Jay Lake: Writer

[links] Link salad’s flag boy and your flag boy, sittin’ by the fire

Angelesen: Die Räder der Welt (Jay Lake) — What appears to be a positive review of the German language edition of Mainspring.

A natural history — Roger Ebert with a moving essay on growing up, and lost friends.

“Crab” chips, fruity Oreos? They’re big overseas — More on on-USAnian flavors. Snack food crack for me is Maui onion flavored Hawaiian kettle chips in creamy French onion dip.

Tornado near Tokyo kills 1, injures dozens — I’m always a bit surprised when I read about tornadoes outside the North American Great Plains.

Reminders of Secular Authority Reduce Believers’ Distrust of Atheists — Many of my Christian friends seem to have grown fond of the self-valorizing myth that they are being oppressed or persecuted in modern America, but it is still true that atheists poll at the bottom of trustworthiness. Amazing, the power we secular types have as a small and least-trusted percentage of the population.

The ‘Big Four’ markers of the evangelical tribe — Slacktivist Fred Clark with some fascinating social history of the Evangelical movement.

Family Battle Offers Look Inside Lavish TV Ministry — This is precisely what our country needs more of, not those godless, immoral liberals.

Biden on gay marriage: ‘Absolutely comfortable with men marrying men, women marrying women’ — Good. As it should be, assuming you value an open, tolerant society. Which conservatives explicitly do not. Another of the many, many reasons I can never be a conservative.

Republicans! Get in my vagina! — Very sarcastic video, funny as hell decidedly not worksafe. (Via willyumtx.)

The Right-Wing’s 20 Biggest Sex Hypocrites — The ones who scream the loudest about how godly they are often turn out to be the exact opposite. Only twenty? But, but, but, Clinton had a blow job! (Via danjite.)

How to End This Depression — Paul Krugman is, as usual, sensible.

Republicans on ‘Politicizing’ Terrorism, Then and Now — Well, it was fine when Bush did it, just not when Obama does it. Like so many other things. Just ask any Tea Partier about deficit spending, foreign wars or corporate bailouts. Those only became a problem for conservatives after an African-American progressive was elected to the Oval Office. The GOP: setting the standards for intellectual consistency in political discourse since, well, never.

Schwarzenegger: GOP, take down that small tent — You didn’t mind that ‘small tent’ when it got you elected, Arnie. I despise so-called moderate Republicans almost more than I despise the whackaloon conservatives that dominate the GOP these days, simply because while in a lot of cases the whackaloons really can’t seem to help being who they are, the Republican moderates are people who know better and went along with the nuts anyway for electoral advantage.

Historic campaign collision of race and religion likely to arouse both pride and prejudice — Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney, an African-American and a white Mormon, representatives of two groups and that have endured oppression to carve out a place in the United States. How much progress has America made against bigotry? By November, we should have some idea. Hint: which man is running from a party that has built and sustains its political fortunes foursquare on bigotry and intolerance?

?otd: Jockamo fee na nay?

5/6/2012
Writing time yesterday: 3.5 hours (2.5 hours and 5,600 words on Their Currents Turn Awry, 1.0 hours of WRPA)
Body movement: 1.5 hour suburban walk
Hours slept: 9.25 (solid)
Weight: 240.0 (!)
Currently reading: The Blade Itself Joe Abercrombie

Tags: Books, business, Christianism, Culture, Food, gay, gender, Japan, Links, Mainspring, Personal, Politics, race, Religion, reviews, sex, Videos, weird

Posted: 9:38 am Sun May 06 2012 | Comments(4) |

[personal|photos] A wee bit of updatery

Last night I slept eight and half hours. Then I got up and went for a two-hour walk this morning, including the hidden canyon stretch of the Springwater Trail. I always feel good when I’m walking like that, which makes me wonder why I don’t do it more often.

While down in the greenery, I ran across these two gentlemen:

(Sorry for the blur, this is a tight crop of a phone cam shot taken from a distance.)

A bit later, walking past the police station, I saw another group of birds:

Clearly, there was a theme to the morning.

Laying low today, except for the_child‘s late afternoon lacrosse game, and a possible dinner with lizzyshannon this evening. (We’re still discussing logistics.) Likewise laying low tomorrow except for taking the_child to choir practice. The only other things I am doing are morning bloggery, writing time on Their Currents Turn Awry, and packing for this coming week’s travel.

The week itself is going to be a mother bear of a trip. Even so, I’m close on the book, and expect to be done within a few days despite travel silliness. I’ll take a couple of days’ brain break, then be back on Going to Extremes. But this weekend… low and slow.

