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For  my sister’s birthday on the 10th. She loves dolphins   Happy Birthday, Patti!

This week I had the pleasure of visiting the OUP UK office and spending face time with my wonderful counterpart, Kirsty. [*Waves*] In honor of this, we have done a team Linked Up. (Go team!) Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Margaret Atwood! [For Books' Sake]

What better way to commemorate the forthcoming royal nuptials than with some china? [The Guardian]

This genuinely made me LOL. [Hyperbole and a Half]

With only 37 shopping days left until Christmas (I know, I know) here are some gift ideas for the bookworms in your life. [Reading Matters]

The Costa Book Awards shortlists are out. [Costa]

Um…baby dolphin + curious penguin? What’s not to love? [Daily Mail]

Cookie gif! [Simple Life in Tokyo]

Participating in No Shave November? Well keep that beard! Here’s a festive idea. [Dainty Squid]

Windshield rainbow: all the way. [Helmut Smits]

Anyone need cupcakes for their Harry Potter party? [The Love We Deserve]

I've been so inspired by Kelly Light's blog Ripple. It's amazing how it has snowballed. I've donated/bought about four painting already. I've lost control. I finally got my sketch card finished. It's about 5 1/2" x 5" and is an original color pencil painting. You can get it here for a $10 donation. What a deal!

I just heard about this, and feel the need to find the book immediately!

Press release from Scholastic:

Enter for a chance to win a visit with Winter the Dolphin at her home in the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Tell us who your favorite animal hero is and why?

Winter the Dolphin has been an inspiration and hero for children and adults alike. When Winter was just three months old, she was rescued from a crab trap which had seriously damaged her tail. It wasn’t clear that she would survive but she did. However, the damage to Winter’s tail was so extensive that that it fell off. To everyone’s amazement, a prosthetic company stepped in and fitted Winter with a prosthetic tail. Now Winter is using her new tail and thriving.

We want to hear about an animal that has most inspired you! Tell us about your favorite animal hero in 200 words or less. One grand prize winner and his/her guardian will receive a trip to visit Winter at her home in Clearwater, Florida, one night’s stay at a hotel, $500 travel voucher, a Winter prize pack and a Nintendo DS game system. 10 runner ups will receive a copy of Winter’s Tail, a Winter’s Tail Nintendo DS game and a Winter plush doll! All entries must be received by November 30, 2009. Winners will be announced on or around December 14th. No purchase necessary. Open to legal residents of 50 United States and D.C. ages 6–14 as of November 30th 2009. Void where prohibited. For complete contest rules, please visit www.scholastic.com/winterstail.

Please send your entry to the following address:

Scholastic’s Meet Winter the Dolphin Contest
557 Broadway
New York NY 10012

Image by mikebaird via Flickr

Dolphins are smart creatures. No doubt about it. They are the smartest creatures in the sea. They use ultrasonic sounds to navigate, and are somewhat friendly to humans. But what should you not do in front of a dolphin? A lot of stuff, apparently. Here’s a list.

1. Ride a dolphin’s back- Riding on the back of a dolphin is a just plain stupid idea. If you read my article “What not to do when you are stranded out at sea” on my blog, you should know that you will get lost and most likely die out at sea. A dolphin does not know where you want to go. It only goes where it wants to, not where you want it to go.
2. Insult a mom dolphin’s children- A mother of any species will not take an insult to it’s children no matter what. If it even seems to her that you are trying to harm her child in any way, she will get violent and possibly do you harm.
3. Try to get it’s female- Just like in any species, you should also avoid this. If you seem to be trying to get the female a male wants, the male will attack you. Male dolphins do this all the time in their own species, so why wouldn’t they do it with a species that is just as smart?
4. Try to feed a whole group at once- If you do this, and you are in a small fishing boat, prepare to get tag teamed by angry dolphins. Remember, throwing up one fish for a group will probably cause a dispute on who gets that fish. So who will the unlucky majority go for more? The person or place that the first fish was thrown from.

