she who blogs

Create Tuesday

Create Tuesday is for me to stay creative while at the same time, sharing ideas and creations with others. It's for the inner artist in all of us. Below is a quote by Pearl Buck that I found sums up for me what creativity is:

The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanely sensitive. To them... a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create -- so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, their very breath is cut off... They must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency they are not really alive unless they are creating. - Pearl Buck (1892 - 1973)

 

How it works:

1. Pick one theme or both themes - two theme will be given each Sunday or Monday (each theme will last 2 weeks)

2. Create an artwork in any media or material in any size or format.

3. Post it on your blog and link back here - you may use the badges below or simply a text link (please save the graphic on your computer and not link to the images)

4. Leave a direct link to your post/artwork in the comments - that's it!

  Click here for the first Create Tuesday theme.

Commemorating the Real Moonwalkers: Book Review of Andrew Smith’s Moon Dust

Let’s cut right to the chase here: many of you reading this weren’t even alive on July 20, 1969.

Neither was I.

And for that reason, it’s simply impossible for us, who have always known moon landings to be possible but have never seen one live, to grasp what those days leading up to the Apollo 11 mission felt like and the wave of emotions that swirled through the 500 million people watching Neil Armstrong take his “one small step.”

But that doesn’t stop me, who has always had a fascination with the final frontier, from trying to imagine.

And one summer day in 2006, I got a little help from my old friend William, he of the orgasmic Ionian Sea view.

In one of our many morning conversations over cappuccino the year before, I had told William that one of my earliest career aspirations had been to be an astronaut; I waxed poetic about Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama (surely a uniquely American concept, no?), and how if I had been able to attend (it wasn’t even remotely financially possible), my whole future coulda woulda shoulda blah blah blah.

Well, when William came back down here the following summer, he brought me a copy of Andrew Smith’s Moon Dust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth from England; I had never even heard of it. He insisted that it was all the rage in the UK, and, indeed, it was shortlisted for the British Book Awards Best Read of 2006.

Moon Dust is Andrew Smith’s account of what has become of the remaining Moonwalkers–only nine of the twelve men who have walked on the moon’s surface from 1969-1972 are still alive to tell their stories.

Smith was inspired to pursue this idea because of what happened during a 1999 interview with Charlie Duke, who became the 10th man to walk on the moon with Apollo 16. In the course of the meeting, Duke received a call with news that Pete Conrad, third man on the moon with Apollo 12, had died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident in Ojai, California. “Ojai,” incidentally, is a Native American word for moon.

Duke plainly stated, “Now there’s only nine of us,” words that stuck in Smith’s head for years. Then he finally decided to pursue the answer to the question, “Where do you go after you’ve been to the Moon?” by tracking down all the surviving Moonwalkers to see how their lives were changed by their experiences and what they’ve been doing since their lunar days.

I devoured this book that summer, and I still think about it periodically, but it wasn’t until the coming of the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing that I picked it up again.

Just like the first time, I became fully engrossed in the stories of these extraordinary men who accomplished things I can’t begin to wrap my head around. Smith does a fantastic job of transporting the reader right there before, during, and after the moon landings, putting human faces, dreams, and feelings to names I’d only heard of.

Yes, Smith’s narrative could have been a little less about him and apparently there are some rather glaring factual errors (not that I could have picked them out), but none of that mattered to me. All I wanted to do was sit down with the Moonwalkers and just listen, and Smith’s Moon Dust gave me the chance to do just that — in many instances leaving me with even more questions about the men who walked on the moon, the space program’s past, present, and future, conspiracy theorists’ beliefs that the moon landings were a hoax and never actually happened, and so many other things I hadn’t even considered before I read the book.

Just like an excellent nonfiction book should.

Whether you were alive or not on July 20, 1969, I highly recommend this book for an amazing look into the minds, hearts, and souls of nine of the 12 most interesting men to have ever walked the earth — and the moon.

What do you associate with the July 20, 1969 moon landing?

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An Exercise for Writers: The Meme About Blogging

 

Judd Corizan, from whom I acquired The Rising Blogger, recently launched Sunday Stealing. Each Sunday, they rip off a meme from another blogger — giving full credit and a link back to that author’s site, of course — and invite everyone to play along.

This week, Judd, et al. ripped off The Meme About Blogging from Momma at Momma Blogs A Lot.  Actually, this particular meme bears some similarity to the What’s Your Story? exercise that was popular in 2007.

Participating in this writing exercise presents an opportunity to pause, reflect, and enunciate your perspectives on blogging.  If you do not have a blog, you can adapt the questions to focus on why you write.  I hope that many of you will take a few minutes to contemplate and respond to the questions.  Feel free to provide your answers in the form of a comment or post a link to your own post!

1. How long have you been blogging?

I founded Colloquium in March 2005.

2. Any advice to beginners?

It it best to establish your own domain from the outset, but if you are undecided about the name or overall concept, you might wish to begin by using a free software platform like Blogger or WordPress.  You can transition to your own domain later, although there are associated drawbacks.

