inarticulations

Farewell etc

2008-08-25T14:46:45Z

Well I have less than 100mb to plough through before I get my internet cut off. :(

On the plus side, I may actually get some beta-reading done, without the distraction of the terrible time waster.

Tomorrow is a child-free day and I vow to:

a) find the local swimming pool. Being fat sucks.

b) get started on the betas I owe.

Today was spent cleaning the slip covers and scatter cushion covers in the lounge. Hoorays - I has a clean lounge suite!

I shall return to regular internet cat-waxery on the first. (Labour day, as I have now discovered). Hopefully there will be some kind of vaguely positive news in my inbox when I do.

Memes.. I am such a sheep

2008-08-21T12:28:31Z

snagged off pegkerr

So, cathellisen, your LiveJournal reveals...

You are... 8% unique (blame, for example, your interest in theacracy) and 13% herdlike (partly because you, like everyone else, enjoy writing). When it comes to friends you are popular. In terms of the way you relate to people, you are keen to please. Your writing style (based on a recent public entry) is intellectual.

Your overall weirdness is: 32

(The average level of weirdness is: 27.
You are weirder than 70% of other LJers.)

Find out what your weirdness level is!

I have no idea what recent blog post could have given them a reading of "intellectual" though.

*shakes head*

And herewith, cat's take on twitter

2008-08-21T10:00:20Z

11:56:01) Slaveboy: I've never understood the twitter thing
(11:56:04) Them's fighting words: neither
(11:56:10) Them's fighting words: OMG I'M GOING FOR A SHIT NOW
(11:56:18) Them's fighting words: OMG I'M IN THE SHOPS
(11:56:24) Them's fighting words: OMG SOMEONE LOOKED AT ME
(11:56:36) Them's fighting words: OMG WHAT A GREAT SANDWICH I JUST ATE
(11:56:52) Them's fighting words: OMG I THINK I'M GONNA BLOG ABOUT MY SANDWICH
(11:56:56) Slaveboy: *looks for "Block" button*
(11:56:59) Them's fighting words: *BLOGGED*
(11:57:21) Them's fighting words: OMG SOME ASS ON MSN JUST BLOCKED ME

food meme

2008-08-15T08:04:45Z

Stolen from donutgirl

The Omnivore's Hundred is a list of foods the gastronomic Andrew Wheeler thinks everyone should try at least once in their lives.

The rules of the meme: bold those you have tried, strikethrough those you wouldn't eat on a bet.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (alligator actually, but I'm bolding anyway)
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (by mistake, not something that will ever ever happen again)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly -
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk in cheese form
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine - no, but now I want it, yum yum.
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

hmm there are things I've eaten that aren't on this list and should be, so that people can strike them through. Seriously.</lj>

The Djinn Feast

2008-08-11T08:49:51Z

Originally published at Inarticulations. You can comment here or there.

The Djinn Feast is up, for those who feel like reading my misogynistic fantatwee. *winks*

Seriously though, it was interesting to see where my head was about a year-two years? ago.

My musical sprogs.

2008-08-10T07:44:39Z

I wonder how my kids are going to turn out, I really do.

Noa is currently cleaning up her room and singing.

What is she singing, you might ask?

There's a light (over at the Frankenstein Place) (Tanith is accompanying by humming and occasionally yelling "Ka! Ka! YAY!")

Noa has also turned to me on occasion and randomly pointed out that "You agree the council must be thwarted?" (a line from The Young Ones, for those who don't know.) The grrl makes me laugh. I dig her.

picspam!

2008-08-09T13:28:15Z

Originally published at Inarticulations. You can comment here or there.

I was actually trying to get photos of the nascent greenery, and ended up taking of the sprogs instead.

Here’s Noa

And Tanith

Oh hey look, an actual post with writing advice

2008-08-08T08:51:27Z

Originally published at Inarticulations. You can comment here or there.

No, not from me, from like, *other* people.

First off there’s this informative thread on AW about how advances work - the whole thing is quite interesting, but the meat of it is in Gillhoughly’s post. You can’t miss it, it takes up like half the thread.

Then fellow muser Alexandra Little has being posting about her experiences at SCBWI, and she’s written a series of posts on agent and editor advice.

And just so you know that it is I, morongrrl, posting, and not a robot:

A picture of a house in my area.

You’re thrilled, I can tell.

Radiohead nostalgia

2008-08-07T18:42:05Z

Via sildargod

Radiohead's nude, remixed and played in a way you won't quite believe.

ZX Spectrum love

poetryslamgasm

2008-08-07T14:53:39Z

Post-novel burnout is here.

I am going to set myself random words or phrases as inspiration and then write poetry for 15 minutes.

I'll post the inspo for others who feel like joining in.

