lobolance

Great way to start the morning. Thanks allanh! There are a few here I still hope to get to. :-)
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Harlan Ellison is selling off a chunk of his book collection, from his own rare editions to those given him by friends. Ah, the days of giant bookcases... 

I know some folks have issue with Ellison for his outrageousness, and yeah I've seen him be a jerk too. But he's not alone in that ;-) (darn human beings!). He was the first I-adore-him major author I saw at a con. Fortunately, multiple times. He read the most amazing stories with a verve few authors can match. And of course he ranted frequently with the best.

Anyhow, much drool-worthy stuff!

Brian Dettmer creates incredible sculptures out of books, relecting their content. Book fetishist that's me!

http://coilhouse.net/2008/01/09/brian-dettmers-book-autopsies/

to the IMsL crud. Actually, with the help of Airborne early on, I seem to be moving through it pretty quickly. Oooky chest today. ah well. Such is often the result of a con, however said con is defined. :-)

Got a lot of stuff done at home over the weekend, since I was home a lot of the weekend (see above note). Sadly, the Sharks weren't playing! They are tonight.

Unexpectedly, there were two episodes of *Dresden*. The finale was pretty good. I like that the show does little unexpected things pretty regularly. Saw most of the first episode of *Drive*. Nathan Fillion being very wound up. The teen daughter doesn't look so teen to me. ;-) I have the second recorded, and the next is tonight. I really enjoyed Tim Minear at Worldcon this year, and have always liked his quirky tv work. Here's hoping this one is good. It's certainly intriguing. Being Fox, it will likely be canceled in three weeks, but who knows. ;-)

Finished the first Nevada Barr Anna Pigeon mystery novel. It was good. There are lots more to read. Of course, I need to get Hugo reading underway.

Anaar was one of the Feri teachers at Pantheacon this year. I'd seen her before, just hadn't known it. I decided I was interested in buying her book, *The White Wand*, as it was about art and spirituality, and mostly because she was cool (I loved her Kala ritual workshop; she shared some stuff that made me see more ways I could integrate the many threads of my spiritual practice-btw that phrase is sounding really lame to me but I don't know what else to use) . But I resisted at the dealer's room... as I had a suspicion... and yes, I'd already bought it earlier in the year and just hadn't gotten round to reading it! But now I was ready.

So I read it at lunch yesterday (yes, it's a slim volume). Aside: I remember when I first came into paganism uh hem many years ago, finding these skinny little books and always thinking they looked ridiculous. I'm quite sure Cora Anderson's *50 Years of the Feri Tradition* was among them, due to it's very remember-able cover... I guess there's a right time for everything). And in truth I still think they look a bit ridiculous, however that is no longer stopping me from finding the gems inside. :-)

This slim book has plenty of shiny gems, much unexpectedly and gratifyingly erotic as well as arty. I suck at "real" art, though I've always loved doing crafts (having a mom and sister who were really good at "real" art didn't help; but I was a good writer, so that's where I focused, which is just fine :-) ). If you're interested in art, paganism, sex, I highly recommend this book, from its thinking to its few but excellent exercises.

What this post is really supposed to be about is one of the book's basic concepts, which entirely whammed me. The idea she posits is that the drive to beauty/"shiny things" is a human basic (think kids), and something to enjoy, not squish. There's a section about personal adornment which fascinated me (historically to contemporarily). Reminded me of how in my own dress I constantly look for something a little brighter, "different"... but which also works in my identity as a leatherman, etc. Yes there's a time for everything I know... but it's an interesting challenge to "display" more than one or two personality characteristics or interests at a time. Especially if you're a man, and don't just want to be perceived as "flaming." Masculinity is terribly serious stuff in our culture.

And of course historically, males dressed to show off a lot! Which reminded me that a phrase for such men is, to this day, "peacock". Which is one aspect of the god as Feri perceives him.

LMAO

Not that Harry (though I love Harry Potter, too), Harry Dresden, of the Dresden Files, by Jim Butcher. The current novel is Dead Beat, book 7 of the Dresden Files.

I still find myself entirely enchanted by this fantasy detective series, and the detective himself. The mixture of whimsy and reality delights me. I like how magic works in this universe; it's purely a power thing (not religious), and has very definite rules. Plus there are ghosts and vampires and all kinds of things that go bump in the night. Harry himself is wonderful self-deprecating, very powerful, yet seemingly young as wizards go. I also think he sounds pretty hot... I like how he's masculine AND has a sense of humor.

I guess the plots and some of the structure aren't exactly groundbreaking. But for often amusing, sometimes heart pounding fun, you can't go wrong with these books.

About the cows (possibly squicky)... ( Read more... )