Jan 15 2009
Thursday Links of Love
- Six degrees of separation theory was a fraud. Stanley Milgram, a controversial psychologist, coined this term after asking “people to give a letter to other people they knew by name, then he tracked how long it took for each letter to end up in the hands of a person the original sender didn’t know in another city. He reported that the average number of people it took to get from the sender to an unknown person was six. Hence, the phrase “six degrees of separation.” But apparently no one ever bothered to look into his data, until now.” (Thanks bec).
- New Yorker gives a rundown on how to market films to different markets. Over 30 women are a tough and discriminating crowd. Via Jezebel. (Thanks bec).
- Walt Mossberg, uber Apple fan boy and voice of the Wall Street Journal digital section, reviews Scroll Motion and Shortcovers, two iPhone applications designed to bring more original fiction to the iPhone reader. Curiously, Mossberg fails to mention that Scrollmotion books have been pulled because of some kind of DRM security flaw and that ScrollMotion had priced its books in excess of the print versions of the books. I.e., Brisingr in hardcover is a pricey $27.50 but to have it on your iPhone via ScrollMotion, it would cost you $27.99. (Thanks K Sisk.)
- Random House has completed its reorganization and laid off editors including Del Rey editor, Liz Scheier.
- South Carolina wants to outlaw your First Amendment rights. Writers should be concerned:
According to the bill it would become a felony (punishable by a fine up to $5000 or up to 5 years in prison) to ‘publish orally or in writing, exhibit, or otherwise make available material containing words, language, or actions of a profane, vulgar, lewd, lascivious, or indecent nature.’
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Jan 15, 2009 @ 21:04:44
Geeze, it always makes me so freakin’ happy when a State, in this case South Carolina, has all their predators and thieves and murders and drug dealers in jail and off the streets and has time to play with the Constitution.
And doesn’t it just make me want to be a self-pub for a few hours so that I can write out a list of every curse word ever invented and then write a sex scene (set in the Governor’s Mansion) with 89 people, some animals, maybe assorted whips, chains and food products, in a story to go along with the list?
Yes, yes it does.
Jan 15, 2009 @ 21:06:01
@joanne: While I’m not always into group sex that numbers in the 80s, I’d buy one from you just as a show of support.LOL
Jan 15, 2009 @ 21:30:37
aw, thank you!
Unfortunately writing is a hard job and I have zero talent or ambition in that field so let’s hope someone will take the idea and run.
And now I have to wonder where that number came from since I have enough trouble keeping track of body parts in fictional threesomes, lol.
Jan 15, 2009 @ 21:46:36
Can you make it a goat? Maybe something kinky with sockpuppets?
Jan 15, 2009 @ 23:08:53
But Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon still works. ;-)
Jan 15, 2009 @ 23:41:27
Re: the New Yorker bit about women over 30 being too discriminating at the movies. Hell yes, I’m discriminating! But they need not worry about providing content which “tugs at my ovaries.” That is the biggest marketing lie, and an insulting one at that–this notion that we all want weepies and feel good movies.
I and every woman I know will watch anything in any genre as long as it’s done well.. Good action. Good horror. Good comedy. Good fantasy. You can’t pass crap off on us because we’re old and wily, and unlike kids who have nothing else to do but hang around a mall, we have other things to do with our time and money.
Sometimes I’d kill for a smart, sexy action movie, ya know? I recently rented the 3rd Spiderman and almost had to stab myself in my eye with my ice cream spoon just to make it go away. And come on–they had an evil Spiderman with a bitchin’ black suit! They could have done so much with all that. But I digress.
Jan 16, 2009 @ 07:19:02
O_O
Okay, evidently I’m going to jail in SC…
… or maybe not, since I can’t believe that one won’t be slapped down as unconstitutional.
How does that work, anyway? Does it only apply to SC residents? Are all the bookstore owners and managers going to be in trouble as well?
I guess I should go check out that link now and find out for myself. Many thanks for the heads up!
Jan 16, 2009 @ 08:47:49
Oh, good grief. :/ Thanks for the link on that last one. I posted about it too; hopefully we can work up enough awareness about this bill that folks who live in South Carolina will go spork their state reps about it.
@7 Ally — it’s definitely unconstitutional, but that hasn’t stopped any number of other stupid laws from passing, or extra-legal activities from taking place. If it does pass, and if the governor approves, it’ll be in place as law until it’s overturned, which would probably take years. That’s a lot of time for people to get caught up in it, and end up with felony convictions on their record, before some high court smacks it down.
Oh, and note the “otherwise make available” bit. Does anyone imagine that couldn’t be applied to material “made available” over the internet, or that some moralizing crusader wouldn’t be able to find an ambitious DA somewhere in South Carolina willing to take that case to court? Those of us who aren’t in SC aren’t necessarily safe if this goes through.
Angie
Jan 16, 2009 @ 13:25:03
It was done much better in both the comics and the animated series.
I’ll be 30 in November of this year, but tugging at my ovaries will make me run out of a theatre. I’m a Michael Bay-worshipping philistine.
Jan 16, 2009 @ 19:08:13
Evie,
I’m totally in agreement with you on smart, sexy action pics. They are what I want to see when I go to see movies.
Romantic comedies get an automatic pass from me unless there is incredible word-of-mouth.