Cycling News
My cycling blog is over at The Wandering Mind
Ok, that line isn’t in the book, it’s from the Disney movie Alice in Wonderland from 1951. But it is from the tea party scene. With the coming release of the Tim Burton movie, “Alice in Wonderland” many of us are feeling some Alice-fever. Based on this idea, Gypsyscarlett has posted a very intriguing list of six authors, 3 male, 3 female, she would invite to a tea party. Although whittling the list down to only six was almost physically painful, here are my six who made the cut:
1. Lewis Carroll. The man himself, the inventor of the Mad Tea Party, would be the penultimate guest at such a soiree. And of course he’d have to finally explain why a raven is like a writing desk.
2. Jane Austen. You had to see that coming. So many questions about her books, where she got her inspiration, how many of her characters were based on real people, why she had Cassandra burn her letters after her death. Her insights into human nature and emotion blew me away. For a country parson’s daughter to achieve what she did while living the stifling sort of life an unmarried woman in early 19th century England was condemned to is nothing short of miraculous. Why do we lose so many of the great ones so young?
3. Virginia Woolf. Another trail-blazer. I’d love to have her and Jane Austen in the same room. Honestly, the woman is an icon, what more can I say?
4. Isaac Asimov. His visions of the future are still the basis for movies, research, books, you name it. The inventor of the Three Laws of Robotics (1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm; 2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law; 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law) will hopefully govern the behavior and development of robots as they become more and more human-like in the future, as I have no doubt they will.
5. Jack Kerouac. We have to have one wild child. I want to hear more road stories, in his beautiful prose. The man sure had a way with words. Charles Laughton, who did one-man reading tours, included a selection from “The Dharma Bums” that makes you stop whatever you’re doing and listen. As Mr. Laughton said, “Not too bad for a beatnik.” Another one we lost way too soon.
6. Edith Wharton. Her novels gave us a glimpse of life among the wealthy and privileged and what the consequences can be for those who somehow fall outside the lines in late 19th c – early 20th c New York. I would love to know what she really thought of her peers. And I’d like to settle the question of whether Lily Bart’s death was suicide or an accidental overdose.
So those are my picks for a tea party, although I could see this lasting well into the night and the drink eventually turning to sterner stuff.
Now, who would you invite to tea?
One more image from the striking Goth Tarot deck by Winny. I had to show you the Judgement card:
Once again, click the image for the large version so you can see the details. I like how she’s reaching towards you with her hand, with the light issuing from her palm. Is she coming for you, or offering assistance?
I don’t want to run afoul of copyright laws so I won’t be posting anymore, since it is just a Majors deck, but this was too spectacular not to share. With my obsession with vampires, the bats were just the ulimate touch.
Many many moons ago, when I was a young whippersnapper, my eldest sister gave me a deck of Tarot cards, specifically the Swiss 1JJ deck. Little did she know it would be the catalyst of a life-long obsession with the Tarot. I still have that deck, in the original box. It traveled around the world with me while I was in the Navy, and I recall reading for friends with it in our rooms in the barracks at various bases. Incredibly it is still in virtually pristine condition. The box itself is just a teensy bit dinged up, but that’s not too bad, all things considered.
My next deck I purchased myself: The venerable Rider-Waite, aka Waite-Smith. It too is still in its original tuck box, although the top flap has left us. But the cards themselves are still like new. Since those days, I have collected both books and decks. Then, as now, I only acquired decks because I loved them. I liked the different themes and artistic takes on the those same 22, or 78 cards. I never gave a thought to anything becoming ‘collectible,’ I just acquired what I liked, or what was given to me. The only urgency I felt to buy something was if I became concerned that a deck I liked was going out of print, and I would be unable to get it if I waited.
Fast forward to today. My collection now stands at fifty-four decks, fifty-five as of yesterday with the arrival of my first truly collectible, limited-edition art deck. I’m so excited about this one, I am now the proud owner of :::drumroll please:::
The Goth Tarot, by Winny. Here’s one of my favorite cards from the deck:
Click the image for a larger-than-life scan. Truly, the scans do not do it justice, the artwork and colors are lovely. This is a Majors-only deck, printed by Adam McClean who publishes a small assortment of art decks out of his shop in Glasgow. The cards are laminated with a glossy laminate, making them durable enough for every day use, and resistant to coffee spills. I won’t go into his whole process here, as he details it nicely on his site if you’re interested. The deck is signed and numbered by the artist, and I have copy #12 of 100. All I can say is, it’s stunning. I can only hope someday Winny will do a full 78-card version of this deck, which I will also have to have.
