On vacation

I’m taking off tonight for an intensive 2 week writers’ workshop in the North Carolina mountains. It’s going to be a true retreat, with no tv, radio, or cell phone to break the mood. I will, however, have access to satellite internet. But I need this time to focus on my novel and hopefully [...]

This space for rent

From the New York Times:
When a neo-Nazi group called the National Socialist Movement volunteered last year to clean a Missouri highway, and get official recognition for it in the form of an Adopt-a-Highway sign, state officials felt powerless to refuse. So they took a rather clever tack.
…Officials are renaming the stretch of highway near Springfield [...]

Twilight, anyone?

Le Stat would never sparkle.

There is no happy ending

I spent a decade unsuccessfully attempting to write salable historical romance.  After 4 completed novels, I gave up.  My problem?  I couldn’t do interpersonal conflict.  Characters tormented by internal conflicts?  No problem.  Conflict between the protags and the bad guy?  No problem.  But between hero and heroine, who were supposed to love each other?  It [...]

That’s extortion

Who says they’re unenlightened rednecks in Montana?
If you want a job with the city of Bozeman,  be prepared to hand over the addresses of any websites you participate in, any forums you use, and any chat rooms you visit, as well as your Facebook, Goggle, MySpace, YouTube and other accounts, along with your usernames and [...]

Is this Ohio 2009 or Mississippi 1963?

Ohio teen sentenced in parking lot noose attack
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio – A central Ohio teenager accused of putting a noose around a Hispanic boy’s neck and dragging him in a parking lot has been sentenced to 10 days in jail.
The 18-year-old was sentenced Wednesday in juvenile court in Mount Vernon, a city of 15,000 residents [...]

Sleepyhead Moxie

Because I’m down and don’t know why, here’s my sleepy little baby.  She always makes me feel better.

The revolution will be tweeted

After my last post expressing my disenchantment with Twitter and Facebook, I should note the incredible use Twitter has been to Irani protestors in getting their message out.   This has been their media of last resort because the govenment has strangled available bandwidth down to 12 K to make it impossible to upload video.  Compare [...]

How social do I want to be?

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about this social media thing, and I”m coming to the conclusion that with the exception of this blog, I’m pretty much anti-social.
I used Twitter for awhile, mainly to feed little tidbits into my sidebar here.  That was unrewarding because it was completely one sided – just me [...]

Was Final Destination fiction?

Woman who missed AirFrance Flight 447 dies a week later in a car crash.
(Final Destination)

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