Howard Hughes and the Ghost of Better Times

[greygirlbeast]

Yesterday, Bill Schafer at Subterranean Press passed along the news that the limited edition of The Ammonite Violin & Others has sold out. There are still copies of the trade hardcover, for now. But I expect the book to sell out prior to publication, so you might want to preorder. My thanks to all who have preordered so far. I'm very excited about this book, as it contains some of my best work to date.

Here in Providence, we're having a wonderful day of thunderstorms and dark skies. The thunder woke me at 10:30 this morning, but I dozed off for another hour, only to be awakened by the thunder a second time.

Yesterday, I dithered and searched for story. And a very strange thing happened. As the day progressed, "The Maltese Unicorn" began to metamorphose from joke to viable story concept. Some of it was a number of interesting comments to yesterday's blog entry. Some of it was just my brain working a problem. By six p.m. or so, it had blossomed into a full-fledged, slightly tongue-in-cheek story involving the aphrodisiac qualities that might be derived from a unicorn's horn, two rival demon brothel's in 1940s Manhattan, an unscrupulous dealer in occult antiquities named Nathaniel Adler (wink, wink), and...well, lots of other stuff. I was sort of excited and appalled, all at once. I emailed the book's editor and ran the story idea past her, fully expecting to be told that I was right to have wanted to punch myself in the face for having thought it up. Instead, I was encouraged to have a go at it...so...I suppose I shall. The next couple of weeks will be weird, indeed.

Spooky has begun a new round of eBay auctions.

Last night, we watched Disney's The Little Mermaid, which I'd not seen in just about forever. It holds up well. It got me to thinking about the first time I saw it, late in 1989, at a midnight showing in Birmingham. Elizabeth was there, and Jada, and another friend, Annie, who was outraged at the happy ending. Annie went on and on..and on...and on...about how Disney had butchered Hans Christian Andersen's story. That night, her annoyance at the retelling amused me (we were stoned), but years later I was thinking of Annie when I wrote "Tears Seven Times Salt" (in 1995), and then, again, when I wrote issue #33 of The Dreaming, "Dream Below" (sometime late in 1998). But I expect I'd not thought about that night at the movies, that night when I was only twenty-five years old, in more than a decade.

Last night, after the movie, we read more of Patti Smith's Just Kids. I had a moment of gleeful, triumphant grammar nerdiness when I came to a passage where Smith speaks of a microphone as a mike. This is, of course, the correct spelling, though many people today insist upon the atrocious misspelling mic. Which is exactly like misspelling bike as bic, or trike as tric.

Thanks for the many comments yesterday. It's always good to be reminded I'm not just talking to myself.

Anyway, here's hoping today will be productive...

Comments

[mizliz13.livejournal.com]

By six p.m. or so, it had blossomed into a full-fledged, slightly tongue-in-cheek story involving the aphrodisiac qualities that might be derived from a unicorn's horn, two rival demon brothel's in 1940s Manhattan, an unscrupulous dealer in occult antiquities named Nathaniel Adler (wink, wink), and...well, lots of other stuff.

Awesome idea. I'm really looking forward to this story.

[martianmooncrab.livejournal.com]

The Maltese Unicorn

that sounds fabulous, deadly whimsical even..

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

that sounds fabulous, deadly whimsical even...

I think the trick is to render the absurdity poetic by playing it straight as I can.

[martianmooncrab.livejournal.com]

we expect the dark underbelly to be just that, its the supposedly normal parts of life, when they go wrong that scare us the most.

[sovay]

By six p.m. or so, it had blossomed into a full-fledged, slightly tongue-in-cheek story involving the aphrodisiac qualities that might be derived from a unicorn's horn, two rival demon brothel's in 1940s Manhattan, an unscrupulous dealer in occult antiquities named Nathaniel Adler (wink, wink), and...well, lots of other stuff.

Awesome.

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

Awesome.

Unless I break it.

[sovay]

Unless I break it.

I don't think you can break demon brothels.

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

I don't think you can break demon brothels.

True. I expect it works the other way round.

[timesygn.livejournal.com]

... Disney had butchered Hans Christian Andersen's story. That night, her annoyance at the retelling amused me (we were stoned), but years later ...

Had a friend who went to Disneyland on acid and never quite recovered. He flipped whenever a 'toon of Mickey got shown. ("The Mouse! The Mouse! Get me the fuck away from that fucking Mouse!")

