~~ "She has so many aliases, you'd think she was a spy!" ~~

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Pagan rites and fairy tales


Words Written: none so far
Writing Stats: career planning
Exercise: walking

Blessed Lughnasa! May your first harvest of the year be exceptionally fruitful!

We celebrated by not doing much of anything. It wasn’t intended; we simply stayed up last night watching TV with Thom, Ken’s roommate*, and then we slept in pretty late today, and eventually it simply became clear that Ken wasn’t going in to work. It turned out to be a very good thing, really. He’s so burned out. He needed a day to not think. Even the Faerieworlds weekend wasn’t enough; he just needed a day to veg. We took a long-ish walk out for a late lunch (a Farmhouse restaurant attached to a Red Lion—the Thai restaurant we intended to go was closed), went to the movies, and grabbed a snack before coming home. I did have to focus on some editing work in the afternoon, but he also needed some computer time, so it worked out fine. I may eke out a few writing words before bed, but if I don’t, there’s tomorrow for that. It’s been far, far too long since I’ve been able to spend a glorious day with my beloved.

*I have a feeling I never got around to mentioning that Ken’s actually sharing an apartment with a co-worker now. It’s about half the cost of living in a hotel, and it’s a good deal for Thom. Ken says it was really weird doing things like shopping for sheets and towels without me. It’s been a long time since either of us lived in an apartment. And this place is such a bachelor pad: mismatched furniture and dishes, no art on the walls, etc. But Thom has two wonderful cats, sleek black friendly Dominique and shy adorable Karina, and you can’t get that in a hotel!

So we saw The Lady in the Water tonight. I have a strong desire to find all the critics who didn’t like it and slap a sense of wonder into them. It was a beautiful, touching, brilliantly executed fairy tale. Fairy tale, people. An Asian-influenced fairy tale, perhaps, but that’s still what it comes down to. If you go in expecting something else, you’re not going to get it, and I’m sorry, but that’s not a fault of the movie. It was funny and heartwarming and moving. Bryce Dallas Howard is luminous. Since movie reviewing is not my forté nor the best use of my time, I’ll point you to Cherie Priest’s, which says what I think far better than I could say.

Speaking of work, which we were somewhere up there, Ken’s various contract here aren’t going to allow us to go on our annual bike trip, this year to Atlanta. Sucks. It also means we’ll be missing Dragon*Con (if anyone needs a membership, please let me know!) and seeing Phaedra and my sister and my niece and my great-nephew. Like I said, sucks. But, we’re looking to see if we can squeeze in a shorter trip; to wit, my postponed birthday trip. Since I won’t have to be in Lincoln City at the end of it, I’m strongly considering running off to the San Juan Islands, which I’ve heard so much about. I’d like to spend at least one long day in Seattle, too, because I want to tour the underground part of the city and go to the Science Fiction Museum. But that might have to wait for another trip. I do love the Pacific Northwest in all its wild glory.

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Currently Reading: Widdershins, Charles de Lint
Lately Listened To: my beloved’s voice
Recently Watched: The Lady in the Water

Happy Novel Month!



It's August! The US edition of Cat Scratch Fever comes out this month!

Have you pre-ordered your very own copy yet? You can get it from amazon, Powells, Barnes & Noble, and Borders, among others.

Enjoy!

The circle comes 'round again

When I first put my writing journal online (after several years of just keeping it for myself), I tried Blogger. There were some features I didn't like, though, and I eventually moved over to Journalscape. There are things I still like about Journalscape, but for a myriad of reasons, I've decided to come back to Blogger. So, here I am.

If you've followed me over from Journalscape, thanks for continuing the ride with me. If you're new, welcome aboard. You can find four years' worth of archives of my previous journal here, if you're so inclined.

I'll continue to ramble about writing, muse about life, babble about Styx. I hope something in here makes you smile.