Gripping hand? Twitter is currently overloaded....
I can see it now, the battle cries... "retweeeet! retweeeet!" :)
(I know, I haven't posted anything of substance here lately; I need to Flush the Lines but I've no time, and am having a lot of fun over on Twitter.)
Latest two bits: One, an effort to get a PGP/GPG key signing party going at NorWesCon since Cory Doctorow will be in attendance... and two, my personal brainstorm: Jay Leno, Top Gear America? (Who else would you get? Personally I'd like one of them to be Jack Lewis, but that's just my own personal bias... :) (Who? Noted PNW-local motorcyclist-columnist. The presenters don't ALL have to have uber-star-power. Besides, on the original one, only Hammond has it outside of "motoring", as our British friends call it... and Capt. Slow started as a columnist.)
Anyhoo. See you in the funny papers... if the damn thing comes back up :)
- Location:The Castle
- Mood:
amused - Music:Jessica - The Allman Brothers
Just like always,
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
staxxy, maiaarts, and the Finishing School of Flail were splendid beta readers and sanity checks. Thank you!And also just like always, this is where I ask you lovely folks to help spread the word about the new post! Thank you!
(I slept in until 10:30 this morning. It was heavenly.)
- Location:Kitchenland, clutching a cup of tea
mimerki.Okay, my game playing and game designery friends, here's a meme for you. I dare you! I double-dare you!
If I were a summonable monster, how would you summon me? (Include items to lure monster-me and method for said fell ritual.)
I tremble with alternate fear and delight at the prospect of your answers.
"Hundreds of troops are returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with extensive combat burns. Now, an Army hospital in Texas is experimenting with a virtual reality program that can distract burn victims and help alleviate some of their pain. The program, known as SnowWorld, was developed by researchers at the University of Washington."
Full article here.
My last day of work on this contract, so one last Shallow Fashion Details photo from the Bldg. 17 ladies' restroom:
Tomorrow, sleeping in! And finally going to see Avatar, since we were thwarted in our previous attempts.
Posted via LiveJournal.app.
Today I got an e-mail from my parents, - one of those that gets endlessly forwarded - longing for how life used to be.
I was pondering what it means to be more interested in something other than what's right in front of you. I know I did the fantasy bit when I was having a tough time in the real world, but now I wouldn't change it.
Sure it's fun to play act and dress up, but the fun is knowing I can stop doing it when I want to. Also, if these people got what they were fantasizing about, some of it would probably be just as hard and boring as parts of our current lives generally are (I'm thinking of housework here).
And if there is something missing in your real life, for heaven's sake, go get it and put it in. But if you are wishing for Legolas, you are out of luck, because he's in love with Gimli.
- Location:work
- Mood:
contemplative
The folks at Action Audio have a partnership going with Drollerie Press to do audio editions of our bigger-selling titles–and apparently it’s now Faerie Blood’s turn to go audio! I’ve been emailed by a gentleman asking me for pronunciations on various and sundry unusual names and phrases all over the book, and I’ve fired him back a list of notes that hopefully will be helpful!
It’s also super-helpful to be able to point at a nice audio snippet of Bob Hallett of Great Big Sea on a radio show about Newfoundland ghost stories, and say ‘this guy? My hero should have his accent’. (Of course, now I totally want to hear that entire radio show. I’ll have to see if I can find it.)
Anyway, so this is exciting and stuff; sometime soon there should be audio Faerie Blood goodness, and I shall be making inquiries as to whether I’ll be able to maybe set aside a copy to hand out in another little contest of some sort. Watch this space for updates as they happen.
Meanwhile, for the interested, the other Drollerie titles that exist in audio form are:
joelysue- Rachael de Vienne’s Pixie Warrior
- John Rosenman’s Alien Dreams
- Gary Inbinder’s Confessions of the Creature
If audio books are your thing, you might consider checking these out!
Mirrored from angelakorrati.com.
Today is the next-to-last-day of my current work contract. On the one hand, looming unemployment and job-hunting, ugh. On the other hand, time to work on the novel I started writing on New Year's Day, time to finish clearing out the Storage Heap Room o' Doom, and time to make stuff to sell at Mourning Market and my eventually-to-be-launched Etsy store. So, mostly yay, I think.
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My Dad, because he is a helper and an enabler, made the brilliant suggestion that I need to find an oversized bird cage to keep my doll in. Like this, or this, or this! (yes yes, clicky-links to eBay.) My friends who have long listened to me talk about my need for decorative cages to keep decorative people in understand why this suggestion is so appealing to me.
Speaking of my Evangeline Ghastly doll, I realized that I'm not entirely decided on her name. I thought it was Lucretia, but then the Stroppy One suggested Pandora. But neither of those seemed to stick, which I think means I haven't found her name yet. Vexing, very vexing.
