After the Dr Who Experience, Courtney and I needed lunch.  Unfortunately, we came out of a tube stop from the wrong exit and had to walk around a couple of miles before we came to a pub. I had some traditional fish and chips while C had some amazing lamb. Then Liam met us and we headed to the Victoria and Albert. We tracked down a gigantic musical instrument I saw on a postcard: Tipu’s Tiger.  It’s a tiger attacking a British colonialist–life sized. It is also an organ. The colonialist’s arm moves to simulate trying to push the tiger off.

Then we went to an exhibit on The Power of Making–a large room full of things made from materials you wouldn’t expect–an amazing “glass” sculpture  that’s actually made of sugar, a dress made from needles called the “widow,” but the best thing was a giant silver gorilla made from clothes hangers. It was vibrant and alive and perfect.

After all that culture, we needed libations, so we headed to the Worship Whistle Shop–a place that makes its liquor the victorian way. We had these gin fizzes with sage on top. The atmosphere was very good & so were the drinks. Then we headed to a bar with a cool name that I can’t remember–I had a white linen (though it wasn’t called that). Liam had the guys there make him a a Michelada–it took a while, as it seems that particular drink hasn’t spread that far.

Then we headed back to Liam & Courtney’s, where Liam made chicken wings and we watched what happened to be on TV–Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion. I headed back home afterwards & ended up staying up talking to Carmen until late. Didn’t rise until after 1 in the afternoon.

Carmen made some fantastic pancakes, but then I was off to meet Courtney and Liam again. We met at a tapas bar (named Carmen), and then to a friend’s place that was close to the the Bonfire Night festivities  . . .

This week, I had the honor of bringing Jen Cross to campus as part of the University Writing Program’s Conversations with Writers series. Jen is a writer and workshop leader who specializes in erotic writing, exploring its tranformative and healing effects. I encouraged my students to attend, promising them an amazing time. Luckily, Jen was able to keep my promise.

I was struck immediately by Jen’s energy. She is welcoming and warm and funny. All of this was on display during her talk.

She warned the audience that they would be writing a little bit–she is a writing workshop leader, after all. Thus, after about 35 minutes of talking, she had us freewrite for five minutes, with the prompt to describe “a first time.”

I was pleased with the product of my efforts, and thus found myself tempted to read when she asked for volunteers. Of course, I had many students in the room, and it struck me that they probably don’t want to think of me as capable of writing like that. On the other hand, them having to read in front of me would likely have been absolutely mortifying. Thus, I put myself out there.

My students do not seem to have been harmed. In fact, they have reported loving Jen’s talk. One student and I talked about how — for lack of a better word — awake we were when it was over. That student also said that Jen’s talk was the most fun she’d had for months.

For those wanting to see it, it’s streaming now on our page: http://writing.ucdavis.edu/speakerseries

I read at minute 40.

Let it wake you up.

After staying up way to late with Chaz and Carmen, I woke up so I could meet Courtney to go to the Dr Who Experience! Courtney was hoping there would be some little kids to watch, and there were. We entered a gallery and then moved to the experience–we got to stand in a moving tardis, we got to walk through a valley of Stone Angels, we got to be attacked by giant Daleks, and we got to be called “shoppers” by Matt Smith. As one of the young boys said, it was “sick!” Then there was the museum, with costumes, etc. There was a creepy wax Matt Smith, models of villains so you could see how they’d changed over the decades, etc. Need to get the rest of the pictures from Courtney, but here are the best ones from my camera (more on FB soon). Hit the gift shop, spent too much, even though they didn’t have postcards (is that because it’s impossible to send mail from a Tardis?).

Drove myself nearly mad trying to get ready for the London/Spain conferences. Those of you aware of my work load this term know that the week before I left was the busiest, not even counting the packing and the prepping for other lovely people to take my courses when I was away.

It was with some relief, then, that I found myself boarding the plane to London. I read Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett to get myself in the mood. Found myself behind two Brits in line–the man was complaining about some salty cheese–and I knew I was going home.

The flight was delayed, so we got in later than expected. I then had to make my way through customs (what is your conference on? Vampires?! Is this some kind of literature thing?) & to Chaz and Carmen’s. Carmen was kind enough to make me a cup of tea. I was able to instantly agree with Chaz’s assessment that I would love her. We share a lot of the same interests and she’s extremely intelligent, articulate, and beautiful. (My ex has excellent taste in women!)

Then I was off to a fancy champagne bar to meet Courtney and Liam. We had a rose and some very nice tapas while catching up. Then we headed to Soho for more wine and pizza. I made it home relatively early, but stayed up with C and C until midnight–we had to catch up too. I was also able to have my first mince pie with cream–I have to say that I I’m sold.

