Diary of Heretic Reviews & Memes

Stella's Seven Things Meme

If you scroll down two posts you’ll see I just did a Seven Things meme two weeks ago. But this one comes from Stella, my brilliant and witty writing colleague at The View from Here. Also, it’s practically become second nature for me to view any and all attributes in groups of seven.

1.    In the previous post I mentioned my long term fear of police. The police and I fail to communicate. Doctors and I usually get along very well. We sympathize with each other; recognize that any one person’s complaint is probably no big deal compared to another’s; discuss trends in various treatments that have more to do with the pharmaceutical business than specific illnesses.

 2.    My husband and I have two occicats, Archie, the darker one, and Oscar who’s silver. They are the naughtiest cats I’ve ever heard of. They can open dresser drawers, snag clothing and toss socks at each other all day. They’ll get their paws on a bra and play tug of war. And they can TP our apartment in ten minutes, but prefer paper towels. On the plus side, they come when we call them and can even play fetch. To say nothing of their wild beauty.

3.    I get the worst migraine headaches ever afflicted on anyone throughout all time. And, I get them often. Typically, during the 24-hour peak, I feel as if half my head has been blown off. The upside of this (I try harder than you’d guess to be optimistic) is that for all that pain, I can experience commensurate pleasure. My good friends the doctors are beginning to see this in MRIs. And people with a history of migraines end up with a brain whose sensory and pleasure/pain lobes show extra nerve endings.

4.    I don’t drink alcohol—ever—because one sip induces instant half-your-head-blown-off pain. But I can be as much fun at parties as any brandy snifter.

5.    I’ve never eaten a McDonald’s hamburger or a Burger King. I’ve never eaten anything at Wendy’s or Taco Bell.

6.    I’m temperamental. In my previous Seven Things I offered examples of how opinionated I am, but I think temperamental is more accurate. When my son (who was wildly precocious) asked me when he was seven what the word meant, I defined it and my son said, “Oh, like you.”

7.    My in-laws who leave the country at Christmas are apparently saying Fie! to economic reality and taking us to Rome for Christmas. The trip will be my Seventh outside the USA.

Phew, Seven (and every other number) is time; sometimes it's not enough; sometimes too much. These Seven were a lot. Finally, I'm tagging:

wornoutwoman
(The author of FINDING KLYLIE)
Utah Savage

Clear Lake Reflections

Duane Francis

Trulyana

Hanging on a Hyphen

Lisa Holdren

The Lemonade Award Meme

Nina, the well-known novelist of The Alien Next Door must have such a sunny nature that she tends not to see someone like me as the raving heretic I am, but rather, as an optimistic, can-do being who deserves this bright Lemonade Out of Lemons Award.

This award goes to those who show an admirable attitude and brim with gratitude. And grateful, I am. For all my heretical sound and fury, I am actually a good deal more grateful than troubled and persecuted. So in the gratitude arena, I hereby gratefully accept. And fear not: I work tirelessly on my not always so great attitude. Maybe once the meme has gone around to those who inspire us, I'll think positive. 

Here are the rules:

• Put the logo on your blog or post.
• Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
• Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
• Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
• Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

The rules say to tag at least 10 blogs, but I'm only doing five. As I said, I'm still working on my attitude. The bright and grateful crew are:

Inksplasher

Rainy Day in May

Daily Mish Mash

Shamelessly Sassy

Reading, Writing, & Stuff That Makes Me Crazy

A Mike French Video

Seven Things About Me Meme

 Lisa Holdren tagged me for a Seven Facts meme—an easy one. From what I can tell, Suzanne Lieurance at The Working Writers’ Coach initiated this piece of pie: Seven Random Facts About Me. Eyes closed? Consider skin (1), muscle (2), bone (3), cartilage (4), ligaments (5), nerves (6), and blood (7). Maybe those are too random. Or, not random enough.

I’ll try again. First, the rules: list Seven Random Facts and tag Seven other bloggers. I’m only tagging five but I’m unscrupulous, that’s a random fact, but free.

These are real: SEVEN RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME:

1. I’m afraid of the police. Nothing serious ever happened between them and me; just a   few inappropriate giggles (mine), threats (theirs), t aunts (mine), and heavy financial retribution (theirs). To my mind, I don’t even break the law; my opinions do.

2. I’m extremely opinionated. So people say. As a tiny example, imho: if everyone would respect each other, as well as him- or herself, no exceptions, we might not need laws. No name weapons, no name calling, no cheap shots, no meanness. Take further. No police, no jails, no war. Mind your manners. Honor everyone’s human frailty and empathize.
That’s my opinion.  

