gypsy_cab's Xanga

The Infamous Holly Lisle

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:17:38 GMT

There's a fantasy author named Holly Lisle whose website is a very good reference for writing advice, exercises, workshops, etc. We, the FA, have in fact been referencing Holly Lisle for years. Funny thing is, not a one of us has ever read any of her books. heheh.

So I went into Barnes & Noble yesterday looking to kill some time between in-town engagements and read some City of Ember because the movie's coming out. The book in question was not where I had last seen it so I poked around among the juvenile fiction in search of it, and in doing so I stumbled across a book by - guess who - none other than Holly Lisle.

It's called The Ruby Key, and it's the first children's book she's done. I got four chapters into it and I like it so far. I'm not bowled-over impressed or anything, but it's a decent start, at least good if not great with the potential to perhaps be great in the latter 2/3 or 3/5 or whatever of the book. I look forward to finishing it, though of course I'll have to plant myself there for an entire day some time next week if I'm to get it read before I go abroad. The only copy I saw was a hardcover, so of course I can't just buy it. *is cheap... is unemployed* It's a shame, 'cause the cover illustration's beautiful.

Quotes About Writing

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:26:30 GMT

So looking through my old "Favorites" I came across this website of quotes about writing. Reading through them was inspirational, you might say, so I thought I'd put in my two-cents worth as if I were a writer who'd actually written anything to make people care what I had to say about writing. lol. A silly excercise, but I had fun and came up with quite a few things. Try it, it's a good time!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I like to write about children because grown-up minds are so distracted with clutter. As a child I was more free to think about real things, but no one would believe I was thinking about real things because I was a child. I like to write for children because I believe them.

Some people write because they have something to say, some just because they like to hear themselves talk, some to explore their world, some to explore themselves, some to be immortalized... I don't have any such goal. Writers, it seems, have a contagious irritation of the brain, and having caught the itch I've made it my business to infect others. Sometimes I think I'm only in the system to perpetuate the system.

I get into trouble using big words. It's not that I'm trying to sound smart; my theory is that being larger they are heavier, and so sift down to the bottom where they are most accessible via mouth or pen.

I didn't love books first; it was stories first, and being a part of them. It all came from playing with my brother and sisters - usually playing stories we'd picked up from books, television, or movies. After having that kind of creative control I could never go back to simply reading books. I was spoiled.

As a child I figured books were for people who weren't lucky enough to have siblings.

A room of one's own is nice to have, but I think what one really needs to be a writer is a late rich uncle.

My mother's been a writer much longer than I have, but I'm still working on convincing her to put anything on paper.

If life were longer and I didn't have to eat I could write the easy, natural way I want to. As it is, it seems my unfortunate fate is to actually become disciplined.

All my favorite authors are dead, a quality I plan to one day emulate.

The Life of a Young Shut-In

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:31:35 GMT

So I'm free now. Done with school, and all that. Still have plenty to do, but I get to do it on my timetable, which is AMAZING!
Still, I haven't been seeing much of people. I'm busy on the weekends against my will with weddings and such, after which I generally have had a sufficient dose of interpersonal interaction, thank you. I am quite content to, oh, say, just for instance, watch the entire series of Scarecrow & Mrs. King (abridged episodes, unfortunately) online.
Then the other day I was glancing over my Facebook, and on an application called GoodReads (on which I post what I am reading, what I have been reading, and what I plan to read) I noticed this:

I wonder if that's a commentary on my life.

The Man From Uncle

Wed, 28 May 2008 01:08:59 GMT

And speaking of blasts from the past, here is the pilot episode for an absolute classic of spy tv:

AOL video has a lot of other episodes too, so feel free to get addicted!

Point of interest: The fella who played Illya (the blond Russian near the beginning, a regular on the show) now plays Ducky on NCIS.

Narnia Nostalgia

Wed, 14 May 2008 19:57:18 GMT

TWO DAYS TO GO on the Walden/Disney Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian theatrical release countdown!
Excited yet? I am!
... And in case the nostalgia isn't hitting you quite hard enough yet, here's another blast from the past:

Part One:

Part Two:

Narnia: Prince Caspian

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:20:23 GMT

We Came, We Saw, We Conquered: Texas Edition

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:21:41 GMT

Well, we've left San Antonio and are now semi-comfortably ensconced in a Motel 6 in Greenville, Texas (where, like our last hotel, wifi is only accessible from the lobby; and where, unlike our last hotel, said lobby has no chairs). I was telling Tryphena last night or today some time that we should just make a simple list of what we saw, since we probably don't have the time or energy to actually journal about it and we don't want to forget. You know me, so you know it's gonna turn out long anyway, but here goes.

Tuesday:
Travelled in Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas. Saw 0 armadillos. Got pulled over by 2 Texas state cops for the same dead headlight within 15 miles of one another and 30 miles of our destination. I was driving both times.

Wednesday:
More travelling through Texas. Drove through Dallas, Waco, Austin, and - get this - DeSoto, TX. Arrived in San Antonio. Went to the hotel in the SW corner of the city, realized the airport was in the NE corner, picked Meg up from the airport. Saw giant pair or cowboy boots and lots of palm trees. Beginning to suspect armadillos to be a myth.

Thursday:
Spent the day on Lackland Air Force Base. Got Molly for "base freedom" in the afternoon. Had lunch at Godfather's. Ben called during Lunch and Molly ate and talked at the same time - in a very pofessional, airmanlike manner, of course. Hit every BX on the base. Sunburned.

