Morford does it again!

I love this guy! And I love the way he writes! I wanna hang wit him!

Do your self a favor and go read this article, if not for the logic and sense it makes, then for his way of saying all the logic and sense it makes!

Here's a taste:

"Sweet Jesus in minimalist design heaven, the iPad. No mouse, no extra cables, no mandatory hookups, no startup times, installation DVDs, RAM guides, accelerators, system folders, font drivers, extensions, launch daemons, Kerberos plug-ins, jpg helpers or compression schemes, no diphthong upslingers pongo hurling goober kerfuffling flipblasters.

Just a devastatingly simple, utterly gorgeous sheet of glass and aluminum that does almost everything your average computer user needs it to do, with a couple finger taps and a happy sigh, sans roughly 500 of the usual steps, clicks, guides, installations, file extensions and so on. It's understandable at a glance, intuitive as candy, enjoyable as a porn star in summertime. You know, just like the Mac has always been, except not really.

Using the iPad is obvious in that "well now this makes perfect sense" sort of way. Use it for five minutes and you'll have what's known as the Apple Epiphany, that thought that says, "Holy hell, why can't every user experience/consumer product be like this?" -- Mark Morford, SFGate Comumnist.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fg%2Fa%2F2010%2F07%2F07%2Fnotes070710.DTL

SEVEN THINGS ABOUT ME

In accordance to the rules of tagging, I'm to tell seven things about myself that you might not know. Here's my list:

1.  I'm shy.  You probably can't tell because I enjoy internetting, blogging, forum conversation, and chats.  They afford a sense of anonymity that I find comfortable.  In real life, however, I feel boring and uninteresting and I stop myself from asking the questions that fill my head (perpetually) for fear of sounding more like an interrogator than an interested friend.  (Henceforth, I R a writer).

2.  Steve hates watching TV with me because I talk back to the screen.  Lately, though, I can report that he has begun to holler at the characters, comedians, and gossip, er, I mean news folks.  I, on the other hand, being far superior and infinitely more cerebral, *chortle* typically offer my two cents to the writers of the rubbish (and quietly pity the poor, poor actors who are faced with the daunting task of bringing the poorly written, underdeveloped characters to life.  LOL!)

3.  I am writing a book.  This is a recent development, and it came along much like my accidental shopkeeper career.  I'm letting serendipity guide me in my choice of careers these days.  (Geeze, I better develop my characters well or someone like me will be yipping a bit!)

4.  I grew up in foster care, and was adopted when I was nine.  I have 1 adopted sister who is younger than me and 12 foster brothers and sisters varying in ages and relationships.  That leaves me a person without a clear path, someone who meanders through life.  *Insert violin solo here* Are we starting to see a pattern yet?

5.  I am a triple Scorpio.  I do not get angry about much, but when I do... uh, that is to say, when I get riled up about something, there is simply no shutting me down.  Injustice does it...   My latest vendeta is against the media for their shabby, shoddy, slothful, libellous reporting.  The election reporting has gotten my dander up but (I must confess) it came to a head with the completely irresponsible accusational reports on Heath Ledger after his too-soon demise.  It was uncalled-for and pushed me over the edge.  

6.  I am a cancer survivor.  (HA!  The media has no idea who they are dealing with!)

7.  When I was growing up, my friends dubbed me the Queen of Popcorn because that's the only food I knew how to cook. When Steve and I decided to co-habitate, my friends threw me a recipe party so he wouldn't have to eat popcorn at every meal.   (Turns out, popcorn is his favorite thing!  Ain't life grand?)

 

CM

 

THE MUSE IS BACK!

COLOR ME HAPPY!

My muse is back and I have not had a breakdown of some kind in the meanwhile... Okay, well, that's debatable, but I am feeling fine now!

I had resolved, just yesterday, to stop struggling to find another muse and, instead, bite the proverbial bullet, give in, and re-write Logan to accommodate my, uh, issues with Bean. Sounds silly, I know, but cut me some slack. Every writer knows that the muse holds the power. He dictates. I merely transcribe. Re-writing the story would have been infinitely easier than finding a replacement muse to drive a story that has been inspired by another...

It never ceases to amaze me that as soon as I acknowledge that I am indeed not the one in control, I am given that very thing which I so desperately desired. In this case, I had been dreaming of finding my muse again, steadfastly intact.

Today, my wish is granted. (Oh, how dramatic, but, truth be told, I feel dramatic about it...) Still unable to write and cruelly left alone with my thoughts because plans for the day had been thwarted by inclement weather, I chose to lock myself in my office in an attempt to force myself to, at some point, at least touch the keyboard. But, alas, it was not to be so; I rebelliously avoided it like the plague. Even my bookshelves seemed to hold no interesting respite; no beckoning there, which is what leads me to admit that my statement about not having had a breakdown is somewhat debatable. Books have always been my hiding place and for me to look at them and feel nothing is, quite frankly, cause for alarm.

Frustrated and desperate for an escape, I actually turned on the TV. Now, anyone reading this who knows me personally just gasped in disbelief, but I assure you, it is true...

What transpired then was nothing short of stunning. You may remember that in my lamentation, DISMUSED, I mentioned that Sean Bean had a movie in current release in the UK. I am now convinced that he must have something going on over here in the States as well because that man is all over the small screen! I could not change the channel without bumping into him. Everywhere I went, there he was. (Is he stalking me? Hmmm? Why, yes, I have been called a dreamer; why do you ask?) Anyway, I saw SHARPE; some mad scientist on an ISLAND cloning mankind for fun and profit; greedy Ian scurrying to locate our NATIONAL TREASURE by stealing the Declaration of Independence; a man desperate to find his wife and daughter who'd gone missing in some weird, dark nightmarish sci-fi thing on SILENT HILL; and the handsome Airline Pilot who disrupted my FLIGHTPLAN and started all this by making me notice Sean Bean in the first place. Why, if I didn't know better, I'd swear he was stalk... uh, well, never mind.

At any rate, his brilliant personifications one after the other, or remoting back and forth as the case may be, enthralled and entertained. Afterwards it hit me just how clever this actor is. Consider this: It's one thing to carry a film on your back when you are the lead; quite another, I would imagine, when you are not. Strategically placing himself in so many secondary roles when he is the epitome of a leading man is nothing short of brilliant. Bean gets A's in my book. Only other actor I have ever admired for such selfless, brainy moves is Dustin Hoffman. If Bean loves his craft the way Dustin does, we'll all grow old together; that's a given!

I find his wisdom and humility very appealing indeed!


All is well. The muse is back!


I really ought to send him a Thank You...

CM
--
Newprose.org

"Life is no brief candle. It's a sort of splendid torch, so make it
burn as bright as possible." --George Bernard Shaw