Natalie is in the process of moving everything over to her new server. If you’re looking to visit anything other than the blog itself, please check out http://www.natalieaingram.net
Thanks!
December 21, 2010
September 26, 2010
Ceiling Woes
Because this is precisely the kind of story that I figure would be hard to swallow without pictoral proof…
Earlier this week I discovered the perfect way to end an 18-hour day: crawl into bed, exhausted, and wait for the goddamn ceiling to fall on top of you.
And when I say it fell on me? I really do mean it fell on me. A tile dropped out of the ceiling, hitting me and taking out half the stuff on the adjacent nightstand before finishing its journey to the floor. It also flooded my entire room with dirty water, soaking me, my bed, and my floor in the process.
No, really:
The damage.
The damage – detail shot.
The culprit.
The dirty, dirty culprit.
And yet, having posted pictoral proof of the offending ceiling tile (or, depending on the picture, notable lack thereof) all I can do is shake my head in bemusement and wonder, “A ceiling tile? Seriously?”
July 29, 2010
Review: The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
…whose name I have to Google every time I write it, to make sure that I’ve spelled it correctly:
Nasty viruses run amok through the food supplies of a futuristic Bangkok. Scientists everywhere are in a never-ending race to produce genetically modified food that won’t succumb to the latest mutations; Thailand has even succeeded. Foreigner Anderson Lake is busily exploiting the locals, hoping for a chance to learn the Thai’s secrets. This is how he meets Emiko, a genetically engineered (and in Bangkok, illegal) human whose sense of self makes her far more than the toy most people think she is—and whose sense of self will ultimately prove dangerous to her and Anderson both.
The setting is way cool. It’s original, it’s relentlessly multicultural, and there’s some fascinating genre-blending going on. It’s science-fiction that feels like steampunk, with a nod to the fantasy genre thrown in for good measure. The different political and cultural groups in Bacigalupi’s Bangkok provide a wonderfully tense backdrop. The setting is vivid and well-realized, and easily my favourite aspect of the novel.
The rest of the book, alas, doesn’t hold up so well.
For some reason, a paragraph of the review got deleted out of the TWG version. Not too sure how that happened, but as I can’t modify the reviews on the TWG frontpage myself I included the missing paragraph above.
July 8, 2010
Review: The City and the City by China Mieville
The cities of Besźel and Ul Qoma are more than just uneasy neighbours: they exist in the same physical space. One can move from Besźel to Ul Qoma and back again without so much as crossing the street, though to do so—to breach—is highly illegal. So when Besz Inspector Tyador Borlú is assigned a murder case that turns up dead ends in both Besźel and Ul Qoma, his job becomes a lot more difficult—and there may be more at stake than just one dead woman.
June 27, 2010
Review: The Hollow Crown by Diana Pharaoh Francis
Again, a quick disclaimer: I’m acquainted with the author, and my opinion may not be wholly unbiased.
Margaret may be a princess, but she’s trained all her life to serve the Crown, not to wear it. As a spy and assassin, Margaret is the go-to woman for the Crown’s quiet and dirty work. With the members of the royal family either dead or in hiding, the magic of Crosspointe failing, and the threat of invasion growing stronger by the moment, there’s plenty of dirty work to be done—and the tools at hand are rather limited. To save Crosspointe, Margaret has only the help of a single trusted friend, a foreign informant, and one her greatest political enemies: an active opponent of the Crown who is far too influential—and far too attractive—for Margaret’s peace of mind.
Read the rest here. As always, you can comment here or there.
May 2, 2010
Bitter Night by Diana Pharaoh Francis
My latest review is up at the Time-Waster’s Guide. I’ll also put it under the cut, because I can. Again, you can comment here or you can comment there if it strikes your fancy.
Full disclosure: Before I start, I should mention that my opinion isn’t wholly unbiased, since the author’s a friend of mine. Hopefully that will still be the case after she reads this review…
Just kidding. I actually really liked Bitter Night.
April 19, 2010
Book Review: Zoe’s Tale, John Scalzi
Hey look, I actually wrote a book review! It’s posted up at TimeWaster’s Guide right now, or you can find it below the cut. You can comment there or here if you’re in commenting sort of mood.
March 25, 2010
Mark Rose Big Band Show Dates
April 1st ETA: Updates on the May 19th dance.
April 14th ETA: Articles covering the Dance for Tanzania here and here!
April 17th ETA: Please note: The April 23rd dance has been cancelled due to low ticket sales.
