Not making that mistake again...

[bnewman]

Two years ago, I was delayed coming home from Confluence by serious weather, and I didn't buy the Harry Potter book. I spent five hours in the airport terminal being kind of bored.

This weekend, I was again delayed coming home from Confluence by serious weather. I bought the book, read it, and enjoyed it — and I didn't get bored waiting around the airport. Right choice. I won't comment on the book here (and don't you, either!).

Confluence was great. The featured filkers were Meg Davis and Kristoph Klover, who are amazing performers. I helped out with batyatoon's concert, and got to do a lot of hanging out with people I've missed and have lots of interesting conversations. I also finished two songs (in this case, two which had been sitting around almost-finished for some time):

"The Ballad of Surf and Turf": Just as "Glass Half Full of the Sea" is my happy-ending take on Talis Kiberley's "Still Catch the Tide", this turned into a happy-ending take on Cynthia McQuillin's "Mermaid's Lament". It began, however, as the back-story of two minor characters in a fantasy novel I'll probably never write, because my idea for it was turning into a too-obvious mash-up of LotR and Greenwitch. Our Young Heroes find themselves on a small island enjoying the hospitality of a faery-ish couple who identify themselves as Surf and Turf — the spirits of the island and the sea around it. But he didn't start out that way...

"Cracked": I've commented before (in passing) on the association in my mind between Tisha B'Av and The Dark Crystal. The destruction of the Temple is really two stories — one about a mundane national tragedy, which is historic, and another about a metaphysical rift in the harmony of the world, which is mythic and shouldn't be tied down to any one people, place, or time — and that latter story is pretty much the same as that of The Dark Crystal.

I'll have MP3s of these up, and add links to them here, later this week.

Comments

[devinsong.livejournal.com]

Argh. I *hate* being stuck somewhere with nothing to do. I nearly always bring about twice as much reading material as I expect to be able to read on a trip. And I often cut into the surplus. (Once I read 6 books on a 16 hour trip from Tampa to Boston. That was 16 hours including weather delays, cancelations, and epic feats of airticketjuggling by a marvelously helpful ticket agent in Cincinnati.)

I too enjoyed the latest Potter *g*.

[bercilakslady.livejournal.com]

No spoilers, but thank you for your offer of loan. Paul got a copy, and I've read his.

[batshua]

New songs! Yay!