cakewrecks

http://www.cakewrecks.com/home/2013/5/23/graduated-layers.html

Graduation season is upon us, my friends, and I for one couldn't be happier. Not only do I get to revel in the fact that I'm a "prefessional adult" who's DONE with school [NEENER NEENER], I also get an excuse to drag out some of the old grad wrecks I never got around to posting.

Here's one from the last Ice Age in internet terms, aka ten years ago:

That was the year we learned to icks-nay on the unfortunate onograms-may.

Skipping forward a ways, we come to "2009":

Year of the "Dipolma" and "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks.

In 2010 we had a fresh crop of Permedics celebrate their "gradudlion:" 

It's a tough call, but I'm pretty sure "Gradudlion" is my new favorite misspelling. The trick is to put the emPHAsis on the second sylLAble, like this: GraDUDlion. And then pronounce the end bit "leon" instead of "lion." Go on. Say it with me: GraDUDlion. GraDUDlion. [Ignore those co-workers; they're just jealous.] Now once more, with feeling! GRADUDLION!! YEAH!

[looking around]

[sitting back down]

[patting hair back in place]

K, where were we? Oh, yes: 2011. The year we learned that only the very BEST cakes get reserved for store displays:

 The grace. The dignity. The spacing.

(First one to say, "But at least it's spelled right!" gets the patented Jen Death Glare. DON'T TEST ME, PEOPLE.)

In 2012 bakers broadened their horizons by combining the fine art of Dali-esque surrealism with a post-modern monochromatic aesthetic:

I call it, "Tar Donkey Butt-Peeing."

So what will the 2013 grad season bring? Well, I hate to speculate, buuuut...

I've got a pretty good feeling about it.

("Graguates gradudlying! Graguates gradudlying!!")

Thanks to  Stephanie F.,  Jen S., Alana G., Brittany R., Daffny A., and Julia A. for gradudlyating at the top of today's class.

icanhaschzbrgr

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ICanHasCheezburger/~3/opC2QLn67pE/7465872384

http://cheezburger.com/7465872384

icanhaschzbrgr

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ICanHasCheezburger/~3/fc0TmhFAIBo/7483060224

http://cheezburger.com/7483060224

icanhaschzbrgr

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ICanHasCheezburger/~3/iZkXNfqVUqo/7482449664

http://cheezburger.com/7482449664

icanhaschzbrgr

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ICanHasCheezburger/~3/pZRiY11hh0M/7483068672

http://cheezburger.com/7483068672

haikujaguar

If there’s anything quite as disconcerting to me when I’m working as a book that keeps growing, I don’t know what it is. But Mindtouch keeps not ending. That’s okay, really: the book needs the length, so I am willing to give it. But it’s a little distressing when the book you thought would be lucky to hit 40,000 words is pushing 100,000. I hope you all are ready for a lot of xenotherapist meet-cute!

Anyway, while going through my closet I found this wonderful plush Shaddragon made for me way, way back when and thought: Here! A wonderful way to combat my anxiety! So Vasiht’h is coming with me to work. He’s a therapist, right? And he’s soft and pose-able! This makes him twice as calming!

Vasiht’h at home with me, having a look at page one of the novel. I really didn’t feel like working last night, so I tucked him next to me as incentive. It helped, since I dutifully wrote about thirteen pages before quitting for the night.

On the commute! My phone’s always banging around so I gave Vasiht’h the job of keeping it in place. He did well until the ambulance made me swerve off the road.

He liked the 80s alternative station, though we agree that Depeche Mode is more Lisinthir than Jahir.

And we made it to work! I use my fifteen minute breaks to write a few paragraphs, though today I’m likely to be too busy for that. He makes good company, though. And very helpful, as you can see.

Maybe before I go home I can photograph him on campus. The book does take place on one! The appropriateness is pleasing. >.<

Today, in addition to having mini-Vasiht'h with me, I am also wearing the Stone Moon necklace Kythryne made after reading the Jokka trilogy. I am an amazingly lucky artist, to have inspired such wonderful gifts. It’s hard not to be grateful, even standing at the day job desk. :)

Anyway. Onward! The Guidebook may be late, but it will go up this week.

