Gaudete! Christus est Natus!

This is me,

wishing everyone a very

Merry Christmas!

(my dogs do too)

Random Thoughts From MI

Discovery landed safely, and in Florida. This is good news. Had I bothered blogging much, I would have followed the whole mission a lot better, but it was important. Read about it over at NASA.

Harry Potter fans: go to J. K . Rowling's website, and play with the secret door. It's open again.

I accidentally wandered into a thrift store a few days ago (it was an accident; I wasn't paying attention, meant to go to the dollar store next to it, and didn't realize where I'd headed until I saw all the clothes) and, once I found myself there, was unable to convince myself not to go in. Despite not planning on buying anything. Despite having only twenty minutes to run through the dollar store and pick out whatever I needed. Well, naturally, the only section I made it to in the thrift store is the one I least needed anything from (not entirely true, I probably need anything from either men's or children's even less) - the formal dresses. Not because I needed one; I'm very happy with what I have for my next formal occasion. It's simply become a strange habit of mine, to always look. And I found something. A nice something. A fancy dark blue dress with some sort of pattern on the fabric and just a little bit of black lace, very old looking (my mom says Civil War era style, though I'm sure the dress is something someone made more recently and designed to look old.. handmade, if I can be any judge of sewing - which I'm not - and also for the lack of tags). It has an extremely large skirt and looks like it ought to have a hoop in it, which I could handle making, but it works without one too. It was $3.50. And it fits perfectly. Now all I need is a ball to wear it to... or someone to write me a part in a nice play set in a previous time period.

I was attempting to buy a bottle or two of wine for my dad from the one winery I've ever been to - San Sebastian Winery, in Saint Augustine, FL. I liked what I tasted there two years ago, and not having had much experience with specific and memorable types of wine since, thought it would be a good place to go to order something special. Naturally, this was before I realized that MI's odd laws make it so that I can't buy wine outside of the state (online anyway). Lacking time to drive to FL, I started researching MI wineries. I didn't find anything particularly noteworthy, but I did come across one with an interesting policy - they had NO minimum age for participating in a wine tour, but required one be of legal drinking age to enter the website.

Backpacking Made Easy

Or easier, anyway. They're developing a backpack for public use that uses bungee cords to make the weight of the bag easier to carry. The main weight of the bag is not attached directly to the frame, so that much of the up and down movement while walking; you're only carrying the bag forward, not also up and down.

I wish I could get my hands on one of these to try (and how do I go about getting myself paid for a real review I wonder?); of course, I also wish I could find anyone to go backpacking with me these days. And do so without the usual complications of being old and decrepit.

I Believe in Santa

I watched The Polar Express tonight. It isn't something I normally would have turned on - but someone brought up the theological implications of what the movie's saying about belief and reality, so I had to turn it on and see for myself.

The claim I was given before watching was, if I remember correctly (and I might not, in which case, I apologize), that the movie seemed to say that a thing was real because you believed in it. There would, as far as I'm concerned, definitely be something wrong with this message.

However I have to respectfully disagree (if, again, I am correctly remembering the thought) that this is what the movie says. Santa and everything accompanying him exist before the boy finally says that he believes; before he is able to see Santa or hear the sleigh bells. The things of the north pole are all around him, yet his disbelief - his lack of faith - separates him from the reality of Santa. Once he believes, and for as long afterward as he does believe, he is able to hear the sleigh bells, to recognize/hear something that is very much real despite the disbelief of others. It seems to me to be a very sound theological basis. What is real is there whether you believe it is or not.

Granted, I don't know what to make of the one boy who never experienced Christmas until he got on the Polar Express. He did seem to believe before, but had become discouraged as Santa - what, ignored him? - and then his being on the train made his house suddenly decorated. Was he being tested? Did he have to believe anyway before he would be rewarded for his enduring faith with a tree and a present? I suppose in a certain level it fits in, you know, enduring through suffering even when God (right, Santa, the movie was Santa) feels distant and his presence isn't so obvious, but... again. Why? I got a theology degree so that I could sit around and over-analyze children's movies.. I don't think the people making the movie actually intended to include so much meaning here. Or maybe they did. Either way I'm confused as to why it was included.*

Oh, and the style of animation bothers me, but this style always has. It's a nice enough movie otherwise. You know, for someone not trying to over-analyze it. Possibly also for someone with kids to watch it with instead of a sleeping dog. Or maybe that's just me.

*This was a book first, if I recall. If this was in the book, then I'm more confused about why the author included it. Let's give credit where it's due.

I Really Have Been Posting.

I have. But they all eventually annoyed me, and I cut them up and served them with gravy for lunch one day, and they no longer exist.

To interupt this cycle of slaughter and feasting I bring you a picture of something even better tasting.

I think it's some sort of rite of passage; making Christmas candies away from home for the first time. Look, Ma! I made chocolate - I'm finally grown up! And if that's the case, I really don't mind. I had no idea being grown up meant getting to eat so much chocolate. But, of course, you can't just waste whatever's left in the bowl at the end.

And then there's the part where you head home for Christmas, as I did two days ago, and start the whole process over so that there are Christmas candies available at home as well.

By the way, did you know that it costs more to get your shoes shined in Detroit than in Chicago?

I read an unfortunately badly written book by Andre Norton on the way home. It had a decent plot, but the telling of it was distracting and the ending was somewhat confused. It had a name, but I've forgotten it for the moment, and looking would involve walking all the way across the house. To be fair, I've liked everything else I read by her (OK, so that's only been three books, but I've read the Gryphon trilogy multiple times).

As much as this is clearly headed in some great and profound direction, I must leave off here - but you may expect many more posts over the next week or two as I have few other things to do while sitting at home. It's simply a matter of many less people.. particularly of my age or much younger.

NaNoWriMo Day 30

Word Count: 50,078/50,000
Time Left: 0 days, 0 hours, 44 minutes

!!!!!

The story still is not finished, with two or three scenes left to finish in the middle, and the final climatic battle and aftermath/wrapup only partially done, but I have hit my word count, and will retire for the night. Later, I will finish, and do the editing; I like this one, I really do, and though it needs work, I want to see it go somewhere, preferably to a publisher.

To my favorite skeptic: I told you so!! ;-)

To various other siblings: thank you, thank you, thank you, for helping free up a bit of my time today. Actually, for your help all week. I owe you a big one (so what is it, dessert? lunch out somewhere? a new music book? I can be flexible.)

To everyone else: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I did it!!!!!!!!!!! And yes, you can say it; I'm insane.

Yay!!!!

NaNoWriMo Week 4 End...

