tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74833701422329598832024-03-05T03:43:39.596-05:00wombataramablogging less with more since 2008wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.comBlogger357125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-90282366278432823902015-07-14T09:23:00.001-04:002015-07-14T09:23:18.953-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnKNjy6hHFt7gyC-mW5KD3_KmhuaJiZCPncm5QEmtChX_y5AWJjqelMjQZ-Ytwve2ubLKHECsjO1QvF34DRtQpLaglpJ5uZGllrtplYDNu0yw691RPXhJolZMYjakRz8n89ElSDA4SNfWW/s1600/8741750663_15486961e0_k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnKNjy6hHFt7gyC-mW5KD3_KmhuaJiZCPncm5QEmtChX_y5AWJjqelMjQZ-Ytwve2ubLKHECsjO1QvF34DRtQpLaglpJ5uZGllrtplYDNu0yw691RPXhJolZMYjakRz8n89ElSDA4SNfWW/s400/8741750663_15486961e0_k.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<blockquote>
There we are, stumbling through the darkness, finding our way when we see a wagging tail and we’re made a simple but profound offer. “I’ll come with you!” says a dog. A dog has no journey of their own, no thoughts of past or future, so they give themselves fully to us in a way no person ever could.</blockquote>
- <a href="https://markingourterritory.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/on-losing-a-dog/">On Losing a Dog</a>wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-33672325950343992512011-12-31T14:38:00.001-05:002011-12-31T14:40:22.356-05:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmYgunGA3ipABakgWUodW5_9dn-QAej5RD2MelNsAvmGraFctT9plHeGJDzzny_ymRlP1FVu1mI-7jQA2FPxpuSOZhr5YZWjE5nk_1XU4I0Hd6Hh20e4I6mUpUxNz7UMxbIgeTVP9eGXY/s1600/tightrope.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 118px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmYgunGA3ipABakgWUodW5_9dn-QAej5RD2MelNsAvmGraFctT9plHeGJDzzny_ymRlP1FVu1mI-7jQA2FPxpuSOZhr5YZWjE5nk_1XU4I0Hd6Hh20e4I6mUpUxNz7UMxbIgeTVP9eGXY/s400/tightrope.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5692379581427701074" /></a><br /><br />"She smiles – not because she’s unaware of the alligators – but because she’s aware of them and because she knows how wonderful it feels when they release their jaws from your ankles."<br /><br />-Wisdom from <a href="http://thebloggess.com/2011/12/tightrope-walker/">The Bloggess</a>wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-32528304098632918092011-12-21T15:03:00.003-05:002011-12-21T15:06:58.786-05:00Honey instead of vinegar<a href="http://wondermark.com/calendars-are-sold-out/#comments" target= "_blank">David Malki!</a> on dealing with someone who steals your stuff, but useful advice for life in general:<br /><blockquote>The knee-jerk response is “Cease and desist! Sue! Call a lawyer!” This implies that (a) the issue cannot be solved through more amicable means, and (b) I have a lot of time and money to throw at this kind of problem. The latter is not true, and I like to at least allow for the chance that the former isn’t either. There’s a lot of double negatives in that sequence, so I’ll restate: <span style="font-weight:bold;">Being aggressive puts people on the defensive. Being friendly gets people to help you.</span><br /><br />Also, <span style="font-weight:bold;">always give the party in the wrong the ability to back off gracefully.</span><br /><br />Learning this is one of the biggest things that has helped me in life: <span style="font-weight:bold;">avoid putting people on the defensive</span>. Sometimes it is necessary to be firm, or to express dissatisfaction, or to press for remedy of a situation. But I have never found yelling and shouting to be the easiest way to that end — at least, not as an opener.</blockquote>wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-3314518969321738752011-12-16T20:29:00.001-05:002011-12-16T20:32:13.798-05:00And your problem with that is?<blockquote>I submit as a law of editorial physics that the author’s desire to include a fact in her narrative is directly proportional to the effort she expended to find it out, not to its relevance.<br /><br /> Editor: Betsy, this paragraph about how the congressman won a Boy Scout merit badge for whittling doesn’t really seem like something we need right here. Or anywhere.