Peter Watts, Canadian SF writer, was beaten and arrested by U.S. border guards for the heinous crime of getting out of his car and making them feel threatened. He needs a defense fund. Please kick in anything you can, and I mean anything. A thousand people sending five bucks is five thousand dollars.

And boost the signal via your own journals and blogs, please.

See, the thing is, he's a Canadian. He isn't reflexively afraid of border guards. Will and I crossed into the U.S. in a rental car a couple years ago, and our car was searched; so was the rental car of the white-haired couple who shared the waiting cell with us. None of the four of us questioned our temporary captors, because we knew it would, at best, cause them to take our cars apart. At worst, it would result in what happened to Peter Watts. We talked to each other, though, as prisoners do, and learned we had rental cars in common.

In Canada, if the same thing happened, we could have just asked the customs agent, who would likely have told us, "We search all rental cars." We could have done exactly what Watts did, and got nothing worse than an answer.

Don't tell me Watts should have known better. He's a free, law-abiding citizen of a free country, who has a right to believe in the rule of law and reasonable behavior in the nation right next to his. If you tell me he asked for it, he deserved it, what happened to him was justified by his actions, I swear I will ban you from this goddamn journal. Because that could have been any of us.

Everyone involved in this crime who was wearing a uniform should go to jail. They've brought shame on my country and on my justice system.

I may have to buy my yearly pair of gloves soon. It's too cold to be outside without them. At last count I have three left gloves and no right gloves, from the previous few years of yearly gloves. I am considering wearing a proper winter hat, and will probably be wearing my little red riding hood cloak at Longwood this weekend (still haven't found my big bad wolf).

It's the kind of cold where I'm fairly sure I'm coming down sick for part of the morning, because my sinuses hurt, but then I have some hot tea and my head thaws out and I'm fine.

Last night I sat down to read on the couch for a while, since there's an electric blanket and cats there, and ended up sleeping on the couch all night. Since I mostly ignore the alarm in the morning anyway, this did not change my waking time (besides, the cats were quite clear about asking if it was breakfast time yet).

Interesting links for the morning:
The Staffordshire Hoard - one of, if not the best, finds of seventh and eight century treasure of the Anglo-Saxon people.

Lovely Listings: I'd just install a fireman's pole - a house that is less than six feet wide. I find it charming, really, except for the safety issue (I guess railings would take up valuable inches)

The Museum of Jurassic Technology - I just love the idea (although I am sad it does not contain a more modern wing that includes Cow Tools). Check out the floral radiographs, which are ghostly lovely.

Welcome to my Breakfast Table, where I am sitting and reading you amusing bits from past NYTimes Arts Sections, as I go through and throw out old papers in preparation for incoming:

BANDLEADER PETER DUCHIN: His Music Still Makes Society Whirl

Mr. Duchin’s father, Eddy Duchin, was also a bandleader and was famous for a string of Top 10 records in the 1930s. His mother, Marjorie Oelrichs Duchin, was described by newspapers at the time of her marriage as a “New York and Newport socialite,” though by marrying Eddy Duchin, a Jew and an entertainer, she was forced to relinquish her spot in the Social Register. When she died a few days after giving birth to Peter, his father was apparently so pained, and certain that his frail newborn son was also dying, that he decided to go on an extensive tour with his orchestra. Peter ended up being raised amid extraordinary wealth and privilege by his godparents, W. Averell and Marie Harriman. Mr. Harriman, in addition to having served on President Harry S. Truman’s cabinet, and governor of New York, was also one of the richest men in the country.

Croopus! Who's going to write the novel?


JUDGE RULES IN FAVOR OF 'TWILIGHT' AUTHOR

The speech in “The Nocturne,” he wrote, is “an amalgamation of largely archaic and some modern language that is likely unparalleled in either classical or modern literature.”

Don't read much slush, Judge Wright, do you? Stay as sweet as you are.

