Friday: Link love + life

This post is exactly what the title implies: I give a bunch of love to links, hopefully make a few witty, scathing, or adoring comments about said links, and drop in a few little anecdotes about my life. You've been warned.

There's a mild bit of buzz in the sf/f community about NPR's list of 100 Top Science Fiction, Fantasy Books. To which I say, meh.  I've not read the entire list but I've read a lot of it and I'll probably read more of it (intentionally) but I'll probably die before I read all of it.  Okay, let's drop the scary mortality-thoughts b/c they totally screw with my twenty-something brain.

There was apparently an open voting period which I did not participate in but many of my friends and acquaintances did.  They complained that there was no write-in option for books that did not make the NPR short list for voting. They claimed there were obvious oversights -- Lois Bujold McMaster for one -- and that the list was skewed toward science fiction and away from fantasy (which is always hilarious in my eyes because fantasy now outsells sci-fi but sci-fi is still considered more "classic" and therefore more "literary."  Ah well, that's fine, if I live long enough I'm certain I'll see fantasy move closer toward the accepted canon anyway.  And there I go with more scary mortality-thoughts.

There's much spatting going on in internet circles about who is and isn't on that list. Me? I'm not going to engage in any spats. Perhaps you have to be a cog in machine of academic standardization before you realize that any "canon" is all arbitrary and none of it matters. Perhaps that is the greatest argument for attending grad school. One way or another, it's just a list.  Moving on.

I sprained my foot this past weekend and the resultant injury has colored my life for the past six days.

Yes, sprained my foot not my ankle.  My ankles are surprisingly hearty, having been rolled many times during years of field hockey practice and never injured until trying to catch the bus to the train station for the 2009 AWP Conference. Odd. Anyway.  Missing the last step of the flight has caused a week of sitting, elevating, and wrapping with an Ace bandage.

The cats, btw, love the Ace bandage. They find the wrapping/unwrapping fascinating. And the tiny little metal clips beg to be batted to the floor -- and they have been, repeatedly, even though they've only left my foot for a few hours total over the past week.

Oh, and the cats think that all the pillows i'm placing on the table/desk/etc for my foot are there for them.  Of course.

Stay true.

Margaret Atwood has been announced as the 2012 AWP Conference Keynote Speaker. This makes three out of four years where the keynote speaker has straddled the lines of literary and the Other for an organization where most of the members (if not the official organization) is conflicted in its feeling toward comic books and speculative fiction.  Sure they could say that Art Spiegleman wrote in the exciting new vein of the "graphic novel" and that Michael Chabon was a literary maverick who indulged our interests in the supernatural, but inviting Margaret Atwood to be THE speaker should be a brilliant slap in the face meant to wake up those who do not believe genre can be literary.  Don't believe me? Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale just made number 22 on that top 100 all time science fiction, fantasy list from NPR.

I always find it strange that literary types claim to have "forgotten" that Vonnegut and Orwell and Le Guin and Atwood are science fiction.

I had thought about going to the 2012 AWP conference just because it will be in Chicago, a city which is within easy traveling distance and, thanks to my brief stint living in the windy city, easy for me to navigate.  Even in fucking February.  Burr.  With Atwood as the keynote ... I think I really will have to go. 

On the Odyssey Workshop blog, bestselling author Carrie Vaughn discusses how she knows when a story will be a novel or a short work.

100 Year Star Ship project + conference.  Need I say more?

I helped plan part of a bridal shower this past weekend. And frankly, I fail to see the point.  Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have done it for my friend and really excited to make super cute flower vases, except for the part where I was carrying a giantassbox, missed the last step and fell funny on my foot/ankle resulting in much pain and limited mobility -- but that could have happened for any reason.  But I fail to see the point of bridal showers nowadays.

My friend was astonished and flattered at the gifts she got.  She didn't expect or desire the level of gifting that occurred.  She was afraid that by inviting people to both the shower and the wedding she's making them feel like they should provide two gifts. Of course, there are people who feel like they should celebrate the union of two young people and if that means purchasing Corning Ware and Pyrex sets, then so be it.  But she and her fiance are not nineteen-year-olds who've never moved away from home.  They both have places and kitchens and kitchenware of their own.  Do we need to continue the social practice of giving showers? Particularly I ask, do we really need to gather all our female relatives for three hours of small talk, mediocre food, patronizing games, and gift opening wherein we speculate voraciously over how many ribbons the bride will break thereby determining how many children she will bear in this union?

