Jay Lake: Writer

[links] Link salad’s wayward son carries on

Predicting the Death of Print — Two years ago print was going to soldier on another 10 years. Now it’s five–or fewer. Uh huh.

The Language of Leaks — (Thanks to my Dad.)

Ten Infamous Islands of Exile — Established to banish dissidents and criminals, these islands are known for their one-time prisoners, from Napoleon to Nelson Mandela. (Thanks to lt260.)

Alien hunters ‘should look for artificial intelligence’ — Everybody sing: ♫ “‘Cause there’s bugger all down here on Earth.” ♫

A Milky Way Shadow at Loch Ard Gorge — Mmm, gorgeous photo. From APOD.

What would Martin Luther King Say? Mosques and the New Jim Crow in America — Juan Cole with a great deal more to say about the shameful political opportunism and race-baiting of opposition to the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque”.

Who are you callin’ unassimilated? — The Edge of the American West with another take on the same topic.

?otD:

Will there be peace when you are done?

8/23/2010
Writing time yesterday: 0.25 hours (WRPA, mostly took the day off)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 7.25 (solid)
This morning’s weigh-in: n/a
Yesterday’s chemo stress index: 3/10 (fatigue, peripheral neuropathy)
Currently (re)reading: Destroyer by C.J. Cherryh

Tags: Cool, Language, Links, Personal, Photos, Politics, Publishing, Religion, Science

Posted: 4:40 am Mon August 23 2010 | Comments(1) |

[personal] The day that was

Oi. Such a day. Nothing cancer-related, for a change. I took the_child to the AT&T store at the mall just up the road a mile or two. We were adding a phone to an existing plan. This should have taken 10, 15 minutes. It took an hour and forty-minutes, involved at least five store employees, multiple phone calls to various inside help lines, and four (or possibly more) attempted number assignments. Something was seriously wrong with AT&T’s retail management software. Meanwhile, I, who cannot stand for any length of time even now due to fatigue and peripheral neuropathy, was stuck the whole damned time in an AT&T store with no chairs, stools or benches. The issue was clearly not the fault of the employees, and I remained good natured, but that was damned hard. Eventually she did get her first phone.

I made it home with about two minutes to spare before calendula_witch arrived to pick me up to go to see Inception in the cinema at the same damned mall. As the_child had said, “Why don’t you just have her meet you here?” To which I replied, “How will you get home?” She shrugged, then said, “Magic?”

As for Inception, I was highly entertained. I think I was impressed, but I’ll need to contemplate for a while. At the very least, it was well worth my time. I’d sure like to see it again. Spoilerrific musings possible in the next few days, though given my schedule, doubtful.

Eating leftovers now, then a much-delayed call with tillyjane, who is camping somewhere in Wyoming, then I am to bed with a book. Y’all play nice.

Tags: Calendula, Child, Movies, Personal

Posted: 6:22 pm Sun August 22 2010 | Comments(4) |

[art] “Useless in a Crack” by the Child

“Useless in a Crack” by the_child. Medium: iPad 3G, Brushes app.

© 2010 B. Lake. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission.

Tags: Art, Child, iPad

Posted: 10:13 am Sun August 22 2010 | Comments(2) |

[conventions] AussieCon 4 Schedule

Here is my programming schedule for AussieCon, for those interested.

Fri 1200 Rm 211: Keeping pace: maintaining momentum in fiction
Fri 1600 Rm 207: Reading
Sat 1000 Rm 213: The steampunk playground
Sat 1200 Rm 201: Signing
Sun 1100 Rm 219: Anachronistic fiction: successors to steampunk

I will also be attending the Hugo ceremony both as Stephan Martiniere’s designated acceptor, and as keeper of the Campbell tiara.

I do not yet have a schedule for Au Contraire, but I believe I’ll be on programming there as well.

See some, all or none of you there.

Tags: Australia, Awards, Conventions, New Zealand, Travel

Posted: 9:49 am Sun August 22 2010 | Comments(1) |

[personal] A blinding rush through mud

Swimming in mud lately. Had the expected Versed hangover through yesterday. On the other hand, I managed to finish Endurance.

I’m actually kind of amazed I’ve gotten anything done. Between preparing for the New Zealand-Australia trip, finishing revisions to Endurance, managing cancer issues (second opinion, surgery planning, etc.) and the colonoscopy, I’ve been extremely busy. Way behind on correspondence and other obligations, and won’t likely catch up for a long time. I hate that.

