FICTION AND NON-FICTION

The Luminaries and Man's Search for Meaning

Fiction: The Luminaries

Yes, the Booker prize winner of 2013. How boring! How uncreative! Why don't I just name drop whatever book Jonathan Franzen's just written? But here's the thing: it's a 700 page long gripper of a novel. I took it on flight with me and couldn't keep my hands off it. The language has a strong regional texture, and at 700 pages, it actually manages to stop your attention from wandering off into the distance. That is rare for me. I haven't had that kind of experience since Gone Girl. I don't expect Booker Prize winners to be gripping. I expect something more intellectual, a little lesson in structure and technique. Not that these weren't there, it's just so much more.

A sexist aside: I read a lot of male authors, and this is a shameful fact. So when I see a female author who has so much richness on offer, even at a slightly daunting 700 or so pages, I want to spread the word.

Non-Fiction: Man's Search for Meaning

I read this once, a long time ago when I was feeling a little lost and looking for signs from the universe, or how to read them. I wouldn't say this changed my life, that would be slightly dramatic and a lie. It's more a humble read from a humble man. It resets the mind and puts matters back into perspective where they belong. This is one of a few books that I would read again, to make sure that, as the title suggests, I look over at where I am, and that there is purpose and meaning built into the process. 

If you have excess time over Thanksgiving, and trust me not to mislead you, have a look at these. 

MEDITATION THROUGH PEER PRESSURE

Buddhist Stupa

My idea of discipline is eating half a bar of chocolate, waiting half an hour, and then eating the other half. It is of no surprise to anyone that I have been trying and failing to develop a meditation practice for the better part of a year now. 

There's a lot of information out there right now about how to turn your home into a temple, steps you can take to help you develop your home practice, and if you're looking for something of that nature, then this post is not for you. Because that kind of self-practice takes a degree of discipline that is in severely short supply.  I need to hold some discipline in reserve for my many other vices.

What I think is the easiest way to cultivate a practice is to go out of your home and find a meditation center* or a group of people who meditate together. What I look for is the meditative energy that can be found there, that I can draw into my own practice. I would otherwise hate to mention "energies" or "crystals" or, God forbid, "auras" but sometimes, the term just applies. I find it infinitely easier to drag myself to a separate place to meditate in the company of strangers than in my home. 

When doing something difficult, there is always that initial hump that has to be overcome before you can build sufficient momentum to get going. Going to a separate location is the equivalent of getting over that hump. 

Here is a concept that was explained to me by someone much wiser to demonstrate what meditation can do for you:

Your thoughts are key. Your thoughts are the bridge between your internal and external self. Thoughts are the messenger of what is not right in the mind.   

Externally, your thoughts lead to words, which lead to actions, leading to your habits, and eventually to your character, nature, and personality.  Thoughts --> actions --> habits --> character, nature, personality

Internally, thoughts lead to your awareness, which creates your experiences, and then your emotions and feelings.  Thoughts --> awareness --> experiences --> emotions and feelings 

Through meditation, you become aware of the content of your thoughts, and can eventually learn to direct which thoughts you want to grow, and which you want to fade away.  Whatever you pay attention to will grow, and what you ignore will fade away.

*Yes, these things exist. 

WEEKEND NOTES: EAST FORK CARSON RIVER

Walking towards the East Fork river

If you navigate your way through miles of desert, via foot or car, you will eventually reach the river, and just a ways beside the river, there is a stream blowing steam. When water from the spring mixes with water from the river, the temperature becomes perfect. Absolutely perfect. 

East Fork Carson River

Hot spring tributary at sunrise

ON REVOLUTION

"Revolutions have two phases: first comes a struggle for freedom, then a struggle for power. The first makes the human spirit soar and brings out the best in people. The second unleashes the worst: envy, intrigue, greed, suspicion and the urge for revenge."

- Adam Michik, Historian

FUN LINKS

Why I Can't Wait to be a Fat Bride

Oh, this is good. You see a man and a woman, together, in a bar. He's average height/weight and she's above average. In weight. You assume they're not together. How could they be? They're not in the same league. God forbid a man be attracted to this type of woman. God made women - to be thin. Or so the underlying rationale goes. I'm guilty of judging. I admit it. It's hard to stop. Call me out!   

The Undress

Damn and Blast! I am too late! This kickstarter has been completely funded. The idea, however, is still a good one. I admit from the name I initially thought this had to be sex related. But then I realized I was being an idiot, and that this dress is a valid solution to that weird practice of changing out of sweaty workout clothes.

How to be a Human Being on the Internet

A variety of topics addressed here: how do you portray yourself online? People tend to image manage under the guise of aesthetics and curating and personal branding. At what point does this become inauthentic? And what happens when you lose that spark, that initial driving passion for blogging, and for being an online presence? What do you do then? 

Very useful writing and grammar advice, courtesy of copy writer Benjamin Dreyer

You're welcome.

Home Organization Advice from Marie Kondo

Marie Kondo is the author of The Life Changing Magic of Tidying-Up. Which I am going to read. I myself am an ardent believer in minimalist living. There is something freeing about having less choices for the brain to process, so it can shift gears to dealing with more significant matters, perhaps?

