sundries

[rm]

Just got email about my 20th high school reunion. How is that even possible? On the survey about possible dates for it, it offered a list of check-boxes for why we might be attending including things like "reconnecting with friends" and "networking." I resisted saying something intolerably snarky in the "other" box.

If you are a New York resident wishing to contact your state senator about the possible gay marriage vote today, Empire State Pride Agenda makes it easy. Thanks regyt. You think, "hey, it's New York, this'll be easy." Wrong, aside from all sorts of weird state politics that this thing has gotten tangled up with, New York is actually a largely conservative state on social issues that just happens to have New York City (and apparently Albany and its environs) attached to it. And then there's this guy. In the Bronx.

jimhines has some interesting things to say about unconscious bias and the all-male Publisher's Weekly list.

via lipsum: AMA comes out against DADT.

Scalzi on why writers are often broke. I can't really emphasize enough how poorly most types of writing pay. Once you have multiple books out that you've earned out your advance on and are providing you with regular meager royalty checks, things start to get better, but do you know how hard it is to develop that sort of income stream? And how long it takes? And I say that as someone who doesn't have a lot stuff out there and still makes more dosh from writing than a lot of writers I know for a variety of weird reasons.

Deleted scene from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. This! This is the universe as it lives in my heart. ETA: new working link

Last night, while in the midst of a very bizarre phone call and simultaneously cooking dinner, I accidentally stabbed my thumb with a knife. Today it hurts a tad.

Dude makes his garage cosplay PanAm.

It bugs me so much that journalists can't seem to figure out the difference between hijab, niqab and burqua.

Comments

[newsbean.livejournal.com]

One thing that has kicked me and many writers I know in the ass is the IRS. Saving adequately for taxes at year end is *much* more difficult than people estimate. When you're chronically waiting for pittance checks keeping up with month-to-month expenses looms much larger than the quarterly or yearly check you need to send to the IRS. Even if you religiously manage to sock away 1/3 of what you earn, it sometimes turns out not to be enough in a weird way you weren't anticipating.

Not to mention the relative ease of doing taxes when you have an employer and an easy return. Doing taxes as a contractor and self-employed person with a variety of income streams is a whole level of pain different.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Word. I rarely have fewer than 10 1099s, W-2s etc.