I've decided to rework my unwieldy antebellum-America novel in terms of genre and target audience.
I hope to make it a "Young Adult" novel. That seems to be the publishing industry's term for works aimed at the 12-18 age group.
The manuscript is wildly unfocused as it stands, and follows the wanderings of a handful of fictional characters who bump into historical persons at intervals.
I've decided that in the re-write, the central consciousness of the book will be a historical figure. Daniel Webster, no less. The ms as it stands has some passages about Webster I especially like, and this will make it easy both to save and to expand on them.
Since I've made this decision, I've also started to look into examples of YA. And one that intrigues me, published two years ago, is called The Book Thief.
I urge you all to read that review. Most of it is a simple plot summary, with a minimum of critique (or of praise for that matter) and the ambition of the book's author is breath-taking.
Bravo, Markus Zusak.
31 August 2008
30 August 2008
Only Nine Headlines
Scott Adams, the cartoonist who created Dilbert, likes to say that there are only nine news stories, constantly re-written.
Let's see if he's right. I'll give his wording of one of the template headlines, then look for the nearest and most recent equivalent.
1. EXTREME WEATHER BATTERS SOMEPLACE
This is too easy. Pick the Gustav headline of your choice or this one.
2. IDIOTS KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE
Always too easy. But this time, the idiocy in question is bizaare. "Ohio jury convicts Mom in microwaved baby case."
3. POLITICIAN DOES SOMETHING ILLEGAL
It seems that a member of the city council in Seattle Washington was recently fined in connection with awarding a no-bid contract. Then he got in further trouble by trying to use CITY funds to pay HIS fine. An old story about a murderer/orphan pleading for mercy comes to mind.
4. PRIMATE ATTEMPTS INAPPROPRIATE SEX
The primate in question would be the X-Files star David Duchony, who has just checked himself into a clinic for sex addiction. Presumably there must have been some precipitating event, which somebody would have regarded as inappropriate, to bringh this about.
If you insist on a non-human primate, one wonders what that frozen "Bigfoot" in the news of late was really up to just before his unfortunate demise.
5. EXPERTS WARN OF FINANCIAL CALAMITY
Almost the exact wording of a story I encountered earlier this month.
"Experts Warn of Unrest over Food Prices."
6. BIG COMPANY BUYS ANOTHER BIG COMPANY
Innotek and Micron.
7. FAMOUS PERSON DOES SOMETHING INTERESTING
Its a good thing a did an idle google search to find a good fit for this template, or I would never have known of the existence of the following headline: "Demi squirts milk at lesbians." About a hot night out for famous person Demi Moore, while she was lactating. I don't think you want me to provide you with a link to that. Interesting, in a bizaare sort of way.
8. A SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY MIGHT BE USEFUL IN TEN YEARS
Cows naturally point north. Sort of making each bovine a redneck GPS.
9. GOVERNMENT FAILS TO ACHIEVE A GOAL
Hence this: "Bid to break state budget impasse falls short" from California, shockingly.
Yes, Scott, maybe there are only nine headlines. Except that you left out the sports section.
10. "One Team Defeats Another."
Let's see if he's right. I'll give his wording of one of the template headlines, then look for the nearest and most recent equivalent.
1. EXTREME WEATHER BATTERS SOMEPLACE
This is too easy. Pick the Gustav headline of your choice or this one.
2. IDIOTS KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE
Always too easy. But this time, the idiocy in question is bizaare. "Ohio jury convicts Mom in microwaved baby case."
3. POLITICIAN DOES SOMETHING ILLEGAL
It seems that a member of the city council in Seattle Washington was recently fined in connection with awarding a no-bid contract. Then he got in further trouble by trying to use CITY funds to pay HIS fine. An old story about a murderer/orphan pleading for mercy comes to mind.
4. PRIMATE ATTEMPTS INAPPROPRIATE SEX
The primate in question would be the X-Files star David Duchony, who has just checked himself into a clinic for sex addiction. Presumably there must have been some precipitating event, which somebody would have regarded as inappropriate, to bringh this about.
If you insist on a non-human primate, one wonders what that frozen "Bigfoot" in the news of late was really up to just before his unfortunate demise.
