I loved this book so much and it was so resonant with me that I read it twice.
I don't want to spoil what all happens but it's a lot about female adult friendships and mothers (both lost and found) - and set in the modern Bay Area (always nice to have characters meeting monthly over a bowl of tom kha gai).
Also one of the characters has a therapist and has the same kind of thoughts that I sometimes have (what does the therapist do right before and right after the appt? - and other thoughts).
Monday, December 15, 2008
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Research Links for Nano character
Character has been working as a medical technologist, goes back to medical school in her fifties ( and also moves to CA to do so).
Occupational info on being a med tech:
I think she may go take some small classes before med school. unless she thinks she's ready (probably she would be if she had gone right from undergrad/med tech school to med school, but not now).
So you want to be a doctor? posting
Bay Area med schools:
UCSF - would be interesting too because of Joyce's experience there training to be a nurse too, right?
Occupational info on being a med tech:
I think she may go take some small classes before med school. unless she thinks she's ready (probably she would be if she had gone right from undergrad/med tech school to med school, but not now).
So you want to be a doctor? posting
Bay Area med schools:
UCSF - would be interesting too because of Joyce's experience there training to be a nurse too, right?
Friday, October 31, 2008
The Wednesday Sisters
I read this book a few weeks ago but now it's almost due at the library so I write...
This book hits a lot of buttons for me.
Amateur writers meeting in a group to write and one gets published... (it's almost like the adult version of "The Wild Girls" - adult meaning that it is adults who gather to write, not kids)....
The group motivates themselves to write by taking turns taking pictures of themselves in a coffin.
"What if you _were_ in that coffin and hadn't done what you wanted to, hadn't written".
Set in the late sixties or so when my mom was close to the age of the women in the book (although she was a little bit younger)
Cancer involved - both with the mother of one of the characters and the character herself.
Bonding through adversity
Set in the Bay Area (in Palo Alto - with Kepler's involved, the beginnings of Intel, etc).
This book hits a lot of buttons for me.
Amateur writers meeting in a group to write and one gets published... (it's almost like the adult version of "The Wild Girls" - adult meaning that it is adults who gather to write, not kids)....
The group motivates themselves to write by taking turns taking pictures of themselves in a coffin.
"What if you _were_ in that coffin and hadn't done what you wanted to, hadn't written".
Set in the late sixties or so when my mom was close to the age of the women in the book (although she was a little bit younger)
Cancer involved - both with the mother of one of the characters and the character herself.
Bonding through adversity
Set in the Bay Area (in Palo Alto - with Kepler's involved, the beginnings of Intel, etc).
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Podcasts from Pat Murphy and Carol Emshwiller's SF in SF readings
Rina Weisman of Tachyon Publications has posted the links to several podcasts done at the SF in SF reading I went to on 6/21 -- with Pat Murphy and Carol Emshwiller.
I was really interested to hear the interview parts which we in the audience only vaguely overheard at the event.
The interviewer asked Pat some good questions about The City Not Long After and her process of writing that and wandering around San Francisco dreaming it up, and about Wild Girls. Yay!
It's also quite fun to listen to Pat's story again - I was just drinking it in when I first heard it and didn't realize I would get to hear it again.
The part about the fairy meetings at the fictional toy company are just hilarious and I can hear myself laughing again in the background on the podcast, almost.
"my fairies wear clothing of tanned mouse leather...they are grimy, hardscrabble fairies..."
(I remember when I heard that line initially, I picked up on the word hardscrabble, since Hassler had his "hardscrabble girls".)
aargh! The ending in the middle again!
Podcasts (the interviews are the last two links):
Carol Emshwiller, Pat Murphy and Terry Bisson at SF in SF:
Carol Emshwiller reads at SF in SF:
Pat Murphy reads (and throws cards) at SF in SF:
Carol Emshwiller interviewed at SF in SF:
Pat Murphy interviewed at SF in SF:
I was really interested to hear the interview parts which we in the audience only vaguely overheard at the event.
The interviewer asked Pat some good questions about The City Not Long After and her process of writing that and wandering around San Francisco dreaming it up, and about Wild Girls. Yay!
It's also quite fun to listen to Pat's story again - I was just drinking it in when I first heard it and didn't realize I would get to hear it again.
The part about the fairy meetings at the fictional toy company are just hilarious and I can hear myself laughing again in the background on the podcast, almost.
"my fairies wear clothing of tanned mouse leather...they are grimy, hardscrabble fairies..."
(I remember when I heard that line initially, I picked up on the word hardscrabble, since Hassler had his "hardscrabble girls".)
aargh! The ending in the middle again!
Podcasts (the interviews are the last two links):
Carol Emshwiller, Pat Murphy and Terry Bisson at SF in SF:
Carol Emshwiller reads at SF in SF:
Pat Murphy reads (and throws cards) at SF in SF:
Carol Emshwiller interviewed at SF in SF:
Pat Murphy interviewed at SF in SF:
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Writing Rules that Carol Emshwiller likes to break
At the link above.
On Saturday night I went to go hear Pat Murphy and Carol Emshwiller read as part of the SF in SF series. I really enjoyed it, it's such a treat to have Carol visiting here (as she divides her time between Bishop, CA and New York City) and plus, Pat read a story that was fresh from her head (just written this week).
I'll update with the podcast links from the readings.
The post linked above has some good advice from Ms. Emshwiller, as originally published at Fantastic Metropolis.
On Saturday night I went to go hear Pat Murphy and Carol Emshwiller read as part of the SF in SF series. I really enjoyed it, it's such a treat to have Carol visiting here (as she divides her time between Bishop, CA and New York City) and plus, Pat read a story that was fresh from her head (just written this week).
I'll update with the podcast links from the readings.
The post linked above has some good advice from Ms. Emshwiller, as originally published at Fantastic Metropolis.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Neil Gaiman on "Writing the Next Thing"
A Quote from Neil Gaiman's Journal (on his site:
Perhaps somewhat motivating...
Dave bought The Sandman Book of Dreams, which is an anthology of stories inspired by The Sandman series, and edited by Gaiman and Ed Kramer.
One of the most interesting things about this anthology is reading his introductions at the beginning of each story; he talks about where he met each author and how - some of them in signing lines at readings.
It reminds me of his introduction to Ellen Klages' Portable Childhoods and his descriptions of Ellen.
What would it be like to have such an intro written about me someday?
This book has Lisa Goldstein, one of the Brazen Hussies, and Delia Sherman, whom I met at WisCon, and also Tad Williams. We met Tad at a convention here in the Bay Area, but can't remember which one.
Perhaps somewhat motivating...
