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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
lazym's LiveJournal:
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| Friday, October 24th, 2008 | | 1:44 pm |
Fundraising for NaNoWriMo
For those of you NaNoing this year, don't miss Chris Baty's announcement that appeared on the NaNo site's Breaking News today. The full text is here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3045391Briefly, if you're on LiveJournal and you register at this special LJ post, the fine folks here at LJ will donate a dollar to the Young Writers Program for each NaNoWriMo winner. It's easy, it's great for NaNo, and it's another incentive to finish your novel this year! | | Thursday, September 25th, 2008 | | 8:54 pm |
| | Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 | | 3:27 pm |
| | Thursday, September 11th, 2008 | | 12:07 pm |
| | Thursday, August 14th, 2008 | | 5:54 pm |
Hello, fellow writerers! If you were around NaNoWriMo in 2004, you had the opportunity to meet NaNo’s founder, Chris Baty – right here in Austin. It was a huge rush to meet him and hear many words of writerly wisdom. We have an opportunity to lure him to our fair city once again – but we can only do so if a particular panel is picked for South by Southwest Interactive in the Spring of 2009. Odd as it may seem, 30% of a panel’s selection score is based on online voting. Please help us bring Chris back to Austin by voting for the DIY panel at SXSW! Here’s all you need to do: 1. Create an account Go to http://panelpicker.sxsw.com and on the upper-right, click Create An Account. Follow the steps on the screen. 2. Verify your account Go to your email account, open the mail from SXSW, and click the activation link. Unfortunately, chances are good that the mail will appear in your spam folder. If your email client doesn't have a spam folder, you may need to check your email directly on your server. 3. Vote! Go to http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/821 and click the fifth star on the right, just below the panel title. Verification text should appear above the stars - if not, click the star harder! It's possible to select the stars without registering a vote, as I learned not long ago. Is everyone ready for November? Not me! But I do have four radically different ideas percolating in the old brain (or what’s left of it). ps. voting ends Aug. 29th | | Friday, August 8th, 2008 | | 9:20 am |
Please help us bring Chris Baty to Austin!
So... several months ago, out of the blue, Molly Crabapple of Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School, emailed me to ask if I would talk about NaNo as part of a panel for South by Southwest Interactive this coming March - and in our wildest dreams, maybe Chris would also come. Chris said, yes, indeed he would! But there's still a hurdle to making it happen: SXSW chooses its panels based on online voting (30%), staff decisions (30%), and media pundits (40%). It feels somewhat spammy to me, but I really want Chris to come visit us, so I'm going to be soliciting online votes for the panel. I imagine Chris would also do a reading/talk/party/dinner/something with the Austin Penguins, and it would be great for our group. Here's the thing: you have to go to the panel picker and vote for the DIY Empires panel (Molly Crabapple) - and in order to do that, you have to create an account. Not a huge deal, I guess. But the interface is kind of strange (I'm still not sure I actually voted!). I'd like to be able to tell the folks I solicit exactly what they need to do. Is there anyone out there who feels that they have a clear brain who's willing to document the steps for doing this? I would be soooooo grateful! Here's the link to our panel: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/821?return=%2Fideas%2Findex%2F3%2Fq%3Adiy+empiresand to the main page of the panel picker: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ Current Mood: braindead | | Sunday, July 13th, 2008 | | 4:04 pm |
Summer Reading
Unlike our house in Austin, which is choc-a-block full of books, this house contains mighty few. Here’s the list: 1. Day Hikes in the Taos Area 2. The New Mexico Handbook 3. Texas the Beautiful Cookbook And these, which I bought last summer at the library book sale: 15 Time Life “The Art of Sewing” – even though I don’t have a sewing machine here. These books smell so musty and moldy I may have to dump them, but I’ll probably try Febreze on them first. Does anyone know a way to get rid of that smell? * The Book of Ruth, by Jane Hamilton (lit-fic with fabulous character development) * Stamping Butterflies, by Jon Grimwood (sci-fi with evocative settings and time-travel!) * The Night of the Moonbow, by Thomas Tryon (lit-fic that’s nerve-wracking, in a good way) * Beautiful Ghosts, by Eliot Patison (don’t know yet!) How were these books selected? By their titles mostly, though I’d vaguely heard of Thomas Tryon before. Plus, they were only a dollar each. I’ve read all except the last one, and there’s not a dud in the bunch. They are well-written, and surprising. I think Grimwood dropped the ball a bit at the end, and too many of Tryon’s characters are away from camp at convenient times, but they are all worth a read. Next up – chapters of a friend’s novel in progress, the ghosts, and a couple of non-fiction books I checked out last week from the library: “Hypatia of Alexandria,” by Michael Deakin and “The Vanished Library,” by Luciano Canfora. I’m thinkin’ about my next NaNo novel, even though I swore off Historical Fiction. Or did I? Current Mood:  lazy | | Saturday, July 5th, 2008 | | 11:14 am |
Dunno why....
