Monthly Archives: January 2012

Weird Science: Stem Cells, Breast Milk, and Testicles

Posted on January 31, 2012 by

The stem cell controversy. It’s not going away. Whether or not you believe it should is not important. The main thing is that the benefits of stem cell research are vast. Therapies using stem cells could cure everything from acute … Continue reading →


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Posted in Book View Cafe | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Raised in a Barn: Sleepover Ninjas

Posted on January 31, 2012 by

How many of my memories of childhood involve thinking I was putting something over on my parents? A lot, I’m afraid.  I didn’t give my parents as much credit as I suspect they deserved, but then, I don’t think any … Continue reading →


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Posted in Book View Cafe | 2 Comments

Writing Nowadays–Back to School

Posted on January 30, 2012 by

All writers make mistakes in their research.  The problem comes when the mistakes remind too many readers that they’re reading a story.  A number of writers don’t bother to research horses, for example, because they figure only a tiny percentage … Continue reading →


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Posted in Writers on Writing | 20 Comments

Reality, Fiction, and Truth

Posted on January 29, 2012 by

by Sherwood Smith Three or four years ago, a writer was a day away from departing on a massive book tour before her equally massive launch of a memoir about growing up poor in South-central LA and her gangsta life. … Continue reading →


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Posted in Books and Reading, Culture, History | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

Biological Revolutions: Abiogenesis Part I

Posted on January 29, 2012 by

(Picture from here.) I had planned to have a single blog entry on abiogenesis. But, it’s too big a subject. So, I’m just going to start here and we’ll see how it goes. Abiogenesis is the process of living systems … Continue reading →


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Posted in Animals, Book View Cafe, Science | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The Golden Age of Work

Posted on January 28, 2012 by

Reading Nancy Jane’s post here about the modern world of work made me think perhaps it’s time I wrote a post about The Golden Age of Work. It may have been a particularly British Golden Age, or it may be just … Continue reading →


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Posted in Book View Cafe | 5 Comments

In life as it is in fiction…

Posted on January 27, 2012 by

When I teach characterization and plot, I tell my students this. Whether or not a person is a hero is not determined by the small choices, the small mistakes. It is determined by the tough choice, the action they take … Continue reading →


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Writing in the Digital Age: Rights in a Long-Tail World

Posted on January 27, 2012 by

I was talking to a savvy writer last week about a new contract he had signed. He and his agent had fought to control certain subsidiary rights that had not been a problem in the past, but the publisher flatly … Continue reading →


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Posted in Book View Cafe, eBooks, Publishing | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Knit the Squid 5: On Beyond Tail

Posted on January 26, 2012 by

By Brenda Clough As you can see, I have got to where the narrowing of the fins, combined with the widening of the body area, has now  got me past the tail completely.  Whew!  Some more slow body widening is … Continue reading →


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Posted in Animals | 3 Comments

The Modern World of Work

Posted on January 26, 2012 by

by Nancy Jane Moore The New York Times had an article last weekend on why Apple (in particular) and other big companies use Chinese companies for manufacturing. It isn’t that worker pay is so much lower — apparently the labor … Continue reading →


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Posted in Rants | 6 Comments