Oh, I said the stupidest thing yesterday...

• 13:53 We have arrived at Valhalla!!! twitpic.com/on3ug #
• 13:53 She seems unsure about the gentleman to her left. twitpic.com/on3xl #
• 13:55 Reminds me I gotta grow my beard in for the winter: twitpic.com/on47z #
• 15:13 @catvalente cam I call you BT from now on? Or will you sick the dogs on me? #
• 15:15 @catvalente in all seriousness that is an am azing story. What would yournlife be without the innertubes? #
• 15:15 @catvalente and I hardly think of you as struggling. Up and coming maybe. #
• 17:01 @catvalente Im haunting @bardcoffee in your absence, editing
  My tome: twitpic.com/oo23z #
• 17:06 @catvalente it sells papers I guess #
• 17:07 "editing" at @bardcoffee. Also enjoying java & baked goods & peace of a sort #
• 18:15 Overheard in cafe: "Winter, that bitch, is on her way. I smell her in the air and feel her in the bones." #
• 18:57 twitpic.com/oomkc - Dinner with chix at Blue Spoon #TiltShiftGen #
• 20:07 twitpic.com/ooyls - The Lone Wedge... #TiltShiftGen #
• 20:10 twitpic.com/ooz14 - I love these hands when they are expanding upon her words. So Italian. So lovely. #TiltShiftGen #
• 08:59 @kevinkenan Sick! Was it PCM or did it sample stuff? #

And the world gets to see my idiocy thanks to... LoudTwitter

CONTEXT IS FOR SUCKERS

• 14:38 It's like thunder, lightning... yfrog.com/0c3tuoj #

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Well, the book signing was a bust- the only customer I had was actually a pre-order by mail.  I stayed about two hours anyway and used the nice, quiet bookstore time to write.  I wrote over 800 words there at my "signing," then came home after dinner with two of my writing group peeps and pounded out 1282 more words.  

I also did a lot of "downloading" today, which was pretty exciting.  This is the term I use to explain the thoroughly unexplainable rush of scenes, images, plot ideas, etc. that comes in a magic jolt from the blue, as though I have just been struck by creative lightning.  This is VERY COOL when this happens, as I have insta- scenes appear ready-made and just jonesing to be written.  The downside is that they don't often come in order.  For example, today's magic download included ideas for a scene to cannibalize from the earlier draft of this book and rewrite, a scene that won't appear until later in the book, and a mother-lode of various other ideas to incorporate into the book, none of which are useful for the scene I am writing RIGHT NOW.  

So what's an author to do?  Well, I started writing that magical downloaded scene, of course, and jotted down the other ideas.  Now I have TWO unfinished scenes to choose from when I pick up writing tomorrow.  The good news is that this whole book is supposed to be done by November 30th anyway, so it'll all come together sooner rather than later.  I hope.

• 13:53 We have arrived at Valhalla!!! twitpic.com/on3ug #
• 13:53 She seems unsure about the gentleman to her left. twitpic.com/on3xl #
• 13:55 Reminds me I gotta grow my beard in for the winter: twitpic.com/on47z #
• 15:13 @catvalente cam I call you BT from now on? Or will you sick the dogs on me? #
• 15:15 @catvalente in all seriousness that is an am azing story. What would yournlife be without the innertubes? #
• 15:15 @catvalente and I hardly think of you as struggling. Up and coming maybe. #
• 17:01 @catvalente Im haunting @bardcoffee in your absence, editing
  My tome: twitpic.com/oo23z #
• 17:06 @catvalente it sells papers I guess #
• 17:07 "editing" at @bardcoffee. Also enjoying java & baked goods & peace of a sort #
• 18:15 Overheard in cafe: "Winter, that bitch, is on her way. I smell her in the air and feel her in the bones." #
• 18:57 twitpic.com/oomkc - Dinner with chix at Blue Spoon #TiltShiftGen #
• 20:07 twitpic.com/ooyls - The Lone Wedge... #TiltShiftGen #
• 20:10 twitpic.com/ooz14 - I love these hands when they are expanding upon her words. So Italian. So lovely. #TiltShiftGen #

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Wrote 2,325 words today. Stopped to watch bad movies and to figure out how exactly I want to play Vichandi. He's a grieving father, but he's also not the greatest person. I don't want to make it all about missing his daughter and not liking the "replacement." He's definitely on the side of "the bad." He takes away the young hero's supporters one by one, and is at least indirectly responsible for her death. But I need reasons.... Stupid necessary fiction logic.