I get such a kick out of this quiz, but I do. Why do I keep coming out non-fictionally when actually I'm a fictional character? Here I am today: 
You're Inherit the Wind!
by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
To you, the learning process is inherently about controversy. If
people aren't having their minds stretched, how could they possibly be learning? This
makes you a good but unpopular teacher, and the people around you are ready to make it
a federal case. All you're asking them to do is evolve a little. But they would like
you to be more creative. You would make an excellent lawyer, even though people think
you love monkeys.
Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.
| | Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 | | 9:37 am |
Apparently, I'm....
You're The Guns of August!
by Barbara Tuchman
Though you're interested in war, what you really want to know is what
causes war. You're out to expose imperialism, militarism, and nationalism for what they
really are. Nevertheless, you're always living in the past and have a hard time dealing
with what's going on today. You're also far more focused on Europe than anywhere else in
the world. A fitting motto for you might be "Guns do kill, but so can
diplomats."
Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.
Except I'm not. I'm going to take this on another day. When I feel different. Current Mood:  anxious | | Sunday, February 24th, 2008 | | 11:14 am |
OMG
I'm in CA for last night's NaNo Donor party (and a couple of other things). This afternoon? Coffee - just me and Mr. Chris Baty!!!! and a trip to the Pirate Store!!!! Tomorrow: Breakfast with Erin the ML Headmistress and back to Austin, all rev'd up and.... ready to go? | | Tuesday, January 8th, 2008 | | 9:59 am |
Almost Instant Entry!
* Today I was really lazy. * I got out of bed late because I was awake in the night. In fact, it's ten a.m. and I'm still in bed! * I feel sentimental. * I'm so agitated. * Last night I had to keep closing my eyes during the movie. It was so bloody! * I want to tell the world that I love you all! You're all so special to me! * I am updating this journal for the first time in ages, because I've been in prison. * Today, I got a digital camera! Yes! But I don't know how to work it. Can you help me? * I want to say thanks to what's his name who sends me mail twice a week. It's about art. * I went to the doctor yesterday, and he said I have bipolar disorder, which makes me different enough to be interesting, but the same as all the other cool people with bipolar disorder. * You should all do this quiz! It's amazingly accurate. You just put in your name and birthday, and it will tell you you're about to receive tons of spam. I have no thoughts, or I have too many. I'm not sure which. Maybe both. It just doesn't seem fair to keep reading everyone's LJ entries and never putting anything out there meeself. Happy New Year everyone! Created with the Gregor's Semi-Automatic LiveJournal Updater™. Update your journal today!
Powered by Rum and Monkey | | Saturday, December 1st, 2007 | | 12:26 pm |
I like this one!
In 2008,  lazym resolves to... Go to the giraffes every month.
Put fifty crafts a month into my savings account.
Cut down on my quilting.
Give some sun images to charity.
Go to collage every Sunday.
Get back in contact with some old movies.
| | Sunday, November 25th, 2007 | | 6:36 pm |
Please observe the icon!
I think this was the earliest I've ever finished (Nov 18th), and I think it was the most difficult as well. So - yay me! I'm going to try for 75K, since I haven't written one of the most critical chapters (or set of chapters)yet. We'll see if I ever get there. Today, I was describing embroidered sofa pillows instead...  | | Thursday, August 30th, 2007 | | 7:17 pm |
on the eve of the end of Art Everyday month
In contrast to recent posts, this one will not be from a rich, spoiled, completely self-involved person complaining about her (boo-hoo) tough life, but something else entirely. As I make work on Art Everyday, I wonder: 1. What makes an image a “photograph” as opposed to a snapshot? 2. If I take a picture of someone else’s artwork, no matter how wonderful, is it merely a document of their work or could it be a work of art on its own? If the later, what does it take to make it so? 3. What are the ethics of collage? When I appropriate someone else’s images, what do I need to do/how much do I need to change to make them “mine”? Is it really OK to take someone else’s work, mess with it, remove it from its original context, and then call it my own? ( Continued here....: ) | | Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 | | 12:42 am |
The last of the three dollar wine
Because I never post, I must now post compulsively several times a day.... OK. Yes, sure. It’s true. I only bought two bottles. And Rob has been gone – how many days? And I don’t care that much about eating food. So no doubt that’s a factor. I found it necessary to open bottle number two tonight. Because – here’s my excuse, and surely you must agree it’s a good one - I went into the bedroom to go to sleep and – guess what? – there was a mouse running around in there. Not that I actually saw it – it was more of a movement and a dark shape out of the corner of my eye – running into the closet and then out again a different way. It was amazingly fast. I put duct tape all over the hole, but what good is that? After using up my limited supply of tape I realized the hole only leads from the closet into the bedroom. And it’s in there somewhere – the evil vampire mouse, waiting for me to let down my guard and then it will– what? Shit on the bath mat? Well, it’s already done that. Several times. What exactly am I afraid of? Sure, I’m a city girl. I have a friend (or I once did – for various reasons our relationship had to be severed, but I like to think it was his girlfriend who had a penchant for slicing the tires of people that she thought threatened her relationships, not any failing of my own as a true friend) who lived in a former chicken coop and then a barn in northern Washington State. He once wrote about the sounds of mice f***ing in the walls