I have some writing and WRPA to do today, along with taking the_child shopping for her first cell phone, seeing a movie with calendula_witch and packing for the upcoming trip. Busy is as busy does.

Tags: Australia, Books, Calendula, Cancer, Child, Endurance, health, New Zealand, Personal, Travel, Writing

Posted: 6:45 am Sun August 22 2010 | Comments(1) |

[personal] Lessons of life

I recently asked, “What have the great trials of your life taught you?” The responses I received ranged from thoughtful to funny to deeply moving. Some were quite personal. I liked them so much I’m reposting from comments to here. If you have a few minutes, enjoy them.

• annafdd: Compassion does in fact make you happier
• annafdd: That a lot of pain comes from remembering the past and anticipating the future, and that if you manage to stay in the present moment, no matter how shitty, you actually feel better. (does not work for physical pain)
• Anonymous: All people are real, even the invisible ones on the other side of the monitor.
• Anonymous: Don’t leave with anything unsaid except perhaps good-bye.
• Anonymous: It’s never wrong to be kind.
• Anonymous: That it would be a really good idea to stop drinking.
• anton_p_nym: Most recently (ie: yesterday) I learned that if you’re known as the quiet and diligent type, if you do pitch a hissy-fit it gets really noticed. (Perhaps even noticed too much.)
• barbarienne: That my dad was right. His two favorite quotes were “The essence of life is change” and “this too shall pass.”

  After enough years and enough stuff, I understood those words. Stuff that was horrible and life-changing and so on when it happened is, twenty+ years later, just another bump on the road of life.

  Granted, Dad never faced recurring cancer. I suspect those phrases may ring differently in your situation.

• Bill: I have learned that my inner voice belongs to a complete and utter bastard. Sort of like a less feelgood C. W. Sughrue.

  I still miss my dad, though.

