The Chronicles of Idiocy 3.2 – Barnes and Noble Posted the Review! VICTORY!

Yes, it is true. Actually, it happened a few weeks ago but I had other posts to write. You really have to get that Versatile Blogger Award out or you forget and then when you get another one you have to do a double – yep, I am talking about Frank Balara – he he!

So to catch you up, my wonderful friend Kathy posted a 5-star review of the “The Chronicles of IDIOT” for the Barnes and Noble website, but it was in naughty review server jail because it used the word idiot. It seems Barnes and Noble take the Noble in their name seriously and won't post anything potentially offensive - even if it is in the name of the book! I contacted BN.com and have been working on getting the review posted. I traded e-mails with my new friend at Barnes and Noble, Mike, and then waited to see if anything would change. And a few weeks later (quite slow for the speed of the internet) it appeared magically; as many things do on the internet, like Wikileaks or Megaupload.com.

It is funny, cause a week later I told Kathy that her review was finally posted and she said “I thought it already was posted, oh well.” Well, it depends upon your view of the internet because her review was out there in the Barnes and Noble servers, but their Ned Flanders software kept it from reaching it's full potential till just recently.

I do not want to have to do this for every review at Barnes and Noble. Not that I think there are a hundred waiting in their servers to be unleashed. So I decided to post a review (of sorts) of my own. And while I gave my book five stars (I gotta take what I can get, even if it is from myself) the review is actually a warning to anyone who wants to post a review on that website. Now it is up to Barnes and Noble to post it. Will the Ned Flanders software keep it from warning my readers to not write IDIOT in their reviews, or see their posts go to the naughty review server jail? Well, as of today, my warning is in the naughty review server jail. I e-mailed Mike last week but have yet to hear from him. Looks like I have to continue to fight the good fight.

Here is the link to the one and only review:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/the-chronicles-of-idiot?keyword=the+chronicles+of+idiot&store=allproducts

The Versatile Blogger Award

First, I have FABULOUS NEWS! Last night Great Minds Think Aloud posted a review of “The Chronicles of IDIOT” and Kitty Bullard gave it 5 ravens! THANK YOU, KITTY!

Here is the link to the review:

http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=history&action=display&thread=1021

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My writing buddy, Chrisopher Godsoe, recently received the “The Versatile Blogger Award”! Dun dun dun! And with that great honor comes the great responsibility of passing it on to five other blogs and stating seven facts about yourself. He bestowed the honor on me and so I now am honor bound to do the same.

Seven Random Facts About Me

• I am a Stay-At-Home Mom, though I prefer the title: “Cole and Audrey Specialist”.
• I occasionally sing in choirs and did in high school enough to go and sing in a very largechoir at Carnagie Hall.
•  I used to be a Professional Igor, or as it is called in science: a “Life Science Research Assistant” and then “Research Specialist”.
• I was a finalist in the Twitter 2011 writing contest #pitch2win from Abbot Press. Unfortunately, I did not win. But, that is how I met Christopher Godsoe and Frank Balara.
• I love being raised and living in Arizona, but wanted to become a Marine Biologist when I was a child. (Didn't we all?)
• Like Frank Balara, as a parent, I worry about EVERYTHING!
• I do not read many blogs. Sorry!

What was that I just said? I don't read that many blogs? Geez, talk about pressure to then find five blogs to bestow this honor to... well when I thought about it and remembered some friends I have that do have blogs or write reviews on websites. So, they are going to be commandeered to act as a “blog” because I think if you write your opinion or thoughts on a webpage that is your own, or you contribute to then you are a blogger. It is up to the award winners if they want to continue the Versatile Blogger Award and give it out to five other worthy winners.

Before I do that, I want to give a shout out to my two writing buddies: Christopher Godsoe (www.christophergodsoe.com/) and Frank Balara (http://frankbalara.blogspot.com/) as their blogs are insightful, thoughtful, sometimes radical, and sometimes silly. Chris always seems to be working on something brilliant for promoting his work including youtube ads and specialized software for his new work with scifi. His books include “Judgement Cove” and “Where I Can't Follow”. Frank is a writers' writer and his work is full of beautiful descriptions that I love to read but could not write to save my life. He just published his first work called “Manufactured Pleasures”. A review of that fine story is the previous blog here at “Chronicles of Idiocy” - see it is not ALL idiocy!

OK, here are the Five blogs I bestow with the Versatile Blogger Award:

1. 

http://azskinnygirl.wordpress.com/ This is my friend Kimberly Mangan's blog. She had gastric bypass surgery and has now taken up running. Her story is inspirational even for me who does not run, but tries to walk her dog at least four times a week. I need to worry about getting Type-2 Diabetes because it runs in my family, so I need to worry about staying healthy. Kim's blog certainly helps. Maybe someday I will join her on a Mud Run.

2.

http://ericbt.webs.com/apps/blog/ Eric Thomasma is a fellow writer I met on Twitter. He is the kind that helps out other authors (like me) by giving tweet shout outs about us and our blogs. He is a scifi and children's author and I could not help but to give a shout out to him here.

3.

http://somethingelsereviews.com/tag/tom-johnson/ Tom Johnson is a friend of mine as we both survived Horizon High School. He wrote a short story that moved me so much back then that I still remember it today. He is also passionate about music and that is what he discusses on Something Else Reviews. I remember that we went to see a Yes concert back in the day. I only knew some songs from a few of their more recent albums (back then), well Tom knew every song and loved every minute of that concert. That is a true music fanatic.

