Diane's Site

Diane's Site http://dduane.multiply.com/ I write. For more info, see <a href="http://www.dianeduane.com/?q=diane-duane-biography">this page.</a> Thu, 3 Jan 2008 14:15:06 -0000 Sun, 4 Nov 2007 11:54:55 -0000 Diane's Site http://images.dduane.multiply.com/logo http://dduane.multiply.com 100 100 A walk through Basel Christmas Market Handmade designer crafts, toy stalls, fir boughs, mulled wine, and a marked lack of stress: the annual Christmas Market in Basel, http://dduane.multiply.com/video/item/1/A_walk_through_Basel_Christmas_Market Sun, 4 Nov 2007 11:54:55 -0000 World Enough and Time My excellent former co-writer and dear friend <a href="http://www.michaelreaves.com/">Michael Reaves</a> and our old buddy <a href="http://www.zicree.com/zhome.html">Marc Scott Zicree</a> have done something extraordinary with another mutual acquaintance and occasional dinner guest, <a href="http://www.georgetakei.com/">George Takei.</a> Today is the last day you can vote at <a href="http://www.tvguide.com/special/onlinevideoawards/videoplayer.aspx?maven_playerId=ovalargeplayer&maven_referralPlaylistId=d56bf6c0ce586852efbdc672af65356f906b9bd8&maven_referralObject=83b46205-0e2e-4d94-8389-68edb0f9a7ce">TV Guide's Online Video Awards</a> for their joint effort in the <a href="http://www.startreknewvoyages.com/">Star Trek: New Voyages</a> series, <a href="http://stnv.dragonfly.com/">World Enough and Time.</a> Please have a look at this skilled labor of love... and take a moment to http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/387/World_Enough_and_Time Tue, 16 Oct 2007 23:45:00 -0000 My head was hurting already But someone else's has been too. Fellow Green Lantern fans, here's a question for you: Why is Hal Jordan always getting hit in the head with stuff?? For your consideration: at <a href="http://www.flickr.com">Flickr,</a> a photoset / slideshow: <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/dlanod/sets/72157594208628528/show/">The Hal Jordan Head Injury Project</a> http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/422/My_head_was_hurting_already Tue, 9 Oct 2007 03:36:00 -0000 Fellow bag / handbag users: here's a thought <a href="http://quirkybags.co.uk/handbag_hook">Handbag hooks.</a><a href="http://quirkybags.co.uk/handbag_hook"><img alt="Handbag hooks diagram" src="http://k.b5z.net/i/u/6042495/i/hooky_table_sketch.jpg" border="0"></img></a>   Get the purse or computer bag up off that sticky floor and into your more or less direct line of view when you're at table.  I'm going to get one of these. Getting tired of looping the purse/computer bag over my knee all the time and cutting off the circulation...    http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/363/Fellow_bag_handbag_users_heres_a_thought Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:18:00 -0000 In the "How could anyone possibly be fooled...?" department... My old Star Trek novel editor, John Ordover, is <a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=&q=Ordover&btnG=Search+News">getting a lot of attention </a>over the hoax website he created, <a href="http://www.marryourdaughter.com/">MarryOurDaughter.com.</a> (Despite the fact that he <a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/11/please-dont-marry-our-daughters/?hp">told the New York Times that it was a hoax </a>way back on September 11th.)  His intention was to publicize the bizarre disparity among US states of laws regarding what constitutes marriageable age, that age's relationship to the age of consent, and the role of parents in their (minor) children's marriages. (An example: in Texas, "...kids as young as 14 need parental permission to get married – unless, the law says, they have already been married before."  ...Ye gods.)What I'm trying to work out at the moment is how anyone who got so far into the website as to read <a href="http://www.marryourdaughter.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=59&Itemid=9">the testimonials </a>could possibly have still thought it was real. Looks like a lot of people didn't make it that far, though...  (See the various news stories on Google for details on the numerous cries of outrage.) http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/242/In_the_How_could_anyone_possibly_be_fooled..._department... Wed, 26 Sep 2007 15:31:00 -0000 Dear Person Or Persons Unknown: NO LOVE TO YOU... ...for, sometime between the hours of 2 and 7:30 AM local time:   <img src="http://images.dduane.