Spillt Ink

First of all, I just wanted to wish all my American members a very happy Thanksgiving. As a Canadian I celebrated the holiday around a month ago myself and had a lovely holiday. I hope you eat lots of turkey and stuffing (My personal weakness) and spend time with the ones you love. Best wishes also to those of you brave enough to participate in 'Black Friday'. I don't take part in it myself but I hope everyone stays happy and most importantly - safe!

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35 Still Life Photography icons [Christmas Cookies]

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Behold! My little brother, Parker, and his bestest buddy, Moose:
( doggy pic )
(Parker is the non-airborne one.)

I'm supposed to polish up his heeling while I'm home. Also, "teach him a trick." As of this evening, we have a fairly consistent roll-over. Easy-peasy. Little brother is a genius.

#

Nostalgia books, part I. Apparently they have rereleased Once A Runner? And, hrm, there is a sequel? I don't know how I feel about that. Some books are just so much exactly what they are, and this is one of the most self-contained and self-possessed.

Point is, this was the first time that I read Once A Runner since I stopped running myself. Interesting experience. A little like The Show Gypsies. In my head, this is a glory book, but on the page, it's not at all, and now that I've seen it, I'm not sure how I ever missed it the first time around.

#

Nostalgia books, part II. Just reached to the bookshelf on my left in search of a better book-as-mousepad (Monet's Years at Giverny not quite cutting it) and came up, quite randomly, with Brave Irene. One of those books that I don't think I've ever run into anyone else who read it, but it's much beloved in this house (and I have a vague memory of dragging it off to college and passing it around?). Dressmaker's daughter takes over delivery when her mother falls ill! Packs up dress and ventures out into the storm! Girl vs. nature! Wonderful illustrations. Expressive heroine. The triumph of persistence and

"...the duchess had sent Irene's mother a ginger cake with white icing, some oranges and a pineapple, and spice candy of many flavors, along with a note saying how much she cherished the gown, and what a brave and loving person Irene was. Which, of course, Mrs. Bobbin knew."

Still too slick to make a good mousepad, and I have ended up with a printout of an Aimee Bender story ("The Leading Man"). But very good nostalgia book.

Tweaks and enhancements

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4. You'll now receive the Writer's Block Question of the Day in the body of email notifications. To sign up for Writer's Block notifications, visit writersblock and choose the Watch Community option. Next, update your Writer's Block notification settings by checking the box to the right of "Someone posts a new entry to writersblock."
5. Paid and permanent users can now view, add, and edit Notes of commenters. Notes will appear beside the username of comment posters (instead of stars) on S1-themed comment pages.

Send some lovin' thanks to your friends with our holiday vgifts!

Photos of the week

We're so delighted with the immense talent of our growing, global lj_photophile community that we've decided to introduce a poll. Each week, we'll choose a half-dozen photos (based on user comments and staff feedback) and ask you to select a photo of the week. The winning photo will be announced in the next newsletter. If possible, please limit photo size to 350x350 to ensure that images display properly on friends pages. We want to thank you again (and again!) for sharing your passion.

Check out this week's photo poll and more fantastic user content after the jump!

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Curtains

Thanks for joining us. To our American friends, have a fantastic Thanksgiving. To all of our international neighbors, we'll eat a little extra for you!

So apparently everyone apart from Shamus and I have seen this video:



Which is completely mind-blowing.

(Hang in there; it has a happy ending, believe it or not.)

The best part of the entire thing, however, is in the comments on Shamus' post:

What an awesome video! Some stealthed lions run into a group of buffalo, and decide they want to gank the noob. But they run into a kill-stealing croc who interrupts their tea-bagging. By that time, the buffalo runners have gone and aggroed the rest of the herd, who form a raid and return buffed up. The lions are caught with their stealth on cooldown, and one falls victim to the buffalo’s charge attacks. The lions use sprint and escape, and few of the PvP geared buffalo attempt to grief the lions, not letting them exit combat to recover health.

