Kurt R.A. Giambastiani's Blog, page 47

In Which I Say ‘No’ to Freelance

Last Thursday, around midnight, my wife was hauled down a long, lonely corridor, knocked unconscious, and stabbed five times. At least that’s how her surgeon described it. It turns out that your gall bladder can become infected. My wife’s was, and the doctors removed it. She’s recovering now, building back her strength, getting her innards […]

Words from Books: Reading and Vocabulary

Autumn arrived in Seattle a few days ahead of schedule. This weekend, a low-pressure system cruised in with gusts that rattled the windowsand whistled through the trees. Standing at the window, watching the maples dance, I thought to myself, “It’s a blustery day.” Blustery. The word brought back a memory of the first time I […]

Talent Just Wants to be Free: The Idiocy of Digital Dilettantes

Last Friday, a bumptious ignoramus hit me with a corollary to the old “Information just wants to be free” mantra, and I’ve been on a slow boil ever since. “Information just wants to be free” has been the call to arms for every digital anarchist in the last three decades, and it is used as […]

Insights into Personalities: Famous Last Words

As a writer, I’ve always been fascinated by so-called “famous last words,” but not the pronouncements made heading into battle or climbing the gallows steps. In thosesituations the speaker has prepared, is aware of what is likely to come, and has given their words some forethoughtas “famous last words.” Lines spoken at times like these […]

Writerly Update: Define ‘Interesting’

It’s been an interesting week,writing-wise, and while no, it wasn’t “interesting” in the sense of “Oh God Oh God We’re all going to die!” it wasinteresting in the sense used by the old Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times. This week I received: validation on my writing several rejections on my writing bad […]

I’ve Got a Little List: Advert Rules for Websites

You’ve noticed it. Websites are more in-your-face, lately; insome cases, they’re downright adversarial. Navigating them can be an educationin frustration. Ads, videos, pop-ups, overlays, log-in requirements–it’s ridiculous. Advertisements are no longer passive; they’ve even moved beyond passive-aggressive. They’re just plain aggressive, now. Well, I’m sick of it, and I’m fighting back. Here are my rules […]

Hometown Pitchman: Seattle’s Vern Fonk

It’s the end of an era in Seattle. Our last great hometown pitchman, one of Seattle’s best-known faces died this week, though most people don’t know his name. Show his picture to any person on a Seattle street and they’ll tell you: “That’s Vern Fonk.” Except, he isn’t. Or, now, he wasn’t. Vern Fonk Insurance […]

Filling the Gaps: Online Courses in Editing

A large part of my “journey” from IT professional to editor is bolsteringmy own confidence level. While I’ve edited, copy edited, and proofread over a dozen novel-length booksandscores of shorter works — both for myself and for others — I haven’t done this work as an editing professional. That, when put alongside the generallyunstructured education […]

Three Films: One Excellent, One Good, One Great

Going to the cinema is a less-than-optimal experience for me. Rude audience members, sticky floors, cell phone bleeps and ringtones, and neighboring theaterboom-boom-bleed-through make the experience rather … challenging … for a purist. Last week, however,I took a couple of days off for our anniversary and, since Seattle is currently suffering under a heat wave […]

Riding the Rails

It’s been a week of riding the rails, but not trains. . . roller coasters. I’ve been studying for my new, hoped-for profession, and have been jack-rabbiting between euphoric leaps of über-confidence and bone-crushing impacts of complete despair. The fact is, even though I know how to edit and proofread, I still have much to […]