Dear Neil, I am sure you have probably answered this question before and are probably, therefore, very sick of it. But, I still must ask. I am an aspiring writer and am wondering how you stayed motivated during times of great failure. I understand what many writers mean when they say the love of the art drives them. What I am concerned with is how to deal with the inevitable denial of a piece of literature that you have invested everything in?
Write the next thing.
Maybe the world will catch up with your brilliance eventually, or maybe you'll look back in ten years and decide it wasn't that great really after all. Doesn't really matter. Times of great failure or times of great success, the problem is the same (how do you keep going?) and the solution is the same: You write the next thing.
Dave bought The Sandman Book of Dreams, which is an anthology of stories inspired by The Sandman series, and edited by Gaiman and Ed Kramer.
One of the most interesting things about this anthology is reading his introductions at the beginning of each story; he talks about where he met each author and how - some of them in signing lines at readings.
It reminds me of his introduction to Ellen Klages' Portable Childhoods and his descriptions of Ellen.
What would it be like to have such an intro written about me someday?
This book has Lisa Goldstein, one of the Brazen Hussies, and Delia Sherman, whom I met at WisCon, and also Tad Williams. We met Tad at a convention here in the Bay Area, but can't remember which one.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
BNL in San Mateo!!!
"I've got orange pants
I wear them when I dance.."
"When I make mistakes
I use a lot of salt
Cause salt makes m'steaks taste great"
- which isn't that hard to emulate as I try to do so at home right now...
--- "Raisins" - from Snacktime by Barenaked Ladies
Performed live at 3:30 pm at Barnes and Noble, San Mateo, 6/12!
I was in 5th "row" of the sitting on the floor crowd.
There was actually a little girl, maybe 5 or 6, who was wearing her orange pants (and
a stylish black button down shirt with flames on it).
She was dancing her heart out and got a special bit of attention and pointing from Ed. Apparently specifically dressed for the occasion by her mom, who gave her a big hug afterward.
It was just an awesome experience. They were playing in front of a huge window on the 2nd floor of the Barnes and Noble across from Hillsdale Mall, here in San Mateo.
It was almost impossible to get a good picture with the backlighting. Hopefully someone did get a shot and they post them online soon. :-)
So different listening to them in such a small space during the day. They can see you!
The kids seemed to enjoy it. There was a contingent of fan club women my age who had BNL shirts and were sitting in the front row, too.
Luckily we all didn't have to sit outside in the heat (although the line wasn't as long as I thought). They brought us into the store at about 2 pm.
I was surprised when the band suddenly took the stage (or little platform) since I was thinking they'd be introduced by someone from the bookstore.
"Please welcome, US!" Ed says.
So fun to see them so close up (and for free!). It was fun to watch Kevin's keyboard playing and Jim's bass playing, especially - you don't get so much detail when at Shoreline and they are far away!
Also the interplay between them and their interactions with the audience.
They had some thematic banter based on areas of the bookstore - but didn't comment about all the current events books which were the closest to them...
Notes on the banter (for some reason I had no network access on my phone, so I couldn't twitter or message):
This band is well known for their witty banter - onstage, and on the songs.
They started off with some shoplifting advice for all - something like "Hey, everyone here is pretty distracted right now, so if you tried to walk out with something, they probably wouldn't stop you..."
They also pointed out that Nikki Sixx had been at this same Barnes and Noble the day before...
Ed: Think of the double header on that one -- stay over night after Nikki Sixx to be here for our show..
research - he did come Oct 28, 2007 to this B&N. For the book "The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star" (and in other googling I find that Nikki is a San Jose native. Who knew?)
So it appears to have been an untruth that Nikki was there the day before...we'll see.
I remember their banter about the Kentucky Fried Chicken on El Camino near California Ave in Palo Alto. We saw them at a club there that was called The Edge, I think.
They were fascinated by the statue of Colonel Sanders that is on display there, but I can't remember exactly what they said.
This was sometime in the mid to late 90s. I can't remember if I was still at Stanford or just graduated.
Anyway. back to the present.
They played "Another Postcard" - which I forgot has such strong monkey references. Maybe we should always play BNL in our new monkey-themed bathroom (courtesy of Linda, Grady, and Michelle Woods' wedding presents).
"Another postcard, for chimpanzees"
And every one is addressed to me..."
Ed sang "Raisins" - and showcased the girl in orange pants above.
They also played "One Week" - really a nice number of their big singles along with the new songs. Hard to tell how many of the kids had heard these songs.
Steve sang "Ninjas"
A little blond girl named Amy (apparently her name was Amy Brubeck, according to the San Mateo Daily News) jumped up at one point with her hand up.
"Do you have a question?"
She requested them to play "Allergies"!
"The first child who actually ASKS for Allergies" - someone says (Steve or Tyler?)
"You can request, but it doesn't mean anything will happen" - Ed
"Tyler, do you know the words?"
"Maybe someone can hold up the words for you...maybe the girl who requested it..."
So Amy winds up standing near the drum kit holding the Snacktime book. I never saw her turn the page -- but obviously Tyler knew the words...
Amy was pretty blown away by the drums but she stuck it out!
Jim Creegan's song was "pollywog in a bog", which has a great refrain sung by Ed. Seemed like a great opportunity for the kids to jump up and jump, but those of us on the carpet stayed seated so everyone could see I think.
Kevin's song was "Eraser" ("If I make an error I can always make it better with my eraser..")
- which began with a mini-contest of "how long can we hold the "Eeee" syllable at the beginning of the word. Kevin won it seems.
He was wearing a pair of shiny aviator glasses and had a 50% off sticker from Barnes and Noble on his shirt.
I think at this point they played "7,8,9" which was quite brilliant. They warned kids that it was a scary song, and they might want to plug their ears if they are prone to nightmares.
Also that you can tell it's going to be scary, because it's in a minor key!
(They play example of the same opening chords in a major key) - this one would be happy!
They sang the lyrics of "Rhythm of the Night" by El Debarge, at the beginning of "If I had a million dollars" -- and dedicated it to El before starting. Hard to tell if people caught this also, but pretty cool.
amazing to hear it and sing along in such a small group. Steve yelling "sing along! LOUDER!"
"IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS!"
...I'd build a tree fort in your yard...
No kraft dinner was thrown...it seems like that would have been fun for the kids, but maybe the security staff had confiscated it.
And, they had a whole riff comparing Barnes and Noble to the Odd Couple, which prompted Tyler to play the theme and they all hummed and chimed in...
"That's for those kids who were born in 1961!"
"Or the kids who watch Nick at Nite," Ed says.
The waiting in the autograph line was pretty hot and sweaty, but the kids held themselves in line pretty well.
When I got up to the line I was feeling self-conscious because I had my old towel with me, that I grabbed from the car to sit in the line outside.
