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| Trader Joe's, Seattle, WA |
Friday, June 29, 2012
Hippie Cereal (photo)
Friday, June 22, 2012
Blackboard from Night Kitchen (photo)
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| Night Kitchen Bathroom, Seattle, WA |
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Where Have All the Batteries Gone (Song)
Where Have All the Batteries Gone
to the tune of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone"
by Luna Lindsey
Where have all the batt'ries gone, long time passing?
Where have all the batt'ries gone, long time ago?
Where have all the batt'ries gone? Gone to robots every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the robots gone, long time passing?
Where have all the robots gone, long time ago?
Where have all the robots gone? Gone to mine ast'roids, every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the ast'roids gone, long time passing?
Where have all the ast'roids gone, long time ago?
Where have all the ast'roids gone? Mined to lith'ium, every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where has all the lith'ium gone, long time passing?
Where has all the lith'ium gone, long time ago?
Where has all the lith'ium gone? Gone to batt'ries, every one...
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
to the tune of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone"
by Luna Lindsey
Where have all the batt'ries gone, long time passing?
Where have all the batt'ries gone, long time ago?
Where have all the batt'ries gone? Gone to robots every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the robots gone, long time passing?
Where have all the robots gone, long time ago?
Where have all the robots gone? Gone to mine ast'roids, every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the ast'roids gone, long time passing?
Where have all the ast'roids gone, long time ago?
Where have all the ast'roids gone? Mined to lith'ium, every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where has all the lith'ium gone, long time passing?
Where has all the lith'ium gone, long time ago?
Where has all the lith'ium gone? Gone to batt'ries, every one...
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Blog Tour - June 11th to July 9th
Starting next week, on June 11th, I start a month-long blog tour. My schedule is pretty packed. This list may change.
This blog tour was made possible by Bewitching Book Tours. Roxanne has made everything easy, and I am pleased at how many doors she was able to open for me.
What is a blog tour? During the month, Emerald City Dreamer will be featured on many different book blogs, in the form of reviews, author interviews, and guest posts. It's a great way for readers to see what book bloggers think of my novel and to learn more about me. I hope you will check out some of these great blogs, as they are a way for you to learn more about other books.
As these dates pass, I will update the links to point directly to my post. For now, they point to the blog.
June 13
This blog tour was made possible by Bewitching Book Tours. Roxanne has made everything easy, and I am pleased at how many doors she was able to open for me.
What is a blog tour? During the month, Emerald City Dreamer will be featured on many different book blogs, in the form of reviews, author interviews, and guest posts. It's a great way for readers to see what book bloggers think of my novel and to learn more about me. I hope you will check out some of these great blogs, as they are a way for you to learn more about other books.
As these dates pass, I will update the links to point directly to my post. For now, they point to the blog.
June 13
ReaWrite – Promo
June 15
I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read – Spotlight
A Dream Within A Dream – Promo and Review
June 18
Books, Books, and More Books – Review
June 21
June 22
June 23
June 25
The Full Fang – Interview
June 27
The Speculative Salon – Interview
June 29 - 8pm
Debut Live Author Reading at Wayward Coffeehouse
Babbling About Books - Part of This Complete Breakfast - Guest Post
June 29 - 8pm
Debut Live Author Reading at Wayward Coffeehouse
Babbling About Books - Part of This Complete Breakfast - Guest Post
July 3
Manga Maniac Cafe – Interview
Everything to Do With Books – Review
Coffee Addicted Writer – Review
July 5
Book Reviews, Fiction Reflections, N' More – Interview and Review
July 9
The Wormhole – Interview
Simply Infatuated – Interview and Giveaway
Friday, June 15, 2012
Scarcity Mentality vs. The Abundance of Ideas
Writers get asked all the time, "Where do you get your ideas?"
To most active writers, ideas are easy. They flow faster than we have time to write them. Anyone can get ideas.
Some people seem to have a zero-sum notion of ideas, that there is a set number, and once those run out, they're all gone. This leads to lots of idea-stifling behaviors. It is a notion that proves itself. Imagine if we had a scarcity notion about muscles, that each of us has a top limit on the number of motions we can make, or pounds we can lift. We'd all sit around because we think it's healthy; meanwhile our muscles atrophy, and sure enough, after walking a few paces, we'd collapse, having "run out" of muscles.
