tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59936938820638320632024-03-13T05:27:35.812-07:00The Introvert's PartyCelebrating the Creative QuietKristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-81610616971481723352013-09-12T12:55:00.000-07:002013-09-12T12:59:54.032-07:00This is What a Month Looks Like (Now That We're Parents)I have a yellow composition book titled "My Unhappy Book" that catalogues our household bills from month to month. Once upon a time, a month used to be marked by another awful rent check, a slow countdown to the end of car payments, a varying utilities bill, glorious pay days. A month was long days at work and and new tv shows, national holidays and birthdays, another bag of dog food, tank of gas, haircut. Now that we're parents all those days have been a part of our first month and yet time has been marked by completely different milestones. <br />
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It's hard to believe a month has even passed. There are no longer nights and days but cycles that keep tumbling along endlessly until I have a sudden burst of clarity and try to quantify the time passed by all those daily chores missing from my memory: When did I brush my teeth last? Take a shower? Made my bed, changed out of my pajamas, eaten a balanced meal?<br />
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Miraculously, we have managed to do most of those things on a semi-regular basis but otherwise, details of these past weeks are kind of a blur. Emphasis has been placed elsewhere I guess. </div>
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This is what a month looks like:</div>
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- 350 diapers</div>
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- 24 cups of coffee brewed, forgotten, and turned cold.</div>
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- 7 consultations with lactation nurses</div>
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- 500 tears spilt learning how to breastfeed</div>
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- 12 hours spent on Google, BabyCenter, WebMD. </div>
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- 750 photos taken (seriously)</div>
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- 2 calls to the advice nurse</div>
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- 1 trip to Golden Gate<br />
- 16 loads of laundry</div>
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- 500 tears spilt just feeling guilty for getting mad at a helpless baby</div>
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- 5,000 ounces of water drunk</div>
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- 3 meals actually home cooked ourselves (luckily we had a band of happy cooks for a few weeks)</div>
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- 11 seasons of Frasier re-watched during feedings</div>
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- 500 tears spilt dealing with infant reflux (or was it reflux?)</div>
- 10,000 prayers uttered, all along the lines of thanks, help, w<span style="font-family: inherit;">ow <em style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; line-height: 16px;">à</em> la</span> Anne Lamott. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wMUFf5VUoag/UjIZydnqxDI/AAAAAAAAAa0/uorQJ9hdlfo/s1600/IMG_1289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wMUFf5VUoag/UjIZydnqxDI/AAAAAAAAAa0/uorQJ9hdlfo/s320/IMG_1289.jpg" width="213" /></a>And somehow in a month, there has been so much waiting: for her first good poop, for her to gain weight, for the jaundice to go away, for more alert time, for the dog to adjust to being just a dog for once, for her to gain more weight, for my milk to come in, for my milk supply to increase. It's amazing how happiness is suddenly measured in ounces. <br />
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Mostly, this month has been marked by the slow but inevitable capsizing of the iceberg. All we thought was significant and grand is underwater and paled in comparison to substance of mass now revealed to us: Holy crap, we have a baby. <br />
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For me, it took about a month to really bond with my baby, to fall in love with her, to hear her name spoken and it feel normal, to say "my daughter" without feeling like a fraud, to actually call myself "mom" and really mean it. I still don't feel like someone's mom. I feel like a kid who has been suddenly thrust into an epic journey without being given time to pack or study or train and somewhere along the line I realized everything I need, I already have with me or will be provided for me and, most importantly, I am not the hero of this story anymore. <br />
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And that is fine by me.<br />
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Also, why in the world do newborns poop so loud?<br />
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Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-53288244549665927162013-07-25T17:14:00.000-07:002013-07-25T17:14:05.393-07:00Waiting for Baby: 5 Sources of Parental InspirationThe worst part of waiting for Baby is the mental battle. With absolutely nothing in my control these days (finances, timing, bladder issues), I've mostly tried to distract myself from the absolutely earth shattering change that is quickly approaching. Sometimes it feels like I'm trying to prepare for a surprise marathon and I need to be ready when that starter's pistol fires for any terrain, any weather, any condition. Oh, and at the end of it, after the joy and euphoria and feeling of accomplishment has come and gone and all I want to do is sleep forever, I'll have to get up and run again. And keep running. While fending off angry monkeys. And pulling sled full of watermelons. Forever. Welcome to Parenthood!<br />
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Most of my professional life has been spent in the circus ring with babies and young children and parents. I regularly follow a dozen or so (crafty and creative) mommy bloggers. My Facebook feed has become one big baby slideshow (to which I will probably contribute once I meet my own bundle of cuteness). It's easy to get inundated by the idea of parenthood, by a magazine version of the total experience, but as I've imagined my own path as a mother, I've craved an understanding for the intimacy of parenthood: the stuff we don't post about on Facebook, the tidbits my mother hid under a facade of control, the reality beyond sleepless nights and potty training. <br />
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So, of course, much of my inspiration and comfort has come from fictitious characters (all of course, drawn from very real experiences and then distilled and reflected by wiser artists) or writers simply examining their own lives. I identify strongly with realistic characters, people with a frank view of life but ultimately hope for romance so I've found great comfort in the "regular-ness" of these parents while also drawing from the heroism of my own. <br />
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1) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473308/" target="_blank">Waitress</a>: <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.collider.com/uploads/imageGallery/Waitress/waitress_movie_image_keri_russell_and_nathan_fillion__1_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="http://www.collider.com/uploads/imageGallery/Waitress/waitress_movie_image_keri_russell_and_nathan_fillion__1_.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://collider.com/">collider.com</a></td></tr>
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Witty, charming, honest, it was the first time I've seen a woman speak so frankly about her fears and despair about being pregnant, about feeling so utterly trapped. I think the story has a unique twist on the generic "trying to find happiness" tale and genuinely pulls it off. This is Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion at their cutest. And the true story of the writer/director (and new mom) Adrienne Shelly's tragic murder just before the movie's release makes it all the more poignant. <br />
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2) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Crawling-A-Fathers-First-Year/dp/0307387186" target="_blank">Crawling: A Father's First Year</a>. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.elishacooper.com/images/art/crawling_cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.elishacooper.com/images/art/crawling_cover.png" width="128" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://www.elishacooper.com/index.php/books/detail/crawling" target="_blank">author's site</a></td></tr>
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Honestly, I read this like five years ago so I don't totally remember it word for word. I really love stories written by fathers, just normal dads. The TV trope of the flawed father (alcoholic maybe, war vet possibly, absent mostly) trying to make amends or having that cinematic moments with his son is, while realistic, overdone. Aside from this father's somewhat glamorous lifestyle (a nice Berkeley studio, going to a posh bakery, putting his wife through grad school? How is that logical in the Bay Area without a trust fund somewhere??), it's a great read.<br />
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3) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1416765/" target="_blank">Parenthood</a>: <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1078681/thumbs/r-PARENTHOOD-RENEWED-large570.jpg?6" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1078681/thumbs/r-PARENTHOOD-RENEWED-large570.jpg?6" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/26/parenthood-renewed-season-5_n_3047373.html" target="_blank">HuffPost</a></td></tr>
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I could do a whole post on Parenthood. My husband and I started watching in 2010, when we had no immediate plans for having children but we fell in love with the show and it's uniquely intimate portrayal of the Braverman clan. It hits the trifecta of TV: solid cast, solid scripts, solid production quality, and somehow addresses so many tough issues (autism, adoption, abortion to name a few) without feeling melodramatic. I cannot say enough good things about this show. It's honest, heartbreaking, heartwarming, and did I mention honest? Just watch the show. And keep a box of tissues near.<br />
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4) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/1400079098" target="_blank">Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year</a>. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9781400079094_p0_v1_s260x420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9781400079094_p0_v1_s260x420.jpg" width="128" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/operating-instructions-anne-lamott/1100619465?ean=9781400079094" target="_blank">BandN</a></td></tr>
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Surprise, surprise that Anne Lamott made it onto my list. Her writing has been a tonic for my writing, for my faith, my life! Even her Twitter account is a source of great comfort for me, but this book is just lovely. She was given the advice to try to write something every day in her first year of motherhood (advice I will desperately try to follow) and this was the result. I read it when I got pregnant, when I was jobless and scared and alone in a new city, and I started breathing again. <br />
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5) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Manhood-Amateurs-Pleasures-Regrets-Husband/dp/B004WB19DU" target="_blank">Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son</a>:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9780061967160_p0_v1_s260x420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9780061967160_p0_v1_s260x420.JPG" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/manhood-for-amateurs-michael-chabon/1100258494?ean=9780061967160" target="_blank">BandN</a></td></tr>
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I love <i>The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay</i> but this book may be my favorite of Chabon's. The opening chapter had me hooked. It's yet another memoir about a being "modern dad" but with the expected wit and candor of such an accomplished writer. <br />
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So none of these are really instructional, they're merely comforting to me. I think parenting really is a million platitudes manifested and finding open arms in utter darkness. I think my inspiration comes from my own mother, my own experiences, my complete faith in God, but sometimes when the road gets bumpy we just need a heavy dose of normal folk to keep us laughing as we trudge onward. <br />
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Also, I realize now that 4 of the 5 of those take place or are written in the Bay Area which is a little spooky now considering our situation with this baby and Northern California, but pure coincidence I'm sure.<br />
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Still waiting...Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-30180114448873056742013-04-21T13:51:00.000-07:002013-04-21T13:51:04.929-07:00Putting Baby in a CornerCity Living. Well, Bay Area living, I suppose. Ridiculous real estate prices + epic student loans = Baby Corner. At first, it was a rather sobering thought, especially for someone who lives half her life on home design sites like <a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/" target="_blank">Apartment Therapy</a>, <a href="http://www.designsponge.com/" target="_blank">Design Sponge</a>, and the late, great magazine Domino. I don't need sprawl, just a wee bit of space that I can cultivate and paint and nurture. <div>
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But here's the thing. Even though our bedroom has gotten so cramped that we have to shuffle between the bed and crib, do a half twirl past the changing table, fight with the glider, and answer a riddle from the Sphinx just to get out of the door, baby M has <i>stuff. </i>Should I say, ample stuff. We're crowded simply because we have been blessed by other people giving us nice stuff for <i>free. </i>Thus far, we could furnish a whole nursery without having spent a dime, all because of other people who had to put their own babies in a corner.</div>
