Welcome to the website of Barbara J. Webb
Below, please find links to some of my hobbies, projects, and friends.
Kittens, Rainbows, and Unicorns
Kittens, Rainbows, and Unicorns - LiveJournal.com
Writers in their natural habitat
This was the workshop room tonight. Outside the door, other folks were watching movies. Inside, we few, we happy few were working our asses off. Well, mostly. There was a good bit of talking and laughing, rambling discussions of plots and parasites, monkeys and metaphors, outlines and out-of-control fashion. And puns. And swearing. So, pretty much, a typical night of hanging out with a bunch of writers.
I'm having a great time this week. I've got the plot of Whispers hammered out, and I'm 6500 words in. I've been sitting in on lots of the novel workshop classes and a few of the short story ones. Not a lot of sleep, but that's how these things go. Making all kinds of new friends and loving the time I get to spend with the old ones.
But now I really need to go to bed.
Look! A monkey!
To demonstrate his amazing command of the principles of physics, Mario managed to make Anton the sock monkey stand. Anton stayed standing for a good fifteen minutes before some random force sent him sprawling.
Yes, we're working. Why do you ask?
My first movie!
Over on shoesbaby 's journal, he's got a post up about the first (well, only, so far) movie I ever made. It was for a contest that happens in Columbia every year, where people are given 24 hours and a writing prompt to completely produce a short film. 5 minutes, I think, was the upper limit.
I remember it being fun, cold, exhausting, exhiliarating. Mike talks more about it, and the video is here: http://shoesbaby.livejournal.com/27305.html
Working!
Yesterday was the first real workshopping day over on the novel side. Two sessions of crits, and a lecture about plot. I love watching the walls of the workshop room evolve over the course of the workshop, as notes and ideas and plots and definitions and all kinds of other stuff get noted and left.
The white board in there is kinda small this year, but even after the first day, it's collecting information.
Making do
kijjohnson went climbing today. As it turns out, she recently sprained her ankle. And while none of us would question the wisdom of her decision to continue load-bearing activities on said ankle, we will most definitely point and laugh when she is driven to find "creative" solutions to caring for it afterwards.
Please note, no coolers were harmed in the making of this photo.
Yes, that is a target bag wrapped around her foot.
Yes...we're having lots of fun in Lawrence.
Sock Monkey Action Theater!
This is yesterday's post, but my internet access is limited till Monday. Today's post will probably happen tomorrow, as well as tomorrow's post. Keep up with me here.
kijjohnson convinced me to drive up to Lawrence yesterday, instead of the planned today. Which is cool. Otherwise, I would have spent the day playing SIMS 3 to kill time waiting till I could leave this morning.
Half a dozen folks were here already, including Kij and her band of assistants.
Lots of new faces this year (both human and monkey) and I think it's going to be a fun group.
More to come!
Iran
What I thought was a nice post about Iran and American imperialism by NK Jemison over at http://theangryblackwoman.com/2009/06/27/iran-and-american-imperialism/ .
Like Nora, I don't feel informed enough to say a lot about the situation, and many others are talking about it more eloquently than I could (nods to Arian). I mainly want things to turn out okay for those people who deserve no less than the freedoms I have, and it's hard to face the horror of their situation and the fact that it's probably not going to be okay for them for a long time yet.
I feel frustrated and angry and helpless in the face of what greed can drive humanity to do.
The view from the cheap seats
Because shoesbaby requested pictures of places I write, and because I'm about to be leaving this place, today you get a shot of my porch.
Right there you see the chair in which I sit to pound out a whole lot of words. Exciting, the life of a writer, eh?
It's actually a pretty nice view. Shaded at all times except the morning (when I'm not going to be writing anyway). Often when it rains, the porch stays dry, so I can sit out in it and still type safely enough on the laptop. It's not a bad spot at all, and can be enough of a change of scenery from the couch or the office to jar my brain loose when the words start getting sticky.
I continue to pack and prepare for Lawrence. Got a haircut today, and some new jeans, as well as shampoo so I'm not stealing the stuff in the shower away from Seth. Kelley is lending me sheets. I'll have to go over the real list tomorrow, but I think I've got everything I need assembled -- now just need to make it all compact and portable.
One more day till I leave for Lawrence!
Let us eat cake!
Tonight, Kelley (omagnas)and Wes (her husband) came over for dinner. Seth and Wes work together in the Comp Sci department, and Kelley is the person who introduced me to the local writing group. I made garlic lime chicken and rice and chocolate cake for dessert.
It was fun having people over, cooking. I haven't gotten to do that since we moved to Arkansas. And not all that often in Lawrence, either. In Lawrence, we had an awkward kitchen and barely enough room for more than two people to sit at a table. It's nice to have the room to support guests.
