It Hurts When I Stop Talking (Book) http://www.Writing.Com/main/profile.php/blog/walkinbird/action/archive An act that has brought fame to their name as long as I have been alive. I was first aware only of their ultra popular music dominating the American scene from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. And not just for a summer; there probably wasn't a time during the period of 1977-79 on the radio, in print media or TV without them present. And it was th...[Read Full Post] Mon, 21 May 2012 00:36:31 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/753239 Saw the wildly popular film adaptation of Suzanne Collin's The Hunger Games last night. Having seen it before ever reading the books of her series, my main impression is that the story comes across as quite diluted from what I expect her written volumes must explore. Watching a story with any hint of depth to it is always good for me as a writ...[Read Full Post] Sat, 07 Apr 2012 11:03:20 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/750394 Good Friday; it is still dark out and only my monitor illuminates the keyboard. You can imagine me going at letter-by-letter typing pace. I-t s-e-e-m-s s-o u-s-e-l-e-s-s t-y-p-i-n-g a-t- t-h-i-s p-a-c-e. It is like this because I am staring at my keyboard. And this is because I never loosened up enough over making mistakes that I never built up the conf...[Read Full Post] Fri, 06 Apr 2012 08:54:51 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/750334 I scroll down the entire length of my Media player library -- surely small in comparison to some; made up only of album tracks I actually own -- find there's an album or two I haven't listened to in a while. I click on Styx Greatest Hits. I think I'm going to get the first track: Lady (from 1995), but the highlighted track is actually, Show ...[Read Full Post] Mon, 26 Mar 2012 21:26:22 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/749614 Always had a love of cinematic fare. No, I'm not talking about the popcorn and Red Vines. I realize, first it was the scores that captured my attention. Back in the Seventies and Eighties, the only way to enjoy a portion of the movie experience at home was to purchase and play the soundtrack album. Star Wars, Chariots of Fire, Top Gun...I know I'...[Read Full Post] Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:24:56 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/746899 I am grateful to my rabbi. I have not been brought up in the Jewish faith, but I prefer the honor of calling her by the same name Jesus was called by his followers, Rabbi. She is a true teacher. She prepares us for the message of other teachers in her absence. She has called on us all to identify our strongest values and to use them, meditate upon them, ...[Read Full Post] Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:02:28 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/746246 I have long been a fan of Cameron's The Artist's Way, and I started off this year reading it dutifully in small snatches of morning time. This morning, due to it and little nudges in daily life, I saw through to something. I am in mourning. I am mourning the loss of childhood as it relates to me. It is not just MY childhood I'm wrapped up ...[Read Full Post] Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:52:46 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/745211 Entered 1-7-12; minor correction 2-3-12 Deleting email creates an effective meditative state. I just considered the viability of blog readership. My blog entries have purpose. Sometimes I hope and even brag to others that they must stop what they are doing, and go read my input. Most often, I think it becomes more a repository of notes to myself, and I&...[Read Full Post] Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:30:12 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/743571 Reflection Nature and Stance Three tenets of my own meditation practice; and not always taken together. I easily fool myself and elude my practice, much like I walk determinedly everyday to some degree, but side-step stretching and the care (before or after) that would give my tense, sometimes spastic, leg muscles more flexibility and capability. ...[Read Full Post] Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:06:46 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/739335 I came across a phrase in the forward of a book I was perusing on an internet sales site last night. My home computer's history would remind me where I was and who I was reading (and out of fairness, I'll sneak it in here later). But it was the content that grabbed my attention, not the whys and "what for" queries detailists might ask. Th...[Read Full Post] Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:47:57 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/738449 Walking the path of every celebrating child tonight, my heart takes note of all that delights a child's soul. To talk of prosperity, not all connections to this universal idea come down to monetary wealth, of course. Nothing causes a more forlorn existence than to live and forget the bounty that exists in the world to the mind of a child. Children a...[Read Full Post] Tue, 01 Nov 2011 03:54:08 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/738284 Entry number two-hundred; should I be proud? The item I place here is less blog journal, more a pre-meditated project that I did not start when I first intended...so, some of the power is already sapped out of clocking it in now as entry number two-hundred. I've had a depressive-manic-average kind of day for a mom with a family. Some of me is stil...[Read Full Post] Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:31:24 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/738201 I think I'd like to blend about three ideas together in a kind of marathon lead-up to NaNoWriMo this year. One is an older idea I recall having but never acted on it fully; to write a poem everyday as practice and then make the collection of them available monthly. In other words, write in the preceding month what I want to publish and sell for the n...[Read Full Post] Mon, 03 Oct 2011 02:18:53 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/735634 Twenty-five years ago, I made a speech to the members and guardians gathered at the annual state convention of Job's Daughters. That gathering is called Grand Bethel, and the speech was actually a Librarian's Report, a requirement to close out my year holding an honorary State office for the young women's organization. I was able to capture ...[Read Full Post] Fri, 22 Jul 2011 22:01:29 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/729370 I just noticed a fortune cookie fortune discarded on my desk; "Praise a fine day at night." What a simple idea of gratitude. It makes me want to turn it around since the whole family tends to DO at night -- not always welcoming much activity in the daytime. What would that come out as? "Praise a grand night upon the day." I find t...[Read Full Post] Sun, 29 May 2011 12:23:42 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/725037 I often get little words of wisdom popping phrase-like and mostly-formed into my head. The first interpretation does not always remain by the time I get to paper or computer screen. This one progressed from a random thought; fueled by local media hoopla over a prediction of Judgment Day. I could not fit it as the title for the entry, although I k...[Read Full Post] Sat, 21 May 2011 12:19:41 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/724402 Read below my (favorite dialogue) privacy hedge for the epiphany which I feel I can't just blurt out to start an entry. We'll call it a new hobby that came to me tonight: Best line from Tin Man (2007) "You know you really should do something about that BITTER cynicism of yours Cain." ...[Read Full Post] Fri, 04 Mar 2011 02:10:29 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/719047 I remember when teachers would reach the end of the year and would be taking down everything in the room - this has to be when my hoarding started. I'm sitting here staring at the laminated classroom attendence list from my daughter's 4th grade class; I'm certain she took possession of it from her teacher in the same treasure-laden glee I did...[Read Full Post] Sat, 12 Feb 2011 12:21:22 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/717692 "You're my love from forever..." one of my favorite singers is currently serenading me; intoning this right into my ears via headphones. And my clutter is my fear and stories from forever. I got up with a hazy momentary goal -- to quietly clear away some of it. My "moments" last very long -- it takes me about 15 activities (and ver...[Read Full Post] Sat, 12 Feb 2011 12:17:38 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/717691 I claim in the original description for this blog that the REAL ME resides here. It has been nearly six months since I put words to this blog, and the interesting thing is, in avoiding it, I kept out all the negativity that flooded through my daily existence in that time period. That's not to say I didn't vent. I simply created a different forum ...[Read Full Post] Sun, 06 Feb 2011 13:05:47 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/717303 Taken workshops or college courses under the direction of Carol Black Eloise Klein Healy Robert McDowell (aka The Poetry Mentor) Share the family tree with R.D. Armstrong (aka Raindog) Read and practice in the vein of Julia Cameron As for my taste in reading material, simply read my bio, as none of these encounters really speak to it; but ...[Read Full Post] Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:23:13 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/704118 I've been happy to see news reports marking the anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I remember being a recent college graduate and in a new job for a disability-awareness non-profit in 1990. Today I was overjoyed to read the Los Angeles Times columnist, Steve Lopez' account of accompanying Nathaniel Ayers to a celeb...[Read Full Post] Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:32:06 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/702540 Happiness is Prosperity and the harvesting of ideas that one allows to grow. Mon, 26 Jul 2010 01:07:14 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/702320 Tomorrow I end another class (as a student) -- one I've needed for some time. Principles of Financial Freedom. It was a rather unorthodox spiritual class. The workbook required coloring. And the pace always seemed furious. The last class assignment, a vow of prosperity. Once again I am being pushed up against the boundaries of my comfort. (Luckil...[Read Full Post] Mon, 26 Jul 2010 01:03:32 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/702316 I have been easily falling into funks lately. Vacation from work was great, but did not remove all sources of fear or frustration. When I stopped my husband just now for a moment, to tell him I'm sad. He said, "You need pie." Which, don't get me wrong, it make me smile and it was a good connection for him to make. Emotional eating is prob...