Better Than Dead

Some days I think that Twitter is nothing but people showing off their preciousness. Other days, when I am showing off my preciousness, I think it’s a wonderful tool for self-expression.
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When I used to watch the show about the coroner, Dr. G Medical Examiner she often asked the question, “Why is it always guys?” Often about some scheme or stunt that went badly and fatally awry. Of course, she was in Florida.
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Any shows hosted by Albert Lin are fascinating combinations of technology/science, history, and myth and Dr. Lin is an enthusiastic and exuberant explorer. I’ve been enjoying Lost Cities with Albert Lin on NatGeo, but I’ve also enjoyed his previous series on the Mayans, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Tomb of Genghis Khan.

https://g.co/kgs/hQaoSk
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EARTHA KITT SPEAKS ON RELATIONSHIPS: COMPROMISE FOR WHAT? á´´á´° https://youtu.be/rlUjHu3H_L4 via
@YouTube

No one would dream of asking a man about compromising for love, especially in the 80s. This interviewer probably assumed he was scoring quite a coup here, revealing something dark about Eartha Kitt. He was revealing was something dark about himself and his assumptions.
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I tried not to be overly concerned about the Garlock creep when I read about it the other day. Then the next morning at 12:19 we had a 3.7 quake about 15 miles from here and I thought, “Is this the beginning?” I was reassured when Dr. Lucy Jones posted this later in the day:

People are talking about the “unprecedented” movement of the Garlock fault after the Ridgecrest quake. It’s true we haven’t seen this in the 30 years of modern geodesy on the Garlock fault. But we’ve seen it many times on the San Andreas & it has never caused a quake. The movement on the Garlock is called triggered aseismic creep. It is in the top few hundred meters of the fault. No quake can occur in the shallow part because there’s no confining pressure. Big quakes begin 10-15 km down. Big quakes triggered aseismic creep on the San Andreas fault in 1979, 1992 & 1999. The creep never caused another quake. Ridgecrest was the first big quake near the Garlock since we have records so it’s the 1st time we’ve seen creep on the Garlock. But it’s not unprecedented.

Dr. Jones is always so reassuring.

So, as I was saying, we had a 3.7 quake centered about 15 miles from here. One sizable jolt traveling southeast to northwest through my house. It sounded and felt rather like the ghost of an elephant running through the attic. Being an experienced earthquake experiencer I sat there for a moment to see if there would be more (because earthquakes are sometimes sneaky and there will be a jolt, a pause, then more and sometimes harder). But there was not, so I went back to reading my book. I did hear sirens heading Compton way (the epicenter) so that may have been related. Living in California is often a question of both denial and bravado. I have my earthquake supplies and my emergency plans but I try very hard not to think about quakes the rest of the time. I did think that any out of towners at LAX (about 1/2 mile from here) or in the surrounding hotels at 12:19 got an especially memorable “Welcome to California.” I hope they appreciated it.
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Pain is a great teacher.
It teaches anger, it teaches
self-pity and doubt,
fist-shaking, a stunning
loss of perspective.
If it goes on long enough,
it may also teach humility,
acceptance, even courage.
But that’s never a sure thing.
Mostly pain teaches pain.

18 Jul
A peregrine falcon has been hunting the bird feeder the last three days. I knew he was around because the little bitty birds don’t eat all the food in the bird feeder by the end of the day. This morning I saw him—actually walking on the ground around my car parked in the driveway. Some little critters must have scurried under to hide. I don’t begrudge the falcon doing what he has to do to survive, but I’m always glad when the little bits manage to elude him. Still, he was gorgeous. When I looked outside to call, “Mr. Peregrine, what are you doing?” he gave me such a look. “What the hell do you think I’m doing dork?” Regal falcons really know how to put you in your place. And he was a different one from last year. That one was light-headed, this guy had a dark brown head. Beautiful, beautiful creature.

16 Jul
“About 4000 Klimt drawings survive, and an indeterminate number more were clawed and peed upon by the cats that roamed his studio.”

Wait, did Klimt live at my house? Ah, the ironic fate of the artist! Who has cats.

15 Jul
Whenever I hear Morgan Freeman narrate Through the Wormhole it’s like listening to God explain the cosmos.

13 Jul
Mustard is a very persistent condiment, kind of like the Troll of the food world. Just sayin’.

12 Jul
A motorcycle cop stepped into traffic on Lincoln Blvd. hill near Jefferson, where the presidents meet. He let three tonier cars pass but flagged down the ancient Toyota covered in Bondo. Economical profiling? This didn’t strike me as a very safe way to do a traffic stop. I eyed him suspiciously as I passed to see if he was a fake cop.