And yes, my poems will suck.

This is me not caring. :D

On the homeward stretch of hob

2008-08-06T14:16:18Z

12:26:

I am currently on pg 423/475.

Dear god what did I have against Jek when I wrote this?

And what was with my aversion to capitalising 'palace'? Only Glynnis knows.

12:40:

Jek wanting someone to sing him to his death makes me so very sad.

13:56:

These chapters that chop and change between Jek, Sel, and Calissa during the Meke ship attack are really really short. I think they work though, so I'm leaving them for now (except one, which just got about another 250 words added.)

14:29:

The original ending had Jek saving the city, and I hated it. I scrapped the whole thing and wrote the current one. I know it's not the way some people would have it - with the protag coming back in the aftermath, but it suits the tone better as far as I'm concerned. I had a few readers mention that Jek should be more proactive here, and I read it with that in mind.

I've decided I prefer this one.

The one with Sel and Jek missioning about through the palace to reach the Well felt contrived.

15:12:

These 400 word chapters are making me feel guilty. But not *that* guilty.

15:23:

The more this book goes on, the sorrier I feel for Calissa and the way she's actually manipulated by everyone around her. (Except for Mal, because Calissa and Mal have become like my OTP *lols at self*)

16:04:

73 chapters, 104 157 words later and I'm done. I really love the ending to this book. Like, rilly rilly loff with much loff.

Sweet. I totally deserve my new piercing, my beer and my cigarette.

What's interesting is seeing the parallels that amberdulen pointed out. How Black Wings actually mirrors a lot of the themes that come up in hob.

Does this post deserve an excerpt? Probably not, but I give a shit, right?

"She will come around," Jannik said to me one night, over a pot of tea. "She's prone to temper, and used to getting her own way, but she doesn't hold on long to her hate."

"Do you think it will be better in Pelimburg?"

"Perhaps."

"What's it like?"

"Like itself." He grinned. "I don't care how bad she might have been hit, Pelimburg will rise, she's like that, full of sea-strength."

"You miss living there?"

Jannik shrugged, and poured me more tea. "Always." He looked at Mal. "You've never lived in a city where we are accepted."

I wondered then if his family were even still alive. Here we were, leaving our ghosts, only to trade them in for Jannik's and Felicita's.

"Have you had word from your family?"

He looked down then, and said nothing.

A candle flickered out, blown by a desert wind. "The Pelim House will have fallen," he said. "It would have been a target." He buried his head in his hands. "I do not think we will go to Eastern Pelimburg, to see the carcasses of our families."

"But perhaps we will walk on the promenade," said Felicita. I jumped - none of us had heard her come down the stairs. "And we will stand in the rain, and pretend we have just met, and are hiding under an umbrella, hoping that my mother didn't see us kiss."

Jannik even managed a smile. "A good memory."

"Was it?" She sat down and pulled a cup towards her, smiled faintly. "Oh," she said in mock-surprise. "You may be right. Certainly a memory worth repeating."

Shiny new things

2008-08-05T11:06:16Z

Originally published at Inarticulations. You can comment here or there.

What Cat does when the sun is shining and the birds are singing:

Ah, I’m in lust with that bit of shiny right now.

There's no one left to torture.

2008-08-04T15:01:17Z

98 pages left on hob's edits (draft 3a 4.)

I've seen the future, baby, it is murder.

snippetish:

The green eyes blink, slowly. A paw bats me from the side, an I'm sure it cracks a rib. There's pain an the snap of breaking bones.

"Sweetmeat," says the sphynx. It smells of thunderstorms.

I lash out at it with magic, tapping Sel even as he's pulled far away by the frightened blaas. All I manage is to slice across its nose. An piss it off. The sphynx growls, lowers its head to me. Its teeth are sharp, mottled yellow daggers in that lammer mouth. The smell of old meat an rot blasts down on me, making me gag. I turn my face away so that I don't have to watch as it comes in for the kill.

Something hot hits my cheek just as my ears explode with the sound of roaring thunder. I twist my head, look up to see the sphynx's head exploding in a shower of brain an bone an blood.

Nostalgia

2008-08-04T12:30:13Z

Originally published at Inarticulations. You can comment here or there.

You know what I wish you could still get?

I remember passing hours immersed in the stories and poems, turning the pages with the chime. I had favourites - Gobbolino the witch’s cat, the marrog from mars, shorty the satellite, that story about the boy who painted things that came to life…

What childhood things do you wish were still available?

That agent you're pitching to? Yep, human.

2008-08-03T11:20:56Z

Bookends

I'm rather glad I never had the opportunity to pitch to an agent, because this blog is pretty much how I am in real life.* Plus they'd be trying to follow my accent, which would just make the whole thing more excruciating for the poor agent.

