Friday, January 30, 2009
That Censored Superbowl Ad
The above ad was rejected from the Superbowl because the network didn't want 'political or advocacy ads'. However, the anti-semitic hate group PETA also applied to run a commercial--- a very smutty one--- and was told they would be allowed to run it if they toned down the smut.
It seems that even though the majority of Americans are prolife to at least some extent--- very few approve of late-term abortions, for example--- prolife news is heavily censored. Aside from election day, there has been very little coverage of the legalization of assisted suicide in two more states. And the March for Life was essentially ignored by the media.
It's up to us bloggers to help the censored ideas get out there into the world, until such time as a less censor-happy news media appears.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Teen attracts hate by not cussing
A fifteen year old boy has done something that inspired thousands around the world to send him vicious hate mail and death threats. Did he kill someone? Rape someone? Rape and kill someone? Kill and rape someone?
No. He stopped swearing. And he created a club for kids who wanted to stop swearing and were having a hard time of it.
Shit! Sometimes I think the world has gone completely insane. With all the serious stuff going on in the world, why would anyone take the time because some kid exercises his freedom of speech by choosing not to swear?
The current custom of most everybody using the formerly most forbidden profanity all the time is something that has come forward in my lifetime, and I believe it is mostly generated by the relaxing of standards of the media.
When I was a girl, back when dinosaurs such as John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson roamed the Earth, my parents never swore in front of us. I literally believed that my mother didn't know the meaning of 'the S word'. And in a Star Trek episode in which Capt. Kirk had to let his girlfriend die so that history would not be changed, I was shocked silly when the Captain said 'Let's get the hell out of here.' I didn't think swearing was allowed in Starfleet, not even in emergencies.
Back in those good old days, swearing meant something. When you finally let loose with one of them words, you were sure to attract shocked attention--- unless you were in the Navy or something. Now, if a nun were to say to you 'pass me the damn peas', you would have passed her the peas before you even noticed she was swearing if you noticed at all.
Those of us who are writers have to accept that our profession is part of the problem of the profanity explosion. To preserve swearing for future generations, we have to create some personal policies about swearing, particularly casual swearing, in our work.
In my own case, because of a personal reason which I have mentioned on this blog before, I probably am condemned to be published by secular publishers if at all. So that means swearing in my work is a possibility, though possibly not a requirement.
My current decision is to allow one swear-word per novel, max, and it will be in the first chapter or so. This will establish me as not-a-goody-two-shoes. Then I can write the rest of the book as clean as I want it to be, and no one will notice. Sneaky, eh?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No. He stopped swearing. And he created a club for kids who wanted to stop swearing and were having a hard time of it.
Shit! Sometimes I think the world has gone completely insane. With all the serious stuff going on in the world, why would anyone take the time because some kid exercises his freedom of speech by choosing not to swear?
The current custom of most everybody using the formerly most forbidden profanity all the time is something that has come forward in my lifetime, and I believe it is mostly generated by the relaxing of standards of the media.
When I was a girl, back when dinosaurs such as John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson roamed the Earth, my parents never swore in front of us. I literally believed that my mother didn't know the meaning of 'the S word'. And in a Star Trek episode in which Capt. Kirk had to let his girlfriend die so that history would not be changed, I was shocked silly when the Captain said 'Let's get the hell out of here.' I didn't think swearing was allowed in Starfleet, not even in emergencies.
Back in those good old days, swearing meant something. When you finally let loose with one of them words, you were sure to attract shocked attention--- unless you were in the Navy or something. Now, if a nun were to say to you 'pass me the damn peas', you would have passed her the peas before you even noticed she was swearing if you noticed at all.
Those of us who are writers have to accept that our profession is part of the problem of the profanity explosion. To preserve swearing for future generations, we have to create some personal policies about swearing, particularly casual swearing, in our work.
In my own case, because of a personal reason which I have mentioned on this blog before, I probably am condemned to be published by secular publishers if at all. So that means swearing in my work is a possibility, though possibly not a requirement.
