What did one writer say to the other when after the 14th time being nominated, he still didn’t win an Oscar?
“I guess my limitation of statues has not yet run out.”
8 Starship Enterprise Facts Every Trekker Should Know – Neatorama
8 Starship Enterprise Facts Every Trekker Should Know – Neatorama.
To boldly go where no man has gone before, you’d need a really good starship – and to launch Star Trek, the pop culture phenomenon that entertained and inspired millions, you’d need a pretty darned good one! And that is exactly what the United Space Starship Enterprise delivered. Here are 8 Starship Enterprise facts every Trekker should know:
1. Meet the REAL Enterprise (Several of Them, Actually)
Filed under Star Trek
Essay: Anatomy of the Deep State | Blog, Perspectives | BillMoyers.com
Essay: Anatomy of the Deep State | Blog, Perspectives | BillMoyers.com.
There is the visible government situated around the Mall in Washington, and then there is another, more shadowy, more indefinable government that is not explained in Civics 101 or observable to tourists at the White House or the Capitol. The former is traditional Washington partisan politics: the tip of the iceberg that a public watching C-SPAN sees daily and which is theoretically controllable via elections. The subsurface part of the iceberg I shall call the Deep State, which operates according to its own compass heading regardless of who is formally in power. [1]
During the last five years, the news media has been flooded with pundits decrying the broken politics of Washington. The conventional wisdom has it that partisan gridlock and dysfunction have become the new normal. That is certainly the case, and I have been among the harshest critics of this development. But it is also imperative to acknowledge the limits of this critique as it applies to the American governmental system. On one level, the critique is self-evident: In the domain that the public can see, Congress is hopelessly deadlocked in the worst manner since the 1850s, the violently rancorous decade preceding the Civil War.
Filed under Uncategorized
22 Books You Pretend You’ve Read But Actually Haven’t
22 Books You Pretend You've Read But Actually Haven't.
Most people lie and say they’ve read these classic books to seem smarter, according to a survey in The Guardian. Chances are, you’re one of those people too.
Filed under classics, literature
I Knew You Were Tribbles (When You Dropped In) – YouTube
I Knew You Were Tribbles (When You Dropped In) – YouTube.
Just a wee bit of fuzzy fun.
Filed under Star Trek
New words to live by: “awfulizer”
It is the first weekend of the month and time again for a new word to live. This is a word or phrase not currently in use in the U.S. English lexicon, but should be considered. Other words, such as obsurd, crumpify, subsus, flib, congressed, and others, can be found by clicking on the tags below. The new word for March is awfulizer. This is a combination of the wore awful and the suffix “-izer” or sometimes “-iser,” as in someone who makes something happen. For example, a compromiser is some who makes compromises.
awful, n. 1. unpleasant, extremely bad; ugly. 2. terrible; dreadful; inspiring fear.
It can also mean inspiring awe, as in awful majesty of the ocean or solemn reverence, but in those cases most people tend toward the word awesome.
In this case, an awfulizer is someone inspiring fear, dreadfulness, and can be extremely unpleasant to be around. Maybe a haiku can help illustrate the new word’s meaning.
The awfulizer
catastrophizes all things,
her coworkers said.
Filed under new word, New words to live by
Photo finish Friday: “Won’t last”
Bear and Skeleton talk about their relationship.
They said it wouldn’t last. Friends, neighbors, even strangers on the street when asked would immediately react to the announcement that a skeleton was dating a stuffed bear. Often with disbelieving looks and the wry comment: “It won’t last.”
But thus far, the relationship has held together and so has Skeleton.
“Oh, sure, we’ve sometimes had a bone to pick with each other,” Bear said.
“But it never got so bad, we couldn’t bear it,” Skeleton said, finishing the bear’s thoughts as couples often do.
They sometimes still get hate mail or calls in the middle of the night where the caller yells something hateful and then hangs up. Once a woman walked up to them in public and said they should be hanging out with their own kind.
“But we are,” said Bear. “We are hanging out with those that care.”
Filed under Photo by author, Photo Finish Friday
Writing tip Wednesday: “Editing”
WHEN TO SAY WHEN: HOW MUCH EDITING IS ENOUGH?
by BRUCE HALE
http://www.brucehalewritingtips.com/
One of the most common questions I hear from writing students is “How do I know when to stop editing and revising my story?” Or in other words, “when do I say when?”
I ran into this same problem when making ahi stir-fry yesterday. I seared the fish awhile, then made a guess and tossed in the vegetables. (Wolfgang Puck I’m not.)
I wondered how long to let the whole mess fry. Would I overcook the fish or undercook the veggies? Finally, a gut feeling said, “Whoops, the fish might be too well-done.” Turned out that feeling was right.
With a meal, it’s too late (unless you’ve got a hungry dog handy). Overcooked isn’t curable. But with a story, provided you’ve saved your earlier drafts, over-edited isn’t irreversible.
So when do you stop cooking your story?
I believe this decision comes from a gut feeling – a blend of experience and intuition.
ONE AND DONE?
Kids do one draft and believe they’re done. But experience has taught us adult writers the importance of rewriting. Of course, the danger is that we can tend to over-think, over-edit, and try to make our story perfect.
Big news: Your story doesn’t need to be perfect. In fact it will never be perfect, because story writing isn’t like math. There isn’t one absolute, right answer.
In fact, I’d even go so far as to say that attachment to perfection is the enemy of art. In trying to get it “perfect”, we inhibit ourselves from freely expressing, and we can kill what’s alive in our
work.
So when you edit, don’t aim for “perfect.” Shoot for “as good as I can make it right now.” Your gut will guide you.
If you’re feeling too close to the story, have a trusted writing partner read it and comment. Then, if you’re still not sure, ask yourself some questions:
— Have I solicited feedback from readers I trust?
— Have I incorporated suggested changes that felt right to me?
— Am I afraid of the response this story will receive, and am I just delaying sending it out?
— Is this story as good as I can make it right now?
If you answered “yes” to all those questions, you’ve got your answer.
Enough is enough. Trust your gut. Send that manuscript out before you overcook it. (After all, Rover won’t eat an overdone story.)
___________
Bruce Hale
About Bruce…
Bruce Hale began his career as a writer while living in Tokyo, and continued it when he moved to Hawaii in 1983. Before entering the world of children’s books, he worked as a magazine editor, surveyor, corporate lackey, gardener, actor, and deejay.
Bruce has written and illustrated over 25 books for kids. His Underwhere series includes Prince of Underwhere and Pirates of Underwhere. His Chet Gecko Mysteries series includes: The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse, The Big Nap, The Malted Falcon, Hiss Me Deadly, and others. More at http://www.brucehale.com/
Filed under writing tip, Writing Tip Wednesday
Monday (morning) writing joke: “Lionized”
A hungry African lion came across two men. One was sitting under a tree and reading a book; the other was typing away on his typewriter. The lion pounced on the man reading the book and devoured him. Even the king of the jungle knows that readers digest and writers cramp.
Observation: Maybe that’s why Hemingway was never eaten on safari.The lions were more afraid of his typewriter than his rife.
Inverse observation: Even lions reject writers. Writers just aren’t a lion’s type.
Filed under Monday morning writing joke
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