Inner Peace Is For Losers

Weekend

2008-07-01T17:16:26Z

I just returned from Hypericon 4 in Nashville. The weekend was a good time.

It started with Rick and me taking our daughter to music camp, where her audition resulted in first chair, percussion, wind ensemble. That's a pretty high-level band, so way to go, kid! Proud of ya.

From there we headed to Ann Arbor, where we lived back in the day. We ate Cottage Inn pizza and wandered around town and U of M campus. Sadly, A2 is not the town we remembered, and we've lost our desire to move back there. Stil, it was a pleasant day and night spent there. It's rare that we get time to ourselves, minus kids.

In the morning I was dropped at Detroit Metro airport for the flight to Nashville, which went off without a hitch. Metro has an awesome fountain, but for some reason it wasn't running. There's also a tunnel between AB and CD, which has a very cool light and music show. Better than O'Hare's, I'd say.

So, on to the con. This was my first experience as a guest. Thanks, Fred! It was very cool. I had two panels, both on podcasting. The first, on Friday, was about promoting your podcast. matt_wallace and I represented Variant Frequencies. Mark Kinney was there for All Games Considered, and some very charming folks from the South Eastern Paranormal Society. We had a lively discussion with a smallish audience. It was great to see Mark again, who we met last year, and meet some new folks.

The second panel was on Saturday. Same group of folks, and we talked about what we've learned as podcasters and how our podcasts are better than when we started.

We were a small but mighty group.

Party-wise, Friday night was pretty dead. I had some pizza from hell with Matt and Natalie and chilled out a while. (Matt described this pizza as "mediocre" but he's being generous. My GI tract is still protesting.)

Saturday night, though, was the Apex room party. That was pretty cool. Alethea Kontis was mixing drinks called Brains. They were awesome. Here's the recipe: you pour some VERY cold peach schnaps into a shot glass. Gently squirt or pour in a dab of Bailey's Irish Cream, and then add a few drops of grenadine. The Baileys sort of congeals in the center, so it looks like a tiny little brain floating in a glass. The grenadine looks like blood has settled to the bottom. It's the perfect drink for horror types. Looks gross, but it's sweet and tasty.

Since I was the one with the camera, there's only one picture of me from the con. Matt has it up in his blog.

Now, about the hotel. I was not impressed. The people at the desk were friendly and helpful, the bed was comfortable, and the AC worked great. That's the upside.

The downside was that the cleaning was suspect, there was no phone in my room, the jacuzzi didn't work, and the bar was closed. That's right, no bar. How the hell do you have a con with no bar?!

But all in all, it was a good experience. Met some great people, made some great connections for the podcast and for Murky Depths. Had breakfast with Jason Sizemore on Sunday. We talked about kids. Chatted with Fran Friel, also about kids. Saw lots of awesome artwork, game stuff, and books. Bought some books, got one signed by Jeremy Lewis. Nice guy. I'm looking forward to digging into his book.

Enough rambling. I had a grand time, but it's good to be home.

1937-2008

2008-06-23T15:58:23Z

"I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately."
--George Carlin

Hypericon!

2008-06-14T17:30:34Z

The schedule is up for Hypericon 4 so I checked it out. I'm on two panels: "PROMOTING PODCASTS AND PODCASTS PROMOTING YOU" on Friday at 6pm, and "WHY MY FIRST PODCAST MAY HAVE SUCKED" at noon on Saturday.

I'm psyched. This will be my first experience as a guest at a con, and I do know a little bit about podcasting. At least, the way we do it. It'll be fun to act like an authority and talk about this stuff. And, of course, the room parties.

Hypericon runs June 27-29 at the Days Inn Stadium in Nashville. Hoping for a good turnout!

Spreading the word

2008-06-12T13:28:28Z

Pretty

2008-05-31T17:45:08Z

Weather in my part of the world tends to the extremes. Summer is too hot, winter is too cold. I'm sure my buddy Jason, the Raging Mick, who has been in Iraq in the summer and Superior, Wisconsin in the winter, would say I'm a whiner.

Be that as it may, there are a few weeks each year in the spring and in the fall when it all comes together for near perfection. The weather is comfortable and the sights are beautiful. Only the mosquitoes keep it from being ideal.

Today I went out with my trusty camera and caught these images. First is from a patch of lilly of the valley in a shady spot at the front of my house. They're delicately beautiful and their scent is one of my favorites. The raindrops on the leaves complete the picture.

This one is from a lilac bush at the back of the house. Their rich color and distinctive scent make them my favorite flower.

