Texas - everyone has a difference story. Dirt isn't just a four letter word, it contains a world of meaning spanning the divine to the profane. A quixotic odyssey into all things unclean, featuring animation to make Hieronymus Bosch blush, tracks from Godspeed You! Black Emperor and an experimental soundscape by Clinker, Dirt digs deep to illuminate the positively filthy experience of being human.
Or, if that's not your bag but you do want to go out that night:
"What is it about feeling dirty that shames us into silence and disgust?" asks director Meghna Haldar in the feature documentary Dirt. From the slums of Kolkata to Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to a barbeque join in Central Texas - everyone has a difference story. Dirt isn't just a four letter word, it contains a world of meaning spanning the divine to the profane. A quixotic odyssey into all things unclean, featuring animation to make Hieronymus Bosch blush, tracks from Godspeed You! Black Emperor and an experimental soundscape by Clinker, Dirt digs deep to illuminate the positively filthy experience of being human.
15 May 2008 @ 05:34 pm
tales from the slushpile
Me: I love it when people leave the "disposable copy" notation on their e-subs.
orbitalmechanic: ...because otherwise you'd forward it back to them?
Me: Maybe I will!
orbitalmechanic: ...because otherwise you'd forward it back to them?Me: Maybe I will!
15 May 2008 @ 03:39 pm
Five and Five and Five again:
Five Unpopular YA-Book-Fan Opinions (or, at least, ones I don't always voice openly):
1. I still don't get the Twilight phenomenon, and think Edward is more 'abusive controlling jerk' than 'romantic brooding protective swoony man'. Also, he sparkles. This is not a plus in my book.
2. There aren't enough books written for young adults that highlight the problems of class, or even the minute differences in voice and experience that come from it, and those that do, too often use historical fiction rather than set it against modern, current experience.
3. Zusak's The Book Thief is beautiful, but its typeface makes me want to scratch my eyes until the hurting stops.
4. I know tons of teachers who inform me breathlessly that Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl affected them deeply. I find it hard not to roll my eyes, because I think that particular allegory has all the subtlety of a falling anvil in an Animaniacs cartoon, and most of the teens who read it with me in book club didn't just dislike it, but hated it for its heavy-handed appreciation for the title character.
5. I sometimes hope more adults don't crossover to read teen titles, because some adults are total jerks when they realize the depth and controversy to be found in the young adult aisle. This is even true of some teens. There's little more tiresome than somebody pitching a hissy because teens are interested in topics that touch on edgy subjects, particularly when it comes from a place far outside the teen experience and perspective on the book -- and I'm continually surprised at where the hissyfits come from, and over what.
Five Weird-Long-Titled-Books I Hope to Pitch as Book Club Selections Next Year:
1. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar
2. Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
3. Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick
4. Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas
5. The Greatest Game Ever Played by Mark Frost
Five YA Books I Gave My Heart To This Year:
1. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
2. The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
3. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
4. Unwind by Neal Shusterman
5. The entire Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner (and shut up, I can't pick just one, I KNOW).
1. I still don't get the Twilight phenomenon, and think Edward is more 'abusive controlling jerk' than 'romantic brooding protective swoony man'. Also, he sparkles. This is not a plus in my book.
2. There aren't enough books written for young adults that highlight the problems of class, or even the minute differences in voice and experience that come from it, and those that do, too often use historical fiction rather than set it against modern, current experience.
3. Zusak's The Book Thief is beautiful, but its typeface makes me want to scratch my eyes until the hurting stops.
4. I know tons of teachers who inform me breathlessly that Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl affected them deeply. I find it hard not to roll my eyes, because I think that particular allegory has all the subtlety of a falling anvil in an Animaniacs cartoon, and most of the teens who read it with me in book club didn't just dislike it, but hated it for its heavy-handed appreciation for the title character.
5. I sometimes hope more adults don't crossover to read teen titles, because some adults are total jerks when they realize the depth and controversy to be found in the young adult aisle. This is even true of some teens. There's little more tiresome than somebody pitching a hissy because teens are interested in topics that touch on edgy subjects, particularly when it comes from a place far outside the teen experience and perspective on the book -- and I'm continually surprised at where the hissyfits come from, and over what.
