Unpacking The Writer ► Continued | Not Now Silly Newsroom

If you are a new reader, welcome to my irregular blog series in which I pull back the curtain like The Wizard of Oz — AUNTY EM!!! AUNTY EM!!! — and reveal some of the inner-workings of the Not Now Silly blog. If you are not new, then you already know this is just an excuse to beg my readers to click on some of the adverts on this blog. Those people are already happily clicking away. It’s because they enjoy my writing and know the return I get from clicks doesn’t even cover the maintenance fees I pay each month to keep Not Now Silly going, but it sure helps. So, click ’til it hurts. Then click one more time.

There’s a lot of Not Now Silly news to report this go-round, so let’s get right to it.

First off, there’s my new continuing series Headlines Du Jour, launched late last month. I created the series for 3 reasons:

A Headline Du Jour from the Wayback Machine

1). Often the links I post on social media (the facebookery or Twitter) today, I see scattered all over the innertubes tomorrow and the next day. It so often seems like I ferret out these stories long before the rest of the twiterati. Headlines Du Jour is where my faithful readers can find the news before it’s news to them;

2). The other reason I launched Headlines Du Jour is because I actually dreamed about it several nights in a row, right down to the name. Since I never had a Not Now Silly dream before — or since, for that matter — I decided to listen to my subconscious for a change of pace;

3). Every time I type “Today’s Headlines Du Jour,” I laugh at the redundancy.

Unfortunately, when I dreamed about Headlines Du Jour I didn’t dream the format, or how it should look. Consequently, I’m still tinkering with Headlines Du Jour and trying to find the right balance between serious and funny, smart and snarky, hard news and news you can use. If you have any suggestions, feel free to send them in over the transom.

Since my last Unpacking The Writer post, I’ve also launched another new irregular feature here at the Steam-Powered Word-0-Matic. Ablow Job is where I put Dr. Keith Ablow, the Fox “News” Channel’s pop psychiatrist, on the couch. My long-time readers might remember when I used to delve into Glenn Beck’s Freudian impulses under my nom de blog of Aunty Em at NewsHounds. This will be similar, ‘cept this time it’s Glenn Beck’s writing partner, Dr. Keith Ablow. Initial reaction has been strong, but you can help spread the word by sharing the hilarity with your friends and family.

UPDATE ON TROLLEYGATE: I’ve been writing about Trolleygate since the end of January — long before any of the local mainstream media covered it. Right from the start I called it a classic case of institutional racism. Early this month my reporting was vindicated by no less than the United States Department of Transportation, which declared Trolleygate in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, specifically Title VI. Not Now Silly also broke the story of The Smoking Gun Email days before any other newspaper. However, only here will you learn about its significance and why it points to corruption within the City of Miami. So, yeah, I’m blowing my own horn: Racism was at the core of Trolleygate and [allegedly] corrupt Miami Commissioner Marc D. Sarnoff may have had a backroom deal with the developers to get it approved. Anonymous tipsters continue to send me avenues of inquiry to follow. Eventually one of these Sarnoff rumours will pan out, or lead to pay dirt — both expressions coming from the Gold Rush.

I’ve saved the best news for last!!!

I know you have every reason to doubt me, because I’ve made this promise before, but I am mere days away from the serialization of Farce au Pain. I’ve been working on it for quite a while and, I am happy to report, the launch is now imminent.

While most of the delay has been totally avoidable (I work so much more diligently when I have hard deadlines), there has been one unavoidable road block. My tattooed, coffee-stained lawyer (with the grudge) has been pouring over every word of Farce au Pain, the exact same way Grayhammy pours over every word I post. Then we spent a lot of time exchanging emails to get the wording of certain passages exact. I argued some points and won. He argued some points and won. On some, we just compromised.

To be perfectly honest, I’d love to defend Farce au Pain in a court of law. While it would prove to be a laugh riot, I have much better things to do with my time. That’s why I am using weasel-words, just like I’ve accused Johnny Dollar of using. Consequently, some of my sentences are not quite as declarative as they appear on first read. I learned that from the best. “I’m just asking questions.”

That’s why I’m thrilled to announce that things are back on track for the serialization of Farce au Pain, my longest and lengthiest on-going project. A friend recently asked why I would serialize my book. Because I like comparing myself to Charles Dickens whenever I get the chance.

Oh, and if you’ve made it down this far and haven’t clicked on an advert, you’re stealing. Either click, or don’t come back.