Happy Australia Makes You Die Day!

Once again, my big list o' holidays* says that today is a holiday that is very important to me, and makes a big impact on my life. Maybe not as big an impact as Virus Appreciation Day (October 3rd), which I celebrate every year by not unleashing the pandemic, or Cuckoo Warning Day (June 21st), which is best celebrated by evolving parasitic wasps into telepathic humanoids, but still, it's important to me.

Today is Australia Day.

So today we celebrate the existence of Australia, the continent which proves that evolution did a lot of drugs when it was young. Today we celebrate the fact that Australia is full of things that want to make us all die, the fact that Australia is frequently on fire, and the fact that Australia essentially hates humanity. Specific things to celebrate about Australia include venomous snakes, spiders the size of dinner plates, marsupials, really interesting money, the koala (which will totally rip your face off if you poke it), and the cone snail, which is the size of a man's thumb and can kill you extremely dead. This is why you do not fuck around with the native wildlife of Australia.

Tonight I will celebrate by going to Kate's house to eat tasty Indian food and tell her things she never wanted to know about the many ways in which Australia can render you extremely deceased. There will be expository hand-gestures, and possibly even diagrams. Kate puts up with a lot from me, really. And later this year, I'll belatedly celebrate Australia Day by actually going to Melbourne, Australia, for the glory of WorldCon.

Thank you for existing, Australia! Today is your day. Your venomous, deadly, kicking-your-ass, being eaten by koalas day.

Hooray Australia!

(*I have a list containing a holiday for every single day of the year. Some days have more than one holiday listed. The world needs more excuses for a party.)

Happy Bookday, Adam! (Katy Perry, eat your heart out.)

My dear friend Adam Selzer (adamselzer) is a professional author, smart aleck, and ghost tour guide. If you've ever wanted to see the haunted side of Chicago, he's your man, and he even promises not to let you go with Resurrection Mary unless you really, really want to. He writes YA and middle grade books which are just an amazing amount of fun, and today, yes, today, his latest masterpiece is available to the masses:

I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy]

It has thrills, chills, comedy, tragedy, and an awesome soundtrack including songs by yours truly, my beloved Vixy, my equally beloved Dr. Mary Crowell, and more. Adam is an awesome dude and an awesome author, and this promises to be an awesome book. No matter what your age is, if you love witty writing, glorious snark, and, of course, zombies, this is the book for you.

Go ye forth, and shamble into glory.