Word Count: 30,006/50,000
Time Left: 1 day, 2 hours, 6 minutes

I cheated; I skipped an update last week, completely took Thanksgiving weekend from Wednesday onward off, and barely made it up to where I am now in a couple hours worth of writing. Hmm. So here is what is supposed to be the weekly update, recognizing that I have 20,000 words left to write and one day (in which I am babysitting all day) to do so. And the rest of tonight. If I happen to win, this is so everyone knows how crazy I am - after a vote of confidence from my favorite skeptic (where did that come from, anyway?), I'm not giving up yet.

In other news, we finally have fall colors! It's about that time of year when I start singing "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow" over and over... but we finally have fall colors! This makes me excited, and I will forgive the winter for not coming.

Also, the birds are migrating, it seems. At least I assume that to be the case when I mistakenly think of shade and park under a tree, only to open my door and hear a deafening chorus of cheeps, chirps, and other bird-like noises. My surprise was great when upon looking up, I discovered that nearly every inch of every branch of the tree was covered with birds. Lots and lots of birds. Lots of noisy, chirping, black, insane birds. I moved my car very quickly to a nice open space away from the tree. .. Only after walking a while outside the chain of stores do I realize that every single tree in the entire parking area is the same, and become very afraid. (Hands, people; have we all seen Birds?)

Thanksgiving, and I won't even attempt to list all I'm thankful for, was a lovely weekend. While there's something to be said for small, quiet dinners, where everyone can sit at the same table and talk to everyone else and count on a share of the leftovers, I wouldn't trade in the large multi-table day long gathering I was introduced to down here. In fact, the whole weekend was a brilliant combination of parties and music and hanging out and general good times. And now, before I babble on entirely too long and waste my night away, I shall return to my writing.

(Huge night ahead of us? Yep. Sharp pointy deadline coming up fast at the end? Most likely. Bring it on!)

What Comes of Compromise

"The Brookfield Zoo announced this week the birth of a baby okapi — an endangered African animal that looks as if it were put together by committee."

There's been a new birth at the Brookfield Zoo, not something generally noteworthy except for two things; it's a baby okapi (possibly the coolest animal ever, after the elephant), and I wanted to quote the opening line of the article.

This thing below is an actual okapi (Omaha Zoo, not Brookfield), but the pictures do not do justice to its strangeness. Alas, my own photography has failed me, for the light was not good enough for a good picture at the time.

Pictures Are Important Too!

This is what happens with a brain fried from writing 5000 words in a session and running out of previously thought-out plot. (I did another 1000 later that night.)

The first is my 13 year old and the second is her grandmother. The third is most definitely not my villian though he was terribly fun to create. Perhaps I'll keep him around for a villian in an even more intentionally nonsensical adventure.

Enjoy!





(Yes, these are all from eLouai.com - I haven't gone switching doll sites.)

I Can Feel Better; I'm Not Bucky

Ann Arbor Weeps

Mister Schembechler passed away on November 17th of a heart attack. He was something of a legend to Wolverine fans; I grew up around people who knew him, people who had a strong respect and love for him with or without knowing him personally, and could recognize his name long before I had any idea what football was. I'm sure the response back home in Ann Arbor has been overwhelming, and there has certainly been no lack of articles in the Ann Arbor News about him and all he did for the community.

More Meteors; My Randomness

There's another meteor shower on the way, and this time it's the Leonids. While they should have been visible over the past week and remain so throughout the next, the peak is at the extremely reasonable date and time of Saturday evening (the 18th), 11:45pm EST (10:45 Central), lasting for a possible two hours. In good locations at least 150/hour could be visible. There's no need to get up at (or stay up until) 5am. So go watch!

If you don't have access to a favorable viewing location, there's also an article describing how to hear the Leonids. Of course, the only regular radio I have easy access to is in my car (or did I hide my travel radio in my closet?), and I cain't claim to have an amateur radio on hand, but if I manage to get out to a clear location for the show I will certainly try to hear them as well.

On a completely unrelated note, Walgreens rocks for their clearance (90% off!) candy I found the other day. I walked out with two bags of pretending-to-be-whoppers-only-not, a bag of "fun sized" (and who determined that?) Milky Way bars, a bag of Hershey's dark chocolate kissables, and a bag of white chocolate M&Ms for under $1 total.

I must now go cry because the lettered limited edition of Saints I raved about in this post is now sold out, and I never convinced myself to buy one. My OSC collection will never forgive me.

The Coolest Contest Ever Invented

GreatEscape2007, folks, that's all there is to it. They take you all over the world for three weeks and you win by being the best traveler. What's not to like? Sure, there's the part where you provide a $10,000 entrance fee if you're accepted, but they provide tips on how to raise the money so you don't have to pay it from your own pocket, and beyond what is needed for your plane tickets and hotels, the money raised goes to charity.

Traveling is done in teams of two. Anyone interested? Any volunteers to apply as my teammate for the three week adventure?

(You can apply on your own as well, and if you are accepted, they will match you with another single applicant. But acceptance is partially based on first come, first serve, as well as other selection criteria. So act now!)

I'm serious about the teammate thing. I'll worry about raising the money if/after I get accepted.

NaNoWriMo Week 2 End

Word Count: 12,508/50,000
Time Left: 14 days, 22 hours, 5 minutes

Well, it's still a slow start, but if you count carefully you'll notice that my number of words per week has gone up since last Wednesday. As long as I keep increasing (a bit more drastically, and perhaps - dare I suggest it - not taking any more days off), I should be just fine. Did I mention I want to be mostly finished by Thanksgiving, so that I have free time to spend on the weekend?

I've learned a couple important things so far, as well:

1. pogo.com is addicting and should not have been taken up until after November.
2. Hershey's kissables are M&Ms, only without the M&M part. And dark chocolate is fun.
3. Making chicken soup involves skill, and should have been taught in Chemistry class.
4. I am capable of writing story endings! Well, nearly; I've written one of the last couple scenes.
5. When you're not even halfway through and the story is at least that far, it could present problems. I need to add a subplot. But 13-year-olds can't have romantic interests.
6. This whole plotline really would have made a better movie than book. Maybe I'll offer it to Hollywood in December.
7. You know it's interesting when your heroines are a 13 year old girl and her grandmother. And the villian is a time-changer. In a modern, non-fantasy, not really sci-fi setting.

The grandmother just got added, or rather kept within the story for more than a couple scenes, when I realized she filled a plot hole nicely and easily furthered the story. Hmm. Maybe she should have a love interest.

(I'm kidding! I'd never dare try romance.)

