Will the Editing Never Cease?

I am re-re-editing my first book. Even one of my roommates got exasperated with me when I told her I was at it again, wondering if I would ever finish it, but I got a fresh burst of creativity and found a lot of places where I could make it stronger. It's been long enough now since I looked at it that I lost some of my attachment to turns of phrase that can upon reflection be improved. I am readying it for e-publication, and I figured it's been this long, why not make a last push and make it as perfect as I possibly can? I'll know when I am done. Again, I learned so much writing the second one that I have found new avenues of self-expression that I can bring to prior work. It just seems slightly underdeveloped to me now, and I know how to fix that. What's a few more months in the course of a lifetime?

Back in the Saddle

My new hard drive seems to be working fine, knock on wood. I was relieved enough to go out and buy backup drives for the Mac and for my little cheapy PC netbook and laptops. I am now budgeted for May to drop some cash on Logic Pro for the Mac so I can get my music composition off the ground again. It's agonizingly slow to get all of the stuff I need for my projects, but it's an investment that is worth it.

Mid-City Press

I just sent an inquiry to a new community newspaper that is starting in my neighborhood. The editor and founder spoke at the local neighborhood council meeting last week and said she is looking for writers. I told her about my fine art and entertainment background and offered to write about local arts organizations and cultural institutions. I live in an artists' comunity in Mid-City, which is located roughly between between Mid-Wilshire and the Miracle Mile on the west and Koreatown on the east, and is bordered by the 10 freeway on the south and Pico Blvd. on the north. There are some very interesting things going on in the area, from St. Elmo's Village, a longstanding artspace for mainly African American work, to Mid City Arts, a graffiti and urban art collective. There is also the Eco-Logical Art Gallery, just outside of the official Mid-City map, but right down the street from me. One of our neighbors shows his work there and they have some really interesting shows.

Here is the newspaper's website - it looks to be in beta-testing stage still, not finished, but there is some info about the mission and content.

http://www.midcitypress.com/

I definitely approve of their aim to fill some of the vacuum in local coverage left by cuts at the LA Times and other more established media. It's brave to start a newspaper right now, and I hope they make a go of it.

Medieval Studies

I did not make it to the medieval studies conference last week in Arizona. I almost went, but then decided I would rather spend the money on computer things to advance my own projects. There is a Celtic studies conference coming up at the end of the year, at UCLA. I will go to that one - it involves no travel other than driving across town, and it's completely free. I am kind of sorry about missing this recent one - the topic was Man and the Natural World during the Middle Ages, which sounded fascinating, and I would like to visit Scottsdale again (I once went when I was six years old and liked it). I've just only got so much time, money and energy, and I have to allocate all of those resources as I go.