Iron-clad feather-feet pounding the dust

[greygirlbeast]

I do not know why it happened, but last night's sleep was accompanied by the sort of delirium that usually requires a 104F fever or a dose of some unpleasant entheogen to produce. So, I'm a bit off my feed this morning, so to speak.

Yesterday, I wrote a perfectly respectable 928 words.

During our walk in Freedom Park, we were passing by one of the big oak trees and realised that it was filled with blue birds (Sialia sialis). I'd not seen even one blue bird since...I'm not even sure. Maybe the late 1980s, at my mother's old place. She put houses up for blue birds and lived at the edge of woods and pastures, so blue birds were not uncommon. But I never saw more than two at a time, even then. There were at least four or five in this oak. We watched them for a time.

That was likely the best thing about yesterday, the blue birds.

A number of people have volunteered to work on the hyperlinks for stories for the e-version of Tales of Pain and Wonder. Below is a list of all the stories. The ones that have been spoken for already have been struck through:

"Anamorphosis"
"To This Water (Johnstown, Pennsylvania 1889)"
"Bela's Plot"
"Tears Seven Times Salt"
"Superheroes"
"Glass Coffin"
"Breakfast in the House of the Rising Sun"
"Estate"
"The Last Child or Lir"
"A Story for Edward Gorey"
"Paedomorphosis"
"Salammbô"
"Postcards from the King of Tides"
"Rats Live on No Evil Star"
"Salmagundi"
"In the Water Works (Birmingham, Alabama 1888)"
"The Long Hall on the Top Floor"
"San Andreas"
"Angels You Can See Through"
"Lafayette"
"...Between the Gargoyle Trees"
Epilogue: "Zelda Fitzgerald in Ballet Attire"

A few people said they wanted to help out, but then didn't choose a story. Please, if you're interested, pick a story. I don't want to assign them. And if you volunteer to work on a story, be sure to leave an e-mail address. Also, the question of whether the e-version would be offered as something other than a PDF was raised, if it would be available in other formats. The answer is, "Not unless someone comes forward who wants to do all the work on those conversions." I understand PDFs, and I can see how this book can still look and feel something remotely like a book as a PDF. I can't say the same for a version that could be read on, say, a cell phone. I think that's just a little too 21st Century for a collection of short fiction concerned in part with the deleterious effects of industry and technology upon cilvilisation and art. I would like to at least pretend that people will download the PDF and print it out and read it as hard copy. However, I'll consider other formats, if there's someone to do all the work required. And if subpress is amenable to hosting more than a single format. I haven't yet asked. Thanks, by the way, to everyone who has volunteered so far.

The weather here is very warm. The high today is supposed to be near 70F. But I just checked weather.com and saw the headline "Strong cold front slams door on warmth." I knew that was coming, the rain and then the long cold, but I wish it were not so.

Speaking of cold, we watched Ice Age: The Meltdown last night, but I think the first one was much better.

I should wrap this up. The day is slipping past...

Comments

[avarwaen.livejournal.com]

Angels You Can See Through sounds good to me. E-mail again, just in case it's lost among the comments: avarwaen(at)gmail(dot)com.

Thanks, by the way, to everyone who has volunteered so far.

Thank you for giving us the chance. I think it's a wonderful way to contribute something in return for all of the beautiful stories you've given us (besides buying them, of course).

[gallifreyangoth]

So torn! Ok, I'll take "Postcards from the King of Tides"

Thanks!!

(byeazell@gmail.com)

[blu-muse.livejournal.com]

I'd love to help. Tales of Pain and Wonder is still one of my favorite collections of yours. My preference on stories would be "Postcards from the King of Tides" (or "Glass Coffin" or "Bela's Plot.") email: starvoxblu@gmail.com

I just finished To Charles Fort, With Love ... trying hard to wrap my head around the whole thing. The stories have been running through my head while I'm painting... thanks for the vivid writing.

Glad you liked The Fountain. I can't stop thinking about it.

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

I'd love to help. Tales of Pain and Wonder is still one of my favorite collections of yours. My preference on stories would be "Postcards from the King of Tides"

Well, since phaedrine asked for "Postcards..." first, you may have "Bela's Plot," which suits you, I think." Is that okay?

