First, to establish my bona fides: The Prisoner was a formative TV show for me. I remember watching it at a ridiculously young age. I went to Portmeirion with my parents when I was 7. I watched the series twice in high school, with two different friends, in "Prisoner Pig-Out" mode, in which we watched all the episodes in one 24-hour stretch.

You might say the show's been important to me.

That said, some thoughts on the AMC remake, w/Jim Cavaziel and Ian McKellen.

...if not, I blame it on experimental error, and claim that being within 1/122nd of the target range is pretty close, and Happy birthday,
kalmn !

Yes, for those of you who didn't come by and see me at Roadworks, with my work blowin' in the wind, there's another chance!

The Bay Area Book Arts Jam, put on by the Bay Area Book Artists, is at Foothill College in the Los Altos hills, from 10 AM to 4 PM, and I hope to see some of you there, especially people from the South Bay and Peninsula who couldn't make it into SF.

ETA: Corrected day in title. I'm an idiot, sometimes.

Happy Assimilation Anniversary, cheekytubemouse !

Just because each bottle of formula must be stirred either 20, 30, or 40 times (depending on whether I'm making 4,3, or 2 bottles), and because each bottle cap requires turning three times (no more, no less -- two big twists and the final tighten) and because it must then be shaken some multiple of 5 times to ensure further mixing --

-- no, I'm not obsessive. Or compulsive. Nompe.

:)

I was at a baseball game last night, thanks to rmjwell, and while at it, had an idea for a meme.

Batters are often played in with music, ominous or boastful or just generally celebrant. Similarly, closers (relievers whose specialized job it is to pitch in the last inning (or occasionally two) of close games) get music'ed to the mound as well.

So, baseball fans -- if you were a major league player, what would your batting music be, and what would your closer music be?

For me:

batting music: Either the "There was only one thing left to do: Ring-a-ding-dang my dang-a-long-ling-long" from Ministry's Jesus Built My Hotrod, or, for more musically-inclined and less potentially-lewd ;), the intro to the Who' "The Real Me"

Closer music: "It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine." ;)

1) Thank you all for the well-wishes on my birthday!

2) I ate very, very, very well yesterday.  Lunch at the Townhouse in Emeryville, planned during my absence (out sick from work Monday, out printing from work Tuesday).  And then dinner at Soizic.  I recommend Soizic without hesitation to anyone who likes

good French food.
good California ingredients
good fusion
good obscure wines -- Lagrein FTW!
amusing waitstaff
nice atmosphere/space.

It has moved to very near the top of my "East Bay Restaurants" list.

3) Due to printing day-before, on the Vandercook that my fellow printing-types referred to as "The Beast", I was very..ungainly yesterday. Epsom salts, *lots* of aspirin and two days' relaxing appears to have turned my lower back from a carbon-fiber plank filled with nerve endings into something resembling bendable human flesh again.

OTOH, every time I look at the Sestina for Stockhausen, I decide it was worth it.

4) GMT games timed something beautifully, and I got my copy of 1805 to open for my birthday. I think I ordered this game a year and a half ago, if not two. Now, it's not their fault -- that's how P500 works. They put up games they want to print, and when they get enough interest to ensure they'll break even, they print the game.  It's a neat business model for a niche industry.

That said, if anyone local wants to play a wargame around the naval campaign that was supposed to lead to Napoleon's invasion of England, but instead led to Trafalgar, let me know. It'll take a little while to learn, so I'd probably lend you the rules beforehand.

5) (random bit of trivia) By the time pantryslut first met me, I did not know how to tell that water was boiling, but knew how to shuck an oyster. ;)

Steven Schwartz has never declared martial law.
Steven Schwartz has been to, but never burned down Moscow.
Steven Schwartz would not have been allowed in this jury pool.
Steven Schwartz is also not a Neapolitan gangster.
Steven Schwartz does not have more than 3,000 hits...or 600 stolen bases.
Steven Schwartz studied child development in college.
Steven Schwartz got Kenneth Branagh's autograph.
Steven Schwartz thinks the Iraq war was a dreadful mistake.
Steven Schwartz doesn't have a good falsetto.
Steven Schwartz - 9/16/70 -- buy this identity for only $12.99!

