Sarah Black's Blog: Book Report, page 9
September 3, 2013
Home on the Range- Back in Boise
The kid and I moved into our new place in Boise this weekend. This is the end, my friends, of a difficult two years of moving and trying to find a place. Many adventures and fine places to visit, but we decided to not settle in Albuquerque, Taos, Truth or Consequences, Koro Island Fiji, or Portland. It took two years of roaming but we decided to come back home to Boise.
The new apartment is great, with a huge shady back porch and a spot right next to a big window for my desk. The furniture arrived late yesterday and I immediately opened twelve boxes until I found my bamboo back scratcher, which apparently I cannot do without. Then, with boxes and bubble wrap everywhere, I took the backscratcher and went to the desk to work on the new story.
The new place is on a lake, and I plan to take my Wal-Mart fishing pole down to the water to cast. I don’t want to actually have to touch a fish, due to a traumatic fish incident in childhood, but I love to cast and hang about by the lake. If I want to get a small kayak or rowboat, I can tie it up to the dock. If I want to get away from the kid, I can row my boat out to the middle of the lake and lean back and think about stories! I suspect he will be cheering from the dock while I am cheering from the boat.
My parents are aghast that I am still living in apartments, at my age. The kid would also like a house, but that’s because he thinks of houses as places where the boys don’t have autism and there is a dad out cutting the lawn. I bought a house when I was twenty-five, and that thing felt like a rock around my neck until I was able to sell it. I’ve always loved to move, and living in apartments facilitated this maladaptive behavior. Now I’m determined to not move again, but I still like living in apartments. I call this guy for maintenance when the fridge isn’t getting cold, and go back to work until he comes.
I’m starting to think the key to writing well is to minimize all other distractions in life, and then lean in until my eyeballs bleed. Now I have my backscratcher and a bottle of Tylenol to deal with the consequences of moving boxes, and a cool rainy day outside my window, I’m ready to take over the world!
The new apartment is great, with a huge shady back porch and a spot right next to a big window for my desk. The furniture arrived late yesterday and I immediately opened twelve boxes until I found my bamboo back scratcher, which apparently I cannot do without. Then, with boxes and bubble wrap everywhere, I took the backscratcher and went to the desk to work on the new story.
The new place is on a lake, and I plan to take my Wal-Mart fishing pole down to the water to cast. I don’t want to actually have to touch a fish, due to a traumatic fish incident in childhood, but I love to cast and hang about by the lake. If I want to get a small kayak or rowboat, I can tie it up to the dock. If I want to get away from the kid, I can row my boat out to the middle of the lake and lean back and think about stories! I suspect he will be cheering from the dock while I am cheering from the boat.
My parents are aghast that I am still living in apartments, at my age. The kid would also like a house, but that’s because he thinks of houses as places where the boys don’t have autism and there is a dad out cutting the lawn. I bought a house when I was twenty-five, and that thing felt like a rock around my neck until I was able to sell it. I’ve always loved to move, and living in apartments facilitated this maladaptive behavior. Now I’m determined to not move again, but I still like living in apartments. I call this guy for maintenance when the fridge isn’t getting cold, and go back to work until he comes.
I’m starting to think the key to writing well is to minimize all other distractions in life, and then lean in until my eyeballs bleed. Now I have my backscratcher and a bottle of Tylenol to deal with the consequences of moving boxes, and a cool rainy day outside my window, I’m ready to take over the world!
August 27, 2013
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys! Cast of Characters for the new book
Cast of Characters for The General and the Elephant Clock of Al-Jazari!
General John Mitchel:
John Mitchel is a retired army brigadier general, a scholar and leader. His last assignment before retirement was for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he made his reputation as a man who could find peaceful solutions to some of the world’s thorniest problems. After retirement he brought his skills and knowledge to the academic world, and, at the urging of his longtime lover, Gabriel Sanchez, took the first steps out of the closet.
The Horse-Lord, Gabriel Sanchez:
A legend among the wild brotherhood of helicopter pilots for his daring and bravery, Gabriel Sanchez was the man who had John Mitchel’s back during twenty-five years of military service. He also had John’s heart, and loved him with great passion. After the army, Gabriel went to law school, took the bar in Albuquerque. He convinced John the time was right for them to step out of the shadows and love in the light.
The Families:
Kim Baker: John’s beloved nephew, adopted from a Korean orphanage when he was six months old. An artist, Kim has a wild and brilliant mind, and John spends much of his waking time wondering what Kim is up to and how to keep him safe.
Abdullah al-Salim: The son of John’s old professor. Gabriel and John rescued Abdullah from war-torn Kuwait when he was a child. A cellist with the San Francisco Symphony, Abdullah has been roped into one of Kim’s projects.
Billy Dial: A young art student, Billy lives with John and Gabriel since his attack by an abusive professor several months earlier.
