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Yep, homeward bound again. I'm in O'Hare and heading to the gate soon. Chicago was a great trip. Of course, the Introvert Fog is settling back on me now that I'm done with the Big Push.
I had a wonderful time. I discovered that the Chicago truly is the center of the known universe when it comes to deep dish pizza. Gino's East was utterly worth the wait. I also had the best ribeye ever and some fabulous company and conversation out to dinner with the Tor Crew. Thanks again, Tor. You folks are amazing to work with and I'm grateful for you all.
Another highpoint was that I got a lot of good hangout time with one of my dearest friends, the lovely and true ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) princessalethea. She took charge of a whirwind floor tour, introducing me to several people she's met during her years in the industry. We rarely get much time together because we're always at conventions surrounded by mobs of friends. This was busy but relaxed enough that we got to catch up and spend lots of time...and even managed to fit in a spontaneous serenade on a dare in the midst of it all. I also got to hang with PIerce Waters a bit, another great friend.
The panel itself went great. I was really impressed with my colleagues. Robert Charles Wilson went first, talking a bit about the subject at hand and his new book (which I can't wait to read) Julian Comstock. I went second, followed by Margaret Weis who talked about how the words we right are not an escape from reality as much as a way of processing it and presenting it. John Brown was the only one newer than me in that group (his first book which I enjoyed greatly and blurbed is out on Oct 13, the same day as CANTICLE) and he gave a brilliant talk on SF/F as the gateway drug for literacy. It was delivered perfectly and he owned the room. Last, Eric Flint was up to talk about the differences between the literary world and SF/F and the place of speculative fiction as an anchor of literature throughout the history of storytelling.
Afterwards, we signed books for the folks that came out. I think we had about 300 or 400 people but I"m hoping to hear a final number on it.
Several folks asked after if my speech would be available anywhere. I told them I'd post it here. So if you're interested, it's below the cut. I took out some of the introductory remarks.
Again, big thank you to everyone who made this happen both at Tor and on the committee that organized the event. You folks are wonderful. And mighty thanks also to all of you who came out to listen and who waited in line for your books to be signed. I hope you all enjoy your time in the Named Lands and come back in October to visit again when CANTICLE hits the streets.
Now, I get on a plane and write. I didn't get through 26 and yesterday proved too busy to find words. So ideally, I'll wrap it today and get on to 27 tomorrow. Nearly there! Then it will on to Book 4.
And Jen tells me the nursery turned out beautifully. So big thanks to all of you who came out while I was gone and made that happen for us. Our daughters thank you, too, in little morse code messages tapped out on Jen's ribs.
( Reaching for Heaven.... ) |
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... For an enjoyable con as always. The History and Fictional History panel went really well, though the room was approximately 30 degrees.I got to hang with some of my regular NYC peeps, and meet some cool new east coasters as well.And we had really good thai food last night, which was a welcome treat to supplement the broke-ass diet I've been sticking to for the past several days (consuite cheese, peanut butter + jelly, and instant oatmeal).
But change is the only constant and like a shark I must keep moving. Now I'm on my way back to the city, hooray!
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A reader reviews "Rolling Steel" by calendula_witch and me — Specifically, she talks about the podcast version, read by Sean Farrell and Mur Lafferty.
The soda-pop map — I used to say "Coke" generically, these days I say "soda." Where do you fall on this continuum? (Thanks to garyomaha.)
Bridge to Nowhere: a Map of Golden Gate Jumpers — Another odd one from Strange Maps.
Solar for Dark Climates — I love the headline alone, but the article is interesting as well, about hybrid solar systems for northern latitudes. Mmm, Stirling engines.
Evidence based revenge — Ben Goldacre on revenge and bitterness. Money shot: Put very simply, if we desire it, does revenge work? People certainly believe in it, from modern thrillers such as Hamlet and Moby Dick, to classics like Kill Bill and Death Wish I-V.
Get Fuzzy on American political parties — Hahahahahahahahahaha.
?otD: Soda or pop?
