Linkee-poo charged them $25 just to see them

A surprisingly Ohio oriented Writer's Almanac, (for July 17) including a nice, twisty poem about a nearby local.

After going through some nut-worrying over the JK Rowling outing and a little about a new book, Niall Alexander gets to the point I wanted to share, gender representation in submissions to Tor UK.

Some vampire graves unearthed in Poland. Also with a nice quip that basically being a pagan (and using herbs and traditional lore) was enough to get one labeled a vampire. (Grokked from Vince)

North Sentinel Island in the Sea of Bengal. I suspect they're hiding the aliens and it's all just a clever rouse. Plus, so many Story Bones in there (a planet that behaves the same way, "lost island" type stories, and the "what does it look like form the inside). (Grokked from Jay Lake)

"There are people who are pointing out that… Sharknado is trash, crowding out worthwhile films while pandering to the masses… Oddly enough, these people do not point out that there’s no scientific basis for Gregor Samsa turning into a cockroach. That’s because Gregor is throwing the kind of party they like, while Fin is dissecting a shark with a chainsaw." Jennifer Crusie with about the best deconstruction of the event known as Sharknado. Full disclosure, I also have no intent to watch that movie, and it just brings up all sorts of permutations for SYFY "jumping the shark." But, as she states, if life gives you sharks, write Sharknado. Bread and circuses, people. That's what sells. Also good for the comments about "committing" to the art and how that changes everything.

And… "Oh look, a Sharknado!" Actually, waterspouts have been known to drop fish miles inland. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Tesla (cars) working on getting recharging down to 5 minutes. That would be cool (especially if it's just a software upgrade).

Random Michelle K begins to review her pedometers.

"Individuals buying health insurance on their own will see their premiums tumble next year in New York State as changes under the federal health care law take effect… State insurance regulators say they have approved rates for 2014 that are at least 50 percent lower on average than those currently available in New York. Beginning in October, individuals in New York City who now pay $1,000 a month or more for coverage will be able to shop for health insurance for as little as $308 monthly. With federal subsidies, the cost will be even lower." Huhn, same thing in California and Oregon. Why, it's like Obamacare actually does lower costs. Good thing we have, what, 40 some odd GOP "Repeal Obamacare" bills in the last 4 years. Otherwise we wouldn't know who wanted to make sure you were paying higher premiums. And how does it accomplish this amazing task? By "… competition and transparency in the marketplaces…", you know, like those free-market solutions rolled out by the GOP (which weren't more than "don't sue your doctor" bills) kept promising to do, but always seemed to fail to accomplish on the state level. (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)

I guess Newt Gingrich believes the 38th time is a charm, or something. Why is this idiot still on TV (see other link about Crazy Uncle Pat as well)? Well, I guess they also kept renewing the Jersey Shore as well. It's appeals to about the same intellectual level.

"The Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican court that rules on the forgiveness of sins, has said that indulgences may be given to those who follow the 'rites and pious exercises' of the (the Pope's visit to Brazil) on television, radio and through social media… The Penitentiary said that Pope Francis' Twitter account, which has already gathered seven million followers, would be one such medium." Retweet if you want to absolve yourself. Or, if I retweet the Pope's message to all my followers, do I get even more indulgences/reduced Purgatory time? (Grokked from Saladin Ahmed)

"A Republican lawmaker in Utah outlined a proposal last week to abolish compulsory education in the state… 'Let’s let them choose it, let’s not force them to do it,' (State Sen. Aaron Osmond - R) said." There goes the baby with the bathwater. Plus, wait, what? :: points :: Hahahahaha.

Just in case you still think voter ID laws are about stopping "voter fraud", "When asked by a Pennsylvania cable news reporter earlier this week if the laws affected last year’s elections, Gleason responded: 'I think we had a better election. Think about this: we cut Obama by 5 percent… I think Voter ID helped a bit in that.'" When you can't win elections outright, you not only try to get your dwindling number of supporters to the polls, you try and keep the other person's supporters from being able to vote. (Grokked from Sarah Groslee)

Never argue with the man who buys ink by the barrel. This is the problem when all these media companies merge and lay off local staff. And it's not really fixed by the rise of the hyper-local freelance services that will sell to the formerly local news outlets.

Paranoia strikes deep, into your heart it will creep. Oh Crazy Uncle Pat and his minions. Again I'll say, who is it that's the Father of Lies? Apparently we have a worshipper in our midst. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Linkee-poo let's the morning time drop all its petals on me

You're favorite movies as treasure maps. Might be helpful with dissecting plots. (Grokked from Tor.com)

The Story Coaster. Yea, that. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Jim C. Hines' PC Monsters of the Genre trading cards.

Terri Windling continues her fabulous Into the Woods posts with this post about how the writers are the ones who journey into the woods.