Cody Dial: Billy’s father and a former world champion bull rider, Cody Dial is a man of action, not words. He has a cattle ranch in Cheyenne.
Martha Sanchez: Gabriel’s wife, Martha is furious and heartbroken since he asked her for a divorce. She doesn’t give a shit if John and Gabriel have been in love for twenty-five years, but she is trying to keep it together for the kids.
Juan Sanchez: Gabriel’s son is fifteen and he’s having a crisis of his own.
Martie Sanchez: Martie thought the whole thing was cool until she realized her dad was actually moving out of the house.
General David Painter: a former colleague, David Painter hires John to head up a rescue mission for a couple of his men thrown into prison in Tunisia.
The Wardroom in Tunisia:
Sam Brightman: a former Ranger, Sam is roped into duty as General Mitchel’s aide.
Jennifer Painter: General Painter’s daughter, Jen has been in Tunisia, developing a network for pro-democracy women bloggers. She thinks it’s her fault the guys were thrown into prison.
Eli Hannibal Green: Beat up and thrown in prison for blasphemy, Eli just wanted to look at a picture of the elephant clock on his first trip to Carthage.
Daniel Forsyth: Eli’s best friend, he went along for the trip and to watch his buddy’s back. He’s looked up to the Horse-Lord since he was a kid.
Wylie and Jackson: USMC, assigned to the embassy, they provide security at critical moments.
Friendlies in Tunisia:
Greg Mortimer: Regional security officer at the US embassy in Tunis.
Madeline Grant: Head of station for the US embassy, Tunis.
Youssef Shakir: a man of great heart and bravery, father to Amira, a pro-democracy blogger on the run from the Salafists, and also the father to the young doctor who came to their aid.
The director of the Bardo Museum, Ibrahim ibn Saeed ibn Ahmad al-Aziz: A man of great wisdom and learning, he offers his hand to Eli and Daniel and helps them bring a sky full of color and joy to Carthage.
Bad Guys in Tunisia:
Ali Bahktar and his gang of Salafist thugs and bullies. Ali has been a thorn in John’s backside since he was a teenager.
General John Mitchel:
John Mitchel is a retired army brigadier general, a scholar and leader. His last assignment before retirement was for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he made his reputation as a man who could find peaceful solutions to some of the world’s thorniest problems. After retirement he brought his skills and knowledge to the academic world, and, at the urging of his longtime lover, Gabriel Sanchez, took the first steps out of the closet.
The Horse-Lord, Gabriel Sanchez:
A legend among the wild brotherhood of helicopter pilots for his daring and bravery, Gabriel Sanchez was the man who had John Mitchel’s back during twenty-five years of military service. He also had John’s heart, and loved him with great passion. After the army, Gabriel went to law school, took the bar in Albuquerque. He convinced John the time was right for them to step out of the shadows and love in the light.
The Families:
Kim Baker: John’s beloved nephew, adopted from a Korean orphanage when he was six months old. An artist, Kim has a wild and brilliant mind, and John spends much of his waking time wondering what Kim is up to and how to keep him safe.
Abdullah al-Salim: The son of John’s old professor. Gabriel and John rescued Abdullah from war-torn Kuwait when he was a child. A cellist with the San Francisco Symphony, Abdullah has been roped into one of Kim’s projects.
Billy Dial: A young art student, Billy lives with John and Gabriel since his attack by an abusive professor several months earlier.
Cody Dial: Billy’s father and a former world champion bull rider, Cody Dial is a man of action, not words. He has a cattle ranch in Cheyenne.
Martha Sanchez: Gabriel’s wife, Martha is furious and heartbroken since he asked her for a divorce. She doesn’t give a shit if John and Gabriel have been in love for twenty-five years, but she is trying to keep it together for the kids.
Juan Sanchez: Gabriel’s son is fifteen and he’s having a crisis of his own.
Martie Sanchez: Martie thought the whole thing was cool until she realized her dad was actually moving out of the house.
General David Painter: a former colleague, David Painter hires John to head up a rescue mission for a couple of his men thrown into prison in Tunisia.
The Wardroom in Tunisia:
Sam Brightman: a former Ranger, Sam is roped into duty as General Mitchel’s aide.
Jennifer Painter: General Painter’s daughter, Jen has been in Tunisia, developing a network for pro-democracy women bloggers. She thinks it’s her fault the guys were thrown into prison.
Eli Hannibal Green: Beat up and thrown in prison for blasphemy, Eli just wanted to look at a picture of the elephant clock on his first trip to Carthage.
Daniel Forsyth: Eli’s best friend, he went along for the trip and to watch his buddy’s back. He’s looked up to the Horse-Lord since he was a kid.
Wylie and Jackson: USMC, assigned to the embassy, they provide security at critical moments.
