Or is that rebellion, baby! Actually, no, it's rebellion baby. That's what I was. My brother was recently in town and commented on a little tactic I had at the age of two. I don't remember it but he still laughs about it.
It seems when my mother would put me to bed I would rebel with a fit where I'd tear off my pajamas, toss them in the hallway and then lay down upon them...and fall asleep. Maybe that's why I don't where pajamas today. But I do remember being slightly older, around four or five years of age, and I would slowly, accidentally, slide out of bed on the covers, because that way I wasn't going to bed, darn it! No way! It didn't seem to matter to my child's mind that I would fall asleep on the sheets on the floor and inevitably wake up in the morning in my bed.
What a rebel I was. I hated going to bed. I hated missing out on things. One evening, some adult cousins from Lac La Biche, Doreen and Ted, showed up at the house. It was past my bedtime and I was in bed but not asleep. I heard them come in and wanted to see them but there was no way I could just trounce upstairs without getting in deep doodoo.
I was, on one level, very honest. I didn't tend to lie. I couldn't fake being sick, like my brother believes he did and faked himself into an appendectomy at a young age. But I had a devious plan. I could swallow air and at other times, burp on will. This time I just kept swallowing the air and not burping it out until my tummy hurt. Aha! Now I could go upstairs and say, "My tummy hurts."
My mother must have been wise to my ways. She said something about it being suspect and gave me a glass of warm water, which succeeded in freeing my trapped burps. But I got what I wanted. I got to see Doreen and Ted before being sent back to bed.
I was a classic bookworm, often staying up late at night, reading, with the flashlight under the sheets. I'm still a late night person, often going to bed at 2:00, which means I usually don't get enough sleep during the week. And I still sleep in till 10:00 am if I can.
As to rebellion, well, I wanted to learn to play drums as a kid, not because I had any affinity but because it's what girls didn't do. Instead, when my mother denied me, I hit the art/drawing route, much better suited to my temperament. And my mother learned that if she wanted me to do something she got a lot farther if she asked instead of telling me what to do.
Showing posts with label Colleen Anderson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Colleen Anderson. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Worlds of What If: Story Ideas & Oz
I recently wrote a story about Dorothy, ten years after Oz, where she still lives in Kansas. It involves the shoes showing up suddenly in her closet. It's barely fantastical, might be called literary.
I sent it to a speculative fiction magazine where it was rejected. The comment was that the protagnonist didn't do enough and, what about the other 15 Oz books and what they covered that people knew so well. I can live with criticism and comments on what doesn't work but I didn't find the comment about the Oz books helpful nor true to the whole genre of speculative writing.
Worlds of what-if includes looking at something and saying, what if it did this instead of this? What if Snow White had actually enslaved the dwarfs to work for her and they were brainwashed? What if the Germans had won WWII? What if magic did exist and it caused a worldwide class system? There are a thousand examples of where someone takes a pre-existing concept or event and changes it.
Fairy tales have long been in the realm of public domain and many have been rewritten and retold in varying ways. The most popular example would be anything that Disney has touched, to the extent that some people think that the Disney version is the one and only. But fairy tales have a long tradition of orginally being oral tales that were eventually written down by the Grimm brothers and others. Once they hit print, they didn't change and adapt with the times as much, but they did still change. Writers still took those ideas and played with them.
L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz was written in 1900 and published in 1901. It's been around long enough that it is now in our memories. When I decided to write the story I actually had to go read the book, because like many people, I was more familiar with the movie. I didn't read the other 13 books (not 15). Though they were popular it was that original adventure that caught so many people's imaginations.
Asking, what if this happened to Dorothy is a valid question. But perhaps I'm just an angry rejected author. Well, I have given examples of other what-ifs, but let's look at two that I just found this week. Yesterday, I was listening to CBC Radio's Wiretap http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/index.html There were two stories: What if the Penguin and Mary Poppins met on a blind date? And what if Barney accidentally killed Dino in Bedrock? Hmm, if I was the editor that rejected my story because I didn't consider the other 13 books, then I could also say but Mary Poppins never met the Penguin. What about all those other Batman comics. Or, but Dino never died and what about all those other Flintstones cartoons?
Okay, well, those are closer to the point I'm making but not about Oz. Then I came across the following article this weekend in the Dec. 2007 issue of Wired.
Tin Man--SciFi Chanel's three-part reimagining of The Wizard of Oz, premiering Dec. 2, blends steampunk and Buffy. Heroine DG (Zooey Deschanel) battles the evil Sorceress (Kathleen Robertson) to free the oppressed residents of The O.Z. The Tin Man (Neal McDonough) is a more-dreamy-than-tinny ex-cop resistance fighter, and the Scarecrow (Alan Cumming) is a victim of grand theft brain. Cheesy? Absolutely. But it's also clever and wonderfully geeky.
Steampunk and Buffy? The Tin Man is an ex-cop? Oh my goodness! But...but.... I think my point is made that it's valid to take a character, a time, a place and ask what if? It's valid to not slavishly follow what has been written but to take some elements and fly off into the worlds of imagination. As to my story, well, I'll continue to send it out and see what the editors think.
I sent it to a speculative fiction magazine where it was rejected. The comment was that the protagnonist didn't do enough and, what about the other 15 Oz books and what they covered that people knew so well. I can live with criticism and comments on what doesn't work but I didn't find the comment about the Oz books helpful nor true to the whole genre of speculative writing.
Worlds of what-if includes looking at something and saying, what if it did this instead of this? What if Snow White had actually enslaved the dwarfs to work for her and they were brainwashed? What if the Germans had won WWII? What if magic did exist and it caused a worldwide class system? There are a thousand examples of where someone takes a pre-existing concept or event and changes it.
Fairy tales have long been in the realm of public domain and many have been rewritten and retold in varying ways. The most popular example would be anything that Disney has touched, to the extent that some people think that the Disney version is the one and only. But fairy tales have a long tradition of orginally being oral tales that were eventually written down by the Grimm brothers and others. Once they hit print, they didn't change and adapt with the times as much, but they did still change. Writers still took those ideas and played with them.
L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz was written in 1900 and published in 1901. It's been around long enough that it is now in our memories. When I decided to write the story I actually had to go read the book, because like many people, I was more familiar with the movie. I didn't read the other 13 books (not 15). Though they were popular it was that original adventure that caught so many people's imaginations.
Asking, what if this happened to Dorothy is a valid question. But perhaps I'm just an angry rejected author. Well, I have given examples of other what-ifs, but let's look at two that I just found this week. Yesterday, I was listening to CBC Radio's Wiretap http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/index.html There were two stories: What if the Penguin and Mary Poppins met on a blind date? And what if Barney accidentally killed Dino in Bedrock? Hmm, if I was the editor that rejected my story because I didn't consider the other 13 books, then I could also say but Mary Poppins never met the Penguin. What about all those other Batman comics. Or, but Dino never died and what about all those other Flintstones cartoons?
Okay, well, those are closer to the point I'm making but not about Oz. Then I came across the following article this weekend in the Dec. 2007 issue of Wired.
Tin Man--SciFi Chanel's three-part reimagining of The Wizard of Oz, premiering Dec. 2, blends steampunk and Buffy. Heroine DG (Zooey Deschanel) battles the evil Sorceress (Kathleen Robertson) to free the oppressed residents of The O.Z. The Tin Man (Neal McDonough) is a more-dreamy-than-tinny ex-cop resistance fighter, and the Scarecrow (Alan Cumming) is a victim of grand theft brain. Cheesy? Absolutely. But it's also clever and wonderfully geeky.
Steampunk and Buffy? The Tin Man is an ex-cop? Oh my goodness! But...but.... I think my point is made that it's valid to take a character, a time, a place and ask what if? It's valid to not slavishly follow what has been written but to take some elements and fly off into the worlds of imagination. As to my story, well, I'll continue to send it out and see what the editors think.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Publishing News
I've recently received word that my story will be out in Nemonymous 8: Cone Zero. I'm not allowed to name the story until the published anthology has been out for eight months. Nemonymous is a British publication by DF Lewis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemonymous
The stories are published but the author names (I believe) are listed at the back of the book/magazine with no credit given to a particular story. In the subsequent issue, the story and author are matched up. The pay is much like any other anthology in the speculative genre; a little more since it's in British pounds. This story should be out in June this year.
