nedhepburn:

nevver:

Six Tips on Writing from John Steinbeck

1. Abandon the idea that you are ever going to finish. Lose track of the 400 pages and write just one page for each day, it helps. Then when it gets finished, you are always surprised.
2. Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on. It also interferes with flow and rhythm which can only come from a kind of unconscious association with the material.
3. Forget your generalized audience. In the first place, the nameless, faceless audience will scare you to death and in the second place, unlike the theater, it doesn’t exist. In writing, your audience is one single reader. I have found that sometimes it helps to pick out one person—a real person you know, or an imagined person and write to that one.
4. If a scene or a section gets the better of you and you still think you want it—bypass it and go on. When you have finished the whole you can come back to it and then you may find that the reason it gave trouble is because it didn’t belong there.
5. Beware of a scene that becomes too dear to you, dearer than the rest. It will usually be found that it is out of drawing.
6. If you are using dialogue—say it aloud as you write it. Only then will it have the sound of speech.

‘Cannery Row’ is one of the best books, and ‘Of Mice & Men’ can make a grown man cry. Steinbeck was a legend. Also; the third point here is vital, stellar advice.

npr:

The meteoric rise of New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin has echoes of Tim Tebow, the Denver Broncos quarterback who caused such a stir last fall. Of course, Tebow was a college superstar at the University of Florida, while Lin played in relative obscurity at Harvard. But both began their pro careers as bench warmers. As their teams struggled, they were finally given a chance, and became overnight sensations as they turned their teams into winners. Here’s a rough comparison: Lin Vs. Tebow

dejoejohn:

Social Media EXPLAINED

Now I understand!

nationalpost:

The evil of Aries: How astrology can be sign of future jail time
Police in Chatham-Kent, Ont., announced Wednesday that, of 1,986 people arrested so far this year, 203 were Aries, whereas just 139 were Sagittarius.

It is the first time the municipality has ranked its crimes by Zodiac sign. Aries were the most arrested, with Libras in second at 189 arrests, and Virgo third at 183. The least criminal were Sagittarius (139 arrests), Aquarius (142) and Taurus (146).

“You can’t really read too much into it,” says Const. Michael Pearce, a police spokesman, who used an Excell spreadsheet to classify the data. “I don’t comment too much on the Zodiac stuff because I don’t want any backlash about it. I am not drawing any conclusions about it.”

Still, Georgia Nicols, who writes the National Post’s horoscope, said that the results in Chatham-Kent make some sense.

“Aries is the sign of the warrior,” said Ms. Nicols, speaking from her home on Bowan Island, off the coast of Vancouver. “Aries rules the military. Aries jump in head first, and love adventure. A lot of people in the newsroom are Aries.”

Sagittarius stays out of the crime stats, she suggests, because “They don’t get caught. They are smooth. They can talk anybody into anything.”

I am a sag

npr:

If you’ve ever lamented the time and effort it takes to brew or procure a cup of coffee, this might perk you up. “Breathable Energy. Anytime. Anyplace.” (via Inhalable Caffeine: Party Drug Or Handy, Pocket-Sized Boost? : The Salt)

Photo: Breathable Foods

nationalpost:

Winter Solstice 2011: The shortest day of the year, and the official start of winter
Depending on where you are in the world, December 21 or 22 marks the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere: the official beginning of winter, and the longest night of the year. (In Canada, the switch happens either late at night on the 21st, or early in the morning on the 22nd; for those on Eastern Standard Time, the new season begins at 12:30 a.m. December 22).

npr:

Mmmmmmm pi.

kqedscience:

Mind is officially blown. #pi

Love it!

npr:

A helping of skepticism about the causes of Americans’ poor eating habits — and the effectiveness of political fixes.

Will people ever learn?

npr:

The calculator shows where your income stands on the wide range of the 99%. An annual salary above $506,000 puts you in the top 1%, while you need to make less than $2,500 a year to be in the bottom 1%. Where do you stand?

More important is where are you willing to learn and work to be!!!

discoverynews:

Beetles Die During Sex With Beer Bottles

It’s a case of mistaken attraction, because the beer bottles happen to possess all of the features that drive male Australian jewel beetles wild. They’re big and orangey brown in color, with a slightly dimpled surface near the bottom (designed to prevent the bottle from slipping out of one’s grasp) that reflects light in much the same way as female wing covers.

Read more

So human’s are not the only species to love beer to death:)