The next morning, I was off to the conference. Most of the papers were on Trueblood and Twilight. One other paper was on Fledgling, but it was the day before, so I didn’t get to see it. The arm of the University of London where the conference was was in my old neighborhood–Bloomsbury. Thus, I knew precisely where the Nando’s was & headed there for lunch. (Ah, peri peri chicken.) Then I had my paper, which I think could have been stronger, but a woman came up after and asked another presenter and I to submit papers for a collection she’s putting together, so it couldn’t have sucked too badly.

I then ran into the British Museum to say hello to old friends (statues mainly). Hit the gift shop for some presents for the boy, then off to meet Afzal for dinner. I had a decent venison ravioli (deer is in season there), and then we headed off to the theatre. Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones in Driving Miss Daisy. They are both brilliant performers. Redgrave’s Southern accent only slipped on a couple of words. The staging was beautiful–simple, but effective. I really wasn’t expecting to moved by the play–I know the movie well and wrote a paper on the play a long time ago when I was an undergraduate. Still, I teared up at two moments (even though I could recite the lines).

We hit a Snog Yogurt (snog means kiss) in Soho and then I headed home. I beat Chaz there, so Carmen and I opened some wine and talked. We had to open another bottle when Chaz came home and ended up talking until three in the morning. A heavy rain reminded me I was in London as it hit the sloped windows of my attic room.

More to come . . .

The other day, I apparently felt my first earthquake.

I was reading in bed, when I noticed that my dresser was shaking. I thought the neighbor couple on the other side of the wall must be enjoying themselves. When my bed seemed to move for a micro-second, I chalked the sensation up to my exhaustion.

When my friends then asked a few days later if I felt the earthquake, I put it all together.

However, the earthquake was just one sign of many of the coming end-times. The second sign was when I became possessed by Zuul. Then I met the keymaster:

P.S. Don’t forget to check out what Zuul and I have been writing lately at www.matchflick.com & http://www.examiner.com/scifi-in-sacramento/karma-waltonen

If I weren’t going a bit crazy from a bit too many things on my plate, I would write a loving tribute to Weird Al right now, in celebration of his 52nd birthday. If you really want one, though, checkout my matchflick column from this time last year: http://www.matchflick.com/column/2266.

Of course, if I weren’t going crazy, there would be far more entries here. There have been so many things to write about in the past few months. I always mean to, but then the “must dos” in life take all my time.

I wanted to mention these two shows, however, before time gets away from me again. First, last weekend, Kevin, Nathan, Vanessa, the boy, and I went to see Kevin McDonald and Scott Thompson, of The Kids in the Hall, do stand-up. Unlike most comedians, they alternated taking the stage a few times instead of doing the sets straight through. Kevin did very self-referential comedy, with some wonderful songs. Scott talked about sex, circumcision, racism, and the secret (which Denise and I have long wondered about) to getting him to have sex with you if you’re a woman.

Towards the end of the show, they performed on-stage together, as Scott pretended to be offended by Kevin’s jokes about him.

I was able to get a picture with Scott. When I gushed that this was my fourth time seeing him live, he said the Kids were thinking about touring next year. Fingers crossed (unless you’re using them to crush someone’s head)!

This weekend, Kevin, Vanessa, April, and Peter and I headed to SF to see Richard III with Kevin Spacey. (Gemma Jones as Margaret was a surprising bonus!) The production was awesome. It was set in modern costume to good effect. New music (mostly drums) enhanced the mood without being too distracting (with only momentary exceptions). Spacey brought out the comic potential in Richard, while also showing how charismatic he would have to have become to overcome his physical deformities. His hunched back, leg brace, and end position all looked very uncomfortable, but Spacey made it seem that Richard had long grown accustomed to bearing the burden of his own body. The long, standing ovations were well-deserved. (Dinner after also provided some of the best pork I’ve ever had, so despite all the crazy hours I’ve been working, it’s been a damn awesome week.)

The other day, I was thinking about the boy’s many hobbies. Like many young people, he enjoys the glories of the internet, video games, and other forms of media. Unlike many young people, he is widely read. However, he also writes sketch comedy, builds musical instruments, and works on robots.

Then I started thinking about my own hobbies and the hobbies of my friends, noting that although we all read, we have a wide-range of things we create. We are writers, chefs, bakers, knitters, visual artists, musicians, etc. Part of the ties of friendship is the admiration we have for each other’s talents.

Many of my students have great hobbies as well. When they write about the things they create, the things they’re passionate about, their writing comes alive. I find myself caring about subjects I’ve never had an interest in and activities I’ve never actually wanted to do.

Sadly, many of my students don’t seem to make anything. Some students actually say they have no interests when I poll them. This never bodes well for their writing or their conversation. A sizable number report being interested in listening to music or watching sports, but their engagement is completely passive.

It occurs to me that my informal observations of my students has illustrated the need for a person to be a creator to be interesting. The availability of an immense amount of media we can passively take in can hinder our own creative impulses. How much easier, after a long day, to turn on the tv or to fire up youtube than to summon the energy for creation.