I find the whole "bridal thing" dubious.  And I am in favor of not having one should I ever find myself in the throes of imminent marriage.  Or at least I'd rather have a co-ed "open house" rather than an all-chick shower.

Goat + duct tape + Chuck Wendig.  If that was not enough to entice you (and it should be) consider clicking through to his writing advice as well as the equally crude and wondrous birth and life of a novel.

I've realized that I have to change most of what I do this semester when I go back to teaching composition.  Okay, not most of what I do, but the big projects.  Partly because the textbook was ordered for me and the textbook supports either a gender studies or a cultural studies approach rather than a genre studies with a pop culture studies flavor.  That's okay.  Attempting a gender/cultural bent will make me more marketable. It will also be good for the students. A nice dose of spinach. I'm not entirely sold, eh?   Guess it's time to cultivate multiple talents other than teaching comp.

Ira Glass on what nobody tells beginners:
 
Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

Miracle Whip wants to give you $25,000 for your wedding or divorce -- so long it's a Miracle Whip kind of romance.

And lastly, take a look at the night sky tonight.  The moon and Jupiter are teaming up for a particularly bright Jupiter tonight.  Oddly enough, I dreamed last night that I could see Jupiter.  Not Jupiter how it really is, but a nice little graphic of Jupiter with all its rings pasted onto the night sky.

Addendum: The Hugo Awards Ceremony will be streamed live tomorrow (Saturday) starting at 8:00 PM Pacific Time.

There once was a dragon ...

There once was a dragon who wanted an ice cream cone more than anything else in the world. ...

And then he got one, and it was bigger than his head. And his head, coincidentally, was as big as the rest of his body.

But to tell you how he did it would be giving away the whole story, six weeks of writing instruction, and an in-joke.

From where you write

The title, btw, is a play on Robert Olen Butler's From Where You Dream, a slightly pretentious guide to writing that, in spite of its pretentiousness, possesses the ability to stretch the way you think about your process of writing.

I've made a significant change to my writing space and, hopefully, to my productivity as well.

When I set up my desk, I purposefully placed it so that it faced out a window.  Multiple different set ups in many different rooms over the years had proved to me that I am happiest when closest to a source of daylight and when I can let my eyes focus on something far away instead of a big ol wall 18-24" from my nose.  Thus, the original set up.

If you'll notice, out that window is another apartment building.  Between it and my window is a street with some parking (you can't see it from this angle, but trust me, it's there).  It is from this perch that I watch the bizarre and stupid antics of my neighbors.  They are often entertaining, and just as often scary and repulsive (see Tales of Woe).  And, while stories of grown men running from invisible bees are fun to blog about, they are very, very distracting when trying to get thedamnwriting done.

In my final private meeting at Odyssey, it was suggested to me that, perhaps, in front of a window was not the best place to do my writing.

I balked, then panicked.

Take away the light? No!  The ability to focus off in the distance? No! Don't wanna. Can't make me. Gonna throw a fit!

Then two weeks later, returning to my apartment, I thought, what the hell? Why not have it both ways?

I went out and purchased a pressure rod and hung a half curtain in the window.  At first I had delusions of grandeur about sewing a curtain -- I have fabric and a sewing machine, and a curtain requires skills only one step above zero -- but then I got lazy (a.k.a. practical) and realized that I could have a curtain immediately without unearthing the sewing machine in an already messy apartment (thank you unpacking for making that mess) if I just draped a pretty sarong over the pressure rod.

Blocking out 18" of window and neighbors has drastically changed my writing space.

Even just taking the before and after pictures was crazy-different.  Previously my camera wanted to auto-focus outside, no flash, causing everything to be backlit.  Now it wants to focus on the desk space, and use a flash.  Yes, there's (slightly) less light to work by, but like my camera, my focus has changed.

The difference when I sat down at the computer was immediately noticeable.   Things felt more grounded.  It mentally puts me in a workspace that's all my own.  In fact, when the window is open and I can hear people talking below it now makes me jump because I had no concept of them until they made noise; I'm completely in my own zone doing my own thing -- a much more productive thing.

And I no longer feel creepy because I am watching all that goes on on the street below me.  Creepy creepy writer person.  The cats will be pissed that they can no longer sit in the window -- in fact they've already attempted to chew and claw their way through the barrier -- but they'll either figure out how to get behind it or they will learn to cope as is.  I am heartless.

This is already the best under-$5 writing investment I've ever made.