Also my plastic sack with my ice latte cup in it...
Ed was first - he said he would personalize the CD, so I spelled my name...and he says, "Cool name!"
So I got a "Cool name" from Ed Robertson, who joins the bevy of (mostly literary) famous people who have been exposed to the name.
I thanked him for coming.
Kevin was next - I thanked him by name, but he seemed pretty tired (and still had his sunglasses on)
And then Steven - also tired. I told him I'm the kid here, and I was kind of playing hooky from work. (side note, yay to him for the weight he's lost since the band started. He looks quite trim - much better than the Gordon cover, for example).
Next was Jim Creegan, and he asked what I was going to do with the rest of my day playing hooky - go fishing or something.
Didn't want to sound nerdy and say - well, actually more working.
And then Tyler, who was not very animated (tired...) but did sign and I thanked them again.
It's hard to express being a long time fan (not uber long, but before the success with "one week") - in a line like that. It's like all my author signings --"Oh I love your work, here's how to spell my name"...
Dave had said - you have to go even if you miss work for it.
This is what you have wanted as a kid - to have your favorite band come to your town and play in some store somewhere.
As a kid, the band in question was Huey Lewis and the News.
I have to also say - their song Crazy ABCs is just brilliant.
so many cool definitions: - and in the song they are doing commentary that is not on the lyric sheet, but they didn't sing it at the show:
(although Ed reads portions in this interview on ABC):
Hey Steve, Hey Ed
That sounds nice, what is it?
A new alphabet song I'm working on...
(steve says something about he just learned the old one...)
A is for Aisle
B is for Bdellium (gum like tree resin, starts with a silent B)
C is for Czar, and if you see him would you mind telling him?
Steve - ok hang on
aisle?
Ed: aisle, like a theater
D is for Djinn
E for Euphrates
F is for Föhn, but not like when I call the Ladies
(umlaut added by me after finding it on wikipedia)
Steve: I thought phone started with a p..
No, it's föhn, it's a kind of wind...
G for Gnarly
I for Irk
H for Hour
J for Jalapeno, good in either corn or flour... tortillas
(Steve: nice rhyme)
K is for Knickknack
L is for llama
(rama lama ding dong, what's so strange about llama?)
(it starts with two ls..)
M for Mnemonic
N is for Ngomo
(From me - this makes me feel ignorant - which Ngomo do they mean?
The Star Fleet admiral?
Or maybe the city in Gabon? I am taking too much time with this...or maybe Alicia Ngomo in London)
O is for Ouija Board
P is for Pneumonia, Pterodactyl, and Psychosis
Q is for Qat
ok - Q - cat? what?
Ed: it's qat, it's an evergreen shrub, it's a perfect scrabble word because it's a q with no u, there aren't many of those
Steve: you have too much time on your hands.
R is for Argyle
Steve: (singing along) --no it isn't
Ed: ok, you're right, I couldn't find a good R word.
S is for Saar, a lovely German river
T for Tsunami, a wave that makes me quiver
U is for Urn and not like earning money
V for Vraisemblance from french and therefore kind of funny
W for Wren, Wrinkly and Who
X is for Xi'an, an ancient Chinese city, true
Steve: ancient chinese city, huh? my guitar player, some hotshot...
Y is for Yperite a very nasty gas
Z is the final letter, and by final I mean last
Steve: ok when you say zed, for the benefit of our American friends, you really mean Z, right?
no I mean zed, like zed zed top
(riff of zz top) - and note - if you click the link above you hear the riff, so fyi - if you're listening to something else, it will be overshadowed...)
the guys who all have beards, except the guy whose _name_ is beard...
yeah I always thought that was interesting...
And in the ABC interview I linked to above, Ed mentions their "Bathroom Sessions" on Youtube. He'd noticed all these fans putting videos of themselves playing BNL songs (many at home and some in bathrooms).
So he thought he'd do this also, and just started doing little videos of himself playing the songs filmed by a little webcam on his laptop.
Here is Ed and Steve doing "one week":
I wear them when I dance.."
"When I make mistakes
I use a lot of salt
Cause salt makes m'steaks taste great"
--- "Raisins" - from Snacktime by Barenaked Ladies
Performed live at 3:30 pm at Barnes and Noble, San Mateo, 6/12!
I was in 5th "row" of the sitting on the floor crowd.
There was actually a little girl, maybe 5 or 6, who was wearing her orange pants (and
a stylish black button down shirt with flames on it).
She was dancing her heart out and got a special bit of attention and pointing from Ed. Apparently specifically dressed for the occasion by her mom, who gave her a big hug afterward.
It was just an awesome experience. They were playing in front of a huge window on the 2nd floor of the Barnes and Noble across from Hillsdale Mall, here in San Mateo.
It was almost impossible to get a good picture with the backlighting. Hopefully someone did get a shot and they post them online soon. :-)
So different listening to them in such a small space during the day. They can see you!
The kids seemed to enjoy it. There was a contingent of fan club women my age who had BNL shirts and were sitting in the front row, too.
Luckily we all didn't have to sit outside in the heat (although the line wasn't as long as I thought). They brought us into the store at about 2 pm.
I was surprised when the band suddenly took the stage (or little platform) since I was thinking they'd be introduced by someone from the bookstore.
"Please welcome, US!" Ed says.
So fun to see them so close up (and for free!). It was fun to watch Kevin's keyboard playing and Jim's bass playing, especially - you don't get so much detail when at Shoreline and they are far away!
Also the interplay between them and their interactions with the audience.
They had some thematic banter based on areas of the bookstore - but didn't comment about all the current events books which were the closest to them...
Notes on the banter (for some reason I had no network access on my phone, so I couldn't twitter or message):
This band is well known for their witty banter - onstage, and on the songs.
They started off with some shoplifting advice for all - something like "Hey, everyone here is pretty distracted right now, so if you tried to walk out with something, they probably wouldn't stop you..."
They also pointed out that Nikki Sixx had been at this same Barnes and Noble the day before...
Ed: Think of the double header on that one -- stay over night after Nikki Sixx to be here for our show..
research - he did come Oct 28, 2007 to this B&N. For the book "The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star" (and in other googling I find that Nikki is a San Jose native. Who knew?)
So it appears to have been an untruth that Nikki was there the day before...we'll see.
I remember their banter about the Kentucky Fried Chicken on El Camino near California Ave in Palo Alto. We saw them at a club there that was called The Edge, I think.
They were fascinated by the statue of Colonel Sanders that is on display there, but I can't remember exactly what they said.
This was sometime in the mid to late 90s. I can't remember if I was still at Stanford or just graduated.
Anyway. back to the present.
