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I'd Like To Buy The World A Coke. Again.

Many famous advertising campaigns were laid to rest over the years. Then suddenly they were brought back to life. The Coca-Cola "Hilltop" ad has been revived over and over and over again. Here's why.



  • Radio/Under the Influence

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5 takeaways from Dr. Anthony Fauci's new memoir




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M4 Mac mini's efficiency is incredible




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La ONU avala el filme catalán de animación ‘Mariposas negras’ contra el cambio climático

Después de una larga investigación, el documentalista David Baute llega a una conclusión. “A estas alturas ya no podemos ir con muchos paños calientes”, dice. via Pocket




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Everything I've learned so far about running local LLMs

Over the past month I’ve been exploring the rapidly evolving world of Large Language Models (LLM). It’s now accessible enough to run a LLM on a Raspberry Pi smarter than the original ChatGPT (November 2022). A modest desktop or laptop supports even smarter AI.




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El retorn a les monedes, una qüestió de seguretat nacional a Suècia

CopenhaguenEls bitllets i les monedes gairebé són una cosa del passat a Suècia, on en els últims anys els diners en efectiu pràcticament han desaparegut dels comerços i de les butxaques dels suecs. via Pocket




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La vaga de lloguers, una eina sense encaix legal que alguns experts veuen viable com a litigi contra fons d’inversió

“O s’abaixen els preus, o vaga de lloguers”. Aquesta és la consigna que han llançat les organitzacions en defensa de l’habitatge en els últims mesos. via Pocket




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Los vecinos del Besòs apremian a combatir el barraquismo: "Episodios como la DANA pueden ser una catástrofe" | El Periódico

La Coordinadora Vecinal del Baix Besòs ha emitido un comunicado para apremiar a las administraciones públicas a aportar una solución definitiva al barraquismo con presencia en los márgenes del río Besòs desde hace años. via Pocket




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'I'm a Natural-Born Killer': Mike Tyson Highlights the Difference Between Him and YouTuber Jake Paul

YouTuber Jake Paul and boxing heavyweight legend Mike Tyson are finally set to battle in their much-anticipated match at AT&T Stadium in Dallas on Friday night.

The post ‘I’m a Natural-Born Killer’: Mike Tyson Highlights the Difference Between Him and YouTuber Jake Paul appeared first on Breitbart.




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Sites and Sounds: Let the Dance Begin! Eswatini's Umhlanga Reed Dance Ceremony

One of the most significant cultural events in all of Africa is about to take place in the Kingdom of Eswatini, the southern African nation formerly known as Swaziland.




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Julia Michaels Begins New Era With 'Heaven II'

Julia Michaels marks the beginning of a brand-new era with the release of her latest single, 'Heaven II,'




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Within Destruction Unleash 'Kanashibari' Video

Within Destruction, Slovenia's most awesomely audacious, genre defying metal act, have unleashed brand new single 'Kanashibari,'




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At The Opera, Verdi's Otello (1961), June 24, 2023

Tune in at 8pm to her Giuseppe Verdi's penultimate opera, Otello staring Mario del Monaco, Renata Tebaldi and Aldo Protti.




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At The Opera, Ottorino Respighi"s "Belfagore" (1989), July 15, 2023

Tune in at 8pm tp hear an At The Opera debut of Ottorino Respighi's Belfagor staring Sylvia Sass.




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At The Opera, Verdi's I Masnadieri or The Robbers (1983), August 5, 2023

Tune in at 8pm to hear the seldom performed opera by Giuseppe Verdi, I Masnadieri (The Robbers) staring Samuel Ramey, Franco Bonisolli, Joan Sutherland and Matteo Manuguerra recorded in 1983 on DECCA.




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At The Opera, Ponchielli's La Gioconda (1981), August 12, 2023

Tune in at 8pm to hear host Sean Bianco's favorite opera Amilcare Ponchielli's La Gioconda. This 1981 recording stars Monserrat Caballe, Luciano Pavarotti, Agnes Baltsa, Sherrill Milnes and Nicolai Ghiaurov. Don't miss this amazing Italian opera!