Still, it's probably good to remember that the person across from you is not just big scary agent person, but also human.

*just to clarify, I sometimes wonder if people ever read my blog then my writing and go, wait, what - morongrrl can string two lucid sentences together? How is that possible?

EXCUSE ME WHILE I TYPE IN ALL CAPS

2008-07-31T10:37:59Z

OMG SQUEE!

Can. Not. Wait.

Bestiality or Necrophilia - which one's hotter?

2008-07-31T07:24:03Z

Reading the local paper tends to put me in a pissy mood.

Who purposefully poisons koi by throwing chlorine over the wall and into the pond? I already know my area has dog-poisoners, but now I see we've moved on to fish-genocide.

Oh, and ATM bombing. South Africa, I love you, I truly do, but please to be getting a handle on the crime nao. kthnxbai.

On to more furry topics, over in Holly Black's journal they are discussing werewolves.

I haven't read all the comments but I noticed some discussion on why in the majority of stories the vampires trump the werewolves when it comes to the heroine's affections.

My thoughts - it's the subconscious idea that shagging a werewolf is not that far removed from bestiality. Oh but a vampire's a corpse! you cry. True, so let's say that vampires make necrophilia okay, why don't werewolves make bestiality just as uh...kosher?

Discuss.

:P

My mother would be so happy to know that I'm suffering.

2008-07-30T12:27:16Z

Dear hell-spawn,

please stop screaming at the top of your voice when things don't go your way. It would also help me greatly if you would refrain from throwing toothbrushes down the toilet.

Thanking you in advance

your mother.

david_de_beer is discussing flat rates vs pay per word in short fiction markets.

As for me, I'm slogging through hob, wondering what drugs I was on when I wrote it. The middle part has less that I want to add and more that I want to cut, but if I cut too much, then the story becomes nonsensical. Oh the drama! *presses back of her hand to her head, and takes deep calming breaths*

I'm tarted up at the moment because I have realised that I really only have one asset, and I should dress to draw attention there, and hopefully remove said attention from my pudding-belly.

My legs are cold now. Damn you, beautiful legs, damn you both. :P

Random post with added chow

2008-07-28T14:24:08Z

Originally published at Inarticulations. You can comment here or there.

Black pepper Danish feta, black mission olives, spaghetti, swiss chard….mmmm I have the makings of a yummy supper.

Not much writing done today. Instead I took the sprogs out for milkshake and chips, and bought them new shoes. *is now bankrupt*

Bee came around last night and dropped off some more Scrubs for us. Yay, I have stuff to watch tonight.

Unisa is pissing me off because their site is made of fail and nothing ever loads. I want to study further (yeah, I know I say this every year and then never have the money for it, but I am planning this one in advance - good idea, right?) and I’m kinda stumped as to what direction to take. Since I’m not studying for a career, but purely for my own pleasure I have way more options open to me, and yeah, I’m kinda spoiled for choice. I need to focus a bit. Of course it would SO help if I could actually find the Unisa Calender pdf on their site.

Yey cat iz cleverer than u

2008-07-28T06:48:37Z

Last night bslaveboy and I played Trivial Pursuit (we're such rock stars, I know) only we happen to have the UK version that we bought for R10 at the second hand shop (cheap rock stars, I might add) so we tend to get stumped by a lot of the questions.

I won, of course, so all is good and right with the world.

(The Slave let me win, he gave me an easy question on the final middle bit)

Now that I've thrilled you with the details of Sunday Evening chez Cat, I shall proceed to waste time with one of those pointless yet strangely addictive meme-things.

Right, I'm off to go shower and get to work.

1. Do you like blue cheese? Naturally

2. Have you ever smoked? Yes

3. Do you own a gun? No

4. What flavor Kool Aid was your favorite? I don't like make-on juices, I'd rather have water.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Always, I have to be puking up a lung before I'll go anywhere near one.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? They are good good stuff.

7. Favorite Christmas movie? The Nightmare Before Christmas? Gah, I don't know. We're not the kind of people that get excited by seasonal movies.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? coffee.

9. Can you do push ups? Not many, but yes.

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? I'd love a big chunky African necklace but I just look stupid wearing jewellery.

11. Favorite hobby? It's a toss-up between belly dancing and hooping.

12. Do you have A.D.D.? I don't know

13. Do you wear glasses/contacts? Vanity, thy name is Contact Lenses.

14. Middle name? Lisa

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? Ugh must clean house ugh must destroy cacti ugh must get dressed at some point

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? coffee, water, green rooibos chai

17. Current worry? need to sort out the faulty wiring

18. Current hate right now? I'm not a really hateful person...mmm I guess right now I hate that I'm going to get poked and stung by those cacti later today.

