See, I *knew* you were going to conquer the world. (Maybe not this fast though).
I am looking forward to becoming the annoying person who comments on ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING when you start the speculative short stories circle, and I apologise in advance for my relentless commenting in which I never stop commenting until you feel compelled to have a word with me to maybe stop commenting? Because I will leave all the comments. All of them. Sorry.
Also, the Dear Butte house is absolutely gorgeous. Madly so.
"He slowly starts to become what he always hated." 😱😱😱
You know I'll look forward to those comments! I am really looking forward to this one, honestly. It'll be a nice shift aka excuse to read sci fi that I want to read anyway!
There is no world-conquering here, just the endless turn and shift of life ... and plenty of failure. ;)
That's a great idea! I'll delve back into her short stories. I had to rethink the readings because we agreed that short stories are the best fit for this format. Originally I was thinking novels and novellas like Murderbot, "Binti," and "A Memory Called Empire," but it's harder to excerpt from science fiction and fantasy novels because the world-building aspect is so immense. "The Left Hand of Darkness" is so good and my favorite of LeGuin's.
There’s a maybe novella length book she wrote called Buffalo Gals, Won’t You Come Out Tonight that swept me away when I first read it years ago. Recently I was searching for some gender-fluid, and matriarchal other-world short stories of hers that I remember being struck by. Unfortunately I didn’t find them, but I’m not the best researcher.
I will ask at the bookstore. A couple of the people there are big sci fi fans and frequently have helped me find new things. LeGuin is worth putting in the effort. :)
That’s so great that you’re doing a Dear Butte stint. It’s the absolute best. Speaking of which, if you are doing a group walk through Butte, let me know if anybody finds a set of Toyota keys on the ground (likely somewhere in Walkerville). I lost my set during my residency and had to borrow Christy’s van to drive to the Bozeman Toyota dealer and back so they could cut me a new set. I’m assuming that’s what the walk will mostly be about, right? Finding one-year-old lost car keys?
Garrett, how did you know that's how this all came about? I have never met Christy, but she mentioned your keys to Kathleen, and they decided the best solution is for me to drive the four hours from Whitefish and search for them.
You have accidentally tapped into one of my proudest childhood moments, which was finding a tiny yogo sapphire Lowell Jaeger had dropped on the dirty concrete floor of his dimly lit jewelry making shop while he and my mom were talking about poetry. (Probably. I don't remember what they were talking about but it was usually poetry.) Ever since then, I've had this internal self-definition as "someone who is able to spot small, lost things on the ground," which is actually totally untrue but will not stop me spending a lot of walks looking for your keys!
Sounds nifty! Congrats. It is (or was) not at cold and now it's headed in the other direction but nothing like Montana. It's a lot more disconcerting and disturbing than nasty.
"Disconcerting" is a good description for our weather patterns this winter. The cycle of -40 wind chill days followed by rain and warmth has been ... yes, disconcerting.
It sounds like you've got some good opportunities in front of you. More than anything I hope all of your caring and hard work makes a difference, however modest at first, and thereby fills your sails. The world needs your voice.
Thank you! I'm really excited about it. A couple of friends have done it and I've heard great things. Ten whole days is ... almost unimaginably generous.
Congratulations on your residency! Butte is such a fascinating place. So many stories to be told I am sure. Love the concept. Glad we are getting through the worst of the cold weather. Hoping to cross country ski tomorrow. Given your work you’d probably be interested to know that we ski and walk on an airstrip that is essentially a field but there for the few small planes that fly in here in the summer. It’s fenced off, which keeps motorized vehicles away. Makes for a great long unleashed dog walk or ski.
That is very cool! sounds like a great place to cross-country, ski, actually, especially if motorized vehicles can't run through your trails. I mostly grew up in Belgrade, south of Bozeman, and my parents used to drag me cross-country skiing all the time, usually to Lone Mountain Ranch (which I think was more accessible then but is super fancy now? I'm not sure; my older sister spent a summer working as a housecleaner there), and then when we moved to Whitefish my teenage self very resentfully broke trail in Glacier. Kind of wish I'd appreciated it all more at the time, but at least I do now.
With this rain + deep freeze pattern, the cross-country skiing here is kind of sketchy right now. Or maybe unpleasant is the word I'm looking for!
Montana is such a small place really. What a funny coincidence - my cousin and her husband managed Lone Mountain for years (the Arterburns) and my nephew worked there in the dining room one summer. Perhaps they overlapped with your sister? Would have been around 2004-2005 I think. Anyway, yes, the things our parents did for us that we complained about! Enjoy the warmish weather today!
