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Saturday, November 7th, 2009
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chicky
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This week went by much faster than last week. The easiest way for me to get it all down is in list form. Sorry for my lazy-ass posting.
Thursday: I sat down in the living room and designed three pumpkins. Eddie had searched for some tiny pumpkins, but wasn't able to find any. He came home with a trio of those weird white "ghost pumpkins". I promptly declared that they would be carved into Da de los Muertos "sugar skulls" and sat down with a Sharpy to draw out their designs. And then I watched Vampire Diaries.
Friday: I was very, very grateful to wake up and realize that it was Friday, because the rest of the week had been bloody awful. I carved 2 pumpkins on my living room floor, which I don't recommend doing if you have nice carpet and own an animal who is determined to get underneath whatever you have on the floor to protect the aforementioned carpet. Now, I'll admit that I don't have nice carpet, but when if you're wielding a battery-operated power saw device, the last thing you need to be worried about is whether or not your ferret is being squashed under a 10lb gourd or if she's managed to slip inside the giant-sized plastic trash bag you've spread out to protect your nice carpet. I managed to carve two of the pumpkins that night, which left me with 6 more to do on Saturday, with the hope that I could get them all done before it got too dark to set them up outside.
Saturday: The plan for Saturday was that we were going to go out and get me some new pants. I hadn't bought any new pants in easily a year, and not only were the ones that I had wearing thin in the chub-rub areas from when I was heavier, but they didn't fit anymore. To be honest, they probably didn't fit very well in the first place, as I'm one of those girls who prefers pants to be tighter rather than looser, so it's debatable that they were a proper fit when I bought them. Either way, they were too big NOW, and I was constantly pulling them up. A few weeks ago it started to pour outside as soon as I got to the doors to leave work, and I had to hold them up as I was running across the parking lot. And so Saturday I ended up with 3 new pairs of jeans, 2 sizes smaller than the ones that were getting thrown out, which means that I've probably lost 3 sizes since I started running.
After shopping, we had liverwurst and cheese sandwiches for lunch. Don't hate. It's delicious. Then we spread another trash bag on the floor and proceeded to disembowel 6 pumpkins in record time. Pickle stuck her entire head into one pumpkin as I was opening it up, surrounding her upper body in pumpkin guts and getting herself damp and sticky. A few hours later, we had 5 orange pumpkins and 3 white ones all carved and set up outside, lit from inside with a 100-bulb string of orange lights. We didn't have nearly as many kids at the door as we've had in the past, which left us with a shit-ton of candy that I'm trying very, very hard to ignore.
Sunday: I allowed myself to be dragged to the Raynham Flea Market for the last time this year. I didn't see anything that I absolutely had to have, and we went out for Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet for lunch. It was pretty tasty. From there, we headed to East Providence, to Rumford Pets so that my mother could get the water tested in her TANK OF DEATH. Since that takes a little while to do, Eddie wrangled a puppy out of the puppy room, and he and Mom sat in the little playpen and played with a wall-eyed little shih-tzu. After a little while they gave him back, then got confirmation that the fish tank is still TANK OF DEATH.
Monday: I got a random text message from my mother saying, "I'm going to get the puppy after work." Thus began Eddie's passive-aggressive silent treatment of Mom during dinner, because every time he'd mention getting a kitten or a dog she'd say no more animals. I've wanted another ferret for some time now, and Eddie's been wanting a dog, so we're compromising and looking for a kitten. We also begin tossing out potential names for the as of then unnamed puppy, but Mom won't let us call him Wall-I or Flounderpuppy.
Tuesday-Friday: The stupidity of some of the people that come into my store is damned near palpable sometimes. It's as though you can feel it in the air, it wafts through the store ahead of them as a warning of what we're going to deal with shortly. Such as.... the guy who came up to us yesterday and asked, completely serious, "Can you tell me where the medicine is?" It was all we could do not to slap him and scream "YOU'RE IN A PHARMACY. THERE IS MEDICINE EVERYWHERE." We also had the woman who told me that I looked intelligent, and that I must be smart because I worked in the pharmacy, and maybe I could tell her how to do "hanging cliff footnotes" on the reference page of her term paper. And let's not forget the heart-stopping moment when our district manager came in and got to see my hair for the first time since I dyed it. It no longer can be considered any shade of red, it's magenta and bordering on fuchsia. The DM took one look at me (cue heart stopping in my chest) and, rather than telling me to go store-use a box of black dye, asks "Crystal, where's your name tag?"
Today? Today we're going to some local animal shelters to try to find a kitten. We've emailed a few people on Craigslist about them, but either they've flaked out or we've changed our minds on getting them. We're looking to get one while it's really young, so that it can be brought up knowing that Pickle isn't food. Wish us luck on the kitten hunt!
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azhure
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It’s a Saturday night, and the husband and I are being terribly exciting. He’s playing Uncharted on the PSP and I’m reading some blogs on the MacBook.
Have I mentioned how much I love the MacBook? Part of this is just being happy to have a light, portable laptop again, but there’s a huge part in just loving the fact that everything just works. Don’t get me wrong, I am always going to be a PC girl first (and one who doesn’t mind having to fiddle with things to get them to work), but I can see why people join the cult of Mac.
The highlight of today was getting to meet my niece for the first time. Madeleine was born yesterday by c-section and is utterly adorable. First niece for my sister and I, first grandchild for my parents. And in a month’s time (or less!), she will have a cousin  Which is suddenly feeling all too soon and yet really far away.
I haven’t written for the last two days. Neither have I missed writing for the last two days. Frankly, I’m utterly exhausted and my well of creativity has been wrung dry. So I’m officially taking a break.
This doesn’t mean that I’m not thinking about writing. I have been, a lot. I’ve been reading a bunch of blogs and articles on writing advice (which I shall link to sometime soon) and contemplating process.
My process has always been this: I am a pantser. I get an idea, and I work with it with no plan, just trying to excavate the relic hidden beneath the earth. And I rewrite and rewrite and rewrite.
Anyone who’s been reading my blog entries will know by now how frustrated I’ve been with this process. It doesn’t mesh with my innate nature, which is someone who likes to plan and organise. And so I think it’s time for me to try something different. Not now, but when I come back to writing again after the sprog is born and life has settled down again.
I am going to try to become a plotter.
At the moment, I’m unsure as to what method of plotting I’ll use. I have plenty of time to explore them, so that doesn’t worry me right now. I’m also going to try to get myself back into a writing routine as soon as I can. This may be the more ambitious part of the plan, but it’s always been the best way for me. I’m also going to seriously track the time that I spend writing and set myself deadlines. And yes, I will probably blog endlessly about this entire process.
