Luminous Marble (original) (raw)

This is the part of my month wherein I do not write a catch up post, but I drop in for just a minute to tell you that registration for Sirens ends in a week. Guests of honor are Justine Larbalestier, Nnedi Okorafor, and Laini Taylor; the theme this year is "monsters," but you can read that as "monstrous," particularly the monstrous feminine. I heart Sirens for being a cozy space that highlights fantasy by/for/about women, and encourages authors, academics, and readers to discuss women in fantasy. For community, see sirenscon.

P.S. Happy Wednesday!

So, last night, all of last night, I had a dream that was a cross between The Handmaid's Tale and Top Chef.

The Wharf Rat:

3/4 oz. light Puerto Rican rum
1/2 oz. apricot brandy
6 oz. orange juice
3 3/4 oz. sour mix
1/2 oz. grenadine
pour over ice in a snifter
float 1/2 oz. 151-proof rum
garnish with lime wheel

YA authors, if you've got something you're working on and don't mind putting it on sales hold for at least four months (that is, if you submit it on Dec. 31), you might be eligible for this first novel contest. :D

I am pretty sure I will not be around LJ much this week, so as I'm still having breakfast, a quick post before running, running away. I had a pleasant, low-key weekend, and I read both Band Geek Love and Magic Under Glass, both of which I will review later. I made a birthday cake for someone I will not name1. I put a picture of it behind the cut, because it is extremely large and I'm running too late to make adjustments right now.
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I also made body butter, and if you want to find out more about that and how to make your own, I'll put that and a couple of big pictures behind the cut. ( Read more...Collapse )

1. I started not saying when other people were having birthdays or wishing birthday wishes on the internet a while ago due to privacy concerns, and now with sites like Spokeo matching crap up all over the place, I'm not going to re-start. For fun, wait two weeks and search for yourself on Spokeo again, including ways other than by name, and then try to get yourself taken off--and good luck. :p

While something I'm working on runs in the background and I wait to be able to access my bit again, some things I've been saving up for your entertainment.

1. Apples! Spring variety apples: Lady Alice and Red Prince, both tasty but mild reds with heirloom qualities. The Alices are probably already gone from the store--and they're the most awesome, because the early ones had really beautiful, crisp flesh that was so dense, the inside would come off in creamy slabs. The Princes are nice, but you can actually see that the apple has a texture of its own.

2. Soap! Q: Why can't you wash your hair with a bar of soap? I mean, why does it feel so icky if you do? A: The pH of shampoo is usually around 6, or slightly acidic. Your hair likes this. Bars of soap, particularly the nice handmade ones, have a pH of 8-10.5, or somewhat basic. Use those on your hands and body instead.

3. Sirens programming submissions deadline is now May 10. Sadly, I can't even hint at the really fantastic proposals and presenters who are participating in this process, but maybe I can steer you to sirenscon to pick up a roundtable discussion idea.

4. Flower pancakes! Sadly, I tossed a bunch of squeeze bottles the other day, but maybe I've got a water bottle or something that would work.

5. Star Wars in 2:12...by Legos. Here!. brb loling and loling.

6. A trailer for Pumzi, a sci-fi piece made in Kenya and written and directed by a woman! It's a short film and its director wants to turn it into something full-length (Kickstarterable, I wonder?) This is so up my alley: dystopia, governing bodies that don't necessarily act logically, pushing through for truth--and bonus girl protagonist. (It's a "fact" that boys won't read books with girls in the lead, but girl will read either gender; as a little kid, I rejected most books with a hero, because I was always, always looking for myself in the text, and that for me meant smart outsider girls as often as possible, and later, women seeking romance, and now I just want adventure.) Anyway! Ever since watching this I've been wondering practically to the point of mental fanfic, and I have been wishing that this were a feature film because I would eat this up. (Yes, I note that there's an unexplained reason why there's still air around, but I assume there's some in-film exploration of that; if not, the sheer wow factor and stark beauty would probably still make it worth it for me, especially as I'm a good disbelief-suspender.)

Help. Help.

I've been looking for these two books forever.

1. This book was probably an early readers or middle grade book. It had something to do with magic and learning magic; there may have been a witch in it. A spell was to recite the alphabet backwards (and this is how I learned to do that). The book must have been published before 1987, and it may have been old when I read it.

