"Like a stained glass window"

I'm back from an excellent conference at Hope College and a wonderful time in Holland, Michigan, just in time to wish janissa11 a very happy birthday tomorrow. May you have a fantastic day and many more to come, my friend!

A few quick items:

* First and foremost, I have a recommendation: potboy just wrote a most remarkable story for me, "Vigil," that fills in the missing "how Qui-Gon Jinn returns to Obi-Wan as a glowing ghost'" piece of the Star Wars canon puzzle. She is an outstanding author, and this exquisite tale braids the larger threads of the Star Wars tapestry together in a profound way. I cannot recommed it highly enough to anyone interested in Star Wars and/or the ideas of the Jedi and the Force. Read it now! And thank you, potboy.

* In other news, here are the winners of this year's Hugo and John W. Campbell Awards.

* And the latest iteration of The White List, the definitive listing of writers, editors, and other publishing professionals who have LiveJournals or LJ RSS feeds, is now available here.

* Last but not least, I finally have some pictures to share from my sister Margret's wedding in July:
Margret and Me Indoors
Family Portrait (With Margret and Her New Husband Michael, My Parents, and My Husband and Me)
Margret and Michael at the Church
Margret and Me Outdoors
Margret and Michael at the Reception

I look forward to catching up with everyone soon.


'Like a stained glass window' he had thought earlier and that comparison came back now with more force. Each single hair lay against the others in pen thin lines of light and dark. But this was no ink drawing. When he looked closer, each green line revealed moving shadows, golden summers, leafy glades. Every stroke opened a hair thin gap to somewhere else, and through each one there shone the infinitely deep and living light of a whole universe.
"What are you?" he said, awed but not entirely reassured.

- from "Vigil" by potboy