|
|
|
July 25th, 2008
nancy_v
 | 04:53 pm - A different kind of call
So...totally out of the blue, I get this call from an editor at Parenting.
She wants to publish a teeny Reader Response thing I sent in about what we do following Thanksgiving Day. Of course, I agreed, and it'll be on "newsstands everywhere" in November. Turn the pages slowly because if you blink, you'll miss it. *humph*
If this happened, say three years ago, I'd be popping the champagne because Parenting is a nice little writing credit no matter how little the writing. But in the scheme of things (because I am so greedy/needy now and Want MUCH More), I'll head for the hammock and have a Popsicle.
Well, maybe two, since Highlights bought a story last month, and I think I forgot to celebrate.
Hope you guys get some good news--big or small--this week, too!
Happy Weekend !
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/moonmama/sillysuns/shocked.gif) surprised
|
goadingthepen
 | 04:48 pm - Help Wanted!
If you have done the Disney World vacation any advice on our travels would be greatly appreciated!
We have a condo, so I don't need that kind of info.
What I would love to know more about:
Things that were so awesome I won't want to miss, at Disney or in Orlando period.
Great places to eat.....at cheap prices. There will be at least 5 of us maybe 7.
Any little inside secrets that might help us on our trip or our wallets would be greatly appreciated.
What I have done, is requested an Orlando Magiccard....supposed to give some discounts.
Also, I have checked out restraunts.com......If you haven't checked that out, definitely take a minute it is not just exclusive to Orlando, and offers great discounts on food in your area. From now until July 31, you can get an additional 70% off if you enter the code: CRAVE!
|
artistq
 | 04:52 pm
I am not here, I am in the studio.
Okay, I lie. I was in the studio earlier.
I had to rush home with bakery goods to greet some friends passing through our town.
Really, I had no choice, I had to come home for lemonade and a double chocolate brownie.
I know, I give my all to my friends!
Now I am cleaning up and taking a snack back.. BACK TO THE STUDIO- I will be back when the moon is high in the sky!!! : D
|
susanwrites
 | 12:46 pm - Friday Five - The Animal Edition
1 - Thank you to everyone who shared my pain in saying goodbye to my long-time four legged friend, Chelsie. It really does help to hear from so many of you. While I miss Chelsie and will continue to do so for a long time to come, I can look back on how unlike herself she had become and know that it was the right thing to do. We have packed up her toys and bowls and will donate them to the local shelter. (New animals will have new things.)
2 - We are already looking for another dog. Actually two. We wanted two dogs for quite some time but Chelsie never did well with other dogs. I've spent my events scouring Petfinder.com and the various animals shelters. Hopefully we can find one or two that click with us aged 1-3 (for at least one of them.)
3 - At least one of the dogs will be a German Shepherd rescue dog. Both my husband and I have had them in the past and miss them. I didn't have the room for one when I got Chelsie. Tomorrow we will go to the first of what I imagine will be many events to meet a few potential dogs and see how we get along.
4 - To adopt from anywhere but the pound there is a mandatory home visit, which is fine. I can understand wanting to make sure the yard is safe, etc. But we had been spoiled in that Chelsie basically never did anything. Now that I am looking at the house through new eyes we have a lot of picking up to do. That's okay. I'm also looking at my landscape design in the back with new eyes. One thing to be grateful for is Chelsie leaving us before the new yard is in. I need to plan for a longer expanse of grass for the dog and a dog water play area.
5 - We're looking forward to being able to have a dog that wants to go places with us. Many of our friends have dogs that we would like to visit. We want a dog that can go to family dinners with us and play with my brother-in-law's dog. We live in an area where many places are dog-friendly and we are anxious to get out and play.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://www.susantaylorbrown.com/lj/penguins/grateful.gif) grateful
|
aprilhenry
 | 12:21 pm - You know it's a bad sign when
You know it's a bad sign when the guy at the car repair place hands you the keys to your free loaner - and then a big can of ozone air freshner.
|
kellyrfineman
 | 11:30 am - Do Not Go Gently Into That Good Night - a Poetry Friday post
 Today's post is in tribute to Professor Randy Pausch, who died at age 47. You may be familiar with him after his Last Lecture became a television and internet sensation, or after his book became a New York Times Bestseller. That's what the book cover looks like, there on the right. The YouTube video can be found below:
An irrepressibly upbeat man, Pausch did what he could to live his dreams, even when untreatable pancreatic cancer entered the mix. To my way of thinking, Pausch took the advice contained in Dylan Thomas's poem, "Do Not Go Gently Into That Good Night", which Thomas wrote for his father.
