TLeaf Readings: Writing with Iceberg in Tow

Poetry Friday - Exploring The Mythic in Stone Telling 5

2011-10-07T05:55:00.000-07:00

I've been a fan of the poetry magazine Stone Telling ever since its founder Rose Lemberg posted guidelines for the very first issue published one year ago. Every quarter, Stone Telling, publishes not only gorgeous, hauntingly surreal poetry that but also features nonfiction articles, occasional reviews, and a thought-provoking roundtable interview of its poets. In its first anniversary issue, co-edited for the first time by the fabulous duo of Rose and Shweta Narayan, Stone Telling explores the mythic.

I've read and listened (yes, you can listen to many of the poems) to this entire issue, which is stunning. Every poem is strong and compelling in its own manner. I found myself blown away by Delia Sherman's "Fathers," a poem in three sections, each section taking the point of view of a father figure from a famous Western fairy tale. JT Stewart's reinterpretation of Snow White is deftly rendered and evocative. Mike Allen's "Surviving Wonderland" is a whimsical, fun riff of that most famous Alice. Sonya Taaffe delivers a gem of a poem in "Graffiti."

At Stone Telling, one can not only read poems but also listen to poems, and one that I think everyone should hear (and read) is Alexandra Seidel's "A Masquerade in Four Voices" (and not b/c I happen to be one of the readers for the poem; in fact, I think I'm the weakest link). Listen to this poem! It's so cool. Alexa's two voices are darkly, chillingly gorgeous; Nathaniel Smith reads an ever-so-earnest young man; and Mike Allen is awesome as God.

Allen is a three-time contributor to this issue, as he also gives a concise review of another poetry magazine Not One of Us. But leading the nonfiction section is Goblin Fruit Co-Queen Amal El-Mohtar heading a lovely retrospective series about The Journal of Mythic Arts, a site that was edited by Terri Windling and Midori Snyder. A must-read for this issue is the thought-provoking Roundtable interview moderated by Julia Rios. I am still contemplating the concept of "passing." Stone Telling's mythic nonfiction also includes my article is entitled "In Search of Truth and Beauty within the Intersection of Multicultural Mythology and Poetry." It's a bit of a hybrid piece, separated by haiku, like I like to do.

Feel free to explore all of Stone Telling's Mythic Issue. If you like what you see, please consider donating to Stone Telling (link at bottom of page).

Power of old tales
is in the re-telling...so...
Go tell your own myths!

Proof that SFF Can be Diverse: The Moment of Change Anthology

2011-10-05T05:55:00.000-07:00

So I wasn't planning on this, but the deluge of publication news continues on my blog, which I guess is a good thing. Rose Lemberg has posted the Table of Contents for The Moment of Change, an anthology collecting previously-published speculative poetry. I'm honored to see my poem "Self-Portrait" listed among excellent poems penned by writers whose work I adore, and I would list those names, except then I would be including over half of the TOC, so it's just easier to peruse the Table of Contents.

What makes me excited about this anthology is that Rose has searched for underrepresented voices concerned about speculative themes. She is actively debunking the stereotype of the typical science fiction writer--white-bearded straight white male who normally would never care about beauty of language. Listed in this anthology are writers who are female and/or multicultural and/or of color and/or LGBTQ and/or living with disabilities, and many other underrepresented populations. And they are true poets enamored with the beauty of words. Rose's success gives me hope in the diverse future of science fiction and fantasy.

Spectrum of voices
includes you--How to define
your moment of change?

Sale & Signal Boost - Last Week for Strange Horizons Fund Drive!

2011-10-04T05:55:00.000-07:00

Strange Horizons is the oldest pro-paying online magazine completely devoted to the speculative. New fiction, poetry, and reviews are published every week and ranges from science fiction to fantasy to horror. What I admire about Strange Horizons is that they often publish the works of writers at the beginning of their careers, though the bar is high. I am fortunate to be one of those writers last year when they published my poem "Life Lessons," which ended up fourth in the 2010 Strange Horizons Readers Poll. I'm delighted to share that my poem has been reprinted in an anthology that Strange Horizons will be giving to all their donors in its annual fund drive this year. They have also collected over 50 fabulous prizes (many wonderful books including autographed novel by Ursula K. LeGuin) in a drawing for all their fund drive donors.

Want to read some amazing speculative fiction, poetry, and nonfiction? Go to Strange Horizons! My personal pick for their the home page right now is "In the Third Cycle" a fabulous poem by Rose Lemberg. If you like what you read, please consider donating now, since this is the last week of the drive.

Stretch your mind beyond
what you already know--find
your Strange Horizons.

Reflections on a Funeral

2011-10-03T05:55:00.000-07:00

This weekend I attended a funeral for the husband of my friend. I had only met the husband once or twice in passing, but I had heard so much about him from my friend, who called him her soulmate. After we processed to his gravesite, we stood in a large cluster around his headstone, his family and close friends shared memories about his generosity of spirit, his particular imperfections told with loving humor, and his warmth of heart. Even though I had barely known this man, I felt like I did know him through the stories hold by his loved ones. I was touched to tears.

Attending the funeral reminded me how every day is a gift. Sometimes a gift brings a gem of a poem, a story, a novel, a picture, a movie, something that shook you to your bones, in a good way. Sometimes a gift brings shared laughter with a loved one who gets you and accepts you for who you are. Sometimes a gift brings a terrible shock that changes how you see the world and how you see yourself. Sometimes a gift brings a sad soggy sock that could potentially give you freedom from the invisible chains that bind you to seeing too many trees and not enough forest. Sometimes the gift brings darkness, a weight smothering your heart, your throat, your psyche, so much so you cannot fight, so much so you cannot flee, and all you can do is curl into a ball and hope the darkness will pass sooner than later. Because it does pass, eventually. Sometimes the gift is time to rest and reflect, to revive the spirit, to recover your passion so you can contribute to your community, so you can give back.

Because I could not
stop for Death, its reminder
tells me: Give, love, laugh.

Movies - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 & 2 (in 3-D)

2011-07-15T14:52:00.000-07:00

I've been invited to at least two Harry Potter movie outings this month, which reminded me of when the book version of this movie was released, and I was invited to two parties whose primary purpose was to read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

We went to the double feature starting at 9:00 PM last night. Thus, we lined up at 7:30 PM, and there were still hundreds of fans camped out when we arrived. Pictures will be posted shortly, but let's just say for now there were tons of Hogwarts uniforms, a band of effectively costumed Death Eaters, and a Golden Snitch.

If you've never read the books or seen the previous movies, you really need to be well-versed in Harry Potter lore before watching the Deathly Hallows. You can check out my homage in haiku for the book.

To 3-D or Not to 3-D? My verdict: Don't bother watching it in 3-D. Even the scary snake sequences are truly scary because of the audio of the snake strike, not the visual.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

The best part of the entire Part 1 is the animated sequence about the origin of the Deathly Hallows. It was so delightfully rendered, with each scene flowing effortlessly to the next. My favorite bit was when the third brother was hiding from Death. The music was so effective. Also, how George copes with his lost ear is hilarious and awesome.

The worst part about Part 1 is the boring, unmagical setting of the woods, which brings Horcrux-induced angst in all of our beloved main characters. Get out of the woods as fast as possible! Also, before Ron destroys a Horcrux, he must confront an image of a kissing Harry and Hermione. What? This wasn't in the book!

The ending where Dobby saves the day is a nice way to end the movie, as I am teary-eyed as Voldemort retrieves the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's grave. A good cliffhanger.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Kept to less than two hours, a relief after sitting through the overly long Part 1, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was a vast improvement on Part 1 because more happens.

The part that turned me into a blubbering fountain is not Snape's death, which was brutal and not too overt, but his redemption, when Harry sees Snape's life through the dead wizard's final tears. We and Harry see how much Snape loved Harry's mother. Alan Rickman is awesome. Also, my tears continued as the snitch opens up and Harry, holding the stone, sees the spirits of his parents, Remus, and Sirius, who remind him that they are with him always.

In Part 2, some characters I love have an opportunity to shine, like Professor McGonagall, who takes over the defense of Hogwarts after dueling Snape. Maggie Smith's rage and delight are so satisfying. Neville Longbottom, fully grown and towering over all his Hogwart contemporaries, wields the Sword of Gryffindor with aplomb as he kills Voldemort's snake. Crazy Bellatrix is wonderfully portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter, who also does a great job playing Hermoine-pretending-to-be-Bellatrix when they infiltrate the vault.

One of the most satisfying parts of the ending of the book was Molly Weasley defending her daughter Gini from Bellatrix, yet that part where Gini fought B was cut way too short in the movie b/c if you blinked you would have missed it. Still, Mama Molly was fantastic, and Bellatrix's death was spectacular. Likewise, I was looking forward to Voldemort's death, but the scene itself was a little disappointing.

One of my favorite lines in the book that was rendered ineffective in the movie: After retrieving the Ravenclaw Diadem, when Harry goes back to save Draco, Ron yells: "IF WE DIE FOR THEM, I'LL KILL YOU, HARRY!"

Some Major Things in the Book that Were Cut from the Movie:

Percy's redemption arc. Percy was not mentioned in the movie at all. To be fair, Fred's death was almost glossed over, and if a character needed to lose dialogue lines, I suppose Percy would be the reasonable choice.
Ron's decision to try to help the house elves…and when he does, then he earns Hermoine's kiss. Instead they experience their first kiss after finding a basilik's tooth. This is an external cause for a first kiss rather than a character-changing cause, and thus in my mind it is less powerful. But for a movie, it works.

But in the very end...YES! They DO include the Epilogue! Yes, the actors are aged (sometimes a bit too much, like Draco). Harry's son is absolutely adorable, as is the way Harry delivered advice to his son, Albus Severus Potter.

Those who are faithful Harry Potter fans will not be too disappointed, I hope. While there were many moments I wish the director could have expanded, overall, it was a fun experience. Mischief Managed.

Summer Projects - YA Noveling

2011-06-02T23:57:00.000-07:00

I'm finishing my write up of BayCon and other awesome May events, but for now, it's time to plan for summer.

Theodora Goss, fantasy author who writes luminous prose, is issuing a YA Novel Challenge, and since it so neatly aligns with my own goals for the summer (June 1 to August 31), I've decided to officially join.

While my current publications consist primarily of poetry sales and short fiction contest wins, I also write novels targeted towards young adult audiences. This summer I will work on not one, not two, but three different novels set in three different worlds (historical, contemporary, fantasy) about three very different protagonists (Chinese-American immigrant, American Born Chinese girl, and a ninja). These novels are in varying stages (late revision, early revision, and first draft or discovery draft).

The goal for each novel will be the same, though the details are different. Thus, for each novel, I will finish a readable draft.

Novel 1 = Historical, Chinese-American = Condense characters and thematic focus. Flesh out back stories of main characters while mourning the loss of tertiary characters who were never really all that useful to the main story, even though I thought they were rather real.

Novel 2 = Contemporary, Chinese-American = Edit 500 pages of discovery draft to a more YA-friendly 300 pages. Make sure it has a coherent beginning, a middle, and an end, NOT five beginnings, a sliver of a middle, and five endings that have nothing to do with the five beginnings.

Novel 3 = Fantasy, All-Asian-All-the-Time = Write 50,000 new words. Try to find the voice somewhere buried deep within those words. Try not to panic as well-laid plans go awry and secondary characters hijack the plot and tell you that no, really, their stories are much more interesting and wouldn't you like to add Korea to your All-Asian-All-the-Time fantasy world, especially after re-watching the awesome Korean historical dramas Painter of the Wind and Sungkyunkwan Scandal? Remind yourself that you need to write 50,000 new words. The End.

This is ambitious, I know. But, now is the time. I am also seriously considering the Clarion Write-a-Thon again, which might be a subset of this project, or something completely different. We'll see.

I plan to blog about my progress at least once a week, even when I'm traveling. Wish me luck.

Travel Tip - Visiting Temples and Ruins in Thailand and Cambodia

2011-05-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

So I'm continuing my write up of my travels in Thailand and Cambodia. These will be interspersed with blog entries about other events I attended earlier this year.

While in Thailand and Cambodia, there are a few rules one should be aware of when visiting temples, the king's palaces, and sacred ruins.

Rule #1

Always cover your
shoulders and your upper legs
down past your knee caps.

Above is a picture of me with one of my Thai friends at the entrance of Doi Suthep. Note that she is wearing jeans, my skirt is below my knees, and we are both wearing shirts with sleeves. If you insist on wearing tank tops and shorts, you will be denied entrance to temples and key tourist venues, so a good solution would be to carry a sarong and/or light-weight shawl to cover your shoulders and/or upper legs. In fact, a couple of my Thai friends (guys) needed to rent long pants because their shorts were too short for the Winter Palace, and while at Angkor Wat, there were a couple of temples that some of my friends (mostly girls) could not enter because their skirts were too short and/or they were wearing tank tops.

While some places provide coverings for visitors to wear for an additional fee, it's it's probably better to bring your own sarong or shawl, which you could easily buy for extremely good prices in Thailand or Cambodia. Alternatively, I packed only items that were temple-friendly. Thus, I never had to worry.

Rule #2

Always take off your
shoes before entering a
home or sacred space.

This is pretty obvious if you visit a temple that's already populated, as you will see abandoned shoes at the entrance. But if you are the first person to visit, you might forget and unwittingly dirty the beautifully clean stone floors. Many people wear flip flops, but I wore walking sandals with straps at the back.

Rule #3

Always show respect
to the monks, even when they
whack you on the head.

To clarify, the whacking I received occurred after I was splashed with holy water, so it was probably a ritual finish to a common blessing.

It's easy to spot a Buddhist monk in Thailand and Cambodia. Besides the shaved head, a monk will also wear a bright orange robe. I didn't want to take any photos of the monks at the temples, but here's one sitting on the side of the road.

And finally, not a rule, but a suggestion:

If it makes sense for you, consider praying, and leave a tithe. Not all temples have a ritual walkway like the one at Doi Suthep, however the main room in each temple is bare of furniture, leaving a wide, serene space that invites prayer. When you're traveling in a foreign country where you do not understand the language nor all the customs, meditation and/or pray can be wonderfully grounding.

Next Stop: The Wonders of Angkor Wat, the most famous ruins in Cambodia!

Don't Judge a Box by Its Cover

2011-05-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

Recently, I received a box in the mail.

It is a small box, easily opened to reveal

The Binnacle
Seventh Annual
Ultra-Short Competition

University of Maine at Machias
2010

but wait, you can open it...to reveal

The Binnacle
Seventh Annual
Ultra-Short Competition

Emily Jiang
Wedding Song
Top Prose Prize

Toni Giarnese
Dancing
Top Poetry Prize

Bunny Richards
Lions in Winter
Top UMM Student Prize

Honorees
(listed in ABC order by first name)

This is cool, but wait, it opens up again to reveal...

a card with my name and my bio!

The card is really nice stock, with nice background design in gray and white.

But wait! If you turn the card over...

there's my story, the entire ultra-short, printed on the back,

which is about the size of a business card. How clever!

In fact, there are 60 ultra-shorts, each printed on its own card (yes, I counted). At the bottom is a card with the magazine's contact information and 10 extra cards of your own story or poem. Yes, they publish poems, too! For example, here is "Dancing" by Toni Giarnese.

I was expecting a traditionally bound journal, and it is a delight to shuffle the cards and read. I still marvel at the fact that one can fit a piece of flash fiction on such a small space. Such creative packaging reminds me of something that McSweeney's would dream up.

Many thanks to Binnacle Editor Gerald P. NeCastro and his staff for this special gift of a publication! A complete list of honorees can be found here.

Congrats to Mom!

2011-05-08T23:22:00.000-07:00

My mom is pretty amazing, as she is constantly learning, constantly acquiring new skills. A couple years ago she started to seriously study several different forms of tai chi, and now she is a current three-time gold medal winner in a local martial arts competition. Congrats, Mom!

Also, since it's still technically Mother's Day, I thought I would revisit recent-ish blog post about My Chinese Mother.

Congrats to Hugo Nominees

2011-04-26T10:54:00.000-07:00

Because I'm attending Worldcon this year, I am keeping a closer eye on the Hugo nominee list because I will actually be voting this year. What's thrilling is to see names of people whom I've met and liked, in addition to the usual suspects. So, more for myself than for others, a list of people for whom I am personally excited b/c their works have been acknowledged by nominations this year:

Congrats to all Hugo and Campbell Awards Nominees, but especially:

Seanan McGuire, aka Mira Grant, for Feed for Best Novel
Rachel Swirsky for "The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen's Window" for Best Novella
James Patrick Kelly for "Plus or Minus" for Best Novelette
Mary Robinette Kowal for "For Want of a Nail" for Best Short Story
Kaja and Phil Foglio for Girl Genius, Vol 10 for Best Graphic Story
Liz Gorinsky for Best Professional Editor, Long Form
John Joseph Adams for a double nom of Best Editor, Short Form and for Lightspeed nom for Best Semiprozine
All the awesome staff at Locus for Best Semiprozine
Ann VanderMeer for Weird Tales for Best Semiprozine

I look forward to seeing your smiling faces at Worldcon!

Movie - Gnomeo and Juliet

2011-04-21T23:59:00.000-07:00

Google pics continues to fail me, so here's another review, this time of Gnomeo and Juliet. I've been wanting to see this movie for months and recently saw it at the bargain theater.

A modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet featuring garden gnomes and lawn creatures, Gnomeo and Juliet stays relatively true to the main plot of Shakespeare's play. The red gnomes and the blue gnomes populate neighboring lawns owned my two older British humans who do not get along. Thus, the red and blue despise each other. Gnomeo of the blue gnomes meets Juliet of the red gnomes when they both cover up their colors and attempt to retrieve a wondrous orchid. The banter and constant exchange of ownership of the orchid is incredibly cute and charming, and for me, perhaps the best scene in the film. The rest is rather expected, even the happy ending because, of course, this is Disney.

As in the Toy Story movies, the inanimate objects in Gnomeo and Juliet behave like humans and have human relationships and emotions, yet must freeze whenever a human is around. But the best bits are cute parallels in how their culture parallels with ours. Garden gnomes racing each other on lawnmowers in a rumble is inherently a funny premise. I thought it strangely cute that a statue of a mushroom somehow works as a Gnomeo's dog, even though there are no facial features on the mushroom and no tail to wag. Also, I found myself coveting Juliet's technicolor tower complete with neon flashing lights and a moat covered in lily pads.

An unexpected character was the plastic pink supposedly one-legged lawn flamingo, whose crazy Spanish accent was a nice contrast to the British accents in the movie. I honestly thought his character was most compelling, probably because he had the most back story, told in a series of montages about his lost love, a matching pink flamingo, and when they faced each other, their bowed heads and curved necks created a pink heart (echoed in the orchid that brings Romeo and Juliet together).

I did enjoy watching this film, but I also felt like it was a little too slick, moved a little too quickly for me to engage emotionally. While there was plenty of cute, I never did laugh out loud, the way I often do during Pixar films and some of the stronger Disney films. Overall, it was worth seeing, but I'm glad I didn't pay full price.

I want a garden
where I'd plant purple orchids
surrounded by gnomes.

TV - Glee - A Night of Neglect or "Nice Try"

2011-04-20T07:24:00.000-07:00

I wasn't planning to blog about Glee again, but Google is having issues displaying the photos from my trip. So this is a photo-free post.

This episode started off with promise. In my post about the previous episode of Glee, I ended with a plea for more screen time for Mercedes, Asian (Tina), and Other Asian (Mike) because those characters were sadly under-utilized and could have some amazing character arcs. Well, we did get more of them, but in very expected ways. Mercedes sang an amazing rendition of an Aretha Franklin song. Asian (Tina) sang a solo whose emotional effect was completely ruined because she was heckled and never allowed to finish her song (in fact, her inability to finish a song for whatever reason is a clear trend with her character's performance history). In stark contrast, Other Asian (Mike) delivered an amazing dance, though I found the editing detracting, not adding, from the magic of his movements. So, yes, these minor characters get more screen time, but ultimately there was no character development, with the exception of Mercedes trying to reclaim her former diva-ness and declaring her desire to be the anchor singer in the show. I suppose baby steps is better than nothing, but Glee, you neglected to really give your underdogs true shining moments.

Also, this season has featured a lot a lot of Gwyneth Paltrow, and I'm tired of her character. If Glee wants to insert a free-spirited, off-kilter blonde love interest for Will Schuster, can we please please please bring back the incomparable Kristin Chenowith? She could out-sing Gwenyth while pretending to be half-drunk.

Perhaps my favorite quote in the episode happens when Sue Sylvester creates a Legion or League of Evil whose charter members include Sandy the former Glee Club teacher, the coach of Vocal Adrenaline, and Will's crazy ex-wife. Sue realizes she has gathered the "Worst henchmen ever!"

Song Highlight - "All By Myself" by Sunshine

I was not all that impressed with her acting, but wow, this Filipino actress has a bigger voice than one would expect from her tiny body. I kind of wish that she had been one of the more permanent new cast members vs. the boy who looks like Justin Bieber's older brother. But then, she would be the Other Other Asian, and that would be way too confusing. Sorry, Mercedes, you did well, but Sunshine outshone you this time.

Which makes me a little peeved because this was supposed to be Mercedes' episode, especially when Rachel voluntarily refuses to end the show with a solo, as is typical of almost every show in Glee. In fact, I believe this might be the second episode where Rachel does not sing, the other episode being one where she loses her voice. I think the show's producers are trying to make Rachel more sympathetic, and it's working (sortofnotreally).

Show Highlight - Other Asian aka Mike Chang aka Henry Shum, Jr. DANCES

With this performance, Henry Shum, Jr. proves he is the male heir to American musical theater dance. His routine wonderfully echoed the whimsy of Donald O'Conner, some of the athletic moves of Gene Kelly (the open arms twirl), and some of the elegance of Fred Astaire (dancing with a mop), only without the tuxedo. If only the editing wasn't so choppy, focusing on the wrong angles at the wrong time, often chopping off his feet. A static camera would have improved the viewing experience.

Dear Glee, well, you tried
to spotlight the underdogs…
but it was diffused.

Chiang Mai - Temple Architecture (and Guardians)

2011-04-19T07:08:00.000-07:00

While there is a wealth of touristy activities to do just outside of Chiang Mai, I also really loved just walking around the downtown area, where wats (aka temples) abound, seemingly on every street corner. Here's one of my favorite wats.

The roof is trimmed

with snakes!

Even the tiles look like scales.

The entrance is guarded by fierce creatures

taunting tourists

and water towers.

Some windows are framed in gold.

Can you see the dragon-snakes?

Other windows are framed in red,

and if you open one...

you can see more red inside

and paintings.

Outside, near the main golden spire sits a mini golden spire

and two buddhas.

Behind the temple, more creatures guard the doors.

Upon closer inspection,

can you see the teeth at the bottom?

Behind the main temple is a smaller structure, also guarded by scaly creatures

Upon closer inspection...

can you see the snake eating the snake?

or see the snake eating...
(I'm not sure what this is)?

Temple guardian
bares its many teeth, rendered
useless by offerings.

Next Stop: The amazing ruins of Angkor Wat!

Chiang Mai - Baan Ping Temple Signs

2011-04-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

So I had written yesterday that I would post about Angkor Wat, and I will. But I had forgotten about these photos at the Baan Ping Temple in Chiang Mai. One economical tourist activity for Chiang Mai is to visit wats, or temples, on foot. The city seems to have a wat on every street corner, and the architecture is stunningly gorgeous. However at Baan Ping Temple, I especially enjoyed reading the signs.

Some were educational.

Some were instructional.

Some were positioned

in unexpected places

using phrases that are probably lost in translation.

My favorite are the red signs on the trees because the messages flowed into this lovely mantra that I found rather useful during the remainder of my trip (and even today).

Summarizing (sort of) in haiku:

Well begun is half
done. Actions speak louder than
words. Stay in moment.

Birds of a feather
flock together, and it is
never too late to mend.

Next Stop: Architectural details of the temple

Chiang Mai - Butterfly and Orchid Farm

2011-04-17T06:10:00.000-07:00

Between Tiger Kingdom and Mae Sa Elephant Camp are several smaller tourist places one can visit. I stopped at the Butterfly and Orchid Farm for a lovely look. Next to the entrance is a shop where they sell gold plated flowers made into brooches, earrings and necklaces. You will not find rare species of orchids here, nor is the butterfly farm very large. In fact, I could only find one kind of butterfly.

Yet, it was a nice place, saturated with color, in fact, almost all the colors of the rainbow:

red

orange

yellow

green (leaves)

blue (close enough)

indigo

violet

(mostly) white

But what really impressed me was how the orchids could grow so readily with their roots exposed.

with roots as green
as their leaves, orchids can grow
on ground or in air

Next Stop: The famous ruins of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Chiang Mai - Mae Sa Elephant Camp - Riding an Elephant

2011-04-16T23:59:00.000-07:00

At Mae Sa Elephant Camp, you can ride an elephant for 30 minutes or 1 hour or take the elephant from the Camp down to the main road. Each elephant can easily carry 2 large adults and one small child. I had never ridden an elephant before, at least not in my recent memory. It is a strange experience, riding an elephant. I sat in the center of my box and placed my feet firmly on my elephant's shoulders. With each step, I could feel its bones shift underneath me, and the power of the animal was rather awe-inspiring. What surprised me the most was how much personality that my elephant displayed and how I could totally relate.

The thirty-minute ride takes you around the camp, where you can see other elephants bathing, eating, sleeping, and doing other elephant-like activities. The elephants with riders walk in a single file line on a narrow path winding down the mountain side. My elephant was the last one. From the beginning, I noticed that the elephant in front of us often took the less efficient path around a tree down a particularly tricky, stone-filled patch. Perhaps this other elephant was new to the path, or just merely slow. Whatever the reason, whenever we needed to stop to wait for the elephant in front of us figure out how to navigate a rocky spot, my elephant would flap its ears and trumpet a sigh of impatience. Then my elephant wrangler would pat the elephant on the side of the neck, as if to comfort it. Near the end of our ride, the path widened to a nice, flat terrain, and taking advantage of an opening, my elephant sped up to smoothly pass the slower elephant. As we passed, I felt my elephant breath a sigh, as if to say, Finally!

Elephants are smart
enough to paint, to play games,
and mine had road rage.

Next Stop: Butterfly and Orchid Farm

Chiang Mai - Mae Sa Elephant Camp - Art Painted by Elephants!

2011-04-15T08:15:00.000-07:00

Located a 20-30 minute drive outside of Chiang Mai, the Mae Sa Elephant Camp is perhaps most known for its elephant artists. So I visited to see the elephants paint as part of the regular show. There were five elephant artists, including the baby. Each elephant had its own easel, paint brush, bucket of paint, and human wrangler, whose role it was to dip the brush into the paints after the elephant artist had finished a stroke.

Here's the elephant closest to me.

Elephant artist is so talented

she can paint

an elephant!

"For sale 3,000 Baht" which is about $100 US

There were several other paintings, most for sale.

"For sale 2,000 Baht" which is about $67 US

blue, orange, olive,
green: colors squiggle-wiggle:
entwine...mesh...unwind

(the following was not for sale)

this bush grows too wild,
overblown reds and two-toned
greens rising like snakes

"For sale 2,000 Baht" which is about $67 US

stemming from one source,
flowers rise while leaves float
like green butterflies

And while the wranglers were organizing these paintings,

the baby elephant continued to paint, long after the adult elephants had finished.

The painting was totally worth the wait.

"for sale 6,000 Baht" which is about $200 US

rust orange forest
blossoms against burnt mountains,
against sun-kissed sky

Next Stop: Riding an Elephant

Chiang Mai - Mae Sa Elephant Camp - The Show

2011-04-14T06:35:00.000-07:00

When I arrived in Chiang Mai, I wanted to go to Doi Suthep, and if time, see the elephant artists, which originally was more attractive to me than hugging a tiger. Thankfully I got to do both. The Mae Sa Elephant Camp is famous for training elephants how to paint, a trick that is the highlight of their show. The show was more like a circus without sequins and highly entertaining, especially for families, especially for the child in me. I sat in the very front and made friends with a family of Australians.

We are welcomed by the elephants

holding each other's tails,

walking with their wranglers (dressed in blue)

and hooping

with their trunks,

playing harmonicas (with their trunks),

stealing the hats of their wranglers (with their trunks).

These elephants are performers! They are so happy! They love applause!

Other tricks include pulling and stacking logs, kicking oversized soccer balls into oversized goals, massaging their wranglers with their feet, and throwing darts (with their trunks!).

Also, most astonishingly, these elephants are trained artists. Painters, specifically.

More about the art tomorrow. Until then:

But wait! The show isn't completely over! I noticed several audience members holding bunches of bananas. As soon as the show is over, the elephants approach the audience

who then feed the bananas to the eager elephants.

Okay, now it's time for the sign!

I want to become
an elephant wrangler who
helps elephants paint!

Next Stop: More about the Elephant Art!

Chiang Mai - Tiger Kingdom - Rules on How to Hug a Tiger

2011-04-14T06:10:00.000-07:00

When you hug the tigers at Tiger Kingdom, there are rules you must follow. Because, while these tigers are accustomed to being handled by humans on a daily basis, they are ultimately still wild animals. Proceed with caution.

Rule #1:

Move calmly, slowly.

If you act like tiger prey,
you become its prey.

Rule #2:

Be aware of its
teeth and paws, especially
the range of its claws.

While the dangers of the teeth are rather obvious, a casual paw swipe from a tiger, even a baby tiger, could seriously hurt a human.

See my hand on the floor? See the baby tiger's paws? My hand is smaller than the paw of the baby tiger. So while they are adorable, baby tigers do have intimidate weapons in their paws.

Rule #3:

Do NOT directly
approach a tiger. Always
approach from behind.

Again:

Never approach tigers, even the baby ones, directly head on.

Whoops.

To be fair, this one approached me. Again and again and again. And each time, its handler would grab the baby tiger so that it would be a safer position.

At Tiger Kingdom, it is unlikely that a tiger might attack you out of aggression or hunger. Rather, if you approach a tiger in a head-on manner, it might think that you want to play.

And what do tigers do when they play?

They bite and claw when they play. All in fun, of course. Except if the playmate is a human whose skin is much more fragile than a tiger's pelt.

So those are the big rules to follow while interacting with tigers. While I was in the tigers' space, there was at least one staff member, often two or three, supervising my experience. It was the staff that directed me to the more risky actions with tigers.

While I am glad I received guidance on what interactions would be acceptable to the tigers, honestly, I would have been perfectly happy in one pose during my stay.

More pics of me hugging adult tigers!

More pics of me hugging baby tigers!

Publication - My Poem in Goblin Fruit!

2011-04-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to announce my poem "Grey-Eyed" is published today in Goblin Fruit, a wonderful, whimsical poetry magazine co-edited by the fabulously mischievous duo of Amal El-Mohtar and Jessica Wick. While I haven't read the entire issue (yet), I am thrilled to share a table of contents again with the incomparable Catherynne Valente and the marvelous J.C. Runolfson!

This Spring Issue marks the fifth anniversary for Goblin Fruit! But in these challenging economic times, it is difficult to sustain a paying market for poetry. So the editors are planning a giveaway to potentially reward those generous people who support speculative poetry financially and non-financially.

Read the details here!

Chiang Mai - Tiger Kingdom, Where I Hugged Young Adult Tigers

2011-04-13T05:20:00.000-07:00

The adult tigers at Tiger Kingdom have been constantly handled by people since they were cubs. So they are relatively more tame than most tigers out there. Relatively. They are still wild animals, requiring a healthy dose of respect and caution.

These are special tigers.

They let you walk beside them.

They let you lie on their backs.

They let you play

with their tails.

Though if I had actually bitten its tail, I don't think I would have survived.

They even let you

flick their ears.

Also, I realize, while this is all new for me, the tourist,

these tigers must endure this routine

every single day.

They are essentially bored

So while tigers may roar,

these tigers yawn

an awful lot,

enough to make me laugh.

I didn't think I would love adult tigers so much!

O, Tyger, Tyger,

yawning wide, in your enclosed

lounging space outside,

What tourist on your

backside lie, would allow you

keep your dignity?

Next Stop: Elephant Camp

Chiang Mai - Tiger Kingdom, Where I Hugged Baby Tigers

2011-04-12T05:05:00.000-07:00

Hugging a baby tiger is not easy.

Nor is holding one in your lap.

Baby tigers look

cuddly soft, but their fur feels

bristly. And they squirm.

You're not supposed to directly face a tiger

but what do you do when the tiger keeps facing you?

It's easier to pet a tiger if it's lying down in front of you

or on the table next to you.

Eventually, I become more comfortable interacting with the baby tigers.

I am convinced I have become a Tiger Whisperer!

But really, the tigers, who are still babies, are just ready for a nap.

It's quite exhausting

being chased by tourists who

just want to cuddle.

Next Stop: Hugging ADULT Tigers!

Chiang Mai - iBerry

2011-04-11T05:05:00.000-07:00

Meta and Mathew introduced me to iBerry, an ice cream shop in Chiang Mai with a certain original flair. When we arrived, I wondered what Mao Tze-Dong was doing in Thailand.

We were also greeted by a giant yellow sculpture

with a distinctive face,

a face decorating the cafe,

a face for sale in the store,

a face stuck on the wall outside.

This is a face that encourages people to play.

Who is this face?

Apparently it is modelled after a famous Thai actor.

But the face is not the only quirky part of iBerry.

My favorite is the hanging frame

that encourages classic poses.

Empty frame invites

an ordinary person

to recreate art.

Next Stop: Tiger Kingdom, Where I Hugged Baby Tigers!

Chiang Mai - Buddhist Rituals at Doi Suthep

2011-04-10T05:05:00.000-07:00

I am not Buddhist, but I do try to respect religious practices wherever I travel. So I followed my Thai friends through their rituals at Doi Suthep. After buying a flower, two candles, and a bundle of incense, we entered the inner walkway that surrounded the golden spire.

We silently circled three times, all the while holding the flower, candles, incense between our clasped hands.

While we walked, I heard the gentle chiming of the bells strung around the golden spire.

After exiting the walkway, we lit the incense and candles.

Then we prayed.

Prayers finished, we placed our candles in the holders (pictured above), stuck our incense sticks in the sand, and left our flowers on the trays.

Some people left their flowers with a Buddha.

candles bring the light,
incense and flowers will fade--
pray while the flame lives.

Next Stop: iBerry, my favorite place to eat (and play) in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai - Doi Suthep

2011-04-09T06:54:00.000-07:00

Whenever I travel, I always try to make it to one major sight in each city. For Chiang Mai, Thailand, it was Doi Suthep, or more accurately Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, as Doi Suthep is the name of the mountain. Famous for its golden spire, the temple at Doi Suthep is one of the major tourist attractions right at the edge of Chiang Mai.

