various and sundry, yet again
Jun. 11th, 2005 02:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lauraanne_gilmanVENTURA, Calif., June 10 (AP) - Dana Elcar, whose real-life struggle with blindness was written into his role on the television adventure series "MacGyver," died here on Monday. He was 77.
Rest in Peace, Dana. And thanks for some wonderful, wonderful performances.
-----------------------------------
Got my first reader's report back on Curse the Dark After some discussion about the (lack of) proofreading done on this book (I hereby apologize, even though it wasn't my end of things that fell down, damn it!) she said:
"Very, very well worth waiting for! It's tight, tremendously full with such details as the way Lee grounded himself after working, the story's just plain *good* and the characters so vivid that days later I catch myself thinking of them as people I've met who've done things that I believe. Stepping back I can see the craft and care that went in the writing itself -- the way words and descriptions are used -- but unlike what often happens, where the craft jumps out at you and demands attention, while reading it's just part of the richness of the work.
No, it's not Great Literature or A Ground Breaking Work. It is, however, something rare: a work that's original, very well written indeed, and pulls
you in from the opening until long after you've read the final paragraphs.
Absolutely wonderful, and thank you so very much. Not only for thinking of me and sending it so quickly (for that you have another public display
waiting, and a year before I start groveling for the next book) but for writing it."
So, although I am now terrified to see how much fell through the cracks, at least I know that the Story itself is worth the slog. *whew*
-------------
Been listening to Jackson Browne's "I am A Patriot" a lot lately, because, well, it's resonating for me
(And I ain’t no communist
And I ain’t no capitalist
And I ain’t no socialist
And I ain’t no imperialist
And I ain’t no democrat
And I ain’t no republican
I only know one party
And it is freedom)
But when I clicked on the cd last night, another song made it into my brain with a little more urgency.
...You might ask what it takes to remember
When you know that you’ve seen it before
Where a government lies to a people
And a country is drifting to war...
And there’s a shadow on the faces
Of the men who send the guns
To the wars that are fought in places
Where their business interest runs...
I want to know who the men in the shadows are
I want to hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they’re never the ones to fight or to die...
These songs are from the Reagan era. I was originally going to say that there's nothing new under the political sun, but the truth is that Reagan and Bush took us into war for business and personal reasons, as well as so-called 'patriotic' ones. Shrub took us in for personal and religious ones.
A distinction without a difference, I suppose. We've still been taken into the act of killing others for reasons not the ones claimed in public, resons that are not allowed to be seen under the lights of public scrutiny
I am a realistic cynic. I believe that the very nature of any established organization leads to corruption -- that's just human nature. With the spark of creation within us all comes also the urge to destroy, and that temptation to take that easy slide to power, or wealth, or whatever, is a strong one. A human interpretation of Shiva Nâtarâja, the dancer of creation and destruction -- only we don't destroy worlds, we destroy ideals, intentions -- hope.
I can only pray that Shiva's other foot comes down soon, and we take another turn in the cycle. Because I'm not sure how much more of this distruction I can take.
---------------------------------------
But, despite the gloom and doom on my mind, this morning was a time of playfulness. Notably, the annual Broadway Panhandler yard sale. Imagine every single kitchen tool and toy you've ever lusted after, on sale. Now iamgine three kitchen hounds, set loose with baskets and credit cards, among the rest of the ravening pack.
We did well for ourselves. I was restrained by the limits of my self-imposed budget, but still managed to pick up a few beauts, including a mini-chopper for herbs for elss thna half price. I also paused for a bit at the knife counter, and letched after some of the German sharp-and-sleeks. But no, I don't need them, and I have no room for them, and there will be other sales, my pretties, other sales...
And now, back to work. Am falling terribly behind on my MDW, and needs be busy busy busy to catch up the lost ground.
Rest in Peace, Dana. And thanks for some wonderful, wonderful performances.
-----------------------------------
Got my first reader's report back on Curse the Dark After some discussion about the (lack of) proofreading done on this book (I hereby apologize, even though it wasn't my end of things that fell down, damn it!) she said:
"Very, very well worth waiting for! It's tight, tremendously full with such details as the way Lee grounded himself after working, the story's just plain *good* and the characters so vivid that days later I catch myself thinking of them as people I've met who've done things that I believe. Stepping back I can see the craft and care that went in the writing itself -- the way words and descriptions are used -- but unlike what often happens, where the craft jumps out at you and demands attention, while reading it's just part of the richness of the work.
No, it's not Great Literature or A Ground Breaking Work. It is, however, something rare: a work that's original, very well written indeed, and pulls
you in from the opening until long after you've read the final paragraphs.
Absolutely wonderful, and thank you so very much. Not only for thinking of me and sending it so quickly (for that you have another public display
waiting, and a year before I start groveling for the next book) but for writing it."
So, although I am now terrified to see how much fell through the cracks, at least I know that the Story itself is worth the slog. *whew*
-------------
Been listening to Jackson Browne's "I am A Patriot" a lot lately, because, well, it's resonating for me
(And I ain’t no communist
And I ain’t no capitalist
And I ain’t no socialist
And I ain’t no imperialist
And I ain’t no democrat
And I ain’t no republican
I only know one party
And it is freedom)
But when I clicked on the cd last night, another song made it into my brain with a little more urgency.
...You might ask what it takes to remember
When you know that you’ve seen it before
Where a government lies to a people
And a country is drifting to war...
And there’s a shadow on the faces
Of the men who send the guns
To the wars that are fought in places
Where their business interest runs...
I want to know who the men in the shadows are
I want to hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they’re never the ones to fight or to die...
These songs are from the Reagan era. I was originally going to say that there's nothing new under the political sun, but the truth is that Reagan and Bush took us into war for business and personal reasons, as well as so-called 'patriotic' ones. Shrub took us in for personal and religious ones.
A distinction without a difference, I suppose. We've still been taken into the act of killing others for reasons not the ones claimed in public, resons that are not allowed to be seen under the lights of public scrutiny
I am a realistic cynic. I believe that the very nature of any established organization leads to corruption -- that's just human nature. With the spark of creation within us all comes also the urge to destroy, and that temptation to take that easy slide to power, or wealth, or whatever, is a strong one. A human interpretation of Shiva Nâtarâja, the dancer of creation and destruction -- only we don't destroy worlds, we destroy ideals, intentions -- hope.
I can only pray that Shiva's other foot comes down soon, and we take another turn in the cycle. Because I'm not sure how much more of this distruction I can take.
---------------------------------------
But, despite the gloom and doom on my mind, this morning was a time of playfulness. Notably, the annual Broadway Panhandler yard sale. Imagine every single kitchen tool and toy you've ever lusted after, on sale. Now iamgine three kitchen hounds, set loose with baskets and credit cards, among the rest of the ravening pack.
We did well for ourselves. I was restrained by the limits of my self-imposed budget, but still managed to pick up a few beauts, including a mini-chopper for herbs for elss thna half price. I also paused for a bit at the knife counter, and letched after some of the German sharp-and-sleeks. But no, I don't need them, and I have no room for them, and there will be other sales, my pretties, other sales...
And now, back to work. Am falling terribly behind on my MDW, and needs be busy busy busy to catch up the lost ground.
