books

"A written word is the choicest of relics. It is something at once more intimate with us and more universal than any other work of art. It is the work of art nearest to life itself. It may be translated into every language, and not only be read but actually breathed from all human lips; - not be represented on canvas or in marble only, but be carved out of the breath of life itself. The symbol of an ancient man's thought becomes a modern man's speech. Two thousand summers have imparted to the monuments of Grecian literature, as to her marbles, only a maturer golden and autumnal tint, for they have carried their own serene and celestial atmosphere into all lands to protect them against the corrosion of time. Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations. Books, the oldest and the best, stand naturally and rightfully on the shelves of every cottage. They have no cause of their own to plead, but while they enlighten and sustain the reader his common sense will not refuse them. Their authors are a natural and irresistible aristocracy in every society, and, more than kings or emperors, exert an influence on mankind."

- Henry David Thoreau
Walden

help name a novel!

A friend in my writers' group could use some help from you. He's written an FBI thriller, but has been told by some guinea pigs (the people who get to read or hear all about our novels before shopping it around) that the title could use some tweaking.

It's currently titled "The Bubble Gum Thief," and he has a poll going on over on his blog with some other title choices. Of course, even if he chooses another title, it could still get changed during the publication process, but who knows? Maybe the title you vote for will wind up on shelves and then you've taken part in the process.

So if you have a minute or two to spare, please go take a look at some of his other suggested titles and vote for your favorite!

NaNoWriMo

*Just wanted to edit this a little, because I totally met my goal and then some. As I'm writing this little update now, I'm at 22,358 words. And I still have a couple of more scenes in my head to get down on paper.

Yup, I'm a glutton for punishment. I'm participating again this year in the National Novel Writing Month. I'm really excited for the story I'm working on, but I've just been really, really busy so far for November and so I'm a little behind. Right now I'm currently at 18,851 words, but that will change in about half an hour as I'm working on it right now too.

My goal is to be at 20,000 words tonight, at least. I think it's totally doable. What I'm looking forward to is having a couple of days off at Thanksgiving where I'm going to catch up to the word count I'm supposed to be at, in order to be at 50,000 by the end of November.

Like how I'm saying "I'm going to catch up," as opposed to "I hope to catch up?"

fall

Even after three, well, four, falls here in DC I'm still not used to it. I love the crunch of the dried leaves underfoot on the sidewalks, I like seeing them carpet the red brick walkways and a canopy made of ruby and carnelian colored leaves, with the occasional bright yellow in between.

Because, you see...in North Texas, there's maybe a day or two of fall. And the leaves that do change don't change these brilliant colors. They turn brown. And then the next day they're gone. And of course, a day after that, the weather's back up to 70 or 80 (hey! sounds like DC weather lately!).

So I took advantage of the beautiful weather yesterday to walk around and just enjoy the leaves. I had my route mapped out, as I've seen some beautiful picture-perfect scenes on my walk to and from work, but I ended up walking around more than that. I went down to the mall, but as it was packed in anticipation of Veteran's Day (which, by the way, please thank a Veteran!) I skipped most of the monuments and instead came across the memorial to the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

I'd seen this lake before, but hadn't realized there was a memorial there until yesterday. Unfortunately as it was mostly overcast, which was a perfect fall day, my pictures came out a little darker than I had anticipated. But I'm hoping to go down to the National Gallery today and will take my camera with me.

When I first moved out here, I used to walk aimlessly around with my camera, taking pictures of whatever caught my interest. But I haven't been doing that lately. And there have been a few moments where I just think "oh, I wish I had my camera!" I'm going to have to remedy this and bring my camera with me.

Anyway, you can see more of my Fall pictures here. And if you live in DC, then you can also go out and enjoy because winter is approaching! Even if you wouldn't know it by the weather.

am i asking for too much?

I tend to wear pretty tall shoes at work. And so the pants I buy for work are generally the regular length. I do have a few short pairs, but to me they don't look as great with my heels. So I have a pair of boots that I wear to walk to and from work. The problem is that the last pair I had finally had to be thrown away as they were worn down as much as is possible.

I new pair that didn't really hold up as well for the walk. Part of it is because there is no platform and the heel was very thin. So...in my mind, I have the perfect pair of a commuter boot: black ankle boot, with a small platform and a tall, somewhat chunky heel.

Can I find said pair of perfect boots?

No. Nowhere have I seen these. I have looked online and in the stores, and with all the selections I would think I would come across something that would make me stop and just think "these, I have to have." Well, ok, I take that back. I've seen several pairs that I've wanted, but none that I've wanted for my walk. The ones I've seen that I wanted are usually a little more of a stiletto, and with the holes and broken pavement and grills...I'm not really sure they'd hope up well.

I didn't think I was asking for a lot, but who knows...maybe I am. Hopefully I'll find something. The pair I currently have as a sort of transition period may have to be retired soon.