As well, as of mid-March I've become the senior fantasy editor at Aberrant Dreams. This is to help with the flow and hopefully bring the magazine up to more consistent output as its been sporadic. http://www.hd-image.com/main.htm Joe Dickerson is one of the two originators of the online magazine (Lonny Harper is the other) and he has recently been publishing some books as well. His time was being consumed, with too many decisions getting log-jammed. I'm not sure who is the head horror editor and Joe may be the main SF editor still. Marcie Tentchoff is the poetry editor.
Good news is that new material went up this week and as far as fantasy goes, we're review material sent within our 5-month timeframe. This does not include some stories waiting for final approval that Joe has or that I still have. I'm hoping to get through this in the next week. The sad thing is that there are many very good stories but I'll be limited to sending one on a month to Joe. That means some works will be rejected so that they're just not held forever. It's a tough market out there with more good stories than funds or room to publish in many magazines.
Which just tells me that writers should have faith. Rejection may not even be because the story is bad at all.
The stories are published but the author names (I believe) are listed at the back of the book/magazine with no credit given to a particular story. In the subsequent issue, the story and author are matched up. The pay is much like any other anthology in the speculative genre; a little more since it's in British pounds. This story should be out in June this year.
As well, as of mid-March I've become the senior fantasy editor at Aberrant Dreams. This is to help with the flow and hopefully bring the magazine up to more consistent output as its been sporadic. http://www.hd-image.com/main.htm Joe Dickerson is one of the two originators of the online magazine (Lonny Harper is the other) and he has recently been publishing some books as well. His time was being consumed, with too many decisions getting log-jammed. I'm not sure who is the head horror editor and Joe may be the main SF editor still. Marcie Tentchoff is the poetry editor.
Good news is that new material went up this week and as far as fantasy goes, we're review material sent within our 5-month timeframe. This does not include some stories waiting for final approval that Joe has or that I still have. I'm hoping to get through this in the next week. The sad thing is that there are many very good stories but I'll be limited to sending one on a month to Joe. That means some works will be rejected so that they're just not held forever. It's a tough market out there with more good stories than funds or room to publish in many magazines.
Which just tells me that writers should have faith. Rejection may not even be because the story is bad at all.
Friday, March 14, 2008
On the High Horse: Greater Vancouver’s Attitude Toward Transportation
Transportation has always been an issue, but as gas prices bloat and government brings in carbon taxes, toll bridges (the Port Mann bridge is scheduled to have a toll booth, which will slow down the traffic even more) and other measures, all under the guise of being green, it means that people will want to seek alternative means.
Over the years, yes, people have relied more and more on their cars. When I was a child I would walk the ten-twenty blocks to school. These days everyone drives their kids. That’s partly because of the greater fear of predators, not to mention traffic has become exceedlingly congested and inconsiderate, making it unsafe for younger children.
Housing prices have become exorbitant so people have to buy farther and farther out and then commute to work. If you live east of Vancouver you have the choice of taking buses; not a time efficent mode. There is the West Coast Express or a combination of SkyTrain and buses. The first is prohibitively expensive for many. But let’s look at using buses and SkyTrain. The farther out you live, the more you pay for a bus ride as the GVRD (now changing their name to Metro Vancouver)/Coast Mountain Bus have conjointly allowed for the area to be split into zones. Which means you are punished for living farther from the downtown core.
Many people, including me, have opted to continue driving as it was cheaper for gas than a bus pass and more time effiicient. Mexico City, with a population of plus 25 million keeps their trains cheap or the city would freeze from gridlock and completely decay from the pollution, which is already extremely bad. Cities like New York have an efficient subway system that runs frequently to all the boroughs and is comparably priced.
Efficiency means reliable. The bus/train system here has suffered from numerous breakdowns, especially in the winter. The stations are filthy and have a high criminal element lurking about. There has been a recent change to the stations with brighter lighting being put in and more security around the platforms. However, the level of filth (dirt, spit, gum, spills) on some of the platforms is still fairly high.
As well, people have been stranded when an overfull bus passes them by and there is no later one running. “Reliable transportation” would include buses running frequently and on time. Somehow the city decided it was a good idea to let downtown clubs and bars be open till 4:00 am if they wanted, but Coast Mountain closes down the SkyTrain just after midnight and the buses become infrequent or stop running to some areas far before most bars close. Incidences of weekend car thefts go up because somebody has come to town to party and find they can’t get home. I’d love to know who was the brainiac that thought that part out.
Taxis are likewise impossible to find on a weekend and would be too expensive to most other cities. Sure you can ride a bike, if you trust the drivers. I don’t, and that’s a story for another day. The public is held by the short and curlies. The GVRD, Coast Mountain and the BC government continue to tax everyone, raise prices of local transportation and add more tolls. They want to encourage us to use less fuel, mostly to garner votes in the “green” category. But where are the viable alternatives? Not enough public transportation that is affordable, reliable, safe and timely leaves people with spending more for not better.
Stress levels will increase, pollution won’t lessen because the green alternatives are missing. In the long run, this is the GVRD’s and the government’s ways of having more money coming in without putting effort in to true alternatives.
Over the years, yes, people have relied more and more on their cars. When I was a child I would walk the ten-twenty blocks to school. These days everyone drives their kids. That’s partly because of the greater fear of predators, not to mention traffic has become exceedlingly congested and inconsiderate, making it unsafe for younger children.
Housing prices have become exorbitant so people have to buy farther and farther out and then commute to work. If you live east of Vancouver you have the choice of taking buses; not a time efficent mode. There is the West Coast Express or a combination of SkyTrain and buses. The first is prohibitively expensive for many. But let’s look at using buses and SkyTrain. The farther out you live, the more you pay for a bus ride as the GVRD (now changing their name to Metro Vancouver)/Coast Mountain Bus have conjointly allowed for the area to be split into zones. Which means you are punished for living farther from the downtown core.
Many people, including me, have opted to continue driving as it was cheaper for gas than a bus pass and more time effiicient. Mexico City, with a population of plus 25 million keeps their trains cheap or the city would freeze from gridlock and completely decay from the pollution, which is already extremely bad. Cities like New York have an efficient subway system that runs frequently to all the boroughs and is comparably priced.
Efficiency means reliable. The bus/train system here has suffered from numerous breakdowns, especially in the winter. The stations are filthy and have a high criminal element lurking about. There has been a recent change to the stations with brighter lighting being put in and more security around the platforms. However, the level of filth (dirt, spit, gum, spills) on some of the platforms is still fairly high.
As well, people have been stranded when an overfull bus passes them by and there is no later one running. “Reliable transportation” would include buses running frequently and on time. Somehow the city decided it was a good idea to let downtown clubs and bars be open till 4:00 am if they wanted, but Coast Mountain closes down the SkyTrain just after midnight and the buses become infrequent or stop running to some areas far before most bars close. Incidences of weekend car thefts go up because somebody has come to town to party and find they can’t get home. I’d love to know who was the brainiac that thought that part out.
Taxis are likewise impossible to find on a weekend and would be too expensive to most other cities. Sure you can ride a bike, if you trust the drivers. I don’t, and that’s a story for another day. The public is held by the short and curlies. The GVRD, Coast Mountain and the BC government continue to tax everyone, raise prices of local transportation and add more tolls. They want to encourage us to use less fuel, mostly to garner votes in the “green” category. But where are the viable alternatives? Not enough public transportation that is affordable, reliable, safe and timely leaves people with spending more for not better.
