I know, it’s gone a bit quiet over here.  Some of that’s just your normal gearing back up for the new year – everyone’s back to work, things are getting a little busier, there’s a little rush of jobs need clearing out of my inbox, etc.

Some of that’s me having started on some New Ideas that aren’t yet to a point where I have anything to show, yet.  I’ve dropped a few hints here and there about my thought processes lately, and readers of Warren’s site will have seen the day I dropped him five very long emails in a row (I’m scheming!) – I’m just at the point in that process where anything I have to say is going to be pages and pages and pages of theory and braindump… and some of you might not mind trying to unravel all of that, sure – but I haven’t the time to do it and to write it all down.

But! It’s Monday, and IEU is  over our holiday hiatus, so we’re back with a new TOTW!

 

Not a bad way to start the day, that.

Every year, Kieron Gillen does up his personal Top 40 of the previous year, and they’re always fantastic.  Music is something that I listen to, but I never think too much about it past “well, that was blah” or “oh yes, that’s going on repeat.” So I find Kieron’s yearly lists an excellent read not because they’re in-depth reviews or beat-by-chord analyses, but because they’re bite-sized little queries: “Did you hear this song?  But did you hear this?”

I also almost never agree with his rankings. But that’s really not the point at all, because it’s not my top 40 list. It’s a glimpse at how one of my friends (and one who’s a bit more invested in and attentive to the why and how of music than I am) heard the world in the previous year.  And that’s always fun to read, so you should go look, too.

That’s the first music wrap-up I look forward to every year.  The second one is the yearly pop mash-up.  I unapologetically love that every year, several people take the top 20/25/40 charts and smoosh them all into one big “this is what last year sounded like” track.  And this one, from DJ Earworm, is probably the best I’ve seen yet:

That’s the amalgamated poptimism of 2024, right there, isn’t it? Almost every single one of those songs on their own were cheesy little party balls from a crap year for the economy and fun and a whole mess of other things – bubbly little ditties crafted for maximum earworm value and escapism.  But add them all up and they sound all right, don’t they?  They’re still cheesy, they’re still a poppy little earworm that’s far happier than anyone really was last year… but listen, isn’t that the sort of get back up and keep dancing sound you want to take from last year to move you into this one?

It certainly sounds good to me – a ribbon of shiny all rightness pulled off the box of meh that was 2024. It’s a bit of a lie, but it’s one I whole-heartedly endorse on a regular basis: keep the good, file the crap under “lessons learned” – and make something else. But, like I said, music is just something I listen to.  I leave it to the smarter folks to write about the rest. I just like having something nice on to keep me company while I work.

Just quickly, before I forget again: If circles and text aren’t your particular aesthetic, but you do have an empty space on your wall, I’ve been meaning to link Jamie McKelvie’s limited-edition Astrid prints, which are just about sold out, so you want to move on those quickly if you want one. Edit: All sold out!

And, in case you missed my Black Friday shopping list, now’s a good time to remind you of Emma Vieceli’s iChats prints, too:

Several people have asked: “What font should I use for my book?”  And I haven’t got a clue, really.  That’s going to differ case by case, book by book, author by author, audience by audience.  But I thought I’d take a look over at the always excellent I Love Typography blog to see if John had any more specific advice.  And it turns out he’s written up an entire post On Choosing Type, tada.

Alas, the first paragraph of it is absolute nonsense to anyone with free-turning gray-matter – for those of us that don’t have a hard line between our left and right brains the statements “Art can’t be Science” or “Science can’t be Art” are a bit narrow and uninformed.  But that aside, it’s all very good advice, some of which you’ll already have seen here (Print out and  read the thing! Consider your audience and intent!).

So yes, there’s very good advice on picking your type that you should go read.  But for those of you that don’t necessarily feel like Artists (and this applies to every bit of design, from colors to fonts to paper to art), don’t you worry: Always remember that SCIENCE! isn’t the cold, dead thing that people that don’t understand it accuse it of.  SCIENCE! is any knowledge base or practice that allows for repeatable and predictable results.  We make our own SCIENCE!, every day, whether we’re smashing atoms together or knitting socks.  Artists use trial and error, too.  Whatever you’re trying to Make, you just give it a go and keep at it until it’s right.  Don’t you ever let anyone put you off by saying “You can’t learn to do this, you just have to know.”

Just get it done, learn from your mistakes, and apply those lessons to the next thing you do.  That’s SCIENCE!  And it’s its own art.

