Novel Eye

Follow up. I did not use the exercise videos, but I swam every night and tried the gym once (thus using shoes and one of the outfits). I could have worn the flip flops as slippers but the slippers roll up like socks so no big loss of space. I am about half way through Moby Dick and they have finally seen the whale. I watched the film, but not the L'Arc video (Collateral--good film, but unfortunately being set entirely at night it was a bit dark to watch on a laptop). I had motion sickness on the way down and could not work on the Games magazine, but did some on the way back. Looked at the writing and modified one word choice--woohoo, Trollope I ain't. Never touched the Blackberry and listened to 3 songs on the mp3 player. Used the phone a lot. Used the wifi, but as stated below, did not blog just checked others' blogs. Other people brought far more shoes than I--a different pair of pumps everyday. I was able to pack most of the massive chunk of paper they gave us and still ...

I sort of wrote this in my head as I was going but have added and amended since I've been back so the tenses may not all agree. I enjoyed the conference. I really did. (DS (a boss) and I discussed on my return how we both find value if we learn or reinforce something even if the whole thing is not life changing.) What I discovered though, was that based on first impressions I would have been friends with maybe two of the other assistants there, could have worked with about half of the people there and really, really would have trouble being in the same office with the rest of the them (18 total). In the reception and the dinner the most literary of the discussions led to Idol, House and Blades of Glory. Whipping out Moby Dick at lunch led to some strange stares and one person exclaiming that she had never been able to get into reading books (as opposed to cereal boxes perhaps?). [Side note: I remember years ago riding back from California after visiting my father and reading Balza...

He's just like us, only he can write about it really well. He just did a reading where he shared the stage with the likes of Salman Rushdie, Nadine Gordimer, Don DeLillo and Steve Martin and he felt overwhelmed. "(They are a literary audience, I told myself. They will not have brought rocks. They will not throw any rocks they might have brought. Even if they have brought rocks and plan to throw them, I'm on near the end and maybe they will have thrown all the rocks they have brought before I come on, and I can probably dodge the few remaining rocks.)"

Just popped over to My Space. Nathan Fillion is in London. I wish I was in London, with or without Nathan Fillion. "Oh, to be in England, Now that April's there." ~Browning

So, I am traveling again. Lately I find myself worried about traveling in a way I don't remember feeling before. Last year, going to see Hyde, I thought for the first time of being in a metal and plastic box hurtling impossibly through the air at near supersonic speeds, thousands of feet above the ground as many of my "afraid of flying" friends report. But that was a plane, far away with money I had no business spending. This time is by train, relatively close, with other people's money. Even other people's spending money. Yet, I woke up 4 or 5 times last night, certain I would forget something. Even got up to write myself a note to remember to pack my bathing suit because the pool at the hotel is the one thing I'm really looking forward to. And I have over-packed. Of that I am certain. I have probably 4 and a half full outfits for a three day trip, but that can be partially overlooked by the fact that the weather has changed abruptly. It was in the high 30...

Of course, I can fill the numbers by cheating a little by making this a separate post. More things have happened regarding Mike Daisey. He writes about it on his blog and Mirror discusses the ripples in the blogosphere . In short: it was a public high school, not a Christian one as first believed, although some members identified themselves as Christian on the way out the door. The school apologized. Mike contacted both the school and the individual. It was an interesting discussion apparently. Unfortunately, truth (to paraphrase Babylon 5 and probably something older) is a three edged sword--my side, your side and the truth. Is Mike misinterpreting the tone of the vandal when the vandal says the word "liberal" for instance. But I think we have all heard other people use perfectly ordinary words as insults, and if we examine ourselves we have done the same. Also interesting is the blogosphere's reaction which ranges from the belief that this was on a par with sta...

