tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1023095711277972382024-03-12T17:47:27.517-07:00Where the Trees SingRyffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.comBlogger242125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-68203468190664490602015-10-12T19:21:00.004-07:002015-10-12T19:21:49.564-07:00Things you can run out of while looking for your missing cat:<br />
<ul>
<li>fliers </li>
<li>tape</li>
<li>staples (once you've upgraded from packing tape to a brand new staple gun)</li>
<li>energy (for asking strangers if they've seen the cat and then talking with them about how you miss her)</li>
<li>breath (for playing the ocarina she loves)</li>
<li>will-power (to keep singing the song from when she was a tiny kitten about how you love her and miss her when she's gone)</li>
</ul>
Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-60335457578661930612015-04-10T21:14:00.001-07:002015-04-10T21:14:09.426-07:00I used to check out seasons of Farscape from the library when I lived in Seattle. The Seattle Public Library would only let you check out a book (or DVD... or set of DVDs) for one week. And you couldn't renew it if someone else had a hold on it. Well, all the seasons of Farscape had dozens of holds on them. You had to wait until your turn to check them out. And, then, you only had one week to watch the whole season.<br /><br />Watching a whole season of Farscape in just one week... Well, it made me think of the description of a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster from The Hitchhiker's Guide -- "like having your brains smashed in by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick."<br /><br />Today, I watched the last episode of Glee. I could tell you what I thought of Glee... But, suffice it to say, I thought enough of it to keep watching. For six years.<br /><br />I can't help but think that Glee was a six-year-long Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster.<br /><br />I think I'd better go lie down for a bit.Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-51605295020540314762014-12-25T00:46:00.000-08:002014-12-25T00:46:37.496-08:00I seem to remember about this blog on Christmas Eve...<br />
<br />
This year, I organized a bunch of my science fiction and space opera stories into three collections: <i>Welcome to Wespirtech</i>, <i>Beyond Wespirtech</i>, and <i>The Opposite of Memory</i>. The first two collections are exclusively space opera stories set in my Wespirtech universe -- zany scientists invent crazy things, surrounded by spaceships and aliens. Imagine Caltech in space. The third collection features a wider range of science-fiction styles -- near future stories involving memory drugs; surreal pieces; and a few Wespirtech stories -- but they all have to do with the intersection of science, technology, and humanity.<br />
<br />
For the next week, until New Year's, you can download Welcome to Wespirtech for free from Smashwords with the following coupon code: <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/439104"><big><strong>BR87B</strong></big></a><br />
<br />And, because it's the holidays, you can also get my novel, Otters In Space, with this code: <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/18844"><big><strong>DF87E</strong></big></a><br />
<br />
If you do read either of them, please consider leaving a review. Thank you, and happy holidays!Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-68044601441134159862014-10-21T03:02:00.001-07:002014-10-21T03:02:36.456-07:00Event: Stapler jams for the billionth time while stapling manuscripts to hand out at Wordos.<br /><br />Lightning fast thought process: I should finally get around to buying a better stapler. But I only use the stapler for Wordos manuscripts, and the majority of Wordos seem to read manuscripts on electronic devices now. But if I move to Seattle and have to start a new writing group, then it won't have a website where we can post stories for each other unless I learn how to create a website like that. But I don't know how to make a website like that, so we'll have to use paper manuscripts. But I can't staple paper manuscripts with this stupid broken stapler.<br /><br />Irrational conclusion: I'll never be able to create a new writing group, because my stapler doesn't work.<br /><br />Resulting action: Slam my hand against the desk, scattering loose sheets of manuscript everywhere and severely bruising my thumb.Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-69197948141929247762014-05-16T00:01:00.001-07:002014-05-16T00:01:51.874-07:00Trying to organize my short stories into anthologies feels like being shown a pile of buttons and being told, "These are supposed to be divided into three groups -- if you divide them up right, they'll crystallize into three perfect, beautiful gemstones; but, if you divide them up wrong, we're going to zap you with an electric shock."<br /><br />So I stare at the buttons and push them around meaninglessly between three different piles.<br /><br />However...<br /><br />I think I have a lineup for three anthologies that I hope to publish between now and the end of the summer: "Welcome to Wespirtech," "Beyond Wespirtech," and "The Opposite of Memory." Hopefully, this will make my short stories much more accessible to people searching for e-books that they'd like to read.Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-58065181622014210932013-12-26T12:18:00.003-08:002013-12-26T12:20:08.249-08:00Written on Christmas Eve:<br />
<br />
At six months old, we figured Wesley was still small enough to watch us assemble his Christmas present and then put it under the tree. He mostly slept while we snapped the brightly colored plastic pieces together, but when we put his new "bike" under the tree next to his sister's new green bicycle, it was the most beautiful object he'd ever seen. We let him play with it a little, and he was delighted that it was so big and yet -- because of its wheels -- he could move it around, shoving it backward and forward. He was so excited, he nearly started to crawl for the first time.<br />
<br />
Now, at three in the morning, he's looking at me, swaddled in bed, as if to say, "Why would I sleep? I have a new bike downstairs."
Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-34373367469705595812013-12-04T21:39:00.002-08:002013-12-04T22:03:53.241-08:00When Elaine has trouble sleeping, she comes downstairs to ask for a dream. Her dad or I then tell her a brief sketch of a story, a starting place for something to dream about. Once I told her that she had a basket of puppies, and each of the puppies had an amazing skill -- one played beautiful music on the piano while another one whipped up a delicious meal. Lately, though, all of the dreams feature a set of characters that her dad introduced: the space moose.<br />
<br />
The space moose came down in a giant spaceship, each of them wearing a helmet large enough to cover its entire head, including antlers. Every night, the space moose, Elaine, and her closest companion Hobbes go on grand adventures together. They took a road trip to a glittering, diamond city, and at the top of the tallest building all the birds flying around could talk to them. Another time, the space moose made Elaine her own giant helmet with antlers in it, and they all played a game much like Calvin Ball. And once the space moose asked Elaine to help them build an ice cream sundae as big as a planet.<br />
<br />
Tonight, Elaine's dad told her that the space moose plan to take her to a space restaurant where you can order anything, even a sock-and-ice-cream sandwich, followed by a trip to the space zoo.<br />
<br />
I asked Elaine what she planned to order at the space restaurant.<br />
<br />
After some thought, she said, "A jacket-and-computer lasagna. And a tuna-sock-and-fork sandwich for Hobbes."<br />
<br />
I asked what animal she was most excited to see at the space zoo.<br />
<br />
Without hesitation, she said something with a lot of 's' sounds in it. When I asked what that creature looked like, she said that she didn't know.<br />
<br />
"Then, you'd better hurry off to bed," I said, "so that you can find out."Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-56812534474169079892013-10-20T16:58:00.001-07:002013-10-20T16:58:20.146-07:00Elaine has been reading Calvin and Hobbes, a rich source of inspiration. While we were in California, she built her own duplicator which filled up most of the hallway. This afternoon, she set up a box outside labelled "Great Ideas, 200 cents, 4 Sale."<br /><br />I've read Calvin and Hobbes, too. So, before engaging in the haggling process, I first asked: "The great idea isn't 'Buy another great idea!,' right?"<br /><br />Elaine agreed that it was not.<br /><br />I offered 25 cents.<br /><br />She agreed and told me my new, freshly purchased, great idea:<br /><br />"Go outside sometime and look for as many things in your favorite color as you can find."<br /><br />My favorite color is green. I looked around and saw a lawn, several trees, a shrub, and a whole bunch of other plants in my favorite color. They weren't very hard to find. Nonetheless, I said, "Maybe we'll go on a walk sometime and do that."<br /><br />Elaine explained that her favorite color is blue, so she can always look up at the sky and find at least one thing in her favorite color. Her favorite color changes a lot -- it used to be magenta. Before that, it was "all the colors of the rainbow." This month, it's blue. And, today, the sky is indeed a beautiful blue.Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-63467453018003391622013-09-24T17:23:00.000-07:002013-09-24T17:25:09.146-07:00Tomorrow I leave for Rainfurrest! As usual, they're keeping me busy. I'm doing ten panels over the four days. If you want to find me, here's my schedule:<br />
<br />
<b>Childrens, Young Adult, and Adult Writing</b><br />
<i>Thursday, 3pm</i><b></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Writing Exercises and Tools</b><br />
<i>Thursday, 9pm</i><br />
<br />
<b>Furry Characters in a Non-Furry Setting</b><br />
<i>Friday, 10am</i><br />
<br />
<b>Writing for Beginners (2)</b><br />
<i>Saturday, 9am</i><b> </b><br />
<b> </b><br />
<b>A Reading and Q&A with Mary Lowd</b><br />
<i>Saturday, 11am</i><br />
<br />
<b>Comedy, Tragedy, Action, Romance</b><br />
<i>Saturday, 2pm</i><br />
<br />
<b>Fiction vs. Fan-Fiction</b><br />
<i>Saturday, 8pm</i><br />
<br />
<b>There's a Line... and You've Crossed It</b><br />
<i>Sunday, 9am</i><b> </b><br />
<b> </b><br />
<b>The Mystical Magical Marvelous Magnificent Mary Sue!</b><br />
<i>Sunday, 10am</i><br />
<br />
<b>Collaboration in Writing</b><br />
<i>Sunday, 3pm</i><br />
<br />
