At long last my column,"How to Succeed As A Failing Writer," is back! This week's installment is Harry Potter and the Vampire People: Building communities around a story. In a lot of ways, it's a companion piece to my interview with Allyson Beatrice and Jillian Venters.

Enjoy!

One of my closest friends wrote this movie and it opens this weekend. [link] Go see it! Not just because it's really great, but because she didn't start writing seriously for film until she was in her 40s--thus giving hope to all aspiring Buffistas.

New (and long overdue) essay up on my education blog, Little but Fierce: Oh Crap! I Forgot How to Teach! Please come visit if you get a chance or pass the word along to others in the teaching biz. Thanks!

Hi there.

I've been off the board for quite a while thanks to serious illness in the family, a new job, and new house (I think that totals 9.6 on the stress-o-meter).

Anyways, given all that I won't be able to organize the seventh annual Sooper Sekrit Buffista Gift Exchange. If anyone else is interested in taking on the job, please email me at my profile email address.

Thanks, and I hope to see you all again sometime in 2008...

(X-posted from my LJ) Hey, could one of the L.A./Hollywood Buffistas help me out?

Could I talk one of you into going to the BPAL this coming Friday night (they're open from 7PM to 10PM.) I would be able to email them and pre-order and pay for the bottles I want, I just need someone local to go pick them up and mail them to me. Please mail me at my profile addy if you can help me out!

(Info about the BPAL will-call: [link]

If you haven't yet, go listen to me interview Patricia Smith, Mark Eleveld and Marvin Bell. You will not regret it. Three amazing literary thinkers with their fingers on the pulse of contemporary poetry.

Stepping into Dani's big hat, for the Secret Santa Exchange:

Anyone interested in exchanging small presents with other Buffistas during the holiday season, email me at my profile address with your Buffista name and a snail-mail location to which people can send your loot. I will match up givers & giftees in a highly rigorous, random process -- i.e. drawing names out of a hat.

Please try to email me by November 9. I'll match names and send out notices by November 11, to allow for lots of present buying/making and mailing time.

Your truly,
Tiny Jewish not-Santa

[Edit: P.S. Apparently, there's not going to be a Slacker exchange this year, so please make sure to e-mail me on time!]

High Hat No. 9. Be sure to check out the article by that up-and-comer Erika Jahneke.

Lightbulbs is now open for discussion of the following proposal:

I propose that we close the dedicated Firefly thread and continue our discussions in the Minearverse thread.

Aimée "Bureaucracy 4: Like Job. No, really, just like Job" Oct 25, 2007 6:04:23 am PDT

LAistas--We are having a yard sale at our old place tomorrow from 8am-2pm. It's 239 N, Keystone St in Burbank and there is lots of cool stuff. Feel free to drop by to buy or just to say hello.