Hey, is there any specific term for a dish of rice cooked with other stuff in it? I've always called the category "pilaf," but apparently that's technically incorrect, as tanaise informs me that a pilaf has to contain orzo or other pasta?

Basically I'm thinking of dishes such as red beans and rice, dirty rice, arroz con frijoles, biryani, tagine, paella, jambalaya, pilaf, fried rice, risotto, and so on. It seems like every culture has one--

(Right now, as part of operation Clean The Fridge, I am making one containing brown rice, diced sundried tomatoes, preserved lemon, kalamata olives, and almonds, and a fistful of red lentils. It smells awfully good.)

Questions, part IIIII:

---

What's your unified theory of Emily Prentiss?

or 23 days until more Criminal Minds, are you excited? :)

I'm totally geeked, of course. And very much hoping to get some more Prentiss backstory this year, yes. I don't have anything as concrete as a theory, really, but I have several hypotheses, all of which I am prepared to see proven wrong.

Eee! *bounces*

Now it's 22 days. *g*

---

What sorts of things have you been faunching after lately? And no, of course I'm not asking because you've got a birthday coming up, don't be silly. (Gives stern glare. Really really stern. Seriously.)

Hmm. Most of my faunching currently is given to things like, oh, a yard where I can have a dog; a place to live that my books and cookware will fit into; some nice fat subsidiary rights deals to PAY for the yard where I can have the dog and the place to live that my books and cookware will fit into; and a decent relationship with somebody who is willing to put up with me (though God knows why anyone would).

Alas, none of these appear to be currently forthcoming, nor even lurking thoughtfully on the horizon. 

But I do have new sheets! And a fluffy comforter!

---

You can ask a question here.

Questions, part IV:

---

Imagine you are given a chance to go to sleep and wake up tomorrow with any one ability perfected, as long as it is not that of learning new skills. A kind of instant expertise, for lack of a better term. What would you choose?

Money management. :-P

---

Question: which of your works (stand-alone or series) do you see most adaptable for film? TV?

Shadow Unit. ;-)

I dunno. Strangely, everything I've written has been largely ignored by Hollywood. I can't imagine why. *innocent expression*

---

Pirates or ninjas? And why?

Ninjas.

Because pirates are boooooooooooring. And ninjas can install telephones.

---

I've read your short story 'Botticelli' and the excerpt of One Eyed Jack and the Suicide King that is posted at Subterranean Press. I was wondering if there are more stories about the Russian and the American that you have?

There are not. I should mention here that those are not the same Russian and American from story to story. I had two different ideas about what sort of creatures they might be, and used one on the novel and the other in the short story.

---

One of your more recent posts gave me a question idea: If Blood and Iron were to be made into a movie, who would you cast as everyone? (I personally think Tilda Swinton would be an awesome Mebd, but that's just me...and probably because she was also the White Witch in Narnia...typecasting much?)

I actually don't cast my movies in my head, generally speaking--my characters tend to look like themselves to me, and not actors. I think Claudia Black could do a good job with Elaine, though--she's got the beaky nose and the brittle--and I used an image of Eric Stoltz as my Matthew icon, although he's rather too good looking and not enough of a musclebound freak. Other than that, er. Colin Salmon for Whiskey, maybe? And of course everything's better with Tilda.

stillsostrange  rather likes Tony Curran for Keith. 

Michael Sheen could probably be a pretty good Ian.

No idea who to cast as the Ukrainian wolf, though.

---

You can ask a question here.

Questions, part the tree:

---

You're one of the bloodthirstier women writers I know. Can you talk some about the role of violence in your work, and also about whatever reactions you might've gotten to your being a *woman* writer who writes such violent material? (Yes, I'm assuming there've been some, but if not, then not.)

That's such an interesting question. I don't think of what I write as particularly bloodthirsty--I'm not writing splatterporn, after all, or anything that really revels in violence. When I use violence in my work, it generally is there because violence sometimes happens in the real world, and while I try not to flinch from it, I also generally don't make it the focal point of what I write. I'm not, you know, writing in the tradition of Chuck Palahniuk.

