Steamtrain/house/car thing
Here is a fascinating article on this amazing moving contraption, the Neverwas, and here is its web site.
“And Another Thing. . .” by Eoin Colfer
This is not an Artemis Fowl book – it’s a continuation of the Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. As a rule I flinch when I hear about any writer doing any reboot (gritty or otherwise) of someone else’s work – Arthurian myths, vampires (sparkly or otherwise), elves versus dwarves, etc. But I KNOW Colfer is a brilliant writer (and, obviously, so is Douglas Adams – except of course for being dead nowadays). So I was cautiously hopeful.
The rest of this review is at Comfy Chair.
The power of story
Cracked is a comedy news/science website that is often not safe for work (or children). But every so often it gets inadvertently inspirational – such as during the article “Five Ways You Don’t Realize Movies Are Controlling Your Brain“.
Here’s the bit I liked best:
The point is, this is why stories were invented — to shape your brain in a certain way. A guy named Joseph Campbell wrote whole books about it, you should read them. These basic stories, these myths of the hero overcoming the odds, the great man who sacrifices himself for the greater good — they’re what make civilization go. In a society, the people and the buildings and the roads are the hardware, mythology is the software.
And while your ancestors had their heroes that they heard about around the campfire, you have Batman, and Luke Skywalker, and Harry Potter. And yes, the movies you watched this summer serve the same purpose as those ancient myths.
Read more: 5 Ways You Don’t Realize Movies Are Controlling Your Brain | Cracked.com http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-ways-you-dont-realize-movies-are-controlling-your-brain/#ixzz22zmCeBYl
Poppa’s Hat
Louisette’s crawling is coming on amazingly. She’s more fluent every day, and I like to put a bottle on the floor and have her crawl over to grab it just before a feed. Her confidence is skyrocketing and you can see by her face that she knows how far she can go (up to about two metres. . . pending distractions).
My hip is much better, thanks for asking. My job is going swimmingly.
Louisette’s adorable new cousin is doing great.
Louisette also developed a sudden and passionate desire for her grandfather’s hat.
New baby!
My sister had a second baby this morning. Both she and the baby (a girl) are doing brilliantly. Louisette’s exalted position of the youngest in her generation has been snatched already (at six and a half months) – yep, my sister and I managed to be pregnant at the same time. We are all over the moon.
“Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex” by Eoin Colfer
Artemis starts the book with a plan to stop global warming – a plan just as grandiose as all the rest, and with prototype technology backing it up. There’s only one problem: Artemis is losing his mind.
The rest of this review is at Comfy Chair.
Making your book look like a book
In order to get published, some people get their book made up all pretty-like, with binding and cover and all. According to Lyn Price’s article here, those people are just dumb. Well, dumb and annoying. (Okay, I might be making it slightly clearer than she does – she is more well-mannered than I, but her frustration comes across nonetheless.)
And if you think self-publishing will get a reputable publisher to take you seriously, you couldn’t be more wrong.
If this is actually news to you, please read the article. Join the battle against epic stupidity!
And she’s off!
Louisette is officially moving – so much so that the gate at the top of our stairs is now actually a necessity. And so the thrill ride begins.
Her mode of transport at the moment is highly experimental – a mixture of bum-shuffling, commando crawling, rolling, and directed face-planting. It was almost exactly a month ago that she began to lift herself onto hands and knees.
She soon realised that if she lifted herself up and then dived forward, she would end up slightly forward of her original position (usually; it often backfired and sent her backwards). Her attitude to toys just out of reach instantly changed: they weren’t out of reach any more. Not if she could help it.
Soon after that she began doing peculiar things with her legs and feet – pushing against the ground in an upward fashion when she wanted to go forward. This sometimes helped her, but mostly it just meant she was making a triangle, with straight legs forming one side.
This experiment had an unexpected result: she can now get herself into a sitting position (and often does so). Her sitting up, incidentally, is now very impressive. She generally chooses to move from a sitting position (after happily playing for several minutes) rather than falling over. Sometimes, she doesn’t even land on her face. If she slouches in her high chair, it’s because she’s bored or annoyed, not because she’s lost her balance.
The day I was in Melbourne – two weeks ago yesterday – she began shuffling her knees in a new attempt at moving forward. This was extremely exciting, of course. (Some babies skip crawling and go straight to walking, but apparently crawling is very good for coordination, so I’ve been very carefully NOT encouraging her to walk yet.) About a week ago she began demonstrating three-wheel drive: holding a toy in one hand while still on hands and knees. Then she began pawing the ground like an impatient horse – just about the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.
Then last Saturday, with CJ and I in delighted attendance, she took her first full (knees + hands) crawling step – and promptly (yet triumphantly, clutching the toy she was aiming for) collapsed on her face.
Since then she has repeated this move several times. Soon she’ll leave less efficient modes of movement behind, and we’ll REALLY be in trouble.
Felicity Banks 