Friendlies in Tunisia:
Greg Mortimer: Regional security officer at the US embassy in Tunis.
Madeline Grant: Head of station for the US embassy, Tunis.
Youssef Shakir: a man of great heart and bravery, father to Amira, a pro-democracy blogger on the run from the Salafists, and also the father to the young doctor who came to their aid.
The director of the Bardo Museum, Ibrahim ibn Saeed ibn Ahmad al-Aziz: A man of great wisdom and learning, he offers his hand to Eli and Daniel and helps them bring a sky full of color and joy to Carthage.
Bad Guys in Tunisia:
Ali Bahktar and his gang of Salafist thugs and bullies. Ali has been a thorn in John’s backside since he was a teenager.
August 21, 2013
Blurb for The General and the Elephant Clock of Al-Jazari!
Fresh out of the closet, General John Mitchel and Gabriel Sanchez are settling into their new life together when an old army colleague taps them for a rescue mission to Tunisia. Eli and Daniel, two former Rangers working security, have been arrested in Carthage, charged with blasphemy and thrown into prison.
With rampant unrest in the ancient city and an old enemy targeting them, John gathers a team to liberate the two captive men. When he discovers Eli’s boyhood obsession with Al-Jazari’s Elephant Clock, the rescue becomes complicated and strangely beautiful, and John and Gabriel have to risk what they love the most to bring their team home.
So happy and excited about the new book! OCTOBER!!
With rampant unrest in the ancient city and an old enemy targeting them, John gathers a team to liberate the two captive men. When he discovers Eli’s boyhood obsession with Al-Jazari’s Elephant Clock, the rescue becomes complicated and strangely beautiful, and John and Gabriel have to risk what they love the most to bring their team home.
So happy and excited about the new book! OCTOBER!!
August 18, 2013
August 11, 2013
Alternate Methods of Characterization- a summary of Robert Boswell's article in Tin House
Robert Boswell’s essay on Alternate Methods of Characterization
The summer issue of Tin House had a very interesting essay on alternate methods of characterization called How I Met My Wife by Robert Boswell. Wonderful essay, and if you can, get a copy of the issue and read it. For those who can’t get their paws on a copy of Tin House, I wanted to summarize some of the interesting ways Mr. Boswell suggested we consider alternate characterization in the article.
1. Blindness and the Unreliable Narrator: Mr. B describes an incident where he did not recognize a woman he was looking for, though she was sitting right in front of him. He didn’t see her because she was sitting with a man, and this particular woman sitting with a man was not a scenario that was able to penetrate his mind. He literally couldn’t see her. This blindness on the part of his character suggests the state of his mind with lovely clarity. It is a great subtle trick to write a point of view character who does not see something that everyone else sees, including the reader.
We have all had the experience of being blind to the faults of those we love. Taking that a bit further, and our characters can be literally blind to faults in those they love. They can literally not hear, not see. Love makes us fools, but we have all been fools, so we can forgive it in ourselves and in our characters.
This is one of the reasons I love a single POV character in a story. It’s so much more real, to have to stay in one mind, like we do in our own, and muddle through the blindness and confusion of a single person trying to figure out how another person thinks and feels.
2. The manner in which a character approaches the mysterious, or inscrutable—can define them. The character faces an unknowable, or inscrutable character or event, and that inscrutable character acts as a mirror, reflecting the person back. Take an obvious example of a husband and wife in the middle of a fight, but the husband refuses to argue, sits at the table and reads his paper and ignores his wife. We don’t know what he’s up to or why he’s behaving this way. But we are going to know quite a bit about his wife by how she responds to his behavior. Does she get louder and louder, her voice rising shrilly until she’s hysterical? Does she reach over and pinch him hard enough to leave a bruise? Does she go silent, and serve him a breakfast without a word with the toast burnt black as coal? Can we see the scene, with neither of them speaking, and he is reading the paper and she is holding a very sharp knife behind him, leaning against the stove, running her finger along the edge?
3. A defining characteristic—a reductionist approach, but very powerful. Greed, or lust, or hunger. Not a cardboard cutout of a character, but one characteristic which tends to overwhelm other, more moderating characteristics. Easy to do this with evil, of course, but an interesting challenge to do it with love. How would we write a character who is so full of love that the other parts of her character are subsumed? Would she be sympathetic or tragic or a joke? Strong, or a weak reed? Blanche Dubois or Mother Theresa?
4. Comparison and contrast: this can be physical characteristics, of course, but more interesting when we see the contrast between the ways characters respond to a situation. Boswell describes The Wheel, which is a technique I particularly love, as a single place or event, and you run all your characters through it, and see how they act. Here’s an example. We have a man with his dog in the park. He has a tennis ball and he’s trying to get the dog to play fetch. The dog will not play until the man accidentally throws the ball into the pond, and then the dog wades into the water and brings the ball back, sopping wet. If my pov character was this dope with the dog, I would love to run some characters through the park with him, see what they would do.
