You're not supposed to take too long to think about it. Name fifteen movies you've seen that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. Tag fifteen friends, including me because I'm interested in seeing what movies my friends choose... (If you're reading this....please consider yourself tagged!) Or you can just put your answers in the comments.
I know that these are not my favorite movies, but they are movies that have stuck with me all these years and just came to the "tip of my tongue" as I typed.
( see my answers here )
I know that these are not my favorite movies, but they are movies that have stuck with me all these years and just came to the "tip of my tongue" as I typed.
( see my answers here )
- Mood:
content
- Music:Purcell: Trumpet Voluntary
A belated Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or whatever you may celebrate this time of year. I hope you had great ones.
Christmas is always chaos for us. Too much family, not enough time. But this year it was pretty nice :) I was relaxed for once which was good. And the Christmas eve service at church was pretty too. :) So that was cool. But it was a good day,lots of cool presents and pleasant. :)
Will write more later, but wanted to do a quick post wishing everyone Happy Holidays!
Christmas is always chaos for us. Too much family, not enough time. But this year it was pretty nice :) I was relaxed for once which was good. And the Christmas eve service at church was pretty too. :) So that was cool. But it was a good day,lots of cool presents and pleasant. :)
Will write more later, but wanted to do a quick post wishing everyone Happy Holidays!
- Mood:
peaceful
- 14:37 @Rhube Little table is small coffee table size - 1.5x3ft? Flatpack. Big table is 7 or 8ftx5ft, has legs that unscrew, not more collapsible. #
- 17:46 I made enormous slippers for Jerry! Alas, my machine's 40 degree wash doesn't seem to be sufficient to felt them so I'll be felting by hand. #
- 18:01 @mamee_kins @LeeAHarris It's neither rude nor poo! Mind you, I'll be leaving it til later - got more slippers to knit... *grin* #
- 21:02 @Rhube Np! :) #
- 21:09 Many thanks to Sarah, who brought Christmas to us with crackers & turkey, potatoes, wine & fantastic company. We're blessed, rich in friends #
For the last hour of your international flight coming into the U.S.A.
Seen via Friend to the This Blog, Walter Jon Williams at Angel Station.
Additionally, um WHO wrote these new layers of Homeland Security regs for the airlines? When? Who voted them in?
They appear to have -- well, appeared, like Topsy 'jist growed.'
Exactly.
Peter Watts describes how much better he's been treated by the Border Crossing folks this time around.
Also: at the hearing, "And the prosecution chose not to show any surveillance footage of the alleged offence. Draw your own conclusions."
Because of the bug I remain chronologically challenged. It's not only that I don't know what day of the week it is, I don't know if it's day or night. None of the daily and weekly markers have been in effect since I went down with it, and then, it being winter solstice and the national holiday glaze, coupled with weather so many places that have shut down travel or even doing errands, no wonder I wonder, "Where and when are we?" It rained most of last night, and is raining now. Cold and dark it remains, midnight or noon (though the rain is to be applauded for washing away that ugly snow!).
With this frequent coughing I'm still unfit for company, mostly (our friends were spectacularly kind and generous in their refusal to be annoyed by it, I must say!). However, upon finally arising after 11 AM today I am feeling the first glimmers in 11 days of something like focus. I've started writing the essay for da List's annual feature, "The Books We're Reading." We're also working on the course we're teaching starting in February at Baruch.
I have two lovely Christmas gift books to read, one of which I happily read half through yesterday. Georges (1843), is Alexander Dumas's single novel of slavery, though it focuses upon rich, free mulattos and white prejudice on Mauritius, in the Napoleonic era -- with one of Jamaica Kinkaid's characteristic Forewards (Modern Library, trans. 2007). There are several aspects of oddness in this narrative. One notes immediately that Dumas chose to locate this novel in the Indian Ocean, rather than in the Caribbean, or Haiti, even, where his grandmother was a slave. It feels extremely odd that the eponymous hero utters grand sentiments against color prejudice, frees two slaves, and the buys two boatloads of slaves from his brother, who is the slave trader. Perhaps this perplexity will be resolved in the second half of the narrative?
The other gift book is Anthony Everitt's Hadrian And The Triumph of Rome (2009). This is less a biography of Hadrian a portrait of Rome's empire at its peak of power and efficiency, because there is little primary material for a biographer to work with. As an era portrait, to my personal pleasure the work begins in Spain, where European history begins. Hadrian's forefather was one of the wounded legionnaires who was left to pacify and romanize the Iberian coast post the defeat of Hannibal. The reviews state many know less about this peak era of Rome than of ithe empire's beginning and end; I certainly am among those. What I'm not going to like much though, is that so much narrative that deals with Hadrian himself as biography is written in that speculative mode -- paragraphs describing what he 'might have done,' 'may have thought,' 'where he may have gone,' etc. This is an unfortunate mode for any text, but particularly, one may think, for biography. That it is fallen into because there is so little written by Hadrian to go on, one understands. But maybe there is a different rhetorical strategy to deal with this? One thing, however, the book has accomplished is to convince me that those who say there was an Alexandrine empire post Alexander are right. This from reading the pp. listed in the index under "Alexander."
Now, back to Sienkiewicz, snake handling and the church of signs.
This has already been posted (and commented on!) elsewhere, but I really ought to post the Table of Contents for The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2010 on my own blog. This, by the way, is in planned Table of Contents order.
BOTY, Final, TOC Order
Steven Gould, "A Story, with Beans" (Analog, May)
Theodora Goss, "Child-Empress of Mars" (Interfictions 2)
Peter Watts, "The Island" (The New Space Opera 2)
Robert Kelly, "The Logic of the World" (Conjunctions 52)
Holly Phillips, "The Long Cold Goodbye" (Asimov's, March)
Ann Leckie, "The Endangered Camp" (Clockwork Phoenix 2)
Alex Irvine, "Dragon's Teeth" (F&SF, December)
Sara Genge, "As Women Fight" (Asimov's, December)
Lucius Shepard, "Sylgarmo's Proclamation" (Tales of the Dying Earth; Subterranean, Spring)
Jo Walton, "Three Twilight Tales" (Firebirds Soaring)
John Meaney, "Necroflux Day" (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction Volume 3)
Paul Park, "The Persistence of Memory; or, This Space for Sale" (Postscripts 20/21)
Robert Charles Wilson, "This Peaceable Land; or, The Unbearable Vision of Harriet Beecher Stowe" (Other Earths)
Jay Lake, "On the Human Plan" (Lone Star Stories, Feburary)
John Langan, "Technicolor" (Poe)
Eugene Mirabelli, "Catalog" (F&SF, February)
Paul McAuley, "Crimes and Glory" (Subterranean, Spring)
Rachel Swirsky, "Eros, Philia, Agape" (Tor.com, March)
Nir Yaniv, "A Painter, a Sheep, and a Boa Constrictor" (Shimmer 10)
Dominic Green, "Glister" (Interzone, August)
Damien Broderick, "The Qualia Engine" (Asimov's, August)
Catherynne M. Valente, "The Radiant Car Thy Sparrows Drew" (Clarkesworld, August)
R. Garcia y Robertson, "Wife-Stealing Time" (Asimov's, October-November)
Nancy Kress, "Images of Anna" (Fantasy Magazine, September 14)
Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear, "Mongoose" (Lovecraft Unbound)
Margo Lanagan, "Living Curiosities" (Sideshow)
Toiya Kristen Finley, "The Death of Sugar Daddy" (Electric Velocipede, Spring)
Kelly Link, "Secret Identity" (Geektastic)
Genevieve Valentine, "Bespoke" (Strange Horizons, July 27)
John Kessel, "Events Preceding the Helvetican Renaissance" (The New Space Opera 2)
I hope to be able to announce the TOC for Rebooted: The Web's Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy: 2010 Download, very soon.
As ever, assembling the contents involved some agonizing choices. The book will include an extended "Recommended Reading" list, but I'll say here that the three stories that I most wished to include and couldn't fit were: "A Tiny Feast", by Chris Adrian (from the New Yorker); "Useless Things", by Maureen McHugh (from Eclipse Three); and "The Dragaman's Bride", by Andy Duncan (from The Dragon Book).
