Deviant Dispatches

As I wrote about yesterday, some days are harder than others. On days like that, being positive seems impossible, or at least much harder than usual. I know by now what things pep me up when I'm down, but it's one thing to know the cure is there and another to go for it. So writing all these things down provides a way to grab all the happy I can at once. Hopefully, this post can serve a similar purpose for you. Being creative is always a good start. Working on a craft focuses energy and results (often, if not always) in a feeling of productivity and accomplishment. It provides a way to get out all that negative energy in a constructive way. I usually write, as a way of understanding my thoughts and talking myself through them. The blog Write Out of Depression is no longer active, but provides wonderful prompts to get the words and happiness flowing. Humor is another helpful thing. Even if you aren't feeling it, seek out something to laugh over, and it will reach yo...

*This post has way more information about my internal organs than you may be comfortable with. Also, there's some crazy in it. Be warned.* A couple of weeks ago, I'd convinced myself that I either had cancer or a misplaced appendix. Not misplaced like, oh no, where did I leave my appendix, it was just here a second ago. Misplaced as in, possibly in the wrong spot on my body. It happened to someone I know, and my left side has felt like an angry cat is trying to claw its way out for a long time. The reason I thought it could be my appendix, after such a long time of hurt, is that an appendix can, apparently,  seal itself over before getting its toxins all up in your hizzy. Again, this happened to someone I know. So, hey, it could be both on the wrong side of my body and sealed over at the same time. Not the most likely scenario, but still possible. This pain, as I said, has been happening for a while, but only recently could I do anything about it, as we had insurance ...

Here's the continuation of yesterday's post , featuring three more books being nominated for a Nebula . Same deal here: I don't have a clue about any of these, so I've researched them ... some more thoroughly than others. God's War , Kameron Hurley Nyx is a respected assassin - sometimes. Others, she's just a killer. Her newest bounty is going to really mess things up for two governments. Two! Quite an accomplishment. ...And that's all the summary says. But the opening line is promising: "Nyx sold her womb somewhere between Punjai and Faleen, on the edge of the desert." Huh. Okay then. Reviews suggest this book has excellent, gritty  world building (which makes me think of The Windup Girl ), but less in the way of stellar characterization (as scifi is sometimes wont to do). That said, Nyx is intriguing enough to keep reading and even sympathize with later on. The author categorizes her book as "bug punk," whatever ...

This year's Nebula award nominations are in, and I have no clue about any of them. Okay, I know who China Miéville is. But the only other name I vaguely recognize is Jack McDevitt, and I'm not even sure why. (Now I remember. It's because I've seen this cover many, many times.) Usually, I at least have some clue about who I'm rooting for and which ones I'm interested in reading. But I was out of the new-book loop for much of last year, and now I have to jump back into it. Hence, the following research of three books on the list, for your enjoyment. Tomorrow will feature part two. Among Others , Jo Walton Ah, yes. Seeing the cover, I do remember this one coming out. Apparently, all I have to do is look at the covers and I'll get it. Morwenna's mother is crazy and does magic. How's that for a messed-up childhood? She reads to escape the crazy, as many in literature and real life do. One day her mom's dark magic cripples her and...

Today, I have lots of new music to share with you. First, Zola Jesus singing "Vessel." All the mixing in her songs results in not-my-cuppa-tea music, since you can't really hear her awesome voice. But the video is cool, and I'm sure others out there will love her - mainly, the industrial rock crowd. First Aid Kit is a group Spousal Unit discovered. They're a couple of Swedish sisters with an awesome folk sound and great voices. The vocal syncopation is especially unusual in this song, but it works out very well. Last, Lucy Rose , a self-taught guitarist, sings "Middle of the Bed." I'm impressed that she can sing so fast and well at once, and there's something about the song that makes it sound incredibly smooth and deliriously choppy - in a good way. Another one I love is Danielle Ate the Sandwich - yes, that's the name of the band. Her song "17 and 53" is sad, but beautiful. 

