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greygirlbeastThe sun is still with us. The day is bright, and Rhode Island is slowly coming to terms with the flooding— which, technically, is not yet over, as rivers continue to crest. Amtrak is still not running through the state, but I-95 reopened late yesterday.
All subscribers to Sirenia Digest should have #52 in their inboxes. If you haven't gotten it, speak up. I'm very happy with #52. Among other things, we've finally transitioned to having something like a genuine cover, instead of merely a title page. I'd love to hear reactions to the issue here today.
Yesterday was not exactly a work day, but nor was it a day off. The galley pages for the mass-market paperback edition of The Red Tree arrived from NYC. They have to be proofed and back to Roc by the 15th. There are mistakes that made their way into the first edition that have to be corrected. But yesterday, I only opened the envelope and glanced at the pages. This edition will be out in September.
Other bits of yesterday: Hubero lay on my desk, basking in the sun and fresh air coming in through the open office window; Spooky and I shared a corned beef and coleslaw sandwich from the Hudson Street deli; we had a walk, that took us to Dexter Training Ground and the Armory, where there were dogs and children and budding trees, clover and green grass (photos tomorrow); I had a long hot bath; I read an article from the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology; I talked with Bill Schafer about the new Ray Bradbury volume they're about to release, A Pleasure to Burn: Fahrenheit 451 Stories, which comes complete with a beautiful cover by the incomparable Joseph Mugnaini (1912-1992); Spooky made Spanish rice with chicken and pintos for dinner; and so forth. It was a day. A not bad day. There are far too few of those.
I announced last night on Facebook that I'm planning to have my back, shoulders, and both arms tattooed, and I think, the date being April 1st, no one believed me. But the announcement wasn't a prank. I'm talking with Vince about designing the three pieces. The first, which I hope would be done this summer, will be an octopus that will cover my entire back, shoulders to upper buttocks. But the whole series of tattoos would be sea themed (extinct and extant creatures), and very colorful. My skin has been blank far too long. I'm racing towards forty-six-years-old, and I want this done. There will be trilobites and bladderack, eels and eurypterids. I have to find a local tattoo artist I'm comfortable with. I expect the whole tattoo will take a couple of years to complete, beginning, hopefully, this summer.
In the new Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, I've made my way through several articles over the last week: "Bistahieversor sealeyi, gen. et sp. nov., a new tyrannosauroid from New Mexico and the origin of deep snouts in Tyrannosauroidea"; "A reappraisal of the origin and basal radiation of the Osteichthyes"; and "Demythologizing Arctodus simus, the 'short-faced' long-legged predaceous bear that never was." The third article was especially interesting, as it turns out that A. simus (fossils date from about 800,000-12,500 years ago), while truly gigantic, may not have been the "super-predator" it has often been characterized as being (it has even been invoked as an agent for delaying the radiation of Homo sapiens in North America); indeed, it appears also not to have been particularly short faced or long legged, when compared to various extant bear species.
Late last night— well, early this morning — as I was drifting off to sleep, there was a bump somewhere in the house. I came awake with a start, which startled Spooky awake. And my head was suddenly filled with new ideas— an entirely new approach —for The Wolf Who Cried Girl Spooky switched on the light and I jotted everything down (this was about 3:16 a.m.), so I wouldn't forget any of it. I am newly excited about the long-delayed novel.
As promised, here are a few screencaps from the ongoing Insilico rp, the latest incarnation of the Xiang AI (played by me), inside her Faraday cage:
All subscribers to Sirenia Digest should have #52 in their inboxes. If you haven't gotten it, speak up. I'm very happy with #52. Among other things, we've finally transitioned to having something like a genuine cover, instead of merely a title page. I'd love to hear reactions to the issue here today.
Yesterday was not exactly a work day, but nor was it a day off. The galley pages for the mass-market paperback edition of The Red Tree arrived from NYC. They have to be proofed and back to Roc by the 15th. There are mistakes that made their way into the first edition that have to be corrected. But yesterday, I only opened the envelope and glanced at the pages. This edition will be out in September.
Other bits of yesterday: Hubero lay on my desk, basking in the sun and fresh air coming in through the open office window; Spooky and I shared a corned beef and coleslaw sandwich from the Hudson Street deli; we had a walk, that took us to Dexter Training Ground and the Armory, where there were dogs and children and budding trees, clover and green grass (photos tomorrow); I had a long hot bath; I read an article from the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology; I talked with Bill Schafer about the new Ray Bradbury volume they're about to release, A Pleasure to Burn: Fahrenheit 451 Stories, which comes complete with a beautiful cover by the incomparable Joseph Mugnaini (1912-1992); Spooky made Spanish rice with chicken and pintos for dinner; and so forth. It was a day. A not bad day. There are far too few of those.
I announced last night on Facebook that I'm planning to have my back, shoulders, and both arms tattooed, and I think, the date being April 1st, no one believed me. But the announcement wasn't a prank. I'm talking with Vince about designing the three pieces. The first, which I hope would be done this summer, will be an octopus that will cover my entire back, shoulders to upper buttocks. But the whole series of tattoos would be sea themed (extinct and extant creatures), and very colorful. My skin has been blank far too long. I'm racing towards forty-six-years-old, and I want this done. There will be trilobites and bladderack, eels and eurypterids. I have to find a local tattoo artist I'm comfortable with. I expect the whole tattoo will take a couple of years to complete, beginning, hopefully, this summer.