BOTY, Final, TOC Order
Steven Gould, "A Story, with Beans" (Analog, May)
Theodora Goss, "Child-Empress of Mars" (Interfictions 2)
Peter Watts, "The Island" (The New Space Opera 2)
Robert Kelly, "The Logic of the World" (Conjunctions 52)
Holly Phillips, "The Long Cold Goodbye" (Asimov's, March)
Ann Leckie, "The Endangered Camp" (Clockwork Phoenix 2)
Alex Irvine, "Dragon's Teeth" (F&SF, December)
Sara Genge, "As Women Fight" (Asimov's, December)
Lucius Shepard, "Sylgarmo's Proclamation" (Tales of the Dying Earth; Subterranean, Spring)
Jo Walton, "Three Twilight Tales" (Firebirds Soaring)
John Meaney, "Necroflux Day" (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction Volume 3)
Paul Park, "The Persistence of Memory; or, This Space for Sale" (Postscripts 20/21)
Robert Charles Wilson, "This Peaceable Land; or, The Unbearable Vision of Harriet Beecher Stowe" (Other Earths)
Jay Lake, "On the Human Plan" (Lone Star Stories, Feburary)
John Langan, "Technicolor" (Poe)
Eugene Mirabelli, "Catalog" (F&SF, February)
Paul McAuley, "Crimes and Glory" (Subterranean, Spring)
Rachel Swirsky, "Eros, Philia, Agape" (Tor.com, March)
Nir Yaniv, "A Painter, a Sheep, and a Boa Constrictor" (Shimmer 10)
Dominic Green, "Glister" (Interzone, August)
Damien Broderick, "The Qualia Engine" (Asimov's, August)
Catherynne M. Valente, "The Radiant Car Thy Sparrows Drew" (Clarkesworld, August)
R. Garcia y Robertson, "Wife-Stealing Time" (Asimov's, October-November)
Nancy Kress, "Images of Anna" (Fantasy Magazine, September 14)
Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear, "Mongoose" (Lovecraft Unbound)
Margo Lanagan, "Living Curiosities" (Sideshow)
Toiya Kristen Finley, "The Death of Sugar Daddy" (Electric Velocipede, Spring)
Kelly Link, "Secret Identity" (Geektastic)
Genevieve Valentine, "Bespoke" (Strange Horizons, July 27)
John Kessel, "Events Preceding the Helvetican Renaissance" (The New Space Opera 2)
I hope to be able to announce the TOC for Rebooted: The Web's Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy: 2010 Download, very soon.
As ever, assembling the contents involved some agonizing choices. The book will include an extended "Recommended Reading" list, but I'll say here that the three stories that I most wished to include and couldn't fit were: "A Tiny Feast", by Chris Adrian (from the New Yorker); "Useless Things", by Maureen McHugh (from Eclipse Three); and "The Dragaman's Bride", by Andy Duncan (from The Dragon Book).
Summary: Farrago's Wainscot, 2009
Farrago's Wainscot was a quarterly ezine devoted to "experimentation, decay, and the problems with form". The fiction editor was Darin Bradley, with assistance from Jason Grissom and Berrien C. Henderson. They published several pieces of fiction each issue, lots of poetry, and some nonfiction of quite diverse nature. Four issues appeared in each of their three years of operation. It was a challenging and interesting source of quite a variety of stuff.
I counted a total of 25 new stories, one novelette, the rest shorts (one short-shorts), for some 85,000 words of fiction, a vast increase over last year. My favorite story was Forrest Aguirre's "The Non-Epistemological Universe of Emmaeus Holt" (July), by Forrest Aguirre. An astronomy professor disappears, and his private observatory is discovered to be strangely decorated, with representations of visible stars and with curious narratives/poems/etc. associated with them. The story manages a sort of connected weirdness that by the end is emotionally affecting as well, while ever mysterious. I also like S. J. Hirons's "A Nameless Deed" (April), about a town with an odd custom: a Promise Auction, and how the arrival of a stranger and a young man’s foolish decision end up changing his and his intended’s future. And Berrien C. Henderson's "Dirt Roads and Ka" (January), in which a young backwoods boy encounters a strange old woman. Jonathan Wood's "Ephemera" (December) is intriguing SF/mystery/horror about a woman who can read others' minds, even after their death, and uses that ability to help solve crimes.But it all comes at considerable personal cost. Other stories that struck my eye came from Neil Ayres and E. Sedia, Toiya Kristen Finley, Matthew Kressel, Mari Ness, Autumn Canter, Rae Bryant, and Eden Robins.
I counted 10.5 stories by women (42%), comparable to the usual totals at the site (39% last year, 44% the year before). Perhaps 7 stories could be called SF, as well, 28%, all in all consistent with the 'zine's three year history. (But many of the stories, each year, were odd enough that they could have been categorized differently.)
Farrago's Wainscot was a quarterly ezine devoted to "experimentation, decay, and the problems with form". The fiction editor was Darin Bradley, with assistance from Jason Grissom and Berrien C. Henderson. They published several pieces of fiction each issue, lots of poetry, and some nonfiction of quite diverse nature. Four issues appeared in each of their three years of operation. It was a challenging and interesting source of quite a variety of stuff.
