I was trying not to open another book until I finished one of my current reads, which is why I postponed cracking Rosemary and Rue. I have the feeling that once I commence, I won’t be able to put it down. But a few days ago, I found myself unexpectedly involved with the Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making. Technically, I didn’t open a new book- just a browser. The online novel is one of Catherynne Valente’s latest projects, in which she adds a new chapter every Monday. It’s available for free, but donations won’t be denied.

In the tale with the all too short title, the Green Wind comes to take September to Fairyland because she seems “an ill-tempered and irascible enough child”. During her numerous adventures September meets a variety of colourful characters like the witches Hello and Goodbye and a Wyverary named A-thru-L who doesn’t know much about Fairyland’s capital, Pandemonium, because it begins with P. They correct her mortal misconceptions about friendly fairies and other such pleasantries while teaching her the land’s rules and regulations, such as how “the practice of alchemy is forbidden to all except young ladies born on Tuesdays”, “aeronautic locomotion is permitted only by means of Leopard or licensed Ragwort Stalk”, and “all traffic travels widdershins”.

“Latitude and Longitude turned smoothly towards each other, as though they were on pedestals. They began to bend and fold like staircases, reaching out for each other and interlocking, hand into hand, foot onto knee, arms akimbo. They moved mechanically in their strange circus dance, jerkily, joints swinging like dolls. The street shook a little, and then was still. Ever so briefly, Latitude and Longitude kissed, and when they parted, there was a space between their mouths just large enough for a Leopard carrying a Harsh Air and a little girl. All September could see on the other side were clouds.”

I’ve enjoyed the nine chapters navigated thus far. It’s fun, witty, academic, and reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland and other such stories while remaining original. A friend who pointed the novel out to me asked how it compares to Valente’s other works that I’ve read. I think the first thing I said was, “different”. It’s far closer to a G-rating than Palimpsest or “the Ballad of the Sinister Mr. Mouth” in that it’s less macabre and challenging. Whether that will change further on, I won’t try to guess because Valente is full of surprises. Her poetic prose and use of language weaves a spell around the reader. As I admitted to said friend shortly after WorldCon, I love her brain.

…And…because their works are often intertwined and it’s difficult to mention one and not the other, SJ Tucker wrote “September’s Rhyme” to accompany chapter 1. I think now’s a good time to blame Sooj for adding to my reading pile. Really, it’s the tricky pixie’s fault. I ain’t complainin’, merely sayin’.

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Musing Monday’s topic was about wish lists and if they’re kept and shared. About 90% of the time I purchase books for myself so my list is more for me than anyone. It’s pretty rare for someone to surprise me with a book, I think the last time was two summers ago. From the Dread Pile o’Reads, these are the books that have been lusted after the longest or shoved their way to the top of the list:

• James Endredy: Ecoshamanism
• Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett: Good Omens
• Neil Gaiman: Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders
• Robert Heinlein: Stranger in a Strange Land
• Moises Kaufman: Gross Indecency- the Three Trials of Oscar Wilde
• Mercedes Lackey: Foundation
• Jennifer 8. Lee: the Fortune Cookie Chronicles
• Michael Pollan: The Omnivore’s Dilemma
• Rebecca Stein: Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft
• Catherynne Valente: the Orphan’s Tales, I & II
• Roger Zelazny: Changeling

“Do you listen to music while reading? Does this change if you’re reading in or out of your house? Do you have a preference of music for such occasions?”

It’s seldom that I don’t have music playing at home, even if only in the background. Celtic, folk, classical, opera, and Anthony Stewart Head’s ambiance-electronica album are my usual reading and writing soundtracks. For that thing called housework it’s commonly Nightwish, Meat Loaf, Jim Steinman, Beethoven, and Vivaldi.

On another note, I occasionally glanced at the Emmys last night because with Neil Patrick Harris hosting there was bound to be a spiel involving Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog. I was not disappointed. Plus, Joss Whedon’s web-aired musical won an Emmy in the Short-format Live-action Entertainment category. Shiny!