I'm here at Mystery & Imagination Bookshop in Glendale, CA, ready to sign books! Save me from a lonely fate and drop in to say hi if you're in the area!

Oh, I said the stupidest thing yesterday...

• 12:31 I wrote a song. I like it. I hope you do, too: www.crtdot.com/music/mp3/Shankari.mp3 #
• 12:57 twitpic.com/ohyhp - @MaryRobinette If it makes you feel better, I have 758pgs. of line edits ahead of me. Is it okay to drink now? #
• 13:04 Dreamt
  Of
  Zombies last night. And
  Paris Hilton. Not sure which is worse. #
• 13:46 @matociquala oh I forgot all about that!!! When and where? #
• 14:30 Am I bored because the book sucks or be aide I'm tired of editing or because I wanna go out and run? You tell me!!! #
• 15:40 Just completed a 0.00 mi run with @runkeeper, check it out bit.ly/2LHl8i #RunKeeper #
• 16:22 Just completed a 2.99 mi run with @runkeeper, check it out bit.ly/12uft0 #RunKeeper #
• 16:35 @markokloos it's a very steep run to the fridge. #
• 16:48 @mboezi you caught the vibe exactly!!!! BOEZI ftw!!! #
• 16:50 @the_real_mkb my shit went back in time!!! #
• 18:05 It's not my writing burqa. It's not my editing burqa. It's just cold, dammit. #
• 18:07 gah!!! It's baltar!!! twitpic.com/oj9rk #
• 22:28 @shawnp0wers it's not? #
• 22:59 @shawnp0wers you, too?! #
• 23:00 After a short nap on the couch I'm ready for more late night TV. #

And the world gets to see my idiocy thanks to... LoudTwitter

The surgery was a success.

Twelve hours long, and they removed more bone (and then put it back in with screws) than they had originally planned. The tumor is benign and they got most of it.

Unfortunately there was much more damage to both of his optic nerves than they'd expected. His risk for permanent vision loss is higher. We'll known later.

As for the remaining tumor... same kind of thing. Doc says it's too early to decide on radiation or whatnot.

At this point, a lot of this is wait-and-see.

Last night, when the doc came out to give up the report after the surgery, he sent us home with orders to sleep and not come back to the hospital until after noon.

That was very kind of him.

Thank you, all of you, for your thoughts, wishes, and prayers. Thank you.

CONTEXT IS FOR SUCKERS

• 12:02 Friday #flashfiction: "Part of the Solution" snout.org/512.58 (with Tim & Karl, who are NOT Jake & Andy) #512words #
• 21:43 Watching Alien Trespass on netflix streaming. So far the video quality doesn't suck. The movie... well, we'll see. #
• 21:48 When I am king, every science fiction movie will be required to use a theremin at some point in its soundtrack. #wheniamking #
• 21:55 In fact, let's make that EVERY movie. Period. #wheniamking #
• 22:25 If I were Robert Patrick, I'd milk that T1000 thing a whole lot more than he has in his subsequent career. Just sayin'. #illbeback #
• 22:28 It's unnerving how much Dan Lauria reminds me of my father. #

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• 09:57 It is a sweet day!/waiting for Front Room's breakfast/writing helped
  By food. #
• 11:52 Listening 2 "here come the warm jets." Feels like Eno was engaged in some perverted sex act while doing all the vocals. Iccky good. #
• 12:31 I wrote a song. I like it. I hope you do, too: www.crtdot.com/music/mp3/Shankari.mp3 #
• 12:57 twitpic.com/ohyhp - @MaryRobinette If it makes you feel better, I have 758pgs. of line edits ahead of me. Is it okay to drink now? #
• 13:04 Dreamt
  Of
  Zombies last night. And
  Paris Hilton. Not sure which is worse. #
• 13:46 @matociquala oh I forgot all about that!!! When and where? #
• 14:30 Am I bored because the book sucks or be aide I'm tired of editing or because I wanna go out and run? You tell me!!! #
• 15:40 Just completed a 0.00 mi run with @runkeeper, check it out bit.ly/2LHl8i #RunKeeper #
• 16:22 Just completed a 2.99 mi run with @runkeeper, check it out bit.ly/12uft0 #RunKeeper #
• 16:35 @markokloos it's a very steep run to the fridge. #
• 16:48 @mboezi you caught the vibe exactly!!!! BOEZI ftw!!! #
• 16:50 @the_real_mkb my shit went back in time!!! #
• 18:05 It's not my writing burqa. It's not my editing burqa. It's just cold, dammit. #
• 18:07 gah!!! It's baltar!!! twitpic.com/oj9rk #
• 22:28 @shawnp0wers it's not? #
• 22:59 @shawnp0wers you, too?! #
• 23:00 After a short nap on the couch I'm ready for more late night TV. #

