36th Birthday

I've meant to be better about writing this year and so far I've failed miserably - both here and in my personal journal.  Though I've started to Bullet Journal in place of my traditional planner and that has captured the other 10% of the space I'd use in my personal journal.  There are a number of other goals that I have yet to begin, but I need to remember that it is only February and there are 10 other months left in the year.

My mother has been able to successfully start on one of her major goals - decluttering - and I could not resist asking her to send me a few of her old pattern books.  I thought they might be useful items to sell in my Etsy shop and I am, therefore, considering it an investment in the future and not adding to my own clutter that desperately needs to be culled.

In the last six months, I cannot help but think of my mother and what she was like at my age.  As a child you always have a limited understanding of your parents as people and it's only when you begin to live your own life that you wonder about theirs.  I have found myself in the local art store coveting some of the fancier supplies they sell and wishing I had a dedicating space to work on projects.  And then I remember the art corner my mother once had in our basement and all the amazing things she stored there.

Did she want to be an artist?  Meaning a professional or semi-professional one that was able to create art that could be sold in coffee shops and local boutiques?  I remember her sewing, cross stitching, and designing so many different things when I was younger.  Had she ever considered working in a creative field like graphic design, cartooning, painting, or screen printing?

I always felt that my mother was this incredibly talented woman who could make anything.  When I talk to her now, she will demur and say that she's not that good at x, y, or z thing when I know she is.  She'll ask me to create things for her, that I know she could easily do herself, but for some reason she doesn't have the confidence that she could.   I didn't develop my talents in a vacuum, they were learned from watching her or listening to her talk about her projects.  So I wonder what happened between 36 and 65 to bring her to that point where she doubts her own abilities.

If I could go back in time, and meet my mother as a peer, what kind of person would she be?  Would I be able to inspire her to follow some deeply hidden dream?  What will I wish I had done now when I'm 65?

Thryn - MVN - Official Chapter 1

She woke with a start, back in her bunk at SA-159.  The hum of the engines reassuring to her ears as her brain slowly came back into focus.  She wasn't used to dreaming much these days and this was the third time in the last six months.  The sweat on her skin was already starting to chill and the dampness made her sheets almost icy to the touch.  She shifted until her body was on something drier and tried to go back to sleep.  Even without a clock, she knew there were only a few more hours until Earth moon-rise.  Through the thickest walls on the farthest ship, it would whisper her name and call her from sleep; an unrequited love that neither of them could forget.  

Thryn tossed and turned in her bunk but sleep had completely receded from her and left her mind wondering along the shores of reality.  Humans could normally adjust their sleeping schedules to fit wherever they happened to be; they would fall into harmony with the nearest system and rely on those foreign stars to govern their days and nights.  The space stations were a little trickier, though,  with the humans experiencing about 15 sunrises on average in a single day, depending on the system and the station’s proximity to the central star, of course. Regardless, she'd never been able to break free of the Earth’s dictations and the moon continued to push and pull at her.

She leaned over to check the time and realized she was back on schedule with the ship’s clocks.   There was no point in trying to sleep any longer, so she finally crawled out of bed.  It immediately retracted back into the wall of her cramped room and the overhead lights came on.

“Good Evening, Thryn,” the computer’s voice greeted her.  “Would you like to hear the evening news?”

“Can you just give me the highlights, computer?”

“There is one item pertaining to the taxation of liquor, that might be of interest to you.”  In this incarnation she had taken up the role of bar owner at one of the pubs in the lower sector.  It allowed her to work when she wanted and still keep the appearance of having to make a living. 

“Save that item for me to review later.  Anything else?”  Thryn started the water in the shower.  It would be a few minutes before she stepped into the glass enclosure, the showers were never warm enough on this station and started out practically ice cold.  The humans complained about it every morning, but she mourned this inconvenience even more.  It wasn't that the cold bothered her, in fact her body let her live in conditions most humans could never bare, but she longed to feel warmth coursing through her.  A hot shower was the closest she ever came to replicating the sensation for herself without the aid of blood.    

“Joshua Monoceros, has arrived on board this afternoon for a benefit performance this Friday.”  Thryn stopped deader than usual.

“What benefit?”  

“The Red and Magenta Cross joint benefit concert tour.  The performance will be at the SA-159 Amphitheater.  Should I reserve tickets for you, Thryn?”  

“No, computer, thank you. That’s all for now.”  

Here was a prime example of the vampire living his life out loud.  Joshua Monoceros had been on the fame circuit for the last ten years.  He’d reached super stardom with his passion for helping charities, specifically those with a large supply of blood in their vaults, and was often depicted as an angel of mercy in the media.  They’d met once about a century ago and it had left a bad taste in Thryn’s mouth.  If it was coincidence, she just had to stay out of his way.  She weighed her odds, she'd never really been that lucky, and determined it was better to find him first.  She opened the door to the shower and waited for the steam to greet her, but the water had already run back to cold.  

******

Out in the thoroughfare the humans brushed past her; they were preoccupied with their minuscule lives and did not notice the monster within their midst.  Really they saw what they wanted to see and nothing more.  Thryn felt intoxicated with the scent of them and the warm caresses as they flowed around her.  

