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Joss Whedon on Humanism
Joss Whedon was recently honored with the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism at Harvard University. Part of his acceptance speech is below (link). If you know me, you know that I’ve been a long-time admirer of Whedon as a creator, thinker, and activist as well as a fan of his work, particularly Firefly/Serenity and [...]
Continue reading...Doctorow’s Anti-DRM Address to Publishers
23. April 2009
Cory Doctorow spoke at the O’Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference1 recently and warned against allowing platforms to determine whether or not publishers would use DRM on digital works. Ultimately, Doctorow argues against DRM altogether, and this speech is a concise and convincing presentation of that argument. His message for publishers in particular is that, [...]
Continue reading...Celtx Update Released
23. April 2009
Celtx has just released version 2.0.1. The 2.0 release added a number of features, including the Celtx Studios online component and the ability to add extensions. This latest version fixes a few bugs [release notes]. Celtx makes it easy to format scripts for screenplays, stage plays, AV scripts, audio plays, and even comic books. Big [...]
Continue reading...Amazon is Not Your Friend
13. April 2009
If you don’t already know about the “#amazonfail” controversy that occurred over the weekend, these sources will get you caught up: Neil Gaiman’s explanation of his involvement Two possible explanations for the problem: thing one and thing two Publisher’s Weekly summary and Amazon’s first official response From these, it should also be clear why all of this matters: Amazon [...]
Continue reading...Trusting Others with My Content
18. February 2009
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Yesterday, I wrote a few notes about Zhura, an online collaborative script-writing platform. Overall, I really like it. However, what makes me hesitate to work exclusively on that platform is my concern over what happens with my content. I’m not questioning the integrity of the people behind Zhura, and their terms of use are clear [...]
Continue reading...Zhura: Scripts and More
17. February 2009
It’s been a few months since I’ve thought about the list of writing tools I started to put together, so, in an attempt to get back to that little project, I revisited Zhura, an online script-writing suite. I’m re-impressed by the site and its offerings. Zhura has the typical script-writing tools (easy formatting for screen, stage, [...]
Continue reading...Two Notes on Doctorow's Writing Advice
17. January 2009
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Cory Doctorow has posted details about his writing routine at Locus magazine. It’s a brief collection of some excellent advice.1 Here’s the bulleted list: Short, regular work schedule Leave yourself a rough edge Don’t research Don’t be ceremonious Kill your word processor2 Real-time communication tools are deadly For me, short and regular is ideal. I know many writers dedicate more than 20 [...]
Continue reading...The Public Domain
11. December 2008
I’ve just started reading James Boyle’s The Public Domain, thanks to recent mention on the BoingBoing blog. If Cory Doctorow is to be believed (and he is), then it’s an important book and a good read. What I’ve seen so far confirms that. I’m encouraged by Boyle’s optimism, his assertion that this issue is important for [...]
Continue reading...Lovecraft Rising
31. October 2008
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This is a bibliographic essay that surveys the scholarship and reception of H. P. Lovecraft’s work from 1990 to 2004. More background information about this essay can be found in this post. Lovecraft Rising – Upload a Document to Scribd
Continue reading...Amazon, Shelfari, and LibraryThing
27. August 2008
Amazon just acquired Shelfari along with used and rare book company Abe Books. Abe Books has been a long-time partner with and 40% investor in LibraryThing, a Shelfari competitor, so the Abe Books acquisition also gives Amazon a 40% stake in LibraryThing. A crowded shelf indeed. Details covered by Publishers Weekly and TechCrunch. I’ve never been [...]
Continue reading...Snarky Copyright Comment
19. August 2008
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I thought this comment on a TechCrunch post was wonderfully snarky (and accurate) enough to be quoted and shared: Let me see if I have it right. The discussion centers around: Thieves (illegal downloaders)Freeloaders (can be thieves too, believe Everything should be freeee!!)Stupid Mules (stubborn labels)Artists (content producers: will play for biscuits, new strings, one sheet of [...]
Continue reading...Copyright, Confusion, and Cooperation
21. June 2008
I’ve been collecting posts, videos, etc. related to the copyright controversy in my Del.icio.us account, tagged copyright. As a writer, English teacher, lover of film and literature, and friend of many artists, I’m very concerned about this issue (as a survey of recent posts here should indicate). However, the more I learn, the less sure I [...]
Continue reading...Welcome
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- The World (of English) According to Me - Pt. 1
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- Humanities and the DY/DAN Method
- Copyright, Confusion, and Cooperation
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27. April 2009
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