These flowers bloom for such a short time each year, which is another reason this time is so precious. I hope you enjoy the pictures. You'll just have to imagine the scent.

My personal favorite flavor...

2008-05-24T22:41:10Z

...no-bake cookie.

Congratulations to Moomers Ice Cream!

Good Morning America searched for the best ice cream in the country, narrowed down the candidates to four, and in the final vote, Moomers won. Those of us who live in northern Michigan are not surprised. Best ice cream anywhere.

My team, yo.

2008-05-21T16:49:05Z

Found in somebody's blog.

Superhero Team Quiz

LiveJournal Username

Your Primary Super Power

Cape?

Identitiy

Origin

Location of Head Quarters

Primary Costume/Uniform Colors

Why are you a Superhero?

Your Superheroic Codename

The veteran grim member of the team

paulsgifford

The sexist and crass but annoyingly effective one

matt_wallace

The bright-eyed novice or sidekick

daytonward

The teammate that will eventually go evil or insane

theendofallthat

The inept yet determined/reoccurring supervillain

lindakays

The sinister Arch-Villain and team's greatest foe

helljack

The perky civilian that keeps getting kidnapped

yogcmarthoth

How often does your team actually 'save the day'?

10%

This Fun Quiz created by Shannon at BlogQuiz.Net

St. Darwin's Spirituals

2008-05-19T17:29:18Z

Check these out.

and

That stunning bit of artwork is by Vincent Chong to illustrate the story St. Darwin's Spirituals, which is simultaneously being presented in print and audio by Murky Depths and Variant Frequencies.

Congrats and nice work to everyone involved. The rest of you, go have a look and a listen.

Someday, we'll plug them directly into our heads.

2008-05-05T20:15:07Z

For those who are too poor (or too cheap) to buy The Next Fix by two-time Parsec Award-winning author matt_wallace in hardcover or trade paperback, it's now available in eBook format. For a mere pittance, The Next Fix appears like magic on your computer. No waiting for the mail, no dealing with snooty clerks at the bookstore. Instant gratification. Hell, it should cost more.

Give it a look. It's good stuff, and we don't want Matt to starve.

A heartbeat away

2008-04-30T17:38:34Z

see more funny political pictures

MD & VF

2008-04-27T16:58:39Z

There's a new issue of Murky Depths about to be released. Terry Martin plans to show it off at the Bristol International Comic Expo, May 9-11. As a co-editor, I'm excited about this one. The stuff I've seen so far is awesome, in the real sense of the word. And Vincent Chong did the cover, inspired by a story by DK Thompson, which appears in the issue.

At Variant Frequencies we were impressed with the story, too. As a real first, "St. Darwin's Spirituals" will be podcast at the same time as the Murky Depths release. Rick gave it the full VF treatment, including some top-notch voice talent, and Abney Park(!!!) has kindly given us permission to use some of their music, so you'll hear that in the podcast.

Finally, if you go here and look for "Shush! Don't tell anyone..." it will lead to savings on a subscription to Murky Depths. That's the forum over at Whitechapel, Warren Ellis' place.

International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day!

2008-04-23T20:09:10Z

Second annual, even.

The first International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day was declared last year by author Jo Walton, in response to a statement by by Howard V. Hendrix who said that he was opposed "to the increasing presence in our organization [the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America] of webscabs, who post their creations on the net for free."

Ms. Walton said, "In honour of Dr Hendrix, I am declaring Monday 23rd April International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day. On this day, everyone who wants to should give away professional quality work online. It doesn't matter if it's a novel, a story or a poem, it doesn't matter if it's already been published or if it hasn't, the point is it should be disseminated online to celebrate our technopeasanthood."

As a person who participates in the production of a podcast (read: creations posted on the net for free) I like the whole International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day. Our podcast, Variant Frequencies, honors the notion on a regular basis. We like putting our creations out there, and we can't help but notice that podcasting has been very beneficial to the writing careers of folks like J.C. Hutchins, Scott Sigler, and Matt Wallace.

So the podcast is my contribution to International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day.

Where the hell did the year go?

morsels

2008-04-17T15:55:44Z

Awesome day for a walk. Akiah concurred. She's somewhat less fussy than I am, though. Ten below is a fine day for a walk to her.

That may be a bit of an exaggeration.

Spring is here, rather suddenly. It went from cold to 70 in a day. Green stuff is starting to grow. Iris and grape hyacinth are sprouting in my little garden. It's a pretty nice time of year after a long winter. Not that winter is bad, as long as I don't have to drive in it.

