Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Absolute Write Needs Your Help

Please note the new button in the sidebar. When you click it you'll be sent to the Absolute Write Paypal form. If you can spare any amount it will make a difference. Jenna's blog goes into details but here's an excerpt:

We remain committed to getting back our property (our databases) and it appears we will have to take legal action to do so. In the meantime, along with the help of some wonderful volunteers and some wonderful paid staff, I'm going to begin rebuilding the forums from the Google cache pages.
- please go visit Jenna and let her know you are supporting her, whether you are there to support with your good thoughts and best wishes or with a donation, please do go there and leave a comment to let her know. Link to her blog and get everyone else to do it as well - consider it a late AWMondayMeme. A snail mail address for non Pay-Pal donations is also listed on her site.


Meanwhile, lets revisit the 20 Worst Agents list, just for the fun of it! (preamble added at A.C. Crispin's request - if you copy this and use it, be sure to add the preamble paragraphs, it's important)

Below is a list of the 20 literary agencies about which Writer Beware has received the greatest number of advisories/complaints over the past several years.

None of these agencies has a significant track record of sales to commercial (advance-paying) publishers, and most have virtually no documented and verified sales at all (book placements claimed by some of these agencies turn out to be "sales" to vanity publishers). All charge clients before a sale is made--whether directly, by levying fees such as reading or administrative fees, or indirectly, for editing or other adjunct services.

Writer Beware recommends that writers avoid questionable literary agencies, and instead query agencies that have verifiable track records of sales to commercial publishing houses.

Note that while the 20 agencies listed here account for the bulk of the complaints we receive, they're just the tip of the iceberg. Writer Beware has files on nearly 400 questionable agencies, and we learn about a new one every few weeks.


* The Abacus Group Literary Agency
* Allred and Allred Literary Agents (refers clients to “book doctor” Victor West of Pacific Literary Services)
* Barbara Bauer Literary Agency
* Benedict Associates (also d/b/a B.A. Literary Agency)
* Sherwood Broome, Inc.
* Capital Literary Agency (formerly American Literary Agents of Washington, Inc.)
* Desert Rose Literary Agency
* Arthur Fleming Associates
* Finesse Literary Agency (Karen Carr)
* Brock Gannon Literary Agency
* Harris Literary Agency
* The Literary Agency Group, which includes the following:
o Children’s Literary Agency
o Christian Literary Agency
o New York Literary Agency
o Poets Literary Agency
o The Screenplay Agency
o Stylus Literary Agency (formerly ST Literary Agency, formerly Sydra-Techniques)
o Writers Literary& Publishing Services Company (the editing arm of the above-mentioned agencies)

* Martin-McLean Literary Associates
* Mocknick Productions Literary Agency, Inc.
* B.K. Nelson, Inc.
* The Robins Agency (Cris Robins)
* Michele Rooney Literary Agency (also d/b/a Creative Literary Agency, Simply Nonfiction, and Michele Glance Rooney Literary Agency)
* Southeast Literary Agency
* Mark Sullivan Associates
* West Coast Literary Associates (also d/b/a California Literary Services)


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OhDawno's Ebil Library and Gift Shop is Open For Business

I've put up some really great stuff, thanks to James Macdonald, at OhDawno's Ebil Library and Gifts CafePress Store. (go ahead, click the button in the side bar - I know you want to!!)

Now, this little CafePress store was created as a way I could put up an "I Survived" item just for fun and for my fellow AWers.

I thought that some of the AW folk might like to have something tangible to remember this all by in times to come, it was not created to be a fund-raiser. In the spirit of "Blame Dawno for everything since July of 1957" I take full responsibility for the idea, dumb or useless as it may be.

I wouldn't dream of profiting by taking advantage of a crisis so I am donating the proceeds.

Anyway, the idea took on a bit of a life of its own based on requests. Jim has allowed me to use Atlanta Nights & Yog's Law, Matt Dinniman has allowed use of his "Save AW" graphic which html text is found over on Mac's blog. There are more items on the way and in a day or two I'll update with stuff that is printed back and front (Yog's Law, Atlanta Nights) - I have some studying to do.

