Katherine Nabity's Blog, page 165
July 21, 2016
#24in48 Readathon, Summer 2016
Beginning at 12:01am on Saturday morning and running through 11:59pm on Sunday night, readers read for 24 hours out of that 48 hour period. You can split that up however you’d like: 20 hours on Saturday, 4 hours on Sunday; 12 hours each day; six 4 hour sessions with 4 hour breaks in between; whatever you’d like.
The readathon takes place this weekend, July 23-24. I’m going to start at the “official” time 12:01am Eastern which means my readathon starts on Friday 10pm. Need more info? 24 in 48 Readathon
What will I be reading?
Aside from maybe finishing up Presto! or The Sister Brothers, I’m going to join Jay at Bibliophilopolis in a Deal Me In variation. (Wait, what’s Deal Me In?) I’ve assigned one of 24 cards (a euchre deck, I am told) to 24 short stories that I’ve bookmarked online in the last year and a half. Since I’m a slow and capricious reader, I don’t know how far I’ll get. If I finish 12 stories on this list I’ll be pretty happy.
July 20, 2016
Review ~ I Lie for Money
In this funny, irreverent, unique, eccentric memoir, magician Steve Spill reveals how he managed to survive decades inside a rarely profitable, sometimes maddening, but often deliciously rewarding offbeat showbiz profession—magic!
Spill tells of how his tailor grandfather sewed secret pockets in a magician’s tuxedo back in 1910, which started his childhood dream to become a magician. This dream took Spill on a journey that started with him performing, as a young boy, at a “Beauty on a Budget” neighborhood house party to engagements in Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean, to today in Santa Monica, California, where he’s been starring in his own shows since 1998 at Magicopolis, the theater he designed and built himself.
Being a magician has given Spill the opportunity to interact with the world’s most famous and fascinating people. In his memoir, Spill reveals the many unique encounters that his profession has led him to enjoy and endure: hosting Sting as his opening act one night, spending two days on camera with Joan Rivers, and selling tricks to Bob Dylan, as well as encounters with Adam Sandler, Stephen King, and other celebrities.
I Lie for Money is a literary magic show that captures the highs and lows of an extraordinary life that will delight and amaze you with wit and wickedness. This book should be an obligatory read for anyone considering a creative career, and it serves as an inspiration to those who desire to craft an independent life. (via Goodreads)
Steve Spill is a working magician. He’s spent five decades not only honing his magic skills, but his skills as a performer. He’s worked every sort of venue you might associate with magicians…and a few you wouldn’t. He has stories about some of the great magicians of the 20th century and even some celebrity dish. He designed and runs his own theater in LA. All that is interesting and entertaining, but the parts of I Lie for Money that spoke to me weren’t the stories about achievements. They were the stories about failures. Not every performance goes smoothly, and not every trick is a good one. Spill isn’t shy about those things, but his success proves that setbacks aren’t the end of the line. *That* is what makes this book a good read for anyone in a creative endeavor. It’s certainly something I need to be reminded of.
I have a soft spot for ducks (and geese, I suppose). Here’s Steve Spill and the mind reading goose, a performance from the mid-1980s.
Publishing info, my copy: Kindle ebook, Skyhorse Publishing, 2015
Acquired: July 20, 2015, Amazon (I bought this book a year ago!)
Genre: memoir
July 18, 2016
Magic Monday ~ Review: Smoke and Mirrors
I like Mondays. I also like magic. I figured I’d combine the two and make a Monday feature that is truly me: a little bit of magic and a look at the week ahead.
Smoke and Mirrors by Mike Costa, Ryan Browne (Illustrator), Fiona Staples (Illustrator), Jon Armstrong
ENTER A WORLD OF MAGIC! Stage magician Terry Ward is thrust into a world where magic — not technology — rules, and forced to use trickery and illusions to survive! But will that prove to be enough when the dangers of the world start compounding—how can a sleight of hand artist compete with users of practical spells? (via Goodreads)
Mix comics writer Mike Costa, talented illustrators Ryan Browne and Fiona Staples, and magician Jon Armstrong together and what do you get? An enjoyable slice of speculative fiction with lots of magic Easter eggs. I had Smoke and Mirrors on my Goodreads wishlist for so long that I’d forgotten what it was about. When I came into some Comixology credit (Thanks, Dewey’s Readathon!), I knew I wanted it enough that I bought it with no review. I was a little concerned that the concept of a “mundane” magician in a magical world would wear thin, but it worked. I was left wanting more after I finished the run. For a fan of magic history, there are plenty of references in the story with some “Did you know?” info blocks at the end of each issue. And they’re not *just* about Houdini. Each issue also included a self working trick. Bonus!
Publishing info, my copy: eComic, IDW Publishing, October 23rd 2012
Acquired: May 30, 2016, Comixology
Genre: fantasy
It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?
