Posts Tagged ‘Thoughts’
Twenty Years
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, 9/11, remembrance, Thoughts on September 11, 2021| Leave a Comment »
To Democracy
Posted in Likes, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, democracy, Thoughts, vote!, yay on September 10, 2021| Leave a Comment »
What We’re Made Of
Posted in Likes, Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, characters, creativity, family, Fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, travel, writing, yay on September 9, 2021| Leave a Comment »
It seems we each have a fundamental core where we feel most comfortable, or most ourselves. It may come as no surprise to those who have spent any time on this site, but for me, it’s books and food.
Those aren’t all I’m made of, of course, but those two elements were established early, before my memories became fixed. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t love books and food. One of my first real recollections is sitting on the side steps of the porch eating an artichoke with my father, and it’s hard not to feel happy in a kitchen or library.
Now, if I’d had different experiences growing up I might have become an engineer or a tailor or a computer scientist. I make things and sew and code but not with the intuitive ease some have. Instead, it’s books. And food. I’m ok with that.
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I’m in the middle of a writing class, designing story ideas and characters. It got me thinking about how experiences become preferences and worldviews underpinning our actions.
My father and I visited the Grand Canyon once, road-tripping north to the South Rim to hike and camp. The trip was great, full of summer heat and happiness, astonishing vistas and challenging trails.
I may also have spent some of the visit sitting by the edge, reading a book. Because we had a few minutes and that’s how I roll.
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Like places, people have layers. Understanding how time and exposure, pressure and purpose combine makes it easier to build complex and interesting motivations, or to understand our own.
We just have to sit back and consider what we’re made of.
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Happy Star Trek Day!
Posted in Entertainment, Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, inspiration, science fiction, sff, star trek, Thoughts, yay on September 8, 2021| Leave a Comment »
It’s September 8th, and the 55th anniversary of the first airing of Star Trek: The Original Series. Now, I was always a Star Wars fan first and foremost* but Mr Man persuaded me to revisit and reassess, and I’m glad he did. The more geeky space fun, the better, as far as I’m concerned.
Want to know more, or commune with fellow Trekkies basking in the glory that is the Trekiverse? Click through for links to the annual Star Trek Day celebration:
Star Trek Day 2021: Celebrate 55 years of Trek with live panels and more tonight | Space
In closing…
(You know what I’m going to say, which also says something about the remarkable reach of this show into the global consciousness.)
Live long, and prosper.
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* The show had ended by the time I was ready for such things, and without a television even reruns were off the table. Hard to obsess over a series that you can’t watch!
Maybe Someday!
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, Fiction, inspiration, phdcomics.com, Thoughts, writing on September 7, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Not that I’ve let Alexa into my life or anything, but this might be the one ability that would convince me to do it!
A Good Day
Posted in Holidays, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, Return of the Jedi, Thoughts, yay on September 6, 2021| Leave a Comment »
I would have liked to have some profound thoughts for you today, but instead it’s been a morning of work, a drive in the country, a bit of sunshine, then adult beverages and Return of the Jedi.
So, a good day:)
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Get the Right Things Right
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, progress, Thoughts, writing on September 4, 2021| Leave a Comment »
The other day I hemmed a pair of jeans for Mr Man. The method isn’t difficult but can be a little tricky to get right. All those thick seams and difficult fabric.
I don’t sew much, so I had to go through the usual process of pretending like I know what I’m doing. A lot like life, really. Thankfully, muscle memory has been in charge of threading sewing machine needles since I was about twelve.
Once I finished, I realized something interesting. The results were good. Better than the last time I did it, actually. And the interesting part was that it wasn’t perfect, nowhere close, but I seem to have figured out what mattered.
For hemmed jeans, it’s thread color.
For writing, I will argue, it’s the emotion that connects reader and written.
It’s possible that I sometimes try too hard, in an effort to get everything right. (Hahahahaha, that seems even sillier when I write it down. Yeah, that’s not happening, like, ever;)
But what if I don’t need to get the whole thing right? What if I just need to get the right things right?
Step one, figure out what those things are. Step two, take the next step.
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The Kuchen of My Dreams
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, cake, cooking, family, memories, recipes, Thoughts on September 3, 2021| 1 Comment »
I’m looking for a good German plum cake recipe. There are (of course) many versions available online, but the problem with that is you never quite know what you’re getting, and I only have the one batch of plums.
There’s also an added complication. I am looking for a plum cake recipe because I made one as a teenager, and it was astoundingly good. Flavorful pastry base, creamy plum filling, and delightful streusel crumble on top. Now, that remembered experience is the standard to which I hold all future plum cakes.
Was it actually as good as it is in my mind? Maybe not, but I think so:) My mother also remembers the cake. It was her favorite type of German dessert, from when she lived in that country once upon a time. She brought home a classic German cookbook, source of the original plum cake recipe.
I hold out hope that she still has the cookbook, and can find that recipe, but until then, I am on the hunt for the kuchen of my dreams.
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Bilbo It Up
Posted in Favorites, Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, courage, dragons, inspiration, Patrick Rothfuss, quotes, Thoughts, Writers on September 2, 2021| Leave a Comment »
“The truth is that the world is full of dragons, and none of us are as powerful or cool as we’d like to be. And that sucks. But when you’re confronted with that fact, you can either crawl into a hole and quit, or you can get out there, take off your shoes, and Bilbo it up.”
― Patrick Rothfuss
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Today in Creative Women
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, genre fiction, inspiration, music, sff, Thoughts, women, Writers, writing on September 1, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Today in creative women, we have two items you might find interesting. First, a podcast on one of our great science fiction writers:
Octavia Butler: Visionary Fiction
Octavia Butler’s alternate realities and ‘speculative fiction’ reveal striking, and often devastating parallels to the world we live in today. She was a deep observer of the human condition, perplexed and inspired by our propensity towards self-destruction. Butler was also fascinated by the cyclical nature of history, and often looked to the past when writing about the future. Along with her warning is her message of hope – a hope conjured by centuries of survival and persistence. For every society that perishes in her books comes a story of rebuilding, of repair.
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I was also interested to see this piece on largely forgotten female composers, complete with interactive map. I’m not a classical music buff, but I didn’t even know Amadeus had a sister, much less one who was also a child music prodigy. Now I do, and I’m better for it.
‘They deserve a place in history’: music teacher makes map of female composers
Two siblings, both considered child prodigies, dazzled audiences across Europe together in the 18th century, leaving a trail of positive reviews in their wake. But while Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart went on to be celebrated as one of the world’s greatest composers, the accomplishments of his sister – Maria Anna – were quickly forgotten after she was forced to halt her career when she came of age.
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Here’s to not stopping.
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