2. This book was shelved with YA before there was YA. A young woman is involved in "the game," and people who can play the game are considered of a higher class than others. I recall that the game had something to do with music, but it was also not clear what exactly the game was, because the main narrator was a boy who wasn't able to understand and/or play the game. The boy and girl leave the sheltered and nice environment where the people who play the game get to live and head out into a dystopian world. At one point, they eat rabbit meat from a street vendor, and I'm fairly certain they'd never eaten meat before.

Do you recognize either?

Today got eaten and I have so much I haven't completed yet. *headcutoffchickens*

OKAY SO. I am so so tired because I was having this dream all night where I was vacationing with family on some tropical shore. The view from our hotel window was not straight-on at the water; rather, we overlooked a cloudy cove, a gathering area, a driveway, and other high-rises. WELL. There were these sudden catastrophic waves occurring that nobody else seemed to care about, even when it was clear that the tide was suddenly out and then an unexpected WAVE would hit the side of these other buildings and swish people away. No, people wanted to go outside and take pictures with Goofy, who was a hotel visitor. I quickly grabbed the most important of my belongings and insisted that my family pack theirs so we could hurry to the basement of the hotel, retrieve my car, and drive to higher ground, but no, they wanted to screw around and pack everything and have lunch in the hotel restaurant BUT I COULD SEE that the waves were being generated by things like birds with long, sharp, giant beaks and killer whales, who used the tsunamis to launch themselves through the windows of the hotels to, I don't know, eat people and cause structural failures. Their tails were flopping out the windows and everything. SO THIS MEANS THAT WHEN I SAY IT IS TIME TO GO, WE GO.

Tim Burton to direct Sleeping Beauty? The recent Alice was far better done than I'd ever expected; I wonder, though, what one does to this story to make it more interesting. Because, let's face it: it's not. The heroine sleeps through most of it. In original versions, she gets pregnant while sleeping--yeah, we all know how that happens--and wakes up having a baby (in others, while she's being impregnated, I think). The handsome prince is pretty much all hmm, I heard there's a chick in this sleepty castle! Let's go

hunt her down for a trophy

rescue her! As far as stories go, this one was probably an interesting yarn in its day, but I want a better narrative. That said, I can think of interesting places for SB to go; will Burton?

Next, I'm finding this to be very cute, if a bit overpriced per page (not for small runs, but if you have a bigger one, you don't get bulk pricing). Cute little magazines might be an interesting alternative for programs, portfolios, catalogs, etc.

Sirens is running up to its programming deadline--May 7. This year's theme is faeries (as spelled by Terri Windling), but anything related to women and fantasy, whether that means as authors, creators, readers, scholars, characters, whatever, is fair game. Check out sirenscon for the latest newsletter and more information, and please pass this on to anyone you think might be interested. It's a very friendly environment, and you're tucked away in the Rocky Mountain with a small group of your very closest creative friends on deeply discounted superbeds at a resort and spa. Registration includes three meals and a dessert reception, too, and tea service in the afternoons. (The price jumps April 30, though, so I recommend registering before then.) This year's guests are Marie Brennan, Holly Black, and Terri Windling, who you might not know as an author, but who has edited years and years worth of anthologies.

Recently read, but will have to wait on reviews because today is about the time of week I start getting worried about my multitasking skills: Soulless, Flygirl, and working on Lips Touch, Three Times and then Incarceron. And then I have to give Proust and the Squid another pass.

As I am shortly to pack up this computer, one last post for the road, or for where I put off responses because it's just not as easy without the ability to multi-tab.

Tell me about your favorite books as a kid!

Some of mine, from various ages: I liked Frog and Toad and Frances and Ramona; I liked Anne of Green Gables well enough, but I liked the Betsy-Tacy books better; I loved Secrets of the Shopping Mall and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler for the running away; I liked the survival aspect of Island of the Blue Dolphins and Little House on the Prairie. I read and re-read Remember Me. The Dollhouse Murders, The Girl with the Silver Eyes, and Down a Dark Hall were just scary enough. I wasn't as friendly with Anastasia Krupnik or Harriet the Spy, but I certainly re-read those, and I'd read Heidi enough to play games based on it in kindergarten. Not all of these books would work for me if I first picked them up today, of course, and I'm leaving out other books I like a lot but don't love (like Charlotte's Web or Miss Nelson is Missing), as well as the adult books I read then, and the collections of fairy tales, and the picture books I read before or have gained an appreciation of since. (And this is really no later than tween reading, as I pretty much had a Harlequin addiction by then--and it's also not the book list of my adult years.)

