So recently on Pinterest I saw someone's geek bucket list, a list of amazing - very fictional - things one would like to do if it were possible. And because I had a cranky morning, I decided I needed something silly and fun to do for a minute, so here's my own version.
One thing that struck me about the list on Pinterest though was how many of the things sounded cool in theory, but when you really thought about it would be kind of horrible. Seriously, super powers sound awesome, but I don't know that I want all that responsibility. So I tried to make my list things that really did sound fun to me. (And even with that, numbers 4, 6, and 7 I would only want to do on a day when I was feeling particularly resilient.)
Jenel's Geek Girl Bucket List
1. Temporarily replace Jimmy Olsen as photographer of the The Daily Planet (Superman)
2. Join a book club with Lorelai and Rory Gilmore (Gilmore Girls)
3. Work a case with Castle and Beckett (Castle)
4. Work a case with Sherlock and John (Sherlock)
5. Become the official historian of Starfleet (Star Trek)
6. Co-pilot the Millennium Falcon (Star Wars)
7. Co-pilot Serenity (Firefly)
8. Convince The Doctor, preferably Ten, to take me back in time to meet Abraham Lincoln (Doctor Who)
9. Become Minerva McGonagall's teaching assistant (Harry Potter)
10. Take an archaeology class from Dr. Indiana Jones
11. Visit Rivendell (Lord of the Rings)
12. Visit Narnia (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)
13. Have Belle take me on a tour of the Beast's castle, before the spell is broken (Beauty and the Beast)
14. Rhyme with Inigo and Fezzik (The Princess Bride)
15. Be in a position to end a conversation with, "Mulder, I think you're crazy." (X-Files)
I know - silly - but my brain needed a break and I needed to blog, so actually I'm multi-tasking :-)
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Monday, February 4, 2013
Ringtones and other Random Bits
So one of the cool features of cellphones is supposed to be customizing them, right? I changed my ringtone today (a peppy bit of music from BBC's Sherlock) and realized I hadn't changed it since we bought the phone about a year ago. Maybe it's a sign that I'm getting old. I have at least changed my background wallpaper twice. Yeah, it's a fall photo, so not exactly current either. I suppose I could take this as a sign of the fact that I just have better things to do with my time. Yeah...that's a nice theory :-)
I actually realized I have a second thing to say about ringtones (who knew it was such a fascinating subject). I love having ringtones and other pop culture related paraphernalia that are just a little bit geeky, but that, unless you know what they are from don't seem obviously so. There's something nice, in my late thirties, about celebrating my geekiness in a slightly lower key way.
I actually realized I have a second thing to say about ringtones (who knew it was such a fascinating subject). I love having ringtones and other pop culture related paraphernalia that are just a little bit geeky, but that, unless you know what they are from don't seem obviously so. There's something nice, in my late thirties, about celebrating my geekiness in a slightly lower key way.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Love Letters to Places
So this probably should be on my long neglected book blog, but I didn't want to deal with the difficulty of kick starting it yet again so I'm going to post this here.
Right now I've got this massive urge to work, not on the novels I'm supposed to be working on, but on an idea for a novel that takes place on a semi-mysterious island in the Puget Sound. This isn't really a surprise, in fact it's a habit of mine.
I've realized that all of my novel settings are in essence love letters to places that mean something to me. Even Rell which is set in a fantasy world is inspired by the high desert, river-centric landscape of southern Idaho. One particular scene, even though it was a combination of places, was so specifically detailed that my cousin Jennie upon reading it said she felt like she recognized it as a place she had been.
And it's not an accident that Capstone is set in the Washington D.C. area. One of the most fun experiences I've had as a writer was planning an action sequence in the Metro station in Alexandria that I used everyday while researching at the National Archives a few years ago.
One of the great, and yet I think sometimes lousy rules of writing is "Write what you know." And I can't remember who exactly it was that wisely changed this rule to "Write what you love." Not only does writing about these places make it easier to get the details right and also invest my stories with things that reflect my specific personality as a writer, but I also think it's a way for me to stay connected to these places even when I'm at my boring old desk reduced to looking at (literally at the moment) pictures of sunrise on Whidbey Island or a sketch of two people strolling hand in hand in front of the U.S. Capitol.
I also have this possibly crazy notion that anything I can do to up my emotional investment in the story I'm telling will eventually translate to those people who read my stories.
Right now I've got this massive urge to work, not on the novels I'm supposed to be working on, but on an idea for a novel that takes place on a semi-mysterious island in the Puget Sound. This isn't really a surprise, in fact it's a habit of mine.
I've realized that all of my novel settings are in essence love letters to places that mean something to me. Even Rell which is set in a fantasy world is inspired by the high desert, river-centric landscape of southern Idaho. One particular scene, even though it was a combination of places, was so specifically detailed that my cousin Jennie upon reading it said she felt like she recognized it as a place she had been.
