Category: Friday Fare

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random, Uncategorized

Friday Fare: Back on the horse

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is where I post links to the random articles that have resonated with me during the week. Sometimes they make me smarter, sometimes they make me hungry … sometimes they have to do with writing and sometimes they are just plain random.

Eeesh – after the last Friday Fare’s whiny lament, I’m glad you’re back.  I promise I’ve been reading good things and that I’m more productive than I was the last time we met.

I don’t know if it’s surprising, per se, that I’m posting this article about Sylvester Stallone, but if you know me, you’d probably not mistake me for a rabid “Rocky” fan.  Because I’m not.  But … one of my all-time favorite movies is “Cop Land” so I’m always happy to see Mr. Stallone get the respect that he’s due.

I’m not going to lie – the idea that The (surviving / non-estranged) Monkees are getting together for a 50th anniversary and are releasing a new album brings me much joy.  I may try to be all cool and relevant with the music that I listen to (ha!), but at heart I’m just an 11-year-old girl listening to my Monkees cassettes in my cluttered farmhouse bedroom, mooning over Davy Jones some 20 years after his heyday.  (I’ve said it before … I’m usually behind on trends.)

This weekend is Valentine’s Day.  I foresee heart-shaped pancakes and heart-shaped pizza in my future.  And maybe this cake.  Because … cake!

***

Listening to: I’ve been listening to the YouTube again.  This concert is one of my favorites and always helps me get a lot of work done in my day job.  And I’m not going to lie, Gordon Lightfoot in 1972 makes me wish that time travel was reality so I could have seen Mr. Lightfoot in concert in the 70s.

Reading: Honestly, I haven’t read much lately.  It’s busy in the proposal world right now, which is a good thing, but doesn’t give much time for more than work and family time.  I don’t achieve a lot of balance during these busy seasons.

Fiction Update: I’ve been working on a short story for consideration in an upcoming anthology and although it’s been taking me a long time to get it to coalesce, I’m excited about the direction that it’s going in and I think that I’m going to have a decent story at the end of this process.  Even if it doesn’t find a home in the anthology, I think it’s one I can shop around elsewhere.

I also met with my Twin Cities writers group earlier this week.  I didn’t have anything to share (see comment above, re: achieving balance) but I’m liking the energy that I’m getting from the group and think I’ve found a good group of folks to exchange stories with.

Wherever my readers are, I hope you are well and happy.  Happy Friday!  We made it through another week!

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random, Uncategorized

Friday Fare: What a sh*tty week

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is where I post links to the random articles that have resonated with me during the week. As evidenced below, I barely read jack sh*t this week.

I’m not going to lie: I’m one of those ridiculously “the glass if half full and there for the filling” kind of optimists that should probably be committed for half of the lunacy I inflict on the ones that are nearest and dearest to me.

But this week was hard.  Getting to this afternoon has been a long slog of early wake-ups, endless coffee cups, irritated IMs to co-workers, and garden-variety shenanigans that managed to wear on me.

And David Bowie.  And Alan Rickman.  Cancer sucks and only robs the world.

I’m grateful that it’s Friday.

***

Listening to: My favorite Bowie song is “Heroes.”  The Wallflowers did a passable cover of it for the Godzilla (1998) soundtrack but will never come close to the urgency of Bowie’s voice in the original.  Thursday morning also found me musing about the first time I ever saw Alan Rickman on screen.  In all honesty, it was probably “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.”  (I remember one reviewer skewering Kevin Costner’s “So-Cal” accent, so out of place in Sherwood Forest.)  But I prefer to think that my first Rickman movie was Anthony Minghella’s “Truly, Madly, Deeply.”  Truly, it was this scene that was in my head when I read the news that Mr. Rickman had died.

Reading: I started and put down Brene Brown’s “Daring Greatly.”  I’m torn between my mother-in-law’s adage that there’s too many books in the world to get stuck reading one that I don’t want to read and another writer friend’s recommendation that I really need to read this book. (i.e. – could be another “Big Magic” for me.)

Fiction Update: Had a meeting with my writers group on Tuesday evening and tried out the first scene of the short story that I’ve been working on.  Got some great feedback – hoping I’ll find a couple quiet hours this weekend to work on finishing.  (Like I told my group – I know how it begins, I know how it ends, it’s the middle that needs work.  Oh – and I have a 4,000 word limit.)

