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Thoughts and takes on the way life presents.... |
| Thoughts and takes on the way life presents.... |
| Prompt: Cryptomnesia is a certain type of a memory bias where a memory is mistaken for imagination. It is said that this happens to writers quite often. What do you think about this memory quirk? Have you ever written something that you didn’t know at first if it was a memory or a derivative of it or totally your imagination? I don't know if I have this or not. What I do have is "wish I would have's" that become my truth. And I also steal other people's truth and use it as my own. Who knows if it ever was truth or not. So either I don't understand the prompt or I think every writer is guilty of distorting things a little or a lot depending on their needs and personal issues. Now, I can't remember if I'm coming or going. I'll be back when I find myself or something like that. |
| Fun Fact Friday! On this day in 1962, the classic outer space cartoon The Jetsons premiered on ABC-TV; it was the first program on the network to be carried in color. Please answer for me the all-important question surrounding this legendary television show: Why, over fifty years later, do we still not have flying cars that we can fold up into briefcases? You want a two dimensional solution to a three dimensional problem? I blame big oil companies for discouraging anything that will cut into their profit margin. Even today they will bite the hand that feeds them. When pushing a pipeline through sacred burial grounds and into our aquifers and "under" lakes and rivers is more important than preserving the earth that will feed us, there is something seriously amuk in their thinking. So what you get your freaking oil. What about a leak that wipes out the drinking water, the aquatic life, the plant life, the food source. Big oil company executives won't care if they have to pay $20 for a loaf of bread, but you will. The government will have to tax somebody for hauling in food from places that are smarter, and where will they get the money to do that? Not from big oil companies. Not from Sharia Law Lobby groups. It will be from the people too cowered to voice their opinion and that is the rapidly shrinking middle class. You still want to try to solve a 3-D problem with a 2-D answer? I know you were trying to be funny, but there are so many problems taking attention away from the fun and innovative ideas. Like a soldier being shot at really does not care that there are no flying cars. A mother on welfare trying to feed her family does not care that their are no moving walkways. A Native American on the front lines trying to protect his/her people's water supply and land is not interested in why there is no robot in every home. People will always look at cartoons as an escape from their not-so-fun reality, rather than a doable thing. That's all. |
| Talk Tuesday! If you were looking into making a full-scale career change, what are some things you'd consider? Would you go back to school? Would you just pick a field that interests you now that maybe didn't interest you as much in the past, and try to get in on the ground floor? And how well do you think you'd be able to do this time around, especially if you still had to work full-time at your current position, and/or raise a family, and/or hold up social obligations? Career change would hint that the person is facing a mid-life crisis. At least that is how it occurred for me when I chose to pursue a ground up career change. It was not worth it. I did not consider kids. I did not consider cost. I did not consider the down side. I was all in and ended up without the skill sets needed to complete my goal. So what did i get? Missed time with the kids, debt, and a failure funk that lasted a good long time. If I could do it over again, I would have taken that path 10 years earlier so that I could have had a recovery time or a better chance at success. These decisions require the freedom to go all in. You can't really go all in when you have obligations to anyone or kids. My advice to anyone wanting a ground up career change? Only do it if you are independently wealthy or a lot of disposable income where you can afford the things that go off dream (the outcome will never look like your mind picture). Only do it if you are alone and don't have the people baggage to support while you try to be superhero. If you look at it, the only ones who can do ground up are those that have a one track mind and either prepared for years or are independently wealthy. The one guy I know who did a ground up with success is the guy who was divorced, had the money saved, and focused only on getting through law school. He never did remarry, he is now successful but it took 20 years. He is now in a relationship but won't marry her. Those brain neurons never did get reconnected. |
| Creative Saturday! Conduct a brief four question interview with yourself...but do not use four out of the following five words in your questions and responses: who, what, where, when, why. How do you see your life going over the next five years? I would like to have something I create on TV or in movie theaters. How old are you? None of your business How much money do you make? Not enough How did THAT happen? I have that much power. |
