October 2008 Issue
readme:
Well, it’s been a quiet month here at TWD World Headquarters.
As if. Actually, last month (September) was a major drag. Look, I thought we had a deal. We move to Ohio, we put up with tornadoes, blizzards, snakes, coyotes on the front porch, skunks by the back door, spiders the size of skunks, weeks without rain and then flash floods, lightning, ball lightning, power outages for no damn reason, random gunfire from our deranged neighbors all day and night, and no decent restaurants within fifty miles. In return we get … cats? But OK, the sunsets are pretty.
But we did not, and I cannot emphasize this too strongly, we did not sign up for hurricanes. Hurricanes? In Ohio? That ain’t right.
But we did end up getting the last gasp of Ike — no rain, just winds. Seventy-five mile per hour winds, winds that tore down trees, screwed up our roof and knocked out power all over Central Ohio, in our case for four days. That meant no lights, no TV (not a biggie to me), no internet (a biggie), and, most importantly, no water, since the well pump refuses to run without juice. But, overall, we did pretty well for a house built during the Civil War, though we did lose about $500 in spoiled food. So much for being prepared for emergencies.
And that, dear friends, is the main reason why there was no September issue of this little circus.
Two bits of news: First, I have changed the commenting system so you no longer have to register and log in to comment, thus, I hope, putting an end to the ridiculous password kerfuffle. Comments must still wait to be approved, so expect a slight delay in seeing your thoughts actually appear.
Secondly, without delving into the grisly details, it would be totally awesome if more of you subscribed. As I have mentioned before, my ms has severely restricted my income, so every little bit helps more than you would think. To that end, until January 2009 we will be offering a two-for-one subscription deal wherein $15 bags you two one-year subs. Make a friend happy!
And now, on with the show…
john:
October 24th, 2008 at 7:16 am
I Love your site!
you are “the only person in the world” who knew what “fantods” were!
I am making my way through Infinite Jest – god, I wish I’d found you earlier this month when I began the book…
My subscription dough is on the way!
John…
Martin:
October 27th, 2008 at 12:19 am
To add to the delight of finding your excellent site for the first time just now, as a coincidental pleasure I realise that I happen to have experienced the very weather that you’re referring to, despite being resident across the pond in Ireland.
When I left the States in September, the backwash of Ike was just beginning to roll over me as my plane departed Dayton airport. Had we left even 20 minutes later I think we would have been tumbled sideways off the runway by the growing winds. My girlfriend, an Ohio resident and already distraught after having had to wave goodbye to me, was further freaked out on the way home as Ike started to punch over trees and blow things across the road. Scary stuff!
Aimless anecdotes aside, thanks for the great site, & long may it continue (selfishly says he who just found it…)