• brownkitty: A generous spirit is a valuable thing. People will attempt to use it. They’re not always aware of it. Don’t let any of that stop you.
• brownkitty: A hug may not fix it. Lack of a hug may well break it beyond repair.
• brownkitty: Home doesn’t have to be a particular location. It can be a mindset, an environmental factor, a culture, a person, a concept.
• brownkitty: If you’re keeping score in a relationship, that relationship is in trouble. Because you’re keeping score now doesn’t mean you’ll be keeping score next year, next month, next week, next minute.
• brownkitty: Maybe, sometimes, a personal vocation shouldn’t be a professional ones.
• brownkitty: Things can be replaced.
• cypherindigo: Patience and persistence.
• danjite: And, of course, all systems that have their basis in magical thinking are equal.
• danjite: Live like a slightly fragile hedonist.
• danjite: Take every meeting.
• danjite: Walk tall, smile at everyone.
• deborahjross: Ask for help and be ready to receive it in unexpected forms from even more unexpected sources.
• deborahjross: Breathe. No matter what else is going on, breathe. If you can’t do anything else, breathe.
• deborahjross: Celebrate moments of grace. Cultivate gratitude.
• deborahjross: Crisis: the only way out is through, and if I am willing to walk through the darkness, to feel what I must feel, then I will not only survive but grow.
• deborahjross: My experience of pain and loss can be a wellspring of compassion for the suffering of others. I am determined that good shall come of my sorrow.
• deborahjross: Take things one day at a time. If that’s too much, one hour or even one minute at a time.
• djelibeybi_meg: Do it now and do it hard.
• e_bourne: Atheism
• e_bourne: Most things don’t matter
• e_bourne: Not all battles are worth fighting
• elfs: Some people you just can’t reach. They are wired to be unreachable.
• elfs: The reward for taking the high road exists. It’s just much smaller than promised.
• la_marquise_de_: An iron sense of duty will do its best to kill you.
• madrobins: That staying calm in a crisis is key…and that falling apart afterward is inevitable (and permissible).
• marydell: From the available paths, choose the one you’re willing to walk, but once you’re on it, don’t try to control where it goes.
• marydell: Living the emotional truth of a relationship is more important that living the relationship that’s written on paper.
• melissajm: Also that I have the world’s greatest family, and the world’s greatest husband.
• melissajm: And the world’s full of small but important kindnesses.
• melissajm: I learned that I’m hard to kill.
• mikandra: A family upheaval has taught me that something you thought was secure can suddenly fall apart completely and utterly and without prior notice or chance of repair. In other words: that you need to be appreciative of what you have at this very moment.
• mikandra: Life in general has taught me that all the superlatives in the world cannot overrate financial security.
• mikandra: The too-early death of my father taught me that if you have a plan to do something, stop talking about it and do it, right now.
• mikigarrison: Financial stress makes almost all crises harder to deal with, and crises increase the odds of financial stress. If I’d realized this 20 ago the degree to which I do now, I would have made very different choices.
• mikigarrison: It can be really hard not to smack people who feel the need to tell you how “lucky” you are to be coping so well, or surviving this crisis, etc. It’s not luck, it’s damned hard work. In some cases it’s damned hard work now, and in some cases it’s the damned hard work I put in earlier to give myself a cushion and flexibility for crises.
• mikigarrison: Letting myself have a “lazy” day with no expectations can be an incredibly important thing.
• mikigarrison: That the people I enjoy doing fun things with are not always people I can count on when I need them — and the harder lesson here is that this is ok. A friend does not need to be able to meet all my various needs to still be a good friend.
• mikigarrison: That what is really, truly most important to me in life is sometimes different than what I’d always assumed — when you start having to tightly ration energy and caring, your choices can tell you a lot about yourself. I’ve tried to carry that lesson over to my non-crisis life, but it’s something I have to be on top of on a regular basis — it’s far too easy for me to get sucked into spending too much of my time on what I *think* should be important to me rather than on what really is.
• mmegaera: That I can handle a divorce, a cross-country move alone, a new job in a place where I know no one, and my father’s death in the space of a month, which while hell at the time did wonders for my self-confidence in the long run.
• scarlettina: And, for better or worse, the sun always comes up tomorrow.
• scarlettina: God (or Providence or Osiris or Luck…or Loki) helps those who help themselves. But he always waits for you to go first.
• scarlettina: We always underestimate the willingness of those around us to help when things go south.
• scarlettina: We are all far stronger than we realize. We may not like the necessity of manifesting that strength, but we are and we can.
• shannagermain: Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude.
• shannagermain: That I am a lion. And a mouse. And a heart, and a laugh and a sigh and an ache. That I am human. That we all are.
• shannagermain: That it’s better not to be alone.
• shannagermain: That it’s okay to be alone through crisis.
• shannagermain: That this just might be as good as it gets.
• shannagermain: That this too shall pass.
• shannagermain: That you are your own best advocate, but the strong shoulders of those who love you are there for a reason.
• shelly_rae: Take opportunities–you may not be able to later. Or is that Priorities? A small difference perhaps…
• snippy: I am alone, and no one will ever help me.

  But that’s okay, because I am amazing and can do it by myself.

• snippy: Nobody is looking out for my interests but me…just as well, because I’m better at it than anyone else.
• snippy: Whatever I am doing is the most fun to be had, largely because I am doing it and I am fun.
• therinth: Make room for people to have second chances.
• torreybird: When I lost the Pearl of Great Price down the Great Sewer of Circumstance, I destroyed myself with worry: Did I stumble? Should I have destroyed the Pearl with piercing, and thereby secure it?

  I learned I should quit feeling guilty about circumstances beyond my control, and instead examine my motivations, my decisions, my actions – and learn the lessons available.

  Sometimes, the lesson is only that the Sewer stinks.

• wlotus: Agnosticism, for starters. Years of believing in (or trying to, anyway) and worshiping a divinity did NOT help me get through the trials I have encountered in life, so far.
• wlotus: I learned to appreciate the good moments when they happen, and to strive to do so without looking over my shoulder to see what is coming next.
• wyld_dandelyon: I think the first thing I’ve learned is something I believe you are aware of–that you don’t have to have a big-D Disease, one that everyone recognizes is life threatening and life changing, to have your sleep and memory, your productivity and enjoyment of life stolen away, sometimes slowly enough that you don’t realize what you’ve lost.

  Maybe that’s the hardest–when it creeps up so slowly you don’t realize that you’ve lost capacity, even while you’re crippled by it.

  And it’s humbling when you find out something you can do–or not do–that helps you recover some of that capacity, pretty much by accident!

