Archive for the ‘Writing/Publishing’ Category
The escape of exnzpat, Part 11
Becky’s Shadow Together, side by side, Becky and I descended into what appeared to be very wide and expansive valley. The path, well flagged, appeared cemented in place, reminding me of a village road one might expect to find in Europe. It was easy to walk upon and we moved quickly. Looking back behind us, […]
Spoofing David Fisher
Some malicious drongo with too much time on their hands is pretending to be NZ Herald reporter David Fisher on Twitter, closely mimicking his real Twitter account @Fish_NZH, which is one I follow. (UPDATE: As you’ll observe in the comments below, David Fisher renamed his Twitter account to @DFisherJourno … And the deceitful impostor renamed […]
Farewell Aaron Swartz. RIP
I’m so sorry to read of Aaron Swartz’s suicide. Whether you know his name or not, Aaron Swartz made an impact — a ‘dent’. If you don’t, and you’re interested, do some research. 1 I offer my sincere condolences to those who knew Aaron and loved him, and those who mourn his death now. Naturally, […]
That’s what I’m Tolkien About
What a laugh! – P
Writing
“Writers, really, are machines that convert caffeine into words.” Eric Weiner quoted in The Washington Post Via @evgenymorozov
The escape of exnzpat, Part 10
Adam Kadmon Lilith began: “First, understand this, what I tell you did not happen as I say it did. Just as John,” Lilith nodded in the direction of the top step of the dais, “believed that he was speaking Greek, and you, exnzpat,” she stopped and looked at me, “believed you were speaking English, when […]
Unspeakably good article about a family murder and alleged miscarriage of justice
Read this: Since 1979, Brian Murtagh has fought to keep convicted murderer Jeffrey MacDonald in prison by Gene Weingarten, Washington Post. – P
Interesting human behaviour w.r.t. paying for something you can get for free
From Techdirt People Will Pay To Support Creators, Even When Free Is An Option … The thing we noticed right away was that a lot of people were choosing to pay, even though you can download all the books for free. Almost half of all book downloads were paid, with most people choosing the default […]
Farewell Bryce Courtenay RIP
Novelist and inspirer Bryce Courtenay has died. What story-teller. What an inspiring human being. I mourn his passing but feel much gratitude for the way he gave his gifts. – P
Pick a theory to fit your paranoid fantasy
I stumbled across a lovely term yesterday … fantasy precincts … in a Robert Shrum article R.I.P Mitt Romney … “The media has debunked the fiction, which was borrowed from the fantasy precincts of the rightwing blogs.” Then, today, saw that Mother Jones has, rather wonderfully, put this summary of anti-Obama fantasies together …
Seinfeld makes a good point …
Jerry Seinfeld responds to criticism of people who use (or overuse?) “Really?” … Your Critic’s Notebook column about the overuse of the term “Really?” was so deeply vacuous that I couldn’t help but feel that you have stepped into my area of expertise. The best part is where he expresses disdain for the ‘wrap your […]
Acknowledgements page as self-promotion and commercial message. Ha!
For my author friends … a description of the ‘undercurrent of faux-modest self-promotion [which] runs like a viral strain throughout every acknowledgments page’. (We refer to them as ‘Ackowledgements’ — an inside joke after an unfortunate and undetected-until-too-late typographical error.) A lively, little-bit-snarky, enjoyable read: Against Acknowledgments by Sam Sacks at the New Yorker magazine. […]
Wow. That’s intriguing …
One of the more formative books (‘most formative? Hmpf, doesn’t sound right) I’ve ever read was an eye-opening (and subsequently controversial) tome called The Origins of English Individualism: the family, property and social transition by Henry McFarlane … The Origins of English Individualism is about the nature of English society during the five centuries leading […]