“This is our small proof not only that things can be done differently in this business, but that the greatest expression of rebellion is joy.” ~Joss Whedon

Dr. Horrible interrupts the Emmys:

Short but sweet acceptance:

]]> http://stageandcanvas.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/musical-musing-monday/feed/ 4 Mish Musing Mondays http://stageandcanvas.wordpress.com/2009/09/19/avast-ye-mateys/ http://stageandcanvas.wordpress.com/2009/09/19/avast-ye-mateys/#comments Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:52:24 +0000 Mish http://stageandcanvas.wordpress.com/?p=2416 ]]>

Today be the day when jack tars and lubbers around the world be talkin’ and actin’ like pirates. What be I talkin’ about? Why none other than International Talk Like A Pirate Day!

In brief, Ol’ Chum Bucket and Cap’n Slappy, aka John Baur and Mark Summers, be talkin’ like pirates and comin’ up with the idea in the nineties. A few years later, they be writin’ columnist Dave Barry who then be writin’ and promotin’ the day to the masses. Thanks to them, themed entertainment, parties, and events happens across the seven seas.

Of course this be the one weekend when the ship be at port and I be stuck on land. Arrgh! But I be celebratin’ anyway with me grog and music.

Ol’ Chum Bucket and Cap’n Slappy join in on Tom Smith’s infamous “Talk Like A Pirate Day”:

Talk like a pirate:

Language rules, aye, pirates use ‘em too:

• Drop ending “g”’s- Sailin’, Fightin’
• Drop “v”’s- Ne’er, E’er, O’er
• “Me” ne’er “my”
• “I be” or “You be”, ne’er “I am” or “You are”
• Scrap past and future tenses. Aye, present tense only.

Lingo:

Addled: Mad, insane, stupid
Addlepate: A fool
Ahoy!: Hello! Hey!
Arrgh!: Sound of annoyance or pain
Arrr!: Yes, I be agreein’
Avast!: Stop! Pay attention!
Aye: Yes
Belay: Stop that
Bilge!: Nonsense; Lowest level of a ship
Bilge rat- One livin’ in the lowest, slimiest level of the ship
Black spot: Placin’ the black spot’ be markin’ someone for death
Blaggard: “Blackguard”, an insult
Blimey!: Exclamation of surprise
Booty: Treasure
Bosun: Petty officer, boatswain
Buccanneer: A pirate who be answerin’ to no man government
Bucko: “Me bucko”- me friend
Chantey: A sailor’s work song, also spelled “shantey” and “shanty”
Corsair: A more romantic
Davy Jones’ Locker: The bottom o’ the sea, where the souls of dead men lie
Deadlights: Eyes
Doubloons: Pieces of gold, originally those from Spain
Fair winds!: Goodbye, good luck!
Fiddlers Green: The private heaven where pirates be goin’ when they die.
Gangway!: Outta me way!
Go on the account: To embark on a piratical cruise
Grog: Usually rum with water, but also used for beer and alcohol in general
Handsomely: Quickly, hurry
Head: Modern ship’s toilet, “I be usin’ the head”
Hornpipe: A single-reeded musical instrument, a spirited dance
Jack: A flag or a sailor
Jack Tar, tar: A sailor
Jollyboat: A small craft, like a dinghy
Jolly Roger: Flag with skull and crossbones
Keelhaul: When a scurvy dog be tied to a rope and dragged along the bottom of a ship
Lad, lass, lassie: An address for someone younger
Landlubber, lubber: Land-lover, a non-sailor
Lights: Lungs, “I be havin’ yer lights and liver!”
Lass: A woman
Lily-livered: Faint o’ heart
Loaded to the Gunwales (pron. gunnels): drunk
Matey: A shipmate or friend, not always a friendly address
Me hearty: A friend or shipmate
Poxy, poxed: Diseased, an insult
Privateer: a pirate officially sanctioned by a national power
Sail ho!: “I be seein’ a ship!”
Salt, old salt: An experienced sailor
Scallywag: A scoundrel
Scurvy dog!: An insult
Sea dog: An experienced sailor
Shark bait: A worthless, lazy sailor
Shiver me timbers!: An exclamation of surprise
Sink me!: An expression of surprise
Smartly: Quickly, hurry
Splice the mainbrace: To have a drink or several
Sprogs: New recruits
Squiffy: A buffoon
Swab: A disrespectful term for a sailor; To clean
Swag: Treasure
Swaggy: A scurvy cur’s ship what ye be intendin’ to loot
Thar: The opposite of “here.”
Walk the plank: What ye be doin’ if ye don’t get it
Wench: a woman
Wi’ a wannion: Wi’ a curse, or wi’ a vengeance