Hi, everyone!
All right, so. Show season is finally kicking off for the Mark Rose Big Band. While the band waits for its official website to get online, I’ll hijack my own blog for the band’s purposes. So.
For those who don’t know the Mark Rose Big Band, we’re a 22-piece band that plays a variety of swing, jazz, Latin, funk and rock. We’re based out of Vernon BC and are pretty popular at local dances, so if you’re local (or around) come check us out at one of the following:
January 26, 2010
Deadlines and Do It Yourself (or, I Broke My G-String!)
Hi everyone. Remember me?
No? I didn’t think so.
Now then. I haven’t been writing just because I have nothing to say, honest… Okay, I haven’t been writing only because I have nothing to say. I have other excuses for my silence: three graduate school applications, one performer’s application, and possibly an entry into Malahat’s novella contest (if I can come up with something that won’t embarass me)–all on or before February first.
Related subject: I’m applying as a performer for a local music festival, and they prefer video as audition material, which means going out and performing some place. (Harder to accomplish than one might believe. There are open mics everywhere in this town, and they all happen on nights when I’m busy.)
When I practice just for the love of it I usually play my six-string, which means that my twelve-string tends to sit in the case unless I’m working towards a performance. So out came the twelve-string the other night, for a tune-up and practice. And obviously I need to make a habit of tuning more often, because the strings were way out of whack–enough that one of the strings snapped when I went to tune it.
Yes. My name is Natalie, and I’m here to tell the Internet about how I broke my G-string.
December 10, 2009
Reasons (not) to write a research paper
Looking for a reason (not) to write a research paper? I’ll give you fourteen.
Reasons to write, or reasons not to write? I’ll let you decide.
November 8, 2009
October 19, 2009
Sneak Peek at Song Lyrics!
So, a while ago I mentioned that I was working on an album, by the title of Accidentals. (I did mention that, didn’t I?)
My original plan was to have the album written, recorded, and parts of it uploaded to the website by… um… April sometime. That, well, didn’t exactly pan out. Things sometimes don’t.
However! There are definitely bits of it that I think are polished and ready to go. In the spirit of that, I’ve decided to release some of the lyrics to the website here, because I know you’re all just dying to get a piece of this project.
Behold, my songwriting genius! Here are the first two verses from the second song, fourth track on the album.
Direction
Them, according to the travel the most important part
They can say anything if you can only start
They say the purpose is not this path is within walking distance.
I’m tired tired these people speakThey can say anything if you are the most reliable
Instead, this victory is not to say only, run the race
They say the only important the best thing you can do
I need to shut down the flap and the rest of the chorus
…Hey, what’s that sceptical look for? Those are totally my lyrics!
No really, they are. I just fed them through Translation Party first. (Including the title, if you’re wondering.)
Have fun…
September 22, 2009
When conversations on twitter go strange places…
This post alternatively titled, “Dear xkcd: I am very sorry”.
“Clippy’s” dialogue is, for the most part, attributed to @sparkle_panties on twitter.
Behind the jump, because the comic is larger than my website’s content div and I’m too lazy to fix it…
September 12, 2009
Music and Mishap: Mountainfest Day 6
Last full day here. At least our camp stove waited until now to stop working. Into town for breakfast we go
Okay, really. I know this is a small town, but jeez. Why does everyone here know about our camping problems? What gives?
Back at the campsite, a couple of guys are driving a truck around selling ice. They give us a good scolding as they pass. (”Come on! You guys haven’t bought any since the first day!”) Apparently we’ve left an impression?
We do buy ice when they come back around the second time. Hate to disappoint people, and all that.
September 8, 2009
Music and Mishaps: Mountainfest Day 5
We’re halfway through the afternoon and I suddenly realize that I have nothing to write about. Hmm. Now what? Do I go hunting for trouble or just start making things up?
I decide that both of these options sound like far too much effort. Opt to drag a lawn chairdown to the river instead.
While in the river we chat it up with a couple of drunks who are squirting (or just flinging the contents of their waterbottles) at each other, and us. A bit later, we’re confronted by security, telling us that we can’t have glass bottles in the river. (Ours were actually plastic.)
My mother spends the rest of the afternoon telling anyone and everyone that we fell afoul of security. See? I’m not the only one who thinks today’s been boring.
September 4, 2009
Chapter Captions!
So I’ve been putting it off all summer, in favour of doing silly things like relaxing and starting new projects–but it is a universal truth that a writer in possession of a first draft must, soon or late, revise.
