Steve E Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Sandy has put a damper on a lot of northeast partying. The Manhattan Halloween Parade has been cancelled. The kids and gays are distraught. The subways are still flooded but the busses are running, and free, so we'll all find ways to get together. We're looking at a $1B+ cleanup bill in NYC alone. Dang-it we need a party! I'm going to call up my wiccan friends and try to set up something. -T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orrenm Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Happy Halloween! And what a great gif you found, Thoth! Love it! Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. As a kid, I loved going trick or treating with my friends. Even though mom only let me keep a fraction of my candy haul (and rationed that off so I couldn't gorge) it was the costumes and camaraderie that meant the most to me, not the loot. Back in my heady goth days, when theoretically "Every day was halloween" (as sang in one of my favorite songs by Ministry) Halloween was an extra special day. Not just among those who fancied themselves pagans and made a religious deal of Samhain. It was the day that society tipped towards us. I went to a lot of fun parties, concerts, all that good stuff. These days, Michelle and I mostly give out candy at the door, when kids come by (which doesn't happen that much, as we live in a gated condominium community with mostly adult residents and some very young children). We look forward to future years when we too will be taking kids around door to door, although not this complex, we'll probably go to Michelle's parents neighborhood. It's sad to read about the damage in NYC (both first person from people I know, and articles) but it's good to hear that the party spirit hasn't been snuffed out by Sandy completely. Best ghoulish wishes to all! Orren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted October 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Happy Halloween! And what a great gif you found, Thoth! Love it! You're welcome. My gif is my gift. Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays.... As a kid, in the old OLD neighborhood, we kids were a gang of costumed candy-hungry super moochers. Truth to tell, I never cared as much for the candy as the competition: who could snag the biggest haul. As an adult my interests became more, well, adult. I've been to some Halloween parties that would smear a goth's eyeliner all to hell and back. These days, Michelle and I mostly attend parties rather than stay home and give out candy. Barack takes the girls out into Republican neighborhoods to scare the locals. Okay. Seriously, I know a few people who "made a religious deal of Samhain" but that's their business. I prefer people who use the occasion to party. It's sad to read about the damage in NYC (both first person from people I know, and articles) but it's good to hear that the party spirit hasn't been snuffed out by Sandy completely. Amen, brother. Best ghoulish wishes to all! Right back at'cha, Orren. -Thoth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marguerite Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Ours has just been delayed to Saturday. Which is a joke, because only people on the township's e-mail list and people they manage to contact will know, and everyone else will send their kids around as usual. A nice idea to protect the kids from downed trees and blocked streets, but the execution could use a little work.... But I bought my candy before I heard the news, so my big problem now is keeping Sir Percy out of it until the kids show up, whether tonight or Sat. Nice GIF indeed, Thoth. Happy Ghouls and Goblins Night to all. Best, M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted October 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 .... A nice idea to protect the kids from downed trees and blocked streets.... And let's not forget down power lines. Why don't people bury those things! But I bought my candy before I heard the news, so my big problem now is keeping Sir Percy out of it until the kids show up, whether tonight or Sat. I had special treats delivered by UPS last week. But they're not for the door but rather for the pre-inspected communal candy bin—the kids at the kids' party descend on those like God-driven plague locusts. Nice GIF indeed, Thoth. Happy Ghouls and Goblins Night to all. You're welcome too, M. I'll try not to let the Software Elves, Pixel Pixies and Blue Button Fairies keep me up too late. -T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marguerite Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Just save a few of the special treats, and you'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 Just save a few of the special treats, and you'll be fine. Sage advice. -T Note: Manhattan is still blacked out (more or less) below 31st Street. Weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marguerite Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 My mistake. All the neighborhood kids observed the arbitrary redating of Halloween. But my brother had to cancel his grand post-wedding party in Jersey. Sorry to hear that Manhattan is still in the dark. Sandy has a lot to answer for. Best, M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2012 My mistake. All the neighborhood kids observed the arbitrary redating of Halloween. But my brother had to cancel his grand post-wedding party in Jersey. Sorry about your brother's plans. I understand that Chris Christie has signed an executive order postponing Halloween until Monday. So there is that. But who will tell the ghouls? (And where will your brother find gas?) Sorry to hear that Manhattan is still in the dark. Sandy has a lot to answer for. Everything below 33rd street is dark, still. And their rent was due yesterday! Worse news is that the discovered NY dead is approaching 40. (Or is that appropriate for Halloween?) On the bright side, the busses and trains are free, and the trains are coming back online a bit at a time. At my brother's company (on 59th) everyone is taking a four-day weekend. Still, Happy Halloween. -T Note: Sandy barely touched the North Bronx, yet New Rochelle, immediately north of us, was practically wiped out. Go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marguerite Posted November 2, 2012 Report Share Posted November 2, 2012 Sandy was clearly quite a picky hurricane. Nice for those of us who escaped, but very bad news for everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2012 Is she rolling over Pennsylvania now? Or was that yesterday? I hope Jules is okay. I was thinking of "A Sandy Halloween" story for NaNo. But it's probably only worth a short story. Besides, I have no time for NaNo this year. If any of my fellow Storyists want the idea, you're welcome to it. (Is Sandy a Tartar name?) -Thoth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marguerite Posted November 3, 2012 Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 That was Tuesday. Not sure where Sandy is now, or even if it still exists. The effects linger, though. Hurricanes in Nineveh? M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 That was Tuesday. Not sure where Sandy is now, or even if it still exists. The effects linger, though. Normalcy could be months or even years away—talk about effects lingering. But first they have to repair the basics (like clean water and power and road access). Who knows how long all that will take. Will it be done before the next storm? There's a chance of a big snowstorm here on Wednesday. Ouch. Hurricanes in Nineveh? Sandstorms mostly. But with magic anything is possible (so long as the logic of it is internally consistent). -T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marguerite Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 I was thinking of "A Sandy Halloween" story for NaNo. But it's probably only worth a short story. Besides, I have no time for NaNo this year. If any of my fellow Storyists want the idea, you're welcome to it. (Is Sandy a Tartar name?) -Thoth. Sandar Khan, aka Sandy. Yes, I don't have time for NaNo this year either. 