Lyda Morehouse's Blog, page 75

Up North

We're headed home later today, but I thought I'd say "hello" from the shores of Crooked Lake in Wisconsin. The weather (a chilly 66 degrees F) actually pushed me back indoors momentarily, but earlier today I sat outside listening to the loons call out over the water.

It's been the kind of vacation my family and I have needed. It's been really nice not to have anything to do, but float in the lake on a noodle. Mason and I discovered that you can blow a lot of water out the noodles and played noodle water wars for two days until he actually developed chapped lips from all the blowing. After that, we had to switch to underwater kung-fu, which is pretty much what it sounds like. Before each fight we'd say, "The only rule is that there are no rules! (Oh, except no kicking the snorkle and no drowning.)" Or sometimes we'd quote a home/art movie that our head instructor made in college, ie, "What does a man do when he's been humiliated by a pipe cleaner? He. Gets. EVEN!"

So we've had much fun. Plus, Crooked Lake has never been higher thanks to all the rain. We've seen frogs and fish and toads (in the garden) in numbers never spotted before. When the weather was roastier we managed to get quite sunburned.

It's been ideal.

Wish you were here.

Happy Shark Week

This is Discovery Channel's "Shark Week," and we happen to be at a place that has cable so Mason and I tuned in a little last night and this morning (during the brief rain storm we had here in Siren.)

All, I can say is, "Thank you, Discovery Channel, for the nightmares last night."

Yes, thanks to a scene of people trapped in a shark cage while a 2,000 pound female great white shark thrashed above them (nearly drowning them, and, in point of fact, breaking the "shark proof" metal,) I dreamed last night that we had a shark in the basement. Thrashing. Actually, it was my cousin Steve's basement and I have to admit to seeing it slip out of its pool and completely bailing on my family. I was all, "Well, look at the time," in my dream. I'm a total astral coward when it comes to sharks apparently.

Just a Quickie

I need to write today before noon, because I have a number of heavy-duty errands that need doing before we head up to our friends' cabin in Siren, Wisconsin. I spent much of the morning already being quite productive. The plumber came to fix the upstairs bathroom sink trap which had 'sploded on us Sunday. I was happy that it was actually a bit of a big job for him, since I was feeling like a bit of a dope with my "There, I fixed it" solution.

Also, I finally got around to putting the finishing touches on an on-line class proposal for the Loft. I've never taught an on-line class before, and they wanted a sense of how the class would actually work (like, on-line). I have to admit the request baffled me, since, as a brand new instructor, I'm supposed to sign up to learn how their system works (and I sort of thought this was the VERY thing that would be explained/discussed at that time.) But, I think I cobbled together something that will satisfy the requirement. I don't know. We'll see if they take it. I did, however, decide that for my usual optional reading requirement that I'm going to point students to the myraid and wonderful podcast options for listening to (and in most cases also, if you wish, reading) short stories. So, Lightspeed and PodCastle, if you get a bump in traffic next winter/spring semester, that's me! (Also, if you folks have a favorite source for science fiction story podcasts, feel free to let me know.)

I also finally got around to mailing out hardcopy xeroxes of the wonderful review Michael Levy did of my Resurrection Code and Tate's Almost to Die For to my agent, my editor, and my dad in David Hartwell's The New York Review of Science Fiction. I should take some time in the next few days to find a good excerpt to post, but the whole review is quite delightful so you should try to track down a copy if you're so inclined. Perhaps I will memorize it in its entirety and you can ask for a dramatic reading next time we meet. (ha!)

Today is also Mason's last day as a second grader (for those just tuning in, he's in a year-round school, which is, of course, a bit of a misnomer as he gets three months off, just not all in the summer.) At any rate, he'll be starting in September as a THIRD GRADER! I'm not sure how he got to be so grown-up, but there you have it.

For a bit of nostalgia, here he is at the beginning of the school year:

Reality Cooking

My family is very odd, indeed. One of our family traditions lately is to settle down on the couch together on Monday and Tuesday nights to tune into "Master Chef." Master Chef, if you don't watch network TV or reality shows, is about a group of ameteur chefs preparing various dishes, taking on culinary challenges (like cooking for 250 kids at a block party,) and generally attempting to impress three gourmet superstars: Chefs Ramses, Graham, and "Zod."

