Category Archives: writing

Aug5

rainbow cat.

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1941 newspaper rainbow cat breaking news

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oh, how I would love to write little articles like this in a community newspaper.

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when I first moved to Ann Arbor, we had a person who wrote a ‘local crime’ column

where they listed the week’s ‘crimes,’ such as:

– a robbery of a university student on the street of 2 pencils and $2.41

-a police call of someone possibly being attacked, but what turned out to be the screams of two people watching a horror film

the crime reporter would read the police blotter each week and report out, excellent work.

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in another community paper

in a tiny local town

I read ‘sandy’s corner’

where sandy would share her personal recipes

 the one I happened to read was for a

‘baked potato’

does not get any better than that.

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if I had to report on unusual pets such as the rainbow cat above, well…

the sky’s the limit!

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At the “Emerging Mind of Community Journalism” conference in Anniston, Ala., in 2006, participants created a list characterizing community journalism: community journalism is intimate, caring, and personal; it reflects the community and tells its stories; and it embraces a leadership role.

If you want more of a definition, I’m afraid it’s like when someone asked Louie Armstrong for a definition of jazz. The great Satchmo is reputed to have replied something like this: ‘Man, if you have to ask, it won’t do me any good to try to explain.’ You know community journalism when you see it; it is the heartbeat of American journalism, journalism in its natural state.” — Jock Lauterer

Aug4

chicken scratch.

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undecipherable address? the postal service’s handwriting detectives are on it

Snail mail carries a special kind of charm — you can see it in the unique handwriting, uneven lines, and occasional pen smudges. But when it comes to pinpointing the intended address of a piece of mail, these perfectly imperfect human touches can present quite a challenge for post office machines. That’s where a U.S. Postal Service team comes in to do what machines cannot: decipher chicken scratch.
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In Salt Lake City, handwriting experts known as “keyers” work around the clock at the Remote Encoding Center to parse out illegible or hard-to-read addresses, usually sent to the center as digital images for human interpretation. Last year, the keyers processed roughly 1 billion pieces of mail, Ryan Bullock, the site’s operations manager, told CBS News.
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While the Postal Service once had 55 remote encoding centers nationwide, the Utah center is now the only such facility left, making it an essential part of the efforts to ensure handwritten notes reach their destinations — personality-filled penmanship and all. As the service continues celebrating its 250th birthday, watch the handwriting detectives at work.

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The phrase “chicken scratch” originates from the visual resemblance between a chicken’s foot marks and messy, illegible handwriting. Chickens, while scratching at the ground to find food, leave behind marks that look like a series of haphazard, uncoordinated lines and dashes. This imagery was then applied to handwriting that was difficult to read, hence the idiom “chicken scratch”.

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‘the only thing most people do better than anyone else is read their own handwriting.’

-john adams

‘

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source credits: cbs news, Justin Sullivan, Getty images

Jan26

more fun.

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(not me, but we both have glasses and enjoy candles, coffee, and blogging)

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‘blogging is different from both journal-writing and writing for print. 

it’s more fun than either of those.

the freedom to write whatever I want

and the unmediated connection with readers are the payoff.’

*kate christensen

* Kate Christensen is an American novelist.  Her essays, articles, reviews, and stories have appeared in many anthologies and periodicals, including The New York Times Book Review, Bookforum, Elle, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Food & Wine, Cherry Bombe, and The Jewish Daily Forward.

 

 

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image credit: pinterest

 

Sep28

tag!

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not me, nor my moose playmate, but i was caught equally unaware

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have you ever played a game of tag and you didn’t even know you were in it?

this happened to me recently when a couple of bloggers/friends tagged me

inviting me to play a game of blogger tag and to then pass it on.

oh my, i didn’t have my glasses on! i should have looked behind me! now i see, i’m it!

i’m all in now, and i’ll start by answering a few questions:

how did you come up with your blog name? (beth kennedy – ididnthavemyglasseson.com)

it was something that my daughters have said to me, about me  –  that things in my life have happened or have not happened because i didn’t have my glasses on. so many possibilities. (good name for a future book?)

if your blog was a person (fictional or real), who would it be?,

my blog is a bit all over the place, but it’s always me. maybe pippi longstocking?  no stranger to counterculture, pippi can be seen around the world in tattoos, celebrity photographs, works of graffiti and on catwalks as a symbol of female strength, resilience, kindness, fairness and acceptance. while i’m not famous like pippi, and my dad was not a pirate like hers, i love that she had her own way of seeing and living in the world, and i try to embody all that she symbolizes.

what helps you create new content if you feel like you need some inspiration?

mostly just from being out in the world, with my eyes wide open and with glasses on. there are endless people, places, things, conversations, thoughts, and circumstances out there, and also right inside of me. i read lots of articles, especially the tiny almost forgotten ones, love the real newspaper and books and magazines. i’m drawn to the often-overlooked, the unusual, the details and nuances of life, and learn so many new things every day from endless sources. living is an inspiration in itself, and i’m still so excited when i wake up in the morning to see what each day will hold, just like when i was a little girl.

is there anyone you would like to collaborate with?

i am a huge fan of collaboration and enjoy working and creating ike that. everyone has a different perspective, experience, and has something to bring to the table. before i changed careers and became a teacher, i worked in the advertising world, and i’ve always loved to brainstorm, bounce ideas off of each other, and be open to all ideas. the world is so interesting because of the fact that we are all unique. together we can make each other even better.

is there anything more you wish you had or would like to learn as a blogger?

yes! everything in the world of blogging has been mostly trial and error for me, heavy on the error, but somehow i’m doing it. i happened into blogging kind of  by accident, through a series of circumstances, and i have never looked back.

tech is an important part of blogging, and it seems to be my nemesis. while we continue to be at odds, tech and i are polite with each other most of the time. i learn a ton from other bloggers, how to do things, what not to do, and i’ve learned so many things along the way, especially that the connections made through blogging are what make it all a worthwhile enterprise. i have no financial motive in blogging, just a creative outlet for me, where i really enjoy the give and take of the readers and writers.