7/12/2009
Body movement: 30 minutes on stationary bike, 10 minutes of meditation and stretching
This morning's weigh-in: 218.2
Currently reading: Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold
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The following was a response to a low-midsize woman (c. women's size 16) discussing some issues on ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) fatshionista. She said that she thought she got some kinds of comments that fatter people don't get. I think she's right; I wanted to share this comment here as well.
I'm 5' 4" and about 275, and I can tell you that we get probably as much hassles but, yes, of a different kind. For instance, you probably get well-intentioned and upsetting diet advice; I usually don't, but I have gotten well-intentioned and appalling queries as to whether I've looked into weight-loss surgery.
Part of the problem is that "I'm so fat!"/"No, you're not, I'm so fat!" is often a bonding ritual among women, and the only people who CAN'T play are those of us who are undeniably fat! (Here I'm not talking about family and boyfriend as much as co-workers or the like.) People may not mean to hurt you as much as to include you! Now, how sick is it that talking about disliking your body is seen as a social game like comparing make-up brands? Yet that's often what's going on.
If that's what is going on, I think you have a number of options: You can say positive things about the others, which one might think would go over well, but actually it unnerves people because you're not obeying the rules of the game. You can go into a long explanation of how the whole game keeps women down, which marks you as a REAL trouble maker and which you may not be fat-accepting enough yet to pull off anyway. You can walk away, which is awkward if it's your "turn" but not so much if it's not. Or you can change the topic, especially to another topic they use to bond that you feel more positive about.
Mood: getting ready for work; where does the time go? |
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"Do you hear that?" "Hear what?" "Just listen." "I'm listening but I don't hear anything." "Listen more carefully." "Still don't hear anything. What's this about?" "It was a loud roar last week." "Oh, you mean the 24/7 media coverage on the death of the King of Pop." "Yep. And I just noticed that it wasn't incessant in my ear anymore. Sweet, is what it is. The silence, I mean." "Agreed. The media really went overboard on that one." "Yeah, they treated it like some big event from two thousand years ago that changed the world. Thankfully it's been past three days and the King of Pop hasn't risen from the dead. So I think we're safe." "Give him time. Elvis Presley did it and he was the King of Rock 'n Roll. All those Elvis sightings, remember? And the slogans to go with it: Elvis has left the building. Jeez." "Don't remind me. God, I hope Michael Jackson doesn't do that. He had his fifteen minutes and then some." "Agreed. Though if there are reported sightings and they do start saying, 'MJ has left the building,' they probably oughta add: Parents, do you know where your children are?" "Yeah, it would be the prudent move." Current Mood:  amused |
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Originally published at LonPrater.com. You can comment here or there. I must have missed the news about the missing link being found back in May when it was actually news. And simple googling didn’t seem to pull up much more.
I’m no biologist, so what’s the skinny? Is it sensationalized reporting, just more grist for the theory mill, or actual proof?
Will these lovely folks be installing a special wing to debunk it?
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Sf writer Aaron Allston had to have an emergency bypass operation. As you know, they don't give these surgical procedures away. I know you're strapped for cash. I'm strapped for cash. Things are rough all over. But you've got a dollar/quid/euro you can spare. Put it in an envelope. Information on where to send it can be found here.
If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times: this could be any one of us. We all teeter on the brink of disaster. Some of us have the good luck not to topple over. Others don't. We're only one heart attack, one stroke, one head injury, one serious illness, one accident away from ruin. If we don't try to provide the safety net for each other, no one will. |
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Jul. 12th, 2009 @ 06:49 am
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Charles Stross tries to write cautionary sf before it happens.
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I don't like the Kindle because I regard it as a technical novelty item with a hefty price tag. I can't afford a fucking iPhone or an HDTV or even the cheapest digital camera. So I can pretty much forget about that Kindle nonsense.
However, even I have to admit that I have severe space limitations. Looking at the boxes of books crammed in my studio, the idea of e-books downloaded onto a little device the size of a notebook starts to get more and more appealing.
The price tag still tells me no.
So I'm just wondering how you guys deal with space limitations. Do you sell off your books once you're done with them? Do you make use of the public library? Or do you, like me, live in a city without public libraries? (No lie. I once did a search for local libraries, and when the map popped up, the only libraries were all scattered around the city boundaries. Thanks, county officials! Minorities don't read or anything.) |
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2666 is a massive novel, and it's translated from Spanish. I think it's worth the commitment of time and attention, and I haven't read any reviews from any of my friends. Hopefully, this overview will let you judge if it's the type of thing for you.
