aw, hell. George Carlin, 71

"The weather was dominated by a large Canadian low, which is not to be confused with a Mexican high. Tonight’s forecast: dark, continued mostly dark tonight turning to widely scattered light in the morning."

You made me crack up [and think about language, uses thereof] for decades, George. Thank you, and may your entrance into the afterlife be to a standing ovation....

EtA: when I was on Hour of the Wolf earlier this month, they of course had the "7 words" taped up on the wall, and during my reading of "Fire Rising..." I had to quickly substitute a few word on the fly, with that list staring me in the face. All the way to the Supreme Court, man. How many comedians can say they changed culture to that extent?

EtA2: they're showing the Carlin episode of "Inside the Actor's Studio" on Bravo. Just sayin'....

sun sets. wind rises. meerkat stirs....

A bunch of stuff off my desk, and a new thing landing, and other things still in red-flagged limbo, that's how the Monday goes... and more storm/flash flood warnings for the evening. If it sucks away some of this humidity, I'm not displeased. More likely it will just make everything even worse. Bleah. As much as I dislike using the a/c, it is a life-enhancing tool, some days.

Anyway. For those who will be at Hypericon, or just like to stalk me virtually, my schedule:

Friday:
1pm What Are We Reading Now?
Authors discuss what they're currently reading, as well as their favorite authors and literary influences. (Joe R. Lansdale, Ronald Kelly, Laura Anne Gilman, Julianne Lee, Alethea Kontis)

6pm Closing Ceremonies
Why wait until the last minute to thank you for coming? We're sorry to see it end, so we're getting all the sadness over with.

8pm Dream Crushing 101:What You Need to Know About the Publishing Industry.
Writers Beware! Reality Checks Await You! Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here! This panel, in which professionals discuss the realities of the publishing industry, is not for the faint of heart.
(Alethea Kontis, Janet Lee, Laura Anne Gilman, Stephen Lloyd)

10 PM 90 MINUTES OF READINGS
Six authors. 15 minutes each. I'm told I'm going early, so don't say you weren't warned.

Saturday:
1pm Signing

4pm Backstory and Mythos: Creating Your Character’s World
How do these writers create the fantastical world in which their characters live?
(Sherrilyn Kenyon, Laura Anne Gilman, Glen Cook )

Sunday
noon signing

1pm How Not to Get Published
These authors and editors will give you great advice on what to do if you DON'T want to be published.
(Laura Anne Gilman, Stephen Lloyd, Julianne Lee, James Newman)

3pm Opening Ceremonies
Well, we gave you plenty of time to get here, so now let's welcome everyone!

The reversal of opening and closing ceremonies pleases me. I'm contrarywise that way.

Also for those of you attending: first one to hear me say "Ah tell you whut" wins a prize! (no, Jules, you don't get to play, sorry.)