Damn. I just found out that Robert Jordan died yesterday. (See Neil Gaiman’s rather touching post about this here.)
I saw him two years ago at DragonCon, and was charmed by how intense he was about his books, and how patient he was with people who kept mispronouncing the names of his characters while still gently insisting that they get it right (”It’s pronounced ‘Az-MOH-dee-an,’ not “AZ-moe-dean’”). Never once did I see him snap at someone who mispronounced a name, despite the phonetics keys in the glossaries, and I must say that he withstood some sore provocation. Sadly, I didn’t quite have the nerve to ask him why the women in his books kept folding their arms under their breasts — I mean, where else would they fold them, behind their heads? — but I came out of the session all reenergized and newly excited about the series.
He’ll be missed. How could you not love an author who fills in the time before his session starts by politely instructing the incoming audience on how to pronounce the names of his characters, places, and objects correctly?
Christi has a friend who is considering selling handmade bags and purses, and sent one of the early samples to her to test drive. It’s a pretty damned cool bag, and it’s been driving me nuts for at least a week. I have handbag envy, and I’ve spent much of the weekend searching for a new bag.
My current collection:
I think it is not too overindulgent to have two working handbags that aren’t falling apart and that don’t leave a trail of my stuff everywhere I go. Still, not a purchase to be made precipitously, not if it’s going to be competing with Christi’s bag.
So far, the coolest one I’ve found that actually fits my personality is the Vivien (named after Vivien Leigh, not Vivian from “The Young Ones,” but I suppose that’s all right, too) here, second one down the page. I like it, but I can’t help but wonder whether I should get something a bit more colorful . . .
. . . such as, perhaps, one of these man bags?