Mirrored from MCAH Online.

theferrett

There were spiders dropping down from the ceiling and into my wife’s cleavage.  The wall behind her was a huge, stretched expanse of hairy green flesh, breathing slowly in and out.  Phantom janitors stole in and out at the edges of my vision, sweeping in places they could not possibly stand and then vanishing when I tried to talk to them.

And my response was, “Oh.  That’s interesting, what my brain is doing.”

These ridiculous hallucinations happened during my extremely traumatic 52-hour post-surgery recovery phase, when I was in tremendous pain and could not sleep.  And yet, I think about the only other time I hallucinated, having dropped acid on a very hot summer’s night… and I found it disappointing.  Yes, my vision was flexing and distorting, and I witnessed all sorts of curious artifacts as my brain’s visual processing center went into overload – but I quietly dissected each illusion, breaking it down into its interesting components, and in such a way I reduced what could have been a wild trip down into a series of interesting quirks.

I don’t really hallucinate, I don’t think.  I know what my brain is up to.  And today, I realized why:

It’s because I’m a depressive.  I don’t trust my brain.

My brain has been a chronic liar for years, telling me how everyone hates me (when they don’t), how I’ve never accomplished anything of any note (I have), and how the world would be better off if I just killed myself (unproven, but I use the other two false conclusions to keep that one in the “bad idea” zone).  I live a very strict life of having to double-check every input my brain gives me, for it routinely distorts a mundane “Oh!” into an encoded “You suck, Steinmetz, everything you ever liked was a fraud.”  If I don’t, well, I ruin my life.

So when my brain starts providing false visual information, I do the same thing: I question it.  I compare it to reality.  And if it doesn’t make sense, I ignore it.

This makes me a little sad.  I mean, it did protect me from a full-fledged freakout when I was in the hospital… but it means that while others experience an exultant joy with acid and peyote and other crazy drugs, seeing the face of God, I’ll never be able to flow with that illusion.  They can trust what their brains give them, accepting most inputs safely and without harm, and so when some external source causes the brain to deliver crazy input, they can just run amuck with it like a kid whirling on a playground.

I’m off to the side.  Analyzing.  Breaking it down.  Questioning relentlessly.  Because that’s my survival.  That’s what I do.

Cross-posted from Ferrett's Real Blog.

popehatfeed

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Popehat/~3/rUCuBIM6wtQ/

http://www.popehat.com/?p=18766

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideological_Turing_Test

The Ideological Turing Test is a concept invented by American economist Bryan Caplan to test whether a political or ideological partisan correctly understands the arguments of his or her intellectual adversaries: the partisan is invited to answer questions or write an essay posing as his opposite number. If neutral judges cannot tell the difference between the partisan's answers and the answers of the opposite number, the candidate is judged to correctly understand the opposing side. The ideological Turing test is so named because of its similarity with the Turing test, a test whereby a machine is required to fool a neutral judge into thinking that it is human.

The idea was first mooted by Caplan in 2011 in response to Paul Krugman's claim that, in the context of US politics, liberals understand conservatives (and libertarians) better than conservatives (and libertarians) understand liberals. Borrowing the idea of the Turing test used to judge whether machines can pass themselves off as human, Caplan suggested the ideological Turing test as a way to impartially test Krugman's claim: whichever side understands the other better would perform better on an ideological Turing test. He also offered to take the test himself and offered to bet that libertarians could more easily pass themselves off as liberal than liberals could pass themselves off as libertarian.

Caplan's post was praised by Ilya Somin at the Volokh Conspiracy blog.

The Ideological Turing test is important because it lets us disambiguate two different cases:

1) my opponent does not agree with position X because he is too stupid / ignorant / confused to understand position X

2) my opponent does not agree with position X because he has considered it and found it wanting.

Today we've secretly replaced your regular Clark with Folger's Clark; let's see if you notice the difference.

Please ask me anything about politics, religion, culture, economics, the family, gay marriage, the Obama scandals, immigration, the Republican party, libertarians, etc. I will answer it as a mainstream liberal US Democrat. Then you may judge how well I do.