If you think I’m going out today, you’re insane.  I’ve stocked up like it’s hurricane season specifically so I won’t have to head out into today’s madness.  For those of you not in the States who don’t know: today is our annual running of the bulls.  Only instead of crazed bovines, we loose bargain-hunting shoppers in search of day-after-Thanksgiving sales, and all the stores mark things up 20% so they can offer three dollars off to anyone who shows up at 5am. When I was a wee slip of a thing, I remember (with shivering clarity) huddling outside the mall before dawn with my grandmother because, I kid you not, “They might let us in a little early because you’re so small.”  Crazy bitch.

But I live in The Glorious Future, now, and I do all my holiday shopping online, from the warmth and relative safety of my home.  If you are sane like me, I’ve made you a little list of Things You Can Buy today (or whenever, really) if you’re feeling shoppy without the crazy.

You do like to read, don’t you?

• SHIVERING SANDS.  Which, okay, you’ve probably already got.  But what about your loved ones? Why don’t you love them enough to buy them a look at Warren’s brain?  What sort of a son/ daughter/ grandchild/ niece/ nephew/ cousin/ brother/ sister/ neighbor/ complete stranger are you, really?  
  

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• COILHOUSE MAGAZINE (and sundries). Issue four of COILHOUSE is just about to drop, but it looks like the coven beautiful CH ladies have a few issues of #3 left in stock. (And some shirts and bits and bobs, too.) COILHOUSE is one of the most beautiful magazines on the market, so you really are missing out if you haven’t seen it yet.
  

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• BONESHAKER.  Cherie Priest’s brilliant zombies-via-steampunk novel (lightish on the steampunk, but HEAVY on the brilliant) of airship proportions is something you need on your bookshelf, for seriously. 
  

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• CHANGING STATES.  Sarah Sharp’s photo book of her All-50-States adventure is a bit of a big-ticket item, yes.  I don’t know if you love anyone enough to get them this. But there’s no rule against treating yourself for the holidays.  In fact, that’s something I heartily endorse.
  

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• HACKING THE EARTH.  Jamais Cascio wants to tell you how to save the world.  If that’s not in the spirit of the holidays, I really just don’t know what is. And HtE comes wrapped in a loverly cover design by yours truly, so that’s fun, too.
  

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• THE FAST FICTION CHALLENGE. Lee Barnett’s 200-word bursts of clever, funny, horrifying, what-the-hell-ever, all collected in one handsome volume.  If you’re even thinking of publishing a book of short fiction, you should check this out to see how it’s done.
  

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• SUNKEN TREASURE. That link is going to take you to Wil Wheaton’s entire Lulu store, but I’m specifically linking this book here because it’s got pretty holiday season colors, and the cover (which I absolutely adore) was designed by my friend Matt Brooker.
  

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Apparel that will make you ever so sexier:

• I’ve got to mention Warren’s and my T-shirt of the Week, come on.  But it’s a smart one this week, and nothing’s sexier than smart.  Plus it expires on Sunday, so it’s the closest thing to a limited-time offer on the list, in keeping with the craziness of today.
  

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• And since Rich picked up the first run of our (Happy()Sad) shirts yesterday (on a national holiday, no less!  That’s some dedication.), I’ve got to link them, too.  But these have a coupon, also in keeping with the day. Just enter “wilw” (without the quotes) at checkout for 15% off your whole order, through the end of November.
  

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• And by “your whole order,” I mean you can buy as much as you want to in the Diesel Sweeties store, and get 15% off it all.  Including these Magic Paint Bucket ties, which I had absolutely nothing to do with, but I cannot for the life of me understand why they aren’t sold out.
  

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• These crack me up (and I’m somewhat responsible as they followed one of my Make Something rants). Jamais, again, on a lighter-but-no-less-serious note: Carbon Footprint of a Cheeseburger swag.
  

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Housewares and sundries to make your life better:

• Just in case you’ve forgotten our cafepress store has more than the TOTW (and because every time we sell a splatter-shield I get to say to Warren HA HA WHO’S CRAZY NOW. And that’s just really fun, I mean, really fun.)
  

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• But let’s be honest, here: If you’re going to buy one mug today, It’s going to be Wil’s geeenyus Memories of the Future mug. I really can’t remember if, when I first saw this, I said congrats to Wil for being a genius, or if I cried a little because I will never think of something this clever.  I want to say the first one.
  