They played "Another Postcard" - which I forgot has such strong monkey references. Maybe we should always play BNL in our new monkey-themed bathroom (courtesy of Linda, Grady, and Michelle Woods' wedding presents).
"Another postcard, for chimpanzees"
And every one is addressed to me..."
Ed sang "Raisins" - and showcased the girl in orange pants above.
They also played "One Week" - really a nice number of their big singles along with the new songs. Hard to tell how many of the kids had heard these songs.
Steve sang "Ninjas"
A little blond girl named Amy (apparently her name was Amy Brubeck, according to the San Mateo Daily News) jumped up at one point with her hand up.
"Do you have a question?"
She requested them to play "Allergies"!
"The first child who actually ASKS for Allergies" - someone says (Steve or Tyler?)
"You can request, but it doesn't mean anything will happen" - Ed
"Tyler, do you know the words?"
"Maybe someone can hold up the words for you...maybe the girl who requested it..."
So Amy winds up standing near the drum kit holding the Snacktime book. I never saw her turn the page -- but obviously Tyler knew the words...
Amy was pretty blown away by the drums but she stuck it out!
Jim Creegan's song was "pollywog in a bog", which has a great refrain
Kevin's song was "Eraser" ("If I make an error I can always make it better with my eraser..")
- which began with a mini-contest of "how long can we hold the "Eeee" syllable at the beginning of the word. Kevin won it seems.
He was wearing a pair of shiny aviator glasses and had a 50% off sticker from Barnes and Noble on his shirt.
I think at this point they played "7,8,9" which was quite brilliant. They warned kids that it was a scary song, and they might want to plug their ears if they are prone to nightmares.
Also that you can tell it's going to be scary, because it's in a minor key!
(They play example of the same opening chords in a major key) - this one would be happy!
They sang the lyrics of "Rhythm of the Night" by El Debarge, at the beginning of "If I had a million dollars" -- and dedicated it to El before starting. Hard to tell if people caught this also, but pretty cool.
amazing to hear it and sing along in such a small group. Steve yelling "sing along! LOUDER!"
"IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS!"
...I'd build a tree fort in your yard...
No kraft dinner was thrown...it seems like that would have been fun for the kids, but maybe the security staff had confiscated it.
And, they had a whole riff comparing Barnes and Noble to the Odd Couple, which prompted Tyler to play the theme and they all hummed and chimed in...
"That's for those kids who were born in 1961!"
"Or the kids who watch Nick at Nite," Ed says.
The waiting in the autograph line was pretty hot and sweaty, but the kids held themselves in line pretty well.
When I got up to the line I was feeling self-conscious because I had my old towel with me, that I grabbed from the car to sit in the line outside.
Also my plastic sack with my ice latte cup in it...
Ed was first - he said he would personalize the CD, so I spelled my name...and he says, "Cool name!"
So I got a "Cool name" from Ed Robertson, who joins the bevy of (mostly literary) famous people who have been exposed to the name.
I thanked him for coming.
Kevin was next - I thanked him by name, but he seemed pretty tired (and still had his sunglasses on)
And then Steven - also tired. I told him I'm the kid here, and I was kind of playing hooky from work. (side note, yay to him for the weight he's lost since the band started. He looks quite trim - much better than the Gordon cover, for example).
Next was Jim Creegan, and he asked what I was going to do with the rest of my day playing hooky - go fishing or something.
Didn't want to sound nerdy and say - well, actually more working.
And then Tyler, who was not very animated (tired...) but did sign and I thanked them again.
It's hard to express being a long time fan (not uber long, but before the success with "one week") - in a line like that. It's like all my author signings --"Oh I love your work, here's how to spell my name"...
Dave had said - you have to go even if you miss work for it.
This is what you have wanted as a kid - to have your favorite band come to your town and play in some store somewhere.
As a kid, the band in question was Huey Lewis and the News.
I have to also say - their song Crazy ABCs is just brilliant.
so many cool definitions: - and in the song they are doing commentary that is not on the lyric sheet, but they didn't sing it at the show:
(although Ed reads portions in this interview on ABC):
Hey Steve, Hey Ed
That sounds nice, what is it?
A new alphabet song I'm working on...
(steve says something about he just learned the old one...)
A is for Aisle
B is for Bdellium (gum like tree resin, starts with a silent B)
C is for Czar, and if you see him would you mind telling him?
Steve - ok hang on
aisle?
Ed: aisle, like a theater
D is for Djinn
E for Euphrates
F is for Föhn, but not like when I call the Ladies
(umlaut added by me after finding it on wikipedia)
Steve: I thought phone started with a p..
No, it's föhn, it's a kind of wind...
G for Gnarly
I for Irk
H for Hour
J for Jalapeno, good in either corn or flour... tortillas
(Steve: nice rhyme)
K is for Knickknack
L is for llama
(rama lama ding dong, what's so strange about llama?)
(it starts with two ls..)
M for Mnemonic
N is for Ngomo
(From me - this makes me feel ignorant - which Ngomo do they mean?
The Star Fleet admiral?
Or maybe the city in Gabon? I am taking too much time with this...or maybe Alicia Ngomo in London)
O is for Ouija Board
P is for Pneumonia, Pterodactyl, and Psychosis
Q is for Qat
ok - Q - cat? what?
Ed: it's qat, it's an evergreen shrub, it's a perfect scrabble word because it's a q with no u, there aren't many of those
Steve: you have too much time on your hands.
R is for Argyle
Steve: (singing along) --no it isn't
Ed: ok, you're right, I couldn't find a good R word.
S is for Saar, a lovely German river
T for Tsunami, a wave that makes me quiver
U is for Urn and not like earning money
V for Vraisemblance from french and therefore kind of funny
W for Wren, Wrinkly and Who
X is for Xi'an, an ancient Chinese city, true
Steve: ancient chinese city, huh? my guitar player, some hotshot...
Y is for Yperite a very nasty gas
Z is the final letter, and by final I mean last
Steve: ok when you say zed, for the benefit of our American friends, you really mean Z, right?
no I mean zed, like zed zed top
(riff of zz top) - and note - if you click the link above you hear the riff, so fyi - if you're listening to something else, it will be overshadowed...)
the guys who all have beards, except the guy whose _name_ is beard...
yeah I always thought that was interesting...
And in the ABC interview I linked to above, Ed mentions their "Bathroom Sessions" on Youtube. He'd noticed all these fans putting videos of themselves playing BNL songs (many at home and some in bathrooms).
So he thought he'd do this also, and just started doing little videos of himself playing the songs filmed by a little webcam on his laptop.
Here is Ed and Steve doing "one week":
Friday, June 06, 2008
Ysabeau Wilce - author of Flora Segunda...
