Thursday, May 11, 2006
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
w/f 33 looking for happiness
Pain, loss, grief: they are all a part of the human experience. I've always said that without them, there would be no true joy or happiness, no appreciation of the positive. That having only one constant emotion would be monotonous, and that eventually it would be as depressing as any temporary sadness we feel, except for the unending continuity of it. I imagine that there would be an extremely high suicide rate; the knowledge of the lack of highs would overwhelm the absence of lows. We would simply trudge on with no expectation of improvement.
But I would welcome the absence of lows right now.
J told me today that he'd learned that it is possible to be happy and sad at the same time. I told him that I hoped his happies were outnumbering his sads. I wish mine were too. I'm not generally an unhappy person. I don't like being who I am right now.
I know that as time goes by, it will change, it will be easier or less oppressive or whatever it is that you want to call it. But 'now' is where I am, and I'm tired of being unhappy, tired of crying over everything and nothing.
But I would welcome the absence of lows right now.
J told me today that he'd learned that it is possible to be happy and sad at the same time. I told him that I hoped his happies were outnumbering his sads. I wish mine were too. I'm not generally an unhappy person. I don't like being who I am right now.
I know that as time goes by, it will change, it will be easier or less oppressive or whatever it is that you want to call it. But 'now' is where I am, and I'm tired of being unhappy, tired of crying over everything and nothing.
Seriously
I've been thinking a lot lately about plagiarism, and the line between the legal definition and ethical definition. I have to admit that I'm finding myself torn. I understand the most blatant form of plagiarism, copying word for word, or very nearly, is obviously, and inarguably wrong. However, what if I read a poem, and want to use a particular image from it? What if a single word of it inspires me to write a poem? No one would accuse me of plagiarism if I use one word of another poem, or we'd all be plagiarists.
How about two words? Three? Five? When has the line been crossed? How far into the grey area is still ethical, and how far is too far?
I read a poem by someone today, someone I've "known" for years through Moontown Cafe. The lines are good, but the thought behind them are even better. I read it, and my mind rewrote the particular line in question, and I immediately began to consider the ethical ramifications of doing so. Of a nine word phrase, my (re)write would have used only two words, and her idea.
Now, I'll never write the poem my head is presently wrapped around, because I don't feel comfortable with the foundation of it, but I'm honestly unsure what the etiquette here would be. I, personally, would feel as though I'd stolen something she'd written, regardless of the fact that we'd only be sharing those two words. And I'm positive that there wouldn't be any issue of actual plagiarism involved, but in my guts, it would feel wrong.
What's your opinion?
How about two words? Three? Five? When has the line been crossed? How far into the grey area is still ethical, and how far is too far?
I read a poem by someone today, someone I've "known" for years through Moontown Cafe. The lines are good, but the thought behind them are even better. I read it, and my mind rewrote the particular line in question, and I immediately began to consider the ethical ramifications of doing so. Of a nine word phrase, my (re)write would have used only two words, and her idea.
Now, I'll never write the poem my head is presently wrapped around, because I don't feel comfortable with the foundation of it, but I'm honestly unsure what the etiquette here would be. I, personally, would feel as though I'd stolen something she'd written, regardless of the fact that we'd only be sharing those two words. And I'm positive that there wouldn't be any issue of actual plagiarism involved, but in my guts, it would feel wrong.
What's your opinion?
LOST Again
Last week's episode of LOST left me breathless and thinking in web lingo (WTF!?) But during the episode, there was a fake commercial for the Hanso Foundation that included a phone number: 1-877-hansorg (1-877-426-7674.)
If you're a total freak about the show, you should call the number, more than once, it's free, and the information you get changes a little with each call. It gives some real insight to some of the mysteries, and adds a few more.
Then go to the website and sign up for the newsletter. Seriously.
If you're a total freak about the show, you should call the number, more than once, it's free, and the information you get changes a little with each call. It gives some real insight to some of the mysteries, and adds a few more.
Then go to the website and sign up for the newsletter. Seriously.