Ideological Turing Test (mainstream liberal democrat edition) © 2007-2013 by the authors of Popehat. This feed is for personal, non-commercial use only. Using this feed on any other site is a copyright violation. No scraping.

james_nicoll

A sergeant first class and officer in charge of the “health, welfare and discipline” of cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point has been accused of videotaping female cadets without their consent, including when the women were showering or otherwise unclothed.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

icanhaschzbrgr

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ICanHasCheezburger/~3/0tJJvlTR5bY/7490380288

http://cheezburger.com/7490380288

seth_s_blog

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/sethsmainblog/~3/ExeuPFF5dBk/thoughts-on-education-and-the-burgeoning-trophy-shortage.html

james_nicoll

A sergeant first class and officer in charge of the “health, welfare and discipline” of cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point has been accused of videotaping female cadets without their consent, including when the women were showering or otherwise unclothed.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

ysabetwordsmith

This poem came out of the March 2013 Creative Jam.  It was inspired by prompts from ellenmillion and zianuray.  It also fills the #16 Recension slot on the Rainbowfic Vellum list.  This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles.  It belongs to the series An Army of One: The Autistic Secession in Space.

WARNING: This poem focuses on mental violation and false memories.  It includes past slavery and manipulation.  (The current environment is safe.)  Readers sensitive to these issues should consider very carefully whether or not to read it, because the trigger density is high.

( Read more...Collapse )

ysabetwordsmith

This poem came out of the February 2013 Torn World Muse Fusion.  It was inspired by a prompt from wyld_dandelyon.  It also fills the#12 Disputed slot on the Rainbowfic Vellum list.  This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles.  It belongs to the Torn World project.

pepysdiary

http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1660/05/22/

Up very early, and now beginning to be settled in my wits again, I went about setting down my last four days’ observations this morning. After that, was trimmed by a barber that has not trimmed me yet, my Spaniard being on shore.

News brought that the two Dukes are coming on board, which, by and by, they did, in a Dutch boats the Duke of York in yellow trimmings, the Duke of Gloucester in grey and red.

My Lord went in a boat to meet them, the Captain, myself, and others, standing at the entering port.

So soon as they were entered we shot the guns off round the fleet. After that they went to view the ship all over, and were most exceedingly pleased with it.

They seem to be both very fine gentlemen.

After that done, upon the quarter- deck table, under the awning, the Duke of York and my Lord, Mr. Coventry, and I, spent an hour at allotting to every ship their service, in their return to England; which having done, they went to dinner, where the table was very full: the two Dukes at the upper end, my Lord Opdam next on one side, and my Lord on the other.

Two guns given to every man while he was drinking the King’s health, and so likewise to the Duke’s health.

I took down Monsieur d’Esquier to the great cabin below, and dined with him in state alone with only one or two friends of his.

All dinner the harper belonging to Captain Sparling played to the Dukes.

After dinner, the Dukes and my Lord to see the Vice and Rear-Admirals; and I in a boat after them.

After that done, they made to the shore in the Dutch boat that brought them, and I got into the boat with them; but the shore was so full of people to expect their coming, as that it was as black (which otherwise is white sand), as every one could stand by another.

When we came near the shore, my Lord left them and came into his own boat, and General Pen and I with him; my Lord being very well pleased with this day’s work.

By the time we came on board again, news is sent us that the King is on shore; so my Lord fired all his guns round twice, and all the fleet after him, which in the end fell into disorder, which seemed very handsome.

The gun over against my cabin I fired myself to the King, which was the first time that he had been saluted by his own ships since this change; but holding my head too much over the gun, I had almost spoiled my right eye.

Nothing in the world but going of guns almost all this day. In the evening we began to remove cabins; I to the carpenter’s cabin, and Dr. Clerke with me, who came on board this afternoon, having been twice ducked in the sea to-day coming from shore, and Mr. North and John Pickering the like. Many of the King’s servants came on board to- night; and so many Dutch of all sorts came to see the ship till it was quite dark, that we could not pass by one another, which was a great trouble to us all.

