NaNoWriMo Kickoff in Stockholm and 101 in 1001

One of the WriMos in Stockholm is a photographer. (I might or might not be Facebook-stalking people as a way to procrastinate.) He took a few pictures at the kickoff (kick-off?) party at the Tolkien Society's building in Rådhuset, which you can see in this Facebook album.

Look at all those writers! (Image courtesy Jonathan Rieder Lundkvist)

In all my years of doing NaNo, I had never seen so many people turn out for an event! How cool to know there are so many creative, writer-ly types in my new home city. Of course there haven't been quite so many at the write-ins so far, but the showing there has still been strong and consistent.

I also realize that I am a day late in posting my 101 in 1001 progress. At least I have some scant progress to report!

Suzanne Wright's Internet Autism Shitstorm

For most autistics in North America, one of the biggest thorns in their side is Autism Speaks. They are scumbags, through and through, as evidenced by this alarmist windbagging from Suzanne Wright, founder of Autism Speaks and world's biggest self-pitying soccer mom.

It's a tragedy, because they are probably the biggest autism-related charity in the US (if not the world), and as a result they have access to immense volumes of finances, "mindshare"/name recognition, etc. They could have been a tool used for incredible good: to provide support staff in schools, therapy centers, even just professional paper-pushers to help parents and autistic adults navigate a large and confusing bureaucracy.

But as Queen Whingey Soccer Mom made clear, that's not what she's about. Since in the middle of an Internet shitstorm is as good a time to post as anything, I will let those links (which are worth reading) speak for themselves, and provide the link-phobic with an alternative charity: the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network.

Finnish Schools and Economics

I've seen a number of links to articles waxing poetic about Finland's amazing educational system all across my social media outlets recently. As a former teacher (and daughter of another), it's all pretty interesting and relevant to me.

It's also ignoring the really uncomfortable fact that America is doing a crappy job in providing, financially, for its children.

First, a backtrack. I won't argue with Finland's decision to make teaching a high-paying and competitive position. Altruism and sense of duty doesn't pay student loan debts, after all. But when you start talking about differences that are more about pure pedagogical and educational theory, you tend to forget that education happens in the real world.

Diane Ravitch, in her interview on The Daily Show, declared that the United States leads the OECD (or world?) in child poverty. That may have been an overstatement, but not by much. Check out all these graphs.

Granted, the link between poverty and poor academic performance might be more pronounced in the United States than in other countries, due to how American public schools receive their funding. Nonetheless, to tease out the effects of Finland's chosen system (and not any happy side effects of greater income parity, lower levels of child poverty, or differences in school funding), a comparison that controls for economic differences is necessary. Of course, Finland does pretty well on the world stage, but so does Japan, and their systems are very different.

The world is complicated, and solving a problem often requires multiple fixes.

Abandoned Particle Physics Lab

I should be working on my NaNo project, but instead I'm updating. Oops.

It's funny, really, how productive I become in the face of NaNoWriMo. Suddenly doing the dishes, catching up on emails, or hanging up the laundry are really important and interesting tasks that I have to do right now, you see. I'm actually typing this entry with hands still wrinkled from the dishes. I don't even really have much to share—I am practically superstitious about talking about my ~creative~ ideas—but I wanted to share this story I saw over on Physics Buzz:

Pittsburgh's Abandoned Particle Smasher

I guess my excuse is that it could be a good setting for a story?

I read, years ago, The World Without Us, which made me realize just how precarious human civilization's grip is on this planet. Not only because we are still vulnerable to natural disasters despite our best preparations, or because we're destroying our atmosphere and using up all of our natural resources, but because almost everything we've built in recent history contains so much upkeep. If we were all to disappear (for whatever reason) the remnants left behind would not be long for this world.

Unfortunately I didn't learn about this abandoned particle accelerator until after I moved away, so I didn't have a chance to visit it in its neglected, dilapidated glory. How cool to know that it exists, though!

30 Days of Madness

With the arrival of November comes National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo. I've attempted (though not always succeeded) every year since 2008. At this point, it's basically the only fiction writing I do anymore.

If you're also doing NaNo, you can find me at the website (handle: Kokoba) to keep track of my word count, read more about my novel, and maybe even read some excerpts (if I put any up). If you haven't done it before, give it a shot! It's fun and you can meet some fantastic people. It's especially useful for anyone who dreams of being a writer, because no matter how sensitive and gifted you are (or think you are), what writing really comes down to is sitting down to do it every day, no matter what. Doing it for a month is a good practice.

Participating in NaNo is one of my 101 in 1001 events; there's one more over the course of my list and that will be another item I've accomplished. For more updates on that list, click past the jump.

Setting up the Geek House

After many trials and tribulations I have finally (and permanently) relocated to Stockholm, Sweden. At the moment I am at a loss for words. It is surreal, after years of brief visits or semesters abroad, to finally be here for more than a transitory visit; if there is a positive version of trauma or PTSD, then I'm feeling it right now.

Unfortunately, it looks as though I'll have to move house before the end of the year. Instead of being frustrated and stressed about that, however, I'm going to look on it as a chance for a (maybe) better apartment and to escape the terrible upstairs neighbor, Takjävel, and most importantly as a chance to decorate!

JV and I are both mad for pillows. We can't ever get enough. The pillows we have now, though, lack any sense of humor or personality. These pillows from pillows4fun on Zibbet would be a great alternative:

Ctrl Alt Del pillow covers

We don't have much in the way of art at the moment. This print from minouette, a fellow Mad Scientist of Etsy, would be great to frame and hang in the living room:

"Hello Dolly!" linocut print

The mark of being a proper adult is maybe the switch from paper to cloth napkins. Maybe. In any case, I like these circuit board print napkins from juniperberries enough to buy a few for our new kitchen, whenever we may get it:

Organic Circuit Board Reversible Cloth Napkins 

That just leaves the bathroom. JV is inordinately sensitive to most scents and perfumes, so my days of artisan soaps and bodywashes are over. At least I can still lust after nice hand towels for the bathroom, like these his and hers Totoro towels from QuantumStitching:

My Neighbor Totoro hand towels

If you've found any other great pieces of geeky home decor, share in the comments!

101 in 1001

And the productivity continues!


Completed:

I finished both of Bryan's scripts and all of his synopses! (7 - 3)


In Progress:

I added another goal: Finish 5 books I've owned for over year but haven't read yet. (2 - 11) (1 - 1)

Another update and comment. (1 - 3) ( 7 - 4).

After this update, I will be driving up north to visit some friends and go to Secret Caverns! I am SO FREAKING EXCITED, just look at their billboards!

And their lobby entrance!

Failed:

At this point it looks like I won't be able to make it to Penn's Cave before I leave the country, but I won't cross out it just yet.


Rest of the list after the jump.