Dear Sweet Filthy World

Sunny mostly today, overcast now. Our high was 84.9F, heat index a more honest 85F.

I might have slept three full hours. This has GOT to fucking stop. This month, I have a novella to write and the morphology section of a mosasaur paper to write, and people are waiting on me, and I cannot fail. So, this not sleeping HAS TO STOP.

Please.

Today, lots moore email. The last correction for Ellen D. on "Build Your Houses With Their Back's to the Sea." I read a fairly old mosasaur paper of relevance to this study at hand (MP2), from 1999, a description of a speciemn from Alberta (seeingly from freshwater strata, no less). There's an editor doing a William S. Burroughs tribute, and I'm trying to figure out what I can write to him - and again it has to be done this month. This month I freaking turn sixty! Oh, and I talked to Drew Gentry, and because he has a bunch of work and I have a bunch of work, we're going to do our next two turtle papers in the autumn. They're fucking cool turtles, man. Mike P. called and we talked awhile about nosasaur eyes and ears (auditory and photosensitivity). Oh, and today I signed books for Dreaming Squid Sundries customers (see photo below).

C'mon, Red Bull. Wake my ass the fuck up.

Let's see, stuff I posted to Twitter and Facebook (id est, filler):

Einstein famously said, “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” But it's looking more like III will be fought with iPhones and TikTok/Twitter, and IV...who knows. It won't much matter. (Meant slightly tongue in cheek.)

~ and ~

Thirty-five years ago today, one of my fvaorite albums EVER, the Cure's Disintegration. I was twenty-five years old.

Also, an old friend posted the following: Respect is reciprocal. Calling people cis negates the equanimity of allowing people to self identify by foisting labels on people like truscum and cisgender. If I said such things, I'd say, I'd ask if I might get an amen. But I don't say that sort of thing. And no, "punching up" doesn't make it okay.

I think that's enough for now. I'm gonna go RP, eat dinner, watch Dexter. Very soon now, I may have to spend my days on the novella and my nights on MP2. So, play while I can, etc.

Later Tater Beans,
Aunt Beast




9:33 a.m.

A warm, sunny day. Our high was 86F.

I actually left the house and went with Kathryn to the market. I have not been to the grocer's since March, so that was something.

You know, I'm just not in the mood for a long entry. I wish I were. But it was a decent day. I got a lot done, including dealing with all the paperwork I have to file every year to prove to European markets, for tax purposes, that I live in the US. And I read over that Plioplatecarpus paper again, mostly for the math. I attended to line edits that Ellen D. wanted me to look at for her reprint of "Build Your Houses With Their Backs to the Sea." I answered inquiries regarding reprints. That sorta stuff.

And goddamnit if the GoFundMe did not hit $5050 last night! So, thank you all so, very, very much. And this is how we will survive, I hope, until I've written The Sun Always Shines on TV for Subterranean Press.

There's a lot more to today than that, but..I"m tired, having been up since before four a.m., having suffered another night of insomnia, then working all day. Still, all in all, not a bad day.

Oh, there's still Dreaming Squid Sundies....

Later Tater Beans,
Aunt Beast




5:48 a.m.

On the one hand, I slept about 3 hours last night. On the ot her hand, it was not an unproductive day (again), despite (again) not having slept. I fell asleep sometime before midnight, woke at 1:30 a.m., watched all of Fiddler on the Roof (1971), then got maybe another hour of sleep before I finally got up at 4:30ish a.m. and made breakfast and coffee. The time is likely off in there somewhere. What of it.

And I was going to sit down and begin writing something I have to write for a book about a certain Stephen King novel, only we were hit by a magnificent thunderstorm, and I was not about to work on the iMac with all that thunder and lightning. You could only see a foot or so out the window, it was raining so hard. Finally, the storm ended and the sun came out about 7 a.m. And we had a bright and sunny day, with the high at 79F.

That was my early morning.

And I know have pretty much the entire primary and secondary plotlines for The Sun Always Shines on TV. THis afternoon I disilled my pages of handwritten notes into a sort of oral presentation for Kathryn, and I added a few things. She loves it, and I like it a lot. She wants to read it. I want to write it. That's about as good as it gets. I'm not gonna toss out a lot of spoilers, just that yes, it is a sequel to Living a Boy's Adventure Tale. Oh, and these four words: "Dinosaur spaceship on Mars." That should whet the appetite.

