A Quick Trip Around the World

When I was a kid, I loved the story my parents told me of their early dates where they would go for a ride in the country. At each intersection, one would toss a coin. Heads turn left; tails go right. The joy was in shared company and that sense of exploration and discovery.

My sweetie and I do things like that, too. We go out in the farming areas of Central Minnesota, with large fields of corn or other crops, dairy farms, and little towns with a church (great steeples), a bar, and usually a cafe. We go in search of the perfect pie. We've found some really good ones, too.

I get a kick out of Blogger for the way I can explore here too. I know that Time Magazine recently had a story about the ten best blogs, and yes, I was thrilled that one of my favorites, PostSecret, was on their list. But I have a real soft spot for layperson blogs. I love getting these intimate little glimpses of the lives of ordinary people from all over the world. You can try it too. Up above my blog header you will see a little icon that says "next blog." Click on that. Or try some of the cool links below.

Yummy handdyed, handwoven yarn (scroll down for the spinning wheels) from someplace Scandinavian, methinks.

Family fun in another "Scando-hoovian" setting. Seriously. At least scroll down far enough to see the kid and grandfather with their tongues out.

Beauty queens from around the world... I include this as an example of "silly things people blog about..."

Ever been to Portugal? Here's some interesting pictures.

A traveling Australian put up cool pics from the Caribean and Central America

A French artist (gorgeous drawings of everything imaginable)

So, there. You get the idea. Try it!

Scrappy Entertainment

Today (congenial bows) I successfully pulled off a "tween" program on Scrapbook Journaling. I wasn't sure I would. First, I'm not a scrapper. Second, I haven't done a teen program before. Third, well, I was just plain nervous about it. The 12-14 set can be a hard group to impress, and I've spent the last few days doubting myself about it.

However, the program went off well. Four kids showed up -- a small number but very comfortable. It would have been hard to spend adequate time helping them if there had been many more. We made a mini "explosion scrapbook" with three big squares of scrapping paper. Very easy, then I let them loose with piles of markers, stickers, ribbons, old magazines, scraps of cloth and glitter glue pens.

We also did the "I am" poem, and I had the kids cut up the three paragraphs of the poem to add to different parts of their scrapbook. Plus they had a little envelope to glue on so that they could add notes, pictures, or, in the case of one boy, baseball cards. These were particularly touching with the pink and yellow daisy-themed paper (this was the younger brother of one of the girls, and I just loved his paper choices!). He decorated his scrapbook with pictures of baseball players and candy bars.

It was great fun to see the way the kids decorated their individual books. The most entertaining part of it might have been to see how much fun they had with the fabric swatches, bits of trim, sequins, and other bits that I brought from my private stash. They were incredibly creative.

Video Recommendation: King Corn

Thanks to TiVo, today I watched a great documentary called King Corn, about two guys from Boston who spend a year growing and researching corn. King Corn was shown on PBS's Independent Lens last week.

First off, I just love documentaries and books like this: take a topic that seems so mundane and everyday and tease out the fascinating political, economic, and social issues that swirl around it.

The salient features:
1. Beginning in the 1970's, farmers were paid (by the gov't) to grow more corn than we as a country could reasonably use for food purposes.
2. Due to huge surpluses of corn, we developed new ways to use the grain, most notably animal feed and high-fructose corn syrup.
3. Cattle get sick living on a diet of primarily corn, and we get sick from taking in so much of the sweet/starchy corn-based additives in processed food.

My only complaint about the film is that it did not address the environmental impact of turning thousands and thousands of acres of land over to this monoculture -- it doesn't address pesticide use, loss of habitat and ecozones, drops in populations of indigenous bird and animal species, algae blooms in rivers and lakes due to fertilizer run-off, etc.

However, the filmmakers do a good job of providing a film that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. If you can't find a showing or the DVD, here's an interview with Curt Ellis, one of the filmmakers.

