Some times I happen across a thing so obviously fantastic that I have a hard time reconciling the reality of life with my newfound love. So it is with me and trains. Who knew?!
The last time I took a train ride, I was, at best guess, a whopping eight sound years' old. Don't remember a single moment of it. Always time for a second chance, right? So, due to the unusual timing issues, I ended up booking a train ride this last week for my westward move. Did I get stuck next to a crazy? Ermmm, yes. For a couple hours (not bad, considering the length of the trip). This is apparently not a problem particular to airports and creepy bus stations of the sticks. lol. BUT I had the luxury of movement. Of leaning my two seats backward and stretching out like I was on a bed. And this was coach?! Again, who knew?!
Then there was the view:
Remind me again why I take airplanes everywhere?
Oh yeah, they're quick. And ... and ... and ... .
I can't think of any other single decent reason. Very, very, very long story short: Train riding is my new favorite thing!
Showing posts with label Friday Faves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friday Faves. Show all posts
Friday, December 9, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Friday Fave: Late Night Thanksgiving Goodies
In honor of the coming holiday, this post will contain two favorites. And again, I'm going with recipes, but don't worry--nothing complex, as these are meant to be whipped up after all the other Thanksgiving goodies are gone or no longer sound tasty. Or when you need your relatives to shut up and get a little tipsy. *laugh* Whichever comes first.
I'm referring, of course, to the all-star combo of Apple Betty and Hot Whiskey.
*happy sigh*
I'm referring, of course, to the all-star combo of Apple Betty and Hot Whiskey.
*happy sigh*
Apple Betty
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
***
4 apples, cored and cut into sixths
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup flour
1/2-to-1 stick butter, melted
Few pinches cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to approximately 375. Coat a baking dish (I like small, deep ones for this, but any size/shape works fine) with cooking spray; fill with apple pieces. Combine dry ingredients and toss slightly. If you want a "crust," you can add more oats and sugar to the top and not toss. Gently pour melted butter over the mixture, paying special attention to the oats. Bake 20-30 minutes.
and then drink some of the following when you eat it!
Hot Whiskey
Difficulty: Easy peasy until drunk
Prep Time: 2-5 minutes
***
1 1/2 oz of [decent] whiskey.
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp honey
1 lemon wedge
4 cloves
1 cup boiling water
Puncture lemon with cloves. In mug, combine whiskey, brown sugar, and boiling water; stir. Dizzle in honey; stir. Give lemon-clove wedge a good squeeze and drop into mug.
YUM! Also good for sore throats, by the way.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Friday Fave: Cold Weather Soup
It's finally chilly here, with gray dawns, gray days and brilliant sunsets. Which means it's nearing winter, and time for cold weather soup. Yum. So this week--yet again--my Friday Fave is a recipe.
Cheater's Potato Soup
Difficulty: Easy!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20? minutes
***
Four potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 small mushroom cap, diced (optional)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 stick butter (butter, yum!)
1/4 cup-ish instant mashed potatoes
1/4 cup-ish water
2 cups-ish milk or heavy cream
healthy amount of parsley
pinch nutmeg
salt
pepper
Cheddar cheese for topping
In medium saucepan, melt 2 tbsp of butter. Saute onions until soft; add mushroom and saute until soft and onions are lightly browned. Add potatoes and remaining butter, bring heat to med-med-high. Add water, salt, pepper and parsley. Lid and simmer until potatoes are done al dente, stirring occasionally. Add splash of milk to moisten, then add instant mashed potatoes and nutmeg. Pour in remaining milk slowly, stirring and pouring until just a little more liquefied than you actually want it, as it will thicken. Cook for another minute or so, stirring gently.
Serve immediately with cheddar cheese and hunk of sourdough!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Friday Fave:HALLOWEEN!
Halloween, to a costume-loving dork like your's truly, is one of the three most awesomest holidays of the year, one of the three Holiest of Holies. (*laugh*) What are my other two? Wouldn't you like to know....tee he heee.
So here, in honor of that Halloween holiday awesomeness, are some random facts. Some of them you probably know, some of them you might not.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Friday Fave: Buttermilk Scones
I love to bake. Love, love, love. And one of my all time favorite things to bake — and eat, of course — are scones. NOT those hard, dire concoctions you find in popular coffee chains; I’m talking about real scones. You know, the kind you actually want to eat. And eat. And eat … In fact, I would have a picture included in this post, but they're already gone, lol, no joke.
I had planned to save this for later in the year, because it’s great for getting the kids involved during holiday get-togethers, but after making that batch realized I couldn’t wait.