I was out of town last week from Monday to Thursday and while I had access to wifi , I chose not to blog as I was going , although I wrote some things along the way. I was talking to yet another friend about my life and my blog and accountability and discipline. One thing I do not lack is truly supportive friends (Thank you all who read here). I mentioned that while it has become less important to blog everyday, it has become important to blog on average of everyday. Therefore posting several times in one day. I am not sure if I am going to make it for April. This is the 24 th post and there are only two more days (counting tonight as Saturday, although it will say Sunday--though I have discovered that I can change the date and time, I prefer to be honest). Also, when I reach 150 posts which will be almost 75 posts this year, I would like to start to organize them into categories--movie reviews, personal revelation, etc. for the casual reader.

Many, many years ago a friend sent me the link to an article on the wave theory of traffic which I found wonderful and kept in my favorites for many years until it seemed silly to do so and I deleted it. I don't think I knew how to drive at the time, but it coincided with a book my friend was working on at the time on the intentionality of behavior. He pointed out that we will have a very different trip if we drive with the intention of getting somewhere as fast as possible than if we drive with the intention of getting somewhere as safely as possible. Anyway, I had often thought of this article and wished I still had it and low and behold during the week Mother Tongue Annoyances to whom I am newly linked, linked to it in turn! http://www.mtannoyances.com/?p=721 I wish I could say that after learning to drive I always put it in practice, but while I try to always modify my speed to allow people to enter from ramps I do tend to "punish" drivers who think they can bypass lo...

You want some flotsom? I got some. You want some jetsom? I can get some. Brilliant!

http://www.chaospirals.com/blog/japan/

It is a face I have seen in Riefenstahl's work, and in my dreams, but never on another human face, never an arm's length from me--never directed at me, hating me, hating my words and the story that I've chosen to tell. That face is not Christian, by any definition Christ would be proud to call his own--its naked righteousness and contempt have nothing to do with the godhead, and everything to do with pathetic human pride at its very worst. http://mikedaisey.com/ Mirror posted the link to the ART blog about this and I was hoping that there would be something about it in the paper, but there wasn't (that I saw). Read the post and there's a YouTube of the incident as well. Then Writers Life x3 posted about it and commented on how you don't think it could still happen in Cambridge. As Daisey himself goes on to say, this is the ART for heaven's sake! If language were the worst thing that happened there-- well, it wouldn't be an ART show. And everywhere is ev...

B with whom I can say the most absurd things (and for that I love her--you know who you are) and I had this intriguing exchange in email. I used the word "JOY!" in an email and then asked if she thought I was Ren or Stimpy (and fans of the show will know why). She responded that I was Ren to HER Stimpy because she was almost always Stimpy except for certain friends where she was Ren , and that her old boss was R to her S, but with his wife he was probably S and she R and further, that I was probably S to my husband's R. I'll go with that.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village, though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. The Road Not Taken Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim Because it was grassy and wanted wear, Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally la...

On those terribly rainy, grey days we had last week I walked out of work and saw this! I swear, I did not rearrange the twigs in any way. I don't know if someone else did, but in an office building full of lawyers and financial people, it seems unlikely. There is a pre -school, but they don't come out by this door. It made me happy (and made me remember I have an ok camera on my phone). I took a portion of the parking spot to show scale.

So, while I've been downloading (yes, free and illegal --long live Torrentz ) all these 80's albums I thought I should grab some new stuff because well, it's free and it keeps you young instead of finding yourself sitting around saying, "In my day, music was music, bah!" As a side note, I don't feel guilty about the 80's albums--I bought them (well, husband bought most of them and some we bought for $1 when albums were dying but the principle is there) once--the bands got their 7 cents of my money. Why should I buy them again when they are only available in reissues by companies that didn't produce them in the first place (Rhino)? You can probably bet that none of those kids in those bands just into their 20's had the good sense to write contracts stating they get profits from future reissues (except possibly Bowie who's pretty shrewd). So who am I supporting? As to new music--I still buy CD's . I view the downloading as a sort of sampling-...