Who is going to yell at the dog, then ignore him if he won’t play? Who is going to wade into the pond after the dog in a panic, thinking he’s about to drown? Who’s going to run like mad away from the dog, because he’s sopping wet and about to shake muddy water over everyone in his path?
There was an episode of a TV show I like, Longmire, which did this idea of characterization particularly well. The sheriff’s daughter was the victim of a hit and run. It didn’t take long to figure out what had actually happened, but then every single person in this girl’s life figured out how her hit and run was really their fault, because of something they had done or not done, and they went about trying to punish themselves in a way that was unique to their particular natures. Very subtle and very human.
5. Put a character in your story who says what most people know not to say: But I beg of you, no more autistic characters. As the mom of an autistic kid, I’m sick to death of them in every show and story. They’re everywhere. It’s true autistic kids say exactly what they’re thinking, and don’t have the social skills of a peanut, but other people say stupid things as well. Give us a break, okay?
Okay, so the point of this character who speaks the truth when it is socially inappropriate—it is an excellent character tool, to show how people respond to this behavior. Other socially inappropriate behavior could work well here, too—give our characters a chance to reveal themselves. Some people are going to be kind, and some are not.
6. The forced choice—usually a moral dilemma. You have to choose death for yourself or the rest of Planet Xerxes. What if Jim had to pick Mr. Spock or Bones? What did it tell us about Captain Kirk that he refused to play by the rules during the Kobiashi Maru? When there is no good choice, what sort of choice is your boy going to make?
7. Say the hardest things about your characters. Push to get at their deepest and ugliest motivations. This makes them real. It makes us recognize them as brothers. It makes their choice to be a good man that much more painful and beautiful. This is very very hard to do well.
The summer issue of Tin House had a very interesting essay on alternate methods of characterization called How I Met My Wife by Robert Boswell. Wonderful essay, and if you can, get a copy of the issue and read it. For those who can’t get their paws on a copy of Tin House, I wanted to summarize some of the interesting ways Mr. Boswell suggested we consider alternate characterization in the article.
1. Blindness and the Unreliable Narrator: Mr. B describes an incident where he did not recognize a woman he was looking for, though she was sitting right in front of him. He didn’t see her because she was sitting with a man, and this particular woman sitting with a man was not a scenario that was able to penetrate his mind. He literally couldn’t see her. This blindness on the part of his character suggests the state of his mind with lovely clarity. It is a great subtle trick to write a point of view character who does not see something that everyone else sees, including the reader.
We have all had the experience of being blind to the faults of those we love. Taking that a bit further, and our characters can be literally blind to faults in those they love. They can literally not hear, not see. Love makes us fools, but we have all been fools, so we can forgive it in ourselves and in our characters.
This is one of the reasons I love a single POV character in a story. It’s so much more real, to have to stay in one mind, like we do in our own, and muddle through the blindness and confusion of a single person trying to figure out how another person thinks and feels.
2. The manner in which a character approaches the mysterious, or inscrutable—can define them. The character faces an unknowable, or inscrutable character or event, and that inscrutable character acts as a mirror, reflecting the person back. Take an obvious example of a husband and wife in the middle of a fight, but the husband refuses to argue, sits at the table and reads his paper and ignores his wife. We don’t know what he’s up to or why he’s behaving this way. But we are going to know quite a bit about his wife by how she responds to his behavior. Does she get louder and louder, her voice rising shrilly until she’s hysterical? Does she reach over and pinch him hard enough to leave a bruise? Does she go silent, and serve him a breakfast without a word with the toast burnt black as coal? Can we see the scene, with neither of them speaking, and he is reading the paper and she is holding a very sharp knife behind him, leaning against the stove, running her finger along the edge?
3. A defining characteristic—a reductionist approach, but very powerful. Greed, or lust, or hunger. Not a cardboard cutout of a character, but one characteristic which tends to overwhelm other, more moderating characteristics. Easy to do this with evil, of course, but an interesting challenge to do it with love. How would we write a character who is so full of love that the other parts of her character are subsumed? Would she be sympathetic or tragic or a joke? Strong, or a weak reed? Blanche Dubois or Mother Theresa?
4. Comparison and contrast: this can be physical characteristics, of course, but more interesting when we see the contrast between the ways characters respond to a situation. Boswell describes The Wheel, which is a technique I particularly love, as a single place or event, and you run all your characters through it, and see how they act. Here’s an example. We have a man with his dog in the park. He has a tennis ball and he’s trying to get the dog to play fetch. The dog will not play until the man accidentally throws the ball into the pond, and then the dog wades into the water and brings the ball back, sopping wet. If my pov character was this dope with the dog, I would love to run some characters through the park with him, see what they would do.
