A brilliant moment in an otherwise lackluster Torchwood episode:
I would wear these words on a T-shirt: “Innovative. Bordering on the avant-garde.” And I don’t usually wear T-shirts.
(Just that first bit—I used Splicd to isolate the clip. It starts where it’s supposed to, but doesn’t cut off at the end of the scene.)
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on Saturday, October 18, 2008 at 10:43 PM
Television •
(82) Add your comment
In my quest to write a lot of crap, I realized that my reading consists largely of non-fiction, with a small sprinkling of fiction.
While there’s nothing wrong with that, I intend to aim for a bigger helping of fiction. I get kind of wound up inside myself on the subject, however; while I love reading, somewhere along the line I got the idea that I’m wasting my time if I read a book I don’t like, and I’d rather not waste my time. I like to finish books I start; I can think of only one book I’ve never finished: The Wings of the Dove, by Henry James, and I’m not sure anyone could pay me to give it another go. This is one time I was grateful for the movie.
Related to the Wasting My Time Problem is the A Prayer for Owen Meany Problem. A Prayer for Owen Meany is a book John Irving will never be able to top. I held onto this opinion for years, and it kept me from reading anything he wrote afterwards. I kept telling myself that not only was the idea complete nonsense, it’s a burden no writer should ever have to carry. Two years ago I broke down and read Until I Find You, and it was good. It doesn’t hold the same place held by A Prayer for Owen Meany, but it was good.
Here and there I’ll read a recommendation for a book and then I’ll add them to my list; both Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and Bel Canto (which I’m still reading) came to me that way.
I’m still taking recommendations, but I’m also going to start checking out more fiction from the library.
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 5:42 PM
Unfiled •
(0) Add your comment
If anyone is still subscribed to this feed, would you drop me a note in comments? I’d love to know who’s still out there.
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on Friday, August 29, 2008 at 10:15 PM
(8) Add your comment
Six weeks ago, we left for our family vacation, one of the best we’ve ever had.
On the Monday I returned to work, I got fired.
"I can think of a thousand better ways to start the week," I said through the swirling haze forming in my head.
"Well, it was a toss-up between before your vacation or after your vacation," he said. Thanks, buddy.
In so many ways, getting fired sucks. My self-image took a hit; we lost our (very good) health insurance; future employers want to know why you left your last job. "Can we contact your old boss?" they ask, and I don’t know how to answer them; he wasn’t the one who fired me.
In so many other ways, getting fired was one of the best things that happened to me in a long time. I love getting enough sleep every single night; I exercise most days now; I’m even thinking about writing again (see this? I can tell you why nothing has been written since that day, and it has everything to do with a job I mostly liked yet took a lot of my mental energy).
My unemployment got approved today, thereby giving me some freedom to wait for the right job, and also to write. I have tried very hard in the last few weeks to give myself space, space to obsess, space to rest, space to stretch. In the last week I’ve begun to develop a routine that will serve me during this transition and into that future job, which in fact we need. I had a brief period of fantasy about working part-time, but health insurance is a priority, and we like eating, so that got swatted down pretty quickly.
But the writing will begin again. Not the screenwriting yet; I need something less ambitious and more manageable. If necessary, I intend to write thousands of words of utter crap. However, not all of it will be crap. Some of it I will like, a lot, and will eventually see the light of day.
And in two years, much in my life has changed. Those writing projects? Much of them still stands, but what and how I think about life has undergone a radical change. So may they.
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on Friday, August 29, 2008 at 10:13 PM
(0) Add your comment
I found an old journal while going through some boxes in the garage. There were only a few entries, all from the middle years of my first marriage.
Writing my thoughts will not be easy. I have a tendency to run away from myself and from whatever is difficult in my life. I have put a great distance between myself and how I live, and finding out who I am and where I am going will be a long and difficult task. I am nearly twenty-seven years old, my marriage is falling apart (something that I cannot comprehend, even though I am told it is so; I find it equally difficult to comprehend the fact that I am married, since I rarely feel married. My marriage seems like something that is not a part of me, although I could not live without it.), and I am not reflective. ... God exists, but he does not seem to affect my life in any meaningful way. I work for him anyway, because I believe that I am accomplishing some good.
