Ten Things That Defied Categorization
Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.
1. The Library of Congress American Memory project "provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience."
2. Also from the LoC, France in America /France en Amérique, a "bilingual digital library" that explores "the history of the French presence in North America from the first decades of the 16th century to the end of the 19th century."
3. FreeMusicZilla freeware allows you to download music from social music services like Last.fm, IMEEM, and Pandora at no cost.
4. Store and manage your bookmarks better with Link Collector freeware.
5. Use plain language to talk to Microsoft Word with Natural Word freeware.
6. Play with your web page colors with PagePainter and SwatchBook freeware.
7. For all the other would-that-everything-could-take-place-in-a-featureless-void writers, Manon at Serendipity has a room description generator.
8. Sources and Experts List compiled by Kitty Bennett for the newsroom of the St. Petersburg Times.
9. For those who think we #7's are weird -- decorate your fictional interiors to your heart's content with Sweet Home 3D freeware.
10. Generate variously-styled vampire names for your undead crew over at Seventh Sanctum's vampire name generator.
Some of what's upcoming this week on PBW:
Bypassing the Blues
Observations on Gang Blogging
RW: In the Pink
Missing in action post: Voice vs. Style
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Thanks for the list and also for the galley of Evermore. I'm looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteI know this comment is coming out of left field, but I have just spent a couple of hours reading your blog and I have fallen in love with one of your short stories. I confess I am a devoted fan of the Darkyn, so I'm not familiar with your other works - for example, your sci-fi series - but I do intend to correct that mistake. Still, your short story "Back to Back" has stuck on my mind. The story of Gnat echoed inside me...I would like to know if this story is part of your sci-fi series, a spin off or just a short story that you might consider at some point to expand. Thank you.
ReplyDeletei loved the vampire name generator...that's some fun!!!
ReplyDelete-maria (eagerly awaiting EVERMORE and cursing myself for not entering the ARC contest last week!!)
:)
the anti-wife wrote: Thanks for the list and also for the galley of Evermore. I'm looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. :)
I had fun building some of my places in The Sims 2. It's probably a bit expensive just for that purpose, but hey, if you happen to have it around anyway... ;).
ReplyDeleteI liked being able to take screenshots of buildings that closely resembled the ones I was writing about.
Anonymous wrote: ...I would like to know if this story is part of your sci-fi series, a spin off or just a short story that you might consider at some point to expand.
ReplyDeleteBack to Back is one of the few standalone short stories I've written as a standalone set in the StarDoc universe; the characters are unique and don't appear in any of my SF novels. It was also a tribute piece to a lady named Mary, whose online handle inspired the protagonist. I'd like to continue the story, but like so many I've written it's waiting for me to get to it. :)
Maria wrote: (eagerly awaiting EVERMORE and cursing myself for not entering the ARC contest last week!!)
ReplyDeleteNo worries, I'll be giving away more copies in the weeks to come, and some final editions in December.
Buffysquirrel wrote: I had fun building some of my places in The Sims 2. It's probably a bit expensive just for that purpose, but hey, if you happen to have it around anyway... ;).
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is a huge Sims 2 fan, and has been building up a library of the computer software version with all its pets and holiday packs and so forth. I've resisted going near it because it looks like it might suck my brains out of my skull. :)
I thought the Free Music Zilla is interesting, but I'm wondering how legal it is. (Of course, since I get nearly all my stuff from mp3Sparks, maybe I shouldn't worry about that.)
ReplyDeleteThat room description generator you pointed to could help a ton of GMs out there.
ReplyDeleteGM: You see a room, the orc is attacking. The size? The room is 20 feet on the side with 10 foot ceilings... (Who's got time with a belligerant orc on the loose? :puzzled: )