Who is going to yell at the dog, then ignore him if he won’t play? Who is going to wade into the pond after the dog in a panic, thinking he’s about to drown? Who’s going to run like mad away from the dog, because he’s sopping wet and about to shake muddy water over everyone in his path?
There was an episode of a TV show I like, Longmire, which did this idea of characterization particularly well. The sheriff’s daughter was the victim of a hit and run. It didn’t take long to figure out what had actually happened, but then every single person in this girl’s life figured out how her hit and run was really their fault, because of something they had done or not done, and they went about trying to punish themselves in a way that was unique to their particular natures. Very subtle and very human.
5. Put a character in your story who says what most people know not to say: But I beg of you, no more autistic characters. As the mom of an autistic kid, I’m sick to death of them in every show and story. They’re everywhere. It’s true autistic kids say exactly what they’re thinking, and don’t have the social skills of a peanut, but other people say stupid things as well. Give us a break, okay?
Okay, so the point of this character who speaks the truth when it is socially inappropriate—it is an excellent character tool, to show how people respond to this behavior. Other socially inappropriate behavior could work well here, too—give our characters a chance to reveal themselves. Some people are going to be kind, and some are not.
6. The forced choice—usually a moral dilemma. You have to choose death for yourself or the rest of Planet Xerxes. What if Jim had to pick Mr. Spock or Bones? What did it tell us about Captain Kirk that he refused to play by the rules during the Kobiashi Maru? When there is no good choice, what sort of choice is your boy going to make?
7. Say the hardest things about your characters. Push to get at their deepest and ugliest motivations. This makes them real. It makes us recognize them as brothers. It makes their choice to be a good man that much more painful and beautiful. This is very very hard to do well.
August 10, 2013
Tablet Tips for the Clueless
Tablet Tips
At work, we use Samsung Galaxy tablet computers to file records and do our work. The IT department sends us out these messages called Tablet Tips. We’re slow old ladies and have a hard time with the new technology. They are very good at giving us Tablet Tips but what I’ve noticed is they don’t really get what happens with those tablets out in the real world.
Most of my tablet mishaps seem to happen around lunchtime. Why am I still eating like a teenager? I know if I had salad these things would not have happened. Because adults don’t carry their food, right? And try to use a touchscreen tablet? I swear I’m just trying to work while I eat lunch, but things keep going wrong.
Tablet Tip #1: Do not eat pizza at Guido’s and try to use your touchscreen tablet. If you do, do not go into the bathroom and use that foamy soap to try and clean the grease off the screen.
Tablet Tip #2: If you have chicken tenders for lunch, and you eat them driving, don’t use your tablet as a paper plate. Because if you do, then at the next house a German Shepard will sniff the leather cover of the tablet. He will take the computer between his teeth and pull it out of your hands and run away with it.
Tablet Tip #3: You go to the park to eat your peanut butter and jelly while you work on your tablet. You don’t notice when a small blob of boysenberry jam falls from your pbj onto the tablet. But you do see when a couple of interested bumblebees, or maybe they’re wasps, land on the tablet to investigate. If this happens, do not throw the tablet away from you, and then jump up and rub the touchscreen into the grass to save yourself.
I swear, those IT guys. I would call them jerks but I probably need them.
At work, we use Samsung Galaxy tablet computers to file records and do our work. The IT department sends us out these messages called Tablet Tips. We’re slow old ladies and have a hard time with the new technology. They are very good at giving us Tablet Tips but what I’ve noticed is they don’t really get what happens with those tablets out in the real world.
Most of my tablet mishaps seem to happen around lunchtime. Why am I still eating like a teenager? I know if I had salad these things would not have happened. Because adults don’t carry their food, right? And try to use a touchscreen tablet? I swear I’m just trying to work while I eat lunch, but things keep going wrong.
Tablet Tip #1: Do not eat pizza at Guido’s and try to use your touchscreen tablet. If you do, do not go into the bathroom and use that foamy soap to try and clean the grease off the screen.
Tablet Tip #2: If you have chicken tenders for lunch, and you eat them driving, don’t use your tablet as a paper plate. Because if you do, then at the next house a German Shepard will sniff the leather cover of the tablet. He will take the computer between his teeth and pull it out of your hands and run away with it.
Tablet Tip #3: You go to the park to eat your peanut butter and jelly while you work on your tablet. You don’t notice when a small blob of boysenberry jam falls from your pbj onto the tablet. But you do see when a couple of interested bumblebees, or maybe they’re wasps, land on the tablet to investigate. If this happens, do not throw the tablet away from you, and then jump up and rub the touchscreen into the grass to save yourself.
I swear, those IT guys. I would call them jerks but I probably need them.
