I feel a little bad about doing this. So don’t take it as me calling out this specific company – I really want to hope and think they are well-intentioned but thoughtless of consequences. UPDATE! They responded to my tweet, took down their initial contest tweet on Twitter, but when I went back to check… Read More All that, and You aren’t even Exposed
I’ve been lucky enough in my life to have met some men and women I’d call heroes. All of them, to a soul, would reject that appellation. That’s part of the charm, to be honest. Self-aware heroics… aren’t. They were, they will tell you if they are willing to talk about it at all, just… Read More Big Damn Heroes
I’ve been making joy in my life, recently. I have always tried for this, and there’s been seasons it was a lot harder to do than others. This one? It’s pretty easy, to be honest. The sun is shining, as it is more days than not here in Texas. Sure, it’s hot out there, but… Read More Joyful Outlook
On the gripping hand from my earlier post today, there’s this: I really believe in true charity. The word can be translated as love, and sometimes the best way you can love and help someone is cold hard cash. Sometimes good people get into bad situations. Also, I am a woman of faith, and part… Read More Good Stewardship
I found myself doomscrolling this morning and made myself stop. I think it’s time for another break from social media, or at the very least limit my interactions there severely – I can’t cut it out entirely as I’ve set up things like my daily art groups, and a writing group, and this keeps me… Read More InHuman
The repercussions from this could be… interesting. Don’t get me wrong. I’m actually in favor of this concept (more work for me and my ilk), but it’s so vague there is going to be a lot of difficulty figuring it out. And the potential ripple effect will be disruptive, to put it politely. The… Read More Drop a Pebble in the Drug Vat…
Now that song is going to be stuck in my head all day. I took a photo this spring, in one of the conservancy prairies around Dayton OH, and looking at the final edits got me thinking. Not about the song. No, I was thinking about loneliness, and friendship, and the connections every human needs… Read More Lonely Birdhouse in My Soul
This was originally published on Sarah Hoyt’s blog just before the First Reader and I were wed, five years ago now. The final line was what we spoke as we leaped a sword together, in symbolism of severing ties with our pasts while clinging to one another for the rest of our lives. Marriage… Read More Anniversary Day
Although the scythe isn’t pre-eminent among the weapons of war, anyone who has been on the wrong end of, say, a peasants’ revolt will know that in skilled hands it is fearsome. –Terry Pratchett I was catching up on reading Lawdog’s blog just a day or so ago, and the linked post resonated with me.… Read More Keep the Home Fires Burning
One of the biggest challenges I face as a science fiction writer – and one of the biggest reasons I tend to write Space Opera rather than Hard SF – is staying ahead of the science. As a scientist, most of my work is very industrial. I’m not in research, nothing bleeding-edge is going on… Read More Putting the Story in Science
The Ginja Ninja approached me recently to ask a question. She has a friend, she explained to me, who may need someplace to stay for a while. Her friend struggles with mental illness, her friend’s parents don’t believe in mental illness, and as her friend turns 18, she may find herself on the street as… Read More The Disordered Brain
I’m going to share a part of my friend Richard Hailey’s blog on the Gillette Ad. Coming right on the heels of my own take, he’s taken the time to thoughtfully dissect the ad’s scenes, and he’s hit the nail on the head when he calls it propaganda, and why. I highly recommend you follow… Read More Male Propaganda