Week in Review

[kate_nepveu]

Another cranky week; not really worth talking about. Well, Madrid would be worth talking about, but I have nothing to say. The world makes me sad, but we have to live in it and make the best of it all the same.

Much basketball this weekend; see this post and the post above on Chad's blog for details. Poor Chad looked like someone had hit him on the back of the head when the brackets were announced: Maryland and Syracuse, his teams, are seeded in such a way that if they make it past the first round (not guaranteed; they're playing Western-area teams in Denver), they'll play each other.

Yesterday, we bought lots and lots of books: handfuls of Westlake for both of us; presents for Chad's father, including Doyle and Macdonald's The Price of the Stars from me; and more for my inpile, including pegkerr's Emerald House Rising, SeaWasp's (Ryk E. Spoor) first novel Digital Knight, and Laurie J. Marks' Earth Logic. As of today, I'm almost up-to-date on the booklog; I have a re-read of Tooth and Claw to get through before I can log it, and that's it—just in time for a lot of other books to pop into the queue: new J.D. Robb out of the library, new Caroline Stevermer and Guy Kay on their way from Amazon, and then I want to re-read all of The Viscount of Adrilanka before logging Sethra Lavode, and then we're into April and new Westlakes . . .

Blog-like items:

• Law and current events:
  • I like How Appealling, I do. But this spoof is dead-on.
  • Grim Amusements points out an incredibly stupid Congressional bill.
  • Buried in an article about the train bombings: "The cabinet Friday approved emergency measures to grant Spanish nationality to any victims and their family members who were in Spain illegally and wanted it."
• Other stuff:
  • In case you haven't seen this yet: ellen_fremendon on sssstudentses.
  • A professor of pickpocketry talks to the NYT.
  • Diary of a double-lung transplant recipient at Slate. My uncle died when I was in junior high, waiting for either a heart-double-lung or just a double-lung; it kept changing and I can't be sure now. Several people on the other side of the family have had or needed kidney transplants. Have you expressed your wish to be an organ donor?

Comments

New Kay

[(Anonymous)]

I was quite let down by the new Kay. I really hope it tickles your fancy more than it did mine.

--Trent

Re: New Kay

[kate_nepveu]

I'm sorry to hear that, but I'd appreciate if you didn't tell me details so that I can come to it relatively fresh. I think Chad will probably get first crack at it, anyway, since the Stevermer is only for me. (Have you read _A College of Magics_? I think you'd like it.)

Oh, and I forgot to mention new John M. Ford, a collection _Heat of Fusion_, but since that's a collection there's not the narrative urgency to read it.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Organ donation is always a painful subject, because the donors are mostly people who die suddenly, without the deterioration of long illness (where a family has time to contemplate death and get used to the idea.) When my father died, my mother couldn't bear the thought of donating his organs. She knew about his organ donor card, and "what he used to say he would want," but at the crucial moment she insisted on keeping his body intact a little longer, for the sake of her grief. I was furious. But it was not my decision to make - it was hers.

[kate_nepveu]

Well, technically it was his. Consent of the family is not legally required if the wishes of the deceased were clearly expressed, but most facilities ask for it, partly out of wanting to treat people well in their grief, and partly out of fear of horrible lawsuits and publicity.

That aside, I'm sorry to hear about your father and that experience, which sounds to have been difficult for all involved. The difficult nature of the topic really indicates that it's best to firmly establish one's wishes in calm circumstances.

[turnberryknkn.livejournal.com]

ReOrganDonation: (nods nods) Wrote an entry (http://www.livejournal.com/users/turnberryknkn/27621.html) about that once.

I'm looking forward...

[seawasp]

... to seeing what you think of Digital Knight when you finish it. (I'm presuming you'll post something to the LJ whenever you do)

Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;

Re: I'm looking forward...

[kate_nepveu]

I post to the book log instead, which is syndicated here as insidedog. I have to say it's not real high up on the pile at the moment, but it looks fast and fun and I never know when the mood for something like that will strike.

(And, hi! Didn't know you were here.)

I'm everywhere.

[seawasp]

Newsgroups. Livejournal. Baen's Bar. The Sci-Fi Dominion on EZboard. I see all, know all, tell a durn sight more!

Well, whenever DK arrives on the top of the read pile, be sure to let me know, via Email, LJ, post, whatever. :)