I’ve also found out recently that several of the decks I own which were readily available for many years are now out of print, and going for some eye-popping prices on the secondary market. All my decks were mass-market, put out by one of the large publishers of Tarot cards: Llewellyn, U.S. Games, A.G. Mueller, Lo Scarabeo, Piatnik and so on. I’m still a little bit in shock at the values of some of these that I’m finding out there on the Web. And there seems to be no end of gorgeous new decks coming out. Thankfully we seem to have gotten past a period that saw some pretty schlocky decks, designed around silly themes of mermaids, or baseball, in most cases poorly done. The market seems to be driving demand for higher quality decks these days, and the fact that people are willing to pay into the hundreds of dollars no doubt has something to do with it. I had no idea so many of them would be so sought after. When I was bitten by the Tarot bug, I didn’t even know there were people who collected Tarot decks, except of course Stuart Kaplan, who made me practically salivate at the range of his collection pictured in the Encyclopedias of Tarot, Volumes 1 – 4. Some of those would stop your heart.
Anyway, I think I will spend some time getting acquainted with the newest addition to the household.
Occasionally, there arises a writing situation where you see an alternative to what you are doing, a mad, wild gamble of a way for handling something, which may leave you looking stupid, ridiculous or brilliant -you just don’t know which. You can play it safe there, too, and proceed along the route you’d mapped out for yourself. Or you can trust your personal demon who delivered that crazy idea in the first place.
Trust your demon.
- Roger Zelazny
I love Zelazny. His Chronicles of Amber series was one of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy series. There was even a Tarot deck created in its honor (of which, sadly, I do not have a copy).
I think too often we squelch ideas that at the moment they first appear look like one of those “Aha!” moments, but on closer reflection we decide oh no, that’s too silly, no one will believe that, that could never work, and so on. I know I do. I talk myself out of it before even giving it half a chance to develop and see where it leads. Sometimes that’s likely a good thing, but I think I give in to my insecurities far too often. In the ‘Stupid, ridiculous or brilliant’ race, I generally expect Stupid will win hands down. I’ve got stupid ideas in spades. At least that’s what it seems like most of the time. Somehow I need to give more credence to my little inner demon. Maybe if I gave it a name…
J.D. Salinger, author of Catcher in the Rye and Franny and Zoey, has died at his home in New Hampshire of natural causes at the age of 91.
Just last year he defended his book, Catcher in the Rye, from a fanfic spinoff by a Swedish author, called 60 Years.
A great talent. Rest in peace, sir.
I took the day off from work today, in anticipation of really needing it. Last night I went to the AFI concert at The Roseland in Portland. For those unfamiliar with them, they’re a punk/alternative band. It was just fantastic, one of the highest energy bands I have ever seen. Hunter, the bass player, and Jade, lead guitar were just all over the stage. Davey, the lead singer, is so dramatic and has such a great presence on stage. He even jumped out into the front rows of the crowd for a little crowd surfing, and periodically would get someone else up to the mike (via being pushed up by the crowd) to sing a refrain. They really involve the audience. It was a great mix of all their albums, including several cuts off the latest, Crash Love. All photos are raw, unretouched, and mine.
Davey Havok of AFI
And for the first time in my life, I found myself being pulled into the mosh pit. Now there’s an experience! If I hadn’t been worried about my camera, I might have actually hung around and checked it out, but as it was I decided discretion was the better part of valor, and headed to the back of the crowd. The security guard had me plant myself on the stanchion holding the chain dividing the up/down directions of the staircase to the balcony, where I was allowed to shoot pictures to my heart’s content. I was a little worried I was going to be told ‘no pictures’ and would have to run back to the car with the camera, but the security guard at the entrance sort of looked at the camera as she patted me down (at no extra charge 
) but said not a word about the camera. I could have danced for joy.