I've been obsessed with a particular fantasy series for a while now: the short story and poem collections by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. The most recent book I'm enjoying in that series is The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest . These stories riff off the idea of the stag/man who is the father of the forest. Sometimes it's a woman in those old myths, leaves decorating her hair and tumbling out of her mouth. Each of these stories twists the original somehow, resulting in brand-new fairy/folk tales. Some collections like this feature authors no one's ever heard of, but these authors are usually well-established in fantasy, and each tale is very well done. Authors in this collection include Neil Gaiman, Jane Yolen, Gregory Maguire, and Patricia McKillip. I'm about halfway through this collection, and as usual, it's a winner. So far, my favorite story is "Charlie's Away" by Midori Snyder, which features a boy who thinks he has t...

A while ago, I bought a bamboo blend yarn called Jarbo Tropik. It's soft, silky, and bright blue. Source I decided I wanted to do something awesome with it, as I was running out of fun projects and only had the more obnoxious ones sitting around (a certain sweater and quilt being two of them). But I didn't quite have enough for a large-ish project, so I dug deep into my stash box and came up with this lovely yarn. I got it ages and ages ago, from Jimmy Beans Wool . Don't ask me what brand it is - all I remember is it's 100 percent bamboo. If you've never worked with bamboo before, do it: it's as soft as silk and much less expensive. After coming up with the material, I needed a pattern. I found the Age of Brass and Steam kerchief/shawl on Ravelry, which looked simple and fun. Awesome thing about this shawl (besides the fact that it will be soft and gorgeous) is that it will complete goal number four on my list of 25 things for the year: a ...

We accidentally have the beginnings of a jungle in our apartment. This plant came with us all the way from New Mexico. We had several plants when we lived there, including Minerva (a tomato plant) and Cordelia (chives). They both ended up dying, Minerva having lived a long and fruitful life, Cordelia dying of neglect and my general ignorance about chives. That left us with the above plant, who was named Kuzon or Khaaaaaan! (Its name really depended on whether you asked me or Spousal Unit.) After a transplant, which Kuzon/Khaaaaan! survived, I discovered that this was actually two plants. At some point, we may have been able to separate them, but their roots are probably so intertwined the separation would kill them both. Kind of like siamese twins joined at the heart. After getting our new place in the Midwest, Spousal Unit's parents brought us this lovely Christmas cactus. It blossomed happily during the season. Spousal Unit named it Steve. I don't think he h...

Ladies and gents, I have a word for you. This word has been on my mind for the last several weeks, haunting my dreams and weakening me in waking moments. I've been wanting to tell everyone about it, because it's such an amazing thing, and I think everyone should experience the joy it brings. My life is more tolerable, knowing this thing exists, and I think it's perfectly appropriate that I share it with you on Valentine's Day. This one word? Gravy. I made vegan - vegan!  - gravy a couple of weeks ago, to go with garlic smashed 'tatoes, and it was a heavenly delight. I haven't had gravy in a very long time, so I was thrilled to finally have a recipe I could make over and over and over again. It's one of those things I thought I would just never be able to taste again, now that I'm vegetarian, but it turns out I was very wrong. And I'm so glad I was. It tastes just like gravy made of animal fat, but with the delight of being critter friendly an...

Apparently, Bon Iver is pretty awesome. The band won two Grammys yesterday: best new artist and best alternative music album. The best new artist one has me a bit confused. They released their second album last year, not their first. And Justin Bieber was recently in Grammy contention as well (for some reason), and we all know he's been around for freakin' ever. They must have some unusual criteria for defining "new artist" over at the Grammy hub. But the award that impresses me is the best alt album one: Bon Iver beat out Death Cab for Cutie and Radiohead, two of my favorite bands. I've found that while the individual win for a Grammy doesn't necessarily mark it as the best (at least, in my mind), the bands in contention for the win are usually all solid. (This only works for me in regard to music categories I already enjoy. For example, record of the year, which is more about the Popular Kid in class than the best student, went to Adele. I can't...

*The following is a second myth to go with my novel, Harvest. It doesn't quite fit my novel yet, but it was fun getting to this point. When humanity had yet to exist, the Great Ape, Fox, and Heron gifted the world with purpose and harmony. Mankind came to envy these gifts, but could not grasp their beauty - what a foolish creature, to not know the way home. And so shall history write itself: There lived a race called humankind, who sought peace and possessed none. With little effort, it called forth a shadow from deep nightmares. It spoke like peace, but in the guise of shapeless fear. Humans thought to control it, but the shadow feasted on their aimless anger. The end crept in slowly, and just as they were made, humans took themselves apart. In all their villages, the shadow flowed. Young were not spared, nor old. Slow as old honey, then quick as a comet, the shadow grew. Mankind was blinded to Death, who walked beside them. They awoke one day to the terror of absence. Hu...

