In the midst of attempting to build something out of nothing it's so easy to forget all that we do have while we strive for the things that we don't. In that vein I would like to thank everyone in my life for all that they've done: Mom, My friends, acquaintances, all my readers past and future, Dad in his own way and a big thanks to the person or people who are going to help me advance in the world of writing. So to everyone I've met and everyone I have yet to, happy Thanksgiving.
And if you're still wondering about what you should be Thankful for this year, according to my "Things to be happy about" Calendar today's entries are, in no particular order: Baskets of Bread, no appetizers, hosting Thanksgiving, The Macy's parade (their Bold), driving like Mario Andretti, organic farming, snow in the clouds, crepuscular rays, news on the bulletin board and your family (my bold, we only get one).
May the gluttony of the food, the quality of the football and the level of the company all leave your refreshed and rejuvenated - we all have videos to watch of the yearly chaos as stores open at 4.
I look forward to revealing more of the smoke behind the mirror tomorrow - I've remembered my voice and I look forward to sharing again with all who listen. Stay classy. Starting tomorrow.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Reading How and Why for better What
As I slowly adjust to the idea of really putting my nose to the grindstone in the process to truly become author and writer and not just random blogger musing about the droppings of my mind I’m realizing the immediate struggle that I gloss over every time I spend any significant time away from the keyboard: how to state, refine and close and idea under a timeframe? What can I work in, what can I convey and what should I be striving for? I know how it works with more researched pieces, simply put forth draft after draft until the idea simply cannot help but spill forth. Shorter timeframes hasten that process and lower the number of drafts that time will allow, but even a full day allows for idea and development that immediate content simply won’t allow. But before I worry about how I am going to present, I wonder about a greater question, as readers do we even know what and how presentation works with the content we take in?
What kinds of ideas can we present when we only have 30 minutes or less? No links allowed, and quotes don’t count. How does this differ from the other content we take in, and how should we treat what we read? How much less does the first blush give us than the “whole story” (assuming we even pretend we can put it to words)? Questions worth asking though, from both an author side and a reader side – what can we expect from each other? Is it enough to just bring up an idea, or talk around it, or can we actually get somewhere under a deadline. The answer of course depends in no small part at how skilled the author is in constructing and presenting an argument, but it’s worth paying heed to exactly what you are reading and how long it likely took to write before you let the words presented affect what’s going on in our heads.
Not everything is meant to be taken as the final word and it’s certainly worth considering the different reasons that we read. While I will certainly do some injustice to all the ways we consume words, I would say that we could all agree that Tweets are mostly thoughtless, and that academic papers tend to sit on the other side of the depth and organization spectrum but what about the words that clock in somewhere in the middle? What about thoughtful status updates, reviews that link to an article, reflections on what we find in our news feeds?
And what about Tweeting? There’s nothing inherent to the medium that renders them less educational, interesting or newsworthy. When we talk about tweeting though we’re talking about two different reasons to check our Twitter feeds regularly: one as time sensitive method of news delivery and the other acting as a “best of” feed from our friends and celebrities, a filter though which we decide what is relevant and from where. There’s options I’m missing and I’m only picking on Twitter because it is convenient: for each method of information presentation there are banes and boons and in addition to being aware of author perspective and bias we also must take note of the limitations and abilities of the structure within which we are reading and writing.
It’s important to also remember that everything we read has an effect on our perspective; none of our experiences go unnoticed. Which makes it all the more important that we understand the why of what we are reading as much as the actual what it is that we read. If we read the musings of someone we respect it is easy to think that what they are communicating reflects their full and serious opinion, a dangerous proposition when information is taken out of context.
Yes, context applies not on to the ways the words relate to each other but the medium through which they are presented and the parties involved. For instance, those who know me long enough will at some point hear me mention that I think in one or another we are just wasting time until our heart stops beating. This is a freeing concept, as I think it affords us the opportunity to be true to and follow what we believe is most important: none of us are so powerful we can wipe out Earth, no being is at the top of the food chain. As a species we haven’t even gotten more than a mile into the 7900 we would need to drill all the way though and we can easily recall the myriad ways in which all organic life could easily from our planet. Those who do not know me, or don’t see the freeing perspective of knowing that we are all just little specks of cosmic dust or who skim the words may come out very disappointed. On the other hand, someone could easily take that idea for more nefarious means, as exculpation for poor behavior (“Nothing I do matters, let’s go throw some eggs at orphans!) or worse.
