In Memory of Ray Bradbury

WE ARE THE MIRACLE OF FORCE AND MATTER MAKING ITSELF OVER INTO IMAGINATION AND WILL. INCREDIBLE. THE LIFE FORCE EXPERIMENTING WITH FORMS. YOU FOR ONE. ME FOR ANOTHER. THE UNIVERSE HAS SHOUTED ITSELF ALIVE. WE ARE ONE OF THE SHOUTS. - Ray Bradbury

So I'm putting my books in a stack and wondering when I'll stop feeling so sad about the passing of Ray Bradbury. I never met the man, although to all accounts he was a very classy fellow, but I guess I feel as though I knew him.

He was the first author who spoke directly to me. Never had I read such eloquent and captivating phrasing, and never had I felt so deep a connection to the way a writer thought. To me, Ray Bradbury described the secret melancholy and ethereal magic of childhood: he brought the crackle and burn of wild things I'd never know, and put them into my hands: he took me to other planets, and sometimes he left me there.

I'm re-reading 'Something Wicked This Way Comes', for about the one hundredth time, and reminding myself to savour the words, to be grateful for the inspiration.

World Fantasy Convention III 1977. Thanks to Neatorama for the image.

Verbs are doing words

"Being tender and open is beautiful. As I woman I feel continually shhh'ed. Too sensitive. Too Mushy. To wishy washy. Blah Blah. “Don’t let someone steal your tenderness. Don’t allow the coldness and fear of others to tarnish your perfectly vulnerable beating heart. Nothing is more powerful than allowing yourself to truly be affected by things. Whether it’s a song, a stranger, a mountain, a rain drop, a tea kettle, an article, a sentence, a footstep…feel it all – look around you. All of this is for you. Take it and have gratitude. Give it and feel love." - Zooey Deschanel

Loving - This quote, found via by b and e. I often need a reminder that it's ok to be soft, to give myself permission to be affected by things.

Image source

 Wearing - Tights! Every day! Yes! I love winter, because it means that finally I can wear tights, stockings, leggings, etc. The only problem is keeping the tights shopping in check. Is there such a thing as too many tights? Nah.

Reliving - Saturday night at The Beetle Bar, watching an amazing line-up. Some Jerks, The New Jack Rubys, Sabrina Lawrie and the Hunting Party, and Gravel Samwidge.

Just - wow. This clip isn't from Saturday, but it's the song that's been stuck in my head ever since.



The Den of Iniquity

Cleaning up in the messy and neglected room downstairs... (I feel a little pretentious calling it a studio, but 'workroom' makes it sound unfun, and 'craftroom' makes me sound like a total wally. But calling it 'the room downstairs' makes it sound... creepy? ) (I once called it 'my girl cave', but the horrified look that provoked was enough to make sure I never say that again!)

The Event Horizon? Time does tend to lose all meaning when I'm in there...Fortress of Solitude? Um, no...The Den of Iniquity? Well, sometimes I do feel a little bit wicked and immoral, surrounded by fabrics and supplies, plotting my planetary takeover...

Do you have a room? Does it have a name? Am I overthinking this just a little?

A dose of cuteness

Every now and then a lovely lady comes in for a coffee at Buzzstop. She wears a large slouchy bag, which would be unremarkable unless you noticed that from time to time the bag moves.

When I asked the lady what was going on with her bag, she pulled out a little orphan wallaby! As a carer for orphaned wildlife, she has to keep them warm and close at all times, but she popped this sweetie out for a second so I could ooh and aah in a high-pitched voice, and stroke its incredibly soft fur.

Now I look forward to seeing the lovely lady with the squirming luggage (I should really find out her name, yes?) so I can see her latest wards and get a little dose of cuteness to sweeten up my day.

Space Cadet

So, I'm not expecting a call from NASA anytime soon, but I am, without a doubt, an honest-to-goodness space cadet. With the many thrills of May (the birthday month in my family), my birthday party at Ya Ya Bar, a computer on the fritz and a huge sausage sizzle for the Kiss Goodbye to MS appeal, it's been a blur.

I completely forgot that I had an article published in *bespoke* zine. Who forgets something like that??? And then I found a mention of my article on Her Library Adventures, a blog I really admire, so I ran around in circles for about two days, then forgot about that too! I think it may be time to focus on some memory exercises...

These are just a few images from the last month...

a walk around the lakes on the way to school on my birthday,

the gorgeous balloons I bought to match my party dress,

the absolutely gorgeous A Skulk of Foxes clock given to me by the absolutely gorgeous Buzzstop crew,

playing in the leaves,

the wildly overgrown view from my verandah, which I love even though I'm sure the neighbours are tutting in disapproval.