I have a new job. Same dance, new song: I'll still be working at a bookstore, but it's a primarily new bookstore instead of a primarily used bookstore. No more books that smell like cigarettes and mold, no more fun discoveries of bugs and underwear in book boxes, no more offering customers 50 cents for nice copies of Walden and Emily Dickinson. No more throwing books away like they're last week's leftovers. I will miss certain things, certain people, certain perks; that is the nature of change. The new job is part-time, at least for now. This means I'll be developing a regimen for novel work and exercise, to be focused on daily (or very, very often). Hopefully, I can get myself and my novel whipped into shape. (Don't worry; I'll still post terrible book covers for you whenever they come my way.) Unfortunately, this also means some degree of insanity in the next several months, yet again. I've already had my first couple of freak-outs about the new...

Today is a slow writing day. My thoughts are all gummed up with nightmares, and work starts very early. Even the black tea I'm resolutely chugging isn't helping me think. Some days are like that: you try to be creative and amazing and brand-new, but all you feel is reworked and typical and blah. But you try again the next day. So for today, a plethora of thought-provoking images. I'll do my best to come up with a great post later this week, to make it up to y'all. Dr. Seuss always hits the nail right on the head, but it's fun to see it spelled out. (Click to enlarge!) Gandalf may be a wizard, but Obi-Wan has the Force. I love Iggy Pop forever for doing this. I think everyone here is perfectly cast. It also makes me rethink the original characters: Jayne saying, "Wokka, wokka!" is almost natural. And Beaker as Simon really emphasizes his nervousness. If Firefrog was a real show, I would watch it. Maybe even more than Firefly .

This is how the Super Bowl ended this year: not with a bang, but a buttcheek. It was one of the more ridiculous Super Bowls I've seen in a while. The Patriots dropped plays left and right...  I had to see Eli Manning's face way too often... (Seriously, with the expression he's got, he could just be yawning.) ...and there were plays like this one. I get the reasoning behind it. They wanted to let the clock wind down to avoid giving the Patriots another play and a chance to win. Butt ... When Ahmad Bradshaw lost his balance and fell ass-first into Super Bowl history, most of the team was focused on the fact that he didn't stop. Oh no, we scored and took the lead. This is terrible. What that says to me is they have no faith in their defense. Part of me is glad the Giants won. If the Packers had to fall out of the race this year, at least it was to the team that won the Super Bowl. But I still don't think the Giants really deserved it. I...

Around Christmas, Spousal Unit tried to get me a book. I knew nothing about it, other than it was brand new and somehow, he'd heard of it and thought of me. I usually stay pretty aware of the awesome new books out in the world, and somehow, I had no idea what this one could be. I was especially confused when Spousal Unit said the bookstore couldn't get it - the distributors were all out of stock. What could be so unexpectedly terrific that everyone wanted it for Christmas? Finally, the book came in last week. It turned out to be what's regarded as the best Japanese science fiction novel ever written: 10 Thousand Days and 100 Billion Nights by Ryu Mitsuse. Spousal Unit heard about it on NPR . Intriguing from the start, especially because that swirl on the cover is both a galaxy and  a fingerprint. (It gets better: the cover glows in the dark. Insert squeal of delight.) The first couple of chapters are kind of slow-going. The book starts at the beginning of time, f...

Today, I was planning to share a conglomeration of terrible western covers with you. Like Deuces and Ladies Wild , by Richard S. Wheeler. The guy with his back turned to the table was clearly just getting up to go to the bathroom. The man shooting everyone else was infuriated that someone would fold just for that reason (he forgot his meds today). The lady on the left is preparing to jump over the gravity-defying chair, and those are no lanterns hanging overhead: they're spaceships, coming down to settle this petty human dispute by subtly brainwashing everyone. (Who knew Cowboys and Aliens dated back to the early '90s?) I also wanted to share one called Buckskin: .52 Caliber Shoot-Out by Kit Dalton. "Caught in a hotbed of gunmen and shady ladies, Morgan cooled things down real fast." Because he's cool. Get it? And apparently any book with a guy getting kicked in the chin by a horse is automatically cooler. Plus, if you feature the same guy on the...