All of Terry Gilliams animations for Monty Python. NSFW, just saying. (Grokked from Tor.com)

Good news, friends, American love the apocalypse. A new book with an introductory video form the BBC. So I need to get writing that book. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)

Sure, bats have echolocation, but certain insects have jamming signals (possibly). And some do it by making the sounds with their genitals. Okay, I'm sure that's the titillating part of the story. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

"If you feel as if every mosquito in a 50-mile radius has you locked in its sights, while your friends are rarely bitten, you could be right. Up to 20 percent of us are highly alluring to mosquitoes…" They said I was mad! Bwahahaha, now… SCIENCE! Although I have the wrong blood type, but I do tend to run on the hot side of things. (Pointed to by Dan)

What the bones tells. In case you ever wondered just how paleontologists figure out animal behavior, here's a good article to read. They've found a t-rex tooth in a hadrosaur's tail (locked between spinal bones), and the wound had time to heal. That's how you can say that the t-rex did hunt, it wasn't just a scavenger. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Ransomware? Okay, well, here's something that they're now targeting toward Macs. Just so you're all in the know. Also, be on the lookout for good ol' standard malware. Congrats, Mac, you've made the grade. (Pointed to by Dan)

"Better still, it took only four months to make the (rocket) injector using 3D printing, and costs were cut by 70 per cent." NASA for the win. Also as a counter to all those people who say government likes to waste their money. (Pointed to by John)

"The probe experienced a peak deceleration of 24,000g… Its paintwork was scuffed a little after coming to rest against the roof of the concrete holding box… 'It was really successful because the entry velocity was higher than expected and all the systems we've looked at so far have survived,' Marie-Claire Perkinson, the programme's industrial leader from Astrium UK, told BBC News." Aerobraking and supersonic-parachutes are for sissies. Although, I'm not sure I like the concept of basically firing artillery shells into other planets and moons. (Pointed to by John)

"Or, perhaps this represents what they believe a worker should be; someone so on the edge that they are unable to complain. They are one check away from absolute disaster. And this is exactly what corporations want: workers so afraid of losing their jobs they’ll do anything for work, even if it kills them." McDonalds tries to help their employees learn how to live on the measly wages they offer (truth be told, many of the McDs in my area pay slightly above minimum wage, but then that's like saying someone drown in only 2' of water instead of 6'). (Grokked from Matt Staggs)

The Slactivist has some more thoughts and links concenring this McD Budget Lite. Including "The whole thing, in other words, is a scam. McDonald’s has handed over its employees to Visa, possibly in exchange for a cut of whatever fees and interest rates they can gouge out of those workers by duping them into unregulated cards that charge poor people fees to use their own money. When a McDonald’s employee signs up for a prepaid debit card, Visa is able to skim a cut from every financial transaction that person makes — every line in that awful, clueless budget."

Oh sure, you may know how to levitate small objects using sound, but getting them to move is a whole 'nother thing. Sonic screwdriver, here we come. (Pointed to by Dan, also from whom I ripped off that line)

You know, when Michelle Bachmann said she wouldn't run again, it was kind of disappointing. Except she keeps on giving. Let's see, talking about giving President Obama a spanking and "pinching his ears back." Plus, if Obama has a magic wand, I guess that makes him the magic negro in this story (sorry, I couldn't help myself). Plus, hello, sequestration. Oh, forget it. Mrs. Bachmann doesn't play in the reality the rest of us share. Instead she inhabits some fairy-tale Conserva-Land, which is like Candyland, but not nearly as fun or complicated. As a side note, the Tea Party and conservative ground movement often likes to portray politicians as thieves. Well, obviously they're speaking from personal experience (an aid to Rep. Bachmann is charged with theft of <$1000). (Pointed to by Dan)

How doctors die. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

I hear you knocking…

Last night the Muse decided to drop a plot point in my lap. And the good thing is that it ties the 1st and 2nd act together with some tighter plot cords. It also solves a void in the narrative. And it adds the opportunity for more contextual jokes. Oh, I think it'll lead to some really great stuff.

I wasn't going to blog so much about writing this Summer, but the Muse demands. As she demands, so should you do (because if you don't she gets all submarine commander on your ass). Don't forget to feed your own Muses.

School Work

Since I mentioned it in my post about school being out (for Summer!), here is a photo of my presentation board.

Click to embiggen.

Linkee-poo, slow down, you move to fast, you've gotta make the morning last

Sarah Waters ten rules for writing. "10. Talent trumps all…For the rest of us, however, rules remain important."

And ten ways for the ADD writer to keep… oooh, shiny." We seem to be on a 10 kick. About 3 of these rules boil down to "learn how to put your arse in the chair for long periods of time", but there's some other good ideas. Here's one of my own, know you'll be distracted. Plan for it. Plan for it to be short.

A sixteen-year old Bruce McAllister does research on symbolism by asking writers what they think of it. The article has scans of his original mimeographed survey snail mailed to authors with an excellent response from Ray Bradbury (and a kinda dickish response from Ayn Rand). (Grokked from Tor.com)

Some good advice for dealing with a bad (book) review.

Mary Robinette Kowal defines the difference between an angry and rabid weasel.

