by Sara on September 2, 2010
A Cardinal’s True Calling
This is the story of one cardinal bird
Who answered a calling that only she heard.
She was independent; a strong little thing
Who refused the sweet songs she was told to sing.
She felt like the child of a cuckoo, sitting alone,
Just waiting until her cover was blown.
Her family tried to bring her in line,
But she told them, “No, my life is mine!”
So, off she flew from her childhood home,
Because she decided there’s a world to roam.
She traveled to many places, saw many things.
Birds of magnificent colors; they wore tiny foot rings.
In Laos, she found her family, though not one of birth.
They taught her to see her beauty and worth.
They sang her a melody that pierced her heart,
And she knew she could no longer play a false part.
She got the courage to return to her flock.
When they saw her, they all fell over in shock!
Gone were the feathers that once covered her head.
Disliking what she’d become, they treated her as dead.
She laughed at their horror for she’d accepted her new look.
She’d be who she was meant to, regardless of what it took.
She lived her dream and flew high with pride.
She liked her choice; there was no need to hide.
You see, she had found her true identity.
It was the lovely Barefaced Bulbul she was meant to be:~)
The small print:~)This site officially supports the protection of all animals, except scary spiders that run at you, alligators, snakes...well, almost all animals. Please be aware that no birds were harmed in the taking of this picture:~)
My Challenge
Since I forgot that last Thursday was THE LAST Thursday of the month, I did not put up my poetry challenge poem as promised.
Instead, you were treated to The Exception’s wonderful guest post, The Passport to Travel Home. Personally, I think you got a better bargain in that deal. If you didn’t read TE’s post, please do so and take time to drop by her site for a visit:~)
Since I didn’t’ meet my obligation, I decided my challenge this week would be to put up two poems this time. So, you get my version of a limerick.
Cuttlefish Limerick
The dish that was cuttlefish
There was a nicely hidden Cuttlefish,
Who thought crab was just a tremendous dish.
With his colorful glow,
he put on quite a show
and became the dish of another fish.
The Challenge
I’m not letting you off the hook just because this is my Poetry Challenge Day:~) So, here’s your challenge question:
These two poems have several things in common. One thing, however, links them together and helps you understand the poem better.
Can you guess what it is and how it helps the reader understand the poem better?
by Sara on August 30, 2010
Movie Frames
When I look at this picture of my cat, it makes me think of a movie. Aggie looks poised for action and it makes me wonder what the next frame of this movie will be.
In movies, the term “frame” is used to refer a series of individual images, which when put together in succession, create the sense of motion. As the frames progress rapidly, what we see appears seamless.
According to Wikipedia, “The viewer cannot see the flickering between frames due to an effect known as persistence of vision, whereby the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been removed. Viewers perceive motion due to a psychological effect called beta movement.”
The Challenge
Today’s challenge is to look at this picture of Aggie and tell me about the movie this frame is from. Here are some questions to consider in describing the movie:
- What type of movie is this? Is it Science Fiction, Drama, Musical, Action, Romantic Comedy or another type?
- If you were the director, how would you get Aggie to cooperate with you?
- What period of time does this movie take place?
- What costume does Aggie have to wear?
- Who is Aggie’s leading actor in this movie?
- What happens in the next frame?
My Example
Here’s my example of how I would describe this movie:
- This is a spaghetti western and Aggie is a saloon girl.
- I get Aggie to cooperate by using dog food
- Takes place in the “Wild West” period (around the 1800’s)
- A frilly dress with lots of petticoats, which annoys Aggie as she constantly trips on the petticoats
- Of course, The Duke is the leading actor, but he’s allergic to cats and so, his nose is always red.
- In the next frame, Aggie has to rescue the Duke from an evil man dressed in black. Claws are used, need I say more?
You know the drill; put your answers in the comment box.
Have fun, be creative and enjoy!
An Update:
Click on picture to enlarge it:~)
Remember the Story Photo Post, Help Me Make A Choice, where I asked you to vote on a picture that would go up on the empty wall in my office. Betcha thought I forgot about this?
