Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #yearofthebird, genre fiction, home, inspiration, Motivation, quotes, science fiction, sff, speculative fiction, Thoughts, writing on April 12, 2018| 1 Comment »
My bird feeder is half full.
It’s an extra large “squirrel proof” version that almost lives up to its name. It’s tall and has a red metal cap and four weight-sensitive perches designed to give smaller birds a chance against the jays and cardinals and squirrels in the neighborhood, and mostly it works. Watching birds come into the yard is fun and satisfying for both humans and felines. Except that there’s a lot less to watch these days.
I haven’t refilled the feeder since last year. And it’s still half full. Where are the birds?
I’ve been wondering this every time Mr. Man and I are out and about. We live in an established suburb and when we first moved into our house the yard hosted raccoons and rabbits and groundhogs and once, a fluffy orange fox. Now only the squirrels and a few birds remain. The city is going through a burst of expansion, so perhaps it’s no surprise that the decline in surrounding farmland is taking a toll on the wildlife. Still, this shift feels new.
* * *
A New York Times article* brought this to a head for me. It’s not the first report I’ve seen on the topic, unfortunately, but we do (with apologies to The Day After Tomorrow) appear to be reaching a critical de-avian-ization point. Agricultural practices in particular have done a number on the insect population. Is it any surprise that birds will follow?
Insects and birds are all part of that delightful staple of elementary school classrooms, the food web. The next obvious questions are, “What’s next?” and “How long until it affects us?”
Public policy is one way to improve the situation. For example, the Farm Bill helps preserve habitat on private lands and provides an often much-needed economic buffer for farmers and other land owners. Don’t have acreage at your disposal? You can still make a difference by creating bird-friendly (and pollinator-friendly) yards.
But before we can make a better world, we need to envision that world.
* * *
“We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.”
― J.K. Rowling
One of the best things about speculative fiction is that it allows us to test drive ideas, to spin them into the future, to weigh the potential positives and negatives without actually having to live through that AI or medical or environmental apocalypse.
It reminds me of something I said to a friend facing a life-changing decision: “Whatever you decide, do it on purpose.”
* * *
“We are our choices.”
― Jean-Paul Sartre
Some of the most terrifying words in the English language are “unintended consequences.” Fiction, particularly of the speculative variety, can help steer us through those dangerous waters, between Scylla and Charybdis.
Have a goal, consider the consequences. Then act on purpose.
Making sure that we aren’t on the list of species in decline by protecting the species around us? That seems like a terrific goal.
And maybe next year I’ll have to refill my bird feeder more often.
. . . . .
* tl;dr: Bird populations in France are experiencing “precipitous declines in agricultural regions, even among common birds well adapted to human activity” and scientists point to “the loss of insects, the major food source for many birds, as a likely result of pesticide use.” And before American and Canadian readers breathe a sigh of relief, “A report two years ago said that the problems for about a third of North American birds were urgent.” Ruh-ro!
Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #ThingsILike, Fiction, harry potter, inspiration, star wars, Thoughts, writing, yay on March 27, 2018| Leave a Comment »
I love this so much I just can’t even say. The idea that a generation of Potterheads and aspiring Jedi and would-be superheroes are tackling the big issues of the day? Absolutely fantastic.
As Time correspondent Charlotte Alter put it,
“This is not just a generation that has grown up with school shootings,” she tweeted, before building her apt analogy. “It’s also a generation that grew up reading Harry Potter.”
It’s everything I love about storytelling and everything I want for society. To those writing the good fight, from Tolkien to Rowling to all of you working to make the world a better place through storytelling…
Thank you.
Posted in Writing, tagged oh hello!, Thoughts, work, writing on March 23, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Oh, hello there!
It’s been a while, but I’ve missed you. Between the holidays and the ongoing torrent of crazy that is the news and oh yes, life, it was easy to let posting here slip through the cracks.
No more! (Probably.) I’m going to be better. (Here’s hoping!) And I’m not going to spend a lot of time (any more time, that is) castigating myself over what I’ve missed. Time to get back on the horse (or moose or cow or whatever, I don’t judge).
There’s been a long enough gap in posts that starting up again seemed like A Big Deal, but it isn’t (shouldn’t be, anyway). So this is a post. Not a big deal, just doing a drive by between working on a story and making a unicorn wand. Vroom.
Because that’s how I roll. Trying to get things done and not let things get in my way (at least not for long). At the risk of sounding too positive (I’m not always, but it’s good to have goals; honestly though, I’m not usually this chipper), I think it’s time to stop overthinking (or wondering if I have too many parentheses in this post) and let the ideas flow.