<br /><br /> Betsy: But I got that from his old troop leader! The guy wasn’t even in the phone book – I found him living in a mobile home at the end of a dirt road. It was a sweltering day, I interviewed him in Spanish…</blockquote>. <br /><br />-<a href="http://www.niemanstoryboard.org/2011/12/15/peter-ginna-bloomsbury-journalists-book-length-narrative/">"When Journalists Become Authors"</a>wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-82432187452717828902011-11-23T09:44:00.000-05:002011-11-23T09:45:19.465-05:00Story of my life<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1etcS9SZKhVk1Gyvvdxn1A5Lomk2sjCS2aHk4yoANu7na65ZOTokli_2GIGRYIBCIdy0kQpZuklPN6NSV6JMcJqDX0fUuCnsHNXFjtMDMYxAA5ncxzQtfcBRxXytan5IzkKyehhtgpHEd/s1600/patience.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1etcS9SZKhVk1Gyvvdxn1A5Lomk2sjCS2aHk4yoANu7na65ZOTokli_2GIGRYIBCIdy0kQpZuklPN6NSV6JMcJqDX0fUuCnsHNXFjtMDMYxAA5ncxzQtfcBRxXytan5IzkKyehhtgpHEd/s400/patience.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678202361912376738" /></a>wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-16527245333803299932011-11-16T16:23:00.001-05:002011-11-16T16:24:54.311-05:00Damn, I hope he's right<blockquote>So my second piece of career advice echoes the political advice offered by Benjamin Franklin: whenever you are faced with a choice between liberty and security, choose liberty. Otherwise you will end up with neither. People who sell their souls for the promise of a secure job and a secure salary are spat out as soon as they become dispensable. The more loyal to an institution you are, the more exploitable, and ultimately expendable, you become.</blockquote><br />- <a href="http://www.monbiot.com/career-advice/" target= "_blank">George Monbiot</a>.wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-60790106830287134352011-11-02T19:12:00.004-04:002011-11-02T19:15:21.397-04:00Lilly is practicing...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wombatarama/6302387352/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6054/6302387352_635d178e3c_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wombatarama/6302387352/">Lilly is practicing...</a> <br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wombatarama/">wombatarama</a></span><br clear="all" /><p><br />to pick the winner of the book giveaway on my other blog. The more who enter, the more cookies she gets at the end. Go <a href="http://animalsbehavingbadly.blogspot.com/2011/10/book-giveaway-red-in-tooth-and-claw.html">do it!</a>wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-34452009946944296162011-07-28T10:36:00.000-04:002011-07-28T10:37:14.836-04:00One of those days"Some days I'll rapidly thump out an article in a steady daze, scarcely aware of my own breath. Other times it's like slowly dragging individual letters of the alphabet from a mire of cold glue."<br /><br />-<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/16/charlie-brooker-writing-deadlines" target= "_blank">Charlie Brooker</a>wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-82627938375096473872011-06-22T08:42:00.003-04:002011-06-22T09:08:20.396-04:00Remember to wear your hat<blockquote>Luck matters. It just does. But you can maximize luck. You won’t get struck by lightning if you don’t wander out into the field covered in tinfoil and old TV antennae.</blockquote><br />-<a href="http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/04/26/25-things-every-writer-should-know/" target= "_blank">Chuck Wendig</a>wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-90675983090289439212011-06-16T11:07:00.003-04:002011-06-16T11:11:06.780-04:00Why books will not die: a range of opinion"Underneath everything, underneath the machinations of the industry and the terrible dance of agent-getting and submissions, underneath the despair and joy and wild mood swings, underneath the misery and extraordinary grace of trying to make art--underneath it all, we just want to sit together and tell stories."