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 |  My blog for the blog challenge |
| Ahem, ahem, ahem ... cough cough cough ... mememememememe ... Okay, I'm ready to write now. |
| It's Opinion Thursday! Prompt for March 20, 2014 Have you ever taken a road trip? Give us your opinion on the "must see" city/cities to road trip to/from/through. This could go on for ages and ages with me. I've road tripped not only in the US but also Europe and Great Britain. "Must see" cities to road trip through in the US ... Start in Memphis, TN. While there go to Mud Island. After a pit stop for some bar-b-que for lunch, drive across the state to Pigeon Forge. Enjoy being a tourist for a day or two and then cruise on to the Smoky Mountains. This amazingly beautiful National Park can be driven through in one day easily but you'll want to stop and do a little hiking along the way. It's just too great not to. From the Smoky Mountains, head to Appomattox Court House, VA. Yes, this is where the surrender papers were signed for the Civil War. The historic site is easy walking for an hour or two and there is a modern, high tech-ish museum that tells the entire history of the war and the surrender. The great American historic site will prep you for the next leg of the journey. Drive East to Colonial Williamsburg. Plan to spend at least three days for the quick overview or a good week to absorb it all indepth. If you plan ahead well you can participate in a recreation of a Pirate's trial, a walk around the gardens with General George Washington, the daily march of the pipe and drums corps, and some rousing after dark ghost tales with the maids of Williamsburg. There is also the slave farm and tobacco fields and barns that we found very interesting and the kids loved. After your days of rousing historical fun, drive East and a little South until you make it the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This is one long chain of islands with several small towns along the way. At the North end you'll find Kitty Hawk and the Wright Brothers Museum. At the Southern tip is an old light house. And at any of the towns along the way stop for some blue crab at a good seaside restaurant after a day of playing in the waves. Just try not to do it on a day like we did ... where the spotter planes for sharks were frequent. (We found out later that night that a whole swarm of white tips had been heading north along the beaches where we were. No one on the beach warned the swimmers at all.) When you've gorged on blue crab until you can't move, find a great lawn chair, park it in the sand, and drift off to sleep beside the ocean at the end of a great road trip. |
| It's War Chest Wednesday! Prompt for March 19, 2014 Artificial Intelligence: If a "robot" looks, acts, and thinks like a human, but was created not through "natural" processes, should it be considered part of humanity? Give us your thoughts about the future of Artificial Intelligence in science. Artificial Intelligence is one thing but what sets humans apart is not their intelligence alone nor the way we look or act. It is our ability to complete complex tasks, interact in complex ways, and reason through issues not just logically but emotionally that set us apart. When our son was enrolling for college as a freshman, they had the whole family come to orientation during the summer. The college students went off in a big group, the parents went off in another group, and the younger siblings went off in their own group. We all did different things. Any source of artificial intelligence would have easily been able to divide people into their respective groups. As well, they would have been able to contemplate and assign various tasks and learning activities that were appropriate for the various needs. They might even be able to answer some of the questions that were raised. But what they could never do is understand how it feels to have your son or daughter leave home to go to college for the first time. Even if they learned to show sympathy for someone who is sad or happy or anxious. The complexity of sending your first child away from home to live as an adult on their own would be missed entirely without someone who has experienced the emotional, physical, financial, and familial turmoil that ensues with the whole process. During our parent orientation, they talked to us about choosing a college and how studies have been done that show people are happier when they let their emotions help them make decisions. If they are buying a new car, they may go through the entire list of needs, mpg, passenger seating, safety, etc and find the car that fits their list perfectly ... but if they drive it and hate it, it doesn't matter what anything on their list is. The same goes with picking a college or a spouse or a job. Humans use their emotions constantly,even when they don't realize they are doing so. Artificial intelligence has no emotions. How could they ever be considered human? |
