Sunday Summary & #ROW80
27 May 2012 12 Comments
in ROW80, Sunday Summary Tags: Amy Shojai, blog, blogging, books, challenges, Ciara Knight, e-books, Escapement, exercise, Facebook, Goodreads, health, Judy Dunn, Kristin Nador, link mashup, Nadja Notariani, Raelyn Barclay, readers, reading, tagline, The Third Fate, Triberr, Twitter, Weighted, writers, writing
It’s a three-day weekend…which used to be so much more exciting when I was in school or worked outside the home, LOL.
Happy Memorial Day!
Sending out a huge Thank You to all military men and women, and their families!
- The Writing: I continued to lurk in my class this week. Internet was out all day Thursday so I was able to catch up on some of my assignments though the intermittent outages on Friday and Saturday have kept me from loading them to the class forum thus far.
- The Reading: Currently, I’m reading Nadja Notariani’s The Third Fate
. Nadja is kicking off the summer by offering this gem for 99 cents! Come on, you know you want to.
- Squee! I’m taking part in spreading some cover reveal goodness today. Weighted by Ciara Knight is a young adult post-apocalyptic (with paranormal elements) novelette. With this prequel novelette, releasing August 2012, Knight introduces us to The Neumarian Chronicles. Book I, Escapement, is due for release in 2013.
Here’s the blurb:
The Great War of 2185 is over, but my nightmare has just begun. I am being held captive in the Queen’s ship awaiting interrogation. My only possible ally is the princess, but I’m unsure if she is really my friend or a trap set by the Queen to fool me into sharing the secret of my gift. A gift I keep hidden even from myself. It swirls inside my body begging for release, but it is the one thing the Queen can never discover. Will I have the strength to keep the secret? I’ll know the answer soon. If the stories are true about the interrogators, I’ll either be dead or a traitor to my people by morning.
Here’s the cover:
Love it! You can even add this to your Goodreads list. - The Blogging: Again, nothing added to the queue and my cushion is getting smaller…yikes. For the most part, I think I hit my comment/share goals with the exception of Thursday.
- Following a link in Amy Shojai’s Monday Mention post took me to 7 Keys to Blogging on a Consistent Basis by Kristin Nador. That post in turn led me to 4 Ways to Define Your Audience and The Hollywood Guide to a Better Blog Tagline. Holy smokes! So much fabulous info. Does your blog have a tagline? Does it describe your blog, or what you want your blog to say? I know mine doesn’t. I better get to work
- The Social Media: I think this went fairly well but like last week I was really bad about tracking things. Lack of internet didn’t help at all…yes, I’m one of those who doesn’t have a phone to help me out in this area. Most of the time, I’m rather glad.
- The Health: Back on track this week. Yay. The walking of the dog was still a bit hit and miss but we did get out three mornings. I actually met my water goal five of the last seven days. The more I do it the easier it becomes, or so I keep telling myself.
- To support the awesomeness that is ROW80 you can go HERE
Meet the Cards: Ace of Earth
24 May 2012 6 Comments
in Meet the Cards, Tarot Tags: Ace of Pentacles, Ace of Swords, brainstorming, Capricorn, character development, Corrine Kenner, Earth, elements, Joanna Powell Colbert, Meet the Cards, numbers, numerology, one, plotting, Raelyn Barclay, recommended reads, tarot, Tarot for Writers, Taurus, Virgo, writers, writing
Earth is all aspects of life: birth, life, death, and rebirth. In most decks this would be the Ace [1] of Pentacles or Coins. Typically depicted by a left hand (symbolizing receptivity) holding a coin.
What I See:
All right, all at once…awww!
A very earthy card with the greens and browns. As a mammal, the fawn is the only animal depicted on the aces that stays close to home after birth to be nurtured by its mother. On a human level, we probably also relate more with the fawn than the other animals we’ve seen thus far. Babies are born, nurse from their mothers, are encouraged to take those first steps out into the world, and are ‘picked up’ when they fall.
