Tony Stark, Slightly Crazy Inventor-Scientist

So last night my husband and I finally watched Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog. Which got me thinking about mad scientists.

[Side note: I have this giant poster of a book cover hanging over my tv:

If you didn't know, I wrote the story introductions to this book, and the cover is AWESOME. But having a giant poster of a mad scientist hanging over one's television makes you think about science a lot!]

Anyway, after watching Dr. Horrible, I found myself full of rage. Why are superheroes always using these innate powers and abilities to save the day, but scientists are always using their gifts for evil? Why are scientists always portrayed as bad guys? After all, in real life every single good thing in the world comes from science!

And then I remembered Tony Stark. Tony Stark! Inventor! Computer scientist! Student of strange physics! Hero! And hottie!

Batman uses technology to save the day, too, but at least in the Christopher Nolan series, it's suggested that he cannibalizes a lot of ideas from his family's company. He's a clever guy, and I definitely approve of his work, but Tony Stark seems to have a much more scientific and inventor-ish approach to his superheroics.

Needless to say, Iron Man is officially my new favorite superhero.

Thought week!

Last week was devoted to that strange post-novel ennui that often hits me after finishing a major draft or revision of a project. This week has been about researching, rethinking, and note-taking. I'm gearing up to revise a novel I wrote last year that I'm really excited about, and after working for Pathfinder--a universe with intense background worldbuilding--I know I need to bone up my worldbuilding for this project. The world that this book is set in has a lot of odd and unique features, and this week they've been blossoming into a much more interesting environment.

I also have to thank my friend Dale Ivan Smith for recommending a great book: Writing Twenty-First Century Fiction, by Donald Maass. I've only just started reading it, but it's really encouraging me to dig deeper into my characters' hearts and guts. I'm super-excited about the project ... although I'm nervous about actually getting to work next week!

With a Bang!

Last week I turned in the manuscript for the novel I've been working on. Hoorah! It was a big, serious push to get the last of the revisions and proofreading done, but it felt wonderful to turn it in.

Something else fun happened last week: I had a poem come out in my favorite online magazine: the Lovecraft eZine! The piece is called "Not With A Bang, But Waves Whispering," one of the first poems written during last year's three months of I'm-writing-a-poem-a-week. I created a lot of poems and poem fragments during that time, and it's fun to finally be able to share one with people.

I've had almost a week off from writing, but I still feel pretty mentally fatigued. I have a short story to revise, but I'm not actually getting anywhere with it--it's a complicated piece, and I'm a bit nervous about wrecking it while I'm in this lunkheaded mode. On the plus side, we've been having a lot of great weather so I've been outside working in the yard a lot! At least it keeps me busy when I might otherwise be frustrated about the whole no-writing business.

This weekend is H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival & Cthulhucon. Is there any better weekend of the year? I don't think so! I can't wait to go catch up with all my favorite Lovecraftians and gorge myself on awesome movies. It's going to be a blast!

Given my obsessions this week, I'm hoping somebody nice will send me a print of this fun painting by Ursula Vernon:

"Garden Cthulhu", by Ursula Vernon

I might just have to buy it for myself, since it's so perfect for me!