“Which one, which one?” she thought to herself as they skittered here and there.  It had to be someone healthy, someone strong enough to lose a pint or two and not draw medical attention to her habits.  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a tall specimen staring her down.  He was muscular and rugged, probably a freighter worker stopping over.  He looked older, but she guessed he was about 35.  It was a decent length of time for the body to mature and gave a richness to the blood provided they made an effort to take care of themselves.  There was no need to open up a psychic link between them, his intentions were painted across his face and the hunger in his eyes mirrored her own.  It really was not polite to play with one’s food, but he radiated arrogance and that made it all the more irresistible.  He sauntered over to the post she had taken up against the corner of a shop and leaned into her, resting his forearm above her head against building.  

“Hey,” he started, “my name is Kyle.”   Kyle played with the collar on her shirt before finally asking, “What is your name?”  

“Does it really matter?”  

“No, I guess it really doesn't,” he agreed letting his hand roam lower to graze her breast.  Then he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the alley.  He pushed her up against the wall and began to fumble at her clothing, “come on, I don't bite.”

“I do, ” she purred as she pulled him closer to her.  Their eyes met and she opened the part of herself that let her control the humans.  Some called it glamour, some called it mind control, the result was still the same.  All the tension in his muscles released and she could feel his mind open to her. There was so much floating around in there.  He had come in this afternoon, as she had suspected, though not on a freighter.  A transport ship was a little fancier than she had expected but what surprised her was that Joshua Monoceros had been on the same transport.  Kyle was not part of the entourage, but his memories were offering a huge head start for her.   She stroked the side of his face with the back of her hand and he tilted his head to reveal his neck.  “That's a good boy”

Thryn - World Building - 1 hour timed writing

This world is so dark and grey; the sun shines through a dark filter and can’t seem to reach the lonely souls scrambling around on the ground.  It provides light without warmth and you can feel the chill creeping into your bones long before the winter actually makes its appearance.  Even fair weather days don’t seem to inspire and the people trudge along with half-vacant expressions. They are lost without their beacon.  I’ve watched them for generations on this colony, pushing their way through the landscape like ants.  Roads course through the green, ebbing and flowing like concrete rivers.  New homes and fields appear on each supply run; Entire communities rising, flourishing, and then falling into disrepair.  Husks of human ingenuity left behind to fend for themselves against the harsh elements of this foreign world.

But up here there is one season and the sun patiently waits.  In this portion of the atmosphere between the planet and outer space, it appears as it wants to all year long; reaching out to wrap you in blue sky and fluffy white clouds.  Protected by the glass on the cockpit, I can almost remember that feeling of hope most humans experience when they get above the cloud line.  That realization that one’s place in this life is so small and insignificant in the context of the universe.   But I’ve been here longer than the idea for their terraformed planet and realize I have more in common with the universe than the pestilence that crawls along the landscape below.   My people are not constrained by the element of time and we make patience an art form.

 ******

“On the eve of one’s last sunset, when one first goes to ground, there is a transformation that occurs while you sleep.  Between the soil, the blood, and the sun that has saturated them both for more than a millennia, there is a unique bond.  When we are forming our new bodies in this nutrient rich culture, the sun ingrains itself and is encoded to our very DNA.  This sun on this planet will forever hold sway over your habits and the stars surrounding other worlds will never compare.   Perhaps, when you are older, you will be able to venture as far from your home as I do, but you will always feel it calling to you.”

Notes:

Vampires cannot be created in space stations – it requires the soil and the sun of a planet

Thryn - Creative Writing#1

It was a beautiful day, the weather was starting to show its winter colors and the air held slightly more chill than it had the previous week.   Winter coats were out in the park but there were still plenty of people outside trying to squeeze as much sunshine out of the fallen leaves as they could.  If the trees had not been as bare, she probably never would have seen it huddled up under the bushes.  Her gaze had been drawn to some movement ahead of her on the path -  two eyes stared back at her.   It was some kind of animal, scared and shaking in the underbrush, not really a dog but it really wasn't anything else.  There was a mutual sense of otherness, it whimpered and cowered away from her as she reached out to it.  Somehow she managed to catch it and bundle it up in her coat before anyone else could see it.  It squirmed in her arms and nearly broke free several times.  Its cries were growing louder and a small crowd was watching as Thryn moved out of the park and back to her apartment.  She felt compelled to protect this bizarre animal, but could not be entirely sure from what.  Her head felt fuzzy as she tried to sort through the details.  There was something special about this creature, something that was important to the planet.  She heard footsteps on the roof and hid the thing only moments before someone came crashing through her window.  There were men in black masks and clothes pouring through the window and her only exits were being cut off.  She could feel the panic rising in her throat.

That's when she woke with a start, back in her bunk at SA-159.  The hum of the engines reassuring to her ears as her brain slowly came back into focus.  She wasn't used to dreaming much these days and this was the third time in the last six months she'd dreamt about this creature.  The sweat on her skin was already starting to chill and the dampness made her sheets almost icy to the touch.  She shifted until her body was on something drier and tried to go back to sleep.  Even without a clock, she knew there were only a few more hours until Earth moon-rise.  

The sun always spoke to her, it did not matter how long it had been since they had last met.  Through the thickest walls on the farthest ship, it would whisper her name and call her from sleep; an unrequited love that neither of them could forget.  It had been easy at first, catch a freighter out to the farthest star system, live most of your life within the metal walls of a ship.  A large enough colony or base and no one ever questioned the odd sickness that struck the crew.  The occasional death was even expected this far out in space.  She’d been surprised her people had not thought of it sooner and disappointed that few had followed her.  

