Skybus joys and woes

Boo :(

So, a new low-cost carrier has launched in Columbus, name of Skybus.  They have some AMAZING fares.  Specifically, the first 10 seats sold on each flight are $10 (yes, that's ten dollars).  There's not many destinations available, but one of those available is Los Angeles area, or to be more specific: Burbank.  'Why, self,' I thought, 'you have a friend in Burbank itself!'  So I emailed alstaria, figured out dates that worked, and I bought a roundtrip for $40.80; the taxes and fees were greater than the fares themselves.  So I was very happy, and I forwarded the itinerary to A, who was also very excited. 

Until she noticed that I had not bought a roundtrip Columbus --> Burbank --> Columbus, but rather Burbank --> Columbus --> Burbank.  And the change fees are draconian.  And the cheap seats are all gone.  So now I don't get to go to sunny California in June :(  I'm really disappointed, because I've wanted to visit for years, and then I fucked up -- no one's fault but my own -- and now that went down the drain.  The one silver lining is that, because of their federal pre-certification status, I may be able to get a refund (usually impossible with Skybus), but that's cold comfort.  Sigh.

Anyway, check them out.  Their fares, even the ones that aren't ridiculously amazing, aren't half bad, they're just more than I really want to spend right now.

Webscab my ass.

So, who here's ever posted their creative work online, where anyone can see, FOR ABSOLUTELY FREE OMG?  Well, guess what: Howard Hendrix, VP of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, thinks that you're a webscab, one "who [posts] their creations on the net for free. A scab is someone who works for less than union wages or on non-union terms; more broadly, a scab is someone who feathers his own nest and advances his own career by undercutting the efforts of his fellow workers to gain better pay and working conditions for all."  Now, he's technically explicitly referring to SciFi writers [within his organization], that being his field, but I doubt he'd look any more favorably on any other sort of author releasing work for free.

This is ridiculous.  A writer who posts his work online for free is in no wise a scab (and that word?  that's a huge word, jeezus).  A writer who utilizes the resources  of the internet and emerging technology is certainly working to 'advance his own career,' but hardly to the detriment of others.  In fact, those who do so are pioneers in a still-unorganized domain with possibilities that haven't yet been even partly developed, and it is only through their efforts that the rest of the writing world can finally come to appreciate the resources of current technology.

There are, of course, a number of very good reasons why one would want to avoid free online publication -- if nothing else, it can hurt your possibilities of publication later (how ironic), especially for works like poetry, which are generally small and easily accessible online.  That being said:

I believe that an author has the right to use his own work as he desires without fear of insult.
I believe that those who fail to accept the advances of technology are doomed to be erased by them.
I believe that a strong online community of writers enhances 'working conditions' for all involved.
I believe that a strong online community of writers can do nothing but increase public awareness of the immense variety of literature that exists.

And as a token of these beliefs, a symbolic gesture, one I'm making along with hundreds of other writers: have a poem.  It's mine, so don't try to pass it off as your own, post it elsewhere without my permission, alter it, or otherwise infringe on my rights as a creator.  I, in turn, give it to you free of charge, with no expectation of recompense except a hope that you'll enjoy it and that maybe, in the future, you might be interested in some others of my works -- whatever forum they may appear in.

I wrote this about a year ago, down in Louisiana: ( But the moon is gibbous )

References:
First seen (by me) in cc_wolff's locked post here
Pertinent selections of Hendrix's rant at Warren Ellis' blog here

Let's say nice things today.

I spent a lot of time yesterday saying unpleasant things, either argumentative or just plain down-in-the-dumps.  Today is my day of saying good things.

First: I talked to Kathy yesterday, and as a result I have my summer 2/3 planned out.  See, to keep my fellowship money I have to maintain fulltime, but I'm also trying to not be tied down in Columbus this summer.  I've got Elisa's wedding to go to (did I ever mention that my sister's getting married?  She's getting married), and I'd really like to work at Camp Bon Coeur again (plus I kinda already committed to doing so, *coughcough*).  Together, those two things alone take up the entire month of July, and also include portions of both summer terms (so I can't even do some magical halfy-halfy thing).  So... I'm doing a lot of independent study.  I already had time lined up with Andrew, and now Kathy's on board, too.  I hope to do one in translation with Danielle, but she hasn't gotten back to me.  Worst case scenario, I'll read slush for the Journal all summer, and that will be another five hours of IS with... I dunno.  Michelle?  So that looks like it's on track, thank God.

Second: I had a great game of Settlers last night with Kevin, Liz, and Mollie (one of Liz's friends who I've absorbed, amoeba-like).  It was ridiculously close, and finally came down to luck of the dice, it was so close.  Plus I made gin fizzes but accidentally put in way too much gin, so I had a tasty juniper-scented glass of tipsy lemonade.  Very collegiate.

Third: Some financial wizardry happened, and the trip to Cali's back on!  Thank God for friends.  And as icing on the cake, I got an email this afternoon telling me my refund request for the first (idiot) itinerary had been processed.  Yay!

Off to rehearsal...

Hahahaha..... Dune humor

Reverend mother, he is the Kwisatz Caterach.