Perambulations

First, the good news that Gene Sr.'s procedure went well and he's going home tomorrow; thanks to all who sent good thoughts his way.

Saturday proved to be the usual Elena-fest of plentiful food and good company. The two birthday gals celebrated amidst many friends and endless vittles. Rod and Elena's friend Marcello asked how we all knew each other, which opened a flood of remembrances, including a few stories we had not heard, like the meeting of our hosts. Wonderful to share stories and food -- so much food (I hate to harp on it, but the joey Zone was FULL and that is something that has never happened in my memory).

The Kalevala Day celebration on Sunday prove to be much fun -- and with a surprisingly high turn out. Minna and I felt woefully underprepared, but our forgiving audience was generous and appreciative. We focused on Runo 46, the Bear, so we hope our offering pleased Otso. There was much talk and, again, good food afterward. It was good to be among the FAHS folks once more.



We stopped at Robert's on the way back, where he shared some good chicken soup and the box of memories from my folks, including my dad's hat full of buttons which brought back a lot of memories and whimsy. Back home again to catch the end of the Oscars, but an early morning and much work to do -- so I hastily scribe this before heading back to go to bed, to face my twelve hour day tomorrow. Ah, but next week is spring break, which stretches out before me as a good time to write, write, write -- I hope!

And the Winner is --

Cranky Yankee! for her entry The Mangrove Legacy.

Hurrah and kudos to her -- she will have to let me know how she would like her name to appear in the serial novel and whether she desires to be helpful or to perish ignominiously, and I will be working her into the narrative, just like Emily Bronte did with all her friends and relatives.



But the remainder of the entrants will not go away empty handed: it was a very difficult choice to make, and in honor of that, I will be working little hints of some of the contestants and their entries into the story, which I hope will meet with your satisfaction.

Thank you all for showing your support and taking part in the contest.

Exegi monumentum aere perennius...

Contest Closed!

The entries are in and the cogitations begin. I shall proceed like the Magician in the Franklin's Tale:



Ful subtilly he kalkulled al this.
whan he hadde founde his firste mansioun,
He knew the remenaunt by propocioun,
And knew the arisyng of his moone weel,
And in whos face, and terme, and everydeel;
And knew ful weel the moones mansioun
Acordaunt to his operacioun,
And knew also his othere observaunces
For swiche illusiouns and swiche meschaunces
As hethen folk useden in thilke dayes.

Anon, I will let you know the results...

Parliament of Fowls

A murder of crows gathered outside the Gnome Home (AKA my office building) yesterday when Gene came to pick me up. Or should I say, a murder and a half (and then some!) -- check out the video that came courtesy of Gene's Treo. Hmmm, wonder what the discussion was? Here's a beautiful crow painting by Neil Shigley:



Argh -- the quietude of the students. I'm near despair in one class -- nothing seems to reach them, even daily reading quizzes have not convinced them to read. Maybe the next text... one can hope.

The Contest Draws to a Close!

Just a reminder that the contest to name the serial novel will be ending soon -- in fact it will be ending Friday, February 23, 2007 at 10.00 am (Eastern). The winner will be announced later in the day once my cogitations and contemplations are complete. If you want to enter, remember to add your proposed title(s) to the comments whilst praying to the deity of your choice.



Enter early and often! The prize might be yours...

FYI: I'll be writing up Boskone 44 for IROSF, so I'll let you know when that posts. The short version is we had some fun, sold some books and met some new and old friends.

Snapshots from Boskone

Yolen reading, tribbles breeding, Coville teasing, Faye spotting, Adam meeting at my reading (only ten years late), dinner at No Name, seafood eating (yum!), horror panels, hmmmm: that needs more than a gerund.

Today there'll be pirates in petticoats, something on Klingon (calling on my language expertise, although I do not know anything about Klingon) and a signing. Then home -- and much to do there. And always a million new ideas after a con...

[By the by, Friday night's post did not come through perhaps because, as Gene suspects, the title, "Terror on the 13th Floor," set off warning bells at Blogger. I guess we'll never know, but it went like this:

Okay, I lie. We are on the 13th floor, but no terror so far (yay). We stopped by to see friends then got here about 9, so there wasn't too much going on, 'tho we did have fun competing in the trivia for chocolate panel!

Oh, there was the horror of sitting for half an hour in the bar for a drink and finally giving up...]

Terror on the 13th Floor

[Gene sez: Argh! Looks like something (me?) prevented this post from going through the first time, so here's attempt #zwei...]

Kate sez (in re: post's title)::

Okay, I lie. We are on the 13th floor, but no terror so far (yay). We stopped by to see friends then got here about 9, so there wasn't too much going on, 'tho we did have fun competing in the trivia for chocolate panel!

Oh, there was the horror of sitting for half an hour in the bar for a drink and finally giving up...

[NB: Finally arrived the 23rd!]

Con-Eire in the house!

Despite the approximately two feet of snow that fell all day yesterday, our intrepid UPS carrier arrived with a box of copies of my play Con-Eire. Good timing -- we are off to Boston for Boskone 44 tomorrow, where I'll be on panels as usual, give a reading and have a signing. With luck, we might sell a few copies. This will be my first time at Boskone, although I have known people for years who go to it. It should be a lot of fun. I'll even be writing it up for IROSF, so I'll try to see as much as I can of everything!







It took a bit of digging to get out this morning. Luckily, I have no classes today due to senior portfolio meetings (I have no portfolio meetings because I am a new faculty member), but Gene had a doctor's appointment. The snow was mostly fluffy and light, with the exception of the stuff the snowplow threw up at the end of the driveway. Attacking that was a little more Sisyphean, but it got done.

Whoo hoo!

Snow day!

If you don't have the day off and need an antidote to V-Day syrup, check out this great item at Women's E-News. I should send it to my students who are reading about courtly love...



Here's the snowy gnome outside Gene's window (bad snap from PDA).

