The last two days, I had been thinking that spring has sprung. Today? Not so much, with the grey and the dreary. Ah well, it was divine yesterday and that is all that mattered (someone from work got married. I managed not to cry. Just). And on Friday, there was much celebrating because this fantastic lady won the Waterstone’s CHildren’s Book Prize. I’d be grimly jealous if she wasn’t so lovely. As it is, go read her book. I had to delay the hangover from Friday night till today, as being hungover in church is just wrong, so this is going to be a short roast. When it’s done I am going back to bed to groan pathetically. I knew there was a reason I didn’t drink.

Booksquare has a thought provoking piece on DRM and ebooks. I’m going to keep sitting on the fence a bit longer; as someone who works in rights, I understand the need for DRM from a publishers viewpoint. As a consumer, it drives me nuts. The solution? No idea.

The other week I talked about Authonomy and HarperCollins. This week, it’s Urbis’ turn in the spotlight. Katelynjane has a bit more on her experience there.

I’ve got a feeling that as this writing thing gets going some more, the flavour of the roasts is going to turn more and more literary and publishing orientated. Sorry. You know the best way to counteract this – email me links or post them in the comments yourself!

That warning over, Deadline Dames has some interesting pointers in how to query agents. Oh god help me now is all I can say!

Dog climbs tree

Wall-E bento – who would have the heart to eat this!

How. I mean, HOW

I’m jonesing for some late-season Buffy (since moving out of Meadow Towers I don’t have the dvds on tap any more *sob*) so have at a four minute recap of all seven seasons. I’d forgotten how much sex is in the later seasons! And MMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Spike.

That’s all I have to say now. Bed or a nice long walk await. I’m not sure which one is more appealing.

I do, on occasion, leave the seclusion of Palace Meadows. And when I do, it is to find with great disappointment that the blood baths are closed. Well there go MY plans for the weekend!

I’ve been looking for new hairstyles because I am SO bored with my current hair, and I stumbled across these street portraits on Flickr. I love the idea of snapshots of the anonymous crowd that surround us every day

Oh noes! Tea is getting more expensive! I do love how people drink MORE tea in a recession though, not less. Well, we all know the British will be drinking tea on judgement day

Are you a spotify or last.fm? Me, I love spotify. For some reason, I never got into last.fm – perhaps because I’d think I’d find a song I liked, but it was only a thirty second preview. I’ve yet to fail to find an artist on spotify. It also seems slightly more robust that the browser-based last.fm The adds aren’t too bad at the moment either

New Day of the Triffids. With Dougray Scott, Eddie Izzard, Brian Cox and Jason Priestley. Yum.

Is an auto read-aloud function an audio book? Not till it can do the different voices and inflection of a proper audio book, no.

Wondering when the kindle will reach the UK? (Though from conversations down the pub on Friday, people over here are jonesing for the Sony Reader instead).

I WANT this house!

Clay Shirky and a valid point on the changing expectations of privacy

Which do you prefer to read? Fiction that saves utopia or improves a bleak world? Me, I’m for the “improving the world” style. Something in me is just inherently distrustful of so called ‘perfect worlds’. Instead of watching characters fight to get back what is lost, I would far rather watch as they strove to build something new and better. But that’s just me.

Skills Like This

Fanboys – I don’t know why I laughed, but I did. God help me, but I did

The Soloist – so I’m a Robert Downey Jr. junky. Can you blame me? (And this also looks like a good movie)

A little bit of furniture jiggery-pokery and I am sitting at my desk again for the first time in months to write the roast. I’d forgotten how much easier two screens makes things! My room also looks bigger now (every little helps) and my Chinese hanging is back on the wall where it belongs. It’s hung in every place I’ve lived since my dad brought it back for me from Orleans when I was 17, and it just didn’t feel right not to have it up in Oxford. One of the landlord’s Picasso prints has now been replaced and it’s so nice not to be freaked out by the artwork in my room any longer! I have nothing against Picasso, but his splintered women are not to my taste in a room I’m trying to sleep in.

The rest of this week has been pants. A total and utter nasty, baggy, white y-fronts type of a week. Don’t get me wrong, the snow has been lovely, but…

Meh. Let’s get on with why we’re all here, shall we, before I depress the lot of us further?

Anne points to a great graphic showing how all social systems interact and revolve around a central point – me. Or you. Or the person in question. I’m not so big headed enough to assume all the social networking sites in the world resolve around me, Cas.

Because that would be getting too close to revealing my secret identity as the Queen of the Interweb.

D’oh!

I haven’t played around with Authonomy as much as I thought I would, mainly because a full time job keeps getting in the way of wasting time on the internet (annoyingly) so I am intrigued by Alexander McNabb’s experiences and thoughts on what Authonomy could have been, and actually is.

