(no subject)

Well, that was interesting. My ISP has found out which bit of my computer turned a switch when it was told not to and I can get online again. And I have handed about three things on and finished with two urgent things. Only five urgent things today, and I am kind of caught up. By "kind of" it means that my desk will be clear enough to focus on other urgent things.

I am dealing with it all very nicely, thanks to le_messor and his DVD collection. I am currently watching the first series of Deep Space Nine. Very calming at times of stress. Especially Odo, because I keep thinking of the same actor in Boston Legal and wonder what an episode would be like with Odo and Kirk replacing two lawyers. I'm not original today: my brain is still in "Aargh!" mode.

I aim to have finished all five things and be ready for the next onslaught by teaching-time tonight. Teaching tonight is the Plantagenet Life course and I forget what I promised to teach (I have to check my notes) but it will be cool. That's because this class is the epitome of cool. Yesterday's class was entirely charming, so I am going from charm to cool. I suspect my students are at least as impportant as Deep Space Nine for keeping me sane this week.

(no subject)

You know when you write something and have to delete it during a revision, but you can't *bear* to throw it away? I have decided that blogfriends need the gift of one such paragraph. Don't worry about context or meaning. Just admire my restraint in deleting the para from the final article.

"When most scholars look at historical fiction, they are examining the published work. This is seldom the same as the original conception of the novel by the author. How much it varies depends on the writer and their approach to the task of writing a novel, on the writer's experience and on the writer's view of history. One factor is how the novel is handled by the publishing house after delivery by the author. An important component of all of this is the nature of publishing: as a business, as a place whence writers seek dissemination of their work, as a focus for the public eye. It is not a neutral factor."

Australian Speculative Fiction carnival

Monday I am in the hot seat. It's my turn to host the Carnival.

If you have posted a brilliant or lucid or funny (or even brilliantly funny and lucid) post on any aspect of Australian horror or SF or fantasy, or if you have come across such a post in your web wanderings, please send it my way!

Also send me any bloggers who have a vast need to host the Carnival.

The address to send stuff to is philologa (at) gmail.com, because she is our official fictional construct and feels a vague loss of identity if she gets no email. Or you could send me stuff directly. All posts accompanied by chocolate get special attention.