Dear Friend

As a visitor to Wonderland in the past, you are truly among our most treasured friends. It is the enthusiasm for whimsy such as yours that spurs us to continue to provide the perplexing chaos for which we are so widely esteemed, the better to introduce the young (and the no longer young) to the myriad joys of nonsense.

As we review our budget and look forward to the coming year, I would like to invite you to become an important part of the Wonderland experience. “Friends of Wonderland” is a new program designed to give supporters more intimate access to the unseen life of our little world. “Friends” will receive advance notice of special events and access to benefits heretofore available to few outside the royal family. Haven’t you always longed to stroll through the White Rabbit’s house at leisure or to try your hand at peppering the soup? You can have your own “backstage pass” to the ongoing productions all over Wonderland that best suit your own interests...

[for the rest of this essay, please email me]

Book Launch: Con-Eire!

I am happy to announce that my play Con-Eire is now available for purchase!







Thanks to the tireless work by Gene, who edited the text, laid out the pages and wrestled with PDF and JPG files in a life or death struggle, this short comedy for voices will at last appear in tangible form. It looks great -- simple, but elegant (thanks to Gene's great design sense). There's a lovely pull quote courtesy of the generous (and hilarious) Lee Martindale. The back cover copy reads like this:

It’s three days before the start of CON-EIRE, the best Irish-themed science fiction and fantasy con in the tri-state area, when a phone call sets the entire Convention Committee into panic mode. Is Big Name Writer going to pull out at the last minute? What does Very Famous Artist have to do with that decision? And what do the Fairies have to say about all this? Follow the hilarious mishaps as the committee members work desperately to salvage months of planning and hard work, all of which are about to be undone by a well-known prima donna.

The play debuted at Trinoc*coN last year with an enthusiastic volunteer cast and was well-received. It's my hope that a lot of people in the sff world will enjoy this play. Feel free to add reviews to the store's page and to help publicize the book in other ways -- yee ha!

Little Joys

I wrote up my visit to Scandinavia House to see the Tove Jansson documentary for Gerry at New World Finn, so I'll just briefly mention that it was just wonderful! and you can get a little taste of the experience by reading these selections from Notes from an Island (Anteckningar från en ö, Schildts, Helsinki, 1996), her memoir of this time which provided the narration for the film. Sophia Jansson was a delight and spoke warmly of her aunt and her partner Tooti, who actually took most of the super-8 films that made up the documentary. And yes, the Finnish-American world is very small, so I shouldn't have been so surprised to run into my friend Ulla Suokko, the delightful flutist, storyteller, healer and now she tells me -- flamenco musician. We had a great time catching up and, of course, Ulla knows everyone, so she was introducing me to people left and right.



More joyful serendipity came from Gene's ceaseless efforts to find amusing and odd things on the web: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Harry Nilsson. Now I have been a Harry Nilsson fan for many years, but even I found out things I did not know there. The very best was the mention of the album Flash Harry which I had never heard of before and was not released over here. It includes Eric Idle(!) and has Harry singing the Monty Python tune "Bright Side of Life." Hearing that really made my day -- thanks, sweetie!

The Contest!

It is the goal of many a puny human to leave their mark on the universe. Now you have your chance! Enter to win the "What Would Charlotte Call It?" contest and win a valuable prize! Charlotte, of course, referring to Charlotte Brontë, one of the fine later practitioners of the gothic (with perhaps the most well known among her works being Jane Eyre but by no means alone in its esteem among her ouevre).

Your quest: Name the serial novel I have been writing in the "gothic renaissance" style with a suitable moniker and win a place in history.

Your prize: Being a character in the book!

Yes, you can live on in (in)famy as a literary character. How great is that? But what's that you say? You don't want your name to appear in the pages due to inordinate modesty? Well, your prize can also be naming a character to honor a past relative, a forgotten dance master, or even your cat. You also get to choose whether your character perishes horribly or helps the heroine out at a key juncture.

To enter, simply post your entry below as a comment. Enter early and often! The final choice will be my own capricious one, so there is no guarantee of fairness, and I may be wickedly influenced by gifts of choclate and laudanum. But the opportunity is all yours --

WWCD?

Up Against the Wall 5

The Valentine's issue of Phil Nutman's Up Against The Wall magazine is up on line with a great variety of reviews and an interview with horror meister Dan Simmons. In the issue, I have a review of Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie's Lost Girls, HOWEVER -- as the authors unabashedly describe their book as pornographic, I would suggest the more genteel readers perhaps think twice before jumping into the review, which is paired with a male reviewer in a "He said, she said" kind of format that Phil thought would be interesting.

More about yesterday's trip when I have more than five minutes, but it was terrific and I had a nice surprise!

Down to the City

I'm off to drive Gene to work then head down to the city to see Sophia Jansson (niece of Tove) at the Scandinavia House. I will be bundling up well -- brrr!

More later -- including a new contest with prizes!

Drool!

Why it's worth scanning the business section of the NYTimes even if you have little interest in business: this is where I learned about Mike Libby's unbelievable insects at his site Insect Lab. While I first was drawn to the beetles, there are spiders, butterflies, bees and wasps.



I'll have to save my pennies, but I think I need something like this one day -- although how will I decide? The beetles are sleek and aerodynamic, but the bees are wonderfully whimsical, and the spiders! Wow, it will be impossible to make a choice. This fascination may be because they remind me of Guillermo del Toro's Cronos, or it may just be the bizarre juxtaposition of the natural and mechanical, but whatever the source of the appeal, I find them irresistible!

Molly Ivins -- Already Missed

Damn! I always liked Molly Ivins, but living in Texas gave me new appreciation for just how funny she could be. This is a loss for larger than life women everywhere and anybody who loves laughs.


(Photo by Steve McConnell)

From her last column:

We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war. Raise hell. Think of something to make the ridiculous look ridiculous. Make our troops know we're for them and trying to get them out of there. Hit the streets to protest Bush's proposed surge. If you can, go to the peace march in Washington on Jan. 27. We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, "Stop it, now!"

