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fajrdrakoAnother day of good things and a bad thing.
The bad thing that happened was that I dreamed I had an ear infection, and then woke up to find I actually had one. The last time I actually remember an ear infection, I was three years old. There was an earache about twenty years ago, memorable only because it existed - I think I had a cold. Well, that's a long time to go without an ear infection. And of course it's a long holiday weekend, no hope of going to a clinic or phoning a doctor. Having total ignorance of the matter of ear problems, I had no idea what to do. Cold compresses? Drops? Leave it alone? Take Aspirin? Exercise? Sleep? I keep just hoping it will go away. Meanwhile, I feel crummy.
The good things are immeasurably good. The first is that
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isagel was looking for a 'five things' challenge, and in answer to my request for Five Things Captain Jack Harkness wanted to say to the Doctor, she wrote this.Now, quite frankly, there's nothing I want more right now than good Doctor Who fanfic, especially if it's about Captain Jack. And she got so exactly the right tone, so exactly the right type of action - and, more important, just the right relationship between the Captain and the Doctor and Rose - well, she has made me a very happy fan indeed. It's a story that shot straight to the heart of my love of the character, and made it better than I could have dreamed. Thanks,
isagel, really. Thanks.This only days afterI read a lovely piece of Captain-Jack fic by
boji here. And I'm working on a few stories of my own, and thanks to these stories, I feel all the more inspired.I am in a deeply emotive mood, having just read The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner. One of those few books in this world that I felt was just about perfect, as if it was written for me. It's a direct sequel to Swordspoint, a fantasy novel set in the district of Riverside, where Richard St. Vire, a champion swordsman and duelist for hire, lives with his lover, a mysterious student named Alec. This picks up Alec's story some years later - I'd have to reread Swordspoint to be sure how many years have passed, and yes, I intend to. There are numerous viewpoints, but the primary one in Privilege is that of Lady Katherine, young niece of the Mad Duke Tremontaine, who is trained as a swordsman in accordance with her decadent uncle's whim, in order to save her family's fortunes. From the back cover: "A well-bred country girl, Katherine knows all the rules of conventional society. Her biggest mistake is thinking they apply." In six months of training in the City, she learns about honour and sexuality and priorities, and a great many things change that can't be changed back. The back cover describes it as "a magical mixture of Dumas and Georgette Heyer", and so it is, and that would be good enough but that isn't what made me love it so. For one thing, there's a subplot about the theatre. Then there's the generous onmisexual viewpoint, the vividly varied characters - my favourites were Tremonatine himself, and the Black Rose, and Lucius Perry, and Kate's mother, and Kate herself - who often seemed younger than fifteen, but who was still delightful. The tone is fairly light, but the story was so perfectly written (as if just for me) that I did not react to it lightly.
I have many favourite scenes, but one I particularly liked was the Black Rose telling the Duke how and where they first met. I also liked the sword-training scenes, and Kate's first kiss, and the scene where Kate confronts the Duke regarding her duel over Artimisia's honour. And many other bits.
Thank you, Ellen Kushner, for far exceeding my hopes and expectations.
Now I must and reread Swordspoint. I think I liked Privilege of the Sword more, but I won't know till I reread, will I? I might add that there is another book by Kushner set in the same world, called The Fall of the Kings, which wasn't as memorable or as powerful in theme, and wasn't enarly as much fun.
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Date: 2006-09-03 07:43 pm (UTC)Meanwhile, decongestants (plain Sudafed frex) and pain-killers. Liquids of your choice (not TOO much alcohol!)
Hope you feel better.
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Date: 2006-09-03 07:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-03 07:47 pm (UTC)I also hear that lying down with the bad side on something warm like a hot water bottle or compress is supposed to help.
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Date: 2006-09-04 01:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-03 10:56 pm (UTC)I've never had an ear infection, although the girls have, particularly Leah. I remember having to walk her to the doctor one morning in Germany, early, because Girl Scout Camp was starting that day!
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Date: 2006-09-04 02:54 am (UTC)I love Charles I. Obviously, as I feature him heavily in my writing. But I've changed his sexuality quite drastically from anything I've ever read in history. I don't intend it to be viewed as truth, but I hope that someone else will enjoy it as much as I do *g*.
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Date: 2006-09-04 02:56 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2006-09-04 04:58 pm (UTC)You don't need to worry about that.
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Date: 2006-09-04 05:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-04 12:17 am (UTC)http://ellen-kushner.livejournal.com/
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Date: 2006-09-04 01:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-04 12:30 am (UTC)Did you get a prezzie from me recently?
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Date: 2006-09-04 02:40 am (UTC)Good luck, and I hope you feel better, dear!
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Date: 2006-09-04 03:48 am (UTC)I'm so sorry -- I hope you find some decongestants in the house somewhere, then, dearie!
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Date: 2006-09-04 03:51 am (UTC)Moonshadow is no use, either, except for being beautiful and giving cuddles and lovies (nothing to sneeze at, of course). But she only plays with bugs, for instance, never kills them.
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Date: 2006-09-04 03:26 am (UTC)It seemed appropriate, though; she was a very sheltered, country-raised 15 year old. And she was very determined, which made up for it.
It was such a relief for Privilege of the Sword to be so good; Fall of Kings was such a disappointment to me.
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Date: 2006-09-04 04:02 pm (UTC)It was such a relief for Privilege of the Sword to be so good; Fall of Kings was such a disappointment to me.
I certianly didn't like it as much as Swordspoint. It seemed comparatively bland, and I couldn't care as much about the issues or the characters. In Privilege, I cared, and then some!
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Date: 2006-09-04 03:49 am (UTC)I used to get a lot of ear infections due to having a problem with wax deep in my ear that didn't come out easily because of the convoluted way my inner-ear is formed. The wax would get dirty, which is what earwax is for -- to capture debris such a dirt from outside the ear and shed skin cells from inside the ear -- but it's supposed to march that debris out of your ear. Instead, it would harden and become very difficult to get out. The next thing you'd know, I wouldn't be able to hear very well, and then I'd find myself with a lovely ear infection. A doctor taught me this as a maintenance method and it's been years since I've had an earache: pour a capful of Hydrogen Peroxide (the inexpensive kind used to pour over cuts, a 3 percent solution) in each ear for 15 minutes about once a month, two or three days in a row, just to fizzle and bubble away the deep wax and the infectious junk stuck in it. You need a little wax in there, so you don't want to, say, do it every day for a week, but for dirty ears that are difficult to clean (because you aren't allowed to go *too* far down the canal with that Q-tip!), a 15 minute lie-down on either side with a capful of hydrogen peroxide bubbling away in each ear is a great way to avoid ear infections. This is also very good to do after a swim to avoid "swimmer's ear" type infections.
I've always thought that pouring warmed sweet oil into the ear was just a way to keep some nice heat on the eardrum for a while, but I wonder if sweet oil can also dissolve wax and help loosen so it can be moved out?
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Date: 2006-09-05 01:24 pm (UTC)I think my ear must be sort of convoluted too - I know in the past both my father and I have had ear-wax troubles, though int he past it's always been dealt with by a doctor before an infection could start. Your Hydropgen Peroxide solution sounds like a good idea.
Meanwhile, I'll see what my doctor says.
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Date: 2006-09-04 07:57 pm (UTC)I've started The Privilege of the Sword after lingering happily over a rereading of Swordspoint, and I'm so glad to hear that you love the new book. So far, I love it lots. :-)
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Date: 2006-09-04 08:05 pm (UTC)I almost wish I'd reread Swordspoint before Privilege, but I'm enjoying doing it the other way around. I think I have a new and renewed appreciation of Alec.