CVL-Caledon Literary Group Transcript for 2019-04-11
Virginia M Mohlere — The Thing in the Walls Wants your Small Change
| 16:50 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | Hi, Val |
| 16:50 | Valibrarian Gregg | hello! |
| 16:51 | Valibrarian Gregg | What a cool story :) |
| 16:51 | Valibrarian Gregg | TY for the discussion card |
| 16:52 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | It is a cool story. |
| 16:53 | Valibrarian Gregg | Just sent a few last minute reminders :) |
| 16:53 | Valibrarian Gregg | Welcome KayCooper good to see you |
| 16:53 | Valibrarian Gregg | and Edmund :) wonderful |
| 16:53 | KayCooper | Hello :) |
| 16:54 | Edmund Broek | Hello! What is the story? |
| 16:54 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | The thing in the walls wants your small change |
| 16:54 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | http://lunastationquarterly.com/story/the-thing-in-the-walls-wants-your-small-change/ |
| 16:55 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | Hi, Kay. :) |
| 16:55 | KayCooper | Hi Word :) |
| 16:55 | Edmund Broek | Thanks. |
| 16:56 | KayCooper | Hi Phrynne :) |
| 16:56 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | A few prompts in the large vase |
| 16:56 | Valibrarian Gregg | welcome Phrynne :) |
| 16:56 | Valibrarian Gregg | good to see you\ |
| 16:56 | Phrynne | hi -- waiting for everything to rez so I don't sit on anyone |
| 16:57 | Valibrarian Gregg | :) |
| 16:57 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | Hi, Phrynne. You made it. |
| 16:58 | Phrynne | Yes -- dinner was a little late today |
| 16:58 | Valibrarian Gregg | I think everyone prob has the story |
| 16:58 | Valibrarian Gregg | Title of our short story for the month is: The Thing in the Walls Wants your Small Change BY VIRGINIA M MOHLERE Access it here: http://lunastationquarterly.com/story/the-thing-in-the-walls-wants-your-small-change/ |
| 16:58 | Valibrarian Gregg | just in case |
| 16:59 | Valibrarian Gregg | Welcome Marcel |
| 16:59 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | Welcome, Marcel |
| 16:59 | Marcel Mosswood | Hello |
| 16:59 | Valibrarian Gregg | We are just about to begin and you can touch the golden vase in front of me for a discussion notecard. |
| 16:59 | KayCooper | Hi Marcel |
| 16:59 | Marcel Mosswood | This is my first time join here |
| 16:59 | Valibrarian Gregg | Wonderful! good to have you |
| 16:59 | Valibrarian Gregg | Does everyone have the link to the story? |
| 16:59 | Marcel Mosswood | thank you |
| 17:00 | Valibrarian Gregg | It was nominated for the 2019 Hugo Award--- science fiction |
| 17:00 | Valibrarian Gregg | I see in the discussion card--- it may be viewed as more fantasy than sci-fi |
| 17:00 | Valibrarian Gregg | I sure enjoyed it! |
| 17:01 | KayCooper | me too |
| 17:01 | Valibrarian Gregg | It felt very current- with the "cybersecurity" and face-timing her NANA grandma |
| 17:02 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | But, if it's considered for the Hugo Award, that's good enough to warrant our looking at it. And it's just too good a story to miss it. |
| 17:02 | Valibrarian Gregg | yes indeed |
| 17:02 | KayCooper | I like fantasy as well as sf anyway, so I don't mind a sf story that leans a little more fantasy |
| 17:02 | Valibrarian Gregg | The story builds so well.....you wonder what that scritch is! the sounds, etc- and then! You get a visual! |
| 17:02 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | And a decade or two ago, it would have been clearly sci-fi |
| 17:03 | Valibrarian Gregg | elaborate Wordsmith |
| 17:03 | Valibrarian Gregg | why a decade ago? |
| 17:04 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | I've been reading a book on writing by Sol Stein (an editor), he makes the point that you have to catch the reader's interest immediately or ... forget it. |