Mirrored from Stephanie Gunn.
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usagi_moon
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So, what you do think?
should I send it to her, or Logo?
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Comments: Read 4 or Add Your Own.
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Friday, November 6th, 2009
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theferrett
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When I was young and at a party, sometimes I would be overcome by sadness. Then I would have to leave the party and sit outside. Being stupid, I would sit out there until someone noticed I was gone and came and got me. If they did, then they loved me. If nobody did, then I was alone and unloved. I was very, very stupid. These days, I know: I just get overpeopled sometimes and need to retreat. That wave of sadness is my introvert circuits ticking over, and I need a bit of space. I thought back then that I was sad because I was lonely; quite the opposite. Now, I just feel slightly foolish should anyone discover me, alone, in some back room. "I'm fine," I smile. "Just need some time.". And I realize that no matter how good life gets, I am the sort of person who'll have spikes of sadness from time to time, and no matter how beloved or wanted or desired I am, I will occasionally just need to withdraw and contemplate this strange isolation. I'd like to be at a party and always on. Sometimes I am. Lucky enough, I guess. Posted via LiveJournal.app.
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Comments: Read 15 or Add Your Own.
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substitute
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Whiskey Car (n). A car which has been operated by a heavy drinker for some time. A particular damage pattern identifies a Whiskey Car. There will be parking lot dents, small ones with a bit of paint from another car or a pole. A distinctive pattern of impacts will be seen on the top of the fenders or bumpers due to angry car-whacking, for example with a pool cue or a hand tool. The inside of the car will smell vaguely bad, similar to the tobacco and old alcohol aroma of its owner at the end of the evening. Any keyhole will be scratched from impaired attempts to get the key in.
The whiskey car is immediately identifiable by observant people who've spent time in bars.
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Comments: Read 4 or Add Your Own.
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http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/11/final-reminder-for-bookshops.html posted by Neil
A quick reminder (as I was just asked) that today is the day that the bookshop Graveyard Book party reports have to be in to Harper Collins. By 9 pm PST.
http://files.harpercollins.com/Mktg/HarperChildrens/PDF/GraveyardContest_rules.pdf are the rules and info for those who lost them.
Hi Mr. Gaiman,
I was disappointed today to read you won't be part of the judging for The Graveyard Book contests. My not-wealthy, middle-of-nowhere bookstore just sent in its entry, and something we're concerned about is the fairness of judging.
For example, independent bookstores like Powell's (I'm sure you know) easily have enough money and are in a convenient enough location to ask you to come at one time or another. Against stores like that, who were able to put more money into their parties, we stand little chance.
I don't think that it's a lost cause for us; we were very creative. I'm just nervous to know you won't be judging. Can you tell me whether you think the judges will take things like size and location of bookstores into account? It would make me sleep a little easier until the results are announced.
Tusen takk,
Allison
Well, per the rules, the judging is based on:
(i) Overall creativity of the Party, as demonstrated by the invitations, signage, decorations, activities, entertainment, and refreshments.
(ii) Customer attendance and response (i.e., enthusiasm, costumes, participation).
(iii) Ability to capture and represent the spirit of The Graveyard Book.
...specifically to reward creativity, and not the ability to outspend other shops. (That was also why the party had to actually be at the bookshop, and not at another location.)
I asked my editor, Elise Howard, and she said,
Gosh, yes. Here's what we think is happening. We are looking at all the entries. On Monday, we'll send you the best 11, from which you will choose the Grand Prize Winner. The rest will get the first-prize package. So the short answer is that you ARE helping to choose.
The longer answer is that we will be very fair and will consider creativity, which includes work done with available resources, along with pure execution. (Don't you think? We haven't done anything yet; still waiting for more entries to come in.)
...which means that
a) I was wrong and will be the ultimate judge, from the shortlist. (Damn.)
and
b) everyone's on a level playing field.
Does that help reassure you?
PS -- Widgett's Graveyard Book Dessert competition winners have been announced over at http://www.needcoffee.com/2009/11/06/graveyard-book-dessert-challenge-winners/.
This one had NOTHING to do with me at all. But lor' the winning desserts look tasty...
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trillian_stars
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So, it came to our attention that next Friday is, in fact, Friday the 13th... and since The Weir, which is exceedingly CREEPY, will have a performance that night, we should relish that fact and get the most out of it (particularly since ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) kylecassidy was absent on Hallowe'en!)
So, come to that performance and then join us afterwards in our desperately Gothic and chillingly Creepy house where we shall be hosting scary Spanish movie night and a "let's chat about what we've just experienced and perhaps share scary stories of our own" party.
How exciting!
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Comments: Read 6 or Add Your Own.
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substitute
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Seen on the 405 Freeway:
Little black Mazda with license plate CRO FLIP and license plate holder that says:
Hrvatica <3 Pinay
Like No One Else
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Comments: Read 6 or Add Your Own.
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mr_d
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Some advice for those of you engaged in creative endeavours. Courtesy of Ignore Everybody by Hugh MacLeod.
1. Ignore everybody.
2. The idea doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be yours. The
sovereignty you have over your work will inspire far more people than
the actual content ever will. Your idea doesn’t have to be big. It just
has to be yours alone. The more the idea is yours alone, the more
freedom you have to do something really amazing.
3. Put the hours in. If somebody in your industry is more successful
than you, it’s probably because he works harder at it than you do.
4. Good ideas have lonely childhoods.
5. If your business plan depends on suddenly being “discovered” by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.
6. You are responsible for your own experience.
7. Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.
8. Keep your day job. The creative person basically has two kinds of
jobs: One is the sexy, creative kind. Second is the kind that pays the
bills. Sometimes the task at hand covers both bases, but not often.
It’s balancing the need to make a good living while still maintaining
one’s creative sovereignty. The young writer who has to wait tables to
pay the bills, in spite of her writing appearing in all the cool and
hip magazines… who dreams of one day not having her life divided so
harshly. Well, over time the “harshly” bit might go away, but not the
“divided.” This tense duality will always play center stage. It will
never be transcended. And nobody is immune. Not the struggling waiter,
nor the movie star. As soon as you accept this, I mean really accept
this, for some reason your career starts moving ahead faster.
9. Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.
10. Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this
earth to climb. You may never reach the summit; for that you will be
forgiven. But if you don’t make at least one serious attempt to get
above the snow line, years later you will find yourself lying on your
deathbed, and all you will feel is emptiness.