Now, I'd like to present this as a cautionary tale of sorts. When you decide to do something like this on the spur of the moment, you don't really think through the consequences. You end up with a lot of folk who have great ideas and find yourself wondering if you should take a week off from the day job so you can do it right.

Here's some of the graphics you'll see on a variety of items.

Front:
















Back
















Atlanta Nights Front

















Atlanta Nights Back















Yog's Law Front

















Yog's Law back













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Monday, May 29, 2006

Update on "Uh, that post title looked really familiar"

I wrote to the hosting company about the post and boy did they respond quickly - over a holiday too!

Hello.

We have sent the complaint to the person to remove the content and have given them 12 hours. If they fail to comply, we will suspend their services.

Is this resolution sufficient for you, if they remove the content?

We will suspend their services if you request it.


Best Regards,
Daniel
HostGator Level 3 Support
Server / Abuse Administration Team


Now I surely don't want to be the one to have that persons' service suspended - not in light of all we've been going thru (although I am in no way comparing that site to AW) but I did respond that I was thankful for their prompt reply and that I was sure they'd do the right thing if there were more complaints.

I'd say HostGator is a very cool company. Thank you Daniel and kudos to HostGator!

Would You Be Caught In Public Wearing This?

Picture this image on a tee-shirt. If you'd like one just click the CafePress button in the sidebar. I'll make no profits, that goes to Absolute Write. I have some lower cost items with the image as well.



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A Newly Minted Soldier's Mom's Memorial Day Thoughts

Memorial Day. A day to remember those who died in our nation’s service. For most people it’s the first summer holiday. Picnics, trips to the beach, bar-b-ques in the back  yard. I have nothing against that, we bought a new grill and inaugurated it last night with a couple of really nice Angus beef ribeye steaks. If the weather were a bit warmer I’d have gone out and gotten some back yard lounging furniture and be working on a tan.

But, on *this* Memorial Day another generation of my family has joined the service. Memorial Day has taken on a whole new meaning. All the members of my family who have served in the Armed Forces are alive and well and in civilian jobs or retired (with the exception of my grandfather who passed away in the early 80’s who was retired Army). The thought that occupies my mind today is “Will there be a day in the future when I take flowers to the grave of a soldier, my son?”

I generally live in the present with no more than operational glimpses into the future, usually the short term future at that. What will I wear to work tomorrow? I ask that because I’m getting ready to do laundry. What will I have for dinner tomorrow? Helps me decide if I need to stop at the store. What does tomorrow’s weather look like – see “laundry” and “what will I wear” above.

Now I find myself drifting off into longer term day-dreams about this fall after my son finishes his training or next year – will he be serving in the Middle East? My daughter’s boyfriend (whom I love dearly) is in the Navy. Will the next flare-up see him deployed to support Naval aviators in a distant sea? I have nephews who are in the last years of their secondary schooling – will their mother be successful in persuading them to stay out of the service? They both have excellent chances of being accepted at any of our Military Academies.

My son is in the Army and he hopes to join the Airborne corps. I pray for his success and safety but I’m not in denial that those are very likely mutually exclusive states.

Sunday, May 28, 2006

AW Update

Some of you aren't in any email contact lists (if you send me your email address - there's a link down below "My Favorites" in the sidebar for that- I can forward it to Birol and she'll put you on her distro) with the AW Mod Squad so here's the latest email from Birol updating the AW situation:

It's been nearly a day and a half since the last time I've sent out an update about AW. I realize in both internet time and crisis time, that's an eternity, but it's a holiday weekend in the States, with all that implies to the current situation. Jenna's reminding everyone that they are writers and should be writing, even while we're waiting for word on the databases and rebuilding. She's even handing out prompts to those who don't have their own assignments and deadlines.

The caching project continues. You can find instructions for how to help and a list of what has already been saved at the Refugee Camp.

