An interesting link for readers and non-readers alike

Hi there. I actually worked today. Not that important or eventful so I won't bother talking about it unless you ask.

What I really want to mention is that I've been applying to all sorts of teaching and non-teaching jobs, many with the government, IRS, BLM, ATF--you name it. One description says: "must have knowledge of web publishing" and "must have knowledge of art history" Hmmm. I guess I sort of have knowlege of both, but enough to B.S. my way through and interview? I have no idea!

So I googled "web publishing" to see if it is actually something I know about. I came upon an interesting site http://philip.greenspun.com/panda/. It's a guide to web publishing by an MIT PHd guy. But what is really interesting are his ideas about the absurdity of publishing books about computers on "dead trees". Very interesting stuff. Check it out. He also has lots of good photos from his trip around the US, so if you don't like to read, it's worth it to visit for that reason too.

Utopias and Gold Lame

Went to the Science Fiction museum in Seattle yesterday. It is its own museum (with separate admission) but is sort of attached to the Experience Music Project blob at Seattle center. The SciFi Museum has lots of stuff from movies and TV, like Captain Kirk's Gold tunic as worn by William Shatner and A Darth Vader helmet used in the making of one of the first Star Wars movies. This sort of thing is really appealling to look at and there is a lot of it. There are also exhibits of Science Fiction in its literary form, such as early copies of the War of the Worlds, one published in a periodical in the 1890s and later in its book format. These first editions and collectible books are interesting to see, but are overshadowed by the pop culture stuff.

Many of the exhibits come from the "Paul Allen Family collection". I picture the billionaire's attic finally getting so full of nerdy collectibles, that he finally had to create a museum to house it all, and so the museum is born. I do recommend visiting it, there are some interesting exhibits which really do explain the importance of SciFi as an art form that introduces ideas and philosopies and theories of science in an accesible way.

Rain & Running

I hate to talk about something as mundane and small-talky as the weather, but here in the Puget Sound region, we are staring to go a little nuts from 23 straight days of rain.

Last night it rained for so long that I couldn't get to sleep. The downspouts were running full of water and it sounded like when you're downstairs and water is going through the drainpipes--like after the toilet flushes, or during a shower.

It isn't raining right now. In fact, this morning you could even have called it partly sunny. but now that has changed and at 11:17 am, it looks like the sun is going down because rain's a-comin'.

As I look out there at the momentary break in the deluge, I think "I ought to go running", but I just don't feel that great. I don't mind running in rain or clouds or whatever's out there, but the question is--if I run today and I'm catching the flu or something, will I feel worse tomorrow and wish I hadn't run today? Or should I baby myself a bit today to ensure that I feel better to run tomorrow? Always a tough question for the less disciplined among us.

My goal is to run 520 miles this year--don't bother looking for your calculator, that's ten miles per week. If I go under ten miles any week, I have that deficit I'll be trying to make up. And If I blow it off today, I may not be able to go tomorrow because I'm busy subbing or writing a screenplay or something.

Get organized!

I'm in this low-self-esteem job-search mind set. The last thing I need is to hear about career success of someone my age, or worse yet, somone I went to high school with.

But there it is. Laura showed up saturday in the Seattle PI writing about her business which helps people and businesses with ways to organize their space. I am marginally organized, but completely attached to stuff for sentimental reasons. This means I am generally wading through piles of clutter, so this is a topic I'm perpetually interested in.

She's got some darn good advice--like throw away brochures from past trips you've taken-- and a good-looking website to boot. No sour grapes from me; check her out at http://www.eliminatechaos.com/

EL Doctorow

Yesterday I listened to The Writer's Almanac on the radio and Garrison Keillor read some great quotes from the writer E.L. Doctorow. My favorite is this:

"He [Doctorow] also said, "Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."

And, "Planning to write is not writing. Outlining, researching, talking to people about what you're doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing."

If you'd like to read the full text of Writer's Almanac, you can find it at
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/

Moss

Here is some typical northwest moss growing on an old cedar shed. You just don't see that in Arizona.