Tuesday, May 9, 2006
A day in the life
So you're all aware of my predilection toward eBay, particularly around Christmastime? Well, I've decided I'm rather fond of Cafepress too.
Since Scott hasn't yet legally registered a business name for his lawn maintenance company, he decided to change it from Sunshine Lawn Care, to Nova Lawn Care (as you can see from the new advertisement I've posted in the sidebar.)
I created a logo, and visited cafepress to make a couple of shirts and a hat for him. They were shipped out today, and if I'm satisfied with the quality, I'll continue to use that as our "uniform supplier." Having them printed locally costs an arm and a leg because they charge an initial set-up fee, and then the per-shirt prices are only do-able if you buy in bulk. As if I can spend a thousand dollars or more to have a hundred shirts!? And what, exactly, would I do with a hundred shirts anyway?
Then I got the announcement that "The Lunar Companion" was available through Lulu.com. Lulu.com does good work, high quality books, with ISBN #'s, and no upfront costs. After the fiasco with my chapbook, I didn't have the mental fortitude to consider any other publications. For a moment however, I considered a Lulu book.
Today, I reconsidered it, briefly. I could probably compile enough of my more recent poetry to create a book. But my poetry is entirely available here, online. My customer base would be my regular readers, and I can't see that a lot of people would be willing to buy a book of poetry they'd already read.
So, I suppose, at least for now, there will be no book by Erin Monahan. Possibly, at a later date, when I've got more energy and motivation, and poetry I haven't already shared with the world, I'll attempt it.
In other news: I don't remember if I blogged about it, but Kassi broke her glasses all to hell while we were vacationing at the beach. She's completely incapable of functioning without them, her vision is just too bad, so we've been managing to keep them together with massive amounts of Super Glue. They're crooked and have repeatedly fallen apart. We scheduled an appointment at a place called America's Best, because they offer two pair of glasses and the eye exam for $69.99. She's destroyed several pairs in the last couple of years, so getting two pair seemed smart. I strongly suggested that Scott ask if he could be seen on a walk-in basis while we were there. He's been wearing the same pair of glasses for several years, and it's become obvious that his vision has worsened.
The problem with going there is that the nearest one is in Rock Hill, SC, approximately forty-five minutes away (a long enough distance that gas was 30 cents cheaper there, thirty cents!) The cool part was that we took the opportunity to listen to the music too loud, drive a little too fast, and act silly. We all got a serious case of the giggles, and probably embarrassed ourselves in public. I didn't notice if people were staring...
Since Scott hasn't yet legally registered a business name for his lawn maintenance company, he decided to change it from Sunshine Lawn Care, to Nova Lawn Care (as you can see from the new advertisement I've posted in the sidebar.)
I created a logo, and visited cafepress to make a couple of shirts and a hat for him. They were shipped out today, and if I'm satisfied with the quality, I'll continue to use that as our "uniform supplier." Having them printed locally costs an arm and a leg because they charge an initial set-up fee, and then the per-shirt prices are only do-able if you buy in bulk. As if I can spend a thousand dollars or more to have a hundred shirts!? And what, exactly, would I do with a hundred shirts anyway?
Then I got the announcement that "The Lunar Companion" was available through Lulu.com. Lulu.com does good work, high quality books, with ISBN #'s, and no upfront costs. After the fiasco with my chapbook, I didn't have the mental fortitude to consider any other publications. For a moment however, I considered a Lulu book.
Today, I reconsidered it, briefly. I could probably compile enough of my more recent poetry to create a book. But my poetry is entirely available here, online. My customer base would be my regular readers, and I can't see that a lot of people would be willing to buy a book of poetry they'd already read.
So, I suppose, at least for now, there will be no book by Erin Monahan. Possibly, at a later date, when I've got more energy and motivation, and poetry I haven't already shared with the world, I'll attempt it.
In other news: I don't remember if I blogged about it, but Kassi broke her glasses all to hell while we were vacationing at the beach. She's completely incapable of functioning without them, her vision is just too bad, so we've been managing to keep them together with massive amounts of Super Glue. They're crooked and have repeatedly fallen apart. We scheduled an appointment at a place called America's Best, because they offer two pair of glasses and the eye exam for $69.99. She's destroyed several pairs in the last couple of years, so getting two pair seemed smart. I strongly suggested that Scott ask if he could be seen on a walk-in basis while we were there. He's been wearing the same pair of glasses for several years, and it's become obvious that his vision has worsened.
