I'm already stuck. This is my fifth NaNo but the first time I can't even get started. I had 800 words this morning, but I hate the story already. I'm going to throw out those 800 words and start again--I just don't know what to write about. Nothing appeals.
I suspect the real problem is that I'm currently doing rewrites for a novel I finished very recently. I know I can do the rewrites while also working on another project, but my brain apparently doesn't want to multitask.
I wish I could remember the moment when I realized I could read. I know I had to be reading pretty well in first grade because I remember arguing with my teacher and one of my friends that the word 'disturb' was spelled 'disturv' (because that's how I heard it).
Lois @271 mentioned Little Black Sambo, which made me think of my paternal grandmother's house and how utterly bereft of books it seemed when I was a kid. At home I was always surrounded by books and my mother read all the time, but when my brother and I went to stay with my paternal grandmother (my maternal grandmother's house was comfortably filled with books), I had a choice between Little Black Sambo and a picture book about evil-looking rabbits dying eggs. I hated the rabbits, but Little Black Sambo held a bizarre fascination for me. The notion of tigers turning into butter seemed repellent but curiously plausible, even though I knew even at that age (five?) that things didn't work like that.
My grandmother was an antique dealer for many decades, right up to the last few months before she died. She co-owned a large and very nice antique mall too. Their policy was to call a greeting to every single person who came into the shop, and say something like, "If you need any help, let us know." They always had two dealers on staff at all times, often more since dealers were always popping in and out. They never hovered, but they were always available.
When my grandmother went into another antique store, if a clerk didn't greet her, very often she'd just turn around and leave again. I've noticed that the shops she left like that were usually ones that didn't last long. Of course, in antiques, customer service and knowledge are hugely important--but they ought to be hugely important to every business.
Alex @18 and Nick @19: Ah, okay, I didn't think of "beginner's rates" as translating to "the low end of our usual pay scale." It just had a nasty ring to it, particularly considering that the workshop isn't free.
Regarding markets that won't accept electronic submissions and/or that have very slow response times, I've solved that dilemma for myself by not submitting to those markets. Sure, it narrows the field for me and I doubt any of those editors are ever going to think, "OMG, why isn't she sending us stories?", but it makes me more likely to send stuff out.
Alex Cohen @15: "Beginner's rates" for workshopped stories published in F&SF? This is so wrong on every level.
If the workshopped stories aren't expected to be good enough to deserve pro rates, why publish them at all? If the stories are only chosen for publication if they are on par with other stories selected for the magazine, the authors should receive the same pay any other author would get.
It sounds like the workshop is a thin disguise to A) make money from authors paying for the workshop, B) get some interest in the magazine to combat falling subscriber rates, and C) make the magazine seem like it's all about fresh new authors.
Dangling the possibility of publication will get them lots of participants, and if they do discover a gem, they don't have to pay much for it. Just out of curiosity, how would this affect SFWA's recognition of F&SF as a pro market?
(I haven't bought an issue of F&SF in years, since I rarely enjoy the stories they publish. The last issues I remember reading had a stale, same-as-the-last-issue feel, and I always got the distinct impression that the stories were mostly intended for guys anyway.)
Carry S. @ #58: I think I know that restaurant! It's really hard to get to (or seemed that way to me) with inadequate parking and as I recall it doesn't really even look like a restaurant. The food is great, though. I went a couple of times with my brother and his family while I lived near Pittsburgh, and we always ordered off the Korean menu. Mmm, bulgogi.
My brother and SIL adopted a boy from Korea as their third son (he's adorable and brilliant, just like my other two nephews). My SIL's cooking is heavily Korean now and it's excellent. I even like kim chi in small doses. :) I've moved back to Tennessee now and miss the Korean food--needless to say, it's hard to come by here. I really ought to get a good Korean cookbook and try some of the recipes.
Now I'm starving.
I got a 4 on the color test, which pleased me since I knew a few were wrong when I hit the submit button--but I'm (ahem) at work and was trying to finish quickly. At first I had trouble with the test--all the similar colors looked so very alike--but I noticed after a minute or two that if I looked at the color line as a whole, it was easy to spot my mistakes.
My dad's red-green color-blind and I have a paternal cousin who claims she is too. I'm not sure I believe my cousin, though; maybe she's just trying to cover up for her awful fashion sense. :) My brother, fortunately, sees colors just fine--but I have always noticed that his color preferences are radically different from mine. He hates blue and green together, which I find hard to understand. Blue and green look great together! Trees against sky!
When I did my student teaching, I had a little boy in my first grade class who we only realized was red-green color-blind when another kid tattled on him for doing his math lesson wrong. We were working on patterning, so I'd given the kids Skittles (the chewy candy that comes in various colors) and little pattern charts where they could count up how many of each color Skittle they had, and then eat the Skittles. This boy saw no difference between the purple and orange Skittles and was counting them together.
I just came back from watching the movie for a second time (so yeah, I liked it), and since I'd read this thread yesterday I made sure to pay close attention to Uhura. I thought she started out strong and then got shoved back into a "stand there and look worried" role.
In the pre-brawl scene, I actually thought she was flirting with drunk-jerk-Kirk just a little. She doesn't call on anyone to help her at any point, and in fact keeps screaming at Cupcake and co. to stop. The one time Kirk stumbles into her--which is an accident, although his expression makes it clear he's not a bit apologetic--she retaliates solidly and knocks him back into the fray.