It’s finally done. It took longer because I ended up having to get the picture professionally framed so that I could include my quote, “Dare to test your balance every once in awhile.” Framing, by the way, isn’t cheap. Still, I’m pleased with results and I hope all of you who voted will like it too:~)
by Sara on August 26, 2010
Today, you’re in for a special treat. The Exception has agreed to do a guest post for my site. I’m excited about this because I have really enjoyed getting to know her.
When I first visited her blog, I was struck by how open she is about her life. She’s a single mom and often writes about this. In a recent post, Evolving Dreams: Celebrating My 30s, she talks about how she’s evolved since becoming a single parent. Here’s a quote from this post that I think shows you her character:
With the arrival of my daughter, my dreams changed to some extent. I continued to desire an exciting professional life but I also dreamed of the parent I could be and the life I could give her. No longer was my dream as wrapped in foreign print as it once was. My dream evolved into sharing time with this child, telling her stories, laughing, holding her hand, and experiencing life anew with her.
I think this quote says a lot about who The Exception is and she’s pretty “exceptional.” So, enjoy her words:~)
Summer travel dear to my heart
This summer I used my passport for the first time in years. I didn’t realize just how much I missed my old friend until I felt its cover in my hand, flipped through the pages and handed it to the man at passport control.
When I set my passport aside at the ripe old age of 25, I didn’t anticipate it being the last time in over a decade that I would take an adventure outside the US. I thought I would use it again when I finished graduate school. But when I finished graduate school a new adventure started – parenthood, domestic travel, and a path I could not have anticipated being mine to follow.
This summer I spent time with a good friend of mine. This summer I shared my love for travel with my daughter – who fell in love with travel too.
This summer, I not only delighted in time spent with my passport in countries new and old, I reacquainted myself with a part of me that I didn’t realize was missing.
Having lived in Europe and traveled extensively; having desired a profession that involved travel; and having dreamed of a life that included exposure to other cultures, histories and politics, it is not surprising, in retrospect, that a part of me had curled up and taken a little nap. This summer that part of me yawned, stretched and sprang out of bed ready to rock and roll and travel!
Another place to call home
My adventures this summer were different than any I had taken in the past; most of the countries visited were new to me. Though I enjoyed each new city and its possibilities, I felt comfortable in a certain little city I had not previously considered visiting.
The city spoke to me with its streets, people and buildings. It touched a part of me like only a few places have in the past – the places in which I had known immediately I could live and call home. These places are treasures; gems particular to each in a treasure chest of a world. This summer I added Tallinn, Estonia to the short list of places I could call home.
There is a little bit of magic when a treasure is found. The magic increases tenfold when the treasure found is a part of who we are or a rediscovery of ourselves. I felt a sense of passion long forgotten in this city. This summer I found a little piece of myself on the cobblestone streets of Tallinn, along the ship’s railing as we sailed into Stockholm and in an outdoor café in Copenhagen. I returned to Virginia feeling more alive and more myself than I have in a while.
What about you?
- Have you traveled outside your country?
- What places have you traveled to that have sparked your imagination and why?
- In your travels, have you discovered cities or towns you could call home?
- Have you rediscovered aspects of yourself (or your passions or things you love) that you had let go of years earlier?
So Who is The Exception?
The Exception is a mother, a teacher, a student, a lover of words, a traveler and explorer, a non-conformist without intent; a person of integrity; a supporter of dreams; a believer in risks, a treasure hunter in so many ways that aren’t materialistic; and someone who knows that everyone can fly – it is a matter of trusting the wind and believing flight is possible.
Photo Credit: The Exception
by Sara on August 23, 2010
Picture One
There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer. ~ Ansel Adams
This quote fits how I feel about photography to a tee:~) As most of you know, I love taking picture of ordinary things and then asking what you, the viewer, sees in them.
I always find it fascinating that the viewers to my site will see very different things in a picture than what I see.