By the way, you’re gonna want an apron for this.
Difficulty: Moderately Easy (but messy)
Prep time: 30 minutes?
Cook time: 8 minutes
Glaze time: 2 minutes
***
3 cups Self-Rising flour
2/3 cup table sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 cold stick of butter
4 tbsp buttermilk powder
1 cup H20
Cereal bowl of powdered sugar
Splash of milk
First, pop the butter into the freezer, and cover your work space with wax paper (when finished, just fold up the wax paper, and viola! The mess is gone!). Preheat oven to 450.
In a large glass mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Remove the butter from freezer and cut into tablespoons; cut each tablespoons into fourths. Add butter to dry ingredients and cut (smash and crumble) together with hands until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Make a well in the center; pour in the H20. Stir with fork until combined and the dough is pliable. *
Spread a generous layer of flour on the wax-papered counter space, and turn dough onto surface. Knead for approximately 2 minutes, until the dough is smooth (if dough feels too wet, don’t worry, just add more flour and knead). Pat into a ball and flatten until approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick. Use the medicine cup to cut bite-sized scones; place on non-stick cookie sheet. Re-knead and re-ball the edges and continue cutting until all dough is gone. Bake for 8 minutes, watching closely as they burn easily. When scones have light golden tops, they’re done.
While dough is baking, prepare glaze by combining the powdered sugar with splashes of milk until the consistency of slightly runny icing. Remove scones from oven; coat with glaze. Serve with clotted cream and curds/jam. And of course, a fat pot of tea. Yum!
* If you chose to add dry ingredients, such as fruit, poppy seeds, nuts or mini-chocolate chips, do so at this point. Just eyeball it, maybe a couple tablespoons or so. Classic combinations include strawberry-poppyseed, apple cinnamon, chocolate chip, cranberry-chocolate, lavender or cherry-almond.
I had planned to save this for later in the year, because it’s great for getting the kids involved during holiday get-togethers, but after making that batch realized I couldn’t wait.
By the way, you’re gonna want an apron for this.
The Best Scones Ever
Difficulty: Moderately Easy (but messy)
Prep time: 30 minutes?
Cook time: 8 minutes
Glaze time: 2 minutes
***
3 cups Self-Rising flour
2/3 cup table sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 cold stick of butter
4 tbsp buttermilk powder
1 cup H20
Cereal bowl of powdered sugar
Splash of milk
First, pop the butter into the freezer, and cover your work space with wax paper (when finished, just fold up the wax paper, and viola! The mess is gone!). Preheat oven to 450.
In a large glass mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Remove the butter from freezer and cut into tablespoons; cut each tablespoons into fourths. Add butter to dry ingredients and cut (smash and crumble) together with hands until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Make a well in the center; pour in the H20. Stir with fork until combined and the dough is pliable. *
Spread a generous layer of flour on the wax-papered counter space, and turn dough onto surface. Knead for approximately 2 minutes, until the dough is smooth (if dough feels too wet, don’t worry, just add more flour and knead). Pat into a ball and flatten until approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick. Use the medicine cup to cut bite-sized scones; place on non-stick cookie sheet. Re-knead and re-ball the edges and continue cutting until all dough is gone. Bake for 8 minutes, watching closely as they burn easily. When scones have light golden tops, they’re done.
While dough is baking, prepare glaze by combining the powdered sugar with splashes of milk until the consistency of slightly runny icing. Remove scones from oven; coat with glaze. Serve with clotted cream and curds/jam. And of course, a fat pot of tea. Yum!
* If you chose to add dry ingredients, such as fruit, poppy seeds, nuts or mini-chocolate chips, do so at this point. Just eyeball it, maybe a couple tablespoons or so. Classic combinations include strawberry-poppyseed, apple cinnamon, chocolate chip, cranberry-chocolate, lavender or cherry-almond.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Friday Fave
I'd first thought of posting something uber-helpful and geared towards writing, but I'm afraid I simply can't. Why? Because it's lovely and cool (50s--woow-hooray-zip-zam-zowee!) and damp and the maples are turning their leaf tips yellow and I've baked every day this week and... I'm just feelin' the autumnal love!
Anyway, today's fave is the scent of cold damp concrete, like that of the sidewalk outside the window. It's a complete harmony between a natural phenomena and man made. I don't mean this in the sense of freshly poured cement, but the way concrete gets on days when it's not quite raining and not quite cold, but close on both accounts. Clean, and rich, and deep. *big breath* It's a bit distracting.
I can smell it through the walls on days like this, I swear. Mmm...