Some People's Minds Just Work A Bit Different

There was a time, I'm sure, when randomness was not my usual style. I picked it up at some point over the years, and it stuck with me. I generally go about attempting to perfect it these days. Still, it takes days of writing intentionally semi-coherent plotlines (you try writing about a villian who has the ability to constantly change time and history) followed by a day and a half spent sick and rarely moving out of dreamland, much less out of bed, for the most random things to really make sense. As an example, I present the following conversation:

"Why can't you get into the game room?"
"Eeyore."
"No, not who. Why."
"Me?"
"And all your babies. I understand."

Word count to follow much later today, to make myself feel better about the fact that I slept all day yesterday instead of writing. Not that it wasn't entirely my fault; but then again, so was the fact that I did not write on Monday either. There was important social time to have!

NaNoWriMo!

Word Count: 5,377/50,000
Time Left: 22 days, 4 hours, and 30 minutes.

As of this writing, I am off to a slow but steady start with 5,377 words, hopefully to be increased as I continue writing later on tonight. I also have an outline for the entire first section of the novel, an accomplishment equally as important as getting the actual words down, as until I reach the end of the first section I now have no need to stop typing while I attempt to figure out the story. It may not sound like much, but I'm feeling confident about my chances this year; since actually starting the novel (an event that happened a couple days late) I've kept up a steady pattern of writing every evening with at least 2,000 words per day. Watch out, publishers, here I come!

The link to the NaNoWriMo forums are on my sidebar; it's not to late to join!

Memory Tests and Music

In my continued quest for intellectual stimulation, I began a search for online memory games - you know, flip over two cards, memorize their positions, find the pairs. There are a few different ones out there of varying degrees of difficulty (and it is easier once you memorize the designs on the cards), but one in particular intrigued me. One website has a piano tone version of the memory game. Instead of seeing any sort of picture, you get the same image every time, and what you memorize and match are the sounds - the piano tones - that play when you click on a card. It's the first somewhat difficult game I've found, and probably very useful if you want to have good musical memory. Either way, it's different enough to be interesting once or twice if you like a challenge.

Treatment of Disabled Newborns

American Papist linked to an article today talking about active euthanasia for disabled babies, an action being advocated for by "one of Britian's leading medical colleges."

A particular quotation struck me as interesting:

"We can terminate for serious fetal abnormality up to term but cannot kill a
newborn," he said. "What do people think has happened in the passage down
the birth canal to make it OK to kill the fetus at one end of the birth
canal but not at the other?"

That came from someone in support of euthanasia. It struck me because he's so right.. and yet, so far off the mark in what he's actually advocating. And the language is changed; instead of a baby, it's a fetus that reached the other end of the birth canal that he wants to kill. I hope that doesn't become widespread. I hope it isn't really where we're headed next, even though I know it is, in places, already. I'll leave the rest for you to read if you want, but I couldn't leave this one unmentioned.

Novel Time!

For the unaware, tomorrow is the beginning of November. November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). That means there is currently less than a day left before the clock begins ticking and authors all over the world begin writing. The goal is to write 50,000 words by the end of 11:59:59pm November 30th.

Click on the link, read about the challenge, join the forums, add Myth as a writing buddy, and accompany me in my crazy attempt to put thousands of words on paper/computer in 30 days while still participating in something resembling a normal life. It'll be fun! And win or lose, we can all celebrate/console each other with pizza and sweet things and parties when November finally ends.

Still not convinced? I'll do a weekly count-down on my blog, and you can feel really really good about yourself when you consistantly beat my word count. You can all watch me suffer! C'mon.. that ought to be incentive enough! (And besides; you'll make me feel happy and loved. Aww... see, I knew you'd sign up!).

More October Birthday Wishes!

Because I can get to it before the real sibling (hehehe), and he got to dear Stephenie (nevertheless, a day late happy birthday to Steph!) first..!

When I came down to TX I found myself quickly incorporated into a wonderful family and made an honorary sibling. So, I want to wish a very happy birthday (18th! Yay!) to my new, awesome younger sister.

May you be filled with joy, peace, love, and many, many blessings in this new year of your life. Happy birthday Sarah!

Oklahoma City Vicinity, OK

One More Down

I started off my weekend by getting up early on Friday (well, that was the intention, anyway), throwing some bags into the car (packing some bags to put in the car), and after a three hour drive, showing up in Houston at 10:30 (11:30) in the morning to begin the drive to Oklahoma.

Despite the slow start, my travel companions and I managed to make it to the OK City vicinity around 8:30pm, eventually made it to the last few minutes of a holy hour, and wound up at a restaurant for a late dinner with various other Ave alumni. (The excitement of the evening managed to counterbalance Detroit's depressing loss.) The general tone of the weekend remained the same; many, many Ave alumni hanging out as much as possible and celebrating an Ave wedding. We stayed with a large family of four people and six on Sunday, and one very friendly cat that I was rather unfortunately stopped from bringing home with me, mainly due to the fact that it drooled.

Oklahoma, at least the part that we drove through, is in many respects very beautiful. There was countryside; rocks, fields, flowers, hills. There were colorful trees! The stars were visible and bright at night, the weather was closer to fall weather than TX has yet produced, and there was a light and warm breeze during much of the day. We even saw signs of wildlife (fine, so it was a raccoon) while driving.

The wedding itself also went beautifully, with all of the generally understood wedding stuff occurring, and much dancing afterwards. Of special note, there was an event with the bride's bouquet that needs mentioning. You see, I managed to catch it during the traditional throwing, despite my assurance that I would not do so. It was a result of pure instinct really; there was something large coming within a close distance of my head, an event which one naturally ought to do something about, and which when combined with many years of softball skills more often leads to an easy catch than any other possible reaction. There would have been the same result had it been a shoe, a grenade, or a frightened porcupine. (At least, I assume a porcupine would be frightened if it found itself flying through the air like that.) Now, one might expect that after such an event, I would be accommodating to the perceived rules and consider being the next of the group to get married. There are certain flaws in this line of thinking. For one thing, it supposes that I generally follow the rules instead of making my own.

I can't break my own traditions, so in keeping with my own usual acts, I have no intention of following the rules here either. I intend to let every one of those other girls marry first. This may be made somewhat more difficult by the fact that I don't know who they all were and so cannot keep track, but I will not give in so easily. I will have a long and happy life with my boots, who will be extremely faithful and follow me everywhere, and will finally get married at 93 to a man who thinks my cane and five inch thick glasses are beautiful. He will probably be named Arnold, drive a yellow tractor, and have five little dogs all called Toto.

