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About This Author
My name is Joy, and I love to write.
Why poetry, here? Because poetry uplifts its writer, and if she is lucky enough, her readers, too. Around us, so many objects abound to write about. Once a poet starts with a smallest, most trivial object, he shall discover that his pen will spill out what is most delicate or most majestic hidden inside him. Since the classics sometimes dealt with lofty subjects with a lofty language, a person with poetry in his soul may incline to emulate that. That is understandable. Poetry does that to a person: it enlarges the soul and gives it wings. Yet, to really soar, a poet needs to take off from the ground.
 
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Everyday Canvas
"Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself."
CHARLIE CHAPLIN
Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn
anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.
David Whyte
This is my supplementary blog in which I will post entries written for prompts.
Previous ... - 1- 2 ... Next
October 31, 2014 at 12:54pm October 31, 2014 at 12:54pm
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PROMPT:
Let's talk about trends: In my grandmother's house she had all kinds of white milk glass decorative vases and bowls everywhere. I thought they were ugly. I am not a fan of white. What about yours? At the time, it didn't seem ugly. Like most trends, it was in fashion, and everyone was doing it -- What three popular trends that are happening now do you think will not survive?
Bonus question: When you were a kid did houses decorate for Halloween like they do now? Is this another trend or do you think it will last?
As the maxim says, “History repeats itself.” I think it does, at least some of the time. A trend, by its very nature, is something that will pass; although, every once in a while, it can become a classic, like Tony Bennett. This is a rare happening, however, as not all trends are musical stars.
Sometimes, when a trend becomes the accepted norm, it may still be in danger, like the copyright laws. No copyrights existed in the earlier days of history. Then came the inflexible copyright rules. Today, however, copyright is in mortal danger, especially concerning the multimedia digital works. For example, while Hollywood studios have been employing stringent copyright regimes for decades, they have become powerless against Creative Commons breaking into their empires. Creative Commons, among other things that it does, lets artists have the choice to agree for customers to sample music.
As to which three trends that I think won’t survive, I really can’t tell since I am no prophet. But there are three trends I wish wouldn’t last much longer.
First trend that shouldn’t stick around is the slick journalism of drama queens and kings. I sincerely hope the journalists and newspaper and electronic media publishers will return to the days of serious news reporting.
Gluten hating is another trend that is going to leave its place to another no-no food, I think. It has to. Look what happened to eggs and fats.
The third one, I believe will be those Jelly Sandals and Overalls for women. As ladies look awful in them, I hope they’ll go the way of corsets and knickers.
As to decorating houses on Halloween, I am not too keen on it because fires and other mishaps such as people falling off roofs and breaking limbs and backs happen all the time.
Still, I think decorating houses on Holidays will stay, but the kinds of decorations used may change. Way back when, I recall, spooky window silhouettes and turning the backyards into graveyards was the norm with large black cat figures in between the headstones. When my children were small, we used to hang a jointed skeleton on the door that looked lifelike, and I also remember the Papier Mache Lanterns that rattled. We didn’t have the electrically decorated stuff on Halloween, as I grew up in a middle to upper middle class environment where most people were careful with money and using electricity. I am sure, however, many people with real money might have used electricity for this purpose.
As for today, wherever you are, however you decorate, and whichever candy or treats you hand out, I wish all my blogging friends a fun-filled Halloween. |
October 30, 2014 at 12:26pm October 30, 2014 at 12:26pm
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Prompt: You just met your Doppleganger. Person who looks exactly like you. What happens next?
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I ran into her while roaming through the woods in search of wild sorrels for souring up my domesticated veggies like spinach and broccoli. Then, while filling up my plastic bag with those green spiky leaves and tiny white and yellow flowers, I glimpsed her. At that very second, I froze, astonished. It was like looking into a mirror and seeing my own image; not the reversed image as a mirror would show but a real-life one.
“Don’t look at me, so dumbfounded,” she said nastily. “You are my mockup, don’t you see? I have been following you around for a while now, and I somehow succeeded to lure you here. These woods are my territory.”
“Yes, the similarity is astounding,” I sort of stuttered.
“Don’t stutter!” She ordered. “You don’t like stutterers and neither do I: however, if I gave you a stuttering complex, I will get a good check mark next to my good deeds.”
“I didn’t know there was someone else who was so like me,” I said. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Ms….”
“Hi, then,” she waved away my hand without shaking it. “There is no name, as I am your Doppelganger. For that reason, my name is the same as yours.”
“If so, may I call you whatever I wish?” I asked this creature who looked and moved exactly like me.
“You may, if I get the same right,” she said. “But I am so the prettier one of the two us.”
“Fine with me, Dopie,” I said, frowning.
