There's a place I dream about

Papa H

2012-01-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

For Christmas Mo bought me several books that connect me to Papa Hemingway and by extension Key West . The first, I Killed Hemingway, is a fine work of fiction by author William McCranor Henderson. Our main man, one Elliot McGuire, is assigned to check out a claim put forward by a man known as 'Pappy' Markham that he not only knew Hemingway but was, in fact, his murderer. Recognizing that this revelation would rock the literary world, McGuire heads to Key West to check out the story for the publisher who is interested in publishing the man's memoir. Ostensibly our man is fact checking, in reality he's doing little more than rubber stamping the project. Roped in to the intrigue, McGuire lends his hand to the telling of the tale, only to find himself readdressing a past he'd thought he buried.

Henderson's story is compelling, keeping readers en rapt with details from Hemingway's life as they are being retold by the irascible Pappy. Character's names are drawn from Hemingway's history- i.e. McGuire's love interest's first name is Lyn- a reference to the biographer Kennith Lynn and the spin on his life (which is all pure fiction according to Pappy) is amusing. Although the final chapters are rushed and ridiculous, the preceding 250 pages are worth the price of admission and readers may find themselves drawn into the real life drama of Hemingway once the final curtain is drawn.

Next up to bat? I am in the midst of reading a book called Hemingway's Suitcase- a work of fiction by McDonald Harris. Delving a bit more into the legend's life from a fictional character's perspective, it seems the lost manuscripts that Hadley (Hemingway's first wife) lost have been found. Are they real or are they memorex? I'll let you know...

All this takes me back to the porch I wish I could sit on, tossing about plots and poetic musings. I wouldn't mind reclining here to stir the muse one bit...

It's January...

2012-01-19T18:05:00.000-08:00

And I'm not getting much writing done on my WIP or blogging. The weather hasn't been too horrible- moderately cold days peppered with very cold but we've had plenty of snow and apparently it's bringing out the wildlife in the broad daylight....

(sorry about the fuzziness of some of them but I took them through my windshield)

Just a few yards from my car, this guy was checking out the area.

Thought about heading in for a snooze...

changed his mind

and turned to head further down the road.

I hope the neighbors were keeping their cats and small dogs inside!

Out with the old... In with the new

2012-01-08T22:35:00.000-08:00

The other day I stumbled downstairs to (horror of horrors) clean the storage room.

A simple project that would take time

fairly straightforward, I purposed to get rid of some of the clutter

when I came upon a box

battered, bent and frayed

why did I keep this?

atumble with a chaos of years in paper

Mother's Day cards, pictures, receipts, tax reports, bills...

Memories

do you remember?

angry words

"I'm sorry"

cherished hugs

"to the best Mom in the world"

independence

The defendant would like to change her name

a new job

"Congratulations, we'll miss you!"

treasured friendships

"I want us to stay in touch. I'll call..."

laughter

a miniature wooden cow

love's first blush

"always yours, ..."

a collage of a lifetime

in need of sorting and filing

culling and sifting

throwing away

storing

a lifetime of memories

in a box.

T.S. Eliot

For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.

Ending the first day

2012-01-01T21:40:00.000-08:00

Life is full of firsts-- your first steps, first words, first bicycle. There is wonder that fills those moments-- I recall watching my first child take her first steps, say "mama" for the first time...

as I brush those moments in memory my eyes brim with the uniqueness of the occasion but can never recapture them. They are butterfly moments, quickly fleeting in their occurence and recollected only in far off fields of Forget-me-Nots brought briefly back to life with a smell, a flavor.

New Year's day is a unique opportunity to embrace the Today as a first. Did you smile when you made love for the first time this morning? Did you enjoy the first message of "Happy New Year" from your children? Did you treasure the first breath you took in this first day, the first sunset?

This day is a day to cherish firsts.

What firsts did you stow in your memory banks for the future?

*Emily at Keeping Time stirred my thoughts on firsts with her lovely post on Japanese traditions for New Year's day. Wonderful pics accompanied the post so I encourage you to go say "hi."

The promise of Christmas

2011-12-17T23:19:00.000-08:00

Pour me another glass of champagne

2011-12-09T18:05:00.001-08:00

I occasionally mention the library where I am Lead Circulation Clerk (not a librarian). This means that I do lots of day to day organizational things and manage the work load to make sure everything gets done. I also get the joy of being the go-to person when a patron calls for "Someone Else Who Can Help Me." Some days there are very few problems- I mean really how many complaints can there be in a place that gives you stuff for free??? Well, there are also a few rules to deal with at the library, as we all know, so that's when we usually have Situations. And today was one of those crazy days (several times) but the most outrageous disagreement came when a woman came to return some books she had put on "Claimed Returns" (like it sounds, this means she told us at some point in the past that she had already returned them and that we had made a mistake by not checking them in).

She walked up to the desk (see picture below- that's not her in the purple dress) with her books and gave them to the circulation clerk. She said that she had returned them and they had been found on our shelves so she shouldn't have to pay the fines. Meredith (aforementioned clerk) did not believer her (checks the woman's card) and said that they could not have been found on the book shelves as we had done several searches. On it goes until the conversation becomes heated enough that the woman asks for "Someone Else..." So Meredith came to find me outside (I was on break).

She explained the situation and I walked in prepared to be firm as I knew that we had looked diligently for the items (I had looked personally and remembered the search) "Sorry you have to pay the fines on books you return this late, we did a search here and did not find them," preparing my speech.

So... I'm firm, "Sorry ma'am but we did look for your items and they were not here so..."

"You don't understand," the woman said wiping her eyes, tear-stained, obviously angry, "I was out of the country. My daughter returned the books. She brought them in and put them on the shelf. They were here." Incredulous might be too tame a word for the moment. There's a little bell ringing in my ear as the words work their way around to the processing part of my brain, "Her daughter walked in and put them on a shelf in a library with 70,000 other books. Just randomly. And she thinks that is returning them." It made the lap about 3 times before I said, "but the books are here." (Aha! caught her, she's just making this up!) "Yes, I told her to come to the library last week and find them. Then I would bring them back to show you."

*deep breath* "Uh-huh. Well, I am sorry but you have to return them in a book drop or at this desk. We have one outside, one over there and you could also hand them to the people here or that one. But you can't expect us to be responsible for items that are just returned and put on the shelf. You are responsible for them until they are returned and they were not returned in the proper way. But the good news is, you are not paying for the books, you are only paying the late fines."

"It was too much," still adamant. "I could buy these books."

Three study books for nursing school, with CDs. "Nope, I'm sorry but these books would cost much more than $10 each. You can pay $10 a month or even $5 dollars but the fines are going to have to be paid."

"They were here, safe and sound." Yup safe and sound but lost- proverbial needles in a haystack.

"I'm sorry." It's all I could say.

homage to the moon

2011-12-03T21:37:00.001-08:00

She raises her hands slowly upward in silent homage to theEmpress of the night. The ocean’s sigh echoes on my palm, fingers tingling inremembered suspension, I only just stop myself from joining her melody stereophonically.“Ka—losor—isma-a-a-a, ka—losor—isma-a-a-a selenemana” the ancient words “welcome, welcome, moon mother” vibrate,an otherworldly iteration as familiar as a child’s lullaby. I ex-inhale shallowbreaths of anticipation. There is a lifetime of silence before the faint antiphonywinds it’s way through the branches seconds later “ka—losor—isma-a-a-a,ka—losor—isma-a-a-a selene mana” Anearthbound star flitters in the distance, a lone celestial infant making it’sway through the trees. Splintering molecules, one becomes two becomes fouruntil a dozen tiny lights glimmer in the darkness, winding their way towardsthe girl as she chants out her greeting again.

“Luna reflects our own life cycles

affects menstruationand ovulation

She is a symbol of life,

of choices,

of change

Some would purge her from the collective consciousness
would reject the cyclical nature
of life
of emotion
of her phases
They would like to think of her merely as rock to walk on
distant soil to explore

We reclaim you, Moon Mother

from the tyranny of the sterile

We honor you tonight, Ancient One

for connecting us to our deepestselves

and we welcome the life yousymbolize for us.”

(Not getting much done, other than preparations for Christmas, work and getting my son back and forth to basketball practice/games. I would have written something new to post, (this is from Death and Politics) but I find that what energy I have for writing -and it's not much-, I want to put into my WIP so I thought I would share a bit of it.)

And so it begins...

2011-11-26T10:05:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was the first day of the official shopping season for Christmas: Black Friday for those of you who aren't versed in American lingo. We avoid the sale shopping frenetics and spend the day perusing ornaments. Over hill and dale, we shop for the perfect bobble, until we are blurred from from fatigue, we return home with trinkets for our tree.

The Grinch would grimace at all of the sparkles and glitter there is to behold (as would Conchscooter),

but the initiation of Christmas cheer and good will is one we never pass up.

It is tempting to view the season as a glutton of solipsism or one that threatens to put us in a financial crunch because our obligation to give is focused on the shiniest, newest as opposed to meaningful. But if that's all it has become, then it is one that should be cast off immediately.

Gift giving should be the search to find the best gift for the person to whom one is giving and one that will make their heart light -not the gift that will impress them the most. And no mistake it is no small task to give a gift that is meaningful without bankrupting oneself.

Yet the toil is light when viewed from one's memory and one recalls the eyes lit up, the lips in a broad smile as the gift is lifted from the box and into the arms of the one it was purchased it for.

Truly, the right spirit of Christmas, as the Grinch came to learn, is about giving and sharing and thought for all we come into contact with.

So each year, we celebrate the first day by finding the perfect ornament to commemorate the day. The one that will remind us of the good will we experience during the season and the one which we hope will continue on throughout the New Year.

What traditions do you have that keep the true spirit of Christmas?

lifetime of memories

2011-11-20T09:15:00.001-08:00

November
So full of milestones
my birthday (today)
my son's birthday ( my youngest- turned fourteen on the 8th- OMG!)
Freedom Day (the day my divorce was finalized- the 3rd).
I missed Freedom Day this year with all the craziness
that tailspins me around from one thing to another.
My son's birthday was awhirl with life stuff (fourteen-year-olds will do some dumb stuff.)
And my birthday sandwiched between two days of work
Nevertheless
November is a lodestone
of the past
Mimosas and cheesecake,
favorite foods
Walking out of the courthouse,
dance-down-the-street happiness that it was finally finished
Son sleeping in my arms
trashcan close by to catch any upheavals
while friends eat cake and laugh in hilarity
Being dressed like a doll (I hate shopping!)
a fourth decade dragging me down,
reminding me of opportunities dried up and carried off the wind
Bearing down, pushing,
finding life altered once more with a bleated cry
Pecan pie eaten in a dorm room
Snowplowing my way home
a surprise blizzard gifting me with the day off (DPS hadn't cancelled school in 20 years!)
A slammed door as whispered conspiracies shut me out
exclusion burying the giggly companionship
Watching for a package laden postman (Mrs. Beasley in a box)
anxious nose pressed against the glass
Many more
Memories
carried in the leaf blown arms of
November

Gentle fields

2011-11-14T16:45:00.001-08:00

With all the NaNo participants working away so diligently on their projects I am reminded that I need to spend more time writing. So, having been inspired by my NaNo friends, I am going to try to get more writing done and my posts are going to be a bit shorter -at least for now.

As the approaching holiday eeks ever closer (and in spite of what you might see at the stores, I am not talking about Christmas) I wanted to post this very Thanksgivingy scene. I'm gearing up, are you? I need to roast my pumpkin for my homemade pumpkin pie or it wouldn't be Thanksgiving. Any recipes you get out just for the day?

Destruction everywhere!

2011-11-12T21:57:00.001-08:00

IT seems wherever there are humans, the wildlife or sealife are threatened. I was visiting Bish at Random Thoughts and found out about another atrocious act done in the name of... what? Fun? Sport? Ugh! Enough already. Please check out the link below if you are as disgusted as I am by the senseless killing of this endangered species.

Hawksbill Sea turtle photographed (by me) in St. Augustine, Florida

Starting on December 1st and going through March 31st, the British Virgin Islands permits a hunting season of Sea Turtles. We aren't talking about deer or rabbits here, people are legally allowed to harvest Hawksbill and Green Sea Turtles, both endangered animals. While there is a size limit (Hawksbill turtles must be15+inches carapace length and Green turtles 24 +inches carapace length) these sizes mean they are still quite young as Sea Turtles go. And to top it off, Sea Turtles do not reproduce quickly. Only 1 or 2 of 1,000 hatchlings will grow to adulthood because as Crush (Finding Nemo) explains it, "The little dudes are just eggs, we leave 'em on a beach to hatch, and then, coo-coo-cachoo, they find their way back to the big ol' blue." At least some of them do. But it takes 10-20 years before a turtle can even lay eggs.

(There is a moratorium onloggerhead turtles, leatherback turtles, & all sea turtle eggs.)

Anyway, I signed a petition toRalph T. O'Neal, Premier of the British Virgin Islands, which says:
""Stop the legalharvesting of endangered sea turtles in the British Virgin Islands""
Will you sign thispetition? Click here. And you can learn more at On-StJohn.com

A castle of dreams

2011-11-07T20:13:00.000-08:00

It stands, a monument of time and days gone by, a deteriorating reminder of love, loss and tragedy.

Built for his family in 1909 by the West Virginia transplant John Brisben Walker, it was meant to be a haven, a treasury of laughter and vivacity that would call the family back to it's hearth in times of trouble.

With stunning vistas of Red Rocks and the high plains on one side

and the stalwart Rocky mountains on the other, it is no wonder that the entrepreneur chose this spot for his private domain.

Sadly, the castle walls had not time to settle before Walker's wife and partner was taken from his side, leaving him bereft on his mountain aerie.

A couple of years later, the goddess Fortuna visited them once more, dashing what was left of the would-be king's hopes for the future on Mt. Falcon. Lightning struck the home and broke what was left of the man's grief-stricken heart.

Packing up his four motherless children, he abandoned the charred remains of the hideaway and extinguished his plans to build a summer home for the President on the neighboring high point. Having lost another fortune and with WWI darkening the horizon, he left Colorado for the last time. And though his successful ventures had given him the means to build his dream home on Morrison Mountain, John Walker lost his golden touch and died penniless at age 83.

