Litfest/ Eli Roth/ fun business books

Oct. 20 Litfest: I went out to pick up my paycheck and deposit it.  I passed by the Stanley A. Milner library and see a big sign that the Litfest was there.  I went downstairs, and a woman was sitting at a table.  She says there's a film being shown right now, and it just started.  It costs $5.  She told me it was a documentary about writers talking. I checked out the books she was selling from the authors there like Noah Richler. AB magazines: There were lots of AB magazines laid out like Template.  It was the same 2006 issue that I still have back when I was in college. Get Vrse: There's an ad in the Lit Fest brochure for this design company in Edmonton called Get Vrse.  They designed for the festival, and they won for designing a calender.  Here it is.  It has pics and inspirational quotes:  http://getvrse.com/work/illustration/ Editorial Freelancers Association: I had written this down so I could look it up later.  It's based in New York City. Oct. 23 Writing tips: I found this through Freelance Writers.  This is a slide show of tips like "Summarize your idea into 3 or 4 sentences" and "Create an outline."  It also said to allow yourself to change the story if you have other ideas. It was pretty simple, but it's really to help you focus. http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Watch-Dependable-Tips-on-Writing-101577.S.99238811?view=&gid=101577&type=member&item=99238811&trk=eml-anet_dig-b_nd-pst_ttle-cn Oct. 24 Eli Roth: Last Sat. I saw the scary movie Cabin Fever.  It's about a group of college friends who go to a cabin for a week.  They then get infected with this disease and have to survive it.  It was written and directed by Eli Roth.  I thought the name sounded really familiar.  It turns out I had cut something out of him in the newspaper. I thought he kind of looked like this guy at my work and I showed the picture I printed of him out to him.  He didn't he looked like ER.  I showed it to some other people and one said the eyes did, and the other said his smile did.  ER is also an actor and you can see him in Inglourious Basterds. The newspaper clipping I have of him says: "The building next door was under construction, and ripping up the ground dug up all the rats that came with it.  Suddenly they were everywhere.  I'll never forget the day we spend wearing breathing masks and rubber gloves, scrubbing out apartment from head to toe, tossing the rotting carcasses into a trash bag.  At one point I looked at my brother and said, 'I'm 25.  I have $300 in a bank account...I'm cleaning up dead mice in a sweltering walk-up on 25th Street.'" He didn't give up, and 6 months later he had moved to California and raised enough money to shoot his first film called Cabin Fever. Oct. 25 Movie reviews: Today I wrote a movie review for an online magazine.  I submitted it.  It took me an hr to write it.  I also wrote it differently.  When I write movie reviews for my blog, it contains spoilers, synopsis, my personal comments.  This time, I wrote it like I am submitting it for an online magazine.  I am more professional about it.  We'll see if it gets published, and I can later put it up on my blog. Oct. 29: Today was my day off and I submitted another movie review for the same online magazine.  It was kind of a struggle to write it.  For example, what should I put in the review without spoiling it?  I should focus on the characters and what the story is about.  Don't write about specific scenes.  On Spec: I picked up this ad at the Lit Fest for the Canadian magazine On Spec.  They publish short stories, poems, and art.  They're not accepting any submissions right now. It's located in Edmonton.  They sell their own merchandise like bags, hats, and cups. http://www.onspec.ca/ Uppercase: I also picked up an ad for Uppercase magazine that's from Calgary.  It publishes books and magazines for artists.  The submissions are asking for blog submissions like an event.  It also asks for pictures. http://uppercasemagazine.com/ Writer-in-exile: I picked this brochure up from the library.  "....Edmonton organizations to understand better the needs of "exiled" immigrant writers living in Canada, and to create opportunities for them to pursue a professional career. http://www.epl.ca/writer-in-exile Canadian Literature Centre: On the brochure, it mentioned this.  I researched it, and it was from the University of Alberta in 2006.  It was so that researchers, authors, publishers, and public to promote research of Canadian literature.  http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/clc/index.php?page_id=2&lang_id=0 Fun business books: Alissa Alvarez sent me this article "The 25 Best Business Novels to Dig into this Summer."  I would have put this in my "job" email, but it was more fun.  Most of these books are fictional like The Godfather.  It's about family business. There is a lot of non-fiction like #11 The Greatest Salesman in the World: "...find inspiration to become a good salesperson, find inspiration, and believe in yourself."  #14 is How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Daniel Radcliffe is on the cover.  #16 is Microserfs about working for Microsoft. #23 is The Goal.  It's analyzing the "theory of constraints."  Wikipedia says: "...adopts the common idiom "A chain is no stronger than its weakest link" as a new management paradigm. This means that processes, organizations, etc., are vulnerable because the weakest person or part can always damage or break them or at least adversely affect the outcome." So it looks like my thought of bringing down Wal-Mart is not that ludicrous.  The plan is to get a job there and give bad customer service.  It's so minor, but then I would be the weakest link. http://www.onlinemba.com/blog/the-25-best-business-novels-to-dig-into-this-summer/ Oct. 30 Blogging: I found this through Freelance Writer emails.  It's how to write the "perfect blog post" like use short paragraphs, and a good title to tell you what it's about. http://www.360tips.org/2012/03/tips-to-write-perfect-blog-post.html Oct. 31 Publishing: I've been reading this in the newspaper that Random House and Penguin are going to merge together to create this big publishing giant. Scotiabank Giller Prize: This was on last night.  It was an hr long on CBC, with Canadian stars introducing the Canadian authors.  The finalists are Will Ferguson, Kim Thuy, Victoria Glendinning, Alix Ohlin, and Russel Wangersky. The winner is Will Ferguson.  He gave a funny speech and a toast to the written word. Nov. 4 Post Secret: I found this on it today: "My TV shows have become my salvation." I can relate.  It's about the writing, story, characters in it.  Escaping into a different world when watching it.