“Agreed, Jalopy!” she answered, also frowning
Jalopy! How dare she! Yet, she replied as if she read my mind. “To me you are my doppelganger, too. Think about that instead of making faces, Jalopy. I could call you Dopie, also, but let’s not cause a mix-up with similar names and such.”
“Right,” I said. “Jalopy it is, then, Dopie.”
Agreed, it hadn’t been an amicable first meeting, but what the heck!
“Life’s strange, ain’t it?” she asked. Ain't it? Such bad grammar! I never utter that horrible, "ain't it."
Reaching into her pocket she took out a camera that was exactly like mine. God, even my camera had its doppelganger. “Let’s take our initial selfies to celebrate. Surely, my smile will shine better than yours,” she added.
One-upmanship, huh! What was there to celebrate? She had taken me unawares by being my precise replica, and she wasn’t even humble, while I am definitely the avatar of humility, but this thought I wanted to keep for myself.
Plus, this ominous creature had to be a harbinger of bad tidings. While she didn’t exactly echo my words, gestures, or motions, she was an exact clone of me, and being in her presence made me feel terribly tired. Then the realization hit me. That idiot was draining me, even my brain felt cloudy looking at her. It was as if I ate tons of fish poisoned with mercury that caused this brain fog. Heck, I wasn’t going to stick around her, if I could help it. Forget about the selfie project, too. She had to have some sinister ulterior motive.
“No selfies, sorry,” I said, turning my back to her, “I don’t want to be around anyone’s Doppelganger, let alone mine. And I forbid you to follow me.” Then, without delay, I started running away from her, as I shouted. “Stay in your woods, Dopie, or else, I’ll complain to the Creator.”
When I was quite a distance from her, I turned back to see her kneeling down with the hood part of her hoodie over her head, the hoodie being the same color and model as the one I was wearing. That was my last vision of Dopie, and I hope I never lay eyes on her again.
Nowadays, I stick with my beach walks and certainly do not stray into the woods. Who needs that fruitcake’s kind of aggravation?
Still, every once in a while, I turn my head to watch my back.
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October 29, 2014 at 12:43pm October 29, 2014 at 12:43pm
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I must be a creature of habit. The first thing I do in the morning is to look at the clock on my bedside table, as if I were late for work or anything, forgetting I don’t have to go to work anymore.
Often it takes a crisis, a catastrophe, or a planned action for the day for me to rush in the morning. One thing I can’t do very well anymore is a morning rush; probably this is a reaction to crazy mornings I used to have when I was much younger. Yet, I am grateful for those had-been mornings. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t appreciate my mornings now.
Gratitude must be one of the highways to the heart, in addition to love, success, solitude, and sorrow. True gratitude fills a person with awe and sustains her with wonder and peace, as I sometimes wonder how I managed to deal with life in my earlier years; how I rushed around on little sleep and a lot of worrying for those who needed my care.
I still deal with some of those things today, but I take my time and even enjoy those routine chores that need to be done, like the laundry, washing dishes, straightening the house etc. Still, in the earlier days, I remember enjoying the rush, which I wouldn’t now. I enjoyed it then because I always liked wild things, like wild deadlines, my wild children, wild flowers, wild animals etc. I still like wild things, but I value quietude more. Wild things need freedom and wide open spaces to prosper, and in my wild old age I need to take my time and enjoy the freedom of doing what I like to do when I like to do it.
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October 28, 2014 at 12:42pm October 28, 2014 at 12:42pm
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Prompt: If your life flashed before your eyes, what are 5 moments you know would be included? Bonus points to the monthly blogging if you tie this in with Halloween.
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There are many moments that will flash before my eyes, if such a thing could happen. But if I have choose any one special memory, it will be this: One evening on top of a hill overlooking the city with the full-moon and someone very dear to me. Those hours shine because we were together that night, heart and soul and poetry and literature. As Gaston Bachelard said, “Love is never finished expressing itself, and it expresses itself better, the more poetically it is dreamed.”
The second moment will be the day I went out to choose rings with my fiancé, now my husband. Third one, the day I was married. Fourth and fifth moments are the births of my children.
Funny thing is, when the five-moments question came up, these were the first five that suddenly rushed forth. After those, I remember the Halloween parties I used to give in my home for my sons and the neighborhood children. I suspect that we parents had more fun than the kids in those years.
Talking about Halloween, I bought the Halloween candy and treats yesterday, and already opened two of the big bags --for me  --, but then, who can resist KitKats and the like? Come Friday, I just hope, when the little ones in masks and costumes ring the doorbell, I’ll have enough candy left.
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October 27, 2014 at 5:02pm October 27, 2014 at 5:02pm
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Not a day passes by that I don’t hear someone badmouthing E-books against the romanticism of in-print books. I don’t understand why people have been so resistant to E-books. I find E-Books to be cheaper, more convenient where font size and lighting are concerned, and easier than carrying several heavy in-print books. In fact, my e-book readers each carry a library on their own. Moreover, where fiction is concerned, I only read a novel or a story once..
