Links

I don’t think the weather realizes this as we continue breaking all kinds of records with this heat wave.  Uh oh! Now I’ve got that “Heat Wave” song playing in my head. Both versions. Marilyn Monroe and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. It’s too hot for a picture. It’ll just fall off the page or pop more popcorn.

This one is brief. Didn’t sleep well and you know how I get when I don’t sleep enough. It’s my fault that I didn’t get to bed on time. I became absorbed in some work I needed to do and time escaped me.

Brain food…

• Complete Google+ Cheatsheet. Shortcuts, photos, chat boxes and other helpful tips.
• Do you obsessively check your smartphone? I do, but it’s better than obsessively checking email on my computer where I might let myself reply to a message that can wait. It’s less tempting to reply on my smartphone because it takes more work to type on it.
• Draft Your Platform Action Plan: 5 Worksheets. All writers have a platform, and that includes new ones. [Link: Porter Anderson]
• AlternativeTo. Find alternatives to applications you want to replace. [Link: Kevin Smokler]

For fun because we’re allowed…

• 12 Hilarious Blue Screen of Death Appearances. Will BSOD ever cease to exist? Well, only if Microsoft changes BSOD from blue to red
• 30 Creative Bag Advertisements. [Link: Elisa Miller, my sister]
• World’s Youngest … I’m the youngest of three, but that’s all. I hope these kids are having some semblance of a childhood.
• 12 Hilarious ELAS fails. Math much?
• Summharry: The Complete Harry Potter Story in One Comic. Wow. Impressive.

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Wow. August… seriously? In three days? Followed by my older brother’s birthday. It’s a shame that he’s not active in social media or else I’d ask y’all to wish him a happy birthday — especially since his family is out of town. As far as brothers go, he’s a good one even though he fed me popcorn when I was a toddler.

Short ‘n sweet today.

Brain food…

• 5 Ways Crowdsourcing Can Help You Make Some Money. Have you used crowdsourcing? How?
• 5 Reasons Why Your Online Marketing Doesn’t Work. Excellent article at Writer Unboxed by Jane Friedman.
• 3 Reasons People Buy. Make money, save money and lower pain / frustration.
• Promotional Tools for Writers on Google+. Wanna connect there? gplus.to/meryl
• 7 Ways to Structure Your Picture Book. I’d love to write one… but it’ll have to join my growing list of “Somedays…”
• Writer’s Digest Successful Queries Series. Real query letters that landed agents.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• 12 Awesome Items Inspired by Darth Vader. That gas mask. Oh, my.
• A Colorful Rubik’s Cube Birthday Cake for Geeks. Saw a similar cake process on Food Network in creating Mondrian Cake at San Francisco MoMa.
• Kia Stop-Motion Ads on Fingernails. Clever and message fits branding to a tee. [Link: Stephen Young]
• Phenomenal Paintings On Marshmallows. Too pretty to eat marshmallows? Nah, bring on the s’mores! Harry Potter edition is my fave.
• The Evolution of the Geek. From Geekus Prime to Gleek.

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My parents have three kids, four grandkids and four granddogs. Three of those kids would be my fault. The fourth is my 14-year-old niece who is exactly 18 months older than my second child. Like the rest of the US, I’m melting. Even the pool is too warm for me, and I’m one of those who needs it to be at least 95 degrees outside to go in the pool. It’s so hot that the nearby water park pour ice into its big pool.

Credit: http://alles-ausm-kopf.de

Drink lots of water and check on others who may need help especially seniors.

It’s so hot … [fill in the blank].

