But over the past few days my mind has woven together my feelings of horror over the ill-treatment of children and animals, and combined it with a clip I watched on TV of a mother pygmy hippo that had given birth in captivity to a cute baby hippo, and sprinkled on top the location of our latest weekend away. The result is a brand new idea for a (rather uplifting) teen novel.

Here’s more about my insight into my creative process on my Fictional Life Blog…

This week I was thinking about an analogy of a buffet in the dark. I’m worried that I’ve grabbed a spot at a table that is all savouries and when they eventually turn the lights on I’ll find that the waiters are busy clearing away all the chocolate desserts that were waiting for me on the other side of the room. I’ve already shelved one novel that needs a final rewriting (one that I worked on for about 6 years), because I don’t want to continue in that genre. It’s no wonder I’m procrastinating on the trilogy I’m working on now. Hopefully this course will help me figure out how to get myself out of the knots I’ve tied.

We need to stop this dissention in our ranks. A woman’s size and shape have nothing to do with her essence. Pushing the message that any body shape is unattractive is confusing and damaging to our impressionable teens. And we really have far more important things to give our attention to than who looks better in a bikini.

What has gone wrong in our society when it becomes acceptable to insult and demean a woman based on what she looks like, as long as she falls into the group not protected by “political correctness”? This quote from a member of a Child-Free forum on a Family website:

For as long as I can remember I have been disturbed by pregnant ladies. It just seems gross to me. I think they should stay home or something…  It seems so inappropriate to me when I see a pregnant woman waddling around town…

She has a right to her opinion, of course. But how long before it’s okay to discriminate against a pregnant or nursing woman because customers are offended? How long before our exploding population problem means that pregnant women are the minority? How long before glamorising pregnancy is frowned on because it may encourage young women to have children of their own when our planet can’t support them? 

We cannot debase one group for the sake of the self-esteem of another. It doesn’t solve anything, and it causes even more harm. We need to each be responsible for our own self-esteem and that of our loved ones. And then we need to look around us and accept the beautiful men and women we see everyday.

I call an end to the war we’re waging on our own bodies and those of the women (and men) around us. Who’s with me?

A man was “allegedly” stabbed in a department store.

Well, he was either stabbed or he wasn’t. (And it either occured in the department store, or it didn’t.) “Allegedly” is a legal term required when the perpetrator of an action hasn’t been formally convicted. So, “The man was stabbed, allegedly by his brother” is correct, but you cannot logically use the word without indicating a perpetrator.

Three police officers ”lost their lives” attempting to rescue a family held hostage by a mass murderer.

Not only is “losing a life” a stupid term (no one is that careless), when used in a situation describing an heroic act it is downright insulting. In the example above, it insinuates that the police officers were to blame for “losing” their own lives, not the murderer.

A man was “bashed” leaving a nightclub.

This is a favourite here in Australia. “Bashed” is slang, and has no place in formal journalism. The correct term is “assaulted”.

Oh what a heartache,
I dare to say,
When I think of the laughter,
the memories, and the banter we shared,
TopGear U-K
You will always be
Dear to me, I will miss you, of that you be sure
I hope that one day there’ll be more…

Don’t cry for me TopGear Australia…
Just read my scathing review
Your days are numbered
I hope they axe you
Get off my TV
Before I break it.

I’ve been cited on Wikipedia. Little old me. Here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictional_location

I mean, I’m really quite chuffed about it. Maybe even honoured.

However… the citation is wrong. If you read the article that is being cited, I say the exact opposite to what I’m being cited as saying.

Ie, the citation is: “Within narrative prose, providing a believable location can be greatly enhanced by the provision of maps and other illustrations. (Neal, Mapping a Fictional Location)”

My point in the article was: “So I’m not sure of the value of publishing maps, but I am convinced that every author needs to create at least a basic sketch for him or herself to ensure he or she doesn’t contradict something…”

In other words, the person who wrote the Wikipedia entry simply did a long tail search for the exact point they wanted to make, and my article popped up. They, very probably, didn’t even read it. But I may have looked like a credible source. Which is still kinda cool.

Vander Ark and RDR Books claimed Fair Use, but presiding judge Robert Patterson ruled that since the reference book contained no original commentary and simply rearranged copious amounts of Rowling’s material, its publication would constitute an infringement of Rowling’s copyright.

Rowling has stated that she, herself, intended to produce a Harry Potter Universe reference work for charity purposes, and Vander Ark’s book would also have infringed on her right to create such a derivative work.

Just today I was hurrying through the centre to get to the Post Office for the second time, having decided the queue was too long the first time and that I would do my other shopping first and swing by again afterwards. In that space the cause celebs had moved into prime position:

Hello! Do you like animals?

Wrong day, mate.

I have a streaming head cold and a raging headache, and I can’t take anything for it because I’m pregnant.

I have “popped out” to the pharmacy, the supermarket, and the post office - hoping I would be only half an hour or so, but I’ve already had to go to two supermarkets to get what I need of a list of 5 items (and I’m still one item short because neither supermarket has it in stock). That is on top of “just swinging by” the post office twice.

Wrong day. But tomorrow will undoubtedly be just as wrong.

Do I like animals?

Only on a barbecue.

Don’t get me wrong: I do like animals. I just never signed a contract requiring me to be honest and sincere when asked a leading question by a complete stranger.

Save yourself the martyrdom of trying to interest the completely uninterestable in your cause. There are better ways to bring people’s attention to something worthwhile. Squidoo is one of them.

Here are some top notch lenses created to promote a cause. Learn from the masters, and ditch the supermarket table and posters.

I’ll start with some animal causes since it was an animal lover I was rude to:

Frankster’s Are You Polar Bear Aware and Saving the Dancing Bears of India lenses
Kiwisoutback’s All About Endangered Species lens

And my favourite lenses that promote the concept of empowering people:

Girl Powered Peace by WorldPeaceEmerging
KIVA: For The Love Of Kiva! by MrLewisSmile
The Acumen Fund by SemperFidelis

Like all good coffee drinkers, we were curious when Starbucks opened here. We’d heard of the name, of course. So we gave it a go. Actually we were stupid enough to go to two different Starbucks franchises, three times. (Not each, though.) But each time we left disappointed. The coffee was awful, for a start. And it was cold. But the food was bad, too. The final time we paid a visit to Starbucks, I ordered a piece of cake that was doughy and actually left me feeling ill. I didn’t manage to finish the coffee I’d ordered as it was just making things worse.

So that was that. We avoided Starbucks from then on out. And now, hopefully, those premises will be taken over by real coffee shops.

Long live the real barista!

In the meantime, here are some real coffee lenses to savour:

Making the perfect cup of coffee, by 1SquidAddict
Interesting, fun, & Informative Things About Coffee, by TheCoffeeCorner
The Most Expensive Coffee in the World, by Naiza

And let’s all go argue with Julie:
STARBUCKS vs. DUNKIN’ DONUTS — Coffee WARS!, by JaguarJulie

(Maybe American Starbucks employ qualified baristas, but they don’t here in Aus. These kids just can’t make a decent cup of coffee and there is no way “Starbucks make the best coffee” is a statement you can make here in Australia.)