Let's see..first off, Happy Hannukah! It begins tonight at sundown. The kids are SO excited....I think we'll go ahead and start celebrating tonight, as well (I wanted to wait until tomorrow, but Sweet Geek overruled me. No biggie - our menorah is ready, I have new candles, so......present-time begins tonight! :lol:

"Finished" fingerless mitt V.4.0 #1 yesterday. It's created quite a stir...I now have to knit a pair for Sweet Geek, modify V.3.0 for Himself...and probably make a pair for Herself (although she hasn't commented. Yet. :grin:) Finished is in "", because I still need to do the convertable mitten top...I CO #2 instead. I wanted to knock it out while I still remembered what I did on #1. :lol: Plus....these are in ragg yarn (1 ply dark brown, 1 ply cream. Barber-pole looking.). I've been mulling over maybe doing the top in dark brown, with ragg ribbing at the palm.....I showed Sweet Geek, and he said...."Hmmmm. OK..oh! :going over to my handspun stack: I want MY next pair to be dark brown, with....hey - will *this* work as the top? :picking up the blood-red dragonhair yarn (wool, silk, mohair, and holograpic fiber yarn - deep red and sparkly. No vampire-jokes, please! :lol:)" Ummmm...sure! Let me finish MY pair, and I'll get started on those. :lol: I'm not sure the dragonhair will hold up to working conditions, but...most of the work will be done with the tops flipped back, so it should be OK. (Although the thought of mixing *my* handspun with Woolease is really squicking me...:grin:)

Himself is agitating to start a hat. And wants me to buy more books NOW. He even offered to buy them HIMSELF if I would take him to the bookstore. :boggles: If I hadn't already gotten all their presents, I'd pick up some gift cards to Half Price for them......(my son is addicted to books! :huzzah!:)

Herself has brought her History grades up to a 70 (from a 43. :blink:) Yes, she FINALLY "found" the missing homework. :shakes head: She's also gone to tutoring....not that she needs it. What she needs is an organizational system that works for Aspies. Haven't found anything of that sort yet. :sigh: Still, this is progress!

Liz Curtis Higgs' next book is due out in early March - she's a fantastic author, and a good (internet) friend of mine. "Here Burns My Candle" is a retelling of the Ruth and Naomi story, set in 1785 Scotland. I can't wait - soon as my paycheck hits, I'll be pre-ordering a copy. :bounce:

I've pretty much come to peace over the bonus situation. I guess I don't need a new dryer right now (let alone a set)....the funds left over from the taxes will go to my favorite charity (I always donate 10% of my bonus. After a LOT of talk, we decided I would still do that, even though this year I have to make up part of it out of the 15th paycheck. Yeah - I can't afford to donate 10% otherwise, the taxes take up that much of the bonus. :sigh:) Still...I feel that's what Yah wants me to do, so....I'll do it. We'll buy the new washer/dryer set with our IRS refund. Hopefully. :grin: (And yes, we want to go ahead and get a complete set. The current set is 9 years old - the washer's been worked on 5 times, the dryer..once or twice. Sears just doesn't build the quality appliances that they used to, and their service SUCKS now. So.....we're slowly replacing all the Kenmore products with other ones....the refrigerator was replaced with a reconditioned Jenn-Air, the W/D will be Maytag (Bravos if I can swing it! LOVE the lack of agitator in the washer!), the dishwasher will be replaced soon (the baskets are all rusting, and it's been repaired twice in the 6 years we've had it).....yeah, Sears' quality sucks. :sigh: I mean - everything except the W/D were bought new when the house was built in 2003....the fridge has already died, the DW has been repaired twice.....both are/were Kenmore. Need I say more?)

I *am* going to be allowed to splurge a bit out of this paycheck, though. For my birthday Sweet Geek said I could buy some sock yarn.....:evil grin: I'm trying to decide if I want to spend it on the pricey, I never buy it because it's too much money yarn, or if I want to buy the so inexepensive I can get even more skeins yarn. I'm leaning towards the pricey stuff....I don't get to do that often. (And I can go to DBNY and get it cheaper...:lol:) We'll see......

Not much else to report.....Shabbat Shalom and Happy Hannukah!

I am a huge Rinde Eckert fan - to me, his work practically defines "interstitial," and his performance is always electrifying. We went tonight w/Chiara to see his "Orpheus X" at TFNA, where it's playing through Dec. 20th. I don't think Chiara moved a muscle for the entire 90 minutes. The moment Rinde appeared, opened his mouth & let out that voice (and that passion), I practically started crying from pure joy. deliasherman will probably write it all up with all her erudite observations from the subway trip home.