I can still see the roofs, trees and sky.  On Sunday afternoon I watched two hawks circling high up on currents of hot air. Two became three, circling without flapping. They they glided away, and I went back to typing. The occasional hawk in the distance, or song bird close-up, is a welcome distraction. A rather un-distracting distraction considering the alternative.

I've been thinking about doing this for two years, but I had to spend six weeks in New Hampshire to finally act on it.

What about you -- what's your ideal writing space? Do you have your ideal working space now, or is there something about it you'd like to change? And (forgive me for goading) why not change it now?

Return of the Cone Kitty

I had to put my cat back in a cone. It's so sad to re-cone the cat, especially when it's her own fricking fault.

This cat (Ash) is, at best, uber-clean; at worst, she's an obsessive licker. She cleans everything and everyone -- a list of which includes my computer, the other cat, my desk, pillows and the one or two stuffed animals in my apartment. So, when she got a half-inch long cut on her belly -- probably from playing rough with the other cat -- I wasn't all that surprised to see that she had licked the area clean of fur. I was exasperated, but not really surprised.

The scratch was in the right place to make it look like she'd gotten spayed ... again.

But it's been about a month now and the bald patch is smaller in size but it's not completely grown back in. She'll lick it until her skin is visibly irritated. So on Sunday I went and purchases a second e-collar (I recycled the first thinking I'd never need it again -- ha!).

And now I have cone-kitty part deux.

This time the cone is semi-translucent instead of opaque. I thought, at the time of purchase, that this would make the cat's sense better. That she would have a better idea of what was around her. Now, seeing it on the cat, I think the translucent cone is just a mean illusion.

About once a day I grow soft-hearted and take the cone off her for a bit.  I try to watch her during that time to make sure she's not cleaning her bald patch but I'm probably just lengthening the process.

Perspective

This is my coffee table. More precisely, this is the ten inches above my coffee table which is, obviously, occupied. Behind the books you do see are more books you don't see.


The table top itself is really freaking sweet. I found an old printer's typeset drawer at Treasure Mart in Ann Arbor, cleaned it up, got a piece of glass cut to fit it and rest the whole thing on top of two footstool/seating "cubes." The drawer has all these fabulous compartments in it which create an awesome geometric design ... when it's not covered that is.

I haven't been seeing much of that geometric coolness this semester.

Usually it's just my end table that gets treacherous.

I could do with some more shelving but floor space is limited and I'm hesitant to spend time adding shelving to the walls (finding the studs is more of an art than a science in this apartment) when I know that I've my time in this local is limited.

What these photos don't detail is the envelope stuffing process that has taken over my floor/coffee table between when the pictures were taken and when the post went up. I have about 400-500 SASE that need to be stuffed with replies from the Third Coast contest. I've probably stuffed upwards of 150 today.

BTW I am in love with envelopes that you don't have to get wet to seal. Sealing the traditional envelopes with a sponge is proving annoying slow and only about 75% effective.

And finally, for perspective of the current workload, I give you books and fluffy cat.

What 40 Bucks Gets Ya

A pair of black flats and a cat toy. (Shoes not pictured.) I've worn the shoes once so far. However, the bag, I mean toy, has been good for four days of non-stop entertainment.


Back to real posts -- you know, ones with words not just pictures and videos -- later this week.

It's spring. It has to be.

Today I looked across the street and realized that the bare trees I've been staring at for five months aren't bare: they're covered in tiny green leaves.

My nose has been telling me that spring was underway for several weeks now, but the leaves are a more certain sign.



Just over three months ago the same street was covered in snow. Lots and lots of snow. I went back to dig out this photo and that's when I realized that I'm about to start my fourth season in Kalamazoo.



I've been here through the fall when the trees changed colors one fiery blaze at a time.



And I've been here in the hot green summer (just barely).

Something We Can All Agree On

(This blog entry dedicated to fellow blogger Paralith)

I saw this yesterday afixed to the back of a minicooper.


No matter what your religious denomination or your take on evolution, I believe we can all agree that fish n chips is pretty damn good.
Now where can I get a nice beer battered piece of cod ...

Out of town visit

I rolled into [unnamed small town] in Indiana the other day thinking that everyone would be talking about me and my triumphant return, only to discover that a couple hours earlier Bill Clinton had rolled into town and completely upstaged me.

Man, if I had a nickle for every time Bill's done that to me. . .

Good old ServiceMaster Carpet Cleaning. That sign always reflects what's going on in town ... even when the town doesn't know what's going on, so no, it's not a coincidence. Apparently Bill is forgiven enough to receive blessing in the Bible belt. Or at least in this part of it.

Although the drive in had considerably better weather:

Ah, Spring.