I’m indebted to Moose at the moment for finding those odd little bits and pieces which pass me by in the world of international oddness. Like these two who erroneously thought they were in a cartoon

Despite some good points put across, the title of this article annoys me. I know to most people wikis are synonymous for Wikipedia, but they are SO MUCH MORE. I’m using a wiki right now to help me keep track of a mammoth character list and labyrinthine plot developments. Companies use wikis as intranets. Collaborative documentation creation. It is a tool to be used, nothing more. GRRR!!!!! &lt/end rant&gt

My dad was so pleased that Jade won our Eurovision place. Yes, my Dad watched “Your Country Needs You!”. I am so ashamed right now, there just aren’t the words

Another Moose gem, as she said to me, “It’s the undeclared aubergine that really had me GLAN-ing” (that’s Giggling Like A Nutter)

MMMMM, a character called Robert

Sick of all this talk about Twitter lately? Still not sure you get the point? This handy guide might help

I never really got into the Wheel of Time saga, mainly because the sheer number of books daunted me and I could *never* find a copy of book 1 to start me off! So perhaps a gorgeous looking graphic novel is what I need?

Normally I’d try to send you direct to the source site, but it’s an unlinkable flash mess, so I’ll have to send you to i09 instead to look at this glorious geoglyph-artwork

Fast and Furious – Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, fast cars, explosions… What’s NOT to love?!

G.I. JOE – I have no history with this character, so you don’t have to worry about fan-boy reactions from me: the movie just looks so much fun

I’d forgotten all about this cartoon till the Magnificent Cat sent me the link to cheer me up – The Mysterious Cities of Gold opening theme. You *will* be singing it all day, so you have been warned

Whilst I can no longer enjoy Dairy Milk (sob), I can appreciate their wacky advertising campaigns

Bonjour, mes amis. How are you today? You find me fighting a small fit of the winter greys. It has just been a very grey week, though enlivened by a flying visit from Moose. I wish I had something exciting to tell you, but a general air of ennuie seems to have settled over my little corner of Oxford. What with everyone being disgustingly industrious and working hard to meet various deadlines, I have no one to play with right now *sob*

So I shall rifle my way through the few lovely links I have found this week, then huddle in a corner and ply my muse with lots of tea. Perhaps then I’ll get something written and to show for this un-asked-for hermit-like existence.

Sometimes I get a bee in my bonnet about the strangest things. Right now, I am just craving a huge Victorian shawl. Like this one. Or this one and this beauty. Why? I really can’t explain it, but I want one to wear. Jumpers and cardigans are just so, so… normal. The problem is where to get one? Even a fake one (because there’s no way I can justify an antique one to wear!) is going to cost a bomb – if I could even find a supplier. Making my own would seem like an option, but the whole point is the fabric, and where would I get fabric of those dimensions?! Help!

A year or so back, BBC3 did an awesome one off called “Being Human” about a vampire, werewolf and a ghost trying to fit into the ‘real’ world. It was, frankly, inspired, but I remember thinking at the time that it was nice for once a show was being done WITHOUT plans to turn it into a series. D’oh, for now it is a series. I’ll watch tonight and feed back how good/bad it is (though damn it, they’ve recast the vamp and he was just the best bit)

With the new resolution to get some writing done, I have enlisted the help of two cheer-leaders/victims. Their jobs are to keep me motivated at the same time as keeping me up to standard. Right now, both are champing at the bit, so I could do with some tips on how to focus. The idea which strikes me most is the schedule. I am fairly disciplined when it comes to Roast-writing, but everything else, including the blog kinda depends on my mood. Hence long periods of silence (sorry). In order to change that though, I have designated “writing lunches” where, at least three times a week, I spend my lunch hours at work doing something constructive instead of just wasting the time.

We’ll see how it goes…

James Marsters as an outlaw alien fighter, all Westerned-up… *swoon*

Moose’s only comment? I like black squirrels

Robin Hobbs is writing a new book set in the Liveship/Assassin universe. Here’s fingers crossed it can wipe the shame of the Solider Son trilogy from my brain

John August does post-apocalyptic America so, SO well.

The evolution of publishing

This one is for the Cheerleader In Chief – a UV skeleton tattoo

A nice bit of quality fiction for you: Selene, by Lilith Saintcrow

Me and handbags have a long history – I have been searching for the *perfect* bag for what feels like forever. Part of what has made it so hard is that I have found it difficult to articulate what exactly it is I want. I know it has to be big enough to hold my Filofax, but small enough to be good for daily/light use. And I don’t want just any old bag, it needs personality. Other than that, I’ve been working on the principle of “I’ll know it when I’ve seen it”. Well now I’ve seen it. I want. I lust. I crave. I yearn. I am just so close to reaching for the credit card, cost be damned. I just wont eat for a month or put the heating on to pay for it. Save me from myself someone!

(The briefcases are gorgeous too, but I just can’t justify that expenditure. Plus I don’t live a briefcase kind of life right now.)

That’s it for the roast. I am off to dream of my bag. Oh, my bag…

One thing more whilst I remember – how the flying fuck did Backstreet Boys get to be so prevalent on my top 25 played list?! Who’s been meddling with my iPod. Come on, fess up!

I remember now why I haven’t sat at my desk to compute since November – I just can’t get comfortable. Pretty old antique desks and chairs look very nice, but they can be a pain in the ergonomics. Still, even I can get a bit fed up of spending nearly every hour god sends on my bed (other than the pretty, painful chair it’s the only place to sit), so I am giving it a whirl. Perhaps it will force me to be concise with this roast? Nah.

