honestly, one of the simple joys in life is little free libraries that are constructed to look just like the homes they are placed in front of… This one is on Stevens Street, a couple of blocks away from where I live 🏠💖👌
There’s one near my hometown (not so near to me anymore, but I do visit often), that’s shaped like Snoopy’s dog house. I try to remember to bring a couple of copies of my books to donate whenever I’m there.
I cannot emphasize enough how much you need to read thoroughly through the terms of any publication before you send your writing to them. It is mandatory that you know and understand what rights you’re giving away when you’re trying to get published.
Just the other day I was emailed by a relatively new indie journal looking for writers. They made it very clear that they did not pay writers for their work, so I figured I’d probably be passing, but I took a look at their Copyright policy out of curiosity and it was a nightmare. They wanted “non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free, perpetual, worldwide license and right to use, display, reproduce, distribute, and publish the Work on the internet and on or in any medium” (that’s copy and pasted btw) and that was the first of 10 sections on their Copyright agreement page. Yikes. That’s exactly the type of publishing nightmare you don’t want to be trapped in.
Most journals will ask for “First North American Rights” or a variation on “First Rights” which operate under the assumption that all right revert back to you and they only have the right to be the first publishers of the work. That is what you need to be looking for because you do want to retain all the rights to your work.
You want all rights to revert back to you upon publication in case you, say, want to publish it again in the future or use it for a bookmark or post it on your blog, or anything else you might want to do with the writing you worked hard on. Any time a publisher wants more than that, be very suspicious. Anyone who wants to own your work forever and be able to do whatever they want with it without your permission is not to be trusted. Anyone who wants all that and wants you to sign away your right to ever be paid for your work is running a scam.
Protect your writing. It’s not just your intellectual property, it’s also your baby. You worked hard on it. You need to do the extra research to protect yourself so that a scammer (or even a well meaning start up) doesn’t
steal you work right from under you nose and make money off of it.
Exclusive publishing rights have to have a set time frame! Do not agree to anything that doesn’t clearly state “up to five years from signature” or something like that.
What if the publisher goes defunct? What if they get bought by another publisher who doesn’t care to promote or publish your work? You still can’t to anything with it, you don’t own it anymore!
“Let’s face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren’t invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm goes off by going on. English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which, of course, isn’t a race at all). That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.”
But, no, because there are reasons for all of those seemingly weird English bits.
Like “eggplant” is called “eggplant” because the white-skinned variety (to which the name originally applied) looks very egg-like.
The “hamburger” is named after the city of Hamburg.
The name “pineapple” originally (in Middle English) applied to pine cones (ie. the fruit of pines - the word “apple” at the time often being used more generically than it is now), and because the tropical pineapple bears a strong resemblance to pine cones, the name transferred.
The “English” muffin was not invented in England, no, but it was invented by an Englishman, Samuel Bath Thomas, in New York in 1894. The name differentiates the “English-style” savoury muffin from “American” muffins which are commonly sweet.
“French fries” are not named for their country of origin (also the United States), but for their preparation. They are French-cut fried potatoes - ie. French fries.
“Sweetmeats” originally referred to candied fruits or nuts, and given that we still use the term “nutmeat” to describe the edible part of a nut and “flesh” to describe the edible part of a fruit, that makes sense.
“Sweetbread” has nothing whatsoever to do with bread, but comes from the Middle English “brede”, meaning “roasted meat”. “Sweet” refers not to being sugary, but to being rich in flavour.
Similarly, “quicksand” means not “fast sand”, but “living sand” (from the Old English “cwicu” - “alive”).
The term boxing “ring” is a holdover from the time when the “ring” would have been just that - a circle marked on the ground. The first square boxing ring did not appear until 1838. In the rules of the sport itself, there is also a ring - real or imagined - drawn within the now square arena in which the boxers meet at the beginning of each round.
The etymology of “guinea pig” is disputed, but one suggestion has been that the sounds the animals makes are similar to the grunting of a pig. Also, as with the “apple” that caused confusion in “pineapple”, “Guinea” used to be the catch-all name for any unspecified far away place. Another suggestion is that the animal was named after the sailors - the “Guinea-men” - who first brought it to England from its native South America.
As for the discrepancies between verb and noun forms, between plurals, and conjugations, these are always the result of differing word derivation.
Writers write because the meaning of the word “writer” is “one who writes”, but fingers never fing because “finger” is not a noun derived from a verb. Hammers don’t ham because the noun “hammer”, derived from the Old Norse “hamarr”, meaning “stone” and/or “tool with a stone head”, is how we derive the verb “to hammer” - ie. to use such a tool. But grocers, in a certain sense, DO “groce”, given that the word “grocer” means “one who buys and sells in gross” (from the Latin “grossarius”, meaning “wholesaler”).
“Tooth” and “teeth” is the legacy of the Old English “toð” and “teð”, whereas “booth” comes from the Old Danish “boþ”. “Goose” and “geese”, from the Old English “gōs” and “gēs”, follow the same pattern, but “moose” is an Algonquian word (Abenaki: “moz”, Ojibwe: “mooz”, Delaware: “mo:s”). “Index” is a Latin loanword, and forms its plural quite predictably by the Latin model (ex: matrix -> matrices, vertex -> vertices, helix -> helices).
