Ashi

Very nice advice. And I really appreciated you pointed out what's going on behind the deal a bit that we don't usually hear about, and how much we should expect to pay (and it's based on estimated print run). Thank you so much.

A Photographer’s Dream “May I turn on the safety light?” It is customary to call out when entering a darkroom, so it doesn’t ruin someone’s work in process. And I knocked, of course. “Oh, sure. Go ahead.” “Is that you Jason?” “Yes. Why are you here at this hour?” “Aren’t you happy to see me?” I joked. Now that I think of it, I should have said “hear me”. It’s funnier that way. The room was still fairly dark with the black safety light turned on. I approached his photo enlarger s

Sometimes photographers speak more with their photos.

You've always put a lot of thoughts in your blog and that always in turn, gives me a lot of thought. I really like your blog. Don't feel down, or at least, don't dwell on it, because it's only transitional. That's why there is a blog here, right? People can read it if they want, and don't if they don't feel like it, and you don't have to care if they care or not, because it's your private space. What you need now is a GIANT hug.

I'll try to do that. Thank you for the post. I've donated to Leukemia & Lymphoma Society when I had a job. This time I guess I have to do silent work. And I agree with you, people did a lot of political protests for subjects that won't do anybody any good (nor do they understand, I've been in those groups. Many are political sheeple), but when it comes to making a differences.... *sighs*

What? It's not Raccoon City by now?

I enjoy reading ComeWhatMay's debut story, Falling Slowly. Occasionally, there are some execution problems like others have mentioned, but once those glitches are smoothed out, the work will look more polished. However, the concept is good and I see some thought put into it to bring some originality into the story (like the Oscar segment). That is actually a harder thing to do than aforementioned mechanical problems, so that's a great achievement there. I do like how he mentioned the song in the story (and in the title). An inquisitive reader could seek out the song over the Internet to draw a connection to the story. Another I like about the story is it is a vignette of main character's internal journey from having self-doubt (and wary of his boyfriend's intention) to final acceptance. The story does not try to tackle too much, but limited to one aspect of life. I think that's surprisingly mature for a young writer. Another sign of mature writing is the dialogues: they're natural, but not forced or over dramatic. The pace of the story could use a stronger curve (though it reminds me of the name-sake song's pace), but I am glad it's sublime with good treatment. It would make a great stage production. Excellent job ComeWhatMay.

Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday.

Hmm..., I just realized songs I love most aren't really love song per se..., but here are some (some are oldies, very hard to find new songs I like that are both love songs and gender neutral...). Never Want to Fall in Love Again - Eric Carmen Just the Way You Are - Billy Joel It's Only Love That Get You Through - Sade (not sure if this is gender neutral, but I think she meant it for a best friend or speaking for herself in the first line) Can't Take My Eyes Off of You - Frank Valli Moon River - Audrey Hepburn Bizarre Love Triangle - New Order Loving You - Minnie Ripperton

Yay!

I am glad you take time to write this blog. I don't know about you, but I find this blog is meditative. I do feel sorry about your BFF drifted away. I've been through something like this, and I am sure we're not alone on this one. It happens, for one reason or another, and it's not within our control (because friendship is two-sided, we can only in control of ourselves). If you have a chance, maybe you can just ask him why (without being confrontational or sound insecure). I am glad you value my friendship, btw. I don't find it dirty to be someone's friend. Everyone needs a few friends. BTW, I don't have many friends, because that's the way I function. Sometimes I feel alone and sometimes I don't. Don't know why that is. If I feel alone, I'll just come to a place like GA, but I rarely get very close to people anymore. I am not a particular positive person. It's been this way since I was a kid, but I learned eventually to take things less personally and willing to let go a few things. I just know it's better this way, as we're all connected to one another. If I could offer a hand, that's within my own ability, I would. My power is very limited, so I only do what I can, and hopefully I don't disappoint people, and myself. It always feels better when I at least tried. It's funny one of the stories I am writing lately the main character has many siblings. I want to do that because I feel in my previous stories my MC's are usually very lonely without siblings or just one sibling, and now you're telling me this.... Maybe I need some input from you in this family matter thing. Anyways, I do hope you will find your dream job.

Happy Birthday.

Is that why you're black listed? I used to work in retail, and I've seen everything.... One had perfume smell, one had lipstick on. A coworker showed me a thong with brown stain.... How do you remove that one? Oh no.... I say you spray paint the shirt a little bit. That way nobody will care about that stain anymore. Either that or you made yourself a tie dye shirt if nothing else works....

Cool. Glad you're okay.

Happy Birthday.

