Tag: Darla

  • A Haiku for the Day

    A Birder’s Joy
    Birds irrupt, hungry
    They head to more southern climes
    Watchers take delight
    –

  • Twittering Our Time Away


    It’s about that time of year again.  And I’m not referring to Christmas.  My annual subscriptions need renewed for the British comic weekly “2000 AD” and the monthly “Judge Dredd Megazine”.
    Both have provided enjoyment for many years, though the exchange rate against the United States dollar did interrupt my reading a few years back.  I’m glad to have these futuristic, often dystopian tales back in my life, especially when we got the joy of seeing talented actor Karl Urban bring Ol’ Stoney Face to the big screen.  Dredd’s U.S. popularity is soaring, too.  Hurray!
    Besides the graphic stories, features I appreciate in the “Megazine” are artists’ interviews.  They provide interesting insight.  The last issue was no exception.  One particular thing the illustrator mentioned stood out to me, too, prompting this essay.
    During this so-called interrogation titled “The Anarch-Tist”, artist Warwick Cadwell lauds the internet for allowing him to connect with fans as well as other artists.  The man even credits others’ blogs with aiding his career.
    But he also warns us.  In his own words, “If you’re not careful, you can spend all your time on Twitter talking about what pen you should be using rather than getting on with any actual drawing!”
    These are words we should all take to heart.  Whatever our preferred medium, we cannot produce art if we spend all our time discussing it.  And we have all know the infinite number of internet distractions, whether they parade as research or networking or we’re just fattening up Sushi Cat (thanks, Armor Games, for swallowing so many afternoons).
    Having noted Mr. Cadwell’s wisdom, I’d best post this now and get back to my novel.  Cheers!

  • Writer Wednesday – A Genius Viewpoint

    Along with talented friends on an artist’s forum, I am reading Julia Cameron’s book “Walking in This World”.  It follows the same thread as her “Artist’s Way” guide, both aimed at helping people unlock and explore their creative potential.  One continuing theme of Ms. Cameron’s program includes inspirational quotes in the books’ margins.  Proceeding through each weekly chapter I tend to find at least one that stands out.
    Week nine gave me the following:
    “There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein
    This rousing, seemingly unscientific outlook led me to look up the genius on Wikipedia.  There I found something nuclear physicist Robert Oppenheimer said at Mr. Einstein’s memorial.  The following words reinforce the lauded theoretical physicist’s opinion.
    “There was always with him a wonderful purity at once childlike and profoundly stubborn.”
    What better way to describe someone who sees miracles?  Of course this is a visionary approach not only toward scientific achievement, but also artistic.  Julia Cameron encourages both a childlike idealism and a strong (one might say stubborn) work ethic.
    Whether theorizing on relativity or plotting a novel, human beings must see beyond the scope of reality.  Yes, our storyline and characterizations may stay within a real world context.  Our minds, however, are creating fiction.  We are inventors.
    I may be no Einstein, but I’m going to go now and invent something the world has never seen.  Happy writing!
    –

  • NaNoWriMo Inspiration

    Today I’m striving on this fifth day of the National Novel Writing Month to create a word count worthy of the challenge – 50 thousand words in thirty days.  I’m grateful gracious A. Catherine Noon introduced me to the concept and encouraged me to throw down the gauntlet in 2011.  November has never been boring since.

    During this, my third year, I find NaNoWriMo website pep talks very moving as well as motivating.  That gifted, successful folks take time to bolster upcoming newbies warms my heart.  Today’s inspiring words by Catherynne M. Valente, author of twenty poetry and fiction books, are an excellent case in point.

    Here is my favorite line:

    To show up to play, puff out your chest like a damn proud toucan, and get s**t done.

    I can’t argue with that logic.  Now I need to post this tidbit and go follow her advice.  Happy writing!

