[personal] Updatery of the rankest order
Home. Finally. Orycon didn’t go as smoothly as my Con experiences usually do — most rare for me, I ditched late panels and went home when I realized that my state of tired-and-crabby was interfering with my social persona. Discretion truly is sometimes the better of valor. I’d gone into the weekend in a pecked-to-death-by-pigeons mode, and never really regained my footing. (On the plus side, a week away from the scale with social dinners and Con food, and I maintained my departing weight.)
Afterwards, karindira and I went to my parents’ house for early Thanksgiving with a cast of dozen, including lillypond and a friend of hers, the Niece, Mother of the Child, the_child, and my aunt and uncle visiting from Texas.
Woke up with a horrendous anxiety dream straight out of college — the “oh, no, I forgot I registered for these courses and the exam in next week” dream. Compounded by me being naked on campus, having no cellphone to call for help, etc. I think that’s Fred complaining about the Tor galleys, except I’m on target for those. Or maybe he’s complaining about the latest Sekrit Projekt, but that’s not behind either.
In the shower this morning, I was thinking of Dahomean history, as one so often does at 5 am on a Monday. That led me to a story title, “Ritualized Forms of Judicial Murder”, which I will almost certainly use at some point in a doubtless delightfully lateral way. Which in turn reminds of a story idea I popped out over the weekend with a panel audience assist, about Sarah Palin, the end of time on Mayan calendar, and her efforts in the 2012 election to win the popul vuh-t: “The Alaskan Book of the Dead.” Sadly, stories that immediately topical can be very hard to sell, so it’s doubtful.
I owe a post on the winner of the Post-Novel Ennui Contest, but that will have to wait until this afternoon, or possibly my lunch break. Likewise, I owe a post on the results of the “Write a Story In an Hour” panel from Saturday. You will be sore amazed. Or possibly just sore.
Meanwhile, write more.
Tags: Contests, Conventions, family, Personal, stories, Writing
Posted: 6:54 am Mon November 24 2008 | Comments(2) |
[travel] Leaving Las Omaha
15 degrees out there. I’m telling you, there’s a reason I’ve never wanted to move to Omaha.
Boarding soon for the first leg of the trip home. When I land, tillyjane is picking me up, along with jeffsoesbe. We’re going to swing by Nuevo Rancho Lake for a quick luggage swap, run a Sekrit Projekt errand, then hit Orycon by 2:30 or 3:00 (hopefully).
In other words, it will all be a blur. Expect continued light blogging, with intermittent wit and erudition.
At least it won’t be 15 degrees at Orycon.
Tags: Conventions, Omaha, Personal, Portland, Travel
Posted: 4:18 am Fri November 21 2008 | Comments(0) |
[travel] Omaha
Back in Omaha, where it is cold. It will be a lot colder when I go walking around 4 am, but I’ve brought the right clothes for that adventure. I’m back in my half-suite, which seems to have been my usual digs in the hotel this fall. It’s a nice space. The Hertz random upgrade program hath delivered unto me an almost brand new Camry which is pretty tricked out. It’s a nice car.
On the flight out today I did some extensive critique for the Orycon workshop this weekend. Those poor writers have no idea what they’re getting, but it will be good for them. Also put another hour into the synopsis of Sunspin, and find myself seriously contemplating a Wiki for worldbuilding purposes. Process is a bitch, especially when one is on a mission to retune it on the fly.
Had dinner this evening with garyomaha and elusivem. Nice chatter, including some discussion of my writing process, and what Sunspin was likely to do to my head. Took care of some emails and some personal business, and I am shortly to bed. Morning comes early hereabouts, and then I have to drive across the cornfields to the office.
Tags: Conventions, Omaha, Process, Sunspin, Travel, Writing
Posted: 8:54 pm Mon November 17 2008 | Comments(0) |
[travel] Omaha-bound, with Melville on my mind
I’m getting up at 0:stupid:30 to head for the airport and vault my way through the morning sky to Omaha. On my return, I will be attending OryCon, beginning with a Sekrit Projekt for jeffsoesbe. Expect continued light blogging with intermittent wit and erudition through next Sunday.
