That's short for National Novel Writing Month, a yearly event in which people sign up and strive to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I've registered. Writing starts at 12 PM on November 1st. Yes, that's tomorrow.
Does that strike you as ironic? Perhaps it should. I've only managed 10 posts in the whole of 2008. I'm gonna do it anyway.
It's an exercise in quantity, not quality, according to the NaNoWriMo website. "Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down."
Hey, that's kind of Julia Cameron-esque. Akin to Morning Pages. Just write. Don't edit. Just keep your pen moving. OK, I can do that. At least I think I can do that.
Am I allowed to put in a disclaimer so that when I'm tearing my hair out in two weeks--or two days--these words won't be coming back to haunt me?
Friday, October 31, 2008
"You're the Anti-Christ!" "No, YOU'RE the Anti-Christ!"
I have had it with politicians—all of them—who demonize their opponents to gain supporters. And the political ads, in print and on TV? Gaaaaah! Utterly unhelpful, woefully short on useful information, with more spin than a bottle in a basement full of horny teens.
Is this necessary? I may be an Obama supporter, but that doesn’t mean I think John McCain is the devil’s spawn and needs to be stopped before he threatens to wreak havoc on the free world—nay, our very mortal souls.
Here are two items I’d like to share with you, food for thought:
1. A comment made by my friend Stacy (an excellent critical thinker) on another topic but which applies here: “Wouldn’t it be refreshingly honest for someone to say, ‘I want you to do the same thing I do, believe the same thing I believe, because then I will get my way?’ ”
Indeed, it feels so much cozier to be surrounded by like-minded people, and to see our beliefs reflected in our little universe. As much as I try to live up to my credo, “Let’s all try to get along, or at least agree to disagree”, the latter part is a challenge. When I’m talking to a person with a different opinion, am I really allowing them their own view, or am I subconsciously plotting ways in which I may change the person’s mind? And changing one’s political beliefs is near impossible, which brings me to…
2. An article I posted yesterday called “Political views ‘all in the mind’ ”; here are some tidbits:
“Their research, published in the journal Science, indicates that people who are sensitive to fear or threat are likely to support a right wing agenda.
Those who perceived less danger in a series of images and sounds were more inclined to support liberal policies.
The authors believe their findings may help to explain why voters' minds are so hard to change.”
Does this not make sense, that our world view dictates our political leanings? I don’t agree with pro-lifers and those against gay marriage, but I can understand how their beliefs are formed.
These random thoughts all point to something worth practicing: seeing people as people, and not running headlong into black-and-white thinking.
Try this: As you’re walking down the street, or standing in line at the grocery store, when you set eyes on someone, think…
“…that’s someone’s son/daughter…”
“…that’s someone’s father/mother…”
“…that’s someone’s brother/sister…”
“…that’s someone’s aunt/uncle…”
“…that’s someone’s cousin/best friend…”
I used this little experiment as I was walking out of the Boulder Public Library. The results were interesting. When I saw a teenage boy pass by, smoking a cigarette, I felt love and concern, thinking, “Don’t do that to yourself!” I felt compassion for the homeless guy with none of the flight response I normally experience. I began to feel connected to everyone.
It was amazing. And short-lived. Going about the world with that kind of openness is difficult and tiring. It requires practice, this loving kindness. But isn’t it worth the struggle?
Is this necessary? I may be an Obama supporter, but that doesn’t mean I think John McCain is the devil’s spawn and needs to be stopped before he threatens to wreak havoc on the free world—nay, our very mortal souls.
Here are two items I’d like to share with you, food for thought:
1. A comment made by my friend Stacy (an excellent critical thinker) on another topic but which applies here: “Wouldn’t it be refreshingly honest for someone to say, ‘I want you to do the same thing I do, believe the same thing I believe, because then I will get my way?’ ”
Indeed, it feels so much cozier to be surrounded by like-minded people, and to see our beliefs reflected in our little universe. As much as I try to live up to my credo, “Let’s all try to get along, or at least agree to disagree”, the latter part is a challenge. When I’m talking to a person with a different opinion, am I really allowing them their own view, or am I subconsciously plotting ways in which I may change the person’s mind? And changing one’s political beliefs is near impossible, which brings me to…
2. An article I posted yesterday called “Political views ‘all in the mind’ ”; here are some tidbits:
“Their research, published in the journal Science, indicates that people who are sensitive to fear or threat are likely to support a right wing agenda.
