Book launch imminent! (And an unexpected rant about Indiana Jones.)
Infinite Archive will be on shelves tomorrow! It has more murder! More sentient ships! And so many cats! I can't wait for you to read it. You can pre-order a signed copy from Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, btw. I'll even personalize it!
I did get a local event set up, I'll be at Quail Ridge Books on August 6!
This week's plan:
Mon: Today! Get the damn newsletter out already!
Tues: BOOK LAUNCH! I must go to a local store and sign stock, but then I think I might do a launch party stream. Follow on twitch.tv/mightymur to keep up with my last minute ridiculousness!
Wed: I am planning on an afternoon coworking stream.
Thurs: Taking a break from podcasting and streaming ISBW.
Fri: US Holiday, taking off.
July's Calendar:
1st: Book launch
3rd: Escape Pod's 1000th episode!
12th: Kick in the Pants workshop (Patreon)
17th-20th: Readercon in Boston (the program is live!)
25th: Mur's Birthday!
26th: Kick in the Pants workshop (Patreon)
31st: Live interview with Dan Kois (book: Hampton Heights) on I Should Be Writing
Housekeeping: Since moving over to Ghost, I've been unhappy and underwhelmed, but I paid for a year of this service so I'm going to see what I can make of it. Unfortunately, that means that I am still working on how to get exclusive episodes to those of you supporting via the newsletter ($5 a month!). If you're eager to get the exclusive episodes, I do recommend supporting via Patreon for the short term.
Watching: Murderbot (Apple +), Taskmaster (Youtube), and Poker Face (Peacock). Amazing TV, all of it.
Also Watching: We took my husband to see Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade for Father's Day. I'd only ever seen the end scenes (he chose poorly), so I was going in pretty innocent overall. I was surprised that the dialogue was stiff and wooden and Indy and Elsa had no chemistry (Marian kind of disappeared, right? Kate Capshaw was the love interest in the second movie, and now Elsa?) What amused the hell out of me, though, was that Indy managed to steal: a boat, a car, a horse, a plane, and a motorcycle + sidecar.
One thing he kept shouting at bad guys was, "This deserves to be in a museum!" So I wondered if someone yelled at him for stealing their property: "Well that car deserved to be in my garage, but you stole it and abandoned it in a hole!"
It's pretty clear by this movie that Indiana Jones lives his life by one rule, and it has nothing to do with theft or museums or rewards. In achieving your goals, take whatever you need, use it until you're done with it, and then just throw it away.
As a kid he abandons his horse in the desert when he jumps on a train. The adventure followed young River Phoenix (RIP) but all I could think about was, "the horse he left the horse, the horse that CAME WHEN HE WHISTLED. Isn't someone going to go get that horse?" He steals SO MANY methods of travel, usually destroys what he steals, and then hops out and goes to the next thing. And at the end of the movie, he loses the grail, the whole cave starts to break apart, and he just waves at the grail knight on his way out. "Later, dude!"
What are we supposed to think here? This ancient man who is suspended in time just had his whole reason for living a very long and boring life tossed away by a scruffy man and an Elsa. What is he going to do now? Rebuild? Go retrieve the grail? Leave the cave and try to live a modern life? Shrivel up and die the moment he steps out of magic cave? Or will he just drink from one of the "choosing poorly" grails?
Who cares, the credits are rolling and John Williams' music is sending us off! Bye, ancient knight! We're done with you!
Reading: All Systems Red by Martha Wells (I couldn't resist a re-listen during a recent road trip), still working on Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots, and the ARC of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint by singNsong, translation by ye Young Im. (yes, the webcomic is coming out in novel form, released 7-22, and you can preorder now!)
Playing: Baldur's Gate 3 (my beloved), CraftCraft, and just started The Alters. I am looking forward to Blue Prince, the puzzle game everyone's talking about, and Date Everything!, the surreal dating sim that reminds me of Boyfriend Dungeon, just without the fighting. (And every once in a while I pick up Gnosia again, just to play a few days, because it blows my mind. If you play it, let me know so we can nerd out about it.)
Too many games, too many books, etc.
See you soon!
Mur
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