Blogetary (Weblog + Commentary = Blogetary)

I hope this is just bloggers expanding gossip beyond the realm of reality, but it appears that Realms of Fantasy Magazine will be ceasing publication of its monthly magazine.

According to SF Scope, the April 2009 issue currently at the printers is the final issue. However, if you go to the ROF’s website, there is nothing on the site about it. SF Scope says the news is so new that not even Shawna McCarthy, on vacation in Italy, had heard of it. According to Managing Editor, Laura Cleveland, the news broke rather suddenly and they still haven’t had a chance to let all their writers and artists know.

Okay, here’s the kicker. Newsstands sales are down. Advertising is down a little. But subscriptions are still good.  Okay, it’s no news that newsstand sales are down on ROF, or advertising. Advertising has been down at the newspaper where I’ve been working since March and there’s no way they’re going to cease publication. And ROF probably has a ton more subscribers than we do. Also, the only SF magazine I ever see at my neighborhood newsstand is Analog and that’s only if some other scifi person hasn’t snatched it up before I did. For some reason many mainstream newsstands don’t carry SF magazines. There’s gotta be a high demand and a big push for it to happen.

But, supposedly, subscriptions are still good. So, why doesn’t the publisher just wait, instead of panicking and having the knee-jerk response of ceasing publication, and see what will happen in a couple of months. It’s JANUARY for God’s sakes! NO ONE has money in January. No one has money until March, at least! That’s just the way it is. Why not wait a few more months, see how things pan out with things before deciding to close things down.

Business people, managers, bean counters, whatever they’re called these days, can be so short-sighted.

Just wait. Patience. Perseverance. Hope. Hard work.

IN FACT, I would tell that publisher that it’s their PATRIOTIC DUTY to keep publishing for at least the first 100 days of the Obama administration and see whether things get better.

The more we panic and pull in, the worse it’s going to get. Geez people!  Get a clue!

According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2009 is the Year of the Ox and symbolizes prosperity through fortitude and hard work. Considering the speech President Obama gave at his inauguration, I think that’s an accurate indicator of the year ahead. Hard work and sustained efforts are what we need now.  Let’s get to it and, as Benjamin Franklin said, hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

You know, I really enjoy reading Kaz’s Five Things on a Friday and Leigh’s Random Things on a Friday. Plus, I have another friend who likes to post Weekly Appreciations.

They’re cool to read and don’t have to have anything to do with anything –  just plain fun and stuff. So, I decided it was time to chime in. Not that I’ll be consistently presenting something every Friday, and I know I get wordy, but it just seemed like the thing to do today.

One: On top of trying to put the paper out this week, it was a party atmosphere Tuesday morning as we all gathered around to watch the inauguration and admired Aretha Franklin’s hat. I never did learn how to wear a hat well, but I do love them and would like them to make a comeback.

B. All the news has been about the Obama’s taking over office of the President of the United States and the current recession. I feel like the rest of the world is finally catching up with me. For one, I went into my own private recession about a year and a half ago and am just now managing to quietly pull out of it with the help of family and friends. Plus, it’s about time someone of color was president, now can we please work on getting a woman there some time in the foreseeable future?

3. It’s a good thing my personal economy is pulling out of its recession because my favorite shoes had a blow out yesterday. They look like an older version of this – kinda:

They’re not very pretty, especially now after years of wear, one of the shoes has a melted sole from putting my feet up by a campfire, and the laces don’t match at all any more. Then finally the back seam on one them blew out on one of our rainy days here.

I should have thrown them out three years ago, but they’re so comfortable for me. I have odd feet — short, stubby, wide, with a high instep and funny toes that always rub the top of the shoe, which can get really painful after a while. And sometimes my feet swell oddly when I sit for too long, it gets too hot, or I forget to drink enough water. I would buy shoes to replace these shoes by the same company (Skechers) but never the same shoe style cuz I couldn’t find it on sale at my favorite shoe discount store (now defunct Shoe Pavilions).  So those newer shoes never got worn because they were never as comfortable and I always went back to the old shoes I should’ve thrown out.