Good News for Book Lovers

The latest issue of Library Journal came to my inbox yesterday, thanks to the wonderful Ebsco resources. I could barely contain my glee. The articles included two that I can't help thinking will be seen as good news by anyone who loves books and stories.

First, Library Journal gave lots of ink-space to Open Library, and heralded its call to libraries around the country to help with its archival goals.

A quote from the article:

Open Library is being developed as a partnership between the Internet Archive and Open Content Alliance (OCA) to create a free, global online catalog and library. In their view, the best way to represent books and their metadata online is to create a web page for every book.

These pages then combine the data found in traditional library catalog and publisher ... records with user-generated reviews, references, and discussions. For digitized public domain books... an ebook interface is included directly on the site. For those books unavailable in full text, links to buy, borrow, or download are also included. And to round out its all-encompassing goal of total descriptive content, Open Library plans to create subject and author pages as well. Once collected, this information will be updatable and editable by users.

One of the most interesting things about Open Library is the ideal on which it is based. Though only a demo version in its current state, Open Library aims to be a "product of the people: letting them create and curate its catalog, contribute to its content, participate in its governance, and have full, free access to its data."

I checked out Open Library's test page and it works like a charm. One of the books is Stories of the Foothills by Margaret Collier Graham, copyright 1895. The site lets you turn the pages of the book, seeing each page as it is in print. This is why we know that this particular copy was a gift to the University of California by the Class of 1900. There is a link for audio as well, although this particular book does not have any audio data. Still, these Internet archiving sites are fantastic resources.

I also like the Library of Congress' rare children's book site. If you want a glimpse of how much technology and culture have changed in the last 130 years, view the Children's Object Book, published in 1880-something.

Fabulous!

Another piece of exciting news is that the Espresso Book Machine is expected to be released commercially in 2008. I find this idea incredibly exciting. For those not in the know, the Espresso "can turn a PDF into a printed book in 15 minutes for a penny a page." This is revolutionary technology, and not only because it begs the question of why publishers would need to continue to print and warehouse hundreds and thousands of copies of their books. Personally, even though the article states that some publishers are pondering whether to publish only e-book, I have a hard time believing that consumers will give up the printed-on-paper book any time soon. That means that libraries will continue to have books in print to purchase, even as we move toward finding ways to provide e-book formats as well.

The really exciting thing to me about the Espresso is that it opens up the possibility that someday no book will ever go out of print. Think about that. No story will ever be lost to time. As long as the story is stored as electronic data somewhere, some gizmo like the Espresso or an e-reader will be able to deliver it into the hands of that one person in a hundred thousand or more who wants to read it.

As a writer and lover of books, I find that thought to be profoundly thrilling.

Off with my imaginary friends again

Today I was finally able to go back to the story I started last year. It's been a couple of months since I wrote (fiction) at all... first there were hours of post-caucus volunteer work for the DFL, and then hours spent working on the 23 Things lessons. Both of those were worth the time invested, but I get itchy and fretful whenever I spend too much time away from writing fiction. Other creative pursuits -- knitting, beading, gardening, cooking, even writing the blog -- can dull the need, postponing that day when I get up and nothing else matters but spending time at the computer, letting the story fill me up and spill out onto the screen. But I always have to come back to it.

And today the story -- place, characters, plot, atmosphere -- was waiting for me like an old friend, ready to pick right up where we'd left off. Nothing had withered while I was away, and that was so inspiring. Sometimes the words have a life, and a lifespan, all their own. I write them one day and later, when I come back back to them, they've turned dull and hollow. They lay on the page just filling up white space instead of opening up into a new and vibrant world. So it's always a brilliant event, a little startling even, when they are as fresh and alive to me "later" as they were during that first initial rush of inspiration.

The act of writing itself has a lifespan. That first draft is pure blissful energy, inspiration and discovery (sometimes, when it's good, the rush lasts into the second and third drafts). This is puppy love in letters. This is adrenaline. This is believing in the unity and beauty of the world, interconnectedness of thoughts, inspirations and beliefs. This is pure, simple, ecstatic, exhausted joy.