of his abode, and obviously the simple life didn’t bother him. But apparently I am a hothouse flower who would prefer silk sheets – or at least cotton blend ones that I know for a fact someone actually washed before putting on the bed. This place we are renting is the absolute pits and I feel responsible (although, come to think of it, Big Dude picked it out). We’ve had great places off VRBO.com – the apartment in Barcelona, Spain – that was pretty sweet, wasn’t it? The house we are even now trying to buy – yeah – that was one, too. Oh MG - my older brother and my sister-in-law are about to appear for what is probably their vacation and here we are in the worst house we have ever rented – it’s not aesthetically pleasing, it’s not comfortable, it’s horribly maintained. Not to mention the vermin. It’s so dirty that I can’t bring myself to clean it. Is it my job? To clean up after everyone and everything? That was my last miserable life – not this one! As if this place could ever, in its wildest dreams, even PRETEND to be clean? At least it’s cheap..... cheap cheap cheap. I feel like a tiny little chicken in the rain. A hard rain. And I am about to drown in it. I am seriously thinking of finding somewhere else to stay tomorrow night. I HATE being here. But I still have to come back Thursday. And try to put an nice face on it. The relatives arrive sometime on Thursday evening. Nothing against them – ever. Just I am so ... embarrassed? I am something uneasy that I don’t like being. At all. Nor do I like being so randomly needy. But then again – why not? !@#%^^ it. !@#%^^ it indubitably. Indeed. Now it's later than I began this, and I'm in the living room. A mouse, or some other dark evil shadow just scurried into the corner of THIS room. What exactly is it looking for? And why isn't it dead already? | | Tuesday, August 28th, 2007 | | 3:17 pm |
| | Saturday, August 25th, 2007 | | 2:22 pm |
Sunport
Ah, so. This morning I dropped Rob off at the Albuquerque Sunport, and I thought "sounds like it's the sun coming and going, rather than the planes." Then, I thought "oh, but they also call these places airports. And it's not the air that is coming and going. much." Then, I remembered they call other ports seaports. At least there, you know, the water goes in and out a bit every day. And it churns around so it's not always the same water. And then I realized that, if you give up coffee, and then you have some it affects you more than usual. I'm in an altered state! In art-a-day news (cause I know you are dying to hear about that), I have managed to take photos every day, including the one totally uninspired day when I had to take pictures of my feet. I have realized that I need to learn photography again, especially since I haven't much of a clue about digital photography. I have realized that there are times of day around here that are best for clicking the shutter, and some that are hopeless. The sun at mid-day washes everything out. I have also managed a few hands-on projects, but nothing approaching my wild beginning-of-August hopes. Now that Rob is gone for a week and I have about five days before the relatives show up, maybe - just maybe - I can do some of those things. I have tons of ideas. (And at the library book sale today, I bought six books of an encyclopedia of art to cut up and recombine. I've been wanting to do that for years!) Off to an art opening and then into the mountains for a birthday party. Whoopie! | | Friday, August 10th, 2007 | | 9:06 pm |
| | Thursday, August 9th, 2007 | | 9:48 am |
Harp!
Who would have thought that playing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" could be so difficult? Obviously, this is not a magic harp. | | Tuesday, August 7th, 2007 | | 8:50 am |
Day Seven
When I was sixteen, I baby-sat for the couple that owned our town’s head shop. They had a small house, a young son, and thirteen cats that lived in the basement. They also had a small Irish harp, which sat in the corner of one of the bedrooms. They said it was a magic harp. They also told me that the harp didn’t want to be played. I was magnetically drawn to that harp, and since it didn’t tell ME that it didn’t want to be played, I picked it up, sat on the mattress on the floor, and played it. Just played it right away. I’d learned some piano and flute and taught myself to play guitar, but I’d never had my hands on a harp before. And it was magical. Since that moment, I’ve wanted a harp. I’ve approached buying one from time to time. But I couldn’t find a magic harp. If I couldn’t have a magic harp, what would be the point? During my first marriage, my husband’s sister gave me a larger, standing harp, which I found I could play without much trouble, as long as I made up the songs and didn’t try to copy something already in existence. I had the harp for two months before she told me it was just a loan and took it back. I’ve edged up on harp-buying several times since then: ordering a harp catalog, visiting stores that had harps, talking to harp-makers. Sometimes, I didn’t have the money. Sometimes, I didn’t have the time. I feared I’d never find the right one and carried the deeper fear that I couldn’t play one after all. (That first one was magical; it played itself....) And so. On Sunday we went on a tour of artists and artisans in a town north of Taos. We saved the musical instrument-maker until last. Since we’re in the process of getting a loan for a house and going into debt, I didn’t want to spend money on frivolities. But there was this harp.... and it spoke to me. In a few days, when it’s got its sharping levers (C, F, B, and E) attached, and if the crazy, distractible magician of an instrument maker hasn’t lost my phone number, I’ll have the beauty on the left in my trembling hands. --------- Oh, and the art is going pretty well. I’m taking photos every day and hoping to launch into something more tactile soon. I’m having a blast looking at what everyone else is making – photos, drawings, wall-hangings, comics, arrangements of natural materials, and more. It’s amazing to be thinking about art everyday. It changes everything. |
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