"Egil Skallagrimsson's bed closet"

[eldritchhobbit]

My resistance was futile!

Yes, I'm supposed to be at a fascinating colloquium in Tucson, Arizona. But I'm not.

I got to the airport before experiencing the mother of all asthma attacks. (Not the "Grab your emergency inhaler!" kind, although I did that repeatedly, but the "Where's a doctor?" kind.) The upshot is that I'm now at home medicated, nursing a respiratory infection (which apparently is what exacerbated my asthma), and deeply grateful for every breath.



And now, for something made of less wheeze and more awesome:

* It's great to see how many science fiction and fantasy titles are nominated for the Young Adult Library Services Association's "2009 Teens' Top Ten" list. Read more here about YALSA's Teens' Top Ten, or read the list of nominated titles here.

* 100 Sites Offering Great Literature for Download. (Thanks to jagash!) I have a few other ones on my list of favorite links.

* From io9: Hurley's Greatest Moments in Lost Season 5.


And here is more Star Trek, for those inclined:

* From "The Crotchety Old Fan": The 18 Star Trek (TOS) Episodes Written by Science Fiction Authors.

* From marthawells: recommendations of favorite old-school Trek novels. (For the record, if I had to make a "Top Five" list, my favorites would include The Wounded Sky by Diane Duane, Ishmael by Barbara Hambly, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - The Novelization by Vonda N. McIntyre, Uhura's Song by Janet Kagan, and How Much for Just the Planet? by John M. Ford.)

* Because they never get old: Star Trek Inspirational Posters.

"If I live in tenth-century Iceland, I don't want to go into Egil Skallagrimsson's bed closet for any reason whatsoever."
- from "Things Professor Drout Said: Spring 2009 Edition"

Comments

[vg-ford.livejournal.com]

*hugs* Now you have time to relax and work on the TBR pile!!!

[groovekittie.livejournal.com]

AHAHAA I loved the inspiration posters! Thanks for the link!!

[sunnysky.livejournal.com]

you know, & just last year i was saying, "why isn't anyone writing good teen sci-fi?" it's so great, especially since that list is chosen by the teens, & not us stuffy librarians! :)

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

[belleferret.livejournal.com]

Poor dear--hope that you're feeling better now.

Thanks for the Lost and Star Trek links!

[magicwondershow.livejournal.com]

Now see. If you just let the aliens on Talos IV study you forever, you likely wouldn't have had an asthma attack. Totally logical. *nodnod*

Get better soon, rest plenty, and thank you for the ST posters link - true brilliance!

[greenhoodloxley.livejournal.com]

Gah, not good! Hope you're feeling better soon! :)

[lin4gondor.livejournal.com]

Yikes! I have asthma myself, so I can totally sympathize with you. I fear colds and respiratory infections because they always make breathing tricky. Not being able to draw breath as one wishes is quite frightening!

Star Trek and downloadable books, awesome!

[randomalia.livejournal.com]

Oh, gosh, poor you! Glad to hear you're okay. I recommend lots of rest and vitamin F(andom).

[beledibabe.livejournal.com]

Oh, *honey*! I'm so sorry to hear that you're gasping, and not in a good way!

::sending you healing lung vibes::

[theladyrose.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about the asthma attack; glad to hear that you're OK now. The poster cracked me up :)

[marthawells.livejournal.com]

Hope you feel better soon!

[thrihyrne.livejournal.com]

Yikes!!! I'm so glad that you got medical attention in time, though I know you were so looking forward to that conference, and being in Tucson. (((consoles)))

Thank you for the funnies, even though you must be disappointed.

[thrihyrne.livejournal.com]

Vitamin F(andom)! No wonder I'm so healthy most of the time! ROFL!!!

[lbilover.livejournal.com]

Eeps, that must have been scary! I'm glad you're home and safe. *hugs*

Uhura's Song

[emerdavid.livejournal.com]

I remember calling Janet to congratulate her after the book was published, and remarked that she seemed to have done quite a bit of research on anthropology for the background of the alien society. She laughed and said, "I made it all up!"

A friend of mine who has read many (if not all) of the ST novels regarded _Uhura's Song_ as one of the better ones, and had expressed a wish that Janet would write more of them. Janet, however, merely wrote it so she could break into the field and be able to tell prospective publishers (or agents) that she was already a published writer, and was not really interested in doing any more Trek.

