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hobgoblinnA dispatch from the land of hobgoblinn:
I've now got a few choristers willing to share some stories of K for her son-- this might work out well. I realized I didn't have enough substantive to say on my own, but I rightly figured they would, having been in her life a good deal longer than I. So things are slowly getting better on that front. My own bit does not have to be great; my main contribution will be compiler/ editor, bugging people for stuff to put in the book.
I have been getting some cool images of a late scene in the sequel to Lost Boys-- I'm still working out what it's about, but I think I have an almost plot to go with the scenes that got cranked out for Nano. Sadly, I tend to get these flashes when I am in the middle of important things like, oh, Driving, or attending mandatory meetings with dull but important personages who will not be amused by my literary aspirations. Particularly if I take plot notes or record snippets of dialogue on their meeting agendas....
It will be a very long weekend, and not in the good way. Lots of services to sing. The school decided wee Hob and I are "needy" because he is growing so fast I can't keep him in pants that are long enough for him, and he tends to bring odd things to school for lunch, when he doesn't forget entirely. I am kind of overwhelmed by the generosity, really. And lord knows, it will help. But we're going out tomorrow night to take care of the real meaning of Christmas, which is to give stuff to other people, preferably in sneaky, fun ways. It's good we're waiting so late, as wee hob has absolutely No ability to keep a secret. None. He's just bursting to tell. It's really kind of funny.
But just now, here's a meme I saw on![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
father_turtle's journal tonight. I thought I'd give it a shot:
1. Name a novelist, a poet, and a playwright you like. Charles DeLint, Wilfred Owen ,Tom Stoppard
2. Name a novelist, a poet, and a playwright you don't like James Fennimore Cooper, Robert Frost, Samuel Becket. I only have stong feelings about Frost. I love some of his gems, like "After Apple Picking", "Fire and Ice" and "Mending Wall", but he doesn't hold up well as the topic of a whole class. Some of his stuff is the worst sort of Hallmarkian tripe imaginable. He's definitely one where the anthologized stuff is by far the best.
3. Name a book you have read more than three times. All Harry Potters except the last-- I only got through that once, with some rereads of sections for fic purposes.
4. Name a book you couldn't finish. The Mayor of Casterbridge. I still feel guilty about that. I got an A on my paper, but I only got 3 quarters of the way through in high school. I grind to a halt about the same place every time-- I've tried to get through a couple of times since, to no avail. In my defense, could Hardy Be more depressing?
5. Name a book you would recommend to anybody. Say why. Skelling, by David Almond. I read it because Wee Hob had to read it in 5th grade Catholic school right after I got him back, and as he was not a fluent reader, we had to read it aloud to each other. It's an achingly beautiful book about a boy who finds a strange creature living in his garage and nurses it back to health. You're not sure even at the end exactly what Skellig is, but the kindness the boy shows changes him, and the responsibility he takes for something so far outside his experience is a turning point for him. I was amused just now to read a bunch of reviews on amazon by kids who obviously were forced to read it in school, or parents who found it grim and depressing. It is a strange book, more like poetry than anything in a lot of places. But wee hob and I really loved it.
6. Name a book you would consign to the Eternal Dustbin. Say why. I can't remember the title, as I hocked it at Half Price Books ages ago, but it was a Marxist History of the Novel. Oh Lord. Other than an insomnia aid, I cannot think what purpose (other than securing tenure for its author) such drivel served.
7. Name a film adaptation of a work of literature that you thought was really well done. The Two Towers. The writers decided to create their own tale out of the sprawling and disconnected whole, and it all hangs together well. An even better example of this is Branagh's Henry V. Using the same actors as extras, showing them with their kids and reacting to the action all along makes you really care for them at the end, seeing who dies and who lost friends/ family in the battle. Lots of little touches make the whole knit together amazingly well.
8. Ditto, badly done. Most of the Harry Potter movies. Azkaban was better than the rest, and the most recent was also okay (if you didn't know what was left out).