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random, Uncategorized

Friday Fare: Welcome 2016!

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is where I post links to the random articles that have resonated with me during the week. Sometimes they make me smarter, sometimes they make me hungry … sometimes they have to do with writing and sometimes they are just plain random.

I’ve read a lot this week, but the only article that really resonated with me was J.T. Ellison’s Annual Review.

And yeah … that’s about it.  SO … without further ado – let’s go to the more concrete part of my week!

***

Listening to: Dawes is currently keeping me company.  Love this song.

Reading: I’ve been pretty obsessed with William Kent Krueger’s “Cork O’Connor” novels lately.  He has 14 out right now and I’m on #4.  However, I also have a huge pile of books that are checked out from the library, so I need to catch up with those too!

Fiction Update: Dragonfly and working on a short story for an upcoming anthology.  It’s going.  It’s not a sprint, but it’s going.

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random, Uncategorized

Friday Fare: Excuses, regeneration, and shenanigans

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is where I post links to the random articles that have resonated with me during the week. Sometimes they make me smarter, sometimes they make me hungry … sometimes they have to do with writing and sometimes they are just plain random.

I’ve had a wonderful week that hasn’t left much room for reading, outside of books I’m trying to get through and the regular news / gossip that I consume on a daily basis.  Last weekend, my mom and I took a girls weekend and went shopping.  Which was ridiculous – I’m not fond of shopping, but I adore my mother, so the opportunity to just hang out with her (something that doesn’t happen a lot now that *I’m* a mom) was wonderful.

On Tuesday, I had dinner with a dear friend of mine who’s a watercolor artist.  We respect each others’ creative processes and we’re kindred spirits, so hanging out with Cathy is just a treat.

This weekend, I have a phone date with my former college roommate / soul sister.  She’s a ridiculously awesome and busy corporate attorney, so our phone dates are infrequent, but necessary.  And then the Urban Family is coming over for dinner on Sunday, so that’s another event that I need to prepare for.  But hey – the holiday cards are stamped and addressed, my Christmas presents are basically purchased and are just waiting to be wrapped, so I’m (tentatively) ahead of the eight-ball.

Unfortunately, this busy period (and my regular work deadlines) are hell on my writing regimen.  But other than figuring out how to clone myself or inventing one of J.K. Rowling’s “time-turners,” I gotta figure out where I can carve out more writing time and how I can better guard that time.  Because yes – I’m very busy, but I also spend way too much time on social media.  So the time is there – just gotta work on the discipline part.  But having said all these things, I’ve so enjoyed the time I’ve been spending with friends and family lately, I think it’s recharging my mind in different ways.

***

Listening to: Prince did a killer cover of Radiohead’s “Creep.”  Check it out here.

Reading: Just finished Alexandra Sokoloff’s “Huntress Moon,” the first of her FBI Thriller series.  Sokoloff is known in the fiction world for taking the lessons she learned from screenwriting in Hollywood and utilizing them in fiction.  I’m not sure if that background knowledge that was in my head when I was reading “Huntress Moon” or if this is just the reality of my life, but I really read books anymore as a writer.  I’m intrigued to see how a writer described a character or unraveled a plot line.  Very fascinating.

Fiction Update: I was feeling antsy the other day and I realized that too much time had passed since I had worked on edits for “Dragonfly.”  (And “too much time” is only a matter of days, but that’s how I feel about writing on a daily basis.  [Sidenote: Wish I felt this way about exercise. Sigh!])  So I tackled a chapter and it didn’t go great.  But … I’m going to back the truck up and take another run at it.

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random, Uncategorized

Friday Fare: I’m Baa-aack!

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is where I post links to the random articles that have resonated with me during the week. Sometimes they make me smarter, sometimes they make me hungry … sometimes they have to do with writing and sometimes they are just plain random.

Can I tell you that I’ve missed this? I’ve been mentally processing a blog post that recaps the “lessons learned” from my 30-Day Writing Challenge, but at this moment – the only “lesson” is that I’d rather share random article links than tell you about the mommy guilt that I feel when I realize that my kids prefer chicken nuggets to quinoa.

Whoa. Wait. Not sure where that came from.

Anyway … without further ado – my “best of” of this week’s Internet reading!

Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.  Chocolate and peanut butter.  Beer and … well, almost anything.  New York Times had a piece this week that profiled the comediennes and their friendship.

Another comedian that I admire greatly.  Bill Murray … I am so glad that he’s in this world.

