Check out the "viejos." Very nice.
Monday, November 12, 2007
The Miami Connection Comes Through
Evidently people really are reading this blog, as I got not one but two! links to the story about the King of Spain telling that little weiner of a despot to "shut up."
Thanks to Christi and Pop for the articles. However, Christi wins the prize> she sent along an audio link.
I'm still laughing here. Sadly, it's not going to fix things for the Venezuelans, but ....
Thanks to Christi and Pop for the articles. However, Christi wins the prize> she sent along an audio link.
I'm still laughing here. Sadly, it's not going to fix things for the Venezuelans, but ....
Saturday, November 10, 2007
the King of Spain (the real one, not Reagan)
The King of Spain told Hugo Chavez to shut up. Brilliant. I want to find the Spanish text.
If only the rest of the world would join him.
Meanwhile, the article states, he had to call Fidel for a little bit of fake posturing to perpetuate the lie that the old geezer is alive. He actually laments that his phone doesn't have "speakerphone."
OMG, I thought the writer's were on strike. see below
If only the rest of the world would join him.
Meanwhile, the article states, he had to call Fidel for a little bit of fake posturing to perpetuate the lie that the old geezer is alive. He actually laments that his phone doesn't have "speakerphone."
OMG, I thought the writer's were on strike. see below
Jesse Jackson, WTF?
So, like many people, I am following the Writers Guild of America strike. There's all kinds of news swirling around, so typically I go to their site to see what's happening. This afternoon, as I coasted through to see if there's good news on the horizon, I encounter this article, which states in passing that Jesse Jackson was there.
Why?
I mean, WHY?
Really, this guy never held any sway with me anyway, but what in the world is he doing walking that picket line? Oh wait, the media is there. What was I thinking. and here I thought he was actually doing a good thing.
Then it dawned on me. His speech writers are the greatest fiction writers in the industry. Now I get it. Silly me.
Why?
I mean, WHY?
Really, this guy never held any sway with me anyway, but what in the world is he doing walking that picket line? Oh wait, the media is there. What was I thinking. and here I thought he was actually doing a good thing.
Then it dawned on me. His speech writers are the greatest fiction writers in the industry. Now I get it. Silly me.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Monday, November 05, 2007
Who is the coolest synchronized swimmer? Ever?
Yeah, I thought so. Check out the snazzy warm up. I want one.
an evasive post
Oh dear, I see that instead of writing the novel, I'm posting here again, and for the record, I'm not participating in the blog-a-day thing, so this is me, in an avoidance behavior.
I'm sitting in the living room with the recliner turned around facing the back yard, and I am enjoying the warmth of the sun coming through the windows, and the random wind gusts that makes the leaves fall. It is a gorgeous autumn afternoon; I'm feeling a little under the weather; my hubby make me some tea, and the dog is asleep at my feet.
I'm feeling too content to do any more writing. I think I'll just take a nap.
7448
I'm sitting in the living room with the recliner turned around facing the back yard, and I am enjoying the warmth of the sun coming through the windows, and the random wind gusts that makes the leaves fall. It is a gorgeous autumn afternoon; I'm feeling a little under the weather; my hubby make me some tea, and the dog is asleep at my feet.
I'm feeling too content to do any more writing. I think I'll just take a nap.
7448
continued writing
Posted a Monday Musings this morning over at Rosary Army and there sucked up my alloted universal word count for the day. Had a productive, if limited, opportunity to work on the nanowrimo project this afternoon. I'll return to some more writing tonight, but posted a word count now, anyway, just for the sake of continuity, and to make me feel bad for not meeting the day's quota. One of my writing buddies, Sammy, who posts on the 12 of 12s here, is way ahead of me at over 8,000 words, so at the very least I am probably shamed into catching up tonight.
That's a good thing.
7448
That's a good thing.
7448
Sunday, November 04, 2007
The problem with NaNoWriMo
The problem with NanoWriMo is that I tend to use up all the words I have, and never get around to posting here. Couple that with the fact that I have a couple of other writing obligations (well, that's a strong word, but well, let's call them commitments) and I just never get around to here.