Tags: Conventions, Omaha, Personal, Travel
Posted: 8:38 pm Sun November 16 2008 | Comments(0) |
[travel] One million miles…muahahahahaha…
Got a letter from American Airlines yesterday. Apparently in the course of my traveling life as an Aadvantage member I’ve flown a million miles with them. (Note these are airline loyalty program miles, which bear roughly the same relationship to statute miles as Internet years bear to sidereal years.) Still, that’s a lot of airplane time.
And it comes with a few interesting perks, including lifetime elite flier status.
Tags: Personal, Travel
Posted: 10:06 am Sat November 15 2008 | Comments(0) |
[travel] “In a deck chair over Kansas City”
At the airport in Portland. Heading for Calgary. Writer chat in the waiting area, on the plane and beyond. Expect continued light blogging, possibly a missed link salad day or two. I’m going to try my damndest to keep schedule on Tourbillon, but if I finally miss a day, it will be this weekend.
See some, all or none of you at WFC!
Tags: Conventions, Portland, Tourbillion, Travel
Posted: 6:06 am Thu October 30 2008 | Comments(0) |
[links] Link salad “Sitting up here watching all the lights blink down below”
Achetez le timbre antituberculeux — Not sure why, but I find this 1917 French poster to be striking. A nice site for vintage art.
Seven of the greatest scientific hoaxes — What? Global warming isn’t on the list? Neither is evolution? Liberal lies! (Thanks to lt260.)
kenscholes on losing his religion
Phony flier says Virginians vote on different days — Oh, look. Voting fraud. By Republicans. If you can’t win on your ideas, cheating sure helps.
McCain’s senior economic policy adviser on the McCain healthcare tax credit proposal — “What [younger, healthier workers] are getting from their employer is way better than what they could get with the credit.” There’s some brutal honesty. Speaking as an older worker with a history of cancer, McCain’s plan will screw me very, very hard. Would quite literally kill me if I had another bout. Me and millions of other Americans.
A wave for GOP staffers? — GOP staff jobs on the Hill and at K Street will be way down. My heart bleeds. After fourteen years of slash-and-burn politics, maybe a few of these guys can go live in the brave new world they helped create for electoral gain and party loyalty.
The Republican shipwreck — There’s something surreal about how fast the GOP has gone from arrogant triumphalism to its death throes. It’s a funny line, and an interesting opinion piece, but I think the writer is significantly overstating his case. (Nicked from jeffsoesbe.)
Why McCain is getting hosed in the press — Politico on media bias. I wonder where all this concern about bias was when Al Gore was getting hosed in the press while W got a free pass? Sure didn’t bother conservatives back then.
Blessed Are the Persecuted — Noted liberal rag The Wall Street Journal on the conservative cult of victimization.
Question of the day: Are Paul Prudhomme, Dom DeLuise and Luciano Pavarotti really the same person?
10/29/08
Body movement: 30 minutes on stationary bike
Last night’s weigh-out: n/a
This morning’s weigh-in: 226.8
Currently reading: The Best of C.M. Kornbluth
Tags: Art, Links, Personal, Politics, Religion, Science
Posted: 6:05 am Wed October 29 2008 | Comments(1) |
[links] Link salad for a Sunday
Undersea webcams — Some cool stuff. (Thanks to lt260.)
Team records ‘music’ from stars — More on COROT and the observation of stellar interiors, this one with a slightly whimiscal bent.
ACLU: 2/3 of US population lives in “Constitution-free” zone — An article about the Border Patrol and Fourth Amendment rights. (Thanks to chriswjohnson.)
Palin’s ‘going rogue,’ McCain aide says — How about that rigorous vetting process, Mr. Straight Talk? (Special bonus, Language Log comments on the usage of the term “going rogue”.)