“i think one of the most beautiful gifts to self is: saying ‘i don’t know how, but I’m going to find a way for us to get through this.’-helen marie

do you have a specific style of blogging?

my blog is a jumble of lower case letters, (i love how they look on a page, they seem more poetic to me), stories, poems, quotes, photos, movies, news, nature, children, family and friends and pets, emotions, places, food, and everything else, all rolled into one. you never know what it will be. i often don’t even always know what it will be when i begin writing it and putting it together. i’m a bit of a minimalist, so they’re often quite short, but i love mixing things together that are generally not seen in one place. a collage of life. in the last number of years, i’ve tended to blog every day, and i like the rhythm of that.

here is how a blogger friend described it in response to one of my posts:

‘The Peanut Car looks like something that I would see passing by in a Parade. I expect the clowns (at least 50) to jump out any moment. In fact I always think of your blog as an entry in a Parade. Each different, yet in the same style. Not too long. Not too short. I’m always looking forward to the next float. ” (thanks, ladysighs)

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now that i’ve finished the first part of the challenge,

the next part is to pick a few fellow bloggers/friends to play and to pass it on, so here goes:

(no worries for non-participation, there is always an option for a 3-day long marathon game of monopoly with people who each have their own set of rules, and my feelings won’t be hurt at all.)

so – tag, you’re it! and i hope you play:

Mark at: https://markbialczak.com

Joy at:  https://joyful2beeblogs.com

Roy at:  https://reelroyreviews.com

 this game of tag is a not so scary after all. 

 

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‘blogger because badass isn’t an official job title’

-author unknown

 

 

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image credits google.com

Aug3

(Luck I.)

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this very moving page popped up on my screen recently

proof once again

that one person’s simple act

can have a huge impact on another

often without  them ever knowing.

profound and quiet kindness

yes.

 

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source credit: Luck (I), by Joy Sullivan

Joy lives in Portland, Oregon and is a poet and educator. She has a masters degree in poetry and served as the poet-in-residence for the Wexner Center for the Arts. She also leads live transformative writing workshops for individuals who have experienced trauma and has guest-lectured in classrooms from Stanford to Florida State University.

Joy’s work is a part of The San Marcos Writing Project and is one of over 200 writing project sites in the country devoted to developing teacher leaders that improve the writing and learning of all students.

csusm.edu/education/outreach/smwp.html

Jul15

‘i think hope and magic are probably connected. ‘ – Kate DiCamillo

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thanks to the library consortium, and the detroit public libraries

i recently had the pleasure of attending an online talk

featuring one of my favorite authors, kate dicamillo

 just as friendly and full of whimsy as i had imagined

she talked about how she got her ideas

for stories and characters

how they became a part of her

i’ve loved her books for years

she writes for children of all ages

 in the last few years i’ve read some of them again

 with new eyes and life experience

i’ve been even more taken with them

each filled with hope and joy and spirit

 characters who refuse to be anything other than who they are

and who, against the odds, never surrender

she has such a brilliant magic to her writing.

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‘i like to think of myself as a storyteller.’
*kate dicamillo
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*Kate Dicamillo has written 30+ bestselling books, beloved by children and adults in touch with their inner eight-year-old, for two decades, including Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tale of Despereaux, The Magician’s Elephant, Flora & Ulysses, and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Some of these have been turned into operas and movies. Her new books in 2024 include the middle grade novel Ferris and Orris and Timble: The Beginning. She is a rare two-time winner of the Newbery Medal.

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below is a link to a post i wrote not long ago, about one of my very favorite books of hers, ‘the miraculous  journey of edward tulane’, which was beautiful and moved me to tears.

journey.

Feb27

word after a word.

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someone sure has a lot to say
not sure exactly what that is yet
but i think
someone has to pay something.
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“a word after a word after a word is power.”
― margaret atwood
Jan31

secondhand.

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DETERMINED: Manoj is proudly destined to put his name on the list of Guinness Book of World Records. He can write A-Z in 6 seconds using both his hands.
DETERMINED:
manoj is proudly destined to put his name on the list of guinness book of world records.
he can write A-Z in 6 seconds using both his hands.
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i’m not quite there yet, but sometimes my ideas spring up so quickly that i really wish i had his super power.
instead, i write notes with one hand, on any scrap, napkin, rock, or available writing surface.
even though i’m only using one hand, trying to decipher it later is not always easy.
good thing i’m also into puzzles.

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“i only wish i could write with both hands, so as not to forget one thing while I am saying another.”

*-teresa of avila,

*also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, a Carmelite nun and prominent Spanish mystic and religious reformer.

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photo credit: usha wagle gautam, gulf times
Jan22

blogging is my cardio.

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so this happened:

 

Happy Anniversary with WordPress.com!

You registered on WordPress.com 12 years ago.

Thanks for flying with us. Keep up the good blogging.

Oct15

alive.

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“A little boy sent me a charming card with a little drawing on it. I loved it. I answer all my children’s letters – sometimes very hastily – but this one I lingered over. I sent him a card and I drew a picture of a Wild Thing on it. I wrote, ‘Dear Jim: I loved your card.’ Then I got a letter back from his mother and she said: ‘Jim loved your card so much he ate it.’ That to me was one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received. He didn’t care that it was an original Maurice Sendak drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.”

Maurice Sendak, as noted by Luke Davies in an article in the Brisbane Times, December 3, 2011.

Photograph of Maurice Sendak by Joyce Dopkeen.

 

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“we can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”

– thornton wilder