A VALENTINE FROM THE MOTHER OF US ALL

[Hey!  What can I say?  Love is where you find it . . .]

http://www.wimp.com/babymoose

FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH

 

Cost of free advice = Nada : Cost of good advice = Priceless

[I follow the blog of Seth Godin, author of 12 books translated into 30 languages.  In this post, he says things such as:

"There is no such thing as effective book promotion by a book publisher."

"If you need the advance to live on, then publishers serve an essential function."

"The best time to start promoting your book is three years before it comes out."

"Don’t try to sell your book to everyone."

"Your cover matters. Way more than you think."

"Publishing a book is not the same as printing a book."

"Writing a book is a tremendous experience. It pays off intellectually. It clarifies your thinking. It builds credibility . . . You should write one."

Enjoy . . .]

http://www.thedominoproject.com/2012/01/advice-for-authors-part-one-and-part-two.html

HOW TO CHOP WOOD

A Canadian woodchopper

[There is the right way and there is the wrong way to chop wood.  Then there is my way.

I set up the stick on the chopping block, tinker with it until it stands by itself, and then I step back, poise with my axe over my head, and bring it down on the stick as hard as I can.

If I'm lucky, I split off a wedge, which lands a few steps from the block, and then the remaining stick falls off the other side.  I pick up the stick and try finding its balancing point on the chopping block, and repeat.  If I'm not thoroughly exhausted after this exercise, I try the procedure on another stick.  What fun. 

Who is this guy anyway?  Can we see his wood-chopping permit?]

http://www.ask.com/videos/watch-video/how-to-chop-wood-without-messing-around/TgVUdiaY0Bha4eTFe_n3RA?o=undefined&l=dis&ver=11&domain=ask.com

THE SOUNDING SEA

[Homer was fond of the phrase "the sounding sea".  Here we get a sense of why it awed him.  Imagine a wooden galley on this water, or the tiny caravel of Christopher Columbus.]

   http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=T4FIS1FnOQg

A SUPERIOR BOOK EVENT

Writer Peter Fergus-Moore at Chapters on Friday surprises the audience with another talent. All photos by Elle Andra-Warner.

           We’ve all heard the stories: writers are solitary creatures –unfriendly, friendless, and friendproof.

            That may be true . . . sometimes.  Certainly there have been times I felt that way, when I was writing, but . . . and this is a big BUT . . . that changes when you’re an author.  An author is a writer who has been published.

            Once a writer’s work is out there, he or she is no longer solitary.  He has friends.  And he has enemies.  And the friends and enemies are far outnumbered by the people who are entirely indifferent to who the author is and what the author writes.  They could care less.  But here’s the point: the author is no longer solitary, even if he or she is rubbing shoulders with a mass of humanity who do not know or even care about his existence.

            For the author cares.  He or she cares a lot.  The author’s role is to find friends.  Well, readers.  Who will become friends. 

            Writing may be solitary.  Authoring is a gregarious activity.

Shameless self-promoters at Coles on Saturday: Edgar Lavoie, Elle Andra-Warner, Lee Chambers.

            On January 20^th and 21^st, I and a group of authors offered readings and book signings to a Thunder Bay audience.  We performed at the Chapters Indigo store on Friday evening, and at the Coles Book Store on Saturday mid-day. 

Local TV showed up . . . Free promotion!

           We laughed, we listened, we spoke, we smiled, we read, we signed, we chatted, we chortled, we just generally had a darn good time.  We sold our books and we sold one another’s books.  We opened a great many eyes to the great things we local authors are doing, and we made a few more readers.  Which is to say, friends. 

            A great many customersto both book stores remained entirely indifferent to our presence or to our promotions.  That’s fair game.

            Serendipitously, we got a clip on the local television channel on Saturday night, and our photo in the local daily on Sunday.  No doubt that opened a few eyes of those who had been indifferent to us – they had ignored a newsworthy event.

An anti-smoking rally brushes by the authors, oblivious to their presence.

            Here’s a link to the TBT clip:          

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/Video/23685/Book-Signing-

             Now we go back to writing.  In solitude.  For a while.  Until we put on our author hats again, and reach out . . . way, way out . . . and touch a new friend.

ET – NO HOME TO PHONE

Communicating across time and space . ..

[This video depicts a terrestrial with an uncanny resemblance to the world-famous extra-terrestrial depicted by Steven Spielberg.  A powerful statement of love and loss . . .  Imagine being the last living prehistoric terrestrial on planet Earth.]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR3Z4p5hspI

LIFE LIVED BACKWARDS

Some things are unforgettable . . .

 

[In this day and age, it is rare to find a song with CONTENT - with lyrics that actually say something meaningful and worthwhile.  If you only heard the lyrics, you'd miss 90% of the content.  Someone has taken the trouble to help you SEE the lyrics.]

Billy Joel

 THIS IS VERY WELL DONE.  ENJOY.  
Before you click on the site, read…….sound on!

http://yeli.us/Flash/Fire.html    

If you don’t do anything else the rest of the day, do yourself a favor now and just watch/listen to this totally awesome video. Read the stuff first so you can tell what’s going on….. It’s awesome!

This song and its title was the answer to one question of Final Jeopardy — only one person got it right. Question was (paraphrased): “What 1980′s song do history teachers praise for its educational value?”
I never could understand all the references on Billy Joel’s song — fortunately, with this VIDEO, given the pictures, now I can “see” what my “ears” couldn’t. Apparently, it’s Joel’s homage to the 40-years of historical headlines since his birth (1949). WAY TOO COOL — wish I could have appreciated the depths of this song when it was released. Twenty years later, I’m in awe of what Joel was able to put into music and lyrics lasting only a few minutes.
Whether you are a Billy Joel fan or not, you probably remember his great song, ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire.’ Here it is, set to pictures… Very, very cool. Had to share this one. It’s a neat flashback through the past half century. I never did know the words. Turn up the volume, sit back and enjoy a review of 50 years of history in less than 3 minutes! Thanks to Billy Joel and some guy from theUniversity of Chicago with a lot of spare time and Google.

 

Top left gives you full screen….top right lets you pause. Bottom left shows the year. The older you are, the more pictures you will recognize. Anyone over age 65 should remember over 90% of what they see. But it’s great at any age.