John C. Wright ([info]johncwright) wrote,
@ 2009-08-26 19:30:00
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She Who Must Be Obeyed has Commanded Friday Postings
My beautiful and talented helpmeet, Mrs. John C. Wright, having noticed that I am overdue both for a fiction book and a non fiction book, has conspired with my Jesuit confessor, Father de Casuist that I limit my posting to Fridays.

I react with umbrage! How dare my meek and unassuming wife give me, John C. Wright, absolute lord and master of my own house, an order!

I will go talk with her this instant, and the matter will be drawn to a definite conclusion!


Like all well-domesticated husbands, I tremble and obey. Last time I was uppity, she almost had me thrown into the pit of doom conveniently placed before her throne of absolute power.

You can see the scene from the film clip above, photographed by our home security system. You might wonder why I, John C. Wright (a) look like Count Dooku the Evil Jedi and (b) am the one kneeling and fawning, if I am the absolute master of my house. The answer is simple. (a) I do not look like Count Dooku, I look like Saruman of the Many-Colors, the Evil Istari. (b) I am fawning and bowing so as not to get thrown into the conveniently-placed pit of doom. Ask any married man how this works.


Another clip from our security camera shows Mrs. Wright giving some of our domestics a "lesson in obedience." Now, before you judge her harshly, keep in mind three things:

(1) our domestic servants were planning to sacrifice and eat Leo Vincey, the reincarnation of Callicrates. That horrible Leo Vincey! How I despise him! It is I, Saruman of the Many Colors, and not some blond interloper, who deserves the secret of ultimate power, hidden in Sammath Naur, the cavern of living flame! and

(2) a clever safety feature installed on the conveniently-placed Pit of Doom replaces anyone thrown into it with an unconvincing stuffed dummy, even while his screams continue, so no actual Bedoun cannabals where harmed during the filming of this lesson in obedience. As I recall, the evil version of the Archangel Metatron installed this safety system, after he read in a Pullman novel of the dangers involved when evil-but-beautiful women have access to convenient Pits of Doom.

(3) how else could she hold her soldiers and these pathetic creatures as her subjects? How else but by instilling fear and terror into their very souls? Ask any mother raising small children and large husbands how this works.

You may also wonder why Peter Cushing, otherwise known as Dr. Van Helsing, Vampire Hunter, was the Wright household during these events. I am wondering that too. He keeps giving me odd looks and straining to examine my canine teeth.



(30 comments) - (Post a new comment)


[info]bojojoti
2009-08-27 12:39 am UTC (link)
Would it be presumptuous of me to notice that this post is being made on a Wednesday?

*sigh* It's so hard to rule, what with peasant rebellions.

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[info]arhyalon
2009-08-27 03:10 am UTC (link)
Thanks because I told him he should inform everyone as to why he wasn't posting more regularly.

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[info]bojojoti
2009-08-27 04:40 am UTC (link)
It's so easy to let the computer steal us away from needful pursuits.

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[info]arhyalon
2009-08-27 10:59 am UTC (link)
Exactly! ;-)

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Peasants
[info]montecristo
2009-08-27 04:14 am UTC (link)
Count De Monet: It is said that the people are revolting.
King Louis XVI: You said it. They stink on ice!

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[info]kokorognosis
2009-08-27 01:12 am UTC (link)
Good! Get writing! I demand space opera!

Although, I'll miss the LJ posts. >.>

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[info]xander25
2009-08-27 01:47 am UTC (link)
Don't forget you promised us a review of Star Trek :p

"I will write a review in the near future. Until then, let me merely add one more pair of hands to applaud what turned out to be a very, very pleasant surprise."
- http://johncwright.livejournal.com/248317.html

Though, if you're working on your next book (and still awaiting that non-fiction work), I suppose we can forgive you.

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[info]arhyalon
2009-08-27 03:11 am UTC (link)
Oh, good point! I'll remind him when Friday comes.

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[info]melodyv
2009-08-28 06:00 am UTC (link)
Forget Star Trek, what about District 9? Great plot, character development, meaningful social value, and jammed packed with entries from the "Table of Awesoments."

I'd say your husband is lucky to have someone to drag him off the net though. I wish it were the same for me, I could really use the help. ^_^

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[info]arhyalon
2009-08-28 11:38 am UTC (link)
We haven't seen District 9 yet. We're still trying to see Ponyo.

John's finally started getting some writing done. I'd like to see him get somewhere with it without distractions!

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[info]melodyv
2009-08-28 12:07 pm UTC (link)
LOL, that I can understand. It's charming and good for kids, although not quite the quality of Howl's Moving Castle or Spirited Away. Any chance to see a Miyazaki film on the big screen ought to be taken.

And we all want that next book. From both of you. ^_^

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[info]xander25
2009-09-01 01:47 am UTC (link)
Ponyo was great :) And so was District 9 (though to this fanboy, not as great as Star Trek).

"Prospero in Hell" better be out soon... When I first stumbled on Mr. Wright's books, I was lucky enough that most of them were out so I could go out and purchase them as I finished reading... But now...

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[info]melodyv
2009-09-01 03:29 am UTC (link)
I did NOT like the new Star Trek, and I've been a trekkie since I was eight. It had to many plotholes, they didn't even try to make Chris Pine resemble Captain Kirk, and the creators and actors boasted of their contrariness.

Spoiler:
I'm also someone who has had a vivid dream of ascending Mt. Seleya. In my dream I gazed at its shining snow-crowned peak, gleaming like a diamond amidst the vast, arid landscape. That's how much I love the planet Vulcan and hated to see it destroyed.

District 9 and Moon made up for it in some ways though.