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At The Opera, Renata Scotto Tribute and Bellini's Il Pirata (1959), August 19, 2023

Tune in at 8pm to hear a special tribute to honor the passing of Soprano Renata Scotto on August 16th at the age of 89 followed by the feature opera Bellini's Il Pirata staring Maria Callas recorded live in 1959.




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At The Opera, Puccini's Il Trittico, August 26, 2023

Tune in at 8pm to hear Giacomo Puccini's Il Trittico (3 one act operas) staring Renata Scotto in Il Tabarro and Suor Angelica and Tito Gobbi in Gianni Schicchi.




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PAUL DI'ANNO's Family Posts Statement On His Cause Of Death

His sisters Cheryl and Michelle have posted on Di'Anno's Facebook page.




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Dentro de los apartamentos de Aurora que se hicieron famosos por las afirmaciones de ocupación de pandillas, los residentes se preguntan qué sigue

Los representantes de CBZ Management han creado una campaña pública para culpar los problemas del complejos de apartamentos de Aurora a las actividades recientes de las pandillas.





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Center Stage: Ledisi's Top Musical Feats



The many pieces of Ledisi.




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Příběh bratrů Menendezových: druhá řada netflixovského cyklu Monstrum neví, zda je dokument, nebo seriál

Jelikož true crime seriálů z produkce Netflixu diváci zjevně nemají dost, na streamovací platformě běží příběh o bratrech Menendezových. Jedná se o druhou řadu seriálu Iana Brennana a Ryana Murphyho Monstrum, v tomto případě Monstra; první sezóna se věnovala Jeffreymu Dahmerovi. Jen chvíli po premiéře druhé řady vyšel o bratrech, kteří zabili své rodiče, i dokument. Možná kvůli tomu, nebo kvůli dokončované další řadě Monster, se bratrům Menendezovým od tvůrců nedostalo dostatečné péče…




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Trump a podivný sen libertariánských miliardářů o vlastních královstvích

Během předvolební kampaně Donalda Trumpa se pozornost soustředila především na jeho kontroverzní výroky a soudní stíhání. Daleko zajímavější pohled ale skýtá volební program zveřejněný na Trumpových osobních stránkách. Nejenže napovídá, kdo za jeho kampaní stál, ale také, po čem šedé eminence v jejím pozadí touží. Pokud se například naplní sliby vizionářské sekce Kvantový skok, mohou v USA brzy vzniknout samosprávné městské mikrostáty ovládané autoritářskými miliardáři. V programu Donalda Trumpa pro ně existuje hezké jméno Freedom Cities – Města svobody.




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Zločin, korupce, prostitutky: Drsný New York 70. let zachycen na vzácných fotografiích

Ekonomická krize tehdy zasáhla celé Spojené státy, ale na New York dopadla s drtivou silou. Během let 1969 až 1974 přišlo v tomto městě o práci na půl milionu dělníků. Více jak milion domácností se tak stalo závislými na podpoře státu s mizernými vyhlídkami na jakékoliv zlepšení. 




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I've Been Working on Something



Hey gang, it’s David. It’s been a while!

In 2021, I archived Strobist as a completed project. I can’t honestly say that I’ve missed the breakneck pace of running a solo site. But I’ve definitely missed interacting with so many cool people all of the time.

That said, I am still teaching. X-Peditions gives me the twin advantages much smaller class sizes, plus being in Hanoi every fall. And that’s been wonderful.

Better yet, my new schedule has given me the breathing room to be able build my current project. Like Strobist, this project is designed for photographers. But unlike this website, it has nothing at all to do with flash.



Today I’m introducing my new book, The Traveling Photographer’s Manifesto. It aspires to be for traveling photographers what Strobist always tried to be for lighting photographers.