Medieval maps of Palestine (slightly non PC). (Grokked from Sarah Groslee)

So, you say you've always wanted to know what the Punk Rock music scene was all about, but didn't want to jump in the wrong end of the pool? How about 20 favorite punk albums from someone who was on the inside. (Pointed to by Dan)

"When I wrote Arctic Rising, 2050 for ice-free sounded science fictional. Now some scientists are saying it’s 2040…" Tobias Buckell on the progress of melting Arctic Ice.

Speaking of the Arctic Ice, the story of an early exploration mission. If that ain't a hell of a story bone (for several angles and story types and settings), I don't know what would be. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

"The most important finding is that family formation negatively affects women’s, but not men’s, academic careers. For men, having children is a career advantage; for women, it is a career killer." And that's in that bastion of liberal thinking, higher education. (Grokked from Sarah Groslee)

GOLD! Oh, Florida. I'll miss your beaches. Although I believe if the gold was found that close to the coast, the State of Florida (and the US) have a nominal claim. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

I get (flying) with a little help from my friends." Hexagonal turbo rotors which can find each other to create a stable flying platform. (Pointed to by Dan)

Bell Labs early computer animation, 1964 style Actually, the really sad part about this is the content focus reminds me of so many bad powerpoint presentations. It also reminds me very much of how we produced our first high-def animations back in school. The video output function didn't work, so we set up a camera in front of the monitor and waited for the frame to draw. Ah, the good ol' days. (Pointed to by John)

Employee rights if you're fired in an "at-will" environment. Most of the US, and most of our jobs are "at-will".

"… (T)here's one member of Congress, Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA)… Breaking out the teacher's most potent weapon, a red pen, he marked up Republican House members' letter to John Boehner… asking him to resist the immigration reform bill that has already passed America's slightly-less-insane upper chamber. Included in his comments are some words we haven't seen on a Congressional document in years, like 'evidence,' as well as an awesome invitation to 'come by my office' if 'you don't understand the bill.'" With photos. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

"A new national report indicates that undocumented immigrants in Oregon paid about $94 million in state and local taxes in 2010." Well, we've got to stop that. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Eric speaks reason to hate in the Zimmerman case. Including some distasteful medicine at the end.

And here's a little of what I think about the case. I think the prosecution threw the case. I think if the prosecution had won, it would have caused an appeals trail that would lead all the way to a questioning of not only Stand Your Ground laws, but also of Concealed Carry. And I think the Florida Attorneys General really didn't want to go down that path. And so they put up some reasonable prosecution which pivoted on such things as trying to figure out just who may have been yelling on a poorly recorded phone call instead of working out intent, motive, and opportunity. The actual deed was not in question. All that remained was to show that if Zimmerman had followed the orders of the dispatcher, it wouldn't have happened and then explain to the jury why he didn't follow those directions.

The family budget calculator. Feed in your family type (funny, no option for two adults, no kids, it's not like we aren't a family), location, and it'll spit out a budget broken down into categories. A nice little thing to have for you're own or when pundits start talking about how all these people on social programs are just mooching off the public larges. "EPI’s Family Budget Calculator measures the income a family needs in order to attain a secure yet modest living standard by estimating community-specific costs of housing, food, child care, transportation, health care, other necessities, and taxes… In all cases, they show families need more than twice the amount of the federal poverty line to get by." Funny, that. Then for shits and giggles you can go to the US Census website and get statistics for income in your area, or look at general statistics. Why, look at where most of the income disparity is? Why, that would be a lot of Red State territory. Funny that.(Grokked from John Scalzi)

President Obama honors President G. W. Bush for creating the Thousand Points of Light. Wanna take bets on if any future Republican President honors President Obama, even the curtesy of staying in the White House for any trips to Washington DC? (Grokked from Jay Lake)

"U.S. military officials in Kabul, though, say no one checked out the story with them. Not only do they have a sheet surplus, there has been no such thing as a MASH unit – mobile Army surgical hospital – for more than seven years." But that didn't stop any of the conservative good doers from packing up sheets and hard candy and shipping them off. "But their destination may remain a mystery. Christley declined to name the friend’s husband who asked for sheets, his unit, or the medical facility where he experienced the shortage… 'It was an Afghanistan unit and I’m not saying who or where,' she said. 'It doesn’t matter who it went to, it matters that we were able to help.'" Uh, yeah, kinda actually does matter. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

Nurses explain Obamacare in 90 seconds. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

So, just how far does the GOP reply on older whites? Quite a lot actually. (Grokked from Vince)

Tweet of my heart: @Will___Ferrell Sometimes I'll think, "How sad for Canada that Bryan Adams is their Springsteen," but then I remember I don't have health insurance.

And End of Summer

Session that is. My 8 weeks of classes and clinicals are over. So now I get to do all the normal, living things in the next 6 weeks, when Fall starts.

I have the preliminary grade for our "Seminar" class (1 credit). It's an A. The instructor would like to submit the presentation board I did to the OSRT (the Ohio Society of Radiologic Technologists). So I think I did good there. Not sure how I did on clinicals, though. My guess is the best I'll get is a B. Might be a C. I failed a lot of competencies (doing the actual procedures perfectly). Mostly on minor things (not like I x-rayed the wrong part or anything).

