A couple interesting links from the world of paleohistory/evolutionary biology:
And Cat Valente’s last post at Charlie’s place, on the nature of publishing in these interesting times. Also along the publishing line, “How I Wrote 50,000 Words in Three Days (And You Can Too)” The key apparently is to start writing and then not stop. Interesting quote, though:
I know. It seems far-fetched a four-hundred-year-old book [Musashi’s Book of Five Rings] can assist, but this is where you would be wrong. I won’t bore you with every detail, I would suggest you get a copy and apply the ancient battle techniques to your writing, and you will see a drastic improvement. The most important clause I hold to be the truth is:
“Any man who wants to master the essence of my strategy must research diligently, training morning and evening. Thus can he polish his skill, become free from self, and realize extraordinary ability. He will come to possess miraculous power.”
Stratfor’s Glossary of Useful, Baffling and Strange Intelligence Terms. Amusing.
ATF: Alcohol Tobacco and Fire Arms. Rednecks with a license to kill. Never, ever, ever ask for their help on anything.
I know from experience that this is true.
I forget.
Wait! I know! The next chapter! It’s Veil War Thursday, and here’s your weekly dose of Veil War. Start reading here. Teaser:
“Giants? Serious?” Pethoukis asked. “We saw dragons up by Ramadi, but all the rest was the short mean fuckers.”
“We saw those, too. Ran over more than a few shaking loose. No, these are different. Swear to god, sir, they’re 12 feet tall. I was manning the .50 up top, and the fucker was looking down at me. He had sword longer than you are. I shot one point blank with the 105, killed him; but there were a dozen more. One cut the barrel off my sergeant’s main gun, and another peeled open the side like he was opening a tin can.”
Enjoy, and be careful when running with scissors. As always, you are encouraged to point out errors of fact, fancy or formatting in the comments.