I’m
just back from the monthly Fantastic Fiction
reading at the infamous KGB Bar on East 4th
St. in Manhattan.  Lucius Shepard read from his
new novel,

A Handbook of American Prayer, and Scott Westerfeld read from his new novel,


So Yesterday. 

Scott went first and did a great job with his reading. 
Lucius followed; he seemed a bit uncomfortable up there reading, and he had some
trouble with his vision and the lighting so he had a difficult time.  But
both novels seem really compelling.  I’d already been planning to read
Lucius’s novel, but now I’m going to have to read Scott’s too. 

If you’re interested in Scott’s novel, you can read the
same excerpt he read at KGB tonight on the cool
photo blog he’s got
posted to his website.  Of course, you could also go

buy it.

If you’re interested in Lucius’s novel, you can read a
brief excerpt

here.  Or, you could go

buy it.

Of course, one of the fun things about the KGB Fantastic
Fiction reading series is getting the chance to hang out and chat with folks in
the SF community.  Among those I saw and chatted with were John Douglas and
Andy Porter (the current and former editors of Chronicle [formerly Science
Fiction Chronicle]), Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link/Gavin Grant, Paul Witcover, Rick
Bowes, among others. 

After the readings, much of the group goes over to a
nearby Indian restaurant to eat a late dinner.  That happened this time
too, but there was a space issue, so me,
David Barr Kirtley,
Helen Pilinovsky,
and Deb Green gallantly gave up our table so that our betters could remain, and
went off in search of nourishment elsewhere.  We ended up in a sushi place
called Koi, where I alone did not partake of the raw fish and had chicken
teriyaki instead (which was quite good, despite being the only non-fish item on
the menu). 

Gordon was at KGB too, but he bailed after the reading; I
don’t think he was feeling well or something.  But anyway, that left me
alone to fend for myself in the big city, which is always an adventure for a
lost-prone fellow like me.  The strange thing is, I knew that the PATH
station was at 9th St. and 6th Ave., but I somehow still had trouble finding it. 
They need like bigger signs or something, because I walked right past it and
didn’t even notice the entrance was there.  Plus, there is a small sign
that says "PATH" on it nearby, but it doesn’t really point in the direction of
the entrance.  It kind of points toward 10th St., actually.  Grumble,
grumble. 

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Saw The Day After Tomorrow. Bleh.

So what does Roland Emmerich have against New York City anyway? He’s destroyed it in at least three of his movies now (The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day, and Godzilla).

Oh, and did anyone else find it highly unlikely that a gigantic Russian cargo freighter could traverse the streets of NYC until it ended up parked right outside the NY Public Library? If objects sink when they weigh more than the water they displace, wouldn’t the thing just sink once it left the gigantic body of water that is the ocean?

But I suppose there are numerous examples of erroneous science in that movie, so I guess there isn’t much point in singling out just one.

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So first Jeremy tells me that God kills a kitten every day I don’t update my blog.

Now I find out from Marc Laidlaw that God kills an author every time you buy a book from Amazon.

Sheesh, I was upset about the kittens, but damn, I’m a mass murderer of authors. I’m surprised there are any left.

Man, is Jehovah a petty and vengeful god or what?

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In case I haven’t mentioned this before —

Postage is only valid in the country of origin, so Canadian postage has no value in the United States. If you want to send an SASE internationally, you should include international reply coupons (IRCs), which should be available at any post office.

We get a lot of foreign SASEs with foreign postage (the most frequent offenders are Canadians, thus my using them in the above example). But you Americans out there should also remember this when submitting to foreign markets.

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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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