I've been dealing with a fibro flare this week, but it's eased now. I finally have some energy and mood's improved. So I went to the gym this morning, then headed downtown. There's a new coffee/bakery place called Morsels. They make fancy coffees and teas, and they have these little bakery items they call morsels. Each is roughly two bites, so you can try one or try 'em all. My personal favorite is a buttery, almondy, topped with raspberry, bit of shortbread heaven. I like that they're small, because if I got a big one I'd eat the whole thing and feel bad about it. Next time I'll probably try the brownie one, or devil's food, or maybe carrot cake.

And my son works there. He makes a tasty latte.

Tex's Last Run

2008-04-09T18:44:14Z

Now live on Variant Frequencies, Tex's Last Run by Jonathan Gillespie. It's a great story, and yeah, that's my voice in there. I sound awful, of course, and for that I apologize to the author. (Rick tells me just about everybody hates how they sound, but he's probably just being nice.)

Anyway. I really love this story. Give it a listen, and let Jonathan know what you think of it.

Speaking of pets...

2008-04-08T12:25:26Z

It's looking like spring has finally arrived in the frozen north. I've seen robins, the snow is mostly gone, and there's more roadkill.

I was walking with Akiah, and she was charged by a very big, hairy dog. Akiah is considered large. This one probably outweighed her by seventy pounds. Hard to tell through all that fur. There was the usual sniffing, and then he lunged at her. I yelled for him to go home, and reigned Akiah in. Finally the owner came out all apologetic. They're getting used to the fence. So I'd like to say here what I would have liked to say to his face.

Keep your animals under control, dickhead. If my dog, or I, get injured by yours, it's going to cost you. And I don't want your cat- or dog-shit in my yard.

End short rant.

Rick is working on something really awesome for the next episode of Variant Frequencies. I've heard it, and it's just a great story and he's producing the hell out of it. More, and a link, once it's up. I don't want to give away too much, but it involves trained animals and the author's initials are Jonathan Gillespie. I'm becoming a big fan of his work. Everything I've seen (or heard) by him is great stuff.

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

2008-04-04T15:24:35Z

This was so much fun, I did it twice.

RULES:
1. Put Your iTunes, Windows Media Player, ETC on Shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.
5.Put this on your journal.

1.If someone says, "Is this okay?" You say?
I Love You--HIM (Shuts 'em up every time.)

2.How would you describe yourself?
El Phantasmo and the Chicken Blast-O-Rama--White Zombie (As does that.)

3.What do you like in a guy?
Bones and Joints--Finger 11 (Cuz they're all wobbly otherwise.)

4.How do you feel today?
Tears and Rain--James Blunt (I must be emo.)

5.What is your life’s purpose?
Wicked Game--HIM (I wish.)

6. What is your motto?
Dance On My Own--Robert Plant (I'm dancing as fast as I can.)

7.What do your friends think of you?
She's Like Heroin--System of a Down (Cuz I put them to sleep?)

8.What do you think of your parents?
Wash Away Those Years--Creed (I miss 'em.)

9.What do you think about very often?
Trip Through Your Wires--U2 (No idea what that means.)

10.What is 2 + 2?
I-E-A-I-A-I-O--System of a Down (Shuffle is into SOAD today.)

11.What do you think of your best friend?
Another Version of the Truth--NIN

12.What do you think of the person you like?
DDevil--System of a Down

13.What is your life story?
Don't Stay--Linkin Park

14.What do you want to be when you grow up?
My Carousel--Finger 11

15.What do you think of when you see the person you like?
Bob--Weird Al

16.What will you dance to at your wedding?
Nirvana--Robert Plant

17.What will they play at your funeral?
Love The One You're With--CSN

18.What is your hobby/interest?
Arials--System of a Down

19.What is your biggest fear?
No Poetry--Gary Jules (Emo, again.)

20.What is your biggest secret?
I'm So Sick Of You--Weird Al

21.What do you think of your friends?
Swallowed In The Sea--Coldplay

22.What will you post this as?
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For--U2

Last blast

2008-03-25T14:39:39Z

Winter had to come and give us one last kick in the teeth before calling it quits. At least I hope it's the last blast. Yes, it's snowing out there, and a brisk wind is blowing it around. Winter weather advisory. Good day to stay in, write, and catch up on laundry. It's amazing how much laundry five people can generate.

And speaking of writing, my pal matt_wallace is showing up all over the place. If you're into steampunk, check out Steampunk Spectacular The Second which features his story Six Score and Twenty. It's even narrated by Matt.

