Hello Friends!

This message is being cross-posted to my writing group. Sorry for the double reads.

So I’m working on this project, and I’m doing ok with it. But I have a problem.

I forgot to assign gender to these characters. The story I’m telling is an expansion of a story that I outlined in the prologue of a (failed) novel I wrote a long time ago. In that prologue I was pretty careful to avoid saying he or she, and because it was short that wasn’t an issue.

So I expanded the story and I’m writing now, and I still haven’t gendered the two main characters (who are at least theoretically/abstractly a couple), and so my question is: do you think I can get away with using Spivak pronouns, should I give in and make them boys or boy and girl.

First of all Spivak pronouns were developed by computer gamers (I think, it’s defiantly an internet thing) and derived from “they/their/them” forms ie:

• he and she = ey (pronounced as a long e sound)
• his and hers = eir(s?) (pronunced as “air”)
• him and her = em (pronounced as an M, like the first syllable of Emily)

Plurals, of course obtained by prefixing a th-

My issue is that this isn’t exactly a story that’s all about gender or sexuality in such obvious terms, but it’s my work, and I’m who I am, so it’s part of what I’m thinking about. Also, since the story focuses on them, it’s hard to have such things sort of slip into the background like I usually would. I fear that using Spivaks would draw undue attention, at least at first to the fact that they’re not being gendered, and that’s something I’m not sure I can deal with.

As I think about it, the main kind of sentences I’m having trouble with are ones that talk about bodies, and movement (so mostly the “his” form: the pendant hung from (possessive pronoun) neck, and so forth). Most other things I can sort of work around, but it’s a question I’d think about, if you have ideas for this, I think that’d be great.

Cheers!

The original Star Trek was meant to be set 300 years in the future from the original air date, that obviously got mucked up with the fast-forward to TNG and the rest of the stories in that era, but still: 300 years at some point seemed like enough to get us out of our current problems and woes.

The foundation books are dated in the 10-11k, but it’s unclear if they use the same scale that we’re using (likely they are).

I’m not sure how much of “news” this is because we haven’t explicitly said this, but I see Station Keeping as being set in the far flung future: present + 10k years.

At the same time, I just dated the narrative--but not the events of the story---I’m writing now at 2597.

Just interesting…

When Sarah got the new implants, her colleagues started calling her ability to crack computer networks “telepathy.” She never noticed.

Here’s another list of Songs that I’m taking with me to do the radio show on August 5th, 2007. 10am-12pm on KDHX. You can listen online or on the radio (FM 88.1 in St. Louis, Missouri). This order isn’t final.

Format is as follows:

• Title
• Artist (Label)
• Album

Enjoy!

CD 1 - Spirituals lead to Blood Bath

• The Banks of Sweet Primroses
• Blue Murder (Topic Records)
• No One Stands Alone
• Banks of Sweet Primroses
• Martin Simpson (Topic Records)
• The Bramble Briar
• King James Version
• Eliza Carthy (Topic Records)
• Rough Music
• The Shepherd’s Song
• Pete Morton (Harbourtown Records)
• Swarthmoor
• Poncho and Lefty
• The Poozies (Compass)
• Raise your Head, A Retrospective
• Antietam
• Lehto and Wright (New Folk Music)
• A Game of Chess
• Fair Annie
• Martin Simpson (Topic Records)
• The Bramble Briar
• Bill Norrie
• Martin Carthy (Topic Records)
• Right of Passage

CD 2 - Sea Fairing

• The Back O' The North Wind
• Brian McNeill (Greentrax)
• The Back O' The North Wind
• Barbaree
• Peter Bellamy (Fledling Records)
• Both Sides Then
• We Have Fed our Sea
• David Jones (Minstrel)
• From England’s Shore
• Shawnee Town
• Martin Simpson (Topic Records)
• Sad or High Kicking
• For Free
• Joni Mitchell (Warner Brothers)
• Ladies of the Canyon
• Hard Love
• Martin Simpson (Red House)
• Martin Simpson Live
• Thick as a Brick (Side 2)
• Jethro Tull (Chrysalis)
• Thick as a Brick

CD 3 - High Roads and Low Roads

• Come a Long Way
• Michelle Shocked (Polygram)
• Arkansas Traveler
• Pilgram’s Way
• Peter Bellamy (Self)
• Keep on Kippling
• Only a Hobo
• Hazel Dickens (Rounder)
• It’s Hard to Tell The Singer from the Song
• False Knight on the Road
• Steeleye Span (Chrysalis)
• Please to See the King
• The Devil’s Partiality
• Martin Simpson (Topic Records)
• Righteousness & Humidity
• Those Who Stayed
• Murder By Death (Eyeball)
• Like the Exorcist, But More Breakdancing
• Ease your Pain
• Hoyt Axton (Raven)
• Joy to the World/Country Anthem
• Handsome Molly
• Mick Jagger (Atlantic)
• Wandering Spirit
• Gathering Peascods + Rose Tree + Jerusalem
• Brass Monkey (Topic Records)
• Going and Staying
• Garryowen
• Martin Simpson (Dambuster)
• Nobody’s Fault But Mine

