12 January 2008

Members of the Brooklyn Park Anime Club.

These kids are great. They remind me of myself and my friends at that age: they're the outcasts, the nonconformists, the ones with passion for something beyond sports and cars and fashion. Once a month, the Library provides a space for them to meet, as well as a large TV and DVD player, plus a laptop PC for Internet access...and the opportunity to meet with fellow Anime enthusiasts.

I sit in on the meetings, listen a lot, and try to learn what I can. I don't know anywhere near as much as a lot of these kids, but I know a lot more than I used to.

One of the Anime Club members gave me a great compliment: "Mr. Don, you're the coolest adult I know."

11 January 2008

Another of our regular comic stores. This is Twilige Zone in Glen
Burnie. That's Thomas in the green shirt.

10 January 2008

Chick-fil-A in Glen Burnie. The company appears to be owned by some
kind of religious weirdos, but they have really good chicken nuggets.

I'm here moet Thursday mornings for brunch before going in to work. (I
work from 1 to 9 pm on Thursdays.)

9 January 2008

My second-favorite spot in my library is this part of the children's
area. Again, lots of windows and comfy seating make it a very inviting
area. And notice the mural, painted many years ago by a former staff
member.

When I give tours to elementary school classes, we always start in
this area. I tell them to keep an eye out for elephants during the
tour. When we return at the end, they are quick to point out that they
didn't see any elephants. My answer: "Turn around. Do you see the
elephant now?" And there's Babar, staring them in the face!

8 January 2008

This is my favorite area of the library where I work. Comfy chairs,
big bright windows, what more could you ask?

7 January 2008

This is my desk at work. A cluttered desk may be the sign of a
cluttered mind; but if so, then what does an EMPTY desk signify?

6 January 2008

The view from the Info Desk at the Wedt County library. Today is the
first of half a dozen Sundays I'll be working here over the next few
months - at time-and-a-half, hooray!

5 January 2008

One of our ongoing projects is scanning all our old photographs so
they're in digital form. Here's one of the ones I scanned today.

This was taken on 3 September 1992. It's Thomas in front of the train
from BACK TO THE FUTURE III, at Universal Studios in Florida.

4 January 2008

At the comic store. This is Empyre Comics in Glen Burnie, one of the
three comic stores we frequent.

3 January 2008

Not the train station; this is the LED display at my library, that
lets you know when it's your turn to use one of our 13 public
computers. At the time of this picture there were 15 people on the
waiting list. And it's not a particularly busy night.

We serve a disadvantaged community where most folks don't own PCs of
their own, so they have to use the ones at the library.

Meanwhile, branches in the richer areas of the county have a
superfluity of PCs. Some of these branches never have so much as ONE
person on the waiting list.

Sigh.

A Picture a Day

Don here. I'm going to try something new this year. I'm going to try to take (at least) one picture a day. I've figured out how to email pictures from iPhone to this blog, and I will try to keep them pretty current.

Don't expect anything special; these pictures aren't going to be profound or artsy or anything like that. In fact, a lot of them will be pretty mundane. I'll try to add comments, but they'll likely be short and fairly uninformative.

Hmmm. Kinda makes you wonder why I'm doing this at all, eh?

---

Like the blog? Send the author a donation.
Subscribe in a reader

2 January 2008

Don's Dad. Father-and-Son breakfast at Dennys once a week is a
tradition. And a joy.

1 January 2008

At BWI Airport to pick up our friend Betsy. If you sit too long, the security guards come up and tell you to move along.

We live half a mile from the airport. Visiting there used to be fun; now, because of security, it's a source of anxiety. By allowing ourselves to become terrified, we've given the terrorists exactly what they want. Osama must be thrilled at his ongoing victory.

Parties & Chipmunks

On Monday evening, December 24, we visited Don's father for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner and chat. It was a lovely time. Afterwards, we went to Kadon Enterprises for the annual Christmas party, which was also quite nice.

We had a quiet and uneventful Christmas Day. Don stayed home, while Thomas visited our friend Betsy. (Hi, Betsy!)

On the evening of the 26th, we went into Baltimore to the home of Ann Hackman and Mike Cantrell for the annual Christmas party of Don's crazy high school friends, pictured here. A grand time was had by all.

Today, Sunday the 30th, we saw Alvin and the Chipmunks at the nearby Hoyt's Cinema. Having enjoyed the previews on TV, we were prepared to like the movie -- we were happy to find that we really, really liked it. Great fun!

It was a nice feel-good story, somewhat similar to The Muppet Movie in showing the fictionalized beginning of a popular phenomenon...and neatly subversive in its celebration of alternative families. Neither of us was a particular Alvin & the Chipmunks fanatic, although like all Baby Boomers we had a soft spot in our hearts for the little guys...but we appreciated how the film stayed consistent with the personalities of the chipmunks, who (as always) stole the show.