11. The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props.
Meeting a person who wrote a masterpiece on the back of a deli menu
would not surprise me. Meeting a person who wrote a masterpiece with a
silver Cartier fountain pen on an antique writing table in an airy SoHo
loft would seriously surprise me. A fancy tool just gives the
second-rater one more pillar to hide behind. Which is why there are so
many second-rate art directors with state-of-the-art Macintosh
computers. Successful people, artists and nonartists alike, are very
good at spotting pillars. They’re very good at doing without them. Even
more important, once they’ve spotted a pillar, they’re very good at
quickly getting rid of it. Good pillar management is one of the most
valuable talents you can have on the planet. Keep asking the question,
“Is this a pillar?” about every aspect of our business, our craft, our
reason for being alive, and go from there. The more we ask, the better
we get at spotting pillars, the more quickly the pillars vanish.
12. Don’t try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.
13. If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you. You’re better off doing
something on the assumption that you will not be rewarded for it, that
it will not receive the recognition it deserves, that it will not be
worth the time and effort invested in it. The obvious advantage to this
angle is, of course, if anything good comes of it, then it’s an added
bonus. The second, more subtle and profound advantage is that by
scuppering all hope of worldly and social betterment from the creative
act, you are finally left with only one question to answer: Do you make
this damn thing exist or not?
14. Never compare your inside with somebody else’s outside. The more
you practice your craft, the less you confuse worldly rewards with
spiritual rewards, and vice versa. Never sell something you love.
Otherwise, you may as well be selling your children.
15. Dying young is overrated. Every kid underestimates his competition,
and overestimates his chances. Every kid is a sucker for the idea that
there’s a way to make it without having to do the actual hard work. The
bars of West Hollywood, London, and New York are awash with people
throwing their lives away in the desperate hope of finding a shortcut,
any shortcut. Meanwhile the competition is at home, working their asses
off.
16. The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally
is where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do
from what you are not. It is this red line that demarcates your
sovereignty; that defines your own private creative domain. What crap
you are willing to take, and what crap you’re not. What you are willing
to relinquish control over, and what you aren’t. What price you are
willing to pay, and what price you aren’t. Art suffers the moment other
people start paying for it. The more you need the money, the more
people will tell you what to do. The less control you will have. The
more bullshit you will have to swallow. The less joy it will bring.
Know this and plan accordingly. When I see somebody “suffering for
their art,” it’s usually a case of their not knowing where that red
line is.
17. The world is changing. If you want to be able to afford groceries
in five years, I’d recommend listening closely to the (people who push
change) and avoiding the (people who resist change). In order to
navigate the New Realities you have to be creative - not just within
your particular profession, but in everything. Your way of looking at
the world will need to become ever more fertile and original. The old
ways are dead. And you need people around you who concur. That means
hanging out more with the creative people, the freaks, the real
visionaries. They’re easy enough to find if you make the effort, if
you’ve got something worthwhile to offer in return. Avoid the folk who
play it safe. They can’t help you anymore. Their stability model no
longer offers that much stability. They are extinct; they are
extinction.
18. Merit can be bought. Passion can’t. The only people who can change
the world are people who want to. And not everybody does. Part of
understanding the creative urge is understanding that it’s primal. We
think we’re “Providing a superior integrated logistic system” or
“Helping America to really taste Freshness.” In fact we’re just pissed
off and want to get the hell out of the cave and kill the woolly
mammoth.
19. Avoid the Watercooler Gang.
20. Sing in your own voice. The really good artists, the really
successful entrepreneurs, figure out how to circumvent their
limitations, figure out how to turn their strengths into weaknesses.
Had Bob Dylan been more of a technical virtuoso, he might not have felt
the need to give his song lyrics such power and resonance.
21. The choice of media is irrelevant. My cartooning MO was and still
is to just have a normal life, be a regular schmoe, with a terrific
hobby on the side. It’s not exactly rocket science. This attitude
seemed fairly alien to the Art Majors I met. Their chosen art form
seemed more like a religion to them. It was serious. It was important.
It was a big part of their identity, and it almost seemed to them that
humanity’s very existence totally depended on their being able to
pursue their dream as a handsomely rewarded profession.
22. Selling out is harder than it looks. Diluting your product to make it more “commercial” will just make people like it less.
23. Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.
24. Worrying about “Commercial vs. Artistic” is a complete waste of
time. It’s not about whether Tom Clancy sells truckloads of books or a
Nobel Prize winner sells diddly-squat. Those are just ciphers, external
distractions. To me, it’s about what you are going to do with the short
time you have left on this earth. Different criteria altogether.
Frankly, how a person nurtures and develops his or her own “creative
sovereignty,” with or without the help of the world at large, is in my
opinion a much more interesting subject.
25. Don’t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually. Find a
way of working that makes it dead easy to take full advantage of your
inspired moments. They never hit at a convenient time, nor do they last
long. Writer’s block is just a symptom of feeling like you have nothing
to say, combined with the rather weird idea that you should feel the
need to say something. Why? If you have something to say, then say it.
If not, enjoy the silence while it lasts. The noise will return soon
enough.
26. You have to find your own shtick. Jackson Pollock discovering
splatter paint. Or Robert Ryman discovering all-white canvases. Andy
Warhol discovering silk-screen. Hunter S. Thompson discovering gonzo
journalism. Duchamp discovering the found object. Jasper Johns
discovering the American flag. Hemingway discovering brevity. James
Joyce discovering stream-of-consciousness prose. Somehow while playing
around with something new, suddenly they found they were able to put
their entire selves into it.
27. Write from the heart.
28. The best way to get approval is not to need it.
29. Power is never given. Power is taken. The minute you become ready
is the minute you stop dreaming. Suddenly it’s no longer about
“becoming.” Suddenly it’s about “doing.” You didn’t go in there, asking
the editor to give you power. You went in there and politely informed
the editor that you already have the power. That’s what being “ready”
means. That’s what “taking power” means. Not needing anything from
another person in order to be the best in the world.
30. Whatever choice you make, the Devil gets his due eventually.
31. The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.
32. Remain frugal. Part of being creative is learning how to protect your freedom. That includes freedom from avarice.
33. Allow your work to age with you. You become older faster than you think. Be ready for it when it happens.
34. Being Poor Sucks. The biggest mistake young people make is underestimating how competitive the world is out there.
35. Beware of turning hobbies into jobs. James Gold-Smith once quipped,
“When a man marries his mistress, he immediately creates a vacancy.”