Officially ...

... it's spring: (Photo taken 3/21/08 @ 3:30 pm)

... and I'm on the waitlist:

It's good to get the first snow storm of the spring season out of the way. And for once I'm not being sarcastic. It's a decent storm but without any ice which is always good.

Also good news is that Western Michigan has let me know something at all. They also told me that should I move up to be "eligible for a funded position" they would contact me. Exciting! Funded position! Oo the thought! Because right now I'd go to Western with out the funding as I qualify as an in-state resident. And I think I should get some sort of reward from this state for putting up with snow in the spring time. Okay, now I'm being sarcastic again.
Up Next: Ad of the Week

Oh, Spring, that's right

Today is officially the first day of Spring. I wouldn't have remembered if it wasn't for the image that greeted me when I went to Google this morning. Awww. Isn't that cute?

And look, the weather even seemed to cooperate for this festive occasion! Yes, indeed, that is blue sky and fluffy little white clouds! I should go stalk the water tower and see if they match today or not.

But don't get too excited. Tomorrow's forecast? 35 degrees, snow, and a Winter Storm Watch!

"SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 5 TO 8 INCHES IS POSSIBLE BETWEEN ABOUT 2 PM FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND 4 AM LATE FRIDAY NIGHT BEFORE TAPERING OFF AND ENDING BY SUNRISE SATURDAY MORNING."

Happy Spring!

Thanks for that weather update, Jim. Now back to local news.

In the mail today -- Bam! -- rejection letter. Thank you Notre Dame for making me wait this long! Paralith and I got into a discussion a while ago about the waiting for grad school responses and getting only silence when others where getting acceptances and rejections. She stated, aptly, that by this point at least we had made it beyond the first or second round of rejections. Which I agree with.

I have a feeling that I was on the second half of the ND wait list. Maybe even the first half. They started notifying accepted applicants more than a month ago so I held out fairly long. But as reality TV has taught us, putting in a good show and a tough fight may make you a fan favorite, it won't get you the prize money at the end. So long to my last chance to attend my father's Alma Mater. And my uncle's Alma Mater. It's where my dad got his graduate degree, where I was born and baptized and where my uncle played football in the tradition that my grandfather so loved. And it was the only thing that could have convinced me to move back to Indiana right now. My mother was ticked that I didn't name drop more on my application, as that football playing uncle (1970s if you follow ND football) is her brother.

My favorite part of the ND rejection is when they state "it's not you, it's the other candidates."

It reads "this decision should not be viewed as an evaluation of your acceptability as a graduate student, by rather as an indication of the degree of competition in your department."

Which made me feel really good until I thought about it. Translated into break up speak it would read "It's not that you're ugly, it's that this other chick is waaaay hotter." And I'd slap a guy for that.

I know, I know. Those three required visits to the therapist were obviously not effective else I wouldn't be having the urge to slap someone again. But now that no action has been brought against me I'd like to say that the bastard more than deserved it and most people agree.

Dear Indiana friends: this means I will not be moving back to you. Face it, you're not that shocked.

I have one school left to hear from: Western Michigan.

I refuse to think about anything arriving other than a skinny envelope with a rejection letter. Then again all I've ever gotten are skinny envelopes even for acceptances. As soon as I start thinking about what it would be like to attend a school, what I would say when I got the call, where I would apartment hunt, I inevitably get some piece of information that nixes all that creative wondering. Either a flat rejection or a piece of financial information that makes me realize some hard truths of the situation.

I'm not upset by the thought of needing a back door (apply to one program and switch) to get to do what I want to do. If I thought "sleeper program" sounded intriguing then "back door" sounds like I'm being just as crafty. To be honest, I don't need the degree to write. I'm writing now. I need the degree to teach, because I'd prefer not to temp for the rest of my natural life. So who cares how I get it or where i get it from so long as I get my writing done and get it accepted someplace? [N.B. we should be hearing acceptance/rejection of fiction pieces from the last round of send outs March 28 - early June. Contest (2 dif contests) winners announced in "late Spring."]

There's one more option after this last school though. A back door, so to speak, that could have beautiful product if I follow through with it. Especially for my web followers as it is a hybrid program that embraces tech and the visual art merged with writing. We will see on that score as I've not yet applied. However it's a program I know I could afford.

Which begs the question, what will the future of cutting edge writing look like? We're moving toward the ebook (I'll admit that I've read a few but I still love the smell of a new book in my hands) but no one has really explored the possibilities of the ebook. How much could be done with that form?