Spec the Halls Newsletter 2008-3
Nov. 27th, 2008 04:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
abracanabra
Note from the editor
I hope everybody's having a great Thanksgiving! (In case of turkey emergencies, check out the holiday tip.)
It seems like the "Christmas season" is starting earlier and earlier--I was a bit startled when I was buying fake tombstones in October and wandered over one aisle to find myself surrounded by twig and pinecone Christmas tree ornaments. It's out-of-control. Alas, this year I contributed to that. ::bows head:: I moved back the end date of the Spec the Halls contest because, well, declaring the winner after Christmas seemed kind of beside the point. Moving the start date back, however, made my "winter holiday" contest start before Thanksgiving.
And that was just plain wrong. So I won't do that again--instead next year it will be a contest that's only open for a couple of weeks, as is right and proper.
If you don't want to start your holidays until tomorrow, just wait to read Christmas stories until then. ;)
I hope everybody's having a great Thanksgiving! (In case of turkey emergencies, check out the holiday tip.)
It seems like the "Christmas season" is starting earlier and earlier--I was a bit startled when I was buying fake tombstones in October and wandered over one aisle to find myself surrounded by twig and pinecone Christmas tree ornaments. It's out-of-control. Alas, this year I contributed to that. ::bows head:: I moved back the end date of the Spec the Halls contest because, well, declaring the winner after Christmas seemed kind of beside the point. Moving the start date back, however, made my "winter holiday" contest start before Thanksgiving.
And that was just plain wrong. So I won't do that again--instead next year it will be a contest that's only open for a couple of weeks, as is right and proper.
If you don't want to start your holidays until tomorrow, just wait to read Christmas stories until then. ;)
Happy holidays,
Abra Staffin Wiebe, Editor
Recommended Submissions
What happens when Santa and the reindeer wake up to find the human race has disappeared? He's a bit grumpy with the first person he encounters...on the Moon.
Wormhole Magic
by Marianne Plumridge
I've been here three months now, and I still haven't decided what my Astrogation Thesis is going to be about. Prof. Jordan harrumphs about this every time he sends a data burst - which I thankfully receive only once a week. Whenever he prefaces a sentence with 'Now then, William, it's time to make a decision…" I know the usual lecture on my future, career, commitment, and profitability, is in the offing. I'll get to it, I'll get to it, but at the moment, it's more fun just exploring the outpost and the Moon's surface. So much junk is stored here - left behind no doubt by those who wanted to keep some of history intact for future use.
Read more.
Holiday Tip
What to Do When Your Turkey Catches on Fire
1. Leave all the oven doors closed and turn off the oven.
2. Open nearby windows to ventilate the smoke. Close kitchen doors to
keep it from getting into the rest of the house, if you can.
3. Wait 5 minutes. Ovens are designed so that burning things shouldn't
cause a problem. Just keep the doors closed so you don't feed the fire
oxygen.
4. Open the oven door slightly and check to see if the turkey's still
burning. If it is, close the door and wait a few more minutes. If the
turkey's still burning after 10 minutes, *that's* when you should call
the fire department
- From the Worst Case Scenario Survival Guide, paraphrased.
Handy Links
Abra Staffin Wiebe's main webpage
Abra Staffin Wiebe's blog
Aswiebe's Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Market List
Spec the Halls Main Page - http://www.aswiebe.com/
Submission Guidelines - http://www.aswiebe.com/
Recommended Submissions - http://www.aswiebe.com/
All Submissions - http://www.aswiebe.com/
FAQ - http://www.aswiebe.com/
You have been added to this list by your request or because you submitted an entry to the Spec the Halls contest. From now to Christmas, you will receive the Spec the Halls weekly email, containing contest news and featured submissions. You are encouraged to forward these emails in their entirety to other individuals you believe may be interested either in reading the contest entries or in submitting an entry themselves. Spread the holiday cheer...the strange, twisted, weird holiday cheer. To unsubscribe, send an email to specthehalls@gmail.com with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line.
--
Spec the Halls: A Winter Celebration of the Weird and the Fantastic
http://www.aswiebe.com/