Nanowrimo starts tomorrow, a little less than twelve hours from now. My plans: pretend I'm not home so the trick-or-treaters will avoid my door and get some sleep. Then wake up early tomorrow and start typing like mad.
Also, for those of you reading who are also participating in Nano and have a Nano-related site, you can get your site linked by me! My Nano links page is here. Just e-mail me or comment on this post and I'll put you up. And for those of you not participating in the writing madness, but still want to put your two cents in, there's also an opportunity to sponsor me. Just click on the sponsorship link near the top of this page (right under the navigation menu) and everything should be rather self explanatory.
Arg. It's not quite November yet, but I think I need to throw out part of my outline...
I guess there's a rationale for mail officials to open packages to make sure that there isn't something illicit being sent. But it sort of puts a damper on things when your own correspondence has been slashed open and then haphazardly taped shut again. It's just paper, damn it!
I would enjoy reading a meme about people’s abandoned books. The books that you start but don’t finish say as much about you as the ones you actually read, sometimes because of the books themselves or because of the circumstances that prevent you from finishing. So...what books have you abandoned and why?
The last book I've abandoned was Ana Castillo's The Guardians--a lit novel about Mexican immigrants--was not only depressing, but written in a style I didn't like. Of course, this doesn't mean that I only like books with happily ever afters either. I've abandoned Piers Anthony's Yon Ill Wind because I was getting tired of the puns. And then there was this Robin T. Popp romance that promised vampires and biochemists--ooh!--but I ended up wanting to stomp the book to bits because the author portrayed the award-winning biochemist heroine as a ditz-head with absolutely no common sense. (The hero was an idiot too--but it's not like you can expect much out of the undead.)
Onesome: World--Wide Web resources? Is there one particular area of your life, personal or professional, where you use the web as an informational resource? Knitting? Medical? Research?
What do you mean one particular area? You can find pretty much anything under the sun on the web. That aside, the only thing I could think of which is exclusively on the web and not in some book or newspaper would be a lot of bioinformatics. You know, genome sequences, protein databases, etc.
Twosome: of-- the 168 hours in a given week, how much time do you spend on the computer? No, we're not looking to plan an intervention, just curious...
Let's just say, more than I like.
Threesome :Warcraft-- games? Poker games? Role playing games? Do you play games on your computer? Really? What kind of games?
The only kind of games I have played on the computer are interactive fiction games. But I haven't in the past couple of months due to all the other stuff I have to do.
I've finally set up a sponsorship page for Nanowrimo. The link is also above, right below the main menu. It'll be up until early December. So if you're inclined, sponsor me for Nanowrimo and follow my month long writing progress here. I figure this would be a nice way to pay back the organization that help set up such a crazy and arty endeavor. And has given me some stress relief during a hectic month for the past, oh, six years. And it would be nice to get "paid" (even though none of the money goes to me) for writing something I don't intend to publish anyway.
* * *
Go read some science at Tangled Bank #91 over at The Radula. Everything from conservation to sneaky viruses and old monkey brains.
What’s the worst typographical error you’ve ever found in (or on) a book?
Well, I haven't caught any books with misspelled titles or author names, but I've seen typos in the text in finished copies. (Advanced reader copies don't count--they're mostly done, but they're still "drafts.") When I first see them, they're jarring, but I'm mostly forgiving. The author, the editor, and the copy editor had probably been staring at the thing for quite a while and probably missed it.
Onesome: A--round this time of year? What's happening with the weather where you are? Ch-ch-changes? ...or are things still 'Summery'?
It's wet and cold. If I weren't so busy, I'd be enjoying it.
Twosome: to-- inventory your place for insurance coverage, what would it take? Too much work? How about ideas for the gang: is video taping with a voiceover the way to go?
If you have a lot of stuff, the video tape might probably work. But I'm a student and I have nothing of value except for my computer and my cello. I have tons of books--but I've had books stolen before and they can be replaced.
Threesome: Z--one coverage? ...better than "man"? Are you following any football teams this year? How are they doing?
I don't follow football. (Or any other sports teams either.)