Stress levels will increase, pollution won’t lessen because the green alternatives are missing. In the long run, this is the GVRD’s and the government’s ways of having more money coming in without putting effort in to true alternatives.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Sending out Poetry
This month I decided to concentrate on sending out literary poems. I have scads of them and haven't sent out much for a while. So I did a search through www.duotrope.com and first found the sites that I could submit to electronically. I looked for the highest paying ones of course. This is still a several night project because you have to read each set of guidelines and check the deadlines for submission, any special formatting rules, who the editor is and where exactly to send it.
Then I go through my poems (and if the magazine has samples on the site I read a few) and match the best ones. Plus I read through the poems and do any rewrites that are needed. I reformat them if it's needed, save them into separate documents and send them through email with a cover letter. I then checked the lists for the postal submission magazines. Literary magazines tend to not accept submissions by email. It's the minority that does, but there are more of them than there used to be. I still managed to send out quite a few through email. I'm now sending off another eight by mail. Mail of course means printing out the poems, and a personalized cover letter. Making up SASEs and adding addresses and postage and mailing. In all, this month I've sent out about 23 submissions of poetry with a total of 93 poems going out. Yep, 93! Guinness Book, look out.
I still have some poems sitting around. There are the sex poems that are too descriptive for some markets, a few SF poems, some witch/tarot series poems as well as those I did on Mexico and India. Of the ones still on my desk/computer, some are good to go and some have sat for a long time because they are just...not...right.
It's an elusive thing, and this round I did send out poems that have sat for ten years. In all, I probably have at least another 60 poems at home, including some unfinished ones, and another ten out. I did finish a poem I started last year called Perfect Lover, and another literary one I started two years ago called A Gathering. The second is a 3-4 page poem which I'm quite happy with. And I wrote a new one this week called Medusa that could sell as speculative or literary.
I try to send any poem I can off to literary markets first as they pay much better for poetry on average than a speculative market. I have managed to get $50 for one spec poem and now $100 for a literary poem. On average though, spec poems are around $10 and liiterary $20 and up. I also sent out about ten stories this month. And I continue writing on the erotic novel, but I'm going to have to pull the other novel out this coming week and read over it and the outline and synopsis if I'm going to do the Kansas workshop.
Next month I might delve into the very hard market of children's lit. I have a few stories so it won't take as long. I had this great dream two nights ago and woke up going, this would be a great young adult novel. It had the full plot, conflict and resolution. And can I remember it? No. Wah! But overall, I'm feeling rather accomplished, along with three sales for the month. Wheee!
Then I go through my poems (and if the magazine has samples on the site I read a few) and match the best ones. Plus I read through the poems and do any rewrites that are needed. I reformat them if it's needed, save them into separate documents and send them through email with a cover letter. I then checked the lists for the postal submission magazines. Literary magazines tend to not accept submissions by email. It's the minority that does, but there are more of them than there used to be. I still managed to send out quite a few through email. I'm now sending off another eight by mail. Mail of course means printing out the poems, and a personalized cover letter. Making up SASEs and adding addresses and postage and mailing. In all, this month I've sent out about 23 submissions of poetry with a total of 93 poems going out. Yep, 93! Guinness Book, look out.
I still have some poems sitting around. There are the sex poems that are too descriptive for some markets, a few SF poems, some witch/tarot series poems as well as those I did on Mexico and India. Of the ones still on my desk/computer, some are good to go and some have sat for a long time because they are just...not...right.
It's an elusive thing, and this round I did send out poems that have sat for ten years. In all, I probably have at least another 60 poems at home, including some unfinished ones, and another ten out. I did finish a poem I started last year called Perfect Lover, and another literary one I started two years ago called A Gathering. The second is a 3-4 page poem which I'm quite happy with. And I wrote a new one this week called Medusa that could sell as speculative or literary.
I try to send any poem I can off to literary markets first as they pay much better for poetry on average than a speculative market. I have managed to get $50 for one spec poem and now $100 for a literary poem. On average though, spec poems are around $10 and liiterary $20 and up. I also sent out about ten stories this month. And I continue writing on the erotic novel, but I'm going to have to pull the other novel out this coming week and read over it and the outline and synopsis if I'm going to do the Kansas workshop.
Next month I might delve into the very hard market of children's lit. I have a few stories so it won't take as long. I had this great dream two nights ago and woke up going, this would be a great young adult novel. It had the full plot, conflict and resolution. And can I remember it? No. Wah! But overall, I'm feeling rather accomplished, along with three sales for the month. Wheee!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Center for the Study of Science Fiction, Kansas
Well, on Saturday as Rhea and I discussed the worldbuilding workshop, then went for drinks and something to eat and to hammer out our second story some more (she threw a left curve into it so we had to sort out where it was NOW going), I talked about organizing the World Fantasy con SF Canada party. SF Canada is a very small country cousin to SFWA, the professional speculative writers organization.
I'm a member at large on our not too active board. We had talked about hosting a room party but our funds are limted as well and I knew no one would do anything unless I jumped on that bandwagon. I told Rhea that I'm doing this, one: because World Fantasy is in Canada this year (Calgary) and we should be highlighting our Canadian writers. It's part of SF Canada's mandates but rarely is much that's spectular done. Limited budget and all.
And I've been to enough WFCs to know what the parties are like. WFC is a professional con--mostly writers, publishers and editors. The schmooze quota can be high. My ulterior motive is that by being the organizer and being there I get to chat more with the editor/publishers. Not that it's been a huge problem in the past. Rhea kind of gave me a verbal bitch slap though, and said, why are you wasting this opportunity and you don't have a manuscript to pedal?
I said, because I'm just trying to keep myself in the saddle and write whatever I can and get something under my belt. Therefore I've been writing erotica because it's easy without getting bogged down in too much research or worldbuidling. I need to reinvigorate my writing, which has been working some. She wanted to know if there was any horror or fantasy in my novel but nooo, it's straight-out erotica. But damn her, she planted a seed in my wee brain.
And then I'm reading through LJ and read Kij's story. Some people have a way of evoking a world that's different than our reality but you swear after reading their tales that it's out there and you just hadn't noticed. Ursula LeGuin did it with Always Coming Home. Kij has done it several times. And then I recalled I'd been curious about the novel writing workshop she teaches in Kansas every summer. It's one of the few universities anywhwere that actually has a Center for the Study of Science Fiction. (Hmm, I hope fantasy is okay though I could argue my novel is SF just as Anne McCaffrey did.)
I gave her a call to just say hi but also to ask if this would be a good thing for me. Well, upshot is that if I can find the $$$ I think I'll take it as it will jumpstart the stalled novel. http://www2.ku.edu/~sfcenter/novel-workshop.htm If nothing else, then by WFC I'll at least have a partially reworked novel for consideration.
I'm a member at large on our not too active board. We had talked about hosting a room party but our funds are limted as well and I knew no one would do anything unless I jumped on that bandwagon. I told Rhea that I'm doing this, one: because World Fantasy is in Canada this year (Calgary) and we should be highlighting our Canadian writers. It's part of SF Canada's mandates but rarely is much that's spectular done. Limited budget and all.
And I've been to enough WFCs to know what the parties are like. WFC is a professional con--mostly writers, publishers and editors. The schmooze quota can be high. My ulterior motive is that by being the organizer and being there I get to chat more with the editor/publishers. Not that it's been a huge problem in the past. Rhea kind of gave me a verbal bitch slap though, and said, why are you wasting this opportunity and you don't have a manuscript to pedal?
I said, because I'm just trying to keep myself in the saddle and write whatever I can and get something under my belt. Therefore I've been writing erotica because it's easy without getting bogged down in too much research or worldbuidling. I need to reinvigorate my writing, which has been working some. She wanted to know if there was any horror or fantasy in my novel but nooo, it's straight-out erotica. But damn her, she planted a seed in my wee brain.
And then I'm reading through LJ and read Kij's story. Some people have a way of evoking a world that's different than our reality but you swear after reading their tales that it's out there and you just hadn't noticed. Ursula LeGuin did it with Always Coming Home. Kij has done it several times. And then I recalled I'd been curious about the novel writing workshop she teaches in Kansas every summer. It's one of the few universities anywhwere that actually has a Center for the Study of Science Fiction. (Hmm, I hope fantasy is okay though I could argue my novel is SF just as Anne McCaffrey did.)
