Barbara Hambly's Blog, page 27
March 20, 2012
A VERY tiring day, considering how little I did. After a ...
A VERY tiring day, considering how little I did. After a long chat with the nice folks at PennyFarthing Press who last year hired me to adapt somebody else's graphic novel into a screenplay - and now want me to do a polish on it, which is VERY nice - I spent WAY too much time futzing around with FaceBook, yet again. The result is that I now have NO personal page and can't read the personal pages of anyone else. At the moment I have THREE fan pages, which will in the next couple of days be merged into ONE fan-page, at which point I SHOULD (they alledge) be able to open a personal page again.
But in the meantime, those close friends whose pages I check daily to see how they are, I can't get to, which is very vexing.
However, the front room is tidied somewhat, there are clean sheets on the bed in the guest-room for my parents, who will be house-sitting, I am packed (except for the backpack stuff that I'll want on the plane, like my kindle and the screenplay I'm going to polish and a couple of crunchy snacks in case the only things on offer on United Airlines are stuff I'm allergic to), and I'm pretty much ready with tomorrow's classes. Thank goodness I'm giving an exam in US History, so I won't go into World History at night quite as trashed. It's Ancient Rome and Han China, so it can't really be cut much.
Can I take at least part of the evening and play Diablo III?
But in the meantime, those close friends whose pages I check daily to see how they are, I can't get to, which is very vexing.
However, the front room is tidied somewhat, there are clean sheets on the bed in the guest-room for my parents, who will be house-sitting, I am packed (except for the backpack stuff that I'll want on the plane, like my kindle and the screenplay I'm going to polish and a couple of crunchy snacks in case the only things on offer on United Airlines are stuff I'm allergic to), and I'm pretty much ready with tomorrow's classes. Thank goodness I'm giving an exam in US History, so I won't go into World History at night quite as trashed. It's Ancient Rome and Han China, so it can't really be cut much.
Can I take at least part of the evening and play Diablo III?
March 19, 2012
Whoof! Made travel arrangements for the second Big Journe...
Whoof! Made travel arrangements for the second Big Journey this spring, to be on a panel (Multi-Cultural Murder Mysteries) at the Texas Library Association's annual convention in Houston. Am still in shock at what plane-tickets cost, even a month before departure-date. Yowch!
I've been on a jag of watching WWII combat movies while doing exercise every evening - 20-minute stretches of iron-jawed heroism is about what I can take. After that I settle down and watch something I want to pay attention to. I've just finished the extended, min-series version of Lord of the Rings, thinking as usual that Mr. Jackson could have taken two minutes out of the Avalanche of Skulls and used that time to give us one more conversation between Eowyn and Faramir, so her abandonment of her crush on Aragorn and her hooking up with F doesn't seem quite so abrupt and casual. But, I remind myself, the Avalanche of Skulls paid for getting the mini-series version done in the first place.
But I will say that going from D-Day to the Battle of Osgiliath made me wonder why the orcs weren't tossing hand-grenades.
I've been on a jag of watching WWII combat movies while doing exercise every evening - 20-minute stretches of iron-jawed heroism is about what I can take. After that I settle down and watch something I want to pay attention to. I've just finished the extended, min-series version of Lord of the Rings, thinking as usual that Mr. Jackson could have taken two minutes out of the Avalanche of Skulls and used that time to give us one more conversation between Eowyn and Faramir, so her abandonment of her crush on Aragorn and her hooking up with F doesn't seem quite so abrupt and casual. But, I remind myself, the Avalanche of Skulls paid for getting the mini-series version done in the first place.
But I will say that going from D-Day to the Battle of Osgiliath made me wonder why the orcs weren't tossing hand-grenades.
March 18, 2012
Yay, beautiful weather next weekend in New Orleans!A day ...
Yay, beautiful weather next weekend in New Orleans!
A day of prepping, and of trying to get work done that I won't be able to do next weekend: feeling a little overwhelmed. Mr. J Goes to Washington (working title) is coming well now that I've gone back and straightened up the first 20 chapters; I often start too many sub-plots on the first draft, then have to go back and thin them out once I've figured out which of them will pay off best at the end. The stuff I've found out about the city government of Washington DC in 1838 is pretty scummy. In the midst of research I also discovered (and ordered) a book about inns and travel in America in that era, which I'm HOPING will arrive before I have to get on the airplane: in the excerpt I read on-line, it becomes clear that Roadside Attractions are NOT something that was invented with the automobile. One inn advertised life-sized figures of famous criminals back in the 1820s.