The foundation of the house still remains, beckoning hikers of all ilk who wish to behold the stone tribute. Fortunately not all of the businessman's schemes were reduced to ash. It was because of his vision that the Denver Mountain Park system was established and it was his land purchases that founded Jefferson County Open Space which has given pleasure to so many Denver & Jefferson County Residents.

Canopied by azure skies, you will find a quiet dignity dwells in the broken walls and tumbling chimneys.

And if you pause to lend ear...

the whooping of children playing amidst the trees, the call of a mother to come in for supper and the echo of a father's footsteps descending from his observatory can almost be heard by those willing to listen.

The dance of the Starlings

2011-11-05T21:45:00.000-07:00

The standard collective noun for a group of birds is a "flock" but for many types of birds there is a collective noun particular to their type.

A peep of chickens

A murder of crows

A flight of doves

A charm of goldfinches

A parliament of Owls

and...

A murmuration of Starlings

and this is what they look like as they settle in to roost at night:

Another video with the amazing dance of the Starlings.

You're a hypocretin!

2011-11-03T21:05:00.000-07:00

So you may have read here at one time or another that I get seasonal depression (it used to be pretty severe- now it's not as bad). That is part of the reason I don't like winter and one of the reasons Key West is so attractive me. Though Colorado is sunny quite a few days of the year, the short winter days still carry me to the brink of depression and the cold only makes matters worse. It all sounds pretty grim but...

There have been some interesting studies done at UCLA that may be hold some good for people who suffer from Narcolepsy and a sleepiness associated with Parkinson's and it might also mean some good news for anyone who suffers from seasonal depression! Researchers at the university have identified the group of neurons that mediates whether we respond to light by becoming stimulated-- or not.

So the long and short of the study is that in the hypothalmus (an area at the base of the brain and is responsible for control of the autonomic nervous system, body temperature, hunger thirst, fatigue, sleep) there are cells that release a neurotransmitter called hypocretin. In a study with mice, those with hypocretin showed an intense activation of the cells (but not in the dark!) while those without it were unable to stay awake even in bright light. And it is this loss of hypocretin that causes chronic sleep disorders. So, by introducing hypocretin (or boosting it) they will be able to increase the light-induced arousal response while blocking them will induce sleep. Jerome Siegel, a professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the university noted, "The administration of hypocretin may also have antidepressant properties, and blocking it may increase tendencies toward depression. So we feel this work has implications for treating sleep disorders as well as depression." Since seasonal depression is connected to light stimulation, it seems likely that these results could have some very positive results for those of us who get the winter blues!*

Could be blue skies ahead for those who suffer depression!!!

*See the whole article at Science Daily. Brain Cells Responsible for Keeping us Awake Identified.

You have to see the suave and handsome...

2011-10-31T18:25:00.000-07:00

Ryan Gosling and George Clooney in...

The Ides of March
I go to (almost) every George Clooney movie expecting good things. Syriana was an amazing commentary on the morass that is US and Good Night, and Good Luck reminded us how much we have lost in journalism since the days of Edward R Murrow. So when we decided to go to The Ides of March on Friday, my expectations were, to say the least, over the moon. The movie opens up with handsome Steve (Ryan Gosling) standing on stage, checking microphones, and testing equipment before his guy (that would be GC!, woohoo!*whistles* ) gets on stage. The stage is then set for a political scenario that is predictable inasmuch as it is honest and timely. I don't want to give the story away so I won't tell you more than that about the specifics. Suffice it to say the new-found belief of Steve in his real-deal politician is put to the test and turns out to be unfounded.

Although this movie didn't meet up to the suspenseful action of Syriana and was certainly not filled with the snappy dialogue or twisty intrigue of All the President's Men, it was nevertheless enjoyable from the films opening moments to it's too early closing. Clooney was great (as usual), taking on the roll of President with the ease of a man who was born to play the role. Gosling filled the shoes of the able-bodied third man on the totem pole well, reining in his frustration with a believable shift in loyalty that suits those who have been seasoned in the world of politics. Phillip Seymour Hoffman, playing Gosling's boss and Clooney's campaign manager, is so well suited to the role that he might be on the short list of candidates to head up the next democratic front runner's bid for office. The film was a bit short (as previously mentioned) and the corruption of the political process is shown in it's most brief and abbreviated form which was good for film but oversimplified the problems in Washington a bit, yet one walks away from the film feeling as though you have gotten a peek into the real world on The Hill. This is a must-see for those with an interest in politics, the idealist who still believes the political process is capable of doing more than maintaining it's own interest or a George Clooney fan! Hope you get a chance to see it before it leaves theaters because this movie is worth the $10.50 box office fee (it is unbelievable how expensive it is to see a movie these days!). You can watch the trailer and read more reviews (if you don't trust mine) at IMDb.

Next to last day...

2011-10-30T22:50:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the last day of the 31 days of blogging with NaBloWriMo. This is probably as good a time as any to reflect on the challenge that writing on my blog every day for 31 days in a row has presented. I have to admit I haven't gotten much writing done in the past two weeks on my WIP. While this is partly because I have been busy and time and energy have kept me from focusing on it, it is also true that writing on my blog has been more of a distraction than I care to admit. In the past few months I have gotten into a rhythm of posting twice maybe three times a week. Generally I post pictures that I have taken in my daily life and write a bit about the place or thoughts that I have while walking but the posts don't take a lot of writing energy and I don't spend of lot of mental space thinking about what I will write. The past few weeks I have definitely spent more energy writing something worth reading than I might have had I been on my regular schedule. On the other hand, with my schedule being as tight as it's been this month, it's been nice to do a bit of constructive writing in the short space a blog post takes. But the question remains, might I have written a bit more on my project had I not felt so compelled to blog every day? Probably. So perhaps the first lesson of the month is that my schedule of posting two or three times a week is probably all I have energy for.

The second part of my reflection concerns my pleasure in blogging. I have stated before that I began blogging for my own purposes. It was a place to write when I was at work and it was often little more than a sounding board and I enjoyed it. I rarely had commenters and when they commented, I was often surprised. Since I now enjoy so many friends in the blogging community, I find that adds to my enjoyment in the blogging experience. Of course there is always the reality that you hope what you write will compel people to respond and when they don't (and you are used to having some response) then you feel a bit lonely. Having said all that, I still feel that the main reason to keep blogging is because I enjoy it and when I cease to enjoy it, then perhaps it is time to quit. At this point, it is still a pleasure not only to post my pictures on my blog but to connect with other bloggers. I do find that I need to be a bit more balanced in how I do these things. Since I am a full-time working mom, time is a limited commodity. I can't keep on running at full speed and do justice to my writing when I am exhausted (which is why sometimes it is easier to blog and read other's blogs than it is to write) so going back to the previous post schedule with a few other changes regarding how I blog should be a step in the right direction.

However! I have had a small breakthrough on the actual physical exhaustion I have been experiencing. During the past month I had a doctor's appointment and I found out I was anemic. As a result I was probably running completely out of steam with just life. I've been taking some iron tablets for the past two weeks and feel better already and am hopeful that I will continue to do so. With this in mind, I hope the added energy will help me focus on my writing when I do have the time.

But the real focus of course has to be- as we all know- on my writing. So if you enjoy my pictures and wonder at times why I don't post more about writing or on other topics, it's because I am (hopefully) busy typing away on my project and the pictures I post are just a gift that I want to share with my blogging friends.

A moment

2011-10-29T17:57:00.000-07:00

On the weeks when my son is with his father I don't spend as much time in the car, but there are moments when I drive home after work when the sun has set in the west, the light is filtered in the sky with such beauty that I am left a bit breathless. Unfortunately some of those moments are often on an onramp to the highway or driving over a hill where there are no turns and I appreciate the beauty in my solitary (albeit distracted) state. Yesterday, I was headed home to champagne (took a different route to pick up a bottle!) and saw to my delight the sun's final curtain call. Light was reflected on a strand of pearled clouds, coloring them with dark rainbowed hues. I wish then reached for my camera, made a quick turn and headed back up the hill to position myself to hold the occasion...

When I arrived, I was disappointed to find the light had shifted into a less vibrant blush yet the purpled hues framed by the distant edges of the mountain's magnificence drew me.

I stood quietly taking my picture, passed by by hurrying homegoers, bumper to bumper in their rush, anxious they might lose a few feet of asphalt.

I stared back at the heavens, glad not to have let the twinkling joy of a sunset pass me by then headed homeward with the true prize, a space of stillness caught between traffic lights- a moment.

Last flowers of summer

2011-10-28T21:16:00.000-07:00

A week and a half ago, we were on a walk in the foothills and I took this picture.

Today the hills are covered in snow (and no, I am not going out there to take a picture!). It's possible they may have made it through the storm, but winter has made it's presence known and I am already feeling the denseness of the cold. I hang on to warm weather as long as I can in spirit and in mind because I need it to survive the shortened days and brittle winds of winter.

So here's to holding on to the last flowers of summer.

Mutiny on the Bounty

2011-10-27T22:49:00.000-07:00

I used to soak in old movies like a sponge. The elderly who come to the library are often surprised when I rave about how much I love Grace Kelly (so beautiful and stylish!) or Carole Lombard (so funny!). Thinking perhaps that I am mocking, a suspicious eye might be cast but then I will mention another film and we'll ramble for a bit (Oh, did you see Audrey Hepburn in 'Wait until Dark' So brilliant!) about other great movies until they leave feeling that they have met a friend along the way (I hope, anyway). Anyhow, my favorite oldies channel, AMC no longer really shows old movies they way they used to (although they do show 'Madmen' and 'The Walking Dead' so I'll forgive them) so now we often dig them up at the library. Tonight, Mo chose Mutiny on the Bounty with Marlon Brando. I usually can't really watch Marlon Brando without thinking of Sayonara which is my favorite of his but I overcame that tonight and allowed him to be the dashing master's mate on the seafaring Bounty on it's way to get breadfruit plants. They were travelling to Tahiti so they could transplant the plants then transport them to the West Indies where they would be grown and harvested for cheap food for slaves. A noble mission, aye? Anyway, according to the movie and legend (which by the way is based on a true story although whether the captain was as terrible as he was made out to be is still under debate), the ship's captain Bligh was so cruel that the men rose up in mutiny and cast him off the ship to finally paddle his way back to England while the mutineers...??? Well, I will leave that for you to find out.

The movie is a sweeping adventure in true old Hollywood style. Brando is picture perfect, handsome and debonair. He argues for the dignity of the underlings on his ship in a way that makes you hope that he's on your side when your boss acting the overlord. (He'd be out there with OWS if you ask me!) He falls in love with a beautiful Tahitian princess, which is predictable but sweet when she hangs in there with him after he loses the will to live post-mutiny and feels the full weight of what he has done (no one does depressed like Brando). Anyway, it was yet another great old film, complete with orchestrated Overture and Intermission (I can't imagine audiences today sitting still while there is a screen with a simple message "Overture" and 4 minutes of orchestration goes on. Imagine the din of talking!) with beautiful scenery and an epic story. A great way to spend a cold wintry evening (and it's definitely wintry here. We had at least 3 inches of snow Wednesday night- I think it was more and I was the one scraping the car this morning. ARGH! I'm not ready for winter yet!!!!!)

Memorable quote: "I believe I did what honour dictated and that belief sustains me, except for a slight desire to be dead which I'm sure will pass."

Walking on Cobblestones

2011-10-26T20:44:00.000-07:00

This is the opening paragraph to a WIP that I am playing around with. I am not sure if it will go anywhere: maybe it will... maybe it won't. The Main Character is an archaeologist who is in search of her holy grail and winds up with less than she hoped for. Unfortunately her hopes make her blind to the facts and the maneuverings that follow leads her on a winding road through political intrigue and religious squabbles.

For starters: What do you think of the title? The character: Love her? hate her? Is she sympathetic sounding? Intriguing?
As always: The characters and events in this post and all connected posts are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Gleaming white against a backdrop of ceruleansky, she ascends amidst the rock and clay, angel of light rising up in anintangible dusk that has followed her halfway around the world. She stretchesher arms outward as though to take in the broken and shattered, hands achingpalpably. Involuntarily, she rubs the hollowed center of her hand, sensing the inarticulatedconnection. She stares into the clouds, heart aching for the brokenness she senses crying out in the darkness. She looks up, her mute supplicationscarried up on the wings of the wind as it whips up and over the rock, liftingher scarf vertically out from unyielding shoulders, a semaphore for change inthe days ahead. Oblivious to the gales that assault and batter, she is statuesque,patiently awaiting the days ahead. Gray pillows boil toward her on the desert’shorizon, hungrily swallowing all that is in their path. The laying out of battleplans: gathering of forces, placement of reinforcements, lines being laid forattack are in full operation by the forces that will bombard are all thatconcerns her. Alliances have been made, the enemies of her enemies movingtogether, whispering conspiracy that her eavesdropping ears picked up in the hallsshe once dominated. Impending attacks from distant shores are what shedeliberates and prepares for, knowing they will attempt to assail her position soshe will be vulnerable to a full on assault with the final aim of making her theirinverted Hypatia. Her arms raise involuntarily once more, vulnerability in gesture andframe, yielding to heaven as gracefully as Henry the Eighth’s second wife.

Tongues of gold

2011-10-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

If you look at my header, a sliver of gold laps toward the heavens between the evergreen on the mountains in the background. They are the same type of tree as in the foreground... the Aspen. The Aspen is tasked with filling in the woods of Colorado after they have been ravaged with bark beetle (and thus cut down) or fire. They are known for their rapid growth and long lives and of course their beautiful yellow and golden leaves in the fall which is even more pronounced when it is framed by the brilliant green of the Colorado Blue Spruce.

Their silver trunks are stuff of legend for it is only with the stake of an aspen that it was believed you could kill a vampire or a werewolf. A bigger stake could be used to drive into the grave of a condemned person to keep them from rising from the dead.

It was purported to be a tree that could ward off evil spirits which is why it was often planted near dwellings. The small heart shape leaves shiver melodically in the wind and it's no wonder that in Eastern Slavic Apocryphal literature that a legend sprung up that it was in an Aspen that Judas Iscariot hung himself and the leaves have trembled with fear ever since.*

Golden and beautiful against the azure blur skies, the Aspen is the perfect tree for the Halloween season!