This afternoon Mr. Downing (who was knighted yesterday by the King) was here on board, and had a ship for his passage into England, with his lady and servants.¹ By the same token he called me to him when I was going to write the order, to tell me that I must write him Sir G. Downing.

My Lord lay in the roundhouse to-night.

This evening I was late writing a French letter myself by my Lord’s order to Monsieur Kragh, Embassador de Denmarke a la Haye, which my Lord signed in bed. After that I to bed, and the Doctor, and sleep well.

Footnotes

1. About midnight arrived there Mr. Downing, who did the affairs of England to the Lords the Estates, in quality of Resident under Oliver Cromwell, and afterward under the pretended Parliament, which having changed the form of the government, after having cast forth the last Protector, had continued him in his imploiment, under the quality of Extraordinary Envoy. He began to have respect for the King’s person, when he knew that all England declared for a free parliament, and departed from Holland without order, as soon as he understood that there was nothing that could longer oppose the re- establishment of monarchal government, with a design to crave letters of recommendation to General Monk. This lord considered him, as well because of the birth of his wife, which is illustrious, as because Downing had expressed some respect for him in a time when that eminent person could not yet discover his intentions. He had his letters when he arrived at midnight at the house of the Spanish Embassador, as we have said. He presented them forthwith to the King, who arose from table a while after, read the letters, receiv’d the submissions of Downing, and granted him the pardon and grace which he asked for him to whom he could deny nothing. Some daies after the King knighted him, and would it should be believed, that the strong aversions which this minister of the Protector had made appear against him on all occasions, and with all sorts of persons indifferently, even a few daies before the publick and general declaration of all England, proceeded not from any evil intention, but only from a deep dissimulation, wherewith he was constrained to cover his true sentiments, for fear to prejudice the affairs of his Majesty.

   — Sir William Lowers Relation … of the Voiage and Residence which … Charles the II. hath made in Holland, Hague, 1660, folio, pp. 72-73. ↩

Read the annotations

icanhaschzbrgr

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ICanHasCheezburger/~3/i4STRG3qFe0/7461941760

http://cheezburger.com/7461941760

haikujaguar

Some of you will remember my Girl Scout cookie rant, in which I talked about the appropriateness of making five-year-olds “sell” cookies (which meant, functionally, that their parents were doing so in competition with each other). You suggested in that post that I allow you to buy boxes of cookies for soldiers, so I put up a donation button. Counting the boxes I bought, we sent over 70 boxes to our men and women in uniform… which meant Child was one of the only children in the troop to earn the “Gift of Caring” badge.

She received it today, and here it is. It’s the only cookie badge I think we can iron onto her uniform with pride.

Thank you all, for your generosity. You continue to be the most gratifying people to make art for, and I am deeply grateful for you all. :)

Mirrored from MCAH Online.

dichroic

I am not sure giving Macchiato-cat a treat was a good thing: it just led to her getting up in my face to see if there might be More. I deliberately gave it to her in the living room, not near the pantry, to try to combat her (correct) belief that the pantry Is Where Good Things Live, because now every time I open the door she’s there in a flash and has gotten on the bottom shelf a few times. However, I don’t think it worked because she may well be smart enough to remember that I had been at the pantry minutes before.

Oolong does not eat kitty treats; she eats pretzels and gets very excited about popcorn, which makes sitting on the couch and eating a bowl of it a bit of a kitty-fending ordeal. Today was an epoch in their little lives, as they had TUNA for the first time (I decided to have a sandwich of it for lunch). They ate it, but neither one seemed as excited about it as they do about treats / popcorn respectively.

They’ll be coming with us to the lake house for this long weekend, which will make their third time there. They like it there, but are not so thrilled about the process of getting there. The first time, we put calming collars on them, which just meant we had the ordeal or getting those on plus the ordeal of getting them in the carriers. Last time we gave Maka calming treats on the way there (Oolong won’t eat those, either). We didn’t really think they had much effect, until the way back, when she was agitated and biting at the cage, and we realized we hadn’t given her any – luckily, they were packed where I could reach them and she became much calmer after having one. She’s pretty easy to get in the carrier, though, and will even investigate it on her own, though she doesn’t actually get in. Oolong is harder to catch, and doesn’t like being handled. Once she’s in, though, she stays calm and just glares at us the whole way.

