by edward | Nov 25, 2021 | Fantasy/Science Fiction Art, Steampunk, Writing Prompts
“Annabel” by Sergey Gurskly, cross-posted to Eloquent Profanity.
“Annabel”
This lady speaks to me! A young woman in a naval uniform, with walking stick and straight sword. The gloves and high boots make this a “walking out” uniform rather than something worn for a social event. The artist is Sergey Gurskiy.
Fantasy Navy
Annabel gives me Steampunk-y vibes. The style is Victorian, rather than Regency. The artist paints the uniform in a Continental style. While she’s clearly not wearing a British uniform, it’s subdued, in the Royal Navy style. Using a French or Russian uniform as the base would mean more gold lace.
I’m interpreting the epaulette in the British style. It rests on her left shoulder. That’s the position for a Master and Commander, rather than a Post Captain. An officer “made post” wore the single epaulette on the right.
Additionally, I don’t think Annabel is a wet-navy officer. I see this and think, she commands an airship. Maybe not a line-of-battle craft, but a small, nimble, patrol ship. Think HMS Hotspur, one of Hornblower’s early commands.
Android proportions
Annabel stands guard on my Google Pixel 4 phone. the portrait orientation fits better with the phone than a landscape monitor. In the style of a “duet” on TikTok, it would be fun to place this officer next to an airship of appropriate size. Then she can wind in and out of the sky, observing enemy positions and forces. She flies in the vanguard.
Of course, I have no idea if Mr. Gurskiy approves of such things. While TikTok’s TOS permits collabs, artists usually prefer to present their art as finished pieces.
Pixel 4
My Google Pixel 4 performs well. While Twitter acts up since the latest Android upgrade, other apps do just fine. Additionally, T-Mobile works fine for me, with the exception of Uptown New Orleans. That’s not the phone’s problem. The service just sucks up there. I think it’s one of the reasons I shy away from coffee shops in that neighborhood.
by edward | Oct 23, 2021 | Fiction/Fiction Writing, Personal Log, Travel, Writing
Knowing what it means to miss New Orleans isn’t about the tourist stuff.
Knowing what it means…
It’s not always about Bourbon Street and Jackson Square. In so many ways, knowing what it means to miss New Orleans isn’t all that different from how others miss home. Bostonians don’t miss their “dirty water” as much as they miss a cannoli from a bakery in the North End, or sitting out on the sidewalk at a cafe in the Back Bay. You can make a list of similar experiences all over.
What struck me after two trips to Colorado over the last two weeks was conversation. I’ve been a denizen of coffee shops since the early aughts. After two-three weeks on the road, I sat down in a local place. I listened. I wrote. I regenerated my NOLA. A friend of mine would say, my New Orleans/Gentilly/Yat speech pattern neutralized when I was away for a couple of weeks, then returned within a couple of days at home.
Listening
It’s the best way to pick up a neighborhood vibe. Go to coffee shops in different neighborhoods for contrast. The PJ’s Coffee on Canal Blvd. attracts a different crowd than the CC’s on Esplanade. The former is a nexus of whyte people from Lakeview and cops. The latter is a gathering place for black movers, shakers, and influencers. Both teach you what it means.
Coffee shops in #themetrys also contribute to the whole. Those places are angrier now. With The Former Guy out of office, his voters in Jefferson Parish aren’t happy people. That leaves a dark aura over the coffee shops. While it’s helpful for writers to experience and understand the anger, those vibes also contribute to downward mood swings.
Neighborhoods
Lakeview and Faubourg St. John are quite different from the Quarter, Marigny, and the “sliver along the river.” Many black writers bring out the less-familiar parts of the city, as they relate experiences from growing up outside the white, middle-class areas that ignored and rejected them. Go sit out at the PJ’s Coffee by Lakefront Arena. Eavesdrop on SUNO faculty and UNO students while there. You’ll find a totally different world than hanging out on Oak Street, Uptown.
by edward | Dec 4, 2020 | Talents Universe, Writing
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by edward | Apr 27, 2020 | NaPoWriMo, Verse
Familiar
Were you really that small
At one time,
You silly Maine Coon?
I wonder, glancing at photos
Of a friend’s newly-gotcha
Kitten.
We gotcha-ed you
At almost four months,
You silly Main Coon
When a tiny furball
Would curl up in a lap.
Then your mane grew out,
And your bird-chirp started,
You silly Maine Coon,
Distinguishing you from the
Ginger kitty who came home
With you on the same day.
Any wistful thoughts of
Tiny kittens vanish,
As the internal motor winds up,
Volume increasing,
Chirping for attention.
Demands for cuddles require
Immediate response,
Reminding me that you are
My Familiar,
You silly Maine Coon.
©2020 Edward J. Branley
by edward | Apr 27, 2020 | NaPoWriMo, Verse
Appropriation
Songs about gay sex,
Songs popular in discos,
Songs sung by a lesbian
To her partner.
All end up co-opted by
White conservatives
Blissfully unaware
Of their origins.’s
Sometimes it’s the tune,
Sometimes the lyrics, that
Transcend origins, sparking
Deep feelings
In people who would burn,
Lynch,
Destroy the songwriter,
Because they don’t live
Their life
In lockstep with them.
Striking the feels isn’t
Usually how it works.
Ofttimes, a song gets appropriated
By people so arrogant
They believe everything belongs to
Them and Theirs
Earlier generations of Americans
Called it,
“Manifest Destiny.”
by edward | Apr 26, 2020 | NaPoWriMo, Verse
Writing Under the Q Flag
Get up.
Get out!
Fresh air on
The coffee shop patio.
Handshakes become
Elbow bumps, eventually
Turning into cautious waves
From six feet away.
The solitary runner
Continues her routine
But what of the writer,
Used to that particular table
On the coffee shop patio?
Sitting at the table
At home,
In the kitchen,
Making her own coffee.
The lack of activity,
Of cars,
Buses,
Trains,
Even the bloody garbage truck!
The quiet of the kitchen
Dries up
Inspiration and motivation.
TV off.
Computer goes to screen save.
Phone on desk
In the other room.
Chair by the window
Pen in hand.
Slow realization
There are things
In the neighborhood
Equally inspiring.
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