But the schedule for Fall is just as crazy as this summer. More so, actually. In fact, I have no idea how I'm going to accommodate classes and work. And that leads me to the difficulty. I might not be able to both continue classes and work at the day thing. So I need to figure out how to juggle both or figure out an alternative plan.

So far my logic flows in this direction: I need to the job to keep going to classes, I don't need the classes to keep going to work. It's going to suck either way.

Weekend Linkee-poo, but don't touch my bags if you please, Mr. Customs Man

Dr. Doyle with some good advice about good writing advice.

Eric has a followup to his post about Ender's Game, in which he works through the suspect morals of the book. Two of the thoughts I had as I read Eric's piece was the kids in the car that try to run down Guy Montag in Fahrenheit 451, and the critique of the new Superman movie and the death toll that the man of steel doesn't seem to care about. Also from Eric, "Must be nice, living inside a tautology."

JK Rowling publishing under a pseudonym is outed. (Grokked from Joe Hill, which is also a pseudonym)

Apparently, the editor in previous question (sexual harassment) is no longer with the house he was working for.

Oh, the rising of the sun and the running of the deer, the playing of the merry organ, sweet singing in the choir. Teri Windling with a good post relating many of the stories about humans becoming deer. Like they do.

"They found that the high-entropy terms in what the manuscript's illustrations would suggest are the pharmaceutical and herbal sections of the book were more likely to be related to each other than to terms in sections apparently about astrology, biology and recipes." A new analysis of the Voynich manuscript concludes it may be an actual text (instead of an elaborate hoax). (Grokked from Jay Lake)

"Be ignorant, be silent, and be thick." The commencement address of Melissa Harris-Perry. (Grokked from Jennifer Cruise)

"After all, who was responsible for initiating the tragic chain of events? Who was following whom? Who was carrying a gun? Who ignored the police urging that he stay in his car? Who thought that the other was one of 'them,' someone about to get a away with something?" From the press statement from the Southern Poverty Law Center, which outlines how the prosecution should have proceeded. (Grokked from Justine Larbalestier)

Ta-Nahesi Coates on the Zimmerman verdict. (Grokked from Ferret Steinmetz)

"Stand your ground is a horrible application of law and justice. End of story." Tobias Buckell on what the Trayvon Martin shooting trial was all about. It's about defending a crappy law (actually a series of laws that start with concealed carry). And it's why I think the state prosecution didn't put on the A-Team for a case with such national attention.

"The Curious Incident at Wickford Harbor" An NPR story that references HP Lovecraft in a non-literary, non-ironic fashion, describing how on June 13th, the Atlantic Ocean decided to punk the East Coast.

"The amendment to the criminal code, which will go into effect on July 1, 2014, makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of $1,000 for clergy 'solemnize' a marriage of two men or two women." The Indiana GOP wants to make sure you know that your government doesn't want to get into your personal lives and really doesn't want to "force" religious leaders to do anything against their beliefs. "While it is not widely known, numerous mainstream American religions permit gay nuptials. The faiths include reform Judaism, Evangelical Lutherans, Episcopalians, and the United Church of Christ, among others." (Grokked from Jay Lake)

The story you may have missed as all the news networks decided to sit and watch for the jury, "This past week, controversy erupted at the proposed mine after photos and videos emerged of security guards armed with assault rifles patrolling at sites where drilling has begun (in Wisconsin). Those guards have been linked to an Arizona-based contractor, Bulletproof Securities. A spokesperson… has said the guards were necessary because protesters have 'attacked' the site. On June 11, a woman was arrested after an incident a local radio station described as a 'raid' against Gogebic Taonite that reportedly involved 'about 15 people' who threatened workers and damaged equipment."

"Even assuming we can fix the damage inflicted on our democratic party system by the growth of the fourth party, how can we hope to elect governments that can engage constructively with actual social problems when the myths believed by the electorate deviate so wildly from the real picture?" While Charlie Stross is talking about England's political problems, most of the statistics he sites are roughly comparable to the popular beliefs in the US. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

"Coal plants are shutting down because of a lack of cooling water. Hydropower dams are struggling to generate electricity because reservoir levels are dropping." Wow, the extremes to which the lunatic progressives are willing to take this whole global warming hoax to. You know how some conservatives like to talk about how "the earth will balance out"? Here it is. (Grokked from the Slactavist)

"My lingering suspicion has long been that the House… will never be able to actually pass any legislation that removes the need for government-wide furloughs, program cancellations, and other drastic measures. They'll just go through the entire roster of government duties one-by-one, refunding each and every thing a week after the cut to that thing resulted in either a minor fiasco or an outright disaster, and only when the fiascos or outright disasters are things they can personally see out their office windows." Now that it's hurricane season again, many southern conservatives are starting to realize that the sequestration may affect them personally and they're none too happy about that. Kinda sucks when that happens, doesn't it. But hey, I'm sure if you don't like what your elected government is doing you can just take your little red ball and go home. Say, remember when conservatives said that elections have consequences? Tough medicine again, ain't it. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Why can't Johnny go to church? (Grokked from the Slactivist)

Tweet of my heart @alexirvine So, Florida: a black woman gets 20 years for firing warning shots. Zimmerman stalks and kills a black teenager and walks. #postracial

Linkee-poo finishes the Summer's last week of clinicals

During a critique, it's natural for most writers to respond with "Yeah, but…". What comes after the "but" hardly ever matters.

