No Strings Attached

Sniffy McCoughCough

Poor little Caroline either has tree pollen problems or a cold. Either way she is sniffing up a storm and coughing a lot from the post-nasal drip. I can get her some relief with a decongestant and earlier in the week an antihistamine helped. She has informed me that she is tired of sniffing and blowing her nose. I have gotten her to the point that she covers when she coughs out in public.

Peter is off on a business trip this week so think good thoughts for him please. We could use some good news this year. I really can't say more than that except I have a feeling he is coming back with a tale or two to tell.

Ariel is off to see her mother and a concert this weekend so there will be a couple days of just Caroline and me.

Today is about cleaning. I am getting that itch to get my house in order both inside and out. Tomorrow is about errands that need to be done. Friday is about sculpting as will be the rest of the weekend.

I am grateful for meds that make Caroline feel better

The Tooth The Saga Continues

If you have just joined us, you may not know the current saga of what is going on in my mouth. Back on March 17th I woke up to some of the worst pain I have ever felt in my face since I broke my nose by running into a lighting pipe. My front tooth was throbbing and I was in a haze of pain. I went to my dentist who managed to get the pain to subside a bit and gave me a run of antibiotics and painkillers to get rid of the infection and keep me from tearing my face off. He informed me that I had fractured a tooth which I can trace to an accidental contact with the top of my daughter's rather hard head.

I had gone back once but we couldn't continue the root canal because I still had some pain and an itchy feeling in the tooth. Fast forward two weeks to give it time to heal and I had to cancel because I was one long bruise from the car accident. So yesterday I went and found out that I have more problems than just the tooth. Apparently there is an infection in the jaw that needs to be taken care of. So I now need to make an appointment with an oral surgeon to get that taken care of. He has to open the gum and scrap the infection out (or that is the layman's version of what he is doing).

Now to add to the fun, I have to set up this appointment carefully since I have to get the root canal finished in the morning and then have the oral surgery that afternoon to fix the problem. Then my dentist can finish shoring up the tooth in question. Now understand I have a really good dentist. I have no problems with him or his work. I just am not looking forward to this procedure at all.

I am grateful that it is not worse than it is. Honestly, it could be a lot worse.

Imagine That

You are an artist that does a lot of social commentary in rather irreverent ways. You are walking long on the street and you see an image that you created in reverse with the phrase you attached to the piece underneath. You politely stop the person and ask where they had gotten it. They tell you one of those hip chain stores that is very popular with the teen set. You go to the one in your local mall and see that shirt being sold for $24.95 and according to the manager it is one of their better selling ones. You write corporate and very politely explain the problem with the t-shirt. They inform you that it is not their fault since they bought it from this vendor so you need to take it up with them. The vendor says that they bought the image from this artist and they will stop making the t-shirt since it is apparent that you did create the image but if you want money you have to go after the artist of the image they did use. So they get to keep the money that they earned so far off of your work and you have to go after someone who doesn't have much money and it would cost you more than you earn to sue the guy for not much return.

You have your art out on the net. You are on one of the more popular sites for artists to post. You have a following of artists and others who watch for your new work. You know enough to carefully watermark the work and put a "don't not use for anything or even copy from this site" notice with each and every piece. You have done everything you can think of to protect your work. One of your watchers informs you that they saw a poster of your work in their city. They send you a cell phone picture of it. After a little digging you find out that a student at a local high school won a city-wide contest with a painting that is your work down to the detail of the number of circles in the hair. He has gotten much more acclaim and public notice than you ever got for your personal work. You have to then set about to prove that this kid ripped you off. He claims that a buddy gave him the idea and he copied that. There is no money to be had here but your work after all that careful wording to avoid this sort of thing has been taken away by from you by a kid.

You are an artist that works in rather difficult natural mediums. Your work is known on sight and sells for a decent amount of money for the originals. You are informed of someone else who is coming doggone close to doing copies of your work onto similar forms of mediums. However they are not selling originals but what is the equivalent of a color Xerox of their work. You know you don't have a copyright on your medium choices and there are no direct rip-offs of your work just close enough to keep it legal and confuse some potential buyers or past buyers of your original work.

I had an artist friend once tell me that you made it when they keep trying to rip you off or copy you. Because then you know you did something that was attractive to someone else's eye. With the Internet, getting your art work out there for others to see is so much easier but it is also easier for someone to decide that since you put it out in public that they have the right to take it for either their own personal use (less bothersome) or for commercial gain (very bothersome).

The music-sharing problem has been beaten to death, resurrected, and beaten to death again. The industry used its clout to get the idea across of what was right and wrong and had laws made to protect themselves. The problem for the artists is that most of them don't have that sort of clout to protect themselves. So they do what they can and use the existing laws to try to protect themselves and their work.

I know everyone reading this is not guilty of art theft. I do think we need to find a way of informing the Internet denizens that taking someone's art is wrong like they know taking music is wrong. (And yes I do know that a lot of people do it anyway. There are always going to be those who think they are entitled to whatever they want.) There are a number of artist groups that are working towards that goal. I know of a group of doll artists that are trying to educate the public as to what is allowed and not allowed and doing a pretty good job of it without screaming at people. I have to agree with one friend who said that we need to educate the children about what is theft on the Internet so maybe by the next generation this will not be as big a problem as it is becoming now.

It's a problem that I don't have a solution for but I wanted to put it out there for people to be more aware of.

(Note: I changed some of the circumstances on my examples so it is no one specific but each is based on something I have seen happen.)