Because I don't own a laptop these days, I won't be able to do more than check my e-mails while in New Orleans. I've been spending entirely too much time and mental energy trying to figure out the rather tangled Facebook situation. It's frustrating, because FB itself gives NO way of actually asking someone AT FACEBOOK what's actually going on.
A day of prepping, and of trying to get work done that I won't be able to do next weekend: feeling a little overwhelmed. Mr. J Goes to Washington (working title) is coming well now that I've gone back and straightened up the first 20 chapters; I often start too many sub-plots on the first draft, then have to go back and thin them out once I've figured out which of them will pay off best at the end. The stuff I've found out about the city government of Washington DC in 1838 is pretty scummy. In the midst of research I also discovered (and ordered) a book about inns and travel in America in that era, which I'm HOPING will arrive before I have to get on the airplane: in the excerpt I read on-line, it becomes clear that Roadside Attractions are NOT something that was invented with the automobile. One inn advertised life-sized figures of famous criminals back in the 1820s.
Because I don't own a laptop these days, I won't be able to do more than check my e-mails while in New Orleans. I've been spending entirely too much time and mental energy trying to figure out the rather tangled Facebook situation. It's frustrating, because FB itself gives NO way of actually asking someone AT FACEBOOK what's actually going on.
March 17, 2012
Any day which starts out by having to call the plumber be...
Any day which starts out by having to call the plumber before 8 in the morning can only improve as it goes on.
I've known my plumber for over 25 years - his dad was the first one to help me with the piping in this house. As we were talking after operations were over, he asked me a reasonable question about writing. Not, Where do you get your ideas from, but: "How do you keep getting ideas after all these years?"
And I told the truth as I know it: "I try to make sure I get enough sleep; I take a long walk every day; I try to keep in a rested frame of mind." Writing is a lot of work, and a lot of that work is totally invisible. I've griped before about non-writers not understanding that when I'm practicing Japanese or taking a walk or playing Tomb Raider, that feeds back into writing.
Rest is a part of writing. If the soil hasn't fallowed and regained its nutrients, all the seeds in the world aren't going to produce a healthy crop. It's less easy now that I'm teaching and taking on more writing projects simply to stay afloat, but that truth remains.
I've known my plumber for over 25 years - his dad was the first one to help me with the piping in this house. As we were talking after operations were over, he asked me a reasonable question about writing. Not, Where do you get your ideas from, but: "How do you keep getting ideas after all these years?"
And I told the truth as I know it: "I try to make sure I get enough sleep; I take a long walk every day; I try to keep in a rested frame of mind." Writing is a lot of work, and a lot of that work is totally invisible. I've griped before about non-writers not understanding that when I'm practicing Japanese or taking a walk or playing Tomb Raider, that feeds back into writing.
Rest is a part of writing. If the soil hasn't fallowed and regained its nutrients, all the seeds in the world aren't going to produce a healthy crop. It's less easy now that I'm teaching and taking on more writing projects simply to stay afloat, but that truth remains.
March 16, 2012
In less than a week I head for New Orleans, for the Tenne...
In less than a week I head for New Orleans, for the Tennessee WIlliams Literary Festival. My parents will be house-sitting, which means I played "Guess My Sell-By Date" at the refridgerator for awhile (or, in some cases, "Guess My Planet of Origin"). Yesterday I also had the plumbers in, seldom a good way to start the day. I should figure out what I need to take in the way of clothing that makes me look marginally respectable (blazers help) - bearing in mind that this is a Literary Festival and a Dr. Who t-shirt probably isn't my best choice. I teach Wednesday night until 10, get home at about 11 (this is after leaving the house at about 8 a.m.) and have to leave for the airport at about 9, to arrive in New Orleans WAY after dinner-time. Coming home, I'll probably get back to the house at 10 pm Sunday night and then have to get up early Monday morning to teach. I don't expect it'll be a very inspired class, but at least it's the French Revolution, and I know THAT backwards and sideways.
Since I don't have a laptop, my posts will be pretty curt - whatever I can get on the hotel's "check your e-mail" station.
And, since the deadline on Mr. J Goes to Washington is fast approaching, my lovely parents WILL get clean sheets on the guest-room bed, but probably won't get much of a cleared space on the dining-room table, which is currently piled with papers. I do what I can. Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Dad.
