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Reading, Writing, Pondering: Big Life Themes, Literature, Contemporary/Historical Issues |
 Welcome to the 14th century, in a farflung outpost of the Holy Roman Empire, and a new Convent outpost of the terrrifically powerful Roman Catholic Church. Sound historically dull? Hopefully not so--for this is NOT an ordinary 14th Century Convent. Back after a six-year hiatus.... From NaNoWriMo historical Supernatural novels in Scotland, Michigan, South Alabama and historical horror in Standwood Station, GA-to the Phantom Northern Woods-to singlehandedly refighting the American Civil War-to exploring Social Justice and standing for First Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution-we deal out horror, Supernatural, Historical, fantasy, mystery, and more. We do not fear outspokeness. And always, always, always, We Do History. Find it here. We write it. We read it. We hold strong opinions. We orate. Meanwhile, whether we're writing or just reading, we love to rave about books and authors right here!  |
| April 24: Prompt: "Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrong." Charlotte Bronte What are your thoughts about this? I am not certain whether nursing grudges, bitterness, and resentment physically shortens a life; certainly it exacerbates or possibly even creates health problems and disorders. Certainly it makes for an embittered life. I've known people who've carried grudges against family members for 40 years or more. Were they embittered? Yes. Happy? Didn't seem so. I suppose it's a matter of whether one chooses to change one's attitude and perception. If one considers oneself a "victim" then one will perceive any event as victimizing one. If one chooses bitterness and resentment, life will seem to provide those qualities. Choose well and choose wisely is the lesson here. April 25: Prompt: "If everything was perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow." Beyoncé Do you agree with this statement? Most definitely. Suffering promotes growth. The Fires of Adversity (or the Crucible of Adversity, as I term it) is the process that foments our spiritual evolution and the development of our psyche (our personal growth work). We are not born perfect, we have to work to achieve it. April 27: Chosen from Billboard's Year End Top Hits of 1956 My Prayer For the Poor People of Paris Is that they survive Heartbreak Hotel After the Fire at Notre Dame Cathedral. Memories Are Made of This, they must remember how Notre Dame had always been Don't be cruel, don't wish to destroy; Standing On the Corner, they almost lost their minds at the destruction. of the Ivory Tower Cathredal On the Street Where You Live. |
| For Blog City Prompts: April 19, 20, 22 april 19: Write about a family heirloom or simply an object that's been passed through the generations in your family. Anything tangible is long gone, but I carry my lifelong love of reading from parents. I grew up in a household in which both parents read, daily, and provided books (hardbound and paperbacks). I learned my love of mystery and science fiction at home. I was taken to the Library early on, till I was able (early) to go to the Library myself. I shall always be extremely grateful for this foundation. David Burns say, “The reason fantasy is an old but thriving literary genre is because fantasy stories speak to emotional truths.” Do you agree? Not just fantasy: science fiction, horror, mystery, literary genre--all books speak to our emotions, awaken our psyches, inspire our souls, provide us not only adventures outside ourselves but awakening to possibilities that we might manifest in our lives. April 22: Prompt: “Sometimes it is good to fly close to the flame, see and experience the heat, but then fly away again, to survive, to be wiser in the art of heat,” says Robert Black. Doesn’t flying close to the flame take courage though? From where can we find that courage and how can we know when to fly away again without getting hurt? As I read this I immediately thought of certain emotional/psychological disorders, which "encourage" the sufferer to fly far too close to the Sun, only to suffer worse. Perhaps that is what Icarus felt? I think in many cases it should be enough to "see" the heat, not to "experience" it. Example: I can read about crime in fiction and non-fiction. I don't want to be a killer or a victim, but I can read and experience empathy, shock, revulsion, gratitude I am neither. |