What about you? What are your favorite cool weather thingymabobs?
Anyway, today's fave is the scent of cold damp concrete, like that of the sidewalk outside the window. It's a complete harmony between a natural phenomena and man made. I don't mean this in the sense of freshly poured cement, but the way concrete gets on days when it's not quite raining and not quite cold, but close on both accounts. Clean, and rich, and deep. *big breath* It's a bit distracting.
I can smell it through the walls on days like this, I swear. Mmm...
What about you? What are your favorite cool weather thingymabobs?
Friday, September 2, 2011
Friday Fave
So we all already know I'm a dork, but I am about to bring that realization to a new level. I luuuurve index cards for writing.
*happy sigh*
Actually, I pretty much love them for everything; they're just the absolute perfect size!
Whenever I'm working on a longer project, I like to use index cards to help organize. I do use yWriter for the actual computer writing-and-organizing part, but at the earlier stages in the writing process, it really helps for me to have a visual aide.
I break the book into acts--this time around I'm going with a five-act structure. At the top of five index cards, in big, pretty scribble, I mark the number and the name of the act. Each card gets a different color of marker. I use Sharpies--another office supply love.You do not want to let me loose in a Staples or Office Depot unattended. Believe it or not, I'm totally serious about this.
On those ACT cards, I mark the following, in their respective Sharpie colors: "Status," "Chapters," "Scenes," "Descript" and "Outcome." I fill in the blanks as I organize, but using pencil. "Status" doesn't get filled in until I begin actual typing, the "Chapters" and "Scenes" headings are to keep track [by tally marks] of how many of each I have in any given act, and the "Descript" and "Outcome" are self-explanatory.
Then I begin organizing each act, by chapter. At this point, I'm in the pencil-only stage. Each new index card will get its own chapter, but those chapters will remain unordered and relatively blank, save for a one-or-two line description. I move from act to act, creating chapters and rearranging index cards until everything flows well from one thing to the next. Once I have everything squared away, those chapter cards will become official, with big pretty color-coded Sharpie markings to match the act in which they belong. While I'm making these official, I usually refer back to the ACT cards to make adjustments.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Friday Fave
Friday Fave: Quippy Little One Liners
If there were any classes in middle and high school I truly enjoyed, they would of course have been my English courses. The rest of them, well…take ‘em or leave ‘em. I liked some, but that was more because of the teacher’s personality or because all my friends hand wrangled the same block with me (by the time college rolled around, I could also enjoy history and art...but it took a while!). But English classes? Love! So helpful! So practical! Books. Reading. Writing. And quippy little one-liners teachers drilled into my memory.
Like “Show, don’t tell.”
Why is this the one so many of us seem to forget? It’s not like we don’t know it. It’s not like our scatterbrained grade nine English teach, the one who always ate bananas and was utterly convinced she should marry Sean Connery, hadn’t screamed those hallowed words at us during her fits of passion. I’m guessing most people visiting this page have heard this phrase a hundred, a thousand times.
But it seems to go right out the window. I run into this quite often when editing; I do it myself much more often than I’d like to admit. It seems to be more of an issue when writing longer fiction pieces. I imagine it’s just easier to catch bouts of heavy “telling” when it’s a piece that takes three minutes to reread, rather than three days. Still, no excuses! No prisoners! Raaah!
Friday, August 19, 2011
Friday Fave
Okay, so this Friday Fave has nothing to do with writing, and everything to do with summer fun. The days are starting to get considerably cooler (shocking, I know; I can't remember the last time August had temperatures under 100, but there you go, this year), and I have yet to share my fabulous margarita recipe.
I know, I know. Everybody knows how to make a margarita. Yeah, yeah; you and your mother. Ha! Just kidding. You'd be surprised how many people can butcher this classic cocktail. So to me, the real question is, do you know how to make the perfect margarita?
I do. And soon, so will you!
I know, I know. Everybody knows how to make a margarita. Yeah, yeah; you and your mother. Ha! Just kidding. You'd be surprised how many people can butcher this classic cocktail. So to me, the real question is, do you know how to make the perfect margarita?
I do. And soon, so will you!
The Perfect Classic Margarita
on the rocks
Difficulty: Easy until drunk, then extremely difficult
Time: 3 minutes?
***
1 1/2 jigger gold tequilla. Don Julio or 1800 are my faves for margaritas.
