I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Linkee-poo going over the mountains and across the sky

Myke Cole with the 18 rules he learned his 1st year as a full time writer. (Grokked from Elizabeth)

Chuck wending with 25 reasons you should stop writing. Oh great, I had to read this the day before a writing retreat. Boo. But then it's a great time to be a writer and there's the 25 things I should know about writing the first chapter. So, yeah!

Justine Larbalestier on just because a writer writes about something doesn't mean they actually condone it. Hell yes. I mean, if that were true, nobody would want to be around writers. And we're actually nice people. But if you believe that writers want what they write to be true, then you should never live around Angela Lansbury. Because in every episode of Murder, She Wrote someone near to her (relationship-wise or just physically in the same space) dies. Sometimes in multiples.

Magic, iPods, and deception. Very cool video. (Pointed to by John)

More evidence that the world is stranger than you think. That's about fairy wasps that are smaller than amoebas and their neurons are nucleus free. (pointed to by John)

Jay Lake shares a first-person teachable moment regarding privilege. Yep, been there, done that, have the t-shirt. While those actions several more denotative terms applied, I personally call those moments "playing the Cracker card." And the thing is, it's about more than privilege. Intellectually I know how to behave, how I should treat people who aren't me, but I find myself slipping into forms of interaction that on later reflection I find myself appalled that I didn't see what I was doing as I was doing it. That includes interactions with people who aren't of my race, class, social status and those who are. Sometimes I am in full-on dick mode, even though I repeat Wheaton's Law to myself several times a week. It is a form of privilege that I get away with it without someone calling me on it. But when I find it myself, I'm doubly hard against myself because I should know better by now.

Look, there are differences between the parties (especially this year) that we can talk about and debate. But the conservative side knows they're holding the fuzzy end of the lollipop with that. Instead, they go for the old standards. That's a dissection of a phrase from the outed "let's get our white guy elected by rolling out everything that was disproven in the last election cycle" plan. Just stop it, okay? Or I'll have to start pointing out how Romney is effeminate in the way he holds the microphone. And we all don't want to go there. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

And speaking of crazy, "'I’m not a birther. I believe that the President was born in Hawaii, or at least, I hope he was,' The Washington Post quoted (Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett), as saying." That's a story about how Mr. Bennett may not allow President Obama on the November ballot. No, Mr. Bennett, that last part of the quote says you are bat-shit crazy and questioning where the President was born. I'm sure it's just pandering, but notice how nobody is asking Romney for his birth certificate, just the guy that "looks funny." And why is there even a constituency here to pander to? (Grokked from Jay Lake)

I understand that Romney is not personally responsible for this typo. But the organization he set up and is the nominal leader of is. And given my torturing of the English language (spelling and grammar), I'm not really one to talk, but getting "America" wrong when you're running to lead the place, severe rookie mistake. That's like misspelling the name of the editor you're submitting to. Only, I'm sure "America" was on someone's 1st grade "Words to Learn" list. (Pointed to by Dan)

Alligator Quotient: Well, they were hiding in a closet looking for loose change. Now their out again, but (ha!ha!) I'm going to leave again. Suckers.

No comments: