The Great One: Still the Greatest One

[Note:  This post is a response to Michael Dell's post.]

Michael Dell posted earlier in the week on one of the great debates among Penguin fans: whether Mario Lemieux was in fact “better” than Wayne Gretzky.  I say “Penguin fans” because they’re usually the only ones who think there is an argument to begin with.

Typical of those who even bring the argument up, Michael finds a way to make Lemieux the winner.  To do so, he uses an argument most Pens fans rely on.  Let’s have a look, and see why a closer analysis will show that Gretzky still comes out on top.

“Publishing Isn’t Broken”

From Jane Smith at How Publishing Really Works, a pretty nifty blog for us writer types:

Publishing is a business, and publishers have responsibilities to their shareholders to run their businesses as profitably as possible.  That means they have to publish books with a good potential for turning a profit: which means the books which aren’t going to need too much work to turn them into decent sellers. And this means that not all writers are going to be good enough to make the grade.

I suppose it shouldn’t be strange to think that so many writers perceive an obligation on the part of the publisher to serve the writer, but it is.  In my time spent trying (thus far unsuccessfully) to get a novel published, it’s never occurred to me that the publisher has any obligation to me – they are in business to make money, just as I am.

It seems to me some pretty basic business principles.  I just wonder how many writers really don’t understand this.

Poll: 62 percent of Americans in touch with reality

A new poll says 62 percent of voters, including “a similar majority of moderate Republicans” believe the Republican party is “stuck in the past.”

Cripes.  Only 62 percent?  It’s practically the party’s slogan.

A Quick Nod to Jon Swift…

…whose post regarding this Rod Dreher column had me on the edge of abject rage until I realized it is in fact a brilliant piece of satire.

Dreher published a column on March 8 in response to the East Texas incident where a high school girl and her friends murdered her mother and siblings, and attempted to murder her father.  Dreher’s column basically took the position that while the muder was certainly terrible, what he found even more shocking was the mention of “rampant bisexual culture” in the little East Texas town.

Many bloggers have taken Dreher to task for the column, and Dreher has done his fastest backpedaling in response, but Swift’s post is my favorite that I’ve seen so far.

Gay Rights in Pennsylvania?

They’ve seen the light in New York, Maryland, and New Jersey, but today Pennsylvania remains a holdout, denying protection against discrimiation to the gay folks who call the state home.  With a little luck and a lot of work, that may soon change.

Johnny Lightning’s Calendar Tits

On Friday I was browsing around K*B Toys to kill time.  They’re going out of business, apparently, so the store was basically picked clean and everything was half price.  Then  I came across Johnny Lightning’s “Calendar Cars,” which indicate they are intended for ages eight and up.  The photo above is Vanessa, whose massive boobs are my second favorite after Tanya’s (see below).  I think there might be a toy car included with each, but for the life of me I couldn’t seem to spot it.

Now, I am by no measure a prude, but this is a stretch even for me.  I can only reason that Calendar Cars were not so much intended to appeal to the eight year old boy as much as the father doing his Christmas shopping.  That, or trying to butch up the son he suspects might be gay.

They certainly are eye-catching, I’ll give them that.  More shitty cell phone photos after the jump.

Just Die Already, 2008

What a crappy year.

2008 seems to have been the year for breakups, deaths, and pregnancies, at least among my social circle.  Pretty much everyone I know has had to deal with one or more of the above, either personally or in their close family.

FAG Industrial Services

These folks are German, so they probably have no idea how awesome their web site is.

The FAG detector does seem practical, but I’m not sure I need it.  Now, the FAG Top Laser sounds far more useful.  I guess it’s for taking out rivals at the bars.

Don’t read the site in English, you’ll just ruin it.

Ovechkin is an Asshole

According to PuckDaddy, the Capitals are all pissed off over a Maxim article that portrays him as a Skoal-chomping, womanizing road-raging “Rooshian.”  You know, pretty much as the dick anyone can tell he is just by looking at him.

This is the same Ovechkin who made comments about American women for Russian television:  “They say hello, I say hey, next thing you know they say rape.  It’s about money.  Next thing you know you are arrested.”

It’s the same guy who openly admitted last season that for most of the season he was more concerned about his personal stats than about the Caps winning games or making the playoffs.

Firebrand’s Query Holiday

I made an exception to my “waiting until after the holidays” policy and submitted my book to Firebrand Literary through their “Query Holiday” concept.

It’s a great idea; novelists aren’t necessarily marketers, and query letters can be damned frustrating to write.  I myself have a background in marketing and advertising, and I still find it next to impossible to summarize my book in a way that makes it sound good.  So Firebrand is offering, for a limited time, to read submissions with no query.  I’ll know by the end of February whether they’re interested.