Before people throw a fit over e-books, let’s look at the history of portable literature. In-print books are only about 500 years old. Earlier than that, people used to use scrolls and oral story-telling.
First portable book printed was in 1501, Petrarch’s poems, edited by Pietro Bembo, 1470-1547, and printed by Manuzio, Aldo, 1449 or 50-1515.
http://t.co/a5zVM3boNF
So why the temper tantrum over something 500 years old? It isn’t as if the entire human civilization has depended on it, and why not embrace change for the better? I think E-Books are here to stay and will become even better with added technological elements.
Yes, an in-print book may be romantic, but so is a wax candle. Still, who wants to live without electricity!
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October 26, 2014 at 12:45am October 26, 2014 at 12:45am
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Zadie Smith is an English novelist, essayist, and short story writer, born in 1975. She has received numerous awards for her work. One quote from her which says, “The very reason I write is so that I might not sleepwalk through my entire life” drove my attention to her.
The reason I am mentioning her here is because I read a few things about her and sampled her writings. Then today, I read in Brain Pickings her list on writing. I thought I should keep that list in my blog, in case it helps me and other writers. I especially like the second item on the list, which is difficult to do with our own work. Number four is another pitfall that some writers may slip into, also.
Ten Rules of Writing
1. When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else.
2. When an adult, try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would.
3. Don’t romanticise your ‘vocation.’ You can either write good sentences or you can’t. There is no ‘writer’s lifestyle.’ All that matters is what you leave on the page.
4. Avoid your weaknesses. But do this without telling yourself that the things you can’t do aren’t worth doing. Don’t mask self-doubt with contempt.
5. Leave a decent space of time between writing something and editing it.
6. Avoid cliques, gangs, groups. The presence of a crowd won’t make your writing any better than it is.
7. Work on a computer that is disconnected from the internet.
8. Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.
9. Don’t confuse honours with achievement.
10. Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand — but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never being satisfied.
http://www.brainpickings.org/2012/09/19/zadie-smith-10-rules-of-writing}
Zadie Smith’s books: White Teeth, The Autograph Man, The Morality of the Novel, On Beauty, Fail Better.
Plus, A Sunday Quote:
“Love is never finished expressing itself, and it expresses itself better, the more poetically it is dreamed.” - Gaston Bachelard
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October 25, 2014 at 5:50pm October 25, 2014 at 5:50pm
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Prompt:
 This question may not directly affect you.. but it may affect your children, grandchildren, or siblings. If not you do have the non-prompt option.
What do you think of a two-tiered system. Is it the solution to our education woes?
Were you told college was the only solution to a good career or were you told that a trade was more important?
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I don’t have to have someone who is directly affected by the situation concerning the education of children in this country to care about education, as I have been a teacher despite for a very short time.
The theory is that, according to some loudmouths, charter schools promote a two-tiered system with the lower tier being taught much less than the upper one. In our community, the charter school accepts highly intelligent, hard-working students and it is a very successful school. This has nothing to do with the general population of students.
Granted, that shouldn’t take away from the rest of the schools, but those other schools usually do little else, besides teaching the basics and test-taking. Shouldn't all schools strive to raise their students to the best of their abilities? In this, charter schools are not to blame, but the culprit here is the entire system that has taken away the means of discipline from the parents and better teachers and given it to a broken machine comprised of faulty thinking, passe ideas, and useless innovations put in place by the administrators and school boards.
Charter schools, from what I have observed, are at least rescuing a handful of students. If all schools were to be run like a charter school with dedicated, better-educated, and much better paid teachers, backed up by a strict discipline by the school administrations, there would be no need for a two-tiered system, even if charter schools still existed.
There still are many dedicated, well-educated teachers around who are burning out because of mismanagement. If the teacher burn-out is not addressed soon, we won’t even have those dedicated professionals to save at least a few more children.
As to college or the learning of a trade goes, it should totally depend on the students’ abilities. College graduates nowadays don’t find jobs, and moreover, are loaded with student loan payments. Is it worth it? I don’t think so. One of my sons mentions only his high school but does not put up his college attendances on his Facebook page in order to keep his present job, so he won’t be turned away for being overqualified. This makes me appreciate the trade schools greatly. What good is a college education for, if one can’t make a decent living with a college degree?
Moreover, present-day high-schools boast with the numbers of students they send to higher education; a few even are padding the test scores and giving fattened recommendations to colleges for receiving government funds. Then, the politicians who run for office promise to ask for extra money for schools. What for?
No money on earth will fix this broken system. Unless some hero comes around and changes the entire situation, which doesn’t seem likely because, my guess is, there are many administrators and people with other motives than educating children, in spite of the few good teachers who are stuck in the wheels of a not-so-merry-go-round of teaching methods.