Photos © 2012, 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: Books, Child, Currents, Extremes, nature, Personal, Photos, Portland, Travel, Writing

Posted: 8:35 am Sat May 05 2012 | Comments(1) |

[links] Link salad has been hauled away by Mr. Peabody’s coal train

More Bad Book Covers — A blogger takes umbrage with book covers on one my Tor books, and one of Seanan McGuire’s books.

Fine-tuning Nanotech to Target Cancer — Programmable nanoparticles have shown promise in early cancer trials, and may finally fulfill the promise of nanomedicine.

Freezing Time — Targeting the briefest moment in chemistry may lead to an exceptionally strong new class of drugs. Wow, does that headline sound like a story title.

Oldest human blood cells found in well-preserved ‘iceman,’ say scientists — Oldest human blood cells: Discovered in 1991, the body of a man who was felled by an arrow in the Alps some 5,300 years ago still has intact red blood cells, scientists have discovered.

10 strange fast food items abroad — Strange from a USAnian perspective, of course.

Finally, a Shark With a Laser — Because sometimes life just has to imitate art.

1859′s “Great Auroral Storm”—the week the Sun touched the earth

A Mélange of Ice — What a beautiful photo.

Student left in cell 4 days recalls hallucinations — The War on Drugs, keeping you safer since, well, never.

The Self-Made Myth: Debunking Conservatives’ Favorite — And Most Dangerous — Fiction

Wife Of NC Amendment One Supporter: Husband Wrote Bill To Preserve ‘Caucasian Race’ — Ah, conservatives. Your racism and homophobia are just part of what makes us all love you so much. There is simply no liberal equivalent to this kind of institutionalized Republican lunacy, not outside the far fringes of the progressive movement.

Chris Christie’s Liabilities as GOP Running Mate — Heh.

‘Hyperpartisan discussion’ ends gay spokesman’s stint with Romney — I continue to be fascinated by this story, mostly in wondering about the psychological train wreck that is any gay American working for the Republican party as it is constituted today.

?otd: Daddy won’t you take me back to Muhlenberg County, down by the Green River where Paradise lay?

5/3/2012
Writing time yesterday: 1.0 hours (2,600 words on Their Currents Turn Awry)
Body movement: 60 minute suburban walk
Hours slept: 8.0 (fitful)
Weight: n/a
Currently reading: The Blade Itself Joe Abercrombie

Tags: Art, Books, Cancer, Cool, Food, gay, health, Links, nature, Personal, Photos, Politics, race, Science, weird

Posted: 4:37 am Thu May 03 2012 | Comments(4) |

[writing] A bit of WIP from Their Currents Turn Awry

Just because. From the 3,500 words I laid down yesterday. Usual disclaimers about first draft apply.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Books, Currents, Sunspin, wip, Writing

Posted: 4:46 am Wed May 02 2012 | Comments(0) |

[writing] Back on Their Currents Turn Awry

I managed to bang out 4,600 words on Their Currents Turn Awry yesterday. I was feeling a little uneasy about my days-long hiatus from working on the book, though I recognize logically enough that the combination of the port removal surgery and the fourth anniversary of my cancer was deeply distracting.

It’s good to slip back into the headspace of the characters. My sense of muddling has receded from where it was a week or two ago, and I am definitely on the downhill run toward wrapping this first draft of Sunspin‘s second volume. I’m also definitely at the stage of thinking, “This is stupid, no one’s going to want to read this tripe.” In other words, situation normal for this author.

I started reading Joe Abercrombie’s The Blade Itself a couple of days ago. Man, is he hard on his characters. Everything is fast and difficult from page one. Sunspin isn’t like that. I’m moving a different kind of pace, more deliberate. So at the moment, Joe is making me feel inadequate. Like I want to say to myself, “Quick, kill somebody!” Except this is a different book.

It’s funny how we look to others. I believe I’m a perfectly good writer who sometimes can trend towards great. (I have to believe that, otherwise I’d never sit down at a keyboard.) Yet there are so many ways to go about this. “There are nine and sixty ways / Of constructing tribal lays / And every single one of them is right.” And when I’ve chosen one path, all those other paths look so much more attractive.

Sort of like when you order the chicken parmigiana and then salivate over every other dish that comes out of the restaurant kitchen.

Ah, writing. Insecurity must really be part of the process.

Tags: Books, Cancer, Currents, health, Sunspin, Writing

Posted: 4:51 am Tue May 01 2012 | Comments(2) |

[travel] Off to Omaha again

I’m off to Omaha again. A bit short-slept, eager to be back on Their Currents Turn Awry after a weekend of cancer echoes and chest pain. We shall see. Blogging and email service may be irregular.

Whatever you’re doing this week, be well.

Tags: Books, Cancer, Currents, health, Omaha, Travel, Writing

Posted: 4:25 am Mon April 30 2012 | Comments(1) |

[cancer] Happy Cancerversary

Four years ago today I was admitted to the hospital with copious rectal bleeding, which turned into my cancer diagnosis.

