I spent the end of last week and the extra-long weekend up at the farm. I really like those people, and I really love the farm, but this particular weekend was emotionally exhausting. Between livestock mishaps, personal misunderstandings and a really, really hot house (and the rain that drove us in there in the first place) I came home spent. But perhaps I'll talk about all that later. (I kind of want to get it all out, but I haven't really had the time to dedicate to writing about it yet, and as distance grows, it becomes less of a priority for me, and this journal really is all about me and my whims anyway.) This post is about what awaited me at home, anyway.

Dorian had been cleaning his basement, and brought by some boxes of stuff from the basement that he believed belonged to me. In one, an old shoe box of correspondence between long-distance friends and me when I was 16-17-18ish. Letters handwritten on paper and sent through the mail, mainly from B.C.

A couple from Tex, who was at the time signing himself Texas of Idealia and spoke of buying land and building a commune in the wilds. A few from Steve, who just vanished without warning that way himself, a few weeks after we had what I can only describe in retrospect as our first and only date; who made a brief reappearance around the time I was getting married, to vanish again soon after, and who made another brief reappearance in my life just a couple years ago. I still miss him dreadfully every now and then.

The first one made me cry as I read it to Nick.

( Monday 3 May, 1993 )

The next letter broke my heart just a little more, but I couldn't stop reading them. I was a blubbering mass by the end.
I don't think I'll ever see him again. I don't think he still exists

Last night, for the first time in my life, I took a sleeping pill. Well, half of one actually. I slept right through to 5am, then woke up. Then went back to sleep and slept till 9am.

This is good, right?

A young black teen girl is now dying her hair exactly like me!

What is the world coming to when I'm the "cool" person in my community/library.

Now with extra Cory Doctorow!
http://twitter.com/privacyala

The Office of Intellectual Freedom
http://blogs.ala.org/oif.php?title=brief_follow_up_on_sunday_s_privacy_revo&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

...and the EFF (Electronic Frontier foundation).
www.eff.org.

www.privacyrevolution.org

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2008/07/with-still-milion-things-to-say.html

Today the Arcadian idyll turned into something an awful lot more like work. TV interviews all morning, press conference all afternoon. Oh well.

Neil,I'm in Campinas-Brasil, and it's a 5-hours-car trip to Paraty. If I get there, most likely on Saturday, where can I find you since I don't have a ticket to Flip? I really, REALLY would love to have you sign one of books. I, like many in this sunny country am a major fan of yours. I REALLY love your books! And I'm dying to get my hands on Graveyard Book and Neverwhere...Thanks for the attention Livia

Let's see... first of all, you don't need a ticket for FLIP. You do need a ticket to get into the main tent where the authors are talking, or to sit down and watch the overflow screen -- but you can watch the interview without sitting down or listen from anywhere near where the big screen overflow place is. Richard Price and I will be talking at 11:45 am. As for signing, there will be a signing at about 1.00pm on Saturday in the signing area, which will undoubtedly go on for a while. We will probably have to limit the number of things I sign (so for heaven's sake don't hitchhike or drive carrying all the Sandman books plus another set for a dying friend -- they won't get signed. It will be two, maybe three things are most). I'll stop signing at 7.00pm when Tom Stoppard's talk starts, because I want to hear it.

I'll also be on on Sunday at the DESERT ISLAND BOOKS panel at 5.00pm -- there's no signing planned after that, though.

There may be more signing, there may not -- probably not, as the organisers haven't planned for it. I may sign stuff if you bump into me on the cobblestones or in the town square and ask nicely or just hold something out and smile (I have been so far, but it'll depend a bit on how many people try and whether I need to get from place to place) especially if you can do it without making it look like I've suddenly decided to do a signing in the street.

"Hillbillies On Moonshine" by the cropdusters is the Sepiachord Song of the Day.

the cropdusters

So sad. I have to post here, 'cause I don't want to put this on my regular journal and make my friend feel bad. I have some friends over for the 4th of July weekend and one of them is totally new to BPAL. I pulled out my new bottle of Mead Moon to let him try it and went to check on something in the kitchen. A minute later he came over to me with the bottle and a paper towel, "Oh, I spilled it, I don't know if you want to save this."... I looked at the bottle, half of it was gone...

*sigh*.. Oh well, it's only a material thing, right?...

I have decided that I need to try Ethiopian food again.

I have a very cultured palate and have enjoyed food the world over (for a low-middle class self educated suburban white gal). Despite all this foody experience I have to say Injera grosses me out!

I have been turned off Ethiopian from my visits to Lalibela.

My friends love it. I want to find out what makes it so delicable to them.

sabotabby reports that this place: M & B Yummy is great (despite the strange name), It looks and sounds good and serves vegetarian and vegan Ethiopian (who knew?).

My experience with Indian veggie was good.

Who's willing to try it with me? Who dares!?

I'm looking for:
(1) An economist who I can chat with and who could point me towards some good economic sources for a paper I'm writing.

(2) Someone who is savvy in the ways of professional website building, content management systems that are open source, and online revenue structures to talk to me over the next few weeks or point me towards some good (succinct) sources.

This is all as a favour to me, for which I would be eternally grateful.

I think I'd rather be a social conservative, thanks.

(Seriously. Get out of my social orientation.)

I'm quite the novice when it comes to binding books. I have had the urge to make, draw in, and write books since I was very young. My life long dream is to make an exquisite hand bound book filled with beautiful art and hauntingly, achingly glorious words.....as of yet, my dream has been unfulfilled.

However, I do dabble in making my own little notebooks. I thought since I'm new here, I should share one of my attempts:


This is the design for the back of my notebook. The phrase in the heart is "Ben Wu loves you." Why? Well, I'm Ben Wu and I love everyone..even you, most of the time. ;)

( Two more views of this notebook )

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ICanHasCheezburger/~3/326810609/

http://icanhascheezburger.com/?p=70519

Ductigami: The art of the Tape

Got Tape?: Roll Out the Fun With Duct Tape!

I'm thinking of a program or craft activity here....

too busy today to post cute
:(

and now running off to the woods for the weekend



feel free to post cute in the comments so i have something to look at when i get back
:D

especially your own cute pets
(no spiders and bug pets please)

is up!

I swear, that ability is going to get someone seriously hurt sooner or later.