tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post7649447216815683495..comments2023-10-28T04:50:55.216-05:00Comments on Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life: Letting Go, Part TroixNancy Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05429062957063032872noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-41366377575478062132007-07-11T19:19:00.000-05:002007-07-11T19:19:00.000-05:00@Jen: "Did my last post sound bitchy? I don't mean...@Jen: "Did my last post sound bitchy? I don't mean to sound bitchy."<BR/><BR/>Nope! Just sounded like the facts. Now that you said you were tired, I can see it in your response too. I haven't ever read your novel, but the description sounded very much like his so I made a few assumptions. Y'all's ethics might not be the same, but I'd guess they're mostly compatible.<BR/><BR/>Get some sleep, OK? We'll wait for you. :-)Larry Kollarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08317037795075278427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-71567565604110484252007-07-11T15:49:00.000-05:002007-07-11T15:49:00.000-05:00Oh, nice, Andi. There must be a message carved on ...Oh, nice, Andi. There must be a message carved on that tree where the alien's searchlight hits it. Maybe it says, "Take me to your weeder."<BR/><BR/>Happy napping, jen. Family man approves, I'm sure.Nancy Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05429062957063032872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-70938907328065647672007-07-11T15:01:00.000-05:002007-07-11T15:01:00.000-05:00Link to pic? Haven't got any blue dots but how abo...Link to pic? Haven't got any blue dots but how about a <A HREF="http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b25/AndiF/summer07/woods2007-07-06.jpg" REL="nofollow">Invaders from outer space attack Brown County</A> pic.AndiFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07767389458803503532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-18541876337362849592007-07-11T14:41:00.000-05:002007-07-11T14:41:00.000-05:00Did my last post sound bitchy? I don't mean to so...Did my last post sound bitchy? I don't mean to sound bitchy. I am so tired I can hardly hold my head up so I think I might have to go lie down for a little while. I'll stop in later or tomorrow. Hope everyone is well!Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00793793027935224823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-35952829589244342542007-07-11T14:36:00.000-05:002007-07-11T14:36:00.000-05:00Jen, Carnacki wrote a very similar novel — a vampi...<I>Jen, Carnacki wrote a very similar novel — a vampire trying to live ethically — and completed it. I don't know if he still has it online or not; it seems like he was on the verge of getting it published at one time but it must have fallen through.</I><BR/><BR/>I'm pretty sure I read some of Carnacki's novel at one of his websites, back toward the beginning, and if I'm remembering properly, there's nothing remotely similar about our vampires or our style as writers. Now that I think of it, I'm not sure our ethics are very similar, either; I never interacted much with Carnacki at the poli-blogs but I think I'm pretty far to the left of him.<BR/><BR/>(Btw, I did complete my book -- it was something like the 7th or 8th novel I wrote. It's just that it was Book One of its own series and I never finished the series.)Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00793793027935224823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-89526327273583443062007-07-11T14:01:00.000-05:002007-07-11T14:01:00.000-05:00Andif, you're here because The Blue Dot commands y...Andif, you're here because The Blue Dot commands you to be here. Oh, wait, you're the Blue Dot, so that means. . .<BR/><BR/>Got a photo link for us, pretty please?<BR/><BR/>I'm off to the "liberry" to write, but be warned. . .they have wifi. . .Nancy Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05429062957063032872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-48526663842309800422007-07-11T13:53:00.000-05:002007-07-11T13:53:00.000-05:00Hmm, I don't let go, I don't wait, I'm not writing...Hmm, I don't let go, I don't wait, I'm not writing anything, and I have no vampires* to offer. Whatever am I doing at this blog? Ah sweet mystery of life, at last I've found thee.