To me, I get a sense of innocence from this card, much more so than the others. Is it the huge eyes? There’s wonder too. I imagine those ears swinging back and forth to pick up all the sounds of the forest, perhaps trying to figure out what made the rustling in the leaves just out of the frame.
General Earth element/Pentacles suit:
- Keywords: Money, Material World, Property, Inheritance, Wealth, Business, Possessions, Savings, Talents, Training, Education, Study, Time, Giving and Receiving, Profit and Loss, Tangible Reality, Work, Values, Mother Nature, Emotional Security, Sensual Pleasure, and Rewards.
- Style: Drying, Cracking, Materializing, Stabilizing, Crystallizing, and Solidifying.
- Jungian Function: Sensing
Light (upright) Reading:
Good fortune or health may be coming your way.
- Keywords: Tangible Beginnings, Prosperity, Comfort, and Reward.
Shadow (upside down or reverse) Reading:
Beware of being out of touch with your body.
- Keywords: Greed, Miserliness, Possessiveness, and Materialism.
Plots:
The Ace of Earth represents a new beginning on a physical level. Perhaps your story focuses on someone entering the world of sports for the first time. Or training for that big event. What about someone getting a new lease on life? Recovering from an illness. Recovering from an addiction. Maybe they are taking on an active — physical — role in their own life story for the first time.
All Aces represent the potential for creation. Perhaps you story involves a pregnancy. Perhaps a new idea is conceived.
This is the Earth card, stories about conservation, habitat, and Earth deities come to mind. Perhaps your character has inherited land. Pentacles also represent money…a new career, a promotion, an investment.
Traditionally, the pentacle is shown with a five-pointed star design on it. Each point stands for a sense and the circle of the coin unites them. What about a magic coin? Or lucky penny? According to Tarot for Writers
- Ace Themes: Beginning, Potential, Opportunity, Conception, Birth, or Elemental Energy.
Characters:
Of the four creatures on the aces, only the fawn stays close to home to be nursed by its mother. You are a nurturer or are receiving nurturing from others.
- Suit Archetype/Feudal Class: Merchants, Business, and Professional class.
Additionally, look up one of the Earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) for personality traits.
For more information on the Aces in general, please refer back to the Ace of Air.
Image: Gaian Tarot
Do Robots Have Souls? with Terry Persun
22 May 2012 15 Comments
in Guest Post Tags: authors, Barn Tarot, blog, blogging, Cathedral of Dreams, guest blogger, Raelyn Barclay, readers, reading, robots, Sweet Song, Terry Persun, The Soul of a New Machine, Tracy Kidder, Wall-e
I met Terry through a Goodreads group and had the honor of working with him on a project. It’s with great pleasure I welcome Terry Persun as today’s guest blogger.
Take it away Terry.
~ * ~
Do Robots Have Souls?
For anyone who has read The Soul of A New Machine
Let’s say that you believe that only humans have a soul. That animals and plants and insects and fish all live a soulless life. If that’s what you believe, then we’re done with this question. But, if you can assume that anything that is alive has a soul, then we may be getting somewhere. Now we only have to decide whether or not a robot (or other machine) is alive.
Don’t use the old “pull the plug and it stops” excuse here. Bears hibernate for months, some fish can be frozen over the winter and be thawed and then live again. If robots had batteries, they could slow their systems (or sleep, as my computer does if I leave it alone for a long time) and “wake up” when needed again. Life can be measured in a lot of different ways, but truth be told, it’s only alive or dead dependent on what rules we place on the explanation. Plus, solar energy could keep robots working, or we could devise a protein generator similar to our own human one.
If I were to say that anything that can perform the physical act of movement is alive, then a robot may be alive and a tree may not be. It’s all in how things are defined. So, I’m going to say that everything—rocks, bugs, fish, the kitchen table—has a soul. There, according to this definition, a robot has a soul. I may need to redefine what a soul is, but that’s just another way I choose to look at it.