My current decision is to allow one swear-word per novel, max, and it will be in the first chapter or so. This will establish me as not-a-goody-two-shoes. Then I can write the rest of the book as clean as I want it to be, and no one will notice. Sneaky, eh?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Monday, January 19, 2009
The Book of Names
The Book of Names by D. Barkley Briggs is the featured book on the CSFFBT this month. It is published as Young Adult fiction, and of course the idea of having a category of children's books called 'Young Adult' sucks swamp water bigtime, but let us not let that prejudice us too much.
OK, then, this is the story: 'young adult' (ha, ha, ha!) brothers Hayden and Ewan Barlow's mother dies and they must move to rural Missouri. Missouri is actually a great state, on the highways when you stop at the wayside, the sign with all the rules mentions specifically that you are not to unload your livestock at the wayside. It's the only state I know of that is aware of the possibility that some of the folks that stop at the state's waysides might have livestock to unload.
But the Barlow brothers evidently don't appreciate the greatness of Missouri, and are pissed off because they have to clear the briar patch with a hatchet and shears. And I can understand that. If I had a briar patch to clear, I'd use Roundup, fire, or goats, or maybe all three, just not at the same time.
Anyway, the Barlow boys are clearing the briar patch and what should come along but four blackbirds, who drop four metal tubes. These are tubes with a message, namely: "You have been chosen for a life of great purpose. Great adventure awaits you in the Hidden Lands."
Then stuff happens and they end up in the land of Karac Tor which needs a champion because some evil force is stealing the names and souls of Karac Tor's teens, turning them into zombies. Gee, and I though all teens were like that naturally.
What the boys really want is to go home so they are sent off to see the wizard--- no, excuse me, wrong book--- they are off to see the governor and then the adventure begins.
You can read more about the site on the blogs of other tour members, which are given in the list below.
D. Barkley Briggs’s Web site
D. Barkley Briggs’s blog
The CSFF Blog Tour Usual Suspects
Sally Apokedak
Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Rachel Briard
Valerie Comer
Frank Creed
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Shane Deal
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Andrea Graham
Todd Michael Greene
Timothy Hicks
Joleen Howell
Jason Isbell
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Magma
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
Alice M. Roelke
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Jason Waguespac
Phyllis Wheeler
Timothy Wise
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Will Sally Sparrow be next Doctor Who companion?
Now that we know who the next Who is going to be, it's time to frantically speculate about the next companion. A number of names have been proposed, one of them being that of Carey Mulligan, who played the part of Sally Sparrow in an episode of Doctor Who.
In case you can't recall the episode off-hand, it involves statues of weeping angels who are really evil aliens who kill you by sending you back into the past and letting you live to death. Sally Sparrow received a number of messages from the Doctor, who was trapped in the past without his Tardis.
This was one of my favorite episodes, and my mother enjoyed it also, even though she's not exactly a sci-fi fan. I really like the idea of Sally Sparrow as a companion. There are also other names in the list, and you can find more about it at Bad Wolf One, a Doctor Who blog.
As for Matt Smith, the new Doctor, here is an extended interview. (Would you buy a used Tardis from this man?)
Actually I am willing to give the new Doctor a chance, in spite of the hair thing. Vote on if the New Doctor needs a new haircut.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In case you can't recall the episode off-hand, it involves statues of weeping angels who are really evil aliens who kill you by sending you back into the past and letting you live to death. Sally Sparrow received a number of messages from the Doctor, who was trapped in the past without his Tardis.
This was one of my favorite episodes, and my mother enjoyed it also, even though she's not exactly a sci-fi fan. I really like the idea of Sally Sparrow as a companion. There are also other names in the list, and you can find more about it at Bad Wolf One, a Doctor Who blog.
As for Matt Smith, the new Doctor, here is an extended interview. (Would you buy a used Tardis from this man?)
Actually I am willing to give the new Doctor a chance, in spite of the hair thing. Vote on if the New Doctor needs a new haircut.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Blogging when I should be novelling
I blog too much. And now I have another blog on which to do it at Today.com. Today.com is an outfit which promises to pay bloggers $1 for each day's blog post, and since I'm always on the verge of financial disaster I was tempted and now have a blog called The Sci-Fi/Fantasy Flying Circus.
*sigh*
I had decided to work on this blog daily to try to expand the readership, but now have to work on the other blog daily. I had thought of just replacing this blog with that one, but over at Today.com I can't put up links to books at Amazon.com and so therefore can't participate in the CSFFBT.