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"When we had our first baby..." Stories have come pouring in, along side boxes of hand-me-downs and gifts of baby gear, of parents who muddled through circumstances far more challenging than our own. </div>
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So, in light of all that's happened this week in Boston and the world, what's to come in the future and plague our social media feeds and whatnot, I still believe that the most contagious human trait is generosity, <i>excessive</i> generosity (if such a thing can/should be quantified in a way), and I think it's harder to be infected unless you yourself have been in a position of great need. </div>
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Baby M's corner is starting to feel less claustrophobic, a bit cozier, and appropriately metaphoric. There are parts of my life that I can regard with great pride, parts that are a product of hard work and sweat, but so much of my world has been an offering to me of charity, of love, of grace, and I feel utterly humbled. I hope Baby M is proud of us, but more so, I hope M recognizes how abundantly we are blessed. </div>
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And to all those parents who have thought of their own struggles and done their best to ease ours, thank you. I hope we get the chance to ever and always pay it forward. </div>
Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-33801511862237118392013-04-14T11:24:00.003-07:002013-04-14T11:24:45.135-07:00The Waiting Place<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EdXcIjF4f_Q/UWrxLZjJv5I/AAAAAAAAAZE/zr2fPiQXz3Y/s1600/Oh+the+Places+Book2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EdXcIjF4f_Q/UWrxLZjJv5I/AAAAAAAAAZE/zr2fPiQXz3Y/s320/Oh+the+Places+Book2.jpg" width="227" /></a>We're trying to read a book a night to my growing belly in the hopes of raising a dedicated bibliophile and last night's <i>livre du jour</i> was <i>Oh, the Places You'll Go! </i>by Dr. Seuss. While I am not the biggest fan of the late Theodore Giesel, somehow the words of that darn book got through to me.</div>
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<i>The Waiting Place...<br />... For people just waiting.<br />Waiting for a train to go<br />or a bus to come, or a plane to go<br />or the mail to come, or the rain to go<br />or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow<br />or waiting around for a Yes or No<br />or waiting for their hair to grow.<br />Everyone is just waiting.</i></blockquote>
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- Oh, the Places You'll Go!, <i>Dr. Seuss</i></div>
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I feel like I've been stuck in The Waiting Place for months now, years possible. Life has been a game of Hurry Up and Wait and it's been driving me insane. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PtxoHlIwENo/UWrwKRoZC0I/AAAAAAAAAY8/RM4cPxSWY9I/s1600/Green+Watch+Waiting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PtxoHlIwENo/UWrwKRoZC0I/AAAAAAAAAY8/RM4cPxSWY9I/s320/Green+Watch+Waiting.jpg" width="320" /></a>We're waiting for baby, waiting for the weekend, waiting for the next paycheck, waiting, waiting, waiting... What's made all this waiting worse (whoa alliteration train), is that I haven't been <i>writing.</i> Not even my Daily Words or a journal entry, not even a short story or two or a blog. </div>
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So, I am going to heed the good Doctor's warning and jump back into the fray, which is why I am blogging today (rhyme unintentional). And tomorrow, we'll see. So much of my life has turning into preparation for baby (eating well, exercising, nesting, buying, registering, researching, reading) and so it's hard for my brain to switch back to general writing fun and whatnot but I am going to make a whole hearted attempt to not turn this blog solely into my "mommy space." </div>
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But then, I might. </div>
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Tata for now! Stay tuned for a countdown to <i>The Great Gatsby</i> movie. I. Can't. Wait.</div>
Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-76029068619224340592013-01-24T11:58:00.000-08:002013-01-24T11:58:43.867-08:00Because Imaginary Christopher Nolan Said SoSomehow the cameo appearance by Christopher Nolan in my dream last night (if I remember correctly, it turned out not to be him and I was the victim of "catfishing"--boo), has given me a boost in much needed writing inspiration.<br />
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As evidenced by the frequency of my posts in the last, oh two months, my writing life has stalled. The reasons, both good and bad ones, for my lack of writing have driven me into a permanent state of frustration. And of course, the turning over of the new year has done nothing but reminded me of how little I've accomplished in the last. Aren't I supposed to be filled with bushy-tailed, bright-eyed jubilee at the chance to start afresh?<br />
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Well, the new year greeted me with another story rejected. A story that has been 3 years in the works and while it's still beginning the submission process, the first arrow struck right at the heart. This time I didn't cry (growth!) and I didn't push aside all my papers and watch TV all day (more growth!). I made a pouty face, re-read my year's mantra and sat down to work on my book.<br />
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My mantra comes from a battered version of <i>My Utmost for His Highest</i> by ye old Oswald Chambers that I use less as a daily devotional and more as a kind of spiritual horoscope. <br />
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<i>That was the one dominating interest all through our Lord's life, and the things He met on the way, joy or sorrow, success or failure, never deterred Him from His purpose. "<b>He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.</b></i><b>"</b></blockquote>
Whatever your religious conviction, I hope you take from the passage the core message of commitment. My mantra is simply that writing (not publication or commercial success) will be my dominating interest, despite how I feel or how my writing is received. <b>I will steadfastly set my ass in this chair</b>. <br />
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So I blog again. What does that have to do with Christopher Nolan? When I get really depressed about how little I have accomplished, sometimes I imagine meeting the people I admire one day and finding out that they are fans of my work. Maybe for me, it helps to have imaginary people to impress when it's just me and this stupid laptop day in and day out. Why, Mr. Nolan, I'm so flattered that you loved my book and ripped it from the hands of your children and read it in your garage laboratory instead of working on that mind-portal-sixth-dimension-space-western you're writing. And you want to buy the film rights? Well, you'll have to talk to my agent about that.<br />
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And that's why I'm wearing a party dress and heels to write this chapter and not my robe and pjs, because imaginary Christopher Nolan believes in me so I must toil and creep to the finish line. Happy delusions, friends. And try to surround yourself with positive imaginary influences. Imaginary Sean Penn is such a downer...<br />
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Yours,Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-11019922712904834252012-11-11T01:22:00.000-08:002012-11-11T01:22:01.666-08:00Writing Mixed Tape (Melancholy and Hope Edition)<a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a>: Day 11<br />
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I mostly write to soundtracks. I find words too distracting, merely because I often want to sing along (though some have slipped their way onto the list). Here are some of my favorite soundtrack titles, Melancholy and Hope edition. Enjoy!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Side A (Melancholy)</b></u></span></div>
<br /><ol style="text-align: center;">
<li>Moving On, <i>Lost</i> (Michael Giacchino)</li>
<li>This Bitter Earth/On the Nature of Daylight, <i>Shutter Island </i>(Dinah Washington/Max Richter) </li>
<li>Death is the Road to Awe,<i> The Fountain</i> (Clint Mansell)</li>
<li>The Surface of the Sun,<i> Sunshine</i> (John Murphy)</li>
<li>All Things Beautiful, <i>The Assassination of Jesse James</i> (Nick Cave, Warren Ellis)</li>
<li>What Are You Asking Me? <i>The Village </i>(James Newton Howard)</li>
<li>The Thing That Made You, <i>Beasts of the Southern Wild </i>(Dan Romer, Benh Zeitlin)</li>
<li>Together We Will Live Forever, <i>The Fountain </i>(Clint Mansell)</li>
<li>Pan's Labyrinth Lullaby, <i>Pan's Labyrinth</i> (Javier Navarrete)</li>
<li>I Could Have Done More, <i>Schindler's List </i>(Itzhak Perlman, John Williams)</li>
<li>Ride to Death, <i>True Grit </i>(Carter Burwell)</li>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Side B (Hope)</b></u></span></div>
<ol style="text-align: center;">
<li>The Letter that Never Came, <i>Lemony Snicket's</i> (Thomas Newman)</li>
<li> The Road Goes Ever On Pt. 1, <i>LOTR Fellowship of the Rings</i> (Howard Shore)</li>
<li>The Bathtub, <i>Beasts of the Southern Wild</i> (Dan Romer, Benh Zeitlin) </li>
<li> Gabriel's Oboe, <i>The Mission</i> (Ennio Morricone) </li>
<li> Once There Was a Hush Puppy, <i>Beasts of the Southern Wild</i> (Dan Romer, Benh Zeitlin)</li>
<li>October Sky, <i>October Sky</i> (Mark Isham)</li>
<li>PM's Love Theme, <i>Love Actually </i>(Craig Armstrong)</li>
<li>Your Hand in Mine (Goodbye), <i>Friday Night Lights</i> (Explosions in the Sky)</li>
<li>Hoppipolla, <i>Penelope</i> (Sigur Ros)</li>
<li>Time, <i>Inception</i> (Hans Zimmer)</li>
<li> The Gravel Road, <i>The Village</i> (James Newton Howard)</li>
<li> Nemo Egg (Main Title), <i>Finding Nemo</i> (Thomas Newman) </li>
<li>My Name is Lincoln, <i>The Island </i>(Steve Jablonsky)</li>
<li> London, <i>Blood Diamond </i>(James Newton Howard)</li>
</ol>
<br />
This list really wouldn't be possible with my music supervisor/husband, who introduced me to almost everyone of these composers, so I suppose he deserves a lot of the credit for my productivity. Happy writing! <br />
<ol style="text-align: center;">
</ol>
<br />Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-56898118580370886662012-11-08T17:10:00.000-08:002012-11-08T17:10:03.502-08:00A Bit of Hawai'i on a Gloomy Day<a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a>: Day 8<br />
<br />
I swear I am being productive. In my defense, I am writing about Hawai'i so this is kind of like research. From me to you (and hopefully one of many), a postcard from my NaNoLand.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DXbja2XTE-M/UJxVX_wasFI/AAAAAAAAAVg/IzTBpdEbVzE/s1600/VitaminSeaCardBorders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DXbja2XTE-M/UJxVX_wasFI/AAAAAAAAAVg/IzTBpdEbVzE/s640/VitaminSeaCardBorders.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Image brought to you by the following <i>free</i> distractions:<br />
<a href="http://picasa.google.com/" target="_blank">Picassa</a>, <a href="http://pixlr.com/" target="_blank">Pixlr</a>, the font <a href="http://www.typedepot.com/matilde" target="_blank">Matilde</a> and <a href="http://www.dafont.com/simply-glamorous.font" target="_blank">Simply Glamorous</a>. My laptop is so ancient I can't run trial versions of any Adobe program and I would be sad but I'm finding ways to make do. <br />
<br />
Happy Thursday!Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-74115819726833346662012-11-07T12:56:00.002-08:002012-11-07T13:05:40.884-08:00Hope and Keep Busy<a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a>: Day 7<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FzkVDGDRuoA/UJq9QvU8YZI/AAAAAAAAAU4/G7iMpch5S24/s1600/milkandcookies2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FzkVDGDRuoA/UJq9QvU8YZI/AAAAAAAAAU4/G7iMpch5S24/s200/milkandcookies2.JPG" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">snack <i>du jour</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Something remarkable happened across my social media world yesterday and today. I witnessed so many wise and mature voices rise above the vitriol and hate, voices from my generation, voices that are oft ignored, voices from mothers and friends and professionals and rebels and artists. People who used their corners of the world for honest, caring discussion. People who jumped up and volunteered what little they had for a greater American whole.<br />
<br />
You voted. You participated, we tracked results, of national and local scale, and you cared.<br />
<br />
A common topic of discussion between me and my parents is about "the youth exodus" from the church. Having grown up in a more liberal state, sort of raised in a liberal church, and then kind of muddled my way around four years in a conservative evangelical college, it is a topic of great interest to me. My husband grew up in the Tea Party's backyard and shoulders his own spiritual baggage. Whatever bitterness and frustration we claimed just years ago when we graduated from college and ran far away from the church to lick our wounds and regain our sense of self, for the most part it is fading away. I've had enough distance from those years to be able to separate the weeds from the harvest. <br />
<br />
So whenever my generation has been belittled by others for being non-committal, lazy, superficial, I have to raise my voice in opposition. My time after college had been full of surprises: sons and daughters who rebel against their parents' beliefs in an attempt to find truth that is relevant to this world, today and now, to heal the brokenness that plagues their generation. Sons and daughters who kneel at the feet of God by any name, who serve in love and not judgement, even when others assume them to be small minded and ignorant for having faith. People who have chosen to walk the hard, tedious path of service and sacrifice for a greater good. People who have chosen to build something, to offer the world more than just a sledge hammer and a sneer. People who channel their inner Marmee during times of both feast and famine.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"I have no fears for you, yet I am anxious that you should take