Do Not Go Gently Into That Good Night
by Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Read the whole poem at The Academy of American Poets (And yeah, never mind that Thomas was Welsh. The AAP puts up poems by all sorts of folks.)
About the villanelle
Thomas's poem is arguably the best known villanelle ever written. I say that because so very many people know this poem, even if they don't know that it is, in fact, a villanelle. A villanelle is a specific poetic form. The poem consists of nineteen lines in all, set in six stanzas, and is usually written in iambic pentameter. The first five stanzas have three lines each, set in a rhyme scheme of ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA. The sixth has four lines: ABAA. The first stanza in a villanelle is terribly important, because it sets up two lines that recur throughout the poem. In the case of this poem, the two lines are "do not go gentle into that good night" and "rage, rage against the dying of the light".
So if I were to write the pattern out again, using A for "do not go gentle" and A' for "rage, rage", it would look like this: AbA' abA abA' abA abA' abAA'
The form first entered the English language in the 18th century, coming in from the French. Since then, despite its French name, it is predominantly an English form. It was popular for a while in the 1800s, then fell into disfavor, only to be resurrected in the early 20th century by poets including Theodore Roethke, Sylvia Plath, and Dylan Thomas.
Villanelles are a bear to write. They are best written when you have something almost obsessive as your topic (a tip I received at a recent writer's conference), in order for all that repetition to be allowable without sounding tortured.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/roshi/palefaces/thoughtful.gif) thoughtful
Current Music: Tour de France theme music (TV)
|
goadingthepen
| 11:56 am - Roses for Jen!
Happy Birthday ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) jenlibrarian
Spreading the flowers!
lillpluta shared her roses that had two colors on one bush. It reminded me of my own roses that bloomed in two colors. It was very wierd to me since they have been in the same whiskey barrel since I got them. Guess it is a genetic thing. I have had this rose bush for 10 years!
 
I thought I had a picture of the bush together but alas it is missing in action! I have since cut this bush back to nothing because the bugs had eaten it up! It is coming back but no flowers yet.
|
alison23
 | 10:15 am - Friday six
Six things on Friday, because alliteration is overrated.
1) My baby turned 18 months old yesterday and learned to jump off the ground with both feet in the evening! My other kids didn't learn that until around 2. This one keeps going, and going, and going... We took him to the children's museum during the day, and at night we had a mini half-birthday celebration for him with cookies he didn't care for and popsicles he definitely did.
The very happy half-birthday boy:
2) The older boys went to art camp this week at an ice rink. I went ice skating with them on Wednesday. It was fun, and I especially enjoyed the fact that skating rink music hasn't changed much since my heyday of skating in the 80s! I remember hearing The Doors, Journey, Howard Jones, and other stuff from the 80s or earlier. So, I may have liked it more than my kids did.
Blurry pic of me on ice, taken by my 7-year-old:
3. I need to finish my monthly garden article and turn it in. It's one of those months where I have so much great information, it's going to be really hard to make the article short enough!
4. We're trying a "Parents' Night Out" again tonight for all 3 boys. Last time we tried one, we were called to pick up the baby because he wouldn't stop crying. This was the first week he's ever played in the church nursery instead of crying or sleeping the whole time--still cried a lot, but played in the middle--so maybe it'll work, but I'm not getting my hopes up too high!
5. Our computer broke this week! Just what we need when we can't afford to replace it. It says it can't find the operating system--yikes. That's the family computer. I still have this laptop (with almost no hard drive space available...), so my husband is going to remove the hard drive from the other computer and hook it up to my laptop to see if the data is still accessible. I sure hope so, because it has our whole lives on it...photos, documents, music and audio clips, etc., going back about 13 years! A lot of it has been backed up, but I think we'd lose the last few months' worth.
6. I'm going to Austin SCBWI's "Day with an Editor" in September. I got in while there were still critique slots available--hooray! I think the whole thing is probably sold out by now.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/juicy/cutealiens/optimistic_a.gif) hopeful
|
dlgarfinkle
 | 07:31 am - Friday Five
1. I am reading VALERIE BERTINELLI's memoir. Don't laugh or stick up your nose. Sarah Dessen just read it too, okay? And there's great dish, including details about her fling with Stephen Speilberg. She's just a few years older than me, and I used to watch One Day at a Time every week with my (divorced) mom and older sister. At the time, it was one of the only shows that didn't present a single-parent household as a tragic "broken home." And it was funny.