And I really should be working on my novel. Or on my other novel. Right now. Or else searching the snowbanks for a statue of the Infant of Prague I just bought on Ebay and that the Fed-ex guy handed over to my dog. (I've found the box and packaging, Infant of Prague clothing, and an Infant of Prague hand so far. And I'm wondering if the dog will go to hell for destroying a statue of Jesus.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A list of science fiction and fantasy authors with blogs is to be found at SF Signal. List is limited to those published at major (secular) publishers. Look and see if your fave authors are bloggers!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jackie Castle has a must-read blog post: Have we really thought through these propositions? dealing with the anti-Gay-marriage propositions in a more Christian and loving way than some, which is sure to cause controversy. I offer her my thanks for that post, which really made me feel like I'm not altogether an outcast in spite of being out as a chaste Gay person.
*sigh*
I had decided to work on this blog daily to try to expand the readership, but now have to work on the other blog daily. I had thought of just replacing this blog with that one, but over at Today.com I can't put up links to books at Amazon.com and so therefore can't participate in the CSFFBT.
And I really should be working on my novel. Or on my other novel. Right now. Or else searching the snowbanks for a statue of the Infant of Prague I just bought on Ebay and that the Fed-ex guy handed over to my dog. (I've found the box and packaging, Infant of Prague clothing, and an Infant of Prague hand so far. And I'm wondering if the dog will go to hell for destroying a statue of Jesus.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A list of science fiction and fantasy authors with blogs is to be found at SF Signal. List is limited to those published at major (secular) publishers. Look and see if your fave authors are bloggers!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jackie Castle has a must-read blog post: Have we really thought through these propositions? dealing with the anti-Gay-marriage propositions in a more Christian and loving way than some, which is sure to cause controversy. I offer her my thanks for that post, which really made me feel like I'm not altogether an outcast in spite of being out as a chaste Gay person.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Jewish Science Fiction and Fantasy--- Oy Gevalt!
Normally we blog about Christian sci-fi and fantasy here. But some of my favorite sci-fi is, well, Jewish. As in the works of Harry Turtledove. I actually prefer the works of his with strong Jewish characters, such as those in 'In the Presence of Mine Enemies', which deals with the lives of hidden Jews in a world where the Nazis won World War 2 and dominate the world. Or in the 'Worldwar' and 'Colonization' series, in which the aliens invade Earth during World War 2, and several of the main characters are Jewish.
There is an extensive list of works of Jewish sci-fi on sfsite's Jewish Science Fiction page. It covers novels and short stories as far back as 1924, with links to buy many of the books. It's a wide ranging list of works with Jewish themes. There is also a place to sign up for a Jewish Speculative Fiction Discussion Group.
Adherants.com has a list of science fiction/fantasy authors of various faiths. It does lump people who were raised in a faith but are now non-religious in with current believers. The Jewish Section includes a number of authors including Alfred Bester, Joanna Russ, and Joan D. Vinge.
Rabbi Yonassan Gershom has a web site called trekjew.com, which explores Jewish themes in the Star Trek series including the Jewish roots of the Vulcan salute. Gershom has also written a book called Jewish Themes in Star Trek (Where No Rabbi Has Gone Before). The book is currently in search of a publisher. Gershom also has a Yahoo Group called trekjews.
In the world of books we have Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Fantasy and Science Fiction
and its sequel, More Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Outstanding Stories of Jewish Fantasy and Science Fiction
which both contain introductions by the late Isaac Asimov.
Jewish science fiction and fantasy are of interest to Christians as well as Jews--- after all, we have a Lord and Savior who is Jewish. Christians who take an interest in Jewish customs and culture are better placed to understand the Gospels. So I hope all that read these words will take the time to take in a little Jewish sci-fi and fantasy.
Mazel Tov, and shalom!
Know any good Jewish sci-fi and fantasy? Drop me a comment!
There is an extensive list of works of Jewish sci-fi on sfsite's Jewish Science Fiction page. It covers novels and short stories as far back as 1924, with links to buy many of the books. It's a wide ranging list of works with Jewish themes. There is also a place to sign up for a Jewish Speculative Fiction Discussion Group.