What are your guilty reading secrets? I’m also a Georgette Heyer and Anya Seaton fan. Plus, at the moment, Julia Golding (awesome children’s author). Have I mentioned lately how much I love my job?

My mum used to make some spectacular cakes when my brother and I were younger. A tipper truck that actually tipped, a shark and a piano being some of the more memorable. But even she never went this far

I want! (Even though experience has taught me that American Apparel t-shirts don’t fit me 🙁 )

Cute Dr Who action figures – because I need more little toys cluttering up my room *rolleyes*… Sod it, if you can’t buy things you want when you are 26, when can you?

Wow, this is turning into a lust-list for me! Pity my timing sucks and it is now after Christmas. I am NOT a paper cup is just perfect for me with my thing for mugs

What’s the cure for readers block? Reading. A cure to which I will heartily concur. Just before Christmas I had reached the point where I just couldn’t look another children’s book in the eye. Jaded after three months on the job? Not a good sign. Then I thought about my reading and realised I hadn’t actually read adult books, or a YA title I wasn’t analysing in the back of my brain, pretty much since I had started. So I sat down with a few old favourites and new stars and *yum* THAT’S why I like reading! Now my wake-up 15 minutes and last-thing-at-night half hour are sacrosanct. No work books!

Dyslexia, a fiction? (I can’t respond to this right now, I am still too busy spitting at the screen in fury)

How would *you* pitch a book in 140 characters? At the moment I’ve got “Mercenary escorts clients into foreign lands on mysterious quest. Needs help from locals. Fighting, philosophy, swords and magic follow.”
Not selling it to ME and I’m writing the damn thing!

And just one movie trailer to finish with. I am sure I have shown it before, and I expect I will again, but this one is for Cat and me. Mmmmmmm yummy Gambit goodness…
X-MEN Origins: Wolverine

Well hello dear things and welcome to 2009. I’ve already done resolutions post, so I won’t bore you with that here. I decided to do something different for the first Roast of this sparkly new year. Instead of sending y’all willy nilly off to the far corners of this here internet, I am going to take you on a journey through the last year as seen here on Bright Meadow.

So buckle up Dorothy, cause Kansas is going bye-bye…

The year started with me having to say goodbye. I then entered into a period of intense hatred of Motorola and all their devilish works. Sad after a week, by the end of the second week with the replacement Razr, I was ready to do something a lot more damaging than just sit on it! God the phone was awful. Makes me appreciate my shiny E71 all the more now 🙂

In 2008, you had to have been sitting under rather large rock to have avoided e-books. Even my mum has heard of the Sony Reader and asked if she should get one! So did I ever find my dream e-book reader? Yes. It’s called my E71. A very handy app called BooksInMyPhone. There is also MobiReader and I can even read word documents – very handy for the odd manuscript I don’t want to kill a tree by printing out.

I talked about moving to a new city and I actually did it! But boy was I wrong about Oxford! The reality is rather different, and I love it 🙂

2008 saw a LOT of health crap coming back to kick me in the stomach with huge hobnail boots. At least I have stopped loosing my voice so spectacularly!

I have thought long and hard over the year about what I want from Bright Meadow. Did I want to keep making the commitment to the blog? (There has been a time or three I thought I would jack it in) then I went and splashed out on a new design, and so many good things keep happening because of the blog, I just couldn’t let it go. One thing that I have noticed lately is a drop off in comments and I miss you guys! Time to follow my own advice I think.

Looking back, I seem to have spent an inordinate amount of time over the last year navel gazing. But then as we all decided that I am cool, clearly my mid-section deserves the odd glance now and then.

We all shared a lot, this year, and it turns out more than a few of you are as obsessed about notebooks as I am. (The collection has grown even more since then, I blush to admit)

Don’t believe me when I say things are happening to/because of Bright Meadow? I made it into the Guardian, didn’t I?

I still haven’t gotten a satisfactory answer to this you know: how the frack do you mass produce honey?!

I never really talked about my last job when I was doing it for a vast number of reasons, not least because it didn’t seem appropriate and I wanted to keep my personal life as separate from work as possible. As part of a team that helped support disadvantaged people, the job I was hired for was back office (admin etc). In practice I ended up doing a lot more to the point of being an unofficial support worker for the support workers. Not my bag at all, but I hadn’t realised how much it had affected me till this day, shortly before I left. That phone call was the one. The proverbial straw. Much though I miss the folks I worked with, I remember putting the phone down and saying “I can’t do this any more”. Within a month I had moved to Oxford and I haven’t looked back.

Which brings us to the BIG news of 2008: the job. My head is STILL whirling, three months later. God, has it only been three months?! It feels like so many more.

It’s always nice to find out that the career you’ve been dreaming of is actually what you want, isn’t it?

And so ends our little tour through the last twelve blogging months. I’m not sure if I want 2009 to be as eventful, or if I should be crossing my fingers for a quiet patch!