[Read Full Post] Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:17:11 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/702115 The way I handle this blog and my writing in general is like the energy construction (destruction) of a star or gaseous nebula spewing chunks of proto star limbs everywhere. I USED TO BE SO CAUTIOUS. Now, with social media, I post here and there and link; throwing out little insights. I'm so active, but so far removed from my once careful, and person...[Read Full Post] Tue, 27 Apr 2010 02:36:18 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/694380 A rewrite: Why we are created with passion Is nay a mystery to unfold -- soon. Now, my own need empowers Mind's fruition. A bombardment o' inner thrill thrown To a goal, soon catches fire - warm glow'd Moves the body to action, so bold, And without warning, it shifts the world Until tastes and flavors refasten Your mind to every fe...[Read Full Post] Sat, 03 Apr 2010 15:42:50 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/692173 Perhaps watch too much CSI and Criminal Minds (it scares me sometimes to think that Criminal Minds is one of my husband's favorite series, but we're intelligent folk, and it's curiously stimulating)...Really, I know that it's a drama, but I'm still a pretty sweet type (with an inquiring mind) and my perception of how much "bad&#3...[Read Full Post] Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:55:24 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/689927 I had this thought this morning, after a resurfacing kind of discussion with my spouse last night. Seems like we realized that we're afraid of change, (very human); what the change is, and whether the change is for good or bad doesn't really matter. This was the thought...What if there is a Heaven (a reality we all experience after the physica...[Read Full Post] Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:20:12 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/689595 Life overtook (me) on the bus ride home today. Praying for less tension, and really wanting to separate from the constructs of daily living that erode innocence, (I) closed out the visions around (me) speaking only within. (I) meditated until (I) cried. Began to only accept the term, "this presence," referencing the unique self rather than state,...[Read Full Post] Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:30:45 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/689382 I sometimes complain to myself that I'm not eating enough, but when I really have to be cunning just to eat within my means -- I enjoy my meals so much more than if I'd pounced on the nearest convenience food. It's a hard sell, but nearly everyone in our family is having to do it. Who knew fresh Green Beans could be so tasty (and simple to pr...[Read Full Post] Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:02:13 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/689032 Hearing the news report about the 8.5 earthquake in Chile while reading of an "art" installation in the UK Science Museum where random chat comments are spoken, it made me wonder if recording the information of a great earthquake in a blog would be considered a unique internet event. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:13:17 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/688776 It's the little things that get you down -- A bonus you didn't know you could have gotten, for example. It makes you blurt out, "Well, Life's not fair, is it?!" In reality I do know that Life is divinely fair. But when lacking a bit of sleep or substantial nutrients, one does get crabby -- maybe even irrational. But there are also ran...[Read Full Post] Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:51:55 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/688731 I make crazy routes along the internet sometimes, I admit it. If "driving" the Information Superhighway was anything like real driving, they'd take away my license (that, or my husband would refuse to go on so many "scenic drives")! Well, sometimes I just waste time. Other times I have a definite purpose (at least when I start out). I...[Read Full Post] Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:07:55 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/687541 While spending the weekend at my mom's, I relaxed enough to get some *umph* back. I realized both through coincidence and with planning that I might find myself driving up north (or otherwise spending Saturday away from home) quite often in the beginning of 2010. I hope to make that a good thing. Isn't it funny how we always race into a new ye...[Read Full Post] Sun, 20 Dec 2009 10:34:32 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/680491 A reading of Julia Cameron's, Prayers from the Great Creator, this morning helped me to remember that we, just like the earth, have much good come into our lives -- after the rain. "The expectation of growth," the pg. 281 entry included. At the cusp of Fall turning to Winter, it is a nice reminder that this needed rain does not so much cause ...[Read Full Post] Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:17:04 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/679832 Thought of this as I licked an oversized Yoplait YoPlus aluminum lid...It resembles a thought bubble. Suddenly I'm imagining scrapbooking and using it as a bottom layer for a journaled thought bubble over some picture. Then the picture inhabitant will have a thought bubble (mind-cloud) with a silver lining. I also have to use these puns eventually...