THE WRITER'S HOME

A Call to Stand Down

2011-12-04T11:42:00.001-08:00

The Senate passed, according to the Christian Science Monitor, The National Defense Authorization Act that covers $662 billion in defense spending. The bill includes a provision that will strip American citizens of right to trial, and subject them to indefinite detention if the government considers them terrorists. This detention applies also to United States citizens who the government arrests on American soil. Essentially, the bill makes America a part of the battlefield against terrorism and makes every United States citizen a terrorist suspect. This takes away the rights the Constitution guarantees such as the freedom of speech that every writer cherishes. The Senate passed Bill 1867 by a vote of 93 to 7. However, President Obama has said that he will veto the bill.

Good. Let us as authors, citizens and voters keep the waffler to his word. Bill 1867 and the National Defense Authorization Act is an issue in the presidential campaign. President Obama should give the bill an ignominious death in veto, or face former allies who will not turn out to support him. The 99% should be screaming from the streets that they will stay away from the polls and leave President Obama hoisted on this nasty and volatile petard come Election Day unless he protects the civil liberties and rights of American citizens by vetoing Bill 1867.

Technorati Tags: bill 1867, obama

Test

2011-09-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

I am testing various blog editors. This is a test of Drivel Journal Editor. It is an editor with the ability to add links such as a tutorial for using Drivel.. The default seems to be for LiveJournal which does not make it flexible for Blogger and other users. Click on Format>Insert Link and add in the Text and Create a link to... either a site on the Internet or another LiveJournal user or the rest of this entry. Drivel, if you want to insert pictures from your hard drive, is not flexible because it does not allow you to upload pictures. Drivel allows you to link to pictures from the Internet.

An Old Story

2011-07-30T00:30:00.001-07:00

This story was in response to a post on Facebook about Rupert Murdoch. The person in question said that he did not need his Grand Prix racing enough to purchase SkyTv.

There is an old Scottish story of a tight-fisted laird who sought to clear his lands of those who he considered undesirables. He had his hired thugs tore down the familial crofter huts where, for eons, poor workers sweated and struggled for their meager sustenance. These laborers departed their time-honored abodes with heavy sighs and great fear of the laird and of his rapacious minions who stole what will carry away. The crofts stood empty like decaying ghosts with broken windows and gapped-toothed doors except for one remnant stall where a decrepit figure, an old nurseymaid for the clan, would not abandon her hearth. The laird, in high and choleric fury, visited the ancient Grandmere and seized the impoverished crone.

“Do you not spare an old woman?” asked she. “An old woman who lulled you to sleep when the nightmare’s hooves cantered at your soul?”

The laird said nothing to the woman’s plea but forcefully bundled the woman into the waiting cart.
.
“Do you not spare an old woman?” asked she. “An old woman who will be cold in the night without fire?”

The laird said nothing to the woman’s plea but lit a brand.

“Do you not spare an old woman?” asked she. “An old woman who will beg for her bread without a garden and her chicks to lay eggs?”

The laird said nothing to the woman’s plea but motioned for the cart to leave.

“If-an that is your answer, I give you my curse.” The old woman leaned over to the malefactor’s ear and whispered, “You shall hunger but not eat and thirst but not drink, upon my death."

The laird said nothing to the old woman’s bane and set the torch to the croft.

The woman keened and wailed to see her home in flames but the driver moved on. This cart was followed by the laird’s only son and heir who was a man of decent reputation but could not go against the word or deed of his father. The heir made assurance that the woman found shelter but she would not cease her weeping like a ghaistly Bean Sidhe and, within a fortnight, the woman died.

The laird’s son, unknowing of the woman’s death, returned to the castle to greet his father again. However, the sire was missing and the heir became fretted in his mind. He sent men back and to beyond to find the laird but only with failure.

Now, on the abducted property there was an apple tree whose branches hung over an orphaned well. A tramp, that had traveled many days with scarce food, took his rest at this spot and he was in good cheer to find the apples but food did not quench his whistle. He found a rusty bucket at the well side and lowered it down. It was not long until the tramp heard a hard noise that did not sound like the bottom of a well. He peered over the stone edge and gave a cry of surprise. Gathering his courage, he ran to the castle and raised the alarm. The heir and his men rode full haste to the apple tree to be there met with a gruesome sight.

The laird, in his pride and haste to regard his ill-gotten lands, had clambered onto the cistern without noticing the dry rot of ages had pared the once sturdy oak cover to shards that would not hold his portly weight. This narrow well gripped him so that he could look up at the apple tree but not reach its bending limbs and he could feel the brackish water beneath his feet but not reach down to drink. One flesh-moldering hand of his worm-slithered corpse was propped in supplication for food and the other, crushed against the well stones, was a dusty cup. The heir, now the new laird, was horrified at this foretold demise. The cistern was obscured with a granite seal and the land vacated to the erosive scour of elements and time.

Copyright, Anne Cagle 2011

The ERA Is Now

2011-06-28T23:23:00.000-07:00

Phyllis Schlafly must have her corset bunched at Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Senator Robert Menendez’s (D-NJ) reintroduction of the Equal Rights Amendment in Congress. However there is not any valid protest that she can raise to the legislation in its current embodiment.

Let’s go through the list of some objections to the ERA in 1975:

●Then: There will be unisex bathrooms.

Now: There are gender neutral baby diaper changing stations and accommodations for the handicapped. It is nice to know that men can change diapers too. It is more important that handicapped people can go places and have full lives like the non-handicapped.

●Then: Women will have to serve in combat.

Now: Woman serve in the military, even in combat zones.

●Then: Women will have to work outside the home.

Now: The unemployment rate for everyone is high because of hedge fund implosions and carpet bagging mortgage lenders.

●Then: Women will lose their husband’s Social Security and pension benefits.

Now: Husbands don’t have Social Security and pension benefits because of the shysters on Wall Street who cheated the middle class and poor out of their hard earned wages.

●Then: Same-sex marriage.

Now: This will happen in my lifetime. I just hope it happens in Schlafly’s

Technorati Tags: equal rights amendment, phyllis schlafly

A Little History For The Uninformed

2011-06-27T08:07:00.000-07:00

The Family Research Council, a conservative Christian advocacy group, has its ideological knickers in a wad over the fact that NBC cut short the Pledge of Allegiance during final round coverage of the U.S. Open Golf Championship. The television station inadvertently omitted the phrase, "One Nation Under God". NBC apologized for the unintentional cut. The Family Research Council, in huffy response, is demanding that NBC air the Pledge in its entirety every day as a public service announcement and that the station create a patriotic special about the Pledge.

The Family Research Council, through its lack of historical perspective, may not want a special program about the Pledge aired. The phrase, "One Nation Under God" was not added until 1942 in response to the Cold War and to, naively, distinguish pious Americans from god-abandoning communists. However, the Pledge of Allegiance was written by, wait for it; a liberal Christian Socialist named Francis Julius Bellamy. This Baptist minister believed in the right of workers to unionize, the equal distribution of wealth, and a government that provided care for its citizens. He also believed in equality for women and African-Americans. This world view informed Bellamy's Pledge,

"I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."

Francis Bellamy wanted to add the word "equality" for his views on women and race but decided that would have been too controversial at the time.

I would like to see a documentary on the Pledge of Allegiance. The program would put the Family Research Council and other conservatives into deep shame about their ignorance and hubris.

Technorati Tags: family research council, nbc, pledge of allegiance

2011-02-21T23:28:00.000-08:00

I usually post the happy birthdays on my other blog but that has fallen by the wayside. I am too busy with writing content manuscripts, plowing through my novel (editing chapters) and setting the final touches on getting the house straightened up and kids settled.

However, in the 'tween time, I would like to pause (as I do every year) to do a little fan-girling and wish Alan Rickman a Happy Birthday.

Technorati Tags: alan rickman

Labour Literature

2011-02-17T12:26:00.000-08:00

I rarely write about politics in this blog but I think that it is important to understand, from literature, why child labour laws are important. Missouri Sen. Jane Cunningham is proposing elimination of her state's child labour laws. The text of the legislation is:

"SB 222 – This act modifies the child labor laws. It eliminates the prohibition on employment of children under age fourteen. Restrictions on the number of hours and restrictions on when a child may work during the day are also removed. It also repeals the requirement that a child ages fourteen or fifteen obtain a work certificate or work permit in order to be employed. Children under sixteen will also be allowed to work in any capacity in a motel, resort or hotel where sleeping accommodations are furnished. It also removes the authority of the director of the Division of Labor Standards to inspect employers who employ children and to require them to keep certain records for children they employ. It also repeals the presumption that the presence of a child in a workplace is evidence of employment."

The obvious comparisons of this legislation are to the works of Charles Dickens who wrote about the horrors of child labour in books like David Copperfield. However, other authors wrote poignantly and pointedly of the misery that the working class experienced before the enactment of union inspired labour laws. Non-fiction works such as Twenty Years at Hull House by the crusader Jane Adams show how desperate the lives of workers were in sweatshops and tenement lives before reforms. The fiction of Rebecca Harding Davis, who wrote Life in the Iron Mills or the Korl Woman, and The Jungle by Upton Sinclair detail the wretched living and working conditions that unions have fought against since the early part of the 20th century to contemporary times. Life in the Iron Mills is about workers in a mill who suffer from harsh labour conditions and an indifferent society. The Jungle is about the dangerous conditions in the meat-packing industry that still exist for many workers today. The mentioned books are a must introduction to the world before unions and labour laws improved conditions for workers.

Technorati Tags: sen.jane cunningham, charles dickens, rebecca harding davis, upton sinclair,

AMBER ALERT

2010-11-27T13:03:00.001-08:00

Please repost this notice widely.The lives of three young boys are in serious danger with the abduction of five-year-old Tanner Lucas Skelton, seven-year-old Alexander William Skelton, and nine-year-old Andrew Ryan Skelton. Thank you.

BOYCOTT

2010-10-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

Please boycott The Guardian and National Magazine Company products (Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Prima Baby & Pregnancy et cetera) as well as their advertisers until they pull their sponsorship from 10:10. The 10:10 organization is a climate change awareness group that recently created a snuff film advertisement that portrayed British schoolchildren and others being blown up when someone pressed a red button. Give a hurray to Sony for pulling their sponsorship from the group and consider dropping o2 as your wireless provider because the company continues to support 10:10.

TWH NOTE: I have seen but I am not linking to the video because it goes against TWH's guidelines that will not depict violent and sadistic media. Do not allow children, especially young children to see the video. The violence is very explicit and has a sociopathic callousness toward human life. I support environmental causes and the reduction of greenhouse emissions but the advertisement is disgusting.

Technorati Tags:the guardian newspaper,national magazine company,good housekeeping

the guardian,national magazine company, good housekeeping

RIP-OFF ALERT

2010-09-10T18:52:00.000-07:00

TWH has a rotten film and rip-off alert from her own research. The new M. Night Shyamalan (M.NS) so-called movie has ripped off both the ideas and the tag-line for his movie Devil from several other films. M.NS re-purposes the tag-line from the movie 2008 The Lift, a short film by Kenny Evans which is "Strange things happen for a reason" as "Bad things happen for a reason" for Devil. Furthermore, there have already have been films about demonic elevators, the 1983 De Lift and the remake The Shaft (Down).