Here I am at the entrance with one of my new Thai friends:

At the entrance, tourists have the option to either climb lots and lots of stairs or pay 50 Baht (less than $2) for the tram to the temple. We took the tram. I think this a giant statue of one of the important monks of the temple:

I love the architecture of the roof:

Of course, you take your shoes off before entering the temple, and the stone floor felt nice and cool:

And there are bells hanging from the roof:

Then I was nearly blinded by all the gold:

Each golden Buddha had a unique characteristic.

Some characteristics were a little more unusual to my American eyes.

Most of the Buddhas were golden, but this little one was encased in silver:

and this one is a smaller replica of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok:

I'm so glad I made it to Doi Suthep!

The gold of Doi Suthep
shines so powerfully, I must
close my eyes and pray.

Next Stop: Buddhist Rituals at Doi Suthep

Poetry Friday - A Haiku A Day

2011-04-08T05:54:00.000-07:00

So I've started National Poetry Month a little late this year, but I'm still determined to participate! Everyday for the rest of this month, I will write at least one haiku to accompany a picture from my recent trip to Thailand and Cambodia.

Here are the two that I've written thus far, with proper titles:

Hmong Story Cloth

A story cloth can
bridge the generation gap
and entertain, too.

Royal Fountain Dance

With a twirl, water
rises, flirts with sunbeam--SPRAY--
bows down in a swirl.

Future haiku will include tips for hugging a tiger, how to eat a tarantula, and the wonders of Angkor Wat.

For more Poetry Friday, please visit Madigan Reads.

Chiang Mai - Winter Palace of the Thai King

2011-04-08T05:27:00.000-07:00

When you roam the streets of Chiang Mai, you will often see giant posters and/or painting of the Thai king on city walls like this:

The photo above is the entrance to the Thai King's Winter Palace just outside of Chiang Mai. Here's the main palace:

The grounds were well-cultivated, with rows of flowers everywhere.

My favorite was the giant pool with dancing water

or, more formally, "The Fountain of Celestial Water of People"

so see the water dance!

With a twirl, water
rises, flirts with sunbeam--SPRAY--
bows down in a swirl.

Next stop: Doi Suthep, the famous golden temple

Chiang Mai - Mountain Village

2011-04-07T23:59:00.000-07:00

While in Chiang Mai, I befriended a group of Thai tourists, and we hired a driver to take us to several attractions. Here's the first! At the top of a mountain village right outside of Chiang Mai:

The garden showcased a range of flowers, including poppies. There was also a small, rustic one-room museum requiring 10 Baht that contained the histories of the minority peoples of Thailand, including the Hmong. On our way down, our pathway was lined with neatly arranged items for sale:

I noticed a Hmong Story Cloth for sale:

Traditionally, story cloths are sewn by the Hmong to portray the experiences of their people as they travel from land to land. I was first exposed to this custom while working with Linda Gerdner on her award-winning picture book Grandfather's Story Cloth, published by Shen's Books. The story is about a Hmong-American boy who discovers his family's history through the discovery of his grandfather's story cloth.

A story cloth can
bridge the generation gap
and entertain, too.

Finally, an assortment of birds greeted us on the way down:

some were caged, some roamed free

though none of them would fit in this little house:

Next Stop: Winter Palace of the Thai King

RIP Geraldine Ferraro & Diana Wynne Jones

2011-03-27T07:18:00.000-07:00

Two amazing women left the world yesterday, and I of course discovered it on Twitter.

Geraldine Ferraro was a name that US history will not forget. She was the first woman to ever run for Vice President of the United States. Because of her, I realized I didn't have to limit myself just because I was female. She gave the gift of empowerment.

Diana Wynne Jones is a name that fantasy readers around the world will never forget. I have The Tough Guide to Fantasyland in a prominent place on my bookshelf. Because of her, I was entertained for hours reading wonderful stories. She gave the gift of story.

Thank you both for your gifts to the world.

Fantastic Writers Eligible for Campbell New Writer Award

2011-03-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

So I'm attending Worldcon this year. It's a giant convention where the Hugo Awards are presented as well as the tiara for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Traditionally the Campbell Award is favored for writers who have published novels vs. short stories, but one can hope that awesome writing will win. This year, the number of eligible people whom I personally know is overwhelming to me, so I had to group them all, with links to their 2010 Hugo-eligible stories (if available):

Multicultural writers who create gorgeously imagined multicultural stories and poetry

So I have to admit that I am super-biased, as I met each of these lovely poet-writers before I read their fabulous poetry and gorgeous prose. However, they are also currently Nebula-nominated, so it's not just me who finds squee while reading their works.

Shweta Narayan

Nebula-nominated "Pishaach" in The Beastly Bride is not available online, nor is "Sultana Lena's Gift in Realms of Fantasy.
"Eyes of Carven Emerald" originally published in Clockwork Phoenix 3
"Kohl-eyed" in Three-Lobed Burning Eye

Re-envisioning
history to fit whims of
mechanical bird.

Amal El-Mohtar

The Honey Month (Collection of poetry and prose)
"The Green Book" (Nebula-nominated) published in Apex Magazine

With prose sweeter than
a baby's laugh, she sates minds
with The Honey Month.

My Clarion Classmates

Again, showing my bias, but I am proud of my Clarion classmates, and each of them has an extremely unique voice.

Keffy R.M. Kehrli

"The Ghost of a Girl Who Never Died" in Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show
"Daha's Son" in Fantasy Magazine
"A Well-Embroidered Heart" in Beauty Has Her Way
Also, his collection of four stories with illustrations can be downloaded here

Powerful voices
narrate his stories compelling
you to laugh and cry.

Ferrett Steinmetz

"As Below, So Above" in Beneath Ceaseless Skies
"Under the Thumb of the Brain Patrol" in Asimov's
"The Backdated Romance" in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine
"In the Garden of Rust and Salt" in GUD Magazine
"Dead Prophecies" in Three-Lobed Burning Eye

Drafting a story
each week, he's a word workhorse,
and a sub machine!

Eugene (EJ) Fischer

EJ's 2010 published story "Adrift" in Asimov's is not available online, so here's his 2009 published story ""Husbandry" in Strange Horizons
Also, EJ will be enrolling in a prestigious MFA program in the fall, so his focus will be more on writing than publishing. But what he publishes is always worth reading!

His worlds feel complete--
his darkness grabs you with his
meticulous prose.

Kat Howard

Unfortunately, none of Kat's stories are available online, but "A Life in Fictions" in Stories was recognized with an Honorable Mention by Ellen Datlow's Year's Best Horror! Yay!
Also, Kat's story "The Speaking Bone" will hopefully be published its entirety at Apex Magazine next month.

Her bright hair and smile
belies, foils her dark-lovely
sensibility.

Monica Byrne

Monica is also a playwright. While most of her stories are not online, you can read "Nine Bodies of Water" in Fantasy Magazine

Big, crazy-fearless
energy online that bleeds
through in her stories.

Paul Berger

Stereogram of the Gray Fort, in the Days of Her Glory in Fantasy Magazine (which was selected for Rich Horton's Year's Best anthology!)
Small Burdens in Strange Horizons

Sparse prose so polished
you can see the blood-sweat-tears…
but look, butterflies!

Other Awesome Writers

I feel so lucky to have engaged in interesting conversations with these Other Awesome Writers, most of whom I've met in person, many of them Clarion alums:

Tiffani Angus (Clarion 2009) - "If Wishes Were Horses" (2009)

she left the US
for UK grad school...maybe
kidnapped by the Fae?

Liz Argall (Clarion 2009) - "Dear Ms. Moon"

comic book writer
and super-fun con buddy--
her hair will eat yours

Gregory Bossert (Clarion 2010) - three stories ("The Union of Soil and Sky", "Slow Boat", "Freia in the Sunlight") published in Asimov's in 2010

Researcher and film
buff who invents musical
instruments...and writes!

Kater Cheek (Clarion 2007) - "Voice Like a Cello" (2009)

I just love talking
with Kater, curled in corner,
engaged in fun snark.

Shuana Roberts (Clarion 2009) - "The Hunt"

Quiet, persistent,
always open to learning,
listening, dancing!

Wendy Wagner - "The Secret of Calling Rabbits" is unfortunately not available online, nor her stories in Rigor Amortis, but here's "Peace Signs"

She sings opera,
writes poetry so sweetly,
all the while Tweeting.

Christie Yant - "The Magician, the Maid, and Other Stories" (which was selected for Rich Horton's Year's Best anthology!)

The only thing that's
brighter than her pink-dyed hair--
her Tweets of great cheer!

And wow, I am totally out of haiku steam. Hope I got everyone.

***UPDATED -- My sieve-like memory has failed me again. Apologizes to:

Mishell Baker (Clarion 2009) - "Throwing Stones"

While at Clarion
she carried an extra weight--
her unborn daughter!

The deadline for nominations is today, so there's still time to nominate!

Poems of Whimsy and Weird

2011-03-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

So today, I have a poem published in Stone Telling Issue #3, edited by Rose Lemberg. The theme for this issue is Whimsy, and it is available for everyone to read for free!

My poem "Rice Cooker Dreams" is listed right after "Firefly Girls," a lovely poem by Caitlyn Paxton, who has a sweet voice that disguises a rapier wit. I've read the entire issue, and all of it is fabulous! I especially enjoyed reading AND listening to Cat Valente's "The Secret of Being a Cowboy."

If you enjoy reading Stone Telling, please consider donating funds to their virtual tip jar, located at the bottom of the Table of Contents.

Read the Whimsy of Stone Telling now!

***Also, I have sold a poem to Weird Tales, the oldest speculative fiction magazine still in print today! Special thanks to Kaolin Fire, who made me wonder about "The Tastiest Part of the Brain."

Congrats to Clarion Class of 2011!

2011-03-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

I attended Clarion in the summer of 2008, and there were many wonderful and challenging moments at Clarion, but now, almost three years later, I can add another wonderful bonus about being a Clarion grad. Not only do most of my Clarion classmates actively support each other, we have also welcomed and been welcomed by various Clarion and Clarion West alumni. There is an instant bond when you meet someone who has also gone through the craziness of six weeks of daily workshop.

Congrats to the Class of 2011:

Rebecca Adams, Crystal Bolander, Jim Brady, AnneMarie Buhl, Todd Castillo, Jacob Cholak, Gillian Daniels, Peta Freestone, Dennis Ginoza, Joshua Lewis, Mark Philps, Christopher Stabback, Jasmine Stairs, Andrew Stewart, Erin Stocks, Timothy Susman, Brooke Wonders, James Worrad.

You have a fantastic team of teachers! Best of luck! And I look forward to meeting some of you at future cons!

Poetry Friday - Sharing My Happy News and Glee

2011-03-18T04:56:00.000-07:00

So earlier this week, I was stunned to discover that my poem "Life Lessons" has been awarded Fourth Place for Best Poem published by Strange Horizons in its 2010 readers' poll. Here's a link to the poll results, and you can read my poem here.

Thank you to everyone who voted for my poem! Also, thanks to Strange Horizons poetry editor Erin Keane as well as to my Clarion roommate Dana, who saw an earlier draft, when it was a drabble, a short prose piece that is exactly one hundred words. I much prefer it as a poem.

Also, Rose Lemberg, editor of Stone Telling, has released the cover and table of contents for its third issue, with a theme of Whimsy. I am excited to see my poem "Rice Cooker Dreams" listed among poems by the amazing Catherynne Valente, the luminous Caitlyn Paxton, the fabulous Jo Walton (who probably doesn't even remember meeting me, but I totally remember her), and Sonya Taaffe, whom I've never met but whose poetry I admire. In addition to poems, there will be interesting articles about poetry and a roundtable interview of Whimsy poets moderated by Julia Rios.

Stone Telling's Whimsy issue will be published within the next few weeks, but until then, here's the detailed table of contents.

Finally, I wrote a poem about this week's Glee:

Glee, you want to be
a loser like me, singing
songs and breaking free!

For more Poetry Friday, visit A Wrung Sponge!

TV - Glee - Original Song or "Glee, You Got Me"

2011-03-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

I should be finishing my blog posts about Potlatch & FogCon and posting pics & thoughts about Thailand & Cambodia and officially sharing some happy poetry news, but first I must write about Glee.

I have a love-hate relationship with Glee, which I've been watching since the beginning.

I love the premise of Glee (who doesn't love a show about underdog teenagers who learn the joys of singing?), however, how the creators chose to implement the ingredients continued to irk me. Instead of focusing solely on the kids, we get a lot of drama about the school teacher and his psychotically controlling wife. Instead of the transformation of underdog heart, we got served satire, and thus the best part about Glee was Sue Sylvester, whose scathingly politically incorrect commentary was often the highlight of each Season One episode.

But back to the original premise. When the pilot first aired, I thought Glee would be more like Fame, about underdog teenaged kids who learn how to become better musicians, and in doing so, they learn some things about life. However, the narrative focus for the kids shifted from the desperate diva underdog Rachel and became more about the quarterback and the cheerleader. Granted, the quarterback was "a good guy" who honestly loved singing and eventually got kicked off the football team, and the cheerleader became pregnant and was kicked out of the cheerleading squad, so they themselves became underdogs of sorts, but ultimately their underdog status was temporary at best.

What infuriated me was that the true unpopular underdog characters were not getting any real character conflicts and we only saw them in a school setting, never in their familial environments. Rachel with two gay dads was an amazing opportunity to explore non-nuclear, non-heterosexual family dynamics, yet we never meet her two dads (perhaps because Modern Family featuring a gay couple adopting a girl became huge? who knows). Diva Mercedes has no family, as far as we know. Asian and Other Asian are adorable, but completely on the side, almost in the wings of the stage. The only underdog whose family we meet is Kurt, and Mike O'Malley plays Kurt's very Americana heterosexual dad perfectly, struggling between his unwavering love of Kurt and struggle to understand his son, even though Kurt is so alien to what his dad had known before. The passionate but sometimes awkward parenting attempts of Kurt's dad is the second reason why I kept watching Glee, the first being Sue Sylvester.

So I continued to watch Glee, delighting in its hodge-podge-ness and satirical humor. And against my will, I began feeling for the pregnant cheerleader, as not only did the entire narrative seem to turn emotionally on her when she became a true outcast and the Glee kids all rallied around her, but the actress playing Quinn can really act. Her singing and dancing is not that strong, but she can express lots of emotion with just a subtle shift of her face.

As the episodes continued, I noticed that the best singers (Rachel & Mercedes & occasionally Artie) performed the best songs, the best actors (Quinn & Sue Sylvester & Kurt sort of) typically had the most emotional story lines, and the best dancers (Brittney & Other Asian) always stand up at the front of every group number, while the most evenly-talented triple threats (Puck & Santana) were put into the bad-ass roles.

But really, I hungered for Mercedes to shine more and to find a boyfriend or girlfriend, for Rachel to become a real flesh and blood character instead of a parody of an overachiever diva, for Asian and Other Asian to break out into an all-dance episode where they were the stars not window dressing to make the cast of Glee seem more diverse than it actually is. The fact that I can't remember the names of Asian and Other Asian reflects how completely flat their characters are. I don't blame the actors, I blame the writers. It seemed like the writers have trapped the original underdogs in their 1-dimensional roles with no room to grow as characters. I was ready to give up on Glee, especially after the fiasco of the watered-down episode about Rocky Horror Picture Show.

And finally, Glee, you got me.

The "Original Song" episode made me extremely happy. Not because Kurt finally gets an official boyfriend in the very hot and very talented Blaine, though that was extremely satisfying. Not because Mercedes actually gets a rocking' song for the first time in a long time.

I was caught because finally the underdog Rachel feels like the protagonist in the storyline. Quinn, once the sympathetic female role, has now crossed to the dark side to compete against Rachel for the love of Finn. Because Finn and Quinn challenged Rachel emotionally, she rose to the occasion. During the regionals performance, Rachel was spit spot perfect, and her first solo totally made me cry, and not because she sang it so beautifully because she sings everything beautifully, but the words were perfect, too, because for once the emotional content was completely supported by the course of events that had impacted her character in this episode.

Second song "You want to be a loser like me" was awesome, too, taking the more traditional twist of making lemons from lemonade. In creating an original song based on their painful experiences, Mr. Shue helps the kids empower themselves by embracing their loserdom. It is a fabulous performance, and when it is revealed that the slushies are confetti thrown into the faces of their audience, I absolutely cheered because it was a brilliant move, and a perfect symbolic ending to their set.

I even loved how the episode ended rather predictably with Rachel's speech. I've always thought that Lea Michele couldn't really act, and now I must revise my theory. The girl can totally act. It's difficult to do the "talking with tears" in your voice, and she totally did it. And brought tears to my eyes.

Okay, Glee, you really got me. The magic of transforming pain into powerful art and Rachel's transformation from one-note singer to a 3-D character were two storylines I totally wanted to see. Now please give Mercedes more to do. Also, I'm waiting for the dream dance sequence that's All-Asian-All-the-Time.

Theater - Metamorphosis: Junior Year by Betsy Franco

2011-03-04T13:24:00.001-08:00

I've been hopping around Southeast Asia for the past couple weeks (will post pics soon), and I returned to California just in time to see the preview of the world premiere of my friend's play!

