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

Or perhaps it's the future robot overlords making sure that you were still in the place they thought you were. Robot overlords are real suspenders-and-a-belt types when planning a revolution.

I've said too much.

I agree that the second "stork" story is heartbreaking but it's also puzzling. Was the wedding called off entirely because the bride was no longer pregnant? Did she still get married but in a different dress? Where is the closure?

Josh: IIRC, that was the blizzard of '93. I remember the year because it was the year I graduated from college. Which isn't important -- but is the same year that we were all celebrating the fact that our senior comps were done (still in need of defending, but more or less finished) and gathered at a buddy's house for warm beverages. I then tried to walk home in said blizzard and did OK until I tried to cross an open, fairly flat quad that I assumed was covered in snow. My initial plan was to walk around it but I noticed that the person in front of me wasn't buried hip-deep in the snow and seemed to be having little trouble crossing. I assumed that the deeper stuff had blown into a drift somewhere else and plunged ahead. As it turns out, the snow was hip-deep and the guy in front of me was wearing snowshoes. This thought (to look at the tracks of the guy in front of me) finally entered my mind after I was halfway through the field, which should have been evidence that I was already a bit hypothermic. At about that point, I started to think that it would be nice and cozy to simply curl up in the snow and take a little nap. I'm still not overly certain how I made it back to my apartment.

Which is the long way of saying that I'm pretty sure that was '93. And that at 22, I was more of an idiot than I'd imagined at the time.

On the "Frozen Charlotte" YA book -- Lila, I don't think that's it. "Missing Melinda" sounds delightful, mind you, but doesn't strike me as the right book. Thanks, tho. And now I have something else to look for in used bookstores.

The mention of Frozen Charlotte up thread is tickling something in my brain and won't let me rest. The internets don't seem to be much help -- not because the info isn't out there but because I can't come up with the right string to search with because I can't remember all of the details.

There was a young adult (?) novel that featured a character who either a) is named Charlotte because of the poem, b) becomes obsessed with the Frozen Charlotte dolls or c) is named after the doll because her mother is obsessed with them.

I know. Not much help.

Part of me wants to think it was something by Paul Zindel. But I make no promises.

Anyone? Or is this even too vague for the collective mind?

Clearly, if women's clothing retailers let you know the exact measurements of their garments, then the terrorists will have won.

Also, on bridal and bridesmaid gowns, they are also "upsized" so that the shops can soak you for alterations.

ajay: I'd actually considered Use of Weapons, which is one of my all-time fave books, but decided that my students would get too hung up on the island of the body fluid (among other things) eaters and not look at the larger themes.

And, yes, I did give away my bias when I didn't immediately question why I didn't include works that weren't American/British. Thanks for providing more food for thought.

Great SF about foot soldiers would be ideal, but is turning out to be too hard to come by -- especially in inexpensive and readily-available forms

I am going to pick up some Cherryh and dig out my Shards of Honor and Warrior's Apprentice. The help has been most helpful. Thanks to one and all.

Thanks for all of the great suggestions. Not only will all of these titles make great additions to my own reading list, they are also making me clarify my own muddy thoughts on the class.

The loose theme is "books about soldiers and war, with an emphasis on those with science fictional elements." I've toyed with Scalzi's Old Man's War, but it is merely in pencil at this point. Not to slight Scalzi -- it's a great book -- but OMW doesn't quite feel like it fits. No, I can't quite explain why -- and if I never figure out what my qualm is, then I'll add it.

If I can't figure out another genre-ish title to add, other possibilites are Atonement, Testament of Youth and Jarhead.

And, yes, the protagonist in the book Starship Troopers isn't white, the actor in the movie is -- and my brain keeps substituting Casper Van Dien's face when I think about the book. Damn you Verhoeven.