<br /><br />-<a href="http://www.therejectionist.com/2011/06/on-smiling.html">The Rejectionist</a><br /><br />"The advantage of the books is you can give them as a gift. Our society hasn’t yet evolved to the point where we can say, “Hey, check out this URL,” and pass that off as a present, so until we reach that point, books it is." <br /><br />-<a href="http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/2011/06/interview-with-ryan-north-creator-of-dinosaur-comics/">Ryan North (Dinosaur Comics)</a>wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-34299262253790913782011-05-09T10:06:00.000-04:002011-05-09T10:07:27.244-04:00Hey look!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1P0fKU0KLx8mAsIcgn6E1WO8Wt6qdQeyLkK_BuKT8Mx2KGa7Y2FmhDPSq-P4sT-hUjCv-9EQwBbrYuUY7ZaOB0Sx1CUDKn9wo6DCbQxG5w6mrEvG7o4HlIC_-icoHgr6fW1h7zXmsfejS/s1600/slothsapper.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1P0fKU0KLx8mAsIcgn6E1WO8Wt6qdQeyLkK_BuKT8Mx2KGa7Y2FmhDPSq-P4sT-hUjCv-9EQwBbrYuUY7ZaOB0Sx1CUDKn9wo6DCbQxG5w6mrEvG7o4HlIC_-icoHgr6fW1h7zXmsfejS/s400/slothsapper.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604717689885197346" /></a><br />Pugs aren't the only dogs that like my book!wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-4649187998647603892011-04-22T19:18:00.006-04:002011-04-22T20:11:32.165-04:00A long story<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuFKH85KeLIiBoA2lGVVPZVqr3f4nTmJi7uhwzuyuFmE4WJu3246p4tkNcgOj-YRK2iW05rWOzHh0NWUd6Xxry4yDwifP5iePz8lAElYw7KtqfSnqPzg5yNdAAC5KKljATHU2dx23whdZ/s1600/daruma1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuFKH85KeLIiBoA2lGVVPZVqr3f4nTmJi7uhwzuyuFmE4WJu3246p4tkNcgOj-YRK2iW05rWOzHh0NWUd6Xxry4yDwifP5iePz8lAElYw7KtqfSnqPzg5yNdAAC5KKljATHU2dx23whdZ/s400/daruma1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598551683228382018" /></a><br />More years ago than I want to count, I decided to write a book and get it published. So I got this Daruma, and if I understand the Japanese custom correctly, you color in one eye when you start a project, and the other when you meet your final goal. So here's how he looked for all those years, his eye, originally filled in with a permanent black Sharpie, gradually fading to gray.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCTZjr_Ued_YRPKvEx-YiIkwvT5x2FYEF2tX1ddGwn3v5OH4fxj6PLzMACNCuwuvOcj1mgUZy_7Y70FbVgPVDvIufkCWdxTlJLlGYQR-7dtgTNLQP0PHdGMjEDUuMKj3k9iAXgaHBOQpPK/s1600/darama2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCTZjr_Ued_YRPKvEx-YiIkwvT5x2FYEF2tX1ddGwn3v5OH4fxj6PLzMACNCuwuvOcj1mgUZy_7Y70FbVgPVDvIufkCWdxTlJLlGYQR-7dtgTNLQP0PHdGMjEDUuMKj3k9iAXgaHBOQpPK/s400/darama2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598551559305754434" /></a><br />To make a very long story short, well, there it is. So here Daruma is getting his other eye.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-BnDwUZevICvzV1_S7XXY0MawYIY1z4QRe6hzfL_HufuRO58533bf05TmExngKZuAqn0-pq1IwCCVXFTnpvPYBnTuvNn37fVfacKs5Fzd8Sd-CyQvaOsOhDBc7cJNWYy-65B96tE6-06k/s1600/daruma3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-BnDwUZevICvzV1_S7XXY0MawYIY1z4QRe6hzfL_HufuRO58533bf05TmExngKZuAqn0-pq1IwCCVXFTnpvPYBnTuvNn37fVfacKs5Fzd8Sd-CyQvaOsOhDBc7cJNWYy-65B96tE6-06k/s400/daruma3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598551464071471906" /></a><br />And here he is, with the finished book, with the slightly different colors of his eyes representing my years of effort, or something like that.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzz7pVxgvh5QZ_6HWAoML7LF72uDkx3FzaPOq8s4QsIrlZ38UwylRLK3zCt7Sesh5YBUVWYKHlaRGzd_U__xZUYxXixoC8ffWUWFR9mkYafbKkKelZmmZNHh3GSEbgDoNGsQispYcGmKXA/s1600/daruma4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzz7pVxgvh5QZ_6HWAoML7LF72uDkx3FzaPOq8s4QsIrlZ38UwylRLK3zCt7Sesh5YBUVWYKHlaRGzd_U__xZUYxXixoC8ffWUWFR9mkYafbKkKelZmmZNHh3GSEbgDoNGsQispYcGmKXA/s400/daruma4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598551374651403362" /></a><br />And here's the whole deal with a pug added because everything is better with a pug.<br /><br />(There are pugs in the book too! Also zoo animals! In case that makes anyone more inclined to purchase a copy. And you can read a chapter <a href="http://www.lindalombardi.com/" target= "_blank">here</a>.)wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-6734700511171612072011-04-17T16:27:00.001-04:002011-04-17T16:34:29.383-04:00And for dessert, a suffix?