March 2006 Archives

Welcome to Week 2, which tells of the second sally our heroes made from their native land. The first week featured a frenzied dialog, particularly on the heated subject of magnets v. mugs. Speaking of which, it looks like around 26 people are currently mug-net qualified. Gadzooks!

I enjoyed the first week's read. There's a gentle rhythm to this book -- the smallish chapters, the amusing misunderstandings, the occasional unexpected references to dwarves. And it's good to be back in DM mode, finding 15 minutes here or there to read the day's allotment.

A question to throw out there for Week 2: Now I'll stipulate that Don Quixote is "the first modern novel." But I don't really know what that means. Anyone care to shed a little light on what defines the modern novel, compared to everything that came before it?

Next Wednesday: Let's crash past page 100 (Grossman) and meet up at the end of Chapter XV.

Bladed stars
shuriken with bright black tips
spread out wide against soft cassis cardboard like bats
behind a glass case.

I'm shopping from a safe distance.
Five feet back, where the merchant
can't catch my breath.

Ten minutes or so and
now my sneakers have set
into the muddy tire treads of this rained out road.

The morning's bagel keeps me warm.
I'm not really shopping.
Just standing still.

Bladed stars, grant me ninja speed.
Focus.
Precision.

He said "ta da"
because he wanted them to spot
the magic. The unicorn and its twisting horn.
The wand and its wand rainbows
all spark to celebrate
that spreadsheet.

tipped too soon

how was I to know

your service
would suck                       so

Welcome to the Don Quixote Deathmarch, Week 1. This is our fourth 'march, and I'm so excited, well, I honestly just can't hide it. So I won't even try.

We've got a potentially huge crew along for the ride, including some first-timers from around the country. We may even have a few high schoolers amongst us. To all of youse newcomers, let me encourage you to dive right into the comment-stream. (Just hit the "Whaddya think?" link on the lower-right of each entry -- any questions on that, drop me a line at vortex@mediajunkie.com.)

Other words of wisdom? Well, don't sweat it too much if you fall behind. Everyone does at one point or another. And of course, if you've read the book before, be kind to the rest of the crew by focusing comments on what we've read to-date. Sure, you say. That's all fine and good. But what about...

...prizes?

Excellent question! On the very first Deathmarch, we tantalized weary wanderers with visions of "I Survived the Gravity's Rainbow Deathmarch" mugs. And at this very moment, said mugs are winding their way through the countryside, en route to the lucky winners. OK, so it took me a year. But these are fabulous mugs.

This go-around, we're offering genuine 2.25" "I Survived the Don Quixote Deathmarch" magnets for folks who make it through and comment every week. No need to write essays to qualify -- any old shout out will do.

UPDATE: Amazingly, two patrons of the arts have appeared and offered to help underwrite prizes. So we're upgrading those magnets to genuine DQDM mugs [capped at, let's say, 30 winners] for folks who finish the book during the DM and post on every entry, every week!

Thanks a lot for coming along. Have fun out there. Stay frosty. And I'll see ya at the next bend in the road.

Next Wednesday: Let's meet up at the end of Chapter VI, just before "the second sally."

It's been a while since the last track on ye olde Virtual LP. Much as Monkey Vortex Radio Theater is starting to crackle back to life, and a new Deathmarch is nearly upon us, I'm starting to find a little time here and there to mess around with music once agin'.

So here's a micro-tune, written and recorded today for the littlest Vortices. It was Photo Day at school. A magical day, I think we can all agree. And one well worth celebrating.

Thanks for listening, -CV

time: 29 seconds; specs: 470K
Press Play to play.

Brand new Monkey Vortex Radio Theater mayhem, now available for your free and easy downloading funtime. This week: Warm Honey.

Hi all,
As previously intimated, the Don Quixote Deathmarch does in fact loometh. In fact, it so loometh that we even have a start date: Wednesday, March 22 (meaning we aim to open the cover that day).

Looks like we may well have a good-sized group, including several first-timers. Should be fun (and grueling, but also fun). If you're interested and looking to pick up a copy, most of us will be reading the new translation by Edith Grossman, and that's what page references will refer back to.

For them what are new to the DM world, here's basically how it works:

Every Wednesday I'll post something right here on your computer screen laying out how far we'll be marching that week (usually around 50 or 60 pages). Over the next 7 days, folks drop by and leave comments ranging from "owie" and "this hurts" to slightly more erudite analysis. And that's pretty much the whole idear. Week by week and nibble by nibble, we make our way through. And by the end, this weary band of wanders will have another of The Great Books flashing sparks deep within our brains.

Anyways, we'd love to have you along. In fact, consider yourself personally exhorted. And of course, feel free to bring a friend. The more, the marchier....

See you on the trail,
-Cecil

I used to be an otter.

Now I'm mostly.

Mostly just.

Odder.