19. Favorite place to be? I really liked that game reserve we went to for Bee's bday last year. Those hikers cabins. Yeah.

20. How did you bring in the new year? um...watching fireworks, with a beer in hand.

21. Where would you like to go? Japan, Zanzibar, Egypt, Morocco, Brazil, India..oh everywhere actually, I suppose. :D

22. Name three people who will complete this? No idea

23. Do you own slippers? Apparently. I never wear them though.

24. What shirt are you wearing? Um. I'm in a dressing gown.

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No

26. Can you whistle? Nope

27. Favorite color? Orange and black

28. Would you be a pirate? Knowing my luck I'd be the cabin boy that gets eaten.

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? Do people really sing in the shower?

30. Favorite Girl's Name? Noa, Tanith, Petal

31. Favorite boy's name? David, Kai, Severin

32. What's in your pocket right now? You don't really want to know.

33. Last thing that made you laugh? Noa and Tanith doing my chummy my chummy.

34. What vehicle do you drive? I can't and don't drive. Yep.

35. Worst injury you've ever had? A burn.

36. Do you love where you live? Occasionally.

37. How many TVs do you have in your house? One. And that's more than enough.

Weekend break

2008-07-27T14:30:35Z

Originally published at Inarticulations. You can comment here or there.

I know many writers work at their craft 7 days a week for fear of losing the rhythm.

Personally, I just can’t do that because if I don’t give myself a break like a normal person then I start resenting having to write. Not a good mental state for me.

This weekend was spent running around doing grocery shopping, visiting family, and working in the garden. I also got my dvd from the dance and it depressed me greatly. Ugh, I really should just stop eating.

I’m ready for July to be over. Come on, August - I want to go fly kites already!

Quake before my pyjamas of Doom. They make revision a sweet sweet sin.

2008-07-24T12:52:28Z

Still in my pyjamas, slacker that I am, and not a stitch of the work we call house done yet.

I am however 14k deeper into the edits for hob, and a good 1200 of that is new wordage. The scene between Jek and Illy turned out odd and not at all what I expected. At first I was peeved because I wanted more drama, but then I considered the mood Jek was in when he saw her, and the way Illy has been drawing deeper and deeper into herself, and I realised that it was exactly what would have happened, and it wasn't going to be anything else.

At this point I'm actually enjoying having a zillion short chapters instead of just a few behemoths. I may actually keep it that way except for some tweaking.

Anyways, this is for the few brave souls who betaed Black Wings.

MILESTONE

2008-07-23T11:40:39Z

Originally published at Inarticulations. You can comment here or there.

On mtd, I can happily say I’ve reached a 1/5th milestone.

20,038 / 100,000
(20.0%)

Sweet, right?

I’ve finally, almost 80 pages in, got Jeren and Eremaste into what’s left of MallenIve.

And now we have ghosts. *rubs hands*

I should go do some rewrites on hob now, yes. Hmm. Look at me procrastinating. *spies comic near her desk* Oh look! Season Of Mists! How long has it been since I read that? Catwaxery here I come!!!

Oh bugger. Hob, hob, I haven’t forsaken you, I swear.

My brain, let me show you it.

2008-07-22T08:10:57Z

1775 words on MTD.

It came with a free Unexpected Plot Twist too. Well, more like a plot weave since it's really not a big deal in the grand scheme although it certainly explains a few things that have happened. I love it when my subconscious does all the work.

One thing that's coming through in this WiP is my obsession with burns. When we move on to how much I love bruises I'll know I've run out of things to write about.

Ooh! And a phone call from tjoelip so it looks like I will be off to go watch Prince Caspian. Sweet!

I love popcorn.

oh and the bit I liked today:

"Truth is," he says, "I just don't want your kind here. Next thing you know, we'll have goings on an magic an I really don't hold with that shite."

I have no idea what he's talking about. I blink, trying to bring my thoughts in order.

"But I'm not a needlessly violent person," he says.

Inka shakes her head, laughing silently.

"So I'll let you take your unnatural practices down the Casabi."

He's going to throw us in the river. My knees are shaking, I really can't take another day of no food and no decent sleep, and on top of that, being tossed into the river. Nicors. I shudder, and open my mouth. I'm not above begging for my life.

The hob raises his hand. "Hush. Did I say you could prattle? No? Then don't say nothing till I give you leave. There's a barge up from Pelimburg, you can get that."

A public service announcement

2008-07-18T12:59:35Z

Contrary to popular belief (my mother's actually) I don't spend all day sprawled on the divan, throwing back gin and tonics and papering my naked torso with R100 notes while the children are locked in a small shed at the bottom of the garden.

For starters, I don't have a tool shed.