So whatever you do, don’t do these few things when you see a dolphin close to your boat. But remember, this article is just for fun, and is not at all serious. For real facts, ask your dolphin specialist.

Image by mikebaird via Flickr

Dolphins are smart creatures. No doubt about it. They are the smartest creatures in the sea. They use ultrasonic sounds to navigate, and are somewhat friendly to humans. But what should you not do in front of a dolphin? A lot of stuff, apparently. Here’s a list.

1. Ride a dolphin’s back- Riding on the back of a dolphin is a just plain stupid idea. If you read my article “What not to do when you are stranded out at sea” on my blog, you should know that you will get lost and most likely die out at sea. A dolphin does not know where you want to go. It only goes where it wants to, not where you want it to go.
2. Insult a mom dolphin’s children- A mother of any species will not take an insult to it’s children no matter what. If it even seems to her that you are trying to harm her child in any way, she will get violent and possibly do you harm.
3. Try to get it’s female- Just like in any species, you should also avoid this. If you seem to be trying to get the female a male wants, the male will attack you. Male dolphins do this all the time in their own species, so why wouldn’t they do it with a species that is just as smart?
4. Try to feed a whole group at once- If you do this, and you are in a small fishing boat, prepare to get tag teamed by angry dolphins. Remember, throwing up one fish for a group will probably cause a dispute on who gets that fish. So who will the unlucky majority go for more? The person or place that the first fish was thrown from.

So whatever you do, don’t do these few things when you see a dolphin close to your boat. But remember, this article is just for fun, and is not at all serious. For real facts, ask your dolphin specialist.

Visit my blog at www.gourabwritersofficialblog.blogspot.com

It really sucks to be stranded in the middle of nowhere. It’s even worse out at sea. The sea covers more space than land, so once you are lost at sea, you are out of luck. But if you aren’t stupid enough to do these things, you have a good chance of getting rescued and going home. So whatever you do, do not ever do the following things if you are lost at sea.

1. Ride a dolphin back home- You probably saw this happen in movies a lot. The hero is surrounded by sharks with no way out. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, these dolphins come out and chase away the sharks, and take the unconscious hero back to home.

Image via Wikipedia

This does not always happen in real life. If you do decide to ride a dolphin back home, remember these things that can go wrong. First of all, a dolphin does not know what you are telling it, and because of that, there is a pretty good chance it won’t understand what you are telling it. Second of all, a dolphin does not know where you came from. Even if you try to tell it where you came from, it can’t understand you. Even if you were able to speak dolphin, would you be able to tell it that you came from Australia. No, you couldn’t, because the dolphin does not know where, what, or when is Australia. And if you could steer it in the right direction, you probably wouldn’t be lost in the first place, would you?

2. Have a food fight- Now this is probably the worst thing you can possibly do. If you are stranded out at sea in a lousy little boat that ran out of gas with little to no food available besides raw fish and seaweed, then this is probably something you shouldn’t do. It would waste your resources and make your ability to live a little smaller. Now we don’t want that, do we?

Image via Wikipedia

3. Paddle away from incoming ships- It doesn’t matter if it’s a ship, boat, submarine, helicopter, space shuttle, or flying saucers. Don’t go away from one unless you know that it is not friendly. If you don’t go to an approaching ship, you will probably not encounter another one any time soon.

Image via Wikipedia

This article was written just as a joke. For real safety tips, ask a professional.

It really sucks to be stranded in the middle of nowhere. It’s even worse out at sea. The sea covers more space than land, so once you are lost at sea, you are out of luck. But if you aren’t stupid enough to do these things, you have a good chance of getting rescued and going home. So whatever you do, do not ever do the following things if you are lost at sea.

1. Ride a dolphin back home- You probably saw this happen in movies a lot. The hero is surrounded by sharks with no way out. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, these dolphins come out and chase away the sharks, and take the unconscious hero back to home.

