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Prayer for Priests
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—for priests, whether I know you or not, who need special prayer for any
reason . Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou
among ...
8 hours ago
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Saturday Chores
I spent all day in my office cleaning out the detritis of the dissertation. There was also quite a bit of dust still remaining from the bathroom remodel. I still have on my pajamas. I cleaned all day in my pajamas. One of my dissertation computers actually died today. I scrubbed the dust off all the books I used for research and off the bookshelf itself. I recycled all the extra drafts of the papers and quite a few articles I read to understand how to talk about discouse analysis. I was a little sad to be out of academia but I work at a job that I love and that pays quite a bit better than university work would have.
I'm free to start a new project now and thinking it might be some creative writing. I've been collecting books about writing but a Walter Mosley interview on NPR told me to quit reading and start writing. He says just write 600 words per day and I'll have my novel in a year.
Never one to settle for just one opinion, I've been reading The Passionate Accurate Story by Carol Bly. She tells me to start out by writing a list of values and 10k word autobiography. The values will help with the story later and the autobiography will help me avoid writing about myself. I guess if I write a 50k autobiography, I'll have a book.
I'm going to combine the advice and write 600 words a day starting with the autobiography.
I'm free to start a new project now and thinking it might be some creative writing. I've been collecting books about writing but a Walter Mosley interview on NPR told me to quit reading and start writing. He says just write 600 words per day and I'll have my novel in a year.
Never one to settle for just one opinion, I've been reading The Passionate Accurate Story by Carol Bly. She tells me to start out by writing a list of values and 10k word autobiography. The values will help with the story later and the autobiography will help me avoid writing about myself. I guess if I write a 50k autobiography, I'll have a book.
I'm going to combine the advice and write 600 words a day starting with the autobiography.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Hurray for longer lighter days!
I'm coming out of hibernation with a lot more power since the days started getting longer here. I did the dishes and sorted the mail with nary a whine. I need light to think. I didn't have any ideas for for my blog so I kept it going with stuff I was interested in from you tube.
Animal Report: The dog I'm training for my mother got a haircut and still has accidents in the house. One of the parrots bit me tonight and it hurt my feelings.
I went shopping and guess what? The recession has reached the outlet stores and the shops weren't sold out and picked over in my size! WooHOO!
I have recently read the new Walter Mosley book The Right Mistake and I really liked it. It is a Socrates Fortlow story. I also listened to Blonde Faith on an eAudio book from the library. I couldn't use my iPod to listen to the book because apparently the people at Apple don't believe in libraries!
Animal Report: The dog I'm training for my mother got a haircut and still has accidents in the house. One of the parrots bit me tonight and it hurt my feelings.
I went shopping and guess what? The recession has reached the outlet stores and the shops weren't sold out and picked over in my size! WooHOO!
I have recently read the new Walter Mosley book The Right Mistake and I really liked it. It is a Socrates Fortlow story. I also listened to Blonde Faith on an eAudio book from the library. I couldn't use my iPod to listen to the book because apparently the people at Apple don't believe in libraries!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
I must be going to Maroc
I just bought the tickets. I've been trying to learn Moroccan Arabic, but that ship might have sailed. It's a tough language but I have two friends who speak Arabic so I'll try to pick up some phrases. So far no one to travel with me the first week. This might turn into my own little quest.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Morocco
I am going to Morocco in the fall with my friends. My partner was planning a horse trip to Morocco without me and I decided to go and see the culture while they ride. I will get some camel riding in. I'm researching how to best use my week in the beautiful country. I'm thinking of getting a place in Fez and just living a week there. I may have a friend or two join me. I'm hoping!
Yesterday I went horse back riding. I did ok except my legs were spaghetti when I dismounted and I landed on my fat butt on the ground!
