Friday 5: Questions Created Very Quickly Late Friday Morning

Image from NinoAndonis on Morguefile.com

What are you reading?

I'm reading Karen Memory for an upcoming feminist science fiction book club meeting, as I mentioned earlier. Other, not-as-high-priority reading includes:

• The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage, a graphic novel (possibly adapted web comic?) that recounts the fictional adventures of Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage in a pocket steampunk universe
• Kris, my regular allotment of Swedish reading.
• The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide for my own local critique group
• The Origins of Totalitarianism, because it's relevant
• The Copyeditor's Handbook for my own edification
• Foxlowe, which I originally heard about via a book blogger I found via ArmchairBEA a couple years ago (speaking of ArmchairBEA...)

What are you listening to?

During my #scicomm day job, I typically listen to classical. I favor the Romantics and have listened through all of Beethoven's symphonies a bunch of times by now, but I hop around the musical timeline a lot: Bach, Mozart, Copland, Alice Mary Smith . . .

When I'm working on jewelry or playing Diablo III, I like to get in my podcast listening: Sawbones, The Adventure Zone, The History of the English Language, Adam Ruins Everything, Dirt Nap, and Red Skirts are all good.

My running playlist is probably utterly unremarkable and predictable. The more standout selections are from the now-defunct Music Alliance Pact, a monthly round-up of international indie music. My playlist also tilts a little heavily towards Korean music, specifically artists discussed on the Indieful ROK blog (Say Sue Me) or that I learned about while I lived there (Drunken Tiger/MFBTY/Tiger JK).

Anything amusing or strange happen to you recently?

Working with children is always amusing, though in small and unremarkable ways. It's a good counterbalance to the almost-always private, solitary work that is copyediting. I don't miss the stress of a classroom and the management that entails, but working with kids in small groups or one-on-one is the dream. Of course, working with adults has own its own set of rewards as well. But adults don't have the same sideways perspective on things that lead to "kids say the darndest things" aphorisms or puns.

What’s cookin’?

So much instant chicken soup. Guess who caught a cold during peak summer season. :(

What was your contribution to your most recent potluck?

I tried for stewed tomatoes but they didn't turn out. (Protip: start making food a little earlier than 5 minutes before you're due to eat.) (Other protip: learn to actually cook.)

My last successful contribution was a vegetarian version of turos csusza. It went over okay, but I think I skimped a bit on the roasted onion.