Posted in Holidays, Likes, tagged #ThingsILike, awesome, history, inspiration, Kid President, Martin Luther King Jr., MLK, Motivation, persistence, quotes, Thoughts 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:)
Posted in Writing, tagged 2016election, artists, Brexit, creativity, Fiction, Ian Warren, inspiration, Motivation, persistence, science fiction, sff, speculative fiction, storytelling, Thoughts, work, Writers, writing 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.”
Posted in Food and..., tagged 2016election, food, Motivation, persistence, Thoughts on November 9, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Concession Cupcakes:
Dark like my mood, but sweet like my hopes for the future.
Today it’s time for cupcakes. Tomorrow, let’s get to work.
Posted in Other, tagged #ThingsILike, 2016election, awesome, free, Motivation, Thoughts, vote! on November 8, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #justfreakingvote, #sotiredofcrazy, 2016election, Congress, democracy, Motivation, Thoughts on November 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »
My goal for today was to write an inspiring piece about the democratic process and the powerful privilege U.S. citizens have to, in the face of most of human history, be governed by the people, for the people.
No, it’s not perfect (“more perfect union” remember?:). And I’m so ready for this election to be over. I spend a significant amount of my day-job online, and the onslaught of election-related crazy takes a toll. It’s also cutting into my writing time (and I’m not the only one).
So, no deep-think piece about the historical moment in which we find ourselves, or my hope that we the people will remember that the tides of change can move backward as well as forward.
Just freaking vote.
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We don’t have to agree on specific candidates or issues to share the belief that democracy is a good and precious thing. Voting is always, always, always important, and not just at the executive level.
Want a place to start to learn more about specific issues? Need help voting? Need information on where to vote?
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Or perhaps you need more inspiration, possibly in the form of humor and high-profile actors? (In the midst of this nutzo election? Yes, please!)
Check out this new video by Joss Whedon’s Save the Day get-out-the-vote campaign. Their latest short stars Chris Pine as Congress, you know, If Congress Was Your Co-Worker.
Enjoy, and for the next week remember the best advice ever given to any hitchhiker from Planet Earth:
Don’t Panic!
Posted in Likes, Other, Writing, tagged #ThingsILike, awesome, Canada, Hamilton, history, home, inspiration, Motivation, NASA, space, Thoughts, travel, work, writing, yay on October 27, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Every so often I am struck with the realization that I live in what is, to me, a foreign country. How cool is that?
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There I was, about to start up the old treadmill desk and get to work when I looked out the window and had one of those moments. You may know the kind I mean (at least I hope you do), where suddenly everything you see shines with crystal clarity.
Oh, you may think, I hadn’t realized that the neighbor’s maple was quite so magnificent this Fall, and every leaf stands out. I think of it as seeing with a child’s eyes, before “this thing” and “that thing” become a group of “the usual things” that can be ignored without conscious attention.
Do we see each blade of grass when we walk past the lawn? I don’t. In fact, it would be an almost impossible way to live, I think, and I say that with the full knowledge that I am the sort of person who pays attention to the curbs when in Athens. (What? They’re made of marble. And oh yes, The Parthenon;)
I like the everyday, appreciate the curbs and libraries and sidewalk trees that we interact with on a daily basis. The common shapes our daily experience, even as it remains largely invisible. Even so…
I live in a foreign country! Part of my realization was the sudden understanding that I’ve accomplished one of the goals I set when I was a child.
I might have been twelve years old, the details are a bit fuzzy now. There was a group of friends in the room, all of us paging through an atlas (oversized, hardcover, with glossy paper). We argued over where to go, calculated the costs, plotted impossible strategies to get there.
Living in another country seemed the height of adventure. And now here I am.
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Canada is lovely and wild, with an often thin edge of civilization anchoring this vast swath of often frigid territory. Approximately 75% of the population lives within 100 miles of the U.S. border, and the continent looks very different up here at night.
That mostly dark bit mostly north of the U.S.? Yeah, not water. I’m waving!