It was the songs that were the most pleasant surprise. There's nothing like familiar music to pack an emotional punch...when they started doing the Chipmunk Christmas song, they had us.

This is a fun movie with enough to please everybody. For the kids, there are funny-talking furry animals -- what else do you need? And for the adults, there's the nostalgia factor.

Don't get us wrong: this isn't an intellectual challenge or a deep philosophical film...it's just plain fun. If you go into it with the right attitude, you'll certainly enjoy it. (Or wait for the DVD...definitely worth it.)

Finally, here's a picture of the cute boy at the concession counter. Behind him is another cute boy at the concession counter. Who said there's nothing good to see at the movies?

---

Like the blog? Send the author a donation.
Subscribe in a reader

Books and Movies and MacBooks, Oh My!

A quick post, because Betsy demanded it:

Don's new book A Rose From Old Terra got a good review in the November 15, 2007 issue of Library Journal. The review said:

When former librarian Jedrek nor Talin, now attempting to recover failing technology from the defunct Terran Empire, receives a single yellow rose by special courier, he must travel to Old Terra -- Earth -- to come to the assistance of his old circle of librarians. A voyage to deep space to repair ancient communications equipment places Jedrek and his companions in the middle of s situation that could erupt into interstellar war and destroy human civilization forever. Author and librarian Sakers adds to his 'Scattered Worlds' series (Weaving the Web of Days) a tale of adventure and intrigue as only a group of librarians can do it. A good addition to most sf collections and sure to be popular with library staff everywhere.

----------

On Friday, December 8 we went to the movies for the first time since before Don was in the hospital. We saw The Golden Compass. Great film. A well-realized fantasy world, a good story, great characters...and the Catholic Church doesn't like it. What more can you ask?

Seriously, The Golden Compass is highly recommended. If you're expecting a Harry Potter experience, you'll be pleasantly surprised: this movie has much more depth and meaning than the Potter movies. The world is visually interesting and self-consistent on a much deeper level than Potter, as well. Harry Potter is pop fantasy; The Golden Compass is more the real quill.

----------

On Saturday December 9, Thomas went to a meeting of the DC Star Wars Collectors Club or DCSWCC, along with our friend Betsy (she of the blog update demands). Afterwards, they picked up Don and the three of them went to the Double T Diner on Route 40 for dinner, and then cruised down 34th Street in Hamden to see the Xmas lights. Much fun.

----------

Unfortunately, later that night Don's MacBook laptop, Brainimac 5, took a spill from the couch and hit the floor...hard. The internal hard drive is damaged, and the computer can't even start up. We are hoping that a trip to the Apple Store will repair the damage and recover all the data safely.

----------

Health Update: Don is still recovering. Things have improved...there are actually periods of time when his foot doesn't hurt, and finally he feels that he is regaining some of his energy. But there's still a long period of recovery ahead.

----------

That's about it for now, folks. More updates as events warrrant. Meanwhile, check out our other blogs and sites:

Readers Advice to find good fiction to read
Across the Scattered Worlds for interesting tidbits from Don's imaginary universe
The Scattered Worlds and Beyond for information about Don's writing
Q-Spec for GLBT SF/F/H
Get-A-Life Boy's Legion Blog for fans of the Legion of Super-Heroes
Rants From the Ivory Madonna for seldom-updated political rants
The Star Toys Museum for...uh...Star Wars Toys

---

Like the blog? Send the author a donation.
Subscribe in a reader

Time To Stop Pretending

Six months ago to the day, my right foot started to hurt.

It’s hurt every day since then.

I went in the hospital, I discovered that I’m diabetic, I had my big toe amputated. I was flat on my back for the better part of three months. I went back to work…part-time at first, then fulltime.

For six months, I’ve been publicly optimistic. “They’ve identified the infection, and they’re fighting it,” I said. “I’m on IV antibiotics, and the infection is on the run.” “Surgery is the light at the end of the tunnel.” “Every day is better than the one before.” “Each week, a little better.”

It’s time to tell the truth. Time to stop pretending. It’s not getting better. For the last month or so, nothing has changed. And I have to face the fact that it may never get any better.

It’s not just the pain (although the pain is no fun). It’s that I don’t have the strength I used to.

I go to work. I come home and lay on the couch watching TV. I read a little. And that’s it. That’s all I can do.

The rest time between work shifts is never long enough…so when I come to my day off, I spend it on the couch, sleeping or watching TV or reading a little. Lately, even one day off isn’t long enough to fully recover. Every two weeks, I get two days off in a row. That’s almost long enough.

Work. And rest on the couch. That’s my life.

I once had a full life. I did things that didn’t involve the couch. I wrote books. I went to the movies. I visited friends, went to fun events. I spent time quality time with Thomas, doing lots of stuff besides resting on the couch watching TV.