Joining the Frog Brigade

We cruised down to CT to join the pals for a celebratory lunch with Miss Wendy, the birthday girl (pictured). After our comic car trouble (which didn't feel too comic at the time), we headed out across the Berkshires for the lovely drive down to Willimantic, the new Smithereens CD and other tunes fueling the drive. We had a relaxing evening with the birthday gal who actually made a fabulous dinner for us (the terminally lazy folks). We watched Matador, Spaced (the very finest comedy series ever), Dylan Moran's Monster, then, stuffed with risotto, we vegged and talked while half-watching Aliens and Alien ³. It seems like we have to drive a long way to just relax, but we did actually do it.

Up the next morning, we enjoyed some fine scrambled eggs and a leisurely morning before joining the rest of the gang at Asian Bistro, where the line was forming. I guess the restaurant is doing okay (in contrast to some of the other establishments there previously). A big turn out in Miss Wendy's honor, including the usual suspecte like the Boojums, QOE and Johnny 10X, Marko and even the elusive Bilokur (who showed about an hour late, which is rather early for him). Our wacky hibachi chef entertained us all with high-flaming hijinks and a squirt bottle of saki (right, Cheryl?). The food was sublime (I had salmon, with a few freebie shrimp). You can see why the place has been a success.

While Miss Wendy went off to try her luck at the casino (and her luck was good!) we headed off to Robert's to deliver some more (belated) birthday gifts and say hello to Jordan. Robert of course had some tasty food waiting for us -- mmm, chicken skewers. But we couldn't linger, so off homeward we went to be greeted by a very lonely Kipper who cried until he was picked up for a cuddle. I started reading the paper, but I was also enjoying the second half of Jane Eyre which, of course, reminded me I needed to write a chapter of the serial! It's funny -- now that Alice is at the funeral, there have been ads for "child loss jewelry" from the Google ad bar. So I guess the content is finally affecting the ads, but the "reader" isn't very sophisitcated.

As Inspector Clouseau Might Say

The case is "solv-ed."



The only problem with our new car? Well, see, they only had one key when we picked it up but hoped to find the other one. So we swang by Lowe's and had a duplicate made right away. The problem -- new keys? They have chips in them. So if someone tries to copy your key and steal your car, the car "knows" there's no chip and won't start.

D'oh.

So, now the car is fine. They still can't find the other key, but have promised to reimburse us for a second key, for which we have to go to a Honda dealership (bought our Honda from a Toyota dealer because they had a better deal on used cars).

I guess this also solves the mystery of the dashboard light that looks like a green key...

Memo to Self

Never hurts to be reminded to keep a positive outlook!

We're off to Connecticut this afternoon after a start on the wrong foot thing morning, but we expect that things will only get better from here. The occasion is of course Miss Wendy's annual birthday event, so we'll be meeting up with the Frog Brigade (AKA our pals from the Quiet Corner) at the very fine Asian Bistro just a stone's throw (okay a very long throw) from the Frog Bridge in Willimantic. So, yay!

Review: Pan's Labyrinth

We went last Saturday night with a few friends to see this long-anticipated film. First stop on the bitterly cold night (although not as cold as today, brrr) was the Ultraviolet Cafe next to the Spectrum 8. Tasty sandwiches! We met up with Lou there and had a chance to chat before running back next door to the theater, where Mary Ann, Mandi and Donna already had seats (thanks!). After sitting through the trailer for Volver again (of course, fittingly), the film began.

The first few moments are oddly reminiscent of Miyazaki's Spirited Away, with young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) finding the overgrown old pillar just a few steps from civilization's track. Placing the odd rock she had found into the eye of the statue, she's surprised to see a spindly insect emerge from the mouth of the pillar. "I've just seen a fairy!" she announces to her mother (Ariadna Gil), who is weakly leaning against the staff car trying to keep from throwing up. It's a wonderful opening, setting up the main tenets of Guillermo de Toro's vivid tale: Ofelia's dreamy longing, her mother's struggle, the vague menace of the military (soon to be anything but vague) and the distant father (Sergi López), their final destination. The last player -- Mercedes, the stubbornly determined servant played with a vulnerable ferocity by Meribel Verdú -- appears when the motorcade arrives at the converted mill.

But I've skipped over the very beginning: using the language of fairy tale, del Toro presents a framing narrative about a princess lost from her beloved underworld as the camera drifts from a prone and bleeding child to a spinning subterranean world. He has spoken much about his love of fairy tales (such as this recent interview on Fresh Air). While most of th audience probably takes this as metaphor, there is no reason not to read the story as real (albeit fantastical). The power of fantasy and belief are at the heart of the narrative. While easily dismissed as "childish nonsense," Ofelia's powerful determination to shape her reality shines, even in the face of her mother's cajoling disapproval and her step-father's bloody fascism (literally in this case, he's one of Franco's men).

The boundaries between what we perceive as reality and as fantasy are often hard to determine. The titular labyrinth certainly seems to be real to everyone -- not so the faun at its center. He is a figure both imposing and inviting. Del Toro has said that he wanted the figure (one from his own childhood dreams) to remain a "neutral" figure, neither good nor bad, but a true representative of nature. As we know, nature can be both beautiful and dangerous, always implacable. When he sets the tasks for Ofelia, we don't know whether to see this as an escape from her mother's suffering and the Captain's cruelty, or the possibility of winning release from an intolerable life. The imagery moves fluidly from the delightful to the horrific (although as Gene was quick to point out, the most horrific moments were the ones that were most real -- ewww! I'll never look at a darning needle again without flinching!). There is the delight when the spindly insect observes the picture Ofelia shows it, telling the creature "This is what a fairy looks like!" with all the certainty of a child. At once it reshapes itself into the "true" form. There are also terrifying images: the giant toad at the bottom of a tree and the Pale Man (like Pan, played by Doug Jones), all maggoty white and pendulous skin with his horribly displaced eyes. Like Spirit of the Beehive (another movie that deals with the devastation of Franco's cruel reign), the film highlights the way children attempt to deal with adult crises, not by fleeing their fear, but by embracing horror.

