Was saddened to wake up to news of yet another shooting on Monday. My heart goes out to the victims and their families and the LGBT community in Orlando.
If you haven't read Chuck Wendig's thought-provoking post on the subject, here's a link. He also posted info at the end about what you can do to help.
Jun 14, 2016
Jun 13, 2016
Amusements and Exposition in Tampere
Last weekend I attended a writing class in Tampere. The class was on Saturday, but because the train schedules wouldn't cooperate, I decided to go up on Friday. I took the laptop, of course, and planned to get some writing done, but first I went for a walk and ended up at the Särkänniemi amusement park.
The sky's looking kind of ominous in this shot. About five minutes later it started hailing.
They have a beautiful old carousel.
It would be cool to ride this in full steampunk regalia.
My favourite traffic sign ever!
I had a very balanced and nutritious dinner that night. (Not.)
I stayed at the Lapland hotel Tampere, mainly because the location was convenient for the course. It turned out to be a very nice hotel. The golden antlers above the bed were kind of cool.
The writing course was fun, too. Met lots of interesting people and got valuable feedback on my story. We talked about exposition and did a writing exercise, where first we wrote description of our setting and then a scene that integrated description into action. It's surprisingly difficult to write something half-decent in a short time!
The best part of these kinds of things is realising that you're not alone: other writers are struggling with the same issues. When we did introductions, a lot of the people there said they had started writing only a couple of years ago, as adults. The myth that to be a "real" writer you have to start writing as soon as you can hold a pen is quite pervasive, and it takes the pressure off to hear that you're not a freak if you get into writing in your thirties.
Even our writer guest Liliana Lento, whose first novel, Dionnen Tytöt, had just come out, didn't start writing as a kid. It was really interesting to hear about her journey from writer to author. She started with short stories, and one day she got a book-sized idea. That's also something that feels like a relief, because I was starting to think that people are destined to be either short story writers or novel writers, not both. A lot of the writers I've asked have said that they just naturally started doing one or the other. My approach has been to try to perfect my short story writing skills first (my definition: a sale to a pro mag) and only then attempt a novel-length work. Maybe it's an okay approach after all, and one day I'll get an idea that has enough meat on it for a novel, or one of the short stories will refuse to be a short story and grow into a novel, I dunno.
A very fun course. I hope I can attend the next one, too.
Oh, and I started reading Neil Gaiman's The View from the Cheap Seats, a collection of his nonfiction. It's great and thought-provoking, and I highly recommend it. I like to support local bookstores when I can, so I tried to get a physical copy, but unfortunately the book hadn't arrived yet, so Amazon got my hard-earned pennies once again. I love my kindle (you know, 'cause it's bigger on the inside, ha ha), but it's not the same thing. I suppose I could have waited, but they said it would take TWO WEEKS to arrive. Come on! That's too long to wait when what you want is just one click away.
Jun 10, 2016
The Aliens 30th Anniversary Loot Crate!
It'sHereIt'sHereIt'sHere!!!!
Opening it up . . . Nothing's jumped out at me so far. What's that?
A Bug Stomper T-shirt, from the drop-ship logo!
Comics.Very nice!
A cool mini-poster. Is that Japanese?
And then we have this guy, a 6.5'' figure from Titan.
Sure, he looks kind of dayglo now, but you should see him in the dark.
Aaand here's my favourite: glow-in-the-dark Alien eggs!
These are just so cool. They have this weird glow, even in daylight, if you shade them a bit.
Here's my attempt at shooting them in the dark. Yes, I actually locked myself in a dark bathroom with the things to get these shots. You're welcome.
Honestly, these don't do them justice. They're super creepy in real life.
Yep, very happy with my Aliens loot. These are going in my dvd cabinet, behind glass doors,
Jun 9, 2016
Free Online Writing Course from The University of Iowa!
The University of Iowa is doing another free MOOC this year, open to everyone. Here's some info:
I did their last year's course, and it was amazing. Definitely signing up for this one, too.
If you want to join in, you can read more here.
"On July 18, 2016, the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa will open the new MOOC Whitman's Civil War: Writing and Imaging Loss, Death, and Disaster. This free open online course will embark upon a journey through Walt Whitman's writings on the American Civil War. Through Whitman's lens, we will explore how writing and image can be used to examine war, conflict, trauma, and reconciliation - in Whitman's time and today. Join us!"
I did their last year's course, and it was amazing. Definitely signing up for this one, too.
If you want to join in, you can read more here.
Jun 8, 2016
Etymology Expeditions: The Biggest Word I Ever Heard
Here's a childhood favourite:
You probably know it's from the 1964 Disney movie version of "Mary Poppins," but did you know it was the subject of a lawsuit based on earlier song title "Supercalafajalistickexpialadojus"(1949)? Known as "The Super Song," it was recorded by Alan Holmes and his New Tones, lyrics by Patricia Smith (a Gloria Parker pen name. She was the one suing Disney.)
Disney won in the end, because they showed that variants of the word were in use well before 1949.
The word was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 1986.
Some people have tried to break it into parts:
but that doesn't make any sense, I think.
Maybe it's best to just enjoy it for the wonderful nonsense it is?
Here's a link to the Disney version on Youtube. Go on, listen to it. It's the song equivalent of chugging a can of Red Bull.