    – 

  • The Cat’s Meow


    I have an office, which obviously has a door.  I also live with three cats.  The plan to close said door and write in peace was sheer fantasy.  Cats don’t like their humans being behind closed doors.  They will scratch and beg to be let in, often just to nap nearby or even walk away, smugly satisfied.
    Today, one of the little beasties got it into her head that she wanted my worship.  She’s supposed to be the laptop, not the machine absorbing my attention.

    A reasonable person would expect this feline attention seeker to vocalize.  But no.  Unfortunately, this cat devised other means from when I wore headphones to drown out distracting sounds.  So she doesn’t meow.  She sits on the guest bed near my elbow and drags her nails down the back of my upper arm.

    Ouch.
    I refused to get off my computer, though.  A deadline is a deadline.  All I needed was to finish one chapter.  Surely she could wait that long.
    No.
    I tried a variety of techniques to appease my little queen, all to no avail.  She didn’t much care for the desk space I cleared.  Efforts at coaxing her to settle on the bed failed.  Still, I persevered.  I stayed on the page.  Eventually she got bored, wandering off long enough for me to reach my goal.  Sweet!
    Now the chapter is finished, ending with an unexpected twist to fuel my next installment.  Success feels good.
    It’s kitty feeding time, though.  I better do my duty.  All three are likely to converge on me and things could get ugly.

    What personal goal do you have this week?

    –

  • Writer Wednesday – A Change in the Air


    Minutes ago I viewed lovely images of spring as captured by talented photography Eaton Bennett.  The delicate blooms are beautiful reminders of nature’s power of regeneration, as she aptly titled the series, and make me look forward to planting my spring flowering bulbs.  For here, in my little corner of the world, autumn takes a turn.

    Morning mists hang over the fields as trees unburden their branches for a welcome winter rest.  Having suffered lean summer months until this bountiful nut harvest, squirrels leap and bound, making drivers beware.  Crisp air beckons me out of the house to savor dazzling skies.
    If I seem to glorify fall, it’s because I adore this time of year.  Each season displays different delights, but October holds a special place in my heart.  Halloween fills me with a sense of whimsy.  Colorful foliage, the smells of bonfires and burning leaves, and birds flocking to migrate all enchant me.  I even look forward to plants going dormant after sweating over garden chores.
    Every year I enjoy these changes.  This month, having finished a small group workshop of Julia Cameron’s “Finding Water”, my inner artist awoke.  I walk the local riverbank, camera ready, enjoying a renewed creative flow.  With no idea what to write and choosing to ignore the resulting butterflies in my stomach, I look forward to November’s National Novel Writing Month.
    One large hurdle to writing fifty thousand new words next month lies in curbing my inherent perfectionism.  I’m notperfect; I simply strive for the impossible.  Already, this short post has taken a ridiculous amount of time while I seek improved grammar and more laconic phrasing.  On that note, I shall upload this little message forthwith.
    Whatever season sculpts your landscape, I hope you can take a deep breath of fresh air and delve into whatever art calls you.  As I hear repeatedly from gentle mentors, take small steps.  Set reasonable goals.  Be easy on yourself.  Mother Nature acts harsh at times but she generally prepares her charges with steady, gradual progress.
    Let me know which is your favorite season, and why.  Does weather affect your creative soul?  After you comment, please enjoy Ms. Bennett’s vision of spring:
    ~

  • Writer Wednesday – Going with the Flow

    I had a post due yesterday for Writer Wednesday and didn’t have the heart due to the anniversary of the 9/11 travesty.  Today, though, I realized that life should move on in honor of those we lost.  And so, here is a little tidbit I’ve postdated.