4.

http://rabbitknitz.blogspot.com/ My friend Sara Williamson is Ms. Rabbitknitz. Yep, she blogs about knitting, which has become quite popular in the past decade. Funnily enough, last week she was in my hometown of Phoenix for a knitting convention. She is a true believer in the yarn and knitting needles as a necessary therapy for today's too-quick world. 

5.

http://behindthegrammar.com/ Mignon Fogarty is a New York Times bestselling author and grammar devotee. Her podcasts, books, and posts about grammar give me something to learn and remember, or ignore at my own peril. But, she also gives wonderful insights into how subjective grammar can be, and that is a great balm for this writer.

No, they are not all about writing, really only two are about writing. But, that shows that I try to be diverse in the few blog-like websites that I do visit. I will try to visit more writing blogs, as I really need to get more involved in the community. If anyone has any suggested blogs or want to give a shout out, please do so in the comments below.

A Review of “Manufactured Pleasures” by Frank Balara

Early blog this week! I am heading north in search of snow (two little children I know are fascinated with the stuff) with my family for MLK day. Will return to my normal Blog schedule next week. This review is also posted on Amazon and Goodreads.

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Technology, it is a wonderful thing. Our world is techno-colored wonderland with information coming at us faster and faster every day. Maybe it comes at us too fast. It can keep families from really being together. Then something like a power outage comes along and makes us talk to each other. Sometimes outages are blessings.

In this new story by Frank Balara, a power outage caused by a powerful summer thunderstorm leaves a family to have time to have fun together, utilizing ice cream, music, and the good old-fashioned story. This tale reminds me of our summer power outages here in Arizona when I was a kid. The powerful afternoon monsoon storms took out our beloved cable TV and we actually had to think of something to do for a few hours. Now, due to an improved power grid, there are fewer power outages.

Mr. Balara's debut is eloquently written, full of beautifully imaginative phrases. It is also a little silly, as stories of families often are. I hope to hear more from this very creative writer in the future.

Chronicles of Idiocy 3.1 – New Year Firework Jitters and Barnes and Noble Sort-of Care

Happy New Year! 2012. Everyone wants to make this a great year. I certainly hope it is, but there was an ominous sign that it may not, and no, I am not talking about the Mayans and their calender shenanigans. My friends parents house caught fire right after midnight when New Year's Eve turns into New Year's Day. It then burned to the ground. As of now, it is suspected that an ember from a firework landed on their garage roof. It also could have just been an electrical fault at the wrong time. My friends children were staying with their Grandparents that night. Their wonderful dog woke them in time so everyone got out of the house. My friends father is injured and may have to have a skin graft on his foot. We are all praying for his speedy recovery. They are lucky in a way. They have insurance and nobody died. But, they did lose mementos of whose value cannot be measured by money. Still, they are just things.

If it was an ember that started the fire, this is another example of our wonderful state legislature taking away a common-sense regulation in the name of commerce. For as long as I can remember, Fireworks have been illegal in Arizona. My father once snuck in sparklers from a trip from Mexico and I remember my brother and I running around our back yard feeling very naughty but having a lot of fun.

A few years ago, the Arizona state legislature legalized the selling of fireworks. Their reasons may be that fireworks could still be bought in other states as well Mexico. Why not let everyone have fun here as well and let people make money on fireworks in Arizona?

On this New Year's Eve night, at a party in Mesa, my family shot off some small fireworks. It was a lot of fun. I had to hold my 5 year-old son back as he enjoyed the sparkle and boom. He had a sweater on and I was worried an ember would land on him and catch fire.

That was what might have happened to my friends and their house. It always made me nervous about fireworks in Arizona because we live in a desert. Mostly because of the summer-time heat and 4^th of July fun, and was not expecting that this could happen during the winter. Yet, here we are. Just hope this is not a tiny flicker of what could blaze this summer.

In all fairness, after my hubby read this, he said I sounded like a nut and that many forest fires were caused by campground fires and cigarettes. If we tried to ban smoking, I think the revolution that many people see coming would happen. At the very least, I am hoping people will think about safety and where the embers go before they set off “the Big One”.

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My previous blog was about how reviews of my book could not be posted on the Barnes and Noble website. The title, which includes the word idiot, would censor the review if that particular word was used. I was planning on writing a scathing blog, condemning BN for their lack of action or caring of their customer's and author's honest opinions. But, a few days ago, they got back to me. I guess it is a good thing I took a few weeks off from this blog, since everyone is a little slow after the holidays.

So, the person who got back to me (Mike) told me that he posted my friend Kathy's review and sent me a link to prove it. Here is that link:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-chronicles-of-idiot-erin-berry/1104873476?ean=2940011512056&itm=4&usri=the+chronicles+of+idiot

But, when I do an independent search on the BN.com website, the review still does not show up. Here is that link:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-chronicles-of-idiot-erin-berry/1104873476?ean=9781463759940&itm=2&usri=the+chronicles+of+idiot

He got back to me and said that he will contact the IT department (he is from Titles) and that it may take more time to “merge”. Like I said in the last post, I never thought it would be so hard to get reviews posted!

Here is a wonder, was there anyone else who tried to post a review and when it didn't get posted, just said “meh” and forgot about it? Mike says they are trying to fix that bug, but it seems that a better approach would be to let these reviews be posted and then if someone has a complaint, they take the review off? Their website has this: If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble but I bet they do not have to use it much since their software filters are set on “Futurama's Santa Claus”. Futurama's Santa was a robot that has a bug in it's software that concludes everyone is naughty and must be destroyed. OK, maybe BN does not go that far, but they do seem much more concerned with Jane Lynch singing and dancing to sell their Nooks, than the actual opinions of their readers.