Most of my school related e-mail comes from a mailing list informing students of workshops, seminars, and job opportunities. Which can be useful if these things fall into your area of interest. But most of it doesn't--resulting in me not reading it and trashing it immediately.
However, among some of the recent postings is one for internships. Not so unusual, except this one is for a certain state senator who has been embroiled in a recent nationwide scandal.
So unless you want some experience doing damage control, I think most people would think twice (or more) about this.
I think if you're shy about approaching your passion, understanding is hard to give, but if you talk about your writing with conviction, people will start to ask you about it.
This is probably true for any subject aside from writing as well. Which sucks, because I'm not the most verbal or demonstrative of people. And if you don't say much, people might get it into their heads that you're not serious about it.
Whereas charismatic dilettantes can convince others of anything, even when they're lying.
Pencil Guy logo is sexist and racist. I decided not to post this on my writing blog because it really isn't about writing. My question is, when it comes to political correctness, where can we draw the line? Should we be offended by everything? I never really gave much thought to the logo, but I can see how someone would be offended by it.
Sometimes, it's really difficult to tell when white patriarchal attitudes have subtly influenced something or if something's been done simply because it is easier and more elegant than the alternative. Exactly what is a default logo anyway? Why is the Trix rabbit white? Why is Aunt Jemima black? Why does an insurance company use a gecko and not some other reptile? Why do we read black text on white background? On a practical standpoint, there would be no way to implement a design that would please everyone. Even if the logo was a typewriter, that would piss off people who use pencils, computers, and finger paint.
Maybe the solution is to hold diverse focus groups before deciding on anything. But somehow, I don't think a committee is an answer to everything.
I know, even I am not immune to watching train wrecks.
I've been following a plagiarism case discussed over at Dear Author and Making Light. In a way, it's kind of weird and mind-boggling. And considering the reactions of the person caught red-handed (or rather the person who paid the ghostwriter who did the ripping-off), I have little sympathy. I don't like the idea of ghostwriting in the first place--passing off someone else's work as your own is unethical. The only people who deserve to have their name in print are those people who have written the book themselves.
...if in fact any of you still read this blog regularly. Would anyone be willing to sponsor me if I sign up for The Author Sponsorship Program? It's sort of like a walk-a-thon except the funds raised will be for writing programs.
For the curious and those in doubt that I will reach 50k, my previous track record: 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006
Have you ever met one of your favorite authors? Gotten their autograph? How about an author you felt only so-so about, but got their autograph anyway? Like, say, at a book-signing a friend dragged you to? How about stumbling across a book signing or reading and being so captivated, you bought the book?
My answers to all of these questions are no. For one thing, I don't pay attention to when and where my favorite authors are going for a book-signing. And even if I do, my favorite author--even so-so authors--never come to my neck of the woods. Why would they? This is in the boondocks. I'm not the sort to be a rabid fan either because I almost never write fan mail and it never occurs to me to actually travel to a book-signing that is further away.
That said, I have stumbled upon book-signings of local and obscure authors. Unfortunately, the kinds of books they wrote have never struck my interest.
Onesome: Bang--ing your head against the wall? What haven't you been able to get to this week that you really wanted to? ...any hope for next week?
Schoolwork. Of course I hope I'll get some of it done next week.
Twosome: the-- other side of the coin: What have you seen this week that was just really so cool/neat/tight/pick your own buzzword that you just had to describe it to someone?
Nothing, really.
Threesome: Gong-- Okay, do you have one of those cute little gongs in your house? ...or a larger one in your garden? Just askin'...
Tangled Bank #90 is now up at The Other 95%. Go read some science from medicine to paleobiology to...creating artificial life. Bwahahaha!
The Weirdest Insects in the World. Example: The female African bat bug has a "spongy reservoir of immune cells" which combat sperm cells that the males directly inject into the blood stream. Some male African bat bugs have this as well since the males seem fairly indiscriminate.
Unusual Life. Wacky, wacky architecture. And other related stuff.
Morbid Anatomy. Fascinating, both at medical and aesthetic levels. However, I can't help feeling that the title is a bit redundant. Aren't cut up bodies and skeletons intrinsically morbid?