12 Jul
A Ferris wheel and Tilt-a-Whirl in the middle of Windward Avenue this morning, and other carnival rides arrayed around Venice Circle.

11 Jul
I liked Crones Don’t Whine but I’ve had to stop reading it because I’ve decided to embrace my Inner Whiner. As well as my Inner Martyr, my Inner Bitter Old Hag, my Inner Depressive and my Inner Constant Complainer.

Because as Jane Wagner said, “I personally think we developed language because of our deep inner need to complain.”

9 Jul
My mind is on fire with a new-old idea but what can I do with it in this world of No Damned Time?

9 Jul
I should write a book about remembering the good and letting go of the bad. I’ll call it Remember This, Not That.

6 Jul
That supporting actress who was on that show that I can’t remember the name of…I ran into her twice in three days.

2 Jul
A literal rat race: two competitors chasing each other across the eaves of the porch. Rats endemic to most L.A. neighborhoods, even nice 1s.

27 Jun
There’s a research assistant here that sounds uncannily like Tobey Maguire. I want to say, “Spidey, is that you?”

25 Jun
The sleek young mother in the park with the ponytail halfway down her back bouncing her toddler on her knee while he laughed and looked.

He looked quite dapper in his navy and gray striped jumpsuit. I don’t know why I assumed he was male, I just did.

24 Jun
If a cat barfs in an out of the way place that no one will see or step on, do you still have to clean it up? A purely rhetorical question.

23 Jun
I used to have an encyclopedic memory & now it’s complete dreck. Ou sont les nieges downtown?

23 Jun
Life is what teaches you about your soul. Trying to withdraw from it only teaches you about the echo chamber inside.

10 Jun
The irony is not lost on me: my bookmark for The Yiddish Policemen’s Union is my CWA membership card.

I haven’t been union for years but am proud I once was.

9 Jun
Never meet the eye of the little old lady in the cat food aisle unless you want a half hour conversation about her poobers. 1/2

I expect to be that lady someday soon but for now I’m keeping my head down.

8 Jun
I’d sing “Hope I die before I get old” but it’s too late for that.

7 Jun
Global warming is a fact, but I sometimes think even scientists occasionally fall prey to millennialism. Millennialism is also a fact.

7 Jun
So, are “scientific” predictions of the end to be taken more seriously than loony Mayan predictions?

Jun6
The middle-aged woman at the vet’s office with so much collagen she could barely speak.

26 May

A brawny tattooed man wearing a plastic glove waiting while a tiny blond chihuahua makes up its mind about crapping on the Fire Dept lawn.

24 May

The white heron flying slow and majestic across Ballona Creek Bridge.

23 May

The eager and too-frequent “uh-huh” of someone not listening so much as wanting the talker to know she’s listening.

21 May

Bird sex going on atop the building across the way. It’s not nearly as dramatic as elephant sex.

20 Apr

For Francesca: the crow standing in the middle of the street near a tasty morsel nodding his head and cawing in satisfaction.

19 Apr

Something you don’t see every day: a man grabbing his crotch & loudly tooting a toy horn while standing in a liquor store door.

19 Apr

Well, actually, I drive through Venice every day so I see sights of a similar nature fairly regularly.

19 Apr

What distinguished this guy was that we was well dressed in khakis, a beret, and an ABT t-shirt.

19 Apr

Maybe it was a new advertising venture. I hear donations to the arts are waaaaay down.

19 Apr

Also, when he finished his horn salute he marched back into Star Liquor.

Also, knowing your true audience is as important as writing well. 14 Mar

Mr. Porsche and Gloria Ann of Girlieland have left the building. That is, the manuscript. 15 Mar

The heroes of Fukushima: http://tinyurl.com/48rleke 15 Mar

Dear Library of Congress: my blueberry muffin was extremely fluffy and delicious. 16 Mar

On this day in 1806 Mme. Tivollier let Stendahl put his hand on her thigh. 17 Mar

Thyroid scans will set off airport radiation detectors, which isn’t a dose strong enough to hurt anyone. The detectors are super sensitive. 18 Mar

Just in case you heard any news from Chicago that had you panicking. 18 Mar

God knows any world disaster is All About America. /irony 18 Mar

I found myself with an unexpected two hrs where nothing was expected of me. I took myself to lunch and read Sherman Alexie. 18 Mar

I felt guilty the entire time. 18 Mar

Sherman Alexie was real good though. 18 Mar

Finally at a doctor’s appt for myself. 18 Mar

Yeah. Got me some antihistamines and I’m good to go. 18 Mar

Why do I bother reading comments on Yahoo news? The ignorance and mean-spiritedness is staggering. 19 Mar