[Read Full Post] Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:56:51 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/664737 Think I'll write an article titled, "Banishing OK...alright?!" I noticed at least twice today, co-workers asked the usual, "How're you doing today?" And I said, "I'm all right." But it was a mutter, a question as it came from my lips. ) It certainly could have been improved by at least being a rousing, "AH, ah, ah,...[Read Full Post] Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:32:37 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/662333 I fall into things on the internet, like a crazy scavenger hunt where you aren't given a list; just return in an hour with the most interesting item and story. I know that, often, it immediately feels like wasted time unless I do something with the info I find -- email it on or share on Facebook. SCBWI was an association (at least in abbreviate...[Read Full Post] Mon, 03 Aug 2009 23:00:11 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/662116 Despite my years of study having recently come to an end, and facing graduation this weekend, I've been a bit ambivalent. In a way, wishing that time didn't feel so stretched now. "Get it over with already!" Like I can't face all the attention. I don't want to believe it's the usual worthiness issue -- it does easily feel that...[Read Full Post] Thu, 28 May 2009 02:13:27 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/651976 In just another three weeks, my church community is holding a graduation ceremony for me and the two other students completing professional Religious Science practitioner coursework. Last night, our teacher, Rev. Karen, and her assistants, Monica and Linda surprised the three of us students with what I'll call a threshold ceremony. I have seen and re...[Read Full Post] Mon, 11 May 2009 02:15:31 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/648655 I will do my best to be up at 4am and join others globally in affirming the healing of Mother Earth. Since I only now looked up the ceremony details, I will be doing this solo, rather than gathering others. I will do it by candlelight, with seeds and lavender as offering, smoke purification and water cleansing and prayer. I am glad to have been given the...[Read Full Post] Wed, 06 May 2009 02:11:02 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/648405 My uncle asked me once, if I could choose a new career -- any, regardless of whether I had experience in it -- what would I want it to be in? And I answered readily, Art conservation. I just have a romantic notion about it, certainly. Very much like my imagined cloistered monk illuminating manuscript pages over a lifetime. There's a desire for that a...[Read Full Post] Mon, 04 May 2009 19:19:19 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/648203 Intriguing. I just get back into a conscious mode to write -- dilligently, and continuously -- and up pops one of the "quick blog entry" windows. I was not expecting it -- I think that I just "moused-over" that space on the screen. And here it is, and I could "X" it closed, but instead I write. Good for me. I think that I sho...[Read Full Post] Mon, 04 May 2009 02:22:17 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/648097 <a href="http://www.oneplusyou.com/bb/geek" style="text-decoration: none; background: url('http://www.oneplusyou.com/bb/css/img/quiz/geek_badge.jpg') no-repeat; display: block; width: 268px; height: 82px;"><span style="display: block; padding-left: 125px; padding-top: 28px; color: #000; font-family: Arial; font-siz...[Read Full Post] Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:10:58 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/628179 There's an environmental consulting squad newly poised at the edge of every suburbia in the States. They're calling themselves Green Irene(s). I was intrigued when I happened across the business model on the Internet. Happened to be the same day my company's parent filed for financial restructuring on a massive scale, you should know. Under t...[Read Full Post] Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:30:27 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/624335 Have to note this thought down, because otherwise the insight just gets forgotten. Taking the morning shower, and I know the youngest is up but being quiet and secretly working on her brother's Christmas gift. They're both at ages when I wonder how much of what I allow to come out of my mouth filters through. And, more importantly, how much of i...[Read Full Post] Sun, 07 Dec 2008 12:36:59 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/622984 Someone with some oversight into my volunteer position recently requested that I "track" the attendance and request adherence to a sign-in. While I agree that I had come up with a concept for classroom behavior that would make the sign-in essential, I still found myself a bit distainful of the the statistical side of it. Not a personal distain fo...[Read Full Post] Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:01:52 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/620285 Where do I start Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:39:40 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/612295 My spouse was progressively ill this past Thursday, first with a racing heart then (with other symptoms by late, late Saturday), like nausea and light-headedness. It was scary having to take him to the emergency room, but ultimately the news is good. All the tests show his heart is strong and healthy. He had very low potassium, and I can't say I unde...