Image via Wikipedia

This does not always happen in real life. If you do decide to ride a dolphin back home, remember these things that can go wrong. First of all, a dolphin does not know what you are telling it, and because of that, there is a pretty good chance it won’t understand what you are telling it. Second of all, a dolphin does not know where you came from. Even if you try to tell it where you came from, it can’t understand you. Even if you were able to speak dolphin, would you be able to tell it that you came from Australia. No, you couldn’t, because the dolphin does not know where, what, or when is Australia. And if you could steer it in the right direction, you probably wouldn’t be lost in the first place, would you?

2. Have a food fight- Now this is probably the worst thing you can possibly do. If you are stranded out at sea in a lousy little boat that ran out of gas with little to no food available besides raw fish and seaweed, then this is probably something you shouldn’t do. It would waste your resources and make your ability to live a little smaller. Now we don’t want that, do we?

Image via Wikipedia

3. Paddle away from incoming ships- It doesn’t matter if it’s a ship, boat, submarine, helicopter, space shuttle, or flying saucers. Don’t go away from one unless you know that it is not friendly. If you don’t go to an approaching ship, you will probably not encounter another one any time soon.

Image via Wikipedia

This article was written just as a joke. For real safety tips, ask a professional.

Hey, folks, another week has come and gone. Be sure to checkout my yearly blog event. The Third Annual Golden Coffee Cup is on the horizon, my answer to the NANOWRIMO idea of writing a book in a month. Yes, I know some of you out there can do it, but I invite all NANOWRIMO folks to consider me the back-up plan. I think it's hard to make any goal and keep it. I think that half a novel in a month is beyond awesome! Post you goals on the Golden Coffee Cup page. Join me for wild ruckus, heartfelt inspiration, and a chance to win a real cup of coffee. Click here for goal-setting tips.

This is a busy fall for me, and I just ache for a slower pace in life. I'm going to confess the sad truth; I'm not exactly blazing forward with work right now unless you are a snail. I'm sure if we were all snails I'd be in the winners' circle.

I go to yoga every week and at the end we always do a balance series, often including tree pose. I'm always surprised how slowing the pace and breathing will inform the rest of my life. I was feeling a little down this week because freaking everyone races past me in the journey of creation. I see deserving authors start their journey and then move onto big contracts and then national awards, movie deals, and boatloads of readers. As I held my tree pose today, I began to think of all the kinds of trees out there. Some show big glory in the spring like the beautiful cherry trees. Evergreens have a steady beauty that last year round. But for me I love the white aspens and the glorious maples. They put on the big show in autumn. I connected that thought with who I am as a creator. I'm just at the end of the summer of my life and moving toward autumn. I feel within me the power of the sun stored up and starting to seep out into my leaves. My big show is just beginning. I have no words for the great surprise of these days.

Big shout out for my friend Kathi Appelt. Her book The Underneath was just nominated for the National Book Award! Kathi has created one of those books for the generations. Kudos and thanks to her. I'm predicting at the very least, a Newbery honor coming.

So it's time for doodle of the week! I call this one Girl and Tree.

Remember: ©Molly Blaisdell, all rights reserved. If you want to use my cool doodles, ask permission first. It is so wrong to take people's doodles without permission!

Time for action is now. It's never too late to do something. Carl Sandberg

Kirsty OUP-UK

After ten years as Prime Minister, Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is being succeeded by Gordon Brown. Today I’m taking a look back at Tony Blair’s time at the helm with a little help from the Oxford Dictionary of Political Quotations, edited by Antony Jay. Below are some of the best and most recognisable quotes from the last decade or so, as well as a few words about Tony Blair by others including Margaret Thatcher and Jacques Chirac. If there are other quotations you can think of, then please feel free to leave a comment below.

“Labour is the party of law and order in Britain today. Tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime.”
speech at the annual Labour Party Conference, 30 September 1993, when Blair was Shadow Home Secretary (more…)

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