There were drawbacks, of course. The meals eaten by the crew members, though chock full of all the nutrients she required in their blood, lacked a certain flavor that made it especially enjoyable.  On the positive side, she was able to commiserate with them wholeheartedly whenever they would complain about the rations they received and how they longed for the grain-fed cows of home.  Even though most humans on the ships were paler than Earth Humans could ever be, she was more so and the lighting in the ships did little to downplay that fact.  On Earth, she would have been relegated to the shadows and her marble skin would have been easier to hide.  However, some of the lesser stars out here were barely a threat through the solar glass of these newer models; leaving one with a mild sunburn at most and tanning the skin for a significant period of time at best.  

Lately, though, she found herself picking routes closer and closer to Earth.  There were stars of equal and greater power throughout the universe, but the Earth’s Sun still controlled the ebb and flow of her appetite in these far reaches.  And now, it was beckoning her home for some purpose she had yet to puzzle out.  She had passed countless systems in her years and none of their stars ever pulled at her the way her own had.  Its golden bands were woven deeply into her veins and she served at its pleasure.  

Thryn tossed and turned in her bunk but sleep had completely receded from her and left her mind wondering along the shores of reality.  Most humans could adjust their sleeping schedules to fit wherever they happened to be; they would fall into harmony with the nearest system and rely on those foreign stars to govern their days and nights.  This was easier, of course, in the colonies where the planets or moons turned on an axis and there were more viewing portals for natural light.  The space stations were a little trickier  with the humans experiencing about 15 sunrises on average in a single day, depending on the system and the station’s proximity to the central star, of course.  The ones most affected by these excessive dawns were the crew members who had access to viewing stations or the control deck.  Their bodies never seemed to find the right rhythm and they walked around with perpetual dark circles under their eyes.  Only the officers and those employed doing menial tasks in the belly of the stations found a proper rest on a regular basis.  The officers because they were provided with everything and the others because they were provided with nothing.  She had never been able to break free of the Earth’s dictations and could pass herself off in the lower levels more easily.

Thryn’s existence in space relied on her ability to appear as uninteresting as possible and pass amongst the lower level crew members as an equal.  She learned years ago that the key to living in public was to be as inconspicuous as possible or to go completely overboard and demand every one’s attention by adopting a certain celebrity.  She had tried them both over the course of her time in this existence and found  fame was too time consuming to maintain as a pretense.  Even when the humans latched on and perpetuated the myth for her, it required too much energy  and came with too little freedom to be the least bit enjoyable.  

In this incarnation she had taken up the role of bar owner of one of the pubs in the lower sector  of SA-159.  It allowed her to work when she wanted and still keep the appearance of having to make a living. She was back on schedule with the ship’s clocks and should make an appearance when the patrons would notice her.  Once the decision had been made there really was no point in trying to sleep any longer, so she finally crawled out of bed.  It immediately retracted back into the wall of her room and the overhead lights came on.

“Good Evening, Thryn,” the computer’s voice greeted her.  “Would you like to hear the evening news?”

“Can you just give me the highlights, computer?”

“There is one item pertaining to the taxation of liquor, that might be of interest to you.”

“Save that item for me to review later.  Anything else?”  Thryn had started the water in the shower.  It would be a few minutes before she stepped into the glass enclosure, the showers were never warm enough on this station and started out practically ice cold.  The humans complained about it every morning, but she mourned this inconvenience even more.  Generating the pretense of body heat was necessary at times, but she could only send out the sensation to others through mental trickery.  A hot shower was the closest she ever came to replicating the sensation for herself without the aid of blood.   It was not just the appetite that drove her to hunt, it was also the warmth their blood carried.  A full meal could keep her warm for days, but those were rare in such close quarters.  The cold did not bother her and her body let her live in conditions most humans could never bare, but she longed to feel the warmth coursing through her.   

“Joshua McSuperstar, has arrived on board this afternoon for a benefit performance this Friday.”  Thryn stopped deader than usual.

“What is the benefit for?”  

“The Red and Magenta Cross joint benefit concert tour.  The performance will be at the SA-159 Amphitheatre.  Should I reserve tickets for you, Thryn?”

“No, computer, thank you. That’s all for now.”

Here was a prime example of the vampire living his life out loud.  Joshua McSuperstar had been on the fame circuit for the last ten years.  He’d reached super stardom with his passion for helping charities, specifically those with a large supply of blood in their vaults, and was often depicted as an Angel of mercy in the media.  They’d met once about a century ago and it had left a bad taste in Thryn’s mouth.  If it was coincidence, it was better that she stayed out of the luxury levels until after the concert.  If it wasn’t, he’d find her no matter where she was.  She weighed her odds, it could be a coincidence that he was this far out, but she had never really been that lucky.  She opened the door to the shower and waited for the steam to greet her, but the water had already run back to cold.  

“Okay,” she thought to herself, “he’s already starting to piss in my cornflakes.”  First things, first.  She would pick up a quick snack, and allow herself to feel human for at least a few moments,  and then she would have to hunt down Josh before he found her.  

