Month: October 2009

Magic

My dad was a professional magician for many years. He gave professional shows in high school and while he was attending engineering school, and he had a local TV show for a while. When I was little, he taught me how to palm a quarter; he delighted me to no end by putting my finger in the guillotine chopper (along with a series of unfortunate carrots), by always knowing what card I picked, by making the interlocked hoops separate with a wave of his hand. And, of course, by showing me how it all worked.

Here’s an article about research showing that knowing how it works is what kids really want from magic.

Simon has taken to doing his own small magic tricks all the time–”interlacing his fingers and hiding one, so that when you count there are only nine. (Uh oh, what happened to your missing finger?) But he doesn’t actually cherish the concept of illusion. Watching him and the other kids watch the magician, it seemed that as soon as they caught a glimpse of the man behind the curtain, they couldn’t wait to rip down the rod. — from “Why do kids crave magic?” by Emily Bazelon

I was tickled to be reminded of the missing-finger trick, which I did all the time as a kid because it didn’t take any practice. It was a native skill (grin). I loved watching my dad do magic, but I knew even then it wasn’t for me: my young fingers were clumsy, and I didn’t have the patience to practice and to wait. And my misdirection skills turn out to be more verbal (‘nother grin).

And I was struck, reading this article, by the idea that as kids we don’t cherish illusion. At least, of course, not until it’s gone. I guess this is an adult pleasure, this surprise and wonder, this joy in not knowing how it works; that it might be magic.

Thanks for the magic, Dad!

dad-1963
Larry Eskridge, 1963

Avoidance behavior

Avoidance behavior is a technical term in the writing business. It refers to the fascinating allure that everyday tasks acquire when there is writing to be done. It’s truly amazing, when there’s a tricky bit of scene that one hasn’t yet imagined well enough, or a grueling stretch of structural rearranging to do, how suddenly important it can seem to clean out the kitchen drawer where you keep all those random thingies right now because the world might explode or something. Or, gosh, you should run to the store right now and pick up two persimmons and a spare mop head because you never know…

Or you could just stay home and play with this.

You don’t have to be a U2 fan. You don’t even have to like their music. Just wait for the page to load. Then use the cursor to move the little square somewhere on the picture. Then click. Then do it again… and again… and again.

You’ll thank me for this. Someday.

Liberation

Via “Want to talk?” on October 17.

Hi Kelley,

I did not know your birthday until this moment. September 21 was just a few days earlier. My warm thought goes your way for a happy 49 – I was there almost 100 years ago or so it seems. But It gets better when you actually reach the milestone 50 – suddenly everything falls in place, one understands the riddle of life (i.e., why certain things work and others don’t) and one is liberated (just like Spinoza says,”… the more the mind knows, the better it understands the natural forces. And the more it understands life, the easier it is to get rid of useless things..”)!

Enjoy this and the coming years. I will be sure to remember your birthday next year. You are sweet, warm, and wonderful. My best.

Amit

Thanks for your good thoughts on the common cure for the seasonal cold. But this year it seemed to last forever. Anyhow, I am on the mend now, I will regain my full strength in about 37.74 more hours.

Hello, Amit, and thank you for the warm wishes.

All my decades have been interesting and full of growth, and so far I find that I enjoy myself and other people and life in general more as I get older. My 40’s have certainly been a wild ride… but more than that too. I’ve come to a deeper sense of myself and my place in the world. And I am trying to learn (again!) the best balance for me between doing and being. I feel as though there is progress there.

And so I hope that my 50’s will keep me on this path. It would be lovely to understand everything and feel liberated from the false constraints! It’s interesting to understand more and more on a gut level (not just an intellectual level) how many of those constraints are only there because I allow it.

Nicola said to me the other day that the 50’s are the decade when women become invisible, before emerging again in their later decades as streamlined, focused, clearly themselves (I am paraphrasing now, but that’s how I heard it). I don’t know if this is true, but I am certainly feeling resistant to it. I don’t want to be invisible. I’m finally seeing myself; I want other people to see me too.

I guess I’ll find out. Perhaps part of the liberation is that such things no longer apply to us unless we apply them to ourselves. Perhaps I will find they are some of Spinoza’s useless things that I may get rid of. I hope so.

I’m glad you are feeling better.

Best,

Kelley

One more plug for Olympia reading

We very rarely get to Olympia (Washington State), so I hope those of you elsewhere won’t mind one more reminder of the event: October 24 at the Olympia Timberland Library.

Nicola and I will read (dramatically and with flair!) at 5:30, followed by Q&A. Science Fiction Museum curator Jacob McMurray (who designed Nicola’s beautiful memoir) hosts a showing of video interviews with SF authors. Blöödhag plays literary heavy-metal music and then MCs a fashion show. It’s all about story, music and fashion! Honestly, it’s practically perfect.

Back with (wait for it) new content (!) tomorrow or Saturday.

Dimensional art

For your enjoyment, here are some beautiful examples of paper art.

I’m always so taken by this kind of thing, which for me is in the same playground as the sand art of Kseniya Simonova (astonishing video below) — when a physical 3rd dimension is essential to the work, when I understand that the artist has visualized not just an image, but a final shape, and has had to work out the process for getting there. The paper art does not rely on the real-time execution that is part of the sand art, but they are still connected… the artist using a part of their brain that is pretty much a closed room for me. I’m really not spatial (grin).

Enjoy.
 


 

When you don’t vote, people die alone

Thousands of people have already ready Nicola’s post about Janice Langbehn, who was denied access to her dying partner by Miami hospital personnel who refused — refused — to acknowledge the legality of her durable power of attorney for healthcare and living will. A woman died alone while her partner and children pleaded to see her.

