Who Owns Witch World?

Andre (ne Alice) Norton is in the news, three years after her death. Seems that her will left past royalties to her nurse and caretaker, and future royalties (of posthumously published works) to a fan who became a great friend.

It's all sad and sordid; read about it at CNN or any of the other outlets that printed the AP story. The Tennessee Court of Appeals will have to decide who's right; the caretaker feels that all was to be left to her and has a video with Norton stating as much. The fan/friend, though, disputes.

I'm just surprised that Andre Norton lived in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Nothing wrong with it; I've never been there. But like most people, I build up a picture of what kind of person an author is from their books. I knew Andre Norton was a woman, and I pictured her living in Europe, probably Paris. Either that, or New England.

She was born in Cleveland and died in Murfreesboro. Clearly, telepathy isn't one of my gifts.

Les Huitres

Like other areas, France is suffering an oyster blight. But that's like saying, oh, "like Temecula, France has vineyards."

In coastal beds along the north and west coasts, baby oysters have died. Boom. Just like that. Since the babies would have been harvested in 3-4 years, expect the death of romance and mass starvation in France in 2011.

The Los Angeles Times reports this as a side item, almost, to their front page story about similar oyster die-offs along the Pacific Coast: California, Oregon, and Washington. There, the culprit has been found: an insidious bacteria that swept in with warmer water, which can also live quite well in the growing "dead zones" (unoxygenated waters) near the northwest coast.

And our illustrious president stands ready with his veto pen to stop any bills that address climate change. Does he want oysters to go the way of the dodo bird, or is he simply a dodo bird himself?

They were rather slow.

Specialty Bookstores on 3rd

On a walking/eating tour of Third Street in Los Angeles (a real tour, btw, not just lollygagging) . . . (not that there's anything wrong with lollygagging) . . . (and the tour was given by Melting Pot Tours, if you're going to be in Los Angeles and want to stuff yourself, shop, and pick up local history at the same time) . . .I visited two side-by-side specialty bookstores that are now on the internet:

• The Cook's Library, which has books on everything to do with cooking. Everything! And book signings, events, and always a plate of treats out for customers to sample. Of course, on the website you can't taste any treats, but if there's a cooking book you want to locate, these are the people to call.
• Traveler's Bookcase, with every guidebook for every country, as well as sections on adventure travel, traveling with kids, etc. Again, if a tour book has eluded you, they'll hunt it down.

I don't know how they divvy up the books that combine travel AND cooking, but since the store owners and clerks are all best friends, they've come up with something.

As for the picture. . . it's the handle of a doorway across the street. One of those "only in L.A." shots.

Beware of Freeloading Employers!

Writers Weekly has a compact, neat little piece titled "Red Flags in Freelance Help Wanted Ads." Just in case you would like to be alerted to the kind of companies that DON'T pay. I would add one more pet peeve of my own: Beware of projects that will pay on publication, but can't give you a publication date. They mean well, but there's a good chance you'll never see the money.

If we all lived in a perfect world, and were all so wealthy that we didn't have to worry over the rent. . . not paying writers would still be wrong.

Tour de France

It's worth about 22 seconds on the evening news or CNN, but the Tour de France has spent the last three days in my favorite part of the country, Brittany. Brest, the Morbihan Bay, St. Malo, Nantes. Not that anyone--even ESPN--covers it.

However--here is a site that has hour-long highlight videos of each day: Justin.TV

Yay! Another site with pictures and video is Steephill.tv And of course, there is the official Tour website, en francais.

Hommes in tight pants. . . Yes, I am a sports fan. Vive la France!

Orkney Orksplorations

Never been to the Orkneys but no adolescent who fell in love with The Once and Future King can hear "Orkney" without thinking of Morgan le Fay and that poor parboiled cat (Morgan never did find the right bone to make her invisible, did she?)

The BBC reports that a month-long archaeological exploration will commence at the Ring of Brodgar in Orkney. It's the third-largest stone circle in Britain but its age and purpose--even the exact number of original stones--is unknown.

So the archaeologists will dig up trenches from the 1970s, when the last attempt took place, and also do some geophysical surveys.

According to a Historic Scotland report (where this picture comes from), the Ring of Brodgar is included in a World Heritage Site and:

"is one of the best-preserved and largest known henges in the British Isles. It is almost a perfect circle and 36 out of c. 60 original stones survive. The stone circle is surrounded by a substantial rock-cut ditch with two opposing causeways. The monument is surrounded by other standing stones and at least 13 Neolithic and Bronze Age burial mounds."

Nap Article

Freelancers have the luxury (usually) of sleeping and rising when we wish, and that includes taking naps. So here's a great piece from the Boston Globe about the art and joy of napping. It includes a blow-by-blow of the benefits of different nap lengths: which are most refreshing, which make up for lost nighttime sleep, etc.

For a relatively short piece, it had tons of info that I didn't know--such as the fact that caffeine takes 20 to 30 minutes to kick in. Nice, quick graphics, too.

100 Agents?

According to Kriste Matrisch from Writers Relief Inc, ". . . on average, your query needs to be seen by at least 100+ agents before deciding to revise or abandon the project. Securing agent representation is a tough task. "

100? Seriously?