What’s true in philanderers is also true in life. “Before, this man had
a job and a hobby. Now suddenly, he’s just got the job, but no hobby
anymore. But a man needs both, you see. And now what does this man,
who’s always had a hobby, do with his time?” My friend held up his
glass. “Answer: Drink.”
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theferrett
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Watching Psycho on Netflix, I can see why Anthony Perkins had next to no career after it.
Thing is, everyone remembers Psycho for, well, the Psycho. The shower scene, the crazy killer, the OMG BLOOD. But watching it now, as someone would have in the 1950s, there's really no sense of menace about Norman Bates; we've already seen at least three people (the cop, the car salesman, the rowdy Texan who gives the money) who were crazier.
Norman's a strange little guy, but strangely charming. He wouldn't be out of place in a modern Indie film - the quirky habits of his taxidermy, his nervous stammer, his misplaced kindness, his lonely hotel. Actually, with a slight twist, he could be a likeable character in The Office. He's not a crazy guy for a lot of his performance, which is why the twist works - he's a nice guy, a hint of crazy, and then STABBITY STAB.
Which left poor Anthony Perkins in a horrible casting place. The studios wanted to cast him as an evil villain, but really he has little innate menace. Even when he's angry, he's strangely meek - which works for this film, but no other. And of course, after he became Hollywood's most famous killer, he couldn't be a leading man. So there he was, caught between extremes.
I feel bad for him. He was a good actor. He deserved a better career. But his breakout role placed him straight in the Kobayashi Maru.
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Comments: Read 9 or Add Your Own.
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theferrett
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If you've ever attended a party at La Casa McJuddmetz, you'll know that people tend to congregate in the kitchen. So we're thinking of renovating. Specifically, we wish to tear down this wall:
We wouldn't remove it entirely, of course - what we want to do is take down the wall and create a counter at roughly waist height, wherein we could a) have a place for people to rest drinks on, b) open up this central area, and c) install some cabinets under the counter and get some more chopping/storage space for the kitchen.
What Gini is worried about is affecting the flow of our parties. When we play Rock Band - which is, admittedly, often - people go to the kitchen, which she thinks might be to get away from the noise. I think people go to the kitchen because it's the only other comfortable place to stand in our house - when we're rockin', the living room is full up on people, and unless you want to sit down at the dining room table or wedge yourself into the hallway by the door, your only other choice is the kitchen. Which, may I remind you, the wall facing the living room looks summat like this:
I think if we open up that area, we make a larger talking-to area - you could stand in the dining room and lean to talk to people in the kitchen, and I don't think the noise would be much of an issue. But if you've gotten this far, you've evidently been to one of our gatherings. What do you think of the idea?
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Comments: Read 57 or Add Your Own.
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theferrett
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On Sunday, November 22nd, I will be DMing for charity. That's right; I'll be running a roleplaying game down in Akron, and for a mere $20 ($25 at the door) you can not only give to children, but be a part of a mini-con that involves LAN parties, gaming, and Guitar Hero.
What will I be running? A Planescape game, of course! Here's a description:
Couched In Mystery: A Planescape Game
Morty the Dustman has a serious problem: he cannot die. He's tried everything from leaping off of the spires to mouthing off to tanar'ri, and nothing hurts him. The problem is that he's a member of Sigil's Dustmen faction - a sect that idolizes and fetishizes death. And in helping Morty solve his horrible un-murder, you will wander through the stranger nooks and crannies of Sigil, the city at the heart of the multiverse.... (D&D 3rd Edition, roughly) (5 players)
If you can't make it to the charity, you can help me in another way: on Saturday, November 21st, I'll be holding a Mystery Module runthrough of the game to make sure all runs smoothly. So if you're a local who wants to play some Planescape (and who doesn't?), let me know which you'll be attending. Either will help me, but I hope you all can come to Akron (or just give to Child's Play in their name).
As a secondary bit, I have not forgotten my commitment to the Monthy Magazine Review, but the wedding has sapped my ability to read short stories now. I will have it up later in the month, hopefully just before their Black Friday sale - for the magazine I shall be reviewing is GUD Magazine! W00t!
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theonebob
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Wish I was in NYC for the Yankees' ticker-tape parade. The one in 2000 was amazing. I love NY.
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zardalu
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i'm in the middle of the worst flu i've had my adult life. a short hospital visit. 2 weeks now of coughing. lung infection, fevers, delerious, bordering on total paranoia hullucinagens (?), not to mention trying to flush the medication out of my body now. which i think is almost worst. can't concentrate, think clearly. i'm up for 15 minutes and i'm exhuasted. and when i'm awake i can't do much more than stare.
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Comments: Read 2 or Add Your Own.
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http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/11/note-to-self-nights-are-for-sleeping.html posted by Neil
Still trying to get back onto a diurnal schedule. (And, I should add, failing.)
Maddy and I started watching the new season of Sarah Jane Adventures tonight, which seems back on form after a dodgy second season.
Many amazing things waiting for me when I got home -- I still haven't gone through them all yet -- but today's mail brought me a copy of the Fantagraphics Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons book. Three glorious volumes. I wrote the introduction to Volume 2, and thus got it for free. (If you're curious, there are many Gahan Wilson Playboy cartoons up at this website. There's a Gahan Wilson virtual museum over at http://www.gahanwilson.com
And, of course, although I posted it before, it bears repeating that you can watch the film that Steven-Charles Jaffe made of the "Dark and Silly Night" comic Gahan and I did for art spiegelman and Francoise Mouly's Little Lit at the New Yorker site, or here:
And if I'd been here for Hallowe'en I would have posted it here then. Which reminds me, The Graveyard Book party season is over. Over thirty independent bookshops had Graveyard Book parties (The ABA's Bookselling This Week reports on thirteen of the parties -- and the shops -- at http://news.bookweb.org/7149.html.) The very best one of all will get me in their shop doing a signing in December and, looking at these thirteen, I am very glad I am not any kind of a judge for the awards.
My only hope is that the shop that wins will be somewhere warm. But most of the places on the party map will be just as cold by December as my house. (Vague and only climate-based relief that HarperCollins said No to Alaska in the rules mingles with vague and selfish disappointment that they also said No to Hawaii.)
It looks like the CBS Sunday Morning profile on me is going out this Sunday, the 8th, 9:00-10:30 AM, ET. According to this website:
Correspondent Serena Altschul visits author Neil Gaiman -- the tender-hearted master of the macabre -- whose books, including Coraline and The Graveyard Book have topped best-seller lists for 25 years.
.. which left me wanting to go "I am NOT a tender-hearted master of the macabre, I am in fact VERY SCARY INDEED," but I suspect I would convince nobody.
