Reading: Mastering the Bodhran
Music: The Vapors
TV/Movie: Father Ted
Link o' the Day: Chris Reilly

I’m just about caught up in the submissions run I’ve been doing. One story bounced back because I failed to note a reading period had ended. (Argh.) I found another market, and it speeds merrily on its way. I also sent out four (non-genre) poetry submissions.

Like with fiction, I’m trying to send poetry to paying markets only. I’ve got a preference for print markets, but I suppose there will be a few online places I’ll try as I cruise the poetry markets.

Online markets are tricky. How genuine do they seem as markets? How are they viewed by my peers? How are they viewed by readers? Strange Horizons and Scifiction are glaring exceptions. Standing on par with their print brethren. There are a couple of others that are slowly gaining recognition, but for the most part, I’m a little leery of online markets.

Am I wrong to be so?

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Last night I checked out the other of the two Irish music sessions here in Providence. Of the two, I think I like this one better. The tunes were a little more my level of understanding, it looked like a fairly open environment. I recognized a few faces from the RiRa session and elsewhere, but there seemed to be more players in general at this session. (This may be unfair, because when I left the RiRa session, there were more people coming in. Maybe that's another one of the differences. last night's session started on time. They also played a bit more often, and it was easier to see the varying levels of players interact in the music. One thing I noticed was that a good number of the players played more than one instrument. One fellow played both flute and bodhran. Another played banjo and guitar. Another played bouzouki, fiddle, and tinwhistle. I didn't see any mandolins this time around, but mayhaps if I keep going to these things I'll see a mandolin or three, and have the opportunity to study the players' techniques. As it was, I got a good glimpse of a bodhran player's technique (and learned I still have a long was to go) and saw how the fiddlers held their instruments, handled their bows, and played the notes.

All in all, an educational and enjoyable evening.

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As the weather gets nice and all the nasty, nasty snow is melting, there is reckless talk of snow on the morrow.

Curse ye, old man weather!

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Today's link goes to a blog run by an old friend of mine, Chris Reilly . Without looking through the archives, I seem to recall leaving a similar link as the link-o-the-day, but that link has changed and now Chris has this site (which has been up since December 04). He talks mostly about comic-related issues, his own work in comics, his writing projects, and general strangeness.

Enjoy!