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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.
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December 30, 2015 at 10:34am December 30, 2015 at 10:34am
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Prompt: What was your most memorable New Year's Eve and why?
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New Year’s Eve parties have always been memorable occasions during my very young and up to not-too-old years, as each was different in its own way. Here’s one memory.
Once, we were in a party with a hundred people or more where everyone knew everyone, by sight if not by name. It was a lavish party with a bar and lots of food. The organizer put people who had been close friends at the same table. Our table was a long rectangle that seated twelve people. We drank, ate, danced and had a great time.
About 11:30, each table received a bottle of champagne to celebrate the New Year’s beginning at midnight. Somehow, my dear hubby received the honors of opening the bottle. If there is one thing he hates is the popping sound and the bubbly foam sprouting up when opening that bottle of fizz. So he took his time pulling the cork half a millimeter at a time. People were saying things like, “You’ll finish opening that in the 21st century.” By the time he opened it, it was already midnight, and the other tables had already finished their bottles, but we had more fun joking about the New Year that came later for us.
Another type of New Year's celebration also happens on Times Square. When one of my sons was 22, he went there to see the ball drop. When he came back, he was very upset because it was so crowded that he couldn't see anything while we watched everything at home with friends. He kept telling me I shouldn’t let him go.  Isn’t it always the mothers who shoulder the blame!
The Times Square tradition dates back to December 31, 1907, even though the balls (Turn that dirty mind off) have changed along with technology. * “As part of the 1907-1908 festivities, waiters in the fabled "lobster palaces" and other deluxe eateries in hotels surrounding Times Square were supplied with battery-powered top hats emblazoned with the numbers "1908" fashioned of tiny light bulbs.”
History says, until 1903, the largest New Year's Eve gathering of New Yorkers took place at Trinity Church on Wall Street and Broadway. * "The New York Times described the scene in 1897: The crowds came from every section of the city, and among the thousands, who cheered or tooted tin horns, as the chimes were rung out on the night, were many from New Jersey, Long Island, and even Staten Island."
For a New York City celebration, the best thing to do--if you could afford $4000-5000--is to reserve a place in Marriott Marquis with the view of the Ball, which is already sold out for this year, anyway. Even if I could afford that, I'd prefer the idea of celebrating 2016 with friends at home.
Happy 2016!
*http://www.timessquarenyc.org/events/new-years-eve/about-the-new-years-eve-ball/... |
December 29, 2015 at 4:48pm December 29, 2015 at 4:48pm
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Prompt: What do you doubt the most?
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I doubt mostly the certainty in people and possessions.
The things we own, people in our lives, the accolades, and even education we’ve amassed we cannot be certain will stick with us forever and ever. It is very easy to lose one’s wealth, possessions, loved ones, and the honor and fame that comes from other acquisitions. Even our education we can lose if we succumb to a brain disease.
Without disease or bad luck, however, some of those things may stay with us until our deaths.
I also doubt the words of people who excessively believe in their superiority and act condescendingly toward others because, I think, a hidden low opinion of themselves or their background is making them shoot off the mouth.
With the same token, I doubt the correctness of history, any history or a memoir--even though I love history and memoirs written without the help of a ghostwriter--since what is put down as history depends on who remembers what and who notes the events to which purpose.
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December 28, 2015 at 12:18pm December 28, 2015 at 12:18pm
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Prompt: Using an urban legend, write your opinion on what you find entertaining or unsettling.
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The Black Lady of Bradley Woods is the belief in a town in Lincolnshire, England. According to the legend, bandits attacked a woman who lived by the side of the woods and whose husband was away and took her child with them when they left. The husband never returned and the woman went mad looking for her child in the woods. Legend has it that her ghost still wanders the woods and shows up if someone says, “"Black lady, black lady, I’ve stolen your baby!" three times.
True or not it is a sad story, but another sad story like it appears as a widespread legend throughout the region of Hispanic America. La Llorona or "The Weeping Woman" is the ghost who lost her children and cries as she looks for them near a river.
That these two legends are so similar shows that as humans we are not so different. I am sure, if researched further, similar legends can be found in other cultures, too, such as the legends of Lamia in Greek mythology and Rusalka in the Russian lore. In comparison, The Black Lady of Bradley Woods is a tame one as she is only looking for her children. The other ladies have eaten children or have been made to eat them.