One can “make amends” - which is to say, to amend what needs amending - and, case by case, can “amend” or “make an amendment”. No conflict there.
“Odds and ends” is not word, but a phrase. It is, necessarily, by its very meaning, plural, given that it refers to a collection of miscellany. A single object can’t be described in the same terms as a group.
“Teach” and “taught” go back to Old English “tæcan” and “tæhte”, but “preach” comes from Latin “predician” (“præ” + “dicare” - “to proclaim”).
“Vegetarian” comes of “vegetable” and “agrarian” - put into common use in 1847 by the Vegetarian Society in Britain.
“Humanitarian”, on the other hand, is a portmanteau of “humanity” and “Unitarian”, coined in 1794 to described a Christian philosophical position - “One who affirms the humanity of Christ but denies his pre-existence and divinity”. It didn’t take on its current meaning of “ethical benevolence” until 1838. The meaning of “philanthropist” or “one who advocates or practices human action to solve social problems” didn’t come into use until 1842.
We recite a play because the word comes from the Latin “recitare” - “to read aloud, to repeat from memory”. “Recital” is “the act of reciting”. Even this usage makes sense if you consider that the Latin “cite” comes from the Greek “cieo” - “to move, to stir, to rouse , to excite, to call upon, to summon”. Music “rouses” an emotional response. One plays at a recital for an audience one has “called upon” to listen.
The verb “to ship” is obviously a holdover from when the primary means of moving goods was by ship, but “cargo” comes from the Spanish “cargar”, meaning “to load, to burden, to impose taxes”, via the Latin “carricare” - “to load on a cart”.
“Run” (moving fast) and “run” (flowing) are homonyms with different roots in Old English: “ærnan” - “to ride, to reach, to run to, to gain by running”, and “rinnan” - “to flow, to run together”. Noses flow in the second sense, while feet run in the first. Simillarly, “to smell” has both the meaning “to emit” or “to perceive” odor. Feet, naturally, may do the former, but not the latter.
“Fat chance” is an intentionally sarcastic expression of the sentiment “slim chance” in the same way that “Yeah, right” expresses doubt - by saying the opposite.
“Wise guy” vs. “wise man” is a result of two different uses of the word “wise”. Originally, from Old English “wis”, it meant “to know, to see”. It is closely related to Old English “wit” - “knowledge, understanding, intelligence, mind”. From German, we get “Witz”, meaning “joke, witticism”. So, a wise man knows, sees, and understands. A wise guy cracks jokes.
The seemingly contradictory “burn up” and “burn down” aren’t really contradictory at all, but relative. A thing which burns up is consumed by fire. A house burns down because, as it burns, it collapses.
“Fill in” and “fill out” are phrasal verbs with a difference of meaning so slight as to be largely interchangeable, but there is a difference of meaning. To use the example in the post, you fill OUT a form by filling it IN, not the other way around. That is because “fill in” means “to supply what is missing” - in the example, that would be information, but by the same token, one can “fill in” an outline to make a solid shape, and one can “fill in” for a missing person by taking his/her place. “Fill out”, on the other hand, means “to complete by supplying what is missing”, so that form we mentioned will not be filled OUT into we fill IN all the missing information.
An alarm may “go off” and it may be turned on (ie. armed), but it does not “go on”. That is because the verb “to go off” means “to become active suddenly, to trigger” (which is why bombs and guns also go off, but do not go on).
Everything conspired against me watching S8 the second it dropped, but I did watch it over the weekend. I’m also avoiding the fandom meltdown over the ending. Sorry, folks, I’ve been in fandoms for far too long to get upset because Hollywood didn’t validate my ship. If you were expecting otherwise, you’re going to have a miserable life of crushed expectations.
Having said that…
Spoilers!
I understand how upsetting it was losing Allura at the end, but I kind of look at it like this: It’s an almost an anime tradition to kill off important characters. Back in the day, everyone was praising Robotech for killing off characters and not bringing them back. Original Voltron sent Sven to the hospital planet because you weren’t supposed to kill off characters on American daytime cartoons. I’m glad they brought him back (both in the original and now), but I can see from a storytelling point of view how killing him in the original paved the way for original Allura to grow up and pilot a lion.
I didn’t like Legendary Defender Allura at first because of the whole drill sergeant thing in S1 (which should have been Shiro’s role), but she grew on me and now I ache for Lance who loved her from afar, finally captured her attention, had a relationship with her, and then lost her. I love that she passed along her Altean markings to Lance in the end. I’d like to think that meant that were married.
And as far as I’m concerned, Allura sacrificing herself to make sure that Honerva kept her promise to restore all of the realities - I’m good with it, though it’s bittersweet. I can see from the point of view of the writers of a show that’s trying to capture an audience that is the age we were when we first discovered Voltron. Do they want to pass along a message that killing your enemies i.e. Honerva is the only way to save the universe? I don’t like the message though it does have some primal satisfaction.