All I can say for now is that he & director Woodruff rang some terrific changes on the story: He's a popstar (in a near-future world meltdown), locked in his apartment; She's a small-press poet who died in his arms when his taxi hit her in the rain. She goes into the Underworld desperate to write ("When you're dead, they take away your pens and pencils") and is given chalk by the Queen of the Dead (played by a man who doubles as Orpheus' manager on earth - they also have an adorable [to a relative degree - the whole show is pretty intense!] duet about what it's like to sit at your desk & write.... "And then it's done?" the Queen says, and Euridice gently corrects her: "And then it's begun."). Too tired to say more now, but I wanted to let you know that, at least. There's a good interview with Rinde while he was developing the show for ART here; I just wish TFANA would put online his program notes for the current version, which are excellent.

Now I'm listening to the entire Monteverdi Orfeo on YouTube - just so I can find the heartrendingly glorious [well, damn! I've played the whole thing, and he never sang The Song! And there's no way even on Google to look up "the tune that goes daaaa-dum, da daaaa dum....."!]

This is one of those things that makes so much sense that it would be a dreadful act of inelegance on the part of the universe for it to be wrong.

Common plants, such at petunias and potatoes, may be mildly carnivorous (via nancylebov).

Makes perfect sense to me. It's already established that plants engage in acts of complicated acts of bioterrorism, chemical warfare, parasitism, and all sorts of other really cool and aggressive strategies. Don't plant your garden under a walnut tree, don't drop a cigarette in a pine or eucalyptus forest, don't put down cable near a christmas tree - actually, just avoid the mistletoes all together, as they are creepy and evil - and be really sure what berries you are eating in the woods. These are not backdrop, they are active participants in the competition to survive, and they've come up with some fairly interesting strategies.

The notion that plants produce sticky hairs to trap insects, who will then die and decay and provide a little hit of fertilizer, is at the level of "Of course! Why hasn't anyone seen this already?" (traditional explanation was that the hairs were just for defense, not predatory). I am happier for knowing this.

I like living in a world where the plants are quietly devouring other creatures.

On a related note, I get the impression that this was a pretty good year for acorns. Considering that last year was a bust year, I've been wondering if maybe the oak trees are Up To Something. If you're an oak tree, and can reasonably expect to live a hundred years or more (maybe quite a lot more), then you have a minor problem with regard to the dispersal of your nuts. It's great to employee squirrels to bury them, but the bugger eat a lot of them too. If you try to produce more than the squirrels can possibly eat, that just leads to more squirrels. It's hard to keep up in a generation-based evolutionary battle when your generation cycle is measured in centuries and the other organism you're trying to counteract reproduces in months.

So maybe every few years, the oaks coordinate a bust year. This results in a dramatic die-off of Things Than Eat Acorns, and thus the next year, more of your nuts make it into the soil rather than into the guts of other creatures.

This is pure speculation on my part, and I've done no research whatsoever, but I like the idea, and even if it isn't true here, it's probably true somewhere. There aren't a lot of evil strategies that something isn't using.

I am filled with joy to have 18-yr-old Chiara, daughter of a college friend - Nick was a Theatre Grad student at Columbia - I was an undergrad studying with the same teacher [the great Bernard Beckerman, who taught me more about dramatic structure than I could ever have figured out on my own; I use it in every novel!] - I was volunteered as a warm body for his directing class - and he cast me as Medea! And so began a beautiful friendship that included a cross-country (Chicago>NYC) drive through snowstorm in which I was first introduced to the music of Richard Thompson on a grainy cassette tape (it was "Shoot Out the Lights" and I was writing Swordspoint, and I couldn't believe this guy had done a soundtrack for my unfinished novel! oops where was I? OK:) So I've known Chiara since she was about 1 - she seems to have gotten over the trauma of my letting her fall backwards (from a sitting position) and hit her head while I was babysitting her on her first visit (my having sent the anxious new parents off to Harvard Square for some light entertainment) . . . . . um, what? oh yes: to have Chiara spending a few days of her Gap Year with us right now. Example:

She comes into the livingroom first thing this morning to ask for our wireless password - adding very matter-of-factly, "And you're 'The Golux,' right?"

[To make that story work right, you need to know that NYC apts show a huge list of possible networks, from upstairs, downstairs, next door, across the courtyard . . . and, of course, The Thirteen Clocks.]

So, RCP has the following to say about the new bill (and I summarize):

Senator: Oh, hey, we already have a government run healthcare, it's called medicare, let's make it bigger

Public: Isn't that plan going broke? Plus my doctor won't take it.

