Once, in an annotated translation of Heian period journal or collection of diary poems, I read a scene which is stuck in my mind. A lady watches the moon. While sitting on the veranda, she receives a letter. It says, more or less, "Nothing in particular". This is very chic and delightful. And the annotation states "even by Heain standards, this is ( Read more... )

Booo writing urge still has not returned. I suppose I have to come up with more stories that include even hinted-at sex and violence, or whatever it was that made the previous story so engaging to write. Maybe skinny boys being difficult. Or hair-cutting. Or ogling at round women butts (really I'm so easily impressed: after writing the story I ( Read more... )

I think I just wrote my best story so far, and now I'm having like withdrawal symptoms or something. The story took over, I banged my fingers on the keyboard, and occasionally tried to pretend I was at the summer cottage with family, but I really was not. Even when I said "yes it seems that sun might come out" and other such inanities, secretly I ( Read more... )

Music from the very annoying movies Gravity and Interstellar is excellent for getting in a heroic and fatalistic mood (for writing). But as movies and especially scifi movies they were sorely disappointing. In fact the only sf movie I've seen in a few years, which gave me more than I had expectations for, has been Ex Machina. Oh, and also the John ( Read more... )

Stressful things: to open e-mail after 3 days of not checking it.
Lovely things: roaming around Europe. I think I could do this for months or even years. I'm starting to question why am I (we) planning to buy our apartment since being on the move seems to suit our family so well.

What was it exactly that made Jupiter Ascending feel immature? The themes were not childish at all (economy which is based on exploitation of people, the randomness of being born into a certain family and how it affects our lives). But the storyline itself, I guess, and the characters... I dunno. I'd like to go see it again ( Read more... )

Since Neil Gaiman almost exclusively writes about unhappy or disturbed or somehow misbalanced relationships, or ones which end unhappily (excepting Stardust, which he apparently wrote specifically to counterbalance all the unhappy relationships in his works), I used to think his marriage was somehow unhappy. But now I notice that the romantic ( Read more... )

Went to see Jupiter Ascending, and after the film got out of the theater feeling determined and strangely exhilarated. Firstly, I'm determined to somehow inspire Wachowskis to film some Iain M. Banks Culture novel. At times the movie made me despair, since so great scenes and special effects were created to accompany such an ... infantile story. ( Read more... )

Now that I started writing short stories, new ideas keep popping into my head. Or rather, I discover bits of stories in my head which have been floating around for ages, and realise they are not mental trash, but could perhaps be valuable components for writing ( Read more... )

"If I Were A God..." -challenge! from Kaino, Caramea & Mademoiselle Parapluie ( Read more... )