Dark Night of the Soul — Barack Obama is noted for his powerful intellect, but I don’t think he gets nearly enough credit for the mental dexterity it takes to be simultaneously an Islamic theocrat, atheistic communist and national socialist while posing as a center left candidate. Hahahahahaha. Being a Republican these days is like being OJ’s defense lawyer back in the day. You throw everything you have against the wall regardless of logic or evidence and hope some of it sticks. Unfortunately for the reality-based community, some of that stuff does stick. OJ was acquitted, after all.
ericjamesstone on Obama, Iraq and Afghanistan — I disagree with his argument on a number of levels, but he’s a thoughtful guy with whom I disagree with on a lot of things. In short, the high level argument about Obama makes some assumptions which strike me as facile, while the subordinate argument on both Iraq and Afghanistan seems to hing on logic which says “we in too deep to stop now.” Even if you take the Bush Administration’s stated war aims at face value, we’ve long since passed the point of removing Saddam from power, destroying Iraqi state sponsorship of terrorism and eliminating the threat of Iraqi WMDs. Under Eric’s argument, there seems to be no point where changing policy conditions and changing goals ever enter into the question. “Never stop fighting until we win” is not a strategy, it’s a hope.
10/26/08
Body movement: 2 hour, 35 minute suburban walk
Last night’s weigh-out: n/a
This morning’s weigh-in: 227.6
Currently reading: The Best of C.M. Kornbluth
Tags: Iraq, Links, Personal, Politics, Science
Posted: 7:49 am Sun October 26 2008 | Comments(0) |
[travel] Flying in the veteran seats
Had a very curious and rewarding experience on the airplane from Dallas to Omaha. I boarded late (due to my connecting flight loitering on the taxiway for 30 minutes or so), and sat across the aisle from a US Army NCO in combat fatigues. He looked over at me with my long hair and my Birkenstocks and said, “Excuse me, are you a liberal?”
I smiled and said, “Why, yes I am. Do you need a position statement?”
We proceeded to have a long, very involved conversation about the war in Iraq. The gentleman was on mid-deployment leave from his third tour there, coming home to see his wife and son. He was quite genuinely baffled about what he considered to be the liberal perspective on the war. I explained my own perspective, pointing out that I was the only liberal I could speak for, and was unfailingly polite and very nonconfrontational. We spoke for about an hour.
I don’t suppose I convinced him of anything different from the opinions he already held, and I don’t believe he changed any of mine, but I may have succeeded in humanizing what he had seen as the faceless and irrational opposition to a cause he firmly believes in. He obviously needed to talk about this, and I was happy to participate in welcoming him home through civil if occasionally tense political debate. Eventually we talked about his buddies who had died over there, his personal sense of commitment, his (well-informed) understanding of world affairs, and the book he was thinking about writing.
Before we got off I gave him a copy of Mainspring. He shook my hand, apologized for coming on strong, and thanked me for speaking with him.
I’m very glad we spent the time together. The gentleman had an immense amount of passion about what he clearly saw as his life’s work and his commitment to democracy. That we agreed on almost nothing in the grand political picture, and disagreed on much in the details, did not detract from my pleasure in having a spirited policy discussion with a fellow citizen.
I wish him well, and all possible safety on his return to Iraq.
Tags: Iraq, Omaha, Personal, Travel
Posted: 4:58 pm Mon October 13 2008 | Comments(0) |
[travel] Like desperadoes waiting for a plane
At SFO. The United economy check-in here is a magnificent example of how corporate systems go wrong when cost cutting becomes the absolute priority. Fifty automated check-in machines, half a dozen line wranglers to get people to the available machines, and four guys behind the counter racing back and forth to tag the bags. So while they’re shoving people into the machines, no one can get back out of the machines because the taggers are so far behind, because they’re badly undermanned. This trip continues to remind me why I try very hard to never fly the Friendly Skies.
Going offline shortly to await boarding and get jiggy on Tourbillon. I believe I’ll start this book with an epigram:
And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:
—Leviticus 26:19
I’ll be tracking both word count and hours-of-effort, and I’m not sure how my post-cancer writing process will influence my raw word count throughput. As usual when I am in first draft mode, expect daily updates but otherwise irregular blogging.
Tags: Books, California, Personal, Process, Tourbillion, Travel, Writing
Posted: 9:48 am Sun September 14 2008 | Comments(0) |
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