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Topics - Shrain

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16
Brandon Sanderson / The Hugos, 2006
« on: August 27, 2006, 09:12:43 PM »
Well, for those of us who didn't get to fly out to LA for the con (*sigh*), I thought I would post the results of this year's Hugo Awards ceremony. This seemed like the place to put it since the WorldCon thread's here and we've been rooting for one of our own.

Speaking of which... Sorry you didn't get the Campbell, EUOL. :-/ But, hey, there's still next year!

Looks like Serenity made off with the award for best movie--er, "Dramatic Presentation: Long Form." Hooray! And I'm sure Jeffe's pleased with the winner for the Short Form. Say, I wonder who accepted the award for Serenity... Well, when all the con people get back, maybe we'll get the inside scoop on the whole thing. Hope everyone has a safe trip back!

17
Rants and Stuff / Brits Foil Bombers!
« on: August 10, 2006, 01:44:10 PM »
This is very, very disturbing but thank goodness the Brits foiled the plot involving liquid explosives and carry-on baggage at the last minute.[/quote]. I had no idea about this until my boss mentioned it in passing 'cuz his sister was going to the airport.

They're saying the terrorists planned to kill at least as many as died on 9/11. But this time it would be over the ocean. No place to land if someone discovered the plan.... I sure wonder why this wasn't uncovered earlier! Regardless, I am so thankful that the score is Brits 1 Al-Qaida 0.  :D

EDIT: ummm, sorry the link was "wonky" in e's words. I cut and paste the html code and kinda forgot to update the link addy.  :-[

18
Rants and Stuff / No, ipod, don't DIE!
« on: June 22, 2006, 11:43:04 AM »
Nooooo, my ipod is acting all wacky.  :'( Oddly enough, it's not my ipod's battery that's going as you might expect. It's the click wheel that's all fouled up.

Most of the time, it won't work at all, acts like it's frozen or something. So I can't change playlists or adjust the volume. ERG! Or sometimes it will adjust the volume in a very jerky manner, blasting my eardrums with unexpected decibles. :P Ideas?? Is there a way to clean it out or something? A couple times, I clicked the Hold button on for a sec and then thumbed it off, and that seemed to shock the clickwheel into working again, but... It really sucks.

19
Movies and TV / How To Eat Fried Worms. Mmmm.
« on: June 14, 2006, 10:46:07 PM »
Cue the nostalgia. Anyone else ever read How To Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell as a kid? Yeah, I thought it was gross but hilarious. Now just look at this, it's going to be a movie! Trailer doesn't make it look half bad. Oh, and most importantly, their caveat: "No worms were harmed in the making of this film." lol.

20
Movies and TV / So Mormons Can Dance!
« on: June 14, 2006, 10:31:34 PM »
haha. Okay, I admit it, I've been watching So You think You Can Dance on Fox. There's this kid, Benji Schwimmer, that I really thought was awesome. Western Swing Dance champion, come to find out. But I kept thinking,  "There's something about him....." I started wondering if he was Mormon.

And he is! So weird. I thought I was imagining things--until he said something about how certain "stuff" like intimacy is for after marriage. Big clue there. Then he mentioned on stage how he was "away" for two years. A judge asked, "Doing what?" "Serving a mission for my church in Mexico." A ha! I knew it. Anyway, he's hilarious.

I'll bet that his cousin, Heidi Groskreutz, is also a member too. They were spectacular to watch doing their swing routine. The kind of dancing that makes you grin when you watch.

21
Books / The Heirs of Steinbeck
« on: June 13, 2006, 01:23:23 PM »
Just thought this bit of news was interesting:

Steinbeck Heirs Get Early Win


by Jim Milliot, PW Daily -- 6/13/2006
   Article  

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owen has ruled that a son and granddaughter of John Steinbeck hold the publishing rights to 10 Steinbeck works, including Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath and The Red Pony. Penguin has long been Steinbeck’s publisher, releasing his works under an agreement between the company and Steinbeck’s estate.