Anyway, yesterday what I expected to do in the afternoon didn’t happen and the shoes were now unwearable and it’s raining here now so I really needed sturdy shoes and not pretty flats, so I went shopping. Mapped out two discount shoe stores close by that I had never been to, went to one (DSW). Found the exact, albeit up to date, version of the shoes I’d blown out within 15 minutes of being in the store (ON sale). Bought them while I was wearing them and then continued to shop for another three hours. FTW – I came out with three more pairs of shoes that look decent and feel good on my feet and were from the clearance section.

And finally — I got a gig helping someone organize their office, which means longer bus trips, and also means I’m back into reading books again. For some reason, I just quit reading books. Can’t explain why. I just did. So, picked up a book I started a while ago and never finished called The Wild Trees. I get blank looks whenever I try to describe it to people, but I’m enjoying it. But, I really like trees, too — especially insanely huge trees that would take over the planet if they could.

PS!!!!!

I forgot to add that a couple of books that I had ordered came in today. (So, I’d better back into reading, huh?)

Company of Thieves by Gil Roscoe, who’s in my writer’s group.

And then The Tarot Cafe Novel: The Wild Hunt by Chandra Rooney, someone ELSE in my writer’s group!

I guess I better start readin’!

I spent a lot of last night Obama-fying pictures of me and my cats in preparation of this morning:

Got up early, called my family and now watching the coverage whilst getting ready to work.

Pye’s not sure what’s going on. He’s just happy I got up early and fed him sooner than he normally gets fed!

Well, Happy Inauguration, Everyone!  Have a great day!

I have a new story out on Bewildering Stories. You can find it here. It’s brief. Set in the glittery, guttery wastes of Hollywood, a family rat watches as a friend gets his soul sucked dry…

I don’t have a picture of how the shiny Los Angeles butts up against the dirty, grimy Los Angeles, but here’s a pic of Will Rogers Beach in the summer.

You’ll just have to imagine how the clean, shiny, creative LA contrasts with the soullessness that’s here, too.

January 13th.

Since I don’t take down my tree until after January 6, Epiphany (Greek Orthodox Christmas), a friend of mine pointed out that New Year for me probably shouldn’t really start until a week later, or January 13th. I tend to be a little bit of a late starter, so that makes perfect sense to me. Holidays are now officially over! Time to start a new year with a clean slate!

And it really does work for me as I found myself wide awake Monday morning, ready to go to work, no holiday sluggishness left at all. Brain and body both working together for once.  But, in case you need more proof, here are 10 signs that the new year has finally started for me:

1) Tree was de-decorated and put away this weekend.

2) Started hearing from some regular clients again who were busy during the holidays.

3) Started hearing from new clients.

4) Got a definite yes on a short story.

5) Got a definite no on some poems.

6) Heard back some good feedback on a story I sent to some friends.  Really good points that I hadn’t considered before, sending me off in different directions.

7) Spreadsheet shows no more outstanding people to hear back from on poetry, and only a few still out on stories.

Tax paperwork is turning up, waiting to be done.

9) TV programming is finally moving from sports and reruns and “other” into regular episodes (At Last!).

10) The Santa Ana’s are coming through. The dry, hot, prickly desert sun making it feel like earthquake weather, hair on the cat sparking when I pet him. It’s been 80 degrees last couple of days and no longer feels like a SoCal winter holiday.

So, time to get crackin’ I guess.

Time to get back to work!

What is it about some people’s reactions that just get under your skin? Mine is perceived rudeness or terseness, especially on the internet. I usually ignore it, but sometimes it just grinds and gets to me. And I come by it honestly.

