Afghanista's medal

Still on an Olympic kick. What can I say, I love when we win, cause let's face it, I'm American. But it's so nice to see other countries less fortunate win, too. Take Afghanistan's Rohullah Nikpai. He won the Bronze Medal in the 58kg taekwondo...the first ever medal for Afghanistan!

One of only 4 athletes to attend the Olympics, he said he hopes this medal will be a symbol of peace to his country which has suffered through 30 years of war. Across Afghanistan, pretty much everyone watched him receive his medal. A symbol of unity at least.

Read the article here.

There's still some mystery over the only female athlete to attend the Olympics, last I heard she disappeared. Anyone have further news of her?

Olympics

I admit, I love the Olympics - Winter more than Summer but they're both great. And this year, we SO ROCK! Phelps aside, who was fantastic I agree but let's move on.

Did you see that 400M hurdle?

We swept the medals for the first time since 1960. The 3 who won, Angelo Taylor, Kerron Clement, and Bershawn Jackson knew what they wanted going to Beijing, knew they were going to do it, and even knew it hadn't been done since the 1960 Rome Olympics. They knew those runners names as well - Glenn Davis, Clifton Cushman, and Dick Howard. Is that not worthy of press coverage? I think so, and they should get all they deserve. Sure, what Phelps did was phenomenal, and rightly deserves the media attention, but there are hundreds of other athletes competing - and winning. Let's give them the attention they deserve as well.

NBC covers the games, as do their multiple affiliates - MSNBC, CNBC, USA, probably more. If you get the chance, check them out. Or go to the site, it's packed with everything you need to know about the games and more. http://www.nbcolympics.com/

Addition: Read more about Angelo Taylor's miraculous comeback from Sydney to Athens to Beijing. Congratulations, man, you deserve it all!

Working Hard

Seriously. Not hardly working, I swear. I'm working on editing Birthite down by a few thousand words, and tightening my Djinn story. I took way too much liberty with that last one, but it was fun. At the time. Now, not so much. Plus I had this idea about a trio of Victorian conspiracy hunters...what? I love a good conspiracy. :)

So here I am, nearly 9 on a Sunday night, working hard on Djinn...which now has a title! No Rhyme No Reason. So I'm diligently reworking the beginning chapters and gutted 3/4 of it. Sad but true. So gutting, reworking, fleshing out, etc., etc., etc.

sigh

Off to work I go, hi ho hi ho.

What an experience

RWA National was exhausting, exhilarating, and entertaining. I learned a bunch of stuff but the workshops also reiterated 2 things for me:

1. Listen to your gut. If you don't like the way something's going, stop. Take a look at it. Step back if you have to. And rewrite it the way you want it to read.

2. No one knows what they want until they read it. Good writing, a strong, solid plot, and real characters make the book. Don't jump on the bandwagon. Do you know how many vampire books are out there? And I like vampires (it was a Buffy thing...)

I'm currently looking through Birthrite and my Djinn story to cut them down and rework them with what I learned during the workshops.

I'm back!

Had a wonderful time, met loads and loads of great people, most of whom I remember their names. Some of whom I actually got their cards and shall now buy their books. Man some of these authors are persuasive!

Exhausted, plane delay, driving, sleep deprived, starving, but am home and most importantly CLEAN!

After I settle myself, I'll write more about my trip, but it was great.