The last week of September is Banned Books Week here in the U.S. Sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA), the purpose is to draw attention to censorship and to celebrate the freedom to read. From September 26th through October 2nd, the ALA sponsors events at libraries and schools around the country. There are talks…
Month: September 2021
Bradbury Challenge Update 3 [Writing]
My third two-week period of this challenge was productive. I completed another short story draft, did a lot of reading, and felt like it all put me in a good mental state. In other words, being productive releases endorphins. At least, it does for me. Sort of like a what happens when I enjoy a…
Visualizing as a Reader [Books]
Here’s a question for you: What do you see when you read a story? Is it just the words on the page, or do you picture the setting and characters? Does a lot of description help your imagination, or do you prefer sparse description so you can fill in the blanks with your imagination? As…
Making Mushrooms [Cooking]
So my partner has been on a mushroom kick lately. I think it started when she happened upon this YouTube channel. I was also pulled in after watching a few of their videos. I’ve always enjoyed mushrooms, incorporate them into a few of my dishes, but I really don’t know much about them. White button,…
Bradbury Challenge – Update 2.1
Fueled by a bit of inspiration and a couple shot of tequila, I finished my latest draft. That’s the second one I’ve completed in the past four weeks. And yes, if feels good. Apparently, I was much closer to the finish line than I thought in my last update. I’m also still working my way…
Do You Re-Read Books? [Books]
I own a lot of books. Hundreds of them. Earlier this year, my partner strongly suggested I do one of two things: either get them all organized in one place or get rid of them. I went with organization. Sure, it would be easier to simply get rid of them, donate them to a local…
Living in a Bubble [Mental Health]
Depending on where you live in the world, COVID may or may not be a pressing issue. What I mean is that some areas are handling the virus with common sense. The majority of the population in these places has been vaccinated, people are wearing masks in public, adhering to social distancing, and the numbers…
Bradbury Challenge – Update 2 [Writing]
So far, so good. I’ve read another book, Packing for Mars, and been working my way through Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. The latter is for my ‘poem a day’. I’ve read Leaves of Grass many, many times over the years. It’s one of the greatest poetry collections, so raw and pure, and I find…
Review – Packing for Mars [Books]
Mary Roach enjoys being a writer. It comes across in every one of her books. It’s not surprising since she gets to investigate, research, and even get hands-on with her subject matter. Packing for Mars is no exception. Of course, she gets to hang out at NASA and spend the day with astronauts. What’s not…
Review – The Demon-Haunted World [Books]
There are good books and there are great books. In the realm of non-fiction, I’d place Carl Sagan’s The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, to be in the latter category. Sagan, without argument, was one of our great minds. If you grew up in the 1970s or 1980s, you knew who…