If I were a parent and had to choose, in today’s atmosphere of schools, I would opt for homeschooling my children in some way, even if it would be a very difficult thing to do.
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October 24, 2014 at 1:46pm October 24, 2014 at 1:46pm
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On Discipline in Creative Arts
Psychologists say discipline is the greatest predictor of success, because it shows merit, integrity, and sticking to our ideals. Not only in the creative area but also throughout life, discipline organizes our time and thinking.
Herman Wouk, the novelist, said: "I try to write a certain amount each day, five days a week. A rule sometimes broken is better than no rule." I think he’s so right and his words hit the spot for me.
For some, a dedication to discipline is the defining characteristic of the artist. Although there are always exceptions to this theory, it seems discipline does help anyone in the creative arts. As such, our blogging every day is helping us develop our ideas and usage of the language. Most bloggers can easily turn their ideas into writing, while occasional writers who pen something once a month or two may hee and haw about how to form a legible sentence. Surely, this doesn’t only apply to bloggers. Any kind of everyday writing helps us writers, as the discipline of regularly sitting by their easel or draft table helps those who delve into visual arts.
Good discipline does not heed negative feedback whether it comes from inside the artist/writer or from other people. Disciplined people do not hang on or sweat over other’s standards, except the fullness and strength of their own hearts and souls.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Blog City's Prompt: Let's talk about personalities. I am told there are 3 specific types:
• Type A, which they labeled as competitive, ambitious, impatient, aggressive, and fast-talking;
• Type B, which is more relaxed and non-competitive, and
• Type C, which is hardworking, but becomes apathetic when faced with stress.
Which one are you? Were you always this way or have you changed with circumstances? How many of these tendencies do you now experience? Were you always this way or have these tendencies increased over time? Your significant other? Or which one do you want for your significant other? I know I ask a lot of questions, answer what you want or all of them. Or use the non-prompt option.
Let me say first that I don’t like classifying people, and I try to accept those around me as they are, unless they are serial killers, criminals, or they mean harm to other people. To believe such classifications and think we are one or the other may mean limiting ourselves and hypnotizing our brains into leading us to act in one way only.
Second, I don’t think any of these classifications apply to any one person because as humans we change from day to day and by the impact of what happens to us and around us. It is true that one of those types can be more pronounced in one person, but then, it may not stay that way. There will be other times, I am sure, that another type will take over the same person.
Judging from what each type entails, I have been all three types at one time or another, as have the people I know. For example a person who’s driving on the road may turn into a type A and show road rage, but then when he is dealing with his own kids, he may act as type B. Still, at his work, he may act as type C.
The only use I see in this classification is when creating a novel. We might start a character to be of one type and slowly change him into a more rounded person, as good fiction demands character change one way or the other.
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October 23, 2014 at 1:56pm October 23, 2014 at 1:56pm
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Isn’t it something that what we write sometimes ends up being preachy? But then, when we express our thoughts aren’t we preaching them, anyway?
Still, what I think and write has nothing to do with forcing things into others’ minds or posturing or trying to repair people and situations. I write stuff to put forth what I think and do, which is not always perfect. I found out, if a message needs be given, it is better to conceal it in a story. This is where fiction matters. Whether we are writers and readers, fiction is art and art can be loved, and the art of fiction is loved by many.
Studies on brain and brain scans show that what we read as we are reading it, affects us. Scientists found out that the brain does not make much of a distinction between reading about an experience and encountering it in real life. So when we read, our brain thinks we are experiencing the story, which accounts for our dreaming about what we read, as some of my night dreams involve my daytime reading. Yesterday I read a short fiction in which a young girl was kidnapped. Last night, I dreamt I was searching to find that girl and rescue her.  If I told this dream to a psychiatrist without mentioning the story I read, I think, he'd have a ball with my dream, and falsely so.
Another benefit of fiction is giving an opportunity to the reader to enter fully into other people’s thoughts and feelings and exploring their social and emotional life. Sometimes, this may even serve as an exercise for our real-life social skills, as fiction is a useful simulation, just like the weightlessness the astronauts experience in the simulation chamber before taking off into space.
Yet, the true value of fiction is in its aesthetic value as we are given great freedom and imagination while we read. For that reason, reading fiction should be pleasurable first before any literary criticism can be given to a story whether it is inside one’s mind or in print.
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October 22, 2014 at 11:47am October 22, 2014 at 11:47am
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Prompt: What do you look forward to every week?
What do I look forward to each week? Simple, to stay alive and well. At my age beggars can’t be choosers.