3/4 jigger Grand Mariner, plus extra for a floater
2 limes, juiced
few splashes Sweet & Sour
few splashes of Rose's Lime
margarita rim salt
ice
Smear a little of Rose's Lime onto the margarita salt container lid, then use it to coat the rim of the margarita glass; dip the glass into the salt. Set aside. Fill a shaker 3/4 of the way with ice. Pour in 1 1/2 jigger tequilla, 3/4 jigger Grandma, the Sweet & Sour, Rose's Lime and fresh lime juice. Lid and shake hard for minimum 30 seconds. Pour carefully into margarita glass. Gently top margarita with a floater of Grandma.
*To do a floater w/o those handy pour spouts used in bars, pour the liquor slowly over a spoon that is positioned at the edge of the glass, moving the spoon around the surface to keep it even--of course, most people don't care if you can't actually see the color difference of the floater, so only do that for the picky types.
*If you are determined to sully this Perfect, Classy Margarita into a froo-froo-frozen drink *curses*, I recommend using the Welch's Strawberry Breeze, from the frozen section, blended with ice that's all chipped up like they have at Sonic--otherwise the liquors won't blend well with the ice and you get, half-runny, half-ice-chunky margaritas. So yes; Welch's Strawberry Breeze, nice ice, and omit the Sweet & Sour and lime juices. Don't forget the umbrella, you tequilla tourists.
Yuumyumyumyum.
I lurrve margaritas.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Friday Fave Belated
I completely forgot about it! Quick, quick: *scoosh* *button pushing* *time jumping*
Okay, we're there!
Today's Friday Fave is a new site I've found for creating music playlists. I'm guessing many of us play music while writing, and I was stoked to find http://mixtape.me , a site that lets you create your own free quick playlist with or without registering. If you choose to register, you have the option of saving those free playlists you create. Then you can share them on your own site. This is my first time at something this high-tech (indeed!), so bear with me; let me know if there are songs that don't work.
Here's the playlist:
Okay, we're there!
Today's Friday Fave is a new site I've found for creating music playlists. I'm guessing many of us play music while writing, and I was stoked to find http://mixtape.me , a site that lets you create your own free quick playlist with or without registering. If you choose to register, you have the option of saving those free playlists you create. Then you can share them on your own site. This is my first time at something this high-tech (indeed!), so bear with me; let me know if there are songs that don't work.
Here's the playlist:
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Friday Faves
Perhaps this is a no-brainer, but this week's Friday Favorite nomination is....*drumroll please*....character- driven stories.
I know what you all are thinking: Wahh, whahh.
I saw "Whatevs" to that wahh wahh.
Yes, I am just as big of a Harry Potter fan as the next. Yet--and please understand I'm not meaning to pick on HP, but it's a truly recognizable series--Harry Potter has woefully one-dimensional charaters; the whole series is driven by plot. Yes, the plot supports the thesis, and yes, the thesis is a classic one which deserves props, but still, any character-driven novel will stand above it, after the trials of time have faced it.
Characters are what make us want to know a story's ending. In ages past, our ancestors, no matter who they were or in what land they resided, sang us the histories of our forefathers in the stories of our tribes. Now I'm not about to get all hokey-pokey on you here, but the reason those stories, even the habit of telling stories, has survived is because the people within them were considered worth remembering. This is how we came to have our heroes, our leaders, our brethren, our songs and poems and histories.
Anywhosers, I thought I'd take a second to list some of my favorite character-driven novels, no matter how disputed. What are yours? Beware, I am particularly attached to the following books; disagree with my choices at your peril, for I shall defend them with my mighty...er...typing...err...until...err...I log off...
(in no particular order)
Song of the Lark
Tale of Two Cities (hated first chapters. Now read it at LEAST two times every year....what can I say...it's wonderful and terrible and you have to read it)
Dharma Bums
Gone With the Wind
Anna Karennina (even though I still feel like I'm missing parts. Do I just not get certain aspects of Russian culture? Possibly? Probably...)
Pride and Prejudice
Heart of Darkness (hated it the first two reads; in love with it ever since)
Bananna Rose (hated it the first few chapters, loved it ever since)
I realize that these may be more or less character-driven to other readers than they are to me, but therein lies the beauty: These are all beautiful works, no matter how you look at them, because the people within them are so awesomely real. My opinion is that they are all mostly character driven. In TOTC, GWTW, and even Anna K. and HOD, the main characters face things which propell them to act as they could only hope they would never have to ever act. In SOTL, Dharma, P&P and Bananna, the characters in large part face themselves, and the showdown is more than enough to move the storyline along to resolution. *sigh* My list of favorites is really much longer than this, but these were the first which sprung to mind (sprang? I should look that up) when I thought of this Friday's Fave.