I'm not sure I want to say much more about specifics -- if you haven't seen it yet, you must. It is one of the most visually beautiful films I've seen in some time, and the excellent cast draws you completely into the story. I feel encouraged that there is such a strong return to the fantastic in films recently -- I think the LOTR films did a lot to awaken that hunger for it. It's a draining experience as all great storytelling should be; we all came out of the theatre a little dazed and had to repair to the Fountain for some pizza and onion rings to get our feet back on the ground. We wil ahve much to chew on for a long time yet, thanks to del Toro's Pan.

There's Always Time For...

...silly internet quizzes:

What Fantasy Archetype Are you?
The Mentor You are the prestigous Mentor! You're akin to Gandalf (Lord of The Rings), Merlin (ARthurian Legend), Obi Wan Kenobi (Star Wars), Aslan (Narnia), Door (Neverwhere), Dumbledore (Harry Potter) and Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander (Wizard's First Rule). You are wise and knowing, and know that there is not much time left for the Unlikely Hero to defeat The Totally Wicked Villain. Only you know the true motives and past of The Villain, so it's up to you to teach the Unlikely Hero all he has to know. Be careful as you'll invariably regret not telling The Unlikely Hero things sooner rather than later. You like teaching and often care very much for others.
Take The Quiz Now!	Quizzes by myYearbook.com

Team English!

Hey, I finally appear on-line as a member of my department, thanks to the dogged determination of my department chair, Kate. Immortalized with both a smirk and the last of the pink hair, but I am finally there!



I like how the link location for the picture is easily read as "school o' farts" -- tee hee!

Must get!

During a discussion of international horror films on the Horror in Film and Literature list, Todd Mason mentioned the following film (which I will have to research and find one way or another):

But I still need to see the Nigerian/"Nollywood" film with the demon-possessed kitten with eyes that can shoot out death-rays...

Oh, yes! But will it be on Cute Overload?

Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door

One of the most disturbing books I have ever read (and we know that's saying something) has been turned into a film. Dallas Mayr, AKA Jack Ketchum, wrote a fictional account of the gruesome 1965 killing of Sylvia Likens. What makes the story -- both the true story and Ketchum's novel -- so stunning is the nature of the crime: she had been horribly beaten and mutilated over months by a gaggle of neighborhood kids supervised by the woman at whose house Sylvia and her sister were boarded by their carny parents. It still stands as Indiana's most shocking crime.

Ketchum's novel is remarkable for its beauty as well as its horror; he captures a lost time of innocent childhood that falls slowly but inexorably into unimaginable degredation. The typical reaction to unthinkable events like this is to stop at the question "how?" Through the young main character, the reader falls down that particularly terrifying rabbit hole, too. I've known so many people who read it and said that they wished they could stop reading it, but couldn't. The awful banality of evil -- that it might take only an unexpected opportunity to bring it out -- is the real chilling heart of the tale.

It promises to be a harrowing film. The script by Phil Nutman and Dan Farrands has been pronounced by Ketchum to be superb, and it's produced by Andrew van den Houten ("Little Mary"). It's hard to believe that they don't have a distributor yet, though they may be in at Tribeca (fingers crossed). If you're interested in seeing this on the big screen, help spread the buzz! You can read more at Fangoria

Grateful

Sigh -- no longer in England, but I can still be grateful for many of its gifts, including (but not limited to):

*The UK cell phone for next to nothing (thanks Brad & Liz!)
*Mulligatawny cup-o-soup(!)
*Jaffa Cakes
*Cadbury Whole Nut
*Cadbury Instant Hot Chocolate
*Books on and by British comedians



Ah well, one can't be on vacation all the time unless one is rich and idle and I am neither (at present). It's the second day of classes, which means I survived the first including my first grad class. It will be interesting to see how it develops. I keep saying I will do less and somehow I always seem to be doing more (including now Boskone). The schedule is up for PCA, so that's something to plan as well. And pay for -- as well as the Tove Jansson conference, which is a bit trickier as paying for things overseas always are. Why can't banks be like Paypal?

There's always more money to spend -- including for a new car. This time we're not going to nickel and dime it, but buy something a little more recent that (we hope) lasts a bit longer.

Oh and the weird thing -- one of our neighbors has taken to singing bizarre spiritual songs at top of his voice about ten pm every night. It might be the guy next door (with the Jesus bumper stickers) but when we looked out the window after being startled by the sound, we couldn't see anything.

Back to work (and mulligatawny soup) after one more time-waster:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Empress Kathryn the Possible of Goosnargh Leering Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Publication: Icons of Horror and the Supernatural

Yes, it's already been out according to Amazon, etc., but my copy of this two volume set finally arrived today (increasing the likelihood that the check will arrive soon and at the right address). It looks good, as Joshi's projects generally do, and features writers like Brian Stableford, Paula Guran, Darrell Schweitzer and Richard Bleiler (as well as me, of course). My piece is on "The Sorcerer" throughout history from Lucian's Alexander to Alan Moore (thanks to Gene for the background on Doctor Strange).



A pity that I couldn't get my bio changed in time to reflect my new appointment at Saint Rose, but with luck that won't be changing any time soon, so future projects will have the right information. There's a small typo that misidentifies one of my works in progress, but again, that's a minor quibble. Surely any interested party will find my website easily enough.

We woke up to a coating of ice. If I had not played hookey, I might have had my class prep for tomorrow's start of classes done already, and thus I would have been able to stay home drinking hot chocolate and reading novels. Instead I had to be up early and in my office where I toiled to more or less feel like I have prepared for tomorrow. I'm teaching my first grad class! Exciting and daunting -- I'll have to watch that tendency to give them way too much work. But we start with Beowulf and end with Njal, so how bad can it be?

2007 UK Tour (Leg One) Part Two

At the party I was lucky enough to hear about the most fabulous object, the alarm clock I must have. It includes the voice of Stephen Fry saying various things upon one's waking such as, "I am so sorry to disturb you, sir, but it appears to be morning. Very inconvenient, I agree, sir. I believe the rotation of the earth is to blame, sir." What better way to face the morning?