| 17:04 | Valibrarian Gregg | oh! the opening line sure caught my attention..."The penny was gone again." intriguing right away |
| 17:04 | KayCooper | Hi Teal |
| 17:04 | Teal Farlight | hi everyone |
| 17:04 | Valibrarian Gregg | Welcome Teal |
| 17:04 | Valibrarian Gregg | Teal- did you get a link to the story for tonight |
| 17:05 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | Cell phones have advanced from just being mobile telephones to being our reference machines. |
| 17:05 | Teal Farlight | yes, thank you |
| 17:05 | Valibrarian Gregg | There is a notecard for discussion in the golden vase in front of me too |
| 17:05 | Valibrarian Gregg | What did you all think of the writing style? |
| 17:05 | Marcel Mosswood | strange.. I can't find the book in the bookdepository (where I used to buy book with free shipping) |
| 17:05 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | Might be too recent |
| 17:05 | Valibrarian Gregg | oh- because it is a very short story? and very new |
| 17:05 | Marcel Mosswood | oh |
| 17:06 | Marcel Mosswood | how many pages? |
| 17:06 | Valibrarian Gregg | I loved the descriptions she used! Example: "painfully adorable coffee shops" |
| 17:06 | Valibrarian Gregg | Welcome Bonnie |
| 17:06 | KayCooper | Hi Bonnie |
| 17:06 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | Welcome, Bonnie |
| 17:08 | Bonnie Pfeffer | hi everyone |
| 17:08 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | Yes, Val, this was a great description: This ridiculous neighborhood that was like something out of a romantic comedy, with its painfully adorable coffee shops, blocks of grey stone townhouses, and ethnic restaurants entirely outside the dreams of most other people from Pointe Coupee Parish. |
| 17:08 | Valibrarian Gregg | yes- so clear and concise |
| 17:09 | Valibrarian Gregg | and the grandmother's voice (from far away back home) said much about her personality: "“Girl, you got house spirits with expensive taste,” she said, laughing. “That’s what you get, moving yourself where everything’s snow and concrete. Down here the house spirits know us. They miss you.” |
| 17:09 | Phrynne | Using "Parish" locates her as coming from Louisiana. |
| 17:09 | Valibrarian Gregg | yes- and the Thanksgiving food description made me think Cajun- Louisiana |
| 17:09 | Teal Farlight | i loved the way the narrator made the implausible seem real |
| 17:09 | Valibrarian Gregg | She wanted some cayenne pepper and oysters in the stuffing! |
| 17:10 | Valibrarian Gregg | absolutely- plausible (I suspended my disbelief!) |
| 17:10 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | Home cooking from her background region. |
| 17:10 | Valibrarian Gregg | yes- so much captured in so few words! |
| 17:10 | Valibrarian Gregg | impressive |
| 17:11 | Valibrarian Gregg | and.....the horrendous mother - has a build big up- but her arrival does not disappoint! wow |
| 17:12 | Marcel Mosswood | interesting! |
| 17:12 | Valibrarian Gregg | You know - it reminded me a bit of Toni Morrison's BELOVED- the ghost/ the supernatural |
| 17:12 | KayCooper | I like how the title suggests something ominous, but in the end, it's something rather adorable |
| 17:12 | Valibrarian Gregg | YES! The creature is described as unbelievably cute ;) |
| 17:12 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | And that seemed real. There are such people. |
| 17:13 | Valibrarian Gregg | I had empathy for the grandmother...and for Caro too |
| 17:13 | KayCooper | yes |
| 17:13 | Teal Farlight | the dragon's little noises were described so well |
| 17:13 | Teal Farlight | added to its character |
| 17:13 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | Rar rar. |
| 17:13 | Valibrarian Gregg | The grandmother saying, "“That it does. Don’t you let that snake I birthed hurt you all that way away. You go to your fancy job and show them how lucky they are to have you, and call me on the iPad on Sunday so I can see your face.” -- that made it seem so contemporary |
