Rachel Swirsky's Blog, page 34
August 25, 2011
Rachel Swirsky, stereotypical female gamer
I am almost completely the stereotypical female gamer.
Minus pink. Then sort of plus pink again because JoJo's Fashion Show is the best game ever because it's extended paper dolls, but you get graded for it. And also, vaguely like costuming.
Also, I have zero spatial skills, so I can't play first-person shooters, because I have no ability to construct a map of where I am with that kind of navigation. Third-person I can do; first-person I can't. Go away, Portal.
Zork. Phoenix Wright. King's Quest. The Sims! Oh, the Sims.
Social things. Cooperative things are nice so that I don't get annoyed when my husband spends 10 hours longer playing than I do within the first 24 hours of owning the game and then becomes Advanced Specialist You Can Never Defeat Ever. (This is why Tetris is my go-to for ccompetitive video gaming. I learned that shit when I was a kid, and adolescent-me put in the gazillion "get awesome at this" hours, and adult me need only sit back and reap the benefits.)
Except, for some reason, Soul Calibur. I want to kick your ass in Soul Calibur. Let's competitive the competitive, with some damn swords.
Although possibly this is because their costumes are shiny. Though, not always pink.
Also, I like Diablo II.
Minus pink. Then sort of plus pink again because JoJo's Fashion Show is the best game ever because it's extended paper dolls, but you get graded for it. And also, vaguely like costuming.
Also, I have zero spatial skills, so I can't play first-person shooters, because I have no ability to construct a map of where I am with that kind of navigation. Third-person I can do; first-person I can't. Go away, Portal.
Zork. Phoenix Wright. King's Quest. The Sims! Oh, the Sims.
Social things. Cooperative things are nice so that I don't get annoyed when my husband spends 10 hours longer playing than I do within the first 24 hours of owning the game and then becomes Advanced Specialist You Can Never Defeat Ever. (This is why Tetris is my go-to for ccompetitive video gaming. I learned that shit when I was a kid, and adolescent-me put in the gazillion "get awesome at this" hours, and adult me need only sit back and reap the benefits.)
Except, for some reason, Soul Calibur. I want to kick your ass in Soul Calibur. Let's competitive the competitive, with some damn swords.
Although possibly this is because their costumes are shiny. Though, not always pink.
Also, I like Diablo II.
July 20, 2011
My True Origins, Revealed in New Anthology about Thackery T. Lambshead
Find out my true origin story in Jeff and Ann VanderMeer's clever new anthology, Thackery T. Lambshead's Cabinet of Curiosities.
From the post on Jeff's blog, my teaser for the story:
From the post on Jeff's blog, my teaser for the story:
The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities, if you're joining us late, is a fully illustrated compendium of exciting stories and reproduced museum exhibits–an art book with over 70 images, a treasury of modern fantasy with work by over 85 creators like Holly Black, China Mieville, Michael Moorcock, Alan Moore, N.K. Jemisin, Rikki Ducornet, Garth Nix, Naomi Novik, Cherie Priest, Jan Svankmajer, Carrie Vaughn, Jake von Slatt, Charles Yu.
The awesome Rachel Swirsky is also a contributor, with a very clever, funny entry entitled "1943: A Brief Note Pertaining to the Absence of One Olivaceous Cormorant, Stuffed," in which she admits to a secret: "Readers who recognize me as a contemporary science fiction writer may be confused by my claims of visiting Dr. Lambshead in 1943. This seeming contradiction is the result of a rare [REDACTED FOR NATIONAL SECURITY REASONS]…You see, when I experience extreme [REDACTED]…my condition triggers [REDACTED] wherein…I [REDACTED] until I am [REDACTED], and must [REDACTED] upon the [REDACTED] of [REDACTED]."
In the account below, reproduced here for the first time, Swirsky reveals how she first met Dr. Lambshead…
How I met Dr. Lambshead
by Rachel Swirsky
In order to discuss the origins of my recent contribution to your collection of essays about that curious and almost mystical cabinet, it seems logical to return to the moment when I first met Dr.
Lamsbhead. (You must forgive any apparent contradictions in what I write below; as I mentioned in my earlier text, I remain invested in maintaining the illusion what I write here is fiction. A scattering of minor lies often proves the best obfuscation for a major truth.)
It was during American prohibition. Thackery was a young man or at least younger than he would be later in our acquaintance. He had recently visited the U. S. of A. and found an appreciation for the speakeasy aesthetic which he brought back with him to fair England where he threw a number of themed galas that aspired to Gatsby glamour.
