December 2009

World in the Satin Bag

Top 20 Posts For 2009

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Well, lots of other folks are doing it, so I thought I would to. Here are the top twenty posts of the year for The World in the Satin Bag. Oddly enough, some of these posts were top posts last year, and have been at the top since I posted them. Don’t ask me why. Some folks are obsessed, I guess. I’ve included the posting dates for the heck of it (and, yes, the number 22 is strangely prominent). Here’s the list: Steampunk Reading List? (Jan. 27, 2009) Reader Question: The Alien Exit (Aug. 21, 2009) A Collective Chillpill For RaceFail, GenderFail, et. al. (Aug. 22, 2009) The Rules of Shelving Books: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Their Literary Friends (June 22, 2009) Oh Sweet NASA (Mar. 22, 2008) Ten Things That Make Me Stop Reading (Feb. 16, 2009) Misconceptions About Star Wars (Dec. 30, 2008) The Terminator Movies: Why the robots lost…badly (Sept. 2, 2008) An Aside: Anime, Space Opera, and Space Westerns (Aug. 8, 2009) Top 7 Science Fiction Sidekicks (in Film) (July 19, 2009) Eight Guilty Pleasures in Science Fiction and Fantasy (July 22, 2009) Top 6 Lesser Known or Forgotten Fantasy Series (July 14, 2009) Movie Review: Star Trek (Why It Sucks and Why Abrams Needs To Stop) (May 15, 2009) Top 5 Science Fiction Leading Ladies (July 27, 2009) SF/F Links: February Roundup Part Two (Feb. 29, 2009) Top 10 Cats in Science Fiction and Fantasy (July 15, 2009) What if dragons were real? (Aug. 10, 2007) Werewolves and Misconceptions About Science Fiction (Nov. 27, 2008) eReaders: Comparison Study (Sept. 23, 2008) Top Ten Fantasy Movies (Feb. 7, 2009) I’m not sure what continues to drive people to some of the my older posts (particularly #4), but I guess there’s something about them that keeps folks fascinated. I am also surprised by some of the dates (22, for example), but I also have no idea what to make of that too. So there you go. Enjoy!

World in the Satin Bag

Video Found: 156 Countries Sing Together

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This video just about made me cry. It’s beautiful and it’s a reminder that there are still good people all over the world, all capable of setting aside petty differences to unite for a common goal. I think our governments could learn a thing or two from them. Anyway, the video is meant to raise awareness about AIDS. It’s a Starbucks project, apparently, but don’t let that ruin it for you. They’ve raised millions of dollars to help people afflicted with HIV in Africa, and this video is a part of that project. You can learn more about it and how you can help here. Enjoy (click the read more to see the video):

World in the Satin Bag

Ebooks Prices: Now I Understand

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I’ve recently been trying to convert the first issue of Survival By Storytelling into a Kindle ebook, thinking it would be a fairly easy process. Technology had other ideas. Here’s what I thought was going to happen: I’d go online, pop the file into Amazon’s conversion tool, and end up with a slightly imperfect file. I’d fiddle a little bit by fixing the small problems. Finish, publish, and rake in the dough to give to all my contributors. How it actually happened: I went online, popped the file into Amazon’s conversion tool, and realized that the final product was so screwed up it was practically unreadable. Tried to figure out how to fix it and found out the following:a) There are no magic, simple ways to change the conversion problems.b) It will take ten times the amount of time it took to make the print version of the book to put together a suitable Kindle version. I’m currently not finished, despite many hours of trying to figure out how to do it. I may end up throwing my hands up when the file is in “acceptable” state and get it out there. So, having gone through all of this, I now understand why it costs so much to produce eBooks, because you could not pay me enough money to sit down and do this, day in and day out. No way. I’d rather chew on broken glass or cut my own heart out with a spoon. Seriously. And this is supposed to be the wave of the future? P.S.: Yes, I’m still going to get Survival By Storytelling, Issue One up on the Kindle. It’ll just take me some time, because the whole thing is a pain in the butt.

World in the Satin Bag

UPS Fail (Again)

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So apparently UPS was unable to deliver another package to me, this time from the Hatchette group (i.e. more books). The reason this time? Apparently the recipient was unauthorized or some such nonsense. Now, I don’t know about you, but if the address is correct (and they clearly have my address, since they sent me yet another postcard to tell me they couldn’t deliver my package–like they did last time), then why exactly should it matter if the recipient is authorized? It’s a package. You know where it has to go, so deliver it. It’s that simple. I’m starting to think this is a grand conspiracy to keep packages from arriving at my doorstep…

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