Space Needs Women

Democracy by Langston Hughes

2008-11-05T14:51:16Z

Democracy

Democracy will not come
Today, this year
Nor ever
Through compromise and fear.

I have as much right
As the other fellow has
To stand
On my two feet
And own the land.

I tire so of hearing people say,
Let things take their course.
Tomorrow is another day.
I do not need my freedom when I'm dead.
I cannot live on tomorrow's bread.

Freedom
Is a strong seed
Planted
In a great need.

I live here, too.
I want freedom
Just as you.

Langston Hughes

copy machine haiku

2008-10-16T20:07:14Z

Copier jams up/
only one person in the/
office can fix it.

bus writer haiku

2008-10-14T19:05:42Z

Writing on the bus./
How much can a guy read/
just over my shoulder?

haiku #4

2008-10-13T14:51:28Z

Time moves as swiftly
as mail. No rain sleet or snow
stops its advancing.

Haiku #3

2008-10-10T14:37:00Z

Getting Things Done seems
like a solution. I should
read the book someday.

Haiku #2

2008-10-09T19:21:44Z

Coffeeshop. Sipping.
No laptop today. Use pen.
Write words. Post later.

Haiku

2008-10-09T19:15:27Z

Morning double click.
Facebook.com. Red square notes.
Friends comment. Heart Leaps.

podcast recommendations

2008-06-24T19:26:25Z

Must-hear podcasted stories:

From Podcastle: A podcastle miniature, "Directions".
Only 8 minutes long, very simple, and SO good.
(Click to be linked to a page where you can listen to it in your browser.)

From Podcastle: The story that made me start to consider fantasy again after a long absence, "Come Lady Death" by Peter S. Beagle. 41 minutes. A high society woman in England invites Death to her ball.

From Escape Pod: "Tk'Tk'Tk'", nearly an hour, an amusing, Hugo-award-winning alien-planet story by davidlevine.
(Click to be linked to a page where you can listen to it in your browser.)

From Escape Pod: "Cinderella Suicide", 42 minutes, a tragic steampunk/MAGNETpunk story with a PERFECT reading.

Mur Lafferty Presents: The Takeover

2008-06-05T20:30:08Z

I just listened to the first 15-minute episode of Mur Lafferty's "The Takeover." The brief clip features a high-quality performance and amusing story about when a zombie staffing firm, Zombinc, merges with a web design company.

Clip here: http://zombinc.net/wp-content/takeover_ep1.mp3

Steve Eley

2008-05-27T02:27:18Z

Me with Steve Eley (sfeley), editor of SF podcast Escape Pod.

Photo by sasha_feather

Escape Pod has reached over 150 episodes, with almost-weekly new episodes since May 2005. It has been a largely volunteer work orgaized and paid for by Steve, although it has recently taken on paid sponsors. I told Steve that I'm amazed that he's able to get out the podcast every week despite needing to make a living. He said, "Staying up until 5 am" with a smile.

Books Read in 2007

2007-12-31T12:29:25Z

2007 book list, some formatting inspired by sasha_feather

In 2007, I read 20 books. This feels light. I was studying and working full-time. I've ended up listening to podcasts on the bus in between work and school more than reading. (Perhaps a recommended podcasts list comes next.)

The Best (alpha by author)

Overclocked: Stories of the Future Present by Cory Doctorow
Ammonite by Nicola Griffith
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling.
Making A Literary Life by Carolyn See

Honorable Mentions

Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel. Re-read.

Authors or Editors:

Number of Authors: 20

Female Authors: 13
Male Authors: 7

Minority Authors: 2
Non-Minority Authors: 18

Miscellany!

Re-reads: 2
Comics or graphic novels: 1
Fantasy: 3
Science fiction: 7
Nonfiction: 4
Non-genre fiction: 1

The sexiest: Dead Sexy, by Tate Hallaway. Bathtub reading.

Authors from the WisCon & Think! Galacticon Reading Lists
Octavia Butler
Nicola Griffith
Tate Hallaway
bell hooks
Shelly Jackson
Pat Murphy

