Damek.

As I sit at home with my damaged knee up on a pillow, sipping a little rum, eating some chili, waiting for the time to leave for a couple hours evening after-work work, listening to a child’s playful yells outside that unfortunately sound eerily like a cat in heat (or is it the other way around? I think it is!), I feel compelled to express my love for science fiction.

This is best done with a bit of quoted text from the afterword of the book I just finished, The Perseids and Other Stories by Robert Charles Wilson, which contains a story about a woman who’s spent her whole life pursuing “the strange,” which for her began in the 1960s with drugs, the occult, etc., and ends with … well, I don’t want to give the story away, but the strangeness finds her and she embraces it, of course! The afterword quote:

Deirdre’s love of the strange represents, I think, a real and legitimate esthetic impulse, though one not held in much esteem. Science fiction and fantasy cater to that urge the way “literary” fiction caters to the human need for intelligent gossip. [Ha!!] The nineteenth century gave the impulse its due (that Pleasure Dome, that Raven), but the twentieth dropped it like a hot Freudian potato.

So the Strange put on its Appollonian suit and tie and went to live in the low-rent neighborhood of Astounding Stories and Thrilling Wonder.

You hear talk now and again of the death of science fiction, but I suspect the twenty-first century will be good for us — that the Strange will come leaping out of the closet with its ray gun in one hand and its bottle of laudanum in the other, delirious with possibility.

Amen; one can only hope. I find that’s my deal, in a halfway sort of way. I love the strange and have sought it quite a lot, but I’ve also bought society’s lack of esteem for it and always felt sort of shy about it, and pursued it with dainty care for my safety.

Well, enough of that.

And it’s funny, I don’t like traditional fantasy, but give me something incredibly inventive and strange like China Miéville’s Perdido Street Station and I’ll lap it up. As for “intelligent gossip,” it’s true, it’s not usually my thing, but I love strange books that pull it off well and I think Wilson’s stories and books carry it with gusto.

Other authors I like include primarly English and Scottish men, for some reason, and this seems a good place to link to the recent incredibly fun posts by Ken MacLeod and Charles Stross where they share quotes from “one-star reviews” of their books on Amazon. Hilarious! One review quote from a Stross book: “Stross managed to thoroughly alienate me with the unpleasant characters, violence, and sick sex. I wanted to wash out my mouth and take a shower after one particularly graphic description.” God, I wish I remembered it well enough to know what that person was talking about!

But one foreign reader commented that though he loved his books he understood some of the reviews; “…your style of writing, an occasional reader can find difficult to get hooked at first by one of your writings because you tend to start with a very complicated situation, with few information to the reader, in order to reveal this information through the book. I love this style of writing and it hooks me but, to be honest, I must agree that this can not be the best way to recruit new, not hard sci-fi, readers.” It’s true. I love that sort of writing gimmick (and honestly, yeah, it’s a gimmick of sorts at this point), but it can be frustrating to others. It’s certainly not exclusive to science fiction, though.

Speaking of characters in science fiction, I am currently watching the last episode of the original Star Trek, “Turnabout Intruder,” in which an old love interest of Captain Kirk’s takes over his body and puts her in his. There’s a scene where love-in-Kirk’s body is arguing with Dr. McCoy and Dr. Coleman (who knows what’s up) and the dialog is heavy with double-meanings and games. I love that stuff.

On that note, I’m not ashamed to say I’m heavily obsessed with Doctor Who lately which is currently perhaps the height of science fiction half-fantasy fluffery. That’s OK, though, nothing wrong with a bit of adventurous escapism…

I’m annoyed that right when I discover I can rollerblade to work, and that I enjoy it, it decides to rain for a week straight.

I’m not annoyed that I’m suddenly busy enough that I’m barely exercising. The busy-ness is welcomed!

But I am a little annoyed that I miss working out so much and feel “ugh” with myself so quickly.

I’m annoyed that the weather was so beautiful (though chilly) this morning that I couldn’t resist trying to squeeze in a skate to work today even though I knew it would make me about an hour late.

Because…

I’m annoyed that you can’t predict the trajectories of dogs.

That I boldy tried to pass the lady under the scaffolding whose little white dog seemed to be going in a nice straight line, but which suddenly decided to bolt to the left. Maybe there was a bird?

That I successfully slowed/swerved/caught scaffolding and didn’t hurt anyone but myself.

That my knee is now a little sprained, just enough that it took the fun out of it and changed the calculus of the decision to skate for exercise even though I’d be late.

That I couldn’t get an express train at 42nd St.

However, on the plus side of all this, my knee is not twisted like it was a couple times from skiing, it’s just a little uncomfortable. And on the plus side, I did get a seat on the 6, and on the 4 when I switched. And I only got to work 30 min late.

And I feel a little better overall for having done something, and I’m in high spirits for time spent and to be spent with friends, so no worries!

Great quote in a comment at the polyamory livejournal:

“If someone appears like an asshole to you, it’s likely they appear that way to others as well. You don’t need to be the John Madden of the Asshole Bowl, pointing out the maneuvers of the Assholes on the telestrator.”

