Should Math be taught in schools? Very funny.

And…. this is the video it’s spoofing, which is 15 minutes of depressing.

• I'm heading back to Portland via Amtrak so we can have a short game of #marygoround It left on time. Have a drink! #
• RT @sfwa: Blog: RIP: Martin H. Greenberg 1941-2011 http://www.sfwa.org/2011/06/rip-martin-h-greenberg-1941-2011/ #
• Welcome to Portland! On time. Have a drink! #marygoround #
• On the bus from the train station to home. Have a drink! #marygoround #
• I am home! Have a drink. #marygoround #
• Ooo! Rob is in the kitchen making dinner. I smell garlic spears! Mmm… #
• Sigh… Such a good word for a title and yet it doesn't exist in 1816. #

• Congrats @nkjemisin! Hundred Thousand Kingdoms just won the Locus Award for Best First Novel! #

• Heading to the subway for today's game of #marygoround I'm flying out of JFK to Seattle for the Locus Award Weekend. #
• Train slightly delayed. Missed connection. Worried about missing flight so am above ground in a cab now. #marygoround #
• At the airport with plentty of time to spare. Have a drink! #marygoround #
• I'm aboard the plane on time. Have a drink! #marygoround #
• Woot! Just got upgraded to first class. Have a drink! #marygoround #
• Boarding door is closed. Have a drink! #marygoround #

As part of the show that my puppet company is taking to WorldCon, we promised that we’d create a new piece specifically for the event. For that, we need a little input. We need your favorite lines from science-fiction, fantasy and the related genres. No promises that we’ll use all of them, but we need a good sampling.

So, here’s a form you can fill out to tell us your favorite line of dialogue or narration.

What will we do with them? Imagine a scene constructed entirely out of the lines you love.

If you want to see what other people are suggesting, you can see the list online. Oh, and just because someone else has suggested a line, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t suggest it, too. Nothing wrong with knowing a line is popular.

I  spent yesterday hanging out with Lev AC Rosen who offered me a guided tour of the Financial District. Note: If Lev offers the same to you, take him up on it.  He’s funny, charming and full of bizarre details about the architecture and history of the area.

Today, I hung out with Tempest Bradford which was supposed to be just brunch and turned into brunch, strolling, book signing at stores, gelato, and a writing date. Note: The atrium at Avery Fisher is fantastic for writing.  The walls are alive.

She also sang the praises of Tumblr, which I am now trying. I figure turnabout is fair since I got her hooked on Twitter.  We’ll see.

In the evenings, I hung out with Jodi and Sam, with whom I am staying.

The rest of the week is jam-packed with meetings so it was nice to take two days sort of slowly.

• I've finally met @levacrosen and he is made pure evil. #

• Man, I love dragon fruit. Pretty and tasty. #
• My flight tonight is already delayed from 10:25 to 11:45pm. #marygoround #
• Kermit + Thor! RT @KurtBusiek: This is AWESOME: http://bit.ly/lDYXDS #
• I'm through security and upgraded to first class. Have a drink! #marygoround #
• They are closing the boarding door. See you in NYC. Have a drink. #marygoround #
• Welcome to NYC. We are another half an hour later than the original delayed arrival time. #marygoround #
• I find myself in NYC and my hoped for plans for today have fallen through. Anyone want to meet for a writing date? #

I’m off to New York for about a week and then on to Seattle for the Locus Awards. What’s taking me to NYC? Top-secret SFWA business. I would tell you about it, but then Scalzi would have to send the ninja and/or pandas and we don’t want that.  The important thing to know is that this means I’m packed for two different climates and very different occasions.

Wait until you see my ensemble for the Locus Awards. Staggering. Truly.

So far, the marygoround has started with my flight being delayed an hour and fifteen minutes.  To be fair, with a redeye, this doesn’t make that much of a difference and just gave me a little more time at home.

I’ve brought things to work on, but mostly this week will be jam-packed with meetings. Fun!

• It's way past time to separate the napkins from the puppets. #

So… I had posted Chapter 21 with an apology for moving the numbering around.  A subsequent revision meant that I cut a chapter so we’re back to Chapter 21 again. La!

I know. It’s all very confusing. So here’s what happened.

At the Nebulas I had a chance to sit down with my agent and one of my first readers and talk about the novel.  This resulted in some hefty changes to the first five chapters. One of them was one I’d been thinking about for awhile.

The trouble with writing a historical fantasy is the history.  In 1907 President Roosevelt spoke at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.  This is a plot point. The problem is that the Ryman had no dressing rooms, only cloth dividers.  I had several scenes which needed to take place in a dressing room and included conversations that wouldn’t plausibly have taken place with cloth walls.

So… I created an alternate history in which the Ryman burned to the ground the month before my novel starts.  This made it easy to move all the action to the Vendome which has a better floorplan for my action.

If you’ve been reading along, it’s posted now.

If you haven’t been reading along, you can read the ground rules and join in. Since I did just make some sweeping changes to the first chapters, having fresh eyes would be useful.

Among the things I didn’t think about when entering into the writing business was the sheer amount of travel that I’d be doing.  Now, it is possible to be a writer without going to a bajillion conventions, but if you are going to travel do yourself a favor and sign up for a frequent flyer program.

Actually, to start out, sign up for programs with every airline. You’ll quickly realize that there is one that seems to cover most of your routes.  Once that happens, be consistent about booking with them unless the savings for that flight is huge.

Here’s the trick. Most of the time airlines are within a couple of bucks from each other.  By accruing frequent flyer miles, you get perks like upgrades to first class, free checked baggage, and — more importantly — free travel.

Two of my trips this year are from frequent flyer miles. That’ll wind up saving me around $800.

The other thing you can do which can help with travel expenses is to volunteer to be bumped. If you have the flexibility to change your arrival. As soon as you arrive at the gate, ask them if they need a volunteer. Most of the time, they won’t. But when they do, you’ll be at the top of the list for a free voucher.  It differs by airline, but you can usually use one of these to cover your travel for another trip.

Clearly the program will depend on where you are traveling from and to most frequently, but it’s a simple way to help ease some of the expense of travel.

Plus, did I mention upgrades to first class? Have a drink!

• Yay! Thanks to the nice airline attendent, Rob is now next to me in the extended legroom seats. Have a drink! #marygoround #
• They are closing the boarding door for an on-time departure to Portland. Have a drink! #marygoround #
• Welcome to Portland. Ontime! Have a drink. #marygoround #
• We are home. With luggage! This concludes our game of #marygoround Have a drink! #
• Spider-monster: The Musical, starring Grover. http://youtu.be/aR1DdMeVqTw #
• Good morning. Our apartment's power is off. Looking at the wall clock, it's been out since 3:37. I wonder why. #
• You know what's fun? When you call the power company to report an outage and they tell you that your address doesn't exist. #
• I'm reading at Powell's in Beaverton tonight. 7pm. Costumes! Puppets! Refreshments! And card games! http://is.gd/ZRU5Qc #
• New Writing Excuses episode is up: Internal Motivations: http://bit.ly/jp8Nx6 #

This evening I’ll be having a reading at the Powell’s in Beaverton at 7pm.

In addition to showing off the trade paperback of Shades of Milk and Honey — which has some changes from the hardcover — I’ll be joined by members of the Oregon Regency Society, who will be in costume from the early 1800s.  There will be light refreshments appropriate to the period AND I’ll also perform the shadow play from Chapter 10. Oh, and I’ll have cards from the Shades and Glamour game to give out.

There might also be a preview of Glamour in Glass…

So, I’ll see you there, right?