Sunday, September 23, 2007

SHOUT-OUT TO THIS WEBSITE'S VISITORS


Where're ya'll from?

I've had a Cluster Map attached to this site about a week now, and I'm fascinated with the indication of visitors dropping in from all around the world in just these few days. The Cluster Map is rather vague, so I've had to guess at a lot of your locales, but here's a list of where you might hang yer hat. If you're in the mood, drop me a comment telling me if I got it right, and how it is you discovered this site in the first place. Plus anything else you'd care to shout down the wire.

Mauritius (near Madagascar)
Israel (Tel Aviv or Jerusalem?)
Athens
Finland (southern)
Moscow
South Korea (Seoul?)
Tokyo
Melbourne
Sydney
New Zealand
(Wellington?)
Great Britain (Exeter? London? York? Glasgow?)
Germany (Frankfurt?)
France (Paris?)
Brussels?
Canada (Toronto; New Brunswick or Nova Scotia? Manitoba? British Columbia -- Vancouver and ? Alberta or Saskatchewan?)
Inside the United States:
Washington (Seattle and Spokane?)
Oregon (Portland? and Eugene?)
California (Berkeley and other locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, and somewhere in the Central Valley?)
Texas (Austin, Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth)
Kansas (Kansas City)
Missouri (St. Louis?)
Minnesota (Minneapolis?)
Wisconsin (Madison)
Louisiana (New Orleans)
Florida (Tampa? Miami? Northern FL?)
New Jersey
Central Connecticut
Eastern United States (east of Mississippi) -- too many cities and populated areas to differentiate on the fuzzy map, help!

13 comments:

DaƱa Alder said...

Hi, Maggie--I've been visiting your site this weekend--found it via a link from Heart's site--http://womensspace.wordpress.com/

These days (and for the past 23 years' worth of days), I live in Madison, Wisconsin--

Maggie Jochild said...

Welcome, Dana! And I definitely read that boundary wrong, thought it must be in Minnesota instead of Madison there near the border. Now we know better. Thanks for checking in. Back in the day, Madison was rockin' radical -- how's it doing now?

Jesse Wendel said...

Hi Maggie,

I'm Jesse Wendel, publisher of the Group News Blog.

Sara Robinson, a Staff Writer at GNB who also writes on Orcinus, mentioned you.

I'm up in Seattle. Love how you use art so effectively. Plus bonus points for the Willow/Tara shoutout. I LOVE Tara.

If you're truly an enormous Tara geek as I am, make sure you check out the best W/T fanfic (really two full-length novels of professional grade) ever written, Lisa Countryman's Unexpected Consequences & Milestones (the latter of which is unfinished. *sighs* But I have the secret link to chapter 19.)

Keep up the good work.
Jesse

Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm from the Fiery Planet Orks, from the Ancient City of Xxxxxxxxxxplppppbbhhh. I noticed I'M not on your puny Earth-Map! Bleh!

Maggie Jochild said...

Jesse, great to hear from you, and FAB links. I'm busy finishing the first draft of a Lesbian novel set in Seattle, and the main character in it does watch Buffy -- even when Willow was still with Oz. In fact, the reason why I'm now hooked on Bones is because of giving it a try to see what Angel was up to these days.

Captain Blue-Orks, I've see you elsewhere and am NOT intimidated, you piece of space neocon trash! You know, if I wore a T-shirt with your city name on it -- Xxxxxxxxxxplppppbbhhh -- I wouldn't be allowed to board Southwest Airlines.

Josiah Rowe said...

Maggie, I'm one of the Northeastern visitors — central Connecticut, here. And I also want to echo Jesse's shout-out for the Willow/Tara goodness. I so wish Joss Whedon would go back to television. His comics are great, but I miss hearing that dialogue.

Jane Hathaway said...

hi back--from new jersey, usa, found you through heart, and am glad to read your excellent blog. -- sw

shadocat said...

Maggie, I may be your Missouri person----Shado

P.S. Congratulations on your book!

Maggie Jochild said...

Shado, you definitely ARE my "Missouri Person" -- in more ways than one!

