ellen_datlow

We've gotten permission to take my dad down to Florida as soon as we want/can so I'm flying down with them the 18-23rd --yup next week. My mother is buying the tix today.

The hiccup--aside from needed a cat/housesitter for Friday-Sunday--after which my regular should be back from Necon--is that as a result of the rain/hailstorm and tornado in Yonkers last night, the family car was flooded, as was the garage. My mom sounds ok with it and is awaiting the insurance adjuster.

these have piled up and I just realized I hadn't posted them:
Bibliophile Stalker, Skullvines, and Horror World .

Prime Books is bringing out an anthology with a sampling of the stories I edited and published at OMNI Online, Event Horizon, and SCIFICTION.  The Book will be coming out as a trade paperback in February 2010. I saw a cover treatment in June and I love it, but have no idea if it's the final.
But in the meantime, here's the TOC.

Introduction Ellen Datlow

OMNI online: September 1996 - March 1998


Thirteen Phantasms                                   James P. Blaylock

Mr. Goober’s Show                                      Howard Waldrop

Get a Grip                                                       Paul Park

Event Horizon: August 1988 - July 1999


The Girl Detective                                          Kelly Link

Pansolapia                                                     Jeffrey Ford

Harbingers                                                      Severna Park


SCIFICTION: May 19, 2000 - December 28, 2005


Frankenstein’s Daughter                               Maureen McHugh

The Pottawatomie Giant                                 Andy Duncan

What I Didn’t See                                              Karen Joy Fowler

Daughter of the Monkey God                          M.K. Hobson

Tomorrow Town                                               Kim Newman

There’s a Hole in the City                               Richard Bowes

All of Us Can Almost…                                   Carol Emshwiller

You Go where it Takes You                            Nathan Ballingrud

Russian Vine                                                    Simon Ings

Today was the meeting with everyone (but a doctor): nurses, social worker, the three therapists, and a host of other people who were never introduced to us. (which I suppose we should have asked about but we didn't). My sister couldn't get back to NY for it but it was really short, and we didn't get any more actual info than we received from Zinni and Ann (his PT and speech Therapist) last week--other than that he's doing very well, even better than last week.


We discussed the fact that my parents are going to return and stay in Florida (my mother hadn't told them that they had a home in Florida, worried, I think, that my dad wouldn't be treated assiduously)and asked when he'd be ready to do so.

My dad was very insistent that he get out asap and Ann, his speech therapist suggested that once we're given a date and make arrangements we put a calendar in his room so he can see that he's getting out soon.

We got permission from the pt to walk with him using his walker when we visit.

A doctor must certify that he can fly, as the air pressure could be a problem after a stroke. In the meantime, my mom is going to start making arrangements with the VA down in West Palm Beach for at home therapy and also we'll figure out arrangements for help at home--she wouldn't want to leave him at home alone, just in case. The only complication is that my mom needs my sister or me (preferably both of us) to fly to Florida with them (and go to Yonkers a few days earlier to pack up)and help sort out things for a few days. My sister is going on a three week trip and I have Worldcon and then the next weekend a reunion with former school friends (some from elementary school). So either we've got to do it around July 18-24th or after August 20th. I think my dad will go batty if he has to stay there more than another month!

Once the meeting was finished (it was over in about half an hour)we went back upstairs.
While my mom went to the bathroom, my dad stood up from the wheelchair, walked several steps and walked back, seating himself back down fine. I think he was showing me that he could because we've been bugging him to stick with the therapy and to use his walker more.

So while getting them to Florida and settled is still up in the air, my dad's doing very well, and my mom is more optimistic.

Cloud formations
http://tinyurl.com/pgn4h9

My friend John, his house and property, and one of his cats:
http://tinyurl.com/obssap

B&W photos of the area
http://tinyurl.com/p2hcbr

John's July 4th party
http://tinyurl.com/oye6a7

Peter Schjeldahl's July 4th fireworks party
http://tinyurl.com/qpgnme

A few changes and additions:

Friday: 11am The Seeds of Poe: Two Anthologies
Suzy McKee Charnas, Ellen Datlow, Elizabeth Hand, Delia Sherman, Peter Straub, Gary Wolfe--Gary Wolfe is moderating

Friday: Lovecraft Unbound reading

Saturday: 10 am Short Horror Fiction: The Art (and Market)
Laird Barron, Jeanne Cavelos, Ellen Datlow, Adam Golaski, Paul Tremblay--Adam Golaski is moderating

Saturday 11am--autographing--I will be bringing some copies of my OP titles that will be for sale at my autographing and at Michael Walsh's dealer's table (he'll be selling them for me)

Saturday 3pm --kaffeeklatch

Sunday: 2pm The Year in Short Fiction
Neil Clarke, Douglas Cohen, Kathryn Cramer, Ellen Datlow, Theodora Goss--Theodora Goss moderating

It's a weirdly crazy NYC summer that's more like tropical --sunny then downpour in the afternoon and then more sun.