Adherants.com has a list of science fiction/fantasy authors of various faiths. It does lump people who were raised in a faith but are now non-religious in with current believers. The Jewish Section includes a number of authors including Alfred Bester, Joanna Russ, and Joan D. Vinge.
Rabbi Yonassan Gershom has a web site called trekjew.com, which explores Jewish themes in the Star Trek series including the Jewish roots of the Vulcan salute. Gershom has also written a book called Jewish Themes in Star Trek (Where No Rabbi Has Gone Before). The book is currently in search of a publisher. Gershom also has a Yahoo Group called trekjews.
In the world of books we have Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Fantasy and Science Fiction
and its sequel, More Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Outstanding Stories of Jewish Fantasy and Science Fiction which both contain introductions by the late Isaac Asimov.Jewish science fiction and fantasy are of interest to Christians as well as Jews--- after all, we have a Lord and Savior who is Jewish. Christians who take an interest in Jewish customs and culture are better placed to understand the Gospels. So I hope all that read these words will take the time to take in a little Jewish sci-fi and fantasy.
Mazel Tov, and shalom!
Know any good Jewish sci-fi and fantasy? Drop me a comment!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour: Upcoming Books on the Tour
Here are the upcoming books to be featured on the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour. What is the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour? Well, it exists to create an internet buzz for science fiction and fantasy books with a Christian viewpoint, with the idea of encouraging Christian publishers to publish more fiction in this category.
One blog tour is scheduled each month. Members of the tour blog about the book, do email interviews of the author, and more. Each member posts a list of the other tour members, which helps expand a blog's exposure. Another advantage of joining the tour is that you may be able to get free review copies of the book to be toured. To join the tour, go here.
Does participating in this blog tour mean that I am a narrow-minded bigot who only wants to read books written by Christians? Not really. Most of my sci-fi and fantasy reading comes from the secular presses, my favorite authors being Harry Turtledove, Mercedes Lackey, and Marion Zimmer Bradley. The Christian sci-fi and fantasy I read represents a widening of my reading list, not a narrowing. And I was not even a Christian, but a member of the Norse Pagan religion, when I started reading Christian fiction (the Left Behind series).
So, anyway, here are the books. If you are curious about Christian sci-fi and fantasy, perhaps follow the links to the books' Amazon.com pages and read the reviews. You might find something you like.
January 19-21 – The Book of Names (Legends of Karac Tor)
by D. Barkley Briggs
(YA fantasy)
February – Cyndere's Midnight: A Novel (The Auralia Thread)
by Jeffrey Overstreet (adult fantasy)
March – Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow (Codebearers)
by Christopher and Allen Miller (tweener fantasy)
April – TBA
May - Tuck (King Raven Trilogy)
by Stephen Lawhead (adult fantasy – tentative)
June - The Enclave
by Karen Hancock (adult science fiction/fantasy – tentative)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Interested in Christian science fiction, fantasy and horror? Join the lostgenre subreddit!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I will learn the international language Esperanto but only if 20,000,000 over the world will do the same." To sign this pledge or to look at all the weird people who already did (like me), go to Pledgebank.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Read any good books lately? Drop me a comment and tell me all about it!
One blog tour is scheduled each month. Members of the tour blog about the book, do email interviews of the author, and more. Each member posts a list of the other tour members, which helps expand a blog's exposure. Another advantage of joining the tour is that you may be able to get free review copies of the book to be toured. To join the tour, go here.
Does participating in this blog tour mean that I am a narrow-minded bigot who only wants to read books written by Christians? Not really. Most of my sci-fi and fantasy reading comes from the secular presses, my favorite authors being Harry Turtledove, Mercedes Lackey, and Marion Zimmer Bradley. The Christian sci-fi and fantasy I read represents a widening of my reading list, not a narrowing. And I was not even a Christian, but a member of the Norse Pagan religion, when I started reading Christian fiction (the Left Behind series).
So, anyway, here are the books. If you are curious about Christian sci-fi and fantasy, perhaps follow the links to the books' Amazon.com pages and read the reviews. You might find something you like.
