Tuesday, November 28, 2006

That Was a Monday (So Monday's News Comes Today)

I had things I needed to do yesterday. A healthy list of stuff that was pressing, and it all got knocked sideways.

It ended up being the kind of day that really annoyed the hell out of me. It's been -38 with the wind chill during the day. Know what that translates into? Fucking cold. And because of the snow and road conditions Kevin took my Rodeo. Which meant when I went out for my appointments I had to walk.

I'd forgotten what it's like to walk three blocks in freezing cold weather. Today, I pledge not to set foot outside the house.

Of course, this is always when life gets interesting. The internet goes down for a while. Late Sunday night Kevin was called out for a car fire. Come on people - I know it's cold but a car fire? That really smacks of desperation.

And just as I was about to leave for my appointment yesterday morning the fire alarm in our house went off. Wouldn't you know it, it was the one at the top of the basement stairs. Even standing on a chair I can't reach it. The dogs, because it's so cold, are inside going mad and howling while I'm checking rooms to make sure it's nothing more than a dying battery and looking for a broom to hit the alarm off.

I leave. Come back. The alarm goes off again.

I finally had to beat it off the ceiling with the broom handle to make it stop.

And I had another appointment in the afternoon, so the fun wasn't over.

Somewhere, in the midst of all of that and a lot of other stuff, the things I'd meant to do were put on hold.

So, it's official. I've launched a second blog, a group blog focusing on industry news but the kind of industry news that doesn't always get the same play on the major news sources. I've done a more thorough explanation over there. In a way, it's a very selfish thing, because with Spinetingler I want to stay on top of new authors to watch and profile. This gives me a chance to hear about things early on.

Honestly, some of the authors I've been most excited about discovering this year - Robert Fate, Troy Cook, John McFetridge - haven't arrived with major press announcements and fanfare and anticipation. I've heard about them first from readers, saying, "WOW. Why haven't I heard of them before?"

It should be interesting to see how this goes. I expect a few more contributors to join our numbers, so you can expect news when we have it, occasionally commentary (see SW's interesting post on the independent press advantage) and to hear about some interesting projects and authors.

THIS JUST IN! I'm going to steal Sand Storm's list for discouraging spammers. Brilliant!

And courtesy of John McFetridge, I have a joke

A man who just died is delivered to the mortuary wearing an expensive, expertly tailored black suit. The mortician asks the deceased's wife how she would like the body dressed. He points out that the man does look good in the black suit he is already wearing however, she says that she always thought her husband looked his best in blue, and that she wants him in a blue suit.

She gives the mortician a blank check and says, "I don't care what it costs, but please have my husband in a blue suit for the viewing. "

The woman returns the next day for the wake. To her delight, she findsher husband dressed in a gorgeous blue suit with a subtle chalk stripe; the suit fits him perfectly.

She says to the mortician, "Whatever this cost, I'm very satisfied. You did an excellent job and I'm very grateful. How much did you spend?"

To her astonishment, the mortician presents her with the blank check."There's no charge," he says.

"No, really, I must compensate you for the cost of that exquisite blue suit!" she says.

"Honestly, ma'am," the mortician says, "It cost nothing. You see, a deceased gentleman of about your husband's size was brought in shortly after you left yesterday, and he was wearing an attractive blue suit. I asked his wife if she minded him going to his grave wearing a black suit instead, and she said it made no difference as long as he looked nice. So I switched the heads."

12 comments:

JamesO said...

I heard that joke ages ago, on the radio whilst driving up to Scotland. It was done as a pastiche of a folk song, brilliantly played, and it just ended with 'so I switched the heads', then the music stopped dead. I almost crashed the car.

In for questioning looks interesting, and will be added to my blogroll as soon as I can remember how. Just how do you find the time to do all this stuff, Sandra?

Sandra Ruttan said...

Ah, you're in Winterpeg aren't you? Thanks for the link Sand Storm!

Oh, that joke would have been brilliant told that way James.

As for finding time, I hire a stand-in to attend conventions for me. ;) This one really isn't so bad, though. We have a great team, and no pressure. And it's easy to relay news. It's much harder to write something amusing or entertaining or at least interesting on a daily basis.

Anonymous said...

Ha! I love that one. I hear you on the cold weather- not liking it much myself.

Sandra Ruttan said...

The GVA really isn't set up for major snow.

Or cold. My sympathies...

Sandra Ruttan said...

You know what? As soon as I saw that, I knew. Saskatoon. See, it's so cold my brain isn't functioning properly!

anne frasier said...

i love the new blog, sandra! great idea!!

55 degrees and pouring rain here today. winter is supposed to arrive tomorrow.

Sandra Ruttan said...

Thanks Anne! We must be trading with you. It's supposed to be +5 by Friday.

Stupid weather. Couldn't it just be a happy -10 with no wind chill for a few months? At least then my body wouldn't protest all the ups and downs. Grrrrr.

Elizabeth Krecker said...

-38? Holy Moly! And we're all excited here in Phoenix because our low is 38 for the first time this year. Our high? A balmy 62. You'd get a good laugh. Everyone starts wearing down jackets and boots as soon as the temps drop below 70.

JamesO said...

So that would be the stand-in whose photo I have, bleary-eyed and swigging from a bottle of budweiser at nine o'clock on the Sunday morning in Harrogate.

You might want to hire more responsible staff.

Sela Carsen said...

I put In For Questioning on my favorites list (since I haven't updated my blog roll in months). I appreciate the mention. I'm really looking forward to keeping up with the news you find!

Sela Carsen said...

It's going to be 70 in St Louis today. By tomorrow, we'll be below freezing. Nice little cold front coming through.

I hate the cold.

s.w. vaughn said...

Woot! It's official! :-)

OMG, that joke -- it's so awful it's hilarious. *G*