Musings of a Wordsmith
Confession: I'm stuck in the nineties, and I can't get out of it. I'm talking in the realm of entertainment here. I don't dress the way I did in the nineties (something both friends and family are grateful for). I still love much of the music of the nineties (not all of it, and I'll spare you my list since this isn't the point of this post). Also, I still watched television back in the '90s (Once upon a time when gom jabbar loved television...), and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I loved The X-Files.
read more
Posted in David Duchovny | Gillian Anderson | movie | television | The X-Files login or register to post comments | 
| 
| 
| 330 reads
Submitted by gom jabbar on May 27, 2006 - 2:40pm.
I posted a blog a little over a month ago about author J.K. Rowling's frustration over her inability to find paper in Edinburgh, something she complained about publicly on her website. I had a hunch this complaint wouldn't go ignored, and my suspicions proved true. There was a huge response from Harry Potter fans wanting book seven as soon as possible. Who says books and reading don't motivate people? ;)
read more
Posted in harry potter | J.K. Rowling | paper 1 comment | | | | 336 reads
Submitted by gom jabbar on May 14, 2006 - 6:04am.
Is there success in blogging? This is a burning question in blogging community that depends the blogging for cash theme to attract new bloggers. A click here, page impressions there, and some really great discussions (all right, good discussions are enough to keep some of us coming back)... There has to be more to it than this, right? Of course there is. We've all read the success stories of the bloggers making six figure incomes from their blogs, and I've even seen a few posts here about opportunities generated from blogs. I read one earlier today and thought I'd pass it on as a little encouragement to keep up the good work.
read more
Posted in blog | blogger | blogging | book | Knitting | SUCCESS 3 comments | | | | 530 reads
Submitted by gom jabbar on May 13, 2006 - 10:45am.
I mentioned in an earlier post that book publishers seem to think we aren't reading enough. Apparently, they aren't the only ones. The National Endowment for the Arts is sponsoring a program called The Big Read, a response to 2004 report “Reading at Risk� reporting that less than half of the U.S. adult population reads literature, with the sharpest drop being in the 18- to 24-year old age bracket. The program will financially reward communities that select a novel and encourage people to read and discuss it.
read more
Posted in Big Read | books | literature | National Endowment for the Arts | reading 2 comments | | | | 324 reads
Submitted by gom jabbar on May 12, 2006 - 2:48am.
How's your book collection looking? How many of them are "new releases" from either this year or last year? According to publishers, we haven't been buying enough "new" books. The publishing industry has been experiencing slow sales during the past few years. The response? In 2005 they released fewer new books, and we are to expect the decline to continue in 2006.
read more
Posted in author | books | new | publishing | publishing industry login or register to post comments | | | | 339 reads
Submitted by gom jabbar on May 11, 2006 - 3:19am.
Every now and then I post a work related blog as a tribute to those of us living, writing and blogging around a 9-to-5 work week. Obviously, while you are at work, you are expected to spend the majority of your time working, that is the work your employer expects you to do, not "working" on today's blog. But we all deserve a few short breaks throughout the day, right? As I've mentioned in previous blogs, a favorite employee past time when he/she is not being productive is surfing the web, whether or not the boss is watching, and even searching for new employment. The good news?
read more
Posted in employee | employer | fired | internet | job | surfing | work login or register to post comments | | | | 321 reads
Submitted by gom jabbar on May 6, 2006 - 1:32pm.
I said I'd leave her alone, but what can I say? This was just too good to pass up, and while I'm not usually one to take pleasure in the misery of others, I think our dear Kaavya "got" what was coming to her. Recent updates on the "How many authors can she possibly plagiarize in one book?" saga tell us that not only was a second author, Sophie Kinsella borrowed from, but also a third with Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries. Could there be more? We'll have to wait and see.
read more
Posted in author | book | Kaavya Viswanathan | Meg Cabot | Opal Mehta | plagiarism 2 comments | | | | 383 reads
Submitted by gom jabbar on May 3, 2006 - 4:33pm.
