Month: October 2004

National Novel Writing Month – NaNoWriMo:

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over talent and craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that’s a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and — when the thing is done — the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.

I may try this. Want to join me?

The MemoryHole has saved a copy of the membership of the much-touted Coalition of the Willing:

(Text Only):

Forty-eight countries are publicly committed to the Coalition, including:

Afghanistan
Albania
Angola
Australia
Azerbaijan
Bulgaria
Colombia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Georgia
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Japan
Kuwait
Latvia
Lithuania
Macedonia
Marshall Islands
Micronesia
Mongolia
Netherlands
Nicaragua
Palau
Panama
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Rwanda
Singapore
Slovakia
Solomon Islands
South Korea
Spain
Tonga
Turkey
Uganda
Ukraine
United Kingdom
United States
Uzbekistan

This number is still growing, and it is no accident that many member nations of the Coalition recently escaped from the boot of a tyrant or have felt the scourge of terrorism. All Coalition member nations understand the threat Saddam Hussein’s weapons pose to the world and the devastation his regime has wreaked on the Iraqi people.

* The population of Coalition countries is approximately 1.23 billion people.
* Coalition countries have a combined GDP of approximately $22 trillion.
* Every major race, religion, ethnicity in the world is represented.
* The Coalition includes nations from every continent on the globe.

Continue reading “Coalition of the Wannabes”

Yahoo! News – Anti-Kerry Film Producer Accused of Libel:

Kenneth J. Campbell, now a professor at the University of Delaware, said in the suit that “Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal” combines footage of him appearing at a 1971 war protest with narration that claims that many of the supposed veterans who took part in the event were later “discovered as frauds” who “never set foot on the battlefield, or left the comfort of the States, or even served in uniform.”[. . .]

Campbell attached copies of his military records to the lawsuit, showing that he received a Purple Heart and eight other medals, ribbons and decorations for his service in Vietnam.

Facts: who needs ’em?

Parliamo Scots? Weather:

Scots, like the rest of the UK, talk a lot about the weather. This hardly surprising – as the hoary old joke so accurately says “If you don’t like the weather in Scotland, wait half an hour and it will change”. On a “dreich” (wet, dismal) day there may not be a blink of sun and on others it may be “mochie” (warm and damp) and on still others a “simmer cowt” (a heat haze). Of course rain is often a feature ranging from a thunder “plump” (down-pour of rain) making everyone “drookit” (drenched) and producing lots of “dubs” (puddles) and will go into a “burn” (small stream or brook). There may be a more gentle “smirr” (light rain) or there may be an East Coast “haar” (mist from the sea). In winter time, when there are “wreaths” (drifts of snow) and the “snell” (bitingly cold) wind makes everone “fair jeelit” (cold as ice) at least the children can enjoy “skiting” (sliding) on the ice in a “hunker-slide” (sliding in a crouched position).

This obsession with weather could be attributed to us here on the 47th parallel, as well, especially once summer leaves us.

from Lanark, A Life in Four Books, by Alasdair Gray

Eschaton:

I have to admit that when I look over my CD collection I get a bit depressed. Frankly, there just aren’t all that many CDs that I come back to again and again. Some of that’s age — I just don’t get “into” music the same way I did as a teen. But, still, there has to be some more good music out there.

So, post your top 5 “still listen to frequently even though I’ve had them for years” CDs. Two categories: a broadly defined “rock” category and a “not entirely obvious” classical music category.

I find myself looking through mine and thinking there aren’t many I really have to have. Part of this is the re-evaluation that comes with the iPod: how much of this do I really want to carry around with me? If I shuffle through my collection, am I likely to be bored? Embarrassed? As someone else learned recently about the privacy of email, what if your iPod was able to broadcast what you were listening to for a radius of a few feet? Would you really listen to KC and Sunshine Band if people knew you were?

Continue reading “what are your top 5 rock and classical CDs?”