Vocalized Thoughts

 
... is fine indeed.

Photos from Monday's day trip to Wilson's Promontory. In some of them you can see some of the remaining damage from January 09's terrible fires.

I am ready to cut a swathe through 2010. Bring on the new year.


( More under the cut )

Happy New Year!

http://www.thesixsmiths.com/wordpress/?p=332

-- JF

Well, I was going to post some pictures of my trip to Wilson's Promontory, but I figure this stupidity takes precedence.

As most of you are no doubt aware, after the foiled terror attack on athe Christmas day New York-Amsterdam flight the TSA is introducing a slew of new security regulations, designed apparently with the idea that making flying as uncomfortable as possible for passengers will prevent further terror plots:

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2009-12-26/passengers-to-u-s-face-stay-seated-rule-after-bombing-attempt.html

Passengers will be required to remain seated during the first and last hours of the flight, all baggage must be stowed overhead, airline monitors will be off during take off and landing...

None of this is going to stop any determined terrorist.

The only way to secure flights is to do what El Al does: employ highly trained security personnel (as opposed to minimum wage schlubs) to question EVERY SINGLE PASSENGER and to hand search EVERY SINGLE CHECKED BAG in the presence of its owner. 

-- JF

http://www.thesixsmiths.com/wordpress/?p=320

http://www.thesixsmiths.com/wordpress/?p=318

Every once in a blue moon, a meme strikes me as a good idea.

Here is a meme of the first lines of many of my Works in Progress.

 

 

A maiden's power is found in the small things- in the tremulous beauty of the doe, in the quivering curiosity of the rabbit, in the minute yammering heartbeat of the mouse.

(The Book of Three Aspects)

 

I was born and raised in a flatbed Diahatsu with a Conestoga cover and I'm proud of it, but I don't bandy it about.  My wife grew up in a VW bug.  (Car Story)

 

No one argued with the Queen when she said they would go for a walk.  None of the courtiers dared suggest that she and the Prince were in no condition for it. (Not Drowning)

 

The First Prince of Telger stood amidst his court unobserved, as ghosts tend to. (The Sword Always Knows)

 

The baby cried when it was touched.  It screamed when it was held and it went into convulsions when the doctor pricked its heel to test its blood type. (Untouchable)

 

Millie stood at the long-drop door in her nightgown, waiting. (Just Millie)

 

"Mommy, I don't want to feed the trolls," whined six-year old Iso, as her mother pulled her by the hand across Fairbrother Park.  "I want to pet the unicorns," she insisted, digging her heels into the path.  When that didn't work, she went limp, forcing her mother to stop, or else drag her bodily through the wet grass.  (Over the Underpass)

 

The shoes were black, bulky, and weighted to keep her from flying.  (The Uniform)

 

As soon as Paul stepped in the door from work, I knew something was wrong. Only hours before, I had freshened my wards and swept the porch widdershins. Nothing should have gotten in except my husband.  And that is exactly how she did it.  She used him as a mule. (When We Were Cursed)

 

As always, they talked about her as if she wasn't there, because she wasn't. (Fixing the Unicorn)

 

I have bad thoughts. (The Confessor)

 

Science never set out to destroy heaven, you know. (Inventing Heaven)

 

It seemed disastrous when a large piece of time shrapnel broke into the kitchen of Le Restaurant la Fin on review night just before the first entrée was served. (A Wedge of Time)


Which would you most like to see me finish?

It's Yule this week, and of course THE SIXSMITHS will be participating in the festive season with some traditional Satanic carols. Today, Christmas Eve and and Christmas Day itself we will have some sheet music for your singing pleasure.

Feel free to print some off and go caroling through your neighbourhood! http://www.thesixsmiths.com/wordpress/?p=315

-- JF

Well, It just happened to me again- the fake Windows Pop-up that claims I have viruses and tries to download a bogus program to extract them. It happened on LJ (it only ever happens on LJ) and it was while I was working on a new post.  Still no response from LJ support on any of this.

Urgh!  Looks like I'm gonna download Firefox today.  

I have some great news. The Wily Website for downloadable speculative fiction is going to become a paying market in February 2010. And it won't just be paying peanuts. This is great news for so many reasons. 

1) Wily Website is the love child of angelmcc , my dear friend and fellow co-founder of Wily Writers, the international speculative fiction writers group.  Angel is a gamely employed (meaning she works writing for the gaming industry), horrro-writing dynamo, and beautiful to boot. Yes, I luv her.

2) The site is fantastic, extremely professional (depite the fact that Angel does it all out of her own pocket-), and has some of the best audio downloads I've ever heard.

3) Wily Website was nominated for a Parsec award when it was only about six months old. 

4) Wily Website will also be moving to a rotating guest editor system, which means I get to dip my big toe in editing next year without getting sucked into the quick-sand. of "Opportunities that kill your fiction." Here are the new guidelines. 