2666 is about 900 pages long. Bolaño died as he was finishing it. He left instructions for his heirs to release it as five novels over five years, to maximise income, because he wouldn't be there to provide for them. Instead they have published it according to its original conception - as one huge novel, divided into five semi-autonomous parts. One advantage of this is that you can tackle each sub-novel as a smaller commitment than taking on the whole. Though, alas for this tactic, the first novel is probably the least accessible.
The central theme of the novel is the fictional Mexican border town of Santa Teresa in Sonora, which is based on real-life Ciudad Juarez in Chihuaha. I was already interested in Juarez, because it is the centre of a real-life wave of misogynist murders, in which hundreds of women and little girls have been tortured and killed and dumped in vacant lots and in the desert. Possibly by the most prolific serial killer ever, and possibly as part of an organised operation by porn cartels, or by sex tourists.
The book is compassionate and complex. It values all people, and it is written as such with interlocking lives, in a range of different literary forms. It's is also quite surreal and mystical.
( the five internal novels ) |
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I had a very good time in Brittany. It was bright and sunny and also windy so that it didn't get too hot. I had a good time with Howard, walking for miles and eating seafood. We went to a lot of places: The Silver River in Huelgoat, Quimper, Yeun Elez, Roche point, the Glenan Islands, and multiple visits to Bar Nautilus, my favourite.
I didn't miss the children too much. My daughter is on her way home today - probably just got off the trans-Siberian railway at Moscow, and I'll meet her at the airport this evening.
I slept a lot - about twelve hours every day - and that's had a big effect on me. I gave up coffee altogether, and I think that's done me good.
But because of sleeping and walking on the dunes and beaches with Howard I have read much less than I usually do on holiday. I've read one book and listened to two on audio, and I haven't finished any of them. I can't believe it. This never happens to me on holiday.
What I read:
2666 by Roberto Bolaño. This is a brilliant massive novel, which I will do a separate post on.
Gifts by Ursula Le Guin (on audio) - A children's fantasy book, about feudal mountain people with supernatural destructive powers. It's very short - six hours unabridged - and I listened to most of it on the drive back from Plymouth last night. As always, well written, humane, engaging. Packs a lot into a small compass.
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman (on audio) - This is a history of 14th century Europe which is an attempt to get inside what it felt like to be a person in those days. It's quite a well known book, written in the seventies. I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in that sort of thing. |
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Earlier this afternoon, I pulled my car into a Texaco station in my neighborhood; as normal, I watched the attendant come to the window and ready himself to fill my tank. Today, there was a small difference though. When I said, "Fill and top it off, please," I was told that the gas stations across the state could no longer "top it off" for safety reasons due to a bill being passed which was called the "Gasoline Vapor Recovery Program". This was the first time that any attendant had told me this, and, when I inquired about this new law, he mentioned that it went into effect on July 1st. I was perplexed and asked him what the cutoff level was for filling my car, to which he replied "Whenever the pump stops,"
Honestly, I don't understand this. I have read the new law on the DEQ web page but I still don't understand the complete train of thought behind the law. I DO understand that this is a law that is supposed to stop, or lessen, the spilling of fuel onto the ground, making for a hazerdous environment or danger to employee / customer. This new law makes drivers, in essence, LOSE mileage when driving. For instance, my Subaru has a 13 gallon tank (13.7 gallon if I push it) listed from the factory. The safety stop switch is designed to make the fueling stop at 11 gallons, allowing the fuel to finish draining into the tank so that the operator doesn't get gasoline on him / her from forced air coming back out of the tank. With this new law, I'm losing two gallons every time I fill. Losing those two gallons means I'm losing an additional 60 miles of driving range that my car could have. This new law basically makes me fill my car again sooner than I normally would. I understand the thought that if I were to have the gas attendant push the fuel capacity to the 13.7 gallons that this could be considered "overfilling", but how is it overfilling when the gas tank itself has another two gallons available before completely being filled?
