Diefenbabies!

Ex-PM John Diefenbaker sired 2 boys, families believe

And two about Toronto's Crack Using Mayor and his Brother

Coun. Doug Ford says he’s sorry if he offended anyone by handing out cash to people living in a Toronto Community Housing building last night, promising to switch to Tim Hortons gift cards in future.

And

Toronto Star city hall reporter Daniel Dale has taken the first step toward suing Mayor Rob Ford over comments he made in a televised interview with Conrad Black. Dale claims the mayor implied he was a pedophile.

ReformaTories take no prisoners when it comes to libraries and other heathen strongholds

The Harper government has dismantled one of the world's top aquatic and fishery libraries as part of its agenda to reduce government as well as limit the role of environmental science in policy decision-making.

Last week the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which is closing five of its seven libraries, allowed scientists, consultants and members of the public to scavenge through what remained of Eric Marshall Library belonging to the Freshwater Institute at the University of Manitoba.

We'll be decades fixing the deliberate, purposeful damage the ReformaTories have done during their time in government.

Church of the Latter Day Saints explains cause of long ban on blacks in priesthood

They were being racist. Accordingly:

Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else. Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form.

Which takes them a long way from the days when this letter was sent to George Romney.

From Making Light: Request for assistance/advice regarding Marilee Layman’s effects

Normally I wouldn't quote in its entirety but this is a special case.

In the current Open Thread, Kip W has some news about the late, much-missed Marilee Layman:

I just got a call from a realtor in Northern Virginia who is working for Fannie May, in regards to the effects of our late friend, Marilee Layman.

He has just come into the matter, and the apartment was foreclosed after almost a year of idleness. He called me, having found my name and number, to see if I knew what might be done about all her possessions. The place is just as she left it. Her van is parked down below. There was a note from “Rick” saying he’d shut off gas and such, but no number.

The agent, Don, doesn’t like the idea of calling a trash firm to come and treat everything as junk to be harvested, and his concern touches me — particularly as I look around me — so I would very much like the word to go out to fans, perhaps especially those in the NoVa/DC area, but to anybody with an idea of how to proceed.

My own half-baked thoughts were that we might dispose in the ordinary way of clothing and impersonal items, maybe even books. Her crafts, perhaps, could be sold and the proceeds given to charity. Her van could be donated, unless someone wants to buy it for an equitable-low amount (and the money donated to charity — medical or fannish or I don’t know what).

If anybody knows of a family or friend(s) who should benefit by this sad windfall, I’m open to suggestions. Am I in charge of this? I don’t know. Should someone else be? I’ve never done this before.

I asked Don what sort of deadline we were looking at before the wheels of bureaucracy take over. He said 30 days, 45, maybe even 60 before an edict comes down and automatic procedures kick in, so that’s not a lot of time.

I have a contact number for him. Should I run it here? Or would it be best for us to deal with him through a designated spokesperson? I’ll hang onto the number for now.

I’m not able to access Usenet at the moment. My system stopped letting me on a few months back, and I didn’t care enough to try to figure out what its problem was this time. Can someone reach Keith Lynch? He’s fairly local and helped when she was in the hospital. What other DC fan or fans would be good to talk to? Who’s Rick?

What next? I’m kind of lost here.

and

ps: Forgot to say that any mementos or keepsakes we might want to retain out of all this should perhaps be sold for a reasonable price and the money kicked into designated charity. I have this idea of charity in my head because maybe it seems a little ghoulish otherwise. I could be mistaken, of course, and will listen to cooler or less confused heads.

This can’t be the first time something like this has happened. Is there a manual yet?

I confess, I have even less notion of what to do than Kip does. I’m sure someone in our community does, though. Can we figure this out together?

Also, now I miss her all over again. I was just thinking about her this morning, entirely by coincidence, wondering if it had been a whole year since she passed away. Now I know.

And thank you, Kip, for taking the call and coming to the community with this. I’m sure I speak for us all when I say that that matters a lot.

SFWA Job Posting: Editor-in-Chief/Business Manager

SFWA makes noises about being international but the A is there for a reason and this is only open to people within the US:

The SFWA Bulletin Editor is the official publisher of one of SFWA’s key communications vehicles. The editor’s responsibilities include informing members and the external subscribers of relevant organization and public news, activities and accomplishments on the set distribution schedule, as well as shaping and maintaining the organization’s reputation. This critical position is responsible to help facilitate SFWA’s goals and mission statement of informing, supporting, promoting, defending and advocating for its members. This will be a part-time contracted position,with a review period and annual renewal. This position will directly report to the President of SFWA, Inc.

Smugglivus 2013 Guest Blogger: Justin Landon of Staffer’s Book Review on Gender Parity and Cover Art

In a reversal of my usual habits, I recommend the comments.

Gender parity is a hot topic. Have you noticed?

The women over at Lady Business have done a tremendous job, along with our very own Book Smugglers, Foz Meadows, and a host of activist writers, bringing gender discrimination to the forefront. The fact remains we have far more men represented in certain venues than we ought to given the general 50/50 nature of the gendered world. But, it seems like it’s getting better if for no other reason than we’re talking about it.

So much focus has been on talking about authors that it’s easy to overlook the fact that they aren’t the only contributors to a final form novel. You’ve got the editor, the publicist, the publisher itself, and the cover artist. The first three, interesting enough, are often women. I have no data to support that, but anecdotally there’s a large percentage of women in those positions. The latter, cover artist, does not seem to possess that same equality.

Arisia 2014

If you want to see me in the US in the near future, this would be where to do it. Arisia will probably sell out by Saturday morning, so they suggest people register in advance.

January 17 - 20, 2014


Westin Boston Waterfront hotel

Author Guest of Honor: Tanya Huff
Artist Guest of Honor: Lubov
Fan Guest of Honor: James Nicoll

My schedule, which I will tidy up when I get home.
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