I should have some excellent co-panelists. I'm particularly looking forward to doing a panel with Phil Geusz for the first time and my fellow Wordo, Garrett Marco, who was invaluable when I was editing <i>Otters In Space 2</i>. It looks like a really strong writing track this year.Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-89623493339984749302013-05-24T02:01:00.001-07:002013-05-24T02:01:04.279-07:00We caught Elaine drawing a window in purple crayon on the outside of one of our house's actual windows. Her class had read "Harold and the Purple Crayon" earlier in the day, and she'd gotten a bit carried away, reenacting the book. After a stern discussion of what we do and do not draw on with crayons, we sent Elaine back outside with windex and a rag to clean the window.<br /><br />Moments later, Elaine popped her bead back in the door and asked, "Can I clean the other windows?"<br /><br />About half an hour later, Elaine came back inside and asked Daniel, "How much money do you have?" She wanted to be paid for her work, and she figured it would help to know how much her dad could afford to pay her.<br /><br />After some negotiation, she settled for fifty cents.Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-56845774119870071272013-05-19T13:58:00.001-07:002013-05-19T13:58:36.572-07:00Sentimentality is the difference between a stupid stick that your five-year-old stuck in the trunk of your car and a precious stick that you need to make space for in the trunk of your car because you're packing up stuff from your old room and you've been saving it since you were five years old.Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-43460546874747093602013-04-29T12:19:00.001-07:002013-04-29T12:19:32.022-07:00On the walk to school today, Elaine told me about the time her class sang "Are You Sleeping?" She told the teacher that there was another song called "Ugachucka" that sounded the same, and the teacher, who was apparently a little quicker than me, said that it was the same song in a different language. At this point, I realized Elaine meant "Frere Jacques." I corrected her pronunciation and told her it was in French.<br /><br />Elaine agreed and told me that she'd informed her class it was "from an old Star Trek episode."Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-36039070248924936292013-04-12T20:59:00.001-07:002013-04-12T21:02:02.133-07:00There are a lot more pants jokes in my house now that Elaine is old enough to giggle maniacally at them. And she's not the one making them.<br />
<br />
Daniel: "What kind of ice cream would you like? Vanilla, mint chip, chocolate moose tracks, mustard, or pants?"<br />
<br />
Elaine: "All three kinds."<br />
<br />
Daniel: "All right -- vanilla, mustard, and pants."<br />
<br />
Elaine: "Vanilla, mint chip, and chocolate moose tracks!"<br />
<br />
Daniel: "Chocolate moose pants?"<br />
<br />
There was also discussion of making mustard ice cream in the blender and using Parmesan cheese in place of sprinkles. Not to mention more references to pants. Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-85831892664049570542013-03-07T12:36:00.000-08:002013-03-07T12:36:01.883-08:00A little song that Elaine was singing on her way to school today:<br />
<br />
"Wonders and daisies,<br />
"Wonders and flowers,<br />
"Wonders in the whole wide world.<br />
<br />
"I'm wondering about you daisy,<br />
"I really am."Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-31772307418916200692013-02-28T22:41:00.003-08:002013-02-28T22:41:53.665-08:00"How do you tell a recursive joke?"When I went to tuck Elaine into bed tonight, I was greeted with a big smile and the line, "Do you know how to tell a recessive joke?" Although it's been ten years, and the wording was garbled, I recognized that <i>someone</i> had been teaching the child old jokes from college. So, Elaine and I did a few rounds of the following together:<br /><br />Person 1: "How do you tell a recursive joke?"<br />Person 2: "I don't know; how do you tell a recursive joke?"<br />Person 1: "Well, first you tell a recursive joke."<br />Person 2: "How do you tell a recursive joke?"<br />Person 1: "I don't know; how do you tell a recursive joke?"<br />Person 2: "Well, first you tell a recursive joke."<br />etc.<br /><br />Elaine says that she's going to teach it to all of the kids at recess tomorrow.Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-63162520400393392732013-02-26T13:40:00.000-08:002013-03-18T13:30:27.114-07:00Last year in the spring, my writing group was low on manuscripts to critique. So, we used the extra time to read through all the short stories nominated that year for the Nebula and Hugo. We followed our usual process for critiquing, but instead of focusing on ways to improve the stories, we tried to address three questions:<br />
<br />
<i>One, what works in this story? Two, why would an editor choose to buy it? And, three, why would people feel it was worthy of being nominated for an award?</i><br />
<br />
Overall, it was a fascinating and instructive process. I learned a lot more about writing great stories by hearing the entire table critique all those award nominees than I would have by simply reading them myself. Even more exciting, I saw changes in the stories being brought to the table after that. It felt like the process stepped up our whole game as writers and a critique group.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.sfwa.org/2013/02/2012-nebula-awards-nominees-announced/">Nebula nominees have been announced</a> for this year, and, time allowing, I think that we'll be reading through and discussing the short stories again. So, I'm going to put the links here:<br />
