De Plane, De Plane

Okay, maybe it won't be a substantive entry after all. But at least I have some unusual pictures for you tonight.

The hanger, as a storm moves past.

We (that is, some co-workers and I) went on a field trip late this afternoon. We went out to the Executive Terminal area at Tucson International Airport, to a hanger where the two company planes are kept.

Two of my co-workers on the steps of the nicer plane

One of the pilots in the cockpit of the same plane

The traffic control tower.

I was in that tower, 20 years ago when I was in travel agent school.

I should probably tell you about the trip in some detail, about the long drive out there, the nice spread of food, the difference between the two planes, the entertainment possibilities on board, and what I saw on the drive back. But on the other hand, some of this probably falls under the terms of a non-disclosure agreement, either a formal one or my self-imposed one. So enjoy the pictures for now, and I'll revisit the subject later when I can work in some appropriate words.

Speaking of appropriate words, I've reached the last chapter of Heirs of Mâvarin in my editing, and yes, I crashed MS Word again. I'm convinced that my current version of Norton doesn't even have an equivalent of Disk Doctor. Shame on them! Anyway, I'm on page 494 and counting. And there I stop, at least for tonight!

Karen

The Karen Show

My office. Tonight John cut off the excess foam where the wall meets the ceiling.

At one point tonight, John and I were
both trapped behind furniture.

For some reason, I didn't feel like accomplishing anything much tonight. I read a little of a friend's novel in revision, enjoyed a bit of Scalzi's book on writing (nicknamed Coffee Shop), checked in from time to time on the debate over whether Barbara Bauer's deleted article on Wikipedia should be reinstated, watched House, helped John move things around in my office (see above), watched the second half of The Truman Show, and watched a Doctor Who two-parter from the Christopher Eccleston season that relaunched the show and the character.

You've heard of The Truman Show, right? Great film. For every moment of the thirty years since his birth, Truman, played by Jim Carrey, has been the only real person in an artificial world, interacting with actors while hidden cameras record his every move in the ultimate 24-hour a day reality show. Eventually he figures it out, rebels and escapes, undeterred by the tricks and arguments of the show's creator.

And it occurred to me, as Jim Carrey's character stepped out of the world created for him and into the real one, that we bloggers something in common with Truman. This is especially true of those of us who update one or more times a day. We're not generally the people with webcams, so it's not televised; but still we perform daily for the world. Unlike the character, I know pretty much exactly is going on, and I choose to do it, for a much smaller audience than his. Truman was manipulated by his Svengali, the Ed Harris character, who improvised the dialogue and situations. Me, I write my own scripts, but I also follow scenarios set by John Scalzi, whichever Robin has suggested the current photo challenge, and occasionally some other meme. And although you've probably never seen video of me, you've seen my picture. I'll be interested to see whether Scalzi recognizes me when I drive up to Phoenix next month for a book signing. Under his Law of Internet Invocation, I've probably just guaranteed that he will.

So what does that say about the modern world, when people like me look for something in their lives with which to entertain others online, night after night, for three years and counting? What does it say about us that a fee-charging literary agent is as famous for trying, unsuccessfully, to suppress unfavorable attention online as she is for being on the 20 Worst Agents list in the first place?

Beats me.

Karen