How to write something, and how to be a good writer.

This was sparked by a conversation with my lovely and talented wife, who by the way feels that I may have been a bit, ah, focused in my description of how to write something, and how to be a good writer. To which I can only reply that at least I’m not padding out several hundred pages here.

So, how to write something:

How to write something.
How to write something.

and How to be a good writer.

How to be a *good* writer
How to be a *good* writer

If this advice works for you, by all means: prove me right by hitting the tip jar.

Moe Lane

Sabato’s Handicapping the Governors’ races, Part One.

The Democrats are not in as good a position as their position two weeks ago might have suggested.

Larry Sabato has done the first half of his anaylsis of the governor’s races for 2010 (the Democratic half): the basic results are below.

  • ARKANSAS: DEMOCRATIC HOLD.
  • COLORADO: LEANS DEMOCRATIC.
  • ILLINOIS: TOSS-UP.
  • IOWA: LEANS DEMOCRATIC.
  • KANSAS: LEANS REPUBLICAN TURNOVER.
  • MAINE: TOSS-UP.
  • MARYLAND: LEANS DEMOCRATIC.
  • MASSACHUSETTS: DEMOCRATIC HOLD.
  • MICHIGAN: TOSS-UP.
  • NEW HAMPSHIRE: DEMOCRATIC HOLD / TOSS-UP
  • NEW MEXICO: LEANS DEMOCRATIC HOLD
  • NEW YORK: LEANS DEMOCRATIC / TOSS UP
  • OHIO: LEANS DEMOCRATIC.
  • OKLAHOMA: TOSS-UP.
  • OREGON: TOSS-UP
  • PENNSYLVANIA: TOSS-UP.
  • TENNESSEE: TOSS-UP.
  • WISCONSIN: LEANS DEMOCRATIC.
  • WYOMING: LEANS DEMOCRATIC.

Continue reading Sabato’s Handicapping the Governors’ races, Part One.

Obama press award ceremony closed to the press?

For real?

Apparently, for real:

The president is to receive the award from the federation of black community newspapers in a White House ceremony this afternoon.

The Obama White House has closed the press award ceremony to the press.

Continue reading Obama press award ceremony closed to the press?

Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) breaks with House Democrats on reconciliation.

While in the process of idly mentioning that the deficit’s going to be worse than originally indicated, Senator Conrad (D-Countrywide) says something very, very interesting:

Conrad also said he did not plan to include any instructions in the budget plan he is crafting for health care or the greenhouse gas initiatives. Such instructions written into the budget would give it a privileged status and make it easier to become law, but likely spark a nasty fight with minority Republicans.

This is in reference to “reconciliation,” which is a process by which the Democrats would be able to put specific legislation into bills that could be passed by a simple majority in the Senate, instead of the 60 vote system that we’ve effectively evolved over the years. The House is currently threatening to impose it over health care, if those awful Republicans don’t ‘see reason’ (translation: ‘do what the Democrats say’): we have a deadline until September. Continue reading Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) breaks with House Democrats on reconciliation.

By the way, we’re having a trade war with Mexico.

Yes, yes, I know: NAFTA’s supposed to prevent that sort of thing, but we’re having one anyway:

Ricardo Alday, spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington said pressuring politicians by hitting imports from states with key Democratic leaders with tariffs of up to 90 percent “is one the main considerations,” for the action, the Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday.

The official list of products has not been released, but a draft obtained by economist Dermot Hayes at the University of Iowa suggest the tariffs will pinpoint almonds from California, sunglasses from Illinois, bowling equipment from Nevada and books from New York — the home states of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Barack Obama, Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

And before you ask: yes, it’s because of the bill that Dina Titus (D-NV) said that she read. Continue reading By the way, we’re having a trade war with Mexico.

I wonder if Glenn has had his coffee yet.

After all, when you’re talking about survival guides it seems odd to omit classics like The Zombie Survival Guide (now in flashcard form!). And I still have to somehow acquire How To Survive a Robot Uprising. Wilson’s Where’s My Jetpack? looks fun, too.

Finishing up, I heartily recommend Pocket Guide To The Apocalypse: The Official Field Manual For The End Of The World: it’s not really a field manual, but it does have the singular virtue of containing a general analysis of the various threads of Western eschatological thinking by somebody who doesn’t hate evangelical Christians.  So I guess that it is a field manual, only not for the stated purpose.

[UPDATE] I have been properly dinged for not including How to Build a Robot Army: Tips on Defending Planet Earth Against Alien Invaders, Ninjas, and Zombies; let me head off future criticisms at the pass by also including How to Rule the World: A Handbook for the Aspiring Dictator and How to Be a Villain: Evil Laughs, Secret Lairs, Master Plans, and More!!!.  These kinds of books have pretty long subtitles, huh?

Storm From The Shadows: The Sort-of, Kind-of, Not-Really Review.

I’ve just finished reading Storm from the Shadows – for those unfamiliar with it, it’s David Weber‘s latest book in his Honorverse series – and while it was good, there’s one potential problem: it definitely references events that are taking place in Weber/Flint’s Torch of Freedom, as well as ones in Mission of Honor.  Neither book is out yet; ToF is not until November.  It’s not even on Baen Books’ schedule, yet.

That being said, you don’t need to read ToF to understand what’s going on SFtS, although if you want to get involved in this Nelson/Horatio Hornblower science fiction series you’re best off starting with On Basilisk Station and chewing your way through.  But that’s the nature of long, well-developed genre fiction series.