Some people have been sending me money in response to the request for an investor–sometimes a hundred dollars. I hadn’t been asking for donations; I appreciate them all the more for that. If you sent in a hundred dollars, I think you deserve something spiffy as a thank you; Reesa and Kit and I have been kicking around ideas for exactly what. When we come up with something, we’ll let you know. In the meantime, you have the thanks of a grateful writer.

Meanwhile, concerning the loan request mentioned earlier, if there are people interested in investing smaller amounts (technically, this is a note of hand, not an investment in the business, as it is unsecured), say 3-10k, let us know at the email addresses mentioned in the earlier post.

In other news, I’m working on chapter 10 of Iorich, and I think it’s going pretty well.

(Originally posted at Words Words Words by skzb. Please leave any comments there.)

Tags: steve

Working on a new story. It was only 784 words, but it's a start.

[I've written the subject line with a dash rather than a colon, to avoid raising expectations of another book. Of course, if Lois were to feel so inclined, she should feel fully free to use that as a title *at any time*. Iow, W, L, W!]

While it is a truth universally acknowledged that I've been a vehement, vociferous, rabid [see the ears?] Bujold fan for lo, these twelve-plus years and more, it is rarely known that in all that time I haven't actually read the books that many times. I've read all the Vorkosigan books maybe 3-4 times, _Chalion_ twice, and _Paladin_ and _Hunt_ once each. It hasn't really been necessary to read them more than that. They made such vivid, visceral impressions, it's as is I'm still having an ongoing conversation with them, like yeast bubbling and working away, in the back of my mind.

Yet, here's a thing. I've read the Sharing Knife books as much as the others in 12+ years. This year alone, I've read book 3 at least three or four times. I've been trying to figure out why, and I think Lois writes truer than even she knows sometimes; it all comes down to *affinities*.

These books are sheer comfort to slip into, like slithering around on satin sheets, snuggling into bed under warm coverings on a cold night, savoring chocolate, or getting intoxicated breathing wisteria.

That they're set in my own country certainly gives a geographical affinity, but that in itself is insufficient. There are admittedly affinities of topography and climate. [Of course, my own state, Georgia, is more diverse than most. From friendly foothills {aka, "mountains"} in the north, to piedmont, flatlands, swamplands, and beaches, we have a wide variety of climates right handy, so to say.] I've driven extensively through Ohio and Pennsylvania, en route to some of the best times of my life [OVFF and Confluence], which adds a certain luster to the scenery. These last few years, we've begun to take walks several times a week at the nearby nature preserve. I'd be able to see what Lois is writing about, often the same day as reading it: cardinals, bluejays, robins, lizards, turtles in the sun, various ducks, thuggish geese, cattails, dogwoods, redbuds, blue herons. Still no water lilies [although the fire lilies were exquisite last year], but that's enough to be going on with, surely. I've shared delightful snippets of physical description with ze spouse. Lois turns a phrase the way Chihuly blows glass: liquid, creative fire.

We southerners like folks from the midwest, because they almost talk right, close enough to be real comfortable. It does make it hard for me to appreciate all Lois' linguistic efforts properly, however; familiarity blurs details so.

Culturally, I can identify with both Farmers and Lake-Walkers [minor pet peeve: if reviewers, et. al. are going to capitalize one culture, they should capitalize the other]. My great-grandparents were sharecroppers, & I had a great-uncle and -aunt who didn't get indoor plumbing until I was seven. They made their own butter [I still have a butter mold]. My grandma plowed her own garden up until the year she came to town for cataract surgery and stayed for a stroke [they took her off her blood-thinners]. I've gotten up at dawn to pick field peas and shelled butterbeans until all fingernails were green. I've also been far too tightly owned by some things and completely baffled at the things some other folks are owned by [none of them written by Lois]. It could almost be said I travel Lake-Walker-lightly through the world [except for all the books and music--more like, I Marley merrily. ;)].

The romance tropes are comfortably familiar, too; I've always said I owed that high verbal score on the SAT to having started reading Harlequins in the 5th grade, back when they were written with big words, plot, and character development. Given how many of the best authors [hello, Jane and Georgette!] have heroines between 17 and 20, and heroes of 35-40 and higher, the age difference never bothered me.

Having never procreated, I never joined the adult conspiracy. Inside my head, I'm still somewhere between 18 and 23, so coming-of-age stories still resonate, even when one is coming-of-age at 56 [hi, Dag!].

These books have everything, the very stuff of life itself: wit, wisdom, bafflement, betrayal, puzzlement, poignancy, goodwill, malice [both kinds!], with hearty guffaws and primo snark. I want my life written this intelligently by an author this insightful.

Colossal kudzu kudos, Lois; brava!

Also, Write, Lois, Write!

Current Mood: artistic

Hello, all,

Just FYI, the email address in my previous post regarding ads in the program book was incorrect. Please send all emails to promotion_publicity.2008@apollocon.org. You'll need to resend anything you tried to send already.

Thanks, and sorry for the confusion!

