I realized the other day that what I’m working on isn’t quite fun enough. Some parts of it are fun to read (I think) and (I know) some parts of it are fun to write. But in thinking so much about wordcount and moving from Point A to Point B (or in this case, Sequim […]
Hmm. Needs more fun. Read More »
Further to Mr. Stross’ point about the future collapsing wave-like into the present, this evening I used Google Video Chat to talk to Boston for free, at which point my interlocutor said, slowly drawing his spoon free of his mouth, “You know, every day, we’re waking up in the world we read about in books
There’s something magic about watching rotten, rusty barns and roll by and eating nigh-frozen sushi while listening to this song. (It’s even better after the snow has been and gone.) This is my favourite of all the things written this weekend: “Don’t you ma’am me, mister. I’m only seven years old.” “Hey, in cat years,
This is my new favourite song: Read More »
A while ago, I talked about a story that, to quote Dan Aykroyd (or Harold Ramis) “just popped in there,” inspired by looking at old clips of Vampira. Well, that story is finished, now. It took me about three days. Now I’m in the butcher shop phase, trimming fat where I can find it. There’s
Emru Townsend has died. In many ways, Emru helped initiate me into Canadian life. He asked me to be a contributor to Frames Per Second Magazine, and gave me the opportunity to get to know Canada through the Toronto International Film Festival. (I later volunteered for the same organization.) On his errand, I visited the
It doesn't feel real, yet. Read More »
Two rejections in as many weeks. I’m missing a weekend of free Japanese films, including one by Takeshi Miike, to go out of town. …By contrast, running is simply a matter of putting one foot in front of the other. I’m not good at it, but it’s something I can at least manage. Also lately
Reasons to go running: Read More »
Polaroid camera Quaalude Austin State Hospital (formerly the Texas State Lunatic Asylum) Oh yeah. It’s a fun story.
And now, for your pleasure, some quotes on cognitive narratology, the intersection of narrative theory and cognitive science:
Cognitive narratology: a primer Read More »
I’m up late and I start wondering about Vampira. (No, really.) And I start feeling nostalgic for a time I never lived in, and I see an ad about how analog television is going the way of the black swan, and I think about how tv and radio used to be local, really, how there
How it works for me: Read More »
Social interactions can alter gene expression in the brain, and vice versa. A critical insight came in 1992, in a study of songbirds led by David Clayton. He and his colleagues found that expression of a specific gene increases in the forebrain of a zebra finch or canary just after it hears a new song