5. EXPERTS WARN OF FINANCIAL CALAMITY
Almost the exact wording of a story I encountered earlier this month.
"Experts Warn of Unrest over Food Prices."
6. BIG COMPANY BUYS ANOTHER BIG COMPANY
Innotek and Micron.
7. FAMOUS PERSON DOES SOMETHING INTERESTING
Its a good thing a did an idle google search to find a good fit for this template, or I would never have known of the existence of the following headline: "Demi squirts milk at lesbians." About a hot night out for famous person Demi Moore, while she was lactating. I don't think you want me to provide you with a link to that. Interesting, in a bizaare sort of way.
8. A SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY MIGHT BE USEFUL IN TEN YEARS
Cows naturally point north. Sort of making each bovine a redneck GPS.
9. GOVERNMENT FAILS TO ACHIEVE A GOAL
Hence this: "Bid to break state budget impasse falls short" from California, shockingly.
Yes, Scott, maybe there are only nine headlines. Except that you left out the sports section.
10. "One Team Defeats Another."
29 August 2008
One gutsy lady
Apparently this is a reporter of Georgian nationality, reporting on Georgian state TV regarding the Russian invasion of her country, a couple of weeks ago.
As you'll see, she's hit by small arms fire ... and continues doing her job unfazed.
Awesome. Watch for yourself.
Her name is Tamara Urushadze.
The name and the incident have both become a blogosphere sensation. Says TMZ: "Don't let your boss see this video, you'll never be allowed to call in sick again."
As you'll see, she's hit by small arms fire ... and continues doing her job unfazed.
Awesome. Watch for yourself.
Her name is Tamara Urushadze.
The name and the incident have both become a blogosphere sensation. Says TMZ: "Don't let your boss see this video, you'll never be allowed to call in sick again."
28 August 2008
Tobin tax
I'm confident that the trend of history is toward the disaggregation of sovereignty, and I'm happy that Ireland's recent rejection of the latest round of Euro-treaty making looks like an example of that.
That said, there are still efforts underway in the other direction, toward some sort of global political federation. This would require a world tax, and the latest plausible candidate for such a thing is the "Tobin tax."
The original idea, posed by American economist James Tobin in the 1970s as the Bretton Woods structure was unravelling, was that if an international authority imposed a tax upon currency speculators, they'd dampen down the volatility of that market, preventing wild swings in say pound-versus-yen rates that might otherwise generate crises.
Tobin, a Nobel Prize winner, didn't pay much attention to the issue of what would be done with the money once it was collected. The point for him was chiefly to discourage the sort of thing that later made Soros so wealthy.
At any rate, the "Tobin tax" is almost always cited nowadays as a neat idea for collecting money for a lot of idealistic causes as here.
My usual mellow response to Tobin tax supporters, though, is: in your dreams.
Why do I bring it up? Well, I find the original idea behind the proposal intellectually interesting. I wrote about it a few times while at HW, and I'm happy to say that advocates of the tax thought I was being fair to them.
And besides, what else would you have me write about? the news from Denver? Boooooring.
That said, there are still efforts underway in the other direction, toward some sort of global political federation. This would require a world tax, and the latest plausible candidate for such a thing is the "Tobin tax."
The original idea, posed by American economist James Tobin in the 1970s as the Bretton Woods structure was unravelling, was that if an international authority imposed a tax upon currency speculators, they'd dampen down the volatility of that market, preventing wild swings in say pound-versus-yen rates that might otherwise generate crises.
Tobin, a Nobel Prize winner, didn't pay much attention to the issue of what would be done with the money once it was collected. The point for him was chiefly to discourage the sort of thing that later made Soros so wealthy.
At any rate, the "Tobin tax" is almost always cited nowadays as a neat idea for collecting money for a lot of idealistic causes as here.
My usual mellow response to Tobin tax supporters, though, is: in your dreams.
Why do I bring it up? Well, I find the original idea behind the proposal intellectually interesting. I wrote about it a few times while at HW, and I'm happy to say that advocates of the tax thought I was being fair to them.
And besides, what else would you have me write about? the news from Denver? Boooooring.