Thrilled to see that Odd and the Frost Giants was listed as one of Amazon.com's Best Books of 2009. While I was in China The Graveyard Book was listed as one of the ALA's teens top ten for 2009 as well, an award voted on by over 11,000 teens. (And I made it onto the list with lots of other good people.)
Also, Fragile Things was awarded the French 2010 Les Grands Prix de l’Imaginaire Award for translated short fiction. My thanks to the judges, but mostly to the translator, who in this case is the incredibly talented Michel Pagel. If I ever look good, do well, sell books or am popular in a foreign country, it's because of the translators, and they never get enough thanks or acclaim. And I think I'll post the cover here, because I never have.  I am becoming hooked on http://curiousexpeditions.org. I was extremely disappointed by the news on the current status of Argleton in Lancashier, especially so since I was hoping to buy a house there. I was going to move to Chako Paul City in Sweden instead, but appear to be the wrong gender and orientation. So probably I'll stay home.
(Hmm. You know, posting that French book-cover reminds me that there are some really beautiful new covers out there right now, especially from Poland and Russia. I know for I have signed them for people. I'll try and get some nice clean examples to put up here.)
And finally, a link to Joanne Leow's blog. It was lovely to see her again, four years on, when I went to Singapore - it was a great interview, and you can watch us chatting about writing, what I'm currently up to, signings, and why I don't write the same sorts of things twice in a row, at the Primetime Morning site: here's part 1 and part 2.
...
Dear Mr. Gaiman,
I was wondering if you would be so kind as to mention an upcoming art auction on your blog. The art auction is “art for hearts”. It is an auction of artwork donated by children’s illustrators such as Korky Paul, Lynne Chapman and An Vrombaut. Most of the artwork is original although there are also some signed digital prints and screen prints too.
All proceeds from the auction will be donated to help fund research by the transplant team at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Transplanted organs do not have the same life expectancy as non-transplanted organs and the transplant team is looking at finding ways to combat this.
Full details of the auction are available to view at http://art-for-hearts.blogspot.com
It will run on Ebay for a week starting on the 2nd of November. To locate the items people will need to type "art for heart" into the search area and choose "Art" or "books" for items.
Many thanks,
Kristine Stacey
You're welcome. I think this link has everything for sale in the auction: http://shop.ebay.co.uk/scrawldog/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686
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Comments: Read 8 or Add Your Own.
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Thursday, November 5th, 2009
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spookyhandle
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You lack any sense of structure, character or the Aristotelian unities. --Wednesday Addams/Christina Ricci, Addams Family Values
I just saw this in one of my LJ communities and had to share:
I'm still deeply skeptical about Nathan Lane as Gomez, but I must admit he does look the part. I'm also slightly amused that with each incarnation featuring live actors the children seem to get older and older. Adam Riegler (Puglsey) appears to be about the same age that Jimmy Workman was in the movies (although he was a few years older than Ken Weatherwax was in the original TV series)... But Wednesday! In the old black and white series, Lisa Loring was only about 5 when the show started. When Christina Ricci played her in the 90's, Wednesday was not only six years older, but suddenly the older of the two children* (although the actors were about the same age). And here, Krysta Rodriguez appears to be well into her teens, at the very least. Also, am I imagining things, or have they done away with her trademark braids?
On an related note, while checking ages on IMDB, I discovered that Jodie Foster voiced "Pugsly" in the 1973 cartoon series. Random.
*In fairness, Charles Addams's comics never gave anything resembling a clear family tree (or even character names) and the movies--while taking a lot of character cues from the series--also clearly returned to the original comics for inspiration, and wrote their own version of the Addams family tree.
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Comments: Read 11 or Add Your Own.
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Friday, November 6th, 2009
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azhure
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I expect that you’re all heartily tired of me posting about Nanowrimo by now. If so, feel free to skip this post.
I’ve been thinking a lot about writing in general as well about Nanowrimo. And I think that the issues I’ve been having with Nano have nothing to do with Nano at all.
I truly do enjoy doing Nano. I like being part of a group all striving towards the same goal. I like the competition. I like being “given” the freedom to just churn out words without editing, to be able to explore new words without overthinking everything. I think Nano is an awesome thing, and I admire everyone who has a go at it, whether they make 50k or not. You’re all awesome, whether you’re an established writer who’s churning out a draft or if you just want to play in the word mines for the first time and see if you *can* do it.
In retrospect, Nano couldn’t have come at a worse time for me. Not only do I have baby brain and late-pregnancy exhaustion, I’ve also had workmen in the house for most of this week. Plus I only finished a draft of another novel last week – something that always requires some time in between just refilling the well before I can tackle another big project.
So. The plan is to take a step back into another mode of writing. To refill the well by reading a lot, to do some planning and outlining of Never (I’m seriously contemplating writing a full outline and synopsis this time, just because it’s something that I haven’t done before and I’m curious to see if the process works for me). I may still do some writing, and I will very possibly do a good deal of posting about writing process. I just want to take it as it comes for a little while and stop stressing myself out about it all.
Mirrored from Stephanie Gunn.
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Comments: Read 1 or Add Your Own.
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Thursday, November 5th, 2009
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kylecassidy
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1) If you're in the Philadelphia area, I'm going to see trillian_stars's play The Weir tomorrow, that's Friday. If you'd like to come along, order a ticket, it may sell out. It will be awesome fun. Ghosts and beer. Seriously. Play's at 8. If you want to meetup beforehand, drop a note in the comments.
2) You awesome people donated more than $300 to City Kitties in our names -- thank you so much. Every dollar goes right to saving kittehz.
3) Our good buddy Vitalij Kuprij just joined The Freaking Trans Freaking Siberian Freaking Orchestra. I wasn't sure if it was Top Secret still but he's up there on the web page now. I said I'd never go see a concert in a stadium again, but SWEET BARKING CHEESE this is like the heavy metal Cirque de Sole!! Two shows at the Wachovia Center in Philly. (Bets on whether or not yagathai has fainted yet?)
4) Via silveringridd: Live near Fullerton California? Check out lunarmoths' photography show Nov 13th. chadruin is showing there too. At least check out the photos on her lj.
5) Every year in some fit of mad glee Mattel makes a Barbie to celebrate my birthday. A few years ago I started picking them up There are a lot of them visible in my post to Saucy Dwellings back in March. I don't know why I do it. But this year, since I was in Ohio on Halloween, it somehow slipped my mind. Well, just today a package showed up in the mail, addressed to trillian_stars "Oh," I said jokingly, "it must be the present you ordered for me." With a wink and a smile she said "It must be, why don't you open it up?"