Be aware that you must have had something published previously to submit, and that guest editors will focus on content, not copyediting, so your manuscript should be as clean as you can possibly make it.  If copy editing isn't your strong point, get some help. Hope to see your story up soon at Wilies.

 
This festive season, everywhere I look I see diseased and mutilated bodies.

Australian TV is wall-to-wall with ads from the Traffic Accident Commission showing graphic footage of pedestrians, motorists and cyclists being crippled in motor vehicle collisions. Cigarette packaging is now covered with images of cancerous eyes and lungs and throats (I don't smoke but I'm thinking about buying some just to collect the artwork). The public transport network is plastered with photos of amputee victims of workplace accidents and warnings about venereal disease.

Sure as fuck beats Christmas carols.

-- JF

2009 was a big year for me. It was such a big year that I am going to need a rather large nutshell- maybe a coconut shell, or a shell of the Coco de Mer, the world's largest nut shown here;









Yeah, I know what it looks like. Focus, people! This blog is about my accomplishments in 2009. Get your minds out of the nutshell.

A Year of Firsts: I like to sum up my year by looking at what new writerly experiences I have had. And I am always amazed at how the list snowballs as I begin to generate it.

2009 FIRSTS (and a few seconds and thirds)

1. First reprint published
2. First story in Reflection's Edge
3. First story in Reflection's Edge as the editor's choice feature
4. First magical realism piece published
5. First story produced in audio form
6. First time short-listed for an award
7. First Fan Con attended
8. First time I lost an award to a friend
9. Second story produced in audio form (okay that isn't a first, but it is still significant)
10. First appearance in an anthology
11. First genre erotica piece published
12. First contribution to a charitable publication (funding Conservation International)
13. First appearance in an e-anthology.
14. First time an editor sought me out for a personal call to submit
15. First story in Semaphore Magazine
16. First time in a "best of" Anthology
17. First story in A Fly in Amber
18. Second flash sold
19. Second reprint sold and published
20. Second story sold to Reflection's Edge
21. Third flash sold
22. First time to be interviewed as an author
23. First time participating in New Zealand SpecFic Blogging Week
24. Second magical realism piece sold
25. First literary story published
26. First time an agent stalked me
27. Second story in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine
28. First story to inspire the cover art for a magazine
29. Second story chosen for a "best of" Anthology
30. First time to win a blogging contest (at Red Room)
31. Second time an editor sought me out for a personal call to submit
32. First time participating in a One Day Short Story Contest
33. First time to have my blog featured on Jon Gibb's goodies list.
34. Second award nomination by magazine editors (Micro Awards).


Not too shabby. Last year I listed 18 firsts- so it looks as if I am gaining momentum. I can barely wait for 2010. The firsts are already lining up at the door.

What firsts have you accomplished this year?

I'd love to see your list, but please be encouraged to keep your nutshell to yourself:)

Okay, I can't stay silent any longer. For the last five days I have been getting bogus Windows Explorer virus warning popups on my computer whenever I am on Livejournal. It has happened five or six times, only on Livejournal.

These popups say you are infected with numerous viruses. When you try to close the first window, it takes you to a second one that appears to be scanning your computer and it then shows various and numerous viruses your computer has with dire warnings. When you try to close that window, it tries to download a virus protection program (Yeah right!) from somewhere, at which point a "real" Window pops up and says "Are you sure you want to download this program? It may harm your computer." But it won't let you exit the fake windows (and in some cases will begin to download a program, even when you tell it not to). The only way to escape the mayhem, is to shut down Internet Explorer all together.

Now, I have really awesome protection on my computer. And I have run my anti-malware after seeing these dire messages. There are no viruses on my computer. This is all a ploy to get you to download viruses by making you think you have them already.

After the third incident, I e-mailed LJ support. That was 2-3 days ago and I have gotten no response. Meanwhile, I see several people on my LJ friends list saying they have been fighting a virus and some have lost massive amounts of info.

Is this all just coincidence? Or is there a bogus virus program imbedded in LJ that only I am aware of?

I really love my LJ. It is improtant to me. But I am getting really sick of having this crap pop up, scare the s**t out of me, and no one seems to be doing anything.

If you have had this experience, please comment here and also e-mail LJ support.

My friend and colleague Dave Gutierrez, inker for the legendary Gene Colan and arse-kicking artist in his own right, is looking for some commissions to kick off 2010.  

Inks, full art, B&W or colour, Dave can do petty much everything although he's particularly partial to Tim Burton stuff, the SANDMAN (check out those Delirium pics) and of course Dracula/Nosferatu. If you're looking for a Nightmarish antidote to the Christmas season, Dave is your man. He also has a limited edition hardcover art book for sale: I've got mine already...

Check out Dave's work on the web: http://abstractreality.net

-- JF

This week, the Sixsmiths vs AUSTRALIAN IDOL.

-- JF