this trouble rightly. Don't grieve and fret when I am gone, or think
that you can be idle and comfort yourselves by being idle and trying to
forget. Go on with your work as usual, for work is a blessed solace.<b>
Hope and keep busy</b>, and whatever happens, remember that you never can be
fatherless." - "Marmee" March in ch. 16 of <i>Little Women</i> by Louisa May Alcott</span></span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HpS3A4qgXGw/UJrFJQTQ9KI/AAAAAAAAAVM/PouBe-1FKXo/s1600/Bokkah+Beach2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HpS3A4qgXGw/UJrFJQTQ9KI/AAAAAAAAAVM/PouBe-1FKXo/s640/Bokkah+Beach2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For the Marmees of the world</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
My response to my parents' concern about our generation has always been: "Just wait. Something amazing is happening. I feel it, something amazing is happening." I think about the Church, broken, beautiful, and I hear her call to me but still I wander. Let me reach the precipice and hear the crash of the ocean waves and feel the ocean spray (Hmmm... my subconscious at work: the <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/idris-elba-directs-and-stars-in-mumford-sons-lover-of-the-light-20121106" target="_blank">new M&S video</a> directed by and starring Idris Elba). Just wait. Something amazing in happening.<br />
<br />
I am increasingly proud of my generation; jumpers,
failures, artists, rebels, heretics and heathens all. I guess I just want
to say that you fill my facebook feed with joyful news and have kept me from
losing hope. Maybe I should note that I have a lot of facebook friends
who insist on posting hateful sentiment and petty assumptions but
I have long since unsubscribed from their ugly worlds.<br />
<br />
The day after yesterday is here and with tired smiles (and extra cups of coffee) we return to work. Life continues, writing must be done today (it must!), and as President Bartlett would say, "What's next?" Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-20090029125604949592012-11-03T14:05:00.000-07:002012-11-03T14:05:38.350-07:00Good Distractions, Bad Distractions (Day 3)<a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a> Day 3<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3YXP45EN-uA/UJWD0HF7WFI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/OYemcB31dyE/s1600/heartgummies.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3YXP45EN-uA/UJWD0HF7WFI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/OYemcB31dyE/s200/heartgummies.JPG" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gummies <i>du jour</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I don't know what it is about the weekend that makes writing a challenge. Maybe I should blame my husband for turning on the heat before he left for work. I woke up too cozy, too lazy, and eager to do anything but write. Thankfully, I have a number of friends and family who recognize the signs of procrastination and force me back in place. <br />
<br />
So I write, forgetting to eat, clean, bathe, etc. Hell, I even forget that I have a dog and that she's staring at me because it's time for her walk. But interspersed in those furious bursts of writing, are wonderful blips of much needed distractions. Good ones. Yep, <i>not all distractions are bad</i>. <br />
<br />
In fact, when forced to focus in a sensory deprivation scenario, I become like a pigeon in a phone booth. Allowed a minute here and there to let my eyes wander, I am exponentially more productive. Why? I think <a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/02/hunters-and-farmers.html" target="_blank">Seth Godin explains the Hunter vs. Farmer theory best</a>. I am a classic hunter and knowing that has completely changed how I work.<br />
<br />
My good distractions range from <a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/categories/tours" target="_blank">Apartment Therapy house tours</a> to <a href="http://www.modcloth.com/" target="_blank">browsing shop windows</a>. I randomly roll over <a href="http://pinterest.com/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> for book cover ideas, sample albums on Spotify (new Ben Howard EP?), or jump around <a href="https://twitter.com/introvertsparty" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. I guess my good distractions are ways to "hunt" in between long sessions of intense focus, which means they are usually visual, auditory, more MTV like than NPR.<br />
<br />
I consider bad distractions anything that violently alters
my priorities. Looking at shoes doesn't suddenly make me careless
about writing, but reading about the latest Tea Party stunt makes me
care more about punching someone in the face. In general, I don't peruse news sites while I write. YouTube is off limits unless it's music or animals being their adorable selves. I love taking mental vacations but they can't keep me from coming back to ye old novel. <br />
<br />
Today's bad distraction is the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/louisvilleslugger" target="_blank">Louisville Slugger Bat Hunt</a>: I'm a slave to Twitter, which is coincidentally one of my better distractions since I follow a number of authors/creative minds. I mean, who doesn't love updates from Neil deGrasse Tyson and Mindy Kaling?<br />
<br />
And if you're wondering, are these blog posts good distractions or bad? My answer is that they aren't distractions at all. This is pure, unadulterated procrastination. It falls in the category of unusually long and heartfelt emails, the sudden need for Zooey-esque bangs, and culinary explorations of any kind. Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-72258199310630067732012-11-02T11:10:00.000-07:002012-11-02T11:10:22.223-07:00Grandma Likes Coffee But... (Day 2)<a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a> Day 2<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G23zw-bGSPw/UJQLLgSFmLI/AAAAAAAAATo/1CDpNgZMlRg/s1600/coffeecup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G23zw-bGSPw/UJQLLgSFmLI/AAAAAAAAATo/1CDpNgZMlRg/s200/coffeecup.JPG" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Snack" <i>du jour</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Maybe I should save this post for mid-way November, when the smell of coffee gets a little gag worthy. Or not. I top my coffee consumption at a pot of french press in the morning, but had I the resources, I would probably drink it all the live long day. <br />
<br />
At some point, my body refuses entrance to any more coffee. The moats flood, the gate is drawn, blah blah. But I still need a cup of something, my fake cigarette to hold and ease the physical addiction of a nice, warm mug over which to brood. Y'know that episode of <i>The West Wing</i> before Sorking left and everything went to hell? <i>Barlet for America</i>: The one where Leo is facing a Congressional inquiry about the President's MS and it's revealed that he fell off the wagon one night during the campaign and to explain his alcoholism to his attorney, Leo says: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">"<span style="color: black;">I like the little
things. The way a glass feels in your hand, a good glass - thick, with
a heavy base. I love the sound an ice cube makes when you drop it from
just the right height."</span></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </span></span></span> That is the romance of a great cup of coffee: the heft of a good mug, the spirals of steam that float up from the black, the sound the first splash of coffee makes when you pour it from just the right height. Oh Leo... I still need that so I drink other stuff. Caffeinated or not:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Plain hot water</b>. Yes, it's not that weird.</li>
<li><b>Homemade ginger tea</b>, which may be the easiest and yummiest tea in the world. Slice ginger root in thin pieces, let it boil in water for 5-10 minutes, pour over sugar. Enjoy! Great for an upset tummy, heartburn, etc. </li>
<li><b>Cocoa</b>: While sugary, it's a nice switch from black coffee, which is what I drink. Otherwise, if you take coffee with your cream and sugar, how can you stand to drink more sugar?! </li>
<li><b>Mint Tea</b>: I lived on this when I was in Jerusalem. Luckily, if a Southerner lives amongst you, you always have Lipton. Otherwise find some black pekoe and brew yourself a cup to steep with mint leaves and sugar.</li>
<li><b>Chai</b>: A friend in college made me homemade chai once and I've been ruined on it ever since. Nothing beats the smell of chai cooking on the stove. Speaking of which, does anyone have a good recipe for chai?</li>
<li><b>Jasmine/Oolong</b>: My roommate used to mix the two into something wonderful. Also, I'm bored by traditional green tea so this is a nice change.</li>
<li><b>Pu-erh Tea</b>: I guess it's technically fermented tea, but it's supposed to miraculously lower your cholesterol if consumed after large meals. And it's pretty tasty too.</li>
<li><b>Yerba mate</b>: I don't drink this as much anymore. Most of the mate I've bought has been disappointing, but still a nice mate latte is coffee-like. </li>
<li><b>Horchata</b>: Delicious on ice, but also nice warm, or latte-ized. And easy enough to make at home. </li>
</ul>
<br />
My brother and sister-in-law in Korea send me green tea latte packets which are delicious and sweet and a nice change but I can't tell you where to get them in the states so sorry. I'll try to make one at home and tell you about it later. Depending on your culture or geography there are fundamental rules to drinking tea (and coffee really). Brits add cream, a Southerner would be shocked. My Japanese mom never adds sugar to any kind of tea. Do what you will. I've turned my husband's sweet tea into sweet mint tea and that was miraculous for summer. <br />
<br />
Are those novels writing themselves yet? Are you laughing at my coffee-alternatives because you eat your novels for breakfast with a tall glass of OJ and exercise? Well good for you! It's time for a refill and I'm going to pour slowly... Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-73126911049654162182012-11-01T11:34:00.001-07:002012-11-01T11:34:56.530-07:00My Short Term Career Goal Is A Nap<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oaYy0b_YVTg/UJLAU4Bw2LI/AAAAAAAAATU/PDnOXUbpVZU/s1600/photo-10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oaYy0b_YVTg/UJLAU4Bw2LI/AAAAAAAAATU/PDnOXUbpVZU/s200/photo-10.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snack of the Day: Peanut M&Ms</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a>: Day 1<br />
<br />
NaNoWriMo is upon is and I find myself very, very sleepy all of a sudden. I've begun my traditional approach to procrastination: I've written a few emails. I've read articles, blogs, had a few revelatory ideas that I will forget by lunch. And now I'm blogging. Anything but that blank page. <br />
<br />
After all that build up and the stupid countdown, here I am again with little desire to start another giant pile of triceratops poo. I will anyway but I'm at that strange and wonderful intersection of need and creativity, that is to say I am both broke and in possession of few actual work skills. With every interview, I wait and wait for the dreaded question: "What are you long term and short term career goals?"<br />
<br />
I answer with words somehow, some formula tweaked here and there, when really my response is a drawn out, internal eye-roll. At myself. And that question. <br />
<br />
My short term career goal changes daily. Today it is 1,667 words and a nap. My long term career goal is something like that anecdote about <a href="http://www.ideasicle.com/Ideasicle_Site/Blog_%26_Podcast/Entries/2010/10/4_The_Picasso_PrincipleAnd_The_Value_Of_Genius.html" target="_blank">Picasso and the five minute sketch</a>. That is to say, I don't think it will look like a career until one day someone offers me money for something I've been doing all my life. Obviously, my "problems" are indicative of my socioeconomic status, my age, my belief system. My mother has been a teacher all her career; we are <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/1802732/generation-flux-meet-pioneers-new-and-chaotic-frontier-business" target="_blank">Generation Flux</a>. Embrace it. <br />
<br />
My answers to basic interview questions are thought bubbles tied together by candy shoelaces. What do I know? I am blessed and I am sleepy. And those 1,667 words aren't going to write themselves so I need to find someone whose lifelong dream is to be a transpondster. Goodbye. Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-24159037879830392042012-10-31T17:22:00.001-07:002012-10-31T17:22:48.441-07:001 Last Party (Hint: Orange+Black)<a href="http://files.content.lettersandlight.org/nano-2012-beta/files/2012/09/Participant-73x73.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://files.content.lettersandlight.org/nano-2012-beta/files/2012/09/Participant-73x73.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a> Countdown: 1 Day<br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-size: large;">1 Last Party<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>or "Party"</span></u></h2>
<br />
Everyone out there in The City for the parade and others just enjoying the fete of Abnormal Psychological Expression, have fun and be safe. As for me, I am enjoying my last day before NaNoWriMo being cozy and coffee-ed with husband+dog. Yelling at the Giants players with 1 million other folks is not for me. I hate Disneyland on a slow day. I will be celebrating in my own introverted, somewhat nerdy, somewhat Bert-like way. <br />
<br />
