Links of the Week, Vol. 2, Issue 5

http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/20-awesomely-untranslatable-words-from-around-the-world/ — 20 Awesomely Untranslatable Words From Around The World

http://bit.ly/dvXW35 — 20 Obsolete English Words Which Should Make a Comeback (this one comes courtesy of Mary Robinette Kowal and is quite amusing)

http://lilt.ilstu.edu/golson/punctuation/ — brilliantly helpful, simplified post on how to correctly use key punctuation in English. Very useful for writers.

http://www.forwriters.com/taxes.html –Taxes For Writers, a historical and contemporary view

http://www.sparkfun.com/marcomm/Heaterizer-Instructions-01.jpg — a rarity, a product manual that’s fun, even entertaining, to read. The Heaterizer.

http://www.mbranesf.com/2011/02/two-spaces-controversy-and-other-notes.html – Important commentary on manuscript formatting and the whole “double space/full stop” controversy from MBraneSF. I heartily agree with them.

http://community.livejournal.com/sfwa/210297.html — 10 great resources for writing hard space-based SF from my friend Mike Brotherton

Links of the Week, Vol. 2, Issue 4

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/kitty_pet — funny truth for cat owners.

http://linkd.in/fvhoul — Top 5 Internet Marketing Ideas You Probably Don’t Know About.  Good tips for writers especially.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLM — From my friend Jay Lake, one of the funnier videos I’ve seen in a while with a musician ranting about hating “Pachelbel’s Canon.”

http://ingridsnotes.wordpress.com/2010/07/14/query-letter-suicide/ — what not to write in your query letters from agent Jill Corcoran

http://jillcorcoran.blogspot.com/2010/04/formula-for-query-letter.html — Agent Jill Corcoran’s Formula For A Query Letter


http://www.tobiasbuckell.com/2011/01/27/writing-on-the-high-seas/ — Interesting thoughts on Piracy from Tobias Bucknell

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/science/03planet.html?_r=2&emc;=eta1 — 1200 new planets discovered? Vey exciting stuff!

Links Of The Week, Vol. 2, Issue 3

http://shunn.livejournal.com/524615.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm;_medium=twitter — A great example from Bill Shunn of the “entitlement gone wrong” mentality plaguing our society. This kind of crap goes on all the time and it always ticks me off.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/01/13/pope-benedict-reconciles-science-religion/?test=faces – Pope Benedict reconciles God and the Big Bang.  Interesting.

http://emunderwood.com/2011/01/15/2011-publishers-round-table/ — Discussion on the future of publishing with Del Rey Spectra, Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine, and Small Beer Press.

http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2011/01/you-can-have-my-double-space-when-you-pry-it-from-my-cold-dead-hands/69592/ — funny diatribe re: double spacing after sentences and learning to type on a typewriter

http://gizmodo.com/5736217/scientist-discovers-time-teleportation — Is Time Travel possible?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17jymDn0W6U&feature;=player_embedded — The Universe as we know it in a stunning video

http://www.classicshorts.com/index.shtml — source of classic short stories online to read for enjoyment or learning

http://bit.ly/dYtkdS — a funny cartoon courtesy of my friend Rajan Khanna.

 http://yfrog.com/gy6jzmj  a funny indictment of the political process.  

 http://bit.ly/gdE9lz — TOR.com examines religious science fiction

Links Of The Week, Vol. 2, Issue 2

http://io9.com/5714039/the-14-best-speculative-fiction-books-of-2010 – includes books reviewed here among others.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/01/10/big-news-first-solid-exoplanet-found/?utm_source=feedburner&utm;_medium=feed&utm;_campaign=Feed:+BadAstronomyBlog+(Bad+Astronomy)&utm;_content=FaceBook — First solid exoplanet found.  Fascinating science.

http://theadventurouswriter.com/blogwriting/editing-and-proofreading-tips-%E2%80%93-5-ways-to-proofread-your-writing/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm;_medium=twitter — Editing  & Proofreading Tips to Improve Your Own Writing

http://m.smh.com.au/victoria/river-rescue-as-sex-toy-ditches-rider-20110117-19sra.html — one of the funnier news stories I’ve read in a long while.