I do generally write what people would refer to as "noir" or "high-mud," fiction, I guess, which in this context I would mean that I try very hard not to glorify the violence or make it seem clean or pretty. (Which would be why I picked this particular icon for this post, actually, because you have a love a TV show that'll demonstrate a protagonist chocking on his own vomit and then crying while snot runs down his face. Well, I have to love it.)

As for being a woman writer who treats violence that way--well, I've heard my work called "castrated" (books have testicles?) and "squeamish," actually--both of which make me laugh. And I've been praised for the poetry of my violence, which--well, yeah, there ought to be a kind of poetry in it, in the sense that poetry is truth.

But I'm not sure anybody commenting on it has noticed that I'm a girl.

---

After ACtW, I now have a jones to see you (with or without truepenny) write a female ensemble cast. (Yeah, yeah, I know there's sorta one in parts of Carnival. Not the same.) What are my chances of seeing something of the sort?

Depends on if I have a book that warrants it. There's an awful lot of Blood & Iron that's woman-centric; the men, in general, are more in support roles (even the ones who have POV.) (Some readers have also commented on this, both in praise or dismay.)

I'd say, off the bat, that your chances are better with me than with truepenny.

---

Is there a book (or two or five?) by someone else that you wished YOU had written first?

I wish I'd written the ones I did write a little better. *g*

I generally like other people's books better than my own, actually. So if I had written any of my favorite books, well. Then they wouldn't be my favorite books.

---

How does the process of writing with a partner compare to writing alone?

Writing with a partner is just as much work, but more fun, because when you get stuck you get to send it to the other guy, and she writes the bit you were stuck on. And then elves come in the night and take out all your bad sentences. What's not to love?

Does the partnership generate the story, or does an existing story wave and say "write me with so-and-so?"

I'm not sure how the second of these would work. There is no existing story until it's written. Are you asking if one writer dictates the plot while the other does the work of actually putting the words on paper? Perhaps in some collaborations, but not the ones I've been involved in. The story--plot, characterization, worldbuilding, theme--arise from the creators jamming with each other, talking things over, and riffing on each other's ideas.

---

How do you pronounce "Mebd"?

"Maeve." Yes, it is the source from which both "Maeve" and "Mab" are derived, as far as I know.  She was the major instigator of the plot of the Táin Bó Cuailnge, and I always rather loved her and Emer and Scathac. I need to use Scathac in something one of these days.

---

You can ask a question here.

Questions, part two:

---

Apart from any health benefits, what would you say has been the biggest bonus you've gotten from all this athletic fun (climbing, archery, running, etc) you've been doing?

Well, I ran in junior high and high school; getting back into it has been really satisfying, because I had initially stopped due to joint problems. And I've been shooting--well, I got my first bow when I was sixteen (I still have it)--but there have been a lot of long hiatuses in there. I've been more consistent about yoga and weight lifting--that was easier to do in Nevada, where any kind of outdoor activity is just a loss seven months out of the year--although I have pretty much quit with the weights currently, as the climbing is giving me better strength gains than lifting ever did.

The biggest benefit for me of physical activity is that it's awfully good for your brain chemicals. Which is, after all, a health benefit, as is improved strength and wind and balance and confidence. I missed my athleticism. Also, climbing is just fun.

---

did Mebd like the glittery scurrying catnip toy we sent her?

Mebd, alas, spurns all toys except catnip bags and glitterballs.

---

Since I'm almost finished reading Dust (thank you so much and it rocks), what was your inspiration for it?

Oh, god. One inspiration? Pretty sure I can't boil it down that far. Books get built out of very complex patterns, for me, and assembled piece by piece over years until they finally fall into a pattern that makes sense to me.

I've had the character of Jacob Dust in my head for years, literally, and was just waiting for a place to use him. When I finally figured it out, the world just kind of fell into place around him. And I had a great deal of fun playing with the epic fantasy references in a science fiction setting.

