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Tony Greig just said on Channel Nine that "South Africa's cricket team has had a quota since Nelson Mandela was elected."
Um, no, Mr Greig. South African cricket has always had a quota system. It's just that prior to the end of apartheid that quota was 100% white.
Posted by Justine at 0:06, January 6th, 2009 under Cricket, Sport, State of the World |
Yup, it's my annual what-I-did-this-year skiting post. I write these mostly for myself so I can easily keep track. Hence the
last day of the year category. Thus you are absolutely free to skip it. ((I would if I were you.))
This year was exceptional. I'm still pinching myself. My first Bloomsbury USA book, How To Ditch Your Fairy, was published and seems to be doing well. I was sent on my first book tour, which was fabulous. It's insane how much fun I had and how many fabulous schools, book shops and libraries I visited in California, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. Thank you to everyone who came to see me while I was on the ...
Posted by Justine at 0:20, December 31st, 2008 under Book tour, First Kiss, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Last Day of the Year, Love is Hell, New York City/USA, Next novel, Sport, State of the World, Sydney/Australia, Vainglory, Writing goals & milestones, Writing life, Young Adult literature |
Posted by Justine at 17:13, December 16th, 2008 under State of the World, Whingeing |
In response to my
most recent post I've had quite a few adults writing me and pointing out that their job does not end once they leave the office at the end of the day. That they too have vast amounts of homework. The professions mentioned were teacher, lawyer, academic, editor, architect, and engineer.
What other jobs require lots of after hours work?
Are there any well-paying jobs that don't?
Posted by Justine at 14:10, December 10th, 2008 under State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 13:44, December 7th, 2008 under Bloggery, Ranting, State of the World, Writing life |
Well,
yesterday was
crazy. People I know lost their jobs or are now in danger of doing so. Some author friends lost their imprints. It's all scary stuff. But publishing is not the only industry in convulsions. We're in a recession. It's bad all over.
To answer those asking if I still stand by
Tuesday's comments. I do. Things are bad, but they're less bad for children's than for adults'. Publishing is going to change a lot over the next decade.
But here's my main source of comfort: People are always going to want stories.
My sympathies to everyone who had a really bad day yesterday.
Posted by Justine at 11:26, December 4th, 2008 under New York City/USA, Publishing business, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, December 3rd, 2008 under Cons & Other Gatherings, Scott's books, State of the World, Young Adult literature |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, December 2nd, 2008 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Publishing business, State of the World, Young Adult literature |
Posted by Justine at 9:50, November 17th, 2008 under State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 9:40, November 14th, 2008 under Book tour, Cons & Other Gatherings, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Love is Hell, New York City/USA, Reading, Sport, State of the World, Sydney/Australia, What's your fairy? |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, November 10th, 2008 under Listening, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 14:53, November 8th, 2008 under New York City/USA, Praising, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, November 7th, 2008 under New York City/USA, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 2:29, November 5th, 2008 under New York City/USA, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 1:00, November 4th, 2008 under Excuses, Liar Book, New York City/USA, State of the World, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 1:00, November 3rd, 2008 under New York City/USA, Praising, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 7:50, October 31st, 2008 under Liar Book, New York City/USA, State of the World, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 6:07, October 23rd, 2008 under Fashion, New York City/USA, State of the World |
One of the biggest culture shocks for me as an Australian living (some of the time) in the USA is
voting. Every election year I've been here there have been
voter intimidation and
fraud scandals. Maybe I missed it, but that does not happen at home. Not every single election.
Seems to me that the aim in the US is to make voting as difficult as possible. Why? I don't get it. I've had friends disallowed to vote because the official said they had the wrong ID. It didn't exactly match the name on the voter rolls. As in, their driver's license had their middle name spelled out in full, "Rachel", but the voter roll had just ...
Posted by Justine at 0:00, October 22nd, 2008 under New York City/USA, Praising, Ranting, State of the World, Sydney/Australia, Zombies |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, October 21st, 2008 under Book tour, Publishing business, State of the World, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 1:00, October 19th, 2008 under New York City/USA, Praising, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 0:02, October 12th, 2008 under New York City/USA, Next novel, Reading, Research, State of the World, Toilets |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, September 30th, 2008 under Bloggery, Book challenges, Cons & Other Gatherings, New York City/USA, Praising, Reading, Science, State of the World, Travelling, Young Adult literature, Zombies |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, September 26th, 2008 under New York City/USA, Next novel, Ranting, State of the World, Zombies |
I stopped studying maths in Year 7. Before that I'd made a bit of an effort but in my first year of high school (in New South Wales high school starts in Year 7) I downed tools. I was bored, annoyed, and couldn't see the point so I quit. Technically I kept going to maths class---it was compulsory until the end of Year 10---but I failed each year and was never made to repeat. I didn't learn anything new after Year 6.