Those who perceived less danger in a series of images and sounds were more inclined to support liberal policies.
The authors believe their findings may help to explain why voters' minds are so hard to change.”
Does this not make sense, that our world view dictates our political leanings? I don’t agree with pro-lifers and those against gay marriage, but I can understand how their beliefs are formed.
These random thoughts all point to something worth practicing: seeing people as people, and not running headlong into black-and-white thinking.
Try this: As you’re walking down the street, or standing in line at the grocery store, when you set eyes on someone, think…
“…that’s someone’s son/daughter…”
“…that’s someone’s father/mother…”
“…that’s someone’s brother/sister…”
“…that’s someone’s aunt/uncle…”
“…that’s someone’s cousin/best friend…”
I used this little experiment as I was walking out of the Boulder Public Library. The results were interesting. When I saw a teenage boy pass by, smoking a cigarette, I felt love and concern, thinking, “Don’t do that to yourself!” I felt compassion for the homeless guy with none of the flight response I normally experience. I began to feel connected to everyone.
It was amazing. And short-lived. Going about the world with that kind of openness is difficult and tiring. It requires practice, this loving kindness. But isn’t it worth the struggle?
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Something, Anything: A Place for Everything
Yes, yes, yes, it has been a long time. Figured I ought to just post something to keep the wheels turning. And this is going to be a quick one because I’ve got to go to work and eat breakfast. Not in that order; I’m ready to fall down because of low blood sugar.
Why the long wait? There was a few weeks in which Charlie and I were traveling—Boston for Walter’s wedding, and Austin for the Kofax Transform ’08 Conference—and since then it has been all about catch-up. Getting the books in order again. Getting my home in order again.
Do I hear a snigger? All right. The truth is I’ve been saying that I need to organize the place ever since I bought it in March of 2006. This time it’s different. Perhaps the more accurate description would be that I need to put the house back together after (a) the HOA’s plumber’s work on the building required that I move everything out of the laundry room and out from under the kitchen and bathroom cabinets, and (b) the travel, where the only time I was here was to unpack and repack. The good news is that I put all the displaced stuff on those industrial strength rolling wire racks, so moving it around was easy. The bad news is that the only place to put the racks were in the living/dining area.
So. The last week has been processing stuff. Finding homes for things that didn’t have homes even before the plumbing work started. Sorting through a mound of mail. Deciding what goes and what stays and where the hell do I put the stuff I need to hang on to but I’m not ready to act on yet? Like the care package of CDs for Piper and Laurel. There’s room in the box, but I haven’t had time to assemble the rest of the items to go in the box and bring the box to the post office. If it goes in the garage, I may never remember it again. If it stays in the living room, it just clutters the place.
All that being said, I’m finally down to the home stretch of phase one: almost everything is generally where it’s going to stay. Then the wire racks can go into the garage and I’ll have my home back. Woo-hoo!
Why the long wait? There was a few weeks in which Charlie and I were traveling—Boston for Walter’s wedding, and Austin for the Kofax Transform ’08 Conference—and since then it has been all about catch-up. Getting the books in order again. Getting my home in order again.
Do I hear a snigger? All right. The truth is I’ve been saying that I need to organize the place ever since I bought it in March of 2006. This time it’s different. Perhaps the more accurate description would be that I need to put the house back together after (a) the HOA’s plumber’s work on the building required that I move everything out of the laundry room and out from under the kitchen and bathroom cabinets, and (b) the travel, where the only time I was here was to unpack and repack. The good news is that I put all the displaced stuff on those industrial strength rolling wire racks, so moving it around was easy. The bad news is that the only place to put the racks were in the living/dining area.
So. The last week has been processing stuff. Finding homes for things that didn’t have homes even before the plumbing work started. Sorting through a mound of mail. Deciding what goes and what stays and where the hell do I put the stuff I need to hang on to but I’m not ready to act on yet? Like the care package of CDs for Piper and Laurel. There’s room in the box, but I haven’t had time to assemble the rest of the items to go in the box and bring the box to the post office. If it goes in the garage, I may never remember it again. If it stays in the living room, it just clutters the place.
All that being said, I’m finally down to the home stretch of phase one: almost everything is generally where it’s going to stay. Then the wire racks can go into the garage and I’ll have my home back. Woo-hoo!
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