Finally, Rain.

I have discovered a flaw in my plan to keep a rain journal. Namely, that I always go stand out on the porch whenever it rains, which is on conducive to writing on paper.

We got about an inch of rain according to the rain gauge. Not bad for 20-30 minutes of storming. It was kinda crazy out here - first there was a little rain, then a lot of rain, then lightning, then hailstones, then the wind went crazy and I may as well not have been standing under the awning for all the good it did me, then tree branches.

The front yard is a mess of broken tree branches right now. I was outside when it came down which was exciting to say the least. I wasn't sure what had happened until it was all over. I think it came down about the time we were getting near-horizontal rain. Crazy.

At least we got a little respite from the heat =D

Not Again

Anyone remember how I bruised a toe rather badly some weeks ago? Well, I did pretty much the exact same thing again, but to my pinky finger this time. I never realized I was so accident prone.

Surprisingly, getting out the ice didn't help as much as taking a shower did. It's mostly fine, just swollen (if not bruised - I'll know in the morning I'm sure). I can bend it without much pain so it's probably not broken. The upper knuckle does hurt when I clench very tightly, but that's to be expected really. Otherwise there's just a vague sense of discomfort and tightness when I bend it.

I'm not honestly sure how I managed to bruise it that badly though; I was killing a roach with a shoe at the time. I can only suppose I didn't have much of a grip on it, because when I brought it down I think the finger slipped.

The important thing is I killed the bug, and if that's not a cause worth mangling your fingers over, then I don't know what is.

Interesting.

I've been getting into the habit of paying a visit to the English department at least once a week. Nothing against my family or anything, but I need to converse with people IRL that I am not related to and who are not a cat on occasion. Getting away from the baby for a little while is just a bonus.

I'm writing away in the lounge area for a little while (working on something for Flash Fic Month today), and I usually stay until someone kicks me out. That responsibility typically falls to Minnick as he's almost always the last person to leave the department. On the way out, we chat about writing and he offers to start an exchange of sorts.

I think I managed to impress him with that character sketch.

I'm used to giving and returning critique and comments online, and I'm used to swapping writing with my group at the library, but this already feels different. I've never gone one-on-one before, and certainly not with someone who knows a hella lot more than I do - with the other stuff, everyone has been on more or less equal ground. It seems like most of the people I'm in contact with are primarily self-taught, the only real difference being in raw talent and number of years had to refine it.

I'm not really sure what I'm getting myself into, but I think it will be interesting XD

In other news, I have helped start a book club on dA. I'm probably going to move my Passages there and I'll be writing a book review every month. Not sure what I'm getting myself into there either, but again, interesting.

Journaling Ideas

I found this neat list on StumbleUpon tonight. It's a list of journaling ideas. I'm considering trying some of them out since I have so many notebooks. I don't know if I really have the dedication to keep multiple journals at once, but it seems like such a cool project to try out.

I've tried to keep a dream journal in the past, but I just can't function when I first wake up so that's out, much as I wish I could manage it. There are several on that list I think I could find the time for:

- A journal for when it rains. I really love this one. It's so simple but sometimes simple is best.
- Write minimally - one sentence a day. Given how much I love doing Fragments, this could be an ideal match to my personal writing style.
- A collaborative journal. I'd be all over this if I had someone around here that I could write back and forth with. I think it would be a lot of fun.

The link also includes a whole bunch of writing experiments for the interested. I may try a few of them out as well.

Three Books in One Week Makes Me Feel Accomplished

Been catching up on my reading lately. I did manage to track down a copy of the last Artemis Fowl, so there's that. Minnick sent me the book list for next semester's Adolescent Literature course, and I've already made my way through one of them. And I even managed to sneak in a third book inbetween. Also, spoilers.

I've been following Artemis Fowl since near the beginning; I think I read the first book around the time the second came out; I was about twelve or thirteen. Even when they were being obnoxious about the environmental messages, I could look over it because everything else was so good - Eoin Coulfer has some sharp writing that leaves me in stitches. The dialogue more or less runs on snark and I just never get tired of that. The plot can get rather messy, especially in some of the later books, but never so much that I lost track of what was happening.

The last installment doesn't disappoint at all; I think I liked it better than The Atlantis Complex in fact. Entertaining as Orion was, I'm glad he's gone. All the major characters are back (well, that aren't dead anyway), and while I usually don't like it when an author introduces new ones this late in the game, it's well done here; Myles and Beckett are fun and Foaly's previously, briefly-mentioned wife is fleshed out and brought out to play, even if it is only for a single scene (and good Lord she is awesome).

The romantic sub-plot doesn't get resolved, overshadowed by something that would be quite a spoiler if I said much more, so I won't. But I do like that he let things lie they way they did; last-minute hook-ups just bother me. It's as good as saying yeah, I was putting off their happiness together for the sake of drama. That kind of thing always feels like a disservice to the characters if you ask me (but no one did, so I get to rant about it here instead).