I don't care, I'm taking off for upstate NY tomorrow (where I gather it's also been raining) for a real vacation for a couple of days.

Meeting with speech and physical therapists today (and my mom and dad and sister) and it went well. Dad's definitely improving. They're worried about his climbing up the stairs to the garden apt in Yonkers. And my sister, mom, and I worry too. But they just started putting him on steps a couple of days ago, so no surprise there. Ann gave us a rundown of how she's working with my dad to help with his reading comprehension as well as his speech. He can read simple sentences (he can definitely read and comment on the tabloids) Has more trouble with complex questions. But hell, he's only been in rehab two weeks come tomorrow (or about to be today).

My sister and I are more worried about our mom, who's having a very hard time of it. She refuses to take time off and is having major pain in her knee (this is new to us)--she's apparently had arthritis in it for awhile but it's been acting up. If possible my sister will take her to a walk in clinic (of course, this has to happen July 4th weekend when NO doctor will be around). She's taking aspirin and putting a heating pad on it. The only good thing about it is that it means she probably will take a day off visiting our dad tomorrow. We'd like her to take a day off and see friends. She won't. My sister is staying over till Saturday and I'll be back Sunday night, going up there Monday and Tuesday for the day.

...and this evening is the first I've heard about it. She was an innovative and fascinating modern choreographer and I always loved to see her dances, even if I didn't always enjoy them. She died of cancer five days after being diagnosed.
Choreographer Renowned for Innovative, Unconventional Works

Unfortunately, I screwed up the sets and put a bunch of sunsets, etc into the people set and I don't want to have to delete a bunch and start again...
http://tinyurl.com/nmynmj

http://tinyurl.com/m3c5bp

I was hired to commission and edit three sf short-shorts for the special Invisible Planet (the Science we Don't see) double issue of Discover Magazine.

It's out now, with 1,000 word stories by Bruce Sterling and Paul McAuley. Cory Doctorow's story will be in a future issue.

This does not included autographings or kaffeeklatsches or anything else

Friday: 11am The Seeds of Poe: Two Anthologies
Suzy McKee Charnas, Ellen Datlow, Elizabeth Hand, Delia Sherman, Peter Straub, Gary Wolfe--Gary is moderating

Saturday: 10 am Short Horror Fiction: The Art (and Market)
Laird Barron, Jeanne Cavelos, Ellen Datlow, Adam Golaski, Paul Tremblay--Laird Barron moderating

Sunday: 1pm The Year in Short Fiction
Neil Clarke, Douglas Cohen, Kathryn Cramer, Ellen Datlow, Theodora Goss--Theodora Goss moderating

Sorry I've been so quiet here but when I haven't been visiting my parents in Yonkers, I've been traveling (had a great time in Seattle at the Locus award weekend), and working. So I haven't been keeping up with my lj friends or facebook at all. But I AM alive and well.

And my dad is slowly recuperating. Tuesday there will be a meeting with the therapists and nurses to discuss his status. My parents and my sister and I are currently discussing (yes, my dad participating) whether they will stay in Yonkers for the season and/or move to Florida permanently.

As many of you already know, I won the Locus award for Best Editor. I was surprised (very) and pleased. Running around from early this morning to just now (12:46am in Seattle) I'm wiped out-- but congratulations to all the other winners.

Thank you, Andrew Zack, for laying it out in black and white--I despise bookscan because it has consistently under reported my sales (for which, I have, of course, the royalty statements). Bookscan is an author's enemy, there's no doubt in my mind and I've been saying this since its debut.
The Lie that is Bookscan

Monday night my mom called and asked me to stay over Tuesday because she was very upset and didn't think she could stand being alone. So I went up to Yonkers, we visited my dad (who was much better), shopped for an electric razor for him, and went home. She made steak for dinner and then we watched Four Weddings and a Funeral, which I'd loved the first time I saw it and love this time. I was worried my mother would get upset by the funeral but she was ok.