Ladies and Gentlemen, the 2009 Kyle's Birthday Barbie!
How exciting.
( Roswell discovered that she couldn't eat it, but she did bat it around for a bit )
Add me as a friend on LiveJournal, Add me on Facebook, Follow me on Twitter.
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Comments: Read 34 or Add Your Own.
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http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/photos/events/sc/071805pandabears/index/*http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Panda-Bears/ss/events/sc/071805pandabears/im:/091105/480/98e9591ea01f466eb976d7c9cd843a09 http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20091105/capt.98e9591ea01f466eb976d7c9cd843a09.san_diego_panda_ny117.jpg?x=130&y=89&q=85&sig=PgBMnqhULQmlf3G9T4W7LA--  (AP) - This Nov. 5, 2009 photo provided by the San Diego Zoo shows a 13-week-old giant panda cub during his weekly exam. His name, which was voted on by thousands of people, will be announced during a ceremony on Nov. 17. The male cub is the fifth giant panda born at the San Diego Zoo. The first surviving giant panda born in the United States was born in San Diego in 1999, followed by cubs in 2003, 2005, 2007, and most recently this cub, born on Aug. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo)
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duchess_webb
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This is the sort of day where sharing this type of thing is -very- necessary. Hehe!
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Comments: Read 2 or Add Your Own.
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duchess_webb
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Thank you archmage for posting this. I feel the need to share it, even though it is rather large (I made it a wee bit smaller *g*) and may overpower some friend lists. Hehe.
What's scary to me is when I showed this to my hubby, he was able to recognize the diagram that was used. *lol*
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unwoman
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Martin of Vernian Process is in a financial jam, you can read about that here:
http://dj-fact50.livejournal.com/239475.html
But wait! Don't donate directly to him if you have yet to pick up The Keys or Trouble. All proceeds from download sales I make on BandCamp in the next 36 hours (it could be $200, it could be $0, who knows) I will donate to Martin's fund. You can put in any amount for either album, minimum $6 for one, $5 for the other. Any extra $ will go to Martin except mail purchases of actual keys from which I'll keep just $4 from each; USB drives I'll keep $10 from each. Be sure to send me an email if you'd like any physical product & include your mailing address.
This applies to any purchases made before midnight tomorrow night. I'll report back & donate my winnings to the cause Saturday morning & we'll see how far we've gotten.
My bandcamp page:
http://unwoman.bandcamp.com/
Thanks for helping!
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Comments: Read 4 or Add Your Own.
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usagi_moon
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( Huge Full image here )
Last night was watching Hairspray...the original one...and got inspired to do this....I don't have cable anymore the roommate and I figured we hardly watch tv.......and it's all repeats, and there is nothing to watch sometimes....so I'm gonna buy a digital tuner today..
Laters
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Comments: Read 2 or Add Your Own.
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theferrett
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I am lucky to be constantly meeting people who are beautiful, striking,and magnetic - and above all, kind. You can tell these folks by the way their friends react when you mention them: there's always that goofy smile, and that little satisfied head-bob, followed by a drawled "...Yeah." You know within minutes of shaking hands that they're cradled deep within people's hearts.
These people are usually good-looking, of course, but it goes beyond that. Some folks are lucky enough to have a personality that seeps out of every facet of their being; yes, they're pretty but there are plenty of vapid handsome folks. No, there's something about the way they stand, the way they smile, that tells you that you're going to have an interesting conversation once you're eventually introduced. And you always do.
But these people don't always know the effect they have upon a room, or how wonderfully people think of them. And it seems like such a loss to me when someone is beloved by all, but doesn't realize it. If I talk to them for a while and have these impressions confirmed, I want to tell them.
It's so scary to do that, though.
First off, if you tell them how striking they are, there's that danger that they'll think you're hitting on them - a danger that's magnified for me ever since I came out as poly. Because in modern society, "There's something about you that people find compelling" usually equals, "I want to get into your pants," and I don't want to put someone in the awkward position where they think I'm trying to use this as a way of forcing them to interact with me on future occasions. (Even if they're male and I'm straight, which happens more than you'd think.)
Then there's the strange power dynamic: by telling them, you're assuming a very uncomfortable mix of whacky prophet and weak supplicant. To say, "You know, you're really amazing" is on some level telling them, "Hey, I'm a visionary who sees something that you're blind to." Modulated slightly off, it makes you sound like a swollen, pretentious prick. (Which, hey! You may be.)
Yet telling someone that they have that kind of draw is also an admission that you yourself do not have that power; it feels oddly like you're abandoning something within yourself when you tell them this.
The end result is something that can drastically go wrong. A word wrong, a gesture, and this simple acknowledgement of someone's magnetism can turn into a foul-breathed leer, or a cocky overwriting of their personality. It's so easy to offend by telling someone that they exude something unique that nine times out of ten, I don't do it.
And when I do risk it - generally via email, because I can take the time to compose the words properly - I hold my breath until they respond, terrified that I might have offended. My whole day shrinks to an anxious worry that maybe I got it wrong.
I usually don't. My record, for these kinds of studied compliments, is on the whole very good. Usually it's a positive response, someone happy to get a kind compliment. It sometimes leads to a discussion of what about them is compelling. Sometimes it makes their day, and I can feel like I've accomplished what I set out to.
Most times, it goes well. Yet the world is so full of oafs who use someone's beauty as an excuse to invade their personal space, to demand things of strangers, that I don't want to be that sort of person. So I'll generally abstain, even if it means that the people who would take it well go without... And not just from me, but from the people around them that also feel that way.
It's right not to offend people. I know this. Yet it also feels like such a strange loss that the folks who carry that kind of magic within them can go along their way, thinking they're just not particularly interesting, all because the good people are scared to say anything because the bad people use compliments like weapons.
It's just very hard to tell someone that they're lovely on both a physical and personal level, whether they're male or female, your type or not. And I wish it was easier. I wish this was a less complicated world.
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Comments: Read 62 or Add Your Own.
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http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/11/author-comes-home-and-displays-many.html posted by Neil
I went to XinjiangProvince in Western China to continue researching my Monkey/China book. This is the photo I took of a scenic building that, I discovered when the men came out to arrest us, turned out to be a police station. If you're in Kashgar do not take pictures of this building. Trust me on this.