2. Saw the cute, cliched (female protagonist gets drunk and dances on bar; each protagonist has wacky sidekick best friend; protagonist makes reconciliation speech in front of big crowd and gets applause; final scene is a wedding) movie 27 DRESSES. I'm sorry, secret boyfriend Matt Damon, but I have to break up with you. My heart now belongs to James Marsden.
3. My agent wants me to do MORE REVISIONS on my YA manuscript. Now that I've put away the knife, gun, and poison, I really appreciate her feedback and think her suggestions are good. I think I need a few days away from it though, and plan to draft my Shiny New Manuscript instead.
4. My ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER editor told me my humor column is now in a third local paper, the Laguna Beach one. Ooh la la! Laguna Beach! It started in one local paper almost four years ago.
5. The first two SUPERNATURAL RUBBER CHICKEN books were used in a book club for boys going into fourth grade, and I was told they were a big hit. I just love, love, love when my target readers enjoy my work.
|
jessicaburkhart
 | 10:53 am - Missouri Writers Guild Flash Fiction Contest
Contest alert! Emily Hendricks told me about this:
The Hottest Flash Fiction Contest $100 1st Prize Deadline - September 15, 2008
Entry fee: $10
Word Limit 1,000 words. First Place: $100.Second Place Winner: $50. Third Place $25.
For more details, visit the Missouri Writers Guild here. If you enter, good luck! :)
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/niaha/kitty/ankgeekp.gif) busy
Current Music: Miley on the Today Show
|
lillpluta
 | 09:08 am - Flowers for Jenlibrarian
Here are some flowers from my garden for jenlibrarian's bouquet.
Two different colored roses growing on the same bush. The darker roses come from newer shoots.
|
lisa_schroeder
 | 06:47 am - A Friday Six
1. Last night, older son and I went to Borders. There was one lonely copy of I HEART YOU on the shelf. I checked the front, and low and behold, the little 3 was gone in the row of numbers that tells you print run, and now there is only a 4. I think that means it's went into a 4th printing. Right? If so, cool!
2. I stood and stared at the Stephenie Meyer shelves (the many, MANY shelves) and just thought WOW. All these fans, waiting, DYING for August 2nd to see what happens. How does it end? I wonder what it's like to be Stephenie right now? Can you imagine? Do you think she's worried about whether people will be happy or not about how the saga ends? I do. I think she must be very worried. I mean, she probably tried very hard to get it right, and hopes she got it right, but until people read it, you just don't know.
3. I asked my son if he wanted to go to the Nordstrom Anniversary sale with me this weekend. We went last year as a family and got the kids some shirts. He remembered that he likes those shirts and he said yes. I couldn't believe it! My kids hate shopping. I shall not, however, take him into the sacred underwear zone with me.
4. I'm going out to lunch with Alix today at work. She's the one who took me to have sushi for the first time last year. I'm not sure where we're going, but we won't be having sushi.
5. Yesterday a check came in the mail. I guess I paid a doctor twice. Anyway, don't you love surprise checks like that? Hooray unexpected money! Now I can go buy underwear!
6. You may have noticed - I'm not talking about writing much. I'm not talking about submissions much. La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la - writing isn't a big deal. Submissions aren't a big deal. Right? We must go upon our merry way and be happy, happy people without a care in the world. No worries, no worries, no worries. (Work with me on this please)
Have a great weekend!
|
aprilhenry
| 06:49 am - I would take this story with a LARGE grain of salt
Because the author wrote another story about how Amazon should become a publisher that had some fundamental errors about the book business. [Check out the linked story and then check out the comments section.]
Still, it’s kind of interesting – the story of a how a woman self-pubbed. “She decided to throw a virtual book launch party and sent out 500,000 e-mail invites to agents, editors and reviewers,” [Full disclosure: in my neck of the woods, we call that “spam.”] and then got herself a real live book deal with a real live publisher.
Read more here.
|
amieroserotruck
 | 08:22 am - It's so hard to say goodbye
And it's going to be drawn out over the next day. Said goodbye to two very dear friends yesterday and the day before. Today a group is going to visit Foam (yes, FOAM not STONE) henge, and a few other oddities, including a monster museum and some dinosaurs who exist on a diet of Civil War soldiers. How can I have lived only 3 hours away from this and not known? Brian is driving down this morning, so hopefully he'll get to meet us there.
This year was amazing. I lived in a great dorm with some wonderful people, I got a lot of writing done, I sat in on a very informative class, and I think this was a perfect year to finish on. I'd love to pack everyone here in a box, take them home, set them up in various homes to their liking within a 10 mile radius, and have a clubhouse where we can hang out, study, write, and have sleepovers often. I've had an amazing summer but I miss my husband and dog and family and other friends.