Five Weird-Long-Titled-Books I Hope to Pitch as Book Club Selections Next Year:
1. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar
2. Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
3. Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick
4. Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas
5. The Greatest Game Ever Played by Mark Frost
Five YA Books I Gave My Heart To This Year:
1. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
2. The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
3. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
4. Unwind by Neal Shusterman
5. The entire Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner (and shut up, I can't pick just one, I KNOW).
15 May 2008 @ 03:42 pm
I Heart My Town
Two fun things from this week: the first progressive bike dinner (yum) and Iron Man at the the
Kentucky Theater (where they now serve wine! and where the Mighty Wurlitzer was being played!). Now if only the weather would straighten up.
Unrelated: I just ordered these shoes to go with the closet-languishing fuschia and black Betsy Johnson number I plan to wear* to the Sunday night Wiscon doings. Comfort is queen. I'm hoping they 1)fit and 2)don't look stupid. I haven't bought a pair of Docs since college, and doing so fills me with glee.
*Um, once again I missed the window to get it to an alteration shop, so I may actually have to prevail upon the kindness of one of you who can sew to do a teensy bit of stitching to remove a flower from one side and afix it in place of a missing one. Or C will have to do it. ::cue ominous music and sound of thunder::
15 May 2008 @ 03:52 pm
En Route
Tomorrow my mom and I board the Rio Express (aka My Car) for the wilds of Wisconsin. I am only just praying that somehow I shall avoid the Triple Sins of Cheese, Ring Bologna, and Frozen Custard. *le sigh*
The joy of all this frenetic packing is that I'm taking an entire dufflebag of books and magazines (the last three issues of RoF, frex) to read. I'm soooo excited to read again without feeling guilty that I should be doing something else. I swiped most of the CD audiobooks from the lib'ary this afternoon--Artemis Fowl, Birdy, called Caroline, The Death Collector, and Ruby in the Smoke (which I've read, but love so much I want to hear it!). Books, books, books--I gleefully drown in the sea of them!
Also, I am writing a strange story about sentient cupcakes. Where *do* these things come from?
So, this is just to say that Internet access may be sporadic over the next ten days, though I'll surely check in when I can. Hopefully will have at least one WisCon report--there will be much celebrating w/sarah_prineas's impending release, sarahbethdurst's birthday, and calepin's new book sale!
Off to make Unhallowed packets for my school visit w/lit_mischief Tues...:)
The joy of all this frenetic packing is that I'm taking an entire dufflebag of books and magazines (the last three issues of RoF, frex) to read. I'm soooo excited to read again without feeling guilty that I should be doing something else. I swiped most of the CD audiobooks from the lib'ary this afternoon--Artemis Fowl, Birdy, called Caroline, The Death Collector, and Ruby in the Smoke (which I've read, but love so much I want to hear it!). Books, books, books--I gleefully drown in the sea of them!
Also, I am writing a strange story about sentient cupcakes. Where *do* these things come from?
So, this is just to say that Internet access may be sporadic over the next ten days, though I'll surely check in when I can. Hopefully will have at least one WisCon report--there will be much celebrating w/
sarah_prineas's impending release, sarahbethdurst's birthday, and calepin's new book sale! Off to make Unhallowed packets for my school visit w/
lit_mischief Tues...:)Current Mood: 
bouncy
bouncy15 May 2008 @ 12:37 pm
It is ridiculously hot for here and now. It must be close to 90F. All either of us want to do is take a nap. I tried to work on the weeding. Too hot. Did some watering, a little spot weeding and felt lousy. Clearly, it was time to repair to the shade of the house and relax in the cross breeze provided by all the open doors and windows.
We are officially heat wimps. I think ice cream and a nap are in order.
And the happy news from here in California. Everyone who wants to marry should do so as soon as possible, because you know there'll be a movement to ban same-sex marriage come November's elections. I hope the darling, devoted couple at the end of the road get their ceremony scheduled. Oh, and the wonderful gardening guys, and everyone else who wants to marry.
The animal shelter meeting last night was very, very weird. Kinda expected that it would be odd, but it exceeded expectations. Think peerage council and staff meeting rolled into two hours of wankage and blurtage. The people there clearly did not understand the concept of budgets, nor did they understand unions nor a lot of business basics. There were only two people who weren't from the city or the county who had even a glimmer of a clue. Okay, three. I'll count myself, after having had many lectures from the WBH on various aspects of business. I think I'll stick to being a dog-walker and leave it at that.
We are officially heat wimps. I think ice cream and a nap are in order.
