I watched the last two episodes of V and was a little more encouraged. I've been missing the presence of a great villain like Diana. Anna just wasn't doing anything very interesting. But skinning one of her own people, now that's villainous in a Diana-like way. There may be hope for the series yet.

Eh, I lost interest in it after the first two episodes. Anyone else watching it? It's ratings are dropping.

Congratulations! You detonated a nuclear weapon at the wrong time, in the wrong place, in the wrong way, and now you are the proud owner/feeder/panic-stricken victim of over two hundred and fifty feet of radioactive reptilian flesh! First of all, as a new Godzilla owner, there is one thing you should say to yourself:

STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!

( That said, as it had to be, let's see what we can do about prolonging your pet's lifespan, most of which will involve prolonging yours.  )

After consulting Yojo, one of his pagan deities, Queequeg insists that it’s up to Ishmael to pick out a whaling ship for them to work on. Ishmael reluctantly agrees, not really trusting his own judgment, and finds a ship that he likes, an old, unusually built ship that made use of whale teeth and bone in its construction. That would be the Pequod, named for an extinct Indian tribe.

He signs on with the ship’s two primary owners, and they tell him about the ship’s captain, a man named Ahab who lost his leg during his last whaling voyage when “it was devoured, chewed up, crunched by the monstrousest parmacetty that ever chipped a boat.”

When Ishmael notes that this captain is named for an evil king in the Bible, the ship’s owners quickly come to his defense, saying that Ahab is a good man, a married man with a child. It’s not his fault that his crazy mother gave him such an unfortunate name. They describe Ahab’s virtues in greater detail: “He’s a grand, ungodly, godlike man, Captain Ahab; doesn’t speak much; but when he does speak, then you may well listen. Mark ye, be forewarned; Ahab’s above the common; Ahab’s been in colleges, as well as ‘mong the cannibals; been used to deeper wonders than the waves; fixed his fiery lance in mightier, stranger foes than whales.”

Still, some people do think Ahab is a little odd, especially after the loss of his leg. “I know, too, that ever since he lost his leg last voyage by that accursed whale, he’s been a kind of moody – desperate moody, and savage sometimes; but that will all pass off.”

Yes, of course, sure it will, as if we didn't know.

http://ladychapel.dreamwidth.org/8430.html.

Upon their arrival in Nantucket, Ishmael and Queequeg check into the Try Pots inn, which is run by the innkeeper's wife. The inn is known for the clam and cod chowders that it serves.

When they arrive, Ishmael notices two pots hanging from an old mast outside the inn. The sight reminds him of a gallows, and we see his morbid streak again: "Perhaps I was over sensitive to such impressions at the time, but I could not help staring at this gallows with a vague misgiving. A sort of crick was in my neck as I gazed up to the two remaining horns; yes, two of them, one for Queequeg and one for me. It's ominous, thinks I. A Coffin my Innkeeper upon landing in my first whaling port; tombstones staring at me in the whalemen's chapel; and here a gallows!"

These dark thoughts recede once he tastes the clam chowder: "It was made of small juicy clams, scarcely bigger than hazel nuts, mixed with pounded ship biscuit, and salted pork cut up into little flakes; the whole enriched with butter, and plentifully seasoned with pepper and salt."

Now, that makes me hungry. I want to make clam chowder for myself soon.

http://ladychapel.dreamwidth.org/8186.html.

Ishmael and Queequeeg finally arrive at Nantucket. This short chapter describes the island and its natives, natural seamen according to the book, in great detail. There are many exaggerated legends describing how difficult life is on the island. "But these extravaganzas only show that Nantucket is no Illinois."

http://ladychapel.dreamwidth.org/7916.html.

Yay! I surpassed the 10,000 word mark for my NANO novel tonight. Now that's progress. I'm too tired to write any more tonight.

Ishmael and Queequeg finally leave New Bedford together and set sail for Nantucket. Their unlikely, close friendship draws attention from people.

