Making a Man Look Old

Not as easy as one might think. Definitely not as easy as I thought it would be. I have Daz 3D and a bunch of plug ins and models and stuff. I got one plug in just to make old guys. The plug in was intended to make scary guys but, hey, old guys are scary, aren't they? So, I gave this guy lines and some bags and he does look aged but not old. Okay. So maybe he's about 40 or so. Is that old?

Teaser Tuesdays

According to Professor Rudolf Koch in his "The Book of Signs" (1930), the pentagram signified a witch's foot to the Celtic priests, to the Jews it represented the five Mosaic books, and to the Druids it stood for the symbol of godhead. In Christian symbolism, it represents the mystery of the rosary, and by analogy with the rose, the Virgin Mary.
from The Ancient Science of Geomancy by Nigel Fennick (1979)

Find out about Teaser Tuesdays by clicking the link above.

Current Fads
Listening. Any Day Now - Joan Baez; dog nails clicking on the floor
Watching. Blazing Saddles
Activity. freaking out over NaNoWriMo
Gadget. none
News Source. Google News
Reading. The Ancient Science of Geomancy - Nigel Fennick; Spirit Guides & Angel Guardians - Richard Webster; Word Painting - Rebecca McClanahan; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling (Yes, I really am reading them all right now—I'm a reading addict. What can I say?)

Not Swinging in a Swing State

Some people (not me) are ready to turn off their answering machines/voice mail systems. Apparently they are either all in Northern Virginia or NoVa is just closer to ABC News headquarters. No one is proselytizing me and I'm a registered voter who has voted in just about every election in the last seven years. Actually I'm glad my life isn't plagued by targeted (or untargeted) robo calls, flyers and ads (I haven't turned on my TV in weeks). I would be a good target because I haven't decided who to vote for yet.

So far my plan to avoid campaign messages is working. How will I decide? I plan to do online research into platforms and candidates. Soon.

mimosa keep

somewhere between conversation and grammar I lose my voice
I lose you, too
and I don't care
I've wasted too much time already helping you keep up

"don't wait for them to catch up," he says, stoned and flagrantly dressed, "they never will." Much later he's in a hospital playing pool calmly and arranging friends to ask me to visit him (which I did – as you might be able to tell from the detail) and then plying me with questions about where he kept his stash and I keep telling him I didn't know where he kept his stash ...

(remembering most of all saying I was safe that night although I don't think what he heard is what I meant)

... and then telling me he lied. He didn't keep his stash in the ceiling tiles and when I ask him where he did keep it he talks about game strategy. He smiles a lot and escorts me politely to the door where the guardians let me out.

I never hear from him again.

and then there's the sweet willowy girl who greets me outside the bank leaning against a railing as those with more economical intent swirl around her. the wind sensitively arranges her delicate hair. she looks up, giving me a mona lisa smile, distracted for a moment from her olfactory study of a wild blossom, slender fingers softly caressing it's petals ...

(remembering a studio apartment filled with her large canvases of naked women and the sub-audio throb of longing)

days later I find her friends sitting on the steps of the cathedral in what appears to be post-event conversation. "I've seen her," I say to them. They are shocked. Where? When? I must have been mistaken. Suddenly there is silence. They shutter their eyes and turn their heads. I move on.

messages of the heart. they meant something else to me than to everyone else. I followed those highways. now I never go into the woods. I might get lost.

pale mimosa blossoms are replaced by hardened seed pods
— Elaine Greywalker

James River Writers Convention blurb

I felt like "the woman who walked out on David Baldacci" as I left the auditorium. David was, indeed, in the podium answering maybe the sixth question following his presentation. Well, if everyone wants to do a marathon Q&A with David, okay, go ahead, but I have to get up every so often and move around. I was sitting in maybe the fourth row and the room was packed. I was at the third Plenary Session (whatever that is – I think it means for the entire group) of the James River Writers Convention.

David is a good speaker. Very entertaining. Gives good answers, too. My favorite: to the question "Where do you get your ideas?"

"People act as if I have about 12 ideas and that when I'm done writing about them it will be over." He went on to say that he is passionate about curiosity and is an information junkie, collecting from everywhere he can. "As long as I have a passion for curiosity, I'll have ideas." Which I loved because I'm curious and love collecting information. Nice to know my penchant for web surfing is an asset.

Passion, vision and themes were words I heard a lot throughout the day. They were good for fiction, non-fiction, talking to agents, publishing, discovering your novel's genre and screenwriting.

The critique of first pages (which followed David's talk), during which the first page and a half of a novel were read anonymously, focused on those old journalism W's: who, what, where, when, how. If you can't stuff that into the first page and a half you will lose (apparently) four out of four editors and agents. Still, it was instructive to see how an agent's or editor's personal preference and speciality influenced wether or not they decided to pursue publishing a novel.

I didn't hear any analysis about the current and long-lasting fad for lean writing or hollywood influenced action/adventure stylistics. The novel has got to rock in the first few paragraphs or it's over. Apparently no reader is willing to hang out for awhile and take the time to become slowly immersed in a novel. Ah, the 1800's!

I'm going back tomorrow for another full day. I'm looking forward to it even if it means that today doesn't feel like Friday and I might be even more tired tomorrow than I am today. I learned a lot. I'm looking forward to the last minute addition "Connecting Fiction and Non-Fiction." Seems to be a trend.

Yes, that's my minister ..

Nothing Unknown at B and N

I
Something is knocking on my door.
Though what it is I cannot say.
It will not reveal its identity.
When I look through the glass nothing is revealed.
Yet it knocks still –
     knocks and asks for notice.

Why do I not open the door?
Because I don't know what's there.

II
I don't recognize the knock
     but I have heard it before.
That knock begs my attention
     asks for my leave to enter
     and connect.
It haunts me.
The now calls.

There is no vision.
I am alone.
We are here
     without the clone.

III
There is no knock
     no door
     no ever more.
I hear nothing
     except Bob Dylan distantly from the ceiling somewhere
     incoherent.
The knocking stops.
I am alone –
     like all of you.
— Elaine Greywalker

Current Fads
Listening. Sheryl Crow
Watching. Avanti! (1972) Try to get a copy and watch it. A painstakingly acted and directed film with a weird premise.
Activity. novel editing
Gadget. none
News Source. Google News
Reading. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J. K. Rowling; Tao Te Ching - Jonathan Star (translator); Spirit Guides and Angel Guardians - Richard Webster; Heart Steps - Julia Cameron