I can not explain my family's attraction to this show. It really ought to be quite boring, but, of course, the various chef superstars ham it up and, when the contestants's entries suck, they spit out food, gag, and throw things in the bin with much panache. There's a designated villian among the amatuer chefs -- this season, it's the arrogant, potty-mouthed Christian. Likewise, there are good guys to root for: Ben Starr is currently my favorite (because my gaydar goes ding), but there are others I like well enough that I wouldn't be disappointed if they won. It's all very melodramatic and manufactured, but we're hooked none-the-less.

The positive outcome of our obsession, however, is this:



On Saturday morning, before I headed off to the con, I pulled out one of my more favorite blueberry muffin recipies and let him read and follow the directions on his own (with only a few helpful hints from me about measuring and whatnot.) Afterwards, we played Master Chef by pretending to be the various chefs commenting on his offering.

Mason really wanted to wear the apron because one of the shticks in Master Chef is that if you get "voted off the island" you have to surrender your Master Chef apron. Theirs are, alas, notably less frilly, but Mason didn't care as long as it was an apron.

Belated Con Report

I left Diversicon 19 with a huge list of things I need to read -- many of them are comicbooks, of course, but also on the list is a re-read of Milton and several young adult novels with new-to-me authors. (Also, the list of movies grows longer as well.)

Otherwise, I think the most awesome part of being a special guest was access to a minion. Shawn was truly horrified when, on Sunday, after our upstairs bathroom sink's plumbing decided to 'splode right before I was meant to leave for the con, I actually called my minion on the phone to request a special latte delivered to my first panel. Shawn is a traditional Minnesotan from the Iron Range, and the idea of actually _imposing_ on someone, even someone who says they're happy to do such things, is EVIl and WRONG and there is a SPECIAL place in HELL for those who would _impose!!!_

But I'm not from here. I'm from the East Coast (of the Mississippi, in Wisconsin,) where people are brassy and loud and demanding. I have no shame and I take people at their word. If they say they're my gopher and are happy to fetch things for me, I assume they mean it.

Which, of course, has caused no end of trouble for me here in the Norwegian stronghold of Minnehiem (see Steve Fox's post on Facebook about the Thor panel and how cool it would be to rename Minnesota "Minnehiem" in honor of the fact that the original Dr. Donald Blake/Thor is supposed to be a Minnesotan.)

The other cool thing about Diversicon and honorable guesting was the fact that I got to be on all the panels about the things I never usually get to talk about, which is to say comic books. Usually, I don't have enough expertise (being a mere fan) to rate a comic book/comic book movie panel, but I got to pull strings, as it were, and get myself a prime seat on both the Captain America panel and Thor. In other fun sidenotes, I am slowly corrupting Eleanor Arnason into a comic geek (at least as far as the movies are concerned. She asked me on the way home from Captain America, "Do you think comic books are modern mythology?" I said, "Of course!" Because, they are in so many ways. Like ancient myths they're popular, they're epic, ever changing through generations of storytelling, and they reflect the modern human's take on the questions about Truth and Honor and Heroism with the capital letters.)

I had a lot of fun. And I got to bond with David G. Hartwell over ties, as I was wearing several of my grandfather's ties at various times at the convention (on Saturday I had three "costume changes," though, alas, never into Tate's get-up.) He suggested that my grandfather was likely wearing the ties I favor sometime in the 50s and/or early 60s. I guess the slim, square-cut pink one I wore on Sunday really narrowed (pardon the pun) down the date, as those were only popular for a very short period.

That was fascinating to me, because the family story that came with the tie collection was that these were the ties that Grandpa wore to take my grandmother dancing. My grandpa was working class (having worked his whole life in a blue collar job at Trane Company), and many of these ties are very fancy indeed. Some are silk. It's interesting timing if this is accurate, because my father, the middle child, would have been a teenager in the mid-50s, and I always had had the sense that these dancing dates were earlier... perhaps they were simply a long standing tradition (which, frankly is quite romantic.)