On the voyage to Nantucket, his new friend further impresses Ishmael by rescuing a man who had been teasing Queequeg. The man fell overboard. Queequeg dove in after him and saved him from drowning.

After this, Ishmael says, "From that hour I clove to Queequeg like a barnacle; yea, till poor Queequeg took his last long dive." This gives us the first hint of harponeer's fate.

http://ladychapel.dreamwidth.org/7495.html.

Queequeg is actually a pagan prince from the island of Kokovoko or so he tells Ishmael. Melville describes the location vaguely: "It is not down in any map; true places never are."

Queequeg left the island because he developed an insatiable desire to see and explore Christendom. However, he becomes disenchanted with Christians, as Ishmael has, because he soon sees that "even Christians could be both miserable and wicked; infinitely more so, than all his father's heathens."

He remains a harpooneer anyway, though, because he feels unworthy to return home.

http://ladychapel.dreamwidth.org/7347.html.

I started writing for this year's NANO. This is the first time I'm doing it. My two biggest challenges are switching from the nonfiction expository writing I usually do to fiction and switching off my internal editor. The latter is particularly hard but its only going to slow me down if I try to revise now. The point here is to write the Great Frantic Novel not the Great American Novel.

Melville wrote very short chapters. That's one reason this book has over a 100 of them. This chapter is one of the briefest. Ishmael and Queequeg are passing the night comfortably snug in their bed. Ishmael encourages his friend to tell him his life story, which he will begin doing in the next chapter.

This entry was originally posted at http://ladychapel.dreamwidth.org/6918.html.

Ishmael returns to his room and finds Queequeg who had left the service early. In this chapter, Ishmael forges a strong bond with Queequeg that they both liken to marriage. Ishmael needs to overcome his wariness to do so. "You cannot hide the soul. Through all his unearthly tattooings, I thought I saw the traces of a simple honest heart; and in his large, deep eyes, fiery black and bold, there seemed tokens of a spirit that would dare a thousand devils," Ishmael says about his friend, and he compares him to George Washington. "Queequeg was George Washington cannibalistically developed."

Ishmael is Presbyterian, but he seems to be slightly disillusioned with his church or at least how he's seen the faith practiced. "I'll try a pagan friend, thought I, since Christian kindness has proved but hollow courtesy."

Queequeg gives him the embalmed head he carries as a present and half of the $30 in silver in his wallet. Obvious symbolism there. Ishmael wants to share some of his Christian faith with his friend, but he's also giving up some of it and taking on some of Queequeg's pagan worship.

This entry was originally posted at http://ladychapel.dreamwidth.org/6777.html.

Ah, good, victory, finally! And horns are honking up Broad Street. Now back to New York where they'll probably lose. 

It's 8 to 4, Phillies, top of the 9th, Yanks at bat. Oh, wait, make that 8 to 5. Oops, nope, now it's 8 to 6. Get the hell out of this inning like a normal team, you bastards, and win the freaking game already! 

And they wonder why Philly sports fans seem easily irritated. Geez!

This was a longer chapter than the last, and I was somewhat distracted while reading it. It focuses on Father Mapple's sermon about the story of Jonah. Ishmael listens to it but doesn't have much of a reaction to it. It talks a lot about Jonah's ordeal, which ends only when he folows God's will, which is: "To preach the Truth to the face of Falsehood."

This entry was originally posted at http://ladychapel.dreamwidth.org/6530.html.

I can see the blimp that's floating over CB Park from my kitchen window right now. I like it. Looks neat when it floats sideways. And it's quiet. Much better than helicopters. 

Man, I feel so wired tonight. I had a cup of coffee a few hours ago but one cup isn't enough to make me feel this wired. 

 I just bought seasons 2 and 3 of Buffy for $20 each at Borders. Not bad. Now I have the whole series.

I made a new icon for my black cat Inky based on Theophile Steinlen's Chat Noir illustration. Inky was kind enough to strike a similar pose on my newel post. I'm going to use it as my default for Halloween and then switch back to my regular one.