At that time, I was visiting friends of my most recent mother's.
Through some benevolent connection–the social mechanisms of the upper classes always seem to be grinding their gears in one fashion or another–I was among those invited to Charleston in Chelsea.
There I was, in this dimly lit room, all spangled with some Englishman's conception of American patriotism–red, white, and blue taffetas billowing on walls strung with electric lights–a terrible fire hazard. I was fat then (as I am in this incarnation, though not the one between) and so the era's particular fascination with flat chests and flatter figures was especially awkward for me. All fringe and rouge, I played the wall-flower, toying with my knotted pearls, when a gentleman who I did not recognize (but who I would later learn was our host) approached my refuge.
He handed me a shot glass of bathtub gin–part of the speakeasy zeitgeist, I suppose, but oh so unfortunate; why would anyone voluntarily eschew good gin for alcohol that tastes not a little like turpentine? I drank the foul stuff anyway, hoping a little alcohol would go a long way toward improving the party. As I tipped back my head for the gulp and the groan, Dr. Lambshead leaned in, and with his lips brushing against the cartilidge of my ear, he whispered, "I know what you are."
The words burned down my throat with the gin. What did he mean? Was my secret really revealed? There, among the Marcel waves, and the gleaming saxaphones, and the girls in bobby socks?
I turned to look at him. The grin on his face was as bright and white as the electric lights.
I understood then that he truly had intuited my unique condition.
But I also understood that his motive was neither betrayal nor blackmail–but curiosity. Bold as the brass section, I handed back the drained glass, stained with my lipstick.
"Well," I said. "This party just got interesting."
July 12, 2011
The elevator thing
OK. Let's try this one last time.
If you want to achieve a goal then it helps to engage in steps to fulfill that goal.
If goal = increase female attendance at conferences then it helps to engage in steps to fulfill that goal.
A good strategy has been hit upon--one of the steps you're taking to fulfill that goal is to ask women who attend and don't attend the conferences what might make the atmosphere more welcoming to women attendees.
If a woman attendee says in good faith, one of the problems is that, when they do attend, many ladies feel they are being constantly hit on in slightly creepy ways (and here, she specifies, is an example) then correct responses to the solicited information include:
Listening in good faith, evaluating whether there are ways to address the problem without infringing on other things you value about the convention, responding in good faith.
Correct responses do not include:
Calling her a bitch, a hysteric, a man-hater.
If goal = I, a man, would like to tempt this lady into sexytimes then it also helps to engage in steps to fulfill that goal.
Among other good strategies, listen to ladies when they explain why an approach may or may not work.
If a woman says in good faith, an approach that probably won't work is to make a cold advance at a stranger who has previously expressed disinterest in such advances when you are both in a confined space at 4am in the morning, because (despite your assured best intentions) this is a situation in which violence could (and does) occur, then correct responses to the information include:
Listening in good faith, evaluating whether or not the objection is reasonable and can be incorporated into one's behavior without infringing on other things one values, responding in good faith.
Correct responses do not include:
Calling her a bitch, a hysteric, a man-hater.
If goal = I, as a socially awkward person, want other people to understand that when I enter situations where my actions could be misinterpreted, I'm not malevolent, just clueless then... and you'll be shocked by this... it helps to engage in steps to fulfill *that* goal, too.
Strategies can include: gathering information about social interactions when people attempt to make those rules explicit so that you can more easily intellectualize and follow them.
If a woman says in good faith that while any given stranger--including you!--probably has the best, if somewhat clueless, intentions, sometimes strangers don't... and if she adds that therefore you should avoid making sexual advances when the object of your desires is confined and isolated... then correct responses to this information include:
Listening in good faith, evaluating whether or not this guideline makes sense and can be incorporated into an intellectualized set of social rules, responding in good faith.
Correct responses do not include:
Ignoring everything the fuck out of everything that just happened so that you can insinuate that she called you, personally, a rapist.
If you want to achieve a goal then it helps to engage in steps to fulfill that goal.
If goal = increase female attendance at conferences then it helps to engage in steps to fulfill that goal.
A good strategy has been hit upon--one of the steps you're taking to fulfill that goal is to ask women who attend and don't attend the conferences what might make the atmosphere more welcoming to women attendees.