January 19-21 – The Book of Names (Legends of Karac Tor)
by D. Barkley Briggs(YA fantasy)
February – Cyndere's Midnight: A Novel (The Auralia Thread)
by Jeffrey Overstreet (adult fantasy)
March – Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow (Codebearers)
by Christopher and Allen Miller (tweener fantasy)
April – TBA
May - Tuck (King Raven Trilogy)
by Stephen Lawhead (adult fantasy – tentative)
June - The Enclave
by Karen Hancock (adult science fiction/fantasy – tentative)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Interested in Christian science fiction, fantasy and horror? Join the lostgenre subreddit!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I will learn the international language Esperanto but only if 20,000,000 over the world will do the same." To sign this pledge or to look at all the weird people who already did (like me), go to Pledgebank.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Read any good books lately? Drop me a comment and tell me all about it!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Chico the Cat writes Biography of the Pope
What this world needs is more books written by cats. A German cat named Chico has penned a biography of his pet person, Joseph. Joseph is a friendly and well-trained human who is better known as Pope Benedict XVI.
Sadly, none of my cats is willing to write a book about me, although several are willing to unplug my computer while I am working on writing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One Dollar ebooks from Orbit
Orbit books, a sci-fi and fantasy publisher, has announced that it will make a title available as a one-dollar ebook each month, for details see http://onedollarorbit.com/
Sadly, none of my cats is willing to write a book about me, although several are willing to unplug my computer while I am working on writing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One Dollar ebooks from Orbit
Orbit books, a sci-fi and fantasy publisher, has announced that it will make a title available as a one-dollar ebook each month, for details see http://onedollarorbit.com/
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The Day Sci-Fi Died: Forrest J. Ackerman obit
Forrest J. Ackerman (1916-2008) died on Dec. 4, 2008, of congestive heart failure. He was the guy who coined the term 'sci-fi', and he was know for his vast collection of movie memorabilia which included King Kong's paw and tribbles from Star Trek.
Ackerman was the one who brought the German sci-fi series 'Perry Rhodan' over to the US. They were translated by his German-born wife, Wendayne. The English version included the use of Esperanto to create futuristic slang terms for the series. Ackerman was an enthusiast for Esperanto.
The writer Stephen King during his boyhood submitted a story to Ackerman's magazine. Years later when King was a famous writer, Ackerman produced the original copy of the long-forgotten story and asked King to autograph it.
Obit from the LA Times
Obit from Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc.
Ackerman was the one who brought the German sci-fi series 'Perry Rhodan' over to the US. They were translated by his German-born wife, Wendayne. The English version included the use of Esperanto to create futuristic slang terms for the series. Ackerman was an enthusiast for Esperanto.
The writer Stephen King during his boyhood submitted a story to Ackerman's magazine. Years later when King was a famous writer, Ackerman produced the original copy of the long-forgotten story and asked King to autograph it.
Obit from the LA Times
Obit from Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc.
India the Bush family cat dies
India, the Bush family cat died last Sunday. She was 18. Her favorite activity was hiding under the bed.In other presidential cat news, Socks, the Clinton cat who was abandoned by the Clintons in favor of Buddy the dog when they left the White House, is still alive at 19, but has cancer. Question: if Hillary C. couldn't even negotiate peace between Socks and Buddy, is she qualified to be Secretary of State?
Houston Chronicle obit of India
is it just me, or is this blog becoming a bit obit-heavy?
Monday, January 5, 2009
I Challenge Thee to a .... Writing Exercise!
As this is post #100 I decided to make it a challenge to my reader or readers. This is a writing exercise I did some years back and I just rediscovered it today in my file cabinet. The idea is to write ten opening sentences for novels/stories. I believe it's meant to be a help for those struggling with writing the 'perfect' opening sentence for your work. Anyway, I'll show you my ten sentences, and then you can write your own--- in the comments, or at your own blog, or on the restroom wall, wherever.
Opening Sentences
1. "Don't touch that!" the man screamed, seconds before the explosion.
2. If Mary had known that the old book would eventually cause the murder of 75 people, she would have gone into the antique shop instead.
