The Journal of Michael Merriam

Sent one story out the door yesterday. I have another story ready to go, but need to change the title, as the original one no longer fits, which sometimes happens to me once I start really writing something and it takes on a life of its own. Poked at the ghost story a bit, then started reading over the nameless novel in preparation of starting the second half of the book.

I heard today that Andre Norton passed away last night. Her books were some of the first SF&F I found as a youngster, and while I can't say that they influenced me greatly, they did entertain me to no end. While her passing is a sad thing, she lived a very long, very productive life. She was loved and admired, and she entertained and influenced whole generations of SF&F fans and pros. You can't ask for more than that, I think.

We will be at the Boiled in Lead show tonight at First Avenue. I originally didn't want to go. I prefer to go to their yearly Cedar Cultural Center show, but minnehaha K has made reference to the fact that "There Have Been Rumors," and I'm curious. I'm not worried out going out in the impending "catastrophic blizzard" that everyone (well, okay, mostly the chicken littles in careswen's office) keeps whispering about in trembling, fearful voices. We don't let weather stops us.

In other news: Arby's is evil. No really. We had Arby's last night and it was A)godawfulnasty, and B)able to make both careswen and I sick to our stomachs this morning. Add to that a migraine last night, and I'm a little out of sorts today. I'm still a bit headachy today, so I've got the shades down and am in troglodyte mode. I need this to go away before tonight.

The Reverend Selena must have a headache too, because when I did have a light on, she had thrown one paw over her head, as if to block out the illumination. She looks all cute and cuddly on the bed. I think I'll go bug her now.

In Peace
Michael