Speaking of Matt, his book The Next Fix can be ordered at Apex Books.

So there's your plug, Matt. Now I'm back at the Amarant series. And laundry.

New Amarant story live

2008-03-17T01:32:53Z

The Amarant collection on Variant Frequencies is a series of stories about people who learn that they are immortal, how this affects them, and how they deal with it.

It isn't always good.

So far we've looked at a wealthy heir, a serial killer, a warrior, and a prostitute. The newest addition is Birth and Death, the tale of a midwife who has been around long enough to remember witch trials. The story was written and narrated by me. I'm a lot more comfortable with the writing than the reading!

Production, as always, is by Rick Stringer. The gorgeous cello you hear through some of the story was played by Chris Williams, a local musician and teacher we've known for years. Thanks Chris!

Rick also came up with this sweet bit of art for the story:

That little tyke in the picture is now 18 years old and 6'3".

Lookit me, I'm a poem!

2008-03-13T00:52:26Z

Found in the livejournal of lindakays. Welcome to my friends list, Linda! And yeah, I know I'm being lazy with posts.

I am the sonnet, never quickly thrilled;
Not prone to overstated gushing praise
Nor yet to seething rants and anger, filled
With overstretched opinions to rephrase;
But on the other hand, not fond of fools,
And thus, not fond of people, on the whole;
And holding to the sound and useful rules,
Not those that seek unjustified control.
I'm balanced, measured, sensible (at least,
I think I am, and usually I'm right);
And when more ostentatious types have ceased,
I'm still around, and doing, still, all right.
In short, I'm calm and rational and stable -
Or, well, I am, as much as I am able.

What Poetry Form Are You?

20 questions meme

2008-03-10T23:26:37Z

1. You have 50 dollars in your pocket - what do you do with it?
Hold onto it as long as I can. Probably end up giving it to one of the kids.

2. What is your most guilty pleasure?
Candy, and Cold Case Files. Sometimes at the same time.

3 Have you ever seen someone die?
Yes.

4. Are you confused as to what lies ahead of you?
Yes.

5. What was the last movie you saw, for pleasure, and would you recommend it?
The Spiderwick Chronicles, and yes.

6. Superman or Batman?
Superman.

7. If the person you like does not accept you, would you continue to wait for them to change their feelings?
No. And I'd spread rumors about them.

8. If the person you secretly like is already attached, what would you do?
Not sweat it.

9. Is there anything that has made you unhappy recently?
Yes.

10. If you could have chosen at birth whether to be a boy or a girl, which would you be?
Girl. What with boobs, periods, childbirth, and double standards, it's been a hoot. But I will never have prostate trouble.

11. Which of the 7 Deadly Sins do you think you relate to the most & why?
Ooh, that's tough. There are so many good ones.

12. Thunderstorms - cool or scary?
Cooooool.

13. Clinton or Obama?
As long as it's not Bush, I'm good.

14. Would you rather be a really good person or a really interesting person?
Interesting.

15. Do you believe in some form of life after death?
Unsure.

16. Which fictional character could you most see yourself marrying?
No one leaps to mind.

17. Best sex: rough and fast or slow and tender?
Rough and slow.

18. Do you have a motto? If yes which one?
You do what you gotta do. And the patient is the one with the problem.

19. What type of friends do you have?
Witty.

20. What place most speaks to you?
New Zealand, even though I've never been there.

Murky Depths #3

2008-03-07T21:25:11Z

The newest issue of Murky Depths just hit my mailbox, with its racy cover by Richard Calder.

It's chock full of prose, poetry, interviews, articles, and art. Managing editor/publisher Terry Martin has loads to be proud of here. It's an tantalizing blend of horror and humor, and unique in its combination of stories and comics. So head on over to the Murky Depths website and get yourself a subscription!

anne_stringer @ 2008-03-04T08:38:00

2008-03-04T14:07:20Z

On Saturday we drove up to Elk Rapids for the district band festival. My daughter plays percussion in her school band. They played 3 pieces, and then went to a separate room for sight reading. They are given two pieces of music, and they get thirty seconds to look at it. Then the band director gets 3 minutes to coach them, and then they play it.

I was pretty amazed. The practiced stuff sounded great, and it's always awesome (in a real sense) to see my kid do something I can't. Couldn't, ever. Probably. It was enlightening to compare her school's band to other schools. But the most amazing thing was the sight reading. They played those pieces like they'd practiced them. In unison, got the notes and the stops and everything right.