SJ Tucker, “Wendy Trilogy I- Wendy on Board”:

I heard last night through friends about Patrick Swayze losing his battle against pancreatic cancer and passing away at the age of 57. Of course, it’s just about everywhere in the news. Anyway, here are my favorite Swayze films:

Dirty Dancing: Thanks to Swazye’s background he did some of the choreography, which made me appreciate his role and the dancing even more. It’s one of the films that got me into dancing in the first place. And there’s that famous line, “Nobody puts Baby in the corner”. I named the runt of my cat’s litter Baby because she was always dive bombing her siblings. My friends who adopted her have since named her Princess, which also suits.

To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar: A laugh-out-loud comedy with an all around stellar cast, a few of whom made fabulous drag queens.

Ghost: A long time favorite from the romantic drama oeuvre with Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg, need I say more?

Dirty Dancing’s finale:

Swayze and his wife dancing:

When I began reading Shapeshifting: Techniques for Global and Personal Transformation by John Perkins I had only one expectation, to come away with something. It was suggested by a friend and spiritual mentor who has “assigned” me other readings so I knew it would be worthwhile. Simply put, it was beautiful. Wanting to give thoughts time to simmer, I forced myself not to not read more than one chapter a night.

In Shapeshifting, Perkins tells his own story of visiting indigenous people in different regions and turning from an executive to an environmental activist. He began sharing what he learned from shamans with others, to help them and our global home. By shifting one’s perceptions and changing oneself, one can help another, and change and heal the world. Perkins relays that:

“Shapeshifting can occur on three levels: cellular- transforming from human to plant or animal; personal- becoming a new self or leaving an addiction behind; and institutional- creating a new business or cultural identity.”

Reading Shapeshifting is like hearing about a friend’s trip, it’s personal. It can be read for the stories contained, as a study guide, as anthropology material, or any combination thereof. I thoroughly enjoyed it for all of the above and will most likely read more by Perkins.

I read Shapeshifting in 2007, but decided to post about it earlier this year. For one reason or another, it (and a few other posts) slipped through the cracks so there it is. Now that a friend returned my copy, I can get around to Robert Wolff’s Original Wisdom- Stories of an Ancient Way of Knowing, which was also simply beautiful. While giving me a reading list, my aforementioned friend omitted the second ‘f’ so when I was shopping online I stumbled upon Robert Ghost Wolf. Soon after, I came across Ghost Wolf’s Changing the Tides of Fear in a used bookstore and decided to bring it home. So I have that and James Endredy’s “assigned” Ecoshamanism also in the non-fiction queue.

BTT asked this week, “What’s the most informative book you’ve read recently?”

Easily answered that would be My Life With the Eskimo by Canadian explorer and ethnologist Vilhjálmur Stefánsson. It’s an account of what was, at the time (1908-1912), the longest Arctic expedition and one of the last done by dog-sled. I learned a lot about the region and its exploration, its native and non-native inhabitants, and the effects of whaling, which was coming to an end. Some may think that 431 pages of such topics would be dreadfully dull, but that was as sparse as caribou during migration season. My Life With the Eskimo is an academic account, but at the same time it’s thoroughly engaging, and I found myself taking copious notes. Most likely it’ll remain among my top ten reads for the year and I’d be interested to read some more of Stefánsson’s accounts and findings.

A couple months after reading the Arctic adventure I was in my favorite bookstore and came across a first edition account of another explorer that Stefánsson had mentioned. A few times he talks about incompetence and how (I think it was) Franklin perished during his second or third expedition so this comment came to mind:

“No man should engage in Arctic exploration who is unable to walk as many miles a day as his dogs are able haul his sled and camp gear” and that many of the previous explorers were “little better than baggage hauled along by the common men of their expeditions (whose very names seldom find a place in the records)” (261).

