Randomness for 4/7

Standard

1) The NYTimes (attempts to) compare the environmental impact of paper and electronic books.

2) Scrabble to allow proper nouns. Is this worse than the Designated Hitter rule? Save us Will Shorts!

3) How to write a stupid book review. “Once upon a time in a world far, far away, publishing was run by editors.” Also, it’s amazing how many people heap shit on urban fantasy because it’s perceived to be about women. I say this as an author who is uncomfortable when people praise my work as if it’s an antidote to UF about women and their sex lives.

4) Beautiful photos of the circus, circa 1910.

5) Picturesque old postcards with added alien invasion.

6) Spawn, GI Joe, Optimus Prime, and other figures done in Lego.

7) Forty-five My Little Pony mods.

8 Things about me

Standard

1) I’m going to the Jim Butcher reading tonight on the UW Campus.

2) I forgot to shave or pretty myself up. Oops. Can’t take the fat unshaved guy anywhere.

3) I finished the rough of my Project Number Next proposal yesterday, but the polish is going to take a while.

4) I need to read this at some point when I have time.

5) Having turned in Man Bites World over the weekend, I’ve actually played a couple of computer games. Imagine!

6) Playing Call of Duty 2 on “Easy” is like going to war as Private Wolverine. There’s a lot of “Hey! Who’s shooting me in the back!”

7) Regarding point 2) I could have picked up a razor at the drug store and shaved in the bathroom at work, but fuck it. I’m tired.

8. I’m so forgetful I forgot what number 8 was supposed to be. Oh yeah. I got a raise at the day job. Extra Kit-Kat bar a month! Whoo-hoo!

This is just amazing

Standard

My son found it and I have to share it with you. It’s a bit long (16 minutes) but there isn’t a boring moment. In fact, it’s a beautiful piece of animated storytelling, and the sound design is simply amazing.

Yesterday was supposed to be a day off.

Standard

I was supposed to take all of your advice and spend the day hanging out with my son, playing the new used Wii games I bought (verdict: De Blob=awesome. The Incredible Hulk=WTF were they thinking?) and general relaxing fun.

Instead I received my second round of notes from my agent on Man Bites World and spent about an hour and 15 reviewing the galleys for the last corrections to Game of Cages.

As I mentioned in my picture post yesterday, All the notes (there are only eight) are tweaks to bring out the stakes, fix pacing, or establish context. No prob. The plot and characters are solid (afaict). There’s still one important scene that isn’t quite pulling its weight, but it’s meant to be an oddball. If I can finesse it, I will. Otherwise I’ll just do what my agent suggests and shorten it.

And the Game of Cages galleys just needed straightforward correcting. After the copyedits are entered, a pair of proofreaders will read it, and I’ll have additional fixes to go over. I should have taken some notes about some of the errors they caught; I could have done another self-Thogging post. (For instance, trucks do not “skid on their brakes” omg no, not unless the brakes drop out of the bottom of the vehicle and get wedged beneath the tires.)

Anyway, my agent takes a little vacay starting tomorrow. I have a week to finish the revisions and prep the pages for Key/Egg/Remark. I suspect K/E/R has stalled out because I went off the rails. I’ll need to come up with a way to skim over the unpleasant scenes I’ve been trying to write to get to the fun stuff.

In unrelated news, my wife brought home her CPAP machine last night. I fully expect her to say it was too uncomfortable to sleep in, but I hold out hope that she had a good night.

Off to start the day.

How about that

Standard

There’s no DVD release of CAST A DEADLY SPELL, the Lovecraftian private eye movie with Fred Ward and Julianne Moore, but it is on YouTube.

It’s better than I remember, but still disappointing in some of the choices.

As I write this

Standard

This book has a better sales ranking than mine.

Completing the circuit

Standard

FB users, this is an embed. Click through to watch it.

Two cool videos my son found online

Standard

Both, of course, having to do with Legos

Randomness for 3/10

Standard

1) For once, it’s a good idea to read the comments: “Dear Prudence” gives some unfortunate advice about a sexual fetish, and readers take her to task.

2) A woman enters a comic book shop and asks for recommendations…

3) Venus de Slusho. That snow woman give me impure thoughts.

4) Bayonet 2.0

5)

My first visual Randomness

Godzilla Haiku

6) Social networking site allows you to register a credit card number and automatically post every purchase (with the price!) online. In other news, satire passed away quietly at home surrounded by loved ones. Next month: a 3G toilet that automatically tweets every time you flush.

7) xkcd makes me laugh out loud. Don’t forget to mouseover the comic to read the second punchline.

Randomness for 3/4

Standard

1) Admiral Akbar leading the votes to become new sports mascot at Ole Miss. Shockingly, this particular “rebel” has students threatening to transfer if he shows up at games. Because that’s what important about college: the sports mascot.

2) Major retailers caught selling used lingerie. Oh, Victoria’s Secret, you’re so sexy!

3) Another way to lower health care costs. Quote: “Only about half of patients who are prescribed a medication for a chronic condition are still taking the drug regularly after a year, says Daniel Touchette, assistant professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Illinois at Chicago.”

4) Comic artist accused of copying another artist, with added moral complications. Lightbox ftl.

5) All 137 years of Popular Science Magazine in a searchable online format.

6) Quote of the day: “The problem with hockey is that everyone has a stick.” From http://www.postcardsfromyomomma.com/

7) Movies condensed into six-panel comics. Spoilers for various and sundry.