Friday's Interesting Links

Would you look at that? Friday links posted on...FRIDAY???? ;)

Social

I'm with Michelle Obama on the local foods front, but sadly it seems we share something else in common...a dislike of cooking. This is a good article about the social impact of that fact, along with some strong suggestions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/opinion/31hesser.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

I haven't finished reading through this site, but travelling in just a backpack used to be a skill of mine, one I've apparently lost. So you bet I'll be reading this carefully :).
http://www.onebag.com/

I'm a firm believer in helping where you can, but I have mixed feelings about people having to dress up to enable helping. I adored that movie about passing along help if someone helps you and getting the whole community caught up in a working together mentality. Whether superheroes help or harm that level of "anyone can be a hero" I don't know. I do know that I lived on superhero comics as a kid and that, along with Arthurian tales and Robin Hood, informed my outlook toward helping people.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/06/04/real.life.superheroes/index.html

Writing

For those writing YA novels, some tips from teen bloggers:
http://community.livejournal.com/10_ers/153021.html

I started reading this essay because of the concept that stories have genders. Neil Gaiman doesn't so much explain what he means by that as state that they do. However, it evolved (devolved?) into an interesting glimpse into his process while writing American Gods.
http://www.neilgaiman.com/p/Cool_Stuff/Essays/Essays_By_Neil/All_Books_Have_Genders

Just a reminder for all us blog writers. And no, I didn't see the referenced meltdown either. I'm hideously behind in my blog reading :p.
http://varkat.livejournal.com/95521.html

BTW, this isn't a specific link but rather a project by Holly Lisle. She's taking small samples offered by volunteers in her Thinking Sideways class and critiquing them live. The videos are short and creative in format, and the information is solid. Even when I might not agree with the specific choices, I've agreed with the problems and the suggestions on how to target them. They also make good content to exercise to at the end of the day :).
http://writercrashtest.com/

Tongue in cheek guidelines for how to get by in conversations about SF/Fantasy classics you haven't read. This is especially amusing for me coming from having a literature degree that focused on minority and women's lit so I haven't read most of the dead white guys either.
http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=30351

Janet Reid gives a good baseline for deciding when to start querying your novel here:
http://jetreidliterary2.blogspot.com/2009/06/how-soon-is-too-soon.html

A wonderful breakdown of how to analyze your novel to find its weaknesses. The premise was after a reject, but I see no reason not to take advantage of this advice before you send it out.
http://fivescribes.blogspot.com/2009/06/can-this-manuscript-be-saved.html

Marketing

This is a cautionary post on book promotion services with suggestions for doing some things yourself:
http://acrossthepond-storyheart.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-to-promote-your-book-on-budget-part.html

Interesting discussion on the impact of distribution on a novel's success. Read the comments as well to get multiple perspectives:
http://allisonwinnscotch.blogspot.com/2009/06/its-all-about-distribution.html

Science

Rhino baby at play. Just so cute and adorable with none of the strike terror in the hearts of men that an adult in full charge inspires :).
http://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2009/06/tokyos-ueno-zoo-boisterous-rhino-baby.html

A promise for the future. I sure hope the kids today get the promised space advances because I still feel gypped.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-537--RJb80