Natalie

Looking for a reason (not) to write a research paper? I’ll give you fourteen.

Since livejournal appears to hate embedded images, have a link.

Mirrored from Melodic Miscellany.

Sometimes conversations are awesome.

Herewith, today’s bit of silliness:

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Mirrored from Melodic Miscellany.

So, a while ago I mentioned that I was working on an album, by the title of Accidentals. (I did mention that, didn’t I?)

My original plan was to have the album written, recorded, and parts of it uploaded to the website by… um… April sometime. That, well, didn’t exactly pan out. Things sometimes don’t.

However! There are definitely bits of it that I think are polished and ready to go. In the spirit of that, I’ve decided to release some of the lyrics to the website here, because I know you’re all just dying to get a piece of this project.

Behold, my songwriting genius! Here are the first two verses from the second song, fourth track on the album.

Direction

Them, according to the travel the most important part
They can say anything if you can only start
They say the purpose is not this path is within walking distance.
I’m tired tired these people speak

They can say anything if you are the most reliable
Instead, this victory is not to say only, run the race
They say the only important the best thing you can do
I need to shut down the flap and the rest of the chorus

…Hey, what’s that sceptical look for? Those are totally my lyrics!

No really, they are. I just fed them through Translation Party first. (Including the title, if you’re wondering.)

Have fun…

Mirrored from Melodic Miscellany.

This post alternatively titled, “Dear xkcd: I am very sorry”.

“Clippy’s” dialogue is, for the most part, attributed to @sparkle_panties on twitter.

Behind the jump, because the comic is larger than my website’s content div and I’m too lazy to fix it…

( Here go... )

Mirrored from Melodic Miscellany.

Last full day here. At least our camp stove waited until now to stop working. Into town for breakfast we go

Okay, really. I know this is a small town, but jeez. Why does everyone here know about our camping problems? What gives?

Back at the campsite, a couple of guys are driving a truck around selling ice. They give us a good scolding as they pass. (”Come on! You guys haven’t bought any since the first day!”) Apparently we’ve left an impression?

We do buy ice when they come back around the second time. Hate to disappoint people, and all that.

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Mirrored from Melodic Miscellany.

We’re halfway through the afternoon and I suddenly realize that I have nothing to write about. Hmm. Now what? Do I go hunting for trouble or just start making things up?

I decide that both of these options sound like far too much effort. Opt to drag a lawn chairdown to the river instead.

While in the river we chat it up with a couple of drunks who are squirting (or just flinging the contents of their waterbottles) at each other, and us. A bit later, we’re confronted by security, telling us that we can’t have glass bottles in the river. (Ours were actually plastic.)

My mother spends the rest of the afternoon telling anyone and everyone that we fell afoul of security. See? I’m not the only one who thinks today’s been boring.

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Mirrored from Melodic Miscellany.

So I’ve been putting it off all summer, in favour of doing silly things like relaxing and starting new projects–but it is a universal truth that a writer in possession of a first draft must, soon or late, revise.

Now, I hate revising.  Every moment I spend revising is a moment I could spend writing something new. (Or cleaning the house or walking barefoot on broken glass. I have my priorities.) Still, we live in an imperfect world, in which all manner of unpleasant tasks must be done. Alas.

So I powered through a re-read before starting actual revisions. To keep myself entertained assist in the revising process, I decided to give each chapter a caption as I went along. Something that would not only remind me at a glance what had happened, but also the meat of the chapter, what it was about. Its very essence, if you will.

Apparently more goes on in this book than even I knew (or maybe I’m just not very good at capturing essences). More than once I was torn between two or even three different captions. In such cases I’ve included any runners up first, with the most apropos caption at the end.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I urge you not to laugh: This is to be taken very seriously.

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Mirrored from Melodic Miscellany.

So I’ve been putting it off all summer, in favour of doing silly things like relaxing and starting new projects–but it is a universal truth that a writer in possession of a first draft must, soon or late, revise.

Now, I hate revising.  Every moment I spend revising is a moment I could spend writing something new. (Or cleaning the house or walking barefoot on broken glass. I have my priorities.) Still, we live in an imperfect world, in which all manner of unpleasant tasks must be done. Alas.

So I powered through a re-read before starting actual revisions. To keep myself entertained assist in the revising process, I decided to give each chapter a caption as I went along. Something that would not only remind me at a glance what had happened, but also the meat of the chapter, what it was about. Its very essence, if you will.

Apparently more goes on in this book than even I knew (or maybe I’m just not very good at capturing essences). More than once I was torn between two or even three different captions. In such cases I’ve included any runners up first, with the most apropos caption at the end.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I urge you not to laugh: This is to be taken very seriously.

( Read the rest of this entry » )

Mirrored from Melodic Miscellany.

