Know-vember: Bertie

It's the man who needs no introduction, but did insist on his own special font. Here is he at Eton; nothing but the best for Bertie.

1. What's the first thing you do upon waking in the morning?

say oy

2. What's a song you might be persuaded to dance to?

Anything by the sensational Irish duo Jedward! [Ed: groan!]

3. Where in the world do you live?

just a bit north of manhattan....a bit. quite a bit.

4. What's a great night out for you?

drinks with the guys at Harry's Bar in Paris, sank roo doe noo. (celebrating 100 years, this Thanksgiving!)

5. What's a great night in?

chewing on marrow bones with Connor, maybe with a little 1990 Chateau Margaux

6. If you were offered an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?

a Thomas Cook agent, to purchase all the tickets and accommodations to all the places i want to go to. i think st. helena would be the first stop.

7. What book do you wish everyone would read so you could talk about it?

why, Pelzmantel of course!

8. What movie makes you cry?

Dr. Zhivago

9. What makes you laugh?

tragedy + time

10. Are there fairies at the bottom of your garden?

no. Connor took care of them.

Merci, mon frère!

Know-vember: Mark Walker

In the States, today is Thanksgiving day; depending on who you ask it's either a day to commemorate when the Pilgrims survived the vagaries of New England despite their ignorance and arrogance with considerable help from some of the indigenous folks (who would come to regret that kindness), or it's a day to stuff yourself comatose with all kinds of foods and watch sporting events while ignoring endless family arguments.

Okay, it's also a day to show you're grateful and give thanks, so while I'm grateful for all the friends I'm featuring in Know-vember (and all the ones who didn't let me feature them here >_<) I am especially grateful for this friend. He's why I'll be going back to Scotland for my birthday and Xmas, too. Here's a very sweet picture of Mark with his son Allan.

 

1. What's the first thing you do upon waking in the morning?

I reach for you. If you are not there, I reach for my phone and look for messages from you instead.

2. What's a song you might be persuaded to dance to?

I love to dance so will be quite happy to dance to pretty much anything. Personal favourites include: Panic by The Smiths, ABBA’s Dancing Queen and anything by The Fall. [Ed: smart man!]

3. Where in the world do you live?

I live in a little house in Dundee, Scotland. It looks a bit like Paddy’s market in places but it's home and I like to think full of love.

4. What's a great night out for you?

Good company, something nice to eat, a few drinks and some live music. Pretty much the perfect evening.  

5. What's a great night in?

A little drink perhaps. Nice cozy up on the sofa with a decent film on the telly and a really nice cozy in bed just to finish the night.

6. If you were offered an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?

It’s a tough call as there are quite a few places I would love to see. The Great Lakes and Northern Scandinavia would be high up the list. If I had to pick just one I would plump for Iceland. It just seems such an amazing place and who knows I might just run into Björk. 

7. What book do you wish everyone would read so you could talk about it?

It would be great if everyone was to read The Bridge by Iain Banks. Then maybe just maybe one of you might be able to tell me what the hell is going on. Other than that my wish would be simply that more people take the chance to read.

8. What movie makes you cry?

Oh dear, this question should have a subtitle of ‘guilty pleasures’; I am a sucker for a RomCom. Bits of Notting Hill have been known to have the old tear ducts in use. My god did I just admit to that? [Ed: yes, yes, you did o_O] ET had me in floods of tears as did the child catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

9. What makes you laugh?

Ah, now we are talking. In no particular order as it would change pretty much on a daily basis. The genius of Peter Cook, Tony Hancock, Sid James, The Goons, The Goodies, Monty Python, Tommy Cooper, Eddie Izzard and Kenneth Williams. Oh and of course, Steptoe and Son.

10. Are there fairies at the bottom of your garden?

Not any more as I have invited them all into the house along with the little people.


Good plan :-) Thanks, sweetie.