Much to my continual amusement and wonder, one of the most enduringly popular TealArt entries is Cool Nicknames, which I wrote when I stopped blogging as RealName, and started using tycho. Clearly people are in search of cool nicknames, and they stumble on the page from google, and frankly, while I would always welcome more readers of this site, that’s probably the one entry that I would be perfectly happy if no one ever read again, but here I am linking to it, so go figure.

Anyway, once upon a time, I was a huge fan of blogging under my real name, but more recently, I’ve started to feel like I want to have more control over that name, and I guess I didn’t want a casual connection between my endeavors in science fiction and any academic work that I might end up doing in the future. Also, as a student of identity, I think the pen names and assumed names are really fascinating, and something that should be played with.

And so, I have, in some circumstances, become tycho. While I quite like being the blogger known as “tycho,” I’m a little unsatified with this for a couple of reasons:

1. I have a connection with my old name on these sites which isn’t really going to be removed, and there are a couple of online forms that for one reason or another, I still go by my given name it. 2. tycho, until now, hasn’t had a surname, which, and we can’t all be prince. 3. Connections between TealArt/tychoish, and published work related to TA/TY content. While clearly I have yet to decide anything, I’ve toyed with the idea of putting together some of my work (knitting and science fiction) in book form, and I’m unsure what the best way to credit this would be. I think tycho is perfect for the science fiction, but I think knitting might go best under my real name, but I’m not sure, it’s something to think about.

Anyway, on the surname question, I’ve thought of adding a number of things: family names that are in danger of dying out, parts of my real name, initials, so forth. I wanted something that was meaningful, but that also sounded good, something that was uncommon but not unheard of or hard to pronounce by english speakers, and something that had a little jewish tinge to it. The name tycho, comes from an old obsession, but also from a character that I was quite fond of in my first very unpublished¹ novel, named “Tycho Morgan,” I liked that but, didn’t want to take that name, and it wasn’t right. After some pondering, I’ve gone back to the names that I use in that book, and I think I’ve decided on “garren²” as a good surname. “tycho garren” looks good, it works in the vague way that jews name after people, and it marks a connection to a project that means something to me.

tycho garren³. I like it.

cheers, tycho

ps. sorry, I don’t have a list of cool nicknames for you. I hope you enjoy the site though.

I just realized that the sweater I’m making right now, could very easily be considered a concept sweater. It’ll be nice to have it, and it might be the right weight for this environment, but I’m not sure that it’s going to be “right.” It’ll be nifty. I’ve started the first part of the yoke decreases, which means that the rounds will start going faster, albeit very slowly.

I think I’m going to be buying one of the expensive new addi lace needles, because I have a discount at the yarn shop for teaching a class, and because I can feel the needle I’m currently using starting to go, and I think most of the sweaters I make in the next year will be on this kind of needle, so it’s worth it.

Cheers!

I’m posting this before going to bed. I’ve replied to most of the pressing emails in my inbox, so I feel pretty good about that. I’ve also been on a knitting kick, and have made what I feel is important progress on a sweater that now has an end in sight. This is a good thing. I’ve also only have 1 more episode of the regular run of Farscape to watch, and while this might not seem like a huge accomplishment, I’ve quite enjoyed it, so there.

I have a short day at work tomorrow, which is to my liking. When I get home, though, I will have a score of chores and what not to do. Also, I need to get my brain back in gear for writing. While I usually don’t get much actual writing done during the week, I’m often a bit better about thinking through things and making notes, and writing things in the notebook. Alas, I haven’t done much of that this week.

But if I hope to do anything tomorrow other than nap pitifully, I need to go to bed now, so have a good day, and I’ll see you all soon.

H: Hey buddy

G to himself: [^H], please [^H].

[AWKWARD SILENCE]

G: Remember last week?

H: what with the [[^\n\t][^\W\w]] here

G: yeah

H: what of it?

G: well,

*G PAUSES

G: try: .

H: fucking a.

G: and be done with it.

H: sigh

G: not quite

H: damn

G: I think the real question is why can’t people actually learn to format a file in a logical way from the onset.

H: Amen.

[PAUSE]

G: So what do you do with all this amazing perl power?

H: Not much, most of the time, actually.

G: You’re holding out on me.

H PAUSES AND THEN MOCK SURRENDERS: Ok you’re right, I deleted X, and now the I rule my computer with an iron fist.

G: Liar.

H: Yeah, you’re right.

G: Damn it.