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• Now that your table is beautiful, let’s move on to your walls, shall we?  I just this morning finally talked Emma Vieceli into putting her drop-dead gorgeous prints for sale online. Emma does beautiful work, you know when you can tell from the thumbnail, and your empty wall space needs some love.
  

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• Do you need something a little more motivating staring you in the face? What about Matt Jones’ GET EXCITED AND MAKE THINGS print?  That link is going to take you to a page where you can find another link out to the high-quality prints by 20×20, but because I want to end this post with a bit of holiday cheer, you can also scroll down to the bottom of that page and get a hi-res version of the image to print out yourself for absolutely free.
  

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So there you go.  Holiday shopping: solved.  And if you’re just not doing the whole buy things thing this year, that’s all right, too.  But give us a link or a retweet, if you would, because your attention and support are just as valuable (honestly? A bit more) as your monies. And then head over to FREAKANGELS if you’d like, because it’s new every Friday, and free to read and enjoy.

I’m running short on spare minutes today, so this one’s going to be short and offsite-linky. 

First, the disclaimers: Emma’s a dear friend, I adore her art, and fantasy makes me break out in hives. So Ems’ Dragon Heir is something I’m immensely proud of (because my friend Made it, and you should already know how I feel about Making Things), and I think is beautiful (because I love the art), and it makes me itch and shut the browser window (see above for my unfortunate medical condition).  And you’d think that last should override the first two, and leave me with nothing nice to say – but that just means you’ve been on the internet too long.

I’ve got nothing (else) but brilliant things to say about Dragon Heir.

First of all, if you do like fantasy, Dragon Heir is good. One of the nice things about having an editor-brain is that I can shut off my personal preferences and simply gauge the quality of a work – and this work is quality. I’ll be very annoyed (and more than a little creeped out) if you decide that just because I’m not particularly fond of a genre, you can’t enjoy it.  No, seriously, that’s just creepy, please stop following me.

But mostly, I adore the Idea of this incarnation of Dragon Heir.  Oh, didn’t I mention that?  This is actually version 2.0 of the comic.  Here, let me let Emma explain:

What makes this project interesting is that Dragon Heir, being my oldest comic project, was starting to show its age; especially in the early issues. So what you’ll be reading here is actually Dragon Heir:Reborn. The story that was told in the first five issues of the comic is being redrawn and in some places entirely rewritten, so even the Dragon Heir veterans amongst you should find interest here.

Do you understand what Emma’s doing here?  We all have projects – previously published or just sitting in an old folder, that we’re awfully fond of, but they’re a bit dated or worn around the edges.  Like a sturdy and perfectly good bit of old furniture that just needs a good sanding and a new coat of varnish. Dragon Heir was originally published through Sweatdrop Studios, and it is, in fact, still in print and available to buy. But Emma wanted to put a bit of shine and polish on a new release, and so instead of just sticking it in the garage and thinking “gosh, I’d sure like to sand and varnish that thing, you know, when I get some time,” she’s put herself to a strict weekly release schedule, online, and she’s doing the project live and free to air.

So we all win: Emma’s doing her update project on a manageable and realistic schedule, her established fans get new and improved content of a story they love, and new readers get to jump in from the beginning and start the story for free.

Now what about you?  Have you got an old NaNo that never quite got that last bit of polish it needed to go live? Or did you self- or small-pub a book some years ago that you’d really love to go back and square the corners? Do you have an online gallery of first-drafts or even finished pieces that don’t show your evolved style?  There’s something for you to pay attention to here, then – maybe setting yourself on a public and weekly schedule is the way for you to start breathing some life into that project that’s not quite right.

And if none of that’s relevant to you at all, I’ve still given you a lovely new story to read, for nothing but the cost of clicking and bookmarking this link.

I haven’t done one of these in a while since anyone coming here should have already stopped by Warren’s, but I’m getting a little traffic bump of very new folks, so!

Friday is FREAKANGELS — or, more precisely: Noon GMT Friday is when Warren Ellis’ (with the lovely art of Paul Duffield) FREAKANGELS goes live, with 6 new pages for the week.

FREAKANGELS is one of my weekly projects — my name’s down in the footer (which I should start calling the engine room, haha) of the site, ’cause I built ‘er and I’m up GMT noon every Friday to push ‘er live.  Oh, sure, we could go automated updates, but the best part of Friday mornings is when I sweep the sidewalk over at Whitechapel forum and start the weekly discussion thread.

