Wheel-A-Thomas

The RAMP Wheel-A-Thon went well. Caitlin was very pleased to be the center of attention. They even gave her an official “Grand Marshall” t-shirt. Unfortunately, it said “Catlin” on the back. Nobody noticed, of course, with her in her wheelchair.

It was a beautiful day for a Wheel-A-Thon. Our friends Sarah, David, Jennifer, Lily, Kristen, Mike, and Nora joined us. Everybody seemed to have a good time. We ended up racing all of the college kids towards the end of the route. They ate Caitlin’s dust.

We raised $1,110, the largest team amount. We can’t thank everybody enough for their hard work and generosity. This is an important local organization that aids many individuals with disabilities. We just wished that we could do more.

Here is the local newspaper article:
http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2007/09/30/news/local/news04.txt

Cubs Win the N.L. Central!!!

Woo f*#%ing hoo!!!

The Cubs are back in the postseason, and the field is weak. Bring on the Mets/Phillies/Padres/Rockies/Diamondbacks!

It has been a strange year, but the team is starting to come together. Zambrano has his ace stuff again, and the big bats are finally hitting for power. Anything can happen once you’re in the playoffs.

Fanzine Article

I can now talk a bit more about my SF fanzine article.

I was asked to submit an article on Doctor Who continuity for Steven H Silver’s Argentus. Steven H Silver is an SF fan, bibliographer, publisher, convention runner, and editor. He has 7 nominations for the Best Fan Writer Hugo Award.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_H_Silver

Argentus is a yearly fanzine that has previously published things from writers such as many of the folks from SF Site, Mike Resnick, S.M. Stirling, Gene Wolfe, and Larry Niven. I was gobsmacked to be asked, and I am honored to be included.

http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/argentus.html

Everybody that I know will be getting a copy for Christmas. :)

Busy Friday

I am sitting here poking my daughter, Seizure McGulicuty, to keep her from falling back to sleep. I got very little writing done this morning. Caitlin woke up with a spasm at 6:15 AM. It was only for three minutes, but she’s now out of it. That pretty much, understandably, spoils my muse. I was able to flesh out the plotting of the next chapter in my novel, so that’s all good.

Lynne is only working this morning. She’s coming home this afternoon to help program the Dynavox with Caitlin’s Speech Therapist. It will be nice to have her home. It also gives me a chance to spend the afternoon at Panera doing revisions.

I’m currently reading through a new Mad Norwegian Press manuscript. It’s another hefty, quality book on Doctor Who that looks great.

Yesterday we had a nice evening out with our friends Sarah and David. Italian food and Borders are good for the soul. I finally got the new New Pornographers album. It is much gentler than the previous albums. I like it, but I really need to listen to it a few more times on the ole’ iPod to pick up its subtleties. Lynne picked up Dead Sexy by Tate Hallaway. She is becoming a giddy fangirl for this series. I’ve heard her recommend the first book, Tall, Dark & Dead, to a good dozen people.

Tomorrow is RAMP's Wheel-A-Thon. If any of our peeps are near DeKalb at 11 AM, please come out and walk/wheel with us. We are very proud of our little Grand Marshall, and it’s an important local organization. We certainly are very thankful for their educational advocacy. I can’t begin to tell you how important it is for there to be an organization that will help people with disabilities fight for their rights.

Fighting and Writing

A couple of things that sucked happened today. Both are sensitive, so I can’t properly vent.

First, DeKalb County did not receive the Access to Recreation Grant. 14 communities tried, but only 4 received the funds. We put a lot of hard work into the grant proposal, so this is very disappointing. Hopefully, we will do better next time. Our county really needs better parks and recreational facilities for people with disabilities.

The second thing has to do with some bureaucratic hiccups with something that Caitlin needs. I am taking steps to smooth it, but I am not looking forward to the fight. Of course, that doesn’t mean that I won’t win. You don’t want to mess with my daughter...

Otherwise, Caitlin is well. The seizures are still under control. I was also able to catch up on her paperwork and filing today.

I sent my fanzine article away. Hopefully, the editor will like what I did. I can’t wait to talk about this more, but I hate to jinx things.

I went back to the novel today. The plan is to write the novel at my fixed 6 AM time, and then use the time that Caitlin is at school to do edits. I also hope to have both of those short stories cleaned up in the next couple of weeks.

I am thinking about sending one of them to the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest. It seems many of the authors that I respect got their start with it. I am sure that people out there can guess why I have trepidations. Are there any thoughts about it from those in the know?

Currently reading: Archangel Protocol by Lyda Morehouse
Just Finished: WebMage by Kelly McCullough

Great Post in an Unexpected Place

I just found this great post on The Onion’s A.V. Club Blog. The author and I had very similar life journeys and opinions about fantasy literature.

http://www.avclub.com/content/blog/flight_from_fantasy_jordan_eddings

Wow

Wow. I am speechless.

http://community.livejournal.com/atlanta_furs/