350.org: The Power of One (10/10/10)

Life in New Hampshire

I'm slightly more than halfway through my six week workshop. I have three observations to share.

One, Writing:  I'm at the frustrating place where I've learned enough that I now know a story idea is not going to work before I write it, but I don't yet know enough to fix it so the idea does work.  Good thing there's another three weeks of class.

Two, Living: I haven't regularly slept on a twin mattress in a couple of years; living in a dorm for a few months requires it.  But in those years I've apparently forgotten the skill of rolling over without losing the sheet.  Every time I turn over sheet, blanket, everything, slides right on off my butt.  Very disconcerting.

Three, Taxes: New Hampshire does not appear to have sales tax.  I bought a book yesterday and the cashier rang me up for precisely the amount printed on the book cover.  It feels so odd to buy a week's worth of groceries, then look at the receipt and see Total $48.32, Tax $0.00.  They really take this live free or die stuff seriously up here. 

Ad of the Week

Thankgoodness it's Friday

Today marks the halfway point of the six week Odyssey workshop.  I'm.  So.  Tired.  So.  Ti...

Even More Awesomely Bad

If you couldn't get enough of it in yesterday's post (and who could ever have enough of this stuff?) there's a blog that runs year round just showcasing really bad cover art. Check out Good Show Sir -- well worth 15 minutes of un-productivity.

Also, Fantasy Cafe did their own one shot post with some interesting observations.

Awesomely Bad Book Covers

The best worst book covers in Sci-Fi and Fantasy can be found at this blog.

I don't mean to steal their thunder, but I know no other way to easily give you my commentary on some of these gems other than to steal their thunder and reproduce several of the images on this blog.

Obviously, my idea for a novel featuring a flying avocado-flamingo hybrid is not as original as I thought.

What disturbs me most about this, oddly enough, is that the man-lion gets a cup but the human does not. Obviously, the human is going to end up curled in a ball at the end of this fight. The snake? The snake's too non-sequitur to disturb. Sorry.

Behold the power of two strategically placed herons -- because fig leaves are so Old Testament.

Anyone else note a resemblance to Dave Navvaro in this one?

See more.

Research

List of topics I've researched for my short story in progress.

• Sea Peoples, particularly the Phoenicians, who are thought to have destroyed all the major powers of the Mediterranean, around 1200 BC and cleared the way for the rise of the Greeks, Romans and Western civilization.
• Shellfish
• Oyster/Pearl diving
• Ama divers
• Abalone
• The Liberty Bell
• The difference between clams and oysters
• Historical clothing

Ad of the Week

Ah, the Mystery writer

Two great videos from the same writer/singer. You might have seen the first one around the blog circuit before, but the second one caught my attention more recently so I decided to bring the "Kill 'em" video back too.






Ah. Self promotion. Monday's blog topic. Srsly.

How a Book is Made

Fun. Fun. Fun. io9 maps out the physical process by which a book is made. It's all pretty ... the drawing not the process.

"I Don't Believe in Writers' Block"

I don’t believe in writers’ block. Plumbers don’t get plumbers’ block. Why should writing be the only profession that gives a special name to the difficulty of working.
- Philip Pullman

There are some authors who have no problem meeting their daily word count. Stephen King, in his hybrid memoir-manual On Writing, notes vaguely that he’s written “thirty-five or so” novels and wonders (impatiently) what exactly writers do with their time when they’re not writing:

Knit afghans? Organize church bazaars? Deify plums? I’m probably being snotty here, but I am also, believe me, honestly curious. If God gives you something you can do, why in God’s name wouldn’t you do it?

Sage, if somewhat flippant advice.

The OWL at Purdue (the go-to site for every college Writing Center Office in America because they'd like to make their own resources look like this but why bother when Purdue's already done the work?) claims writer's block is real.  Their Symptom/Possible Cure approach doesn't challenge the writer's belief in being blocked -- but if you look carefully at the symptoms you'll see that they all fall under "things I've done to myself that make writing impossible."

Not everyone's as nice as the online writing lab at Purdue.  Some are tough-love-bitches on the subject: "There is no such thing as writer's block. Anyone who says they have it is just in denial."

I now know what writer’s block is. It’s the fear you cannot do what you’ve announced to someone else you can do, or else the fear that it isn’t worth doing. That’s the rarer form.

Tom Wolfe in an interview with George Plimpton in Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews: Ninth Series (Viking 1992).

Just when I begin to think the condition doesn't exist I find proof that it does: Writer's Block Wines out of California. With a nice picture of the Bard on the label to remind you of how prolific he was and how prolific you ... maybe better just to drink the wine until you can't think.

Isaac Asimov had writer's block once. It was the worst ten minutes of his life.
* Attributed to Harlan Ellison

So, what do you think? Does it exist? What is it? Have you suffered it? Or just bantered witty quotes about it?

Ad of the Week

Warning: not appropriate for work viewing.