Wake up a bit bleary-eyed, but high and dry. Well, unless you count sweat. Because it is that hot. Already. A man’s walking a dog, which runs away from me as it comes near our tent. I’m informed that it’s not a very friendly dog.

There’s a music boot camp happening on the stagegrounds. We go to listen and chat it up with panelists afterwards. We call it networking but really we’re just here because we think they wear snazzy clothing.

The river is full of people, lawn chairs, beer cans, and waterguns when we go back to the campsite. Everyone who squirts us (so, everyone) gets a thumbs-up as we go past.

No pants toll today, either. I’m guessing those girls have decided they don’t want any pants after all–from the amount of skin I’m seeing so far, theirs or anybody else’s.

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Mirrored from Melodic Miscellany.

Wake up bright and early this morning. (If I keep saying that, it’s because it’s hard NOT to wake up early when you’re tenting. On account of it being, uh, bright.) Stumble out of the tent to find the dog and the rest of the neighbours comfortably sprawled out on lawn chairs. Theorize that my mother will have drunk them out of coffee by the end of the week.

A drunk girl wanders by. She’s very loud and enthusiastic. Enthusiastic enough that I doubt her vocabulary extends beyond four-letter-words. Or, well, one four-letter-word, anyway.

Today is our last chance to stock up on groceries. I don’t really want to leave the campgrounds, but my mother refuses to go into town without me, even though my sense of direction isn’t any better than hers.

I go anyway, of course. To put this in perspective: My mother needs me to tell her where to go. * Of course I’m coming.

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Mirrored from Melodic Miscellany.

One of the great joys of the camping life. I went to bed exhausted. Naturally, today I’m up at the very crack of dawn.

Today’s first piece of new information: The neighbours’ dog is a Peeping Tom. A startling revelation, perhaps, but not nearly as startling as the head that suddenly appears at the bottom of the tent while I’m changing. (By the time I get out of the tent he’s switched his affections to our tea-towel.)

It’s already getting warm. Figuring we’ll want some shade, we decide to give the gazebo another go. (The tent doesn’t count. It’s like a sauna. That you can’t stand up in. Or move around in.) So we spend the next little while getting the poles assembled while the wind blows us and our gazebo every which way, and passersby call horror stories to us about how their gazebo ended up in the river.

I doubt there’s a person on this entire campsite who doesn’t know we’re new at this by now. It must be painful to watch, because divine (or otherwise) intervention occurs not in the form of the bloody wind letting up even for a moment, but a pair of shirtless cowboys who help us hold the damn thing in one place long enough to throw the mosquito netting over the top.

Hey. This camping thing ain’t so bad, right?

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Mirrored from Melodic Miscellany.

So this summer my mother and I packed up and headed off to Merritt Mountain Music festival. We were looking forward to it, yes, but also a little bit anxious. We’re not campers. Before Merritt, we had only been camping at once, and that was a much shorter trip, much closer to home. But we tried to make up for it by leaving a couple of days before the festival itself and being ridiculously organized about the whole affair.

Ridiculously organized is what we do best. Naturally, we leave at least an hour late.

Long drives are long. But at least this one’s uneventful.

First major accomplishment of the trip: Not getting lost before we find our gate. Or rather, the gate the nice people have directed us to. Which happens to be the wrong one.

Correct gate: Acquired! Groceries and dinner are inching up on the priority list. But first we need a place to live. Time to fight with the tent.

…Uh, yeah. Any takers on the outcome?

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Mirrored from Melodic Miscellany.

So! Books have been read, words have been written, music festivals have been attended and performed at, and the blog has been… largely ignored.

Oops?

Well. Someone recently described my website as “smurfy”. The new Smurftastic banner was added as a form of retaliation (some people will do anything for a joke). Thanks to @stridera on Twitter for making it.

The band I play in, the Mark Rose Big Band, played at this year’s Rarearth Jazz and Blues festival. Turned out to be a great show! We didn’t outnumber the audience, which is a blessing for a 22-piece band at 10:00am on a Saturday, played really well, and generally enjoyed ourselves (during the show and after).

And we have truly attained professionalism. We got paid, sure, but the mark of a professional band has nothing to do with money. Once you start playing jokes on each other on stage, you know you’re there.

What can I say? I’ve never played trombone while wearing a clown nose before. (I want to say there will be pictures. Unfortunately, this is only true if I find some.)

The online critique group I co-moderate, Reading Excuses, has its own domain now. In need of a critique group? Check us out at www.readingexcuses.com.

Finally, starting Friday I’ll be posting what I hope will be a humorous rundown of my trip to Merritt Mountain Music Festival, so it won’t be a month and a half until my next update. The posts are written already, so you have no cause not to believe me!

Mirrored from Melodic Miscellany.

“Hey, can I steal your integrity?”

And imagine, I was only trying to ask an innocent question about hairspray.

