Strange Days, Indeed...

It's been a strange one here for me.

First of all, I had a very satisfying day at the key board.  Root of Evil keeps growing but I think tomorrow or the next day and the 1st draft will be finished.

Secondly - my birthday came and went and I was having a wee bit of a crisis.  I have been a little frustrated with rejections of late and after a disheartening Friday I gave myself a slap in the face and told myself to smarten up.

A wonderful thing spawned from my birthday.  In the fall we added the wonderful Willow to our family.  On Sunday my daughter gave me her big birthday secret that wasn't finished in time to share with me on my actual birthday.

My daughter found a pattern on-line and with some help from her mom cut out the material and sewed it together.

It's amazing.  It sits.  It stands and it lies down.  It has four points of articulation and it is entirely handmade.  It will live with me in the basement office.

The weather has been a roller-coaster.  Mostly we've been in the bitter grip of Arctic air but for a short, miraculous pair of days it was merely freezing.  Here are some shots of our river - normally this time of the year the flow is far less frozen.

The next thing I have truly mixed feelings about.  This morning I heard that my former employer - the one that canned me after 16 years without cause - filed for bankruptcy protection along with its US parent.  I am worried about the friends I have who still work there and the uncertainty of their futures but I predicted this three years ago and my timeline was pretty much spot on.  There's the satisfaction of "I told you so" but there's also a lot of folks not sleeping well tonight that deserved better governance of their company.  Oh, did I mention that the top five executives of the company took bonuses well in excess of one million dollars only a week before declaring bankruptcy.  Oh, there's bankruptcy all right and not all of it is fiscal.

The last thing I'll share is one of those moment you have when inspiration hits you from out of the blue.  I was washing the dishes a little while ago and my mind drifted to The Witch.  The Witch has been shelved for a while - fermenting, I guess - and as I was scrubbing something stubborn off a pan, a huge portion of the story gelled in my mind.  I now have a very good idea how to proceed with The Witch.  

I should wash the dishes more often.

As I nodded nearly napping...

Well, yesterday I was too busy writing a scary story to notice that the grand old master himself celebrated his 200th birthday.  

Edgar Allen Poe was born on January 19th 1809.  

The first story I read by him was the Cask of Amontillado.  A wonderful story of petty revenge, wine and masonry.

When I a wee lad - probably around 9 or 10 -  I got a book called Tales of Mystery and Imagination.  Who gives a 9 or 10 year old such a book, I don't know, but I was fascinated by what I read.  Gloomy country estates and damp quarried rock and chill woods captured me.  The language seemed heavy to begin but as you settled into the stories it was just the right language to transport you to that strange world.  

Speaking of language - if you're looking for a sample of psychological suspense you can stop searching at The Tell-tale Heart.  Great story.

But for Poe at his best look to the POEms.  Annabel Lee and Lenore are two of my favourites but the granddaddy of them all is, of course, The Raven.

  And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain

Say it out loud.  Hear how it rolls off the tongue.  Magnificent.

Poe's influences are all around.  In high school I wrote an essay outlining specific instances of Poe's influences on the writings of H.P. Lovecraft.  The Allan Parsons Project's great album named after and based on that first Poe book given to me is a classic for my generation.  And where would the immortal Vincent Price have been without a whole host of low budget movies extremely loosely based upon Poe's works.  Even the Simpson's has paid homage to Mr Poe.

I have my own favourite volume of Poe's works - it is a complete collection of all stories and poems from 1938.  I picked it up at the annual Elora Festival Book Sale.  Please note the chewed corner.  It was like that when I bought it and was half the reason I picked it up.

So, it is with much appreciation that I wish you, Mr. Poe, a very happy 200th birthday wherever you may be (probably still in your coffin...buried alive). 

Brass Monkey Weather...Over?

As my father used to say, the last week or so has been real "brass monkey weather" but it looks as if the worst is over for now.  

After several days of missing her, the kids at my childrens' school were overjoyed that Willow accompanied us today.  Most of last week we drove to school - the windchill was just too much for a couple of young children (and to be honest, too much for the guy typing this post).  The dog seemed pretty happy to be the recepient of all that attention, too.

Root of Evil is coming along nicely.  I have written some of the most gruesome discriptive passages I've ever seen, but that's as it should be.  I have also learned a great deal about dentistry in general and learning new things is always a blast.  I hope to finish Root of Evil today or tomorrow.

Back at it...