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I'm sitting up at the BK, hitting some free internet and in walks my step son David! He's in town to see Michael and Mel and their kids, and came in for a snack.


He just told me that he's decided to major in anthropology and gave me a headsup on this:
An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube.

I'm trying to give myself a break here.

I'm exhausted. Mentally, yes. Physically, yes. So much so in both cases that I haven't remembered a dream in months. Bits of one a few weeks back, but not like before it all. I get up at 7:30-ish, stumble out to run at 8-ish, and am ready for bed by around 3!

Too much travel this past month: 10 plane rides, 3 states, 2 cons, 2 small bottles of hand gel, 1 broken carry-on bag, 5 books signed, 4 others dragged across country and not signed. This doesn't include the countless 90-minute each way car trips back and forth from old house to new living arrangement or to other family or friends.

Too much moving these past months: 22 total boxes of books, uncounted carloads hauled 80+ miles one way, one 14-foot truck, a 10x10 storage space that is now full, and another van-load to take care of in a few days. I have both too much and too little stuff. I see a yard sale in my future.

Too much life this past four and a half months: Clarion, five short stories, one novel proposal, turning my life upside down, running away and back again, selling a house, trying to sell stories, thinking up and researching magazine articles, scrounging for work, not finding any, having a cancer scare and dealing with denial and then facing it and freaking out a bit, finding out that I'm okay, meeting people at cons and trying not to make an ass out of myself, failing and being really awkward and making a bit of an ass out of myself, breaking out in tears at the slightest hint of a breeze, "interviewing" people I meet just to keep a conversation going and to try to seem interesting, failing at that and likely coming off as not so bright, not really caring so much about the latter because these people don't really know me all that well and if they'd bothered to ask me questions they might have discovered that I'm not all that lame after all, worrying about money, trying to figure out whether I can hack a PhD at this point, talking to people associated with said PhD online.

and on and on and on.

And this, dear readers, is why I can barely write lately. I sit and all of it just wells up and overflows and freaks me right the fuck out.

So I have decided to give myself a break. It's okay if I don't write for a week or a month. I'm going through some pretty giant shit, so it should be okay if I flake off and fart around for a bit and try to catch my breath. I'm barely brilliant on my best days, so if I don't produce giant sparkly piles of wonderful day in and day out, I think it'll all be okay.

I'll stop fearing everything in my life, which means that sooner or later my stores of courage and badass will be replenished and I'll be able to look at a blank page and convince myself that I'm not alone. Or a fraud.

Everything I've been doing the last couple of days is being accomplished by pushing through a fog of migraine. I'm sitting at the coffee house and just finished a neuropsychology quiz, and I've no idea how well/poorly I did. I can check in a about ten minutes.

I've been enjoying Interfictions 2; it's a very me collection. I went to bed after reading the first four stories thinking about writing, and I just blurted out this:

I’d never been really lost in the woods, so of course I didn’t think I was lost now. I’d simply misplaced the trail I’d been on. Eventually, I’d find it because it was around here someplace. It wasn’t until I had stomped around for about an hour that I began to get the creeps, and it wasn’t because I was lost. It was the sun.

It hadn’t moved; it just hung there in the sky at about twenty degrees above the western horizon. Which couldn’t be true, so I sat down and lined it up with a cedar branch and watched it. I watched it until my ass went numb and that fucker didn’t move.

What I find the most interesting about the above is that it's my voice. I hardly ever do that.

