ne(one)piphany

Currently working through The Gnostic Gospels, Elaine Pagels’ distillation of the thirteen codices discovered at Nag Hammadi in 1945 (under circumstances which make for quite an adventure story, involving treasure hunting, vendettas, murder!). Having always had a deep interest in comparative religions and the early history of the Catholic Church, it’s been a fascinating look into both subjects so far — not to mention containing beautiful writing from the Gnostics themselves, including the following poem from Thunder, Perfect Mind:

For I am the first and the last.
I am the honored one and the scorned one.
I am the whore and the holy one.
I am the wife and the virgin…
I am the barren one,
    and many are her sons…
I am the silence that is incomprehensible…
I am the utterance of my name.

I’ve got The Nag Hammadi Library out from KCLS for later (also see: The Gnosis Archive), though I think Paul Ford’s Gary Benchley, Rock Star must slot in next on my reading list.

Also, goddess save us — before vince’s head explodes.

Okay, lovelies, since I’m attempting NaNoWriMo again this year after a couple years’ hiatus, I’m going to revive an old idea.

Just leave a comment to this entry with an interesting plot or character idea, and I promise to incorporate it into this year’s novel. For examples, you can look at what people suggested the last time I did this. Didn’t nearly make the goal that year (life intervened, natch), but it was some of the most fun I’ve had writing.

I only ask one thing: please, no inflatable love sheep this year. Unless you’re really dying for something like that, in which case… no, in fact, I don’t actually want to know.

Anyone else signed up to write? Let’s huddle! I need the support.

Signs of going mad: watched the entirety of Firefly on Saturday, followed by Serenity this afternoon, an ordeal both tiring and fun. Spent the rest of the day singing the theme song with all sorts of made up words, since I’d forgotten what they were supposed to be, but I’m glad it was that instead of the crazy-making singing octopus snack bar song. Anyone have an MP3 of the theme? I think I probably just need to hear it once with the right words to get it out of my head.

I am wondering how a future world seemingly dominated by Chinese & Asiatic culture and language can have so few Asians walking around, or in fact, anyone between white & black on the racial spectrum — aside from Inara and the ladies of the Heart of Gold, whatever that’s supposed to mean.

Still! It was fun, and so very, very quotable. But I do rather feel like I never want to watch television again.

This is so so wrong.

Looks like Canon has some juicy rebates starting on the 15th, which may seal the deal. I was just saying in comments that I’ve been leaning towards the Digital Rebel XT, mostly because my hands are a bit too small to deal with anything else — especially those Nikon grips, which are monstrous! Also, tiny is good.

Speaking of size, I’m in a bit of a quandary with the new phone. I mean, I love what it can do — love being able to text message and read blogs and check traffic on it. I’m getting frighteningly good at Bejeweled (195,000 and counting). But small it’s not, so it’s hard for li’l superficial me to bring myself to love. I have this frightening vision of convergence five years from now, when I have a computer as small as a paperback and a phone the same size, neither of which is a good story for usability. On the bright side, they’re probably just one device.

I am the future, she said, and I claim your wrists and eyes as tribute.

I take comfort that those of us with small hands will survive, I guess…

Nothing drains my blogging momentum like having to deal with comment spam, and there’s just been an absolute deluge lately, as spammers seem to have found ways to circumvent SpamLookup’s junk filter. Thankfully, most of them are still getting moderated due to the URL limit, but it’s still getting old — I’ve probably had to delete five hundred or so in the last four days.

I’m holding out hope for a near-term solution from Six Apart or somebody. Anybody! I love getting comments, but beyond a certain point it can’t be worth it.

And also, I need reasons to like blogging again, or I end up doing things like watching America’s Next Top Model.

Which helps nobody at all. Seriously.

Anyone else get their NaNoWriMo kickoff mail? Lord help me, I think I’m actually going to try again this year.

And finally: digital SLRs. Canon or Nikon? Help!