If a woman attendee says in good faith, one of the problems is that, when they do attend, many ladies feel they are being constantly hit on in slightly creepy ways (and here, she specifies, is an example) then correct responses to the solicited information include:
Listening in good faith, evaluating whether there are ways to address the problem without infringing on other things you value about the convention, responding in good faith.
Correct responses do not include:
Calling her a bitch, a hysteric, a man-hater.
If goal = I, a man, would like to tempt this lady into sexytimes then it also helps to engage in steps to fulfill that goal.
Among other good strategies, listen to ladies when they explain why an approach may or may not work.
If a woman says in good faith, an approach that probably won't work is to make a cold advance at a stranger who has previously expressed disinterest in such advances when you are both in a confined space at 4am in the morning, because (despite your assured best intentions) this is a situation in which violence could (and does) occur, then correct responses to the information include:
Listening in good faith, evaluating whether or not the objection is reasonable and can be incorporated into one's behavior without infringing on other things one values, responding in good faith.
Correct responses do not include:
Calling her a bitch, a hysteric, a man-hater.
If goal = I, as a socially awkward person, want other people to understand that when I enter situations where my actions could be misinterpreted, I'm not malevolent, just clueless then... and you'll be shocked by this... it helps to engage in steps to fulfill *that* goal, too.
Strategies can include: gathering information about social interactions when people attempt to make those rules explicit so that you can more easily intellectualize and follow them.
If a woman says in good faith that while any given stranger--including you!--probably has the best, if somewhat clueless, intentions, sometimes strangers don't... and if she adds that therefore you should avoid making sexual advances when the object of your desires is confined and isolated... then correct responses to this information include:
Listening in good faith, evaluating whether or not this guideline makes sense and can be incorporated into an intellectualized set of social rules, responding in good faith.
Correct responses do not include:
Ignoring everything the fuck out of everything that just happened so that you can insinuate that she called you, personally, a rapist.
June 20, 2011
Visiting NYC From June 24-30
Ping if you'd like to get together.
June 17, 2011
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let Down Your Hair… Fundraising for Clarion West
Posting A) because it could use a signal boost, but also B) because it's pretty funny.
What pretty hair
What pretty locks you got there
What luck you got, it's worth a centime my dear
A friend of mine is trying to sell her 20+ inches of virgin blonde hair so that she can pay her way to art school. Know a hair fetishist? Interested in wigs? Want to try your hand at Victorian hair sculpture?
There's tawny, and there's golden saffron
There's flaxon, and there's blonde!
There's coarse, there's straight, there's fine and curly
There's finer texture, ash looks fair!
Which makes it rare, but flaxen's rarer…
Please feel free to repost.
What pretty hair
What pretty locks you got there
What luck you got, it's worth a centime my dear
A friend of mine is trying to sell her 20+ inches of virgin blonde hair so that she can pay her way to art school. Know a hair fetishist? Interested in wigs? Want to try your hand at Victorian hair sculpture?
There's tawny, and there's golden saffron
There's flaxon, and there's blonde!
There's coarse, there's straight, there's fine and curly
There's finer texture, ash looks fair!
Which makes it rare, but flaxen's rarer…
Please feel free to repost.
June 14, 2011
Clarion West Write-a-thon
Hey everyone,
I apologize to those of you who have seen this on your friends list for days on end, but I really ought to plug the Clarion West Write-a-thon!
The Write-a-thon is like a cross between NANOWRIMO and a walk-a-thon.
First off, the NANOWRIMO bit--you commit to carry out writing goals for the six week period of the write-a-thon. You get to define those goals. They could be enormously, fantastically, unbelievably unacheivable: vow to write a novel a week if you like! Or they can be modest and petite--one word a day, or less--a letter! Of course, most people do something in between. Personally, I'm just going to commit to write everyday, whether it's a lot (I hope!) or a little.
Then you combine it with the walk-a-thon: people sign up to sponsor you for every week you reach your goal. They could sponsor you for an enormously, fantastically, unbelievably huge amount of money--a zillion dollars a week! Or they could be modest and petite and donate $1 for the six week write-a-thon.
Or people can send flat donations. Personally, that's what I do. I try to donate $5 for everyone I know who signs up to participate in the write-a-thon.
This year, three people are offering to donate $5 per person who enters the write-a-thon--whether they know them or not--as long as we can get 100 participants. So, if you sign up to participate, you can actually earn $15 for Clarion West without lifting a finger to type. (Though, what fun would that be?)
