For Helium!

Tunes for Tuesday: Brand New Colony

2013-06-18T02:38:00.000-04:00

My husband and I are seeing The Postal Service tonight at a new-to-us amphitheater, and I just figured out that the "general admission" tickets that I'd been interpreting as lawn seating are actually for the standing area right in front of the stage.

Best. Anniversary. Ever.

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New and Upcoming - Summer 2013

2013-06-07T15:19:00.000-04:00

Here are some of the summer releases that I'm thinking of trying:

Check Your Google+ Tags, Folks

2013-06-03T15:21:00.000-04:00

Some recent blog posts led me to read this fascinating post by Kameron Hurley on women's roles in history and fantasy fiction. Here's a brief excerpt:

And when we talk about “people” we don’t really mean “men and women.” We mean “people and female people.” We talk about “American Novelists” and “American Women Novelists.” We talk about “Teenage Coders” and “Lady Teenage Coders.”

Now go read the whole thing, I'll wait.

I enjoyed the post, and I wanted to share it on my Google+ page. So I linked it, only to learn fairly quickly that Google+ has added some kind of new automated tagging system. Here's how the link looked after posting it:

Notice the highlighted word in the top right corner?

I posted an article about women and sexism, and it got tagged, without notifying me or giving me any input in the decision, as #Cow.

Now it's obvious that this happened because the word "cattle" appears in the title of the linked post. I saw the tag right away and was able to delete it. But I think this shows a potential problem with automated tagging.

If I'd been in a hurry I could easily have missed the tag, making it look as if I approved of labeling the article in that way. (Looking back over my recent G+ activity, I did notice a second nonsensical tag.)

I can understand why they'd want things tagged and categorized, but if a post is going out under my name then those decisions shouldn't be made for me. I'm sure I'm competent enough at sounding like a jerk on the internet without Google trying to help that along.

Underground Adventures

2013-06-01T23:09:00.000-04:00

We went on a cave tour (the cave part was amazing, the tour - not so much), ventured through a hedge maze, and then stumbled across a beautifully organized used bookshop. Saturdays are good.

This photo shows stalactites reflected in a shallow pool of water.

Still Plugging Away

2013-05-31T22:17:00.000-04:00

I'm spending a happy Friday night at home with my thesaurus and an mp3 of thunderstorm sounds.

(In related news, revisions are going well.)

Tunes for Tuesday: Sugar Water

2013-05-07T17:43:00.001-04:00

It's been a mellow kind of day, and this song fits that. The video is downright hypnotic.

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It's Feedback Time

2013-05-01T16:20:00.001-04:00

Last night I passed my second draft around to a few folks, and today I'm as nervy as my cowardly cat. There are some aspects of the book that aren't as solid as I'd like, and I'm sure they'll uncover more for me to do. But I also know that it would have been very, very easy for me to huddle over the draft and polish it forever, and I needed a few fresh sets of eyes.

I'm still feeling a little self-conscious about the whole thing.

Note to Self

2013-04-23T13:35:00.000-04:00

Here's a list of things that I shouldn't be doing instead of working on the last two chapters of my second draft:

editing early sections that I've gone over a million times already
posting on web forums about how people should read more Sabatini
catching up on all those episodes of The Following on the DVR
playing the new Mass Effect 3 content
watching YouTube videos of scenes from Mass Effect 3
reading wildly inaccurate blog posts about the news

The deadline that I'm coming up on may be self-imposed, but I'm still determined to meet it!

New and Upcoming Releases - Spring 2013

2013-04-09T12:51:00.003-04:00

Here are some of the spring novels I'm interested in:

Lots of ongoing series stuff this time, but I think that's partly because a busy streak has left me with a little less time to pay attention to releases from new-to-me authors.

Is it Springtime Yet?

2013-03-03T13:28:00.000-05:00

I'm notoriously bad with houseplants, which means I'm a little surprised that this gift orchid has survived its first month in my care. It's too early for me to feel confident of its long-term survival, but for now it's still a bright spot of color in the new apartment.

The last draggy weeks of winter are my least favorite time of year, so it's nice to have something blooming at me, reminding me that the cold, gray skies shouldn't last much longer.

Tunes for Tuesday: I Believe In a Thing Called Love

2013-02-12T13:31:00.000-05:00

After yesterday's pulp valentine post, I realized that I somehow haven't shared this video yet. Normally I'm not that into music videos, but watching The Darkness hang out on their starship (and fight off a space octopus with the power of rock) sums up their appeal much better than any words can. We saw them live recently and the show was amazing.