In whichever way they resemble, these ladies are all ghosts who in their lifetime went mad because of children. This brings to mind all the mothers who fly off the handle when their children misbehave. Isn’t it maddening when a child goes against a mother’s every effort to turn him/her into a decent person? I wonder if these urban legends sprung from the actions of mothers who lost it. I might be right in that.
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December 26, 2015 at 12:59pm December 26, 2015 at 12:59pm
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Prompt: This year is almost over... What were your successes? Your failures? Is there still time to achieve your goals of 2015?
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I have to swim against the current here, as I never measure what I do in terms of successes or failures. Maybe because I think judging everything as either a success or a failure leads to self-sabotage. In my case, that judgmental determination is usually taken care of by other people.
If I have to push the idea, to me, success is helping as much as I can and failure is not doing as much as I can. Even that is tough to measure.
As to setting goals, I don’t. I only make lists of things to be done, so I don’t forget to do them. That is why I wrote the ‘dear me’ essay only once, the year when it started; that is the one WdC puts up every January. Believe me, it was the hardest thing I wrote as it went so against my character.
Having said that, I think those ‘dear me’ essays, encouraging oneself, and setting goals are essential for the up-and-coming authors. If anything, I would encourage every writer who wants to publish volumes and dreams of being rich and famous to do just that.
As for me, at my age, status quo is just fine. Whatever I do, I do it for enjoyment and I consider it an addition to myself, regardless of it being a success or a failure because one can learn from things that turn out as flops, too. When something feels right and I feel some kind of a rush while doing it, then it is a success regardless of the outcome. This may also be due to the fact that I am not much of a hustler.
My point of view is, any action has within itself its own meaning and purpose, even what may be considered a negative one. For example, let’s say that I felt jealousy for something or someone. That in itself is not so negative if I analyze it and find the source of it within my personality, but if I act on it in any way, without reflection, that would serve no purpose and wouldn’t be an addition to my being. Even so, the fact that I noticed how I felt has to be a win .
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December 25, 2015 at 5:41pm December 25, 2015 at 5:41pm
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Prompt: Do you believe there will ever be peace and good will to all men and women in our world?
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I can only wish for that, but when it comes to believing that will happen...maybe after some conditions are met, such as when just about every single human being goes through several kinds of psychological therapies with quite a number of them being kept in straitjackets probably for good.
The idea of peace and goodwill is noble and good, even magically good, for it conveys an embedded hope, a spirit of generosity, and a compassionate outlook toward others. Regrettably, this only surfaces around Christmas time, as if we do not live during the rest of the year. Once we cast off the glitzy tinsel and the fanciful ornaments, all the words of security and optimism seem empty as simple platitudes.
Still, if someone came to me and said, if I could forego all my wishes, I could get one big wish, I would immediately accept and say, “World Peace” without even blinking an eye, and I am sure many of us would do that, too. Yet, sadly, armed conflict and strife in varied degrees have always been present in our world.
Just a while ago, I was listening to the historian Anthony Beevor on CSpan 2 talking about his latest book Ardennes 1944. He offered not only the history but the tiny details of the war that I had no inkling of and neither did my husband, and we both think we know a bit about World War II. The intrigue and the backstabbing among the Allies were especially surprising, and the Axis? I won't even go there. If this had been so when the opposing sides were well established, imagine how complicated the next big thing will be, Heaven forbid!
I can only attribute this lack of good will and the quest for peace to the last place mankind gives to TRUTH. Everyone talks about the truth, yet no one painstakingly searches for it. We forego the truth even in our personal lives, such as when we take--or rather mis-take--someone else’s words or actions for their worst meaning. The same is true with the relationships on larger scales because other outwardly elements and benefits weigh more on the estimations of the groups and nations just as it does in people’s minds. I think reaching a lasting peace is impossible until the truth becomes more valuable to humankind than popularity, money, or power.
“Happiness is at times a blessing – but usually, it’s a conquest,” says Paulo Coelho in his blog. So is peace and good will. Unfortunately, except for talking about it in big words, I don’t see any one group or nation going after such a conquest.
