- * - *-

Shiny covers with horseys and moons

2009-11-06T10:33:00.000-08:00

About nineteen years ago, my sister handed eleven-year old me a book called Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan. She had read it, and knowing I was a blossoming sci-fi nerd, she figured that I would enjoy the epic adventure. And I did. The Wheel of Time series promised longevity (a series! exciting for the young reader...) and entertainment in the form of magic, evil and good (and messy lines between the two), and just enough romance to add a softer side. Days and Years pass, and we kept on reading through book five, through book nine, through book....every book was between 500-1,000 pages and really, how far is this going to go?

The eleventh book, Knife of Dreams was published in 2005 --- and then silence. Alas, Robert Jordan died of illness in 2007, and along with the sadness of his passing was the curiosity of what now? The last battle approaches... but who will write it? What if we have invested all these years only to never know what happens to Rand and Mat and Perrin and Egwene and Nynaeve? (insert head spinning)..... and sigh, oh rest easy, Brandon Sanderson, another sci-fi fantasy author, has gathered all of Jordan's notes and blurbs and pieced together the final novel, which is actually a trilogy now (of course, why be brief?), due to be released 2009-2011.

And so, I am rereading the entire freaking series because after four years of silence, I cannot remember details and plot lines, and frankly, wikipedia plot summaries just don't do it for me. I have a vested interest in this series, and owe it to the 12 year old leslie, the 17 year old leslie, and now, the thirty year old leslie, to be thorough in my commitment and enjoyment. And Really? I totally feel like I'm hiding up in my pre-teen room, avoiding chores like picking up walnuts or washing the dog, reading reading reading curled up on my daybed with photos and poems and tietyed banners hanging up on my walls. I can almost hear my mom calling me to dinner for the umpteenth time and my sister in the next room listening to the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. Back to my literary roots I go, with banners held high, all the way up to now, a literal time warp. Who knew, eleven year old taking book from older sister's hands, that the story would follow me, only to be finished over twenty years later?

(Added note: I'm curious to see how I feel about this series this go around. Most of the books I read before I was out of high school, when Jordan was more prolific and hadn't yet decided to drag the series on without end. Since that time, I have read a ton more within this genre, including Tolkien. I can already tell they pull from the same Nordic folklore influences, although perhaps Jordan in a bit more clunky fashion. Anyway. Now I am REALLY displaying my geekdom for all to see and should probably reserve this topic for a later date when I can give it it's proper due)

'bout to head out [to the TC show]

2009-10-31T20:57:00.001-07:00

Cheers and Happy Halloween! loveleslie

smashed pumpkin [sans wine bottle]

2009-10-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween and we are all now running for the Golden Gate Bridge so that we are not stuck in the North Bay. Again. Zoom zoom!

furthermore [a comparison]

2009-10-28T10:07:00.001-07:00

The larger photo was taken of the emergency bridge repair while I was on a tour of the Bay Bridge (new and old) a few weeks ago. Andrew (also on the tour) juxtaposed it with an AP photo of the repair piece after it fell onto the upper deck. You can see the damaged truck in the background; thank goodness no one was seriously hurt.

7:10 AM [bay bridge closed]

2009-10-28T09:24:00.001-07:00

From Diamond Heights, San Francisco, Ca. It was too beautiful not to stop.

[the best show] you aren't watching.

2009-10-27T10:25:00.000-07:00

There is a show and it is good. There is a show that is good and no one is watching. There is a show that is good that no one is watching except for some die-hard fans. There is a show that is good that no one except hardcore geeks are watching and I want you to know that it is quality television, wedged onto a crappy Friday night spot so people don't even know they are missing it.

Do I sit at home and watch this rad show on Fridays? Not usually. But I do watch it on Saturday on Hulu.com, which also counts to their ratings.

Show? Show? What show. Dollhouse.

It's smart. It's witty. It's chock full of moral dilemmas and fun banter and oh so pretty people. Watching it makes me want to work out and be my best. Watching it also makes me want to get super smart and learn how to wipe people's brains clean and insert other personalities and abilities like kung fu or how to make creme brulee. Or both. Who knows when you need a specific skill. I'm just saying.

Why do people watch? Check out why here: Why I watch

Why are people skeptical? Check out a critics bittersweet parable journey here: Cry Wolf

see? pretty.
(Fridays 9pm, Fox)

neil says hi [by the way]

2009-10-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

Found this here along with a slough of other cool Neil Gaiman genre stuff. Art begets art.

spider (in my window)

2009-10-22T22:43:00.000-07:00

(NOTE: I tried resizing, but it may take a moment to buffer....)

Small spiders spinning webs on the outside of my window. I watch them eat gnats and flies and marvel at their grace and efficiency. So fast! So succinct! And then this [insert name of rather large beetle yet to be identified] lands in the web of this [insert name of medium sized steadily growing because he/she is eating so well spider]. I was like, hey little spider dude, that guy is way bigger than you and looks like he could impale you with his antennae and such. But little spider dude was like, Leslie, you doubt me? Don't you know how super strong my web is? This web I weave is wicked.