| The Wildcard Round! Today's winner, selected by Virtual Dice at some point this weekend from all eligible entries, will receive the Variety Merit Badge. List three random bits of useless knowledge, and tell us a little about each one...maybe they hold some specific significance to you, or it's important in your line of work, or how they relate to a particular hobby you have. Be creative and have some fun with this prompt...don't be afraid to show off a little! When all the office equipment is going down in cascade rapidity, shut them all off and wait 30 seconds and then bring them back up one at a time. This may take all of 10 minutes. It will feel like forever, because this usually happens at the end of the day when the document is nearly complete and has to be filed with the court within the next 30 minutes. Beware of cats on catnip. You will know this because they get wide eyes and run around like a wild one You have to be careful because your toes will look like food and get hunted. Cherries are good sources of nutrients. If you get bored with cherries, try raspberry. You could live a long time just on these two fruits alone. You do not need anything else. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. |
| Motivational Monday! My mother, born on this day back in 1954, once told me when I was young, "It doesn't matter what you do when you grow up; just make me proud." What's the best piece of advice your mother (or other strong female presence in your life) has given you? I had to ponder this one for awhile, and there isn't one all encompassing sound byte. You would think that the grandmas or aunts would have chimed in with brilliant advice. But no, my parents came from a long line of non-demonstratives and non-talkers. They were doers, not wishers. I will say this, they did not leave us helpless. We grew up with chores, tending a garden, tending farm animals, working hard, studying hard, being respectful, being resilient, being self sufficient, being loyal, being faith-filled, being count-onable. And that counts for a whole heck of a lot. In a disaster, when the chips are down, do you want someone who can work beside you to rebuild, or someone who sits on his/her butt wondering what to do next? So no fancy sound bytes, just good, wholesome upbringing. And it was enough. I got the memo. |
| The Sunday News! This week in the UK, police we called on approximately 50 students because they were wearing improper uniforms. Should students be required to wear uniforms in schools, for any reason? And should these uniforms require very specific standards, or should families be allowed a little leeway regarding lesser items like accessories, jewelry, and shoes? Have you ever had to wear a uniform to class? How would you feel if you had to purchase an expensive set of clothing for your child to wear, only to be told it wasn't enough, or that he or she was wearing something improperly? I put my kids in private school for the first couple years and then the school lost its collective mind and tried to steal my daughter, so I pulled her and put her in public school. I don't mind uniforms. They were a good idea. It discouraged sexualizing kids at an early age. It discouraged boys from wearing their pants on the ground. Loved that. And expense is a myth. When the uniforms are outgrown, they are sold to the next class for a moderate price. Some schools sold the uniforms at wholesale. Here's the thing, if you can afford pants on the ground and boobs hanging out clothes, you can afford a uniform. Expense of the uniform is always the argument of the uninformed -- and it's hogwash. Uniforms are cheaper than street clothes, wear longer and are easier to maintain. You do not need five uniforms, only two or three. It will lessen the cost all around because you will only need two or three Sunday/go-to-meeting outfits and the after school stuff can be garage sale specials. Families on a budget will find about a 50% savings on their kids clothing budget with uniform schools. Complainers will always complain and idiots will always do that which does not make sense -- so why listen to their arguments to begin with? So is the real question, should we have an opinion and exercise authority on how another family dresses their child, raises their child, etc. Yes. That's what communities do, that's what laws are for, that's how kids are protected. Do we have a right to tell another culture how to do business? No. But we can learn from a practice that works. In this case, on uniforms, we should learn. |
| While at Omi International Arts Center in Ghent, New York, artists Alex Schweder and Ward Shelley built a house that spins and tilts in agreement with the wind, and the shifting weight of its inhabitants. Then they resided in the structure for five days, and will spend another several days living there this fall. Write a poem or story inspired by the image or idea of living in a structure that is constantly spinning, and which tilts up or down as you walk through it. What kind of vocabulary or pacing might mimic or reflect the sensation of spinning? How can you play with emotional weight or levity to create shifting feelings throughout your work? It's a boat! On land! Why? A poem about a boat on land? Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 14 hundred and 92 on a boat that would dip and twirl like a wayward girl He stepped off with a mighty roar and planted the boat in New York Maybe I should have gone with the Queen Mary. That's in drydock in New York right? Maybe Columbus's crafts are at the bottom of the ocean....now my head hurts with all this thinking. I go now. |
| So I heard a commotion in the kitchen....a lot of pounding and proclamation of "Not on my watch." Tom confirms that the Spider Queen has been eradicated from our house. I know you were expecting more, but that's all you get. |
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