Brain food…

• Why I’m Loving Google+. Debbie Ridpath Ohi, author and illustrator, shares her views of G+. I’m still figuring out how to make it work for me. My problem is that I’m spending more time in social media and that’s not good because it cuts into other things.
• 3 Types of Savings Every Freelance Writer Needs. Very important especially when it comes to quarterly taxes.
• 8 Reasons Books Fail. Focuses on self-published books. Bad cover art is a biggie. I know … I know … don’t judge a book by its cover. An author who doesn’t put effort into producing a catchy cover expects us to invest our time to read it. I don’t think so.
• Memorial researchers get the cinematic treatment. Who says the annual report must be a snore? Memorial University doesn’t. LOVE it. [Link: Daphne Gray-Grant]
• How to Make Your Own Book Trailer. Excellent recipe.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• Voice Actors: The Voices of Our Childhood Heroes. It always surprises me  when my husband tells me, “Hey, that’s so ‘n so’s voice.” I can’t fathom being able to recognize an actor’s voice. I can believe people recognizing the voices of family and friends — but famous people? There are so many.
• 12 Most Creative Origami Towels. I went on my first and only cruise in 2000 and I looked forwarded to my origami towel surprise every single day.
• The Real Cost of a Hogwarts’ Education. Have you considered room, board, uniforms, wand, accessories, books and all that? Yikes. And pet not included!
• Final Scenes in Movies. Can you guess what they are? Answers way down at the bottom of the post.
• Summer Nights from Grease in Lego Stop Animation Motion. I <3 musicals and actually know this song from Grease. Totally enjoyed. Even reflects every little move from the movie. Except, I think it missed Sandy crossing her arms. Legos don’t bend that way.

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It’s over. No more HP movies. No more HP books. (Supposedly.) Sure, Rowling created the Potterworld, but it’s not the same. Part of me has an inkling that Rowling won’t rest and she knows the marketing machine won’t roll forever without some fuel. The other part of me thinks all good things must come to an end. To continue something for too long will dilute it.

What do you think? Should Rowling start a new series with one of the characters? Should she create a new series revolving with the new students at Hogwarts? Or just forget it all?

Brain food…

• Blogging: Seth Godin and I are doing it wrong! Refreshing. I try not to let the blog stress me. Not worth it.
• The Brutally Honest Guide to Naming Circles in Google Plus. Now using Google Plus is stressful. I’m spending too much time trying to listen to conversations and engage. Now to add another?
• 41 Awesome Blog Post Ideas for Your Company Blog. Ideas work for all kinds of stuff, not just blog or companies.
• 40 Google Plus Tips for Newbies. I think we’re all new. Find my experiments and connect with me at gplus.to/meryl.
• 10 mistakes made in freelance writing career and 10 steps to setting your freelance writing fees. Two valuable articles from Anne Wayman.

For fun because we’re allowed…

• The Evolution of the Entrepreneur [Infographic]. Technically, this isn’t a true infographic because it has too much text. Nonetheless, it made me laugh.
• Retro Tattoos Dedicate Skin to Pac-Man. Wacka … wacka …
• 12 Awesome Hot Air Balloons. Don’t think I’ve ever met a balloon that didn’t make me smile.
• Lorem Ipsum Generators: 10 Ways To Make Your Dummy Text More Fun. “The Force is strong with this one. I have you now. She must have hidden the plans in the escape pod.” [Link: Yvette Chin]

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The 12-year-old son heads to overnight camp for a little over three weeks. First time he’s done that since third grade when he went for nine days. Not a bit worried. The break will be good for all of us. I’m especially looking forward to his living without TV and video games. Can you just see me grinning?

Photo by Cherie A. Thurby

I went to the same camp two summers in a row. It wasn’t my thing. Can’t pinpoint why. Why would I go a second time if I didn’t like it? It took a bribe. My parents were going on a trip overseas and had to ditch … er … put me somewhere. Other option was to stay with my grandparents. Love ‘em, but three weeks would’ve been too much.

My favorite summer camp was going to basketball camp at Texas A&M. It combined two of my loves: sports and A&M. At the time, my brother attended the school and I loved rooting for the Aggies in football. Even got to go to the A&M – Auburn U Cotton Bowl where Bo Jackson played before going pro. While I applied and get accepted at A&M, I opted not to go there because of its size. I needed a smaller school and smaller classes.

What was your favorite thing to do in the summer? Least favorite?

Brain food…

• How to Learn SEO as a Small Business Owner: There are too many resources out there regarding SEO. This should help cut a lot of the noise.
• How To Generate Social Content That Gets Clicked. This article delivers no so common suggestions. Nice job, Arik.
• The Real Secret to Personal Productivity. 10 tips from successful folk that do work. Creating habits is a biggie.
• 9 Tips for Setting Payment Terms for Freelance Writers. Magazines, books and more.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• 21 Animals Riding Other Animals. Cat on chicken. Rat on frog. There’s even a monkey on a few animals’ backs. [Link: Paul Steele]
• 10 Questions to Ultimately Annoy Your Friends. Funny stuff.
• The Evolution of Smartphones. It’s a kick when I catch a show or movie from the ’90s when someone talks on a cell phone bigger than a brick.