This is what I was researching and working on. (As seen in a little town square, on the way to Yarkand):
... or discussion of the pomegranate crop, counted as politics. It made my journey even stranger than it might have been already.While I was there my camera started misbehaving: I hadn't even realised it had a motor in it, but the motor started vibrating gently, producing some very beautiful shots that weren't really what I wanted... Like this shot of a lady in Yarkand market selling peppers and tomatoes that seem to have turned into jewels.
After a great deal of reflection I decided not to buy a camel in the market in Kashgar. Here are two camels I didn't buy. In the Russian market in Urumqi I bought a new camera I don't like anywhere nearly as much as my old, sporadically-vibrating one.
I went from there to Jinan, Wuqiao and Beijing.
This photo, taken in Beijing was one of the highlights of my trip -- and was one the main reasons I went back to China. I wanted to talk to Liu Xiao Ling Tong (the stage name for Mr Zhang Jinlai), who played Monkey in the Chinese television version of Journey to the West. ( Here's his blog.) Then I went to Chengdu. I don't have photos on my camera of the Galaxy Award ceremony, or the speech I gave at Sechuan University, or the visit to the Earthquake Zone and the talk I gave to the kids there. (Science Fiction World and I are starting a library for them.) (If I can get some photos I'll put them up.)
And I was not able to take photos of the encounter with the fourth holiest Buddhist in China, because he is not to be photographed.
So instead here's a photo of Amanda Palmer, who joined me for my last few days in China, on the side of a mountain having been recognised by some happy Chinese tourists...
More photos of China and Singapore in my next post, I hope. In summary: Singapore was wonderful, but the visit was much much too short: we were there for about 50 hours altogether. Once again, the food was amazing and the people delightful.
...
Let's see. A quick handful of links...
....
Through most of this summer I was playing with a Lomography Camera. The kind with film in, where you have no idea what you took until it's developed. (The one I used was an LC-A+.) I'm starting to love the results, especially when everything comes in slightly oversaturated. They look like pictures of dreams.
 (Middle photo of the amazing bubble by Miss Holly Gaiman. Who is fundraising.)
(And you can, of course, click to embiggen the pictures.) ... And finally, people sometimes write in and point out that, when I return home, I post pictures of my dog, rapturously dashing somewhere or dancing or stick-wielding to welcome me home. "Why do you not ever post pictures of cats?" they ask.
Good point. Here is Coconut welcoming me rapturously home:  Here is Princess, doing her version of a rapturous welcome, glad that I have not forgotten the trick that she taught me to do, during my time away. The trick involves turning on the tap in the guest bathroom and letting her alternately drink and attack the water with her sharp teeth, until she gets bored: I'm sad to say that while I was away, Hermione died. She was the surviving member of the two mad cat sisters who live in the basement library and Do Not Mingle, and she was almost eighteen. You can see her in this Photosynth of my library downstairs (needs Silverlight). It feels strangely unbalanced to be in a house without Pod and Hermione in it.
There. Goodnight. |
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Comments: Read 15 or Add Your Own.
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Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
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unwoman
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Rough scratch recording of this Alanis Morissette cover I just started working on, recorded 11/04/09. I hated Alanis Morissette throughout the 90s -- her misuse of the word "ironic" and her vocal gymnastics turned me off. However, two things recently changed my opinion of her. 1. Her cover of "My Humps" was instant internet win, and recalled her comedic talents I'd first seen on You Can't Do That On Television and 2. This particular song came up on Pandora, and I reluctantly fell in love and felt compelled to instantly cover it. This article http://social-creature.com/make-more-unsocial-web-applications really captures this about Pandora, the fact that it'll play a song by an artist you think you hate, but everything about that song (except perhaps certain vocal qualities) is something you love.
This recording was done very very quickly, roughly. There is the clicking sound of my ring on all the right-hand notes, and the lovely machine noise of my phone talking to the network, because I'm reading lyrics off my G1 here, but it's in all the right places.
credits
Written by Alanis Morissette. Performed by Unwoman. The picture I'm using as a cover was snap-shot at the DNA lounge MEAT/Clockwork/Dark Art Gallery, in front of a lovely betentacled mirror (I forget who did the mirror) by the extremely talented Audrey Penven. http://www.audreypenven.net
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Comments: Read 7 or Add Your Own.
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Thursday, November 5th, 2009
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azhure
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Nanowrimo total, as of yesterday: just a smidge over 9,000 words.
It’s humid today, which seems to be the weather pattern that really kicks my butt at the moment. As a result, I’m finding it very difficult to actually focus on getting any writing done.
I’m also beginning to think that Nanowrimo is a goal that’s not going to be met for me this year. It’s not even a matter of whether I can get 50k written in a month. Hell, I could sit down and spend a couple of solid days just churning out rubbish to make word count.
The thing is that I don’t want to churn out rubbish. I’m enjoying exploring a new fictional world, but it feels like I haven’t developed enough of the world itself to be able to write anything that’s going to be of any use. I just don’t see the point in churning out words that I’m going to toss in a few month’s time.
And yes, I’m aware that this is the same discussion I’ve been having with myself about whether to do Nanowrimo or not in the first place. I think it can be a very fine thing – it’s a good way to generate a zero draft of part of a novel. It’s a good way to just play with words, to see if you can write 50k words in a month. I’ve “won” it twice before, so I know I can do that.
But is doing it just because I can a good enough reason? Yes, I want to write this draft, but I also want it to be a useful draft.
I might keep on pushing forward. This might just have to be a lost day of writing.
But I might just pull back a little, spend some more time working on building the foundation of this novel.
Mirrored from Stephanie Gunn.
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Comments: Read 9 or Add Your Own.
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Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
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theonebob
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Congratulations to the Boys from the Bronx.
The Yankees win!
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Comments: Read 4 or Add Your Own.
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pope_guilty
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You are NOT ENGLISH, you have ONLY A SLIGHT IDEA OF WHO GUY FAWKES WAS AND WHY HE DID WHAT HE DID, and you didn't know that rhyme before YOU SAW IT IN THAT FUCKING MOVIE
SHUT UP THIS YEAR
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Comments: Read 37 or Add Your Own.