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December 24, 2015 at 11:57am December 24, 2015 at 11:57am
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Prompt: Do you like a White Christmas or a Florida Christmas {no snow or cold}?
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I am indifferent, really. Both have their pluses and minuses. The only thing I miss from my white Christmas life is the large parties we attended. I guess the same can happen in a Florida Christmas, but the trouble is we got too old to bother. Just dressing up for it would knock us out.
While we are at the subject of Christmas, I have to get something off my chest. I have been to all kinds of religious and other holiday celebrations for all kinds of religions and holidays. It never occurred to me not to smile and answer nicely back to those who wished me Happy Eid, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Whatever, or Merry Christmas. I can celebrate anything with anybody because people are my friends, and by default, in some small way, their holidays are celebrations for me, also.
Now this year, saying Merry Christmas has suddenly become politically incorrect. I am so sick of the “politically incorrect” stamp we pound on everything human. It is like the superstitious ditty, “Step on a crack, you'll break your mother's back.” I can’t believe how idiotic this "politically incorrect" taboo is!
Saying Merry Christmas, whether one believes in it or not, is not an affront to anyone's own set of beliefs. Yesterday, I said Merry Christmas to someone and she looked at me like she wanted to whack me out of this planet. Oh well, to each his own!
Now that I’ve blurted out my two–cents worth…
Merry Christmas!
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December 23, 2015 at 12:36pm December 23, 2015 at 12:36pm
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Prompt: What Christmas TV Shows and specials do you watch every year to make your Christmas complete?
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I am not into watching the same thing twice, not even after sixty-plus years. So, most of the oldie stuff is out for me…except A Charlie Brown Christmas. It is my favorite Christmas based anything, even before It’s a Wonderful Life. Still, I am not watching those two again. I just cherish the memory of Peanuts and its brilliant creator.
Instead, I think I am going to read, just as soon as I put my real-life concerns in order, a Christmas novella by a writer friend: A Vacancy at the Inn: Riverton Road Romantic Suspense. It is something new and I trust this author's finesse in writing most anything.
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What's the Deal with the Literary Genre
Although WdC doesn’t recognize the literary genre as a genre, there really is such a thing. Surely, WdC’s point is understandable, as many a work in other genres can be literary, too, in the meaning sense of the word.
The Literary Genre problem is an ongoing battle among writers and literature teachers. Some say there is the literary fiction as a separate entity, and then, there are genres. Others insist that the literary is a genre with its separate merits like all other genres. Still others totally reject the idea that the literary fiction or the literary genre exists.
Yet, in what it offers, the literary genre is distinct. It is the one, which in the Amazon reviews, some people write that such a story drags or they couldn’t quite get into it or they think it is too depressing or so very, very dull, despite the fact that the use of the language and the writing is so beautiful. All this is because of the emotional complexity inside the stories of the literary genre.
Still, like other genres, the literary genre has a dramatic plot, tension, and some mystery, even if surprise endings are rare. Some people can’t get into this genre because of the emotional reversals and tangles in the stories and the emotional upheavals they create in the readers. In addition, to show the emotional intricacy, the scenes can be gloomier and the internal dialogues can spin around the despair or the indecision of the characters, making the action in the story strain and stretch.
Of the writers in the literary genre, Faulkner, Joyce, and Hemingway come to mind, as well as Kazuo Ishiguro, Haruki Murakami, Cormac McCarthy, Zadie Smith, and Don de Lillo of our day.
As for me, I love the literary genre and try to write in it most of the time, even if it will never make me popular or rich. There is something highly original and satisfying in the reading and writing of the literary-genre experience since it sticks to the reader emotionally as it stays inside the humanity’s reality through the trials and tribulations of everyday life.
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December 22, 2015 at 4:26pm December 22, 2015 at 4:26pm
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Prompt: Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible…” Accordingly, which qualities, do you think, are necessary and how much of an important role should integrity play in good leadership?
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I agree with Eisenhower in integrity being the supreme quality for leadership since integrity shows itself in how well we choose to respond in any given situation. The essence of integrity is doing the right thing even when it is not accepted by others or when it is inconvenient for us. In short, integrity is doing the right thing for the right reason.
