Monday, March 19, 2007
It Could Go Either Way
Here I sit at the computer, periodically looking out the window facing our backyard. The snow is melting rapidly and I can see the hole my children dug last summer. They've arranged some old bricks and pieces of cement at one end of the hole in a strangely Stonehenge fashion. Further back in the yard, almost to the alley, they've constructed a snowboarding ramp of snow (what else?). It's a sizeable pile, the most sizeable in the yard, but no longer any good for snowboarding. Our compost heap is exposed and almost looks larger than the snowboarding pile. Spring and winter are mixed in the wind. It could go either way.
The weather perfectly mirrors my writing mood today. I've finished a story and am ready to start a new one for the series I'm working on and I realized yesterday that while I've got a character, I've got no plot yet. So, I've done a little online research and am mentally messing around. No sense in forcing these things. I'm tempted to take a little detour. I've always got several story ideas brewing, but have been setting some of them aside while working on my series. One of them has been poking at me to write it out. We'll see . . . .
The weather perfectly mirrors my writing mood today. I've finished a story and am ready to start a new one for the series I'm working on and I realized yesterday that while I've got a character, I've got no plot yet. So, I've done a little online research and am mentally messing around. No sense in forcing these things. I'm tempted to take a little detour. I've always got several story ideas brewing, but have been setting some of them aside while working on my series. One of them has been poking at me to write it out. We'll see . . . .
Labels: backyard, characters, children, hole, idea, minnesota, mood, research, snow, spring, story, winter, writing
Thursday, December 07, 2006
London Bridge - The Whiny Version
Ever get so tired that the muscles at the corners of your mouth feel as though they're drooping to the ground and you want to cry? I was that exhausted after work today. I wanted to drop on the couch & sleep for several hours, but didn't have the chance. Instead, I plugged through the feeling, while Fergie's "London Bridge" went through my head in a whiny "nya, nya, nya" version. Not pleasant. It made me feel contrary, and not in a good "gotta change the world" way. The exhaustion & the song lifted after supper. All is well.
Labels: contrary, fergie, london bridge, mood, tired
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Outrage
Ever notice that something's always lurking around in this great big wide world just waiting to outrage you? You'll be flowing along, all relaxed and mellow, and WHAM! Someone says or does something stupid or mean or unfair or outrageous and you're MAD! Ready to kick some butt. Change the world. Painful as outrage can be, it gets stuff done . . . sometimes. Depends on whether you focus your energy and get moving or whether you rant and rave and let the outrage dissipate without ever lifting a finger. Once the outrage dissipates, you're back to the mellow - until the outrage strikes again.
Here's a story of outrage for you, no matter which side of the fence you sit on. The National Museum of Kenya is being pressured by evangelicals to hide away its prehominid fossils, so the evangelicals can pretend that there is no evolution. I'm for the evolutionists in this case. Museums are not religious institutions. They don't tell religious institutions what to preach. The purpose of museums is to talk about ALL of history, not sweep disagreeable things under the rug and pretend they didn't happen.
Here's a story of outrage for you, no matter which side of the fence you sit on. The National Museum of Kenya is being pressured by evangelicals to hide away its prehominid fossils, so the evangelicals can pretend that there is no evolution. I'm for the evolutionists in this case. Museums are not religious institutions. They don't tell religious institutions what to preach. The purpose of museums is to talk about ALL of history, not sweep disagreeable things under the rug and pretend they didn't happen.
Labels: africa, evolution, history, mood, museum, outrage