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH_9-BisR5ZqoBsjPzTyJVR1z_6vIa0dzMpYJA_HzfkBNyY1uNgeY8fzcVazGBZrsejpXNhFWDJ6-REkQY3JaDLQ3j47vtkkXJT2f9Kzk05-1IEtNyVYEpInHqUMIgOyHSzSo6x89qpH-S/s1600/prefix.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH_9-BisR5ZqoBsjPzTyJVR1z_6vIa0dzMpYJA_HzfkBNyY1uNgeY8fzcVazGBZrsejpXNhFWDJ6-REkQY3JaDLQ3j47vtkkXJT2f9Kzk05-1IEtNyVYEpInHqUMIgOyHSzSo6x89qpH-S/s400/prefix.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596652398859995522" /></a>wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-84462591292841556152011-03-26T11:33:00.004-04:002011-03-26T11:36:47.904-04:00This is how to do it properly<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="360" height="292" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PgHQfxT7ImI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />Now I feel like I've never worked at a zoo that took escaped animal drills seriously enough. (We just got to chase, like, a curator in a reflective vest. Lame.)wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-22290363651673515942011-02-04T13:31:00.000-05:002011-02-04T13:32:25.118-05:00Important zoo safety advice<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxXzc9g6kPTEKcIiwL-7rG1mM39mnnKuLfCaj6t-H0jAgmgEMlQVM0fGWTRgUrLtVCZ-PvUFashV51CpbXBXlD92gG_KZaxkH4_EVw6NfrZjIpiYan_USN4mfcZPDb7LAhSztYCQmRNov8/s1600/zoosafety.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxXzc9g6kPTEKcIiwL-7rG1mM39mnnKuLfCaj6t-H0jAgmgEMlQVM0fGWTRgUrLtVCZ-PvUFashV51CpbXBXlD92gG_KZaxkH4_EVw6NfrZjIpiYan_USN4mfcZPDb7LAhSztYCQmRNov8/s400/zoosafety.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569903991582783026" /></a>wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-6259495268107493182011-01-22T14:10:00.002-05:002011-01-22T14:11:58.249-05:00long-suffering<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOCLf38dOEHcVvovEvbwCdWbMVK_HPXfQTLz48WQVF4urEhadKsxkI50LlEta7rppdntVkzum28aZ2FGej31frqgjc61ahEG0nwGbXjPi7-kVgmD_7rcQm4rn7Q1upLAYr2yE9wWVC74F/s1600/lilly_pugslippers_crop.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOCLf38dOEHcVvovEvbwCdWbMVK_HPXfQTLz48WQVF4urEhadKsxkI50LlEta7rppdntVkzum28aZ2FGej31frqgjc61ahEG0nwGbXjPi7-kVgmD_7rcQm4rn7Q1upLAYr2yE9wWVC74F/s400/lilly_pugslippers_crop.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565089818276157202" /></a><br /><br />I'm thinking that my next book is going to be about how stupid dog owners are. Lilly says that she has PLENTY of material to contribute.wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-66337383837281031922010-12-29T19:15:00.004-05:002010-12-29T19:43:22.282-05:00Some quotes from some Johns that I am keeping in mind for the new year“True success is figuring out your life and career so you never have to be around jerks.”<br />-John Waters<br /><br />I wanted to write all-ages books, kids’ literature that stands up when you read it today... It may be that this is not what the market wants, but as an exercise it was what I wanted to do. It also stops you leaning on lazy attention-getting devices – sudden death, sudden sexy times. You have to be a lot more resourceful as you write.<br />-<a href="http://coilhouse.net/2010/11/monster-as-metaphor-john-allison-webcomics-genius/" target= "_blank">John Allison</a><br /><br />There are many things this world has too much of, but books and storytellers are not two of them.<br />-<a href="http://whatever.scalzi.com/2002/10/08/wanted-authors/" target= "_blank">John Scalzi</a>wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-27972287049461717022010-12-20T17:04:00.001-05:002010-12-20T17:04:49.858-05:00gingerbread pugs<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wombatarama/5275449867/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5041/5275449867_493c36867b_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wombatarama/5275449867/">gingerbread pugs</a> <br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/wombatarama/">wombatarama</a></span><br clear="all" /><p></p>wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-45239012091871882262010-12-14T19:10:00.002-05:002010-12-14T19:18:49.843-05:00I want to make stuff that ends up inside people's heads instead of on top, but it's the same<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ekDM2Byt-DHxKKK7nvgYw1nq9T012GilghNbMidRtiNDSZPh3yHHGagudzoNGkVOvdHwAFOyX24l64EqFnevjZETWXG8bCPCcFCzcghbeUSvCgJzGrUi8M0EZT1aUKF8RVEXZIUTSUzX/s1600/elefante.