Out in the thoroughfare the humans brushed past her; they were preoccupied with their minuscule lives and did not notice the monster within their midst.  Really they saw what they wanted to see and nothing more.  Thryn felt intoxicated with the scent of them and the warm caresses as they flowed around her.  

“Which one, which one?” she thought to herself as they skittered here and there.  It had to be someone healthy, someone strong enough to lose a pint or two and not draw medical attention to her habits.  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a tall specimen staring her down.  He was muscular and rugged, probably a freighter worker stopping over.  He looked older, but she guessed he was about 35.  It was a decent length of time for the body to mature and gave a richness to the blood provided they made an effort to take care of themselves.  There was no need to open up a psychic link between them, his intentions were painted across his face and the hunger in his eyes mirrored her own.  It really was not polite to play with one’s food, but he radiated arrogance as he sauntered over to the post she had taken up against the corner of a shop and that made it all the more irresistible.  He leaned into her and rested his forearm above her head on the building.  

“Hey,” he started, “my name is Kyle.  I am about to say something incredibly cliche and slightly creepy.”   Kyle played with the collar on her shirt before finally asking, “What is your name?”  

“Does it really matter?”  

“No, I guess it really doesn't,” he agreed letting his hand roam lower to graze her breast.  Then he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the alley.  He pushed her up against the wall and began to fumble at her clothing, “come on, I don't bite.”

“I do, ” she purred as she pulled him closer to her.  Their eyes met and she opened the part of herself that let her control the humans.  Some called it glamour, some called it mind control, the result was still the same.  All the tension in his muscles released and she could feel his mind open to her. There was so much floating around in there.  He had come in this afternoon, as she had suspected, though not on a freighter.  A transport ship was a little fancier than she had expected but what surprised her was that Joshua McSuperstar had been on the same transport.  Kyle was not part of the entourage, but his memories were offering a huge head start for her.   She stroked the side of his face with the back of her hand and he tilted his head to reveal his neck.  “That's a good boy”

 

Elephants

Have you ever sat down and realized that maybe you know too much about Elephants?

I'm going to guess the answer is, "no," for most people.  But I had that moment this weekend, visiting my sister and mother for Thanksgiving.  We were having dinner with my sister, her girlfriend, and her girlfriend's uncle when the conversation turned to Elephants as it naturally would.  Like, did you realize that Elephants walk on their tiptoes?  They have a cushion under the toes to help support them, but it means that they can sneak up on you if they want.  Which makes my mom's joke about elephants wearing sneakers irrelevant.

For me, the obsession with this Pachyderm really started with the free copy of Zoobooks that came in the mail.  It was always the one about the Elephant and my parents never subscribed for the others.  This was the source of most of my knowledge about Elephants and I remember it very fondly.

My favorite part about the Zoobook was the poster of all the extinct varieties of Elephants.  It told me that there was an extinct type of Elephant that was no bigger than a dog.  And part of me really wants a Bichon-sized Elephant to take on car trips with me.  Think about how awesome that would be.

My most recent information binge about the animal was a documentary about Elephants suffering from PTSD.  The elephants in zoos and circuses killing their trainers out of the blue is because of the PTSD they suffer from witnessing their parents getting shot by poachers.  The baby elephants are left with the corpse until a rescue organization whisks them away to protective shelters.  All seems fine and dandy until something causes them to snap and then they go on a killing rampage.  They method used most often to kill a human being: crush a person's chest with your massive skull.

Except for poachers and dwindling habitat, the adult Elephant has no natural predators.  The elephant's trunk can uproot a tree or pluck a single flower.   They are also considered as intelligent as dolphins and there's a zoo elephant that creates artwork. 

The Order of the Cask, Leaf, and Thought

A few months ago, I joined an Scotch group on Meetup.com.  I figured it would be the best way to meet new people and develop my social network.  They didn't really post any events and it didn't seem very active so I suggested going to Birds of a Feather in Baltimore.  One of the other members in that group saw my suggestion and realized that the group organizer hadn't been active in quite a while, so the Order of the Cask, Leaf, and Thought was born.

At this point, we've had about 4 meetups (though I think only 3 of them really count since we didn't drink any scotch at the Scotch & Meatballs event) and it's only me and this other guy who've consistently showed up.  We've had several people RSVP that they will be at an event, but that means nothing.  We have an event scheduled for this weekend, at Ireland's Four Fields in DC, so hopefully we get a few more people out for that - 7 have RSVP'ed.  If not, it will still be a fun time.

All-New NOOK

Well, Barnes and Noble has done it.  They've given me a reason to buy their product over the Kindle.  In my comparison of the NOOK and Kindle in previous entries , both here and in my Super Secret Bean Counter Blog, I liked the NOOK and all it had to offer except for that little itty bitty touch screen at the bottom.  I have said, on previous occasions, that if they offered an e-ink display with full touch screen technology it would make up my mind.

And now, they've introduced the All-New NOOK with the e-ink display and fully integrated touch screen.  For $139.   Those bastards.

I really liked the global 3G wireless offered by Kindle, but I failed to commit to it before my Ireland trip and now there is very little reason for me to get it.  But this NOOK does offer the same wi-fi access as the basic Kindle with the added benefit of reading ePub documents which would allow me to borrow books from a library or import publications from other vendors.  (Though, I hear Amazon is going to offer the Kindle 3G at a discount with special offers and the really appealing part is that the 3G would really make it like the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.)  Plus, I wouldn't contribute as much to the destruction of the bee population with my cell phone like signals from my e-reader.