In looking at the law, there is a section that states, "...If an attendant can confirm that a vehicle tank is not full after the click off, the attendant may continue to dispense fuel using best judgement and caution to prevent a spill..."
Was this not what fuel attendants were doing to begin with? Does this mean that when the fueling is finished, I should have the attendant remove the hose from the gas tank, start the car so he / she can look at my gas gague and verify that it is NOT full, and then shut the car off and fill the additional 2 gallons? Should I carry a 2 gallon gas carrier and fill that, move my car, and then finish fueling the car myself? That seems to be a bit of a waste of time, in my opinion.
Now, I know I'm going to be snarked...I know I'm going to get the "Ride the bus..." or, "Ride a bike..." and honestly, I do take the bus / Max when I can and I do have a bike, but, I'm sorry Portland, I'm a driver. I always have been and I always will be...I feel more comfortable in a car. But you can still feel free to snark if you want...
I'm looking for a VALID reason (and not a repeat of what the website says, which isn't a very good reason at all) behind the new law. Stopping the spilling of fuel is one thing, but to not allow me to have a full tank is something completely different and that's what is happening.
~D.
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Project Sarurun's auction of 1000-paper-crane chandelier 'Corsica' has begun!
please peruse - the item description is worth a read: Auction to benefit nonprofit Namaste Kathmandu, a nonprofit founded in Portland to help children affected by civil war in Nepal.
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I made a startling and tragic discovery last week. As I was moving a few books from my old office (what will soon be the baby's room) to a bookcase in the living room, I saw that several of my books were spotted on the spines with what looked like book mold, as aptly demonstrated above by my hardcover copy of Hal Duncan's brilliant novel Vellum. It's certainly not all of my books, and seems to be limited to those using cheaper-quality paper, but it's enough to be a concern.
This past week, I began reading Ian McDonald's Brasyl in paperback, which was also affected, but even after taking an allergy pill before each reading session, I got an itchy nose and watery eyes and had to put the book down. (I also had to put it down after 125 pages because all of the literary eyeball kicks were leaving me sore and exhausted.)
As a book lover, this makes me despondent. I spent considerable effort and expense to ship my books (the ones left over after the Second Chance Book Adoption sale in 2006 and 2007) from the US to Singapore, yet now that they're here, they've been soiled in such an unexpected way. Although with the tropical climate here, it's not so unexpected. Still, for someone who is loath to even write notes in a margin or dog-ear the pages, it's extremely disappointing. These were the books that I decided to keep, the ones that were rare enough, or that had meaning for me, or that I wanted to be able to read or refer to again, and they're being slowly eaten away by Singapore's humidity.
As a Buddhist, I should take this as a lesson in impermanence, as a demonstration of the way that certain things will not be around forever. Even such a solid-seeming and lasting object as a book will suffer from forces beyond my control. I could try to build a climate-controlled library that would keep the books in pristine condition, but I still would not be able to take them with me into the next life. Yet at the same time, I'm still fairly young, and hopefully have much of my life still ahead of me, and wish that I could enjoy these books for a long time to come. Sadly, for some of these titles, this will not be the case.
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Everyone and his dog were at the market today, which I found annoying mainly because I had gotten up early to buy some Flathead cherries, only to get woefully skunked. Even so, I got some pretty tasty strawberries, tomatoes, basil, lettuce, peas, carrots, bison, bacon, eggs, cheese, butter, onions, cucumbers and potatoes. I picked up other groceries, dog food, and came home -- and promptly collapsed on the couch for a nap. So I didn't get any writing done.
Tonight, I worked on editing, because even though it takes brain activity, it doesn't require me to be creative.
Current Mood:  tired |
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dear peeps,
what naturopathic, homemade, OTC, etc remedies do YOU use for nausea? cause i've already been to the doctor and she can't pinpoint the problem. it's been weeks now and i'm almost ready to try anything. ideas?
thxCurrent Mood:  nauseated |
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...Just out of curiosity, you understand. *rolls eyes*
Ah!
The Suspend Owl!
Must be a friend of the Fail Whale...
Was curious as to what the missing page looked like,
so I found Google's cache of it:
CLICK FOR LARGE IMAGE
Yeah. You can't tell I can't get to sleep again?
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