I’ll most likely end up getting it, but doubt it’s going anywhere soon so I’m in no rush. I gather from my skimming that Stefánsson’s is the better of the two, but it’d be interesting to compare them and read more about the Arctic during that time.

Although I’m a long-time fan of folklore and faerie tales I never really thought about how I would define them as separate entities, but then an occasion that laid them side by side never arose either. I see folktales as cultural explanations (mythology) while faerie tales portray actions and morals (fables). My thoughts are still kind of percolating from what was one of my favorite discussions at Anticipation. 90 minutes was way too short for the fascinating topics and questions covered. The one thing I’m absolutely certain of is that I need to read both of the Orphan’s Tales. They’ve been in my Dread Pile o’Reads for months and the few chapters I’m familiar with are quite something. Anyway…

Folklore, Sci-fi, and Fantasy:

• Folktales vs faerie tales.
  • Cat describes folklore as culture and how things work while faerie tales prescribe cultural behavior and show morals (ie. Cinderella).
  • Janet sees no difference between the two.
• Have to understand culture and how they work to properly write about them, otherwise they’ll seem like characters in costume.
• Folklore is constant through history and is always being born.
  • It’s sci-fi that naturally explains occurrences; we need reasons.
  • Biological and scientific roots.
    • Animals that shed skin as humans (ie. selkies).
  • It’s valid because people believe it.
• The Orphan’s Tales are a completely fictional mix of faerie tales and folklore, akin to Arabian Nights.
  • “Can I take everything I know and do it backwards?”- Folklore created before writing the book; took stories apart and put them back together in strange shapes like legos.
• “Everybody has folklore, no matter the class or culture.” ~Charles Seeger
  • Children create them all the time because it’s easy for them to make the leap.
  • Miami street children
• Those that think folklore is too precious to change and want to preserve it -> It’s no longer folklore.
• Folklore and superstition are both beliefs in things that aren’t understood.
• Folklore is true to some extent at some point, it’s a structure to hang life on.
  • It doesn’t come from nothing, but is created by emotions and fears.
• Society still lives in tribes and certain people have power and authority.
  • Bob the shaman vs a kid.
• Terry Pratchett’s use of “substition”- something true but people ignore (Don’t pick the scab and it’ll heal better).
• Urban legends known as wandering tales in Sweden.
• If animals have knowledge and communicate, do they have folklore ?
• Does there have to be some narrative and more than just knowledge?
• Is all knowledge folklore?

Recommended reading:

• Judith Devlin: the Superstitious Mind
• Alan Dundes: Intro to Folklore(?)
• Vladimir Propp: the Morphology of the Folktale
• the Blue Lady(?)

I had the unexpected pleasure of seeing a free outdoor performance of Henry V this past weekend. Written in 1599, Shakespeare’s historical play is about King Henry V and the attempt to conquer France during the Hundred Years’ War. The immature, wild child known as Prince Hal in Henry IV has grown up and taken on the responsibilities of his position. When he used to only think of sport with his friends, Henry is now leading his friends and men into battle and trying to form an alliance with the French crown.

Overall, the performance was really good and entertaining. The delivery during the humorous lines was excellent and made everyone laugh. Some of the French accents and pronunciations could have used some work, but I know how difficult they are to master. One of the things I liked is how a few characters jumped into the action from their seats on the lawn. In the beginning, the woman playing the Chorus stood up and started the show before sitting down and then later popping up again and moving among the audience. My favorite scene was Henry’s rousing speech from Act 4:

“…He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say ‘To-morrow is Saint Crispian:’
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say ‘These wounds I had on Crispin’s day.’
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember’d.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember’d;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile…”

The costumes were modern, with England donning red and black and France in white and gray, which helped to see who was on which side. Having Henry wear a black leather coat and the King of France in a three-piece suit worked well. Leaving scenery to the imagination and saving time and money, the only set pieces on stage were two chairs for the monarchs’ thrones. The proscenium stage and slanted hillside created a natural amphitheatre with really good acoustics, even without microphones. It was a really good bare bones, 75 minute production, short but sweet.