Children's author Betsy Franco has written poetry and picture books for years, and she has been successful enough to actually make a living from her writing. During the past few years, she began writing for teen audiences, too, and I've had the pleasure and privilege to critique some of her early novel manuscripts. Her first novel, Metamorphosis: Junior Year, is a modernization of Ovid's Metamorphosis and was published last year by Candlewick. Featuring illustrations by her artist son Tom Franco, Betsy's version of Ovid transforms him into a contemporary teenager who struggles with family pressures while looking for a girlfriend. He expresses his angst through poetry and art, all the while comparing the lives of his friends to Roman myths.

Last year Betsy adapted her novel into a play produced by the Palo Alto Children's Theatre (PACT), now in its 79th year and artistically directed by Judge Luckey. The live stage version of Metamorphosis: Junior Year is directed by Rafal Klopotowski and has a cleverly designed minimalist set, white cloth walls that move side-to-side along with the actors during scene transitions. Thematically the white walls echo an artist's blank canvas, in addition to providing spaces for projections of animated art, phrases the teens were thinking or texting, and other videos. Rendered by Alan Cecil, the animated art of Tom Franco's original drawings was especially fascinating to watch.

I thought the casting was excellent, particularly the teen actors, several of whom had roles that contained dark emotional content. Finn Mayer's introverted, low-key portrayal of Ovid was spot-on, yet he was capable of ratcheting up the intensity to match the high-energy rebellious energy of Ovid's sister Thene, acted pitch-perfectly by Amelia Saliba-Long. Another character naturally embodied by the actor was Ovid's close friend Jack the jock, played by Owen Wilson. The rebellious Asian American Mei, played by Evelyn Wang, was an interesting choice to be Ovid's first crush, especially since their families were so different.

Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of watching this play was watching it while sitting next to Betsy. What I appreciated the most was the fact that even though she knew the play inside out, she was still as actively engaged as I was. She laughed when I laughed. She gasped when I gasped. When I felt my jaw dropping at certain moments, I noticed she responded with a similar expression.

It reminded me of why I write, to create these moments of emotional honesty.

The official world premiere of Metamorphosis Junior Year is tonight, Friday March 4th at 7:00 PM. The show closes on Saturday, March 12. Details at the PACT web site or Betsy's author site. Betsy plans to be at every performance, so if you go, feel free to approach her and tell her how much you loved her play!

Southeast Asia Overview

2011-02-27T22:56:00.000-08:00

So this post will be the first thing up until I return to the U.S, and as I get around to posting, links will be added. Where am I now? Somewhere in Southeast Asia. I'm hopping from place to place.

Because I promised myself that I would do almost no creative writing while traveling, I find myself compulsively writing these blog posts. Alas, while in Cambodia, my laptop did not play well with the wireless connections in my hotels, and I found myself busy just doing stuff, sometimes taking photos, hanging out making new friends, and becoming reacquainted with myself in a specific kind of solitude that is difficult to find during your day-to-day routine.

But lots of hopping from city to town to city means lots of down time that is perfect for napping or blogging or sifting through pics.

****UPDATED to add--Experiencing technical difficulties while uploading pics from Southeast Asia. Might need to wait until I return to the States****

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND

Overview of Chiang Mai, Thailand
Mountain Village
Winter Palace of the Thai King
Doi Suthep
Temple with Serious Signage
iBerry
Mae Sae Elephant Camp/Farm and Elephant Artists!
Butterfly and Orchid Farm
Tiger Kingdom, where You Can Hug Tigers!

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA

Overview of Siem Reap, Cambodia
Golden Elephant Restaurant
Angkor Wat
Tomb Raider
Golden Temple Villa

SIKHANOUKVILLE, CAMBODIA

Serendipity Beach
Sokta Beach
Bookstores
Riding a Motorcyle Taxi
Happa
Hotels

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA

Pics on the Road
Hagar
Bloom
Bookstores
Russian Market

MORE TO COME

Oveview of Chiang Mai

2011-02-27T22:00:00.000-08:00

So I've already blogged a bit about Chiang Mai here and there. The conclusion is that I would definitely love to go back. During February, the temperature was quite hot during the day and it cooled down to a comfortable 70 degrees F. I stayed in a budget-conscious, fan-cooled room with no problem (in February), and because the weather was so dry, the heat was rather bearable. The second largest city in Thailand, Chiang Mai has a laid back downtown populated with gorgeous temples (wats) several streets lined with shops and places to eat. However, if you want to see major wildlife tourist attractions, you will need to hire a driver, which you can do for about $30 a day, if you bargain hard enough. A full meal including drinks will usually be between $2-$5 per person. Also, the red trucks with the open backs are communal taxis, which for a $1-$2 can take you most places in Chiang Mai, including the famous Doi Suthep Wat.

My favorite place in Chiang Mai was probably Doi Suthep, where I was whacked on the head by a Buddhist monk. A close second and third are Mae Sae Elephant Camp, where I saw elephants paint pictures, Tiger Kingdom, where I hugged tigers.

Because I ate at mostly super touristy places, my knowledge of the restaurants in Chiang Mai is rather limited, but my favorite place to eat in Chiang Mai, easily iBerry, more for the whimsical decor, though the ice cream is quite good and a refreshing way to cool down during mid-afternoon.

First stop: Mountain Village

Southeast Asia - Chiang Mai (Part 2) - Elephants and Tigers!

2011-02-18T04:17:00.000-08:00

Today I rode an elephant and hugged a tiger. Actually, I hugged 6 tigers. And one of them ate the all-purple orchid that fell from my t-shirt. I am now brushing tiger hairs off my t-shirt. They are much shorter than some housecat hairs. Tiger fur looks plush, but it feels bristly, except, when you rest your cheek against the tiger's back and listen to the ins and outs of the tiger's breathing.

Today is also a special Buddhist holiday, and people are celebrating in Thailand, so I performed a small prayer at my local Wat and donated, too. Plus, it's raining now, which apparently is good luck. I definitely had good luck with the tigers, though the babies were more difficult to manage than the adults, interestingly enough.

When I asked why the tigers have so much white behind their ears, the tiger wranglers replied in a very matter-of-fact manner that those are their extra eyes. I suppose the inwhite circles ringed by the black tips of the ears can seem like eyes from far away. Then again, what creature with a healthy dose of self-preservation would ever want to truly stalk a tiger? Not me! But I will hug them from behind.

Special thanks to Meta and Matthew for showing me their awesome tiger pics and video! I would have definitely found the artist elephants on my own because I was so intrigued by the idea of an elephant painting with an actual paintbrush, but I wasn't sure about the tigers. Totally worth the trip!

I want to post pics and blog more, especially about the elephants, but maybe when I'm no longer paying for internet by the hour.

Southeast Asia - Chiang Mai, Thailand (Part 1)

2011-02-17T20:08:00.000-08:00

I'm live blogging from Chiang Mai, Thailand! I still can't believe I'm here. The weather is beautiful, a little on the hot side for me (yes, I am such a spoiled Northern Californian), but overall a gorgeously dry heat.

I've been to Bangkok before, but never Chiang Mai, which reminds me a little of a larger version of Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and parts of Chennai, India. The city is quite polluted from the exhaust streaming from the cars, scotters, trucks. But the downtown is extremely walkable, and there are so many wonderful places to eat, shop, pray, and and receive a massage.

Because I was not able to get internet access where I'm currently staying, this post will be short and without pictures because I'm paying for internet! At least, it's only 10 Baht per hour vs. 30 Baht per hour at most internet cafes along the main roads. Right now 30 Baht is a little less than 1 US dollar, and I suppose if you were to say, one dollar per hour is not too bad, I beg to differ, as this is Thailand. I was like this in Mexico, walking a few more blocks off the beaten path so that I only had to pay 10 pecos per hour vs. 20 or 30 pecos.

But I digress. So far, the highlights of my trip have been meeting all sort of fun and interesting people while extremely sleep deprived and jetlagged. I've befriended several Thai tourists who want to take their picture with me because I'm a real foreigner, several American and Canadian tourists who are usually surprised and excited to hear me speak English, especially when I'm hanging out with a group of Thai people.

So far, I've seen several gorgeous Thai temples (including Doi Suthep, the big famous golden one up on a mountain), a Thai mountain village, the winter palace for the Thai king, and the city of Chiang Mai. I am so enamoured with the Thai temple architectural design, as there are always some statues guarding the gates, and there seem to always be dragons guarding the roof. When I enter the temples, I am struck with the calm and peace that fills me, and even though I'm not Buddhist, I love to visit at least one temple a day and pray.

The place that struck me the most is Doi Suthep, where my wonderfully kind Thai friends, who are Buddhist, led me through the rituals: walking three times with your incense, candles and flower bud clutched between your closed palms, lighting the candles and incense and relighting them when the wind blew them out, praying before the Buddha in charge of the week day on which you were born (Thursday for me) and leaving a suitable tithe, praying and trying to lift a golden elephant with one finger twice...more on that later.

But perhaps the most memorable moment for me was kneeling in front of a Buddhist monk who sprayed holy water on me and my Thai friends, then chanted a blessing and whacked us each three times on the head with a bundle of sticks. In each of our open hands, he placed a white string, which was then tied around our wrists, for protection.

Other adventures need photos, so I will post those later...when I actually have "free" internet with my room. Might take a while.

Orion Children's Book Author and Illustrator Festival

2011-02-11T10:15:00.000-08:00

Every year for the past nine years, Sharon Levin, children's book advocate, has advertised the Orion Children's Book Author and Illustrator Festival, a free all-day event that is open to the public and benefits the Orion School, a progressive elementary school in Redwood City. This was the first year where I actually could attend, and I had a wonderful time.

When you walk around the small campus, you will see delightful murals painted on the walls of this school, inside and out. Several of them were painted by artist-in-residence Elizabeth Gomez, whose children have attended Orion for years. Many more murals were painted by students supervised by Gomez, who volunteers her time as artist. At the festival, she told me that while Orion is a public school, there is an application process, and each accepted family has to commit at least 100 hours of service each year, thus ensuring that the parents will be actively involved with their children's education.

All the participating authors and author-illustrators have generously donated their time to the festival. If they are not speaking to a full room of children and their parents, they are signing their books and meeting their audience one-on-one.

Here's my summary of the core programming:

ISABEL CAMPOY not only told stories but she also sang the song "Ten Little Puppies" in the original Spanish!

"I realized my jaguar was blue in the soul."

"She, being the little one, is always tricking the big one. I like to think that those who are short can use their intelligence to succeed."

The folktale trickster
is often the little one,
brains conquering brawn.

ALMA FLOR ADA is a masterful storyteller, her voice resonant, her demeanor accepting of everything, even the little girl who did not want to sit in the audience but stood right next to Alma.

"Learn another language. You can make twice as many friends and go to twice as many places."

"It's never too late to begin writing. When we write, we make things happen that have never happened before. Writing helps with healing. Everyone is a writer. Everyone is an author. Everyday you create one new page in your life."

Everyday you write
a brand new page in your life.
Keep flipping pages.

PAMELA TURNER shared the joys of science! She had some of the cutest slides about animals (frogs, gorillas and dogs), and she is going to Australia to swim with the dolphins.

"Frogs are like sponges and their skin is very sensitive to water. They breathe through their skin."

"When I met Fearless [a rescued orphan baby gorilla named so because he loved to climb high in the trees], he hooted at me. I later learned that that's the sound that a young gorilla makes to an older gorilla."

Best Kid "Question" for Pam -- "When I was going to the bathroom, I saw you."

You *can* raise baby
gorillas! You *can* study
frogs for a living!

MARIA VAN LIESHOUT, born and raised in Holland, self-identifies as an illustrator first and an author second. She showed us several side by side comparisons of her childhood art with her published illustrated art, and the similarities are fun and whimsical.

"The person I was when I was younger isn't all that different from what I am now."

"Colors have power because they can evoke strong emotions."

Maria asked: "How does blue make you feel?"
Kid 2 said: "Sad."
Kid 1 said: "Happy."

How does blue make
you feel? Happy, sad, angry,
mad. You are all right!

KATHRYN REISS, the one novelist at the festival, explained her process of writing and revising her mystery novels. She showed the various different stacks of handwritten drafts of her early work as well as the different covers of her books.

"Forty years later, I'm still writing the same story."

"You have to write the book that you want to read."

"You don't always get it right the first time."

Forty years later,
I am still writing the same
story--mystery!

ELISA KLEVEN spoke with such charm, sharing slides of her childhood and then drawing a character that the children in the audience help her create.

"When I was a kid, I wanted to live in a magical world. My brother told me, 'You can't do that.' But I did. I made my own."

"I have two friends at home who don't speak English, but I know when she's happy because she purrs."

When you write or draw,
you make magic--you create
your own special world.

YUYI MORALES brought her bag of surprises! Full of Mexican toys! She demonstrated them and explained the history, integrating her memories. So fun!!

"You never know what you will find in your bag of surprises."

"Senor Calavera insists that we read a story, so make your ears ready to listen."

I'm going to tell
the story of my toy.
How does it work? See!

JON AGEE had a magically effortless manner of drawing and speaking at the same time! His work space was projected onto a large screen, so everyone in the audience could easily see. In this pic, he was illustrating phrases that are palindromes.

"Play with perspective. Put things in places where they don't belong."

"Once upon a time is over-used. Unless you use once upon a frog."

Kid Question for Jon: "How do you draw so well?"
Jon's answer: "Doing it over and over and over again. It's true."

Once upon a frog,
a bear learns a magic trick
from an old rabbit.

All throughout the day, I felt this wonderful lightness, and I realized the reason was because my day began and ended with spoken stories, whether it be stories that were also formally written and published or informal stories of the speakers' creative lives.

Also, I noticed that the one person who worked the longest hours was the sign language interpreter, who translated for every single speaker. I took pictures, but her hands were blurry because her fingers danced while she spoke.

Watching so many authors interact so joyously with their target audiences was a fabulous reminder of why I wanted to write for children. I left the Orion festival with my head full of stories and my eyes renewed with wonder.

Legar Salon LOVES Locks of Love

2011-02-07T08:17:00.000-08:00

Every couple years or so I cut my waist-length hair and donate it to Locks of Love, a nonprofit that accepts donated hair and transforms them into wigs for underserved children who have lost their hair. This year my friend H, whom I have known since she was three years old, also wanted to donate her hair to Locks of Love. So we made an appointment together at a local salon called Legar Salon.

Here's my before photo:

If you want to donate your hair, it needs to be "virgin" hair, which means no chemicals (no bleach, dyes, perms, straighteners). Also, the donated hair needs to be clean, tied in a ponytail or braid, at least 10 inches, though the longer the better.

Measuring my hair:

Established in 2007, Legar Salon is located in Palo Alto on California Ave., right next to Printer's Inc. Cafe. It currently employs around 30 people, and I can personally vouch that the staff is very warm and welcoming. Each month Legar's co-owner John Leach volunteers his time to give one person a free haircut, as long as that person is donating the shorn hair to Locks of Love. With over ten years of experience as a professional hair stylist, John is super nice, and he even took these photos using his iPhone.

Here's my after photo:

In the end I donated about 16 inches of hair, and H donated over 10 inches. It's a relief to let go of all that hair, but wow, is my neck super-warm now.

Good bye, hair! I hope
you protect your next owner
and make her happy.

So if you're in need of a great haircut and will be in Palo Alto, definitely consider Legar Salon!

Save Our Libraries!

2011-02-05T09:30:00.000-08:00

There is an international need to support our libraries. California libraries are in danger of having their funding cut. People in the United Kingdom are rallying today to Save Our Libraries!

Libraries saved me as a kid. Every library I visited was my sanctuary, a place where all things could be possible, a place where ignorance was banished and bullies were silenced, a place where I could step into the shoes of other characters, live adventures, achieve their dreams.

They are worth saving because libraries will save not only past and present generations but future ones to come.

I want to say more, but I don't have the time, so here's my comparison of two local libraries.

Poetry Friday - Give Back

2011-02-04T12:30:00.000-08:00

Every Friday is Poetry Friday in the kidlit blogosphere, and for the first time, I'm joining in the fun!

Today's poem is something I wrote prompted by Susan Taylor Brown's blog. It was supposed to be a list poem, with the prompt "Give Back."

Give Back?

silver mirror
black chair
silver comb
black hair

see it curl
down my spine
below my waist--
it's all mine!

silver shears
shoulder shove
quick snip for
locks of love

Yes, I will be donating my hair, something I do every two years or so. Right now my hair is the longest it's ever been, and I am more than ready to give it away. This year I will have a partner-in-crime!

More Poetry Friday posts can be found today at Dori Reads.

Happy Lunar New Year! or How to be a Golden Rabbit Writer

2011-02-03T08:44:00.000-08:00

To my beloved family, fantastic friends, and wonderful readers of this blog:

Out with the Year of Tigers and Tiger Moms, and in with Year of the Rabbit! The Golden Rabbit, specifically. According to my mom (who is not at all superstitious, yet somehow she knows these kinds of things), the Golden Rabbit is all about luck (because of the rabbit) and prosperity (because the rabbit is golden).

While this is a delightful concept, the reality is that the foundation of luck requires persistence, patience and, to borrow Thomas Edison's word, perspiration.

Here's how I'm applying these principles, in reverse order, to my writing life, to become a Golden Rabbit Writer:

PERSPIRATION

I hate sweating, feeling overheated that my brain will burst. Yet those times that I actually bother to exert myself to the point of perspiring, I usually end up feeling wonderful because I have pushed myself out of my comfort zone. Perspiration yields results. If you write a 1000 words a day (roughly 5 pages), by the end of the month, you will have about 30,000 words (roughly 150 pages), which is half a draft of a young adult novel.