[blu-muse.livejournal.com]

Sure thing..."Bela's Plot" it is. Thank you!

[eldritch00.livejournal.com]

I was the one who volunteered for "Estate," but I forgot to leave my email address in the other entry. It's eldritch00-at-gmail.com.

[wishlish.livejournal.com]

Well, since I asked about the cell phone/PDA/palm versions, I'll see what's entailed.

I volunteered, but told you to name a story. Since that's not your preference, and since I'm a comics geek, I think a story called "Superheroes" would work for me (even if it has nothing to do with comics- I haven't gotten to it yet).

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

Since that's not your preference, and since I'm a comics geek, I think a story called "Superheroes" would work for me (even if it has nothing to do with comics- I haven't gotten to it yet).

Very good.

[chris-walsh.livejournal.com]

Would the volunteers need to be working on the stories as PDFs already, or will the stories be converted to PDFs later? If we need to look at each story as a PDF, I couldn't help out. If we don't need to, I could; I can handle the HTML.

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

Would the volunteers need to be working on the stories as PDFs already, or will the stories be converted to PDFs later?

You'd be working from the manuscript, which will later be converted to PDF.

[chris-walsh.livejournal.com]

Then I volunteer! I'd like "Rats Live On No Evil Star," if that's still grabbable.

splunge2000 TA msn TOD com

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

Then I volunteer! I'd like "Rats Live On No Evil Star," if that's still grabbable.

It's yours.

[inkscar.livejournal.com]

I'd love to help out with "...Between the Gargoyle Trees" (Jimmy D and Salmagundi are my favorites)

inkscar@hotmail.com

[elfgirl.livejournal.com]

I'll take "A Story for Edward Gorey".

elfgirl at gmail dot com.

[cause-catyljan.livejournal.com]

Here's mine:

ryan_cole04@hotmail.com

Thanks again.

[setsuled.livejournal.com]

I'll take on "Anamorphosis", since I love all these and that one's first on the list (if it's been spoken for somewhere I don't see, I'll gladly take the next, and so on). I know html, but I know nothing about PDFs. And I must say I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "hyperlinks". As a matter of fact, I may know a great deal less about html than I think I do.

But your chances are yours to take, if you decide to (I'm occasionally a clever monkey who can figure some things out). So I'm still setsuled(at)hotmail(dot)com.

[avarwaen.livejournal.com]

(Hyperlinks are the basic links on a page made with HTML code. I'm certain you know all about them, just not the term.)

[setsuled.livejournal.com]

That's what I thought it meant, but I don't understand how they'd come into play here, is the thing.

And what've they got to be so hyper about, anyway?

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

And what've they got to be so hyper about, anyway?


Because they are fast.

[setsuled.livejournal.com]

Ah ha.

If you please

[sa-jathan.livejournal.com]

I would like to try "To This Water (Johnstown, Pennsylvania 1889)" if it is still available.

zensghost(at)charter(dot)net

[jacobluest.livejournal.com]

In order of preference, if any are still available:

-"Paedomorphosis"
-"Salammbô"
-"Angels you Can See Through"
-"Between the Gargoyle Trees"

Sounds like a neat project. You could be rather revolutionary with all this, you know.

Logodaedalus(a)gmail(dot).com

~Jacob

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

"Salammbô" it is!

[jacobluest.livejournal.com]

Excellent. When will you send out the specifics for the projects? Maybe it's because I signed up while still groggy from the after-circus teaparty happening my skull last night (good times, despite the mosquitoes) that I didn't catch the details. Links? PDF? HTML? Name your acronym!

Or I'll just wait for the email.

~Jacob

[omegacanary.livejournal.com]

I have to ask, I the icon present in your post from a specific photographer? It's very, very, VERY hard to find nude photographers who speciallize in pale nudes (who are good at it), outside of suicide girls. And suicide girls isn't exactly what I generally think of as straight classic nude studies.

As soon as my friend gets back from christmas vacation, I'm going to try to coerce him into showing me how to do dyi bookbinding, since he still has extra materials from his christmas projects. Lots of fun art for the covers (or rather, cover, since I'm only doing one). I have no idea how easy its going to be doing the signatures based off of printouts from acrobat though...