So many things to consider.  But it will depend on the actual NOOK product.  I intend to check it out in the stores as soon as possible and if I like the design and interface, I might just cave.

Volkswagen's 21st Century Debut

The new design of the Volkswagen Beetle, as seen in the view to the left, doesn't appear too visually different from the 1998 model.  But the side view offers a completely new, yet retro, vision for the beloved car.

Some of the interior shots of the new design reveal a whole set of bells and whistles that weren't available in the last model.  For example, I like the idea of the touch screen radio/navigation and the bluetooth capability.  Let me go on record as saying that I don't hate the new design.  I think it holds true to the original while keeping some of the spirit of the 1998 re-design.  That being said, I feel like it's missing something.  The thing about a classic beetle and the new beetle is that they are very unique and easily recognizable on the road, thus making road trips fun for decades with the Bunch Buggie game.  I haven't seen these in person yet but, from the pictures, I don't feel like they are quite as unique and will easily blend in with other cars.  We shall have to wait and see if my opinion changes when they start appearing on the highway.

**Please Note:  All photos from http://blogs.vw.com/beetle/picture-gallery/**

Gone With The Wind

I decided to watch this classic film since I hadn't seen it as an adult and I was pleasantly surprised.  I know it is not one of my dad's favorite movies and I can see why.  What did surprise me was that this wasn't the romance film I expected it to be.  Everyone talks about this great romance between Rhett and Scarlett and I have to say that it didn't conform to my idea of a romance at all.  Instead, I felt that this movie was more centered on Scarlett's fight for survival and the friendship/rivalry with Melanie Wilkes.

First of all,  the actual relationship between Rhett and Scarlett is a very dysfunctional one.  His initial pursuit of her has nothing to do with marriage as he often states to her he's not the "marrying kind."  She calls on him when she is in serious financial or immediate trouble and little else.  When they do actually marry, it's because he realizes she is financially independent and he won't have any power over her anymore.  Even then, it's a relationship where they attempt to destroy one another.  His extreme jealousy over her infatuation with Ashley Wilkes drives him to a certain level of violence towards his wife. 

The scene after he sends her to Ashley's birthday party, in that famous red dress, is a very disturbing one.  He actually tells her that he feels the only way to get Ashley out of her head is to crush it like a walnut and proceeds to squeeze her head between his hands.  When Rhett returns from England, and Scarlett is ready to forgive and move on, they have a fight that results in her falling down a flight of stairs.  Accident though it may have been, this level of physical violence between them is not uncommon.  After Bonnie's death, Mammy recounts the fights between them to Miss Melly, "It makes my blood run cold, the things they say to one another," and one has to wonder what else she has witnessed in her time there.

The amount of screen time the two actually share is less than that of Scarlett and Miss Melly.  Set up as rivals for Ashley Wilkes' affection, they are constantly thrown together throughout the film and eventually become friends.  First, Scarlett decides to stay with Melanie in Atlanta as a means to stay close to Ashley and then she is charged with taking care of her by Ashley.  They share a Thelma and Louise moment when Scarlett shoots the Yankee deserter in the face and Melanie helps cover it up.  Then, Melanie offers emotional support during Rhett and Scarlett's tumultuous marriage.

from SeeingSepia blog

Scarlett starts out as the stronger of the two, and indeed she is physically stronger, but Melanie proves that she is just strong.  They are both women with fierce loyalties and ones who will do anything for the people they love.  Scarlett marries a man she does not love so she can support her family and the Wilkeses by keeping Tara.  Melanie stands by her friend, and husband, in the face of gossip and social ruin.  Scarlett can accomplish anything she sets her mind to and does, in fact, create an independent existence for herself in a time period where women should have been ornamentation.  But Melanie has enough influence in society that even when it is suspected her husband and best friend are having an affair, it only takes her word to quell those rumors and bring Scarlett back from the edge of social obscurity.

They are both women of power and influence in a time when it was uncharacteristic for women to be so.  Even if you consider that the novel was written in the 30's, it's still amazing to have these strong female characters. (Though I have yet to read the novel.  I may feel differently about this later.)  However, they are also very different women.  Scarlett maintains control and power through harsh words and actions; wrestling her independence from the hands of men and carpetbaggers.  Melanie is given power and control through her kind words and open heart.  Belle Watling covers up Ashley's part in the attack on the yankees in the forest, where Scarlett was attacked, because of the way Melanie treated her during the war.  Belle even makes a point to say that if it had been Scarlett alone in that kind of trouble she wouldn't have helped at all.  If Scarlett could have gotten over her Ashley choosing Melanie for his wife sooner, the things they could have accomplished together would have been ridiculous. 

from augustani al cinema

Jasper Fforde's Newest Book

Budgetary overruns almost buried the remaking before the planning stage, until relief came from an unexpected quarter. A spate of dodgy accounting practices in the Outland necessitated a new genre in Fiction: Creative Accountancy. Shunned by many as `not a proper genre at all,' the members' skills at turning thin air into billion-dollar profits were suddenly of huge use, and the remaking went ahead as planned. Enron may have been a pit of vipers in the Outland, but they quite literally saved the BookWorld.

