eMuse March 09 is out.

I've been MIA for a while with no excuse besides being busy. The last couple of weekends we've been shopping for Easter clothes. Finding Momma a dress has proven much easier than finding Z a suit. It seems most baby suits start at 6 months and go up. We also had the task of finding his christening outfit. I wanted a traditional christening gown, the SO nearly had a conniption fit and insisted that he needed a suit. In the end I couldn't find a reasonably priced gown that wasn't frilly and girlie so we ended up going with the suit. It's a satineen pair of cuffed short pants, a shirt and a quilted vest.

We've also been hunting for a new camera as the old one died on us recently. That figures. Just when I need a camera to take massive amounts of baby pictures, the thing dies.

The March 09 issue of eMuse online literary magazine is out. eMuse is a quarterly ezine that features original art, short stories, poetry, reviews of books and articles. This month eMuse has reviewed books by authors you’ve heard me mention here including Anny Cook, Sandra Cox and Cindy Spencer Pape.

Two of my books are reviewed by staff this month as well. I’m an editor there, but I want to be clear that I don’t edit reviews for content-if someone said my work sucked, I’d not argue. In fact, this month you’ll find my latest book, Circle of Wolves, reviewed by a (gasp) man. A straight man. Interesting, that’s all I’ll say.

In addition, while we try to sustain the highest standard of literature at eMuse this month has one of the best short stories I’ve ever read. It’s dark, haunting and more than a tad sinister. Black Velveteen by Jennifer Hudock is a must read.

I’ve been a fan of NPR (National Public Radio) since I was young. I finally found a station here in Atlanta that broadcasts NPR during drive times and that has made me a happy camper. You never know what you’ll learn on NPR. It’s not all serious discussion of economics and politics or organic alfalfa farming. For example:

I heard this story first on NPR, then found the link on AOhelL.

Cat found in couch?

In Washington State a woman who bought a used sofa from a Value Village thrift store got more than she expected: a strange mewing noise and odd movements. Sure enough, when the couch was inspected a very hungry 9 year old calico cat, “Callie”, was found inside. Turned out the owner had been searching for his cat but had not put together the disappearance of the cat with the donation of the couch. Is a tirade on the dangers of sofa kitties coming up? Naw, just thought it was a curious and interesting story.


Sears’ Tower

Now if I were going on a tirade, it would be about this bone-headed move in Chicago. Most people in the US know the Sears’ Tower. It’s the tallest building in the US and was for a long time the tallest building in the world. The name Sears’ Tower was linked to Chicago like Wrigley Field, Soldier Stadium and Lake Michigan. But not for long. In a stupid move, obviously motivated by the tough economic times but stupid nonetheless, the name of this landmark will be changing.

The London-based insurance brokerage The Willis Group, as part of their occupancy agreement, was given “naming rights” to the famous tower that will now be known as the Willis Tower. First of all, what kind of idiot puts the rights to name the Sears’ Tower on the table in the first place? The purpose of the real estate investment group formed in 2001 to buy the tower was to protect it. Not to mention that Willis has stated they didn’t even pay extra for the naming rights.

And what kind of unmitigated gall does it take for someone to ask for the right to rename a landmark?