Some of my friends and people I read are responding to the latest Uncle Orson quotes. Eric does a pretty good summing up. Then Chuck Wendig also has some thoughts. Tobias Buckell also weighs in.

So, while redshirts are tossed off by the dozen, compared to their population on the Enterprise it's actually worse to be a goldshirt. Hmm? (Grokked from Jessica Freely)

GRR Martin's iron throne concept from his Song of Ice and Fire. I agree it's quite impressive, but those stairs would be a draw back.

In case you ever wondered what child indoctrination looks like (as compared to what all the conservative talking heads like to complain about), here's an example.

Random Michelle K gives us her list of fantasy series she's abandoned (or stopped reading). There's been a few I've dropped, most notably I stopped the Wheel of Time series exactly where Rob Briken of io9 stopped (and for the same reason). In other words, a warning to all authors, don't be boring.

In case you happen to be writing about Akron, Ohio, the term for that grassy place between the sidewalk and the road is devil strip. (Grokked from Dan)

I guess goin' down to the crossroads at midnight to learn how to play this here guitar is no longer in style. Sigh. I guess I did that just on a lark, then (yes, I used to play guitar in several bands when I was younger, and I wasn't all that bad). The thing is, though, that new mythologies supplant old ones. It's no longer fashionable to sell your soul to the devil for fame and glory, that doesn't mean there aren't new stories (such as the "instant fame/discovered" story). In both cases people discount years of practice, trial and error in favor of the "easy fame" myth. Money for nothin', chicks for free. BTW, when "Tommy" Johnson appeared in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou it made my little heart jump, not to mention Chris Thomas King is a damn good player. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)

If you've had emergency management training, you'll know this isn't a new concept, but President Obama signs Executive Order which gives the DHS the authority to "take control of the country’s wired and wireless communications — including the Internet — in instances of emergency." Wonder if we'll see conservative media machine in outrage over that one? Yea, probably not as long as they think they'll win the White House in 2016. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

"But the fact that Perry is more desperate than usual to pass an unpopular bill at the risk of being even more unpopular in his own state, and the fact that (TX Gov. Rick) Perry has a history of nepotism as governor, plus the fact that his sister just so happens to be in a position to profit should the bill become law, should make everyone take a harder look at the situation developing in Texas." It's a little loose in the connections, there's a big chain of "if"s that are involved. But some more grist for the mill when it comes to the travesty that conservative America has become. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)

"A major insurer of schools has declined to continue offering coverage to Kansas schools after passage of a new state law allowing teachers and staff to carry concealed firearms on campus." I'm sure this has nothing to do with math or the free market but is all because of the Socialist Policies of the president. (Pointed to by Dan)

A boy named Kim. Or "how I discovered gender discrimination." (Grokked from Morgan J Locke)

"My 16-year-old son volunteers with an organization that feeds the homeless and fills kits with personal-hygiene supplies for them. It’s a worthwhile project, and I tell him so—but he doesn’t like it when our conversation on the way to his minimum-wage job turns to why these homeless folks aren’t also working. Perhaps, I suggest, because someone is feeding, clothing and, in effect, bathing them?" What a colossal asshat. That link it to an article that quickly dispatches with the idiocy of the WSJ op-ed that quote comes from. Seems a son of a venture capitalist is trying to work on the "sins of the father" kind of thing, only to get grief from the Dad. Dude, really? Well, just another example of how people can totally invalidate their "I'm A Human" card. This "person" may wish to reread the Bible, specifically Matthew 25 (and so should many of the evangelicals in this country, BTW). A visual response to this article would be this Bloomberg Week cover. That's what "trickle-down economics" functions like in reality. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

Tweet of my heart: @tiffanyreisz: "Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint on the broken glass." - Anton Chekhov”/ I love this so much.

Weekend Linkee-poo heard you let that little friend of mine take off your party dress

Sorry so late with this one. We're approaching the last week of the summer session, so hopefully more regular posting after the 12th. If I survive. The two parts of me (the "I can't do that" and the "I'm invincible" sides) keep arguing about it. Mix in the thought that I don't know how I'm going to swing the fall and spring semester, and it's a lot of insecurity going around. But this is late do to sheer tiredness. I slept close to 15 hours last night.

Dr. Doyle with what flavor of stew do you have?

Marketing your book outside the normal routes. There's a few good ideas in there to magnify your voice.