| It's war Chest Tuesday! Prompt for March 18, 2014 Tell us about a TV show or book series you like. What makes you keep coming back to watch or read more? Relate this to your knowledge and understanding of cliffhangers - how do you write a good "cliffy?" Oh, I love the new series "Sleepy Hollow". It takes the story of Ichabod Crane and brings it into modern times along with the four horsemen of the Apocalypse and ties it all together with stories from American History. It's smart and complex and I never know what is going to happen or how the plot is going to unfold. So far, season one, I found nothing cliche or corny and I literally could not tell what the ending for any of the episodes was going to be. I love to be surprised. Cliffhangers? Hmm. I think writing a good cliffhanger involves knowing your story well so that you can sum everything up in a way that isn't predictable. When you reach the climax, you have to stop and ask "what are all the possible ways this can end?" And then think up something different while still keeping true to everything that has happened so far. I'm not sure who started the fun name changing thing, and I wish I'd gotten in on it earlier ... but I love it!! (otherwise known as Cobe) |
| It'sWildcard Monday! Prompt for March 17, 2014 What impact does chocolate have on your writing? It could be consuming before, during, after or that you include it (subtly?) in stories. If not chocolate, then ... but what else is there? Gasp* choke .... sputter ... You mean, ... People actually ... cough cough ... People can actually write without consuming chocolate??? (We so need a bugged eyes emoticon) My dirty little secret is that I keep a bag of Dove dark chocolate with almonds next to my bedside table at all times. Sigh. I can make one of those squares last for about an hour nibbling off the corners. My mother said I eat them just like I ate saltine crackers as a toddler. She said she would give me a cracker and I would nibble at it like a chipmunk leaving a trail of crumbs everywhere. I nibble at my chocolate too but I don't leave a trail of it behind. A trail of chocolate would require a lot of crawling and licking. Okay, now that you're grossed out, ... I've been having a problem with chocolate lately. It's been causing me to have heartburn so bad I have to watch how much of it I eat. And like I've already said, I only nibble at it. Of course currently girl scout cookies are on sale too so I have a box of thin mints lingering about in my "office". Those could be contributing to the problem. But really, is it a problem? Can chocolate ever be considered to be a problem? Funny, I don't think I ever have people eating in my stories or books ... oh, wait, not true. I'm writing a novel about a cafe. People eat stuff in that one and they talk about the chocolate pie so I guess I've worked it in subconsciously.  |
| The Sunday News! Prompt for March 16, 2014 Provide your thoughts/opinions on a newspaper/magazine article or a radio/television news story from the past week. And if you feel inclined, let loose and blog about your week. Also, feel free to comment on your favorite blog entries from your fellow challengers from the preceding week, though this is not required. So, here's my new story for the week. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/03/16/pacific-tsunami-warning-center-doesnt-expec... It's extremely short but I picked it for a reason. These kind of articles drive me insane. INSANE I tell you. Why? Well, sure it's news that there were two earthquakes off the coast of Chile ... but is that what the article is about? NO. It's about the lack of tsunami's that weren't created by the earthquakes. Really? Are we so hard pressed to find a new story to write on these days that we have to make non-events the headlines? Why couldn't they have written a report on the actual earthquakes and maybe discussed something of the seismic activity in the area? Why did they have to go off and try to create drama by writing the article about the tsunami's that didn't occur? When I lived in England, I have to admit, I was kind of annoyed by the news. They had long in-depth stories and interviewed everyone who might have once even thought about knowing something related to the story. They went on for seemingly hours. And often times big things that happened, like the car bombing I was in, a helicopter crash into a loch, and bombs in the tube stations never got reported at all. But over time I grew to appreciate it. When I moved back home the one thing that annoyed me more than anything else, and continues to annoy me to this day, is how overly dramatic Americans are with their news. The governor gets a hangnail and special forces are called out. A tsunami doesn't happen and it makes the headlines. It's just bizarre. But beyond being bizarre, it's also dangerous. It's like the little boy who cried wolf. When everything is sensationalized, nothing is important any more. No one listens. No one responds. I would love to talk about my fellow bloggers posts this week but really, even though I read the entries and enjoyed them, my week was so baaaad that I can't remember a single post in enough detail to mention it. So I'll give some shout outs of everyone I can think of in no particular order: Lyn's a sly fox   , Charlie ~  , Prosperous Snow celebrating  , A*Monaing*Faith , PandaPaws Licensed VetTech , Brother Nature  , Fivesixer  These are most of the folks who commented on my blog this week. If I left anyone out, let me know and I'll edit and add you too!! |