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/orig/Ryzl1goKCqgAABadpNU326/1.jpeg?et=wDu3%2BrX7SGGyhTUOY3mM9A"></img>Failing to negotiate the curve in the road just east of our house...             <img src="http://images.dduane.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/orig/Ryzl1goKCqgAABadpNU328/2.jpeg?et=6%2CTWlZNWsGvMNphosPVdKA"></img> ...flying across the road, over the fieldstone wall and through the hedge...         <img src="http://images.dduane.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/orig/Ryzl1goKCqgAABadpNU330/3.jpeg?et=1nnNCuqt2kw4xUgdJM5Plg"></img> ...into the paddock next to the house, through it and the fence between them...         <img src="http://images.dduane.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/orig/Ryzl1goKCqgAABadpNU332/4.jpeg?et=8jPblCiPywqmT2un0JJwAA"></img> ..and into our front yard, where you rammed into our house...           <img src="http://images.dduane.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/orig/Ryzl1goKCqgAABadpNU334/5.jpeg?et=Xm53EjSlvX7%2BMosHSpXMCw"></img> ...and destroyed my biggest and most expensive plant pot, the one with the dragon on it, which I really really liked and was getting ready to plant a new apple tree in.     ...After which you quietly opened the front gate, drove out, closed the gate behind you, and drove away....But you know what? You left us something else to remember you by...Half your front number plate, and enough of your smashed front right headlight to know what kind of car you were driving. That's more than enough d... http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/220/Dear_Person_Or_Persons_Unknown_NO_LOVE_TO_YOU... Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:03:00 -0000 In the Unnerving Headlines dep't: or, I hate it when my work follows me home This one makes my sf/comics-writer-sense tingle, so to speak: <a href="http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=297176">No radiation detected in mysterious crater</a> (shouts advice at local people) If anything comes out of that crater, don't stand around waving white flags at it! Leave town. http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/351/In_the_Unnerving_Headlines_dept_or_I_hate_it_when_my_work_follows_me_home Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:44:00 -0000 I CAN HAS MAGIK LASSO? <a href="http://www.comicspace.com/steve_rude/comics.php?action=read&file_id=68388">Wonder Woman... with... KITTEHS!</a> *dies of http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/257/I_CAN_HAS_MAGIK_LASSO Tue, 18 Sep 2007 17:37:00 -0000 Robert Jordan / Jim Rigney: R.I.P. Now <a href="http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009381.html">he's gone, too</a>, after a long, difficult illness that he never stopped fighting. It's some years since we saw him in Dublin. It was a pleasure to be with him, even for such a short time: he was a smart and funny guy. We will miss you, Jim. Go well. http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/35/Robert_Jordan_Jim_Rigney_R.I.P. Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:55:00 -0000 BTW: "Word Salad" widget If anyone wants one, check under the cut. This widget will run as a Google Widget on an iGoogle page, and various other places. You can also pop it out to the desktop if you're willing to install SpringWidget's client. http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/461/BTW_Word_Salad_widget Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:28:00 -0000 OMG SQUEEEE! <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i16c1ed3bf76536b4c669651706799643">A new Tron movie!!</a><blockquote dir="ltr">Commercial director Joseph Kosinski is in final negotiations to develop and direct "Tron," described as "the next chapter" of Disney's 1982 cult classic. Sean Bailey is producing via the Live Planet banner, as is Steven Lisberger, who co-wrote and directed the original film. Kosinski, who last month signed on to helm the remake of "Logan's Run" for Warner Bros. Pictures, will oversee the visual development of the project and have input on the script, which is being written by "Lost" scribes Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. Story details are being kept secret. </blockquote>Oh please Ghu don't let them screw it up!! (EDIT: The things that pop up in the window next to your Gmail. I want one of these: <a href="http://www.founditemclothing.com/t-shirts/tron-encom-shirt.html?gclid=COyGvJzLwI4CFSJIZwodaiOEyg">The Encom T-shirt.