I would’ve had more fun links to share, but they were those “Top X” lists articles. Unfortunately, you had to click through each one. They didn’t appear as a list in one page. I like it when a publisher offers both: list and pages with more info.

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I’ve spent too much time on social networks this morning that I’d better keep this short and get stuff done to enjoy the long weekend. Besides, lots of great reads this week. With a longer weekend for most of us, I figure you wouldn’t mind the extra reading. Worthy stuff. Have a whiz bang fourth!

4th of July in 2007

Brain food…

• 30 Websites to Find Free Vector Graphics: I currently manage two PTA and one other nonprofit organization’s websites. This should come in handy. Figure y’all could use it, too. [Link: Deborah Edwards-Onoro]
• Are Case Studies Helping or Hindering You: People also misunderstand what makes a white paper. Yes, it should mention the company, but not until the ending.
• 50 Powerful Time-Savers for Web Designers: Great resource.
• Google Web Fonts: Nice free fonts with no Comic Sans look alike. Whew. [Link: theparallaxview]
• How to sell your services for a higher price: Motivating read.
• 300+ Resources to Help You Become a WordPress Expert: Even I’m overwhelmed.
• What Is The Point Of Writing A Book If You Have No Online Presence? A keeper for writers. Not just for authors.

For fun because we’re allowed…

• 10 Words of Summer: Last week, I asked what you think of when it comes to summer. Vacation is the only one on this list that I’d think of.
• Pacman Tube Map: Nom nom.
• 10 Coolest Items Inspired by Alice in Wonderland: Surreal, of course.
• Archiving People’s Woes: 10 Cheerful Websites. Instant upper without the Rx. Some new. Some familiar. Some not safe for work. [Link: Gina Stark]
• 10 Amazing Geek Bars and Restaurants: Love Miracle of Science’s menu.
• 20 Animal Group Names You Probably Never Heard Of: What kind of business do flies have? Corps of giraffes? They’re serving our country? [Link: Erika Napoletano] More? OK. Fun with Words: Collective Nouns. [Link: Samuel Hawk]
• Alice in Wonderland Cupcakes: Off with her … frosting?
• 12 Coolest Typography-Themed Furniture: I do love good a font. The drawers are the only useful item, but the font is plain.
• 16 Online Gamers Unmasked: What they Really Look Like. I don’t remember the last time I created a game alter ego other than the one on the Wii, and it’s awful. These rock.

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When I think summer and song … first thing that comes to mind is “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess. I don’t have many favorite slow moving songs, but that one sounds beautiful and has lovely words. Witness…

Summertime,
And the livin’ is easy
Fish are jumpin’
And the cotton is high

Your daddy’s rich
And your mamma’s good lookin’
So hush little baby
Don’t you cry

Photo from flickr user itsjustkate

It flows and captivates. Why don’t I like more slow songs? I think part of it is because they’re harder to hear and follow. For example, I love “Sunday” from Sunday in the Park with George, but I can only hear the latter half of the song. I saw the song in its entirety on TV with captions and liked it. Some of the lyrics:

Sunday, by the blue purple yellow red water
on the green purple yellow red grass
Let us pass through our perfect park
pausing on a Sunday

By the cool blue triangular water
on the soft green elliptical grass
as we pass through arrangements of shadow
toward the verticals of trees
Forever . . .

Beautiful way to describe the famous painting by Georges Seurat.

As for other things that come to mind with “summer,” it’s all the usual stuff: swimming, 4th of July, vacations (rare), the smell of suntan lotion, camp.

Over to you: What do you think of when it comes to summer? Can be songs, activities, whatever.