| It's Creation Saturday! Prompt for March 15, 2014 Spring Break Bo-ing Bo-ing Bo-ing Bo-ing Bo-ing Bo-ing Cerack!! (It's been one of those weeks ...) |
| Oh my funny Friday, wherefore art thou? Are you hiding in the fridge with the remains of Thanksgiving dinner? Or maybe you are smothered in the dead weeds in the garden beds? How have I forgotten thou my muse? It's Funny Friday! Prompt for March 14, 2014 Try to come up with five what ifs. Pick your favorite and turn it into something funny -- short story, rant, essay... Your choice. What if - we all lived in tree houses? What if - we didn't have vehicles? What if - we could never leave our property? What if - chocolate pudding came from a tree? What if - kids came with a mute button? Okay, after the last four days of high stress and little sleep my amusing muse is having trouble waking up this morning. Of course I'm having trouble waking up this morning period. And I'm not really sure any of my "What ifs" are very funny fodder. But I'm going with the last one. No apologies for the non-funny factor ... What if kids came with a mute button? As some of you know I am the mother of an autistic child. The challenges of raising him were many and haven't ended just because he is now 20 years old. He is different and unique in a way that not even my artistic self is different and unique. Over the years he has wowed us, made us laugh, made us cry, and brought us to our knees. Language for the autistic child is bizarre. They don't acquire language as most children do by babbling and mimicry. The process is twisted, complicated. They often acquire language very early and then lose it. Which is what our son did. He spoke his first words when he was under a year old and was using complete sentences by the time he was 15 months old. He was bright, intelligent, and moving through the world as seemingly warp speed. Then one day he stopped. He became obsessed with drawing faces and landscapes. He spent hours on end filling page after page with intricate and detailed drawings of birds eye view maps of parks and farms and grocery stores and cities. And other pages were filled with faces carefully constructed with cheeks and chins and wrinkles around the eyes and mouth. When he was three years old we went out to dinner and left him with a babysitter. He wasn't yet diagnosed but already he was drawing profusely and not talking. We told the babysitter that he loved to be read to and he loved to draw. When we got home his chalkboard easel was sitting framed in the archway between our living room and dining room and on it was the drawing of a horses head. That head looked like it was staring right at us as we entered the house. It was so realistic we assumed that the babysitter had drawn it. So we complimented her efforts. And she said, "Oh, I didn't draw that. (your son) did. That's all he did the whole time you were gone. When he finished he brought me a book, ate some cereal, and went to sleep. He's such a good little boy." We were stunned. We asked the questions any parent would ask at that point? How the *blip* did he do that? And what is going on with our kid? (By now you're asking what any of this has to do with kids with mute buttons ... hang on, it's coming.) We knew he wasn't normal but no one was giving us any answers to what was happening. We lived in a tiny little town where the doctor was an idiot and most of the residents were inbred for the past eight generations if not longer. We were outsiders therefore anything that was wrong with our kid, wasn't their problem. We wanted desperately for him to start talking again because we knew he wouldn't function in this town without that ability. We didn't want our bright beautiful little boy to be the brunt of everyone's joke. But without the resources or help we needed we had no idea what to do. So, I did the only thing that seemed logical. I sat on the floor beside his little table while he drew picture after picture after picture and I talked and I talked and I talked. If he didn't have the words, I would give him the words. I pointed at everything he drew and gave it a name. I asked him about what he was drawing. At first he just ignored me and kept on drawing. But eventually he started to repeat a few words as I pointed to his drawings. Cheek, chin, nose, balloon. He loved balloons. He still loves balloons. But he didn't progress. One word repeats pointing at a picture was a long way from the complete sentences he had previously used. So I tried something different. Instead of describing his pictures to him, I turned them into stories with