Oh my goodness that's wild. Small town, long streets, etc.
I think it's almost another generation. I grew up in Belgrade in the 80s and my sister is 5 years older than I am. I think the summer she worked there would have been around 1989 or 1990?
Oh yes, probably a different generation. I think my cousin started working there and managing it in the late nineties until about 2010. But still, a funny coincidence. My how things have changed in Belgrade since the 80s! We lived in Livingston for 12 years. I grew up here in Valier in the 80s and 90s. It’s hard for me to grasp the rapid growth in parts of Montana. Meanwhile in rural Montana time sometimes seems like it’s standing still. We did have 4 new houses built in town last year which must be some sort of record. But I can guarantee we will be the only people out skiing today.
At least the freezing wind is now chilling in stillness. The narrator owned my meander today, but I learned to appreciate the invitation to use words to bring enhanced attention to details and nuance in the tracks. Like how blades of grass and brush fingers poking out of the wind-packed snow tell stories about sun, wind and their own swaying dances. Sent you a photo of fresh cougar tracks with special stories today. Thanks, so much for your nutritious posts.
Snow tells so many stories! I was thinking this morning that, while I'll enjoy seeing the ground again when all this melts, there is so much activity and life that I'm only aware of because their stories are left in snow.
Oh yes, the seguay is when things seem to be going wrong as it first seemed to me today there may be a way other than resistance to make friends with what is and make things work.
See, I *knew* you were going to conquer the world. (Maybe not this fast though).
I am looking forward to becoming the annoying person who comments on ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING when you start the speculative short stories circle, and I apologise in advance for my relentless commenting in which I never stop commenting until you feel compelled to have a word with me to maybe stop commenting? Because I will leave all the comments. All of them. Sorry.
Also, the Dear Butte house is absolutely gorgeous. Madly so.
Also also, I thought of a scifi short story that you might have a lot to say about - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billennium_(short_story)
"He slowly starts to become what he always hated." 😱😱😱
You know I'll look forward to those comments! I am really looking forward to this one, honestly. It'll be a nice shift aka excuse to read sci fi that I want to read anyway!
There is no world-conquering here, just the endless turn and shift of life ... and plenty of failure. ;)
And so much like desert sands it's all wiped away in time. Mountains take a little more time.
The residency sounds seriously cool - congrats!
As an Arkansawyer, the prompt strikes a very true chord in my soul for all the reasons (and lazy-ass jokes) that you might expect.
ABSOLUTELY
Hey, do you know why they call it a toothbrush in Arkansas?
No but do I want to?!
They call it a tooth brush 'cuz we only got one tooth to brush!
😂😒😕
Well, y'know, bless our hearts and all but what else do you expect when the family tree's just got the one branch?
For your second Theadable reading circle on Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Belonging, I hope you might also consider the work of Úrsula LeGuin.
SECONDED.
That's a great idea! I'll delve back into her short stories. I had to rethink the readings because we agreed that short stories are the best fit for this format. Originally I was thinking novels and novellas like Murderbot, "Binti," and "A Memory Called Empire," but it's harder to excerpt from science fiction and fantasy novels because the world-building aspect is so immense. "The Left Hand of Darkness" is so good and my favorite of LeGuin's.
There’s a maybe novella length book she wrote called Buffalo Gals, Won’t You Come Out Tonight that swept me away when I first read it years ago. Recently I was searching for some gender-fluid, and matriarchal other-world short stories of hers that I remember being struck by. Unfortunately I didn’t find them, but I’m not the best researcher.
I will ask at the bookstore. A couple of the people there are big sci fi fans and frequently have helped me find new things. LeGuin is worth putting in the effort. :)
Sounds exciting! You are doing important work, which is so desperately needed these days.
Same to you, Stephen. And thank you!
That’s so great that you’re doing a Dear Butte stint. It’s the absolute best. Speaking of which, if you are doing a group walk through Butte, let me know if anybody finds a set of Toyota keys on the ground (likely somewhere in Walkerville). I lost my set during my residency and had to borrow Christy’s van to drive to the Bozeman Toyota dealer and back so they could cut me a new set. I’m assuming that’s what the walk will mostly be about, right? Finding one-year-old lost car keys?
😂
Garrett, how did you know that's how this all came about? I have never met Christy, but she mentioned your keys to Kathleen, and they decided the best solution is for me to drive the four hours from Whitefish and search for them.