This is the official website of Ms. Wilce, whom I met at WisCon at a dinner organized by Ellen Datlow (which Pat invited me to).
Her site makes so much more sense now that I've read her book. It's an awesome site but it was a bit confusing prior.
So many things about the book that I like, it's hard to get all of them in right now. Just finished it yesterday - Pat had lent it to me on Monday night.
Her site makes so much more sense now that I've read her book. It's an awesome site but it was a bit confusing prior.
So many things about the book that I like, it's hard to get all of them in right now. Just finished it yesterday - Pat had lent it to me on Monday night.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
New Play about Hedy Lamarr
Frequency Hopping, a new play about Hedy Lamarr, who was in my Nanowrimo Novel after Peri told me about her...
It is playing in New York.
It is playing in New York.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Breaking the Ice: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Fiction
I checked this out from the library before going off to WisCon (as part of a small "anthology orgy" with On the Couch: Great American Stories about Therapy, and Caught in the Organ Draft: Biology in Science Fiction, which was edited by Asimov).
They're all overdue now - I am renewing this online because I am just starting it now.
Some comments quoted from Terry McMillan's preface, which are trying to help me write:
"Writing is personal. Try to write the kind of stories you'd like to read. Do not write to impress. Do not write to prove to a reader how much you know, but instead write in order to know.
...
Everyone has a different opinion about what a good story should do and here are a few that I love:
They're all overdue now - I am renewing this online because I am just starting it now.
Some comments quoted from Terry McMillan's preface, which are trying to help me write:
"Writing is personal. Try to write the kind of stories you'd like to read. Do not write to impress. Do not write to prove to a reader how much you know, but instead write in order to know.
...
Everyone has a different opinion about what a good story should do and here are a few that I love:
'A story is a war. It is sustained and immediate combat.'
'Your character should want something and want it intensely. It need not be melodramatic, earth-shattering or tangible. But it should be important to them whether or not they get it.'
'A good story is a power struggle between equal forces. Something keeps getting in the way of the protagonist from achieving whatever they desire.'
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Great WisCon GoH and Dessert Salon Summary
The title of the post is the link.
From "Feminist SF - The Blog!"
A great summary, especially of the GoH speeches.
Also this post about the opening ceremony.
There is a Feminist SF wiki with a page about Pat...which I found linked off of another post on this blog.
From "Feminist SF - The Blog!"
A great summary, especially of the GoH speeches.
Also this post about the opening ceremony.
There is a Feminist SF wiki with a page about Pat...which I found linked off of another post on this blog.
Some role models aren't as nice...
As those I met at WisCon this weekend.
After googling "Wiscon" in addition to looking at LiveJournal, I find Wil Wheaton has blogged about Elizabeth Bear's postings of stuff she's overheard as WisCon.
And then I found this awesome 2 part story (Part 1, Part 2) of what happened when Wil Wheaton met one of his heroes, William Shatner, on the set of Star Trek V.
Even famous people get to be dicks sometimes I guess, but Shatner could have been much nicer at the outset, especially to a fellow Star Trek actor.
If edited to be under 1000 words, this might be good for Can I Sit With You?
After googling "Wiscon" in addition to looking at LiveJournal, I find Wil Wheaton has blogged about Elizabeth Bear's postings of stuff she's overheard as WisCon.
And then I found this awesome 2 part story (Part 1, Part 2) of what happened when Wil Wheaton met one of his heroes, William Shatner, on the set of Star Trek V.
Even famous people get to be dicks sometimes I guess, but Shatner could have been much nicer at the outset, especially to a fellow Star Trek actor.
If edited to be under 1000 words, this might be good for Can I Sit With You?
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
A Story Every Fortnight: The Hassler Memorial Challenge
I want to just push myself to write, and I don't think I can sustain a Nanowrimo every month.
If I can do this the whole year, and do Nanowrimo, I'll have about 20 stories plus another novel by the time WisCon comes around again next year.
Inspiration #1:
Jon Hassler was the first author who really responded to me (literally with several letters and postcards) and inspired me.
He just died this spring at the age of 74.
On Hassler's website there's a Q and A. One of the questions is:
Note that eerily, the way it turned out, his life really was half over, but he wrote right up to the end.
And then this article goes into more detail about how he started - he sat down that morning and started writing the first story, finished it 2 weeks later. After 28 weeks, he had 14 stories.
This was 1970, and so there were 8 years of getting the stories published and trying to sell his first novel until 1977 when it was published (Staggerford).
So, I'm 34. I don't really know how much time I have. My mom died at 42. Who really knows?
Inspiration 2:
L. Timmel Duchamp (see Aqueduct Press Blog - could not find a personal site for her yet)'s guest of honor speech at WisCon, and the entire experience of WisCon.
There is nothing keeping me from doing this but myself, really.
And just like I had the Nanowrimo party and the play afterward with PM, EK, MR to look forward to, here I can look forward to going to WisCon next year and being able to say that I've done this. IN addition to Nanowrimo, and maybe even if I feel ready, applying to something like Clarion.
Inspiration 3:
Pat's work (and she didn't start writing until her twenties, so I'm just 10 years behind her, and 3 years ahead of Hassler).
So here's the thing, and I don't even need a bake sale to get it kicked off (or even need to tell anyone if I don't want to).
Every two weeks, on the same schedule as our sprints for work, I will write a story. The first "sprint" ends next Monday, which is only about a week, but otherwise I will be off kilter from the work schedule.
No promises as to the length of the stories, but they should have beginning, middle and end and they should be written as if someone is going to read it (even if they don't).
Let's see how this will work.
If I can do this the whole year, and do Nanowrimo, I'll have about 20 stories plus another novel by the time WisCon comes around again next year.
Inspiration #1:
Jon Hassler was the first author who really responded to me (literally with several letters and postcards) and inspired me.
He just died this spring at the age of 74.
On Hassler's website there's a Q and A. One of the questions is:
Q. When and why did you begin writing? When did you first consider yourself a writer?
A. I began to write on September 10, 1970, at the age of 37. I believe I had imagined myself a writer form the age of five, when my parents read to me, but I was a late starter. On that morning I awoke to a voice in my head saying, "Half your life is over, Hassler, you'd better get started."
Note that eerily, the way it turned out, his life really was half over, but he wrote right up to the end.
And then this article goes into more detail about how he started - he sat down that morning and started writing the first story, finished it 2 weeks later. After 28 weeks, he had 14 stories.
This was 1970, and so there were 8 years of getting the stories published and trying to sell his first novel until 1977 when it was published (Staggerford).
So, I'm 34. I don't really know how much time I have. My mom died at 42. Who really knows?