The NYT also printed their 100 Notable Books of 2015.

This article made me remember that there is still good in this world.

***

Listening to: YouTube still remains the place for me to discover new-to-me music.  I found a recent Old Crow Medicine Show concert from this year’s Live Aid and then followed that up with Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds.  Both of these finds made me exceedingly happy.

Reading: I had a revelation the other day, shortly after finishing Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Big Magic” and returning a couple of mysteries that I *should* have read and enjoyed. I’ve been enjoying non-fiction. To-wit, I just finished Andie Mitchell’s “It Was Me All Along.” Non-fiction and memoir has captured my attention like fiction hasn’t lately and instead of wondering what the hell that means, I’m just going to enjoy it. But I haven’t turned my back on my favorite mistress/genre – I’ve been having a wonderful affair with the Killer Nashville anthology of short stories. Reading these have been good for developing craft and introducing me to some new authors.

Fiction Update: I have a couple things going on with my fictional world. “Dragonfly” keeps plodding along – the holidays and work deadlines have not been kind to me, but I’ve enjoyed digging in and the work that I’m getting done. And I’ve joined a writing/critique group that’s going to meet monthly. This is my first foray into such a thing, so I’m full of a lot of conflicting feelings and angst, but I recognize that this type of feeling typically precedes a period of creative growth. So – I’m excited, but wary. I think this will help bring me to a “next level” but I also realize that I’m carving out a lot of writing and family time to make these meetings. So … good things are afoot. I love this creative life.

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random

Friday Fare: Hallelujah

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is my “best of” when it comes to Internet links that I’ve read this week.  Here are the articles that caught my attention and maybe made me a smarter person this week:

Wow – apparently my life has been all about memes lately.  (And following political stories … bor-rrring.  Although it beats reading about the Kardashians.)

I had to dig hard for this article that I had posted on my Facebook wall last week.  Neil Gaiman on why our futures depend on libraries, daydreaming, and reading.

Otherwise, the only articles that I forwarded and actually read this week was this piece from the Huffington Post asking the question that’s on everyone’s mind:  “What’s A Skoliosexual?”  (I emailed my BFF and asked him if he was my “zucchini.”  Yeah … that was a weird message to send to someone, I admit.)

And then, let’s file this under “I can’t make this shit up”:  There was a woman in Champlin, Minnesota that was pissed off at her neighbors and their children, so she wrote them anonymous notes that said her children looked “delicious” and sent them magazines that were addressed to “Your Tasty Children.”  I emailed one of my other BFFs and told her I was glad that she moved out of that particular ‘burb, she responded that her husband gave the woman props for creativity.

Yes folks, the truth is usually stranger than fiction.

***

Listening to:  In honor of today’s post title, Rufus Wainwright’s take on Hallelujah.  It may be heresy, but this one is my favorite version.

Reading:  My cousin Cheryl invited me to be part of a Facebook society that is devoted to L.M. Montgomery and I found out about this book: “L.M. Montgomery’s Rainbow Valleys.”  I’m not going to lie, when I found out about these essays that chronicle Ms. Montgomery’s Ontario years, I was having a shit-tacular day and had to fight the mighty urge to Click.  Buy.  Devour.  Truthfully, the only thing that really stopped me was the realization that there are a TON of books that are devoted to the “Anne of Green Gables” author’s life, inspiration, etc.  I’m thankful that my local library has a robust interlibrary loan system.  I have a feeling that I’m going to be doing some academic reading this winter about one of my favorite authors.

Fiction Update: I’m making good progress on outlining “Dragonfly” and noodling on the mushy middle parts that need to coalesce into something that resembles a story and not the end result that looks like my toddlers had a field day on my laptop’s keyboard.

Happy Friday, friends!  I am wishing you a blissful day and weekend. Today I am heading north to St. Paul to eat some borscht with a beloved college friend. I’m looking forward to not checking work emails and soaking in some good conversation.  It will be good for my soul.  Do something good for yourselves today!

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random

Friday Fare: What’s new and what’s random

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is my “best of” when it comes to Internet links that I’ve read this week.  Here are the articles that caught my attention and maybe made me a smarter person this week:

Today’s post is where Kenny Rogers and mysteries meet!  OK – not really, but that might give you an idea where my mind has been this week.

