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Posts Tagged ‘Thoughts’

Worlds of Their Own

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 21, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Other people are some of the best, most interesting sources for story ideas, if you can find your way behind their facades.

Most of us would prefer to avoid awkward conversations with strangers, however.

PostSecret is one way to get a glimpse of the former without the latter.

You are invited to anonymously contribute a secret to a group art project. Your secret can be a regret, fear, betrayal, desire, confession or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything – as long
as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before.

Some secrets are funny, some poignant, and all are reminders that every person you meet is a complex, ever-changing world of their own.

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Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash

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The Secret of Creativity

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on September 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »

According to Ray Bradbury (who ought to know), this is the secret to creativity:

As soon as things get difficult, I walk away. That’s the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you. If you try to approach a cat and pick it up, hell, it won’t let you do it. You’ve got to say, “Well, to hell with you.” And the cat says, “Wait a minute. He’s not behaving the way most humans do.” Then the cat follows you out of curiosity: “Well, what’s wrong with you that you don’t love me?” Well, that’s what an idea is. See? You just say, “Well, hell, I don’t need depression. I don’t need worry. I don’t need to push.” The ideas will follow me. When they’re off-guard, and ready to be born, I’ll turn around and grab them.

― Ray Bradbury, Zen in The Art of Writing

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Photo by DNK.PHOTO on Unsplash

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You Are Awesome

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , on September 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

It seems as though every step I take I trip over yet another project to do. I have made it to the end of my workday having done many, many things, but not the items that were actually on my list.

So congratulations, all those who like quotes and pretty pictures, today is (once again) your day!

“Don’t worry about looking cool. Do you because you are awesome.”

— Hank Green

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Photo by Brantley Neal on Unsplash

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Something Old and True

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , on September 17, 2023| 1 Comment »

We read fantasy to find the colors again, I think. To taste strong spices and hear the songs the sirens sang. There is something old and true in fantasy that speaks to something deep within us, to the child who dreamt that one day he would hunt the forests of the night, and feast beneath the hollow hills, and find a love to last forever somewhere south of Oz and north of Shangri-La.

― George R.R. Martin

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Photo by Nick Dunn on Unsplash

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Or Any Age, Really

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , on September 16, 2023| 2 Comments »

“There’s a point, around the age of twenty, when you have to choose whether to be like everybody else the rest of your life, or to make a virtue of your peculiarities.”

— Ursula K. Le Guin

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Photo by Jonas Jacobsson on Unsplash

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That Day, and After

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , , on September 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »

On this day in 2001 I was home in Pennsylvania, getting ready to fly back to Boston. At least that was the plan, until I got a call telling me that all flights had been grounded.

For more on what was behind the cancellation of my flight, and all the others, check out this article from Now I Know:

Ben’s Big Decision

In all, Ben Sliney’s initiative makes for an incredible story. When Universal Pictures decided to turn the heroism of the passengers of United Flight 93 into a movie, they did not overlook Ben Sliney’s role — they even asked him to play himself in the movie…

Here’s to all the heroes from that day, and after.

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Photo by Julien DI MAJO on Unsplash

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Just Say Yes

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , on September 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

The weather today was perfect for a walk. We headed out to the southwest of Ottawa, found a new cafe, then spent quality time on a new-to-us path along a converted railroad bed. 

Years ago, Mr Man and I found ourselves in the northern Ontario wilderness. After a long day of fishing, we realized that we are always happier when we say yes to nature. So today, that’s what we did.

If you’re looking for new trails too, you might find this site useful:

Wikiloc | Trails of the World

Browse to see options for walking, hiking, running, biking and more, complete with maps and elevation. Here’s the list for Ottawa, and an example that includes the lovely Fletcher Gardens near Dows Lake:

Wikiloc | Hartwells, Fletcher Garden and Morris St Trail

Did we exert ourselves enough to balance out the cheesecake we’ll be having for dessert? 

Maybe?

I mean, yes.

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Photo by Eric Ward on Unsplash

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Slowly, and Then Fast

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Canada is a global leader in many arenas: friendliness, humor, dishes featuring cheese, gravy and potatoes. 

Come fall, it also leads the way in terms of natural beauty.

The leaves on the maple across the street are beginning to turn. Thanks in part to my father falling in love with the Appalachian mountains on a job interview, I’ve watched this dance most of my life. First the green fades into yellows and orange and reds, slowly and then fast, until every vista is filtered through a rainbow-colored lens.

The change depends on a number of factors such as precipitation and temperature, but check out this map for a prediction:

2023 Fall Foliage Map & Nationwide Peak Leaf Forecast

More on the map and how it was made:

See When Brilliant Fall Foliage Will Peak With This Interactive Map

According to the map, fall foliage season began on September 4 and will end on November 20.

For comparison, here’s the Farmers’ Almanac weighing in on dates by state: Fall Leaves: America’s Top Destinations.

When will peak fall happen for you? Soon, the trees whisper. Soon.

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Photo by Nong on Unsplash

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Atwood on AI

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 5, 2023| 1 Comment »

What does one of the great speculative fiction writers of our time have to say about AI (or at least, her own AI doppelgänger)?

Margaret Atwood: Murdered by My Replica?

Apparently, 33 of my books have been used as training material for their wordsmithing computer programs. Once fully trained, the bot may be given a command—“Write a Margaret Atwood novel”—and the thing will glurp forth 50,000 words, like soft ice cream spiraling out of its dispenser, that will be indistinguishable from something I might grind out. (But minus the typos.) I myself can then be dispensed with—murdered by my replica, as it were—because, to quote a vulgar saying of my youth, who needs the cow when the milk’s free?

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Photo by Fernando Rodrigues on Unsplash

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Traveling Today

Posted in Likes, tagged , , , on September 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »

“Am going to cross Pacific on a wooden raft to support a theory that the South Sea islands were peopled from Peru. Will you come? I guarantee nothing but a free trip to Peru and the South Sea islands and back, but you will find good use for your technical abilities on the voyage. Reply at once.’

Next day the following telegram arrived from Torstein:

COMING. TORSTEIN.” 

― Thor Heyerdahl

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Photo by Peter Thomas on Unsplash

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