I'm Close Enough I Could Touch You; You're It!

Tag is dangerous!

They banned Red Rover while I was in elementary school. We were all extremely upset about it. There's something about running across a yard and crashing into people that was extremely enjoyable, particularly as I was good at it (there are certain benefits to being one of the tallest students in the class). Tag really doesn't seem to be on the same level as far as dangerousness goes.. then again, there's no doubt in my mind that some parents would sue if their child got hurt while playing it. And possibly even win.

This is a strange, strange world these days.

I'll Get There Eventually

I'm old. So very, very old; there's gray in my hair and a cane in my hand; I have two real teeth and a fondness for tea and cats, a collection of antique furniture that I used when I was young and could now sell for millions, and never stay up past nine at night.

Some of that may be an exaggeration, but I'm admitting nothing.

Today I am 23. Perhaps most people don't announce their own birthdays, but after all, it is my blog, and what else am I to do with it? One ought to make a big deal of the day one becomes old. I'm off to a good start celebrating by staying up far past midnight when I really should be in bed attempting to become healthy again, on the theory that others won't want to spend 6-7 hours in a car with me coughing (heaven knows why not), yet staying at a friend's house until 11:45 seemed so much more pleasant a way to spend the evening.

And then there's the fact that one of my closest friends shares a birthday with me. He's a year younger, which means he can tease me about my age, but I already claimed to be one year short of ancient (old; but still that one year short of ancient), so it's all okay - there are benefits to being in the middle of the sandwich. For one thing, the strawberry jam is quite tasty.

In regards to shared birthdays, it isn't fair sending a message before midnight, yet I have to be up and at a computer at exactly midnight to make sure I'm the first to send birthday greetings. I have to win of course. But this year he proved his ability to beat me, if not at timing, then at an equally important aspect of the tradition. Rather than a simple email, I recently found myself in posession of two emailed voicemails (three cheers for gmail) lamenting my own quick timing, wishing me a happy birthday, and singing what I believe was Happy Birthday in a language I don't want to admit not knowing. For which he received multiple points, not only for style, but for giving me the final smile of what turned out to be an enjoyable day, and also the first great joy experienced after midnight struck and my birthday actually began. And so I believe he wins.

Instead of about my birthday, I suppose this post could be about the benefits of gmail and of computers with reasonable sound systems, but I think, after all, it's actually a round-about attempt to praise this particular close friend, who is always able to make me smile and bring some joy to my day. Even if chances are that he won't ever read this post.

So, to Domenic: happy 22nd birthday! Wishing the best of days to you, and of years to come, and happiness always. Your friend, Bronwyn.

Collector's Item

Some people collect nice things like old paintings or baseball cards or model airplanes. Or maybe coins. I have a small coin collection, at that (along with a keychain collection, some posters, and a ton of old pencils). But I also collect books. Not nice, rare, famous books, but any particular book at all by... wait, wait... oh, you guessed it! Orson Scott Card.

I doubt either of my parents have started looking into buying Christmas presents yet. If I got a couple people in my family to work together, I might be able to convince them to buy me something a bit more expensive. Still, at this point I don't really feel I should be drooling over a $250 lettered edition Saints. Nor so much as acknowledging the fact that there are only 15 copies and that if I want one, I really need to do something about it NOW instead of later. I really shouldn't be going and looking at the site every day and worrying over the fact that the regular, non-fancy limited edition is already sold out.

Not that it's stopping me. Saints is the only specifically Mormon work of OSC's that I've read, and it's specifically Mormon in the sense of being a story about the people who founded the religion rather than teaching Mormon beliefs. I've not read nor will ever likely add to my collection any of his more directly Mormon works of any type, but found this one to be a good read and contain nothing objectionable. I've only ever spent a lot of money on one book for myself (which later was reprinted so I could have gotten it for $20 instead of $200.. not fair) and own one other more expensive book, and I try not to often make extremely large or outrageous purchases, but we'll have to wait and see whether this sells out before I start talking myself into it instead of out of it.

It just sounds so pretty.

The Great Two Dozen

Wishing a very happy birthday to my friend over at A Theme of the Creator's Music.

May your day, and the coming year, be full of His love and of blessings greater than you've yet imagined.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

...and in case other important October dates were in danger of being overlooked, here are a few that also occur on October 15th:

1582 - institution of the Gregorian calendar, when October 15 immediately followed October 4th
70 BC - birth of Virgil
1844 - birth of Nietzsche
1881 - birth of P.G. Wodehouse

It is also, lest such an important event be forgotten, National Grouch Day. And don't skip these other important observances: October is "Go Hog Wild - Eat Country Ham" month, International Starman Month, National Bake and Decorate Month, National Book Month (!!), National Sarcastics Awareness Month, Photographer Appreciation Month, and "Right Brainers Rule!" Month.

Bringing this back to a much more serious note, today is also the feast of St Teresa of Avila, who died on October 4th of 1582.

O Wonderful daughter of Spain, you taught us to walk the way of Christian perfection which is the Way of the Cross. You inspired innumerable men and women by your writings as well as your conduct, deserving the title of Doctor of the Church. Ever faithful to St. Peter's successors, inspire fidelity to religious vows on the part of those who have taken them and make them ever true to their vocation. Amen.

(Thanks to the following sites for making this post possible: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_15, http://www.brownielocks.com/october.html, http://www.2heartsnetwork.org/Avila.htm.)

It Would Be The Year I Leave, Of Course

We're going to the World Series! GO DETROIT TIGERS!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Friend in the Sky

I'm going to be 77 years old the next time Halley's comet passes Earth (fair warning to anyone who's around when I make my trip somewhere where I can see it - I'm not traveling alone at 77!).

Luckily, she left a part of herself behind. The Orionid meteor shower peaks this month from October 20-24th. That includes a weekend, so there is no excuse for not staying up late to watch. The best part of the show will be from 1-2am until dawn, when Orion (particularly his club) is easily visible.

Saturday

An afternoon at the beach.

Sunday

Acolyte service, seminary tour, and a birthday party.

TX Travel Priorities

I spent the past weekend on the road - Saturday at a beach in Galveston, and Sunday at Saint Mary's Seminary in Houston as well as at a nearby park. This isn't going to be much of a tour-guide type post; there wasn't much touring involved. Oh, the drive through Galveston was nice enough with the rich houses, but I can't tell you where to find them except that we passed the intersection of Broadway and 42nd Street. The beach was nice enough, as far as that goes, but I've no idea what it was called or how to get there again. And the seminary was gorgeous, but that's hardly the sort of place I can recommend everyone go. About the only recommendation I can give is that the Hampton Inn we stayed at was lovely, and most likely far far out of my price range if I hadn't been sharing a room with others.