Not an excuse or a whine--just an explanation. I invite you to join NanoWriMo and you can read the novel in progress. I've already got several thousand words in, so we'll see how that develops. I think I'll post a word count on the blog like I did last year while I was trying to finish Darknet.
Essentially, I learned some things with that novel that I'm trying to avoid with this one, and I hope to have a better developed story. I think I had a good concept with Darknet, but the race to finish was greater than the content at the end, and so I'll work on that this go round. How to finish with the same energy I start with? Yeah, I'm thinking that if I can figure that one out, and sell it, I could be rich. LOL. Not.
anyway, I've put some energy into researching and gathering information for this novel, from a concept I had outlined a couple of years ago, so hopefully after such a long incubation period I will be able to produce something readable.
Now, I gotta get back to the story.
6,710/50,000
Not an excuse or a whine--just an explanation. I invite you to join NanoWriMo and you can read the novel in progress. I've already got several thousand words in, so we'll see how that develops. I think I'll post a word count on the blog like I did last year while I was trying to finish Darknet.
Essentially, I learned some things with that novel that I'm trying to avoid with this one, and I hope to have a better developed story. I think I had a good concept with Darknet, but the race to finish was greater than the content at the end, and so I'll work on that this go round. How to finish with the same energy I start with? Yeah, I'm thinking that if I can figure that one out, and sell it, I could be rich. LOL. Not.
anyway, I've put some energy into researching and gathering information for this novel, from a concept I had outlined a couple of years ago, so hopefully after such a long incubation period I will be able to produce something readable.
Now, I gotta get back to the story.
6,710/50,000
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
for nigel, who suffers
Suki, on the other hand, is delighted by the children. Except when she tried to eat Spiderman. That's pretty mean for a Strawberry.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
every once in a while, those in-service torture sessions are interesting
The second song a bit nihilistic, so ignore it and just listen to the sound of it.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
THEY WON! ! ! FIRST PRIZE! ! !
My babies won! Christy the Stage Manager won best tech, and Jonathan won the All Star Actors something or other. And the play, First Place! Woo-hoo!
And yes, that's champagne.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
the obligatory Dumbledore rant
He's dead.
He's gay.
So what.
After being caught up in conferences and meetings, and real life for over a week, I'm finally getting around to the obligatory rant, mostly because I am just now reading what was said. I have to admit that like many people, I too, find JKR's declaration a bit suspect. Why now? Why at all? I don't think it necessarily helps "a gay political agenda" nor does it shed any light on the character himself.
Going back to deconstruct the series is a bit foolish, and I find the points highlighting his gay characteristics to be grasping at straws, with the possible exception that Dumbledore strove for tolerance of all marginalized folks. And yet, that isn't exclusively a "gay" character trait, unless we want to accept stereotypes.
We can't condemn stereotypes, and then use them when they are convenient.
In my opinion, JKR has spoiled an aspect of the series by interjecting a piece of information after the fact, and retroactively causing it to be a part of the canon. It's too bad because if her intent had really always been to show a gay character as a heroic figure, she could have done it in the series. Instead, she cowardly left it out, and now that it is commercially successful, etc., she springs it on us. I am disappointed in her artistically, but moreso because it all seems trendy, contrived, and manipulative.
To be fair, I did wonder if Dumbledore might be gay, and I did wonder at the relationship, given that JKR let little nuggets of info out that he had loved someone. Yet, I think the speculation made the character far more interesting. It gave him a side that was dark and unknown and conflictive. It made him tragic and flawed, not because he was gay, but because something in his past plagued him, and that makes for great literature. In short, it gave Dumbledore complexity, and we wondered if he had ever loved, or been loved. JKR's politically timed statement has taken away the potential for literary analysis--she answered any question that could have been debated, argued, and supported or destroyed.