Know-vember: Susan

Susan is the third of the Three Mothers with me and Mildred, Mater Suspiriorum. My cat Colette is buried in the backyard of her old house: that's the kind of friends we are. Small critters of all kinds know to trust her. Her home, consequently, is ruled by cats. Her home is an oasis for humans, too -- as long as they know the score. I love being there: kitties to cuddle, screened-in porch at night when it's cool for chatting and drinking, big screen tv for movies and friends who laugh along with Lost Skeleton of Cadavra and The Lost Skeleton Returns! The Three Mothers [plus significant others] Reunions are always a joyful respite. Here Susan is looking lovely at her niece's wedding along with her husband Ron (who's looking surprisingly calm and mayhem-free).





1. What's the first thing you do upon waking in the morning?

Pour myself a cup of coffee and feed the cats. I know, that's two things but they're done simultaneously. Five "starving" moggies wait for no woman (or coffee).

2. What's a song you might be persuaded to dance to?

Almost anything. I used to go dancing a lot and had a dance partner for a while when I was "young" with whom I danced in competitions.

3. Where in the world do you live?

In the middle of the United States bible belt - central North Carolina. Thankfully though due to the influence of several major universities, our area is a fairly liberal and enlightened spot. Not sure I could stand it if it was more, uhm, rural (Trying to be polite).

4. What's a great night out for you?

A nice dinner, great conversation and a good bottle of wine.

5. What's a great night in?

See 4. :)

6. If you were offered an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I have to pick just ONE?!?! Since it's all expenses paid, I'll pick the most expensive - China. Their ancient culture both repels and fascinates me. I would like to explore some of the old cities including the Forbidden City, see the Great Wall and visit the panda preserve. I'm an ancient history buff.   (Spent all day yesterday watching documentaries on ancient Egypt. :) ) 

7. What book do you wish everyone would read so you could talk about it?

The one book I keep going back to (can't really tell you why) is Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow.   The only science fiction novel that I have read where the aliens were truly ALIEN.  Plus, like Mary, I fell in love with Emilio the first time I read it.  The story is just heartbreaking due to the mistakes made by Emilio and the rest of the crew through trying to map human behavior on an alien culture.   That description isn't quite right (map human behaviour) but I can't summon the right words and emotions at the moment. 

8. What movie makes you cry?


Uh oh.  Gonna reveal my big secret here - it's a tie between Sophie's Choice and Starman.  I think I'll die happy if I never see Sophie's Choice again.

9. What makes you laugh?

My very silly significant other every day we're together. [Ed: I can attest to that. In abundance!]

10. Are there fairies at the bottom of your garden?

Oh most definitely.  They even have a village.

That's why they love your home, too!

Know-vember: Miss Wendy

You knew she would be here: the Patsy to my Edina, she of the big hair, former Elf-Queen (and survivor of many a medieval play), southern gal supreme, Mechademia Submissions editor, connoisseur of Jack Daniels and hostess of the Rosh Hashanah Ragin' Kegger and Toga Parties -- Miss Wendy! I am so happy to know that Miss Wendy will be in Ireland after Xmas and this island nation will never be the same again if we have anything to say about it. Wendy reminded me that we were together last New Year's Eve, too, when I visited her in the home of Faulkner. Ringing in another year -- where will we be in another year's time?! Who can say? :-)

1. What's the first thing you do upon waking in the morning?

Well, this morning I cursed out Pumpkin, my cat, who decided to howl, run laps around the house, and play with what I thought was not a noisy toy at 5:00 this morning (two hours before my alarm). Most mornings, I open a coffee can, savor the smell of the grinds, and make a very strong cup of coffee.

2. What's a song you might be persuaded to dance to?

I am not averse to dancing and have danced to many songs in my life -- some of which I am not proud. I can always be persuaded to dance to a Ramones song.

3. Where in the world do you live?


In my mind, in my house, in the city of Oxford, Mississippi, in the Southern United States, in North America, in the West, on Earth, third planet out.

4. What's a great night out for you?

Dinner at a restaurant in the Latin Quarter, Paris; off-Broadway play in New York; moonlight trip in a rowboat on the Vltava in Prague; and finally late night karaoke with my friends in Tokyo. (I've done three of four. Any one of them would be a wonderful night out).

5. What's a great night in?


Martinis and kung fu movie marathon.

6. If you were offered an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?

A year in Tokyo; or birdwatching in Costa Rica.