Enough musings. I'm off to Foamhenge!
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/growf/dwaggins/think.gif) nostalgic
|
laurasalas
 | 05:49 am - The Poems: July 25, 2008
This is one of my favorite pictures from Camp du Nord last week. What does this remind you of? What does it make you feel? Pick any idea that comes to you and write a 15 Words or Less poem. It doesn't have to describe or explain the image. Have fun with this! Here are yesterday's inspiring, admiring, inquiring poems!
Lost in Translation An answered prayer:
Angels in the sky
talk to me in words
I cannot describe ---Pamela Ross
History's Path
The luminescent past,
borne upon the morning ray;
history's path scattered
with seeds of the future. ---Kim from Hiraeth
http://hiraeth.squarespace.com/journal/2008/7/24/in-15-words-or-less.html Parable du Nord Before a writer
Separates the wheat from the chaff,
She must first
Grow the wheat. ---Melodye Shore AFTER THE RAIN With the exuberance
of a child
the sun
bursts through
the storm
smiling. ---Diane Mayr I lurk,
Beside the path,
Stifle my giggles,
They should be here soon,
Just wait. ---booksareadrug Radiance Morning arrives
Slowly drifting in
As my eyes open
to the glory of the day. ---Anonymous A now of morning grass
bends
before a hope
of light and mist. ---Kathy Q. All rights reserved.
Fingers reaching
dawn breathing
Welcome, lady
walk our path
we've waited
forever
for you
---pambachorz The Girl Who Has Everything Nature, did you make a deal?
Life's not fair.
Can something
so beautiful
be real? ---Pamela Ross One last kiss Plants lean toward sunlight
for one last kiss
before it leaves them
again. ---noahthegreat.wordpress.com His light,
Shining in the darkest places
Brings beauty to impossibility. ---Dorothy at http://fieldstonecottage.blogspot.com/
This grass is best admired
on film, where it cannot
leave welts on bare legs.
---Kelly R. Fineman Link | Reply | Thread | Delete | Screen | Freeze | Track This Select: Honey rays of sunlight
kiss grains awake,
infusing them with magic:
lemon on lime. ---Diane M. Davis Marathon 10 meters from the finish
I've fallen my fans fear the worst--
they are grass. ---John Mutford What future lays beyond?
I can't resist
peering through the grass
And golden mist ---erica_pens
|
jamarattigan
 | 06:52 am - friday feast: just chill
So, what's in your refrigerator?
When I was little, I always used to see stuff like this:
A BEAR IN THERE
by Shel Silverstein
There's a Polar Bear
In our Frigidaire --
He likes it cause it's cold in there.
With his seat in the meat
And his face in the fish
And his big hairy paws
In the buttery dish,
He's nibbling the noodles,
He's munching the rice,
He's slurping the soda,
He's licking the ice.
And he lets out a roar
If you open the door.
And it gives me a scare
To know he's in there --
That Polary Bear
In our Fridgitydaire.
~ from The Light in the Attic, 1981
But now, instead of celebrating things for what they are, I question everything.
2% or skim?
Dill spear or sweet gherkin?
Chunky or smooth?
Ketchup or steak sauce?
I purposely avoid asking butter or margarine?,
since this can quickly escalate to
tub or stick?
name brand or store brand?
regular or organic?
plain or whipped?
How and why did things get so complicated?
I keep hoping that when I open the fridge, a completely prepared, nutritionally and politically correct meal will materialize.
Or that issues of life and death won't present themselves in the Velveeta.
Or that I can even remember why I opened the refrigerator door in the first place.
And another thing, I thought refrigerators were supposed to keep everything cool, and make them last longer. You just can't put time on ice.
Excuse me, while I gaze at my navel oranges.
AFTERNOON MEMORY
by Gary Soto
Sometimes I'll look in the refrigerator
And decide that the mustard is vaguely familiar,
And that the jar of Spanish olives is new to me.
What's this gathering? The butter
And salsa, the two kinds of tortillas
And, in back, the fat-waisted Mrs. Butterworth.
I'll study the plate of cross-legged chicken,
And close the refrigerator and lean on the kitchen counter.
Is this old age?
(Rest is here.)
Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at A Year of Reading.
Don't take any chances, bring your own cooler!
Is it safe to eat tomatoes?
Or cilantro?
Or jalapeno peppers?
Or spinach?
Or hamburger?
Was that a burp or an ulcer?
Somebody, stop me . . .
