Michael Hyatt writes about mistakes many people make on their blogs, like posting too much or too little, poor headlines, bad first paragraphs, and other stuff.
He also links to a free e-book called What Matters Now by Seth Godin and several others.
Creeps Preying on Novice Writers
Lucy in the morning with candles
Yesterday was St. Lucy’s Day. Not a big deal for the average American (even, I think, for the average American Catholic). But—oddly enough—for Scandinavian Lutherans “Luciadag” has traditionally been an important part of the Advent observation.
On the morning of December 13, all over Scandinavia (but especially in Sweden), you used to be able to see the eldest daughter of the household (at least back when they had multiple children) rise early, don a crown of lingonberry leaves with seven burning candles in it, and lead a procession of her sisters and brothers, all clad in white and singing. She served the family a ritual breakfast of coffee and special “Lucia buns.” Since the 1920s, the processional song has been this version of the old Sicilian (correction: Neapolitan) favorite:
Continue reading Lucy in the morning with candles
Giving Real Gifts at Christmas
Turner Prize Goes to Beautiful Art
Is it beautiful or is carefully marketed? James Bowman writes: “To the shock, then, that the work should be unashamedly pretty we may add the shock that it should not be shocking as well as the additional and perhaps greatest shock of all, namely the suspicion that it is a bit of glorified interior decorating.”
Discussion in Deep Weeds
The debate on the trustworthiness of climate science is into the deep weeds on this post on Change.org. I doubt I can keep up.
Winter: The official announcement
(My dad in the snow, sometime in the 1940s.)
Winter has arrived in earnest. The snow, like a snowy quilt, covers the snow-covered landscape like a quilt of snow. And it’s cold as… cold as a quilt is not. I note this for the record; I’m not sure what else to say about it. I knew about winter when I enlisted. Could have stayed in Florida if I’d wanted to take the coward’s way out.
I should spend more time being grateful. Unlike my dad long since, I don’t have to go out twice a day to milk cows, and throw hay down from the loft, and shovel manure out of the barn. If I get really sick, I’ll be able to just call in and tell the folks, “Carry on—somehow—without me.” I won’t have to drag myself out of bed, wrap up in three layers, and do the danged chores anyway, finding something to lean on when I get lightheaded, because you can’t let the animals starve.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Hannukah (or Channukah). Best wishes to our Jewish friends (or friend).
Aitchmark sent me this link to a review from The Wall Street Journal, of the book Last Exit to Utopia, written by, of all things, a Frenchman. Looks excellent.
Have a good weekend. Stay warm. Or cold, if you prefer.
Author Allegedly Abused by Border Police
Canadian Author Peter Watts apparently put the wrong foot forward with U.S. border police in Port Huron, Michigan, because while on his way home, he says he was punched, pepper-sprayed, kicked, and jailed for three hours. He is considering a lawsuit, and some are raising money for him.
Author David Nickle says Mr. Watts is “effectively going up against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and he needs the best legal help that he can get.”
Good Sledding in Norway
This is from outside the Bergen home of Norway’s royal family. Here’s another beautiful photo of this mansion in wintertime.
Kirkus Reviews Also Folds
Nielsen Business Media, which is closing down Editor & Publisher magazine, is also stopping production of Kirkus Reviews, which was known for it’s honest, even blunt, book reviews. “There was no sense of any financial distress within the Kirkus brand,” the editor said.