All you need to know about publishing these days

The news that the next book in the Harry Potter series will finally be released this coming June was front page news today -- in the business section. Yes, the New York Times, which probably does more than any other general-interest publication to keep track of the publishing industry (which is, of course, largely based in New York), and usually does so in the Arts section where such news belongs, published this story just below the fold, complete with a postage stamp-sized color protrait of the series' author, one J.K. Rowlings.

No, I'm not tempted to start writing kids' books. Writing mysteries is one thing. Writing for kids, I'll leave to somone else.

In other news, the SF Chronicle today published this hilarious story about the penguins at the zoo. It seems they imported a few penguins from another establishment, and these convinced all the S.F. penguins that it was time to migrate to South America. So they endlessly swim laps in their pool, and have been doing so for weeks now.