My first time on Prednisone has unearthed Norseman rage. What is this stuff, how does it work so well on poison ivy, and why does it make me want to wrestle world-serpents?
Sometimes a random internet browse leads to something good. In this case a tongue-devouring isopod:
It’s a fish-specific parasite that replaces the fish’s tongue with itself. Then it just hangs out, nibbling on blood and mucus while the fish…well, the fish continues being a fish. Does anyone else notice a baby seal resemblance?
Micah old man, I’m about half the way through GODS OF ABERDEEN and I’m enjoying it immensely. I particularly enjoy the precision and elegance of your writing. I really look forward to more of your work. We’re both Nathans, but I don’t think we’re related. I also have a new nephew named Micah–the name’s coming in at last, like somebody’s boat. All the best from northern California.
-Nathan Howe
I’m not so keen on my name becoming more popular. I’ve grown accustomed to people repeating my name back to me, post-introduction.
“It’s Micah?”
Then I explain the origins; The Rifleman, Chuck Connors, Marshall Micah, etc.
I’ve met a few other Micahs. One was a Japanese girl. I found that unsettling.
I’m working on a major announcement in the graphic novel realm, involving an adaptation of a storied franchise. Details as they emerge.
I have a horrendous case of poison ivy. Yesterday a weeping, leathery patch covered my right forearm, and the itching was…well, it was as though a nest of hornets erupted beneath my skin. Benadryl did nothing, cortisone did nothing, but then I discovered a poultice of kosher salt and baking soda. The blisters dried, the itching stopped, and now I’m sitting on the couch, dabbing the clear ooze off my flattened blisters.
Delightful.
It’s my own damn fault. Last week I pulled a bunch of roots out of our garden. I wore gloves and a t-shirt, despite all warnings to the contrary. Times like these I feel like a goldfish undergoing classical conditioning trials. Just how many attempts does it take for the goldfish to learn that square=food and triangle=electric shock?
Web wunderkind Andrew Boni has done his job and my site is reborn. MicahNathan.com is all growns up.
(Aside from some lingering menu issues but those will be fixed)
So how do we mark this occasion? With shameless plugging of current and future endeavors? Nah–we’ve had enough of those for awhile. How about an update of my life as a graduate student at Boston University’s writing program? Self-indulgent, yes. But this is a website for Crikey’s sake. We traffic in self-indulgence.
So here’s where we are: a couple of workshops, a local bar, and my amazing classmates (who have delivered better edits than any professional I’ve worked with). Most of your emails are filled with questions about the relevance of writing programs for the as-yet-unpublished, and I don’t have an answer just yet. I may never have an answer. Do writing programs improve one’s writing? Sure. How can they not. Especially if you’re writing in a bubble and burdening your friends/spouse/family members with editing requests. Writing programs widen your readership, and that is always helpful. Writing programs thicken your skin, and that is always, ALWAYS helpful. I remember my first bad review like it was yesterday. The anguish, the self-pitying, the ridiculousness…
But writing programs are not mandatory for writing “success” (whatever that means), and they are not an automatic entrance into the supposedly-hallowed elevators of publishing houses, and they are not and they are not. They are not many things. What they are is a tool. One of many tools. Reading is another tool, which a good writing program will force you to do (and which BU is forcing me to do, much to my annoyance). So why a writing program at this point in my career? Because I like having many tools to chose from, and now I have officially pushed the imagery too far. Onward…
The local bar is The Dugout. I have lived in Boston for nine years without enjoying the laid-back atmosphere of The Dugout. Shame on me. The situation is being remedied every Thursday night around 8 p.m. All are welcome.
Our session is over. We all need a sorbet and here you go:
And so we’ve almost arrived at the final-ish version of my new site. Some menu items needs fixing, some photos need removing/adding, and some typos need destroying. But the vibe is complete. WYSIWYG. My shortlisted story Simulacrum is now available at DIAGRAM’s site.