| 17:13 | Teal Farlight | :D |
| 17:13 | KayCooper | All it's motions and reactions were wonderful |
| 17:13 | Phrynne | and its protectiveness. |
| 17:14 | Valibrarian Gregg | Exactly! enough description to make that dragon come alive...it wouldn't get close to her at first. |
| 17:14 | Valibrarian Gregg | and it was cool that it smelled like copper (after getting all those coins!) |
| 17:14 | Teal Farlight | i enjoyed the way she explored which coins it would like the most |
| 17:14 | KayCooper | I liked how it stayed away for a few days when she told it not to be greedy |
| 17:14 | Bonnie Pfeffer | I'm wondering how big its gonna get, or if its gonna stay small |
| 17:15 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | And, think what it means for her grandmother to say that about her own daughter "That snake I birthed". |
| 17:15 | Valibrarian Gregg | good point Bonnie! |
| 17:15 | Valibrarian Gregg | and where its family might be? and are they friendly too? |
| 17:15 | Phrynne | There's no indication of how old it is... or how big its hoard might be. |
| 17:16 | KayCooper | I think it's just tiny |
| 17:16 | Bonnie Pfeffer | it seemed to come from a shadow dimension, because the hole in the wall disappeared |
| 17:16 | Valibrarian Gregg | Did you find it fascinating that the neighbors knew they had "protection"? |
| 17:16 | Valibrarian Gregg | very unusual protection |
| 17:16 | Phrynne | I liked that. Made me wonder what lived in the walls of some of the other apartments. |
| 17:16 | KayCooper | I didn't think it would be big enough for protection, but apparently it was |
| 17:16 | Valibrarian Gregg | shadow dimension...I like that Bonnie |
| 17:16 | Bonnie Pfeffer | maybe its big in its own dimension, but the dimension is really small compared to ours |
| 17:16 | Teal Farlight | the neighbor lady was pretty fierce too! |
| 17:17 | Valibrarian Gregg | I liked the reference to the kid's book THE BORROWERS - I loved that as a child |
| 17:17 | Teal Farlight | yes |
| 17:17 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | Well, big enough to delay the mother and make a lot of commotion. |
| 17:18 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | And Caro's comment that a book wouldn't have lasted long in her mother's environment. |
| 17:18 | Bonnie Pfeffer | that reminded me of that cartoon The Littles |
| 17:18 | Valibrarian Gregg | She figured she could probably hold it in her two cupped palms: it was the size of a kitten, the color of charcoal, with a triangle-shaped head and two greenish horn-things curling over the top. |
| 17:18 | Valibrarian Gregg | That is a concise description! |
| 17:18 | KayCooper | ...and I want one! |
| 17:18 | Valibrarian Gregg | hehehe |
| 17:18 | Teal Farlight | lol |
| 17:18 | Phrynne | It reminded me a bit of the little 'dust monsters' in My Friend Totoro, but a dragon version of one. |
| 17:19 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | Well, with animesh on the main grid....... |
| 17:19 | Valibrarian Gregg | The tiniest, cutest, most ridiculous dragon any person could imagine |
| 17:19 | Valibrarian Gregg | Dragons get a bad rap with all the smoke and fire |
| 17:19 | Edmund Broek | It *is* interesting that it's a dragon. |
| 17:20 | Phrynne | I might have expected a lot of things in Chicago, but a dragon wasn't one of them. |
| 17:20 | Bonnie Pfeffer | https://i.redd.it/r7ugv0mlbupz.jpg |
| 17:20 | KayCooper | I can picture it in the walls sleeping on its pile of coins |
| 17:20 | Bonnie Pfeffer | Armadillo girdled lizard |
| 17:20 | Valibrarian Gregg | Whoa! Bonnie- what a pic! |
| 17:20 | Phrynne | so cute! |
| 17:20 | KayCooper | adorable! |
| 17:20 | Valibrarian Gregg | and tiny! |
| 17:21 | Marcel Mosswood | Cute, Bonnie! |
| 17:21 | Valibrarian Gregg | Weaving Thanksgiving- with all the familiar connotations of family/football/fest- into the story was interesting too |