I am grateful for people who respect the artist's rights.

Happy Birthday RTD

You brought back Doctor Who when I thought I would never see a new episode again.

You gave us John Barrowman in very tight pants and a lot of other folks who look good in tight pants on Torchwood.

You brought back Sarah Jane and created a show I can show to my 5 year old without worry.

You brought my favorite fandom to a whole new generation and created a bunch of new fans.

You so rock.

I am grateful that Russell T Davies was born so I can have more Doctor Who to watch.

New Who Review for "Partners In Crime"

Here there be spoilers behind the cut and in the comments. Ye be warned. Also I ask ye to not add spoilers for the shows that have shown in the UK but not the USA.

But first some general thoughts.

Just FYI, the SciFi network cut a rather important scene between Donna and her Grandfather talking about the Doctor which really does help explain why she was doing what she was doing.

Both David Tennant and Catherine Tate have both great comic and dramatic timing. The dialogue flowed easily off their lips and sounds very natural which is due to both the actors and the writers.

There has been some who think that the villains of the piece were not villainous enough. I think this was more about what happens when the Doctor blows into town rather than some thing out to destroy Earth. If you think about it Ms. Foster's plan would have been just fine if the Doctor had not interfered with it. She wasn't really harming anyone in fact she was helping people in a strange way.

Overall I enjoyed this episode and thought it was a good way to bring a new companion on board.

Next week Pompeii and it's Volcano Day.

I am grateful for a new season of Doctor Who.

We see again what happens to a person who has the Doctor breeze in and out of their life. Like Sarah Jane, Donna holds onto the hope that she will see the Doctor again. In fact she has packed for the occasion. She is much changed from when we saw her in Runaway Bride.

I think one of the sad things about this episode is that Ms. Foster's plan would have honestly hurt no one if the Doctor hadn't interfered. People would have lost weight. She would have the children Adipose to give to their parents. It was a win-win except for the legality of it which if the Doctor hadn't shown up would have gone un-noticed by all. I wonder if they would have killed Ms. Foster if the Doctor hadn't shown up and exposed the plan.

Also this gets my vote for "cutest alien on Doctor Who". I'm expecting to see stuffed official Adipose at Toy Fair next year. I know one person who has done a great crochet pattern for them. I might even take a try at creating a stuffed one.

I loved the pantomime exchange between the Doctor and Donna although the capper has to be when they realized that they had been made by the villains at about the point I was thinking that Ms. Foster should realize that they are there. The reporter tied to the chair was a stitch too especially at the end where she declares she is going to report them for being crazy.

Then there was Rose. I knew from the back of the head who it was. But it still was a punch to see her again. And then to see her vanish. I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of her.

RTBTCKI (Spring is in the Air) Edition

And my sinuses are sort off letting me know it. I was proactive with the antihistamines so I am really OK today. More than one person including Shana has recommended a Neti Pot so I am looking into where I can get one today.

Got some stuff done yesterday and will get more done today. The general body ache is now down to a dull roar and the bruises are healing up nicely. I am almost feeling like myself again or some current version there of.

New Doctor Who on tonight long with a Sarah Jane Adventures and a BSG. Fun night of television on the SciFi Channel. To answer a few questions, I am watching both the BBC version and the SciFi Channel versions. I have seen all of SJA and Torchwood and I love both. Caroline is very partial to Sarah Jane Adventures but she does love the Doctor too. Ariel is still only seeing certain episodes of Torchwood after we vet them. We saw the last episode of Torchwood on the first night of Passover on BBC America which is a channel I really really want Cablevision to get. (Shout out to the Mad Scientist, we got your package in the mail yesterday).

Just a general note about the current season of Doctor Who, it just goes to show how fans can be so mean and declaring that they will never accept something or someone but after an episode or two they change their tune and sing the praises of the change. Happened when Eccelston became Tennant. Happened when Rose left and Martha showed up. Happened when Martha showed up on Torchwood. And it is now happening with Donna who is rapidly going up my pantheon of companions as my favorite. I like her in the Runaway Bride but how they are playing her is a breath of fresh air in Doctor Who.

NOTE: Please do not put any spoilers for Donna in the comments. Save it for each episode review entry. General comments are OK but let's avoid the spoiler specifics.

I am reading Michael Moorcock's "The Metatemporal Detective" and am remember why I started reading Moorcock in the first place. He is a good writer who can tell a story. I started reading the Eternal Champion series starting with Elric because all my other D&D buddies were reading it and we were passing the books around. We were also listening to Blue Oyster Cult at the time. So this is taking me back to my teen years in a funny way. Now I just need it to be summer and Mary Aileen and I are holed up somewhere reading books to complete the feeling.

So what books or authors do you read that take you back to an earlier time?

I am grateful for good reads still by authors I liked when I was a teen.

Pretty day; Sunny sky; Lovely pictures dance in your eye.

It is a nice day this morning. It was a lovely day yesterday too. Caroline played outside for a while and had fun.

Today might be another trip to the library to return the books that she borrowed and let her get some new ones.

All I know is that I am spending some time outside today even if it is just to read the paper and drink a cup of coffee on the back porch.

I like that I can go outside again without my jacket on. Which means also that I need to do the switch between the jacket that I normally wear to another means of carrying all my essential stuff (wallet; keys; cell phone; pen).

Today is all about the few errands I need to run to get the fridge and the larder back up to snuff. Because we were traveling so much, I let things go or didn't buy things because I knew we weren't going to use them in a timely fashion.

