Drinking with Men, Schaap's New Memeoir

Here’s an excerpt: ”What I love about bars is that they are places where people talk to one another and tell people stories. There is a kind of openness and exchange of stories in bars. Everyone is relaxed. You go to a bar not to get dressed up, not to have a really fancy night out on the town. You go to the bar to be relaxed and to be yourself. I think that really facilitates great storytelling among regulars. That’s really what we do at bars, we tell each other our stories.”

She concluded: “But you can tell (whether you are writing a story or telling your friends in the bar a story), whether the story is working or not. Sometimes the story you tell in a is going to fall flat. I think in a way, bars are a great place to hone your storytelling skills. Is this making my fellow bar-goers interested in hearing the rest of the story? Am I going into too much detail? Am I not giving enough detail? Bars are great laboratories for storytelling.”

Richard Bach injured in plane crash

Jonathan Livingston Seagull author Richard Bach was hospitalized after crashing his small plane this weekend while flying in Washington State. James Marcus Bach, the son of the bestselling novelist, has been keeping readers updated on his father's condition on Twitter. Today he wrote: "My father has made marked improvement today. He's lucid. We're optimistic."

Thanks GalleyCat for this post.

Fake Social Media Accounts being Removed

Following a GalleyCat article yesterday, self-publishing company Author Solutions will remove social media accounts for Jared Silverstone–a set of profiles for an “Awesome Publishing Consultant at Author Solutions” that used a fake image from a stock photo company.
Copywriter and editor Emily Seuss discovered a collection of social media accounts sharing the same stock photo picture (embedded above), all credited to an employee named Silverstone. You can see screenshots from the social accounts and read more at this link.
Here is the official statement from the self-publishing company: “At Author Solutions we take our social media activities very seriously, and we are committed to following industry best practices. The manner in which the accounts were set up is not supported by our company-wide social media policy, and in no way is condoned by our company. We are taking appropriate action and we are in the process of removing the content from social media accounts.”

As of this writing, the links to Silverstone’s Google+ page, his Facebook page and his Twitter page have all been removed. You can read the background here.
Pearson, the corporate parent of Penguin Group publishers, decided to acquire Author Solutions for $116 million back in July.

Blogger Confronts Plagerizer

Well-received approach to handling copywrite infringement. Go to Galley Cat to see the remarkable video.  http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/writer-confronts-plagiarist-on-video_b52034

 

 

 This is the letter the author handed the newspaper company that used his workwithout permission.

 

Duane Lester

106 E. 1st StQuitman, MO 64487 T (816) 604-9383Duane@AllAmericanBlogger.comwww.AllAmericanBlogger.comMay 14, 2012Robert Ripley

Publisher and Managing Editor 

The Oregon Times Observer119 West Nodaway, 

Box 317Oregon, MO 64473

 

Dear Mr. Ripley, This letter is an assertion of copyright over the articleChanges Implemented After Auditor Finds “Severe Shortcomings” in Holt County Sheriff’s Office

, published in the May 10th editionof The Oregon Times Observer. This article was originally written by me and published on my website All American Blogger onMay 1st. Copyright is commonly understood to be in place as soon as the work exists in atangible form and although it isn’t necessary to establish copyright, the bottom of each pageon All American Blogger clearly says “Copyright © 2007 - 2012 - All American Blogger.” I was not asked for permission to reprint the article, nor was I given attribution in thenewspaper for the creation of the article. Due to the article being used in its entirety, Fair Usedoes not apply. This is a clear violation of United States Copyright law.Rather than seek monetary damages for copyright infringement, which range from $750 to$300,000 per work for “willful infringement,” I have attached an invoice totaling $500 for thepublication of the article.Payment is due upon receipt.I'm optimistic that we can resolve this amicably, but I have consulted with an attorney and Iam prepared to take all necessary steps to protect my legal rights.Sincerely yours,Duane LesterCo-Owner, Editor and Lead WriterAll American Blogger
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/writer-confronts-plagiarist-on-video_b52034

Happy National Poetry Month

Check out the Favorite Poem Project; http://www.favoritepoem.org/videos.html

Ralph Fiennes and Bill Clinton are among the readers who have taped readings and musings of poems that speak to them.

"...50 short video documentaries showcases individual Americans reading and speaking personally about poems they love. The videos have been regular features on PBS's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and are a permanent part of the Library of Congress archive of recorded poetry and literature."

Ralph Fiennes Reads Shakespeare's Sonnet 129

Tony Award winning actor Ralph Fiennes reads a Shakespearean sonnet in this video posted by Galley Cat;

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/ralph-fiennes-reads-sonnet-129-by-william-shakespeare_b50112

Was Weiss' Tiger Mom the creation of a new genre of parenting guides?

From the New York Times;

Amy Chua’s book signaled a new approach to parenting literature: outing yourself as a more unyielding kind of parent.

Amy Chua may have to hand off the title of Tiger Mother to Dara-Lynn Weiss, whose article in the April issue of Vogue painfully detailed her effort to get her 7-year-old daughter, Bea, to lose weight. 

On the Internet, Ms. Weiss was quickly excoriated as one of the most “selfish women to ever grace the magazine’s pages,” wrote Katie J. M. Baker in a widely distributed post on Jezebel that drew more than 600 comments. ABC News sternly reported that “Mom’s Diet for 7-Year-Old Daughter in ‘Vogue’ Sparks Backlash.” 

Ms. Weiss had her defenders: Some online commenters praised her for tackling her daughter’s weight issues, pointing out that it was Bea’s doctor who said that there was a problem. Others wondered if her frank discussion of it made Ms. Weiss appear tone deaf. (Bea “didn’t strike anyone as ‘obese,’ but, in truth, I liked that the word carries a scary, diagnostic tone,” Ms. Weiss wrote.) One commenter on nymag.com wrote, “I’m pretty sure Weiss just handed her daughter the road map to all her future eating disorders.”

Then on Monday, Random House made an announcement that dumped gasoline on the flames: Ms. Weiss had scored a book contract.

“Fat-Shaming a Child Into a Book Deal,” a headline on Salon huffed in protest.

As someone concerned about shaming children and the responsibility of parents to help their children manage their diet and exercise, the issue seems far more ocmplicated than the headlines flashed in local publications.