And it's not an accident that Capstone is set in the Washington D.C. area. One of the most fun experiences I've had as a writer was planning an action sequence in the Metro station in Alexandria that I used everyday while researching at the National Archives a few years ago.
One of the great, and yet I think sometimes lousy rules of writing is "Write what you know." And I can't remember who exactly it was that wisely changed this rule to "Write what you love." Not only does writing about these places make it easier to get the details right and also invest my stories with things that reflect my specific personality as a writer, but I also think it's a way for me to stay connected to these places even when I'm at my boring old desk reduced to looking at (literally at the moment) pictures of sunrise on Whidbey Island or a sketch of two people strolling hand in hand in front of the U.S. Capitol.
I also have this possibly crazy notion that anything I can do to up my emotional investment in the story I'm telling will eventually translate to those people who read my stories.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Doctor Who
So I was beginning to wonder if my geek credentials were going to be permanently tarnished by the fact that I hadn't watched Doctor Who. Every time I turned around, someone was extolling the virtues of the nameless Doctor and his time-traveling Police Call Box. So it came up on Netflix and I started watching it. Now, I was nervous because apparently people get REALLY into this show, and frankly I don't think grown-up me needs the return of Superfan Jenel of the X-Files years. The good news, I like the show, it's fun and funny and VERY geektacular (William Shakespeare and multiple Harry Potter references in the same episode, yeah, sign me up.) The even better news -- as much as I like it, I have no urge to write bad fan-fiction, or name my firstborn TARDIS.
However, between the good Doctor and reading a book set in the UK this week I actually said the phrase, "I'm rubbish at math" in conversation yesterday. (At least I didn't say "maths" which is the pure Brit version, I believe). Anyway, the current book I'm reading is set in the desert of eastern Oregon, so that should help me reset my vocabulary:-)
However, between the good Doctor and reading a book set in the UK this week I actually said the phrase, "I'm rubbish at math" in conversation yesterday. (At least I didn't say "maths" which is the pure Brit version, I believe). Anyway, the current book I'm reading is set in the desert of eastern Oregon, so that should help me reset my vocabulary:-)
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Muffins
So apparently I'm going to feel the need to post every time I bake something. I made apple-cinnamon muffins tonight from scratch and they are at least as good as the ones from a mix. Yippee!!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
My Conversion to Artificial Christmas Trees aka Our Christmas Miracle
Christmas trees have always been a central part of the Christmas celebration for me. For most of my life this tradition has involved going out and choosing a fresh tree and bringing it home to cover it in carefully collected (with help from my mom) Christmas ornaments. Even when I was a single girl and had a large enough apartment, I stuffed a fresh Christmas tree in the trunk of my car and prayed I'd make it home with it and my car, still intact. I've always been a little bit of a snob in my preference for fresh Christmas trees.
This year that changes.
For the second year in a row Tracy and I, on my part painfully, decided to forgo a Christmas tree largely for financial reasons. It's not that we're in trouble or anything, but with going to Boise for Christmas and a few other factors, we've chosen to go without one. For me this has been traumatic, and I have not born my grief in noble silence (yeah, noble silence is not a quality I possess). I told several friends and family members the story of my Christmas tree dilemma.
Someone really listened.
When Tracy and I arrived home from Boise tonight there was a lovely fully-lit artificial tree waiting by our front door.
After finding it a home in our living room and alternately bawling and laughing for a half hour I'm left with two particularly joy inducing revelations:
1) There are so many loving, thoughtful people in my life right now that I can only guess who might have done this for us. That's how blessed we are in the family and friends department.
2) This is one artificial Christmas tree that will never seem less than the true embodiment of the Christmas spirit,
And finally, most importantly, in hopes that whoever did this might read this, or at least might hear about it -
This year that changes.
For the second year in a row Tracy and I, on my part painfully, decided to forgo a Christmas tree largely for financial reasons. It's not that we're in trouble or anything, but with going to Boise for Christmas and a few other factors, we've chosen to go without one. For me this has been traumatic, and I have not born my grief in noble silence (yeah, noble silence is not a quality I possess). I told several friends and family members the story of my Christmas tree dilemma.
Someone really listened.
When Tracy and I arrived home from Boise tonight there was a lovely fully-lit artificial tree waiting by our front door.
After finding it a home in our living room and alternately bawling and laughing for a half hour I'm left with two particularly joy inducing revelations:
1) There are so many loving, thoughtful people in my life right now that I can only guess who might have done this for us. That's how blessed we are in the family and friends department.
2) This is one artificial Christmas tree that will never seem less than the true embodiment of the Christmas spirit,
And finally, most importantly, in hopes that whoever did this might read this, or at least might hear about it -
THANK YOU!!!!
Friday, December 7, 2012
The Baking Demon
Hmmm...maybe I really am finally conquering the baking demon. Not only have I know successfully made chocolate chip cookies three times but I did a totally weird experimental recipe tonight, because I had the stuff and needed to take a dessert to a church thing tomorrow ... and it's actually pretty darn edible. Yippee!
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