Blogkeeping

As you can see, my links are now restored, and added to. One new link is the link to the small but perfectly formed weblog of Steven Brust, formerly of Minneapolis (like me) and a writer of science fiction and occasional song lyrics (not like me, although I have written one song.) I first became aware of Steven Brust because one of his books was called "Brokedown Palace" and I read it obsessively trying to find if there was any clue as to whether he was or was not a Grateful Dead fan. Finally, I had to give up guessing and go to a panel discussion that he was on, and just ask him. He seemed surprised that I couldn't tell. I believe there was at that time a very small collective of midwestern sf writers that include Steve and also a couple (at the time) Emma Bull and Will Shetterly (who were also on the panel). Some years later, I read and enjoyed books by both of them as well. Then I was briefly associated with Will in a political context when he ran for governor of Minnesota on the Grassroots Party ticket and I was on a committee with the Progressive Minnesota Party. And then not much later than that, my two kids, who were teenagers at the time, introduced me to the Sandman comics and we went to a Neil Gaiman reading (in aid of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund?) and there was music performed there by the Flash Girls, one of whom looked vaguely familiar and turned out to be Emma Bull. (There's a link for Neil Gaiman's weblog and the Flash Girls home page down the side there.) That's what I love about the Twin Cities - it is such a social nexus, all these busy, buzzy, hard-working talented people. You get involved in one or two things, and pretty soon you know everybody.