It's just the world, stupid

So ... sitting on a park bench, sunlight on my face, birds trilling away in the trees, the breeze carrying the sound of children singing from the mosque nearby, and a really good slice of pepperoni pizza to munch on. Not a bad way to spend a lunch hour. The knots in my head start to loosen, or at least I stop picking at them, and I realize that, whether I take things too seriously or not seriously enough, actively pursuing good moods is usally well worth the effort.

Monkey does evil things with peaches

This Kung Fu shirt that is not a Kung Fu shirt is soon to be my new favorite orange shirt (thanks to tipster Hannah). David gifted me with a more serious Monkey Steals the Peach shirt a while back, with a shaolin monk on it and everything, so now I'll be able to go around telegraphing my favorite Kung Fu technique in two different spirits, whichever at the moment best expresses my mood. And it's hard not to be in a good mood when wearing a shirt that depicts such a wicked groin attack, let me tell you.

And speaking of the Kung Fu, last night I passed my first Kung Fu test at the new Kung Fu school (that of the dog-faced boy), which means I now get to move on and learn Southern Fist form and my very first tiger form, and rattan staff as well. Woo for mayhem with big sticks!

Badass nature stuff

I don't know why this makes me so happy, but it does.

Video: Octopus vs. Shark

Saw some cool nature myself yesterday while walking through the Life Sciences building. First, there was the gila monster trying very, very hard to escape its cage. I've barely ever seen them move before, but this one had climbed to the top of its little segment of tree branch, extended out to the tips of its toes, and was reaching out with its front legs, and if it could ... just ... have ... gotten ... hold ... of the cage's ... lid ...

Ah, well. One day. One day soon, perhaps.

And then there was the albino sidewinder Western Diamondback with vanilla eyes that was possibly the most natively evil-looking animal I've ever seen. Very, very cool.

Cover to Cover podcast

Here's the podcast of my interview with Mike and Evo of Dragon Page Cover to Cover. I haven't listened to it yet, not because I'm one of those people who can't stand the sound of his or her own voice, but because of the words and sentences that my voice sometimes produces. So, if you listen to the podcast and I say things that are stupid, obnoxious, foul, or just plain wrong, it's not my fault. It's my voice's fault.

Balanced

It's only Sunday morning, but it's already been a very fine weekend. K & A flew in Friday night and just took off a few hours ago, and there was much eating of good food, drinking of beer and killer margaritas and, in K's case, hobo screwdrivers, watching of movies (Some Kind of Monster and Why We Fight) and Simpsons, and just generally carousing and howling, and, as I said, all very fine.

Today, there'll be critiquing for the May workshop (which is fun when the writers whose work one is critiquing are so good), watching NBA playoffs (Go Suns!), and, hell, maybe even some writing, because writing is part of a balanced breakfast along with milk, toast and juice, weight by volume, some settling may occur, flakes magnified to show texture, and those yummy berries are just a serving suggestion, we ain't actually putting no berries the box, dude.

Blue vs. orange

In comments to my previous post, I was berated into requested to post a pic of my orange shirt. I will do so, with some context.

This is me in a blue shirt:




And, now, me in my orange shirt:



I am wearing the blue shirt today. This might have been a mistake.

***

Very exhausted after a difficult, long Thursday at work. But. Friends flying in this afternoon, and though the apartment could be cleaner and neater, and though the fridge has yet to be stocked with beer, I anticipate a lovely weekend, and may the same come to you.

Veetamin shirt

I am wearing an orange shirt.

Normally, I don't wear orange shirts. My color palette tends to run to blues and greens and greys. But today I am wearing an orange shirt.

It is a new shirt, this orange shirt I am wearing.

This new orange shirt has put me in a pretty good mood. I feel like I have had a nice, big glass of cold orange juice, and I'm all sunshiny and vitaminy.

(Brits don't say vite-a-min. They say veet-a-min. They're funny that way.)

Also, the weather was very nice as I walked into the office this morning. Sunny and bright and clear, with a nice, cool breeze. Perfect weather for an orange shirt. Or a perfect shirt for this kind of weather.