I'm gonna head home and take a long shower and maybe take some benadryl and excedrin and try to take a nap. It sucks, 'cause I'm not tired, just in pain, which, though physically wearing, doesn't really make me sleepy enough to sleep.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with reading, like its become more of an addiction than a hobby. I mean my TBR pile could take out my kitten with one well aimed topple (45 and counting). And sometimes it feels like I am going through the motions, just letting the words filter pass, and not really letting myself fall into the story like I used to be able to do. You know the sensation, that moment where you are in the author's created world. All the other concerns slip away, and the only thing that matters is the story pattern unfolding before you. 

This year, though, I have read many wonderful books (Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Sorrows of Young Wether) that swept me away. And one has even been moved into my  pantheon of top five (The Garden Party and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield, I still can't write about that yet).

But sometimes its the story that catches you off guard is the one you love the most. 

( Read more... )
It is the reconciliation, the AND instead of the OR, that I find so uplifting and true. And that is why I continue to read.  

Oh, I said the stupidest thing yesterday...

• 12:32 Waitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingtime4lunch #
• 17:32 I'm embarassed about the biological sway Megan Fox has over me but then I suppose it'll dissipate when I die. #
• 17:49 @markokloos While driving I was wondering how to get this character I wrote in the last 3 chapters into this book or another. #
• 17:49 @markokloos Cuz he kicks so much ass its not funny. #
• 17:59 @markokloos Oh, I will. In fact I will work you and @StevenGould into it while I'm at it. #
• 18:01 In Gogol Bordello vs. Balkan Beat Box I'm going with BBB. Just a bit more variation. And electronics! AND CHICKENS! #
• 18:34 The record company says the the production this track has gone to the dogs: twitpic.com/oexda #
• 20:16 I really find this season of Survivor tedious. I want them all to get 120 grit sandpaper backrubs. Then a salt
  Wash. #
• 20:20 @FLWbooks loved the
  Magus! #
• 20:21 Fortifying self for laundry & dishes with red wine, chicken & snap peas. Work is hard. #
• 20:57 Dishes done! Pan's gotta soak. Now it's off to the bedroom.... To fold the laundry, ya dirtybirds!!! twitpic.com/ofhii #
• 21:04 twitpic.com/ofins - The Elvin Grot!!! #TiltShiftGen #
• 09:57 It is a sweet day!/waiting for Front Room's breakfast/writing helped
  By food. #
• 11:52 Listening 2 "here come the warm jets." Feels like Eno was engaged in some perverted sex act while doing all the vocals. Iccky good. #

And the world gets to see my idiocy thanks to... LoudTwitter

CONTEXT IS FOR SUCKERS

• 09:58 RT @privatebeach Happy Flux-Capacitor Day - 54 years and counting! 11/5/1955 Doc Brown slips on toilet! #timetravelday (via @GeekintheCity) #
• 14:35 New blog post: "The World's Only Reliable Newspaper" is.gd/4Oh2B #weeklyworldnews #incaseyouwerewondering #
• 15:17 #facebook thinks I should be friends with Ray Bradbury. Yes, THAT ONE: is.gd/4OiXJ #flatteredbutconfused #
• 18:14 Trying Netflix streaming again (blame @jonrog1 for talking up Invasion Earth), but they can't even show the right aspect ratio? FAIL #

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• 08:02 it is a sweet day!/no lesbians but lobsters/vermont has no sea #
• 08:04 @shawnp0wers You're just doing this for a reality show, right? :) #
• 09:58 @jay_lake Is it "stump" or "stone?" I could never figure that out. #
• 10:07 I really don't want to go to the bank. There, I said it. #
• 10:44 I could play this all day, too. RT @BoingBoing Steakhouse or Gay Bar? bit.ly/2BV2Vf #
• 10:44 @xenijardin Well, they do have a "shake it and ti will come back to portrait" function. :) #
• 12:32 Waitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaitingtime4lunch #
• 17:32 I'm embarassed about the biological sway Megan Fox has over me but then I suppose it'll dissipate when I die. #
• 17:49 @markokloos While driving I was wondering how to get this character I wrote in the last 3 chapters into this book or another. #
• 17:49 @markokloos Cuz he kicks so much ass its not funny. #
• 17:59 @markokloos Oh, I will. In fact I will work you and @StevenGould into it while I'm at it. #
• 18:01 In Gogol Bordello vs. Balkan Beat Box I'm going with BBB. Just a bit more variation. And electronics! AND CHICKENS! #
• 18:34 The record company says the the production this track has gone to the dogs: twitpic.com/oexda #
• 20:16 I really find this season of Survivor tedious. I want them all to get 120 grit sandpaper backrubs. Then a salt
  Wash. #
• 20:20 @FLWbooks loved the
  Magus! #
• 20:21 Fortifying self for laundry & dishes with red wine, chicken & snap peas. Work is hard. #
• 20:57 Dishes done! Pan's gotta soak. Now it's off to the bedroom.... To fold the laundry, ya dirtybirds!!! twitpic.com/ofhii #
• 21:04 twitpic.com/ofins - The Elvin Grot!!! #TiltShiftGen #