Heya, Second Waver. Read yr excellent blog, and through it found the links to "Black and Missing but Not Forgotten" and the Megan Williams Fund, which I'm going to mention over at Maoist Orange Cake (blog cross-fertilization in action). Thanks for all your work!

Josiah, my guy: Joss Whedon is one of my heroes. I think "Firefly" ranks on a level with "West Wing" for brilliance in writing and character development -- men and women I LOVED, even Jayne (sometimes, especially Jayne). And you're right, his dialogue is something I've studied intensively for growth in my own writing. His extraordinary blending of Chinese idiom, especially profanity, with English technical terminology reminded me of the anthro underpinnings used by the greatest scifi writers, like Ursula K. LeGuin (i.e., Northern California and Northwest Coast tribal ways) and C.J. Cherryh. Utterly convincing and respectful.

Jesse Wendel said...

Maggie --

I intentionally did not send you over to GNB or give any link in my early comment, not even hinting really, figured if you were interested you'd look.

But now that you're like me, all freaking nutty right down to the very soul I don't have, not just over W/T (Amber Benson; *sighs*) but Joss & Firefly, and that you credit Joss specifically (me too!) as to helping you be who you are as a writer...well, hell, woman. I have ENORMOUS patience, but not for this. Jesus Christ, what do people expect of me, to hold off under these circumstances...

"She's a baby blogger Jesse. Yeah she's wonderful. Yeah she's great. Yeah she's all the things you and _____ say. But she's new, Jesse. You have to give her time, Jesse. You have to give her room to find her own voice, Jesse.

(Everyone starts talking to me with great intent, calmly and clearly, as if I'm a three year-old child in a standard transmission car parked on a steep driveway above a lake, both hands pushing on the stick-shift, or a student at the University just off his active duty Tour whom the asshole -- today we'd call him a cowardly wingnut chickenhawk with illusions of competence; then I just called him the fucking incompetent asshole who, wait for it, stole my teddy bear [actually, my teddy "mouse", a full-sized teddy-bear-like stuffed mouse that I'd had since I was a baby, had gone with me all through the military, was my childhood stuffed animal, and Tim, the [ya know, no slur or curse word really is strong enough here; I hate him forever and that's that. Tim G is simply scum and can not ever be forgive, Buddha be damned], stole it while I was off at college, may he rot in hell may his tiny little excuse for a male part never get up again even after he makes contact in the stalls with his "wide stance"] -- ...whom the asshole just discovered were stolen grenades and high explosives inside my sock and underwear drawer in the dorms and now literally has pissed and shit himself in fear. Just to pick two stories out of thin air which of course I'm simply making completely up and never ever actually happened, no no, nuh-uh, no ma'am, never, nope, no, not a chance, and, well, um, yeah, actually, yes.)

They talked to me, to me, a freaking retired paramedic & flight paramedic. Hell, I'm a retired ground & flight paramedic instructor. And they talked to me in that voice.

Gunkys.

"Talk to her too much and you'll scare her. Give her space and see how she develops on her own." Ah, screw it. Either you've got the goods or you don't honey-chile. We're talking Joss, Willow/Tara, and Buffy. What's a man to do, sit back and be quiet? I just can't...

I still won't put in a direct link (though clicking on my name takes you to my profile where it's one click to GNB.) Not the point.

Earlier this month I posted at GNB on Joss, Tara, BtVS Season 8 in comics, and being a fan v. a professional writer. Joss is one of three writers -- the first -- from whom I realized I too could write professionally, and by professionally, I mean, get paid. Also, a certain level of writing, which I'll call, turning it out on demand. A pro can turn out pages when called upon. Furthermore, a pro writes what their editor tells them to write, not necessarily what they want to write. I hadn't a frigging clue. I was a fan. And the twain may well never ever meet.

If you want to read the post, google for the keywords: "group news blog" joss whedon

You're a women after my own heart, Maggie. No doubt to perform a ritual, transplant surgery, or both simultaneously. *smiles sweetly*

Best,

Jesse "Doc" Wendel, Publisher
Group News Blog

PS. Interestingly, as I look at "GINNY BATES" and compare it to my first professional level work, "GURU TRAP" a screenplay (draft 1 completed) almost two years ago, then the final rewrite finished June 2007, Guru Trap is set in much the same time period and uses very similar principle character names. Also Willow& Tara. And Buffy on video tape as a major plot point.

