Dear Diary

April 30 – Getting the car’s oil changed today. Nothing to do with the WOTF not calling yet. Just saying the car needs an oil change.

 

Mike

Dear Diary

April 29 – The phone rang yesterday. I picked it up halfway through the second ring. Wrong number. Still waiting from the WoTF.

Fellow writing group member and Aurora nominee Brad Carson is mentioned in David Farland’s (AKA Dave Wolverton) newsletter. Nice going, Brad, but I’m afraid I’ll have to put your name on the list.

You know which one.

 

Mike

Dear Diary

April 28 – Roughly 38 days have passed since first notified of making the WoTF finalist list. Still no decision. Checked the official notice and blog again to make sure it wasn’t some acid flashback. I’m pretty sure it was real.

Tony Pi continues to mock me with his success. His story, “A Sweet Calling,” should come out in Clarksworld by the end of the week.

Presently stencilling his name on a WWII surplus bomb. Looking through local By and Sell for used bomber.

Mike

Dear Diary

April 27. Still no word from WoTF. Supplies starting to run low. Beginning rationing. Tony Pi my writing group member and personal nemesis reports a starred review from publisher’s weekly for one of his stories where he is mentioned by name, and a professional sale to Clarks World.

Presently scheming his untimely demise.

 

Mike

You can’t pop a wheelie on a unicycle

I drove to the supermarket last Saturday, and along the way I saw a guy riding a unicycle. Hmm, I thought, you don’t see that every day.

Sunday, on the way home from my writing group meeting, I saw another guy on a unicycle. Hmm, I thought, maybe you do see that every day.

This is Monday, and let me tell you, I’m keeping an eye out.

Personally, I think these guys are taking this whole environmentally consciousness thing a bit too far. I mean cutting back to just one wheel, what are you trying to prove?

Still no word from the WoTF.

Vote for this story damn your hides

As mentioned earlier, Brad Carson's story "Here There Be Monsters" is nominated for an Aurora. You can read his fine tale here: http://bradcarsonfantasywriter.blogspot.com/

Then vote for it here

Thank you for your co-operation.

Mike

Caught in the Buble

Michael Buble, the Canadian crooner, was in Newfoundland for the Juno awards. He did very good for himself, accolades well-deserved. Sadly, he had to cut his victory festivities short because there was concern the volcanic ash from Iceland threatened the skies of the Rock. His pilot warned that if they did not take off they might be trapped on the island for days.

GASP!

The poor man, because God knows Newfoundland doesn’t have any reliable form of transit, or ferries to the mainland, or heck, even cars.

Jeez.

At what point have we associated air travel as the only form of travel? Yes, it’s quick. And if you have to cross the ocean, there is no argument. But to travel within your own country? Or across Europe? I thought they loved their trains over there. Sure, it might take a couple of days, but if you’re grounded anyway…

No, I would rather stay were ever I am and complain about the situation.

I’m just waiting for the first airline to try and sue Iceland for money lost.

Here is an interesting observation: the older your picture is, the younger you appear.

Still waiting on the Writers of the Future thing. When I know, you’ll know.

Mike

‘ello, Malcolm! RIP

Malcolm McLaren, the one time manager of the Sex Pistols has died of cancer at age 64.

I hit the tail end of the punk era. My musical time was the new wave eighties, but I’ve always been fascinated by the Sex Pistols and the musical genre as a whole. Then again, I’ve always been fascinated by WWII and the mafia, so take from that what you will.

But the Sex Pistols have always held a particular interest. I had there record and the sound track to the “Great Rock’n’Roll Swindle” and was in the minority in thinking the music was actually pretty good. Even today when I hear “Anarchy in the UK,” my bunk develops a hunch and I view the world through glassy, cynical eyes.

Much has been said of how Malcolm created the Sex Pistols and their short turbulent history of the band. His influence on Punk Rock is arguable. Some day he was the Father of the genre, while others claim he merely profited from it.

I suppose to profit, you must market, and in his way, along with fashion designer and former lover Vivien Westwood and former lover, he did just that. Whatever your opinion of McLaren, he was a player in a brand new genre of music. A testament to his standing can be seen in the length of this article from the BBC Online.

In the words of Johnny Rotten, “Above all else [Malcolm] was an entertainer and I will miss him, and so should you.”

From the Mouth of Babes

So, I'm working on revamping my website and was perusing some pics from last
summer's family trip to Niagara Falls. We hit a few museums and took this
picture of me and the Boys.

http://mikerimar.blogspot.com/2009/08/what-i-did-this-summer.html

My youngest (4 yrs-old) looks at it and asks, "Is that you with your writer's group?"

I'm still laughing.

Happy Easter everyone,
Mike