The problem with going there is that the nearest one is in Rock Hill, SC, approximately forty-five minutes away (a long enough distance that gas was 30 cents cheaper there, thirty cents!) The cool part was that we took the opportunity to listen to the music too loud, drive a little too fast, and act silly. We all got a serious case of the giggles, and probably embarrassed ourselves in public. I didn't notice if people were staring...
lookitcheer!
After considerable time, it's finally here! Our(Moontown Cafe's) first book, The Lunar
Companion, is available for sale to the public.
The book is a compilation of poetry and prose, including wonderful
works by various poets from around the world. Among the more than fifty
contributing poets are Melanie Marie Hallbeck, Melissa Rees, Shalome,
Erin Monahan, Nancy Wilcox, Terri Russell, Kenneth Lindelli, Vickie
Knight, Christine Brehan, Michael S Queen, DL Mullan, Celia Sadlou,
Gregory Burgess, Marilyn Dixon Pfanstiel, Pam Calhoun, James Watkins,
Evan Fuller, Tamela Rufener, Jonathan J Ames, Janie Marie Hubbel, Jeff
Friday, Maynard Hartman, Jerlean S. Noble, Kethry, Pushpa Ratna
Tuladhar, Amber Logan, Jennifer Mirles, Sharon Gilham, Douglas L
Seavey, Rick Parrish, Joe McManus, Jim Bonning, Mary Molina, Kelsey
Treusdell, Erica Jean Keating, Xristi Megas, Don Schaeffer, Michael
Queen, John Protent, Kayleigh Banks, Jonathan Neihart, Chelsea Meacham,
Chelsea Bowling, Yolanda Cruz, Martin Dansky, Mez Cossey and Laura
Seavey.
It's currently available for sale here:
http://www.lulu.com/content/287222
I've got two pieces included in this book, but I'm more excited about all the other poets who are included in it. This is the culmination of the creative efforts of many members of my virtual family, and the hard work of the Moontown Cafe owners.
I ordered a copy tonight. Hope some of you do as well!
Companion, is available for sale to the public.
The book is a compilation of poetry and prose, including wonderful
works by various poets from around the world. Among the more than fifty
contributing poets are Melanie Marie Hallbeck, Melissa Rees, Shalome,
Erin Monahan, Nancy Wilcox, Terri Russell, Kenneth Lindelli, Vickie
Knight, Christine Brehan, Michael S Queen, DL Mullan, Celia Sadlou,
Gregory Burgess, Marilyn Dixon Pfanstiel, Pam Calhoun, James Watkins,
Evan Fuller, Tamela Rufener, Jonathan J Ames, Janie Marie Hubbel, Jeff
Friday, Maynard Hartman, Jerlean S. Noble, Kethry, Pushpa Ratna
Tuladhar, Amber Logan, Jennifer Mirles, Sharon Gilham, Douglas L
Seavey, Rick Parrish, Joe McManus, Jim Bonning, Mary Molina, Kelsey
Treusdell, Erica Jean Keating, Xristi Megas, Don Schaeffer, Michael
Queen, John Protent, Kayleigh Banks, Jonathan Neihart, Chelsea Meacham,
Chelsea Bowling, Yolanda Cruz, Martin Dansky, Mez Cossey and Laura
Seavey.
It's currently available for sale here:
http://www.lulu.com/content/287222
I've got two pieces included in this book, but I'm more excited about all the other poets who are included in it. This is the culmination of the creative efforts of many members of my virtual family, and the hard work of the Moontown Cafe owners.
I ordered a copy tonight. Hope some of you do as well!
ttht 5/14
Bora will be hosting the Tarheel Tavern at The Magic School Bus
In keeping with the theme of that blog, try to send him a post that has some, at least tangential connection to learning, or teaching, or schooling. It can be The School Of Life, or the School Of Hard Knocks, or The Big Learning Experience - whatever connection you can make (or leave it to Bora to make).