3. The governor knew, of course, that Red Jack was innocent, but he had no intention of stopping the execution.
4. They moved to Wisconsin the year Maia turned thirteen, and things would never be right again.
5. I knew it was a bad idea to stow away on the Andromeda, but I'd rather be spaced out the airlock than stay on the station even one more day.
6. The suns glared orange in the sky ar Aminton killed the last thousand of the Iliani rebels. The last of them, women and children mostly, might have been permitted to live, had any of them thought to ask for mercy. But the sheer weight of those who had gone before them drained off all their hope, and they died, silent.
7. The dragon was small, blue-eyed, and in my living room.
8. "Don't you even b'leeve in God, Charlie?"
"Nah," Charlie told his kid brother, "there isn't no God, not for real there isn't."
9. Reggie was dead, but that didn't mean he wasn't planning on attending the wedding.
10. The day the world ended, Jennie had a terrible fight with her ex-husband. Not a physical fight, of course. Ron was too smart for that.
I've noticed that a couple of these are more than one sentence. Oh, well.
Opening Sentences
1. "Don't touch that!" the man screamed, seconds before the explosion.
2. If Mary had known that the old book would eventually cause the murder of 75 people, she would have gone into the antique shop instead.
3. The governor knew, of course, that Red Jack was innocent, but he had no intention of stopping the execution.
4. They moved to Wisconsin the year Maia turned thirteen, and things would never be right again.
5. I knew it was a bad idea to stow away on the Andromeda, but I'd rather be spaced out the airlock than stay on the station even one more day.
6. The suns glared orange in the sky ar Aminton killed the last thousand of the Iliani rebels. The last of them, women and children mostly, might have been permitted to live, had any of them thought to ask for mercy. But the sheer weight of those who had gone before them drained off all their hope, and they died, silent.
7. The dragon was small, blue-eyed, and in my living room.
8. "Don't you even b'leeve in God, Charlie?"
"Nah," Charlie told his kid brother, "there isn't no God, not for real there isn't."
9. Reggie was dead, but that didn't mean he wasn't planning on attending the wedding.
10. The day the world ended, Jennie had a terrible fight with her ex-husband. Not a physical fight, of course. Ron was too smart for that.
I've noticed that a couple of these are more than one sentence. Oh, well.
Polish Names for Your Characters
Continuing my new obsession with all things Polish.... I'm compiling a list of Polish names in order to help with naming Polish fictional characters.
Nazwisko--- family names
Polish family names are hereditary and passed from father to children. The family name comes last. The most common Polish family names are Nowak, Kowalski, and Wiśniewski. A long list of Polish family names in order of popularity is found at http://www.futrega.org/etc/nazwiska.html
Kamiński
Mazur
Grabowski
Baranowski
Krupa
Pawlik
Barański
Czyż
Mroczek
Grodzicki
Imię - given names
A list of Polish given names is given at http://www.edziecko.pl/ciaza_i_porod/0,79473.html
IMIONA DLA CHŁOPCA male names
Piotr
Krzysztof
Jan
Marek
Stanisław
Jacek
Łukasz
Paweł
Grzegorz
Michał
Józef
Klaudiusz
IMIONA DLA DZIEWCZYNKI female names
Maria
Katarzyna
Agnieszka
Krystyna
Elżbieta
Janina
Halina
Danuta
Jadwiga
Dorota
Grażyna
Natalia
Ewa
Zofia
Pronunciation:
Polish pronunciation can be difficult. 'J' is pronounced like english 'y', 'w' like english 'v', 'y' like english 'i' in 'bit', and 'ł' like english 'w'.
I hope this will help writers in naming their Polish characters. This post will be updated with more names as time goes by, as my similar post on Korean names is.
Polish Name: Wikipedia
Nazwisko--- family names
Polish family names are hereditary and passed from father to children. The family name comes last. The most common Polish family names are Nowak, Kowalski, and Wiśniewski. A long list of Polish family names in order of popularity is found at http://www.futrega.org/etc/nazwiska.html
Kamiński
Mazur
Grabowski
Baranowski
Krupa
Pawlik
Barański
Czyż
Mroczek
Grodzicki
Imię - given names
A list of Polish given names is given at http://www.edziecko.pl/ciaza_i_porod/0,79473.html
IMIONA DLA CHŁOPCA male names
Piotr
Krzysztof
Jan
Marek
Stanisław
Jacek
Łukasz
Paweł
Grzegorz
Michał
Józef
Klaudiusz
IMIONA DLA DZIEWCZYNKI female names
Maria
Katarzyna
Agnieszka
Krystyna
Elżbieta
Janina
Halina
Danuta
Jadwiga
Dorota
Grażyna
Natalia
Ewa
Zofia
Pronunciation:
Polish pronunciation can be difficult. 'J' is pronounced like english 'y', 'w' like english 'v', 'y' like english 'i' in 'bit', and 'ł' like english 'w'.
