Splinters of a Fractured Mind

Media Roll Call

2012-05-10T04:45:50Z

So 2 internship positions came up at work for the scheduling and reconciliation department. I put my name in, sent my resume. Found out today that I'm not getting an interview for it. But, you know, I shouldn't have let myself get excited over the possibility. Even if I'm damn qualified for it, there were only 2 slots and I haven't even been in my current position for a year so... Yeah, and 35 applicants. Hm. Anyway...

17) The Book of Vices: A Collection of Classic Immoral Tales edited by Robert J Hutchinson - Not keeping it but it was an interesting conglomeration of bits and bobs. I can't say I follow some of the logic in classifying some of the choices as one vice or another but you get what you get. At the very least, it got me reading a bit of various authors I've yet to get around to sampling fully - Jane Austen, Seneca, Moliere, etc. It also reminded me that I actually own Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure and should read it someday... Not just let it function as a nifty floating bookshelf.

18) The Science of Sherlock Holmes: From Baskerville Hall to the Valley of Fear, the Real Forensics Behind the Great Detective's Greatest Cases by E J Wagner - Sooo much fun. Not quite as much Holmes as you'd think but definitely worth a read. A really fun take on the history of forensics and with more depth than most "layman" books have, this one is a keeper.

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Media Roll Call

2012-04-29T03:19:30Z

15) Stalking The Unicorn: A Fable of Tonight by Mike Resnick - A fun urban fantasy near-noir book. It took a bit to get into simply because I kept wanting it to be properly film noir and it was really late 80's NYC. Once in, though, it was a fun read with some interesting details and, at the end, a nicely layered bit of metaphor and depth. I think I would have liked to see a bit more growth in the main character but, at the same time, he was pretty nicely normal and level-headed about things. I also like the fact that one of the other main characters is a lady in her 60's or so and she's treated as capable and smart and interesting - especially by the main character.

16) What The Librarian Did by Karina Bliss - Because I have no shame and must be honest about what I've read. It's book-shaped and made of paper and filled with words so it must be a book no matter what literary merit it does or doesn't possess. Aside from that... Well, it was a quarter and it was hilarious in that awful way of some romance novels. Not written strictly badly but I argue with some of the paragraph breaks that make following conversations/actions a bit strange. I could also live without the shifting POV. On the other hand... Fast read and who can argue with SECRET UNWED PREGNANCY ADOPTION PLOTS AND RECOVERING ADDICT ROCK STARS?

( And then I also saw The Hunger Games )

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I have a problem...

2012-04-28T02:58:04Z

And it's called book accumulation. I can't just pick up one book. I adopt whole herds of them. In my defense, this time the money went towards the American Association of University Women and their many scholarships (one of which I received yonks ago).

( Books Gotten )

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Media Roll Call

2012-04-20T23:29:10Z

13) The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L Sayers - It's Lord Peter so naturally I'm biased. I love that demmed foolish man and his sensible sidekick (or stabilizing force, you make the call). Strangely, I had seen the BBC adaptation of this ages ago but never got around to actually reading it. I must say the adaptation was very close and very brilliant. Even if Edward Petherbridge looks rather more like Peter should, Ian Carmichael will forever be my favorite for his Silly Elephant's Child ease. Anyway... Good, solid mystery with a varied cast of characters. Rather a product of its time in some ways at how it approaches certain topics. Rich detail like always, a very clever little death based on timing, and a fast read despite/because of Sayers' definite way of writing. Also featuring one of those moments where Peter is true to himself no matter what, proving that there's more to him than meets the eye. PS if he didn't end up with Harriet Vane, I was rooting for Marjorie Phelps. I love that lady.

14) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - I'm not even going to touch on the "did she or didn't she" argument re: Battle Royale (mostly because when I first heard of the series that's the first thing that came to mind) but I will say this - I enjoyed this more than that. Katniss is a remarkably interesting (and flawed) female lead and she is not sugar-coated which makes me extra happy. There is no author slight of hand to excuse her behaviors/thoughts. Girl is fucked-up, yo, and you know why but it's not presented as a preferred status (ahem, Miss Swann). I also like a lot of the other characters and the detail put into the mechanics of surviving were choice. (Yes, I read the Little House books for the details on cooking and foraging. Sue me.) I also might have teared up a bit at one point. Also... points for making me really really enjoy reading a first person POV.

