Best of 2011
2011 is off to a rough start for many people. There have been more than a few medical emergencies, severe weather situations, and even tragedy.
My unplanned snowcation here in Hothlanta continues. For all that there are occasional breaks in the cloud cover, the sun can't manage to get any fingerholds on the ice. The five inches of snow from Monday have half turned to slush for all that, and that slush has promptly frozen with each nightly precipitous drop in temperature.
You may recall that I live at the top of a steep hill. Much of the thoroughfares and parking lots in my apartment complex are also likewise inclined. It took over half an hour just to excavate our vehicle this afternoon, and we were barely able to back it halfway out of our parking space.
That was apparently risky enough. My husband took a fall on the ice in the parking lot, and we were unable to safely pick our way to the front office. I called them instead, to inquire about the main hill outside the complex. One of the staff explained that it was almost impassable: they all had to be ferried up it in an all-terrain vehicle and they almost didn't make it even then.
We then watched our neighbor try to pull her SUV out of her parking spot next to our car: she succeeded in pulling out, but then immediately began sliding backwards on the slight incline of our parking lot. We discreetly took video of her wheels spinning and her inability to make any real progress forward, mostly so I could share the ridiculousness of Hothlanta via Facebook.
There continues to be occasional snow flurries. We hit our high of 28F around 2 PM, and the temperature will get down to 16F tonight. We are edging from "really need groceries" to "desperately need supplies," and we're scheduled to work tomorrow.
Honestly, I'm no longer remotely amused.
So let's talk about a couple of good things to come out of 2011 thus far:
Catherynne M. Valente began a side-blog entitled Soup, Scarves, and SF wherein she plans to detail her engagement in creative cookery, artistic knittery, and SFF. I find one of the best and most absorbing parts of any cookbook - and any crafting book, when it comes to that - to be the little stories of life and hard-won tips that come out of the author's experience. Cat gets that, and she's committed to bringing it to her new blog. She's also eager to cultivate a community around her recipes and patterns and thoughts on genre. I'm more than happy to engage in that community - you should check it out too!
Over at Cabinet des Fees, Demeter has finally opened her spicebox! Oh, yes: some months ago, Erzebet Yellowboy announced that she and Nin Harris (her co-editor) would be opening a new e-zine on the site in the interests of celebrating transformation and diversity within the fairy tale purview. The guidelines are now up, advising us all how to contribute to Demeter's Spicebox - this excellent new opportunity for the transformation of fairy tales, the exploration of less-known tales, and from under-represented cultures. Within the guidelines, you'll also find notes about a unique shared writing experience Erzebet and Nin Harris wish to build. I hope to have the honor of contributing some work to this publication at some point!
Regarding the shared writing experience, Nin Harris wrote an excellent introduction to the concept in Being Fluid Yet True To Type: Introducing a Storytelling Experiment.
My unplanned snowcation here in Hothlanta continues. For all that there are occasional breaks in the cloud cover, the sun can't manage to get any fingerholds on the ice. The five inches of snow from Monday have half turned to slush for all that, and that slush has promptly frozen with each nightly precipitous drop in temperature.
You may recall that I live at the top of a steep hill. Much of the thoroughfares and parking lots in my apartment complex are also likewise inclined. It took over half an hour just to excavate our vehicle this afternoon, and we were barely able to back it halfway out of our parking space.
That was apparently risky enough. My husband took a fall on the ice in the parking lot, and we were unable to safely pick our way to the front office. I called them instead, to inquire about the main hill outside the complex. One of the staff explained that it was almost impassable: they all had to be ferried up it in an all-terrain vehicle and they almost didn't make it even then.
We then watched our neighbor try to pull her SUV out of her parking spot next to our car: she succeeded in pulling out, but then immediately began sliding backwards on the slight incline of our parking lot. We discreetly took video of her wheels spinning and her inability to make any real progress forward, mostly so I could share the ridiculousness of Hothlanta via Facebook.
There continues to be occasional snow flurries. We hit our high of 28F around 2 PM, and the temperature will get down to 16F tonight. We are edging from "really need groceries" to "desperately need supplies," and we're scheduled to work tomorrow.
Honestly, I'm no longer remotely amused.
So let's talk about a couple of good things to come out of 2011 thus far:
Catherynne M. Valente began a side-blog entitled Soup, Scarves, and SF wherein she plans to detail her engagement in creative cookery, artistic knittery, and SFF. I find one of the best and most absorbing parts of any cookbook - and any crafting book, when it comes to that - to be the little stories of life and hard-won tips that come out of the author's experience. Cat gets that, and she's committed to bringing it to her new blog. She's also eager to cultivate a community around her recipes and patterns and thoughts on genre. I'm more than happy to engage in that community - you should check it out too!
Over at Cabinet des Fees, Demeter has finally opened her spicebox! Oh, yes: some months ago, Erzebet Yellowboy announced that she and Nin Harris (her co-editor) would be opening a new e-zine on the site in the interests of celebrating transformation and diversity within the fairy tale purview. The guidelines are now up, advising us all how to contribute to Demeter's Spicebox - this excellent new opportunity for the transformation of fairy tales, the exploration of less-known tales, and from under-represented cultures. Within the guidelines, you'll also find notes about a unique shared writing experience Erzebet and Nin Harris wish to build. I hope to have the honor of contributing some work to this publication at some point!
Regarding the shared writing experience, Nin Harris wrote an excellent introduction to the concept in Being Fluid Yet True To Type: Introducing a Storytelling Experiment.