---

Do you practice more to increase your strengths or weaknesses? Which one and why, and any other comments about learning and skillbuilding please.

I practice to increase my weaknesses!

Okay, well, here's the thing. When learning a new skill, generally speaking, one starts off with nothing but weaknesses. Slowly, one becomes better at certain aspects of the craft. And if you want to be good at something, you have to direct your practice towards gaining specific new aspects of the skill and then mastering them. However, you also have to be aware of your weaknesses and work on fixing them.

To resort to metaphor, if you're trying to play tennis, you need a good forehand, backhand, serve, and hustle.

On the other hand, we often (in my writer's group) talk about how "good enough" isn't. And that it's not the things you don't do wrong that sells a story--it's the things you do right. So you have to attain a certain level of competence in everything relating to a task you wish to excel at. And then you have to get as good as you can at as many aspects of that skill as you can.

---

When you start writing a story/novel, do you know how it's going to end? How far ahead do you "see" as you write?

Every single one is different. Most commonly, I figure out the denouement about a third of the way into the draft. The climax I usually write as I get to it. But sometimes I figure out the end first. *g* And on the novella I'm working on now, I have everything written except the climax and the denouement, and I'm totally stuck on how they happen. Which is why I am here answering questions.

*g*

---

You can ask a question here.

Questions, part one:

---

In "Dog and Crow" are you planning to expand the legend that Matthias Corvinus descended from the Fae that had passed through the region?

Well, it's very up in the air right now whether I'll get to write any more Promethean Age books, as I currently do not have a publisher for them. In some ways, this is kind of an immediate relief, as I had managed to get myself pretty overcommitted with a schedule requiring three novels a year. So right now, my focus is on the Jacob's Ladder and Edda of Burdens books.

However, I should have the first three Eddas books put to bed by mid-2009, and the last Jacob's Ladder book completed by the end of 2009 (I hope), which will free me up to decide what I'm doing next. At that point, economics and creative impulse will have to be taken into account--it's possible there will be more Eddas books; it's a rich world, and there's a lot to recommend that course. I may also try to continue the Promethean Age series. I have book five written in a complete draft. It needs some revision, but it's ready to go. And I have book six started.

All of which backstory leads me to say, the short answer to your question is maybe. I haven't started working on Dog and Crow yet, though I have done a fair amount of preliminary research, and Matthias Hunyadi "Corvinus" is a fascinating fellow. One thing I do know about the book is that if it does get written, the title characters are, of course, Corvinus himself, and Stephen Bathory (Báthory István--that's Stephen Bathory the Fifth, for those of you playing the home game).  And of course his brother Nicolaus. (Bathorys and Hunyadis coming out my ears, yo) will also have a role. 

I also know that it will be a book about the realities of living with a Dragon Prince, and the legacy of a Dragon Prince.

---

Sarah says you wrote the sex in ACtW, and you say she did. Emma says you wrote the torture in Refining Fire, and you say she did.

So tell us, truly--Emma wrote the sex, and Sarah wrote the torture, right?


God, I hope there was no sex in Refining Fire. If there was, please don't tell me.

---

When you thought of the first Promethean Age story, did it come with the whole sekrit history attached? Did you realize it was going to have the great big cool panorama effect it's developing?

Well, no.

Okay, I started working on Blood and Iron when I was in high school. And originally, I thought what I had was three graphic novels, which were titled, in sequence, Shadowhand, A Glass of Rain, and The Wolf and the Heather.

And then this guy named Matt Wagner published a little something entitled Mage, I'm sure you've never heard of it. *g* And I realized that even if I found an artist--always a sticking point!--I would be treading in some well-work footsteps.

So I began to revision Shadowhand as a novel. The book went through multiple rewrites, many of them drastic, to reach its final form, and along the way had about four titles. (My agent and I still refer to it as "Bridge" when we forget ourselves, from the third of those--Bridge of Blood & Iron. Eventually, the shortened form prevailed.) The published novel includes the plots of the original Shadowhand and The Wolf and the Heather. A Glass of Rain wound up being much of the foundation for Whiskey and Water.

