By the way, today is International Women's Day, first observed in 1909 "in accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America." So, today I shall endevour to pretend that it isn't true that nationwide, as of 2000, women were making only 77.6 percent as much per hour as men, or that the same year, Georgia ranked 47th in America among all states in progress in closing the hourly wage gap between the sexes. I shall pretend things aren't a lot worse for women in much of the world, and that the present administration in this country isn't doing its damnedest to rob women of reproductive choice (in a nation of 300 million and a world of 6.5 billion). I shall try. And then tomorrow I'll go back to all the dingy realities.
Not a bad day yesterday. I wrote 1,118 words and finished "Untitled 20." It's total word count stands at 3,234 before I begin polishing it today. I've already sent it along to Vince. This means that this month Sirenia Digest subscribers will be getting almost ten thousand words of fiction (not counting the little prologue thingy). I'm happy with the new vignette. Spooky likes it a lot. It bounces from golems to Paracelsus to Frankenstein, and I'm curious what readers will make of it all. My lit agent called yesterday afternoon. She's been ill. We talked briefly about Daughter of Hounds and the feared What Will I Be Doing Next? beast.
Other good things about yesterday? A very nice walk. Warm weather. E-mail from my mother. Pete Crowther sent me copies of the signed PS Publishing editions of Bradbury's R is for Rocket and S is for Space. These are absolutely gorgeous volumes, and they remind me that soon I must begin my introduction for The Day It Rained Forever. These good mail days are spoiling me, I fear. Today and tomorrow, no doubt, it will only be bills and adverts once again.
Last night, we watched Sam Mendes' Jarhead (adapted from Anthony Swofford's book of the same name). Whether or not it's wrong of me to do so, I've come to look at war movies as being of two classes: those that serve as little more than recruiting propaganda (John Wayne's The Green Berets is a classic of this subgenre) and those that honestly depict the horror and absurdities of modern warfare (Apocalypse Now, etc.). It's difficult for me to imagine humanity has much use for the former (no matter how much they might serve TPTB), while it should have a tremendous hunger for the latter. I wasn't sure where Jarhead would fall, but was pleased to see that it belongs very soundly in the latter camp, and is a fine film, to boot. We'd intended to rent Walk the Line, but once again no copies were in at Videodrome, and we do our best to avoid Blockbuster.
I also caught a documentary on the Science Channel on supermassive black holes and their role in the creation of galaxies. It contained an equation that struck me as being so perfectly beautiful as to be divine: the mass of supermassive black holes located at galactic cores are = to 1/2 of 1% of the total mass of their galaxies. To date, no exceptions have been found.
Tonight, the final episode of season two of Project Runway. Viva Santino!
Spooky's posted new photos of Sweet William. Unfortunately, you can't see the colour very well, because they were taken under tungsten light instead of sunlight. He's a sort of grey lavender, with a pink nose and pink paws. We've been chatting, he and I, and I know now that after the loss of his legs in a freak vacuum-cleaner accident, he was a world-renowned amputee unicyclist. However, carpal-tunnel syndrome and a weariness of public appearances led to his early retirement and these days he's a simple beggar, which, if you ask me, is more honest work than platypus pimpage.
Postscript: There shall be a second entry, later today, because you guys said you wanted to hear about some of the Wicca stuff, and because there was a dream last night. Also, I just got word from subpress that the limited of Alabaster has sold out, though copies of the trade edition are still available for pre-order.
- Current Mood:
good, as in not so bad.
- Current Music:The Decemberists, "California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade"
Comments
Does this mean I should insert a "sarcasm intentionial" parenthetical?
Most people are ig'nant. It's a sad fact. I wonder...how many of those same people who'd never heard of Bradbury could name contestants on American Idol?
The irony, as Jarhead points out, is that even films like Apocalypse Now are kind of porn movies soldiers use to get themselves hard for war. The genius of Jarhead is that it depicted combat service as a frigid bitch who gave all the guys blue balls and then wouldn't put out.
indeed. Very nicely put.
http://www.inaflcio.org/documents/leg2000-p23.htm
When I addressed a salary inequity at one place I worked (and was turned down), I had a male co-worker ask that I be paid the same as him so that I wouldn't leave (he was all too aware of the fact he'd have double the work for a very long time when I left, and as a salaried guy, he would've been stuck). He was told that "women don't work for the money, they work because they need to be needed. They like it. She won't go anywhere, she has friends here." Of course none of the friends were surprised when I left when a 3x my pay offer came along shortly afterward. Mercenary little wench that I am, I do work for the money.
I'm looking forward to this one. : )
I figure it'd be more likely for Nar'eth to make someone a stiff...well, equally likely I suppose. Our nettlesome nixar has got to pimp her platypus too. On a similar note, I had a friend who pointed out that it seems extremely unlikely that there is any drug which can safely increase her manhood, yet spammers were dogged in their persistent declarations that they could.
By the way, today is International Women's Day.... [etc]
I'm going to try to ignore the fact that pretty much every candidate I voted for yesterday lost and I'm going to be forced to vote between those I was pretty much least confident in being able to responsibly handle authority and those I knew were morally bankrupt. I'm trying to ignore the fact that in a seminar on ethics nearly 80% of the participants listed "faith" high on their values and "God" on a list of institutions one is accountable to (While I was the only person who listed "liberty and equality" as values or "actions of our elected officials" as being accountable for). I think if this South Dakota crockodren actually causes an overturning, I'm rioting.
...this month Sirenia Digest subscribers will be getting almost ten thousand words of fiction...
As might be obvious, I've got a lot of tension I need to release. This should help.
As might be obvious, I've got a lot of tension I need to release.
Then I shall think of myself as performing a public service.
I figure it'd be more likely for Nar'eth to make someone a stiff...well, equally likely I suppose. Our nettlesome nixar has got to pimp her platypus too.
It's all for the greater good...