We, however, faced the next morning with some trepidation and no Stephen Fry, as we had been up so late and got rather a slow start. The Brookses dropped me off at Regent's College before heading off on their visits and I settled into my little room at the college where I had first been after my freshman year at Michigan State. Things have changed a bit in the intervening years, oddly enough.



But I had no time to dwell as I was off to Great Dunmow (pictured above), land of the medieval flitch trials, so that meant a trip off to Liverpool Street to jump on the express train to Stansted. After some humorous misunderstandings I finally caught up with my pal Bogie and had a lovely pub lunch with the whole Bogie clan (not to be confused with "bogie" and yes, when in Britain I do try to visit only the people whose names begin with "B"), then lots of lively conversation until rather late -- and of course, I came away with a handful of entertaining disks to take away (thanks again!). Next time, I have to come while it's still light out enough to see the wonders of the garden -- and the rest of the village. Then it was back to Stansted, on the train and then through the darkened park to my little room. The ducks called still at midnight and the song birds awoke me in the morning. Life could be much worse.

The meeting began the next morning, where I met some colleagues from my college (yes, have to go across the pond to meet folks from across the street, so to speak). While chatting with some other affiliates, I found that some were going to see a performance of Spamalot! Ooh -- I knew I had to see if I could get a ticket. I didn't think there would be any performances on a Monday night, but there was, hurrah! Yet again, sitting in the gods, but all I really missed was a tiny bit of Tim the Enchanter's head during his first arrival (accompanied by the usual sense of vertigo while climbing to my seat). What fun -- I hope to force Gene to see it too when he comes along in May (you will go to England in May, Gene, we are all mesmerizing you with this thought -- others feel free to ignore, unless you too would like some of the action-packed fun!). What makes the show so much fun even for people who have all Python dialogue memorized is the rearrangements of material into new juxtapositions and the silly show-ness of it, which of course is central to making it a musical. Just like the original "Camelot" number, Idle's script skewers the conventions of musicals then uses those same conventions to make a satisfying show that works both as a comedy and, yes, a musical. There's something deeply joyful about a huge crowd of people singing along (twice!) to "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life."

On the second day of the conference, a speaker mentioned the current show at the Tate Modern, "Test Site" by Carsten Höller, part of his Unilever Series. I had to go! Giant slides that stretch from each floor to the bottom of the Turbine Hall (you can watch live video of the ends of the chutes on line). I got my tickets and headed up to the third floor slide. You have to get on a little canvas sliding cloth with a sort of pocket into which you thrust your shoed feet, then fold you arms, tuck your chin and slide. It's odd, the sudden sensation of falling then the sort of ribbing that slows your descent before you pop out onto the main floor, blinking and disoriented. The fourth floor slide gives you more of that strange and helpless sense of falling and even more dizziness, but by the time I got to the fifth floor the lines were shorter and the padding greater (like skater gear for elbows, and a recommended hat which no one took). I actually looked out of the slide as I went down -- more dizzying, but I was finally able to enjoy the view rather than just worrying about falling. Highly recommended.

There was a dinner at the college that night -- which turned out to be rather a swanky affair for which I was entirely unprepared and felt terribly awkward and uncomfortable (although my immediate seat mates proved entertaining). It was held in the library at the longest table at which I have ever sat and had lovely food and too much wine. It was so much nicer to go back to Hanwell and the comforts of a friendly home (after I finished all the shopping I needed to do). We finally had our GBK dinner and it was terrificly tasty. Then a relaxing evening and an easy-going morning before I had to finally pack up my bag and head home in the wind and rain. Many thanks to my friends (especially Brad and Liz and Sophie!) for making my trip another fun one.

2007 UK Tour (Leg One)

Apologies if the title invokes images of Mr. Spiggott (spigot by name, spigot by nature), but as this is the first of three planned trips, might as well do what I can to disambiguate them, as they say. Let's see, when I last bothered to write, I had arrived in Hanwell and was anticipating a lovely fish and chips dinner (yum!). The same day flight had a surprising lack of jet lag, a definite plus and I felt rather chipper after my long day that had started the rather early and included falling up the steps at the hotel in Boston.


The next day we were off to drop Sophie at school, then head to a birthday lunch for Brad at GBK, the New Zealand sensation now with a branch in Ealing Broadway. To our dismay, the whole block was experiencing power outtages and we were out of luck. Little did Brad know, another pal of his had flown over from France to join us which created a bit of a problem to keep it a secret *and* move to another location without Brad wondering too much why Liz kept texting with her phone. Fortunately, he was still surprised when we turned the corner on the way to Cafe Uno and ran into Brucie. A nice leisurely lunch later, we picked up Miss Sophie and did a little shopping before heading back to Chez Brooks where video games and later, pizza (mmm) were much enjoyed.

Saturday was my day to see the History Boys in town, so I left early to leave the busy household to prepare for the onslaught of the parties that afternoon and evening. Good thing I left early: the Central Line was down. Argh! This was the day I made the realization that public transport is like computers. You take it completely for granted until it's not working and then you curse it like mad because it's so inconvenient. So off I went to jump on the replacement bus service and thus saw things I had never seen before (as I would usually be underground). Well, the interesting-ness of that faded as the time ticked away and particularly when we arrived at Shepherd's Bush only to find that station gated too. Argh! Fortunately, everyone was in the same boat, so we all implored the staff for guidance and soon I was on a bus to Oxford Circus where, alighting from the bus I found myself soon soaked and very glad I had the red wool cape (such a bargain!) to keep the rain off my face.

I had a little less time than I had expected to peruse the bookstores on Charing Cross Road before the show, but I did at least have a little time, but (oh horror!) found nothing that made me buy, although I thought seriously about one or two things (including the first of a few books on Eric Morecambe that I am now kicking myself for not getting, but it did end up being an expensive trip). Then of course it was on to the Wyndham's for the play. Standing room only! And lots of very moist folks crowding into the theater.