And I'm sure it is. Large [yet to be identified crazy antennae beetle] eventually works his way free, free-falling and flying or whatever, but not before some serious tete a tete. Poor spider dude. That was dinner fo a year.

Mystery (one [postal])

2009-10-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

Three-wheeled Mail Collection Motorcycle; Unidentified photographer; c. 1912: USA
National Postal Museum; U.S. Mail Trucks; Image ID: A.2006-74

One day, a couple years ago, I mailed a letter. Not an important letter, just a note to my sister about something or other with possibly a mail clipping. We occasionally still do that, internet/email bedamned. So, I was in a hurry when I sent this letter, signing it quickly in the return address area "lel." Just "lel." Nothing else. I dropped it in the blue mailbox on the corner near my house, and went on my merry, hurried way to work.

Jump forward a month. I open my mailbox in the foyer of my apartment building. Junk mail, weeklys, junk mail, credit card.... what's this? Oh, the letter to my sister. Crap, I'm an idiot and forgot to put a stamp on it. Pfffft. I wandered up the three flights of stairs to my apartment, mentally sorting recycling, and formulating a plan to give the letter to my sister that weekend when I saw her... when it struck me.

I looked at the letter again. Sure, no stamp, but also? No Return Address. No Return Address!!! The letter said "lel." Not my full name, or even just my last name. LEL! K. Thinking. Hm. Maybe they traced to my....no. I dropped in it the general blue mailbox on the corner outside the dry cleaners. How did it end up back in my mailbox? How did they know? Um. Huh.

I have never figured this out. To this day, baffled. I give my mystery to you. If anyone has any idea how this amazing feat of postalness happened, I would love to know. Otherwise, I will just conclude the postal service employs wizards.

writing wenches

2009-10-15T22:36:00.000-07:00

Joyce moved to South Carolina. So now, our writing group involves skype. Shenanigans ensue.

we meet in random cities [portland]

2009-10-15T15:52:00.000-07:00

There and Back Again [airport bound]

2009-10-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

yanked head[lines]

2009-10-08T08:21:00.000-07:00

I opened my paper this morning (translation: I turned on my computer at work and hit the link for SF Gate). I know that SF Gate has stumbled upon hard times -- they write by proxy now more than anything to avoid those pesky overhead costs of having employees, and they spawn ill-conceived notions for series like 'Scenesters,' a trainwreck photo series that pretty much documented people partying and lead to interesting comments like "I just caught an STD from this photo."

So, I'm not sure if what I observed on the front page is indicative of SF Gate's current dogma proper or a broader reflection on news media entirely, but the following were the top news links:

Girl, 5, killed when school cabinet falls on her 7:23 AM
Dead deer in clown suit left on Iowa porch 7:48 AM
Marin couple pays $27k to sleep at Hearst Castle 8:12 AM
Prop. 8 rerun is headed for Maine 8:18 PM
Herta Mueller wins 2009 Nobel literature prize 8:05 AM
Gun-toting soccer mom, husband found dead 7:18 AM
Tennis star's father on hunger strike in prison 8:11 AM

Are these twittered news (ergo time-stamp)? Are these the top visited stories on the AP (oh the sad ramifications)? Who chose these, and why are they the first listed stories on a Bay Area newspaper when only one event even occurred in California? SF Gate is not a gossip site (not entirely) or a spoof site or even a dedicated 'random' news site. Where is the news????? A majority of those stories listed above are sensational, morbid, and not anything really informative. Apart from the Prop 8 article and the Nobel prize nod, they are sadistically entertaining, playing on modern fascination with weird death and gratuitous living. And I daresay, the Prop 8 article likely plays on people's love of controversy, because even if the article is actually legit and informative and --- newsworthy--- wedging it between extravagant hotel lodging and gun-toting soccer moms is ridiculous and cheapens the topic.

Oh soapbox, I greet thee. The online version of the SF Chronicle news is completely rubbish. I am disappointed and feel like I have been cheated on --- but suspect that there are a lot of SF Gate readers out there unsurprised, checking out the Daily Dish and the curmudgeon comments, and then cruising over to NPR or BBC for actual news of the world.

in search of Poc Chuc

2009-10-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

Bill and I were wandering around Noe Valley yesterday, and decided to have some dinner at Mi Lindo Yucatan on 24th. One of our favorite go-to restaurants in the city, MLY specializes in Mayan food and has the most kick ass Poc Chuc ever. So. good.

As we walk up, we notice folks are having a garage sale on the sidewalk in front of the place. That's weird but whatever. And then we see this:

Sadness. So sad. We both made faces.

It's a sad moment, when your favorite store or restaurant -- or maybe not even a favorite, but one you took for granted -- closes. There is usually a wee sign, an apology, possibly a reference to another location... but more notable is the hit home moment that the economy fairly sucks and yes, it does affect people... including the nice owners of the closed business we stand in front of. Cup our hands to the sides of our eyes, press our faces to the window, and see that all that's left are a few strewn chairs among the bright wall tiles.

