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Magic and meteorats
Aug. 12th, 2009 10:02 pmReading Magic or Madness series & about to start book 3. They're very good.
We set out in search of the Perseids, a tiny park near Edgewood, with swings and pavement & a view of the bay and San Andreas fault. On the hill above us - a gazebo. Rook pushed me up the paved drainage ditch. My back and leg are exactly like a toothache. Going down the hill with Moomin in my lap, trashing my hands for the sake of speed & wind - then laid in the sand - It wasn't dark enough to see more than a few stars - I spotted Cygnus.
Still I like to think of us drifting through space & the feathery filaments of the comet sparking up as we collide - going on right now as we turn to face "forward", I guess - all very hard to picture - modeling it with my fists like a constantly failing orrery. I have an actual toothache on top of hands and back - sleep would be so good.
Moomin's rats (Prince Brownie & Princess Taily from days of yore, often now pressed into service as pokemon ratats) were Meteo-Rat and Aster-rat at bedtime, where we also pored over the big Lego book that has the Brickipedia in the back. (forgot its title, but textbooky analysis of how to make things from Legos) Predictibly, he likes the Brickipedia best and will now likely refer to lego pieces by their Brickipedia names as if everyone should know that. I totally understand, I was the same way with minor Greek deities.
He likes dance camp. The teacher laid it on thick to me yesterday about his talent and that he can be amazing if he keeps at it. she said she is thinking about a special class with him and 3 other kids around his age. basically, he has the kinesthetic sense, rhythm, some style, and she was super happy he instantly picks up a whole dance routine when shown it. I think she was partly kissing butt on me (why! i already joined the studio!?) but I agree with what she said, so will take it at face value.
Zond-7 and I watched Apollo 13 last night and then read about it & listened to sound files. I loved it but hated the smarmy sexist bits. All today I kept thinking "Manned Flight - Manned Flight" dazedly contemplating not so much the shining-eyed-woman bits of the movie, but the Manly Moments. My commentary during the movie shifted a lot from screaming I WANT TO BE ON A ROCKETSHIP OMG to my unsaid line for the rebellious, sulky teenage daughter on the astronauts' return: "Oh Daddy, I'll never not wear a bra again!" Because that is the logical reward somehow of being very Manly - so Manly that you are able to almost punch someone while dying and then hug the other dude from Biloxi with the urinary tract infection - IN SPACE. Yelling is crucial. The way to success - the moment where you define your Man-ness - is when you out yell your compañeros - You give them a harsh, stern, order that might not make any sense - and they knuckle under and work all the better for your threats and irrationality. I also had a moment watching John something the young Mission Control guy who went "No! You have to TURN THE POWER OFF NOW" and there was a sort of steely eyed cowboy vs. cowboy moment, and the boss man went "Okay". I thought, I will never experience that, and never have, where I chest-beat in a quick, definitive way with the expectation of being believed and listened to - it is always a bit mouthing off bucking the current or Cassandra, instead - Or I rally others ignored for collective action - but the Boss of Mission Control - I would not even bother to tell him what's what; what would be the point? That made me sad to think on and I mourned for my inner Hotshot Nasa Dude who never was, or only briefly. (He was right about the Apollo something-or-other-else's lightning strike telemetry, so they brought him in as a quick thinking expert - however the movie did not mention - they played up his youth and non-authority, i thought, as if merit would automatically be recognized by Leadership.)
The night before we watched Running out of Time - Andy Lau - criminal and cop - I have plenty to say about it, and I loved its pace and its tension and friendship and how it played off all the other cop/criminal buddy movies - It was artistically done but without the bullet/glass/doves/death that is so disturbing & great in John Woo movies. I liked the funny parts too - I'm too tired to do it justice. Watch it! also, hello, andy lau in drag in a bowling alley! Consumptives coughing up blood are always cute - the slash writes itself...