*Legend: Wikipedia link

A week at a glance

2011-10-24T22:55:00.000-07:00

Monday: Pick up and find the loose ends, a frazzled rope that has varying frayed pieces that are always roughest at first. Rushing to reconnect with friends, the disequilibrium that comes with the shifting ground, he's there and not there, off before the echoes in the house have receded.

Tuesday: Craziness of spinning wheels, the rising sun and we are in motion. The unraveled ends feel less bristly. Talking through afternoon and the drive-by taxi service that gets him home & me back to work, then evening, dinner, won't be home till long after the sun's tucked into bed. Goodnight son.

Wednesday: Wheels set in motion at the rising sun. Again. Rushing, dashing, we're late! Traffic terrible, neverending stream of disruption. Late, hurry. You could... I can't. Why don't you just... I'm driving! Can't wait till I can. I can! Drop off. Go, go, go. Turn and head off without looking back. It's Already! Wednesday.

Thursday: Rolling again. Out the door with the same urgency as on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, tousled edges are feeling irksome. Catch up on Friday. Less work today! Deep breath, breathe. Thursday...

Friday: Spinning wheel that never slows, takes us out the door. Again. Rolling down the road, chatting between the chirps of incoming text message, the shredded ends of my cable keeps me moving, keeps us going. Asthma. Homework. Headaches. Sleepover tonight? His life flashes before my eyes: Babyhood, little boy, young man... Sure.

Saturday: Moving before there is time to think. Rolling into the day... Can I help you at all? (See blog entry)

Sunday: Too late to pull together the loose ends, it's time to gather up what is left of the unfinished ends and let it go. Too late to undo and smooth, pull in, tighten up or bind loose ends. Too late. Clean up, gather up, finish up.

Monday: Rolling out the door, catching the spinning wheel that sets us back in motion in our separate spinning wheels. I love you. Love you too. See you next week. Next time...when I'll pick up that frayed rope again, determined to do better, smooth the ends, undo the parts that are done wrong, and rewrap the parts that need redone. Next time, when there is...

More time...

(Ha! Just made it for my Monday post!!!!)

Comfort Food...

2011-10-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

Last year at this time, I was out walking on a cloudy cool Friday and took these pictures. I was amazed at the brilliant colors that still lingered along the path I took though winter's first nip was in the air. This year, the colors are just as brilliant (as you have seen from my header!) but Indian Summer tarries so long that one would almost wonder if it will ever end. As much as I might wish the blue skies and brilliant sunshine will never fade into winter's dimness, alas, the forecast tells another story. And I have a few favorite recipes that ease the chill that sets in my bones as the nights grow colder and the days grow brisk. Wednesday the weather is predicted to tank pretty abruptly and we will probably make a vegetable soup for the first time. But what I would really like to be making (if I didn't have to work that day) as the sky grows cloudy and the possibility of the "S" word sneaks into the weather man's script is a family favorite:

Chicken Pot Pie:

1½ c. cheddar cheese

3c. cooked, diced chicken (you can cook broil or microwave threechicken breasts fairly quickly to make this amount, then quickly chop it up!)

½ c green pepper

½ c. chopped onion

(Sauté both onion and gr. pepperin 3 T. butter)

1 can of Cream of Celery Soup (or chicken)

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

3 oz mushrooms (opt.)

½ c pimento (opt)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Put into unbaked pie shell (recipe below). Cover withpastry, pinch securely. Cut slits into top for steam to escape. Bake 45 min. or until crust is golden brown at 350 degrees.

Crust:

2 ¼ c. flour

1 tsp. salt

2/3 c. Crisco

7-8 T. water

Put flour and salt into bowl. Cut Crisco into flour with forkuntil it pieces are pea-sized. Add about half of the water and mix until wellblended. Continue to add the remaining 3-4 T. until the dough is moistened. Dividein half. On a lightly floured surface, flatten dough. Roll from center to edgesto 12” circle.

To transfer to pie pan: Fold in half, then into quarter. Laygently into pie pan and unfold.

And as long as I'm making a pie crust, an apple pie sounds good! The crust is the hardest part and all you needs are some apples! This year I have some waiting in the kitchen that were given to us (making me feel sooo guilty) but if I were to buy some for a pie, I would buy several different types of apples for the best ever apple pie! Some tart, some sweet, some crispy, some softer. Yum! Maybe I'll get busy!!!

This is my day...

2011-10-22T18:55:00.000-07:00

Hi! Can I help you? Did you find everything you needed? Would you like to renew your overdue items? Would you like your receipt? Have a nice day. Hi! Can I help you? Did you find everything you needed? did you return some movies today? Would you like your receipt? Have a nice day. Hi! Can I help you? Did you find everything you needed? You have six books out. Would you like your receipt? Have a nice day. Hi! Can I help you? Did you find everything you needed? Just so you know, you're fines have reached $4.50. Would you like your receipt? Have a nice day. Hi! Can I help you? Would you like your receipt? Is there anything else I can help you with? Have a nice afternoon. Hi! Can I help you? Would you like your receipt? Would you like me to put that on hold for you? Is there anything else I can help you with? Have a nice afternoon. Hi! Can I help you? You can always put those in the return slot but I'll be happy to take them now. Are you ready to check out? Would you like your receipt? Is there anything else I can help you with? Have a nice afternoon. Hi! Can I help you? Would you like your receipt? Is there anything else I can help you with? Have a nice afternoon. Hi! Can I help you? Would you like your receipt? Is there anything else I can help you with? Have a nice afternoon. Hi! Can I help you? Would you like me to renew your overdue items? Would you like your receipt? Is there anything else I can help you with? Have a nice afternoon.*

*So I guess you'll have to excuse me if I'm feeling a little bit drained and this feels like a lame post... the one from yesterday was good though! And it's my son!

Fighting dragons

2011-10-21T20:54:00.000-07:00

He's brave, this one, fighting ancient beasts from time beyond time
Staring into hungry eyes and smiling
it is as though death were not a daggered tooth away.
He backs away slowly knowing that fleet of foot he might be
but the monster's prowess as hunter is legendary.
It is not with muscle and speed that victory (if indeed victory is to be had) will be won this day.
He casts a glance backwards,
plotting checkmate
one steps sideways, quick step back and back and back, quick step back. Sidestep rightways.
Do the hustle
life and death style
The monster steps forward, taunting, teasing, sneering,
Sniffing in the small fry bite size snack
The heel of Achilles in this one is confidence as he moves forward

unaware of the pit between himself and his prey.
He steps confidently forward jaws open to take his first bite
only to find his foot slipping, sliding, tumbling
A final roar as his body
falls into oblivion

pieces of sunlight

2011-10-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

Framed by cobalt blue
it's brilliant yellow beams to the earth.
a quiet breath causes it to shift then shimmy

breaking off
as silent
bits of
gold

make their way
to the ground for my feet to tread on
pieces of sunlight...

Come with me to the Kasbah...

2011-10-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

or the library, depending on what your idea of fun and romance is. Some days, the library is a place of torture for me but that's because I work there but I won't bore you with all the torturous events that happen in my day (although at times they can come out pretty damn funny).

Today's topic on the library begins with an event at the library.. so bear with! I'll tell the story first and then present you with the issue.

Circulation Desk at Hampden (where I work!)

Background: We have a young man with Downs Syndrome who comes into the library regularly (every other day or so) who checks out about 5 movies or so. His items are frequently late because he doesn't have the mental capacity to measure time properly. He lives with his mother who seems to have mentally diminished capabilities and the last time she came in and I spoke to her she had also been drinking (or maybe she is mentally diminished because she is often drunk, I don't know...). She accused us of not allowing her son to check out because we hate mentally handicapped kids. I tried to speak to her at the time about the possible options but she was too drunk to listen and stormed off. The option I wanted to talk to her about was seeing if he could be considered homebound so that his fines could be deferred and his items would not have the same due date. Unfortunately, like I said, she was not capable of listening.

Fast forward: Tonight I walked out to the desk (see above where it's calm and quiet. Tonight? Not so calm or quiet) where the same woman was talking to the circulation clerk (who I supervise). I overheard the circulation clerk saying, "Okay, so we'll put a 3 item block on his card which will limit him to three items when he comes in." Skerrrch!!!! You'll do what??? We aren't allowed to block anyone's cards unless they have fines that exceed their limit and WE do not do that, the computer does that or unless they need to bring in their proof of address. I didn't say anything (although now I wish I had) but I went back to speak to a friend who happened to be working at my branch who is also a lead clerk. How to solve the dilemma?

An hour or so later: After speaking to the person in charge of Homebound cards, we were able to give the young man a Homebound card giving him more time to get his items back to the library and keep him from getting fines (as long as he gets them back). I haven't yet decided whether to speak to the mother about it... my circulation clerk certainly made an big error by saying we could do something that we could not do but I believe that the way we handled the issue may keep her from coming back to the library and harassing us about his card (I hope). He's an adult, I'm not sure I need to call and explain to her, I need to give it some thought (you can weigh in here if you want).

So having gotten everything straightened out, finally, I informed my clerk that they could not put blocks on anyone's card blocking them from checkout or limiting their checkout (except for above stated reasons which they do know). Even a child's.

What is this you say???? the clerks ask. (although they should have known this already!)

Hampden Library (my branch)

Well, I will explain (and now you can argue with me about it if you choose): In the young man's case, he is 20 years old and has the right to have a library card even if he is mentally handicapped. If he has a Colorado ID, his mother has no say in how many items he checks out. If she is paying his bills, she can certainly refuse to pay his fines which effectively blocks his card and he can no longer check out (this however was not what she wanted done) I believe that the only way that she could force us to treat him like a minor child (in other words not give him a replacement card without her permission), would be to have legal papers saying he was incapable of functioning at higher than a 10 year old's (or younger) mental capacity (in other words she would be taking legal responsibility for all fines, etc. just like with a child). We do not have that on file at the library.

However, problem....

Central Library (where the bigwigs live)

In the case of a minor child (under 14): When a child gets a card we do not put blocks on their accounts either because the parents are the ones who decide when they are able to get a card, We don't! Some parents get their infants cards! (And they also use their infants cards as though it was their own!) When a parent gets the card, they have the right to keep the child's card on their person. If they decide to let the child come to the library alone without adult supervision with their library card, they cannot expect us to parent their child. It is not our job.

In the case of a minor child (over 14): (Here's where it gets really tricky. This works somewhat like it did with the Downs Syndrome kid.) If a kid is 14 or over and has a school ID they can get a library card without their parent's permission. This gives them access to information at the library for homework which they might not have if they wait around for parents who are too occupied for their teenage kids' school assignments. However, the kids may still accrue fines (if they're irresponsible) and if the parents are unhappy with how the kid is using the card, there is no law that says the parent has to pay the fine. Even if it goes to collections it will be a ding on the kid's credit, not the parents when they hit 18 (this is really unfortunate for those kids whose parents have racked up fines on their cards-- and I have seen a few). Thus, the kid is blocked from using the library. Problem solved. They can then clear it up when they turn 18. Or not.

So what do you think? Denver Public Library bases their policy (albeit a bit tricky) on the Freedom of Information Act. Even little children have the right to access information (within limits). When they become teens or if they have Downs Syndrome, they can get information without mom and dad's permission.

What do you think???

Not much of a post tonight...

2011-10-18T21:19:00.000-07:00

Too busy catching up on the first episode of season two of...

plus this is my long day and I work until 8 (so.. give me a break, ya'll!)

Occupy T-Shirts?

2011-10-17T17:39:00.000-07:00

I went to a site called Project Censored today to see what they had going on. Hadn't been there in a while and wondered what their take on Occupy Wall Street would be. Down on the side they had a link offering t-shirts... T-shirts? That seemed a bit out of place and corporate for a grassroots movement-- but I'll bite. Sure enough, click on the link and you see an article on the branding of Occupy and if you click here you can see the t-shirt. I will admit, at first I thought it was a joke, but we have gone so far down the path of marketing ourselves that even when we try to be anti-corporate, we still buy into the need to be part of the marketplace. *sigh* It's an interesting article which winds up asking "Senior Adbusters Editor Micah White sees danger in OWS being just another link to “like,” another brand prominently featured on our profile wall alongside Jobs and Cheetos: “What better way to cripple the revolutionary potential of a whole generation than to embed the logic of the marketplace within the very tools that would-be revolutionaries use?”

And then I was going to talk about the prompt-- (maybe tomorrow.) Today: more blogging on #Occupy at Meanderings of a Wandering Mind. At that blog I am discussing the Progressive media, their ties to Occupy and their connections to the democratic party. Hope to hear your thoughts!

Food deserts

2011-10-16T09:09:00.000-07:00

Click here if you stopped by for the Pay it Forward blogfest .

Nutritional food that's easily prepared when
the store is just down the street!

Sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it? A food desert. Shouldn't it be Food Dessert? Actually they are somewhat interchangeable. A food desert is an area where there is no access to nutritious food and you have to take long bus rides or drive long distances to find a grocery store (like Trinchera, Colorado or in certain parts of Denver, Atlanta and New York City). You might be able to get snack food from a local 7-11 or a Pump-N-Pantry and you'll most likely be able to buy a candy bar or a bottle of beer but finding an apple or an orange? Good luck. And buy organic anything? HAH!

But in a country where obesity is epidemic, the urgent need for healthy foods falls into the heading of "Food Justice" according to the Community Food Advocates. They are currently working to get grocery stores into communities that do not currently have them so that people can walk or easily drive to get healthier foods on the table for dinner. It's also important for all us to be aware that we live in a country where poor city planning has created Food Deserts that are encouraging children to be fat while also starving them of nutrition. It's a local issue with local implications. Speak up and know what's going on in you community! YOu can also help by going to the Community Food advocates website and seeing what they are doing to help communities. But more than that, you can stop voting for politicians who are going to reward grocery store chains that move out of urban areas into suburban areas simply because they perceive there is more money to be made there. Or, ask your politicians to give the same tax breaks to local, family owned grocers that big corporations get so that they can stay in business!

I am participating in Blog Action Day 2011. This year's subject: FOOD
#BAD11
Thanks to Rayna of Coffee Rings Everywhere for drawing this to my attention!

Occupy Denver and Pay it Forward cont.