Your turn!

YAY. I just wrapped up the end of too-long, on-my-plate-since-October project. Tonight, I'm going to rest my brain, tomorrow go to pick up a new project (and get back to everything I've been neglecting for the past two weeks, for serious). And maybe do things like exercise and remember to eat actual meals and the like. This weekend is also clean the bathroom time, no matter what. I spent an hour or so purging old products last weekend, and that's a help. Unfortunately, following that, I have bedroom purge, everything from clothes to various other crap. As I am short on time nowadays, I'm hoping to sell off soap stuff for cheap. Maybe via eBay.

Because of unhappy monster project, I haven't got too many interesting things to report. I saw Alice and--I thought it was 95% really good, 5% awful. Pretty good ratio! And I liked Alice more than I expected to (it's not one of my favorite stories), but I enjoyed how she moved about in this pro-fanfiction. And the end was shiny, but I won't spoil it.

Currently, I'm reading Charles and Emma (preliminary verdict: pretty crap) and Racing the Dark (preliminary verdict: pretty good).

That's all.

Besides being back to cursor/typing issues (I guess I will just have to slow down and be geeeeeentle), I have a stupidity today. I would Googlemachine it, but I am working on another project and can't figure out how to phrase it. When you talk to yourself in your own head, is that internal monologue or internal dialogue? Like, I am thinking damn, I wish I had a winning lottery ticket. Does it even matter?

I am slow today, so I may as well take my usual evening chunk of time waste and move it here. I had strange dreams last night. It start with being at an amusement park where there was no power to the rides but people were riding them for the thrill of that anyway, then became an altercation with a couple of people I don't much care for (but don't normally think about), and then I had to show up for the first completely disorganized rehearsal of a production of Man of La Mancha (and not only could I not make heads or tails of the materials being passed out, I was in the chorus and nobody else could sing), and then I couldn't get the alarm to turn off for an hour. That last part was actually a dream. I woke up squeezing it off in my hand, but then it turned out I wasn't actually holding my phone at all. My only guess here is anxiety over having too many things to do this week--or, perhaps, not more than I can physically finish, but a lot of urgent and overdue items that I have to tackle in the order my head can handle, versus the order in which they should actually be done. At present, I thought I'm where I thought I'd to be, so what's up, sad brain?

Anyway, my attention to inattention has finally, after a week of glances out the window, confirmed that the neighbors across the way don't ever plan to clean up after their dog.

I am having milk with the last of the chai, an English muffin with turkey and cheese, and then probably three containers of Greek yogurt. Maybe orzo with lemons and pasta later. It is clean out the fridge day and I forgot to eat most of yesterday.

Yesterday, I followed a linked tweet to novelist Chimamanda Adichie on dangers of listening to a single story. I think it's a really interesting talk, and most certainly worth a click. If you're a writer, especially.

Also, ( color meme seen everywhereCollapse )

Natalie Randolph will be the new head coach at a high school in D.C. Head football coach.

10. Terrier by Tamora Pierce
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11. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
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A couple of links I've been sitting on, but that are next down the inbox, and mostly related, so they get to go right now:

Transracial Writing for the Sincere
An article by Nisi Shawl that provides some great resources and approaches. Also, I now want to read Fool's War.

I wishlisted that, along with some other books, this morning, and I have this Amazon toolbar thing that is on my browser, and I'm starting to be tempted to use the wishlist to list all books via indie sellers. But there's no time for subversion today!

Next, I heard Nisi Shawl speak at WisCon last year. That was the first year for con_or_bust, a--I am uncertain exactly how to describe this, but I'll do my best. It's a fandom (and pro) auction, now administered by the Carl Brandon Society, to assist fans of color to attend (primarily) WisCon. I hadn't ever attended WisCon before, and I found it to be a great experience, and thus, I support this endeavor. Anyway, the auction ends Saturday night, and there are/were even some lovely items that don't have bids yet--and if you're a mess like me, you can just donate via a PayPal button.