Then again, sometimes I can be determinedly stupid in public myself. 19 Mar

My latest Etsy favorite: http://tinyurl.com/6kbmrk2 19 Mar

Great. I share the name of an infamous YouTube troll. Could it get any better? 19 Mar

Oh good, I only share a fake name of an infamous YouTube troll. That’s so much better. [not trolling, just ironic] 19 Mar

Hope the Supermoon doesn’t bring real March Madness. 19 Mar

Corn dogs and cheese potato chips and coffee for breakfast. I can feel my arteries crystallizing. 20 Mar

Rain pouring down, big pot of chili in the making, nowhere I have to be. Heaven. 20 Mar

Still pouring rain. Chili is ready to be consumed, but it’s only 3:30. I guess we’ll just have to eat chili twice. 20 Mar

I like Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s version of Wonderful World as much as Satchmo’s (and I totally had to cut and paste Israel’s name). 20 Mar

I still like Israel’s Over the Rainbow better, though. 20 Mar

Min is mad at me. I am being shunned. 🙁 20 Mar

The L.A. river is about 23 feet over normal levels. Torrential rain all day & many LA Marathoner runners got hypothermia. No kidding. 20 Mar

I spoke too soon. It started raining again. 21 Mar

Not really into DWTS but Mom loves it and it’s one of our few “together” shows so…I’ll be here for 12 weeks, folks. 22 Mar

We can only hope.

Why do they always do a musical episode? Are they that out of fresh ideas? Does anyone actually like those things?  7 Mar

Besides the actors, writers, and producers, that is. 7 Mar

Stay tuned for a very special all-singing Trapper John M.D. 7 Mar

5 boxes of books donated to Venice Library, municipal election to increase library funding voted in. I AM VIRTUOUS. 8 Mar

The municipal initiative to increase library funding passed yesterday. Huzzah! 9 Mar

My oldest friend just caved and joined Facebook. Et tu, L.? I imagine my days are numbered. 9 Mar

I woke up every two hours last night. Fun times. Must go get my caffeine IV now. 9 Mar

Nationpam is on the lam. 9 Mar

I do want to see the new Jane Eyre movie, as a matter of fact. 10 Mar

Nationpam would like a dram. 10 Mar

I’ve got this thing going with a Natiowide commercial currently in heavy rotation. When it comes on I have to tweet a rhyme for Nationpam… 10 Mar

Kind of like a drinking game only with stupidity instead of booze. 10 Mar

Min is fascinated and afraid of the yellow rubber ducky I keep in the shower. 10 Mar

God bless the people of Japan. 11 Mar

All these Pacific Rim earthquakes are making me nervous. 11 Mar

I drive thru a tsunami evac zone every day but SoCal has an advisory rather than a warning. I still might take an alternate route to work. 11 Mar

Call me silly if you like. 11 Mar

Nationpam keeps saying damn. 11 Mar

This date 1912 Scott distributed opium pills and morphine to his Arctic expedition members so they could end their misery when needed. 11 Mar

Got the last of my boxes out of the garage & in the house. Finally can say “Not my s/t” when asked about those other boxes. 12 Mar

I’m really tired of living other peoples’ agendas. 12 Mar

Had stomach/belly troubles all week & the fun continues today but there’s just so much to do & time running out. 12 Mar

I’m sure stress has nothing to do with the ick feeling. I’m done whining now. 12 Mar

Sick. Laid down for a nap. Heard dijereedoo playing. Wondered if I’d slipped into Dreamtime. Then heard singing on loud speaker at park. 12 Mar

Still think it odd, but I have heard some pretty strange things over those loud speakers. 12 Mar

Anti-social network: knowing when to keep my mouth shut is a talent I do not always possess. 12 Mar

It’s 4 pm–3 by the old clock–and I’m already in my jammies. It was an early morning and hardwork day but the garage is finally clean. 13 Mar

Really tired of getting yelled at for things other people did. 13 Mar

A very long day and so goodnight… 13 Mar

I saw a Yellow Cab on the way to work this morning with the license plate IZYLOST. 14 Mar

Totally cool: http://ow.ly/4e4hL 14 Mar

Chapter 10 wasn’t as horrible as I remembered it. I wonder if I’m delusional? 14 Mar

Hey, Library of Congress: I just spilled coffee on my pants. 14 Mar

Tony Gregor, Roxanne, and half of Ron Salzman are gone from the WIP. Tough cuts to make, but necessary, I think. 14 Mar

Knowing who your true audience is as important as writing well. 14 Mar

Being in an even more zombie-like state than usual this Monday due to a jam-packed weekend (with many hyphens), here’s all the tweet news that’s fit to print (although some of it walks the borderline).  Not that it’s any more interesting than usual, just jam-packed with hyphens. I did have a sensationally good meal Saturday night, though: filet mignon in bleu cheese sauce, carrots sautéed in butter, creamy mashed potatoes, broccoli sautéed in even more butter, a bottle of yummy Côtes du Rhone, and for dessert vanilla ice cream with almonds and Grand Marnier.