I need to build two doll bodies for Wendy's workshop so that is next on the docket for creative projects.

I am grateful for spring breezes that feel like cleansing breaths through the house.

So how Green are you going to be today?

Yesterday was Earth Day with all its celebrations and advertisements informing us what we can do to save the planet since it is the only we've got. I think my favorite part of Earth Day had to be Colbert trash talking all the other planets. But that is one day that is to bring to the front of our brains what we can do to help ourselves. So how are these businesses that were tooting their horns for the past couple of weeks for how green they are going to go from here? Back to the way that things were or are they really going to take the message to heart and do something for the planet? Green is a color that has come to mean being nice to where we live. So lets go green because I don't think we're going to have another planet.

Someone asked me what constituted a good convention. I said if I can get four good stories then I think it is a good one. He asked me how many I was up to and I said at that point I think eight. So it was a very good convention for me and my family.

The nice people who run the convention have places for the talent and the professionals to go hide for bit to regroup. Which is a wonderful thing when you have a 5 year old who is in sensory overload and just needs a little time to pull herself back together. Caroline liked the quiet and she would play with her stuffed animals while I would sit and get the noise out of my ears. Caroline, being the friendly person that she is, would go introduce herself to people. Fortunately she is so cute this is not much of a problem.

We went into the Green Room on Saturday and found the creators of Robot Chicken taking it easy and having lunch. Caroline decided to show them her water horse toy which they found cute. Peter had met the gang at LA Wizard Con so I introduced myself and Caroline to them. We had a nice conversation about the convention and puppetry. I lent Seth my 10th Doctor puppet and he had fun playing with it. They had to go off to a panel but we worked out a time for them to see Peter.

Peter and Paul Cornell, another writer of stuff but probably best known for his Doctor Who work, had wanted to meet for a while now. They finally had that chance this weekend. I got to show Paul the Doctor Who puppets which he found very amusing. Paul and his lovely wife Caroline joined us for our Seder Saturday evening along with Glenn Haumann and my very good friends Mike and Janet Lee. It was interesting explaining the Seder as we went along for those who had not participated on one before. Ours tend to be a bit freeform so I think everyone had fun.

After that Peter and I went to the Marvel party and managed to squish in. I saw a lot of people there that I knew and a lot of people inquired to how I was doing after the car accident. Peter had found out about it when he was standing in the Marvel Booth so they all knew. I talked briefly to a lot of people but it was overwhelming so we said our good-byes and went to find the Robot Chicken gang. Seth and Peter played ping-pong as I watched. I passed on an offer to play a game with Matthew because I was not feeling up to vigorous physical activity and these guys were serious ping-pong players. We had a good time but decided to turn into pumpkins before midnight.
The next day Caroline and Ariel were sitting in the Green Room. Caroline was quietly playing with her new stuffed animals and her water horse. Ariel was reading a book when she heard someone talking to Caroline. The voice sounded so familiar to her. She turned her head to see a man crouched down with Caroline asking her about her toys which Caroline proceeded to tell him about them. Then the light bulb went off and she mouthed to the girls at the desk, "Is that Brendan Fraser?" They nodded vigorously. He was there to promote "Journey to the Center of the Earth" but he and Ariel talked about "Inkheart". I think she vibrated the rest of the day off of that chance meeting. Peter gave a copy of "Tigerheart" to him.

So there are four of the eight stories. There are a couple that I can't tell yet since they really don't have an ending or they are on the super secret list for now.

I am grateful for the fun stories that come out of conventions.

New Who Review for "Voyage of the Damned"

Short version now. Longer version later when I have some time.

Please remember that spoilers are allowed in the comments.

Overall I really liked it. I thought Kylie did a great job as Astra Peth. It was a good Doctor Who version of the Poseidon Adventure .

I am grateful that Doctor Who is starting up in the Americas.

Where do I start this Tale?

I will start with Thank you to everyone for your kind wishes and thoughts for me. I really appreciate it.

Wow. NYCC has gotten to the point of sensory overload that I had always felt for San Diego Comic Con and they got there in three years. SDCC is still bigger but NYCC had come a long way in a short time.

Barbara Kessel and I were talking about the fact that the owners of the convention pay attention to what works and doesn't work from year to year and make improvements rather than just let it slide because it is just a bunch of fans and they are use to being treated that way. I am sure there will be some more changes implemented next year to make it even more wonderful for the fans. There are a couple things they have no control over like that fact that the ATMs seemed to have fans of their own with lines longer to get to the machine than there was to get to some of the talent. And there are a few rules that are venue rules rather than convention rules that they can't change

Overall the fans seem to be having lots of fun. There was defiantly a lot to do and see. Everyone who visited the table in artist alley, I want to thank you. Y'all were a great group of people to met and talk to. For all the people who gave me a face to put with a name or Internet name, it was nice to meet you in person. For everyone who bought artwork from Caroline (more on that later), I appreciate it. She took her earnings and spent it at the Mattel Booth on Hot Wheels cars based on the Pixar movie Cars.

I got to see a lot of the convention because Caroline was willing to settle in at Peter's table and earn loot. She was drawing pictures of a waterhorse which is based on the film "The Waterhorse". We recently got her a small toy based on the film which she loves dearly. And she has been drawing her version of the critter. So she took the other chair at the table and set herself up to draw waterhorses which she would encourage people to buy from her. She is a really good salesman and by the end of Saturday had earned $32.00. She doesn't quite have the idea of her signature down yet so everyone who asked her to sign got a bunch of random letters. I'm sure some people took her picture and if you happen to, I'd love to see it.