I also got to reconnect with some people I don't see very often, and, in fact, am going to slip off later today to meet up with one, jiawen , at noon today. Hooray!

My Weekend Schedule

Tonight, if you are so inclined, I would like to remind you to join me at Dreamhaven Books at 6:30 - 7:30 PM where I'll be part of a discusion with fellow Diversicon honored guests David Hartwell and John C. Rezmerski.

Friday, July 29:

7:00-7:30 PM, Main Stage (Soo Line)
Scott Lohman, MC; David G. Hartwell, John Calvin Rezmerski, Lyda Morehouse, Joan Slonczewski, Eric M. Heideman; Vincent Price, C.L. Moore, in absentia

9:30-10:25 PM, Main Stage
Fiction Reading: Lyda Morehouse reads from the work of Lyda Morehouse and/or Tate Hallaway

Saturday, July 30:

1:00-1:55 PM, Main Stage
Panel: The Future is Serious Dark for 16 Year Olds
From Scott Westerfield's Uglies to Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games (even the final Harry Potter book, to some extent) there are a surprising amount of very dark futures topping bestseller lists. On a related issue: Why are so many Young Adult SF/F heroines emotionally distant murderers?
Lyda Morehouse, mod.; S.N. Arly, Naomi Kritzer, David Lenander, Michael Levy

2:00-2:55 PM Krushenko's (Room 101)
Panel: Captain America: The Comic, the Legend, the Movie
We'll take a breezy tour of the history of Timely/Marvel's early super hero icon, created (1941-)by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, then talk about the film that premiered July 22. Faithful rendition or fan fail? Did it live up to the hype, etc.? Current comic book lines we wish they'd tap for sequels.
Lyda Morehouse, mod.; Eleanor Arnason, Cynthia Booth, Roy C. Booth

3:00-3:55 PM Main Stage
Panel: YA Market Explosion
Some say science fiction hasn't produced many blockbusters in recent years, yet science fiction shows up constantly on Young Adult bestseller lists. Why? What's the crossover appeal of these works?
Lyda Morehouse, mod.; Roy C. Booth, Naomi Kritzer, Michael Levy, Joan Marie Verba

5:00-5:30 PM Railroad Lobby (near Registration)
Massive Autographing: David G. Hartwell, Joan Slonczewski, Lyda Morehouse, John Calvin Rezmerski, Roy C. Booth, Catherine Lundoff

Sunday, July 31:

Noon-12:55 PM Main Krushenko's Annex (Northern Pacific)
Panel: Thor: The God, the Comic, the Movie
We'll dip a bit into Norse mythology, dip a bit more into the comic created (1962-) by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby, then consider the May movie. God-like or Thunderously Disappointing?
Lyda Morehous, mod.; S.N. Arly, Eleanor Arnason, Roy C. Booth, Terry Faust

3:00-3:55 PM Main Stage
Discussion: The Works of Lyda Morehouse and Tate Hallaway
Come, talk and ask questions about the work of our Special Guest and her mysterious alter ego.
David Lenander, mod.; Lyda Morehouse. Sponsored by the Rivendell Group, a fantasy-book discussion group that has met regularly since late 1973 or early 1974.

5:00-5:30 PM Main Stage
Closing Ceremonies
Scott Lohman, MC; David G. Hartwell, Lyda Morehouse, John Calvin Rezmerski, Eric M. Heideman; Joan Slonczewski, C.L. Moore, in absentia

Finally Saw Captain America: First Avenger

Last night I went to "Captain America: First Avenger" with Eleanor and seanmmurphy . I have to agree with what Laura Anne Gilman pointed out on Goggle+, which is that the movie completely fails the Bechdel Test, but, it's still an awesome superhero movie.

For my money, though I'm a huge Cap fan, "Thor" was more fun. Eleanor and I have been talking about this from the moment the credits rolled, and one of the things I decided is that Captain America's orgin story is difficult to tell partly because he was a honest-to-goodness propaganda tool when issue #1 came out. There's this whole history of him as a gosh-gee, "buy war bonds" kind of hero (which the movie found a clever way to acknowledge.) Captain America as we have come to love him really doesn't come into his own as a complicated character until he becomes "a man out of time." That's when he gets his Marvel "issues," at least.

