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Thoughts on NaNoWriMo-

  • Oct. 29th, 2009 at 6:42 PM
by sigune, lullaby
Well, November is nearly here, and I have been reading (on the literatureandlatte board, among other places) about National Novel Writing Month. And- Read more... )

A bit apprehensive (another meme)

  • Oct. 22nd, 2009 at 10:11 PM
by sigune, lullaby
I got this from bluestocking79, who has answered some very fascinating questions in a most articulate manner, in spite of having the flu! Here is the meme - I've seen it before, but never dared to do it:

The problem with LJ: we all think we are so close, but really, we know nothing about each other. So ask me something you want to know about me. Something that should be obvious, but you have no idea about. Ask away. Then post this in your LJ and find out what people don't know about you.
by sigune, lullaby
I just saw on Pythia Delphi's livejournal that it is Bohemianspirit's birthday! I am terrible at keeping up with my livejournal friends' birthdays, so please, everyone, consider yourself wished a Happy Birthday!

And - I just found out Dad is in hospital again, so could all my friends who believe in prayer say a prayer for him and my Mom? Thank heavens for my younger sister, who brought him to the hospital; they suspect a mini-stroke, and it's always much better if they get to that fast. He sounds as though he's doing well. Still, it's a worry.

Final thing - I got another betta today. At first, I thought his name might be Aquila, but, once I got him into his bowl at home, I decided he was Severus Secundus, after all. He's very pretty, and seems to be settling in well; unlike Severus primus, he ate right away. But I only gave him one pellet, as an experiment, because the young man at the store told me I have overfed my bettas. Deirdre hasn't, and hers have lived longer than mine. Point taken!

Anyway, here's the pic:

Another meme (from missfloraposte, et al.)

  • Oct. 13th, 2009 at 9:05 PM
by sigune, lullaby
I hope I didn't do this one already! It certainly doesn't belong to me, so anyone who wants to can take it from me. ) I took it three times, and got this result twice (and noticed, further down, that I came out a queen in the chess piece meme. Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something!)


You are The High Priestess


Science, Wisdom, Knowledge, Education.


The High Priestess is the card of knowledge, instinctual, supernatural, secret knowledge. She holds scrolls of arcane information that she might, or might not reveal to you. The moon crown on her head as well as the crescent by her foot indicates her willingness to illuminate what you otherwise might not see, reveal the secrets you need to know. The High Priestess is also associated with the moon however and can also indicate change or fluxuation, particularily when it comes to your moods.


What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

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feeling a bit sad-

  • Oct. 8th, 2009 at 9:58 PM
by sigune, lullaby
My little Sevvie died this morning, or late last night. I don't know what of - for a couple of days, he was sulking at the bottom of his bowl and spitting out his food. I tried medicating him, but all I had on hand was fungus guard and bettafix, and, of course, salt. Whatever I did wasn't the right thing.

Poor little guy. I really think he was a bit sick from the time I got him, and there was only one week or so in the two months I had him that he acted like a normal betta (making nests, swimming calmly, eating everything he was given, and so on). I am not as sad as I was when Charlie died, but I still feel bad and sorry about him - most of all because I wish I had known how to help him.

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by sigune, lullaby
Travis Prinzi had this meme on his blog back in February; I came across it when I was looking for the Bitter Word's essay on Dumbledore as a narcissist, and I hope he doesn't mind my stealing it. Anyone who wants to may steal it from me!