I gave her a call to just say hi but also to ask if this would be a good thing for me. Well, upshot is that if I can find the $$$ I think I'll take it as it will jumpstart the stalled novel. http://www2.ku.edu/~sfcenter/novel-workshop.htm If nothing else, then by WFC I'll at least have a partially reworked novel for consideration.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Writing Collaborations
Rhea Rose and I are friends and writing buddies. Over the years we co-wrote, produced and acted in a Fringe Festival Play (Snow White and Rose Red are in the Bar Having a Drink), spurred each other on to writing poems and stories and generally kept the writing spark alive.
We've never co-wrote a poem but we would each pick a word (or sometimes an image) and then write a poem with those two words in it. So at one point I said, "bad lemons" and Rhea said, "dragonfly" and two poems were born. Sometimes the poems come quickly and sometimes we drag them out but it inspired us to write new poetry with images we might not have thought to put together by ourselves.
We decided to co-write a story. Mostly we have writing styles that mesh. This is good for flow and style, but perhaps it makes us too interchangeable. Still, a story that's not completely plotted out gains new elements, ideas and directions from each person.
The first story is still out on its maiden flight. We decided to write science fiction because the market these days is glutted with fantasy. However, neither of us are hard science, major tech writers. The characters are still the most important aspect of the story. The first genesis took some work and a lot of discussion.
We set deadlines: You must get the story back to me by this date and you have to have written a page. Rhea started with a paragraph. Then I wrote about a page and we sent it back and forth until it was done. One of us would call the other going, "Uh, what did you intend by adding this thing?" Or, "I haven't a clue what you're talking about here. Explain it to me."
Once the story was done, we each took a turn reading over it from the beginning, fleshing it out, tightening it up, clarifying ideas and descriptions. Then I proofread it and sent it out.
We're now working on our second story and like the poems, we each chose an image. We then sat around for a couple of nights discussing the ideas, characters, conflicts and plot, getting an idea of what the story would be, thinking of the implications of the science. Will this work? But why are they doing that? And always reminding ourselves to keep it fairly simple. Don't overcomplicate the plot.
We're still in progress. I started the story from the notes we kept, and then sent it to Rhea. She wrote more and sent it back to me. I worked over it some more, with a bit of a Eureka moment about the plot. It's now back with her. I think this story will even be stronger than the last and I like where we're headed with it. Usually whenI start a story I know about how long it will be. It's not so easy to tell when two brains are thinking on it. If nothing else, it has us fired up and our creative juices are flowing.
We've never co-wrote a poem but we would each pick a word (or sometimes an image) and then write a poem with those two words in it. So at one point I said, "bad lemons" and Rhea said, "dragonfly" and two poems were born. Sometimes the poems come quickly and sometimes we drag them out but it inspired us to write new poetry with images we might not have thought to put together by ourselves.
We decided to co-write a story. Mostly we have writing styles that mesh. This is good for flow and style, but perhaps it makes us too interchangeable. Still, a story that's not completely plotted out gains new elements, ideas and directions from each person.
The first story is still out on its maiden flight. We decided to write science fiction because the market these days is glutted with fantasy. However, neither of us are hard science, major tech writers. The characters are still the most important aspect of the story. The first genesis took some work and a lot of discussion.
We set deadlines: You must get the story back to me by this date and you have to have written a page. Rhea started with a paragraph. Then I wrote about a page and we sent it back and forth until it was done. One of us would call the other going, "Uh, what did you intend by adding this thing?" Or, "I haven't a clue what you're talking about here. Explain it to me."
Once the story was done, we each took a turn reading over it from the beginning, fleshing it out, tightening it up, clarifying ideas and descriptions. Then I proofread it and sent it out.
We're now working on our second story and like the poems, we each chose an image. We then sat around for a couple of nights discussing the ideas, characters, conflicts and plot, getting an idea of what the story would be, thinking of the implications of the science. Will this work? But why are they doing that? And always reminding ourselves to keep it fairly simple. Don't overcomplicate the plot.
We're still in progress. I started the story from the notes we kept, and then sent it to Rhea. She wrote more and sent it back to me. I worked over it some more, with a bit of a Eureka moment about the plot. It's now back with her. I think this story will even be stronger than the last and I like where we're headed with it. Usually whenI start a story I know about how long it will be. It's not so easy to tell when two brains are thinking on it. If nothing else, it has us fired up and our creative juices are flowing.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Why I Won't Buy Saturn Again
I have a 2003 Saturn Ion 3. When I bought it in 2004 it was a demo model with about 4,000 km on it. That the salesperson changed three times before I bought it should have been an indicator to me where Saturn was headed, and it seems to be...out of the world.
The dealership then closed. I had a VIP membership for lifetime free oil changes but had to go to the Morrey dealerships for that, Morrey Nissan. But the car was on warranty and I had to go to a Saturn dealership for any warranty work. Neither of these places were in the same city of course.
Under warranty I took the car in four times because the back passenger door didn't seal correctly and was most noticeable at high speeds. Four times and they never did fix it correctly. Now, if I open the door I have to push the loose molding back into place before shutting the door and it will minimize the air blowing through.
Under warranty I took the car in at least four times because it would idle high when cold out. It would not start high but after I'd driven it even a few minutes it would idle high when stopped at lights. If I shut off the car, it would reset. It only happened when cold, which told me that there was something wrong with the idle or throttle and cold weather caused it to freeze or stick. I took a small automotive course in high school and have enough of a logical mind that I can figure out basic mechanical. Somehow though, these days mechanics can't seem to use a brain to figure out a problem unless they plug it into a computer.
So I drove the car in one day and didn't shut it off and lo and behold they could find the problem. It was fixed but then the weather turned warm and I couldn't test it until the fall when it was cold again. And guess what, problem not fixed. Oh and the car, no longer under warranty and the part isn't working right and it has no warranty. So why would I bother to fix the part again, knowing that if it blows it's still not under any warranty and that I can keep paying and paying for the same part. That's what the service people told me.
Now my car was at about 70,000 km when the fan in the car stopped working. I could get heat but no fan to blow it around. But of course it wasn't the fan itself that wasn't working. It was the computer component and would cost over $600 to fix. On top of that I made an appointment and had to wait over four hours for them to check the car. Then they charged me $60 for telling me it would cost $600. The car's warranty ends at 60,000 km I believe.
I contacted Saturn/GM Canada and their generous offer was to go 50/50 on the fan part. That's it. Nothing on the other things they never managed to fix. And basically they're saying, well we won't make money on this part but we won't go out of the way to satisfy you.
Although the guys were nice and friendly at Lansdowne Saturn in Richmond, the service wasn't that great and one day, while waiting in Richmond to get picked up and taken back to my car, it took them over an hour. I was no more than ten minutes a way. One service guy condescended to me in explaining that the car might just be idling high because it was cold. As if I'm not aware of the difference between a cold idle and a stuck throttle.
So, this is why I won't buy Saturn again. Poor service, poor repair record, a very short warranty and no customer satisfaction from Saturn Canada.
Of the car itself, it's mileage was okay, it has a huge blind spot for turning corners, the visors only work if you're six feet tall. I loved the adjustable heat vents that could blow right on my hands. The door locks are stupidly designed and the pockets on the side doors are smaller than any map should you want to store them there. But a car under warranty comes part and parcel with the dealership and I wasn't convinced that with Saturn's lagging sales that I'll ever buy another Saturn again.
The dealership then closed. I had a VIP membership for lifetime free oil changes but had to go to the Morrey dealerships for that, Morrey Nissan. But the car was on warranty and I had to go to a Saturn dealership for any warranty work. Neither of these places were in the same city of course.
