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Thoughts on a Sad News Day
Mar. 12th, 2015 10:30 amSad News
First, Terry Prachett's Facebook page is announcing he just died. He was diagnosed with a rare form of early-onset Alzheimer's in 2007, so this was not entirely unexpected. I have to admit, I've not read much if any of his stuff, but he was a fan favorite and a well-liked person.
Random Thoughts, Presented Randomly
A) trade-show attendees know the "booth babes" phenomenon - easy-on-the-eyes women hired to stand around a trade-show booth and suck in customers. This guy has empirical proof that babes do not convert to sales.
B) You can't win at publishing. Money quote:
Look, writing for money, particularly writing for a living is very hard.
It really is.
You know what else is hard to do for a living?
Everything.
Everything is hard.
You’re not entitled to this shit being any easier.
Writing is really no different than any other trade, craft, or profession. Anything you do for a living requires awareness and effort and consistency. Fiction just lacks the traditional markers. No one hires you to be a novelist at their novel writing company...
C) If you've been out to dinner at any casual dining restaurant recently, you've noticed that lobster tails are ubiquitous on the menu. Everybody's selling them, and I wondered why. Thanks to global warming, there's a glut of lobster on the market. When the article was written, lobster was going for $2 a pound. It's not clear if this year's hard winter will push prices up or down - the Maine shrimp season didn't happen, so more boats will be out lobstering.
First, Terry Prachett's Facebook page is announcing he just died. He was diagnosed with a rare form of early-onset Alzheimer's in 2007, so this was not entirely unexpected. I have to admit, I've not read much if any of his stuff, but he was a fan favorite and a well-liked person.
Random Thoughts, Presented Randomly
A) trade-show attendees know the "booth babes" phenomenon - easy-on-the-eyes women hired to stand around a trade-show booth and suck in customers. This guy has empirical proof that babes do not convert to sales.
B) You can't win at publishing. Money quote:
Look, writing for money, particularly writing for a living is very hard.
It really is.
You know what else is hard to do for a living?
Everything.
Everything is hard.
You’re not entitled to this shit being any easier.
Writing is really no different than any other trade, craft, or profession. Anything you do for a living requires awareness and effort and consistency. Fiction just lacks the traditional markers. No one hires you to be a novelist at their novel writing company...
C) If you've been out to dinner at any casual dining restaurant recently, you've noticed that lobster tails are ubiquitous on the menu. Everybody's selling them, and I wondered why. Thanks to global warming, there's a glut of lobster on the market. When the article was written, lobster was going for $2 a pound. It's not clear if this year's hard winter will push prices up or down - the Maine shrimp season didn't happen, so more boats will be out lobstering.