By the way, I have never, ever, ever made it through The Catcher in the Rye. I took English classes specifically that went around that required reading because I could not STAND that m.c. Now I realize how good of a sign that is; I'm sure it is a fantastic read, as fantastic as everyone says it is. But do I care? Shall I ever read it? HELL NO! I may be an awful person for admitting this, especially for my field, but I do not now, nor have I ever, nor shall I ever have any intention of reading that novel. If I want to divulge in that kind of wonky, my-life-sucks kind of attitude, I'll call up an ex-boyfriend.
But I digress.
I'm a firm believer our stories, at large, tell our habits; that we find ourselves in our little tidbits of literature if we are willing to look hard enough. In what sort of story do I fit, or you? The kind that is character driven?
Let's hope so. Kinky clinky for those who want to star in their own novel...
p.s. TCE 2/3 of the way complete; I expect it to be up tomorrow some time.
I know what you all are thinking: Wahh, whahh.
I saw "Whatevs" to that wahh wahh.
Yes, I am just as big of a Harry Potter fan as the next. Yet--and please understand I'm not meaning to pick on HP, but it's a truly recognizable series--Harry Potter has woefully one-dimensional charaters; the whole series is driven by plot. Yes, the plot supports the thesis, and yes, the thesis is a classic one which deserves props, but still, any character-driven novel will stand above it, after the trials of time have faced it.
Characters are what make us want to know a story's ending. In ages past, our ancestors, no matter who they were or in what land they resided, sang us the histories of our forefathers in the stories of our tribes. Now I'm not about to get all hokey-pokey on you here, but the reason those stories, even the habit of telling stories, has survived is because the people within them were considered worth remembering. This is how we came to have our heroes, our leaders, our brethren, our songs and poems and histories.
Anywhosers, I thought I'd take a second to list some of my favorite character-driven novels, no matter how disputed. What are yours? Beware, I am particularly attached to the following books; disagree with my choices at your peril, for I shall defend them with my mighty...er...typing...err...until...err...I log off...
(in no particular order)
Song of the Lark
Tale of Two Cities (hated first chapters. Now read it at LEAST two times every year....what can I say...it's wonderful and terrible and you have to read it)
Dharma Bums
Gone With the Wind
Anna Karennina (even though I still feel like I'm missing parts. Do I just not get certain aspects of Russian culture? Possibly? Probably...)
Pride and Prejudice
Heart of Darkness (hated it the first two reads; in love with it ever since)
Bananna Rose (hated it the first few chapters, loved it ever since)
I realize that these may be more or less character-driven to other readers than they are to me, but therein lies the beauty: These are all beautiful works, no matter how you look at them, because the people within them are so awesomely real. My opinion is that they are all mostly character driven. In TOTC, GWTW, and even Anna K. and HOD, the main characters face things which propell them to act as they could only hope they would never have to ever act. In SOTL, Dharma, P&P and Bananna, the characters in large part face themselves, and the showdown is more than enough to move the storyline along to resolution. *sigh* My list of favorites is really much longer than this, but these were the first which sprung to mind (sprang? I should look that up) when I thought of this Friday's Fave.
By the way, I have never, ever, ever made it through The Catcher in the Rye. I took English classes specifically that went around that required reading because I could not STAND that m.c. Now I realize how good of a sign that is; I'm sure it is a fantastic read, as fantastic as everyone says it is. But do I care? Shall I ever read it? HELL NO! I may be an awful person for admitting this, especially for my field, but I do not now, nor have I ever, nor shall I ever have any intention of reading that novel. If I want to divulge in that kind of wonky, my-life-sucks kind of attitude, I'll call up an ex-boyfriend.
But I digress.
I'm a firm believer our stories, at large, tell our habits; that we find ourselves in our little tidbits of literature if we are willing to look hard enough. In what sort of story do I fit, or you? The kind that is character driven?
Let's hope so. Kinky clinky for those who want to star in their own novel...
p.s. TCE 2/3 of the way complete; I expect it to be up tomorrow some time.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Friday Faves
Don't get me wrong; I love summer. I can sunbathe all day better than anyone, even a turtle, especially if there's some water around for swimming. There's warm suntea on back porches, and fantastic veggies in the garden, pretty cotton dresses, barbeques--all that, yes. No denying it.
But really, you know, I would not mind some snow right now.
Because snow is one of my favorite things. In. The. World.
