Our Super Secret Guest is...

Elise Matthesen

by Brenda Sutton


So let me 'splain...

We're not superstitious, no...but the thriteenth GAFilk experienced a series of unsettling circumstances, starting with Seanan McGuire losing her origianal backup band, and culminating with a wallapalooza of an ice storm that kept many at the con for two extra days. In the middle there, our Super Secret Guest, Patrick Nielsen Hayden and and his wife Teresa found themselves unable to attend, and therein lives our tale.

Not only was GAFilk going to be Patrick and Teresa's first filk con, but it was going to be their friend Elise’s first filk con, too. We all met "for real" in Australia at the WorldCon. (I say “for real” because I’d been communicating with and following Elise’s Live Journal since the tragic and untimely death of her dearest dear, John “Mike” Ford in 2006. Elise wrote a hauntingly beautiful love poem about their relationship that she graciously allowed me to publish in the Mythic Passages e-magazine. I urge you to go read it here, but take a box of tissues when you do. Since then, I’d been lurking over her website, watching her bravely wrestling with grief and gracefully getting on with life.) When GAFilk chose Patrick as our Super Secret Guest, he mentioned that Elise might be coming along, too. I was over the moon!

We were all looking forward to a bang-up GAFilk, hearing Patrick's music with The Deaftones, Teresa and Elise, backing him up. Elise flew out from Minneapolis to NYC, and the three of them planned to travel down to Georgia together. Then on Wednesday night Elise suffered a stroke. Fortunately, Teresa recognised the symptoms and they rushed her to a hospital, spending the weekend and then-some at her bedside until she was well enough to travel home. Naturally, we were all worried sick, and so very sad that they weren't coming to GAFilk, but grateful that Patrick and Teresa had been there to help. We were also very glad to learn that, because of their swift efforts, Elise suffered no lasting side affects from the stroke, and recovered swiftly. We were even happier when Patrick volunteered to come to GAFilk this year.

SO...when we started hunting for this year's Super Secret Guest, it seemed to us that Elise was the perfect choice. The Deaftones will ride again, and you'll finally get to meet the charming and talented Elise Matthesen. She is an exceptional jewelry artist. (Elise designed the famous tiara that graces the heads of John W. Campbell Best New Writer Award winners, including our own Seanan McGuire.) (Digression: She brought all her jewelry-making equipment Down Under for the Worldcon in Australia but, because of Customs restrictions, was not allowed to sell any of her beautiful pieces. So...she gave them away. This speaks miles to the character of this lovely woman. Not only was she just handing out her exquisite work, but, as is her custom, she was also naming each piece. At this year's GAFilk banquet I'll be wearing a lovely pair of amethyst crystals with silver full moons named “That Second Drink With the Man in the Moon”.)

Not only is Elise an accomplished artist, but she's also a talented poet who writes quite a bit of parody filk, too. Check out Elise's Live Journal for many delightful examples. She's a fine singer, as you'll all soon find out. When we asked her what she'd like to do at GAFilk, Elise suggested group a capella singing, and started right in compiling a songbook for us all to enjoy. What can we say...perfect fit.

Tomorrow is December 1st, and that means the membership price for Gafilk goes up. Get your membership in the mail today, or send it in via Paypal from our website, http://www.gafilk.org/

We have Vixy & Tony, Scott Snyder, Pug and Shaya, and a super secret guest whom we will reveal tomorrow. :) Plus, the release of Play It With Moxie's first CD, and all the usual festivities!

Looking forward to seeing everyone in January!

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I'm not sitting in front of it, so I don't know what specific picture is up this precise moment, but it rotates through a set of some of my favourite photos of my sweeties. That way whenever I show my desktop, I see a picture of someone I love who makes me happy.

When I was sixteen years old, I bought my first guitar. It was a 1982 Rickenbacker solidbody electric, and I got it for a steal of a price. Unfortunately, I didn't have anyone to really teach me how to play it, and I was pretty useless at teaching myself. A couple of years later, in need of quick cash, I sold it to a friend right before I moved to Georgia.

I had always regretted this, and said one day I'm going to get another guitar and learn to play it. But I put it off, and I put it off, and I put it off some more. Sooner or later, I said, there will be time and money for it.

In 1998, a near-death experience reminded me that there won't always be time to get around to things, and I might want to think about not putting off those things I really want to do with my life. So once I was adequately recovered, I went out and bought a new guitar, a Fender DG10/12 12-string acoustic. And I signed up for a group class at the nearby MARS music store, and learned to play it well enough, and set about learning to play songs I liked and actually performing at filks and filkcons. 13 years later, I'm an adequate if unexceptional accompanist.