Under warranty I took the car in four times because the back passenger door didn't seal correctly and was most noticeable at high speeds. Four times and they never did fix it correctly. Now, if I open the door I have to push the loose molding back into place before shutting the door and it will minimize the air blowing through.
Under warranty I took the car in at least four times because it would idle high when cold out. It would not start high but after I'd driven it even a few minutes it would idle high when stopped at lights. If I shut off the car, it would reset. It only happened when cold, which told me that there was something wrong with the idle or throttle and cold weather caused it to freeze or stick. I took a small automotive course in high school and have enough of a logical mind that I can figure out basic mechanical. Somehow though, these days mechanics can't seem to use a brain to figure out a problem unless they plug it into a computer.
So I drove the car in one day and didn't shut it off and lo and behold they could find the problem. It was fixed but then the weather turned warm and I couldn't test it until the fall when it was cold again. And guess what, problem not fixed. Oh and the car, no longer under warranty and the part isn't working right and it has no warranty. So why would I bother to fix the part again, knowing that if it blows it's still not under any warranty and that I can keep paying and paying for the same part. That's what the service people told me.
Now my car was at about 70,000 km when the fan in the car stopped working. I could get heat but no fan to blow it around. But of course it wasn't the fan itself that wasn't working. It was the computer component and would cost over $600 to fix. On top of that I made an appointment and had to wait over four hours for them to check the car. Then they charged me $60 for telling me it would cost $600. The car's warranty ends at 60,000 km I believe.
I contacted Saturn/GM Canada and their generous offer was to go 50/50 on the fan part. That's it. Nothing on the other things they never managed to fix. And basically they're saying, well we won't make money on this part but we won't go out of the way to satisfy you.
Although the guys were nice and friendly at Lansdowne Saturn in Richmond, the service wasn't that great and one day, while waiting in Richmond to get picked up and taken back to my car, it took them over an hour. I was no more than ten minutes a way. One service guy condescended to me in explaining that the car might just be idling high because it was cold. As if I'm not aware of the difference between a cold idle and a stuck throttle.
So, this is why I won't buy Saturn again. Poor service, poor repair record, a very short warranty and no customer satisfaction from Saturn Canada.
Of the car itself, it's mileage was okay, it has a huge blind spot for turning corners, the visors only work if you're six feet tall. I loved the adjustable heat vents that could blow right on my hands. The door locks are stupidly designed and the pockets on the side doors are smaller than any map should you want to store them there. But a car under warranty comes part and parcel with the dealership and I wasn't convinced that with Saturn's lagging sales that I'll ever buy another Saturn again.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
New Sales
I have sold my flash fiction piece "Amuse-Bouche" to Shroud Magazine. http://www.shroudmagazine.com/home It should be out in issue #2.
I have also received confirmation that my story "Strict Management" will come out in the Cleis Press anthology Open for Business.
I'm still awaiting contracts for both of these so I have no more details as of yet.
December slowed down my posting to this site for several reasons. It took far longer to get my Ireland pictures up than I intended. I was behind on reading through the slush pile for Aberrant Dreams. As well it was the usual end of year season with parties and get togethers and shopping. On top of that my place was broken into before Christmas and my new camera with which I took the Ireland photos was stolen, along with two necklaces. I cannot afford at this time to replace my camera and I was hoping to become more proficient in digital and put my old Photography degree to work and start getting some of my pictures into the stock photo market.
That's on hold for now. And then my dear friend Bear, who had been in the hospital for fourteen months, died on Dec. 18th. It was a hard time and I'm still grieving. I broke a molar over the holidays, which I still must get the money for first before I can get it crowned. So December was a hard month in an otherwise good year. For me it was a productive year with more fiction/poetry sales than ever before and therefore the most money I've made in a year on publishing. As well it was the most money I made in nonfiction writing as well and let me buy the camera, a carpet, get some dental work done and go to Ireland.
I hope I can beat some my last year's records. Two confirmed sales for January is a good start.
I have also received confirmation that my story "Strict Management" will come out in the Cleis Press anthology Open for Business.
I'm still awaiting contracts for both of these so I have no more details as of yet.
December slowed down my posting to this site for several reasons. It took far longer to get my Ireland pictures up than I intended. I was behind on reading through the slush pile for Aberrant Dreams. As well it was the usual end of year season with parties and get togethers and shopping. On top of that my place was broken into before Christmas and my new camera with which I took the Ireland photos was stolen, along with two necklaces. I cannot afford at this time to replace my camera and I was hoping to become more proficient in digital and put my old Photography degree to work and start getting some of my pictures into the stock photo market.
That's on hold for now. And then my dear friend Bear, who had been in the hospital for fourteen months, died on Dec. 18th. It was a hard time and I'm still grieving. I broke a molar over the holidays, which I still must get the money for first before I can get it crowned. So December was a hard month in an otherwise good year. For me it was a productive year with more fiction/poetry sales than ever before and therefore the most money I've made in a year on publishing. As well it was the most money I made in nonfiction writing as well and let me buy the camera, a carpet, get some dental work done and go to Ireland.
I hope I can beat some my last year's records. Two confirmed sales for January is a good start.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Glasgow & the End of a Journey
Our last day in Glasgow started with the museum and then we went off to St. Mungo's religious museum. Housed in the oldest standing building in Glasgow, it was a fairly bland exhibition and the building wasn't that interesting. So we walked up the street and over to the Glasgow Cathedral, but it was late in the day and it turned out it closed at 4:00. The guy was really just locking up so he said you have five minutes.
I zoomed around taking pictures, without actually really looking at the place. The Cathedral is supposed to be one of the few gothic cathedrals in Scotland, especially one that is whole and still used. It was built in 1471 and really is a fine example of gothic architecture. I wished I'd had more time to actually look.
After that we tried to find our way back to Will and Erin's. Unfortunately I'd forgotten their phone number. We also got lost because a helpful lady had told us what bus to catch back but it turned out there were two buses with the same name and a different ending, thus splitting and going varying routes. Which meant backtracking.
My sister was done. We had to walk about three blocks to catch another bus, after doing a partial return route. She thought we'd been walking for hours when it was less than ten minutes. :) A very drunk Scotsmen chatted with us (we had to catch a bus outside a pub, of course) and it turned out it was the other bus stop across the street from the pub. So he was a very drunk, yet helpful Scotsman.
So we finally made it back, with Will and Erin wondering what had happened to us. The next morning we flew out on Air Transat but not without issues. My sister had called them several times before she'd left and confirmed how many bags she could take on the plane, and on carry-on. She confirmed with the person on the phone and asked about leaving from Scotland. He confirmed with his supervisor that yes, she could take a bag and her camera bag as well.
Well, it turns out they have their own rules. My sister ended up paying overweight baggage because of it and was rightfully furious because she had to pack one back into everything else. My recommendations: don't fly Air Transat if you're flying more than two hours. The seats are small even for someone 5'4". If you need a special diet, they'll lose it or muck it up badly. And someone travelling with you will probably get a special diet they didn't order, as I did. They'll tell you one thing and do another and not be the least helpful or apologetic for it. The seats cost extra so that super cheap flight turns out not that cheap in the end.
Europe and Great Britain especially have tighter baggage allowances and the airline won't always know what it is or get the info confused. The attendants on Air Transat were very nice and helpful but everything else convinced me I won't be flying with them again.
At least the return trip was more pleasant. The plane wasn't completely full so I went and chatted with this Scottsman, Ian MacIntosh who lived in Calgray. That way, my sister and I both had extra room.
Over all, Ireland was a great trip. The trip was from Sept. 26-Oct. 16 and it's taken me this long to post my pictures. I want to go back and explore more of western Ireland and some of the south. I think I'd fly into Wales and then from Wales to the west of Ireland. Of course I'll have to buy a camera again, but that's a tale for tomorrow...
I zoomed around taking pictures, without actually really looking at the place. The Cathedral is supposed to be one of the few gothic cathedrals in Scotland, especially one that is whole and still used. It was built in 1471 and really is a fine example of gothic architecture. I wished I'd had more time to actually look.