At the time I thought it was excellent that I could get away with it. In class I read novels under the desk. I never studied and finished my maths exams quicker than anyone else cause I guessed all ...
Posted by Justine at 0:00, September 9th, 2008 under Basketball, Bloggery, Excuses, Magic or Madness trilogy, New York City/USA, Praising, Science, Sport, State of the World, Sydney/Australia |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, September 6th, 2008 under State of the World, Young Adult literature |
Because I've spent the ENTIRE MORNING on hold with AT&T. And people wonder why I HATE the phone.
Posted by Justine at 11:57, September 5th, 2008 under State of the World, Whingeing |
Maureen Johnson has surpassed herself with
this post on the importance of honest sex education.
Go read it.
Posted by Justine at 0:00, September 5th, 2008 under Bloggery, New York City/USA, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 3:11, September 3rd, 2008 under State of the World, Viewing, Young Adult literature |
Posted by Justine at 3:43, August 31st, 2008 under Feminism, New York City/USA, State of the World |
The WNBA has
handed down the suspensions for Tuesday's brawl. I know many are unhappy about the lenience towards Candace Parker in particular. But for extremely selfish reasons I am very very very glad. Because this means I get to see her play on Friday. Woo hoo!
What's making me cranky is the total absence of anything said about the abysmal refs. Where's their punishment?
Update: Though I'll admit I am very nervous about Leslie and Parker being so rested before we play then in the Garden.
Posted by Justine at 16:41, July 24th, 2008 under Basketball, New York City/USA, Sport, State of the World |
I just watched a hard fought game between the LA Sparks and Detroit Shock that ended in
a real fight. The ending was horrible with three players and one coach ejected and, I'm sure, lots of unwelcome attention from the press which ordinarily completely ignores the WNBA. Gosh, maybe now even the New York Times will cover a game.
I was most shocked by Detroit Assistant Coach Mahorn, who is male and well over 7ft tall 6ft 10inches, pushing over Lisa Leslie. He needs to be suspended for the rest of the season. You do not touch the opposing team's players ever. Under any circumstances.
But mostly I blame the referees. There were several incidents leading up to the fight between ...
Posted by Justine at 22:26, July 22nd, 2008 under Basketball, New York City/USA, Ranting, Sport, State of the World |
The Live Long and Marry auction has
topped $30,000 46,000. Wow. That's just astonishing. Thirty thousand dollars! Forty-six thousand dollars!
For those who are curious: the winning bid to have
me name a character after you (or something) went for $225. (Gulp.) So the biology teacher in my next novel, who already had a Japanese name, is now named Yayeko Shoji after the bidder's mother.
Great name, huh? I'm very pleased it worked out. I was worried I'd wind up with an unusable name, you know, like BrushWithDeath Mergatroid. But it worked out perfectly. Happiness for everyone.
Here's hoping that this nasty anti-love initiative to strip people of the right to marry is defeated.
Posted by Justine at 0:17, July 21st, 2008 under Bloggery, Liar Book, New York City/USA, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 16:14, July 13th, 2008 under Liar Book, New York City/USA, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 10:55, July 12th, 2008 under Publishing business, State of the World, Sydney/Australia |
Scalzi riffs on the absurdity of the extremely wealthy and privileged Lady de Rothschild accusing Barack Obama of being "elitist". The
comments thread is most excellent and raises lots of interesting questions.
Like what does "elitist" even mean? And what does it mean when applied to Obama as it has been so often this year?
Educated? When was the last time there was a US president without a university degree? Or a serious candidate for that office without a high school diploma?
Rich? Pretty much everyone accusing him of it is much richer than he is. McCain is, Hillary Clinton ditto, and Lady de Rothschild very very much so.
I am very puzzled by the whole thing. I'm pretty sure that ...
Posted by Justine at 0:00, July 11th, 2008 under Bloggery, New York City/USA, State of the World |
There's an auction going on over in the
wonderful world of LJ to raise money
for the fight against the California initiative which will legally destroy existing same-sex marriages and ban any further ones. If the initiative passes, it will write discrimination into the state constitution, annull existing marriages, and make Mr. Sulu cry.
You can find more information about the auction
here. There are some amazing items being offered for auction, not just jewellery and other objects but services. Writers offering to write a story for you, or to critique your own writing. Trust me that is
a very big offer.
Sadly, I don't have time to offer anything like that. Or I could offer but it ...