Unlike so many of my trips, I wound up with far more pictures of people than of scenery. It was nothing I would have done by myself and all the better for it. I went for the music and games in the van, the sand castle built using a snow shovel, being given the opportunity to sing, taking up the entire hotel lobby at breakfast, honoring the new acolytes (and particularly admiring how well the readings fit the occassion*), and the birthday party complete with cakes in the park. Most times when I go somewhere, it's at least partly because there's something there I really want to see; at the very least, I end up finding something I'm interested in seeing by devoring tour guides after selecting a general location or two. But there's something to be said for simply hanging out and enjoying family time away from home. Someday I'll return, and visit NASA, and the museums, and whatever else catches my eye as a particularly interesting goal.. but all in all, if I can choose to have trips like this, I'll gladly forego the tour books with starred destinations and outlined maps, and find my career doing something other than travel writing.

*for the unaware, we only barely avoided telling the new acolytes to give up and immediately find wives, after which, no divorcing allowed!

Shamelessly Promoting My Favorite Breed of Dog

I would like to point out the beneficial effects of growing up with pets. In this case, it's a potentially lower risk of developing allergies and asthma, though there are certain factors that complicate matters when trying to decide how much having a cat or dog really prevents these difficulties.

In an effort to make more people pet people I'm going to claim that it works. Through the course of my life I have lived with (not all at the same time) 7 dogs and 12 cats. Not to mention the added effect 2 hampsters, 4 llamas, 7 sheep, 6 goats, 1 donkey, and 2 miniature donkeys may have had in the "not allergic to fur or animal hair" area. I'm sure the countless chickens and fish, as well as 1 duck, were also somehow important, despite their lack of hair or fur.

See? Pets are good! Go buy many cats and dogs. Buy a Belgian Tervuren.

Prayers, Please

For once you get a serious post out of me.

A lady I once worked very closely with (and my Mom still does) back at the University of MI collapsed in a meeting this morning. She's in the hospital now, and they aren't yet sure whether it was a heart attack or something else, though I know she has previously had (and obviously recovered from) at least one heart attack.

I'd be grateful if any of my (granted, few) readers would offer prayers for her today.

One Reason I Want to Teach

I want to do things like this!

I'm sure out of however many thousands, I would be picked. Really. How could they deny me?

Today's Outstanding Society

About the updating of Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, the etiquette guide... I think this line says it all:

"The core values of Debrett's remain --
elegance, composure and dignity are all important,
whether you are dining with the Queen or cheating on your husband."

I'm Not Alone

In case I was ever worried about having a kindred spirit in this house, I can rest my mind now.

As per usual routine (whether or not it was really being followed today), I asked the three year old what he wanted for breakfast this morning. His reply?

"Something very sweet."

Corn Mazes!

I've harbored a desire to get lost in.. err, I mean, explore.. a corn maze for many years now. Various attempts were made while growing up, usually as a special birthday outing (isn't the end of October great?), but all were disappointingly small, none taking more than a couple minutes to walk through and all but one short enough to see over the walls and find the path before even starting. Perhaps this all had something to do with them being made of hay instead of grown in corn; perhaps simply the fact that we only found nearby mazes made for children. I was, for one thing, a tall child, and for another, quite unable to please with anything designed to be so simple. The one adult maze we found at a nearby orchard (my 15th birthday, that one was) was the one taller maze we found, but as a maze it was sadly pathetic. I really felt sorry for the poor thing.

It wasn't until within the last few years that I actually found real, long, worth-while corn mazes, and I've yet to get to any of them. Those I came across were many states away, and besides, until last year I was always too busy with school. Last year proved equally as difficult when the closest maze I found would have required an entire weekend trip to reach, and I couldn't drag anyone with me.

You'd think I would have looked harder, given just how long I've been wishing for a good lifesize maze to walk through. But it wasn't until this year that I came across this website listing mazes all across - and outside of - the United States. While none happen to be in Austin, a few are close enough to be a day's trip (even if it's my version of a day's trip). I can't make my family take me, and I'm too old to organize my own party at one, but perhaps I'll celebrate my birthday myself and find a free day to drive out this fall. Hey, if I like it as much as I expect to, perhaps I'll visit two.

Bright Shiny New Home

I refuse to use the original title of this article. But it discusses the possibility that a black hole will prevent stars from forming in its galaxy by heating up the gasses around it.

In other words, slow killers, weakening the galaxies as one by one the older stars die while no new stars are able to form. It's the intergalactic form of the atomic bomb; find a way to harness black holes, speed up the dying process of stars (either seperately or by, I don't know, altering the black hole somehow), and turn it loose on the galaxies that belong to your enemies. Not that I'd advocate using something like this, but I don't think we're exactly in danger of that now. Though it provides some frightening ideas about the fact that we can make miniature black holes. Something to keep in mind if I ever need to write a huge multi-galaxy war.

Then again, in the same article it mentioned previous research indicating that black holes may help new stars form. Perhaps we could use the same methods to build our own new galaxies. And from there it's only a rather long, long step to custom building our own planets. I want mine to look like Christmas lights, but I'm not bringing any mice.

Intergalactic Medicine Show #3

The newest issue of Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show is out! Get it here, including an Enderverse story about Han Tzu.

Furthering My Musical Endeavors

I've made an excellent discovery today. While wandering a music shop that was conducting a going out of business sale (and after pulling myself away from playing the pianos, testing a bass, and getting caught in the glare of shiny metal instruments) I came upon a couple dwindling shelves of music. The selection was already fairly slim so there wasn't much there I wanted, and most of what I did want I wasn't willing to spend the money for. But somewhere in there I uncovered a small music book titled Broadway Blockbusters. I know less than half of the sixteen songs, but the ones I do know, I will now be able to play. The book is intentionally aimed at beginners, my level. Much better than the fake book of Broadway music I have (though I love the music enough to keep attempting that anyway) and most of the other music I have which is just a bit more complicated than I can yet handle. Granted, I had Disney music before.. and still do.. but it's exciting to have something else to add to my "playable" collection.

If I'm playing them all the time, that means I get to sing them, too. Someday I am going to make it into a musical, and happily claim my chance to sing (and act!) on stage. Despite the fact that my only current accompaniment is myself and the noise made by extra books suddenly falling off the piano, and my only current audience consists of people aged five and three. I want more! But you'll see. I'll have my chance. And when I do.. well, I probably won't be playing piano for it.

