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Posts Tagged ‘Thoughts’

Adulting is Hard

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , on March 31, 2017| 3 Comments »

Brave Sir Tintin (1999–2017)

Tintin was an excellent cat. Orphaned on the frigid November streets of Ottawa at the tender age of six months, he nevertheless established a loving home complete with devoted human servants. Well-traveled and handsome to a fault, he remained a homebody who adored a good cuddle by the fire. He was sprightly enough to catch mice despite having no front claws, but never missed an opportunity to lounge in a sunbeam.

Tintin passed away following complications from lymphoma which, according to his vet, would have felled a lesser cat long ago.

He was loved, and he will be sorely missed.

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Slippie Slide

Posted in Likes, tagged , , , , , , , on March 27, 2017| Leave a Comment »

You know how some Mondays you wake up to grey skies and a sheet of ice on your front step, and you have a million things on your list you’re not sure you can do and everything could be awful… but somehow it’s not? Yeah, for me that day is today:)

For you too, hopefully!

 

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Mashup Monday

Posted in Funny, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 6, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Here’s hoping you have a good day, even if it is a Monday:)

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Because Presidents’ Day

Posted in Holidays, tagged , , on February 20, 2017| 1 Comment »

Happy Presidents’ Day!

If you’re wondering what presidential life and history was like before Twitter, check out:
Because democracy didn’t just miraculously happen and, sadly, is not guaranteed.

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Happy Happy!

Posted in Holidays, tagged , , , , , , , on February 14, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.

— Robert A. Heinlein

Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

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Today: Last Day for 2017 Obamacare Enrollment

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , on January 31, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Because we all deserve healthcare. Check out HealthCare.gov for more information on 2017 open enrollment. Even better, eight out of ten people who enroll through HC.gov get financial help!

The Affordable Care Act protects people with pre-existing conditions, covers adult children on their parents’ plans until age 26, provides access to preventative care coverage, and more. It covers aging joints and catastrophic illness if you’re older, and if you’re young and healthy and devil-may-care, well… Obamacare would also cover you if you’re just riding your motorcycle down the street and get T-boned by a car. Just saying:p

Because a great country protects its people.

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Why Writing Is Hard, Today’s Edition

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on January 27, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Writing is hard, almost all of the time. It’s been said before, but imagining a new world, reducing it to marks on a page, and sending it out to be reconstituted by another person is a lot like a magic spell. (Or mind control. Or sea monkeys, but hopefully more realistic;) It takes concentration, and focus, and clarity.

All of those things seem to be in somewhat short supply these days. There’s a lot going on in this world. And I fear that I have been neglecting you, fair readers.

So here’s what I’m planning to do: post more. No crazy promises I’m sure to break, like a post every 23 hours and 59 minutes, because let’s get real. I’m aiming for success, not self-recrimination:) And if a photo or quote is what I’ve got for the day, fine. With luck, it will cheer, inspire, amaze, or similarly affect you as it has me.

Because when it comes right down to it, isn’t that what it’s all about?

Here, have a picture of some sea monkeys:)

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We’ve Fallen Through the Trapdoor. Now What?

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on January 26, 2017| 1 Comment »

Slate has invited ten writers to envision the possibilities of a Trump future. As Ben H. Winters, author and the editor of this series explains, “fiction has a special power to clarify, galvanize, prophesy, and warn.” Writers include Héctor Tobar, Ben H. Winters, Nisi Shawl, Saladin Ahmed, Lauren Beukes, Jeff VanderMeer, Kashana Cauley, J. Robert Lennon, Edan Lepucki, and Elizabeth Bear.
Because as the motto says, it’s best to be prepared.

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A Beautiful Symphony

Posted in Holidays, Likes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 16, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

Want to bone up on your history? Kid President is here to help:)

 

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Stories to Tell, Futures to Build

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 14, 2016| Leave a Comment »

It occurs to me that one of the things we really need now is storytelling. With a Republican-dominated government in the U.S., dissenters won’t have as many direct political options to make change via laws. That leaves hearts and minds.

And what’s best for changing hearts and minds? A compelling story.

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As I see it, an important part of our job right now as writers isn’t to bombard with facts and figures (or not only, of course there’s a place for that). Fiction writers have a special place in society. We imagine other futures, other paths, other worlds. We bring those experiences, those feelings*, to readers.

Our challenge is to inspire, to engage, to help others envision a better world. With a nod to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, to make them long for a kinder, more hopeful, and more just sea.

 

 

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* And as Ian Warren argues, at least part of what has happened with Brexit and the U.S. election seems to be that “what data and polling often misses, is how people think and feel” and that “the communication of effective emotional messages is currently beating data alone.”

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