Free to a good home, Ikea fingerpuppets. One is missing in the pic, but I think it's around here somewhere. They'd be great for a kid or anyone who needs some visualization aids for their world domination plotting. First one to e-me at my profile addy gets them.

And the puppets have found a home.

Chicago-areaistas:

I have a long-term, contract position available at my company starting immediately. We need someone with outstanding internet research, interviewing, and writing skills to work on a project 40 hours/week for 6-7 months. What we're really looking for is someone with solid journalism skills, particularly with a business writing focus.

If you or anyone you know is interested, they can check out our web site at www.sponsorship.com and submit a resume to me at kmartinATsponsorshipDOTcom.

Thanks much!!

Buffista dog owners, if you buy Diamond brand dog food please be aware that there is a recall in effect due to aflatoxin poisoning. Here's the appropriate article at Snopes: [link]

From the article: "This chemical is a potent toxin that attacks the liver. It stays in the system for a long time, and symptoms of aflatoxin-caused liver damage can takes weeks to appear, so dogs that have eaten any of the contaminated products should be tested."

There's a new lesson up at Gothic Charm School.

Julie Benz is guesting in tonight's episode of Supernatural.

My agent has asked me to come up with an informal 'net marketing plan for my book to send to the editors who have expressed interest in it.

So! I'm asking my friends, friends of friends, anyone who is interested in my book, to help with ideas.

Let me know if you're willing to plug my book on your site! I can probably do a handful of giveaways, and send out another handful for review.

I get a little wonky about self-promotion, it's not something I'm asking for, lightly. I'm used to cheerleading for others.

If you're willing to generously give me a plug, let me know how many hits your site averages per month so I can include that in the marketing plan.

Also, I apologize for leaning. I hate asking for such things. It's just that I think it could tip the balance in my favor towards someone buying if I can prove I can be my own cheerleader, and I want this more than I've ever wanted anything in my whole life, so I'm bracing myself and asking for help.

Help?

My email addie is Allyson000 at aol dot com (those are zeroes), and my site is www.allysonbeatrice.com for a look at the table o' contents.

Teh daughter is participating in the Polar Plunge to raise money for the Special Olympics along with some other members of the Mad Rollin' Dolls roller derby league. If you'd like to help out, her pledge page can be found here:

Polar Plunge

For those of you who remember Herself (or still know her from other venues), her first novel, What Love Means to You People, hits the shelves in March.

She'll be giving a reading from it at Three Lives & Co. bookshop, on Tuesday, March 28th, at 7:00 p.m. Three Lives is in NYC, in the West Village.

It's a ways off, but it's always good to mark your calendars now....

Huh.

Just on CNN, the WB and UPN will be collapsed into one broadcast network.

[edit: cite. [link]

After more than a year away, poets Victor D. Infante and Lea C. Deschenes make a brief return to their SoCal stomping grounds with a reading at The Ugly Mug in Orange. This will be Victor and Lea's only reading this trip, so you better catch it.

Victor D. Infante's poetry and journalism has been published in dozens of periodicals internationally. Currently, he is finishing his first novel, Nihilist Chic; a book on writing, entitled, How to Succeed As A Failing Writer, and his third screenplay, "The Ones That Got Away." He lives in Worcester, MA, with his wife, Lea, and his pet ferret, Ludo. He recently published his eighth chapbook of poetry, Warhol Days. At present, he is a copy editor for The Worcester Telegram & Gazette, a regular contributor to OC Weekly and The Independent Review Site, and a columnist for GotPoetry.com and WriteMovies.com. He is also editor in chief of The November 3rd Club, an online literary journal of political writing.

Lea C. Deschenes is currently pursuing her MFA in Poetry from New Enland College. Her poetry has appeared internationally (Spillway, Snakeskin, So Luminous the Wildflowers, ...What You Are About To Witness, et al.) A former member of four National Poetry Slam teams and a coach to two more, she also dusts off her BA in Theater to perform. She is a 2004 winner of the Jacob Knight Award and the Worcester representative to the Individual World Poetry Slam 2005. She is the author of ten chapbooks and four full-length manuscripts. Her most recent chapbook is Bad for Me: Love Poems.

February 8, 2006 Two Idiots Peddling Poetry Victor D. Infante and Lea C. Deschenes

The Ugly Mug The Ugly Mug Cafe 261 North Glassel St. Orange, CA 8 p.m. $2