Monthly Archives: August 2007

To all the writers I know

By on

It’s a booky week. I’ve been completely taken in by Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series. I’ve been jabbering about it to anyone who will listen that it’s going to be as big as Harry Potter (except not for boys or younger kids) and just as engrossing.

That’s what I miss about HP. I want to be engrossed in a story. The only downside of Twilight is that it’s a much more emotional book. (This is why it’s not really appropriate for younger kids. It’s not vulgar or violent, but it’s all about the angst and lurve.) The descriptions of serious break-uppy feelings were enough to make me hurt. I am curious what readers who haven’t been in a love-and-lost situation feel about it.

Anyway, the point is that Twilight is the first thing Stephenie Meyers wrote. And my own, personal Stephanie just sent me the manuscript for her very first novel. And just now I read a hilarious blog post about the dangers of smoking drugs (and self publishing). It’s called “Latawnya, the Naughty Horse, Learns to Say NO to Drugs”.

I may need to turn one of the illustrations into a teeshirt.

smoking drugs and slapping hooves

Your New Distraction

By on

Yahoo Games has a bunch of wordy games. When I worked at Schmabbot, and sat in front of a computer with nothing to do, I’d play. My Scrabble/Boggle abilities became enhanced.

So why not become addicted to a word game? It’s good for your brain. Here, play Boggle against lots of people, and make up word.

Welcome back

By on

Yesterday was the first day of school for most of the area. It was nice to have the routine of only little kids coming in to my domain during the day, and a concentration of school-age kids after 3. I noted that of all the kids who came in, every single seventh grader announced to me that they were now in seventh grade. I thought that was pretty funny.

As much fun as summer vacation was, I’m glad to have some quiet time to catch up. I’m in the process of ordering some new toys and furniture for the kids room. We have a crate of donated toys, and plush things are really hard to keep clean. I’m looking for some fun stuff that would also make it though a dishwasher cycle.

Good reception

By on

smoosh

Jason and I celebrated our recent nups in Buffalo, at his parent’s house. We had a reception for his side of the family. There was a trip to Niagara Falls (the quintessential wedding destination) with both our parents, hanging out in the beautiful hills of upstate New York, and of course a feast.

feast

Best idea ever.

By on

I really want to use the song “The Salmon Dance” from the newest Chemical Brothers album … for storytime.

Put your hands to the side, as silly as it seems,
And shake your body like a salmon floatin’ up stream!

All my peeps spend part of their life in fresh water
And part of their life in salt water.

I mean, how great is that? I guess the part about spawning and dying isn’t real appropriate. Neither is
When I first did the Salmon all the people just laughed
They looked around and stood like I was on crack
I heard somebody say out loud what the fuck is that
This nigga’s dancin like a fish while he’s doin’ the snap.

And that’s why I write the impulsive things I think on my blog, instead of trying them out on unsuspecting kids and parents.

Broken wing

By on

I need to build a lightbox to display the sweet x-ray film I have of my clavicle.

broken wing

This is the second x-ray taken of me. The first, at the emergency room, showed the bone broken but basically in shape. At some point (I shrugged a little) it disaligned. This is what it looks like now, but smoothed over with new bone growth. The jagged parts are filled in with my internally-created spackle. You can only kind of see the bump, although it’s easily felt.

Next time you see me, ask to touch it. It’s neat.

I got my bike out yesterday, and fixed it. I need to buy a new helmet, and I’ll start biking to work again. I’m sure I’ll bike slower, at least for a while.

Weekend update

By on

Last weekend I played with the Toe Jam Puppet Band at the Charlestown, RI Seafood Festival. It was delicious.

carwash
This is during the song “Carwash”, and I’m about to spray the crowd with those squirtbottles.

Then, this week I bought a new camera. After much discussion and research, I bought a Nikon D40. What’s the first thing you take a picture of when you get a new camera?

STELLAAA
She was a sport about the whole thing.

Jason
So was he.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been Foetoegirl (my other, other alter ego), and I’m excited at the prospect of this newfangled digital camera technology. I realized as I was shooting today that not only can I go ahead and think in color (I shot mostly black and white before), but I can SEE the picture after I take it, and if it’s not exactly what I wanted to capture, I can still go in and make changes to it using Photoshop. It’s a whole new world compared to my Minolta SRT 201. I pulled out my camera bag, and it’s dusty. I think Foetoegirl was in hiding.

My secret goal here is to get my photographer eye back, and start dabbling in pro stuff again. After a long conversation with Jason about what my photo professor in college thought I could do, I decided that a goal for the next few years is to work up to shooting some weddings. No, no – not being a wedding photographer like the boring photography stuff. I mean more like a documentary style. Hip stuff. I did it for Stephanie M’s wedding, and it was really satisfying. Dr. Kim is getting married soon, and I made her let me do the same for her. Mwah ha ha.

Toe Jam Puppet Band

By on

Did I mention that I’ve started performing with a kids band? (That is, a band for kids, not a band of kids.)

They’re called the Toe Jam Puppet Band and it’s really just about as much fun as it sounds. Kind of like my job as a children’s librarian, I can’t believe I get paid to do this.

Today we’re going to the Charlestown, RI seafood festival. I’m going to try to put some pictures up on my Flickr as I experience a seafood festival from the performer side, as well as eat blackened scallops and a lobster roll.

Seriously? A whippet?

By on

If you haven’t read Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, you won’t really get this, but it’s kind of like being sorted into a house in Harry Potter.

My daemon started out as a whippet named Sergius. I’m not sure how I feel about that, but you can go and answer some questions about me and change what my daemon is. It’s open for change for the next 12 days. I can’t tell what it is right now.

A Sirius Discussion of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

By on

Today I had my post-HPatDH book discussion group. We talked about what happened in the book, we discussed what questions we have left, and what future course of action JK Rowlings may take with her liteary career.

I had food left over from the Harry Potter party, so we had that too. There’s nothing like drinking butterbeer (creme soda and butterscotch syrup) and eating licorice wands at ten o’clock in the morning.

AIEEE. Chris and Angie are here. OMG. Bye.