We’re not sure they really understand the whole transportation concept. The lake house has is built on a slight slope and has two floors: a main floor with living areas and bedrooms, and a lower floor with some extra rooms that are on ground level at the back, and have nice sunny sitting places for cats. This house has three floors: bedrooms on top, living areas in the middle, and entry and garage below. Both times, after getting back home, they’ve gone downstairs and seemed to be looking for the extra rooms. I think they’re convinced that the car is just a place where we go sit while the house transforms itself.

Now that we finally have the sofa here, we were planning to take one of the rocking chairs back to the lake house, but I think we’ve given up on that idea for the moment.

Mirrored from Dichroic Reflections.

icanhaschzbrgr

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ICanHasCheezburger/~3/_iLOmPhqG4w/7462061312

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icanhaschzbrgr

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ICanHasCheezburger/~3/SqsMv-yZitc/7456226304

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icanhaschzbrgr

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ICanHasCheezburger/~3/GrbHZUy1AWQ/7480846592

http://cheezburger.com/7480846592

icanhaschzbrgr

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ICanHasCheezburger/~3/NqnA2ufn0a8/7465965312

http://cheezburger.com/7465965312

someposifeed

http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp05222013.shtml

scalzifeed

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2013/05/22/madison-im-at-a-room-of-ones-own-tomorrow-4pm-note-the-time/

I’ll be doing a rare afternoon tour appearance tomorrow in Madison because at 6pm, A Room of One’s Own welcomes the Guests of Honor at Wiscon, the (completely fantastic) science fiction and fantasy convention. So if you’re coming at 4 o’clock to Room of One’s Own to see me, stick around afterward for the GoHs, which include last year’s Nebula and Hugo Award winner, Jo Walton. And if you’re coming at 6pm to see the guests of honor, why not come out a little bit early to see me? It’ll be more speculative fiction writers than you can shake the proverbial stick at.

So remember, Madison: Tomorrow (Thursday, May 23), A Room Of One’s Own, 4pm. Don’t be late! See you there.

icanhaschzbrgr

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ICanHasCheezburger/~3/y91YhQRV2GU/7466358784

http://cheezburger.com/7466358784

icanhaschzbrgr

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ICanHasCheezburger/~3/v9osB_f1XGY/7470686208

http://cheezburger.com/7470686208

icanhaschzbrgr

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ICanHasCheezburger/~3/Ao_UN5VPgh4/7482304768

http://cheezburger.com/7482304768

icanhaschzbrgr

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ICanHasCheezburger/~3/cyV2qrWIz4I/7467249152

http://cheezburger.com/7467249152

james_nicoll

        Total  Fail  Success Success Rate
1960s    19     14     5         26%
1970s    11      3*    8         73%
1980s     8      .33   7.67      96%
1990s    --      --    --        -- 
2000s     3            3        100% 
2010s     1       1**              0%

james_nicoll

Saturn's moon Titan might be in for some wild weather as it heads into its spring and summer, if two new models are correct. Scientists think that as the seasons change in Titan's northern hemisphere, waves could ripple across the moon's hydrocarbon seas, and hurricanes could begin to swirl over these areas, too. The model predicting waves tries to explain data from the moon obtained so far by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Both models help mission team members plan when and where to look for unusual atmospheric disturbances as Titan summer approaches.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

tomatonation

http://tomatonation.com/vine/the-vine-may-22-2013/

http://tomatonation.com/?p=13141

I started, but never finished, a friend's YA novel during a "reading day" when I was in fifth or sixth grade (smack-dab in the middle of the '90s, if that helps).

I have been completely unable to find it since. How will I ever finish it if I can't find it?? So here's what I remember:

• The protagonist's older sister was thought of as some kind of witch, because she gave the protagonist cloves for a toothache (and maybe because she slapped her once, and that left a white streak in her hair where she hit her).
• One of the protagonist's friends was born with a cleft lip, which they blamed on his mother having looked at a rabbit before he was born or something. 
•  It was definitely set a few centuries in the past. 
•  I think she lived in a seaside village, possibly in Cornwall or Wales.