Ridiculous, yet it is something most people believe about a muscle we call the "brain".
Like any other muscle, the Ideaceps Major gets stronger the more you flex it. The brain only likes to do work that it thinks you find useful. All ideas need are a little attention, a little appreciation. Don't judge your ideas, don't stuff them away. Just jot them down, or reflect on them for a moment and thank them for being so brilliant. Your brain will kicks in and give you more. It's that simple.
Let's look at some idea-stifling behaviors that come from zero-sum thinking:
The Unworthy
Some think good ideas only come to those magically blessed to receive them. They believe themselves unworthy for inspiration. When an idea pops into An Unworthy's head, she thinks, What a stupid idea! After such abuse, her brain naturally assumes that thinking of ideas is a useless skill, so it resorts to thinking up ideas rarely, and only on accident.
To most active writers, ideas are easy. They flow faster than we have time to write them. Anyone can get ideas.
Some people seem to have a zero-sum notion of ideas, that there is a set number, and once those run out, they're all gone. This leads to lots of idea-stifling behaviors. It is a notion that proves itself. Imagine if we had a scarcity notion about muscles, that each of us has a top limit on the number of motions we can make, or pounds we can lift. We'd all sit around because we think it's healthy; meanwhile our muscles atrophy, and sure enough, after walking a few paces, we'd collapse, having "run out" of muscles.
Ridiculous, yet it is something most people believe about a muscle we call the "brain".
Like any other muscle, the Ideaceps Major gets stronger the more you flex it. The brain only likes to do work that it thinks you find useful. All ideas need are a little attention, a little appreciation. Don't judge your ideas, don't stuff them away. Just jot them down, or reflect on them for a moment and thank them for being so brilliant. Your brain will kicks in and give you more. It's that simple.
Let's look at some idea-stifling behaviors that come from zero-sum thinking:
The Unworthy
Some think good ideas only come to those magically blessed to receive them. They believe themselves unworthy for inspiration. When an idea pops into An Unworthy's head, she thinks, What a stupid idea! After such abuse, her brain naturally assumes that thinking of ideas is a useless skill, so it resorts to thinking up ideas rarely, and only on accident.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Silly Autocorrect (photo)
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| Back when I had an iPhone. |
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Wayward Reading - June 29th
Two exciting announcements this week!
I am booked for my first debut live author reading at Wayward Coffeehouse in Seattle with my friend, horror author Michael Montoure!
Michael has a long background of doing readings at Seattle venues and at cons in various places. His short story collection, Slices, is awesome, and available at Amazon in Kindle and print.
I have performed an author reading once before, but on video. This will be my first live performance.
I will be reading three pieces:
Details: Wayward Coffeehouse in north Seattle. June 29th, 8pm-10pm. Directions
The other announcement is my book blog tour, starting next week.
Reading at Wayward Coffeehouse
Michael has a long background of doing readings at Seattle venues and at cons in various places. His short story collection, Slices, is awesome, and available at Amazon in Kindle and print.
I have performed an author reading once before, but on video. This will be my first live performance.
I will be reading three pieces:
- Let the Bugs Work Themselves Out, a sci-fi short story about ants and hackers.
- The Metro Gnome, a story set in my Dreams by Streetlight world, about a gnome on the 358 bus.
- An excerpt from Emerald City Dreamer.
Details: Wayward Coffeehouse in north Seattle. June 29th, 8pm-10pm. Directions
The other announcement is my book blog tour, starting next week.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
RIP Ray Bradbury
I was greatly inspired by Bradbury as a child. I remember taking an SAT test in 1992, and recognizing a passage from Dandelion Wine they'd used.
Our family had tapes with the Bradbury 13 dramatizations done by BYU in 1984. Just last month I wanted to share them with the kids, found them, and listened to some of them on vacation.
Some of these stories had huge impacts on me, especially a "Sound of Thunder", about time travel and the effects even small changes could have. "The Wind" terrified me, and kept me up late, listening to the wind in Eastern Washington, afraid it might get in.
On Twitter today, someone pointed me at these audio productions done in the 1950s, and clearly inspired the later Bradbury 13.