Brain food…

• Old School Book Marketing Techniques for Digital Age: Book business card — brilliant.
• How to Tell If Your Website Sucks: How timely. I just finished judging 100+ sites to write an annual top websites article. Many of websites got knocked out because they had the problems covered in this infographic. People will argue that popup windows can work — depends on popup.
• How To Respond To The “Pick My Brain” Question: Worth memorizing. [Link: John Haydon]
• So You’re Having a Bad Day: That was me on Monday, but nothing serious. Just an off day. It happens. I got through it. It’ll happen again. And I’ll get through it even though it won’t feel like it when I’m in the moment.
• The 50 Best Short Stories of All Time: Impressive list. I haven’t read short stories since college, and yet this list captures the ones I remember. Only one missing is Edgard Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death. That freaked me, but I’ll take that over The Telltale Heart. I also did my 11th grade thesis on James Thurber. Boy, I wish I saved it.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• The 30 Harshest Author-on-Author Insults in History: Faulkner, Emerson and Capote insult Twain, Austen and Kerouac.
• Zork: Free download for your PC or Mac. Wow. I played this game on my first computer, an Apple ][+. What do ya mean, "What the hey is Zork?"
• America According to Twitter: Apparently, I live in Metroplex. Supposedly, I was born and bred in Funkytown. Column Five also has many other infographics. [Link: Bitrebels]
• Top 10 Manliest Quotes: We shall have our fight … [fill in the blank]. [Link: Esther Schindler]
• 10 Funny and Fabulous Flow Charts: Like Mental Floss always makes me laugh. Beware: these charts can waste hours of your life. [Link: Michelle Mangen]

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I was born and bred in Fort Worth. I’ve lived in the Dallas / Fort Worth area for my entire life except for the six years I lived in Washington, DC. So all my favorite teams are the ones from here including the Texas Rangers, Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Stars and the Dallas Mavericks. I stuck with all of ‘em through great years and forgettable years. When folks kept saying the Mavs were a joke and never contenders, I reminded them of the Mavs’ good years in the ’80s with Mark Aguirre, Rolando Blackman, Roy Tarpley and Brad Davis.

Thanks to Donald Carter for bringing the team to Dallas. Thanks to Mark Cuban for turning them into champions in a short 11 years. The Mavs almost did it in 2006, you know?

Meryl's Dad in USAF Uniform

Dads. Happy Father’s Day to all the involved dads out there who play catch with the kids, take them to school, help them with homework and be there for them. I’m lucky to be married to one of those dads. My dad (in loving memory) was one, too. We played catch many times, he took me to lots of Texas Ranger games, he embarrassed me on my way to school by waving at me while taking his morning walk and he was always there for me.

Best advice for the week: How to deal with criticism in one single step: “Don’t care. You’re not going to please everybody.” Even the nicest people have a few non-fans. You can produce the most beautiful work product and your boss, editor, client loves it. Someone, somewhere out there will hate it.

Brain food…

• How to Create a 5 Step Facebook Marketing Strategy for Your Blog: This one is doable for just about everyone.
• The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Taking a Vacation: Not just for entrepreneurs… Americans, too. My husband had been doing a lot of research on human resources stuff for his international company and Americans are sorely behind other countries in benefits and other areas. I challenged him by asking questions like “Maybe we have a better salary? Maybe we have a lower cost of living?” He had solid answers for all of them.
• 10 Reasons I Don’t Answer Your Email: I reply to most emails. The ones that don’t get a reply often fall into one of these 10.
• 3 Steps You Can Take to Reduce the Firefox 4 Memory Leak: Memory has been a Firefox problem for years. I had two tabs open and Firefox managed to hold on to 1,000,000K of memory one day last week! Bad, foxy, bad.
• World’s Worst Freelance Advice: Write what you know… seriously. If I followed that advice, I wouldn’t write about cars, Billiards or buffaloes.
• Book Marketing Q&A: Q&A worth listening to or reading.

For fun because we’re allowed…

• 10 Coolest (and 5 Worst) Father’s Day Gifts: My husband would love that Corvette Wall Shelf.
• 8 Weirdest Dog Breeds Ever: Some of these look familiar as they’ve appeared in movies and TV shows.
• Praha Opening: Choreography in a Skydive Arena. Very cool. Yes, watch to the smooth ending.
• 12 Funny Signs Found at the Beach: Some not safe for work.
• 15 Coolest Pictures Taken at the Right Time: I have one of those (not on Oddee, mind you). I captured a lightning bolt by the Washington Monument. I’m not a good photographer, but am proud of the picture that I have it on the wall in my office.
• Neon Movie Signs: Wow.

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Tomorrow, my husband and I celebrate 22 years of wedding bellissimo. I don’t know how I landed such a great partner in life, but I do all I can not to take him for granted. I’ll stop with the mushy gushy. Just know that I did. I am. I will.