We are all at risk for misunderstanding what we are reading and why we are reading it; pretty sure that’s why every so often someone will go bonkers after reading “Catcher in the Rye.” It’s also why we get angry when people tweet dumb things, how sound bites get blown way out of proportion and why if we’re really in a bad mood we can take a lover’s two page mash note and get offended by their statement about loving us despite the ten pounds we’ve managed to put on.
This blog for instance is meant as a way of hopefully breaking you out of the standard ideas you fine readers may be thinking today while loosely conveying some of the fun things that pass between my ears throughout the day. It isn’t meant to be my definitive work, and certainly isn’t my final word on anything. I am working to create those sites, so please just enjoy what you read and if you have questions comments or concerns I will be happy to reply to any and all. Please let me know your thoughts in general, every little bit of feedback is welcome.
But I digress; this isn’t about me it’s about knowing why we’re doing what we’re doing. The next time you pick up the printed word (or any media for that matter) take a moment to consider what you’re getting out of it before you think too hard about what Adonis DNA actually is when Charlie Sheen tweets it or think too little about the status update of your friend saying how alone they feel today. It also points to the larger question for another day – in the same way that we forget to give appropriate thought that that which we read we apply the same kinds of misunderstandings to the greater spectrum of our experience. If we don’t know how we want to sort the moments that make up our lives how we possibly pretend to make sense of any sort of larger picture?
What kinds of ideas can we present when we only have 30 minutes or less? No links allowed, and quotes don’t count. How does this differ from the other content we take in, and how should we treat what we read? How much less does the first blush give us than the “whole story” (assuming we even pretend we can put it to words)? Questions worth asking though, from both an author side and a reader side – what can we expect from each other? Is it enough to just bring up an idea, or talk around it, or can we actually get somewhere under a deadline. The answer of course depends in no small part at how skilled the author is in constructing and presenting an argument, but it’s worth paying heed to exactly what you are reading and how long it likely took to write before you let the words presented affect what’s going on in our heads.
Not everything is meant to be taken as the final word and it’s certainly worth considering the different reasons that we read. While I will certainly do some injustice to all the ways we consume words, I would say that we could all agree that Tweets are mostly thoughtless, and that academic papers tend to sit on the other side of the depth and organization spectrum but what about the words that clock in somewhere in the middle? What about thoughtful status updates, reviews that link to an article, reflections on what we find in our news feeds?
And what about Tweeting? There’s nothing inherent to the medium that renders them less educational, interesting or newsworthy. When we talk about tweeting though we’re talking about two different reasons to check our Twitter feeds regularly: one as time sensitive method of news delivery and the other acting as a “best of” feed from our friends and celebrities, a filter though which we decide what is relevant and from where. There’s options I’m missing and I’m only picking on Twitter because it is convenient: for each method of information presentation there are banes and boons and in addition to being aware of author perspective and bias we also must take note of the limitations and abilities of the structure within which we are reading and writing.
It’s important to also remember that everything we read has an effect on our perspective; none of our experiences go unnoticed. Which makes it all the more important that we understand the why of what we are reading as much as the actual what it is that we read. If we read the musings of someone we respect it is easy to think that what they are communicating reflects their full and serious opinion, a dangerous proposition when information is taken out of context.
Yes, context applies not on to the ways the words relate to each other but the medium through which they are presented and the parties involved. For instance, those who know me long enough will at some point hear me mention that I think in one or another we are just wasting time until our heart stops beating. This is a freeing concept, as I think it affords us the opportunity to be true to and follow what we believe is most important: none of us are so powerful we can wipe out Earth, no being is at the top of the food chain. As a species we haven’t even gotten more than a mile into the 7900 we would need to drill all the way though and we can easily recall the myriad ways in which all organic life could easily from our planet. Those who do not know me, or don’t see the freeing perspective of knowing that we are all just little specks of cosmic dust or who skim the words may come out very disappointed. On the other hand, someone could easily take that idea for more nefarious means, as exculpation for poor behavior (“Nothing I do matters, let’s go throw some eggs at orphans!) or worse.
We are all at risk for misunderstanding what we are reading and why we are reading it; pretty sure that’s why every so often someone will go bonkers after reading “Catcher in the Rye.” It’s also why we get angry when people tweet dumb things, how sound bites get blown way out of proportion and why if we’re really in a bad mood we can take a lover’s two page mash note and get offended by their statement about loving us despite the ten pounds we’ve managed to put on.