That is to say, I will be writing about, reading about, or watching coverage of the 2012 season. Great articles about baseball are <i>thrilling</i>. I don't mean those statistically explosive blurbs on sportscast conglomerates, churned out by some beat writer. Not to rag, I'm sure their jobs are tough (or not, if <i>Everybody Loves Raymond</i> has taught us anything). What I'm hunting for is some spoetry (yes, sports poetry) by the odd fan who put his Anchor Steam beer stained ticket stub between the pages of <i>The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay</i>, lifted the needle from his <i>H.M.S. Pinafore</i> record, and jotted down a quick, heartfelt love letter to The Giants with his trusty Parker Jotter. Did I just describe George Wills? Hipster George Wills who sports Warby Parkers and buys his chambray bow ties from J. Crew. Where is that sports writer? And will he share his thoughts with me over a cup of Chemex brewed coffee? <br />
<br />
I'll probably just spend the day re-reading my favorite passages of Roger Kahn, even if he writes about the Dodgers. He reflects back on a different era of sports writers, or maybe a time of writers who wrote about sports. What little I've read of Roger Kahn has impressed me to no end. In the second chapter of <i>Memories of Summer</i>, he relays his entrance into the world of sports writing at the New York Herald Tribune, where he started as a night copyboy: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"'I don't like figure-filberts. You can always look the numbers up. But take a pennant race between mediocre clubs and call that a 'dubious battle.' That's the ticket. Where does it come from, the phrase 'dubious battle?'<br />
'A novel by John Steinbeck. He took the title from Milton. <i>In dubious battle on the plains of heaven. Paradise Lost.</i>'<br />
'You know Milton and you like baseball,' Woodward said.<br />
'My mother thinks baseball is my religion.'<br />
'Keep answering the telephones and reading poetry,' Woodward said. 'Something may turn up for you in sports.'"</blockquote>
Woodward, or R. Stanley Woodward, the sport editor, was replaced by Bob Cooke, who informed Kahn to study up on Heywood Broun.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Pulled from the soiled beige envelope in the drab newspaper library at one a.m., Broun's stuff lit up the night. He was quoting Macbeth, and Grant at Spotsylvania in 1864, in a brilliant baseball story. Keats and Frost could wait. It would be something just to write like Heywood Broun. To write baseball, just like Heywood Broun."</blockquote>
<br />
The parade streamed live (with the awkward and slightly dated commentary; "usherettes," "the Orient," "arriving in groves,") and everything was quiet outside. We munched on our Rally Hash(brown)tag breakfast and settled in for a laaaazy morning.<br />
<br />
Have fun at wherever your loyalties take you tonight. Soak up your surroundings, jot down the oddities in your mental notebook. Nothing gets your imagination going like watching Static Cling share a moment with Psy and Bane to the tune of Monster Mash. <br />
<br />
And come back hungry for the White, Blank Page. I will try to post through NaNoWriMo, sanity willing. My thought was to post daily, but honestly just doing 12 posts is a row drove me a wee bit batty. <br />
<br />
Happy Halloween! Or whatever other reason you might be sporting orange and black.<br />
<br />Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-53385978541006324412012-10-30T23:41:00.002-07:002012-10-30T23:41:55.420-07:002 Reasons My Husband Loves NaNoWriMo (T-Minus 2 Days)<a href="http://files.content.lettersandlight.org/nano-2012-beta/files/2012/09/Participant-73x73.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://files.content.lettersandlight.org/nano-2012-beta/files/2012/09/Participant-73x73.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a> Countdown: 2 Days<br />
<br />
I've taken a mini vacation from blogging, that is to say a day. I realized that my countdown was still somehow <i>off</i>. Don't ask. My ability to miscalculate astounds me. <br />
<br />
So, today is simply this:<br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-size: large;">2 <span style="font-size: large;">Reasons My Husband Loves NaNoWriMo</span></span></u></h2>
<br />
1) <span style="color: blue;"><b>He gets to buy a new video game.</b></span> The Xbox was a NaNoWriMo splurge years ago. Since then it's been his excuse to collect one, yes one, video game a year. Poor soul. This year it was MLB 2K12. He says what he really wants is Assassin's Creed 3. <br />
<br />
2) <b><span style="color: blue;">He gets to play video games. </span></b> I feel guilty spending a whole month
ignoring him and he is all too happy to assuage my guilt and let his slumbering gamer ego out of hibernation. <br />
<br />
I should note that growing up with three brothers has turned me bitter towards video games of any kind. I was outnumbered 3:1 most of my life when it came to the use of the TV, so yes, I am <i>that</i> wife. I roll my eyes at the "benefits" of video games and flip the page of my book with audible disdain whenever such a stance is taken. <br />
<br />
He says his goal is to recreate the Giants' 2012 year on the video game. I suppose that is a noble cause.<br />
<br />Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-15630369302070209662012-10-29T14:17:00.000-07:002012-10-29T14:18:48.942-07:00Timeout for Mimosas (Giants Won!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://edopeno.com/images/2012/10/SanFranciscoGiants2012WorldSeriesChampions1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://edopeno.com/images/2012/10/SanFranciscoGiants2012WorldSeriesChampions1.jpeg" /></a></div>
This morning when I woke up, I imagined the sleepy smiles on the players' faces: Tired Romo still pointing to the heavens. Pagan with his arms outstretched, intense in his grin even at first light. Smiling Scutaro, eyes puffy, knee and hip screaming for some aspirin, lying in joy until someone helps him out of bed. Theriot, on his side, still sliding home with that serene joy. Pence, tucked warmly in his pod, calling each limb by name as they stiffly unfold. Timmy clutching his wig, Posey a baby in each mitt; exhausted, achy, perhaps still in a state of disbelief, but <a href="http://theintrovertsparty.blogspot.com/2012/10/timeout-for-champagne-giants-win.html" target="_blank">with history behind them</a>.<br />
<br />
What made the win, and more acutely the <i>sweep</i>, in the World Series by the Giants so mind-altering was the shock and confusion in the eyes of sportscasters and baseball fans everywhere. Me included.<br />
<br />
Luck, most claimed. Those darn lucky Giants, had the baseball gods behind them all the way. Sure, things came together at the right time. <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/tom_verducci/10/26/world-series-game-2/index.html?sct=mlb_wr_a3" target="_blank">Tom Verducci wrote an excellent article</a> on the "why" after Bummy's game 2 win. Sports radio will have their switchboards flashing like Christmas trees all week with fans calling in to share their two cents. Everybody wants to know how and why and now that it's all history, we look back with a knowing eye and share the little known secret to the Giants' success. Suuure, everyone said the Tigers in 5, or 6, or <i>maybe</i> 7, but come close and I'll share the real reason with you, Sonny Boy!<br />
<br />
I deplore you to stop looking for answers. Or at least seek with caution: You'll be sitting at your computer consuming dumb folks like me all day until you're left with nothing but the skeleton whole.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSDzaEHowsS30dtzvBPgb0A3TEmLfd8QnpcWgJbTG4HOaOKXwrHQ3qXmYW97Q" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSDzaEHowsS30dtzvBPgb0A3TEmLfd8QnpcWgJbTG4HOaOKXwrHQ3qXmYW97Q" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't know where this is from, someone claim it!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There are a million answers, all right, all wrong. Defense, offense, pitching, fans, gods, underdogs. The point is that it happened. <br />
<br />
Did you stop the examination in your own life, the get rich quick scheme, the ways in or out of a relationship, the professional obstacles, the illnesses, the slipping away of this or that? Did you stop looking for a way and just revel in the victory? It was in many ways miraculous, don't let pundits dissect this post season so much that all you have are a million tiny facts. The formula is something like number of enchiladas consumed plus average weight of pandas divided by length of Timmy's hair minus Bruce Bochy's cap size rounded to the nearest whole number of gum wrappers lost in Brian Wilson's beard. Math or logic will not solve this pleasant conundrum. <br />
<br />
It happened, not just to reward the faithful or stick it to the faithless. It's not proof of anyone being better than anyone else or the period at the end of a storied rivalry. Okay, maybe just a little but baseball goes ever onward, proving us infinitely wrong.<br />
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The fact is, it happened and we need the unexplainable in life just as much as we need life to be explained. If you need to ask anyone, ask the Tootsie Roll owl. How many licks again, oh wise one? That may be the best answer anyone can give you. <br />
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For all of our East Coast brothers and sisters who face an impending hurricane: my thoughts and prayers are with you. Please excuse what seems like such a flippant celebration in light of your troubles. Stay safe, friends. <br />
<br />
Otherwise, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2012/10/29/3570680/sf-giants-2012-world-series-parade-route" target="_blank">here's some parade info</a>. Also, baseball is over... When did it get so cold outside?Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-15117772491585053582012-10-28T23:16:00.001-07:002012-10-28T23:24:41.344-07:00Timeout for Champagne (Giants Win!)Is it hard to focus on everything else? Don't fight it. It's rare that life affords you a moment of pause and injects... What's the word?<br />
<br />
Orbital euphoria. Yeah, it's orbital.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
They weren't supposed to be here. Brian Wilson went down. Melky suspended. Dodgers make the super-trade. Giants down 0-2 to the Reds, 1-3 to the Cards. They weren't supposed to be here. Or were they?<br />
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There are million tiny reasons 'why' or 'how,' but it came down to the unquantifiable, immeasurable, slap-you-in-the-face, turn-back-the-clock <i>simple</i> joy of playing baseball. And for fans, the simple joy(torture) of watching. They wanted to play just one more game together, we wanted one more chance to cheer, to rally, to smile and sigh and shed an odd tear for our boys in orange and black. <br />
<br />
For Scutaro. For Vogey. For Zito. For Timmy. For Brother Pence and his sermons. For Crawford who grew up rooting for some of the guys he plays with now. For MVPosey. And MVPanda. For Bruce Bochy, marvelous father to us all.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/2226877/154914564.0_standard_709.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/2226877/154914564.0_standard_709.0.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2012-world-series-giants-vs-tigers/2012/10/28/3570000/san-francisco-giants-world-series" target="_blank">via McCovey Chronicles</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
"They are better men than they are baseball players," said the Skipper. Doesn't that just say it all? They were having fun for crying out loud. Not just because they were winning, but because they were playing. De facto closer Sergio Romo strikes out Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera with, not his no-dot slider, but a fastball. And he gets him <i>looking</i>. That's poetry. There were too many great stories, just too many.<br />
<br />
The inflated value of professional sports in American culture is often lamentable. I am the first to ridicule The Fan and The Athlete, but this season was less about payrolls and rivalries, which is maybe why so many baseball pundits seemed clueless to the value of the 2012 Giants. They're not glossy and waxed, they're <i>odd</i>. The fans are <i>odd</i>. Their stories aren't statistics or sponsorships. Their lives are chronicled by plane tickets to Japan, infamous contracts that didn't pan out, bus rides to Fresno, public backlash, devastating injury. When their backs were against the wall, they didn't panic because they'd all been there before. They had perspective, gratitude plucked from the cacti in the stretches of desert. <br />
<br />
I, for so many dumb reasons, have been particularly ornery, I get lost in my own muddled reflection and then; a meteor shower. Life stops; you orbit for just a moment, above the muck and mire of daily toil, above the doldrums, sand traps.<br />
<br />
Be thankful for the time you have. Hope, determination, strength, it's contagious. It all
changed with the little Z that could and the praying mantis from right
field. Inspiration, hard work; it's contagious. Gratitude, honest
affection; it's contagious.<br />
<br />
Much respect to Jim Leyland and the Detroit Tigers. Leyland is a class act; his club reflects that. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2012-world-series-giants-vs-tigers/2012/10/28/3570000/san-francisco-giants-world-series" target="_blank">Game recap here</a> if you live under a rock or don't consume any kind of social media. Read it anyway, Grant Brisbee is wonderful. The only way tonight would have been better is if Kruk, Kuip, Flemming, and Miller had called the game on TV. Still. Still...<br />
<br />
Let yourself orbit a while. Earth will be here waiting. See you boys when the daffodils herald your return to lonely fields.<br />
<br />
Or see you on Wednesday on Market Street!Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-651948299381298452012-10-28T15:19:00.000-07:002012-10-28T15:19:21.430-07:003 Quick NaNoWriMo Ideas (T-Minus 3 Days)<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://files.content.lettersandlight.org/nano-2012-beta/files/2012/09/Participant-73x73.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://files.content.lettersandlight.org/nano-2012-beta/files/2012/09/Participant-73x73.jpg" /></a></div>
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Oh my God, <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a> Countdown: 3 DAYS!<br />
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Amidst several national weather disasters, a fog of baseball, and an
influx of friends in costumes, this weekend seems to have disappeared.
