Character inspiration from 19th century photographs

I have been trying to come up with drawings of the characters from Millicent Marbleroller. General Crackerhead and Nobbins have been the most difficult, although Mumbleskull has likewise been hard.

I decided that giving Teddy Roosevelt a mustache like Chester A. Arthur makes a pretty decent General.

Wagner - stern face, large face. I was wondering about Nobbins..

Schoepenhauer - if he looked a little happier and not as constipated I would say he is a good Mumbleskull. Needs coke-bottle glasses.

Some guy named Wattles Wallace - inventor of some sort. I was looking for thin faced men to help with the drawings for Admiral Crackerhead.
Pope Leon - another thinner faced man for the Admiral.
Thomas Huxley, an ardent supporter of the theory of evolution, who coined the term "agnostic" to refer to atheism because apparently at the time atheism was carrying a lot of socialist baggage. I thought his stern visage would make a good model for Nobbins.

Difficulties picking a title for the Millicent Marbleroller sequel

This has been a problem for me because the story itself doesn't change venue. The sequel to the book picks up the very next day, and most of the action happens in and around the same location and with the same characters. It is really just an extension of the conflicts that occurred in the first book.

I know I want to follow the same structural pattern for the title... "Millicent Marbleroller and..." - but the "and the WHAT?" is the part that throws me. The way the story is going, I could easily say "Millicent Marbleroller and More of the House of the Toymaker", but that just sounds stupid.

But now that I am into the story I have an idea for a title. I just am not so sure I want to use it. It would follow the same title structure pattern, but it introduces a concept for the book that I did not see coming until I was in the middle of it. The original idea was just a minor plot device, but it was something that was so funny to me that I have kept re-using it and growing it and making it bigger, and bigger and more important to the story. I have thought to use this thing (trying to avoid spoiling it just yet...) as the object in the title... "Millicent Marbleroller and the ". It actually SOUND really good - it is a really wacky title, and I think guaranteed to make people go "What the heck is this about?", so I am really tempted.

However, this particular development took me by surprise when it came about, and I want to share that surprise with the readers. I don't want them to see it coming, but rather have it grow for them in the same way it grew for me as I wrote about it. I am finding this to be a very difficult decision.

Saying "No" on Facebook feels rude... is it?

I just realized something about facebook comments. It was triggered by a rather typical status update/comment situation. A friend of mine set his status to "Should (person) buy the new Camaro?".

I wasn't going to say anything because, frankly, I have no opinion about what that person should do regarding car purchases. I myself don't have much interest in cars as anything other than a utility, and don't really know if the new Camaro is all that interesting or not. But then, I wondered what it would be like to say "No". I then suddenly realized that saying "No" felt inappropriate and wrong. My inner etiquette alarm went off.

So, naturally, I said "no".

Immediately after, two other people posted comments telling this person to buy the Camaro. Nobody chastised me on my negative response - but certainly they were all positive.

Which left me wondering - is it EVER appropriate to say "No" on facebook in response to this sort of question? I don't believe it is. I believe the actual interchange is not really about soliticiting a response geared toward assisting in the decision making. I believe the real purpose of the interchange is positive affirmation - morale boosting, cheering up, etc. The real thing the person was saying was "I want to enjoy something, and this is what it is. I am pretending to ask for opinions, but I am not really asking for you to say anything but 'yes' - thus affirming that I deserve to enjoy myself with an indulgence."

I don't believe we use Facebook status for real decision feedback - we use it for quick, chit chat style small talk. Decision making is for other venues - e.g. discussion forums, mailing lists. But status updates is where you seek quick cheering up, affirmation of your values, etc.

Sometimes, it seems like "No" is the right response, but I would suggest that in this case the question is actually applied sarcastically to be framed as a negative, but really seeking to affirm the opposite. For example "Sally is going to give up on her dreams of becoming a dancer and just join the blasted army!"... which is guaranteed to get "Nooo! Don't do it!" responses, but only because everyone knows Sally isn't serious, she is just frustrated, and wants everyone to know how difficult pursuing her dreams really is and is fishing for a bit of encouragement disguised as railing against a military career choice.

Like always, I state my case here with nothing more than ad hoc observations. I haven't the guts to test the principal to its limits (e.g. by replying "No" whenever someone obviously isn't REALLY looking for an opinion) for fear of losing the few enough friends I have accumulated. I leave such bravery to more spirited souls... say those studying psychology at Berkeley or something.

San Francisco Behavior Pattern? "Helpful" Shout Outs

I saw this happen twice today. We were on the public transit in San Francisco. The first time we were on the N streetcar, in the underground, and were just short of the Embarcadero station. The car had stopped, but the doors had not opened. While we were there, my wife asks me, and one of the people standing by the door, if we were at the stop and if the doors were going to open. The woman turned around and shrugged her shoulders.
Just then, there is this woman's voice nearby that says "We aren't at the stop yet."
I turn to see who spoke. Nobody is looking in any direction. Nobody is looking toward myself or my wife. Everybody is looking down at their newspapers, magazines, cell phones, etc.

Later, we were on the F line (different street car, picks up at the Embaracadero station) and someone starts to try to get off at the back door. He shouts to the driver "Back door!". A few seconds later, someone randomly says "Step on the step" (the doors open automatically when someone steps on the step). Again, nobody is looking at the guy. The guy doesn't turn to acknowledge anybody. Everyone is looking at their own business, books, phones, feet, whatever.

I have never observed this before. Every time I have seen anybody say something to anybody else there is always some sort of acknowledgement of the conversation. A nod. Eye contact. But this was almost like people talking to themselves, which was really weird, because they were technically offering help and instruction, but without directly looking at the person. It was hard to tell if this was "Hey, let me help you.." conversation, or if this was, "Oh geeze, you idiot, can you just get on with it...?" conversation - I try to avoid interpreting behavior, especially when it is so usuual to me.

So, is this a San Francisco thing? A big city thing? I don't know if ANYBODY reads these blog postings, but if anybody from the SF area, or from somewhere this behavior is common reads this, let me know.