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Posts Tagged ‘Thoughts’

It’s Election Day in the US! Want to have a say in your community and its policies, in who represents you and for what? Voting is all this and more. 

Haven’t voted yet? There’s still lots of time. 

Need info on where or how to vote? These sites have you covered:

I Will Vote

VOTE411

And if you have additional questions or run into issues, there’s also this election protection hotline  (complete with memorable phone numbers!): 866ourvote.org

  • English 866-OUR-VOTE: 866-687-8683
  • Spanish/English 888-VE-Y-VOTA: 888-839-8682
  • Asian Languages/English 888-API-VOTE: 888-274-8683
  • Arabic/English 844-YALLA-US: 844-925-5287

Sally forth, citizens, and be heard!

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“The gifts you possess can lift you up or pull you down; it all depends on how you use them.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

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My office is filled with random yet interesting items. Maybe a color caught my eye, or a puzzle, or a map (or a bit of pottery, a magic wand, a decoder ring, a set of travel watercolors, or or or). All things that spark my creativity or capture an experience I want to remember.

For example: Mr Man and I had a special dinner a while back. 

Appetizer: mussels steamed with a great deal of garlic and a perfectly reasonable amount of white wine. 

Flavor: excellent. 

Bonus: an unexpected gift, the tiniest pearl I have ever seen. 

Taking a picture of it was a challenge, it’s that small.

I keep it in memory of that night. It’s worth nothing, and everything.

“But the pearls were accidents, and the finding of one was luck, a little pat on the back by God or the gods both.”

– John Steinbeck

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Sometimes a story seed comes to me, and while it doesn’t always grow into a full-fledged story, it’s often expressed in the form of its own small poem. Like this.

Can We Make a Deal?

My alien mind

In this animal body

Which wins, in the end?

And since today is National Cat Day in the US, let’s make that animal a kitty.

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Some days seem designed to deliver a lesson. I won’t go into the sadly uninteresting and happily trifling details, but today’s lesson for me?

Time comes for us all. Don’t put stuff off!

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Looking for an unexpected way to find interesting and creative story ideas? Creativity expert Keith Sawyer has a suggestion.

The Creativity Hack No One Told You About: Read the Obits

Here’s how you can use the obituaries to enhance your creative cognition.

First, start by reading them slowly, without searching for a big idea. Let the details wash over you — the places lived, the professions practiced, the odd hobbies pursued. Notice what sticks.

It’s not just about learning new facts, of course — it’s about asking questions.

There’s more to this idea than just skimming the paper. Want to know more about how to enhance your creative cognition? This article can help.

“…research shows that distant analogies often lead to creative breakthroughs, often in unexpected ways. What you’re doing is filling up your brain with a range of very different cognitive material.”

As you read the obits (or watch TV, or stroll through the neighborhood, there are lots of options), start by asking questions. Get a sense of the who, what and where, then look for the why and see where it leads.

To your next story, I hope!

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It’s not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.

— Seneca

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We drove out to woods yesterday, the gently curving country road surrounded by rolling hills and turning leaves and the crisp cool air of an autumn evening.

Welcome, fall.

“No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face.”

— John Donne

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I recently received an emergency request from a friend for a critical mission: Could I please run over to the old Toys ‘R Us and check for a certain costume for their toddler?

That’s right, I was asked to visit Spirit Halloween.

Sure, I said, no problem. I’ve never been to a Spirit Halloween before, it’s bound to be interesting.

And it was. I’m not a big Halloween person (I believe I’ve mentioned my childhood scars from The Amityville Horror; thanks, Dad! and also thanks for not moving into that house that looked a lot like That House when we were kids). 

My last real costume was a ghost (although I did attend one party as Trinity from The Matrix which was fun; still have the leather trench coat), so it’s been a while since I really celebrated. 

I do remember that there were very definite differences between good candy and not-so-good candy. 

As many of us prepare to do That Halloween Thing, I thought I’d share this highly scientific analysis of candy preferences:

The Ultimate Halloween Candy Power Ranking.

The social contract of Halloween is simple: Provide adequate treats to costumed masses, or be prepared for late-night tricks from those dissatisfied with your offer. To help you avoid that type of vengeance, and to help you make good decisions at the supermarket this weekend, we wanted to figure out what Halloween candy people most prefer. So we devised an experiment: Pit dozens of fun-sized candy varietals against one another, and let the wisdom of the crowd decide which one was best.

Or just buy what you like and share it with the neighborhood. Either way, have fun!

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Here’s an illustrated short by Rich Wells, capturing an epiphany he had outside a tire shop.

Graham’s Tyres – Rich Wells

“I thought l’d take the words from my notebook and make something visual.

A reminder to myself that all this everyday stuff – admin, errands, school runs, park trips, waiting in lines, meal times –

it’s all a gift”

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