For some reason, I think the title was something about searching for a maid, but I don't remember anything matching that in the plot (but again, I didn't finish it, so what would I know). 

Any pointers, or indications I didn't just fall asleep and dream half of a nonsensical book that day, are so very much appreciated! 

Sincerely,
My dental plan is also my spice rack

*****

Hi Sars,

Yet another search for a long-lost young-adult book here: I probably read this one sometime around 1988-1990, and it may have been ordered from one of those flimsy little Scholastic book order forms. It was set in the present day, but somehow at a Fourth of July town picnic-type thing, the main character falls asleep under a tree (…I think?) and wakes up in another time period. I believe there was something about being stuck in the wrong time, and the character risked catching either diphtheria or cholera or some other old-timey disease by not being able to escape the time warp. No idea on character names, title, author, zip.

Web searches tend to bring up Love in the Time of Cholera if I try cholera, or Running Out of Time if I try searching for diphtheria, so it's not either one of those. Thanks, Nation, for your vast knowledge of obscure young adult books from 20 years ago!

I swear I'm not fascinated by diarrheal diseases…

james_nicoll

A couple of articles on India's Mars Orbiter Mission were published on the news website The Week yesterday, and they're much more in-depth and insightful than the norm.

james_nicoll

Re Duffypocalpse and the Cheque of Doom

In the House of Commons yesterday, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, temporarily reverting to his former role as partisan fire extinguisher, said no, Harper knew nothing about the deal until, like other appalled Conservatives, he saw it on the evening news.

Strangely, Harper himself did not say that in his speech to his caucus, at least the portion of it that was public. Nor did Nigel Wright on Sunday, in his resignation letter. Nor did the PMO last week. In his remarks Harper ignored the payment entirely. In the other two cases the language was ever so carefully crafted to allow for some knowledge on his part, though not of “the means” or “the details.”

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

scalzifeed

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2013/05/22/amazons-kindle-worlds-instant-thoughts/

The Twitters are abuzz today about Amazon’s new “Kindle Worlds” program, in which people are allowed to write and then sell through Amazon their fan fiction for certain properties owned by Alloy Entertainment, including Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars, with more licenses expected soon. I’ve had a quick look at the program on Amazon’s site, and I have a couple of immediate thoughts on it. Be aware that these thoughts are very preliminary, i.e., I reserve the right to have possibly contradictory thoughts about the program later, when I think (and read) about it more. Also note that these are my personal thoughts and do not reflect the positions or policies of SFWA, of which I am (still but not for much longer) president.

1. The main knock on fan fiction from the rights-holders point of view — i.e., people are using their characters and situations in ways that probably violate copyright — is apparently not at all a problem here, since Alloy Entertainment is on board for allowing people to write what they want (within specific guidelines — more on that in a bit). Since that’s the case, there’s probably a technical argument here about whether this is precisely “fan fiction” or if it’s actually media tie-in writing done with intentionally low bars to participation (the true answer, I suspect, is that it’s both). Either way, if Alloy Entertainment’s on board, everything’s on the level, so why not.

2. So, on one hand it offers people who write fan fiction a chance to get paid for their writing in a way that doesn’t make the rightsholders angry, which is nice for the fan ficcers. On the other hand, as a writer, there are a number of things about the deal Amazon/Alloy are offering that raise red flags for me. Number one among these is this bit:

“We will also give the World Licensor a license to use your new elements and incorporate them into other works without further compensation to you.”

i.e., that really cool creative idea you put in your story, or that awesome new character you made? If Alloy Entertainment likes it, they can take it and use it for their own purposes without paying you — which is to say they make money off your idea, lots of money, even, and all you get is the knowledge they liked your idea.

Essentially, this means that all the work in the Kindle Worlds arena is a work for hire that Alloy (and whomever else signs on) can mine with impunity. This is a very good deal for Alloy, et al — they’re getting story ideas! Free! — and less of a good deal for the actual writers themselves. I mean, the official media tie-in writers and script writers are doing work for hire, too, but they get advances and\or at least WGA minimum scale for their work.