And the happy news from here in California. Everyone who wants to marry should do so as soon as possible, because you know there'll be a movement to ban same-sex marriage come November's elections. I hope the darling, devoted couple at the end of the road get their ceremony scheduled. Oh, and the wonderful gardening guys, and everyone else who wants to marry.
The animal shelter meeting last night was very, very weird. Kinda expected that it would be odd, but it exceeded expectations. Think peerage council and staff meeting rolled into two hours of wankage and blurtage. The people there clearly did not understand the concept of budgets, nor did they understand unions nor a lot of business basics. There were only two people who weren't from the city or the county who had even a glimmer of a clue. Okay, three. I'll count myself, after having had many lectures from the WBH on various aspects of business. I think I'll stick to being a dog-walker and leave it at that.
15 May 2008 @ 09:50 am
"the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice"
15 May 2008 @ 02:33 pm
Practicing the Geek Squeal
15 May 2008 @ 11:24 am
Everyone into the pool of despair! It's a pity party!!!
Grab your Poe floaties, put on your mourning suits and jump in. I have enough "kool-aid" and black capsules for everyone! Looks like my Pizza Party is going to be "a bomb" instead of "da bomb!"
I had a few cancellations due to life getting in the way. Then the last positively confirmed attendee I had bailed yesterday when she learned she was the only one...do you blame her? Me either. I had quite a few people say they were interested, but I've not heard any more from them. So it looks like I'll be inviting friends, who come running whenever I mention I'm making pizza-bless their hearts!-and we'll be having a pity party. A well fed pity party. ***To anyone on my friend's list who might be planning to come...please do, I just needed to let you know what is happening, but I would love to see you! email me; writer at fox.phoenix.az.us***
To cheer myself up I'm having ANOTHER GIVE AWAY!!! This time the prize will be one of the lovely writerly grab bags I whipped up for the claw machine;
( A couple more delightful claw pics here. )
You see those brown bags? You're playing for one of those! Second prize will be an oversized Barbie pen. All you gotta do is leave a comment telling us (me and Son#2) your vampire name or give a recommendation for a great gothic fantasy book for Son#2. I'll give you a number and then we'll let the random number generator pick this time. I'll close entries down at 5pm this Sunday, Arizona time and we'll announce the winners sometime after 6pm. Sound good?
I'm feeling better already! Good luck everyone!
I had a few cancellations due to life getting in the way. Then the last positively confirmed attendee I had bailed yesterday when she learned she was the only one...do you blame her? Me either. I had quite a few people say they were interested, but I've not heard any more from them. So it looks like I'll be inviting friends, who come running whenever I mention I'm making pizza-bless their hearts!-and we'll be having a pity party. A well fed pity party. ***To anyone on my friend's list who might be planning to come...please do, I just needed to let you know what is happening, but I would love to see you! email me; writer at fox.phoenix.az.us***
To cheer myself up I'm having ANOTHER GIVE AWAY!!! This time the prize will be one of the lovely writerly grab bags I whipped up for the claw machine;
( A couple more delightful claw pics here. )
You see those brown bags? You're playing for one of those! Second prize will be an oversized Barbie pen. All you gotta do is leave a comment telling us (me and Son#2) your vampire name or give a recommendation for a great gothic fantasy book for Son#2. I'll give you a number and then we'll let the random number generator pick this time. I'll close entries down at 5pm this Sunday, Arizona time and we'll announce the winners sometime after 6pm. Sound good?
I'm feeling better already! Good luck everyone!
Current Mood: 
Bounced!
Bounced!15 May 2008 @ 12:11 pm
Okay, then.
I seem to have written 1100 words this morning on a new story set in Meviel. Obviously there's something there I want to play with, but what it is I'm not entirely sure. All I know at this point is that the story involves boots. And family fortune.
15 May 2008 @ 01:42 pm
Thursday Hangovers
- Art by Sophie Blackall on sale. (Via.)
- Thoughts on women and the lack thereof in science.
- Top 10 challenged books 2007.
- Justine on fashion.
- Ninety-year-old debut author of Bowl of Cherries Millard Kaufman gets profiled in the WashPost: "There are curious curlicues in the many lives of Millard Kaufman. For example, he once ingested cobra venom -- experimentally-- and awoke to find himself playing golf in the nude."
- Alberto Manguel on his 30,000 volume library: "My library is not a single beast but a composite of many others, a
fantastic animal made up of the several libraries built and then
abandoned, over and over again, throughout my life. I can’t remember a
time in which I didn’t have a library of some sort. The present one is
a sort of multilayered autobiography, each book holding the moment in
which I opened it for the first time." - Pinky recommends some campaign-related reading.