Today we went to St Joe's and got there just as he was returning from Occupational and Physical therapy. Lunchtime. My mother was worried when she saw spinach on his plate, because she was under the impression that he couldn't eat spinach or cabbage while on Cumiden...so as my dad got pissed off (he's murder when he's hungry)I went to the floor desk and asked what the deal was and they told me they'd ask for the dietitian to come up and meet with us (only four days after he was admitted). Maura came up and explained that he can eat some items with Vitamin K (that's what can cause trouble with cumiden) as long as the Vit. K intake is relatively stable over time. She's very nice and after lunch the four of us met and my mom told her what my dad likes to eat and what he hates. My dad was having trouble talking today--we think it was because he was tired from the 2 hour physical therapies.

( Read more... )
Anyway, I'm tired and got to work. I'll be going back tomorrow for a few hours.

My mom picked me up at the train station at noon and we drove to St Joseph's. She was a wreck last night and called me 10pm and asked me to come and stay over tonight, so that's what I planned for. We couldn't get a parking space in front of the ctr so she dropped me off with several bags and parked the car elsewhere, meeting me upstairs.

My dad was in the dining hall and I brought him back to his room, which he wanted and helped him into his bed. He' s not supposed to use a walker yet until the occupational and physical therapist are sure he can do so on his own without falling (which would be a disaster because he's taking cumiden (the blood thinner). But he stood up from the wheelchair and sat on the bed. My dad was talking and told me he had therapy. He wants out NOW and he made that quite clear but I told him that he had to be physically stronger and able to take care of himself before he could go home.

As soon as my mom came up, I went to find the three therapists to discuss their evaluations and the plan for his therapy and explain to them what he was like before the stroke (except for his speech, not much different but very stubborn and impatient.

Therapy was on the first floor so I went there my notes (thank you Ellie) and introduced myself to the receptionist and told her what I wanted. She got the occupational therapist for me and we had a very good discussion. Then the physical therapist came out and it turned out it was Monica, who was there on Sat.--but she won't be there after today as she was a temp. The speech therapist, Ann was at lunch but I was told she'd come up to talk to me and my dad and my mom later.

I also decided to see if I could talk to a social worker about my mom's handling of my dad's illness (she's someone I've always thought of as being pretty together but has been fallin apart from worry, lack of sleep, and basically the fact that NO ONE at St John's or St Joseph's has bothered to have a discussion with her about anything with regard to my dad (other than the asshole Dr S-her own soon to be ex-doctor who told her that my dad had dementia and would not get much better).  No one talked to her when my dad was discharged from the hospital and no one talked to her when he was admitted to St Joe's. The aides at St Joe's don't know anything and are intermittently helpful but overall seem poorly trained to interact with patients. The head nurse seems good --the therapists, who really are the most important part of the equation here seem topnotch.  Anyway, I talked to the social worker for about 15 minutes and told her my worried about my mom and asked if she could come see her. She had a meeting right then and said she's try to come up later but hadn't by the time my mom and I left for the day. I'll try again tomorrow.

Anyway, when I got upstairs, my mother said my dad had been talking up a (totally comprehensible) storm, telling her what he had for lunch--all weekend he had chicken and rice, which he loates, and hardly ate. But today he told her how good the cod fish was, etc. Ann, the speech therapist came and met with my dad, my mom, and me in the common room--oh, one thing the social worker told me that I figured would convince my parents that my dad wasn't going to be stuck in the rehab center forever was that the 5th floor is for short term patients. Hallelujah. That finally registered.   Ann confirmed (my dad had said as much but not quite as clearly) that she had been with him about an hour this morning--half an hour at a time and says his speech should come back completely. She explained some of what she would be working on with my dad and I tried to get him to listen to what she was saying so he knew what would be happening.  The fact that all three therapists are women will definitely push him to work harder. And I told them all to push him and explain that he MUST do the physical therapy in order to stay strong enough to remain independent.  He just doesn't "hear" me when I say that.

He'll be seeing the three therapists five or six days a week. Monica, the physical therapist said she tried to get him to walk and simultaneously count 1-20 forwards and backwards by 2s. He can't do that yet).   

We stayed later than usual --till about 3:30.

Anyway, my mom and I are both exhausted--but she feels MUCH better after meeting with the speech therapist. And I'm really pleased by how things are improving.
 

has become the battle cry of the men and women protesting in Iran against the election. Jezebel rounds up posts/videos(the one of Neda dying is hard to take)/links. Here's Jezebel's coverage of the murder of Iranian protester Neda .

I'm wiped out--tried to get to bed relatively early (for me) but couldn't sleep worrying about the rehab center (till I saw it) and about how dad was progressing. Finally fell asleep around 2:30 am and then at 5am some asshole buzzed my apt on the downstairs buzzer. I ignored it but then it buzzed again. This time I got up and asked who the eff is it? No response. Went back to bed. For the next 45 minutes these same assholes --I'll never forgive whoever did buzz them in--pounded on the door next door. Got to sleep for maybe an hour and gave up by 7am and got up to do some work.