Senator: NMFP. I'm passing a bill for something you said you want and I have my own private coverage.

For those that want the detail:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/78899997.html
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/12/10/socialized_medicine_whatever__99494.html

If you want a worst case from the eyes of the insurance companies, here it is:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/12/10/the_sheer_arrogance_of_obamacare_99479.html

It's not too good for the taxpayers either, but there we are.

Also, the punditocracy is not happy with the president... film at 11

http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/07/economics-politics-obama-unemployment-opinions-columnists-richard-a-epstein.html
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/12/10/obamas_fantasy_jobs_plan_99492.html

fun stuff. Found out we *are* getting a bonus this year :huzzah: Only, it's 2/3 of last year's bonus. :sigh: At least it's enough to pay the property taxes AND buy Sweet Geek's aunt a much needed stackable washer/dryer. It's NOT enough to replace my washer/dryer...:sigh: I need a new dryer - this one takes 2.5+ hours to dry 1 load. Oh, well.....I can wait. Guess I don't need it as bad as I thought I did.

I posted part of yestereday's entry on knitting - the part on the sock surgery. I guess I am a much better knitter than I thought - seems everyone is impressed. All I did was fix a mistake.....I think the amputation part is what gets people. :shrug: It was the easiest (and fastest!) way I could think of to salvage the socks.

I need to do an "Evolution of the fingerless glove" report - I am on V.4.0 now. The first one, I Cast Off for the thumb opening, the 2nd, I simply turned the knitting around to make the slit. V.3.0 had an actual thumb.....V.4.0 has an actual thumb gusset. I think we have a winner, here - I'm at the top ribbing of #1, and this one fits better, my thumb will be more protected (won't hurt that I'm going to knit a full thumb, instead of a tipless one. It's bloody COLD out here! 24* as I type...:brrrrr:). I'm still noodling around with the convertable top....the one on V.3.0 works, but is UGLY. (Himself doesn't care - the mittens fit *him*, and he's agitating for me to put a top on the 2nd one. :lol:) I've got a few ideas - I printed off a copy of Knitty's "Broadstreet Mittens" and am going to see if I can modify that top to my stitch count. (After the sock surgery, THIS will be a walk in the park! :lol:) I should do pictures, too......:grin:

Oh, yarn report: Wool Ease's Fisherman's Wool is suitable for fingerless mitts. The wrapper calls for size 9 needles....no. 7s work, but 6s seem to be perfect for this. 9s make the fabric too damn floppy...not at all warm enough. I think, if I were to knit boot socks from this, I'd go down to a 4...maybe a 5. Looking at the fabric from the 6s I'm using right now, though, I think a 4 would be best for socks. (Why yes, there ARE socks in this in my future. I don't even need my spinning wheel for that! (1))

Not much else to report - I spent most of yesterday rebooting the laundry and working on V.4.0. I'm hoping to have the time to work on my chullo this weekend - I NEED a hat!


(1) - running joke from the last 2 demos I've done, where a really bizarre lady asked me, in all seriousness, if I used my wheel to tell the future. No shit - I have witnesses! :shakes head:

Our CEO recommended Real Clear Politics as a reading source for coverage on the insurance thing, after she challenged us to "think like general managers of the company" (as opposed to technology (or whatever) managers).

Pulling their current RSS feed yields:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-12-09/liberals-rejoice/?cid=bs:archive3 (I find this amusing since it makes the goal of progressives to make healthcare available to everyone... the cost man, the cost!)

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/12/14/091214fa_fact_gawande

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/12/09/_the_charge_of_the_280_dems_99475.html (I am always in favor of mocking democrats)

http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2009/12/08/harry-reid-is-wrong-on-history-and-wrong-on-health-reform.htm (while the article states it takes 2000 mammograms for women between 39 and 49 to prevent 1 cancer death, versus 337 for 60 to 69, part of that .05% is reading this LJ now because of a screening)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/07/AR2009120702947.html (best article on cost control ever... also if the 11-13k number for medical cost is true, we need a per capita income of 135k to 160k to meet the target of 8%... given that the PCI is under 35k, you see the cost problem)

On a totally irrelevant note (or not, who knows)... Obama's in favor of teaching fisting in middle school.
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/09/obamas-risky-sex-czar/

I've been asked to "formally" participate in a mentor program, but there are more mentors than mentees.

