Saturday, July 4, 2015

THE JANE DIARIES, #51

Blooretyrannus; in honor and recognition of the artistic innovations of Ronald Langley Bloore (1925-2009), Canadian painter and art historian. View his works at ronbloore.ca.
June 28, 2015

10:00 am: Over breakfast I watched some of Salerno's J. D. Salinger biodoc, which is excellent. I am finally resuming the description of the vomer; yesterday and the previous evening went to my part in the Birthday Party program for Jane’s 10th anniversary at the Burpee Museum. Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. was also there to give a talk on the science in the film Jurassic World.

10:37 am: Done with the vomer for the moment; resuming the palatine.

10:46 am: Time for some more Café con leche with coconut creamer and half-and-half.

11:01 am: Back to the palatine!

Music: Beethoven’s 5th et 6th.

11:55 am: Stop for a shower. I spent much of Friday and Saturday drafting the Table of Contents in order to obtain an accurate (as possible) word count of the manuscript for the publisher.

9:33 pm: Hunger is already carving at my insides so I’m starting with a plate of fresh mozzarella, slices of Pinot Grigio salami, garlic-stuffed olives, and a 200 mL bottle of Sanpellegrino Chinotto.

Music: as earlier.

I stopped by the office earlier to photograph the rapid prototype cranium in ventral view.

10:23 pm: Stomach is tortured by hunger again; I’ll stifle it with retsina!

10:35 pm: I’m effectively done for the night.

740 pages reached; revising page 315.

Night thoughts among tyrannosaurs
Symbols dead
Signals born
Demon,
I drive you.
You’re just one world
O my kingdom for a door
To shut you out.

June 29, 2015

9:47 pm: Back to work on the palatine!

10:12 pm: Dammit – hunger gnaws again.

10:16 pm: Hopefully tortilla rounds and seltzer water will work.

Music: Beethoven’s 5th et 6th.

10:50 pm: Time for a glass of retsina. I worked on the hemal arch figures in photoshop earlier today, and I have worked on them intermittently over the past several weeks when the situation and time permits. I spent several hours today filing reprints away into the cabinets, and I’ve cleared out my work area of boxes.

I finally have elbow room and a space that I can work with, with three large tables: one to work at with a desktop computer and flatscreen monitor, with plenty of space for casts, lamps and reprints; a large coffee table for wireless tech, desktop CPU, CD player/radio, and printer/flatbed scanner; and a long and low coffee table for my notebooks, and stacks of books and journals that pertain to the projects I am currently working on.

Overall, it’s an ideal arrangement; there’s even enough space – and a chair – to receive a guest. It’s as much a parlor as a study, which is what I’ve aimed to make out of this room from the start. Regardless, there’s plenty of boxes to empty and many bookshelves to purchase and fill before that. Presently I’m backing up my latest work onto the external hard drive.

742 pages reached; revising page 316.

June 30, 2015

9:16 pm: Back to the manuscript after a day busy with preparations for the field, and a photo shoot for the book jacket. I now resume the palatine. It was an early start to the day, so I am powering myself with a cup of coffee.

10:04 pm: Fading fast, despite the coffee.

743 pages reached.

July 1, 2015

9:14 pm: Back to the palatine. Another day nearly completely erased that has left my mind slow and labored.

10:13 pm: Bloody Hell – my stamina’s flagging already.

745 pages reached; revising page 323.

Night thoughts among tyrannosaurs
Of the plume & languor:
A Gwendolyn kingfisher
In a Dickinson jar
& the cigarette dot
Swung across Night’s snowy occellations
By the fish hook lacquers
You're not ready now
but you will be later;
Thou shalt have no deities
Before you,
Thou shalt keep your heel
Upon the death’s head,
Thou shalt accept the Universe
Before your fantasies,
Thou shalt slay religion
Enter history
& murder thyself,
Daily.

July 2, 2015

9:48 pm – 10:48 pm: Red-inked the hard copy of the ms; in the midst of the dentary teeth.

July 3, 2015

Today was wiped out by preparations for the field; we leave for southeastern Montana on the 7th. I am left exhausted. Sent off to sleep by the biodoc Jack Kerouac: King of the Beats.

July 4, 2015


8:54 pm: A relatively early start, but the day’s had an early beginning spent to prepare lectures and labs for the field course. I can feel that I’m flagging, so I’ll start with the red ink and bring the vomer closer to completion. A new month, so it’s time to save this as a new draft, for July 2015.

9:09 pm: Red ink done for the vomer; now that for the palatine.

9:41 pm: Making good headway through the palatine red ink revisions, but hunger strikes again.

10:00 pm: Hopefully tortilla rounds, olives, and lemon-lime seltzer water will hold me for a while.

10:08 pm: Just completed the last of the red ink for the palatine; although there are some loose threads in the description, I am too fatigued to face writing them tonight. I’m going to go upstairs to chill some water in the freezer in preparation for some La Fée (Absinthe Parisienne) later tonight. I’ll decide how to proceed once I return.

10:14 pm: The next bone in line is the ectopterygoid, but I don’t want to start revisions to it until I am completely done with the palatine. Ergo, I will continue with the red inking of the dentary teeth descriptions.

Music: Beethoven’s 2nd and 4th.

10:49 pm: Stopping at the 15th dentary tooth; time for La Fée!

Night thoughts among tyrannosaurs
The poisoned cloak has burned me
To your bosom