Still, there's a part of me that still has an itch for electric music. When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always say "I wanted to be a rock star. In many ways, I still do." So yesterday, I went down to Guitar Centre to take advantage of a good coupon I had and picked up a cheap electric guitar and a small amp. It's an Epiphone Les Paul Studio, and it's very very pretty.

(While I was there, I also test drove a much more expensive acoustic: a Taylor 8-string baritone. It took an immense amount of willpower and a reminder of what I'd already committed funds to over the next few months not to change my plans, because dear lord I sounded good playing it. But I digress...)

I've been playing around with it for the last 12 hours. First impressions: I love the sound of it. I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with it. Good grief, I don't know how to play it. :)

It's a whole new ride. Let's make some noise.

Just a reminder that the online balloting for this year's Pegasus awards ends Monday night. So if you haven't yet cast your vote, you have just two days left to do so!

You will find the ballot at http://www.ovff.org/pegasus/2011finalballot.html

For a cloudy day with the first promise of autumn (via browngirl and tigerbright and bercilakslady)

Leave me a comment with the corresponding number(s) and (within
reason, and very briefly) I'll tell you:

1. Five ways to my heart.
2. Something I feel strongly about.
3. A book I love.
4. Things I want to say to an ex.
5. Five pet peeves.
6. What I ate today.
7. How important I think education is.
8. I'll put my music player on shuffle and write the first ten songs that play.
9. Five people whom I find attractive.
10. My opinion about my body and how comfortable I am with it.
11. What I wore today.
12. My zodiac/horoscope and if I think it fits my personality.
13. Something I always think "what if..." about.
14. Something that I'm proud of.
15. A problem I have had.
16. Five items I lust after.
17. My fears.
18. How I hope my future will be like.
19. Something that I miss.
20. Five words/phrases that make me laugh.
21. Something I'm currently worrying about.
22. Things I like and dislike about myself.
23. A quote I try to live by.
24. Somewhere I'd like to move to or visit.
25. Five weird things that I like.
26. One thing I'm excited for.
27. Responders choice. (i.e. something not already on this list.)

Feeling pretty good this morning. Got up by 8am to see kitanzi off to her new job, got 25m in on the treadmill (15m running), and still have two hours before I have to show up for work.

Spent the weekend being exceptionally lazy. Made a trip to Fry's to pick up a couple of things, watched a few episodes of "Stephen Fry In America", and poked around for a video game that might hold my interest for more than 15 minutes.

Short week this week, as we're getting a four-day weekend for Labour Day. No Dragon*con for me, though if there's an AIE and/or Tadpool meetup that's happening outside the badge perimeter, I might be willing to pop down for that.

Reposing from kitanzi. Feel free to RSVP here or there.

We still haven't decided a date for movie night, but we are gonna do a Firefly marathon tomorrow for anyone interested. Not Serenity, Firefly - Wash Lives!

Show up around 11 and we'll keep running them until everyone's sick and tired of it! (One cat, no indoor smoking, bring snacks if you want but we will have food - no one's going hungry in this house if I can help it! :) )

[If you need directions, just drop a note here or email me at autographedcat at gmail dot com.]

Earlier tonight, the power went out. Our whole block was apparently affected, despite the fact that it wasn't unusually hot and there wasn't a cloud for miles. After about an hour, the power came back up.

My computer didn't.

it would boot up normally as far as starting windows, and then just went to a light blue screen. No text, no errors, no...anything. I tried unplugging everything except the video lead and power, thinking it might be a misbehaving USB device (this has happened in the past), but no luck.

To be fair, my video card has been acting a bit flaky of late, so I was beginning to suspect that it might be in need of replacement soon. In the meantime, I rummaged around in my desk drawer and managed to extract a replacement.

So I'm currently up and running on an nVidia GeForce 7600 GT, a video card that was state of the art when I bought it six years and two computers ago.

Ah well. I get my first paycheque on June 15th, and then I can see about getting something that will at least let me finish Portal 2. (Sometime in the not-too-distant future, I planned on replacing the entire system, but what I want costs a bit more than I'm ready to just drop yet, especially with at least three out of state trips in the next few months.

What is the metric equivalent to the word "mileage"? Kilometreage sounds dreadful and kludgy, but I'm not entirely sure what the appropriate analogue would be.