throw another bear in the canoe

Five random things make a post.

1) Publishers Weekly review of Dust:

Dust
Elizabeth Bear. Bantam Spectra, $6.99 (342p) ISBN 978-0-553-59107-1

Bear proves there's still juice in one of science fiction's oldest tropes, the stranded generation ship, in this complex coming-of-age tale. Rien, a handmaid in a feudal society, must care for the prisoner Sir Perceval, a mutilated enemy who[m] Rien discovers is her half-sister by an absent scion of the ruling family. Their quest for a safer home tangles with their society's own quest for safety, as the descendents of an artificial intelligence and the genetically engineered crew battle for control to save the ship from an impending supernova. Standard plot devices litter the familiar landscape: tarot, pseudo-angels, named swords with powers, and politics as a family quarrel. But Campbell Award-winning author Bear uses them beautifully to turn up the pressure on her characters, who respond by making hard choices. And?as she did in Carnival and Hammered?Bear breaks sexual taboos matter-of-factly: love in varied forms drives the characters without offering easy redemption. (Jan.)


2) I just repotted the spider plant. It was pushing itself out of the pot, usually a sign it's time. Now it has much more generous digs, and may not be in constant danger of tipping itsdelf over by the weight of its own leaves.

3) Later today, I'm going to do some work on the secrit projekt, and get started on the final pass through Hell & Earth. Wish me luck; I'm going in. At least I might get to write some smut, if I'm lucky.

4) First draft of a winter season playlist. My taste in holiday music is probably questionable, but really, how anybody gets through December without "The St. Stephen's Day Murders" is beyond me.

( Collapse )

Hmm. Think it needs some Hedningarna.

5) Sadly, now it's time to go wash dishes. WAH! DO NOT WANT.

Lo, for I am mighty, I hereby declare that the kitchen is tidy, the floor is clean, the dishes are washed (but not put away), and the turkey carcass is picked and the non-edible bits are in the stock pot, simmering.

My nutriment for the rest of the day is going to be cherry tart, whipped cream, turkey and bread and gravy, red wine, coffee, and pickles.

rikibeth, I have your apron and peeler.

*flops*

So, if angels come to shepherds with annunciations, and aliens come to rednecks with annunciations...

So, it turns out that the people who manufacture truck testicles are very serious about returning 10% of their profits to the community.

http://www.gotnutz.net/yourchrome.htm

I'm torn between writing them to find out if they'll make a set of bosoms for my Honda, or just going with the testes. I think I need a smaller car, though, to really develop the irony properly.

[21:04] matociquala: today, Bear [Grylls] is eating a giant bug
[21:04] leahbobet: A lobster or one of those icky bugs?
[21:04] matociquala: "Like a big prawn that's been sitting around for weeks."
[21:04] clarentine: ew
[21:04] leahbobet: ew.
[21:04] matociquala: um, like a palmetto bug or something
[21:05] clarentine: I'll eat a lot of things, but stuff that looks like bugs are right out.
[21:05] leahbobet: Unless it's a lobster inside.
[21:05] leahbobet: Lobsters can look like whatever they want, I'll eat them.
[21:05] matociquala: yes
[21:05] matociquala: crabs too
[21:06] leahbobet: Also shrimp.
[21:06] matociquala: "It's an endless twisting maze of paths shooting off at different angles!"
[21:06] matociquala: (You are in a maze of twisty passages)
[21:06] matociquala: (all alike)
[21:06] leahbobet: (all alike)
[21:06] matociquala: LOL
[21:06] leahbobet: heee
[21:06] matociquala: (You have been eaten by a Bear.)
[21:07] leahbobet: (You are inside Bear's stomach.)
[21:07] leahbobet: (You see: a camel hump, a bug.)
[21:07] matociquala: (a headless frog)
[21:07] leahbobet: (There is a faint smell of bile.)
[21:07] leahbobet: (Exits are: up.)
[21:07] matociquala: (down)
[21:07] leahbobet: LOL

via yhlee, kaigou explains the psychology of street kids and abuse victims, and how those effects can linger into "straight" adulthood.

Yes. What sie said. Go read these, if you write, or if you are interested in people.

Part one.

Part two.