Howard Hughes wouldn't, if she were you.

[greygirlbeast]

This will be the disorganized sort of entry.

They happen, sometimes.

Yesterday, I wrote 1,197 words on The Dinosaurs of Mars.

It wasn't a bad day, all in all. Just after dark, as we were getting ready to walk, thunderstorms rolled in, and it rained until after midnight, I think. Which was nice, even if we didn't get our walk. What's a little muscle atrophy in the age of automation? I lay on the sofa listening to the rain, smelling it through an open window, talking with Spooky. Nothing on earth is as comforting as the sound of a steady summer rain. All day, the cicadas screamed in the trees, the only creatures that seem to thrive in the heat. The birds are mostly silent throughout the day, emerging at sunset. I don't think I left the house yesterday. No, I didn't. I try not to let that happen these days.

Last night, there was more "comfort TV," first the second episode of Deadwood ("Deep Water") and more Firefly ("Serenity," parts 1 & 2). Earlier, I finally finished Jay Parini's John Steinbeck: A Life, which left me sort of sad and in ill-spirits. I recall, at some point, Poppy (docbrite) saying to me how the thing she hated about biographies was that they almost all ended the same way, with the main character's death. I kept hoping this book would end before that, but no one will be spared, no one will be spared. No more bios for a while. Instead, I shall move along to The Hunt for the Dawn Monkey: Unearthing the Origins of Monkeys, Apes, and Humans (2004) by Chris Beard. It was a birthday gift from a reader, but I'll be frelled if I can recall from just who. Whoever you were, thanks, because fossil prosimians make me happy.

Regarding Sirenia Digest, yesterday stsisyphus had this to say about #19:

BTB, my jaw nearly hit the floor when I saw this issue alone was 42 freaking pages (give or take) of either exclusive or hard-to-find content. You don't need poison spurs to convince people that's a good deal.

I'm just trying to take care of my subscribers, whom I really do cherish. And my thanks to the newest subscriber, alvyarin, who signed up just this morning.

Also, my thanks to Scott Connors and Ron Hilger for sending me The End of the Story: The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith, Volume I, which reached me yesterday. Another beautiful volume from Night Shade Books.

Right. Time to wrap this up. Mars awaits...

Comments

[docbrite.livejournal.com]

I recall, at some point, Poppy (docbrite) saying to me how the thing she hated about biographies was that they almost all ended the same way, with the main character's death.

I was mostly joking, but yes, they can be depressing reads -- especially writers' biographies, since writers' lives tend to be fairly depressing in general. If I read a biography now, it's more likely to be about a pioneer of some sort: two recent favorites of mine were The Lady and the Panda (about Ruth Harkness, the first person to capture and bring home a live Giant Panda from China) and The Knife Man (about John Hunter, an innovative 18th-century surgeon and medical collector). Yes, they are both dead now, and Mrs. Harkness' death was particularly depressing, but they were fine books.

[chris-walsh.livejournal.com]

The official biography of Douglas Adams -- Wish You Were Here by Nick Webb, not that unofficial one whose name and author I won't mention (long story) -- is one of the rare exceptions I've seen, as it jumps around chronologically at the start and finish. The book begins with Adams's premature death, and then the book's last line is about Adams's birth. Adams did enough things in unusual ways; it's appropriate his biography does, too. It kind of adds to the wistfulness of it (Webb was a longtime friend of Adams).

[regenzeit.livejournal.com]

unrelated:

hey, i installed second life. (it took me two hours, because i am using linux and i'm not too good at that).
finally, it was up and running.
after 10 minutes i quit the client.

if i want to work i get a job. if i want to see my friends i call them.

maybe it's just because i am already a huge tattoed winged orc in real life.
--

for me, second life really'd be great if it wouldn't involve currency.
-
even the fantasy utopias are capitalistic. no fun, at least for me.

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

finally, it was up and running. after 10 minutes i quit the client.

While I wholeheartedly agree that far too much of SL revolves around currency, I would also say that you can't begin to draw any sort of accurate opinion of the experiment in ten minutes. I've been on almost a month now, and I have only just begun to get some general idea of what's what. I wish you'd given it a chance, if only because many of the best aspects of SL require no currency whatsoever.

[regenzeit.livejournal.com]

Well, of course I'll give it another chance..