Read a strange, amazing book called The LIstening One, very local historian 1952, about a girl named Bartolomea Comicrabit, native american right at the time of the mexican revolution, a Gabrielino, and the tension between mission & ranchero & indian. It was very notable to me how the plot and Lomea's thoughts never turned the way I am used to historical fiction about Native American life turning. Lomea thought super hard about her marriage, what everyone else wanted of her, her duty as prospective leader or Manisar of her people, and also it was very interesting how she thought about the Padres and the Abbess - even or especially as they *punished her for speaking her mind*. I was at first thinking "WTF!" about it but - then realized - damn, every other book about some native american girl she is resisting making a sensible marriage and she is fighting horrible crushing unambiguous injustice and oppression - in this, she has *mixed feelings* about being part of the Mission and about Spanish/Mexican ways vs. Indian ones - she doesn't have to choose one or the other, ever - it's not like some giant Choice hung before her - instead everything was a bit mixed up and people and situations were good and bad. and she fights realy hard for the documents and ownership of her ranch land & wnts to believe the Mission is truly holding it in trust for her people, rather than stealing and exploiting it. there were some subtle moments where she is invited to go to Doña whoever's house, and it's sort of like a fun social invite to hang out with all Doña whoever's daughters to bake, but you realize this shift where that is half true but it is also true she is there to work, and they *are* having fun and so is she despite her also being a servant - and she is aware of that. So, I still have mixed feelings about the book and its portrayal of her inner life. BUT, here is the kicker. The author explained briefly at the end of the book that she wondered what the story was of the Reid Adobe. Harry Reid pushed hard in 1849 for equal rights for women and Native Americans and for everyone to have the vote and property rights. And he was Bartolomea Comicrabit's second husband - and she inspired him to it - and made him , before she would marry him, publish a series of letters about her life and the Gabrielinos. I haven't looked further, but it was totally intriguing.
Work was horrid , network woes, me somehow expected to fix, day spent banging my head on various routers and talking with various people, and on and off phone with scumbag AT&SUCK, and then the other router went down.
Read a bit of the Worldcon/Writercon failyness, racism, dumbassery, and culture mismatch (I really do believe in PPON/SPMB) etc. Mixture of rage, despair, eyerolling and laughter, from me.
in other news, in the last 2 days damned_colonial and I went to town on this: geekfeminism.org Mostly her work, but I was helpy & encouraging. It is a good moment for us all to cabal and get behind this. What a fantastic group and it shows her ability to pull people together & the ripeness of the time.
Am also (way more slowly) ramping up hack ability & inviting people in. Have not written back to G. about his stuff and all the fancy white house people. Cannot quite think what to say, there.
Well that was refreshing. I compose blog entries in my head constantly but lack energy & my hands still hurt enough to make me scared to blog too much. But it's a such a beautiful relief to write things down. I am unburdened.
We set out in search of the Perseids, a tiny park near Edgewood, with swings and pavement & a view of the bay and San Andreas fault. On the hill above us - a gazebo. Rook pushed me up the paved drainage ditch. My back and leg are exactly like a toothache. Going down the hill with Moomin in my lap, trashing my hands for the sake of speed & wind - then laid in the sand - It wasn't dark enough to see more than a few stars - I spotted Cygnus.
Still I like to think of us drifting through space & the feathery filaments of the comet sparking up as we collide - going on right now as we turn to face "forward", I guess - all very hard to picture - modeling it with my fists like a constantly failing orrery. I have an actual toothache on top of hands and back - sleep would be so good.
Moomin's rats (Prince Brownie & Princess Taily from days of yore, often now pressed into service as pokemon ratats) were Meteo-Rat and Aster-rat at bedtime, where we also pored over the big Lego book that has the Brickipedia in the back. (forgot its title, but textbooky analysis of how to make things from Legos) Predictibly, he likes the Brickipedia best and will now likely refer to lego pieces by their Brickipedia names as if everyone should know that. I totally understand, I was the same way with minor Greek deities.
He likes dance camp. The teacher laid it on thick to me yesterday about his talent and that he can be amazing if he keeps at it. she said she is thinking about a special class with him and 3 other kids around his age. basically, he has the kinesthetic sense, rhythm, some style, and she was super happy he instantly picks up a whole dance routine when shown it. I think she was partly kissing butt on me (why! i already joined the studio!?) but I agree with what she said, so will take it at face value.
Zond-7 and I watched Apollo 13 last night and then read about it & listened to sound files. I loved it but hated the smarmy sexist bits. All today I kept thinking "Manned Flight - Manned Flight" dazedly contemplating not so much the shining-eyed-woman bits of the movie, but the Manly Moments. My commentary during the movie shifted a lot from screaming I WANT TO BE ON A ROCKETSHIP OMG to my unsaid line for the rebellious, sulky teenage daughter on the astronauts' return: "Oh Daddy, I'll never not wear a bra again!" Because that is the logical reward somehow of being very Manly - so Manly that you are able to almost punch someone while dying and then hug the other dude from Biloxi with the urinary tract infection - IN SPACE. Yelling is crucial. The way to success - the moment where you define your Man-ness - is when you out yell your compañeros - You give them a harsh, stern, order that might not make any sense - and they knuckle under and work all the better for your threats and irrationality. I also had a moment watching John something the young Mission Control guy who went "No! You have to TURN THE POWER OFF NOW" and there was a sort of steely eyed cowboy vs. cowboy moment, and the boss man went "Okay". I thought, I will never experience that, and never have, where I chest-beat in a quick, definitive way with the expectation of being believed and listened to - it is always a bit mouthing off bucking the current or Cassandra, instead - Or I rally others ignored for collective action - but the Boss of Mission Control - I would not even bother to tell him what's what; what would be the point? That made me sad to think on and I mourned for my inner Hotshot Nasa Dude who never was, or only briefly. (He was right about the Apollo something-or-other-else's lightning strike telemetry, so they brought him in as a quick thinking expert - however the movie did not mention - they played up his youth and non-authority, i thought, as if merit would automatically be recognized by Leadership.)
The night before we watched Running out of Time - Andy Lau - criminal and cop - I have plenty to say about it, and I loved its pace and its tension and friendship and how it played off all the other cop/criminal buddy movies - It was artistically done but without the bullet/glass/doves/death that is so disturbing & great in John Woo movies. I liked the funny parts too - I'm too tired to do it justice. Watch it! also, hello, andy lau in drag in a bowling alley! Consumptives coughing up blood are always cute - the slash writes itself...
Read a strange, amazing book called The LIstening One, very local historian 1952, about a girl named Bartolomea Comicrabit, native american right at the time of the mexican revolution, a Gabrielino, and the tension between mission & ranchero & indian. It was very notable to me how the plot and Lomea's thoughts never turned the way I am used to historical fiction about Native American life turning. Lomea thought super hard about her marriage, what everyone else wanted of her, her duty as prospective leader or Manisar of her people, and also it was very interesting how she thought about the Padres and the Abbess - even or especially as they *punished her for speaking her mind*. I was at first thinking "WTF!" about it but - then realized - damn, every other book about some native american girl she is resisting making a sensible marriage and she is fighting horrible crushing unambiguous injustice and oppression - in this, she has *mixed feelings* about being part of the Mission and about Spanish/Mexican ways vs. Indian ones - she doesn't have to choose one or the other, ever - it's not like some giant Choice hung before her - instead everything was a bit mixed up and people and situations were good and bad. and she fights realy hard for the documents and ownership of her ranch land & wnts to believe the Mission is truly holding it in trust for her people, rather than stealing and exploiting it. there were some subtle moments where she is invited to go to Doña whoever's house, and it's sort of like a fun social invite to hang out with all Doña whoever's daughters to bake, but you realize this shift where that is half true but it is also true she is there to work, and they *are* having fun and so is she despite her also being a servant - and she is aware of that. So, I still have mixed feelings about the book and its portrayal of her inner life. BUT, here is the kicker. The author explained briefly at the end of the book that she wondered what the story was of the Reid Adobe. Harry Reid pushed hard in 1849 for equal rights for women and Native Americans and for everyone to have the vote and property rights. And he was Bartolomea Comicrabit's second husband - and she inspired him to it - and made him , before she would marry him, publish a series of letters about her life and the Gabrielinos. I haven't looked further, but it was totally intriguing.
Work was horrid , network woes, me somehow expected to fix, day spent banging my head on various routers and talking with various people, and on and off phone with scumbag AT&SUCK, and then the other router went down.
Read a bit of the Worldcon/Writercon failyness, racism, dumbassery, and culture mismatch (I really do believe in PPON/SPMB) etc. Mixture of rage, despair, eyerolling and laughter, from me.
in other news, in the last 2 days damned_colonial and I went to town on this: geekfeminism.org Mostly her work, but I was helpy & encouraging. It is a good moment for us all to cabal and get behind this. What a fantastic group and it shows her ability to pull people together & the ripeness of the time.
Am also (way more slowly) ramping up hack ability & inviting people in. Have not written back to G. about his stuff and all the fancy white house people. Cannot quite think what to say, there.
Well that was refreshing. I compose blog entries in my head constantly but lack energy & my hands still hurt enough to make me scared to blog too much. But it's a such a beautiful relief to write things down. I am unburdened.