Somewhere along the way, what I realized was that I didn't have just a nice little urban fantasy that owed and enormous debt of gratitude to (ahem) Emma Bull's War for the Oaks and Pamela Dean's Tam Lin, but a secret history. It was about the time that I figured out the stuff about the Dragon Princes and the Prometheus Club, actually, which was what gave the book a sense of scope.

Initially, back in the day, there was just the Seeker and the Merlin and the Kelpie and the Wolf and the Dragon and the Queen, you see, and random other characters. The Merlin was male, and much younger--an engineering student rather than a geology professor. Matthew's role was filled by a vampire with some long-term psychological issues about Merlins, and he actually ties in nicely to the whole Dragon Prince mythology due to his origins. The funny thing is, I came up with him before the Dragon Prince thing clicked. 

If I ever get to write Patience and Fortitude, you'll get to meet him; his (current) name is Daniel Tescher, and he lives on Joy Street on Beacon Hill in Boston. There's also a drag queen werewolf... and of course the returning characters.

Anyway, to answer the actual question, once I had the Dragon Prince thing, it was obvious that I was writing a secret history, and I had to figure out who they were. I had the Pendragon, of course, and Vlad Dracula--who I had already extensively researched for other reasons. And then I went scouring history for a couple more that would make sense, around the right time periods to have one showing up every five hundred years, and found my bloody-minded folk heroes that way. And that gave me, well, two thousand years of history to talk about. Which is room for a lot of books.

---

I notice that your prose style is often very connotative (I guess that's the word), as opposed to always being completely concrete. Is this a conscious decision or just the way you write?

Hmm. I'm not sure I understand the question. Connotative in this case could mean, I suppose, allusive? In other words, I tend to demonstrate things by indirection rather than stating them outright?

In answer, it's just the way my brain works. I was a poet for years before I started being able to write prose fiction, and it's much easier for me to think in parallel than is sequence. The hardest thing for me to learn as a writer is to be concrete and linear, because for me so much of the important part of the story is the thematic argument. Which is probably why I often find a lot of popular fiction very flat and unrewarding. Most people seem to prefer linearity.

Blood and Iron is the book that most closely reflects the way my brain works, and even that, I've been over thirteen times (at least) in an attempt to make it as transparent as possible. The stories that really feel like me to me, as opposed to me translated for people who are not me, are--let's see. "L'esprit d'escalier: not a play in one act" which is in my collection The Chains that you Refuse, and which I really ought to webify one of these days. "Sonny Liston Takes The Fall" (in The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy) is a perfect example of how I generally sense and process information. That's the way I write when I'm not trying to make myself understood and speak a common language.

Of course, my best-received stories (such as "Tideline" and "Two Dreams on Trains") are often very linear. But that's because I work to make them that way, and force them to be as concrete as possible. Because that's where craftsmanship comes in, I guess.

---

How did you come up with the story "Tideline"? Does it belong to any of the universes your other stories are in? (As a side note: The end kind of almost made me cry a little. Maybe >.>)

Well, thank you.

No, "Tideline" stands entirely on its own, as far as I know. Maybe someday I will find a connection or write another story in that setting, but I have nothing else right now.

As for where it came from--the piece was inspired by a necklace made by Elise Matthesen, our own Lioness. The necklace is entitled "Sinner in the Hands of a Mildly Startled Buddha," and you may see a picture of it attacking me in the Elizabeth Park Rose Garden here, taked by batwrangler.

---

Is there anything mythological-y in the Promethian Age books that come just from your head as opposed to being an allusion to another myth (the references are making me geek out every few pages, btdubs).

The Dragon Princes are all mine. Well, not the actual Dragon Princes. but the idea of Dragon Princes.

---

Who is your favorite character in Shadow Unit? To write, and in general (if there's a difference).