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To Do List

2012-04-20T05:53:46Z

Okay, so I haven't done one of these in a damn long while and I know I have a ton of things to get to this weekend (aka Friday/Saturday) so I'm clogging airways with the following...

* ~~clean the cat box~~ (Hey, I start easy, okay?)
* ~~laundry~~
* ~~doctor's appointment~~
* gut the front garden - made a valiant start
* sweep the front porch
* take another batch of stuff to Goodwill
* start the BPAL culling
* ~~bank~~
* ~~cat litter~~
* ~~check TJ Maxx for The Sodas~~
* write, dammit (Meg, Maggie, posts, etc)
* ~~Farmer's Market~~
* ~~book store with culled books~~

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Dream a little dream

2012-04-14T03:45:23Z

I don't know if it's because my mind is just my mind or if it's because I'm finally back up to the prescribed dose of my meds and I'm being compliant (shock, horror, admiration) but I'm having wacky dreams. Last night was the best, though.

So we had a family reunion, you see. Just my dad's side of the family. Gorgeous weather, my dad on the grill, my brother even making an appearance outside of his workshop... and, for whatever reason, the entire season 4 cast of RuPaul's Drag Race was there as well. My family plus drag queens equals pure awesome, it seems. Everyone had fun, lots of laughter and food and whatever you have. Then we ran out of something my dad needed and so, as dream logic goes, he sent me and Sharon Needles out to the grocery store. Best shopping buddy ever!

Yep. Fun times. Fun, fun times.

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Media Roll Call

2012-03-24T04:04:38Z

11) A Treasury of Deception by Michael Farquhar - I admit it. I will own every damn one of these books this man puts out. By nature of the whole snippet format, they can be light on things and the details are sparse to keep things tight but he's got a great way of getting the point across and a wonderful sense of humor about history. The books also give me a nice mental list of people I want to find out more about.

12) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle - Can you believe I never read any of her books growing up? Go figure. It was a very fast read, completed in a few hours, and interesting enough to keep me going. I'd be interested, though, in seeing if her other books show growth as a writer and more layers to the characters. I liked it, it was fun, I wish I would have read it when younger but... I kinda wanted to drop-kick Meg for a bit there. I think that was less about the character, though, and more about the writer's lack of time (or something) to properly weigh and develop the situation. Thus the poor kid comes across as unreasonably petty for a handful of pages. Hm.

12 books in under three months is not shabby, all things considered. I shall continue to be resolute!

And maybe stop boring you all with these sorts of posts. Whoops.

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Media Roll Call - and GOMEZ

2012-03-17T03:02:52Z

9) A Winsome Widow by Teresa DesJardien - A horrible let-down compared to the other two Regency romances I read by this author. I thought surely that meant it was a freshman attempt but... Nope, this one was written in between Borrowed Kisses and The Marriage Mart. Go figure. Bland characters, overly annoying side characters, a writing style that consisted of at least 33% of rhetorical questions. At least it made for a lazy, easy ready on a day that consisted of not doing much of anything.

10) Swedish Folktales & Legends edited by Lone Thygesen Blecher and George Blecher - Phew, these were... earthy. I've read fairy tales and legends from all over, being somewhat of a ~~obsessed nut~~ fan of the genre as well as dorktastic over the social history that can be gleaned from them but this batch? Easily the filthiest. Amusing and fast and covering a surprising range but still filthy. Lots of fart and dick jokes, no lie. Though I was also tickled to pick up the random parallels or the out-of-the-blue reference to the strange meld of Norse myth and Christianity. It was put together well, too. Very simple with no literary embellishments. The tales stood and fell on their own.

10.5) Xenia: A Hoard of Lost Words, 18th Century Street Lingo, and a Few Completely Confabulated Terms Collected and Exemplified by Coleman Barks - doesn't count as a full book since it's a dictionary of sorts. Only realized halfway through that it's by the same gentleman who did my favorite Rumi and Hafiz translations... The translations are more lovely and less full-of-themselves.