I liked her relationship with Spock, and I really liked how we're shown more of Spock's struggles with his background and his emotions. I'm not sure I agree with the statement that Kirk should have reminded Spock of the "emotionally-compromised" regulation; at this point, as alpha-Spock seems to imply, beta-Spock truly is emotionally compromised, to the point where he's not going to admit it to himself without Kirk forcing him to realize it.
I hope that Uhura gets a chance to really shine in the sequel, and I'd like to see her relationship with Spock explored from her point of view too, not just from Spock's.
I found #queryfail amusing right up until I recognized one of the tweets as possibly being about an acquaintance's query, and then it was Totally Not Cool. In fact, after that the whole thing made me feel kind of icky.
I don't know how helpful it was anyway. The people savvy enough to follow #queryfail are already (I hope) savvy enough to know better than to make #queryfail types of mistakes.
I just got back from seeing the movie. I've never read the book so I went in cold. It was okay, but I thought it moved very slowly, and the only character I found interesting was Rorschach. Dr. Manhattan was flat out annoying, to the extent that I wished he would just up and die, and the hawkman guy and the woman with the bad haircut (never did learn their names) seemed to have no personalities at all. But the movie was beautifully made, and the opening credits were very nearly worth the price of admission.
Warner is insane.
Phiala @124: I think he may be half Maine Coone (maybe all). He looks and acts like one, certainly, right down to the remarkable sociability and the little kitten voice.
I feel guilty throwing out his fur after I brush him, but it takes so long to spin that I can't work up too much enthusiasm. I did ply some of his spun fur with some of my Newfie's spun fur and made a square with it for my spinning guild's last afghan. The afghan's theme was non-wool animal hair, and it's an amazing creation. One member even spun and wove her own hair for a (very scratchy) square.
David @88: Yes, my cat has a tendency to turn into a felted cat if I'm not virtuous with his grooming, which he hates. In fact, at the moment he's getting pretty lumpy, so I need to pull out the mat splitter and bribe him with as much time as he likes sitting in the sink with the water dripping.
I'm another knitter who has to watch what I'm doing. I hadn't thought of trying audio books. I usually put on music or a movie I've seen a billion times.
Lee @81: Oh, no, I can't claim chiengora as my invention. I've seen it in different places. It really does exactly fit the fiber (and sounds much less smelly than "dog hair").
I haven't seen a word for cat hair used as fiber. Although, from experiments spinning my long-haired cat's fur, I'd suggest "pre-felt" for it. (Or maybe it's just my cat whose fur felts as soon as I look at it--lovely felt, but definitely, solidly felted.)
I also meant to say that that blanket is GORGEOUS. Envy!
My very old Newfoundland dog died this past fall, and I'm so glad I had spun some of his fur over the years. I have a filet crochet kerchief I made from it that I really need to edge and finish so I can wear it on chilly spring mornings.
Avedaggio @70 when sinners are asked to spin up most dog fur
That's my problem! I have sinned, and therefore I must spin up short-stapled dog fur.
Actually, my first thought was a desperate need to blend this stuff with something like alpaca, but the neighbor wants it dog-fur-and-nothing-but. I think his dog has a lot of chow in his background, with very long, fluffy hair that would be a joy to spin if the neighbor understood that I only want the longer, softer fur he combs from the dog's shoulders and sides. Explaining this to him (he's quite old and a little hard-of-thinking, but a very sweet man) seems more trouble than it's worth. Also, he has a beard you could hide owls in so he probably won't notice how scratchy the scarf is.
I'm spinning hair from the neighbor's dog in order to make him (the neighbor, not the dog) a scarf. I was hoping to have it done by now--but oh, it's awful stuff to spin, short and fuzzy like dryer lint. I also don't really have enough. I suppose I will have to ask him for more, which means I have to spin more of it. Which I don't want to do. Then again, if I don't, I'll have to crochet with these horribly overspun singles. At least if I ply it some of the twist will come out and it won't be quite so snarly.
I expect I'll crochet the scarf anyway with a great big hook, probably a sort of filet pattern so it's all big open squares. Otherwise the poor guy will die of heat exhaustion the first time he wears it. Any suggestions for patterns?
After I finish this project, I have bags and bags of luscious puppy fluff from my uncle's golden retriever to spin. That I can't wait to get started on, maybe as a reward for finishing the dryer lint dog fur. When did I become a chiengora expert among everyone I know?
I wish we'd had the chicken pox vaccine when I was a kid. My brother got chicken pox (my brother got everything), but although I was exposed, I never came down with it. I try and avoid people who are sick--but my coworkers seem to enjoy dragging themselves in to work when they're barely conscious, so I figure I'm doomed.
In 1990 or early 91, while I was in college, there was a big scare throughout the U.S. about rubella outbreaks on college campuses. We were all required to be re-vaccinated for rubella. It may even have been the full MMR vaccination; I'm not sure, but I hope so. Chicken pox is bad enough.
I need to get a tetanus booster. It's been more than ten years, plus I do work with raw wool from time to time.
Mary @ #246 Kudzu doesn't smell like anything until it flowers (late August/early September here in East TN). The flowers do indeed smell just like grape bubble gum. I think it's delicious, myself, but I can see that not everyone would like it.
About the character crossovers, Tolkien seems to be fair game in a quiet way. One of Pratchett's books (can't remember which one at the moment) has the witches encounter a Gollum-like creature on their trip through a mountain cave, at which point Nanny dispatches it calmly with an oar. And Diana Wynne Jones has a dwarf named Galadriel in Dark Lord of Derkholm, which I always thought was particularly funny. (One of the characters wonders what the dwarf's mother was thinking.)
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