Tonight my husband said that we are two different people, and that he’s not going to fight anymore. I said nothing, but I wanted to throw all the dishes and glasses out the window or against the wall. I imagined that they would make a satisfying crash that would adequately represent my marriage falling to pieces. Except that it seems that no one will be around to pick them up. I had the very clear sense that he has given up on our marriage. His ultimatum that he will leave me if our marriage doesn’t improve hasn’t helped my state of mind. ... I don’t know what happened. I am not the same person anymore. Tonight, when I have finished writing, I am going to sleep on the living room floor. I felt such coldness from him tonight, although it wasn’t as bad as the night before he left to go to America. That was total rejection, and I don’t know why I didn’t sleep on the couch that night. What must I do?
Here I am again, trying to make sense of myself and my marriage. Right now I am feeling pain, and I don’t know how to stop it. My mental state has improved since yesterday. I’ve managed somehow to pull myself together. Yesterday I was so distraught that I almost told C everything.
I had a dream that I could fly. But it wasn’t like my usual flying dreams. It was difficult. It was more like swimming through the air.
Not going to counseling this week was a wise move. I had time to pull myself together, and I feel more able to face the counseling session this week. I decided that [he] should have his way about the porn tapes. I’m not sure whether my principle about this has changed or not, but I can psychologically accept it. ...
"Run!" I shout to her through the years. "Run away as fast as you can!"
Not hearing me, she hangs on until the sad, bitter, grinding end.
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on Friday, August 29, 2008 at 6:47 PM
(1) Add your comment
My computer is officially dead.
Over the last year, and especially the last six months, my computer has experienced an increasing number of spontaneous restarts, lockups, and blue screens (known as the Evil Trifecta). Tech support from eMachines insisted that my computer must be infected with spyware, while I have been fairly certain that it was a hardware problem.
Finally I got around to doing a full system restore. Although that process has had its own problems and is not yet complete, my hard drive has been reformatted, and I’m still experiencing the Trifecta. If the issue truly was spyware, then I wouldn’t still be experiencing the problems. This morning’s tech narrowed it down to my motherboard, so I have bowed to the inevitable. I need a new computer.
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on Thursday, September 7, 2006 at 2:28 PM
Unfiled •
(0) Add your comment
Well, I asked Gord a few questions, so now it’s your turn.
Ask me three questions in comments. When you’re done, be sure to post this on your own site (if you have one) so that we can ask you some questions.
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on Tuesday, August 22, 2006 at 3:30 PM
Unfiled •
(3) Add your comment
I recently found Kris Cramer’s excellent Surviving the Muse. Writing & the Procrastination Factor hit me where it hurts—a lot—because I have more ideas than I know what to do with. I am currently so entranced with one of my recent ideas that I’ve stopped working on all but one of my other projects. Through her, I found Writing Fix, which would be like crack if I started using it (and I’m not kidding myself—I really do want to head over there and just try out one of their writing prompts. Maybe I’ll save Writing Fix for birthdays and holidays…yeah, that’s what I’ll do). It’s not called Writing Fix for nothing.
Having the Discipline to Write Daily highlights another issue that many writers face. I’ve been focused on finding an hour a day to write (some days are easier than others), but I am going to switch to either word or page count (probably word).
What she doesn’t mention is my greatest writing diversion: research. Even my fabulous new idea, based in mythical reality, hasn’t escaped the research bug. I have plenty of notes, but not as many answers as I would like.
Something (probably Anne Lamott’s “shitty first draft” phrase) tells me I should start writing it—anyway.
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on Friday, August 11, 2006 at 3:12 AM
Writing •
(0) Add your comment
On Tuesday, I planned to meet a friend after work. She’s in from Hong Kong for a couple of months, but this is the only week we can get together.
I arrived a few minutes early and waited in front of the restaurant. Thirty minutes passed, and she still hadn’t arrived. Neither of us have a cell phone, so I imagined that she’d been held up and would soon be here. Still, I went inside and ordered a cup of chai.
Another forty-five minutes went by, and I began cursing myself for not having a backup plan. To relieve the cursing, I ordered a tilapia taco. Eventually I went home, knowing that the mystery would be solved once I got there.
Sure enough, there was a an e-mail canceling our appointment (time-stamped for six minutes before I left my office). She’d had a flat tire and wasn’t going to be able to make it.
