N.H. Senzai's Blog, page 10
November 3, 2009
Book Galley
"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." – Maya Angelou
I got this in the mail today ---
I opened with eager anticipation and wasn't dissapointed... many long months ago, the words to
SHOOTING KABUL formed in my mind and landed in a word document on my laptop. After a round of edits, here it is, a book galley, close to final book format, copyedited and typeset. Galleys are put together for multiple reasons -- they are given to sales and marketing folks, sent to...
I got this in the mail today ---
I opened with eager anticipation and wasn't dissapointed... many long months ago, the words to
SHOOTING KABUL formed in my mind and landed in a word document on my laptop. After a round of edits, here it is, a book galley, close to final book format, copyedited and typeset. Galleys are put together for multiple reasons -- they are given to sales and marketing folks, sent to...
November 2, 2009
Un-Seuss-Tainable
The average American uses seven trees a year in paper, wood, and other products made from trees --this amounts to about 2,000,000,000 trees per year
Photo: gravlax/Flickr
Sad to say, when I open a book and turn the page, I never really think about the page itself – just the words printed on it. In the back of my mind, I know where the paper came from -- wood pulp, which is primarily from trees, which grow in forests. So when I saw a report by the World Wildlife Fund, I was horrified, as would...
Photo: gravlax/Flickr
Sad to say, when I open a book and turn the page, I never really think about the page itself – just the words printed on it. In the back of my mind, I know where the paper came from -- wood pulp, which is primarily from trees, which grow in forests. So when I saw a report by the World Wildlife Fund, I was horrified, as would...
October 29, 2009
Hunger to Learn
As many as 115 million children of primary school age are not enrolled in school.
Millions of children around the world don't have access to education because their families are too poor to afford to send them to school. In most cases, these children would do anything to learn, for they know it's the only way to better yourself and climb out of their desperate way of life.
In Bengal, India, one schoolboy is trying to change that. I saw Babar Ali for the first time in BBC's Hunger to Learn...
Millions of children around the world don't have access to education because their families are too poor to afford to send them to school. In most cases, these children would do anything to learn, for they know it's the only way to better yourself and climb out of their desperate way of life.
In Bengal, India, one schoolboy is trying to change that. I saw Babar Ali for the first time in BBC's Hunger to Learn...
October 26, 2009
Writer Connections
There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. -W. Somerset Maugham
Writing is a lonely pursuit and you can spend years, staring at your computer, creating imaginary worlds in your mind, translating them onto paper. When you're brave enough, you venture out and meet other writers, the only other souls who understand what it is exactly that you do (and why you aren't on the NYT best seller list YET) One of the best organizations for connecting and...
Writing is a lonely pursuit and you can spend years, staring at your computer, creating imaginary worlds in your mind, translating them onto paper. When you're brave enough, you venture out and meet other writers, the only other souls who understand what it is exactly that you do (and why you aren't on the NYT best seller list YET) One of the best organizations for connecting and...
October 23, 2009
Eyebrows & Chocolate
The word "chocolate" comes from the Aztec word "xocolatl", which means "bitter water"
I grew up eating Cadburys and it's delectably good chocolate. In order to portray a hipper image (since sales were slacking, dunno why) the company launched a new series of television ads, which are brilliant. These kids remind me of when I was ten... and just as geeky :)
I grew up eating Cadburys and it's delectably good chocolate. In order to portray a hipper image (since sales were slacking, dunno why) the company launched a new series of television ads, which are brilliant. These kids remind me of when I was ten... and just as geeky :)
October 22, 2009
Nook n' Kindle
The first eBook readers, Rocket eBook and Softbook, were launched in 1998
Sounds like a picture book about kittens! But no, it is the latest salvo into the eBook wars!
Competition has heated up with Barnes and Nobles Nookish entry! (The business side of me wonders if they whether the folks cooked up the name internally or hired a naming firm). More the better I say; the publishing industry is changing by starts, leaps, fits and bounds and eBooks are not only an environmentally friendly option...
Sounds like a picture book about kittens! But no, it is the latest salvo into the eBook wars!
Competition has heated up with Barnes and Nobles Nookish entry! (The business side of me wonders if they whether the folks cooked up the name internally or hired a naming firm). More the better I say; the publishing industry is changing by starts, leaps, fits and bounds and eBooks are not only an environmentally friendly option...
October 20, 2009
A Thousand Words
The word photography derives from the Greek words 'photos' - meaning light and 'graphien' - to draw
Source: Steve McCurry
I remember seeing this cover of National Geographic in 1985, while visiting Pakistan. As I read the story, I realized that the Pukhtun girl with the haunting green eyes, was just north of me on the Afghan border, in a refugee camp. Afghanistan had been invaded by the Soviet Union and the country was a war zone. Her face wasn't the only thing that troubled me – it was the...
Source: Steve McCurry
I remember seeing this cover of National Geographic in 1985, while visiting Pakistan. As I read the story, I realized that the Pukhtun girl with the haunting green eyes, was just north of me on the Afghan border, in a refugee camp. Afghanistan had been invaded by the Soviet Union and the country was a war zone. Her face wasn't the only thing that troubled me – it was the...
October 16, 2009
Politechnics
The ancestry of all 44 presidents is limited to the following heritages, or some combination thereof: Dutch, English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Swiss, German, and Africian
I had the opportunity to hear Barack Hussein Obama speak last night, while he was in San Francisco. It was a chance to see a man who's beaten many odds to become President, and it was too good to pass up. President Obama is a lot of firsts - the first African-American President, first from the state of Hawaii, the first with...
I had the opportunity to hear Barack Hussein Obama speak last night, while he was in San Francisco. It was a chance to see a man who's beaten many odds to become President, and it was too good to pass up. President Obama is a lot of firsts - the first African-American President, first from the state of Hawaii, the first with...
October 14, 2009
The Two Ms. Pierces'
Studies have shown that American children who learn to read by the third grade are less likely to end up in prison, drop out of school, or take drugs
There's an open secret in the publishing world that to get boys to read, the protagonist should be a boy. Historically, children's books abound with male protagonists who have adventures, save the world and accomplish mighty feats and reap the glories, whether they are Peter Pan, Charlie Bucket, Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. Although I this is...
There's an open secret in the publishing world that to get boys to read, the protagonist should be a boy. Historically, children's books abound with male protagonists who have adventures, save the world and accomplish mighty feats and reap the glories, whether they are Peter Pan, Charlie Bucket, Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. Although I this is...
October 12, 2009
Indian to Indian
One in every 130 people living in the United States today is Native American.
Last night, my nieces reminded me that today was Columbus Day. I got to thinking about Christopher -- a monumental, yet controversial figure. After five centuries, he has been variously described as one of the greatest maritime navigators, a visionary genius, a mystic, a national hero, a failed administrator, a naive entrepreneur, and a ruthless and greedy imperialist.
Soon it triggered a memory of when I was a...
Last night, my nieces reminded me that today was Columbus Day. I got to thinking about Christopher -- a monumental, yet controversial figure. After five centuries, he has been variously described as one of the greatest maritime navigators, a visionary genius, a mystic, a national hero, a failed administrator, a naive entrepreneur, and a ruthless and greedy imperialist.
Soon it triggered a memory of when I was a...
