Happy Halloween!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays despite the cooling weather. I got to dress up this week twice, since work let us come in costume all week. However, only a few of us did so. But at least I got lots of compliments. Thursday I went as a gypsy and yesterday as a pirate. I cold have dressed up on Saturday when I took my son to the mall for their trick-or-treat event, but I was too tired to mess with changing. We finished in half an hour by skipping the middle shindig. The line was obscene for what he'd be getting. But he was happy with his modest haul anyway, especially the KitKat bar from our first stop. Simple pleasures. :D

This week is going to have different goals. I want to catch up on my expanding reading list, at least to get through my new books. Anything else I get done of my regular goals will be bonus, though I intend to still do my rounds of visiting other check-ins. I'll be doing lots of winter preparedness this week, the joys of living out in the country. We did get the majority of the snow fence put up already. But there's finishing it, attaching the snowblower to the tractor and removing the mower deck, cleaning the garage, packing the emergency essentials bag, fixing the truck and attaching the plow, and so much more. Oh joy. Boo winter.

I finished Fangtales and enjoyed it. Vampires are not my thing, but every story was at least a 3. Don't always get that with an anthology. I've been though some books that ranged from 1-5. I'm currently working my way through CassaStar, up to page 42 so far. Pretty good even if my reading has been so chopped up that my focus hasn't really dug into it yet.

Midweek reflections

I don't really have much to comment on today. Sort of in a reflective mood but it hasn't really come out in words much yet. So check-in goals and random stuff it is then.

However, goals: I did read and comment on at least 5 of Sunday's ROW80 check-ins. I started at the bottom of the list and then popped on a few of the ones I've been on more than once. I've put in at least an hour of ponderings each day since Sunday on Broken Destinies. Haven't written much yet, still brainstorming what the characters are going to be doing in the last third, but after discussion with my husband, we worked out more of the hidden story going on during the already completed part, plus a couple areas I need to develop more. But then most of the completed part was done during NaNo last year, so it's fast and loose and has parts where I have comments like "write more about ___ here." Still going to try to have plot hashed out by this upcoming Sunday, but even if I don't make it, I'm getting back into the feel of the world and the character goals.

This is post 2 for the week, so coming along there. Still have to do my two crits, will try to get one of those done this evening. Had a bit of a scare on Saturday or Sunday when our whole group had been banned from the forum for spam. Turns out to have been a mistake regarding an ISP thing, so in less than a day, it was corrected. But it was still freaky.

Big news for me was getting the books I'd ordered. I'm currently halfway through Fangtales now, and most of the stories have been pretty good so far, which should be taken as high praise since I am NOT a vampire fan at all. I give it a fairly consistent 3-4 throughout the first half.

The other fun thing was today's worldbuilding hangout on Google+ hosted by Juliette Wade. We talked about magic systems. Next Wednesday we'll be talking about gender. So if you want to jump in the discussion or just join to listen, it'll be at 2pm EST. Hope some of you will stop on by.

Have a great rest of the week.

Whahahahaha!

I just got back from seeing the new Three Musketeers movie. Loved it loved it loved it. Even though I went into it with knowing a few witty bits of dialog and "OMG Airships!" from the preview, it was fantastic from beginning to end.

Maybe later when I come down from my state of sheer giddiness, I'll think of things that maybe could have been done better, but right now I'd turn around and go watch it again if I had the time. My husband and I saw it in 2D, unsure of how the action was going to go (and 3D started too late to watch it today since I have to leave for work soon). But I think it will be phenomenal in 3D.

Other giddy news is that I've ordered 3 books by people I know and bought a gift card so I can order an ebook by a 4th.

Fangtales with a story by Kelly Said
Cassastar by Alex J. Cavanaugh
Darkfall by Janice Hardy
and the ebook will be Honor the Pack by Kaycee Looney

Squeeee!

Have a wonderful Friday everyone!

Saturday Question

Just a quick morning post, since I didn't get anything posted yesterday. (Sorry, I had something, but it sounded like I was trying too hard for the voice. Still working on it.) I'm trying to think of post ideas for the next couple months. Other than getting in some more book reviews and my periodic ROW 80 check-ins, I'd like suggestions for topics to write about. They just have to relate to spec fic in some way.

Also, do you have anything you'd like to know about me? Several of you have recently joined me here in the dragon library, and this seems like a good time for some questions. They can be wacky or serious. You can even submit more than one. I'll start answering questions on Monday. Have fun thinking up ponderables.

And have a great weekend!

Random blargh with drawing

I've frittered away much of the day so far trying to find a decent drawing program for my computer. So far, everything is a fail for what I want a computer program to do. I want to make perfect/nearly perfect nine-pointed stars in many variations. You know, like sunbursts, flowers, long points, and short points. I also want something for creating designs for cross-stitch, needlepoint, and filet crochet. Not all on the same program, mind you. One for the drawing and one for the graphing.

For now, I'll stick with paper to make my stars and charts. ;) I've already charted a small teapot and a 33 square wide 9-point star. The star turned out better than I hoped. If I can add a fairy or dragon to it, I'll have the perfect symbol to combine my Faith with my love of fantasy. Back to the drawing pad, I guess. At least I'm not feeling so blargh anymore. :D

Filk Friday: Firefly fanvid: Ballroom Blitz

Today video is brought to you from the powers of browsing. It's not a filk vid like I usually post on Fridays, but it was too much fun to let it slide. The scene snippets were well chosen. And yes, Mal really did have a sword fight (over Inara's honor, no less) and in another episode ended up in the buff. Have a jiving time watching this teaser. Shiny!

