Auscultation

Used in a sentence:

• This auscultation was failing but still she pressed the stethoscope to yet another portion of his chest, this time the left side, only to find yet more unidentifiable crunching sounds.

Source: Wiktionary

Commentary:

This is technically medical jargon but I totally could see working this word into everyday speech. I mean we all carry around a stethoscope in our back pockets just in case… right?

Writing Sessions

Word Count: 1,743

Writing sessions have been going well. I’ve been meeting a one thousand word count pretty regularly. Today I really knocked out my word count which was awesome. Most of that was done in an hour or so. Last session I was joined by Daniel and we discussed how to do some editing, since he has begun editing his NaNoWriMo novel from two years ago.

So I’ve decided that, wherever I go, I’m going to keep the name Anomalous Writing for my writing groups. I’ve decided I really like the name. At the moment I’ve no success in recruiting new members but I”m not sure about how to go about it anyway or if I really want to. But I’ve decided I”ll keep the name.

Everlasting Update

Word Count: 104,873

So today’s scene birthed a new idea. So I’ve been back and forth trying to figure out Everlasting’s technology in regards to paper and writing. For one I know I want them to have an equivalent of a printing press. But I’m enamored with the idea that they still prefer scroll like paper rather than cut sheets. I don’t see why the world can’t have both I suppose, but it is something I need to sit down and research. One device I’ve decided I like is the idea of a re-loadable notepad, called a scrollpad. It’s a small clipboard that can have a cylinder on the bottom which stores a roll of paper (think like a receipt roll). It dispenses the paper up where it is collected at the top. People write their entire notes in a scrolling fashion and when the roll is out, load it back into its case, name it, and store it. Seems rather steampunk right? The clipboard also has an attachment for writing device, and perhaps an extra optics attachment or something. Cause attachments are cool.

Every artist must eventually take one of two paths: the first promises long hours of hard, thankless work and no guarantee of recognition in your lifetime, much less any financial reward. Instead, you are guaranteed a life of purpose, where your work comes only from what you value, expressed in the most earnest form imaginable.

The second path is the same thing, but you have a ponytail.

Source: Dresden Codak: Every Artist Must Eventually Take One of Two Paths

What were you raised by wolves? by Vera Brosgol

An interesting mini-comic. A bit of commentary about humanity. To be fair animals aren’t all that great either. I like this comic both because of how it presents the story with no text and communicates it very well.

Changeless by Gail Carriger

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While I liked this book better than the first I’m still not sure how I feel about the series overall. I’m not an avid romance reader but I’ve read series like this before and it strikes me as the type of series that likes to hopscotch between the romance genre and, in this case, the steampunk genre. Because it its constant jumping, I feel I’m not getting the enjoyment that I want out of the book.

I don’t want to say the book is bad. It isn’t. In this case I believe the problem is with the reader and his expectations rather than he book itself. I want a slightly more in-depth steampunk novel and instead I’m reading a Victorian science fiction romance adventure novel.

That being said I will read the third book because I both already own it and the ending to this book was a bit of an emotional cliffhanger which I’m curious to see how it is resolved. We’ll see if I continue reading after that.

View all my Good Reads reviews

View all my Book Watch reviews on A Singularity

Source

I do love wordplay. Every phrase on here is iconic to the last few seasons of Doctor Who. Does anybody know if there is a particular term for this? Using words inside an image for artistic purposes?

This one is only four minutes long and it is well worth watching.

I do wish he had manage to work in comics but there are plenty of other storytelling formats he glossed over so I can’t claim discrimination. I can point out that when he uses the word book here, he is talking about the physical medium, a set of bound pages, and not necessarily a novel, or story. What I love is the multimedia approach to his particular story. The presentation wasn’t about an iPad. It was about how stories can be so much more than words, or performances, or images, or sound, etc. It can be all of those things. This is the kind of story I can’t wait for. In the mean time I’d settle for eBook readers which allow me to organize the text the way I want (including replicating a book if I want).

Writing Sessions

Word Count: 2,000+

I went to my two writing sessions this week. I didn’t write-up a writing time for either of them because the internet at the establishment I’ve been writing at sucks. I’ve been thinking of changing venues since nobody else is meeting me there anymore. With only one and occasionally two people, coffee shops become far easier to do, and have more reliable internet. My writing sessions have been going well. Hitting one thousand words pretty routinely on everlasting. I haven’t done any Science Future yet because that requires internet research. I’m debating taking a hiatus on it since I find myself feet dragging on doing the research needed and there has been little to no feedback from Escape Pod listeners as to if they appreciate it or care about it. Not sure. Also at some point I need to get free writing started again. Hopefully in February.

Everlasting Update

Word Count: 103,130

Everlasting is going well. I’m getting about half a scene or so done per writing session. I’ve been letting myself dally in description, which has been nice, and helps keep my word count high. I’m seeing problems with my outline and a lack of character growth but I’ve been reminding myself that, once again, that’ll get fixed in editing. Ironically I’m starting to feel like what I am writing now is the actual middle of the book and what I wrote before was just me trying to find my way to the middle of the book, which is sad, since there are so many words there that will likely be cut. But such is writing.

Cadre

Used in a sentence:

• The cadre of the weapon system depended upon people regularly providing both maintenance and bananas.

Source: Wiktionary

Commentary:

So I never really new the meaning of the word cadre, even though I’d heard it before. Usually in context of “An elite cadre of <blah>”. I never would have guessed it meant frame or framework. I always assumed it referred to a group of people in some way, but apparently that was only in a military or communism context.

Lantern Season visuals by Aaron Diaz (Dresden Codak), song by Versa (Versa Music)

Source

I like mixed media. Music has always been hit or miss with me. For example Dark Side of the Moon put to Wizard of Oz just wasn’t that enjoyable for me as an experience. This video however does pretty good and I imagine audiophiles will like it even better. It is neat that the music was inspired by one of my favorite comics, Dresden Codak, which probably helps my appreciation. If you’re interested in the comic itself you can find it here (might also make it easier to read a little).