Now, I hate revising. Every moment I spend revising is a moment I could spend writing something new. (Or cleaning the house or walking barefoot on broken glass. I have my priorities.) Still, we live in an imperfect world, in which all manner of unpleasant tasks must be done. Alas.
So I powered through a re-read before starting actual revisions. To keep myself entertained assist in the revising process, I decided to give each chapter a caption as I went along. Something that would not only remind me at a glance what had happened, but also the meat of the chapter, what it was about. Its very essence, if you will.
Apparently more goes on in this book than even I knew (or maybe I’m just not very good at capturing essences). More than once I was torn between two or even three different captions. In such cases I’ve included any runners up first, with the most apropos caption at the end.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I urge you not to laugh: This is to be taken very seriously.
(more…)
September 1, 2009
Music and Mishaps: Mountainfest Day 4
Wake up a bit bleary-eyed, but high and dry. Well, unless you count sweat. Because it is that hot. Already. A man’s walking a dog, which runs away from me as it comes near our tent. I’m informed that it’s not a very friendly dog.
There’s a music boot camp happening on the stagegrounds. We go to listen and chat it up with panelists afterwards. We call it networking but really we’re just here because we think they wear snazzy clothing.
The river is full of people, lawn chairs, beer cans, and waterguns when we go back to the campsite. Everyone who squirts us (so, everyone) gets a thumbs-up as we go past.
No pants toll today, either. I’m guessing those girls have decided they don’t want any pants after all–from the amount of skin I’m seeing so far, theirs or anybody else’s.
August 28, 2009
Music and Mishaps: Mountainfest Day 3
Wake up bright and early this morning. (If I keep saying that, it’s because it’s hard NOT to wake up early when you’re tenting. On account of it being, uh, bright.) Stumble out of the tent to find the dog and the rest of the neighbours comfortably sprawled out on lawn chairs. Theorize that my mother will have drunk them out of coffee by the end of the week.
A drunk girl wanders by. She’s very loud and enthusiastic. Enthusiastic enough that I doubt her vocabulary extends beyond four-letter-words. Or, well, one four-letter-word, anyway.
Today is our last chance to stock up on groceries. I don’t really want to leave the campgrounds
, but my mother refuses to go into town without me, even though my sense of direction isn’t any better than hers.
I go anyway, of course. To put this in perspective: My mother needs me to tell her where to go. * Of course I’m coming.
August 25, 2009
Music and Mishaps 2: three girls walk out of a port-a-potty…
One of the great joys of the camping life. I went to bed exhausted. Naturally, today I’m up at the very crack of dawn.
Today’s first piece of new information: The neighbours’ dog is a Peeping Tom. A startling revelation, perhaps, but not nearly as startling as the head that suddenly appears at the bottom of the tent while I’m changing. (By the time I get out of the tent he’s switched his affections to our tea-towel.)
It’s already getting warm. Figuring we’ll want some shade, we decide to give the gazebo another go. (The tent doesn’t count. It’s like a sauna. That you can’t stand up in. Or move around in.) So we spend the next little while getting the poles assembled while the wind blows us and our gazebo every which way, and passersby call horror stories to us about how their gazebo ended up in the river.
I doubt there’s a person on this entire campsite who doesn’t know we’re new at this by now. It must be painful to watch, because divine (or otherwise) intervention occurs not in the form of the bloody wind letting up even for a moment, but a pair of shirtless cowboys who help us hold the damn thing in one place long enough to throw the mosquito netting over the top.
Hey. This camping thing ain’t so bad, right?
August 21, 2009
Music and Mishaps: Mountainfest Day One
So this summer my mother and I packed up and headed off to Merritt Mountain Music festival. We were looking forward to it, yes, but also a little bit anxious. We’re not campers. Before Merritt, we had only been camping at once, and that was a much shorter trip, much closer to home. But we tried to make up for it by leaving a couple of days before the festival itself and being ridiculously organized about the whole affair.
Ridiculously organized is what we do best. Naturally, we leave at least an hour late.
Long drives are long. But at least this one’s uneventful.
First major accomplishment of the trip: Not getting lost before we find our gate. Or rather, the gate the nice people have directed us to. Which happens to be the wrong one.
Correct gate: Acquired! Groceries and dinner are inching up on the priority list. But first we need a place to live. Time to fight with the tent.
…Uh, yeah. Any takers on the outcome?