I think I must have more northern blood in me than most of my family, since I'm the only one who really seems to enjoy ice storms and blizzards and staying outside so long my eyebrows get crusty, my cheeks pink and my lungs full and cold. Igloos and forts and snowball fights when I was a kid. Or going for a long [slow] night drive out in the prairies after an ice storm just to see the hills glitter like a still silver sea for miles in every direction under a low black sky thick with heavy snow clouds; when the wind blows across it the sound is a sharp thing that whistles. (Lot's of adjectives there, I know.) Everything becomes quiet. Everything takes a long dark rest. Mmmm, hmm, I love snow.
It's more psychological, snow, than the other elements I think. Snow and ice, I should say. I once was snowed in at a bar. How wonderful that was *laugh*. I worked there, and there were maybe five of us, I believe. We watched football all night, drinking hot toddies, waiting for the boss to call. Wasn't like we could go anywhere; the snow was too thick. When it rains--even when it rains hard, it's not as if you stay in. You go out, you get wet, you eventually dry. Same with when it's brutally hot--you go out, you sweat, you find an a.c. or water or somewhere good to swim, and you cool off. But snow and ice? Maybe you go out if it's in small proportions, but if it's a mean snow or a steady ice, you stay the eff put until it's safe, and that's that, or you can die. You rearrange your life for it. Makes me like it more, lol.
As it's July though, I fear I have a long way to go. It will get much hotter before it gets cooler, that's for sure. And I'm one of those women who fans herself and gets grumpy at 75 degrees unless I have a nice cold beer in my hand. Ahh, well.
Anyway, I'm going to try and find a picture from this winter's big blizzard and add it to this post.
Mmmm, snow. Say it with me: Snow....
But really, you know, I would not mind some snow right now.
Because snow is one of my favorite things. In. The. World.
I think I must have more northern blood in me than most of my family, since I'm the only one who really seems to enjoy ice storms and blizzards and staying outside so long my eyebrows get crusty, my cheeks pink and my lungs full and cold. Igloos and forts and snowball fights when I was a kid. Or going for a long [slow] night drive out in the prairies after an ice storm just to see the hills glitter like a still silver sea for miles in every direction under a low black sky thick with heavy snow clouds; when the wind blows across it the sound is a sharp thing that whistles. (Lot's of adjectives there, I know.) Everything becomes quiet. Everything takes a long dark rest. Mmmm, hmm, I love snow.
It's more psychological, snow, than the other elements I think. Snow and ice, I should say. I once was snowed in at a bar. How wonderful that was *laugh*. I worked there, and there were maybe five of us, I believe. We watched football all night, drinking hot toddies, waiting for the boss to call. Wasn't like we could go anywhere; the snow was too thick. When it rains--even when it rains hard, it's not as if you stay in. You go out, you get wet, you eventually dry. Same with when it's brutally hot--you go out, you sweat, you find an a.c. or water or somewhere good to swim, and you cool off. But snow and ice? Maybe you go out if it's in small proportions, but if it's a mean snow or a steady ice, you stay the eff put until it's safe, and that's that, or you can die. You rearrange your life for it. Makes me like it more, lol.
As it's July though, I fear I have a long way to go. It will get much hotter before it gets cooler, that's for sure. And I'm one of those women who fans herself and gets grumpy at 75 degrees unless I have a nice cold beer in my hand. Ahh, well.
Anyway, I'm going to try and find a picture from this winter's big blizzard and add it to this post.
Mmmm, snow. Say it with me: Snow....
Friday, June 17, 2011
Friday Faves
This shall be a twofer, since I am so woefully behind...everyone loves two for the price of one, right?
Err, that is, not that you pay for anything here...errr...
On to the faves:
1.) June 18. Wonder why that's on my list? I'll give you a hint. It involves a cake with candles. Very subtle hint, wasn't it? Lol.
2.) Magical realism.
This I mean in earnest. As a reader it's like popcorn or Pringles or lime sherbert for the brain; page after page of just really incredibly entertaining, interesting prose (or poems). As a writer, it's often so perfectly wrought that it almost inspires fear, somehow. LOL.
Magical realism fascinates me; it's the one comprehensive, purely New World literary tradition. Are there magical realism writers from continents other that South and North America? Of course. That's like asking if existential writers are only from Europe. But there's no denying that the very nature of magical realism is something peculiar to this side of the globe, and especially to those countries which were settled by multitudes of ethnicities where indigenous peoples already lived.
The myths, traditions, hopes, habits, languages, sayings, religions--all of these are very hodgepodge in the Americas, so hodgepodge that they've morphed into one new giant, wonderful bastardization of culture--magical realism actually turns this on its head and uses it as a literary technique, a way of telling stories that are unique to this cultural identity.