2011-10-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

In order to keep things a uncluttered for the Pay it Forward Blogfest hosted by Alex Cavanaugh and Matthew McNish of QQQE. I am going to direct all participants to the post below so that they can read my introductions.

Meanwhile, if your interested in hearing about some of the local happenings concerning Occupy Denver you can click here this will take you over to Meanderings of a Wandering Mind- my political blog. Hope to hear your thoughts! Cheers!

Pay it Forward

2011-10-14T01:30:00.000-07:00

This is the easiest blogfest ever... because it's all about Paying it Forward and it's being hosted by Alex Cavanaugh and Matthew McNish of QQQE. We've all had a blogger who came along and commented, befriended us when we didn't think anyone was paying any attention or pulled us into a blogfest that introduced us to another friend we might not have met otherwise, right? For me, it was Michael (or Conchscooter) of Key West Diary, Rayna of Coffee Rings Everywhere, Michael of In Time who gave me my first blog award and Talei of Musings of an Aspiring Scribe who gave me a second and became a great friend... which then led me to meet more great friends too numerous to count! Well, today's blogfest is about thanking those people by introducing 3 bloggers to the other participants of the blogfest. It's not an award or a contest, just an introduction. Cool, right? Thanks Matthew and Alex!

So here goes:

I'd like to introduce you to:

Ashley Hunt of Broken Simmy and Willows: A Dark Love Story. While she just began blogging in May of 2011, she's been writing for long enough to know the disappointments of the publishing world already. I hope you'll check out her blog and give her an encouraging word or two!

I'd also like to introduce you to... Sarah of The Unwrapping. Her blog is special because its purpose is to hold her writing and her style is her own. She is a poet and stylist while also expressing the emotions of a mother, woman and... human. When you visit her blog, go expecting to feel as though you have peaked into her world-- but have also met a friend.

And finally last, but hardly least: is Lissa of A Chance of Sunshine. She's an artist, a writer, a photographer, and a fellow NaBloWriMo participant.

So that's it for my introductions! I hope you enjoy meeting my two new friends and my older but cherished one.

Thanks to all my blog friends who light up my life every day!!!

Obligatory cuteness...

2011-10-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

I've been hanging on to this picture for over a year-- wanting to post it but not really wanting to just sandwich it between other pictures. So, since I need a post for today in order to make my Thursday posting, here it is:

A baby Flamingo!

This guy is over a year old, born on Aug 20, 2010. I'm pretty sure he's probably full grown now but he was the first one the zoo had since 2003 so he was pretty special. The chick looks white in my picture but he's actually gray and will turn pink later which comes from their diet of animal and plant plankton which has carotenoid proteins in it and that's what gives them their color! (Don't you feel a little smarter today?!?!?!)

Too bad I can't have one as a pet!

I work too hard!

2011-10-12T21:32:00.000-07:00

And on Tuesdays I work especially hard! I get up early, get my son to school by 8 (1/2 hour drive) so that I can be at work by 8:30 (hopefully another half hour drive if I really push it) and then I will work until 8- and my lunch hour will be spent getting back to my son's school to get him home so that he can get homework done and have an evening. You should feel sorry for me, yes? That's the way I feel until I have a day off (like today- because when you work for the city you get paid personal days that have to be used before the end of the year or you lose them and I decided today was as good as any...) and I see something that gives me a reality check.
It's as simple as this...

Because this reminds me how hard that my grandmother had it.

When I was a kid, my grandparents lived on a dairy farm. My grandfather got up before the sun even lightened the eastern horizon to bring cows in to milk them. Soon thereafter, my grandmother did too. She made his coffee and helped him milk the cows (at least for a while). Then in she went to get breakfast started. Except... she probably had to stop get eggs. But not at the store... from the chickens. Cooking was a completely different ordeal then. Her kitchen didn't have a microwave and she didn't have a dishwasher. She washed everything by hand. The milk she used was milk they had just milked from the cows. The family she fed worked hard and the husband and three young men she fed ate like the hard working field hands they were. Cleaning up the kitchen was time consuming but cleaning the rest of the house -especially the bathroom and the clothes used for chores was laborious. Keeping a house Mr. Clean clean (and my grandmother was quite fastidious) when your work entails (just to begin with) muscling cows into stalls for milking and shoveling cow shit is no easy task.
The rest of the day was spent feeding livestock and sometimes butchering the evening meal (and believe me, that was not easy or a fun thing to do-- or watch!) until the afternoon when it begins again because cows have to be milked twice a day, 24/7, 365 days of the year. There were no personal days and no holidays and sadly even Christmas, the cows had to be milked.
Springtime added additional chores with planting fields of wheat and corn for the men. For my grandmother.. she was feeding additional men on the field and planting a large garden. Summer (still feeding men on the field!) was maintaining it while the harvest was going on in the fields. Fall was harvesting everything in site (including buying things from nearby orchards). Which leads me to my picture...
Canning. Hours and hours of cleaning, cutting and cooking (an unairconditioned kitchen, mind you!) and then putting the food into jars and then boiling the jars until they (thwop) seal (and now the kitchen is also sweat-rolling-down-my-back-and-beading-on-my-forehead hot!) all so the family could have vegetables for the winter and springtime. Until the next summer when there are fresh garden vegetables to eat again!

So nah! I ain't got it so hard.

(Addendum: This is not a post about working conditions. I am not saying that if you or I don't work as hard as my grandparents did you or I shouldn't complain. I think the 40 hour, five day work week is quite adequate, thank you! This is a post about modern conveniences- about getting milk, eggs, meat and vegetables from the store, putting dishes in the dishwasher and popping a meal in the microwave to get a quick bite... this is a luxury that was completely unheard of even within my lifetime. I am not too young to remember my grandmother slaving over the stove like this and I am incredibly thankful that I can run to the store get something for my family to eat and I don't have to pluck it out from under a bird, grow it and can it myself if I don't want to or kill it in order to feed my family!)

The Road Goes Ever On

2011-10-11T21:01:00.000-07:00

Our day in the mountains gifted me with a camera full of gold and green and memories to cherish. The sun was golden warm and the path was quiet. We headed out listening to the call of hawk and the song of sparrow. The laughter of a little boy filtered down the road behind us and we turned to see a father and son pell melling it down the path, the tot almost head-over-heeling as he came near us. The father slowed the boy down, warning him not to interfere with picture taking, but of course we weren't bothered. They galloped off and I watched them head off into the hills, the song of Frodo and Bilbo taking hold in my head.

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

The Road goes ever on and on

Out from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

Let others follow it who can!

Let them a journey new begin,

But I at last with weary feet

Will turn towards the lighted inn,

My evening-rest and sleep to meet.
~J.R.R. Tolkien

Season: Best/Worst

2011-10-10T16:40:00.000-07:00

For all those who know and love me they will know which picture portrays my favorite and which my least favorite season...

and if you look around my blog you quickly figure out which location I wish I live in and which I actually live in.

Save the words

2011-10-09T00:30:00.000-07:00

I'd like to take this moment to recognize the loss of an organization that has been out there on the edge, fighting the good fight as extinction of so many of their beloved drew ever nearer. Their website was developed in an attempt to connect those who wished to help save a single word from dying out from amidst all those more common words that are used each day. The adoptees then commit to keep it and use it so that it is no longer in danger of extinction. Unfortunately they were unable to keep on with the struggle and when I went to their site tonight to direct you to their website I found their website down! SAVETHEWORDS.ORG is no more... and the loss of the word continues on.

Fortunately we still have the The Phrontistery for obscure words.

I like this one...

amarulence	n	1731 -1755
bitterness; spite
After losing her job to a less qualified man, she was full of amarulence.

It's not quite the same as adopting one like on the Savethewords.org, but it will work.

still here

2011-10-08T00:30:00.000-07:00

My migraine sort of lingers. I don't have any head pain at the moment but that's because I took a Maxalt earlier (and I guess technically they aren't pain pills. What they do are much more frightening, at least to me. Migraine meds contract the vessels that are expanding which is exactly what causes the pain. Before I knew what I was really dealing with, I always said that it felt as though the my heart was pulsing on one side of my head. The danger of the pills -in my case- is that I become used to certain meds and have to use more and more of them. At their worst, I took 4 pills before they switched medication) but I am tired from the medication and from working all day.

I am also concerned about my son's damn tropical gecko, Archimedes II... He's breathing rather hard and doesn't seem to be eating. I hate the thought that it might not be doing very well. I can't stand the thought that it might be dying but I can't afford a tropical veterinarian either. If anyone has any ideas... (I don't think he looks very good even in the picture... kinda thin)

So I think it's a nice night for a quick post: a favorite picture I took last year sometime around mid-October (another lovely lengthy Autumn!). This is a Cooper's Hawk that lives (or lived) near the river I walk by occasionally. I spotted him eyeing his breakfast as I was walking back to my car. I got several amazing shots as he flew around the yard but this one was my header last fall:

He was an amazing looking bird. Hope you have a lovely Saturday.

An old friend

2011-10-07T00:30:00.000-07:00

You came by with a little nudge on the back of her shoulder this afternoon. She shrugged you off hoping you would go away in the usual way. It's been over a year since the two of you had a real knock-down-drag-out and she thought she had had the last word when she took that doctor's advice and showed you the door. Take these pills and come back to see me if you need some more help, he'd said with a smile. I think we've got it all under control though. She looked at him in disbelief, after all, the two of you had been together for a long time... the purchase of a house, the birth of her youngest son and the flailing years of an already bad marriage. Almost twenty years. Hard to believe that she was going to get rid of you now. You don't believe me? Confidence of a man who has spent too many years in school being told that he can do anything with his education and the right prescription. We'll see. Lack of confidence of a woman who has been left throwing up into a box in the backseat of her car, eyes and head spinning. Then she tries to head to refuge and bed only giving in after having barely driven a mile, she pulls over to cry, throw up some more, rest and drive a bit further. Rinse and repeat. Disbelief of a woman who takes pain pills 2 or 3 times a week to be able to function. Sometimes not functioning. Because of you. Because you have been around for nearly as long as she can remember.

And here you are again...
nagging, pinching, pulsing,

Sounds, colors, dimensions rotating, echo and slide off one another into a kaleidoscopic reality that defies attempts to focus
Lights and angling surfaces lose focus, an agonizing back-drop to the little universe of frayed nerves
rolling, reeling space
disconnect between

Thought &

hand
should lie down
only worse!
not throwing up...! thank god
yet
Medicine now!
to get rid of...
my "friend" of 20 (or more??) years.

(Once again. I am indebted to my doctor, Dr. Moon of the Denver Neurological Clinic that my migraines have gotten so much better! While I am not completely cured as he had hoped, they are so much better that I am no longer taking migraine pain medication 2 or 3 times a week which also means that I don't have to worry that my insurance cover it and force me to pay $200 for the medicine -which only lasted a week- or leave me begging & crying for help from the pharmacist. Which I did one day. Completely humiliating.)

Occupy Wall Street

2011-10-06T02:00:00.000-07:00

Warning: This post contains political content.

There are protesters gathered in New York today and have been for a couple of weeks now to remind us that Wall Street has purchased our government. Over a thousand have suffered arrest in the process. They are there to say simply: We are the 99%. There is a young man holding up a sign that says "I have to choose between an education or a meal." A retired gentleman that says, "Wall Street stole 25% of my 401k" And an elderly woman peaking over the top of a piece of paper that says, "I am weeks within running out of unemployment-- can't find a job-- and soon will not be able to pay my rent. Retirement eaten up by medical bills for my-- now deceased-- partner. I'm one of the 99%"

I consider myself fortunate. I have a city job that has paid sick and holidays. I have decent health insurance (although it will increase once again this year). I don't make a lot of money but it pays the bills. I'm a single mother (no child support) with more than my share of health care costs and my son also has asthma and needs medicine. At this moment I am rubbing my tongue on a chipped tooth in the back of my mouth. It's broken and needs fixed but I can't afford a root canal and I don't want it yanked out. I pay more for food, gas... basic survival and will lose out on money I have paid into Social Security and Medicare (when I get to that stage in my life) if things continue to go in the direction they are going because 1% of the population feels they are above the rules of society. I am the 99%.

Many stories but all there to remind America that Wall Street is stealing the American dream out from under us. We can't all be there to protest but we can support them in our own way-- from our blogs, from our tweets, from our pictures. After all YOU ARE ONE OF THE 99%.

#Occupy Wall Street!!

Upload an "I'm the 99%" story.

Send a message of support to those occupying Wall Street.

Check out and share the stories and messages posted by others.

Here's a pretty powerful video of people who are at the protests: http://vimeo.com/29953676

What would I say to me when I was 15?

2011-10-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

Life is...
Beautiful
MAGICAL
fun
full of adventure
There are...
Hills to climb Oceans to cross Rivers to ford

and thinking great thoughts
Those are the first things
I would tell a fifteen-year-old me
that I was..
funny-likable-caring-talented-intelligent
full of love
give in to passion, to love
Passion is a tyrant of the heart
but don't be afraid
You might make mistakes...
IT'S OKAY!
That's how you learn
Unless you refuse to learn what life has to teach you
There will be difficult times ahead
You might lose your way
But you can reclaim yourself by knowing
WHO YOU ARE
holding tight to who you are and not believing
THE LIES
that the outside wants to tell you about yourself
that you need to be
goldenblonde-modelthin-cheerleadyhappy-PERFECT
if you can hold on to the child,
the child who loves sunshine
singing
dancing in the rain
and laughing
and reading all night
and writing...
if you can keep that joy,
that love of life...
then you will meet what comes
with everything
that you will need to have a good life, my darling.

My hero Speranza

2011-10-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! Thanks to Jan Morrison, I've reached 200 followers! Very exciting on my ongoing Blogiversary (in case you missed it, the actual day was October 1 but I can't make up my mind what the prizes should be so we'll be celebrating until the month is over) which I've extended because I began blogging during NaBlogWriMo. Really I should thank each and every one of you! Such a community! Such great friends!