The Full List, in order read

Ammonite by Nicola Griffith (re-read for the first time in years)
There and Back Again by Pat Murphy
Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (Actually, I listened to the entire story on audiobook.)
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (I'm a little embarrassed about this one -- a good source of inspiration for empowered thinking, bad science.)
Making A Literary Life by Carolyn See
The Year's Best Science Fiction: 22nd Annual Collection Edited by Gardner Dozois. "Ten Sigmas" by Paul Melko (paulmelko )and "The Clapping Hands of God" by Michael F. Flynn were particularly good.
My Lives by Edmund White. Not quite as good as his fiction. Starts out well-told, becomes self-indulgent towards the end. Reading about his fictionalized sexual exploits is more interesting than reading about the depressing affairs he has as a sexually insatiable gay man who's not as cute as he used to be.
Six Months Off: How To Plan, Negotiate, & Take The Break You Need Without Burning Bridges Or Going Broke by Hope Dlugozima, James Scott, and David Sharp. The book was 10 years old when I read it, and it showed. Most of the advice -- find a place to put your things, live frugally, negotiate with the workplace -- is obvious, and the examples of 'regular' folks who took sabbaticals are mostly drawn from the ranks of highly paid professionals. But I did learn about the Hedgebrook retreat for women authors through this.
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow.
Microserfs by Douglas Copeland. It was pretty good.
Always by Nicola Griffith. A little slow, not sf. I was a little disappointed, but there were some great scenes.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Half-Life by Shelley Jackson. Very good detail and writing, but I could not make myself finish the story. The second half of the book becomes very bogged down by the musings and memory of the main character, and I had to ditch. I just had to find out if she would have her sister's head cut off, I skimmed, and then I was good to go.
Where We Stand: Class Matters by bell hooks
Overclocked: Stories of the Future by Cory Doctorow. Mostly consisting of amazingly believable near-future realities, highly entertaining. I steamed through it. (You would think that I had started out as a huge Cory Doctorow fan, as I've read 2 books by him this year. But this is the first year I've read anything by him, to my knowledge.)
Eastern Standard Tribe by Cory Doctorow.
Dead Sexy by Tate Hallaway. Amusing, sexy, urban vampire mystery set in the midwest.
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. Great.
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. Re-read. Truly brilliant and multilayered.

I want to read

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
How to Suppress Women's Writing by Joanna Russ
The Female Man by Joanna Russ
Butch is a noun by S. Bear Bergman
47 by Walter Mosley
Nicola Griffith's "And Now We are Going to Have a Party"
Paul Melko's new book
Nnedimma Okorafor-Mbachu, Zahrah the Windseeker
Choir Boy by C. Anders
Whipping Girl by Julia Serrano
The Chelsea Whistle by Michele Tea
My Brother is Getting Arrested Again
Mr. X by Peter Straub
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
Stones from the River

podrunner.com!

2007-10-27T02:32:14Z

If you're looking for motivation for your workouts, I suggest trying to listen to the free podcast mixes from podrunner.com while you work out.
DJ Steve Boyett mixes up pleasantly beat-driven, booty-shaking music. I tried one of his mixes when I hit the normally dull treadmill recently, and the enjoyable groove got me moving and kept me moving, faster than I normally would. I'm a real couch potato -- I used to faint after gym class -- so it's a genuine testament to Steve's skills that he can keep me moving.

08.19.2007: I surfed so you don't have to.

2007-08-19T19:34:10Z

If I use leechblock and Temptation Blocker to keep from web-surfing while working on a project, could I really be addicted?

The Terrible Secret of LiveJournal, by Matthew Skala.

The 100 Most Recent Images on LiveJournal., ETA may have NSFW images.

links: 08.17.07

2007-08-18T02:49:11Z

How to Write a Book by Scott Berkun

85+ Free Killer Resources Every Designer Should Know

Scholarships Help Students Scrape By As Unpaid Interns (Wisconsin Interest)

Aracelis Girmay

2007-08-08T02:52:01Z

I saw the poet Aracelis Girmay read at the Rainbow Bookstore in Madison, Wisconsin this evening. Aracelis is an American with Puerto Rican, Eritrean, and African-American heritage. She teaches in New York City. Her work combines these many influences in surprising ways.

She read from her work "Teeth." I was impressed with the way her work captures many details of living among both English and Spanish.

I particularly enjoyed the poem, "For Estefani Lora, Third Grade, Who Made Me A Card." You can read it at Peacework Magazine here.

07.11.07 links

2007-07-11T22:37:52Z

Links:

* Broad Universe's July 2007 Broadsheet is up.

* Book Review of Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu's Zahrah the Windseeker, at Blogcritics Magazine

Story up at OWW

2007-06-27T02:50:20Z

I have submitted a story to the OWW. It's under the title "The Branch," listed as a science fiction short story. I'd appreciate it if anyone could take a look at it and give feedback.

find a safe place

2007-06-13T18:27:00Z

Just wanted to let folks know that I'm ok.

When this kind of thing happens, I'm reminded by how little I take for granted my usually good daily life. The long commute to work, the frozen sidewalks in winter -- it's all overlooked for something better. But it IS better, much better than being attacked by ZOMBIES.

I'm taking a bag of nuts from the stand, my Katadyn water bottle, and I'm going to a small secured room on campus.

Let's hope the military can actually solve this one.

Think! Galacticon

2007-06-04T03:56:01Z

In July, I will be going to Chicago for the Think! Galacticon convention. At Wiscon, the discussions on race and class in science fiction were particularly enlightening for me -- I expect this to be similarly eye-opening.