Terry Pratchett announces he has early-onset Alzheimer's. I am not okay with this, not even a little. Pratchett is keeping a good attitude about it, at least: "I think there's time for at least a few more books yet." (Of course, I'm not satisfied with this. He needs to produce at least two books a year until I die. I command it.) Terry Pratchett's brain can not rot out. Also, Neil Gaiman is never allowed to lose his hair. Or his brain. But also his hair.

In the post-script to his announcement, Pratchett says "I know it's a very human thing to say "Is there anything I can do", but in this case I would only entertain offers from very high-end experts in brain chemistry." Note to self: Study harder.

Neil Gaiman said: "Things need not have happened to be true." I propose a corollary statement: "Just because something happened does not make it true." But that's not really the point I'm getting at. These thoughts got too long for text messages, so I thought I'd share with more than just laurenhat.

plumtreeblossom pointed at a Livejournal non-fiction writing contest. I wondered if it was something I should have entered differenceblog in, and clicked over to look. The answer is no, the other entries are not arguments, either through research or opinion. They are stories. They are non-fiction purely through the fact that we trust the author's assertion that the events chronicled actually happened.

And on this, I call bullshit. Someone else's memories are no different to me than something they made up. Even under the best of circumstances, they're leaving things out that they've forgotten or didn't notice. Under less admirable circumstances, they're presenting something they know to be false under the label of truth (e.g. JT LeRoy). Even my own memories are largely fictionalized accounts of things that happened to me, improved and crystallized over time and retellings.

An episodic memory is by necessity at least partially a fiction. Once that memory is passed to a second person, through a story, it is entirely fictional.

from a response to fetteredwolf:
( waiting to read )

Reading Taste History:
Narnia (6-8)
Xanth(9-10)
Myth Adventures (11-12)
Thomas Burnett Swann (12) (ooh, books can have naughty bits? let's dive into SciFi erotica, see next 3 listings)
Jack L. Chalker Rings of the Master & Changewinds (13)
John Varley's Titan, Wizard, Demon trilogy was probably my favorite series as a teenager, although I really liked Emma Bull's War for the Oaks a lot, too. (14-16)

In college I read a lot of Tom Robbins and John Irving. (the sex gets kinkier and more realistic)
I read every Neil Gaiman I could get my hands on in 2001-2002.

A couple years ago I went through all of dabunny's old Dragonlance books.
Over the last year I've read all of the Terry Pratchett Discworld novels (including the Tiffany Aching ones) and all of the R. A. Salvatore Drizzt Do'Urden novels. Oh, and I also read all four(?) of Robert Aspirin's Phule's Company books last year.

Read late:
I didn't read the Lord of the Rings books until 1998. I think the third book was already out when I finally gave Harry Potter a chance. I've only read Holidays on Ice by Sedaris. I read The Fountainhead in a percoset-induced haze in 2004, and I thought it sucked.

Haven't read:
I haven't read the Da Vinci Code. I haven't read Jon Stewart's America
I haven't read any David Foster Wallace or Dave Eggers. I haven't finished any P. J. O'Rourke or Hunter S. Thompson.
I don't know if I've ever successfully finished reading a non-fiction book that wasn't for school. Seriously

Good morning, LJ. I just finished going through my work e-mail and voicemail, so now I can say hello.

No, there wasn't a ton of it today. But instead of arriving at work at 8:30, I got here at 10. Because I just plain overslept. At 9:10, I woke up, looked at the time, and was more in shock than anything else. Hell, I've been waking up at 7 on the weekends. So I called work, and didnt even try to offer an excuse. "I overslept. I'll be in at 10"

Weird. Probably largely cause the rain is making it so dark.

Off topic-- Neil Gaiman is so damn cute. *drool* I think "my type" may be aging as I do. that would be ... convenient.

My goth sensibility hasn't completely died out yet:


[edit 2/19/07: Gaiman in a coffin pic is no longer available. This is the closest available, from the same shoot.]
Poll #352046 Fanboys raise your hands
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 19

Would you do Neil Gaiman?

If you're not already reading Neil Gaiman's journal (officialgaiman), you're an idiot. Like I was until Friday. Being a complete and utter idiot, I didn't realize that LJ lets you put rss feeds into your LJ friends page (or, conversely, read LJ entries with whatever you're currently reading rss feeds with.) Hence -- idiot.

Today's entry from Neil Gaiman made me tear up for reasons I will have to examine later. I couldn't tell you right now what they are. Reading Neil Gaiman always makes me want to (1) never put fingers to keyboard or pen to paper again and/or (2) get back to work on my novel.

I am such a pathetic little fan-boy.