“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”
— Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
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Posts Tagged ‘Thoughts’
And In Darkness Glow
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, Thoughts on June 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »
A Spicy Rabbit Hole
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, food, history, Thoughts on June 10, 2024| Leave a Comment »
I stumbled across a spice mix yesterday and ended up going down a rabbit hole of seasoning mixes, chefs and surprises. Did I collect a list of Burlap & Barrel wants that will keep my wish list going for the foreseeable future? I did. And did I learn some interesting and fun facts about cooking with spices that are new to me? Also yes.
For example: I didn’t recognize hing at first, but it’s also called perungayam or asafoetida, which I have heard of but never cooked with. It’s used in Indian and other recipes and is good for people who can’t or don’t want to use onions and garlic. (B&B’s tasting notes equate 1/8 teaspoon of the spice to one whole onion plus six cloves garlic, so yeah, it packs a punch.) I happen to be a mite sensitive to alliums so I decided to explore more. Which led me to this in-depth article:
Asafoetida’s Lingering Legacy Goes Beyond Aroma — Whetstone Magazine
Devil’s dung. Seytan tersi. Merde du diable.
In English, Turkish, French and a whole host of other languages, the monikers for asafoetida are so deeply unflattering that you’d wonder why anyone would want to consume or cook with the spice at all. Its most commonly used English name is just as unambiguous. Derived from Farsi and Latin, asafoetida simply translates to “stinking resin.”
So what is asafoetida, and why is it so divisive?
If you aren’t one of the millions who already use this particular spice, read on for more, including an interesting detour through Afghanistan and Iran with Alexander the Great. Because even kings have to eat!
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Here’s a Thought
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, #Fridea, ideas, movies, Thoughts on June 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »
I sometimes come up with low-level problem solutions that are absolutely, 100% super duper excellently awesome… or at least maybe not terrible ideas?
Here’s one for movie theaters without assigned seating:
Add glow-in-the-dark dots to the headrests of movie theatre seats. Because finding empty spots in the dark sucks.
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Quote, Meet Pretty Picture
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, Thoughts, Writers on June 6, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Today: finishing up a day job project, listening to the loudest most distracting family of starlings on the planet, and starting (but not quite finishing) three different posts. You know what that means!
Quote:
“And if one is never lost in life, then clearly one has never traveled anywhere interesting.”
― Richard Osman
And a pretty picture:)
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Keeping Up With the Rhiboloxians
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, first impressions, progress, self-respect, Thoughts on June 4, 2024| Leave a Comment »
On climate, politics and so much more, it’s hard for me not to think some version of this:
There’s a decent chance that sometime in our lifetimes one of these monster telescopes and some Al discover that we’re not actually alone out here. And do you really want our first impression to be that we’re a bunch of self-defeating ding-dongs?
I don’t.
— Quinn Emmett
I’d rather do our best to keep up with our alien neighbors, you know?
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Climate Futures Contest
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, cli-fi, climate change, creativity, genre fiction, hope, Thoughts, Writers, writing, writing contest on June 1, 2024| 1 Comment »
Are you the sort of writer who can imagine a better future? Do you care about the climate? This may be the contest for you!
Imagine 2200 climate fiction contest 2024: Submit your story | Grist
Imagine 2200 is an invitation to writers from all over the globe to imagine a future in which solutions to the climate crisis flourish and help bring about radical improvements to our world. We dare you to dream anew…
In 2,500 to 5,000 words, show us the world you dream of building…
There is no cost to enter. Submissions close June 24, 2024, 11:59 p.m. U.S. Pacific Time.
Here’s an example of a climate positive / “hey, maybe we will get out of this alive“ story:
Fishy by Alice Towey – Clarkesworld Magazine
I enjoyed it. Because I too dare to dream.
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Lighter Reads
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, free fiction, genre fiction, humor, reading, sff, Thoughts on May 30, 2024| Leave a Comment »
The news, man, it can be heavy. If you’re in the market for lighter reads, put these short stories from Reactor (f.k.a. Tor.com, why are so many sites changing their names these days? like we don’t all have enough to keep track of) on your list.
Six Seriously Funny Speculative Short Stories – Reactor
Haven’t read them all yet but I’m looking forward to it. For even more recommendations, scroll down to the page’s comment section. Readers have thoughts.
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Sweet Dreams
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, inspiration, Thoughts on May 29, 2024| 1 Comment »
“The Embankment”
Oh, God, make small
The old star-eaten blanket of the sky,
That I may fold it round me and in comfort lie …— T. E. Hulme
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The Future Isn’t Written (Yet)
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, Fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on May 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »
I’m sad that I haven’t written a lot of things, but I’m incredibly happy that I’ve written as much as I have. Because there was a point when I was younger where there was a very good chance that I wouldn’t write anything – I was just too frightened.
— Alice Munro, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature
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Honor the Dead, Cherish the Living
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, home, memories, Thoughts on May 27, 2024| 1 Comment »
On Memorial Day, we honor and remember.
What Is Memorial Day? A Brief History and Why It’s Celebrated.
The holiday grew out of the Civil War, as Americans — Northern, Southern, Black and white — struggled to honor the staggering numbers of dead soldiers, at least 2 percent of the U.S. population at the time. Several places lay claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. One of the earliest accounts comes from Boalsburg, Pa., where, in October 1864, three women are said to have placed flowers and wreaths on the graves of men who had died serving the Union during the Civil War.
Not too far away from my favorite ice cream store there lives a green metal tank. This aged weapon of war sits in pride of place outside the military museum in Boalsburg, and my brother and I used to climb it as kids. We absorbed the solemnity of that place and, as children do, converted it to joy.
Today, may you do the same.
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