Linkee-poo rushes out the door

They're rebooting Omni Magazine. True story, my first rejection was from Omni and Ellen Datlow. The rejection letter began something like, "We regret to inform you that Omni Magazine is shutting down, so we're returning your submission unread…". Hey, I killed it once, don't force me to kill it again. (Pointed to by Dan)

Chuck Wendig on forcing art. Having worked in an industry that's really close to art (waves at Vince here) for 20+ years now, and having been trained in "arts", I think I can say a little on this matter. Stop thinking of what you're doing as art and just get on with it. People can disagree with "what is art" (I'm firmly in the camp of what I do is very much not art, although it's art's kissing cousin). In the context of writing, the "you can't force art" is often used as an excuse to not write. I also have experience here as well. It is always "better" to write when you're "inspired", but you shouldn't think of that as a requirement. It took da Vinci some 3-5 years to paint the Mona Lisa (and there's debate if he worked on it for another 10 years). While it wasn't his only project, do you think all of that 3-5 years time was spent in glorious bliss of "ZOMG, people are going to LOVE this"? Think he may have had a few weeks of "this is total shit, no one is going to buy it" and "if I have to paint one more stroke I'm going to fuckin' shoot someone"? Yea, I think he might have. Because that is art. It's damn hard work. I could go into the "what's the definition of art" thing, but people have been debating that for centuries (and probably back to the guy painting at Lacroix and Ogg coming up behind him saying, "You call that a horse, my kid painted a better one using his own shit last night"). By the time your book is done (unless you go right to self-publishing) it's a group effort. Can groups make art? Yes, I'd say they could. But that group effort isn't there to make art, it's there to make commerce. And that right there makes it non-art (yes, art can make a profit… but that's not what's going on here, do you really want me to write 4000 words on this? I can. Without breaking a sweat. Don't force me to turn this blog around cause I will). But people can say they "suffered for their art" (you're going to suffer anyway), and if people don't understand it, well, they're "Philistines", and that seems to be more important to people who "make art" than actually "making art." So, can you force art? If you say what I do is art, well I did a lot this morning and I'll do a lot this afternoon. And I'll be forcing it all.

Some more followup to that "professional writer" thing. Chuck Wendig has a nice, simple flowchart to help you figure this out. Catherine Schaff-Stump has some things to say. :: points to her post :: YEA!

What social media marketing is all about. As someone who deals with this, you wouldn't believe the utter idiocy of what goes on in corporate circles when it comes to social media. Especially since the rules are so damn simple. First hint, no, you do not want to hire that kid just out of high school because "kids get it." No, no, no.

"I miss the days when supposed religious folks didn't try to scare you about the government in order to pull the money from your pockets…" Ah, but some "religious folks" have found that scaring you brings in more money than telling you that what you're doing probably violates one of the Big Ten or the Killer Seven. And some"religious folks" are more interested in the money. These people give "professional liars" a bad name. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

Xerox to patch that scanner "glitch" (actually, it really was a "feature", they just didn't think about how their customers used their machines). (Pointed to by Dan)

Bring out yer dead! Bring out yer dead. That's the problem with history, you very rarely bury your problems. London workers uncover plague graves. (Grokked from Mrs Tadd)

"In other words, the environment is changing, and much of what we’ve come to take for granted — clean water to grow food in dry places, lakes to swim in and skim over on jet skis and kayaks and rowboats — won’t necessarily be there when we need it." This is the real problem for us when it comes to global warming (other than a sharp decrease in biological diversity). Our society is pretty well structured around "we do this here, we do that over there." With climate change, we'll need to rethink all that. If you're wondering what the problem of that would be, think about property values, eminent domain, and moving whole cities. Kinda sucks, doesn't it? (Grokked from the Slactivist)

"Northern Snakeheads are known for having sharp teeth, slimy skin, a voracious appetite and the ability to survive on land for days at a time. A spawning population as found in a pond in Maryland near the Potomac River in 2002." A record fish is caught in the US. They're not native to the US. One way to try and eradicate them is to sell them as tasty. But then, almost anything deep-fried is tasty.

"Is it possible Republicans are trying to make the gender gap worse? Are politicians like Gingrey embracing misogyny as some kind of deliberate campaign tactic?" Yes. I know it's rhetorical, but yes. What is it about "angry, white men" that is confusing? Don't think so? How about giving people protesting your anti-abortion legislation cookies (while having your security detail hold traffic and summoning a representative to the center of the road). I love the look on that woman's face holding the plate. Not to mention the still existing, open misogyny in the Texas (and other) legislature(s). And then forcing girls to leave sports teams because boys must have "lustful thoughts." Hint to old people, boys will always have lustful thoughts. I'm sure this has nothing to do with the fact that it shows women can be equal to men even in the time-hallowed halls of sports. Yea, I'm sure that has nothing to do with it. BTW, did you know that where women are forced to wear the Burqa it's because men may lust after them? And just like how Millennials are leaving the Church as they discover what they were told to be the Truth turns to dust when it meets people who actually look for the truth, when confronted by institutionalized sexism, young people find they are feminists after all. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

"But discrimination like the kind that Charlesworth (fired after her abusive husband came onto the campus where she worked and caused a lock down) experienced can lead victims to shy away from reporting. Of the 4 million workplace crimes committed against women from 1993-1990, less than half were reported to the police." Just in case you were wondering why women don't report abuse and rape.

Have I mentioned how the political parties have already gotten past the 2014 mid-term elections and are now hashing out the 2016 election? Have I? Okay, have some kitten therapy courtesy of Elizabeth Bear. I don't know if we have enough kittens this time.