Mirrored from Melodic Miscellany.

So, heading out to Merritt Mountain this morning. Excited? Yeah, just a little. It’ll be the first time – possibly the only time – and aside from the whole music festival thing, we’re pretty inexperienced campers. A week-long trip… it should be an adventure.

Random factoid of the day: The icemaker in our fridge occasionally makes this unearthly wailing noise.

So, there’s this cool thing called the Internet, and turns out it has lots of cool music on it.

I’m probably the only one in the world who hadn’t seen this already, but I’m linking it anyway, because I like it: Don’t Stop Believing from Glee. I’d actually never been a huge fan of this song, but I like it much better in this version. Funny what happens to a song when it’s done by people who can actually sing, in an arrangement that isn’t dead.

Then there’s the only part of the Tony Awards I actually watched (where watched is translated as “obediently clicked youtube link”): Neil Patrick Harris does his thing.

For some musical comedy, check out Tim Minchin. Make sure you actually watch his videos, as his performance is half the fun. (This link is to a song called Dark Side. For somewhat less appropriate fun, check out Inflatable You and Some People Have It Worse Than Me.)

A college-based a capella group called Eight Beat Measure does a version of the theme song for Nickelodean’s “Doug”.

And finally, anyone who’s a Harry Potter fan, and anyone who’s not, should check out the Very Potter Musical. Trust me, it’s worth the three hours.

Mirrored from Melodic Miscellany.

Going to play at the open mic at El Portillos this Monday, if work doesn’t interfere. I think I’ll try and make that a regular thing for the summer - again, so far as work allows.

Also, videos of my performance on May 30th may be forthcoming. No promises yet, but we’ll see…

So I’ve been busily chasing my tail on the latest project - a novelette-length project which I think could turn out really well if I could actually make it, you know, go somewhere.  But fear not: ranting about a project that nobody except me has any reason to care about is not the point of this post. Well, exactly.

A friend asked the other day what my starting point was - do I springboard from plot or character (or something else on a list that could stretch for miles)?

To which I can only give the enlightening answer of, “umm, whatever works”.
 

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Mirrored from Melodic Miscellany.

http://melody.byethost8.com

Just determined.

A snippet of real life dialogue for you...

Me:  I'm nearly finished with the novel. Five scenes, maybe as many as seven, but no more.

Friend: That's great! You'll have it done in no time.

(pause)

Friend: Do sleep, though.

 

http://melody.byethost8.com

Hmm. We’ll have to see what happens to this “blurb about what I’m reading” thing now that I’m no longer required to do it for class. In the meantime…

Black Powder War - Hooray for Naomi Novik books. They’re so easy to read. I’m happy to work for what I’m reading, but it’s nice to read something light and fun sometimes, too.

I’d heard a couple things about this book beforehand, or to be more accurate, I’d heard those things more generally about some of the middle books in the series. Someone mentioned to me that after Laurence and Temeraire go to China in book two the series settles into an easy “go to far away places, see how dragons live there” sort of pattern for a few books. I didn’t feel that for BPW (though we’ll see about the next couple books. This book’s focus was completely different so far as I’m concerned.

The nasty cliff-hangers that were also mentioned, though… Uh, yeah. I can see that.

Actually, what I found interesting was the ending of this book worked as a conclusion despite the nasty cliffhanger. There was an emotional resonance to it that worked for me; I was satisfied when I put the book down. Which isn’t to say that the cliffhanger ending doesn’t have problems - it does. I read on to the preview of the next book, and I was considerably miffed to find out that the next book picks up literally right where the last left off: in the middle of a battle that is, apparently, far from over yet. Not miffed enough that I won’t read the next one, though…

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman includes a climax that involves mooning someone. Enough said, really.

Ahem.

There’s a terrific sense of play in this book, one of the things that I find so wonderful about all of his books. (At least, the three I’ve read.) I love the way he uses myth - as a springboard for the story, most of all, but in this book he used it to do some really interesting things with the narration as well. Several times the book segued into a two- or three-page story about Anansi, one that wasn’t being told explicitly by any of the characters, either in dialogue or in thoughts. Each of these segments was narrated by a very distinct voice that gives the impression of an oral storyteller.

It’s a nice fit. The concept of stories and songs is very important to the narrative, and Gaiman uses it to lay down some characterization of people we wouldn’t otherwise see until late in the book.

His use of magic is also interesting. His magic is left largely undefined, unknown; in the beginning of the story it’s used only to cause problems, but by the end of the book even the protagonist is using it to solve problems, as well. This sort of thing usually drives me wild; I’m not sure why it didn’t this time around.

At some point, I think I’d like to take a closer look at the magic in this book and see if I can figure out why it works and how it works. At the moment, however, I’ve got to go pull some major magic in my own book.

Whee.