Under the circumstances, any sort of backup plan would have been better than nothing. She didn’t have my work number. I didn’t have any way of contacting her except via e-mail.
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on Thursday, July 13, 2006 at 4:32 PM
Life management •
(1) Add your comment
The other day my boss returned from lunch and declared, “I’m finally old.”
During lunch, the waitress asked him if he had a son about her age, because her friend looked a lot like my boss. “How old are you?” he asked. “20,” she said. My boss is 38, so it’s possible that he could have a son that age.
But he doesn’t.
The other day one of the salesmen, commenting on the recent frequent absences of the plant manager, said “He’s gone more than Eleanor Roosevelt.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I said.
He looked surprised, then said, “Oh, I guess you’re not old enough to remember.”
“No, but you are,” I said.
“Eleanor Roosevelt and her husband didn’t spend a lot of time together. She was always traveling here and there,” he said.
I wondered about his age, and later learned that he was born in 1926.
When I’m his age, if I want to work like him, I hope that I can.
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on Thursday, July 13, 2006 at 3:51 PM
Unfiled •
(2) Add your comment
I sit on my bean bag, not daring to move, alert both to what I hold in my hands and what might be coming down the hall. Do I hear the soft sound of carpet compressing beneath bare feet? Is there time to hide what I’m reading? What will happen if she comes through the door?
What I should be reading is the Bible, or my Sabbath School lesson, or some Ellen G. White book. What I am reading is innocuous: Little Women, perhaps, or a library book from my public high school. Nothing that she would know about, but all of it more interesting than what I was supposed to be reading. More to the point, it was reading that I chose, reading that was beyond her narrow world.
She never caught me, not any time that I remember, and soon I would be out the door, beyond her physical reach.
—-
More Weekly Anamnesis here.
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 at 2:32 AM
Writing •
(0) Add your comment
Dear Cuccu,
Thank you for making us aware of your findings with our chocolate. The chocolate was analyzed and found to be a cubic zirconia to the best of our knowledge. This particular product was manufactured overseas, however, the finding was reported to our production director in our sister company for investigation. We apologize for any disturbance and are relieved to here [sic] you were not inconvenienced further. A great deal of care is used in our manufacturing and distribution processes to ensure that our customers receive a quality product.
I can assure you that your experience is a rarity. Our manufacturing sites have several different screening devices in place to detect foreign matter, but unfortunately, the item you encountered managed to get through the monitors. It is not determined at this time how the item got into the bar you purchased.
Etc., etc.
The letter, dated May 16 (arriving by UPS 2nd Day Air yesterday), was enclosed in an insulated box of assorted chocolate products, including:
I am pleased that Lindt picked up on my preference for dark chocolate.
It’s not the million dollars the children were hoping for, but it is a satisfying end to this affair. I won’t even editorialize about the awkward prose of the letter.
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on Thursday, June 15, 2006 at 3:40 AM
Unfiled •
(0) Add your comment
Had my Amazon wish list been up-to-date, spending that gift certificate would have been a speedier affair. As it was, it took all of fifteen minutes to buy:
The first two were already pre-ordered for early August, and the rest were already on a list somewhere.
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 10:37 AM
Unfiled •
(21) Add your comment
For the first time in I don’t know how long, my e-mail inbox is empty.
Don’t get any bright ideas (today, at least). Allow me to enjoy this brief moment.
UPDATE: However, the person who just sent me an Amazon gift certificate had the right idea.
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 8:42 AM
Unfiled •
(4) Add your comment
I’ve experienced a few major stressors over the last few years, so it’s a wonder that my finances are in decent shape. Years ago I set up a good system, and it’s that system that saves the day when I’m not able to pay close attention.
Gina Trapani over at Lifehacker writes about her system, which is a lot like mine. All of my bill-paying is automated via NetBank (with the exception of our car insurance, which is automated via our credit union). My NetBank money market account covers the occasional overdraft, thus serving as my buffer account. I have twelve savings accounts at ING Direct, eight of which get weekly automatic deposits. I increase my 401(k) contribution by a certain percentage every year (1% because it’s a new year, 1% when raises come through. I haven’t hit the matching ceiling yet). I also have a habit of checking my bank balance every day, just to make certain that nothing surprising has happened.
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on Wednesday, May 31, 2006 at 11:06 AM
Personal finance •
(4) Add your comment