Random movie blooper reel

My brains may have become discorporated from my head and been blown from my nose, so this is the best I have for you today: Blooper reel from Men in Black 2. Kinda goofy, but I do like the MiB movies. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones make a great heroic duo.



(I really hate colds.)

We are all connected...by science

While I'm figuring out what to discuss first about Firefly (and since I spent this morning goofing off with my hubby), let me share this great video with you. Even if you've seen it before, it's still worth listening to again. We Are All Connected from the Symphony of Science series highlights Carl Sagan, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Richard Feynman, and Bill Nye. I am impressed with how musical it turned out. If you want the lyrics and/or the mp3, you can get them at http://www.symphonyofscience.com./

And we're made of star stuff. If that doesn't give you chills, it should. The universe is much grander than we often remember in our day to day lives. Whenever you feel overwhelmed by events or simply like a lonely speck, just remember that we are not just our humble forms, but connected to the universe at large. Even Delenn reminds John Sheridan of that fact in one of the episodes of Babylon 5. I think it's one of the most inspirational phrases to remember. So just to reemphasize it, I'll say it again.

We're made of star stuff. And we are all connected.

Blog updates under way

First step: new layout. The blue was pretty, but I wanted something with more flavor. Out of the ones I found, this was the best fit in layout and theme. It only took a few hours to choose and then customize the font colors. It might change again if I find a look I like better (dragons and books perhaps), but I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. I hope you like it, too.

Next step: add/update features. I'm thinking a page of treasures for collecting pictures and poems. I might also shift all my labels to their own page. Stay tuned. :D

Bring on the tea!

For getting up around 7 this morning, it's sure taken me a long to get my brain out of slug mode. I wasn't shorted on sleep by all that much either. I blame my allergies. Sinus congestion, body contracting sneezes, flooding nose, and puffy eyes go against alertness. Bleagh.

I'm starting to feel better for the day, but since I need to go jump into the short story I thought up the other day, you aren't getting much today. Sorry. But here's my reading list update:

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner - read (see review from last week)
The Art and Craft of the Short Story by Rick DeMarinis - currently reading, almost done
How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card - read, not bad but better for a fledgling writer. I've already learned most of what he shared in this book. Good information and well presented though.
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke - currently reading, up to Chapter 3

I just bought The Mermaid's Madness yesterday (along with Red Hood's Revenge), so I'll be getting to that soon. And for October's (unpublished) reading list, I put Blue Fire by Janice Hardy on preorder. Yeah! But I've still got several books to get through for this month still if I want to finish them all.

nothing new

I was planning to either say something more about the SCA tomorrow or talk about my experience with larping or something fun, but I'm just feeling drained. After messing up my power cord for my laptop this afternoon by tripping on it while it was still attached to the laptop, dumping it on the floor--cord side down--so that the prong is bent about 30 degrees now, and then cracking my head on the upper bunk of my son's bed while trying to get up to kiss him goodnight after singing him his bedtime song, I'm not up to giving any of my planned topics the treatment they deserve. I feel more like crying, though whether it is due more to my poor laptop or my head with its knot where I conked it, I don't know. I'm just feeling miserable and I don't want to rush something in the morning before I have to go into work like I have been. I'd rather do something silly with my boy. Kid-cuddles sound really appealing right now.

Random post on family history

I have post topics aplenty of books I've recently read and loved, Renn Faire, larping, and more, but I'm running behind already this morning, not getting up until almost 9:00. I was up way too late last night ogling what may be my personal jackpot in family history on Ancestry.com. I found someone's family tree with loooooooots of entries on it that I am 99.9999% sure is part of my tree. In fact I think it's my oldest uncle as the home entry. I sent a message through Ancestry asking for verification, but even if I don't get a response soon, I'll likely see my uncle this Sunday at the family picnic. I was planning to bug everybody for info then anyway, even planning to visit my other grandparents on Monday for their information as best as they can remember.

Family history can be so much fun. You can learn strange and bizarre facts, connect with people you hadn't known or known well, and find information you can use as story fodder. Ancestry is a subscription site, but it is well worth it when doing research, especially when you are getting started and can't afford the travel time to go traipsing off to various courthouses and having to deal with kid(s) bored out of their minds.

Learning about people's lives is my favorite part of history. Or rather the only part of history I like. I always struggled with remembering names and dates. It wasn't until my senior year of high school that history became interesting. My teacher that year was amazing. She brought events to life with just her voice. Wonder if she ever considered storytelling, because she would have made a great bard, not that I ever heard her sing. She's also the one who sparked my interest in personal history, since she made a huge chunk of our final quarter grade dependent on a major family history project. We had the whole year to work on it. (My sophomore year history teacher did a smaller project on personal history but he didn't really care about the family part, only what was happening in America each year since we were born. Some neat stuff, but I didn't care about what prices were on houses or who was President. Just the family part.)

Even if you think history is boring, there is so much fascinating stuff if you know where to look. You may have been looking at it from the wrong angle. The anthropology and ethnology side of history is more interesting to me than the dry dates and plain facts. Here's the wiki article on anthropology with an overview of some of the related fields. You might find an aspect that appeals to you. History can be your one of your best writing resources, whether you are writing fantasy, science fiction, or any other genre. Have fun!