Got my first writing cheque of the year. And it’s a good one! And a contract, from the same publisher. (Asimov’s.) And that other project I might be working on? We’re in. Today is a good day!
Month: March 2008
The Gnaw
What gnaws at me these days is a sense that I haven’t got enough of my stories out to markets. I have four stories coming out in major places, probably most of them this year, but you know, there’s always next year’s publications to get started on. It’s amazing how, when you develop the habit, even a slight lull in submitting work begins to nag at you. You start checking your tracker stats, counting up how much stuff you’ve got out at markets, and asking yourself why you haven’t sent out more. Or, at least I do. Still, this is …
Apparent Slight Progress (Actually Major Progress, Sort Of)
Sometimes, progress in drafting a story isn’t immediately visible by wordcount changes.
Jetse’s Challenge
Well, I’ve finalized a few writing projects. “Wonjjang and the Madman of Pyongyang” is completed, done, finished (the text handed in the other day) and I have pretty much tidied and prepared a few more stories for sending out (some minor editing was necessary on them all: “The Broken Pathway”, “Solvjaynghi’s Christmas Wish”, and the piece I sent to Nemonymous for the Cone Zero anthology. Today, I whipped off a little Biblical End Times zombie piece for Bits of the Dead, which the lovely and talented Tristan (Facebook profile again, as that’s all he’s got!) pointed out today — though …
Extra D’oh…
I slept 2 hours on Wednesday night. It’s not that I’m that busy, mind you. I was supposed to sleep four. I just lay down and couldn’t sleep until 6:00am, and I had a class at 8:00am. But I am that busy, that I could only fit in four hours. Partly, I suspect, I just take my classes too seriously, and partly, I try not to let me job get too much in the way of my writing. Except, of course, that this would lead to letting my health get in the way of my writing, so I am cutting …
Thank You, Gim Hyung Tae
I don’t know whether he’d like or approve of any of my fictional depictions of Korea, but I find Gim Hyung Tae a great inspiration in that area. Whenever I’m writing anything trippy, weird, or odd about this country in my fiction, I turn to his music for inspiration. It’s a strange combination of trance, rock, folk, and 뽕짝 — in proportions that vary from song to song and album to album, but always in proportions that both work, and sound absolutely like Gim Hyung Tae. By the way, if you’re looking for his CDs, you’d be best to ask …
많이먹어라…
Sometimes, you just have to wonder what makes people behave the way they do. When I arrived at the professors’ cafeteria this evening for dinner, I noticed this weird-looking guy staring at me constantly as I made my way up the line, adding food to my tray. When I’d finished, I stopped to get a cup of water, and by then he was staring directly at me. I noticed that he had a face like, well, like a slab of tenderized beef… meaning, I think the man had partaken in more than his fair share of fisticuffs. And, of course, …
Popular Gusts Blow Through Salon
Matt at Gusts of Popular Feeling was mentioned in today’s installement of the column at Salon called How the World Works. I’ve long considered Matt one of the best bloggers on Korea, period, and would like to take a development history course from him if he were to offer one — I know I’d learn a lot — so if you haven’t checked him out, do so. (The Salon column was okay, too.) Thanks for the unwitting heads-up, Tristan!
Ajummas Gone Wild
Via Justino’s Hep Jive, another of those Youtube videos that reveals something about what it’s like to be in Korea. LJers, check the Youtube video here, and pop over to here and login to see my comments following the video. I’m not complaining, whining, griping, but really, seriously, that’s what plenty of older people (of both sexes, but just more often older women) are like in South Korea. Which is something plenty of Koreans have been around all their lives and sort-of accept as “the way it is”… though it annoys younger South Koreans too, believe me I know. I’ve …
Define “Muslim” (UPDATED)
UPDATE: See the comments section, particularly Liadnan’s comment and my reply to it. Maybe the news report was even less competent than I thought! Richard Dawkins has been taken to task at times for his assertion that raising a child in one or another religious tradition is a form of child abuse, as it constitutes an abuse of the trust given one with a child. My friend Marvin and I have been discussing the intricacies of this issue over at his LJ (in the comments, but do read the post!) but I ran across an article online that demonstrates how …