Inspiration 2:
L. Timmel Duchamp (see Aqueduct Press Blog - could not find a personal site for her yet)'s guest of honor speech at WisCon, and the entire experience of WisCon.
There is nothing keeping me from doing this but myself, really.
And just like I had the Nanowrimo party and the play afterward with PM, EK, MR to look forward to, here I can look forward to going to WisCon next year and being able to say that I've done this. IN addition to Nanowrimo, and maybe even if I feel ready, applying to something like Clarion.
Inspiration 3:
Pat's work (and she didn't start writing until her twenties, so I'm just 10 years behind her, and 3 years ahead of Hassler).
So here's the thing, and I don't even need a bake sale to get it kicked off (or even need to tell anyone if I don't want to).
Every two weeks, on the same schedule as our sprints for work, I will write a story. The first "sprint" ends next Monday, which is only about a week, but otherwise I will be off kilter from the work schedule.
No promises as to the length of the stories, but they should have beginning, middle and end and they should be written as if someone is going to read it (even if they don't).
Let's see how this will work.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Geoff Ryman wrote 253!
I almost forgot about this interactive novel set on a London tube train.
He's the co-Guest of Honor with Ellen K for WisCon 2009.
Note in 2009 - I can't believe I forgot about this. Again, in the WisCon 2009 posts, not sure when would have been the best place to talk about it - probably in the panel discussion about his work but I didn't make it to that either.
I really liked this novel.
He's the co-Guest of Honor with Ellen K for WisCon 2009.
Note in 2009 - I can't believe I forgot about this. Again, in the WisCon 2009 posts, not sure when would have been the best place to talk about it - probably in the panel discussion about his work but I didn't make it to that either.
I really liked this novel.
Inklings of WisCon
Sometimes hanging around all these talented writers, editors, and others at WisCon, I feel a little bit like someone who was there during the meetings of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis (the Inklings) when they were writing The Lord of the Rings and the Narnia series.
It's the same sort of feeling as getting Hassler's postcards when I was high school and college, but live conversation and/or eavesdropping is even better.
"The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who praised the value of narrative in fiction, and encouraged the writing of fantasy. Although Christian values were notably reflected in several members' work, there were also atheists among the members of the discussion group."
It's the same sort of feeling as getting Hassler's postcards when I was high school and college, but live conversation and/or eavesdropping is even better.
"The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who praised the value of narrative in fiction, and encouraged the writing of fantasy. Although Christian values were notably reflected in several members' work, there were also atheists among the members of the discussion group."
Sunday, May 25, 2008
"Special Economics" story by Maureen F. McHugh
This line, I don't think I would have read anywhere else:
(the character has just bought a cell phone from a plastic cell phone kit that you throw in a kettle like a dumpling and it forms itself into the shape of a phone...)
"She bought a newspaper and scallion pancake from a street food vendor, sat on a curb, and ate while her phone dried."
--From The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Ellen Datlow, who organized last night's dinner at Restaurant Magnus.
(the character has just bought a cell phone from a plastic cell phone kit that you throw in a kettle like a dumpling and it forms itself into the shape of a phone...)
"She bought a newspaper and scallion pancake from a street food vendor, sat on a curb, and ate while her phone dried."
--From The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Ellen Datlow, who organized last night's dinner at Restaurant Magnus.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
quotes relating to mothers, a bit late
It's a couple weeks past Mother's Day, but I'm sitting here thinking about my mom and about part of a story I heard read today, and a quote from Garrison Keillor that I found again on Sharyn November's website.
Odd connections, but here goes.
I went to a reading of Aqueduct Press writers, which included Eileen Gunn and Eleanor Arneson, as well as Andrea Hairston who read from her novel Redwood and Wildfire. At one point in the reading I was starting to go off into tears- without using too many details, the main character's mother dies, and the narrator is just blunt about it - she was gone and she was never coming back.
And the character says (or thinks, I can't remember) - something like "She was never really dead. Redwood is a spell that Garnet left behind and she lives on in Redwood this way" (I am misquoting because i didn't write it down exactly -- Garnet, the mom, is a conjurer in 1898 in the American South, and she is murdered by a gang of white men. And so Redwood decides to become a conjurer also and that's apparently the content of the rest of the book.
I followed her out to the hallway to tell her how meaningful this was, but she was quite busy and I kind of felt like it wasn't the most original comment...but it was what was happening for me in that moment. I also told her about the SF Fringe Festival because she said she was putting on a play in January. I feel a bit dumb about that too because she's been a theater professional for 30 years apparently, and knows about fringe festivals.
Then -- just now I went and looked at Sharyn November's page she made about her mother, and again found this quote she listed from Garrison Keillor.
I don't think I can read this quote too many times. Although I have to modify the number since before it said "having picked up so much of her in 34 years.
Just wanted to say - it is nice being around Tom and Ginny this weekend but it was a bit eerie waking up on Friday morning and hearing them talking. It felt like I was a little kid again, hearing the murmuring of mom and dad (either before I went to bed or before I woke up).
And Ginny's voice, when muffled by two doors, plus only listening out of one ear, does sound like my mom. I guess it's the similar accent, too.
Odd connections, but here goes.
I went to a reading of Aqueduct Press writers, which included Eileen Gunn and Eleanor Arneson, as well as Andrea Hairston who read from her novel Redwood and Wildfire. At one point in the reading I was starting to go off into tears- without using too many details, the main character's mother dies, and the narrator is just blunt about it - she was gone and she was never coming back.
And the character says (or thinks, I can't remember) - something like "She was never really dead. Redwood is a spell that Garnet left behind and she lives on in Redwood this way" (I am misquoting because i didn't write it down exactly -- Garnet, the mom, is a conjurer in 1898 in the American South, and she is murdered by a gang of white men. And so Redwood decides to become a conjurer also and that's apparently the content of the rest of the book.
I followed her out to the hallway to tell her how meaningful this was, but she was quite busy and I kind of felt like it wasn't the most original comment...but it was what was happening for me in that moment. I also told her about the SF Fringe Festival because she said she was putting on a play in January. I feel a bit dumb about that too because she's been a theater professional for 30 years apparently, and knows about fringe festivals.
Then -- just now I went and looked at Sharyn November's page she made about her mother, and again found this quote she listed from Garrison Keillor.
I don't think I can read this quote too many times. Although I have to modify the number since before it said "having picked up so much of her in 34 years.
You are the continuation and resurrection of your mother, having picked up so much of her in 16 years, and so you go on, as her living legacy to the world. You'll miss her every day of your life and there's no getting around that. But she gave you precious gifts and you bear them onward.
Just wanted to say - it is nice being around Tom and Ginny this weekend but it was a bit eerie waking up on Friday morning and hearing them talking. It felt like I was a little kid again, hearing the murmuring of mom and dad (either before I went to bed or before I woke up).