I counted a total of 25 new stories, one novelette, the rest shorts (one short-shorts), for some 85,000 words of fiction, a vast increase over last year. My favorite story was Forrest Aguirre's "The Non-Epistemological Universe of Emmaeus Holt" (July), by Forrest Aguirre. An astronomy professor disappears, and his private observatory is discovered to be strangely decorated, with representations of visible stars and with curious narratives/poems/etc. associated with them. The story manages a sort of connected weirdness that by the end is emotionally affecting as well, while ever mysterious. I also like S. J. Hirons's "A Nameless Deed" (April), about a town with an odd custom: a Promise Auction, and how the arrival of a stranger and a young man’s foolish decision end up changing his and his intended’s future. And Berrien C. Henderson's "Dirt Roads and Ka" (January), in which a young backwoods boy encounters a strange old woman. Jonathan Wood's "Ephemera" (December) is intriguing SF/mystery/horror about a woman who can read others' minds, even after their death, and uses that ability to help solve crimes.But it all comes at considerable personal cost. Other stories that struck my eye came from Neil Ayres and E. Sedia, Toiya Kristen Finley, Matthew Kressel, Mari Ness, Autumn Canter, Rae Bryant, and Eden Robins.
I counted 10.5 stories by women (42%), comparable to the usual totals at the site (39% last year, 44% the year before). Perhaps 7 stories could be called SF, as well, 28%, all in all consistent with the 'zine's three year history. (But many of the stories, each year, were odd enough that they could have been categorized differently.)
A tummy ache from eating and drinking far too much last night at my friend Claire's. We started with champagne and more champagne as we ate the appetizer of shrimp with three different dip choices (a few carrots and cucumber bits as well). Then an interesting cheese and crackers. Claire bought a little jar of the best caviar she could find, which about 8 of us sampled. We had enough for two toastpoints each. More champagne. I cleaned and dried the lettuce for the caesar salad. We also noshed in Sid's delicious home made pork pate and french bread....
Then sat down to dinner of a roasted goose stuffed with a bulgar mix, Caesar Salad (we took a vote on whether we'd have it next year because Sid thought it was too rich to have along with everything else--we voted him down --yayy--so Caesar salad next year)...wine, more wine, brussel sprouts that were supposed to be cooked with Sid's home made pancetta but the pancetta disappeared, even though we all looked everywhere for it. Elise went through the refrigerator and freezer, as did I. We looked in the pantries, all over the kitchen surfaces. Mark and I even went outside to go through Claire's garbage (he went through it, I oversaw). No pancetta. All I knew to look for was two see -through packages of bacon like but no bacon material....we all thought we were going crazy. Anyway, Claire had to improvise with vinigar or something...they tasted great anyway. The pancetta was found towards the end of the meal, in the refrigerator down the side of one of the vegetable bins, where it slipped (even though Elise DID pull out those bins at least once). Oh well, Claire can enjoy it herself another day.
More wine and the passing around of the traditional grab bag wherein Claire mostly --but in the past few years Donni and I and sometimes one or two of the other guests, wrap up cheap gifts/weird things/things we want to get rid of etc and put into one (or now two) BIG shopping bags and go around the table to grab something. Claire never participates. I have to make sure I don't grab my own packages. Then we trade for things we prefer.
Afterwards desserts--pumpkin and sweet potato pies (one made by Sid), ricotta cheese cake (made by Claire) and coffee and after dinner liqueur or liquor. (I had single malt)--got home around midnight I think with a wicked tummy ache and heartburn. Took a tums and drank/still drinking water.
I received TWO Cougar Gold cheddar cheeses from Washington State University. One from Mikey and Richard and one from Eileen and John. Thank you !!! Yayyy. One can age (thank you Astrid for posting on facebook about aging them). Donni combined her xmas/bday gift into one Video FLIP, a tiny video camera that seems very easy to use. I'll be bringing it along to the post xmas/gift exchange brunch tomorrow at the Womacks. Second season of PUSHING DAISIES from Mikey and Richard for my bday. Donation to my favorite charity (Kiva.org-- micro loans around the world--check it out)from Carrie.
That's it for now.
to be continued....
oops. Completely forgot that I went to see UP IN THE AIR with two friends, pre-dinner party. Loved it. Clooney great. Vera Farmiga great, and I'm glad they were nominated for Golden Globes).