Does this make us happy or sad?

Querying 100 agents is a daunting task--but at least I don't feel so downhearted now. After all, only six have rejected me. Peanuts!

Ms. Matrisch was quoted in Writers-World, btw, in a "here's what our readers say" piece published in issue 8:07 of their emailed newsletter.

After a week away (you noticed, right?) I'm back to trolling for jobs. Here's a sample of the opportunities:

• Specialized blog writer who "possesses excellent writing skills" and can devote 10 hours per week "to quickly turn around time-sensitive projects while also handling long-term assignments." Wow, I can do that! But. . . "Though the internship is unpaid, it will allow candidates to work in a real-world online publishing environment while improving their writing skills and building a portfolio of work." Well, once I figure out how to pay my gas bill with a portfolio, I'll apply.
• Interior design/home furnishings daily or weekly feature writer. "If you are looking for a venue to get your design concepts out there, always on to the hottest thing, and have unrivaled taste we’d love to hear from you. " Well, that doesn't describe me. But listen to this: "Please note that this is a start up site and compesation [sic] is currently unavailable. "
• Up and coming funny video blogger: "The exposure you would get (3.5MM visitors) could jumpstart your career."

Now I must admit that intersperse with these gems were full-time jobs paying up to $80,000 per year for experienced copywriters, etc. That just makes it more shameless that these flim-flam bozos pose as legitimate employers!

Ye Olde Paris

Parts of Paris have been dated back to 4,500 B.C. Specifically, the part near the Gare de Lyon, at Bercy, where remains of hunting and fishing village was found. Now, new dig evidence shows that Stone Agers were at least visitng as far back as 7,600 B.C--10,000 years ago! Read all about it at the UK Independent site. Or if you read French, here is INRAP's site. (this picture is from there)

At the southwestern edge of the city on the banks of the Seine--where millenia of silt has protected the evidence--archaeologists from Imrap have found arrowheads. The site was apparently a spot where mesolithic people sorted out their usable flints from the garbage. Ironically, the area will become a recycling station when the research is done and the archaeological dig is covered up.

This new, older site is about a mile from the Eiffel Tower in the 15th arrondisement.

Bill Dwyre in the Times

Some days. the news is so dismal you just have to read the paper backwards. Which led me to Bill Dwyre's Sports Section piece "Whistles aren't the Problem" about a decided lack of credibility in sports officiating.

I like good writing and good ideas. Dwyre points out that disgraced NBA ref Tim Donaghy has indeed "poisoned the pool," but there's a deeper--or at least, an additional--problem. Us and our short attention span.

"We don't seem to be willing to wait for proof of guilt or innocence these days. Our world moves too fast. We hear it, text-message our assumptions and move quickly to the next arena of instant gratification."

Ouch! That's so true. A bit later in the editorial he says:

"We care only that it is neat and clean and fits perfectly into our current video game mind-set. Quick, visual and over.

"The retaining of the "human element" in sports officiating has long ago lost its appeal. The games, especially on the pro level, aren't so much fun anymore as they are life and death."

I include this picture of a Galaxy game not because there were controversial calls in it, but because I took the picture myself so I can include it without getting into trouble.

Tracy Chapstick Blog

Bowing to reality this one time, I have sadly removed the Craigslist Curmudgeon from my links.

But wait, there's more! I've added Tracy Chapstick, a very funny picture blog. It's really just a picture and caption, takes only a second to read, and will make you laugh if you've ever had to sit through a meeting.

Or as the author describes it: A daily cartoon by a guy who can't draw.

Writers' Homes in Danger?

When I saw a headline "Writers' historic homes in peril" (in the Los Angeles Times, but it's an AP story), and a first line that begins "Mark Twain", my immediate thought was that Twain's Mississippi River-front home was in danger of flooding! Oh, no, and other writers too!

I don't even know if such a home exists, but floodwaters are not what is endangering the former homes of beloved authors.

Nope. Think mundane.

Think foreclosure.

Edith Wharton's former home in Lenox, Massachusetts, is called The Mount. That's it, just above. To avoid foreclosure, the operators of The Mount, which relies on tourism dollars, must come up with $6 million by Halloween. So says the AP, but The Mount's website states the figure is $3 million. Trick or treat!

People are flooded and crushed and starving all over the world--and on Skid Row--and I'm supposed to write a check to help keep a gigantic revenent of the Gilded Age open for the literary-minded tourist?

As for Twain's former home in Hartford, CT--the story says it "can't even afford to buy energy-saving light bulbs that would slash the electric bill."

Surely they could come up with something a little more . . . heartbreaking? Will anyone get emotional over the lack of energy-saving bulbs? Especially when the Twain House website points out that they receive million-dollar grants for ongoing restoration projects!

I'll keep writing my checks to Food Banks. When the hungry of the world are fed, we can use the left over money to spruce up the mansions.

A Curmudgeonly Response

Although I have not had the heart to delete him from my links, it appears the Craigslist Curmudgeon is no more. He has not posted for nearly 3 months.