It’s like a lot of the questions we ask ourselves. We get to change the answer based on our definitions. Politicians are good at this sort of thing. “If they’re not with us, they are against us.” Yeah, no room for a neutral party there. And no room for any gradation. It’s all digital: yes or no. I look at how we classify animals and think that we could have adjusted our classifications any number of ways. Animals that walk on two legs and animals that walk on four…or six, or eight.
We could say that Robots that are used for human interactions have souls and those that are merely used to carry out a particular function do not have souls. Maybe the robot as a whole has a soul, but each component has no soul. So, I might have a soul, but if my arm is cut off, it doesn’t have a soul separately. Whole things have souls, but not parts of things. And if that’s true, then a tree might have a soul, but the branches we trim from it don’t, and the leaves that fall don’t have souls either.
If I were to answer this question, though, based on my own beliefs, I’d say that everything has a soul in some way or another. I like to think that everything folds back into the Earth and is changed. Like scientists believe about energy: it can be changed, but it is always present.
Fun things to think about, for sure, but I doubt we’ll ever have a true answer that can be proven.
What do you think? Do robots have souls?
~ * ~
In Newcity, everyone is content. Bad feelings are not allowed, because your monitoring chip will alert the police to bring you in for treatment. Getting better is mandatory. Unchecked emotions made the world outside Newcity dangerous, unruly, and violent. At least that’s the official story in Newcity. Keith knows something is wrong. Strange visions lead him to become one of the few who escapes Newcity. He finds freedom and companionship outside, but pressure building to revolt against the city’s insidious regime of social control. Leadership is thrust upon him, with only his visions for guidance, only a small band of friends for support—and the fates of both Newcity and the outside world at stake. Cathedral of Dreams is a compelling tale of a dystopian future and personal heroism.
An archetypal American story of self-discovery, set against the turmoil of post – Civil War America, Sweet Song tells the story of the mixed race son of a white landowner and a black house servant. Leon, raised black but an outcast from both cultures, finds himself suddenly on his own — and passing for white. Wrestling with a divided heritage in a world where honesty, even with friends, might prove fatal, he falls in with dispossessed thieves, mill workers, saloon keepers, musicians, businessmen, thugs, freedom loving idealists and malevolent racists — a vivid panorama from America’s past. This tender, raw, provocative novel speaks from the heart about where we’ve come from and who we are.
Bio: Terry Persun is a full-time writer, with two published poetry collections: Every Leaf and Barn Tarot
Persun’s latest novel, Cathedral of Dreams
Meet the Cards: Ace of Water
17 May 2012 4 Comments
in Meet the Cards, Tarot Tags: Ace of Cups, Ace of Swords, brainstorming, Cancer, character development, elements, Joanna Powell Colbert, Meet the Cards, numbers, numerology, one, Pisces, plotting, Raelyn Barclay, Scorpio, tarot, Water, writers, writing
Water can heal and purify. In most decks this would be the Ace [1] of Cups or Chalices. Typically depicted by a left hand (symbolizing receptivity) holding an overflowing chalice balanced on the palm.
What I See:
Aw, this card makes me think of the Pacific NW. The salmon struggle upstream, returning to where it was born, just to give birth. It was an amazing thing to watch the fish swimming up the ladder at Bonneville Dam. This card is a calm one to me with its soothing blues and greens. We have a quiet pool of water making me think of mediation. We see the salmon eggs, some newly hatched fish, and a fingerling. Those speak to me of birth, infancy, and toddlers exploring their world. I get a sense of the circle of life when I think about the salmon. Salmon journey out to the ocean yet find their way back to the stream where they were born just to start the circle again.
General Water element/Cups suit:
- Keywords: Emotions, Moods, Affections, Artistic Abilities, Creativity, Nurturance, Love, Relationships, Empathy, Intuition, Sensitivity, Dreams, Fantasies, Comfort, Soothing, Flowing, Healing, Counseling, Psychic Abilities, Receptive, Yielding, Secretive, Merging, and Fantasy.
- Style: Flowing, Expanding, Diffusing, and Loving.
