“Weasel, this time work WITH the drugs!”

Title is a line (maybe not verbatim) from the musical Angry Housewives. The point being that sometimes going against the flow is counterproductive.

Case in point, a while back I began devoting an hour on Friday to clearing out my email, another hour to planning the next week. Worked great … except that instead of wrapping up my day that way, I’d start by clearing out my email. And somehow after doing such mundane tasks, it was hard to get my mind back in a writing groove.

This week it hit me: with a little reshuffling of my schedule I can put in slightly more time Monday through Thursday, use Friday for email, planning and blogging and not lose any writing time. That fits the way my mind wants to work and it might feel good. It certainly did today. Unhurried morning, email and planning done, next week’s blogging done. And as I donated blood at noon, I wouldn’t have been focused in the afternoon anyway.

This week it was my little Trixie who had the health problems. A trifecta, in fact: weird rash on her nose, dewclaws grown so long they dug into her pads and after we brought her back from the vet, she started puking. All good now: antibiotics for the nose, dewclaws trimmed, Cerenia to keep her stomach stable until whatever it was passes.

Yes, I did some writing too. I’m about 60 percent done with the final section of Southern Discomfort. Other than that, I spent my time working on Local Reporter stuff. One on this week’s Carrboro City Council meeting, another about a local charity working to alleviate period poverty in NC. I’m really pleased with that last one — it’s a serious issue and not talked about enough.

Over at Atomic Junk Shop I took a look at Marvel in 1968. Up until late ’67, Marvel relied on DC’s distributor to reach the newsstands and that limited it to around eight books a month. Now that era is over and Marvel has expanded fast, but not always successfully. On the plus side, Archie Goodwin’s sole issue of Incredible Hulk gives Betty Ross a chance to do something heroic instead of staying Wimpy Love Interest.

I followed that with a look at what the comics companies besides DC and Marvel were doing in ’68.

Oh, and MA Kropp gave a favorable review to Questionable Minds. Thanks!

And now the weekend. Enjoy!

#SFWApro. Art by Marie Severin, all rights to images remain with current holders.