Fact Trumps Fiction, Again

Amazing. This from the Onion over fifteen years ago.

In case you’ve not been following, Samuel Wurzelbacher (a/k/a Joe the Plumber and registered Republican) has become a celebrity. He has now hired a publicist for his burgeoning musical career, though he’s not an accomplished musician or songwriter…

Or a licensed plumber. Or a person named Joe.

And he’s considering running for congress. He is now more of a draw than John McCain to political rallies.

Here’s what Dick Cavett says in his NY Times column about Wurzelbacher:

This unfunny Ralph Kramden … seems to have effortlessly captured the imagination of those without much of it to spare. What will history make of this until-recently anonymous figure who has been elevated by the McCain forces to the level of a Cultural Icon, whose every utterance is treated as if from on high?

As Mark Twain said, “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities, truth isn’t.” The Onion story was funny in 1993 because it was thought to be improbable.

Happy NaNoWriMo

Happy NaNoWriMo everyone. National Novel Writing Month starts November 1. It’s a great idea. Write a 50,000 word novella novel in thirty days.  I’m not going to do it even though it’s a great way to switch off the inner critic (because it’s all about the numbers) and just write. As the NaNoWriMo folks say,

“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.“

It’s similar to Eric Witchey’s advice to practice speed writing.

Ain’t nothing to it but to do it. So, if you’re thinking about doing it, here are some interesting links that I’ve come across:

  1. Paperback Writer. Lynne Viehl  offers Twenty Bits of Advice from a Pro for the New NaNo’er (plus links)
  2. The Plot Whisperer. NaNoWriMo Martha Alderson wonders if you’re a “pantser” or a “plotter.”
  3. Word Strumpet, Charlotte Rains Dixon, MFA, offers Top 5 Ways to Prepare for Nanowrimo

Creating Book Buzz

One of the tenets of selling books is the need for word of mouth. Thomas Nelson publishing has come up with one way to create that buzz about a book–give books away. Bloggers can receive free copies of select Thomas Nelson products. Their stipulation is that, in exchange, you must agree to read the book and post a 200-word review, good, bad, or ugly, on your blog and on Amazon.com.

Their market niche is (in alphabetical order):

  • Bibles
  • Biblical Reference
  • Business & Culture
  • Children’s
  • Family Entertainment
  • Fiction
  • General Interest & Lifestyle
  • Gift Books
  • Practical Living
  • Small Group Curriculum
  • Spanish
  • Spiritual Growth & Christian Thought
  • Young Adult

Michael Hyatt, President and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, goal is to “recruit 10,000 active bloggers … use the reviews to jump-start the most important component of any marketing campaign: word-of-mouth.” For more information got to his website, From Where I Sit, for more details.

A Not So Lame Contest

Jeffrey Goldberg over at the Atlantic magazine is having a writing contest. Winner gets a subscription to the Atlantic.

You may recall a posting of mine the other day, I noted  an article titled, The Things He Carried, written by Jeffrey Goldberg.

Goldberg contends that the Transportation Security Administration is concerned with catching the lowest of the low hanging fruit when it comes to potential terrorists. He calls this the Hawley Principle, named for the head of the TSA, Kip Hawley. Goldberg offers Hawsley’s own words as evidence ( from the TSA’s blog):

Clever terrorists can use innovative ways to exploit vulnerabilities. But don’t forget that most bombers are not, in fact, clever. Living bomb-makers are usually clever, but the person agreeing to carry it may not be super smart. Even if “all” we do is stop dumb terrorists, we are reducing risk.

Goldberg wonders if other bureaucracies could use the same logic for their mission. Go here to New Contest: Can You Out-Lame the TSA? for more details about the contest.

Mephistophelian?

Look, selling books is a business. No different from selling cars.

Novel Adventures may simply be another way to place a product, in this case, Saturn cars, it looks like fun and may get people reading.

Daphne Zuniga stars in the webisodes. Four female friends will take off on adventures inspired by classic novels. They drive Saturns (natch). The first episode will air November 3. The friends go deep-sea fishing.

According to Yahoo News,

“[e]ach of the eight episodes in the order will be presented for a 48-hour window on CBS.com, TheInsider.com and TV.com and then roll out across the CBS Audience Network. The series was created by Jonathan Prince, whose credits include A&E’s “The Cleaner” and CBS’ “Cane.”

After which, the episodes will be broadcasted in the entire CBS Audience Network, including AOL and Yahoo!

Mediaweek says,

“CBS will encourage viewers of Novel Adventures to participate in online discussions following each episode, as well as parallel discussions on the books which are featured in the show.”

Examiner.com has a good write-up here.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Cassius, is that an ides of March in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

Why wasn’t I taught this in high school?

I may come to enjoy Shakespeare. Finally, a book about what we all think about constantly, namely sex. At least most guys do, Lexi Revellian on her blog differs a bit with this in Men and women, sex and writing…

… men appear entranced by the mechanics … while women’s interest is more romantic and diffuse. Women will go for quality … conversation and emotion are an important part of the picture.

Nevertheless, “Filthy Shakespeare: Shakespeare’s Most Outrageous Sexual Puns,” is written by a bona fide British Shakespeare expert, Pauline Kiernan.