Here are the rules Travis set out: For each character, try to sum them up with one word. I may add a word or two to explain my choices, being the talkative character that I am! If you like, you can list characters and single words before looking at mine, so you're not influenced by what I say. I'm also going to list the characters before doing the meme.Here goes:

Read more... )

Up in the air (sort of)

  • Sep. 26th, 2009 at 10:37 AM
by sigune, lullaby
several exciting things to report on this week. First, look at my sister's blog. She wrote about our hawk-watching experience better than I ever could. Four species spotted in a half hour (a turkey vulture or two, two sharp-shinned hawks - and I don't think I've ever seen a sharp-shinned hawk before, though I've seen a cooper's - and the Osprey and a really clear view of that Kestrel, who came very close.) Here's the link:

http://deirdrea.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/packing-a-lunch-and-a-wild-thing-in-the-library/#comments

Then, we went to see and hear U2 at the Meadowlands on Thursday night. Exhausting, but wonderful. I got a pretty good pic of the stage set, and my sister took some striking experimental shots. We were up in the peanut gallery, but it was spectacular, anyway. And I was really noticing the band's musicianship, as well as the showmanship. I really, really want to see It Might Get Loud; I love the Edge!

a Question for Writers on my f'list?

  • Aug. 29th, 2009 at 12:16 PM
by sigune, lullaby
I am wondering, at what point in the novel-writing process should one start to look for an agent? From all I have heard, an agent is necessary for a first-timer, and I do want to get this book published. At the moment, I am, though not quite as far along as I'd hoped I'd be, nearly 40 K words in, and may complete the draft (with luck, and if I stay on pace) by December or January. I have perhaps six chapters to go, not counting the one I'm working on now, and have been averaging two chapters a month. The completed first draft will be around 50 to 55 thousand words, and it's a standalone YA SF novel.

So - do I need to have completed the first draft before I begin the search for an agent, or may I/should I start while in process? At this point, I know I can actually climb this mountain and finish the draft, and I really think I will end up with a good book. I can supply a completed outline and sample chapters, plus a one sentence and one paragraph summary of the book. These are below: Read more... )

The Fallacy of the likeable protagonist: a review of The Demon’s Lexicon and Corbenic

  • Aug. 20th, 2009 at 4:27 PM
by sigune, lullaby
The Fallacy of the likeable protagonist: a review of The Demon’s Lexicon and Corbenic
Or, walk softly and carry a sharp sword


This post is inspired by a discussion we’ve been having recently, and also by two excellent books I just read. In the discussion, some people seemed to evaluate characters according to whether they liked them or not. That’s quite human, and I’d guess we readers do it all the time. I’ve done it myself. I’ve said, a few times, about books or films, “I didn’t like it because I didn’t like any of the characters”. But do you really have to like a protagonist for a story to work for you? (Or, in the case of our man Snape, to see that he really *is* the protagonist?) Read more... )
by sigune, lullaby

Sevvie the fish
Originally uploaded by maryj59

Here's my new little betta, who is, of course, called Sevvie. He is very pretty, but is worrying me because he won't eat anything. I hope he makes it.

Otherwise - thanks to all your comments, I realized most of you didn't know the books I was talking about.

Here is a link to the first few pages of Michelle Paver's Wolf Brother My sister also did a podcast where you can hear Iam McKellan reading the first chapter - he has done all the audio for these books. You can download it either by looking for kiscocast on podomatic.com, or by going to www.torak.info and downloading it there.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30965518/ns/today-today_books/

The BBC filmed the first Green Knowe book, and there are a couple of clips on youtube. Here's the first one - makes you wonder where Rowling got some of her ideas!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5a0jCn10ro

Enjoy!

A question

  • Aug. 13th, 2009 at 4:23 PM
by sigune, lullaby
I've noticed that some of my posts get no response at all, while others get lots of comments. To give two examples, NOBODY responded to my post about Green Knowe. And those books are, in my opinion, really beautiful - possibly among the best fantasies ever written, and I'd be happy to talk about them. No one responded to the clip of Michelle Paver and the wolves. And that, too, is a very well-written series, in which the teen protagonists grow in believable ways. I had one response to the news that Megan Whalen Turner's fourth Attolia book is actually coming out. Then I put up a post about how unhappy I am with Harry Potter these days, and suddenly there's an intense discussion about Snape and his character going on. Okay, it's true, I love Snape. But at this point, two years after the last book, no one's mind is going to be changed about him. At least, I don't think so.

Is it the case that people visit here only for my posts on Snape? Just wondering.