Whitechapel, which I co-mod with Warren, is open 24/7/365, and Warren keeps the discussions new and turning over all week so there’s always a good and lively crowd — but the Friday morning comic posts are my chance to catch up with everyone while they’re all in the same place.  A bit like sitting down for dinner, but with delicious comics and first thing in the morning for most folks.

So that’s my Friday mornings.  And either you already knew that or you’ve no idea what I’m talking about.  In that last case, you’re going to want to start reading FREAKANGELS from the beginning.  And then stop by Whitechapel and say g’morning, yeah?

Oh boy.  I’ve been meaning to write this post for… well months, really.  I just haven’t quite figure out how to do it until now (and we’ll see if I actually have figured it out).  Because, you see, my friend wrote this book and…

… and that’s where most of you will have stopped reading.  "My friend did something" is a bit of a cue to click away, innit?  It’s right up there with "My mommy’s totally my biggest fan" as far as endorsements go.  Because here’s the thing — we pretty much all want the internet to have a little more personalization, but not that personal, not when it comes to reviews.

The unspoken answer to anything, any link or comment, that starts with "my friend made" is: "Well, but if it’s good, then why aren’t I hearing about it from strangers?"

But, well, whatever.  There’s a couple hundred of you that will have been tricked into clicking this link when I post it to twitter in a minute (using the cheat of a URL shortener so you’ll have no idea what you’re in for), and a handful of you will have had little enough to do for the next three minutes that you’ll read through anyway.  Haha, Tuesdays are the perfect time to spring a trap!

So.

My friend wrote this book:

And now, instead of telling you any damned thing about the book (because there’s a plot synopsis on Amazon, and it doesn’t tell you any more than I could), I’m going to tell you who this book was written for.

(Well, technically it was written for the two cats on the dedication page, because Adam’s a friend of mine, but he’s not quite right, if you know what I mean.  But that’s a measure of his sanity, not his writing.)

But more helpfully, the person this book is for looks a little like this:  You remember the Cartoon Express Train.  Adam remembers it, too — it’s in his bio at the end of the book, even — but you, well, you can’t really remember every moment of those years, but you can see the train snaking across the television screen when you think about it, right?  There’s a lot of the 80s that’s like that for you.  It’s not nostalgia, precisely — it’s those moment of faint-yet-clear memories.  Thundercats, ho! The invisible one-up mushroom just before the first jump.  Knowing is half the battle.  Those little dancing mice. The Snorks.  The Chipettes music video for "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."  Cookie Crisp cereal, but oh, what was that cereal with the furry golden guy with the big nose, did that even really exist?  And what the hell were those guys with the hologram stickers and removable glow-in-the-dark "capes" called?

In short, you don’t want the 80s back, you know better than to watch He-Man on hulu.com because it really was just crap, and you can sing the FAME theme song but you’re seriously not sure how you feel about the remake.  But you’ve got shared memories of a lot of REALLY weird shit you saw and read and remember from the 80s, and it’s not the shit you EVER see in those retrospectives, but you swear, you SWEAR it was real…

…You think.

Well, you’re the person Stays Crunchy In Milk was written for, then.  Because it’s not a book about what really happened.  It’s not a book about how crap things were, or how wonderful, or even how things were at all.  It’s a book about what never happened, that just happens to have been written by someone who remembers all those nearly-forgotten moments that you do, too.

And, y’know, it’s $12, so what the hell.

…that last post, Jamais said: "Oh, well all right, then."

Bit drunk with power, me.  Muahaha and also ha. 

Anyone else?

Have you ever just wanted to get in your car (or someone else’s) and drive until you hit the other side of the country? Of course you have. The need to see and explore is hard-wired into our genes. Even the most contented homebody sometimes feels a little tug from the parts of the world he hasn’t yet seen.

So I have this friend, Sarah Sharp (that’s Trixie Bedlam, to you), and one day she says to us: “I think I’m going to go to every state in the USA, and take pictures of everything you’ve never seen.”

And none of us really doubted it, because that’s just the person she is.

But more than that, that’s just the person she was born to be. Sarah’s camera isn’t for taking pictures of sunsets and babies (although she totally has, and she may kill me for spilling her dirty secret) — it’s another eye growing out of her hand, and it’s an eye that seeks out the beautiful strange that you’ve always wanted to see and hold and love and die with.

And me, I’ve been on a lot of the roads she’s taken, and she still managed to find some secrets I never knew.

