i voted! and other things
After my last class this afternoon, I braved the icky cold stormy wet weather and voted at my local polling place. Two campaign volunteers for Brad Miller, a man and a woman, were standing out in the rain, holding an umbrella in one hand and a "Brad Miller for Congress" sign in the other. I thanked them for standing out there, and after hearing that I was voting for her guy, the woman said, "Thanks! That makes it a little easier to stay out here."
If you haven't voted yet, polls stay open for another couple of hours.
I also got a bank draft for my NUS application fee. My department head gave me a recommendation today, so I now have all the external materials I need. The last thing I need to do is write up a prospectus for my potential dissertation topic, and hopefully I won't need to talk out of my ass too much. The whole shebang will go in the mail either tomorrow or the next day, and then it's the big wait until May to hear anything.
The longlist for the 2007 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award was recently announced, and included is Zoran's novel Hidden Camera. W00t! 169 public libraries around the world nominated 138 novels this year (28 in translation); check out the full list, with several other familiar names. And can we take a moment to say how cool it is that librarians are the ones who nominate for this award? Rawk on, you groovy librarians. "The prize is €100,000, which is awarded to the author if the book is written in English. If the winning book is in English translation, the author receives €75,000 and the translator, €25,000. The winner also receives a trophy which is sponsored by Waterford Crystal." Zoran's The Book and The Library were previously nominated.
And Strange Horizons has extended their fall fund drive through November 12. Go help them out, please. Look at the prizes you could win. Plus, it's good karma to support an organization like this that works on the museum model. They normally don't ask for money to view the fiction, articles, artwork, reviews, and columns that they put out every single week, so why not kick a few bucks their way? As Maggie sez, "I would encourage you to bypass the mocha today, folks -- even a couple bucks from several people can add up and make a difference."
