Month: February 2006

bookmark_borderIntellectual Property

Posted on by PaulaO

From BBC News:

Da Vinci Code ‘copied book ideas’

A claim that Dan Brown’s bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code copied the ideas of two other authors has gone before London’s High Court.

Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh say Mr Brown stole “the whole architecture” of research that went into their 1982 book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.

Both books contain the idea Jesus had a child. They are suing publisher Random House, which denies the allegation.

Mr Brown attended the court on Monday as a judge heard initial submissions.

‘Intellectual theft’

….Mr Baigent and Mr Leigh’s non-fiction best-seller The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (HBHG) was also published by Random House.

It dealt with theories that Jesus and Mary Magdalene married and that their blood line continued to the present day.

Their lawyer Jonathan James told the court: “Dan Brown copied from The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail and therefore the publication of the result by the defendant is in infringement of the copyright of my client in the United Kingdom.”

(full story)

In an earlier post, I discussed my opinion of plagiarism. I provided a link to the list George Polti came up with 36 dramatic situations on which every novel is based upon. With this in mind, is “stealing” intellectual property even possible? The idea of Jesus the Christ having children is not a new one. So whose intellectual property is it? Should the Pope be the one in the lawsuit? Afterall, as representative of one of the largest Christian religions, wouldn’t he also represent Christ’s intellectual property?

I don’t know the details of this case nor have I read any of the books. But if the plot in question is the concept of Jesus having children, then I think the case is a waste of energy. If he used other aspects of their plot, then, well, maybe it’s not a waste.

I don’t like the idea of the sue-ability of alleged intellectual property. How can a court decide who owned a thought first? In that case, all writers are screwed.

Opinions? Thoughts?

bookmark_borderAnd Another One

Posted on by PaulaO

Novelist Frederick Busch, 64

By Matt Schudel
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 26, 2006; Page C08

Frederick Busch, 64, a writer whose novels and short stories were esteemed by critics but who never quite found a large following with the general public, died of a heart attack Feb. 23 at a New York City hospital. He lived near the central New York town of Sherburne.

Since 1971, Mr. Busch had written 27 books and came to be known, perhaps in sympathy with his middling sales, as the quintessential “writer’s writer.” Novelist Scott Spencer called him “a first-rate American storyteller,” and Washington Post book critic Jonathan Yardley praised him as “a serious and gifted novelist” whose stories and novels “tend to be quiet, reflective and subtle.”

(full story)

bookmark_borderAnd yes, I am writing

Posted on by PaulaO

BG3 has crossed the halfway mark at 45,135 words. Problem is, I could end it right now. But instead, I need to come up with 14K more words worth of conflict, dialogue, and interest.

My year count is good: 60,305 (12.06%)
Feb. count is good but I will miss the mark: 33,020 (79.25%)

My main objective is to get BG3 done with the first draft and perhaps start the rewrite after a short break.

My secondary objective is to finish SS which will lay the foundation for the other two in the trilogy.

My thirdary objective is to finish BG2’s first draft. I really want to clean my desk of it, so to speak. Either that, or decide to chuck it for now and file it away. But two books do not make a ‘series’. So, I dunno.

bookmark_borderGeez, they’re dropping like flies

Posted on by PaulaO

From MyWay News:

‘Gunsmoke’ Actor Dennis Weaver Dies

By BOB THOMAS

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Dennis Weaver, the slow-witted deputy Chester Goode in the TV classic western “Gunsmoke” and the New Mexico deputy solving New York crime in “McCloud,” has died. The actor was 81.

Weaver died of complications from cancer Friday at his home in Ridgway, in southwestern Colorado, his publicist Julian Myers said.

Weaver was a struggling actor in Hollywood in 1955, earning $60 a week delivering flowers when he was offered $300 a week for a role in a new CBS television series, “Gunsmoke.” By the end of his nine years with “Gunsmoke,” he was earning $9,000 a week.

When Weaver first auditioned for the series, he found the character of Chester “inane.” He wrote in his 2001 autobiography, “All the World’s a Stage,” that he said to himself: “With all my Actors Studio training, I’ll correct this character by using my own experiences and drawing from myself.”

The result was a well-rounded character that appealed to audiences, especially with his drawling, “Mis-ter Dil-lon.”

(full story)

When I was 14/15 (I was in the hospital on my birthday), I had surgery on my right hip that resulted in a permanent limp. My friends in high school (and again in college) gave me the nickname ‘Chester’ after the Gunsmoke character. I never knew until I read this article that McCloud and Chester were the same actor. No wonder I liked McCloud so much.

Don Knotts, Dennis Weaver, Octavia Butler, Coretta King, Rosa Parks…what a line at the buffet table that must be!

bookmark_borderThe Latest Technology

Posted on by PaulaO

Exciting news for readers and writers everywhere:

Introducing the new Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge device, trade named: BOOK

BOOK is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It’s so easy to use, even a child can operate it.

Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere — even sitting in an armchair by the fire — yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disc. Here’s how it works.

BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper (recyclable), each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. The pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder, which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence.

Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufacturers to use both sides of the sheet, doubling the information density and cutting costs. Experts are divided on the prospects for further increases in information density; for now, BOOKs with more information simply use more pages.

Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet. BOOK may be taken up at any time and used merely by opening it.

Unlike other display devices, BOOK never crashes or requires rebooting, and it can even be dropped on the floor or stepped on without damage. However, it can become unusable if immersed in water for a significant period of time. The “browse” feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet and move forward or backward as you wish. Many come with an “index” feature, which pinpoints the exact location of selected information for instant retrieval.

An optional “BOOKmark” accessory allows you to open BOOK to the exact place you left it in a previous session — even if the BOOK has been closed. BOOKmarks fit universal design standards; thus, a single BOOKmark can be used in BOOKs by various manufacturers. Conversely, numerous BOOKmarkers can be used in a single BOOK if the user wants to store numerous views at once. The number is limited only by the number of pages in the BOOK.

You can also make personal notes next to BOOK text entries with an optional programming tool, the Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language Stylus (PENCILS).

Portable, durable, and affordable, BOOK is being hailed as a precursor of a new entertainment wave. Also, BOOK’s appeal seems so certain that thousands of content creators have committed to the platform and investors are reportedly flocking. Look for a flood of new titles soon.

bookmark_borderScience Fiction will never be the same

Posted on by PaulaO

Octavia E. Butler died on Saturday in Seattle. She was 58. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America called her “the most successful African American woman writing in the science fiction genre.” Butler publisher nearly 20 novels and books, including most recently, Fledgling. She was the winner of a MacArthur “genius” grant, a Nebula and two Hugo awards.

Butler fell and struck her head on the cobbled walkway outside her home, said Leslie Howle, a longtime friend and employee at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle. The writer, who suffered from high blood pressure and heart trouble and could only take a few steps without stopping for breath, was found outside her home in the north Seattle suburb of Lake Forest Park and died Friday, Howle said.

Butler was an ingeniously interesting writer, and her plots were feminist and humanist. She didn’t write lesbian works, per se, but her characters had a range of orientations and permutations. Butler’s work wasn’t preoccupied with robots and ray guns, but used the genre’s artistic freedom to explore race, poverty, politics, religion and human nature.
“She stands alone for what she did,” Howle said. “She was such a beacon and a light in that way.”

Butler began writing at age 10, and told Howle she embraced science fiction after seeing a schlocky B-movie called Devil Girl from Mars and thought, “I can write a better story than that.” In 1970, she took a bus from her hometown of Pasadena, Calif., to attend a fantasy writers workshop in East Lansing, Mich.
Butler described herself as a happy hermit, and never married.

“Mostly she just loved sitting down and writing,” Seattle-based science fiction writer Greg Bear said. “For being a black female growing up in Los Angeles in the ’60s, she was attracted to science fiction for the same reasons I was: It liberated her. She had a far-ranging imagination, and she was a treasure in our community.”

Link to Amazon’s listing of her books.

bookmark_borderBye Bye Barney Fife

Posted on by PaulaO

From BBC News:

US comedy star Knotts dies at 81

US actor Don Knotts, who won five Emmys for playing a bumbling deputy sheriff in comedy The Andy Griffith Show, has died in a Los Angeles hospital aged 81.

Knotts won over millions of fans as Deputy Barney Fife in the hugely popular 1960s series.

He also played landlord Ralph Furley in 1980s sitcom Three’s Company.

Knott died of pulmonary and respiratory complications. Co-star Griffith said: “Don was a small man, but everything else about him was large.”

(full story)

bookmark_borderYet more progress

Posted on by PaulaO

I had another good day of writin’. 5804 new words. I inserted some scenes I’d written earlier which took some time to smooth in. This brings BG3 to 41975. Not quite halfway but close. I want to end it near 90K so that I have room to edit.

This book is chock full o’ dialogue which is either good or bad, not sure which. Dialogue is telling and I want to show. But that’s what editing is for, right?

Meanwhile, I have a few months before the fun with the first book starts. First comes the editing suggestions from the publisher. Then comes the cover art. Then comes proofing. Then comes some other stuff. Then comes February. Ack!

Meanwhile, I need to get BG3 done and started edits before BG1 takes up all my time.

And yeah, BG2 is sitting there, staring at me.

Oh, and I don’t think the eye drops are working. However, I did find out the doc finally signed the forms for my chair so I may have it within the next two weeks.

bookmark_borderGo Ahead, Ask me.

Posted on by PaulaO

So, Paula, how goes the writing?

How nice of you to ask!

It went freakin’ great today. I worked some on BG3 then started the next article for EDSToday. After that I returned to BG3 and got some good scenes in.

Word Counts thus far:

Total for today: 4249 (bg3: 3199; EDS: 1050)
Total for month: 24056 or 57.73% of goal (under goal by 17611)
Total for year: 50933 or 10.19% of goal (under goal by 23057)

BG3 now stands at 35292, 39.21% of goal.

I really feel good about BG3. Finally. It feels as if it is going to come together and make sense and all that. I like the two MCs and think I have them well defined. Now, just to get to the end while maintaining those feelings, eh?