Rebecca

I'm never sure if I can actually make plants grow, but I'm pleased to say that the Bleeding Heart I planted out front on Sunday, which only had four flowers then, now has EIGHT flowers two days later! YAAAAAAAYYY. So I guess Deb was right when she said those plants grow quickly.

Maybe I should just buy ten more Bleeding Hearts ;).

Tags: gardening
Current Mood: accomplished

Hewlett-Packard Co has struck a deal to buy Electronic Data Systems Corp (EDS) for $12.6 billion.
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSN1230539620080513
I guess that means HP will be herding cats now...

Riverdance: "Finale"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWO3qUCbiqE

I would like to thank everyone who has taken an active interest in this wonderful event.  Especially those who have given much of their time and effort to ensure ApolloCon has a strong fifth year, and the momentum to see it well into the sixth!

Before I get too deep into this much deserved, inelegant epic Oscar length praise.  I would like everyone to know there are many more positions to fill, tasks to do, and cakes to be baked before ApolloCon open its doors.  

Among the largest/time consuming tasks are Thursday's move in, Friday’s main set-up and Sunday’s tear down/pack away.   Stick around for the dead dog and hang out with fellow members and ApolloCon organizers.  Reminisce on leftovers or fill a dogie bag with hot debates!   

When the hotel gives us the go-ahead watch out!  It'll be wilder than an old land grant race.  There will be more blue duct tape to stick, bag to stuff, and moving of equipment than you can shake a stick at.  Ok….You get my point.   We have a lot to do and a short time left to do it in.

Now for the enticement…ApolloCon is offering a 3-day membership deferral or reimbursement to anyone who locks themselves into 8 volunteer hours!  Yes, you heard me.  For just 8 various hours of greeting new friends, showing off your culinary skills, or learning a new card game as you mosey around the gaming room.  We will give you an opportunity to be ONE with the CON! 

Double credit for set-up/tear down, partial reimbursements (4 hours), and special active student offers also apply (contact Volunteering for more information).    Those who wish to donate hours without the mentioned compensation will also be bagged, tagged, and carried away post haste!   Always volunteer responsibly and  register yourself with the ApolloCon Volunteer Department before offering your services, as you may find yourself in lost and found or packed away for next year!

Contact volunteer.2008@apollocon.org, to take advantage of this offer before Wednesday, June 25th and the online processing ends.   All incoming volunteers after this date will be processed at the VOLUNTEER table next to REGISTRATION.   The above offers will be valid, but the selections more limited.

The Volunteering Department tracks deferrals and reimbursement hours worked through signed YELLOW time sheet forms.  These forms are administrative tools ApolloCon uses in determining what is owed to the volunteer, and where help is most needed as we grow a bit more each year.    If you work for ANYONE at APOLLOCON and you are a registered volunteer.  Log your time and have it signed!

An incentive carried over from last year is a VOLUNTEER ONLY raffle.  One for 1-8hrs and another for 8+ hours.  These items were donated to Volunteering to thank hard working volunteers and ensure form submissions.  Deadline for YELLOW forms are Sunday by 4PM, unless working Logistics tear down/off-site then Tuesday by 5PM.

Last but never least!   A short list of various positions we still have openings for:

• General Logistics set-up/tear down: Thursday & Sunday evenings.
• Skilled Logistics: daily set-ups and tear downs (Fri – Sun).
• Registration:  Runners/badge distributors (Fri – Sun).
• OPS: Room attendants.  This hot spot is the hub of everything.  Attendants are a critical interface between  
  ApolloCon and its members, plus they keep Logistics on track.
• Gaming:  Room Attendants (Fri – Sun)
• Masquerade: 2 Catchers 7:30PM-10:00PM.  Program length varies from year to year.
• Volunteering:  Rovers (Fri – Sun) Con’s band aids!  These elite volunteers go where needed to get the job done.

A special teaser is planned for those who wish to donate time but are a bit shy, or have extremely limited availability.

 

Kristie Belding
2008 Volunteer Department Lead
volunteer.2008@apollocon.org

Mom called at lunchtime. My late father's older brother Bob (but he and my dad had always called each other "Jake," so he was always "Uncle Jake" to me) was found dead this morning by his pastor and the church's visitation team when they stopped in to visit him. Apparently he had fallen down the stairs; his knees were bad, so one of them could have given out on him, although he was naked when they found him and it puzzles me that he would ever have gone near the stairs in that state of undress (or even without his slippers on). I mean, his mind was still sharp, he wasn't depressed, he had an upstairs phone, there was no food cooking or laundry waiting, and he definitely wasn't the sort to answer the door in the altogether. Very, very strange.

He would have been 76 next month. His passing wasn't exactly unexpected, because he had various chronic cardiovascular problems and his doctor had given him five years to live about a year ago. Still, given his medical history, we had anticipated a decline with some time for goodbyes before the end. As with my dad, this quick cessation might be better for the person who dies, but is harder on those left behind.