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 151px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ekDM2Byt-DHxKKK7nvgYw1nq9T012GilghNbMidRtiNDSZPh3yHHGagudzoNGkVOvdHwAFOyX24l64EqFnevjZETWXG8bCPCcFCzcghbeUSvCgJzGrUi8M0EZT1aUKF8RVEXZIUTSUzX/s400/elefante.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550696660069696962" /></a><br /><blockquote>“There is that great line in Sunday in the Park with George,” he says, referring to Stephen Sondheim’s 1984 musical about Georges Seurat, “ 'Look, I made a hat where there never was a hat’.” He falls silent again and, as unexpectedly as those coins turn to fish, big fat tears start rolling down his cheeks. “I can’t say that line without choking up, because it states, in profoundly poetic terms, what I have always wanted to do with my life. It’s so simple and so funny, but boy it hits me deep.” </blockquote><br />-from an <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/7881171/Penn-and-Teller-interview.html">interview </a>with Teller (of Penn and) thanks to <a href="http://wilwheaton.tumblr.com/page/51">Wil Wheaton's Tumblr</a>.wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-76533673369082701902010-12-13T19:39:00.002-05:002010-12-13T19:42:26.291-05:00Sounds right to me<blockquote>Of course there are different reasons to write, but if you’re interested in getting something published in the commercial marketplace, the only opinion that matters is that of the person who can either sell it (the agent) or buy it (the editor). My advice these days is not to share your work-in-progress with more than two or maybe three people whose opinions you trust and respect, and ideally have some experience in the very delicate art of offering artistic criticism.</blockquote><br />-Matthew Gallaway, <a href="http://www.theawl.com/2010/11/five-writers-explain-how-they-got-kept-and-fired-agents/5">"Five writers explain how they got, kept and fired agents."</a>wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-10415060567657505592010-11-29T16:43:00.000-05:002010-11-29T16:44:19.310-05:00The real meaning of "not safe for work"Note: if you click on his example link, don't say you haven't been warned.<br /><br /><blockquote>Personally, I’m a freelance writer, so I work out of my home office. That means that everything on the internet is safe for work, or more precisely, nothing is. Without the peer pressure of nearby co-workers and boss-types, the internet is a constant, beguiling temptation, like one of the Sirens of Greek myth if you could embed Flash in her.<br /><br />I’d appreciate someone inventing the “NSFF” tag for me, so I would know that I’m about to click on something that’s going to grab me and not let me go until I’ve sacrificed a couple of deadlines to its insatiable hunger for attention.<br /><br />Nudity would not, as a rule, get this tag. Nudity is so commonly available on the web that it’s not that distracting. I appreciate it, but take it for granted, like paper clips. If nudity is unsafe for work in the sense that standing on the top shelf of a ladder is unsafe, then <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage">TV Tropes</a> is unsafe for work in the sense that running with scissors, near a pool, into the path of an oncoming train is unsafe. </blockquote><br />-<a href="http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/07/alt-text-hef-at-work/#more-41617">Lore Sjöberg</a> (who also wisely <a href="http://www.bookofratings.com/marsupials.html">said,</a> <blockquote>I'm inclined to like wombat because "wombat" is a great name. It's got a "wom," and a "bat," and an "omba.")</blockquote>wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-53752777925597965552010-11-27T14:34:00.010-05:002011-01-19T09:54:48.102-05:00"However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me a sense of obligation."<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1E985qXVnF5DythrqkQZz1mFzeiHZe3KUHM66Hz4qPfmudvrjTK7bGXbWzRGYdVx9miHnZNhyphenhyphenuLcADiEO-UxjzlR0AXVfDZfuBQKTWQ_c8KP2wugb19RzAj7b3chsJFG3dYuGKyhhLt-y/s1600/writestuff.