I hope everyone who celebrates is having a terrific hoiday season. We're having major snow here, and it's beautiful outside. The family dinner was canceled because of the weather, so we had a small quiet meal here, which has worked out for the best, I think. The charms of large family gatherings with all the attendant stress is lost on me. We enjoyed ham, martinis, opened a few gifts, listened to some Christmas music on the carousel, watched a bit of mass and a movie. A good night. I hope you all have peace in your lives and a great New Year.

Best,
Robin

Peace, and may you be blessed by those you love.

Here's hoping all my friends and readers have a merry Christmas.

And you other people too.

So, bikercat and I, who really do not like this time of year but really do not wish to be a downer on everyelse who does came up with the perfect idea for those who are smart-asses.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you; Bah-Humikah.

The time of Bah-Humikah starts on the first day of Chanukah and ends at 3pm on New Years Eve.
We feel that this time will cover most of the various holiday times but ends with enough time to get ready to go out and party on NYE.
Bah-Humikah is a time to sneer at the rest of the world who are full of good cheer, a time to tell off-color hoiday jokes, for the young ones to steal the baby jesus from church displays (but they must return them by sundown on New Years Day), and for the hope of coal in their stocking so they can have someething to BBQ raindeer for dinner on the 25th.

So come my friends and wish me a good Bah-Humikah!


B

Do the math.

http://www.cassyfiano.com/2009/12/gun-sales-surge-violent-crime-drops

Worth reading.

And for those who like the "racist tea baggers" epithet? Talk to the hand.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/12/why_the_angry_mob_is_angry.html

And were, in fact, milked to pay for swing votes.

http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com/2009/12/we-are-in-sense-being-punished-for-our.html

They finally seem to have clued in to the massive and shameless corruption. There is, of course, the fig leaf of "The republicans did it too", though she Ms. Couric seems to have forgotten that it was a Republican congress that admonished DeLay for vote buying, so there was _some_ sense of shame.

Certainly not any these days.

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/12/23/video-cbs-reports-on-vote-buying-in-obamacare-bill/

Avatar is probably not the greatest movie that ever movied, but it did, in fact, dazzle me enough for me to want to be a Na'vi. The story was paper-thin and holeyer than a slice of Swiss cheese, but James Cameron will still get enough Oscars to pave his driveway (again) because the moviemaking is very very pretty.

BUT I think he could have come away with even more Oscars (if it's possible) if he'd had someone else (like me) write the story for him.

SUICIDE KINGS is out in hardcover (see below) and BUSTED FLUSH has been released in mass market. Meanwhile, I've delivered the additional content -- three new stories -- for the first volume of this storied series, WILD CARDS itself, which Tor will be reissuing later in the year. Since the first volume was historical in nature, telling the story of the wild card from 1946 to 1985, adding some original material to cover some of the "lost years" seemed like a natural.

The three new tales:
-- "Captain Cathode and the Secret Ace," by Michael Cassutt,
-- "Powers," by David D. Levine,
-- "Ghost Girl Takes Manhattan," by Carrie Vaughn.

No publication date yet. You'll know when I do.

As for FORT FREAK, the twenty-first volume in the series that WILD CARDS began, first drafts are all in, I've given the usual editorial note, and the writers are all off revising. This one looks to be a lot of fun. The Class of 2009 is doing some great work, and the old-timers ain't half bad either.

On other fronts, Gardner Dozois and I are very close to delivering our original cross-genre anthology STAR-CROSSED LOVERS, to Pocket Books. We're waiting for some minor revisions from one writer. Once those are in hand, the book will be delivered. Only it's not STAR-CROSSED LOVERS any longer. Pocket's sales force did not like that title, so the anthology has now been rechristened SONGS OF LOVE AND DEATH. Got a great line up of writers for that one, including Diana Gabaldon, Jim Butcher, M.L.N. Hanover, Peter S. Beagle, Marjorie Liu, Jacqueline Carey, Carrie Vaughn, Robin Hobb, Neil Gaiman, and many more.

Everybody's talking about AVATAR, which I haven't seen yet... but I have been going to movies. While the crowds queue up for Cameron, I've been catching up on some of the other films now in release. I enjoyed THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, and liked INVICTUS as well, but the one that really impressed me was ME AND ORSON WELLES. The guy who plays Welles should get an Oscar nomination for that performance.

As usual, I am way behind on my Xmas shopping.

Where does the time go?

Today was the official publication day for the latest Wild Cards book, SUICIDE KINGS.

Run, don't walk, to your favorite bookstore and getcha copy now. And hell, while you're there, get copies for all your friends as well. All you Xmas shopping in one swell foop.

Originally at 3.5% (annual). Now down to 2.2%.

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/12/22/q3-gdp-revised-sharply-downward-again/

Note that that's with a currently-predicted inflation rate of 2.8%.

http://forecasts.org/inflation.htm

You do the math.

Go back to a hunter-gatherer economy, because she doesn't think California needs that evil electricity stuff.

http://industry.bnet.com/energy/10002690/how-important-are-renewables-feinstein-blocks-desert-solar/

They're accounting gimmicks - and even the bill's supporters are finally getting around to admitting that.

http://blog.heritage.org/2009/12/21/left-now-admitting-obamacare-full-of-budget-gimmicks/

The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein: “The delay is a budget trick, an attempt to lower the 10-year cost of the bill at the expense of the very people we’re trying to help.”

Mother Jones‘ Kevin Drum: “I’m pretty sure the 2014 date is mostly due to budget finagling. This stuff can’t be done overnight, but I’ll bet most of it could be implemented within 12 months, and it could certainly be implemented within 24.”

Talking Points Memo’s Josh Marshall: “My impression is that some of the delays are there because it makes the budgetary accounting work better in terms of deficit neutrality. And I know the Dems would likely lose critical support without being able to show that the overall bill actually lowers the deficit. But if that’s the main reason, I suspect the legislative authors may be too clever by half since they may be slitting the bill’s and perhaps their own throats in the process.”

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/crime-scene/update-on-the-news/detective-who-pulled-gun-at-sn.html

It appears the cop was off duty, and pulled a gun/etc. when people started snowballing his Hummer. He was also a 20 year veteran. I say "was" because I can't really think of him being around much after this.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/dec/20/voter-angst-nation-might/?partner=popular

Maybe, maybe not. But it's certainly interesting to watch.

And, for the health bill, has been laid out in its technicolor glory.

Michelle Malkin details some of the prominent gimmes (aka taxpayer-funded bribes) used to bring in votes:
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/12/21/cash-for-cloture-demcare-bribe-list-pt-ii/

Byron York deconstructs the 1AM vote... and why it was entirely driven by Harry Reid's desire to have the bill passed before Christmas.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Whos-responsible-for-the-Senates-middle-of-the-night-vote-79781687.html

And Ben Nelson discovers that accepting a bribe from his party to vote a particular way may well mean that he's going to be looking for a new job.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091220/D9CN9TL80.html