Monthly Archives: December 2010

Motorbikes, Kids and Gender

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Cora

It started thawing on Friday and the snow is almost all gone by now. Instead, we got rain all day long and horrible sludge and mud everywhere. The air was also surprisingly chilly, though it had gotten almost ten degrees … Continue reading →

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Real World Settings and Research Fallout

Posted on December 11, 2010 by Cora

There are many reasons I prefer writing fantasy and SF – one of them is that you don’t have to deal with the constraints imposed by real world settings. But some stories, unfortunately, insist on being set in the real … Continue reading →

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Snow!

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Cora

We got yet more snow today. It snowed through much of the night, then it stopped for a while and started up again around midday. I had to brush the snow from my car three times today, in the morning, … Continue reading →

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On this day…

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Cora

On this day, December 9th, in 1983, I first got to see more than just a few glimpses of Star Wars. That’s the reason why December 9th will always be an important date to me. However, a lot of other … Continue reading →

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Links, Linguistics and Writing

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Cora

We’ve had more snow today. It started snowing in the morning and by the time I had to go to school for my afternoon class, I had to shovel the car free. It’s started snowing again sometime in the evening … Continue reading →

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Stuff Kids Say

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Cora

At school today, my students talked about St. Nicholas Day and the treats and presents they got. I told them that Kinder Surprise eggs were banned in the US, which completely boggled their minds. One boy: “You mean, guns are … Continue reading →

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Of Advent Calendars, St Nicholas and Other Seasonal Customs

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Cora

December 6th is St. Nicholas Day, which is still a pretty big deal in Northern Germany and even bigger than Christmas in the Netherlands. I’m too old for Nicholas sweets and presents and have been for almost twenty years now … Continue reading →

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Brief Housekeeping Post

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Cora

I’m still playing about with the look and features of the blog. I added a new haiku to the haiku zone and a new header image. This one is a detail of the Victorian fayence oven in the so-called fireplace … Continue reading →

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Writing Wank

Posted on December 5, 2010 by Cora

Here are two writing links with a common theme, i.e. the importance of persistence in developing and sustaining a writing career: Brad Torgersen interviews Jay Lake for the Writers of the Future site and Catherine Schaff-Stump discusses Malcolm Gladwell’s book … Continue reading →

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Cars, trains and Christmas Presents

Posted on December 5, 2010 by Cora

We had even more snow today and I am – gasp – even starting to feel a little Christmassy. Amazon Germany brought most of my Christmas presents today, so I’m pretty much settled for everyone from my Mom to my … Continue reading →

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