But wait, you say, the rewriting of those words is what matters most. So if you revise 5 pages every day, then by the end of the month, you will have finished revising about 150 pages, which is again about half the size of a young adult novel. Of course, to be consistently creative at the absolute highest level on a daily basis is unrealistic, as life (whether it be a day job or illness or family obligations or whatever) will interfere with our daily capacity to create. We are not machines. However, it's nice to remember that little tasks add up to overcome one giant goal. Stay focused on one word at a time.

In this Golden Rabbit year, I refuse to be a shy rabbit that believes that my words are without value. I will continue to wrestle with words every single day. Maybe it will be thousands of words in a veritable deluge of creative flow. Maybe it will be just two, when everything feels blocked and my muse refuses to visit. But every day I will confront that my creative space, whether it be a virtual document swimming with text or a blank paper page ready to be blackened by my fountain pen.

show up every day
dressed for battle, stretch to give
ninety-nine percent

PATIENCE

I am not a patient person. The more I self-identify as a writer, the more I realize how impatient I really am. Especially waiting in internet time. Even though many magazines have adopted online submission systems, the reality is that editors are busy people and reading your submission and getting back to you is a tiny item on their giant list of to dos. With the advent of ebooks, so many new writers I know seem to think self-publishing seems like a viable option because waiting months to hear back from an editor can seem inefficient, not to mention painful. However, I still believe in the value of working with an experienced and passionate editor whose insight on your work can help you elevate it from good to great.

Also, as a result of grad school, Clarion and other critiquing experiences, I am less patient because my critical eye has been sharpened to the point where I need to tone it down, especially when it comes to my looking at my own work. My revision goal used to be "Make it good. Aim for great." Now it is "Make it suck less." I still want my work to be great, but when all you can see are the flaws, sometimes you need to minimize them. Sometimes you need to be reminded (again and again) that there is an element of good, no matter how microscopic, in what you create.

In this Golden Rabbit year, I will abandon the impatience of the rabbit. Whenever I feel antsy or too self-critical, I will fill myself with gratitude. I will share this gratitude with people who have unknowingly inspired me. I will count my blessings and leap with them like shorn sheep. And every day, I will say thank you to someone new.

stay in the moment
let go of expectations
celebrate small joys

PERSISTENCE

I am stubborn. You might not realize this because I actively try to be flexible and go-with-the-flow in social situations, but when I am passionate about something, it is extremely difficult to change how I feel. Even as a stubborn person, it's easy to feel discouraged while seeking publication because writing, especially writing fiction, is inherently inefficient. You write thousands of words in your first draft all the while knowing these words will not survive the second, third, or twentieth draft. You spend weeks hacking at your 90,000-word manuscript (about 444 pages) to revise it to a more streamlined 60,000 words (about 250 pages). When you have that draft, you must revise again. And again. And again. You can easily work for years (yes, years) to produce a book that can be easily consumed in a few hours. Is it worth it? Yes, because in the end you will reach that one person who "gets" your work. Yes, because in the interim, the fleeting high of achieving flow in the creative process is worth the daily lows of perspiration and, sometimes, blood and tears.

In this Golden Rabbit year, nothing will derail me from my writing path. Even with my literary academic training, I feel no shame in sharing my passion for young adult and children's literature, and I proudly write fantasy and science fiction, historical fiction, even contemporary realistic fiction, as long as I can laugh at it. I will continue to hop hop hop towards my goals, even if I have to hop sideways (hello, MFA), diagonally (hello, Clarion, Chautauqua, & Napa), and backwards (hello, Job Search). I will stop for food and sleep when my body demands and consciously take care of myself because who wants to hop on a broken foot? No matter the obstacles in my path, I will forgive myself for failing, pick myself up, brush myself off, and KEEP GOING, like a certain pink bunny, drumming my own rhythms, keeping it fun all along the way.

In doing so, I will continue to cheer on my fellow rabbit writers and tortoise poets working in parallel and collaboration. Writing is not a competition, even if the numbers pertaining to sales, advances, and awards make it seem so. Our writing paths are ultimately different, personalized, and while the pulls of "what's hot" in the community may tempt you to chase the next shiny-new-trend (hello and good-bye, vampires, dystopias, tiger moms), the best thing is to stay focused on your own creative journey. Stay true to your vision, and write, revise, rewrite.

The only competition I am cultivating is with myself. Artistically, I want to continue experimenting with voices, play with sentences and themes, and spin stories and poetry that can be terrifying (in a good way) to write. Last year I received 90 rejections for my writing, a huge percent for poetry; I also received several non-rejections, some resulting in publication. This year, I want to receive 111 rejections with the goal that at almost half would be for fiction. But ultimately, as long as I can string together words whose music pleases me, as long as I can edit a paragraph to place of resonance, as long as I continue to finish and release my creations, imperfectly messy but uniquely me, into the wilds of the slush piles, I will be satisfied.

path is overgrown
with weeds seeding doubt…chin up!
and never give up!!

Thank you for reading. I hope that your Golden Rabbit year brings you prosperous good luck!

Sincerely,
Emily

Five-Plus-One Things I Was Taught at Clarion

2011-01-26T20:42:00.000-08:00

My Clarion instructor Jim Kelly has encouraged all Clarion alums to post "Five Things I Learned at Clarion." So without further ado, I wrote haiku:

Week 1:

Embrace your weirdness.
Transform your poems
into arias, and sing.

If you've always lived in mainstream communities where you've been constantly told that you're a little weird, and suddenly you are surrounded by people who will actively debate with you on which is the better Star Trek series, quote Star Wars lines at you, and/or will totally sing Disney songs with you at the drop of a hat, it is an amazing feeling. The weirder the better.

Week 2:

If your story has
five beginnings, try writing
five endings. Or ten.

Some people have the ability to write beautiful first drafts. I am not one of those people. I spin and hammer and hammer and spin, walk in circles to ambush my characters, and still the first draft ends up as this tangled mess of ideas meshed between snippets of dialogue and airy, broad-stroked descriptions. Not a lot of it makes sense, even to me. While at Clarion, it was extremely difficult for me to share such rawness, when often I didn't even know what I was trying to do, but in the end, I was glad I shared. My stories start to become readable in the third, fourth, or fifth drafts. And ultimately, that's okay.

Week 3:

Create characters
who differ from you at least
in three major ways.

I always try to create characters that are obviously different from me. Your characters are like your children, as they are born from you, but they are not you. They will have their individual voices and opinions and will do whatever they want to do with or without your permission. Find compassion for them, even the villains, especially the villains, and give yourself leeway to make them squirm.

Week 4:

Write more visceral,
which is different from concrete.
Twist your reader's gut.

One of my constant challenges as a writer is translating my abstract ideas into concrete images, but I was introduced to the idea of writing visceral, which is something I fear I still do not successfully achieve. But it is something that is required of truly memorable stories, those that will latch into the psyche of your readers, who are forever changed afterward, who cannot unsee what they have seen.

Week 5:

So fairy-human
interactions can stand in
for race relations?

The only non-Asian-inspired story that I wrote at Clarion portrayed fairies in high school. Not the twee Tinkerbell Disney-inspired fairies. These were The Fae, who bullied the humans, and all humans were supposed to be of the same race, so there were not supposed to be any racial relations whatsoever. But sometimes the multicultural lens can still be easily superimposed into my narrative. It's a magical moment, when a reader tells you something about your story that works, especially if you never consciously planned it.

Week 6:

Come on, Emily,
you can come up with better
sentences. Make sense!

By week 6, you will be burnt. You will probably not want to write a sixth story, or a fifth, or a fourth, or a third. But I gave myself this ambitious goal of attempting six new stories in six week. So I wrote a story that was an absolute mess, messier than most of my first drafts. Yet I came away with something raw that has a glimmer of hope, and I am revising it now to see if it can truly be a story.

These were some lessons learned I gleaned from feedback on my Clarion stories. If you ask my other Clarion classmates, they will probably give you five (or six) different and completely valid points. This is the nature of Clarion, as it is a communal experience layered on top of a uniquely personal, creative journey.

So if you want to be more serious about your writing, going to Clarion will give you time and space to focus on reading, critiquing and writing speculative fiction. What you get out of it will completely depend on you.

Clarion will help
accelerate your writing
journey. Go for it!

Applications are currently being accepted for both Clarion and Clarion West.

This year's faculty line-up for Clarion in San Diego looks amazing: Nina Kiriki Hoffman, John Scalzi, Elizabeth Bear, David Anthony Durham, John Kessel and Kij Johnson.

There's also Clarion West based in Seattle, and their instructors this year are Paul Park, Nancy Kress, Margo Lanagan, Minister Faust, L. Timmel Duchamp, and Charles Stross.

Clarion South in Australia will also be accepting applications, but for early 2012.

Books vs. The Media

2011-01-13T15:54:00.000-08:00

I am provoked by two book-related, media-driven screw ups that happened within the past week:

1) Dear Today Show producers: You are incredibly short-sighted.

For years the winners of the Newbery and the Caldecott have always been interviewed on the Today Show. However, this year they were displaced. By Snooki. By a random reality-show celebrity, who happened to write a book that was probably published because of celebrity-dom.

But here's a little context: The winners of the Newbery and Caldecott will be read by our children, and our children's children, and their children, who will not know Snooki. But they will know the books awarded by the Newbery and Caldecott committees. Because literary excellence will always last.

2) Even more insidious, how context is king:

I've known about this article since it was first released on January 8, 2011. However, I did not want to respond to this article because I found it disturbing that someone roughly of my generation and similar to my cultural background would be so extremist and overgeneralizing. My dismay grew when I discovered this person is a professor at Yale and therefore supposedly educated and well-informed. I resolved not to buy her book, nor to read it. Her voice is only one of many, and I hoped that if I ignored this voice, others will, too, and the flames will die.

Yet today more people are feeding the fire. I am still seeing and hearing references to Amy Chua's article "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior" in the Wall Street Journal, and after so many reminders, I absolutely needed to write a personal response to that article.

However, after I initially drafted this response, I was directed to an article "Mother, Superior?" by Jeff Yang who had interviewed Chua about the Wall Street Journal article. In her response to his questions, Chua revealed:

"I was very surprised," she says. "The Journal basically strung together the most controversial sections of the book. And I had no idea they'd put that kind of a title on it. But the worst thing was, they didn't even hint that the book is about a journey, and that the person at beginning of the book is different from the person at the end -- that I get my comeuppance and retreat from this very strict Chinese parenting model."

Now that I know what Chua's book is really about, I would definitely read it. But what is most disturbing is the fact that the Wall Street Journal took Chua's words and manipulated the passages out of context so that her book (and thus the author) would be perceived as more extremist than it really is. Was the Journal trying to be controversial to gain attention? But in doing so, the Journal is propagating and reinforcing overly simplistic stereotypes about what is a Chinese mother and what is a Western mother. Really, mothers are people with a wide range of beliefs in how to raise their children.

If this had been an interview, perhaps more context could have been provided, could have given a more accurate portrayal of Chua'a book. However, because Amy Chua's name is on the byline, we as readers assume that she herself had written and titled the article. Yet, apparently that was not the case. I feel terrible for Amy Chua, who must be receiving loads of negative response for that article (which she didn't even title!). On the positive side, notoriety does sell books. But what a price.

For context, please read "Mother, Superior?" by Jeff Yang at the SF Gate.

If you haven't read it, here's "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior" by Amy Chua at the Wall Street Journal

My Chinese Mother

2011-01-13T15:27:00.000-08:00

Dear Wall Street Journal people who constructed Amy Chua's article "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior": Please do not overgeneralize. Please refrain from using extreme stereotypes. They can be wrong.

I have a Chinese mother.

She let me attend sleepovers. She drove me over to my friends' houses all the time. She sewed costumes for me for multiple school plays. She let me watch TV AND play computer games. When I told her I wanted to learn how to play the guitar, she took me to the local music store and insisted on buying one of the nicer Yamaha models with a fancy hard case, when I protested that a cheaper model would suffice. She gave me complete freedom in my extra curriculars, so I chose to be in choir, yearbook, literary magazine, recycling club, Key Club, and Academic Decathalon. Yes, I choose to be in Academic Decathalon, and I loved it.

At the age of ten, when I came home with my first-and-only-academic B (it was my first year at a new school and my first attempt at learning Spanish), I was literally in tears, much more traumatized than she. All she said was, "Getting a B is not the end of the world. Just keep working hard and try your best. You can do better next semester." And I did.

Yes, she enrolled my brother and myself in private piano lessons when we were seven and eight, but my Chinese mother allowed my brother to quit piano after a few years, and she even encouraged me to quit because I wasn't practicing everyday. That's when I insisted I loved to play and started to practice every other day (my love for piano was strong, but my inherent laziness as a child was stronger). Because I declared my passion for the piano, my parents supported me and paid for my piano lessons until I left for college. Thus, while she had her opinions expressed as suggestions on what was the best path to take, my very Chinese mother never forced me to do anything I didn't want to do.

While growing up, I was academically one of the top students in my class not because my parents told me that I must be, but because I demanded it of myself. As a teenager, I participated in piano competitions at the state-level because I loved the thrill of performing in competition and wanted to see how far I could go. While I attended Chinese school on weekends, I stopped when I realized that the teachers, who were not accredited nor trained but merely parents of some students, were ineffective. As an undergrad, I finished my pre-med prerequisites by my second year and decided not to apply to medical school because that lifestyle would have crushed my soul. Because I had a B.A. in English, my mother suggested that I become a lawyer, which I vetoed because I knew it would crush my soul. My Chinese parents have always allowed me choose my own path in life, and for that I am forever grateful.

But wait, does my mother conform to the stereotype at all? Is she "really Chinese"?

Yes, my mom is a Chinese mother who values education above almost everything else. Like my Chinese father, she tested into the best primary schools, then tested into the best high schools, then tested into the best university, where they tested into the hardest, and therefore best, science/engineering departments. My parents came to America as poor graduate students, where they had to adjust to a language and culture so different from what they had previously known, and yes they stayed in America to raise their American-Born Chinese children. They held high standards for themselves and for their children, but again, they never forced us to do anything we really didn't want to do.

Yes, my mom very seldom praised me because a "good job" from her is like "the best job ever" from everyone else, including the Chinese and Americans.

Yes, my mom has told me throughout my life that I needed to lose weight, to the point where now it is absolutely true.

While I will not deny that part of the reason for why I was driven to succeed academically has been to gain the approval of my parents, I did so not because they demanded it of me. I did so because I was aware of the major sacrifices that my parents made in their lives to live here in America so that I could have better opportunities in my life.

Yes, I am a child of immigrants.

The danger of overgeneralizing is that there are always exceptions to the rules, and cultivating the model minority for Chinese people is not healthy, nor is it accurate. Why must race be superimposed onto what is clearly the stereotype of the overachieving parent who is raising overachieving children?

No, my mother is not perfect. No one is perfect. And yes, sometimes we fight. But I would not trade my mother for anyone else because she has raised me to be the person I am today. Both my mother and my father are amazing people who have devoted their lives to give me the freedom to pursue happiness in my own way. Thanks to my Chinese parents, I am living my own unique American Dream.

Signal Boost - Multicultural Weird Anthology Leviathan 5 by VanderMeers

2011-01-12T09:33:00.000-08:00

Jeff and Ann VanderMeer are amazing anthologists, and their award-winning Leviathan series focuses primarily on the weird and fantasy. I am really looking forward to reading Leviathan 5.

What makes Leviathan 5 special and unique?

stories will be weird and fantasy, written by "newer" writers, meaning a maximum of 2 published books
15 to 20 translators will be working on this book to encourage stories from writers who do not write in English
Ann and Jeff have waived their advance as editors b/c they love this project so much

Thus, this collection promises to be extremely diverse, full of stories from around the world that will stretch and challenge the reader in rethinking what is weird and.or what is fantastic.

Plus, Jeff will be personally funding Leviathan 5 with all his royalties from two of his recently published books, Third Bear (a short story collection) and Monstrous Creatures (non-fiction collection).

You can buy Jeff's books and read more details on his blog here.

Congrats to the ALA award winners!

2011-01-10T11:45:00.000-08:00

I didn't plan to be up at 6:30 AM, but apparently my subconscious was excited about tuning into the ALA midwinter awards. I waited 15 minutes to view the Webcast, and after a kind soul (Thanks, Sharon!) helped solve some technical difficulties, I was able to watch and listen to the results in real-time. Also, thanks mostly to Nina and Jonathan's excellent Mock Newbery, I have actually read several of the winners this year.

If I was physically at the awards ceremony, you would have heard me screaming excitedly in support of several authors and/or books. In lieu of screaming, I Tweeted. But Tweeting wasn't enough. Thus, I have written haiku:

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi winning the Printz Award!

Sci-fi dilemma:
strip the ship to survive or
stop to save the girl?

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia winning both the Coretta Scott King Award AND a Newbery Honor!

The summer of Black
Panther camp yields poetry,
heart-break. No Disney.

Dark Emperor by Joyce Sidman illustrated by Rick Allen winning a Newbery Honor!

Good poetry can
illuminate. Great poems
will transport you, too.

Come explore the night--
twirl with porcupettes, follow
the wandering efts.

The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan illustrated by Peter Sis winning the Pura Belpre Award!

If you keep writing,
even with a pen name, your
words might become real.

Ling and Ting by Grace Lin winning a Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor!