3. All I ever wanted, all my life was to succeed as a writer. Except by writer, I mean novelist, or lately, novella-writer. And by succeed I mean get published and popular enough to earn a living. My parents have always said no. No, I absolutely could not do that. Don’t you hate it when your parents are right about stuff like that?

4. So I didn’t get what I always wanted. Instead, I’ve got the best husband and two children ever born. The three of them fill me with joy—always, without trying. (At least, I think they’re not trying.)

*

5. Sometime this month, I damaged the fourth finger on my right hand doing fingertip chaturangas (they’re like push-ups except you push up in the air and float back to your toes before bending your elbows). During one of the two hour yoga classes I try to get to three times a week, a ligament tore loose, semi-permanently bending my top knuckle. Now and for three months, I’m wearing a cast, which may or may not straighten my finger.

*

*

I've never seen a James Bond Movie:       

Or a Star Wars Movie:          

                                          

Or a Raiders of the Lost Ark Movie.     

7. Thanksgiving is the holiday I hate most. Not because I’m not thankful and grateful. I  am., all day, every day. But this big turkey dinner on a Thursday makes no sense. Come  on—on a Thursday. Don’t tell me about the Pilgrims or the poor, eliminated American Indians. I suspect the whole thing’s another big joke on working women. See if the females get cranky, cooking and cleaning--ironing (!) the tablecloth, followed by more cooking and more cleaning while the males watch football and get drunk.

.

         

 

I'm tagging: Ioju, Morinn ,Nina, Cheryl and Janet Snell,and Mark. Happy, happy Thanksgiving, everyone! (That’s not ironic; not my favorite holiday, but you have a good one!)

The Fifth BlogBlast for Peace

Bloggers from 44 countries are participating in the Fifth BlogBlast for Peace,founded by Mimi Lenox, and I’m among them. Here and on my main blog, Diary of a Heretic, I’m posting different Peace Globes, both inspired by Bob Marley.

Why Bob Marley? The research I did for the story I’m writing now revealed again and again how passionately (and nonpolitically) he sang and otherwise sought One Love, as Peace on Earth. 

"The Snowing and Greening of Thomas Passmore"

“The Snowing and Greening of Thomas Passmore,” by Paul Burman (Paperbooks Publishing, 2008) is that rare novel that goes deep into the inner life of its characters, yet moves right along with the brisk pace of a page-turner.  Beautifully written, richly atmospheric and movingly told, it leaves you with the true sense that your world has expanded.

When we first meet him, the title character is almost literally living in two worlds at once: a comfortable married life with children in Australia, and a past life in England, where he has substantial unfinished emotional business. Called to England by his mother’s illness, he makes a pilgrimage through his past, ultimately finding the closure that he so desperately needs.

Author Paul Burman jumps seamlessly between Thomas Passmore’s past and present. The story alternates between dreamlike, almost hallucinogenic scenes in Thomas’s head and stark descriptions of place that are so vivid that, without ever having traveled there, I felt as if I knew them, from the unblemished Australian beach to bleak locales in the UK that most outsiders never see.

Yet what marks “The Snowing and Greening of Thomas Passmore” as a true work of art is the startling transformation of the characters: Thomas is a man in the midst of a metamorphosis; Kate, his first love, is a haunting muse who herself changes dramatically over the course of the book.  The cast of supporting characters from Thomas’s past and present provide a solid grounding for the spiritual and emotional climax of the story. In the end, you will find yourself transformed as well.

VOTE

Friendship & Excellence Awards

Honestly, to me it seems as if yesterday I clicked over to my friend Mimi's only to learn that she (the Queen of Memes) had landed in the hospital due to an unnamed bug. Nothing keeps Mimi down for long, however.

Yet, imagine my surprise when battling the “rough beast” of a super migraine, I rose from the malevolently spinning bed and discovered that Mimi, founder of the BlogBlast for Peace Movement --next BLAST scheduled for November 8, 2008--had spread more Peace. See the video of 8/18/08.

Further, she has designated this week award week. And a few of her more clever readers have responded with beautiful awards and memes. Two of which, she has bestowed upon me. 

This first from Foster Me Up, a sweet and funny blog, is a friendship award. Mimi says it’s friendship among vixens and even though I've scrolled through Foster Me Up a few times, I haven't seen any vixens. It may be migraine-blindness, who knows? Male foxes are reynards, among other nomenclatures, and vixens are female foxes. Ask anyone: vixens possess an undeniable mystique, one of untamed allure.