It was interesting to see it with another cast -- easier to concentrate on the play itself, which is different from the movie version in some interesting ways. In many ways, the film softens the narrative. The second narrative weaving through the first weights events more carefully than the wholy straightforward chronology of the film does. Nice to see Cousin Jasper on stage -- the cast were all excellent and the view from sitting in the gods gave a good perspective on the shifts behind the scenes. Terrific show and I was so glad to have had a chance to see it.

The play ran rather long (not quite three hours) so I decided to head back, this time taking the more circuitous (but speedier) route via Paddington, because the train to Oxford stops right at Ealing Broadway. Thus I made it back to Hanwell in far less time than it had taken setting out and got back to Chez Brooks during the lull between the two parties and so fed my face and chatted with folks and prepared for the second wave and Liz's superb beef casserole (which seemed more like a Boeuf Bourguignon -- mmmm, need that recipe!).

More later -- so much to do! The semester starts Tuesday and am I ready? Ha!

Hello from Hanwell

-- where we're celebrating Brad's birthday (how old, may you ask? Hmmmm, I've heard that he's 5 according to Sophie...) and had a very fine lunch and about to have some tea and more relaxing. It's a tough life, eh?

Well, after falling down in the hotel in Boston and banging my knees, things have only gotten better. There were enormous lines at the airport, but I got through in time and on the plane. Nice, quiet flight -- and I would have finished my book jsut as we were landing, but we had to hover around for a while which wasn't too bad because we had a beautiful view of London all lit up. I like the daytime flight -- no jet lag to speak of! Very nice.

Tomorrow -- History Boys, a little shopping and a party!

England Awaits!

Off to Beantown tonight to take the early flight to London. Unusual -- the flight leaves in the morning and gets me there the same evening. We'll see if this reduces jet lag. So much to do! Friends to see, gifts to deliver, meetings to attend -- and at least one play. I'm sure I'll manage a little shopping as well (I always do). Charing Cross Road is too hard to resist. But first I better finish packing. I'm not any less excited about going, but I realize I've become a bit blasé about the process at this point. I remember when I spent days packing -- not anymore! But I did have to take a bigger bag ("you're gonna need a bigger bag...") because it's packed full of goodies for a certain birthday boy.

Reprinted: Walpurgisnacht

My short story "Walpurgisnacht" has been republished by The Pagan Activist. Drop by and refresh your memory of this short story set on the dark night of April 30th, the time when witches are supposed to fly across northern Europe. I originally wrote this for a Take Back the Night event at UConn. I figured it might be the only thing that wasn't poetry, but I think the relevant subtext (child abuse) was too subtle for a reading -- it works better in print. But writers are notoriously bad judges of their own work.



Some traveling evangelists knocked on the door today. I smiled as I sent them away, because of course it made me think of the first episode of Black Books (see the quotes; Bernard welcomes an unexpected visit from Mormon missionaries). But I haven't begun to even think about taxes... yet.

Year End Delights

A nice surprise to come home to: Elena has posted the birthday lunch video at her American Blogress site. All 57M of it! So, if you want to start your year off right, go check out Elena's cartoon debut on ESPN!

Albany really is Lebowski land: there's a giant bowling pin in someone's back yard by the Thruway, just north of the New Baltimore rest area.

Saturday we headed up to Saratoga for tenderloin (like buttah!) and hootenany with the Crispinus clan. Yummy food! Thanks, Krista and Dan. Kaity kept us entertained when she was not freaking poor Hamilton out. I now know four chords instead of three and everybody had fun playing the Hello Kitty guitar (how could they not?). It's colder up there -- more snow than the dusting we got. It was awfully chilly coming home.



We got up early the next morning to head down to the city to catch Julie Taymor's Magic Flute at the Met. The fabulous costumes were indeed gorgeous. All the kids (and not a few of the adults) emitted gasps of delight when the dragons first flew around the stage after curtain went up. The dancing bears were just wonderful (even Stephen Colbert would have to love these bears!) as were all the birds and the stunning costumes. It was great fun and an amazing spectacle.

Later as we stood waiting for a subway at Times Square, Gene noticed the signs saying there was no exit to the street for that day only -- how could we forget where we were? Just a few hours later (or perhaps, even then!) the streets would be crammed with thousands of celebrating folks (as it happened, we saw them later on tv). Of course, we were heading down to the Strand to see if there were any books that needed liberating. We headed back to Grand Central just in time to catch the 5.51 to Poughkeepsie (but not Robert's call).

We called Robert back and he invited us to stop by after the train got in. He was having dinner with Anna (another fabulous feast!) but there were some faboo leftovers for us when we got there. He even persuaded us to stay the night so we enjoyed some tasty Veuve Clicquot not having to drive that night. We ran upstairs just in time to catch the ball falling in Times Square on the tv, toasting one another as the new year began.

On the road back home this morning, I saw a raven, perched on the divider between the lanes on the Thruway. Good omen for the new year!

Review: The History Boys

Yes, we finally saw it. We went to the first matinee yesterday, reward to myself for finishing the first draft of the paper due tomorrow. Rewards are important -- especially with something like writing where the end result is usually a long way away from the initial "completion."

Not surprisingly, the only place the film was playing was the Spectrum 8, Albany's best movie theater for the discerning film fan. I think we've been to it more than any other theater, including the one nearest us. The theater was surprsingly packed for a weekday, but as Gene noted, it is winter break (although we were among the youngest folks there, so perhaps it is normal for the Spectrum).

Of course, I was already predisposed to love the film. It's hard not to enjoy a film that grapples with some of the key issues that continue to plague teaching when you're a teacher (particularly in the No Child Left Behind era). It's hard not to romanticize the idea of teaching (in contrast to the daily struggle of making progress as a teacher). I don't imagine that my students will go on to become artists and scholars; I'm happy if they can still understand references to books we read earlier in the semester.

