Technical Difficulties

may it be very happy!

Also, as a sort of Whatever-You-Celebrate-If-Anything present, episode 19 of the SF Squeecast, Delicious Delicious Sin, is live, in which, as the Very Special Guest, I inveigle everyone into talking about Sherlock Holmes.

Also, ZooBorns has posted their Top 25, which includes a link to the flickr stream of In Cherl Kim, which includes a flourish of fabulous fennec fox photographs.

So anyway. Happy whatever! from the Upper Midwest where we are currently snowed in and listening to the Lumineers.

1. "The Devil in Gaylord's Creek" (Fantasy Magzine 50) made Rich Horton's Recommended Reading list in this month's Locus: "an involving story about a dead girl who has a job killing devils. [. . .] Good and original work."

2. When this part of the Upper Midwest decides to be beautiful, it can knock your socks off.

3. New acupuncturist continues to be made of win and awesome. I've spent most of the last three sessions watching the needles chase the block in my right leg around. It hasn't given in yet, but I think it's getting tired.

4. This coming weekend, matociquala and I are Guests of Honor at LepreCon 37, and they've got their programming schedule up.

5. Speaking of cons, my (eerily symmetrical) WisCon schedule looks like:

• Sat., 1:00-2:15 Celebrating Diana Wynne Jones [moderator]
  
• Sat., 4:00-5:15 Space Fairies from Beyond: reading with Pamela Dean, Cat Valente, David D. Levine, and Seanan McGuire
  
• Sun., 1:00-2:15 Whedonistas
  
• Sun., 4:00-5:15 We're All Mad Here
  

And, of course, the Sign Out on Monday.

What the fuck is up with this SNOW shit?

1. Fifty degrees Fahrenheit is apparently my cut-off for "it's nice enough for a walk."

2. 58,000 people protesting at the Capitol yesterday, which, mind you, is day 27 of the protest. Not that Governor Walker cares.

3. It's useless to say my thoughts are with the people of Japan, but they are. I thought 2011 was bad enough when it was just my shit that was fucked up. (This photo is apparently not from this earthquake, but it's still a powerful image.)

4. My health problems are still problematic. And that's really all I want to say about it.

5. A $3,200 donation has been made to the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital's Companion Animal Fund in memory of Ben. Again, a thousand thank yous to everyone who donated.

40 minutes, 29 laps.
302 miles, 31 laps.

Plus fifteen minutes chipping the mastodon out of the glacier . . . I mean, de-icing the car.

60 minutes, 37 laps.
299 miles, 34 laps.

New winter experience #22: scraping ice off the inside of the windshield.

1. My Storytellers Unplugged post for January, "Taking Another Tilt at the Windmill," is up. It's about fantasy, science fiction, and genre theory.

2. I was woken up this morning by a call from the sleep clinic. While the irony is bright and shiny and very pointed, I am glad to know my GP went ahead and made the referral, because I was going to have to call him today to tell him to do so. RLS is evil.

3. Gynecologist appointment also today, in which we agreed to try taking the Mirena out, and see what happens. (Taking it out was about 5 MILLION TIMES less painful than putting it in, so that was good.) The Mirena lessened my menstrual flow, but it made my periods MUCH too frequent, and it also randomized my menstrual cramps so that they became like drive-by stabbings. Double-plus ungood, thank you.

This is a new-to-me gynecologist, and I like her. She asked if I wanted to keep the Mirena. (I did.)

4. RT @pnh Elise, about to be Discharged, manifests as a Figure of Allegory and asserts Control over Time. http://yfrog.com/h7eieaj

5. It is snowing. Nevertheless, I plan to go to the pool in another hour or so.

6. ursulav is right on the money.

1.) I have 2100 words on a new Booth story, "To Die for Moonlight." My plan for today is to get as close to finishing it as I can. (Thirdhop Scarp has thrown yet another new wrinkle at me, and I have to assimilate it and work out a game plan before I can continue. This novella is NEVER GOING TO END.)

2.) Leftover notes from yesterday's acupuncture session:
(a.) I wasn't queasy last night. The real test will be tonight, since I've had random bouts of nonqueasiness before that don't correlate with anything, but it was just really nice to have a break.
(b.) That point on my left quadriceps that was agonizing when the needle went in was also agonizing when the needle went out. The 2nd Practitioner said that was a sign the point was still working.
(c.) I'd forgotten how much I like Viparita Karini.
(d.) In case you're curious, acupuncture needles look like this. They are very long and very flexible, and they go in to an astonishing distance.
(e.) I need better language to describe RLS, especially to describe the non-acute phase which seems, distressingly, to be my baseline. Because now that I'm paying attention and know what RLS feels like, none of it is at all unfamiliar. I think I've had symptoms, mostly very minor, for years.
(f.) Which is an argument in favor of getting a referral to a neurologist, just to see if there's some underlying something-or-other I should know about.

3.) If you haven't been following Pictures of Muslims Wearing Things, I highly recommend it. Both because it is very helpful in dismantling the Muslims = terrorists fallacy that the American government and dominant culture are so eager to promulgate, and because it's a magnificent reminder of how awesome our species can be when we're not too busy being assholes. I particularly love Robina Muqimyar and Sarah Khoshjamal Fekri, Olympians; Soraiya, Sami Yusuf, and Art Blakey, musicians; Ahmad Mustafa, calligrapher; and above all others, Anousheh Ansari, astronaut.

4.) On a not dissimilar note, French photographer Sacha Goldberger took these beyond marvelous photographs of his 91-year-old grandmother as a superhero. And there are ten more here. Super Mamika is, truly, super.

5.) And finally, since I have to walk to the pharmacy, I offer this Disapproving Rabbit as an indicator of my current mood.

1. I gave blood yesterday, and the blood drive was very busy.

2. The Elder Saucepan passed his physical with flying colors, plus charming all and sundry.

3. A signed hardback of The Virtu is on its way to the winner of my con_or_bust auction. con_or_bust has raised around $5,000, which seems pretty damn awesome to me.

4. The USPS is going to do stamps to help feed animals in shelters. I have for years now been buying the breast cancer stamps, on the theory that every little bit helps, but I'm more than willing to diversify.

5. There are crocuses blooming in my front yard, even if currently they're having to bloom under a layer of snow.

And one more:

6. "White Charles" made the British Fantasy Awards long list.

1. This is now quite possibly my favorite ad of all time.

2. John Scalzi has declared this International Grover Appreciation Day. Personally, my heart belongs to Mr. Snuffleupagus.

3. I'm finally starting to feel better. I still clearly have a cold, but I don't feel like I'm devolving into some horrible crawling mucus-monster anymore. We're gonna count that as a win.

4. It's snowing.

5. This is going to sound flip, but I swear it's a serious question. Do you ever have days where you get up and look at your current project and think, What the fuck IS this shit? Who in their right mind is ever going to take this seriously?

I'm sure this question applies to all fiction--and, in fact, all projects--but I mean it specifically in terms of the sfnal or fantastic element. Because the telepathic dire wolves got me that way this morning. And, obviously, there's already been one book published about the telepathic dire wolves and people have not fallen over themselves laughing at it, so this isn't like a rational or legitimate concern--which is why I'm asking: does this happen to anyone else?