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| Ireland 2007--Glas |
After that we tried to find our way back to Will and Erin's. Unfortunately I'd forgotten their phone number. We also got lost because a helpful lady had told us what bus to catch back but it turned out there were two buses with the same name and a different ending, thus splitting and going varying routes. Which meant backtracking.
My sister was done. We had to walk about three blocks to catch another bus, after doing a partial return route. She thought we'd been walking for hours when it was less than ten minutes. :) A very drunk Scotsmen chatted with us (we had to catch a bus outside a pub, of course) and it turned out it was the other bus stop across the street from the pub. So he was a very drunk, yet helpful Scotsman.
So we finally made it back, with Will and Erin wondering what had happened to us. The next morning we flew out on Air Transat but not without issues. My sister had called them several times before she'd left and confirmed how many bags she could take on the plane, and on carry-on. She confirmed with the person on the phone and asked about leaving from Scotland. He confirmed with his supervisor that yes, she could take a bag and her camera bag as well.
Well, it turns out they have their own rules. My sister ended up paying overweight baggage because of it and was rightfully furious because she had to pack one back into everything else. My recommendations: don't fly Air Transat if you're flying more than two hours. The seats are small even for someone 5'4". If you need a special diet, they'll lose it or muck it up badly. And someone travelling with you will probably get a special diet they didn't order, as I did. They'll tell you one thing and do another and not be the least helpful or apologetic for it. The seats cost extra so that super cheap flight turns out not that cheap in the end.
Europe and Great Britain especially have tighter baggage allowances and the airline won't always know what it is or get the info confused. The attendants on Air Transat were very nice and helpful but everything else convinced me I won't be flying with them again.
At least the return trip was more pleasant. The plane wasn't completely full so I went and chatted with this Scottsman, Ian MacIntosh who lived in Calgray. That way, my sister and I both had extra room.
Over all, Ireland was a great trip. The trip was from Sept. 26-Oct. 16 and it's taken me this long to post my pictures. I want to go back and explore more of western Ireland and some of the south. I think I'd fly into Wales and then from Wales to the west of Ireland. Of course I'll have to buy a camera again, but that's a tale for tomorrow...
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Glasgow & the Kelvingrove Museum
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| Ireland 2007--Glas |
Our lovely trip to Ireland ended and on Monday morning we flew back to Glasgow to Will and Erin's place, wonderful people to put us up in their wee flat. I think my sister and I were a bit dragged out and didn't really do more that snooze until they got home. If I recall Erin was still in Iceland(?) that night.
The next day we trundled off with directions and map, taking the bus to the Glasgow museum (which I now remember is called the Kelvingrove Museum). It was a cold day and just as well as a transition out of Ireland. Ireland seemed cozier and smaller (and warmer!). Glasgow's a pretty large modern city. Even Dublin held more of a sense of age. So in a way it was good to transition back to Vancouver.
The museum was interesting. Some things the same as all. A section on indigenous wildlife, including all the extinct indigenous wildlife. Humans have wiped out so many species and it continues. It's sad to see that. If we could learn to populate less, farm/hunt more efficiently and in a renewable way, we might exist another thousand years but I'm having my doubts right now.
There were some interesting paintings and sculptures in the museum too. The small section on women's early subjugation and suffragette movements was eye opening. I knew there were a lot of "Victorian" inventions with things like the chastity belt and that any earlier versions have never been found. If I was exploring this farther I'd want to know more of the history and dating of the objects.
The Art Nouveau/Deco section and the stuff on Renne MacIntosh, Scotland's darling were wonderful. I'm very partial to Art Nouveau so spent a lot of time there drooling on things. And of course seeing the jacket from hmm, what era, the Reformation, the 17th century was cool as the only piece of clothing I saw there. I think there might have been a bit I missed.
After we wandered around Glasgow and had the most awful Scottish-Mexican food. A breaded cheeseball with salsa. Potatoes with salsa. My sister got glutened so it added trips to the loo. The rest of the pictures and the trip will be in the last batch and then I'm done.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Dublin & Keating's Bar
Sunday October 14, nearing the end of our trip and our last night in Ireland. We had come back to Dublin a day earlier hoping to have some time to see a few more sights but what with getting lost over and over again, we really had time only to pack, drop off the car and get something to eat. We were downtown on a Sunday and couldn't find much. So we ate at a diner with unremarkable food.
We then caught a taxi (turns out it was only a few blocks away) to Keating's Bar because my friend Will in Glasgow had said check it out. It turns out the be an old church that fell into disrepair. Eventually it was bought by a local restaruateur and restored, keeping both the history of the place preserved and opening an establishment that has more parishioners of food than anything else. The crypt in the basement (with tombs in the floor) is the wine bar. The large open space bathrooms are down there where you walk in and go right if you're a man and left if you're a woman. When you're at the sinks you can see men and women.
The main floor has a loong loval bar down the middle and the top floor, overlooking the main floor is the dining area. If we had known there'd be food we would have eaten there and had a better meal.
We had an early flight the next day so we caught a taxi back to the B&B and that was that. There are about two days left of pictures from Glasgow and then it will be back to regular writing.
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| Ireland 2007--Keat |
We then caught a taxi (turns out it was only a few blocks away) to Keating's Bar because my friend Will in Glasgow had said check it out. It turns out the be an old church that fell into disrepair. Eventually it was bought by a local restaruateur and restored, keeping both the history of the place preserved and opening an establishment that has more parishioners of food than anything else. The crypt in the basement (with tombs in the floor) is the wine bar. The large open space bathrooms are down there where you walk in and go right if you're a man and left if you're a woman. When you're at the sinks you can see men and women.
The main floor has a loong loval bar down the middle and the top floor, overlooking the main floor is the dining area. If we had known there'd be food we would have eaten there and had a better meal.
We had an early flight the next day so we caught a taxi back to the B&B and that was that. There are about two days left of pictures from Glasgow and then it will be back to regular writing.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Kilkenny
As I said, Kilkenny was a college town and we arrived on a Saturday. After we'd settled in at our B&B we went to find dinner. Everything was packed because it was Saturday but we managed to get into an Italian restaurant. It was fairly nice and my sister managed to get a gluten-free meal in an Italian restaurant. Amazing.
While we were there I noticed this man eating his pasta and skewering something from a bowl. I finally figured out he was eating French fries. Then two women came in and one ordered pasta and another pizza. They had a bowl of boiled potatoes brought to go with their meal. How do the Irish manage to stay so thin? Probably the fuel to keep them warm considering the price of heating.
Afterward we were told there was live music as a couple of places. We hunted them down but it turned out to be mostly discos with security guards standing outside. Yeesh. I didn't want that so we popped into a quieter pub. Well, it was so quiet I mentioned it was downright funereal. We were finishing up our last drink when these guys sent over some drinks.
It turned out the three of them were from Belfast and down for the races. They were very nice, didn't hide that two of them were married and bought us drinks. I was talking to the cop from Belfast but as the pub closed he said let's go dancing. I said sure so we left. But it turned out the whole town was closing up, and it was very very foggy, and I had over two pints of cider sitting in my bladder. Since none of us knew the town enough to know what was open we said goodbye.
My sister and I found the car (with burgeoning bladders) and tried to find our way back uphill in the fog. It was so thick we drove past our B&B and really were only a block away when I had to pull the car over, run up someone's lawn and piss by the bushes. It was like Austin Powers, with the stream never ending. Sorry folks, it was the less embarassing option and the fog hid the dirty deed. Then I found our place and my sister ran up the stairs while I parked. She made it just in time too. :)
The next day we took in Kilkenny castle. No pictures are allowed and they make you check your camera. The castle was sold off by some descendant of the Butlers who held it for centuries, early in the 1900s I think. It's been renovated and refurbished and some orginal pieces bought back. Many were auctioned off and the Irish OPW keeps hoping to find some of the original piecies. There was a very long drawing room, filled with paintings on the walls. They said it was only about a third of how many were in there. Overall, they've redone the castle in a Baroque/Rococco style when it was probably at the last of its opulence.
