Hello all and good to see you.
I’m looking forward to saying just that to several many of you in just a few days at NetRoots in Pittsburgh. Thanks to your generosity winerev will be in da house in the city of Three Rivers.
My hand will be cramped from signing and shaking but I can't wait.
Now since I can’t be everywhere all at once I’ve arranged a few surrogates to do warm-up acts. The Arkansas Wonder, fresh from a red hot appearance in Pyongyang, will open on Thursday morning. Dr. Dean promises to be a real scream on Friday. Your ever-lovin’ winerev will be taking in their gigs and checking out various panels and discussions.
Book News
And....I’ll be at the bookstore area on Thursday for sure and lots of other days and hours as well. THE book of the month, Recounting Minnesota: Blogging the Al Franken Election Saga
is not only available for order at this website:
http://www.melangepress.com/...
THE book of the Fall, the book of the Winter, the book of the Spring and the book of the (fading damn fast) Summer is RIGHT NOW being packaged for a precision airdrop by the Quebequois Tres Gran Vitesse (Canadian FedEx is just tres Anglais, yanno?) to the hotel on Wednesday, still warm from the hot lead type and the ink applied by the bushy tails of trained squirrels. It is coming off the presses as I write this and you read it and on the grave of Montcalm the printer has promised it will be there on time.
But as with all things Recount related......we’ll see.
Like me. I would like to see the book itself.....like in my hands. I haven’t yet. My editors haven’t. I sure hope the shipping clerk/clerque at the printery has, and has checked all the specs: orange cover; nice heft for heaving at tea-baggers; and at the back either a raised seal Hawaiian birth certificate or a copy of the Tim Pawlenty-Mark Ritchie (remember them?) signed Certificate of Election.
If you pre-ordered AND you are in Pittsburgh, stop by the bookstore for your copy, hand-delivered by hand into your hand, complete with my hand-written and hand-delivered autograph. (How handy can you get?)
For the rest of you who pre-ordered I have dozens of mailers and address labels also being shipped to the hotel so I will have evening entertainment and the front desk clerk will have a hernia each morning when I bring down another batch to ship out.
Book Reading
ALSO, I’ve been asked not only to autograph books I haven’t seen yet, ship books I haven’t seen yet, and sell books I haven’t seen yet, I’ve also been asked to READ ALOUD from a book I haven’t held yet. Yep, the bookstore area has authors reading and taking questions and your winerev will be reading and answering on THURSDAY, August 13 over lunch (about 12:30). I suppose the first question I will have will be "Where’s my copy?" but since I don’t have one yet either (and hope to the holies TO have one for the reading selection) I’m making that a pre-asked, pre-answered question.
(No doubt question number two will be from health insurance plant who will whine, "Have you even READ it yet?" Its OK. Its what they ask everybody these days wherever liberals/progressives are said to be gathering.)
A Security Note
And speaking of the gathering of progressives in Pittsburgh, could I ask a general question? (Or maybe a colonel question? Major question is already taken, as is private question.)
Given the birther/nutcase/deather/teabaggers are out in force at various town hall meetings across the country, and given they consider progressives/people who think-reason-reflect/empathizers/patriots to be the enemy, against whom action is justified, what sort of measures are being taken at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center against disruptions? I mean evacuating the building every hour on the hour because of anonymous bomb threats would put a damper on things. Some whack job tossing a skunk oil bomb into an air intake from the Allegheny River and racing away via speed boat would be dang inconvenient.
Now I suppose with the former President now coming the Secret Service will be on Total Defense Posture and everyone coming in will be subject to DNA sampling, retinal scans and Concealed Lutefisk Detectors, but I’d sure like to hear it from one of the organizers. (I know you can’t get too specific without compromising all the pieces you DO have in place, but I’d like to hear in general terms that its all been thought of and covered as far as possible...especially the concealed lutefisk detectors.)
A few final personal bits:
Yes I'm still working at the wine shop...... I can't wait to put (screen) names and faces together at NetRoots..... am currently in final editing for my novel Encampment (also Melange Press) which will go to the printer in mid September and be out by November 1st..... cover designs are in the works.....WineRev-ette is home for the summer from college and has had a financially rather successful summer at work. She and younger brother WineRev-ER will be putting their fencing skills and medieval costuming to work again by working the MN Renaissance Festival these finishing weekends of August & into September.....oh and Al Franken is doing just fine in the US Senate. His first bill was to provide service dogs for injured veterans. (Talk about an Un-vote-against-able bill! Good grief not even that twisted fascist Glenn BrokeBeck Mountain could line up against that one, could he?)
Well thats the latest. I'll find something to latch onto soon and start writing again regularly (although the break has been very comforting). If you are attending I hope to see you in Pittsburgh.
Otherwise, thats the latest from yust southeast of Lake Wobegon.
Shalom.