- Jungian Function: Feeling or Intuition
Light (upright) Reading:
Trust in your heart’s wisdom.
- Keywords: Birth, Abundance, Spiritual Love, and Joy.
Shadow (upside down or reverse) Reading:
Beware of mistrusting your intuition.
- Keywords: Unrequited Love, Melancholy, Abstinence, and Denial.
Plots:
The Ace of Water represents a new beginning on an emotional level. Perhaps your story is about a new love or friendship. How about a tale about a sea creature, real or mythical? Perhaps your story is one of reflection, getting back to nature, or coming full circle.
What about the Fountain of Youth? Or a Holy Grail type quest? How about voyage?
All Aces represent the potential for creation. Perhaps you story involves a pregnancy. Perhaps a new idea is conceived.
Perhaps more than the other aces, the Ace of Water can indicate pregnancy, think of the womb and how a baby is housed in amniotic fluid. In traditional Ace of Cups images there is often a dove symbolizing the spirit, the cup as a feminine symbol for the womb, thus the joining of a spirit with a physical body.
- Ace Themes: Beginning, Potential, Opportunity, Conception, Birth, or Elemental Energy.
Characters:
Follow the shaman’s journey of descent and return.
- Suit Archetype/Feudal Class: Clergy and Priestly class.
Additionally, look up one of the Water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) for personality traits.
For more information on the Aces in general, please refer back to the Ace of Air.
Image: Gaian Tarot
Are #Tattoos Sexy?
15 May 2012 26 Comments
in General Tags: Celtic, Danica Avet, Honky Tonk Badonkadonk, music, Pat Fish, Raelyn Barclay, Scotland, sexy, tattoos, The Triple Goddess, Trace Adkins, videos, Wendy Andrew
If you’d asked me that question 20-25 years ago, the answer would have been no. At that point in time the only connection I had with tattoos was a co-worker who was ex-military and an ex-state trooper…and he was COVERED. Not in intricate sleeves but random designs that ran into one another from his wrists to his shoulders. I suspect he had even more than I, as a co-worker, was privy to.
Then I got out in the world more 
Which is kinda funny because by the time I’d met said co-worker, I’d already sowed my ‘wild oats’ via partying, bar hopping, etc. by age 21 (I was legal where I lived due to a law change and my date of birth falling under the grandfather cause). I’d been introduced to a gay bar, where my sister was thought to be my date, LOL. And closed the honky tonk bar more times than I can count…the truck stop had the BEST breakfasts! No DUI for me.
Sorry…where was I?
Right. Getting out into the world. Or maybe getting older? Perhaps the stigma lessened. Danica Avet even posted about the tattoo debate recently (which is similar to an experience I had over Easter weekend, LOL). Or seeing sexy men with hot tattoos. There’s something of the ‘bad boy’ in a man sporting a tattoo. Whatever the reason, I started liking tattoos. I started thinking of tattoos as SEXY.
Then I started thinking I’d like to GET one!
Source: Wendy Andrew
Of course, tattoos are hugely personal. Certainly not something to enter into lightly. In the end, I think a well-thought out tattoo is SEXY.
How about you? Do you find tattoos sexy? Do you have one? Or do you want to get one?
Sunday Summary & #ROW80
13 May 2012 31 Comments
in ROW80, Sunday Summary Tags: Amber West, animals, blog, blogging, books, challenges, dogs, e-books, Elena Aitken, exercise, Facebook, Gene Lempp, guinea pigs, Jami Gold, Jane Friedman, link mashup, mice, Natalie Hartford, pets, Raelyn Barclay, readers, reading, Steena Holmes, Terry Persun, Triberr, Twitter, writers, writing
Happy Mother’s Day
- The Writing: The muse is back but she’s sulking in the corner. Apparently, she didn’t appreciate Gene Lempp’s muse coming after her with a flaming sword. I’m not sure I have much sympathy which is probably not helping her out of the corner. :ducks: Great, now she’s throwing things at me. Ideas, please! Words and sentences. :ducks: Not… What is this? A spit ball?! :sigh:
- Earlier this week, Jami Gold posed an interesting question, Does every scene need a goal? It’s a fabulous post I’ve found myself returning to (and following the links) this week.