9. What is/are your Christmas book/s? Children's Illustrated version of Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Selfish Giant, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
I've now got a few choristers willing to share some stories of K for her son-- this might work out well. I realized I didn't have enough substantive to say on my own, but I rightly figured they would, having been in her life a good deal longer than I. So things are slowly getting better on that front. My own bit does not have to be great; my main contribution will be compiler/ editor, bugging people for stuff to put in the book.
I have been getting some cool images of a late scene in the sequel to Lost Boys-- I'm still working out what it's about, but I think I have an almost plot to go with the scenes that got cranked out for Nano. Sadly, I tend to get these flashes when I am in the middle of important things like, oh, Driving, or attending mandatory meetings with dull but important personages who will not be amused by my literary aspirations. Particularly if I take plot notes or record snippets of dialogue on their meeting agendas....
It will be a very long weekend, and not in the good way. Lots of services to sing. The school decided wee Hob and I are "needy" because he is growing so fast I can't keep him in pants that are long enough for him, and he tends to bring odd things to school for lunch, when he doesn't forget entirely. I am kind of overwhelmed by the generosity, really. And lord knows, it will help. But we're going out tomorrow night to take care of the real meaning of Christmas, which is to give stuff to other people, preferably in sneaky, fun ways. It's good we're waiting so late, as wee hob has absolutely No ability to keep a secret. None. He's just bursting to tell. It's really kind of funny.
But just now, here's a meme I saw on
father_turtle's journal tonight. I thought I'd give it a shot:1. Name a novelist, a poet, and a playwright you like. Charles DeLint, Wilfred Owen ,Tom Stoppard
2. Name a novelist, a poet, and a playwright you don't like James Fennimore Cooper, Robert Frost, Samuel Becket. I only have stong feelings about Frost. I love some of his gems, like "After Apple Picking", "Fire and Ice" and "Mending Wall", but he doesn't hold up well as the topic of a whole class. Some of his stuff is the worst sort of Hallmarkian tripe imaginable. He's definitely one where the anthologized stuff is by far the best.
3. Name a book you have read more than three times. All Harry Potters except the last-- I only got through that once, with some rereads of sections for fic purposes.
4. Name a book you couldn't finish. The Mayor of Casterbridge. I still feel guilty about that. I got an A on my paper, but I only got 3 quarters of the way through in high school. I grind to a halt about the same place every time-- I've tried to get through a couple of times since, to no avail. In my defense, could Hardy Be more depressing?
5. Name a book you would recommend to anybody. Say why. Skelling, by David Almond. I read it because Wee Hob had to read it in 5th grade Catholic school right after I got him back, and as he was not a fluent reader, we had to read it aloud to each other. It's an achingly beautiful book about a boy who finds a strange creature living in his garage and nurses it back to health. You're not sure even at the end exactly what Skellig is, but the kindness the boy shows changes him, and the responsibility he takes for something so far outside his experience is a turning point for him. I was amused just now to read a bunch of reviews on amazon by kids who obviously were forced to read it in school, or parents who found it grim and depressing. It is a strange book, more like poetry than anything in a lot of places. But wee hob and I really loved it.
6. Name a book you would consign to the Eternal Dustbin. Say why. I can't remember the title, as I hocked it at Half Price Books ages ago, but it was a Marxist History of the Novel. Oh Lord. Other than an insomnia aid, I cannot think what purpose (other than securing tenure for its author) such drivel served.
7. Name a film adaptation of a work of literature that you thought was really well done. The Two Towers. The writers decided to create their own tale out of the sprawling and disconnected whole, and it all hangs together well. An even better example of this is Branagh's Henry V. Using the same actors as extras, showing them with their kids and reacting to the action all along makes you really care for them at the end, seeing who dies and who lost friends/ family in the battle. Lots of little touches make the whole knit together amazingly well.
8. Ditto, badly done. Most of the Harry Potter movies. Azkaban was better than the rest, and the most recent was also okay (if you didn't know what was left out).
9. What is/are your Christmas book/s? Children's Illustrated version of Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Selfish Giant, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