Then there's the editing. Drafts three through ten still have some of that bliss. There are moments of peaceful certainty and soulful thrill, moments when plot and character suddenly gain a clarity that was missing. You see the story in a slightly different light. It's the difference between looking at a landscape at high noon, with the sun bleeding all the nuance out of grass and sky, and at that rosy period just before dusk when the colors warm and glow and every rock looks alive. Suddenly, aha, you get it. This is what the characters have been trying to tell you. This is where the story wants to go.

Unfortunately, if my last novel was any indication, that is not necessarily where the story is finished. These glimpses of clarity occur scene by scene or, perhaps, if you're good and lucky, chapter by chapter. But that doesn't mean that the whole thing is finished. It's not enough to have many fabulous scenes and one or two mesmerizing characters. The whole story has to fit together, as seamlessly as possible, and you, the writer, need to disappear into the atmosphere. You need to become like the atmosphere -- always there, doing your job, but invisible.

And thus goes the slogging labor of drafts ten through ... the end.

And even then, you might spend a year or more looking for an agent, perhaps even get some nibbles, but no one willing to introduce you to a friendly publisher.

But I don't want to think of those end drafts now. I'm still in blissful puppy love land with this new story. I'm fascinated and moved by the characters as they grow and become so much more than I ever expected them to be. They're alive, and so I feel that way too.

Freeheld on Friday

Again it's spring in Minnesota and we are looking forward to the St. Cloud GLBTA Film Festival. I'm so excited that this year we have an Academy Award winner to bring to St. Cloud. Our little festival! Gabi and I have been part of St. Cloud OUT for quite a while, and we've been putting this on for 8 years now. It's grown from a one-night affair to three, getting better and better films. I love being part of this project, even though every year about this time I am feeling tired and frazzled.

So, in case you are going to be in central Minnesota this weekend, check out the Film Festival. It'll be fun.

And if you can't make it, by all means try to see Freeheld, by Cynthia Wade. It's an amazing and inspiring film, and last month won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, Short Subject.

At least it's pretty

Oh we are so very sick of winter here.

Six a.m. this morning I was shoveling 6 to 8 inches of very wet, very heavy snow at the end of the driveway so that my partner could go to work (poor thing, the local schools closed but she works 40 miles south). Two hours later I went back outside only to find that another 2-3 inches had fallen. This is lighter, but still wet and sticky. It clumps to everything, making the trees stunningly gorgeous... and I hope the power lines hold up. I took some pictures, and they turned out well enough to share.



However, it is heavy and cold and still coming down. Did I mention heavy. It's not yet noon and I've been out twice shoveling already and haven't even touched the majority of the driveway. I'll have to do that before my Sweetie gets home... I don't think our little sedan could get to the garage right now.

In light of this endlessly dreary winter, I must share the following soup recipe. I made it a couple of nights ago and it is so good.

Curried Roasted Squash & Pear Soup
Adapted from The Essential Eating Well Cookbook ©2004

1½ pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ¾" cubes
6 ripe but firm Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and cut into ¾" cubes
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 tsp granulated sugar
Freshly ground pepper
½ cup water, or more if necessary
⅓ cup finely chopped shallots
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1 2½" cinnamon stick
2 tsp curry powder
½ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp ground coriander
⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
6 cups reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Toss squash and pears with 1 Tbsp olive oil and the granulated sugar in a large baking pan with sides. Season with fresh pepper. Drizzle with water.
3. Roast squash and pears until both are tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Stir after 20 minutes and add a little more water if necessary to prevent burning. When done, remove from oven and add 2 cups of broth to pan. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up the caramelized bits around the edges.
4. With food processor or blender, puree squash and pears in the broth, adding more broth if necessary.
5. Heat the remaining 1 Tbsp oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Add brown sugar and spices. Cook, stirring, until nicely fragrant, about 2 minutes more.
6. Add squash-pear puree and remaining broth. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until the flavors are well balanced. Taste for salt, adding more if necessary. Discard cinnamon stick, and serve.