It all makes perfect sense!

(Not shown: the buffalo raid on 25 man Naxx.)

A while ago, Brendan Burke came out.

Hockey's reaction?

"Really? OK. Pass the beer nuts."

Go and read Buccigross' article. It'd be win regardless, but use of second person hits it out of the park.



Elsewhere, a self-professed sports redneck reacts.


Thank you for all the birthday wishes yesterday, which completely made my day, folks.

Once again, it's early.

Once again, the Canucks and Russians outnumber the rest of us around three to one.

Once again, I'm trying to get gear on and it's awkward and a struggle and I'm half-asleep and wondering why the hell I'm doing this.

Only now it's my kids, not me.

G and I had extensive talks. I told him "I will never coach your hockey again" and he is allowed to say "mom coaching was an unmitigated disaster" without fear of reprisal. I made it so clear he was not expected to attend practice Sunday morning he almost thought he wasn't invited. Getting him gear was a last-minute scramble through the massive boxes of the stuff in the basement (seriously? six pairs of kids' hockey pants? I don't have that many children). He borrowed half the gear he was wearing from the coaches' stash.

OK, secret. I watch him skate, I watch him play and I fucking thrill.

Just now... I keep it to myself.


L's a different animal than G is, was, in the locker room and on the ice. She's exacting, energetic and determined in a way that borderlines on the obsessively ferocious. We do not tolerate hair in our face. We do not tolerate our gloves askew. We will continue to struggle after the puck even when we are crying from total fatigue and frustration.

I went easy on her. I let her brother take her out on the ice, glad that the kids' practice is open and friendly and the coach didn't mind having her there even though she can barely stand up. My policy was firm: hands. Fucking. Off. Even my coach said, nothing screws hockey up faster than a parent getting involved.

But she couldn't keep her feet, and G, I realized suddenly... possibly for the first time since I first put skates on him at age 2, really, really wanted to skate. So I shuffled out onto the ice in my uggs, and told him to go have fun, and took her to the other zone to let her sort her shit out.

Here was the rule: the world ends if I don't have my hand on her jersey. Folks, I don't have to actually do anything, I just have to grab a fistful the big old 7

- G's number, G's old jersey, faded and stained -

and hang on. Within a few minutes of struggling she had already figured out to get up one knee up, one knee down. She refused to try without her stick. She fell hundreds of times. Hundreds, I swear to god. She lay on the ice and stretched out her arm so she could tap the puck with her stick again. She skated to the goal solo just so she could shoot on it.

I held my tongue.
I didn't coach her, I just encouraged and offered a suggestion or two then shut up again. I let her do it herself.

You know, while my toes froze off.

I stood eventually with the other parents - I'm serious, half the kids there were Canadian and Russian - and one of the dads and I chatted and he has a son who plays for Towson (D1, who knew, time to go watch some games), and another son who played junior AAA or whatever, and meanwhile he must have had like ten kids out there on the ice, one of whom was his three year old granddaughter.

(A couple of times he was worried about her being cold and tried to get her come off the ice.

She refused.)


I watched, you know. I watched because I'm a parent and I remember when G was two years old and could barely walk and when he fell a hundred times and I had my fist in the back of his jersey and sometimes he'd just hang there like that and wave his stick around. Now he's like this, you know, he's easy out there. Easy, like his personality. Unhurried, laid back, never taking shit too seriously and even when his skating on the rental skates is utterly without technique somehow he's fluid, graceful.

He's so different from me, out there. No angst. No wound up over-intense teethgrinding.

Don't get me wrong - he came off the ice beet-faced and sweating. He was wiped the rest of the day.

But he had fun. He looked like he was having fun.


I think it's dangerous to speculate too much about a parent's motives in their child's success at a thing. It's too complicated. There's too much.

I grew up with the thing that I loved, that I did every day most of my life, that I was really, really good at, controlled by someone else.

There are lines between encouragement and pressure. Lines between participation and control. I guess that's part of being a parent, you know?