The cached pages will disappear the next time Google and the other search engines update their index, which we expect will happen soon, so every little bit recovered now will help in the rebuilding of AW should the databases not be returned to us.

Jenna provides a more comprehensive update on her blog Hot Diggity!

On a more personal note, I'd like to say how moved I've been by the messages posted in so many places in support of AW, Jenna, and the mods. It's been very humbling and awe-inspiring to see how many people care so passionately about our little corner of the internet and how many lives have been touched by AW. See you on the boards soon.

~Lori aka Birol



Hope that helps, Kristie!

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The Top Twenty Worst Agents

Down in comments on a previous post of mine, Laurie wrote:

"There's one mistake that a lot of us have been making. We've been posting links to the top twenty list for Barbara Bauer only. We need to expand that to cover all the scummy scammers. Read more on my
blog for my rationale behind this."

Excellent post, great point.

The immediate reaction to the loss of Absolute Write was to go after the person we all saw as the main culprit, Barbara Bauer. While Barbara Bauer's action (and the reaction of AW's hosting service) is the proximate cause, the root cause is that scamming agents are strutting around feeling invulnerable.

Individually each scummy agency stays under the legal radar because they scam relatively small amounts of money from people who end up embarassed that they fell for the scam or who just give up thinking they aren't publishable. There needs to be more education about how literary scams work and then concerted effort at a critical mass of people whose losses are significant in aggregate to get authorities interested.

The way to get started making a difference is to get educated about scams and how they get taken down. Jenna Glatzer and Daniel Steven's book The Street Smart Writer: Self Defense Against Sharks and Scams in the Writing World (use code AW2006 if you order from the publisher, Nomad Press, get a discount - already have it? Donate it!) is a great resource, so is Ten Percent of Nothing - the true story of how one scamming agency (Deering) was shut down and its owners were convicted of fraud. There are other stories - A. C. Crispin and Victoria Strauss have a wonderful blog "At Last! Writer Beware Blogs! A.C. Crispin and Victoria Strauss Reveal All!" that talks about a number of these scammer agencies.

Let's see what we can do with the energy we've accumulated behind our outrage at Barbara Bauer to take on the rest of the list.

When you compose your post about this just link each agency in the list to the SFWA Bewares list. You could even put it in your sidebar. Being the Technorati Tag fan that I am, I've started a tag: , so tag those posts!


And here it is, the SFWA’s list of top twenty worst agents that they know of. With Preamble as requested by A.C. Crispin.

Below is a list of the 20 literary agencies about which Writer Beware has received the greatest number of advisories/complaints over the past several years.

None of these agencies has a significant track record of sales to commercial (advance-paying) publishers, and most have virtually no documented and verified sales at all (book placements claimed by some of these agencies turn out to be "sales" to vanity publishers). All charge clients before a sale is made--whether directly, by levying fees such as reading or administrative fees, or indirectly, for editing or other adjunct services.

Writer Beware recommends that writers avoid questionable literary agencies, and instead query agencies that have verifiable track records of sales to commercial publishing houses.

Note that while the 20 agencies listed here account for the bulk of the complaints we receive, they're just the tip of the iceberg. Writer Beware has files on nearly 400 questionable agencies, and we learn about a new one every few weeks.


* The Abacus Group Literary Agency
* Allred and Allred Literary Agents (refers clients to “book doctor” Victor West of Pacific Literary Services)
* Barbara Bauer Literary Agency
* Benedict Associates (also d/b/a B.A. Literary Agency)
* Sherwood Broome, Inc.
* Capital Literary Agency (formerly American Literary Agents of Washington, Inc.)
* Desert Rose Literary Agency
* Arthur Fleming Associates
* Finesse Literary Agency (Karen Carr)
* Brock Gannon Literary Agency
* Harris Literary Agency
* The Literary Agency Group, which includes the following:
o Children’s Literary Agency
o Christian Literary Agency
o New York Literary Agency
o Poets Literary Agency
o The Screenplay Agency
o Stylus Literary Agency (formerly ST Literary Agency, formerly Sydra-Techniques)
o Writers Literary& Publishing Services Company (the editing arm of the above-mentioned agencies)