Anyway, that's really all I wanted to say. I like my orange shirt. I should start wearing brighter colors, maybe.

Ha-ha, funny Brits.

I've done this over a pork chop

Video: Dog fights with its own hind leg over bone

Weekend, weekend, weekend ... End already!

So, how's your week going?

An invitation

I'm about halfway through my Norse novel.

So, of course, what I really want to be working on is my YA weird beach novel.

So.

If anyone would like to threaten me with bodily harm if I stop working on my Norse novel, please feel free.

Creative threats will be appreciated more than plain, whitebread promises of violence, but any and all will do.

Thank you.

Beep! Beep!

I've had a fun morning. Drove across the Valley to Draco Vista Studios to be interviewed for the Dragon Page Cover to Cover podcast, and hopefully I managed to sound coherent and not too full of myself and didn't say too many things that I actually disagree with, or say anything that'll get me brought up on war crimes charges in The Hague. But, if I did, it's not Michael's or Evo's or Summer's fault, because they were all nice and cool and stuff, so there it is.

Oh, and while driving around up there in the northwest valley, I spotted a roadrunner actually running across the road. I guess that's why they call them that. Huh.

Responses

Thanks to the folks who answered my question about what people get from reading and/or writing short fiction that they don't get from novels. It's a pretty basic question, and I appreciate people taking the time to answer.

Here's a quick and messy summation of your responses. You like the succinctness and focus of short stories, not having to carry a story beyond its natural span because there are more flexible length requirements, you enjoy the pleasure of reading a story in a single sitting, the impact gained from focus and precision, the pleasure of a world and a character's life evoked rather than elaborated. You get satisfaction from creating a work in a span of days or weeks rather than months or years. You like the opportunity to experiment. You like the quick cycle of feedback and gratification.

I like these things, too. Very much. I consider myself a short story writer, primarily, and I love reading short stories, and I love writing them, and I can't be reasoned with, I can't be bargained with, I don't feel pity or remorse or fear, and I absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until you are dead.

That being said, I really do prefer reading novels. The stuff I remember reading and loving tends to be the stuff with characters whose lives I get involved with, and for that to happen, I usually need a few hundred pages. And, since one of the things that drives me to write is a desire to create stuff that I'd want to read, I'm stuck learning how to write novels.

But all those things you said about the power and joys of the short story? Totally true. It's interesting, though, that short stories are so unpopular when compared to novels. Is it marketing? Is it a construct of economics and production and distribution systems that don't reflect the actual preferences of readers? Are we given more novels when we'd really like to see are more anthologies and collections? I don't think so. I think it comes down to the character thing. Stories can be many things, but I like them best when they're human lives created not with electricity and abby normal brains, but with squiggles on screens and paper. Novels tend to do this better. I think I'm with the majority on this.

Anyway, not very deep thoughts, but examnining core values is useful, and thanks for helping me examine mine.

Short question

What appeals to you about reading and/or writing short stories that you don't get out of novels?

Viva

One thing to know about Dr. Lisa is that she's a total Nine Inch Nails fanatic, so if Trent Reznor is playing anywhere within driving distance of her, she's on her way. This weekend it was Las Vegas, and I was lucky enough to get tagged as her concert buddy.

I have heard the phenomenon of horror described as a perfect blend of attraction and revulsion, and going off that, I can emphatically state that I find Las Vegas horrifying. All those clanging machines eating the money of people eating everything in sight, and the yard-long margaritas, and the guys handing out the fliers for porn and hookers, and the poor cocktail waitresses, and it's just all so ... Las Vegas.

But, I like to gawk at mild atrocity, so I had a good time. And Nine Inch Nails put on a tremendous show. And we had brunch at that tool Bobby Flay's restaurant, and it was a really good meal (though, living in the southwest, I have access to equally good if not superior examples of that cuisine without the attachment of celebrity aura). So, fun weekend. I could use about 84 hours of uninterrupted sleep, but there's seldom a fake Eiffel Tower in my dreams, so Vegas does have certain advantages.