For me, even though Lance will spend the rest of his days preaching that Allura saw the good in Honerva, that doesn’t mean that Honerva was redeemed for everyone. It’s like Luke forgiving Vader in Return of the Jedi. Sure, Vader was redeemed by saving Luke, and gained Luke’s forgiveness, but the rest of galaxy will always remember him as a murdering bastard. Same with Lotor and Zarkon – their legacies are nothing but enslavement, misery, and death, regardless of whether or not we believe that Honerva is reunited with her husband and son in the nebula.
So anyway, I’m satisfied with the end we got. Everyone is, if not happy, at least content. Lance is on his farm in Cuba and will hopefully someday find someone worthy of him. Personally, I don’t think Lance gave up on flying. He probably still has a license so he can crop dust, or fly a ship to New Altea to visit his friends whenever he wants.
Shiro found his guy, though I would like to think it happened after he had a couple of more years as Captain of the Atlas. Curtis is cute and he was part of the bridge crew so I can see this happening. I want to believe that, like Keith, Shiro still has a larger role to play in the larger galactic universe. I could see him and Curtis either training the new pilots at the Garrison, but occasionally taking a diplomatic post on New Altea, visiting Coran, and keeping the peace with Galra, or maybe joining Blade of Marmora and helping Keith in his new role.
Hunk will also pave the way to intergalactic peace through food. I’m going to have to look at his apprentices again because I’m not sure if the Balmarian is Shay. I want Hunk and Shay to be happy together. I think he’ll stay on Earth and keep in touch with Lance, unless he’s called to cater a big event. I could see Lance supplying Hunk with food from his farm, and Hunk supplying prepared meals for the Blade of Marmora when they need extra for a humanitarian crisis somewhere. There’s a nice circle of life there that warms my heart.
I love the idea that the the Galra asked Keith to be emperor and he said “no” (with a few choice words about finally getting them out from under the rule of emperors and not we’re not starting that shit again). Yeah, in my heart, Sheith is my ship, but I think turning the Blade of Marmora into a humanitarian organization is brilliant. Obviously, not all is peaceful in the new reality, so the Blades will still need to keep their fighting skills sharp to deliver aid. Keith, Acxa, Cosmo, Zethrid, and Ezor can handle that. Zethrid especially will throw down with anyone who threatens the peace as long as she has Ezor by her side. I also think Keith and Acxa will make a fine couple. If Kolivan and Krolia hook up, I’m good with that too. What’s more important is that Keith, with or without Acxa, has a family unit of his own. His relationship with his mother and mentor will make him a great leader, even beyond the Blades. I’m sure Shiro and Curtis will him visit often. We don’t know where those two settled after they got married. The canon ending says Shiro left the battle behind, so I doubt he and Curtis would join the Blades, but I can see him maybe in an administrators role - still leading, but not fighting. I wouldn’t blame him one bit. What I wouldn’t give for a Blade of Marmora series.
The only character that really burned my toast, was Colleen Holt. JFC, Pidge is an adult, she’s a paladin of Voltron. She’s a brilliant mathematician / physicist / computer hacker, and how dare her mother think she can ground Pidge for running away to save the entire fucking universe. Screw you, Colleen. Not sure how I feel about “Chip” at the end, but why did they have to cut Matt’s hair? Damn. It must be a Garrison thing. Still, if the background characters are the new generation of Garrison pilots, dare we dream that we’ll see a Vehicle Voltron in the near future? That would be wonderful. I would still like to know if Pidge ever found someone. On one hand, not everyone needs or wants a spouse, so it’s kind of nice to know that Pidge is just doing her thing, but there’s no confirmation there one way or another.
I’m also glad they toned down Coran this season. Never liked him, though I was sorry he didn’t have a chance to say good-bye to Allura.
As for the Lions flying off into the nebula after saying good-bye to their new Paladins – makes me ugly cry every time I watch it. We do see Allura’s image in the nebula, so I’d like the think she’s in there with the original Paladins and she called the Lions back to her to keep them safe should they ever be needed again. Hey, if Honerva could keep the spirits of the original Paladins alive in whatever reality she constructed, then I would like to think that before Honerva died, she did the same for Allura. Allura in the nebula with her father and mother, watching over New Altea.
Here’s part 2. I’m archiving these pictures because I just opened up a new area so I’ll be moving stuff around. There are a few messed up areas because I had more buildings & concessions than I had room. So my Frozen collection is all out of whack, but I hope to put that back together once the new land area I bought with magic opens up. I’ll post more pictures once that’s done.
Back in April, I started playing Disney’s Magic Kingdoms. I used to play games until I started writing professionally, then time got away from me. Time isn’t much kinder these days, but I figured DMK would be a cute, quick game I could play during lunch or when I had a few minutes to relax. Boy was I wrong! The further I progress, the longer it takes to play. I enjoy it too much to give it up though. So, here’s part 1 of my progress.
Author of science fiction, romance, urban fantasy, and superheroes. Her first published novel, Blood Surfer, has won the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award for Best Paranormal and Futuristic. http://debrajess.com