I am currently reading a biography of Oscar Wilde by Richard Ellman. As delightful a character as imagined, I am thoroughly enjoying my time in the great author's life. I was delighted to find his mother, Jane Francesca Agnes, Lady Wilde (born Jane Francesca Elgee in Dublin) aka Speranza (her self dubbed nickname) had as lyrically a lived life as did he. She was a writer and a firebrand for women's rights. In an essay called "The Bondage of Woman" she wrote "We have now traced the history of women from Paradise to the nineteenth century, and have heard nothing through the long toll of the ages but the clank of their fetters." (p.9, Ellman)

Her son adored her and his adoration was articulated in his writing in 'The Importance of Being Ernest' Algernon says, "All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That’s his."

Like so many women today (does this sound familiar?), she "improved on reality" as Ellman says it (as did her son- he always "imroves" his age -lol) She said, when pressed about her age, "she responded airily that her birth had never been recorded, no Registry Office having been required when giants still walked the earth." (p.7)

I love that! I love women with such character, such panache.. such style! And I love that she had the guts to be a feminist when it took so much courage to be one.

Who are your favorite women?

Monday, Monday

2011-10-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

Every other day, every other day

Every other day of the week is fine, yeah

But whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes

A-you can find me crying all of the time

When I was girl I used to sit by the stereo with a hairbrush nestled close by my mouth bellowing out Karen Carpenter songs at the top of my lungs. The albums (remember those? the large black disks that you could actually watch turn and you could play backwards?) were my father's but we were allowed to play them as long as we were careful to keep fingertips off of the vinyl and never, never, never, let them drop onto the floor (oh, there was pain of DEATH if we let the albums drop onto the floor!!!).

These weren't the only songs I remember from childhood- it's just that she has the famous 'Rainy days and Mondays' song that most people remember when they think of Karen Carpenter. And I sound quite a lot like her (I was a music major in college and I was a singer for most of my adult life). But The Mamas and The Papa's 'Monday, Monday' is another classic from my childhood which I love so I thought I'd make that the theme today. Little depressing but Monday seems to get a bad rap that way. It's hard to find an upbeat Monday song (in fact is there one? I mean a GOOD one.)

Mondays aren't so bad for me. I am off every other Monday and on the other week I work a 5 hour day. That's because on Tuesday I will work a 10 or 11 hour day and we at the library will be working our asses (excuse my English!) off because the people in the neighborhood will be jonesing for computers and the holds they put on over the weekend. So I'll take Monday... somebody write me a bluesy Tuesday song!

So theoretically I try to get some writing done on Monday. Theoretically. But there is also housework to be done, a son to pick up from school, errands to be run and blogposts to post. So we'll see if I get any writing done today. I hope to.

But this was Saturday in the Rocky Mountains on our way up Mount Evans (although we didn't go to the top. We'd had to park further down than we'd thought because of hunting season).

We were in the mountains to view the changing of the guard. It happens at the equinox... The god of darkness, Tanist, (in Celtic mythology) defeats the god of light, Lugh. It must be a fantastic battle because things change dramatically. In other words, Autumn comes and soon thereafter Samhain- which is when Tanist will take his throne as Dark King. (Makes me shiver just thinking about it!)

Fall is a bittersweet time for me. I love the beauty of fall, the crisp scent of drying leaves... sap eking out of the bark. But the change of season is difficult for me (I have suffered from seasonal depression for many years) and I know what cometh... lurking around the corner like Lugh's dark spirit!

Nevertheless, how can anyone not appreciate this heart stopping beauty?

What did you do over the weekend? Get any writing done? Or did you put it off because Mother Nature beckoned like I did?

Ch-ch-ch-changes and why DO I blog????

2011-10-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

So we went to the mountains yesterday and my new banner (do you like???) is just a taste of what we saw (I'll be posting them in the next day or so). I am still not ready for fall but I am ready to accept that we are heading toward winter and I fully appreciated the beauty of the day. I was also deeply grateful for the long warm fall we having again but...

Folks, if the significant changes in the weather patterns don't convince you that there is something deeply wrong then nothing will. Here in Colorado, I think we have been fortunate that we have experienced mostly good weather. Where it was really dry before, we have had extra rain, our warm weather has lengthened and the cold weather is not nearly as cold before (I am not sure the ski resorts would be as excited as I am about this!) but that's good news to a warm weather baby like me. I dread the cold! (though I love Christmas as you shall see and be tortured with!!!) But not everyone has been so lucky! In the last year alone the US has had $35 billion in damages from the extreme weather conditions and the government is now in the process of making sure we won't have the money to help communities who have been flooded or destroyed by tornadoes. Could be rough times ahead!

At any rate, I thought I would take a stab at the prompt for yesterday... briefly.

I began blogging because of NaBloWriMo. Amy Kalinchu of Craft-E Revolution suggested I start a blog and join NaBlo. Why would I want to do that? Because you're a writer and it's a good way to get good writing habits started of writing every day. It seemed logical so I did. That's how this blog started. I wasn't writing for anyone but myself and I didn't really comment on anyone else's blog. I didn't know the proper etiquette and was a little taken aback when I got comments. I ranted a bit and did some real writing on my fiction work here. It was a real work in progress. I started making some connections though and saw the benefits of blogging. The blogging community is a fine one!

Last year after NaBlo, I did a Blogfest and connected with more writers and I quickly made a whole bunch of friends. The community has been a warm one! I enjoy all my friends immensely.

I now have my blog as more of a display for my pictures, as you will see. I do comment on the world around me occasionally and I do sometimes insert some of my writing, but since writing is a passion that takes time which I hope to be paid for some day I don't want to offer it up for someone to steal. And since putting hot topics up for the public to view could wind up in the hands of my bosses at work, I try not to be too intense publicly. I save that for twitter actually! lol. So on this blog, you will generally find the expression of my eye, perhaps if I had had the passion of an artist with the paint brush. So I hope you enjoy and stop by now and then to comment!

A final look back at spring!

Day ONE of NABLOWRIMO annnnnd....

2011-10-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Blogiversary to me!

Happy Blogiversary to meeee!

Happy Blogiversary to me!

(Oh yeah it's a video of fireworks! Nothing but the best!!!)
So... it's my blogiversary and I have been racking my brains on what I should do to celebrate. You might tell me it's too late but... not so! I have the entire month to celebrate my blogiversary! Why is that? Because I began blogging on October 1, 2008 (Three years! OMG!!!) for National Blog Writer's Month (NABLOWRIMO!) and since it's an entire month of blogging I think I can easily say, I can celebrate my Blogiversary for the entire month! So, there. And since I am a mere 2 followers away from having 200 followers there is plenty to celebrate!!! SO WOOHOOO!!! Lots of exciting things happenin' round here. (now I just need to come up with prizes and... fun things! um, I'll keep thinking.

Shew! Where is my champagne! Oh, yeah, right here. Take a glass! It's a celebration) And here we are kicking off NaBloWriMo and guess what? I am cheating and prepping this post on the night before because I am somewhere in the Rocky Mountains (you know pictures will follow!), enjoying Colorado blue skies, the red & golden tints of fall and fresh mountain air. (Ahhhh!!! Come on, breathe in! Can you smell the fresh pine???)

At any rate, I'll be checking in with you later but obviously I wanted to kick off the day right with an early post to this big event started.

A final shot of some of what you are missing because you are there and
I am here...

See you soon!

NabloWriMo

2011-09-29T12:17:00.000-07:00

I am not going to post much today, just a reminder that Saturday is the start of NaBloWriMo!!! That is National Blog Writer's Month in case you weren't aware of this national celebratory event. Sometimes all it entails is: "Hi lovelies! I'm not going to be able to blog much today, hope your all having a lovely day!!!" but the point is to participate, have fun and meet new bloggers. Some are writers, some crafters, mommies, in fact there's a range of people that sign up for this bloggy event. So click on the link and email the hostess that you want to sign up and then plan on posting each day (and if you don't, nobody is going to hunt you down!!!)-- it's just that easy!!!
Have a lovely day!!!

Spirit Animals

2011-09-26T17:34:00.000-07:00

Many years ago (seems like a lifetime now) I took a personality test that put the test taker in one of four categories. I can't remember what the actual test was called but you were either a lion...

didn't know I was such a buddy to the lions did you?

a Golden Retriever...

Conchscooter's English Golden Retriever 'Cheyenne'

and an otter or a beaver (sorry, don't have any pictures... but you can picture the otter frolicking and the beaver busily building...). That's it. Those four.

At the time, I scored heavily as a Golden Retriever. It was depressing because the Retriever is a nice enough pet, but not something I aspired to be as a human being. I wouldn't have minded if I had scored as a lion. After all, there is Aslan. He is the great lion who is "dangerous" "not a tame lion." But he is good and throughout the Narnia chronicles he is gentle and wise. So, being a lion wouldn't be a bad thing.

But I didn't score as a lion.

I was a Golden Retriever. *sigh* A house pet.

Later, I did various other personality tests and my view of myself broadened. I realized that wasn't the whole picture. And I realized that first test had presented a very limited (and limiting!) view of myself and of anyone else who I might try to put into those four categories. People are as varied as the animal kingdom itself!

A few years ago I decided to choose the animal that I would emulate, the one that speaks to the spirit that I wanted to have and the one that corresponded to the spirit I already had. It wasn't hard to choose. I knew myself well enough that when I read the description of this creature, I knew I had found my match:

Change

Wisdom

Balance

Harmony

Communication skills

Freedom

Trust

Understanding the power of rhythm in your life

Use of breath to release intense emotions

Remember, some of these I strive to meet, others I think are already part of my personality. This is the wisdom of the...

What is your spirit animal? If you don't know, you can go here to choose one!

What I did on my summer vacation...

2011-09-22T22:01:00.000-07:00

Mr. Michael from In Time... has asked me to write a 300-500 word report on what I did on my summer vacation. There are lots of other reports that you can read if you go back to his blog here. They'll be great so you should check them out!

Summer was all about... THE GREAT OUTDOORS!

(you should probably have some music going. You can click on the link below if you want to get in the mood. Nothing like a little John Mayer!)

First up, camping! or as Talei of Musings of an Aspiring Scribe calls it Glamping! We went glamping in Kansas. And as you'll see above the fam is playing not far from the tents as the sun is setting. It was a brilliant evening and it wouldn't be long before we would settle down to drink champagne, watch the last of the sun's light glimmer and watch the dance of the dragonflies as the stars settle into the heavens.

We had planned on making a big hike up a Fourteener at the end of the summer so we had to train! (Okay well, I'll tell you a little secret: Mo planned on the two of us getting up a Fourteener. I wasn't so sure I could make it up a Tenner-- I don't know if there is such a thing but a Fourteener is HIGH!!!-- so I wasn't thrilled about the idea but I nodded and more or less gave the effort of getting in shape the old college try. We wound up not having time to do it before the summer ended, alas...) There were plenty of hikes to travail in the buildup.

Occasionally our paths wandered by beautiful brooks far from the sounds of civilization.

Sometimes we could look back and see the girth of the city, sprawling and voluminous.

It's always amazing to us that we can live in the heart of that city and then drive just 20-30 minutes and be here on a mountaintop, far from the Madding crowd with the wide sky and silence (mostly) around us.

And then to turn a corner and have some gentle soul wondering what we're doing in her living room. I was gauche, couldn't leave well enough alone and kept taking pictures until she finally decided take her leave. "Surely humans understand privacy laws," I'm sure she hmmphed as she ran off hoping we weren't traipsing after her.

A bit of our time was spent on less strenuous activity. A drive down south (an earthquake shook things up here a few weeks later which is quite amazing!) to a town that consists of one post office and NOTHING ELSE- no stores, not even a gas station (in fact the gas station is where the post office is now located!). Just a few homes and empty shells where there used to be thriving family owned establishments. We were in search of Mo's roots or we might never have stumbled on the place, it being around the bend of an old dirt road that only the very determined venture. But it's a place that should be remarked upon, the almost forgotten and fallen apart Trinchera, Colorado.

And then on the way home, we stopped by a real ghost town: Ludlow, Colorado. I've posted about this before so won't go into it again but it's filled with the kind of ghosts that can haunt your dreams for many a night.

And then easy day of training: walking in our city park.

But we were serious about training, so it's back to the hills we go! This path was none too easy. Plenty of steep inclines and rough terrain. The blue skies with a white puffy cloud to break the monotony keep me going. The skies in Colorado can be quite an amazing shade of deep blue some days...

We also managed to make it to a mountain town for some touristy fun. Estes Park is a quaint little town nestled in the Rocky Mountain National Park. Not being a ski resort, it's etched out it's living being something of a convention site and summer haven, I think. We saw lots of Texans it seemed to me. I wanted to get lots more pictures (this wasn't a great one!) but my camera ran out of batteries.

And on another hike, as we rounded the corner, we were quite stunned by the sun's rays as they shone down through the trees. The path we were walking was barely visible in places, seldom taken and overgrown.

The brilliant afternoon in this quiet wood.

So, that's what I did on my summer vacation... what did you do? (can't wait to read everyone else's! Hope you drop by too!)

Planned obsolescence? Planned murder, more like!

2011-09-18T22:01:00.000-07:00

Computers are the ultimate model in planned obsolescence which is frustrating but it means I have learned to take care of my computer. And I pride myself in being a self-taught computer tech- the techies downtown are generally happy with me because when they give me directions over the phone I can carry them out with little or no angst. But today, I may have met my match. My computer is having some sort of issue where it doesn't communicate with the USB ports which means that my cordless mouse no longer works and the light of my life, my digital camera, will not communicate with my computer. AHHHHHHHH!!!! I cannot express to you how frustrating this is. I LOVE my digital camera and how easy it is to take pictures, download them and then post them on my blog. Not to mention that as I was checking out the problems on the HP website, it appears the problem is not only expensive but could become worse if not fixed. It could mean my ipod shuffle won't communicate with my computer and eventually the disc drive I burn discs from might not work. The whole situation makes me to do this...

All in all folks, I feel they have us coming and going. The banks and oil barons own the politicians and can get whatever they want in Washington. Meanwhile the people we buy our stuff from: potato chips, shoes, computers, etc. make the common stuff we buy more cheaply so they don't last half as long (and in the case of potato chips has anyone else noticed how few potato chips are actually in a bag of potato chips while you are paying more???). I haven't had a pair of comfortable shoes for tennis or exercising in for ages! I try them on, they feel great and then get them home and they're torture (and I am not buying Walmart specials, folks!) Now my computer is giving me fits after two years and I have done everything I could to take care of this damn machine!!!

