Withdrawal; be it from caffeine, cigarettes, alcohol, chocolate, seratonin reuptake inhibitors or even from another person, is a bitch. That is our theme this week. My fiction to be added shortly.
Author Archives: Jodi
Gorgeosity has no price
I don’t know if you are noticing a theme here. A shopping, spending money theme. It’s usually a symptom of someone who is bored, or in a rut. Which I am. However, it’s not my fault that I keep stumbling across things that need to be mine. Remind me to tell you about the Sanyo Xacti C6 I am going to need very very badly, when it’s released in the US, later. [it comes in red!]
So, I bought the shoes, but they were not that expensive. Pretty cheap, actually. And I was showing Mr. Moon the Manga Death statue I was going to want in my new home, when I move…. sometime this year. No sense in getting it now, when most things are packed away. [I also like the porcelain Death statue, in case, when the time comes, anyone is looking for a house warming gift for me.] And then, I came across something …. so beautiful… I am still weeping. The Vertigo Tarot deck.
As you may, or may not, know, I collect tarot decks. I just get the ones that appeal to me, usually for the art or tone of the deck. This would be a personal jewel in the crown of a merely adequate collection. I don’t do it for money. I take the cards out of the box, spread them around, look at them and enjoy them. I’m not one of those girls who can leave an action figure in it’s shrink wrapped condition my whole life, you know? This deck is, apparently, hard to find. I can find it on ebay, and if I want the first edition, which comes in the coolest box with hard cover book and why would I not want the first edition, I can have it now. for $225. Holy Major Arcana! That’s a level of tarot collecting I have not entered yet. I haven’t delved into the rare and hard to find. I just collect what I find organically. Usually in a store somewhere. [With the exception of the Edward Gorey Tarot, which are ridiculously rare and probably even more ridiculously expensive. So, even tho I occasionally look for them, as a lark, I probably would not be able to afford them.] But how cool would that be? Answer: so cool.
I have to apologize for the quality of blog posts lately. They’ve been, in my mind, unusually dull. I’m not fishing for compliments. I’m just stating I haven’t been very inspired. And nothing much has happened to me lately, to reflect upon. I wrote something last night, about the 12th anniversary of my father’s death. Which was Monday, but it was depressing. And not really all that good. Depressing is fine, if it’s a good post. But it wasn’t. And it made me all weepy. So I didn’t post it. Things should pick up, in February. I have plans in February. If nothing else, some of these plans might make for good blog fodder. In the mean time, we’ll have to just keep shopping, ok?
I’d like to give you the weather for the next 50 years. Sun in L.A., rain in Seattle.
Look, even I can get sick of the rain. When I went out at lunch today, it was clear and the sun was out and I was happy to see it. So we failed to break our record. We made it only 29 days. However, it appears that more rain fell in those 29 days than fell during the 1953 – 33 day record. Not a whole lot more. But, believe me, 29 days was enough.
Frankly, the weather has disappointed me this winter. Back in November, we had some cold days, weather in the 30’s, threats of possible snow days. Evildeb knitted a beautiful, soft scarf for me, and I wore it every day. But in December, temperatures rose, and the rains came. It was damn near tropical on Christmas Eve. What happened to my winter? Where is my cold weather? I miss it. Wet and 50’s is no weather for a scarf. As it is, we are going to move into February and I am going to go straight into wishing for spring. I don’t know how places with no real seasons do it. It’s so dull.
I hate it when I talk about weather on my blog. I really do. I’m going to go to my room now, and think about what I’ve done.
The Benefits of Her Doubt
Let’s get this straight, Evildeb does not trust you. You are up to something, and she knows it. You are going to mess with her, or with someone she cares about. She is keeping her Eye on you.
Evildeb: How long have you and William been communicating?
Evildeb: With each other, I mean.
Jodi: Since about May, I guess. Why?
Evildeb: June, July, August, September, October, November, December, January… that’s a long time.
Jodi: yeah…
Evildeb: As such, I am willing to give him the Benefit of the Doubt now.
Jodi: I see.. so suddenly. What brought this on?
Evildeb: I’ve been mulling. Plus, Paco* no longer has The Benefit of the Doubt.
Jodi: I know. Is this why you are able to give it to Wil?
Evildeb: Maybe.
Jodi: Wow, it’s his lucky day.
Evildeb: Yes. It is.
*Evildeb does not like electricity. She’s been shocked several times in life. [by base guitars, camper doors, and other conduits] Recently, Paco violated her trust by playing a practical joke on her… with a shocking pen. Click the little button on top, you get a little shock. If only it had been something less sparky. Deb has been forced to remove The Benefit of the Doubt from Paco. From now one, she’ll not readily accept anything he hands to her. Also, she is no longer talking to him. And by that I mean, she informs him regularly that she is not talking to him, until he asks her a question. [She is unable to not respond.] Also, she kicked him.