I know this was banned but I don't know where it was banned. It's, obviously, not able to air on most US channels.

Alot is better than you at everything

Fun with grammar, fun with Alots.  I particularly adore the sad Alot in the comparative statement.

The Bay vs. The Bag

It's not just about owning those reusable, recycled material bags, it's about using them. How many people do I know who own reusable bags but don't take advantage of them (and of the savings most stores will pass on to you when you bring them back)?

Muppets in the Wild

I make no secret that I love the Muppets.  I grew up with them.  So did the bloggers of Tough Pigs. I don't remember much about Sesame Street but I know I adored The Muppet Show.  In recent years I've gotten seasons one and two of The Muppet Show on DVD as gifts.  And they remain amazing.  Not nostalgia-amazing but really-good-amazing, there's-stuff-here-for-adults-amazing.  Maybe what I'm even more impressed with is the there's-stuff-here-for-artists aspect of the show; something I definitely never caught on to before.

Jim Henson was really interested in doing everything and anything he could with puppetry and marionettes.  I love reading about his vision and what he was trying to do.  The Muppet workshop has produced some duds over the years like The Dark Crystal and (the debatably bad, or at least awesomely-bad) Labyrinth.  But they're also the ones responsible for really great monsters like Yoda (who needs no introduction), and Rigel and Pilot from the TV show Farscape.

When the 20th anniversary of Jim Henson's death came around last month I had myself a good cry.  First of all, I couldn't believe I was only six when that happened.  I remember it.  I remember seeing the funeral on TV, a packed hall and all the mourners held giant butterflies on poles with streamers.  There was color everywhere.  I remember my mother telling me that he didn't want his funeral to be somber and black, he wanted there to be color.   My own grandfather had died the year before but this was the first death I remember affecting me.  I think I felt I knew Jim Henson better.  I remain angry, and upset that he died so young.

Meanwhile -- while I pull myself together and stop sniffling (seriously) -- there's a whole series of youtube videos with the writers of Lost and the Muppets who are trying to get in on the end of the series action.  My favorite is with the Swedish Chef.




But I've said the best Muppet thing for last.  FAO Shwarz is making muppets-to-order just for you and me. There's a huge range of possibilities for the combination of features your Muppet "Whatnot" can have.  Watch the video to see what  Whatnot is. 

This one in the bowling shirt I created. I went for an old-school monster look with the big bushy eyebrows and horns but your monster doesn't have to be a monster.  He can look like that bald guy who always was unfortunate enough to dine in the restaurant where Grover was waiting tables.

At $129 before tax and shipping, the Muppet Whatnot makes an expensive toy for a child or a very reasonable collector's item. If I had money to burn I would totally be ordering customized Muppet paraphernalia like Sal.

Yeah, I named him. So what?

Excuse me, there's a lake in my way

I usually like living in Michigan.  It has seasons, it has trees -- not caged trees like Chicago -- and okay, it has a shit-ton of potholes because four months of the year are spent in a continuous cycle of freezing and thawing, but hey, I just bought a new suspension for my car. 

What I don't like is when I try to travel by land to other states from Michigan.  Just about every way you turn there's a lake in your way.

Fun factoid that any good Michigander school child knows: in Michigan you are never more than 78 miles away from at least one Great Lake. 

Right about now I'm looking at Lake Erie and shaking my head.  What I need is a giant bridge from Detroit to Erie, PA.  What I get is the round about route.  South through Ohio or north through Canada land of the 99 cent liter of petrol (ouch!).

Ad of the Week

You've probably already seen this one, but Betty White has gotten so crazy big lately that I had to post.

The Grab-bag is empty

Whoops!  I'm finished running around like a chicken with her head cut off -- which is something that I've never seen but I have a morbid curiosity makes me think that I would like to see that once in my life -- but I'm still trying to get things in order, so the grab-bag for this Friday is, sadly, empty.

So I'd like to give you the opportunity to fill the grab-bag with random stuff of your liking.  What odd, interesting, weird or wondrous links do you have to share?

(possible bonus points if anyone finds a video of a chicken running sans head)

It gets better

In the news: Turns out, things get better -- not worse -- in middle age. Sure, you can't remember names as well but your real talents are hiding beneath such trivialities.

Something to look forward to: Research shows brain function and memory don't peak in your 20s or 30s but much closer to your 50s and 60s.

Me:  writing, reading, packing, planning, picking car up from the shop.  I sure hope my memory gets better because I never remember everything that's supposed to be on my to do list.

Car Thoughts

I miss the days when I took my car in once a year for a couple hundred dollars of service. Now it's once a year and a couple thousand.

I have broken sway bars and struts, alignment issues and a scant millimeter of brake pads.

All can be fixed -- for a price, of course.

Writer's Music Videos

Will I ever make one of these? No. I could clear a room with my singing. I won't subject you to that. Ever.