The 24 in 48 Readathon is this weekend! No clue what I’m going to read when I finish the above. I had hesitated to sign up because we might have had travel plans for August and I knew I didn’t want another June on my hands (with nearly every weekend booked up). But, semi-sadly, no trip to Colorado for us. Instead, a clear summer of not-much-of-anything. Which is kinda nice.
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, hosted by Book Date!
July 17, 2016
ROW80 ~ Sunday Update, 7/17
Did 18 hours of work this past week. A couple nights of poor sleep caught up with me on Wednesday and I couldn’t read more than a page without nodding off. Regardless, it was a pretty productive week.
Finished my final editing/formatting pass on David P. Abbott in The Open Court. I also drafted two versions of a cover that are pretty okay. I’ve decided to hold off on publishing it until I’m ready to go ahead with the One Ahead stories. On Friday, I started rewriting the second One Ahead story. That’s on the agenda for this week.
The past week’s progress is in blue.
Writing
David P. Abbott in The Open Court
Cover. Two versions so far. Neither are entirely “finished.”
One Ahead series
Rewrite/finish second story.
Edit pass on second story.
Draft third story
Publishing
Website
Change the header to be a SSI. Improve accessibility and validate.
update subpages
Fix /images /img
Update “Other Works” page.
Should I set up a One Ahead page? Cart before horse?
Change blog links to drive traffic to website.
Personal Growth
Courses at Code Academy:
Learn SQL – four sections
SQL: Table Transformation – four sections
SQL: Analyzing Business Metrics – two sections
July 16, 2016
Deal Me In, Week 28 ~ “Darby O’Gill and the Good People”
Hosted by Jay @ Bibliophilopolis
“Darby O’Gill and the Good People” by Herminie T. Kavanagh
Card picked: Two of Hearts – A WILD card!
From: Masterpieces of Terror and the Unknown, edited by Marvin Kaye
Thoughts:
While I’m fairly sure I haven’t seen the Disney movie Darby O’Gill and the Little People, I was familiar with the title. I had a vague notion that it was a comedic, you know, *Disney* movie, not the sort of thing that would end up in an anthology of “terror and the unknown.” Then again, most Grimm stories are much more grim than their Disney adaptations, so I held out hope. The story semi-delivered.
I’m guessing the biggest different between this story and the movie (aside from the fact that the movie was based on several of Kavanagh’s stories) is that it’s pretty clear in the story that the Good People—fairies of Irish mythology—are damned in God’s eyes. “If we had put our charm on you outside to bring you in you’d never die till the ind of the worruld, when we all must go to hell,” explains the King after Darby infiltrates their mountain kingdom and impresses everyone with a great feat of dancing. But damned doesn’t mean that they’re bad people. Darby can’t leave, but the King vows to take care of Darby’s family. Darby spends six months with the Good People, eating, drinking, and dancing. When Darby does finally escape and negotiates a deal, the King keeps his word. It’s interesting, but the only terrifying thing was the occasional use of dialect in the writing…
The movie version, released in 1959, features a pre-Bond Sean Connery:
July 13, 2016
YesterNews ~ Water Base Ball
At this point in the summer, water baseball doesn’t sound half bad.
Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]), 13 June 1915. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn99021999/1915-06-13/ed-1/seq-38/>
Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]), 14 June 1915. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn99021999/1915-06-14/ed-1/seq-3/>
July 12, 2016
Review ~ Yevgeny Onegin
This book was provided to me by Pushkin Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Yevgeny Onegin by Alexander Pushkin, translated by A. D. P. Briggs
Eugene Onegin is the master work of the poet whom Russians regard as the fountainhead of their literature. Set in 1820s imperial Russia, Pushkin’s novel in verse follows the emotions and destiny of three men – Onegin the bored fop, Lensky the minor elegiast, and a stylized Pushkin himself – and the fates and affections of three women – Tatyana the provincial beauty, her sister Olga, and Pushkin’s mercurial Muse. Engaging, full of suspense, and varied in tone, it also portrays a large cast of other characters and offers the reader many literary, philosophical, and autobiographical digressions, often in a highly satirical vein. Eugene Onegin was Pushkin’s own favourite work, and it shows him attempting to transform himself from a romantic poet into a realistic novelist. This new translation seeks to retain both the literal sense and the poetic music of the original, and capture the poem’s spontaneity and wit. The introduction examines several ways of reading the novel, and text is richly annotated. (via Goodreads)
One of the first things that Briggs does, something that isn’t retained in the above Goodreads blurb, is revert to the more Russian version of “Eugene”—Yevgeny. He does this because, well, it sounds better. It has better rhythm. Try it out loud: Yev-gen-y On-e-gin. There’s a rise and fall to that. Better than Eu-gene On-e-gin. But I got the feeling from Briggs’ introduction that if the Anglicized Eugene worked better that’s what he’d have used. That’s the style of his translation and that, he argues, is the most Pushkin way of translating Yevgeny Onegin.