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Awwww! Jake von Slatt over at Steampunk Workshop wrote a very nice review and article about the Gothic Charm School book! (clicky-link!)
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Everyone needs to go read the newest law of the Internet, because it is BRILLIANT: http://www.racialicious.com/2009/12/21/a
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And finally, here, have a SFD photo (EDIT: bah, I don't like my expression or how I was tilting my head in this picture, but it shows the details of the outfit):
Posted via LiveJournal.app.
- Location:Cubeville
What does this mean?
Well, for one thing, dinner at Snappy Dragon in Roosevelt with whoever I can scare up tonight.
Also, I'm planning some fun things for the rest of the month.
Do I feel any different? No. Certainly my cat didn't think so when he demanded his morning snuggle.
Do I look any different? Of course not. Unless you count the new cat scratches. I love my cat, but I do wish he didn't try to knead my face.
Am I going to radically change my life? No. I always plan to try new things each year, and this year is no different.
I hope you all take a moment today to reflect on the awesomeness of being alive. 'Cause you know, it's pretty cool.
- Location:work
- Mood:
cheerful - Music:JoCo
Tonight I put up the start of a tutorial on stretching and mounting canvas prints.
I am trying to encourage buyers to order them unstretched - as it is not only a greener choice, but less expensive on price as well as shipping. Offering ways to save money, always a good way to go.
Anway, It could probably use some more photos before I turn it into a full page on my site, as well as another pass or two at editing... but it is pretty much a full tutorial. I just couldn't photograph myself working as well as I'd have liked to have.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mykeam
varina8 was here last night for dinner, during and after which we talked long and wide-rangingly (it's a word now, thank you) about the future, figuring out what we want, making choices in a way that fits with where we are in our lives and so on. This resonated strongly with a conversation I had recently with davidlevine in which he talked about creating a list of cool and impossible things he wanted to do--which resulted in his impending trip to Mars.I need to make some lists. I need to make a list of cool things I've done over the last few years, trips I've taken, things I've accomplished, and so on. This will surely help encourage my work on the other two lists I'm going to make. The second list will be things I need to do--stuff around the house, stuff for my personal health and well-being, etc. And the last list will be a list of cool and impossible things I want to do. My life is filled with people who do cool and apparently-not-so-impossible impossible things. I've been one of those people, too. I want to be that person again.
Some of this is time-of-life stuff. Some of it is a way to get control and set some goals. Some of it is exercising my strong inclination to indulge in wishing, an exercise I often discourage in myself due to financial constraints or practical considerations. Sometimes these things must be tossed out in favor of encouraging my inner visionary.
I'm also starting as I intend to continue: I'm calling or writing folks I haven't been in touch with in a while. I'm trying to focus my energy on things that will bear fruit, not things that eat me up and make me unhappy. (That last one's a big one, and in only a few days I've been more successful than I thought I'd be; it's had to do with taking control of the things I can control and finding ways to divert my energy when I start obsessing over that which I can't control.)
We'll see how it goes. Like the icon says, I want to believe I can do this. I've made a small start, but a good one.
Those of you out there who’ve been with me a while will know I’ve been hosting the semi-regular Drollerie Press blog tours. My fellow Drollerie authors and I have had some fun doing these, but in 2010, we’re seeking to expand the scope of our efforts. We’d love to find some non-Drollerie authors with whom we could do blog post exchanges. So far our little tours have been monthly (although we’ve canceled a couple of times for various reasons), but the interval in question would be negotiable depending on how many authors wanted to get involved and what their commitments would be like.
We are of course writing in a mix of genres at Drollerie: urban fantasy, romance, SF, horror, etc., and we’re predominantly in electronic form, although a few of us have our work available in print as well. Ideally I’d like to find other authors who are e-pubbed and/or who share our genres, but print-based authors are of course very welcome as well.
Drollerie of course lives here, and if you’d like to check out an example of one of our recent blog tours, check out the December master post I put up on Drollerie’s main blog. If you’re a writer reading this and you might be interested in setting up an exchange of posts, let me know! Drop me a comment, message me on LJ or DW, fling me email, whatever works. I look forward to hearing from you!
Mirrored from angelakorrati.com.
The rest of today's outfit:
(Where the heck did that little curly flip of hair come from? My hair is nowhere near curly enough to do that, and especially not when I've got it pulled back in pigtails. Odd.)
Posted via LiveJournal.app.
A detail shot of part of today's outfit, courtesy of the Stroppy One:
It feels weird to not be wearing all my rings! (I did bring them with me, just in case the sensation of being mostly ringless freaks me out too much.)
But anyway, yes. Pink GOTH CAKE gloves. Because I'm silly like that. ::grin::
Posted via LiveJournal.app.