It was a good tour and I wished I'd recorded it. There's so much that you forget. After Kilkenny we headed back to Dublin. It was a bit longer of a drive and we got into the city okay but true to Dublin, promptly got lost several times. Finally, after asking directions often we got to our B&B and then took the car back downtown to where we had to drop it off. Yeesh, none of the directions matched what we were told so we had to drive around three times to find the drop-off point. And of course that meant going some very long blocks out of our way. I don't relish ever driving in Dublin.
While we were there I noticed this man eating his pasta and skewering something from a bowl. I finally figured out he was eating French fries. Then two women came in and one ordered pasta and another pizza. They had a bowl of boiled potatoes brought to go with their meal. How do the Irish manage to stay so thin? Probably the fuel to keep them warm considering the price of heating.
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| Ireland 2007--Kilk |
Afterward we were told there was live music as a couple of places. We hunted them down but it turned out to be mostly discos with security guards standing outside. Yeesh. I didn't want that so we popped into a quieter pub. Well, it was so quiet I mentioned it was downright funereal. We were finishing up our last drink when these guys sent over some drinks.
It turned out the three of them were from Belfast and down for the races. They were very nice, didn't hide that two of them were married and bought us drinks. I was talking to the cop from Belfast but as the pub closed he said let's go dancing. I said sure so we left. But it turned out the whole town was closing up, and it was very very foggy, and I had over two pints of cider sitting in my bladder. Since none of us knew the town enough to know what was open we said goodbye.
My sister and I found the car (with burgeoning bladders) and tried to find our way back uphill in the fog. It was so thick we drove past our B&B and really were only a block away when I had to pull the car over, run up someone's lawn and piss by the bushes. It was like Austin Powers, with the stream never ending. Sorry folks, it was the less embarassing option and the fog hid the dirty deed. Then I found our place and my sister ran up the stairs while I parked. She made it just in time too. :)
The next day we took in Kilkenny castle. No pictures are allowed and they make you check your camera. The castle was sold off by some descendant of the Butlers who held it for centuries, early in the 1900s I think. It's been renovated and refurbished and some orginal pieces bought back. Many were auctioned off and the Irish OPW keeps hoping to find some of the original piecies. There was a very long drawing room, filled with paintings on the walls. They said it was only about a third of how many were in there. Overall, they've redone the castle in a Baroque/Rococco style when it was probably at the last of its opulence.
It was a good tour and I wished I'd recorded it. There's so much that you forget. After Kilkenny we headed back to Dublin. It was a bit longer of a drive and we got into the city okay but true to Dublin, promptly got lost several times. Finally, after asking directions often we got to our B&B and then took the car back downtown to where we had to drop it off. Yeesh, none of the directions matched what we were told so we had to drive around three times to find the drop-off point. And of course that meant going some very long blocks out of our way. I don't relish ever driving in Dublin.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Waterford
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| Ireland 2007--Wate |
Waterford was one of the last stops on the Irish trip on a Saturday. We didn't know if the cyrstal factory was open as some guidebooks and maps said no and others said yes. It turned out it was so we zipped in after the Lismore adventures and a short stop at Carrick on Suir to see the disappointing and locked (and fenced) supposed Castle Ormonde. Previous incarnations were probably a real castle but this was nothing more than a manor house. Booo!
So we made it to Waterford with enough time to browse the shops and go on the hour tour. I have a fair number of friends who are glass artists so it was quite amazing to see a glassblowing factory of this size. There were several buildings and although it was a Saturday there was at least one, or more people working in each section.
There was the special section for one of a kind molds, then the assembly line building for blowers blowing into molds. There was a large are with row on row of cutters and another smaller room for engravers. As well there was a quality inspection area. Every piece is inspected and must pass high standards. Every piece is hand blown or molded and hand cut or engraved. Then these pieces of crystal are put through a hydrochloric acid bath that takes off the sharp edges and white brushed look to the glass. I remember some older pieces of crystal goblets my mother had, having sharp edges. obviously the acid baths are of a new era.
I ran into a glass artist here in Vancouver who said they did an order for Waterford. Waterford Crystal's Q&A team came over and the studio only had a 50% acceptance rate, the controls were so stringent. It was quite amazing to watch the cutting and engraving and the sheer size of the factory. I was curious how they got the rounded edges on the cuts. Now I know but I still don't find crystal that appealing. Meh.
We drove on that evening to Kilkenny, home of the beer, of course. We almost lost our luck for B&Bs. We tried two pubs for asking and were told everything was full. It was always better to ask where there were older people serving as the younger ones weren't that friendly or helpful. We drove to three B&Bs that were all full and finally found a nice little house with a very friendly couple. Turns out Kilkenny is a college town where everyone comes on the weekend to party. And yes, it was the weekend.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Dungarvin, Lismore and the Benedictine Abbey
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| Ireland 2007--Dung |
After Cashel, we went on to Dungarvin, a cute little coastal town in the south of Ireland. It was warm here and the accents on some people, like one fisherman, were very thick. We drove up to Bridie Dees, with its colourful front of black and red and had a drink. There was a little fireplace at the back with a pot of coal and a shovel to take the chill off. I don't even know if this place had any other type of heat but it was pleasant at this time of year. I believe we were on to Friday night by now, though I've lost track in this journey.
We asked the bartender if there were any B&Bs and he suggested a place two doors down. We called around a few places but they seemed to be a little more expensive and 40 Euros each was about our top limit. I couldn't find the place (because he'd given me the name of another one) so he walked me down the two doors. There were many many stairs as this was more like a small hotel above a pub. Any place that has a pub underneath is less personal and more hotelly in all.
I carted my sister's suitcase up the stairs so that it would minimize how many times her now sore knee would have to deal with them. I think we went back to Bridies and had another drink. I don't remember at all where we ate but we went to another pub. (is this where we met Dungarvin Dan?) There was this older farmer fellow (tweed jacket and cap, baggy worn corduroy trousers and wellies) in one place who was barely decipherable. He bought us a drink and talked about Irish hospitality, which was about all we could understand.
We then went to another pub that had live music and listened to a group called the Rogues. They were rather good and played some fast paced music, so that I couldn't stand it anymore and just got up and danced. Unfortunately they were out of CDs or I would have bought one.
The next day, Saturday we scooted out of Dungarvin, then went to Lismore but the castle is still occupied (and very spiff overlooking the river) so we couldn't go in. There was supposed to be an abbey but either the lads thought it closed or they thought we meant the Benedictine abbey which was down a winding road but not in Lismore. It was all right but not particularly old. The little winding roads can take a long while at times.
It was a pleasant and warm drive. Our next stop, Waterford.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Blarney Castle
It turns out my pictures are a bit in the wrong order. There was the day that included Limerick and King John's castle (getting there in the nick of time) and then driving to Blarney and finding we just had enough time to get to the castle. So Blarney was the end of our day and thenwe did Cashel the next day. I think.
The weather was so warm this day and we got there just before the sun was setting. They said, you have about a half hour for the castle but the grounds are open longer. The grounds were very peaceful and evocative. The castle itself was impressive for it height (destroyed in 1446 and never reconstructed from the looks of it. It was here that the Blarney Stone kissed me when I was snooping in dark and narrow passageways.
After the stars stopped spinning about me I went into the castle. There were only a couple of other people and at one point this guy yelled down, Are you going up or down? I said up and he said, hurry because I'm closing. So up and up and up and up I went. My sister had wandered off, having both a bum knee and a fear of heights, she couldn't have done Blarney.
I have to say the view was spectacular the the grounds exquisiste. I love some of the pictures from the top in my faves of Ireland. I didn't kiss the stone at the top, where you lay over this open grate to the grounds hundreds of feet below. I said to the guy, I hear the local lads do other things on the stone. He said not since he'd been there and since the grounds (and later the castle) were locked I could see that it's probably not done anymore.