In previous years, I've made a pair of hand-beaded earrings for anyone who donates $10 or more in my name. The year before last, only one person took me up on it, so I gave her five pairs, a whole rainbow of earrings.
So, the major question here--what is Clarion West and why is it worth supporting? The Clarion West Writers Workshop is a sort of master class for helping science fiction and fantasy writers transition into pros. Think of it as being like a speculative fiction MFA condensed into six weeks. The program has turned out many amazing writers, including the late Octavia Butler, and the very up-to-date Kij Johnson. Many writers have spoken about how profound the experience was for them; for me, it was a defining moment in my life as I left college, and moved into life as a grown-up (ish) writer.
So, if you've got the time and/or the lolly, consider signing up or shelling out. Every penny donated is a penny that a starving writer can save.
Also, if you donate in my name, earrings can be obtained.
Details: http://www.clarionwest.org/events/writeathon/2010
Sign-up: http://clarionwest.org/Write-a-thon_Participant_Registration
Also, Clarion San Diego is running their shiny new write-a-thon (second year running, I think?) this year. The details are much the same, so if you'd like to help them out (since they are also peachy keen), head over to their website.
I apologize to those of you who have seen this on your friends list for days on end, but I really ought to plug the Clarion West Write-a-thon!
The Write-a-thon is like a cross between NANOWRIMO and a walk-a-thon.
First off, the NANOWRIMO bit--you commit to carry out writing goals for the six week period of the write-a-thon. You get to define those goals. They could be enormously, fantastically, unbelievably unacheivable: vow to write a novel a week if you like! Or they can be modest and petite--one word a day, or less--a letter! Of course, most people do something in between. Personally, I'm just going to commit to write everyday, whether it's a lot (I hope!) or a little.
Then you combine it with the walk-a-thon: people sign up to sponsor you for every week you reach your goal. They could sponsor you for an enormously, fantastically, unbelievably huge amount of money--a zillion dollars a week! Or they could be modest and petite and donate $1 for the six week write-a-thon.
Or people can send flat donations. Personally, that's what I do. I try to donate $5 for everyone I know who signs up to participate in the write-a-thon.
This year, three people are offering to donate $5 per person who enters the write-a-thon--whether they know them or not--as long as we can get 100 participants. So, if you sign up to participate, you can actually earn $15 for Clarion West without lifting a finger to type. (Though, what fun would that be?)
In previous years, I've made a pair of hand-beaded earrings for anyone who donates $10 or more in my name. The year before last, only one person took me up on it, so I gave her five pairs, a whole rainbow of earrings.
So, the major question here--what is Clarion West and why is it worth supporting? The Clarion West Writers Workshop is a sort of master class for helping science fiction and fantasy writers transition into pros. Think of it as being like a speculative fiction MFA condensed into six weeks. The program has turned out many amazing writers, including the late Octavia Butler, and the very up-to-date Kij Johnson. Many writers have spoken about how profound the experience was for them; for me, it was a defining moment in my life as I left college, and moved into life as a grown-up (ish) writer.
So, if you've got the time and/or the lolly, consider signing up or shelling out. Every penny donated is a penny that a starving writer can save.
Also, if you donate in my name, earrings can be obtained.
Details: http://www.clarionwest.org/events/writeathon/2010
Sign-up: http://clarionwest.org/Write-a-thon_Participant_Registration
Also, Clarion San Diego is running their shiny new write-a-thon (second year running, I think?) this year. The details are much the same, so if you'd like to help them out (since they are also peachy keen), head over to their website.
June 8, 2011
storySouth Million Writers Award, 2011
I just had the chance to read over the 10 finalists for the storySouth Million Writers Award. (By the way, this award is for stories that were first published online--of any genre--so people who usually avoid my recommendations because they don't like science fiction and fantasy might be interested in some of the material reviewed in this post.)
I thought I'd share some of my thoughts on this year's fiction. I particularly wanted to point people to the stories I enjoyed--either so they can go vote for their favorite, or just so they can go peruse some fine online reading.
Of course, if people have the time, you can't go wrong reading all ten!
My favorite, hands down, was "Cancer Party" by Nicola Mason, which originally appeared in BLACKBIRD. A witty, subtle, and cynical story told in second person from the perspective of a group of thirty-something friends, one of whom has recently been diagnosed with cancer. The story smartly eludes cliche and sentimentality, revealing some of the harder, stranger edges around mortality and middle age. It pulls some of the humor-in-absurdity of Pahlaniuk, and combines it with intelligent observations of an ensemble cast's humanity that reminds me very much of Sondheim's "Company." This was a great find, and easily places among my favorite short stories from the past year.