More importantly than the books, though, dude... GOMEZ

This Wednesday, Pixie and I headed down to Philly to indulge in Gomez's Quinceanera (how do you make the tilde?) Tour. Fly joined us, bless her, trusting my musical taste to not steer her wrong. ( The band, needless to say, did not disappoint )

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Media Roll Call

2012-02-27T04:02:44Z

8) The Norse Myths, intro'd and retold by Kevin Crossley-Holland - I've been so busy at work and doing fun stuff that my reading resolution has taken a hit. Shame on me. But I finally finished this one and, I'm telling you, Norse myths can be a mouthful. This is a pretty good collection, though, with some nicely in-depth notes glossing the various myths and a solid opening to provide a basis for the Norse sense of cosmology. That said, try not to think too linearly about any of it. Chronology was so very much an option here and you have gods and artifacts that move through time more readily than Doc Brown to reappear before they're born, etc.

It really got me thinking about Loki, though, and how unarguably fucked up that whole situation is. The arc of Loki reads like a book missing pages, an outline of someone going completely mad with his inner demons... Or something else entirely. Throughout the course of things, he goes from a relatively equitable creature with a streak of mischief and self-preservation to an out and out bastard. Seriously. The whole Baldr thing? What the hell were you thinking, doofus? The Flyting? Phew, worse than Rita Skeeter. And yet the world cannot hope to be reborn without him making it worse.

Food for thought. Zio, you're up for a hell of a time.

ETA - Oh, heavens, this is beyond perfect. This is what it feels like when I walk into a new library or a favorite little bookstore or a fresh used bookstore. My throat gets the exact same tight feeling then and during this short. Just an upswell of something I can't describe.

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Prompts for Mardi Gras?

2012-02-22T05:16:46Z

Or something. Oh, hell, it's just me seeking inspiration from you lovely folks. Much like a few others have done recently, I'm offering up prompts in answer to your requests. Yours! How lucky are you? So lucky. (More like beloved, though.) The trick is that the prompts must revolve around character relationships. Pairings both platonic and romantic. Who do you want to see a slice of life about? Ever wonder how character a and b get along? What character d and e discuss over dinner?

Obviously, these won't get done in February. Partially because I have a very distracting Sage hovering around the house. Partially because it's already the 21st. 22nd. Something like that.

Rules cribbed from Sage

1. Gifts will be 100-300 word drabbles, more depending on how the mood takes me.

2. Fair game - any RPGs we are in or any fandoms you know for a fact that I enjoy or am at least knowledgeable about.
2a. Unconventional pairings are peachy keen with me. Make me work for it. Could also just mean strange gen match-ups. The world doesn't have to be all about the romance.
2b. AUs and crossovers are perfectly welcome but, if it isn't one that I know offhand, make sure your comment/request is damn detailed.

3. Please provide at least 3 prompts in any order you like and with as much detail as you like.

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Media Roll Call

2012-01-22T01:05:58Z

Books
5)Mermaids! edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois - An anthology about, you guessed it, mermaids. Generally good stories ranging from humor to tragic. Avram Davidson's opener was horribly overwrought, though, and Gene Wolfe's The Nebraskan and the Nereid was full of some nagging holes. I loved the weird sweetness in Theodore Sturgeon's A Touch of Strange, on the other hand. Don't see myself re-reading it again, however, so this one is probably on its way to the used book store for a new home.

6)The Trouble With Heroes edited by Denise Little - Another anthology but this time about those who support and act as second fiddles to famous heroes. Some really fun reinterpretations of old stories and ideas, heavy on the Greek mythology. Which strikes me as kinda cheating when you have an entire world to play with but it is what it is. A couple Arthurian stories, a Robin Hood send-up, a comic book sort of thing, even a Biblical piece and something on Cyrano. Nothing in particular stuck out as brilliant but that is only because, by and large, everything was quality.

7) Japanese Fairy Tales by Grace James, illustrated by Warwick Goble - A reprint of a book from 1923. Yeah, I bought it mostly for the pretty, pretty pictures. Goble is up there with Rackham but below Nielsen when it comes to fairy tale art for me. It was a surprisingly straight-forward telling of various tales, though, and an easy enjoyable read.

