Sandra Cox's Blog, page 289

Never Argue With a Woman

Never Argue with a Woman

One morning the husband returns after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap. Although, not familiar with the lake the wife decides to take the boat out. She motors out a short distance, anchors and reads her book.Along comes a Game Warden in his boat. He pulls up alongside the woman and says, “Good morning, Ma’am. What are you doing?”“Reading a book,” she replies, thinking, ‘Isn’t that obvious?’“You’re in a Restricted Fishing Area,” he informs her.“I’m sorry, officer, but I’m not fishing. I’m reading.”“Yes, but you have the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I’ll have to take you in and write you up.”“For reading a book?” she replies.“You’re in a Restricted Fishing Area,” he informs her again.“I’m sorry, officer, but I’m not fishing. I’m reading.”“Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I’ll have to take you in and write you up.”“If you do that, I’ll have to charge you with sexual assault,” says the woman.“But I haven’t even touched you,” says the game warden.“That’s true but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment.”“Have a nice day, ma’am,” and he left.Moral: Never argue with a woman who reads. It’s likely she can also think.

Feedback: How To Give It How To Get It

I'm very pleased to welcome Jo Sparkes who's blogging on her new book Feedback: How To Give It How to Get It.Jo will be giving away a $50 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
Feedback … a kinder word for criticism, is an organic component to life.
When a toddler learns to walk, he falls. He screams, cries – and persists. What would happen to the human race if he gave up after a few bumps?
Before we could read self-help books, before we could understand a language and sit in a classroom, we learned by trial and error. “Feedback” is the natural teaching process. It’s how the creator set it up. It’s how the world actually works.
Here, at last, is a simple process for getting the most from all the feedback the world offers us.