So now she’s got a book. And it’s a big, beautiful, sprawling thing with sharp corners and wavy lines, just like the country whose soul it steals it’s showing off. You can preview it, if you only want a glimpse, and you can see some dirty-glass reflections of it on her flickr stream, and you can buy it if you want to make that trip from the comfort of your couch. And if, like me, you think it’s very likely the most beautiful thing you’re going to see today, you can give her the universal signal for “can I get a lift?” and vote for her book in the Best Blurb Book contest.

Here are tonight’s stats on my second urban fantasy adventure — this time with my neurotic undead thief, her shady agent, a cigar box full of magical penis bones, a mentally ill former NASA engineer-turned-sorceress, and the continued fabulosity of a Cuban drag queen:

Project: Hellbent
Deadline: August 9, 2024
New Words Written: 937
Present Total Word Count: 10,397



Things Accomplished in Fiction: Gave some background on the kids, as well as the rest of the household regulars.

Things Accomplished in Real Life: Day-job work this morning; got my hair done over lunch; drove out to the U-district to sign stuff for Duane at the University Book Store; had a moment of furious panic when the car’s engine began blowing smoke; came back down to earth when this proved to be an easy (free) fix; came home and worked on my Fort Freak rewrites.

Other: I confess, I don’t really want to be working on this project right now. I’d rather wait until I have feedback from the editor on Bloodshot (since this is its sequel); but Hellbent is the only thing to which I am contracted at the moment, so we work on the work, is what we do. It’s fun — definitely lighter than my usual fare (excepting Bloodshot, of course) — and I’m treating it like a “break” from the hardboiled near-noir of Fort Freak. Which is due tomorrow. That due date is both horrifying and a great relief … horrifying because I still have work to do on it, but a relief because hey, after tomorrow I’m finished (for awhile).

Total Official Word Count of 2024: 10,397 words

While I'll sometimes look at the quotes on imDb.com, I rarely look on Wikiquote when it comes to tv series or movies..

However, I came across a cracker when looking at the quotes for the Tenth Doctor.

Someone listed the 'confrontation' between Sarah Jane Smith and Rose Tyler in School Reunion... and linked each line to the episode to which it refers. Hover over the links to see what I mean...

Sarah: I saw things you wouldn't believe!
Rose: Try me.
Sarah: Mummies.
Rose: I've met ghosts.
Sarah: Robots. Lots of robots.
Rose: Slitheen. In Downing Street.
Sarah: Daleks!
Rose: [smugly] Met the Emperor.
Sarah: Anti-matter monsters!
Rose: Gas-mask zombies!
Sarah: Real living dinosaurs!
Rose: Real living werewolf!
Sarah: [emphasising each word] The Loch Ness Monster!
Rose: [stunned] Seriously?

• Superfeedr Blog : Real-time RSS notifications on your iPhone

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This may have been a terrible mistake.

The Duke comes at me again, preternatural lightning dancing on his arms, even brighter than the light reflecting from his saber. No mere ?palpable hit?: before I can even raise my own blade, he takes a dozen more bites out of my arm, shoulder, and chest. Then he steps back swiftly and I stagger even more.

?You?re starting to look like hamburger, my dear boy,? he says, a genuine note of concern in his voice. ?Ready to yield??

I look at the ground, where tiny red drops fall from me like rain: ?Maybe...??

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For consideration: "Self-confidence leaks from a thousand wounds."

I dreamt that Conan O'Brien's final guest on The Tonight Show was Johnny Carson, perfectly digitally reconstructed. The two of them just cracked wise and reminisced about the show's history, and by extension, the history of television.

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For consideration: the technology is probably actually there to do it for real, even

Woke up late. I believe my new phone is downstairs. So I leave you with this wonderful quote from Brandon Graham as I check the package and then go to the pub. Morning.

I have a rule in KING CITY that is – anything I come up with that is fun but doesn’t advance the plot, I try to give more priority and pages than something that does advence the plot.

I did a hefty interview with Ideology of Madness, wherein I talk my usual load of nonsense, in probably a more breathless way than usual. It’s part of my charm. At least, I hope it is.

Oh - and ifanboy has made SWORD 3 pick of the week, which means they’ll be yabbering about it on the show.

Oh Mr 2 - Review of SWORD 3 over at IGN, giving it an 8.4.

Hurrah for comics!

(Just so you don’t think I’ve been skipping out on my resolution or anything…) Here are recent stats on my second urban fantasy adventure — this time with my neurotic undead thief, her shady agent, a cigar box full of magical penis bones, a mentally ill former NASA engineer-turned-sorceress, and the continued fabulosity of a Cuban drag queen:

Project: Hellbent
Deadline: August 9, 2024
New Words Written: 1897
Present Total Word Count: 9460



Things Accomplished in Fiction: Raylene brought home a drag queen of her very own to play dress-up with.

