Don’t ask me why, but I had the desire to goth-ify Brigitte Bardot.

Comment and I’ll give you a letter. In your journal, list ten of your favorite songs that begin with that letter. Mcallahan gave me a J, so here’s my list:

Just Got Lucky - Dokken
Jump Jive ‘n’ Wail - Brian Setzer Orchestra
Juke-Joint Jezebel - KMFDM
John Barlycorn - Steeleye Span
Jig Of Life - Kate Bush
Jesse’s Girl - Rick Springfield
Javert’s Suicide - Les Misérables
James Connolly - Black 47
Jacks Obsession - Danny Elfman
Jack in the Green - Jethro Tull

NY Times is shuttering TimesSelect.

Coming as a surprise to no one *other* than the folks running the NY Times, online newspapers make more money with advertising than by charging for access to info. Welcome to te 21st century guys… glad you finally caught up.

Days are shortening and the temperatures are dropping, so in honor of all the green that’s about to go:

Wowio - silly, web 2.0-ish name, but they look on the up and up. (though I’ve been wrong before)

Whenever the topic of editing sf comes up, I think of Frank Herbert. Dune is a great book, in part because of all the stuff that (I have heard it said that) John Campbell made him take out of the body of the book and stuff into the appendices where it belongs. (Cf. LotR.) And after its success, FH said, Hey, I’m a great author, I don’t need no steenking editors! And look at how they ramble on and on and on and on and … Worse with each sequel.
-thnidu, commenting in skzbrust’s journal. (link)

Had to quote this here because it’s just so painfully accurate. I picked up Dune when I was 15, and loved it. Went though Dune Messiah and Children of Dune in short order. (Children is still my favorite of them all) Then came God Emporer of Dune, and I started to wonder if the man wasn’t taking too many hits of something mind altering. After stubbornly wading though the last two books, I was convinced of it. The sheer overwrought-ness of Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune killed any interest I might have had in the continuation novels. (Though I’ve heard that they don’t actually suck)

Herbert’s not alone here - plenty of authors commit the sin of believing that they’ve “outgrown” the need for editors. (Hey, over in the corner! I’m looking at you, Ann.) It seems to be a professional hazard.

Boys Cast Out by Polygamists Find Help

It’s not just a TV thing.

I’ve rented the same apartment since 1998. It’s not huge (we sometimes fantasize about having seperate workrooms/studios), and I’d rather if the rent went up a little less every year, but it’s home sweet home for me and Bill. Over the years, well meaning freinds have tried to point out what a horrible mistake I’m making. Why, they say, I’m just throwing my money away. I’ve got no equity, nothing to show for any of that rent that I pay out every month. I might as well just burn the money, or throw it down a hole.

My response has always been twofold. One, I’m not a huge trim the lawns, clean the gutters, maintain the furnace kind of girl. I like that building maintenance is someone else’s problem. In fact, I’m *paying* for it to be someone else’s problem. Rent isn’t just a monthly bribe to make sure one has four walls and a roof, it’s a payment for services rendered.

Two, I live in NJ. North Jersey, in fact. House prices, even now that the so vaunted real estate bubble is bursting, are out of our range. Property taxes are worse. This is not to say I will never own a house - but it’s not going to happen any time soon, and it probably won’t be in NJ.

Also, I’m frugal (sometimes to a fault) and I have no tolerance for “no money down” financing mumbo-jumbo. (Too good to be true and all that…) This is sometimes regarded as just an example of me being me, but lately when I open the paper, I’m finding myself grateful for not hopping onto the home ownership at any price bandwagon. Far too many people are getting burned.