7. What book do you wish everyone would read so you could talk about it?


Haruki Murakami's Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World; or his short stories The Elephant Vanishes.


8. What movie makes you cry?

These are movies that I like to cry to. They are the ones that I believe have earned my tears. I cry at other movies but either the quality of the cry is not transcendent or the stupid movie has manipulated my tears. Here's a list of the good cries: Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru; Isao Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies; Mike Newell's Enchanted April (a happy, melancholy cry); James L. Brooks' Terms of Endearment (I know, a classic tear-jerker, but darnit, both Debra Winger and Shirley Maclaine are just too good); I'm sure there are classic Hollywood films I am missing here. Kate will send me a list, I'm sure -- yes, I know Dark Victory [Ed: "Did the sun go behind the clouds?".

9. What makes you laugh?

This sums up my sense of humor. It's a cartoon from the New Yorker. I can't find the link but I'll describe it. A clown is sitting at a table in an outdoor cafe. He's holding a balloon and a tear trickles down his cheek. A woman stands at the table, looking like she's about to walk away. She says "If you must know, he makes me laugh." It's the balloon that gets me. I never get tired of it.

10. Are there fairies at the bottom of your garden?


Nope. Cats ate them. 

 Be seeing you, Miss Wendy -- can't wait!

Publications: Blink Ink & Scribing Ibis

Here's the lovely package you get when you order the Noir issue of Blink|Ink. And you will order it, won't you? It's got a lovely story by me and gruesomely hilarious one by Mr B (Paul Brazill) and loads of great photography as well as some terrific stories told in a flash -- and for just two bucks! A gorgeous little bit of mail to receive. I should also mention that the Scribing Ibis collection is now available at Amazon. It reprints my story "Sinikka Journeys North" along with a wealth of myth-inspired fiction.



The hell that is moving is over; big thanks to Robert for the final rescue (and sanctuary :-), thanks to Barb for giving Kipper a great foster home; thanks to Catherine for duty above and beyond, thanks to my pals on Twitter for listening to my panicky or whinging messages (especially @lochee :-), big thanks to Byron for a last burst of energy and to the countless others who helped, stored, or took things I needed to do without >_<


Not quite the foot massage I had in mind...


I had planned to have a bit of a lie in this morning, but this was not allowed.


Yes, multiply this by all the limbs (and stomach: how do you bruise your stomach? Very easily it turns out). Sore all over. The bruises will heal. And less achey already.

Xmas Miscellany

News Round-Up

Okay, the week has been massively mad -- more than usual? Oh I don't know! -- and I feel like I am scrambling just to be caught up on something. Or maybe I'll just distract you with this li'l doggie from CuteOverload. So... cute...!

Yesterday Steve and I took the tour around Albany, going to bookstores, a coffeeshop and lunch at Karavalli's (mmmm!) and then just hanging out here watching some comedy. It was good to have a chance to hang out with my big brother.

I've been working on the website for Women's and Gender Studies: I hate the web interface we have to use for the college. It's one of these "idiot-proof" systems that means it's infuriating to someone who knows what they're doing. Frustrating. So I've been listening to The Fall a lot ("Stop mithering!"). My endless cries for minions or acolytes go unheeded: there are articles that need reformatting to be sent back to editors. Tedious work! I hate tedious work.

On the plus side, I placed two humor pieces this week. More about these when they become available, but it was doubly pleasing because one of them was requested of me in very flattering language, which really bowled me over. I don't get asked to contribute to a lot of things and if I do, it's generally because I know the editor. This came out of the blue. Quite a boost to the ego, I can tell you. The editor said she really loved "The Last Ant" and wanted a piece like it. She thought the one I gave her to be "absolutely hilarious," so I am pleased.

What else? Over at the League, we've had interviews with the staff and next week with some of the contributors. I have a column this week at BitchBuzz, but it hasn't posted yet (not quite sure why, but there are some major changes about to occur at BB, so that probably has some effect because I need to incorporate new developments ). Patti Abbott's got part five of La Ronde, the ongoing round robin story I was part of over at her blog. Todd's got the latest entry in Friday Forgotten Books. Un:Bound is about to unveil a super secret project. Of course, there's always something interesting to see over at the Queen's Eyrie. There's lots going on!