We might both agree on the basics of a picture. For example, the picture above is part of a tree. I imagine we can agree on this:~)
It’s when we both look deeper into the picture that our perspectives begin to change. We start to see imaginary things in the swirl and shape of the wood and even the colors in the picture.
I’ll even go a step further and say that we need to do this. As humans, it is our tendency to personalize what we see. If we look at something long enough, we will see things in it, even things we know don’t exist in the actual picture. I think is a marvelous testament to how very creative and imaginative our brains are:~)
The Challenge
I’m giving you the header picture (Picture One) and this picture (Picture Two), just so you have some choices:
Picture Two
Your challenge today is to pick a picture, take some time to look at it and then answer these two questions:
- What made you pick the picture you chose?
- What do you see in this picture?
Put your answer in the comment box and be sure to indicate which picture you selected.
Have fun, be creative and enjoy!
by Sara on August 19, 2010
“There was no choice”
Recently, I watched the movie “Schindler’s List” again. This film is about a German businessman, Oskar Schindler, who saved over a thousand Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories.
While watching this film, I was struck by something Schindler said. At one point, he was asked why he risked so much for the Jews he saved. The part of his answer that stood out for me was his closing remark, “There was no choice.”
It’s easy for us to believe people should have taken action now that we realize the evil of the Holocaust. But Oskar Schindler had no reason to grasp this certainty of evil, and in many ways he did not.
It’s been argued that Oskar wasn’t actually a hero. After all, he benefited from the war and the Jews’ free labor. He used them and he knew some of their lives were being taken.
An awakening
Yet, somewhere inside Oskar, a clock began to tick. His attachment to his workers woke his humanity and then his moral clock set off the alarm. Once woken, he could not look away. Oskar had reached the point where “there was no choice.”
We all have our own moments when we realize there is no choice. Often these moments simmer before they wake us and call us to action.
When our moral alarm clock goes off we know we have to take action. This action might be fighting an injustice or becoming an activist for a cause we believe in. We may even become the next Oskar Schindler.
However, it could also mean leaving a bad relationship or job, giving up a great salary to pursue a passion or helping one person to have a better day.
Whatever reason, the alarm goes off inside us, waking us to that moment when we realize “There is no choice; we must take action.”
It’s up to us to pay attention to the alarm. Be conscious of when your alarm goes off. Don’t push the snooze button too many times:~)
What about you?
Have you experienced times when you realized “there is no choice?” What did you choose to do?
If you could go back in time to any historical event and have your moral alarm clock go off, what event would it be and what would you do?
by Sara on August 16, 2010
Beach Sandcastles
One thing I used to love to do at the beach was build sandcastles. When my kids were young, we would often build sandcastles. Well, actually they would start the sandcastle and then I’d finish it.
This is because I wasn’t content with the castle being a one turret deal. Nope, I liked it have a strong foundation and an impenetrable moat around it.
I would make sure we built the castle far enough away from the tide line so that it could survive the oncoming water. They did survive, at least the day.
Destroy the castle
After that, the efforts to destroy the castle began. They’d come from different directions — a dog running playfully, a speed walker who didn’t look down and sometimes my own sweet little girls, who believed strongly in “reconstruction.” I sigh at this memories of castles falling:~)
This sandcastle began with a dad and his young children. Needless to say, the dad eventually completed it with the children checking on his efforts every once in awhile. They did such a good job, I couldn’t resist taking pictures of it.
The Challenge
When you look at this sandcastle overlooking the water, what do you think of?
While you’re thinking, here are some questions to consider. Remember, you don’t have to answer them all. Just leave your thoughts in the comment box.
- If you built sandcastles, what do you remember most about the activity?
- How long did your sandcastle last? Were your castles elaborate or simple?
- If you never had a chance to build a sandcastle, what did you build when you were little? Was it fun?
- What’s the question I didn’t ask that you want to answer? Be sure to include your question with your answer!
The Special Challenge
It’s back…are you ready for it? The special challenge today is to make up a brief story about this castle. If you decide to do this challenge, I will include your name and a link to your site in next week’s Story Photo Challenge.
