Art of the Odd

I think almost everyone who reads this knows by now that I quit my job last week. Well, I gave notice a month ago, but the 9th was my last day. My energies will now be spent on redefining myself as a freelance writer and solo attorney.

This week, though, was meant to be a vacation, and it has been. NovySan and I spent Monday at the art museum and the beach; Tuesday, while he was at work, I did a bit of cleaning and a bit of reading and a bit of gardening and a bit of knitting, and it was glorious; yesterday, I planted a few more things and watched Crimson Rivers while he worked on my car.

And then today, I got the news that I’ve been accepted as a contributor over at Pop Bunker – which doesn’t mean you’ll never be treated (and/or subjected) to one of my movie posts, but does give me another outlet for them.

And now, I’m taking Boneshaker outside for a bit, then planning to come back in and do some dishes and maybe watch some movies and knit some more. (I’m making myself a Doctor Who-type scarf, with this gorgeous tweed yarn from Knit Picks. Which reminds me – I still owe the world pics of NovySan in his Doctor Who scarf.)

Sometimes I have dreams that I think contain the seeds of good stories, and I often can’t remember them in the morning.

This morning, though, my dreaming mind presented me with a thriller in which Canada attempted to destroy American rye production by introducing a black fungus that would wipe out the crop. They had ordered the assassination of a Congressional committee member who was blocking the importation of Canadian rye – and with his death, the clock began to tick.

“No,” I said to myself when I woke up from the dream. “No one wants to read a thriller about Canadian agriculture.”

The dream persisted. An hour later, I woke up again. “Seriously,” I said. “No. There’s just nothing sexy about a black rye fungus.”

It tried a third time, too, with a vivid depiction of the cover of a scholarly journal warning of The Misuse of Black Rye Mold in International Agriculture.

I wonder if I can get Michael Bay to direct?

I shared this on Twitter already – it came in via Elizabeth Bear, who had it from Warren Ellis. But it deserves a place here, too.

The proceeds go to benefit Haiti. You can pre-order here, though the US purchase site doesn’t appear to be set up yet.

Incidentally, Christy Moore had something interesting things to say about benefit gigs in the Christy Chat I received this morning.

John Spillane and I have been putting a few chords together… “Haitian Girl” is the current working title of a song that is emerging. We will perform a gig in Vicar Street, Dublin on Tuesday, 23rd March. All proceeds will go to GOAL in Haiti. Ticketmaster have waived their commission and Vicar Street their rental fees.

An increasing number of people seem to be becoming critical of benefit gigs. They question the motives and claim that tragic situations are being exploited. One Dublin journalist wrote a scathing attack on those who do benefit gigs. (Presumably getting well paid for the piece) I have heard stories of NGO’s in areas of war and catastrophe, of aid workers behaving inappropriately … But I have also witnessed the courage and commitment of volunteers giving their time and sometimes their very lives to help others. I am in awe of their commitment. I believe that the courage and compassion of thousands far outweighs the errant behaviour of a few. Also I know that certain performers cannot resist any PR opportunity, sometimes cynically, more times unwittingly, but I believe they too are in a minority. Then there are the political arguments, the ethical dimensions, the opportunism of donor nations, the fashionable ladies and gents who lunch for charity … I simply don’t have the time to work it all out, I need to keep it simple. If I can give a dig out I will, and if some want to put a slant on that … so be it.