"This red becomes you."
Nov. 29th, 2010 12:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
greygirlbeastI got almost seven hours sleep last night, probably the best sleep I've had in three weeks. And it's a good thing, because I was becoming seriously useless. Oh, and there was a half hour nap yesterday afternoon, also unusual. So, this morning, I almost don't feel like ass. And sure, I had to use Sonata last night, but I'm reaching the point where sleep is sleep.
I managed to get a little work done yesterday. Mostly reading back over "The Prayer of Ninety Cats," and discovering, to my great relief, that it all holds together and the constituent parts work as a whole. I have to go over it again today, and then make a lot of line edits. I mean this story to be as close to perfect as I can make it. Okay, well...I always do that. But I'm happier with this story than I have been with anything in quite some time. So, no warts if I can help it. Anyway, today will be a day of pulling the digest together. It should be ready to go out tomorrow, and as soon as I get Vince's illustration for "The Prayer of Ninety Cats" we can put it to bed.
I have something this week with Dark Horse. Details as soon as I am able, I promise. I'm very excited about it, but it's also something else that's popped up to interfere with me getting back to work on The Drowning Girl.
I got some work done yesterday on the Dancy box. I think it's actually finished. It no longer looks merely like a carefully orchestrated collection of interesting things invested with obvious meaning. It now has authenticity. It now has clutter. Partly, it was a matter of including enough of the right sorts of items, things that can have no possible significance except to Dancy, and so can only be puzzled over at length. Why did she keep that crayon? Why those marbles?
---
Last night, we watched the Capturing Pandora documentary that comes with the three-disc extended collector's edition of Avatar (thank you, Steven). Lots of fascinating stuff, especially the costuming and linguist Paul Frommer's work creating the Na'vi language. But I think what struck me most of all were comments from Cameron and others about the negative remarks that started popping up online after the first 15 minute preview and the trailers, the idiotic "smurf" and "thundercats" comments on blogs and what have you. Even after the film's release and its enormous critical and financial success, it's clear these comments still sting the creators. So, I'll try not to feel so bad about feeling bad about those stupid Amazon "reviews."
Oh, and speaking of Amazon "reviews," a dirty secret is finally becoming public: "Women writers at war over fake book reviews on Amazon". This is the sort of thing people won't believe, that publishers can be this petty, that this shit is common practice, that the Amazon review system is so completely faulty, corrupt, and potentially damaging. It's very good to see articles like this appearing. Well, except for the condescending "women writers" part of the headline.
Before bed last night, a little WoW, leveling our orcs, and then Spooky read me a story from Joan Aiken's The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage Family Stories (Big Mouth Books).
And now, the platypus says the time has come.
I managed to get a little work done yesterday. Mostly reading back over "The Prayer of Ninety Cats," and discovering, to my great relief, that it all holds together and the constituent parts work as a whole. I have to go over it again today, and then make a lot of line edits. I mean this story to be as close to perfect as I can make it. Okay, well...I always do that. But I'm happier with this story than I have been with anything in quite some time. So, no warts if I can help it. Anyway, today will be a day of pulling the digest together. It should be ready to go out tomorrow, and as soon as I get Vince's illustration for "The Prayer of Ninety Cats" we can put it to bed.
I have something this week with Dark Horse. Details as soon as I am able, I promise. I'm very excited about it, but it's also something else that's popped up to interfere with me getting back to work on The Drowning Girl.
I got some work done yesterday on the Dancy box. I think it's actually finished. It no longer looks merely like a carefully orchestrated collection of interesting things invested with obvious meaning. It now has authenticity. It now has clutter. Partly, it was a matter of including enough of the right sorts of items, things that can have no possible significance except to Dancy, and so can only be puzzled over at length. Why did she keep that crayon? Why those marbles?
---
Last night, we watched the Capturing Pandora documentary that comes with the three-disc extended collector's edition of Avatar (thank you, Steven). Lots of fascinating stuff, especially the costuming and linguist Paul Frommer's work creating the Na'vi language. But I think what struck me most of all were comments from Cameron and others about the negative remarks that started popping up online after the first 15 minute preview and the trailers, the idiotic "smurf" and "thundercats" comments on blogs and what have you. Even after the film's release and its enormous critical and financial success, it's clear these comments still sting the creators. So, I'll try not to feel so bad about feeling bad about those stupid Amazon "reviews."
Oh, and speaking of Amazon "reviews," a dirty secret is finally becoming public: "Women writers at war over fake book reviews on Amazon". This is the sort of thing people won't believe, that publishers can be this petty, that this shit is common practice, that the Amazon review system is so completely faulty, corrupt, and potentially damaging. It's very good to see articles like this appearing. Well, except for the condescending "women writers" part of the headline.
Before bed last night, a little WoW, leveling our orcs, and then Spooky read me a story from Joan Aiken's The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage Family Stories (Big Mouth Books).
And now, the platypus says the time has come.
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no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 05:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 05:39 pm (UTC)I adore that Aiken collection on multiple levels.
It's sort of awesome.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 05:37 pm (UTC)This is torture, plain and simple.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 05:39 pm (UTC)This is torture, plain and simple.
You should be on this end.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 05:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 05:41 pm (UTC)Just heard a guy on NPR this morning who runs a company that will, for a fee, of course, flood various on-line sites with great reviews of your product, service, hotel, or whatnot.
Bingo.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 05:52 pm (UTC)Would you like proofreading?
no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 05:53 pm (UTC)Would you like proofreading?
I might, actually. Thanks.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 06:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 07:08 pm (UTC)I stayed away from the film in theaters because I thought it looked a little childish, and the contrarian in me didn't want to believe the hype that it was really all that good.
As I have said before, I find it brilliant and beautiful. Which is not to say it's a perfect film, because it's not. But, also, a contrarian mindset could kill the film.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 06:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 07:08 pm (UTC)Any chance of photos of the new improved Dancy box? You're whetting my appetite for Alabaster.
They're coming. Spooky's editing.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 06:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 07:09 pm (UTC)Five thousand pounds to write several Amazon reviews!
Indeed.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 07:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 08:39 pm (UTC)That article makes for depressing reading, but then so do a lot of Amazon "reviews" - too often they're semi-literate or snarky or both. We can do without this kind of cloak-and-dagger bullshit. Five grand?!
As I have been saying for more than a decade, the feature simply needs to be removed by Amazon. It is worse than worthless. A reader cannot possibly claim "The reviews help me make informed decisions" when we know many of the reviews were faked by publishers.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 07:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 08:41 pm (UTC)Quick note: Not sure if you're still interested in CoX, but the NCSoft store is doing their half-off sale on some of the older costume boosters. Figure you're deeply enmeshed in Catalysm, but just wanted to remind ya.
Well, I am enmeshed in Cataclysm, but, more importantly, I think my work schedule demands that I cut back on gaming. So, sadly, I may be dropping CoX. But thanks, regardless.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 07:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 08:42 pm (UTC)Hurry, Vincent, hurry!
All in good time.
Avatar
Date: 2010-11-30 01:17 am (UTC)The three disc version might have to be a Christmas present - well, make it a birthday present, as I'm not particularly enamoured of Christmas, and since my birthday is only a week later. I may have to drop not-so-gentle hints to my wife. I'm sure we don't need food THAT much...
no subject
Date: 2010-11-30 05:48 am (UTC)(It really makes me smile that you and Harlan have now both been involved with Dark Horse. Whatever's coming, I hope it goes well for you.)