This blog for instance is meant as a way of hopefully breaking you out of the standard ideas you fine readers may be thinking today while loosely conveying some of the fun things that pass between my ears throughout the day. It isn’t meant to be my definitive work, and certainly isn’t my final word on anything. I am working to create those sites, so please just enjoy what you read and if you have questions comments or concerns I will be happy to reply to any and all. Please let me know your thoughts in general, every little bit of feedback is welcome.
But I digress; this isn’t about me it’s about knowing why we’re doing what we’re doing. The next time you pick up the printed word (or any media for that matter) take a moment to consider what you’re getting out of it before you think too hard about what Adonis DNA actually is when Charlie Sheen tweets it or think too little about the status update of your friend saying how alone they feel today. It also points to the larger question for another day – in the same way that we forget to give appropriate thought that that which we read we apply the same kinds of misunderstandings to the greater spectrum of our experience. If we don’t know how we want to sort the moments that make up our lives how we possibly pretend to make sense of any sort of larger picture?
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Working in Progress
In the attempt to restart actually being a writer I’ve decided that it’s vitally important to put out a little something new every day. Unfortunately since I haven’t been practicing the craft thanks to a series of choices that I will inevitably consider in these pages at some point I am stuck in the period where I’m certain that everything I write is horrible and should probably be sucked down the drain of obscurity. I can also see why people get caught up in those “ I was the king in high school” stories. While in my case those halcyon years for writing came after I graduated from college, there’s no doubt that I am expecting way too much considering the majority of writing I’ve sent for the last six weeks have been mainly from templates. And the six years before that I’ve been, uh, researching. Yes, can’t figure out what I want to write about if I don’t try everything out, right? Right.
And to those growing pains I’m also victim of a mind that is being trained more and deeply in the fine art of ADD. It’s even worse since now that I have a smartphone and can get any information any time, any song at any moment and all the youtube life fails I can handle. The internet is also training our minds to only remember that which we think we cannot find which has surely devolved my mind a thousand years or so. And yet I carry on, with the assumption that that which I lost/never had can be found/restored. I’ve been writing for long enough, but other than grant writing there’s been little in the way of restoring the art expression I’ve been missing so dearly from the words I use everyday. I wasn’t paid to be interesting or concerned with the topic, I was paid to write how someone else needs me to be, not how what I would like to say. I guess that’s the part about what adversity does for us though, allows for an appreciation when we finally decide to take the freedom that we had forgotten we had.
Today was a struggle and a study in the process. There’s a fine line between associating ideas and getting farther and farther way from the goal, and there’s often little you can do about it when you’re first starting to write again. It’s a world that a writer creates when he/she puts the words to the page, and if you are a deity who hasn’t gotten the management process down it can get out of hand mighty fast. And once your ideas have gone Lord of the Flies on each other you just wait for the adults to return and wonder what happened to Piggy. Remember that everything fell apart in only six days in that novel – it happens just so fast.
On the upside, everything has to start somewhere. Please enjoy this preview of things to come:
(How to translate experience into something that people can benefit from): It’s funny that we spend our entire lives trying to be ourselves but think very little of the expression of that life. And isn’t that the question? For all that I take in, what do I want to put back out? I spend so much time trying to gather more opinions, synthesize more ideas, be more engaged but perhaps don’t consider enough that when the expression is – what am I really doing when I waste another night on the couch?. We all need to recharge, surely but we only have a limited time to affect each other and the world around us in a meaningful way – but what does that look like? I spend all day being myself, shouldn’t there be some expression that will benefit everyone else too? How to turn these compulsions into creations? How can we turn our selfish impulses to the greatest good for everyone?...
(Most problems are of our own doing): Reflecting over the past couple of years my dominant struggle is getting out of my own way. Not taking jobs that will limit my opportunities, finding the right people to grow (always surround yourself with people more talented than you are), moderation in consumables big and small, experiences that will inspire – it’s so easy to forget to listen to what you feel most alive doing by being too concerned with what you believe you should be doing…
(Why being creative is necessary, for everyone): And why is creation so important? The only thing I can refer to is the feeling The realization of how long the idea has been absent in my life. How many of us can say that we are allowed to use our full powers of hands and mind to create something that actually benefits other people while enriching ourselves? If it was the majority opinion there would be no “Working for the Weekend” by Loverboy, and I think we know how much better a reality that would be.
