Category: The Weekly Review

The Monday Review – Dog Ate My Miata Edition

On By BekkiIn The Weekly Review2 Comments

1. The Mabacle is no more. A got rear-ended coming home from work Thursday night. He’s fine; the car is not. In fact, it’s no longer car shaped. The insurance adjuster hasn’t come out yet, but I can’t see any possible scenario in which they don’t total the car. The only question left is whether the universe was telling us not to drive a Miata or not to drive *that* Miata.

2. Stillness, Patience, Compassion. This was the theme of the yoga class I went to on Friday.  While I generally find the “teachy” bits of yoga class a bit too new age for me, this one resonated. I am a very goals and action oriented person; stillness and patience are definitely not my strong points.  When I’m with Z, I have to remind myself – often – that it’s not about getting to the end of the trail or making our way through a list of activities, it’s about spending time together. Stillness. Patience. Compassion. I expect I will be thinking, and possibly writing, about these ideas for the next bit.

captains-mansion3. I’ve fallen in love with a house again. A series of them, actually.  Z and I biked over to the Mare Island Preserve this way, doing a bit of exploring as we went, and we came across the old officer’s quarters on Walnut Ave. These seem like they’d be perfect for shared housing – I’d love to see them filled with writers and artists and makers.  Anyone want to buy a house with me?

4. Have you read Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Boys? It’s been sitting on my bookshelf since I came back from  WorldCon 2014, and I can’t believe it took me almost a year and a half to read it.  It’s a bit like Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising Series, but with teenagers, incredibly beautiful, literary writing, and a house full of women seers.

5. Up in the air. I’m heading out to NYC the week of the 7th, will be back for the weekend, then am heading to Dallas either the week of the 14th out the 21st. At which point we head into wedding season and, with any luck, D will let me pick up a bartending gig or two!

Closing tabs

The title of this NY Post article says it all:  “People in India are literally killing themselves to take great selfies.”

I found these absolutely stunning photos of modern dancers via an interview at My Modern Met that came through my Feedly. It’s called the NYC Dance Project, and I love that they were inspired to do this because their daughter wanted photos of current ballet dancers to decorate her room.

I’m all for wiping out mosquitoes, but this reads like it’s straight out of 1950’s pulp sci-fi. If there’s bunch of tetracycline dependent kids born in 9 months, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The best part of this article is the graphic in the middle telling you how many days a year your commute adds up to.

This one’s a bit grisly.  Turns out, sneakers are made so well these days that they will keep your feet from rotting after you die.

Question of the Week

[yop_poll id=”10″]

The Monday Review

On By BekkiIn The Weekly ReviewLeave a comment

1. I’ve had a number of conflicting thoughts about Scalia’s death. Mostly, while I think that this is a good thing for the country, I also feel that there’s something inherently wrong in rejoicing in someone’s death, as some people seem to be doing. I think it’s possible to feel that one death will improve the lives of millions without necessarily enjoying the fact of that death. I also have mixed thoughts on the “clearly he was very intelligent and worked hard to get where he is.” Because in many ways Scalia represented the epitome of white male privilege, and it’s entirely possible that he would never have ended up where he was if he didn’t start the game on the lowest difficulty setting. And regardless of what you or I think about Scalia the Supreme Court Justice, at the end of the day he was a man with friends and family who are mourning him.

2. Z is growing up into a real person. It’s about the coolest thing ever to watch. Yesterday, she knocked her water over onto the couch, then went into the kitchen, dragged her stool to the counter, climbed up it, and brought me a handful of paper towels to clean the mess with. Those of you without kids are probably wondering what the big deal is. Those of you with kids are nodding along at the incredible awe and wonder I felt that this two year old, who cannot even get her shoes on without seven and a half reminders most mornings, actually remembered and executed the steps to clean up her mess.

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3. We brought the bikes out today, and it was joyous. I’m looking forward to getting around town with Z in the trailer and to picking her up from school on the bike. I see the city in such a different way when I ride by it – there’s time to notice all her hidden bones and secret places.

4. What are you watching this summer? With the X-Files mini-series almost over, and Outlander not due to start until April – and therefore not ripe for binge-watching for several months – there’s a void in my evenings. Maybe I’ll finally finish Jessica Jones, or maybe I’ll take the plunge and start watching Breaking Bad.  Suggestions?

5. 2016 continues to kick ass and take names. Some old guy ran over (yes, ran over!) the Mabacle two weeks ago, and his insurance wants to total the car for about half of what it’s worth. Needless to say, A and I are both livid. The only upside is that because our insurance company appraised the car just a few weeks ago, we’ve got a pretty good idea what it’s worth. If the car survives this intact, we’re getting vanity place that says Mabacle. Because, reasons.

Closing Tabs

In the event that you have a burning desire to know which companies send the most spam emails.

You kind of have to wonder what would have happened had the second goalie been injured.  Would the Coyotes really have put a bank manager on the ice?

I’m having trouble believing this article titled “Don’t Drink Wine” isn’t a parody of itself.

Yup. I am definitely old. And somewhat sad that Tumblr and the like weren’t around when I was in high school.  The secret lives of Tubmlr teens.

The Monday Review

On By BekkiIn The Weekly Review3 Comments

1. This.

2. 2106 5, A&B 0.  So far, 2016 has pretty much kicked our asses.  A’s mystery bug was finally diagnosed as post-infectious gastritis, which is a fancy way of saying he got food poisoning so bad it seriously messed up his GI tract.  We’ve had the plumber out twice so far, once for a leak that had water cascading into the basement and once because the garbage disposal backed up into the bathtub. The roof needs to be replaced when the rain stops. The garage door broke, and because there’s no other entrance we had to call a repair company to get us in. So if I’m not managing to blog as regularly as usual, it’s probably because we’ve had another crazy week.