* Martin-McLean Literary Associates
* Mocknick Productions Literary Agency, Inc.
* B.K. Nelson, Inc.
* The Robins Agency (Cris Robins)
* Michele Rooney Literary Agency (also d/b/a Creative Literary Agency, Simply Nonfiction, and Michele Glance Rooney Literary Agency)
* Southeast Literary Agency
* Mark Sullivan Associates
* West Coast Literary Associates (also d/b/a California Literary Services)


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Saturday, May 27, 2006

Uh, That post title looked really familiar...

hosting for cash - Free hosting mp3

Why is this person re-posting my blog post? How do I get him/her to stop it?

Dawno's Top Ten "20 Worst Agents List" List

The concept struck me right after my morning tea. (about two minutes after waking and three minutes ago)

"Hey, Dawno, wanna write a top ten list of blogs/sites about Barbara Bauer and the 20 Worst Agents list?"
"Sure, Dawno, how do we pick who gets on it?"
"Hmm, should we conduct a scientific poll?"
"Only if Orlando Bloom is one of the answers."
"Maybe we should do it based on rankings."
"Too much work. Let's just cruise Kira's List, Google's Blog Search and the Technorati Tag for Barbara Bauer pages and choose ten good blogs on the topic."
"OK"

....two hours later...

If I missed a blog you feel is worthy you can tell me in comments or put your own list on your blog - do let me know so I can check it out.

Oh, the Making Light posts and the SFWA list are not in the list - just blogs/sites that took the info from there and ran with it.

Judging criteria: uh, Dawno liked it? If it had more content than just the list or was funny or I just wanna ingratiate myself to that particular blogger...well, the decision of the judges is final. No animals were harmed during this listing. Unless you count my cat not getting his breakfast right away.

Note: The Barbarabauer tag at Technorati is being used by some blogger, with nothing to say thus blogs not worth reading, just to drive traffic to their site. This blogger also seems to like spamming LJ communities with reviews he/she has not written. There is post after post that have nothing to do with Barbara Bauer. I'm very annoyed.

ETA: The blogger and I exchanged comments and I am accepting them as sincere. She was really trying to help. I apologize publicly for being a grumpy cynic. I also apologize for not being nice about the blogging. I may not get why those topics are being shared, but it's unkind of me to assume it was a ploy and say cruel things like I did. *hangs head*

First off, kudos to:

Roger Carlson for giving the AW folk a refuge camp

Smart Bitches Trashy Books

BlogPulse News Wire and Euan for getting the mention there

Neil Gaiman (like he needs my kudos - *gooshy fangirl-type sigh*)

Digital Medievalist for most creative use of the blink tag

the Live Journal Fictionwriters community and the Live Journal Cranky Editors community

Agent Kristin of Pub Rants

Whoever posted the Wikipedia entry

A. C. Crispin and Victoria Strauss

Matt Dinniman who created a very cool button that you can find on MacAllister's site

D. T. Kelly who created a very cool button, too

MacAllister (looks like a squashed gopher to me...)

...dramatic music...que the MC...

Dawno's Top Ten "20 Worst Agents List" List!

10. Mad Scientist Matt Did a "literary agent" on the 20 Worst Agents List take down Absolute Write? Special Mention for being one of the first bloggers to pick this up. Way to go, Matt!

9. Frank Baron Barbara Bauer Ph.D. Pretend (and profane) Agent

8. Jim C. Hines Google Thought

7. last1 for an early and pithy post Barbara Bauer Blacklisted

6. Richard Corbett With Unlimited Ink

5. Kira Connally Barbara Bauer/Absolute Write Scandal Links

4. Miss Snark Hey, Barbara Bauer, Put Up or Shut Up!

3. Matt Dinniman "The Comic Adventures of Barbara Bauer, Literary Agent Superhero!"

2. a tie between p_n_elrod's Bye Bye Barbara the Play and p_n_elrod's Barbara Bauer, 20 worst agents http://20worstagents.com/ (because it has acutal cease and desist notices from Babs herself)
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this is the tension building, nail biting, dramatic pause
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and #1 goes to the person who created 20WorstAgents.com

Thanks everyone!