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The empire strikes back

In recent weeks, we've taken huge steps towards blocking spam accounts on LiveJournal. In fact, we've suspended as many as 30,000 accounts in a single day! We've implemented several pre-emptive measures to prevent the creation of spam accounts, and we've honed our detection of suspicious content. Spam bots are a crafty lot, so we'll continue to refine our tactics and keep up the good fight to keep you safe from spam attacks on LiveJournal.

RSS feeds again

If you're addicted to xkcd_rss, icanhaschzbrgr, or other syndicated feeds, we're pleased to report that we've resolved the update error that was mucking up your RSS feeds. While content was being pulled correctly, it wasn't being posted to the feeds themselves. Late last week, we finally nailed down what we hope was the root problem, so content should post properly. We thank you for your patience.

Wii have killer CSI Deadly Intent contests!

c_s_i

If you're a gamer who loves CSI, have Wii got news for you! c_s_i is sponsoring killer contests. Simply post a question to a member of the CSI crew. The winner will get a free copy of CSI: Deadly Intent for Nintendo Wii (with a retail value of $39.99) and get their question answered by a member of the CSI writing team! There's also a fantastic monthly contest. To enter, join c_s_i, play the online version of CSI: Deadly Intent, and respond to a two-part query for a chance to win a Wii! Entries will be judged on composition and originality. Sorry, but you must be a U.S. resident and over 18 years old to participate. Check out the rules here.

Enveloped in postcards

Last week, we asked you to send in postcards to help us decorate our drab concrete walls. Here's a photo of the results so far! Thank you so much and please keep them coming! You can mail them to Frank the Goat, Esq., c/o LiveJournal, Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94107. Be sure to include your username, since we'll be giving ten random users paid account credits.

Photos of the week

If you haven't visited our new LiveJournal photo community, you're in for an amazing visual trip. LiveJournal users from around the world will take you on a scenic journey to everywhere. Post your own pictures or kick back and enjoy at lj_photophile. You can view some of this week's awesome photos after the jump. Please start tagging with geographic location, since we'd like to track all the places around the world represented in this community. Keep on commenting too!
( Read more... )

Oh, I said the stupidest thing yesterday...

• 13:07 @kevinkenan yeppers! It's gorgeous! #
• 15:24 Last bite of chocolate cake looks like a sandcrawler!!! Where are the chocolate
  jawas?! twitpic.com/o9x7t #
• 17:54 @markokloos @madge707 Done! #
• 18:08 @madge707 @markokloos Okay, I fixed mine. #
• 19:27 apparently the damn book needs further edits. This is the 8th or 10th pass, For those who're counting:
  twitpic.com/oavb7 #
• 19:36 Oh. Dinner. I forgot about it. Weird. #
• 19:40 @madge707 @markokloos Hah. I see your list and raise you. #
• 19:40 @ugraph Sure. #
• 19:48 @leroy77 According to some, both lobsters & gay marriage are unclean before the eyes of God. At least we can keep Matinicus! #
• 20:46 @the_real_mkb can't drink techno nor defend yourself
  With an 808 #
• 23:08 This iron monkey is taking his iron ass to bed his soft comfy bed. #
• 08:02 it is a sweet day!/no lesbians but lobsters/vermont has no sea #
• 08:04 @shawnp0wers You're just doing this for a reality show, right? :) #
• 09:58 @jay_lake Is it "stump" or "stone?" I could never figure that out. #
• 10:07 I really don't want to go to the bank. There, I said it. #
• 10:44 I could play this all day, too. RT @BoingBoing Steakhouse or Gay Bar? bit.ly/2BV2Vf #
• 10:44 @xenijardin Well, they do have a "shake it and ti will come back to portrait" function. :) #

And the world gets to see my idiocy thanks to... LoudTwitter