Another red flag:

“Amazon Publishing will acquire all rights to your new stories, including global publication rights, for the term of copyright.”

Which is to say, once Amazon has it, they have the right to do anything they want with it, including possibly using it in anthologies or selling it other languages, etc, without paying the author anything else for it, ever. Again, an excellent deal for Amazon; a less than excellent deal for the actual writer.

Note that on its page Amazon makes a show of saying that the writer owns the copyright on the original things that are copyrightable, but inasmuch as Amazon also acquires all rights for the length of the copyright and Alloy is given the right to exploit the new elements without further compensation, this show about you keeping your copyright appears to be just that: show.

The argument here could be, well, you know, people who were writing fan fiction weren’t getting paid or had rights to these characters and worlds anyway, so only getting paid for their work once is still better than what they would have gotten before. And that’s not an entirely bad argument on one level. But on another level, there’s a difference between writing fan fiction because you love the world and the characters on a personal level, and Amazon and Alloy actively exploiting that love for their corporate gain and throwing you a few coins for your trouble. So this should be an interesting argument for people to have in the real world.

3. If this sort of thing takes off, I’m interested to see what effect it will have on the media tie-in market, and on the professional writers who work in it. Obviously it has the potential to greatly shift how things are done. If you are a corporate rights holder, for example, would you bother with seeking out pro writers any more, and paying them advances and royalties and all of that business? Or would you just open up the gates to paid fan fiction, which you don’t have to pay anything for and yet still have total control over the commercial exploitation thereof? Again, this is interesting stuff to consider, and if I were a pro writer who primarily worked in media tie-in markets, I would have some real concerns.

4. This won’t spell the end of unauthorized fan fic, and I’m very sure of that. For one thing, the Kindle Worlds program says it won’t accept “pornography” which means all that slash out there will still be on the outside of the program (Edit: to note not all slash is porn, although I wonder if Amazon won’t simply default it as such); likewise crossover fan fic, so those “Vampire Diaries meet Dr Who” stories will be left out in the cold. And besides that, there will be people who a) have no interest in making money and/or b) don’t write well enough to be accepted into the Kindle Worlds program (there does seem that there will be some attempt at quality control, or at least, someone has to go through the stuff to make sure there’s nothing that’s contractually forbidden). So if this was an attempt to squash fan fic through other means, it’s doomed to failure. But I don’t suspect that’s the point.

5. Speaking as a writer, I wouldn’t do something like this; I don’t generally like writing in other people’s worlds in any event (and when I do, I go public domain — see Fuzzy Nation) and I don’t like the terms that are on offer here. And of course I have my own things to write. Likewise, I would caution anyone looking at this to be aware that overall this is not anywhere close to what I would call a good deal. Finally, on a philosophical level, I suspect this is yet another attempt in a series of long-term attempts to fundamentally change the landscape for purchasing and controlling the work of writers in such a manner that ultimately limits how writers are compensated for their work, which ultimately is not to the benefit of the writer. This will have far-reaching consequences that none of us really understand yet.

The thing that can be said for it is that it’s a better deal than you would otherwise get for writing fan fiction, i.e., no deal at all and possibly having to deal with a cranky rightsholder angry that you kids are playing in their yard. Is that enough for you? That’s on you to decide.

scalzifeed

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2013/05/22/the-big-idea-rhiannon-held-2/

http://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=21903

Readers often have default expectations when it comes to their reading — default expectations that we call “tropes.” But where do you go as a writer when the tropes don’t take you where your characters need to be? It’s a question that Rhiannon Held explores today as she writes about her new novel, Tarnished.

RHIANNON HELD:

Tarnished is the second book in my series, and if I had to articulate an over-arcing big idea for the whole series, it’s that I love to explore emotional truths tied to situations that don’t come up in typical urban fantasy tropes. In the first book, Silver, those non-trope situations were born from the religion and culture that I created for my werewolves. In Tarnished, I decided I wanted to find the emotional resonance in non-trope leadership strategies, and romantic relationships.