Visiting the Vanderbilts

We headed over to the Vanderbilt place to check out how the other half lives (of course, at this point, it's not so much the "other half" as the super-rich 1%), but first we stopped to fortify ourselves at the diner.

I had a terrific burger cooked just the way I liked and everything was really fresh. My only disappointments: they have those coated fries with extra starch (bleh!) and they do not have real mayonnaise. But we did some more antiquing and saw a wonderful sight: an older woman in a leopard skin coat walking a cat in the rain. Wonderful!

Next we headed over to the Vanderbilt House. It's not quite as magnificent as the Biltmore, of course -- they only came here for a month each in the spring and fall -- but it is quite nice. The way they give you the tour is to take you through the experience of arriving there to spend the weekend as their fellow millionaire friends so you can see how the day was spent, but then you get to leave through the servants' area, so it brings you back down to earth. It was a bit rainy off and on, but a lovely day nonetheless.

Driving home last night there was a whole lotta fog: the effects of rather too warm weather for this time of year and a lot of rain. A bit nerve-wracking for driving, but it always looks so cool. Spooky in time for Halloween, eh?

With my Brothers

Buck, the most good-natured dog in the world, supervises the process, while Robert makes the dough, Steve explains why rutabagas are always a bad idea and then the final product appears: mmmm, fresh pasties straight from the oven -- yum!

With Buzz and Bertie at the Veep's

What dog doesn't love having gutted soft toys balanced on his head?

If Buzz didn't like ripping their guts out so much, he'd have more to chew on...

Robert relaxes by the pool: sort of.

As close as I get to "sunbathing"

Despite this look, he made me some very fine meals including marinated steaks on the Vice President's grill (one of two--oooh, luxury) -- yum! At night we could hear the music from the Duchess County Fair (oh boy, Foreigner!). Alas, my idleness is over: classes (and departmental meetings) start tomorrow. The autumn arrives with a shock every year.

Into the West

There will be a wrap up of my trip to PCA and the visit to my folks in New Mexico soon. In the meantime, enjoy the quiet.

Good Reads and Bad Food

I finally joined up with Goodreads. In addition to Library Thing, it's one more place to help spread the word about my books and connect to readers and other writers. Do let me know if you have an account on either site.

Last Monday I had lunch with Robert at the West Taghkanic Diner. He had passed it many times while it was closed, so he had never been there, but was curious to try.



It was not the most propitious day, perhaps, to visit: they were really scrambling to keep up with the holiday crowd. There seemed to be only the one server and she was running back and forth constantly. So it was a long while before one of the busboys -- clearly unaccustomed to serving -- finally brought our drinks (ice tea and coffee).



"The home of home cooking": I had a spicy mesquite chicken club which lacked anything resembling spicyness (or moisture for that matter). Robert had fish and chips that at first glance looked like eels, but were some kind of fish and seemed all right. The beer battered onion rings were good, though a dipping sauce would have been nice.



They had the usual sort of advertisements for fascinating local businesses. And we saw Colin Farrell. Well, I think it was Colin Farrell. He appeared to have gained a lot of weight for a Scorsese movie, I think. Or perhaps it was not he...

Ring Ring Goes the Bell

Classes begin tomorrow; as usual, I face that fact with a mixture of anticipation and dread. Just like the students, I prefer to be on holiday. Every new semester makes me wonder if I know what I'm doing.

Birthday boy Robert (Happy Birthday, again!) says the same thing he always says, "Make them stand on their desks and tear pages out of their books," because apparently Dead Poets Society is the only thing teaching means to him (yes, he does work at Bard).

As usual, I regret not making a better use of my time off. I figure there's got to be some way of getting around the whole need for sleep thing; I did find that drinking tea all day while I wrote did lead to not sleeping, but it was not a very productive not sleeping. Some sleep is required.

I have a course release for heading up Women's and Gender Studies; that "free time" will likely be eaten up by preparation for our conference in March. I'm teaching the Medieval Texts on Film class and also our brand new, never-before-taught Writing for New Media class. Another experiment; why do I do this to myself?