A few things - (mostly Potter - related)

  • Aug. 4th, 2009 at 10:18 PM
by sigune, lullaby
Just a brief ramble on two subjects:
1. Why Harry Potter is like Titanic, and why both of them annoy me, inspired by a conversation with Darkthirty.

2. Why Snape isn't weak, inspired by reading Mike-Smith, who thinks he is.

3. Finally, my problem with superheroes. Inspired by the conversation above.Read more... )

Green Knowe - norman window

  • Jul. 31st, 2009 at 7:35 PM
by sigune, lullaby

Green Knowe - norman window
Originally uploaded by maryj59

Well, we are back from England, and back at work - but what a wonderful trip! We got to Green Knowe! Also to Cambridge (Deirdre's first time), to Oxford where we met the lovely Anne Arthur, saw a book binding exhibit at the Bodlean, and went to an incredible concert of early Baroque music, among other things. We also met two old friends again, called our favorite English teacher, and went to the theater.

The plane tickets to England were a gift to us from our family for our birthday. What a fantastic week! High point after high point, but I've got to say Green Knowe was even more beautiful than I'd thought it would be.

by sigune, lullaby
As I expect all of my friends know, I was deeply disappointed in Deathly Hallows, and therefore in the Potterverse as a whole. It seemed to me meanspirited, full of contradictory messages, and poorly written. In many ways, after two years, it still does. But, as a result of a couple of conversations, something just occurred to me. What if the Potterverse is not exactly what it seems to be? Or, rather, what if Rowling actually achieved her goal with these books - but that goal wasn't exactly what we (or at least I ) thought it was? Read more... )
by sigune, lullaby
Here's Michelle Paver, with a few beautiful wolves, talking about Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. wolf is my favorite character, too!

Yay!

  • Jul. 8th, 2009 at 11:26 PM
by sigune, lullaby
I am officially a published author! Well, after a fashion. Issue 31 of Mythic Circle arrived today! And my short story is right in the middle - and it's ILLUSTRATED!

I have to say that I'd never envisioned the scene quite the way the illustrator did. The man looks much more medieval European than I'd thought - I picture my characters as looking Arabic/North African or East Indian. But the composition and sense of motion are really good. I'm thrilled, actually. I just wish I got more copies - also, that I could scan or snag this illustration and let everyone see it. :)

(Mentally jumping up and down all over again - I do hope the nice job they did here with the story presages well for the novel it comes from. My mom was full of questions like that - how big is the readership; who reads it; all that sort of thing. Not unimportant questions, but what I think is: it's a first step. Some readers are better than none, and I think everyone who reads the story here will be curious about the novel.)

Yay!

On Militarism and Tribalism in the Movies

  • Jul. 7th, 2009 at 11:27 PM
by sigune, lullaby
Some more thoughts on the recent "Trek", among other things. An informal essay, about 3,000 words long. Read more... )
by sigune, lullaby
I am just going to quote her letter to me, including a link from Bologna. And why wasn't this announced in NYC? Isn't Megan Whalen Turner American?

HI, everybody!

Look what I found!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_gZW10xq-pDs/SjBAt6yHsDI/AAAAAAAAB74/Yp7Lsbc4mTY/s1600-h/a

Is that not the most awesome thing ever?


Yes, it is! Sophos lives!

A terrific student film

  • Jun. 3rd, 2009 at 11:03 PM
by sigune, lullaby
This is what my 10th grade girls did this year. The writing and editing were exceptionally clever, IMHO, and they gave me permission to post the short film to youtube. (Last year's film by this same group was quite classy, as well. They are a talented group of young women).


Baby bluebird

  • Jun. 1st, 2009 at 8:51 PM
by sigune, lullaby

Baby bluebird
Originally uploaded by deirdrej

Here's a pic my sister took recently. There are three babies, and they are starting to look like little birds, not gawky, half-formed creatures. This little guy - I'm pretty sure it was this one - has started spreading his wings, and I think he and his siblings may take flight in another week. It's been neat to see them grow up!

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