The World According To Me

I've been getting a lot o questions, so here's the Official Word


Friday, 3:30-4:30 pm: Book signing, at the Bantam booth, as far as I know. Last year there was quite a line, so you might want to get there early.

Saturday, 5:00-6:00 pm: Autographs/book signings in the Author Autograph Area, where ever that is. Bring any book you like, so long as it's one of mine. I don't know if there's a limit on number; just be reasonable. If you've got both series, I'll sign all of them, but no crate loads, please.

Saturday, 6:00-7:00 pm: "Playing God" panel. Not exactly sure where, but if we both figure it out, I'll see you there. ;-)

Getting ready for ComiCon. Just a snack today.

Top medlcatlon Professlonals

medl . . . cat . . .lon . . .

Pro . . .fess . . .lonals . . . .
Why does that seem vaguely obscene? Must be all the Ls.

You don't need to have a GP to get the prescriptiondrugs you require.

That's right Yesenia, you need an MD to prescribe the prescriptiondrugs you require.

Entrance

Abandon all identity protection, ye who enter here.


Yesenia Webb

Nosenia, but thanks anyway.

There is no pleasure without some degree of pain.
There is no pain without some amount of pleasure.

-Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, "Mindfulness in Plain English"

Random thoughts over coffee:

This is a good one, and one I've experienced very consciously, dealing with the reality of being a published author, and in life in general, too.


It's great to have a new book come out. But then you have all the work and stress of trying to write the next one to be as good or better. It's great to have a new book come out. But then you have all the work and stress of trying to write the next one to be as good or better. It's great . . .


It's great to hear from fans. It sucks to hear from critics. A good review gives you a spike of excitement that passes and leaves you craving more, fearing the next one will not be as good. A bad review gives you a spike of discomfort and leaves you craving release from that discomfort, hoping the next one will be better . . .


O Fortuna from "Carmena Burana" by Carl Orff
O Fortune,
like the moon
with its changing phases,
you are ever growing
and waning;
hateful life
first oppresses
and then soothes
as fancy takes it;
Poverty
and power
it melts them like ice.

From: Fortune plango vulnerat

I bemoan the wounds of Fortune
with weeping eyes
for the gifts she made me
she perversely takes away.
It is written in truth,
that she has a fine head of hair,
but, when it comes to seizing an opportunity
she is bald.

In Tarot terms, The Wheel of Fortune and Robert Place's Alchemical Tarot's "VI of Staffs "

"An artisan . . .is being honoured. He stands on a cloud and wears a laurel wreath. . . Many torches are held up in his honour, but we can only see the arms of the individual offering them, and they remain anonymous. When we compare their size to that of the artisan, they seem gigantic, almost threatening. . . This is your moment of glory. However, from the cloud it is a long way down; do not become complacent or rest on your laurels. Fame had its negative side, too."

Living in the moment, recognizing craving, not attaching to good or bad outcome, makes life a bit easier. Not so easy to do, though. Although I did have a moment of practical Zen at the Red Sox game, involving hotdogs.

I don't eat much meat anymore, just a little chicken and fish now and then: at best for health, but also when there's nothing else available, or when I'm tired and too lazy to fix something else, or in moments of just plain craving.

I have a love/hate relationship with hot dogs. Aside from the fact that they are full of things I'd rather not think about, some of them taste good. Especially in a steamed roll, and slathered with lots mustard and kraut or relish. Especially in situations pleasantly associated with hot dogs. Like baseball games.

So as I sat in the stands enjoying my yummy, meat-free pretzel with mustard and drinking the beer I'd bought more out of tradition than desire, I smelled hot dogs and watched, mouth watering, as a woman passed by carrying a box of dogs fixed just the way I like them.

Craving struck. Reason/mindfulness recognized it and countered with the fact that hot dogs: always upset my stomach afterwards; that they are made out of the types of meat I've managed to give up—not to mention all the less pleasant possibilities, including MSG; and that I enjoy a special sense of peace and calm on days I eat no meat at all.

