Working on it...

It seems like it's getting harder and harder to find good blocks of time to blog these days. Work is very busy, and I'm trying to spend less time on my butt in front of the keyboard when I'm not at the office. I'm doing fly lady-style cleaning today. Zones and fifteen minute increments of focused activity. This is easier on the cranky spine, bad knee, and all the rest of that junk, but sometimes hard for an inveterate procrasinator used to cramming work into splintering 100-yard dashes.

I have a list of twelve items to achieve today, and that's before even going out to run quick errands. So, here I am, briefly in front of the keyboard before moving on to dusting bookshelves and getting a load of dishes started. Five minutes to write, fifteen to tidy.

So, what's new, eh?

My June/July issue of Smithsonian Air & Space magazine arrived this week, and, before I even got inside the apartment I flipped to the back to see the "In the Next Issue" page. And, lo and behold, there it was - a blurb about my article! Hooray!! So, now, it's very real. I've had a couple of questions to answer for the "top edit" this week (when the article goes through review/edit by folks at the top of the magazine edit cycle) and those were easy to handle, I'm glad to say. For two of the three questions, I even had footnoted references. One question was the result of my foolishness, putting an anecdote into a paragraph where the timing of the event became nebulous. I offered a mea culpa and a clarification on where and when the story took place, and so far, no more queries. I get to see a layout of the piece in a couple of weeks. Most excellent!

I have some ideas in mind for radio commentary, if I can find some time when I'm feeling the muse giving me a scalp massage. So far, she has been elusive. But I hope to pin that wench down soon. I also need to finish the first draft of my "livin' in Moscow" book, which I had to set aside when the back put me through torture last autumn. So many pages fluttering around, so little mental discipline to finish it all. (Grumble.)

I hope all you usual suspects are happy, healthy, and doing well. And I'm sorry I've fallen off the blog-reading wagon of late. That requires a muse of its own. Maybe the Olivia Newton-John rollerskating muse from "Xanadu."

Hmm...


Muse or no muse, I'll slap some Ben-Gay on my back and aim to make the rounds of the regular suspects soon, as well as add more of my own words here on the screen. No promises, but a good faith effort to try.

A final thought that will have meaning only to folks I know through the Thomas Dolby world. After fourteen years of providing a link to fans of Mr. Dolby - and keeping his most loyal followers in the know - the Alloy fan mailing list is closing down. I've been the owner of the list since 2006, and I've tried to keep it alive. But, with the official website, a new official announcement list, and new music on the horizon (including a new EP being mixed in LA as I type!), Alloy has reached the end of its path. After consultation with Thomas, we determined that it was time for me to close it down. Most folks have been understanding, and, while many are sad to see it go, it's time.

I just want to say thank you to Thomas for his support and encouragement (and music!) and to all the members of the list for having been part of this community for so long. To all of the Alloy folks: be well, find the path that makes you happy, and I hope to see you out on the Flat Earth Society!