</a>) (Also: in light of this, and apropos of nothing else whatsoever -- but a useful thing to know about as the holiday season begins its stealthy approach -- here's a website called <a href="http://www.thethingsiwant.com">TheThingsIWant.com,</a> which lets you do custom wishlists (public) and shopping lists (pr... http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/70/OMG_SQUEEEE Thu, 13 Sep 2007 17:18:00 -0000 In the O RLY? department: "Study finds left-wing brain, right-wing brain" <blockquote dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-sci-politics10sep10,0,1504273.story?track=mostviewed-storylevel">In a simple experiment reported today in the journal Nature Neuroscience, </a>scientists at New York University and UCLA show that political orientation is related to differences in how the brain processes information.Previous psychological studies have found that conservatives tend to be more structured and persistent in their judgments whereas liberals are more open to new experiences. The latest study found those traits are not confined to political situations but also influence everyday decisions....Participants were college students whose politics ranged from "very liberal" to "very conservative." They were instructed to tap a keyboard when an M appeared on a computer monitor and to refrain from tapping when they saw a W. M appeared four times more frequently than W, conditioning participants to press a key in knee-jerk fashion whenever they saw a letter. Each participant was wired to an electroencephalograph that recorded activity in the anterior cingulate cortex, the part of the brain... http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/145/In_the_O_RLY_department_Study_finds_left-wing_brain_right-wing_brain Wed, 12 Sep 2007 14:58:00 -0000 The new Indiana Jones movie has a title... <a href="http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/va/20070910/118947467900.html">Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. </a> And now, the only remaining question that matters to me on this subject: Is Sean Connery in it?? http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/352/The_new_Indiana_Jones_movie_has_a_title... Tue, 11 Sep 2007 16:23:00 -0000 Back to work now, but this first I love LOLcats (check out <a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com/">ICanHasCheezburger.com</a> for examples of what these might be, if you don't know). The artform of captioning cat pictures has its own language. (If you don't know a little about this kind of thing, you may as well not bother reading any further here, as the joke to come will hinge on it. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolcat">Wikipedia page on LOLcats</a> has a little data. Or see Anil Dash's entry <a href="http://www.dashes.com/anil/2007/04/cats-can-has-gr.html">here.</a>) Anyway, I laughed myself silly when I came across what can only be considered a LOLVader. A most inadvertent one. Look below the cut... (EDIT: Or don't: it seems I was <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Do+not+want">a little late to the party on this one.)</a> (snort) A couple of years ago, Jeremy in Shanghai picked up <a href="http://www.dynamicdiscord.com/BrianStuff/Episode_3/episode-iii-backstroke-of-west.html">a most unusual ripoff DVD of Star Wars III</a> (the translation of the title of which came out, in this weird dub, as "Episode III, the Backstroke of the West"). The subtitles are... unique. I encourage those of you who love mangled translation to look at them all. But this is the one that reduced me to helpless laughter for some m... http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/112/Back_to_work_now_but_this_first Mon, 10 Sep 2007 20:23:00 -0000 Hard core ch0c <img alt="A bar of Lindt 99% Cocoa Noirissime chocolate" src="http://images.dduane.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/orig/Ryzl1goKCqgAABadpNU170/1.jpeg?et=4O3sb73C5hcjQz2c6aVqHA"></img> Ran across this in passing this morning: <a href="http://www.keacher.com/?p=388">a review of the wonderful Lindt 99% "Noirissime" chocolate.