Does anyone still have their copy of the February 2009 issue of Locus?  If so, could you ping me through my LJ mail?  There are some tidbits of information I'm hoping you might pass along.  Thanks.

ETA: Someone already got back to me.  No need to dig up your issue if you have it.  Thanks.

Hi Folks,

Cat Valente is an enormously talented writer in our field.  Having spoken with her on more than one occasion, I'll also vouch for what a nice person she is.  Right now she's having a tough time.  Times are tough all around, but if you can ...  

So TLMorganfield has convinced me to use tagging on my journal.  She argues that there are some posts here that readers will appreciate, but that without the tagging it's difficult to find what you're looking for.  So tagging we shall have.

However, TL also rightly guessed that I have neither the time nor the inclination to wade through 400+ posts and go a-tagging.  So she has graciously volunteered to tag my entries.  But she'll need help to do this.  We're thinking another four people would be great.  If you're interested, please contact me through my LJ sometime during the next few days, either here in the comments thread or through the LJ email system.  Mutual friends interested in the tagging project will be given an unfair advantage in the selection process, but all interested parties are welcome to volunteer.  

And just so you know going in, if there are questions or concerns along the way, I've placed TL in charge if this whole operation once we're past the selection process.   

If any of you ever catch me engaging in a prolonged argument through blogs, forums, email, or other electronic means, please, please, PLEASE, call me out on it and tell me to stop.  And if you're close by, smack me!  It's just not worth it.  An argument in real life probably takes a few minutes at most.  Sure, there can be lingering effects and such.  Arguments tend to do that.

But arguing electronically ...

Ugh.  It's so damn easy to engage and so very hard to stop.  It sucks up your time.  It wastes your time.  The worst type is the petty bickering, the kind where you almost convince yourself you're discussing something worthwhile, which makes it easier to justify wasting so much time.  I can think of one instance when engaging in this sort of foolhardiness led to something productive taking place in the end.  But that was a fortunate exception.  By and by, arguing through the internet is utter madness.  People rarely change their minds and take forever to back down or walk away because you can just type in another response.  Honestly, I'd be better served banging my head against the wall than going down this road again.

Debating is fine, I guess, though this also can suck up your time (and those touchy topics can so easily lead to arguments).  But electronic arguments ...I don't do it often, but even so.  I'm done.  I'm out.  Keep me in check, people.

End of unchacteristic rant.  Feeling better now.            

So Shawna is thinking about switching over to gmail.  She has the account set up but is undecided as to whether she'll make this her primary email.  One of the big sticking points as to whether or not she'll end up going this route is whether she can transfer her email addresses through an uploadable file from aol account.  She uses a mac, and she thought she had this obstacle figured out, but when she tried to import the addresses to gmail, the format wasn't recognized.  I don't use a mac, so I wouldn't be much help to her.  But I offered to check with you guys and she accepted.  Does anyone know a way our brilliant editor/agent can upload her aol addresses to her gmail account on a mac? 

So it's my birthday today.  Technically I'm in my 20s for another eight hours, but today marks "the big 3-0."  Honestly, I don't feel any different.  A few months ago I was quite aware of this looming number, but then personal tragedy struck the life of one of my best friends, in the form of his wife of 28 (someone I'd known 14 years) passing away.  Now you all know why there has been so little blog activity here of late.  Anyway, after something like that happened, the old "3-0" held and holds absolutely no power over me.  Just another number.  I might as well be 20.

But I'm not posting for sympathy.  Birthday wishes are welcome, but even more welcome would be a present, in the form of a translation.  One of my fellow contributors to Interzone 212, Garth Lynn Powell, came across an online review of the issue in question and posted it on his blog:

Começa com "Feelings of the flesh" de Douglas Elliott Cohen mas confesso que gostei mais da short story de Gareth Lyn Powell com o titulo "Ack-Ack Macaque". Em apenas quatro paginas este conto descreve-nos a historia de Tori e seus namorados Andy e Josh, em que numa animação por computador criada por Tori e postriormente transformada num jogo on-line pela empresa de Josh, sai fora de controlo e tras o caos e o apocalipse perante a impotência e desespero deles.

Outros contos se seguem como "A handful of pearls" de Beth Bernobich ou "Jihad" de Will McIntosh, este com o tema tão em voga do eco-terrorismo.
Após "The Algorithm" de Tim Akers vem a parte final com as esperadas criticas a livros, filmes e até podcasts.

As you can see, it's not quite English.  Portuguese, actually.  Anyone care to give me the birthday present of translation?

Oh, and Happy Holidays to everyone!

Okay,

I've never done this before, but I'd like to draw upon the wisdom of the Great LJ Think Tank.  In classic Arthurian literature, there is annoying habit the authors sometimes employ, this being to refer to someone without actually naming them.  Example: "The Queen of X" or "X's mother."  What makes this problem even more frustrating is while some authors don't name these characters, others do!

So I've read a lot of Arthurian literature, and while I continue to read this stuff, my research is nowhere near comprehensive.  So I'm wondering if anyone knows whether the following three women were ever given names anywhere in classic Arthuriana:

--The Queen of Northgalis: In Thomas Mallory's Le Morte D'Arthur, she is a sorceress and occasionally shows up as Morgan le Fey's ally.  When there are three queens in the barge near the end of the story with the dying Arthur, the Queen of Northgalis is one of them.  But I can't seem to locate her name.  Anyone know it?

--Sir Percival's mother: One of Arthur's more famous knights, and often associated with the Quest for the Holy Grail.  In many versions, Percivale's mother also raised him in the forests.  Help?

--Sir Percival's aunt: In Le Morte D'Arthur, Percival meets her in the Wastelands.   Help?

Oh mighty LJ Brain, can you help this poor soul?

Does anyone know why the links aren't working in the Editorial Musings post below?

So I suddenly find myself unable to get into my gmail account. When I try to log in, I'm told that the username and password don't match up. Ahem. I've been using this account for almost a year. I KNOW what my username and password are. Has anyone else had this problem with gmail? If so, how do I fix it (other than waiting the required 5 days before I can reset it?)