Oh, god, I love 'em all. I have to say, though, that Brady and Todd will walk away with any damned scene you let them near.

---

Where'd you get that cool userpic with the cat in the CPU? And can I steal it? :D

It's a repurposed LOLcat. And sure. *g*

---

You can ask a question here.

So the novella is being recalcitrant again, and today was a busy day in all sorts of not terribly productive ways (I shot really well, though, so that was nice. I think I've had a breakthrough; my archery has really imrpoved in the last six weeks or so. despite the two weeks in a row where we blew off archery. *g*).

So I thought I would steal back a meme truepenny recently borrowed, and offer to answer questions.

Comments are screened. I reserve the right to select which questions I answer. *g*

Okay, I realize this makes me look like an unprofessional idiot, but four of five drafts and ten months later, I honestly cannot remember. And I think if I have to read that book again, there will be blood. And it will be mine.

And then you won't get to read the sequel.

At any point in Dust, does Tristen indicate his opinion of/relationship with Arianrhod, either by implication or express statement?

I know what I think he thinks, but I can't remember what he said.

four things make a post, because I ran out:

I think I have finished the revision of "King Pole, Gallows Pole, Bottle Tree." I got a little more than 400 words out of the first twenty pages. And I think the rest of it was already pretty okay, so I just poked it a little.

Favorite paragraph that didn't survive the surgery:

Hey, did you know Lassie was a boy dog? True story. They're bigger and more impressive, so that's what got cast. She may have been the first drag queen on TV.

So tomorrow I can print it out and mail it in.

---

So, ashacat and I are contemplating taking up a martial art in the spring, and I was wondering, from the martial artists reading this--what do you practice, and what do you like/dislike about it?

---

A nice thoughtful review of A Companion to Wolves at Hippoi Athanatoi. I feel like I should correct a misapprehension re: auctorial intent, there. Sarah and I didn't write the book with the intent to shock anybody. Rather, we wrote the book because we were having fun with the genderfuck and worldbuilding and story, and we wanted to shine some light into a corner of the genre we both had some problems with. And when we had finished, we looked at it and said, well, this is gonna be a tough sell, and is going to ruffle a few feathers.

And then we decided to sell it anyway. Though that took a while.

(We did have one publisher before Tor make an offer on it, if we took the sex out. Which more or less would have made it the book we were having the issues with in the first place, so we politely declined.)

I'm generally pleased and surprised that the response has been so overwhelmingly positive, with a few exceptions, and that many people seem to be taking the genderfuck in stride. (The secondhand comment here from somebody who has worked with wolf-packs and who thought the canine dynamic was realistic, made me bounce up and down and squee. Trellwolves are not socially exactly like earth wolves, but I think their behavior pattern works pretty well, biologically speaking, given their genetics.)

Also, for the record, Sarah wrote all the sex scenes. And Emma wrote all the torture scenes.

Oh, wait.

That other one is a different book, and you haven't read it yet. *g*

---

[19:51] matociquala: I think I need pajamas
[19:51] matociquala: And a hatchet.
[19:51] stillnotbored: o.0
[19:55] cristalia: ...
[19:56] cristalia: You were called by the guy from Scream?
[19:56] matociquala: Revising.
[19:56] matociquala: Or, sorry
[19:56] matociquala: "Revising"
[19:56] matociquala: *lays about self*
[19:56] matociquala: HEEEYAH!
[19:57] cristalia: heeee
[19:57] stillnotbored: I am so missing something
[19:57] matociquala: *hews words*
[19:57] matociquala: 41! 42! 43!
[19:57] matociquala: the last one had an iron collar
[19:58] cristalia: de rigeur in Mordor this spring.

---

Anybody know the source of the quote, "Childhood ends the moment you know you are going to die."?

Also, my space opera disguised as an epic quest fantasy/epic quest fantasy disguised as a space opera just grew a chosen one. Oddly enough, it's not who I expected it to be. Apparently I am also contriving to swipe from deconstruct Dune.

