The English is clear enough to lorry drivers – but the Welsh reads “I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated.”

According to this story,

When officials asked for the Welsh translation of a road sign, they thought the reply was what they needed.
Unfortunately, the e-mail response to Swansea council said in Welsh: “I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated”.

Check out Thomas Fuch’s blog for tons of heart fun…

A friend of mine, Nikki, has a food blog called The Read Onion where she writes about food and posts some delicious images. (Awesome photography btw Nikki!) She had a chance to meet Chef David Adjey at NAIT with a bunch of other writers and have dinner. She posted her pics on Flickr but I had to steal this one cause it’s so Nikki…

I’ve been pestering everyone I know with links to this article by Craig Mod so now it’s your turn…

http://craigmod.com/journal/ipad_and_books/

Basically he agrees with (and makes much clearer sense about) my long-time thesis that the form of book is controlled by content and if we are to consider giving up the ‘printed book’ we have to reconsider content before deciding the on a new delivery mechanism. He focuses on the iPad as the revolutionary new tool, and while I can’t disagree, it is really irrelevant. Information publishing is past the point of no return and we need to loosen the shackles that paper and ink have imposed for several thousand years (I know, I know, but I included papyrus and stone and wax and whatever…)

These two slidesfrom his article take me right back to Scott McCloud who was fascinating me with this topic back in 2000:

Scott McCloud’s ‘paths and trails’

Craig Mod’s take on the paths and ‘infinite book” concept

Anyway a ‘must read’ for anyone who loves book and reading but has never stopped to think about what a wonderfully versatile thing the book is… and why it must change…

Margaret Atwood

1. Take a pencil to write with on aeroplanes. Pens leak. But if the pencil breaks, you can’t sharpen it on the plane, because you can’t take knives with you. Therefore: take two pencils.

2. If both pencils break, you can do a rough sharpening job with a nail file of the metal or glass type.

3. Take something to write on. Paper is good. In a pinch, pieces of wood or your arm will do.

4. If you’re using a computer, always safeguard new text with a memory stick.

5. Do back exercises. Pain is distracting.

6. Hold the reader’s attention. (This is likely to work better if you can hold your own.) But you don’t know who the reader is, so it’s like shooting fish with a slingshot in the dark. What fascinates A will bore the pants off B.

7. You most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality. This latter means: there’s no free lunch. Writing is work. It’s also gambling. You don’t get a pension plan. Other people can help you a bit, but essentially you’re on your own. Nobody is making you do this: you chose it, so don’t whine.

8. You can never read your own book with the innocent anticipation that comes with that first delicious page of a new book, because you wrote the thing. You’ve been backstage. You’ve seen how the rabbits were smuggled into the hat. Therefore ask a reading friend or two to look at it before you give it to anyone in the publishing business. This friend should not be someone with whom you have a romantic relationship, unless you want to break up.

9. Don’t sit down in the middle of the woods. If you’re lost in the plot or blocked, retrace your steps to where you went wrong. Then take the other road. And/or change the person. Change the tense. Change the opening page.

10. Prayer might work. Or reading something else. Or a constant visual­isation of the holy grail that is the finished, published version of your resplendent book.

More writers give you helpful rules…

A not-so-perfect panorama of the glass so far…

Intimacy occurs when the boundaries between you and someone else melt, and your hearts touch.
– Barbara de Angelis

Apparently Artemis has some American Ragdoll blood in her and that explains the fact I can roll her like a snowball with nary a peep…

Why are Ragdolls called “Ragdolls”?
The name Ragdoll comes from the cats ability to become totally relaxed and limp like a child’s toy ragdoll. This characteristic is true. It is even more prevalent in mature Ragdolls than in kittens.

What are some of the characteristics of the Ragdoll?
Ragdolls are by nature a relaxed, loving, docile cat. They love to have their bellies rubbed and sleep laying next to you. Ragdolls are very responsive and intelligent. They enjoy being with people and other pets, as they are very social. Many owners report they have little privacy since their Ragdolls follow them everywhere. The Ragdoll is simply an easy-going cat.

Is the Ragdoll a “lap cat” ?
Well, some can be, but remember this is a BIG cat and at most times it will feel more comfortable at your side or your feet. That is not to say that a Ragdoll won’t use you as a cushion.

Sound familiar?

Good news from the academic world
if there is such a thing…

Leslie is gonna be PHAMOUS!

The Karsh exhibit provides me with the opportunity to prove I’m no phamous photographer…

I call them “Leslie”