Nevertheless, I am extremely pleased with my new book.

For Dog Owners

Xylitol is potentially harmful to dogs. The sweetener might (it hasn't been beyond a doubt proven yet) drop blood sugar levels and cause liver failure in animals.

Somewhere In My Dreams

I want to go off planet on spaceship Orion.

On Missed Opportunities

I just today discovered that a theater in this area will be performing a set of three one act plays in November. Two of them I would be interested in seeing, and even more interested in acting in: one is an Agatha Christie, the other, Sepulchre of Songs, an adaptain of a short story (same name) by my all time favorite author ever. It's a brilliant story about a girl with no arms or legs who wants to escape from the life she has. To not only act again, but to have a even a chance at playing that particular part, I would gladly take the chance of humiliating myself at whatever type of audition they decided to do, and love the opportunity to spend every moment of my free in rehersals until the performances end.

Of course, I discovered this series of plays was being performed through the discovery of an old online audition notice... and the auditions were two days ago.

So instead of give up every second of free time (and I did have things I wanted to do in October, after all), I'm going to keep an eye on the dates and times of the performances, and make sure to get in my reservations long before they are sold out. If I can't act in this particular play, I intend to at least see it performed; after all, I've read both the story and the script. And they were both very, very good.

On All Things Poetical

I have recently, since mid-summer, been trying to re-find a poetry site that I once came across. I found it while looking for a poem to memorize for a class just over two years ago. It was a rather extensive site, given that anyone could add poems to it if they discovered one missing, and covered everything from a few Roman (in Latin!) poems up through many of the more modern works. I have no idea what it was called, except that I think "poetry" or similar might have been somewhere in the title. I think, at the time, the color scheme involved purple. And you could search by author, by title, or by keywords within the poems. Anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? And if you do, please, please let me know the site's address!

I've found this one, from which I took the following poem:

Love and Friendship - a poem by Emily Bronte

Love is like the wild rose-briar,
Friendship like the holly-tree
The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms
But which will bloom most constantly?

The wild-rose briar is sweet in the spring,
Its summer blossoms scent the air;
Yet wait till winter comes again
And who will call the wild-briar fair?

Then scorn the silly rose-wreath now
And deck thee with the holly's sheen,
That when December blights thy brow
He may still leave thy garland green.

But that isn't the right site; it doesn't carry half so many poems, nor, in particular, the ones I am looking for. (If I could remember either the title or poet I'm looking for, or even any particular lines of the poem, I'd give them to you, but I can't.) It doesn't even carry many of Chesterton's poems. Though it does have this one:

Gold Leaves - a poem by G.K.Chesterton

Lo! I am come to autumn,
When all the leaves are gold;
Grey hairs and golden leaves cry out
The year and I are old.

In youth I sought the prince of men,
Captain in cosmic wars,
Our Titan, even the weeds would show
Defiant, to the stars.

But now a great thing in the street
Seems any human nod,
Where shift in strange democracy
The million masks of God.

In youth I sought the golden flower
Hidden in wood or wold,
But I am come to autumn,
When all the leaves are gold.

Then there's this site, but that's also not what I'm looking for. Nor is this one, though they seem to have an extensive collection (but no Chesterton at all!).

And simply because of where I am, I will also mention this site of cowboy poetry.

And speaking of poetry, why is it that it is so hard to write? I won a contest for writing the best bad poetry once, carefully copying the style of I forgot who it was, and won a book. That was purposefully bad, and so it was good. But now - I keep trying, now and then, and the words come easily at times, but when I go back and read them later they always sound horrible. When they're decent I can't manage to stick with a style. I'll have one line of seven syllables in iambic pentameter, then two twice as long but each switching to a separate meter, then the next only four syllables and an entirely different style all together. And the next verse may start out long, alternate differently from the first, and contain twenty lines instead of four. When I can get that down, as I managed to do for a poem I began this past summer, then inevitably the words I require will never quite fit.

I can appreciate good, steady, non-modern poetry. I prefer it. Yet my own falls so far short as to be incomprehensible even to most teenagers at today's high school poetry slams. Which, by the way, I never attended, having professed a deep hate for all poetry until sometime through college. Perhaps, after all, I will now have to stick to just reading... And yet sometimes poetry expresses things so much better than words ever could.

And far, far more succinctly. Which we all know I need.

Sometimes Laughter IS the Best Medicine

I was introduced to a brilliant website tonight. It was all about old Weight Watchers diet cards, complete with captions and new titles. Anyone seriously interested will have to contact me for the link, because enough of the caption-content was too inappropriate for me to feel happy linking it here. Besides which, I might look again tomorrow and find they aren't nearly so funny when not viewed after a margarita, something involving tequilla and red sugar, and a sad yet extremely amusing movie watched late (late? when did I redefine that term to mean 9:30-11?) at night with friends.

So instead, I am going to write about this movie. We watched My Date With Drew, a documentary about a man who spent an insane amount of time, effort, and money trying to get a date with Drew Barrymore. (If I didn't spell that name right, it's because I really do pay that little attention to celebrities. I'm amazed I even know who she is.) I highly doubt this is a movie I will ever own or, unless with a different group of friends eager to watch it, ever see again, yet I don't have that feeling of having wasted my time that most such movies would leave me. Perhaps because of the company while watching it, since this was a particularly amusing movie to sit and watch with a handful of other people who were ready and willing to be amused. The man attempting to get a date is aware of the strangeness of his own situation and makes it funny; he's out to get a laugh as much as to get his dream of this date fulfilled. If you've got a good crowd and are looking for a movie involving comedy and no actual thinking on your part, go ahead and pick it up. I did enjoy the evening. Just don't expect to find the premise (or anything thereafter) extremely smart, important, or inspiring.

Home Again

Catching up on a bit of yesterday's news: Atlantis made a safe landing. And except for a brief period needed to readjust to gravity, everything seems to be fine. Yay!

Gift of God

God of mercy, you chose

a tax collector, Saint Matthew, to share the dignity of the apostles.

By his example and prayers help us to follow Christ and remain faitherful in

your service. We ask this through Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with

you for ever and ever. Amen.