characters. He began to draw faster and faster. Before I could complete a story for one scene, he had another drawn that was a continuation of the first. He would draw off the side of the page even and pick up on the next piece of paper where he had left off. Half a pond on one paper, the other half on the next. Even the tail of a dog on one page and the rest of the dog on the other. I had connected. I knew I had. He was directing the stories with his drawings. But he still wasn't talking. So one day, I started a story and he started drawing but when we got to the third page or so, I veered off from what he had drawn. I wanted to see what he would do if I wasn't feeding him the words for the story. He did exactly what I expected. He got frustrated and started raging, tearing up the pages, throwing things, hitting everything. I know it sounds strange to say I had connected again but one of the greatest challenges with autistic kids is getting them to respond to the world around them in any way, shape, or form. His frustration with me stopping the story was indeed a connection to his lost world. The next day, as hard as it was to do, I did it again. And again he raged. It isn't easy seeing your child that way, let alone being the source of it. But I honestly didn't have any other ideas. And we were dirt poor and didn't have the money for any help. It was me and the limited resources I found on the internet and my husband gone 14 hours a day. I didn't have a choice. Luckily, one day it worked. After an initial blow up, he calmed down, started with the first page again and I obliged him with the story. When we came to the part where I went astray, he took the page away from me and started telling me the story as if he has never quit talking at all. His words were fluid and perfect, his sentences right on. I cried. I sat there and bawled like a baby. He wasn't cured by any means. He still didn't respond to other people. But we knew he was in there. Eventually he started telling us the stories without a prompt from me. As long as he had a drawing he could talk to us about anything. I can't really say they were conversations but to him they were. He was using language and it was magical. As the years past he continued to improve. He was diagnosed finally at the age of seven when a new doctor saw him and brought a specialist in. And by the time he was nine, he talked so much we sometimes couldn't get him to quit. This little boy who had lost all of his ability to use language was now grossly verbose. And he was funny. Somewhere in that twisted little brain of his he had learned to make jokes and use language to make us laugh. He became king of the one liners and still is to this day. One day my husband was home on his only day off and he was tired. Our son interacting the only way he knew how brought in his sketch book and began to tell my husband his story. Normally incredibly patient, my husband frowned and asked him rather grumpily if he could be quiet while the weather was on. Our son looked up from his drawing and said, "Sure dad. Just use my mute button." And he drew a picture of a remote control with a big red mute button and handed it to my husband with a big grin on his face. He thought it was funny and so did we. We kept that thing for the longest time and actually used it. And it worked. If he started rambling too long or we were on the phone or someone else was speaking, we pulled out the mute button. People laughed when we used it. But little did we know we were teaching our son the social norms of conversation by using it. He invented his own therapy. Kids with mute buttons ... now you know. |
| It's Opinion Thursday! Prompt for March 13, 2014 Are we doing kids a favor or a disservice by "not allowing them to fail" in high school? (make-up tests until they pass, extra credit, etc.) How does this affect their preparedness for college and beyond? I don't think that our problem with kids preparedness for college and beyond has anything to do with not letting them fail in high school. The issue is far deeper and more complicated than that and it starts way before they get to high school. In a way "not allowing them to fail" is part of the equation though. In our society we've made failing a BAD thing with a capital B. If you fail at anything you are somehow less worthy or not as important or looked down on or ridiculed. And that is what we've taught our kids through their young lives. The problem with that thinking is we've removed their ability to try new things, to experiment, to be curious about the world around them because they are afraid to fail. The social stigma we've placed on it is SO great. But it's ridiculous really. Life is all about failing and picking ourselves up and trying again. We fail at more things than we ever succeed at. Our goal should be to help them fail and then help them figure out how to try again, to learn what they didn't already know, to move on. Because that's what life after high school is all about. Failing over and over and over and