Integrity comes from our internal moral self that guides us towards making intelligent choices and ethical decisions, regardless of our emotional reactions and personality types. The essential parts of integrity are fairness, duty, self-control, honesty, compassion, empathy, and sympathy.
In addition, we must not be tempted by the promise of a reward or a need for acknowledgment, or in other words, fame. If we do the right thing despite the fear of a negative consequence, if we are consistent in honoring personal responsibility to those we lead with the strict sense of duty, then we show that we have integrity.
For a leader, in addition to fairness, duty, self-control, honesty, compassion, empathy, and sympathy, integrity is not being afraid of naming dishonesty or recognizing it when he sees it among his staff, people working for him, or if a president, his cabinet members, even if the truth is strange or terrifying. For a leader, integrity is finding the right and just solution to each problem after examining that problem in all its implications.
It is not easy to be a leader in anything, let alone being in charge of the highest offices. That is why we need to choose our leaders not because of their campaign promises but because of the integrity of their characters.
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December 21, 2015 at 11:43am December 21, 2015 at 11:43am
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Prompt: Sue Erikson Bloland the integrative psychotherapist said, “The pursuit of fame is basically a tragic pursuit.” Can it be that people pursue fame to use it as a successful defense against shame or feelings of inadequacy, even after realizing it could be tragic?
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Pursuing fame for fame itself can bring tragic results. I agree with that, especially when the person, in order to become famous, does wrong things or spends all his money and worldly goods for this quest. This type of undertaking is probably a defense for feelings of inadequacy, and if failure ensues, then it would be disastrous.
On the other hand, if a person is interested in an undertaking and gives it his all to it just because he feels a great love for it, believes in the outcome of his efforts, and as the result of his hard work becomes famous, I don’t see anything wrong with it or how that kind of fame can be avoided. It is true that with any kind of fame, a person’s privacy and other freedoms can become compromised. Still, if the quest to reach that fame is an important one, any person with an ideal would overlook that little bit of inconvenience.
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December 20, 2015 at 7:04pm December 20, 2015 at 7:04pm
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Recently I read a book on Premise.
Powerful Premise: Writing the Irresistible (Red Sneaker Books) by William Bernhardt
In the blurb it says:
“A powerful premise is what separates ordinary novels from bestsellers. William Bernhardt explains the essential elements of breakout books, stories that reel in readers and attract serious attention. He discusses all the essential elements: originality, high stakes, believability, inescapable conflict, emotional appeal, and others. Plus, in the final chapter, Bernhardt explains how to turn your powerful premise into a winning pitch to attract agents and editors.”
The book is all that and then some; however, the “and then some” part got to me. Premise, to my understanding, is what we come up with, before we start writing. Reading the book, however, gave me the idea that the way the author described it, it could only be written after the full story is written, or at least, after its first draft is finished.
This in itself is not a bad idea, if one has finished the first draft and is about to rewrite the novel. For promoting and introducing the novel to an agent or a publisher, it could be priceless. However, it is not the premise we can use before we put the first word in the first chapter.
On the other hand, this book can be used in its entirety for learning how to write fiction, a novel, or a short story, as it encompasses a lot of good material. For premise before the first draft, however, we need as short a form as we can get to guide us along the way.
I agree that knowing as much of the premise as one can helps the writing. Some teachers say to find the premise of a story we are reading is to find the end and then the beginning and figure out how that change came about, but that is for reading, and another after-the-fact advice.
The best premise advice I came across is in another book on writing by James N. Frey, titled The Key. He says to think of four C’s and make the premise statement include those four elements, which are: Conviction or the idea of the author, Character, Conflict, Conclusion. This I can live with better, as I can more or less use it before beginning the writing process.
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December 19, 2015 at 11:29am December 19, 2015 at 11:29am
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Prompt: It was said in "The Joy in the Lines That Leap Off the Pages" in the New York Times by Dwight Garner that he did not mind writing year-end top ten lists because forced choices lead to soul searching. How do you feel about top ten lists? Are they helpful? A waste of time? Do you find yourself creating lists throughout the year?