LOL.

We also had an hour presentation from our CEO which I found very inspirational. She also said, without using those words, that the government is on crack... It turns out they are targetting 8% of income as the 'acceptable cost' of health care.

Better Homes and Gardens sends me a daily newsletter thingy.

Here's today's suggestions for the subject above!

Dear Corrvin

’Tis the season for happy houseguests! Holidays are a great time to impress visitors with your fabulous DIY style. Make them feel at home in a cheerful guest room. Stash stuff in cute DIY storage containers. Give your dining room designer style on the cheap. Welcome your guests and let the merriment begin!


That is so totally not my house. :)

"Stash stuff under the bed, in your closet, anywhere they aren't going to look. Put out clean plates in the dining room, people should be grateful!"

I've been a busy girl today. Stayed home because Mom has a PET/CAT (not sure which one) scan, and wasn't sure she'd be done in time to pick up the kids from school. No biggie - I am home, and...well, I took photos. (And did 3 loads of laundry, fed critters, hugged goats, fed kids, and knit a bit.) Here, ( let me show you! )

So many fine people came to our NYRSF reading tonight - friends old & new, and even some strangers! It was a full house, which was terrifically gratifying and not a little moving. Our 20th Anniv Curator, Claire Wolfe Smith, gave a very moving opening talk about the history of NYRSF, complete with anecdotes you had to have been around 20 yrs ago to fully appreciate! Which, of course, we were. She also read the list of those whose readings she'd curated back then, including Delany, Emshwiller, Gaiman, Palwick ,Haldeman, Dozois, and many many more. A real Honors List. Many of these, our Elders, have had serious health scares recently; it made me happy to realize that, with the exception of Tom Disch, who took his own life last year, they are all still with us, bless them.

Delia read "How the Pooka Came to New York," which will appear in Ellen Datlow's NAKED CITIES next year (in a slightly longer version - we edited it down to be under 30 minutes); she read Liam's POV, and I read the Pooka's. Then I read "The Man with the Knives" (which will go out on submission as soon as I figure out where the Glory and the Money are next). Instead of dividing it evenly between POV's (mad Alec's & Sofia's), I went with my gut and simply assigned certain Sofia bits to Delia - including dialogue. It was a bit like music. I think it worked well. My only regret is that we read right up to the time we needed to vacate the building - so I didnt' get the chance to get everyone's reactions, field questions, etc. I invite you to do that here, if you like.

I am baking my dinner right now. I have no idea what it is. I am hoping somewhere out there does.

You see, I've been baking a lot lately, specifically a lot of mini-cheesecakes. Since very few grocery stores carry eggs in reasonable quantities for a single person who rarely bakes, I ended up with a lot of eggs left over. I wanted to make something that would provide me with a few meals. I decided to make quiche. I'm not quite sure that's what I'm going to end up with though.

Well, I went to the store to buy everything else I'd need for the quiche (read: everything other than the eggs). I'm not huge on recipes, and after looking at a bunch of options of stuff to put in a quiche, I went with Yes (I do this a lot when I'm cooking) and bought bacon, two types of cheese, mushrooms, spinach, green onions, and tomatoes. It's entirely possible I bought too much.

I think things went wrong when I decided to boil the tomatoes down a bit while I was browning the mushrooms (I like them sauteed). It gave me time to cut up everything else, and then some. It soon struck me as lucky that pie crusts are sold in pairs, because I had more filling than would fit in one. So I started filling the second crust.

Ironically, my limiting ingredient was now the eggs (the things that had started this experiment). I used them all up (which was a relief) but still didn't have enough liquid to cover the mound of fillings in each shell.

So I looked in the fridge for anything else I could add, and found some of my other left overs from recent experiments with cheesecake: sour cream and ricotta cheese. What the hell, they were just going to go bad otherwise (I am not making cheesecake again any time soon). So I beat them into the egg-milk-cream mixture and poured them into the shells, and voila I now had enough to get to the brim of the pie crust.

These may end up being very odd quiches. We shall see.

An icy mixture has just started to fall outside, so whatever it is, I'm damned well going to eat it, because it looks like I may be trapped in here for a while.

ETA: verdict - mmmmmm quiche

Moebius Bagel

Fake documents are fake - GAO gets ultra-safe document using fake data.

Bureaucracy makes you unresponsive. Film at 11.