My writers group (we call ourselves the Rochester Literary Guild or “Guilders”) has been having a HOT debate about this current ad from IBM Watson.  It features a conversation between Watson and Bob Dylan.  (To say that Bob Dylan is something of a patron saint to the Guilders might be conjecture, but I’m not too far from the truth.)  The main question that we’re kicking around?  Why would Bob do this?  But man … I love to hear The Man speak.  I love his facial expressions as Watson poses his questions and opinions to him.

Kenny Rogers!  Mr. Rogers’ recent retirement announcement prompted me to “Like” him on Facebook.  Considering that my brother and I used to stand on my parents’ fireplace bench and pretend that we were Kenny Rogers and Dottie West (this was at the tender ages of 15 and 17 … no, wait!  We were only toddlers.  I swear.), I’m surprised that I hadn’t liked Kenny’s FB page before.  I’m not sure what I was waiting for – I don’t know if Kenny runs his own social media (I’m sure not), but whoever is posting on this page links to the most RANDOM articles and memes on the Internet.  It’s like reading this particular type of blog post.  Seemingly every 20 minutes.  Love it.

Finally – the other article I read this week recapped Ernest Hemingway’s life as a young man in Michigan.  The author’s premise for this piece was the notion that when most people think of Hemingway, the Paris years and his time in Havana automatically spring to mind.  The New York Times’ author went back to Hemingway’s Michigan haunts – the places that deeply inspired “The Nick Adams Stories.”  It’s a quietly moving piece about a larger than life author.

***

Listening to:  Nothing that is too notable.  If anyone has good listening suggestions, hit me up on Twitter @shelleybakes or leave a comment! (Jerry Johnson … I’m looking at you … 🙂 And bird call recordings do not count.)

Reading:  I DEVOURED Jenny Milchman’s first book “Cover of Snow.”  There were a couple bumpy patches at the beginning of the book, but as soon as I realized that it had more to do with the fact that I was reading on my Kindle versus an author error, I powered through.  I’m still thinking of a couple of the herrings that she buried.  Thankful that I have a mystery loving mother-in-law who has this book on hold at the library and will email me her thoughts as well.  Ms. Milchman has been featured on any number of mystery genre blogs because of how she toured to support her debut novel.  In summary, as a debut novelist, her publishing house wasn’t pouring advertising dollars towards her book.  So Ms. Milchman and her husband loaded up their kids and drove cross-country to support her book.  Her account of the “world’s longest book tour” can be found here.

Fiction Update: Toasted Graham Latte – here I come!  (See last week’s post for this random shout out to Starbucks.)  I’m on page 112 of 122 for “Dragonfly.”  I should be able to knock the rest of these pages out today / this weekend.  There will be a post next week that discusses my next steps and some of the … well, I’ll be honest – anxiety that I’m feeling about what needs to happen next.  (OK – maybe anxiety is too strong of a word, but I’m the mama of two toddlers.  I don’t have a lot of time on my hands and I want to make sure that the time I have is used as efficiently as possible.)

Happy Friday, friends!

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random

Friday Fare: Random, random musings

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is my “best of” when it comes to Internet links that I’ve read this week.  Here are the articles that caught my attention and maybe made me a smarter person this week:

William Kent Krueger wrote an eloquent blog post a while ago regarding his decision to temporarily shelve the sequel to his New York Times bestseller “Ordinary Grace.”  The Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote a piece that included him and some of Krueger’s thoughts on that decision.  Very interesting.

This has nothing to do with writing, but I loved/hated this piece on Ina Garten.  I thought it was one of the most insightful pieces on her, but the writer has a serious problem with Martha Stewart and barely concealed their snark.

And finally – I would be remiss if I closed this “Friday Fare” without being cognizant of current events.  It’s been an ugly week.  Another school shooting.  This time in Oregon.  I haven’t read a lot of the coverage of the issue for many reasons.  But I did read this:  The Daily Beast article that urges people to forget the zero who pulled the trigger, but to honor Chris Mintz, the Army vet that charged the shooter.

***

Listening to:  For some reason, Ashlee Simpson’s “Pieces of Me” was in my head this morning.  So I pulled it up on YouTube.  Yeah – I won’t link to that.  That guilty pleasure is all my own.

Reading:  Almost done with Ann Rule’s “Stranger Beside Me.”  This book is lauded as the ultimate true crime novel, partly because of the late author’s relationship with the subject of this book – notorious serial killer Ted Bundy.  This book is incredible.  I’ve literally had some trouble sleeping because of it.