Friday:
Watched Mo graduate from boot camp. Got Mo for "town pass" in the afternoon. Saw the Alamo. Got separated from everybody but Meg and wandered around the vicinity of the Alamo, seeing such sights as the Ripley's: Believe it or Not storefronts and the Torch of Friendship. Remembered the Alamo. Reunited with family, walked to the River Walk. Took a River Walk guided boat tour, which I TOTALLY recommend! BARELY got Mo back to base on time.

Saturday:
Mo had all-day town pass, which meant it was time to go to SEA WORLD! She couldn't find any lonely family-less wingmen to bring along, so it was just us folks minus Grandma. This is what we saw and did:
- Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales (I got to touch one)
- the killer whale show, featuring Shamu and about four (?) other orcas. (Note: This was so, so, so, so, SO, so cool!)
- baluga/dolphin/human acrobats show
- crocs (Mo's in the 320th, whose mascot is a croc)
- sea lions (one sat on its head... not as a trick, just 'cause it felt like it; so funny!)
- otters! (yay!) both Asian and North American
- a spinny-upside-downy-coaster: fun, but too short
- a long swoopy roller coaster; closer, but also too short imho; great view of San Antonio though
That may not sound like much, but it was a reasonably full day and quite satisfying. The only thing I would do differently, had I more energy and time, is I would have seen the orcas twice. They were by far the coolest thing, to me at any rate. Also, I'm writing them to ask for the addition of armadillos to the park. (Hey, if they can have Clydesdales...)
After that we went back to our hotel, where Molly insisted we watch Stargate together for old times' sake while she went through the stuff she'd asked us to bring and decided what she REALLY wanted to bring to tech school. BARELY got Mo back to base on time.
We had a late dinner at the Denny's next to our hotel, and we met Meg's friend Ryan who worked over where she lives (Papa and Grandma met him before, when they were there) whose parents live in San Antonio. Told him my plans to travel to the other side of the world my first time flying. He told me I was crazy, which, as you can imagine, was news to me.

Sunday:
Papa took Meg back to the airport at three in the morning and she left for Orlando.
The rest of us went to church with Molly on base. There were a few family members of graduates there, but primarily it was Air Force trainees. It was really great to watch how meaningful it was to them. Like Mo says, "'There are no atheists in foxholes'...or in boot camp." They played a music video - you may have seen it before, but I hadn't - of a song called Letters from Home. In any other setting I might have thought it kind of cheesy, probably wouldn't have cared much... but those trainees cheered like you wouldn't believe when it came on, end even more when the soldier comes home at the end. Mo says some of the people in her flight cry every time.
Had lunch with Mo on base - she packed away so much Godfather's pizza. Papa said, "We're not gonna be able to finish this;" but she said, "Speak for your own self. Nothin' can stop the Air Force, the song says so," and downed another slice of pepperoni, some streudel, and some monkey bread. Verily, she is mighty.
Headed back up to Greenville. I drove most of the way and still haven't seen an armadillo. I think I've been fed a lie this whole time and there is no such thing.

p.s. Mo says during graduation the guy next to her passed out and face-planted into the guy in front of him (not an uncommon occurrence for exhausted graduates if they lock their knees or fail to properly hydrate). She didn't laugh till later, but - she brags - retained her "military bearing."
p.p.s. Mo had her hair in a "sock bun" the first two days, which is rather doughnut-esque and leaves a nice indent at the back of her head for Phebe and I to poke. We got away with this much more than we would have with the old Molly. That's military bearing for you.

Airman Reeder

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:41:55 GMT

Here she is! If you squint she still looks like herself.

My Sister Wears Combat Boots

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:48:31 GMT

This hotel we're staying at now has wifi, but it doesn't apparently reach to our rooms so last night and tonight we've come to the lobby for a bit before bed to check e-mails etc. Tonight I also have to check when Iron Man comes out, becaues Molly wants to know.
Molly! Who is graduating from boot camp tomorrow!
We got to see her today, and she is SO TANNED! More tanned than any of us knew some one in our family could get. She has to wear glasses instead of contacts, too - just for basic - so she looked really different. Also, she's lost weight and when we saw her she was wearing her dress blues. Tomorrow is when she actually graduates, and then we get to take her off base for the afternoon. We're going to the San Antonio River Walk and to the Alamo. (We're also going to work on my movie for school, filming my parents' scene.) The next day, aparently, we're going to SeaWorld. Grandma doesn't particularly want to go, so the folks told Mo to adopt some poor fellow airman whose family couldn't come for the day. I hope that works out, 'cause it would be really nice.

P.S. There was a t-shirt that said "My Sister Wears Combat Boots," which of course I wanted... but it wasn't all that attractive, and I didn't have any money anyway, so I didn't get it.

And in Weather...

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:52:46 GMT

I forgot to mention we've had massive flooding down here. You may have heard, but not from me. Well, it is the case. The water got up almost over our road (and we live on a hill), which has never happened in the history of... ever. So yeah, that's a lot of water. We got - what was it? - like 3 months' rain in about three days? Yeah, it's been crazy... But our house stayed dry.

Just thought I'd share, 'cause it's interesting.

p.s. I love this anime... but unless you're used to anime wierdness and have a taste for shojo once in a while - and, hm, have a tolerance for some sadness mixed in with the funny... yeah, unless you have all those qualifications, you might not like it. But I like it, I like it a lot. I'm currently watching it on YouTube, huzzah! ^_^