http://beta.io9.com/#!5735083/10-flame+throwing-contraptions-thatll-keep-those-dang-kids-off-your-lawn – Another great laugh from I09: Flame Throwing Contraptions That’ll Keep Those Dang Kids Off Your Lawn

http://www.heroicfantasyquarterly.com/ — A newly discovered market and source of heroic fantasy stories: Heroic Fantasy Quarterly.  Some good reading here.

http://beta.io9.com/#!5733980/downbelow-station-heres-how-you-write-a-novel — From IO9, Here’s How You Write a Novel: Revising CJ Cherryh’s “Down Below Station”

Links Of The Week, Vol. 2, Issue 1

http://eruditeogre.blogspot.com/2010/12/idea-train-and-alluring-countryside.html — thoughtful post on the internet as a distraction for writers.

http://bit.ly/eRAvt4 — writer Jason Sanford’s essay on how one famous writer’s tendency to accuse others of plaigarism has harmed his own legacy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12093345 — scientists rethinking the theories of human ancestry

http://www.theonion.com/articles/robots-speak-out-against-asimovs-first-law-of-robo,4236/ – good laugh for Asimov and SF fans

http://www.locusmag.com/Perspectives/2011/01/cory-doctorow-net-neutrality-for-writers-its-all-about-the-leverage/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm;_medium=twitter — Thoughts on net neutrality & copyright from Cory Doctorow

http://blogs.hbr.org/samuel/2011/01/social-medai-in-2011-who-will.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm;_medium=feed&utm;_campaign=Feed%3A%20harvardbusiness%20%28HBR.org%29&utm;_content=Google%20Reader — Very important advice on thinking before you act when it comes to using Social Media and the Internet from Alexandra Samuel, Director of the Social and Interactive Media Center at Emily Carr University.

http://motherboard.tv/2011/1/4/nasa-picks-its-best-and-worst-science-fiction-movies–2 — NASA’s Best & Worst SF Movies.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/40943737#40943737 — Homeless man Ted Williams tells his story on TODAY.

Links Of The Week Issue 2

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Explorations-The-BN-SciFi-and/The-Best-Science-Fiction-Releases-of-2010/ba-p/778696 – Paul Goat Allen’s ongoing series in best of Science Fiction books for 2010.

http://www.redgage.com/blogs/darkbow/four-indie-fantasy-authors-youve-probably-never-heard-of.html – Fantasy authors you haven’t heard of but should look for, includes my World Fantasy Con roomie Moses Siregar.

http://www.atfmb.com/2010/12/30/conversations-with-my-cat-51/ — Funny post about a conversation Patrick Hester had with his cat which all cat owners can relate to.

http://ht.ly/3dkvp — 100 Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Plot (good writing stimulation)

http://io9.com/5719944/ — I09’s Power People in Science Fiction & Fantasy for 2010

New Feature: Links Of The Week

I tweet a lot of links and such as I come across worthwhile stuff throughout the week. I’ve decided to start listing the best of them here so that those who don’t use Twitter or don’t keep up with all the links have a chance to track them down later.  I hope you enjoy this.  Links are listed followed by a brief description. Where they relate to posts on this blog, it’s noted.  Enjoy!

http://theinvisiblegorilla.com/blog/2010/12/24/dont-change-your-worldview-based-on-one-study/ interesting examination of the importance of not taking scientific studies at face value.

http://tonymorganlive.com/2010/12/24/9-in-2010-ladies-how-to-welcome-a-man-home/ — the way any man would want to be welcomed, ladies.

http://locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/TableT13.htmlLocus magazine’s updated list of most award winning and losing Science Fiction and Fantasy writers.


http://bit.ly/eEytl4 — reviewer Paul Goat Allen’s annual Barnes & Noble list of Year’s Best Fantasy for 2010. Features books by several friends and others, several of which are reviewed on this blog. [See them under the hastag ‘Review’]


http://bit.ly/hNbUwO — Paul Goat Allen’s Best Steampunk of 2010 list from Barnes & Noble’s site. Again, relevant book reviews may be viewed on this blog.


http://jakebible.com/2010/12/28/growing-up-fundamentalist-pagan/ — interesting article on growing up fundamentalist…pagan. Examines how such strong beliefs effect a writer’s work.


http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/12/photographs-of-the-worlds-first-aircraft-carrier-resurface/68567/ — unearthed lost photos of the first aircraft carrier. Fascinating for history and aviation buffs.