I meant to answer this the other day, Gud, and got distracted. Why are you single-spacing your synopsis, first?

I always defined short as three pages, but definitely double-spaced. It really depends on the editor.

~

Ink:

It was the pen. He was sure of it.

Nothing had ever come so quickly or so freely with a pencil, or using the typewriter. He wouldn’t touch the computer anymore—his brain froze when he opened the lid of the laptop, a biological blue screen.

But the pen was perfect. Just the right size, black ink just thick enough, never smearing. And every sentence written with it was a revelation. He knew it would dry up, though. And so he hoarded his words with the ink, saving them both against the pen’s eventual demise.

His notebook lies waiting, silent.

To go with this week's theme, a truck overturned on I-95 and spilled its contents - ink. Gallons and gallons of ink.

Thanks. It's single spaced at the moment because it seems to paste cleaner that way and so far the only guidelines have been to paste into the body of the e-mail.

I was able to interview Gregory Frost the other day about the research he did on 1840s cuisine for an upcoming book. [link] He chipped in a recipe for etouffee at the end.

Greg's a fountain pen fanatic, so I'm going to submit this for 'ink'. Weak, I know.

xpost w/ Lit.

Sox, there's no link in your link.

feexed. thanks Amy.

There is ink in the link.

This short essay is kinda about Buffistas, although the board name is NOT reffed, and neither are any names. But I want to post it in GWW so that y'all can vet it before I think about trying to pub it anywhere, and if people are uncomfortable with anything, I will change it or scrap it, ok?

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Some people say that the internet and social media have created a distance in the world, that people used to interact face-to-face with people more. Neighborhoods had a real sense of community, a sense of people who knew you and your kids -- heck, they knew your dog and your car -- and that people had your back in the good old days before those nasty computers made the world so impersonal and trivial.

I don’t think that that physical sense of community has entirely disappeared in some neighborhoods, but that’s not really what the focus of this is going to be about. My experience is, of course, anecdotal, but it’s an experience that’s similar to that of many people today. I contend that for many, many people, using the internet as a social outlet expands their sense of connectedness to the world in general, and to individuals on a more intimate, specific basis.

For example, I belong to an internet community that originated as a place to talk about a television show. Pretty innocuous, and some would argue, very trivial. Back in the late 1990’s, my friends mocked me for it, but I didn’t care. But like so many casual acquaintances, my friendships with these people in the “box” have evolved. This community has been active for over a decade now, and even though the original show the members bonded over is long cancelled, the community itself thrives.

People who met on this community have dated; some have gotten married and had children. People have collected thousands of dollars for community members who were experiencing life issues: medical bills, car troubles, veterinary bills, and sadly, the deaths of family members and spouses. People who have traveled or relocated have had people ready and willing to put them up for a night or two, to help them find apartments and jobs, to assist them in adjusting to new towns – and yes, to contribute to their becoming active members of their new physical neighborhoods.

Unlike a local friend, who’s probably sound asleep at 3 a.m. when you need someone to talk you through a night of insomnia or when you just need to unburden yourself from a frustration or fear, someone in this community is always awake and willing to talk. There are community members from all over the world, and, in addition to the comfort of always knowing that someone is always available to chat, there is the added bonus of multiple perspectives on the world.

Members who live in Israel have contributed their knowledge about what it’s like to live with the threat of a bomb going off on the way to university, or have given their first-person perspective on the harassment of women in Orthodox communities. Several members live and work in Los Angeles, and people from. . . well, everywhere that’s not L.A.. . . get fascinating insider glimpses into the television and movie industry. We have members who are published authors who advise prospective writers; there are members who work in the IT field, including places like Google and Microsoft, who are always willing to offer advice on some tricky tech issues you might be having. And that’s just a few examples of the wealth of information and support community members have provided to, and continue to provide, others.

This isn’t insulation from “real-world” interactions; these are real-world interactions. It’s patently ridiculous to say that the internet has caused people to be less connected and to have less intimate and personal connections. Would we look at collections of letters written by people in the past (you know, before computers?!) and say that because these people wrote dozens and dozens of letters a month to family member and friends that they were insulating themselves from personal connections to real people? Of course (continued...)

( continues...) not.

I’m not arguing that the prevalence of social media usage doesn’t spark some trivialities; we’ve all known the person who constantly posts on Facebook or Twitter about nothing more meaningful than what sandwich they ate for lunch or how very much they like their new boyfriend; you know, the third one they’ve had this month.

But most people I know intersperse these casual daily observations with meaningful conversations —observations on politics, social issues, personal issues, work, the arts — and I would argue that even seemingly trivial bits of information promote a greater sense of connectedness. That great sandwich your friend had? Maybe someone will respond to it and set up a lunch date at that restaurant with a friend. That Tweet about how someone hates Mondays? Could be that a friend will respond to it, and it will spark an email or phone call about a personal problem or a work issue that helps that Monday-hatin’ person to resolve a problem – or just feel better.

So people can argue as much as they like about how the evil Internet has contributed to the death of community and is a horrible invention which keeps people in their houses, away from real connections with real people. I know better. Sure, I sit in my house and have Internet conversations on boards and variety of social media platforms – but thanks to the Internet, I’ve met – face to face! – with people from all over the country and the world.

I’ve gone to Chicago and Los Angeles to hang out with people I’ve met online. I have standing invites to stay with people in San Francisco, Seattle, New York, New Orleans, Texas. If I got stranded in Australia, London, Ireland, Scotland, Thailand or Israel, I could get a place to stay within an hour. I’ve had dinner and drinks with people who were in my city on business or family vacations.
Heck, without my internet friends – and yes, they are real friends – I never would have had the guts, the know-how, the connections or the support to quit my full-time job and become a successful freelance writer and editor. They were my first clients. They even bought my husband and me a TV when I got married! And they do not detract from engagement with my long-term friends who live in my city and with whom I also have satisfying relationships – to the contrary, they add more value, meaning, knowledge and love to my life.

And isn’t that ultimately a good thing?

Thumbs up from over here.

Also, so very much that.