How the typewriter change how we revise our work. (Grokked from Dr. Doyle)

Some 12,000 years ago, humans decorated graves with flowers. (sort of like how we do today, but to a greater extent). "'The emergence of Natufian cemeteries… may represent new and complex social organizations which could have included the establishment or strengthening of special interest groups, inheritance of corporate property, territorial ownerships, and aspects of social organization.'" (Grokked from Jay Lake)

That "free music" from JayZ that Samsung released on the 4th? There is no such thing as a free lunch. Samsung was just hoping you wouldn't notice how it was spyware. (Pointed to by Dan)

The epic superhero done in Native American Style. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Jim Wright with an open letter to the "idiot nation." It is truly sad when you realize the people you once admired have decided to go down the crazy path and there's nothing you can do to wave them off that glide path. I would say it's a part of the process of eating our ancestors (in the metaphorical sense, although at one time it was very literal) as we rise to the power positions, but that would be mistaking and misaligning the disease in our culture that is Fox News and conservative talk radio (and their various influences and spin-offs). And, yes, Bullshit Mountain (as Jon Stewart refers to them) is a cancer on our culture and it should be excised from the body politic and eradicated through educational chemotherapy. The good news is the cure is as simple as the truth. The bad news is the patient is more interested in debunked alternative therapies. We're approaching the point where the metastaticies are about to overwhelm any attempt at a cure beyond killing the patient.

"Listening to Cantor argue that he supports increased funding on medical research in part because of his ailing father reminded me of Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) arguing in support of marriage equality because of his gay son. And Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) changing his mind about Medicaid because of his own interactions with the program. Or any number of Republican policymakers changing their mind about federal disaster relief after it's their constituents who are hit with a brutal storm…As I argued in March, it seems the key to American social progress in the 21st century is simple: more conservatives having more life experiences." Life has a way of doing that. And it's very much the same advice given to bidding writers, "write, but also go out and experience things." Unfortunately, there's the well known liberal bias of reality. So people who experience reality often end up with liberal views because of that exposure. Note the correlation to the argument against having religious people engaging with the world (via home schooling, keeping within the community, not learning science or going to college). It's easy to hold certain views, until you see the actual application of those views (::raises hand here:: one of the reasons I'm no longer a conservative). (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Charlie Stross vocalizes the bad dream I've been having. Only because Charlie is smarter than I, he does it more justice than I could. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Linkee-poo, a seven nation army couldn't hold me back

One way of outlining. That's how I finished Bladesman and how I think I need to outline the WIP. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Eleven harsh realities of the world of Harry Potter. For writers, let this been known as the wake up call. If you don't do your full world building, someone else will do it for you. And possibly not in a positive light.

So, you've sold your first novel. Now what? Well, the basic advice for writers is always the same, keep writing. Write the next one.

Kristen Lamb with five common errors when self-publishing.

The advice of Wonder Woman. That is excellent. (Grokked from Tor.com)

Mary Robinette Kowal would like the 12 rabid weasels of SFWA to sit down and STFU. It's always a vocal few who cause problems for the rest of us.

And John Scalzi's new convention harassment policy.

Ever wonder what "Crazy Train" might sound like if played on the cello? Sure you have. (Pointed to by Dan)

Because you need more joy in your life, how about a 3d printed prosthetic foot for a duck who had his misshaped foot amputated. Ah, pure duck joy. As a bonus, listen to adults off camera continually call for Buttercup to come back in the house. (Grokked from Jennifer Crusie)

"Astronomers are at a loss to explain what these flashes are — they could be a common astrophysical phenomenon that has only just been detected as our radio antennae have become sensitive enough, or they could be very rare and totally new phenomenon that, so far, defies explanation." Insert ominous music here. (Pointed to by Dan) LeVar Burton's method for avoiding being shot by police. Tell me again how we're a post-racial nation, because it's still not funny. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

Oh man, now they're going to have to put windowing bars on the sides of movies. Unless they're Cine-a-rama. (Pointed to by Dan)

Here's and interesting article on the Proposition 8 and DOMA rulings. There's lots of legal jousting going on (including people wondering just why the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Prop 8 case anyway) in the wake of those decisions. And I agree with the conclusion in the first aspect, but not the final statement. "I will say this about the religious right’s latest extremist language: It is a sign of the end-times, just not the end-times they were expecting… The advent of legal gay unions now spreading across the globe is not a sign of the end of America, or the end of the world. It’s simply a sign of the end of their influence, the end of them." For my counter argument I will only say, Roe v. Wade. Not over by a long shot. Especially when some religious conservatives refuse to even acknowledge that gay people exist (it reminds me of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declaring there were no gay people in Iran). Add in the craziness of religious conservatives decrying Star Trek as promoting bestiality (because Kirk can't keep it in his pants) and then equating that with homosexuality I'm not sure any intelligent, constructive conversation can be had. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