We had general admission tickets, but headed upstairs to the balcony where we (most of us, except our driver who is a straightedger meaning he doesn’t drink, smoke, or use any form of drugs) got some beers, then wandered over to the standing section in the balcony (no booze on the main floor). I got a good spot at the railing in front, and hoped that would be a good spot to brace myself with the camera, but it turned out not to be so great. I took a good number of photos of the opening act, Ceremony, and was extremely disappointed that none of those turned out at all well. Some are marginal, but nothing even close to ‘good.’ Too bad, they were one of the best opening acts I’ve ever seen.
At one point Davey asked the audience how long it had been since they’d played Portland. When he was told seven years, his response was “I am so sorry!” It was packed to the rafters; if it wasn’t a total sell-out, it had to be very close.
Most of the photos of Hunter are just a blur. Even when he’s not moving around the stage, he’s still moving. I’m sure he’s violating several laws of physics… Here’s my adorable Hunter, I just love him. He’s so cute in interviews. He’s intense on stage, but kind of shy when being interviewed.
Hunter of AFI
Jade was just awarded “Guitarist of the Year” for 2009 by Alternative Press Magazine. Well done, Jade! He’s hard to photograph, too, but I managed to get a couple halfways decent shots.
Jade Puget of AFI
So, I didn’t do any crowdsurfing, but the rest of the people I was with did. Maybe next time…
I ran across this by accident yesterday on Amazon. There is a new BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, starring Romola Garai (pronounced “ro-MO-la Garry”). This was a television mini-series, and although it does not appear to have aired in the U.S., it has already aired in the U.K. The reviews on Amazon are very positive, so as a Janeite I am honor-bound to add this to my collection. Emma is not my favorite Austen novel, nevertheless the characters are as always beautifully drawn and the wry observations on life and human nature are present.
Second, for the Tarot aficianados, a couple of discoveries.
First, for the Tarot-faerie-Froud fans, news of a new deck and book oracle set by Wendy and Brian Froud! The Heart of Faerie Oracle is due to be released March 1, 2010. No sign of the cards on their Web site, though, which is a bit disappointing. They could give us a peek at one or two, wouldn’t you think? If you can find some, let me know. I’d love to get a look at them. Not that I doubt they’ll be fabulous, I’m just impatient! Their Web site calls it “the long-awaited sequel” to The Faeries Oracle. Again, not a standard Tarot deck, it will comprise 68 cards. You can pre-order it at Amazon.
And a second forthcoming deck, The Shadowscapes Tarot by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law.
Death from The Shadowscapes Tarot
Ah, the ever-growing “want” list of Tarot decks!
For the first time in 60 years, the anticipated roses and half-bottle of cognac did not appear at the gravesite of Edgar Allan Poe.
Today, is of course, the 201st anniversary of his birth. For whatever reason, the mysterious visitor, whose identity has never been known, did not appear and the assembled crowd of about 3 dozen called off the vigil around 5:30 a.m.
Despite this, he was clearly not entirely forgotten. Happy birthday, Edgar.
Portland State U. is leading the charge. From The Portland Tribune:
Graduate students in the publishing program first started talking about sustainable publishing almost a year ago, says Dennis Stovall, program director for PSU’s student-run Ooligan Press.
Using their cut of $70,000 in grant money, the students researched wrote, produced and published a mini-book, called “Rethinking Paper & Ink: The Sustainable Publishing Revolution.” It’s available for free from Ooligan Press.
Each book in the series will be made with the most sustainable choices possible and include information describing each choice made during the manufacturing process.
A Dutch communications company, SPRANQ, created a special ‘eco-font’ which puts holes in the letters (I’m guessing very very tiny ones) resulting in 20% less ink usage. You can even download it free from their site.
Maybe we die-hard book lovers won’t have to give up our beloved physical books entirely.
Eureka, a breakthrough. I’m not sure if it was from going to see Daybreakers yesterday, or just all the collective time I’ve spent immersed in thinking, reading, and writing about vampires, but I finally got a direction I’d been searching for. It’s a fairly critical plot point, I’ve been dancing around this incident almost all the way through the now 291 pages worth, and never could hit on what this thing needed to be. As I was sitting in the theater watching the movie, something else came to me, but of course wasn’t able to write it down and now it’s gone. Maybe if I keep thinking about it I’ll remember. Or maybe I should go see the movie again, and keep pen and paper in my lap.
read more…
