Lyda Morehouse's Blog, page 40

Marmite Reaction Shots

So I have a friend, empty_mirrors , who lives in the UK. We were talking about some of the Japanese candies she'd bought and their interesting flavors, and somehow the conversation came around to natto, which I've tried.  You can read my LJ here: http://lyda222.livejournal.com/2013/02/26/

At any rate, what empty_mirrors wanted to know was: how does natto compare to say, Marmite. To which, like any American I said, "What? Marmut? Isn't that some kind of small mammal?"  To which she replied:



Having never had the pleasure, I promised to go out and find a jar of said spread and try it.  Below is a photo montage of my experience:









So that's your answer empty_mirrors .  I would rather eat something that smells like the bottom of a gym locker on a hot summer day and has the consistency of snot, than this wicked salty bomb of awful some of your country persons love (and some hate.)

Your Action, Karma's Reaction

A little late in the day (sorry, I got caught up in new Bleach chapter squee), but here's the next (and final) installment of  Karma Man for your torture pleasure.  I believe I have two more pages of an attempted sequel, but I didn't scan them, alas (I'm sure you're all ridiculously bummed out.)










Alas, the sequel is NOT coming soon.  I had drawn about two pages of a sequel, but apparently petered out. The storyline, from what I could tell, seemed to be side-kick applications.  If people are interested, I'd be willing to scan and post them.  I clearly had way too much fun drawing and writing this at the time.  I'm not sure if Karma Man has that much milage, though.  He's certainly QUITE dated.  And very, very localized.

I will say it was funny to look back at this.   It's very noticeable that most of the "dramatic" poses the Karma Man strikes end at the knees. It's because I suck at feet.  (I still do.)  I also continue to have the problem of empty backgrounds.  It was fairly clever of me, honestly, to just paste pictures over photographs/magazine cut-outs.  If I ever do another comic book, I'm going to have to remember that trick.

Thank you to all that tuned in.

A Brief Commercial Interruption

We interrupt your regular programming, to announce:

My novel Messiah Node is now available for the first time as an e-book via Wizard Tower Press:
http://www.wizardstowerbooks.com/products/messiah-node-lyda-morehouse

Here's a little bit about it:The sign.When a meteorite falls from the sky, the destruction left in its wake lights a political fuse that could bring on Armageddon.The prophet.Just when the world could use a savior, the prophet Elijah appears. His search for a messiah leads him to the daughter of the archangel Michael.The savior.Meanwhile other messiah hopefuls spring up around the world -- including Page, an AI already tangled in webs of religion and deception. Yet as false shepherds lead the lambs to their doom, it may be up to Page's creator, the criminal mastermind known as Mouse, to save them all....Reviews"Messiah Node's cool, ethereal fusion of cyberpunk and mythology fits perfectly with with action-adventure storytelling and a piercing examination of religious extremism."-- Alyx Dellamonica, Locus"I'll give Lyda Morehouse a big thumbs-up for this book; Messiah Node is full of great characters, a great plot, and lots of action. The book has all the ingredients that exemplifies good modern science fiction; a blend of genres that will appeal to the wider public, and Morehouse is a writer that stands out in the crowd. This is a terrific blend of fresh ideas and an intriguing futuristic vision." -- Vegar Holmen, The Alien Online"Morehouse knows how to pace her story, weaving strands of plot and drawing the reader ever deeper into its fascinating but unnerving world. Although the third book in a tetralogy, this one includes enough backstory to stand solidly on its own. The final volume ought to be riveting, for apocalypse is on the horizon" -- Regina Schroeder, Booklist"... an excellent read. I was up half the night finishing it." -- Cheryl Morgan, Emerald City

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And now we will resume the regularly scheduled "Karma Man" program tomorrow....

Karma, Karma, Karma Chamelian

And now for the continuing, ridiculous adventures of our hero, Dude Precious, as he uncovers the nature of his superpowers.  When we last left Dude, he heard from a girlfriend that his random "It's your karma, man" had caused INSTANT KARMA to happen.  So, now he's remembering back to the woman who gave him the amulet in the co-op and mysteriously disappeared before telling all her tale.








 Because this is ridiculous, I must stop here for today. Tomorrow, the further adventures of.... KARMA MAN....

