Susan Wise Bauer's Blog, page 24

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-08-22

DS13, back in the house after gathering eggs: "A big snake was strangling one of the chickens. I whacked it with a shovel until it let go." #Embarking on the Fifth Crusade this morning. #If the kids make any more noise, my head might just split open like a ripe cantaloupe. #Today's fun fact: Conrad IV of Germany was also Conrad I of Jerusalem & Conrad II of Sicily. Because just one name would be way too simple. #Simultaneously reading "You Are Not a Gadget" and "The Book in the...

Hey, Mom, look what I caught!

Tuesday night, Dan (thirteen) came charging upstairs after his nightly visit out to the chickenhouse to gather the eggs. "There was a huge snake wrapped around one of the chickens," he announced, "but I whacked it with a shovel until it let go." (And then he said, "The snake freaked me out so I need to play some computer games before bed to calm down." But that was another conversation.)

We have the chickens fenced off from foxes, eagles, and stray dogs, but it's impossible to keep snakes...

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-08-15

Home at 3 AM. Tip for United: When reason next to "Delayed" on notice board is "Late aircraft," that doesn't really answer our questions. #I think late-night flying has killed off a few brain cells that I actually needed. #Getting ready to do an online seminar at 12:30. This one has a video feed. Guess I should put on lip gloss. #Going off the grid to write. I hope. #Perseid meteor shower hidden by clouds. Boo. #Heading home from Eastern Shore wedding where DH was officiant & I was default...

The social networking map

Still immersed in piles of "social media will bring an end to civilization" books in preparation for those Vancouver lectures. Still unconvinced, although I'm accumulating a list of objections to social media that seem serious and valid and thus deserve a response.

(None of these, by the way, from Andrew Keen's abysmal The Cult of the Amateur. Keen argues that, unless professionals and experts remain in the gatekeeping positions of publishing, music, and news companies, we'll be flooded by ...

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-08-08

Doing my best to have a day off. #Updating workshops for Chicago Expo this weekend (while fielding multiple phone calls informing us that our server is down. Yeah, we know). #Server recovery…blogs and forums and store and main pages all back up! #Power's off in entire historic/Merchant's Square area of Williamsburg. Now it really looks 18th century. #Hear rumors Northern Lights could be seen all the way from VA. Went outside: weird flashy sky. But possibly heat lightning? Wondering… #After...

Barnes & Noble up for sale

Interesting news from the New York Times…

In what might be the latest sign of trouble for brick-and-mortar bookstores, the mega-chain Barnes & Noble announced on Tuesday that its board was putting the company up for sale.

The news surprised analysts and alarmed publishers, who have watched as the book business has increasingly shifted to online retailers and e-book sales, leaving both chains and independent sellers struggling….

For years, Barnes & Noble has been battered by large shifts in the...

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-08-01

At UVA Parent Orientation while DS18 off doing First-Year Orientation. So far, much more helpful than anticipated. #Difficulty balancing obligation to go to all orientation sessions w/desire to wander around C'ville holding hands w/husband. #It is much more exhausting to be a parent of a college freshman than to BE a college freshman. #Once again I have not read a single title on the Booker shortlist. #Baskin-Robbins chocolate soda w/peanutbutter-chocolate icecream, basil pesto with homemade...

And in non-publishing-related news…

I thought those of you who enjoyed the "cupcakes that look like vegetables" post from last summer might like this week's Family Day project: the Fairy Castle Cake.

Ours is a little wobblier than the illustration in the book, alas. Also I find the giant fairy a little alarming.

But it tasted good (except for the lollipop flowers, which were some weird mango flavor).

From my point of view, Mr. Freud, it makes a BIG difference.

In preparation for those Vancouver lectures I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm working my way through a raft of books on technology and society. Which means you're going to hear about them in this blog. A lot.

I went back this past week to reread Neil Postman's 1992 Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology; it's one of the core reflections on this topic, and even if you disagree with Postman you can't ignore him. (I've got to go back and reread Jacques Ellul as well.)

I first read ...

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-07-25

DD9: "When I pretend I'm a superhero I'm not wearing one of those bikini things. I pretend I've got a super T-shirt & shorts." You go, girl. #Sang Latin rounds with Peace Hill choir last night. Still humming. "Da pacem cordium" is a real mindworm. #Title in "How to Scan" manual for my new IRIScan device on color mode: "Let The Bad Color Not Be Seen." Tee hee. #If you've been in my car recently…did you lose a cell phone? Having trouble tracking this found phone down & the battery's dead. a