Short answer: the character can be as real as you want him/her to be. Longer explanation. There is no rule concerning this. In general, though fiction is fictitious, but it is "make believe." Therefore, the author will make some attempt to make it real and relatable. The contemporary writing style is realism so it's generally safer to follow the modern convention. Though that's not to say if you want to write in Romanticism style, you can't. Les Miserable has a ten years gap between when Victor Hugo started and then picked up again. My teacher mentioned to us that there is a visible difference when he first started, the literary movement was still at the end of Romanticism and when he picked up again, Hugo simply could not ignore the world was going forward with Realism, so the last half of the story has an altered styled, accordingly. That said, another teacher said ever since 60's or so, literary movement is more experimental rather than terms like "Realism", "Romanticism", "Modernism", "Shakespearean", etc., defining what style the story is in. So it's what you want the story to be. You're the author. There are still composers dedicating in writing classical music, so there is really no reason why you shouldn't write in a style you're more comfortable with, just you have to prepare that people will ask questions if you're not going with the contemporary trend. I also shoot my landscape photos in a more traditional style, so sometimes I feel it's harder to explain why my color is not as vibrant and less contrasty and exposure is more conservative, because I rely very little on using photoshop to make things pop a little (but I feel that'll lose realism in the process), though lately I've been bow out on that and start to post-process my photos a little more liberally (I mean landscape photos. Other genres I've always post-processed them based on conceptual vision, but landscape I feel it should be "natural"). But it's a very hard sell if you go against the trend, when people are so used to seeing unrealistic level of color based on Photoshop manipulation (there are ways to make color pop using just lighting, but that's not what I see usually). It's interesting you're bringing Batman as an example. Many Marvell comics are usually written by different authors during their long run, and each author will give different interpretations to them. So some interpretation will be more real than others. I don't read comics, but I've heard people will like a certain "era" better because the "Batman" under so and so author is better, and each person's taste does differ, so there is a room for different level of "realism" if you want to call it that way. That said, whatever you choose to do, be sure the story is relatable. People tend to like a character who they can relate better. People do have different backgrounds and different life experience, so some will like some story better while the another person might trash the same story purely because the latter person cannot relate to that story. If the story is completely unrelatable to anyone, then it's very difficult to find a reader base. In that case, it's no longer a stylistic approach issue.

I don't know if my advice is going to be correct or not, but Gene Splicer and Asam can correct me. Do you guys think more intake of calcium might help?

Happy Birthday Podga!

Apple Spiced Cake Originally from William Sonoma's Thanksgiving Cook book Yield Three 9" cakes Ingredients FOR THE CAKE: 24 Tbs. (3 sticks) plus 3 Tbs. unsalted butter 2 3/4 cups granulated sugar 3 Braeburn or Golden Delicious apples, about 1 1/4 lb. total, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch cubes 3 2/3 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 Tbs. ground cinnamon 1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger 2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg 1 Tbs. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 3/4 cup milk 1 Tbs. vanilla extract 3/4 cup unsweetened natural applesauce 6 eggs FOR THE FROSTING: 6 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (powder sugar), sifted 1 tsp. ground ginger 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 lb. cream cheese 2 Tbs. unsalted butter 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 2 tsp. brandy (optional) OPTIONAL GINGER TOSS: 3 Tbs. finly chopped crystallized ginger 1 Tbs. granulated sugar Directions To make the cake, in a large fry pan over medium-high heat, heat 1 1/2 Tbs. of the butter and 2 Tbs. of the granulated sugar until the butter melts. Add half of the apples and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a place. Repeat with 1 1/2 Tbs. of the butter, 2 Tbs. of the granulated sugar and the remaining apples. Let cool to room temp. Position 1 rack in the lower third of the oven and another rack in the middle. Preheat to 325°F. Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla and applesauce. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the remaining 24 Tbs. (3 sticks) butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the remaining 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk mixture and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat each addition just until incorporated. Using a silicone spatula, gently fold in the apples. Divide the batter among the prepared pans, spreading it evenly. Bake until the center of the cakes springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let the cake cool in the pans for about 15 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto the rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. To make the frosting, in a bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, ginger and cinnamon. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add vanilla and brandy and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the confectioners' sugar mixture. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Refrigerate the frosting for 30 min. before using. To assemble, place 1 cake layer, top side down, on a plate. Spread one-third of the frosting over the surface, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Set another cake layer, top-side up, on the first layer and spread with one-third of the forsting, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Set the third cake layer, top side down, on the second layer and spread the remaining frosting over the top. Refrigerate for 30 min. to set the frosting. In a small bowl, toss together the crystallized ginger and granulated sugar, coating the ginger. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve to remove excess sugar. Sprinkle the cake with the ginger.

The good new. The inflation will be so bad, $700 will be worthless in the future. So think about that.

Happy happy birthday, MJ!

Have you heard of an 8 track? Same thing.

Thank you for posting this with great underlying message. Criticism can be a bit of an art, and through the Internet, it can be especially to detect the other person's "tone" or non-verbal messages, so a lot of misunderstanding can occur (that's why emoticons are so important). Please do get better, as you do seem to be quite well adjusted mentally (but then I'm not the one going through it, but only from observation through words expressed here), I also wish you well physically. Thank you for the kind and gentle lesson.

Cool post about a great person!