| 17:22 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | But having it be a dragon tied it to having a metallic hoard lust and having the family tradition of a threshold penny tied Caro to the dragon. |
| 17:23 | Valibrarian Gregg | HAH! yes- not your typical Thanksgiving |
| 17:23 | Valibrarian Gregg | but much to be Thankful for ;) |
| 17:23 | Valibrarian Gregg | getting rid of mama! |
| 17:24 | Teal Farlight | dragons are known for guarding treasure |
| 17:25 | Valibrarian Gregg | “Raaaaar,” it hummed softly. The dragon crept into her room, one foot at a time, peering up at the bed between steps, while Caro held herself completely still. |
| 17:25 | Valibrarian Gregg | That RRRRR kind a reminded me of a pirate! |
| 17:25 | Valibrarian Gregg | They love treasure and coins! |
| 17:25 | Bonnie Pfeffer | heh |
| 17:25 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | The dragon is kind of a pirate. |
| 17:26 | Valibrarian Gregg | ooh- how Wordsmith |
| 17:26 | Valibrarian Gregg | I never thought of the relation |
| 17:27 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | Put the right hat on it.... |
| 17:27 | Phrynne | Captain Jack Litttledragon! |
| 17:27 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | Ayep. |
| 17:27 | Valibrarian Gregg | and- that cute tiny creature could really ATTACK to protect!! |
| 17:27 | KayCooper | too cute |
| 17:28 | Teal Farlight | i thought it was strange that Nana didn't believe her at first |
| 17:29 | Teal Farlight | since Nana had taught her about the good luck coin |
| 17:29 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | Which says a lot about the relationship that developed between Caro and the dragonlet. She provided for it and it protected her. |
| 17:29 | Valibrarian Gregg | yes- and Nana definitely had supernatural beliefs- for protection |
| 17:29 | Phrynne | And no need for a "handsome prince". |
| 17:29 | Valibrarian Gregg | the attack was descriptive too: the dragon lept at Mama’s knees, banked off them, whirled around on the floor, and jumped again, making its squeaky growl the whole time. Its little claws stuck in Mama’s clothing while it climbed her, shrieking in a rasp. |
| 17:30 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | A step from intangible spirits to something quite tangible, but outside of normal experience. |
| 17:30 | Valibrarian Gregg | and fast!! The dragon moved so fast that sometimes it was a blur, crawling up and down Mama’s body, pausing only to head-butt her or bite. |
| 17:30 | Teal Farlight | love the head-butts |
| 17:31 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | yes |
| 17:31 | KayCooper | Small, but it would still be rather shocking to be attacked by it |
| 17:31 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | Sharp little claws and teeth. |
| 17:31 | KayCooper | Like being attacked by a very quick and angry kitten |
| 17:32 | Valibrarian Gregg | and the neighbor explains----“This is a safe place,” the neighbor said, staring up at Mama. “Protected. I don’t think you’re a very safe person. You should leave now.” |
| 17:32 | Bonnie Pfeffer | I imagine it would be like if a spider dropped on you and was crawling on you. I'd freak out |
| 17:32 | KayCooper | shudders |
| 17:32 | Valibrarian Gregg | even though the dragon is sweet and cute- that neighbor kind of creeped me out! Reminded me of a scene from Rosemary's Baby. ;) |
| 17:33 | Bonnie Pfeffer | haha |
| 17:34 | Valibrarian Gregg | Didn't you feel it represented what it is like to move to a totally new place- almost like culture shock? |
| 17:34 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | I didn't react to the neighbor that way. |
| 17:34 | Valibrarian Gregg | and then to find protection in something new and strange |
| 17:35 | Phrynne | it totally is culture shock, that big a move. But I didn't find the neighbor scary or weird at all. |