I celebrated the feast of St Matthew the Apostle by sleeping in. As un-celebration-like as this may sound, sleeping in has suddenly become a true treat and something I don't expect to do very often. Besides, I had more of a proper celebration later in the evening; after getting the kids to bed, I was treated to an extremely chocolatey and delicious dessert. Judging by the past two houses I've stayed at, I think I have exactly no grounds by which to hold my previous (while in MI) position as dessert-maker when attending any sort of out-of-home gathering. This is particularly sad as it gives me fewer opportunities to lick the sugary goodness off the baking utensils and finish off the leftovers, and even worse when considering that my family's Christmas chocolates were famous all over the Ann Arbor area and parts of Grand Rapids. However, it is not so sad when considering that I will be surrounded with excellent desserts in TX as well as at home (for I will always hold that my mom is one of the best cooks ever born, and she loves making chocolates, cookies, cakes, and all types of treats).

I have accomplished many firsts in the past couple weeks. First time ever doing anyone else's hair, first time brushing anyone's teeth but my own, first time chopping lettuce and mushrooms. I realized once more how grateful I am that I learned to read music - and I realized it most clearly after making it into chamber choir the next semester - but realized it once more when requested to sing vaguely recognized songs as lullabies with only a piano book and a tiny bit of light as an aid. My particular favorite: first time lying in bed with a small child who wants to snuggle while falling asleep. Had I been in my own bed, and not had the remains of dinner scattered over the counters and table downstairs to clean up still, I would have gladly fallen asleep there and counted it among the sweetest nights ever spent. And can someone remind me, now, why I will be forced to find a real job, rather than remain in this bliss?

Totally Miniscule

Despite Rumors, Black Hole Factory Will Not Destroy Earth

So don't start building your own personal escape vessel any time soon. There was a great story I read once about one of those things being suspended as a power source until something went wrong, then falling...

Faking a Full Season

While looking for entertainment this evening, I came across an item I feel I will need multiple containers of in order to survive the traditional winter months in Texas. Reusable fake snow! Though part of that reuse necessitates keeping the powder together, something I can't imagine doing when it would be so handy to throw at people. There are lots of poor Texans who, I'm sure, rarely experience the joy of having snowballs thrown at them, and I'm now in a position to fix that for them. Or would be, if I had snow.

While I'm highlighting this site, let me note that it also includes many other fun items, such as lightsabers, model war vehicles, carnivorous plants, a killer rabbit, and an ant farm (catching fire ants should be a truly interesting experience). If I ever hang dice from my car window, they'll be fuzzy d20. I know a few people who might have fun with Star Wars potatoes, and there are multiple books I would like to own that I still haven't gotten around to purchasing. There's even a t-shirt for those days when you're feeling really, really lost.

(Just in case, I will note there is occasionally, though not often, bad language, and a couple shirts I would never buy anyone. Fair warning. Most of the items are quite entertaining.)

Beware the Green Stuff

I knew there was a reason I didn't like salad. Bring on the meat and potatos!

Well, that is a somewhat ridiculous statement. But just in case anyone else follows the news as well as I do and isn't aware of the suddenly dangerous spinach, that's actually the link to the FDA's statement on the matter.

As long as chocolate is still safe I won't have to worry about my meals.

And It's Got Fur

Astronomers Find Distant, Fluffy Planet

Perhaps we should name it Bugs? It sounds so cute. Just this huge, bouncy, floaty, fluffy planet speeding around out there, like a big soft bunny rabbit.

This is where ghosts come from. They're actually ETs that arrived on all those UFOs people have been seeing, showing up now and then after extremely long trips from these fluffy planets, where the only possible creature is extremely light and floaty and effectively weightless and insubstantial like a ghost. Because of this, they don't have their own form to hold on to, so they try to adapt to arrival on Earth and help us feel comfortable around them by taking our shape. They had no way of knowing this idea would fail and make us terrified of them.

Granted, they would have had difficulty making the UFOs themselves, which is why I propose the further theory that the UFOs were actually made by a seperate group of aliens from a different planet who passed through these fluffy planets while on their way to Earth. Either the trip was too long or something en route killed them off, but these ghost aliens floated in through the walls and hitched a ride (they need some sort of atmosphere or other pressure to keep from falling apart) and wound up here when the UFOs crash landed in hidden rural areas.

One of Sixteen

After another day delay, Atlantis has made it into space. There was foam falling off again, but like last time, it doesn't look like there was any damage.. though this will be verified before attempting a return trip.

This particular mission is carrying up solar panels to increase the amount of power to the space station.

1..2..3.. ..102!

I've passed the 100 post mark! I feel so special, with so many posts! And yes, I am being a little bit sarcastic, as I didn't really intend to make a big deal until I got to a nice number like 1000. However, I found the place I want to go in celebration, and had to have something to celebrate.

It's not that I've only just discovered the Yucatan Peninsula - I've been desperate to see some of the Mayan ruins ever since studying their number system as a special math project in 6th grade (I think we learned a little bit about their culture somewhere in there as well), and after having come across a number of different articles about the Yucatan while trying to research the amount of crime in and interesting facts about Guatemala (in exactly that order), decided that was the place I had to go. While somehow avoiding the really touristy areas.

I know other sources would be likely to give a much better listing and summary than this article, but it's always nice to have a few different popular sources to start from and see where the other sources match. And with the supposition that by the time I actually make it to that part of the world I will actually remember this post and the article will still be available, it seemed entirely prudent to put it up.

Also, I couldn't leave all my readers in the dark about this beautiful piece of land and history. You're coming with me to celebrate! Right?

Mommy, I Want a Pet!

"'This worm is the stuff that legends and fairy tales are made of,' worm supporter Steve Paulson declared. 'What kid wouldn't want to play with a 3 foot-long, lily smelling, soft pink worm that spits?'"

I give you the article here: Group Says Giant Worm Must be Protected

I mean, I'd want one. Llamas spit too, and I have those, so that part doesn't worry me. And if you pick them up a lot, automatic air freshener for your house!

Did Hand-Washing Come Before God?

There's an article I'd very much like to re-write, discussing the psychological comparision between unethical acts and becoming physically clean. It's not that I have a problem with the study itself as that I want to present the results from a completely different angle. Such as something I could easily have turned in as an assignment for one of my theology classes. Or perhaps a psychology class, though I imagine any of the psychology professors I ever had (no, not true; I audited a class at the International Theological Institute for most of a semester) would have thrown it straight out the window and me along with it. That's what I get for spending three years taking multiple theology classes every semester; the desire to take an article about a hand-washing study and re-write it to point out all the hand-washing rituals in the Old Testament, complete with a discussion about why we had and still have certain means of "cleaning up" before God, whether physically or spiritually, why that's needed, and why it makes complete sense that a person would feel spiritually clean after physically washing up. And include a discussion of the Sacraments (such as, maybe, baptism) to show a very definite way in which God uses human things to show higher things.