Anyway, while the series as a whole does have its weak points, I can't really think of anything negative to say about The Last Guardian. I think he ended the books in a pretty dignified manner and even managed to do some clever retconning that made genuine sense and cast a few previous plot details in a different slant of light. The characters have grown, but not changed and I like that a lot; Artemis made the shift into more or less full Hero mode, but kept the bite he's had from the very first book. I can't really ask for more than that.

Second book this week; a collection of short stories based on Harris Burdick drawings. If you've never heard of Burdick, he's the short version: he made 14 odd drawings with a title and a caption. He had stories to go with them, and he promised the man he left the drawings with that he would return tomorrow with the stories. He was never heard from again.

So basically the drawings are now kinda like prompts from which people can build their own stories. The collection I was browsing had some rather big names in children's literature within; Kate DiCamillo, Linda Sue Park, Chris Van Allisburg, Stephen King, Louis Sachar, Gregory Macguire - I recognized at least 3/4ths of the names. I don't think I disliked a single story, though some did stand out more than others.

I particularly enjoyed the one by Cory Doctorow; it had a soft scientific thread running though it (not enough to make the story sci-fi, but enough that I have to comment on its presence) and I really enjoyed that about it. I can't remember who wrote the other one I really liked, but it was about a little girl whose father and older brothers were trying to unravel a difficult formula. One day while she's outside playing, she saved two caterpillars from a bird and it turns out they're sentient. And they know how to solve the formula. And I won't say how it ends because the ending is the reason I remember it so well.

Other stories include a house that turns out to be a rocketship, a short with a A.I. meets The Truman Show-esque plot, a floating nun, a harp-playing frog, a book you can't stop reading, and an author whose creations come to life during a housefire (maybe). This is one of the reasons I enjoy collections like this - I like the diversity, yet there's still something there to connect them. They don't feel out of place with one another. Several of them were like reading a novelization of a Twilight Zone episode, which is never a bad thing :P

Third book of the week: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. Something for Adolescent Literature.

First of all, Calpurnia is an awesome name. Now that that's out of the way...

He's assigning some longer books this semester. I'm glad I asked for that book list now. This is the second-longest one, the longest being The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (by an author who happens to live in my city, and who I'm sure Minnick knows personally). I did read all of Calpurnia in a day, but I'm also a fast reader (and reading while I've nothing else to do); not everyone will be so on top of it :P

It takes place just before 1900 - in fact the last chapter ends on the New Year. If you know anything about history, you know this is a time of significant change, what with electricity and the telephone and all that jazz. The particular focus here though is on science and the influence of Darwin. Darwin isn't even that much of a presence come to that; more like a catalyst in the background. Things do kick off more or less when Calpurnia decides to track down a copy of The Origin of Species, but after getting her hands on one it's rarely mentioned. Most of the focus is elsewhere.

So we have our main character, Calpurnia. She lives on a wealthy farm in Texas, the middle of seven children, six of which are boys. You may already see where this is going. If not, then let us just say Calpurnia and her mother do not see eye to eye. However, that plot thread is background noise until we get closer to the end of the book where it really does rear its head. But before we get there -

Early on she becomes friends with her Grandfather, who loves to experiment and study the world. This is where much of the plot is; Calpurnia helping and learning from her Grandfather. It's rather difficult to summarize because the book, while linear, is kinda episodic. One chapter picks up one of the plot threads, and the next one is about a different one. Then the first plot thread comes back some chapters later. It's not hard to follow or anything, it's just difficult to say what the book is about as a whole when it works that way XD Though is I were to give a one-sentence summary, it would probably go "an almost-teenage girl living in a time of significant change aspires to be a Naturalist under the tutelage of her Grandfather to the annoyance of her mother."

Anyway, plot threads. We have the possibility that Calpurnia and Grandfather have discovered a new species of plant, Grandfather's brewing experiments, Calpurnia's interactions with various members of her family (her mother and her oldest brother in particular), various school/ etiquette lessons, and technological change. Again, it's not a bad thing at all - sometimes I was eager to get back to a particular plot thread, but the variety was interesting and it's not  as complicated as I'm making it sound. It has a sense of life to it in that way; life doesn't come with a single linear plot as it were XD

I really enjoyed the ending quite a lot, much for the same reason I enjoyed the ending to Artemis Fowl; it doesn't really resolve anything, but it's a good place to stop. The mother-daughter conflict isn't settled. Calpurnia's future is still uncertain. She's not going to be an adult for a long while yet. Grandfather never makes a good bottle of wine. It just ends and I like that.

So, long post is long. But I've been wanting to chat about my books and it's probably better I did it now before I read anything else.

Wish You Were Here

The always delightful Bill of the never updated blog has seen fit to send me a postcard from his exile in San Francisco. Some time ago while Skyping, I informed him that I would probably cry if he didn't send me one for my collection while he was out interning in California. And today, I got my card:

That's a "wish you were here" postcard. Classic. First one to grace my collection. That's also a picture of Alcatraz.