Then sat down to dinner of a roasted goose stuffed with a bulgar mix, Caesar Salad (we took a vote on whether we'd have it next year because Sid thought it was too rich to have along with everything else--we voted him down --yayy--so Caesar salad next year)...wine, more wine, brussel sprouts that were supposed to be cooked with Sid's home made pancetta but the pancetta disappeared, even though we all looked everywhere for it. Elise went through the refrigerator and freezer, as did I. We looked in the pantries, all over the kitchen surfaces. Mark and I even went outside to go through Claire's garbage (he went through it, I oversaw). No pancetta. All I knew to look for was two see -through packages of bacon like but no bacon material....we all thought we were going crazy. Anyway, Claire had to improvise with vinigar or something...they tasted great anyway. The pancetta was found towards the end of the meal, in the refrigerator down the side of one of the vegetable bins, where it slipped (even though Elise DID pull out those bins at least once). Oh well, Claire can enjoy it herself another day.
More wine and the passing around of the traditional grab bag wherein Claire mostly --but in the past few years Donni and I and sometimes one or two of the other guests, wrap up cheap gifts/weird things/things we want to get rid of etc and put into one (or now two) BIG shopping bags and go around the table to grab something. Claire never participates. I have to make sure I don't grab my own packages. Then we trade for things we prefer.
Afterwards desserts--pumpkin and sweet potato pies (one made by Sid), ricotta cheese cake (made by Claire) and coffee and after dinner liqueur or liquor. (I had single malt)--got home around midnight I think with a wicked tummy ache and heartburn. Took a tums and drank/still drinking water.
I received TWO Cougar Gold cheddar cheeses from Washington State University. One from Mikey and Richard and one from Eileen and John. Thank you !!! Yayyy. One can age (thank you Astrid for posting on facebook about aging them). Donni combined her xmas/bday gift into one Video FLIP, a tiny video camera that seems very easy to use. I'll be bringing it along to the post xmas/gift exchange brunch tomorrow at the Womacks. Second season of PUSHING DAISIES from Mikey and Richard for my bday. Donation to my favorite charity (Kiva.org-- micro loans around the world--check it out)from Carrie.
That's it for now.
to be continued....
oops. Completely forgot that I went to see UP IN THE AIR with two friends, pre-dinner party. Loved it. Clooney great. Vera Farmiga great, and I'm glad they were nominated for Golden Globes).
- 02:33 It's official. Scrooge has been redeemed. Christmas may begin. #
- 22:26 According to Amazon.UK, FANTASY ART TEMPLATES will go on sale in Jan. I'll post the link next tweet. #
- 22:26 <www.amazon.co.uk/Fantasy-Art-Templates-R
eady-made-Artwork/dp/1408122189/ref=sr_1 _1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261797950&sr=1-1&g t; #
We had stuffed cabbage, crispy roasted duck, parsley potatoes, and sauteed red cabbage. For dessert we ate chestnut cream Yule log and Gerbeaud slices (half cookie/half yeast dough layered with walnut and apricot preserve, topped with chocolate glaze).
No cheese, because the above mentioned are too
As for presents, I made out like a bandit. Maybe tomorrow I'll take pictures.
- Mood:
full
The subject line sounds like a killer opening line, doesn't it? But it's nothing but the unvarnished truth. The slightly varnished truth would include the dancing, the bowling, and the lesson about not ordering doubles just 'cause the bar service was slow.
And it would also talk about the fact that, when you go to bed at 3am, getting up at 8 is just damned painful. Somehow, those same five hours are easier to take when they're 1am to 6am, and I don't know why.
Yet, we did wake [and as much as I love my apartment, I have to admit that living in the East 20's has its definite charms], and we did make it to the morning showing of Sherlock Holmes.
( not exactly spoilery, but some thoughts on the movie itself )
We also saw a number of previews, including Iron Man 2 (I cringe from how bad it might be, but will be there anyway) and the remake of Clash of the Titans, which looks to be another stunning leap forward in FX, if nothing else.
And then I met up with family for the Obligatory Chinese food. We noted, with much dismay, that there are an awful lot of Gentiles having dinner in Chinatown on Christmas Day, these days. Goose wasn't enough, you had to have Peking duck, too?
And now I am home, for a few hours anyway, before heading back downtown tomorrow to see Avatar with friends (in 3D. I am talked into these things...how? Must be Sekrit Coastie Mind Tricks). And then more Holiday Socializing, leading into First Night.
But first, must finish freelance gig. And short story revisions. And author proofs for HARD MAGIC. And look longingly at the TBR 2010 pile that's already starting to build....