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 178.5px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1E985qXVnF5DythrqkQZz1mFzeiHZe3KUHM66Hz4qPfmudvrjTK7bGXbWzRGYdVx9miHnZNhyphenhyphenuLcADiEO-UxjzlR0AXVfDZfuBQKTWQ_c8KP2wugb19RzAj7b3chsJFG3dYuGKyhhLt-y/s400/writestuff.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544317369519362882" /></a><br />“Here is another thing to remember every time you sit down at the keyboard: a little sign that says, ‘Nobody has to read this crap’. You are not writing to impress the scientist you have just interviewed, nor the professor who got you through your degree, nor the editor who foolishly turned you down, nor the rather dishy person you just met at a party and told you were a writer. Or even your mother. You are writing to impress someone hanging from a strap in the Tube between Parson’s Green and Putney, who, given a chance, will stop reading in a fifth of a second. So the first sentence you write will be the most importance sentence in your life, and so will the second, and the third. This is because, although you may feel compelled to write, nobody has ever felt obliged to read.”<br /><br />-<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2011/jan/19/manifesto-simple-scribe-commandments-journalists?CMP=twt_gu" target= "_blank">Tim Radford</a> via <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/11/24/on-jargon-and-why-it-matters-in-science-writing/" target= "_blank">Ed Yong.</a> <br /><br />(Also thanks Stephen Crane and <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/vozamer">vozamer</a>.)wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-8733706994603415732010-11-22T19:02:00.001-05:002010-11-22T22:24:06.699-05:00Happy Thanksgiving<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZrfuuDJ6UVe1Aa3nyeM0CoHdXibogPtZhKu4gyu4PDNQrZIgVLo4kHVbHt46TwwFEgi9BDLDH4772FATi5uoPiOv2ofPu6MuIhAARh3U9PtWdLjwHClaRHPb8cOBlhesubGLEpuxq3Z8/s1600/turkeypug.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 329px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZrfuuDJ6UVe1Aa3nyeM0CoHdXibogPtZhKu4gyu4PDNQrZIgVLo4kHVbHt46TwwFEgi9BDLDH4772FATi5uoPiOv2ofPu6MuIhAARh3U9PtWdLjwHClaRHPb8cOBlhesubGLEpuxq3Z8/s400/turkeypug.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542529003754927874" /></a><br /><br />No pugs were harmed in the making of this picture. Don't believe the look on her face.wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-73325591972391744102010-11-11T09:05:00.007-05:002010-11-11T09:13:05.257-05:00Where do your ideas come from<br><br />Yeah, it's like a disease, really.<br /><br /><blockquote>Creativity is like an itch. When you scratch it, it feels good, and then it itches more. You fulfill the aesthetic urge and it pushes you to create more.<br /><br />But if you don't have the itch to begin with, it's hard to know where to scratch. There's no way to "get ideas." It can't be forced. They just happen. You're eating breakfast one day and you have an idea, and either you forget about it, or you work on it and execute it. The more of your ideas you execute, the more ideas occur to you.</blockquote><br />-<a href="http://www.formspring.me/drewtoothpaste/q/1490580392">Drew</a> (<a href="http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/">"Toothpaste for Dinner"</a>)<br /><br>wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7483370142232959883.post-5800880657299822422010-10-29T12:24:00.003-04:002010-10-29T12:26:01.354-04:00Halloween reaches a historical milestone.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0kad76ImBXG180vx9zW34VfGnMI14uv6hRFVKIruD3CvslaYw4Vr9sHqiA7HsyQ1st-tI_SKGBYC3R-3WuCQx7IK-CGYxD_P9SuxTtU_w8soI7Cl1tk5o-7ZAVCXNChL3CMIMuu1ALPYH/s1600/elmo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0kad76ImBXG180vx9zW34VfGnMI14uv6hRFVKIruD3CvslaYw4Vr9sHqiA7HsyQ1st-tI_SKGBYC3R-3WuCQx7IK-CGYxD_P9SuxTtU_w8soI7Cl1tk5o-7ZAVCXNChL3CMIMuu1ALPYH/s400/elmo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533504704528171234" /></a><br /><br />The five year old son of some friends of mine, dressed for Halloween as Elmo dressed as a ghost for Halloween. This is the most awesome costume anyone of any age will ever come up with.wombathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390371796899506835noreply@blogger.com1