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Friday, May 26, 2006

Thank You Teresa Nielson Hayden and Patrick Nielson Hayden

It's time for us who have been blogging about what happened to Absolute Write and venting our spleen at Barabara Bauer to take a moment to do something else. Thank the owners of the Making Light for breaking the story and giving us a refuge while we wait for our beloved forum to return.

Please remember to link Barbara Bauer's name to not only the 20 Worst Agents list but also to one of the posts on Making Light that provide additional content about Bab's hijinks on the 'net.

This little blog has had quite the "fifteen minutes of fame" since Teresa posted a link here on her front page. I can't thank her enough for that, not for the traffic, but for giving me the opportunity to spread the news about Absolute Write and Barbara even further than my heretofore small audience allowed.

After all this settles down, I hope you all spend a goodly portion of your online reading time checking out Making Light. Some of the brightest, most wonderful, folk in the world comment there. It's always smart and fun and sometimes Teresa talks about knitting.

Show Your Support - Add the AW Button to Your Site/Blog

MacAllister Stone has posted a button on her site (I've got it on every post just before comments as well as in the sidebar), designed by Matt Dinniman, that will take you directly to the Amazon site for Jenna Glatzer's book about writing scams and scammers, The Street Smart Writer.


By using the button, you'll link to the Amazon posting that contributes a portion of the proceeds of your purchase to Absolute Write. If you already have the book - buy a copy for your local library.

Please pick up the code at Mac's blog and post it on yours!

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Thursday, May 25, 2006

The Heart and Soul of Absolute Write - Jenna Glatzer

I hope you will read the heartfelt post from Jenna Glatzer that appears on her blog "Hot Diggety" tonight.

You know, Jenna, that for every one who speaks up, there are dozens (if not hundreds in your case) of others who are thinking the same things, but feel like someone has already said it better or they are too shy of the spotlight of the internet to participate.

I'm glad you are heartened by what you've seen and what folk have done - you deserve it all and more. I think the outpouring you've seen is only the tip of the iceberg of support for Absolute Write and for you.

Will Absolute Write make it back the 'same as it was before'? I think that, regardless of the physical attributes of the forums when they are re-opened, the answer to that is NO. Things will be different because we've been through this together and it will have changed us. I don't know how, but I do predict a change for the better - a strength and a renewed committment to each other as colleages, supporters, friends.

Gee, poor Barbara Bauer. She thought she'd quiet the naysayers, the critics. Think she's figured out that she picked on the wrong people this time around?

If you want to help out and can't think of a good way to support the cause - try this: Buy The Street Smart Writer, Self-defense Against Sharks and Scams in the Writing World. Here's a link to paste in your blog, then AbsoluteWrite gets a little bit of cash from Amazon, and we can help save someone from the Barbara Bauer's of the world if we pass it on or donate it to our local library.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0974934445/absolutewrite


(Do click this tag - lots of great supportive posts here!)



Hey, I noticed something as I visited the Barbara Bauer technorati tag page to get the html...apparently some folk use a popular tag on their posts just to get people to visit their site. They're not posting about the tag topic. Heck they don't really seem to post much more than links and copy/pastes of yahoo articles, etc.

Sad really - I suppose those kinds of bloggers and Barbara Bauer deserve each other, so go ahead, use the tag.

Picture Is Worth A Thousand Posts...



















More blogs about Barbara Bauer.


Barbara Bauer Technorati Tag in Hot Tags this Hour!!

Yes, they're alphabetical so the BarbaraBauer tag is showing up as #2 after American Idol and before Bush. Good thing her name isn't Zoe. But if you look at the size of the font, it's larger than DaVinci Code - so the tag is being used more :)

In other news, the main page of the Absolute Write website is back! You might need to clear your web browsing cache to see it rather than a referral page, but it's there. Still no firm ETA on the forums.