"Arthur Arellano" by Viet Thanh Nguyen (NARRATIVE) presents an interesting character portrait of a man who finds himself with little to recommend his life as he enters late middle age. He deals with problems with his health, his family, and his marriage, eventually realizing that even the parts of his life he thought were going well were premised on lies. The relationships, characters, and situational premises are intriguing, and the Arthur himself is well-drawn and understandable. The tone moves from a sort of witty detachment to a more saturated scenic presentation, and overall, I felt the story could have done with more grounding of both characters and settings. I also wasn't entirely convinced by the ending--it felt like the right ending, but perhaps not as well set-up as it could have been. But there was interesting stuff here to read and consider.
I also enjoyed "The Incorrupt Body of Carlo Russo," (ECLECTICA) although perhaps not enough to consider it award-worthy. In brief, intense vignettes, the story chronicles the life and death of the titular Carlo Russo, along with the discovery of his incorrupt body. The lush writing and specific detailing of place and peculiar incidents were enough to make me interested in the reading, and mostly satisfied by it, but I would have been happier with more character development to give me a stronger sense of investment in the outcome. The title and the first section rob the piece of suspense... which isn't necessarily a problem, but it would have been nice if the lack of suspense had been replaced by another strong driver for moving me through the story. Also, I felt that the story looked away from its ending a bit, rather than exploiting its potential to go somewhere more interesting. But this was definitely an interesting read and I liked the vignette format.
I like Amal El-Mohtar's Nebula-nominated "The Green Book" (APEX)--in which a book that records a dead woman's consciousness provides the medium for a love affair--but I don't like it quite as much as other people seem to. The story is an involving read, with a clear and satisfying story structure, and some nice spec ideas--but I don't see it as particularly transcending that structure to reach for anything more profound. It felt, to me, like a well-done example of a kind of speculative fiction story I've read a number of times. That's not a bad thing, by any means; I like reading those stories which is why I continue to do so. But it's not usually what I'm looking for when I go to select a "best of." I suspect from other people's reactions that they had a strong involvement with the characters as specifically characterized individuals which I just didn't have.
Neither of the other two stories on this ballot originally published in speculative fiction markets particularly ring my bell--"Arvies" by Adam Troy-Castro (LIGHTSPEED), also Nebula-nominated, is a parody of anti-choice politics that felt both too heavy-handed and too long for me. I don't mind political didacticism to a point, but I felt like that point was about 1/4 of the story's length, after which I wasn't really getting anything new from the metaphor. Yes, it is creepy that anti-choice politics care more about fetuses than born women; yes, the metaphor is a clever way of showing that; yes, the writing was well-drawn. But I didn't get much more from it than that.
"Elegy for a Young Elk" by Hannu Rajaniemi (SUBTERRANEAN) was one of those stories I just failed to get into. I suspect an aversion to something about the exposition which sometimes gives me a kind of FATAL INABILITY TO READ 0000 OUT OF CHEESE error. I hope I get a chance to read his novel someday soon, though.
I didn't have much reaction to the other stories on the ballot, positive or negative, except for "Hell Dogs" by Daphne Buter which made me angry in that "WHAT. WHY. WHY WOULD THEY EVEN PUT THIS IN A MUSEUM. GIVE ME BACK THE TWO MINUTES I SPENT READING THIS SO I CAN SPEND THEM BEING INDIGNANT INSTEAD." spluttery way that's probably not indicative of much other than me + the story = not a match made in OKCupid.
So, that's about it. If you've got time, definitely go read "Cancer Party" because it rocks so many socks. Also, the other stories are out there, too, looking doe-eyed at you, hoping you'll pick them up and give them a rifle.
And maybe vote if you want to.
Thanks to Jason Sanford for putting in the time and energy to create a forum for talking about online fiction.
I thought I'd share some of my thoughts on this year's fiction. I particularly wanted to point people to the stories I enjoyed--either so they can go vote for their favorite, or just so they can go peruse some fine online reading.
Of course, if people have the time, you can't go wrong reading all ten!