This has been a strange week for music. On Monday I was mentally writing the next section in my lengthy post on taste as I drove to Target and thinking about the first two albums of rock and roll that interested me (the reasons for that will become clear when I post this opus--hopefully tomorrow), David Bowie's Let's Dance , and Duran Duran's reissue of Duran Duran (their first album which they re-released as their third album after their second album Rio and it's hot videos put them on the map, not to be confused with their 10 th album, also called Duran Duran but referred to as The Wedding Album because of the cover art which...oh, never mind). Anyway, I flicked on a radio show here in Boston called "Left Over Lunch" with DJ Julie Kramer which plays 80's and early 90's music (and some 70's glam) between noon and one and which I never get to listen to because of reception. The first song being played was Modern Love from Let's Dance --we...

Nearly a week without posting and my discipline lagged some. Well, it was a screwy week, what with the rain and all and my husband sick. Next week could be weird too as I'm going out of town. Some of the people I added on the side bar: Margina Dennis was the make-up artist on a show for which I designed costumes a few years ago. A very cool lady who is doing very well for herself. Fashion Musings is a woman I found through her blog and hope to meet face-to-face soon as she has a career I admire. Writing Life x3 is the author of a play for which I designed sets and costumes two years ago. Interestingly you can see pictures of this show on the site. Gahhh...for some reason Blogger will NOT let me change the order so that I keep to the time line. Will try to modify another time. In the people I don't know section--Dress A Day I found while I was trying to do A Hat a Day, Mother-Tongue Annoyances was referenced somewhere, and 20 Sided was sent to me because of his on-going sec...

In light of the events in Virginia it seems glib to post on anything. I have spent the afternoon cleaning up my favorites and adding things to the sidebar.

I don't like U2. I don't hate U2, I just don't think they're very good. Certainly not as good as many people think. I think they are on a juggernaut that seems unlikely to stop anytime soon, but so is American Idol. I've been thinking about this post for some time, debating when and where to write it. I don't say this to be controversial, or provocative and I don't do it to antagonize my many friends who do like U2, really, really like U2. Oh, I could give you lots of reasons why. That Bono seems to have a Messianic complex, that the Edge has been playing the same 3 cords since the beginning of their career (even on his soundtrack for The Batman --animated series {not to be confused with the vastly superior Batman, the Animated Series }). That somehow, because they were Irish and sang a few songs with a message, they were anointed by the British music press and could do no wrong. That they have consistently ripped off their sound from lesser known bands (w...

I stop looking for a few days and everybody posts new things. I just decided not to look, not to post, to do other things on the computer and in the world instead. I'm finding this no longer fills the same need it once did, but if I stop I will lose all the few readers I have. That said, this is where I get into trouble. I've written about 6 posts since I last came here...all in my head. And having been brilliant in my own head, I no longer need to put them here. In fact, I don't need to do anything here. It is not an assignment, a job, a duty. It is a choice which serves a purpose beyond video games. I am longing for a higher purpose now that I have established the rhythm and discipline here. But will I be able to take the same discipline into something more productive? That is the question.

I've got a lot of things half written in my head, but I want to go to bed so here are just the topics: Transgendered men (women to men) at all women's schools--should they be allowed to continue once they have finished the process. Punditry on the web--how many people set themselves up as experts and then say ridiculous things (that "spelt" is not a word for instance). Miyazaki TTFN

I bought new shoes on Saturday and ordinarily this wouldn't be enough of an event on which to hang a post, but they were a very different type of shoe for me, and it got me thinking. I used to be more of a shoe whore--but never having much money they had to be both extraordinary and cheap. I've always been more of a flats kind of person, but I had a pair of suede Mary Jane's with 2 inch heels that got me through much of college. Most of my shoes tend to be Mary Janes because I have a narrow foot and tend to slip out of shoes if there isn't something to hold on to my foot, laces, straps, etc. I can't wear clogs at all because I spend the day holding onto my shoe with my toes. I've also traditionally disliked thick soled shoes, even when they were better for my foot--say when I was doing visual merchandising. I bought a pair of Doc's but couldn't wear them on ladders because I felt, or rather couldn't feel the step beneath me. So about a month ago I t...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/17025280@N00/sets/72157600038845249/detail/ (Thank you to L!)