I never got around to reading the Martian Chronicles, but I saw the poorly-made movies. And obviously Fahrenheit 451, one of the greatest dystopian novels of all time.
He is one of the three greatest classic SF authors, those who founded and popularized science fiction. They taught literary snoots that sci-fi had something important to say; that as a genre, it could rise above the pulp rubbish. Of these three -- Asimov, Clarke, and Bradbury -- Bradbury was the last alive.
Now they are all gone, and it is up to the generations of new guards to try to fill their shoes; to try to grasp, here in the shadow of a possible mind-boggling singularity, what the future may hold. To intuit what dangers there may be, that we might warn of them. To cast about for hope that we may promise it. It is a tall order, when much of what they foretold has come true.
If you're a writer, or just want to know more about Bradbury's life and creative mind, "Zen in the Art of Writing" is short and very good.
Nothing is more inspiring and mystic to me than reading biographies and seeing documentaries on the lives of old sci-fi writers. Zen falls into that category. It is easy to imagine him sitting at a typewriter in 1953. It is hard to imagine him predicting a future where technology might make it possible for there to be no books.
Thank you Ray, for being on my dad's shelf as I grew up. If only I could write half as well as you. You changed the world; you changed my world. Your words will outlive us all.
Video Store Art (photos)
Every year, Roland and I take a weekend trip to Leavenworth, WA for our anniversary from the time we met. This weekend will be our fourth trip.
Here are some photos I took on our first year. There's a little independent video store off the main drag, obviously intended for the locals. Also obviously, it was run by geeks, since an action figure of some kind guarded each aisle. I believe they also had a video game console and a couch at the back of the room, but my memory is hazy. We rented a pile of movies, including United 93 and the original version of Let the Right One In, which the clerk highly recommended.
Most notable about this store was the ceiling. It was obvious from the different art styles, that they would lend a ceiling tile out to whoever wanted to add something. I captured some of my favorites.
Here are some photos I took on our first year. There's a little independent video store off the main drag, obviously intended for the locals. Also obviously, it was run by geeks, since an action figure of some kind guarded each aisle. I believe they also had a video game console and a couch at the back of the room, but my memory is hazy. We rented a pile of movies, including United 93 and the original version of Let the Right One In, which the clerk highly recommended.
Most notable about this store was the ceiling. It was obvious from the different art styles, that they would lend a ceiling tile out to whoever wanted to add something. I captured some of my favorites.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Gender Politics on Game Night: "Apples to Apples" vs "Blokus"
I love games. I love games of every type: LARP, PC, console, board, card, RPG, strategy, and puzzle games. I like games that are difficult, that make me think. And I love games where I can sit back and relax and do something mindless for hours. I love meaningless social games where everyone wins. And hardcore competitive games where the loud shout of "Headshot!" booms bass from my speakers in a crowded room of a LAN party.
I'm really good at many games, and pretty good at most games. I used to avoid games I totally suck at, but lately I can play them without caring too much about winning.
For many years, off and on, I've hosted game nights where random friends show up bearing games and snacks. A card or board game is selected by democratic process, and fun is had by all.
A few years ago, I attended a large game night with twenty or thirty attendees in a large house. Some of the people I knew pretty well, and others were new to me. We had enough people for two or three simultaneous games. At some point, Apples to Apples was starting up in the living room, and Blokus was coming out the dining room.
In case you're not familiar, let me describe these games. Apples to Apples is a party game that large groups can play. The rules and strategy are very simple.
I'm really good at many games, and pretty good at most games. I used to avoid games I totally suck at, but lately I can play them without caring too much about winning.
For many years, off and on, I've hosted game nights where random friends show up bearing games and snacks. A card or board game is selected by democratic process, and fun is had by all.
A few years ago, I attended a large game night with twenty or thirty attendees in a large house. Some of the people I knew pretty well, and others were new to me. We had enough people for two or three simultaneous games. At some point, Apples to Apples was starting up in the living room, and Blokus was coming out the dining room.
In case you're not familiar, let me describe these games. Apples to Apples is a party game that large groups can play. The rules and strategy are very simple.
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| A very girly card played during a very girly game. |
Friday, June 1, 2012
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