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Media Roll Call

2012-01-11T00:44:41Z

Okay so I'm going to really do this for real this year. I tried one year but got out of whack and off-balance. But, in reality, taking a few moments to just write an impression or keep track of books read, music encountered, movies seen, is not a huge indulgence and it would be good to take those moments to indulge myself. Also... I need to start getting accountable for my reading habits and the fuck-ton of books currently inhabiting my house. Don't let's even talk about the movies...

For the most part, don't look for elaborate reviews in these posts. I may or may not but, at this point in my life, feeling as vapid and sub-human as I do sometimes (far too often in recent times), the important thing is just to do. Who knows. Brilliance might come out of it. That said... Believe me, I won't hold it against you if you totally skip over these suckers. I'll still love you all. (And I'll value your sense of self-preservation.)

( Lists )

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Traditional New Year's Write-off

2012-01-01T08:23:35Z

And I'm tired now so I think this shall be the only New Year's Fic this year. We kinda spent far too much of the evening eating delicious bounty from the Farmer's Market and drinking and watching Rango and Sailor Moon. So... Yep, enjoy. ;)

( Now it's Letitia's turn... )

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mindsplinters @ 2011-12-22T19:19:00

2011-12-23T00:21:50Z

Yuletide completed.

31 dozen cookies baked (shortbread, gingersnap, snickerdoodles, sugar, chocolate chip, and oatmeal raisin).

Tree and decorations done.

I'd ask if I can rest but I have presents to wrap. I also have 2 more shifts at the Bookshop but thank heavens I had the sense to take off from Job #1 tomorrow. I can sleep in.

Exhausting but fun!

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Dear Yuletide Santa

2011-11-22T04:40:27Z

Anyone who is not your wonderful self can safely ignore the rambling that is about to happen. You, unfortunately, are kind of here for the sole purpose of giving my brain a skim. I apologize ahead of time.

I also thank you ahead of time! You have no idea how pleased I am that you have drawn me and are interested in at least one of my precious things. You'll find that I'm pretty easy-going and, corny as it sounds, pretty much just happy to be here. I know this journal has been pretty quiet of late but hopefully you can find things to help. There's also my old, unused, unloved LJ account - shortcakegreen - in case you want to stalk a little more. I've been doing this for, hm, 7 or 8 years. I forget. A good long time. Yuletide is as much a part of the holidays for me as my manic Donna-Reed-esque cookie-baking frenzies. Commence me flinging myself at your feet in joy, hope, and good-will.

( General facts about my likes/dislikes/quirks: )

( Now for the specifics! )

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Step One

2011-08-11T01:41:09Z

Make the decision. It's made. Now to move on to step two.

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And another one...

2011-06-20T05:33:04Z

Just because I can. My characters don't generally breed, you see, so it's a short list.

Who: Lex and Jackie and Ellie
What: Magic-verse

( Macaroni and you )

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Because I interpret holidays as writing prompts...

2011-06-20T02:28:00Z

Seriously. It's Father's Day and what do I do? Other than talking to my dad and telling him I love him, of course.

I decide to write Father's Day fic.

Who: Dusty, Sylvia (Tasha and Andrei)
What: Kingdom Future Fic
Why: Because who doesn't love Dusty as a papa?

( Kiss The Cook )

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Free? Free.

2011-05-27T03:43:30Z

So tonight was the last day of class. Filling out an evaluation has never been so awkward and maddening. Some of us hope to get together every two weeks or so for a writer's workshop so that's something at least.

Bless him. He made us all "graduation certificates" for us and the characters we were creating. Mine reads like I have ADHD. While just about everyone else had one character on their certificate... I had four. Whoops.

The last assignment for tonight was kinda special. He printed out mugshots from a website, handed them around, and then assigned us a sense. We were to write character studies. I had sight and a distinctly haughty looking woman.

( Included herein because I'm a completionist whore )

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For not following my list...

2011-05-12T04:00:37Z

I sure got stuff done.

Last night, I had Big Plans for what would happen today, a precious day off. I was going to completely empty the front garden, prep it for new plants, put in new plants. I was going to hang all the roman blinds I got the other day. I would pay the nice garbage people and the water people. I was going to write like a mother fucka.

Then I slipped on a bit of wet kitchen floor, landed on my knee, saw stars, and... The thought of weeding and bending became impossible.