And Ginny's voice, when muffled by two doors, plus only listening out of one ear, does sound like my mom. I guess it's the similar accent, too.
Cerise Review of DD:HH
I just got back from the Capes and Consoles party which is co-sponsored by Cerise Magazine (and Iris Gaming Network), and talked to Robyn Fleming (wanted to tell her I enjoyed her panel on Friday).
And was pleasantly surprised to find a mostly positive and spot on review of DD:HH in their May issue when I got back to my room and started clicking around their site.
This is the same reviewer who reviewed Wedding Dash and wasn't too happy with the script. We think this was partially because of misreading a dialog box - I think it was the "did you get a career yet?" line. I'm pretty sure that is not what the line said, but I can't remember what we meant right now.
Overall, she did enjoy DD:HH though, it looks like she even got people to play multiplayer with her. She loves the teenagers, although I was entertained by this:
"(Unfortunately, this game breaks no heteronormative bounds. Girls don’t flirt with girls.)"
We had to do some struggling to get the Sims in Sims 2 to "Propose Union" to their same-sex partners (in 2004, before Gavin's help) - so for this audience, I'm not sure if we could push to have same sex teen couples and Wedding Dash same sex weddings, for that matter...
And was pleasantly surprised to find a mostly positive and spot on review of DD:HH in their May issue when I got back to my room and started clicking around their site.
This is the same reviewer who reviewed Wedding Dash and wasn't too happy with the script. We think this was partially because of misreading a dialog box - I think it was the "did you get a career yet?" line. I'm pretty sure that is not what the line said, but I can't remember what we meant right now.
Overall, she did enjoy DD:HH though, it looks like she even got people to play multiplayer with her. She loves the teenagers, although I was entertained by this:
"(Unfortunately, this game breaks no heteronormative bounds. Girls don’t flirt with girls.)"
We had to do some struggling to get the Sims in Sims 2 to "Propose Union" to their same-sex partners (in 2004, before Gavin's help) - so for this audience, I'm not sure if we could push to have same sex teen couples and Wedding Dash same sex weddings, for that matter...
Thursday, May 22, 2008
The WisCon program is crazy...
Crazy Busy!
Several programs I want to go to are happening at the same time. I guess that's a good thing. It's not for lack of trying on the planners' part -- there are things going on every day, and scheduled into the night.
I went through the program today while on the plane, and kept almost exclaiming "Dang!" out loud when coming to a conflict.
It's my first time at WisCon so I have no idea what I'm getting into.
Met a very nice woman in Mpls airport, on her way to WisCon with baby and hubby. She was also having issues with Northwest Airlines (hers were much worse than my one delay).
My godmother came to pick me up at the airport because I'm staying with them tonight, and a woman came up to us to ask where the shuttle was for the Concourse Hotel (where WisCon is being held).
It was kind of fun to explain that I didn't need a shuttle, I had a ride. Unfortunately I couldn't help her either.
Really fun visiting with Tom and Ginny - they were quite tired after their days at work, and I am still on California time so I'm awake...
I'll probably have to see their alpaca farm in a different visit...
Several programs I want to go to are happening at the same time. I guess that's a good thing. It's not for lack of trying on the planners' part -- there are things going on every day, and scheduled into the night.
I went through the program today while on the plane, and kept almost exclaiming "Dang!" out loud when coming to a conflict.
It's my first time at WisCon so I have no idea what I'm getting into.
Met a very nice woman in Mpls airport, on her way to WisCon with baby and hubby. She was also having issues with Northwest Airlines (hers were much worse than my one delay).
My godmother came to pick me up at the airport because I'm staying with them tonight, and a woman came up to us to ask where the shuttle was for the Concourse Hotel (where WisCon is being held).
It was kind of fun to explain that I didn't need a shuttle, I had a ride. Unfortunately I couldn't help her either.
Really fun visiting with Tom and Ginny - they were quite tired after their days at work, and I am still on California time so I'm awake...
I'll probably have to see their alpaca farm in a different visit...
The Opposite of Love by Julie Buxbaum
Excerpts from email to Julie Buxbaum, who came and spoke to our group at Kapp's Pizza last week:
(also fyi - there was this Washington Post review, which was favorable, but Julie pointed out that it didn't go very deep into the emotions of the characters. It's all well and good to be Carrie Bradshaw's smarter sister, but that's not all this book is about.)
I went and bought the book at Books Inc down the street that night and finished it the next day. Unfortunately I wasn't thinking about the impact of crying at the end, and wound up finishing it while sitting at Peet's Coffee and starting to sob.
On top of how the book speaks to me, as a woman and a motherless daughter, I also find it very inspirational to hear of people (especially people close to my age) writing first novels successfully.
I did the National Novel Writing Month last year (NaNoWriMo) and was really happy to finish something that vaguely is a connected storyline, in 50,000 words and 1 month!
Right now I am at WisCon, which is a feminist sci fi and fantasy convention, and hoping to recharge batteries here.
One of the women in my life who is one of my "Ruths" (author Pat Murphy, she was the officiant at my wedding) flies to Madison from San Francisco every Memorial Day for WisCon, for almost 20 years now --- she thinks it's pretty cool, and it looks like it will be.
Anyway - quick list of my favorites in The Opposite of Love:
* Ruth and the book club. Emily's thoughts about how much she wants to be with this group of older women, regardless of what they're reading, really hits home to me.
Especially as I get older (I'm 34, Mom died at 42) I am more and more drawn to women who are in their 50s and 60s at least. They are the only models really for what it's like to live longer than 42.
And Ruth being a career mentor for Emily too, as my friend Pat is (although my writing is just getting going, she's also a good overall career mentor. Just in the 2 years I've known her she's had some of the most interesting jobs ever.)
* picture of Emily's mom on the beach - taken before she was born, connecting to a mom she never knew. I have a similar picture of my mom standing in front of a lake, and I always thought it was weird that I feel closer to this picture than to the later pictures that I remember being there for. nice to see a character having the same feelings.
* writing the letter to her mom and the feeling that she sees her around - this is part of what my NaNo novel was about.
* I really liked the prologue with the ultrasound (or is it sonogram) -- we know that there is a baby coming eventually, and there is a father, but don't know who the father is exactly. I think you did a great job with the character of Andrew also -- As I got to know him better, I really felt so hopeful that it would indeed turn out to be Andrew who is the father.
Very real, but not sappy, descriptions.
* references to other people being "grownups" -- their friends having a "grown-up" apt, and so on. My husband and I still talk like this sometimes!