Outrage of the Week: Warner Won't Do Films with Women Leads. So. Hollywood thinks that only white guys can be heroes. I don't know how the heck they would think this would make sense, even on a financial point of view. (Actually, I think it would be interesting to compare the box office earnings of movies with male leads and female leads. What sort of bias does the viewing public have?)
It's a lot like real life. The most obvious metaphor that everyone picks up is the comparison of a meme to a virus. If a meme suddenly gets onto a popular blog--then like a prolific Casanova--the meme starts spreading to all the other blogs downstream.
Actually, I was thinking about the phenomenon of tagging. That is, at the end of a meme, the blogger adds a list of other bloggers they would like to see doing the meme. In this case, the spread of a meme is limited to a blogger's own little clique. Sort of like inbreeding, I suppose. And if a blogger is outside of a certain clique, they're never going to get tagged.
That's probably why I don't do a lot of memes I come across. Sure, I sometimes find interesting memes that I would really like to do. But if it's a tagging sort of meme and no one has tagged me (which is almost never), I figure it's too impolite to horn in uninvited.
"Unless, of course, you want to go into academia as a career, and then you can study completely impractical things to your heart's content."
I disagree. It depends on your course of study. If you're in science or engineering or business, everything's practical. Or eventually leads to something practical. If you're studying Ancient Greek literature, then yes, that's impractical. Because a literature degree is probably not good for any job other than literature professor.
Addendum: Well, maybe a literature degree could be good for book reviewing for the NYT or being an editor at a publishing house. But the end result is more for entertainment, really. We can live without a book. But it would be really hard to live without a house that won't collapse on you in two weeks.
Writers and Secret Identities. Hm. If I were to have a pseudonym (not including the one for this blog), I say I would do it for the mix of three reasons: not being too ethnic, hiding my gender, and protecting my professional life. Actually, now that I think about it, the need to separate professional and literary probably trumps ethnicity and gender.
Teacher assigns homework--to parents. Ack. Is this teacher nuts? You don't know what the parents' backgrounds are. Example: my parents weren't educated in the west. They don't know who Kafka is. And I bet a lot of other parents don't know either. So stop trying to turn normal parents into hovering helicopter parents and let the kids do their own damn work. (Of course, there are kids who need help, but sometimes, you can't turn to the parents for it.)
Do you have “issues” with too much profanity or overly explicit (ahem) “romantic” scenes in books? Or do you take them in stride? Have issues like these ever caused you to close a book? Or do you go looking for more exactly like them?
I don't go looking for these things, but if they're in the book, it doesn't make me put down the book either. If the profanity is true to character and the sex makes sense in terms of the plot, then it's fine. If it's gratuitous, then yes, I will stop reading because at that point it's pointless.
Personally, I'm more squeamish about violence and gore than some bad words and a couple of characters getting it on.
Onesome: Women-- buy more cars than men? True or false? Heck, I have no clue; I'm just curious about your opinions...
I have no idea either. I'll make a stab at it and say that both are bought about equally. I'm more concerned with people, men or women, who feel that it is necessary to drive huge-ass trucks. They take up too much space for no purpose except to flash their automotive bling.
Twosome: or-- Jo~Ann or Michaels? Which place would you use to buy your crafty stuff? I mean, Christmas is coming and gift cards would be lovely; let's get the word out now!
It's been a while since I've ever stepped in a craft store (as I'm not the crafty kind) so I'll just say, whichever is closer. And since there's only a Michaels in town, that's your answer.
Threesome: Men-- are better chefs than women? Bobby Flay or Rachel Ray? True or false? Sure, you can go all Food Network if you'd like (Paula can make my dessert any day; butter, butter, butter!), but who's grilling your ribs?
Just because men and women are cooking different things doesn't mean that one is better than the other. You can't compare that. As for people on the Food Network, I have no idea.
Well, it's that time of year again. That's right, National Novel Writing Month, or Nanowrimo for short, is practically here. If you think that you want to write a novel someday, now's the time to do it. Sign-ups start today in the evening Pacific time (whenever that is), and writing starts in November. So get cracking!
(I will try to keep my babbling about writing to a minimum in this blog. But if you do want to find out about my progress for this year's novel, see my other blog.)