Jun 6, 2016
Unpopular Bookish Opinions
The "unpopular bookish opinions" tag has been making the rounds in all the Finnish writing blogs I read, and it sounded fun, so I thought I'd give it a shot. What the heck, I'm on vacation
Wuthering Heights. Just truly unpleasant. I wrote a whole blog post about this, so I won't go into more detail here.
2. A Popular Book or series that every one else seems to hate but you love.
I'm a bit embarrassed about this one, but Scarlett, Alexandra Ripley's sequel to Mitchell's Gone With the Wind. I read it as a teen and it just stuck.
3. A Love Triangle where the main character ended up with the person you did NOT want them to end up with (warn ppl for spoilers) OR an OTP that you don't like.
Ron and Hermione. I still don't get it.
4. A popular book Genre that you hardly reach for.
Medical thrillers/mysteries, like the Kay Scarpetta books. I just don't like reading about realistic violence, autopsies, and serial killers. And a lot of these start to feel very formulaic to me after a few volumes.
5. A popular or beloved character that you do not like.
Heathcliff. What a jerk.
6. A popular author that you can't seem to get into.
Stephen Baxter. He writes hard science fiction, emphasis on the "hard." I struggled to finish Time, couldn't muster up the energy for Space. Interesting ideas, but too much of a science lecture masquerading as a novel.
7. A popular book trope that you're tired of seeing. (examples "lost princess", corrupt ruler, love triangles, etc.)
The Hero's Journey in its most basic form. You know, the whole "chosen one" thing. Okay for a video game, but as I get older I'm starting to prefer a main character who knows what she's doing and is already an interesting person instead of a blank slate.
8. A popular series that you have no interest in reading.
Fifty Shades of Grey. Not my thing.
9. The saying goes "The book is always better than the movie", but what movie or T.V. show adaptation do you prefer more than the book?
2. A Popular Book or series that every one else seems to hate but you love.
I'm a bit embarrassed about this one, but Scarlett, Alexandra Ripley's sequel to Mitchell's Gone With the Wind. I read it as a teen and it just stuck.
3. A Love Triangle where the main character ended up with the person you did NOT want them to end up with (warn ppl for spoilers) OR an OTP that you don't like.
Ron and Hermione. I still don't get it.
4. A popular book Genre that you hardly reach for.
Medical thrillers/mysteries, like the Kay Scarpetta books. I just don't like reading about realistic violence, autopsies, and serial killers. And a lot of these start to feel very formulaic to me after a few volumes.
5. A popular or beloved character that you do not like.
Heathcliff. What a jerk.
6. A popular author that you can't seem to get into.
Stephen Baxter. He writes hard science fiction, emphasis on the "hard." I struggled to finish Time, couldn't muster up the energy for Space. Interesting ideas, but too much of a science lecture masquerading as a novel.
7. A popular book trope that you're tired of seeing. (examples "lost princess", corrupt ruler, love triangles, etc.)
The Hero's Journey in its most basic form. You know, the whole "chosen one" thing. Okay for a video game, but as I get older I'm starting to prefer a main character who knows what she's doing and is already an interesting person instead of a blank slate.
8. A popular series that you have no interest in reading.
Fifty Shades of Grey. Not my thing.
9. The saying goes "The book is always better than the movie", but what movie or T.V. show adaptation do you prefer more than the book?
Hmm. That's a tough one. There's lots of movies that are worse than the book, but better? Even "as good" is a tall order, but Howl's Moving Castle and the LOTR trilogy come to mind. Okay, here's one: I actually enjoy Jeeves and Wooster more as a T.V. show. But I like the books too, so . . .
Anybody out there who hasn't done this one yet? Tag, you're it!
Jun 5, 2016
Bengtskär Lighthouse and The Rosala Viking Centre
First day of summer vacation, yay! Hubby and I celebrated with a day trip to Bengtskär Lighthouse. We booked this tour from Kasnäs.
The lighthouse has been open to the public since the nineties, and it's one of the few lighthouses where you get to see the lantern room.
The building is built of local stone. It's beautiful.
We climbed all the way to the top.
250 steps and two ladders, but the view is totally worth it.
The antique lens is still there, but nowadays they use electric lights instead.
There were lots of these guys about ("sea duck" is the translation I found (haahka)?). They blend in so well that I nearly stepped on a few even though I was looking out for them.
People have carved their names into the stone. I wonder who they were?
Oh, and there was an abandoned wartime bunker there, too. And I went in! Pretty creepy, but cool. It looked like something out of a horror FPS.
The tour also included a stopover at the Rosala Viking Centre.
It was actually pretty cool, especially the jatulintarha, an ancient maze.
We had lunch in the great hall. It would be an amazing place for a larp! They also do Viking feasts there, and the guests get to dress up.
That's my vegetable soup and mead.
The great thing about Rosala is that it's not a museum: you can actually touch stuff! This place would be really fun for kids. The guide actually said they do trips for school groups and summer camp type stuff, too.
These glasses at the gift shop were gorgeous, but as we were going on to Bengtskär, I didn't want to lug them around. I hope I'll find them at the Turku medieval fair in July. I definitely need a couple of these.
Yes, these are fake weapons. Yes, I played with them. Wouldn't you?
All in all, a great day out. If you're coming up for Worldcon next year and want to see a bit more of Finland while you're here, this is a fun option for a day trip. You can even stay overnight in the lighthouse. They've turned the lighthouse keepers' rooms into a hotel! Rosala also offers accommodation, Viking style.
Both would make great locations for a writers' retreat, too.
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