M.NS should admit that he has run out of original ideas and quit the movie business. He is scheduled to direct the two sequels to Avatar, the Last Airbender but hopefully someone, in the meantime, will challenge him to an Agni Kai with his directorial hands tied.

Technorati Tags:m.night shyamalan

On Hiatus

2010-08-31T08:41:00.000-07:00

TWH is on hiatus while I unpack boxes. The moving van came earlier this month and I have a lot to dig through (mainly books). While I am here, I have a negative plug for the moving company that we used for our household goods. The company refuses to pay damages for a mattress that was torn in their care to the amount of $500. Do not use AMS Transportation Services Inc. or any group affiliated with this company.

Technorati Tags:ams transportation services inc

Polyvore Contest

2010-08-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

Polyvore, a fashion social media and shopping site is having a contest featuring their new Mini-Editor that you embed as a widget on your blog or website. The editor basically allows you to invite your readers to play virtual designer with the items that you have chosen to highlight in a scrolling gallery. The prises for the reader and the blogging gallery creator is $1000 for each winner. Go to the official Polyvore blog for more information. I also invite you to scroll down my blog and have fun with the Victorian-themed fashions I chose for the contest.

SYNOPSIS

2010-04-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

This is a synopsis of my first novel---TWH

MOUSE HOUSE SYNOPSIS

Underneath the floorboards of an ancient house lives a Colony of mice whose day to day struggles create the world of a young girl mouse. Panya is newly fatherless, lonely, and uncertain of her abilities to help her Mama take care of the baby Pip-Pip and to be of use in the family's survival.

However, the three bereft mice are not fully alone in the world. They have aid from Panya's Uncle Henry who is the local storekeeper. Henry, or Hal as his friends have dubbed him, is partially blind and half paralysed after an unfortunate encounter with a miserly human. These injuries do not halt his one unpatched eye from keeping watch on his younger sister and her two children or wandering astray to a passing dress hem. The old mouse is a loyal worker for the family but someone, as he says himself, who is “much about the ladies”. He has a particular yen for a prim schoolteacher but this remains long unrequited and is the source of conflict with another mouse, the Colony's landowner. Often, to Mama's chagrin and Panya's bewildered delight, Uncle Henry needs observation to prevent him from getting into mischief. Daughter and mother also worry alike when the storekeeper battles mice who steal provisions stored for what becomes a bitter winter and famine.

Panya, during these troubles of near starvation and a Colony edged to civil warfare, must cope with the loss of her beloved father to a creek accident. This loneliness and heartache are not eased with her social awkwardness, being bullied at school, and trying to conform to her mother's expectations of what it means to be a young lady. She learns during the long and painful year after her Papa's disappearance about friendship, her own expectations, and her place as a mouse. She also learns what constitutes true courage when the much hated landowner shows unexpected and tragic bravery.

Mouse House is part of a series that chronicles the joys and struggles of Panya, her family, and a small mouse Colony in a often harsh rural environment bounded with dark, predator-laden creeks and woods. The 115,637 word novel is the first book in a series. The books are of the same anthropomorphic fantasy genre as the Redwall series by Brian Jacques or The Borrowers by Mary Norton and are focused toward readers in the sixth to eighth grade.

ON HIATUS

2010-02-18T19:34:00.000-08:00

I am on hiatus with bilateral ear infections.

Sleeping pills, while I despise medication,have been a Goddess-send to deal with the pain and ringing in my ears. I have been writing but I am not sure any of it makes sense.

The only post this week will be an already prepared and queued one on the 21st. I am otherwise, and unfortunately, occupied.

THE CONFESSIONAL

2010-02-13T00:11:00.000-08:00

I truly would have not missed this birthday but I have been a little out of touch with the bare necessities of reality. However, the situation is not as if I am trying to remember all the birthdays of my mother's fifteen grandchildren. I do well to recall the anniversaries of the couple I gave birth to, and not the ten that are my biological nieces,nephews, and the five steps. My mother is an ex-Catholic. Enough said.
Where was I? I have recently been on medication for ear troubles and I tend to do ditsy things when off my usual sobriety like putting my computer into a coma because I was fooling around with the package manager on Ubuntu and scragged the OS kernel. Much wailing and gnashing of teeth and calling aforementioned mother on the telephone and saying that I wanted to end it all and my life, which involves being tied to the tenuous fickleness of a damn box, was not worth living. Woe is me.
Much thanks to my very patient spousal person who fixed the computer and retrieved my various documents. Lady Fortuna beguiles me once more, but I now know better than to trust that dirty bitch and to check the dependencies in the package manager one last time before hitting the "Apply" button.

So.....I am sorry to be late by a day but happy birthday to writer Andrei Codrescu.

Technorati Tags: andrei codrescu

IN THE MEANTIME

2010-01-25T15:52:00.000-08:00

I am writing for Demand Studios. The pay is not great but the writing gigs are steady and the assignments have a quick turnaround. The jobs are also something that I can do in whatever time margins I can grab because the incompetent Canadian school system has still not allowed my formerly home-schooled daughter to go full-time to classes. I,perhaps, should start billing those poor apologies for educational administration the time I have lost to their halting and stalling tactics. The school administration has choked my writing career and created a great amount of hassle and stress for my daughter and my family.
However, the gigs work for me because I am able to write about any subject that I choose. I like the flexibility in subject matter. This is not to write that the school administrators have given me any favours in their reluctance to provide my daughter with an education, but I can make the most of what little time I can manage.
I have stopped looking at job boards. Employers using these job boards too often want some poor and desperate worker with insignificant knowledge of the English language who will write for two cents or less a page in a search optimization content mill. Quality matters in writing and I do not pity those who hire substandard labourers.

Technorati Tags: writing advice

MAYBE HAPPY NEW YEAR...

2010-01-01T23:39:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I have started 2010 with revision work on my second novel. The first is finished and under wraps. I have also gained some writing and editing gigs that pay (not a helluva lot of) money!

I am looking forward to the new decade with child number two full time in school and child number one a year away from finishing high school. I will have more time to dream and to write. However, being close to an emptier nest is somewhat disconcerting, but why do parents exist save for to give their children wings? The freedom will have salutary effects for all concerned but it is sad nonetheless.

I am anticipating the new year and new decade with mixed hopes and apprehensions.

I'll keep you posted. TWH

Technorati Tags:writing advice

THINGS TO KEEP THE DEMONS AWAY

2009-12-02T02:06:00.000-08:00

I would feel depressed if it were not for the story writing that I do in my spare time. I finished yet another chapter in my second (unpublished) novel and am engaged with the long tight rope act of rearranging the text so the chapters make sense in relation to one another and are not higgledy-piggledy thrown into the air to land on the page in a disordered heap. How's that for slant alliteration? This is an author who definitely needs a chamomile tisane and some sleep.

I have been picking up some writing and editing gigs but the work is sparse. I have almost given up the ghost in terms of being fully employed. I either do not have the requisite years that an employer demands or my rates are too high. Excuse me, but am I Methuselah? How old do you have to be and how much experience do you need before an employer will hire? My rates are not (too) much over standard market but I never cut a bargain because, dammit, I am worth every penny. My prose and editing, of any sort, kicks it like a can-can dancer. I am a meticulous and hardworking editor who does not stop until I have crossed and stabbed the last unholy and obnoxious “t” on the keyboard. Sigh. There are no jobs for the excellent.

Another cuppa, bartender....

VICTORIAN FARM

2009-11-26T23:28:00.000-08:00

I am happy that my favourite pyromaniac, historian Ruth Goodman, is in the follow up series to Victorian Farm. I am giddy because the series follows the triumphs and travails of three historians on a rural estate who survive only on what they can grow in the garden, or forage, or raise in livestock with the technology of the late Victorian age. The sequels will be A Victorian Farm Christmas and Edwardian Farm.

Ruth Goodman is a domestic historian who also was a presenter in A Tudor Feast at Christmas , a recreation of a sixteenth century Christmas banquet.

I cannot wait until the next series. The Victorian Farm was delightful and worth every minute of viewing.

Technorati Tags: ruth goodman, victorian farm

UPDATE

2009-11-24T23:47:00.000-08:00

I am currently employed as a technical writer and editor. The work is more steady but it is also tedious. The challenges that I venture lack emotional interest. Technical writing and editing, however much I may gain in compensation, bores me.

I want to be off with the fairies, or at least with fliskmahoy mice up to never any good. I continue to write on the second book of a novel series despite the grim outlook for the publishing industry in these less than holy days of the winter retail season. Work does not salve over deficits in the generous waste yard of this blighted economy. I feel as if I should have a tin cup to beg my work when I accept those alms from hires. There is not any space to write what one wants but only room to write what one must. I struggle with loneliness and, depressed with the near morbid thought, ken I am not isolated in the abyss.

Technorati Tags: writing advice

WHERE ARE WE NOW

2009-11-02T03:28:00.000-08:00

….stranded in the middle of Canadian school system purgatory. I am still homeschooling on part-time because the powers, in this temporal existence, that be retain my child on a yo-yo schedule for an hour and a half, then return aforementioned child home to a mother who is stressed for time in trying to pick up gigs and to write a second novel. I am picking up copy writing bits and editing shards but this is razing me to the white, skull-hued splinters of Joycean coloured bone.

What am I writing? For shame. I truly doubt the administrators who keep our family on the schedule’s leash would think in this manner, of James Joyce or anything connected to literature with regard to the dilemma. I cannot have an intelligent conversation with those rule-conscious minds that produce very little in real education. The schoolwork from this institution is not impressive. I have seen only the maths curriculum in the school district and it is not up to the standards that would prepare a child to go to the next grade level. There is not much one can do to maths to boggle the subject unless an incompetent teaches, and the school district has won the lottery with its failure to provide adequate subject matter. To quote my eldest, “This is baby crap!” The literature is similarly dreadful. I taught my child at home for a year and the“literature” the school provided was sunny and wholesome makelit about icicles and whatnot. Ew. I read to my child the works of Oscar Wilde, Stevie Smith, Emily Dickinson, and Heian era poetry ---among other choice morsels to feed the soul. The school prison does not give, with its rigid conformity, but scraps for the heart. Mine, certainly, now starves.

However, despite the hassles, I've kicked out another chapter last month in the novel and vetted another for inclusion last week. I have spotless turnaround time on gigs with perfect grammar and spelling. I will survive but these are the loneliest moments of my life.

BY THE WAY...

2009-10-25T01:05:00.000-07:00

This is the copyright notice for my blog. I wrote, with the exceptions of the poems and other clearly marked articles, all the blogs. I do check on CopyScape and similar web sites to ascertain if and how someone is using my manuscripts.

That is all I have to write about this matter. I now return you to your continued reading.

TWH

A WARM ADDITION

2009-10-06T11:19:00.000-07:00

TWH NOTE: I originally wrote this for a Facebook group, Cooking Is Easy last year. I am astounded that I did not repost earlier.