Bradshaw's BookWorld Companion (16th edition)



from http://www.jasperfforde.com/



When I first received this book in the mail, from Amazon of course, I was excited to see a map drawn on the first few pages.  Every since I read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, it's been one of my favorite things to see in a book.  I love to compare the location of things as I am reading through the story.  I have to admit I was somewhat confused by the map in this novel since readers of the series know that the layout of bookworld isn't entirely known to the reader or its inhabitants.  After reading the first few chapters I discovered the reason:  Bookworld was being reorganized to more closely resemble the Outland, or Real World.

Told from the point of view of the Written Thursday, what I really like about this novel is that Fforde is not afraid to completely change what we know about this world he's created.  He starts out with a different Thursday as his main character then reshapes the Bookworld.  It really keeps a reader on his or her toes and challenges what we have come to expect from this series.  I feel like I should have gone back and read First Among Sequels before diving into One of Our Thursdays is Missing as a few plot points from the previous novel were fuzzy and I was looking for answers in the new one.  This is clearly my own memory fault and not that of the author's.

Undoubtedly, this is still one of my favorite series and I highly recommend it to anyone.  The basic premise of the series is a character who lives in an alternate-reality Swindon, UK and has the ability to jump into novels and interact with the characters as if they were actors in a play.  Using Written Thursday as the POV on this one allows the reader to learn a little bit more about what it means to be a book character in the Nextian Universe.  Fforde pulls in a lot of our current events into this narrative and even touches on what the invention of e-readers has done to their environment. 

My other favorite quote from the book:

This was the annoying side of the feedback loop; irrespective of how she had once looked or even wanted to look, [the lady of shallot] was now a pre-raphaelite beauty... She wasn't the only one to be physically morphed by reader expectation....Harry Potter was seriously pissed off that he'd have to spend the rest of his life looking like Daniel Radcliffe.

Work published my Travel Blog

A few weeks ago, HR sent out an e-mail asking for people to submit Travel Blogs.  I edited an old entry I had on Livejournal about the trip I took to London with Dad.  I didn't think it would be a big deal so I didn't really tell anyone about it.  You know it's one of those things that you don't feel is important and you're somewhat embarrassed that you had the courage to do it at all.  The work blog is not any great thing, even around the office, but I have to say I am excited that they decided to use my entry. (look for "Travel Stories: Kathryn Sampson" on their list)

Apparently the head of the HR Blog team felt the entry was relevant given the situation going on in Japan right now.  I suppose I can see her point as the part at the end deals with my visit to the Beowulf manuscript and the questions I have about what will remain in another 1000 years.  I talk, very briefly, about the mutability of life and how all sorts of natural disasters can wipe out anything human beings dare to create.

On second thought, here is the exact entry as posted on their blog:

Kathryn traveled to Europe with her father and I think this is a perfect travel article as we ponder what has happened in Japan-what will remain thousands of years from now and will we have somewhat of an impact on our future generations. Thank you Kathryn for allowing us to ponder those deep questions. Take a look at her blog: When I graduated from college, my father agreed to take me to London for a long weekend.  It was, and still is, one of the most memorable trips of my life. Our first stop was St. Paul’s Cathedral.  I really wanted to go up to the Whispering Gallery; 99 feet from the floor of the cathedral, which doesn't sound like a lot until you start climbing. The stairs wound round the tower like a lighthouse.  But it was worth the effort as once you are there you can whisper into the wall, you can hear it all the way around the gallery.  It was like a scene in a movie where the main character is being haunted by voices. (Think Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when he can hear the snake behind the walls.)  At first, the tourists were timid and embarrassed to try the acoustics. Then the guard started encouraging people to play with the Gallery by whispering instructions for the patrons to follow. My father and I sat together on one of the benches to catch our breath and my father started making critical comments about the guy’s ensemble and joking about what he must do all day.  That’s when a voice floated around the Gallery. “There are no secrets in the Whispering Gallery,” it said. Startled, we both looked up and saw the guard tip his hat to us.  Next, we hopped the tube to Westminster Abbey.  I didn't realize that most of the Kings and Queens were buried there. Not to mention the graves and tributes to many famous writers, scientists, and explorers.  The tombs, monuments, and effigies were absolutely amazing. Some were incredibly ornate and others were as simple as a stone slab. Then there were several that seemed to be lost in time; smooth granite slabs where the writing was worn away from centuries of pedestrians. Elizabeth I's tomb has her lying in effigy on a massive stone bed. The guide said she is buried with her sister Mary and there's a plaque that says something about separation in life and may the Protestants and Catholics be united. It was so very cool. Then Mary, Queen of Scots is buried on the exact opposite side of the Abbey as if to balance the church. Then there was the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, front and center with highest of honors and sincere reverence. It was very striking with the black granite, gold inscription, and contrasting red flowers framing the whole thing. But the most amazing thing to me was the area containing the stalls of the Knights of the Sacred Order of the Bath, or something like that. There were these wooden seats, originally intended for a choir, with very intricate carvings on the posts and a coat of arms displayed on a metal plate. The plates ran from the very recent to the very ancient. On top of each seat, or stall, was a knight's helmet, or something similar, with different colored banners. Two rows of these stalls on either side of the Hall with a King Henry at the end and a very ornate ceiling in the middle. Finally, the highlight of my trip was seeing the original Beowulf manuscript. Over in a dark corner of the British Library the thousand year old treasure sits right next to an original copy of The Canterbury Tales. Two of the most important pieces in English Literature; the oldest surviving document in any European language and the oldest piece of literature in recognizable and comprehensible English were in the same case! With everything I had seen over the weekend, I wondered what their creators would have thought of their survival. Did they have that far of a vision? As human beings are we even capable of comprehending the importance of the things we do? Fire, War, Natural Disasters can destroy so much of our efforts. In a thousand years, what will remain?  Like the scene in The Day After Tomorrow, if you could save one thing, what would you preserve for future generations? What do you think would give them the best understanding of our culture? Our time here is very finite, and yet, at that moment, I felt so very connected to people long since gone. We are but pieces of this living, breathing, ever changing culture. But what are we working towards? Kathryn SampsonSafeNet, Columbia Office