Time flies.<br />
<br />
If you don't have a story yet, fret not! You can still participate!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DVfu5gfYF48/UI2rXUlSIDI/AAAAAAAAASg/jRROQaQxV-I/s1600/Facebook_cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DVfu5gfYF48/UI2rXUlSIDI/AAAAAAAAASg/jRROQaQxV-I/s640/Facebook_cover.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/webbadges" target="_blank">Get your own Facebook header!</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-size: large;"><b>3 Quick NaNoWriMo Ideas</b></span></u></h2>
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1) <span style="color: blue;"><b>Semi- Autobiography</b></span>: Many famous novelists wrote for years before turning to materials from their own lives. <i>Little House in the Big Woods</i>, <i>The Bell Jar, A Farewell to Arms, Charlotte Bronte, Little Women</i>. My own novel this year is terrifyingly autobiographical. I'm living my Jo March, Professor Bhaerr moment (from the movie): " Jo, there is more to you than this. If you have the courage to write it." <a href="http://www.flavorwire.com/232976/the-art-of-the-semi-autobiographical-novel" target="_blank">Here's a round-up by Flavorwire</a>. <br />
2) <span style="color: blue;"><b>Fan Fiction</b></span>: I cannot, in good conscience, promote <i>Fifty Shades of Grey</i>. All I can say is that it's a "successful" example of fan fiction. And how many borrow from the world of Austen? <i>Bridget Jones</i>? Bollywood's <i>Bride and Prejudice</i> (saw in the theater, what?!). Tread gently in this territory; some authors don't take well to copyright infringement. Salinger filed a lawsuit over a novel about a geriatric Holden Caufield, whereas Orson Scott Card encourages the extension of the Ender-verse. <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303734204577464411825970488.html" target="_blank">Again, more at The Wall Street Journal.</a><br />
3) <span style="color: blue;"><b>Mash-Ups</b></span> (sometimes called Crossovers): Who doesn't love a good mash up, am I right? It takes just as much brains and creativity to smartly riff on someone else's work and it can be incredibly lucrative as well. <i>Pride and Prejudice and Zombies</i> comes to mind. It's like the Dali version of fan fiction. This crossover spec script called <i>Sopranos in the City</i> (Sopranos meets Sex in the City) written by<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-weight: normal;">Shintaro Shimosawa and James Morris got them hired on other projects. <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/16731455/Sex-and-the-City-Sopranos-Crossover-Episode-TV-Spec-Script-by-Shintaro-Shimosawa-and-James-Morris" target="_blank">Downlo<span style="font-size: small;">ad it here and enjoy<span style="font-size: small;">! </span></span></a></span></span><br />
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As time winds down, I feel the need to play cheerleader for a sec. <br />
<br />
Don't be scared. At the end of the day, it's just a thing, win or lose. Have fun! Maybe it's just some piece of crap you end up giving a viking funeral come December. If you're feeling some pressure, follow the tried and true advice: <b>K</b>eep <b>I</b>t <b>S</b>imple, <b>S</b>tupid. Don't world build. Stick to topics you know. Write from the wealth of inner nonsense that you spend mental energy trying to subdue. Work with your strengths. <br />
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Still stuck? Play around! Take a sledge hammer to the regular narrative structure. This is the time to do it! Pull a <i>Memento</i>, write in epistolary form, add pictures! Like to blog? Maybe it's a blog formatted novel. <br />
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I can't emphasize this enough: Have fun!Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-19694095537871854882012-10-27T16:46:00.000-07:002012-10-27T16:46:11.295-07:004 Odd Rituals of Famous Minds (T-Minus 4 Days)Countdown to <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a>: 4 days<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--RRfNAf8XMQ/UIt1q6YxtRI/AAAAAAAAAR8/nJ-MYxfMv_w/s1600/Participant-180x180-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--RRfNAf8XMQ/UIt1q6YxtRI/AAAAAAAAAR8/nJ-MYxfMv_w/s1600/Participant-180x180-2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/webbadges" target="_blank">Get Your Own Web Badge</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In other news: Game 3 of the World Series gets underway in Detroit tonight. On the mound for the Giants is right handed pitcher Ryan Vogelsong, whose inspirational career has been well cataloged. But unless you are a member of the Giants Nation, you might not realize the value of Rally Enchiladas. Pitchers each have their own ritual that either helps them deal with the stress of pitching or lays the right mental foundation for a day on the mound.<br />
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CC Sabathia watches movies all day, the morning of a start. <br />
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Ryan eats enchiladas. With red sauce, in case you cared.<br />
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Having a ritual prepares your mind for writing, painting, dancing, teaching, whatever. Here are some notable quirks of some famous folk:<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-size: large;">4 Odd R<span style="font-size: large;">ituals of Famous Minds</span></span></u></h2>
<ol>
<li><span style="color: blue;"><b>Fred Rogers</b></span> kept his weight at 143, which were the number of letters in the words: "I love you." Besides rising at 5:30 every morning to read, write, study, and pray.</li>
<li><span style="color: blue;"><b>Victor Hugo</b></span> wrote in the buff to keep himself focused on the task at hand. He had his valet hide his clothes to prevent him from trying to leave the house. </li>
<li><span style="color: blue;"><b>Haruki Murakami</b></span> kept physically fit, which involved a 10 km run, a 1500 meter swim, or both. Murakami believed writing required intense physical and mental stamina.</li>
<li><span style="color: blue;"><b>Benjamin Franklin</b></span> read and wrote in the tub. Who knows why.</li>
</ol>
With Halloween just around the corner, does anyone have a great literary costume? <br />
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Happy Weekend, Folks! Giants in 6, Baby!Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-56790909984058750762012-10-26T10:50:00.004-07:002012-10-26T10:50:45.950-07:005 Late-Blooming Authors (T-Minus 5 Days)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FaaHrdFk5hU/UIrNC1_EHyI/AAAAAAAAARs/-7D1LI3CcUw/s1600/Participant-180x180-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FaaHrdFk5hU/UIrNC1_EHyI/AAAAAAAAARs/-7D1LI3CcUw/s1600/Participant-180x180-2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u><a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/webbadges" target="_blank">Get Your Own Badge Here!</a></u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Countdown to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-susan-meyers/41-over-40-novelists-debuting_b_706576.html?ref=fb&src=sp#s135670&title=Robin_Black" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a>: 5 days<br />
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<br />
First off, apologies for being unable to do basic subtraction. I hope I didn't induce panic in to many people. You had an extra day! Yay.... Back to business. <br />
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One of the big stories for those who follow Giants baseball (or post-season baseball) is that 36 year old (he turns 37 in 4 days). Marco Scutaro is made his World Series debut two days ago. And was the NLCS MVP after batting .500 for the series. He made his major league debut only ten years ago at age 26, which in baseball years is "late." So, it got me thinking about literary Late Bloomers.<br />
<br />
I would devote a whole long post to so called Late Bloomers, had I the time today. I've spent a significant percentage of my professional career working with children under the age of 5. The world of Early Childhood Education becomes a bit myopic, as it should be in ways. My mother, a career educator, always said she wanted 'regular' kids, who showed promise but had to learn to work a bit harder to succeed. They learn to work hard, she says, to not give up. We worry about signs of achievement so early when life is a marathon of learning. <br />
<br />
Late Bloomers are simply the people that, as Sir Ken Robinson puts it, had to recover from their education. For whatever reason, our system and style of education has not "failed" us, but treated us like a suit off the rack. You could spend $10,000 on a proper suit but unless it's tailored, it will be an almost fit, restrictive or baggy in places that matter.<br />
<br />
What is "late blooming" really? Late by time tables set by societal standards? Blooming? Again, I say recovery. If not for the expectations of family and culture, we might come into our own earlier, but I am getting into whiny territory here where I excuse my financial distress in the name of creative freedom. I figure that people considered "late bloomers" never minded the misnomer anyway. I have always been late: out exploring, taking the scenic route, gathering scraps of memory and adventure here and there to bottle and bleed back onto the page. <br />
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Here's a great article about <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/10/20/081020fa_fact_gladwell" target="_blank">Late Bloomers in The New Yorker</a>, written by Malcom Gladwell, <i>bien sur</i>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-size: large;"><b>5 "Late Blooming" Authors</b></span></u></h2>
<ol>
<li><b>Laura Ingalls Wilder</b>: Inspired by her daughters literary success, Wilder set out to write books about her childhood. <i>Little House in the Big Woods</i> was published and Laura Ingalls Wilder began her career as a published author at age 65.</li>
<li><b>William S. Burroughs</b>: Though he had been writing for years at the behest of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, Burroughs claims the death of his second wife (he killed her in a game of William Tell) is what finally motivated him to become a writer. Semi-autobiographical, <i>Junkie</i> was first published in 1953 under a pseudonym, Burroughs was 39.</li>
<li><b>Lois Lowry</b>: Lowry began her professional career as a freelance journalist, but was encouraged to write children's books by publishing house Houghton Mifflin. <i>A Summer to Die </i>was published in 1977 when Lowry was 40.</li>
<li><b>Raymond Chandler</b>: Chandler held several jobs before publishing his debut novel <i>The Big Sleep</i>. After the publication of a few pulp shorts in his late forties, Chandler found commercial success at age 51 through Detective Philip Marlowe.</li>
<li><b>Eric Carle</b>: As a graphic designer for The New York Times, Carle caught the eye of Billy Martin Jr. and together they produced the children's classic <i>Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?</i> in 1967. Two years later, Carle wrote and illustrated a little book called <i>The Very Hungry Caterpillar</i> when he was 40 years old. </li>
</ol>
I feel the need for an addendum: There is no doubt in my mind, that these ages of publication reflect little more than their life circumstances. Had they a generous benefactor at age 18 or grown up in a connected family like The Alcotts, perhaps their bend toward success might have been less gradual. Had they not found professional success in alternate careers, they would have been living and breathing fiction. But were they not writers in their twenties, thirties, forties, even as the presses rejected their works or they found themselves bound to different professional paths?<br />
<br />
They were always writers. Maybe not authors, but writers always. There is no regret in late, but never. Maybe tomorrow will be the greatest novels never written. <br />
<br />
For more, here's a list of <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-susan-meyers/41-over-40-novelists-debuting_b_706576.html?ref=fb&src=sp#s135670&title=Robin_Black" target="_blank">41 Novelists Debuting Over the Age of 40</a>, courtesy of the Huff Post.<br />
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Day off from World Series. I could either be super productive or completely bored. Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-75933750218482924592012-10-25T22:17:00.000-07:002012-10-25T22:17:03.657-07:00A Marvelous Use of Technology and StorytellingI was done with blogging for the night and then I came upon something that, I kid you not, has just changed my world. Watch it, buy it, share it. LOVE it.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/25833596" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="400"></iframe>Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-12381283017919319132012-10-25T12:29:00.005-07:002012-10-25T20:57:01.416-07:00Newsflash: I Can't Count. Enjoy This Poem.I was about to press 'publish' on today's countdown post when I realized that I had made a slight miscalculation. I have a mild case of dyslexia that has, at worst, made me miss several airplane departures and, at best, scrambles the order of words and number from my brain to my mouth.<br />
<br />
It went something like this: How many days are in November? Thirty. Okay. And I counted back from 30. But this is October and I am an idiot. So after spending my morning on another post, I have been reminded again of <a href="http://www.shelsilverstein.com/indexsite.html" target="_blank">Shel Silverstein</a>'s immortal poetry. Here's a classic:<br />
<br />