More on this either later today or tomorrow.

I also know that I need to put up a New Who Review for "Voyage of the Damned".

I am grateful for everyone who bought a drawing from Caroline.

Bit of a Stiff Neck

Thank you everyone for your kind wishes.

I took the hot shower and pain killers advise and am pretty much normal this morning with the exception of the impact points and a bit of a stiff neck.

The car is packed and once the girls are up, we are on our way to the city for the convention.

I will see some of you there.

I may drop off the Internet until late Sunday so don't worry if you don't hear from me.

I am grateful that I could get up this morning.

I'm a Bit of a Wreck Right Now

When I was a kid one of my favorite book was called "Fortunately/Unfortunately" And that pretty much sums up what happened this afternoon.

I was in a car accident today.

Fortunately it was totally not my fault.

Unfortunately a Hummer ran a stop sign and crashed to the car I was driving.

Fortunately my seatbelt did its job and I am mostly unhurt.

Unfortunately the car is totaled.

Fortunately the car was a rental because ours was in the shop for a minor repair.

Unfortunately the amount of paper work we had to fill out was rather vast.

Fortunately Peter came back from NYCC to help me.

Unfortunately he didn't make his signings or panels today.

Fortunately he will be there tomorrow as will the rest of us.

I am grateful that I am not hurt past a couple of bruises and a bit of a headache.

Happy Birthday to my stepdaughter Shana

Happy Birthday Dear.

I hope that you liked your gift. Your father searched long and hard for it. *grin*

Sometimes my life is just Cool

Peter David and Stan Lee

Last night Peter and I went into the city for two functions connected to the New York Comic Con. One was for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and was held at a rather interesting venue. The other was connected to the convention itself and it was held at the Virgin Mega Store in Time Square.

At the first we stood around and spoke to all kinds of people in both the publishing and comic book industry. Neil Gaiman and I finally got about 5 minutes to talk with each other and I got my long promised hug. In return I finally got sometime I made for Maddy to Neil to give to her. Jeff Smith told us about his new series now that Bone is done. Colleen Doran was there with some really cool artwork she had done recently. Paul Levitz and I caught up on what each other's children were doing and a couple of things going on in the industry. Charles Brownstein was his usual wonderful host being pulled in many directions. There were some other people I recognized but couldn't put a name to them. I probably will once they are wearing name badges at the ComicCon. It was fun chat and a good muchie spread. They had a very good bartender according to others but I stuck with water because I was a little peckish after grazing and we still had a long night ahead of us.

We then walked to the Virgin Mega Store for the first New York Comic Legend Award which was being given to Stan "The Man" Lee. Peter had been asked to speak at the event so while we walked over, he finalized what he was going to say. I got to say hi to a number of people I hadn't seen in a while. I also met Larry Lieber and his lovely wife. Larry is Stan's younger brother. I got to have a short conversation with Joe Quesada, editor and chief at Marvel Comics. And Paul Levitz was there. I figure that Paul Levitz is everywhere by this point. (side note: Paul Levitz is the President of DC Comics and on the board of directors for the CBLDF).

Peter made his remarks about Stan and what Stan meant to him. He told some rather strong stories about how Stan affected his life. Stan then told the crowd that they should hear Peter at a roast. So Peter obliged Stan by telling two of his Stan Lee tales that had Stan laughing and groaning at the same time.

Afterwards we had to walk the gauntlet of people between us and the exit which was exciting in itself. Peter would get a step and then stop and talk to some one. He would finish up that step and then there would be another person who wanted to talk to him. Which was fine. We were both expecting this. So we took our time and Peter got to talk to a lot of people. I had fun talking to people I had met before and meeting some new people who read this blog which was really neat. I like to meet the people who read this from day to day.
Finally we worked our way out and picked up a CD for Ariel which was her payment for watching Caroline while we were in the city. We ate at Virgil's BBQ and then listened to that insane Mets game on the way home.

All in all a good evening.

I am grateful for experiences like this.

Sometimes Things don't go as planned

I didn't go to the CBLDF thing last night. I just didn't have the energy to spare. This morning I am feeling a little better which means that the Claritin-D is starting to kick in which it usual does after 24 hours of taking it.

But we are going to the Stan Lee presentation tonight at all places the Virgin Mega Store in Times Square. And tomorrow Peter will be attending the convention. I will be there on Saturday and Sunday. And that will be this week in the books.

I had something I was working on that I thought I had a chance of making some decent coin on but I have been informed that the project is deader than a doornail. So that went out the window. Kind of back to square one on the job front again but then a lot of people seems to be in that position these days.

Caroline and I went to the library and she is now the owner of a shiny new library card. She learned how to ask the librarian for help to find things. She even checked out her own books. We are going back next week to return the books and DVD she checked out and get her new ones. I think we are going to make this a weekly thing for her.

I have a couple of things I have to get done before going into the city. So I guess I'll start with A and work my way to Z and see how far I can get.

I am grateful for libraries.

RTBTCKI the Right before New York ComicCon Edition

A year ago today on the Virginia Tech campus, a gunman killed people for no apparent rhyme or reason. One of those people who died that day was Jamie Bishop son of the author Michael Bishop. Today I remember Jamie and the others who lost their lives or who had their lived affected by this senseless act.