Editors

My work blog asked for entries on Travel from the employees, so I submitted one about my trip to London several  years ago.  Today, I get an edited version of the entry and was asked to okay it for posting tomorrow.  Thankfully, I read it before I said anything.  I know that the girl who does this at work works on the blog in her free-time and it's not necessarily one of her job duties.  And for this, I am very thankful.

She cut out the entire point of one of the paragraphs.  I was talking about my trip to St. Paul's Cathedral and how my father and I didn't realize our voices would carry in the Whispering Gallery.  We were being critical of the guard's attire and duties and the guy obviously heard us because we heard a disembodied voice say, "there are no secrets in the whispering gallery."  We looked up and the guard was staring straight at us.  Why we didn't realize our voices would carry in the Whispering Gallery of all places, I do not know.  But the girl cut out the part about my dad and I talking smack.  So it really read, "I went to see the whispering gallery and the guard said,blah, on our way out." 

Then she edited a part about the Globe Theatre with a small sentence about the Millennium Bridge so that it looks like my father and I had a discussion about British Television and Shakespeare on the actual bridge.  What I wrote was that the women who gave the tour at the Globe looked like a character on "Keeping up Appearances," and she couldn't believe we like Titus Andronicus.  Very different, indeed.

I edited it myself, taking out the story about the Globe Theatre, and got it down to one print page for the blog.  So hopefully there aren't any further edits to my stuff.  I'm not saying I am a great writer, I would say I am pretty mediocre at best, but there are things I would never, never do.  Like this sentence, which was edited into my blog: "the daunting task of climbing the daunting trip to the top."  That's when I knew I had to completely rewrite this entry for work.  I write many of these entries hastily and don't go back and edit properly, but for work I wanted to make sure it was the best I had to offer.

Fun with Legos

Last night, my friend M invited me over to watch episodes of Dexter and drink a little scotch.  When I got there, the legos his nieces and nephews had played with during the day were still out and I couldn't help but build this.  I wanted it to have an actual door that opened and shut, but alas the pieces were not available and I had to make it a solid cube.  My friend, sadly, did not know what it was and thought it was simply some kind of building.

My biggest regret is that I don't carry my Dalek Sec around with me so that I could have photographed him with my wonderful creation.  Okay, maybe that is a little bit obsessive, but it would have been damn adorable on Facebook today.

Mr. Beer

Yesterday, I helped the boyfriend bottle his latest batch of beer.  Then we cleaned everything up and started the new one I purchased for him, St. Patrick's Day Irish Stout.  Yes, I had a plan when I picked it out.  But I didn't realize the whole process would take longer than a month so it will not be ready in time, though I am sure it will be no less enjoyable.

I would say that the whole process is a lesson in patience and cleanliness.  (My boyfriend talked me through the whole process and I couldn't help but make the Mr. Miyagi comparison since we both know I lack a certain amount of patience.)  First, there is a cleanser that must be used in all steps.  This keeps contaminants from getting into the brew and ruining it.  This step alone made me wish for a beer.  It's a lot of scrubbing and soaking of all materials that are to be used.  Then, there is the boiling of the mixture and the eventual combining of all ingredients into the Mr. Beer keg.  Once this has had time to sit and brew for at least a week, better for two, then one can bottle the beer.  Though at this point it is still not exactly beer.  The bottles must be cleaned with the same cleanser and then sugar is added.  This combines with the yeast in the beer mixture and carbonates the whole thing.  This is kind of tedious but fun.  The bottles must also sit for at least a week, better for two, before one is able to enjoy them.

All in all, I had fun learning to do this and I can't wait to see what the St. Patrick's Stout tastes like.  We added a little bit of coffee for flavoring, so it should be interesting.

Posting Every Day

When I started this blog I didn't set out to post everyday.  I just figured it would be an excellent place to post throughout the year to keep track of everything that happens.  But then the first two weeks I was so excited about it I did post something everyday and now I feel compelled to keep it up.  This is incredibly difficult on days like today where I have no idea what to write about.  I had plenty of ideas after I posted yesterday's entry and, of course, didn't write anything down and now I can't remember what they were at all.

So today is a short entry complaining about how I can't think of an entry. 

Selling Out....

