For all you Bay Area Steampunk and Dieselpunk fanatics and anyone going to Fanime, – I’ll be at Clockwork Alchemy on Sunday, May 27th – likely all day. I’m especially looking forward to The Emperor Norton Ball.
If you’ll be there, look for me. I’ll be in the gear-work masque.
Note: I’ll have just gotten back from Istanbul, so I may be still be jet-lagged.
Radiolab Discusses Language and Machines – very interesting.
Donald Miller writes about the destructive power of lies and how they destroy relationships:
“Being in a relationship with somebody who lies is tough. It’s not that you don’t love them or care about them, it’s just that you can’t connect. Without trust, there’s no relationship.” – Donal Miller
And lies don’t just ruin the relationship between a liar and the person to whom she’s lying, they also have the potential to destroy a person’s ability to trust other people.
Randall Monroe publishes a web comic called XKCD. In the past he’s posted comics about dealing with cancer. Today’s comic reflects my mindset rather well, just shift cancer’s influence hitting at 2009.
Randall, I wish you and your fiancée the best during this incredibly rough period of your life.
I had another small scare with cancer myself. Though this was a growth on my skin, not a tumor on an internal organ. Luckily the tests showed it was benign. Just over two years until I am ‘certified’ cancer free!
I’ll be traveling to Paris and Istanbul in early May. While there, I’ll be reevaluating what I do with A Case of Do or Die. I’ve got large swatch of the story written as well as scripts for a story involving another set of characters, but I’ve had problems getting illustrations for my stories and that is delaying updates.
While I am abroad, I’ll do a lot of reflection on what I want from my stories and hopefully have a plan on how to move forward.
Lastly – I’ve been reading a book called The Night Circus. It’s a fantastic gem of a book written in vignettes – perfect for reading in small bites or one long, indulgent stretch. The book’s author, Erin Morgenstern, has a brilliant website where she shares her thoughts on writing (both the act and the profession) and occasionally shares short stories inspired by photographs. My favourite so far is Always Darjeeling.
Check out her site and definitely pick up a copy of The Night Circus. You’ll love it.
I’ve been reading The Hunger Games books – in fact, I am nearly done with book 3. I saw the movie opening night (and let me say, I am getting too old for midnight showings) and I quite enjoyed it – though I thought they glossed over the ‘doing it for the cameras’ aspect of Katniss and Peeta’s relationship.
There’s been some interesting reactions to Rue and Thresh being black – and I should point out that ‘African-American’ isn’t a proper descriptor when dealing with a world where the U.S.A. no longer exists.
My initial reaction to Rue being black was a bit of confusion. In the books, Rue often reminds Katniss of her sister Prim. I did a quick reread of book one and saw:
“And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old girl from District 11. She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that, she’s very like Prim in size and demeanor.”
Well then, the movies actually align with the books. And, even if they hadn’t, (that is, had Rue been white in the book and black in the movie) I’d not have cared too much.
However, there’s a small minority of people who felt it really detracted from the story. Sadly, these people have Twitter accounts and used their accounts to voice their dissatisfaction.
These people are operating under the same impression I was, that Rue was white in the book and black on screen. If that had been the case, I could understand people saying that the movie wasn’t accurately reflecting the book. Beyond that, it doesn’t come in to play.
But that isn’t the case. Rue is black in the book AND these tweeters went far beyond complaining about a (perceived) lack of accuracy. One Tweeter states that Rue being black means her death has less of an impact for him. Others go so far as calling her a “black b*tch” and a “n*gger” (I wavered on censoring these words, by the way).
What. The. Hell?
I’m completely dumbfounded and, other than complete ignorance and stupidity, I cannot begin to understand how people can have a reaction like this.
So here’s something to think about:
If these people think Rue is white and are upset that she’s black, what are their thoughts on Jennifer Lawrence playing Katniss?
Taken from The Hunger Games Wiki:
“Katniss has straight long black hair, which she normally pulls back into a long braid, olive skin, and gray eyes.”
I saw this posted in Neil Gaiman’s twitter feed.
How to Date a Writer by Heather O’Neill.
Roses are red,
Violets are purple,
Which is a very hard word to rhyme
And makes me happy that on February the 14th we don’t traditionally have to give each other oranges.
- Neil Gaiman
Oscar nominees were announced recently. Among the animated shorts is a beautiful Oz-like story about a man who is transported to a world filled with flying books. Take a moment to check it out.
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011)
Amy Alkon and Dr. Robin Stern discuss emotional abuse via manipulation. A great listen. Also, Amy’s column, The Advice Goddess is a great read – I dare say she’s better than Dan Savage.
Advice Goddess Radio Amy Alkon/Dr. Robin Stern 02/06 by amyalkon | Blog Talk Radio.
Neil Gaiman has won yet another award – this time the SFX Screenwriters Award for Excellence. This was his reaction:
If I ever win an award for anything I write, I think that will be my acceptance speech as well.