</a> I had a bar of this stuff with me at <a href="http://www.anthrocon.org/">Anthrocon</a> last year (waves at Sam!), where almost all of those who tasted it pronounced it "Ewwww". I love it, though: perhaps it's just an acquired taste. Definitely, there's no sugar to get in the way. It's like the apotheosis of baking chocolate (though I doubt you'd ever really want to use it for that: a case of the ingredient being, not just too expensive for the purpose, but actively inappropriate for it -- like using good cheese in a Philly cheesesteak). Apparently it's hard to find in the US? Pity. (I think I got mine at the inestimable <a href="http://www.sheridanscheesemongers.com/">Sheridan's Cheesemongers</a> up in Dublin (they also carry Valrhona and other great chocolate names). But our little local SuperValu supermarket also carries the Lindt Noirissime, along with the 85% and various other less exciting stuff.) (BTW, other reviews of the 99% here at <a href="http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/chocolate/lindt-excellence-chocolate.asp">over here at TheNibble.com</a> and... http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/123/Hard_core_ch0c Mon, 10 Sep 2007 19:16:00 -0000 Madeleine L'Engle is gone And so, to my great sorrow, passes one of the most senior, and certainly one of the most beloved, of this century's YA fantasy writers: one of the first of us to break out, over the course of years, into worldwide fame, and to general agreement that she "wasn't just writing kid stuff".She was a gifted and powerfully imaginative writer with a graceful style. Unquestionably she was an influence on me, though perhaps not in the way people might think. I read her first few books in my late teens / early twenties; and while in a general way I liked what she was doing, I had personal niggles about the way she was doing it. Certainly there were things about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wrinkle-Time-Madeleine-LEngle/dp/0312367546/">A A Wrinkle in Time </a>and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Swiftly-Tilting-Planet-Madeleine-LEngle/dp/0312368569/">A Swiftly Tilting Planet </a>that made me think, Hmmm... I'm not so sure about this. If I was going to do something of this sort, I'd do it this way (...there you have it in a phrase, the eternal/internal certainty that they have it right of writers everywhere...) -- and the result, somewhat later, was <a href="/So-You-Want-To-Be-A-Wizard-Mass-Market-Edition">So Y... http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/213/Madeleine_LEngle_is_gone Sun, 9 Sep 2007 18:09:00 -0000 A note in passing: for those hunting cheap flights in Europe Check out this website, which specializes in nothing but the low cost airlines:<a href="http://www.momondo.com/en/">Momondo.com</a>If it can't find a carrier for a route you're interested in, it brings up a whole sheaf of other travel sites for you to search. Some of these I'd never even heard of (which is saying something). There are also blogs associated with the site (the "wing blog" seems a little outdated, but the "wheel blog" and "bed blog" are more up to date). One interesting link that came up on the bed blog, btw: <a href="http://www.tablethotels.com/">TabletHotels</a>, "Hotels for Global Nomads". I always like it when a site offers me hotels I've stayed at and loved (it just showed me, in one of the hotel images, the very table I sat at in the dining room when I was last there). Check out <a href="http://www.tablethotels.com/Hotel/en/63743/Review/Hotel-Therme---Vals/Vals-Switzerland?arrDate=2007-11-15&depDate=2007-11-20&nA=1&nC=0&iataCode=&_sr=1">this one, for example</a>, attached to a famously cool spa facility I've wanted to go to for a long time. (sigh) No time right now for any kind of travel except the virtual. But it's fun to be able to look at these things and think about when things get a little ... http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/364/A_note_in_passing_for_those_hunting_cheap_flights_in_Europe Fri, 31 Aug 2007 18:35:00 -0000 A delightful shout-out: also, "Masterful spittle..." (heh) It's always fun <a href="http://www.bookslut.com/blog/archives/2007_08.php#011612">when friends pass through the area.</a> We spent the day yesterday with <a href="http://www.bookslut.com">Bookslut's</a> Jessa Crispin (and she spent the night at our place due to a non-manifesting bus-back-to-civilization) and had such a great time. (waves at Jessa!) Soon again! And another mention elsewhere in Bookslut: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0152049401/artandlies-20">So You Want to Be a Wizard</a> is mentioned in <a href="http://www.bookslut.com/features/2007_08_011482.php">Heather Smith's article on the covers of books with wizards on /in them,</a> and (I think) wins. <blockquote>We have arrived at the rarest example of wizard-based lit -- that with the classy, masterfully executed illustration.... For those who love stories about small children who run afoul of dragons, and yet are ashamed to admit so publicly, we suggest hiding this book under your pillow, next to your collection of small handguns. The current cover is simply too pleasant to contemplate altering.