The Writer Shawn White's Place of Things

It's the last day of November, and I am wrapping up a long weekend following a wonderful Thanksgiving. The weather has decided to get a little colder, and I have added the space heater back to my office, strategically placed under my desk, so I am toasty all day. I debate adding a blanket after seeing a Japanese kotatsu. Basically, a table with a space heater and a blanket. I won’t, but it will be debated. We’ve also had the fire running consistently, trying to keep the rest of the house toasty. The basic theme of November is 'keep warm', and we are trying. As for writing this month (Note for folks who have read these posts in the past - I’m moving writing to the front of the things I’m doing.) Following the writing and printing of the short story zine 'The Summoning' in all of its hot pink colored cover glory, Jen and I started the next project. A zine with recipes that we have made for a Thanksgiving meal. Again, this was for Honora because who doesn’t want a reci...

 October, while still a week from being over has been full of a number of things. I wrote a short story for my daughter in college, worked with Jen to get it illustrated, and the printed out a bunch of copies zine-style. And that was not the only story I worked on.  I also read O Hole’y Night at Quiet City Books. It was my third time reading at this spooky story time for grownups and while I was still quiet and barely audible I still managed to get a few laughs in. A little weird to read a Christmas story in October but it was spooky, so it counted. I also met some new writers, and heard some other great stories.  Some things I have read. I read Witches, The History of Witches by Nigel Cawthorne. The name of the author sounds like he may have witch hunter ancestors. It was not a fun easy read. The history of actual witches is brutal and horrific and directly attributed to power, wealth accumulation, and primarily impacted women. In the States, we had the Salem Witch Tria...

 It’s September, and officially fall. Things are darker, and our morning and evening walks involve very little, if any, sun. No worries, though, we’ll have snow to brighten things up soon enough. But first, the leaves have to turn pretty colors and fall to the ground. I still have a pumpkin to carve, and I may still try to get a cold dip in the pond before it gets too cold. I’ll hold out for a warm day in October. Some things I’ve watched. I have not made it to see the new Toxic Avenger movie, but I should. I watched 28 Years Later, and it was a great follow-up to the original. I don’t remember a lot about 28 Weeks Later, but they had done ok with that as well. I think this latest one is the first of a trilogy, and I’m down to see how that goes.  I also watched JugFace after seeing the cover for the movie for years and listening to it spoiled on the Ruined Podcast . (An amazing podcast if you need an entertaining podcast to pass some time.) The podcast was better than the movi...

 August has been fun. A little vacation, my 25th wedding anniversary, my daughter off to her first year of college, and meeting up with old and new friends.  I met a bouncer and we shared a mutual appreciation of the Patrick Swayze classic Road House. He said that the climate has changed from what it was when he started bouncing, and their job is to protect the business from lawsuits, so it's better to talk folks down instead of knocking them around. Basically, to be nice until it's time not to be nice. So, it's a training film. Some movies I watched:  Final Destination - Bloodlines. The latest chapter in the Final Destination movies. Just as ridiculous as the others, and an interesting attempt to tie them all together. Y2K. This movie was not great. Partially due to my expectations, but also just not great. With the trailer, I expected a slightly more entertaining Maximum Overdrive set on New Year's Eve 1999. Having lived through that, it was fun to see all the refe...

It’s the end of July, and I started it on an island off the coast of Maine frequented by artists, the wealthy, fisher people, and lobster people. The ferry ride out to the island on my birthday was met with giant waves and my eventual sickness at the back of the boat. My only company, a seagull flying slowly behind us, watching me getting rid of my recently consumed tea and a vegan croissant we had picked up at Salt and Pepper Social in Newcastle. It was a good week, and the ferry ride back was much less eventful. On Sunday, the 20th, we went to the State and saw The Decemberists. It was a great performance and a sold-out crowd. Turns out it was the first time they had played in Maine.  Some movies I watched I watched the Pavement documentary/biopic/musical. Not horrific, but fun, and the soundtrack was great. Also watched The Substance. It was worth the hype, horrific, and there was so much fake blood during the chaotic finale. 36,000 gallons. Still half of the Evil Dead remake of...

It’s June, and I just nudged past a milestone birthday, so this will be a quick post so I can get back to some June vacation activities. Here are some books I’m reading and have read: Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson - I’m a little over halfway through it and enjoying it so far. I’ve liked the other books I have read by him as well. I just finished Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune, 2052–2072 by M.E. O'Brien and Eman Abdelhadi for our Difficult Books book club. It was an interesting look at a possible and likely more realistic outcome after a complete world government collapse. I like that folks band together to help everyone and themselves. While bleak, it was still better than the dystopias where it’s every person for themselves. This week, I’ll be starting the next book in the Difficult Books series, Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. I’m coming into it blind and don’t know what it’s about. I’ll also be starting To Be Taught If Fortunate by one of ...