That being said, I think that the writers did an excellent job of finding a good theme and sticking to it. As Eleanor cleverly pointed out on FB, "Thor is about a superhero learning to be a decent human being; Captain America is about a decent human being learning to be a superhero." (Iron Man, I pointed out, as a collelary, is about an indecent man learning decency.)

I ended up finding more to like about Steve Rogers as a character than I think a lot of the critics did. Part of that, of course, is that I have a long history with him, which I can't help but carry into any movie about Cap. Another thing, however, was the "movie magic" they performed by giving the 90-pound weakling so much screen time before he becomes the buff super-soldier Rogers becomes. I'd never spent much time with the "earlier" Cap in my head -- who he was, at his core, before he took the super-soldier formula. (Note: I was first introduced to Cap via the Avengers and was not a regular reader of his individual title until really, REALLY recently. Think: Brubaker's "Winter Soldier") At any rate, that meant that the grenade scene was new to me (though I understand it's canon, yes?) For me, that provided all the character I needed. Steve Rogers, before any augmentation, is that guy who is going to run INTO the burning building, instead of away from it.

Say what you will about Bendis, but I've come to appreciate his constant, unwavering, and in-depth exploration of what it means to be a HERO. That moment reminded me of one of my favorite quotable lines from NEW AVENGERS: Breakout, where Spider-Man is headed toward the prison breakout not knowing even what's going on, thinking, basically, "what new cosmic fiasco" am I running TOWARDS?

Other people, including Chris Lough at Tor.com have suggested that the saving grace of this film is it's more interesting side characters (Dr. Erskine, Peggy Carter and Tommy Lee Jones's Colonel) that carry this film. That might be true, but to be fair, I've always thought Captain America is a better ensemble player, anyway... so it worked for me.

As a side note, I love the movie-version of Bucky a lot. I totally saw Brubaker's Winter Soldier echoed there especially in the scene on the train (that's all I'll say in an effort to keep this review mostly-spoiler free. Hopefully, I've said nothing above that you haven't seen in the trailer.)

Anyway, I'm SUPER-excited that I'm going to get to talk about this with all y'all at Diversicon.

Weekend Report

This weekend was Mason's birthday. He turned eight, which I can hardly believe. For some reason, this birthday, Shawn and I were very much reminded of all the things that happened on his very FIRST birthday... which made him seem that much older.

We'd planned a party for the kids through a place in Edina called Adventure Peak. For the people who'd never been, I described it as "a McDonald's Playland without the McDonald's and a LOT bigger." There's also, though, an attached "Great Hall," which is a big gym with places to play basketball, scoot scooters around, and jump in a castle bouncey-house. Mason invited a bunch of kids this time from all his various activities, including some kids from the Montessouri side of his school who are in his advanced readers' group. Also, some of our friends from kuk sool wan. We tried to encourage Mason to pick a number of people from each "non-classmate" group so that no one would show up not knowing anyone besides Mason, and that actually turned out well. The one kid that ended up coming from KSW made friends pretty easily because he'd brought along his DS and there are a number of game-enthusists among Mason's buddies.

I think it was a success for the kids, certainly. Even though we had the party at noon, we didn't end up serving lunch. I let the parents know that they should bring their kids pre-fed, but we did serve lots of cake, fruit and juice. We also brought along a bunch of water bottles that got consumed very readily. In fact, if we do this again, we've determined to bring MORE water, and possibly colored rubber bands or a Sharpie so that kids can mark their water bottles as to whose was whose.

But we were very laisez fair about the whole thing once we were set up. We let kids run off and play right away, gathered them briefly for treats, and then sent them off again with the understanding that they could come back for cake or fruit or juice or water at any time. Shawn staffed the tables to make sure food and drink stayed at the table. We also decided not to do one of those (IMHO) awkward present-opening moments, if only because it seemed a shame to make kids sit still to watch Mason, when slides and bouncey-houses awaited.

