A few random thoughts:

> If you could go back in time and re-live your life, what, if any, one thing would you most likely change? A particular event? A personal trait? I’ve been thinking about this myself lately, and I have some idea about it that I hope to discuss later on. Those of you who know me, feel free to email me any suggestions you have for yourselves, and I will include them in my follow-up here.

> How does Cheryl Morgan do it? She posts a blog faithfully every day, and it is never a brief random thought, but detailed essays which obviously require considerable thought. This in addition to writing/editing her monthly webzine EMERALD CITY which features, by her own count, 8-to-10 book reviews per month, which means she finds the time to read those books, as well as think about them, and also hold down a fulltime job! Cheryl, you’re amazing!

> My best student Vivien is a senior who scored 1600 on her SATs and was accepted early decision into Harvard. Recently she was selected as Star-Ledger Scholar of the Year for Morris County, and one of a select few Presidential Scholars nationwide. Yay, Viv!

> The teachers in Parsippany are in the middle of very contentious contract negotiations with the Board of Education (and I’m the vice-president for public relations of the association, so I am the point man for our public defense!). This Board of Ed has recently lost both an expensive referendum and a yearly budget vote, partly due to their own incompetence in presenting them to the public, but part of their reaction to the losses is trying to balance the budget on the backs of the teachers. While I don’t expect to be respected as much as a doctor or a lawyer no matter how hard I work or how much impact I might have on my students, I really don’t like being treated as hired help who can be kicked around in public, which is what is happening in Parsippany right now.

> I finally finished reading WORLDS THAT WEREN'T (see April 25 and April 29 for more on this book), and my favorite story in the book was Walter Jon William’s “The Last Ride of German Freddie,” which told what might have happened had health problems forced Friedrich Nietzsche to leave Europe and resettle in the Southwest United States, specifically Tombstone during the era of the Gunfight at the OK Corral. Not only was this a rousing adventure, but it successfully explored how Nietzsche’s philosophical views would have impacted his participation in the battle between the Earps and the Clantons. Just as the best sf makes you think about future change, I believe the best alternate history makes you think about historical change as well.