With amazing synchronicity, however--especially given my post of two days ago, to Harlan Ellison's rant about writers not getting paid or voluntarily working for nothing--I received a form email from a company that had advertised on Craigslist. They called for writers, and I responded. The ad gave the impression they would pay; otherwise, I would not have bothered. Here's what I got back:

Dear Candidate:

Thank you for your response. Here is a link that will give you the job details.
(deleted, since it doesn't)
The above link will give you more information about an unpaid internship. However, we are offering the same job with an hourly pay ranging up to $10.00/hr. . . . (jump through a few more hoops) if you still feel you are qualified and able to do this job, you will receive your first task as an intern delivered to your email.
Although you possess outstanding skill and credentials, we will still require you to go through our internship. It is a free internship, and will provide us with the necessary feedback and will tell both of us, if you have the proper skills to work for us and if it is really something to want to do. . . . We cannot tell you exactly what your rate of pay will be until you complete the first task as an intern. However, I want to let you know that we do give cash gifts to those individuals who exceed our expectations during the internship.

OK, people, can I get a big, loud "What the F@#!" from the congregation?

It's free-lance, not free.

Harlan Ellison Explains It All For You

HOHOHOHOHO!

Here's a link to a YouTube Video, a rant by Harlan Ellison titled "Pay the Writer."
How comforting to know that Ellison, whom I now revere more than ever, has been burned enough to be good and sore over it. There's a thesis statement about 2 minutes into this 3 minute film: "They always want the writer to work for nothing."

Yes, they do.

Guccione Quote

Bob Guccione (former editor and publisher of SPIN, and current publisher of DISCOVER magazine) said,

"We will see media transform and metamorphose hundreds of times in our lifetime and yet never radically change. It is still and always going to be communication of information, some of it valuable, some of it dangerous, most of it meaningless, between people. The media, our vanities aside, is never the message. The message is the message." (Quoted in the Wooden Horse ezine.)

I wish the message were the message. But the flaw with even the best, most responsible media, as many have pointed out, is that they get to choose what messages to deliver.

Do we have the best, most responsible media to begin with? Uh-uh.

So the news we see is what they've decided to deliver.

• What 10-second clip from a 45-minute speech will be broadcast out of context?


• What foreign crisis will get 60 seconds of precious air time or column inch, and what other hot spots will be ignored?


• Who's face will accompany a splashy headline, whether or not they're truly newsworthy?


• What words sound most intriguing or controversial--again, whether or not they're newsworthy?

In an election year, it's blatant: the media is controlling all that we see and hear about the candidates. It's just the way it is. I don't have a better way, but I wish we would all be aware of how smoothly we're being manipulated.

WW II Veterans Take A Trip

This picture amazes me. This is a Mr. Jost of Montgomery County, Texas. Here's the caption (actually an email from a volunteer named DiAnne Semands):

"My vet Mr. Jost got the only surviving item from his ship: the flag with 48 stars. It was old and tattered, and everyone touched it. His mine-sweeping ship cleared the Japan coast for the great invasion, and then bombs were dropped instead. His ship sank and most men were lost."

Mr. Jost and 98 other WWII Veterans from the county were flown to Washington DC to see the World War II Memorial, over Veterans Day. An organization called Lone Star Honor Flight has dedicated itself to making sure that all WWII Vets get to see the Memorial.

Press coverage of the trip, as well as a slide show with more touching photos by Brad Meyer, is here.

This has nothing to do with archaeology, France, writing, or any of my other topics. I just love this picture.

Stonehenge, Woodhenge, Carhenge

The National Geographic Channel's TV special on Stonehenge and related article in the June 2008 NG Magazine (is that enough links for you?) rekindled my interest in monumental sites.

I actually wrote an article for the Encyclopedia of World Geography on megalyths.

So here is the last word on the subject. Carhenge! It's Real, it's American, and it's Hot!

Freelancing Advice

We never make enough money, do we?

Here's my advice. Make some money each day.

Ideally, that means you submit something for which you'll be paid . Maybe it's a 'how-to' for an internet site, or a magazine filler. In a perfect world, you have contracts for these pieces and you know the company will pay you within a month.

If you don't have an assignment for the day, work hard on getting one. Send queries. Trawl the job sites. Work on your blog or website so that your presentation as a professional is flawless--even if you're still in your pajamas.

But do something, at least five days a week, to get paid. Or start filling out job applications at McDonald's and Subway.

Elaborate Pagan Tomb Under Vatican Opened

It's in every Sunday paper (here's a link to the CBS story). A mausoleum built by a family of slaves for the (presumably) patrician Valeri family during the 2nd century A.D. has been restored and is now open for public viewing -- by appointment.



Apparently there are 22 such tombs, and this is the most elaborate. They were covered up by Emperor Constantine in the 4th century so that a Christian basilica could be built over St. Peter's grave site.


Two really interesting oddities that aren't explained in the AP story: There are some charcoal inscriptions on the walls that were left alone and may point to the actual location of St. Peter's bones. AND the family of slaves were freed and "amassed a vast fortune."

If I weren't so lazy (and if the Stonehenge special weren't starting on NG TV) I'd look for more info. Those points are intriguing!