Same ST-novel-reading friend also heavily *disliked* John M. Ford's entry (which I thoroughly enjoyed, by the way). My impression was that she thought he was not taking the ST universe seriously enough.

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the links!I had seen the 'can't hear you over the sound of my awesome', but not the rest.

[estellye.livejournal.com]

OMG! I am glad you got to a doctor and are getting treated! It would have been very scary if it happened on the airplane, so you were being well looked after in that regard. Feel better very soon!

I'm going to go see the ST movie in a few minutes! Love the poster, lol.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

*hugs back* Very true! A silver lining, to be sure... :)

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

My pleasure! I could look at those every day and still crack up every single time.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Ha! It really is exciting. I've been reading some of the very recent YA dystopias, and they're easily as well written as the "mainstream", non-YA works. I've been really impressed.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm definitely feeling better than I was, that's for certain.

You're most welcome - I hope you enjoy the links!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Now see. If you just let the aliens on Talos IV study you forever, you likely wouldn't have had an asthma attack. Totally logical. *nodnod*

*smacks forehead* Of course! I'll make a "note to self" for next time. *wink*

Thanks so much for the good wishes. Will do! And I'm so glad you liked the Trek posters, too. They crack me up.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry that you're a fellow sufferer! Thanks for understanding - you're so right. Even the smallest illness can be a challenge; other people get colds, and then they get well. When I get a cold, I then get bronchitis or pneumonia. ;)

Thank heavens for Star Trek and downloadable books! *wink*

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much. Mmmm, vitamin F - I don't mind if I do! *wink* Sounds like an excellent prescription to me.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

LOL! (Your icon made me cackle.)

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! (Gasping, and not in a good way = LOL!wheeze!LOL!)

Your good vibes are much appreciated. *hugs*

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! The posters are a hoot, aren't they? I laughed myself silly.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! *hugs* As much as I wanted to attend this colloquium, I'm glad at least that I didn't get to Tucson only to have this happen there, you know? So at least the timing worked out for me in some small way, I suppose. I greatly appreciate your good thoughts!!!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

And more than a little embarrassing, truth be told. ;)

Thank you so much! *hugs*

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

You're most welcome! Several of them made me laugh out loud.

Great icon, by the way. ;)

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much. You're so right: at first I thought, "What terrible timing!" Now I realize that I was really fortunate that it happened when it did, and not an hour or six later.

I can't wait to hear what you think of the film. I hope you have a great time!

Re: Uhura's Song

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

She laughed and said, "I made it all up!"

Oh wow! Well, clearly she did a very good job of it.

It's a shame she didn't write more Trek, but I certainly can understand her desire to "break out" into original fiction. At RavenCon recently there was a discussion about how to make young people (or anyone, for that matter) into SF fans, and media tie-in novels were mentioned. I realized that over the years I'd sought out those authors whose Trek novels I'd loved, going on to read their original SF works whenever possible. So those books became a gift that keeps on giving!

I can understand a Trek fan not wanting the universe to be made fun of or casually dismissed with a laugh. I never really got that impression with Ford, though; his humor seemed based on a love for and thorough knowledge of the Trek universe -- in short, he seemed to be laughing with it, not laughing at it. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed that novel, too.

[abbie (from livejournal.com)]

Dangit, Amy...I told you to take it easy. Sorry to hear about the respiratory trouble.
I'm glad you're doing better!! Please continue to get better!!!!

P.S. That picture makes me happy.

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

Yikes! I know how scary that can be. Hope you're feeling much better today!

[fungus-files.livejournal.com]

Glad you're feeling better now and, hey, points to this post for education, too: [a] didn't know you were an asthmatic - S. never got into the police force because he had childhood asthma (I say 'thank goodness', but he was disappointed at the time); and [b] omg, those ST posters (I'm such a n00b)...lol.

*hugs*

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I love those Trek posters - I'm glad you liked them, too!

Poor S! That must have been so frustrating (although I can appreciate why you were relieved).

Somehow I never outgrew the childhood asthma. It matured right along with me. ;) If from time to time I post about having bronchitis or my Achilles heel, pneumonia, you'll know why. My asthma's the gift that keeps on giving. LOL!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! I appreciate it, and I'm definitely am feeling better now.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

See? That's what I get for not listening to you. Next time I'll know to do better. ;) And thanks so much for the good wishes. They're definitely working!