Send the entries by Saturday May, 13th at midnight to: Coturnix1[at]aol[dot]com
And then, please volunteer for the future dates of the carnival. Pleaaaaasssseee
In keeping with the theme of that blog, try to send him a post that has some, at least tangential connection to learning, or teaching, or schooling. It can be The School Of Life, or the School Of Hard Knocks, or The Big Learning Experience - whatever connection you can make (or leave it to Bora to make).
Send the entries by Saturday May, 13th at midnight to: Coturnix1[at]aol[dot]com
And then, please volunteer for the future dates of the carnival. Pleaaaaasssseee
Learning
Blogger's down this morning, and I'm so addicted to blogging that I'm sitting here "blogging" in Microsoft Works. What that means, as has been proven to me every time I've attempted it, is that there's a real chance that this post will never be seen, and that if it is, it will only be after 15 minutes replacing the characters that turn into nonsense when you paste them into the blogger text field.
I've decided to go ahead and continue doing that newsletter after all. It's not as though it's a labor-intensive process, and I only have to do it once a month. The last few months have been all but impossible to get accomplished because I wasn't really doing poetry or anything poetry related. Life was busy teaching me another lesson these last few months, and poetry, though one of the loves of my life, fell to the wayside, along with laundry, dishes, and dusting. All important parts of a day, but, for a while, were shuffled down through the list of priorities.
The last few days, though, I've found myself visiting more poetry sites, reading ezines, looking at contests and calls for submissions. Apparently, I'm sliding (albeit slowly) back into poetry, and will have the tools and information with which to compile a worthwhile newsletter. The last few have been sadly lacking and unenthusiastic. April's edition didn't even mention that it was National Poetry Month, which is typically a big deal with me, and I don't remember, but I don't think it even included the IBPC winners, which I always add.
So, one of the places I'm trying to re-assimilate with is Moontown Cafe (for which I handle the aforementioned newsletter.) At one time in my life it was my addiction, even more so than my blog has become. There is a wealth of poetry there, ranging in quality from novice to well-crafted. The poets that post there are of all ages and experience levels and I enjoy reading (almost) all of it. I think every post has something worthwhile, even if it's in the form of what-not-to-do. That, in my opinion, is the most rewarding thing about performing a critique: it makes you evaluate the author's every word choice and question every aspect of their execution. I have learned more about poetry from giving and receiving critiques than I can put words to. The value of well thought out constructive criticism is one of the many invaluable lessons that Moontown has given me. That, and the joy of online friendships, and virtual families.
Learning so greatly affects poetry. I don't believe that formal education is a prerequisite to "successful" poetry, but I do believe that a writer has to have learned not only the basics of grammar, the tools of poetry, and the nuances of language, but also the inflections of their personal life experience. Nothing raises my "oh lord" factor more than dry poetry written by a stagnant poet. On my list of Dislikes, it is second only to poetry that beats the intellectual breast of the author.
And yet, I have learned from both, once I realized that there is always something to be learned, if only I choose allow it.
I've decided to go ahead and continue doing that newsletter after all. It's not as though it's a labor-intensive process, and I only have to do it once a month. The last few months have been all but impossible to get accomplished because I wasn't really doing poetry or anything poetry related. Life was busy teaching me another lesson these last few months, and poetry, though one of the loves of my life, fell to the wayside, along with laundry, dishes, and dusting. All important parts of a day, but, for a while, were shuffled down through the list of priorities.
The last few days, though, I've found myself visiting more poetry sites, reading ezines, looking at contests and calls for submissions. Apparently, I'm sliding (albeit slowly) back into poetry, and will have the tools and information with which to compile a worthwhile newsletter. The last few have been sadly lacking and unenthusiastic. April's edition didn't even mention that it was National Poetry Month, which is typically a big deal with me, and I don't remember, but I don't think it even included the IBPC winners, which I always add.