I'm Ling, and I'm Ting.
We are Little Asian Girls--
we are not the same.

will grayson, will grayson by John Green and David Levithan for winning a Stonewall Honor!

Just because you share
the same name does not mean you
share anything else.

Sir Terry Pratchett winning the Margaret A. Edwards Award!

Dear Sir Terry P,
I'm so am happy to squee
for humorous fantasy!

Congrats to all the winners listed at the ALA web site!

Also, adding a link to "What Happened to Your Book Today" a poem for all children's authors by Kate Messner. It's poignant and reminds me why I write for young adults and kids.

Rise Reviews - Stone Telling Issue #1

2011-01-04T19:20:00.000-08:00

Rise Reviews is a new site dedicated to reviewing speculative fiction and poetry that is usually missed by the more established reviewers. In a review of Stone Telling Issue #1, mburgh at Rise Reviews neatly articulates my original intent in writing my poem "Self-Portrait" which is described as "compelling and strange."

Read the review of Stone Telling Issue #1.

Also, in case you haven't read it, Issue #2 of Stone Telling, with a heart-breaking theme of Generations, is live.

The New Year

2011-01-04T18:50:00.000-08:00

I'm not making any real resolutions this year, except to let go of expectations and focus on moving forward in transforming my ideas into action, fiction, poetry.

That said, I do have goals, which I think are smaller and more pragmatic than lofty pie-in-the-sky resolutions. My biggest goal is receiving at least 111 rejections for my writing this year.

Wish me luck!

Movie - Tron and Tron: Legacy

2010-12-17T12:27:00.000-08:00

So the always-fun Morgan Dempsey had an awesome Tron Party, where we watched the original Tron movie on DVD and then watched the new release of Tron: Legacy in 3-D, which could have easily been satisfying in 2-D, except the 2-D version was already sold out way in advance. I enjoyed watching the movies back-to-back, and here are my reactions.

My Impressions of Tron

I remember seeing it as a child and being wowed by the concept of being able to interact with the programs in your own computer, and while the movie itself was released in 1982, I believe it still translates well in 2010, almost 30 years later. As a child I remember having problems distinguishing between the Jeff Bridges' character of Flynn "The User" from Tron the ultimate program, and in 2010, I still had problems sometimes differentiating the two. It's the glowy suits hiding the hairstyles that made everyone look the same. What I did not remember was the very strong bromance between Flynn and his creation Tron, even though the writers did try to undercut this in the end with a love triangle between the two males and the one female character, which happens to be a program, in the movie. Also, I loved how the giant floating two-legged ships could reconstruct themselves like Transformers.

My Impressions of Tron: Legacy ***Warning Spoilers***

Since I had already heard that the sequel was not so good, I was prepared for "pretty and plotless" so wasn't disappointed, just a little exasperated during those moments when the plot holes gaped so much that even I could spot them. For this movie, they updated the suits from blue lights vs. red lights to white lights vs. red lights, a change that I'm not sure I like, as it makes things literally more black and white, and therefore much more stark. While visually the higher contrast reads much better on the screen, I'm not sure if thematically I like this change, though it does make sense in terms of Daddy Flynn looking for the zen mindset.

Jeff Bridges had the best role, playing both The-new-and-improved-CLU and Flynn-the-User-turned-Zen-Guru. The actor who played Sam Flynn had some great hijinx and action moments in the "real world" and when he first enters The Grid. However, once he is saved by Cora, the rest of the movie was all Jeff Bridges and his scary computer-generated young face, a new virtual alternative to plastic surgery. However, in this version, all the main characters kept their hairstyles, so I could easily tell who was who.

Positives:

The first third of the movie was a visual feast. The lightcycles were beautifully updated, and there is also a Tron version of the Batmobile that I totally covet. I also want to live in Old Man Flynn's starkly white and crystal Zen house, where you can walk through the floor-to-ceiling window with a spectacular view of the electronic city.
The music was great!
I was hoping for "Son of Tron" or, as Mr. Mike so aptly riffed "Spawn of Tron." It would be so awesome to develop the children, but no, it was all about Daddy and his other children, the programs and the adopted foundling human-program-hybrid daughter. However, I do like the theme that the human creator that must atone for his pride in pursuit of program perfection.

Annoyances:

The very few women characters were completely one-dimensional. Black-wigged Cora being a naive-oh-she's-so-special-she's-the-only-one-left-of-her-kind Mary Sue. White-wigged mysterious femme fatale predictably betraying our young (and old) heroes.
The slow pacing and obvious plot holes of the last two thirds of the movie made me audibly sigh, much to the amusement of those around me.
Seriously, Tron the character had only one line in the entire movie? We only saw his face once, and that was in flashback? Could we bring back more of the bromance between Tron and Flynn in the original movie and develop more conflict about Tron's inner struggle for betraying his User? This is where a son or spawn of Tron could have been very useful.

So if you're looking for a visual feast and no more, Tron: Legacy will definitely satisfy, especially, I believe in traditional 2-D. Otherwise, Tangled is a more solidly executed (if still princess predictable) offering from Disney.

Write-Up - Heavy Medal Mock Newbery

2010-12-16T20:59:00.000-08:00

One of my absolute favorite events is my local annual Mock Newbery, organized by Oakland children's librarian Nina Lindsay and her colleagues Sharon and now Jonathan Hunt, who drove hours to co-chair this event.

Around noon, 15 people arrived, librarians, teachers, booksellers/editors, people who had served on awards committees, and me. In fact, this year I felt a little abashed, as I began with "I'm Emily. I'm not a librarian. I've not been on any committees. (well, okay, Sharon Levin, I'm a writer, but still) I'm here because I love children's books." Which is the bond that ties us all together--we all love children's books.

One great thing about this particular Mock Newbery is that it is led by people who have actually chaired and/or participated in past Newbery committees, so the meeting is run as if we were the actual Newbery committee.

After Nina and Jonathan explained the official rules, we spend hours talking about the books. The discussion was lively, and we did our best to acknowledge both the strengths and weaknesses of each book. Beginning with strengths is especially important as sometimes all it takes is for one voice to vehemently dis a book with a statement like "I can't see how this book is at at all distinguished" and those who loved the book might feel silenced. I felt that way a little with Ellen Potter's The Kneebone Boy, which I loved because the voice felt so fresh and fun.

This Mock Newbery discussion reminded me of when a moment I was in my M.F.A. program. I took a contemporary fiction class, where we read mostly books published within the past 10 years. I remember being rather shocked to learn that my absolutely favorite book on the reading list was a book that my professor personally did not like. However, he thought it was well-crafted and uniquely different from most of what was published out there, and he wanted us to be exposed to a wide range of well-crafted books.

Just because you loved a book does not mean that that book was excellently crafted. And the reverse can be true. Just because you hated or were indifferent to a book does not mean that it was not also excellently crafted.

Excellence and distinguished qualities are not easily quantified. Rather, they are qualified and extremely subjective, which makes this process of determining what is most excellent and most distinguished sometimes heartbreaking and sometimes fascinating in its unpredictability.

So please do read The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter, if you like funny, self-aware narrative voices that will occasionally directly address and command the reader. Fortunately, my other favorites (A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner and One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia) were Mock Honored (along with They Called Themselves KKK by Susan Campbell Bartoletti). Our Mock Winner was gorgeously crafted Dark Emperor by Joyce Sidman, and I loved that our winner was a small collection of poems accompanied by nonfiction text. Hurray for poetry!

Read more at the Heavy Medal Blog.

Where You Can Read My Poems

2010-12-13T17:03:00.000-08:00

Right now my main focus is writing fiction, but I also write poetry. Sometimes people like my poems enough to purchase and publish them. The fabulous Rose Lemberg was the first editor this year to buy one of my poems ("Self-Portrait"), which is published in the first-ever issue of Stone Telling, which you can read and/or hear here.

My main poetry project this year is a collection of poems inspired by Asian mythologies, which I know very little about. As I was researching Asian goddesses and spectacular beasts, a myriad of voices from ancient Greek mythology (ironically many of them were characters I never liked) ambushed me en masse and said, "You must write us." So I did.

And one of these poems has been sold to Erin Keane at Strange Horizons! Published today, "Life Lessons" is inspired by a character (actually two characters) from Greek mythology. Guess who? If you leave a comment with an answer (correct or otherwise) on my blog, you will receive a prize! Those who post the correct answer(s) will receive a bonus.

Read my poem "Life Lessons" at Strange Horizons!

Write-Up - World Fantasy Convention 2010

2010-11-04T11:01:00.000-07:00

My World Fantasy experience started out as a journey full of uncertainty and ended up with a warm feeling of how wonderful is this community of speculative fiction writers.

During the summer of 2008, I attended the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop, and I met seventeen fantastic writers who through example taught me this important lesson about my own writing: Embrace your weirdness. In fact, the weirder, the better.

One of the best things about attending a major science fiction and/or fantasy convention is the assurance that I will see at least one of my Clarionmates. Here are my Clarion '08 friends when we reunited the first night: the always-hilarious Keffy Kehrli, the always-fastidious Paul Berger, me, and the always-completely-honest Ferrett Steinmetz. Photo taken by the always-awesome Gini, Ferrett's wife.

So in solidarity, we all attended Paul's first ever World Fantasy reading.

Make new friends but keep
the Clarion ones who know
your stories' secrets.

Here's the always-fabulously-punk Catherynne Valente with her always-charming Dmitri at the mass author signing. Cat is holding her first official map for one of her books, and this weekend she celebrated the launch of her newest novel The Habitation of the Blessed published by Night Shade Books. I bought the tenth copy! I read it and loved it. Will post a review soon.

My roommates during the con inspired me with their awesomely positive energy. Morgan Dempsey is a charter member of the crazy-fun Inkpunks (Sandra, Christie, Erika, Adam, John R, Wendy), most of whom I met briefly in person at WFC, and Jaym Gates takes no prisoners as she is not only a writer but she also is editing three anthologies and a magazine. If you don't know who they are now, you soon will!

I wrote a separate post on the World Fantasy Awards Banquet, so here is a wall of other memories: Meeting up with other fantastic Clarion and Clarion West alums (Liz, Shauna, Leonard, Heather, Tracie, Adam, Jack, John R, Andy, and many more), listening to live readings (Paul, Cat, Sandra, John R, Andy, Steven, Jacob, and many more), comparing MFA programs with Felicity and Nick, talking children's books with Leanne, laughing with Laura, getting tattooed by Nina, promising Leslie I would visit her and speak Mandarin to the mother of her daughter-in-law, walking with Cat as part of her Cat Pack and sometimes being mistaken for her from the back (it's our hair, long and black), admiring Mike's skeleton shoes, discussing with Chesya the difference between the African and Asian diasporas, witnessing the end of the Nobody-off when Ferrett signed Brent's iPad, watching Temptest's scene by scene re-enactment of a New Kids on the Block video, congratulating Paolo for having the year of his life and threatening to sell my copy of the first edition of his book, meeting Mike and Anita for the first time and laughing as if we've known each other for years, wishing Christie a happy birthday and indirectly providing the star that matches her hair, being dragged by Karen and Chuck to get my photo taken by Beth (thanks, guys), telling Barry that I'm afraid, finally finding Farah after searching for her in vain during the entire con, wearing Jeremy's posse t-shirt, being given a copy of the magazine EV by its editor John K, walking between the two oh-so-elegant Liz's and feeling short which then made Keffy feel even shorter (sorry, Keffy), admiring Fran's dress of the day, discovering I have the same favorite books as Kater, learning about the future of audio books from John G (there were a lot of John's at this con), admiring Nina's frog breeding game, getting bitten by Sandra, poisoning Ferrett with Splenda so he doesn't have to expire with extra calories in his system and excluding John A because I didn't know him well enough to poison him, trying to contain my fan-girl nerves when I met Holly Black (I love Tithe and Valiant and Ironside) and running away from her when one of my roommates decided to embarrass me in front of Holly AND Ted Chiang by yelling "Holly Black is a BALLER!" and then pointing at me (at me! as if I said it! but I didn't!!) when they stopped their conversation and looked our way. I am still mortified!

Oh, and watching the chain mail artist who made this:

I tried to ask him if I could buy his chain mail necklaces, but they weren't for sale. But look:

The best part about World Fantasy was talking with writers who love to read what you love to read. When I grew up, I never was able to talk about my favorite books to my friends, and to do so now is absolutely amazing. I left the con completely sleep deprived, my brain overflowing, my heart most happy.

World Fantasy Awards Banquet - Sometimes You Can Get a Free Lunch

2010-11-04T08:29:00.000-07:00

This entire experience needed its own post, so here goes! Warning: name-dropping has commenced!

At Cat Valente's book launch party, I met for the first time a red-headed woman wearing a stunningly gorgeous green and white Regency-styled dress. Later that night, she approached me again when I was talking to Felicity and our sculptor friend.

Our conversation went something like this:

She: Would one of you like to attend the banquet? SFWA has an extra ticket, and we'd like to give it to one of you.
Me [looking at my friends]: Do you want to go?
They: We can't. We're leaving before the banquet.
She to me: What about you? You can come as a guest of SFWA.
Me [sheepishly]: Oh, I'm not a member of SFWA. I'm not eligible. I don't want to take someone else's ticket.
She: It's okay. This is an extra ticket. We want to help encourage the up-and-coming writers, too. But if you don't want to go, I can always ask someone else…
Me: Oh, I'll take it! Thanks!!

Regency Fashion Plate Lady was none other than Mary Robinette Kowal, SFWA's current Vice President. She told me she didn't have my ticket right then and there, so I should meet her right before the banquet opened.

The next day, Mary gave me her ticket while she searched for the extra, and while waiting in line to get into the banquet hall, I met Mike Allen for the second time and his wife Anita for the first time, and the three of us completely hit it off, laughing hilariously at each other's jokes. Seriously, I would totally adopt these two into my family, if I could. By the time we entered the hall, there were only seats in the very back, but we found three that were together.

Then Mary Robinette Kowal tapped my shoulder, and we had a conversation that went something like this:

She: Oh, I'm sorry that I wasn't more clear. I don't want to remove you from your friends, but the original intent was for you to sit at the SFWA table.
Me: Where's the SFWA table?
She: It's up in front, and we've reserved a place for you there. Would you like to join us?
[I looked at Mike and Anita, my new awesome friends. Honestly, I really didn't want to leave them because in the past five minutes, we probably laughed ten times, and even if we hadn't laughed so much, I didn't want to be rude, since we had already settled.]
Me: Well, if it's not required to sit at the SFWA table….
She: It's perfectly fine for you to sit here. Don't worry. I can find someone else who wants to sit with Ellen Kushner, Delia Sherman, Tim Powers, Walter Jon Williams…
Me: Wait…really? [She had me at "Ellen Kushner" b/c I am a fan of Swordspoint and The Privilege of the Sword.]

Mary waited patiently during this super-awkward moment of silence that lasted probably a good fifteen seconds, though it felt much longer, during which I was paralyzed by indecision and feeling torn in two--I wanted to stay--I wanted to go--I wanted to stay--I wanted to go. Then I looked into the faces of my awesome new friends, and they were like, "Go!"

So I went.

While at the SFWA table, I was seated next to Mary and an author, super nice, whose name escapes me but I do remember talking about his fun Nanowrimo project. Ever the gentleman, Walter Jon Williams answered my questions about how the Taos Workshop was different from Clarion. Sitting along side his quietly elegant wife, Tim Powers regaled us with examples of badly integrated product placement in German translations of American fiction. Every time I could feel my jaw dropping, Delia Sherman would give me a reassuring smile. Even John Scalzi, current President of SFWA, dropped by to chat. Apparently my ticket was originally bought for his lovely wife Kristine, but apparently she couldn't make it this year.

After Scalzi left, somehow I ended up babbling to Ellen Kusher, one of my favorite authors, about how someday I wanted to be just like Katherine Paterson, another one of my favorite authors, and our conversation somehow morphed into me ranting about how I had to defend the difficulty of writing good speculative fiction while I was in grad school.

Then with a very intent look on her face, Ellen asked me: "Do you blog?"
Me: [surprised] I have a blog, but it's not updated. (understatement of the year)
She: Do you have what you just told me all written down?
Me: No…but I could.
She: Good. I love to read it, and if it's the right fit, maybe we can publish for the Interstitial Arts Foundation.
Me: For reals?
She: Absolutely.

Obviously, I was stunned by Ellen's request. I was just ranting. I wasn't expecting anyone to take me seriously. But I didn't really have a moment to truly say yes or no because the awards ceremony started just then.

There were many cool things that happened and some of the speeches were quite clever while others were touching. List of winners can be found here. Personally, it was really neat to see Susan Marie Groppi of Strange Horizons win, as the day before I had just sent Poetry Editor Erin Keane approval for a preview of my poem that will be published there in December. Also, Terry Pratchett's speech made me laugh and also think about the double-edged nature of humor.

This is proof that Charles Vess' World Fantasy Award was within my arm's reach! The blue blur in the background is Ellen Kushner, and Walter Jon Williams shoulder is to the left. Also, Tim Powers laughed as I took this picture.

In the end, I had a blast. While I was star-struck when chatting with all these author luminaries, the one person I admired the most was a woman I had never even spoken to. She was the silver-haired lady wearing an apple red suit and sitting in a wheelchair at a table in the middle of the banquet hall. In the beginning of the awards, whenever the clapping began to die down, I could hear her small voice cheering enthusiastically for each winner, even after everyone else had stopped applauding. I want to be this woman, feisty in red, when I grow up. I want to keep cheering, loud and proud, no matter what.