Knowing when to be there with them, hand in their jersey.

When to just stand back, admire and love the hell out of them and leave them to enjoy, try, fail, struggle and succeed for and by themselves.

What I Did on My Mid-November Vacation
by Hannah Wolf Bowen, age twenty-seven and change

I went to see another bad movie with glvalentine !

Yes, that bad movie. Because we do not learn. And do not value our lives. And cannot be taught.

We survived! And if you click this here link, you, too, can take pleasure in our suffering.

(Insult to injury: the dessert truck is no more? Not okay, you guys!)

Early New Year's resolution: pick better event movies, yo.

65redroses
Eva is a vibrant young woman with Cystic Fibrosis who survived a double lung transplant. Read about her difficult recovery and personal triumphs over pain, isolation, and fear. Back in school, Eva now works part-time in a children's center and enjoys running and cross-country skiing. A documentary on her story, entitled 65 Red Roses, won three awards at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

meet_other_moms
A warm and welcoming "Add me" community for moms of all ages and backgrounds from around the world. If you're a mom, just post a little about yourself and start connecting with other mothers based on similar hobbies, musical interests, book/TV/movie preferences, or taste in humor! A great way for busy moms to socialize online.

kitchenfaq
Want to share a fabulous home recipe for coconut bread? Suddenly run out of confectioner's sugar with company on the way and need to find out a quick in-house substitute? Searching for tips on what to charge for a custom-designed wedding cake? Whether you're a professional chef, an aspiring culinary wizard, or a happy home-baker, you'll get delicious guidance from fellow and sister foodies.

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55 Still Life Photography icons [Christmas]

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VoicePost 55K 0:16

“Hello internets. I don't think you can hear it in the background but I'm currently walking past the Downtown Crossing borders as they play Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Today is, what, Sunday November 22nd? It is before Thanksgiving. Too soon. Thank you. That is all.” Transcribed by: unferth

Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
Books 41-50.
Books 51-60.
Books 61-70.
Books 71-80.
Books 81-90.
Books 91-100.
101. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman.
102. Brown Harvest by Jay Russell.
103. Dab Neeg Hmoob: Myths, Legends and Folk Tales from the Hmong of Laos, Charles Johnson, editor and Se Yang, associate editor.
104. Summer of '49 by David Halberstam.
105. The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter.

106. Black Betty by Walter Mosley. Every time I read one of Mosley's books I'm convinced it's the best one yet; this is no exception. Easy Rawlins is so compelling in part because he doesn't believe there is such a thing as justice, and only a little bit in truth--he's a reluctant detective because he knows that when he gets involved he's going to see a lot of bad things happen to people, many of whom don't deserve it. It's also a pleasure to see Easy's family and his supporting cast develop and change as the series skips along (this book takes place in 1961). Mosley is a remarkably sure-handed and enjoyable writer.

naturesbeauty
Always on the lookout for compelling images, we were delighted to discover this flourishing community of artists who share a love of nature. Honoring the subject with photographs, paintings, sketches, prose, poetry, and
other creative works, you'll be simultaneously riveted to your monitor and inspired to run helter skelter towards the nearest wooded dale.

Yo.

Crossed Genres needs your help.

CG is a great magazine, and all of us writers and editors and fans of the genre should support the genre.

This is a good place to do that.

So buy a copy of their upcoming anthology or buy Issue 12, which is a gorgeous little glossy-covered thing with beautiful cover art and also

bonus!

has got my story "Crawl" in it.

Or better yet, subscribe.

See? And look at the awesomeness you get by doing it.

Also, if you do any of the above, tell me and I will put your name in a hat. When I have some names, I will draw a name and the winner will get a lovely pair of knitted mitts. Or a knitted hat. Don't you need a knitted pair of mitts or hat? You could put names in it...

(NOTE: My story "Bear In Contradicting Landscape" is scheduled to appear in Polyphony 7, but due to economic constraints detailed below the anthology has yet to appear. I'm posting the following at Deborah's request and with my full endorsement)

In 2002, the Polyphony anthology series debuted. Conceived as a short fiction venue for stories that would skate gracefully across the boundaries of science fiction, fantasy, magic realism, and literary fiction, it was quickly recognized as the standard bearer for cross genre work. Since then, the series' six volumes have become a vital, unique collection of voices in literature of the fantastic.

Polyphony has been twice nominated for a World Fantasy Award and the stories therein have been featured in several "Year's Best" anthologies, along with garnering accolades from several award judges and committees. Polyphony authors range from multiple-award-winning seasoned writers to the previously unpublished. The series is truly a melodic interweaving of many voices: old and new, speculative and literary, heralded and unknown. Polyphony has not merely crossed literary boundaries, it has reformed and redefined them.

The harsh economic climate threatens to kill this vital series. Wheatland Press is asking for your help.

The authors have graciously made concessions to make Polyphony 7 a reality. They've agreed to a reduced pay rate to see the volume published. Now we need readers.

In order to publish Polyphony 7, Wheatland Press must receive 225 paid pre-orders via the website by March 1, 2010. If the pre-order quantities cannot be met, Polyphony will cease publication. It's that simple. The preorder link is here.

If the preorder number is met, then Polyphony 7 will be published on or about July 1, 2010.*

We have heard from many in the SF/F literary community that Polyphony is a vital part of landscape. We agree, but we cannot continue without your support. We hope that you will support our fine authors and their art by becoming part of the Polyphony community and pre-ordering a copy of Polyphony 7.

*The fine print: If we do not receive enough orders by March 1, then all preorders will be refunded immediately. Do feel free to buy another Wheatland Press title while you are stopping by the website! Those will, as always, ship immediately.

Haven't done one of these in a while.

Also haven't shaved in a while.

Postcard winners!

We wish to extend our heartfelt gratitude for sending so much joy our way. Frank is still blushing with excitement over the love notes, proposals, propositions, and occasional intimate photos sent from his admirers around the world (China, Norway, Japan, and Poland just this week)! At his request, we blindfolded Justin, one of Frank's BFFs, spun him around in five dozen counterclockwise circles, and asked him to point to ten random postcards/envelopes pasted to the wall. After a brief trip to the bathroom, he chose the following lucky winners, to whom we will give a six-month paid account token (for paid, basic, and plus users) or, for our permanent account holders, a $15 voucher for the LiveJournal gift shop.

So, without further ado, the winners are:

1. seraphene
2. fotog
3. boykitten
4. seshat_6
5. anti_aol
6. lisalees
7. katrinkacat
8. mistyboston
9. _woody_lein
10. another_slender

Bugs, Tweaks, and Enhancements

1. We fixed a bug from the last release that was causing screened comments to become unscreened if they were edited
2. If you happen to be gaming around the corner, check us out on Facebook and be sure to spread the word!
3. We've added new vgifts to celebrate Thanksgiving! Check out our feathered friend, below!

Give more with charitable vgifts

In honor of national adoption month, we're offering a charitable vgift (priced at $2.99) to support Love Without Boundaries, an organization that provides healthcare and adoption to orphans suffering from life-threatening diseases. LiveJournal will donate 100% of gross proceeds from the sale (we'll cover the cost of credit card transaction fees). To learn more about Love Without Boundaries, please visit lj_cares. You can purchase your Love Without Boundaries vgifts in the Virtual Gift shop. We'll keep you posted on how much we raise!

Photos of the week

We're delighted to showcase yet more incredible photos from some of our brilliant LiveJournal photographers around the world. Keep posting (and tagging). And be sure to show some love by commenting on the awesome view at lj_photophile.

Check out this week's photos and more amazing user content after the jump!

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Curtains

Thanks, again, for joining us. See you next week!

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35 Still Life Photography icons [Candy Canes]
06 Still Life Photography banners [Candy Canes]

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