Blog question for Jo: What's the best feed back you ever rcv'd, and why.   What's the worst and why.
Do you know, I had to really think about these! The worst feedback is probably an incident when I was a junior in high school. I were taking a piano class with 30 others. I loved 'playing' at playing, and I was very good at memorizing songs. I had Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata memorized.Learning to read music, however, was at a rough stage. I could slowly translate it, but not fast enough to play from sheet music. The day came when we were going to have a recital, and the teacher listened to each student, and gave them feedback on the first six weeks. She complimented my playing, and urged me to be in the recital. I had a few reservations – I knew I couldn't read music, and was performing from memory. She didn't realize that, and I didn't tell her.Besides, there was a really cool, popular girl in the class, who had all the cute guys hanging around her. She spoke to me – to coordinate what we'd play. I felt like I was one of the in crowd. How could I not play Moonlight Sonata? As we prepared, my teacher listened and gave a few pointers. So did the popular girl, who was very good, I must say. That little voice in my head whispered I should be careful. But I was enjoying all the attention too much.The day of the recital had an audience of forty parents, all dressed up and sitting quietly. The popular girl got such applause when she was done, and I wanted to hear that same applause.I sat down, opened the music, put my fingers on the keys, and played the opening bars. And then my mind went blank. In my nervousness I had forgotten the song. And I certainly couldn't read the sheet in front of me.I thought, I'll hit this next note – and if that's not it …I struck the keys. That wasn't it.I can still hear the dead silence in the room when I stood and faced that audience. “That's all I remember.”You could hear a pin drop as I walked to the exit. Then there was polite applause – until the closing door cut it off.Even as I write this now my cheeks are burning red.The funny thing is, I would have loved to blame that on the feedback, or the teacher, or anyone else but myself. There is no one else to blame, however. And, well, I lived and learned. The best feedback was when I started a karate class. I was out of college and working by then. We began as white belts, and most tested for their next belt – an orange belt – within the first 4 weeks. I was not exactly a prodigy, however, and eight weeks later I was very discouraged.The Master of the Dojo talked to me. He gave me feedback on improving my moves, on getting out of a wristlock, and how to practice a little more effectively. I bit my lip and nodded – feeling very much like that girl who couldn't play at the piano recital.I think he saw where my emotions were. He took me to a class where the black belts were working hard. I watched them throwing each other around, moving at lightning speed, and looking like all the things I was not.“You know what a black belt is?” the Master asked me.“Perfection,” I sighed. “All the things I am not.”He looked me in the eye. “A black belt is just a white belt who never quit.” That one thought has prevailed through a lot challenges. Whenever I'm not sure I'll make it, when I fear I am back at that recital – I look at the great writers, the great teachers, all the people I admire. They only got where they are because they never quit.And then I push on.Sandra, thank you so much for having me today!
- Jo
Excerpt: For some reason it's easy to cling to criticism. To walk through the world telling yourself, “I can't act my way out of a paper bag,” or “my work is sloppy no matter what I do.”      If you think about it, you probably can recall criticism you heard as a child. When I was eight-years-old, I overheard my father tell my mother I was lazy. To this day, if I'm not getting everything done as fast as I wish, if things are piling up on my desk, I can hear him saying, “she's lazy!”     Clinging to criticism, to all the negative comments or snide remarks we've heard over the years, creates a very heavy burden. If you walk through the world so weighted down, you will inevitably slow and finally stop altogether from the sheer pressure.      All you can humanly do is what we just did. Take in the information, analyze it, and decide what to do. There is nothing more to be done.     It – the criticism – has served you. Now send it on its merry way.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
A well-known Century City Producer once said that Jo Sparkes "writes some of the best dialogue I’ve read." Not only are those words a compliment to Jo’s skills as a writer,but a true reflection of her commitment to her work.She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Washington College, a small liberal arts college famous for its creative writing program. Years later, Jo renounced life in the corporate world to pursue her passion for writing. Taking every class she could find, she had the good fortune to study with Robert Powell; a student of renowned writers and teachers Lew Hunter, and Richard Walter, head and heart of UCLA’s Screenwriting Program. The culmination of those years was the short-film "The Image", which she wrote and produced single-handedly. And in so doing, she became fascinated with the dynamics of collaboration on a project.Since then, Jo hasn’t looked back.  Her body of work includes scripts for Children’s live-action and animated television programs, a direct to video Children’s DVD, television commercials and corporate videos. She's been a feature writer on ReZoom.com and a contributing writer for the Arizona Sports Fans Network; where she was called their most popular writer, known for her humorous articles, player interviews and game coverage. Jo was unofficially the first to interview Emmitt Smith when he arrived in Arizona to play for the Cardinals.She has adjunct taught at the Film School at Scottsdale Community College, has teamed with a Producer on a low budget thriller, and a Director on a New Dramady.” She went in front of the camera for a video, “Stepping Above Criticism”, capturing a popular talk with her students. Her new book, FEEDBACK  HOW TO GIVE IT  HOW TO GET IT, shares her lessons learned with writers, and indeed everyone dealing with life's criticism.When not diligently perfecting her craft, Jo can be found exploring her new home of Portland, Oregon, along with her husband Ian, and their dog Oscar.http://www.feedbackthebook.comhttp://josparkes.com/

Seven Rings of Hell

The HH's theory is any rodent foolhardy enough to make its way into our house must think its entered the seventh ring of hell. For instance:
Last night he heard clattering and banging in the kitchen and ran in to find one of the cat's had caught a mouse. Now the HH has been programmed to extricate the mouse from the cat and toss it outside. If the mouse doesn't get snagged by the outdoor cats its chances of survival rise exponentially. As the HH was heading for the cat to get the mouse, the cat dropped it. The mouse weighed its options and headed for the dog. Chomp. Chomp. The mouse was gone.
Who would have thought a nearly fifteen year old decrepit, deaf, half-blind dog would become a mouse executioner?