So, I want to express my gratitude to Mary Robinette Kowal, John Scalzi, and SFWA for inviting me to experience a most amazing ending to World Fantasy! I cannot wait for the day I am eligible to join SFWA. I cannot wait for the day when I meet a fresh-faced newbie writer and extend an invitation to have lunch with Ellen Kushner, Delia Sherman, Tim Powers, Walter Jon Williams, Mary Robinette Kowal, and John Scalzi. I cannot wait to help actively contributing to this wonderful community.

Solomon Douglas Swingtet Tours the SF Bay Area

2010-11-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

So I met Solomon Douglas years ago when he was playing for a dance event, and I was impressed by his piano skills. He's quite friendly and obviously passionate about his music. Last night his ten-piece swingtet entertained the crowds dancing at Wednesday Night Hop. While they play lots of standard jazz songs, they specialize in tunes originally played by the Basie band and the Ellington band. They're quite good, but I found some of their fast songs to be a bit too fast for dancing, and many of their slow songs were more appropriate for blues dancing than Lindy Hop. This last bit is extremely lucky for their next gig, which is San Francisco's Friday Night Blues.

The End of a Summer without Singing

2010-08-26T16:17:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working on a longish post about choral text, but until I post that, I'd like to point out my choir director, Dr. Martin Benvenuto, is quoted in this article about summer's end and first choir rehearsals.

"My Day Jumpstarted with Mockingjay" by Sharon Levin

2010-08-24T17:02:00.000-07:00

So I've known Sharon Levin for a few years now, and she is one of the most passionate advocates for children's literature in the San Francisco Bay Area, if not the world. Not only does she review children's books, she also maintains a fantastic kid lit email list that you can join by contacting her at sharonlevin(at)mindspring(dot)com. This morning I found this uplifting gift of a true story in my inbox, and with her permission, I am posting this on my blog:

"My Day Jumpstarted with Mockingjay" by Sharon Levin

Who says kids aren’t reading? I find myself constantly defending kids and their reading habits to adults who seem to feel that kids aren’t reading at all, distracted by texting, computer games, and really bad movies (really, Jackass 3D?!?!?!?).

Thirty five years after I was in junior high (go ahead, I’ll wait while you do the math) I am FINALLY cool to teens BECAUSE I read their books (believe me when I was an actual junior high student I was anything BUT cool). I find I can talk to almost any kid because I just ask them what they’re reading and then the conversation goes from there. I do not cut down their tastes (even if they’re reading Twilight, we are all allowed our ‘trash’ reading) and I love to hear how they view various characters and plot.

We know the stereotype of 8th graders: too cool for words, into fashion, video games, boys or girls and perhaps sports. Excited about a book? Nope, that’s not what we think of. Well, let me tell you about my morning.

Today, I paid a surprise visit to my daughter’s 8th grade Language Arts class (YES, I asked her permission first, so it wasn’t a surprise to her, just the teacher and her classmates). I had gone to Kepler’s (our local, independent bookstore) to pick up Mockingjay, the final book in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy that was just released today (August 24).

I knocked on the classroom door and when I walked in, I didn’t say a word, I just held up the book and grinned. There was a moment of silence and the room just exploded. The kids who knew the book (about 85% of them) were going “Woo Hoo! No way!! I want it!!” as I handed the book to their teacher (it was a gift for her) who hugged it and said, “Mine, all mine.” (yes, she’ll share, but she’ll definitely be reading it tonight) The kids who didn’t know it were saying, “What? What’s happening?” Guaranteed, all those kids will be getting Book 1 today, in order to be in the loop. This is the closest I will ever get to being treated like a rock star (if you ever heard me sing, you'd realize why, even my rabbi wouldn't let me lead a round at my daughter's Bat Mitzvah and I don't blame him a bit). :-)

Of course, I also handed a copy to my daughter, so she can start reading it during SSR (Sustained Silent Reading) today (why else do you think she gave me permission to come into her class on the second day of school?).

I left with a huge grin on my face and realized that I had not said a single word while I was in the room. I didn’t have to, the book said it all.

Non-rejection: 2 Poems to Stone Telling

2010-08-24T16:12:00.000-07:00

I am happy to share that I have sold 2 poems to Stone Telling, a new online magazine "dedicated to boundary-crossing and multi-perspective poetry." One poem ("Rice Cooker Dreams") will be published in their whimsical/humorous issue. The second poem ("Self-Portrait") will be published in the inaugural September issue along with a new poem by Ursula K. Le Guin!

So exciting!!

A Dimple Throws Off the Symmetry of a Smile

2010-08-23T20:54:00.000-07:00

I haven't sung all summer. I've been traveling and socializing with mostly non-singers. But my chorus requires people to do a vocal check every few years, and so I went in, apologizing to my choir director for neglecting my voice. So when I opened my mouth and sang, lo and behold, my voice began fluttering in a natural vibrato, a vocal technique that typically occurs in opera singers. Vibrato! A sign that my voice had matured and was a real singer's voice! Something I had completely given up on achieving. Yet, without any effort, it happened. What a magical moment.

An Awesome-Sauce Fundraising Idea for Clarion

2010-06-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

So it's official. I've signed up for the Clarion Write-a-Thon, and thank you for those who have sponsored me thus far. You are full of win. If you are a writer and wish to sign up, today is the last day. If you wish to sponsor me or another one of the amazing 70 published writers who are supporting Clarion, you can do so here.

And others who have not officially signed up are still supporting Clarion in their own unique ways. For example, Clarion '07er Shweta Narayan has written poems that she will unlock on her LJ if people donate enough money to Clarion each week. Read the beginning of her first poem.

Happy Dad's Day

2010-06-20T11:24:00.001-07:00

When I was five, my dad took me to the Richardson Public Library to get my first library card. I remember signing a white piece of paper and watching it go through the lamination machine. The resulting card was so magical, with beautifully rounded corners and the white right above my jagged signature reflected the long fluorescent lights above me. After that, every single week, once a week, my dad took me to the library to check out books. I wanted to read so many, (books stacked up to my chin), that he restricted me to only five books every week. When I proved to him that I could easily read five books in three days, he upped my limit to eight books. Thanks to my dad, even though we never spent a dime on recreational reading, I was forever with a book (or three) in hand. Thanks, Dad.

Not to MFA: To Get Published

2010-05-24T23:08:00.000-07:00

Being in an MFA program does not mean that your work will get published. Going to grad school, rather, might delay your publication path, since you will be focusing primarily on critiquing, reading and studying the works of others rather than revising and submitting your own work.

You do not need a fancy degree to get published.

Living Disconnected

2010-05-23T23:48:00.000-07:00

How did we live before the internet? I know there are still people who live œuite happily (or unhappily) completely disconnected, but in Silicon Valley, it's almost unheard of to be without your internet enabled phone or laptop connecting you to millions of others to the net. Speed of communication can be a wonderful thing, but what if something happens and you are completely cut off while the rest of the world is tweeting, texting, blogging, Insert-your-social-networking-site-here away. If you are not on the internet, are you alone, or truly free?

PWC Concert - Words From Paradise

2010-05-10T21:45:00.000-07:00

Sunday was the first of three joint concerts entitled "Words from Paradise," featuring the Peninsula Women's Chorus (my choir) and the Golden Gate Men's Chorus. We sang at Mission Dolores Basilica to very appreciative audience who gave us a standing ovation at the very end. How absolutely exciting.

The first set features the Peninsula Women's Chorus, and we sang much of the same music performed in April at the New Music for Treble Voices Festival in Palo Alto. My favorite song is perhaps Como Tu by Venuzualean composer Alberto Grau. The only major additions to our April set are a really lovely song called Shir L'Shalom by Yair Rozenblum and Ya'akov Rotblit and the world premiere of PWC-commissioned Tender Buttons, text by Gertrude Stein and music by Frank Ferko, a local Bay Area composer. For the first two concerts only, I have the pleasure of singing the duet of Shir L'Shalom with my friend Hannah.

The second set features the Golden Gate Men's Chorus, and because I was unable to snag a program, I'll have to comment on the songs later.

For the third and final set, the two choirs come together to form a traditional SATB (Soprano Alto Tenor Bass) mixed choir, though our optimum standing arrangements are not the traditional men on the top risers and women on the bottom risers. The title of the concert series comes from the first mixed piece, Words of Paradise by Dan Forrest. For each of the five sections, Forrest uses as text only one "word of paradise" to take the listener through a musically spiritual journey: Holy, Hallelujah, Selah, Hosanna, and Amen. Following the Forrest, we have what I believe might be the West Coast premiere of Little Man in a Hurry by Eric Whitacre, text by e.e. cummings. The concert ends with a fun and appropriate-for-mostly-white-chorus arrangement of Wade in the Water by

We have two more concerts left, so it's not too late to come and experience the Words of Paradise!

Singing at Mission Dolores Basilica and Mission Dolores

2010-05-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

So while my choir (Peninsula Women's Chorus) was rehearsing with the Golden Gate Men's Chorus at Mission Dolores Bascilica last night, my friend Sean was singing with the San Francisco Mandolin Orchestra right next door at the Mission Dolores. For years I thought the Basilica was the actual mission, but no. The Bascilica is the giant structure of worship, complete with stained glass windows and grand altar and can easily seat a couple hundred people. In contrast, the Mission is a more intimate space, perhaps one third the size and a perfect venue for the delicate strummings of a mandolin orchestra. I had no idea of the range of mandolins, which match the violin family, so there's the mandolin, the mandola, and the mandocello. Because I was singing in rehearsal, I had to miss the first half of the mandolin concert, which featured my friend Sean as the soloist singing Beatles melodies for their British invasion theme. The second half of the concert showcased the orchestra's range playing familiar pieces by Holst and Schubert. I enjoyed listening to the textures of the mandolin, especially the sustained strumming. Their concerts are definitely worth checking out!

To MFA: Finding Structure to Finish a Manuscript

2010-05-02T21:20:00.000-07:00

One of the most difficult aspects to writing is finding the disciplined structure to write and finish manuscripts if you don't have a formal deadline. When you're in an MFA program, you have a formal deadline for workshop, though not everyone always meets all their deadlines. However, you will need to produce something for workshop at least once a semester if you want to graduate.

Of course, there are other (and often cheaper) ways to find this external structure. Joining a critique group can give you those deadlines. Or hiring a writing coach. Or taking a creative writing class at a local university.

But if you are in an MFA program, you will ideally have some time near the end of your journey to focus on revising your creative thesis, which may be a novel or a memoir or a collection of short stories or poetry or some fun hybrid of all-of-the-above. And at the end of 2-3 years, you will have a manuscript that you will probably have to revise several times more before it is truly publishable. But the bottom line is you will have a manuscript.

While writing comes from
within, deadlines will make things
actually happen.

Singing Debut on TV

2010-04-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

This Tuesday, my choir made its live TV debut on San Francisco's The View from the Bay, hosted by Spencer Christian and Janelle Wong on Channel 7. We sang the first verse of Amazing Grace, which is about 40 seconds long. The first two syllables of "Amazing" are cut off so the first thing you will hear is "zing Grace."

Listen to my choir sing!

Sharing Gratitude

2010-04-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

To my friends, near and far, thank you for the gift of your company, even if it was in the shape of a thought, a text, an email, a Facebook Wall post, an IM, a phone call, an impromptu dinner where we tell stories and catch up. Thank you for reminding me to live life fully and for encouraging me to be my most authentic self. I am so grateful for your loving presence and shared laughter.

Our lives are too short
not to celebrate small joys--
make the choice to laugh.

Not to MFA: "To Find Time to Write"

2010-04-25T20:30:00.000-07:00

If you are applying to a graduate school program in creative writing to “find more time to write,” maybe you're working a full-time job and think that if you were in grad schol, you would spend your entire day working on your Magnum Opus, your "Great Work." More often than not, you might find you have much less time than expected, and your Magnum Opus will collect dust on the backburner as you finish all the work required to be a grad student. Let me break down my typical week while in grad school, with a three-class workload:

Workshop
Class time = 3 hours
Critiquing 3 short stories on average 15-25 pages long = 3-6 hours
Craft of Fiction
Class time = 3 hours
Reading (usually articles/short stories, sometimes 1 book a week) = 2-3 hours
Writing Assignment = 1-3 hours
Contemporary Literature
Class time = 3 hours
Reading (1 book a week for craft) = 3-5 hours
Writing Assignment = 1-3 hours

So just considering coursework alone, it was usually 19-29 hours spent NOT writing own projects.

If you plan to have a part-time job or internship or teaching assistantship which could take 10-20 hours, that bumps up the total to 29-50 hours.

In addition, we had readings on average twice a month and other scheduled events that averaged an extra 2-3 hours each week. Add in commute time, and that’s another 3-5 hours.

Ultimately that's on average of 34-58 hours you will be spending not writing your own projects.

Thus, being in grad school is like working a full-time job. Only not. If you been working in a normal 40-hour a week job, chances are likely that you have a familiar routine. But in grad school, everything will be new and you will be using your brain in ways you aren't accustomed while working. While all that can be exciting, it can also be extremely stressful. In any case, it will be more draining of your energies, giving you less energy and brain power to actually write.

So based on this data, it’s unreasonable to expect that you will have more time to write in grad school vs. working a full-time job.

Still want to apply for an MFA program? I'm fine with that as long as your reason for going is NOT " so I have more time to write." If you want more time to write, downsize your lifestyle as much as possible. Move somewhere cheaper, even if it's only for 6 months to a year. Quit your extra curricular commitments and use that time to write. Invest in a netbook or Alphasmart that you carry with you everywhere and write during your lunch hours and break times. If you want more time to write, just write.

Grad school can be more
than a full-time job. You won't
have all day to write.

To MFA or Not to MFA? - Intro

2010-04-18T23:24:00.000-07:00

Last year my thesis adviser placed around my neck a tan-colored hood representing my Masters of Fine Arts (different from a Masters of Arts) in Creative Writing. Recently after discussing my MFA experience with several writer friends, I have discovered that still more of my writer friends are considering applying to programs to pursue their MFA or PhD in Creative Writing. To help my writer friends and anyone else who stumbles across this blog, I’m sharing my thoughts about applying and attending a creative writing program for grad school based on:

my MFA experience at Saint Mary's College of California
my 10+ years participating in fiction and poetry writing workshop classes taken at Rice University, my alma mater for undergrad, and Stanford Continuing Studies
my Clarion Writers’ Workshop experience in San Diego, a six-week program where I was one of 18 people critiquing on average 3-4 stories a day while writing on average one story a week
my 5+ years of workshop in private critique groups

While I have a lot of experience in workshop, my opinions may or may not align with the experiences of others who have gone through the MFA, but I thought I would put this out there as a guide.

Here are topics I will cover in the next week or two:

Why You Want an MFA/PhD - Rose-Colored Hopes vs. Realistic Expectations
**Not to MFA: "To Find Time to Write"
**To MFA: "Finding Structure to Finish"
Traditional Programs vs. Low-Residency and/Genre-based Programs
Tips on Applying to MFA or PhD Programs
Transitioning to a Grad Student Lifestyle
Life After the MFA/PhD

This is just a preliminary list which may change as I go. As I add a MFA-related article, I’ll update each topic with a link.

Going to grad school
requires change, commitment--
Is it the right fit?

The Beautification of Ugly Betty

2010-04-15T17:53:00.000-07:00

When Ugly Betty appeared on television boldly wearing a bright red-orange "Guadalajara!" poncho clashing with her boxy red glasses and technicolor braces, I was hooked. For me, a huge part of the show’s appeal was witnessing the struggles of brave Betty Suarez, who is beautiful-on-the-inside but “ugly”-on-the-outside, something that appears to be a bit of an obstacle if she wishes to succeed in her job working at a fashion magazine. Yet, while challenged by hostile, shallow co-workers and scheming executives, Betty’s inner beauty, supported by the unconditional love of her quirky family, prevails time and time again, eventually winning over most of those who initially mocked her. Over the past couple of years, the show seemed to lose some of its focus and warmth, but during this final season, Ugly Betty has reclaimed the spark that made it so fiesta-fabulous.

What gives Ugly Betty its warmth is her crazy, awesome family, who all find true love during these final episodes:

* Hilda, her beautiful sister, is happily married to a genuinely great guy.
* Justin, her flamingly confident yet in-the-closet young nephew - his recent struggle to come out to his family was poignant and tastefully done, as the announcement is not verbal but silent, in the form of slow dancing with his new boyfriend at his mother’s wedding.
* Ignacio, her nurturing father, has a girlfriend and finally comes to terms with his grown daughters leaving the house.

What I love about the Suarez family is how everyone seems to unconditionally accept each other, as evidenced by the Suarez surprise coming-out party for Justin. With such unwavering, if sometimes misguided, emotional support, it is no surprise that Betty takes on an individual fashion sense that is completely unique to her personality. One of my worries when watching the first episodes of Ugly Betty was that the creators might decide to transform her into a beauty, which then brings in the risk that she would conform to the standards of the mainstream (though some might argue that high fashion is not mainstream). But really, a generically beautiful Betty will not be as compelling a character.

