A Hug for Louise Penny

Cynthia Reyes

Her name is Louise.  My mother’s name is Louise.

Her husband’s name is Michael. My brother’s name is Michael.

The village church in her books was named for St. Thomas. My village church is also St. Thomas’ Anglican. 

We both attended Ryerson Polytechnic in Toronto, at roughly the same time. We worked at the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), also at roughly the same time.

We have both been through a version of hell.

But importantly, happily, we have both been loved by wonderful men who have supported us and encouraged us to write.

With our similar experiences, Louise once remarked that we seem like sisters. I agreed. Except, I remember thinking, I could barely imagine being as great an author as she is. 

Not only is she a wildly successful author, she’s also taken the time to encourage new authors like me. 

I say all this to explain my affection…

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Day 1392: Depends

The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally

What’s my attitude about life?  Depends on what’s going on around me, how I’m perceiving things, and people I depend on.

How am I feeling as I recover from my recent open heart surgery?  Depends on how much sleep I’m able to get, which depends on how much pain I’m having.

How do I answer questions from myself and from others? Depends on the question, my attitude, my experience, and what I know.

How  do  I come up with a title and topic for each of my daily blog posts?  Depends on what’s happened the day before, usually.

How do I decide which pictures to share here?  Depends on which ones I think you might like.

How well do I quote other people in this blog?  Depends on my memory and what they have to say.  Yesterday, the dependably hilarious, brilliant, and charming Mel Brooks responded to a question from…

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Art Of The Week:Raphael Truffi Bortholuzzi

The Arts Mechanical

Great Miniatures.

http://www.grandmondo.com/

http://www.grandmondo.com/sm-forgottencruiser

http://www.grandmondo.com/sm-porsche356

http://thedailymini.com/daily-mini-interview-grandmondo-miniatures/

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Can video games be considered art?

James Harringtons Creative Work

It’s a tough question to answer. Certainly in this day and age they are not considered ‘high-art’ but when programming backgrounds and beautiful scenery, its hard not to consider them as such.

Let’s consider Skyrim for a moment… someone (me) goes through hours upon hours coding, re-texturing, and updating the graphical properties of the game, using some mods he downloaded and some that he created on his own to create scenery that is on par if not superior to new releases. Could the imagery he comes up with be considered art?

Let me give you a few examples to look at:

Given the extreme detail and the amount of hard work that goes into such things, no two modded Skyrims are exactly the same. Could imagery like this not be considered art?

I think it can, and eventually video game designers will soon be considered the artists that they deserve…

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Dance Party!

One With Vino

No, not really.  Well, unless you incorporate laying around as much as possible as some form of interpretive dance.

I’ll cut right to the dance and step in where I can, this dance party was brought to us by our friends from Trader Joe’s.  The 2014 Cotillion Pinot Noir is an exclusive to TJ’s and I wouldn’t expect it any other way.

I can’t fully explain into words but there’s certain stores you walk into, and you can just tell the food, the drink, or what have you is synonymous with that store.  If I saw this bottle somewhere at a friends house,  I would sense this can only come from one place. That’s a testament to the bottle and the energy of this store.

The fact that I’m expounding on this so long on this may come off as an indictment of the wine itself than a love for the…

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My Diary: Feeling Nonplussed In The Fading Light Of A False Reality

Gerald's Rather Strange Diary

Neither June or I‭ ‬went out.‭ ‬With the weather transformed into a line of just washed petticoats it was too wet to hold hands with the tree people even when the sacred grove opened out as if a mouth about to speak‭ ‬-‭ ‬I was quite pleased when it didn’t as I hadn’t bothered to learn my lines.‭ ‬I looked through the raindrops algorithmically changed to dragonfly eyes and watched the fortune cookie ladies and mop bucket gentlemen enter and exit the stage.‭ ‬As I stared into the almost infinity,‭ ‬June surrounded herself with a necklace of wild west wagons and spoke to a voice that had entered the room like a cartoon cloud‭ ‬-‭ ‬She said it was the past wrapped in the present and I said it was an angel trapped in a tar pit and subsequently threw myself down a well to retrieve the feather covered spindle.

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Explore A Brand New You In 2017: How To Get And Stay Healthy

lifewithlilred

It’s almost the start of a brand new year, which means – of course! – it’s time to start making those New Year’s resolutions. Here are some tips on how to get healthy in 2017…

Change Your Eating Habits: If you’re planning on losing weight by going on a diet, the first thing to remember is that if you suddenly change everything you eat, you probably won’t be able to maintain that diet for very long. First of all, cut down on snacking between meals – start meal planning and making sure that you eat a good breakfast, lunch, and dinner to make sure that you don’t get hungry during the day. Go for lean proteins and plenty of leafy green vegetables, but don’t cut out sugar and carbs entirely as it’ll be too restrictive. Remember that moderation is the key to success.

Veg out in 2017

Start Gently…

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Musical Inspiration

James Harringtons Creative Work

Need a good song to listen to when writing either a victory, royalty entering the room, or a new order taking over in the ashes of an oppressive power? Well normally the metal head in me would recommend Dragonforce… literally anything Dragonforce, but today I’m doing something a little different:

If the sheer sound of this doesn’t send chills down your spine, take your pulse. You’re likely dead. Composed by Dennis McCarthy, this theme to Star Trek Generations is unbelievably bombastic and one of the most incredible musical numbers that literally no one remembers. Give it a listen and let me know what you think for today’s recommendation!

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Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.
jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com
I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4…

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Kashmiri sled puller

Joshi Daniel Photography

Kashmiri sled puller | Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir, India

When in Gulmarg, I came across a large number of these sled pullers and guides. I felt sorry for the men who have to go through the intense physical labour of pulling the sled (with the passenger sitting in it) uphill. Although I was very uncomfortable doing so, they insisted that I sit in one of the sled. When the sled runner tried to pull it uphill, I could see how much he struggled and offered to get out of the sled. It got me thinking about the amount of effort that goes into making a livelihood through a strenuous job like this. This sled puller was photographed on a GoPro during sunset in Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir, India.

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Don’t worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?../.. Hayatın alt üst oldu diye üzülme. Ne biliyorsun altının üstünden iyi olmadığını. Rumi

YA BAKİ ENTEL BAKİ

One tree can start a forest,
One bird can herald spring,
One smile can begin a friendship,
One hand can lift a soul,
One star can guide a ship at sea,
One word can frame the goal,
One sunbeam can light a room,
One candle can wipe out darkness,
One laugh can conquer gloom,
One hope can raise our spirits,
One touch can show you care,
One voice can wake up everybody,
One life can make the difference.
Be that one.

Bir ağaç bir ormanın başlangıcı olabilir.
Bir kuş, baharın müjdecisi olabilir.
Bir gülümseme bir dostluğu başlatabilir.
Bir tokalaşma moralinizi yükseltebilir
Bir yıldız, denizde bir gemiye yön gösterebilir.
Bir tek kelime, büyük bir ideali anlatabilir.
Bir huzme güneş ışığı, bir odayı aydınlatabilir.
Bir mum , karanlığı yırtabilir.
Bir gülüş, hüznü fethedebilir.
Bir umut ışığı ruhumuzu besleyebilir.
Bir dokunuş, ne kadar önemsendiğinizi hissettirebilir.
Bir ses, bilgelikle konuşabilir.
Bir yaşam çok şeyi…

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