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Crazy Days

This week has been a little nuts, work wise, and I’m missing the time and energy to write. I was working on a draft for today’s post but it’s not ready, so here’s a helping of fun animal news:

“I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful.”

— Bob Hope

Hope the week is treating you well!

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“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”

— Michelangelo

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“The whole point is to live life and be—to use all the colors in the crayon box.”

— RuPaul

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Photo by James McDonald on Unsplash

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“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”

— Charles Dickens

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Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

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Apologies, but I don’t have much time to chat today. The taxes, they are calling me!

What one has to do usually can be done.

— Eleanor Roosevelt

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Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

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There are some things in life that are just perfect.

It might be a book, or a movie or a volcanic beach under the hot afternoon sun. Or it might be a salad.

Mr Man and I recently went to Montreal with a friend, and stopped off at a little roadside cafe* for lunch. I checked out the menu and perused the glass display case, and there it was.

A pretty pottery bowl filled with a squash, greens, and cranberry salad. The bright orange squash was the perfect blend of soft but not squishy, sweet but substantive. The tender greens brought a hint of bitterness mellowed by a creamy lemon dressing and the bright red of candied cranberries sprinkled throughout.

I had some with lunch, and then went back to the counter.

“That was amazing,” I said. “Two more, please. I have to take some home with me.”

Maybe this wouldn’t have been the perfect salad for you, dear reader, just as my perfect book or movie or afternoon may not be the same as yours. That’s fine. 

The news is often dark, but when you can, take a moment to look around you. There is always light. Use it to find your way. 

However you connect to what’s good in the world, try do as much of that as you can. What’s important is to realize when you have found a thing that is perfect for you, and to revel in its magic. 

Me? I’m off to have lunch.

* Mr Man just gave me the name of the restaurant: the Bravo Bistro Grill & Traiteur.

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Photo by Michael Held on Unsplash

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Last night, we watched the original Ghostbusters, which is always fun. Coincidentally and just in time to inspire this post, today I ran across this article from Dan Lewis at Now I Know that opens with that film and evolves into a fascinating discussion of why firehouses have poles.

Curious horses, that’s why!

How Horses Created Firehouse Poles – Now I Know

…in the late 1870s, “David Kenyon of Company 21, an all-African-American firehouse in Chicago [. . .] reached the ground by sliding down a wooden pole normally used to bale hay for horses.” Kenyon realized that this could be made into a permanent feature…

Read the whole thing for more on why poles were not just a good idea, but critical for firefighters. Spoiler alert, it’s not just because sliding down poles is fun!

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Photo by Thiago Rocha on Unsplash

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Storytelling is good for so many things: entertainment, shared cultural touchstones, lessons from elders, or other instruction manuals for living. Even so, speculative fiction has always been burdened by accusations that it is less able to comment on reality than, say, literary fiction.

I disagree.

In fiction or nonfiction, no matter the genre or approach, storytelling is always, always, grounded in the cultural currents from which it springs. It’s how we pass on what’s important, even if it isn’t always “real.” Whether it shows us futures to avoid, goals to achieve, values of importance or daily ways to survive, the work’s foundation always reflects its context.

On a related note, here’s a short document on surviving difficult times, written in the form of an RPG-style guide. It wouldn’t surprise me to see an actual game follow soon.

Because life and art are two facets of the same die. And we’re all just players, trying to level up.

“The idea that any of us can do everything is instant failure. We all have our own skill sets and our own passions and we will accomplish the most if each of us works within those arenas to do what we’re already good at, what we already care about. You don’t have to do it all. Just a little.”

— Bree Bridges

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“To care about climate change, you only have to be one thing, a human living on Planet Earth.”

— Katharine Hayhoe

(I submit that other animals and any Earth-bound aliens also qualify, but “humans” is a good place to start.)

If you are a creator concerned with the livability of the planet, this guide from This Is Planet Ed may be useful. It’s designed for works aimed largely at younger audiences, but the ideas apply across the board.

A Toolkit For Climate Storytelling

Whether you want to develop a whole show, a story line, or embed climate solutions in your character’s world, this guide offers ideas, strategies, and tips to help.

Because as my landing page reminds us:

“Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”

— G.K. Chesterton

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Photo by Klim Sergeev on Unsplash

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The cat lies dreaming

claws spread wide to catch the Moon,

Her bright wings outstretched.

The cat’s fine, thanks for asking:)

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Photo by Nadezhda Nikolaenko on Unsplash

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