<br />
“<a href="http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/bell_09_12/">Robot</a>” by Helena Bell (Clarkesworld 9/12)<br />
“<a href="http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/debodard_06_12/">Immersion</a>” by Aliette de Bodard (Clarkesworld 6/12)<br />
“<a href="http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/crosshill_04_12/">Fragmentation, or Ten Thousand Goodbyes</a>” by Tom Crosshill (Clarkesworld 4/12)<br />
“<a href="http://www.leahcypess.com/short-stories/free-story/">Nanny’s Day</a>” by Leah Cypess (Asimov’s 3/12)<br />
“<a href="http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/give-her-honey-when-you-hear-her-scream/">Give Her Honey When You Hear Her Scream</a>” by Maria Dahvana Headley (Lightspeed 7/12)<br />
“<a href="http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/the-bookmaking-habits-of-select-species/">The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species</a>” by Ken Liu (Lightspeed 8/12)<br />
“<a href="http://www.kittywumpus.net/blog/2012/12/24/five-ways-to-fall-in-love-on-planet-porcelain/">Five Ways to Fall in Love on Planet Porcelain</a>”by Cat Rambo (Near + Far)<br />
<br />
Just collecting the links, I found myself hooked strongly enough by "Nanny's Day" that I read the whole story right away without planning on it. That doesn't happen very often for me -- I think the last time was a Daily Science Fiction story by Nina Kiriki Hoffman called "<a href="http://dailysciencefiction.com/science-fiction/biotech/nina-kiriki-hoffman/boy-seeds">Boy Seeds</a>." In this case, as in that one, I thoroughly enjoyed the story. It should be interesting to discuss it in my group when we get to it.<br />
<br />
On a side note, the idea of reading through all the Nebula nominated shorts is particularly exciting this year, because this is the first time I'm a full member of SFWA, eligible to vote on the Nebulas.Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-72748288479527216092013-02-19T22:38:00.000-08:002013-02-19T22:38:24.342-08:00When I went to tuck Elaine into bed tonight, she was reading one of the picture books from the little bookcase of kids' books we keep in the hall outside her room. She kept reading to herself as I tucked her in. She kept reading as I turned out the light. "Hey! I wasn't finished!" she exclaimed from the dark. I explained that she was free to wake up and keep reading in the morning, but, right then, she needed her sleep. She thought about that and seemed to accept it, which wasn't surprising, as I've heard her reading aloud to herself every morning this week. As I turned to leave, Elaine exclaimed, "Reading is my favorite thing to do now!" I told her that I'd take her to the library soon, and she looked really excited.<br />
<br />
Elaine can read. Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-18584399675913986082013-01-21T22:55:00.000-08:002013-01-21T22:56:40.320-08:00Furry Stories in 2012The Ursa Major Awards season is upon us, and I have several stories that are eligible for nomination. Most of them were originally published online and are easy to access there. Two of them, though, were originally published in print anthologies. So, for a limited time, I'm making those two stories available as free e-books.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/277448">St. Kalwain and the Lady Uta</a> originally published in <i>ROAR 4</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/277446">One Night in Nocturnia</a> originally published in <i>Tails of a Clockwork World</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://pinkfoxpublications.net/magtwilla-and-the-mouse/">Magtwilla and the Mouse</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.untiedshoelacesofthemind.com/Issue6/unicorn.php">Hot Chocolate for the Unicorn</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://dailysciencefiction.com/science-fiction/virtual-reality/mary-e-lowd/the-most-complicated-avatar">The Most Complicated Avatar</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.anthrodreams.com/wordpress/2012/12/22/ad-049-shreddy-and-the-christmas-ghost/">Shreddy and the Christmas Ghost</a><br />
<br />