I cooked gluten-free, dairy-free Yorkshire pudding for Christmas. I found a recipe that I adapted and yes (would you expect anything less?), the receipt involves potential poisons.
Here is the recipe:

"You now no longer need to forgo those delicious Yorkshire puds - here Rosemary uses rice and tapioca flour with great success. For a twist, add a few thyme leaves, a blob of Dijon mustard or a few olives.

Ingredients
50g/2oz rice flour
50g/2oz tapioca flour
pinch of salt
2 eggs, preferably free-range
300ml/½ pint milk
10g/½oz butter, melted
olive oil or pure beef dripping (unless for vegetarians), for greasing tins { ANNE NOTE: I used a neutral canola oil because my daughters hate olive oil and my eldest is vegetarian like me.}
You will also need
deep bun tin

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 230C/450F/Gas 8.
2. Sift the rice flour and tapioca flour into a large bowl. Add the salt. Make a well in the centre and drop in the eggs. Using a small whisk or wooden spoon, stir continuously, gradually drawing in flour from the sides, adding half the milk in a steady stream at the same time. When all the flour has been mixed in, whisk in the remainder of the milk and the cool melted butter. Allow to stand for one hour.
3. Grease a hot deep bun tin with olive oil or beef dripping and fill up to half to two thirds with the batter. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. Remove from the tins and serve warm." The link is http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/yorkshirepudding_74775.shtml

Now the fun stuff begins. I used almond milk instead of regular milk. I was careful to use milk made from sweet almonds because bitter almonds have prussic acid that can be refined into cyanide if the 'nuts' (which are more akin to peach pits than botanically correct nuts) are not processed to remove the toxin. Bitter almonds, of course, are used for amaretto.

The next potential toxin is tapioca flour. Tapioca comes from the cassava (or manioc) plant. The plant contains prussic acid (thus cyanide) unless the toxin is pounded and cooked out of the plant. A paralytic neurological disease called konzo or mantakassa can result from eating raw cassava for many weeks. Fortunately, the tapioca that is purchased at the store has been highly processed to remove this threat.

How did the pudding turn out? I couldn't get a good rise out of the mixture probably because there was no gluten to give the pudding structure. It rose a bit and then collapsed. The taste was sweet from the almonds and my family, including me, devoured the lot. Everyone survived, with rave reviews for the dish,and I will definitely make this again.

Technorati Tags: comfort food, writing advice

HOLD THE CONGA LINE

2009-09-24T00:38:00.001-07:00

I've put my life on hold to do one more round of homeschooling until October. Then it's off to the races!

I have been picking up gigs and I have a loyal clientèle but there are days when I wonder why some people get up in the morning. There are days I wonder why I get up in the morning. I will go to the end of the Earth (okay, maybe around the block) for an employer. However, I expect modest needs and demands. I, usually, have a good working rapport with one client but this person is obsessed with every jot of manuscript layout. No, it's not in my job description to format the damn article if the employer in question does not understand technology and realizes that certain attributes are just part of the word processing software. I just proofread and copy edit the very badly worded sentences, burnish them into deathless prose, and then flush the entire business out of my system as graceful as an elephant with a dire rhinovirus.

It's been one of those days.

TWH

September 26, 2009 Update: Er, I feel a wee bit embarrassed. How the *bleep* was I to know if not deleting a comment or note would leave a grey space in the manuscript? One-o-clock in the morning and I am ready to cry or eviscerate the computer with my teeth over the dreadful screed. It's all good, though, and I got paid.

Technorati Tags:writing advice

IN THE MEANTIME

2009-09-01T23:17:00.001-07:00

I've taken a summer hiatus to be with my family. September is almost here and this means the children will be going back to school. I'm leading the parade of mothers doing happy dances down the main street, veritable can-cans (Good grief, I never knew she wore that for her knickers!)of euphoria that we will be grownups again and not just auto-matrons cleaning up the same debris over and over and over...

I have, in the interim, picked up editing gigs and spot work as a proofreader. It's a slow rebuild to my career after going through one year of being seriously, but not fatally, ill and another year for homeschooling that included keeping my youngest up to speed on her maths during the summer so she can rock going back to school. I know she will.She's smart like her parents.

And yes, I continue to dream the impossible dream of being a book author. I am tackling second book in a series chapter by bloody chapter.* During the blessed time when the kids are at school or otherwise not giving me grey hairs, I'll update the status reports on all of the above.

Yours Virtually,

TWH

*Note: I'm not swearing but I tend to cuff my characters around a bit. Thankfully (due to the tender mercies of the author)no one has died, yet.

Technorati Tags:writing advice

READ THE FINE PRINT

2009-03-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

This is probably the only time that I will blog J.K. Rowling. It seems that the author who is usually unnamed on TWH is upset that her novels are appearing on Scribd, a document social networking site. Shrug. While it is reprehensible that her content is bootlegged, there has to be the acknowledgment that there are so many peer to peer sites that Scribd is small taters compared to those that exist all over the Internet.

Furthermore, most of the content on Scribd is Gutenberg.org or other free out of copyright documents. There is also a lot of user generated content. I'm a homeschooling mum and I go to Scribd to find content that is created by my fellow homeschoolers or to find content similar to Gutenberg and Planet PDF, books that are all out of copyright. I also use Scribd to find information about open source technologies such as the cloud computing document that I am currently reading or the Linux/Ubuntu tutorials I need to sys admin my laptop. Several publishing houses, such as MIT Press, and political campaigns like Obama '08 have supported Scribd. The Partners link is always useful to check before casting stones at a technology.

I think that the to be unnamed author needs to research the particulars of social document sharing before disparaging sites like Scribd.

Technorati Tags: jk rowling, scribd

SEATTLE PI R.I.P.

2009-03-17T14:10:00.000-07:00

Today the Seattle Post Intelligencer published its last print newspaper. The journal will continue its presence online with a smaller staff. I feel sad at the demise of print media. I once worked at a college newspaper cutting and pasting with wax to layout stories for printing. Look how far I've come from worrying that I had the type pasted in a correct manner to typing pixels, and then sending them off to the world with one click of a mouse!

This ease of communication is amazing but also tragic as children in the future will not know what it is like to feel the natural texture of paper in their hands while they read or will be more isolated from their immediate environment in a web community. This was brought home to me when my daughter's acquaintance talked about her social network being in several different countries. The danger of having an Internet based news source is that many news companies feed off the same information pipes. There is no need to be original or local. Furthermore, there is the problem of those who do not have access to a computer. How will they get indigenous news?

I knew, as a blogger, that the end of printed media was inevitable. The new medium of the Internet has superseded an old form. However, this replacement may not be a salve for information acquisition and knowledge. There is more data but users tend to enclave in their own specialties and networks. A printed newspaper offers with, at least, its headlines the potential to put forth ideas for a common intellectual language. In the end of print, there is no shared lexicon and, as citizens, we have less to speak of with one another.

Technorati Tags: seattle pi

POEM OF THE MONTH

2009-02-08T01:44:00.000-08:00

CAN IT BE?

Can it be, can it be

That beasts are of various bravery,
Some brave by nature, some not at all,

Some trying to be against a fall?

I saw a cat. Beside a lily tank,
Paved level with the grass, she stood, this cat,
Considering her leap.
Three times she backed for jumping, gathered tight
(So tight thought landed her already over)
And did not jump. And then,
After a pause, as scolding humanly
"Not nervy eh? We'll see."
She jumped and what a jump that was!

Quite twice as along
And high
As it need be,
Now why
Did this cat jump at all, so force herself?
There was a path around the tank,
She could have walked.

Can it be, can it be
That beasts are of various bravery,
Some simply brave, some not, some taking thought
(Most curiously) to cast themselves aloft.

Stevie Smith

Technorati Tags: stevie smith

DURING THE WAIT

2009-01-24T16:48:00.000-08:00

The wait to hear from potential employers or publishers, who are experiencing economic Ragnarök, can be tedious and depressing. However, there are steps that one can coach out of oneself that will contribute, hopefully, to future contacts and employment. I am using this down time to learn technologies new to me and to sharpen my job skills.

Currently, I am enrolled in a Linux administration class at the HP business online courses. I also have set up a blog for my resume and have worked at tinkering with the site's design by getting into the HTML template code. The site is called The Writers' Home Portfolio. I am pleased with the results which involved going through lines of HTML code until I found the specifications to change the design. I used GIMP to manipulate the designs, specifically the header divider. I attached a Google Gadget, a clock, and changed some of the code to be similar to my colour scheme. I am am also playing with cloud computing.

Being unemployed does not mean being idle. I plan to use both blogs, this and the portfolio, to showcase my newly found knowledge.

Technorati Tags: writing advice

NO HONEY FOR THE BEAR

2009-01-12T23:45:00.000-08:00

One of the most anticipated events and shining new hopes in publishing, if you are not already depressed as an out-of-work writer, is a revival of the Winnie The Pooh brand. Publisher Dutton Books and author David Benedictus plan to have great sales with a retread of Christopher Robin and friends.

I ran this past my children who like many youngsters, including someone not now so spry as me, had the enchantment of A.A. Milne's characters to grace their childhoods. The immediate reaction from my very literate offspring was "What!!!" There was a general cry of shock and horror that these books of strong character identifications and mythology were being sold like cereal. The visceral yelps led to a long, about a half hour at the least, vilification of publishers who try to cash in on their readers' fond memories for short-term profit. Books were, and are, the friends who comfort us when the world seems too big. Tampering with these emotions with a written mockup (mockery?) destroys the child's primary experience and love of the elemental literature.

I am not sorry to comment that I am a literary traditionalist and that I have given these values to my children. An individual's genius, their spirit, cannot be copied and packaged like any other product. The publishing companies are in trouble not because brands such as Winnie The Pooh are insufficient but because book marketers are not bold and will not chance original writers to hook and engage new readers.

Technorati Tags:david benedictus, winnie the pooh,writing advice

POEM OF THE MONTH

2008-12-16T16:55:00.001-08:00

WRITERS OF THE WORLD UNITE

2008-12-12T00:41:00.000-08:00

This is certain to be the most clueless advertisement that I have ever read. I do not know who their marketing person is (or one hopes, for the sake of the publication, was...) but what ethereal planet are they are orbiting, or inhaling? Smells like something green and illegal from BC (No, I don't do spark or anything like that. My greatest vices are chocolate and white tea but not together). Here is the text in its entirety and my further comments afterwards.

"In today's strange social and economic times, it's essential that we take care of ourselves and each other - whether it be through our health regimes, our careers and finances, our relationships, or the wonderful food in our pantries. How do we create happiness from the inside out? Our website is dedicated to searching for those answers. We're a new yet rapidly growing blog/social networking website dedicated to bringing holistic health and wellness to people everywhere through insightful, funny, compassionate, and informative articles. If you're a college student, graduate student, stay-at-home mom seeking a little "me" activity, or anyone else looking for intern experience in new media, then we'd love to hear from you! We're seeking both Marketing and Editorial interns (or those who enjoy both), who can lend us a few hours a day, a few days a week. While there is no outright compensation, we make it a point to reward a job well done -- we've done the unpaid intern thing ourselves, so we know full well how to appreciate them! We'd love to hear from potential interns with social media experience. Ideally you have a strong profile and network on sites such as Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon and Delicious, and be an avid consumer of and participant in the blogosphere...but you know what? Even if you don't have these things, we'll teach you! Don't worry about traditional cover letters...those are quite boring. Just tell us why you'd like to be a virtual intern, how many hours a week you could spare, and what interests you as a writer or reader! Thanks so much! Have a Peaceful Day."