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Make Retro Pulp Magazine Valentines

2013-02-11T20:16:00.001-05:00

I can't stop playing with the Pulp-O-Mizer. With just a few clicks you can select a background, foreground, and pulp magazine style header. Then add and position text fields to create a wide variety of joke images about genre tropes or how it's twenty-freaking-thirteen already and we want our flying cars, damn it.

But if you'd like to feel as if playing with the shiny toy you found on the internet is at least slightly productive, try making e-valentines for your friends and loved ones. Make up goofy, romantic puns about science, or just use some lyrics from your valentine's favorite hair rock band, like so:

Legal Threats for the Skull Throne

2013-02-06T11:38:00.000-05:00

In legal overreach news, Games Workshop got Amazon to stop the sale of an ebook for using "space marine" in the title. [2/8 edit: Amazon has since relisted the ebook for sale.]

For those who aren't tabletop wargaming types, Games Workshop is primarily known for producing Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000, in which you assemble armies of little men (also orcs, aliens, elves, robots, dwarfs, undead creatures, and various monsters) and have them crush each other by way of superior tactics and lots of six-sided dice.

The futuristic side of the game uses heavily-armored humans called Space Marines, who have also appeared in the novels and video games associated with the franchise. Games Workshop has a trademark for "space marine" when it's used for gaming and modeling purposes, but they apparently want to lay exclusive claim to it in fiction as well. The problem with that is that the term predates 40K by more than fifty years.

Warhammer 40K taught me that blood is for the Blood God and that red ones really do go faster. The idea that its creators could build a world so inspired by the rich history of science fiction and then wave lawsuits at authors who share similar influences makes this pretty pink Carnifex cry.

Tunes for Tuesday: If You Take Away the Make-up (Then the Vampires They Will Die)

2013-01-29T13:08:00.000-05:00

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Writing With Images

2013-01-16T14:33:00.000-05:00

Visualizing a setting helps me get at the details that I most want to share when I'm writing, and I often turn to images for inspiration. Looking at a photo or a painting can lead me to the perfect words for the texture of a fabric, the cast of a character's expression, or the shape of the rooftop beneath my heroine's feet.

I track down specific references using Flickr or Google Image Search as I need them, but I also keep a selection of evocative images to browse through whenever my descriptions need a kick.

I stuff magazine and catalog pages in a file box split into a few broad categories like "environments" and "interiors." I also use Evernote to clip and tag digital photos.

Surrounding myself with visually interesting images keeps me focused on the type of solid details that can ground the other elements of a story. It's also a fun change of pace to knock out a few words based on something I'm looking at rather than something that's entirely inside my head.

photos and mosaic by Jill Clardy, used under Creative Commons

Recent and Upcoming Books - Winter 2013

2013-01-10T12:32:00.000-05:00

Here are some new and upcoming releases that look interesting:

Tunes for Tuesday: Words Are Like

2013-01-08T15:04:00.000-05:00

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2012

2012-12-31T12:44:00.000-05:00

So it turns out that goofy theories of Mayan-predicted doom are only good for a wave of disaster movies, but 2012 was still a big year. I finished the first draft of my book, went to Disney World, and moved away from the city I still catch myself thinking of as home. I'm also down a gallbladder from this point last year, which has hopefully put my other organs on notice that acting up will not be tolerated.

There are still a few moving-related hassles to deal with, but I've got high hopes for 2013. I'm hoping it's a little less chaotic than this past year, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Have a safe and happy New Year's Eve, and best of luck on keeping all those resolutions.

Books of 2012

2012-12-28T16:16:00.001-05:00

While I didn't get through as many of the year's new releases as I'd hoped to, here are a few of the 2012 books that I really enjoyed.

Sharps, by K.J. Parker

Politically-tinged fantasy with a twisty plot centered around dueling? Yes, please. The story is about a group of troubled fencers who are sent on a diplomatic mission. They face strange customs and sudden dangers as a team, despite the fact that they trust each other only slightly more than their enemies. Complex characters and a blend of action and intrigue make this an entertaining read.

Jane, by Robin Maxwell

Tarzan of the Apes is a classic for a reason, but it's also 100 years old. Maxwell's retelling, rather than giving us a dully faithful switch in perspective, turns Jane into a woman truly worthy of starring in her own story. The result may feel a bit anachronistic, but the greatest adventurers always defy convention. It's a nice update for a character first created before women could vote in the US.