<BR/><BR/>* I might claim that the dogs are blood-sucking but that's pure metaphor and they would vociferously disagree (of course pretty much everything they do is vociferous so that may not matter).AndiFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07767389458803503532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-59622624111179822272007-07-11T13:51:00.000-05:002007-07-11T13:51:00.000-05:00No prob about the blogroll, Nancy. Lord knows I've...No prob about the blogroll, Nancy. Lord knows I've been slow to update mine at times. New Blogger makes it a lot easier, but what I really ought to do is write a script to build a blogroll from my RSS list.<BR/><BR/>Oh, and you mentioned coffee. I ran out of the regular stuff today, so I had to dig out the "stash" — a sampler of Ghirardelli coffees my bro Solar gave me for Christmas. Mrs. Fetched suggested the Double Chocolate pack. J probably scarfed it after I left.Larry Kollarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08317037795075278427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-31603037780831040552007-07-11T13:31:00.000-05:002007-07-11T13:31:00.000-05:00far, my apologies--I neglected until today to get ...far, my apologies--I neglected until today to get your blog on my roll. (That was funny over there today.)<BR/><BR/>I love your story dream--which has a similarity to Catherine's,which has a similarity to mine, and Carnaki's and Jen's are related, which means we really are One Mind, I guess. Or, at most, two. Thank god I'm part of a mind with you guys in it! :)Nancy Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05429062957063032872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-59658092021407651612007-07-11T13:13:00.000-05:002007-07-11T13:13:00.000-05:00Great quote of the day!The thought I woke up with ...Great quote of the day!<BR/><BR/>The thought I woke up with this morning: <B>El Dorado. Shangri-La. Two cities of refuge, one for each hemisphere</B>. In my dream, I was with a group that were all going to Shangri-La because we were world-weary. Besides myself, only one other person, a woman, was not Asian. We were asking each other why we were in this group and not going to El Dorado.<BR/><BR/>Green, your inverse quote reminds me of some of the stuff Kafka put his characters through!<BR/><BR/>Jen, Carnacki wrote a very similar novel — a vampire trying to live ethically — and completed it. I don't know if he still has it online or not; it seems like he was on the verge of getting it published at one time but it must have fallen through.<BR/><BR/>Letting go… well, The Boy is our particular let-go exercise. Mrs. Fetched and I sometimes have to remind one another of that.Larry Kollarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08317037795075278427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-34500483583147944292007-07-11T12:57:00.000-05:002007-07-11T12:57:00.000-05:00Omg. We don't talk much politics here, but I am so...Omg. We don't talk much politics here, but I am so boggled over this that I have to say something.<BR/><BR/><I>Rudy Giuliani has named. . .Norman Podhoretz as one of his key foreign policy advisors.</I><BR/><BR/>Podhoretz is like the devil incarnate neo-con. It's like some New Yorker warned us earlier: "You think Bush is bad? Just wait until you see what Rudy Giuliani can do."<BR/><BR/>I am boggled, if not surprised. No, wait, that's not true. I am surprised. I didn't think ANYbody would name Podhoretz ANYthing at this point.<BR/><BR/>Back to our regularly scheduled programming.Nancy Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05429062957063032872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-83911887998913267452007-07-11T12:46:00.000-05:002007-07-11T12:46:00.000-05:00"the water tower ain't water no more"!!! I love th..."the water tower ain't water no more"<BR/><BR/>!!! I love that so much.<BR/><BR/>Lindsborgh still exists, Green, and in my Travels Across Kansas I now and then encounter a few towns that are thriving, or at least keeping up the appearance of it. Usually because of an energetic core of natives who restore the library, etc. More towns that aren't thriving. I love any town that still has a locally-owned cafe where you can still get chicken fried steak and fresh baked cherry pie.Nancy Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05429062957063032872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-82875963020475496992007-07-11T12:13:00.000-05:002007-07-11T12:13:00.000-05:00Jen!: Vampire Junction! The water tower ain't wa...<B>Jen!