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I do create lists for everything and anything under the sun. They are not necessarily top ten, but they serve me; they are, therefore, biased toward my liking. They are not for other people. For example, I have a short list of authors whose books I won’t read, only because I found they either wrote very badly (my opinion) or got on my nerves by not completing the main plot in a story just to write another book in the series. This is a highly personal list and one I’ll never let anyone else see. The simple reason is: I might be wrong, and I probably am, as an author develops over the years, but it is my own biased list and it is my time I am protecting.
As to the top ten lists published by people who read or know a lot, I still take them with a grain of salt for the reason that making such lists can adversely affect my personal decision-making. If I trusted such a list fully, I would have to let go of my own likes and dislikes. Then some of those lists may be in existence not because of the value of the items on the lists but because of the listmaker's prejudice toward one product or one line of thought or another.
The key to making a smart decision is giving oneself the time to gather all the information needed, and a confident, proactive approach with a trustworthy method. Then, in the areas where one is totally ignorant, a top ten list could help a person if that person is willing to take someone’s else’s opinions as his own, be it temporarily until he or she gains enough knowledge on the subject to decide for himself. For example, I trust the doctors to favor some medications over others, even if I know they, too, may be biased, but I don’t have their know-how and experience on the subject and neither do I have the time and energy to study medicine at my age. I’ll also trust my plumber’s advice on his faucets list, for the same reason.
Still, in general, I don’t look at top ten lists especially when it comes to books, and I’ve always wondered why our local library has on its wall the best-seller list of the New York Times. Who says the journalist who put together that list has read everything and anything under the sun to arrive at such a decision? Those books that sell the most are not necessarily the best or literary, and I have heard of a case where a rich person, decades ago, bought all the volumes of the book his beloved wrote, causing a sell-out of its first edition. As in this example, anything other than good writing can sell a book, and I think our librarians should know better.
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December 18, 2015 at 12:58pm December 18, 2015 at 12:58pm
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Prompt: Modern Manners says it is rude to ask a hostess who else is invited to a party? What do you think?
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I don’t ever recall asking a host or hostess who else would be there in their party, even though I didn’t know it would be rude. In fact, I don’t see why it is considered as being rude, either.
In a time and place faraway and long ago in our lives, my husband and I used to attend and give a good number of parties. In our very wide circle, which included bosses and other co-workers as well as family members and friends, there sometimes were a few sour-grapes people that sucked the life out of a party. When someone exaggerates their war service, for example, we think of them as being mildly or seriously deluded, but that’s their business. Some of the people who would attend those parties, however, were way past that. A few were prejudiced truth-twisters, and moreover, they attacked others with viciousness for any small thing that crossed them.
In order not to attend a party where the air would be poisoned by such people, my husband always tried to find out who would be there or to narrow it down he would ask directly, “Is so-and-so going to be there?” As an aside, I probably fell in love with him for his candor. Yet, other than the people who rubbed others the wrong way, if people we had never met were asked, we both welcomed the opportunity to get to know new people.
One reason I never ask is probably because I always think some people who act negatively may be needing a few loving strokes from others, and I don’t like to discriminate too much when it comes to people. In addition, had there been some bad blood between people, a party is the best place to ease the tension.
I know my reaction is a naïve one, but it is correct for me given my overall make-up; however, my way usually proves itself wrong.  ... My husband’s, however, has been proven right, time after time.
Regardless of our experiences on the subject, I think, rude or not, it may be better not to attend a party where people who’d annoy us would be there. Here, the most important job falls on the shoulders of the hostess. If she has invited two warring parties or a confrontational person, she has to let others know who has been asked. I know it is extra trouble, but if the host wants to have a successful party where everyone will enjoy themselves, he or she has to take that extra step.
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December 16, 2015 at 11:00pm December 16, 2015 at 11:00pm
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Megan’s Prompt: Christmas is a spirit that flows from one heart to another. It is more precious than rubies and better than gold. How do you feel about this?
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You put it so poetically, Megan, that I don’t think I can top that.
On the other hand, to attribute such a fantastic spirit only to the Christmas season feels as if we are all short-changed. Shouldn’t that kind of a spirit be flowing from heart to heart year-round, whatever religion, denomination, or even non-belief we hold? After all, this is one earth and we’re all in this together, even though some misguided people act like misguided missiles. In spite of them and in spite of our own greed, we need to rescue this spirit from becoming an endangered species that only dwells on getting or giving material things.