According to the NY Times Paper Cuts blog.

[The book is] handily arranged by body part and sexual proclivity, with an appendix featuring an impressive variety of “pun words” for male and female genitalia…

Culture seems more accessible now.

The TSA – Keeping 'the people' safe from sex bombs since 2001

I had a minor rant about the TSA in March (see my previous post, Back in the USA). TSA, the people who have taken what little joy there is in these days of Greyhound-Bus-programs-the-sky, and wrung its neck. They add inconvenience, without the value added plus of security, to a dreary travel experience. It’s Kabuki security, style and elaborate costumes.

I am not alone. In an article titled, The Things He Carried, Jeffrey Goldberg writes in the Atlantic,

I’ve also carried, at various times: pocketknives, matches from hotels in Beirut and Peshawar, dust masks, lengths of rope, cigarette lighters, nail clippers, eight-ounce tubes of toothpaste (in my front pocket), bottles of Fiji Water (which is foreign), and, of course, box cutters. I was selected for secondary screening four times—out of dozens of passages through security checkpoints—during this extended experiment. At one screening, I was relieved of a pair of nail clippers; during another, a can of shaving cream.

To be fair, the TSA has brought some humor into our lives. As an example, we now know some of the funnier things that people bring as carry-on. You can enter Vanity Fair’s Sex bomb caption contest.

I do take TSA’s point that most bad guys are not brain surgeons. This from the TSA’s blog:

…the person agreeing to carry [the bomb] may not be super smart.

Except when they are brain surgeons (or at least highly educated doctors) as they were in London.

From what I’ve read, the smartest things done for air security are the locked doors for the pilot’s cockpit and air marshals.

The TSA – Keeping ‘the people’ safe from sex bombs since 2001

I had a minor rant about the TSA in March (see my previous post, Back in the USA). TSA, the people who have taken what little joy there is in these days of Greyhound-Bus-programs-the-sky, and wrung its neck. They add inconvenience, without the value added plus of security, to a dreary travel experience. It’s Kabuki security, style and elaborate costumes.

I am not alone. In an article titled, The Things He Carried, Jeffrey Goldberg writes in the Atlantic,

I’ve also carried, at various times: pocketknives, matches from hotels in Beirut and Peshawar, dust masks, lengths of rope, cigarette lighters, nail clippers, eight-ounce tubes of toothpaste (in my front pocket), bottles of Fiji Water (which is foreign), and, of course, box cutters. I was selected for secondary screening four times—out of dozens of passages through security checkpoints—during this extended experiment. At one screening, I was relieved of a pair of nail clippers; during another, a can of shaving cream.

To be fair, the TSA has brought some humor into our lives. As an example, we now know some of the funnier things that people bring as carry-on. You can enter Vanity Fair’s Sex bomb caption contest.

I do take TSA’s point that most bad guys are not brain surgeons. This from the TSA’s blog:

…the person agreeing to carry [the bomb] may not be super smart.

Except when they are brain surgeons (or at least highly educated doctors) as they were in London.

From what I’ve read, the smartest things done for air security are the locked doors for the pilot’s cockpit and air marshals.

Vancouver Writers

NOVEMBER VANCOUVER WRITERS’ MIXER LOOKS AT THE VALUE OF CRITIQUE GROUPS

How to form or become a member of an exceptional critique group will be the topic of the November 1st Vancouver Writers Mixer at Cover to Cover Books, 1817 Main Street in Vancouver, WA (www.covertocoverbooks.net). The free event runs from 5:00–6:30 p.m.

Vancouver area poets Diane Cammer, Eileen Elliott, Christopher Luna, Jim Martin, and Toni Partington will discuss organizing and sustaining critique groups, the “etiquette” of critiquing, and how the impressions and comments of others have contributed to their work.

Diane M. Cammer has taught poetry workshops through the Fort Vancouver Library and recently completed her first novel, Keystone. After extensive research on critiquing concepts, she formed two critique groups, one involved with critiquing novels and other focusing on poetry. A transplanted New Yorker, she loves hiking and living in the Northwest with her husband and three daughters.

Eileen Elliott, a psychologist and mixed-media artist, has been writing narrative and lyrical verse for about eight years. Her Midwest roots appear frequently in her work which has been expanding into performance pieces.

Christopher Luna is a poet, editor, journalist, and teacher. His latest chapbook, Ghost Town, USA, contains poetry and reportage inspired by his life in Vancouver.

Jim Martin, a retired biologist and teacher, is rediscovering the excitement, turmoil, and infinite joy of reading and writing poetry. His critique group has helped him extract himself from the chains of punctuation and allowed him to think of his words as choreographed thought. He enjoys spending time with family, a huge remodeling project, and photography.

Toni Partington works as a grant writer and life/career coach in Vancouver. Her poetry will appear in VoiceCatcher 2008 and she has contributed to the NW Women’s Journal and the anthology Selected Poems of the River Poets’ Society. Toni was recognized for her poem “Sayuri Memories” at the Oregon State Poet’s Association 2007 Spring Awards. She is working on a book of poetry titled For the Love of Agnes to be released later this year.