    Films are a passion of mine.  To my delight, some of the most iconic bits from my favorite flicks were happy accidents due to circumstance or a great ad lib.  In a different example, the crew members in “Alien” reacted with natural horror during that famous dinner incident.  Filmmakers cued only John Hurt in to the details regarding his character’s final scene.  It gives me ever greater appreciation for the process that is movie magic.
    Writing can benefit from such happenstance, as well.  While there is plenty of greatness that comes from scripting and outlines, we artists should never automatically toss out an idea just because it goes against our grand scheme.
    Sometimes we need to go with the flow.  Stumped on where to take the story next?  Follow a plotline on an odd tangent and see how your characters react.  The departure might result in an exciting direction no plan could foresee.
    I hope you free your mind to create something new, wonderful, and unexpected.  Now I need to go follow my own advice.  Happy writing!
    Oh, and if you want to check out some of these great movie moments, here you go.  Enjoy.  You’ll want to expand the video to full screen for the all important captions.  Oh, and there is adult language.  Sorry about that.

  • A Haiku for the Day

    The Watcher
    Tail twitching, ears up
    Gold eyes track my pen’s movement
    Beware the cat’s claw
    ~ 

  • In Living Color


    Years of movie watching give me a new appreciation of the filmmaking process.  Incisive music scores, thoughtful editing, and artful screen fades make me swoon alongside impressionable characterization and indelible plots.  Strong acting is just icing on the proverbial cake.

    Now I must share a confession.  In my youth, historic movies regaled me but those contemporary flicks in color added more depth to my youthful scope.  I even had a vague appreciation of colorization, however artificial the hues might be.  Later, we have little choice.  Colors of the natural world seem ideal.  When given the opportunity, though, I prefer black and white.
    Yeah, yeah; roll your eyes of if you want.  Call me old.
    My b/w appreciation extends to modern productions.  Great examples that stamped this upon my brain include re-aired episodes of “The Walking Dead” and the alternate b/w version of Frank Darabont’s directorial masterpiece “The Mist”.  Mr. Darabont had a hand in both aforementioned projects and Stephen King works never looked so good in color as in the “The Mist’ viewed in b/w.
    However naïve, I believe this involves the brain processes, pure and simple.  Processing color requires ridiculous amounts of calculation.  Black, white, and gray-tones, however, let us perceive data more succinctly.  The characters and plot strike our emotions at the core.
    I may be wrong.  Give it a chance if you can.  And for fun, here are two examples to compare (isn’t the second one creepier?):
    photo adf42666-c410-46aa-9dfe-ead6040202d1.jpg
    photo 66b75763-6cb3-4dd1-84af-ff2071e5fb20.jpg

  • Inspiring Words


    During the rare time waster and guilty pleasure of channel surfing the other night, I discovered a documentary about pop entrepreneur will.i.am (aka William James Adams).  He has always been an enigma to me, best known as a character in the “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” movie.  What can I say?  I’m not much of a hip hop fan but am always interested in biographies.
    So, curious, I watched.  The show did not disappoint.
    A favorite part turned out to be his inspirational quotes.  Not all pithy, his observations moved me.  I actually re-watched the program, spending time to pause and transcribe them word for word.  Not only were the quotes I wanted not readily found on the internet, it was a joy to hear him speak the words himself.
    I wrote on both sides of a sheet of 81/2 by 11 inch graph paper.  Since some of those words struck me as worth spreading to other artists, I have shared them below.  I wanted a more clever title for this post, but the effort just seemed to water down the whole point.  Enjoy.

    “On low points, I don’t look at them as low points.  I look at them as launch pads because if you learn from them, they’ll take you to a totally different platform.”

    “…Once you fill a void, you can’t avoid it.  It’s not just a play on words; it’s actually true in reality.”

    “If I had to define the thing that drives me, it would be dreams.  Everybody has dreams.  But my dreams come four-fold.  Meaning I have the dream, and then I have the dream to bring it real.  And then I dream up all the things that are gonna keep it from not making it real.  And then, by doing that, that dream is sitting in front of me as reality.”

    “Dreams are freakin’ powerful and friends, friends keep you on that path to remind you about the dream.  You can never do it alone.  You find your little friend ensemble and turn some impossible thing possible.”

    “The difference between heart, mind and gut. HEART is love & emotions. MIND is strategy & logic. GUT is intuition & spiritual connectivity.”
    And probably my favorite:

    “Except the unexpected and never, ever expect anything.”

    –