I hope a hurricane wipes this company from the globe. Have a happy day! The false sense of camaraderie that the advertiser tries to build with the first lines about the rough times and how we must all stick together is nauseating. I prefer an advertiser who has specific business needs and states these goals in a matter-of-fact statement. Skip the cutesy stuff, just tell me what you need for writing services and how much money you offer. This false lifeboat of New Age marketing jargon is abusive towards people who are struggling to find work for their survival in a tough economy.

What irritates me most about this classified is that any self-respecting stay at home mum who was looking at adverts on the Web would be searching for a pay cheque attached to a job, not a "little me activity". The writers of this ad treat women if they are second class citizens who do not want to be employed or who are not, like single moms I know, breadwinners in their own right. I agree with Harlan Ellison's rant about those parasites who expect a writer to feel oh-so-grateful for a free interview or an unremunerated internship. He believes that writers should not give their content away for free or for the lowest pay and that those skinflints who desire unpaid internships or 400 words for 40 articles a day at $.01 a word should go take a long walk off a short pier over a piranha infested river.

I think, as writers, we are obligated to starve the penny-pinchers out of the publishing market. Refuse to take jobs that pay less than minimum wage. Let their businesses fail without our work. The companies do not have our talents and will go under without us. They will only have our competent labour if they reward us with decent wages. The other side of the coin is to do well for those companies who value their writers and pay decent wages and who, in other terms, act professional. Those flighty buggers who continue to live in this fantasy world where moms want a little me activity and not a paycheque will only get the worse of the lot, if that.

Technorati Tags:harlan ellison, writing advice

COMFORT FOOD

2008-11-12T00:51:00.000-08:00

I recently joined a cooking group on Facebook where I can practice my literary craft and write about food. Here is one of my posts.

This is another comfort food and, yes, if you aren't careful with aspects of the recipe you can be doing some serious daisy pushing or at least have some icky nausea. With those legalities out of the way, it is time to make Egg Mess.

Ingredients:

*One small onion diced This is actually good for your health because onions have wound-healing properties and are antiseptic. So if you slip with the knife when dicing this plant, there's a built-in cure.

*Margarine or Butter Don't eat too much of either because both can lead to those so difficult pounds to shed.

*Potatoes diced (I prefer red potatoes) Here is the potentially toxic part. Potatoes are a member of the nightshade family which has the temptress belladonna as cousin. Potatoes that have gone green have the poisons solanine and chaconine in them and can give you dreadful cramps.

*Pepper and Salt to Taste

*Eggs I usually use six to eight eggs because I am feeding four people (six if you count two growing children). Washing your hands after cracking eggs is important because salmonella is a risk from uncooked eggs. Salmonella causes typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, and food borne illness. More toxins! Yea!

Where was I? Oh, instructions. They are very facile.
Wash the onion and potatoes. Cut both into small chunks. Put the butter in a frying pan (not the non-stick kind). Add the onion and fry until clear. Add the potatoes and fry until brown. Add the eggs, sprinkle on pepper and salt to taste, and stir until the eggs are scrambled. Remove from heat and enjoy.

Technorati Tags: comfort food, writing advice

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

2008-09-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

Technorati Tags: samuel taylor coleridge

SOMETHING TOO IMPORTANT TO MISS

2008-08-31T19:58:00.000-07:00

Ordinarily, I do not blog political or medical topics in literary posts but this is too serious to overlook. Please, if you are uncertain about vaccinating your daughters against cervical cancer, watch this video.

Thanks. Anne

Technorati Tags: cervical cancer

GERRY STANDING EASY-PEASY SOUP

2008-08-25T22:40:00.000-07:00

Let me first state that this blog has no connection to the television series New Tricks (which has been renewed for another season) or to actor Dennis Waterman. The legalese done away with, I picked up on a favourite phrase the character Gerry uses. Thus Easy-Peasy Soup.

This is a recipe that a bachelor on the go ---or on the take--- might put together for a light midnight snack whether he is coming off the late shift at the police station or at a security job for the extra wink-wink-nudge-nudge quid. It is quite simple but filling for those after hours sleuthings or late poker games.

Gerry Standing Easy-Peasy Soup

Two cups of lentil soup mix.
I favour a gluten free generic mix of split yellow peas, split green peas, French lentils, red lentils, and long grain brown rice.

Three cups of water

32 ounces pre-packaged vegetable broth, or homemade vegetable stock
The broth that I use is Pacific or Imagine brand but any will do. The Pacific brand has thyme, bay, onion, carrots, tomatoes, celery, onions, leeks,sea salt, and parsley. It is more robust than the Imagine brand. With a pre-packaged broth you do not have to worry about storing celery that may release poisonous, phototoxic furocoumarins from the spoiled plant.

A pinch of rosemary if you would like it sweet.

Two carrots; peeled, washed, and chopped.
Just the root, not the leaves because the greens can give you contact dermatitis if your skin is exposed to sunlight.

One medium onion, washed and chopped

A can of diced tomatoes, if you wish

Pepper and salt to taste
***********************************************
DIRECTIONS:

Rinse the lentil mix in a sieve. Drain. Put the lentil mix in a large saucepan or soup pot.
Pour in the water and broth into the soup pot. Dump in the carrots and onion, tomatoes optional. Sprinkle the soup with rosemary, if you wish. Bring the liquid to a boil. Turn down the heat. Simmer the soup for an hour to an hour and a half. This makes a better crock pot recipe, basically a six hour commitment on high and eight on low.

This is nice to serve with small red potatoes and bread. It is a good soup that will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

Serves 3

NOTE: This is my 100th post on The Writer's Home.

Technorati Tags: comfort food,dennis waterman,gerry standing,new tricks

ANOTHER POEM OF THE MONTH

2008-08-22T02:00:00.000-07:00

The violet-lapped Muses' lovely gifts belong
to you now, children, and the piercing lyre, the friend of song.

My body, that before, was supple, age already has taken by surprise, my raven tresses are turned white,

my spirit has grown heavy and my knees too weak
to carry me, that once were quick to dance as fauns.

I grumble at them often but what good is that?
For human beings to be ageless is not possible.

They say that once, for love, Dawn of the rosy arms carried Tithonus aboard her golden bowl to the world's end

when young and handsome, but all the same in time gray age.

Sappho

Technorati Tags: sappho

POEM OF THE MONTH

2008-08-01T01:58:00.000-07:00

This place is sacred to the goddess. Here her constant pleasure is to watch the sea as it shimmers from the shore, and ensure the comfort of sailors; all around the ocean trembles as it gazes on her statue, oil-smooth.

Anyte of Tegea

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THE BROOM AND MOP MARKET

2008-07-29T19:36:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed that small concerns in the publishing area do not know where to advertise for help?

I write of those employers who hire intermediaries such as Elance or similar chop shops that charge fees either to the buyer of services or to the provider. Sometimes these outlets charge a cut of the provider's wages.

The wretched innocents who patronize the scam artists get for what they pay. Elance, Guru.com et cetera are like the broom and mop markets of nineteenth century England. Those were the hires who applied without the written recommendations of a satisfied patron. In that era Mrs. Beeton, a Victorian Martha Stewart, wrote the proper manner in which to find service.

"IN OBTAINING A SERVANT’S CHARACTER, it is not well to be guided by a written one from some unknown quarter; but it is better to have an interview, if at all possible, with the former mistress. By this means you will be assisted in your decision of the suitableness of the servant for your place, from the appearance of the lady and the state of her house. Negligence and want of cleanliness in her and her household generally, will naturally lead you to the conclusion, that her servant has suffered from the influence of the bad example."

There are better sites for hiring employees such as MediaBistro. An insignificant publisher will not be more than it is unless the employer discards pay sites as mere carnival tricks.

Technorati Tags: writing advice

I'M AN AUTHOR

2008-07-28T02:36:00.000-07:00

I received a copy of the magazine, Optical Prism, that contains the article that I wrote. It is a small but necessary contribution to my career as a writer.

I'm a published author! I am excited and very cogent of the fact that commercial work is more viable than fiction. Still, when I am not searching for writing or editing gigs, I manage to crank out about a chapter of fiction every two weeks. I think, without the push of what I love in writing fiction, that commercial work would be extremely dull.

However, this gives me the street cred to say to an agent or a publisher that I can sell material albeit only now this very fortunate request from the magazine's editor. Today eyewear, tomorrow a Red Cedar! Don't I wish.....

Technorati Tags: writing advice

SEE YOU LATER

2008-07-23T23:07:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered why some companies bother to advertise for employees ? I refer to those who offer only internships with no salary. For example, here is a gem that I found on Craigslist. Yes, I know there is a rare treasure of quality listings on that site but tolerate my search there.

"Online parenting media company in search of savvy writer/researcher with an eagle eye and keen attention to detail to:
.. proofread, research and fact check locally-focused newsletter stories prior to publication
.. research story ideas and events for future publication.
.. update and maintain an internal calendar listing and database.
.. develop and update in-house style sheet.

Ideal candidate will have a firm grasp on the english ( English should be capitalized. How's that for AP style? TWH note) language, excellent
grammar and punctuation skills (knowledge of AP style a plus). (Parenthesis should be kept to a minimum. Yes, I know that I am commenting in passive voice.) Additionally,
he or she is naturally curious and in-the-know, willing to dig deep (both online and in the real world) to find off-the-beaten-path story ideas and insider tips for Bay Area parents.

This is a telecommuting position, with occasional team meetings. Candidate must be a self-starter, willing and able to work independently.

This is an unpaid internship. College credit available."

Er, if I have to correct the mistakes in this advertisement then there is something very wrong with those who publish the newsletter. I will not apply for employment with someone who requires AP style yet fails to capitalize proper nouns. Their offer of no salary and mere college credit has no incentive for the most desperate college student. Textbooks and tuition are expensive.

The advertisers for this employment can also write off those of us who provide content for cash.Who do they believe will answer this classified if there is not sufficient renumeration? I would not work for a newsletter pro bono unless there was prestige associated with the employer that could lead into more lucrative contacts. However, I would think twice before a decision on that matter. I attempted a gratis gig before and it led nowhere.

Time and so on, writers need to remind employers that we are not freebies. We are professionals that require payment on time to have decent lives that aren't wasted scrabbling after a publishers' dead end.

Technorati Tags: writing advice

THE WAITING IS THE HARDEST PART

2008-07-18T22:45:00.000-07:00

In the last few weeks, I have applied for several editor and writer employments but have not heard from any companies. A bright spot was when I had a note from a prestigious financial website asking about my interest in being an editor about a week ago, but then no call back.

The slowdown in my life is very frustrating. I can churn out a thousand words or more in a chapter of fiction in about a week or two, yet there are no offers in the commercial sectors. I have an article published this month in a retail magazine for eyewear. After this, everything seems to have dried up.