| 17:35 | Valibrarian Gregg | Must’ve been some kind of martial arts training. Anyhow, whatever the artist did to Mama’s elbow, Mama went down the stairs with her and out the door. |
| 17:35 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | More like this is someone who has lived through some tough times, and will battle anyone bringing that crap into her environment. |
| 17:35 | Phrynne | yes |
| 17:36 | KayCooper | Maybe when she said it was protected, she meant herself |
| 17:36 | Edmund Broek | Both of the protectors were much stronger/effective than one would expect. |
| 17:36 | Valibrarian Gregg | right! against a pretty rough character (aggressive) |
| 17:37 | Valibrarian Gregg | and how did you like the ending? |
| 17:37 | KayCooper | Loved it |
| 17:37 | KayCooper | The gold dollar coins |
| 17:38 | Valibrarian Gregg | https://www.usmoneyreserve.com/blog/the-inside-story-of-the-sacagawea-dollar/ |
| 17:38 | Teal Farlight | a fairy tale ending...happily ever after |
| 17:38 | Phrynne | The biggest, shiniest coins in current release. |
| 17:38 | Valibrarian Gregg | me too! the dragon will love them! |
| 17:38 | Phrynne | a nice change from post-apocalyptic tales. |
| 17:38 | Valibrarian Gregg | yes Phrynne |
| 17:38 | KayCooper | hopeful and sweet |
| 17:38 | Valibrarian Gregg | super creative too |
| 17:39 | Valibrarian Gregg | Fun to read contemporary writing this good |
| 17:40 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | One doesn't know the rate that dragons grow at or how big that species get, but for the near future both Caro and the dragon have mutual support. |
| 17:40 | Valibrarian Gregg | right! |
| 17:41 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | The ending was great; showing appreciation appropriate for a dragon. |
| 17:42 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | The author's descriptions were great in this one. Enough to give the reader a picture without going to laundry list detail. |
| 17:42 | Valibrarian Gregg | I wonder when the Hugo Award is announced |
| 17:42 | Phrynne | End of August, during the World Science Fiction Convention. I think it's in Dublin this year. |
| 17:43 | Valibrarian Gregg | Here is last yr http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2018-hugo-awards/ |
| 17:43 | Valibrarian Gregg | oh yes Phrynne- I notice that on the right side! |
| 17:44 | Valibrarian Gregg | I have read more sci fi since being in SL- I think it lends itself to the genre :) |
| 17:44 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | There's a list of other nominated short-stories. We'll look at that as well as other ideas for our next story. |
| 17:44 | Valibrarian Gregg | oh good! Just send me the next story whenever you have it picked OK? |
| 17:44 | KayCooper | So far the stories have been great |
| 17:45 | Valibrarian Gregg | I agree! |
| 17:45 | Valibrarian Gregg | I love that they are short enough for us to read each month |
| 17:45 | KayCooper | I've really enjoyed them |
| 17:45 | Valibrarian Gregg | and next month we will meet over at Caledon again |
| 17:45 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | And we've been able to hit some different cultural backgrounds. |
| 17:45 | KayCooper | I always liked the idea of a book club, but an entire novel can be a bit much to finish on time |
| 17:45 | Valibrarian Gregg | Tomorrow night we have our monthly book discussion- and it almost seems like a short story too! maybe a novella |
| 17:46 | Valibrarian Gregg | Title: The Call of Cthulhu By H. P. Lovecraft |
| 17:46 | Bonnie Pfeffer | yea this was a fast read and it was interesting from the start |
| 17:46 | KayCooper | Short stories like this are perfect |
| 17:46 | Valibrarian Gregg | Yes! Hard to commit to long books |
| 17:47 | KayCooper | ...especially since I have such a long to-read list |
| 17:47 | Valibrarian Gregg | If any of you are interested- we have an event here on MON at 5 as part of the Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Conference https://vwbpe.org/event/digital-citizens-around-a-community-drum?instance_id=5654 |
