joshuapalmatier (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
joshuapalmatier) wrote2008-12-11 07:25 pm
joshuapalmatier) wrote2008-12-11 07:25 pm
STORM!
So, we're in the middle of what's supposed to be a rather bad storm. An ice storm (the trees are already coated, withe ice cycles), followed by a change to snow. They currently predict 5-10 inches total. Which means we can get anywhere from 0-24 inches, because they just don't know how to predict storms. (It's all based on statistics, and us mathematicians know all about statistics . . . basically, you can get it to say pretty much whatever you want.) I managed to make it to Oneonta before anything really started, but the trip back from work was a little . . . tense. Snow had started in Oneonta when I left at 1pm, but the conditions improved as I drove closer to Binghamton, where it was mostly rain, mixed with some snow and sleet to make it interesting and slushy.
In any case, looks like tomorrow will be a heavy-duty writing day. *grin*
So, for tonight, I thought I'd do a rather long post, since I've missed the last couple of days due to prep for the finals next week and finishing up with the last few classes. It's kept me busy. So here's the agenda, which I will mostly put behind cuts because I am kind:
I generally buy the soundtracks to the movies that I see, especially the SF ones. Mostly because I can use this music (some of it) as background noise when I write, but sometimes just because it's really good music. Anyway, I bought the soundtrack to Wall-E, and I have to say that every time I listen to it, I think of one thing:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jimhines.
Which makes me think how alike Jim Hines and Wall-E are. I don't just mean physically (but here are pictures anyway, so you can compare the two) but also as characters.
I don't know Jim all THAT well, we've corresponded by email mostly, but we have met in person and my general impression of him corresponds to Wall-E's character rather well. So while driving into work today I started thinking about other authors I know and who might play them in Hollywood. I came up with the following two for the authors I know the best:pbray and jennifer_dunne.
********
So I ask you, who would play your favorite author in Hollywood? Is it just a physical exactness or does the personality match your choice as well, if you happen to know the author? All three of mine seem to match both personality and physical charactestics, in some sense.
And the ultimate question for those who know me: Who would play me? *manic grin*
Now the contests. The first is simple: The paperback of The Vacant Throne is due to be released on January 6, 2009. The first five people to spot the book in the wild, take a picture of it in the wild, and then send me the pic at jpalmatier@sff.net, will win. The prize is a The Vacant Throne magnet (not a small magnet, more like postcard size). So, check those bookstores often for Vacant Throne over the next few weeks, since they often put the books on the shelf before the actual release date. Go! Hunt! Win! This contest obviously ends once I've received the first five pictures. I'll post them as they come in. The pictures must be clear enough that it's obviously Vacant Throne in paperback. A picture of you buying the book at the register might be nice. *grin*
The second contest is also fairly easy and--although I'd decided to do this LOOOOONG beforejimhines or John Scalzi posted their own pics--now appears to have been stolen from Jim Hines or John Scalzi. I don't think either one has a trademark on the idea, so here goes: Send me the best, funniest, most dramatic or amusing picture of you or your guinea pig or whatever or whoever reading any or all of my books in the Throne of Amenkor trilogy. Perferrably Vacant Throne, but Skewed Throne or Cracked Throne will work as well. Be creative! Have fun! But most of all make it work safe! Send the pics to jpalmatier@sff.net by January 6th, 2009. I'll narrow the pics down to a set of finalists and post them on my LJ for you all to vote on. Winners will receive . . . some kind of prize. I'm not sure exactly what kind of prize, but most likely magnets and/or books of some sort.
And the third contest is also picture oriented. All you have to do is change your icon here on LJ, or your main pic on MySpace or Facebook, etc. to one showing a picture of some sort containing my book, The Vacant Throne, in either hardcover or paperback. The book must be clear and visible, but otherwise the picture can be of whatever you want (that's legal to post on those pages of course). If you want to just post the cover art of the book, that's fine. A picture of you reading the book would be better and more fun. If you want to play around with the book cover and make your own personalized icon, with some witty remark, spectacular! You need to use this icon or avatar as your main pic between January 6th, 2009 and January 20th, 2009. Or longer if you prefer. To enter the contest, simply send me a link to your LJ, MySpace, Facebook, or whatever where you're using the icon or picture as your main pic during that time frame sometime. The winner will be chosen at random from all of the entries received. Again, I haven't figured out what the prize will be yet, but most likely books and/or magnets, etc.
As you can see, I was in a picture frame of mind for these contests. Basically, the intent is to try to get more people to see the covers of the books, so that they'll be aware of them and perhaps notice them when they hit the bookstore or are surfing online. Notice that you can use the same picture for all three contests if you want to, as long as it's of The Vacant Throne. But most importantly for the second and third contests, have fun. Creativity is good.
And lastly, just something minor. I was dragged into a discount dollar store this past weekend and was astonished to find that they have Lego sets in the store. A discount store! Legos! Anyway, I of course sat down on the floor and pulled the sets off the shelf to take a look . . . and discovered that they aren't like any Lego sets I've ever seen. They appear to be from Japan or China, or at least that's one of the target audiences. They have a Manga feel to the human figures in the sets, and instead of castles or spaceships, the sets are of gigantic robots, along the lines of MechWarrior and Battletech. They're called the Exo-Force. One of them is marked "special edition". They weren't exactly cheap, but they were certainly deals when it comes to Legos. (In general, it appears that Lego sets are priced by taking how many pieces are in the set and charging 10 cents per piece or more; these were charging perhaps 5 cents a piece instead.) I, of course, ended up buying all of the sets they had and have begun happily putting them together. A Christmas gift to myself perhaps.