Oddly enough, the night before we attempted to go to Jade in Hayes Valley. Don't bother people. That place is boarded up as well, and the windows, whitewashed. Other fallen comrades? Most recently in my neighborhood, Black Oak Books (both in my hood and the Berkeley store.) and Cafe Gratitude (it WAS getting a bit pricey...).

Econoclipse. It keeps on creepin'.

do yourself a favor

2009-10-02T19:41:00.000-07:00

and listen to this.

(amanda palmer covering regina spektor= all shades of awesome)

mini-conversation (with laundry, with geraniums)

2009-10-02T08:38:00.000-07:00

photo by Mr. Bones

Fall is good. Cold weather is good. Ants are bad. They are in my kitchen, coming in from unseen corners, vexing me, causing me to curse and spray kitchen friendly bug spray. My building was built in like 1910. Points of entry for teeny tiny things are endless. Whelms.

But also good? Pumpkin spice soy lattes. I'm back to Fall is good.

I have been doing pilates, stretching tiny corners of my abs, of my ribs (who knew there are mini-muscles there?). I make more space for pumpkin. Pilates is fun, is like dancing and then crying as you lift your legs just one more time (body shakes).

Olga, my Russian neighbor is back from St. Petersburg. When she is here, our shared garden on the back porch thrives. The plants--- they receive more attention and love and I think they know we enjoy sharing them. The flowers and vines may also bask in the company of the multi-colored laundry Olga hangs on the line. I look out my kitchen window, between the geranium and the aeonium to a view of undergarments and jeans and sweaters hanging, swaying. She likes to modify her clothes with ribbon -- a red sweater this morning had pink ribboned stripes woven in. The clothes feel like friends, or at least their presence. The mums need little encouragement now though--- their flowered heads begin to bow with new growth coming from underneath...

I'm still not sure what to do about the ants.

Summer in SF

2009-09-21T08:37:00.000-07:00

Another Cloud Reel... from Delrious on Vimeo.

"Our Nerd President"

2009-09-17T08:18:00.001-07:00

Finally, equal representation. See y'all at the next Comic con. Entry fee? Tax deductible.

Reminding of awe

2009-09-09T15:53:00.001-07:00

(NASA photo / September 9, 2009)

(Lori photo/ August 2009)

><

2009-09-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

from http://prick.blogg.se/

Mythical Creatures

2009-08-28T13:33:00.001-07:00

Mythical Creatures
Originally uploaded by preshaa

Flashback Friday: my Buddy.

2009-08-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

When I was a young teen, early morning always began as such: I'd hear my parents moving around the house, and at around 630, my mother would say "Buddy. Buddy, go get Leslie up." In my somewhat creaky home, I would hear four paws carry their owner up the stairs, an off rhythm beat. Dog sniffing and a headbutt at my door would swing it open, and in would come Buddy, my Airedale, round side of my bed, where he would promptly stick his face in mine. Mostly, I would be somewhat awake already for this and greet him affectionately. Occasionally, I would pull the covers over my head and the dog-nosed-nudging would become more and more insistent. The best? When I scooted over towards the wall and patted the bed. Buddy would jump on up, turn in a circle (likely stepping on me -- it was a twin bed) and snuggle on in.

He was such a silly dog. We taught him to shake his paw, but he was overzealous, and it got to the point where I could sit with my back to him and he would scratch it by continuously "shaking." When I was in 8th Grade, I came out of math class to see him sitting outside. Once, I was driving home from my friend's house in a bad storm, and my mother said he sat by the window until I pulled into the driveway.

Best friend. I still miss you.

Hey there, SF! Be rad!

2009-08-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

photo: Darryl Bush / AP

"With its winding brick road and manicured gardens, the famous curvy stretch of Lombard Street looks like something ripped from the pages of a storybook. On Wednesday, it received a makeover that transformed it into the world's largest version of the Candy Land board game."

quagmire of admire

2009-08-14T16:58:00.001-07:00

she is just so epic. multi-leveled epicness. (photo from here)

And there was this place, and I was there.

2009-08-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

This week, I have been housesitting in an eclectic neighborhood in San Rafael. Respite from the city and fog has been unexpectedly nice --- I can't tell you how much better one sleeps to the sound of crickets and fountains than to the cacophony of buses and errant yelling men. Houses in this niched 'hood do not even remotely resemble track homes, and upon every one, there is some mark of creativity, individuality, or, in some cases, inadvertant artistic neglect. Went for a walk, took some photos....

The sign on that chair says 'I have flying monkeys and I'm not afraid to use them.' Also, yes, that is a giant martini glass sitting on the arm. Also also, a mini-chair sits on the ground next to the giant one. I wake up really early here, likely because there are no curtains on the windows and the sun lightly filters in. So close to the bay, the air is fresh and I walked through the backyard to the dock. This place is good for the soul.