- The Reading: Natalie Hartford pointed me to an amazing new blog serial Tell Me a Story by Amber West.
- In honor of Mother’s Day, Elena Aitken and Steena Holmes are offering some e-Book specials.
- The Blogging: Check with the initial goal. Check with the updated goal. Almost at four weeks scheduled not counting these posts. I’m cheating a bit with having two guest posts coming up this month but I’ll take it.
- Speaking of guest posts, coming up on Tuesday the 22nd, IPPY award winner, Terry Persun will be here posing an interesting question about robots…and souls. Be sure to check back and weigh in on the conversation.
- The Social Media: I do believe I can say “check” here. I had non-post related updates on both Twitter and Facebook. Sharing has gone well. And I even had a conversation…gasp.
- I’ve been struggling with what to do about Facebook. Currently, I have an “author” profile and “fan” page, plus a personal profile. Earlier this week I followed a link on Facebook to Jane Friedman’s 5 Principles for Using Facebook post. Great info! I plan to sit down, read through her posts on the subject, and perhaps revamp my presence on Facebook.
- The Health: Water…5 glasses per day average. Sugar reduction…down to less than a tablespoon on average per day (from all sources). I’m pretty comfortable with that when I look at where I was when I started this process. Caffeine reduction…I managed to cross off 2 drinks all but 2 days this week. Dog walking hit a bit of a road block. Well, damaged knee block. Last weekend, much emotional drama was endured, which I’ve been asked not to go into here. Needless to say, our menagerie grew with the addition of…
Sonic
and…
Neptune and Poseidon
I have no idea what the God of the Sea has to do with mice but #3 was adamant about the names. (I’m also not sure how he can tell them apart!) It was the digging out of the old gerbil cage from the bowels of the garage :cough: storage area that I banged, wrenched, or otherwise mucked up the ol’ knee.
Plus side, oldest wee beastie has started taking the dog out for runs most evenings.
- To support the awesomeness that is ROW80 you can go HERE
Meet the Cards: Ace of Fire
10 May 2012 4 Comments
in Meet the Cards, Tarot Tags: Ace of Swords, Ace of Wands, Aries, brainstorming, character development, elements, Fire, Joanna Powell Colbert, Leo, Meet the Cards, numbers, numerology, one, plotting, Raelyn Barclay, Sagittarius, tarot, writers, writing
Fire can bring about new life or destroy the old. In most decks this would be the Ace [1] of Wands. Typically depicted by a right hand (symbolizing action) holding a wooden staff or wand aloft.
What I See:
Blah. Not real thrilled with a snake. However, there is a feeling of curiosity or of meeting the world for the first time. I’m reminded of the wonder at seeing the world through the eyes of a child. We see the fire element in the sparks shooting up into the blackness of night in the background. I imagine a crackling fire and am reminded of the creativity the element symbolizes.
General Fire element/Wands suit:
- Keywords: Career, Creativity, Faith, Growth, Ideas, Innovation, Projects, Innovation, Risk, Energy, Action, Enthusiasm, Optimism, Desire, Passion, Perception, Determination, Will, Defiant, Defensive, Daring, Ecstatic, Pride, Ego, and Restlessness.
- Style: Exploding, Activating, and Inspiring.
- Jungian Function: Intuition or Feeling
Light (upright) Reading:
You have discovered a new way of expression.
- Keywords: New Beginnings, Inspiration, Innovation, and Virility.
Shadow (upside down or reverse) Reading:
Preferring to stay where you are, you fear change.
- Keywords: Selfishness, Poor Planning, Deflation, and Anger.
Plots:
The Ace of Fire represents a new beginning on a spiritual level. Perhaps your story is about the seminary or a shaman. The wand can be a phallic symbol. Perhaps your story involves the need to procreate.
All Aces represent the potential for creation. Perhaps you story involves a pregnancy. Perhaps a new idea is conceived.
