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This and That
Sep. 14th, 2005 08:11 amCharity
There is still time to bid on the silent LJ auction for charity! The bids stand at $50 for the signed first-edition hardcovers (a total STEAL, that's roughly 1/2 cost) and $30 for the animal mysteries. Bidding will continue until midnight on Saturday.
Season Premieres
I saw half of Bones and am withholding judgement; wasn't impressed, but premieres are often quite different than how the show itself shakes out. House was great, although my father called me towards the end... so... what did the woman with the cough really have?
Another Complaint About the Bouchercon Dealer's Room
The book I am currently reviewing - an entertaining one that so far stands a good chance of a positive review instead of a Dear Author letter - was officially published on 9/12. I got a copy of it Bouchercon weekend... but not in the dealer's room. No, the mystery people didn't supply it, I found it in an offbeat branch of Barbara's Bookstore called "Barbara's Bestsellers." One of those tiny stores (it's about the size of my living room) with notes about the books stuck on every shelf, I had been sent there by the concierge as a side trip on my way to Borders. So that's two bookstores that stole a march on what should have been the premiere mystery bookstore.
Teaching Company
Rather than continuing to obsess about Classics of American Literature, I figured the smart thing to do would be to pop in the introductory lecture of Literature and Life, as it is taught by the same professor. Dr. Weinstein of Brown has a pretty good underlying theory - that while history teaches us facts about the past, only literature really shows us what people thought and felt about their times. The best of literature "speaks to them and also speaks to us" in showing how certain themes survive and adapt through time. (Suddenly many of his choices for the American Lit class make much more sense.)
However, it is fandom and only fandom that gave me the giggles when he said "The theory is that the texts we read are filled with subtexts."
Resolutions
The year is quickly waning and I'm looking at my resolution list going "Er." So many things I want to do, so many that I need to do, and so little time left, and no good plan for accomplishing them. I was supposed to be more organized by now, that was the point of the list.
The question is, do I play with my shiney new toy (I have everything required for the Teaching Co. Lit & Life class) because it's what interests me right now, or do I stick with the original set of tasks because they're what I'm "supposed" to do? Will it make a cosmic difference if I make quilts 5 months from now instead of two, or am I rotting my already weak willpower by switching according to the urge du jour?
(And considering that Life Is Prone To Change and the master resolution list - the one y'all don't see but I twiddle with every month - is already up to 2007, should I knock off the annual resolutions and simply post a rotating list each month of Things I Want To Get Done, with the crossed-off parts disappearing after a month or so?)
On the whole, the montly list-post-crossoff method has kept me on track and kept things from falling through the cracks and being forgotten. I just haven't figured out the best way of keeping it working.
There is still time to bid on the silent LJ auction for charity! The bids stand at $50 for the signed first-edition hardcovers (a total STEAL, that's roughly 1/2 cost) and $30 for the animal mysteries. Bidding will continue until midnight on Saturday.
Season Premieres
I saw half of Bones and am withholding judgement; wasn't impressed, but premieres are often quite different than how the show itself shakes out. House was great, although my father called me towards the end... so... what did the woman with the cough really have?
Another Complaint About the Bouchercon Dealer's Room
The book I am currently reviewing - an entertaining one that so far stands a good chance of a positive review instead of a Dear Author letter - was officially published on 9/12. I got a copy of it Bouchercon weekend... but not in the dealer's room. No, the mystery people didn't supply it, I found it in an offbeat branch of Barbara's Bookstore called "Barbara's Bestsellers." One of those tiny stores (it's about the size of my living room) with notes about the books stuck on every shelf, I had been sent there by the concierge as a side trip on my way to Borders. So that's two bookstores that stole a march on what should have been the premiere mystery bookstore.
Teaching Company
Rather than continuing to obsess about Classics of American Literature, I figured the smart thing to do would be to pop in the introductory lecture of Literature and Life, as it is taught by the same professor. Dr. Weinstein of Brown has a pretty good underlying theory - that while history teaches us facts about the past, only literature really shows us what people thought and felt about their times. The best of literature "speaks to them and also speaks to us" in showing how certain themes survive and adapt through time. (Suddenly many of his choices for the American Lit class make much more sense.)
However, it is fandom and only fandom that gave me the giggles when he said "The theory is that the texts we read are filled with subtexts."
Resolutions
The year is quickly waning and I'm looking at my resolution list going "Er." So many things I want to do, so many that I need to do, and so little time left, and no good plan for accomplishing them. I was supposed to be more organized by now, that was the point of the list.
The question is, do I play with my shiney new toy (I have everything required for the Teaching Co. Lit & Life class) because it's what interests me right now, or do I stick with the original set of tasks because they're what I'm "supposed" to do? Will it make a cosmic difference if I make quilts 5 months from now instead of two, or am I rotting my already weak willpower by switching according to the urge du jour?
(And considering that Life Is Prone To Change and the master resolution list - the one y'all don't see but I twiddle with every month - is already up to 2007, should I knock off the annual resolutions and simply post a rotating list each month of Things I Want To Get Done, with the crossed-off parts disappearing after a month or so?)
On the whole, the montly list-post-crossoff method has kept me on track and kept things from falling through the cracks and being forgotten. I just haven't figured out the best way of keeping it working.
