Archives
Posted by Justine at 14:21, May 7th, 2009 under Ranting, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 0:07, April 27th, 2009 under Publishing business, State of the World |
I have been saying
for some time now that friendships are every bit as important as family and romantic partners. Now there's
scientific proof:
A 10-year Australian study found that older people with a large circle of friends were 22 percent less likely to die during the study period than those with fewer friends. A large 2007 study showed an increase of nearly 60 percent in the risk for obesity among people whose friends gained weight. And last year, Harvard researchers reported that strong social ties could promote brain health as we age.
“In general, the role of friendship in our lives isn’t terribly well appreciated,” said Rebecca G. Adams, a professor of sociology at the University of North ...
Posted by Justine at 12:55, April 22nd, 2009 under Ranting, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 14:43, April 11th, 2009 under State of the World, Sydney/Australia |
Posted by Justine at 13:32, April 7th, 2009 under 1930s NYC novel, New York City/USA, Research, State of the World |
So now Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa ((At least I can spell "Iowa" without having to look it up!)) have legalised same-sex marriage. Hurrah for all three states!
Which state will be next? I hear that Vermont's governor is all set to veto the pro-love bill there. Which is weird, I honestly though Vermont would be one of the first states to give the green light to same sex marriage. Because I live there half the year, I'm hoping New York will be next, but the forces arrayed against love in my US home state are pretty strong.
Any of you got any bets on which state will be next?
I wonder too how long it will take before same-sex marriage is legal throughout ...
Posted by Justine at 9:25, April 4th, 2009 under New York City/USA, Praising, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 17:19, March 28th, 2009 under New York City/USA, State of the World |
Some of you have been writing to ask me what I think of the
Australian Productivity Commission's draft report. I've been trying very hard to put my thoughts into words, but frankly I'm too depressed and angry. But now Michael Heyward of Text has a
most excellent opinion piece in The Age:
THERE'S a lot at stake in the world of books and writing and publishing. Our industry is blossoming. We're selling great books at home and exporting our writers in unprecedented numbers. We have a superb retail environment, with a dynamic independent sector, and a competitive printing industry that generates significant numbers of skilled jobs. There's never been a better time to be a writer or publisher ...
Posted by Justine at 0:44, March 27th, 2009 under Publishing business, Ranting, State of the World, Sydney/Australia |
I wonder why it is that women in sports get so little attention. Unless they're tennis or golf players and pretty. Or winning gold medals during the Olympics.
I've been following the
women's world cup online, but apparently I don't have much company online or offline where
very few folks have been going to their games. I don't get it. The NZ v Pakistan game sounds like it was amazing. Wish I'd been home to see it. ((Here's hoping the Kiwis can crush the Poms in the final. Guess, I'll find out when I wake up.)) Games were $5 each or $35 for a pass to see all of them. Standards were high yet attendance was crap.
And then there's ...
Posted by Justine at 0:44, March 21st, 2009 under Basketball, Cricket, New York City/USA, Sport, State of the World, Sydney/Australia |
I am no longer interested in hearing how lovely a particular person is in real life when they are a bully and a bigot and a troll online. I'll go further than that it no longer matters to me if I have met said nasty online person in real life and have found them perfectly charming. Behaving well in only one or two spheres of your life does not make you a good person. Treating people with contempt speaks volumes. Always.
The internet is real life. What you say and how you behave in the land of livejournal or facebook or myspace or wordpress blogs or elsewhere is real behaviour. Those words are real and have real affects even if you ...
Posted by Justine at 16:56, March 5th, 2009 under Ranting, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 17:14, March 3rd, 2009 under Cricket, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 2:45, February 22nd, 2009 under Book tour, How To Ditch Your Fairy, State of the World, Sydney/Australia |
To all the people writing to ask me if I'm okay: Sydney is a long, long, long way from the worst of the bushfires. Me and mine are fine.
What's happened in
Victoria is horrific. So far more than 173 people have died. As I mentioned in
this earlier post you can help. The Oz Red Cross is taking
donations here.
Posted by Justine at 17:09, February 9th, 2009 under State of the World, Sydney/Australia |
Posted by Justine at 16:04, February 8th, 2009 under State of the World, Sydney/Australia |
Posted by Justine at 0:35, February 1st, 2009 under Bloggery, Magic or Madness trilogy, Praising, State of the World, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 23:12, January 20th, 2009 under New York City/USA, Praising, State of the World, Viewing |
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 1930s NYC novel, Book tour, First Kiss, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Last Day of the Year, Love is Hell, New York City/USA, Sport, State of the World, Sydney/Australia, Vainglory, Writing goals & milestones, Writing life, Young Adult literature |
I know many of the readers of this blog also drive and I'm quite sure none of you are evil but perhaps you could help explain to me how some drivers develop a pathological hatred of law-abiding pedestrians once they are behind the wheel of their petrol-guzzlers?
Yesterday I was minding my own business crossing the road legally: I had the pedestrian green light about half way across it started to flash. A very angry taxi driver in an unoccupied cab started trying to push his way past me and the other pedestrians in a most threatening manner. Readers, I confess that I and another pedestrian made a USian hand gesture in his direction at which point he turned red and ...
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 |
The most poignant question
me and Scott were asked at
BookPeople was the following:
What advice do you have for middle school "uglies"?
We rambled on about how middle school/high school (if you're Australian) doesn't last forever etc etc. How we too were unhappy in 6th, 7th, 8th grade. ((Actually I hated all of school from kindergarten all the way to year 12.)) But I'm not sure our answers were satisfying. And we didn't really suggest any survival techniques.
I have been thinking about this question ever since. Do any of you have any ideas for how to survive the dark days of primary and secondary education? If so, do please share.
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, 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, 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 1930s NYC novel, New York City/USA, 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 1930s NYC novel, New York City/USA, 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, New York City/USA, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 16:14, July 13th, 2008 under Liar, New York City/USA, State of the World |
