He must have been an admiral, a sultan or a king

[rolanni]

Things are still somewhat in disarray here at the Cat Farm.  Scrabble and Mozart are still insisting that The Kid has to be here somewhere, darnit, and they occasionally mount exploratory surveys.

Mozart yesterday went over the entire house, using the MomCat call, but damn -- The Kid still didn't turn up.  He then sought Steve out to Explain This At Length, and (possibly) to Demand Assistance.  Steve was, sadly, not able to bring much to this, except to offer scribbles.

Scrabble, ever methodical, periodically checks Socks' favorite spots, and has three times now put his favorite toys into play, noisily -- but that didn't pull him out of his Silly Fluff sulks, either.  There are also Other Worrisome Developments, such as Socks' bowl going missing.  She has duly noted this on the inventory.

The humans are at loose ends, somewhat, and not so sprightly as they might be.  Work, however, goes on; things arrive in the mail; and laundry must be done.

Things that have arrived in the mail include three! guidebooks for Angkor Wat, which are fascinating.  (No, I'm not going to Angkor Wat or Siem Reap or Cambodia or Viet Nam.  No, I don't know why I had to have these books.  The backbrain at work, I suppose. I try not to question too closely in the belief that, eventually, All Will Become Clear.  It would be nice to occasionally get a memo, though.)  Anyhow -- fascinating, with pictures! and teensytinyitsybitsy little print, and it is to swoon.  So, yanno, at least the backbrain's happy.

Also in the mail -- today, in fact -- was a sympathy card from the vet's office, with personal notes from all the staff, aka Socks' Waterville Fan Club; and  Protector, the next Foreigner novel.

Speaking of guidebooks, I ought to get one for New York, so I can figure out how far things are from other things and how to move around the place.  Hmm.  Steve and I will be at Book Expo America (aka BEA) at the end of May, doing a book signing and some other stuff TBA.  In theory, we will have some unscheduled time to do, um, stuff.  Noting that the Sheer Amount of Stuff  in New York makes thinking about what one would like to do-or-see. . .somewhat overwhelming.

But!  What do I find, via the New Yorker, but that Kinky Boots, the Musical! is/will be at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (located at 45th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues, it says, here, helpfully, no doubt). This is very exciting, and visions of theater tickets dance in my brain (to be immediately dashed by my lack of knowing almost everything I need to know in order to figure out if a night at the theater is even possible.  That guidebook is looking like a better and better idea...)

#

Of possible interest to those who follow the ups and downs of the publishing biz, and wonder why writers go crazy, is the whole Night Shade Books Nightmare.  Steve and I are not involved with Night Shade, we have no skin in the game, but a lot of our friends and colleagues are involved in this. . .horrifying situation.

Here's a fairly temperate analysis, with history, written by a well-known SF/F agent.

Here's another summary of the situation, by Tobias Buckell.

Here's Phil Foglio's take (Night Shade publishes the Girl Genius text novels (NOT the graphic novels)

Here's the first i09 article regarding the situation.

And, here's Mr. Lassen of Night Shade, in his own words.

Kameron Hurley, one of Night Shade's authors, rings down the sky, and explains why she's considering the "deal."

Andy Zack, of the Zack Literary Agency, weighs in.

#

Progress on Carousel Seas

24,893/100,000 OR 24.89% Complete

"That's an impressive bit of work the man does," I said, slowly. "I wonder if it does any good, in the long run."

Comments

KInky Boots reservations

[ebartley.livejournal.com]

Buy tickets:
http://www.gotickets.com/theater/kinky_boots.php

Seating Chart:
http://www.playbill.com/reference/theatre_info/seating/2180.html

Transportation in NYC

[ebartley.livejournal.com]

The best way to get around in NYC is by public transportation; whether the buses or subway is better depends on what you want to do. The downside is that NYC public transportation can be confusing, but the MTA's official website contains a lot of useful information (maps, schedules, etc.) plus a trip planner (put in your address and your destination address and time of departure / desired time of arrival) and it will suggest a couple of routes.
http://new.mta.info/

Alternatively, taxis are available, but expensive, and outside of central Manhattan you have to know where to find them, or call a car service (which is not technically a taxi.)

Re: Transportation in NYC

[attilathepbnun.livejournal.com]

And the Javits Center *is* far enough from the Theater District that I doubt you'd want to walk!

Re: Transportation in NYC

[ebartley.livejournal.com]

Depends how you feel about walking. :)

The theater Sharon mentioned is closer to the Javits Center than a lot of the theater district -- around a mile according to Google Maps, depending on where in the Javits Center you start. But I recall it *feeling* like more than a mile -- probably due to heavy pedestrian traffic combined with having been on my feet all day.

Re: Transportation in NYC

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

A mile's easily walkable, actually. And city walking never feels as far as country walking to me. But! If I'm starting from the Javits Center, that means I'll have already been walking all day, on a very unforgiving surface, if memory serves.

Re: Transportation in NYC

[attilathepbnun.livejournal.com]

*blushes* Eeep! For some reason, I had it in my head the question was about walkability between Grand Central and the Javits Center ....

Re: Transportation in NYC

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Thank you; that link looks very useful -- and will be more useful when I know where we'll actually be. I don't think they give the writers little pup tents in the Javits Center. Though that might be fun...

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

Poor confused kitties. Moop.

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Eee. Kitty sads. :(

Also, the Nightshade situation sounds scary, in how the new company is going to try to foist new contracts on Nightshade's authors.

[zola.livejournal.com]

This is just one of those "FWIW" comments, because everyone's circumstances are different.

You didn't mention how you handled Sock's body, but we have a large yard and prefer to bury ours. My husband and I have found that it seems to help with the other cats if we bring the body home and put it in a cat carrier, leaving the door of the carrier open, and we leave it overnight.

By morning, all the cats have had a chance to inspect the carrier, allowing them to see that their housemate is gone, and as a result, they don't look for him/her. This seems to really help all involved.

The vet says it's perfectly safe, even if the cat has been put to sleep. We have also found the ritual of arranging the body in a comfortable position when we first place it in the carrier and then being able to give a few last pats in the morning as we prepare for the burial really helps give closure.

This of course isn't for everyone, but I figured I would mention it because it might help.

[barbinbandon.livejournal.com]

How loving and considerate. Thank you for sharing this.

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

Socks is being cremated, and when we bring his ashes home, they'll become part of the Cat Garden in the front lawn. We plant wildflowers there, and see good play from butterflies, and hummingbirds and other critters of interest to cats...

Cats in Mourning

[catherine ives (from livejournal.com)]

So sorry for the cats who have lost a brother, Wishing that they come to terms. I personally have never had dogs who reacted like this. Cats I think are more spiritual. May sadness eventually fade away..

Manhattan

[ext-1743106.livejournal.com (from livejournal.com)]

I believe that walking in Manhattan feels shorter than "country" walking because it's mostly flat. Though I think walking on grass or a dirt path is easier on feet, if not shoes.

As far as transportation goes, the MTA website really does have an amazing trip planner. There's another one, though, that I think works a little better, at hopstop.com. (Also, if you get lost, the tellers at the subway station often know what they're talking about. I'm ashamed to say that I've asked them for help...)

Anyway, I'm SO excited to see you guys! Finally, you're in my neck of the woods!

Re: Manhattan

[attilathepbnun.livejournal.com]

I just hope the boss sends me to BEA again --- on the right day!!!!!