He wasn't what you'd call a well-rounded person; by all accounts, Grandpa Spencer was a mercurial, worldly, harsh parent who used to discipline my father by shutting him in a closet, and I think young Jake's social skills were stunted both by Grandpa's questionable parenting and his untimely death. Still, my uncle was a decent human being and an interesting one. The thing I will probably miss most about Jake is the wealth of personal and family history he knew, and the anecdotes he was able to tell. He liked to talk; he had a head for dates and details; and he was always ready to hold forth at length:

Growing up in a farmhouse without running water, listening to the radio on a couple hours of generator power each night.

Hunting squirrels on his uncle's farm with an air rifle that had to be loaded just so.

Quitting school to provide for the family when Grandpa Spencer died and the coal company wouldn't give my Grandma another mine to run when hers played out, just because she was a woman.

Scarfing steel ingots in Bethlehem Steel's miles-long Johnstown Works, 3 to 11, then 11 to 7, then 7 to 3, shifts forever rotating.

Serving the Army in Germany as a colonel's driver and having a new VW shipped home with him.

And so much more. In happier days, my sister and I learned to play pinochle with him and my dad; they were not all that tolerant of mortal sins such as leading losing off-suits when it should be apparent that one's partner is out of trump, but it was great fun nevertheless. He taped polkas and olbereks off the radio beside his recliner right up until the last Johnstown AM-radio polka show went off the air. A military buff with a huge library of Military Book Club selections, he could tell you almost anything you wanted to know about the American Civil War or World War II. He and Grandma were the absolutely most generous and predictable of relatives when it came to Christmas presents; every year, come November, my sister and I were handed the Sears Christmas Catalog and told to pick out what we wanted, up to $100 in total value. And after his early retirement, when I mentioned one day that it would be nice to have tapes of the different SF, fantasy, and horror movies that were airing then in the heyday of cable TV, he volunteered to record them for me. And he did -- not five or ten, but at least a hundred VHS tapes full of...well, mostly trash, but I loved it. I don't know that I ever thanked him as well as he deserved for that stupendous favor.

In recent years, after the deaths of his brother and mother, he began to dwell on the same five or six subjects and cycle through them endlessly; phone calls became a chore, and visits became excruciatingly tedious. But I called him every few weeks, nonetheless, and now I don't regret a minute of it.

I wonder now, one last time, what he might have become, if my grandfather had lived and Jake had gone to college and studied chemistry, as he planned, instead of grinding away the best years of his life in the mill. Would he have become a great scientist? Would he have married? Would I have cousins that could carry on the Hoffman name? Alas, as Aslan said in The Horse and His Boy, "No one is ever told what would have been."

Farewell, sir. You were an odd man, but a fine uncle, and a friend; I will miss you. And any remaining questions I might have had about our family will miss your loud basso reply, "Well, let's see, that would have been September or October of 1949. No, definitely September, because..."

Thanks for all the gardening advice in my last post- I was especially amused by the gardening advice from the non-gardeners :). It was fun to actually get out and digging in our new gardens for the first time yesterday. We planted several plants in our front garden (though I think we're going to need more) and I planted my clematis by the trellis between the two vines that are already growing (the clematis and the mystery vine that's beginning to bud green leaves with pink edges). Getting out to plant in the backyard gave me a whole new feel for that space. You start to realize the backyard is almost like a room in your new house- you look around and start to picture furniture and decorations and paint.

The first and most important thing that I want to do out there is get a fence built out back. We have side fences between our neighbours, but nothing across the back. Now that the weather is nice and more people are walking the grass ravine behind the townhouses I'm more aware of the lack of privacy from not having a fence there. John's calling around to look into that today. I hope it's not too expensive.

Other things I'm musing about doing out back:

1. Our cute Narnia lamp-post needs painting. Right now it's a crumbling orange-rust colour and we'd like it to be black.

2. The lamp is on a stone pillar that would look nice with one or two flower arrangements on it. Have to start looking at flowerpots for that.

3. The gardens right now have a strange hose irrigation system that seems to be quite old. We're thinking of getting rid of it and replacing it with a new hose for now. Our gardens are small- I'm pretty sure we don't need more than that.

4. There's two brackets on the side fences for hanging planters. Have to start looking at hanging planters and what to put in them.

5. I want to make an herb garden, but I haven't decided if I want to put the herbs in a corner plot or if I want to set up a bench near the door and keep the herbs in containers. I'm leaning toward the container idea this year.

6. I'd like a small table and chairs out on the back patio area. Preferably something that will fold up easily for winter storage. I'm fond of the wood slat tables and chairs I've seen.

7. Maybe a couple of chaises. Maybe.

8. Some short fencing around the edges of the slat larger fences so the cat can come out into the yard once we have the back fence (though I'm afraid he'll chase some squirrel or bird to the top of the fence and be gone!).

I fear no matter how you slice it, this is gonna get expensive... Little by little.

(Note: The photo is from before the former owners moved {back in November}. The umbrella table, BBQ, shelves, etc., are gone.)