A couple of women completed the ritual as I wandered and took pictures and started down. I didn't realize it but everyone had left except for the Blarney guy and me. He accidentally found me on the way down and said, you better hurry, I almost locked you in. So I trundled down and spent another 20 minutes on the grounds.
It was starting to get cold and dark and it was time to go. My sister might have thought I'd been locked in but I eventually found her outside the property gates. As we walked back to the car the Blarney guy drove by and beeped his horn, then turned around and went back the other way, beeping his horn at me again. Friendly fellow. We then drove on to Cashel and found a place to stay.
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| Ireland 2007--Blar |
The weather was so warm this day and we got there just before the sun was setting. They said, you have about a half hour for the castle but the grounds are open longer. The grounds were very peaceful and evocative. The castle itself was impressive for it height (destroyed in 1446 and never reconstructed from the looks of it. It was here that the Blarney Stone kissed me when I was snooping in dark and narrow passageways.
After the stars stopped spinning about me I went into the castle. There were only a couple of other people and at one point this guy yelled down, Are you going up or down? I said up and he said, hurry because I'm closing. So up and up and up and up I went. My sister had wandered off, having both a bum knee and a fear of heights, she couldn't have done Blarney.
I have to say the view was spectacular the the grounds exquisiste. I love some of the pictures from the top in my faves of Ireland. I didn't kiss the stone at the top, where you lay over this open grate to the grounds hundreds of feet below. I said to the guy, I hear the local lads do other things on the stone. He said not since he'd been there and since the grounds (and later the castle) were locked I could see that it's probably not done anymore.
A couple of women completed the ritual as I wandered and took pictures and started down. I didn't realize it but everyone had left except for the Blarney guy and me. He accidentally found me on the way down and said, you better hurry, I almost locked you in. So I trundled down and spent another 20 minutes on the grounds.
It was starting to get cold and dark and it was time to go. My sister might have thought I'd been locked in but I eventually found her outside the property gates. As we walked back to the car the Blarney guy drove by and beeped his horn, then turned around and went back the other way, beeping his horn at me again. Friendly fellow. We then drove on to Cashel and found a place to stay.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Limerick
I seem to have got myself out of order. Limerick was before Cashel and Blarney was after Limerick. I'll probably fudge the dates in a day or two to get these right. So without further ado, here's King John's Castle. We were in and out of Limerick in about two hours. The pictures (and the captions) speak for themselves.
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| Ireland 2007--King John's Castle |
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
The Rock of Cashel
Cashel was a lovely town (I've now officially lost track of the days). The Rock of Cashel is the mound on which the castle is built. It's suffered some weather damage over the years from wind (parts blown down) and rain. It's a sprawling place and cold. It was a windy enough day there but we could see from all sides, overlooking the town or the country. I didn't do as well a job of editing these photos so there are a lot of pictures of fresco details and pillars.
Viewing over the cemetery, the distant hills show a dip. We were told that the tale goes that one day the devil was walking along, in a foul mood and took a big bite out of the hills. That dip is called the Devil's Bite and when the devil spit out the chomp he took, it made the Rock of Cashel.
Brian Boru, and his grandson were some of the Munster kings that ruled from here. But his grandson gave the castle over to the Bishop of Limerick. The town itself was fairly small and we were hardpressed to find a place to eat that night, but ate at the Town Hall a higher end but very good restaurant.
We'd had a drink in one of local pubs earlier and many of the pubs in this area of Ireland have little hearths and some that burn coal still. We spent several hours at Cashel and then moved on to Limerick.
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| Ireland 2007--Cash |
Viewing over the cemetery, the distant hills show a dip. We were told that the tale goes that one day the devil was walking along, in a foul mood and took a big bite out of the hills. That dip is called the Devil's Bite and when the devil spit out the chomp he took, it made the Rock of Cashel.
Brian Boru, and his grandson were some of the Munster kings that ruled from here. But his grandson gave the castle over to the Bishop of Limerick. The town itself was fairly small and we were hardpressed to find a place to eat that night, but ate at the Town Hall a higher end but very good restaurant.
We'd had a drink in one of local pubs earlier and many of the pubs in this area of Ireland have little hearths and some that burn coal still. We spent several hours at Cashel and then moved on to Limerick.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Dysert O'Dea
We accidentally found Dysert O'Dea (pronounced O'Day), which was good as it was in the guidebook as having this wonderful doorway. But it was at the end of the day and Oct. so as we drove up to this rather small castle, we knew it was closed. There was a guy sitting in a Hummer like truck parked at the front of the castle. He was nice enough to move out of the way so we could take pictures.
Then he tolds us where the high cross and church were that we might very well have missed if we'd driven out. We did drive to a cattle gate and pulled to the side of the road. This was a real farm road so in some ways it was much bigger.
The castle was newer than the church which was newer than St. Tola's high cross and the ruins of the tower, which were from the 12th century. The cross holds an carving of Christ and of a bishop (St. Tola) who founded the monastery centuries before, I believe.The doorway was in good shape and very cool with all the faces. Each one was different and some human, others animals.
I'm not sure if we were in the Burren anymore or just out of it but there was such a distortion of time for us looking at the maps. A map of all of BC and a map of Ireland are the same size on paper. But a one-inch distance on a BC map could be 2 hours of driving, whereas on the Irish map it's probably 15 minutes.
Which means we managed to go from Carrowmore in the rainy morning, to Dunguaire, Kinvara, Ailwee Caves, Poulnabrone Burren, Carran Church, Dysert O'Dea castle and church all in one day. We were getting into the very tail of the day. We rarely stopped for lunch. After Dysert O'Dea we drove to the town of Ennis and found a place for the evening.
Then he tolds us where the high cross and church were that we might very well have missed if we'd driven out. We did drive to a cattle gate and pulled to the side of the road. This was a real farm road so in some ways it was much bigger.
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| Ireland 2007--Dyse |
The castle was newer than the church which was newer than St. Tola's high cross and the ruins of the tower, which were from the 12th century. The cross holds an carving of Christ and of a bishop (St. Tola) who founded the monastery centuries before, I believe.The doorway was in good shape and very cool with all the faces. Each one was different and some human, others animals.
I'm not sure if we were in the Burren anymore or just out of it but there was such a distortion of time for us looking at the maps. A map of all of BC and a map of Ireland are the same size on paper. But a one-inch distance on a BC map could be 2 hours of driving, whereas on the Irish map it's probably 15 minutes.
Which means we managed to go from Carrowmore in the rainy morning, to Dunguaire, Kinvara, Ailwee Caves, Poulnabrone Burren, Carran Church, Dysert O'Dea castle and church all in one day. We were getting into the very tail of the day. We rarely stopped for lunch. After Dysert O'Dea we drove to the town of Ennis and found a place for the evening.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Kinbane Castle
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| Ireland 2007--Kinb |
On Monday October 1, we left Ballycastle. At our B&B were a family from Seattle. They'd been driving about for two weeks and were on their third week. They said, stop at Kinbane on the way. It's not very far. And it wasn't.
It was down a long hill. They really didn't want people to go to the castle anymore. There were bars across the path but easy to straddle. As I moved around the hill, there was a second barricade just before the beach. I squeezed past that one, and it was obvious many had.
I loved the look of this castle, built in 1544 by Colla MacDonnell (of Balymargy Friary fame). It was shot at and partially destroyed at one point, but one of the MacDonnells lived there till the end of his days. Mostly what is left is one of the towers. It couldn't have been a very big castle but I can see how this would have been a great fortification. Rugged stony cliffs to the sea and steep steps up to the castle by land.
This castle gave me a great appreciation for the hardiness of those people of centuries past. To hike up and down that hill would definitely make one fit. Even though it was a bit breezy, I was quite warm by the time I pantingly reached the top.
The castle and rock itself are now made unapproachable, the way securely barricaded. The structure was originally besieged and with time it has become highly unstable. I loved many of the castles for different reasons but Kinbane had the true sense of a fortification of the most austere type. This was only the first of our stops on Monday, and the first of a few hikes.
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