Yes, another short note. I had a post for this week all figured out in my head, but no time to type it up and present it to you. It’s bad enough I went to bed late a couple of times this week because of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. What do you know? I started writing about the book and it turned into a post on book summaries and editorial reviews.

On with the links!

Brain food…

• Six Reasons You Should Stick with Legacy Publishing: Yes, rejection is so rewarding.
• How to Be a Successful Ghostwriter: If I had the time, I’d love to pursue ghostwriting. I write because I love the work — not because my name is in print or e-ink. Then again, I may not be the best ghostwriter because it usually involves many phone interviews and listening to recordings. Not an easy feat for moi.
• How to Write Short Stories: “Dear Michael, The dog is in the oven. Don’t open it, it’s too late. I’m sorry.” Quite an opening, eh?
• 10 Facebook guides and blogs posts every non-profit should read: Great resource.
• Do welcome popups work? Personally, I close the popups without a glance. I’ll either leave the site immediately or read the article I came to read and leave. But you can’t argue data. Never hurts to test.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• Wave at the Bus: For 170 days, a dad wore a different costume while waving to his 15-year-old son as he stepped into the school bus.
• 12 Geekiest Wedding Proposals: How appropriate: geek and wedding. As you know my husband and I celebrate our wedding anniversary this weekend and we’re geeks. We met the geeky way: on a BBS.
• 10 Weirdest iPhone Apps: Another from Oddee. I knew about several… but the others… odddddd… here’s one more: Kick to Pick App that lets babies choose their own name.
• Infographic: Left-Handed Facts and Statistics: Southpaws ROCK! Yes, I’m one of ‘em. If one parent is left handed, 33% of their offspring will be left-handed: My own personal data. My mom is a lefty, Dad wasn’t. They produced TWO lefties out of three kids. Dear husband is a righty (I know! Mixed marriage.) and I’m a lefty. We have three kids and 0 lefties. Yes, I know we supposedly have a lower lifespan than righties. That’d because everything is designed with a right-hander in mind and we have accidents as a result.
• How to Draw Creative Caricatures: I’m a lefty, but I never could draw decent stuff.

School is officially out on Monday. We had to make up two days due to the FIVE snow days we had this year. Although I like the school year schedule, I’m glad it’s out for a little bit as the kids need a break. No more nagging about homework and studying for a couple of months. Nonetheless, wish school would be year around with more breaks instead of one long break and two medium ones. But I know that’s not efficient for a lot of reasons and summer gives kids a time to take part-time jobs, go to camp or do special programs.

What’s one of your most memorable last day or last week of school memories?

Brain food…

• 10 Modern Dilemmas Twitter Presents on a Daily Basis: Thanking for tweets is a big one. I tend to limit that to DM or if it’s something different, I’ll do it in public. Don’t want to add noise to stream thanking for my own stuff.
• Words We Don’t Say: Hugo Lindgren shares a list of words and phrases left by the previous editor. Words You Don’t Say: People wrote in sharing words they never want to read again. The one word I always change in every article I edit… “utilize.” I think that’s my ultimate cringe-worthy word.
• B2B Fail: Confessions, Apologies, and Questionable Motives: Did you get a bunch of “Are you taking on clients?” emails? Me, too. The story behind that…
• Nurse reveals the top 5 regrets people make on their deathbed: In the past few years, I’ve been making an effort to live my best life so I don’t have these regrets.
• Top Ten Myths About the Brain: All those characters conking their heads and forgetting their life? Myth. Writers, find another gimmick. [Link: Diana Adams]

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• 10 Amazing Ultrasound Photos: I think the rock it dude is really doing the I love you sign.
• The Value of the National Spelling Bee in the Age of Spell Check and Predictive Text: My almost third grader is the only one of my three kids to learn how to write cursive in second grade. It used to be covered in third grade, but with so much more material to cover and the use of computers — they changed when they learn cursive. I’m just glad schools still teach it. I hope the handwritten note never goes away. I get chills whenever I come across something my dad (in loving memory) wrote as he had a writing style that I always knew was his. Actually, every member of my family does except me.
• How to Make Harry Potter Butterbeer: The weather grows warmer and the last film comes nearer. I actually made this for my family using this recipe. The whip part was the best. I stirred the whip into the drink, but just didn’t quite warm up to it. Very easy to make.
• Douglas Adams … on Kindle … how meta is this? [Link: Esther Schindler]

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