Fiction Update: Progress on outlining / reviewing “Dragonfly” has been a little slow, but I’ve made myself a deal … I cannot have another Starbucks Toasted Graham Latte until I’m done with a read-through.  And seriously – the TGL is one of the tastiest things I’ve ever drank, I will try to finish my read-through by middle of next week.

Happy Friday, friends!

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random

Friday Fare: Belated!

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is my “best of” when it comes to Internet links that I’ve read this week.  Here are the articles that caught my attention and maybe made me a smarter person this week:

In a week where few things could keep my attention, I devoured this article about wartime photographer Lee Miller.  Ms. Miller shot photos for Vogue during World War II.  She had an amazing perspective of the chaos that was unraveling around her.  I look forward to reading Hilary Roberts’ book about her life and art.

And honestly – that’s about all that I read this week.  The rest of the articles that look interesting are bookmarked and unread in my browser … oh well.  Onward!

***

Listening to: Bonnie Raitt and John Prine’s duet of “Angel of Montgomery.”

Reading: Perhaps more appropriately, what I picked up but couldn’t finish this week.  Lena Dunham’s “Not That Kind of Girl” started out pretty funny, but honestly – I couldn’t keep up with it.  Not a reproach on her writing style, but I’m in my late 30s and have a child.  I do not spend a lot of time ruminating about my childhood and I’d rather not think about the toads I kissed before I married my husband.  I also tried J.D. Robb’s first “Naked” book in that particular series.  Eh … it was set as a futuristic novel.  Couldn’t stick with it.

Fiction Update:  I had some wonderful meetings / conversations with my beta readers for “After Life.”  I’m getting some really good feedback and I’m cautiously excited to let my mind wander back into the world of my protagonist Kate, her father Simon, and the folks she encounters.  Still have some work that I need to do with “Dragonfly” first …

Happy weekend, friends!

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random

Friday Fare: Hello Gorgeous

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is my “best of” when it comes to Internet links that I’ve read this week.  Here are the articles that caught my attention and maybe made me a smarter person this week:

If anyone asks me whether I am going to go down the self-publishing or traditional publishing route, I am honest.  I do not know.  Hence, I am grateful for articles like this one that give an in-depth look at some of the pros and cons of self-publishing.

I’ve found another late bandwagon in which to jump upon.  Mindy Kaling.  My God … I’ve only seen a handful of episodes of the US version of “The Office” and I’ve totally missed “The Mindy Project,” but I need to read her autobiography.  This Atlantic article has convinced me of it.  Why?  Because I work my ass off and am hoping to someday reap the success of my efforts.  And Ms. Kaling seems to eloquently capture that: “‘There is a certain type of greasy hair that you get only when you are writing with no breaks,’ Kaling confides, telling the story of her creation of The Mindy Project. ‘And I had it, big-time. If I breathed in deeply, I could smell my unwashed scent, and it was intoxicating. It smelled like hard work.'”  (As the author of the Atlantic piece said “gross” – but you know what?  Totally get it. [Although I think I probably smell more like “lazy-mom-who-works-from-home-and-forgets-to-shower” versus a hard worker.  Sorry peeps!])

Not sure if this is a “fun” read, but I like any time when the conundrums of the world can be plotted via chart.

***

Listening to: Monday found me driving to a 7 AM breakfast with a local politician.  Since I didn’t want to take myself too seriously, I kept the CD in my mom-mobile playing.  Politics + Muppets Most Wanted “Sequel” song = Reasonable.  Tuesday found me the victim of a craptacular pot of coffee, so I soothed my morning by listening to some Don Williams.  The rest of the week was a crapshoot of whatever my computer told me to listen to (Bruce Hornsby! Bob Seger!  Avett Brothers!).

Reading: I’ve checked out an interesting mix of eBooks from the library lately – “Pastrix” by Nadia Bolz-Weber, “I am Malala” by Malala Yousafzai, and Lena Dunham’s “Not That Kind of Girl.”  I think my mind will explode from the various perspectives my brain is about to digest.  And that sounds marvvy.

Fiction Update:  Outlining, outlining, outlining.  I sent my BFF a list of goals that I’ve made for the month of September.  And finishing the outline for “Dragonfly” will likely be the only one I accomplish (since I’ve already biffed it on unpacking one box a day in the new house.)  Priorities, right?

Happy Friday, friends!