"While the ACLU claims nuisance ordinances are deleterious to all tenants, there’s special concern for how they may disparately impact domestic violence survivors. As seen with Briggs, survivors may be less likely to call police, fearing their need for protection will be labeled 'disorderly behavior' and count as a strike toward eviction—and, subsequently, homelessness." Well, ain't that fucking special. Here's the thing, there is this concept called "discretion." It's very powerful, and the local police need to learn it. Also, this is the problem with the various criminalization ordinances that many conservatives like to champion. The other most notable effect is the large jail population of young (mostly black) men whose only offense is to have more than 1-2 oz. of pot on their persons. Plus, who the hell wants to incentivize citizens to not call the police when there's a crime being committed? Seriously, it's hard enough to get people to call the police when there aren't these laws in effect. And before you want to decry my singling out conservatives for this behavior, please answer the question on who exactly was blocking reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act? (Grokked from the Slactivist)

Maybe bone marrow stem cell transplants are the cure for HIV. But as they say, it's early, it might not be so promising a year or two out. (Pointed to by Dan)

"'I’m going to be real honest with you,' Tea Party leader Ken Emanuelson said at a Dallas County Republican Party event on May 20. 'The Republican Party doesn’t want black people to vote if they are going to vote 9-to-1 for Democrats.'" Oh look, conservatives are getting caught speaking the truth about their positions again. Of course, he walked it back on his facebook page. Dick. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

"But public knowledge and understanding is to Republicans what garlic is to vampires. Increased public knowledge and understanding get in the way of their agenda." Oh those crazy Republicans again, sending threatening letters to the major sports groups to keep them from promoting and educating the public about Obamacare. It's a standard conservative tactic that since they can't win on the merits of their position, they'll lie and cajole others to lie to promote their agenda (which, in case you haven't been paying attention, means screwing over most of America to benefit the 1%). (Grokked from Jay Lake)

"The 22-year-old woman suffers from severe and complicated illnesses. Her doctors have told her that she will likely die giving birth, and the unborn child will most likely live only a few hours, but she is prevented by law from having an abortion." Coming soon to a country near you. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

"First and most important, every voter who gets the door slammed in their face by a corrupt Republican voter suppression law is a vote the GOP has lost for life. All the Democrats need do to claim those votes is to stand up for the disenfranchised voters. And they should be doing it now." Fortunately for the GOP, the Democratic Party has never been good at exploiting these opportunities. The article is interesting for the demographics happening. And they're right that as the GOP becomes more vitriolic with their temporary importance and free election-law reigns, they will turn more and more people off and the actual conservatives (ie. not social conservatives) will get tired of being tarred with the same brush (you can already see that with the larger portion of growth in "independent" being disaffected Republicans). I do disagree that they won't jump back in once the party flounders. You can see it now with the often heard refrain, "we need to focus on conservative values of smaller government and lower taxes." They win seats, and then they enact the draconian social laws that you see being passed right now (Texas, Ohio, Wisconsin, S. and N. Carolina). So while the rise in vote discrimination may win a few more elections, all you need to do is look at Egypt to see what the response to disenfranchisement leads to. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

"So (Baylor) university knew when they recruited Griner that she was a (lesbian). And they easily could have said, 'What? Oh, sorry, no — we actually have a whole policy about that.' But instead, they said, 'Wait, a 6’8″ dominating center with more blocked shots than any other high-school girl in the country? You could be useful to us! Just don’t make us look bad with all the, y’know, lesbianity. Here’s your scholarship; now shut up and post up, sinner.'" Ah, those good Baptist moral convictions we've all heard about. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

While gentlemen may not read other gentlemen's mail, they'll still glean all the information they can form the outside without nary a pang of consciousness. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

"It seems the Catholic bishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, has been paying for insurance for some of his employees that covers abortions and contraceptives… Dolan has been leading the Catholic Church’s fight against Obamacare requiring some religiously-affiliated employers to pay for health insurance that includes contraceptive coverage for its employees." Oopsie. So much for that whole "Obamacare is against our religion" crap. And, say, Cardinal Dolan, which side is it that lies? I mean, in the grand cosmological sense. Might want to see to that blacked soul there, Father. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

Happy 4th

From the musical, 1776, "Mamma look sharp."



The price of freedom, mothers burring their sons and daughters.

What it's all about, "The Egg".


Our original sin, slavery, as outlined in "Molasses to Rum to Slaves."


And the vision that took us forward, "Is Anybody There."

Linkee-poo, Dear God… I do believe you've laid a curse on North America, a curse that we now here rehearse in Philadelphia

A definition of a Weird Tales acceptance. (Grokked from Jason Sanford)

