Thus, Monday. Randomly.

[lagilman]

The temperatures have broken, after high winds and occasional rain yesterday. We can breathe again! For that alone, this is a Good Monday.


Yesterday I worked a bit in the morning and then, needing a break, went downtown to the "Egg roll and Eggcream" festival. Yes, really. Possibly only in NYC, where the Chinese and Jewish immigrant communities keep crossing in an odd sort of pattern, could the restoration of an 1880's synagogue (which is, btw, utterly gorgeous and should be seen if you're in town) in what has become Chinatown be celebrated this way. Vegetarian egg roll (no pork or shrimp) and eggcreams and half-sour pickles and Chinese acrobats and it didn't rain while we were there, yay!

Today, I have sent off the last of my pending (aka "overdue") writing obligations to madame editrix, leaving me with nothing on my docket save Vineart War #3 (and some editorial work for Carina, including an editorial letter and a copyedit once-over before sending it on to the author).

Only one writing project to work on? All week?

*has quiet, undignified glee*


Meanwhile, I can haz new toy! Delivery this morning from the folks at aforementioned Carina Press Digital, to celebrate today's launch of the imprint: a Kobo e-reader. Hrm. Guess I know what I'll be playing with tonight...

Meanwhile, I am out of coffee. This needs to be fixed, before tomorrow morning rolls around. coffee in da house!

Comments

[irishkate.livejournal.com]

If you get bored with the Kobo e-reader I will mind it for you......

[lagilman]

You may have to get in line...

(so far, it seems like a nice, if simple, tool. A good entry-level ereader. More details to come)

[ramblin-phyl.livejournal.com]

Don't forget your steampunk story! I'm accepting submissions any time BEFORE August 15.

[lagilman]

um, ack?

*whimpers*

[michael-b-lee.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm compelled to ask: what's a half-sour pickle?

[lagilman]

apparently, the fine art of research really is dead....

A half-sour pickle is a cuke that's been brined for about half the time you'd use to get a full-sour pickle. You get a still-green pickle that delivers sour and sweet in every juicy crunch. It's the classic NY deli pickle, the snack of my childhood (I have vague memories of actually going by places on the Lower East Side where the pickles were stored in and sold out of old-style barrels) and I think there's no better use for a Kirby cucumber than that. Nom.

(you can keep your bread-and-butter pickles. Meh)

[michael-b-lee.livejournal.com]

apparently, the fine art of research really is dead....

Sorry. Just trying to ask a question and maybe generate a bit of conversation at the same time. :(

[lagilman]

Pffft. How about "okay, the description I found sounds interesting but what do they taste like?"

(also: do they not have pickles out there? Are you a pickle virgin? Inconceivable!)

[michael-b-lee.livejournal.com]

Sure, we have pickles, but the variety is somewhat lacking. You've got your dill pickles, your sweet pickles, your bread-and-butter pickles, and that's about it. So, yeah. Largely a pickle virgin.

Anyway, while I really enjoy research, I far prefer to ask people questions than go digging up facts on the computer, because I tend to learn so much more from people. For example, had I just stuck to Google, I'd never have heard that neat anecdote you mentioned about going by places on the Lower East Side when you were a kid and getting them from old-style pickle barrels. So I learned some neat and useful info *and* got a nice bit of NYC texture in the bargain. :)

[lagilman]

As a once and future teacher (free-range) I prefer to see people do the basic fact-finding on their own rather than relying on potentially biased reports. You can listen to the color commentary after you have a basic understanding. :-P

(I am kidding. Mostly)