Unspoken, by Sarah Rees Brennan

In the crowd of YA genre novels, Unspoken stands out. The characters are sharp and funny without seeming older than they're supposed to be, and their backstory unfolds in a natural way. The heroine is easy to like, partly because she doesn't drop her friends or interests at the first hint of romance. There's a good mix of tension and lighter moments, and I'm looking forward to the sequel.

Discount Armageddon, by Seanan McGuire

I'm obsessively in love with the October Daye books, so this was a must read. Verity Price, like Toby, lives and fights among supernatural creatures, but as a ballroom dancing cryptozoologist, she does it backwards in high heels. The best word to describe this book is fun, and it's impossible to keep a smile off your face while the talking mice who worship Verity's family celebrate her every action.

The Elements of Expression, by Arthur Plotnik

This is an update of a book first released in 1996. It manages to be both instructive and highly readable, though I went through it pretty slowly thanks to a constant urge to copy bits and pieces down into the list of fun words I keep in my writing notebook. Everyone who writes or speaks or just likes language should read it.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

2012-12-24T07:47:00.000-05:00

Bad Book Luck

2012-12-19T17:32:00.000-05:00

I've never considered myself a choosy reader. I like classics, mysteries, sci-fi, and fantasies of all stripes. I can typically lose myself in a novel as long as there's one really interesting aspect of a character, setting, or story that catches my attention.

That's why I've been so surprised by the number of books I've given up on in the past month. I stopped reading a mystery that failed to build any tension, a historical about people who sat around telling each other the plot, and a fantasy whose third person narration included so much overtly sexist nonsense that I was tempted to fill it with margin notes and mail it back to the author.

I started to wonder if I'm getting pickier, but considering that me and escapist fluff are still on great terms overall I don't think that's the case. My guess is that since I've had less reading time recently, I'm finding it a lot easier to drop books that I'm not enjoying. I used to be one of those "plow through until the end" types, so this is an interesting change.

Tunes for Tuesday: Coast of Carolina

2012-12-18T12:57:00.000-05:00

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The Move Is Over

2012-12-04T10:40:00.000-05:00

After weeks of furious sorting, packing, and hauling, we're officially done with moving. I gave away or donated at least half of my books, which was less panic-inducing than I thought it would be. Some of our furniture, kitchen stuff, and assorted junk also didn't make the trip, and as I look at the boxes of things left to be put away I'm starting to think that I could stand to shed just a little more of our baggage.

In the new neighborhood I can actually walk to things, which is a living situation I haven't had in far too long. I miss our friends and some of our hangout spots already, but thankfully we haven't gone beyond the reach of occasional weekend visits.

Between settling in to our new digs and the upcoming rush of holiday prep, my writing time will be more limited than I'd like. But now the desk is separated from the main living area, and I'm hoping that will cut down on distractions once I get it clear of all these boxes.

Islands of Adventure

2012-11-26T13:30:00.001-05:00

Our main reason for going to Islands of Adventure was to see the Harry Potter section. Frozen Butterbeer is better than the straight stuff, the Ollivander's show is worth waiting for, and while the castle was inspiring to walk through, the ride there left me a little motion sick.

The rest of the park, with the exception of the Marvel part, was forgettable. And I'm pretty sure that Poseidon's Fury is code for how you feel after spending over double the posted wait time just to walk through a few small rooms and and watch snippets of special effects through a herd of taller people. On a brighter note, this is what I'd look like as a dinosaur:

Magic Kingdom

2012-11-21T16:05:00.000-05:00

We got to stay for a late night at the Magic Kingdom, which meant reasonable waits for even the popular rides. We also caught a sneak peek of the new Fantasyland before its official opening day, there's a new Little Mermaid ride and an interactive show that lets young children act out a story with Belle.

The updates to Haunted Mansion are great, and it was nice to see that the Treehouse and Tiki Room had been restored to their original versions. The changes to Pirates of the Caribbean were mostly good additions, though it seemed like some of the movie-related dialogue made it harder to hear the important part, the "Yo Ho" song.

My favorite ride is probably Thunder Mountain Railroad, so I was glad we got to do it twice. Because of nostalgia, I'm sad to say that the Jungle Cruise is the thing I'd least mind skipping on our next visit. It's a good ride, but no Jungle Cruise guide will ever live up to the one we lucked into for an adults-only boat on my one visit to Disneyland.