Also related, Tu Publishing, a startup small press that was for publishing multicultural MG/YA fantasy and science fiction, has been acquired by Lee and Low, and will now be Tu Books--and instead of maybe publishing two books a year, they're maybe going to be able to handle three times that. Lee and Low already specializes in multicultural books, and I think this could be a very good thing--it seems like there's going to be a strength there in getting such books into schools and libraries, for one, in a way that a smaller publisher can't.

And now that I've braindumped my links-to-self e-mail, back to work. :p

1. I would like copious, copious carbs. And maybe a good cheeseborger.

2. I need to double-check my files, and then it's time for a wipe and return of this computer as soon as I can spare it; despite all my efforts, I've had multiple blue screen and hardware failure issues. Not excited about the restocking fee that I suspect I can't get rid of. I reformatted the drive on the old one in the hope that my issues were just a quiet virus--but of course, it's telling me that it doesn't recognize my OS product key. So, not only do I not have the fun stuff I no longer have disks for, but the pleasure of replacing a keyboard, I think, without appropriate tools or anti-static stuff (and around here, I get shocked every few minutes). Hmph.

*claps hands* SO. Who has recommendations for cheap but will-last-two or three-years laptops? I normally buy an overloaded desktop replacement monster, but I can't afford to do that right now; my budget is under $650. I prefer PC/Windows (I like the idea of Ubuntu and Open Office, but I don't have time at present to have any surprises, plus a lot of my work is work at home, and thus I want to stay in line with the work I do have without fiddling). I prefer smaller than 15", though that's not really what's being made right now in cheap, and light, like under 5 lbs. Yes, I do want the world for free. :p Oh: a VGA out, CD/DVD drive, microphone and headphone jack, and at least 2 USB drives: not optional. I tend to run Firefox (with 5-6 tabs), several Word documents, and something in an .mp3 format at the same time, so it does need to be able to process, a bit.

3. I had something VITAL to post about and now I don't know what that was.

4. But: YouTube has the old-school Clash of the Titans, with Dame Maggie and Laurence Olivier and Harry Hamlin and the mechanical owl and the claymation Kraken, chopped up into 10-minute chunks, and there should so be a viewing party. Because it's just awful. :))

It has been an very busy week, during which I am spending far too much time glued to computers. I've been drafting, editing, formatting, flapping about an application for a grad-level program with a deadline that I missed last year. I may yet finish the last (and perhaps ask a few of you for references), though I know it's something probably too selective for hope. That's not false modesty; that's analysis of reality. :p

On the other hand, this week has been easy: I get to work right here from my desk; early March sun wraps around to the west side of the building and wakes me up naturally even through my improvised pirate-flag curtain before 8 a.m. (Ihateyou, clocks go forward day); the mid-50s fake-you-out weather means that inside, I'm neither too warm or too cold, though like always, I'm too dry. The greatest annoyance has been new neighbors two floors down who manage to shake the entire building each time they close their front door. I've managed to reset the tippiest things, but I have to wonder if they're keeping a gorilla down there.

Finally, this weekend is a programming chat for Sirens. You can check out the details on sirenscon. Even if you're not planning or able to attend, the conference chats can be lots of fun, with people who really love (and sometimes, who write) the books about your favorite heroines. Programming submissions are open now, too. I will happily tell you what to present, if you like. ;) Otherwise, if you have a spare bit of LJ post or something else, signal boosting is much appreciated:

Sirens, a conference focused on women in fantasy literature.

a. Does anyone have a Dell and know how to turn off its helpful scrolling thing that looks like an up arrow and a down arrow with a little line in between? Because I turned off all of the other awful "helpful" touchpad features (comma) like zooming when two fingers touch the thing (comma) and between that and the lag on the machine and the seeming inability to use the delete or backspace keys after highlighting things (comma) I am getting kerplodey.

b. Obviously I am not on it with its shiny new comma key at the moment. We are not friends.

c. But as soon as I finish something I'm working on (comma) I can (comma) if I choose (comma) move out! So in celebration (comma) is anyone interested in a balloon poll? I'm thinking two simultaneous polls: one for best 80s song and one for worst 80s song; obviously (comma) a song may compete in both categories! What should be in this poll? *runs around in circles*

No big snowstorm here--just a baby, of 4-6 inches, but man, I have spent my whole day sliding around in a Slurpee, and I would take some sort of sedative now if I did that sort of thing. Also, it turned out that the person I went out to meet didn't show up, so I hadn't needed to go at all.