So, one of the places I'm trying to re-assimilate with is Moontown Cafe (for which I handle the aforementioned newsletter.) At one time in my life it was my addiction, even more so than my blog has become. There is a wealth of poetry there, ranging in quality from novice to well-crafted. The poets that post there are of all ages and experience levels and I enjoy reading (almost) all of it. I think every post has something worthwhile, even if it's in the form of what-not-to-do. That, in my opinion, is the most rewarding thing about performing a critique: it makes you evaluate the author's every word choice and question every aspect of their execution. I have learned more about poetry from giving and receiving critiques than I can put words to. The value of well thought out constructive criticism is one of the many invaluable lessons that Moontown has given me. That, and the joy of online friendships, and virtual families.
Learning so greatly affects poetry. I don't believe that formal education is a prerequisite to "successful" poetry, but I do believe that a writer has to have learned not only the basics of grammar, the tools of poetry, and the nuances of language, but also the inflections of their personal life experience. Nothing raises my "oh lord" factor more than dry poetry written by a stagnant poet. On my list of Dislikes, it is second only to poetry that beats the intellectual breast of the author.
And yet, I have learned from both, once I realized that there is always something to be learned, if only I choose allow it.
Monday, May 8, 2006
Parting
It's been one month, two days, seven hours, and thirteen minutes.
I obsess about it really, and I don't know what it is I hope to accomplish by keeping up with it this way. I suppose it's just in case anyone asks me, "How long has your son been gone?"
At least there's one question I know the answer to.
They told me, when Nova was admitted for his surgery, that it would be a roller coaster, and they were right. But at least then, it seemed worth it. The idea of getting him home and healthy made it bearable. The end justified the means, or some such thing. Now, every day is even more of a roller coaster, and there's not even the possibility of a happy ending to compensate.
My own words seem senseless tonight. There aren't words big enough inside my head to hold what's in my heart, or what's missing of it. This, by Emily Dickinson, is the best I can do:
I obsess about it really, and I don't know what it is I hope to accomplish by keeping up with it this way. I suppose it's just in case anyone asks me, "How long has your son been gone?"
At least there's one question I know the answer to.
They told me, when Nova was admitted for his surgery, that it would be a roller coaster, and they were right. But at least then, it seemed worth it. The idea of getting him home and healthy made it bearable. The end justified the means, or some such thing. Now, every day is even more of a roller coaster, and there's not even the possibility of a happy ending to compensate.
My own words seem senseless tonight. There aren't words big enough inside my head to hold what's in my heart, or what's missing of it. This, by Emily Dickinson, is the best I can do:
Passing
My life closed twice before its close;
It yet remains to see
If Immortality unveil
A third event to me,
So huge, so hopeless to conceive,
As these that twice befell.
Parting is all we know of heaven,
And all we need of hell.
Cleaning out the blog closet
I haven't had much to say today. Seems all the things in my head that normally demand to be blogged about have pretty well abandoned me. I decided to take that as a sign and used the time to clean up my sidebar. It was a mess, littered. I'm hoping that I didn't delete anything important, or break any of my codes, in my urge to purge. Chances are I did, so if you notice a problem, feel free to give me a heads up and I'll fix it. I already know I inadvertently deleted my button to top blogs. Of course, I didn't realize it until after it was deleted, and of course I need the password to get the code to re-add it, and of course that was one of the things lost by my most recent computer crash. Sucks too, I'm #3 in my category there. Now I'm waiting for my password to arrive in my inbox, but as I recall, I have to email the owner in person. (Email in person... Isn't that an oxymoron?)
Even with everything that I deleted (and it was a lot) it still looks messy. I'll probably be doing some more re-evaluation of what I need to keep, and what I can part with. There's just too much stuff over there.
So, if I don't completely lose my motivation, you'll most likely get to play audience to my shrinking sidebar. Sorry, it's all the show I have to offer for now.
Even with everything that I deleted (and it was a lot) it still looks messy. I'll probably be doing some more re-evaluation of what I need to keep, and what I can part with. There's just too much stuff over there.
So, if I don't completely lose my motivation, you'll most likely get to play audience to my shrinking sidebar. Sorry, it's all the show I have to offer for now.
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