Sailing, seeing a play, and then feasting on BBQ with friends really was a perfect way to end the weekend. Plus that Sunday in a park with Hal starts me on the Much Ado Shakespeare Challenge hosted by Andrea.

I was a bit hesitant to jump into the middle of Robert Silverberg’s Majipoor series, but Majipoor Chronicles made the perfect landing spot and I liked it a lot. Akin to Arabian Nights, it is a set of short stories that are linked together by the novel’s plot and Majipoor so it’s also a good stand-alone. As Hissune discovers the planet-world’s history spanning thousands of years and its diverse lands and people so does the reader.

In Majipoor Chronicles, 14-year old Hissune is a clerk in the House of Records located in the Labyrinth. Feeling forgotten by Coronal Valentine, who had given him the position, and trapped in his subterranean station, Hissune seeks consolation by forging his way into the Register of Souls. With the push of a button he is free to explore the memories and “the minds of folk long dead, explorers, pioneers, warriors”, and even Majipoor’s leading officials, the Coronals and Pontifexes.

“Hissune’s mind is opening now in all directions, and the Register of Souls is the key to an infinite world of new understanding. When one dwells in the Labyrinth one develops a peculiar sense of the world as vague and unreal, mere names rather than concrete places: only the dark and hermetic Labyrinth has substance, and all else is vapor. But Hissune has journeyed by proxy to every continent now, he has tasted strange foods and seen weird landscapes, he has experienced extremes of heat and cold, and in all that he has come to acquire a comprehension of the complexity of the world that, he suspects, very few others have had” (213).

The sci-fi/fantasy series is set in the distant future when Old Earth is no longer inhabitable due to overpopulation, crime, and other forms of destruction. Human colonists have since settled on the large planet-world of Majipoor, fighting with the aboriginal Metamorphs and forcing them onto reservations. Along with tension between the natives, other alien races have also come to settle. Majipoor is neither a utopia nor a dystopia. Aside from legalized theiving, if one is a guildmember, crime of any kind is practically non-existant.

“He had never seen violence before. He had never heard of an instance in his lifetime of the deliberate slaying of one human by another. That it should have happened on his ship, by one of his officers upon another, in the midst of this crisis, was intolerable, a mortal wound” (112).

“‘We do not kill,’ Lavon said. ‘Our barbarian ancestors took each other’s lives, on Old Earth long ago, but we do not kill. I do not kill. We were beasts once, but that was in another era, on a different planet’” (113).

Should one perform an atrocious crime, the King of Dreams will eke out punishment through their unconscious mind. The government is unique in that the man assuming the position of Coronal is chosen by the Pontifex. When the Pontifex passes away, the Coronal takes up the role of Pontifex, chooses a new Coronal, and moves from his mountain castle down into the inner depths of the Labyrinth, where he remains until his passing. It’s a duty that is occasionally seen as a prison sentence.

My first glimpse of the three dimensional world was “the Seventh Shrine” in Legends, an anthology of novellas edited by Silverberg. It interested me enough that I later purchased Majipoor Chronicles when I came across it. Now I look forward to reading the rest of the series before the next book is added and more by Silverberg aka David Osborne, Robert Randall, Calvin Knox, etc. in general and having written since the fifties there’s a long list to choose from. The man of many pseudonyms said in August that he needed to read Chronicles again before he could start writing so there’s some time yet.

Majipoor series chronologically:

• “The Book of Changes” (2003, in Legends II)
• Sorcerers of Majipoor (1997)
• Lord Prestimion (1999)
• King of Dreams (2000)
• Lord Valentine’s Castle (1980)
• Majipoor Chronicles (1982)
• Valentine Pontifex (1983)
• “The Seventh Shrine” (1998, in Legends)
• The Mountains of Majipoor (1995)
• “The Sorcerer’s Apprenctice” (2004, in Flights)

That’s #2 for the Sci-fi Challenge.

Mast & Sky

Regatta

Sailing Summer

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Photos ©Copyright Misha Lee, 2009