</B>: Vampire Junction! The water tower ain't water no more. Free blood in every tap. <BR/><BR/>Do vampires have hot and cold blood faucets? <BR/><BR/>Samantha Drucker at the General Store has only jars of beets and cherries, Catharine, on the shelves. <BR/><BR/>Uncle Joe is indeed moving kind of slow. He's a thousand years old... at the Junction. <BR/><BR/>Type eating bing cherries? Hmmm. Type O-postive?GhostFolk.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10942600698461250382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-45333444460446522332007-07-11T12:08:00.000-05:002007-07-11T12:08:00.000-05:00Man, you guys are rockin' and rollin' this morning...Man, you guys are rockin' and rollin' this morning! So much great stuff to talk about. <BR/><BR/>family man, I thought you'd love that quote for the day. :)<BR/><BR/>Cathy, I solemly take your Wise Words to heart. :) No driving and Binging.<BR/><BR/>Kelly, that's right, your are the Waiter this week. But, lordy, so much to wait on at one time! Who was it who said that a writer can never die as long as he has a manuscript in the mail? At this rate, you're looking at eternal life.<BR/><BR/>More, in a bit.Nancy Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05429062957063032872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-87475444465399031122007-07-11T12:00:00.001-05:002007-07-11T12:00:00.001-05:00Is this how angels in elementary school communicat...Is this how angels in elementary school communicate with us? <BR/><BR/>Yes, it is, Nancy. Except when they show up as blog posts from Catharine. [The words in my dream were very much like those on a blackboard -- chalk turned lengthwise.] <BR/><BR/><B> For me the dream is ghost towns (or dying small towns) coming alive.</B><BR/><BR/>Catharine, this is a truly beautiful idea.<BR/><BR/>The death of the small town is, in my lifetime, the American plague. I want my own small town back. So badly. So badly. But it's not there.<BR/><BR/>What small towns remain are generally bedroom communities. I am trying to think of a vital few small towns that remain. Some are tourist towns, surely. But the real small town communities that currently thrive that I am able to think of are those of the Amish. <BR/><BR/>Perhaps a few ethnic towns have retained themselves as communities where people live and work and stay. Nancy, is Lindsborg still around? Have you been there?<BR/><BR/>It's a Swedish town (from when entire communities would move to Kansas for the land grants). <BR/><BR/>Catharine, free housing seems a interesting thing to consider. Then you don't have to make it the whole state.GhostFolk.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10942600698461250382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-17994109628921170232007-07-11T12:00:00.000-05:002007-07-11T12:00:00.000-05:00Hey greenminute. I haven't worn a watch in years....Hey greenminute. I haven't worn a watch in years. I can remember long ago if I didn't have a watch on I would almost start panicking. :)<BR/><BR/>Catherine thanks for the complement.<BR/><BR/>Nancy I've found trying to achieve perfect slackdom has eased a lot of the worry, but unfortunately some is always there. BTW I just saw the quote of the day and I like it. :)Family Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17101125448247590979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-55764472433726484022007-07-11T11:59:00.000-05:002007-07-11T11:59:00.000-05:00Mine said:BELIEVE INSOMETHINGBIGGERTHANYOURSELFNan...<EM>Mine said:<BR/><BR/>BELIEVE IN<BR/>SOMETHING<BR/>BIGGER<BR/>THAN<BR/>YOURSELF</EM><BR/><BR/>Nancy, you blow me away.<BR/><BR/>Jen, Just typing those words (about our vampire) sent a shiver down my back. I used to think vampires were totally a fictional invention. But, now I'm not so sure.katiebirdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262129879015590898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-45706762022720333862007-07-11T11:54:00.000-05:002007-07-11T11:54:00.000-05:00Jen, Did I ever tell you about the time our son in...<I>Jen, Did I ever tell you about the time our son invited a Vampire into our house?<BR/><BR/>It didn't work out well at all.</I><BR/><BR/>No, I have not heard this story, but please feel free to regale me with tales of the weird any time. I can easily believe that that sort of thing often wouldn't end well, however, since even ethical vampires gotta eat. :)<BR/><BR/><I>Polygamy, marijuana, no low-fat ice cream? </I><BR/><BR/>Greenminute in '08!Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00793793027935224823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-61939120776819760452007-07-11T11:52:00.000-05:002007-07-11T11:52:00.000-05:00One man. One Shadow. That would make a fantastic o...One man. One Shadow. That would make a fantastic opening. Lovely. <BR/><BR/>Waiting, the author's eternal dilemma, waiting for responses from editors, waiting for galleys and ARCS, waiting for two ideas to walk into the right bar together. Waiting (as I am) for reviews on book two and reader comments on book three, and the right opening for four. My father-in-law finds me a miracle of patience, in every day life, and I keep trying to tell him it's an occupational necessity. <BR/><BR/>Jen, cool place to start a vampire novel.Kelly McCulloughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06399122960869198042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-36313375779641942442007-07-11T11:51:00.000-05:002007-07-11T11:51:00.000-05:00Just so you know, it's almost impossible to type a...<EM>Just so you know, it's almost impossible to type and eat bing cherries at the same time</EM>katiebirdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262129879015590898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-9177716283864501552007-07-11T11:46:00.000-05:002007-07-11T11:46:00.000-05:00family man, you'd think this waiting business woul...family man, you'd think this waiting business would be a natural for a slacker, right? Too bad it really isn't, a lot of the time.Nancy Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05429062957063032872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-63776329962683577012007-07-11T11:45:00.000-05:002007-07-11T11:45:00.000-05:00Cathy, such a thing almost--but not nearly as far ...Cathy, such a thing almost--but not nearly as far out there and cool as your idea-- exists in the new "Frontier Counties," which I've wanted to write about. That's where there are six or fewer people per square mile, and the counties advertise free land and/or buildings to entice people to move there.<BR/><BR/>I've thought it might make a good novel to follow six people to a Kansas county like that, but that's where any similarity to your idea ends. In mine, of course there would be murder and Bad People and Unintended Consequences of accepting--and to the original residents for offering-- a Free Lunch.Nancy Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05429062957063032872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-17861073698417792272007-07-11T11:39:00.000-05:002007-07-11T11:39:00.000-05:00Green, your dream. . .One man. One shadow.Wow. Tal...Green, your dream. . .<BR/><BR/>One man. One shadow.<BR/><BR/>Wow. Talk about dramatic.<BR/><BR/>I love word dreams. I had one once that was, like yours, big block letters. Is this how angels in elementary school communicate with us? Mine said:<BR/><BR/>BELIEVE IN<BR/>SOMETHING <BR/>BIGGER<BR/>THAN<BR/>YOURSELF<BR/><BR/>Shades of AA! <BR/><BR/>But, hey, I can follow directions, except for when they involve meeting deadlines.Nancy Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05429062957063032872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-85317062865685813862007-07-11T11:35:00.000-05:002007-07-11T11:35:00.000-05:00jen, I love vampires, but Catharine, it's always b...jen, I love vampires, but Catharine, it's always best to meet them outside on the patio.Nancy Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05429062957063032872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9004909290975090333.post-81907000556363665472007-07-11T11:34:00.000-05:002007-07-11T11:34:00.000-05:00!! greenminute, I'm glad you like it. And that yo...!! greenminute, <BR/><BR/>I'm glad you like it. And that you see that it almost doesn't matter what the law is. In fact, different states could pass different laws that could set the tone for their places.<BR/><BR/>For me the dream is ghost towns (or dying small towns) coming alive. And the stories of the people who go to them and live.<BR/><BR/>Some stories might even take place years and years after the rebirth.<BR/><BR/>I just had to think of a way to get people there. <BR/><BR/>Now, I'm remembering Nancy's Small Plains. But, that's a real place :). Mine is pure fantasy.<BR/><BR/>Like Candide except it really IS the best of all possible worlds.katiebirdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262129879015590898noreply@blogger.com