Re-Emergence

Following an unintended sabbatical, I am back and writing here again. Up to Miss Linnea McCully's arrival last week, I was writing the Vincenzi story about every other day, although it was pretty slow going. I have been increasingly distracted by finding housing in Flagstaff, which I either have resolved or postponed for a good while. As Miss Linnea would confirm, the rhythms with which I am familiar are out of sorts and I look forward to righting them again, at least until I drive down to Flagstaff.

First order, I am anxious, excited, energized, agitated, irritable, quiet, and a dozen or so other dwarves that didn't make it into Disney's adaptation of Snow White. Linnea left what feels like minutes ago after a sometimes busy sometimes lackadaisical week (well, almost week) of her stay. I introduced her to about two dozen people, very few of whom I imagine she will be able to recall just from sheer magnitude. Really, it was time to spend together, and I am happy for that. I managed to find a few distractions in the housing situation and felt the buildup of unused energy without my customary bikerides, followed by a weird malaise due to inaction. I did not realize how much I had ordered my life until those rhythms felt out of synchronicity. Unfortunately, I let that disharmony foul up some of Miss Linnea's stay, but she is ever-patient with me, for which I am always grateful.

Other news would include a redoubled effort to keep up with blogs, news, and others' writing which will show up as further posts to the Tumblr. I linked a few things recently, but want to draw special attention to this bit about bikes and this article with its sweet 8-bit fx boarding video. (Both are from FastCompany and the latter references AR and ARG, which stand augmented reality and augmented reality games, in which you see the usual world more as a playground for your game experience rather than seeing the game world through some screen or other. Sometimes the "A" stands for alternate rather than augmented.) Also, having Miss Linnea about to distract me--not to mention Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert being on vacation--has pointed out to me how much time I spend in front of the TV normally. At school, this was not at all true and I want to return to going without TV again, especially in order to read more. I have seriously slacked off on reading, despite finding so many addictive books. Television lends itself to multi-task distractions, thus avoiding doing anything constructive. I want to finish all the books I am reading presently before leaving, which shouldn't be hard if I am the least bit faithful to them.

And of course, a few words on what I am reading. Most delectable of all is Gary Snyder's A Place in Space: Ethics, Aesthetics, and Watersheds, a collection of concise and clear-headed essays that draw me back to myself every time. I have read The Smokey the Bear Sutra aloud to a handful of friends and just can't get enough of it. You may also notice a few snippets on the Tumblr. As a result of reading Snyder, I finally picked up William S Burroughs and am well into Naked Lunch, but have yet to finish it. This has first priority. In short, Naked Lunch picks you up, loses you in the sofa, shoots you up, spits you out, points this way and that, walks in neither direction, and makes good fun of the trip the whole way. I can't say that this is a read I am really understanding, but it is certainly one I am enjoying. I can only affirm mentions in my previous post, especially now that I may be passed the more explicit graphic and violent sexuality of the book. I also have both of those writers' collected works "readers" laying about, which I am not making much of an endeavor to work through, but always find satisfying. In short order, I will read Muriel Barbery's The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Daniel Clowes Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron, and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon; which are on the backburner presently. When I am in the mood for more earnest SF, I'll return to Makers by Cory Doctorow, but not at the moment.

Expect something more insightful, likely a review/blurb of Inception which I saw last night and sort of drooled at. Not to say it was perfect, I heartily recommend it. More on that later. Movie-wise, I also plan on watching Performance (anyone seen it?) and Out of the Past. Expect an announcement for a movie night for the A&E production of The Lathe of Heaven in short order as well.

And many happy returns.