- The Web Habits of Highly Effective People seem to involve a suspicious-amount of NYT-home paging. (Via trend-bucker Maud.)
- J.L. Bell is having a very amusing punctuation week over at Oz and Ends. The first entry highlights underused punctuation terms.
15 May 2008 @ 01:10 pm
Was in a planning meeting all morning, so just now really getting to the intartubes.
Via Cute Overload: nudibranchs!
Via Cute Overload: nudibranchs!
15 May 2008 @ 01:59 pm
I was going to post something about the "Golf War," but others, particularly tammy212, have covered the subject admirably, and I don't think I can add further commentary or expressions of outrage that would be useful or even interesting.
Instead, I'm going to take the opportunity to actually cheer about a news item:
THE CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT HAS OVERTURNED THE STATE'S BAN ON GAY MARRIAGE!!!
It's good to know that at least somewhere in this country there is still some justice and there are judges who get that whole "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness thing" and all.
tammy212, have covered the subject admirably, and I don't think I can add further commentary or expressions of outrage that would be useful or even interesting. Instead, I'm going to take the opportunity to actually cheer about a news item:
THE CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT HAS OVERTURNED THE STATE'S BAN ON GAY MARRIAGE!!!
It's good to know that at least somewhere in this country there is still some justice and there are judges who get that whole "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness thing" and all.
Current Mood: 
jubilant
jubilant15 May 2008 @ 02:06 pm
Thud: ILE
Words: 1542
Total words: 66479
Files: 3
Tea: Pacific Sun
Music: Bach's Orchestral Suites 2 & 1
RSI: Do exercises!
Reason for stopping: people stop?
Does anyone know the year of the British paperback of The Sign of the Unicorn. (I can see it now. It was yellow. Have you got itcarandol? I have a set of Ace ones.) It doesn't matter because it can be the Ace one, but if anyone knows it would be nice.
Also, stupid question. If 1979 had the same calendar as 2007, then 1980 must have the same as this year, right? Because all the days happened in the same order? That's all I care about at the moment. Oh, was it a leap year?
As for the title, OK, point taken, thank you everybody.
The problem with calling it the Industrial Ruins of Elfland, or the Industrial Landscape of Elfland or whatever is that for one thing in pulls in a kind of Iron Dragon's Daughter direction, and in the other it pulls in a kind of Elfland direction, as if there is an elfland in the story.
( What it's actually like )
Total words: 66479
Files: 3
Tea: Pacific Sun
Music: Bach's Orchestral Suites 2 & 1
RSI: Do exercises!
Reason for stopping: people stop?
Does anyone know the year of the British paperback of The Sign of the Unicorn. (I can see it now. It was yellow. Have you got it
carandol? I have a set of Ace ones.) It doesn't matter because it can be the Ace one, but if anyone knows it would be nice.Also, stupid question. If 1979 had the same calendar as 2007, then 1980 must have the same as this year, right? Because all the days happened in the same order? That's all I care about at the moment. Oh, was it a leap year?
As for the title, OK, point taken, thank you everybody.
The problem with calling it the Industrial Ruins of Elfland, or the Industrial Landscape of Elfland or whatever is that for one thing in pulls in a kind of Iron Dragon's Daughter direction, and in the other it pulls in a kind of Elfland direction, as if there is an elfland in the story.
( What it's actually like )
15 May 2008 @ 01:32 pm
Originals
Also, finally getting around to pricing and listing the originals for sale. This isn't a full list, but it's a good start.
While doing it, it occurred to me (duh!) that another perfect perk for Patrons of a project is to get discounts on buying related things. So, in this case, if you donated even a dollar to finance the Aphorisms, you can get $50 off one of the original paintings. Not a bad deal!
I'm still figuring out how to weave these things together. But hopefully, it will all make sense at some point...
Stardancer Home.
While doing it, it occurred to me (duh!) that another perfect perk for Patrons of a project is to get discounts on buying related things. So, in this case, if you donated even a dollar to finance the Aphorisms, you can get $50 off one of the original paintings. Not a bad deal!
I'm still figuring out how to weave these things together. But hopefully, it will all make sense at some point...
Stardancer Home.
Current Mood: tired/working
Current Music: Rob Dougan - Furious Angels
15 May 2008 @ 10:19 am
California Supreme Court stands up for love and justice
The court just voted to overturn the ban on gay marriage.
