Breezing in, with a flurry of sticky tape and icing sugar to wish you all a very merry Christmas, and safe and sensational 2011.
See you next year!
E x
Friday, December 24, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Bromance isn't a real word, is it? Is it?
Great news! The Oxford Dictionary has released a new pile of completely legit words you can use in your next manuscript.
Here's a sample, shamelessly lifted from the Time newsfeed:
Here's a sample, shamelessly lifted from the Time newsfeed:
chill pill a notional pill taken to make someone calm down
chillax calm down and relax
turducken a roast dish consisting of a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey (Emmeline: We're only just thinking of this?)
bargainous costing less than is usual or than might be expected; cheap or relatively cheap (I'm so using this one.)
staycation holiday spent in one's home country
fussbudget a fussy person (This wasn't a word? Huh.)
vuvuzela long horn blown by fans at soccer matches
national treasure someone/thing regarded as emblematic of anation's cultural heritage
buzzkill a person or thing that has a depressing or dispiriting effect
social media websites and applications used for social networking
microblogging the posting of very short entries on a blog
netbook small light laptop
dictionary attack an attempt to gain illicit access to a computer system by using a very large set of words to generate potential passwords
paywall an arrangement whereby access is restricted to users who have paid to subscribe to a website
freemium a business model, especially on the Internet, whereby basic services are provided free of charge while more advanced features must be paid for
automagically automatically and in a way that seems ingenious, inexplicable, or magical (Love it!)
carbon capture and storage the process of trapping and storing carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels
geoengineering manipulation of environmental processeses in an attempt to counteract the effects of global warming
toxic debt debt which has a high risk of default
deleveraging the process or practice of reducing the level of one's debt by rapidly selling one's assets
overleveraged having taken on too much debt
quantitative easing the introduction of new money into the money supply by a central bank
exit strategy a pre-planned means of extricating oneself from a situation
overthink think about (something) too much or for too long
catastrophizing view or present a situation as considerably worse than it actually is
soft skills personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people
matchy-matchy excessively colour-coordinated
LBD little black dress
frenemy a person with whom one is friendly despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry
cheeseball lacking taste, style, or originality
cool hunter a person whose job it is to make observations or predictions about new styles and trends (Awesome!)
steampunk a genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery rather than advance technology
tweetup a meeting organized by means of posts on Twitter
bromance a close but non-sexual relationship between two men
wardrobe malfunction an instance of a person accidentally exposing an intimate part of their body as a result of an article of clothing slipping out of position
defriend another term for unfriend (remove someone from a list of friends or contacts on a social networking site)
Interweb the Internet
chillax calm down and relax
turducken a roast dish consisting of a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey (Emmeline: We're only just thinking of this?)
bargainous costing less than is usual or than might be expected; cheap or relatively cheap (I'm so using this one.)
staycation holiday spent in one's home country
fussbudget a fussy person (This wasn't a word? Huh.)
vuvuzela long horn blown by fans at soccer matches
national treasure someone/thing regarded as emblematic of anation's cultural heritage
buzzkill a person or thing that has a depressing or dispiriting effect
social media websites and applications used for social networking
microblogging the posting of very short entries on a blog
netbook small light laptop
dictionary attack an attempt to gain illicit access to a computer system by using a very large set of words to generate potential passwords
paywall an arrangement whereby access is restricted to users who have paid to subscribe to a website
freemium a business model, especially on the Internet, whereby basic services are provided free of charge while more advanced features must be paid for
automagically automatically and in a way that seems ingenious, inexplicable, or magical (Love it!)
carbon capture and storage the process of trapping and storing carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels
geoengineering manipulation of environmental processeses in an attempt to counteract the effects of global warming
toxic debt debt which has a high risk of default
deleveraging the process or practice of reducing the level of one's debt by rapidly selling one's assets
overleveraged having taken on too much debt
quantitative easing the introduction of new money into the money supply by a central bank
exit strategy a pre-planned means of extricating oneself from a situation
overthink think about (something) too much or for too long
catastrophizing view or present a situation as considerably worse than it actually is
soft skills personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people
matchy-matchy excessively colour-coordinated
LBD little black dress
frenemy a person with whom one is friendly despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry
cheeseball lacking taste, style, or originality
cool hunter a person whose job it is to make observations or predictions about new styles and trends (Awesome!)