Then and Now: Episode 18 Middle Me
I don’t think I could explain the twisted path I take to find the Then and Now songs, all I know is it’s more difficult when I try to find them. It’s best just to stumble over them. Happily, while tripping on this week’s, I found next week’s as well. And it’s a 3-fer.
More than one person has expressed shock at my lack of familiarity with Leonard Cohen. With the exception of “First We Take Manhattan” and “I’m Your Man” I’m not well schooled in his music. I’m waiting for someone to be my Leonard Cohen sensei, I guess. But, this song caught my eye, namely because, well, Suzanne is my middle name.
Suzanne – Leonard Cohen
First of all, you should know, many many people have covered this song. But when I came across this particular one, it was a no brainer. This man is one of my favorite musicians. Of all time. Ever. And this cover is amazing. But I would expect nothing less from Peter.
Suzanne – Peter Gabriel
50 Word Fiction Friday Vol. 41
It’s rained here 25 consecutive days. In a row. That’s what consecutive means. 8 or 9 more days, and we beat our record. Now, I am of the opinion, if you are going to do something, go all the way. Let’s beat that record! But not everyone agrees with me. They are getting a little tired of it. However, I doubt seriously the Seahawks will make it to the Super Bowl, so, we are going to need something else to be proud of, anyway. Whooo-hooo, 34 days of rain in a row! We can do it! Come on!
So this week’s theme is rain.
Running Between Raindrops
“Who’s idea was this again?”
“Yours, it’s your New Years Resolution. Healthier lifestyle.”
“I was probably drunk when I said that. It’s raining.”
“Yes, it’s cold, too.”
“We could go back to bed, instead.”
“Now, that happens to be one of my New Year’s resolutions!”
I was thinking….
If I ever get married, I want to be my own flower girl. She has the most fun.
Jodi answers questions.
Thanks for asking questions, everyone! Now I can answer them, and therefore put off coming up with original content one more day. Whew. Evildeb also took time out to answer all your questions as well.
Thomas asks:
I have a question. If a car leaves New York at 5:30am and goes towards Washington D.C. at 55mph, and at the same time another car leaves D.C. and heads to New York going 65mph, which car will be closer to New York when they meet?
The blue one.
Delmer asks:
Does reading crime novels make you feel, um, less smart? (Maybe that’s not the expression I want. But it’s close.)
I know what you are asking. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have been reading crime novels. I only read “good books,” and “literature,” along with computer books and non-fiction. Wouldn’t be caught dead with a mass market paperback. And I had sapped the joy right out of reading. Then I picked up a trashy vampire hunter novel in an airport, and I remembered what I liked about books. I like stories, and I like to be entertained. I find value in reading every genre – romance, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, comics and graphic novels, general fiction – I like it all. Sometimes a book makes me think, and that’s great. But sometimes, all it does is make me laugh, and that’s invaluable too.
This weekend a friend of mine offered to lend me her Sue Grafton book when she’s done with it. The “S” one. I told her I really needed to start with “A” just to keep things tidy.
I suggest you start with “A.” You don’t have to, in fact, “S” is a pretty stand alone story. But I just feel, rather strongly, that when dealing with a series, it’s best to start at the beginning, watch the character develop along the way. Perhaps less so with Grafton than with others, but why not read the books the way god intended? In order.
Drink Jack writes:
I have started the Grafton books as well. Started with the “A” just to be completely anal (pun intended).
Good boy, Jack.
Any authors that have the feel of historical fiction with spies (similar to Da Vinci Code)?
You know, I’m not up on the spy stuff, so much as the crime stuff. But, you might try “The Eight” by Katherine Neville. Something I read a while back and remember enjoying.
River asks:
i have a huge crush on the guy who plays eric on wonder falls. let’s talk about that and how he has conveniently disappeared from tv and movies. what am i supposed to do now?
River, I know you have other crushes that you can concentrate on. I’m afraid that all you have left of Eric, are the dvd memories. IMDB says that he’s from Vancouver BC, you could come up here and stalk him, if you like.
“Yawn” asks:
I MISS YOU!
yeah, i miss her… wanna fight about it?
Nope! Missing me is perfectly acceptable.
Kirsten asks:
Um… what’s wonder falls?
Wonder Falls is a snarky little tv show that didn’t make it past 13 episodes because it was too good and too funny for mainstream America. Who suck. I will work on getting you addicted to it after you are done with Buffy. And Angel.
Evildeb asks:
Are you partisan about bread?
Yes I am.
Tapped out.
Kids, I’ve got to get out of the house more, or I will never have anything new to blog about. My intentions for this weekend were to clean house and organize some stuff. However, I cleverly disguised this as watching “The 40 Year Old Virgin” and disc one of “Wonder Falls.” And reading crime novels. Not good blogging material.
Soo… does anyone have anything they want to talk about? Any questions they want to ask?