[Read Full Post] Mon, 06 Oct 2008 02:09:36 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/611286 I had a woman whom I don't know approach me today at church to declare her opinion that my young daughter is overweight...in peril of Diabetes, amputation, blindness and heart stress. Maybe not so strangely, this hit me from left field like a scary ol' fellow in a sandwich board suddenly scrambling forward and declaring Armageddon is nigh!. Has m...[Read Full Post] Mon, 08 Sep 2008 02:14:28 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/605965 The Birthday contests and activities have me in a wishin' mood. Some more merit badges would make me feel good -- but am I deserving of any more than the five I've been honored to receive? I just came across someone's profile that has 200 badges; (yikes!) how's that possible in a mere two-year stretch? Very active, friendly person I gues...[Read Full Post] Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:26:37 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/605513 I was curious about the information available about the Playa encampment at Black Rock Desert NV known by fastival goers and watchers as "Burning Man." This was on the site; a position I was ignorant of -- I guess it's not just an overblown rave "BURNING MAN IS AN EXPERIMENT IN TEMPORARY COMMUNITY. Because many people only know a worl...[Read Full Post] Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:36:49 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/603793 Q: What increased cost is taking the biggest bite out of your budget these days? A: Housing Q: Please explain. A: I am in a fortunate situation, living in a relative's home. I pay rent and have voluntarily increased the amount every 6mos to "face reality." I know what I pay is still hundreds below what others pay. Yet, the monthly amount...[Read Full Post] Sun, 24 Aug 2008 12:53:05 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/603503 I have only a couple days of vacation left. I've done some great relaxing and free-spirited activities. Yet, one thing I thought I'd find time for, or would be stir-crazy about, is organizing. Almost completely, "organizing" should be read as full-on clutter removal. I have found other things to do instead -- including several blog entrie...[Read Full Post] Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:03:04 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/602313 Enjoying my own cleverness, I've decided to immortalize the handle which I temporarily placed up on the day (today) which I finally saw The Dark Knight. So, having noted more a numb feeling than the generally male Testosterone-enriched exhuburance that most have expressed, I have already speculated that the special features on the future DVD release ...[Read Full Post] Wed, 13 Aug 2008 23:05:06 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/601842 The modern age of email and how we still can't keep ourselves organized is such a point of humor for me. I sent myself an email back on 11-7-07 which had these words typed into it -- Stern:unforgiving:unrelenting:driven:passionate The funny thing is, I remember what this was in relation to; I probably wanted to write about it, but did not have the...[Read Full Post] Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:57:10 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/600651 I received an email today to add a comment to an on-going discussion of the upcoming Paramount/DreamWorks release Tropic Thunder. Some people think Ben Stiller and pals should join the enlightened. I might question if living the entertainment model of life even allows clear thinking -- ever. The issue is over using an insensitive storytelling device -- g...[Read Full Post] Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:08:20 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/600576 I am taking my daughter to see the movie Swing Vote. I have suggested that she write a review of the movie. I'm trying to give it a bit of anticipatory excitement, as I'm letting my husband and son go see the new Mummy movie while she and I see the Kevin Costner film. I fully endorse the fact that midnight showings of Swing Vote are on at the sam...[Read Full Post] Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:50:38 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/599637 Sunday's Image section in the Los Angeles Times points out that fashion designers are making high priced friendship bracelets. I swear the Eighties are actually coming back into style. I know 1987 I took the time to learn how to make friendship bracelets -- now, if I could get back into the craft, and add some high-style touches, they could be barter...[Read Full Post] Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:55:06 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/596254 Okay, leave it to me for connecting an insight from a Wednesday church service with a segment from tonight's NOVA Science Now. Believe it or not, the reference to the monkey with its' arm stuck in a bottle is from the sermon. NOVA was reporting on paleontological evidence of an evolutionary link from tree shrew to the primate family. It gave a t...[Read Full Post] Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:31:59 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/595581 I recently admitted to myself that I have a problem initiating. I realize it is essentially a shyness. Sometimes it doesn't matter how long I've thought over how to approach someone. I'm overly careful about imposing on another's time. This includes asking for help. I can be standing right there with someone, but if I've mentally ...[Read Full Post] Mon, 09 Jun 2008 02:02:21 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/589799 I recently admitted to myself that I have a problem initiating. I realize it is essentially a shyness. Sometimes it doesn't matter how long I've thought over how to approach someone. I'm overly careful about imposing on another's time. This includes asking for help. I can be standing right there with someone, but if I've mentally ...[Read Full Post] Mon, 09 Jun 2008 01:51:51 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/589798 Bad..." I love that I have the option to go to a Drive-in Theater still. So many have disappeared from the California landscape, that most people are surprised to hear that a few do yet survive. My romanticism about the Drive-in may be slipping. For about a week and a half, when I've entered my car, it smelled like a whole pumpkin or cantalope...[Read Full Post] Sat, 07 Jun 2008 15:41:37 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/589545 Congratulate me. I have put in ninety hours as a Religious Science practitioner student. The first year class completed tonight. In about 120 days I will begin again . The one-on-one counseling and active listening skills will be taught. The discussion about what each of us felt we had learned in this time led into a prayer circle in which we visioned ho...[Read Full Post] Fri, 06 Jun 2008 03:05:01 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/589315 [Link To User frasier] just asked if I did attend the homecoming of sorts I mentioned a couple entries ago. I certainly did! It was both elegant and fun. The salads and desserts were dished into Martini glasses. Someone said the menu had a vintage, like Twenties era, theme. The administration sent an Alumni Association rep to serve as Master of Ceremon...[Read Full Post] Sun, 01 Jun 2008 12:26:01 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/588371 Blogging has created an intriguing patchwork quilt model of interconnectedness which I do not feel humanity has experienced before. I type in one line of John Mayer's popular song, Say, and Google points me to a Blogger account entry by Molly of I don't know where (wherever UTC Mocs are a team), and I feel like her experiences are my exper...[Read Full Post] Sat, 31 May 2008 19:13:39 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/588267 I was invited to return to my college, California State University Northridge, to witness the Student Recognition awards being given out this year. Twenty years ago, I was one of the recipients.It included scholarship money donated by a community or campus organization. I recall mine being presented by the Panhellenic Council. While I was not a member of...[Read Full Post] Mon, 05 May 2008 11:25:08 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/583407 I always get a little giddy after watching a film that presented all the right elements for me. The film is Dan in Real Life with Steve Carell. The film was one I anticipated seeing in when it debuted in theaters last year, but I've only gotten around to seeing now that it's been out on DVD for four to six weeks. In retrospect, it reminded me ...[Read Full Post] Sat, 19 Apr 2008 04:41:49 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/580216 I've about had it with "short" meetings at work in which all the talk resolves no issue solidly. Such lovefests, fishing for best practices just pull me away from my desk for an hour or more. And then, "Suck it up," is not quite the response I was thinking would be at the forefront of the group discussion after I'd privately told ...[Read Full Post] Sat, 12 Apr 2008 01:57:54 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/578956 I am bent on aiding other people's creative endeavors. This is where I get into trouble surfing the web. I start out innocently enough, simply looking up some song lyrics so one of my children can try-out for a talent show. That gets me all nostalgic for Eighties albums and a few soundtracks. I'm struggling with the speed on someone's video w...[Read Full Post] Thu, 20 Mar 2008 02:50:30 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/574682 I particularly liked a simple paragraph from the final version of my paper. I thought I'd place it here too: My family is important to me. I believe that I help my family live an idea: “No man is an island.” The Englishman, John Donne, made a sermon in the 16th Century on that statement, meaning we are not alone at our beginnings, no...[Read Full Post] Mon, 25 Feb 2008 02:16:17 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/569844 This week had an early evening lunar eclipse. I noticed I had put the last one in my blog. Since the next full lunar eclipse will not happen here until December 2010, I thought it was important to note that I watched this one too. I even ran across the street to tell my ninety-year old neighbor to come take a look. Best line from Tin Man (200...[Read Full Post] Sat, 23 Feb 2008 05:03:58 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/569470 I have several papers to have complete by the beginning of the week. I admit to not doing heavy research, but I do feel it all has involved deep contemplation. The matter of having put so little of it to paper, however, is a sore point. I have this habit of getting caught up in day-to-day matters. There are "more important things" which often ge...[Read Full Post] Sat, 23 Feb 2008 04:52:14 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/569467 There are days I must turn God eyes on my life. Lately I have felt weighted by financial burdens. I know so many are strained by the need to keep up the typical materialistic lifestyle. Yet, I have been exposing the core of my problems, and I find that money has little import.The real issue has bubbled up in the out-of-proportion responsibility I place o...