Yesterday I went horse back riding. I did ok except my legs were spaghetti when I dismounted and I landed on my fat butt on the ground!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Poetry Saturday--Czeslaw Milosz
AND YET THE BOOKS
And yet the books will be there on the shelves, separate beings,
That appeared once, still wet
As shining chestnuts under a tree in autumn,
And, touched, coddled, began to live
In spite of fires on the horizon, castles blown up,
Tribes on the march, planets in motion.
"We are," they said, even as their pages
Were being torn out, or a buzzing flame
Licked away their letters. So much more durable
Than we are, whose frail warmth
Cools down with memory, disperses, perishes.
I imaging the earth when I am no more:
Nothing happens, no loss, it's still a strange pageant,
Women's dresses, dewy lilacs, a song in the valley.
Yet the books will be there on the shelves, well born,
Derived from people, but also from radiance, heights.
Berkeley, 1986
And yet the books will be there on the shelves, separate beings,
That appeared once, still wet
As shining chestnuts under a tree in autumn,
And, touched, coddled, began to live
In spite of fires on the horizon, castles blown up,
Tribes on the march, planets in motion.
"We are," they said, even as their pages
Were being torn out, or a buzzing flame
Licked away their letters. So much more durable
Than we are, whose frail warmth
Cools down with memory, disperses, perishes.
I imaging the earth when I am no more:
Nothing happens, no loss, it's still a strange pageant,
Women's dresses, dewy lilacs, a song in the valley.
Yet the books will be there on the shelves, well born,
Derived from people, but also from radiance, heights.
Berkeley, 1986
Friday, January 9, 2009
Nostalgia
I have been corresponding with old old friends, high school classmates. One friend is on a quest with the "angle of death" down in South Texas. He's been reading Don Miguel Ruis and Ekhart Tolle. I don't have permission to post his adventures here but they reminded me of the Porcine Canticles by the poet David Lee from the early 80s so I sent him a couple of poetry books. Another old classmate found me on Facebook and wrote me about his globe trotting adventures and the sad tale and his regrets of a failed marriage.
I've also heard the sad news of the illness and death of my junior high and high school algebra teacher, Bob Boatright. I sent him flowers before he died and I'd just completed my PhD so I told him about it in the card. Like my success is his success. Who knows how much the teachers remember about old students? I sure remember him. He was scary strict and I never did my homework for that class (3 years worth) but managed to pass the quizzes. I think he took pity on my miserable life. My life was hard in those days. He'd say "Trigg, if you'd just do your homework...." Somehow when I got to college I just "knew" algebra and did well in my math and science classes, so I must have learned something. Here is a youtube of Bob in a fiddle medley. If you watch long enough you can see him and his chubby cheeks as he fiddles. I think I would have liked this guy if I'd known him in real life. As it was, I just felt bad about not doing my homework for those years.
I've also heard from a college friend. I don't know what has gotten into me but I've been looking my old self up and trying to remember who I was. Most strange, I'm not that different now, if anything more myself. And our class song, Freebird still applies.
Hurray for the Class of '76. We were all that and more!
I've also heard the sad news of the illness and death of my junior high and high school algebra teacher, Bob Boatright. I sent him flowers before he died and I'd just completed my PhD so I told him about it in the card. Like my success is his success. Who knows how much the teachers remember about old students? I sure remember him. He was scary strict and I never did my homework for that class (3 years worth) but managed to pass the quizzes. I think he took pity on my miserable life. My life was hard in those days. He'd say "Trigg, if you'd just do your homework...." Somehow when I got to college I just "knew" algebra and did well in my math and science classes, so I must have learned something. Here is a youtube of Bob in a fiddle medley. If you watch long enough you can see him and his chubby cheeks as he fiddles. I think I would have liked this guy if I'd known him in real life. As it was, I just felt bad about not doing my homework for those years.
I've also heard from a college friend. I don't know what has gotten into me but I've been looking my old self up and trying to remember who I was. Most strange, I'm not that different now, if anything more myself. And our class song, Freebird still applies.
Hurray for the Class of '76. We were all that and more!
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