Every woman and girl I've ever met projects a unique and wild allure, so I'm not bothering to tag anyone here. You know who you are: if you're reading this, and you're female, you're my lifelong friend and should claim the friendship among vixens award. And pass it along however you wish.

Here's my second award from Mimi, originated by New England Lighthouse Treasure. In this case, anyone still reading, male or female, merits friendship—and congratulations! You are among a very distinguished few and entirely deserving of the E for Excellent Award, but this badge comes with rules. To accept it, I must list only ten excellent bloggers. Or, to quote:

According to Cyberspace rules in the eUniverse of eAwards, acceptance of this Excellent Blog Award requires me to tag nominate 10 virtual victims  excellent Bloggers.

Thus limited, I'm “nominating”:

1. Noah the Great, a prolific poet, working an especially rich groove. His poetry is often brief, always personal, and generally astonishing.

2. Just Paisley writes prose and poetry in a voice that’s clear, honest, and impossible to ignore.

3. Manictastic’s blog mostly offers short stories, some in serial form. His style and subject vary. My favorites are first person accounts of young men, looking for fun, acceptance, and wisdom.    

4. Writing To Survive is a creative blog with an unstinting and honest goal, to show the truth so that even pain gives our lives meaning and merit.

5.The Supplicant writes evocative prose poems that illuminate and often surpass his original and captivating photographs.

6. Mr. Grudge writes passionately about his life experience. He's currently posting chapters from his novel.

(NOTE: The Supplicant and Mr. Grudge have started an outstanding communal writers’ blog: The Midnight Wanderers.)

7. The Adventures of Ioju are surreal and fascinating. The blogger is an excellent writer and comic artist.

8.  My Marrakesh offers the splendors of living and making a home in Morocco. Excellent writing, photographs, and insights into family life.

9. I'm Having A Thought Here reads like a memoir with wonderful pictures, but elicits the warm, comfortable feeling you get listening to good and buoyant friend.

10. My Muse and Me investigates the artistic life with great energy and promises much pleasure.

Reach for Peace

Reach for peace
Peace, already, peace.

What if you woke up alone in the world?
No other voice and no other thoughts,
What if you woke up alone in the world
With no other prayers but yours?

Reach for peace
Already peace

Mimi's Blog Blast for Peace

The indefatigable, irrepressible, and incomparable Mimi, who sponsors the BlogBlastforPeace, coming up June 4th, writes a lively personal blog, and proliferates Peace Globes throughout the planet (go here to get yours and join the movement!), tags me for memes with endearing trust. I often decide they're just too overwhelming, and so let them go, hoping she won't take offense.

Of course, I already know full well she won't take offense, since Mimi lives and breathes Peace and forgiveness. Why she puts up with a heretic like me might be a puzzle--except that she's the avatar of Peace. Governments should take a lesson. That's the big hope. On June 4, 2008, blog about Peace whether you believe it's possible or not. Even if it's impossible to recognize it inside yourself--try.

In any case, considering Peace as a possibility can't hurt. Thinking about it in your politest way kills no one. So, go get a Peace Globe and blog about it on June 4th. Of course, the risk exists that your efforts might not instantaneously change the world. Peace on Earth might not reign the moment you put up your post. Occasionally that happens to bloggers, right?

Yet, maybe the only reason it hasn't worked before is because you didn't do it before.

That's my awesome speech today. Now for once I'm doing one of Mimi's Memes, because this one's not cosmic in scope. If anything, it might teach me to shut up--at least intermittently.

It's a one-word answer meme.

Yourself: Troublesome
Your Partner: Saintly
Your Hair: Unloved
Your Mother: Mercurial
Your Father: Redeemed
Your Favorite Item: iPod
Your Dream Last Night: Horrific
Your Favorite Drink: Kombuchu
Your Dream Home: Self-improving
The Room You Are In: Main
Your Fear: Time
Where Do You Want to be in 10 years: Writing
Who You Hung Out With Last Night: Manny
What You Are Not: Placid
Muffins: (?)
One of Your Wish Items: Freedom
Time: Unforgiving
Last Thing You Did: Photoshop
What You Are Wearing: Glasses
Your Favorite Weather: Natural
Your Favorite Book: Many
Last Thing You Ate: halvah
Your Mood: Disappointed
Your Best Friends: Scarce
What Are You Thinking About Right Now: Migraines
Your Car: Gone
Your Summer: Daunting
What’s on your TV: Ha-ha-ha!
What Is Your Weather Like: Noisy
When Was the Last Time You Laughed: Now
What is your relationship status: Married

Tagged: Blue Girl
            Jennifer
            Claire
            Hotel Mark
            Paisley
            Inkslaspher
            Manny