Thursday, March 31, 2011

The Bloggers New View



Stepping away from Writing and related news for a moment, Blogger is giving us a chance to change how we, as blog owners, present the face of our content to the world, and for readers to view it.... beyond simply changing templates and backgrounds.

Rather than try to explain this, let your fingers do the clicking. 


Go to http://pagesforsmallwages.blogspot.com/view/

... or any other favourite Blogger URL and add /VIEW at the end of the link, and explore the view options presented.


Note:
These views require a current browser (Internet Explorer 8+, Firefox 3.5+, Chrome, Safari, Opera, etc..). Many elements of these views will not work should you have an older browser.


In all views, search is available in the upper right hand corner. Clicking on the ">" arrow in the very top left of the header bar will slide the header bar across and allow you to choose different views for the current blog as well as type in a new blog URL.

There is also a feedback link for each view.



Which view do you like best? Do you prefer one view over another for different blogs? 
Would you like the option of setting a default view for all blogs or for individual blogs?
Is there a different view format you'd like to see?

Let the folks at Google Blogger know what you think. 

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

8 March 2011: Today is the Centenary International Women's Day

Artwork by Google

A hundred years ago today, women around the world took an historic step on the long road to equality. 

The first ever International Women’s Day drew attention to the unacceptable and often dangerous working conditions that so many women faced worldwide. 

Despite being celebrated in only a handful of countries, over one million women took to the streets to demand not only improved working conditions but also the right to vote, to hold office and to be equal partners with men.

While advancement of women’s rights has been one of the most profound social revolutions the world has seen, those first courageous pioneers would likely view the world today with a mixture of pride and disappointment.

One hundred years ago, only two countries allowed women to vote. Today, that right is virtually universal. Women have been elected to lead governments on every continent and hold leading positions in professions from which they were once banned. 

Two-thirds of countries have specific laws that penalize domestic violence, and the United Nations Security Council now recognises sexual violence as a deliberate tactic of war. Yet police, the courts and many of our neighbours still see violence in the home as a wholly private matter. 


Despite progress, the hopes and dreams of those who marched that first International Women’s Day remain a long way from being realised. Globally, two out of every three illiterate adults are still women, and girls remain less likely to be educated than boys. 


Despite the knowledge, skill and resources to insure safe births, somewhere on this planet 
a woman will die in pregnancy or due to childbirth-related complications Every Ninety Seconds of Every Day. 

Globally, women continue to earn less than men for the same work. In many countries we have unequal access to land and inheritance rights. 

Despite advances, women still represent only nineteen percent of all legislators. Only twenty-eight women are heads of state or government.

It is not just women who pay the price for this discrimination. We all suffer for failing to make the most of half the world’s talent and potential. We undermine the quality of our democracy, the strength of our economies, the health of our societies and the sustainability of peace. 

This year’s focus of International Women’s Day is on women’s equal access to education, training, science and technology. At the same time, the global agenda remains; to secure gender equality and women’s rights in every country, in every corner of our globe.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

From The Land Of Misfit Manuscripts:Why Do Writers Abandon Novels?

Illustration by Ben Wiseman

In the 4 March 2011 edition of the NewYork Times, writer/author Dan Kois posits an interesting question in his essay piece: Why Do Writers Abandon Novels?

Whether you're still working toward that first publication or you're working on the fifteenth volume of your chapbook fantasy serial, I'm sure you have at least one misfit manuscript in your drawer or file of projects that were abandoned or forgotten that has at least a glimmer of hope left in it.

I recently came across a manuscript I'd put it in an envelope some twenty years ago and marked it; Do Not Open Unless I'm Long Dead and Buried

For the life of me I could not remember why, so I opened it, read the manuscript... and promptly ran it through the shredderIt was a good idea that had been badly executed.

Why I saved it I shall never know, except perhaps that the good idea was waiting for me to become a better writer.

How about you?



 





 





Wednesday, March 2, 2011

The First Amendment Cuts Both Ways

The First Amendment Cuts Both Ways

An article by author Lynn Flewelling on a recent supreme court decision that's all over the news.