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bleedingdaisy
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2009
Living Dead Girl - Elizabeth Scott
The Pleasure of my Company - Steve Martin
Tantalize - Cynthia Leitch Smith
Sucks to be Me - Kimberly Pauley
3 Glass Apples - Neil Gaiman
Celestine Prophecy - James Redfield
Miss American Pie - Margaret Sartor
The Summoning - Kelley Armstrong
The Awakening - Kelley Armstrong
The Chosen One - Carol Lynch Williams
One for the Money - Janet Evanovich
Two for the Dough - Janet Evanovich
Let the Right One In - John Ajvide Lindqvist
19th Wife - David Ebershoff
Books read in the past: (list in progress)
Crosses - Shelley Stoehr
Warlock - Wilbur Smith
The Sunbird - Wilbur Smith
River God - Wilbur Smith
Lost Soul COmpanion - SUsan M. Brackney
Blood And Roses -Adele Olivia Gladwell
Celestine Prophecy - James Redfield
The Tenth Insight - James Redfield
The Secret of Shambala - James Refield
Girl Interrupted - Susana Kaysen
The Camera My Mother Gave Me - Susana Kaysen
Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
A Quick Bite - Lynsay Sands
Tall, Dark and Hungry -Lynsay Sands
A Bite to Remember -Lynsay Sands
Love Bites- Lynsay Sands
Lady of the Reeds- Pauline Gedge
Child of the Morning - Pauline Gedge
The Immoralist - ANdrew Gide
Cleopatra sister of the moon - Margaret Leighton
Valley of the kings - Cecelia Holland
The Sphinx - Robin Cook
Golden Gate - Vikram Seth
Ramses Series - Christian Jacq
Poet in Exile - Ray Manzarek
Ed Gein Psycho - Paul Woods
Drinking - Caroline Knapp
Time After Time - Sue Haasler
Bloodsong - Julie Neimark
Virgins - Caryl Rivers
Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides
Blue Angel - Francine Prose
Reflections on the Nile - Suzanne Frank
Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
Bloodsucking Fiends - Christopher Moore
Fool - Christopher Moore
Companions of the Night - Vivian Vande Velde
Stop Pretending - Sonya Sones
Planet Janet - Dyan Sheldon
Vampire Kisses - Ellen Schreiber
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landry
Salt: A World History - Mark Kurlansky
No One Here Gets Out Alive - Jerry Hopkins
Riders on the Storm: My Life with Jim Morrison and The Doors - John Densmore
The Rising - Brian Keene
City of the Dead - Brian Keene
I Burn for You -Susan Sizemore
I Hunger for You- Susan Sizemore
I Thirst for You -Susan Sizemore
Of Human Bondage - W. Somerset Maugham
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
Queen Betsy Novels - Mary Janice Davidson
Anne Rice - All but Jesus books
A.N. Roquelaure - Sleeping Beauty Series
V.C. Andrews - Dollanganger Series, The Adare Novel, The Casteel Series, The Cutler Series, The Landry Series, The Logan Series
Twilight Series - Stephanie Meyer
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mr_d
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Fuck you ticketmaster and your $8.50 per ticket "convenience charge".
Plus you want to ass-rape me and charge an additional $2.50 per ticket to print my own? I'm saving YOU money!
Not to mention actually purchasing the tickets online was a complete pain the in the ass. I hate you.
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theferrett
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When I went on a poly-spree last week, posting for three days in a row, I figured that our rules for polyamory might also be something I'd want on my OKCupid profile. So I posted it there, as a blog entry.
What I discovered is how sheltered LJ is.
The reason is simple: OKC has no real equivalent of a friends list. OKCupid was once a clean, usable app - but they've added all sorts of new features, and those features aren't particularly well integrated. You can make journal entries, sure, but if there is a way to see the collated entries of all the people I like on OKC, then that's pretty well hidden.
So how do people discover your journal posts? Simple: Whenever you make a post (or change anything on OKC), it winds up on the personalized home page of people around you who have your criteria listed as an acceptable match. So every male-seeking female within a fifty-mile radius sees, "Ferrett made a journal entry!" along with a snippet of the post. And if they post a comment in reply, then that comment shows up on all the guys' lists as, "localgirl76 made a comment on Ferrett's journal entry!"
What that means is that your audience is much more random. Anyone, from a hard-core conservative to a /b/tard, might see that post. It's not like LJ, where your audience is mostly people who like you well enough to follow you - OKC is pretty much an open audition.
Which means that there's a lot more contention in blog posts of any meaningful content. Looking at the OKC comment threads, there's a lot more arguing, a lot more of random people dropping by and going, "What the hell?" and much quicker mockery should someone post something stupid. Because your audience is all of OKC, not just some tailored version.
I actually like that, even as it intimidates me.
See, the thing about LJ (or any blog of substantive size) is that it's really easy to get blinkered into thinking that your blog is the world. After all, if you're for universal health care, and all your pals are for universal health care, and when you post frothing tirades on goddamned insurance companies and everyone who's reading you either a) is as pissed off as you are, or b) doesn't have the time or energy to duel you in your stomping grounds and will leave you alone.
After a while, if you're not careful, you start to genuinely believe that this self-selected segment is representative of the population. All the intelligent people agree with you, right? All you get are wonderful agreements, nods, people telling you that you're awesome. And you forget that your entire world is actually a narrow peninsula, a tiny room where a handful of iconoclasts have joined hands to decide that this is it.
And you can forget how to interact with the outside world. You can start treating informed dissension from the party line as a betrayal. You can start getting seriously aggravated whenever you have to actually debate for your opinions, because OMG, these five hundred people all see the truth of it, why the fuck do I have to endure this? And you can get furious when someone from outside treats your unusual viewpoint as though it were, well, not what most people think - and then if you're incautious you start pounding these outsiders down, in some cases because they haven't heard of your ideas and how dare not realize the fact that your attitudes are universal law?
You can get lost in this artificial world of harmony. And while you're lost, you can forget exactly how big a fight you have on your hands. And you can start alienating anyone who doesn't automatically buy into your core topics.
OKC? A little scarier. And in its own way, a little more honest. Anything I post on, say, polyamory may well be viewed by folks who hate poly. If I post on health care, well, conservatives may well drop by. My core audience isn't people who like me, but rather everyone in the area potentially seeking a straight white dude. And that's a lot of people. A lot of potential for clashes and ugliness.
In a way, though, it's worth more. It's not just preaching to your choir, it's preaching to everyone. And when you preach, sometimes you gotta do the debate afterwards. That is an infuriating experience, often emotionally difficult, but it reaches wider. Are you likely to change anyone's mind? 'Course not. But if you change one mind out of a hundred, well, that's enough of a swing to change elections.
I respect OKC. I like LJ better. I like just doofin' around. But I know when I'm writing here, I'm in a largely safe space. OKC's risking a little more... which is probably not what they want, but there you have it.
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Comments: Read 60 or Add Your Own.
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depressed.
artistic.
sleepy.
nostalgic.
tired.
tired.
accomplished.
bouncy.
