I'm home--with a cold, and catching up

Got home last night after a miserable flight (not because of the airline, Virgin, which is fantatastic!) because of the brewing cold. Cough, lumpy/sore-ish throat. Not very happy. I drank a lot of orange juice and water, watched two movies--The Informant, which I loathed (Matt Damon was great but I just hated the character and didn't find him very funny) and UP, which I loved (I'd seen the first ten minutes going over but wasn't able to finish) and some tv shows (episode of Bones, which I liked a lot and pilot of Glee,which I also liked a lot). Also read a bit, but the head distress was less conducive to reading than viewing. After gargling and taking some multi-symptom cold meds I was happily knocked out (with Bella being sweet from the time I got home through this morning, nuzzling me a lot--wonder what she'll think when I bring home a new kitten in the next few days--more about that later).

Catching up on reviews, podcasts, etc that I couldn't post while traveling:

Here's the podcast of me at my annual Garden State Horror Writers gig, back in October, talking about anthologies and answering questions. Scroll down and you'll find it.

Also, John Clute mentions Darkness: Two Decades of Modern Horror in passing in his Scores review of the second volume of Peter Straub's Library of America American Fantasy Tales.

I deeply disagree with John denigration of what he dubs "affect" horror because I actually think the best and longest lasting stories of horror are those that combine what he considers "affect" horror --briefly, the first impression a good horror story has on you--plus the longer lasting dread and creepiness caused by the psychological layering/underpinnings of those stories. But I'm glad to have Darkness referenced throughout his review of the Straub.