August 8, 2013
The Stupidest Thing I Ever Said During Sex
And the stupidest thing ever said to me--
I'm getting to be that age when I can make a list of stupid things I've done, stupid financial moves, things I wish I had not said to my mother, etc. So this morning I was thinking of the stupidest things I've ever said during sex. Oddly enough, in both of the examples below, alcohol was involved!
Age 16, and I had drank most of a bottle of Boone's Farm Strawberry Wine, and consented to give my sister's boyfriend a blow job. About 30 seconds in, I had to excuse myself to throw up. When I returned, he said, "Do I disgust you?"
I said, "No, I'm just drunk. Otherwise I would never be giving my sister's boyfriend a blow job."
Stupidest thing ever said to me during sex: I can't remember this guy's name. I assume he slunk away to hide in shame. He pulled the covers up to my chest, kissed me,and said, "Make sure you drink plenty of water so you don't get dehydrated. You've lost a lot of fluid."
Now I have that off my chest I can go to work and try not to say anything stupid!
I'm getting to be that age when I can make a list of stupid things I've done, stupid financial moves, things I wish I had not said to my mother, etc. So this morning I was thinking of the stupidest things I've ever said during sex. Oddly enough, in both of the examples below, alcohol was involved!
Age 16, and I had drank most of a bottle of Boone's Farm Strawberry Wine, and consented to give my sister's boyfriend a blow job. About 30 seconds in, I had to excuse myself to throw up. When I returned, he said, "Do I disgust you?"
I said, "No, I'm just drunk. Otherwise I would never be giving my sister's boyfriend a blow job."
Stupidest thing ever said to me during sex: I can't remember this guy's name. I assume he slunk away to hide in shame. He pulled the covers up to my chest, kissed me,and said, "Make sure you drink plenty of water so you don't get dehydrated. You've lost a lot of fluid."
Now I have that off my chest I can go to work and try not to say anything stupid!
August 4, 2013
Amor Vincit Omnia
Yesterday I was on the way to Oregon City for the Saturday matinee with my son. About once a month we go to the movies when something is playing we both can stand to watch. Yesterday we saw 2 Guns, which was very funny, Denzel can rock a silk Hawaiian shirt, and the kid enjoyed the American muscle cars driving really fast and the buddy-banter. He adores movies with two men who are fast friends and American muscle cars. Which is why we have seen the Fast and the Furious numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Also, in this movie there was a glimpse of bare breasts. In the Fast and the Furious, hot pants and platform sandals are the fashion choice of the girls who hang around the cars, and bend over the hoods in slo-mo.
So this is one way I provide my son with some male role models and social interaction. Just kidding. And I like to drive from Portland out to Oregon City for the matinee because I think about stories when I’m driving, and yesterday I wanted to work out this idea I’ve been playing with.
We can drive in the car together easily. We’ve done so many long distance trips, because I like to get in the car and drive, and have no problem leaving the state when I need some space, and the kid has a car-charger for his Nintendo. He lives in his autistic world and I live in my fictional world and we meet at the Golden Arches to chat. We get along surprisingly well, and I worry about that sometimes. But yesterday, on the way to see 2 Guns, he said, “Mom, are you thinking about a story? You’ve got that look again. And you just missed the exit.”
“You’re supposed to remind me when we’re getting close to the exit.”
But in fact I was thinking about a story, and wondering if I was going to over-reach. I had an idea that was out there- way out there, and I had spent the drive refining it. But I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off. And I was feeling very clever, until I realized it was not really my great idea, because I had seen Cloud Atlas when it came to the movie theater and something of my great idea owed itself to the time-twisting and humanism of this movie.
So we took the next exit, and the long way around, and I put the idea away to enjoy the movie. And it was a very cute movie, the plot your basic: American individuals against the evil forces of big governmental organizations. Oh, the evil that happens to men when they join organizations that go by their initials! But there were good looking guys and muscle cars and guns and the mentioned bare breasts, so we both gave it a thumbs up.
Now it was time for part two of the Saturday plan, a trip to the book store. My son reads those Japanese anime books, in rigid order. This gave me about ten minutes driving to work out the plan. Okay, so the time-travel aspect of the story was not unique. Did that mean I had to abandon the idea completely? Could I take the characters and send them into some Post-Apocalyptic dystopia, rather than the past? Then I digressed, imagined sending Christopher Marlowe and Caravaggio together into post-apocalyptic Boise, gave them some guns and muscle cars, kicking ass in the ruins. No, I did not see any way that could work.
But my story could work. Maybe. Several problem areas, the biggest is—what if I can’t pull it off in a convincing way? I’m not that into historical and not that into paranormal. Could I send some characters time travelling and convince myself? Hmm, maybe. Would anyone understand the title? The references? Would anyone bother to look it up?