The premise of the book is that your camera can, and should, be much more than just a pricey recording device when you travel. It can also serve as a passport, opening up new connections and possibilities that otherwise might not have happened.

Using a photo trip to Southeast Asia as a framework, the book walks through many things that you can do to help this to happen.

I have uploaded three documents to help you to know if TTPM might be suited for you:


1. A 5-minute summary: This will quickly give you a feel for the book.

2. A 27-page supplement: Only a small portion of the book, which is unillustrated, is about camera operation. This visual supplement is available for readers who are more visual learners. And it will give you a quick skim of parts 4 and 5.

3. A sample chapter: How to become more comfortable meeting and engaging with people as a photographer.


As you'll see from the summary, most of the book is not about camera operation at all. It’s more about the countless little things that working photojournalists do while on assignment that an enthusiast might not think of.

These little habits, taken together, can start to form the impression of a photographer being consistently, conspicuously lucky. When in reality, luck had very little to do with it.

So, if this is the sort of thing that interests you, I hope you’ll give the book a spin. It is available now, on Amazon.com worldwide.

Just as with Strobist, I welcome your feedback from this project as well. My email is listed on the copyright page and elsewhere. And of course, I will read and take to heart every Amazon review. Because my goal is for the project to continue to evolve and improve over time, just as the material on this website did.

Thanks for your interest, and for your readership of Strobist. As always, please say hi at any time on Twitter at @Strobist.


Cheers,
David


The Traveling Photographer’s Manifesto (Amazon.com)




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I'm a Canine Good Citizen!


Hi Everyone, it's me, Grace. You might remember that a couple of years ago I earned my Canine Good Citizen award with my foster dad. Well, my mom said to me about a month ago, "Hey Grace, I know you already know this stuff, but what do you say you and I take the Canine Good Citizen test again?" So I told her I would do it again, just for her if it would make her feel good.


So we practiced all these things like sitting, staying, coming, not pulling on the leash, and passing by dogs nicely without staring at them. I didn't mind it at all, because she gave me lots of treats for doing it.




This past weekend I went with my family to this place with a ton of dogs. They called it a "dog show", but there was no TV there. Anyway, I had to wait for a long time and finally, I heard them call my me and my mom's names and we went into this fenced area. There was a lady with a blue shirt and she told my mom to have me do all these things. She kept saying "nice" after I did them.




After about 10 minutes of doing what she asked me to do, my mom looked very happy and gave me a delicious beef tendon and told me we had passed the Canine Good Citizen test. It was a great day.





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Sochi's Winter Olympic preparations 'impressive'

Ski Sunday presenter Ed Leigh is wowed by Sochi two years ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics





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Opportunity knocks for USMNT's Ricardo Pepi: 'I'm feeling ready to be the man'

With several U.S. men's national team strikers out with injuries, 21-year-old Ricardo Pepi has a golden opportunity to prove why he deserves to be Mauricio Pochettino top choice up top.




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UK-to-US Word of the Year 2023: if I'm honest

Each year since 2006, this blog has designated Transatlantic Words of the Year (WotY). The twist is that I choose the most 'of the year' borrowings from US-to-UK and from UK-to-US.  The question this year raises is: does 2023 deserve SbaCL Words of the Year?

The eligibility criteria remain:

  • Good candidates for SbaCL WotY are expressions that have lived a good life on one side of the Atlantic but for some reason have made a splash on the other side of the Atlantic this year. 
  • Words coined this year are not really in the running. If they moved from one place to another that quickly, then it's hard to say that they're really "Americanisms" or "Britishisms". They're probably just "internetisms". The one situation in which I could see a newly minted word working as a transatlantic WotY would be if the word/expression referenced something very American/British but was nevertheless taken on in the other country.
  • When I say word of the year, I more technically mean lexical item of the year, which is to say, there can be spaces in nominations. Past space-ful WotYs have included gap year, Black Friday, and go missing. I've also been known to declare a pronunciation the Word of the Year.