Looking back at all those stories that came out last year... it's really kind of hard to believe. It was an amazing year. At any rate, whether you feel like nominating any of these stories or not, I hope that you enjoy some of them, and -- if you have an interest in furry fiction -- then I hope that you'll take a minute to <a href="http://www.ursamajorawards.org/nominations.htm">nominate any stories from last year that you do feel are worthy</a>. The Ursa Majors are a people's award, and that works best when the people participate.Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-68487461935714460382012-10-15T23:01:00.001-07:002012-10-15T23:01:40.427-07:00I turned thirty this summer. I have one novel out, and another that will come out soon. A third is finished and under review by a publisher. I've written fifty short stories, and more than thirty of them have been published. One won an award. I think that's pretty good for thirty years.<br /><br />My life has been very busy and very much in the present lately. However, I recently ran into someone from my past, and I was amazed by how ten years of who I am was able to crumble away simply at the sight of someone who I've been out of touch with for a decade. It was the kind of experience that causes one to feel even more reflective about the past than an abstract thing like turning thirty.<br /><br />I am naturally a very analytical and reflective person. However, I don't put that energy into writing a journal. I put that energy into writing fiction.<br /><br />When it comes to journaling, I don't keep a record with the written word. I like to keep my journal more abstract -- for eight years, from the time I left for college until my daughter was born -- I translated my life into a playlist of songs that represented the experiences I went through. After Elaine was born, I directed that energy into the pages and pages of photo albums that I keep of her. Between that playlist and those photo albums, I have an extremely detailed record of the last thirteen years of my life. The songs and pictures don't tell the whole story -- but I don't need them to; I just need them to help me remember it.<br /><br />I'll continue to post anecdotes about Elaine that don't fit as picture captions here, and I'll try to show up with a comment or two about my own life sometimes. But, when it really comes down to it, I'll be putting most of that writing energy into my fiction.<br /><br />So, if you want to read words by me or learn about what's been going on in my life, what I've been thinking about, or who I am -- read my fiction. It won't come with date stamps, and it won't be directly representational. But writing my fiction is what I've been doing, what I've been thinking about, and -- the person you see represented in my stories? -- that's who I am.Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-87859752665015039672012-06-14T00:33:00.004-07:002012-06-14T11:21:14.255-07:00A few quotes from the child playing underneath the Japanese maple tree, outside my open window:<br />
<br />
"Okay. I'll turn myself into a slug while I wait."<br />
<br />
"No fear. I will pretend today is my birthday."<br />
<br />
"This is my little brother, but he's a rock. And he just goes all the time jumping on the very top of trees," -- said while holding up a small rock she found under the Japanese maple.<br />
<br />
"And this is his horse," -- said moments later, holding up another small rock.<br />
<br />
She then proceeded to wobble dangerously between the small tree and the window screen while describing the adventures of her brother and his horse over the rainbow, illustrating all the while with the two rocks.Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-81460127801702012412012-06-06T17:19:00.002-07:002012-06-06T17:20:06.309-07:00There's a line in the movie <i>As Good As It Gets</i>... Jack Nicholson is supposed to give Helen Hunt a compliment. He's aiming for one that's good enough to keep her from leaving the restaurant, but he overshoots and gives her a compliment that she claims is the best one she's ever received: "You make me want to be a better man."<br />
<br />
Well, the Beach Boys' put out a new album. The last time they put out a new album... Let's just say, I hadn't noticed that the Beach Boys existed yet. I was in fifth grade.<br />
<br />
I don't think anyone expected them to put out another new album ever again. I know I didn't. In fact, when I heard about the single, it didn't even occur to me that it was the harbinger of a whole Beach Boys' album. The idea was that unthinkable.<br />
<br />
But, nonetheless, a new Beach Boys' album came out yesterday. It's their thirtieth studio album, the first new one in two decades, and... it's <i>good</i>. It may be their best album since Pet Sounds. It's... so good that... it makes me want to write. It fills my head with stars and stories and life filling a whole other universe.Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-71996166941893886232012-06-01T15:00:00.003-07:002012-06-06T17:18:01.775-07:00"I'm pretending I'm a pogo stick." -- Elaine, jumping on one foot<br />
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"I'm all gone! I'm all gone!" -- Elaine, with her hood pulled down over her head<br />
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"My brother is a skipping fairy, so all he eats is flowers, grass, mint, and chocolate. That's all he eats!" -- Elaine, introducing her latest imaginary sibling<br />
