Toys, cats, an interview, and the Locus poll.: seanan

Toys, cats, an interview, and the Locus poll.

Let's go in reverse order, shall we? Because sometimes linearity just doesn't cut it. Anyway, the annual Locus Magazine poll for the best speculative fiction has been posted, covering those items published during 2010. Many excellent things are on the list already, and there are write-in slots for excellent things which you feel should have been included there, but weren't. The poll is open until April 15th, and everyone can vote, although votes cast by actual subscribers count for double. (This is one reason, among many, that it is awesome to have a Locus subscription.) Go, take a look, and help paint an accurate picture of what people loved about the speculative fiction of 2010!

I recently did an interview with the charming Katie Babs, who has posted our conversation for everyone to see. Being more sophisticated about these things than l'il ol' me, she even included graphics and other such awesome bells and whistles. It was a fun interview, with good questions, and I highly recommend taking a peek, if only so she'll feel that her site traffic justifies having me back someday!

Why, no. I do not have any pride. Why do you ask?

The cats continue healthy. Alice is a bit heavier than I want her to be, since recovering from her illness included a lot of gooshy food and spoiling, so we're trying to feed lightly for the moment. This might work better if a) Thomas weren't a growing boy, b) Lilly were more willing to be pushy about her food, and c) Alice didn't flop in the middle of the floor wailing about how she's starving to death and I am the WORST MONKEY EVER. Although, to be fair, Alice's flopping would be more believable if she didn't shake the floor when she did it. Yes, yes, you're starving, my little tauntaun. And next time there's a cold snap, I am going to crawl inside you to keep myself warm.

Thomas is growing at a truly staggering rate; it's like he's taken Alice's size as a personal challenge, and is determined to beat her before the next time he sees Betsy (I always assume my cats are trying to impress their breeder with their spectacular awesomeness). He's still the sweetest thing on four feet, which is good, since otherwise, I would be in trouble. He's very smart, and very curious. He's also stubborn as hell. Last night, he was on my lap, trying to play with the popcorn I was eating, so every time he reached for a piece, I would flick his paw. A normal cat would have grown annoyed and stalked off, furious at such callous treatment. Thomas started flicking me back. I love my Maine Coons.

I also love my Siamese. Lilly remains the lickingest cat in the entire known universe, as the patch of skin she licked off the inside my elbow last night while I slept will cheerfully attest. She's a little daunted by suddenly being the smallest cat in the house, but she's dignified enough (in all regards except for the licking) to hold her own against the fluffy tide.

And now...toys. As you may know, I love toys. My bedroom is like a terrifying cross between a set built for the Halloweentown movies and a toy store. I have well over a hundred My Little Ponies (and am collecting more every day), the entire current Monster High toy line, and a bunch of random assorted dolls, action figures, and weird things, including an anime-style Emma Frost, a hungry flesh-eating wasp-woman, and the Impala from Supernatural. It's a fun room to sleep in sometimes.

Anyway, yesterday, I got home to find a box on my porch. And inside that box...PONIES. Lots and lots of lovely Ponies, including Baby Racer (a yellow Baby Brother Pony with blue hair and a race car on his rump) and Applejack and some beautifully ringletted Candy Cane Ponies...

And Oakly. The My Little Pony Moose. Who has been on my Top 10 Wish List for ages. And now? NOW SHE IS MINE.

It's a good week to be a Pony geek.

Tara is making me a Barbie version of Alice Price-Healy, which has given me an excuse to go shopping for lots and lots of 1/6th scale weapons on eBay. This is incredibly soothing. It's shopping with purpose, and that purpose will result in my having the best. Barbie. EVER. The other Barbie she made for me, Lt. Anis Bihari of the USS Rutan, is currently off-site having her uniform tailored. I expect much joy when she returns. Oh, and they just announced the second wave of the Monster High Dawn of the Dance line, which will include two of my favorite dolls (Draculaura and Ghoulia).

It's a good week to be a toy geek, period. I am a happy blonde.

Deleted comment

seanan_mcguire

February 10 2011, 18:01:11 UTC 6 years ago

New comment

I think she's hard to find because she's being hoarded by Canadians.

ladymondegreen

6 years ago

textileowl

February 10 2011, 18:06:58 UTC 6 years ago

I'm so glad Alice is feeling better to the point of being chubby.

The interview is awesome, although there is a name I don't recognize. Etienne? I'm intrigued and can't wait for my pre-order to be sent.

February 10 2011, 18:07:34 UTC 6 years ago

He's one of Sylvester's Knights. He's shown up before, but never very centrally.

danjite

February 10 2011, 18:13:38 UTC 6 years ago

Edit: You do have pride- you lack shame.

Delightfully.

February 10 2011, 18:39:06 UTC 6 years ago

Hee.

Fair.

desperance

February 10 2011, 18:15:12 UTC 6 years ago

Dear Happy: can you actually explain your fondness for Little Ponies, or is it beyond words? (They're not books, so you can't read them; they're not cats, so you can't cuddle them; they're not ingredients, so you can't cook them: what do you do with them, that brings you such pleasure?)

February 10 2011, 18:39:35 UTC 6 years ago

I think that is a topic for a much longer answer than this, but the short form is that my grandmother used to buy them for me, and I miss her, and now they make me happy just to have.

the_liz666

biomekanic

February 10 2011, 18:23:00 UTC 6 years ago

It must be a Siamese thing, my Snowshoe wants to correct my deformed nose (it's sticking out! that's just not right!) with her tongue, which is like sandpaper.

She's no longer the largest cat either, my other cat is a Russian Blue/mutt and is about twice her size.