David's blog often (or recently) deals a lot with being disciplined, how we work, how we work better, how he works, etc. As I said, I'm trying to reconcile both the blogging every night and the going to bed at a decent hour. Added to that I just got a water-pik which adds about 5-10 minutes to my nightly ablutions (I used it tonight--my tongue went so numb it felt like I'd lost all my teeth--very surreal). As we age we have more and more to do it seems just to stay where we are (very Red Queen). I was thinking I should set time limits for myself on being on-line. Like tonight, I was going to blog until 11:30, watch Basilisk, go to bed, yet here I am (at 12:10) because after hunting down links and putting things together, it was time for Basilisk, so I saved as draft and now am posting after midnight, and yes, it's the weekend, and I can sleep in and all I HAVE to do tomorrow is meet friends in town, but if one is disciplined, one is disciplined even on the weekends and ...

Decided it's time for a little more fun. Susan (I use her name because she has it on the blog) sent me the link to her new post which I have added to the sidebar. Being neither single now, nor ever a veteran of serial monogamy I have little to say, but she was nice enough to add me to her blog so I will do the same--reciprocity. I've only ever had two boyfriends in my life and maybe four serious crushes--two on real people (that is people who were near me and might or might not have been interested back) and two on celebrities. Also heard an old song I like that seemed fitting: 88 Lines About 44 Women , of course I heard it on the radio, so as the commentary says, much was lost to the FCC. Susan's blog was interesting to me because it's premise--that you can meet several right people in your life and have a good time with them for a bit--is sort of the yang to my post on my husband and choosing, after the hormones die down, that you will make the hearts and flowers happ...

The good news--been in bed before 11:30 for the past two nights. Hope to be there soon tonight. The fun news--Sir Ian McKellen is touring with a King Lear featuring Sylvester McCoy as the fool. Good to see Sylvester working and in a suitable part. Neil Gaiman has this interesting link to an interesting speech (or commentary) given by Clive Barker. http://www.clivebarker.info/newsfantasycon2.html I'd go with that. The weird news--a friend I haven't heard from in yonks sent an email announcement of a show he choreographed off-Broadway. Yet another example of someone doing something good. Is this the universe's way of saying "Get off your ass," or "Give up, you sad F*#k, you've wasted your life." He and I were best friends in junior high and we used to talk about taking Broadway--he as dancer/singer, me as serious actress. He's been the dance captain on a touring company of Mama Mia which has evidently been so long running it's close to a car...

It snowed today in Boston, never mind it's April. The day my father died 10 years ago Boston was crippled by a blizzard. This would be the stuff of poetry if I could just figure out how.

Out with a friend until 20 minutes ago. Real people interaction trumps computer time. Thought provoking responses from friends to assimilate. Going to bed soonish.

Posting early to try and go to bed at 11 after The Riches. Wanted to add that developing the discipline to blog everyday has started to pay off (as I hoped it would) in other aspects of my life. I'm exercising more, on a more regular schedule. I'm keeping more active around my house. Doin ' stuff. Trying to add new things periodically.

Ten years ago today my father died four days after a heart attack. Six years to the day before that, I attempted suicide. I remember the date of the second because my college roommate thought I was pulling a tasteless prank. To this day I can't believe she thought I would ever joke about something like that. It wasn't because it was April Fool's Day, it was because it was the day after Easter on which I had been happy and at peace and then on Monday I had to go back to class. By strange coincidence March 31st the year my Dad died was also Easter Sunday. Technically he died on the 31st in California but I got the call after midnight my time and it was on the first that I had to deal with it--take it in. I've never liked the day and I really don't like it now. I think (but I'd have to check a calendar to be sure) that my husband's suicide attempt was also April 1st. I'm not kidding. I dread working new jobs when it falls during the week because I never kno...