I get a new book at the bookstore, Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and spend the rest of the day and some of the night, reading. I don’t even know what to say. Yes, yes, yes, stories can do anything. Stories can lift the world onto their shoulders. They can rest in the palm of your hand like a translucent piece of beach glass, the blue green colors of the ocean hiding deep inside. Stories are the way we make sense of things, the way we process experiences, the way we learn about each other. Stories are the magic in the world, little pieces of the human heart, and we can’t help ourselves but to give them away.
So this is one way I provide my son with some male role models and social interaction. Just kidding. And I like to drive from Portland out to Oregon City for the matinee because I think about stories when I’m driving, and yesterday I wanted to work out this idea I’ve been playing with.
We can drive in the car together easily. We’ve done so many long distance trips, because I like to get in the car and drive, and have no problem leaving the state when I need some space, and the kid has a car-charger for his Nintendo. He lives in his autistic world and I live in my fictional world and we meet at the Golden Arches to chat. We get along surprisingly well, and I worry about that sometimes. But yesterday, on the way to see 2 Guns, he said, “Mom, are you thinking about a story? You’ve got that look again. And you just missed the exit.”
“You’re supposed to remind me when we’re getting close to the exit.”
But in fact I was thinking about a story, and wondering if I was going to over-reach. I had an idea that was out there- way out there, and I had spent the drive refining it. But I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off. And I was feeling very clever, until I realized it was not really my great idea, because I had seen Cloud Atlas when it came to the movie theater and something of my great idea owed itself to the time-twisting and humanism of this movie.
So we took the next exit, and the long way around, and I put the idea away to enjoy the movie. And it was a very cute movie, the plot your basic: American individuals against the evil forces of big governmental organizations. Oh, the evil that happens to men when they join organizations that go by their initials! But there were good looking guys and muscle cars and guns and the mentioned bare breasts, so we both gave it a thumbs up.
Now it was time for part two of the Saturday plan, a trip to the book store. My son reads those Japanese anime books, in rigid order. This gave me about ten minutes driving to work out the plan. Okay, so the time-travel aspect of the story was not unique. Did that mean I had to abandon the idea completely? Could I take the characters and send them into some Post-Apocalyptic dystopia, rather than the past? Then I digressed, imagined sending Christopher Marlowe and Caravaggio together into post-apocalyptic Boise, gave them some guns and muscle cars, kicking ass in the ruins. No, I did not see any way that could work.
But my story could work. Maybe. Several problem areas, the biggest is—what if I can’t pull it off in a convincing way? I’m not that into historical and not that into paranormal. Could I send some characters time travelling and convince myself? Hmm, maybe. Would anyone understand the title? The references? Would anyone bother to look it up?
I get a new book at the bookstore, Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and spend the rest of the day and some of the night, reading. I don’t even know what to say. Yes, yes, yes, stories can do anything. Stories can lift the world onto their shoulders. They can rest in the palm of your hand like a translucent piece of beach glass, the blue green colors of the ocean hiding deep inside. Stories are the way we make sense of things, the way we process experiences, the way we learn about each other. Stories are the magic in the world, little pieces of the human heart, and we can’t help ourselves but to give them away.
August 2, 2013
On the Road Again, and the New Story!
I saved some of the bubble wrap from last time, as well as an eclectic collection of beer boxes. Beer boxes are the absolute best boxes for books, and though I have tried hard to kindleize my life, I have, so far, twenty seven beer boxes of books packed. On the positive side, moving guys think I am much cooler than I appear at first glance, when they are moving my beer boxes. On the negative side, by twenty-seven heavy boxes of books, my charm seems to wane, and they start muttering about whadafuk does she do with all these books.
The charm of moving has waned, long since, but I have one more to go. The kid and I are being transferred back to Boise- in a month! Thank goodness we don’t have to drag out that pesky planning. When we get back to the beautiful City of Trees, I’m going to chain my ankle to the nearest maple and not move again. Ever. I swear, life is exhausting some days. On the plus side, The General and the Elephant Clock of Al-Jazari is in edits! I really like the new story. If nothing else, I have entertained myself! And I’ll look forward to sharing the story with you. From Boise. Where I will be living without moving for the rest of my life. Really, I swear.
The charm of moving has waned, long since, but I have one more to go. The kid and I are being transferred back to Boise- in a month! Thank goodness we don’t have to drag out that pesky planning. When we get back to the beautiful City of Trees, I’m going to chain my ankle to the nearest maple and not move again. Ever. I swear, life is exhausting some days. On the plus side, The General and the Elephant Clock of Al-Jazari is in edits! I really like the new story. If nothing else, I have entertained myself! And I’ll look forward to sharing the story with you. From Boise. Where I will be living without moving for the rest of my life. Really, I swear.