The UK > US WotY was nominated by Nancy Friedman and endorsed by Ben Yagoda. It is most definitely a phrase:

if I'm honest

In Ben's post the phrase is associated with Great British Bake-Off (AmE: Great British Baking Show) judge Paul Hollywood. When I looked for it on YouGlish, there were a whole slew of examples from the British (BrE) motoring show Top Gear, on which they review cars. In both program(me)s, the phrase is useful in softening criticisms (which both shows have a lot of) by framing them as a truths expressed with some reservation. If I'm honest marks something as an admission of some sort. It's similar to to be honest, which has long been said in the US (and the UK) for much the same reason. (And then there's honestly, which I'll come back to.)

Here are some recent American uses of the phrase:
  • Ryan Gosling, on being cast as Ken in Barbie:  "I just decided I was going to Ken as hard as I can. I Kenned in the morning; I Kenned at night. If I’m honest, I’m Kenning a little right now.”
  • A Real Housewife of Potomac, on getting divorced: "I've just been a little bit complacent about it, if I'm honest, because there are benefits to being married."
  • A Manhattanite writing about an experiment in sustainable living: "If I’m honest, part of me hoped to find the challenge untenable so I could say the cure was worse than the disease and give up."
  • A Chicago police officer commenting on the city's mayoral race: “If I’m honest, I think Catanzara may have some blame here”

These kinds of phrases are discourse markers. They do not add factual meaning to the sentence they're in, but rather make a comment on the speaker's attitude, or stance, toward(s) what they're saying. 

Is it a British phrase? Yes. Here is if I *m honest (i.e., if I'm honest or if I am honest) in the 2012 data of the Corpus of Global Web-Based English, where it occurs 7.6 times more often in BrE than in AmE. (Click on the images to embiggen them.)


And here it is in British sources in the News on the Web Corpus: 


In the 2012 data, the phrase occurs at a much higher rate in GloWbE than in NOW—the NOW number only reaches GloWbE's rate (1.8 per million words) in 2023—because the types of texts in the two corpora are different—there's more variety and informal language on GloWbE. That's something worth keeping in mind when we look at the US numbers. Speaking of which, here they are:


A few things to notice here:
  • Yes, the phrase is going up in AmE news, from 0.08 per million words to 0.19 over the past 13 years. 
  • But it's still below the 2012 GloWbe number (0.24 pmw). One would imagine that if we had current data that was collected in the same way as GloWbE, we'd see a lot more there. 
  • And it's wayyyyyy below the British numbers.
  • A country music album had the title If I'm Honest in 2016, which helps (to) account for the higher number then.

Here's a view of the Google Books numbers, comparing If I'm honest with To be honest (though keep in mind that to be honest here is not necessarily the discourse marker. It could be in any number of sentences about honesty.)

And a comparison of it with the equivalent if I'm being honest, which is less common, but making a move in AmE.



The pictures (and numbers) tell the story of a British expression that's become more and more common in BrE, and that has raised American exposure to (and use of) it. But note that it's rising far faster in BrE than in AmE. So, does it meet the first of my eligibility criteria? Maybe not. But it's what I've got for this year!


P.S.  Honestly

Honestly, used as a discourse marker in a sentence seems to be more common in AmE. But as a stand-alone expression of exasperation, it seems more common in BrE (Honestly!). It's definitely more common from the BrE speakers in my house than from me, but maybe I'm just more exasperating to live with than they are. Here are searches with punctuation from GloWbE:







Will there be a US-to-UK WotY?  To be honest, it's unclear at this point! 




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Joe Biden Gets Trolled With His Cringey 'I'm On Team Joe' Campaign

Poor ol' Joe Biden has been the subject of many memes in this election cycle. Whether you love him or hate him, you have to admit that they've been pretty amusing. This particular meme mocks a campaign avatar where one can insert their image next to text that says "I'm on team Joe!" It's moderately cringey to say the least, but cringey makes for the best meme material.