In addition to the pleasures of cooking and socializing, tonight was also a useful distraction from the retreat coming up quickly. Close enough it's hard to be productive and focused on anything but the retreat -- still enough days away I probably should.
Kitty in the underbrush
I swear, we aren't devolving into cat pictures already. But I think I am allowed a few. Especially as I start packing for my 3 weeks in Lawrence, where I won't get to see her (or my husband) at all.
That's the parsley which is hers to chew on -- the distraction from the plants that I prefer she doesn't nibble to nothing.
So much to do as I get geared up for Lawrence. Cleaning, shopping, haircut, laundry, packing, and cooking. Time to sit down with Omnifocus and get organized.
The one that got away
Well, to be honest, we let him go.
Today was early morning fun out at the farm. Fishing with the kids. In the picture, you can see Lucy (small redhead), Alex (slightly less small), Sister Susan (leaning over behind the kids) and Mother. And one of the three fish we caught today. Strictly catch and release, since our real lunch plans involve pizza.
Ah, Missouri. How well I remember you. Oppressive heat and humidity you almost need SCUBA gear to survive. Mosquitoes on every exposed bit of skin -- despite spraying two layers of bugspray. Ticks. Oh God, the ticks.
But still, a fun morning. Nice to hang out with Susan and her brood. Last night, we played games, then Susan and I stayed up way too late talking. In the next room over, we could hear the kids giggling at each other in the bunk beds, much like Susan and I did when we were young. (Like we still do, honestly). Circle of life, right there.
More fishing pictures here.
I miss my grandmother
I drove up to Lebanon this morning. My sister, Susan, and her kids are in Missouri visiting. They arrived in Columbia yesterday and will be staying till the 4th. Unfortunately, that's also mostly the time I'll be at the CSSF writers retreat. Plus, with three weeks away coming up, I was loathe to make the 5 hour drive to Columbia for a couple days. It worked out well they were planning to come down to Lebanon (which is a couple hours closer to Fayetteville) for a couple days, and I can handle an overnight trip before the madness of packing for extended away time.
I got here around lunchtime and have been sitting in the living room trying to get writing done before the chaos of their arrival descends. Across the room from me, this door out to the sun-room caught my eye.
My grandmother has been dead for almost two years now, but this house is still very much her. She was a woman of eclectic interests, and the posters on the door are so very much her, I knew that had to be my picture for the day. How often do you see college football and Lord of the Rings sitting so cheerfully next to each other? But that was Mama Jean. She loved Football and Baseball. She loved Tolkein and Rowling. She loved Bach and Beethoven and skiing and horseback riding. And she was never afraid to talk about or display those things that were important to her, no matter how eccentric they might appear.
She was never ashamed of being interested in just about everything that passed in front of her. Endlessly curious without judgement. I wish there were more of her. And I miss her.
No help like kitty help
Zifla has decided the breakfast bar is awesome. She supervises from one of the stools when I'm working in the kitchen. Or when I'm eating lunch at the counter. Or any time an elevated position might be useful to her.
Here, I'm assembling veggies for tonight's pot roast and Zifla is keeping a close eye on things. The carrots aren't as exciting as the meat was, but since she never knows what I'm going to pull out next, it's best to stay close.
Eat your veggies!
The Fayetteville farmer's market is quite the experience. It fills the courthouse square, closes off the streets, and seems to attract at least half of Fayetteville.
Fruits and veggies, of course, are available. But also live plants of every kind, jams and jellies, honey, local crafts, and meats. Food and beverage stands offer coffee, pastries, and mexican food(?) if you get hungry/thirsty while you browse. Numerous musicians -- I counted 7 different groups today -- mainly fiddle/guitar combos -- scatter about, giving the whole thing a festival atmosphere. And did I mention the people? OMG, is this place crowded.
It gets me up and moving on a Saturday morning, which is a good thing. The local produce has been super tasty so far. This market is definitely one of the plusses to living in Fayetteville.
More pictures here.
Do ducks get lonely?
There are ducks all over our apartment complex. They live here, spending their time in the fountained ponds and wandering the grass. Just ducking around. I find them endlessly entertaining. Their constant mutter of quacks as they sit around in a flock makes it sound like it's always a cocktail party in duck-world.
And then there's this guy.
While on occasion, I have seen him hanging out with the rest of the flock, more often he wanders the grounds alone. I'm not sure what to make of that. Does he like being a loner? Is he unpopular with the other ducks? Is he some sort of duck sage, duck monk, duck pariah?
What wisdom would he share with me if only we could communicate? What ancient sadness looks out from his eyes? What mysteries will I never know?