Any techies out there know how to fix this problem?

I'm desperate!!!

Update: It appears the problem is fixed-- FOR NOW. I'm not holding my breath because it wasn't anything I really did so the problem could come back as easily it went away. But I much thank Michael Offut for trying to help me out! Thanks Michael!!! You're a real sweet heart.

meeting place

2011-09-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

NaBloWriMo

2011-09-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

All right kids the leaves in the backyard are changing and you know what that means! ~~Danette is going to curl up into a corner~~ (not what I mean to say) Fall is right around the corner, pretty leaves, crisp air, but bigger and better is NaBloWriMo. What's that? What's that you ask??? (because you've been living under a rock for the past four years or so!!!) Why it's National Blog Writer's Month, OF COURSE! Hosted by Not Hannah of I'm Not Hannah blogsomeness but originally created by Amy of Crafte-Revolution as a way to encourage bloggers to write every day. "What do you do to participate in said NaBloWriMo???" you ask. Just drop in on the blog and sign up (you'll see the instructions on the September 7th entry.)

Participation is easy- easier than the A-Z challenge and can be incorporated into the Writer's Campaign so don't be worried that you're already committed to too much: All it is daily blogging for the month of October and if you don't make it all the way through nobody is going to carve a pumpkin face into you! It's an opportunity to meet more bloggers and win some prizes (Miz Amy of aforementioned Crafte-Revolution is giving away ebooks for bloggers and there will be more!) so sign up, meet new friends and just Have Fun!

Oh and the pumpkin is cute but isn't the button. We'll be seeing that soon. This is from last year. For a bit of continuity I thought I'd post it so you'd see it when you went to the official NaBloWriMo blog. But Let's make it a real ~~National~~-- scratch that INTERNATIONAL event, bloggers!
Sign up today!!! (even if all you write that day is "Don't have much to blog on today, need to get some writing done. See you all tomorrow! *waves*)

A geek?

2011-09-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

Maybe a bit...
The other day I was bemoaning the fact that my new red car doesn't have a CD player in it while my older car had at least a tape player in it (A tape player!?! I know, right?) And I said, I missed listening to Books on Tape like I used to, that I had listened to a whole series on Quantum Physics when I was doing research for 'Death and Politics at the End of the World.' My boss said, "Danette did you just hear yourself? *repeats sentence* I couldn't really fix it without sounding geeky and like a nerd. Sorry. Perhaps I should have gone into science and become a total nerd. Instead I've come at it late in life and incorporate bits and pieces in my writing. And now I am going to share it with you!!!
I came across this video on another blog but it was on YouTube and wanted to share it.

It features Morgan Freeman, Stephen Hawkings, Michio Kaku, Brian Cox, and the awesome brainiac Richard Feynman.
"The Quantum theory offers a very different explanation of our world" ~Michio Kaku

Hope you enjoy the 'Symphony of Science'!!
"I've got to stop somewhere. I'll leave you something to imagine" ~Richard Feyman
(That is where 'Death and Politics' steps in for me!)

Small update: Finally! heard from the literary journal. No go. Rejection letter finally came although I'd long ago given up on them. On to other things. I've got the "2011 Writer's Market" sitting in my lap and today I am having my belated Labor Day holiday! (WOOHOO) So after an INCREDIBLY rough personal week I plan to sit out in the beautiful Colorado sunshine (winter comes much to soon at this point!!!! I am cramming in the sunshine!) and getting some writing done and maybe treating myself to lunch out!

Union Busting

2011-09-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

August 1, Mo and I took a day trip to southern Colorado to see the town where his mother had been born and lived in her early years. On our way back, we took the opportunity to see a little ghost town and to view a bit of Americana- albeit the progressive and lesser known Americana.

In a little town alongside the mighty Rockies, there once stood a town called Ludlow, Colorado and across the road from the town was a mining camp. The workers who came to work the mine were European and Mexican immigrants who came to America just as immigrants do today, although at that time perhaps the myth was more widely held that America was "A land of milk and honey, where the streets were paved with gold."

What they found instead were company-owned towns where they worked 12-14 hour days. They were paid in company owned "scrips", that were worth pennies on the dollar and the fatality rates were ten times the national average. As a result of the terrible working conditions and low wages, they began a strike on September 23, 1913.

When they began the strike the companies evicted them from their homes and refused to allow them to pack their belongings. They were quickly aided by the United Mine Workers of America who gave them tents that allowed them to survive on of the worst winters in Colorado history. The strike was plagued with violence from the beginning but on the April 20 things came to a head.

Just after having celebrated the Greek Orthodox Easter, while celebrators were still sleeping in, an explosion triggered a round of gunfire between the miners and the state militia which had been called out to "keep the peace." In the late afternoon a train interfered with the gunfire long enough for some of the women and children to escape. At dusk someone from the militia (it's not clear who) entered the camp and set fire to the tents which resulted in 21 deaths- which included 2 women and 11 children.

I am no apologist for the things that unions have done wrong in their thirst for power in the political arena. But on this Labor Day, perhaps it is a good day to remember the Ludlow Massacre, for those who died there in an attempt to bring better working conditions to ALL Americans, not just immigrant workers. Because of them we have:

The 8 hour work day

The 40 hour work week

Paid Holidays and vacations

Paid sick days

Overtime pay

Pensions

Healthcare Benefits

Workplace health and safety laws

Anti-discrimination laws

This is what America is all about folks and what makes us so great! We have this as our heritage-- or did once. Will we again? I sincerely hope so!!!

Welcome to paradise!

2011-09-01T20:51:00.000-07:00

The characters and events in this post are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

His rattletrap car only just gasped over the seven mile Overseas Highway and finally let out it's last groan on Stock Island. He ditched the pathetic deathtrap next to what looked like a trailer park and walked on to the island at the End of the World. He was grateful the car had gotten him as far it it had. He'd known the car was going to going be DOA but had risked it anyway because he had "no intention of never going back no how." And that's what he'd told his wife as he walked out the door. Her kids blinked at him blearily from where they curlicued on the doorstep, watching as he threw his bag into the backseat, understanding his flight but clearly longing for their own rescue.

He slumped against the car then looked over at the pair and finally walked over to give them a final embrace. "Ya'll can't come. I'm sorry. I got no way to provide for you and I just ain't doing you no good here. Ya'll be better off." He kissed matted scalps, noted the soiled skin and turned their tear stained faces upward. "Take your baths tonight and don't forget to brush your teeth. Ah right? now go on into the house."

Heads bobbled in tandem. They stumbled up, pulled on the wooden screen door that screeched in protest and let the door slam behind them.

He gazed at the rusted screen and chipped paint for a quiet moment, then settled in the front seat of his car and backed quickly out of the driveway, and didn't look back as he headed down Highway One.

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless' website "approximately 3.5 million people, 1.35 million of them children, are likely to experience homelessness in a given year (National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 2007)." While there are many, many reasons people are homeless (mental illness, eroding working opportunities, foreclosures, decline in public housing, lack of affordable healthcare) the problem is nevertheless a visible reminder of America's shame. The wealthiest country in the world and yet we continue to have people sleeping on the streets, in the alleys and under our overpasses. In Key West, the weather is generally balmy and pleasant for outdoor living. As the summer ends it is worth noting that here in Colorado, people die each year from the bitter cold when they are homeless.

Meanderings of a Wandering Mind

2011-08-26T22:43:00.000-07:00

A little political blogging over at the other site. I'd almost decided not to use it for politics and I still might do most political stuff here but I had a project at work where they asked about blogging and I sent them the link to this blog which means nothing much... maybe?? Except that I probably should be cautious and not talk about local politics here so that kind of blogging will go on there and as long as I am doing that I might as well post this particular blog there too.

Speaking of the new job: It's a good position. Really good. More money (which is great I won't deny it!) but the best part is that I get to do stuff that is more challenging and interesting. I handle the money, solve problems and generally organize the workload. My boss and I get along well which means that I don't worry that she's looking over my shoulder every minute. I think she trusts me and she and I are on the same page with how things should go for the most part (which is important since she's not even in the building for most of the time!) Thanks for all the support from all my blogging buddies, once again!

The work load has made writing a bit of a challenge and with school starting for my son... well, we've got a bit of adjusting to do but I am also looking forward to the rhythms of the regular calender starting back up although there are a lot of changes this year so perhaps I breathe too deeply when I think of the "regular" calender. I used to turn absolute cartwheels with the start of school. It's less joyful now that my youngest is in 8th grade. We drive a lot which is difficult but each passing year means another year closer to his
going to high school
having a girlfriend
driving
being out late
growing up
leaving home...
Today he said, "I love you to the moon and back."
It was a hard day.
But he still said what he used to say
when he was a little boy
when I read to him in his bed.
at night
and I would say
I love you to the stars and back
When he got older and knew the planets then we named names
out doing each other with
how much we loved each other
So tonight I said,
I love you to Jupiter and back.
He didn't try to outdo me.
Another day closer...

Why you can't compare apples to oranges

2011-08-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

Or digitally downloaded music to ebooks.

I often hear the publishing industry compared to the music industry- both by authors and by people in the media. Time to get with it! They say. Times are different now! The digital age has changed everything! The music industry learned this in the early part of 2000 and it is about time for the book industry to adjust.

There is no doubt that the computer age has changed the way people get information (think Wikipedia, Twitter feeds for news, Google) and it certainly has altered the way people get their news- for better or for worse. And I say for worse because it means that an incident like a nuclear meltdown or an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico can be headlines everywhere you look one day and nowhere to be found the next. We as a society now have the attention span of a 10 year-old boy with ADHD when it comes to the catastrophes that grabbed our undivided attention the day before. But does the digital age really force a change on the book industry beyond what they have decided to impose upon us?

Book sales are down because people are watching more television and playing with digital devices. That is a sad thing for all writers. And we should all mourn the fact that there are fewer and fewer people reading. It is not good news for any of us! And I personally don't think that formatting a book to eReader is going to get more people to read. It might get more people to buy more books (yes, I know ebook sales are up! That is because the people who do read are enjoying their new toy and buying lots of books which is a good thing! I am not poopooing that!) because the books are cheap(er)- at least right now.

However, there are numerous problems with the ebook phenom which could mean that eventually the ebook drifts out of favor or becomes the latest victim of PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE. (You've heard of that right, folks? That's when a device is sold to you with a usable life of about 3-5 years?? Like your computer. Then they force you to buy a new one because the old one is virtually impossible to run anymore? Cars are even breaking down much faster... Furniture... You name it! But we've all had to deal with the device du jours: first there were VHS players which paved the way for the short lived Laser Disc which quickly led to the DVD which is now possibly being replaced by the Blue-Ray disc although before it can replace the DVD, I wouldn't be surprised if something else doesn't overshadow both DVD and BlueRay the way the CD overshadowed the Album and the tape.) And new devices mean new formats for those novels which may not be selling very well (and it may not be cost effective to take them over to the new format...) because the money isn't in the book sales people, it's in the devices!

But I am getting a bit ahead of myself.

The reason you cannot compare the music business to the book business is quite simply: THEY DO NOT SELL THE SAME WAY!!!! Music is, primarily, sold by the band that created it. A big recording company may eventually get behind it and get it on a radio station but that is probably AFTER the song has already gathered some following by going from one small venue to another and then getting in a little larger place and a larger place. The band records their songs in a small studio, slogs the CDs at the venues they are playing in, selling them as they go. People buy them because music is something you can listen to over and over if you like it. And you can listen to it for years and years (still love the Eagles after a hundred plays...)*

Books on the other hand sell by word of mouth, by book cover, reviews (although reviews are not the death knell authors would like to make them out to be nor are they a guaranteed best seller maker, either), by publicity and by author readings (which are NOT like the band playing in a venue because if no one knows you, you might be sitting in an empty room waiting for a stray passerby, unlike a band which at least has the draw of alcohol to bring in a few boozers- lol) And author readings are tough because they don't really give the reader the chance to browse the book, they merely show off the author's skills (or not) at reading aloud. And furthermore, if you are an author who has difficulty with public speaking or are not very personable, this could mean big trouble for your sales.

But by far, the biggest way to sell a book, unfortunately, is by having it on display at a bookstore. Ask any Barnes and Noble Bookstore Manager and they will tell you that when they put a book on display, sales on that book immediately go up. How do you get your book on that display? You have a name that will sell a book or that the corporate bigwigs want on the table. And how do they decide that? Usually you have a name or a connection to a name that will sell books.

Now the question is: how is that going to translate to the ebook "sales table"? When I browse the BnN Nook book page the best sellers are still on the "display table", if you will. It's the same ol' same ol'. They know what will sell and what they can leave back in "the stacks" as books that the author will have to promote themselves if they want them to move. And back in the stacks? 2 million books! Some well known authors like Faulkner or Fitzgerald that you might want to have in your ebook library (of course if you think ahead to the day your Nook is obsolete, you might want to get that treasure in hardback after all) but many, many more authors that the reader hasn't a clue about. And they are going to have to gamble on the book being worth the time and effort based on the cover and the overview given on the page... that is, if they even find that book/author at all out of 2 million in the first place. (And what happens if they read a couple of those unknown authors and they are completely unreadable-- I mean really unreadable! How does that affect their browsing the next time? Are they more cautious? Are they less likely to buy based on cover art or reviews?) So many choices and SO MUCH competition. Too much competition!

And how do you play over the noise of that band?

I don't know.

*One way they are alike however is that neither industry wants to pay the artist for the work they have created. Story after story abounds, from writers and musicians alike, of being ripped off by the companies that are supposed to be "helping" them. And in actuality neither industry is benefiting from the theft the internet is an accessory to. Mo would also argue that the "the cottage" industry that has sprung up (in other words the idea that anyone can self-publish or self-record) has harmed the record industry by allowing anyone and everyone to make a CD as there is no "weeding", so to speak, "of the chaff." Poor musicianship abounds without anyone saying, "You simply aren't good enough to play."

Star Trek Forever!

2011-08-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

Ellie Garrett is hosting the "Star Trek Fest as We Know it Blogfest" which is great fun and I THANK HER!!!

(click on the link at the bottom of the Borg pic to go to her blog and see the rest of the entries!)