You have accidentally tapped into one of my proudest childhood moments, which was finding a tiny yogo sapphire Lowell Jaeger had dropped on the dirty concrete floor of his dimly lit jewelry making shop while he and my mom were talking about poetry. (Probably. I don't remember what they were talking about but it was usually poetry.) Ever since then, I've had this internal self-definition as "someone who is able to spot small, lost things on the ground," which is actually totally untrue but will not stop me spending a lot of walks looking for your keys!
If anybody can find those keys one year later, it's you!
🕵🏻
Sounds nifty! Congrats. It is (or was) not at cold and now it's headed in the other direction but nothing like Montana. It's a lot more disconcerting and disturbing than nasty.
elm
bizarro
"Disconcerting" is a good description for our weather patterns this winter. The cycle of -40 wind chill days followed by rain and warmth has been ... yes, disconcerting.
Yeah. There was some snow this morning and now it´s almost all gone. About 40 now. Whee.
Congrats on the residency, BTW.
elm
ready for february to end
Thank you! I'm really excited. It's very generous, and I don't even have to fly anywhere.
It sounds like you've got some good opportunities in front of you. More than anything I hope all of your caring and hard work makes a difference, however modest at first, and thereby fills your sails. The world needs your voice.
Thank you! That is so kind. 🧡
Looking forward to seeing which books you recommend!
Have to admit I'm looking forward to delving into these readings more than I am enjoying John Locke right now. 😂
What fascinating events you are participating in! And congrats on your residency!
Thank you! I'm really excited about it. A couple of friends have done it and I've heard great things. Ten whole days is ... almost unimaginably generous.
Congratulations on your residency! Butte is such a fascinating place. So many stories to be told I am sure. Love the concept. Glad we are getting through the worst of the cold weather. Hoping to cross country ski tomorrow. Given your work you’d probably be interested to know that we ski and walk on an airstrip that is essentially a field but there for the few small planes that fly in here in the summer. It’s fenced off, which keeps motorized vehicles away. Makes for a great long unleashed dog walk or ski.
That is very cool! sounds like a great place to cross-country, ski, actually, especially if motorized vehicles can't run through your trails. I mostly grew up in Belgrade, south of Bozeman, and my parents used to drag me cross-country skiing all the time, usually to Lone Mountain Ranch (which I think was more accessible then but is super fancy now? I'm not sure; my older sister spent a summer working as a housecleaner there), and then when we moved to Whitefish my teenage self very resentfully broke trail in Glacier. Kind of wish I'd appreciated it all more at the time, but at least I do now.
With this rain + deep freeze pattern, the cross-country skiing here is kind of sketchy right now. Or maybe unpleasant is the word I'm looking for!
Montana is such a small place really. What a funny coincidence - my cousin and her husband managed Lone Mountain for years (the Arterburns) and my nephew worked there in the dining room one summer. Perhaps they overlapped with your sister? Would have been around 2004-2005 I think. Anyway, yes, the things our parents did for us that we complained about! Enjoy the warmish weather today!
Oh my goodness that's wild. Small town, long streets, etc.
I think it's almost another generation. I grew up in Belgrade in the 80s and my sister is 5 years older than I am. I think the summer she worked there would have been around 1989 or 1990?
Oh yes, probably a different generation. I think my cousin started working there and managing it in the late nineties until about 2010. But still, a funny coincidence. My how things have changed in Belgrade since the 80s! We lived in Livingston for 12 years. I grew up here in Valier in the 80s and 90s. It’s hard for me to grasp the rapid growth in parts of Montana. Meanwhile in rural Montana time sometimes seems like it’s standing still. We did have 4 new houses built in town last year which must be some sort of record. But I can guarantee we will be the only people out skiing today.
Congratulations, wishing you many productive hours at the Dear Butte residence.👍👍
Thank you, Patrick! I hope so. I will attempt not to bring my entire to-read pile with me ...
At least the freezing wind is now chilling in stillness. The narrator owned my meander today, but I learned to appreciate the invitation to use words to bring enhanced attention to details and nuance in the tracks. Like how blades of grass and brush fingers poking out of the wind-packed snow tell stories about sun, wind and their own swaying dances. Sent you a photo of fresh cougar tracks with special stories today. Thanks, so much for your nutritious posts.
Snow tells so many stories! I was thinking this morning that, while I'll enjoy seeing the ground again when all this melts, there is so much activity and life that I'm only aware of because their stories are left in snow.
Oh yes, the seguay is when things seem to be going wrong as it first seemed to me today there may be a way other than resistance to make friends with what is and make things work.