I visited my dad at the rehab center today. My mom initially was adamant about getting him out into a different one, but the one we were going to look at is not open to visitors/consults until Monday. After spending the day at the one he's in, we've decided that it's not bad (just a little worn)and that moving him yet again would just be disorienting and counter productive.

So...we came in and went to his room and he was not there--we were told he was being walked around by the physical therapist (we'd been told she wouldn't be in today but she did come in) and apparently he saw us and told her we were there so we went to see him in the day room. He was talking in almost complete sentences and was in a pretty good mood (aside from complaining about the physical therapy, which he DOES not want to do, and which he DID NOT WANT TO DO before he had his stroke). He told us that someone in the facility knows him from a long time ago-- we were a bit confused and not clear if this was true but yes indeed, there's a guy there who knew my dad from over decade ago --although I'm not sure my dad actually remembers him. But my dad was figuring out (in his head) and aloud how long ago it must have been that they were acquainted. His speaking and figuring out time was all such a fantastic change from Wednesday at the hospital that I was very pleased.

In a few hours though, as he tired out, he was having trouble expressing himself again and became very frustrated and aggravated that we couldn't understand what he was trying to say. I realize this is very normal so am not that worried about it. He should start having speech, occupational (to make sure he can dress himself) in addition to the physical therapy come Monday.

FANTASTIC FICTION at KGB reading series, hosts Ellen Datlow and Matthew Kressel present:



Clarion West Special Evening



With Samuel R. Delany, Jack Womack, Cat Rambo, Kris Dikeman and guest-hosted by Rajan Khanna, July 15, 2009



In honor of 25 consecutive years of the Clarion West Writers Workshop and Amazon.com’s challenge grant, the KGB Fantastic Fiction series will be featuring a special Clarion West reading on July 15, 2009.



Clarion West is a non-profit literary organization that administers the Clarion West Writers Workshop, an intensive six-week workshop for writers preparing for professional careers in science fiction and fantasy, held annually in Seattle, Washington, USA.

Amazon.com has pledged to donate one dollar to Clarion West for every dollar the workshop receives from individuals, corporations, government offices, charitable foundations, and special events.



Samuel R. Delany


Samuel R. Delany is a novelist and critic who lives in New York City a teaches at Temple University in Philadelphia. His books include Nova, Dhalgren, Aye, and Gomorrah and Other Stories, Atlantis: Three Tales, and his most recent novel, Dark Reflections, won the 2008 Stonewall Book Award and was a runner-up for that years Lambda Literary Award. His forthcoming novel, Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders will appear from Alyson Books in 2010.

Jack Womack
Jack Womack is the author of Ambient, Terraplane, Heathern, Elvissey, Random Acts of Senseless Violence, Let’s Put the Future Behind Us, and Going, Going, Gone. He was in 1994 a co-winner of the Philip K. Dick Award and has twice taught writing at Clarion West. He is Publicity Manager for Orbit Books US, and is presently working on his next novel, Ashland: A Kentucky Murder Ballad.

Cat Rambo
Cat Rambo attended Clarion West in 2005 and since then has published dozens of short stories in such markets as Weird Tales, Asimov's, Strange Horizons, and Clarkesworld. Her collaboration with Jeff VanderMeer, The Surgeon's Tale and Other Stories, appeared in 2007 and her first solo collection, Eyes Like Sky And Coal And Moonlight, is forthcoming from Paper Golem Press. She is also the managing editor of Fantasy Magazine.

Kris Dikeman
Kris Dikeman is a graduate of the Clarion West class of 2005. Her work has appeared in Sybil's Garage, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Strange Horizons, PodCastle, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet and the forthcoming Year's Best Fantasy #9. She was a finalist for this year's Story South Million Writer's Award.



Rajan Khanna

Rajan Khanna is a graduate of the 2008 Clarion West Writers Workshop.
His work has appeared in Shimmer Magazine. He lives and writes in
Brooklyn, NY.



* Mobile Libris will be selling books

Wednesday July 15th , 7pm at

KGB Bar, 85 East 4th Street (just off 2nd Ave, upstairs.)

http://www.kgbfantasticfiction.org/

Subscribe to our mailing list:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kgbfantasticfiction/



Readings are free



Forward to friends at your own discretion.

I missed it but we can all see Matt's photos here:


Mary Robinette Kowal and Brian Slattery at KGB