Since I'm all out of classes and not likely to take another formal theology course (I'll have to keep the psychology classes in mind though), instead I'm writing down the "notes" that would otherwise have been in my head and from which I would have written the article, though by the time I'm done rewritting all this, it's actually a short paper unless I do a lot of editing. Such is life. Perhaps someone else will need to write this paper for class some day, and if so, the article mentions a nice study you can go look up and reference. Because this post doesn't warrent looking up the actual study myself.

Mutant Vancouver Eggplants Made Jam Somewhere Under Norway (w/ Peanuts?)

Old news by now, but in case anyone was particularly worried about Pluto (or deathly afraid that this would actually be settled within the next twenty years), never fear; Pluto's friends are fighting back for their dearly beloved.

If they come up with a better definition of a planet, good for them. As long as that definition doesn't go along the lines of "having all of the currently named conditions, or else being called Pluto."

Just as well, however, since my car wouldn't let me attend the bookstore. I wouldn't want my only chance for cheap astronomy books to have been so quickly passed over.

Also, rather than writing an entirely new post for this exciting tidbit, let me just note that the Space Shuttle Atlantis' launch has been delayed again, this time until Friday, possibly the last chance until late October.

(Hey, hey, anyone in my area.. drive me to FL to see a shuttle launch for my birthday? Pleeeaase?)

Somewhere in There I Missed the White Rabbit

It's the beginning of September. Officially, unremarkably, unavoidably, illogically. Illogically? I'm sure there was supposed to be another month in there somewhere. It's the time when I promised to be back and posting brilliantly, having settled into a lovely two-story home somewhere in the northern part of Texas, making good use of the free time given to relax after a full day with the children and before actually going to bed. The specific time when all of my world would suddenly congeal into the buildings and streets of Fort Worth, complete with cattle ranches and cowgirl museums.

I've never argued that Texas isn't strange. But that isn't the only problem with this senario. See, these Fort Worth buildings and roads look strangely similar to the houses and streets I was familiar with in the outskirts of Austin. That two story home - it's there, but it keeps changing shape and color, something I was previously completely unaware a house was able to do. And that full day with the children? It's even fuller than I imagined, and more wonderful, and more enjoyable, and the kids are more beautiful. For that matter, they look just like these other kids I met once. Actually, I'm failing to see where the problem is at all, unless it's in trying to remember how to spell Pflugerville, something I'll soon not be doing anyway as I move another five minutes away to Round Rock.

For those curious about what I have been doing if not moving into a new job, never fear; I have in fact found a job. I've been in training for a couple weeks now, and will soon receive certification as a professional jungle gym. I've also been told I sing well.

Aside from all the other perks of where I've found myself, Austin is closer to everything except Dallas. And it's closer to Dallas than MI is, though some scientists are still debating that. Either way I will post updates about an actual job (beyond what I've found, which is in fact a temporary sort of babysitting thing) when and if the mood strikes me - and in the meantime, will do my best to return to more regular installments of Whatever Strikes My Fancy.

OSC Alert!

Though it contains sections hinting at a lead-in to one, I promise this post is in no way a political (or other issue-related) rant. Rather I intend to promote a book while avoiding all actual discussion of any issues except those related to whether I like the little bit I have so far read and intend to read the rest of it.

I've never made it a secret that I'm a huge fan of Orson Scott Card. His newest book, Empire, will be released in the United States on November 28th of this year. The first five chapters are available online, and of course, upon discovering this, I promptly read through them. Despite the enourmous love I harbor for all things OSC has ever written (OK, not all; I have avoided reading most of his specifically Mormon works), the first two chapters made me nervous. The book is a "political thriller," something that first of all sounds like exactly what every other person is writing at the moment, all of those really popular, best seller listing, advertised on the radio books that everyone is talking about except people like me who role our eyes and wait for the next relatively-speaking unknown science fiction work to be published. Or even those other people who shove these new books aside to read the old classics. With no actual hostility intended to those who scour the best-seller listings to decide what to read, most of those simply aren't my style. Second of all, if I may proceed back to my original point, I've become so tired of arguing my own point of view against everyone else who doesn't agree with me that most of the current political issues, including that of our war, send me running for cover lest I become annoyed and frusterated at yet one my person telling me exactly how right they are, how stupid I am, and with whom I am unable to even discuss because I will never manage to meet them in my life.

I hope I haven't lost anyone thus far, because I'd really hate to turn anyone away from reading anything by OSC. As stated, the first two chapters had me actually nervous, wondering whether my beloved author could have written something which I would actually be forced not to like, and just waiting for the sentance or two that would have me frusteratedly leaving the webpage rather than spend my free time upsetting myself. I needn't have worried; it never came. It took until the last couple lines of the second chapter - not because everthing before was badly written, by any means, but because of the topic itself - to provide a hook I was willing to bite. The third, fourth, and fifth chapters were all brilliant. Another important point, particularly for me, is that this is OSC writing, and so even though a political thriller will necessarily have political material in it, it is told from a conservative point of view. While I may not entirely agree with everything, having made it through the first three chapters and then the first five, I will no longer hold any worry about coming across something that makes me want to throw the book. Instead, I expect another novel of brilliant thinking and writing, and anxiously await the book's release.

He's also proved in previous books that he has a good military mind and historical background, and understands how large groups of people work as well as individuals. I'm sure enough that he can sucessfully pull this off that I intend on having the book as soon as it comes out - whether I decide in early November to reserve a copy somewhere, or simply hit the bookstores as soon as possible on or after November 28th.

The Philotic Web has a short article/interview with OSC about Empire, for anyone interested in reading some of the author's own thoughts.

Those Poor Plutonians

So many cute friendly aliens have now been left without a planet. Do you think they feel discriminated against, being told they only live on a dwarf planet instead of a regular one? We'll have to be careful, once man is consistantly and personally moving out that far, not to treat them as lesser beings due to their planetary status, and to make sure they are properly protected (and represented!) within interplanetary laws. Only we can't call it interplanetary law - I imagine, due to this new developement, such a term would be far from politically correct.

All my astronomy books are now completely out of date. I'm sure a couple star charts are okay, and with luck my telescope has survived, but whole stacks of books are going to become useless. On second thought, I wonder whether the local bookstores will be prepared, and quickly placing all the old books on sales from which I could happily collect.. or whether, unprepared, I could manage to write an astronomy book of my own proudly discluding Pluto from the main planetary list, and find myself published simply because no one else has got so far. OK, granted, the former option seems a lot more likely.

We will need a new way to help children memorize the planets, however; My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Up Nine Planets will no longer cut it. Anyone else in favor of My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Noodles?