* the whole theme of being afraid to really commit. Sometimes I just want to push people away because I am afraid of losing them if they get too close. I'm pretty happy that my husband withstood previous attempts to do this and stayed with me, and that we are married!
Anyway - thanks again for coming. I hope that your work on the second book is going well. I'm looking forward to reading it.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Remembering Jon Hassler
I was very sad to hear that Jon Hassler had died in March - Kari told me during the wedding week. She had thought I must already know, since it was all over the news in Minnesota at the time.
I signed the online guest book link that Dave found. I hope his wife and family are doing ok.
It's also really amazing that he kept writing even during the worst of his disease. Apparently there will be a new novel called "Jay O'Malley" which he was able to finish before he died.
Note on May 22 -
I reread Staggerford and A Green Journey again after buying them at the fountain of all lost books, BookBuyers in Mountain View.
It made me miss him more- there's a lot of stuff I didn't notice the last time I read.
1. I was a person nosy about teachers, and here's a book about a high school English teacher that is pretty candid - it begins "First hour, Miles yawned."
2. In both books I realized that I was gravitating toward the Miss McGee character and that I identify pretty strongly with the "hardscrabble girls" that she would take in and help out. I think I would have let her do that for me but maybe I would be resentful about it, I don't know.
I signed the online guest book link that Dave found. I hope his wife and family are doing ok.
It's also really amazing that he kept writing even during the worst of his disease. Apparently there will be a new novel called "Jay O'Malley" which he was able to finish before he died.
Note on May 22 -
I reread Staggerford and A Green Journey again after buying them at the fountain of all lost books, BookBuyers in Mountain View.
It made me miss him more- there's a lot of stuff I didn't notice the last time I read.
1. I was a person nosy about teachers, and here's a book about a high school English teacher that is pretty candid - it begins "First hour, Miles yawned."
2. In both books I realized that I was gravitating toward the Miss McGee character and that I identify pretty strongly with the "hardscrabble girls" that she would take in and help out. I think I would have let her do that for me but maybe I would be resentful about it, I don't know.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
How to Survive in the Line of Fire
I want to write about this now while it's still fresh in my mind...might be good for the germ of a future story.
I was riding BART and reading Pontoon, by Garrison Keillor (which is making me nostalgic and thinking a lot since it has a mother dying plus a woman going home to MN for her wedding...). Also the book review on this link has Keillor with a shaggy graying beard.
I was late (it was after 9 am) so I didn't have a seatmate for most of the trip until Civic Center when a woman sat down next to me.
When I was packing up Pontoon to get off at Montgomery, I see that my seatmate is reading a little card that is titled "How to Survive in the Line of Fire" and has all of these tips and diagrams for trying to stay out of harm's way in that situation.
It looked like something from those Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbooks, and after googling around, I am pretty sure it was.
It made me wonder why she has this at this time. Does she have the whole set and she reads one each BART ride to be prepared? They are meant to be humorous but this one was a bit surprising to see she was reading it specifically.
When I got up I accidentally jostled her and all this colored paper she had fell on the floor. I helped her pick some of it up. It looks like she is making a card for someone - she also had colored pencils...
Is she making a card for someone going into the Army? Is it just a joke card? The tips were so realistic that it seems it wouldn't be a joke.
She was in her thirties or early forties, long brown hair curly in ponytail. She was grateful for me trying to pick up the papers even though I could only grab one and hand it to her before I had to run off the train.
It was also kind of weird since I am not usually on this train at this time - I missed my appt in Rockridge so wound up taking the train up from Millbrae like normal.
Side note - coming out of BART I also saw a woman wearing the same boots I just bought on Saturday. She is thin enough that she can tuck her jeans into the tops of the boots...
I was riding BART and reading Pontoon, by Garrison Keillor (which is making me nostalgic and thinking a lot since it has a mother dying plus a woman going home to MN for her wedding...). Also the book review on this link has Keillor with a shaggy graying beard.
I was late (it was after 9 am) so I didn't have a seatmate for most of the trip until Civic Center when a woman sat down next to me.
When I was packing up Pontoon to get off at Montgomery, I see that my seatmate is reading a little card that is titled "How to Survive in the Line of Fire" and has all of these tips and diagrams for trying to stay out of harm's way in that situation.
It looked like something from those Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbooks, and after googling around, I am pretty sure it was.
It made me wonder why she has this at this time. Does she have the whole set and she reads one each BART ride to be prepared? They are meant to be humorous but this one was a bit surprising to see she was reading it specifically.
When I got up I accidentally jostled her and all this colored paper she had fell on the floor. I helped her pick some of it up. It looks like she is making a card for someone - she also had colored pencils...
Is she making a card for someone going into the Army? Is it just a joke card? The tips were so realistic that it seems it wouldn't be a joke.
She was in her thirties or early forties, long brown hair curly in ponytail. She was grateful for me trying to pick up the papers even though I could only grab one and hand it to her before I had to run off the train.
It was also kind of weird since I am not usually on this train at this time - I missed my appt in Rockridge so wound up taking the train up from Millbrae like normal.
Side note - coming out of BART I also saw a woman wearing the same boots I just bought on Saturday. She is thin enough that she can tuck her jeans into the tops of the boots...
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Lois Lowry's iPhone lives!
I'm in the midst of trying to pack, trying to prepare for our wedding, lots of stress - but I was very happy to see this blog post from Lois Lowry (the author of many awesome books including the Anastasia Krupnik series which I loved as a child)
So you know I am nosy and have links to Lois's blog on this blog. Before Christmas I had checked in with her and saw to my dismay that her purse was stolen, along with her iPhone!
(and also that she is a football fan - she loves the Patriots, which surprised me a bit too).
Anyway -- I checked in with her blog today to find this miraculous tale of new year wonder!
The iPhone that was lost has been found - frozen in a snowbank, still inside her purse.
I'm surprised the thieves didn't want it.
Would they have been able to reset the phone number without proof that they own it? I wonder.
Anyway - good stuff. Also on the Running Air blog I see Mad and her daughters all have new coats just in time for our new year storm, and Vy has been reading Nebula recommended works all break.
So you know I am nosy and have links to Lois's blog on this blog. Before Christmas I had checked in with her and saw to my dismay that her purse was stolen, along with her iPhone!
(and also that she is a football fan - she loves the Patriots, which surprised me a bit too).
Anyway -- I checked in with her blog today to find this miraculous tale of new year wonder!
The iPhone that was lost has been found - frozen in a snowbank, still inside her purse.
I'm surprised the thieves didn't want it.
Would they have been able to reset the phone number without proof that they own it? I wonder.
Anyway - good stuff. Also on the Running Air blog I see Mad and her daughters all have new coats just in time for our new year storm, and Vy has been reading Nebula recommended works all break.
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