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/bears/silly.gif) crazy
|
July 24th, 2008
susanwrites
| 09:12 pm - My favorite flower for Jen's birthday bouqet
jenlibrarian is gathering flowers for a virtual birthday bouquet. She asked for our favorite flowers. Well heck, here I am in the middle of planning my native garden, no flowers at all at the moment, and she wants me to pick just one? I can't I tell you, I just can't.
California has so many beautiful native flowers that it really hard to just pick one to highlight. Consistently though my heart warms when I think of the sturdy yet stunning and dependable Ceanothus, the native California Liliac.
the colors range from deep blue to lilac to white.
What I love about this plant is how I can ignore it and it rewards me with evergreen beauty and beautiful blossoms. Plant it in the fall, water it once a week the first year (in the summer), maybe once a month in the summer the second year, and after that, you can pretty much ignore it. The birds and the bees love it.
The plant, the Ceanothus, and the more well-known Poppy, are the two plants that say California to me.
Happy birthday, Jen!
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://www.susantaylorbrown.com/lj/penguins/tired.gif) tired
|
jmprince
 | 08:22 pm - Two in a Row!!!
I'm scoring left and right when it comes to good books!!!
 I just posted my review here. A five star review. Not handed out lightly, for those who know my review history. I'm juggling three more books at the moment. One I've been reading for personal pleasure, a bit at a time for months. One is by a 2k8 author and I'm liking it immensely already. The other is the ARC I've been waiting for. *squee* I LOVE books!!!! I'm considering doing reviews just for my blog, in addition to my "snippet" posts about books. Would that be a positive change for the couple of people reading this blog, or do you get enough of that already on your friends lists? Please be honest.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/sam/curious.gif) curious
|
thatgirlygirl
 | 09:16 pm - Leaving on a jet plane
So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll think of me
You'll hold me when I actually do trip and breeaaaak my legggggg
'Cause we're leaving on a jet plane
On Saturday we'll be back again
Goin' to see the play-yay-yay.
Jetting off to Houston in the AM. If you can come, I'll see you there!
http://theatresouthwest.org/
Current Location: the couch downstairs
Current Music: John Denver or Peter Paul and Mary or somebody like that
|
kellyrfineman
 | 06:03 pm - Natterings
Nothing major to see here, so if you're pressed for time, by all means, move along.
What? Still here. Fine, then as I sit here drinking Gypsy tea (Raspberry Earl Grey) from an actual blue-and-white mug whilst proferring you only an icon, I'll be happy to rattle on.
I'll be happy to catch you up on what's been going on 'round these parts lately. Mostly I've been well-filling as best I can. I've already told you about South Carolina and New York City and Real Pirates!, but there's been a bit more:
Last night, I went to see Mamma Mia! with hubby and with my good friend Angela and her husband as well. Hubby was the only one of us who isn't really an ABBA fan, so he (predictably, I thought) liked it the least of us all. I'd already heard the soundtrack, so I knew what most of the songs sounded like. And I must say that the folks who kvetch about Pierce Brosnan's voice can all go suck it, as far as I'm concerned. Not that he's got the smoothest, most polished singing voice I've ever heard, but the man can sing completely in tune, including navigating some difficult passages. He sings a bit roughly, sure, but it suits his character. He was lovely, you hear me? So don't let me hear you bashing Pierce's singing.
Also? Colin Firth almost made me pee my pants during the closing credits, I was laughing so hard. And I won't tell you precisely what it was that he did, but I can assure you that what made him so funny was his complete, 100% willingness to commit to his role. Humor may come from pain, but comedy comes from a willingness to commit to a character, and Colin? Colin committed, baby.
Today I read Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett. It is the latest of the books starring Tiffany Aching, a young witch of the Chalk. Now, I've mentioned the earlier ones in passing, and that's all I'm going to do with this one. For now. But sometime next week, I plan on talking about all three of them a bit more. Because they are witty and wise and funny and touching, and they have much to say about story. And in talking about story, they talk about life.
Work-wise, I've not got much to show lately. But perhaps this is as it should be. There have been children home, and travels, and that well got a bit empty, not only from those things, but from completing a draft of my gnomes manuscript and working on picture book revisions. I knew I was in trouble when Jane production screeched to a halt. I am not concerned about it. You see, I still love the idea, the project, the subject, etc. And this has happened before. Fatigue takes its toll, and one thing I've learned in the past six years, compliments of my rheumatoid arthritis, is that fatigue must be respected. Hence my occasional absences here (and in comments on other people's blogs), and the need to fill the well.
What have you been doing lately to fill the well? Enquiring minds want to know.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/roshi/palefaces/good.gif) good
Current Music: Waterloo by ABBA (brainradio)
|
|
|