Instead, it is reduced to something that JKR has brought up after the fact, and for those of us who are cynical, we observe that she revealed it after she has garnered about as much money as possible from book sales to a target audience, just in time to cater to another. It comes across as pandering, and I'm not fond of anyone pandering to me.
Because of that, I don't see how gay people could possibly welcome her declaration as anything other than promoting that it is best for homosexuals to suppress their nature and live in the closet. That is, until it becomes advantageous to "out" someone. How about that? She "outed" a character that she claimed to have loved. At any rate, I think this is very damaging on many levels.
It feeds into some of the meanest stereotypes of homosexuals in society--the purple cloak, the stylish air, the sensitivity--his interest in a young boy. Yes, that last one particularly bugs me. And well it should.
I'm annoyed that she has tainted the series with a contemporary political agenda (when literature is best used as a political voice through more subtle means). I'm annoyed that it will introduce a new round of criticism for what I consider to be a delightful and provocative series (in spite of the terrible decision to have an epilogue reminiscent of the equally lame and trite ending to Return of the Jedi). I'm annoyed (in advance) that people will misinterpret my objections as a form of homophobia or hate speech, instead of listening carefully that I think JKR violated some kind of unwritten writer's ethics not to mess with the work after it's completed.
I am sad.
That's all.
Well, there's more //smile//
JKR is working on an encyclopedia of backstories, so I suppose this, and who knows what else, will indeed become part of the canon. Interesting.
He's gay.
So what.
After being caught up in conferences and meetings, and real life for over a week, I'm finally getting around to the obligatory rant, mostly because I am just now reading what was said. I have to admit that like many people, I too, find JKR's declaration a bit suspect. Why now? Why at all? I don't think it necessarily helps "a gay political agenda" nor does it shed any light on the character himself.
Going back to deconstruct the series is a bit foolish, and I find the points highlighting his gay characteristics to be grasping at straws, with the possible exception that Dumbledore strove for tolerance of all marginalized folks. And yet, that isn't exclusively a "gay" character trait, unless we want to accept stereotypes.
We can't condemn stereotypes, and then use them when they are convenient.
In my opinion, JKR has spoiled an aspect of the series by interjecting a piece of information after the fact, and retroactively causing it to be a part of the canon. It's too bad because if her intent had really always been to show a gay character as a heroic figure, she could have done it in the series. Instead, she cowardly left it out, and now that it is commercially successful, etc., she springs it on us. I am disappointed in her artistically, but moreso because it all seems trendy, contrived, and manipulative.
To be fair, I did wonder if Dumbledore might be gay, and I did wonder at the relationship, given that JKR let little nuggets of info out that he had loved someone. Yet, I think the speculation made the character far more interesting. It gave him a side that was dark and unknown and conflictive. It made him tragic and flawed, not because he was gay, but because something in his past plagued him, and that makes for great literature. In short, it gave Dumbledore complexity, and we wondered if he had ever loved, or been loved. JKR's politically timed statement has taken away the potential for literary analysis--she answered any question that could have been debated, argued, and supported or destroyed.
Instead, it is reduced to something that JKR has brought up after the fact, and for those of us who are cynical, we observe that she revealed it after she has garnered about as much money as possible from book sales to a target audience, just in time to cater to another. It comes across as pandering, and I'm not fond of anyone pandering to me.
Because of that, I don't see how gay people could possibly welcome her declaration as anything other than promoting that it is best for homosexuals to suppress their nature and live in the closet. That is, until it becomes advantageous to "out" someone. How about that? She "outed" a character that she claimed to have loved. At any rate, I think this is very damaging on many levels.
It feeds into some of the meanest stereotypes of homosexuals in society--the purple cloak, the stylish air, the sensitivity--his interest in a young boy. Yes, that last one particularly bugs me. And well it should.
I'm annoyed that she has tainted the series with a contemporary political agenda (when literature is best used as a political voice through more subtle means). I'm annoyed that it will introduce a new round of criticism for what I consider to be a delightful and provocative series (in spite of the terrible decision to have an epilogue reminiscent of the equally lame and trite ending to Return of the Jedi). I'm annoyed (in advance) that people will misinterpret my objections as a form of homophobia or hate speech, instead of listening carefully that I think JKR violated some kind of unwritten writer's ethics not to mess with the work after it's completed.