Yes, there's a new episode of The Mangrove Legacy: Alice learns the exciting history of the ghost, Miss Wychwood. Drop by and read for yourself. It's a fun Sunday ritual to dive back into the strangely Gothic adventures. I hope you continue to enjoy it (yes, Cranky -- looking in your direction).

Wish me luck -- we all need it on the first day of classes!

A Sucker for Writer Docos

I saw this one last summer: it's not available on DVD, but it is in pieces on YouTube. Fascinating clan, the Waughs. I'd hate to be a female in the family. I suppose neglect might be better than active hatred and scorn, but I'm not sure.



Must look for a doco on Charlotte Brontë. In the meantime, back to deadlines...

Hauskaa Joulua

Bill, Lenny & Bob

I headed down Thursday to Bard for a talk about Blake's quiet years that promised to fill in the missing details. I had been surprised to hear about an event at Bard before the actual day of the event, a rarity. However, when I got there and found the room, I also found a note saying the lecture was delayed. I decided not to wait around and went to Robert's, where he was making a tasty dinner -- much better. If the lecture's any good, it'll be published, right?

The next morning we headed down to the Cloisters to get a little medieval. If you haven't been there, the museum located in the lovely Fort Tryon Park offers a nice little taste of the Middle Ages in Manhattan with artifacts, bits of chapels, tombs and other treasures. After having a good wander around the grounds, we headed over to the New Leaf Café, which Robert informed me was run by Bette Midler, but we didn't see her in the kitchen, but we were able to enjoy a really good lunch while supporting the New York Restoration Project.

We took the A train downtown in order to get to the Morgan. As we passed through the 42nd Street station, Robert helpfully pointed out the tubes that were part of the internet, which as we all know is a system of tubes. Quite knowledgeable my brother. Why the Morgan? Well, they're having a Blake exhibit which more than made up for the missed lecture. It had so much more than I expected, not just pages from his books, but letters, manuscripts and watercolors. Wonderful!

Of course, the main event was seeing Leonard Cohen at Madison Square Garden. The sold out show featured most of his hits which pleased the crowd (full of an awful lot of balding heads we could see from our vantage point up near the top), but the energy and exuberance of Cohen and his band really impressed me. Although 75, he was dancing and skipping on and off stage during the 8pm show which lasted until 11.30. He seemed truly joyful, telling the audience, "I don’t know when we’ll be passing through here again, so I want to tell you that it is our intention to give you everything we’ve got tonight” -- and they did. Fantastic band all around, including his frequent collaborator, Sharon Robinson and an amazing Spanish guitarist. Everyone got a turn in the spotlight, but the crowd was there to see Cohen and he gave them everything, turning songs like "I'm Your Man" from intimate love songs to an offering to the thousands assembled. You can find videos for many of the songs like "So Long, Marianne", "Tower of Song", my fave "Famous Blue Raincoat" and the perennial fave, "Hallelujah" but I am so glad I was actually there. Some nights are just magical -- and this was one.

Of course getting back was less than magical -- not only was there a rail replacement bus for the A train uptown, but it was pouring and we had to drive back to Hudson. But we kept each other awake, listening to Peter Cook until we finally made it back to Robert's about 3.30am. Totally worth it.

Weekend Wanderings

I know, I know -- I keep falling behind in recapping my travels and activities (which is why you should be on Facebook ;-). It's the most stressful month of my academic career, so you're going to have to cut me a little slack until Oct 1. Today I'm off to the Medieval Festival at Sterup Square to talk about Medieval Magic and Harry Potter. Hope it's fun.

Rumor has it my folks may be arriving in NY tonight...

Last weekend, I headed off to Shakespeare and Co. I got there early for the behind-the-scenes tour, which was fascinating. They have a new theatre this year. In addition to the Founders Theatre and the Rose Footprint Theatre, there's now the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, built inside what was once a sports complex. It was great going behind the stage at Founders, seeing the cheat sheets, green room and what not.