The believable becomes trite in the face of the fantastic, though to the characters of magical realism stories, the opposite is true. I don't think I'm explaining it properly, but ... all I can say is that if you haven't read any, go, right now, and read some. Go. Now. *laugh*
Here are some great exerpts:
"At that time Macondo was a village of twenty adobe houses, built on the bank of a river of clear water that ran along a bed of polished stones, which were white and enormous, like prehistoric eggs. The world was so recent that many things lacked names, and in order to indicate them it was necessary to point."-- One Hundred Years of Solitude. Marquez. Utter masterpiece. Look at that writing.
or
"Years of solitude had taught him that, in one's memory, all days tend to be the same, but that there is not a day, not even in jail or in the hospital, which does not bring surprises, which is not a translucent network of minimal surprises." --The Waiting. Borges. So true, and mundane, and fantastic all at once.
These are just two of the big wigs. There are dozens, hundreds of other worthy writers in this genre!
Anyone interested in more reading, check out Margin's Magical Realism pages at http://www.angelfire.com/wa2/margin/contents.html . Spellbinding stuff there, including fiction, poetry, and criticism.
That's all for now!
Err, that is, not that you pay for anything here...errr...
On to the faves:
1.) June 18. Wonder why that's on my list? I'll give you a hint. It involves a cake with candles. Very subtle hint, wasn't it? Lol.
2.) Magical realism.
This I mean in earnest. As a reader it's like popcorn or Pringles or lime sherbert for the brain; page after page of just really incredibly entertaining, interesting prose (or poems). As a writer, it's often so perfectly wrought that it almost inspires fear, somehow. LOL.
Magical realism fascinates me; it's the one comprehensive, purely New World literary tradition. Are there magical realism writers from continents other that South and North America? Of course. That's like asking if existential writers are only from Europe. But there's no denying that the very nature of magical realism is something peculiar to this side of the globe, and especially to those countries which were settled by multitudes of ethnicities where indigenous peoples already lived.
The myths, traditions, hopes, habits, languages, sayings, religions--all of these are very hodgepodge in the Americas, so hodgepodge that they've morphed into one new giant, wonderful bastardization of culture--magical realism actually turns this on its head and uses it as a literary technique, a way of telling stories that are unique to this cultural identity.
The believable becomes trite in the face of the fantastic, though to the characters of magical realism stories, the opposite is true. I don't think I'm explaining it properly, but ... all I can say is that if you haven't read any, go, right now, and read some. Go. Now. *laugh*
Here are some great exerpts:
"At that time Macondo was a village of twenty adobe houses, built on the bank of a river of clear water that ran along a bed of polished stones, which were white and enormous, like prehistoric eggs. The world was so recent that many things lacked names, and in order to indicate them it was necessary to point."-- One Hundred Years of Solitude. Marquez. Utter masterpiece. Look at that writing.
or
"Years of solitude had taught him that, in one's memory, all days tend to be the same, but that there is not a day, not even in jail or in the hospital, which does not bring surprises, which is not a translucent network of minimal surprises." --The Waiting. Borges. So true, and mundane, and fantastic all at once.
These are just two of the big wigs. There are dozens, hundreds of other worthy writers in this genre!
Anyone interested in more reading, check out Margin's Magical Realism pages at http://www.angelfire.com/wa2/margin/contents.html . Spellbinding stuff there, including fiction, poetry, and criticism.
That's all for now!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Friday Fave 2
It's summer, and that means some of the coolest reptiles are out and about. My favorite? The blue tailed skink. Here's a photo, courtesy of http://caroleandreas.redbubble.com/sets/114191/works/4821531-blue-tailed-skink :
Isn't he adorable? They're fast as lightning when they're young like this; eventually they get a bit of orangey-red under the chin, and don't look so very sleek. Seem pretty shy, but I catch them running down the sidewalk all the time. They certainly don't attack humans like some of their more bulky relatives do. When I was little I was sure these would make a great pet, lol.
Isn't he adorable? They're fast as lightning when they're young like this; eventually they get a bit of orangey-red under the chin, and don't look so very sleek. Seem pretty shy, but I catch them running down the sidewalk all the time. They certainly don't attack humans like some of their more bulky relatives do. When I was little I was sure these would make a great pet, lol.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Friday Faves--yWriter
I think I work best with more deadlines rather than less, so I've decided to make an addition to my little blog project: Friday Favorites.
Pretty easy to guess the purpose of these posts, eh? You got it: Each week, I post one of my favorite things. The posts will probably be related to writing, but who knows? There's a lot of really cool stuff in the world--wouldn't want to limit myself.
This week's installment, I thought, had to be great. A real gem. And I know just the thing: yWriter.