Once I find out this simple part will be accomplished, I also look forward to a few other things: people who are beautiful maybe not in looks or what they say or what they own, but just the way they are; reading; writing; WdC and any new finds as to interesting articles on the net; laughing at my own imperfections and the way I forget words—words on the tip of my tongue that I know very well, like “artichoke,” which I couldn’t fish out yesterday or the way I’d have liked to answer someone, which I didn’t; finding small inspirations as in a puppy enjoying itself in a puddle, a sunny day, a beachside walk, the rain, a flower or an interesting plant; finding someone to hug, someone with a secret sorrow; betting with myself which part of housework I am going to omit or goof up…Things like that.
When I was growing up, there was a poor old widow who was renting a basement room from one of the neighbors. That woman always greeted everyone with a smile. Her room was dark, dingy, and sparsely furnished, and it had a tiny window high up. Looking through it, you could only see the feet walking by and the tires of an occasional passing car. One day, she came over to visit us and acted so happy because a tiny bird had flown to her tiny window and started chirping. She talked on and on about that bird. Had she won a million dollars from the Lotto, she wouldn’t be so happy. As I admire people who choose smiles even after all the storms they’ve endured, that woman impressed me greatly throughout my life. If only I could do the same for someone else, which is definitely another thing for me to look forward to.
Once a motivational speaker said, “The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.” I think he was very wise. 
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October 21, 2014 at 11:40am October 21, 2014 at 11:40am
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Funny isn’t it, at about 10.30 A.M. in the morning just when I started to work on WdC and was about to write this entry, a weird sound like a car coming to a sudden halt was heard and we lost all electricity. First, I worried that something went amiss with the electrical system in the house, but the fuse box was intact. Then I remembered that FPL, our electric company, had alerted us about a month ago that they would be doing some repairs around our neighborhood, which would take at least six months. Concerning this blackout, I bet a worker made a booboo. Anyhow, nothing worked and I worried about not being able to stay too long on my laptop and without a connection to the internet.
To answer the prompt’s question, I don’t use tablets or smart phones all that much. I have a Kindle Fire, but compared to my other two Kindles and one Nook, it is the least used one. And the cell, I only use it to text my sons, to receive messages, and in an emergency, as I hate talking on the phone.
Yeah, my reading tablets have been a big help and it would be difficult to live without them, once I’ve become used to them, but then, the books in print would come to the rescue, and it wouldn’t be the end of the world. But if we lost electricity, that would be terrible, as everything in my house works with electricity. I would probably have to invest in camping gear and what have you.
Even then, people are adaptable. We survive anything as long as our loved ones are all right and our very basic needs are met. I think I would be okay if we lost some or all of the technology and manage to be happy once I adjust to the new norm.
By the way, electricity came back after 35 minutes, which meant going from room to room to adjust the clocks and what have you. As long as it is back, I can take this little inconvenience. Let’s hope we don’t lose our lights too often.
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Prompt: If all tablets and smart phones ceased working, how much impact would this have on your daily life and routines?
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October 20, 2014 at 1:02pm October 20, 2014 at 1:02pm
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A habit is a routine behavior, fixed into action, thinking, or speech. By the person exhibiting it, this behavior is usually unnoticed, but the others around her or him do.
Over the years, I learned not to be annoyed by much, so I can easily say that others’ habits or mine I take in stride, more often than not. Of the habits in speech that used to annoy me was the overuse of meaningless phrases. One of those came into being after the Watergate hearings, “At this point in time.” So redundant and so silly. What is wrong with the word “now”?
The other one was when people used “you know” at the end of every sentence. Each time that phrase is said, I felt like answering, “No, I don’t know.” Thanks to time’s passage, that too is becoming buried in history.
I think such language habits are catching. One person starts using it and the copycats refer to it when in doubt or say it just for the fun of giving the impression of being chic.
The personal habits some people do--biting nails, picking nose etc.—are gross and should only be done in private, if ever. Still these don’t annoy me as I consider them personality faults or sicknesses and I just look away.
Rather than thinking about annoying habits, I like to concentrate on the positive ones, such as writing every day, treating people with kindness, showing gratitude for what life offers, speaking well of others, and avoiding to make excuses for one’s own shortcomings.
In short, I try focusing on what is positive. Negatives usually die out, anyway.
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Prompt: Annoying Habits: yours, a loved one's or just one that drives you bonkers.
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October 19, 2014 at 5:46pm October 19, 2014 at 5:46pm
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Do you have a chronic aversion to being wrong, and do you judge others harshly, sometimes? Or do you always feel guilty and apologize for every small step you take? Or do you feel you are somewhat below par and can never measure up? If you do any of those things, your inner stories are the ones to blame.
We, as human beings, are conditioned to use stories, stories either we tell ourselves or what others usually inject into our brains, sometimes without us being aware of them. There is nothing wrong with that. It is the human condition. The trick is to be attentive to our inner stories, stories about the way we see the world and ourselves and especially where they are coming from.
