Tue 6 Mar 2012
Posted by PJ under birds, flying, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:
“No bird soars too high, if he soars with his own wings.”
—William Blake, “Proverbs of Hell,†The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
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Disclaimer:Â The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Mon 5 Mar 2012
Posted by PJ under alone, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:
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“Many people need desperately to receive this message: ‘I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone.’ ”
—Kurt Vonnegut, Timequake
Disclaimer:Â The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Fri 2 Mar 2012
Posted by PJ under books, carmina, meme, reading, shivery bones, the numberless stars, writing
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The books I’m reading (I pick these up and put them down, but all of these are currently inching forward):
Books I’m writing: If you count worldbuilding and creative noodling, then I’m writing Carmina and The Numberless Stars. If you’re talking about actual words getting written, then I ain’t currently writting nothin’.
The book I love the most: Couldn’t possibly choose. I usually love the one I’m with.
The last book I received as a gift: I made a killing on book gift certificates. I’ve included all the books I bought this way—not really to brag, but because I wouldn’t want any of these books to have their feelings hurt because I left them off the list. (I anthropomorphize everything.) (Hi, Lisa!):
The last book I gave as a gift: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.
Fri 2 Mar 2012
Posted by PJ under gods, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:
Â
“I don’t know if God exists, but it would be better for His reputation if He didn’t.”
—Jules Renard, Journal, January 26, 1906
Disclaimer:Â The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Thu 1 Mar 2012
Posted by PJ under humor, marriage, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:
“When I eventually met Mr. Right I had no idea that his first name was Always.”
—attributed to Rita Rudner
Disclaimer:Â The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Wed 29 Feb 2012
Posted by PJ under contest, writing
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the monthly first line writing contest run by Jaime Lee Moyer, also known as stillnotbored. The February contest will be up and running for the next week.
Wed 29 Feb 2012
Posted by PJ under prejudice, quote of the day, racism
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Random quote of the day:
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“Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me.”
—Zora Neale Hurston, “How It Feels to Be Colored Me,†The World Tomorrow, May 1928
Disclaimer:Â The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Tue 28 Feb 2012
Posted by PJ under art, creativity, despair, hope, writing
[2] Comments
Today’s quote from Isak Dinesen—”I write a little every day, without hope, without despair”—strikes me as great advice. Not just for writing, but for living. I can see why Raymond Carver liked quoting it so much.
The thing is, though, it’s extremely difficult advice to follow. Much of the time life seems to take us—creative people as well as “normals”—on a crazy seesaw of hopes and disappointments. Our expectations and wants get us muddled as we try to do the tasks before us, and when we can’t meet all those desires and self-imposed goals, we fall into fits of despondency, think ourselves failures. The inner harpies of self-criticism kick in big time then. They rend and claw without mercy.
For creative people, this extends to and is magnified by the work we do. All creative work is a risk, a thing considered unnecessary by the larger world. There are so many layers of perceived failure available for us to choose from and beat ourselves up about. Creative people seem inevitably to go there, but it’s never a helpful place. It does us no good, it does our work no good.
So…without hope, without despair. Just you and the work. Just me and the work. A little every day, without expectations and the larger-than-life burdens we pile upon ourselves. Maybe this isn’t a recipe for the “current publishing environment,” but it is a recipe for doing the work when it feels like you just cannot. It’s a method of moving forward, even when the mudslides flow around your knees. It’s a practice that keeps the insanity at bay, the practice of doing the best you can with each day, and cutting yourself some slack about the other stuff.
When the harpies start piercing and biting, as oh ye gods they inevitably will, throw them a scrap of hope to gnaw on. Let them chew on that as much as they like so they stop distracting—because we don’t need it at the moment of creation any more than we need the despair.
Tue 28 Feb 2012
Posted by PJ under quote of the day, writing
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Random quote of the day:
Â
“I write a little every day, without hope, without despair.”
—Isak Dinesen, as quoted by Raymond Carver, Paris Review, Issue 88, 1983
Disclaimer:Â The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Mon 27 Feb 2012
Posted by PJ under art, nature
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Here’s a cool story. Some artists have decided to do something about the shrinking coral reefs around the world. They’ve been making statues our of “safe” concrete and anchoring them in places for coral to grow on—sometimes whole galleries of statues. They hope to take the “human pressure” off existing coral beds.
Not wanting to be left out, some artists who knit and crochet wanted to make their own coral. They asked for volunteers who came up with some amazing “coral” pieces which were later exhibited in Pittsburgh.
Go to the article to see more amazing statues and knit/crochet.
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