Things Accomplished in Real Life: Over the last few days? Mostly I’ve just done day-job work (in the mornings) and worked on my Fort Freak segments in the afternoons. No, literally. That’s almost all I’ve done. (Though Sunday afternoon I went over to Ellen’s, where we were joined by Caitlin and Suezie and we totally had a girls’ night with Bruce Campbell which was EXACTLY as cool as it sounds.) Still averaging about 500 words a day which isn’t much, but will add up to much if I can keep it steady.

Other: I’m four segments down in Fort Freak, with thirteen more to go before Friday. I’ve completed one major first pass, answering all the editor’s notes; and I’ve now gone back and answered all my own notes, and added all the content I think I was supposed to add. Now I’m on the final pass to make sure it hangs together, but it is a VERY THOROUGH final pass. Thus my horror at the fact it needs to go by Friday afternoon.

Total Official Word Count of 2024: 9460 words

I have been assured (to the point of being badgered) that I ought to do this, so here goes: I realize that the Hugo and Nebula awards are in their recommendation phases right now, so here’s what I had published in 2024 that might be eligible.

• Boneshaker, Tor - September 2024 (novel)
  

And I think that’s it, actually. Thanks so much to those who have asked, and to those who might consider my stuff worthy of recommending.

From the forthcoming Phonogram #7



Due second week in February.

Phonogram is a comic book that simply never fails to deliver. If you're not reading it, you're missing out.

I'm through with cashin' those checks that I worked to earn
It's like I made it big and I dunno what I learned
This life hasn't turned out to be all that interesting
(Tell me what you want)

I want some brand new pills that I can't resist
And head full of voices that don't exist
And a king-size bag to drag around all my things
(Yeah, so what you need?)

I need a beat-up coat that fell off a truck
And a cardboard sign that says "Spare a buck?"
Gonna join the local soup line and stand there mumbling
(Been there, done that)

I want a new syringe and a hacking cough
My own flop where I can go nod off
Somewhere between the freeway and river is fine for me
(So how you gonna do it?)

Gonna trade this life for illness and pain
I'll even cut my wrists to find more veins

Cause we all just wanna be big crack heads
Live in cardboard boxes cause we're off our meds
The food is garbage and our friends are creeps
We'll all be twitchy cause we just don't sleep

And we'll hang out and beg for change
On a cold street corner as we grow deranged
Every car we see we're gonna go harass
Every cop we see is gonna beat our ass

Hey hey, I wanna be a crack head.

I wanna be sick as a dog as I scratch my nuts
Know eight different dealers who hate my guts
Pick through the dumpster until I can find a meal
(Is that a quesadilla?)

I'm gonna wipe my ass with some old newspapers
And I'll stay warm thanks to the sewer vapors
Gonna break your window so that I can find some stuff to steal
(So how you gonna do it?)

Gonna trade this life for illness and pain
I'll even cut my wrists to find more veins

Cause we all just wanna be big crack heads
Live in cardboard boxes cause we're off our meds
The food is garbage and our friends are creeps
We'll all be twitchy cause we just don't sleep

And we'll hang out and beg for change
On a cold street corner as we grow deranged
Every car we see we're gonna go harass
Every cop we see is gonna beat our ass

Then we'll hide out and pick at scabs
With a handful of samples from today's fresh tabs
They'll tell you that it's good, it's the same old shit
But it doesn't really matter cause we need a hit

Hey hey, I wanna be a crack head.

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For consideration: apologies to Nickelback

The release date, I’m told, is the 10th of February.

Sorry for the delay. It will almost certainly be worth it.

My 2024 calendar is filling up already!

February 4: The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute's 2010 Annual Meeting (PDF). Morning keynote. San Francisco.

Also February 4: State of Green Business Forum -- "Hacking the Earth Without Voiding its Warranty." San Francisco (just down the street from the previous conference, fortunately).

February 13: Information Technology Senior Management Forum 2024 Symposium on Green IT. San Jose.

Mid-March: NASA-sponsored project on sustainability, coinciding with shuttle launch. Cape Canaveral, Florida. (No public link yet.)

April 19: Social Business Edge, Show 1. New York City.

April 26-27: Institute for the Future Ten-Year Forecast. San Francisco.

May 5-7: Lift10. Geneva.

...whew...