Completely off the subject, frankly, but I have a deep need to tap the collective mind, which is wise both deep and wide, at Making Light. Here is my plea:

I'm putting together a book list for a writing course that I'll be teaching during "spring" term. I quote spring merely because only the last month is really spring-like around here and the term would be more accurately called "yes, yes, it's still winter" term.

Anyway.

The books that I'll be using in one of the units are Slaughterhouse Five, The Forever War and Starship Troopers. Last night I realized that these three, while great books all, need to be balanced by something written by (and, if possible, featuring) someone who wasn't white and male. But I'll be darned if I can figure out what that would be. It could be that my brain is simply soft (more than usual, that is) right now.

But I would like to ask the assembled: Can you think of a title that would fit? The books in question are used to generate writing themes and topics as well as discussions. There is a separate text that deals with the nuts and bolts of writing.

And, clearly, the hamster is to keep the wombats away. Wombats love Celebration Ale, Firefly, and lousy Republican poll numbers.

Mayakda said:
or the first I have something called Caring for your child from birth to age five -- has symptoms, decision charts and everything. Very cool.
For number two -- I haven't really found one book, but The Good Enough Child is a good book about the whole "it's ok not to be perfect" thing. (I like The Baby Book by the Sears couple, but it can get preachy. I loathe the What to expect books.)


I love the *Caring* book. I would like one that makes it even simpler, however, and breaks everything down into three possible responses:
1) Some OTC remedy (Motrin, cough syrup, oatmeal baths) will work just fine.
2) Call your doctor because he/she is the only one who can handle this.
or
3) Call the CDC, burn all the sheets and let no one in your house again ever.
Sometimes, you just need someone to make the choices simple, especially at 3 a.m.
I agree with you on the parenting books, frankly. *What to Expect* is simply evil.

Lucy K: Some of the drive-by mothering I've gotten has been positive, too. Same scenario with the grocery, crabby kid and hairy cat fit. An older woman walked by and said "you're doing a great job, honey. It'll be OK." I nearly hugged her and bought her some ice cream.

Mris: What is a bubble duck? Sounds like something everyone should have in an emergency. As to what an outside adult can say when faced with a screaming child not their own? A silly face -- aimed at the kid, not the parent -- can be enough of a distraction that the kid stops screaming long enough to figure out who that wacky person is and if they can be convinced to make the face again. Also in this category are things like small hand magic (coin tricks and the like) and juggling balls. imo.

Suzanne: I must be right behind you most of the time. It is a very, very small web.

I think your point about the incredible emotional investment and inherent insecurity making motherhood a ripe target for drive-bys is a valid one. And I do think it is specifically a motherhood phenomenon. Which isn't to say that dads don't have a special kind of guilt-trip reserved just for them, just that it's a different thing -- and seems to not be as socially acceptable.

Mothering drive-bys do start when you are visibly with child. For me, the question was always "you're not going back to work after the baby's born, are you?" The question was always asked as if I were a shrew for even pondering a return to the office. If I handled nuclear waste for a living, I might have given some thought to opting out. But I'm a writer/editor, for Scribner's sake, and it's not a particularly hazardous profession. (Physically, that is. Psychologically is a different thing.)

What always ticked me off was the no one ever asked my husband the same question. Nor do they every ask him who takes care of the kids while he's at work. Nor is his choice to work outside the home cause for scorn and derision, Nor is he ever singled out for handing off his spawn for someone else to raise. I, however, am a fair target for all of this. And have had to deal with all of this, almost constantly, from strangers, for the last four years.

Two ideas I'd like to toss out--

1. The hard-core feminist in me wants to blame backlash against women having more options now. For centuries, we've been conditioned to hate on each other if we make decisions that affect the status quo. I have no doubts that suffragettes caught crap from other women -- as did divorcees and ERA advocates. I don't know the root cause of this, but suspect that there are many causes, each linked. IMO.

