Flickering heights of television

I had a good clamber over the new habitat island in False Creek last Wednesday, and caught all kinds of birds including this northern flicker, who was cleaning itself and soaking up the sunlight:

False Creek Birds

I am also flickering across the horizon at Benbella Books, guest blogging about last week’s Glee episode “Duets”. This is something of a tie-in to my essay “Who’s the Real Lima Loser? The Curious Friendship of Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman“, which will be out in their unofficial Glee companion, FILLED WITH GLEE in November. And over at Tor.com, my third Quantum Leap rewatch, “The Color of Truth,” is live.

Another delight of the week gone by: Kelly read me The Uncommon Reader, by Alan Bennett, the other evening. She is a fantastically expressive reader, and the novella itself is laugh out loud funny, so it was a thoroughly wonderful experience. The book is about making time for pleasure, about giving yourself a chance to grow, and ultimately about giving yourself permission to write… even in the face of considerable opposition.

The Uncommon Reader also reminded me that a couple months ago I saw a cluster of blog posts written by committed bibliophiles who were expressing frustration with the frequently-heard comment, “I never find time to read.” This observation seems, to them, to imply that reading (novels, especially) is a frivolous, even sinfully self-indulgent pursuit as opposed to one that is mind-expanding and worthwhile. This novella makes the counter-argument to that foolish idea very eloquently. I cannot recommend it enough.

Green means go, yellow means slow

I have been trying to give the arachnophobes a break lately, but this (spider-free, just the webs!) is a shot I’ve been stalking awhile and I am quite pleased with it.

Traffic Light and Cobwebs

In more bad news for the web-fearing among you, I have more. Lots more. Barb and I went to Burnaby Lake Sunday and it is a fairyland of dew-spangled cobwebs.

The mail Friday brought a CD from my aunt and uncle, trip pictures from our cruise. I took the opportunity to phone and thank them, and we had a nice catch-up chat. Predictably enough, I raved about the beauty of Vancouver in the autumn–all the things I always blog about this time of year. The migrating birds, the squirrel we saw burying acorns yesterday, the cobwebs, morning fog, the leaf shadows on the pavement… it is a stunningly gorgeous and really variable season.

Saturday I got up to go cafe write and it was maybe an hour before dawn. The sky was all the shades of a Stellar’s Jay: no true black, just a spectrum that ran from soot to a hint of indigo. The Big Dipper hung over the North Shore Mountains and as I watched a gull flew past, coming between me and the stars, its white underbelly stained a soft powder blue by the coming light of dawn.

I stood, watching, and I was thinking very specifically about how I would describe it if I was writing for Snuffy. This, for me, is a useful exercise in constructing prettier sentences than I might otherwise be inclined. (And the ‘boxing the poll’ line, from a few days ago? Was for kelly-yoyoKelly).

Anyone else do this?

Reading the leaves

The excellent Reading the Leaves blog has posted a thoughtful and honest review of Indigo Springs here. Blogger Terry Weyna reads widely and well–her annual Best Books lists are varied and full of intriguing things I’ve never heard of, and she keeps up with recommended lists and award winners.

In honor of the occasion, I give you… a leaf, avec gastropod.

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