This spirit requires a generous heart. Those who possess it shine with clarity in the lives of others. How does this spirit evidence itself? Surely, there are many ways. What pops up to my mind at this time are these:
• Showing compassion to someone who is hurting
• Forgiveness of the wrongs done to us
• Encouraging a frustrated or discouraged person
• Giving the gift of our time to someone who needs to talk to process his or her worries
• Accepting with humility what we cannot change in our lives
Emotionally this is a difficult time of the year for so many people, when short tempers, suicides, and domestic violence incidents are on the increase. Stress destroys the holiday’s cheer for many. I think this is because we let rampant commercialism and the outwardly rituals of the season get the best of us. Nothing is wrong with celebrating, but we must always embrace the true spirit year round and remember that we have been given the magical gift of our own power to bestow loving kindness on others.
I don't know why but all this musing brings to mind the first three lines from a Barry Manilow song.
“Spirit move me every time I’m near you.
Whirling like a cyclone in my mind…”
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December 16, 2015 at 1:22am December 16, 2015 at 1:22am
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Prompt: "Live in such a way that if anyone should speak badly of you, no one would believe it." Audrey Hepburn Do you agree?
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People will believe what they want to believe no matter how you live; however, living a just, moral life has its own advantages, first of which is self-respect. Self-respect holds the key to achieving a peace of mind which everyone needs; however, we must not mix self-respect with success, as self-respect is not dependent on success because there will be failures to live with in any person’s life.
Self-respect is not what we see in ourselves when compared to others either, for there will be people always better or worse than us in any way. With self-respect, we like and accept ourselves because of who we are and not because of what we can or cannot do.
If we are persons with true self-respect, others’ compliments, thoughts, or even derision will not matter much. Others’ evaluation of us won’t make a positive or negative effect, at least not too deeply, since we know who we are and where we stand.
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December 15, 2015 at 4:18pm December 15, 2015 at 4:18pm
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Prompt: Do you prescribe to the idea that everything imaginable is a skill that can be learned or do you think there are exceptions to that rule?
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Not all the time. Most everything can be learned to some degree, true, but not everything. In addition, what about those with inborn talents, prodigies and such?
In fact, there are teachers for everything and books and learning materials for nearly everything. Yet, a child prodigy who is very young (Mozart, for example) can play and compose music better than a person who’s had lessons for twenty years or more.
We are mostly dictated by our genes, and although a good part of creativity can be learned, a sudden revelation of the inborn creativity sometimes surprises us. This type of creativity is a gifted ability of humans in thinking, inference, problem solving, and product development, concentrated in one area. It is true that all of the above can be taught to anyone to a certain degree after spending much time and energy, but it won’t give the same results of an innate gift, hidden in the genes, and is unlocked by a God-knows-what power early in the life of a person.
Still, whether we have such a gift or not, taking the time and energy to learn a new skill or a way of doing something is beneficial to our mental, physical, and emotional well-being. We must never let those prodigies born with silver spoons in their mouths when it comes to talent discourage us.
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December 15, 2015 at 12:36pm December 15, 2015 at 12:36pm
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Prompt: Since “know thyself” is a highly overrated piece of wisdom which, at times, proves to be impossible, what do you think of those biography writers who claim to have the insight into someone else’s psyche? Shouldn’t that biography book be considered as a form of fiction?
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If not entirely, most of the biographies have false parts in them, I am sure. I don’t know if they should be considered fiction or non-fiction, but certainly, they do not tell the entire truth. If anything, a fictional work such as a novel or story may show the deep truth about people and circumstances with more insight.
An autobiography is a bit different if it is written only by the person himself and only if that person has a good insight into his own character, and even that is very rare. I do not believe in autobiographies written by a ghost writer, as the relationship and the openness of telling of truth between the ghost writer and the person can be suspect, as well.
The reason I thought of this prompt is because a friend of mine was mentioned in a politician’s autobiography penned by a ghost writer. That friend was fuming because the politician, to make herself/himself look like a hero, had all kinds of falsehoods about other people inside the book. Moreover, my friend is a private person and no permission was asked to use her name. Of course, she could take legal action, but she chooses not to do that for the trouble it will cause her in the long run and I don’t blame her for not doing it.
