Tag Archives: humor

The Up-Goer Five Word Processor (via @theloop)

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This is appropriate considering the post just before this one, relating to the Jane Austin word list.

I love the XKCD cartoon that inspired this, and I love the (utterly frustrating) real world text editor implementation.

Or, rather: I love the first funny pictures that made this happen, and I love the (really annoying) real world word-writing word box that was made from it.

Kill me now…

Can you explain a hard idea using only the ten hundred most used words? It’s not very easy. Type in the box to try it out.

Try it here: http://splasho.com/upgoer5/

21 Lies Writers Tell Themselves (via @brainpicker)

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A tongue-in-cheek list for the writers out there. I particularly like:

9. I don’t need to back up my computer.
10. Publishing this book will change my life.
11. I’m not going to get caught up in all that publicity stuff.
12. I’m only on social media because I have to be to promote X.
13. I’m only going to go on Facebook/Twitter/Tumblr for a few more minutes.

Link: http://exp.lore.com/post/33645576343/21-lies-writers-tell-themselves-1-underwear-is

The 5 Stages of Grief Following the Publication of One’s First Book (via @PublishersWkly HT: @annetreasure)

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Entertaining list of examples covering Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance:

“Hi. I’ve been thinking about what you said and, of course, you’re the publisher, you understand these things, and you’re absolutely right: a story about genetics is fine but we do indeed need a better hook for the paperback. And I think I’ve got one! What this book needs is—wait for it—More Vagina! Attached please find a draft of a new chapter with the working title of ‘DNA And Your Vajayjay.’”

Read them here: http://www.theawl.com/2012/10/the-five-stages-of-grief-following-publication-of-first-book

Abandon your e-book readers and only read paper books! (mock advertisements) (HT: @editormum75)

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Gruen Planet is an Australian TV show about advertising, and each episode includes an imaginary ‘pitch’, in which two rival advertising agencies have to construct a video commercial trying to sell a difficult product (previous products/campaigns have attempted to convince Australians to euthanise themselves at age 80, or that we ought to invade New Zealand).

These two commercials attempt to satisfy the brief: ‘a campaign to convince us to abandon our e-book readers and only read books made of paper.’

Enjoy (and vote on your favourite) here: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/gruenplanet/pages/s3598460.htm

 

Ten Questions My Girlfriend Asks About My Job In Publishing (via @momentumbooks)

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Mark Harding from Momentum Books writes an insightful top ten questions list about his experience in publishing. It’s an FAQ, really. Example:

1. Why aren’t you paid more?

Because I’m not a professional athlete.

The internet needs more soul-baring articles like this.

Read it: http://momentumbooks.com.au/blog/ten-questions-my-girlfriend-asks-about-my-job-in-publishing/

Explaining Literature to my Wife (via @mcsweeneys)

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Todd McKie explains to his wife the difference between real life and the things he writes about, in this humorous piece on McSweeney’s:

I keep telling you it’s only fiction, this thing I do late at night. This thing I do while you’re snug in our wide bed. If I put a woman character in a story and I make her a potter and she has black hair and her name is Patricia, well, of course it can’t be you, because you’re a painter and your name is Priscilla, and you have brown hair.

Don’t you get it? I make it all up!

Entertaining and true: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/explaining-literature-to-my-wife

“Alot Was Been Heard” Automated eBook art project floods the Kindle store

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This is a nice alternative to all the plagiarism-filled junk eBooks flooded onto the Kindle store:

A pair of artist-coders have unleashed a small army of bots designed to flood the Kindle e-book store with texts comprised entirely of YouTube comments. According to the artists, even they have no idea how many books their autonomous bots are posting to the store.

Christopher Mims over at Technology Review interviewed the creators of such timeless classics as ‘Alot Was Been Heard’ and ‘Sparta My Have’:

“The KINDLE’VOKE machinary is based on three major parts. (1) The “Sucker” a clever suction apparatus to gather comments from Youtube. (2) the “Ghost Writer’s Table”: the book compiler that handles generation of books content, book covers, authors at the same time. (3) The “Amazon Kindle Scatter Bots” that make the brand new digital literature available for all of us.

This is really original (and possibly annoying), and it’s worth having a look at the kind of publishing chaos/market subversion our new digital world allows.

I suppose an alternative reading is that this is a kind of public graffiti, smearing digital feces over a shop front, but let’s be a little upbeat about it for now, right?

Original here: http://www.technologyreview.com/view/428175/ebooks-made-of-youtube-comments-invade-amazon/

Tolkien Rips off Harry Potter Again! (via @gizmodo)

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Ah, kids these days:

Ever noticed the similarities between The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter? IMDb commenter brian__007 did and came to a startling realisation. Tolkien totally ripped off Rowling and not only that, the “bastard’s” at it again with The Hobbit, his latest “original” work.

Funny: http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2012/06/unoriginal-bastard-tolkien-rips-off-harry-potter-again/

A Financial Breakdown of a Self-Published Project

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I posted a link to Pat Grant’s excellently self-promoted and self-published graphic novel ‘Blue’, last week.

This timely follow up is from his blog, and details the breakdown of costings for his project. It’s really quite disappointing to see how much money is required, and the great risk involved to Pat directly. It’s a solid breakdown though, and gives you a bit of an idea where all the money disappears to in such projects (hint: most doesn’t go to the author).

Have a look here: http://www.patgrantart.com/boltonblue/blog/?p=150