22,500 words and counting on the first draft of The Winged Horse, though! Things should start to improve in NYC soon. When we were traveling down the NJ Turnpike yesterday for a wedding in the blackout zone, we passed convoys of trucks coming in from Virginia, Oklahoma, and all over with generators, gasoline, disaster relief supplies, tree cutters, and more. And most of the power is back in Manhattan, right? Although I know a lot of the outlying areas are still without. At the wedding, some people were getting their first hot meal in six days. Don't even talk to me about snow on Wed. I'm supposed to give a reading from Lynx at my alma mater this Friday. Although I guess my cats will be happy if I can't leave the house.... Best, M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Sandar Khan, aka Sandy. Works for me. Yes, I don't have time for NaNo this year either. 22,500 words and counting on the first draft of The Winged Horse, though! Oo. Is Volume 2 going to have a pegasus in it (a winged horse that sprang from the blood of Medusa)? Or are we talking about the constellation? Things should start to improve in NYC soon. When we were traveling down the NJ Turnpike yesterday for a wedding in the blackout zone, we passed convoys of trucks coming in from Virginia, Oklahoma, and all over with generators, gasoline, disaster relief supplies, tree cutters, and more.... Yes! Things are getting much better thanks to the kindness of strangers. (Always rely on that.) But there is no gasoline within miles of my home. The stations actually ran out! (Although many still have their Halloween decorations up. Or perhaps these are new ones.) ....And most of the power is back in Manhattan, right? Although I know a lot of the outlying areas are still without. Right. But Westchester County (north of me) is still having problems. My brother has a friend there who used to brag about his high-end electric generator. But when Sandy flooded his basement the generator shorted out. His neighbor's generator still worked but ran out of gas after two days. But they all had a third neighbor who had a working fireplace. They toasted marshmallows together. At the wedding, some people were getting their first hot meal in six days. Like I said, "Kindness of strangers," or relatives, or strange relatives. You meet all kinds at weddings. I hope the cake made it worth the trip. Don't even talk to me about snow on Wed. I'm supposed to give a reading from Lynx at my alma mater this Friday. Although I guess my cats will be happy if I can't leave the house.... They now say just heavy rain and high winds. Definitely not another Sandy. True fans will brave the rain to hear you read. Aw. Your cats wuv you. You're a lucky woman/writer/tarter princess. -T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marguerite Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 I am indeed a lucky woman, in so many ways! "Winged horse" as in Tulpar, the Turkic Pegasus. Tulpar is also the name of the main antagonist. Tulpar the Winged Horse appears in his spirit form in chapter 1, where he bears the heroine's father away to the ancestral hunting grounds (of the dead), and the father's medallion of Tulpar the horse then summons the hero to confront Tulpar the man. So Tulpar acts as a symbol/metaphor of change throughout the story. (After all, that's what antagonists do, isn't it? They force the protagonists to change.) The heroine's father notes the link to Pegasus while he is waiting for the spirit horse to appear. I think, historically, the Greeks adopted Pegasus from the Scythians, much of whose culture the Tatars inherited. But I may be making that part up. Lots of people still without power and without habitable houses, I know. They say it could be weeks in places like Far Rockaway before the power comes back on. Let's hope the nor'easter doesn't make things even worse. Stay warm, stay safe, stay connected, M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 "Winged horse" as in Tulpar, the Turkic Pegasus. Tulpar is also the name of the main antagonist. Tulpar the Winged Horse appears in his spirit form in chapter 1, where he bears the heroine's father away to the ancestral hunting grounds (of the dead), and the father's medallion of Tulpar the horse then summons the hero to confront Tulpar the man. So Tulpar acts as a symbol/metaphor of change throughout the story. (After all, that's what antagonists do, isn't it? They force the protagonists to change.) The heroine's father notes the link to Pegasus while he is waiting for the spirit horse to appear. Love that mythological flavor. I'm intrigued. I think, historically, the Greeks adopted Pegasus from the Scythians, much of whose culture the Tatars inherited. But I may be making that part up. Poetic license. Don't drive your story without one. Lots of people still without power and without habitable houses, I know. They say it could be weeks in places like Far Rockaway before the power comes back on. Let's hope the nor'easter doesn't make things even worse. Surprisingly, there are still several subway lines within the city that are flooded or just shut down because of power problems. Many people who take the C line into Manhattan from the Bronx still won't be able to get to work. (Unless you're willing to spend 5 hours to get in.) Another problem that's just started is looting. I don't want to go into it. The nor'easter will just add to the mess, not create new mess (I hope). It's not a killer storm. I'm just glad it's coming the day AFTER Election Day. Stay warm, stay safe, stay connected, I'll try. (It was chilly out today. I went to the supermarket to stock up on hot chocolate. To my surprise, the store's ATM limited everybody to $100 a day. And it dropped below freezing in Throgs Neck—come for the Throgs, stay for the necking.) Don't forget to vote. -T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted November 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2012 ....Don't even talk to me about snow on Wed. I'm supposed to give a reading from Lynx at my alma mater this Friday. Although I guess my cats will be happy if I can't leave the house.... Sorry. It's Wednesday at 2:30 PM and it's snowing in the Bronx. It's supposed to keep up through tomorrow. I hope things are okay where you are. Maybe it'll be all cleared up by Friday and won't affect your reading. Snug at home, -Thoth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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