I also lifted an entire subplot from Roger Zelazny last night, but I'm pretty sure nobody will notice after I spend a few hours on it with the hammer. I mean, other than the entire internet, you know.

And now, I must go back to writing creepy paternal villain internalizations. Apparently, this is a book about father/daughter relationships. And the ethics of creating God.

All right, coffee break's over. Back on your heads.

---

We are stardust
We are golden
We are billion-year-old carbon.

--Joni Mitchell

---

Mm. Gotta buy that new-ish Vienna Teng album. And the new-ish Dar.

congrats to scott_lynch, naominovik, and Theodora Goss on their nominations for the Crawford Award.

So, it's -12 out there with windchill (that's a great big swinging American -12, not yer sissy Canadian -12) and I'm not budging out from under this afghan today for love or money. Which means its Ask Bear A Question day.

Comments are screened. Go ahead; ask me something. Anything. I might even answer it.

See, there's this thing writers do, where they repeat cliched description rather that digging for authentic, telling detail. But sometimes the attempt to come up with an effective description bogs down in not having the appropriate sterile instruments for a spot of self-mutilation:

[18:55] matociquala: is blood really salty?
[18:55] stillsostrange: some people's
[18:56] stillsostrange: it depends
[18:56] matociquala: I should just stab my finger.
[18:56] stillsostrange: I think maybe it's more salt from the skin
[18:56] stillsostrange: Mine is more coppery.  Steven's is more irony.
[18:56] matociquala: My skin's not very salty, unless I am sweating.
[18:56] matociquala: Mine is kind of umami-sweet, I think.
[18:57] matociquala: with overtones of copper penny. *g*
[18:57] stillsostrange: Now I wonder
[18:57] stillsostrange: maybe it's not salty
[18:57] stillsostrange: maybe fiction has lead me astray
[18:57] stillsostrange: Mine is metallic and sweet
[18:58] stillsostrange: Maybe vampires bite a lot of sweaty people
[18:58] matociquala: I think of it as seaweedy.
[18:58] matociquala: I wonder if Rien knows what seaweed tastes like.
[18:58] matociquala: I bet you would have algae tanks on a generation ship.
[18:58] stillsostrange: I wish I still had some clean razorblades.  I would check.
[18:58] matociquala: LOL
[18:59] matociquala: Yeah, I was just thinking I don't have a clean enough needle.
[18:59] matociquala: What we do for our art.
[18:59] stillsostrange: I can never draw blood with a needle

ETA
[19:08] matociquala: *goes to stab finger*
[19:08] stillsostrange: hee
[19:08] stillsostrange: see, the stabbing hurts me way more than slicing
[19:09] stillsostrange: I'd much rather slice my arm
[19:09] matociquala: I'll stab my wrist instead, really
[19:09] stillsostrange: I still have a nice scar from high school.
[19:10] stillsostrange: oh, found a razorblade
[19:11] matociquala: I'm not bleeding well, dammit.
[19:11] matociquala: stupid platelets.
[19:12] matociquala: I could just shave my legs.
[19:12] matociquala: that would no doubt result in blood.
[19:14] stillsostrange: hee
[19:14] stillsostrange: that always works for me
[19:14] matociquala: I think I am settling on seaweedy and metal-sweet.
[19:15] matociquala: the internets think it's umami-sweet-metallic
[19:16] stillsostrange: I think this razor is dull
[19:16] stillsostrange: or I really suck at this
[19:17] matociquala: We fail self-injury
[19:17] stillsostrange: yes
[19:17] stillsostrange: I lose at the blood-letting
[19:18] matociquala: Nobody thinks blood is salty.
[19:18] matociquala: vampire fiction lies.
[19:19] stillsostrange: oh woes
[19:19] stillsostrange: I'm going to blame this on the razor
[19:20] stillsostrange: But I can probably use it to take off my old flaking window stickers. :P
[19:20] stillsostrange: I'll surely cut myself doing that
[19:20] matociquala: Report back, if you do.

