338: Half Empty, Half Full
In Which Amaranth Takes The Cake
A note from your author, on behalf of S.J. Tucker.
As I mentioned on my blog, independent singer-songwriter S.J. “s00j” Tucker—an artist much beloved in pagan/fandom circles, and the woman who recorded the definitive version of what has become Two’s favorite alligator song—is currently undergoing some medical problems and is seeking help paying for her bills and getting funds for insurance through her “give a healthy dose of s00j sale“, wherein she is offering her albums at a discounted price.
This has not affected her plans to ride the train The City of New Orleans from Chicago to the city of New… I forget where it’s going, actually… in March, along with a trainload of fans, including yours truly.
Well, it hasn’t stopped her plans, I should say. It has prompted her to offer a discount on that, as well. I’ve been told that if you use Google Checkout and enter the coupon code “Save Our Sooj”, you will be given a $100 discount off the entire package. For those of you who missed the announcement and the ads, this deal includes your passage from Chicago or Memphis down to the destination city, it includes lodging, it includes entertainment, it includes direct access to s00j, to novelist Catheryn M. Valente, as well as to me and to any other persons of interest who sign up. I’ll also be handing out the first batch of my “WW2D?” bracelets, and possibly some other goodies.
And finally, a Livejournal communiy called, appropriately, “saveours00j” has also been created, where various s00j fans have offered their creative services, products, etc. to people who are willing to donate to s00j’s fund. Even if you don’t know s00j’s music or aren’t a fan, this might interest you. There’s all kinds of neat stuff being offered. Some of it is a set price; you just donate, send your proof of donation to the person, and they give you your incentive. Other stuff is being run auction style, where you put your pledge in the comments and the highest one (after they actually go and donate) is awarded the prize.
At least one other author auctioned off the right to have a character named for the donor in this fashion. Considering how I treat my characters, I didn’t think that would be too appealing, necessarily, so instead I’m offering this: to the person who wins my auction, I will put their name on the building for the Bardic Arts on the MU campus.
No, this has not been a very important building so far, but there are quite a few musically inclined characters, and I promise to at the very least work the name in as soon as the matter’s settled. Once it’s there, it will be officially a part of the MU canon forevermore that the building was named in honor of a philanthropist who supported the arts. Is that meta, or is that meta? This is a rare honor, as only a very few of the buildings on the MU campus are named for real people; in those cases, I consider it the acknowledgement of a creative debt.
Here’s the link for my auction. It does require Livejournal membership so there’s some way to verify who’s done the bidding.
Anyway, that’s enough digression. On to the story.