I want to take this opportunity to thank TNH at Making Light for putting my link on her main post. I have had ooodles of traffic since that time and it's for such a great cause - stopping a scammer!

For fun, if you wanna see the Google Blog Search results for our darling Barbara Bauer, do check this link.

Just took a peek at Macallister Stone's blog - Barbara Bauer has been Wikied! Yep. Life is sooo good.


One Billion Dollars???

Oh this is just precious.

Our "friend" Barbara Bauer didn't like the fact that someone asked a question about her on the WritersWeekly forums. She demanded ONE BILLION DOLLARS. (anyone else hearing Dr. Evil when they read that?)

See, if you're a literary agent who can't sell then how will you spend your time? Apparently on Google looking for your name and then trying to extort money with bogus legal claims like, the unauthorized use of your name on a message board. Right.

Angela Hoy's response on the forum is a pure joy to read.

For those of you AW folk having serious forum withdrawal that the chat room isn't helping, Roger Carlson has a board he has set up and offered to us that you could use - and perhaps he'd add a password protected forum for SYW - here's the link:

http://www.rogerjcarlson.com/forum/writerforum/default.asp

No news here on when the Cooler will be back, sorry. Meanwhile - please write about Barbara, use the tag, link to other bloggers! (My BBBlogroll will be up soon!)

This Just In: BarbaraBauer Tag on Technorati HOT TAGs List!!



Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Help Insure Barbara Bauer's Pyrrhic Victory

We AW Bloggers were going to start an "AW Blogging Event" and I was going to be posting the guidelines of the event here this week. With the site down I not only can't remember all the proposed event details, but I can't tell the whole AW world at once what we're planning and invite them to participate.

So, here are some alternatives for us AW Bloggers - and it's something to help put a scammer in her place, to show a certain Ms Barbara Bauer that she shouldn't mess around with writers - especially those of us at Absolute Write. And to show everyone in the blogosphere that the AW membership is a community, not just a writers' forum.

Some of this is direct cut and paste interspersed with my thoughts and I would like to give all the credit for this idea to the originator, Digital Medievalist. This is technologically "medium" difficulty. I will post an "easy" option next.

There is a new "free content" beta going on at Google. In otherwords, they will host a web page for you for free, if you have a Gmail account (these are easy to get - I have a gazillion invitations I can give away - I'm not kidding, a gazillion).

Google says about this service: "Create your own web pages, quickly and easily. Google Page Creator is a free online tool that finally makes it easy for anyone to create and publish useful, attractive web pages in just minutes."

It's free hosting, and if rumor has it that "Google seems to privilege it's own content" - well, I betcha they'll do that for their own brand new concept... :-)

Now, Digital Medievalist believes (and I agree, wholeheartedly) that it's important that the posts are individual - not some cookie cutter form letter/online petition thing type thing, or straight linking. We're all writers - let's write!

Here's the strategy she conceived:

1. Include a link to the main writer's beware site Writers' Beware 20 Worst Agents

2. Link to and mention Absolute Write, and the Water cooler and what it has meant to you

3. Use your own words, and individualize the post as much as possible, linking to as many others as you can (there are lots of good links in the post below this one and comments thereto) As well as if you check the degenerate Tag page for . Another place is the blogger blog search tool and there's always Google.

(By the way, I did a search on the Blogger search tool, there were 3,015 posts matching barbara bauer - is any publicity *really* good publicity??)

OK - so, I wouldn't ask anyone to do what I hadn't done already. Here's the site

Very simple. Not a lot of bells and whistles, can't see how to customize the template (but I don't really care to) and they have a nice library of standard ones.

Too complicated? Option two:

Link, link, link!!
Start a "BBBlogroll" in your sidebar and put all the links, to all the blog posts about this idiot that you can find, in it. I'll be adding my BBBlogroll soon.

ETA: Miss Snark has two great posts in a row on this. Be sure to add them!!