Got to work at seven this morning, a full hour and a half before my usual shift. I think the zombie coma is finally wearing off a little. 1 Mar

I have discovered that, after all, I am not “a bigger person than that.” At least, not in this case. 1 Mar

Ready whenever you are, C.B. 1 Mar

One thing I hate about tweeting from Edwin Droid is that I’m always accidentally favoriting tweets. I just favorited myself. 1 Mar

I have no unfavored everyone. The world can go on. 1 Mar

Turns out the threefold law works: I’ve been hoist on my own petard by not rising above. And boy is my petard sore. 1 Mar

I should eat. Then I should sleep. Long dammed day. 1 Mar

Home with stomach ick today. Time for a nap. Min approves. 3 Mar

Is there any objective standard for defining crap? From here it all looks subjective, albeit sometimes with more degrees behind the names. 3 Mar

AbsoluteWrite MacAllister Stone Retweeted by pj_thompson If you want to get rid of spam from your twitter stream, try running a report at http://thetwitcleaner.com 3 Mar

Mostly when people say “I’m sad for me but glad for you” they mean “I’m sad for me.” Myself included.  4 Mar

Really?!?!? One Tea Party leader calls for stripping away the right to vote unless you’re a property owner. http://bit.ly/hpzgnn 4 Mar

Reading River Marked by Briggs. Her characters are watching The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra. At least 1 of U will find that interesting. 4 Mar

Bed shopping for Mom this AM. But this eve taking friend to birthday dinner at our favorite Bistro. 5 Mar

Seven garage boxes left. The rest (8) will have to be hauled off the shelves and purged in the house but at least the floor is clean. 6 Mar

chandlerisms Raymond Chandler Retweeted by pj_thompson A check girl in peach-bloom Chinese pajamas came over to take my hat and disapprove of my clothes. She had eyes like strange sins. 6 Mar

I have conquered the 7 boxes but the ones on the shelves bred overnight. Now there are 17. May not all be mine but suspect they are. 6 Mar

I wrecked my knee bad in the process and feel thoroughly trashed overall but I think (hope) that’s the worst of it. 6 Mar

Min meowing angrily for chaperoned walk in back yard but that’s not going to happen with bad knee. She’s bitterly disappointed in me. 6 Mar

I should take my aching bones to bed. 6 Mar

I am so frakking tired and sore this morning from all the fricking cleaning. Fug. 7 Mar

And worse: they’ve changed their maker of scones in the cafeteria to something Really Cruddy. 7 Mar

You know, it IS all about me.  7 Mar

No tweet puns in the immediate forecast.

I’m still awake, don’t know how. 25 Feb

On this date in 1808 Stendahl bragged in his diary about killing three hares, his “first quadrupeds.” 25 Feb

I was awake from 4:30 AM Fri to 12:30 AM Sat then slept ten hours. Torrential rain when I went to bed, bucolic sunshine upon waking. 26 Feb

I decided to celebrate the weather change with a massive sinus headache. Fun times. 26 Feb

Snow in the San Fernando Valley, first since the 1970s. More rain tonight and lows in 30s even here at the moderate beach. 26 Feb

I went to the garage to clear more boxes. Only got thru 2 before my nose and fingers froze. 26 Feb

Oh, now the weather guy tells me that wasn’t snow but graupel, small snow pellets in great quantity. 26 Feb

lilithsaintcrow True. RT @sblackmoore: If a character survives a book without losing something important you’re not trying hard enough. 28 Feb

Something to give some perspective. Beautiful progression: http://bit.ly/huotRo 28 Feb

pj_thompson @lilithsaintcrow re: characters losing something by the end of the book – Do you think that’s true of comedic novels as well? 28 Feb

When I was a kid I thought writers wrote the books in one shot all the way through and figured the plot out as they went along. 28 Feb

How did they know to plant clues and foreshadowing, I wondered? When I’m doing rewrites planting clues I remember that and laugh. 28 Feb

Of course, I was right about them making it up as they went along…At least for the pantsers like myself. 28 Feb