And I'm still thinking about building my own Star Trek spaceships out of Legos.
Oh, and one last thing: There's a discussion going on over at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
dawbooks on Kristen Britain's Green Rider series. Kristen posted her thoughts, and is answering questions from the fans. Go check it out!
And that's my udpate for the past few days. What have you guys been up to?
In any case, looks like tomorrow will be a heavy-duty writing day. *grin*
So, for tonight, I thought I'd do a rather long post, since I've missed the last couple of days due to prep for the finals next week and finishing up with the last few classes. It's kept me busy. So here's the agenda, which I will mostly put behind cuts because I am kind:
I generally buy the soundtracks to the movies that I see, especially the SF ones. Mostly because I can use this music (some of it) as background noise when I write, but sometimes just because it's really good music. Anyway, I bought the soundtrack to Wall-E, and I have to say that every time I listen to it, I think of one thing:
jimhines.Which makes me think how alike Jim Hines and Wall-E are. I don't just mean physically (but here are pictures anyway, so you can compare the two) but also as characters.
I don't know Jim all THAT well, we've corresponded by email mostly, but we have met in person and my general impression of him corresponds to Wall-E's character rather well. So while driving into work today I started thinking about other authors I know and who might play them in Hollywood. I came up with the following two for the authors I know the best:
pbray and jennifer_dunne.********
So I ask you, who would play your favorite author in Hollywood? Is it just a physical exactness or does the personality match your choice as well, if you happen to know the author? All three of mine seem to match both personality and physical charactestics, in some sense.
And the ultimate question for those who know me: Who would play me? *manic grin*
Now the contests. The first is simple: The paperback of The Vacant Throne is due to be released on January 6, 2009. The first five people to spot the book in the wild, take a picture of it in the wild, and then send me the pic at jpalmatier@sff.net, will win. The prize is a The Vacant Throne magnet (not a small magnet, more like postcard size). So, check those bookstores often for Vacant Throne over the next few weeks, since they often put the books on the shelf before the actual release date. Go! Hunt! Win! This contest obviously ends once I've received the first five pictures. I'll post them as they come in. The pictures must be clear enough that it's obviously Vacant Throne in paperback. A picture of you buying the book at the register might be nice. *grin*
The second contest is also fairly easy and--although I'd decided to do this LOOOOONG before
jimhines or John Scalzi posted their own pics--now appears to have been stolen from Jim Hines or John Scalzi. I don't think either one has a trademark on the idea, so here goes: Send me the best, funniest, most dramatic or amusing picture of you or your guinea pig or whatever or whoever reading any or all of my books in the Throne of Amenkor trilogy. Perferrably Vacant Throne, but Skewed Throne or Cracked Throne will work as well. Be creative! Have fun! But most of all make it work safe! Send the pics to jpalmatier@sff.net by January 6th, 2009. I'll narrow the pics down to a set of finalists and post them on my LJ for you all to vote on. Winners will receive . . . some kind of prize. I'm not sure exactly what kind of prize, but most likely magnets and/or books of some sort.And the third contest is also picture oriented. All you have to do is change your icon here on LJ, or your main pic on MySpace or Facebook, etc. to one showing a picture of some sort containing my book, The Vacant Throne, in either hardcover or paperback. The book must be clear and visible, but otherwise the picture can be of whatever you want (that's legal to post on those pages of course). If you want to just post the cover art of the book, that's fine. A picture of you reading the book would be better and more fun. If you want to play around with the book cover and make your own personalized icon, with some witty remark, spectacular! You need to use this icon or avatar as your main pic between January 6th, 2009 and January 20th, 2009. Or longer if you prefer. To enter the contest, simply send me a link to your LJ, MySpace, Facebook, or whatever where you're using the icon or picture as your main pic during that time frame sometime. The winner will be chosen at random from all of the entries received. Again, I haven't figured out what the prize will be yet, but most likely books and/or magnets, etc.
As you can see, I was in a picture frame of mind for these contests. Basically, the intent is to try to get more people to see the covers of the books, so that they'll be aware of them and perhaps notice them when they hit the bookstore or are surfing online. Notice that you can use the same picture for all three contests if you want to, as long as it's of The Vacant Throne. But most importantly for the second and third contests, have fun. Creativity is good.
And lastly, just something minor. I was dragged into a discount dollar store this past weekend and was astonished to find that they have Lego sets in the store. A discount store! Legos! Anyway, I of course sat down on the floor and pulled the sets off the shelf to take a look . . . and discovered that they aren't like any Lego sets I've ever seen. They appear to be from Japan or China, or at least that's one of the target audiences. They have a Manga feel to the human figures in the sets, and instead of castles or spaceships, the sets are of gigantic robots, along the lines of MechWarrior and Battletech. They're called the Exo-Force. One of them is marked "special edition". They weren't exactly cheap, but they were certainly deals when it comes to Legos. (In general, it appears that Lego sets are priced by taking how many pieces are in the set and charging 10 cents per piece or more; these were charging perhaps 5 cents a piece instead.) I, of course, ended up buying all of the sets they had and have begun happily putting them together. A Christmas gift to myself perhaps.
And I'm still thinking about building my own Star Trek spaceships out of Legos.
Oh, and one last thing: There's a discussion going on over at
dawbooks on Kristen Britain's Green Rider series. Kristen posted her thoughts, and is answering questions from the fans. Go check it out!And that's my udpate for the past few days. What have you guys been up to?