I hope y'all had a good day, however you spent it!
And it would also talk about the fact that, when you go to bed at 3am, getting up at 8 is just damned painful. Somehow, those same five hours are easier to take when they're 1am to 6am, and I don't know why.
Yet, we did wake [and as much as I love my apartment, I have to admit that living in the East 20's has its definite charms], and we did make it to the morning showing of Sherlock Holmes.
( not exactly spoilery, but some thoughts on the movie itself )
We also saw a number of previews, including Iron Man 2 (I cringe from how bad it might be, but will be there anyway) and the remake of Clash of the Titans, which looks to be another stunning leap forward in FX, if nothing else.
And then I met up with family for the Obligatory Chinese food. We noted, with much dismay, that there are an awful lot of Gentiles having dinner in Chinatown on Christmas Day, these days. Goose wasn't enough, you had to have Peking duck, too?
And now I am home, for a few hours anyway, before heading back downtown tomorrow to see Avatar with friends (in 3D. I am talked into these things...how? Must be Sekrit Coastie Mind Tricks). And then more Holiday Socializing, leading into First Night.
But first, must finish freelance gig. And short story revisions. And author proofs for HARD MAGIC. And look longingly at the TBR 2010 pile that's already starting to build....
I hope y'all had a good day, however you spent it!
- Mood:
tired
This piece below is called STARRY NIGHT, and was painted by the most illustrious member of my mother's family, Jean Francois Millet (some years before Vincent Van Gogh copied it to make his intriguing and better-known version). To me, this represents the feelings of serenity, and quiet magic, and gratitude that one hopes to feel on a day such as this.
Before the next season is over, I'll have followed in Millet and Van Gogh's footsteps, and will have painted my own STARRY NIGHT.
Before the next season is over, I'll have followed in Millet and Van Gogh's footsteps, and will have painted my own STARRY NIGHT.
- 10:53 New blog posting, Robot fun for the holidays - tinyurl.com/yjc9yu2 (via @angryrobotbooks) #
- 11:13 My very Christmassy (untidy) back garden: yfrog.com/35nlgrj Happy Christmas, all. #
- 13:16 Have spent the last 90 minutes putting the top on a gateleg table, tidying the living room & dismantling another cheapass coffee table. #
- 13:17 Even put up all the Christmas cards (thanks guys). All while on the phone to 2 sets of parents. Now for tea & tv & snuggling w Jerry. Yay! #
- 15:22 @LeeAHarris Jerry says you look like an alien from original StarTrek. *giggle* #
- 17:26 For Christmas, Santa brought to me: socks, scarf, home-made sweets, a big ball of wool & dpns for making felted booties, a cold & Auntie Flo #
- 17:26 Going to see if we can't have a traditional Jewish Christmas dinner - have to check if the Chinese takeaway is open. :D #
- 19:52 Giant slipper of DOOM, to felt once I've knitted its twin: yfrog.com/3lhmhpj (and worn as a hat by Jerry: yfrog.com/4gs41j) #
- 20:07 @mamee_kins That's awesome! Hurrah! No more being stuck in the living room w your dad flicking channels. :D Curtains are lovely, btw. #
- 20:15 Would anyone like a small cheapass coffee table, free to good home in York area. Or a humongous table, good for dressmaking or wargaming? #
- 21:03 @mamee_kins Alas, Chinese seem to be shut, so we'll have it tomorrow instead. I had beef madras from the freezer, j had chicken-bacon-cheese #
Summary: Paradox, 2009
Paradox, edited by Christopher Cevasco, was a magazine devoted to historical fiction and variants: straight historical fiction, historical fantasy, historical SF, and alternate history. They published two issues a year in general. Alas, this year's only issue, #13 (Spring), was the magazine's last. There were 7 stories, 1 novelette and 6 shorts (1 short-short). About 35,000 words of new fiction. They also regularly published poetry.
The best stories were "The Artist and His Mother", by Steve Rasnic Tem, about a young Korean artist struggling to find his way, and the young woman (or fox?) who may help him; and "The Place That Makes You Happiest", by T. L. Morganfield, another of her Aztec (or Mexica) dominated Alternate History pieces, this one about a young woman meeting one of her childhood friends one more time before a trip to Mars.
Four of the seven stories were by women. I'd call two of the stories SF.
