Eccentric Flower:200906/Further Dredgery I

I've just put up a link to today's photo - rather late in the day, but then, I put up yesterday's late too. At this time, I am now out of photos of the day. The reason I store them in chunks in the first place is because I don't see things I want to photograph every single day. On Monday I am going to have to try really hard to go find something to take a picture of, or there will be trouble.

I recognize that it's kind of crass of me to link old entries as I go through them. The thing is, I figure I'm putting a fair bit of labor in, so this is my way of trying to salvage something from it. Also, I don't expect that anyone but me would be crazy enough to read through all of my archives, so in pointing out a few selections I'm saying, "Here are a few highlights (or lowlights) which still seem worth a look today," and thereby improving the chances you might go take that look.

And then there are things I don't link even though you might find them interesting because they're bits I sort of want to sweep under the rug. What you may find surprising is that I'm not especially interested in hiding the periods of angst and wailing, oh no no no. What do I hide? Photos. I don't worry nearly as much about how bad my rants make me look as I do about how my photos make me look.

That said, I know that some of you (Mel) will read the paragraph above and immediately go try to find the photos, so I'll save you some work - they're here and here. And, in all honesty, they're not that bad; just unpleasantly true-to-life.

In non-photographic items from August 1999, Mel might be interested in reading The Big Tolkien Entry, newly amended with comments about how the films changed my experience of reading Tolkien.

That entry was also the touchpoint for a chain of comments in later entries about "fantasy" vs "science fiction," which culminates here and here. (See especially the latter-day comments on the second of those.) This is about the point where I decided that my definitions of these genres were never going to match anyone else and it was all a subjective, losing game anyway, so it wasn't worth further finagling.

I also find the entry on In-Jokes pretty interesting in light of my continuing love/hate relationship with Fandom. It takes the matter at an angle I hadn't used before or since.

In between all that there is a lot of discussion of films and children's books, including some questions about "What makes something a children's book?" which I commend specifically to Melissa and M'ris.

There's also a trip to New York in there, including a trip to the World Trade Center which is sort of unexpectedly eerie now, and Koko the gorilla, and Ellen Raskin, and internet radio, and eyebrow waxing.

And one link I sort of hesitate to make here, but what the hell. If you were wondering about the ultimate disposition of my second novel - the one several of you beta-read - I've added to this informative but depressing entry a latter-day valediction, both on the book and on a friendship of the time.