Reading: A Gathering of Doorways by Michael Jasper
Music: Marc Bernier
TV/Movie: Chinese Box
Link o' the Day: Kristine Kathryn Rusch's intro to The Freelancer's Survival Guide

This week's mail seems vaguely ominous, and given the amount of rain and gray skies we've been experiencing, I am not comforted.

Folded and sealed with a small blob of wax:

To the Head of Residence:

We encourage you and your family to attend a Special Meeting at the Green Library this Saturday noon. There will be discussed the current Emergency and its Latest Developments, to whit, the recent disappearance of the Pogo boys. This now makes 12 children lost to the Haversham Mist.

We will have a Special Guest: one Professor Hiram Pickersgill from the old college to speak on what he believes may be the source of the mist. Sheriff Absolom will also speak on certain Preventive Meazures [sic]. Reverend Mackey will lead a Special Prayer.

In case of wet weather or a mist sighting (listen for the church bells) the Special Meeting will be postponed until after Sunday services.

Yours respectfully,

The Town Council

The second item, a package of old brown paper tied with string, contained a number of odd items placed within an old cookie tin:

A small black feather
A large white feather
Two mismatched buttons
A Roman coin
A torn postcard of the steamboat Minne-ha-ha of Lake George, NY
A faded photograph of Dolores del Rio dated 1933
A needle and a spool of dark green thread


All the items look fairly old save the feathers which look like they were plucked yesterday. On a rag paper that has now become quite familiar to me was written:

Dir Sirs,

We trust you know now what to do.

(unsigned)

Curious, but unimportant now, I'm sure.

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Quite a busy day for a Friday. I think this has more to do with the week overall being busy. Some weeks I I get ahead of schedule and Friday turns into a light day. This week I'm more on schedule, as opposed to ahead of it, so it will be a full work day. No rest for the wicked cool. I think of the reason was I diverted slightly from my set schedule yesterday and took some time to do some office cleaning and organizing.



Before I forget, here is the link to this week's book review at Forces of Geek: Rubber Arrow Through the Head Slays Thousands. A Review of Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin. Check it out when you can.

-=-=-=-=-=-

This link has been making the rounds and it's only proper I do so here as well--particularly in light of yesterday's work-at-home topic.

Kristine Kathryn Rusch is starting a series of columns at her website called The Freelancer's Survival Guide, the Introduction to which can be found here.

Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes

This post marks the beginning of an experiment. I will post sections of a work in progress—a book tentatively titled The Freelancer's Survival Guide--here, on my website.

The book hasn't sold. I haven't tried to sell it. I haven't even written it yet. In fact, the book hasn't been much more than a glimmer in my eye for a decade. But now's the time to do this project.

Here's why.

The global economic crisis has put tens of thousands of people out of work. Some will regain their old jobs. Some will train for new jobs. And some will attempt to freelance--whether it's as a consultant or an E-Bay Power Seller or as a writer.

Most people never intend to freelance. They fall into it, usually to make some extra money while looking for work. Other people quit their day jobs in the hope of becoming their own boss. They all find that working for yourself is much harder than it sounds.

Well worth checking out if you work from home--or want to.



I include this cover from the April-May 09 edition of Asimov's because Ms. Rusch has a very fine story in there, and it's a Very Fine issue overall with a lot of other great stories too.

Cheers!