Bubba [Capricorn> mailed me a CD he burned, with a collection of songs, “guaranteed” to breath life into any party. I’m not buying it. It drove the cat under the bed.
Might have been the dramatic shift in weather, too, as another cold front blew through. Tuesday was one the first days I worked up a good sweat, even got an “almost” sunburn. No sun on Wednesday.
“Come on honey, your fans are clamoring for you,” I told the cat, as I dragged her out from under the bed. Didn’t work.
It’s April. I shouldn’t be wearing long pants, so I didn’t. While I didn’t freeze my cojones off, it wasn’t exactly “warm” outside. I was wearing a denim, long sleeve shirt over a special T-shirt, “I got married in Las Vegas at the Graceland Chapel.” I was just corresponding with Ms. Fredlet about her upcoming wedding, “I think we’ll do a drive-thru wedding, rent a Hummer limo, or something.” The mind boggles.
Seemed like I was on the phone non-stop, all day, taking one break to slide up to Threadgill’s for a reading. Capricorn waitress, too. Figures. Call it a Cap day, with the Moon just getting into Capricorn.
> Anyway, I have noticed that aol is now rerunning their
> horoscopes from three months ago
You just noticed? Astrology dot com, from what I’ve been told, has been doing that for a while. I’ve heard different versions, from both disgruntled former employees and avid horoscope readers, but they all point to recycled material; I have not verified this myself.
Some years ago, in contract dispute, my one [Aquarius> lawyer suggested I get some expert advice. After some searching, I found a Capricorn [keeping with the theme>, and he turned out to be worth every penny. He made a good point, being an outsider to astrology business, but not new to electronic publishing and intellectual property rights, he observed that I needed a “no archive rights” clause.
Figure this, save about 3 years worth of my columns, then start re-running them. Same tired gags, but they would be fresh, all over again. Next time you look at a horoscope, think about that. Is this something you might’ve seen before, just recycled?
My electronic archives, on this site, covers everything from about 1993 to the present. Fortunately, there’s a logical and markedly improved quality. No repeats. I tried that once, in 1993, and I was severely chastised by my then-editor. “Don’t ever do that again, or I will come over there and beat your personally.” The editor is now writing his own books, but that didn’t stop me from not making that mistake again. If I recall, I tried to pass off a weekly as a monthly, and it failed. Miserably.
Last year, I was accused of recycling my material, but subsequent investigation [5/10> proved that the accuser wasn’t a very careful reader.
This year, there was no yearly overview [no one offered to pay for it>, no monthly missive [no one offered to pay for it>, and I love doing the weekly scopes. I also have a year’s worth, and then some, of scopes spooled up, so I’m not worried about quitting. But I am taking a break from writing any more.
I recall, from a writing workshop in college, attributed to Ernest Hemingway, that a writer should only quit when he doesn’t want to. So I’ve quit for while. I’m working on “other stuff.” Something else to amuse me.
After all, these scopes I write? They’re for me. Glad some one else likes them, too. As that one Cap guy said, “Bonus.” [Quoted Sagittarius Frank Zappa, too.> Too bad the Cap CD didn’t work.