Posted by Justine at 11:29, July 1st, 2008 under Liar Book, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 0:16, June 28th, 2008 under Reading, State of the World, Toilets |
There's a
fascinating article in The New Yorker, "The Itch" by
Atul Gawande. It's all about what causes itching, how we experience it, and what happens when it goes horribly wrong. HORRIBLY WRONG.
The case the article revolves around is so gross that I had to stop reading for awhile. Me, who is a connousieur of grossness, who is proud of
how gross my story in the First Kiss anthology is. And yet I feel compelled to share. Since I am a good person I will share after the cut.
WARNING: If you are easily grossed out DO NOT continue reading. If you have ever had shingles DO NOT continue reading. I am not kidding about this warning.
Posted by Justine at 12:59, June 27th, 2008 under Praising, Reading, Science, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 7:53, June 24th, 2008 under State of the World, Whingeing |
Who hates coffee? I know I am not the only one who thinks it tastes like black puddle water. Step up and share the hate!
Warning: All declarations of coffee love will be deleted. No one here cares.
Posted by Justine at 0:00, June 22nd, 2008 under Liquids, State of the World |
Australia is now the
most obese nation in the world.
Posted by Justine at 11:50, June 20th, 2008 under State of the World, Sydney/Australia |
Apropos of
Becky Hammon playing for Russia comes
this article from The New York Times about all the foreign nationals that are playing for the US Olympic squad:
Marching into Beijing Stadium under the American flag this August will be a kayaker from Poland, table tennis players from China, a triathlete from New Zealand, a world-champion distance runner from Kenya and a gold-medal-winning equestrian from Australia.
Though I am shocked, SHOCKED to my core, that an Australia would desert our fine country to play for another nation especially when they're a good shot a gold medal. How are we going to keep coming third in the Olympics despite our small population if the big countries steal all our Olympians? Huh? ...
Posted by Justine at 0:00, June 15th, 2008 under Basketball, New York City/USA, Sport, State of the World |
Tasmanian marsupial lives that is.
Scientists back home have discovered that marsupials really really really don't like dingo pee. They avoid it like the plague which means that farmers and the forestry industry can stop poisoning wildlife in order to protect crops. Spray the wee around and the critters stay away and the crops grow unmolested. Everybody wins.
Apparently it also makes a really lovely perfume. ((No, not really.))
Posted by Justine at 14:10, June 13th, 2008 under Science, State of the World, Sydney/Australia |
There's controversy right now in US women's basketball because an American player, Becky Hammon, is going to play for Russia in the Olymics. The coach of the US Olympic squad, Anne Donovan, has called her a traitor. Others have
different views: like how can Becky be a traitor when she was never asked to try out for the US squad despite putting up MVP (most valuable player) numbers and being one of the best guards in the world?
Mechelle Voepel writes a
very smart and nuanced article about the furore:
It's all fascinating to me on a lot of levels because it has made me think about so many things: what the Olympics really are, the ways the world has ...
Posted by Justine at 12:32, June 7th, 2008 under Basketball, New York City/USA, State of the World, Sydney/Australia |
Like Scott, I was intrigued by
Emily Gould's article about blogging. She's a beautiful writer and her experiences are fascinating. I was a little frustrated by the article, though, because I kept hoping that she would push further past the anecdotal to the broader implications. What does it mean to be internet famous? How does that vary from regular famous? How has our world changed because of blogging? And why is it so often female bloggers who get such insane volumes of hate mail?
I was quite shocked by the ferocity of the comments responding to Gold's article. One thousand two hundred and sixteen of them and most of them astoundingly nasty. Many of them seemed to boil down ...
Posted by Justine at 0:02, June 5th, 2008 under Bloggery, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 11:01, June 3rd, 2008 under Publishing business, State of the World, Young Adult literature |
Posted by Justine at 12:33, May 19th, 2008 under Listening, Praising, State of the World, Sydney/Australia |
Current estimates say that in the wake of
Cyclone Nargis 100,000 people have died and a million are homeless.
I've been trying to figure out where best to donate to make sure that the money actually goes to the people struggling to survive in Burma. Most people are saying that
UNICEF and the
UNHCR are the best bets seeing as how the UN is one of the few agencies getting aid into the country. So that's what me and Scott have done.
If anyone else knows of other organisations who are able to get in and help, please let me know in the comments. Thanks.
Update: Lots of people have been suggesting
Avaaz which is apparently getting the ...
Posted by Justine at 21:39, May 8th, 2008 under State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 8:13, May 8th, 2008 under Ideas, State of the World |
