proud papa

my son (eight) says that at school, whenever they ask him "what's the theme?" of any book they happen to be reading, he always answers, "never give up!"

am i raising a cynical little bastard or what?

nice

got three chapters written today - ten eleven and twelve of ledman pickup - i had been gathering thoughts all week along about these three. i had a general idea how they'd go. what needed to happen, but i was leaving the details to the actual writing - and what a big difference that made. the characters, Zoey, Leonora and Kandhi, each came alive in their chapter in ways that they weren't before. They are now quite distinct, quite unique. and what's great is that while the plot has reached the furthest point i had already imagined it, the rest is unknown and full of potential. it's like going on a hike in a forest where you've never been before, and not knowing the trail, but knowing it's going to be beautiful

forum without a quoram

above a French Lichtenberg family crest from http://www.ngw.nl/int/fra/l/lichtenb.htm

found this site, the Conrad deLichtenberg Forum on Forum Jar, apparently a site where they put up forums about everything under the sun, whether anyone is interested or not. There are no messages posted in this forum. There is nothing in this forum at all.

Still, interesting to note that Conrad deLichtenberg was a 13th century French (not German) bishop - one of the earliest Lichtenbergs I've found.

lichtenberg-family-crest.htm  has more curious info

names of the day

from a headline



The girls, 3-month-old Dyniste T. Finley and 23-month-old Destiney T. Finley, were taken from their home ... They are believed to have been abducted by Dejavonte D.F. Finley and Asia J. Morris. Finley is an 18-year-old black male and the girls' father. He is said to be armed with a black handgun. 


a black handgun? as opposed to what? a green one?

jen's bumper sticker

my friend's idea for a bumper sticker, which she was too cowardly to actually do:
"organized religion = organized idiots"

okay, a bit harsh, perhaps

this week's examples, one sad, one tragic:

some right wingers praying for Senator Byrd's death worried that their prayers had bounced off Byrd and hit Senator Inhofe instead. If only ...

Young boy passed away from some disease. His parents decided one of them should commit suicide to join him in the afterlife so he wouldn't be lonely. The other one remained to raise their other child.

Embedded Jesus

Circumstantial

Last night I read an essay on Shakespeare by Borges, in which he mentioned that some writers are "circumstantial". Later that night, as I sat up with my sick son, I had an idea for my current story, an idea which occurred to me only because it is football season and only because the Packers are better than the 49ers this year. That idea, (Green Bay is better than San Francisco), said aloud by a warehouse worker, will be overheard and changes the entire trajectory of the story and the other character's path. So I am writing circumstantially, and that is reflected in my characters, who are also developing circumstantially in their own world.

neurotrash

neurotrash is the title of this blog post by a scientist castigating non-scientists for their non-scientific use of science, those who blow up pseudo-technical terms and weave them into general pronouncements and cash cows of hype.

The author himself seems to fall into this very category, taking his scientific knowledge and putting it to use in the service of cheerleading for homo sapiens (The human world is an entirely new realm created by all the means we have of joining attention and consciousness. It is unknown to nature ...). I wonder who he thinks he is talking to? Is he trying to impress termites or jellyfish with the wonders of mankind? Why is there this tendency to gloat about the greatness of mankind every time somebody puts two and two together? Is the natural world not amazing enough as it is and are we not a part of it?

And why put other people down for mis-using science when you turn around and do the same thing yourself? I respect his knowledge, and his essay is very interesting, up until that point, but I don't really need to be preached at about the incredibleness that is us, especially when I find this column in a blog along such other headlines as laws legalizing the murder of homosexuals (yay us) and the moral justification of war.

O wonderful species, keep telling yourself that. Nobody else is listening.

b.s. list

it's been a good run now for ten days, freak city at or near the top of the podiobooks 'best seller' list. there's always an early start as long as the title/link remains on the front page, but this one's had more staying power than others, including snapdragon alley, which preceeded it by only two days. i think the title has something to do with it, as well as the description. it seems more intriguing to the potential listeners, perhaps. in any case, it will soon slide away into some steady slow pattern like the others. most of the audio books now average between two and eight new listeners per day apiece, somewhere around thirty new listeners altogether per days, which certainly adds up over time. pretty cool at that...

it's tomorrow and it's summer, but only in La Honda