Newsfeed display by CaRP
Kittens, Rainbows, and Unicorns - LiveJournal.com
Writers in their natural habitat
This was the workshop room tonight. Outside the door, other folks were watching movies. Inside, we few, we happy few were working our asses off. Well, mostly. There was a good bit of talking and laughing, rambling discussions of plots and parasites, monkeys and metaphors, outlines and out-of-control fashion. And puns. And swearing. So, pretty much, a typical night of hanging out with a bunch of writers.
I'm having a great time this week. I've got the plot of Whispers hammered out, and I'm 6500 words in. I've been sitting in on lots of the novel workshop classes and a few of the short story ones. Not a lot of sleep, but that's how these things go. Making all kinds of new friends and loving the time I get to spend with the old ones.
But now I really need to go to bed.
Look! A monkey!
To demonstrate his amazing command of the principles of physics, Mario managed to make Anton the sock monkey stand. Anton stayed standing for a good fifteen minutes before some random force sent him sprawling.
Yes, we're working. Why do you ask?
My first movie!
Over on shoesbaby 's journal, he's got a post up about the first (well, only, so far) movie I ever made. It was for a contest that happens in Columbia every year, where people are given 24 hours and a writing prompt to completely produce a short film. 5 minutes, I think, was the upper limit.
I remember it being fun, cold, exhausting, exhiliarating. Mike talks more about it, and the video is here: http://shoesbaby.livejournal.com/27305.html
Working!
Yesterday was the first real workshopping day over on the novel side. Two sessions of crits, and a lecture about plot. I love watching the walls of the workshop room evolve over the course of the workshop, as notes and ideas and plots and definitions and all kinds of other stuff get noted and left.
The white board in there is kinda small this year, but even after the first day, it's collecting information.
Making do
kijjohnson went climbing today. As it turns out, she recently sprained her ankle. And while none of us would question the wisdom of her decision to continue load-bearing activities on said ankle, we will most definitely point and laugh when she is driven to find "creative" solutions to caring for it afterwards.
Please note, no coolers were harmed in the making of this photo.
Yes, that is a target bag wrapped around her foot.
Yes...we're having lots of fun in Lawrence.
Sock Monkey Action Theater!
This is yesterday's post, but my internet access is limited till Monday. Today's post will probably happen tomorrow, as well as tomorrow's post. Keep up with me here.
kijjohnson convinced me to drive up to Lawrence yesterday, instead of the planned today. Which is cool. Otherwise, I would have spent the day playing SIMS 3 to kill time waiting till I could leave this morning.
Half a dozen folks were here already, including Kij and her band of assistants.
Lots of new faces this year (both human and monkey) and I think it's going to be a fun group.
More to come!
Iran
What I thought was a nice post about Iran and American imperialism by NK Jemison over at http://theangryblackwoman.com/2009/06/27/iran-and-american-imperialism/ .
Like Nora, I don't feel informed enough to say a lot about the situation, and many others are talking about it more eloquently than I could (nods to Arian). I mainly want things to turn out okay for those people who deserve no less than the freedoms I have, and it's hard to face the horror of their situation and the fact that it's probably not going to be okay for them for a long time yet.
I feel frustrated and angry and helpless in the face of what greed can drive humanity to do.
The view from the cheap seats
Because shoesbaby requested pictures of places I write, and because I'm about to be leaving this place, today you get a shot of my porch.
Right there you see the chair in which I sit to pound out a whole lot of words. Exciting, the life of a writer, eh?
It's actually a pretty nice view. Shaded at all times except the morning (when I'm not going to be writing anyway). Often when it rains, the porch stays dry, so I can sit out in it and still type safely enough on the laptop. It's not a bad spot at all, and can be enough of a change of scenery from the couch or the office to jar my brain loose when the words start getting sticky.
I continue to pack and prepare for Lawrence. Got a haircut today, and some new jeans, as well as shampoo so I'm not stealing the stuff in the shower away from Seth. Kelley is lending me sheets. I'll have to go over the real list tomorrow, but I think I've got everything I need assembled -- now just need to make it all compact and portable.
One more day till I leave for Lawrence!
Let us eat cake!
Tonight, Kelley (omagnas)and Wes (her husband) came over for dinner. Seth and Wes work together in the Comp Sci department, and Kelley is the person who introduced me to the local writing group. I made garlic lime chicken and rice and chocolate cake for dessert.
It was fun having people over, cooking. I haven't gotten to do that since we moved to Arkansas. And not all that often in Lawrence, either. In Lawrence, we had an awkward kitchen and barely enough room for more than two people to sit at a table. It's nice to have the room to support guests.