Anyway, lots of oher work, mostly talking with and messaging and emailing various folks, both fiction folks and paleontology folks. As I write The Sun Always Shines on TV, I'll also be hammering together a first draft of the morphology section of MP2 (unlike fiction, I write technical papers in drafts) for the MP2 study group. Tomorrow I am going to write something, I don't care if I am faced with the goddamn Noachian Deluge. Oh, and I also started my second read through of an important new mosasaur paper, "Evaluation of the photosensory characteristics of the lateral and pineal eyes of Plioplatecarpus (Squamata, Mosasauridae) based on an exceptionally preserved specimen from the Bearpaw Shale (Campanian, Upper Cretaceous) of southern Alberta."

Z says he'll be settled enough in his new digs in SC tomorrow evening that we can start RPing again. I have missed it.

UPDATE: The GoFundMe is a mere $213 from the finish line! Help give that final push. Thanks. But there's also the Dreaming Squid Sundries shop, currently one of our important sources of income. ($213! Thank you all so very much.)

Later Tater Beans,
Aunt (fuck the anit-Semites) Beast




2:37 p.m.

A mostly cloudly, warm day today. Some wind. Our high was 79F. It's time to set up the fan in my office. I'm getting sweaty.

Most of today was eaten up by a doctor's visit. But once that was finally over, and the two trips to the phramacy that folowed, I did at least manage to a) catch up on a LOT of email that piled up the last few days. And b) to have a sort of epihany about The Sun Always Shines on TV that I'm going to talk over with Kathryn after dinner. So, not exactly an unproductive day.

Here in Birminghan, we teeter on the edge of the coming summer.

Something I posted to Facebook: “Humans are antifragile; exposure to discomfort and uncertainty -physical, emotional and intellectual- is necessary.” ~ Heather E. Heying, A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century: Evolution and the Challenges of Modern Life. That sentiment should be guiding part of the bedrock of the US educational system. It should be something that helps guide the raising of children to adulthood. It is, in fact, the world I was raised in. One that assumed resilience. It makes people strong.

Today I saw the cover for Ellen Datlow's The Best Horror of the Year (Volume Sixteen), which reprints my story "Build Your Houses With Their Backs to the Sea." That was one of the day's high points.

The GoFundMe is a mere $313 from the finish line. Help give that final push. Thanks. But there's also the Dreaming Squid Sundries shop, currently one of our important sources of income.

And yes, I am now and always will me a meritocrat (someone actually asked via email).

Okay, I'm gonna finish this warm IBC rootbear and have a baloney sandwich for dinner (the grilled cheese below was Spooky's dinner).

Later Tater Beans,
Aunt Beast




4:59 p.m.

On and off sunny and overcast today. Our high was 77F.

I spent the morning reading back over most of Living a Boy's Adventure Tale, preparing to begin The Sun Alaways Shines on TV on Tuesday (a week later than I'd hoped).

A very relevant Ray Bradbury quote: “I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in space travel, sideshows or gorillas. When this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room.”

Last night, Kathryn and I began a rewatch of Dexter (2006-2013), which we've only ever seen the once. We made it through the first five episodes. This afternoon I watched three documentaries, one on the sinking of in Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975, one on the Indian Ocean Tsunamu of 2004, and a third on the Hope Diamond. T he day's Lovecraft was "The Hound" and "The Lurking Fear." Despite veering constantly into an almost comical hysteria, I adore both.

The GoFundMe is so very close to its goal. And there's also the Dreaming Squid Sundries shop.

Later Tater Beans,
Aunt Beast




3:58 p.m.

Periods of clouds and sun both today, and our high was 80F.

Another night with so little sleep it's hardly worth mentioning, and a day with pretty much no work. The day has been a smear.

I did finish the six-part PBS futurism documentary I began last weekend. Mostly, as I said, bullshit. Most alarmingly, it is shot through with various sorts of mysticism. Very strange stuff.

Really, I am too tired for blogging.

My daily Lovecraft was "The Dunwich Horror."

“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.” ~ Jack Kerouac

The GoFundMe is so very close to its goal. And there's also the Dreaming Squid Sundries shop.

Later Tater Beans,
Aunt Beast




12:26 p.m.

