Finished Neil Gaiman's Ultimate Sandman. Thoroughly enjoyed the Dream's visits to the Middle Ages. Shakespeare's cameo in one segment presaged his being featured in one of the best issues in the series.
John Hodgman is more amusing on TV than in print. I found his second book, More Information Than You Need ..., rather tedious. The layout reminded me of a nineteenth newspaper. Maybe it's the need for glasses again after 15 years without thanks to LASIK, but the alternating small print and tiny print was more irritating than entertaining.
Made a couple of discussion group postings on liblicense-l tonight. Probably the most significant engagement in professional discourse in close to a year. It's definitely time to re-engage.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Work +7 weeks
Still no headaches! This is really a departure, going months on end without having to take painkillers, usually more than once a week.
Read Infinite Crises, not as compelling as it would have been if I wasn't a couple of decades behind with the DC mythology.
Have Gaiman's The Absolute Sandman. Read the first series, featuring Dr. Destiny, with a nod to the Golden Age superhero and an extended cameo from John Constantine (not Keanu's incarnation). I recognized Brute and the Glob in the second stanza from Jack Kirby's Sandman endeavors. Very impressed with the seamless references to traditional comics timelines from within an epic taking place largely within it's own fictional realms.
Read Infinite Crises, not as compelling as it would have been if I wasn't a couple of decades behind with the DC mythology.
Have Gaiman's The Absolute Sandman. Read the first series, featuring Dr. Destiny, with a nod to the Golden Age superhero and an extended cameo from John Constantine (not Keanu's incarnation). I recognized Brute and the Glob in the second stanza from Jack Kirby's Sandman endeavors. Very impressed with the seamless references to traditional comics timelines from within an epic taking place largely within it's own fictional realms.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
6 weeks and counting
Hosted Hema and colleagues from Cal State Long Beach on Tuesday. Very nice visit. Struggled a bit with procrastination while making arrangements, but it went well.
Read League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volumes 1 and 2 this week. Edward Hyde makes a wonderful anti-hero. Loved the nods to The Wind in the Willows, Mother Goose and Beatrix Potter in the Dr. Moreau vignette in v. 2. Didn't anticipate volume 1's mystery villain nor recognize if the primary villain was borrowed or original to the tale.
Read League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volumes 1 and 2 this week. Edward Hyde makes a wonderful anti-hero. Loved the nods to The Wind in the Willows, Mother Goose and Beatrix Potter in the Dr. Moreau vignette in v. 2. Didn't anticipate volume 1's mystery villain nor recognize if the primary villain was borrowed or original to the tale.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
5 weeks & a TV appearance
The TV segment I taped on TMS last Thursday finally aired on Friday, September 4. I have a few minor quibbles with the reporter's interpretations, but they really are minor compared to the positive effect of the impact of the coverage of depression and TMS.
The smoke and ash from the fire is finally starting to clear. The moon was actually white last night, instead of red or gold. Corin is likely to be in Ireland, to study for the fall semester, before the fire is contained, much less extinguished. The sky is a light blue and sunny today, a most welcome change of pace.
Watched Juno and V for Vendetta this week. Absolutely no common elements between the movies, but both were quite enjoyable. The V graphic novel was better than the movie.
The smoke and ash from the fire is finally starting to clear. The moon was actually white last night, instead of red or gold. Corin is likely to be in Ireland, to study for the fall semester, before the fire is contained, much less extinguished. The sky is a light blue and sunny today, a most welcome change of pace.
Watched Juno and V for Vendetta this week. Absolutely no common elements between the movies, but both were quite enjoyable. The V graphic novel was better than the movie.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Work +4 weeks and the Station Fire
Back to work full time for a month now. Things still are going well, not seeming nearly as strange as it occasionally did at first.
Did a TV interview about TMS and depression with Dr. Cook for KABC on Thursday morning. The Station Fire in La Canada Flintridge bumped the segment from both Thursday and Friday newscasts. Hopefully it will air during a less urgent news period in the coming days.
The Station Fire necessitated working from home on Friday just in case I needed to evacuate the house and pets. Friday was okay, but Saturday brought mandatory evacuations within 3/4 of a mile of our home. We opted to take the pets, 5 cats and a dog, and many valuable/irreplaceable items to visit friends in Pasadena overnight.
Evacuation area is still in place, but the fire is no longer actively threatening our neighborhood, so we came home this morning. Despite the stresses of the fire, displacement, and return home, I haven't been mentally slowed or experienced the physical exhaustion and somnolence which has characterized my depression during stressful situations.
Read another novel, Working for the Devil, by Lilith Saintcrow. Interesting post-nuclear society, with psionics, vampires (off camera), and Mafia families as major factions. When I bought the book, I saw that there were at least 4 more in the series about Necromance and bounty hunter, Dante Valentine.
Did a TV interview about TMS and depression with Dr. Cook for KABC on Thursday morning. The Station Fire in La Canada Flintridge bumped the segment from both Thursday and Friday newscasts. Hopefully it will air during a less urgent news period in the coming days.
The Station Fire necessitated working from home on Friday just in case I needed to evacuate the house and pets. Friday was okay, but Saturday brought mandatory evacuations within 3/4 of a mile of our home. We opted to take the pets, 5 cats and a dog, and many valuable/irreplaceable items to visit friends in Pasadena overnight.
Evacuation area is still in place, but the fire is no longer actively threatening our neighborhood, so we came home this morning. Despite the stresses of the fire, displacement, and return home, I haven't been mentally slowed or experienced the physical exhaustion and somnolence which has characterized my depression during stressful situations.
Read another novel, Working for the Devil, by Lilith Saintcrow. Interesting post-nuclear society, with psionics, vampires (off camera), and Mafia families as major factions. When I bought the book, I saw that there were at least 4 more in the series about Necromance and bounty hunter, Dante Valentine.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Work +3 weeks
Settling into normal rhythms in the office. Remembering how to do most things when they arise. Splitting work between Mac and PC.
District 9 was outstanding! It felt more like television news and documentary footage rather than sitting through a movie.
District 9 was outstanding! It felt more like television news and documentary footage rather than sitting through a movie.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Work +2 weeks
2 full weeks in the office. It doesn't feel quite so strange. Making progress on clearing some lingering projects off my desk. Spoke with a few faculty members this week. They were glad to see me back at work. Went to a departmental seminar Friday and saw a few more folks for the first time in quite a while.
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