Last year, Thomas Steinbeck and Blake Smyle filed suit over control of the copyrights, and in his ruling Judge Owen found that copyright law gives heirs the right to renegotiate rights to works whose value has increased since the original deal was signed. Publishing attorney Lloyd Jassin noted the decision reflects the fact that under copyright law if an author of a pre-1978 work dies during the first 28-year term of copyright, the author's copyright stays in the family. “Even if that author assigned or willed his or her copyrights to a third party, the author’s statutory successors as determined by the Copyright Act, not unrelated third parties, would own the renewal term,” Jassin explained.

Although Penguin stopped short of saying they will appeal the decision, an appeal appears all but certain. “The decision issued by the district court last week is but the first round in what will be a long and complicated process,” Penguin’s Maureen Donnelly said in a statement. “Some of Steinbeck's classics published by Penguin are affected by the this decision; the purported terminations will not take effect for most of them for many years in the future.”



22
Books / Sarah's Food Book: Hot off the Presses!
« on: May 14, 2006, 06:14:35 PM »
Hello all!

So... many of you are aware of--or perhaps even a contributor to--the food project I put together for my Book Design class that features a smorgasbord of stomach-churning food aversions. Yes, from Cloven Shrimp to Mayo Madness and A Spritely Mouse, you might just be skipping lunch.  

Here are the "lucky" TWGers whose stories made the cut: Stacer, SE, FMP, Oldie, Fuzzy, Fell's Mumm and 42 (sort of). (My apologies if I didn't have room to include yours!)

Unfortunately, I can't afford to give away comp copies to all those who contributed, no matter how much I'd like to do so. Yet I figured I could at least give everyone a taste. I have the PDF file of the manuscript and an InDesign file with the cover art. Just shoot me an email, and I'll send it to you if I haven't already. shrain78 @ yahoo.com  

However, if you're interested, I can get you a real copy--you know, so you can prove to your friends that you are indeed, to use a Bostonian adjective, wicked famous.  

I am ordering a few copies for myself @ $10/each (the prod. costs are high because it's a four-color project). I can order a few more, though, if anyone wants one. Including shipping, I'd say $15/copy would cover it. Only problem is that I need to know ASAP! By Tuesday if possible.  

I know, I know, I should have done this long ago, but moving, finishing my classes, and a hodge podge of other events conspired against me.  Besides, since I myself had a tough time coming up with money for this, I know the cost might be prohibitive. Still, I should've thought to leave it up to you guys. So bon appétit and have a lovely Sunday evening. Oh, and don't forget to call Mom and thank her for all those homemade casseroles and goodies!

23
Rants and Stuff / Sarah's Food Book: Hot off the Presses!
« on: May 14, 2006, 06:12:06 PM »
Hello all!

So... many of you are aware of--or perhaps even a contributor to--the food project I put together for my Book Design class that features a smorgasbord of stomach-churning food aversions. Yes, from Cloven Shrimp to Mayo Madness and A Spritely Mouse, you might just be skipping lunch.

Here are the "lucky" TWGers whose stories made the cut: Stacer, SE, FMP, Oldie, Fuzzy, Fell's Mum, and 42 (sort of). (My apologies if I didn't have room to include yours!)

Unfortunately, I can't afford to give away comp copies to all those who contributed, no matter how much I'd like to do so. Yet I figured I could at least give everyone a taste. I have the PDF file of the manuscript and an InDesign file with the cover art. Just shoot me an email, and I'll send it to you if I haven't already. shrain78 @ yahoo.com

However, if you're interested, I can get you a real copy of your very own--you know, to prove to your friends that you are indeed, to use a Bostonian adjective, wicked famous. 8)

I am ordering a few copies for myself @ $10/each (the prod. costs are high because it's a four-color project). I can order a few more, though, if anyone wants one. Including shipping, I'd say $15/copy would cover it. Only problem is that I need to know ASAP! By Tuesday if possible.

