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Writerly Distractions and Neuroses: Fiction and Word Counts
[Image: "Doodle with Measuring Tape," by Bryan Reyna] I came across an interesting site this morning, called Renaissance Learning (subtitle: “Advanced Technology for Data-Driven Schools.” In general, Renaissance Learning is a resource for (as you might guess) teachers and other educators. One area of the site, the Quiz Store, peddles quizzes about specific books. What interests me today [...]
On the “A” Word
[Image: "Left-Hand Rule." For an explanation about something other than the subject of this post, see this page at the University of Maryland's Department of Physics site.] …or: what It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World has to do with Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. (Well, no, not really. The post started out to connect [...]
What’s in a Song: Body and Soul (1)
It starts in silence. By the end, the singer has thrown him- or herself melodramatically, almost operatically on the mercy of a lost love. It’s drenched in self-pity, but was written for and first performed by a woman once dubbed “Hollywood’s first maneater.” One of its most famous covers includes no vocal at all, and [...]
Pottermore
From The Atlantic: In a much-anticipated press event this morning, J.K. Rowling announced the launch of Pottermore, a new website meant to bring all-things-Harry Potter to the Web. It was revealed in a leaked memo yesterday that a central focus of the site would be an online gaming experience developed by the company Adam & [...]
Perspective, Proportion, Sweet Spot
[Image: "Perspective," a portion of Engineered Biotopes; this was an entry in a 2010 Greek architectural competition called "Piraeus Tower 2010 -- Changing the Face/Façades Reformation." For more on the competition, and this entry in particular, see this page at the Bustler architecture/design site.] From whiskey river: To My Doppelganger You were always the careful [...]
I’ll Take a Used Copy, Please
[Partial amazon.com screen capture, July 9, 2010] Funny thing is, for some books — not all of them “great” ones, either — I might actually hesitate before deciding to go the cheap route, even with a price spread as broad as this. (I’m talking about you, you thick-page, large-format “children’s” book on natural history whose [...]
Touch and Enter
In a comment on yesterday’s Towel Day post, Marta said: The miracle of the towel! The man who realized this was a man to be reckoned with indeed. That got me thinking: how cool it would be to come up with a… a something — an in-joke, an idea, a catchphrase, a little fictional detail, [...]
Be Careful What You Wish For: Signing in the Waldenbooks
[Hat tip to Miriam over at Dancing with Dragons Is Hard On Your Shoes.] _______________________________ P.S. And belated auto-congratulations to Running After My Hat for the missed anniversary: the most recent whiskey river Fridays post was #500 here. Is there a cake? How can there not be a cake?!?
LitFic: Online Resources
The other day, Moonrat replied to a question about the acceptability of collections of “linked” short stories: stories united by a common theme, cast of characters, whatever. Along the way, she wondered what the state of short fiction in general might be, in these days when writers seem so focused on books.* (The comments surprised [...]
