Memorial for Jane, next Sunday

I think most people already have heard about this through one channel or another, but for those who haven't: as I mentioned at the funeral, we'll be having a celebration of Jane's life next weekend. We've scheduled it the day after Carolingian 40th so people can be in town, and in the afternoon so that it doesn't overlap with the stuff happening on May Morning.

It's open to anyone who would like to come -- while RSVPs aren't required, they're helpful, so it would be great if you could respond via this Anyvite. Note that there will be a potluck supper, for those who can stay a few hours -- there's a link from the Anyvite that lets you say what you plan to bring.

I hope to see many of you there. The funeral was a necessarily somber affair; I'm hoping that this will be a better opportunity for us to all share stories and community, and honor her memory...

Memorial for Jane, next Sunday

I think most people already have heard about this through one channel or another, but for those who haven't: as I mentioned at the funeral, we'll be having a celebration of Jane's life next weekend. We've scheduled it the day after Carolingian 40th so people can be in town, and in the afternoon so that it doesn't overlap with the stuff happening on May Morning.

It's open to anyone who would like to come -- while RSVPs aren't required, they're helpful, so it would be great if you could respond via this Anyvite. Note that there will be a potluck supper, for those who can stay a few hours -- there's a link from the Anyvite that lets you say what you plan to bring.

I hope to see many of you there. The funeral was a necessarily somber affair; I'm hoping that this will be a better opportunity for us to all share stories and community, and honor her memory...

Doctor Who

I must admit, Series 5 left me kind of cold: while I love Pond, 11 was too much of a goofball for me.

But *man* -- Series 6 starts with a bang. I think I'm already more hooked on this season than any of the previous ones. And I do appreciate the implicit confirmation in the credits that Doctor Who is really about the companion, which I've maintained since Series 1. Not to mention that Dr. Song is getting more interesting every time she shows up.

Kudos to Moffat: this is one of the most unsparing looks at time-travel I've ever seen, finally getting into the subtle personal horrors of the concept. My biggest problem with last season was that it too often didn't make *sense*; this time it does, and the results are really quite nasty...

Doctor Who

I must admit, Series 5 left me kind of cold: while I love Pond, 11 was too much of a goofball for me.

But *man* -- Series 6 starts with a bang. I think I'm already more hooked on this season than any of the previous ones. And I do appreciate the implicit confirmation in the credits that Doctor Who is really about the companion, which I've maintained since Series 1. Not to mention that Dr. Song is getting more interesting every time she shows up.

Kudos to Moffat: this is one of the most unsparing looks at time-travel I've ever seen, finally getting into the subtle personal horrors of the concept. My biggest problem with last season was that it too often didn't make *sense*; this time it does, and the results are really quite nasty...

Still living too much in the future

One of the underlying principles that I am trying to adopt is to live in the moment -- not so much living strictly *for* the moment, with the short-termism that implies, as trying to focus on the here and now instead of the past or possible future. (I can get into the reasoning why if folks would like, but that's a much longer essay.) I'm getting there, but not there yet. I'm largely learning to not mope about things that are already done -- not beat myelf up pointlessly. But I've got further to go on the future.

This weekend had a couple of disappointments to it. Nothing earth-shattering, but I'd managed to build up some unreasonable hopes for how things would go -- and when reality didn't match those expectations, that disappointment was inevitable. And I have to face the fact that the downer was more because of the expectations than the way things actually went: looking back on it honestly, it was a good weekend aside from not being what I had wanted.

None of which means that I can simply wave a magic wand and change: over-thinking how things *might* go is a very deep-seated habit. But the nearest I get to an honest spiritual belief is that the universe hands us lessons to learn from, and I think this one gives me some clear things to work on...

Still living too much in the future

One of the underlying principles that I am trying to adopt is to live in the moment -- not so much living strictly *for* the moment, with the short-termism that implies, as trying to focus on the here and now instead of the past or possible future. (I can get into the reasoning why if folks would like, but that's a much longer essay.) I'm getting there, but not there yet. I'm largely learning to not mope about things that are already done -- not beat myelf up pointlessly. But I've got further to go on the future.

This weekend had a couple of disappointments to it. Nothing earth-shattering, but I'd managed to build up some unreasonable hopes for how things would go -- and when reality didn't match those expectations, that disappointment was inevitable. And I have to face the fact that the downer was more because of the expectations than the way things actually went: looking back on it honestly, it was a good weekend aside from not being what I had wanted.

None of which means that I can simply wave a magic wand and change: over-thinking how things *might* go is a very deep-seated habit. But the nearest I get to an honest spiritual belief is that the universe hands us lessons to learn from, and I think this one gives me some clear things to work on...