Karma is a B*tch

As promised, more of my ridiculous juvenilia (can I claim that if I was in my 20s?), my comic, Karma Man:






(Note: the New Riverside Cafe, pictured above, has been out of business for... oh, probably a decade.)




What could be Dude's new mysterious power?  Tune in tomorrow, as Dude's adventure continues....

It's Your Karma, Man

So, while looking for stencils to add our names to our Christmas stockings, I came across some of my old cartooning things. In among them, was my old comic, "Karma Man."



And here's how it starts:







There's the beginning.  More tomorrow....

A New Publication by Me!

I have a short story called "The God Box" that will be out a Biblical Horror Anthology called KING DAVID AND THE SPIDERS OF MARS, which is available for pre-order on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/King-David-Spiders-Sonya-Taaffe/dp/0976654687



"The God Box" is the story of the golden hemorrhoids from... Judges, I think, except recast as a science fiction story set on Jupiter's moon Ganymede. I'm actually kind of proud of this story, so you know, if the rest of the book sounds at all cool to you, please consider pre-ordering a copy.

Tomorrow I'll try to write down all the excitement of my first day as a Library Page. I had training and a pop quiz and I got to watch the cool conveyer belt of books. But, I have to dash off to Wyrdsmiths in a bit because I'm going early to interview Eleanor Arnason about Icelandic Christmas elves.

When We Sing Over The Rainbow, We Mean the ICE Rainbow

I think you can see the ice rainbow in this picture. It's right there by the church spire.

It's really, REALLY cold out today.

News!

I forgot to mention! I just got the page proofs for Messiah Node from Wizard Tower's Press. So I'm going to be spending the next couple of days re-reading an old favorite. I have to say, after all this time, it's a lot like reading a brand-new book written by someone else. Sometimes I'm not even sure I remember how things end...

:-)

I spent much of today running around. I had to go off to the Ramsey County Library's administration office in Shoreview and prove my American citizenship. I had quite the adventure getting there. Google maps gives very Spartan directions and I wasn't aware that Hamline Avenue intersects Snelling THREE DIFFERENT TIMES. Turns out? I was supposed to follow the LAST time it intersected... I went around in several circles. Luckily, I built in a lot of "get lost" wiggle room because, well... I do this. So, I kind of expected to spend a lot of time circling the target, as it were. But, I got there and filled out all the forms and now the next thing I need to do is schedule training. Then, I will officially be a sub/page.

It's actually been a busy working week for me. I did this running around today, but I've also been trying to give the Wolves (aka SofaWolf) some of my time, as they try to wind down their kick starter for Digger. So, I put in a couple of hours yesterday in between doctors appointments for Shawn, and a few more today, after administrating at the library.

Tomorrow, I'm going to be doing dog walking, which I'll be doing pretty much every day until next Tuesday while my boss at Friendly Face Pet Services in on vacation. So, busy-busy-busy for me.

I Got the Job

As of yesterday, I officially passed the background check and accepted the job as itinerant Library Page (as I said on FB, this makes me feel a little bit like a nomadic scholar from the Middle Ages.)

So, after a ten year hiatus, I'm officially gainfully employed again. Of course, I have mixed feelings about this. But, I'd never truly thought (only secretly hoped) that my writing would ever support me forever. Shawn, Mason and I just aren't in a position where we can afford to keep me at home if I'm making zero money from writing... and well, the nice thing about this job is that, if a book contract should fall in my lap again, I'm not working so many hours that I couldn't write. And, TBF, the majority of writers (including myself, once upon a time,) write novels while holding down full-time jobs.

Plus, as I said about this the first time I mentioned I applied, this is a perfect job for me. I get to see a lot different libraries and do a lot of different work, many of the shifts aren't very long. As long as I don't have to re-shelve anything very quickly, I do KNOW the alphabet and how to order numbers, even if I have a mild problem keeping them in perfect order in my head. I'll just have to sing the alphabet song a lot. Maybe they'll put me in the children's section and it'll be a win-win for everyone!

Next steps will be employment forms on next Tuesday (wherein I prove I'm a citizen) and then circulation training! (which will be the toughest part.)

Cool Yule!