THE WAITING IS THE HARDEST PART

In the last few weeks, I have applied for several editor and writer employments but have not heard from any companies. A bright spot was when I had a note from a prestigious financial website asking about my interest in being an editor about a week ago, but then no call back.

The slowdown in my life is very frustrating. I can churn out a thousand words or more in a chapter of fiction in about a week or two, yet there are no offers in the commercial sectors. I have an article published this month in a retail magazine for eyewear. After this, everything seems to have dried up.

I am sure mine is a common lament. I have good skills in editing, writing, and research. I know how to use photo editing software, word processing programs, and audio editing software. I am a blogger for five years and a web writer since 1997. If I am with this experience, how can I not get a gig?

However,I don't have it as tough as the staff of the trade periodical Publishing News in Britain that will soon close shop. Neither am I one of the 3,500 people who have lost their employment in the newspaper industry in two months. I don't know that hurt but I can guess. To have talent, proven work, and experience without the luck to snag a writing or editing job.

What to do in the meantime? At this point, I am brushing up on my web skills such as WordPress, HTML, and CSS among others. That is all one can accomplish in resolution during a sinking economy.

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SO SAD TO SEE HIM GO

Fans of Andrew Vachss' Burke will be sad to see the crusading lawyer bring the series to a close.

What can The Writer's Home say about the final novel? I have read Vachss' work since learning about him from the original Zero created by Greg Bueno. I have always admired the tenacity and life long commitment that Mr. Vachss has given to children.

You would think that I'm writing an obit for a real person. It sounds like a reviewer's parrot talk. Yet, the spirit of Burke and other children of the secret must be remembered and acted upon long after Vachss' novels have fallen out of copyright. The pain of child abuse does not end with the termination of one series.


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TOOL REVIEW

Klean Sweep is a handy tool for Linux operating systems. Yes, dear readers, we are using Ubuntu after giving Vista its last meal and making it walk a very short plank.
The tool finds empty files and directories,broken symlinks or references to other files; backup files created in KleanSweep, orphaned files, dead menu entries, and duplicated files.

KleanSweep runs in administrative mode and is handy for getting rid of files that are no longer viable or are redundant.

There is a caveat to this handy software that is very important to understand. Klean Sweep works on simple heuristics which finds items by name. For example, if there is "alan_rickman.jpg" (yes, you knew that I would work that in somehow!) and "alan_rickman.mp3", KleanSweep might find and display both. You must carefully vet the files you discover with this utility by right-clicking a file and choosing Open Directory. The directory will take you to the folder where the file is located so that you may be certain this is the item you want to remove. A good measure of caution too is to not remove something if you do not know how the element will affect the computer's viability. Furthermore, if you are a wee bit on the paranoid side, the program gives you the option of creating a backup file. Kleansweep is a useful application but must be handled with care.

Technorati Tags: kleansweep, blogging tools,alan rickman

POEM OF THE MONTH

I gaze out
over the fields of Tadaka
and see the cranes that cry there
without interval,
without pause:
such is my longing for you.

Oh my child
who loved me helplessly
like a hovering bird
over quick river shallows!

Otomo no Sakanoue Iratsume

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WHAT I AM READING NOW

I am currently reading Terminal by Andrew Vachss. I am also reading Blood On The Table by Colin Evans. I read too Confessions of An Ugly Stepsister by the wonderful Gregory Maguire. In between all this, I have been homeschooling and evaluating curriculum for that activity and Girl Guiding on the side.

By the way, did I mention that I have an article accepted at an established consumer publication and am in the process of finding more freelance work. Summer hasn't started yet. There are lots of books to plow through and much more to write.

POEM OF THE MONTH

Otagaki Rengetsu

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NOTE

NOTE ON JUNE POEM OF THE MONTH

The poem is a graphic that I styled in GIMP. I am tickled about the art because it was so difficult lining up the text with the clips.

---Anne