Tags: Funny, lj, Personal

Posted: 6:41 am Sun August 22 2010 | Comments(4) |

[photos] Your Sunday moment of zen

Your Sunday moment of zen.

Three old Fords, Caldwell County, TX. © 2006, 2010, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.

This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Tags: cars, Photos, Texas, zen

Posted: 6:38 am Sun August 22 2010 | Comments(0) |

[links] Link salad gets marked down from 22,000 days

I plan to close the steampunk caption contest voting poll tomorrow and declare a winner — Vote now if you haven’t!

A reader reacts to Mainspring — They liked it.

A reader reacts to “In the Forests of the Night” — They really hated it.

Mad Men: 1955 — Mmm. The chromocritic.

Male and female ability differences down to socialisation, not genetics — Behavioural differences between the sexes are not hard-wired at birth but are the result of society’s expectations, say scientists. (Via The Edge of the American West.)

Dear Rev. Graham: Obama was not born a Muslim and neither is anyone else — Those Americans who insist on seeing Obama as a Muslim are othering him, and probably are using religion as a proxy for race. Since the Civil Rights movement, it has been unacceptable in the United States for a public figure to engage openly in racist discourse, as shock jocks Dr. Laura and Don Imus discovered. But apparently it is still all right to be a religious bigot, so Islam is being scapegoated by the Republican Party, as its ability openly to play on racial fears is being increasingly constrained.

?otD: What would you do if this were the last day of your life?

8/22/2010
Writing time yesterday: 3.5 hours (revisions)
Body movement: 30 minute suburban walk to come
Hours slept: 8.25 (solid)
This morning’s weigh-in: n/a
Yesterday’s chemo stress index: 4/10 (fatigue, peripheral neuropathy)
Currently (re)reading: Destroyer by C.J. Cherryh

Tags: Books, Contests, Culture, Links, Mainspring, Personal, Photos, Politics, Polls, Religion, reviews, stories

Posted: 6:35 am Sun August 22 2010 | Comments(1) |

[personal] Sleeping it off, walking and talking our way into the new day

We stumbled home from the colonoscopy (and lunch at the Lamp) around 1:30 yesterday afternoon. I spent most of the rest of the day in the big chair, alternately sleeping and resting. This after being unconscious for a couple of hours in the morning during the procedure and during recovery. Then I ate a few oranges, and finally wandered to bed to sleep just shy of ten hours.

Oi. Versed, thy name is logeyness.

A nice walk with calendula_witch this morning, after which she went off to yoga and I made myself breakfast tacos. Scrambled the egg with a splash of water, a splash of milk, a big splash of truffle oil, some garlic powder, some onion powder and some chili powder. Mmm mmm mmm. I’ll be around the house much of the day, writing and interacting with the_child. I had hopes of finishing off Endurance today, but everything is running so low and slow I suspect I won’t be able to put quite enough time into it. Tomorrow, however, ought to be a wrap.

calendula_witch and I had a long talk on our walk about the issue of limits versus limitations. She feels quite strongly that I fight all this too hard. As she put it by way of example, I am always surprised and annoyed at how much I sleep. (Given that I still think of myself as someone who sleeps well and rested on six hours a night, and I spent about 13 or 14 of the last 24 hours unconscious… well, yeah.)

Her position is that if I can accept what’s happening to me, I’ll have an easier time of it, and so will everyone else around me. My view is that I accept the limitations — I don’t fight my need for sleep, for example — but I reject the limits they place on me and who I am. I’m afraid that if I accept too much of this, I won’t retain the strength and toughness to fight my way back to where I want and need to be.

A difficult conversation, though not the least bit acrimonious. She is probably right. But I don’t know how to give up, and this acceptance she counsels feels like giving up to me. I can’t figure if this is a core strength, a character defect, or both.

Meanwhile, the day awaits, as does Endurance.

Tags: Books, Calendula, Cancer, Child, Endurance, Food, health, Personal, Writing

Posted: 9:06 am Sat August 21 2010 | Comments(2) |

[photos] Your Saturday moment of zen

Your Saturday moment of zen.

Chair, Mendoza, TX. © 2006, 2010, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.

This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Tags: Photos, Texas, zen

Posted: 8:54 am Sat August 21 2010 | Comments(1) |