 

Bloggers should acquaint themselves with prudent, conservative blogging practices and judiciously abide by those guidelines.  For instance, you must pick the topics you blog about carefully,never revealing information about your employer, fellow employees, and professional pursuits.  The most important things to keep in mind are: 1) You are never truly anonymous online, even if you select and utilize a pseudonym; and 2) everything you write and publish online will remain there indefinitely, even if you delete your entire blog.  Caches are forever!

For more information, refer to my six-part series: Your Online Writing Life:  Protect Your Reputation — and Future.

3. What are the good things blogging has brought to your life?

I have “met” some wonderful blogging friends and associates, most particularly my colleagues at Write Anything.  I have improved my writing and bolstered my confidence in my abilities.  I learn something new each and every day!

4. What would you consider the pitfalls?

Blogging can be time-consuming. I wish that I had more time to devote to reading and commenting on other folks’ blogs because I always enjoy and learn from what my fellow bloggers write.

5. Tell us about your blog name. Ever think of changing it? If so, to what? Why?

I founded my site on Blogger with the title “Robert’s Legacy,” because I initially wrote about my experiences litigating Conservatorship of Wendland, and the Terri Schiavo case in Florida.  However, I changed the name when I began exploring other topics and eventually transferred my early, initial posts on those topics to a new site with the same title:  Robert’s Legacy.

Sometimes I consider abandoning Colloquium in favor of a more descriptive title related to writing and blogging.  But so far, I haven’t thought a creative title or concept.  I also think it was a mistake to establish a domain based upon my real name — largely because people misspell it nearly as often as they spell it correctly.

6. Knowing what you know now, was starting a blog a good thing for you? Why or why not?

Yes!  I need the creative outlet!  I have an extremely stressful, demanding career and I look forward to sitting down in front of my computer after a long day, completely switching gears, and unwinding by reading and writing about anything and everything other than the topics I focus upon when working.  In fact, within the next couple of days, my new personal laptop will be arriving, enabling me to read others’ work and draft posts when I have a spare moment while traveling on business.

7. How do you think blogging, bloggers, or the blogosphere has changed since you started?

When I started blogging, “Web 2.0″ and “social marketing” were not yet a way of life.  I recall when it was a big deal to be using the “new” Blogger and remember being very excited when my site was selected as one of the first transitioned to Blogger Beta!  I shudder when I think about all the hours I spent modifying my template, implementing hacks to achieve features that we all take for granted now.  The advances in blogging software that have been made in the less than four years I have been blogging are mind-boggling, and WordPress upgrades seem to be issued in increasingly-rapid succession. I can’t even imagine what it will be like in another three to four years.

8. Ultimately, what would you like your blog to accomplish for you or others?

I’m only in it for enjoyment and stress reduction.  When it ceases to be fun, I will disappear from the blogosphere.  But if, while I’m here, I can impart some useful information or encourage a fellow writer to keep working to improve his/her technique, I will consider my time to have been well spent.

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Do They Have a Fourth of July In England?

 

Yes, of course they do, silly!

It's neatly ensconced between the third of July and the fifth of July.  Quite convenient, is it not?

Oh.

You mean, do they celebrate American Independence Day?

Well.... wouldn't that be a little like Tina Turner sending red roses to Ike Turner on their anniversary?
Then again, maybe not. 

The British do not collectively do cocaine-- they let Pete Doherty take one for the team.   And as far as I know, the US is not an abused wife.

(and plus, there was no blow back in the 18th century, but don't tell LiLo that)

Oh wait!  You mean, do they have a day where they blow things up and have all manner of cool fireworks?  They do:  it's called Guy Fawkes night and I hear it's the sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.  Guy Fawkes and pals tried to blow up Parliament, you know.

I know huh?  Apparently crazy-assed bombers, assassins, conspirators and murderers are not solely in the realm of our kooky, violent, terrorist-mad world.  I bet you knew that, huh, Mr. Lincoln?

Happy fifth of July, everyone!  Have a nice one.

Visit Madame Meow

Yes, of course they do, silly!

It's neatly ensconced between the third of July and the fifth of July.  Quite convenient, is it not?

Oh.

You mean, do they celebrate American Independence Day?

Well.... wouldn't that be a little like Tina Turner sending red roses to Ike Turner on their anniversary?
Then again, maybe not. 

The British do not collectively do cocaine-- they let Pete Doherty take one for the team.   And as far as I know, the US is not an abused wife.

(and plus, there was no blow back in the 18th century, but don't tell LiLo that)

Oh wait!  You mean, do they have a day where they blow things up and have all manner of cool fireworks?  They do:  it's called Guy Fawkes night and I hear it's the sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.  Guy Fawkes and pals tried to blow up Parliament, you know.

I know huh?  Apparently crazy-assed bombers, assassins, conspirators and murderers are not solely in the realm of our kooky, violent, terrorist-mad world.  I bet you knew that, huh, Mr. Lincoln?

Happy fifth of July, everyone!  Have a nice one.

Visit Madame Meow