.... because I'm tired of looking at the still from the Lion, Witch, & Wardrobe trailer in my last post (and the synchronous link announcing the 'Gang of 12' [[14]] filibuster compromise). Time has shifted the dramatic momentum of that situation, anyway. According to some pundits, the binding of the Democrats on the Stone Table bought us all some time. Now we're waiting for the Deeper Magic to kick in. The Dems will suddenly jump off the table, do a group roar and struggle to avert the 100-Year Winter of the Supreme Court.

My tendency to internalize metaphors like that one is probably a telltale of something or other. For most people, "magic realism" is a whimsical literary genre, not a religious preference. Luckily for me, occasional gigs still turn up for members of the First Church of Donald Duck, Scientist. I found a short-term teaching job a couple of weeks ago. So I've been happily busy with that -- instead of combining morosity at unemployment with morosity over the Bush administration.

Last year, I spent a good deal of time producing work-for-hire chapters on a computer training manual/exam guide. The pay wasn't great, but I threw myself into the job, hoping that an author credit on a well-received book might let me pitch more book projects. The project editors were pleased with what I turned in; but the publisher decided to delay printing and wait for a new set of exam standards. I'll probably get to do the whole thing over again next year, if I want to, at the same work-for-hire rate.