My uncles David and Albert were together for more than twenty years -- longer than my parents' marriage -- until death did them part. They were one of the closest, most loving, and best-matched couples I've ever known. But because they were both men, they did not have the legal rights that a heterosexual couple who got married in a drunken whim in Las Vegas would have: basic human rights, like the right to visit their partner in the hospital.
Albert and David were lawyers, so I think they would find this moment doubly sweet. If I believed in Heaven, I would believe that they're up there right now, reading the court's decision and toasting it with Heaven's best champagne.
Unfortunately, advocates of discrimination, injustice, and cruelty have been collecting signatures to put an anti-marriage rights constitutional amendment on the ballot. There is a long hard fight ahead of us.
But today is for celebrating. Here's to you, Albert and David. Here's to all my gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, and genderqueer friends. Here's to the couples heading down to the courthouse. Here's to everyone who fought for this moment. Here's to everyone who cheered.
ETA: Public celebrations are being held at locations listed at the link. I'm going to stop in at the one in Venture. http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2008/05/equ
My uncles David and Albert were together for more than twenty years -- longer than my parents' marriage -- until death did them part. They were one of the closest, most loving, and best-matched couples I've ever known. But because they were both men, they did not have the legal rights that a heterosexual couple who got married in a drunken whim in Las Vegas would have: basic human rights, like the right to visit their partner in the hospital.
Albert and David were lawyers, so I think they would find this moment doubly sweet. If I believed in Heaven, I would believe that they're up there right now, reading the court's decision and toasting it with Heaven's best champagne.
Unfortunately, advocates of discrimination, injustice, and cruelty have been collecting signatures to put an anti-marriage rights constitutional amendment on the ballot. There is a long hard fight ahead of us.
But today is for celebrating. Here's to you, Albert and David. Here's to all my gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, and genderqueer friends. Here's to the couples heading down to the courthouse. Here's to everyone who fought for this moment. Here's to everyone who cheered.
ETA: Public celebrations are being held at locations listed at the link. I'm going to stop in at the one in Venture. http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2008/05/equ
15 May 2008 @ 05:33 pm
Little Brother on the New York Times bestseller list
Debuting at #9 in the kids' section, on May 25, 2008.
At Tor, we're celebrating by finding security cameras, and shooting them out.
15 May 2008 @ 12:48 pm
Boreal pictures.
Here and in the picture set it's part of, are Kathryn Cramer's pictures of Boreal.
This particular one is my favourite. You can see the back of my head, as I sit in the corridor talking to Karl Schroeder, Alain Ducharme andgrimmwire, continuing a panel discussion. Karl is clearly saying something riveting, we're all listening with intense interest, and you can see that more through posture than anything. Karl was actually talking about his random research and how it had led him to a consideration of those times of peace and prosperity where you don't tend to have stories happening.
This particular one is my favourite. You can see the back of my head, as I sit in the corridor talking to Karl Schroeder, Alain Ducharme and
grimmwire, continuing a panel discussion. Karl is clearly saying something riveting, we're all listening with intense interest, and you can see that more through posture than anything. Karl was actually talking about his random research and how it had led him to a consideration of those times of peace and prosperity where you don't tend to have stories happening.15 May 2008 @ 09:26 am
Top Chef: The One Where They Make Boxed Lunches For the Cops
15 May 2008 @ 10:19 am
two reasons I love this video
1. Before I was the world-famous author you see before you now, I used to dream of one day being able to answer the question, "What do you do?" with, "I'm a writer." Now that I am a writer, I kind of go out of my way to avoid saying, "I'm a writer." Because 97% of the time people do not know how to react and the rest of the conversation can go something like this:
2. Now I don't have to write a real blog post! Which is good because I slept too late and gotta get to work...
(Thanks to thunderchikin for posting this first.)
2. Now I don't have to write a real blog post! Which is good because I slept too late and gotta get to work...
(Thanks to thunderchikin for posting this first.)
15 May 2008 @ 11:17 am
Fell off...
...the low-carb wagon. Passed by Starbucks, got sucked in, and emerged a few minutes later with a caramel macchiato.
Ah, the joys of coffee someone else has made for you (and liberaly laced with sugary stuff).
Ah, the joys of coffee someone else has made for you (and liberaly laced with sugary stuff).
Current Mood: 
embarrassed
embarrassed