Back again...

...after the storm, and the stress of travel and conferencing, after the wild night, wild night last night.

Of course I should have been tweeting and blogging throughout all these events (will the future now ever be able to rid itself of these ugly words? James Thurber -- or the New Yorker comments -- in the early 60's noted an event in the city where people were invited for brunch and Bloody Marys, "two of the ugliest neologisms of the day") but I was too busy.  And of course I forego tweeting anyway.  

UT Dallas and the events there -- reading, visits with faculty and students -- were eye-opening and personally gratifying.  I apparently drew a bigger audienc than almost any visiting writer in the history of the venue -- though that history is quite brief.  When the moderator (Dean Dennis Kratz, a fine man) asked how many in the audience had read Little Big, about eight hands appeared.  Speculation was the the mere words "science fiction writer" was enough to draw a crowd here.  The university was founded by some of the people who created Texas Instruments, with an ambition to make it the MIT of the West, and some 80% of students are majoring in tech subjects.  A very high proportion of nerds, God bless 'em, and a slight problem with an unusual number on the spectrum as we say.  Dr. Sabrina Starnaman, who teaches literature and AMerican studies and can teach SF because, well, sure, is also adviser to the Science Fiction Club, with whom I met.  (Professors in Texas are routinely addressed as Doctor; people kept calling me Dr. Crowley, which to me is my father, an actual doctor guy; of course I'm not really even a Professor.)

Then on to Austin and the Harry Ransom Center.  More on that later.