My favorite, hands down, was "Cancer Party" by Nicola Mason, which originally appeared in BLACKBIRD. A witty, subtle, and cynical story told in second person from the perspective of a group of thirty-something friends, one of whom has recently been diagnosed with cancer. The story smartly eludes cliche and sentimentality, revealing some of the harder, stranger edges around mortality and middle age. It pulls some of the humor-in-absurdity of Pahlaniuk, and combines it with intelligent observations of an ensemble cast's humanity that reminds me very much of Sondheim's "Company." This was a great find, and easily places among my favorite short stories from the past year.
"Arthur Arellano" by Viet Thanh Nguyen (NARRATIVE) presents an interesting character portrait of a man who finds himself with little to recommend his life as he enters late middle age. He deals with problems with his health, his family, and his marriage, eventually realizing that even the parts of his life he thought were going well were premised on lies. The relationships, characters, and situational premises are intriguing, and the Arthur himself is well-drawn and understandable. The tone moves from a sort of witty detachment to a more saturated scenic presentation, and overall, I felt the story could have done with more grounding of both characters and settings. I also wasn't entirely convinced by the ending--it felt like the right ending, but perhaps not as well set-up as it could have been. But there was interesting stuff here to read and consider.
I also enjoyed "The Incorrupt Body of Carlo Russo," (ECLECTICA) although perhaps not enough to consider it award-worthy. In brief, intense vignettes, the story chronicles the life and death of the titular Carlo Russo, along with the discovery of his incorrupt body. The lush writing and specific detailing of place and peculiar incidents were enough to make me interested in the reading, and mostly satisfied by it, but I would have been happier with more character development to give me a stronger sense of investment in the outcome. The title and the first section rob the piece of suspense... which isn't necessarily a problem, but it would have been nice if the lack of suspense had been replaced by another strong driver for moving me through the story. Also, I felt that the story looked away from its ending a bit, rather than exploiting its potential to go somewhere more interesting. But this was definitely an interesting read and I liked the vignette format.
I like Amal El-Mohtar's Nebula-nominated "The Green Book" (APEX)--in which a book that records a dead woman's consciousness provides the medium for a love affair--but I don't like it quite as much as other people seem to. The story is an involving read, with a clear and satisfying story structure, and some nice spec ideas--but I don't see it as particularly transcending that structure to reach for anything more profound. It felt, to me, like a well-done example of a kind of speculative fiction story I've read a number of times. That's not a bad thing, by any means; I like reading those stories which is why I continue to do so. But it's not usually what I'm looking for when I go to select a "best of." I suspect from other people's reactions that they had a strong involvement with the characters as specifically characterized individuals which I just didn't have.
Neither of the other two stories on this ballot originally published in speculative fiction markets particularly ring my bell--"Arvies" by Adam Troy-Castro (LIGHTSPEED), also Nebula-nominated, is a parody of anti-choice politics that felt both too heavy-handed and too long for me. I don't mind political didacticism to a point, but I felt like that point was about 1/4 of the story's length, after which I wasn't really getting anything new from the metaphor. Yes, it is creepy that anti-choice politics care more about fetuses than born women; yes, the metaphor is a clever way of showing that; yes, the writing was well-drawn. But I didn't get much more from it than that.
"Elegy for a Young Elk" by Hannu Rajaniemi (SUBTERRANEAN) was one of those stories I just failed to get into. I suspect an aversion to something about the exposition which sometimes gives me a kind of FATAL INABILITY TO READ 0000 OUT OF CHEESE error. I hope I get a chance to read his novel someday soon, though.
I didn't have much reaction to the other stories on the ballot, positive or negative, except for "Hell Dogs" by Daphne Buter which made me angry in that "WHAT. WHY. WHY WOULD THEY EVEN PUT THIS IN A MUSEUM. GIVE ME BACK THE TWO MINUTES I SPENT READING THIS SO I CAN SPEND THEM BEING INDIGNANT INSTEAD." spluttery way that's probably not indicative of much other than me + the story = not a match made in OKCupid.
So, that's about it. If you've got time, definitely go read "Cancer Party" because it rocks so many socks. Also, the other stories are out there, too, looking doe-eyed at you, hoping you'll pick them up and give them a rifle.
And maybe vote if you want to.
Thanks to Jason Sanford for putting in the time and energy to create a forum for talking about online fiction.
June 7, 2011
Why I have probably not answered your email.
Frequent migraines since Wiscon--personal correspondence slipping. Just FYI.
June 6, 2011
Today and today only
you get to resurrect one extinct species. Which one is it?
June 5, 2011
Joys of cat ownership.
MOW. "Is that Hermes?" "Oh good, he's going to throw up on the desk."