My mom is pretty sensitive about being polite, especially since being polite is, in essence, an extension and institutionalization of kindness. In addition, my father is British and while he is mostly easy going (and has lived in the States for over 45 years), he still has a higher standard for what is considered “de rigueur” in regards to tact. Though I come from a divorced family, both these people made a great impression on me on the importance of politeness, tact, and making sure that everyone feels good about any kind of emotional transaction. Working retail for several years merely compounded this impulse (while simultaneously grinding my love of people into a pulp so that now I’m pretty much a recluse). Now, while my dad was still pretty adamant at teaching me manners (We stayed up until 3 am when I was a toddler because I would not say, “Down, PLEASE” and my father would not let me down from the highchair until I said PLEASE and learned to properly excuse myself from the table), he was also instrumental in teaching me not to take anything too seriously (Mom, too, but she doesn’t always remember how carefree she was when she was younger).

As a result, I tend to get pretty pissed off when I perceive people as rude, terse, or dismissive of me. Being polite is a form of respect, and we all deserve respect. And there are times when I’ll fight to the end if I perceive someone as being disrespectful and dismissive of me or people I love.

Also, as a result, when I step over a line I didn’t realize was there and am told about it, I’m usually pretty quick about apologizing. Usually (not always). But in return, when I apologize, I expect a little easing of tension in return. It’s what I’ve been taught. When you do something wrong and someone tells you, you apologize. And when someone apologizes to you, you make sure to say that that’s okay and forgive the other person. Now the person knows and we can move on. This is what one does when one must live, work, and deal with other people on a daily basis. This is politeness. This is tact. The only time the tension is not eased is when the infraction is repeated – repeatedly.

At least, that’s what I’ve been taught and that’s how I am.

So, it’s really disconcerting to me when these little rules aren’t followed. For example, I step over a line. I’m told not to do it again – tersely. I apologize. Then. . . Silence. No return easing of tension. In fact, no return email at all.

That’s partly a problem with the internet. When someone types something, there’s no voice inflection, no body language to follow. We try to make it better with little signals and words, but still, it can be awkward. When I type, “stop that, you ass!” you don’t know if I am kidding or if I’m really pissed at you. Maybe the meaning can be inferred from the context, but maybe not. It makes the little niceties, like offering forgiveness after an apology, almost MORE important.

On the other hand (because there’s always another hand), as my father taught me, you should never take any of this too seriously. And if someone takes this, or themselves, or anything too seriously, the best thing to do is just walk away. Taking things too seriously is as bad as being rude.

So, I guess, when some of the terseness in replies on the internet, etc, gets to me, gets under my skin, the best thing I’ve learned to do is just walk away. After all, the first rule of tact is kindness and making others feel comfortable; making allowances for others. If someone isn’t kind to you, and you have a choice, then the best thing you can do is walk away. You don’t need to waste your time, money, or energy on them. Whether they’re a cashier, a customer, a coworker, a friend, an editor, another writer, or a stranger on the street, it’s not worth it to engage when they are unkind, terse, mean, or expend negative energy on you just because you happen to be there.

Just walk away. There are other people out there who will treat you with respect and dignity. Make an effort to be with them.

There’s an old saying, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Another one is that it doesn’t take any energy to be kind, and it actually uses up energy to be unkind, terse, or mean. I try to remember that, myself, and throw tennis balls at the target board until I get stuff out of my system. Sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I want to type hurtful, mean words right back at them. And then, while it IS my right to do so and I DO feel better (at first) for doing so, it always comes back to bite me in the butt later. And I learn all over again to just walk away from the buttheads and leave them to themselves.

***
AND NOW you’re wondering what spurred this blog. Well, don’t take it too seriously. It’s just a blog. You can walk away.

What gets under your skin?

Find it here.

Need we say more?

And the winner is (drum roll please) Sharon! I’ll be contacting you, Sharon, for your address.

I wish I had six other copies to send out as well to everyone else, but the good news is that this issue of EV is available online.  And, if I find another extra copy I didn’t know I had, I’ll do a second drawing. For now, thanks for playing. It’s been fun!

And Happy New Year!