Just reading your post (not having got to the actual excerpt, I thought I was in some kind of waking dream from the year plus rewrites to my screenplay)

Guru Trap - A Twisted Love Story
Written by Jesse Wendel

LOGLINE: The man everyone wants to f*ck, struggles desperately to overcome his life-long pattern of seducing, then breaking the hearts of young women, after his heart gets broken.

Guru Trap sits on my shelf, not because it isn't good, but because I am committed to directing. First time screenwriters don't get to direct their own work; they get to sell it. Which I could do but am simply unwilling to with this particular script.

In my massive spare time, in between my full time job, GNB as blogger, GNB as editor/publisher, & raising four children -- the three of constitute almost but not quite the whole of "having a life" -- daughter Kyle and I are mostly done working out the Story Outline of the next screenplay, built around a fantastically new idea called Boy Meets Girl. *grins*

The really cool part? The boy & girl are from two families very similar in their honor, but from opposite worlds. When our star-crossed lovers fall in love by accident in spite of their parents' ancient grudge, wacky fun times follow, ending in both lovers killing themselves, putting an end to the ancient feud of their parents.

Frankly Maggie, I'm shocked, shocked, no one has ever written this story line before. It seems so... natural somehow, almost as if this theme has roots going back centuries in every culture. Yet try as I might, I can't find any trace of anything like it either in the academic literature, movies or on the stage.

Great for Kyle & I of course, but leaves me wondering if there's just something we're missing, some writing somewhere on this Globe. Sphere... Shakes me up a bit, I'll tell you, waking me in the middle of the night dreaming of the fairies' midwife in shape no bigger than an agate stone on the finger of a corrupt Repbulican congressman from California caught in a weapons for votes scandal, a team of atomic engineers falsifying documents and snorting coke up their noses as we lie asleep.

I know dreams often lie but right now this dream I talk of, takes me away from posting. night is done and I shall post to late. *shrugs*

The only part I'm really struggling with Maggie, are character names. I know for example there's a cousin named Ty. (The name came to me in a vision.) And the romantic female lead looks remarkably like a young Claire Danes. No idea what that's about. But the names, the names... Ah, they'll arrive or surely I am fortune's fool.

Anyway, for Guru Trap the main names are:

Male Romantic Lead: David Ames
Female Romantic Lead: Dawn Bronson
Female Supporting Romantic: Holly Sperling
Female Supporting Romantic: Gillian "Jill" Novak

It would appear from your names you are a fan of the Old Man. You can modify the same search string from above by substituting in the Old Man's name and taking the secondary result, or simply use "Thank You Sir" in the string.

Anyway, I've still got three posts to get done tonight and I'm rambling. Oh...and also, damn you, your excerpt to read. Grrr. Would you just stop being so freaking good? I don't have time for this. Now go away. Back to your own site, woman.

Um...

Dark Daughta said...

Hullo,
I found you via Second Waver. I was born in barbados and live in toronto. I'm a huge fan of clustrmaps.

Anonymous said...

I'm a Berkeley person, but you knew that...
I'm picky about that....Don't like to just get lumped in as "bay area"

Maggie Jochild said...

Okey-doke, I just updated my list to reflect what folks have told me thus far. And Kat, I totally understand about the Berkeley-Oakland-East Bay thang. I lived in San Francisco for eight years, during which time we referred to it mostly as "The City" (as if there was only one) and everything else as regions, i.e., East Bay. Arrogance. When I decided to move to "the East Bay", I told all my city dyke friends I was moving to "the country". Once I got over there, however, my attitude changed.

I had the idea that you were on or close to the Berzerkely-OakLand border, is that correct?

There was a joke we "city dykes" loved to tell during the late 70s, a version of which I used in Ginny Bates -- completely reflects the times: How many East Bay Lesbian-separatist goddess-worshippers does it take to change a light bulb? A: That's not funny!