Pushkin is the most highly respected of Russian poets, and he is so probably because he wasn’t high and mighty about the language. Briggs points out that the original novel length poem is written in a combination of high and low Russian with a dash of French. It’s written in iambic pentameter, but Pushkin made the rhyme scheme his own, but wasn’t a slave to perfect rhyme. It’s Pushkin’s use of what works that almost gives the poem an English sensibility. This is what Briggs tries to bring out in his translation.
I’ve read other translations of Yevgeny Onegin. I have the Nabokov version, but it’s in one of the dusty boxes in my closet. I didn’t feel like digging it out, but I remember it feeling quite serious. The story *is* a bit grim, but Briggs’ light translation also makes it enjoyable. Pushkin is poking fun at the blazé, ball-going, dueling culture of Onegin’s world and is inviting us as readers to commiserate. Briggs’ translation is accessible and very readable. I recommend it.
Publishing info, my copy: ePub format, Pushkin Press, July 12, 2016
Acquired: April 2016, NetGalley
Genre: Poetry, Literary
July 11, 2016
Magic Monday ~ Presto, You Fooled Me!
I like Mondays. I also like magic. I figured I’d combine the two and make a Monday feature that is truly me: a little bit of magic and a look at the week ahead.
Penn & Teller: Fool Us is back this week, premiering in US markets on July 13th!
It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?
Finished I Lie for Money by Steve Spill. It was a nice little memoir by a still-performing magician. I really enjoyed his stories about the tricks that seemed like great ideas, but didn’t work out. These tricks were just part of the job, as it were. Not a reason to throw in the towel. There’s a lesson in that.
I put aside Sarah Water’s Affinity for now in favor of Hank Mossberg, Private Ogre: Murder in the Boughs by Jamie Sedgwick. It’s definitely on the lighter side of things. I’ll also be starting Presto!: How I Made Over 100 Pounds Disappear and Other Magical Tales by Penn Jillette, the next ARC in my queue. (Yes, I’m happily magic-centric lately.)
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, hosted by Book Date
July 10, 2016
ROW80 ~ Sunday Update, 7/10
My original “measurable” goal, set on the fly Monday morning, was to do 3 hours of work, Monday-Saturday. That number feels very small, but it doesn’t include anything that isn’t listed below. It doesn’t include blogging, promo stuff, or anything I might do for my other “job” as webmaster for VOTS. I debated whether I wanted to include the “Personal Growth” category. Those are things I don’t want to fall off my radar and I’m only going to do a section a week, so I left them.
I did my 3 hrs/day Monday-Friday, but I think I want to change that goal to 4 hrs/day and take a full weekend. Which means, retroactively, I’m behind. But I’m okay with that. Maybe I’ll get a hour in today.
I bounced between projects during this first week. I should work mostly on Open Court stuff this week.
Writing
David P. Abbott in The Open Court
Do a final edit,
Write an introduction. Drafted
Add front matter. Added, not in final form.
Cover. Worked on.
One Ahead series
Rewrite/finish second story.
Edit pass on second story.
Draft third story.
Publishing
Website
Change the header to be a SSI. Improve accessibility and validate.
update subpages – Finished PHYSIC, Luck for Hire
Fix /images /img – Added. In general, my file structure needs a clean-out.
Update “Other Works” page.
Should I set up a One Ahead page? Cart before horse?
Change blog links to drive traffic to website.
Personal Growth
Courses at Code Academy (one section per week):
Finish Python – two sections left. 1/2
Learn SQL – four sections
SQL: Table Transformation – four sections
SQL: Analyzing Business Metrics – two sections
July 6, 2016
ROW80 ~ Wednesday Update, 7/6
Not sure how many Wednesday updates I’ll do, but I’m focused enough on Round of Words that I don’t have much in mind for a What Else Wednesday. So far, the week is going well, although I haven’t exactly focused on one project. I’m using Trello with the Pomello addon to track my tasks and time.
David P. Abbott in The Open Court:
Added front and back matter, though it isn’t in its final form.
Drafted the introduction.
Realized that my pictures were horked up. Fixed that and I have notion of what went wrong.
Added two more pictures to the last article and edited it to reflect the inclusion.
Worked on the cover.
Since I want to let the Open Court introduction sit and I was getting nowhere on the cover, I switched gears to organize One Ahead materials:
Gathered notes and made a timeline of “planned” stories. Funny thing, I had forgotten that I had written 15K-ish of materials last November which include some story beginnings.
Added tentative subtitles to the two stories to which I’ve done substantial work: “The Case of the Sorrowful Seamstress” and “The Case of the Horrid Haunting.”
Renamed files to include reference to the subtitle instead of order, because my writing order and chronology order don’t match.
Code Academy:
Worked on the remainder of my Python course.
Today, I think I’ll reread One Ahead: The Case of the Sorrowful Seamstress.
Original Goals
Quick moment of self-promotion: Two of my books are free through Sunday. Details and links at the top of the sidebar!