Here’s hoping you aren’t letting anything stop you, either!
Posted in Writing, tagged #ThingsILike, books, creativity, Fiction, fun, genre fiction, Motivation, nanowrimo, persistence, science fiction, sff, speculative fiction, Thoughts, work, Writers, writing on November 6, 2017| Leave a Comment »
It’s November. Days are cold and nights are frosty. The cat wants in. And out. And back in again. It’s also the time of year for NaNoWriMo.
Yep, I’m doing it! My plan is to win (because of course) but most importantly, my goal is to get back on the regular-everyday-seriously-stop messing around writing train, and to practice a select number of specific writing skills. I haven’t gotten around to updating my official NaNo information, but I am working industriously away, so double handful of yay there.
Right now it looks as though the story I’m working on will involve superheroes and science fiction, but you just never know when a story will take a left turn. Will there be elves in the closet? Magic cotton candy machines? Or a secret bio lab planning to doom us all?!? One never knows:)
As I’ve mentioned in years past, I tend to be a pantser who heads to the keyboard and tackles the project head on, but I’m mixing it up this year.
Now I’m off to do some planning, some pantsing, and lots of writing:)
Posted in Likes, tagged #ThingsILike, arts, constructive creativity, creativity, fun, inspiration, Motivation, Thoughts, woodturning, work, writing, yay on September 29, 2017| 1 Comment »
I like making things. Some days that means building worlds with words, some days it just means building. I find the two modes of creation to be complementary.
One of the more useful things I learned about myself in grad school (aside from the fact that I am capable of a great deal more persistence than previously suspected) is that I like understanding the world through concrete objects. Ideas are good, ideas can be great, but it’s harder for me to make real headway unless I’m also operating in the physical realm. It doesn’t have to be all I do, but it is satisfying to create something with my hands as well as my head. (Yep, Mens et Manus right there.)
In grad school that meant following a lifelong interest and taking up archery (hey there, Legolas!). When my shoulder decided it had had enough, I learned how to knit and ran sidelines in bookbinding and baking. As of a month or two ago, it also means woodturning.
What is woodturning? Simple explanation: one “turns” wood by mounting it on a lathe, spinning it real fast, then shaping said wood with a sharp object.
What you can make: many things, so long as they are in some broad sense, round. Think bowls and pepper mills and pens and honey dippers, but also (if you know anything about me at all:) magic wands. What’s not to love?
It’s fun, it’s fast, and it’s exciting (see aforementioned machinery spinning at high speeds!). It’s also strangely relaxing (the word “flow” may have been mentioned). The process is something like pottery, if the potter’s wheel rotated 90 degrees and was used with hardened steel tools and a chance of stitches.
What have I made? A lot of test pieces, a few practice wands not suitable for spell casting, and this little fellow.
This is my first honey dipper. Hello, little honey dipper!
So, not much yet, but I can tell this is a good outlet for me because I’m constantly fiddling with ideas. I can practically feel the creativity overflowing, and that’s a good thing. Not only am I focused on building tangible objects, but new story ideas are popping up all over the place too.
Win win:) I’m hardly the first to say this, but it’s terrific that creativity doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game.
I’m still very much a woodturning beginner but here are a few things I’ve learned so far:
For me, making things is a lot like running downhill. Getting to the top can be an effort, but once I get started every step is easier than the last.
So, creative cross-pollination in whatever flavor floats your boat? Recommended! Also, fair warning to those with whom I celebrate gift-giving holidays:
I hope you like wood!
Posted in Writing, tagged #becausenotallmadscientistsaredudes, #feminismisfun, mad science, sff, Thoughts, writing on September 18, 2017| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Funny, Likes, Writing, tagged creativity, Fiction, literature, quotes, sff, society, speculative fiction, Terry Pratchett, Thoughts, writing on July 19, 2017| Leave a Comment »
I am still on a bit of a posting holiday, apparently. A lot is happening here at Chez J, but it’s all ruminative on the writing front, nothing to see here… yet. Before you head off to what I hope is a terrific summer day, though, have a slice of on-point social commentary from a master of speculative fiction, in conversation with DEATH (who, perhaps unsurprisingly, has a lot to say about this business of life).
[tl;dr: be excellent to each other, or what’s the point?]
“All right,” said Susan. “I’m not stupid. You’re saying humans need… fantasies to make life bearable.”
REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.
“Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—”
YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.
“So we can believe the big ones?”
YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.
“They’re not the same at all!”
YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET—Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME…SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.
“Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what’s the point—”
MY POINT EXACTLY.”
― Terry Pratchett, Hogfather
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