<h1>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5993693882063832063" name="_Toc451715647">Sick</a> <span style="font-size: small;">by Shel Silverstein</span> </h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I cannot go to school today,”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have the measles and the mumps,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m going blind in my right eye.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My tonsils are as big as rocks,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve counted sixteen chicken pox.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And there’s one more—that’s seventeen,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And don’t you think my face looks green?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My leg is cut, my eyes are blue—</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It might be instamatic flue.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m sure that my left leg is broken—</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My hips hurt when I move my chin,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My belly button’s caving in,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My back is wrenched, my ankle’s sprained,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My ‘pendix pains each time it rains.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My nose is cold, my toes are numb,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have a silver in my thumb.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hardly whisper when I speak.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My tongue is filling up my mouth,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think my hair is falling out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My elbow’s bent, my spine ain’t straight,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My temperature is one-o-eight.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a hole inside my ear.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have a hangnail, and my hart is—what?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What’s that? What’s that you say?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You say today is… Saturday?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
G’bye, I’m going out to play!”</div>
<br />
<br />
Countdown un-paused tomorrow.<br />
<br />
Sigh.Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-7255098942970536732012-10-24T23:10:00.002-07:002012-10-24T23:11:20.340-07:006 Movie Inspirations for My Dream Writer's Den (T-Minus 6 Days)Countdown to <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a>: 6 days<br />
<br />
Must be quick, busy day. The World Series is in full swing and I am scrambling to finish this. Pictures! <br />
<br />
<b>6 Movie Inspirations for a My Dream Writer's Den:</b><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b><span style="font-size: large;">#1 </span>Harry Potter</b></u></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;">The "Muggle<span style="font-size: small;"> Chic"</span> Burrow</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">(The Original Hipsters)</span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/1543/burrowkitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/1543/burrowkitchen.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ladylavona.blogspot.com/2009/08/burrow-home-sweet-home-4.html">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://designingmainstreet.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/theweasleys2.jpg?w=491&h=306" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://designingmainstreet.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/theweasleys2.jpg?w=491&h=306" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://designingmainstreet.com/2011/11/11/the-burrow/">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://designingmainstreet.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/imageshck-us.jpg?w=367&h=369" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://designingmainstreet.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/imageshck-us.jpg?w=367&h=369" width="398" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://designingmainstreet.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/imageshck-us.jpg?w=367&h=369">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.neoseeker.com/mgv/293602-Dark%20Arcanine/602/123/600fullharrypotterandthedeathlyhallowspart1screenshot_display.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://i.neoseeker.com/mgv/293602-Dark%20Arcanine/602/123/600fullharrypotterandthedeathlyhallowspart1screenshot_display.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://gallery.neoseeker.com/Dark%20Arcanine/photostream/2635279166" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>#2 The King's Speech</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lio<span style="font-size: small;">nel Logue's</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;">Now-Infamous <span style="font-size: small;">Consult<span style="font-size: small;">ing</span> Room</span></span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thisisnaive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/110130a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://www.thisisnaive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/110130a.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://thisisnaive.com/?p=6204" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thisisnaive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/110130b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://www.thisisnaive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/110130b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://thisisnaive.com/?p=6204" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>#3 In the Mood <span style="font-size: large;">for Love</span></b></u></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Everything<span style="font-size: small;">. All <span style="font-size: small;">of <span style="font-size: small;">it.</span></span></span></span></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M0OQ3A-4bCs/T24mdakIYmI/AAAAAAAACBQ/6ID1-G46Hq8/s1600/Mood+for+Love+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M0OQ3A-4bCs/T24mdakIYmI/AAAAAAAACBQ/6ID1-G46Hq8/s400/Mood+for+Love+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ptsnob.com/2012/03/list-of-shame-marathon-continuing.html" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SPYL8UC1UCY/TGgrbNdF1pI/AAAAAAAADOM/bKLvJzixnFE/s1600/In+the+Mood+for+Love+%282000%29.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SPYL8UC1UCY/TGgrbNdF1pI/AAAAAAAADOM/bKLvJzixnFE/s400/In+the+Mood+for+Love+%282000%29.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1linereview.blogspot.com/2009/08/film-comment-10-best-unreleased-films.html" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://blogs.walkerart.org/filmvideo/files/2012/08/in_the_mood_for_love11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://blogs.walkerart.org/filmvideo/files/2012/08/in_the_mood_for_love11.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://blogs.walkerart.org/filmvideo/2012/08/07/walker-filmvideo-weighs-in-the-greatest-films-of-all-time/" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>#4 Marie Antoinette</b></u></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Versailles </span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The Only <span style="font-size: small;">Reason I Watch Sophi<span style="font-size: small;">a Co<span style="font-size: small;">polla</span></span></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y284/tealeafcoffeebean/blogger/ma8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y284/tealeafcoffeebean/blogger/ma8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://wingedbirds.blogspot.com/2009/05/marie-antoinette.html" target="_blank">via</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://architecturebehindmovies.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/marie_antoinette_wedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://architecturebehindmovies.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/marie_antoinette_wedding.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://architecturebehindmovies.wordpress.com/tag/sofia-coppola/" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://architecturebehindmovies.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/marie-antoinette-2006-12-g.jpg?w=390" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="http://architecturebehindmovies.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/marie-antoinette-2006-12-g.jpg?w=390" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://architecturebehindmovies.wordpress.com/tag/sofia-coppola/" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Bonus: </span></span></span></span></b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Spot the <span style="font-size: small;">glaring anachronis<span style="font-size: small;">m. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y284/tealeafcoffeebean/blogger/ma2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y284/tealeafcoffeebean/blogger/ma2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://wingedbirds.blogspot.com/2009/05/marie-antoinette.html" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></b><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="font-size: large;">#5 P</span>enelope</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Her bedroom<span style="font-size: small;">/whole world</span></span></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/la/121608_penboard.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://i-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/la/121608_penboard.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/on-the-set-penelope-72223" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/la/121608_pendesk2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="http://i-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/la/121608_pendesk2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/on-the-set-penelope-72223" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/la/121608_penhort.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://i-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/la/121608_penhort.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actually her classroom, but still. <a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/on-the-set-penelope-72223" target="_blank">Via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>#6 Shutter Island</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Inside Tedd<span style="font-size: small;">y's Mind</span></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://collider.com/wp-content/image-base/Movies/S/Shutter_Island/shutter_island_screengrab_leonardo_dicaprio_michelle_williams_600w_01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="165" src="http://collider.com/wp-content/image-base/Movies/S/Shutter_Island/shutter_island_screengrab_leonardo_dicaprio_michelle_williams_600w_01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://collider.com/first-trailer-for-martin-scorseses-shutter-island/2241/" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/shutter_island01-500x221.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/shutter_island01-500x221.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thegimcrackmiscellany.com/2010/03/shutter-island-berated/" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8bKyZDGAoh4/T1opL2LVVNI/AAAAAAAAFtc/wJLHz2czDYY/s1600/800_shutter_island_blu-ray5+%281%29.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="171" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8bKyZDGAoh4/T1opL2LVVNI/AAAAAAAAFtc/wJLHz2czDYY/s400/800_shutter_island_blu-ray5+%281%29.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://armchairaudience.blogspot.com/2012/03/film-frames-friday_09.html" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2XsMR6fFPxI/TQbSeGsW_bI/AAAAAAAAAAs/9giCnNmX_LY/s1600/mise+en+scene1.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2XsMR6fFPxI/TQbSeGsW_bI/AAAAAAAAAAs/9giCnNmX_LY/s400/mise+en+scene1.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://jennmariee.blogspot.com/2010/12/blog-2.html" target="_blank">via</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
One day... I will have a cozy place to write that is mine all mine. And then I will become the most unproductive person in the world.<br />
<br />
Happy Hump Day.<br />
Kris<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-72686633511858233312012-10-23T16:43:00.002-07:002012-10-23T16:43:45.249-07:007 Skimp-able Character Ingredients (T-Minus 7 Days)Countdown to <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a>: 7 days<br />
<br />
This one's dedicated to a friend of mine named <a href="http://www.carlypandza.com/">Carly.</a> She's a first time NaNoWriMo, ladies and gents, give her a warm welcome! We've been talking character in the last few days, her concerns, my sage advice (brushes fairy dust from her shoulder with an ain't-no-thang smirk at the camera). If you're a first time WriMo and you're worried that your character dough ain't rising, so to speak. Fear not. It's a first draft, most of it will be crap. Also, even fully formed, perfectly frosted gingerbread characters can be totally bland:<br />
<br />
If you're a screenwriter by trade, I think it's hard to just write. It's taken me years to let go of the index cards (which never worked for me anyway), step back from the epic outlining (also, failed), dial back the story Bible, and just write... Most of my best ideas and story revelations have to push their way through grocery lists and petty concerns before they finally appear in week two or three and make their way onto the page. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">7 Skimp-able Character Ingredients: (aka Recovery From Screenwriting Class) </span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="color: blue;"><b>Back Story</b></span>: I am a
child of the Disney Renaissance. Without Howard Ashman, I wouldn't have
an intrinsic need for 1st act back story and the heroine's solo that
tell us what she wants and makes us fall in love with her and root for
her to the bitter end. I love back story. I live in character details,
down to what shoes he or she would wear and why. But sometimes a
little mystery between you and a character is healthy, surprising.