[Read Full Post] Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:33:03 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/561709 I am gladly and solemnly using words with a friend to see a healthy shining soul once again on-line. "Heal thy self" is one of the statements in the English language I like to use. It has a little twist to it, that I'm not sure many people take note of. "Heal" and "thy" create the word Healthy. Sometimes, when I am pushing my...[Read Full Post] Wed, 16 Jan 2008 02:32:40 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/561321 Time to re-invent. Time to be present. Time to stop living in the past. I've held on to the same signature here for four, going on five years. Tonight, I decided to change it. As a writer, I cannot canonize my own words, I have come to believe it is part of what stops me and holds me fast. It is a belief structure that I set up as soon as I think som...[Read Full Post] Tue, 15 Jan 2008 02:48:49 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/561101 Again another entry on what media choices are turning me on this season. On Wednesday, I watched the premiere of Pushing Daisies on prime-time television. I was delighted, because I was immediately immersed in a drama about dealing with death that had a storyteller's creative touch. Visually, it was enhanced and fanciful like a Tim Burton film. The c...[Read Full Post] Sun, 07 Oct 2007 00:03:23 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/540044 Bless Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, but most of all I bless the writer of 'Stranger Than Fiction' It is a perfect foil to my favorite existential book/film, 'What Dreams May Come.' Sat, 22 Sep 2007 03:29:42 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/536838 After wrestling with a frustrating and drawn-out conversation with my husband today, the fact that I'm now focused on creative thoughts and general dreaming is the last thing I would have anticipated as the end result. The discussion was only hard since it felt like one I'd had to have many times before. But, come to realize, maybe I never had an...[Read Full Post] Sun, 09 Sep 2007 02:22:38 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/533903 It is three o'clock in the morning, PST, and I've been watching the total lunar eclipse visible to those in the Pacific region. The moon will remain in the shadow of the Earth for the approximately the next 75 minutes before reemerging. I just wanted to take the time to comment that the moon looks perfectly natural to me in the state of penumb...[Read Full Post] Tue, 28 Aug 2007 06:16:16 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/531140 I was uplifted today listening to a taped talk by Marianne Williamson. She reminds me to choose mental life, not mental death. Every word and action turned toward life is so much more than a noble stance. It is a reaffirming of the God-given purpose for each of us. And, I wish to set an intention; to do this work in my work also. An uplifting consciousne...[Read Full Post] Sat, 25 Aug 2007 01:05:48 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/530513 The death of someone familiar. I have experienced mourning today over the sudden passing of veteran broadcast journalist Hal Fishman in Los Angeles today. It was less painful than it could have been, since my "knowing" the KTLA evening news anchor was only very minimally more intimate than the average dedicated Angeleno viewer. Read the artic...[Read Full Post] Wed, 08 Aug 2007 02:48:30 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/526593 Mark it up to my letting the mind wander today. Vacation; and I do not need to get up to go to work in the morning. Full Metal Alchemist is playing on the TV in the background. We saw our daughter off after breakfast at the Duarte IHOP. She's starting a week-long visit with her grandmother. When I rested my eyes for an hour, not long after, it was pl...[Read Full Post] Tue, 07 Aug 2007 01:27:34 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/526344 I only got around to reading the front page article in Sunday's paper today. The article paints a very vivid picture of the experiences of Kendall McArthur, as the article proclaims, "a pioneer" in the idea of open adoption. Of course, Kendall was not the inventor nor even an outspoken proponent of the concept. At the time her mother Patti g...[Read Full Post] Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:51:10 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/526297 Technology gives the overworked (and even procrastinators) a bit of a cheat every once in a while, and today I am taking advantage of that. My blog will be recorded for the day, eventhough it's only a few minutes since I entered my blog for the first. I am taking this opportunity because I have offered to make pizza for dinner after work. I have a ne...[Read Full Post] Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:18:46 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/525269 My recent fascination with Wikipedia has gotten me into this Wikimedia state of mind; a place where I imagine that I have much to contribute. There is a Wikimedia project which is fully focused on Middle Earth. I just signed up to be a contributor to the on-line directory named Wikimmunity. I am considering becoming part of the K-12 education curriculum-...