Forget about non-writers. Even writers, when writing autobiographies talk too much about other people. Even J.D. Salinger did that to Joyce Maynard. But then Joyce Maynard has her autobiography, too. 
Although, during my teens, I had great thirst for reading autobiographies and biographies, these days I am taking them with a grain of salt. I have since decided to stick to real fiction for the search of truth.
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December 13, 2015 at 6:58pm December 13, 2015 at 6:58pm
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Words are my life sentence in a way and by training, as language and thought go together. Even those who haven't formally studied linguistics have the affinity to play with words since there are normal words and also big words. Although most people have problems with big words, there's no reason why we shouldn't learn them. We can even use them without sounding like a prick. Not that, I use every word correctly all the time, but I try. Here are a few I thought I'd enter into my blog.
Mea Culpa is kind of an apology, a Latin expression with regret built into it, which can be used an interjection or a noun. The closest expression to it used today that I can think of is “My bad!”
-“You forgot to sweep the floor.”
-“Mea culpa! I'll do it right away.”
A certain presidential candidate owes mea culpa to the minorities of our nation.
Mea Culpa is not the same as excuse as excuse carries inside it the meaning of justification or qualification of a fault or defect.
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Rankle: to fester, to abrade while in the process of rotting (from Old French)
Figuratively speaking, it may mean to annoy or irritate while conveying a sense of ongoing emotional hurt or bitterness.
Cankle= calf + ankle
A wide, thick, or fat ankle that appears indistinguishable from the lower calf.
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Emoji = Cyberspace’s hieroglyphics or symbols, which as the machinations of Unicode, appear as true pictures
From Japanese, e = picture, moji = letter or character
Emoticon = Forerunner of the emoji, emoticon is a hybrid word made by combining emotion and icon.
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Unctuous is derived from a Latin word meaning ointment. It’s pronounced in three syllables.
Literal meaning is “oily and slippery, like ointment.”
Its original meaning used to be and to some still is, “sycophantic, groveling, and especially hypocritical.”
Although some food writers use it wrongly to mean, ‘succulent’.
Since anointing with oil is a symbolic act indicating that a person is being prepared for something serious, in religious context, “an unctuous person” is one who shows religious devotion or piety.
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A few Dys- words
dysgenic (adjective): showing or forcing on a damaging effect on the race, leaning toward or hinting at racial degeneration
dystopian (adjective): oppressive and miserable.
dystopia (noun) : opposite of utopia.
An existence in which people are oppressed by an intrusive government and horrid living conditions.
dysphagia (noun): difficulty in swallowing
dysplasia (noun): an abnormal growth or development
dysphoria (noun) = (opposite of euphoria) a feeling of unease or discomfort, such as embarrassment
dysphonia (noun): impairment of the voice
dyspepsia (noun): severe indigestion
dysrhythmia (noun): disordered rhythm in the brain waves
dyslexia (noun): a learning disability that shows difficulties in processing written language
dysentery (noun): an often epidemic or endemic disease of severe diarrhea
dystrophy (noun): a deterioration or wasting away of a body part or the whole body
dyskinesia (noun): impaired motion
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December 12, 2015 at 11:46am December 12, 2015 at 11:46am
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Prompt: Groucho Marx was known for his witty commentary, one of my favorites is "Die, my dear? Why, that's the last thing I'll do." What's the last thing you'll do? Have you stepped out of your comfort zone lately? Tell us about it.
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I agree with Groucho in that dying will be the last thing I’ll do. As to getting out of my comfort zone, I do it quite often, although I don’t advertise it. There are many positives to stepping out of our comfort zones. To begin with, we become most honest with ourselves when we are faced with real fear around an unfamiliar situation or an outcome. In that sense, we are escaping the comfort zone, which can be a self-imposed prison.
My last out-of comfort zone experience, when it comes to writing, was the novel in NaNo, if I don’t count my little everyday step-outs. I have done NaNo several times before, but this one was difficult. Not only it required a mother story but twenty short stories (related or unrelated) in it. This is no biggie, if I had taken at least four months to do it, or if I had at least a decent outline for each story plus the framing story. No, I started it with nothing, no prep, just the idea and wrote by pantsing it in November. I am happy about it because I finished it, although it definitely needs a rewrite with the deletion of some of the short stories, since they are crowding out the mother story’s impact. But, guess what? I am not rewriting it.