Unravel them slowly. Ask them questions in the midst of their
conflict. How would you know how your protag would react to a pistol in
their coat pocket unless you put them there? And why would you need to
know how they would react, if you never plan to put them there? Every
scene is not a case study for a Psych textbook. It's fiction!</li>
<li> <span style="color: blue;"><b>Physical Description</b></span>: Maybe it's important to know that your character has hair like
day old cotton candy. Probably not, unless it's how they are
identified or it becomes a factor later in the story. Let your audience
fill in the color and details with references from their own life.
Knowing their pants size does not make them memorable.</li>
<li><span style="color: blue;"><b>Occupation</b></span>: Anne Lamott has freed me from what I previously
thought of as the Professional-Consumption-Personality-Conundrum. I
used to research exhaustively for unusual professions that "said
something" about my characters, until I read about five books by Lamott
centered around fascinating women who don't work. Professionally, I
mean. They were mothers, lovers, friends, volunteers, but their
personalities weren't dictated by source of their paychecks. Hell, all
my characters end up being writers anyway.</li>
<li><span style="color: blue;"><b>Desire</b></span>: Every screenwriting class hammers this one thing into
your brain: What does your character WANT? That is the essence of
every movie. A want, a need, a desire. And what gets me stuck every
time is that I don't really know. And most people don't, I think. It's
okay. Unless you're writing action drama, then you're screwed. Or
romance, people seem to have pretty set expectations when you introduce
your story as romance.</li>
<li><span style="color: blue;"><b>Vice</b></span>: Should I say truly interesting vice. I don't smoke or do
drugs, and barely drink, which I think on paper makes me incredibly
boring. So I could spend time writing about someone who does all those
things because <i>I</i> think it makes them interesting, but maybe if
you drink, smoke, do recreational drugs, you'd find my vices amusing.
Tediousness is a vice too, me thinks, just not as likeable. </li>
<li><span style="color: blue;"><b>Uniqueness</b></span>: Obviously, no one wants a carbon copy, <i>but</i>
don't break your brain trying to figure out how to make your
20-something year old girl in LA different from Jane Smith's
20-something year old girl from LA. She is different. She came out of <i>your</i> brain. Even if you and Jane Smith wrote about the same girl, you're observing her with <i>your eyes</i>. Also, there is nothing new under the sun. Take comfort in that. </li>
<li><span style="color: blue;"><b>Personality</b></span>: They don't need to break the mold: Nick Carraway is a pretty flat character, but the story necessitates
it. Otherwise, the complexity of Gatby and Daisy might get lost in his
judgement of them. He is
the eyes through which we view this bizarre and tragic world of New
York's rich and famous. </li>
</ol>
I should also note that I go through an exhausting re-draft after NaNo, which maybe be alleviated by better planning. Or not. This is budget-friendly spontaneity for me: It makes the journey surprising and a bit terrifying, like packing a bag and blindly choosing a destination. What if it's cold? I didn't pack a swim suit. Should I have gotten a dengue fever vaccination? <br />
<br />
Either you try to pack everything and look like <i>that tourist</i> or you figure it out. Make friends. Invent something. Steal if you have to, just be Aladdin about it. <br />
<br />
Happy "Planning," Friends!<br />
Kris<br />
<br />
Also, the Giants clinched the pennant, soooooo.... I will be utterly unproductive for the next week and half.<br />
Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-35824171852865039702012-10-23T12:37:00.000-07:002012-10-23T12:37:32.104-07:008 Movies About Writers (T-Minus 8 Days)Countdown to <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a>: 8 Days<br />
<br />
There are a good hundred or so movies about writers. But in honor of my countdown, I narrowed the selection to 8. 8 somewhat inspirational movies that romanticize writing just enough, lie just enough to make it glamorous again. Well, bend the truth at least.<br />
<br />
1) <b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0308644/quotes" target="_blank">Finding Neverland</a></span></b>: <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5yyma45n3wE/UIYJLps0ueI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/55cQB-R9OBo/s1600/BarrieandPeter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5yyma45n3wE/UIYJLps0ueI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/55cQB-R9OBo/s400/BarrieandPeter.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://movieretrospect.blogspot.com/2012/08/finding-neverland-magical-tale-of.html" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000136/">J.M. Barrie</a></b>:
[<i class="fine">gives him a journal</i>] Here you go.
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0383603/">Peter Llewelyn Davies</a></b>:
What's this?
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000136/">J.M. Barrie</a></b>:
All great writers begin with a good leather binding and a respectable title. Open it.
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0383603/">Peter Llewelyn Davies</a></b>:
[<i class="fine">reads</i>] "The Boy Castaways: Being a record of the
terrible adventures of the brothers Davies, faithfully set forth by
Peter Llewelyn Davies."
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000136/">J.M. Barrie</a></b>:
Kipling would swallow his own ear for a title like that!
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0383603/">Peter Llewelyn Davies</a></b>:
I still have no idea what to write.
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000136/">J.M. Barrie</a></b>:
Write about anything. Write about your family, write about the talking whale!
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0383603/">Peter Llewelyn Davies</a></b>:
What whale?
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000136/">J.M. Barrie</a></b>:
The one that's trapped in your imagination and desperate to get out.<br />
(<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0308644/quotes" target="_blank">text via: IMDB</a>) <br />
<br />
2) <b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110367/" target="_blank">Little Women</a></span></b>: <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.sodahead.com/polls/002453819/039834528_Little_Women_9884_Medium_answer_10_xlarge.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://images.sodahead.com/polls/002453819/039834528_Little_Women_9884_Medium_answer_10_xlarge.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sodahead.com/fun/gabriel-byrne-favorite-movie/question-2453819/?link=ibaf&q=&imgurl=http://images.sodahead.com/polls/002453819/039834528_Little_Women_9884_Medium_answer_10_xlarge.png" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000213/">Jo</a></b>:
Friedrich, this is what I write. My apologies if it fails to live up to your high standards.
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000321/">Friedrich Bhaer</a></b>:
Jo, there is more to you than this. If you have the courage to write it.<br />
(<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110367/quotes" target="_blank">text via: IMDB</a>) <br />
<br />
3) <b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1605783/" target="_blank">Midnight in Paris</a></span></b>:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.gonemovies.com/WWW/Pictures/Pictures/MidnightParis24ManrayBunuel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://www.gonemovies.com/WWW/Pictures/Pictures/MidnightParis24ManrayBunuel.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.gonemovies.com/WWW/Hoofd/A/PhotoLarge.php?Keuze=MidnightParis24ManrayBunuel" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2911990/">Man Ray</a></b>:
A man in love with a woman from a different era. I see a photograph!
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0212032/">Luis Buñuel</a></b>:
I see a film!
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005562/">Gil</a></b>:
I see insurmountable problem!
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004778/">Salvador Dalí</a></b>:
I see rhinoceros!
<br />
(<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1605783/quotes" target="_blank">text via: IMDB</a>)<br />
<br />
4) <b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0420223/" target="_blank">Stranger Than Fiction</a></span></b>: <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.movieplayer.it/2008/04/03/stranger-than-fiction-trailer-1250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://images.movieplayer.it/2008/04/03/stranger-than-fiction-trailer-1250.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.movieplayer.it/adv/interstitial/2.html?next=/video/stranger-than-fiction-trailer_1250/" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000163/">Dr. Jules Hilbert</a></b>:
Are you the king of anything?
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002071/">Harold Crick</a></b>:
Like what?
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000163/">Dr. Jules Hilbert</a></b>:
Anything. King of the lanes at the local bowling alley.
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002071/">Harold Crick</a></b>:
King of the lanes?
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000163/">Dr. Jules Hilbert</a></b>:
King of the lanes, king of the trolls,
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002071/">Harold Crick</a></b>:
King of the Trolls?
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000163/">Dr. Jules Hilbert</a></b>:
Yes, uh uh uh a clandestine land found underneath your floor boards.
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002071/">Harold Crick</a></b>:
No.
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000163/">Dr. Jules Hilbert</a></b>:
Huh?
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002071/">Harold Crick</a></b>:
No. That's ridiculous.
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000163/">Dr. Jules Hilbert</a></b>:
Agreed. Let's start with ridiculous and move backwards. Now, was any part of you at one time part of something else?
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002071/">Harold Crick</a></b>:
Like do I have someone else's arms?
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000163/">Dr. Jules Hilbert</a></b>:
Well is it possible at one time that you were made of stone, wood, lye,
varied corpse parts? Or, earth made holy by rabbinical elders?
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002071/">Harold Crick</a></b>:
No. Look, look. I'm sorry, but what do these questions have to do with anything?
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000163/">Dr. Jules Hilbert</a></b>:
Nothing. The only way to find out what story you're in is to determine
what stories you're not in. Odd as it may seem, I've just ruled out half
of Greek literature, seven fairy tales, ten Chinese fables, and
determined conclusively that you are not King Hamlet, Scout Finch, Miss
Marple, Frankenstein's Monster, or a golem. Hmm? Aren't you relieved to
know you're not a golem?
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002071/">Harold Crick</a></b>:
Yes. I am relieved to know that I am not a golem.
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000163/">Dr. Jules Hilbert</a></b>:
Good. Do you have magical powers?
