(no subject)

[chelseagirl]

One of my friends defended her dissertation two weeks ago and I didn't even know about it. Back when a lot of us were still in the program, there used to be parties and celebrations. S. and I were practically the only two of our relative seniority still standing (lots of people finished, lots of other people dropped out), and we're pretty good friends (we don't hang out constantly or anything but we're usually in fairly regular touch), and it feels so weird that she just told me about it afterwards. Of course this would explain why I hadn't seen her all summer . . . that last lap focus thing. (Not that I've been doing a bit of that recently or anything.)

Also, she's done. I'm kind of alone. The only people I know still in the program now started 2 or 3 years after me and I met them through jobs or friends, not classes. I gotta get out of there . . . a process which is well under way, I have to keep reminding myself.

And I'm *definitely* throwing a party after I defend.

I'm grading essays on Odysseus and I'm having trouble not picturing him as Sean Bean, so I guess there was *something* memorable about Troy.

The one thing I did manage to read in the midst of my long absence was . . . a very long book. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell -- I just adored it. Of course, it's exactly up my alley. I actually scoured the Internet looking for collections with her stories in them; I happened to have three in my collection, which is odd, since I haven't got that many fantasy anthologies. Hopefully there'll be a collection out.

Back to Odysseus. No thinking about Sean Bean, though. Too distracting.

Comments

[bethynyc.livejournal.com]

Sean Bean...in a Greek skirt
Sean Bean...in tight pants and riding boots
Sean Bean...in Middle Earth armor
Sean Bean...all in black, fighting Pierce Brosnan

distracted yet? I am!

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

Gee thanks . . . :-)

[mortalwombat731.livejournal.com]

I'm going to have the same problem when I grade Dracula essays and am able only to picture Richard Roxburgh.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

He was so the best thing about that movie. Maybe they'll give him a Dracula movie all this own . . .

[mortalwombat731.livejournal.com]

I think the powers that be should consider it, since much as I love Gary Oldman, I cannot say much about his version.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

I still have a certain nostalgically misty fondness for the Frank Langella version--though more for his Broadway performance with the glorious Edward Gorey set design, which was my first B'way play -- a friend's birthday treat.

I've never seen it on DVD, though.

[mortalwombat731.livejournal.com]

I'd love to have seen the B'way one, since I love Gorey's set design!

[seanmoon.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm reading that now, sort of...about 300 pages in. I had no idea she had other stuff out. Is it set in the world of JS and Mr. N?

I hope they make the Odyssey with SB, though the story is kind of messed up given the strange changes to the Illiad. Boo!

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

One of the stories (it's in one of the Starlight anthologies although I came across it in a Year's Best Fantasy and Horror) has Jonathan Strange, Arabella and her brother in it. The others are clearly the same world although some at different time periods. I fell in love with a couple of the short stories that I'd come across, so I was presold on JS&Mr.N.

Save the date: April 7th to 10th 2005...

[kittyjosephine.livejournal.com]

... because the World Horror Convention will be in New York City, and their main guest is Harlan Ellison.

Tell Martin to get that weekend off of work. :-)

Re: Save the date: April 7th to 10th 2005...

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the heads up!

M. was so disappointed not to get to see Harlan in Atlanta; he's excited to hear he has another chance so soon.