The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Ceri:

And I believe it was Lis who suggested the title (since we do have the vampire squid taking the Titanic to an Undersea City) should be Atlantis Nights.

Er...things that were here just a minute ago, but you can't remember where you put them?

(Where DID I leave that comment registration system anyway? I had it in my hand, and then I went into the kitchen and now it's gone.)

Of #3 I would also like to add a quotation from a friend of mine: "Remote means far away."

I feel like I've missed a plot point, though. If Grindelwald had the Elder Wand, which is unbeatable in battle, how in the world did Dumbledore defeat him?

Since people are talking about cons and fear of going to your first SF con, I'm wondering -- what can con organizers can do to encourage new people to come to a con? I've been to cons where people have lamented that there aren't any new faces, but I've never heard any suggestions as to how to get new people in the doors.

Bruce Cohen@125 -- What kind of chocolate do you use for migraines? And how much of it? This sounds like a treatment I could get behind.

(Although, if chocolate were one of my triggers, I guess I might feel differently -- though maybe if you're already getting the migraine, you might as well get to have the chocolate.)

Serge @ 460: Meanwhile... My wife came across some comments made by Frank Miller about the movie version of "300". I understand that Leonidas's Queen Gorgo was barely present in the graphic novel and that her role was increased so that the movie would appeal more to young women. Apparently Miller objected strenuously to the greater feminine presence because, well, this is a boy's adventure story.

Actually, the film would have been MUCH better without the tacked-on love story and bits with Queen Gorgo, who for all the movie's protests that Spartan women can take care of themselves, was both powerless and stupid. I go into this a bit more in my sorta-review sorta-rant on my blog.

I'd actually agree with Miller's objections, to an extent -- the Queen Gorgo storyline adds nothing to the movie. Everything she does is useless, not to mention the parts she's in are predictible and painful to watch. So why is she there? From a story perspective, she doesn't belong.

Bruce @67 There's also The Corpse Bride, which is also a Tim Burton film (like Nightmare Before Christmas).

Serve @510 -- out of curiosity, have you seen Bon Cop, Bad Cop, the bilingual buddy cop movie that came out last year? The plot would fall apart in a stiff breeze, but it's got a lot of really great "two solitudes" moments, particularly the Ontarian and Quebecois cops discussing how swearing works in Quebec, with examples.

On a related note, when we explained to my mother-in-law that all Quebec curse words are church-related, she somehow got it into her head that "Cathedral" was one of them, and now uses it whenever we're around.

MD(squared)@477 The Wikipedia article on Quebec Frency Profanity is pretty thorough.

Serge @434: Or as my husband puts it, you can tell what a society's hangups are by what its curse words are.

Swearing in Quebec is fun. When I worked at a small office in Quebec City, in which everyone was english-speaking, *everyone* cursed in french.

As to profanity in writing -- am I the only person who finds it more impactful when characters swear in a book? I barely notice spoken profanity, but when I read it, it always stands out (and most often I find it unnecessarily jarring, though not always).

Serge @ #491: How does one list science fictional lineage leading to being a writer? It certainly sounds interesting.

Serge: I only wish. I was referring to Gerald Gardner, founder of Wicca.

Xopher @ 471 -- I've heard this kind of lineage recital referred to as "showing your puppy papers".

I used to be a member of a group that was very big on "our lineage goes all the way back to Gardner!" (I didn't much care), so that made me laugh a lot.

Looks like a program called Freestyle, and the schedule is here.

You can listen to CBC digitally here.

I have no idea if they archive the show online, though I know they have a service where if you know when the interview was played you can order a tape -- I think it's $25/hr show though.

Greg (#99): For me, at least, the process of writing is excruciatingly slow, but it is the process, the act of writing, choosing, managing time, characters, and plot, that seemed to be missing from the other person's question

You're right, that was poorly phrased on my part. I was more responding to Susan's earlier post (#55) about doing her best not to write fiction if she can help it, which made it seem like she had a real burning desire to write but was supressing it, rather than a simple "I have a great idea for a story, but no time to write it."

I don't think I'd ever say that writing is fast or easy (though it can be, it often isn't). I'd just hate to see anyone stop themselves from writing a story because they say to themselves "but it won't be any good when it's done". If you really want to write the story and are taken with the ooh shiny!-ness of the idea, I think it's better to write it out than to force yourself not to. That's assuming, of course, you have the time to write, and wouldn't rather be doing something else -- like studying social dance history, for example.

Xopher -- Well, Alison Baird *did* write a novel about Newfoundland being Avalon. But I thought the Otherworld was underwater? That is, when it's not on an island that can only be seen once every seven years at Midsummer. And if you don't mean the one that's at the top of the World Tree...

Okay, maybe you're right. It is everywhere. In which case I want to know how to get in and if the chocolate ice cream is any good.

Susan (#81): Now you've got me curious. What in the world is Tir Na n'Og? (Apart, I mean, from the Celtic Otherworld, which as far as I know isn't in Canada, and doesn't sell chocolate ice cream.)

Also, from further upthread -- why would it be a bad thing if you wrote a story, upon having the idea for one?

Montreal is running for the 2009 Worldcon, against Kansas City, I b'lieve.

Here's the webpage

Oh excellent! Recommendations for the Blue Nile! I've often walked by it and wondered if it's any good. Now I have to go.

I like Fonduementale, myself -- it's a really great place for a romantic dinner. It's a fondue restaurant. You probably guessed that from the name.

Hey Jeff -- weren't we starting a "Restaurant of the Month" group a few years back? Maybe it's time to revisit the idea...

Whoops. Duh. Should've read those last two messages more carefully. Ignore me.

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