Okay, if you're even remotely connected to the SF/F writing community, I'm sure you've heard about the harassment at Wiscon. If not, here are a few links, a first hand report at Scalzi's Whatever (which I really suggest reading as Elise Matthesen goes through how to report such an incident - good tips for both cons and other places) which has been posted elsewhere as well, Cherie Priest with her post Maybe It's Just Us which she wrote about the SFWA Bulletin problem but is very germane (good for a first hand psychological viewpoint on physical harassment), Jim Hines offers a few important comments before his posting Elise's report, and Mary Robinette Kowal gives her perspective as "someone who is someone" although I disagree with her conclusion that that it wouldn't happen to her (although I agree that she wouldn't put up with it and has enough of a megaphone and friends that whoever would try wouldn't be able to find a safe hole to crawl back to) but her comment that "Sexual harassment is, as much as anything else, a display of power over someone weaker," is so very true. And here I will quote Elise Matthesen, "If you’re new to the genre, please be assured that sexual harassment is NOT acceptable business-as-usual. I have had numerous editors tell me that reporting harassment will NOT get you blacklisted, that they WANT the bad apples reported and dealt with, and that this is very important to them, because this kind of thing is bad for everyone and is not okay." If you're new to corporate America or young enough to not remember the 90s clearly, you may not understand that corporations have been actively (to greater and lesser degrees) weeding out harassers because of their own liability concerns. This kind of behavior is not acceptable anywhere in any setting, but that goes double for a business setting (and a con is a business). Having gone through more sexual harassment training since 1992 than necessary, all because of other people's transgressions (the partner has an affair with a senior manager and WE have to take the class again? WTF?), I can tell you with certainty that sexually harassing (both the physical kind of imposition or the "hostile environment" kind) is not tolerated (and where it is, you don't want to work there because one day… boom).

Full disclosure, I've met the editor in question. And my first impression was positive and I genuinely liked him at first. He's smart, engaged, not willing to take crap, and passionate about SF. I also heard the rumors about him (being a guy, we're often not included in that chain of information). And yes, knowing that about him changed my perception of him from "I'd like to work with him" to "I think I'll skip submitting to him."

Also, for those who would say, "we can't be friendly (flirty, etc) at cons anymore because (wah!)." Elizabeth Bear would like you to know that's complete bullshit. "Neither flirting nor building emotional connection is harassment, folks--and harassment is not flirting."

What not to think about when writing. The wolves at the door will just have to wait, damnit.

Some more titling advice from Jennifer Crusie.

The rise of "-ing" in Modern English. An article with a short list of how our verbs are changing. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

I'm not sure if this should go in with the SF/F writing stuff or general weirdness category, but I've seen it posted a few times. So here is what Earth's skies would look like if we had Saturn like rings. (Grokked this time from Tor.com)

And while a little sexist, Got Beard posters. Noted because I used to have one. (Pointed to by Dan)

America's worst charities (ie. scams). Please to avoid. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

"Yes, you read that right. She worked for a doctor who didn’t offer his employees health insurance. (If that hasn’t convinced you how mucked up the American medical system is, keep reading.)" A post on attempting to pay for healthcare with cash (btw, the Amish do it all the time). Best healthcare system in the world my Aunt Fanny. (Grokked from John Scalzi)

Funny or Die's mashup of World War Z, the demise of DOMA, and Rick Santorum's taking part in Echo Light Studios, World War G. NSFW if you have your speakers on. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

On "just having the baby." What a lot of people on the pro-life side of things don't really want to talk about. Also lots of info about the actual process of birthing and some of the things that can go wrong. Also a bit on the costs of having a child (as in medical costs, not how much you're going to spend on diapers etc). And now you know why insurance companies are so willing to cover the costs of birth control while charging "religious" companies as if they weren't. "There’s no 'just' about having a baby. And not necessarily any justice, either." (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)

A new technology to desalinate seawater that uses less electricity. Chemistry for the win. Now it just remains to be see as to how scalable this is. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

PRISM has real-time monitoring capability. Also, real-time surveillance targets don't seem to have the same "US/non-US" filters. Great. (Pointed to by John)

What was snuck into our new Ohio Budget. Tell me again how Republican's are smaller government, lower taxes, and not concerned about social conservative issues… 'cause that just never gets less funny. Since these new anti-women provisions are a part of a spending bill (the budget), they are not subject to voter approval/initiatives. You know how conservatives and the Tea Party were up in arms about 1) the government getting between you and your doctor and 2) doctors/pharmacists/nurses having to go against their "personal beliefs" in any manner… well I guess that's fuck all if you provide services to women. (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)

And another indication that we're regressing from the 20th century as we enter the 21st, a school in the Philippines is closed for a day because of possession by "evil spirits."

"Here’s how we know that Walmart’s claim to be paying an “average” wage of $12.40/hour is hogwash: The retail giant is not lobbying aggressively in support of a minimum-wage increase." Also please see: WalMart Employees on Medicaid, SNAP, etc.

That awkward moment when third-world dictator moves end up playing in your own state (in this case, Texas). (Grokked from Steven Brust)

"'Disagreements over policy are important and they’re healthy, but when (Gov. Rick Perry) crosses the line into the personal, then he damages himself and he damages the Republican Party,' (Republican state House Speaker Joe Straus) told The Texas Tribune." Uh, yea, Bob… Say, ever watch Fox News or listen to conservative talk radio? (Grokked from Jay Lake)

And to end of a funny note, the Skunk River National Park twitter feed. You're welcome. Forget shoe shopping, THIS is what twitter was made for. (Grokked from the Slactivist)