[Read Full Post] Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:07:54 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/525260 Working on my own goal-setting and conception of prosperity has been particularly difficult for me recently. I realized after talking it over with my spouse that part of what I have to work with is expanding my view, not settling on one view. Sun, 29 Jul 2007 23:14:19 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/524483 RealityTVCalendar is accepting my writing again. I'm covering the highlights of the Who Wants to Be a Superhero 2 competition on the SciFi Channel Thursdays at 8pm Pacific. I'm also jazzed to have won a new merit badge for my participation in AliceNgoreland's Vampire Ball. winning entry: [Link To Item #899600] ...[Read Full Post] Fri, 27 Jul 2007 03:12:11 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/523995 I stumbled on a site called MeStew today. It had it's share of celeb popularity speculation and related polls. The thing that I found disquieting was the number of entries that admitted first off that the writer knew no details about a topic they were then spewing about. The specific reference I think had to do with Harry Potter and the film opening ...[Read Full Post] Thu, 12 Jul 2007 23:58:31 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/520876 I've convinced myself that ten minutes of space in my day allows me to fulfill the blog for the day requirement. But this is what I end up with. This is what you end up with. Haven't y'all better taste than that? Summer doesn't do much for me. I suppose I'll give myself a break though, I'm only just fully feeling over the fever th...[Read Full Post] Wed, 11 Jul 2007 23:59:07 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/520665 Well, being sick (at this point, getting over being sick) in July is no fun. Fever started after breakfast on July 4th. Of course, I could be the only one suffering. I don't think I had that much presence of mind to be that conceited, actually. But it certainly was funny as I despaired today over everytime that I found myself sweating — finally...[Read Full Post] Sat, 07 Jul 2007 23:57:35 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/519743 I'm teasing myself; not really getting down on my practice of waiting to the last minute. But it's almost a good habit because I am writing consistantly, even if it is at the last possible moment to fill the calendar. Mon, 02 Jul 2007 23:58:29 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/518688 The L.A. County Public Library branch near me just acquired a 360 plus page coffetable hardback on The Making of Star Wars, a topic I would've sworn to you, "I am over." But I really was engrossed. The real essence of the struggle to birth this movie is written, both in exposition and through following the creative process, bit ...[Read Full Post] Sun, 01 Jul 2007 02:42:00 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/518308 Okay, much like the enigma of a Sara Sidle / Gil Grissom romance in the past season of CSI, is my being stuck making my entries with only minutes to spare before the day is out. Is this a metaphor for what it takes to get me writing consistantly. I have exaggerated in job interviews by saying I like jobs where the pressure is on. I know that is not compl...[Read Full Post] Fri, 29 Jun 2007 23:58:36 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/518138 It's just a juvenile, pop-up book version of Dicken's classic, A Christmas Carol, I've read along with my daughter tonight, but I can tell she enjoys it due to all the questions. I am enjoying being there to share the reading adventure with my daughter. I can tell that with a recommitment to reading together this summer, her capability is ...[Read Full Post] Thu, 28 Jun 2007 23:58:45 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/517990 Thought I had already made my entry. Guess not, And now, I'm really cheating. (*8:58...8:59 - Midnight Eastern time) [Now in edit mode] Wondering what replies I got on IMDB for my opinion on Babel? I replied to a thread on the nudity in Babel, stating the following: Paraphrasing the end of your comment: On why developing the (Chieko) char...[Read Full Post] Thu, 28 Jun 2007 00:06:28 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/517806 It's comforting to overhear people my age, or even younger, state, "I used to have a great memory. I don't know what happened, but my memory isn't what it used to be." Something in me calms down. See, getting older and losing touch with some of your mental capacity is okay; it's natural. How perfect is it that Paul McCartney's...[Read Full Post] Thu, 28 Jun 2007 00:09:12 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/517549 It seems like I had some happy, profound topic to put in the ol' blog, when I was thinking about it first thing this morning. Now I'm at the end of the day, feeling wiped. It was slow at work, but I kept going around and around with errands and trying to get dinner on the table. I've got tears just under the surface. I probably have gone obse...[Read Full Post] Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:58:05 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/517417 I haven't taken the time to look back a day or two to see if I already talked about this, or not. I have made a minor breakthrough in my personal understanding of success and abundance. I believe it is one of the areas in my life requiring the most understanding for me to be happy; healing, as it were. My insight came from a brief look into the in...[Read Full Post] Sun, 24 Jun 2007 01:02:34 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/516997