I hope this will help writers in naming their Polish characters. This post will be updated with more names as time goes by, as my similar post on Korean names is.
Polish Name: Wikipedia
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Happy New Doctor: 11th Doctor Who Announced
The BBC has announced that actor Matt Smith has been cast in the role of Doctor Who. At age 26 he is the youngest actor to play the role. Bad Wolf One has an interview with Matt Smith which is worth viewing.
For fans of a series such as Doctor Who, each change brings with it worries as to how the producers will be handling the vision of the series. Will it be ruined in order to make the series sexier and more commercially successful? Will the things we like best about it be cast aside? Time alone will tell what changes will come to Doctor Who, and how we fans will feel about it is anyone's guess.
But anyway, let's wish actor Matt Smith the best as he starts his new role (which won't be until 2010).
Comments about this post on reddit
For fans of a series such as Doctor Who, each change brings with it worries as to how the producers will be handling the vision of the series. Will it be ruined in order to make the series sexier and more commercially successful? Will the things we like best about it be cast aside? Time alone will tell what changes will come to Doctor Who, and how we fans will feel about it is anyone's guess.
But anyway, let's wish actor Matt Smith the best as he starts his new role (which won't be until 2010).
Comments about this post on reddit
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Polish Sci-Fi & Fantasy: Why I can't WAIT to learn Polish
Another year, another language, and this year it's the Polish language's turn. My new year's resolution is to learn Polish. And after reading a Wikipedia article on Polish science fiction and fantasy, I can't wait to be able to read Polish.
Feliks W. Kres is a Polish fantasy writer known for a series called Księga całości (The Book of Entirety), in which vultures and cats, in addition to humans, have intelligence. A book by Feliks W. Kres is available on Amazon.com, but only in Russian. Some books by Feliks W. Kres at Polish book website.
Maja Lidia Kossakowska is a Polish fantasy writer who uses angels as a theme in her work. Her work is not available on Amazon.com, not even in Russian, but is at a Polish book website.
I think it's sad that works by Polish and other foreign sci-fi and fantasy authors is not available in the US and other English speaking countries, since English language sci-fi and fantasy are available in translation around the world. Because, let's face it, learning Polish is hard.
Comments about this post on reddit
Feliks W. Kres is a Polish fantasy writer known for a series called Księga całości (The Book of Entirety), in which vultures and cats, in addition to humans, have intelligence. A book by Feliks W. Kres is available on Amazon.com, but only in Russian. Some books by Feliks W. Kres at Polish book website.
Maja Lidia Kossakowska is a Polish fantasy writer who uses angels as a theme in her work. Her work is not available on Amazon.com, not even in Russian, but is at a Polish book website.
I think it's sad that works by Polish and other foreign sci-fi and fantasy authors is not available in the US and other English speaking countries, since English language sci-fi and fantasy are available in translation around the world. Because, let's face it, learning Polish is hard.
Comments about this post on reddit
Friday, January 2, 2009
Lost Genre on Reddit
Do you reddit? It's a sharing site like digg where you put up links to websites, blog posts and other internet goodies you like.
Reddit features topics to which you can subscribe. A new one is lostgenre, about Christian speculative fiction. I hope that folks will join reddit and subscribe to lostgenre, and post related stuff there.
Reddit features topics to which you can subscribe. A new one is lostgenre, about Christian speculative fiction. I hope that folks will join reddit and subscribe to lostgenre, and post related stuff there.
Doctor Who Meets Star Trek
This is great!!! Seriously! If only they could actually make the episode described, but it would involve raising the dead, and Homer Simpson wouldn't like that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
