Freelance editor and proofreader
You remember them: they’re the receivers for Highbury. I gave them a call yesterday – well, two calls actually to Maggie Mills and her assistant – just to find out what’s up, since they were supposed to have compiled a report a couple of months ago. But they weren’t in and haven’t returned my call.
I’ll try again next week, but I’m just wondering whether anyone else has heard from them.
Remember how I related the tale of how SMD weren’t paying very promptly? One of those affected has contacted me again:
They’re using a new tactic over there now. They tell you payment has been sent out – for your invoice – but it really hasn’t. First, they tell you that your invoice has received “Final Authorization” and then you pressure them and they lie and tell you payment has been sent. So far, I’ve gotten paid for two invoices (I have three more outstanding) and the only way I got paid for those was threatening to withhold publication of future articles.
So if you were planning on writing for an SMD publication, I’d say hold off for a while, since you might not get paid for quite some time (assuming this isn’t an isolated incident).
None of us need it, of course, but Poynter’s set up a new blog to help readers improve their writing. Based on his previous collection of essays, Writing Tools is written by Roy Peter Clark, well known for his 50 short essays on writing, and should be something to add to your RSS aggregator at the very least.
Curses. Just as I thought my escape to Virgin Mobile might lead to competent customer service for a change, I find out that NTL has just acquired Virgin Mobile.
Remember that ad in favour of pollution that Exxon put out via the CEI? Well FactCheck have analysed the ad, in conjunction with the scientists whose worked was quoted, to debunk it.
Then try one of these nice here dead words. Marvellous, all of them.
Karl Khan’s written to me again:
Dear sir,
i did not intend for this to be posted on the internet, please remove it from your blog site.
If you dont write articles about finance, business, intellectual property and internet stuff then i apologise for sending you the story,karl
Curiouser and curiouser. So he writes to me (and believe me, I gave you the entire email in the last blog entry: I wasn’t hiding any stipulations on his part) telling me “Please use this as you feel appropriate. I believe this will make a good story for a Sunday paper to run perhaps”. I publish it… and he complains.
The world is full of interesting people.
You know, you set up a blog as a journalist and before you know it, everyone’s pitching story ideas to you. I’ve had about 15 emails from one guy who wants me to explain his continuing life story to the world.
Last week, I got an email from Karl Khan, who (assuming this isn’t someone claiming to be Karl Khan) has been involved in some legal struggles with the easyJet people over the use of the easyPizza name. According to him, the full story has yet to be heard, although it’s been on the Beeb and other sites.
Now, I’m completely the wrong sort of journalist for this kind of article, but if someone would like to investigate the story instead, I’ve provided the details below.
Note to the libel lawyers: I have no idea if any of this is true – this is purely what Karl Khan’s sent me. It may all be completely fabricated, but I’m putting it up here so that others can make that determination for themselves.
It’s scary to think Lynn Westmoreland got elected to Congress. This isn’t random politician-bashing on my part. I have video evidence. Among other things – and believe me, the list of problems will grow in your mind as you watch this – he wants to display the Ten Commandments (ah, but which set?) in the House and the Senate. It would help if he knew what they were…
Salon, everyone’s favourite whiny liberal American news and comment outlet, has an interesting scheme. Pay $30 (or something similar) and you get to read all the articles without adverts. Don’t pay the cash and you only get to read the intros to the articles – except if you click on a logo and watch an ad, in which case you can read every article on the site for free that day.
I’ve let my Premium membership, as it’s called, lapse. The trouble is there just aren’t enough good articles on the site anymore for me to bother paying the money. The ads really aren’t that irritating and if all I have to do is click a logo once a week or so, then I’m not that fussed.
Premium does offer other benefits, including access to the Table Talk chat room (like I need to pay to have arguments on the Internet) and various free magazine subscriptions. The trouble is you have to have a US postal address for 90% of those subscriptions. Not much use for me.
Salon did have a survey a while back, in which I pointed out these shortcomings. When my membership was about to expire, I got an email begging me to stay and giving me two free offers – valid only if I had a US postal address. Clearly, they weren’t listening.
Anyway, I’ll just stick to Slate and Greg Palast for my diversionary political reading for now. When I fancy a laugh, I’ll read Spiked. Good job that’s free, mind.
Incidentally, what do you think of the Slate redesign? I hate it myself. I can’t find anything on the front page anymore. Thank heavens for RSS feeds.