Travelling Through Writing

One day I’m going to write a novel, one day I’m going to write a book. Too many of us talk about writing with the preface of ‘one day’, and for some reason that ‘day’ never comes.

Last year, traveling through the web I landed on nanowrimo.org. NANOWRIMO stands for National Novel Writing Month. Their premise is simple, write a novel in November, and submit it to their website on the 30th. The content has to be new, and a minimum of 50,000 words. {there is a word scramble, so no one is going to steal your s*}

This year my mind unravelling challenge was to read a Science Fiction book each month, so staying in the same genre, I’m writing a Science Fiction story for nanowrimo. It’s funny how the story is starting to form, because on day one I had a hundred different stories in mind, but luckily for me there was a bully in my brain, who pushed her way out of my hippocampus, and into my frontal lobe.

So, this morning I’m travelling through the earth to the SFContario Science Fiction Convention in Toronto to learn about Food in SF, Keeping the Science in Science Fiction, and four other panel lead discussions. The convention started yesterday, but there are daily passes for today and tomorrow.

SFContario Science Fiction Convention - http://www.sfcontario.ca/

National Novel Writing Month - http://www.nanowrimo.org/


VIDEO ~ Outkast – Return of the G { contains ungranny language }




VIDEO ~ Outkast – Return of the G { instrumental version }

Meech Lake Ruins

T.O. A-Z | One Man's Trash

Heading off to the grocery store I couldn’t find a quarter anywhere. A couple of useless nickels were all I could find, certainly not big enough to unlock a cart, and definitely not enough to do the awkward-coins-for-cart-exchange.

Luckily for me I saw a few stray carts in the parking lot. I grabbed my grocery list, shopping baskets and ran over. Shoot, as I got closer I noticed that two of the carts were connected, but one was free.

Flyers lined the inside of the cart, and it was missing a handle, but it was free. Grabbing the flyers with one hand I formed a huge ball. Rather than tossing the papers into the garbage I shot a three-pointer into an abandoned cart housing a huge garbage bag.

“Hey lady”, a man smiled at me, “You think that’s garbage? That’s not garbage, it’s my stuff!” I returned the smile, retrieved the un-crumpled paper, and it was then that I saw a small cardboard box filled with groceries proudly perched on top of the garbage bag.

VIDEO, THE ROOTS, DEAR GOD 2.0 FT. MONSTERS OF FOLK

Camera Practice | Captured Beauty

Just this morning I saw a beautiful lady with a full head of rollers in her hair driving a rusty old car. It was the perfect image. The pink and blue cylinders royally crowned her head, and were tightly set upon her midnight black hair.

It’s moments like these that make me want to carry my camera EVERYWHERE I go. That’s it! From now on I’m keeping my camera beside me at all times. And hopefully, if I’m fast enough, I’ll capture these rare moments of humbled, underappreciated beauty.

VIDEO, AMY WINEHOUSE, VALERIE

Cindy on her soapbox | A Recipe for Action

The way one approaches cooking could also be said for the way one approaches life. Take me for example: Whenever I try a new recipe I approach it cautiously and follow it exactly. I avoid adding personal touches. I simply follow the recipe as intended by the Chef. After I’ve tasted the end product I’ll then go back and tweak the recipe to suit my own personal preference.

But what if there is no teacher, no guide, or no leader? Then the follow-the-leader approach crumbles, like a cookie without baking powder. Unlike cooking, there is no manual on how to do everything in life, and without someone leading the way; one is often left to search on ones own. Sounds like a good thing right?

Yes, being left to search, discover and explore independently is great, however, a guide is often appreciated. It’s for this exact reason that we see so many people seeking outside influence and inspiration. But the truth is, we’re slowly becoming a society of passive observers—watching how things are done, listening to how others did what they’ve done, and then do nothing with the newfound knowledge.

The solution: Curiosity. Allow your curiosity to lead you, let it surface, and LISTEN to it when it questions things. Don’t get me wrong, I’m 100% in favour of learning from others, but use caution, and don’t be afraid to add your own personal touches. Take out the parts you like, and then discard the crust.

BJORK - BACHELORETTE

Pockets of Peace Within the City

Yummy Food | In Pursuit of Healthiness

In pursuit of healthiness I’ve made somewhat of an effort to make wiser food choices; although, half the time I revert back to my old ways, I must say that I’ve grown quite fond of whole wheat floor. *smiling* Not by itself, but as part of a recipe.

Last week I was in the mood for chocolate chip cookies, and well, the recipe calls for all-purpose floor—so I rushed off to the grocery and gathered the necessary ingredients. Although I didn’t get around to making the cookies…don’t ask, I did whip up a batch of waffles using the all-purpose floor. And you know what? The waffles didn’t taste half as good as the batches made from whole wheat floor.

Moral of the story: Healthy food doesn’t have to taste bland.

Waffles:

1 ¾ cups whole wheat floor
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg, cinnamon, all spice (optional)
2 eggs
1 ¾ cups milk
½ cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix the dry stuff in one bowl and the wet stuff in another, then pour the dry into the wet, stir well, and cook with a waffle maker. Don’t have a waffle maker? Head over to a thrift shop, they always have them.

Tip: Your waffles are ready when you don’t see steam comin’ out the machine.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

VIDEO: STEVE EARLE, OXYCONTIN BLUES

Poignant Paragraph | Make up your mind

What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind.
~ BUDDHA

T.O. A-Z | Through Nzegwhua’s Eyes

Growing up, I innocently thought that talent lived outside of Canada, as though there was an imaginary border keeping the creative out. I thought that my side housed regular folk, and on the other side lived a world of colour and creativity.