| Blog City Prompt for April 18 2019 Write on Easter: Ostara or Eostre is the Pagan celebration of the Spring Equinox, and very likely how and why the early Roman Catholic Church determined to set Easter in the Spring. Eostre was the Germanic goddess of spring. Interestingly, Ostara was not celebrated as a Celtic holiday. Spring's equinox was also celebrated in Ancient Persia and by the Mayans at Chichen Itza. Ostara, like Mabon (Autumnal Equinox), is also celebrated as a Witches' Sabbat. Modern-day Easter, of course, changes dates, as does Passover, but the Spring Equinox remains basically the same. |
| Prompt: According to scientists, human mind craves certainty. If so, how can we best endure and deal with uncertainty? Blog City April 16 2019 Not possible! If one has faith, though, one can perceive certainty. For those who don't possess faith (and I am not singling out any one religion or spiritual path here), the Universe is a morass of Cosmic Uncertainty. As a Lovecraft enthusiast, I perceive a multiverse comprised of roiling uncertainty and chaos, in which the only rule is randomness; sort of a "when bad things happen to good people" taken to extremes, or "WHY did this happen to ME?" Chaos. Randomness. Uncertainty. Embrace the Unknown. |
Prompt: Write a poem about April and spring. Awaken, Earth! Awaken, Earth, to your new Birth. Spring arrives in truth, Nature strives! Daffodil, in sinkhole, is still. Lady's Slipper Poem Form: http://poetscollective.org/poetryforms/ladys-slipper/ |
| Blog City for April 9 2019: Prompt: Devorah Baum writes, “Troubling though they may be, feelings tell us something about power and its limitations.” What do you think she means? In what ways can feelings be associated with power and its limitations? I think feelings may demonstrate to us our own powerlessness. For example, I am a member of Care2, an activist online community, and I daily despair at the horrors humans inflict on animals (and humans). Despair and hopelessness are my feelings, but when I'm reading about events that have already occurred, I'm powerless to reverse time and avoid those. Ongoing events like festivals in which animals are killed and/or eaten, yes, we can sign petitions to stop those; but what can anyone do about the animals already killed? Like the iconic Clarence, the lion in Africa killed by a despicable American dentist trophy hunter with far more ego and Narcissism than compassion. |
| Blog City for April 8 2019: Prompt: What do you think personal space is and how do you measure it? And why are we so territorial about it? My personal space bubble extends about a hundred miles. Seriously. I understand that personal space is a cultural phenomenon; I've read that, for example, persons in the Middle East Arab cultures consider standing closer to another person more acceptable than say, individuals in other cultures. For me, personal space is a matter of "personal" preference; and my preference is: Back. Off. I have a lot in common with the aphorisms on the Grumpy Cat Weather App. |
| Blog City for April 6 2019: Prompt: Scientists have discovered there are humans (not aliens) living on another planet, but they have one major difference when compared to Earthlings. What's that difference, and what are their lives like? Peaceful! Compassionate! Energy Beings (Thought Only)! Respect for Others! No Physiques, so No Health Issues! No Cult of Youth! No Obsession With Celebrity! Reality Is As We Create It! |
| Blog City for April 5 2019: Sherwood Anderson said, "I think the whole glory of writing lies in the fact that it forces us out of ourselves and into the lives of others." Do you agree with his assessment of writing? Let's take it one step further, as a writer we step into other lives (our characters) does writing help us be more tolerant in real life or less because we look at things differently than a non-writer. As a Reader and as a Writer, I am able to step out, to leave my comfort zone, and to surpass the impossibilities of my own life--by that I mean that I can do whatever I cannot do in this life in this physique. As an example, say I wanted to be an Astronaut, or a Rocket Scientist, or an expert Mycologist: I can do these through Reading, and I can also achieve these through Writing. But more to the point of the Sherwood Anderson quote: Reading divergently (meaning here reading about any aspect of personality or character or nationality or ethnicity or religion or anything else that "I am not") means I can LEARN. That is the most important victory of all. |
| Blog City April 4 2019: Prompt: "Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it." Julia Child Write your views on this quote. I do! I do! I do! Find my passion and remain passionate! Reading, books, literature, space, astronomy, astrophysics, history, writing, science! Lifelong interests since early childhood, and my passion has never flagged, glitched, or dropped its stitches and will not ever! |
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