At the end of Silver my two main characters, Andrew and Silver, were poised to challenge for leadership of the largest werewolf pack in North America. In the typical urban fantasy trope as I’ve encountered it, usually the protagonist’s resistance to being Grand Supernatural Poobah begins as internal: she wouldn’t be any good at it! No one would accept her! Then, when she agrees, the resistance switches to being external: the rock golems won’t listen to a meat bag! The shapeshifters won’t listen to anyone banging a golem!

But once they’ve set aside their initial internal objections, would protagonists really automatically be totally committed to leading? Obviously they have to learn how to win everyone over, but would the protagonists really be completely awesome at leading once everyone’s behind them? Book 1 ended with Andrew and Silver’s decision to try to lead, and I decided that Book 2 needed to explore exactly what it would take to get there. Do they have the self-confidence to do it? Is that self-confidence strong enough to withstand everyone else’s doubt? Can they make hard decisions and keep their cool when people question those decisions? Can they admit they were wrong when they make mistakes? Can they delegate and trust others to get things done?

And can they lead, as opposed to just shouting louder than everyone else? Often werewolf alphas are portrayed as being all about physical strength, or if not physical strength, at least strength of emotional bullying. Andrew is somewhat slight in stature and slow from previous injuries; Silver can’t shift and can’t use her left arm. If they want to win the alphaship, they have do something other than shout loudest and punch hardest: they have to court allies, they have to coax people, they have to lead by example. I really wanted to showcase different leadership strategies, because while stories are often about the underdog beating the muscle-bound alpha, the underdog too often uses mystical punching powers that beat the alpha’s physical punching abilities. Why does punching have to be the measure of success?

Tarnished also introduces a new POV: Susan. She’s human and has a child with John, the Seattle alpha. She also has her moments of going toe-to-toe in fights with stronger, faster werewolves, but with her I also wanted to explore a different kind of romantic relationship. In Book 1, Andrew and Silver were somewhat typical of urban fantasies: they met, they were attracted to each other, obstacles kept them apart, but they got together in the end. In Book 2, I show them working as a functioning, loving team, so the romantic tension switches over to Susan and John.

Whether in books, movies, or television, I’ve always wanted more opportunities to cheer a couple on to working out their problems. That’s what gets you through life, after all—not giving up after the first big fight. Work through the fight and the relationship often ends up stronger on the other side. Of course, that’s not to say that life isn’t also filled with truly irreconcilable differences or people who are assholes. Staying to try desperately to change things in those situations can make everyone miserable. The way I think of it is that you want to preserve and care for a precious connection between two people, rather than upholding some ideal of not splitting up for moral reasons even if you have no connection left at all.

The trouble is that in fiction, the relationships being “worked on” are usually only based on irreconcilable differences or assholery. In that case, of course you’re cheering for the couple to break up! That way, one can get with the other hot, passionate love interest introduced in this book who is clearly so much better for him or her. Or else you’re rolling your eyes while waiting for the couple who’s off-again every book to provide cheap romantic tension to get their laughable miscommunication straightened out so they can be on-again.

Susan and John are already together. They have a child. They love each other, but their relationship is on the rocks because John lets himself be ashamed of her and misguidedly tries to protect her by keeping her out of the werewolf world. That’s something that can be worked out—I hope it’s something the readers want to see worked out!—because why should love be sacrificed to social expectations? But reconciliation is something they both have to work hard to achieve.

Hopefully playing with non-trope situations can help knock aside a few of the most annoying tropes as well. If my characters can remind readers that natural charisma doesn’t mean you’re born knowing exactly how to lead; people who aren’t hot, single twenty-somethings fall in love; and protecting your love by keeping them in ignorance of the supernatural world is forgetting they’re a consenting adult… so much the better!

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Tarnished: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Indiebound|Powell’s

Read an excerpt. Visit the author’s site. Follow her on Twitter.

james_nicoll

Amazon announced Kindle Worlds today, describing it as “the first commercial publishing platform that will enable any writer to create fan fiction based on a range of original stories and characters and earn royalties for doing so.”

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.