Absolutely awesome advice to those thinking of going or already attending grad school -- it's succinct, it's honest, it's got enough depth to have meaning, and most of all it's so damn true.
Grammar Girl -- whom I love, love, love for her grammar savvy and word-geekery podcasts and newsletter -- recently posted a podcast of some tips about identifying and overcoming writer's block. Lower your standards, she says, and join NaNoWriMo. Well, okay, she doesn't suggest that, but lower your standards at the beginning is the moto of NaNoWriMo (which starts in less than a month, ohmy!).
I'm teaching two sections of the exact same class this semester. Classes always vary, one to the next. But usually, when you teach the same syllabus at the same time, you have a similar experience in both sections. Not so this semester. I am amazed at how differently each class responds to exactly the same material and exactly the same lecture. I won't say any more about the specifics of the responses, but serve to say: I'm floored.
This past September would have been Jim Henson's 75th birthday. Tor.com remembers.
Writer Sara Douglass recently passed away. When I read her Wayfarer redemption, my jaw dropped as I admired all the world building and the tight building of plot that those novels possess. Although I have to say that once Axis left this earthly plain, I wasn't much interested in reading further -- note to all: don't deify your hero. A tribute, also from Tor.com.
Got my hands on a copy of Florence + the Machine's album Lungs -- and it is awesome. I thought that when I got it, I would like "Dog Days Are Over" (the reason I got the CD in the first place) and that the rest would be just okay -- how pleasantly wrong I was.
