VERY effective commercial.
Damn, that gave me the creeps! Which is exactly what it's supposed to do.
Xopher, #323: It's our annual party, which is themed around chocolate. We haven't picked a date yet, as it has to fit around our con-going schedule, but it generally occurs in late March or early April. We have some limited crash space, and there's a Courtyard by Marriott a block from our house.
Anyone who has ever had to deal with convention dealer rooms, crafts-show booths, or anything similar needs to read today's Two Lumps. Scroll down slowly for full effect. My partner howled so loudly from the back of the house that I had to go ask what the hell was going on!
Paul & Jacque (317-318): Wow. Both of those links are mind-bogglingly cool!
Xopher, #300: Holy chocolate, Batman! What would it take to get you down here for Chocolate Decadence this coming year?
green_knight, #167: I think Paula's analysis is correct. It's the scammer's version of the same reason that our Move Along T-shirt continues to be a good seller rather than saturating its market: every year there are new potential customers moving into the age-group that buys it. And on the scale of ASI/Horizons, it doesn't take a very high penetration percentage to yield a worthwhile ROI, especially with Harlequin doing the kickback referrals.
John A, #255: "Burglar" doesn't seem to be available as a charm from any of my regular sources. "Pirate", however, is; would that be an acceptable substitute? If so, drop me a line (fgneqernzre@zvaqfcevat.pbz) and we can negotiate.
Serge, #36: Janet Kagan beat you to it, in Return of the Kangaroo Rex. (Note: this is one of the stories featured in the collection Mirabile.)
Linkmeister, #37: Oh, dear. That just begs to be Photoshopped, doesn't it?
Also, if they're talking about the first MI movie, it doesn't focus on a "rogue" but on a traitor -- a highly-placed one. Is that REALLY the association they want us to make?
Teresa: Your response, OTOH, is epic win.
Maya, #110: I suspect that Thomas Nelson is getting away with this because most of their writers have nowhere else to go. I also suspect that the lack of critical commentary about that venture is one of the reasons Harlequin thought they could get away with doing something similar.
AKICIML: I have a large (about 5" long) half-shell that I want to make into an art-jewelry pendant. The back side, which will be hanging toward the wearer, is... as rough as natural shells tend to be; that's not terribly rough, but I'm still thinking that I'd like to put some sort of coating on it to smooth it out a bit. Can someone suggest a transparent coating substance that won't damage the shell, flake off with wear, or be toxic/irritating to the wearer if the pendant is being worn with a low-cut neckline?
Just to clarify -- when I said I wondered how established Harlequin authors were going to feel about this, I was thinking more about Harlequin having established a vanity-publishing arm than the RWA announcement. If I were a non-vanity Harlequin writer, I would certainly feel that this had damaged my credibility in the market, and would be looking to change publishers forthwith.
I'm impressed.
What I now wonder is how Harlequin's established authors are going to react? They can't be thrilled about this.
Birth of a new species observed.
How cool is that?
dcb, #83: I've read several times that many people, writing up their PhD, end up with a wonderfully clean and tidy house, etc. etc. - anything to avoid actually sitting down and writing the thesis - so you're not alone in this.
That doesn't just happen with theses, either. Nothing puts me more in the mood to do housework than knowing I really need to be making up stock for an upcoming show!
Also, another vote for "please post your tips". Not that I'm writing anything for which I might need them, but I'm always fascinated by the things people come up with to help them spot and correct errors.
nerdycellist, #96: That's cool!
Earl, #47: Better yet: first, seed the comments with a couple of train-themed poems, then post the URL to several large train-enthusiast mailing lists.
Sylvie, #7: Everyone else has offered good advice. It's hard, and will never be anything but hard, but it's one of the inevitabilities we accept when we bring a companion animal into our lives. My late beloved Mina made it to age 23, and that was really hard -- I'd had her for half of my life! But I think the pain may have been blunted for me because we had other cats, so there wasn't that shock of coming home to a now-empty house. If/when you get to the point of having another pet, you might want to consider getting two of somewhat different ages for that reason.
I spent a lot more on beads than I'd intended to this weekend, but I think I'm going to get a lot of good finished product out of it.
I also found out that cartridge casings make excellent cord-tips for kumihimo cords. Talk about thinking outside the box!
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