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Seven & i's reported offer and the biggest management buyouts to date

Japan's Seven & i Holdings said on Wednesday it has received a buyout proposal from its vice president who is a member of its founding Ito family.




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Factbox-Seven & i's reported offer and the biggest management buyouts to date

In This Article: By Kane Wu HONG KONG (Reuters) - Japan's Seven & i Holdings said on Wednesday it has received a buyout proposal from its vice president who is a member of its founding Ito family. The statement follows a Bloomberg report that the 7-Eleven owner was considering a management buyout…




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I'm Not Cute




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Now that I'm comfortable, you may sit down.




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I'll wait for the red one !




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I've Written And Deleted So Many Posts

Might be best to shut up for a bit.





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"An hour a day can be enough." Victor Piñeiro Gives Writing Advice and Discusses His MG Debut TIME VILLAINS

By Sara Truuvert

When your novel is deemed "the greatest idea for a book ever", you're probably on to something. That certainly seems to be the case for debut author Victor Piñeiro, whose novel Time Villains has garnered a starred review from Kirkus and a spot as an Amazon Best Book of the Month. The book promises time-hopping high jinx, historic and literary Easter eggs, and even some one-sentence Puerto Rican recipes.

Time Villains follows sandwich-obsessed Javi Santiago, who has to nail his homework assignment if he wants to pass sixth grade. The assignment seems simple enough: if you could invite any three people to dinner, who would they be? Plus, Javi has his best friend Wiki and little sister Brady to help him. What could go wrong? Turns out, a lot! The trio accidentally uses an antique dining table to summon the dinner guests for real. Now, Blackbeard the Pirate is on the loose, and Javi, Wiki, and Brady must figure out how to send him back (perhaps with the help of other historical figures...). Time Villains is the first novel in a three-part series. It launched on July 6th, 2021 with Sourcebooks and is widely available to order

Victor Piñeiro is an author and a Creative Director at HBO Max. He has also done a multitude of other cool things, like teach, make documentaries, lead content/social strategies for Big Spaceship, YouTube, Hasbro, and Google, and answer these interview questions while caring for his two-week-old child. You can find out more about Victor on his website, Twitter, and Instagram

Q. A huge congratulations on your literary debut! Would you tell me a bit about your journey to publication?

A. Thank you! Being a published author has been the dream since I was a kid, so it’s been quite the journey! In my teens and twenties I couldn’t silence my inner critic long enough to write novels, so I turned to poetry and screenplays, writing and producing documentaries for a spell. I finally coaxed a book out in 2017 after writing daily on my (long) commute for three years. It was a very unconventional first book—the only kind I could coax out on my first try—so I shelved it and started working on Time Villains

Three drafts in I sent Time Villains to a bunch of agents, and after chatting with a few, a friend put me in touch with Elana Roth Parker. I feel so incredibly lucky to work with Elana—she saw the seed of something in my draft and we developed it into something far more compelling. When Annie Berger at Sourcebooks showed interest in the book, it felt like winning the lottery twice. Annie and the whole team have been the most incredible partners—thoroughly brilliant and a complete joy to work with. And here we are—the book just hit shelves this week and I’m not sure what to do with myself!

Q. Would you please introduce us to the novel’s hero, Javi Santiago? (I must know what level of dedication to sandwiches it takes to be classified as ‘sandwich-obsessed’!)

A. Javi’s an aspiring chef and sandwichéaste (think cinéaste but for sandwiches) who’ll do anything to pass sixth grade. He’s a zany kid with an overactive imagination and a penchant for asking deep questions about food (because what makes a sandwich a sandwich, really?). He peppers in one-sentence recipes throughout the book—some of Puerto Rico’s most delectable dishes, mixed in with his own recipes (like the Spanglish Sandwich aka The Spanglo Sando™). And while he’s fun and eccentric, underneath the silliness he’s a first generation Puerto Rican kid struggling with imposter syndrome as he tries to excel at something in his life. 

