Month: March 2017

Friday Fare is where I post links to the random articles that have resonated with me during the week.

I went down a couple more weird Internet wormholes this week.  A python that killed and ate a man.  That led to watching a video of a group of kind rescuers in a southern India village watering a King Cobra from a water bottle.  (<– Truly, that vid was kinda bad ass – don’t regret that.)  But the strangest and sweetest article I ran into was this piece in Hero magazine where Stellan Skarsgard interviews his son Bill. (The trailer for the remake of Stephen King’s IT was released this week.  Bill Skarsgard plays Pennywise the Clown.  And man … I don’t care if that movie gives me nightmares, I think I need to go.)

Yeah … that’s kind of what I did this week.

Onward!

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Listening: Same ‘ol, same ‘ol.

Reading: George Saunders’ “Tenth of December.” Finished “Enchantments: A novel of Rasputin’s Daughter and the Romanovs” by Kathryn Harrison. My heart was a little broken after I read the last pages.  “Enchantments” was a sublime read.

Fiction Update:  Edits on my short story!  I had an awesome tea-filled Tuesday evening where I went through the notes and feedback some of my writer friends gave me.  I am blessed to have peers that push me to be a better writer.

Happy Friday!

Friday Fare is where I post links to the random articles that have resonated with me during the week.

I tripped into a bit of an Internet wormhole this week and found a couple of older articles about the comedy stylings of two people I greatly admire.  First off – Janeane Garafalo; I still want to be her when I grow up.  And Michael Nesmith.  My love of The Monkees is well chronicled.  This piece talks about his underappreciated comic stylings.

This piece is from my local newspaper.  I tend to live on the cynical side of life, but do appreciate something that’s heartwarming.  This fit the bill.

Oh jeez – who am I joking?  I love the heartwarming stories.  This one – about a 91-year-old woman who chose an epic road trip over chemotherapy – had me smiling through my tears.

Friends are coming over this weekend.  This will happen in all of its chocolate caramel glory.

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Listening: I’ve been listening to a lot of Iron and Wine and Gregory Ivan Isakov this week.  Somehow, this brother-sister folk duo keep sneaking in too.

Reading: George Saunders’ “Tenth of December.” “Enchantments: A novel of Rasputin’s Daughter and the Romanovs” by Kathryn Harrison. I also snuck Patricia Briggs’ latest “Silence Fallen” over the weekend.  That was a good read.

Fiction Update:  This week has been quiet on the fictional front.  Need to kick it back into high gear to get the edits completed on my short story and to dig into “Dragonfly.”  Work looks primed to ramp up again, so better to make hay now rather than when I’m knee deep in proposal hell.

Happy Friday!

Friday Fare is where I post links to the random articles that have resonated with me during the week.

This is from last week, but it still made me giggle … the father whose interview with the BBC was crashed by his little kids. I’ve definitely been in his shoes, but luckily armed with a mute button.

This article was the topic of several funny memes I saw on the Interwebs this week.

Margaret Atwood weighs in on the timeliness of “The Handmaid’s Tale” during the current political climate.

As you’ll see below, I’ve been on a 70s music kick this week.  This article which features a link that isolates Grace Slick’s vox on “White Rabbit” doesn’t disappoint.

Starburst says they will release a bag with just the pink ones.  Brilliant.

My dad’s birthday this weekend … my gift to him is a toss up between pecan pie brownies (infused with some bourbon) or Bailey’s brownies.  I’m not sure if I’m considering him or me when it comes to my pending decision.

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Listening: It’s been a 1970s kind of week in my household.  I’ve been digging Bread.

Reading: Still reading George Saunders’ “Tenth of December,” a collection of his short stories.  Also started “Enchantments: A novel of Rasputin’s Daughter and the Romanovs” by Kathryn Harrison.  I have a thing for the Romanovs.  This book is exquisite.

Fiction Update:  Finished my short story.  Gah, those 4,000 words were elusive.  I need to revisit “Dragonfly,” but I’ve been trying to get some reading in while my mind takes a quick pause.

May the luck ‘o the Irish be with you and happy weekend!

Friday Fare is where I post links to the random articles that have resonated with me during the week.

Last week was rough on an illness front.  This week has featured an abundance of work and quasi-work obligations.  I’m looking forward to the weekend!

Some good stuff this week:

I love me some Jessica Lange.  This article says she’s Minnesota’s greatest actor.  I concur.

Some non-traditional ways to land an agent and a book deal.  I’ve heard of Pitch Wars and recently had good luck pitching at a writer’s conference – this is some good advice for people to get above the slog of email queries received by agents.

I just discovered George Saunders.  Holy hell.

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Listening: Tired of hearing about Lord Huron yet?  Fine.  I also listen to a lot of Gregory Ivan Isakov and Iron and Wine during my work day.

Reading:  I read “The Exorcist” by William Peter Blatty in one night.  Yeah … don’t recommend that if one wants to have a restful night of sleep.  But man – it was good.  I can see why it has stood the test of time (40+ years after its release.)  Also reading George Saunders’ “Tenth of December,” a collection of his short stories.  <– Incredible.

Fiction Update:  Working on my short story.  My submission is limited to 4,000 words, so you’d think that would be easy.  Not so much.  Right now, I have about 1,700 words and 2,000 in notes / fragments in my manuscript.  The main character is tricky.  The narrative feels too linear (i.e. – the detective ushered him into a conference room.  The man took a seat in a too-small chair.  He waited.), but you can’t edit something that isn’t written, so I’m letting the spool unwind and will slice and dice to make something that’s more palatable to the reader.

Happy weekend!

Friday Fare is where I post links to the random articles that have resonated with me during the week.

This week I am thankful for urgent care, primary care, children’s Tylenol, Zarbees, and amoxicillin.

(Bleh.)

Illness has descended upon the house.  After four years of relative good health, we have our first set of ear infections for both children.  There have been a lot of early mornings and a lot of late nights this week.  But there’s still good stuff out on the Interwebs!  Without further ado:

• Bill Paxton is one of those actors where once you see his name, you realize how many of your favorite movies he’s been in.  For me: Tombstone and Apollo 13.  A bunch of storm chasers gave Mr. Paxton a fitting tribute.
• Homemade Reese’s Eggs?  OK.  That sounds tasty.
• This comic from Zen Pencils is incredible.

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Listening: Lord Huron has basically gotten me through this week.  I am a grateful person.

Reading:  “The Dark Days Club” by Alison Goodman was FABULOUS.  And “The Dark Days Pact” just came out … so that will likely be my next book on the TBR pile.

Fiction Update:  Despite being elbow deep in ick for most of the week, I got some time to work on my short story.  I’m letting the characters tell me their tales and trying to figure out what POV will be used.  The main character started off as aggressive, but he’s been cowed a little bit by the detectives who have shown up to interrogate him.  So we may be looking at a third-person omniscient POV. 🙂

Happy weekend!