woodenrocketpress

Word on the Street: a phenomenal success

Thanks to everyone who came by our booth yesterday and picked up No Desire To Die, or Blank State, or our two new zines “Excerpts from the Early Writings of an Urban Wizard” and “Fantastic Tales of Amazing Individuals volume 1.” Your long talks in the scorching indian summer sun was all I needed to make it through this week.

If you’ve found our site because of something we said to you yesterday, shoot us an e-mail. I’m going to put up NDTD on the store this evening, but any email to dave@woodenrocketpress.com will let you know how to get your hands on things in the interim.

For those that didn’t hit the festival, a brief yet sombre look at it in light of Mayor Rob Ford’s proposed cuts to the city’s library system can be found here, featuring an interview with me and a video of Michael describing NDTD. But I can’t stress this enough: It is very important to not let any of these cuts go unchecked. Talk to your councillor, tell them how much events like Word on the Street mean to you. Little businesses like this one rely on it as their sole source of income.

For a man writing post-apocalyptic fiction, I don’t delight in seeing anything awful happen to my city. It’s more fun to make this up than to report it as its happening, I assure you. I will be writing my councillor, so that I don’t have to start writing non-fiction.

Thanks for yesterday.

Dave Proctor

“A Write-In For Mayor?” Via The Toronto Star.

Forgive the narcissism, but I was quoted in the Toronto Star today.

“‘She’s not dealing with the problem. Tell her to go run in the next election and get democratically elected. And we’d be more than happy to sit down and listen to Margaret Atwood,’ Doug Ford said last Tuesday.

“He also said he didn’t know the novelist.

“‘If she walked by me, I wouldn’t have a clue who she is,’ he said.

“A note went up on the tip jar at Red Rocket Coffee on Wellesley St. the next day, said barista Michael Scott.

“‘It’s a strange statement to make. I don’t think I would have finished high school without knowing Margaret Atwood,’ Scott said. ‘Not even to say that, but to proclaim it with pride, as if it would damage her reputation somehow.’

“More than 5,000 people have ‘liked’ a Facebook page encouraging Atwood to run for mayor.”

-Chloe Fedio, The Toronto Star.

Just to clarify, no, I don’t know Margret Atwood. I meant that I know of her.

Michael Scott

The Next Generation

A generation of kids that were conceived while their parents watched Star Trek: The Next Generation are coming of age. Let’s take to the streets and see what they have to say to the question: “How does it feel to know that your parents were watching Star Trek: TNG when you were conceived?”

A lot of people have been asking me that for a couple of years. I guess I’m one of the oldest of the TNG babies. I was conceived during the first appearance of the Ferengi. People think it makes me like, this, cultural milestone. I don’t know, I mean, how important can my influence be if so many parents were getting it on to Captain Picard’s voice?
- Jennifer Marlow, 24, conceived during “The Last Outpost,” Season 1

I feel like I was part of something. I’m not exactly athletic or popular, but I know that I’m part of something bigger, you know?
-William S., 17, conceived during “All Good Things…”

Why do people assume that this matters? Why must the whims of our parents be grafted onto us without our say? I’m sure the baby boomers would be plenty angry if we told them that their parents’ actions in any way influenced the people they were so why is it okay that our lives are measured against theirs? What kind of shit is that?
-Tasha Yar Davidson, 21, conceived during “Yesterday’s Enterprise”

I’ve got an art show next week you should come to.
-Spencer Elden, “The Nirvana Baby,” 20, conceived during “Remember Me”