AW Bloggers - and Anyone Who Hates a Scammer

Please link to this post on Making Light. And this post on At Last! Writer Beware Blogs...
Please post this link for the list of the 20 Worst Agents, too. Make special note of the third name on the (alphabetical) list: Barbara Bauer

You may note that under the words 20 Worst Agents above, I don't have a link to the list but to Barbara Bauer's web site. Isn't that nice of me to give her some publicity. As a scammer. And someone who is *so* busy representing "new talent" that she has the time to harass people who are only telling the truth about Barbara Bauer.

Then, anytime you use the name Barbara Bauer, and friends, and let's use that name a little bit, ok-- Please link to one of those posts or here to my blog, or to another AW blogger who's writing about her or to any of the other links used here as well. Let's also give it some Technorati buzz - I've created a tag (see below).

I'd like to see some of these sites Google very very high against her name - wouldn't you??

Attention All Absolute Write Forum Members!!

Yes, it's true - the site is down. Jenna and her posse are currently working on locating a new hosting company.

We will keep everyone informed about the situation. Please be patient. Your
loyalty is appreciated. Withdrawal can be treated at http://www.starchat.net/chat/?chan=absolutewrite.

In the meantime, please cascade the word to any AWers in your personal
contact list. You can post a copy of this in your blog or link here.

I'll be back later with more news!

Thanks all. Keep the faith.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

The top 10 'weirdest' kids' shows | News.blog | CNET News.com

One of our own AW Bloggers, Matt Dinniman, posted The Top Ten Weirdest, Creepiest, Freakiest Children's Television Shows on his blog. He then submitted it to FARK.com which put it up on it's May 4th front page. If you go to the May 7th archive, scroll down to May 3rd and then look up 4 or 5 posts you'll see it. It got over 360 comments on FARK and 240 comments on his own blog. Now if you visit Fireflies in the Cloud, you'll see a "as featured on c|NET" button in his sidebar. Yep, c|NET picked it up. I told the SO - he was very impressed.