I may be at the Jeff Smith shindig for the CBLDF tonight if my allergies improve. Right now I feel like I have a bowling ball behind my eyes pressing on them and the front of my skull.

I am taking Caroline to the Library today. She wants to go to the children's section and get some books. We have a good library and good weather and I think we could both do with a walk.

I finally figure out what bothers me the most about the lexicon and it has to do with my academic upraising and everyone who keeps saying that this will screw us on academic study for years if Rowling wins.

This is case does not impact Cliff notes or academic musings on the size of Harry's wand or anything of that nature. This is PLAGIARISM plain and simple. If he handed this into any academic institution, they would not publish it and if this was his master's thesis he would fail and get kicked out of the university with a letter of Reprimand attached to his transcript. This is not a derivative work.

I give you from the US Copyright Office what a derivative work is(bold is my add)

A typical example of a derivative work received for registration in the Copyright Office is one that is primarily a new work but incorporates some previously published material. This previously published material makes the work a derivative work under the copyright law. To be copyrightable, a derivative work must be different enough from the original to be regarded as a "new work" or must contain a substantial amount of new material. Making minor changes or additions of little substance to a preexisting work will not qualify the work as a new version for copyright purposes. The new material must be original and copyrightable in itself. Titles, short phrases, and format, for example, are not copyrightable.

Now moving a few words around and changing an adjective doth not a new work make. A few entries that are expansions upon ideas doth not make up for the mammoth amount of material that is plagiarized.

I have this nagging pain in my shoulder which seems to not be getting worse but it is not getting any better. I think it is adding to my cranky level today. I am at yellow heading for orange. But I will suck it up and just do what I need to do for home, hearth and harmony.

I am grateful for all the people I am going to see over the next week.

Why the Lexicon Trial is important

Someone asked on another com if someone could tell them the short story about the Harry Potter Lexicon which has been a big sprawling mess so I wrote the following

Once upon a time there was a series of popular children's books which had a vast following. Fans created many web sites and wikis to show their love for these books.

Now we are at the point in our story where every one is in court to try to see who will win the battle of words

The trial started yesterday. Ms. Rowling was there to answer to why this lexicon is OK on the net but not as a book selling for 24.95 a pop. And she did a very good job of it. If you care to read a fair transcript of the thing there is one at The Leaky Caldron .

I am firmly on the side of the creator on this one. I have watched friends have to deal with people using their creations for profit that they don't see one thin dime from. I have also talked to friends who have had to use the court system to defend their rights to their property. Believe me, the stress on this sort of thing is great and very wearing.

But people are crying fair use! I think that most people haven't a clue what fair use it. I do because it was one of the things I had to deal with as an editor when I worked on non-fiction books. Just because JKR allowed the Internet site to exist doesn't mean that she gave passive permission for it to be published in book form. And what is happening in court today is going to bring up a whole set of red flags for creators when they find their work being used as the launching point for something on the net. Yes I do believe that down the road this is going to screw things up for someone else who has the best of intentions.

I think the thing I find most disheartening about the whole thing is that the fan asked the creator for her blessing to do thing and she told him gently no and please don't. That should have been the end of that but fan boy thought better of it or rather as he is now stating it, the publisher came to him and said that it would be legal without permission because of fair use so, even though he knew the creator didn't want it done, he did it. And, because of the contract he signed with the publisher, this stunt isn't going to cost him a dime in real money. I just hope he realizes what he really lost when this is all over.

I am grateful for fans that do listen when they ask permission and do take no for an answer.

Is it Worth It?

I was told by various people through my life, pick your battles. When I was younger, I really thought I could fight all battles that came my direction. If I was right then I would win and darn the torpedoes full speed ahead. I found out over time and finding myself on my rump after losing a battle, that fighting every battle was not the way to go.

Now I find that not everything is worth my time and effort. Especially in some places on the Internet which have turned into serious time sinks. These do not include this web log. I find that writing here in the morning tends to clear my mind wonderfully for the day. But there are other things out there that I really shouldn't get my knickers in a twist about. Some people are going to be jerks on the Internet and I need to accept that I am not going to be able to change their point of view no matter how much information I toss at them.

Recently a number of friends have been going through some rocky times in their lives. It really is amazing how a phone call, e-mail, or letter can bring things sharply into perspective. Things that seemed like such a big deal now seem so trivial and I wonder why I was wasting my energy on it when my friend here is going through something in which the stakes are pretty big.

So I am going to step away from those spots on the net that are causing me to lose a lot of time. I am also limiting my game playing on the machine. I can get sucked into those for extended periods of time.

I'm also going to sit down and figure out what the next step is for me. Right now there is a lot and nothing going on behind the scenes in terms of what is next for me. But I do need some quiet think time to figure out what I am going to do next. Or at all.

I am grateful for all the good things and people I find on the Internet.

Blame the Homeowner for this loan mess? NO!

Now the homeowners who have the sub-prime mortgages are being blamed for taking on more debt than they could pay. They should have known better. They are bad people for not being able to pay for their houses.

I don't blame a majority of them. (I can't say all because I am sure there were a few that did this to cheat others out of money.) Consider what we saw on TV before the mortgage crash. The commercials aired that told people that they too could be a homeowner and part of the American Dream. They could be real estate moguls and retire early. I constantly hear these both on TV and on the radio. People who thought that they would never own their own home were given a chance to do so. People were talking out second mortgages to pay for their kids to go to college and other things because it was so easy to do. We also have programs like "flip this house" where we are shown that you can take a home and add some money and sweat equity to it and then sell it at an absurd profit. You could make money was the cry.

