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Posts Tagged ‘inspiration’

Up From the Depths of Time

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , , on May 14, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Once upon a time, children, before mass production and digital copies and backups and cloud synching, it was possible to wipe a thing from the world completely.

Or maybe not? Here’s a fun story about business feuds and artistic obsession!

Remnants of a Legendary Typeface Have Been Rescued From the River Thames

The depths of the river Thames in London hold many unexpected stories, gleaned from the recovery of prehistoric tools, Roman pottery, medieval jewelry, and much more besides. Yet the tale of the lost (and since recovered) Doves typeface is surely one of the most peculiar.

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Photo by Marcus dePaula on Unsplash

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The Art of Flying

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , on May 5, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“The Guide says there is an art to flying”, said Ford, “or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”

― Douglas Adams

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Photo by Nareeta Martin on Unsplash

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Color Me Impressed

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on May 2, 2024| Leave a Comment »

You may remember that I’ve talked about NaNoWriMo, where intrepid writers challenge themselves to write a 50,000-word novel in a month. Professional writers often do much more than this (Dean Wesley Smith is a poster author for it), but I wouldn’t say it’s common. At all.

Now that AI is a thing, however, it’s easy to put many words in a line very fast. Not good words, mind you, but words. 

I just ran across a reference to an author who has decided to embark on a writing challenge, pitting herself against AI.

Alberta author Alison McBain decided to do an “Author Vs AI” challenge. The goal? A well-written book a week for a total of two million words in 365 days. Dang.

She started a week or so ago and is posting daily word counts as she goes. 

Here she is ramping up for the starting line: Three Days before Launch… Tips & Tricks to Writing Quickly

Here’s she is, taking off: TODAY Starts 2 MILLION+ Words in 365 days!

Of course, we aren’t really comparing apples to apples here. We’re comparing one person’s ability to convert their history, emotions and expertise into a coherent recipe for another person to experience, versus a predictive extrapolation of the collective yet selective distillation of humanity known as the internet, produced through many (many) hours of training and often poorly-paid drudgery. 

(Trying to resist the obvious joke about it not being so different from writing after all, but also obviously failing. Even so.)

Writers write because they have something to say. They’re unable to shut up. They have a point of view. They put themselves through an emotional wringer to get it across, and sometimes lightning strikes and their work resonates with other people. — Ilona Andrews

I love that this writer has given herself a fun challenge, and frankly, she had me at “well-written.” 

Color me impressed.

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Photo by KS KYUNG on Unsplash

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Good Boye

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , on May 1, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Artistic masterpieces and upper class architecture can tell us a lot about what a society put on a pedestal at any particular time, but those items tend not to touch the lived experience of the 99% (that’s you and me).

Another way of peering into the past is to learn about the everyday, from what people ate and drank to (checks notes) what they named their dogs.

All Manner of Hounds

In the 15th century, Edward, Duke of York wrote a list of 1,065 names suitable for a dog.

Find the perfect name for your medieval mutt.

— for more background, check out 100 Weird and Wonderful Medieval Dog Names

If you click through the main link above, you’ll find yourself on an oddly addictive site that does nothing but generate dog names from the Duke of York’s original list.

No Snuggles or Cutiepie for them, but lots of creative medieval spellings like Misavisid, Fyndewell, Sergeaunt, Dere-ybowgt, Argument, Romwlus and of course, Boye.

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Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

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Rejoice!

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , on April 30, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive.”

— Eleonora Duse

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Photo by Karl Fredrickson on Unsplash

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With Feeling

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , on April 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“If you can’t do it with feeling—don’t.”

— Patsy Cline

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Photo by Allen Taylor on Unsplash

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If One Thing

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , on April 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

What if one story one vase one photograph one ring or one whatever it is you do when you do art, were guaranteed to make it into the historical record? Sadly, you do not know which one thing that will be.

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Photo by Marcel Eberle on Unsplash

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Better with Magic

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »

A phrase in a recent Storybundle promo caught my eye: “real life would be better if it had magic.”

Not that I actually think there are werewolves and vampires lurking around every corner, and I definitely believe in the power of science and all its wonders, but in general? I couldn’t agree more.

For me, magic is possibility. 

Magic is the sure and certain knowledge that while we like to think we know everything the world has to offer, we do not.

I find that encouraging. You may have noticed that our world has a number of pressing issues, from the social to the political to the environmental. It would be wonderful to be able to pull out a magic wand and make those problems go away, but that’s not how our magic works.

Our magic is anchored in reality. I’ve talked about this idea before, but think it bears repeating. Just like the best fantasy, it relies on people (that’s you and that’s me) who care about their family, their friends, and their communities. 

This form of magic is slower, yes, but surer. A rogue warlock can’t come along one day and upend everything we’ve worked for, just because he stole a forbidden spell from the archives of Alexandria-Under-Sea. (The Lernaean Hydra has been protecting those archives for centuries, thankfully! If you visit, tell him I sent you. And bring salmon snacks, he loves those.)

It also means that the problems and constraints we face today aren’t necessarily permanent. Not if we continue to study, to observe, to understand the world around us. (To quote Kurt Vonnegut, science is magic that works.) Not if we understand that every face is a mirror of our own humanity. Not if we are brave and focused and keep our eyes on our goals.

And if someone tells you that there is no hope? That you might as well give up?

Don’t listen to them.

So what if you’ve misplaced your magic wand. That’s ok, you can still be a hero. You can make your own magic.

Just embrace a world of possibilities. And then work to make it real.

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Photo by Lena Polishko on Unsplash

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Earth Day: What’s Good

Posted in Holidays, Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on April 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Today is work work work but that doesn’t mean I’m not thinking about what’s good for the planet. If you are looking for ideas on what to do and how to do it, check out the Earth Day 2024 website or this Earth Day Action Toolkit.

And for ideas on how interacting with nature can help change our perspective, here’s an article by documentary film maker and student of octopi Craig Foster:

Earth Day 2024: ‘Saving the Planet’ Is the Wrong Goal

I was gifted with a new way of seeing the day I got mugged underwater…

Note to self: do not swim with novel shiny things!

As we’re discussing octopi and how they see the world, let me also recommend Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. Is it fiction? Maybe!

(And yes, my favorite character was the octopus.)

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Photo by sheri silver on Unsplash

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Got the Munchies?

Posted in Food and..., Holidays, tagged , , , on April 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Maybe AI can help:

Food Mood — Google Arts & Culture

Get inspiration for your next meal and create new recipes mixing influences from two cuisines, generated with the help of Google AI.

I decided to mix Ireland and Sweden. On the face of it, at least, the basic concept of baked salmon and mashed potatoes wasn’t terrible (although the AI-generated image was a little off base).

Or break out the chips. You do you.

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Photo by Ryan Quintal on Unsplash

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