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[info]xander25
2009-09-01 04:13 am UTC (link)
"I did NOT like the new Star Trek, and I've been a trekkie since I was eight. It had to many plotholes, they didn't even try to make Chris Pine resemble Captain Kirk, and the creators and actors boasted of their contrariness."

Me too (I've been a trekkie since at least 8, maybe 7). On the Kirk issue, we disagree. He exhibited the same brazenness (but intelligent brazzeness), "don't accept no as an answer" attitude that I so loved about the original Kirk.

"Spoiler:
I'm also someone who has had a vivid dream of ascending Mt. Seleya. In my dream I gazed at its shining snow-crowned peak, gleaming like a diamond amidst the vast, arid landscape. That's how much I love the planet Vulcan and hated to see it destroyed."

The loss of Vulcan was a cause for mourning to be sure. I felt a similar reaction when they killed Rachel Dawes in "The Dark Knight". I loved the character, because through her we got to see an innocent side of Bruce Wayne that might otherwise have been absent. However, it was well done, and worked to good effect. On one hand, it tipped the scales and showed the evilness of Harvey Dent, as he went from a good man of the law to a murderer. On the other it showed the principled goodness of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The same can be said for Vulcan. It will test every ounce of logic/emotional control within the Vulcan soul to rebuild their society, and is so large an event as to be an effective reboot of the series.

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[info]melodyv
2009-09-01 04:47 am UTC (link)
I guess you could see it like that. But to me, it's much worse than killing Rachel Dawes, it's more like if they made a reboot of Star Wars and killed off Leia in the first movie.

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[info]mrmandias
2009-08-27 03:15 am UTC (link)
Order, discipline, and rule
must be the tools.

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H. Rider Haggard!
[info]montecristo
2009-08-27 03:55 am UTC (link)
Yes. Classic literature, indeed, classic cinema too. This is the color version from 1965: Ursula Andress, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing — what a line-up. Have you ever seen the 1935 version, with Nigel Bruce and Randolph Scott?

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[info]intheyear2004
2009-08-27 05:38 am UTC (link)
Obeisance is very becoming in a husband! ;-)

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[info]intheyear2004
2009-08-27 10:17 am UTC (link)
Mrarr, I meant "obedience", of course. Sorry, wasn't quite awake yet.

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[info]marycatelli
2009-08-27 02:37 pm UTC (link)
Obeisance can be nice, too.

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[info]intheyear2004
2009-08-28 05:38 am UTC (link)
Cherry on the cake. :-D

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[info]arhyalon
2009-08-28 08:33 pm UTC (link)
He's not particularly obedient...but he is cooperative. ;-)

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[info]watervole
2009-08-27 07:37 am UTC (link)
I saw a study this week (cannot find the link now, but I think it was on the BBC page) showing that access to the internet at work often increases productivity. For the kind of people in creative jobs, it allows them to let the mind drift for a few minutes when they need a mental break from concentration.

It was an increase of around 7-9% and applied to a reasonable % of people (though there were a minority who got hooked and overdid it)

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[info]princejvstin
2009-08-27 09:26 am UTC (link)
I so wish this movie (SHE) were available on DVD.

That said, more Space Opera would be good. (admittedly, still working on reading your backlist anyway. Just saying...)

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[info]mmcshrry
2009-08-28 02:17 am UTC (link)
Warner Archives just released this title, SHE (1965) this August. Either as a $15 download or $20 Widescreen DVD.

http://www.wbshop.com/She-+EST-MOD/1000113351,default,pd.html?cgid=MOVIEARCHIVE

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[info]princejvstin
2009-08-28 09:06 am UTC (link)
I'd heard about this program from WB where they were releasing old movies as on demand movies, but they must have just put SHE on the list (it wasn't there last time I checked).

Wow, I am so going to have to buy this. Thanks!

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[info]simonbob
2009-08-27 01:50 pm UTC (link)
Putting the pit o' doom right in front of the throne like that is not only impractical, but also bad feng shui. My employer used to have it like that, but the managers kept falling in before they could give the weekly numbers (as opposed to after, when it would've been appropriate.) We tried a few different configurations, including a brief stint where it was on the ceiling, but what we eventually settled on was placing it off to the left side of the throne, which is now mounted on a swiveling platform for the local obeyable to turn and observe at her pleasure. It's balanced by a grove of assorted miniature fruit trees to the right, giving a cool "karmic life and death" vibe to the whole ensemble, and we covered the hole in the ceiling with the receipts of slain vendors.

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Feng Shui for Dark Lords
[info]johncwright
2009-08-27 04:48 pm UTC (link)
I rejoice in the concept of Feng Shui for Dark Overlords (or, in this case, beautiful-but-evil Dark Overladies). Had only Palpatine, the Evil Emperor from Star Wars consulted his Feng Shui advisers, he would not have had that conveniently-placed pit of doom in his own throne room in the Death Star. Of course, in that case, the Pit of Doom was atomic rather than lava-based, but I am sure the Feng Shui principles are the same.

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[info]flaminphonebook
2009-08-27 11:14 pm UTC (link)
I always presume that a day without an LJ post is another chapter (page? paragraph? comma?) in a book to come. I'm particularly keen to peek at the non-fiction.

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It's Friday . . . You Know What That Means
[info]niallmor
2009-08-28 06:38 pm UTC (link)
It's Friday again, Bubba. So make with the posting already, before you incur the wrath of You Know Who. Then, of course, it's back to the Writer's Mines with you. However . . . as a demonstration of her imperial clemency, She Who Must Be Obeyed has commanded that you be allowed an extra helping of thin watery gruel and moldy bread--IF you finish at least a chapter today. So get crackin'!

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