Canadian history is much different than the version I grew up with. It captures an ongoing friction between very different cultures and the relatively peaceable integration of those worlds into a single entity. No flashy Revolution here. There are reasons for signs that list both French and English versions of the word “street.” There are reasons for the populations’ deep-seated love of Tim Horton’s coffee, and gravy-drenched poutine. This country has its own twists, its own heroes, its own storied and shadowed chapters.
It’s true that I can shop for groceries in my native language, read most of the signage and do not need a plane ticket to visit my parents, but I no longer live in the place I was born. It’s also true that even Canadians can be crotchety, the bread often has too much flour in it, and there really is only one road connecting the East and West halves of the country. (And they still won’t shut up about that time they burned down The White House…;) But for me, here and now, it’s all a bit magical.
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Pay attention, I remind myself. You just might find that the world is a far more beautiful and astonishing place than you remember. You might also realize that in spite of the knowledge that there is always more to do, if you work hard* and you keep moving even when it feels as though you’re going in circles, dreams can come true.
How cool is that?
. . . . . . . . . . .
* Need some motivation? I recommend the PBS Great Performances documentary Hamilton’s America. Both Alexander Hamilton and Lin-Manuel Miranda are inspirational as heck. It’s available online for U.S. viewers. The rest of us may be lucky enough to catch it on our PBS stations. (See? Not the 51st state after all;)
Posted in Writing, tagged creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, Maya Angelou, persistence, quotes, short stories, Thoughts, work, Writers, writing on September 22, 2016| Leave a Comment »
I’m working on a new project and looking forward to finishing it up and getting it out the door. It’s been a busy month so far, but there never seems to be quite enough time to get everything done. It’s still fun to try.
My mother had this wonderful Maya Angelou quote illuminated and framed. (And who is that amusing young girl in the photo?:) She knew a thing or two about adversity, and about persistence.
Hang on, I’ve got to go take care of a few more things. Something about life and lapels…
Posted in Holidays, tagged fun, gone fishing, summer, Thoughts, work, yay on July 25, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Oh hello there! It’s been a while since I’ve posted, as apparently I have gone fishing. Not literally, at least not yet, but in the sense that my mind has decided that it’s time for a summer vacation. I’m still working, both on writing and other things, but it seems I needed a little break and I’m taking it here.
Remember what summer meant when the last school bell rang and the doors opened on whole months of freedom and possibility? I’m feeling a little of that right now, and dang it, I’m going to enjoy it. I hope you are too!
Posted in Entertainment, Likes, tagged #C3PO, #ThingsILike, entertainment, family, food, history, home, old tech, science fiction, sff, speculative fiction, star wars, Thoughts, writing, yay on June 10, 2016| Leave a Comment »
I had a post in mind for today that I thought would be cool but, sadly, it’s not ready. Rather than go with something that’s not right, I’m setting it aside until I can do a good job or come up with something better. So in the end, what did I choose as Today’s Thing I Like? Popcorn:)
Here’s an excerpt from the family cookbook to tell you why.
Popcorn
My whole family can make this with their eyes closed, but Dad really deserves credit for setting new and higher standards for butter and salt consumption. He is blessed with a genetic tolerance for such unhealthy behavior; his blood pressure and cholesterol levels are lower than mine.
For years he’d head to the kitchen after dinner, and a few minutes later I’d hear pop pop! as hot oil turned the first kernels inside out. A few minutes more and we’d be piled on the couch with huge bowls of popcorn and masses of paper towels.
There was no television in the house growing up but at some point we acquired a copy of Star Wars and a video monitor. This was back before Blockbusters popped up down the street (or closed down, for that matter), and there were certainly no DVD players.
The tape was black and white and we watched it on a Beta machine. (Don’t remember Beta? That’s funny, no one else does either.) My brother and I watched that tape until it died, literally came apart from use. To this day I can still reel off an annoying amount of dialog and get excited when I see Star Wars in color. What could be better than a cold drink, a hot bowl of popcorn, and reciting C3PO’s lines with people you love?
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