A different kind of remembrance

Today stirs up all sorts of emotions in me. Mainly, I feel rather unworthy — like most Canadians, I expend precious time and energy whining about some petty grievance or other, and totally ignore the sacrifices of the many men and women who have lost their lives in previous and current wars, all so ingrates like me can have the freedom to complain.

The message of this day is simple: Remember how good you've got it, because of the fights and struggles that others have endured in your name. It's easy to forget when times are good, so maybe during these turbulent times, we'll have a more appropriate perspective.

On a different and (somehow) lighter note, French President Nicholas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel participated in the first ever joint Armistice Day commemoration acknowledging both French and German casualties of war. Political considerations aside, the fact that France was so devastated by German aggression in both World Wars makes this a very important and inspiring occasion. Reconciliation and lasting peace, which would have seemed unfathomable even a generation ago, are indeed possible.

Maybe in another generation or two, representatives of the West and the Islamic world will be able to meet in Iraq or Afghanistan to commemorate their shared casualties in this so-called War on Terror. That would be a day to remember.

Publish your own book for fun and profit

Hat tip to JJ

Old news (and the writer's photo looks right out of an 80's shampoo ad), but still good to know how and where writers can self-publish books.

Toronto Star fading

The Toronto Star is outsourcing about 100 in-house, union editing jobs, to save money and prevent (or at least, slow) its demise. This isn't really news anymore, because print media everywhere is coming to grips (about a decade too late) with a paperless world. Too bad none of the news organizations seem to have figured out how to squeeze a decent amount of money out of their internet operations.

But, unions tend not to take this sort of thing lying down. The Torontoist blog has shared one soon-to-be-obsolete editor's take on the bad news: make the publisher look bad by marking up his internal memo and sharing it with the gawking public.

Interesting critique, but sadly futile. Instead of fighting a losing battle, publishers, writers and editors need to embrace the new reality. When people stop reading newspapers or advertising in them, difficult decisions need to be made. Not that outsourcing all the staff positions in a newsroom is a particularly good idea. Quality will suffer and it may drive readership even lower. But drastic times require drastic measures.

And, as a lot of other industries are being forced to learn, economic rebound or no, some jobs just aren't coming back.

100 Tools to Turn to When You Have Writer’s Block

Hat tip to Amber Johnson

Getting writer’s block can be incredibly frustrating, whether you write as a professional, need to create a great paper for your classes, or just want to write something for a personal project. It doesn’t have to be a complete roadblock when it comes to getting writing done, however, as there are many tools out there that are designed to help you break through your mental obstacles and get the creative juices flowing. Here are 100 to get you started on your road to writing success.

Hell, frozen over: Telus cuts its system access fee!

Could it be that the Big Three — Rogers, Bell and Telus — are taking heed of all those new wireless phone companies that are slated to open shop in the next year or so? Why else would Telus cut its rate plans to something approaching fair and transparent pricing?

Hmm... maybe this free market capitalism stuff isn't so back after all.

Is it safe? H1N1 vaccine facts*

*According the the New Scientist, which, to no one's surprise, concludes that getting vaccinated is safer than not getting vaccinated.

Not that it will convince the conspiracy theorists who think it's all just a big plot to control the world's population... and maybe they're really injecting in people is some insidious brain control serum, so at a moment's notice, the One World Government will turn us all into an army of mindless zombies. Yeah, that's what all this is really about. (Cue eye roll.)

Mediaville Montreal

I've been quite the absentee landlord with this here blog. For a million different reasons. Busy, busy little bee, I be.

Mainly though, I've been engrossed (apt word, that) with the one-day freelance media extravaganza that is Mediaville Montreal. A pet project for the longest time that I've finally realized (though, I'm not sure who's the master and who's the pet in that equation...) with the help of some terrific fellow freelancers.

More on this, and other media matters, like the book I'm working on, a whole new twist to my business (like, actually writing and following a business plan) and much more besides to come soon.

Building a second sun: Take $10 billion, add coconuts

No, this isn't from a Monty Python sketch. Apparently, coconut shells are the secret ingredient to some fancy fusion reactor being built in Europe.

Personally, I would have used coco-de-mer shells, but I'm freaky like that.