Tenth month

And the random surf site for today:
emakeover.com
Wait! Better yet:
www.cat-scan.com

Working isn't working. I'm definitely in a writing mood. I stumbled across a "This month's writing challenge" in some writing community (somewhere else), without really looking for that sort of trouble. The facilitator/teacher had a long essay on the importance of the story. (Which i skimmed. She quoted Gardner's On Writing so much that i figured i could read that at home.) The challenge was to write a short 500-1000 word story using a 'classic' opening like "Once upon a time." I thought about how good it had been to start writing this spring, and how it scared me -- the rush, the excitement -- and i didn't write again. I thought about my proto-novel, tumbled across an idea that would pull my Sybil into a short story...

And the musical selection to hack to today:
BOC: Imaginos.

I read Fritz Leiber's The Big Time today. Copyright 1961. Hugo award winner. The characters seem pretty two dimensional, which i noticed particularly because the female narrator seems pretty 1950's pre-liberated. On the other hand, the time wars concept is excellent, and most of the technology has aged well. The only technological bit that seems quaintly outdated is the alien from a moon culture that destroyed itself with nuclear weapons long before humans evolved. Admittedly, the major tools described have analog dials, but a plausable explanation for that can be made. A more sophisticated development of the characters would have improved the story to the point where i might have enjoyed it though. As it stands it was mildly more interesting than watching subway walls go by.

And the musical selection to hack to today:
Concrete Blonde: Mexican Moon,
BOC: Imaginos.

And the random surf site for today:
The OED. Coolest is that one can now contribute citations to the cause!

A less than random site would be:
Bobby Valentine on the web. Wish they'd tromped 'lanta. Sigh!

Investigating runes on-line can be more than a bit tricky, but i've a few quick keys i use to sort new age-y interpretation (take Blum's decision to read the I-Ching to develop interpretations for the runes) from more Norse inspired interpretations. (Are there 24 runes in the elder futhark with no 'blank rune' or 'rune of Odin?' That's a good start.) There's nothing wrong with those interpretatons, per se, but I'm most interested in learning interpretations based upon some level of historical and cultural knowledge. Runes, beyond having a divinitory and magical use, are keys to language, writing, and the spread of Western culture through Europe.

I'm fascinated with the presensce of the Vanir and Aesir in Norse mythology -- two different clans/families/nations present in the pantheon. To me, the mythology seems to relate a historical story of one people (the Aesir) invading the land of a more "primitive" people (the Vanir). The Vanir seem to be dieties of pairings, brother/sisters, wife/husbands, who represent primal and natural elements like love and fertility, the sea and lakes, and so on. The Vanir seem far more like the pantheon of Asia Minor with Thunder god Thor and Sky Father, Odin. The interpretations here of the oldest runic inscriptions reflecting a Semitic fertitlity cult fascinate me. I admit, however, to puzzling over where Odin and Thor evolve out of the Ishtar mythos.

And the musical selection to hack to today:
Four Cellos: Apocalyptica.

And the random surf site for today:
More cartoons, two year's worth and good. Let's not discuss how i spent my Monday.

And the random surf site for today:
Climate Simulation of the 21st Century. Distributed computing is becoming so very cool!

And the not random surf site for today:
Remembrance Agents Finally installed it last week, then saw the Freshmeat update. It's worked out pretty nicely. 991011

And the musical selection to hack to today:
Dr. Fiorella Terenzi: Music From the Galaxies.

And the random surf site for today:
A Bioregional Calendar. I think the very most interesting part of this proposal is counting the years After and Before Hiroshima. (And then Y2K goes poof, right?)Onezima 1, 67 (Groundday) is Jan. 13, 98. I like what this web site does as far as pushing us out of the artificial constructs with which we order our life. Change the clock, change the base of the counting system, change the calendar -- change the world?

Not like i'm a fan or anything, but it was kinda cool to watch the last quarter of the Eagles game yesterday. I got to see their first victory and first *touchdown* of the year. I just hope it's not the only victory of '99. (I wonder how long FOX keeps the box scores in place.)

And the random surf site for today:
these fancy new pots. Early morning infomercial for this snagged me as i was programming the VCR to tape Xena, Herc, Earth Final Conflict, Batman Beyond, Men In Black,.... So what sold me? The lid. Definitely the lid. I've never cared about non-stick & pouring, as much, but the draining/straining lid that stops boil over Cool! Pity I can't fit it in my budget.

And the musical selection to hack to today:
Joan Osborne: relish.

And the random surf site for today:
The Ig Nobels. Look, they seem to be picking on us poor tea drinkers. First of all, the physics of fluid flow through a spout isn't just important for those of us who spend a fortune replacing clothes and tablecloths stained with little brown dribbles. It's clearly got industrial applications. Anyhow, fluid dynamics is cool physics. And then, for literature! Look, the entirety of the United States of America is in desperate need of remedial instruction in making tea. Personally, I figure that the committee wouldn't have blinked twice as a 6-page pamphlet illustrating one how to make a proper latte.

And today's random surf site was inspired by a question. KS refered to JF as a 'Svengali' -- actually, what she said was, "If only we knew how to spot a Svengali at that point..." Well, i didn't know how to spot a Svengali, or what one was anyhow, so i went to my fave search engine for one keyword searches, Google. I turned up the random surf site for today:
www.hypnotism.org/Svengali.htm

My current reading has been of Louise Erdrich and Laura Esquivel. Both have interviews in Salon: here and here

• The World's Greatest Fishermen
  1981
  June Kashpaw's death, Albertine returns home to mother Zelda, family gathering
• Saine Marie
  1934
  'Grandma' of previous chapter at 14 in a convent (Marie Lazarre)
• Wild Geese
  1934
  Nector Kashpaw meets Marie and is detoured from Lulu
• The Beads
  1948
  Marie Kashpaw takes in June Morrissey, her neice through deceased sister Lucille, and eventually lets her live with Eli Kashpaw
• Lulu's Boys
  1957
  Lulu Nanapush Lamartine and her deceased husband's brother Beverly Lamartine
• The Plunge of the Brave
  1957
  Nector Kashpaw's affair with Lulu
• Flesh and Blood
  1957
  Marie confronts dying sister Leopolda with daughter Zelda in tow
• A Bridge
  1973
  Albertine runs away to fargo at 15, sex/rape with Henry Lamatine Jr returning from Viet Nam
• The Red Convertible
  1974
  Lyman Lamartine tries to rescue Henry from memories of war
• Scales
  1980
  Albertine (Johnson) meets up with Gerry Nanapush (Lulu's boy) and wife Dot Adare, while Dot is expecting her first child
• Crown of Thorns
  1981
  Gordon Kashpaw drinks over June's death, hangs out with Uncle Eli, murders a deer
• Love Medicine
  1982
  Lipsha Morrissey, June's son with Gerry, tries to connect his 'Grandma' Marie back to the senile Grandpaw Nector, despite Lulu's presence in the retirement home. Nector dies
• The Good Tears
  1983
  Lulu remembers, Lyman is Nector's son
• Crossing the Water
  1984
  Howard Kashpaw -- King Jr -- June's son & Lipsha Morrissey, June's other son; Gerry & the firebird.