Those of you who write novels or other long prose projects should pay particular attention here.
yWriter is a totally free program designed by Simon Haynes. He's not only a computer dude, but a professional writer as well. As such, he whipped up this bad boy to make the nasty organizational side of novel writing a bit easier.
It's pretty bare bones, but in a good way. No funky fonts or silly pictures or anything. Maybe I'm just a technological 'tard, but a lot of those novel-writing programs seem to be waaaay more complicated and jazzed up with random $hit than they need to be. Just my opinon of course. I do wish I'd used this when I wrote my [now chucked] novel.
Anyway, yWriter is broken down the way we (or at least I) tend to think of our stories: First you set up a project, then you set up a chapter. Then within the chapter, you set up a scene. One scene, 12 scenes, doesn't matter--you can insert or delete them whenever you want. These chapters and scenes are displayed along the left margin in a clickable manner that is one-part outline, and one-part just plain helpful.
Once you've created the filepaths for your chunk of story, that's when the word processor window comes up for the typing of it. Before, during or after you type out that particular scene, you can add characters, locations--all sorts of things really--with descriptions that carry over into the next scene or chapter you chose to create. There's also a tiny little window where you can type up a quick blurb for the scene or chapter, so that when you're working on another, all you have to do is highlight the one in question to touch base and read the blurb. And if/when you realize you've got something in the wrong spot (let's face it, we both know it's going to happen), you can click and drag it to where you want, hassle-free. It autosaves and whatnot, too.
I don't know if I'm explaining this properly, and there are so many more neato-bandito functions to it that it would take ages to list them all, but this is definitely my current favorite writing program. It can be used for shorter stuff too, or for non-fiction projects like theses or speechs, maybe. I can see how the possibilities would be endless. Can't remember how long it took to download; maybe a couple hours? I'm not sure.
Either way, it's WELL worth taking a look-see. Plus, say you disagree with me (I don't think you will!), you can just uninstall it. It's not like you lose any money on it, after all.
Interested? Here's a link for info and downloading (and a much better explanation, lol): http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter.html
Happy writing, everyone, and to the US folks, have a good Memorial Day weekend!
Pretty easy to guess the purpose of these posts, eh? You got it: Each week, I post one of my favorite things. The posts will probably be related to writing, but who knows? There's a lot of really cool stuff in the world--wouldn't want to limit myself.
This week's installment, I thought, had to be great. A real gem. And I know just the thing: yWriter.
Those of you who write novels or other long prose projects should pay particular attention here.
yWriter is a totally free program designed by Simon Haynes. He's not only a computer dude, but a professional writer as well. As such, he whipped up this bad boy to make the nasty organizational side of novel writing a bit easier.
It's pretty bare bones, but in a good way. No funky fonts or silly pictures or anything. Maybe I'm just a technological 'tard, but a lot of those novel-writing programs seem to be waaaay more complicated and jazzed up with random $hit than they need to be. Just my opinon of course. I do wish I'd used this when I wrote my [now chucked] novel.
Anyway, yWriter is broken down the way we (or at least I) tend to think of our stories: First you set up a project, then you set up a chapter. Then within the chapter, you set up a scene. One scene, 12 scenes, doesn't matter--you can insert or delete them whenever you want. These chapters and scenes are displayed along the left margin in a clickable manner that is one-part outline, and one-part just plain helpful.
Once you've created the filepaths for your chunk of story, that's when the word processor window comes up for the typing of it. Before, during or after you type out that particular scene, you can add characters, locations--all sorts of things really--with descriptions that carry over into the next scene or chapter you chose to create. There's also a tiny little window where you can type up a quick blurb for the scene or chapter, so that when you're working on another, all you have to do is highlight the one in question to touch base and read the blurb. And if/when you realize you've got something in the wrong spot (let's face it, we both know it's going to happen), you can click and drag it to where you want, hassle-free. It autosaves and whatnot, too.
I don't know if I'm explaining this properly, and there are so many more neato-bandito functions to it that it would take ages to list them all, but this is definitely my current favorite writing program. It can be used for shorter stuff too, or for non-fiction projects like theses or speechs, maybe. I can see how the possibilities would be endless. Can't remember how long it took to download; maybe a couple hours? I'm not sure.
Either way, it's WELL worth taking a look-see. Plus, say you disagree with me (I don't think you will!), you can just uninstall it. It's not like you lose any money on it, after all.
Interested? Here's a link for info and downloading (and a much better explanation, lol): http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter.html
Happy writing, everyone, and to the US folks, have a good Memorial Day weekend!
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