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Weekend sendoff: The WriMo cometh

by Su Blackwell

by Su Blackwell

On Sunday, November 1, we turn the clocks back by one hour, which is definitely going to give me the edge I need to start NaNoWriMo that day. With my procrastination skills, that extra hour should mean a whole 10 or 11 extra words on my count.

I haven’t been preparing at all outside of contemplating some ideas. I’m doing the literary equivalent of freeballing. It’s the diametric opposite from how I usually approach a writing project, but then those tend to be screenplays and I have no idea what this is going to be. Hopefully a 50,000-word mess, but if I wind up with a 20,000-word lump that doesn’t win…well, I’m just not going to kick myself over it. (Not too hard, anyway.)

I hope to bring you some guest posts on Mondays in November, since I don’t expect to have a lot of energy left over for blogging. I’ve asked some interesting people to share their perspectives on a variety of topics. On Fridays, and put down your drink so you don’t do a spit-take out of excitement, I’ll be posting excerpts from the novel. I’m planning to pick the worst and/or most bizarre segments from that week, so with any luck it’ll be at least mildly entertaining, and possibly even awkward and embarrassing! One can but dream.

Good luck to all you other November crazy fuckers! And happy Halloween too, by the way. I send you off with the most obvious possible video.

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Weekend sendoff

Thanks to everyone who is visiting, whether you’re posting or not. I’ve gotten nice messages about the blog from people who then apologize for not writing comments on it. Don’t worry about it, all right? Don’t be concerned at all about your zero points in my blog DKP system. Yes, the commenters will get the best loot first; that’s just what happens when you choose not to be a hardcore rai–uh, reader.

Seriously, I’m glad you’re here and if you let me know you’re enjoying it, publicly or privately, that’s just icing on the meringue. Or on the merengue, which can get messy and I don’t recommend it.

Two cool things to report. I received a kind Skepchick namecheck from Amanda about Monday’s post, and I hope I can entice any new readers from that link to stick around. I’ll be writing more about chronic illness, skepticism, and pseudoscience for sure. Thanks to Desiree‘s interest in my pitch, I’ll also be talking about that post on the Skeptically Speaking podcast’s “Speaking Up” segment (super sibilant!), which will tape October 30 and be available for me to listen to all red-faced with a pillow over my head a few days later. Some of you are laughing about me agreeing to be on a podcast. I know who you are. Stop it.

Who fudged with my gosh-darn EQ settings?

Where's the EQ on this thing?

I took up cross-stitch this week to accompany my growing addiction for podcasts. I did a little in high school but I have more time and patience to do cooler stuff now. When I suggested to Paul that I could hang out while he watches one of his terrible horror movies and just work on my stitching, he said it was like we’re an old couple now, sitting in front of the TV, me with my knitting and him with his paper. Meanwhile, the image I get as I’m stitching away while laughing my ass off at SModcast is an updated version of the woman sitting next to the wireless with her sewing. It’s old-fashioned and high-tech at the same time, and I’m really enjoying it. I may even learn to knit, which if I did believe in heaven I know my Grandma would be laughing her ass off at that. (As a kid, my level of fail in that arena was relatively spectacular despite her excellent efforts to teach me.)

Have a safe and delicious Labor Day weekend. I’ll post on Tuesday with my review of three paid iPhone apps that I recommend for anyone, but that I think have certain value for CFSers and the like. I may keep doing a post on Fridaya where I can get a little more informal all up in here. (Should I not say “all up in here?” All right.) I send you off with a NSFW — naughty language — blooper reel from My Man Godfrey.

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Go figure

This blog is having an unusual problem with previewing draft posts. Currently a very nice moderator from the WordPress support forums (I’m giving his own site a plug by way of thanks) is talking to some WP devs about this.

I’m having flashbacks to being sent from doctor to doctor to figure out what was wrong with me. Maybe I should have decided to write about crossword puzzles instead of baffling illnesses?

Anyway, if you see some posts appear and disappear, or if a published post changes before your eyes, this problem is why. Thanks for your patience!

Update: Problem solved. Three little w’s and a dot were the culprit. If you were having trouble registering or logging in, that has also been fixed.

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