Home ownership is important to people in America. Owning a piece of land, I was told from an early age, shows that you have made it. Owning a home meant that you had a freedom that renters didn't have and you had something valuable down the road you could use as an asset. And it is a siren song that is played over and over again.

I think we are going to find out a lot more about how banks worked the system to their advantage to make huge profits for their stockholders. I also think there are going to be some serious revisions as to how people applying for credit are assessed. This is going to be bad for many people who were about at the point that they could buy a home or a new car or some other large purchase. But I think in the long term this might be exactly what needs to happen to make sure we don't stay in recession longer than we have to.

I also think we need to look at the people who pushed these loans that are now causing the problems with the banking system. We also need to take a serious look at the people behind them who convinced the brokers that this was the way to go. The brokers got their cut and screw the customer. It was no longer their problem. There was a nudge nudge wink wink about these sub-prime loans. We are finding more and more that paper work was incorrectly filled out or changed slightly because it would help the customer secure the loan. And of course these customers were told don't worry because everyone is doing it.

Then there are the renters who are caught in this mess without doing anything but pay the rent to the landlord. They entered into a contract for their living space only to find that the landlord has been put into foreclosure by the bank and they have less than a week to find somewhere else to live. I feel sorriest for these people. The ones who did everything by the book only to find themselves on the street.

The banks and lending institutions needs to stop this campaign of that it was upon the customer to make sure they could afford the loan. The problem is within the loan system itself when some idiot found a loophole in the federal regulations that allowed them to create this system that has now collapsed. They did it to themselves and rather than the government bailing out the banks, they should be bailing out the taxpayers who entered into these Faustian deals in good faith.

I am grateful that we have a fixed rate on our mortgage.

Sometimes Snopes is not the Answer

There has been a link to an article about a bill that has died twice in committee about art that is considered orphaned. The creator of the article is coming off as frothing at the mouth without checking all of his facts and a great disliker of Bill Gates and the big Microsoft evil corporation which is trying to steal all intellectual property and make it their own.

Now I do so understand the need to protect one's creative rights. I also understand that the copyright office has the dubious task of dealing with who owns what in terms of intellectual property. It is a tightrope. I am also a firm believer in artist's rights considering how they have been not treated well in the past.

However, this one article with its misinformation has been spreading through the various art communities like wildfire. In one case the poster, who kept linking to the same article any time anyone asked a question, was asked whether they had checked other sources. Their response was that they had checked Snopes and hadn't seen that it was there as either true or false so it must be true because Snopes hadn't said that it wasn't.

I hate to break the Internet's rose color glasses, but Snopes is not the be all and end all of information on the Internet. In fact the Wikipedia is not the best source of information on the 'net either. A little additional research wouldn't hurt anyone before they cry that the sky is falling. This also goes for other things that Snopes hasn't done articles on yet which are racing around the Internet like a chicken with its head cut off.

I am grateful for people who do take the time to find out what is really going on rather than just pointing to the same piece of misinformation over and over again.

When the Creative Juices just don't flow

I consider myself a pretty creative person. I'm also a decent problem solver when working on a project. I tend to try to work through all the potential problems in my head before I really get into the actual nuts and bolts of what I am making. So I think a lot before I do anything.

Right now I have a couple of things I need to do. I know how to do them but I am not doing them and I haven't a clue why. Well I have a few but none that really make any sense given my situation.

It is funny that if I were writing a story, I would just push through this. But sewing can't be pushed because in that direction lay madness or a lot of frustration when things don't turn out properly. Paper crafts when pushed can result in a lot of materials being wasted. I do know that part of creating is making mistakes and I have made enough of them. My parts box speaks to that.

I think I might just pull out some fur and work on an idea that I have been mulling in my head now for a while. It probably won't turn into anything cool but it might shake out some of the cobwebs in my brain. Or maybe I'll make some more eyeballs to use at NYCC. Something simple that will possibly unblock the dam on my creative juices and get them flowing again.

So what do you do when creativity is elusive?

I am grateful for things that get my brain back in working order.

A Few Days to Breathe

Before the next set of adventures begin.

Last night for me was the real end of I-Con. Peter and I went into the city and saw the re-cut of the documentary on Harlan called "Dreams with Sharp Teeth". I met some interesting people and caught up with others I hadn't seen in a while (waves at them). Over all I think it was pretty well received by the audience. Harlan was mobbed by people vying for his attention as usual so I stood back and watched the ebb and flow of various groups. I do this a lot. I like stepping back and watching the action around me.

The next couple of days are going to be all about recovery including me from all the stuff we have been doing the last month and the house from the same. Then I plan to get those couple of projects done before NYCC which is now a week and a half away.

I have about two months worth of photos to download so I think that is next on my plate. Peter has a picture of him next to Colbert portrait in DC that I want to send to a friend of ours.

I am grateful for those moments to breathe.

Don't Tease the Mundanes

I can remember that I first saw that phrase about half way through the list of rules for a science fiction convention. I knew what a Mundane was because I was pretty well versed in sci-fi fan short hand. I found it strange that they put that in the list but found out later that it had to do with something that had happened at a previous convention to a wedding reception group and a group of fans both of which had a bit too much to drink. The hotel almost paid the kill fee on the contract and kicked the convention out.