So lets recap here - it was on FARK, a hugely popular site, it was on c|NET, another extremely well trafficked site. So, how in heck could someone think they can post the whole thing on *their* blog, unattributed? And if you read the comments the plagiarist just allows everyone to think he's the one who's very clever. Sad, just sad.

~~~

I went bead crazy again today. This time at Michael's. Now I have all kinds of storage thingies and a bead design board, too. I'm going to make more eyeglass necklace thingies and complementary badge holder necklaces. I was thinking about why all this is making me so happy and it hit me - as a younger person who had very little money, I used to dream of being able to afford all kinds of nifty containers and nicer beads and tools. Now I can. So, it's a dream come true!














If my daughter is reading, she'll laugh at this: I've labeled all the stuff, too, using the SO's label machine...yeah, it's a sickness.
















Oh, the SO has set up his old (couple years is all - it's a PowerBook G4 - he got a new one a couple of months ago and put that one out to pasture) Mac for me to try out. If I really like it better than a PC, I'll be considering a Mac for full time use instead of replacing the VAIO with another VAIO (although those come with cool built in video cameras and the G4 doesn't)


OK, time to post this. Catch ya later!


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Friday, May 19, 2006

I have several draft posts sitting in the editing queue. They're out of date and I won't be bringing them public. They're out of date because I've had a real doozy of a week - thus the lack of bloggage since the 13th.

At work the program I manage is keeping me busy handling one "opportunity" after another (what, you didn't know that opportunity is bizspeak for crisis? ok, maybe not crisis but at least problem) At home I was first getting ready for my dad's visit and then getting ready for my son's departure, the reason for my dad's visit. Although my son moved out back in October, he worked in the area and lived about a mile away and I saw him frequently - spoke to him nearly every day. I say "lived" and "spoke" because Ft. Benning, Georgia is his new home and it's going to be awhile before he gets to call home. He hopes to be in the Army Airborne when he completes his training. He says he's interested in the 101st Airborne - these are the soldiers who drop from helicopters. They are on deployment in Iraq.

So, the boy has enlisted in the Army. He was picked up by his recruiter on Wednesday night - we were all there to say farewell. Although I heard from him briefly that night and again, very briefly, yesterday, I think he flew out today but I'm not certain. I sit here wondering what he's going through and what it's like.

Dad (retired Air Force non-com) and my brother (ex-Navy officer) gave him their advice - my brother's letter to my son brought tears to my eyes. I wish I had a copy but I'm glad my son took it with him and I hope he looks at it when he's feeling particularly low.

Tuesday night we had a nice going away dinner - on the left in the foreground is my dad, my son is the one with the black shirt and pretty girlfriend. He invited two couples along but the ones next to my son (also his former room-mates) didn't make it into the frame and I'm so nearsighted I didn't notice. The other couple are Airsoft team-mates.














The food was great, my son gave a very moving speech, the gist of which was that when he's struggling he will gather strength from the knowledge that we love and support him here at home.

I think I did a good job being strong and brave for him before he left. Now I have to try and do the same for myself.

So in an effort to get my mind off of my son's new employment and my work as well, I went to the bead store and bought a bunch of really wonderful beads. I've already made one of those thingies that you hook onto the eyepieces of your glasses so they can hang around your neck when you're not weaing them (what *are* those called, anyway?) in pink. The beads are various sizes and shapes of pink matte glass, rose quartz, and pink stone that I can't remember the mineral name for - it has black and white bands in it, and silver metallic hearts.

Tomorrow I make the one from all the blue and white chinese porcelain beads. Then I'll do the lavender one. I may make one from an old turquoise necklace, too. I don't ever wear it so this would be a way to get use of it again.

I love crafts - I've done so many of them and wish I had more time to do them still. Beading and needlecrafts were always my favorite. It's nice to have something to do that's creative but stressless.

OK, 'nuff for tonight. I'll try to post again soon. Thanks for hanging in there during the wait.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Bees and Bears Shouldn't Teleport.

Bees and Bears Shouldn't Teleport.

The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree, folks. Go say hi to Dawno's great kid.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

My Daughter Might Be Reading This!

I got a text message from my daughter yesterday. That’s not so unusual, we chat a lot via text. The highlight of my day is when, in the middle of a meeting from hell, with hell’s minions droning on in monotones about the accounting standards issues in the 8th circle of hell that are all going to heaven and who the hell’s to blame for it…I get a text from my baby girl!

Yesterday’s text said something like “btw, ive been reading ur blog. My friend blogs im gonna give her ur url so she can understand ur awesomeness! Im gonna start my own blog when I get motivated and figure it out. I’ll leave tons o comments!”

*sigh* She’s the best daughter a mom could ever hope for.

In other news, my son is starting to fill up the garage with his stuff. Well, I should say trying to find places to fill the garage up even more...and his girlfriend is going to keep the grandkitties. *weep!* I may never see them again.

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Humor

Was over at The Secret Government Eggo Plot just now and took the following test (after reading the current post about American Idol - it's a hoot so you go read it too, ok?)

This is one of those quiz things that's astonishingly accurate about me for such a short list of quesions.

I wish blogger had an "under the cut" feature - this is kind of long. Since it is, I won't post more 'til later.

Enjoy!

The Wit
your humor style:
CLEAN | COMPLEX | DARK



You like things edgy, subtle, and smart. I guess that means you're probably an intellectual, but don't take that to mean pretentious. You realize 'dumb' can be witty--after all isn't that the Simpsons' philosophy?--but rudeness for its own sake, 'gross-out' humor and most other things found in a fraternity leave you totally flat.

I guess you just have a more cerebral approach than most. You have the perfect mindset for a joke writer or staff writer.

Your sense of humor takes the most thought to appreciate, but it's also the best, in my opinion.

You probably loved the Office. If you don't know what I'm
talking about, check it out here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theoffice/.

PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Jon Stewart - Woody Allen - Ricky Gervais