3. I’m making the Facebook hiatus semi-permanent. About a month ago, I uninstalled the app from my phone. I’ll admit, it made me a little twitchy at first. I’d gotten used to having those dopamine pings, in the form  of the constantly scrolling news feed. But when it comes down to it, there’s very little of substance in my feed. Back in the days of the 140 character limit, people posted less, and posted more meaningfully.  Now, it’s largely click-bait and life events.  So I log on every couple of days, to catch up on photos and announcements – and thanks to Facebook’s algorithms, they’re almost always at the top – make a few comments, like a few photos, and log off.

4. Austerity month. After seeing the credit card spend for December and January, A and I decided to make February “austerity month.” Our goal is not to go crazy with not spending money, but to hold off on the impulse buys that always end up adding up at the end of the month. Like the Target runs that somehow top $100, or the never-ending Amazon cart. Of course, given the spend on house repair and maintenance this month, it’s looking like we may be trying for an austerity quarter. What I’ve found interesting is that this has made me very aware of all the things I want but don’t really need, like new shades for the ceiling fixture in the office, or a laptop/camera bag, or another pair of sunglasses.

5. This is what Valentine’s Day looks like when you have a toddler. A and I dropped Z with the sister after her nap on Saturday and went to go see Zoolander. In a theatre. With actual other people. Then we came home and promptly fell into bed. Sunday morning we slept in. Until 7 am! We went to IHOP for breakfast, looked at the calorie count next to all the dishes, and split a breakfast sampler. Then we yard-worked for a few hours. The rest of the day was pretty much spent sitting on the couch.

Closing Tabs

An exploration of the rise and fall of waterbeds.

OK Go’s new video takes place in an S7 airplane, in zero-g, and it is every bit as cool as it sounds.

I bookmarked this article on parenting a toddler awhile ago, and recently found it while cleaning out my bookmarks. The advice in here is spot on, at least for my kid, and I’ve found that turning things into games or “contests” has made life easier for both of us.

I’m seriously thinking about going to this writer’s retreat. It’s short, it’s nearby, and it’s fairly affordable.  Bay Area writer friends, any interest?

The Tuesday Review

On By BekkiIn The Weekly ReviewLeave a comment

1. My report went into the Department of Justice yesterday, and it totally involved a paralegal running down the streets of Washington D.C., documents in hand, and delivering them at 4:59 pm.  It’s a huge relief to have this over and done with.  I figure I’ve got about two weeks of downtime before we start back up with the 2016 review and report cycle. Continue reading “The Tuesday Review” →

An Open Letter to Brian White and Fireside Fiction

On By BekkiIn The Weekly ReviewLeave a comment

Hey Brian,

I’ve got your emails sitting in my inbox.  The ones asking for my support.  The ones saying that Fireside has been sliding backwards, that people drop off the Patreon from month to month, that without another funding drive you’re not going to make it another year.

And I’m torn.

I believe in what you’re doing. I think writers should be able to make a living wage selling their work. I think the current market rate of 6 cents a word is crap. I think short stories are as valid an art form as novels, and that writers shouldn’t have to be forced to write long form if they want to eat.

I also believe that the only way this experiment can be a success – the only way you can move the needle on the “pro” rate – is if Fireside is self-sustaining. If you have enough of a subscriber base who believe in what you’re doing, who like the work you’re putting out, and who keep paying you every month to cover your expenses.

***

I’m giving you $5 a month.  That’s more than I pay for any other magazine subscription, and I pay it happily, gladly, because I believe in you. But you keep coming back and asking for more, and at the end of the day I’m not sure what that means.

Is writing a losing proposition? Do we simply not value stories enough to pay authors for the time it takes to create them?

Is the market saturated with similar magazines, such that people are finding similar reading material for less? Or is it the “Amazon effect” – we’ve been conditioned that magazines should be 2.99 an issue and we’re not willing to pay more?

Are you doing something wrong? Picking stories people don’t want to read, publishing authors whose voices are tired and stale? Do readers feel they’re not getting their money’s worth?

You’ve probably thought about these questions, and a dozen more besides. You’d probably tell me there aren’t any easy answers. Which, at the end of the day, is why I’m torn.

***

Do I look at this like an investment? Like a stock purchased in hopes of greater returns down the line?

Do I look at this like an act of love? Like a gift, freely given, with no expectations or strings attached?

Do I look at this like an act of defiance? Like a voice raised in protest saying loudly and for all to hear, this, this is what I believe?

Do I look at this like a leap of faith? Like a single spark dropping onto a log, waiting for the right moment to burst into flame?

***

You’ve proven that there are enough people out there who believe in what you’re doing to keep you going for another year. As I’m typing this, the subscription drive is sitting right at $13,500 – the bare minimum to keep the doors open.

You’ve said Fireside is your dream. Let’s dream big.  $19,000 is your ultimate stretch goal. 10,000 words a month, longer submission limits, and a submissions period guest-edited by Daniel José Older.

You get the drive to $18,000 by Feb 5, and I’ll take it the rest of the way. No strings, no expectations, just love, and defiance, and faith that we’re doing the right thing.

***

Interested in seeing what Fireside is all about?  Check out Brian’s response to my letter, subscribe to Fireside, or join the Patreon.