|
Archive for December 2009
U.S. Writers Protest Imprisonment of Chinese Dissident Liu Xiaobo
Post from Writers Write
Thursday, December 31, 2009, 9:00 pm
Read more: Writing
In New York today Edward Albee, E.L. Doctorow and many other writers rallied to demand the release of dissident Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo. The writers gathered in front of the New York Public Library for the protest. Liu has been sentenced to 11 years in prison on the charges of “subversion.” Bloomberg reports:
“Any time a country imprisons its creative people, you know that’s a country that’s got to change,” Albee, 81, said in an interview before the New York demonstration. The rally was organized by the PEN American Center, an international human- rights group that defends writers around the world.
Anthony Appiah, the center’s president and a Princeton University philosophy professor, expressed outrage at Liu’s sentence and said the group would lobby for his release.
“We are proud to stand here in solidarity with our fellow writer and with his family,” Appiah said as snow swirled around the steps of the library.
Liu, 54, had been held in secret for more than a year before a two-hour trial on Dec. 23. An 11-page verdict was delivered on Christmas.
In addition to the prison sentence, Liu was banned from all political activity for two years. The former literature professor has published essays critical of the Chinese government, particularly its human-rights abuses and crackdown on dissent in foreign journals and on the Internet.
At the rally, writers read from the seven sentences that got Liu thrown in jail. The organizers marched to the Chinese Embassy and delivered a letter of protest. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing has called for Liu’s release, as have other civil rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch.
Permalink | Recent Headlines | Our News Feeds
|
King Crown Tattoo-to get a royal feeling
Post from Mike hussey
Thursday, December 31, 2009, 10:13 am
Read more: Art
You really need confidence to carry king crown tattoo on any part of your body. It means that you have the bravery to call yourself a king and want the rest of the world to know about it.It will give you a feeling of power and superiority and this is w…
|
Pisces tattoo-show your creative side to the world
Post from Mike hussey
Thursday, December 31, 2009, 10:00 am
Read more: Art
Pisceans generally said to be more creative and artistic in terms of everything. Having a Piscean tattoo will show off your skills in a great way. They will not only reflect your sun sign but will also describe your inner-self.If you are thinking to ha…
|
The Mail I Get
Post from Lee Goldberg
Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 8:53 pm
Read more: Writing
My agent got an email from a MONK fan who thinks it’s time for me to make a big change in my books. She writes, in part: I wish Mr. Goldberg in his upcoming Monk books would actually start to…
|
Peony Tattoo-Source of Well Being and Safety
Post from Mike hussey
Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 6:58 pm
Read more: Art
What an exquisite peony tattoo on left arm to represent the wealth, good fortune, and prosperity! It seems the whole garden is present with the peony tattoo. The presence of red in its different shades with green leaves and yellow petals, as a whole, j…
|
Santa Royale
Post from Lee Goldberg
Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 6:53 pm
Read more: Writing
The HMSS blog tipped me to this terrific spoof of the CASINO ROYALE pre-credits and opening title sequence.
|
Monster Tattoo-Scream & Scary
Post from Mike hussey
Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 6:21 pm
Read more: Art
For ages, monster tattoos have been attracting people’s attentions through their exaggerated and scaring features. Monster tattoos are born out of human’s deep imagination of the darkness and evil presence in our day-to-day lives.Inked in different…
|
Fallen Angel Tattoo – Show Your Rebellious Side
Post from Mike hussey
Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 6:13 pm
Read more: Art
Fallen angel tattoo has a mythological importance – it is believed some rebellious angels, after getting punishments from the God, came to earth to mix with the mortal way of life. They roam the earth till the judgment day.Fallen angel tattoos are ge…
|
Caustic acoustic
Post from Alex Wire
Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 1:34 pm
Read more: Writing
As well as Scalextric, my Christmas presents this year included an ebow and a condenser mic (although to be fair I did buy that for myself).I’ve put them to use recording some acoustic versions of my band’s songs, which I’ve stuck up on the old m…
|
Lonesome Sales
Post from Lee Goldberg
Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 6:04 am
Read more: Writing
I read Larry McMurtry’s slim and meandering memoir LITERARY LIFE, which had some interesting anecdotes here and there, but overall I thought it was a big disappointment. I was hoping to learn a lot more about his approach to writing…
|
Borders Leaves Some Waldenbooks Stores Open
Post from Writers Write
Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 3:00 am
Read more: Writing
Borders has reversed course and is leaving open a number of Waldenbooks that were scheduled to close. The company has been in the process of closing most of its Waldenbooks chain stores.
