A note to our readers

Sunday, Sunday.

Again with losing people on the phone, some posting problems. The smartest decision was made by Dona early on: "Lose the news review." We all enjoy it, the readers enjoy it, but on a night/morning when technical problems abound, we might end up stuck on that forever.

Brenda e-mailed to ask that we please not forget "Five Books, Five Minutes." For Brenda, we didn't. Another e-mail came a long distance from someone who won't be celebrating Thanksgiving with his family but wanted us to talk about Thanksgiving food. "Let's Do The Turkey Trot" is for ____ and hope it helps.

One thing that's come up repeatedly, usually from Ty, is why don't we do an online, ongoing novel. Yeah, right after we work out the fine points on that cure for cancer. But Ty was serious about this and came up with an outline and some character sketches. "Miss Swanson Regrets"
is the title and you have the first chapter, the introductory chapter, in this edition. "What if we're not able to finish it? What if we get bored with it or what if we decided we were bored with the whole website?" That was Dona's concern. Then it ends where ever it was at. Okay, we can handle that. But Dona wants it noted that this is not something that will appear on any set schedule. If there's time for it and there's inspiration, you'll find another chapter. Jess' concern was length and agreed only after it was decided any chapter, each chapter, would be a short one.

Knowing how people like to polish and knowing that it could become a black hole that sucks up all of our time as we end polishing and repolishing, Jess had a good point. It's a media commentary. Ty felt it fit in with an unplanned theme which is this more of a creative commentary than we often do. That theme was aided by C.I. bringing over a healthy chunk of what became "Bully Boy and the Thirteenth Confession." The title is a play on Laura Nyro's Eli and the Thirteenth Confession album. Friday was Veterans' Day and Bully Boy used that occassion to launch an attack on America yet again. C.I. came up with the idea of it being the latest release for Bully Boy when hearing bits of the speech on the radio. The plan was to pull something together for The Common Ills. Then a friend drops by with episodes of a current TV show, some episodes aired, some not yet aired, and insists that Ava and C.I. need to take a serious look at the show. Ava will be watching the episodes this week and, if they both want to write the review, that will be their TV review next week. But watching all the episodes, left C.I. wiped out ("and gave me a headache") so although the piece was started, C.I. felt it was going nowhere.

Saturday morning, C.I. mentioned the work in progress at The Common Ills. Later it was noted that if there wasn't time, the piece would be shopped over here. Of course we lept at the chance. First of all, it was an idea that just needed to be executed, so less work. Second of all, it was funny. Third of all, it had a point. We could keep numbering and numbering. But the other thing that resulted from it being noted at The Common Ills was Isaiah contacted C.I. about the upcoming The World Today Just Nuts. Isaiah had two ideas he was playing with. One of which was the Bully Boy's speech. When the title was set, Isaiah set out creating his latest The World Today Just Nuts which complimented the "Bully Boy and the Thirteenth Confession" because it acted as the "album cover." It's similar to Laura Nyro's Eli and the Thirteenth Confession cover. One difference is where that cover is dark and shadowy, this one is bright. Isaiah felt Nyro is plumbing her soul and that her cover conveys that. For Bully Boy's latest spin, Isaiah felt no indication of heavy lifting (thought) should be implied.

We thank the following for their contributions to the above features:

The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and Jim,
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz
Wally of The Daily Jot.
and Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts.


So there's no TV review? Is that what you're saying?

No, there's a TV review. Ava and C.I. tackle Navy NCIS and be prepared to laugh. There was a problem just as we were about to start the book review. When that came up, Ava and C.I. said "Fix it, we're going to work on the TV review." They tossed it off with their usual speed but Ava notes that for a change, they weren't nodding off while they wrote.

Nodding off is what happened when the editorial was written. During one long lull, those sleeping were awakened to Rebecca giggling and wondering if she was the only one still awake.
We were wiped out. We'd had an hour of nonstop problems with posts not going up. Those who drink coffee could no longer stand the taste of it. Those who smoke had been hacking for hours. Those who exist during the all night sessions on chocolate highs had consumed an entire box of Dolly Madison Zingers. Those working on the editorial were: Ty, Jess, Ava, C.I., Dona, Rebecca, Kat, Elaine, Wally, Mike and Jim.

We'd pulled out every trick we had. Finally Ty said, "We finish this editorial and we write the note to the readers this evening." That idea, which we all liked, woke us all up long enough to finish the editorial. At which point, it was time to print up the print edition and get that out and for others to immediately go to sleep. Elaine was actually now fully awake and asked if it was okay if she went through correcting typos? Hey, sounds great to us.

So thank Elaine for catching typos (though she said not to expect her to catch all of them).

We thank it's a pretty strong edition. We'll thank Ty and C.I. for that since they came up with ideas that were already sketched out. As always, we thank Dallas for hunting down links.

Hopefully, there's something in this edition that you can enjoy -- either because it makes you laugh or it makes you scream.

-- Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I.