Fri 15 Jan 2021
The corner
Posted by PJ under photography, writing
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This is a corner of my writing desk. Show me yours?
Archive for January, 2021
Monthly Archive
Fri 15 Jan 2021
Optimism
Posted by PJ under optimism, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:
“Being optimistic is like a muscle that gets stronger with use. Makes it easier when the tough times arrive. You have to change the way you think in order to change the way you feel.â€
―Robin Roberts, Everybody’s Got Something
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Desus and Mero, Beyoncé, or the Marine Corps Marching Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Thu 14 Jan 2021
Hero
Posted by PJ under heroes, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:
“The real hero is always a hero by mistake; he dreams of being an honest coward like everybody else. If it had been possible, he would have settled the matter otherwise, and without bloodshed. He doesn’t boast of his own death or of others’. But he doesn’t repent. He suffers and keeps his mouth shut; if anything, others then exploit him, making him a myth, while he, the man worthy of esteem, was only a poor creature who reacted with dignity and courage in an event bigger than he was.â€
—Umberto Eco, “Gods of the Underworld: Why Are They Laughing In Those Cages?†Travels in Hyperreality (tr. William Weaver)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Desus and Mero, Beyoncé, or the Marine Corps Marching Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Wed 13 Jan 2021
Phantom
Posted by PJ under death, life, nature, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:
“The senseless destruction of living things and all the sorrows of humanity count for nothing in the great whole.—The death of a sensitive man expiring in the company of his disconsolate friends, and that of a butterfly cut down by the chill morning air inside the calyx of a flower, are similar moments in the course of nature. Man is nothing but a phantom, a shadow, a mist that scatters in the air.â€
—Xavier de Maistre, Journey Around My Room (tr. Stephen Sartarelli)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Desus and Mero, Beyoncé, or the Marine Corps Marching Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Tue 12 Jan 2021
Underlands
Posted by PJ under conscious and subconscious, quote of the day, the deep within, the shadow
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Random quote of the day:
“We all carry underlands within us, but only rarely acknowledge their existence.â€
—Robert McFarlane, “What lies beneath: Robert McFarlane travels ‘Underland,’†The Guardian, April 20, 2019
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Desus and Mero, Beyoncé, or the Marine Corps Marching Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Mon 11 Jan 2021
Follower
Posted by PJ under organic writing, writing, zeitgeist
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I managed 1402 words last week. Not an impressive total, but there was an insurrection so I’m giving myself a pat on the back anyway.
This fantasy novel involves Nazis—the WWII kind—and I can’t decide if it’s perfect timing or perfectly bad timing. At any rate, it will take me a long time to finish it and by then we will certainly know more about the progress of Nazism in America and whether or not we survive it.
But I’d be lying if I didn’t say my own manuscript is giving me the squicks right now. I’d work on something else but this one is doing the talking. Insistently. I know better than to try to shut up what is wanting its time on the stage. I started the preliminary work on this novel some years ago and there were Nazis in it from early days. I wrote about 27k before it stalled last summer. (I also know better than to force something to talk when it doesn’t want to. It means I need to figure stuff out before I proceeding.) But it started mumbling again about a month and a half ago and during the Christmas break it started talking very loudly indeed.
I just work here. So I follow where I’m led. I will not, however, say that I am just following orders. I’m “channeling” something—and I don’t mean anything booga booga by that. Zeitgeist or shadowlands, I can’t say. I suppose it will let me know in its own “sweet” time.
Mon 11 Jan 2021
Memoir
Posted by PJ under memoir, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:
“The memoir is inventing speech to suggest that which lies beyond speech. To truly render a single hour would require enormous effort.â€
—Joyce Carol Oates, Twitterfeed, May 24, 2014
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Desus and Mero, Beyoncé, or the Marine Corps Marching Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Sun 10 Jan 2021
Recent haiku
Posted by PJ under haiku, my poetry
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Days of clover soon
are over but at least there’s
daisies and clover.
*
Angels stir the frost
around on the windowpanes:
road maps to heaven.
*
Birds singing in the
sun, chittering gossip: they
know what’s important.
*
Dogs dark on and on
as shadows pass: metronome
of free form unease.
*
Crow caws out the news
from the telephone pole—there
are snacks in this yard.
Tue 5 Jan 2021
Fuse
Posted by PJ under anger, habit, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:
“One of the main things I work with personally is saying to myself…: “This is how I am right now. I have a very short fuse and I’m losing it.†Then I ask myself, “Do I want to strengthen this habit so that a year from now my fuse is even shorter?†By sticking with and reinforcing our habit, we could get really professional at making our fuse shorter and shorter. Ten years from now we could have the world’s shortest fuse.â€
—Pema Chödrön, The Lion’s Roar, October 15, 2017
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Desus and Mero, Beyoncé, or the Marine Corps Marching Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