(What is art?): I believe it was Tom Robbins who opined in Skinny Legs and All that “Creating art is simple, you just look for something you want to see but can’t find and make it (sic). And why not make the drive for art our highest ideal? Is there anything more satisfying than bringing that change in the world that you wanted to see? If everyone addressed their interaction with the world in this way I think we might also see a lot less petty conflict, for who can worry about the unimportant when we keep in mind what is.
(Forest Rangers): Why do I keep thinking that being a Forest Ranger would be the
(I had no idea, I love to hear anything a reader would like to say) Thank you Marjorie, though it took me a year to read your comment but it’s the reason I write – so glad I can bring some depth to your day.
The biggest lesson I hope to learn in this process is to appreciate the failure as much the success. Or maybe it will be realizing that we’ve only failed if we don’t try. Or even that you can tie a balloon to failure and float it to success. Have
And to those growing pains I’m also victim of a mind that is being trained more and deeply in the fine art of ADD. It’s even worse since now that I have a smartphone and can get any information any time, any song at any moment and all the youtube life fails I can handle. The internet is also training our minds to only remember that which we think we cannot find which has surely devolved my mind a thousand years or so. And yet I carry on, with the assumption that that which I lost/never had can be found/restored. I’ve been writing for long enough, but other than grant writing there’s been little in the way of restoring the art expression I’ve been missing so dearly from the words I use everyday. I wasn’t paid to be interesting or concerned with the topic, I was paid to write how someone else needs me to be, not how what I would like to say. I guess that’s the part about what adversity does for us though, allows for an appreciation when we finally decide to take the freedom that we had forgotten we had.
Today was a struggle and a study in the process. There’s a fine line between associating ideas and getting farther and farther way from the goal, and there’s often little you can do about it when you’re first starting to write again. It’s a world that a writer creates when he/she puts the words to the page, and if you are a deity who hasn’t gotten the management process down it can get out of hand mighty fast. And once your ideas have gone Lord of the Flies on each other you just wait for the adults to return and wonder what happened to Piggy. Remember that everything fell apart in only six days in that novel – it happens just so fast.
On the upside, everything has to start somewhere. Please enjoy this preview of things to come:
(How to translate experience into something that people can benefit from): It’s funny that we spend our entire lives trying to be ourselves but think very little of the expression of that life. And isn’t that the question? For all that I take in, what do I want to put back out? I spend so much time trying to gather more opinions, synthesize more ideas, be more engaged but perhaps don’t consider enough that when the expression is – what am I really doing when I waste another night on the couch?. We all need to recharge, surely but we only have a limited time to affect each other and the world around us in a meaningful way – but what does that look like? I spend all day being myself, shouldn’t there be some expression that will benefit everyone else too? How to turn these compulsions into creations? How can we turn our selfish impulses to the greatest good for everyone?...
(Most problems are of our own doing): Reflecting over the past couple of years my dominant struggle is getting out of my own way. Not taking jobs that will limit my opportunities, finding the right people to grow (always surround yourself with people more talented than you are), moderation in consumables big and small, experiences that will inspire – it’s so easy to forget to listen to what you feel most alive doing by being too concerned with what you believe you should be doing…
(Why being creative is necessary, for everyone): And why is creation so important? The only thing I can refer to is the feeling The realization of how long the idea has been absent in my life. How many of us can say that we are allowed to use our full powers of hands and mind to create something that actually benefits other people while enriching ourselves? If it was the majority opinion there would be no “Working for the Weekend” by Loverboy, and I think we know how much better a reality that would be.
(What is art?): I believe it was Tom Robbins who opined in Skinny Legs and All that “Creating art is simple, you just look for something you want to see but can’t find and make it (sic). And why not make the drive for art our highest ideal? Is there anything more satisfying than bringing that change in the world that you wanted to see? If everyone addressed their interaction with the world in this way I think we might also see a lot less petty conflict, for who can worry about the unimportant when we keep in mind what is.
(Forest Rangers): Why do I keep thinking that being a Forest Ranger would be the
(I had no idea, I love to hear anything a reader would like to say) Thank you Marjorie, though it took me a year to read your comment but it’s the reason I write – so glad I can bring some depth to your day.
