semi;colon

[verbminx]

I didn't go to the party tonight. I put N's number in a very safe place, and then in the glorious tradition of such things, totally forgot where that place is. Um, oops. I was supposed to call her. I am feeling uberlame about it.

So I ended up pulling the Borders/Virgin routine. Looked mostly at books on bookmaking at Borders, since a book is my next design project (which is OK, since books are something I "do" - I actually own a bone folder). Read the section of the new book of Edward Gorey interviews that is about his cats - how five cats manage to remain individuals but six cats become more of a "phalanx". Looked at The Gryphon but have yet to actually read it. Found a copy of Wu Cheng'en's Monkey, which I've been seeking, but didn't buy. Ran out of time. At the last minute, found a book on papercrafts which is something like 2" thick for $15. Great book, bargain table. Also got the Vogue Book of Blondes, which I have been coveting for a while, from a discount table for $5.

The momster actually willingly went to Downtown Disney (normally she yells and pouts), lured by the questionable idealogical shimmer of a bowl of squash soup. Alas, it was not to be, as the Wolfgang Puck place was closed. But I did sit around Virgin for a few hours, happily skimming through this and that... they have the best home and computer design and fashion and comics sections in this part of the state. I came home with the new Juxtapoz and the second serial experiments: lain dvd... two down, two to go! I had intended to buy the first Utena dvd but they only had copies of the second. the momster bought a book for "lost souls" that has ideas to safeguard against procrastination and quick recipes for cooks who are tired, lazy, and broke. why do i have the feeling that it was really for me? *sigh*

the momster got lost on the way home, which lengthened our trip. she is a great misser-of-turns. i took the opportunity to get a fruit and yogurt parfait from mchaggis's. during the long highway stretch i opened the sunroof to look at the stars and let in the chilly wind. it's become cold, or at least cold for us, so i wore my paw mittens tonight with my cat hoodie and a scarf, and was glad I'd decided against wearing a skirt. there were cloudy patches in the sky, too: they rushed along, pushed by the wind.

something i was told in writing earlier this week is that the semicolon is becoming archaic and is seen as baroque and formal, hardly ever used by serious writers anymore. i will have to make it my mission to use semicolons as often as possible. my syntax is already tortured; why not complicate it even further?

Comments

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[whorlpool.livejournal.com]

Is that the Arthur Waley Monkey, based on Journey to the West, or is that another book altogether? I've been wanting to read the Arthur Waley one for a long time, but I never seem to see it in bookstores anymore.

Re: ..

[verbminx.livejournal.com]

yes, it's the Waley version. i saw it completely by accident, because i was looking at the lit-crit section that just follows the end of the fiction section. i've been looking for it too. i don't know how your budget is doing, but it was $12 - not *too* bad for a tpb, but also not too likely to be found in a lot of used bookshops. probably can be found cheaper online. try abebooks.com? :)

Re: ..

[verbminx.livejournal.com]

yes, abebooks.com. check author "wu" and title "monkey" and it comes up with over 100 possibilities. if you check waley as a kw you only get 9 possibilities and they're all collectible editions - IE, overpriced.

[ayun.livejournal.com]

I love the semicolon.
Of course, you could argue that my writing is pretty anachronistic to begin with.

[banshee.livejournal.com]

I like semicolons - my compulsion as of late, however, is to replace them with dashes.

Go figure.

I'll try to make an effort to keep the mighty semicolon afloat!

[jet.livejournal.com]

i want to hear that song...

miss you, minx!

xo

benzedrine monks...

[verbminx.livejournal.com]

I also have their versions of "smells like teen spirit" and "do ya think i'm sexy". sort of in the Mike Flowers Pops mold. only instead of remaking them as sleazy lawrence-welk-wannabes, they've been redone as gregorian chant! you can get 'em on audiogalaxy, but i can also burn you a cd of mp3s, which might be more fun...

and i miss you toooooooo... :)

[hilarykay.livejournal.com]

i love the semicolon. I feel very smart every time I use it; its a great piece of punctuation.

(did I use it right???)