Whoo! Our erinaceous made InStyle. P. 113 of the January 2005: "Erin McKean, the youngest chief editor in the history of the OAD, forecasts nascent (emerging) words."

Next, the fashion feature.

Are you, or is somebody you know, a "Wire" fan?(If not, rent the DVDs. They will either capture you, or you will think this is the slowest damn thing you've seen in your life, but Buffistas dig arc, so it's worth a shot. It has inherited Homicide's "Not Your Father's Crime Show" crown.) But this means it is time to fight for another low-rated but critically beloved show. Sound familiar? But all is not over.(Yes, I'm a geek with a letter-writing campaign. Shoot me. But wash with Ajax after.) This time, the letters go to:
HBO
1100 Avenue of The Americas
NY, NY 10036
You'll be writing to CEO Chris Albrecht, Executive Vice- President of Business Affairs Harold Akselrad, and Executive Vice President of Program Planning David Baldwin. I hope someone here does besides me, because Buffista letters rule. And I don't have to tell you to use good grammar and not put weird stuff in the envelopes. I'm not thinking we'll bring HBO to its knees but some fan support being vociferous before Simon meets the brass in mid-Jan couldn't hurt, and it's fun on occasion to bitch at people with actual power for a change.
ETA: It has come to my attention that some people prefer less...yo-tech contact methods. Direct e-mail for these guys is not available to schmucks like us, but you may use the Contact option at hbo dot com. Or sign the petition at [link] Or break Stringer's rules and use the phone to 212-512-1208. Ask for one of the departments mentioned in this message, I think.

After that, I guess, "It's all in the game," but I'm not ready to let that city go yet.

Going dark for the next week or so, while I'm on vacation with my family. Have a merry Christmas, everyone, and a happy New Year!

Packages are wrapped, I'm heading for NJ.

Happy Holidays, all!

FYI Earthquake links:

Live Internet Seismic Server: [link] (Takes a while to load on dial-up.)

IRIS Seismic Monitor: [link]

The New World-Wide Earthquake Locator: [link]

I know we're all in the holiday fuzz still, but I'm helping ND, -t, and Heather to try to work out final details for the NOLA May F2F. Post with important questions and details is here: KristinT "F2F 3: Who's Bringing the Guacamole?" Dec 27, 2004 11:12:58 pm PST.

It may seem far off, but we're actually only five months from our gathering, which is a little close for comfort to not have an official reservation and booking yet.

Thanks!

Final chance to say yay or nay to the hotel before I sign that contract and pay the deposit for the May F2F....

All relevant details are here: KristinT "F2F 3: Who's Bringing the Guacamole?" Dec 29, 2004 8:36:02 am PST

Final contract details, also information about how and when to make reservations for the May F2F can be found here: KristinT "F2F 3: Who's Bringing the Guacamole?" Dec 30, 2004 3:50:48 pm PST

Thus endeth the bugging everyone until about Februrary, at the 90 day mark.

The illustration fans out there may want to know that multiple-Hugo-winning illustrator Kelly Freas died this morning, according to his agent. He illustrated Heinlein, Clark, Pohl, van Vogt and hundreds of others and gave us gremlins, the Skylab I astronaut patches, the cover of Queen's "News of the World" and the face of Alfred E. Neumann.

I've been trying to make some sense of my chaotic book collection, and have in the process discovered some duplicates. These two books are free to a good home. Email my profile address if interested:

Master and Commander, by Patrick O'Brian (first in the Aubrey/Maturin series!)
English Society in the Eighteenth Century, by Roy Porter (a pretty thorough overview, useful for writers)

The first is in very good condition, the second in good condition, though I got it from a UBS and its former owner marked it up a bit.

ETA both books have been claimed.