So we went shopping. I did pay the garbage people beforehand, though (god bless small little family-owned companies who forgive late payments and end up giving you plants out of their own garden). We found a billion gorgeous flowers at Home Depot (so much healthier than the selection at Lowe's) but we realized that, with the porch roof getting done in the next 2 weeks... The plants might get hurt. So we decided to put that on hold and get a pot of various flowers and a hanging basket of the same for the porch. I need SOME flowers, dammit. Then Target provided pants for Pixie, a lime green bin for our winter accessories, a most kick-ass shirt for Z... and various movies (Green Street Hooligans, Red, and The Losers which is a movie I wanted to see but no one would go with me...) I had a gift card. XD

Then I came home, cleaned and organized the mail zone to prevent further loss, and, for some reason, cleaned the hall closet like my life depended on it. I turned up some mighty scary stuff, including a bunch of the ex's family photos so I will have to figure out how to contact him and get those back to him.

My closet is almost Narnia, people. I have proof. I found all of the CS Lewis books in there.

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Class - Homework

2011-04-29T03:55:03Z

Skipped out of class a half hour early for Ladies' Night at the Melting Pot. I think the decision contributed to my growth (outwards). I didn't get to read mine but that's okay because, really, it was more important that we focused on the people who didn't get to go last week.

... Though it seems he might have gotten derpy again after I left which makes me wonder - does he behave when I'm there for fear of my gimlet-eyed stare or is he just that easily distractable?

Anyway, the assignment was to write a story, related to the first, that dealt with protagonist and antagonist as well as a new object. I got what I will forever call the Tomo Lighter - creepy Kabuki mask keychain that turned out to be a lighter when you pressed the switch hard enough. This was discovered last class when I nearly lit the teacher on fire. Good times, good times.

***

( creepy damn thing )

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Class - Free Write 2

2011-04-22T03:09:36Z

We were given an emotion and an object and told to write... Of course, then we were told after 20 minutes of frantic writing that he wanted us to expand it and build the characters with dialogue. D'oh.

(Y'know, just as I'm resigned to dropping the damn thing, it shows promise. Maybe the email from Laurie helped him think, maybe he really is worried... Maybe I just used my mad Polite Interrupting skills taught by years in the call center trenches to take advantage of a pause and bully him into full class interaction by asking a question that he was most emphatically NOT allowed to answer...)

( I had embarrassment and a bottle of shoe/glove stretching oil stuff )

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Class - Free Write 1

2011-04-22T03:01:28Z

We were given a sort of ridiculous "zen" story/exercise... about holding someone under water. And he was surprised that so many of our words turned grim?

( First Free-Write )

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Class or no class?

2011-04-21T03:29:42Z

As some of you know, I signed up to take a class at the local community college. A writing class, to be specific, that focuses on character development and creation. There were others and I didn't quite pick this one (a friend's mom who is joining us picked it) but it sounded good and, well, who can argue with the neat idea of the text book - Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets A Novelist Can Learn From Actors.

( Two classes down... )

Oh, and is anyone interested in seeing the free-writes?

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Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping...

2011-04-07T07:52:05Z

Whoa. How is it April? Seriously. How did that happen?

I'm way behind on this update of my life and, for those of you waiting for proper stories and reviews and pictures of NOLA, they will be coming. I just have to do some formatting and writing and translating notes. Suffice it to say, that I needed that badly and it was wonderful and soothing and fun. Pixie is a wonderful vacation buddy.

Since returning, though, I've once again been full-throttle at work. Thankfully, I'm doing less than 60 hours a week now. The changing of the hours didn't affect me so much but it does mean that, next time I work a weekend, I don't have to be there until quarter of 9. NOT 7:30.

On the other hand, today was very productive. I finally FINALLY ordered a new mattress. My current one is 10 years old and was never a posh one to begin with. I hit the gym. I sorted through all my sweaters and shirt drawers, culling things I forgot I owned. I ended up with 3 big bags and one small bag to donate. The room is still a cluttery mess but it's a better one now and I did something long since past due.

And I made a simple but killer dinner, booyah. Bacon cheddar burgers for the girls and a salmon burger for myself.

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