Miscellanea #18

A continuing series of noteworthy tidbits gleaned from all over.

Writing on the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Seattle
Last week, I took Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train from Los Angeles to Seattle, which meant 36 hours on the rails. That’s a very long time to spend in linear motion, but it was worth it. My goal was to get some quality, uninterrupted writing time for the oft-delayed Tarzan, and I got it. I wrote long-hand, as I usually do on first drafts, and faxed the pages back to Los Angeles once I got to Seattle. Once everything was typed up, I had 41 more pages finished, which is good for three day’s work…. (johnaugust.com)

Why are we still there?
Every day there are news reports about more deaths. Every night on TV are photos of death and destruction. Why are we still there? We occupied this land, which we had to take by force, but it causes us nothing but trouble. Why are we still there?… (2020 Hindsight)

Martha Keeps It Real: Another Deconstruction
This month’s Martha Stewart Living (May 2004) features, as usual, a Letter From Martha. Unlike Martha’s many other letters, this one actually keeps it real. No BS about gardening: Martha has made the brave (and committee-prodded, I’m sure) choice of addressing her legal woes. Let’s look closer, shall we?… (The Amateur Gourmet)

Great first lines:
‘I don’t believe in Heaven or Hell, but on any given night Los Angeles can do a pretty good imitation of either locale….’ (CaliforniaAuthors.com/CaliforniaWriters.com)

Wonderbread indeed!
Wonder why I bake my own bread? That’s why! (Il Forno)

The New United States
Here’s a proposal to re-draw the state boundaries of the U.S. into 50 areas with equal population. (J-Walk Blog)

Around the world in a bowl of rice: Is My Blog Burning? 4th edition
I have been talking with Alberto about hosting Is My Blog Burning? for a while, and finally decided the time is right for this. Please join us in the newest edition of Is My Blog Burning? on Sunday May… (chez pim)