However, those of us with creative passions know that we need to create. We might not indulge every day, but if we go too long without our creative outlet–without writing, without trying out a new recipe, etc–we don’t feel right. Creation is hard & usually messy, but we can’t find peace, can’t find ourselves, without it.

I’m not saying that passive enjoyments are worthless. I happen to watch an unhealthy amount of tv, after all. But how much more  rewarding it has become when I end up giving a paper on Buffy (as I will next month) after all those hours? Or when I wrote that book on The Simpsons and I got to meet so many wonderful people who work there?

I’m so thankful that the boy has so many things he enjoys. I wish I could get more of my students to have creativity in their lives. I have the feeling they’d be better students & better fellow citizens of this wonderous world. I didn’t consciously set out to instill the creative spirit in the boy, so I’m not sure exactly how to plant that seed in passive, boring adults. Is it too late for them?

Courses taught: 4 (which equals a full year’s load for a professor)
Thank yous from former students for talking them down from suicide: 1
Sons sent off to college: 1
Peking duck meals consumed (Alexander has been craving it): 0, unfortunately
2000 Ford Tauruses bought to replace “the shopping cart”: 1
Amazing plays viewed in Ashland: 4
Famous television/film actors recognized in plays in Ashland: 3
Trips to LA to visit The Simpsons and associated friends: 1 (visit described at matchflick)
Obscene puppet improv theatre with Brian Hensen: 1
Books I’d planned to read for “fun” (i.e. not for classes, campus book project, book group): over 20
Books I read for fun: 2
Tim Burton exhibits in LA: 1
Gordon cups: 2
Cats gone crazy: 1
Facebook requests from people who seem to think that Facebook is myspace (i.e. from people who do not know me and who have pictures of themselves taken in the mirror with a phone camera): 2
Facebook requests denied: 2
Weeks without a working oven: 2+
Computers replaced: 2
DVD players replaced: 1
Afternoons I ran away to go wine tasting: 1
Papers graded: who was counting?
Movies seen in the theatre: 2 or 3 (not enough!)
Weird medications I went on with awful side effects to try to stop headaches: 1
Weird medications I know have to wean off of (because you can’t just stop it) because they don’t stop headaches: 1
Black bras purchased in search of one that was actually comfortable: 3
Simpsons-themed cakes made for me: 1
Days off: 0

I do keep wanting to blog; I really do. I’m going to blame my apparent inability to do so on my workload. The revisions for my Star Trek article are due soon, and I’m teaching four classes this summer. Thus, all of the things I’m about to mention deserve a full column on their own, but you’ll just have to settle for a brief mention here.

First, I want to congratulate Du for totally scooping me on reviewing Weird Al’s new album. Not only she did get around to it first, but she did it so well that I only have two small things to add. First, some of the harmonies on the last song (“Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me”) are actually very Carpenters-esque. Second, that song’s not my new favorite, like Du’s. “Party in the CIA” is. “CNR” would be, but since I’ve had it for months, I’m not counting it as new. Du’s review is here: http://www.matchflick.com/column/2418

Zach Weiner, web comic extraordinaire, will be lecturing in my Graphic Novel class this week and then heading over Bizarro World at 5 on Wednesday the 6th to sign and sell his brand-new collection. (See some samples of his genius here: http://www.smbc-comics.com/). Pass it on.

I told my 301 class on the first day that they’d get in trouble if I caught them on the phone or the computer. In my jocular spirit, I said something like, “I know you’re going to want to post every little thing I say on Facebook, but just write it down and post it after.” One of my students has apparently been doing just that. My firing is thus probably imminent. I mean, I sound bad enough in context sometimes.

As I’m sure you all know, Alexander has graduated from high school. A few days later, he started his college career with a few classes at SCC Davis. I am immensely proud. On Father’s Day, many of my friends surprised me with a party. Rae put it all together, with help from other lovely people. She even managed to sneak a mention of me into the paper. It was overwhelming and unexpected. Like Alexander. But both turned out to be amazing.

The party was also very necessary after graduation week, which happened to coincide with the last week of the quarter (lots of grading), my mom’s first visit out here in a decade, two birthday celebrations, a goodbye party, and planning for summer classes that started the second mom left.

Speaking of goodbyes, Tiffany has gone to Chicago. Book group is sadder and smaller without her. Luckily, though, I’m now on her dissertation committee, so I can remain fundamental in a way that relates to books for a little while longer.

I spent two glorious weekends at the French Film Festival this month; it gets better every year. Of course, part of the joy of the festival is being able to see Matt, Jo, and Melissa. This weekend, I got to meet one of their friends, author Jeff Gephart. All of M, J, and M’s friends are cool (which is why I consider it a compliment to be counted among them), but Jeff is extra cool because he’s my birthday twin and because he’s read my book.

I’m afraid that this may be one of the last posts at this domain name. Several months ago, I lost the ability to upload pictures to go along with my blogs. I’m unable to update the site tools (every installation fails), and sometimes the little tools like links and the ability to bold stop working as well. Any suggestions about where I could move to would be appreciated.