Summit

I think the best thing about this health care summit it that it forces the news media to start talking about the actual substance of the bill, and the wide-spread popularity of the of many of its provisions. Hopefully, once people realize how much they support it, it will be easier for the Democrats to finally pass it.

Running up that hill

So lately I have been trying to study up on Latin, as I have felt, in the midst of this my wilderness, starving artist years, that I needed to do something to keep up my image as a scholarly, didactic fellow.  To these ends, I have been reading aloud from Caesar's the Gallic War, in Latin, and revisiting my Wheelock.  I have found, however, that, after my time spent with Caesar, much of my knowledge of Latin is returning, albeit half-formed, and I don't have any great desire to slog through the lesson plans all over again.  Yes, I could learn the vocabulary, but learning the vocabulary is what I am least interested in at the moment, if only because the English translation of anything I will be reading for the foreseeable future will be in the opposing page.  No, I just want to relearn the grammar, and do it without having to read all the text of the sections I have already read.

So today, I read allowed each of the first three declensions, in each gender, over fourteen times each.  I figure, if I can slowly commit the entirety of the declensions to memory, that will make the going much easier.  Besides, as the writing has progressed further, I have found greater and greater enjoyment in acts of seemingly frivolous repetition, or trial and error, like whistling.  It thinks its just the opportunity to engage my brain in activities that have no greater meaning, of any sort.  It's relaxing, in a strange way. 

the Wake

I woke up this morning with the first sentence of Finnegans Wake running  over and over again through my head. 

It was part of some understanding I was having about the rhythm of sentences, and how important it is, and necessary for good writing.  It made me want to rewrite everything that I had ever written, but then I realized that wasn't really necessary.  My best writing already tends to have a sense of rhythm.

I think.

Book I

Well, not too much new writing, these last few days.  However, I did do a substantial edit on book I of SK, which took a fair amount of time tonight.  It was quite taxing, with lots of ping-ponging around to make sure I had all the continuity right and stuff.  But it's basically done, and, baring any missed continuity efforts, I think it is done.  It actually works quite well as a stand-alone story. It had motifs and an ending the references the beginning and everything.  Also, themes.  and an emotional arc.  I am quite proud of it.  It is probably, even on it's own, the best piece of writing I have completed yet.  There are parts that are poetic, and parts that are mostly dialogue, and parts that are just purely engrossing action sequences.  I still kind of find chapter one scary.

So yeah, feeling better about my abilities. 

I am not going to post this one on scribd at the moment, but if anyone wants to read it, (cough mom cough) send me an email or leave a comment.  At the least, if would be nice to have someone who can spot any of those continuity errors I missed.

dead weather

Not any writing lately.  I hit one of those bleak periods, where everything seems hard, the future is rearing up to scowl at me, and I am seriously doubting my abilities, or if I even have any, after reading or hearing something somewhere.  So basically, the emotional weather converged on a storm. 

But, not that bad a storm.  I feel like I am weathering it.  I think that, having gotten hit like this so many times before, I am starting to build up a defense to the feelings, and am able to just, ignore them, or rationalize them, or something.  Put them in context.  but I'm not there, all the way, yet.