Paradox, edited by Christopher Cevasco, was a magazine devoted to historical fiction and variants: straight historical fiction, historical fantasy, historical SF, and alternate history. They published two issues a year in general. Alas, this year's only issue, #13 (Spring), was the magazine's last. There were 7 stories, 1 novelette and 6 shorts (1 short-short). About 35,000 words of new fiction. They also regularly published poetry.
The best stories were "The Artist and His Mother", by Steve Rasnic Tem, about a young Korean artist struggling to find his way, and the young woman (or fox?) who may help him; and "The Place That Makes You Happiest", by T. L. Morganfield, another of her Aztec (or Mexica) dominated Alternate History pieces, this one about a young woman meeting one of her childhood friends one more time before a trip to Mars.
Four of the seven stories were by women. I'd call two of the stories SF.
Summary: Flurb, 2009
Flurb is a semiannual webzine edited by Rudy Rucker. It features a lot of -- one might say experimental stuff, one might say playful stuff, one might just say weird stuff. I find the contents wildly uneven, which is perhaps as one might expect. There were two issues in 2009, as every year: numbers 7 and 8. There were a total of 21 stories, all shorts, four of them short-shorts. Just about 67,000 words of fiction. They also feature poetry, and photography.
My favorite story by a wide margin was Richard Kadrey's "Trembling Blue Stars" (#7), which features a man confronting the woman he left to become a cosmonaut, a process which involves dying and having an alien being of some sort implanted. From the same issue I also liked Alex Hardison's "Clouds in the Night", a sweet romantic story about two computer network types hooking up in a post-Crash Australia, a different place indeed, where maintaining a computer (or a car) is quite a challenge. From #8 I think my favorite was Charlie Jane Anders's "Henry's Penis", a wacky story about a boy at puberty trying an experimental treatment to, er, improve his equipment. Naturally, unexpected things happen. Other good work came from Brendan Byrne, Emily C. Skaftun, and Madeline Ashby.
Five stories were by women (24%, same as in 2007 but more than 2008), and 17 of the stories were Science Fiction, albeit often quite strangely so: 81% -- consistent with Flurb's general bias towards SF, if more pronouncedly so than usual.
Flurb is a semiannual webzine edited by Rudy Rucker. It features a lot of -- one might say experimental stuff, one might say playful stuff, one might just say weird stuff. I find the contents wildly uneven, which is perhaps as one might expect. There were two issues in 2009, as every year: numbers 7 and 8. There were a total of 21 stories, all shorts, four of them short-shorts. Just about 67,000 words of fiction. They also feature poetry, and photography.
My favorite story by a wide margin was Richard Kadrey's "Trembling Blue Stars" (#7), which features a man confronting the woman he left to become a cosmonaut, a process which involves dying and having an alien being of some sort implanted. From the same issue I also liked Alex Hardison's "Clouds in the Night", a sweet romantic story about two computer network types hooking up in a post-Crash Australia, a different place indeed, where maintaining a computer (or a car) is quite a challenge. From #8 I think my favorite was Charlie Jane Anders's "Henry's Penis", a wacky story about a boy at puberty trying an experimental treatment to, er, improve his equipment. Naturally, unexpected things happen. Other good work came from Brendan Byrne, Emily C. Skaftun, and Madeline Ashby.
Five stories were by women (24%, same as in 2007 but more than 2008), and 17 of the stories were Science Fiction, albeit often quite strangely so: 81% -- consistent with Flurb's general bias towards SF, if more pronouncedly so than usual.
Alas, that I cannot post this in your place because every time I start to post a reply there, the whole screen gets captured by a best buy commercial.
Still, you and P. -- and the lovely felines are much in my regard this season!