I once had plans. Books I wanted to write, a body of work to promote. Projects to accomplish, like digitizing our photographs and ripping music tapes and old vinyl LPs to MP3. Putting together a writers’ consortium for promotion & marketing our queer speculative fiction. Modifications & updates to websites.

I told myself that everything was on hold. But now, after all this time, after progress has ceased, I fear that I may have to give up all these plans…at least for the foreseeable future.

In another ten or twelve years, when the mortgage is paid off, maybe I can retire from the Library, or at least cut down my hours. Maybe then I will be able to pursue some of this stuff. Maybe then I can have a life.

Meanwhile…

Work. And rest on the couch.

-Don

---

Subscribe in a reader

On Our DVR

Here are some of the programs that have been passing through our DVR recently, on their way into the permanent DVD collection. All are highly recommended.

---

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Esther Friesner turned us on to this exceptional show. It's an animated fantasy that has everything: great characters that grow and develop, good writing, excellent plotting, beautiful art, humor, and some of the best worldbuilding in television fantasy. The world of Avatar is detailed, well-constructed, and superbly realized. It's obvious that enormous effort has gone into this production.

The third season of Avatar is coming up; Nickelodeon and Nicktoons have been showing old episodes in preparation. You don't have to watch them in order (although it helps), and they make it easy to catch up by providing both a prologue and "previously on Avatar" scenes at the beginning of each episode. If you haven't seen Avatar yet, do yourself a favor and tune in.

---

Kim Possible

She's your basic average girl, and she's here to save the world. Kim Possible is funny and witty, well-written and well-acted. The art is quite fitting, and the characters are both well-drawn and likeable. The dialogue is clever, and some of the puns are sublime. While each episode stands on its own, there is long-term continuity; the more episodes you watch, the more things hang together.

Kim Possible has just been renewed for an unprecedented (for Disney Channel) fourth season. The Disney Channel just finished running a three-day Kim Possible marathon, and you can be sure we had the recorders running. Definitely worth watching.

---

Doctor Who

We've been Doctor Who fans for decades. After the 1987 Worldcon in Brighton, England we took the train out to a suburb of London to watch the premiere of the Sylvester McCoy Doctor Who at the house of a local fan. In Glasgow we made the pilgrimage to all of the remaining blue police boxes.

We were delighted with the recent rebirth of Doctor Who. It really is one of the most intelligent science fiction shows on TV today.

The Skiffy Channel is showing episodes of the current series (which they call "Season Three") with David Tennant. BBC America is showing Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant episodes. And Maryland Public Television is showing the last season of Tom Baker (last night was "The Keeper of Traken," definitely one of the best ever).

---

Fullmetal Alchemist Another animated fantasy with a well-realized background, great characters, and superb writing. On the Cartoon Network.

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends Funny, witty, silly...definitely a lot of fun. On the Cartoon Network.

The Daily Show Wouldn't miss it. John Stewart has been on vacation the last two weeks, so they've been showing reruns. We're desperate to see how they're going to cover the Larry Craig Senator-in-the-men's-room story. On Comedy Central.

---

Subscribe in a reader

Kadon at Renfair

Well, the Maryland Renaissance Festival has started, and will run weekends through October 21. Thomas will be there most weekends, at the Kadon Enterprises booth adjacent to the King's Field -- look for games & puzzles, and that's where you'll find him.

NASFiC

Location: Collinsville, IL
Miles: 862

Well, here we are in Collinsville, IL, just outside St. Louis, MO. We arrived Thursday morning, and have been having a wonderful time.

It's now Sunday afternoon, and the con is officially over. Thomas is away at a post-con party with a bunch of local costumers; Don is resting in the hotel room.

We had a fun convention. Lots of good panels; from their dealer's table Don and Thomas sold nearly $200 worth of Don's books. We saw some old friends and made some new ones. All in all, a grand time was had by all.

Here are some pictures of denizens of NASFiC:





More later....

On the Road Again

Location: Charleston, WV
Miles: 365.1

So here we are on the road again. We're headed out to St. Louis for the North American Science Fiction Convention (aka NASFiC). Whenever the Worldcon is outside North America (this year it's in Japan), NASFiC is held as a kind of consolation prize for those who are staying at home. We've never been to a NASFiC, so we're excited about this one.

We left home around 5 pm and stopped for dinner at the lovely Four Seasons Restaurant in Mt. Airy, MD. Our cute & friendly waiter, Joe, admired Don's iPhone. Among the advertisements on the placemat was the following offer from Easterday Well Drilling: "Let Us Increase Your Well Flow Rate By Hydro-Fracking." Irresistable!

We were back on the road by 8 pm. About 9, Don crawled into the back seat to lay down, ad promptly fell asleep. Thomas continued driving until after 2 am, when we stopped for the night at the Sleep Inn just outside Charleston, WV.

Tomorrow...onward! (Preferebly by Hydro-Fracking.)