Ever since people have been on earth, we listened to our elders’ stories, experiences, and parables and have evolved in the same fashion to share our own stories and experiences with the younger generations. This, somehow, gained the tendency to become the criteria to base our later experiences on, which ended up deciding whether we are an optimist or a pessimist and if can draw positive or negative meanings from people and events.
Because of this predisposition, of which we are usually unaware, the need to be careful is essential in our adult lives, as to which stories we expose ourselves and choose to believe in, for they have a way of immersing themselves into our neural pathways--in short, our brains--to pop up unexpectedly at the most unwelcome instances.
True, the human brain has a tendency to choose the positive outlook, usually, but we are also vulnerable and especially uncertain in what to believe about ourselves.
If you have ever glanced at the mirror and berated your looks inwardly, for example, you may still be believing a negative comment that someone in your young years threw at you about your face, your height, or any part of you.
Another thing is, most of us are afraid of being mistaken, and more often than not, we either glorify our mistakes or hide or not admit to acting or thinking in a wrong way. To avoid falling into these traps, we need to examine the repetitions in the interiors of the stories we keep inside us, rather than what those stories seem to be on the surface.
Most prejudices, in-group biases, fights, battles, wars, likes, and dislikes can be based on the stories put inside our heads by others or ourselves, which we neglected to examine and send through our sieve of better judgment. Yet, instead of choosing objectivity, we opt to believe and sustain the inhibitory inputs sown inside us.
For example, not all plants live long lives. Some seeds germinate into flowers, and others die and become compost. It is therefore, important for our well-being to choose the healthier seeds. Yet, by chance, if a seed or sapling dies, this means its story was false or not meant to be. What is left for us is to forget that dead seed and let it go, and then turn the attention to cultivate our beautiful flowers.
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October 18, 2014 at 12:47pm October 18, 2014 at 12:47pm
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Prompt: My First Flight: You might be moved by the sheer technology of it or the travel abilities that it affords. Let's see if you can connect with the excitement and the mystery and how it has changed your view on travel.
I almost couldn’t remember my first flight, which took half an hour on the air, as I was very little. It shouldn’t be too long a distance and I can’t even remember from where to where. Neither can I recall any excitement or mystery connected to it. I went with my mother, uncle, and aunt, who treated it as if they were going to a party. No one was afraid, but everyone had their best clothes on, so unlike today’s travel, which I appreciate more, by the way. Who needs a dress-up occasion just for going from place to place! Since those three adults with me had grown together, they had great camaraderie among them, and I recall feeling left out of “adult” talk.
My better flights have come through my reading. Just yesterday, I wrote a review on "How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines"  , a superb book, which points to recurring themes, metaphors, archetypes and characters, and plotlines. That made me recall our seventh grade reading of Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front. At the time, I had thought of what we were doing as boring. This was the year I was trying to read Dante’s Inferno on my own, so I was no stranger to classics or good writing, but the way we talked about the minute details of war, with no fun or romance in between, bore not only me but the whole class to death.
Later on, through second reading, I appreciated how Henry, the protagonist, turned from a trembling coward to a brave soldier. This wasn’t pointed out to us, because at the time, the teachers were using what they called, “the direct method,” which meant the students had to discover the strong points on their own. This shouldn’t apply to seventh graders who were bored out of their minds with such a dark and heavy plot, but the teacher couldn’t catch on to that fact. What bugged us the most was the referral to Henry as “youth” throughout the book. Maybe this was something that got lost in translation, but it is annoying, in our language, when the protagonist is referred to in a generalized term instead of his own name. Not only that, though. To make matters worse, we were to read a few pages each week and discuss it in class, which took more than a semester, the drag of it adding to the boredom.
I understand that aesthetic reading or reading for pleasure can be employed with some books without analyzing them to death, but a classroom assignment should be directed and the important elements should be pointed out by the teacher. That is what teaching reading appreciation is about or the teachers might as well take a hike.
Taking flight with reading is the best thing that can happen to a young person. It widens the horizon of thinking and plays a key role in later successes in life, but then, any reading coupled with understanding is important for every age group.
As a great adventure, reading at any age can help the imagination make the person go anywhere and do anything; therefore, what better flight than this can exist here in our world?
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October 17, 2014 at 1:00pm October 17, 2014 at 1:00pm
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Beware the color orange!
It is a double-edged sword, since it is said to increase the craving for food through its stimulation of creativity and enthusiasm. Like I needed to be more enthusiastic about food… Yes, all those carotenes that beckon me to the kitchen and to the table: carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, oranges, melons, etc. I only wish that support of creativity could show itself in some other ways.
No wonder I keep wearing my new red-orange tee to the restaurants, or do we go to restaurants because I wear that shirt? As I said, that color is dangerous and foxy. Talking about foxy, what we call a red fox is in reality an orange fox. See the color orange keeps jumping at me from all corners.