I am sad.
That's all.
Well, there's more //smile//
JKR is working on an encyclopedia of backstories, so I suppose this, and who knows what else, will indeed become part of the canon. Interesting.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
from my sister, who understands me
UCLA STUDY
A study conducted by UCLA's Department of Psychiatry has revealed that the kind of face a woman finds attractive on a man can differ depending on where she is in her menstrual cycle. For example: If she is ovulating, she is attracted to men with rugged and masculine features.
However, if she is menstruating or menopausal, she tends to be more attracted to a man with duct tape over his mouth and a spear lodged in his chest while he is on fire.
No further studies are expected.
A study conducted by UCLA's Department of Psychiatry has revealed that the kind of face a woman finds attractive on a man can differ depending on where she is in her menstrual cycle. For example: If she is ovulating, she is attracted to men with rugged and masculine features.
However, if she is menstruating or menopausal, she tends to be more attracted to a man with duct tape over his mouth and a spear lodged in his chest while he is on fire.
No further studies are expected.
Monday, October 22, 2007
been busy at a conference
and will update later, but meanwhile, some disturbing entertainment.
Meat hats. That is, hats made of meat.
Why?
Meat hats. That is, hats made of meat.
Why?
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Friday, October 12, 2007
October 12 of 12 v. 2.0
Check out Chad Darnell's brilliant project here. In a nutshell, everybody who is anybody is taking 12 pictures of their day, and in an international adventure, posting the pics for all the world to see. Check what we all did today, and join us next month with your own contribution!
7 am Suki has a bed. She'd just rather sleep in any other place. Even if it's next to it.
7:05 Some people are just grumpy in the morning.
10 ish Catching up on my favorite podcasts. Funny Buttons!
1 ish That is the back side of Stone Mountain. The sculpture is on the other side.
2:30 Returning phone calls while John runs errands.
2:45 Random artsy fartsy picture because I liked the angle and I wasn't driving.
3 ish. The best barista in town serving up his usual friendly smile. Go Moose!
3 ish Drinking the best coffee in town. See the little cup? He learned to make cortaditos!
3 ish-laterish after coffee Picking up Jonathan's suit for the homecoming dance tomorrow.
(Cheat--last weekish) The Missing One needs to make an appearance or she calls me on it--she's currently in Miami for the GT v. Miami game. Who will win?
Bonus: Orange. Couldn't bring myself to show the 'Canes given tomorrow's game, but go figure that John pretty much likes anybody that beats the Georgia Bulldogs.
7 am Suki has a bed. She'd just rather sleep in any other place. Even if it's next to it.
7:05 Some people are just grumpy in the morning. 10 ish Catching up on my favorite podcasts. Funny Buttons!
1 ish That is the back side of Stone Mountain. The sculpture is on the other side. 
2:30 Returning phone calls while John runs errands. 
2:45 Random artsy fartsy picture because I liked the angle and I wasn't driving. 
3 ish. The best barista in town serving up his usual friendly smile. Go Moose! 
3 ish Drinking the best coffee in town. See the little cup? He learned to make cortaditos! 
3 ish-laterish after coffee Picking up Jonathan's suit for the homecoming dance tomorrow. 
(Cheat--last weekish) The Missing One needs to make an appearance or she calls me on it--she's currently in Miami for the GT v. Miami game. Who will win? 4:30 Jonathan scarfing my leftovers.
6:30 The sibs on the way to the homecoming game. Jonathan sang the national anthem. We had no idea it was against the cross town rivals, so we saw his pretty self in the press box but couldn't pick out his sweet voice! The crowd was gigumbous!
Bonus: Orange. Couldn't bring myself to show the 'Canes given tomorrow's game, but go figure that John pretty much likes anybody that beats the Georgia Bulldogs.
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