Star Trek As We Know It Blogfest

I am an old (old, I tell you!!!) Star Trek Fan. I love the original Star Trek and have many stories around Star Trek (and my youth which I will not bore you with). But... my favorite character may have to be Uhura although this was cemented after I saw her in person at the StarCon here in Denver (told you I was a fan!) here in Denver about 10 years ago. She was an amazing story teller and kept us enrapt! Enrapt I tell you! But this story was the best! I could never do it justice... but, doing my best... in "Plato's StepChildren" there was supposed to be a kiss between Kirk and Ohura but the network people did not want the controversial kiss on the air. There was a moment in which someone (a writer? a producer? who knows!?!?!) had the idea to have Spock kiss Uhura. Shatner insisted that the script remain as it was. So NBC finally ordered that the scene be shot two ways- one where they kiss, one where they don't. As she told it however, Shatner bollocksed the scenes where they did not kiss so badly (he crossed his eyes in the final take in the most hilarious manner) that there was no choice but to use the one where they had kissed. Thus, Star Trek was the first show on network television to show an interracial kiss.

I loved Scotty and enjoyed his drunken brawls. He seemed to revel in his drinking in a way I had never seen before. What a fun character. AND he could fix anything. I want to be like him at work!!!

Adored Bones. Loved all the drama he brought to the set. I might start saying "I'm a circ clerk not a therapist, Jim." In a really intense voice like Bones did. Could be hilarious.

And I don't know if I could choose between Spock and Captain Kirk... I love them both. Could anyone give inspiring speeches like Captain Kirk? I may have to make one for our next meeting "We must reach the stars!" (I don't know... I better think about that one.)

Favorite Episodes? The Cage, The Trouble with Tribbles, The Menagerie, The City on the Edge of Forever, and of course the one I already mention and then...

My son was born during "Star Trek Deep Space Nine" so I guess I must mention that. It was "Sacrifice of Angels" I believe although I will admit to being a little bit out of it. I was a bit annoyed though when the doctor said, "Can someone turn that thing off?" I almost said, "No, It's a new episode of Star Trek!" I enjoyed "Deep Space Nine" more than "Generations" or "Voyager" and I never got into "Enterprise".

But the original will always have my heart.

In fact, I designed a poll before I signed up for the blogfest if you want to participate follow the link (the image below is just to let you know how it looks) and just click on YOUR FAVORITE ORIGINAL STAR TREK CHARACTER! It didn't work quite the way I wanted (wasn't something I could post to my blog, meh) But it was fun enough that I thought you might enjoy doing it anyway. So... click on the link and vote for one (I think) at the link below! (too bad a QR code won't work!)

http://doodle.com/g2r85p5b8dn3ukbk

The Mazy Dazy Thing

2011-08-19T18:39:00.000-07:00

This is a URL...

well, a code for a URL that has been translated into QR code

This particular one is the URL for my blog which has been translated into a QR code by a QR code generator. According to the information I was reading, it is an easy way to transfer a URL without having to type in a long series of letters, numbers, and slashes into a smartphone. There is the potential for the library to use the QR code linking a book to catalog records, to it's book cover and to reviews, and possibly for marketing by placing them throughout the city (by publishers???)

Any other ideas, techies?

How about you conspiracy theorists?

Can't wait to hear what you think!

Oh and in case you want to make one for your blog you can do it here but there are several other sites: Kwaya, ZXing Project, and Maestro but I made this at delivr http://delivr.com/qr-code-generator

And just for fun here's a Youtube video. You can see how much easier this would be to send to your cell phone, rather than typing in that lengthy URL on a Youtube video!

(If they look different- one is a png file and the other is a jpg)

A secret garden...

2011-08-16T22:20:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it feels as though I have found a secret place that has been, if not untouched, unspoilt by humans. The sounds are all of nature: bees humming, birds coohooing, trees whispering and a breaking limb as a lithe creature steps gingerly through the undergrowth...

when I round the corner I surprise the creature so that she looks toward me uncertain what to think of my noisy passing and whispered excitement. She stares for some time. I thought at first she would quickly dart off but it was actually some time before...

She wearies of the photo shoot, tired of having her afternoon refreshment interrupted and, perhaps, ready for a siesta in a quieter spot, darts off into the trees.

Death and Politics in the real world

2011-08-11T17:12:00.000-07:00

At a time when there are riots and social unrest all over the world, including London (and if you don't think it has anything to do with the economic situation, read this) I think it's time to try something new- Real Change.

While the right has tried to characterize him as a typical politician, this is a man who cares deeply about the environment and the working class people of this country. He cares enough to fight for it despite what it might cost him.

Al Gore for President!

I will vote for him! How about you?

The past...

2011-08-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

August 1st, (Colorado Day!) Mo and I went on a quest to find the town where his mother was born. As luck would have it, we stumbled upon the tiny town in southern Colorado called Trinchera. Once there he brilliantly headed to the post office whose post mistress then directed him to her sister who had ties to the local historical society. Fortune hung on a bit longer and she pointed him toward a small rock home that lay some distance from the town that fit the description that had been given him by his mother years earlier...

We won't know for sure (if ever) if, indeed, it was the place her family homesteaded in the early part of this century but I was struck by how he spoke of his mother, of seeing how this place had shaped the person she became, the woman and mother she was and how it had influenced her raising and shaping of him....

While I watched him steeped in memories of his mother, I thought of the people who came before me- whose memories score my DNA: a Russian-German immigrant, a Canadian farmer who immigrated to the U.S. after his wife died, his daughter who lost her mother and sister to disease when she was a child...

We are, none of us, singular in our experience. We are all influenced by the voices of our past. The stones of the hearths of homes that stood so many years before may not stand, as do these, yet in the deepest sections of our brains they live on and we move within their framework as surely as the earth follows it's inimitable pathway around the sun.

What stories have you gathered from your past that help you understand more about who you are?

The cute...

2011-08-03T20:54:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you get to photograph the cute. This was one of those days!

Smile for the camera!!!

Plus, political blogging at Meanderings of a Wandering Mind! I know I said I was going to put that stuff here, but I am still waffling. Today it's there. Anyway, good stuff from Keith Olbermann.

Mia Ammisione! or My Big Confession

2011-08-01T21:28:00.000-07:00

As we nears summer's dogdays, (and while I realize that parts of Central U.S. are suffering under a heatwave, and not to be insensensitve, but...) I must say, I loathe to see it's end.

But perhaps I should explain or rather confess...

After all I have spent many posts (including my introduction) extolling the virtues of an island at "The End of the World!" Key West is indeed a glorious little island for many reasons, but Denver has it's own charms which I do often post about. But one of the best things about Denver (and Colorado!) is the summers. It does finally get hot enough for me and can even reach 100 degrees which will set most Coloradans abitterly complaining. They are usually cold weather folk and don't tolerate heat well. I on the other hand am smiling, turning cartwheels, or behaving in other obnoxiously pleasant ways because it's hot and sunny and I am glad!!! What's not to love? Tennis! Hiking! Swimming...

But here's the secret about Denver's great summers: By midnight the temperature here will have dropped nearly 30 degrees making the house a mostly liveable environment even if you don't have air condition (which I do not!) which means mornings are perfectly glorious! It's 12-1 O'Clock before the daytime temperatures really hit their peak and the heat is dry not humid which means that you aren't melting like a Popsicle the moment you walk out the door so the shade is quite pleasant. My back patio is the best place to be on my days off, especially if you throw in a few accessories like a Creme de Cassis (or champagne!), my writing, a book or a game of dominoes (care to join me?) and generally a light breeze is blowing which is all I need!! (yes I do still have a high tolerance to heat... well, DRY heat)

Now here is my next confession: If the days are too incredibly hot and horrible (and sometimes they are. I get migraines if I try and exercise too vigorously in 90+ temps) then I can get in my car and drive to the mountains where I will find...

A lovely Summer day in the 80s!!!

(Don't hassle me about this come January when I am griping about the cold and snow because I WILL be griping about it!) So when can we expect you??? :)

Ready to celebrate?

2011-07-27T22:31:00.000-07:00

I got the job!

Still waiting to hear from the magazine... :( The sad life of a writer and rejection, aye?

On the mountaintop...

2011-07-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

Come sit with me, my friend
with pen and paper we shall sit
and from such views we shall write
wondrous tales of
Crossing the harsh Rocky Mountains in the dead of winter,
skeletons along the way their stories untold

Lovers reunited after months of parting
Elves and trolls dwellings beneath the rocks & leaves
Wild Bill Hickok's hidden paths
A timeless village where the people do not age
Or aliens visiting humans and whispering of the stars and other planets and how time shifts
as they move from one galaxy to the next...
Come sit with me and let's imagine...

what do you dream of in your mind's eye from the mountaintop?

Wild flower

2011-07-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

"Diff'rence 'tween a weed 'n a flow'r is which side of the fence it's on." Back bowed, she grips the porch's wooden support to ease her heavy frame down the step, white hair waving in the wind.

I was surprised into silence, unused to such pearls slipping from sour lips. Perhaps sudden insight sprang from a hidden desire to live a more cultured life, longing for fertile soils with well watered roots that would have resulted in deep colored blossoms and green leafy stems to stretch toward the sun.

It is conceivable that she was weary of the struggle, tired of of toiling past tall grasses to reach for life giving sunlight, withering when clouds are dry and tired of fighting off thistle that reaches out to strangle and choke.

"Still purdy though"

...and waiting

2011-07-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

I had my interview for the position of Lead clerk today (Wednesday). It went well according to the Senior who I work under (she told me at the end of the day- which was a little odd).

However there are some reservations I have that I don't want to go into right now, so I am not ready to break out the champagne just yet. They will interview the rest of the candidates on Friday and then we'll hear some time next week, I suppose. The other job I was interviewing for... well, I cancelled that interview. As the time drew near, the situation didn't feel right so I decided to wait for this interview. If this one doesn't work out then I'll go to Plan B rather than start with Plan B.

I'm also still waiting to hear from the Literary magazine that I submitted my piece to, although I am now at a place where I am about ready to contact them. I'm less hopeful about this than I was two weeks ago when I first mentioned it as I would think they would have contacted me by now... it could mean they aren't interested and just waiting to stuff it in the envelope and mail it back. (sigh.)

So more waiting.

But this is a lovely place to take a few deeps breaths.

(Update: There isn't any way to contact the Literary magazine via email- just snail mail, so I wait! Oh, the life of a writer!!!)

Jellyfish and Cats

2011-07-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

Browsing through my news sources, I was struck by several headlines that relate to global warming and the environment and the species that live on our planet in a new way. Like this one: "Jellyfish, With Numbers Increasing From Warming Waters and Pollution, Force Shutdown of Power Plants"

So the story is that because the planet is warming, we have jellyfish in unsustainable numbers in the ocean and they are now choking the filters nuclear reactors along the coasts of the oceans. At the Orot Rabin Electric Power Station,on Israel's west coast, several tonnes of jellyfish clogged the filters, then last month the Torness Power station on the south-east coast of Scotland, the reactors were shut down after jellyfish were found in the seawater filters. And about the same time, the cooling system at one nuclear reactor in western Japan was blocked by a jellyfish invasion! See the whole story here. Then from Mother Jones this headline: "Are Cats Bad for the Environment?" According to this story, our harmless little house friends ("kittehs" as one of my favorite bloggers 'Why Evolution is True' calls them) kats

kill at least a hundred million birds in the US every year—dwarfing the number killed by wind turbines. (See "Apocalypse Meow," below.) They're also responsible for at least 33 avian extinctions worldwide. A recent Smithsonian Institution study found that cats caused 79 percent of deaths of juvenile catbirds in the suburbs of Washington, DC. Bad news, since birds are key to protecting ecosystems from the stresses of climate change—a 2010 study found that they save plants from marauding insects that proliferate as the world warms.

The article goes on to talk about feral cats which is an even bigger problem because they are protected by many cat advocacy groups. The idea is to neuter feral cats then release them with the idea being that they will eventually go away. unfortunately there are simply too many cats and too little money. It ain't happening. We are not being responsible pet owners.

And then this is not so whacky as it is a reminder of what we have coming at us from Al Gore's blog

Evidence of the damage the climate crisis is causing continues to mount:

“The sea-level is now rising faster along the U.S. Atlantic coast than at any time in the past 2,100 years, and this surge is linked to increasing global temperatures, an international research team reports.”

"Sea-level rise is a potentially disastrous outcome of climate change, as rising temperatures melt land-based ice and warm ocean waters," said study co-author Benjamin Horton of the University of Pennsylvania. The study was published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”

This is from USAtoday folks. Be afraid. Be very afraid. On the upside, maybe I'll be able to have one of these here in Denver!

(I am trying to decide on whether to keep the political blog going or not. I don't think I keep I going the way it needs to be AND to top it off I have trouble getting readers there so I have reposted this here in order to see what readers think: here or on the political blog?)

Note: I apologize for the caps on my font. Blogger has put this on for some dumb reason and I can't get it off no matter how many times I delete and repost. I don't like reading in caps but I am getting tired of trying to fix it and I need to get some actual writing done tonight!!!

Sunday night at the movies

2011-07-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

It used to be that each Sunday night was a "Movie of the Week". Remember those? Back when Television was watchable? (Well, it still is when PBS has a good Masterpiece Theater on...) It was generally (at least here) a movie that had been newly released to a television station. That was where I saw "The Poseidon Adventure" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" for the first time-such great classics! When my kids were growing up, I fell in love with American Movie Classics (AMC- yes! our friends who give us MADMEN which I ADORE!!! but that's another post!!!) where I saw, for the first time, some of the older movies and fell in love with an older generation of actors that had a grace and style that really can not be matched today, I don't think.

So, without further ado I shall introduce you to...

Laura

She (Gene Tierney) enters as many of us wish we could, a portrait of loveliness. Picture perfect in every way, she smiles down at the men who admire her from afar. Standing in loving homage to her impeccability are two men from her past and one from her future-

well, sort of...

The two men (Clifton Webb & Vincent Price) already love her passionately and the third (on the left: Dana Andrews! Isn't he delicious?)will love her, he just doesn't know it yet! The problem? She has been murdered and the introing Detective Lt. Mark McPherson is the one who has to find out who the murderer is! His investigation leads him through the dead woman's past as Laura's long time friend Waldo Lydecker (played by Webb) shares the details with a bit too much delicious detail and from the other man in her life, her fiance, Shelby Carpenter (played by V. Price).