</blockquote> :) So true. (Even if they get a little hung up on the dragon drool.) Yay <a href="http://www.gregswearingen.com/">Greg Swearingen!</a> http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/419/A_delightful_shout-out_also_Masterful_spittle..._heh Wed, 29 Aug 2007 15:15:00 -0000 In the note-taking department: a neat thing I found While hunting for an answer to the problem mentioned <a href="http://dduane.livejournal.com/122956.html">in this entry,</a> I came across something quite neat for the handling and organization of notes. It's called <a href="http://www.tiddlywiki.com/">TiddlyWiki.</a> It is a one-file (HTML) wiki written in Java. It runs in your browser and acts like an online app even though it's locally saved (though I believe you can host it online if you prefer to). As a one-file operation, it's perfect for using as a "Wiki-on-a-Stick" running out of a USB drive / "pendrive": and this is the way I'm using it, since I tend to move back and forth between laptop and desktop from day to day, or even hour to hour, depending on what's going on. TiddlyWiki is easy to use (it took me about ten minutes to get to grips with all the important functions) and very customizable. Besides having a search facility, it also supports keyword tagging, which I'm finding really useful. Strongly recommended for those of you who have a project that's building up a lot of notes, but for which you don't need fancy... http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/172/In_the_note-taking_department_a_neat_thing_I_found Sat, 25 Aug 2007 20:39:00 -0000 What I wish there was I wish there was a sticky-note application for Windows that would let you drag the stickies onto an open MS Word document and paste them to it, and then save them as part of the document. And then when you were finished you could drag them off again, or just delete them. And they would look nice, and come in various colors, and let you tweak the fonts. Anybody know any app that would do that? Please let me know. [EDIT: Thanks, all, for the suggestions. StickyNote does indeed do the business in terms of what I was looking for. Thanks, aunty_marion & all!] [Found something else neat too, which I'll blog about http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/166/What_I_wish_there_was Sat, 25 Aug 2007 03:41:00 -0000 Google Conquers the Universe In a lot of interesting ways, one of which may have gotten a little overlooked in the wake of the new Google Sky layer for the <a href="http://earth.google.com/">Google Earth</a> application. ...And yes, it's cool that you can <a href="http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2007/08/hidden_feature_in_go.html">turn the sky inside out</a> and note where (warning, this is a Google Earth overlay file) <a href="http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=981421">the stars are blocked by a strange oblong shape,</a> and (this one too) <a href="http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showthreaded.php/Cat/0/Number/980945/">the spot where there appears to be a familiar-looking starship.</a> I also like the (yet another .kmz file) <a href="http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/73974/an/0/page/0#73974">Mars overlay.</a> And the discussion of <a href="http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2007/08/censorship_in_google.html">possible Google space censorship</a> amuses me. But never mind those for the moment. How about Google Maps Book Search? <a href="http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2007/08/new_google_earth_boo.html">The official blog posting about it is here.</a> And <a href="http://www.ogleearth.com/2007/08/google_book_sea.html">here's a review.</a> <blockquote><a href="http://www.ogleearth.com/2007/08/google_book_sea.html">Turn it on and thousands of book icons suddenly populate the globe.</a> These icons connect place names to their mention in books indexed by Google, providing yet another way to navigate information geospatially.</blockquote> Apparently it has its doesn't-works as well as its does-works. Well, it's new: the bugs'll get worked out. (Or drive us all ... http://dduane.multiply.com/journal/item/110/Google_Conquers_the_Universe Fri, 24 Aug 2007 00:43:00 -0000