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Not that this doesn’t happen to me all the time, but this is probably the highest level plagiarism I’ve been a victim of so far.
I have a copy of James Patterson’s Violets Are Blue, published in 2002, and I knew it involved “vampire crimes,” but I never got around to reading it. A vampire forum recently posted a short excerpt from the book with the comment, “note some of the references.” Well, I noted the references, and golly gee, they did sound familiar.
From Chapter 27 of Violets Are Blue (2002):
From my article “Real Vampires,” published in FireHeart No 2, Fall, 1987, and republished online (not by me) in 1997:
And…
From Chapter 27 of Violets Are Blue (2002):
From “Real Vampires:”
Ummm…yeah. Mr. Patterson, shame on you. You don’t even have the decency to mention my name, like Susan Hubbard does in The Society of S. A hugely successful writer like you, and you can’t even slightly rephrase your source material? I am not impressed.
(EDIT: I ran a search and found this from 2005. Clearly, Patterson is not only a plagiarist, he’s a seasoned and unrepentent plagiarist. Hmmph.)
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Happy Birthday, majkia!
Robert Downey, Jr. as Sherlock Holmes. I’m not quite sure what I think about this. Opinions, anyone?
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Town Meeting From Hell adjourned to next Monday, May 18th, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes through Tuesday night, as well. Tonight, we got through the town budget, and passed the article that authorizes the Selectmen to call a ballot vote for an override. That, of course, is the really big hump. We’ll have to work and get people to the polls on June 29th, because that didn’t happen last year and that’s why the $1M override for the school budget passed at Town Meeting, failed at the polls and left us in the hole we’re in now.
Next up are the two regional school budgets and they also are extremely contentious, so I doubt those votes will be quick. I can see the school budgets easily taking all of Monday night. The Town budget was Article 3 of 29 articles, two of which we’ve already taken out of order because they directly impacted budget items. So, there are 24 articles left to go.
And the bunny ate a piece out of my warrant, too. 🙁
I’m off to night four, count ’em, four of The Town Meeting From Hell. The library sent out an e-mail alert saying that the override request is going to be brought up first. Last night, we got through another couple of parts of the 12-part budget (which is Article 3 of 29 Articles–both school budgets and the override still to go). I expect that we’ll have at least one more night of Town Meeting after this one, but until we adjourn tonight, I have no idea when it will be.
You can tell I’m stressed. I bought electronics. I got a much higher capacity battery for my netbook on eBay, and I ordered a replacement for the 1GB memory module that failed in this computer. I was maxing out the memory and freezing up the computer working on the cover designs for Gideon Redoak, because they have to be 600ppi for printing. This module increases the RAM by 33%, as long as I don’t have any problems with it.
I’m tired of Town Meeting. I’m tired of stressing over this shit. I’m tired of being in crisis mode. *sigh*
I’m still cutting away on The Longer the Fall. I’ve also revised some sticky segues and scenes that were really bugging me. So far, two bit characters have been excised entirely. It’s all for the best, though!
Today so far…
During Wednesday night’s session I caught the exercycle’s belt starting to slip off. That was the fifth session since the second time I’d repaired the exercycle, and I’d decided to leave the covers off permanently so I could watch the belt and wheels and catch any problems right away. I hopped off the seat and re-adjusted the belt back into place, after which it was fine. So, keeping the covers off the exercycle and an eye on the foolish belt at least solves that issue. I won’t have to replace the exercycle unless something else breaks. That’s great, because even though I’m cycling for a shorter time now (I just don’t have the energy while I’m on this strenuous diet), the “natural” pace that I settle into is now up to 15 mph, steady.
I’m still freaking out about the looming closure of the library. I picked up the local weekly paper, which comes out on Friday, and it has articles about both nights of Town Meeting this week. But they don’t print one single letter to the editor about Town Meeting or any of the issues. There’s something…not right…about that. I simply don’t believe that they didn’t get any letters at all. Hmm.
I’m sitting at my laptop computer on a battered fold-out table. My chair is a dining room chair–ample-sized, one of those “captain’s chair” sort with wooden armrests, but still, a dining room chair, not an armchair or something.
There are three of us in it.
I’m perched on the very front edge of the seat. Vincent is curled up behind me–and he’s not small–and Giles has squeezed in next to him. Fortunately, my butt is a lot smaller than it used to be! Unfortunately, it’s also rather sore because I spent five solid hours sitting on gym bleachers Tuesday night at the Town Meeting From Hell, so this edge-of-the-chair thing isn’t too comfortable.
We almost had thunderstorms, but they just missed here and went further east. Somebody got some doozies, but I just heard a couple of distant rumbles. The sunset, however, was one of those eerie and beautiful post-storm sunsets where it looks like everything, even the very air, is glowing amber-pink because all the underside of the clouds is illuminated across the whole sky.
So, I’m working on cutting and revising The Longer the Fall (you remember that scene in Cast Away where Tom Hanks knocks out his own tooth?) and wondering if everybody on the entire planet except me is going to see Star Trek tonight. *sigh* And now Magda’s in my lap. That makes four of us in this chair!