I try to limit which literary and book awards I discuss because quite frankly, I understand that looking at a list of names and awards isn't always thrilling, especially when you don't necessarily care for the books or genre involved. However, this one is near and dear to me for a few reasons, one being my admiration for Edgar Allan Poe (for those who haven't read my signature quote), and because I am a reader and writer of crime fiction, which the Edgar Allan Poe Awards honor.
read more
Posted in award | crime | Edgar Allan Poe | Edgar Allan Poe Awards | Fiction | mystery 2 comments | | | | 340 reads
Submitted by gom jabbar on May 2, 2006 - 3:20am.
This will be my last post on plagiarism for a while (I haven't said this before, have I?) I know must seem obsessed at this point, but it's an important topic for writers. Besides, it's a hot topic with the media right now for obvious reasons. Anyway, Jack Shafer posted an article about plagiarists and some reasons they do what they do.
read more
Posted in literary theft | plagiarism | plagiarist | plagiarize | steal 9 comments | | | | 1897 reads
Submitted by gom jabbar on April 29, 2006 - 1:11pm.
Are you satisfied with your job? If the answer is "no," you probably aren't surprised that you're not alone. About 50% of Americans are unhappy with their jobs, but for many with family and financial responsibilities, quitting is not an option, at least not until they have found another job. Many remedy this by searching for that new employer at work.
read more
Posted in employee | employer | job | job-hunting | work login or register to post comments | | | | 377 reads
Submitted by gom jabbar on April 29, 2006 - 6:51am.
There are few authors that would inspire me to write three blogs in a row, but in case you hadn't guessed, this is a topic I feel very strongly about. And I know I'm not the only one. Plagiarism should be dealt with immediately once caught. Kaavya Viswanathan came under fire when it was discovered that passages of her debut novel How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life had several passages that resembled those of her favorite author Megan McCafferty. An apology was issued earlier this week, and now Little, Brown and Company has had "Opal Mehta" pulled from bookstore shelves. Well, that didn't take long, and quite frankly I'm glad it was handled in a timely fashion.
read more
Posted in Kaavya Viswanathan | Megan McCafferty | plagiarism 2 comments | | | | 375 reads
Submitted by gom jabbar on April 28, 2006 - 3:33pm.
In my previous blog, I discussed the woes of Kaavya Viswanathan, Harvard sophomore and teen author of the novel How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life, which bore numerous passages that were similar to Megan McCafferty's novels Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings. Viswanathan has come forward with a statement of apology, which McCafferty's publisher is not accepting.
read more
Posted in apology | author | Kaavya Viswanathan | Megan McCafferty | plagiarism login or register to post comments | | | | 298 reads
Submitted by gom jabbar on April 26, 2006 - 3:33pm.
It looks like another plagiarism case has made headlines. While it isn't as high profile as the Da Vinci Code case where best-selling author Dan Brown was accused, this doesn't make it the accusation any less serious. This time the person in question is a first-time author.
read more
Posted in author | Kaavya Viswanathan | Megan McCafferty | plagiarism | similarities 1 comment | | | | 380 reads
Submitted by gom jabbar on April 23, 2006 - 5:10pm.
Thousands of people regularly contribute money, time and other material efforts to charity causes. However, it seems that those who usually get recognized are the celebrities and otherwise ridiculously rich. Am I bitter? Not at all. If a celebrity can call attention to an otherwise unnoticed cause, then sure, give them credit. According to a recent news report, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is among the ranks of those contributing to important causes.
read more
Posted in Celebrity | charity | J.K. Rowling | MS | multiple sclerosis | research 1 comment | | | | 340 reads
Submitted by gom jabbar on April 22, 2006 - 9:11am.
In an earlier blog, I posted information regarding writers' rights, or more specifically the rights they lease or assign to a publication when publishing their work. While I covered some different types of rights (First Serial Rights, etc.), I didn't cover electronic rights, at least not directly. However, I have found a few articles dealing with electronic rights, and I have posted the links below.
read more
Posted in electronic | law | Publication | publishing | rights | writer login or register to post comments | | | | 324 reads
Submitted by gom jabbar on April 21, 2006 - 2:52am.
Recent comments
14 min 49 sec ago
16 min 59 sec ago
18 min 35 sec ago
20 min 53 sec ago
22 min 40 sec ago
24 min 22 sec ago
49 min 53 sec ago
53 min 3 sec ago
58 min 26 sec ago
1 hour 16 min ago