That phrase came back to me this weekend since school was in session while the convention was going on. Usually the convention is on the spring break weekend of the college and most of the kids are off campus. Now a number of the students participate in the convention either as attendees or as staff and they have a blast. There are also a number of high school students from the area who do that same. It is a good mix of younger and older fans.

Stony Brook has a weapons policy and they do enforce it. Just because one is cosplaying doesn't mean that you can swing your keyblade around with abandonment. It will be confiscated by the campus police. I heard the cops tell you where and when you could get it back too after the convention. Threatening the campus under your breath to your buddies will win you no friends from the local constabulary and believe me they heard you too.

Either this year there was a rule I didn't see about wings or no one was wearing them because of all the problems they caused last year with just trying to move through the dealers' room. Which was a blessing indeed especially for someone like Caroline who is right at the height to get poked in the eye by the tip of a wing. However, I do understand the use of props as part of your costume to complete the look but if you are going to carry around something that extends past you and can be very hazardous to other people who are just trying to walk from point A to point B, think twice and leave the prop at home. I'm talking to the individuals who were carrying either the giant striped hammers or the over sized foam core swords that when you prop it on your shoulder and swing around everyone has to jump back a foot to avoid being hit.

I'm glad that (insert character here) is your favorite character in the universe and you want to dress up like them. May I politely ask if you looked in a mirror after putting on your costume? Dance belts are our friends and I really don't care to see the outline of your dangly bits mashed up into the spandex without support. To another costumer who really needs a mirror, the reason everyone was talking pictures is that none of them thought their friends would believe what they saw standing in front of them. If you wanted to wear that costume, there were ways of doing it that would not make it such a spectacle. I would bet that you have had that costume for a while and have put on a little weight since the first time you put it on.

To the Idiots who were still partying and running up and down the halls after midnight at the hotel. You were not young kids. Some of you were my age and older. People are trying to sleep. The hotel has not rented out the entire hotel to the convention therefore the areas where the guest rooms are is the place where some people are trying to get some sleep. And there are a number of people who are attending the convention who went to bed at a reasonable hour so they could get up early for what they wanted to do at the convention. You are not helping fandom in the least by arguing loudly and probably drunkly about various aspects of a certain scifi TV show.

Maybe I'm getting old or maybe just getting sensitive about how my fandom is perceived from the outside. But these sorts of things I do see and wince about. No, my behavior was not perfect when I was a young fan and I know that. But a majority of the people I am talking about were my age or older. Also complaining about the Mundanes in the bar in a loud voice while the locals are there to drink is really bad form. I'm just saying....

I am grateful to all the fans there who took the time to explain to the Mundanes what was going on and giving them useful information. A couple of people came to the convention who had never been there because of what you said.

I-Con 2008 Wrap-Up

This was my 10th I-Con. My first one was shortly after I moved up to New York. It was my first convention with Peter as boyfriend/girlfriend. I met a lot of people that weekend and I was rather amazed at the number of them I saw this weekend. This includes Harlan and Susan Ellison. They were rather guarded when they first met me but considering what Peter was going through at the time I don't blame them. Since then we have become the best of friends. I was even on Harlan's list Friday of people who have to put up with him because we are friends.

The children's programming kind of got screwed up on the schedule so I was left off but I went ahead and worked with some of the most enthusiastic group of kids I have had in a while. There was one in the group that I predict if he keeps working on it, he's going to have quite a career in puppetry. His abilities even as such a young age were amazing. I had a lot of fun as did Caroline since she is old enough now to participate. Making play dough critters was her favorite activity.

Most of the rest of the convention was going to various panels and wandering around the dealers' room and the art show. There was some sitting down and breaking of bread with old friends too.

The dealers room has changed a lot in 10 years. Part of it is from changes in the state laws and part of it has to do with changes within University policy. The two biggies are that you can't sell any food product without a food vendors license which is not a cheap thing to obtain and there is no longer any bladed weapons for sale. The bladed weapon policy came into play after 9/11 and the major changes within the laws of New York which also meant that two gun shows that did very well there no longer exist. The food policy is a couple of years old and had to do with the University trying to cover its legal butt over some changes in the state policies as well as the local statutes.

The other major change is the types of vendors. There are fewer booksellers than a couple of years ago. There are more people selling anime products or cos-play gear. There are fewer toy vendors which is not a bad thing. Ren vendors are reducing in number but the quality of the garb was really good. A couple of the vendors that also sold leather products are probably not going to be there next year but they brought the same stuff year after year so I think they hit their saturation point. The aisles were bigger and easier to navigate which party had to do with the university rules and partly to fewer vendors in the room.

The art show was a bit sparse but the work was interesting to look at. The demos they had were fascinating to watch and I definitely learned some new things.

All this is going to change since the convention is moving to a new venue next year. I have no idea what is going to happen but I am hoping that in 10 years I will be writing about having gone to I-Con for 20 years.

I am grateful I went to I-Con this year.

Back from Icon but off to dinner

with Harlan and Company.

More tomorrow about either the convention or the people at the convention or both.

Hurricane Harlan

Harlan Ellison is a writer who has been a writer for a very long time and he'll be glad to tell you all about it. Listening to Harlan is listening to a bit of history with an edge. I never know what he is going to say but I know I'll have some reaction to it. Harlan is a force of nature and he proved it yet again last night.

This weekend Harlan is one of the guests of honor at I-Con on Long Island. It is the first time I have seen Susan and him in about 5 years. I can time it down pretty well since Caroline was a little over 4 months last time they saw her which is the last time I saw them in person. One of Peter's first panels at the convention was entitled "An Hour with Harlan and Peter" which is always fun to hear how the two of them play off of each other.