Today I’m having family and a few friends over to celebrate the fact that I’ve survived four years with Stage Four colon cancer. As it happens, this past Friday my second chest port was removed, so we’ll be honoring that outbreak of optimism as well.

I got to keep this one:

So, yeah. My brain’s been kind of eaten these past few days, but the stress is basically good stress. Getting my life back, at least for a while.

Today: Happy Cancerversary. Tomorrow I’m off to Omaha, back on Their Currents Turn Awry, and back to real life

Photo © 2012, 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.
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Tags: Books, Cancer, Currents, health, Omaha, Personal, Photos, Travel, Writing

Posted: 7:01 am Sun April 29 2012 | Comments(4) |

[cancer] Having the port taken out today

I’m off in a couple of hours to the clinic to have my chest port removed, for the second time. It’s a very minor outpatient procedure lasting less than an hour under local anaesthetic only. Which involves a doctor and a nurse digging about in my chest for most of that time, via an entry wound just close enough to my right clavicle that I can’t actually see what they’re doing. Fairly twitchy about that, even though I’ve had this exact procedure before. The last time, I was so nervous that I took two Lorazepam before I went in. By the time I got to the clinic, I could barely walk, I was so looped.

I think I’ll stick to one Lorazepam this time.

Of course, after mentioning last night to mlerules how well I sleep and how consistently I sleep well, I had a terrible night’s sleep. Though I wasn’t consciously worrying about the procedure today, I rather assume that medical stress played its part.

I’ve lunch with a friend from high school today, and I’m due at the Ooligan Press social tonight with lizzyshannon and the_child, otherwise I’d be tempted to pop two Lorazepam, call in a sick day, and sleep off the stress post-procedure.

So, yeah. Yesterday’s no writing was due to schedule whackiness (of the good kind, a nice potluck dinner, among other things) and me wanting a day of brain break between sections of Their Currents Turn Awry. It’s quite possible today will be no writing as well due to me being in a drug-induced haze and medically stressed out. Or not. We shall see.

Tags: Books, Cancer, Child, Conventions, Currents, friends, health, Personal, Process, Sunspin, Writing

Posted: 5:40 am Fri April 27 2012 | Comments(5) |

[writing] Another small milestone on Their Currents Turn Awry

Yesterday I finished the latest chunk of Their Currents Turn Awry, Sunspin volume 2. The manuscript now stands at 119,200 words, and I figure on adding about 30,000 more words with the last chunk. I’m definitely wrestling with some plot timing and sequencing issues, but that’s absolutely a problem for revision. I am also emerging from the natural self-doubt of the eternal muddle in the middle, at least for this book.

It’s nice to see it flowing. I expect 10-12 more days of writing time before I’m done with this draft altogether. It’s a first draft, of course, so this won’t be going out to first readers or anyone else (unless someone really insists, I suppose). Rather, it will be going into the drawer until about August. I have other fish to fry in the mean time, including working on the Going to Extremes proposal and possibly first draft, Kalimpura copy edits, a rewrite on Little Dog: Son of a Bitch once bravado111 has drafted it, some short fiction projects including at least one novella, and maybe a run at the first part of The Whips and Scorns of Time, Sunspin volume 3.

Plus some other cool stuff in the works which I can’t quite talk about yet. But trust me, it’s cool.

Busy, busy.

Tags: Books, Currents, Extremes, Kalimpura, Little Dog, Process, Sunspin, Whips, Writing

Posted: 5:42 am Thu April 26 2012 | Comments(0) |

[travel|food] Having fun in Newark, CA

Last night’s open dinner at the Bombay Garden here in Newark, CA, was fun. We had about a dozen people show up. LiveJournal is down as I draft this post, so I can’t check LJ to namecheck everybody by their Official Internet Handles, but there was good spread of folks from dear old friends to brand new acquaintances. Author Juliette Wade brought her kids, who at about 9 and 7 reminded me a great deal of me and my sister at their age. Editor Gabrielle Harbowy was there, with Mr. G.H. and her assistant F—. K—, T— M— and her husband, Springtime Creations and Mr. S.C., as well as Dave a/k/a Dad. (I hope to Ghu I didn’t leave anybody off…)

Food at the Bombay Garden was pretty good, the service could kindly be described as eccentric, but that didn’t matter. It was a good bunch of people, and we hung out in the restaurant for about 2.5 hours.

Walked for an hour this morning, now gearing up for a day of Day Jobbery. Flying home tonight. With luck, I’ll finish the current section of Their Currents Turn Awry on the plane.

Tags: Books, California, Currents, Food, friends, Sunspin, Travel, Writing

Posted: 6:39 am Wed April 25 2012 | Comments(0) |