24 August 2008
The Monty Hall Puzzle, continued
Most people, when confronted with the story in yesterday's entry, will answer that there is no reason to change, that the contestant might as well stick with curtain A. After all, there are two unopened curtains. The big prize is behind one of them. The odds that it is behind curtain number one are, then, 0.50, or 1:2, so the rational contestant is indifferent as between one curtain and the other.
Conditional probability theory, though, looks carefully at what Monty Hall's own actions have already told us. When the contestant made her first choice her odds of having picked the right curtain were: one out of three. The chance that she had made the wrong choice then, was: two out of three. What Mr. Hall has told us hasn't changed the chance that her initial choice was wrong at all—it has concentrated that chance—which is now embodied, so to speak, by curtain B. Why? Because Mr. Hall knows where the $1 million is, and surely wouldn't have opened curtain three if he knew it was there. So his choice to open the one that he did was non-random.
At any rate, conditional probability theory says that given the fact that Monty now has eliminated curtain C the rational contestant will pick curtain B, giving herself a two-thirds chance of winning. Don't be surprised if this is counter-intuitive and even disorienting. It has that effect on a lot of people. As a psychological matter, if she picked curtain A, and Monty opened curtain C, she might well take that as a confirming event ("so far, what has happened is consistent with my initial guess") which would make her likely to dig in her heels and stick with it, theory be damned!
I mention it because conditional probability theory has important consequences in the world of finance and may have something to tell us about last year's credit crunch. But I'll give the connection some thought before pontificating further,
Conditional probability theory, though, looks carefully at what Monty Hall's own actions have already told us. When the contestant made her first choice her odds of having picked the right curtain were: one out of three. The chance that she had made the wrong choice then, was: two out of three. What Mr. Hall has told us hasn't changed the chance that her initial choice was wrong at all—it has concentrated that chance—which is now embodied, so to speak, by curtain B. Why? Because Mr. Hall knows where the $1 million is, and surely wouldn't have opened curtain three if he knew it was there. So his choice to open the one that he did was non-random.
At any rate, conditional probability theory says that given the fact that Monty now has eliminated curtain C the rational contestant will pick curtain B, giving herself a two-thirds chance of winning. Don't be surprised if this is counter-intuitive and even disorienting. It has that effect on a lot of people. As a psychological matter, if she picked curtain A, and Monty opened curtain C, she might well take that as a confirming event ("so far, what has happened is consistent with my initial guess") which would make her likely to dig in her heels and stick with it, theory be damned!
I mention it because conditional probability theory has important consequences in the world of finance and may have something to tell us about last year's credit crunch. But I'll give the connection some thought before pontificating further,
23 August 2008
The Monty Hall puzzle
Suppose you're on the old quiz show, "Let's Make a Deal." For those of you who are too young to remember it -- don't worry, you'll catch on as we go along. Quiz shows are quiz shows through every generation.
The host, Monty Hall, shows you three curtains: A, B, and C. Behind one of these curtains is a fabulous prize. Behind each of the other two is some absurd gag gift.
At random you say, "I'll take what's behind curtain A, Monty."
Monty replies, "Before we pull back A, let's pull back C, just for fun."
His beautiful assistant gracefully pulls back curtain C revealing ... a mound of shaving cream.
Then Monty turns back to you and asks: "Do you want to stay with A, or change your guess?"
Well ... do you? Does it matter one way or the other for your chances whether you do?
The host, Monty Hall, shows you three curtains: A, B, and C. Behind one of these curtains is a fabulous prize. Behind each of the other two is some absurd gag gift.
At random you say, "I'll take what's behind curtain A, Monty."
Monty replies, "Before we pull back A, let's pull back C, just for fun."
His beautiful assistant gracefully pulls back curtain C revealing ... a mound of shaving cream.
Then Monty turns back to you and asks: "Do you want to stay with A, or change your guess?"
Well ... do you? Does it matter one way or the other for your chances whether you do?
22 August 2008
Why Didn't Liu Run
I've been enjoying the Olympics. I hope you have, as well, dear reader.