Deep Cleansing Mud Mask Recipe

In my humble opinion, every once in awhile, it's good to scare people by putting on a mud mask. I'm going to try this one in the privacy of my home. 

WOULD YOU DITCH YOUR SMARTPHONE?

My Samsung phone, because I'm too cheap for an iPhone

Let me complete that thought - would you ever ditch your smartphone and go back to just a flip phone? 

No constant online access. No email checking, instagraming, facebook check-in. None of that, gone forever. I'm not saying to ditch the phone entirely, because you never know when you might need to call or text, but that's all you get to do. 

A few years ago, I got a smartphone, and it was a glorious. It encompassed a whole new set of skills, a different technological vocabulary. I watched endless youtube videos to see if I could figure out how to root it. It was the small start of a minor revolution. 

Jump forward a few years, and smart phones are no longer de rigueur, but the norm. Everyone has one. Everyone's mom* has one. Most people have an iPhone. People gather in the dark, camping overnight, for a phone. Whenever I ride bus, I'm one of the few people looking around. Everyone else is riding on digital waves, cocooned between headphones, fingers gaming, eyes fixed to screens. Lately, I've seen people with an entire laptop, clicking away like they're alone at home. Except for the small fact that it's rush hour and they're on a bus. Next to me. That corporate logo looks great, BTW.    

Is this a bad thing?

That's the obvious question. Good or bad? Well, I'm not going to talk about whether throwing your smartphone in the eTrash is good or bad. If you want a straightforward case study, that's better handled by this article. There, that should scare some sense into you. 

No, what appeals to me is the idea of keeping a part of you, to you. Of being free. Smartphones, while providing endless fun and enjoyment, are also a personal anvil. I know it weighs less than a pound. That's not what I'm talking about. Here are all the ways I've compromised my life for my phone: Sprint offers pissy, piss-poor reception, and I have wasted countless hours of my sanity waiting for lame images to load. I always have to think about keeping my phone charged. I have an external battery that I carry around "just in case," which happens to mean every single day. There are only three major phone plan providers out there: Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Most of the other carriers run on the network of one of the big three. I will always be beholden** to one of these three corporate giants. Even if I get a flip phone. There's no avoiding it. However, there is an associated mentality that goes along with being beholden, the belief that a phone, particularly a smart phone, is a "necessity." Electricity, a flushing toilet, and a roof are necessities. A smart phone need not be. 

What I've also noticed with the advent of the Age of the iPhone is that I know too much about most people. It's human nature to be inquisitive. There was at one point an evolutionary imperative to be nosy. Now, however, we are drowning in personal information. It almost makes every individual piece of information, every picture, less valuable if you know another picture is soon to be coming down the pike. There are no room left for mystery. i guess the proper question here is: how well do you want others to know you? How about complete strangers? I know we live in a world of personal branding. You put your name next to your product, and you stand by it. I personally want only a small group of people to know me, and that's all. I've never wanted to know more about the author of the book I was reading. I respected them too much.

The third point, is to ditch your smart phone as an act of social defiance. That's all. Everyone else is doing this, so why should I follow where countless others have gone before? It's the path of the creative mind to move outside of established patterns, sometimes to move backward when others are charging forward, and to question in the face of overriding truth. 

My phone contract's not up yet. But I'm thinking hard about this idea. I'm not sure if I have the strength.***

* Except mine. It's a point of pride.

** Beholden, AKA paying a monthly fee

** So I will read this one more time: The Coolest Girl You Know Probably Uses a Flip Phone

LI NA'S RETIREMENT LETTER

Li Na, tennis champion

"When I started playing tennis, I was just a neighborhood kid with an after-school hobby, not realizing what magical journey lay ahead of me. If I only knew what a vehicle the sport of tennis, along with my success, would become for my beloved China. While my journey hasn’t been easy, it has been rewarding. I’ve seen change happening in front of my eyes, young girls picking up tennis racquets, setting goals, following their hearts and believing in themselves. I hope that I’ve had the opportunity to inspire young women all over China to believe in themselves, to set their goals high and pursue them with vengeance and self-belief.

Whether you want to be a tennis player, a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher or a business leader, I urge you to believe in yourself and follow your dream. If I could do it, you can too! Be the bird that sticks out. With hard work, your dreams will come true."

- Li Na, reigning Australian Open winner

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR LORENE STUNSON HILL

Haunted Hotel, England

What inspires you? 

Boredom inspires me. It began in High School, I use to get bored during Summer Recess from School. To pass time, I hand wrote a novel each summer. But, lacking confidence, I threw each one away as soon as School started again. 

Secondly, searching for a sense of accomplishment is my biggest inspiration. Unfortunately, I tend to write better when I’m down and I write to bring myself up. For example, in 2007, emerging from homelessness, I lived in an old historic relic of a hotel that was known to be haunted. Many of its residents were “put” there by Social Services or on drugs. Residents paid by the week so, for many it was a revolving door. I stayed locked up in my apartment raising my one year old Grandson, whose Mom abandoned him. Writing my recently released novel, 'To Dance with Ugly People,' was my escape and it made my life rich and rewarding. I felt in touch with a higher power while writing this book, which was my third inspiration. 