I am sure mine is a common lament. I have good skills in editing, writing, and research. I know how to use photo editing software, word processing programs, and audio editing software. I am a blogger for five years and a web writer since 1997. If I am with this experience, how can I not get a gig?

However,I don't have it as tough as the staff of the trade periodical Publishing News in Britain that will soon close shop. Neither am I one of the 3,500 people who have lost their employment in the newspaper industry in two months. I don't know that hurt but I can guess. To have talent, proven work, and experience without the luck to snag a writing or editing job.

What to do in the meantime? At this point, I am brushing up on my web skills such as WordPress, HTML, and CSS among others. That is all one can accomplish in resolution during a sinking economy.

Technorati Tags: writing advice

SO SAD TO SEE HIM GO

2008-07-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

Fans of Andrew Vachss' Burke will be sad to see the crusading lawyer bring the series to a close.

What can The Writer's Home say about the final novel? I have read Vachss' work since learning about him from the original Zero created by Greg Bueno. I have always admired the tenacity and life long commitment that Mr. Vachss has given to children.

You would think that I'm writing an obit for a real person. It sounds like a reviewer's parrot talk. Yet, the spirit of Burke and other children of the secret must be remembered and acted upon long after Vachss' novels have fallen out of copyright. The pain of child abuse does not end with the termination of one series.

Technorati Tags:andrew vachss

TOOL REVIEW

2008-07-12T23:16:00.000-07:00

Klean Sweep is a handy tool for Linux operating systems. Yes, dear readers, we are using Ubuntu after giving Vista its last meal and making it walk a very short plank.
The tool finds empty files and directories,broken symlinks or references to other files; backup files created in KleanSweep, orphaned files, dead menu entries, and duplicated files.

KleanSweep runs in administrative mode and is handy for getting rid of files that are no longer viable or are redundant.

There is a caveat to this handy software that is very important to understand. Klean Sweep works on simple heuristics which finds items by name. For example, if there is "alan_rickman.jpg" (yes, you knew that I would work that in somehow!) and "alan_rickman.mp3", KleanSweep might find and display both. You must carefully vet the files you discover with this utility by right-clicking a file and choosing Open Directory. The directory will take you to the folder where the file is located so that you may be certain this is the item you want to remove. A good measure of caution too is to not remove something if you do not know how the element will affect the computer's viability. Furthermore, if you are a wee bit on the paranoid side, the program gives you the option of creating a backup file. Kleansweep is a useful application but must be handled with care.

Technorati Tags: kleansweep, blogging tools,alan rickman

POEM OF THE MONTH

2008-07-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

I gaze out
over the fields of Tadaka
and see the cranes that cry there
without interval,
without pause:
such is my longing for you.

Oh my child
who loved me helplessly
like a hovering bird
over quick river shallows!

Otomo no Sakanoue Iratsume

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WHAT I AM READING NOW

2008-06-07T02:48:00.000-07:00

I am currently reading Terminal by Andrew Vachss. I am also reading Blood On The Table by Colin Evans. I read too Confessions of An Ugly Stepsister by the wonderful Gregory Maguire. In between all this, I have been homeschooling and evaluating curriculum for that activity and Girl Guiding on the side.

By the way, did I mention that I have an article accepted at an established consumer publication and am in the process of finding more freelance work. Summer hasn't started yet. There are lots of books to plow through and much more to write.

POEM OF THE MONTH

2008-06-07T01:05:00.000-07:00

Otagaki Rengetsu

Technorati Tags:otagaki rengetsu
NOTE

NOTE ON JUNE POEM OF THE MONTH

2008-06-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

The poem is a graphic that I styled in GIMP. I am tickled about the art because it was so difficult lining up the text with the clips.

---Anne

POEM OF THE MONTH

2008-05-22T01:53:00.000-07:00

Speak Of The North! A Lonely Moor

Speak of the North! A lonely moor
Silent and dark and tractless swells,
The waves of some wild streamlet pour
Hurriedly through its ferny dells.

Profoundly still the twilight air,
Lifeless the landscape; so we deem
Till like a phantom gliding near
A stag bends down to drink the stream.

And far away a mountain zone,
A cold, white waste of snow-drifts lies,
And one star, large and soft and lone,
Silently lights the unclouded skies.

 Charlotte Bronte

Technorati Tags:charlotte bronte

Note: The weather continues cold in British Columbia with grey clouds and chilly air.

POEM OF THE MONTH

2008-04-19T23:58:00.000-07:00

Winter-Time

LATE lies the wintry sun a-bed,
A frosty, fiery sleepy-head;
Blinks but an hour or two; and then,
A blood-red orange, sets again.

Before the stars have left the skies,
At morning in the dark I rise;
And shivering in my nakedness,
By the cold candle, bathe and dress.

Close by the jolly fire I sit
To warm my frozen bones a bit;
Or with a reindeer-sled, explore
The colder countries round the door.

When to go out, my nurse doth wrap
Me in my comforter and cap;
The cold wind burns my face, and blows
Its frosty pepper up my nose.

Black are my steps on silver sod;

Thick blows my frosty breath abroad;
And tree and house, and hill and lake,
Are frosted like a wedding-cake.

Robert Louis Stevenson

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Note: This is to mark a very cold April where it snowed in British Columbia.

UPDATE: RYERSON

2008-04-13T01:17:00.000-07:00

Chris Avenir will not be expelled from Ryerson University but he will be disciplined with degradation of his grades.

Technorati Tags:ryerson university

THE LIBRARY IS OPEN!

2008-04-13T01:01:00.001-07:00

I was very happy that the library, after the lockout, opened this past Tuesday.

The Greater Victoria Library Relations Board gave in to the librarians and approved pay raises.

Now the librarians have to put away all the books that stacked up in their absence...

Technorati Tags: greater victoria public library board

WE WANT OUR LIBRARY SYSTEM!

2008-03-16T02:33:00.000-07:00

The saga of the Greater Victoria Public Library System becomes more grim each day. There is a possibility that the Board may dissolve the library system. Essentially what will happen is that the various libraries will reorganise for each municipality of Victoria. The libraries are now tied to the main downtown library but if the charter binding them isn't renewed, each municipal body will have a library and all the books that belong to that separate library. That means that each library will have to do interlibrary loans of books that once were part of the main system. This will be costly both for patrons and for the individual libraries.

One way to support the library cause is to join the Facebook group,I Love GVPL.

Check out the videos on MySpace and YouTube.

Technorati Tags: greater victoria public library board

IT'S CALLED STUDYING

2008-03-07T01:54:00.001-08:00

Officials at Ryerson University in Toronto have threatened a student with expulsion after he was an administrator for a Facebook group where students could pose questions about their chemistry courses to other students.

Chris Avenir, an 18-year-old studying computer engineering, was the administrator for the Facebook group Dungeons/Mastering Chemistry Solutions until one of his professors found the site. The prof lowered Avenir's grade from a "B" to a "F" and is seeking to expel the student.

Hmmm...What Avenir et al were doing is called "collaboration" in the real world. They were not cheating but sharing information like any academic would at a university. Maybe all the profs at Ryerson should wear duct tape around their mouths and hands so they can't make the same mistake of "cheating" if they need information from a colleague.

Technorati Tags:ryerson university

POEM OF THE MONTH

2008-03-01T01:07:00.000-08:00

Oh, wind, why do you never rest,
Wandering, whistling to and fro,
Bringing rain out of the west,
From the dim north bringing snow?

Christina Georgina Rossetti

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POEM OF THE MONTH

2008-02-27T01:08:00.001-08:00

Cloudy peaks fill the eyes,
far from the lightness of spring;
silver spools of calligraphy
take shape beneath my hand.

Too bad my silken woman's dress
obscures my poetry;
looking up, I uselessly
envy the names on the list I see.

Yu Xuanji

Technorati Tags:yu xuanji

GIVE US BACK OUR BOOKS!

2008-02-20T02:22:00.001-08:00

The Greater Victoria Public Library Board (GVPLB) has decided to lock-out the librarians from their workplace. This is an escalation of a pay dispute ongoing for five months.
Librarians cannot make a living wage in Victoria due to the high cost of housing, food and other goods. They provide a valuable service to the people of this city. Victoria (or should it be Victorian?) librarians create a hub for education, knowledge, and simply an inexpensively safe place to take the kids on a rainy day. Here I must assure the librarians that, at least my youngest, has supervision at all times. The teen simply wanders off, mp3 player headphones hardwired, into the manga section. Librarians are not babysitters or mere book jockeys or shelvers of books. The librarians I know are very patient when treated with respect, eager to assist, and competent guides to the library's resources.

The GVPLB, despite the professional work of Victoria's librarians, have denied these knowledge workers a raise after ten years of broken promises to remedy the situation.

Please send a message of support to the librarians. Thank you!

Technorati Tags: greater victoria public library board

GREGORY MAGUIRE

2008-02-08T02:36:00.000-08:00

I would like to start off this book review with much thanks to A.J. I have no idea who you are but you left your name (which I have not used in full) scribbled on a torn piece of paper in blue ink your name and word conspirtor (slightly misspelled, that's okay) between pages 150 and 151 of the book Lost by Gregory Maguire. Yes,I have a copy of the note. I left the original in
the book.Scanners are wonderful inventions. No, I won't tell anyone what your real name is and it will remain a secret. Mine. And yours.

That little bit of business out of the way, I truly love Gregory Maguire's books. I have read Wicked, Son of a Witch, Mirror, Mirror, and now Lost. Thank Goddess for libraries or I would be broke buying books like Li Qingzhao.

Yes, it is difficult to say which book I enjoyed the most. Of the four that I have read, Wicked, Lost, and Son of a Witch are the strongest. Mirror, Mirror is emotionally flat. The book is too studied and self conscious of its word play. The three I enjoyed are rich in word texture and emotion. I felt deep sadness at the death of Elfie in Wicked. Son of A Witch was effective because there was her absence throughout the novel.

Lost was spotty in its narrative flow. There wasn't consistent thread in the story to recommend it as one of Maguire's best.
While there was the bumpy flow to the tale, Lost was still have-to-turn-another-page-just-to- see-what-happens-book. It was also a bit eerie to read. I was reading Lost and come to a passage about a family that had lost children in a fire. The fictional family had hired an adoption agency to soothe their loss of two children. I also had read, at the time, an article in the Vancouver Sun about a family that was using IVF to soothe their loss of children in a house fire. The coincidence was creepy and strange. However, I am not surprised to have the synchronization. There have been many times when I have thought of a relative (not always with loving emotions) and the relative has telephoned. I have had strong premonitions about people that have come close to the mark. I half, and only half, joke that it is the witch blood from my father's genealogy that creates the odd happenings I have found in my life.

Yes, of course, I'm rational while I write this blog. The soughing of the British Columbia wind has not got my senses, yet. Tomorrow will be dedicated to the grind after a pleasant literary holiday with Mr Maguire. Hélas, it is back to schlepping for hire work while trying to write the somewhat readable Canadian novel. 'Til then...

