(the cats have already chewed off a bunch of the flowers, because they are heathens.)
A SINGING ELVIS. i wish i had gotten a picture, but i was in a little bit of shock. and by a little bit, i mean A LOT. A SINGING ELVIS.
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}
Then we celebrated
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
mckitterick's birthday which I think actually did surprise him. He already had plans for dinner with one of the instructors so our little impromptu party made him blush.
We HAZ cake!
Disembowling the toys...
Chris displaying his GIFT - we decided he had identified Sadaam Hussein's weapon of mass destruction at last...a swiss army knife...much fun and cake were had by all...
Oh yeah, those promised tips...
- Put your character in a recognizable place
- Use at least 3 sensory impressions in a scene
- Do not write against a blue screen (empty background)
- Don't float people in space
- Think about your verbs and use unusual nouns
- Static quality has active impact
- Science Fiction is the literature in which the metaphor can be read literally
- "then" signals a lack of linear development
- Draw info from action not narrative or info insertions (authorial intrusion)
- Be relevant
- Have an interesting idea
- Progress dramatically
- Add dimension
- Move your characters through metaphor, symbol and cultural references
- Make your world feel complete (this separates the mechanically okay versus the really complete)
- It is important what you know and leave out
- Get the words right!
- Mood:
busy
My sons’ worldview — and their choices in products, services and candidates — is shaped by an electronic media village rather than any single mainstream medium.
The author insists that her sons share the same single worldview, and that the items enclosed in the em dashes are irrelevant to subject/verb agreement.
What sayest thou?
- Mood:
curious
Laptops stolen from Claron West Students — Ouch.
Legendary Swords’ Sharpness, Strength From Nanotubes, Study Says — The relationship between Damascus swords and carbon nanotubes. The things you learn doing story research…
APOD with a cool image of a comet between fireworks and lightning — You need to scroll to the right to get the full effect.
The Wall Street Journal promotes the offensive hagiographication of Jesse Helms — Shorter version: Without Helms, liberals would be nothing, so never mind the bigotry. Meanwhile, C.E.P. is cranky about it, too.
7/5/08
Time in saddle: 0 minutes (still recovering from surgery)
Last night’s weigh-out: n/a
This morning’s weigh-in: n/a
Currently reading: n/a
Originally published at jlake.com. You can comment here or there.
“The new steampunk & dieselpunk magazine” is here with the release of the first issue of the Gatehouse Gazette.
In this first issue, the reader with find an introduction to the genre of dieselpunk by Piecraft and Ottens, an interview with Toby Frost, author of Space Captain Smith, steampunk fashion and couture by Hilde Heyvaert, a review of the latest Indiana Jones film by Jack Rose, steampunk poetry, essays, cartoons—and more!
CLICK HERE TO GO GET IT NOW!
Volleyball- Come join in on the fun and excitement every THURSDAY from 7:30pm to 9:00pm. Let's see your moves! Don't forget! You can always rent the rackets and tennis balls for the day so you can practice for the weekly games! Some of us could use it. AHAHAHA!!
AHAHAHA!!
I think you should quit writing the newsletter. AHAHAHA!! I'm going to go bowling! Anyone know where I can rent the hockey puck and stick so I can practice for the weekly games! AHAHAHA!!
*#$&#in' cranky*
- Location:Studio Proper
- Mood:
cranky
Sorry to post so early, but I have a great 2 a.m. count and a great quote :P Did you make your 750?
- Mood:
accomplished
Just found out yesterday that someone broke into the Clarion West sorority house and stole 4 laptops, some clothing, and other stuff. Apparently they broke a window and grabbed everything they could. There are many times I wish I had the power to send down lightning on someone, and this is one of them. If this had happened to me at my Clarion I would have been just devastated. I also could not have afforded to replace the laptop. This is the situation 4 students find themselves in now.
They have temporary computers, I hear, but will definitely need some replacements. Clarion West is collecting donations toward that end. I know many of you have pledged or donated for the write-a-thon and may not be able to spare anything. But if you can, please do. Having a laptop stolen, no matter who you are, is heartbreaking. But when you’re a writer and your laptop is your livelihood, it’s indescribably horrid.
If you can, please donate here (be sure to put in the notes that this is for laptop replacement and not the general fund) and contact the workshop admins at info -at- clarionwest.org if you can help by donating/selling at low cost a spare laptop. Thanks.
Comments | PermalinkDid I mention that I signed up for an info session in August on the U of MN continuing eduction programs? I want to find out what kind of a degree I can get and how long it'll take (and how much math, etc. I'll have to relearn). Again, I need to take time to think about exactly what I'd do with said degree...
- Mood:
tired
Randy Henderson has a very funny take on what McCain and Obama would say about the destruction of cities by superheroes fighting villains. In some alternate universe, these things are being said, I swear.
Comments | PermalinkUPDATE: Money donations can be made directly through the Clarion West website. If you’d like to contribute, please do so through that paypal button and mark it for Computer Replacement, or something like that — so the recipients know it isn’t part of their regular drive. All donations are tax deductible; Clarion West is classified as a non-profit educational organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (Federal EIN 91-1352168)
HELP if you can, please!!!