As I’ve gotten accustomed to at this point, Nora Roberts turns in a decently entertaining and suspenseful little story with Black Hills, one of her most recent works. There’s nothing here that’s particularly unusual compared to all of her other works; she certainly utilizes a lot of her familiar tropes here, such as the hero being a former cop, and focusing less on surprising you with the identity of the killer and more upon the suspense involved with setting up where and how he will strike next and how the good guys will finally track him down.
This time around, what makes the story work for me is the fact that she takes the time to show us the childhoods of Lil and Cooper, following them from when they first met as youngsters, up through when they first consummate their blossoming affections as young adults, and on up through to the current day–when Lil has established a wildlife refuge and Coop is coming back to the Black Hills to look after his aging grandparents and to put his past as a cop behind him. There’s nice character development between him and Lil through the whole book, as the two of them strive to deal with the emotional weight of their past and the simple fact that they’re still in love with each other.
Since this is of course a Nora Roberts novel, there’s a killer on the loose to spice things up. And after all the romantic suspense novels of hers I’ve read, she’s pretty much got the formula down. Again, nothing terribly unusual in this book’s particular psychopath du jour, how he perceives our heroine, and what ultimately happens to bring about his downfall… but it’s all competently executed and an engaging read. Three stars.
Mirrored from annathepiper.org.
This is a book I first read as a loaner from the fabulous mamishka
In this particular case, the hero happens to be a Treasury agent who’s out on a stakeout with his partner, who gives him quite a bit of good-natured ribbing about the fact that he’s got on a swanky suit and is carrying around a paperback in his pocket because his favorite author is having a signing he wants to attend. And by “favorite author”, I mean “hot writer babe he totally is in love with, despite the fact that she’s married”. But OHNOEZ! The agents discover their boss is the bad guy they’re trying to identify–and the boss promptly shoots them both, leaving the hapless partner to die in our hero’s arms, and our hero to stumble off in a frantic haze, because he’s been shot in the head and is all angsty that his partner just got killed and his boss is a bastard and stuff.
Raise your hand if you’re surprised that we have a jump cut over to the aforementioned signing, wherein our heroine is valiantly attempting to carry on the latest episode in her long-running game of Pretend She Actually Has a Husband Because It Helps Her Sell Books. Boy, is she surprised when a wounded stranger wanders into the bookstore, comes right up to her, calls her “Katherine”, and smooches her in front of her adoring fans and shell-shocked cousin! ;) ‘Cause it just so happens that our Treasury agent has the exact same name as her alleged “husband”, and he’s gone and decided he is in fact her Sam MacDonald.
You can probably figure out where the plot’s going to go from there, and you wouldn’t be wrong. Most of it has to do with Katherine and her loyal cousin frantically trying to figure out what to do with a Treasury agent who’s clearly off his rocker, and by “off his rocker”, I mean “Katherine secretly finds him totally romantic and wishes he really was her husband.” But the bad-guy boss of course resurfaces at the end, and, well, you can probably figure out what happens from there, too.
And in a lot of ways the flavor of the novel is archaic even for the year it came out, i.e., 1991; the fact that our hero could use the phrase “not worth a plugged nickel” without apparent irony made me wonder if he’d somehow gotten knocked back into 1935 or something when he got shot in the head. Yet, I didn’t particularly care; it added a sort of innocent charm to the whole thing, and made me glad to revisit it as my first read for 2010. If it were available in ebook form, I’d totally be buying it. Three stars.
Mirrored from annathepiper.org.
I wanted to give this one a post all by itself. Ladies and gentlemen, from April 12, 1968, I give you my father and mother, Donald Ray and Judith Elaine Highland. And if my calculations are correct, on that date, I’m only a short time away from being more than a gleam in my father’s eye!
And not like I normally pay attention to such things, but I gotta say, Mom’s outfit in this picture? Kinda stylin’, in a wholesome 1968 kind of way. Dad, on the other hand? Total dork. ;) All he’s lacking here is a slide rule.
Mirrored from annathepiper.org.
My little sister wildshadowstar
This first one is in Naples, Italy, in 1944. That dog-tag-wearing guy on the right? That there is my grandfather, Jim Sherer. I totally do not remember him; he died when I was very small. I have vague impressions of him as a much older man, heavier and ruddy-faced and with much less hair. But I can’t honestly say whether that’s because of pictures I saw of him; I have no recollections of his physical presence.
But wow. This is my granddad as a soldier. Wow.
There are several pictures of my mother as a little girl, too. Everybody in my family keeps telling me that I look so much like her, but it’s really driven home to me seeing this pictures. Especially this one. I love her expression here.