It’s true. It’s also true that assholes don’t appear as assholes to everyone (e.g., President Bush), but particularly in online communities, if not the real world, you’re usually preachin’ to the choir, so best save your energy.

Besides, there are such better ways of dealing with assholes! Gotta love this (warning: boobies)

Do you kiss people when you’re single?
why wouldn’t i?

Do you currently have a hickey?
not anywhere i can see, haha

Who was the last person you talked to on the telephone?
work-related: random secretary calling to renew someone’s subscription

You get bored of your girlfriend/boyfriend easily?
no

What was the last thing someone said to you in person?
coworker Lysette: “can we send attachments with mass emails”
(if you’re curious, the answer is “no.”)

What is your worst subject in school?
math.

What’s your favorite Hannah Montana song?
say what?

What is the best eye color on a member of the opposite sex?
doesn’t matter. green seems to be half a trend for me tho.

Do you like your job?
BOY DO I EVER!!!!!
wait, the one I do for money?

Who is the fifth text in your inbox from? What does it say?
from Marianna about meeting for lunch last Thurs

What’s your favorite number?
47

What was the last movie you watched?
hedwig & the angry inch

Do you have a Facebook?
yeah. complete with zombies.

What are your initials?
apnp

Are you a good speller?
mos def

What was the last movie you saw in theaters, was it good?
Run Fatboy Run. yup, I liked it.

How many and what kind of animals are in your house?
3 bears, 2 cats, 2 dogs, 1 bunny, 1 cow and 3 penguins of various sizes
oh, also a triceratops, a platypus, and a muppet
do stuffed not count? oh. then none

When is the last time you took a nap?
can’t remember

Would you ever stay with someone, just because you didn’t want to break up?
no, i don’t think so. isn’t an issue right now.

Have you ever taken anyone/anything for granted?
yup. it happens.

Have you ever been on a roller coaster?
yes, but i prefer water rides

Could you date someone taller then you?
don’t see why not

When was the last time something bothered you?
woman who gave me dirty look getting on the subway this morning.
my neighborhood is full of entitled people.

Have you learned any lessons today? If so, what?
that no matter how good it sounds to spend half of Sunday slowly drinking 2/3 a 6-pack of beer whilst cooking and eating chili, it’s not necessarily worth how I feel on Monday.
i’ve learned this lesson before & will most likely learn it again!

What’s the most interesting thing that happened to you today?
my facebook vampire made it to level 2
or did that happen yesterday?

What is your current mood?
slightly anxious but mostly happy

Ever had a near death experience?
imagined

What is the highlight of your week?
its only Monday so far

Who would be the first to know if you got pregnant?
BBC World News!

Have you ever broken someones heart?
yes

Are you happy right now?
pretty much. but do i have to be all the time?

Where is your phone?
in my pocket

Do you like cuddling?
yup

What are you doing tonight?
laundry. workout. trip to the library. pay some bills. reading.

What does your myspace name mean?
it’s just my name. i’m boring.

What were you doing at 12:00 pm?
beginning to work through lunch. i normally refuse on principle but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do…

What were you doing 1 hour ago?
procrastinating on facebook or something i think

Do you currently have feelings for someone? Do they know?
that would a big happy double yes right there
though since the type and magnitude of feelings aren’t specified I could easily say yes a few times over… is not friendship a feeling? disgust? apathy? yeah, i’m pedantic.

What was the last thing you said aloud?
“what?” to a coworker.

Are you ticklish?
yes, but also no sometimes.

Are you a heavy sleeper?
yes

What are you listening to?
cars honking outside, coworkers tapping on keyboards…

Does someone like you right now?
yup indeedy

Do you like them?
yup indeedy

Where was the last place you went?
to work
before that, to the store Sunday to buy ingredients for chili

Have you ever played naked twister?
not Twister(tm)

How do you feel about Valentine’s day?
kinda like I feel about the easter bunny

How is your hair?
reportedly, “soft”

Have you kissed anyone on your MySpace top friends?
heh. 3 of the 8

Who was the last person you took a picture with?
Alex. I wouldn’t have remembered except the person who took it just put it on Facebook recently. Man, these sites are makin’ people lazy, back in my day we woulda emailed photos around or at least a link to where they were.

Are you typically a jealous person?
yes and no

Do you chew on straws?
no

Do you wish on 11:11 PM?
huh?

What’s on your mind?
getting back to work. is this done yet?

Have you ever kissed anyone named Andrew?
my conservative brother’s name is Andrew.
hahahahaha!

Last thing received in the mail?
some junk mail and a netflix dvd

Do you have trust issues?
i have had, in the past

Have you ever hated someone, but ended up being friends with them?
not really

Have you ever hurt anyone when you were mad?
emotionally yes.

Is it easier to forgive or forget?
yeah, it is easier to forgive or forget than to hold a grudge.

I always liked this track, but never saw the video. Well, here it is! Awesome.