In addition to the pleasures of cooking and socializing, tonight was also a useful distraction from the retreat coming up quickly. Close enough it's hard to be productive and focused on anything but the retreat -- still enough days away I probably should.
Kitty in the underbrush
I swear, we aren't devolving into cat pictures already. But I think I am allowed a few. Especially as I start packing for my 3 weeks in Lawrence, where I won't get to see her (or my husband) at all.
That's the parsley which is hers to chew on -- the distraction from the plants that I prefer she doesn't nibble to nothing.
So much to do as I get geared up for Lawrence. Cleaning, shopping, haircut, laundry, packing, and cooking. Time to sit down with Omnifocus and get organized.
The one that got away
Well, to be honest, we let him go.
Today was early morning fun out at the farm. Fishing with the kids. In the picture, you can see Lucy (small redhead), Alex (slightly less small), Sister Susan (leaning over behind the kids) and Mother. And one of the three fish we caught today. Strictly catch and release, since our real lunch plans involve pizza.
Ah, Missouri. How well I remember you. Oppressive heat and humidity you almost need SCUBA gear to survive. Mosquitoes on every exposed bit of skin -- despite spraying two layers of bugspray. Ticks. Oh God, the ticks.
But still, a fun morning. Nice to hang out with Susan and her brood. Last night, we played games, then Susan and I stayed up way too late talking. In the next room over, we could hear the kids giggling at each other in the bunk beds, much like Susan and I did when we were young. (Like we still do, honestly). Circle of life, right there.
More fishing pictures here.
I miss my grandmother
I drove up to Lebanon this morning. My sister, Susan, and her kids are in Missouri visiting. They arrived in Columbia yesterday and will be staying till the 4th. Unfortunately, that's also mostly the time I'll be at the CSSF writers retreat. Plus, with three weeks away coming up, I was loathe to make the 5 hour drive to Columbia for a couple days. It worked out well they were planning to come down to Lebanon (which is a couple hours closer to Fayetteville) for a couple days, and I can handle an overnight trip before the madness of packing for extended away time.
I got here around lunchtime and have been sitting in the living room trying to get writing done before the chaos of their arrival descends. Across the room from me, this door out to the sun-room caught my eye.
My grandmother has been dead for almost two years now, but this house is still very much her. She was a woman of eclectic interests, and the posters on the door are so very much her, I knew that had to be my picture for the day. How often do you see college football and Lord of the Rings sitting so cheerfully next to each other? But that was Mama Jean. She loved Football and Baseball. She loved Tolkein and Rowling. She loved Bach and Beethoven and skiing and horseback riding. And she was never afraid to talk about or display those things that were important to her, no matter how eccentric they might appear.
She was never ashamed of being interested in just about everything that passed in front of her. Endlessly curious without judgement. I wish there were more of her. And I miss her.
No help like kitty help
Zifla has decided the breakfast bar is awesome. She supervises from one of the stools when I'm working in the kitchen. Or when I'm eating lunch at the counter. Or any time an elevated position might be useful to her.
Here, I'm assembling veggies for tonight's pot roast and Zifla is keeping a close eye on things. The carrots aren't as exciting as the meat was, but since she never knows what I'm going to pull out next, it's best to stay close.
Eat your veggies!
The Fayetteville farmer's market is quite the experience. It fills the courthouse square, closes off the streets, and seems to attract at least half of Fayetteville.
Fruits and veggies, of course, are available. But also live plants of every kind, jams and jellies, honey, local crafts, and meats. Food and beverage stands offer coffee, pastries, and mexican food(?) if you get hungry/thirsty while you browse. Numerous musicians -- I counted 7 different groups today -- mainly fiddle/guitar combos -- scatter about, giving the whole thing a festival atmosphere. And did I mention the people? OMG, is this place crowded.
It gets me up and moving on a Saturday morning, which is a good thing. The local produce has been super tasty so far. This market is definitely one of the plusses to living in Fayetteville.
More pictures here.
Do ducks get lonely?
There are ducks all over our apartment complex. They live here, spending their time in the fountained ponds and wandering the grass. Just ducking around. I find them endlessly entertaining. Their constant mutter of quacks as they sit around in a flock makes it sound like it's always a cocktail party in duck-world.
And then there's this guy.
While on occasion, I have seen him hanging out with the rest of the flock, more often he wanders the grounds alone. I'm not sure what to make of that. Does he like being a loner? Is he unpopular with the other ducks? Is he some sort of duck sage, duck monk, duck pariah?
What wisdom would he share with me if only we could communicate? What ancient sadness looks out from his eyes? What mysteries will I never know?
Newsfeed display by CaRP