Plus, those things can be awkward because some presents delight more than others, and then you have to spend time making sure no feelings get hurt and Mason behaves with decorum.... (which he SHOULD, but it much easier to do in private rather than public, you know?)

Anyway, it was very fun. I think we may even do it again next year.

We came home an Skyped grandma and grandpa Morehouse (which we got to work. I used Shawn's iTouch and Gramma and Gramps called the test center and did a bit of adjusting too.) It was a bit hard to focus the tiny screen on Mason as he moved around, but I think that went pretty well too. Mason still has very little patience for phone conversations, especially when presents were opened and there were LEGOs and whatnot to put together, but I think he did pretty well given all the distractions.

Today... today I'm coming down from all that. I'm feeling a bit old, prickly, and tenacously grumpy. I guess it's Monday for me. I'm looking forward to getting back to KSW tonight. We missed all last week due to the extreme heat, so my muscles are tight and creaky. In fact, last night I had a very strange dream involving KSW that was a play on a reoccuring dream I have about being an understudy who gets called to perfrom, only somehow I never learned the play, etc., etc. In this one, I turned up at KSW to discover I was supposed to be part of a complicated demo...

...also I had another Neil Gaiman dream. Only this time, it involved his house. Except, of course, it wasn't his real house, but the one I imagine in my dreams. I dreamed that Shawn and I were driving by his house, which was situated on a hill, and discovered that the city was cutting down all the trees that had blocked it from view. We were scandalized to discover that it was completely falling apart!

Mr. Gaiman is often a stand-in for "fame" in my dreams, so if I were to play Dr. Freud with myself, I would say that some part of me is afraid that, if the things that shield me in my public life were stripped away, everyone would discover a broken shell underneath.

Not surprisingly, I'm feeling a bit paranoid about my career today. ;-)

Just to be Clear

It's been pointed out to me that sometimes the way I say things on this blog (and probably in Real Life TM,) come off differently than I intended. For instance when I say that Diversicon is a tiny con, that was NOT meant as a dis in anyway. Small is awesome for many reasons, not the least of which is that a person can have real, meaningful and in-depth conversations in a way that isn't always possible at the bigger cons where there's just so much to do and see.

Some of my fondest con experiences have happened at Diversicon, specifically, and smaller cons in general, and what I was trying to express was great enthusiasm. In all honesty, I absolutely do think MORE people should come to Diversicon because, when they don't, they're missing out.

I really hope you (you know who you are!) will consider coming this year and giving it a try. Eric Heideman is an EXCELLENT program director and I know he also has a very talented staff working with him this year, as every year. You may know some of his programming tracks from CONvergence and/or anywhere Kruschenko's is found. Diversicon, in fact, is kind of like a larger version of Kruschenko's, so if you've enjoyed that, you'll LOVE Diversicon.

I also heard that it's not too late to sign up to attend, and, possibly with some begging, get on a programming panel or two (although don't hold me to that last one, as Diversicon IS next weekend.)

Anyway, I just wanted to make sure that no one read my last post in the wrong light. I adore Diveriscon and I'm extremely honored and grateful to have been given an oppotunity to be a guest there, especially when you look at the luminaries attending with me this year, and the caliber of people who have guested in the past. My only fault is that I think it's a shame that more people don't go. So, dang it, come this year! You'll be impressed.

Uh, this is coming up FAST!

I don't have my list of appearances yet, but I wanted to remind everyone that Diveriscon (guest of honor, includes among others, *moi*) is NEXT WEEKEND (July 29 - 31).

Also:

On Thursday, July 28, the Speculations Readings Series presents a discussion: "Dark Descents, Ascending Wonders: The Worlds of Speculative Fiction" featuring DAVID G. HARTWELL, LYDA MOREHOUSE, and JOHN CALVIN REZMERSKI. See the Diversicon 19 Guests page for more about these three authors. The event will take place 6:30-7:30pm at DreamHaven Books, 2301 E. 38th St., Minneapolis.

Please, please, please, PLEASE come to Diversicon. It's a tiny little con, and, in all honesty I'm a little worried about being stuck there without someone as cool as YOU to talk to.

I promise to be as entertaining as possible.