Come to think of it, monks and holy men in Asia are wrapped in orange, but then so do the prisoners. Are the two somewhat related? Then, are the Egyptians’ tomb paintings that used orange mineral pigment mostly in this category also? Does that mean what the human being is enthusiastic about what portends death, like fire which is mainly orange but burns?
In the same vein, don’t the beautiful fall colors mainly flaunt the color orange? So beautiful, so enticing, so amazing…Yet, what comes after is the deep freeze, ice and snow. Now, I love snow, maybe because it is forthright and truthful about its own personality. It says, “I am beautiful and I am frigid, and I’ll freeze you to death if you don’t take care.”
Not so with the color orange. Orange is tricky. It promises one thing, and later, after giving you a sip of what it has promised, it grants you the nasties.
Unlike the frank snow’s white, the cunning orange with its beauty and mouthwatering tastes and promises of creativity and enthusiasm is out to get me right in the gut. I know this, but still, I can’t say no to a pumpkin pie, and I can't say I don't like orange.
What the heck, I love orange, even if it kills me.
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Prompt: Orange is a color that people either hate or love: tell us how you feel about it.
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October 16, 2014 at 3:07pm October 16, 2014 at 3:07pm
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If I had a hammer… Anyone remember Peter, Paul and Mary’s song? I especially like the third stanza.
“If I had a song
I'd sing it in the morning
I'd sing it in the evening
all over this land
I'd sing out danger
I'd sing out a warning
I'd sing out love between
my brothers and my sisters
all over this land
Instead of a hammer, that’s what my magic brew would do; only it would go further than “this land” and apply it to the entire world. But I am not the only one after this quest. The-Open-mind.com is encouraging everyone to come together once a week and pray/meditate on love and peace throughout the world.
http://www.the-open-mind.com/peace-through-synchronized-global-meditation
I don’t know if this will work, but even if it doesn’t, it will spread the idea among many of us, and since all is energy and thought is energy as the present-day physicists say, there is at least a modicum of chance. Worse comes to worst, we’ll know we are trying in our way and hope that action will follow thought. Just maybe
The meditation will be 11:00 A.M. EST (3GMT) every Sunday. Even if you don’t meditate but just send good wishes and vibes or a prayer according to your beliefs for world peace and love among people, it will be of help. I hope that energy won’t be wasted.
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Prompt: You are making a magic brew. What does it do?
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October 15, 2014 at 7:02pm October 15, 2014 at 7:02pm
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I’ll get to literary diseases soon enough, but I really wanted to add to my earlier Ebola entry today.
Few days ago, I wrote that since I didn’t know enough, I was holding back judgment on Ebola. After the few incidents since then, let’s say, I am seriously concerned. It seems to me that what they told us about Ebola is wrong--that the only culprit is being in contact with bodily fluids of a patient. I think this, especially because health-care workers with all their gear have contracted the illness. I know and trust that nurses do wash their hands often and they are careful especially around communicable diseases. So that carelessness alibi doesn’t sit well with me. My guess is, this disease spreads in ways we can’t even think of, and thus, the worry.
Coming back to the literary diseases, there have been certain principles in using diseases in fiction, with TB or consumption taking the first place. Why?
TB took longer and was touchingly visual with the patient looking like a martyr through coughing of the blood, quality of the skin, and the hollowing of the eyes. When it was overly used, its origin or beginning was mysterious. Plus it had metaphoric possibilities, such as a young woman slowly wasting away while her family, partner or husband were experiencing the trauma. Then the medical community found ways of curing and preventing TB. So cancer became the next hot disease for fiction with Aids vying for the same spot.
What gets translated from the medical disease into literary disease is largely up to the writer, but the disease is only successful -–literary-wise—if the scientific basis for it is correct. Here, proper research shows its credentials again, which is the baggage real illnesses come with when used in fiction.
All things considered, a good(!) literary disease may be a mysterious one the writer can make up. Dickens has used this ploy well, by killing most of his characters with “fever.” His fever represents the harshness and randomness of life. In our day and age, however, how well can this be done with medical sciences finding a name to any discomfort? I guess, not too successfully.
But then, they haven’t really solved how Ebola spreads, have they? I sure hope, they do soon enough before we have another plague in our hands, literary or not.
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October 14, 2014 at 11:52am October 14, 2014 at 11:52am
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In the olden times, there were two kinds of offerings by two kinds of neighbors to trick-or-treaters. Those I’ll call the originals baked cookies, cupcakes, and candied apples and offered them to the tiny witches and goblins. Those who I call the lazy squares gave away the store-bought candy. The first kind, the originals, have always been my favorites because nothing can equal the love put in those home-made goodies. Not only that, but also they tasted heavenly. Well…usually.
