At lunch today, Gordon and I were sitting near the window in our usual restaurant when I happened to notice a tire roll to a stop by the curb beside a fire hydrant. I looked at it and wondered aloud “Where the hell did that tire come from?” It was just a tire; there was no rim on it or anything, so it didn’t come off of a car, yet it clearly came rolling to a stop at the curb before my very eyes. But we soon forgot about the tire and resumed conversation.

However, a couple of ladies in a minivan soon pulled up to the curb to park and somehow managed to get that lonesome tire wedged between the front tire on the passenger side and the wheel well. One lady stayed in the car and tried steering the wheels back and forth to dislodge it while the other lady tried pulling the tire out, to no avail. So Gordon and I decided that they needed a little manly assistance.

Using our keen analytical minds, we determined that we’d have to pull like a motherfucker to get the thing out. So we each grabbed hold of the tire and pulled and pushed and angled the thing until we managed to get it free. I had the final triumphant pull that yanked the rubber malefactor loose and nearly landed on my butt but managed to keep my balance.

It was all very chivalrous and manly.

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Just
got word today that I will be a judge for the 2005
Audie Awards,
which are given out each year by the Audio
Publishers Association to honor excellence in audiobook publishing. 
I’ll be judging the science fiction category in round two, which means that I’ll
have to choose among the best five or six SF audiobooks that make the final
ballot.  This also means I’ll get free admission
to the Audie Award banquet/award gala thing which is held in NYC this year. 

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Ah, no work, no slush today.

So, nothing to report. Here’s a random thought:

Worst opening lyric of an otherwise good song:

“I wanna slit your throat and fuck the wound”
(from “Disasterpiece” by Slipknot)

It’s embarassing, really. It’s such a sick line it’s actually comical.

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In an effort to keep any more kittens from an untimely death, I am blogging today despite having nothing much to say.

We did acquisitions at work today, buying new stories from David Gerrold, Laird Barron, Harvey Jacobs, Steve Popkes, and there might have been another story in there somewhere I’m forgetting. This is in addition, of course, to the non-fiction we always buy. No new slush discoveries this month; sorry!

I just worked a half-day today since Gordon’s a nice guy and is giving me some extra time off since my mom is visiting. Going to a wedding tomorrow (my cousin’s) in Wayne, NJ, at the stately Wayne Manor. My cousin is a big Batman fan, apparently.

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It’s come to my attention recently that God will kill a kitten each day I don’t update my blog. Why didn’t anyone tell me about this sooner? I shall endeavor to keep the kittens alive from now on. And in an effort to make up for past misdeeds, I’m going to make several posts today. Perhaps God will ressurect some of those poor bastards.

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Oh, and I recently saw
Shaun of the Dead.  It’s quite brilliant; go see it immediately. 
If you’re a lucky American with one of those DVD players than can play
out-of-region DVDs (or a Brit with a regular DVD player), you can get it on DVD
now; if not, you’ll have to traipse out to the theater to see it, but I can
assure you it’s well worth it. 

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I’m a few days late posting a note concerning this, but my
interview
with Ellen Datlow was just published in The
Internet Review of Science Fiction.  Go read it!

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Went
to see Sky Captain and
the World of Tomorrow, which was much much better than I thought it
would be.  Not a stunning achievement, but visually beautiful and a fun film,
quite enjoyable overall.  Lots of good humor and action. 
Good old-fashioned pulpy goodness.  And zeppelins!

Currently grateful for movie theaters where you can lift
the arm rests between the seats.

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Tobias Buckell is auctioning off some cool stuff with the proceeds going toward Grenada Relief in the wake of Hurricane Ivan. So help the Grenadans out and bid on a book or two.

Toby sez:

There are 4 copies of the WOTF XVI anthology with my story ‘In Orbite Mediavali.’

There is 1 copy of the latest anthology, ‘So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial SF&F’ with my story ‘Necahual’ in there, edited by Nalo Hopkinson and Uppinder Mehan.

See Toby’s blog for more details.

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