Since I don't have a laptop, my posts will be pretty curt - whatever I can get on the hotel's "check your e-mail" station.
And, since the deadline on Mr. J Goes to Washington is fast approaching, my lovely parents WILL get clean sheets on the guest-room bed, but probably won't get much of a cleared space on the dining-room table, which is currently piled with papers. I do what I can. Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Dad.
March 15, 2012
So, what are the rules about finding pictures and things ...
So, what are the rules about finding pictures and things on the internet and passing them along on Facebook because they're pretty? I'm told I should do this more, and not post about my own concerns. I presume I'm limited to looking for things listed as "Copyright free"?
March 12, 2012
Always a pleasure when - frequently in the course of a wa...
Always a pleasure when - frequently in the course of a walk - a plot-point will click into focus: specifically, the small detail or incident unrelated to the mystery that causes the sleuth (Benjamin, in this case) to go: "So THAT'S what happened..."
It's particularly pleasing when it's related to the sub-theme that's been going on behind or beside the mystery all along.
The TV Show "House" did this beautifully in the first two seasons, when House would get bludgeoned into doing clinic-duty, and it would be some little detail of the case in the clinic that would trigger the association with the major puzzle.
Just wish I had more time, to shape this story now that it's coming together AND do the teaching-prep that needs to be done AND do the self-care stuff, like washing the dishes and getting enough sleep.
It's particularly pleasing when it's related to the sub-theme that's been going on behind or beside the mystery all along.
The TV Show "House" did this beautifully in the first two seasons, when House would get bludgeoned into doing clinic-duty, and it would be some little detail of the case in the clinic that would trigger the association with the major puzzle.
Just wish I had more time, to shape this story now that it's coming together AND do the teaching-prep that needs to be done AND do the self-care stuff, like washing the dishes and getting enough sleep.
March 10, 2012
Hmmn... Checking the weather in New Orleans. Mid-seventie...
Hmmn... Checking the weather in New Orleans. Mid-seventies and thunderstorms. Oh, joy. Sounds like what I remember. Umbrella - TAKE THE DAMN UMBRELLA.
I'll be able to sneak away Friday of the Festival to have lunch with my friend Jill, who runs the Chimes Bed and Breakfast uptown in the garden district (chimesneworleans.com) - it'll be good to see her again. It'll be VERY good to walk around the Quarter again, to visit the house whose floor-plan I always picture when I write about Ben and Rose's house, to get a feeling once more for the shape and size of the courtyards, the feel of the floors underfoot.
To be reminded that New Orleans smells like mold, the same way Australian airports smell like burnt toast.
I'll be able to sneak away Friday of the Festival to have lunch with my friend Jill, who runs the Chimes Bed and Breakfast uptown in the garden district (chimesneworleans.com) - it'll be good to see her again. It'll be VERY good to walk around the Quarter again, to visit the house whose floor-plan I always picture when I write about Ben and Rose's house, to get a feeling once more for the shape and size of the courtyards, the feel of the floors underfoot.
To be reminded that New Orleans smells like mold, the same way Australian airports smell like burnt toast.
March 8, 2012
Rather to my shock, I realize it's only TWO WEEKS until i...
Rather to my shock, I realize it's only TWO WEEKS until it's time to set forth for New Orleans and the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival. It comes at a good time, as I'm starting the fill-in work on Mr. J Goes to Washington (working title) - taking the skeleton of who does what in what order, and looking at, What's going on in heads and hearts? What's happening back home? Meanwhile shaping my own memories of Washington DC's landscape to fit old maps, old accounts, trying to remember that the dome on the Capitol was much flatter and sort of silly-looking, and that a canal ran slap through the middle of the city.
And, in between all that, grading exams.
A long and lively digression in last night's class on Sex in Ancient Greece (after the demonstration with swords and shields, which students always find pretty entertaining). It frequently surprises me that most of them haven't heard this before, but that's why one goes to college: to hear stuff you haven't heard before.
And, in between all that, grading exams.
A long and lively digression in last night's class on Sex in Ancient Greece (after the demonstration with swords and shields, which students always find pretty entertaining). It frequently surprises me that most of them haven't heard this before, but that's why one goes to college: to hear stuff you haven't heard before.
March 7, 2012
Howly winds all night - spooky in the dark.
Howly winds all night - spooky in the dark.
