Lansdale will be Toastmaster

I saw this past week that the SFWA has named Joe Lansdale as toastmaster for this year's annual banquet. The Nebula Weekend will be the last one in April. I guess Joe is seen as the most typically Texan author - though my first reaction was, why didn't they pick Howard? (Waldrop). Neither of them belong to the SFWA, btw. But Joe's stories are more consistently set in Texas. Of course, I think Howard doesn't get the recognition that he deserves - but no one does. He's been called "The Best Author You've Never Heard Of."

I always kinda laugh up my sleeve when some critic calls me a "Texas author", since I didn't move here until I was 28. Howard wasn't born in Texas, but he grew up here, and besides he was born in Mississippi (as opposed to say, Massachusetts).

I talked to Jerry Wright (of Bewildering Stories fame) on the phone a couple of days ago about resurrecting SentinelSF. He commented that, even after living in Texas 23 years, I haven't completely lost my East Coast accent.

Well, Joe should have them rolling in the aisles with his dry and outrageous humor. I hope I can go, at least for Saturday, but that will involve trading off with somebody at work, since I normally work Saturdays.

Here is the video of the day. I was flabbergasted when I found it, because this song is in the novel I am currently working on, and the video was posted after I started writing the story.