- Mood: busy
APE usually has cheap admission, so it's worth checking out if you're in town for Steam Powered and have some spare time. I may have a table there that would also have some of my associate's "I love steampunk" and "Airship Mechanic" shirts, and if so, I'll let people know in advance.
- Mood:
sad - Music:Hitsuji - Amano Tsukiko
The fireworks are usually at City Park. City Park is still kind of damp-- I don't know if it's still underwater, but it wouldn't surprise me. Instead, they set the fireworks off at Hubbard Park, which is a tiny patch of green by the IMU and Old Capitol. It's not ideal; there are trees all over the place.
Turns out, trees don't matter when you're that close to the explosions.
Good show, lots of enthusiastic people, some frightened babies whisked away by parents who thought it was worth a shot-- those were my parents, only I don't think they did much whisking. There was a blanket full of drunk girls just in front of us, passing around a breathalyzer and discussing which bar to go to after the show.
There was a thirty-second section of nothing but aerial bombs. Just boom-boom-boom, flashbulbs with noise. Each one boomed, then echoed off the buildings around us, then rolled off into a background rumble that only showed up when nothing was happening-- every time there was a lull in the bombs, the rumble stepped forward and oh, the noise. I could feel every explosion in my chest, and some of the echoes too.
More holidays should have fireworks.
does anyone know what kind of book that is and a link to a tutorial?
or, couldyou tell me the materials i need and i'll makeshift it?
What do you use for hard covers? Chip board?
I'm working on the climax of my novel. Vicki is going to meet her father, who she thought was dead and who happens to be the villian of the book, for the first time. He's taken up residence in a defunct movie theatre. He's kidnapped her aunt to get her to come.
So I have this great big movie screen and Vicki walking down the aisle and I think, wouldn't it be cool to have a film of her aunt bound and gagged on the screen as she walks to the front. Cool visual. Then she walks up and her shadow blocks the image as she turns to yell up at the projection room. But her father isn't there. He's in the wings. And he says...
And he says...
I'm get stuck here. What does he say?
Well, actually he has a lot to say about how I'm such an idiot. He's meeting his daughter for the first time. He wants to convince her he's not really a villian. He wants her to share his vision of the 'philosophers stone' (did I mention he's an alchemist). He wants her to love him. He really wants to be her father.
"So, idiot, why would I play a movie of her aunt bound and gagged as she walks into the theatre?"
"But it's such a cool visual and great metaphor for Vicki about how ropes and tape can't kill her spirit and.."
"So I do something so stupid that reinforces her feelings that I'm evil. You're truly an idiot."
Okay. I'm an idiot. The visual is out. Dad wins. This is why I hate daily word counts. I write. The characters throw it out. Sigh.
- Mood:
cranky
rimrunner and cmpriest: The sorority house where Clarion West students are staying was burglarized, four laptops were stolen.You can donate to a replacement fund here, using the paypal button on the page. Mention the funds are for replacing the stolen computers.
xposted to my
holyoutlawSeveral Clarion West students have lost their laptops and some personal effects to a burglary. See here. I’m trying to find out if there is a donations address to send funds toward replacement items as needed. (I don’t have a spare laptop or I’d send it along to Seattle.)
And may I say, grrrrrrrr.
Originally published at jlake.com. You can comment here or there.
UPDATED: SEE BELOW.
Students in the Clarion West writers’ workshop are not having a particularly joyful Independence Day, I fear. Someone broke into the house where they’re staying (a sorority house in the U-district, I believe) and stole four laptops, some clothes, and possibly some other items; the damage is still being tallied.
Everyone is okay and the house has been secured, but as you might imagine this is a serious blow to participants in the industry’s premiere speculative fiction writing workshop. The students who lost these laptops cannot afford to replace them immediately, but they can’t really continue their workshop experience without them; and if you’re familiar with Clarion, then you know exactly how tough it is to land a spot — and how demanding, intensive, and rewarding it can be. Most of the students have quit their jobs to attend the 6-week course, and many went to great lengths to raise the money to attend.
These are writers. These aren’t rich folks who can eat the loss without a blink.
Therefore, if anyone in the greater Seattle area would be willing to donate a spare laptop to the Clarion folks, then now’s the time to speak up. I believe that monetary donations are also being accepted, but I’m not sure exactly what the plan is on that front. This only happened a few hours ago, and administrators are still scrambling to sort out the details.
If there’s anything you can do to help, please contact:
Leslie or Neile, via
info @ clarionwest . org (remove spaces)
They’re very good folks; I’ve worked with them before, and I’ll personally vouch for them, in case that means anything. And by all means, feel free to link this post around.
UPDATE: Money donations can be made directly here, through the Clarion West website. If you’d like to contribute, please do so through that paypal button and mark it for Computer Replacement, or something like that — so the recipients know it isn’t part of their regular drive. All donations are tax deductible; Clarion West is classified as a non-profit educational organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (Federal EIN 91-1352168)
- Location:home -- at the desk in the corner
- Mood:angry