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"I wish we lived in an igloo where it's very cold, and slippery, and wet, and soggy." -- Elaine, with no further explanationRyffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-22192299964875371742012-05-11T21:33:00.003-07:002012-05-11T21:33:40.561-07:00Elaine and I went on a walk this evening. She spent the whole time telling me about her new baby tiger, Tatsely. He had no mother, so Elaine's sister -- a fairy named Yonga, who lives in a tree house next to our house -- bought Tatsely from the zoo. Yonga comes into our house by flying down the chimney like Santa. She knew that Elaine would like Tatsely, and Elaine has indeed been an excellent mamma to her new tiger. She makes him all his favorite foods and has given him an excellent habitat. He lives in a rainforest with a garden filled with tulips with clownfish inside them, and he has a pond filled with clownfish as well. His favorite foods are clownfish milkshakes, fish pie, and fish noodles. He dreams of fish-watermelon-cake. His wings -- because, he can definitely fly -- are blue with alternating orange stripes and black polka dots. Tomorrow, he'll be collecting seeds from all the clownfish hiding in the tulips so that he and Elaine can plant them.<br /><br />Or... maybe it's the clownfish hiding in the pond...? and they'll shrink into tiny little seeds? So that Elaine can plant him a fishtree?<br /><br />I wish I lived in Elaine's world.Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-34435455277311965122011-12-23T02:25:00.000-08:002011-12-23T02:26:10.208-08:00One of my favorite Khristmas specials starts with the line, "In all this world, there is nothing so beautiful as a happy child." The special is "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus," based on the book of the same name by L. Frank Baum. I love the sense of magic and the feel of a complete, original mythology in L. Frank Baum's version of the story of Santa Claus. It always makes me uncomfortable when Santa Claus mythology is combined with Christian mythology. The two don't really fit together. And while I enjoy movies like The Santa Clause (starring Tim Allen), there is a flippant quality to the mythology in them that isn't satisfying. There is something wonderful and deeply true about the way that the Sesame Street Khristmas special and the classic letter to Virginia in the New York Sun answer the questions behind the idea of Santa Claus, in a sense, by un-asking them. Very zen. Very true. Nonetheless, I do like to see Santa Claus turned into a story that has a mythological wholeness to it.<br /><br />This is all beside the point, though. Watching "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus" with Elaine this Khristmas, I found myself struck by that first line. I'd never paid overmuch attention to it before. I accepted it as a reasonable-seeming concept, although, it in no way spoke to me. Now that I have a child though, I find that it both speaks to me and that I can no longer accept it as reasonable.<br /><br />There is a great deal that is beautiful in this world. A happy child is a beautiful thing. But, unless you are a human, biased by the drug-like chemicals that wash over your brain to reward you whenever you see happy infants and children, a happy child doesn't outshine all the other things of great beauty in this world.<br /><br />A sleeping tiger. The flower-like wings of a deadly preying mantis. Waterfalls. Trees. Snowflakes. Grains of sand, greatly magnified. Two cats playing. A Sheltie prancing in the tall grass of a field. Only humans, under the influence of the drugs generated by their own brains, think that a happy child outshines all these other beauties. Without that peculiarly slanted vision, a happy child is merely a piece of all the other natural beauty in the world we live in.Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102309571127797238.post-88097041819290459872011-12-13T00:35:00.001-08:002011-12-13T00:35:34.752-08:00Elaine asked me to remind her what number comes after thirteen. So, I offered to count with her. We recited numbers together until the mid-thirties, at which point most numbers were accompanied by a break for hysterical giggling. Elaine still doesn't see why we would bother having so many numbers. They're so unnecessary! And therefore comical.<br /><br />Once we got up to one hundred, Elaine seemed to have the pattern down, so I broke off and let her keep counting alone. Once she reached the hundred-teens, the following conversation ensued:<br /><br />"Is that all the numbers?" Elaine asked.<br /><br />"No, it goes on forever," I replied.<br /><br />"Forever?"<br /><br />"Yeah, you can count forever."<br /><br />"But then I won't eat anymore!" she exclaimed.<br /><br />"You won't eat?" I asked her, baffled.<br /><br />"If I keep counting forever," she explained in a nearly incoherent burble, "then I won't eat anymore! I have to eat too! And I'll miss school!"<br /><br />Clearly, numbers are terribly dangerous objects. We really shouldn't keep so many around.Ryffnahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414265531144771680noreply@blogger.com2