| 17:47 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | And this one was one that Phrynne had given me the like to a while back. |
| 17:47 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | link to. |
| 17:48 | Valibrarian Gregg | and tomorrow morning we are doing a preview of our CVL Hypergrid Resource Library in Kitely and Avacon--- if you are interested in other worlds |
| 17:48 | Valibrarian Gregg | Great story Phrynne! I can't wait to see what we get for next month |
| 17:51 | Valibrarian Gregg | Are any of you in other virtual worlds? Or just SL? |
| 17:51 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | With the Oxbridge VWBPE build done and RL taxes almost done, I'll be able to get back to putting the discussions up in the archive. |
| 17:51 | KayCooper | I'm only in SL |
| 17:51 | Valibrarian Gregg | oh wonderful Wordsmith- that is so helpful |
| 17:51 | KayCooper | Didn't know there were other ones |
| 17:51 | Phrynne | I'm just here. |
| 17:52 | Valibrarian Gregg | We plan to keep SL our main library branch- but exploring the open source worlds :) |
| 17:52 | Valibrarian Gregg | https://vwbpe.org/event/cvl-presents-hypergrid-resources-library-poker-run?instance_id=5650 |
| 17:52 | Marcel Mosswood | I was in Kitely |
| 17:52 | Teal Farlight | SL is my comfort zone :) |
| 17:52 | Valibrarian Gregg | We are kicking it off at the Nonprofit Commons tomorrow morning here in SL at 8:30am- with the tour starting after |
| 17:52 | Valibrarian Gregg | I understand that! It IS the best virtual world so far |
| 17:53 | Valibrarian Gregg | Wordsmith - the VWBPE build was awesome! Glad I got to go by and see it |
| 17:54 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | I search pictures of RL displays, until I found one that was not a box, relatively open, and relatively quick to make. |
| 17:54 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | searched |
| 17:55 | Valibrarian Gregg | brilliant! |
| 17:55 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | Using the front wall as a display screen was a last minute idea. |
| 17:55 | Valibrarian Gregg | So- we meet on the 2nd THURS which means May 9th next month |
| 17:55 | Valibrarian Gregg | oh that idea worked well! |
| 17:55 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | Won't work for me, I'll be in Alexandria VA. |
| 17:56 | Valibrarian Gregg | oh shall we move to a different day next month |
| 17:56 | Valibrarian Gregg | I don't mind as it is my daughter-in-law's birthday |
| 17:56 | Valibrarian Gregg | She may want to make plans |
| 17:56 | Valibrarian Gregg | We could do the 3rd THURS? May 16? |
| 17:56 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | We could push it back a week, yes. |
| 17:57 | Phrynne | works for me |
| 17:57 | Teal Farlight | sure |
| 17:57 | Marcel Mosswood | ok |
| 17:57 | Valibrarian Gregg | okay! and you can send me the story whenever you choose |
| 17:57 | KayCooper | noted for the 16th |
| 17:58 | Valibrarian Gregg | and it will be at Stonesedge outdoor meeting area |
| 17:58 | Valibrarian Gregg | I will drop a LM |
| 17:58 | Wordsmith Jarvinen | And thank you all for coming. A discussion wouldn't be the same without discussers. |
| 17:58 | Marcel Mosswood | thank you |
| 17:58 | Valibrarian Gregg whispers | thank you all! |
| 17:58 | KayCooper | Thanks for putting this together :) |
| 17:58 | Valibrarian Gregg | I must head out promptly as I am watching my grandson tonight! |
| 17:58 | Valibrarian Gregg | Take care and read on!!! |
| 17:58 | Marcel Mosswood | Thanks Val, see you next month |
| 17:58 | Valibrarian Gregg | See you next time :) |
| 17:58 | Valibrarian Gregg | good night all |
| 17:59 | Teal Farlight | great discussion |
| 17:59 | Edmund Broek | bye |
| 17:59 | Teal Farlight | night |
| 17:59 | KayCooper | Bye |
| 17:59 | KayCooper | Have a good evening everyone |