For once, mindfulness won and craving ended. Score one for mindfulness! I thank the hot dog lady for being a teacher that day.

I didn't enjoy the beer much, either. I don't know why I bother with it.

And please don't mistake any of this as a sermon about what any of you should do. My mantra remains "I'm not the boss of you!" ;-)

Just thinking over coffee.

We got up insanely early again and made another trip to the Huntington Dog Beach, this time just with Ms. Emma. We had a blast again, found lots of shells and met lots of nice dogs and people as we put in a good 90 minute walk along the waves. For the first time Emma got in the water, though she's no natural. She's also extremely nimble at keeping ahead of the waves.

Came back and spent some time in the back yard. The koi pond is bursting with growth; I have some black taro nearly ten feet high, and it and the waterlilies have overgrown the pool. The fish love it, but it's a bit much. Maybe I used too much plant fertilizer? Anyone know if pond taro is edible?

Doug and I celebrated our 27th yesterday with a trip to Anaheim to see the Sox play the Angels.









Doug, looking like he senses what is to come.


Me, still full of hope.




I wish the game had gone as well as our marriage. By the top of the 6th we were at IHOP eating the pancakes of defeat. A 11-3 defeat.

We did accidentally find Disneyland, also in Anaheim, and saw some of their spectacular fireworks from a distance, including some big red hearts. Bad day for the Sox, good day for us.

I love this time of year. There's an absolute orgy of colors and tastes and textures to be had at Market Night.

Tonight's post market menu:

Slices of fresh mozzarella surrounded by thick slices of ruby red and sunset colored heirloom tomatoes, sprinkled with chopped fresh basil and a little freshly ground pepper.

Lightly steamed carrots with a touch of honey and chopped fresh mint leaves.

Corn on the cob, fresh from the fields

Raspberries and chopped peaches with a sprinkle of turbinado sugar.

All that, and a vase of pink stargazer lilies. I do love California.

And I wrote 1284 words today.

Don't forget to bring the good experiences of meditation into your daily activities. Instead of acting and reacting impulsively and following your thoughts and feelings here and there, watch your mind carefully, be aware, and try to deal skillfully with problems as they arise. If you can do this each day, your meditation will have been successful.

-Kathleen McDonald, "How to Meditate"

Thinking "skillfully", rather than reactively, is one of the most valuable things I've gotten out of this work so far. It doesn't always work, but more than it used to!

Please note: In a reverse of tradition, because the con closes at 7:00, the autograph session is before the panel, making it extra important you locate the autograph area in a timely fashion.
 
Autographing in the Comic-Con Autograph Area
 
SATURDAY, JULY 26
5:00-6:00                       Playing God                                                     Table AA2
 
Panel:
SATURDAY, JULY 26
6:00-7:00                       Playing God                                                     Room 5AB
 (the actual length of your panel is really about 50-55 minutes)
 
Authors discuss their fantasy worlds: GOH Jim Butcher (Small Favor, The Dresden Files), Chris Evans (A Darkness Forged in Fire), Lynn Flewelling (Shadows Return), David Keck (In a Time of Treason), Jenna Rhodes (The Elven Ways) and Eldon Thompson (Asahiel, Shannara (screenplay))
Authors discuss creating the rules and deities of their fantasy worlds.

Correction:

I'll be signing books on Friday, July 25, from 3:30 to 4:30, and again an hour before my panel late Saturday afternoon.

It is my belief that whereas the twentieth century has been a century of war and untold suffering, the twenty-first century should be one of peace and dialogue. As the continued advances in information technology make our world a truly global village, I believe there will come a time when war and armed conflict will be considered an outdated and obsolete method of settling differences among nations and communities.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

It is my personal belief that we have reached this point, if not in the way HH states. We don't seem to have wars anymore, just endless fights against enemies that no longer play by the rules of war. No uniform. No generals or officers on the field, no recognizable organization on the field, no Geneva Convention. Kill a few and more seep in where ever they want. In trying to strike against these ghostly raiders, civilian weddings are mistaken for combatants. Women and children are reduced to statistics of "acceptable risk." Soldiers are beheaded on camera. Our allies are shaky nascent governments with no authority and less power.