Bennett's play turns on a number of complex issues, but a central one is what sort of knowledge is important. Richard Griffith's Hector conveys his love of literature and its magic, mixing the high and the low to keep students from pretentious navel gazing. The slick new instructor, played by "Bright Young Thing" Stephen Campbell Moore, turns the students toward the efficacious in order to win their desired goal -- admission to Oxbridge. Naturally enough, the boys themselves become a pendulum between the two approaches, alternately swayed one way or the other as they feel the benefits of each approach.



But the key moment comes from the much overlooked Totty, played by the amazing Frances de la Tour (last seen as the giant Madame Maxime in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). She disposes of both approaches with an insightful spade of feminist scholarship, snapping, "History is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men. What is history? History is women following behind with the bucket." Typically enough, the men smirk behind her back and go on with the mock interviews.

It's only a moment, but it's the best moment of the film -- and it's a film filled with wonderful moments. While many of the moments are expected, there are a number of surprising developments and a lot of good laughs (this is Alan Bennett after all -- Gene pointed out how very Bennett-like the weaselly headmaster's last speech is). I can't wait to see the play in London!

Coolest Yule Gift Ever

Wow -- it's great to have talented relatives! Look what Robert made for me (the picture doesn't do it justice):



Talk about your one of a kind item! He made these charms from 18k gold. A bobbin, a spindle and a ring -- the three tokens carried by young Hallgerd in my novel Pelzmantel represent her link with the past and the responsibilities that lie in her future. Handed down from mother to daughter, the three items reflect the timeless reminders these women have had to keep in mind to rule fairly and well.

The bobbin for guidance through wisdom and sense,
The spindle for drawing out all excellence,
The ring for binding the oath to this land
To love and protect and be at its command.

I just can't get over it -- what a great surprise. Thanks again, li'l brother!

And he spoiled us with food, too. A birthday cake, prime rib, crab legs, baked mashed potatoes and asparagus (well, there had to be something healthy). Yum! All under the watchful gaze of Joey Heatherton.



We had a great Xmas eve dinner over at Anna's (thanks, Anna -- hope you're feeling better!) and a lot of talk and good times. So stuffed from all the food, I may not need to eat for days. And the weather wasn't bad either (fair bit of rain last night, but no snow), so we walked around in the greenery, fed the ducks and even enjoyed the koi pond (yes, with yule crown).

Cool Yule

We're at Robert's enjoying a little time away. We got here last night after Gene had to work a Saturday (ugh, how happy are folks who get service calls on the Saturday of Xmas weekend? Not very). Robert had a big tray of sushi waiting for us which was very yummy.

Today we sipped mimosas while decorating the tree. Showing those pagan proclivities, I had an impromptu puppet theater with figures from the nativity scene (maybe it was the mimosas) which Gene dutifully filmed on the Treo. We're off to Anna's for an afternoon party, and later... who can say?

Pictures to come -- Gene was snapping photos earlier. I'm wearing my Yule crown of holly and mistletoe and bells.

Relaxing is good. We have a stack of Xmas cds and a pile of British comedy dvds. Holidays are good. Hope everybody we know is having a good time today!

History Boys

No, it's not the review of the show, unfortunately. We had planned to hit a matinee yesterday and unexpectedly (well, I suppose if we had thought about it, it might not have been a surprise) ended up in a an unbelievable snarl of traffic downtown and missed the show's start. So, another day. But I did get a ticket to see it in London!



I was thinking of trying for a half price ticket when I got there, but found I could order a cheap balcony ticket online and not have to wait in line. Yes, it is still possible to see West End plays for reasonably cheap, unlike Broadway. I had actually gone on line to check ticket availablity for the Punchdrunk Productions version of Faust, which I had read about in the NYTimes. There's a performance on Jan 9 that I might be able to attend, but tickets are not available on line. So we'll see.

Well, soon I'll get to see the film, and a bit later, the play (at last!) and who knows -- London is full of opportunities. I get to see friends and hang out and relax. How good is that?!

Catherine the Great

We finally got around to seeing For Your Consideration and while it was not really successful, it did feature Catherine O'Hara, one of the funniest women in the world. She managed to give her character, aging actor Marilyn Hack, both hilarious moments and actually warm and touching ones as well. Celebrated first when she and Andrea Martin anchored the otherwise male cast of Second City Television, who can forget her wonderful Katharine Hepburn or the borderline suicidal ex-star Lola Heatherton? She is the center of the film despite the star-studded cast, including most of the other truly funny women working today: the wonderfully loopy Jennifer Coolidge (her short scene with Ricky Gervais is just priceless), the razor sharp Jane Lynch, the fearless Parker Posey, and an almost unrecognizable Rachael Harris. In part, that may be the biggest problem -- an embarrassment of riches that distracts from the connections, and like A Mighty Wind, there's a little too much fondness for the characters (not all of them! wow -- there are some brilliantly oily Hollywood types). Comedy requires distance; we can't laugh at people we care for and as ridiculous as O'Hara's Marilyn becomes, we pity her desperate vulnerability. A mixed bag, the film has some wonderful moments through out, some laugh out loud, some so tiny but wonderful (Larry Miller proves once again a master of minute) that while ultimately a failure, I'd gladly watch it again.



And while I'm on this tack, I want to rant a bit about Christopher Hitchen's ridiculous tirade "Why Women Aren't Funny" in the January issue of Vanity Fair. First -- huh? As a woman surrounded by funny intelligent women, I say again -- huh? There’s the usual folderol about how women can’t do stand up because they’re too busy birthin’ babies, then backed up by examples Fran Lebowitz, Nora Ephron and Roseanne Barr.

Old much? At least two of those women used to be funny, so that’s something, but get with the times, Hitch. Leaving aside for the moment all the funny women from his native shores (off the top of my head, let’s just mention Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha, June Whitfield, Emma Thompson, Imelda Staunton, Julia Davis, Kathy Burke, Caroline Aherne, Tamsin Grieg, Julie Walters, Patricia Routledge…and the list goes on and on and on) there are so many funny women on these shores that it’s impossible to list them all. Even going back farther than Hitch himself does to mid-century stars like Totie Fields and Phyllis Diller, their crowns have been more than adequately carried forward by contemporary women like the ones mentioned in the first paragraph of this post, as well as, oh let’s just mention, Lily Tomlin, Gilda Radner, Madeline Kahn, Terri Garr, and the ever fabulous Julie Kavner.

