It only hurts if you try.

Week one back in the clutches of Dread Mistress Chloie, and already my anxiety level has gone through the roof. It’s not surprising, since I’ve put a lot of emotional eggs into the ‘2010 is a book year’ basket since before November, even. That I’m experiencing a solid case of the screaming crazies should surprise me not at all.

The last time I did one of Chloie’s workshops, it changed a lot of fundamental things about my relationship with my writing (and, as a result, a lot of things about my life). Putting my process under a microscope in the ways she expects me to is hard. I’m in a better place to utilize the tools and help she’s got on offer than I was in 2008, but the necessary breaking down and taking apart feels very near.

(Chloie, if you’re reading this, just know that you’re going to get a volley of freaked-out e-mails in the near future. You may wish to invest in some Thorazine.)

~ * ~

My friend Veronica Strega (who’s got a bit of erotica up over at Clean Sheets) lured me out this morning to see the new Alice in Wonderland film in 3-D. I thought it was beautifully done with a few exceptions (the 3-D seemed to go a bit muddy when things moved quickly, there’s one moment of significant WTF that left me quite cold, and one thing which fell a bit flat for me but that I can’t mention without feeling horribly spoilery). Plus, having avoided a lot of the promotional lead-up, I had lots of fantastic moments of “holy crap, that’s [insert actor's name here]!” We had coffee after and talked about biographers, general weirdness, and Speculative Literature Foundation grants. It was good.

~ * ~

My tab collection is getting out of hand. Have some links:

- One of the people I met at Gally, Jean Kang, has just released It Always Looks Better in My Head: A Sketchbook. Jean is awesome, her art is awesome, and everyone should buy this.

- An unsolved mystery from 60 years ago gets fresh attention when a reporter alleges that the ‘cursed bread’ of Pont-Saint-Esprit was the result of a CIA experiment. You can find an earlier article about the event (pre-LSD allegation) here, as well as a bit of video here. I confess that I prefer other narratives to the CIA one just in terms of it being an interesting story, but the idea of a whole town just going mad out of nowhere is fascinating and terrifying.

- A remarkably on-point piece by Peter Straub about the ridiculousness of genre snobbery. Aside: I want a spooky, light-up LEGO man!

- Amusing flowchart of things to say (or not) during/after sexual intercourse.

- Cheryl Morgan has been refused entry into the United States. The whole situation is rather bizarre, and unfortunate, and there’s apparently not much that can be done.

- Linked via everywhere, an incredibly useful, thoughtful post about suicide and the mental health system.

- The US Census does not count LGBTQ people (and, in fact, has changed data in the past to erase us). If you’re a LGBTQ person or a straight ally, I encourage you to Queer the Census.

- I shouldn’t laugh as hard at this as I do. AND YET.

- On a similar topic, Tea Party v. Coffee Party. As an avid consumer of hot beverages, I’m beginning to find this whole thing uncomfortably political. STOP MAKING ME CHOOSE, PEOPLE. (OTOH, think of all the action you could get on Capitol Hill if you started the ‘Coffee, Tea, or Me?’ Party…)

This post has been mirrored from Christian A. Young's Dimlight Archive. To see it in its original format, visit dimlightarchive.com