July 27, 2013
Trip Report from the Happiest Place on Earth!
My son just turned 21, and for his birthday I offered him a trip. His first choice was Egypt, to see the pyramids. I had to veto this idea due to family safety. His second choice was Disneyland, and we have just returned from a week in the Happiest Place on Earth.
People really did seem happy! I was watching carefully, and even my cynical heart was touched by the young guy whistling while he worked, and the woman who offered me, “Have a Mary Poppins Day!” I was just finishing my gumbo and margarita at Downtown Disney, so I toasted her with my cup and said, “Same back at you, sister!”
Even the parents of exhausted toddlers seemed to have a good handle on managing family discipline. I watched a three year old wearing a bright yellow and black tutu, and with her rounded belly she looked just like a little bumble-bee. When her grandfather accidently removed her Hello Kitty parasol from her stroller, and she screamed in outrage, he just returned the parasol and offered a churro, which she happily accepted through her tears.
There does not seem to be any limit on the number of churros humans of every ethnicity are prepared to eat.
I also observed a four year old girl, Japanese, wearing her Minnie Mouse Wedding Ears, (with white veil.) When her father gave her a Light Saber, she immediately turned toward the dark side, opened it and sent a death-ray toward the new baby in Mom’s arms.
And speaking of Minnie Mouse Wedding Ears, I saw lots and lots of girls and women wearing Wedding Ears, with white veils. I did not see a single man or boy wearing Mickey Wedding Ears. Mickey and Minnie Ears remain a fashion classic for people walking around the Happiest Place on Earth.
And speaking of fashion, French men are absolutely the classiest. Best dressed men on the planet! From their elegant locks to their sockless shoes, they are tres magnifique! No Mickey ears. No Mickey tee shirts. In fact, their tee shirts did not contain any slogans at all.
I spent much of my time sitting in the shade, waiting for my son to return from various rides he judged were too difficult for me, watching French men and toddlers, taking notes for stories. Also taking naps and eating gumbo. I was allowed on a few excursions, though, and on one I saw the following: A woman was with her husband and two sons. The boatman taking us across noticed she was wearing a button that said, Happy Birthday! He said, “You must be, what, 24?” She smiled, and her husband laughed. He said, “24? Maybe in dog years!” Every woman on Tom Sawyer’s log raft turned and glared at him, including his wife. He knew immediately he’d screwed up. I was prepared to help her hide the body. But when I came around the corner from the blacksmith’s shop, they were standing in front of the pirate’s treasure, and he was getting a birthday smooch. The boys both had churros.
People really did seem happy! I was watching carefully, and even my cynical heart was touched by the young guy whistling while he worked, and the woman who offered me, “Have a Mary Poppins Day!” I was just finishing my gumbo and margarita at Downtown Disney, so I toasted her with my cup and said, “Same back at you, sister!”
Even the parents of exhausted toddlers seemed to have a good handle on managing family discipline. I watched a three year old wearing a bright yellow and black tutu, and with her rounded belly she looked just like a little bumble-bee. When her grandfather accidently removed her Hello Kitty parasol from her stroller, and she screamed in outrage, he just returned the parasol and offered a churro, which she happily accepted through her tears.
There does not seem to be any limit on the number of churros humans of every ethnicity are prepared to eat.
I also observed a four year old girl, Japanese, wearing her Minnie Mouse Wedding Ears, (with white veil.) When her father gave her a Light Saber, she immediately turned toward the dark side, opened it and sent a death-ray toward the new baby in Mom’s arms.
And speaking of Minnie Mouse Wedding Ears, I saw lots and lots of girls and women wearing Wedding Ears, with white veils. I did not see a single man or boy wearing Mickey Wedding Ears. Mickey and Minnie Ears remain a fashion classic for people walking around the Happiest Place on Earth.
And speaking of fashion, French men are absolutely the classiest. Best dressed men on the planet! From their elegant locks to their sockless shoes, they are tres magnifique! No Mickey ears. No Mickey tee shirts. In fact, their tee shirts did not contain any slogans at all.
I spent much of my time sitting in the shade, waiting for my son to return from various rides he judged were too difficult for me, watching French men and toddlers, taking notes for stories. Also taking naps and eating gumbo. I was allowed on a few excursions, though, and on one I saw the following: A woman was with her husband and two sons. The boatman taking us across noticed she was wearing a button that said, Happy Birthday! He said, “You must be, what, 24?” She smiled, and her husband laughed. He said, “24? Maybe in dog years!” Every woman on Tom Sawyer’s log raft turned and glared at him, including his wife. He knew immediately he’d screwed up. I was prepared to help her hide the body. But when I came around the corner from the blacksmith’s shop, they were standing in front of the pirate’s treasure, and he was getting a birthday smooch. The boys both had churros.
Book Report
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