Hi there, Wednesday! Today is a busy day for me as I’m picking up new glasses, buying booze for this week’s Covers & Cocktails, grabbing some groceries to make some slow cooker Mongolian beef, oh and I joined a gym. So I’ll be getting sweaty and awkward somewhere in that schedule. But I hope you all are having a productive day and if not, that’s totally okay!
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I love Kickstarter so much. I’ve backed mainly tabletop games this year, but I was taken aback by the wholesome cuteness of this Adopt 100 Maple Trees campaign. The tree you adopt gets a little emblem, plus you get some maple goodies and a certificate. The farm is located in upstate New York and I know I wouldn’t mind visiting.
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Tor is doing a recurring piece on women scifi writers of the 70s, going through the alphabet. The first group of writers is A through F:
In an attempt to keep this list to a manageable length, I will focus on women authors who first published in the 1970s. That means skipping some significant authors who were already active at the time. I also reserve the right to cheat a bit by including a few works published after the 1970s. I am also going to break this list into several installments, beginning with A through F. Which should tell you just how many women have been erased. Whole binders full of women.
Are some of your favorites on the list so far? Who do you hope to see in later installments?
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Do you have anxiety? Or maybe an over-active brain that needs calming sometimes? (I’m not equating the two, but I have the latter and I find that anti-anxiety techniques helps quiet some of my brain noise.) A writer at Buzzfeed tested out some anti-anxiety tricks and habits to see which ones worked for her. There are the obvious ones like meditation, but I was happy to see techniques that were new to me.
What sorts of things work for you?
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As a teen, I had a friend in high school who loved Quantum Leap. We’d always watch it whenever I slept over at her house, and it’s probably why I have such a crush on Scott Bakula. Unrelated to the crushing, some Quantum Leap fans put together a map of all the leaps from the show. The article also points out that it’s rather interesting where the characters never leaped to.
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If you haven’t heard the news, beloved author Ursula K. Le Guin passed away yesterday. Many people are sharing their appreciation for the author on Twitter and the tweet below is one of my favorite Le Guin moments. Please, don’t hesitate to share some Le Guin love in the comments.
RIP Ursula Le Guin.
Here she is in 1987, turning down an offer to blurb an all-male sci-fi anthology. https://t.co/rz6Q0jSwWT pic.twitter.com/n3wgHQgDgu
— Letters of Note (@LettersOfNote) January 23, 2018
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Don’t forget to share what super cool things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!
Would you happen to have a recipe for the slow cooker Mongolian beef? I’m trying to branch out from my 2 crock pot recipes: sweet and spicy meatballs and mac and cheese.
Also, my go-to anxiety reducer is getting myself a large glass of something ICE COLD-for me, it’s usually water or iced tea-and drinking it very slowly. This takes me out of the situation that’s making me anxious by letting me do a simple task. Then once I’ve got my glass, I focus on the cold sensation and the clinking ice cubes to further remove me from the anxiety. Also, there is some research that ice baths are a quick way to shock yourself out of the anxious spiral, but this is something you can do pretty much everywhere. Of course, this may not work for everyone, like folks with sensitive teeth, but I find it to be very helpful.
Oh no. NO NO NO NO bitches, what have you done?! I checked out the Quantum Leap map, which reignited my love of the show, leading me to wander around the intertubes until I found that the entire series is streaming on Hulu. And I have Hulu! See y’all in a couple of weeks.
@NCK: This is the recipe! I haven’t made it before, but I’m looking forward to it.
That Mongolian beef recipe is going to be very very sweet with no spice flavor at all. Here is another:
http://thewoksoflife.com/2015/07/mongolian-beef-recipe/ for those looking for more heat than sweet.
@LML: I’m a big ol’ wimp when it comes to heat, but I might add some ginger and garlic to the sauce from the recipe you linked.
Yay for Scott Bakula crushes! High Five! That was the “watch with Mom” show when I was growing up.
May Ursula Le Guin Rest In Peace, I will think of her as gone to Gont. Vale
Thanks so much for the Tor link. The article reminded me of long-forgotten names, like CJ Cherryh and Suzette Haden Elgin and makes me want to look for some authors I never tried. 🙂
OMGosh! Al from Quantum Leap was the dad from Clueless, wasn’t he?!? Just now figured that out.
My former job was a stress festival, and like NCK, I found drinking something ice-cold helps with stress and anxiety. The clink of ice cubes is soothing and makes me feel like I am in a piano bar. The screaming clients become a bit more tolerable. My former boss asked who was having a cocktail on one of our team meeting conference calls. I mentioned my glass of ice water and that it must be glass, not plastic. Over the next several days, some of the guys in my group reported in our chat room it was working for them, too.
Thanks for the Tor link! I was an avid SF reader in the 70s (still am), but was only familiar with/have read 3 of the authors listed–Butler, Chant, and Cherryh. I was pleased to see that some of the other authors have books available in digital, so I’ll have to check them out.
And, yes, I loved LeGuin when I was younger. I haven’t reread anything recently but, even before her death, I was thinking that I’d like to revisit some of my favorites. (Time, time! Need more time!)
I had seen that BF article and was interested in trying some of the suggestions as I’ve been suffering from severe stress-related hives outbreaks for about 3 months. (It’s been hell.) Mostly, I’ve been concentrating on my overall health and getting a good sleep. I think the latter will be greatly helped when I start using a cpap (ugh).
Zenna Henderson.
Sci-Fi author from the 50’s & 60’s
Hands down favorite with Madeleine L’Engle #2.
Hi Briana–nope, the father from Clueless was Dan Hedaya, noted for also playing Carla’s husband on Cheers. Al was played by Dean Stockwell. Both short and gruff, though! 🙂
@Briana- They’re actually two different actors. Dan Hedaya was the dad in Clueless and Al from Quantum Leap was played by Dean Stockholm. But I can see how you would connect the two!
Hearing about LeGuin’s death just wrecked me. Her books, especially Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed, were strong influences in forming my sense of social justice. It is heartbreaking that we are losing such a powerful voice of reason (and snark) at a time when we need her most; but I hope she is somewhere out there building new and more equitable worlds for real.
Speaking of social justice, Quantum Leap had a lot of that too, especially in early eps. It was the one show hubby and I would never miss. I’ve still got several seasons on DVD. High five to the other Bakula Babes here!
And here’s one for the gift guide: the ideal nerd gift on schedule to be delivered just in time for Father’s Day: https://io9.gizmodo.com/slay-your-next-job-interview-with-a-legend-of-zelda-or-1822179037 I’ve already picked a couple out for my sons…
Interestingly, a LeGuin quote was the object of the Wall Street Journal’s Saturday January 13 puzzle which deals with quotes.
Excellent commentary on LeGuin by Margaret Atwood: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/margaret-atwood-we-lost-ursula-le-guin-when-we-needed-her-most/2018/01/24/39372028-011b-11e8-bb03-722769454f82_story.html?utm_term=.6442bba3b087
I find that for late evening anxiety, nothing works as well as stepping into a full-cold water shower (like, really cold) and staying there until I’m chilled. Often by the time I’ve toweled off and stepped into cozy pjs the anxiety has dissipated.