All this stuff is scored. I-IV, with I being highest. And they don't just toss around I's to make the kids feel good. Some of those schools got IV's. Ours got straight I's.

And there was not a mention of this in the local paper. I gotta admit, it irritates me. School sports teams, whether outstanding or mediocre, get write-ups regularly. Music programs get zip. The music programs in our town are outstanding, and it's not just me saying so. They've got the scores and awards to prove it.

So, congratulations to the TC bands and orchestras, and good luck at the state festival.

The Next Fix

2008-03-02T16:37:50Z

So my good buddy and fellow Variant Frequencies writer matt_wallace has an anthology now ready for pre-order from Apex Books. Here's the cover:

Not bad, eh? They're great stories in the Matt Wallace style. Many of them have been heard on Variant Frequencies. There are even Parsec Award winners in there.

Order yours today. If you get the hardcover, Matt will sign it for you. He'll even write you a dirty limerick if you ask.

4 things meme

2008-02-20T18:32:39Z

Found in daytonward's blog, and made my own.

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Clerk at a Stop-n-Go (We called it Stop-n-Rob)
2. Pulmonary Medicine nurse
3. Pediatric intensive care nurse
4. Neonatal intensive care nurse

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Galaxy Quest
2. Serenity
3. All That Jazz
4. An American in Paris

Four places I have lived:
1. Los Angeles
2. Chicago
3. Ypsilanti, Michigan
4. Traverse City, Michigan

Four TV shows that I watch:
1. Law and Order: all of 'em
2. My Name is Earl
3. Heroes
4. The Riches

Four places I have been:
1. Toronto
2. Sanibel Island
3. Carmel
4. Salt Lake City, Utah

Four people who e-mail me regularly:
1. My husband
2. My daughter's language arts teacher
3. Terry Martin
4. Matt Wallace

Four of my favourite foods:
1. King crab legs
2. Mushu pork
3. Chocolate
4. paczki

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. New Zealand
2. Hawaii
3. Pacific northwest
4. Sanibel Island

Four things I am looking forward to this year:
1. Spring
2. Hypericon
3. The new Trek movie
4. Publication (One can dream)

Four favourite authors:
1. Eoin Colfer
2. Dave Barry
3. Douglas Adams
4. Larry Niven

Checklist

2008-02-13T20:40:18Z

A link to an essay that appeared in the New Yorker was sent on an NICU list. I still participate even though I'm not working in the field now, and still see items of interest. The essay is called The Checklist and was in the December 7, 2007 edition.

Intensive care is extremely complex. The technology and the knowledge required to use it are staggering. People survive an amazing array of injuries and illnesses. However, complications can and do occur. Infections, for example. Much of life support is invasive, and it happens at a time when the body is at its most vulnerable. Complications can happen as a result of errors, and they're hard to avoid in the midst of the complexity and occasional chaos of the ICU.

Take line placement, for example. Catheters are placed into arteries and veins to administer fluids and medications, to take blood for tests, and to monitor a variety of vital signs. Constant monitoring allows for a rapid response to changes. But unless the lines are placed and cared for with meticulous technique, and sometimes even if they are, infections can occur.

The essay goes on to tell the tale of the Model 299, a Boeing aircraft built in hopes of a military contract and tested in 1935. It was larger and more complex than any plane before it. It was test-flown for Army brass and manufacturing executives. In the test, it took off and climbed majestically, then stalled, turned, and crashed. An investigation revealed no mechanical problems. The pilot had to pay attention to four engines, retractable landing gear, new wing flaps, a large variety of features. He had forgotten to release a new locking mechanism.

A group of test pilots got together to consider the problem of how to fly a plane this complex. They came up with a simple approach: they created a pilot's checklist with step-by-step checks for takeoff, flight, landing, and taxiing. With it, they were able to log over a million miles without incident. The rest is history.

In a study, the checklist approach was applied to line placement in an intensive care. It's simple stuff, a no-brainer. Hand washing, prep, draping, mask, gown, sterile gloves, hair cover. It's almost insulting, really, but steps had been omitted about one third of the time. They set up the nurses to be enforcers, to stop the docs if a step was missed or done wrong.

It worked. It worked so well, the guy running the study was astonished. Infection rates dropped from 11% to zero. Lives were saved, costs were cut. If a drug could be found that had results like that, somebody would make a fortune.

In an amusing note, the author noted that the checklist is something that wedding planners, house movers, and tax accountants figured out a long time ago.