---

So, what do you say? Has anybody here ever coughed up a nice lungful of bright red froth? Because that's what I need to describe....

(gee, and I wonder why Rien wouldn't give me an opening line.)

.

What's the Spanish name for organization we refer to in English as the Inquisition, specifically the Spanish branch thereof? The office, I mean--Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis Sanctum Officium (Holy Office of Inquisition into Heretical Wickedness, I love that).

H'ep?
.

Anybody out there remember if, in 1983, New York State youth licenses had any kind of signifier on them indicating the age of the driver?

This was during the brief period when the legal drinking age was 19, if that jogs your memory any.

So, um. I need a couple of volunteers.

Really, this is research.

I need a tattoo artist or five who are willing to answer questions regarding the process. (I know at least two read this journal occasionally; knowing the magic of livejournal, I expect another one will be along in a minute.)

And, er. I need somebody who's willing to talk about CBT (not in the interactive computing nor the psychotherapy senses, but the BDSM one), from the point of view of the recipient thereof, and answer a few technical and sensory questions.

Since I don't have the requisite physiology, I need somebody who's willing to be frank. Confidentiality respected, of course.

Comments are screened. Email will reach me at the usual place ([this journal name] at gmail dot com).

mygahdilovemyjobholdsbreathandhitspost

***

So, hey. A question for those with more nautical experience than myself.

Say you're in a seaworthy fifty-foot houseboat. Would you rather meet a cyclone moored in a shallow bay with some thoroughly brutal tides (we're not on Earth) or run for it and try to get around the edge of the storm? (It's necessary to the plot that they run for it; I need justifications. *g*)

You've got, oh, fourteen hours warning. There are likely to be tornadoes as well.

Hey, anybody out there good at Midtown West?

I need an apartment building somewhere in this general vicinity (saw, on West 60th, not too far from the park) that could date back to the early 70's.

What do we think of that brown complex on the corner of Columbus Ave? What is that thing?

NB: Looking at pictures of Manhattan in Google Earth is tweaked. Because the sat images are taken from different angles, the buildings look stirred.

It is a manual demolition tool, neither a crowbar nor a wrecking bar, chiefly composed of an iron staff about four feet long. One end is thicker than the other. The more slender end is round, and capped with a mushroom-shaped metal end suitable for smacking the crap out of with your sledgehammer. The thicker end is four-sided, coming to a pyramidal point, suitable for whaling into things like old cement footings to make them go away.

Now.

What the heck is this thing called?

ETA THANK YOU WE HAVE A WINNER. It is a diamond-pointed digging bar.

---

( on the naming of parts )

***

( Thomas Campion: )

( William Shakespeare: )

Really. Somebody's a little more at home with his mortality than somebody else, I'd say.

Also, how the hell did I manage to miss this all these years?

In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed, whereon it must expire,
Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by. *

That thing Tim Powers talks about, where you start rooting around in history trying to find material with which to make stuff up and wind up half-convinced you've uncovered a vast conspiracy? It's so bloody true.

It's a good thing I put elves in mine, or I'd be convinced by now. (This is how conspiracy theorists are born. Well, that and the uneasy suspicion that between them, Francis Walsingham and Robert Cecil were really the instigators of every assassination attempt they allegedly foiled for a good fifty years.)

* Yeah, yeah, everybody in period from Marlowe to Descartes. I'm sure it's just because they all had syphilis. It's still creepy at 7 am.

Incidentally, does anybody know who the subject of Campion's Arthur epigram is? Google is less than helpful with that, though it's giving me creepy sonnets galore.

Camelot project, previously linked but worth rolling in some more.

Memo to me: read The Misfortunes of Arthur Dude, it's got an Angharad in it.

***

Anybody know who might have done an acoustic, instrumental version of "The Story in Your Eyes"? We heard a few bars of it today, and I am earwormed of it now. And here I am with only the plugged version, which is not satisfying the earworm.

It was kind of a plummy, classical-sounding guitar, if that helps any.