Spent a few days adding new material to WIP when should be cutting but that new stuff will allow me to cut other stuff in the saggy middle. 28 Feb

lilithsaintcrow Lilith Saintcrow @pj_thompson Yes. Definitely. 28 Feb

pj_thompson PJ Thompson @lilithsaintcrow So that’s what I got wrong. :-)  28 Feb

lilithsaintcrow Lilith Saintcrow @pj_thompson Tragedy is easy. Comedy is much, much harder, because it skates that edge.  28 Feb

TrishaTelep Trisha Telep @lilithsaintcrow @pj_thompson That’s not funny! 28 Feb

lilithsaintcrow Lilith Saintcrow @TrishaTelep @pj_thompson *snork* 28 Feb

pj_thompson PJ Thompson @lilithsaintcrow @TrishaTelep Dying is easy, comedy is hard, but comedy don’t get no respect. 28 Feb

On the drive home I realized that the MCs in my comedic novel did lose something. Not body parts unless you count the holes in their hearts. 28 Feb

Yet if it hadn’t been for a good friend reading an early draft I would have skated over that exquisite pain. Thx, Kev. 28 Feb

StephenAtHome Stephen Colbert Retweeted by pj_thompson Say no to drugs. Although if you’re talking to drugs you may already be on drugs.  21 Feb

We just adopted Word 2007 here at the office. I hate if with a frothing hate. I think it was designed by a baboon with severe palsy. 22 Feb

My latest Etsy discovery: http://tinyurl.com/6j85ocq Wonderfully whimsical assemblages, cards, prints. 23 Feb

For those playing along at home, Gus Toland is back in the novel. I figured out his relevance to a significant subplot. 23 Feb

Richie and Divonne remain on the cutting room floor. 23 Feb

God save me from spastic personalities and Perfect Little Persons. 24 Feb

I am no longer living for art, but am trying to live artfully. 24 Feb

4:30 am came. I woke. I did not sleep again. TGIF.  25 Feb

Heartbreaking: http://tinyurl.com/5uvn6en Blessings to everyone in Christchurch. 25 Feb

MJMcKean Michael McKean Retweeted by pj_thompson Essentially, Rep. Broun responded to “Who’ll shoot the president” with “I feel your frustration”. http://huff.to/dQCXfc 25 Feb

medwardsmusic Michael Edwards Retweeted by pj_thompson “Quotes on the Internet are hard to verify for their authenticity.” – Abraham Lincoln 25 Feb

4:30 AM was a long time ago. I think I’ve gone into hallucinogenic sleep deprivation. Either that, or my office is haunted. ;-)  25 Feb

It’s been a cleaning frenzy at our house.  While I’ve been dealing with boxes and boxes of stuff in the garage, I finally was forced to the realization that I cannot do all that needs doing myself.  It’s a strange combination of guilt and relief I’m feeling right now.

It’s 5:45 and we’re still waiting for the doctor. Last time I take a 4:45 appointment. [Note: We didn’t leave his office until 6:30.] 17 Feb

On the way to work I listened to NPR and they had a little bit about astronauts going into hibernation sleep on long space voyages. 18 Feb

As I stopped at the sensor where my garage pass opens the door Keir Dullea said “Open the pod bay doors, HAL.” Hal: “I can’t do that, Dave.” 18 Feb

Fortunately, the pod bay doors opened, but I was laughing so hard by then. Sometimes life is a synchronistic delight. 18 Feb

So, read a good book and try to stay awake or kill mutants? Which of these? …The good book… 19 Feb

On this night in 1814 Byron was debating the existence of God in his diary. 18 Feb

There’s hope for us older gals after all… 18 Feb

Lightning. Thunder. Min went under the bed. 19 Feb

Torrential rain and wind at the moment. Sure glad not to be out in it but my dinner is going to get wet. Poor delivery guy. 19 Feb

I would’ve liked to stay in my jammies all day but the Box Unload Marathon cannot be denied. Woe! 20 Feb

I can’t believe no one has tweeted in the last 47 minutes. Not sure I trust you, Edwin Droid. 21 Feb

To do list: finish Drood, start The Mystery of Edwin Drood. 21 Feb

selfavowedgeek Berrien C. Henderson Retweeted by pj_thompson Signal Boost: Francesca Forrest’s story, “The Yew’s Embrace”–http://www.strangehorizons.com/2011/20110221/yew-f.shtml 21 Feb

For the 1st time in my life I paid someone to clean my house. I actually feel kind of ashamed. But I expect I’ll get over it. 21 Feb

With my bad knees and shoulder I couldn’t do the scrubbing needed and Mom sure couldn’t. 21 Feb