Am I being courageous or just plain cranky?

"Courage is the human virtue that counts most — courage to act on limited knowledge and insufficient evidence. That's all any of us have." – Robert Frost

About Robert Frost
Robert Frost, the influential American poet known for his rural settings, uncluttered language, and meditative themes, wrote the poems, "A Road Not Taken" and "Mending Walls," among many others. He was born in San Francisco in 1874 and moved to Massachusetts at age 11. He ran a farm for ten years, selling it to move to England and become a full-time poet. After achieving his goal, he moved back to New Hampshire. His ambition was to write "a few poems it will be hard to get rid of." He died in 1963.

Thanks to Daily Inspiration's Quote of the Day for this!
(I'll insert the subscription link as soon as I can figure it out.)

All-righty, then!

I'm in a conundrum today, trying to decipher (and put into action) my best course of action for a number of interesting but highly annoying circumstances that have literally invaded my otherwise pleasant every-day existence. No matter which option I ultimately choose I will need a good deal of courage to carry it out - because every one of them involves entering unknown territory!

Today's categories include:

My Writing:
Articles, feature articles, and essays: I need to refrain from editorializing, just now. See, my attitude is tainted by my mood, rather than by well thought-out opinions. So many things are jumbled up in my personal life - not all in a bad way, mind you, but in ways that require time and attention - causing sleep-deprivation and stress.

The Novel: Things couldn't be better just now I've had a major breakthrough in understanding how to manage a plot point that's been giving me fits for a long time; how to write it effectively and integrate it into the story seamlessly. This is huge for me as it's been a hindrance to the book's completion.

My relationships with several other authors, some of whom I love, adore, and admire; and some of whom I don't even like, need changing and revising. Categorizing, if you will. Ugh! Additionally, one of the writers' websites I frequent seems to be going through something. Not in any of my groups, but the overall site is suddenly developing a sort of undertow... I can't quite put my finger on it, but I can say, most emphatically, I don't like it.

My Family:
Who is this smart-mouthed, teenage, know-it-all? And how long is she planning to stay? I'm just asking.

My own adolescence revisited?
Okay, I admit it. I have a crush on someone. It's been a long time, and I'd forgotten how much fun it is... Do I tell myself I'm acting like a schoolgirl and being ridiculous, or do I enjoy the ride and flirt my middle-aged heart out?


Always end on an up-note, right?

Later,
Carol

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

4/8/2009 Muse Abuse... or The mystery of the Wandering Muse!

Quote of the Day
"Passion, though a bad regulator, is a powerful spring." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

About Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson helped spark the transcendentalist movement with the essay Nature, which described his belief in the spiritual essence of humanity and the natural world. He was born in Boston in 1803. He was a Unitarian minister until he resigned in 1832 to become a philosopher and writer. He suffered the untimely deaths of many of his loved ones: three brothers, his first wife at age 20, and his eldest son at age five. Emerson died in 1882.


I chose this quote today because I've been concerned about having seemingly lost my passion for the story I had been living and breathing for this past three years. It's dried up. Gonzo. Kaput!

Yesterday, in lamenting its apparent demise to a friend, I became confused over how it all started in the first place, and I referred back to my online novel journal to jog my memory. I read how the story so vividly came to life in my head, that it awoke me form my sleep and sent me running to my keyboard in the pre-dawn quiet. What an exciting, exhilarating, inspiring moment of enlightenment, and, yes, renewed passion I experienced while tip-toeing through the memories!

It was indeed passion that stirred the cup of inspiration on that warm summer evening back in 2006, and gave birth to Logan and Cassie et al. And it was indeed passion that caused them to quiet in my mind and appear to run off perhaps to take up residence with someone else's muse. Now, albeit faintly, I can hear them chuckling. "You shouldn't have taken us for granted. If you behave, we'll come back and tell you the rest of the story..."

I'm deciding... LOL

CM

Good Friends and Electronics (2.24.09)

This past Saturday, I lost a completed review and got so angry I smashed the papertowel holder down on the counter and accidentally smashed my iPhone that was sitting there - unbeknownst to me! Today my heater quit working, and last Saturday, Valentine's Day, my DVD player quit. Whassup with the electronics?

I replaced the DVD player for $40, but the review and the phone are gonners. Looks like the heater is a gonner too! Shit!

On an up note, Max and I finished our short story collaboration, Bluetooth Blues, and I officially entered it into the contest today. It was so much fun to write side by side with Max! And Tim's unwavering support was nothing less than stunning. He had written a story of his own for this contest, and we are competing against him! What a great friend he is; a gentleman and a genuinely honest person who truly wants the best for us, even if it means he might lose to us. WOW! With friends like this who needs electronics anyway! Pfffffffft.

CM :)