Happy Halloween! It's the day to celebrate goblins, ghoulies, space aliens and things that go bump in the night.
To get you in the spirit, we posted a couple of fun videos and sidetrips over the weekend for our Spacefreighters Halloween Weekend Creepfest...
Ping Back
Donna - I loved reading your tribute to Stephen King. What better Halloween topic for a writer's blog than to showcase the King of Chills.
I was also inspired by some of his work, especially the more SF-related stories, but Cujo still scares the bejeezus out of me.
I have two thank yous to send Sharon's way. First for redesigning our blog banner to fit the entire page. Wow, looks awesome. And second...
Discoveries
Sharon suggested joining Google+ and I'm so glad I did! DL Jackson invited me awhile back and my first reaction was to dig in my heels and say, "OMG, not another social networking site!" But this one really is different!
It loses all the down side of Facebook and lets me control who sees my posts by creating my own "circles" of contacts. Have a picnic shot you only want to share with Family? You can do that. A bit of writerly angst to share with your Brigader pals? Presto! Something you want to share with everyone? You can do that, too, with just a click of your mouse.
There's no need to create a separate author page. And it's so easy to find what you're looking for (which has been a big negative for me with the FB set-up).
Although G+ is still in its fledgling state, I found quite a few contacts already enjoying the benefits. (Over a dozen in the first three minutes. Over 80 as of this writing.) And I've been listening to the buzz. G+ is a boon to SF writers. G+ is the next big thing? Hmm, could be. Will G+ make Facebook obsolete? Ask me again in six months.
Meanwhile, enjoy this humorous commentary from YouTube. (And then jump on the bandwagon and join us!)
And here's another discovery. This is an amazing research tool!
Newseum
Open the web site. Click the circle for any town shown and instantly see the Front Page of the newspaper. I could spend hours reading with this. (Must. Be. Disciplined.) There's also a link to archived articles on a variety of topics (Steve Jobs, 9/11, Libya, etc.)
This one gets added to our side bar.
Great Quotes
Science fiction is not and has never been about the buttons.
It has always been about who pushes them.
--From a SF Signal Post Guest Post by Mark Tiedemann It's Not About the Buttons
I have to thank Sharon for pointing me to that quote, too. For me, it's the perfect summary of what I love about SF/R. And who's pushing those buttons, and why, leaves open a whole universe of ideas and plot twists.
Have a funtastic All Hallow's Eve
Great post, Laurie. And yes,I still have to do the Google+ thing. I feel it will be something great in the future. Loved the SF quote too.
ReplyDeleteHave a Happy Halloween!
I enjoyed Donna's Stephen King post too. As a teenager I loved Firestarter. A Wrinkle in Time was one of my childhood favorites, and the relationship between the dad and daughter in Firestarter reminded me of the close family bonds in L'Engle's novel.
ReplyDeleteLove the Newseum tip - very cool.
Happy Halloween!