Sunny, mostly. Our high was 83F.

Not exactly a productive day. I hardly slept, so...no, I didn't work. I read. My eyes ached, and I read. It was better than nothing.

We finished Season Two of The Terror last night, and, as Kathryn said, I think we know why there was no Season Three. Because Season Two was fucking terrible.

The afternoon's film was George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). And I read Lovecraft's "The Whisperer in Darkness," for the balm.

As I said yesterday, we are a little less than $600 from hitting our goal on the GoFundMe, which is amazing. And thank you all. If you have not yet donated, please consider helping us get to the finish line. Really, this has been a life saver. And there's also the bitchin' Dreaming Squid Sundries shop, with lots of books and tie dye, if you'd rather go that route. I sign and personalize all books on request.

Later Tater Beans,
Aunt Beast




1.19 p.m.

A sunny, warm day. The high was 81F. Welcome back, Spring.

I kept my office window open most of the day.

Today, Spooky and I proofed "Terra Mater (Dissolve)," and then I put together Sirenia Digest 217. When Gordon was done with the PDF, Kathryn sent it out to susbcribers. Oh, and some good news from my agent. So, really not a bad day.

Last night we started the second season of The Terror. This afternoon's movie was Tarantino's Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood (2019).

I read Lovecraft's "The Colour Out of Space," because the soothing weird was needed.

Okay, so we are a little less than $600 from hitting our goal on the GoFundMe, which is amazing. And thank you all. If you have not yet donated, please consider helping us get to the finish line. Really, this has been a life saver. And there's also the bitchin' Dreaming Squid Sundries shop, with lots of books and tie dye, if you'd rather go that route. I sign and personalize all books on request.

Later Tater Beans,
Aunt Beast




12:48 p.m.

Sunny and warmer today, Our high was 77F.

I got up at six a.m. this morning and finally finished "Terra Mater (Dissolve)." Such a modest little vignette to get hung up on. But now it's done, and Sirenia Digest 217 should go out to subscribers sometime tomorrow. Then I get to work on The Sun Always Shines on TV.

Last night we finished the first two season of Dark Skies, and I'm very pleased to hear it's getting a third season. I strongly recommend it. This afternoon's film was Jason Reitman's Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021). With three Entenmann's chocolate donuts.

Back to me getting the story done this morning, I think a very large factor was hat the GoFundMe had a sudden spate of donations beginning last night, and we are now very near to meeting our goal. That took a huge load of both mine and Kathryn's minds. There's a shitty paradox in the fact that when I'm worried this much about money I can't write, but writing is how I make money. Anyway, my thanks to everyone. All of you. And I remind you again that there is also the Dreaming Squid Sundries shop. Because I do write books, and Kathryn does do fabulous tie dye.

A little bummed this evening because Z, my RP partner of the past four years, is in the process of moving from Tampa to South Carolina. So no RP until sometime next week. I mean, I'm glad about their move, but...no RP for a few days. Anyway, below is Spooky hard at work.

Later Tater Beans,
Aunt Beast




10:38 a.m.

A sunny day, and it was warmer. Our high was 75F.

But a very frustrating day. Struggling with the ending of "Terra Mater (Dissolve)," because these days everything seems to come to a struggle. I finally set it aside, saaid enough for one day, and went through an old notebooks, looking at notes for stories that have never been written. One in particular, for which I did an enormous amount of research and basically plotted the whole thing, back in July and August 2016. "Beyond the Laughing Sky," intended for an Ellen Datlow collection. But then I ran out of time and shelved it and never went back. Damn, it would be a good story, if I could ever actually get it written.

Anyway...

The afternoon's film was the director's cut of Zack Snyder's Watchmen (2009). As time goes by, I appreciate this film more and more. The opening montage, history playing out to Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'" is still amazing.

I'm not sleeping well. I'm spening too much time worrying, stressed out.

Fuck it.

Today I finished reading The Last Winter of the Weimar Republic: The Rise of the Third Reich and began Selwyn Raab's book on the NYC mafia families.

I gotta put this out there again. Please have a look at the GoFundMe and give if you can. Or, if you would prefer, visit the Dreaming Squid Sundries shop. Thank you. Right now, we're just trying to make sure that May's rent will be covered. We're getting close.

Later Tater Beans,
Aunt Beast




12:05 p.m.