Makes about 8 cups of soup, 181 calories per cup.

MySpace Rant

Okay, first confession: I really abhor the use of Internet sites for ranting. I hate that whole mentality that blogs and other online tools are the perfect opportunity to say to yourself ooh, here's my chance to say every mean thing I ever wanted to say but didn't because of societal taboos.. Well, politeness and proper grammar are two things I am always in favor of. And I like it when people use their "library voice" (which is not the same as a whispery church voice) online and everywhere.

So you will realize how badly MySpace has annoyed me that now I want to come to my friendly neighborhood blogger blog and rant about it.

You will recall that my sister invited me to be her friend on MySpace. So, big sister and generous soul that I am, I accepted and have made a very real attempt to make, if not a home, at least a quasi-comfy box there. I even went back and re-learned some basic HTML code so that my profile info would not look like word salad.

Did you catch that? MySpace, the reigning king/queen of Internet socializing sites, forces you to use HTML or CSS if you want to add any kind of formatting -- including line breaks (!!!) to your profile. That is so ridiculous!

Just for sheer entertainment value, I googled "Why MySpace Sucks" and found a DIGG article by that title, as well as some others. I don't agree with that rant -- it's really just a chance to bash the people who use MySpace. That's not my beef. I don't care if someone wants to write on their profile that they don't have much to talk about. That's fine by me.

What really annoys me about MySpace is not the people who join it, but the people who have made it, and have infused it with a proprietary nature that prohibits javascript and widgets and all the fun stuff that's out there to use to make your blog/site really interesting. After all, I thought one of the great fundamental values of Web 2.0 was interconnectivity: collaboration, sharing, communicating, creating. MySpace is set up to prohibit much of that -- or at least make it difficult enough that users might be tempted to purchase (for anywhere from $12 to $25) books that have been written about how to personalize your profile.

Also, I don't like how everything about MySpace seems to be about steering the user toward ads for music, movies and television shows. For me, clicking into MySpace music or videos is instantaneous information overload. I feel bombarded by ads, flashing icons and pictures of pretty, preening people. I get a headache just thinking about it. (Ooh, how old does this make me?)

So, without a doubt, I dislike MySpace.

But...

And you knew there was a "but" coming...

My sister wrote a short blog entry about the great day she had with my nephews. She doesn't often write letters or call - she's a busy mother of two young sons - but she'll blog. And I'm in heaven because I get a glimpse of her and my nephews. She wrote about holding 2 year old Tommy to watch jets fly low over the Northern Nevada plains, so close that she could almost see the pilot grinning back at her. It was sweet and honest and almost made me cry from missing them so much.

So, thank goodness for MySpace.

Done w/ Things... & MySpace calls

You might have read the blog below about MySpace. Let me sum it up: I don't like it, nor trust the minds behind it. Don't want to join the legions. Happy me, I think I can go on my way and ignore it.

Then I get an e-mail from one of my sisters who lives several states away and who I do not see or talk to nearly enough, and she's sending me a "friend" invitation to her MySpace site. I check it out, and discover that our other sister also has a page.

So... I ponder. I still don't like MySpace. I still don't trust the minds behind the curtain.

And after learning about all the fun new-fandango widgets and gizmos, I really, really, really don't like the limitations set in MySpace. Sure I can import my playlist and that's cool. But that's because MySpace wants to be the new music store to the world and so they are happy to have me suggest songs that my friends/family could purchase. On the other hand, I can't find a way to import the javascript for Library Thing into MySpace. I can make a tediously long URL and put that into my MySpace profile, but, as indicated, it's tedious and long and doesn't allow for the book covers. Where's the fun in that?

But I would love a way to spend more time connecting with my sisters. All I have to do is start my own page and sign up to be their "friend."

I feel myself being sucked in.

And this is why MySpace is so huge.