We can no longer meet the enemy on the honorable field of combat, if there ever was one. Instead, we have chaos, fear, and a struggle that will not end until everyone is dead or exhausted.

It's no use being the so called strongest nation in the world if the enemy is an amorphous entity, a pack of hounds snapping at the hamstrings of the bull.

The decisions and machinations of past generations have put us here. We aren't going to free ourselves doing the same old things. It's a new world and we need new methods. Bombing and shooting terrorists only produces more, like cutting the head off Hydra. (http://theochem.chem.rug.nl/resources/Mythica.html) Like Heracles, we have to find a better solution. I wish I could tell you what that is, but wiser heads than mine need to get to work.

This one swiped from suricattus

Write exactly what's on your mind and don't change anything. Feel free to play along!


I'm tired of:
Being mad at myself for various reasons.

I am listening to:
CNN (what can I say? It's morning)

Maybe I should:
Learn Spanish

I wish:
I was naturally thin

Chocolate is:
my enemy

I have lost my respect for:
John McCain

I last ate:
Sushi ('tis true, Suri)

The meaning of my display name is:
based on a shamanic vision I had. No, I'm not joking.

Right now I'm craving:
a bagel with raspberry cream cheese.

Someday:
I will achieve hardcover.

Love is:
The most valuable human emotion.

MySpace is:
Too confusing for me to do.

Today:
I have a headache.

Tomorrow:
We take Emma to the dog beach again.

I get annoyed:
when people chew with their mouths open.

Parties:
Are most fun when they are small and not loud.

QUESTIONS:

Is your cell phone right by you?
Not sure where it is, as usual.

Are you wearing chapstick?
No.

Are you tired?
Yes

Are you wearing pajamas?
Yes.

Are you mad?
No.

Are you upset?
No.

FOUR LASTS:

Last beverage?
Coffee.

Last phone call?
To my son.

Last time you cried?
A month ago, when I though my dog was dying.

FIVE HAVE YOU EVER...

Dated someone twice?
Yes.

Been cheated on?
No.

Lost someone close?
Yes, my dad.

3 Favorite Colors:
Rich dark red, green, and blue.


THIS MONTH HAVE YOU...

Made a new friend?
Yes.

Fallen out of love?
No.

Laughed until you almost cried?
No.

Is there something you want to tell someone right now?
No.


And story:

When I was young I used to sit on my bed with my chin on the window sill on summer evenings, feeling wistful because my friends next door were still outdoors, playing in the twilight.

I have not received, or accidentally deleted the addresses of the following contest winners:

Best Costume: "Obsession" omi_tsukiyono

Honorable mentions:

"Window Seat Relaxation" Sabriel902

"Reading to the Otters at the Toronto Zoo" by bow_ryu

"Horse Reading" by Kaylen87

"Contest Entry" by dryas_caesium

"Alec and Helen" by miriade

"Medieval Atmosphere" by emily_dorkel

I know I got some of these, but there was a cleaning frenzy here last weekend and a certain someone accidentally "cleaned up" some of my papers, including some of the addresses I had printed out.

http://otterdance.livejournal.com/205664.html

It is indeed the place that inspired Yhakobin's house. In reality it's the Getty Villa museum in Malibu. I didn't have a strong idea of what Y's house should look like until I happened to visit there. The layout is a little different, but things like the fountains, the inner garden, and overall style are there.

Just thought I'd share that. :-)

My biking (as opposed to biker) jacket arrived yesterday and I'm trying very hard not to feel ridiculous wearing it.



It's made of a strong mesh fabric, has body armor in the shoulders and elbows, and spine protection and yellow is a highly visible color. Car drivers tend not to "see" motorcycles and scooters. When I'm riding, I'm glad I've got it. So I have the jacket, protective gloves, and a helmet. If I'm in a really terrible accident, only half of me will be left.