Two words, Hitch –- Amy Sedaris.

The fact is there have always been funny women -- admittedly, a lot of Hrotsvit’s jokes were lost behind the pious posturing of her Christian moralizing, but still! But humor does generally require intelligence and there is a certain kind of Neanderthal male that fears any show of intellect on the part of women. Fortunately, the world is full of smart, funny men who like smart, funny women (and in my case, marry them).

Of course, this is not too surprising coming from a man who has gone from a Trotskyite to a neocon. Men do tend to get more conservative as they get older, but it’s a pity Hitchens’ self-imposed cocoon has kept him from experiencing some of the best comic minds out there -- just because they happen to be female. Open your eyes, Hitch, and your mind. You’ll laugh a lot more.

Winter Solstice

The darkest day is passing now (technically up here in the north, it has already passed) and the return of the light always brings with it hope, even if the cold intensifies. There are songs to sing and various celebrations of which the best known are still Christmas, Hannukah and Kwanzaa, but throughout the known history of this world, this has been a time to feel hope after the dark days and dream of the spring to come. It's still a long way off, which is why we need those February celebrations to keep us going through the cold and snow. The new moon falls on this day as well, so we have a return to light even in the night sky.




Hey -- and it's Frank Zappa's birthday, too. So, don't eat the yellow snow, all you mudsharks!

Great Singer or the Greatest Singer?

Can you tell classes are over? Not that I don't have a million and one things to do, but after a training session on archiving all my Blackboard files (dead easy) my first thought was "Can I find some good Vic vid on YouTube?"

Well, of course!



Vic sings "Dizzy" with the Wonderstuff on MTV3 with the usual Vic and Bob stage crawling -- not good sound or image, but hey, it's YouTube the land of many wonders that you might not otherwise be able to see (although I have a PAL tape of Vic videos that I need to transfer).

If you think that's bad, at least I didn't put up a link for Mulligan & O'Hare or Slade in Residence!

Glimpsed on this Morning's Walk

About eight turkeys; one dead squirrel and perhaps a quarter of another; one red balloon, half-deflated...

Up Against the Wall 4

The latest issue of Up Against the Wall is online! It features interviews and reviews of all kinds of faboo stuff, from Anya Martin's take on the Dark Shadows dvds to an interview with horror/fantasy/sf cover artist John Picacio.

Yeah, and a review by me, too (hey, gotta self-promote on a day like today with two rejections already, argh).

Celebrating with Friends Old and New

We headed over to Northampton yesterday to meet up with our pals at India Palace for my birthday lunch. We started running into folks right after we left the Raven, no surprise (well, only surprise is that we didn't meet them in the Raven). We also got calls from both sets of folks before we got to the restaurant, so I had a chance to thank them for their gifts as well. The staff at the restaurant was a bit overwhelmed by the thought of a table of 16, but they coped and we were easy going enough that it wasn't a problem.

I don't know if their other customers shared that opinion. It was quite a voluble crowd and like the Garden Party, everyone was there and there was indeed magic in the air. There were the Queen and Johnny 10X, Marko, Rod and Elena, the Boojums Joey and Cheryl, GK4 and Donna, Miss Wendy, Robert, and meeting them all for the first time (wouldn't that be a bit intimidating?), Dan and Krista and Kaitlyn.

It was the most wonderful gift to be surrounded by our family of friends. We're so glad to be back in the Northeast (not that we don't miss our friends down in Houston!) and with folks we have known so long. Of course, even though I repeatedly said that was the only gift I needed, they loaded me up with fine birthday swag, too. Wow -- amazing generosity, guys! The gifts ranged from the thoughtful to the personal to the wacky and all were very much appreciated.

After a long and laugh-filled lunch, we headed off for shopping around town. Northampton has the advantage of being about the same distance for all of us as well as full of terrific shopping opportunities. We kept running into one another the rest of the afternoon, and by the time the shops were closing, those of us left headed over to the Tunnel Bar for a relaxing drink. Swanky! Gene and I had never been there, so it was quite a treat. The big overstuffed chairs make a great little private enclave, so we chatted until quite late, but finally had to make our way back home (grades were due today!).

It was a great birthday! But has anyone painted their cats yet?



New friends: we headed over to (near) Peebles Island Saturday night for a Yule celebration with some new local friends. Yummy food (pot luck!) and lots of laughs, singing and a new tradition: the wraparound! Various gifts were wrapped in layer after layer of wrapping paper, which each person would have a go at it, taking off one of the layers. You never knew if you would get nothing or something fabulous. It was a lot of fun. So we're getting to know people here, too, and having a good time doing it. It's always hard to move to a new area; we're lucky to have a lot of "built-in" friends in the region, but we're also making new friends which is very pleasing.

Graduation Day

It was my first graduation day at Saint Rose. I had to be up early to catch the bus to the Empire Center (Home of the Egg!) with the rest of the faculty. Fortunately, we had labeled the box with the caps and gowns very clearly, so we didn't have to hunt for them. Now no longer in the big box taking up space here at home, but hanging in the closet in my office.



Quite a bit different from UHD graduation in Minute Maid Park. The convention center is at least set up for this kind of event. They had refreshments for us faculty but I didn't actually partake with the thought of sitting for a couple of hours. I did have my PDA (AKA the Sampo) with me, so I could read during the less engaging portions, but I was curious to see how Saint Rose graduation woudl be different. Smaller college, smaller list of names -- particularly for mid-year graduation. As it's my first semester, I only knew one graduate. I'm sure int he future I'll know many more.

They had us line up by seniority, so of course the newbies were all in the back where we could learn the ropes without too much stress. It always feels funny to be wearing these medieval robes and funny hats. Somehow the solemnity always leads to a few giggles. Of course, the proud parents and gleeful friends provide the most entertainment, shouting, whooping and clapping for the graduates.

We were back to campus by noon!