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

Had a friend who went to Disneyland on acid and never quite recovered.

Ouch. I can imagine...

[unknownbinaries.livejournal.com]

Instead, I was encouraged to have a go at it.

Oh, brilliant. By the time I read that sequence of comments, I didn't want to be pushy, but absolutely loved the direction it was headed. Now, I can't wait.

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

By the time I read that sequence of comments, I didn't want to be pushy,

Pushy is so unpredictable. It may earn you undying gratitude, or get your head bitten off, and there's no way to tell beforehand.

[unknownbinaries.livejournal.com]

Pushy is something I never want to feel I am being, because it annoys the everloving crap out of me when I'm on the receiving end.

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

Pushy is something I never want to feel I am being, because it annoys the everloving crap out of me when I'm on the receiving end.

I do my best to avoid being pushy, but I am sometimes, nonetheless. Or so says Spooky.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

I am shamefully excited about the Maltese Unicorn, myself. Demon brothels!

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

Demon brothels!

The possibilities are, well...

[whiskeychick.livejournal.com]

What a way to go! Yay for weirdness turning into art. Also a great example of how the creative process sometimes needs a little infestation from those who support our work. I look forward to what you create.

Question: I often abbreviate picture as "pic." Should it truly be "pike?" Just wondering (/wink /smile).

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

Question: I often abbreviate picture as "pic." Should it truly be "pike?" Just wondering (/wink /smile).

"Pic" is a hideous abbreviation and should be avoided.

Yay for weirdness turning into art. Also a great example of how the creative process sometimes needs a little infestation from those who support our work.

Indeed.

[humglum.livejournal.com]

"Pic" is a hideous abbreviation and should be avoided.

Pfft.

[elmocho.livejournal.com]

"Pic" is a hideous abbreviation and should be avoided.

I used to work at a small-town weekly newspaper. My boss, the publisher, came up through ad sales, not editorial. Many, many folders, bore "Pix", not just "Pics." He also liked "Thanx."

Once, he made a form e-mail and wanted me to send it out with my name on it. I made him change "thanx" to something resembling English. He really didn't like my snooty ways.

[mojave-wolf.livejournal.com]

Yay that we helped!

I always read your blog and always find it interesting even on the occasions I have a somewhat different viewpoint about something, so hope that helps (tho I often imagine you look at my comments with loathing, in which case I'm probably the one person you don't want to say anything). & sometimes there's just no time to comment.

But I will say two things:

1. Yesterday I invented an imaginary band called The Hoary Shoggoths, first album Running With The Hounds and even wrote part of a lyric. I blame you for this. (it's behind a cut in the second most recent post in my live journal, if you are curious and aren't too horrified).
( & wow, deja vu writing this)

2. Wow, your posts send me tripping down nostalgia lane so often. I saw The Little Mermaid with my last-year-and-a-half-of-college girlfriend in either Tuscaloosa or Birmingham back around then.

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

I blame you for this.

I accept the blame.

2. Wow, your posts send me tripping down nostalgia lane so often. I saw The Little Mermaid with my last-year-and-a-half-of-college girlfriend in either Tuscaloosa or Birmingham back around then.

I'll resist bursting into "It's a Small World, After All."

[kathryn-aka-kat.livejournal.com]

"...I'll resist bursting into 'It's a Small World, After All.'"

*shudder*

[orpheus78.livejournal.com]

I watched a bunch of Disney films as a kid and was amused that years after I would read some of the original source material just to find out just how dark it really was. The Little Mermaid source story, that is, the fact that she feels pain every time she walks was just disturbing.

I am surprised that Disney never attempted a water down version of Oedipus Rex. ;)

[tinkbell.livejournal.com]

I don't get the Nathanial Adler, unfortunatly; that name sends my Sherlock Holmes-obsessed mind straight to Irene Adler, the woman who escaped Holmes and earned his unwavering respect.

[gargirl.livejournal.com]

I am so excited waiting for my copy of The Ammonite Violin. I have never wanted May to fly by so badly. ^_^ That is awesome that the special edition sold out! I can't wait to get mine.

I remember feeling shocked at the end of the little mermaid too, but not too shocked as it was disney after all. They do tend to warp things and sanitize them.

[fusijui.livejournal.com]

the aphrodisiac qualities that might be derived from a unicorn's horn

The Poloese conflation of rhinos and unicorns? But... but... I was so hoping for dainty splatters of rainbow-colored spooge on those trenchcoats! ;)