Q. You offer us such a hilarious dynamic between your protagonists – we have the almost-failing student, Javi, paired with his best friend, Wiki, the human Wikipedia/young professor (plus, Javi’s little sister, who wants to be the president’s bodyguard!). How did you land on this dynamic? Is it something you envisioned from the get-go?

A. The characters were floating around my head disparately but when I put them together I realized how fun their dynamic would be. 

I know a few folks who are so brilliant they seem weighed down by their intelligence—it’s made them world-weary. I thought that’d be really fun to capture in an extremely-precocious sixth grader. As I was coming up with the character I remembered a line in a hip hop song I love, “Catch me solving mysteries like Wikipedia Brown.” And that’s where Wiki’s name emerged and the character solidified in my head.

In terms of Brady, I knew I wanted a hot-headed sibling/partner to steal the spotlight and do much of the butt kicking because I love that dynamic in stories, going all the way back to Frodo and Sam. I also have a few friends with wild kid sister energy and they’re the life of any party, so I knew I wanted to bring that to the trio. 

Q. You had to develop a wide array of voices for this story, including kid Mozart, the Earl of Sandwich, and Blackbeard the Pirate. Was that a challenge? A joy? A spiralling research nightmare?

A. A spiralling research dream! This series gives me the best excuse to research my favorite folks in history and fiction, and it’s been a blast. I loved reading old texts on pirates, delving into the specifics of Mozart at age twelve and dusting off copies of old novels with iconic characters as I researched this book. And I knew nothing about the Earl of Sandwich before writing this, but how could Javi not invite him?

There was one aspect of research that was a bit frustrating. A big focus of this series is exploring characters more representative of the world’s history and fiction, because I’m hoping this book is ultimately a gateway to other books, characters and historical figures for kids to explore. Finding a wealth of information about some historical and mythological figures from other cultures was incredibly difficult. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I wasn’t prepared for it to be quite so challenging—which invigorated me to include more of them in the book!

Q. You have such lovely, concise, concrete writing advice available on your website. Is there any advice my-novel-is-getting-published Victor would give I’m-starting-to-write-a-novel Victor?

A. So much advice! I think there are a few super important things that would’ve had me writing novels decades ago, so I take any chance I can get to relay them to other aspiring/young writers.

1. An hour a day can be enough. I always thought I needed to quit my job and write eight hours a day to finish a novel, which held me back for years. Then I read a Murakami interview where he said he completed his first novel by writing an hour a day after work. In that moment I felt like the universe gave me permission to write mine. 

2. Lower the bar far lower than you’re comfortable with for that first draft. (No, lower!) There are passages in the first draft of my books that are barely intelligible, but I now know that’s okay. The first draft is about discovery and getting the story out of your head and onto the page. It’s far too early to be precious about anything. Just get it all out and see what you’ve got when you’re done.

3. Don’t dread rewriting—it’s far more fun than expected. Before writing my first book I was terrified of it, but it’s become one of my favorite aspects of writing. (Which is a good thing considering it’s 75-90% of what you do as a writer!) 

Q. Do you have any advice for young writers in general?

A. Absolutely. Besides everything I said above, read about writing and join online writing communities. Screenwriting books are great for story structure basics, Stephen King’s On Writing is great for process, Brandon Sanderson’s free writing course on YouTube is absolutely brilliant, Neil Gaiman and David Mamet’s Master Class courses are gold, and Reddit’s /r/writing is a fantastic place to learn alongside others in the trenches. I also love John Truby and Lisa Cron’s books. But maybe it’s best to start with this short Ira Glass video. Or this brilliant reflection on writing advice Chuck Wendig just wrote.

Q. Finally, I read that you used to be a documentary filmmaker and a blogger. What are some questions you would ask Blackbeard, if you met him?

