Why, yes, I did, because, well, I’m still me.
I was working on And Not To Yield and had a bright idea at five am, so I got up to write and, er… then we remembered that we need to take cat for x-ray. (Miranda. They want to x ray her heart before they give her more heart meds, so…) And then… I just remembered now.
Not my announcement to make, but the Oyster has a new little boy-oyster who seems healthy and doing well.
And I’m just busy with the sort of things that come up before a long weekend — like figuring out where we’re going to go for fireworks.
Then there’s the fact we didn’t put up a Liberty Tree and Bob Hayte er my oldest son says we’re grossly unprepared for the high USaian Holiday.
Since I’m still myself, (I’m sorry, I thought I’d be someone better by now) I’m going to link some stuff for you to read.
Cedar did a Liberty Con After Action report. (Weirdly this time with no threats of lawsuits. Who knew?)
And for those of you who don’t follow Mad Genius Club, you should go over because Kate took on the Passive Guy’s impression of living in two worlds. The original article is very worthwhile (I’ve often felt like that at cons and panels, when another writer, sometimes someone I like and respect, but who is older than I, starts with “you know, the first thing you do is get an agent.” If they’re not people I like and respect, and or if they are impervious to hints, it’s all I can do not to yell “the nineties called. They want their publishing advice back.”) and you might as well give Kate some hits on the way there. (Mercenary, I am.)
And then there’s Dave Freer on Monday on what we shape and how it shapes us. Part of the whole “write what you want but beware what you write and whether it has the effect you want.”
According To Hoyt 
Congrats to the proud parent-oysters!
Congratulations on getting the new minion! (Pictures? Please?)
So, is a new oyster considered a soft-shell?
Liberty Tree?
Congrats to the free oysters
Congratulations on the successful spawning, Oyster!
As for the no lawsuits this year, I’m torn between ‘whew’ and “I’m not doing it right.”
Ida know. With what I understand of the LibertyCon crowd, if you hacked someone off that badly you’d probably get a shotgun posse at your door instead of a process server.
Er, Um, this was after last year’s LC. But this year was unadulterated fuN!
Note, the lawsuit happy jerks decided not to attend at the last minute. Something about one of the guests being in the right and they were in the wrong and don’t want to come within range of the lady’s cannon? Not Cedar, she is still small enough that they think they can ride roughshod over her. They are wrong but, very stupid
Congratulations to the Free Oysters!
“…and Bob Hayte er…”
So after reading that, I typed that into Google to see if I was missing a reference…and this was the top item. After reading the guy’s name, I just had to paste the first line from the article – it tickled my funny bone.
“FRANKFORT, KY — Justice and Public Safety Secretary J. Michael Brown announced today that Bob Hayter has been named acting commissioner for the Department of Juvenile Justice, effective May 1.
Haytte or Hayte is the archaic form of our name. I used the name in AFGM as the founder of the USAian religion.
The boy is quite capable of it. And don’t call him Bob.
Clams got kids!
Congratulations O wandering oyster 🙂
Congratulations for the little bivalve mollusk!
Thanks to everyone for the well-wishes. I’ll be out of touch for the next couple of days, hawking books at WesterCon with M Todd Gallowglas and (briefly) the Schlock Mercenary crew. Make sure you stop by if you’re in the area. I’l share pics after the con.
A toast to the newborn spawn! Just go easy as we don’t need a clam sauced.
Conratulations!!
In honor of the pending USaian high feast, perhaps those of us who blog could post appropriate bits of scripture (i.e. Declaration of Independence, Declaration of Arbroath, great speeches or music, Kipling if appropriate)? I’ve got “The Reeds of Runnymede” and the two declarations cued up.
That is, if you don’t already have something planned. Just tossing out an idea.
I was considering that.
I am posting a great quote by Jonathan LaForce, a section of the Declaration, and a review of Monster Hunter Nemesis tomorrow. Why yes, I do keep an eclectic blog. 😉
For those not maintaining a blog it is a good day for reviewing the Historical Documents on Turner Classic Movies (TCM)
http://www.tcm.com/schedule/index.html?tz=est&sdate=2014-07-04
1:00 PM
Declaration of Independence, The (1938)
— 17 min —
This short film offers an account of the meeting of the Continental Congress in the summer of 1776. Vitaphone Release 8874-8875.
Dir: Crane Wilbur Cast: John Litel , Ted Osborn , Emmett Vogan
1:30 PM
1776 (1972)
— 165 min —
The founding fathers struggle to draft the Declaration of Independence.
Dir: Peter H. Hunt Cast: William Daniels , Howard Da Silva , Ken Howard.
1776 is a delightful musical celebration of the founding of the United States of America based on the award-winning Broadway production. The story centers around the familiar historical characters as they organize a movement for independence from Mother England: the tough unyielding John Adams (William Daniels); the charming and pragmatic Benjamin Franklin (Howard Da Silva); the brilliant young Thomas Jefferson (Ken Howard), who is chosen to write the Declaration of Independence even as he longs for the company of his new bride Martha (Blythe Danner); and the rest of the Continental Congress. All events lead up to that most significant date July 4, 1776 when the Declaration was signed. Wonderful songs combined with history make this excellent family viewing.
4:15 PM
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
— 126 min —
Spirited musical biography of the song-and-dance man who kept America humming through two world wars.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: James Cagney , Joan Leslie , Walter Huston.
4 stars
6:30 PM
Devil’s Disciple, The (1959)
— 83 min —
A preacher and a rebel leader change places during the Revolution.
Dir: Guy Hamilton Cast: Burt Lancaster , Kirk Douglas , Laurence Olivier.
LEONARD MALTIN REVIEW:
D: Guy Hamilton. Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Janette Scott, Eva LeGallienne, Harry Andrews, Basil Sydney, George Rose, Neil McCallum, David Horne, Mervyn Johns. Sparkling adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s satire, set during American Revolution, with standout performances by star trio (notably Olivier as General Burgoyne, who serves as Shaw’s mouthpiece). Shows how, in Shaw’s view, the bumbling British managed to lose their colonies. Screenplay by John Dighton and Roland Kibbee.
3 1/2 stars
Props on the Arbroath reference.
Congrats!!!!
I wish you hadn’t pointed us at that Mad Genius post. I just finish watching those clowns on that panel and I feel more than a little soiled, as if they were peeing all over me while I worked in the midden cleaning out their waste.
That’s a good and accurate description of what’s going on.
On the Passive Guy stuff:
“Hire a great editor and cover designer”
How many of you self-published authors have hired an editor?
I have two. One for the Colplatschki books, and one for the major Cat books. At first I got style as well as copy-edit, but now I just get copy-edits. One’s a full-timer who charges a goodly amount, the other one does it part-time and charges a little less. I gave both of them copies of the “series Bible” so they’d have a list of coinages and special terms that are not typos or escapees from Spell-check.
I have hired editors for all but one book. I am a cover designer, and I do work for hire as well as my own. I’m also an editor, but you can’t really do your own books!
I have — the work varies from sublime to “as good as the trads.” For that later, our very own Cedar is quite good.