You could take a more sinister path. The wand could be a wooden club, a weapon. A poisonous snake. A fire raging out of control.
How about a magic wand? Or maybe, just maybe, that’s not a snake emerging from that egg but a dragon…
- Ace Themes: Beginning, Opportunity, Conception, Birth, Potential, or Elemental Energy.
Characters:
Shed the old and embrace the new, like a snake sheds its skin.
- Suit Archetype/Feudal Class: Peasant or Servant Class.
Additionally, look up one of the Fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) for personality traits.
For more information on the Aces in general, please refer back to the Ace of Air.
Image: Gaian Tarot
Tuesday Book Talk
08 May 2012 17 Comments
in Tuesday Book Talk Tags: books, e-books, Raelyn Barclay, readers, reading
Open Thread for Readers:
- Got a book you want to talk about?
- Frustrated with a book or series?
- In love with a new one?
- Found a buried treasure?
- An issue that keeps popping up in the books you are reading?
- Just want to chat about stuff in general?
- Post away…
Sunday Summary & #ROW80
06 May 2012 38 Comments
in ROW80, Sunday Summary Tags: blog, blogging, challenges, Ciara Knight, dogs, exercise, Facebook, Getting Back to Basics, health, Joely Sue Burkhart, Life List Club, link mashup, Margie Lawson, Maria Zannini, Raelyn Barclay, readers, reading, Rise From Darkness, Roni Loren, Sherry Isaac, Triberr, Twitter, writers, writing, Yours to Take
- The Writing: Still muse-less. I’ve done some morning pages but nothing is being unlocked. I’ve done some work on blog posts. So not a completely writing free week. Since nothing is speaking to me, I decided a class was in order. I started The Art of Developing Great Conflict through Margie Lawson’s Academy on Friday. Unfortunately, my muse-less state is making the very first exercise a challenge!
- Roni Loren had a fabulous post on her pre-writing steps which I loved as it feels a lot like what I do but more.
- The Reading: I read Rise From Darkness (Battle for Souls)
by Ciara Knight. I’d picked it up when it was first released but hadn’t got around to reading it. Then I recommended it to my niece and was grilled for details, LOL. So I read. Still haven’t decided on a craft book but I think the above mentioned class counts.
- My friend and mentor, Joely Sue Burkhart has a new release coming out on Tuesday, book three in the Connaghers series. Yours to Take
is Vicki’s story. And oh what a story. Additionally, Joely will be stopping by the blog later in the month. Squee!
- The Blogging: Check with the initial goal (blog 3 times a week, comment on at least 3 blogs per day, and 2 new blogs each week). And Check with the new goal of writing and scheduling a post toward my month’s worth of posts.
- Speaking of blogs, my friend and mentor, Maria Zannini has started a new blog about Getting Back to Basics. She’s going to have tips on budgets, saving on groceries, shopping garage sales, and many, many more subjects.
- The Social Media: Not so good on the conversation or non-blog related updates end of this goal. I’m feeling rather uninteresting at the moment, LOL. I’m pretty sure I meet the sharing part though.
- The Health: I think I averaged 5 glasses of water a day. As we’ve already jumped above 100 for a few days this year, I really need to focus on getting up to 8 glasses, minimum, and maintaining. Sugar reduction is going a lot easier than I expected. Perhaps because it’s a reduction not a deletion. So using the same mindset, I’m going to add reducing the caffeine as well. I probably drink 6 to 8 caffeinated beverages a day, not counting other caffeine sources. Dog walking went pretty well. We got in 3 quality walks (25 minutes each) plus 2 meet the kids at the bus stop/park kind of walks. Still aiming for the quality walks every morning, baby steps, then increasing the length of time of those morning walks.
- The Life List Club blog is full of uplifting and supportive posts. This week’s offering is from Sherry Isaac, Weigh the Method, Relish the Outcome, and I was struck by the question “are you ‘disturbed’ enough to effect the change?”
- To support the awesomeness that is ROW80 you can go HERE