There was something of a disappointment for aficionados of track and field events around the world, and especially in the host country, early this week. Liu Xiang withdrew from the men's 110 meter hurdles.
At the last Olympics, in Athens, Liu won the gold in that event. It was a stereotype-shattering event, too. He became the first athlete not of African descent to complete that event in less than 13 seconds. The stereotype of Asian men, of course, is "brainy, not athletic."
Liu has expressed himself in terms that acknowledge the stereotypes. "I want to prove to the world that Asians can run very fast."
Consider it proven. Indeed, in 2006, at an event in Lausanne, Liu set a new world's record in this event at 12.88 seconds.
But while his home country is hosting the Olympic games, the reigning king of the sport has withdrawn! And the gold went this week to a Cuban athlete who -- if I may say so without giving offense -- does look like the stereotypical track-and-field star. That winner, Dayron Robles by name, ran the course in 12.93 seconds. Intriguingly, then, Robles ran slower than Liu's best (but a bit more quickly than Liu had run when winning in Athens).
Why did Liu pull out? There seems to be some confusion about that point. The Epoch Times, claims there's a cover up.
Epoch Times has its own political agenda here. It's a China-themed periodical printed in New York City, in both Chinese and English editions, specifically for the purpose of tracking human rights violations by the PRC, and it is sometimes seen as a mouthpiece for the Falun Gong. Some scholars have reportedly been impressed by the network of sources the paper appears to have cultivated within the country.
So coverage of an injury to an Achilles tendon would seem rather trivial for The Epoch Times, wouldn't it? Ah, but they've run an article suggesting that Liu had some sort of "leg injury" even before the games, and that authorities knew that he wouldn't repeat at the gold, but hid this from the public until the last possible moment, staging the pull-out to minimize the popular discontent it was expected to create.
Do I care when precisely Liu was injured? No, but if the paper is at all right, then it is on to a broader point: the kind of extensive information control the State there seeks to exercise over everything does seem chilling.
Personally, I'd just like some day to see Liu and his very best and Robles at his very best running down the same track at the same time, taking the hurdles. With the same wind at their backs.
There was something of a disappointment for aficionados of track and field events around the world, and especially in the host country, early this week. Liu Xiang withdrew from the men's 110 meter hurdles.
At the last Olympics, in Athens, Liu won the gold in that event. It was a stereotype-shattering event, too. He became the first athlete not of African descent to complete that event in less than 13 seconds. The stereotype of Asian men, of course, is "brainy, not athletic."
Liu has expressed himself in terms that acknowledge the stereotypes. "I want to prove to the world that Asians can run very fast."
Consider it proven. Indeed, in 2006, at an event in Lausanne, Liu set a new world's record in this event at 12.88 seconds.
But while his home country is hosting the Olympic games, the reigning king of the sport has withdrawn! And the gold went this week to a Cuban athlete who -- if I may say so without giving offense -- does look like the stereotypical track-and-field star. That winner, Dayron Robles by name, ran the course in 12.93 seconds. Intriguingly, then, Robles ran slower than Liu's best (but a bit more quickly than Liu had run when winning in Athens).
Why did Liu pull out? There seems to be some confusion about that point. The Epoch Times, claims there's a cover up.
Epoch Times has its own political agenda here. It's a China-themed periodical printed in New York City, in both Chinese and English editions, specifically for the purpose of tracking human rights violations by the PRC, and it is sometimes seen as a mouthpiece for the Falun Gong. Some scholars have reportedly been impressed by the network of sources the paper appears to have cultivated within the country.
So coverage of an injury to an Achilles tendon would seem rather trivial for The Epoch Times, wouldn't it? Ah, but they've run an article suggesting that Liu had some sort of "leg injury" even before the games, and that authorities knew that he wouldn't repeat at the gold, but hid this from the public until the last possible moment, staging the pull-out to minimize the popular discontent it was expected to create.
Do I care when precisely Liu was injured? No, but if the paper is at all right, then it is on to a broader point: the kind of extensive information control the State there seeks to exercise over everything does seem chilling.
Personally, I'd just like some day to see Liu and his very best and Robles at his very best running down the same track at the same time, taking the hurdles. With the same wind at their backs.
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