1) I get to spend today with paper, ink, lead, and photopolymer plastics. ;)

2) I have a story, "Enchos Achilles" (the spear of Achilles) in the latest new release e-book from Circlet Press, "Like A God's Kiss".

It's a good pre-birthday morning.

This coming Saturday, I'll be exhibiting at the SFCB's "Roadworks" event, which should be fun for anyone interested in book arts stuff. I'll have most of the work you can find at my etsy shop, and the first display of the "Sestina for Stockhausen"

I look forward to seeing you there!

ROADWORKS is this coming Saturday, September 19th,
from 12pm to 5pm on Rhode Island Street between 16th and 17th Street, near
the San Francisco Center for the Book.

"Stop anointing your sister with tortellini."

(I know, I know -- there are many better things to be cranky about. And I'm not all *that* cranky, it's just on my mind.)

The *reason* I'm cranky is personal.  The causes for this particular cranky aren't.
( bad methodology makes baby trilobites cry... )

From John C. Wright's latest LJ post, after he deleted all the comments to his homophobic screed and went friends-only for comment:

"Even though we are on opposite sides, I assure you that the real division in the world is not between Right and Left, not between Homophobes and Pervertarians, but between men of reason and good will, we men of the mind, and our mutual foes, the men of unreason, the men of mere emotion."

Apparently, either a) women aren't divisible, b) women are invisible, or c) there aren't any.

/snark off

Hippopotamus amphibius, aves, ovis aries, ovis aries
Hippopotamus amphibius, aves, ovis aries, ovis aries
Hippopotamus amphibius, aves, cervidae, ovis aries
Hippopotamus amphibius, aves, ovis aries, ovis aries

Ave XXXIX!

A few names that might be familiar:

Billie Jean King
Chita Rivera
Stephen Hawking
Sidney Poitier

Oh, and this guy named Harvey Milk.

(Also some people named Tutu and Yunus, and Kemp and O'Connor, and 7 others, but those five names rather, well, leapt out at me. ;))

Full list, and capsule descriptions, here.

Tom Lehrer's voice is reminiscent of Geoff Ryman's.

With apologies to Le Corbusier:

"An SF con is a machine for generating discussions of SF."

I'd consider joining the Society for Creative Scholasticism. Debates over fine points of historical texts, without referent to the outside world? Could be a lot of fun.

Oh, and the funny robes. Mustn't forget those.

I go to Walgreen's, to buy formula.

I am in the checkout line, with my large tin of baby formula.

The woman in front of me is complaining about all the freaks and their parade. The long-haired freaks and their parade.

She turns to look at me, and asks me if I'm a freak.

Since I'm not supposed to lie, I say "Yes."
Then she notices that I've got formula, and asks if I have kids.
See above about lying, and I say "Yes." (We're really trying to be non-confrontational here. I try.)
"You people shouldn't have kids. My mother told me..."
I interrupt, and calmly comment, "Seeing how well she raised you, I don't care what she said."

After that, there is silence.  I think she was trying to figure out what she could say in retort, but she was checked out before she came up with anything to say.

(I'm working on it -- it doesn't come naturally to me.)


1) City Arts Erotic Art Show Gallery Opening! I'm reading something new, tentatively titled:

The Bathhouse Manifesto,
or
A Lot I Needed To Know I Learned While Wearing A Towel

Tomorrow night, at the City Arts Gallery (828 Valencia) -- I'm reading at 9:30, black_pearl_10  at 8:50, and cheekytubemouse  at 7:20!
(The readings are spaced out into 3 groups -- cheekytubemouse 's first in the first, black_pearl_10  last in the second, and I'm first in the last. ;) )

2) I'm doing the 2009 Clarion West Writeathon -- my page for it is here.

I'm going to be trying to write two stories, and if there are some leftover words, start on a third. Donate, and I'll email you one or two stories (depending on how much you donate, you tell me whether you deserve 1 or 2 ;) ) when I'm done. It'll benefit Clarion and Clarion West, so it's for a good cause.

3) Selena Wells, a fine bead- and jewelry- and nifty-artifact-artist, and partner of my dear genderfur , has an etsy shop open, here. Her stuff is really neat, and while there isn't much there now, I'm told there will be more soon. For that matter, while you're there, check out my etsy shop for letterpress stuff, Chetwood Press. ;)