A. It’d be one of those long interviews—the kind that take up the entire documentary and usually take the film crew multiple days to shoot—because I’d want to lead up to asking him how many people he actually killed. (Some historians say almost zero!) And I’d also want to ask him a lot of questions about Stede Bonnet, “The Gentleman Pirate” who was an equally fascinating and thoroughly hilarious character. He was rich, had a midlife crisis, became a pirate, and got thoroughly swindled by Blackbeard. (Side note: I was so happy when I heard the news that Taika Waititi would be creating a show about him!) Finally, I’d ask him to get battle ready. Before a skirmish Blackbeard would light fuses or small candles in his beard, since the smoke gave him a demonic appearance. It was his favorite scare tactic. I’d love to see it live!

------------------------------------------------------------------

Sara Truuvert completed her MLitt in Creative Writing at the University of St Andrews. She also holds a Certificate in Creative Writing from the Humber School for Writers and a BA in English, Drama, and the History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Toronto. Her work has appeared in the Literary Review of Canada among other publications.

For more interviews, see the Inkygirl Interview Archive. Also see Advice For Young Writers and Illustrators, a compilation of tips generously offered by children's book creators Inkygirl.com has interviewed over the years.





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The <i>S.S. Relief</i>--A Floating Outhouse in California

Altas Obscura tells us about the S.S. Relief--the formal name for an outhouse that floats in Lake Casitas near Ventura, California. The artificial lake is an important water reservoir for the thirsty people of southern California, so the Casitas Municipal Water District takes its cleanliness very seriously.

The lake is popular among boaters and fishermen. After a few hours out on the water, people need to relieve themselves. They can then paddle up to the S.S. Relief, which is a 2-seater outhouse that floats on the surface of the water. The waste is contained on the barge, so there's no contamination of the lake's purity.




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How Harlan Ellison Claimed <i>The Terminator</i>

Prolific science fiction author Harlan Ellison wrote two episodes of the TV series The Outer Limits, "Soldier" and "Demon with a Glass Head." They both ran during the show's second season in 1964. In 1984, Ellison heard that James Cameron was working on a film that seemed quite similar to the plot of "Soldier," which you can watch in full. Hemdale Productions wouldn't let him see the script. When he saw The Terminator, Ellison was ready to sue.

The lawsuit never came about, because Hemdale Productions settled the case, for money, screen credit in subsequent releases of the film, and a gag order. To this day, people argue over whether The Terminator was at all plagiarized and if so, how much. Read what Ellison had to say about the case at the time and the reaction from James Cameron at Den of Geek. You've probably already seen The Terminator, and it's up to you to watch The Outer Limits episode if you want to form your own opinion.  




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I'm Back to Painting! Decorative Painted Papers for Bookmaking and Paper Arts

I learned to create decorative painted papers from Paulus Berensohn, Albie Smith, Lynne Perrella, Anne Bagby, and others by taking wonderful workshops from them in the 1990s, and soon adapted their techniques to making books with beadwork inserted into the covers, like the one below. I use my painted papers on the book covers and for signature covers, which look great with this type of binding.

But after moving to the island where I've lived for 20 years now, I gradually got into quilting and textile arts, kept the beadwork going, and cut way back on painting. Until now!

Inspired, cajoled, and arm-twisted by one of the Textile Guild members, who wants to learn how to paint papers and make books like mine, I agreed to teach a workshop (2 days of painting and 2 days of bookmaking) for the guild members. Of course, since I hadn't painted for many years, I first had to get back into practice. Yay! What fun I've been having, painting in my shed (thankfully heated). The paper below is my favorite of about 20 painted in the last two weeks. The size is 18 x 24 inches. (Please click to see the details!)

And below are two more to go with it.  The paper above will be used for a book cover, even though it will be hard for me to cut it up. The two papers below will be cut (horizontally) into thirds, and used as signature covers. For those unfamiliar with bookmaking, a signature is a section of papers within a book. Each of the six signatures in my book will be covered with this decorative paper.


It's a fun, playful, and experimental process to paint like this, easier for me than it would be to paint figuratively (landscape, still life, or people). With this type of painting, I just mix matte medium with a color or two of acrylic paint, and apply it by rolling, stamping, stenciling in layers. I keep adding layers until I like it, at which point it's a finished paper. There is always at least part of each paper that pleases me enough to use it for bookmaking and paper arts.