I have lived out of my comfort zone in much bigger ways during my life, and I didn’t blink while taking the first step. Except, I’ve grown old and l value my creature comforts more now. So, stepping out is confined within the perimeters of things that won’t make me sick physically, mentally, or emotionally.
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December 11, 2015 at 12:01pm December 11, 2015 at 12:01pm
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Lyn asks: I read an interesting article this weekend and would like your opinion. "Honesty and greed are beside the point. We get ourselves into trouble because we're suckers for belief. What matters instead is greed of a different sort: a deep need to believe in a version of the world where everything really is for the best-- at least when it comes to us.." Do you agree or disagree? Are we born to be conned!
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No way! We are not born to be conned; even I, one of the most gullible people, do not believe that. I also do not believe in “everything really is for the best.” I rather trust in some things being a test.
Had we been given the fate of being born to be conned, we wouldn’t we given a mind, a judgment, or an intuition. I don’t think the Creator--or if you’d rather believe, the Creation or Nature—would be that cruel to let us be conned all the time.
In addition, what is wrong with trusting one’s fellow humans? I’d rather trust people than live in the claws of suspicion and feel miserable. Anyhow, there is always that little voice inside us whispering to us to watch out when someone or something is out to get us in one way or another; in return, our job is to stay informed as much as we can. For example, if I didn’t know or read about the Nigerian scam, I would be paying money to receive the inheritance I never got from the relative I never had.
Having said that, have I never been conned? Of course, I have, but only because I hadn’t heard of a certain scheme, because of ignorance, because of letting myself become brainwashed by the general trend or another uninformed person.
Not only are the crooks the ones who con us, by the way. Do we ever question the mores of the society or the family we are born in? Isn’t their ways of belief and their urging that we think and act their way a form of conning? When a medical person or a doctor does unnecessary stuff on our bodies, isn’t that another form of conning?
Yet, we go along with such things willingly. Why? Because we are not informed enough and we haven’t thought things thoroughly. Also, we have the need to belong with a family, with a group, with a community, with a nation, with a religion. Nothing's wrong with that! Yet, we should still listen to the voice inside us telling us to think, to question, to research. In short, it is our minds and intuition we should always pay heed in order not to be conned.
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December 10, 2015 at 1:45pm December 10, 2015 at 1:45pm
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Prompt: Your local electronics store has 3 new products: Time machine, a door that goes anywhere you want or a helmet that lets you see the future. You can only afford one. Which one do you choose?
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None of the above, but if I have to, I’ll take the door, at least I’ll know where I am going, which goes to show how I am not that imaginative with my writing.
Now that I’ve answered the prompt, I’ll examine the idea of leaving stuff in its first draft, which I’ve been doing with all my NaNo novels, partially because I am lazy and partially because I’m scared stiff I’ll make them even worse. With the first draft, I try not to make gross mistakes, but a few may have escaped my attention. No problem, if I don’t publish.
The idea that all first drafts suck may not be correct, either. Some of the self-published novels I sometimes read--or do not finish reading--have a several serious problems with them, and a few of those have had editors. My guess is they were not true editors but other friend-writers. Nothing wrong with that if both writers had a good grasp of the craft, and I can always overlook a tiny problem or two; however, some of the time, I find a lot more than that.
On the other hand, it is possible the muse is kind enough to show up during the first draft. If he or she didn’t, a novice writer would be too discouraged to continue or may not see the holes as he or she is writing; yet, a more experienced one cringes even through the initial writing process. In my case, I enjoy the writing process so much, I don’t care if I have typed some stupidity or other.
This is fine; my writing can improve later if I keep at it. Yet, what if I keep making the same mistakes, novel after novel? Since I have banished my editorial muse, I don’t care, while I write, for what she keeps yelling at me. Her observations, as correct as they may be, are irritating. I’ll, however, beg her to return with a long list of to-dos when I finally decide to fix my novels at the expense of my writerly delights. Will that day come? Do I have that long a life left?
Who cares how time flies when one is having so much fun!
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