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BOOKS READ 2009
1. The Right Attitude To Rain by Alexander McCall Smith
2. Dream Angus: The Celtic God of Dreams by Alexander McCall Smith
3. Brother Cadfael's Penance by Ellis Peters
4. The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini
5. Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith
6. The Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
7. A Rose by Any Name: The Little Known Lore & Deep Rooted History of Rose Names by Douglas Brenner & Stephen Scanniello
8. Knitting on the Edge: Ribs, Ruffles, Lace, Fringes, Floral, Points & Picots: The Essential Collection of 350 Decorative Borders by Nicky Epstein
9. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
10. Gallows Hill by Lois Duncan
11. The Venus Throw - A Novel of Ancient Rome by Steven Saylor
12. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built - by Alexander McCall Smith
13. Lucifer's Shadow - by David Hewson
14. Corduroy Mansions - by Alexander McCall Smith (podcast)
15. The Prayer Shawl Companion - Janet Bristow & Victoria A. Cole-Galo
16. Knitting on the Edge: Ribs, Ruffles, Lace, Fringes, Floral, Points & Picots - by Nicky Epstein
17. The Laughter of Dead Kings by Elizabeth Peters
18. Love Among The Walnuts by Jean Ferris
19. Princess for Hire by Lindsey Levitt
20. Extreme Cuisine by Kit Sloane
21. The Lost Continent - by Bill Bryson (podcast)
22. One Virgin Too Many - by Lindsey Davis
23. The Discovery of Chocolate by James Runcie
24. Charmed Life - by Diana Wynne Jones
25. Witch Week - by Diana Wynne Jones
26. Knitted Lace of Estonia - by Nancy Bush
27. The Magicians of Caprona - by Diana Wynne Jones
28. The Lives of Christopher Chant - by Diana Wynne Jones
29. An Instance of the Fingerpost - by Iain Pears
30. The Inn At The Edge Of The World - by Alice Thomas Ellis
31. Singularity - by William H. DeSmedt (podcast)
32. The Jupiter Myth by Lindsay Davis
33. Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs From Interweave edited by Ann Budd & Anne Merrow
34. The Homeward Bounders by Diana Wynne Jones
35.Coffee Drinks & Desserts Cookbook edited by Barbara Albright
NOW READING
Well, I can't decide what is next...
Beyond the Sky and the Earth - A Journey into Bhutan by Jamie Zeppa
The Embedding by Ian Watson
Silver Screen by Justina Robson
Mappa Mundi by Justina Robson
Access Denied by Donna Andrews
The Sacred Cut by David Hewson
COMPANIES THAT
I BOYCOTT
Crystal sugar
Dreyer's (rBGH products)
Edy's (rBGH products)
Haagen-Dazs (rBGH products)
Klondike (rBGH products)
Good Humor (rBGH products)
Breyer's (rBGH products)
Elanco (rBGH dist)
Eli Lilly (rBGH maker)
Quiltmaker (mag)
Verizon
JoAnn's Fabric & Craft Stores
Boca Java Coffee
Home Depot
JC Penny
MONSANTO
TYSON
Dow
Traitor Joe's
McDonald's
Coca-Cola/Coke
Hess
Exxon
Chevron
Kellogg's
Starbucks
Hershey's
Morningstar Farms
Kraft
M&M/Mars
Nestle's
Kimberly-Clark
Walmart
Shell
--Supporters of Glen Beck --
Accu-Chek (Roche)
BuyWaterJet.com
CancerCenter.com
Carbonite.com
Cash4Gold.com
Citrix
Clarity Media Group
Consumer Debt
Cooney & Conway
Conservatives for Patient's Right
Dannon.com
Discover
EasyWater.com
EmpireToday.com
EncoreDental.com
ExploreHumana.com
ExtenZE
Goldline International, Inc.
GoToMeeting.com
Johnson Law Group
LearCapital.com
LibertyMedical.com
LifeLock
Merit Financial
National Review
NecklineSlimmer.com
News Corp.
OxiClean
Pearle Vision
PulaskiLawFirm.com
Roche Diagonostics
Rosland Capital
ServPro.com
SmartBalance
TDAmeritrade
The Villages
VeteranMeso.com
Video Professor
ZeroWater.com
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fledgist : 500 years, 500 lashes... [+0] - quilterbear : Movie Meme [+4]
- realthog : not to swank too ostentatiously or anything but . . . [+0]
- macbeaner : Happy Holidays [+1]
- ellenscult : Still twitching... [+0]
- al_zorra : No More Peeing, No More Reading & Peter Watts [+0]
- al_zorra : Post Christmas, Ante New Year's [+1]
- ecbatan : Best of the Year Table of Contents [+4]
- ecbatan : Summary: Farrago's Wainscot, 2009 [+2]
- ellen_datlow : What I got for Xmas (part one) [+16]
- ellen_datlow : To Everyone who celebrates Christmas and those who don't [+6]
- jmward14 : From Twitter [+2]
- alaneer : Christmas lunch is eaten [+15]
- suricattus : I spent Christmas Eve playing pool with a guy named Lefty. [+16]
- coppervale : The Art of the Great Night [+8]
- ellenscult : Still twitching... [+0]
- ecbatan : Summary: Paradox, 2009 [+0]
- g_macalpin : Christmas Day! [+1]
- ecbatan : Summary: Flurb, 2009 [+0]
- al_zorra : PDSlit -- Happy Holidays! [+1]
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