This week/end, I played some Wii. Whee! I also ate too much on Saturday and I think I'm still regretting it. I spent a lot of time typing on Sunday, but overall, I played too hard.

A links roundup:
Can we please not treat the Quileute like crap?

Two Screens Are Better Than One! Now if only computers will come with multiple screens. Still, this reminds me of when your 3rd grade teacher gave you a cardboard screen to put up so you couldn't see your neighbor.

A cool program that "mentors Los Angeles teens and kids in theatre and the other arts, tutors them in academics, and partners with them to create and perform original plays. 100% of participating children graduate from high school. 95% go on to college. 98% are the first person in their family to go." They are short funds for this year, and I can say that if you've got a few dollars, these kinds of programs are vital to L.A. youth. Please don't make me tell you the stories about kids I knew who had never been to the beach despite living within 15 miles of it, the ones who threatened to throw up in my car (because riding in one was such a rarity, they couldn't handle the motion), the ones who got up at 4 a.m. because it takes that long to get yourself up and ready for fourth grade and then wake up and dress all of your younger siblings. Obviously, that's not the situation for every kid in L.A., but should it be the situation for any kid, anywhere? If your help takes the format of fandom, great! Check out helptheproject for more information.

Like Liar, only not. I wonder how many times this has to happen before someone institutes some sort of info sheet for various departments to refer to before it stops. I wonder how long before publishers ask hey, you might not like the design, but is anything wrong here? And I know that changes in thinking, in self-checking, move slowly, and that it's hard for businesses to conceptualize tearing down their lovely, nostalgic, safe-seeming homes to build newer ones, and that someone is probably having the first of many tough conversations just now. But enough, please.

Now to go back in the kitchen and to the contest of what is dated the oldest thing in the time warp that occasionally turns up odd objects, sometimes known as the pantry. Current winner is, if I recall correctly, some dry mix from mid-2003. And it has been discarded.

Neck is giving me a hard time. Enjoying fairly mild weather. Still reading same book. Still avoiding current Dailylit subscription. Planning a big batch of body butter and one of old-school soap (maybe plain with a touch of orange oil) once kitchen is sterilizable. I have several neglected cross-stitches that sometimes turn up to frown at me, and someday I'll learn to crochet more than potholders. I'm also daydreaming a set of fairy wings, but I might be a wing-free sort.

Lately, I feel like things swing wildly, from Sunday's slow-cooked beans to other days' extended not-a-moment-to-breathe.

Meantime, grandpa's beans: soak beans (say, great northerns) overnight, or follow package directions for quick-soak; cook diced onion in stockpot; add diced ham, beans, water, and (I think) a bay leaf. Simmer, covered, 2-3 hours, and serve with saltines and ketchup. I bought pre-diced onion and celery, added some chopped baby carrot, and sprinkled in a little sage and thyme. It's like Campbell's soup, only not. It's strange the things you hate as a kid can be comfort food as you get older.

In trashy eats, a quick dinner is a bowful of last-legs spring mix or spinach, spritzed lightly with balsamic vinaigrette. Top with a generous scoop of hot jasmine rice with a pat of butter, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese, then stir. Trasy risotto!

Finally, as I have been reminded, just more than a year ago I completed my first half-marathon, and in relation (or retaliation) spent the day in bed instead of at Disney World, thanks to bad late-night bar food. That said, the quiet was nice; having people cook and clean for me while I laze and watch TV in bed is a huge fantasy of mine. This is why my love of restaurants and hotels, and sometimes trains.

Also, post-finally, today is Narrate Conferences' fourth birthday. I failed to pay attention to the date so there is no cake. But congratulations and thanks to a great number of people who have contributed to the organization growing out of infancy and toddlerhood, with three conferences completed, another in progress, and a couple more waiting in the wings. I have to sit on my hands now, but I know I'll be happy to share so much great news in the months to come.

You've probably noticed by now that I don't manage my holiday cards very well. I either have cards or stamps, or time, and this year, same story. So, please, have a happy one--no paper products necessary.