Last night, I purchased an iPhone.  Not the new, fancy iPhone 4 that the associates at Best Buy told me would be $99 with a two year contract and then reneged on that when it came time to do the contract, but the older iPhone 3GS.  It was $50 at AT&T with a 2-year upgrade.  My choices were a new Windows phone, or the iPhone.

image from www.gandhiappliances.com

I was torn because I didn't really want to get older technology that will be obsolete very soon, but I wasn't excited about the Window's layout on the new phones.  I love, LOVE, my old HTC Fuze(aka HTC Diamond).   When I bought it I was coming out of a very bad place.  I had finally found a new job after my old company had folded and I had saved up the almost $300 to get it I desired it so much.  It was sexy and amazing, with a slide out QWERTY keyboard and full mobile windows suite.  It could do things no other phone I'd ever owned could do.  I'd made a conscious decision not to buy the iPhone when it came out over two years ago and I didn't regret it.  This phone has made it all the way through the 2-year contract despite my intense abuse and foolish decision not to get a screen protector the first day.

But looking at the options before me last night, there just wasn't anything nearly as exciting as my Fuze.  So why get a new phone at all?  The answer is, apps. (Well that and several phone drops that have left my beautiful phone a little wonky in its operations.)  When I purchased this phone several years ago there weren't any apps, at least not as we know them today, and therefore no reason to include them on the device.  But in the last ten months or so, I've wished I had the capability.  First of all, Weight Watchers offers an app that would make my tracking more efficient.  Second of all, I've been obsessed with the idea of an e-reader recently with no practical idea of whether or not I would actually use one.  I figured I could download an e-reader app and see if a separate device is worth the extra money.  (If I like the idea and convenience of an e-reader, I don't think I'd continually want to read on a back lit screen.)

I was presented with the Sony Ericsson, Windows Phone at my local AT&T store.  It was also very attractive and was definitely newer technology.  But I really wanted a non-screen QWERTY keyboard and that is simply not offered on the new, new phones anymore.  So it came down to the actual apps I knew I would want to download immediately.  I did a search on the AT&T medianet for any and all apps and there was the Kindle, Nook, Gutenberg, and Stanza apps that I'd previously seen and envied on my boyfriend's iPhone.  Then I tried to find the official Weight Watchers app; it wasn't there.  There were a lot of calculators created by other companies but not the one that was already included in my monthly membership fees.  I could still access the mobile site by going to the same location I used on my Fuze, but that is cumbersome.  I checked on the website today and sure enough it was confirmed that there isn't an actual app for Windows 7, yet. 

That fact combined with my general dislike for the layout of the new Windows 7 led me to look at the iPhone.  I didn't want to get caught up in the near religious fervor that most iPhone owners have so I have avoided it, but it was the most attractive option to me last night.   I couldn't have the QWERTY keyboard I so enjoyed on my old phone so everything was second best in my opinion.  It honestly came down to the official, and not so official, apps I would be able to download on either phone.  My weigh-ins for the last two weeks have been unsuccessful; I've gained a total of 2.2 pounds in the last two weeks and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.  So, as much as I hate to admit it, the Weight Watchers app was a big motivator for me.  I also enjoy the old school pictures that my sister's girlfriend takes with her iPhone and I'd like to do the same.  I like the apps my boyfriend uses on a near daily basis and it's a more cost effective way to see if I like the e-reader.

I think it also satisfies that desire for a new gadget, which may have been the main force behind my obsession with the Kindle & Nook.  It could be because so many people have the iPhone and it's such a common piece of technology, but I am not nearly as excited about this phone as I was about my Fuze.  But how often does one get that connection to an inanimate object?  So I purchased an older model phone, but for a severely discounted price.  And in a year I may regret that, but that's a year from now.

Note: The iPhone is a little sassy, though, and could almost match the attitude found in my VW New Beetle.  Last night, I was typing a message to my father about what phone I decided to purchase and I wrote "iphone" with a lower-case p.  The iPhone auto-corrected my typing so that it read "iPhone" with an upper-case P.

Nintendo Themed Scarf

My sister loved the blanket that I knitted for her for Christmas.  I keep getting pictures of her much adored dog snuggled up in it.  I was very proud of myself this year because I was able to plan and make all the gifts before Christmas.  I had thought about making something for my boyfriend, but there really wasn't enough time for the item I wanted to make.

We spent a little bit of last night talking about the socks his mom makes.  He told me that she knitted them completely flat and then sewed them together to make the heal and what not.  The pattern is apparently so easy, once you get the hang of it, that you can make a pair of socks in under 2 hours.  He asked him mom for the pattern for me, but she said that she just makes them on auto-pilot and couldn't begin to explain it without showing it.  Since that is not an option, he and I sat down with one of the handmade socks and tried to deconstruct it mentally, since we obviously didn't want to ruin the finished product. 

It was actually an enjoyable activity, I hope for both of us.  Because he's seen his mom make them hundreds of time so he understood the mechanics of it, but I actually knit so I could figure out the number of stitches and places where it was seamed together.  So the plan, now that I have a rough sketch of how to do it, is to make a smaller one for practice and see if it comes out correctly.  Then I'll know what needs to be tweaked and can change as needed. 

I know it sounds kind of lame and maybe a little bit dorky, but I really liked that I was able to show off some level of expertise on something.  Obviously I am still learning and there are a lot of things I simply do not know about knitting, but it was pretty awesome realizing what I did know about it.