Technorati Tags:gregory maguire

POEM OF THE MONTH

2008-02-08T02:06:00.000-08:00

Hélas!

To drift with every passion till my soul
Is a stringed lute on which can winds can play,
Is it for this that I have given away
Mine ancient wisdom and austere control?
Methinks my life is a twice-written scroll
Scrawled over on some boyish holiday

With idle songs for pipe and virelay,
Which do but mar the secret of the whole.
Surely there was a time I might have trod
The sunlit heights, and from life's dissonance
Struck one clear chord to reach the ears of God:

Is that time dead? lo! with a little rod
I did but touch the honey of romance -
And must I lose a soul's inheritance?

Oscar Wilde

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WEBBY AWARDS

2008-02-03T01:59:00.000-08:00

I recently finished a stint as a reviewer for the Webby Awards. The producer that I worked with was fantastic. She should be cloned, photocopied, scanned, or otherwise replicated for being a great coach through my first time as a reviewer. I have had no trouble with these employers because they were fair dealing with their expectations. And I'm getting paid!

I enjoyed the process. There are some gems but a lot of drek on the Internet. The best lessons that I took from this employment was to look at my own blogs to critique the functionality and design. I've been revising the type on the site and creating a consistent look.

And maybe, if I am not busy this time next year, I might sign up again.

Technorati Tags:webby awards

AWAY UNTIL FEBRUARY

2008-01-27T03:03:00.000-08:00

I'm away from blogging until early February.I have a paying gig writing web reviews. More on that when I return.

WHAT I AM READING NOW

2008-01-13T03:13:00.000-08:00

On occasion,I'll share what I am reading off-line. More fodder for my book diary.

Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire. I have read Wicked and Son of Witch.

Maguire's books are tasty. They pulled me out of a holiday funk and pushed me to write again. I have finished at least two chapters of a manuscript because of the inspiration that his books engendered.

Technorati Tags:gregory maguire

POEM OF THE MONTH

2008-01-03T23:59:00.000-08:00

My sleep last night was troubled by a violent storm outside,

And when I work I still felt dizzy from the lingering effect of
wine ;

Anxiously I asked the maid who rolled up the bamboo curtains,

To my surprise came her reply, "The flowers are all right. "

"But that's impossible, and don't you know all would remain a scene,

Of petals fallen and leaves of their company sorrowfully deprived!"

--Li Qingzhao

Technorati Tags: li qingzhao

UPDATE: FOOD STUFF

2007-12-18T00:10:00.000-08:00

Yes, the Hobbit Shire Soup was good. If you remember two months ago, I wrote a post where I was sipping oolong tea and contemplating Hobbit Shire Soup. It was delicious. I plan to make it tonight mainly because my significant other has not got the cheque that he has been promised and we are down to the last dime in the bank, if that. No one ever said that writers automatically become rich and famous. Hobbit Shire Soup is quick, easy and, most importantly, cheap to make out of pasta, tomatoes,onions, and chickpeas. You have the basic food groups: grain, fruit, vegie, and protein. It's good if you have bay leaf and parsley at hand. A writer's feast.

Oh hell. I am so depressed. I have a manuscript that I would like to get out but the synopsis is just not gelling for me. I know the cheque is in the mail. Isn't it always? That doesn't matter when the mail slot is empty. I understand at these times Chaucer's Complaint to His Purse:"To you, my purse, and to none other wight /Complain I, for you be my lady dear!/ I am so sorry, now that you be light;" The physical container for money is flat and also the bank of imagination. The only things that keep me going are the neighbour kids that occasionally drop by to see my youngest. Some of those children don't get breakfast. I feed them but lately worry if my family is going to make it through the week or to the end of the month with our sparse larder. However, I can't refuse children who say that they are hungry with their being pale thin creatures on my doorstep, and Canadian winters cold and without regard. Mine is just a temporary bump until the cheque arrives. I know that some of these children live in households of seven where there is just enough apartment space for four people.

Perhaps writing is not just for money. Whenever there is a setback or crisis, writing is a lifeline that the neighbour children do not have. I'm holding on tight to the last thread.

UPDATE: CHEQUE ARRIVED! YEA!

Technorati Tags: writing advice

WHY?

2007-12-17T10:39:00.000-08:00

There was a question on one of the Facebook groups when a high school student asked if he should pursue a career in writing. This is my reply with additional comments since the wall post only allowed 1,000 characters.

The post starts with "I don't mean to be sarcastic but have you ever heard of the term 'struggling writer'?" I then address the high school student's other concerns. Find a job that pays the bills first especially if you plan to go to college because that leaves most people enough in hock to busy them for quite a while.
Secondly, being a writer is a difficult career. The market is saturated with people wanting to get their novels published. Hell, even Jane Austen would have a hard time selling a novel in this market. I wrote an editorial in one of my blogs about a man who passed off Austen's novels as one of his own.

So why write? Because you have a story that pulses through your blood and won't leave you until its ink dries on the page.

However, for the money, there's always commercial writing work. You develop that by making contacts. Facebook is one way to do that. Of the Social Network Services, Facebook is the most useful. LinkedIn is a good tool also. MySpace, LiveJournal, and Orkut are useless because they are not well-organized and cater to a less literate crowd. Bebo and Friendster are the same in the lack of content. Twitter is useless unless you are terribly vain and want those who would rather not know about your latest hernia operation. Also try Sunoasis and Debbie Ng's freelance writing blog. Good luck!

Technorati Tags: writing advice

SUPPORT THE WRITERS' STRIKE

2007-12-14T12:53:00.000-08:00

Please support the writers' strike in Hollywood. One way that you can support the writers' strike is to boycott any scab activity that takes place online. Recently, I found this ad. The spelling errors are not mine:

"Freelance TV Writers - (US-CA-Hollywood - 90078)

Min Education: Bachelors
Job Type: Contract

Everyone knows it is a rough time here in Hollywood with the strike and with the holidays coming up it couldn't have come at a worse time. I was starting to wonder how I would be able to make it an enjoyable Christmas for my twin 12-year old daughters. That is why I decided to come up with an alternative.

I, and some marketing folks, producers, and other interested parties had some private disucssions on how to get some writers back to work while this strike works itself out. I've worked out deals to get scripts written on a couple of CBS shows and I'm working on a deal with Fox. We will be privately and discretely writing scripts for these shows. We will ensure your privacy and confidentiality and are willing to pay top dollar for talented writers. We are currently working on bring other shows into the mix, but the producers want to see if we can make this work for a few shows first before giving us many more.

Together we can make this a happy holiday season for our families, contact if you have any questions.

William Kinkade
Kinkade Creative Solutions"

I've excised the contact information for the company. Why help them?

Help these people instead.
Here is the web page for the Writers' Guild of America.
http://www.wga.org/

Technorati Tags: writing advice,writers'strike

POEM OF THE MONTH

2007-12-09T01:25:00.000-08:00

The early sun dissolves the mist
that has covered the mountain.
All night I have listened to the wise,
yet failed to learn.
Dimly, darkly, the eternal pines
rise without effort from the vanishing fog.

---Xue Tao

Technorati Tags: xue tao

POEM OF THE MONTH INTRODUCTION

2007-12-09T01:00:00.000-08:00

I was ambitious to have a new poem every week but my life circumvented that (off-line writing, family concerns et cetera). So without further introduction, please enjoy the new format.

----Anne

ONCE MORE INTO THE BRINK....

2007-11-22T01:50:00.000-08:00

Here I go again... I have started my second unpublished novel in a series. I have written one hundred and eight pages into it.

No one ever said writing is a rational occupation. It is a profession that lives on hope, little sleep, and less praise. One has to be a master of dreams to push on through the most dreary of situations. The bills, sick kids, ill self, lonely nights typing at the computer, the blank screen that does not cheer with its stare uncomprehending as a government form that asks "Well, what is your work?"

Let me think... I am the tender of imagination, the midwife of new beings in print, a guardian of a world.

Doesn't get one very far in the "real world". I usually scrawl "homemaker" on a form. "Writer" means, at least to the bureaucratic people that I know, 'unemployed person with an English degree'. Not very prestigious.

So what keeps me going and persisting and hoping to be published? Because my characters, those mischievous struggling (almost) human creatures I've known for all these years, make my life reflective and intellectually alive. If they died unwept, so would the part of my life that budges the humane in me. This keeps me going as a writer.
Technorati Tags: writing advice

WHAT'S THE POINT?

2007-11-13T00:28:00.001-08:00

Borders bookstore chain is installing televisions. The bookstore chain has partnered with Ripple, a national provider of in-store content to deliver information to "upper class" customers. Ripple also delivers content to such chic businesses as Jiffy-Lube and Jack-in-The-Box.

I don't know about the majority of the readers of this blog, but I'm old-fashioned. When I go to a bookstore, I expect to find books and periodicals. I like bookstores because I can escape the yak-yak of television. Bookstores are supposed to help people think not leave them hanging with their mouths wide open and drooling like eejits on the carpet. Or have I missed some crucial lesson in modern publishing?

Once upon a time, books were actually conveyors of knowledge not units to move out the door. When I was a child, too many years ago, I fell absolutely in love with the warm pencil colours of D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths. The sweet face of Aphrodite arising from the sea or the poignant reunion of Demeter and Persephone in the grain fields kicked a hole in my tidy go-to-churchy view of life. My world was suddenly aflame with ideas. Books aren't meant to be a marketing tool alongside television. Books are intended to open up new venues for the mind to explore.

Technorati Tags: borders bookstore writing advice

UPDATE: FOOD STUFF

2007-10-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

The regular cook was sick so my sous chef (represented here) graciously pitched in to cook for someone (me) who was sick onto death. Well, at least in no shape to cook. Unfortunately, we have different ideas on what constitute condiments for the food. Seasoning salt, in my opinion, is not a fit taste to use liberally in food preparation. We since have had IM conversations about the (in my opinion) proper way to cook Egg Mess.

All this makes me wonder about ghostwriters and their clients. Yes, there is a writing angle! Are the clients satisfied or do they complain about the seasoning? Is it the client's true story or the hired writer's tale? I wonder this as I am thankful for my sous chef pitching in at the last minute when I was not cogent enough to deliver one of my favourite dishes. It is something to ponder on those windy Canadian days when I'm imbibing a hot cup of Oolong tea and perusing my recipe books. Hmmm... Hobbit Shire Soup doesn't look that bad.

Technorati Tags: comfort food, writing advice

UPDATE: FOOD RHAPSODY

2007-10-26T01:14:00.000-07:00

The Vegetable Stirfry with Tofu Croquettes was delicious. My sous chef says that I put in too much corn and carrots but what does he know? I'm a better cook than him.

Tomorrow: Egg Mess and Toast! Yum.... My food critics adore this hardy staple of very few ingredients and non-meat protein. For the vegans out there who think of eggs as meat, pffft. You aren't getting enough B12 for your brains so you can't appreciate the value of eggs.

All this cooking has me jazzed. I'm currently revising a children's picture book about Canadian animal life. I figure if deer can eat eggs (and sometimes birds), then nothing should prevent me from eating chicken eggs. Will post how the cooking (and writing) progresses.