<br />
(<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0420223/quotes" target="_blank">text via: IMDB</a>)<br />
<br />
5) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401383/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Diving Bell and the Butterfly</span></b>:</a><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/11/29/movies/30diving-600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/11/29/movies/30diving-600.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/movies/30divi.html" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0023832/">Jean-Dominique Bauby</a></b>:
I decided to stop pitying myself. Other than my eye, two things aren't paralyzed, my imagination and my memory.
<br />
(<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401383/quotes" target="_blank">text via: IMDB</a>)<br />
<br />
6) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375063/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Sideways</span></b>:</a><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xfe0PmdrV3w/UIbuZz5rHFI/AAAAAAAAARQ/Zp3-qsMWbb0/s1600/Sidewayspic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xfe0PmdrV3w/UIbuZz5rHFI/AAAAAAAAARQ/Zp3-qsMWbb0/s400/Sidewayspic.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews44/sideways_blu-ray.htm" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000515/">Maya</a></b>:
Why are you so in to Pinot?
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0316079/">Miles Raymond</a></b>:
[<i class="fine">laughs softly</i>]
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000515/">Maya</a></b>:
I mean, it's like a thing with you.
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0316079/">Miles Raymond</a></b>:
[<i class="fine">continues laughing softly</i>]
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0316079/">Miles Raymond</a></b>:
Uh, I don't know, I don't know. Um, it's a hard grape to grow, as you
know. Right? It's uh, it's thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early.
It's, you know, it's not a survivor like Cabernet, which can just grow
anywhere and uh, thrive even when it's neglected. No, Pinot needs
constant care and attention. You know? And in fact it can only grow in
these really specific, little, tucked away corners of the world. And,
and only the most patient and nurturing of growers can do it, really.
Only somebody who really takes the time to understand Pinot's potential
can then coax it into its fullest expression. Then, I mean, oh its
flavors, they're just the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and
subtle and... ancient on the planet.
<br />
(<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375063/quotes" target="_blank">text via: IMDB</a>) <br />
<br />
7) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203009/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Moulin Rouge</span></b>:</a><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WJ_wzVdJnlc/UIbuteIoqBI/AAAAAAAAARY/66_06KbYpoo/s1600/MoulinRougepic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WJ_wzVdJnlc/UIbuteIoqBI/AAAAAAAAARY/66_06KbYpoo/s400/MoulinRougepic.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fanpop.com/spots/moulin-rouge/images/750479/title/moulin-rouge-screencap" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000191/">Christian</a></b>:
Then I'll write a song and we'll put it in the show and whenever you
sing it or hear it. Or whistle or hum it then you'll know. It'll mean
that we love one another.
<br />
(<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203009/quotes" target="_blank">text via: IMDB</a>) <br />
<br />
8) <b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181875/" target="_blank">Almost Famous</a></span></b>: <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lunkiandsika.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/almost-famous-2000-philip-seymoure-hoffman-lester-bangs.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://lunkiandsika.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/almost-famous-2000-philip-seymoure-hoffman-lester-bangs.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lunkiandsika.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/sika%E2%80%99s-100-greatest-movies-of-all-time-64-almost-famous-2000/" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000450/">Lester Bangs</a></b>:
So, you're the one who's been sending me those articles from your school newspaper.
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0297578/">William Miller</a></b>:
I've been doing some stuff for a local underground paper, too.
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000450/">Lester Bangs</a></b>:
What, are you like the star of your school?
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0297578/">William Miller</a></b>:
They hate me.
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000450/">Lester Bangs</a></b>:
You'll meet them all again on their long journey to the middle.
<br />
(<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181875/quotes" target="_blank">text via: IMDB</a>) <br />
<br />
Okay, they're all tragi-mances. Romadramas? There is a strong romantic relationship. Bonus points if you know (without cheating) which of those 8 movies share a common director. So some less glamorous, but still excellent (and probably more accurate):<br />
- <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0268126/" target="_blank">Adaptation</a><br />
- <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101410/" target="_blank">Barton Fink</a><br />
- <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379725/" target="_blank">Capote</a><br />
- <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056801/" target="_blank">8 1/2 </a><br />
<br />
Favorite fictional writer from the silver screen? Must you ask: <a href="http://theintrovertsparty.blogspot.com/2012/02/valentines-party-with-macaulay-connor.html" target="_blank">Macaulay Connor.</a> I have yet to see (or read) Wonder Boys and most of the Woody Allen canon, so I know there are a million other movies about writers but I can only speak from experience. <br />
<br />
P.S. Have you joined <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a> yet? Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-67513959420985541722012-10-22T15:36:00.000-07:002012-10-22T15:36:03.708-07:009 Writing Quotes to Motivate You (T-Minus 9 Days)Countdown to <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a>: 9 Days<br />
<br />
Must be brief. Can't focus. Game 7.<br />
<br />
9 morsels from my favorite bards:<br />
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<i> </i>And three hours later, despite my attempts to keep this "short."<br />
<br />
Happy NaNo prep! Go Giants!<br />
Kris <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Images via</span>: </span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/27973.G_K_Chesterton" target="_blank">Chesterton Pic</a>, <a href="http://www.wheaton.edu/wadecenter/Authors/GK-Chesterton" target="_blank">Signature</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2715.Michael_Chabon" target="_blank">Chabon Pic</a>, <a href="http://www.havelshouseofhistory.com/Jewish%20Autographs%20CAR-CHA.htm" target="_blank">Signature</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1315.Louisa_May_Alcott" target="_blank">Alcott Pic</a>, <a href="http://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soubor:Louisa_May_Alcott_Signature.svg" target="_blank">Signature</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1630.Ray_Bradbury" target="_blank">Bradbury Pic</a>, <a href="http://www.fadedgiant.net/html/bradbury__ray.htm" target="_blank">Signature</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3190.F_Scott_Fitzgerald" target="_blank">Fitzgerald Pic</a>, <a href="http://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitxategi:F_Scott_Fitzgerald_Signature.svg" target="_blank">Signature</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1069006.C_S_Lewis" target="_blank">Lewis Pic</a>, <a href="http://www.iperceptive.com/topquotes/c_s_lewis_top_quotes.html" target="_blank">Signature</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7113.Anne_Lamott" target="_blank">Lamott Pic</a>, <a href="http://memomuse.wordpress.com/category/creative-nonfiction/stories/" target="_blank">Signature</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://blogs2.citizen-times.com/carol/2012/08/14/neil-gaiman-to-come-to-asheville-in-september/" target="_blank">Gaiman Pic</a>, <a href="http://www.openrightsgroup.org/campaigns/disconnection/gaiman-carter" target="_blank">Signature</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/585.John_Steinbeck" target="_blank">Steinbeck Pic</a>, <a href="http://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilt:John_Steinbeck_signature.svg" target="_blank">Signature</a></span></li>
</ul>
Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5993693882063832063.post-89499269893170551672012-10-21T21:26:00.000-07:002012-10-21T21:26:04.718-07:0010 Reasons to Do NaNoWriMo (T-Minus 10 Days)Days to <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)</a>: 10<br />
<br />
Are you rolling your eyes yet? Do NaNoWriMo-ers seem like those crazy Polar Bear Plunge folk? I'm sure we are. I'm coming up on my third year, fourth month counting Camp NaNoWriMo, and I can hardly stand the wait (Please, NaNo don't be late!). <br />
<br />
No questions: Just do it! If you're not convinced here's 10 reasons why you should.<br />
<ol>
<li><b>You could get published.</b> Did you know that Sara Gruen's best seller <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Water-Elephants-Novel-Sara-Gruen/dp/1565125606" target="_blank"><i>Water for Elephants</i></a> was a NaNo book? So was best seller <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Night-Circus-Erin-Morgenstern/dp/0307744434/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350872048&sr=8-1&keywords=the+night+circus" target="_blank"><i>The Night Circus</i></a> by Erin Morgenstern. If you harbor that deep desire to call yourself a novelist, consider this <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/publishedwrimos/" target="_blank">list of published WriMos.</a> </li>
<li><b>You make new friends.</b> Don't laugh. This is a legitimate problem: I love this <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/fashion/the-challenge-of-making-friends-as-an-adult.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0" target="_blank">NY Times Article about the difficulties of making friends over 30</a>.</li>
<li><b>You will learn something terrifying about yourself.</b> I can't tell you what it is, but it never fails to rise off the page like mist on a bog. Your protagonist might surprise you with an off the cuff remark that hits a little close to home, a name from your past will worm its way into dialogue. <strike>You'll want to drink.</strike> You will drink. But time's ticking and you need to keep writing. By the end of November, you won't feel so screwed up. Writing is cheaper than therapy.</li>
<li><b>You will form a good habit</b>. Even if you have no desire to write professionally, you'll be well on your way to forming a great creative habit (which takes 21 days to form supposedly). Post NaNo, you can substitute the time spent on 1,667 words to time devoted to... I don't know. What do non-writers do habitually? Sketch? Read the trades? Stack cups? Spend the time journaling...</li>
<li>... Because whatever your passion, the discipline of what Julia Cameron calls "morning pages" in her best seller <i>The Artist's Way</i> "teach[es] logic brain to stand aside and let artist brain play." <b>You will learn to shut down your Inner Editor and think creatively</b>; it's a habit, which means practice. <a href="http://750words.com/">750words.com</a> is basically the same idea concept but digital. </li>
<li><b>You will feel the ripple effect of accomplishment (also known as the Butt-in-Chair Principle)</b>. You'll figure out how to break down a novel into pieces, how to turn the square wheel to the finish line, you'll consider yourself a novelist! All because you kept your butt in that chair and pounded on that keyboard. Watch out, world! Here you come. </li>
<li><b>You will stop procrastinating</b> in every area besides writing. You'll clean. You'll answer every email and clean out your inbox. You'll remember your brother's birthday and call your mom just because. You'll start jogging. All because you want to do anything but write.</li>
<li><b>You will find new appreciation</b> for that bundle of paper and ink. If you're like me, criticism comes easy. Building something is hard and scary and humbling. </li>
<li><b>You will be supporting a great cause.</b> Just by doing it, talking about it, knowing about it, supporting someone else who does it. "<i>When you <a href="https://store.lettersandlight.org/donations">donate</a>
to the Office of Letters and Light, you help bring free creative
writing programs to nearly 350,000 kids and adults in approximately 100
countries, 2,000 classrooms, 200 libraries, and 500 NaNoWriMo regions
every year." (</i>"Where your donations go" according to the <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/wheredonationsgo" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo site</a>). </li>
<li><b>You have a story to tell.</b> Do you know that? Do you believe it? It's true. You have a story that only you can tell. Try <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a>. </li>
</ol>
Bonus:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>NaNo fills the void in your life left by baseball</b>. I actually started by first NaNoWriMo the day the Giants won the World Series in 2010. My novel was about baseball. Most of the minor characters had names pulled from the 25 man roster. It was a terrible first draft, but it eased me off my baseball addiction. </li>
</ul>
Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891149746344952937noreply@blogger.com0