Even more fun was the visit through the bustling props, costumes and weapons rooms in the Bernstein complex. In what had been the ice arena is now storage where they can have all the furniture grouped by type and visible. The prop building room, where there was a body under construction for Hound of the Baskervilles, was great fun to see and hear about; ditto the costume room. But I really adored seeing all the stored costumes; there was something delightful about seeing a big box labeled "Wings" and seeing a wall of crowns. In the shoe and hat room, I took this blurry photo of the "Good boaters" and there was vast array of shoes and hats that I just wanted to explore, but we had to keep moving along. The weapons room, too, had much to see -- we only got to hold one sword, but there were all kinds of wonderful pieces. There's a giant workshop for set building that has its own exhaust system to cut down on noise, and new rehearsal rooms for their education programs.

Shakespeare & Co is always looking for support: consider adding to the Kresge Foundation Challenge Grant!

The tour finished just in time for the matinee of Measure for Measure, one of the Bard's plays I have not seen in production. The cast came from the Summer Training Institute and were a great advertisement for the program. Some of the folks relegated to smaller roles made the most of the humour of the play and the principles were all confident and assured for the most part. Emily Hagburg made an appealing Isabella, Tom O'Keefe gave a measured air to the mostly diguised Duke (though he reminded me a little too much of Richard Branson in appearance); Gabriel Portuondo sometimes seemed a bit too stiff physically as the cruel Angelo, but loosened up when he played Mistress Overdone as a kind of vampy flapper. I would have liked to have seen more of Michael Dix Thomas who played Escalus -- very much a kind of Tom Wilkinson kind of assurance and manner. It was all thoroughly enjoyable -- as was the frosty Berkshire Ale available at the snack counter. The pizza for one, on the other hand, is better left alone.

It's great to have so many good theatres in the region!

Happy Birthday, Steve!

Independence Day

Robert invited me down to see the place he was house-sitting for a VP at his college. Here he is poolside with Buzz, AKA Busby Berkeley, the dog who required the sitting. Buzz is a really friendly dog and very happy. He lives in a rather large house set among the trees some few miles from the campus itself. Swank, eh? Not a bad gig. The weather was cooperating, although it had tried to sprinkle off and on, there was never much in the way of rain really.

So we sat poolside, played with the dog, watched the birds coming to the feeders and sipped some G-n-Ts. Mmmm, doesn't that look refreshing? Something about a summer day and the flavour of a good gin and tonic -- although, Liz, I must say I miss the addition of Elderflower cordial! You have not had the very finest g-n-t until you've had one with some elderflower cordial in it as well. Yum! All in all a good way to spend a lazy day. Later that night we could see the fireworks in Rhinebeck through the trees, so that was nice.

I suppose enjoying the privileges of the privileged without actually being one of them has its perks, too. After all, who wants to have to clean a house that big, spend all that time walking around from one room to the next, looking through all the drawers in the gigantic kitchen to find your lemon zester (to be fair, they had labeled most of the cupboards that contained likely use items like glasses, mugs, plates, etc). I would doubtless get bored sitting by a pool for more than a day or two, anyway. But it provides a good excuse to wear a fancy hat or two.

Kazoo Round-up

Just back from my meeting with the VP and the Dean, where I formally accepted the position of Coordinator of Women's Studies. What was that I said about only suckers taking up administrative positions? ;-) Let's consider it the first step in my plan for World Domination or perhaps as a new hat (we all know how I love hats).

Kalamazoo: In lieu of a long digressive recap, let me give you a short surreal one. Fly to Detroit, Amy forgot her license so I drove the Prius (nice!), late the first night, busy the first day, meet ups at the wine hour, dinner with Steve derailed by his flat tire, but conveniently invited along to another dinner, conversations into the night in the quads at Valley III, Friday meetings and panels with Societas Magica, my roundtable (went well!), dinner with Pearl, conversation until 2!, Saturday more panels including the bloggers, mead with Frankie, dinner with Steve at Bilbo's, the DANCE! Sunday driving back to Detroit, counting the dead deer and bloated raccoons along 94, flying back to Albany, sudden realisation that the summer class starts in the morning...

Still feeling like Alice running with the Red Queen: unlikely to change before the end of the month. Then I can catch my breath!