I’d pray for where to go next, having reached writer’s block, and I promise you the answer would pop into my head during the night. This novel brought me to a new divine awareness. I realized I had experienced a lot in life that had left me strewn and unsettled; the book brought about the resurgence of a strong feeling of cohesion, for me. I could feel my heart glow with excitement and enthusiasm as I wrote this book. 

Who inspires me? 

I have loved the written word my whole life. I have attended lectures and readings by Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, and Sonia Sanchez. I’d shed tears of admiration sitting in the Audience. Ntozake Shange, Alice Walker, Terry McMillan and Alice Walker are among others I have admired.

What are you passionate about doing? 

I am passionate about writing. I keep a notebook and pen in my purse, in every room and on the table beside my bed. I’ve started my second book. It is a sequel to, “To Dance with Ugly People,” titled “Ugly People Can’t Dance.” I am also passionate about dollhouses. I build them from kits. I shop on Ebay for miniature furniture, I paint the rooms with paint sample from Walmart. I make tiny curtains, shingle the roofs, place shutters, lay carpet, you name it. Once finished I give them away to a needy little girl.

How do you express your interests? 

In the middle of the night when the house is quiet and everyone asleep, I write. Sometimes I go to bed with a question on my mind, and the answer pops into my head. I jump up and write it down. I am retired, so I am able to take cat naps during the day. When I am working on my dollhouses, I think about the story I am writing.

How do you stay inspired? 

Listening for little sayings people use. For instance, I met an older lady who would say, “Don’t Dance with Ugly People!” every time we parted. That memory was my inspiration for my book title, “To Dance with Ugly People.” 

I am a people watcher. I am very quiet in a room full of people because I am listening so hard. Even a trip to the grocery store, has me nosily listening to every conversation I can. Phrases, Hints, Character names, Ideas (if it hits my ear right) gives me something I may be able to use. Day to day I am writing down my favorite things I have heard and I put in an hour a day, at least, writing. My son calls my writing a crossword puzzle. He is right. I might be writing something that is used in Chapter 10 today and haven't completed 1 through 9. I eventualy move everything around, put in some fill in and have a completed novel. I can't explain it any other way. 


The interview series comes from talking with creative types who want to share what what they do, what their interests are, and what inspires them, in the hopes of inspiring creative energy in others. If you have something to say that is if interest to others, feel free to submit.

VIKTOR FRANKL ON THE SEARCH FOR MEANING

"Being human always points, and is directed, to something or someone, other than oneself -- be it a meaning to fulfill or another human being to encounter. The more one forgets himself -- by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love -- the more human he is."

SIDE CHARACTERS: PERSON OF INTEREST'S SHAW AND ROOT

Sameen Shaw and Root

To begin on a note of complete disclosure, I had zero interest in the show Person of Interest when it first premiered. Zero. Two men: one has the brains, one the brawn, working together. Sound familiar? On the one hand, it seemed to involve slightly more creativity than most other shows. It didn't revolve around the usual trifecta of cops/lawyers/doctors (shows so formulaic they have been driven into the ground, resurrected, and then ground down even further until there was absolutely nothing left to explore). It also wasn't a drama centered around a quirky family. These were positive elements in the show's favor - not enough to rope me in, but vaguely hypothetically interesting, like String Theory. One of a long list of concepts that you can't even be bothered to google.  

Now, shoot to this week: I'm channel surfing, and I've been feeling sexist. It's an unsettling feeling: that sense that you don't gravitate naturally towards your own gender. I don't like shows for women. I don't like quirky female characters that suffer romantic setbacks and have their relationships, their proximity to a man, as their defining characteristic. I've never discussed interesting female characters before, and this is a trend that needs to be broken. 

There are some good female lead characters out there: any of the clones on Orphan Black, Carrie from Homeland (although a little too emotionally overwrought). I want a female that leads with her head instead of following her heart. Towards a man. Towards a never ending series of sunsets and heartache (See The Bachelorette).

So, there I was, channel surfing on prime time because I don't have cable, for something that wasn't so offensive that I could make dinner without having to run over to change the channel. And there it was: women double fisting guns, women kicking ass. Two of them. One slightly sociopathic (Shaw) and one devoted to a computerized Messiah (Root). Both of them appear to be ambidextrous when it came to handling semiautomatics - this show is mesmerizingly violent - and this is key - they're fun to watch. They breathe life into the show, and it's because they're having fun. They're breaking one of the subtle female onscreen stereotypes, that women are always supposed to be serious. Hyper focused. On their work, on the crisis, on their careers, and basically on not having any fun. Do you ever notice that 99% of the time, female characters have rods up their bums? They're sensible, sensitive, ready to get the job done, always empathetic. In a way, that makes them predictable, and in the long run, that makes them uninteresting. 

I wish legions of people weren't getting shot all over the streets of New York every week on this show. That's a minor complaint. Ironically, I'm becoming more and more sensitive to violent imagery the more I'm exposed to it. But I'm glad Shaw and Root exist.