In early November, Borders (BGP) announced that it would close 200 of its 330 Waldenbooks stores by early January, cutting 1,500 jobs in the process. But with the new year approaching fast, the bookstore chain is changing its tune ever so slightly, and now plans to spare about 20 stores originally slated for the chopping block.
In Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, Palmer Park Mall manager Beth Samuelson told The Express-Times that store employees removed closing signs last week, and on Monday, corporate offices verified the decision to keep the store open. “It was a total surprise. All the signs saying: ‘Store closing: Everything must go’ all came down.”
Borders spokeswoman Mary Davis wouldn’t explain why some stores were remaining open or how those stores were selected. She says that the company won’t be explaining the decision, so it’s a bit of a mystery.
Permalink | Recent Headlines | Our News Feeds
|
LICENCE TO PUBLISH 3
Post from Automotive Artist
Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 7:51 pm
Read more: Art
64 IMPALA LOWRIDER1964 Chevrolet Impala lowrider, three wheeling.Licences to publish this painting in magazines, books, brochures, and printed material is now available for one year – $500Licences to publish this painting in magazines, books, brochures…
|
Racing around the Christmas tree
Post from Alex Wire
Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 1:33 pm
Read more: Writing
Dear imaginary friends,For once I return from the Christmas break feeling refreshed and cheerful. There are three reasons for this:1) It was my mum’s turn to play hostess to the family this year so we didn’t have to travel.2) Having a long weekend …
|
Just Like the Mail I Get
Post from Lee Goldberg
Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 6:25 am
Read more: Writing
My old high school buddy Christine Ferreira sent me this hilarious email exchange, which comes frighteningly close to many that I’ve had with people who’d like me to work for free. Here’s an excerpt: From: Simon Edhouse Date: Monday 16…
|
Ursula Le Guin Resigns From Authors Guild Over Google Book Settlement
Post from Writers Write
Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 3:00 am
Read more: Writing
Science fiction superstar Ursula LeGuin has resigned her membership in the Authors Guild, saying that the group had “made a deal with the devil” by supporting the Google Book Settlement. MsLeGuin has been a member of the Guild since 1972. In her letter she accuses the group of selling authors down the river. She also says that the Guild has ceded copyright to Google. She posted the statement on her website. Here’s an excerpt of her resignation letter:
I am not going to rehearse any arguments pro and anti the “Google settlement.” You decided to deal with the devil, as it were, and have presented your arguments for doing so. I wish I could accept them. I can’t. There are principles involved, above all the whole concept of copyright; and these you have seen fit to abandon to a corporation, on their terms, without a struggle.
So, after being a loyal if invisible member for so long, I am resigning from the Guild. I am, however, retaining membership in the National Writers Union and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, both of which opposed the “Google settlement.” They don’t have your clout, but their judgment, I think, is sounder, and their courage greater.
The NWU and the SFWA both oppose the Google Book Settlement. Read the whole letter
here.
Permalink | Recent Headlines | Our News Feeds
|
Nook Review – Day 18
Post from Writers Anonymous
Monday, December 28, 2009, 11:05 am
Read more: Writing
Over the past two weeks, I’ve had a pretty good opportunity to use the Nook, trying out various functions and the purchasing process.
Where are the thousands of free books for the nook?
To correct an earlier post, I was able to find the “thousands of free ebooks”. These free ebooks are made available through Google Books, [...]
|
Good Stuff
Post from Lee Goldberg
Monday, December 28, 2009, 3:52 am
Read more: Writing
Here are some of may favorite lines of description from Walter Kirn’s novel UP IN THE AIR> These are the kinds of descriptions of people, places or situations that I wish I wrote…and that, when I read them, make me…
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
or go direct to the RSS feed