gewgaw

For those of you who haven’t heard – Austin’s book is out on shelves now and getting rave reviews from all sorts of interesting places… and then some.

Honestly – I’m not sure what to be more excited about: the fact that it’s finally available in hardback, delighting readers as it should be… or that the cover is even more beautiful than the dust jacket! Don’t believe me? Buy it and see for yourself!

Of course the cover is just the icing on the cake. Moving, hilarious, deeply lonely at times… I will probably read it again before Christmas (third time in as many years!). And I don’t think I’ll be the only one so inspired:

However, GRC readers will probably appreciate, as I did, the intelligence and complexity of Grossman’s female characters. Fatale is awesome – both immensely competent and uncertain about the “real” her, both determined to prove herself and justifiably uncertain of her place in the team. To take one example of how much thought has gone into her presentation, she’s six foot plus, not built like the “wasp-waisted pleasure machines” she knows female cyborgs are supposed to be. She’s Fatale without the femme. Yet she is a sexual being capable not only of fantasy but of acting on her desires. And her uterus is gone – in most comic books, this would kick off an arc focused on how awful it is that she can’t have children because that reduces her essential womanliness. In Soon I Will Be Invincible, it’s an off-hand remark that at least she doesn’t have to worry about periods anymore.

The other women are just as marvelous – the stressed, superbly competent Damsel, the amused, invulnerable, former supervillain Lily, the bitter, sad teenage idol Rainbow Triumph and the strange fairy warrior Elphin, charged with a mission she can’t remember in a world centuries out of her time. Which isn’t to say that the men are poorly written – only that it’s so rare to find female superheroes like this that I finished the book, hugged it, and went back to read Fatale’s parts again.

The fans have it, Dr. Impossible! Your transformation is complete, and your escape… just the beginning! We are so proud of you. Stay angry!!!

PS: SF residents can catch AG at the Make Out Club, on the 11th of August – as part of the Writers with Drinks series! Be there or be… a hero!

…has a blog now!

Yay!

Congrats on your new adventure, welcome to the blogosphere – and good luck with those “weekly” posts!!!

Souris! A tireless advocate of all things A+, her Flickr stream is a constant source of smiles. Whether it’s a tasty dinner in Japan town, a casual afternoon lunch – or a friend-packed, grill-tastic bbq… great memories of my recent trip to LA.

The only problem is that now I miss you all so! Love to friends & family in my home away from home – especially Team HP.

I am so bummed out about the tour and all this doping drama. Since Doug and I first met, I’ve become more and more of a cycling fan and enthusiast… and this event has been something of a milestone – a marker for each passing year.

Admittedly – cycling is still only a small part of my life. I’ve never been HUGE into sports, partly because there are just so many other things to do. But like climbing or kung fu – I’ve got a fondness for the sport, the gear, associated rituals and underlying ethics. There’s something about the idea of enduring such pain, for so long… it makes you appreciate how far out our limits can be, as a species. Like Rescue Dawn, with less political intrigue.

Or so you’d hope. How disappointing it is to root for someone and then realize, after the fact, that they were cheating. It sucks the life out of you, as a fan – you feel robbed. Yes there are pressures – sure, there are temptations. But doping on the road of the biggest cycling race of the year? What arrogance!!!

Just this morning I turned on the television and it was Bob Costas interviewing the baseball commissioner about similar issues in his sport. NBA fixing via refs… Vick with the dogfights – where does it stop???

Boo! Everyone is fired!!!

Like many of you, I have been thinking lately about energy, consumption, ecosystems and how humans are changing the planet. One of the things I confront every day is just how much electricity I use as part of my work process (which has come up in earlier posts).

This simple orb (which reminds me a lot of Michael’s Office Plant installation/project) seems like a step in the right direction for smaller companies, where the idea is to work flexibly as a group to reduce consumption of resources. Not sure if it would work at a company like EA – but even a few small companies would be a start.

Is yours one of them?

I must say… the best thing and the worst thing about E3 this year was how small things were. On the one hand, given a pass or connection, you could get hands on just about anything w/o having to wait. Plenty of quality time with whatever you liked, and normal-volume conversations with the developer representing the title. Really great environment for a designer, who is curious about lots of games and how they are made, etc.

But it is also kind of a ghost town. Even the parties were small. Almost eerily so. It was rare to bump into a familiar face, and everything had to be arranged text message style. “Which hotel? When?”

I’m not sure I can see how this is a sustainable approach to the business side of the event.

Wacky!

:)

Scott has been busy too!

ROCKSTAR PHOTO!

almost there!

eom.