The coup de grace, though, is this one. Four, count ‘em, four generations of women from my family. On the far right is my great-grandmother Margaret, who I again completely fail to remember. Next to her is my grandmother Hyson. Next to her? That there is my mom, Judy Highland. And that blonde moppet in her lap? That’s ME.
I’m thrilled to have these. I think I need to send my grandma a letter to thank her for sharing them with the family. They’re wonderful. Many kudos to Becky for sharing them online too. <3
Mirrored from annathepiper.org.
"All things Alice
Look for fashion/entertainment synergy to break new ground this year, including novel partnerships for on-screen placement and higher-profile designer collaborations. One of the first down the rabbit hole in that regard will be Tim Burton's live-action "Alice in Wonderland" remake, due to open March 5.
In addition to Disney Consumer Products' official high-style tie-ins with jewelry makers (Tom Binns, Swarovski) and clothing designers (Stella McCartney is among those rumored) set to roll out in conjunction with the film's release, Lewis Carroll inspiration is popping up like hallucinogenic mushrooms after an acid rain. The recent holiday window displays at Bergdorf Goodman in New York bore an Alice in Wonderland theme, and in March, Parisian department store Printemps reportedly plans to unveil window displays of custom "Alice" dresses by the likes of Alexander McQueen and Christopher Kane.
Designers recently name-checking Lewis Carroll and his creations include Donatella Versace, Jason Wu, Kenzo's Antonio Marras, and Zac Posen. A self-professed lifelong fan of all things Alice, Posen has collaborated on a collection of Wonderland-themed jewelry and recently unveiled a pre-fall 2010 collection that he describes as "Lewis Carroll meets Paloma Picasso," which includes thigh-length, Alice-appropriate dresses in mad, mad plaids. He explained there are several things that play into the fomenting fashion fixation.
"First, there's a real sense of escapism and imagination to it that I think is important in popular culture right now," he said. "And Alice and 'Through the Looking Glass' have really become a part of the fashion vernacular." He pointed to everything from the familiar iconography of the tea party accouterments and playing cards to "the woman dressing as a little girl in a shrunken dress, and the black, white and red colors, and even the dandy tweed suit."
I'm sure a lot of the Alice-inspired high-fashion stuff will just make me roll my eyes and mutter about people who need to read the books, but I'll still be curious to see it. Tho' I'm already wincing at the notion of "thigh-length, Alice-appropriate dresses in mad, mad plaids".
On a much smaller level, I'm already starting to notice this happening. More strangers are starting to reference Alice In Wonderland when commenting on my clothes, even when I'm not wearing a top hat.
- Location:Cubeville, whee?
I know I keep saying this, but let’s see if I can hold to it for a while now that the new year is under way, eh?
Back into Bone Walker tonight, with Chapter 7 underway. I’ve got me a Kendis with a head full of stuff she’d really rather not have to be dealing with all at the same time, and a bit about how the magic of Warding a city works, and a bit of Seattle geography all touched upon in the five hundred words I’ve written tonight. This felt good. Let’s see if I can do it again tomorrow.
Meanwhile, in case y’all haven’t seen it yet, we’re handing out free downloads of my story “The Disenchanting of Princess Cerridwen” right over here for the 11th day of Drollerie Christmas! I know, I’m already handing it out for free here, but serasempre
And oh yeah, did y’all see the new poll I have up in the sidebar? (Go here for those of you who are reading this from LJ or DW.)
Written tonight: 508
Chapter 7 total: 508
Bone Walker total (first draft): 17,242
Mirrored from angelakorrati.com.
Profile
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Page Summary
- technoshaman : Twitter [+0]
- cupcake_goth : New post time at Gothic Charm School! [+3]
- scarlettina : A Friday morning indulgence [+4]
- savannarama : Cool Innovation in Pain Management [+1]
- cupcake_goth : One more photo [+15]
- prettyshrub : Real life v fantasy [+1]
- annathepiper : This just in: Faerie Blood audiobook [+3]
- cupcake_goth : Stuff and things, things and stuff [+39]
- prettyshrub : Happy birthday to ME! [+3]
- mykeamend : Stretching and Mounting [+0]
- scarlettina : The beginning of a new year [+7]
- annathepiper : Seeking authors for blog post exchanges [+3]
- cupcake_goth : Posting madness! [+22]
- cupcake_goth : Yes, I embroidered more gloves [+12]
- annathepiper : Book Log #2: Black Hills, by Nora Roberts [+0]
- annathepiper : Book Log #1: Too Good to Forget, by Marilyn Tracy [+1]
- annathepiper : Another awesome picture [+2]
- annathepiper : Whoa! Family history FTW! [+7]
- cupcake_goth : We may all be mad here, but I don't think I like your version. [+31]
- annathepiper : Right then, holiday is over and the new year has begun [+2]
chasethestars