Now that our cult of civilization has replaced the originals totally and is in the process of replacing the lazy squares, my doorbell is rung fewer times on Halloween. Do I blame this change? Definitely not. It is needed. Good for those parents who are vigilant and entertain their children with house parties, as that may be the only way to fight against the inner confusion and thoughts of evil inside our societies that poison our trust of each other as well as placing broken glass and razor pieces inside little children’s candy.
Looking at the situation from the opposite side, the difficulty of life--with its hassles, longings, problems, soul-withering sorrows and the lack of acceptance of those--shows itself in the criminal behavior toward little children.
Can we return to the way we were? Impossible, I think. Traditional holidays are on the brink of getting lost totally. We’ve reached the end of our rope, and something or somethings are not right with our lives.
Still, I am going to buy the best candy I can afford and wait for the tiny ones, come Halloween.
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Prompt: Let's talk about Halloween candy. Favorite, worst, or fond memories of a particular treat - share with us. |
October 13, 2014 at 2:24pm October 13, 2014 at 2:24pm
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Prompt: Think of something (book, movie, song or the like) that you once loved but over time it lost its appeal to you. Tell us about it and why did your feelings for it change.
The only book I remember in the context of liking and then not liking is a romance novel that belonged to my mother. At nine years of age, I stole it and read it, hiding under the table. Reading under the table hidden by the tablecloth with its skirts touching the rug was my modus operandi when it came to banned books. That book had practically no sexual content, except for a kissing scene or two, but still, it opened up another horizon for me. I thought, then, it was the best book ever.
When I turned fifteen, I read the same book again, and it was a flop, since at that time I was into Dostoyevsky and other Russian literature. For the life of me, I can’t remember the title of my mother’s book.
In any case, I don’t like reading the same thing twice, but I am now reading—again—Anne of Green Gables series and appreciating it more. This time, the tables have turned. I see the beautiful descriptions, the sense of place, the strong settings, and the characterization. Even if written for children, those stories are literature, from where I stand.
My reading taste is a complex phenomenon, since I read a lot. Truth is, I read a lot more than I write. Instead of the haphazard way I used to read in my childhood and early teens, my reading developed through my lit teachers in jr. high and high schools. I was lucky to have the same teacher for three years in a row, who was deeply into Russian and French literature. While we read the American and English authors in class, she took me aside and supplied me with the translations of Balzac, Dostoyevski, Tolstoy, etc. Those books became the base of how I judged others. For example, I found Mark Twain, then, to be lightweight in comparison. Nowadays, I am appreciating him more.
It used to be that I never left a book unread, even if I didn’t like it much in the beginning; however, with the beginning of the E-Book era, especially with carelessly written books, that practice has been reversed. When a mostly self-published book is unedited with bad to no characterization, I don’t bother with it any further. It is a pity that most writers, just to be published, take no care with their work. I think this practice cheapens our literature and is of no benefit to its writer.
On the other hand, there are some self-published, well-written books that can easily rival Pulitzer winners in the past. In this way, e-books are great because they have given voice to authors who, otherwise, would find their manuscripts in the slush piles of the self-serving publishing companies.
Every reader has a different taste, which might have been stamped by his backstory or ego. Literary taste is usually developed as a preference for the artistic against the inartistic, but even that depends on the person’s interests and experiences.
I think one thing that is shared by all reading tastes is a sensitivity to language and everything that has to do with being human. In this way, it is the most evocative of all other intellectual dynamics.
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October 11, 2014 at 1:00pm October 11, 2014 at 1:00pm
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Prompt: Victor Hugo said: "Intelligence is the wife, imagination is the mistress, memory is the servant." Do you feel that your memories work for you, or do you feel beholden to your memories?
Whenever I take a backwards glance, I see that more memories have accumulated to learn from with time. To analyze the past is a mental strategy for living a more meaningful life. This is a psychological as well as an emotional undertaking.
I believe that all future actions of any person springs from her past experiences and the memories of those experiences. Some of my memories can be false or warped because of my viewpoint or not seeing or judging events or people fairly, for humans are emotional beings and act from emotions, and an emotion can deceive a person very easily. For example, as a child if I got mad at an adult for yelling at me, I may remember that anger instead of finding an insight at the adult’s viewpoint, his background, and personality. Yet, when I go into the memory of that incident as an adult myself, I understand the situation with much better awareness.
Where happier memories are concerned, they are the stepping stones from which I jump to more pleasant, more productive missions and moods, as their encouragement makes me adapt to new situations.
A newborn has a blank slate as her mind. Everything is new to her, and by trial and error, her brain adjusts and corrects. I think this goes on for a lifetime. When the baby becomes a grown-up, if she gets stuck with the negativity of earlier incidents and emotions arising from them, she won’t be able to grow fully as a human being. This is why religions and spiritual practices preach forgiveness. This is where analyzing our memories as objectively as we can comes in to enable us to progress successfully through life’s trials.
In short, I have to say, my memories define me and how I perceive the world.
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