steampunk a genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery rather than advance technology
tweetup a meeting organized by means of posts on Twitter
bromance a close but non-sexual relationship between two men
wardrobe malfunction an instance of a person accidentally exposing an intimate part of their body as a result of an article of clothing slipping out of position
defriend another term for unfriend (remove someone from a list of friends or contacts on a social networking site)
Interweb the Internet
This particular list doesn't include some of my faves--BFF (do I need to explain this one?), LMAO (see previous comment), trampstamp (apparently, a tattoo on a woman's lower back) or hashtag (see brackets two and three).
I resolve to weave at least three of these into conversation this week, even though, in my house an LBD refers to a cocktail frank (also known as Little Boys...)
E x
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
The schamozzle that is geographic restrictions.
I get a real kick out of reading the sales blurbs for new books, and knowing that I can hop onto the iPad and find these brand-new-releases at Amazon.com, whence I can download them to the Kindle app and get reading RIGHT AWAY! Bliss, eh?
It would be blissful, aside from the fact that I live in Australia, not the US. Which ordinarily isn't something I dwell upon. Until I want to buy a new ebook. Lots (read, most) new eBooks aren't available to us here in Oz. I can order the print book and have it mailed, no worries. BUT I WANT IT NOW! :)
This blogpost from Jane at Dear Author went a long way to dousing my grump. Thank you Jane. There is hope, hopefully. I await the day I don't ever, ever require giving over headspace to something such as this.
Take care all, E x
PS 07.11.10 - Jane's next instalment Geographic Restrictions, Take Two.
It would be blissful, aside from the fact that I live in Australia, not the US. Which ordinarily isn't something I dwell upon. Until I want to buy a new ebook. Lots (read, most) new eBooks aren't available to us here in Oz. I can order the print book and have it mailed, no worries. BUT I WANT IT NOW! :)
This blogpost from Jane at Dear Author went a long way to dousing my grump. Thank you Jane. There is hope, hopefully. I await the day I don't ever, ever require giving over headspace to something such as this.
Take care all, E x
PS 07.11.10 - Jane's next instalment Geographic Restrictions, Take Two.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
The official launch of the Dark Side...DownUnder!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
The best thing about this Halloween is the official launch of our new Aus/NZ spec-fic author blog:
Click on the banner to reach the new Darksiders blog, and comment to be in the running for one of two prizes.
Awesome! There's also a rundown of how the blog will work, and tips on what you can win, when. (Thanks Eleni!)
So, come on over to the Darkside!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
The Darksiders cometh!
A group of RWA and RWANZ speculative fiction authors have banded together and their arrival is nigh! These talented writers pen a vast array of stories--paranormal, sci-fi, urban fantasy, fantasy, romantic or with romantic elements. They are the... DARKSIDE DOWNUNDER!
And we're storming the blogosphere this Halloween!
Prepare for the following to pop into your PC:
Jess Anastasi
Maree Anderson
Keri Arthur
Kitty Bucholtz
Astrid Cooper
Rowena Cory Daniells
Michelle de Rooy
Jessica Dorney
Fiona Gregory
Kylie Griffin
Erica Hayes
Shona Husk
Shannah Jay
Loretta Kelly
Eleni Konstantine
Emmeline Lock
Nicole R Murphy
Janni Nell
Tracey O'Hara
Christina Phillips
Denise Rossetti
Jenny Schwartz
Nicola E. Sheridan
Nicky Strickland
Mel Teshco
Joanne Vogel
As THIS SUNDAY--Halloween, people!-- is our launch date, ready yourselves for the virtual onslaught of fiction gore, ghosts, blood, vamps, aliens, spaceships, corpses and, oh yes...
PRIZES!
Many thanks to Eleni and Keri for readying the DARKSIDERS TO GO!
Until then, mwahahahaha!
Emmeline.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
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