Posted on

Wednesday’s Word: What does it look like to you?

Today’s word, from wordsmith.org:
legerdemain. noun. slight of hand

***

Ariel Gore recently posted an excerpt from Comics and Serendipity’s blog, entitled “Please Don’t Bomb the Moon” – a letter to NASA about their intentions to do just that.

Bomb the moon?! That’s right. I googled NASA and bomb and moon. The first hit links to an article from Scientific American (NASA’s mission to bomb the moon) describing the expedition as “spectacular” and a blast “so powerful.” NASA already has a rocket in route, and there’s nothing we can do about it. I’m not a scientist, but I assume they’ve researched the possible after-shocks and effects of sending explosives towards a celestial body. However, the article from Scientific American doesn’t really list any negative backlash. It does, however, suggest a large projectile chunk of debris will be visible in the viewer of your layman’s telescope. Cool.

Even more interesting, October 15th is Blog Action Day, when well over 2500 bloggers will unite to post on one topic – climate change – in support of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (December 7-18, 2009). In Copenhagen, international leaders will gather to negotiate a global climate agreement. But by December, the damage on the moon will be done. Maybe the bombing effects will be minuscule. Maybe not. Either way, NASA’s blow to the moon takes climate change to a much higher level. International leaders might have to focus on changing tides and changing pressure, along side carbon footprints and global warming.

Even if you don’t write a blog, go to Blog Action Day’s website for more information on what you can do. Click the links to other sponsors (like 350) and find out what events are happening in or around your area on Oct 24th, International Day of Climate Action.

bad-125-125

For more information on NASA’s moon project, click NASA Ames Research Center in the news.

Posted on

Finding my focus

A little over a year ago, I decided to investigate my passion for writing. Actually, I was kicked into gear by a good friend. She heard me complain, just about enough, about someone else’s pursuit into writing.

“You know, you’re just jealous. Why don’t you take some action for yourself?”

Maybe those weren’t the exact words, but I remember jealous and take action. I started off with small commitments: work through The Artist’s Way, start a blog. I signed up for National Novel Writing Month, thinking what have I got to lose? Then, I passed the NaNoWriMo 50,000 word benchmark, and I fell into a frenzy of sorts.

I took two online writing classes with Ariel Gore, back to back. I submitted several pieces to lit mags, reworked a few more, joined some writing sites, started another blog. Been reading on writing. Been staying up too late.  Shut down my laptop after midnight, only to open it five minutes later to change the last line of a late night blog post.

In such a frenzy, I lose sight of my reason for writing (not to mention, sleep). So, I recently made a list of my little successes in one short year. I held off on submitting a few pieces that, a week ago, I thought I just had to get out there. And, I honed in on this quote yesterday:

Remind me each day that the race is not always to the swift; that there is more to life than increasing its speed. Let me look upward into the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well.” –Orin L. Crain

I don’t know anything about Orin L. Crain. But, I love this quote, and this gentle reminder, that becoming a writer is only a race in my mind.