2. The advice I give to anyone who is pondering kids is to find two books -- one that is a good guide (with pictures and charts) to all of the random illnesses and rashes that can infect a child; one is a "parenting" book whose advice you can live with. Toss everything else out. Trust your gut. And, no, you won't do it perfectly. There is no perfect.

(Note: this isn't to say that you should do things to your kid that are actively dangerous because your gut says its OK. Common sense should also be allowed some input.)

Also, parents -- moms especially -- should find a group of other moms who are of a like mind. That doesn't mean that everyone should agree on breastfeeding or co-sleeping, just that each mom is willing to accept the ideas of another. Which isn't to say that the same group of moms should keep their mouth shut when faced with a situation that sounds actively ill-advised (like, say, only giving breast milk and no solids until the kid is two). Just that everyone understands that everyone going to do the parenting thing a little differently and that, largely, the details don't matter that much.

As for the moms who thrive on drive-bys, they have their own little world where I hope they are happy. They don't need to receive any additional validation by having an effect in my little world. My little world, granted, isn't perfect, but I also don't expect it to be. It is life, not art, and you can't control every last variable.

To add to the first line/whole name thread: "Towards the end of things, someone asked Michael Kearney, 'How do you see yourself spending the first minute of the new millennium?'"

Just as an additional point of info, last I heard Dorothy Deering was out of jail. Not that I'm implying that there is a relationship between E. J. Thornton and Deering. Not that I'm not implying it either.

We're only five-ish hours west of New York City, but it has been raining here since yesterday (Friday) morning. It seems that a cold front and Ivan met up near Tennessee and decided that both of their interests would be advanced more effectively if they made an alliance. It's supposed to stop by this (Saturday) afternoon. We shall see.

On a side note, the hub, the baby and I were supposed to fly to Tallahassee on the same day Ivan made his unwelcome presence know. Glad we decided to err on the side of caution -- and that the airline let us change our tickets without any penalty.

I've never quite understood the "major publishers don't promote their own books" argument. I'd appreciate it if some kind soul could cogently explain to me why the frick any publisher who intended to stay in business would pay for both the rights and the printing of a book, then not promote it only so that they can lose all of their investment. It just doesn't make sense. Publishers want to make money. Not promoting your product--no matter what the business--won't make you money. Ergo--publishers are promoting their products fairly well if they're still in business, yes? So how on earth could anyone make the argument that any given publisher isn't doing promotions? Are they just printing books for the heck of it? Just printing the books of their friends/families/drinking buddies, even though the publisher will lose large amounts of cash? I doubt it. Books are generally published by a real publishing house because they think they can sell them, not because they take divine glee in letting the book languish on a shelf, then get returned.

Sheesh.

Durrr. That should be "data want to be free..."

Gets me evey time.

That "information wants to be free" crap has always irked me. It would be more accurate to say that data wants to be free, but information will cost you.

May I be the god of the past subjunctive? That would tickle me to no end.

Also, some of the answers are contingent on whether you follow British or American rules. And the typo made my teeth grind, fwiw.

Anyone see some striking similarities between this Making Light thread and this new piece in Media Bistro, which is called, coincidentally, "Making Book?"

Jonathan: Last semester, on the first day of class, shortly after we'd gone over the syllabus and I'd let them go, one of the students lingered. She gingerly came up to me, which I found odd because I'm really not intimidating, and asked "are we going to have to speak in front of the class a lot?"

"Well, yes," I said. "It's a public speaking class."

It was here that she exploded into tears. It was startling, to say the least.

"I can't do that," she said.

"Is this class required for your major?"

"Yes," she said, "But I can't do that."

Long story short--she did manage to do a passable job of it, but always burst into tears either before or after she gave her presentations. We all got used to it.

So far this semester, no one has cried. I'm oddly disappointed.

Nothing to do with the PM or obscene SF but back to an earlier crafty thread--

Interesting wool and fractal rugs. Granted, the latter is more a cool idea than actual rug--but the possibility is pretty cool.

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