Yes, over the years, they did beautify Betty. As she transitioned from Daniel’s assistant to junior features editor, her outfits, while retaining bold-bright colors, have morphed from frumpy-dumpy to sophisticated and streamlined. She grows out the blunt and frizzy bangs into a more sleek and layered hair style. And most subtly, her bushy eyebrows are now manicured. Still, for the majority of the show, her “ugly” signature look (red boxy glasses and shiny metal braces) has dominated. But in these last past episodes, the beautification of Betty has accelerated to drastically change even her signature look. The braces have come off, and when she decides to go to London, she changes her glasses to a rimless style that reveals more of her face and highlights her eyes. Thus, her physical appearance is now a better match for Betty’s inner beauty, yet she still retains her individual style, as evidenced by her London coat that reflects the colors and patterns of the British flag, a coat that is a nice echo of the "Guadalajara!" poncho from the first episode.

But in the end, the true beautification in the show occurs not on the outside but internally for most of the characters who work at Mode Magazine, and closure is given to everyone:

* Claire finds her long-lost illegitimate son and reconciles with Wilhelmina.
* Amanda takes a break from romantic entanglements to focus on her personal journey and finds her biological father.
* Marc allows himself to become vulnerable and commits to a real relationship.
* Wilhelmina gives up her schemes to take over Mode and lies in public to save the reputation of the Mead family. In return, she finally achieves her heart’s desire, sole Editor-in-Chief of Mode.
* And finally, Daniel comes to terms with his identity due to his conflicted feelings about Betty leaving Mode (and him).

Which brings me to perhaps the biggest hook for this last episode: What is happening between Betty and Daniel? While Hilda was speaking about the nature of true love at her wedding and how true love was being their for your best friend, the camera focused on Daniel, who then stared thoughtfully at Betty. This was an early hint that there would be a drastic shift towards romance in at least Daniel’s feelings towards Betty. I was completely against a Betty-Daniel romance because their relationship has been completely platonic during their entire 4-year run. Plus, the last episodes have been about Betty reuniting with her old boyfriends and realizing they have all moved on, and so must she, in focusing on growing her career. Bringing in Daniel as an impediment to her career would be a disaster. Only a couple episodes before, Daniel was in a casual relationship with Amanda. Changing the Betty-Daniel relationship to a romantic one in the space of only a few short episode just felt wrong wrong wrong.

In the finale, I was won over, in spite of myself. I thought the change in the Betty-Daniel relationship was tastefully understated in the quiet way that Daniel gradually realizes that he has real feelings for Betty, yet keeping Betty mostly unaware of what he is really feeling for her. I love how they literally bump into each other in London and he says that he's there to find something, then oh so casually asks her out to dinner. She's still clueless, but from the look he gives her as she walks away to her new job, we the audience know that he is really in London to find her and deepen their relationship. As they part, a song about beauty is played in the background, Betty walks down the steps, and the title appears one last time as she is walking. Ugly has been stripped away, leaving just Betty, and the metamorphosis is complete.

Goodbye, Ugly Betty. Thank you for the entertaining, technicolor roller coaster ride.

Happy 5th Birthday to Wednesday Night Hop!

2010-04-07T21:31:00.000-07:00

Tonight marks the 5th anniversary for Wednesday Night Hop, a popular Lindy Hop dance party in the Bay Area. Favorite local band Stompy Jones will be playing, and though Pops is no longer singing with the band, I understand the new singer is quite good.

You can dance your cares
away in the Lindy Hop--
bop-hop 'till you drop!

But First An Interlude

2010-04-06T23:45:00.000-07:00

circle circle dot
dot polka polka trot trot
trapezoid says stop

Post Writing Retreat

2010-04-05T23:57:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the writing retreat, I have a topic for a series of blog posts:

To MFA or
Not to MFA? My thoughts
might surprise. Or not.

Recent Clarion Grad Retreat

2010-04-04T16:28:00.000-07:00

This weekend my Clarion roomie Dana and I joined Clarion '09ers Ed, Leonard, Liz, Shuana, and Eric for a writing retreat. The first evening we dined with Nina (also Clarion '09) her husband, and Kim Stanley Robinson, week 4 instructor for Clarion '09. We ate fabulous New Orlean-style food and danced outside, where a live band was playing in the courtyard. For the rest of the weekend, we celebrated Liz's 30th birthday with a surprise cake, wrote, ate, chatted, shared random Youtube videos, drank tea, Skyped in two Clarion '09ers to brainstorm stories and get a tour of their digs (Ken Schneyer in Rhode Island and Nick Bede-Stenner in Korea), revised our own stories, shared music, chatted some more, and raced each other in timed writing sessions.

Though I had met several of the Clarion '09ers before when they were at Clarion and at World Fantasy, this was the first time I had the opportunity truly chat with those that made it for this retreat. I am impressed by their warmth, wit, and talent and feel such a sense of community now.

To end the weekend, we wrote haiku in this order:

they said write a poem
of seventeen syllables--
chocolate chip cookie

by Edward Gauvin

Liz's birthday cake--
chocolate, chocolate & caramel,
a baked Petit Mort.

by Leonard Pung

like baby pandas
wrestling slowly and sweetly...
we have the pancake

by Liz Argall

Patterns of light change--
Screen glows, text appears, connects
Me to everything.

by Dana Huber

Chocolate chip cookies,
six with milk, seven without.
A balanced breakfast.

by Shuana Roberts

And finally my haiku:

full teapot bubbles,
steam wobbles, diffusing scent:
chocolate chip cookies

Desert Island Food

2010-04-03T22:07:00.000-07:00

So over dinner today, everyone listed their 5 top foods that would sustain them for the rest of their lives if they were to live on a desert island (that did not have coconut trees or other indigenous edible desert plants). My top off-the-cuff comfort foods: mac 'n cheese, lasagna, falafel, sage paneer (with nan), and a fresh fruit smoothie or dark chocolate.

your favorite foods
may bring comfort, but also
may shorten your life

I Covet the iPad

2010-04-02T13:40:00.000-07:00

Though I covet the iPad, out tomorrow, I don't need one right now in my life. I covet the iPad not for its multimedia functions but for its integration of those multimedia applications with the ereader app. I do think electronic readers will eventually be the primary way that people read. I've been reading a lot of stories and poems online, and while I think some poems work just great online, scrolling down the screen is slightly annoying to me because my eyes have to constantly readjust from the bottom of the screen to the top of the screen, and the loading of the text is a strange visual disortion that I find rather disorienting. It's the same issue I had while reading a book on my friend's Kindle. So call me old-fashioned, but I still love reading books because I love the physical act of turning pages.

Press the page between
your fingers. Balance corner
on the tip...and flip!

A Poem A Day

2010-04-01T20:23:00.000-07:00

April is National Poetry Month! To celebrate, I will post a haiku a day. Here's the first one:

a poem a day
invites a muse to visit,
to converse, to play!

Tell Me Stuff I Won't See

2010-03-31T15:02:00.000-07:00

Recently I was answering a questionnaire for a writing conference and I found myself stumped by this question: "Tell us a little about yourself." I would normally start off with "I'm a writer," but since I had just filled a page with all the facts from my writing resume, I didn't think a repeat of this information was what they wanted. Then a friend suggested I say something personal. So I retitled the section "Stuff You Won't See on My Writing Resume" and began with "I am a classically trained pianist." Yes, I self-identify as a pianist, though right now my fingers are so rusty they threaten to fall off as I practice an arpeggio. When I started practicing piano a couple of months ago, I discovered I felt more grounded in myself. Because in order to truly practice piano, one needs to be in the moment, in creative flow.

How is creative flow achieved? Through continuous repetition. Through patient practice and a conscious effort to try something new with each iteration. With the piano, I know if I keep practicing, keep showing up to that keyboard and engaging, I will eventually master the phrase that's tripping my fingers, and what started off as clunky and garbled will, through hard work, emerge into something passably articulate that flows as my fingers caress each key. This same practicing mindset applies with writing, though stories are more slippery and difficult to master than music will ever be, at least for me. So, now as a writer, I am showing up to my keyboard and engaging, trusting that revision will improve my stories, determined that repeated clunky failures are not obstacles that stop me but are stepping stones on which to build stories that will become passably clear, one keystroke at a time.

Showing Up

2010-03-30T23:55:00.000-07:00

So I was telling a friend of mine a lot of the work is just showing up. Here's one of my attempts.

Chant: Agnus Dei

2009-11-16T23:56:00.000-08:00

So singing chant is different from most choral kinds of singing, though both do require a straight tone voice vs. one full of wobbly vibrato. Instead of a regular meter featured in most classical music, chant is more free flowing and there is no strict rhythm. It's kind of scary to have so much freedom, to make music without a safety net of square rules, and when I first attempt singing chant by myself, I feel like a classically trained pianist trying to improvise jazz. Except there's sheet music for chant. Don't get me started on the sheet music. Instead of nice normal round notes with reassuring stems and slur lines, the written chant features clusters of little boxes and rectangles that smudge-smear across the staff lines in such a way that it seems I would have to sing two different pitches at the same time, which is not possible. I feel like I'm reading Greek (but not Chinese...I actually know a little Chinese).

But with a little coaching and lots of practice, performing chant can be fun. I'm singing outside of the rules and having a blast.

Want to hear me chant? Check out my choir concerts at http://www.pwchorus.org/concerts.html, and if you buy a ticket in advance, let me know!

Found: Swim suits

2009-11-15T20:57:00.001-08:00

Both black and acquired for about $20 each. The first was ordered off the internet (always a risk with clothes) and I've never used it, but wow it fits perfectly. The second was bought on a whim at Costco in San Diego. The pool is private, the perfect temperature, and in the middle of the night, you can see your shadow on the bottom of the pool as you swim, and when you float on your back, you can see the stars.

Falling Back

2009-11-02T11:08:00.001-08:00

Daylight Savings has always been a difficult transition for me, but because of World Fantasy, I believe I am now acclimated to falling back. Except for how I judge the time when the sunsets.

World Conventions

2009-10-31T03:30:00.001-07:00

Going to Worldcon earlier this year prepared me a little for World Fantasy. So I thought. Intense intense intense. I need to take care of myself more b/c I know more people here. More later.

I Have a Ridiculous Blog Backlog

2009-10-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

Because I've been focused on my living my life rather than writing about it. But the backlog is beckoning.

Found: Bits of Red Cloth Belonging Elsewhere

2009-09-28T23:27:00.000-07:00

Acquired: Chennai, India
Worn: Never
A swath of burgundy silk about three feet long and one and half feet wide, one end embroidered with gold thread in an intricate heart, paisley and pillar design. The other ends are frayed and must be finished.
Belongs: London, United Kingdom

Acquired: San Jose, California
Worn: Once in Orlando, Florida
Two straps, apple colored, each one and a half foot long. Each end has a black medal hook sewn between two plastic snaps that barely held up a strapless dress which nevertheless had revealed an unslightly V-neck sunburn.
Belongs: Bridesmaid Dress Retirement Purgatory

Acquired: Can't Remember
Worn: Multiple Gigs Up and Down the San Francisco Peninsula
A sleeveless silk shirt paired with a vintage 1940s black suit, worn in performance for World War II veterans and others of their generation.
Belongs: Elsewhere

Congrats Mary Anne on Her New Baby!

2009-09-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

My Clarion instructor Mary Anne Mohanraj has given birth to her second child and has posted pics up of her very cute new baby Anandan.

Found: Blue Make Up

2009-09-25T23:35:00.000-07:00

Four shades of blue eyeshadow bought for an 80s party with light blue eyeliner. Also in the box: blue metallic eyelashes, blue lipstick, blue face glitter for my costume once upon a Halloween. No, I was not a Smurf, but the Blue Fairy, not Andrew Lang's collection, but the character who turned Pinnochio into a real boy. I wore a blue puffy dress with matching heels, blue butterfly wings made from real feathers, and white and blue rhinestone jewelry out sparkling my wand made from a toy baton, a bent wire hanger, and layers of aluminum foil. Besides the wand, thrown out long ago, the tiny tiara with a clear drop of jewel is still lost.

A Jar Full of G.I. Joes

2009-09-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

While on a lunch walk, one of my best friends and I discovered a fabulous place in Redwood City called Curious Things. What drew us in was the display next to the door featuring a blood red, black horned two-foot tall figurine of the demon from the movie Legend, the one starring a very Puckish-like Tom Cruise.

As we entered this toy shop, all the walls on one side were filled with Hot Wheels, and as we wandered from tiny toy-covered room to tiny toy-covered room, we were brought back to our childhood. They had a Transformers room with an actual giant Constructicon, lime green and only slightly used, in a glass display case right next to a rather well-loved Soundwave and a partially transformed Dinobot, the Stegasaurous, whose name I have forgotten.

Not all the glass covered displays were so neatly organized. My favorite was perhaps a glass cookie jar half full (or half empty) with an assortment of G.I. Joes.

The Star Wars toys were right next to the Transformers, and they had three different tie fighters, and on one wall only, three different versions of Princess Leia--Leia from the end of Episode IV holding a medal (that is alas not for Chewie), another Leia from Episode IV in the white robe and cinnamon buns hair style (she was paired with a mini R2D2), and finally Ewok Lei with her hair all down and dressed all in green like Robin Hood (partnered with one of the Ewoks, Wicket, I think).

The comic book themed room had one wall completely dedicated to Marvel characters that came with their own comic books. Some of these were truly vintage, ranging from Silver Surfer at $30 to Black Cat costing $55 to Red Skull, the most expensive, at $75. I was especially amused to see two versions of Phoenix (aka Jean Grey in the movies) and startled to find that the Red Phoenix ($60) with white blank eyes was twice as much as the Green Phoenix ($30) with painted in eyes. In the corner of the Marvel room lived more modern characters from the worlds of Spawn and Harry Potter.

There were other rooms, but lunch hour did not allow for more exploration. I shall definitely return!

My Clarion Class Rocks

2009-09-24T07:56:00.000-07:00

When I began my MFA program two years ago, I was told by one of my professors not to worry about selling to markets but to focus on craft of writing. So I did. I wrote and critiqued and taught and critiqued, just like a good student should. And I attended the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Workshop in San Diego during my '08 summer break and met all these amazing writers who were not only amazingly talented, they were very serious about selling to the science fiction and fantasy markets. Over a year after my Clarion class has disbanded, there's too much good news that I can hardly keep up with it. One of my Clarion classmates Sarah has collected a nice long list.

My Prose Has Mutated into Poetry

2009-09-21T13:28:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been writing short little things that begin as prose and somehow morph into poems, and they are stronger for the transformation. Line breaks allow phrases to breathe, and repetition of sentence structure and internal rhymes that were hidden in the density of prose are now illuminated in stacked stanzas.

I am slightly bemused because before this summer when I wrote something, I always knew with certainty whether it is either prose or poetry. I suppose it can be both.

Found: Berol Fontaine, My First Fountain Pen

2009-09-20T22:30:00.000-07:00

The body is made of blue-green plastic, and the cap used to be clear. Now stained green, the posted cap comes off with a decisive pop and closes around the nib with a whisper of a click. The ink that ran from the grey nib was a bright green in the same color family as the body, marked in white lettering: "Berol fontaine."

For months, this was my favorite writing pen, and I wrote pages swimming in bright green sentences that blinded the eye. When the ink ran out, I did not want to throw it away, but carefully put it away in a safe place, so safe that I had forgotten it. Until now. And though I now own several fountain pens instead of just this one, I have an urge to refill it and try it out. Too bad it's disposable. And dried out. And no longer manufactured.

"Alpha Male" No Longer Applies to Wolves

2009-09-20T21:30:00.000-07:00

The awesome and always entertaining Keffy shared several links with me, and this is literally the most tame.

Found: Binder Full of My Old Stories

2009-09-20T21:05:00.000-07:00

Granted, it's a very small binder, but brimming with fiction written during my undergrad creative writing classes. This was a time when I thought five manuscript pages was a perfectly acceptable length for a fully fleshed out story. This was a time when writing ten pages felt like I was half-way through a novel. I read stories I had forgotten I had written, the newbie fiction that was slightly (or mostly) autobiographical. And while I cringed quite a bit at my old prose and execution of one-dimensional ideas, there's still something in each story that pulls in my interest, however faint.

Though most of the titles of my old stories are quite easy to discard, I would someday like to use one title that never had a full story attached to it: "The Lost Mango."

Nano-ode to Ice!

2009-09-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

Ice, how I love thee,
on sweltering summer days!

you clink into glass
from plastic tray, chill my drink
while melting away.

Singing Vowels within Vowels

2009-09-15T10:16:00.000-07:00

When singing in a group, achieving the right blend of voices is key. I used to think that blending with another's voice was a matter of nature vs. nurture, that blend was something you either had with a person, or not. But apparently, vocal blend has more to do with matching vowels than some amorphous unknown mystical component that attracts and matches your voice quality with another's. But matching vowels is more difficult than it sounds, because it must be a perfect match. In my choir, there's one movement of perhaps my favorite piece for this concert in which we sing a lot on "eh." Most Americans tend to lateralize or widen the "eh" sound, and once we were told to focus and lengthen the "eh" by thinking "ee" (which is a narrower vowel), I could hear the blend snap into place. Yes, this little musical factoid brings me much joy.

The Smell of Air Before It Rains

2009-09-13T21:30:00.000-07:00

This summer, whenever I traveled out of state, the rain followed me...monsoons in Florida and light torrents in Montreal. But California, northern and southern, stayed extremely dry. Now that fall approaches, the air has grown heavy with molecules of moisture tickling the nose with trapped scents of shoveled earth and growing green, scents that promise a blossoming, or burst, into a steady shower.

Found: BART card

2009-09-13T15:35:00.000-07:00

The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is one of several public transportation systems whose quirks I experienced while I was a grad student. I always had at least one or two BART cards in my wallet, and now I've discovered another one, loaded with over $10. Thankfully they don't expire!