At one point Harlan was talking about the David family and he asked how big Caroline had gotten. Peter pointed to the back of the room where we were seated and Caroline ran down to the stage. Harlan stood up and held his arms open ready for a hug and Caroline, the Master of Comic Timing, ran right by him and into her father's lap. She did, later that panel, give Harlan a big hug. She showed Harlan her precious pink blankie that Harlan and Susan had gotten her. Well worn is a kind way of describing the condition of this blanket. She and Harlan got on well with each other.

After the talk, Peter and Harlan went to sign books and other items for the fans. The set up had a nice nook for Caroline to play in while the signing was going on. She drew pictures and worked on her letters for quite a while. But the signing was pushing into its second hour and I could see the signs of Caroline starting to meltdown so I took her and a very tired Ariel home. I went back to pick up Peter and got to have some uninterrupted conversation with various adults I knew there which was nice.

Today I have my what is a Puppet demo and tomorrow I am making paper bag puppets with the kids. Caroline is looking forward to seeing her pal 'Rina who is really Ariel's bestest buddy. Peter has a couple of panels and he is driving Ariel to her bowling competition later this afternoon. I'm hoping to see some old friends this weekend too.

I am grateful for something Harlan said last night.

Where were you 40 years ago today?

I'm figuring that most of you were not around as for me I was four. I was just becoming aware of how big the world was. I can honestly say I don't remember the day he died but I do remember news reports afterwards and for some reason the search for the killer who was captured in London.

After we moved to Atlanta, I learned a lot more about Dr. King. I would hear his name in conjunction with Kennedy and Gandhi. For a while I though that President Kennedy and Dr. King were killed the same day but eventually I got that sorted out.

When you grow up in Atlanta, you can't avoid Dr. King's legacy. It is, honestly, all around you. The church where he preached is still there, I have driven by it more times than I care count. There is the King center. And there is the family itself. I met Coretta Scott King twice when I lived down in Atlanta. Both times it was in connection to some play I was working on at the time.

But Dr. King is bigger than those memorials in Atlanta. What he did and how he did it is a shining example of how words have power to change the world. Dr. King was a brilliant orator probably one of the best that America has ever produced. To this day I get goosebumps listening to recordings of his most famous speeches. His voice made you listen carefully to what he was saying. You knew you were hearing something important.

And there are all the people out there doing good in the world who list Dr. King as one of the people who influenced their lives. Dr. King brought people together. His work in the civil rights movement is unparallel and is used as an example of how to do civil disobedience the right way.

The legacy of Doctor King lives on to this day. His work was bigger than the bullet that took him down 40 years ago today.

Dr. King, you are remembered.

I am grateful for all that Dr. King did in his lifetime.

RTBTCKI ( The Can the Mets and Yankees win on the same day?) Edition

A lot going on at the Casa David today. A new bowling league starts up for Peter and Ariel. Peter has some traveling to do and probably an interesting tale to tell when he gets back. We have a convention in a day. Caroline and I have our usual Thursday appointment.

So far this baseball season, the Mets and Yankees have not won on the same day. If the Mets win then the Yankees lose and vise versa. That's going to make for an interesting season if this keeps up.

The two other cats tried a coup against Stalin yesterday. It didn't go well for the other two cats. Stalin is still the alpha cat in the house. But I think the other two are plotting against him.

I am deciding which of three projects I want to tackle today. All involve some serious work but have very different results.

Caroline has been a serious cuddle bug this morning. She is currently curled up next to me patting my tummy. Some mornings she needs this and other morning she just gets her day started and goes from there.

I am looking forward to this weekend although logistics are going to be a bit of a nightmare. I hope to see some of you there.

I am grateful for Caroline cuddles.

Caroline goes swimming

Caroline is having her second set of swimming lessons. She has the basics down and now she is really learning how to swim. I am glad that if she falls into a pool, she knows how to get back to the edge and which way is up. She really enjoys it. She has always loved playing in water since she was a baby. I will feel better when she really knows how to swim.

We are working on letters and how they are formed. She has her own ideas about letters and numbers and how they are formed. I need to convince her to do it our way rather than hers. I do know that yet again she knows more than she is letting onto. She drew a bunch of bubbles and put the numbers 1 through 7 in the bubbles. Except for a backwards 5, she got them all right. We are still doing the coin game.

She is growing right out of some of her favorite sun dresses. She is getting taller and taller. We put on some pjs that fit last year but now her belly is showing. Her waist still fits but the length is comedic.

I have a number of errands to run today and some other stuff that needs serious sorting out. I'm hoping that my sinuses cooperate today.

I am grateful that Caroline wants to learn to swim.

April 1st No Fooling

So we are into the 4th month of the year 2008.

This month will see us at a number of conventions and other functions. Icon is this weekend and New York Comic Con is two weekends after that. Peter has a few things in addition that he has committed to.

April weather in New York can be a crapshoot. We can end up with the last snowstorm of the season or we can get spring weather. Today we have lots of rain with wind later in the day.

I got my projects done for March in time. Now onto the short list for April. I have to get some stuff ready for this weekend and the puppet workshop I think I am doing. Then I have two weeks to get a couple of things done for NYCC. After that I plan to get my Shoreleave costumes done (or at least two of them).

I have fallen behind on a couple of things that I think I am going to use April to catch up on including part of my 101 in 1001 project.

I am grateful for cinnamon bread.