Sunday: The Day of Rest and Other Stuff

Faux Paw is a big believer in Sunday being a day of rest, along with Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Blogspot has updated. I'm not sure I like the new navigation system. Anyone else having problems with it?
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A sharp wind blew off the water. My eyes closed. I stood perfectly still, except for the shudders that racked my achy body as fear and revulsion washed over me like the loud pounding waves below. 
~*~Blogs of interest:Amarinda JonesAnny CookHelen WoodallJennifer Shirk Julia BarrettShelley Munro 

Current freebies at Amazon:
Winner Take All by Diane Amos
http://www.amazon.com/Winner-Takes-All-ebook/dp/B007L88N4Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1334932360&sr=1-1 

Ashes for the Elephan God by Vijaya Schwartz
http://www.amazon.com/Ashes-Elephant-God-ebook/dp/B00486UG24/ref=lp_B001JP7U

It's Saturday...

It's Saturday. Enjoy it!

Squirrel Adopted by Cat Learns to Purr

This one's too cute......

An E-Book Verdict That Makes Cents

Read about it:
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/11/justice-files-suit-against-apple-and-publishers-over-e-book-pricing/?emc=eta1

Have you been reading about this? The justice department has actually sued Apple, Penguin, Hachet, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins and Macmillan over their e-book pricing. One state attorney general said that the publishers had inflated the e-book prices by as much as $5.
I found this article fascinating. And it basically reiterates what we've been saying all along, that the larger companies are driving up the cost of e-books.
What does this lawsuit mean for us? Hopefully, lower e-book prices. And for some consumers possibly even restitution.
This ruling has been a huge plus for Amazon, who like to keep their prices lower as an incentive to buy and use the Kindle. Because of Apple's 'favorite nation clause' they weren't allowed to lower their prices, asked by these publishers, below the pricing in Apple's bookstore.
On the flip side, some authors are concerned about the large influence Amazon has over the book market. And this most certainly is a concern.
What's your take on the situation?
~*~
Jill Huey is giving away Unbidden, a historical romance today and tomorrow at
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0067DDX1M/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

I Swore I'd Never Get Falsies

Okay, I broke my word. I swore I'd never get falsies, but three of my nails were broken so they glued on false tips. Ever had them? On the very tip of the nails, they glue on extenders that are a mile long. I'm not kidding a mile, okay maybe a couple of inches but they seem like a mile. Then they trim them down to the length you want them. Walla, no more stubs.
You can probably tell my life isn't filled with glamor, glitter and travel to exotic ports of call by the amount of blog time I spend on my nails.
What about you? What breaks up the mundane in your corner of the world?
~*~
Blogs of interest:
Amarinda Jones
Anny Cook
Helen Woodall
Jennifer Shirk
Julia Barrett
Shelley Munro

Battered Women and Their Pets

My son sent me a story that was gut-wrenching on many levels. It was about a Great Dane who threw itself on top of his mistress when she was being beaten with a hammer and ultimately saved her life. Here's the link if you'd like to read the story: http://www.takepart.com/blog-series/paw-and-order/2012/01/17/great-dane-saves-woman-vicious-beating#.T3G25Dh8yiQ.email.
Its hard to believe that some women live in fear of their life from the person who has sworn to love and protect them. Unfortunately, its only too true.
Nearly, forty percent of battered women stay in the situation they're in because they refuse to leave their pets.
Some women live in their cars because they can't take their animals with them to safe houses.
Over seventy percent of abused women have had pets maimed or killed by their abuser.
There are no race, age, or financial boundaries when it comes to abuse. Halle Berry, Madonna, Carol King and Tina Turner have been in abusive situations.
Nearly four million women are beaten each year by their significant other.
Nearly forty-five percent of women who are beaten are beaten during pregnancy.
The average prison sentence for men who kill their significant other is less than seven years.
Every fifteen seconds a woman in the U.S. is battered.
In the United States, domestic violence is the leading cause of injury for women in their teens through middle age.
Abuse normally increases and becomes more violent.
After the Great Dane incident, The Rose Shelter decided to add seven kennels so that more abused women could bring their pets when looking for a safe house.
*If you're interested in making a donation, the link can be found in the article noted above.

Vampire Romance Books

Greetings, everyone. I'm hanging out at Vampire Romance Books today. If you have the opportunity, stop by and keep me company.http://www.vampireromancebooks.com/author-interviews/sandra-cox-interview/