Friday, November 11, 2005

Sniff Sniff

I woke up yesterday morning with a knife-sharp sore throat and a stuffy nose (no doubt the result of wearing summertime running clothes to a November marathon), so I decided to spend the day working at home. It was actually a nice day, as I finished reading/made notes on two novel manuscripts and edited the text for a rhyming picture book from a French publisher: "Clever orange fox--tell me, who are your friends? / Not the tall farmer but her tasty hens." I wrote my assigned hour for NaNoWriMo (over 58 pages/16,625 words of crap now!); I listened to the rain chatter on the roof; I drank endless mugs of green tea with honey.

  • But it's a good thing my uncle didn't send me the link to this website until today, because then I would have accomplished nothing -- it's more addictive than Minesweeper. I've gotten up to 17 seconds three or four times now, but I can't break that 18 barrier. . . .
  • And I managed to keep myself from goofing around on the Talking Books page till tonight, when I added a few new links and created an annotated list of books I've edited.
  • Because of my cold, I will not be working the baked-goods table at Park Slope United Methodist Church's Hollyberry Fair this Saturday as I was supposed to; but if you're in the Park Slope area, you should definitely stop by to see/buy beautiful crafts by Brooklyn artisans and get started on your Christmas shopping. Saturday from 10-4, just behind PSUMC on 8th St. between 5th and 6th Avenues in Park Slope.
  • Oh! And at the Hollyberry Fair, you can bid in the silent auction on a "manuscript consultation with a professional editor," that is, yours truly. I edit, I copyedit, I'll strategize with you about getting published. . . . Opening bid is $40, I think.
  • I keep forgetting to say: On my HP&SS analysis, thanks to all the people who advised me that the "Privet" in Privet Drive is a hedge and not a toilet. That line has been cut.
  • Anthony Lane reviews the Keira Knightley "Pride and Prejudice," which I have no choice but to see sometime in the next week. Really, I will try to resist, and I will fail utterly. It sounds like it truly is Austen's story with Brontesque throbbing and precipitation, and even then maybe it's not so big on the story part; but at least it should be pretty to look at. If any of you see it, let me know what you think.
  • The life of Charles Dickens, "South Park" style. (In animation, not content, thankfully.) (Link from Katy)

All right, I must take myself and my poor beleaguered nose to bed. Have a good weekend!

5 comments:

  1. Hope you're feeling better. We're all getting over colds after our trip to Chicago last weekend.
    Escapa! That is addictive! Why are the simple games the really addictive ones? I got 22.991 as best so far. Keep trying!

    I'm excited to see that a new Saxton Freymann book is coming out. Phoebe really likes them (as do we).

    *waves*

    ReplyDelete
  2. Weirdly enough, I thing that the key to the game is to move as little as possibe. Wait for the blocks to come to you and move to the empty space. It's kind of like using the Force, but not.

    ReplyDelete
  3. When are you going to pronounce on the new P&P? Having seen it, I think Anthony Lane while technically correct in his comments is unfair to the movie as a whole. I think Stephen Holden nailed it in NYT.

    Remember, Keira may be descended from Emma.

    ReplyDelete
  4. i agree -- move as little as possible and stay near the corners and it's harder to get stuck. i'm not even going to try to pretend to be smart enough to understand the math behind it, but I have a theory that there's a higher probability that the blocks will cross (and you will get sandwiched) the closer to the center you get

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is completely random and does not fit here but I just wanted to say that I am obsessed witht he Overheard in NYC link. Feel better, I also am just getting over a nasty cold (still coughing.)

    ReplyDelete