over ... and then having to keep going anyway. Where we've done a disservice is trying to present the world to our children as a place that is all happy and wonderful and that will fulfill their every wish. I read an article the other day about baby boomers ... those folks born after world war II you know. It said even though they had the best childhoods in the history of our country, were raised with the most money, the best education, etc etc etc, when they hit middle age they were the most unhappy generation of people. Makes me scratch my head and wonder if maybe they had it too good. Then again ... maybe the article was just trying to make a point. Aren't most people a little lost and frustrated when they get to middle age? I have been. I keep hoping I'll find a path sooner rather than later ... but I'm not holding my breath any more. |
| It's War Chest Wednesday! Prompt for March 12, 2014 You are invited to spend a week's vacation with a famous person, past or present. Who would you want it to be? Why? Sigh. What is it about famous people that makes us gab about them so much? Or want to be with them? Or fantasize about them? I would be lying if I ever said I had never had a crush on a movie/tv star or googled a famous person. But I've spent a vacation or two with a famous person and really, the only difference in being with them or being with someone else was that they got bugged on occasion by photographers or someone wanting an autograph which interrupted what we were doing. Of course, I suppose it might be different if I didn't know the person before hand. Someone I could sit and watch and drool over might be nice ... they could be mine for the week to watch in private ... like Benedict Cumberbatch or Eric McCormack ... or maybe someone I could be broody with ... like Nathaniel Parker or Vincent D'onofrio. And then there are the writers ... Edgar Allen Poe, Ernest Hemmingway, David Morrell, Tana French. And all the historically important people like John F. Kennedy or Rosa Parks or Ghandi. All the things I could learn from them ... but a week wouldn't be enough. So, if this were to come up, I'd want to spend a week with Thomas Jefferson. Why him? Because when I was 18 I went to Monticello and as I walked through the front door to that house I felt like I was at home. It wasn't just a feeling of deja vus or anything. I was home. Without ever having been there before or studied the house in any way, I knew where everything was, even all the secret compartments. It was the oddest feeling in the world and one I have never experienced anywhere else. During my week long visit there I would like to scope out why I had that very odd knowledge of the place. I would also LOVE to pick his brain on gardening techniques. He was a consummate gardener and really an amazing innovator of growing things. He pushed the limit of growing seasons, crop diversity, planting techniques, etc. Most of the species of garden vegetables we grow today he introduced to the American table. I know, most people only know him as a lawyer and President of the United States, but his real love was the gardens of Monticello. Fully a third of all the correspondence he did was about his garden or other people's gardens. He even shipped trees back from Europe when he found one he didn't have. I just find it all very fascinating and would love to spend a week in the middle of that world with him. |
| It's War Chest Tuesday! Prompt for March 11, 2014 Have you ever been betrayed by someone you trusted? Tell us about it. This is a constant state of being in my life. Why? How? you might ask. Because I trust everyone without fail, like a little kid or a stray puppy. I have an infernal knack for believing that people are good and want the best for everyone around them and will do their best to help others and will work hard and all those other good things. Truth is ... maybe I'm just too forgiving. People are people. People screw up. That's a fact of life. I've learned too that sometimes what we see as a betrayal isn't really a betrayal at all. Sometimes it's more of a misunderstanding or a miscommunication. If we're expecting one thing to happen and it doesn't happen, we can feel betrayed. But if the other party never knew what we were expecting, they aren't responsible for it. Are they? What is hard for me to forgive though are when people tell me they will do something and then they don't follow through even after being reminded of what they've promised. I had someone promise to help me get my novel ready to be published. But he didn't. I did everything he asked, sent in all my work on time, showed up for every one of his seminars, etc ... and got crap back. In one way I don't really care because honestly, I can't stand the guys writing style anyway. His books are dull and formulaic. But on the other hand HE PROMISED. Don't promise me something you have no intention of doing. That's not screwing up as a human being, that's just being mean. It's just wrong. |
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