Sorry about the various problems posting today. This is the full linkee-poo. Blogger kept balking at some of these links but I think I've fixed it.
Chuck Wendig's 25 ways to get your writer's groove back. Noted here for me to re-read come December 12.
This is your brain. This is your brain on Jane Austen. Now we have scientific evidence that if you stop the distractions, reading a book is a full emersion experience.
Constructing the pitch or log line. "Here is a little insider information. When we cannot whittle our entire story into three sentences that is a clear sign to agents and editors that our story is structurally flawed. Not always, but more often than not. Your goal should be ONE sentence." Hmm, that may be what's wrong with Bladesman. I've never really been able to sum it up on one sentence, although my brain is working on it now. Oh, and just because she's running a contest, I'm mentioning Kristen Lamb's book, We Are Not Alone. (Grokked from Miranda Suri)
Because it's the season, the monsters from Mesopotamia! I think you need to have the reverb turned all the way up when you say that. Anyway, an interesting take on how three of our main modern monsters all derive from the Fertile Crescent of Civilization (the 3 rivers). Slightly along the lines of "Russians invented everything" (Persians have similar concepts, as do the Irish), it's an interesting look into cultural differences between vampires, werewolves, and zombies. Everything old is new again, as they say. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
Mongolia 1913. Love the photo of the cart being drawn by two horses, the tackle is two guys riding the horses holding a pole between them. That qualifies for the "ifixedit" site. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Combative swimming skills being taught in Japan. Um, for, uh, when you have to cross that river while carrying your daisho. Like, when there's not a bridge. Like you do. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
OSU Marching Band does a tribute to video games. And now you know why getting into that marching band is a highly competitive process. Did I ever mention how our high school marching band instructor was the drum major at OSU (the guy that dots the "i")? (Pointed to by John)
Man questioned by the FBI for taking a photo of cloudscapes over a refinery. Security theater strikes again.
Here's your million dollar idea of the week; if we call it "Security Theater", shouldn't we publish reviews by critics in the newspaper and sell popcorn and drinks during intermissions?
The good news is they found that missing Halliburton radioactive capsule. (Pointed to by Dan)
The Patent Wars. Destroying intellectual property one lawsuit at a time. Remember when I talked about the various possible futures we avoided by the interference of Apple and Steve Jobs demanding excellence of user experience? Here's the flip side of that argument.
And here's a case before the Supreme Court that most people haven't heard of (I hadn't) and it will affect all of us. The case will decide if you have the right to sell that used item (book, car, clothes, etc) if it was either made in a foreign country, or had parts made in a foreign country. Think companies wouldn't use this as an excuse for stopping secondary sales and a motivation to ship manufacturing overseas because they want to micromanage your experience and use of their products? Have we ever discussed DVD country codes before this? (Pointed to by Dan)
Christine Granville, the spy whom Winston Churchill loved. Also, she was the template for Ian Fleming's Bond Girl, Vesper Lynd and lived a life of adventure, as long as WWII was going on. Fiction has a hard time keeping up with her real life. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
This reminds me about the guys wondering how Facebook and Instagram made their money. Now there's a place where you can find out just how much you're worth and who is selling what to whom. (Pointed to by John)
Oh Holy Crap. "This (Bible) passage does not give parents blanket authority to kill their children. They must follow the proper procedure in order to have the death penalty executed against their children." Why people don't stare at these idiots in open mouthed astonishment is beyond me. Okay, well, to be fair he does say that just the threat of the death penalty would be enough to bring those rebellious kids back in line. You know, after you kill a few of them. Is this some fringe wacko? Why of course not, it's Republican legislator Charlie Fuqua from Arkansas. Admittedly a state level politician, but still. Tell me again how distributive economics, legalization of pot, and increased social spending match up in wackiness to that. (Grokked from Sam Sykes)
When will conservatives learn there's this thing called the internet and Google. And when you try to pass off faked, mislabeled, or distorted and badly edited videos mixing several tapes claiming it was all one event, well then the internet is gonna drop a bomb on you, baby. In this case some conservatives, upset at Romney's dwindling poll numbers (pre-debate) decided to call al the media liars and said Romney's support was swelling. And to prove the point, the grabbed at photo of a 2008 Obama rally and tried to pass it off as a 2012 Romney event. Silly conservatives. (Grokked from the Slactivist)
I've been wondering about this for a while. Here's a handy chart on the BLM's numbers over the past year including the revisions. As you can see, for most the time the revisions were in the positive direction. That is, more jobs were created than what were first reported. Why are there revisions? Because the economy is very big and it's impossible to fully crunch all the numbers in time to issue the report.
Tweet of my heart: @Stonekettle: RT @HuffPostWeird: Why are lightning deaths declining? << I think it's because people are more grounded nowadays.
Double dip: @historyweird: 1632: Two finger bones of St Fiacre (d.670) are transported to Cardinal Richelieu and "laid upon" his painful hemorrhoids, but to no avail.
Alligator Quotient: They're all off site for another day.
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