Nicola’s post — which you should read, please, if you have not — is titled “trembling with rage.” Me too.

In 2001, a friend who was supposed to be enjoying a nice dinner at our house ended up driving us to the emergency room instead, where I was hustled into the back with what turned out to be acute appendicitis. Our friend (*hugs Liz through the internet*) went back to our house, found our power of attorney and brought it back for Nicola.

No one gave us any trouble. No one looked at the legal documents that cost us thousands of dollars (that if you are married you pay nothing for because you don’t need them) and said, I don’t care if you have a lawyer, you’re not a real human being as far as I’m concerned and I’m not going to treat you like one, so you just sit out here and suffer and maybe we’ll get around to paying attention to the thing in the back at some point.

None of that. They just nodded and let her come in and hold my hand until the surgery, and then they brought her into the recovery room when I woke up. Just like you would for anyone.

But that’s Seattle. What if we’d been in Miami? Or Houston? Or Baton Rouge? And what happens if Washington voters decide in the next few weeks that what happened in Miami is okay here too? What happens if they decide that we aren’t real human beings as far as they are concerned?

You want to know what happens? Ask Janice Langbehn. You can’t ask Lisa Pond because she died alone in a strange hospital without a chance to say goodbye.

When people don’t have equal protection under the law, they suffer. They lose their families, their jobs, insurance, their pension, their homes, their access, the right to control the important moments and decisions of their own lives. If you think that’s okay, then you are saying that it’s okay to be hateful, and that your rules about what’s Good in the world are more important than real human suffering. Just so you know, that makes you an asshole in my book. But this is a democracy whether I like it sometimes or not, and every asshole gets a vote. You must vote.

Although I sincerely hope you will vote to Approve Referendum 71. Because you have the chance to save lives, save families, mitigate heartbreak, and just maybe make sure that someday I don’t die alone, wondering why my beloved Nicola isn’t there.

Over at Sterling Editing…

More busy-ness for Sterling Editing — a new editcast on dialogue. These are fun to do (and those of you who read here regularly may enjoy imagining how much of a challenge it is for me to stay in a 5-minute limit…)

And don’t miss Nicola’s post about “Dialogue Don’ts” which includes perhaps the absolute worst writing she has ever done (as an example of bad dialogue). If you’re feeling creative, join the conversation and improve her work (grin).

Sterling is taking a lot of my time and focus right now, and I’m sorry for the resulting absence of me here these last weeks. But for what it’s worth, I’m having a marvelous time. It’s so exciting, this confluence of writing, editing, working with Nicola, using business skills, supporting and helping people… as if all the major rivers of my life are running together, fast and deep.

It’s good. And thanks for your patience. I’ll be back soon.

Olympia SciFiFest

It all happens in Olympia WA on October 24 at the Olympia Timberland Library.

Nicola and I kick things off at 5:30 with readings and Q&A. Science Fiction Museum curator Jacob McMurray (who designed Nicola’s beautiful memoir) hosts a showing of video interviews with SF authors. Blöödhag plays literary heavy-metal music and then MCs a fashion show.

See those words “All Ages” on this poster? Ignore those words (grin). Of course all are welcome, but it’s billed in the library events calendar as an adult show, and if you’ve read my work or Nicola’s, you know we’re not exactly kittens-and-bunnies (or rocket-ships-and-rayguns) storytellers.

Should be fun. Join us if you can!

scififest
 

Lamb stew

This is a recipe that I’ve adapted for the slow cooker. It makes a Ton of Stew (yes, that’s a precise technical measurement) — easily enough for 6-8 hungry people at one meal, or 2 people for several days worth of meals.

    Ingredients

  • 4-6 cups lamb stock (I use the 1.5 oz. package of Glace d’Agneau Gold in 4-6 cups of boiling water. If you can’t find this at your local store, I recommend veal stock or a mix of beef and vegetable stock. But the lamb stock really rocks the recipe.)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • Olive oil or vegetable oil
  • 2-2½ lbs. lean lamb stew meat, cut into 1″ cubes
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 lb. baby carrots
  • 3/4 lb. diced turnips
  • 3/4 lb. diced potatoes
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 sprigs rosemary
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1½ tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 10 oz. pearl onions, peeled
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 cup frozen petite or regular green peas
  1. Reconstitute the lamb stock in hot water, or pour whatever stock you’re using into a bowl. Add the tomato paste and mix well. Set aside.
  2. Heat a small amount of oil in a large heavy saute pan or skillet over medium heat. Add the meat in small batches so it doesn’t steam. Brown the meat (it should be brown on at least one or two sides, but it doesn’t have to be thoroughly browned). Remove the meat to a bowl as it is browned.
  3. When all the meat is browned, add the onion to the pan and cook until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Add the garlic. Return the lamb to the pan. Sprinkle the flour evenly over everything and turn to coat everything well. Cook for a few minutes until flour is absorbed (no white lumps!)
  4. Put the lamb/onion mixture into the slow cooker. Add the stock/tomato paste, baby carrots, turnips, potatoes, rosemary, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for at least 8 hours.
  5. Melt the butter in the saute pan/skillet. Add the pearl onions and saute until lightly browned. Add the sugar and balsamic vinegar to carmelize the onions: boil to reduce until the carmelized liquid is thick and coats the onions. Set aside to cool, then refrigerate the onions and any leftover coating.
  6. Stir the pearl onions and frozen peas into the stew 30 – 60 minutes before serving.

Peeling and glazing the pearl onions is the most fiddly part of this process, but well worth it — the carmelized onions finish the stew beautifully. Serve with thick chunks of lovely fresh bread and some really good butter.

Followed by crumble…