Technorati Tags: comfort food, writing advice

MORE FOOD RHAPSODY

2007-10-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

I have been taking a hiatus from the blog to work on culinary skills. I find that if I can't work with writer's block, then a little innovation in other areas helps.

Canadian Thanksgiving was superb. I made vegan gluten free dressing with brown rice bread with almond and cashew nut butter gravy. My sous chef made homemade chips. There was a bowl of canned cranberry jelly, and pears for the sides.

Tonight I made Bean without Bacon soup, a vegan spin on a classic fall comfort food. Served again with more cranberry jelly, and potatoes, it was a comforting rustic meal.

Tomorrow, I make my standby Vegie Stirfry with Tofu Croquettes.

All this has inspired me to send out an article on Plains Native American tribes to a history magazine geared toward middle school grades. Will let my readers know if my conquests as a culinarian translate to the published page.

Technorati Tags: comfort food, writing advice

ça m'amuse

2007-10-04T23:39:00.000-07:00

A struggling author, David Lassman, recently proved how difficult it was get published as a first time author. He submitted chapters of Jane Austen novels to various literary agents and publishers (including some very big names) and all but one rejected the manuscripts.

Well, who wouldn't reject a manuscript from Jane Austen? Despite the Beeb's television series, the various and sundry movies of her novels and about her, Jane Austen is dull. She is overly mannerly and correct. There are no surprises or major conflicts in Austen novels, just irritating lapses in etiquette. Charlotte Brontë described Austen's petit point screeds in accurate terms.

Letter of April 12th 1850 to W.S. Williams:

"I have likewise read one of Miss Austen's works,Emma -- read it with interest and with just the degree of admiration which Miss Austen herself would have thought sensible and suitable -- anything like warmth or enthusiasm, anything energetic, poignant, or heartfelt, is utterly out of place in commending these works: all such demonstrations the authoress would have met with a well bred sneer, would have calmly scorned as outré and extravagant. She does her business of delineating the surface of the lives of genteel English people curiously well; there is a Chinese fidelity, a miniature delicacy in the painting: she ruffles her reader by nothing vehement, disturbs him by nothing profound: the Passions are perfectly unknown to her; she rejects even a speaking acquaintance with that stormy Sisterhood; even to the Feelings she vouchsafes no more than an occasional graceful but distant recognition; too frequent converse with them would ruffle the smooth elegance of her progress."

Charlotte, be it noted, grew up with a kickass younger sister. Emily could shoot a pistol. The more youthful Brontë also made a tidy livelihood from railroad stocks. None of your mincing, faint-of-heart Austen mollycoddles for the Brontë clan when they wrote of their heroines. The sisters gave literature Catherine Earnshaw and Jane Eyre. Both characters had more spirit than, well, I can't recall any of Austen's lead women. They are not memorable as the plain Jane with her mysterious Rochester or Catherine with the brooding Heathcliff. Perhaps, someone ought to try the same experiment with a Brontë novel and see if publishers recognize such.

Technorati Tags: jane austen,charlotte bronte,david lassman

POEM OF THE WEEK

2007-10-04T01:02:00.000-07:00

If my words, like leaves,

should scatter through the world,
would that I might leave behind
the name that was mine
in the unforgettable days of old.

---Lady Daibu 

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SUCCESS!

2007-09-23T00:49:00.000-07:00

As chronicled in YUM!, I have been trying to perfect the art of drying tomatoes in the oven. Well, they were delicious! Roma tomatoes with parsley, rosemary, and thyme with a bay leaf (for scent) under the metal cooling rack that I used for the dryer. I have been inspired. I had the dreaded writers' block. My brain was lint fuzz. I already finished writing a 105,010 word manuscript and my mind went blank. I spent most of a day tending the tomatoes and had my reward. Sweet, although I prefer black tomatoes. When I first had this type of tomato, my first thought was "pasta sauce". A subtle flavour, smooth without the harsh citric taste.

Um, okay, where was I? This is supposed to be on a blog about writing. I'm working on the sequel to my missive and I've broken through my writer's block. Hmm... something about my affinity for the nightshade family may have helped. I have also been indulging in my favourite nosh, chips and mayo. Good food always helps. I can think straight if I have a bowl of hot freshly dished popcorn. Be that as it may, I'm plonking through novel #2 and am happy, almost, to have the confidence to send out the first manuscript to a publisher again. Until then, bon appetit!
UPDATE: This has turned out to be, with revisions, a 140,950 word manuscript.
Technorati Tags: comfort food, writing advice

POEM OF THE WEEK

2007-09-22T01:56:00.000-07:00

I Am

I am! The ages on the ages roll:
And what I am, I was, and I shall be:
by slow growth filling higher Destiny,
And Widening, ever, to the widening Goal.
I am the Stone that slept; down deep in me
That old, old sleep has left its centurine trace;
I am the plant that dreamed; and lo! still see
That dream-life dwelling on the Human Face.
I slept, I dreamed, I wakened: I am Man!
The hut grows Palaces; the depths breed light;
Still on! Forms pass; but Form yields kinglier
Might!
The singer, dying where his song began,
In Me yet lives; and yet again shall he
Unseal the lips of greater songs To Be;
For mine the thousand tongues of Immortality.

- Voltaraine De Cleyre

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YUM!

2007-09-07T01:11:00.000-07:00

Like many people, I have comfort foods for when times are difficult. When I've received a rejection letter or have had to visit with pesky relatives who make me feel like I'm a burying beetle in a clatch of mice. My last two weeks of summer vacation. We won't go there for the tale would be too long in woe. And I want to get to the truly good part. Comfort food.

For some, comfort food means a chocolate bar or a sub sandwich, or a simmering macaroni and cheese casserole.

Naw.

I crave homemade British style chips with mayonnaise. I made some, recently (Friday last) with red potatoes simmered in canola oil. I did not have my favourite brand of olive oil so had to content with what was available. Oh, and how content it was for my palate.

British style chips with mayonnaise, hard boiled eggs with mustard, and green and red tomato slices fried in the red potato oil. My taste buds were happy. The simple meal was a great success.

Not so proud were my attempts yesterday to make oven dried tomatoes. I rushed the drying by turning up the oven heat too high. However, those that survived being crisped, were sweet to the taste on a homemade pizza with red porcini mushroom sauce, fake soy cheese (can't have dairy),and olives. The meal ended up to be edible and that is all I could have hoped for with my experiment.

I was a little bit disappointed in my culinary prowess but ,as a writer, you learn to take the lumps. Even if the bumps are the charred remains of once plump tomatoes.

Ever the optimist, I later consumed pretzels and nuts for a snack. Okay, and the four vanilla cookies and some decaf white tea. I won't keep track if you don't. And I'm thinking of topping it all with some hot almond milk before I go to bed.

'til then,

Anne

Technorati Tags: comfort food

POEM OF THE WEEK

2007-06-14T13:09:00.000-07:00

Who will read it?
Who will live forever
In this world?
A letter left behind
In her undying memory.

---Murasaki Shikibu shu

Technorati Tags: murasaki shikibu shu

POEM OF THE WEEK

2007-05-19T02:09:00.001-07:00

Frail the white rose and frail are
Her hands that gave
Whose soul is sere and paler
Than time's wan wave.

Rosefrail and fair-- yet frailest
A wonder wild
In gentle eyes thou veilest,
My blueveined child.

James Joyce

Technorati Tags: james joyce

POEM OF THE WEEK

2007-05-19T01:41:00.000-07:00

THIS LIVING HAND

This living hand, now warm and capable

Of earnest grasping, would, if it were cold

And in the icy silence of the tomb,

So haunt thy days and chill thy dreaming nights

That thou wouldst wish thine own heart dry of blood

So in my veins red life might stream again,

And thou be conscience-calmed—see here it is—

I hold it towards you.

John Keats

Technorati Tags: john keats

POEM OF THE WEEK

2007-05-14T23:34:00.000-07:00

They change,
though you don't see it
in the color of their faces---
these blossoms that are the hearts
of the people of this world.

Ono_no_Komachi

Technorati Tags: ono_no_komachi,

CAN YOU HEAR THIS?

2007-05-12T14:44:00.000-07:00

After many frustrating tries, I am pulling down the audio portion of my blog. It was difficult to balance between Firefox and IE specs.

I'm not giving up. I need a break, and a brush-up on my skills, before I will tackle this again.

Until then...

Technorati Tags: blogging tools

TOOL REVIEW UPDATE

2007-05-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

In my Performancing (now called ScribeFire) review, I was enthusiastic about the Firefox extension but now have come to see it as a nuisance. It puts tags in my Technorati code that disables links to Technorati. I have found now that any Firefox extension web editor that I use with Blogger completely messes up Blogger's editing capabilities.

CoolIris is okay but it does not work with some image search engines such as Imagery and the window popping up can be a nuisance while one is trying to work. However, it is useful when I am searching for images on Google because I can see the images more clearly in the CoolIris window.

Technorati Tags: blogging tools, cooliris,imagery,scribefire

POEM OF THE WEEK

2007-05-07T01:20:00.000-07:00

PANGUR BAN

I and Pangur Ban my cat

'Tis like a task we are at
Hunting mice is his delight
Hunting words I sit all night

Better far than praise of men
'Tis to sit with book and pen;
Pangur bears me no ill will
He too plies his simple skill.

When a mouse darts from its den
O how glad is Pangur then!
O what gladness do I prove
When I solve the doubts I love!

Practice every day has made
Pangur perfect in his trade
I get wisdom day and night
Turning darkness into light.

---9th Century Monastic Poem

Technorati Tags: cats

VINDICATION!

2007-05-06T23:58:00.000-07:00

Last month, I wrote about my trials and tribulations with a green tea blog that I will not name. Essentially, I quit because my former employers were upset because I did not follow their propaganda that green tea was superior to water in terms of hydration. I have evidence that my aversion to green tea is justified.

Scientists at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, have studied that the polyphenols in green tea can lead to liver damage if green tea is drunk to excess or is used with supplements with polyphenols. The liver problems associated with green tea are not surprising because green tea is also good for industrial purposes, for polishing the magnetic heads in computer hard drives during manufacture. Yuck...

Furthermore, Great Britain is introducing a hydration program for the elderly so they do not become dizzy and fall with thirst. Instead of tea, which is insufficient to meet the hydration needs of the elderly to prevent dizziness and falls, the Royal Institute of Public Health plans to install water coolers.

As a writer, I trust my research skills and my judgment. Writers need to have this type of confidence in themselves to go forward in their career. My former employers acted toward me like someone who was stupid and didn't know what she wrote or edited. I am pleased at this correction of their disbelief and vindicated about what I write.

Technorati Tags: green tea writing advice

POEM OF THE WEEK

2007-04-29T23:25:00.000-07:00

My candle burns at both ends

It will not last the night;

But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends -

It gives a lovely light.

