Smokelong Quarterly one of the best flash venues around is live with their 6th issue, featuring writers such as: Ian Kita, Avital Gad-Cykman, Daphne Buter, Alicia Gifford, Joseph Young, Robin Slick, Beverly Jackson, Ellen Parker, Liesl Jobson, Jordan E. Rosenfeld, Jensen Whelan, Andrew Tibbetts, Katrina Denza and others (including me). Oh, and don’t forget to read the author interviews at the bottom of each piece. They are quite interesting and fun.
If you haven’t tried Skype yet, try it! I used it recently for a conference call with a person in New York, one in Chicago and one in LA. The sound quality was excellent.
read about it here
Too much fun: Presidential Showdown Game.
This is my ratty old reading chair. My dog likes it, too. He is snoring right now. Oh and don’t think I don’t know that it’s irritating to constantly post photos of one’s pets. 
Read Steve’s clever flash here: How Many Words Does It Take
To Change A Light Bulb?
The assessment does not paint a rosy picture, but we should read it anyway because it is important to understand the impact of amphibian extinction on other species and their ecosystems. Here is a fact from the executive summary, Disappearing Jewels: The Status of New World Amphibians, which I found particularly chilling:
The Western Hemisphere’s existing system of public and private parks and reserves provides no protection for more than one-third of threatened amphibians (37%), emphasizing the incomplete nature of the protected area system. Even for species that are found in protected areas, management is often not effective at stemming habitat loss. Moreover, threats like climate change or disease transcend park and reserve boundaries.
Grand Slam by Slate‘s William Saletan is an excellent review of last night’s debate. If you didn’t get a chance to watch the debate, this review will provide you with some of the most telling moments.
The beautiful new edition of small spiral notebook is live with an excellent book review by Katie Weekley. Read it here:
The unstoppable Jordan Rosenfeld has a great piece of fiction up at Literary Mama right now. Go on and read it. You won’t be sorry you did: Urges.
Kerry was ON in last night’s third and final presidential debate. He was brilliant, focused, fact-based and firm. He looked the camera, America, the world–right in the eye and told us what he would do to make this a better country. Last night, he proved that he does have a plan for how he will lead this country.
To be fair, Bush made his points, too, but he simply could not keep up. The fact of the matter is that his record was staring him in the face and he could not (well he could and did and every time he did, Kerry called him on it)deny the facts.
According to most polls, all three debates have been won by Kerry. According to history, the candidate who wins all three debates wins the election. I do hope that history repeats itself in this case.
More Information:
– early polls give Kerry the edge
– Transcript
– Short Takes on the Debate
– Game. Set. Match.
– L.A. Times Electoral College Tracker
– Seymour Hersh spills the secrets of the Iraq quagmire and the war on terror
myfanwy collins 