Sorry, this week is exceptionally busy with deadlines and work work work. So, I don't know if all this balances and everything is in the right spot, but gotta get this out.
This article starts off with the questions most often asked by starting writers (waves hand at the crowd), and then goes into the questions we should be asking. Again, waves hand at the crowd. I wish I had thought of many of these questions before the last few years because I had more opportunities to get great answers. Not that I wouldn't get great answers now, but I've sat with more editors in previous cons than I do now. (Grokked from Miranda Suri)
The commissioning editor, gatekeeper to publishing.
"Ignore the haters. You aren’t writing for those weirdos." Writing advice gleaned from The Lorax.
Seven bestseller strategies for writers. When looking at advice like this, the best advice I have is "If 1 – 5 writers did it and were successful, it's a fluke. If you have 30 writers telling you this worked for them, you might want to check it out." Mostly geared toward self-publishers, but also good advice for others. (Grokked from MrsTadd)
Also if you're self publishing, don't allow typos on your cover. Pointed out here as both a book/writing and politics thing. (Pointed to by John)
The Desolation of Smaug trailer appears. It's full of lots of jumpy sword swinging and more elves drawing bows than you can shake a stick at.
If SF/F fandom is inclusionary, why do some of our fans have to go through this crap. Why? Because apparently fandom hasn't had to suffer through 90s with the constant "corporate education videos" about hostile workplaces. Look, guys, can we talk? Cut this shit out. Frankly if you can accept that a geek can be a woman (and you don't understand just how sexualized women have been in our past and how it's not good now) the problem isn't with them. The problem is that the a segment of male fans have decided they would rather throw their wooden shoes, called "sabot", into the modern cultural machinery than deal with a changed world. And if you don't get the reference in that last line (and how I subverted the intent), you aren't a good enough fan to question anyone else. (Grokked from Tor.com)
The Doom that Came to Thonis-Heracleion. The lost city of Thonis-Heracleion, mighty trade port between Greece and a conquered Egypt, now lies under the Mediterranean Sea almost 7 kilometers off the present day coast of Alexandria. If that isn't a Lovecraftian story just waiting to be written, I don't know what is. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
1933 Chicago World's Fair ephemera. From when we designed using flint knives and wore bear skins. Gods I love this stuff.
"What is keming?" Hahahahahaha.
Janiece talks about her own life, but gives good advice for us all. "Virtue unlocked: Perspective."
What to say about the judge's ruling on the case of organic farmers suing to keep Monsanto from suing them if GM plants get mixed into their organic seed supplies. It's not as strange as it might sound (in face, it's happening already). "In its ruling Monday, the appellate court said the organic growers must rely on Monsanto assurances on the company's website that it will not sue them so long as the mix is very slight." Um, yeah, how about defining "very slight"? Ten percent, thirty, fifty-five? The problem here (okay, one of the problems) is that as the gm seed infiltrates into the organic supplies the percentage will continue to grow until a balance point is found (depending on the evolutionary advantages of each strain). But then I'm reminded of the quote from Little Big Man, "But sometimes grass don't grow, wind don't blow and the sky ain't blue." 'Cause it's not like companies update their websites all the time. (Grokked from Paolo Bacigalupi)
A famous staked vampire body returns to its native soil in Bulgaria. What could possibly go wrong? Double points for those who get the vampire lore there. And yes, stabbing corpses was a thing back then. IIRC, even in Edwardian times it was customary to prick a corpse with a hat pin before burial (this was in the time before embalming was wide spread). (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
Apple's OS X goes to the dark side (of server file management). Of somewhat interest to the day thing as we have many servers I need to connect to.
Oh look, George W Bush's popularity is finally creeping into positive territory. Well, actually it's his negatives that are going down. And it only took him being out of office and out of the public's eye for six years. Some conservatives will like to think that this is because his policies are more popular. In reality it's just that people tend for ignore and forget the bad of the past because there is so much current crap we have to deal with. Sort of why people think fondly of the 50's and 70's. I wonder what the numbers would be if the poll first reminded people of what the Bush Presidency was like, and then ask them. (Pointed to by John)
Tweet of my heart: @bunsenhoneydew: I'm less surprised that the US government is tapping all communications than I am that there was a successful large government IT project
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