the wife

Question re: book signings

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Last night at dinner, my wife and I went back and forth over a question of protocol for tomorrow’s book signing, and I promised I’d try to settle the matter by asking you, O Internet, for your opinion.

After tomorrow’s book signing, I have a couple of people who want to have a nice lunch. Friends I only know online or haven’t seen in years–that sort of thing. After lunch, my wonderful wife wants to be prepared to invite folks back to our apartment for a little socializing.

Me, I expect to have run out of extrovert by then. Flip side to that is that I expect the signing and lunch to interfere with socializing, and I’d like to spend a little time with these people.

As for my wife, she has been having trouble sleeping lately, and I do *not* want her to spend today cleaning up our small, dark, cluttered apartment in anticipation of socializing tomorrow. She’s exhausted enough as it is, and I can’t do a damn thing to help her from my chair here at the ole day job. Did I mention that our living room has been taken over by fort-building?

On the flip side for her: She’s an extrovert and doesn’t socialize as much as she needs to. Having people over might actually energize her, even while it enervates me.

What do you think, O Internet? “Party at my house!” after the signing and lunch, or is that Simply Not Done.

Update: Thanks everyone. I’m convinced. We’ll be out of the apartment for our socializing.

Hope is the mind-killer

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The last few days of ZOMG BOOK! have been crazy, but pretty soon I’m going to go back to griping about my WIP and posting links to mrsa cats, health care reform neepery, and DIY nerd coolness. But I’m still in a writing-post mood, so here goes:

This is going to sound weird, but I am anti-hope.

I don’t mean in some kind of “Don’t hope for it! Get out and grab it!” sort of way, in which hope is supposedly some kind of layabout’s daydream. I mean hope in that desire for something that is so strong you can taste it.

I hate hope. Continue reading

Today is better than yesterday.

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It’s amazing how much good a little quiet time can do.

Spectres of the Spectrum

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Over the weekend, my wife and I sat down to watch Spectres of the Spectrum, the agitprop collage film by Craig Baldwin from 10(?) years ago.

It’s an odd experience, as you would expect. The film is largely made up of old footage from cartoon, educational films, commercials, terrible 50’s science fiction movies, and any number of other obscure sources. Tying it all together is original footage shot on a microbudget and relentless, unending narration.

For what it’s worth, the story revolves around a father and daughter, both telepaths and both part of an underground resistance movement struggling against the electromagnetic control of the New Electromagnetic Order. Together, they mine old media looking for a hidden message left by their mother/grandmother telling them how to thwart NEO’s plan to electromagnetically erase the memory of everyone in the world.

But that’s just a frame to hang a long string of juxtapositions. The two leads, being telepaths, “beam” their thoughts at you directly through narration. And the narration is largely taken up with narration about the history of science and technology, with no distinction made between the legit stuff and pseudo-science.

It is, essentially, a conspiracy theorist’s rant, and it’s backed up with images from Grade Z sci-fi monsters and footage of awkward white men in lab coats or military uniforms that undercuts the sincerity of the narrators. It’s simultaneously a critique of modern society and a lampooning of rabid conspiracy theorists.

Part of the fun is sussing out how closely this world is supposed to resemble our own–the narrators are extraordinarily effective at being unreliable voices. Are they the only people able to resist NEO’s “electronic miasma”? Are they schizophrenics living deep in a made-up world, talking with imaginary co-conspirators (including one guy who lives in an orbiting satellite(!)? Or are they living in a separate but similar world, with nuclear zombies and Airstream trailers equipped for FTL space travel?

Did I mention that it’s funny, too?

I’m glad I watched this with my wife, because there was a point in the middle of the film where the urgent, goofball narration became oppressive. I wanted a break from it, because it was draining me the way an obsessive party guest who bends your ear on his favorite topic for an hour can be draining. But she was interested, so I stuck it out and I’m glad I did. The ending was startling and fun.

Check it out.

Arboretum Afternoon

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Full set at Flicker

Ten seconds radio air time = 42 syllables.

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Yesterday, my wife paid for a day sponsorship at our local NPR station, to congratulate me on the release of Child of Fire. (It was supposed to be a surprise, but… oops!)

That pleases me, partly because I love our local NPR affiliate and I want to support them, and partly because it would be cool to hear my name on the radio in some other capacity than “Harry in Seattle writes to us…”

Here’s the interesting thing, though: The day sponsorship messages have to be ten seconds long, and that means 42 syllables. Interesting, huh?

I leave San Diego today

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Today I will be taking the train out of San Diego back to Studio City. Yesterday’s signing went well–I even got to sign the poster!–and lunch with my editor and publicist went very nicely.

Yesterday was also the day my credit card forced its way out of my wallet and I spent some money down on the exhibitor floor. Nothing crazy–I certainly didn’t buy the 100 dollar lightsaber that changed color–but I did pick up some nice books at the Mysterious Galaxy booth and some magazines for my son. I also picked up the Call of Cthulhu movie (Yay!)

Famous people sighted yesterday (in chronological order): Joshua Jackson from FRINGE, Woody Harrelson from the upcoming ZOMBIELAND, Amanda Tapping from SANCTUARY and various STARGATE series, and Grant Imahara, one of the MYTHBUSTERS.

More importantly, I got a call from my wife yesterday–she’s back from her camping trip in the Olympic Peninsula, and called me here at the hotel. It’s been almost a week since I talked to her, and… yeah. I miss them both. I’ll be back in Seattle soon enough.

I eat

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Tonight, I’ll be meeting my family (wife, son, visiting sister-in-law) for dinner at my favorite restaurant. It’s provincial French, and very simple. Not too fancy, but delicious food.

I wish they’d put the Normandy Chicken back on the menu, though.

Should I mention that I had completely forgotten about it, and that my wife had to call me to remind me? No, better not.

No Fireworks…

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In previous years, we would all be at a park a few blocks from here to watch fireworks.  It was far from the action, but we could see it all and who needs to fight the crowds?

This year?  Well, as we just discovered barely more than an hour ago, those fireworks have been cancelled this year.  There’s still another display, but it’s across town, and being carless, we could never get there in time–not even the buses can run quickly enough.

Fireworks on TV this year (which is fine by me, since I’m not that enthusiastic about them).  My wife and son are terrible disappointed.

HNBD

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Today was my not-birthday. As I mentioned earlier, my wife and I have the same birthday, and that sucks–somebody ends up doing the dishes on their special day. So I moved my day back a month.

I don’t much like cake, so I had my traditional (melon-free) fruit salad. My son bought me a new baster and my wife gave me the same gift I got for Christmas–permission to buy a rilly rilly nice computer when the G4 Mac Mini on my desk gives up the ghost.

At this point, I’m starting to hate my old computer. I glare at it when iPhoto lags or I can’t upload video from my camera–someday it will be dead, and with Apple Care expired I will get new very very soon.

I hope.

I also had market fresh nectarines for my snack breaks at work, and a beautiful steak with sauteed mushrooms for dinner. Nice. All I need to do to make this a perfect day would be to get to bed early.