Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Dancin' with Mr. Drive-in Movie Theater Speaker

Facebook has renewed its charms for me, as another social group of mine, the Rabbit Choir/Love Props crew, reassembles online and compares notes after some fifteen(?) years. (Wow, it really has been a long time.) I spend more time enjoying the chatter of the others than actively joining in, though I do check on Facebook more now than I had for a few months. Getting to see pics of and read about Stacie, Tami, SuperDave, Chantelle, Tatiana, Gayle, Bob, etc. is something I didn't imagine happening, and it's very cool. I wish I had a bit more time to join in, but with one baby in the house and another on the way -- and the full-time job at the magazine -- it's just too hard to stay awake...

The February issue just about undid me. We haven't had to work that hard on an issue for a while, and it just wipes you out, 'specially iffen yer preggo, como yo. With sales tax and business tax and plain old income tax riding on the tail of it, along with trying to get this new blog launched for the mag, it's been quite a ride.

I did have a strange and wonderful moment of peace last night, quietly knitting and watching House on Hulu.com while the hub and babe took a bath together. It only lasted a short while, but it was good, and I didn't even fall asleep. ;)

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

More firings

"Call me gullible or impressionable, but I'm actually feeling kind of hopeful this week." Following her unexpected firing yesterday, Sara Nelson must be ruing the opening to her last editorial for Publishers Weekly. Nelson is a brilliant editor and strong leader in the industry, and now is the latest victim of the economic downturn: Reed Business Information, PW's parent company, launched a restructuring which includes cutting 7% of staff. Brian Kenney, editor-in-chief of School Library Journal, will replace Nelson.

This is the news brief I would have written if Locus Online covered the general publishing world like it does SF/F. I read her editorials every week, and really enjoyed her wry humor and insight into the industry. Best of luck to her, and to the other orphaned editors out there, including the Realms of Fantasy folks, Juliet Ulman, Liz Scheier, etc.