Next, you've probably all seen this, but I hadn't: Dangerous Wands. Worth the buffering, I assure you. Stick it out until at least 1:30.

Finally, the holidays can never, ever begin until I visit this page. (Warning: there will be sound.) Worth the pop-up. Be sure to follow the instruction at the bottom of the graphic. But also watch what happens when the snowman gets big.

Amazon Breakthrough Contest Adds YA Category, Reduces Advances For the third year, Penguin Group is joining Amazon in their Breakthrough Novel Award contest--which will now add a second prize for young adult fiction. The contest, which starts January 25, will also now be open to novels that have been previously self-published (to not penalize all those existing CreateSpace customers). Alas in a less heralded change the promised advance to the winners has gotten smaller: originally promising a 25,000advance,thisnewcontest′stwowinnersareassured25,000 advance, this new contest's two winners are assured 25,000advance,thisnewcontest′stwowinnersareassured15,000 advances each. (Sales of the three contest-related books published so far by Penguin imprints--Bill Loehfelm's FRESH KILLS; BAD THINGS HAPPEN by Harry Dolan; and THE WET NURSE'S TALE by Erica Eisdorfer)--have been quite modest to date.

They will accept up to 5,000 entries each in the fiction and young adult categories. The "professional" judges evaluating the three finalists (selected by Penguin editors) are author Tana French, agent Julie Barer, and editor Molly Stern for general fiction, and authors Sarah Dessen and Nancy Werlin, agent Amy Berkower, and publisher Ben Schrank for young adult.

--Publisher's Weekly

I seriously think that I have to visit the LJ front page more often...to keep up with which communities are in the spotlight so I can defriend them. There is nothing more annoying than having your flist flooded with hi, I just joined and I think this community is great! posts, especially if you don't get to read your flist all that much. The flip side of this is that I get to read a comment about how the greatest three crimes EVAR are rape, murder, and plagiarism.

Seen on a discussion place: Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends in other countries, too. Do you eat turkey there, or something else? *bonk*

I finally got around to watching a vid of Adam Lambert at the AMAs, and wow, what a crap performance. Leaving aside the gratuitous grabbing of genitals and onstage kissing (I always wonder--how is that helping you sing, edgy bands?), a performer, which Adam Lambert is, is always aware of the performance, and as someone coming from a genre where consistency is valued, he absolutely knows better, and he knows the audience at home. If it was just shock value for staying newsworthy, okay, you win, but if it was gratuitous self-indulgence, knock that shit off. That said, whatever; what I was actually offended by was the really, really shitty singing. I haven't seen that toneless of a performance since...last time I searched Britney Spears live on YouTube, and I have a soft spot for manufactured stars who are doing the best the can. /silly rant

Sherman Alexie on Colbert (again!), in part taking a crack at the Kindle and Jeff Bezos. (There's more to talk about here regarding appropriation, but it's too much for this post, especially as it's not related to this interview so much.) Alexie is one of those people who can give Colbert a run for his money, which is always fun to watch. Once, I saw a panel with Alexie, Judy Blume, Neil Gaiman, Jon Scieszka, and Eoin Colfer, and mostly it was just Alexie and Colfer cracking jokes and swearing. And it was about the best time I've even been in an audience. There's a write-up here, actually; it doesn't mention that Gaiman was about the least interesting person there, for those of you who measure that way. Also fun: Judy Blume talking about the time she was presenting to a school (I think) and someone asked where Deenie's special spot was.

DailyLit is now entirely free. It was partly pay for a while, but now sponsorships will allow you to have bits of stories e-mailed to you (and if you're enjoying more than those few paragraphs with your morning coffee, you can click a button to get the next section of story right then).

38. Ash by Malinda Lo
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Apparently cupcake shops are booming in the recession. Washington D.C. wins with more than 25 new ones opening up lately.

I am starting to think that my daily e-mail of Etsy is taking its inspiration from regretsy.com; there's been some amazing yuk in there lately.

That's all.

And it's snowing.

Ooh, one more: Guide to Pirate Parenting.

Hi!

I have been sick; a migraine turned into one of those colds where you can't get out of bed, period. I still feel kind of crap, but I'm not burning through entire boxes of tissue in a day, or popping useless cold remedies every four hours.