Luckily, as I grew older I realized that creativity is everywhere. Take for example, right here in Toronto lives Nzegwhua—an extremely gifted photographer whose work captures the innocence and absolute beauty of people.

And, although I’ve never met Nzegwhua, it’s quite easy to tell that this woman has a gift for making people feel comfortable around her—it shows in her photographs.

Click here to see through Nzegwhua’s eyes

Thank you Nzegwhua for capturing the good in people! You add colour and creativity to this city!

Cindy on her soapbox | Me and the Devil

Between slipping in and out of consciousness, I glance at those around me who are aggressively pursuing status, one-upmanship, and the straight gimme gimme of things. I then wonder what would happen to the outcome of these peoples lives if the wind picked up their sail boats and navigated them towards harmony.

To this day I still remember a conversation an older friend and I had about her son. Confessing to me that her Son didn’t find her to be a role model, instead, he looked at her commitment towards work as the exact opposite life he intended to live. You see, her son wasn’t about to give his nine-to-five to any corporation for the next 35 years. Instead, he’s off pursuing harmony—looking for a job that will bring him an honest living & enjoyment. His noted trade-off is that he’d rather live a life of harmony over a life filled with soft chairs and rooms without laughter.

VIDEO - GIL SCOTT HERON, ME AND THE DEVIL



The Devil convinced us that God doesn’t exist, and then he convinced us that consumption is the way to civility.

Grammar Glamour | The Diddy Dash

Sean Combs, Puffy, Puff Daddy, P Diddy, Diddy, or Dirty Money—whatever your comfort level leads you to calling Sean Combs, one thing is certain—Diddy best resembles the long dash.

Just like the long dash the Diddy dash adds drama. But, don’t get it twisted—too much of that well mowed hairline and the neighbours become green with envy. Whenever you’re writing and want to add a bit of drama, go ahead and sprinkle your text with a dash of Diddy.

I’m not sure if Puffy has this effect on the ladies anymore, but he used to leave them speechless. Use a long dash when deciding not to finish a thought. For example: Puffy is such an—.

Yachts, Champaign, ‘models’—long gone are his tasteless-rented video-sets. Sean is rich-and-famous, and his lists of material gains are quite long. Go ahead and add a Diddy dash when you’re bragging about your bling and ting!

Oh, and the next time your writing could use a bit of grammar glamour—big attention calling punctuation like the Diddy dash is your best bet. Just remember to keep the entourage close. There are no spaces between the text and the Diddy dash.

Example: ‘Can’t see a damn thing above us in this fog,’ he said. ‘I wonder if—’
~ Source Guards! Guards! Terry Pratchett

Poignant Paragraph | Jealousy

Some may not find inspiration from a mantra such as; you only have one life and you’re not coming back, so make the most of it. But, I do. Too often I see people miserable with their current situations and quite often jealousy leads their thoughts.

The other day I was flipping through a book my husband is reading and landed on this extremely poignant paragraph.

“I know some people who are extremely jealous. They see somebody blessed and prospering, and rather than being happy for that person and rejoicing, the jealous person seeks to find fault. Interestingly, that person could have enjoyed the same success and fulfillment, but he or she is unwilling to pay the price. That person wasn’t willing to obey his or her conscience, to discipline himself or herself, or to make the sort of sacrifices the successful person made to get ahead.” ~ source Become a better you. Joel Osteen


P.S.
Jealousy is just another excuse for not getting stuff done!

T.O. A-Z | Writers & Company

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it absorb meaning, seek knowledge— or think. Or, can you?

CBC – Radio 1
Writers & Company with Eleanor Wachtel

Learn more.

Cindy on her soapbox | Putting the "F" in E-Learning

I remember watching the 2009 Star Trek movie and thinking how brilliant it was to see the younger students learning in their own pods-each student benefiting from an advanced teaching method customized to meet their individual learning needs.

Unfortunately today’s classroom teaching is very linear: teach this, learn this, teach that, and learn that. But what happens when a child is too advanced for the linear course? Well, one of two things will happen, children will either 1. Get noticed and guided individually or 2. Children will get overlooked and act out. I predict the same outcome for a child struggling with the course.

Personally, I look forward to when e-learning catches up with the Next Generation. In order for e-learning to be an effective learning tool the software must cater to the strengths and weaknesses of its user. For example, if I were taking an online course on Photoshop and was doing particularly well, it wouldn’t be necessary for me to click through long drawn out theories and tutorials. Instead, I’d benefit from customization, controlling the depth of information at the level I required.

Too often, in the past, I enrolled in e-courses and found that the information was too familiar; it was as though the curriculum designer doubted that I even held the capacity to turn on my computer. Click here, go there, move your mouse and click on the left mouse button. Not only did I find that annoying, but I couldn’t skip through the program without picking up all of the laid out bread crumbs.

Maybe in the year 2077 our children’s, children will look back at our education model and laugh at how unsophisticated it was. But…for now, I’ll just continue to click on the next button, and go at the pace of my Professor.

Stepping down from my soapbox,

Cindy

Before stepping off my soapbox – Why is it that the first day of class is only used as an introduction and a chance to pick up papers? I paid for this – so teach me! Let’s get down to learning!

VIDEO - LHASA DE SELA, MY NAME