As the details unfold, the detective finds himself inexorably drawn to the woman and the apartment beyond what is necessary as he draws closer to her killer. However, in a sudden twist the case takes a turn which makes the detective rethink the whole case. (no spoilers here!)

Oscar Winner of Best Cinematography: Joseph LaShelle

Also Nominated for...
best actor in a supporting role: Clifton Webb;
Best Art direction!
Best Direction: Otto Preminger;
Best screenplay: Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein,and Elizabeth Reinhardt

Memorable quotes:
Waldo Lydecker: I don't use a pen. I write with a goose quill dipped in venom.

Waldo introduces us to Laura [Scene deleted from theater version and restored in 1990] "She was quick to seize upon anything that would improve her mind or her appearance. Laura had innate breeding, but she deferred to my judgment and taste. I selected a more attractive hairdress for her. I taught her what clothes were more becoming to her. Through me, she met everyone: The famous and the infamous. Her youth and beauty, her poise and charm of manner captivated them all. She had warmth, vitality. She had authentic magnetism. Wherever we went, she stood out. Men admired her; women envied her.

And it's also got a great theme song which I love!

Who are your favorite actors from the 30s and 40s?

Death of a Blogger

2011-07-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

The characters and events in this post and all connected posts are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

The Final Post

A bolt of lightning ridges out across the sky as torrential rains cascade down onto the asphalt outside your window. You glance up, too engrossed in what you are reading to be impressed by nature’s sudden onslaught except to reach over to shut the window to keep the computer screen from getting dowsed. A second take at the date on the blog entry and you’re convinced it’s time to move. Two days since the body was discovered and the case is already in active decay. Opening the file, you glance over the police report and nestle the receiver under your chin as you absentmindedly dial. “Can you get in here? We’re going to take another look into the Thebeauld case.” Without waiting for an answer, you drop the receiver into its cradle and tap out the seconds as you wait for the appearance of your reluctant partner.

You watch as she meanders through the semi-chaotic corner of the police station you can view from your desk, strolling past favorite officers who pause to admire her passing, a small smile of pleasure on her face. “Too pleased with herself” you scowl, vaguely aware of your own sagging flesh. Her skirt brushes the upper arm of a young detective as she passes and she laughs at grasping fingers that reach for her ankle just as she slips away. She clicks into the office, her high heeled shoes registering impatience with your summons. Her whole demeanor always shifts in your presence to being slightly agitated, annoyed at your "so-called" experience, bored with your “insight” and ready to give her own This-is-what-my-prof-said opinions that are little more than nettling. But it is your job to train her, not befriend.

She slouches across the room and angles herself in the chair as though she is keeping an eye on escape. You study her for a moment, wondering if she’s going to cooperate, decide it doesn’t matter and shrug off the ambivalence. “Give the Medical Examiner a call and tell him we’re going to need him to do a more thorough exam of the body.”

“Never fly. Clear cut case. Serg has already stamped it.”

“Not even close and I’ll talk with the Serg. He’s not going to be a problem.”

“The ME didn’t find anything suspicious. There’s no reason to open it up again. Why do you want to get into this? It’s a can of worms that is just going to cause extra paperwork and you’ll wind up right back where you started. Even if there is something odd about it, chances are that you won’t—”

“That so-called Medical Examiner downstairs has his head so far up his ass that he may as well quit trying to look up. Just tell him he’s missed something. I’m not sure what we’re looking for and it might be that he won’t find anything new but he’s going to want to cover his ass, head and all. He won’t want to say it’s a simple suicide and then have questions later. And trust me, there are questions.”

“What have you got.”

“A blog entry. Written after time of death.”
“Who says he wrote it?”

            “Password protected. Either he wrote it or someone else did. Either way.”
            “Could be written in advance. Set to post later. It would be odd but not unheard of.”
            “Then he doesn’t know much about himself. Says he’s got kids, dedicating himself to his marriage, giving up writing.”

“So he lied.”

“Seems like odd lies. And he doesn’t mention the kids anywhere else which is bizarre. At least from any other entries so far. It’s enough. Get it moving. You’ll want to start looking over that blog. Plenty there to give you some ideas. And we need his computer. Where is it? Somebody might have hacked it.”

You shew your beauty queen partner out of your office with a to-do list that will keep her out your hair for a while and flip open your laptop. You study the blog with renewed interest, less intrigued in the biography of the author than you are in the followers and commenters the blogger seems to have collected along the way. Who were they and what might they know about the man behind the blog? Hmmm… Rogue Mutt, Botanist, Gideon 86, Mooderino, L’Aussie… some of the more eclectic pseudonyms— useful for keeping an identity hidden. Any one of them could be a suspect. This could take some time…

Who do you look at first?

Must see Monster movie!!!

2011-07-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

picture courtesy of wikipedia

Hiding in a Landmark theater masterfully disguised as a foreign film with subtitles and was a little advertised flick from Norway that was also... a monster movie! We were in the mood for a movie and we hit the artsy theaters in the listings because we weren't in the mood to see one of the summer's many remakes. As we browsed the titles, what do we see but this one: 'The Troll Hunter'.

I will be honest and tell you that I wasn't in the mood for a monster movie or a horror-thriller flick as it is described but I know that many of you love them and this one... (in spite of my negativity) was quite enjoyable! Filmed as a mockumentary, a group of students set out after a supposed bear poacher. In the process of trying to get an interview with the law breaker they follow him into the woods where they quickly learn the bear killer is involved in a government cover-up on a much larger (and scarier!) problem: trolls. And trolls that are out of control (for reasons we learn much later on). Allowed to follow along (as long as they aren't christian, as trolls have an affinity for christian blood) to document the troll hunter's exploits the students have to wash off their human scent and put on troll grease so that they won't be recognized in order to tag along. Reluctantly they do so but their unctuous appearances pay off. They are quickly rewarded with the appearance of a huge three-headed troll!

Filmed in the gorgeous forests and mountains of western Norway, the scenery is as magnificent as the Trolls are malodorous (and apparently they are quite fetid!), this film definitely goes down as one of my all time favorite monster films!Check it out now before it leaves theaters (hopefully you can find in a theater near you- it hit US theaters June 10) and is completely ruined by a remake! There are rumors!!! (NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!)

I love Key West!

2011-07-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

And to anyone who has ever so much as peaked at my blog, they'd say, "DUH!!!!" but part of the reason I love Key West is that I love the ocean. I have loved the ocean ever since I stood here...

Samudra Beach at the tip of India

I'm not exactly sure this is the exact same beach, but I don't have a picture of the beach I was on and there are not tons of pictures of the southernmost point of India on Google images, actually. At any rate, we spent a glorious day here, body surfing and playing in the ocean. I had never felt the water the way I did here that day even though I had been in the Pacific Ocean a few years earlier. And standing there at the edge of the world was an amazing moment that I have been fortunate to feel several times since. In Key West...

But that is another post for another day.

A headline that breaks my heart caught my eye today on my blogroll- I have Al Gore's Blog if you scroll down to the "New And Current Issues" section you will see it there. The headline was "Mass Extinction". I clicked to see what new thing we were managing to extinguish and found this (which came from CBSnews of all sources!!!),

We have already done huge amount of damaging to our oceans with huge implications for all of us.

“The threats of over-fishing and to the world's fragile coral reefs have long been well documented, but now a panel of scientists say the threats to marine life are far worse than previously imagined.”

“The International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) convened a self-described "first inter-disciplinary international meeting of marine scientists of its kind" recently, and they have released a report claiming,"multiple ocean stresses threaten globally significant marine extinction."

“Dr. Alex Rogers, scientific director of IPSO, said in a press release: "The findings are shocking. As we considered the cumulative effect of what humankind does to the ocean the implications became far worse than we had individually realized."

I gave up eating seafood because of the poisons in them and over-fishing but it seems it's too little too late. I'm just a little fish in a great big pond of gluttony which is how I feel about global warming.

Sigh....

The Game is afoot!

2011-06-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

The characters and events in this post and all connected posts are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Death of a Blogger

Sagging into the chair, fingers tingle and palms itch as his heavy limbs reluctantly bend making him suddenly aware of the cement blocks at the end of his legs. Nerve deadened shoulders alarm even as the anesthesia creeps up the neck and refuse the brain's command to turn. His cornea sloshes sluggishly sideways and attempts to focus on the figure that reclines a few feet away.

“Din think I dran tha mush. Strong stuff!” the words slur and stumble past an enlarged tongue just as the edges of his companion blur and enlarge. “Gla you came. ‘Appy we go to ace-to-ace after all ‘is—” a sob breaks off the incoherence. His ghostlike guest slips into the air next to him then suddenly explodes into jigsaw puzzle pieces as a murmured reply breaks through, “Your okay. Relax— Sleep— off. See— tomorrow— John.” Then louder, insistent and closer “John? I’ll be back to see you tomorrow.”

The shards of broken body filter out of view as the room silly putties into shapeless lumps of darkness. The heaviness on his eyelids drags them down and pulls him finally into darkness.

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Local High School English Teacher found dead

Teacher found with both wrists slashed

By Stephen Johnson in Salina, Kansas

Wednesday, 22 June 2011

Local high school English teacher facing an ugly divorce has been found dead in his Salina home, his wrists slit and a bottle of sleeping pills by his side.

The apparent suicide of John Thebeauld was discovered early yesterday morning after the neighbors noticed his dog scratching wildly at his screen door. When they knocked to let him know the dog was loose, they realized the door was unlocked and investigated to make sure the neighbor was okay. What they found was chilling.

Sitting at his darkened computer, the teacher and failed writer had placed a waste paper basket partially filled with water, his hands dangling down into the buckets. A carving knife was on the floor beside him but no apparent suicide note was found. The police and emergency personnel were immediately called but it was too late. Investigators were not yet ready to give comment but they seemed to indicate this might be connected to the rancor of the divorce.

Thebeauld lived with his wife in Salina for the last fifteen years, was beloved by his students, known for his involvement with the regularly held Shakespeare Festival in the area and his annual booth at the local craft fair where he sold wood carvings. The couple had no children.

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The report crosses your desk. Just another writer committing suicide. A cliché really. If you weren’t so bored today you might have filed it away and never looked at it again. But you decide to google his name and came up with a single hit which led to a blog that left you with more questions than answers…

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where do you go from here?

Interview!!!!

2011-06-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

So apparently there was a little glitch in the application process and I almost didn't get the interviews that I had assumed were a given. It was a weird glitch which I almost wish I could bore you with the emails with just to prove it was weird but I won't. (lucky you! or maybe lucky me for having the sense not to bore my readers!) At any rate, tomorrow I have my first interview! Okay now before we all get too excited this it not for the job I really want this is for a straight across move although a more interesting position because I might get to go on the book mobile which is kinda cool (looks kinda fun doesn't it?).

This job is really meant to get me out of the cluster of libraries I am in IF I don't get the other position that I really want. I am not giving up and STILL HOPING I will get the lead clerk position!!!! But there was some gossip today that the librarian that is interviewing me seemed a little hesitant to hire from within the branch (you know managing the people you have been a coworker of) so I guess I am going to have to convince her I can handle the change. Well, perhaps what I really need to do is convince her I have already been managing it and it won't change much. No word yet on that interview but I expect they will call by the end of the week.

No word yet from the literary magazine so that is good news at this point... 4-6 few more weeks and no word will mean they aren't even going to send me the bad news but right now they are probably at least putting it in the "this just in" pile. Hopefully it will make the "to be considered" pile.

One final thing: Tomorrow I will be posting a surprise written especially for my blogging friends and I hope you will enjoy it immensely as it unfolds!

Whatever happened to Kansas?

2011-06-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

So I am back from my little vacation! I could have used a few more days...okay, who am I kidding???? I could have used a few more weeks! But at this point I took what I could get. I didn't hear from the person downtown so I THINK all went well with the application process. I will get an interview as all inner office applicants will so I am not going to be too excited about that. The real tension comes After the interview is over. Thanks to all you who sent well wishes!
Soooo... I won't bore you with an interminable Slideshow of MY FAMILY VACATION but it was a beautiful little spot to go, as Talei Loto of Musings of an Aspiring Scribe would call it, "Glamping in a Tent". And though I am not much of a camper and might hesitate to give it such a name, I felt that once you take champagne with you, you are no longer just camping, you are indeed GLAMPING!!!
We hit the road early and made our way to Kansas. WHY KANSAS you ask????
I was asking the same question!
After all I grew up in Kansas and I know very well that Kansas looks like this:

miles and miles of it! Not exactly the scenic vistas and lovely peaks we live within hours from. And when your driving on the plains the joke becomes "Didn't we just pass this farm?" because it feels as though you keep passing the same place over and over, never getting anywhere. At any rate, once we got there, it quickly became obviously that we had fallen in
A HOLE IN KANSAS!!!

Down we went to find blue skies, a lingering sunset over a scenic lake and canyon walls to view the horizons from. All quite picturesque and most definitely unKansasie.

We pitched our tents..

Did some hiking, swimming (the water was a trifle cold for me, which surprised me as the water in Kansas is usually warm in the summer!!!) and the kids went out on a little canoeing adventure...

Mo's son Aubrey is in front, girlfriend Nisa in back steering and my son in the middle

We sat out at night and drank champagne (as all cultured campers do) and watched the dragonflies put on a show and (thank god!) keep the biting gnats off their delighted audience (me!- who also played the part of gnat meal- yikes!).

Then later we watched as a Great Horned Owl swooped down so quick and low under a tree, I was convinced it was a fox. Then he flew up into a tree and down onto a table in an attempt to catch something we couldn't spot but the night hunter most definitely had his great eye on dinner! And when the sky was finally filled with a canopy of stars and the last droplets of liquid gold were gone, we went to our tents to listen to the whistling wind and the night calls of the coyote until at last we fell asleep. It was like living in an episode of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.

Oh and by the way... I have a surprise coming up on my blog which I am hoping everyone will enjoy. Keep your eye out as I don't post on regular day (although I don't really think that matters. Would you remember if I said I was going to post certain days? It seems like it would be hard to keep track anyway so I've never bothered to try. Let me know if you think it would be helpful!)

So how was your weekend?