I'm using my Black Friday to tackle some of a project I don't want to do but have to: I have to box up some shelves so I can a) maybe box up books (given that I know some of my respiratory issues are related to sleeping in a pile of books) and b) make a better-organized mess, as once I hit a critical point of mess, I hit inertia, and can't get anything done. At present, I'm going through old conference binders, and I'm shredding drafts (and drafts) of contracts, Quidditch liability waivers, and manuals dating back to Jan. 2006--and for fun, the first concept sketch and navigation proposal for Phoenix Rising. Luckily, this sorting-discarding-shredding ends in one more shelf, with most of it discarding. I really do tend to and try to not keep stuff, but the last three years, I've been hoarding, I guess.

Which brings me, tangentially, to the very brief advertisement here that Narrate Conferences is having a "boot camp" in the first half of 2010 for people who are interesting doing things like being organizers or chairs or the like for conferences. That might seem like a long boot camp, but it's only about 1/3 as long as the regular planning term for a conference, from concept to website archiving. ;) Anyway, we wanted people to get to try lots of areas and get themselves oriented before the pressure of doing it for real, because it's a lot to ask people to learn on the go when they're fitting in planning as a volunteer. (It's also hard to fit in training time, which is why now and not sooner. )The 2010 boot camp group is a great mix of old pros and utter newbies. If you have questions, ask me; if you're interested, applications are due in by December 15.

36. Black Trillium by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Julian May, Andre Norton
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37. Rumors (The Luxe)
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Current reading: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which seems a bit of a mess (I find that when it's public domain, publishers don't bother to edit obvious typos) and Ash, by Malinda Lo, which I'm liking very much, but more on that later. In general, I expect I'll fall short of 50 books this year, which pains me because I love to read. Maybe if I counted all the books I put down this year, I'd have 50 worth?

I am twiddling my thumbs and waiting for various internetty systems to start working again. I should be working on A Project for work, but some of my fingernails hurt and my hands hurt from typing too much lately. But I should still be working on it because I get bored halfway through such projects and then have to push through at the end. And once it's done, I will be better able mentally to do other huge projects, including boxing up my room in order to do a deep dust cleaning.

Last night, I saw Wicked, which was much better than I thought it would be. I also have to nod to its popularity; at numerous points on the way through I saw places where fans could rewrite the storyline in their heads (or as fanfic, heh); it had places where it could diverge easily, and a lot of story that could be expanded. And there were some nice songs, too. But I still can't read that book. It's like an Eragon to me: three pages is my limit.

Also, if I still had time and wrote fic and knew how yuletide worked, I would want to write some with the Progressive lady and the Verizon guy. Flo has a name; does he?

I feel like there ought to be some sort of Regretsy secret santa gift swap. Like, find the worst thing you can for under $5 and send it to someone anonymously, more or less, and then everybody has to share their horrors afterward.

This journal is now up for a vote. I am mobile, so you don't get a pretty poll.

Should I post about:

1. Why cons don't have wireless, and why the hotel wants you to pay for it. (Probably public.)

2. Why you can't compare soap/bath products/cosmetics labels (unless you enjoy Googling a lot). (Probably flocked.)

3. Things that put color in soap and cosmetics. (Probably flocked.)

4. Preservatives in cosmetics, how "natural" products get preserved, and why Whole Foods will sell you something that isn't. (Probably flocked.)

5. CPSIA, the Food and Drug Act of 2009, safety, and bureaucracy that supports only the major players.

6. I'd really rather you tell me about having lunch in Forks. (Definitely flocked.)

The Verizon guy and the Progressive lady: Together?

No, but their love life would make a fine sitcom.

It is hailing like

a motherfucker

like god's playing Hungry Hungry Hippos outside.

Eta: now it is thunderhail.

Oh god. I've done it now. I was closing up for the night and there was this sudden buzzing and smacking and a flutter to the floor, and I crawled inside pre-Christmas mess to find its body, only a third of the size I expected. It waved its eye buds at me and I got all of the paper towels and wadded them up and it let me squish it, unidentified.

But then: !

An odor bloomed, perfume of a heavy lily, or maybe the distillation of a great many petals, except warmed and changed by some digestion, and made into scrolls.

I've done it now. I bet that's some bat signal and now a giant version of the same bug is going to eat me while I sleep.