The biggest lesson I hope to learn in this process is to appreciate the failure as much the success. Or maybe it will be realizing that we’ve only failed if we don’t try. Or even that you can tie a balloon to failure and float it to success. Have
Saturday, November 12, 2011
And again to begin again and again...
Until the simplest step of them all is taken; just don't stop. I sat down today for the latest reintroduction to the kind of words that I want to write (as opposed to the ones they pay me for) and the hope that at some point I might be able to make the two activities one and the same. But like all journeys of a 1,000 steps or 10,000 hours or this lifetime it can only come to fruition if it becomes the purpose without cease. The frequency of posting dates looks quite a bit like a triple jumpers run: a short hop between entries followed by a longer skip which recently extended itself into a multi-year jump. I'm hoping at this point I've hit the sand and can trot off to the marathon course, because I feel the rust as I dust myself off. Writing is not like riding a bike, and it's always a little awkward getting back into the process, but how many forays into the cube nation will it take for me to get the hint?
I'm optimistic though, for there is something to be said though for the moments we reconnect with something that we hold dear. Like a good relationship I know that there will be significant struggle, not only with ideas, phrases and formatting but with motivation and will but all the work is for a better purpose and worth the struggle. I've always thought we should follow our passions, and that these passions are created from that which most bothers us when it is done poorly. If how disappointed I currently am with my own flow of ideas is an indicator, I'm certainly on the right track.
A larger problem than my own pains in restarting my flow of ideas is just how the state of the written word these days. Most texts sound like pidgin when read literally, 148 characters has become an acceptable length to convey an idea and I shudder at the disparity between books, articles and short stories read and youtube views. While I might be powerless to stop our decent into a future with out imagination or articulate communication I can only hope to express some decent remarks to those who might be amused while our collective imaginations polish the brass on the Titanic.
Or so would say some that have come before me. I wonder what Twain or Wilde would have thought of Tweeting. Hollywood is certainly hurting enough for ideas that I'm sure that Bill & Ted could have one more radical excursion enough to set that up. The bigger question there is, can you look at yourself in the mirror after writing a screen play about that? And if so, what kind of person does that make you? I can almost hear "Oz-car!" in the same way I heard "So-crates!" back in the day. Strange things afoot at the Circle K indeed. I think I'll go put on some Wyld Stallyns now.
And when I come back tomorrow I can only hope that there will be a little more in the tank to share than there was yesterday. I'm still unsure where I would like this little web slice to go, though I'm very interested in seeing what happens. I'm still working on what success actually means, but if I could hope to write for people who like writing than I think I've done more than my share. I'm also always in the search for new ideas people and places so if you like what you read don't be shy to say hello - we're all in this together.
Time to live the weekend while the weekend is good. Cheers friends!
I'm optimistic though, for there is something to be said though for the moments we reconnect with something that we hold dear. Like a good relationship I know that there will be significant struggle, not only with ideas, phrases and formatting but with motivation and will but all the work is for a better purpose and worth the struggle. I've always thought we should follow our passions, and that these passions are created from that which most bothers us when it is done poorly. If how disappointed I currently am with my own flow of ideas is an indicator, I'm certainly on the right track.
A larger problem than my own pains in restarting my flow of ideas is just how the state of the written word these days. Most texts sound like pidgin when read literally, 148 characters has become an acceptable length to convey an idea and I shudder at the disparity between books, articles and short stories read and youtube views. While I might be powerless to stop our decent into a future with out imagination or articulate communication I can only hope to express some decent remarks to those who might be amused while our collective imaginations polish the brass on the Titanic.
Or so would say some that have come before me. I wonder what Twain or Wilde would have thought of Tweeting. Hollywood is certainly hurting enough for ideas that I'm sure that Bill & Ted could have one more radical excursion enough to set that up. The bigger question there is, can you look at yourself in the mirror after writing a screen play about that? And if so, what kind of person does that make you? I can almost hear "Oz-car!" in the same way I heard "So-crates!" back in the day. Strange things afoot at the Circle K indeed. I think I'll go put on some Wyld Stallyns now.
And when I come back tomorrow I can only hope that there will be a little more in the tank to share than there was yesterday. I'm still unsure where I would like this little web slice to go, though I'm very interested in seeing what happens. I'm still working on what success actually means, but if I could hope to write for people who like writing than I think I've done more than my share. I'm also always in the search for new ideas people and places so if you like what you read don't be shy to say hello - we're all in this together.
Time to live the weekend while the weekend is good. Cheers friends!
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