In the new Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, I've made my way through several articles over the last week: "Bistahieversor sealeyi, gen. et sp. nov., a new tyrannosauroid from New Mexico and the origin of deep snouts in Tyrannosauroidea"; "A reappraisal of the origin and basal radiation of the Osteichthyes"; and "Demythologizing Arctodus simus, the 'short-faced' long-legged predaceous bear that never was." The third article was especially interesting, as it turns out that A. simus (fossils date from about 800,000-12,500 years ago), while truly gigantic, may not have been the "super-predator" it has often been characterized as being (it has even been invoked as an agent for delaying the radiation of Homo sapiens in North America); indeed, it appears also not to have been particularly short faced or long legged, when compared to various extant bear species.
Late last night— well, early this morning — as I was drifting off to sleep, there was a bump somewhere in the house. I came awake with a start, which startled Spooky awake. And my head was suddenly filled with new ideas— an entirely new approach —for The Wolf Who Cried Girl Spooky switched on the light and I jotted everything down (this was about 3:16 a.m.), so I wouldn't forget any of it. I am newly excited about the long-delayed novel.
As promised, here are a few screencaps from the ongoing Insilico rp, the latest incarnation of the Xiang AI (played by me), inside her Faraday cage:
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no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 04:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 05:22 pm (UTC)Also, your avatar is the coolest ever.
I'm extremely happy with the avatar. Over time, it will be added to, until she is whole.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 04:54 pm (UTC)I love "Houndwife." I think it's one of your best. And—when there are more than four, unless it is to be a chapbook—I would love to see your explicitly Lovecraft-continued stories collected together.
There will be trilobites and bladderack, eels and eurypterids.
Oh, I am going to want photographs of this.
And my head was suddenly filled with new ideas— an entirely new approach —for The Wolf Who Cried Girl. Spooky switched on the light and I jotted everything down (this was about 3:16 a.m.), so I wouldn't forget any of it. I am newly excited about the long-delayed novel.
Awesome!
no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 05:23 pm (UTC)I love "Houndwife." I think it's one of your best. And—when there are more than four, unless it is to be a chapbook—I would love to see your explicitly Lovecraft-continued stories collected together.
Well, so far there's maybe three. We'll see. Maybe it could be something more than a chapbook.
Oh, I am going to want photographs of this.
I expect you'll get to see it in person.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 05:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 05:24 pm (UTC)I loved the looping time of "Houndwife." I think that chaotic sort of time is hard to get down well in a story. Most of the time it either gets impossibly confusing or seems super contrived. But I think you managed the rare feat of making it seem natural and unforced.
Thank you! This was a crucial aspect to the story, and one I worried over a great deal.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 06:16 pm (UTC)Intoxicating
Date: 2010-04-02 06:13 pm (UTC)I love the goblet imagery in the beginning, as well. That image will likely remain with me for days. It resonated particularly with me.
Very happy to read Sonya's work as well. I need to share hers with my son, I think it will resonate with him.
Both were the perfect companion for a 'stay inside' day.
Thank you, as always.
Re: Intoxicating
Date: 2010-04-02 06:34 pm (UTC)Very good. I'm glad when someone can point to something so specific and say, "There. That there worked for me." Thanks.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 06:30 pm (UTC)I'd like to read the article about Arctodus simus, too. I think I spotted something about it on a blog a few weeks ago; sounds very interesting. I didn't know it had been put forward as a roadblock to human migration before -- awesome idea (however shaky it may be)!
no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 06:37 pm (UTC)Prosebunnies thumping around my apartment at night, now, I dunno... I'd draw the line at that. But I'm not a writer...
Still don't know what made the actual noise, but I am pleased that it did.
I'd like to read the article about Arctodus simus, too. I think I spotted something about it on a blog a few weeks ago; sounds very interesting.
I don't think the article is online, though I'm pretty sure you can probably find the abstract somewhere. And there may be a library near you that takes JVP.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 06:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 06:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 06:40 pm (UTC)My only question now is, what sublimely skilled inkslinger are you going to get to execute it?
There are many good local tattoo artists. Once I have Vince's first illustration (the octopus back piece), I'll start visiting shops and talking to artists.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 09:12 pm (UTC)that just made me giggle, totally out of context, but fun words.
Good luck with the Art, you will post pictures of the Octopus?
no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 09:18 pm (UTC)Good luck with the Art, you will post pictures of the Octopus?
Of course. When this all comes to pass, there will be many "in progress" photos.
that just made me giggle, totally out of context, but fun words.
Deep snouts are an important issue to tyrannosauroid evolution.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 09:51 pm (UTC)Still, the Saurid only known as "Deep Snout".. truly a politician.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-03 02:00 am (UTC)Signed,
Way Too Fucking Wussy To Get Inked
no subject
Date: 2010-04-03 02:52 pm (UTC)