I know, I know, I should have done this long ago, but moving, finishing my classes, and a hodge podge of other events conspired against me. :P Besides, since I myself had a tough time coming up with money for this, I know the cost might be prohibitive. Still, I should've thought to leave it up to you guys. So bon appétit and have a lovely Sunday evening. Oh, and don't forget to call Mom and thank her for all those homemade casseroles and goodies! ;D

24
Rants and Stuff / "Salary Requirement" Headache
« on: March 17, 2006, 06:15:02 PM »
To Stacer (and other in-the-know people):

Um, I'm getting awfullly frustrated with trying to estimate the "salary requirements" for different publishing jobs when the Monster Salary Center and the Salary.com site just don't have matching categories. grrr. All I really need is a baseline for EA type positions located in NY or Boston that involve more responsibilities than most. I mean, I know EA's are the "gophers" of publishing, but I've come across a lot of EA positions that seem particularly involved.

I'm thinking it's at least somewhere in the 30-40k range, but I don't want to come off like an idiot by giving a salary req. that's way high or way low, esp. given all my experience. *sigh* Help!

25
Rants and Stuff / Best o' Luck, stacer!
« on: March 15, 2006, 11:34:54 PM »
Hey, stacer.

If you get this before you go in for sinus surgery (tomorrow, I think), I just wanted to send you my best wishes. Here's hoping that the surgery's a big success and you won't get sick nearly as often. Do you have to miss a few days of work? (I don't have much of an idea how long recovery takes.)

Anyhow, good luck. Feel better soon 'cuz we'll miss you. :'(

26
Everything Else / On-Call Editor @ BYU
« on: March 02, 2006, 02:34:34 AM »
Hey, this is for those of you in UT who might want work as a freelance editor at BYU. Mel Thorne at the HPC sent out an email to past editing interns about this job opening. It doesn't do me much good seeing as how I'm in MA now. But I thought some of you might be interested.

Oh, one other job lead. He also wrote: "within a few days (weeks?) a regular half-time position will be posted for a managing editor for the faculty editing service, which Marv Gardner directs."

Good luck ('tis the month for it!)

27
Rants and Stuff / Boston SW Exhibit Pics
« on: February 25, 2006, 10:04:01 PM »
For those of you who love SW:

Back in Jan., my bro, Eric, and I went to the spectacular SW exhibit at the MoS in Boston. Impressive! Everything from an AT-AT and a thermal detonator to Vader's original costume. So now that I've *finally* put the pics online, I thought some of you might like a trip to a Galaxy Far, Far Away (in Boston). :D

28
Everything Else / Yo, 42!
« on: February 23, 2006, 05:57:33 PM »
Hey, 42, remember how you mentioned a story your 1st-grade teacher with that big-time mayo aversion? Well, I've gotten so many mayo stories that I'm going to devote a whole section of my article to it (and to applesauce, mac 'n' cheese, and spices-gone-wrong). Think you could be so awesome as to write the story up for me? I'd really appreciate getting one more! Thanks.

29
Books / Piracy
« on: February 14, 2006, 01:27:09 PM »
Here's an interesting headline from PW today:

Piracy Losses Put at $606 Million
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6307509.html

30
Everything Else / Torino!
« on: February 13, 2006, 02:52:51 PM »
Okay, since I've been in bed the past two days with a flu, I've been watching DVDs as well as the Olympics. Boy, I forgot how fun it was to watch the events. I'm not really much of a sports enthusiast, but I like winter sports more than summer, I think.

I watched Shawn White, the "Flying Tomato", snag the gold in snowboarding. Sweet. The Americans didn't sweep the half pipe medals this time. Still, they did pretty good. Although... their uniforms looked like old-fashioned striped pajamas. No, really. Hmm, maybe it's just part of the whole "rebel" thing?

I also watched some short track skating. But I want to watch some pair figure skating tonight. Oooh, and maybe some curling because it's just sooo mesmerizing. lol. Well, we'll see. Anyone else watching the competition in Torino?

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