These are the basic supplies and tools I use to paint the papers:

1.) Although acrylic paints and this method can be used to paint on almost any surface or paper, I usually paint on 80-90# drawing paper to make decorative papers.

2.) I prefer using a roller to apply background colors or glazes, rather than a brush. My favorite, purchased online from Dick Blick Art Supplies, is a 2.2"  dense foam roller.

3.) Assorted stamps and stencils. I carve a lot of my own stamps, as you will see below, but sometimes also use commercial stamps. Note that commercial rubber stamps with fine detail for stamping with inks do not work well with acrylics, as the paint clogs the fine lines, ruining the stamp.

4.) Assorted materials, such as a notched adhesive-spreader, coarse sea-sponge, webbed food packaging materials, and bubble wrap are useful to print, texture, and stencil.

5.) Acrylic paints. I use heavy-body paint (rather than fluid acrylics) of student-grade or better quality.

6.) Matte medium and glazing medium (slow drying) are added to extend the paint.

I know, maybe you're thinking I should do a video tutorial. OK. You set it up, and I'll do it. In the meantime, I'd rather be painting...  Here are three more recently painted papers for your viewing pleasure (I hope).



The one directly above is my attempt to emulate batik fabric from India. I had a bedspread back in the hippy 60s with a burgundy design on a mustard yellow background, the memory of which was the inspiration for this paper. I carved all of the stamps used to make it.

I love to carve my own stamps, and sometimes cut my own stencils as well. Let's take a look at that process. It's quite easy really, requiring only a block of Speedy-Carve (or other high-density rubber carving block), and a Speed-Ball Carving tool. Designs can be free cut, drawn right on the carving block, or transferred from a tracing. Here's a fairly decent tutorial on the stamp carving process.

Designs? Well, everywhere I look I see possibilities for carving more stamps! Recently, visiting a fabric store with my quilting buddies, I spied a fat quarter of batik fabric with a luscious design. Here is the fabric:

And here is the stamp I carved from a tracing I made of the central flower. The stamp is the same size as on the fabric, about 3" in diameter.

I also cut a stencil, which you can see below. A friend had a commercial stencil of these three leaves, which I really liked. After borrowing her stencil to use on one of my papers, I traced the painted image, and cut out my own stencil. The tool in this image is a Speed-Ball cutter, which I use to carve the rubber to make stamps.

You've already seen (way above) the whole sheet of paper I painted using just this stamp and stencil, but here's a detail. If you click to enlarge, you can see more about how I paint in layers, first the background colors, next the leaves, then a different color over-stencil on the leaves, and last the flowers.

If you like to play with paint, you might want to give it a try! Here are just a few more of my recently painted papers to tempt you...





I'll be teaching a 2-day bookmaking workshop in mid-May using papers like these to create three different books. There may still be a spot or two available in the class. If you are interested, you can contact me for more information.

You may want to visit my website to see more about my handmade books and painted papers. And there are several earlier posts here on Beadlust with pictures of books made with painted decorative papers and beading by my students, as well as other related topics. Here are a few of them:

  1. Wedding book
  2. Lisa's book (from a workshop I taught in Wisconsin); her fabulous website is here.
  3. Susan's book (from a workshop I taught in Wisconsin)
  4. painting papers for making Christmas cards
  5. Using symbols in our art and symbols in acrylic painting  
  6. Using these techniques to paint with dyes on fabric and more fabric paint/dye examples

Susan Anderson took my bookmaking/painting/beading workshop twice at the Coupeville Art Center. These are the papers for her first book, and if you click to enlarge, you can also see her finished book.

And, to close this post, here is a photo of some of the handmade books I've created over the years... most of them utilize decorative painted papers and bead embroidery.

Thanks for sticking with me to the end of this long post :)!




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