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Technorati Tags: edna st. vincent millay

TOOL REVIEW

2007-04-23T00:08:00.000-07:00

I found some interesting tools when I was using Stumble Upon (I'll review that separately). The first is a site that checks Google Page Rank. Simply type in your URL and press the submit button and the website will return a Google page rank. The Writer's Home is at zero but my other blog, Radio Free Canada,has a page rank of five out of ten. WebSiteGrader is a more useful tool that looks at a site and judges ways that the site can be enhanced. The site judges such categories as Google Page Rank, Web Page Structure, Technorati Ratings, and Reading Level. The site offers suggestions on how to improve the site ratings with such tools as metatags and RSS feeds.

I was curious about the two blogs that I write and so submitted the URLs for this site and for Radio Free Canada. The Writer's Home had a reading level of high school plus one year of college whereas my other site, Radio Free Canada, is at the first year of graduate school. I think the difference is due to the fact I have content, such as Poem of the Week,that is not of my origin on The Writer's Home site.

Technorati Tags: websitegrader, blogging tools,google page rank

POEM OF THE WEEK

2007-04-22T01:36:00.000-07:00

So intense is this grief,
nothing I have ever felt before comes near it.
Yet by its means I stay alive.

I would be dead by now --
but for this heavy strong pain lying on my heart:
it won't give way to death,

I can't increase nor diminish these wounds.

Pitiless hurt.
Can I defend a heart and soul
so full of anguish?
My heart, my burning soul cannot breathe
outside this fire.
I live on despite myself

And what is my crown of thorns?
I am not able to grieve over my real grief.

Veronica Gambara

Technorati Tags: veronica gambara, italian poetry,women poets

SILENT VIGIL

2007-04-20T01:07:00.000-07:00

There are some people who are requesting that there be a silent vigil in cyberspace for those dead in the Virginia Tech shootings. Those who wish to participate will not blog for that day. The date is April 30th, 2007. Please send the originator of the idea feedback, via the link at The Golden Pencil.

Thanks. ----Anne

Technorati Tags: virginia tech golden pencil,silent vigil

NOTE: I usually separate the content of my two blogs (the other is a political blog) but a writer is more than mechanics and word tricks. Words without passion and sorrow are flat and inhumane.

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

2007-04-18T23:50:00.000-07:00

If you have come to this site and have not seen any graphics, Blogger temporarily ate my Picasa album. Grrrr! Things seem to be working and will go on as usual.

NOTE: I didn't put any graphics on this blog. Your eyes aren't getting old.

KNOWING WHEN TO QUIT

2007-04-16T01:33:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, I was working for a tea blog which will not be named. I was not being paid but saw this as a chance for bigger and better things. Initially, I was all jazzed to go on the deal because I am very knowledgeable about herbs et cetera and felt that I had a lot to contribute with my information. So I patiently learned WordPress, a content management system. Even with the organization's s-l-o-w satellite uplink, this did not deter me.

The trouble started when I asked the publishers if they were going to accept herbal teas, excuse me, tisanes . This did not go well with my employers. Green tea, and only green tea, they dictated. I had also naively wrote in my biography that I enjoy rooibos tea and white tea with lots of honey. This was immediately nixed because they saw sweeteners as unhealthy. Despite my knowledge of honey as having anti-bacterial properties and as safe to use except for infants and those with depressed immune systems for some incidents of botulism poisoning, I agreed with my employers' wishes. I didn't mention stevia as a possibility. Honey bad, plain green tea good. Hookay.... I could accept that. White tea was on the edge. I'm living dangerously now to have sweeteners in my leaves. On my side of the Internet, I started to rebel. I shamelessly drank rooibos with globs of honey. I put away a plastic bearful in a month.

Meanwhile, as an editor, my photo reporter was less than present. I basically was editing, proofreading, posting, and doing photo editing for the whole site. And getting rather cranky. I one day asked one of the publishers if I could participate in a tea tasting. My employer said that if there was leftovers, I could have some. Ouch. I was hurt that, especially since I was the blog's editor, I should participate in the site's activities.

I was further injured when the same employer asked at what times I posted and edited comments. I replied that I had, before the e-mail to me, edited and created several articles for future posting and already had them in WordPress' queue. The employer insisted on knowing the times but I could not give the publisher a single answer because I was up at the wee hours of the morning fighting the blog's (on their end) snail-paced uplink. While that was a legitimate question, the employer did not acknowledge that I had edited twenty-five comments for error that day and was ahead on the posts. Still, I was willing to keep at the job.

Then, I made a fatal mistake or perhaps the publishers did. One of the people on the board had asked about hydration and whether or not tea was a good drink to take on a hike. Innocently, I looked for data for the person who made the query and I posted my findings. One of the publishers sent me a flaming e-mail to ream me out that I did not know what I was talking about when I discussed hydration. I had favoured water. The publisher was very upset that unintentionally on my part, but with my intent in the view of the employer, gone against that person in a comment on the blog. I had posted before the employer, not after.

I had to take a several deep breaths before I could write a very polite resignation letter. I was running the whole site with accurate edits and posts. I was not illiterate about green tea as my employers thought. I had been an, admittedly hobbyist, herbalist for about twenty years. I know enough to realize what flora is dangerous or illegal. Never take pennyroyal. Green tea is no different in having knowledge about it because it is just a medicinal plant. I trusted my knowledge and my smarts and I quit. When I accept another job or offer, it damn well better come with respect.And lots of honey.

Technorati Tags: tea writing advice

POEM OF THE WEEK

2007-04-14T13:31:00.001-07:00

Queen of battle
the Moon God's oldest child
Maiden Inanna
I worship you
here is my song.

Enheduanna

Technorati Tags: enheduanna, inanna, goddess

TOOL REVIEW

2007-04-12T00:29:00.000-07:00

PLEASE SEE MY UPDATE ON THIS REVIEW

CoolIris is a web page preview tool for Firefox 2.0. With CoolIris, a person can preview a page without clicking through to the page. This is very useful so that one gets an initial sense of a site without doing a lot of mouse work.

Let's take CoolIris for a spin. I decided to preview a site, Dictionary of Victorian London, from one of my blog links. I placed my mouse next to the link and up popped an icon consisting of two green and blue boxes. I budged my mouse over the link and up popped a preview of the site. There are various choices that you can make for the preview. Go Back will take you to back to the starting page when you click within the preview, Open The Current Link In A New Tab will open the preview in another window, the E-Mail tab will let you, after you register with CoolIris, e-mail sites to friends. There is an Exit button, and a lock icon to Stick The Frame or keep the preview open so that one does not have re-open the frame.
Now the fun stuff begins. When you come to a link, you can highlight it and right click to get various choices to research the intended subject. Let's choose the ever handsome Alan Rickman in my Labels for a trial run (sigh, it was a toss-up between him, Andrew Vachss, Andrei Codrescu, and the Bronte sisters...the Brontes lost). Now, run the mouse cursor over the highlighted word and right click. One has the choices of the freedictionary,Google Images, and Wikipedia. Clicking on Google Images takes you to a page of Alan Rickman images and you can place the mouse over any of the images and it will give a CoolIris preview. Magnificent!

This is definitely a tool that is necessary for Firefox. Be sure to add it to your browser.

Technorati Tags: CoolIris, blogging tools

POEM OF THE WEEK

2007-04-06T02:02:00.000-07:00

SPRING

With the blossoms gone
I look for no special color
as I gaze afar
and then from the empty sky
spring rains begin to fall.

Princess Shikishi

Technorati Tags: shikishi

TOOL REVIEW

2007-04-04T23:19:00.000-07:00

Zotero is a bibliography tool for Firefox. Ordinarily, I would not do two tool reviews in a week but this is a very useful tool for citations.

In Zotero, a person can save annotations in various forms for both online and offline use. You can import and export libraries of citations to Zotero, create standard citations for book, book sections,documents, journal and magazine articles,and many more citation forms including podcasts. There is the ability to create new items from the current page as well as saving a link to a current page. There are also standalone notes that one can write.

Let's take Zotero for a spin. I decided to note a wikipedia article about Alan Rickman. I clicked on the Zotero icon in my browser and the interface for the tool popped up. Next, I clicked on the Save Link to Current Page. This gave me an interface that saved the link and also timestamped it. Underneath the timestamp is a blank white area to make a note. I wrote "This is an article about the handsome actor Alan Rickman, second only to the late Jeremy Brett as one of the greatest British actors." (Note: You can copy or cut, then paste from Zotero to Blogger or anything else like e-mail). Next there is a Related link that shows what might be related in one's library and a tagging function.
Zotero saves not only the citation but when you open Zotero again, you can click on the web link and go directly to the cited article.

Right-clicking on an item brings up several more options to create a bibliography in various formats such as IEEE, Chicago, Vancouver et cetera. This can be exported to RTF, HTML, Printed, or to the computer's Clipboard. Zotero also can generate a report in the browser if you choose to click the option Generate Report.
Zotero can be added as a plugin in some versions of Open Office and in Microsoft Word. Check the compatibility table for more information.

This is definitely a tool that is necessary for Firefox. Be sure to add it to your browser.

Technorati Tags: alan rickman,zotero,jeremy brett,blogging tools

TOOL REVIEW

2007-04-02T22:56:00.000-07:00

Leafletter is a tool that you should avoid. Basically, it is a tool for placing small websites into blogs and social sites. The application did not work in Blogger. The application had scripting errors and crashed my browser (Firefox).
Technorati Tags: blogging tools

POEM OF THE WEEK

2007-03-30T11:10:00.000-07:00

Sleep, Darling

Sleep, darling
I have a small
daughter called
Cleis, who is

like a golden
flower
I wouldn't
take all Croesus'
kingdom with love
thrown in, for her.

Sappho

Technorati Tags: sappho

TOOL REVIEW

2007-03-25T18:55:00.001-07:00

I read that Ray Ozzie has called Google "the command line of the Internet" in comparison to Microsoft's Live.com. As a reviewer of tools for writers,I decided to take each for a spin.

Using the key word "fairy", Google came up with 31,200,000 entries for a search and 718,000 for images with a strict safe search. Live.com came up with 16,536,053 results in search and 510,604 in images. In terms of flexibility, Google has easier search perimeters if one wants to search for black and white, or colour, or grayscale images. Live.com does not have the same focused search. Furthermore, Live.com has a scrolling bar that is clunky to use. There is a feature of dragging and saving to a scratch board but I usually save the images to my hard drive and use Picasa web albums or copy and e-mail the images.

In Live.com results for fairy related books, I obtained 9,353 results. In Google,3073. I still had to deal with the scrolling bar which is annoying.

In the final analysis, Google gets the thumbs up. For Live.com:Ctrl, Alt, Delete.

Technorati Tags: blogging tools

POEM OF THE WEEK

2007-03-22T02:27:00.000-07:00

Lines Composed in a Wood on a Windy Day

My soul is awakened, my spirit is soaring
And carried aloft on the wings of the breeze;
For above and around me the wild wind is roaring,
Arousing to rapture the earth and the seas.
The long withered grass in the sunshine is glancing,
The bare trees are tossing their branches on high;
The dead leaves, beneath them, are merrily dancing,
The white clouds are scudding across the blue sky.

I wish I could see how the ocean is lashing
The foam of its billows to whirlwinds of spray;
I wish I could see how its proud waves are dashing,
And hear the wild roar of their thunder today!

Technorati Tags:anne bronte

Anne Bronte