I can't tell if he's being earnest or snarky, but either way I got a good laugh out of it.

On the backside, translated to the best of my ability (Bill, your handwriting makes me feel better about my own. You'll have to inform me if I got it all right):

You're probably one of the only people who'll understand this. I love the ocean. Oakland's a major shipping port, so the Bay is always full of great ships, full of products from far away. The pier and marinas always mpllandsoud* like commerce. Also, burgers.

Love,
Bill 

*(I think this was supposed to say "smell and sound" but it's hard to make out.)

I feel like sending a bunch of postcards now <3 I just so happen to have the perfect ones:

 

I bought this set on Etsy a while back. I haven't gotten an opportunity to use them - yet.

Brick Joke

So we did this thing in Drama class a few weeks ago, right? That role play loose courtroom drama thing that I really loved. Remember that post? I literally just got the joke with that lesson.

This morning, I woke up after a dream I barely remember, but I know it had something to do with a similar role-play. It got me thinking about that role play we did about a month ago. And in the haze of half-awake sleep I think to myself we never did find out what happened to Tessie Hutchinson and snuffling back down into the warmth of the blankets.

And promptly bolting upright when I realize – yes we did. Minnick is just a crafty bastard and my estimation of him has just shot up once again..

Because we did a totally different role-play two weeks later based around a short story with the exact same characters from the original fragment.  He gave us just enough time to forget about the character role-play and reintroduced the real story in its proper and full context later (on his birthday in fact). And it literally took me a month to make the connection. I don't know why it took me so long to realize the names were familiar, but there you are.

So anyway, tomorrow afternoon after I drop off the laundry, I'm marching down to UALR and giving the guy a high five for making my life into a brick joke.

No Rain

I swear I thought I updated this thing D:

So the weather around here is being a big tease. It's been grey and cloudy pretty much the entire stupid week, but it. will. not. rain. Or it will, but just a little bit, not even enough to actually matter. Stupid Nature.

In other news, I went shopping today and I can't find a copy of the new Artemis Fowl book even though it was released two days ago. Looks like I'll have to make a trip to West Little Rock for it. I have to head out there anyway on Monday I guess.

Summer Passing Me By

I'm just updating because I'm bored, not because I actually have anything to talk about.

Here's an excerpt from something I've been working on:

It’s strange to see that image superimposed over the current one – the distinguished professor in pressed khaki slacks and a jacket, worn brown loafers exuding a faintly courteous manner (you can always tell them by their shoes), and a ring on the fourth finger of his left hand – versus the athletic kid who went to college for a semester and grew nine inches to tall to keep doing what he loved so he took up a tennis racquet instead. 

I'm rather happy with the whole thing to be honest. I'll be posting it soon for Flash Fic Month.

No Fireworks

So it's hot around here. Really hot. As in, no one got to shoot any fireworks on the 4th it's so hot.

Yeah. Burn ban -__-

The family didn't even bother getting together this year; mostly because Gram was going to help my aunt with her church event and what's the point of going to Grandma's house if she's not there, but also because it's just too damn hot for this crap.

Thus, I've spent my time in the nice, air-conditioned house drinking anything I can put into a glass and surfing the Net. Good news; I'm ahead on FFM for once. bad news; the backroom of theWrittenRevolution is a mess. Get ahead on one things, something else falls apart I guess XD All kinds of drama going on back there. But those are a different kind of fireworks.

Viva La FFM!

So today my family and I are going to a pizza place. Even my brother is off, so he has no excuse not to bring his soon along. This morning's fireworks notwithstanding, it turned out to be a pretty good day.

Larry's Pizza is one of those places that serves the weird stuff. Like BBQ Chicken pizza or Taco Pizza weird. They've got the usual stuff too, but that's not really what ya go there for. Personally, I go for the dessert pizzas - they have this amazing Bavarian Cream pizza thing. And the Cinnamon Sticks are pretty awesome too.

But anyway, I had to leave early; I had some hospital gowns to drop off at Mom's old office and then I was going to class. Said goodbye to everyone, even the baby. Well, baby decides he's not having any of that. I didn't know it, but he apparently squirmed his way out of my cousins lap and followed me all the way to the door. And we were all seated at the back of the restaurant too. I had no idea until I was already in my car, putting it into reverse, and looked back to make sure I was clear and there's my Dad behind me. Then I turn back to put it in park and see what he wants, and there's a little head just below my window XD

So Russ says goodbye again (via headbutt), and I'm off for real this time.

Today was also the last day of Drama, which means I'm going back into my little bubble of solitude until school starts again. Minnick has invited me to visit the English lounge on occasion during the summer, which I think I just might. Maybe on more laundry days. It would be nice to work at an actual table a few hours every now and then. He also gave back the journal I'd been using for Drama, so now I have a notebook to write in again! He left some comments in as well, and he really is a very nice man.

And of course, it's Flash Fic Month! I did really well last year, and I'm hoping to establish a pattern :)