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Monday, December 28th, 2009
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grrm
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The end-of-the-year book sale ends when 2009 does. So there's only a few days left to pick up signed hardcovers of INSIDE STRAIGHT, TUF VOYAGING, and WINDHAVEN at bargain prices.
(See my post of December 8 for details).
Going, going...
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grrm
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... meaningless and full of pain... but sometimes it gives you an unexpected gift.
The Giants game was a disgrace. Bill Sheridan has to go. How he could destroy the Giants defense in a single year, when he had all the players Steve Spagnuolo had and then some, is a mystery for the ages.
And the Jets... well, yeah, I'm glad they got the W, but really... call me old school, but I believe a team should play hard every week, no matter what. What Caldwell did was a disgrace. A nice late Xmas present for Gang Green, sure, but all the other teams contending for the AFC wild card must be steaming, and Peyton and the other Colts first-stringers looked none too happy on the sidelines either. I would not be the least surprised if the Happy Horseshoes make an early exit from the playoffs after this. Disgraceful.
Meanwhile, back in the Meadowlands, I can only hope that the final Jets home game in Giants Stadium has a happier result than the final Giants home game.
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Sunday, December 27th, 2009
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inretrospect
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this made me lol so hard.
i know that ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) fatesarchitect will appreciate.
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Thursday, December 24th, 2009
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grrm
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Here's hoping all my friends and readers have a merry Christmas.
And you other people too.
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Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
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grrm
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SUICIDE KINGS is out in hardcover (see below) and BUSTED FLUSH has been released in mass market. Meanwhile, I've delivered the additional content -- three new stories -- for the first volume of this storied series, WILD CARDS itself, which Tor will be reissuing later in the year. Since the first volume was historical in nature, telling the story of the wild card from 1946 to 1985, adding some original material to cover some of the "lost years" seemed like a natural.
The three new tales:
-- "Captain Cathode and the Secret Ace," by Michael Cassutt,
-- "Powers," by David D. Levine,
-- "Ghost Girl Takes Manhattan," by Carrie Vaughn.
No publication date yet. You'll know when I do.
As for FORT FREAK, the twenty-first volume in the series that WILD CARDS began, first drafts are all in, I've given the usual editorial note, and the writers are all off revising. This one looks to be a lot of fun. The Class of 2009 is doing some great work, and the old-timers ain't half bad either.
On other fronts, Gardner Dozois and I are very close to delivering our original cross-genre anthology STAR-CROSSED LOVERS, to Pocket Books. We're waiting for some minor revisions from one writer. Once those are in hand, the book will be delivered. Only it's not STAR-CROSSED LOVERS any longer. Pocket's sales force did not like that title, so the anthology has now been rechristened SONGS OF LOVE AND DEATH. Got a great line up of writers for that one, including Diana Gabaldon, Jim Butcher, M.L.N. Hanover, Peter S. Beagle, Marjorie Liu, Jacqueline Carey, Carrie Vaughn, Robin Hobb, Neil Gaiman, and many more.
Everybody's talking about AVATAR, which I haven't seen yet... but I have been going to movies. While the crowds queue up for Cameron, I've been catching up on some of the other films now in release. I enjoyed THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, and liked INVICTUS as well, but the one that really impressed me was ME AND ORSON WELLES. The guy who plays Welles should get an Oscar nomination for that performance.
As usual, I am way behind on my Xmas shopping.
Where does the time go?
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grrm
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Today was the official publication day for the latest Wild Cards book, SUICIDE KINGS.
Run, don't walk, to your favorite bookstore and getcha copy now. And hell, while you're there, get copies for all your friends as well. All you Xmas shopping in one swell foop.
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Monday, December 21st, 2009
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grrm
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Well, that was fun. If only every game was like this...
(Maybe it is, if you're a Colts fan).
These were the Giants I remember. The swarming aggressive D, the sacks, the knockdowns, the hurries, the interceptions, runners tackled at the line of scrimmage. And on offense, long time-consuming drives ending in touchdowns. Eli looked terrific, spreading the ball around. Nicks, Smith, Manningham, and Boss all had big catches, and even Derek Hagan scored a touchdown. The running game was back, especially when Ahmad Bradshaw had the ball. The O line opened gaping holes, and the D line was so relentless that our wafer-thin secondary was never threatened.
Yeah, these were the real G-Men.
I have no idea who those clowns in the Redskins uniforms were.
That fake field goal the Skins tried at the end of the first half had to be one of the most bizarre plays I've ever seen. Watching Steve Young talk about it in the postgame was hilarious.
I do feel sorry for Jim Zorn, whose postgame press conference was... well, obviously, no one ever taught the guy Coachspeak. Poor guy is not long for D.C.
But it was a great win.
Now we need two more like it, coupled with a Cowboys loss.
(Or a Packers loss, maybe... but while I know the G-Men have the tiebreaker over Dallas, no one has ever mentioned who wins a tie between New York and Green Bay).
Next week, the Panthers. Who beat the Vikings yesterday. Let's hope the real G-Men show up.
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noobsauces
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So... I'm not one that celebrates Christmas, in fact I'm one of those people who calls it X-Mas all the time. However I am also not one of those people who believes in bringing others down for the Holidays. In fact if anything I encourage people to get in to the "Xmas Spirit. " What Hallmark has done, is what I hate most, commercializing a Holiday that could stand for something truly important. We all know that Christmas isn't just for Christians, so that whole basis is gone. We also know its not about the stealing and killing of little children from centuries ago. But it is also not about the Jewish holidays, the Chinese holidays. In fact that is why I call it Xmas. Because its for everyone. It is a time when we can all put aside trivial issues and just be kind to one another. We can turn aside racial ignorance, and embrace one another if for no other reason than because 'Tis the Season to be Jolly.'
Hey, what a concept. Imagine that. It takes a fat white man coming down our chimney to get us all to be jolly, but you know what? So what. Whatever it takes for us to be better people, I'm all for it. That is why, despite the fact that I don't celebrate Christmas, Hanuka or whatever, I still tell people "Happy Holidays." I still went and dropped 50$ to buy a child from the Salvation Army presents ( in fact I got my entire family to do 50$ each). Since I do not celebrate, I also volunteered my early "Christmas Morning" to a soup kitchen.
I don't like Christmas one bit, but my dislike comes not from some odd dislike of Christianity. Its because it takes some sort of Hallmark Holiday to remind 98% of Humanity to be Humane. So for my Holiday Tidings, I wish you all a Happy Holiday, but I also wish all of you would carry that Holiday Cheer in to the next 365 days.
Tell a friend.
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Sunday, December 20th, 2009
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grrm
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Life is meaningless and full of pain.
I saw this one coming. Three missed field goals will always come back and bite you in the ass.
Great D, but Mark still has a lot of maturing to do.
With the Colts and the Bengals yet to come, I think we can kiss the playoffs goodbye.
And I'm not feeling good about the Giants game tomorrow either.
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Saturday, December 19th, 2009
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Friday, December 18th, 2009
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inretrospect
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FREE AT LAST, THANK THE LORD, I AM FREE AT LAST!
Final grades were submitted about five minutes ago.
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disappointed.
happy.
busy.