She still kicks his ass though. She may be smaller, but she is mighty.

February 10 2011, 18:39:45 UTC 6 years ago

Siamese REPRESENT, yo.

silvertwi

kengr

slothman

February 10 2011, 18:46:40 UTC 6 years ago

I forget if I mentioned this to you before— we’ve been able to get Cleo to lose weight by mixing up a tablespoon of pureed pumpkin with a couple of big pinches of dried fish flakes and serving that at bedtime. High fiber, low calorie, prevents “I-am-staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarving” meowing at 4am. (We serve up portions for both Cleo and Yeti— we really wish Yeti would eat more of his, because he has problems with constipation— and Cleo usually noms her portion and a goodly amount of Yeti’s as well. Yeti gets dosed with extra Laxatone and is given high-fiber treats to compensate...)

February 11 2011, 01:37:46 UTC 6 years ago

See, I do not want my cats to poop more. They already poop too damn much.

jayene

February 10 2011, 18:52:46 UTC 6 years ago

In order to keep my overly nomming cat Blair from eating my slightly smaller but thinner cat Max's food we took to putting Max's dish in a laundry basket. For whatever reason Blair will not make the leap into the basket. He will look forlornly into it while Max eats, and if the bowl is close enough to the sides he will use his claws to lift one pellet at a time through the slats but he won't make the jump. (He is physically able to do so.)

Do your Maine Coons have the habit of lifting their wet food into their mouths with their paws?

February 11 2011, 01:38:00 UTC 6 years ago

And dry food, too. They're like puffy raccoons.

martianmooncrab

February 10 2011, 19:03:17 UTC 6 years ago

And now...toys.

Doesnt matter the age, if you love the toys and they bring you happy, its all good.

If anyone asks, I am just getting more Ubshapti for my next life.

February 11 2011, 01:38:10 UTC 6 years ago

Agreed.

amazon_syren

February 10 2011, 19:15:30 UTC 6 years ago

MLP had a moose??
I did not know! O.O

February 11 2011, 01:38:22 UTC 6 years ago

Yes! Oakly. I love her so!

archangelbeth

February 10 2011, 20:04:36 UTC 6 years ago

More May! More May! Yay, May! More Tybalt! WOO!

I love the Late Eclipses cover. I just realized, the leather jacket, the dagger, the fancy dress. The whole "this does not quite go together" fashion combo, yet where each piece has a meaning, appeals to my inner... something.

February 11 2011, 01:38:37 UTC 6 years ago

Yeah, it's amazing. He just keeps getting better.

branna

February 10 2011, 20:05:26 UTC 6 years ago

Michael traumatized me the other day with a link to a cartoon of ponies learning Electricity and Magnetism. Properly. With div, grad, and curl formulations of Maxwell's Equations.

I was...very amused.

February 11 2011, 01:39:02 UTC 6 years ago

AWESOME.

Best Fantasy Novel

mrs_norris_mous

February 10 2011, 20:31:40 UTC 6 years ago

As you have more than one Toby book that I think would qualify for write in which would you suggest people write in if they wanted to ?

Re: Best Fantasy Novel

February 11 2011, 01:39:37 UTC 6 years ago

Whichever you liked better, really. I'm not going to win that category, so I say vote your love. :)

herewiss13

February 10 2011, 21:12:49 UTC 6 years ago

Should we, your loyal fans, recognize Lt. Anis Bihari? At first glance, she doesn't appear to fit with any of your works-in-progress. Google just points me back to your posts.

February 11 2011, 01:39:58 UTC 6 years ago

I used to play her in a Star Trek RPG. She's a Trill social scientist, and I love her dearly.

Ponies!

February 10 2011, 22:15:08 UTC 6 years ago

Yay for Ponies! I love to hear about your collections. It makes me feel like I'm not alone.
I've gotten into G3 My Little Pony because they're the cheapest. And they still have the authentic pony look. My obsession is not understood by my family.

Re: Ponies!

February 11 2011, 01:40:08 UTC 6 years ago

Sad!

February 11 2011, 01:40:25 UTC 6 years ago

Yes! They arrived yesterday and they're WONDERFUL and I LOVE THEM SO MUCH OMG.

windbourne

February 10 2011, 23:11:41 UTC 6 years ago

Yay! Oakly! I have the elephant and the zebra, myself. >D
(do you have a wishlist posted anywhere online, or is it a sekrit thing?)

February 11 2011, 01:41:11 UTC 6 years ago

I'm actually working on a wishlist. I was so disorganized for a little while in my "I want ALL the Ponies" acquisitions that I don't actually know for sure what I do and don't have. So I'm indexing the collection and generating a larger wishlist for, you know. Having.

inkgrrl

yellowblackhaze

February 11 2011, 05:42:16 UTC 6 years ago

My wife collects teddy bears. We don't have them all in the house anymore, but I'm sure if we did they'd soon displace us and take the place over.

February 12 2011, 03:24:33 UTC 6 years ago

I believe it.

kitrinlu

February 11 2011, 07:07:55 UTC 6 years ago

Your cats are the cutest! ^_^

There's a MLP moose? My mind is officially blown.

February 12 2011, 03:24:46 UTC 6 years ago

There's also a dinosaur!

groblek

February 11 2011, 14:15:10 UTC 6 years ago

Yay for cats! And for toys! Sarah and I are quite likely to spoil our son with regards to toys, since we already have trouble resisting the shiny objects in toy stores. My personal addiction is Legos, though those have to get stashed away for a few years until they cease to be a choking hazard. I have occasional dreams involving finding some of the sets I've wanted in a thrift store or the like, then I wake up and go "Just a dream? Again? Aargh!"