Rules to Follow
I’m giving you no hints for this special challenge, but there are some rules — fewer than the last time, fortunately:~)
1) You must include “Special Challenge” in your comment.
2) Keep the story to no more than 150 words
Have fun, be creative and enjoy:~)
In my previous Story Photo challenge post, I asked you tell me whether or not I had altered the picture. I left a comment with the correct answer at the post. If you missed it, however, the answer is that I did not alter the picture, except for the size.
This was all done by Nature and thankfully, she doesn’t need Photoshop:~)
by Sara on August 12, 2010
A Cockroach Who Blogs
One of my favorite poets, Fireblossom of Shay’s Word Garden reminded me of the stories of “archy & mehitabel” in a recent poem. These are old stories, but bring fond memories back to me.
I have a book, “the lives and times of archy & mehitabel” written by Don Marquis. I’ve read this book many times and still enjoy it.
The book I have was published in 1940 and in my opinion, features a character who had to be one of the most unique bloggers in history.
My book belonged to my grandfather, Dad Arthur. When I visited his library I would pick this book to read. When he died it was passed on to my father, and knowing my love for it, he eventually gave it to me.
A Timeless Literary Classic
The book is now faded with age and worn from the many times it’s been read. But that’s the sign of a well loved book, isn’t it?
I smile as I write this because it IS an odd duck of a book. The main character is a philosophical cockroach named Archy, who in his past life was a human who wrote free verse poetry. He discovers a typewriter and begins to type out his thoughts, dreams and complaints. You can see why I say he was a blogger:~)
Archy writes about his life and the multiple lives of his cat friend, Mehitabel, who claims to have been Cleopatra in a former life. He writes about the many characters they meet along the way. His stories are poignant, funny and recount situations that any of us could relate to today.
These stories of Archy the cockroach and Mehitabel the cat still make me sigh and smile in equal measure.
Freestyle Poetry By Don Marquis
One of the things I like most about this book is that it touches on the many difficulties that writers experience today. Archy’s style is unique; he writes on an old manual typewriter, jumping on the keys with his body. Here’s one of his more famous writings:
boss, i am disappointed in
some of your readers they
are always asking how does
Archy work the shift so as to get a
new line or how does archy do
this or do that they
are always interested in technical
details when the main question is
whether the stuff is
literature or not…”
Now tell me, doesn’t this apply to many bloggers? These days we deal with the same struggles Archy did when we talk to people about blogging. The literary side of writing can be easily lost while explaining the technical details.
Writing Style Models Bloggers
Archy would have been very comfortable with the freedom of style that bloggers enjoy. For example, as you can see from his poem, Archy doesn’t pay attention to capitalization or grammar; he writes about what he’s thinking or feeling in his everyday life. Sound familiar?
“the lives and times of archy & mehitabel” is still available. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys poetry written by a different kind of writer. Archy is a lot of fun to read, albeit not always an easy read; this is true stream of consciousness writing. It is also outdated in some of its stories.
I like “the lives and times of archy & mehitabel” because of its past as well as its future potential. I hold this book and know that both my grandfather and my father held it before me. Perhaps, they even laughed at the same lines as I do today.
Someday, I may give this book to my children or their children. I find it strangely comforting that a very early blogger and poet, who just happened to be a cockroach, could be the link between my past and my future.
What about you?
What older books remind you of a blogger’s style of writing?
What books have passed down to you that you continue to read and re-read?
Did you ever have to use a typewriter when writing? If so, what were the difficulties and how did it compare to our modern computers?
Artwork by George Herriman
by Sara on August 9, 2010
Photo Technology
Today’s photography is so different from when I was a kid. At that time, most of the photos were still black and white and you couldn’t make any changes in them.
Not like today. With photo technology, digital photos can be easily and quickly edited using programs like Photoshop, Google Picasa and GIMP, just to name a few. They can even be edited on an iPhone with a special application.
Today, color photos can become black and white and for those more talented than I, black and white can be colorized.
Change Things
Okay, enough of the photography lesson. I decided that today’s challenge I’m going to change things and give you a break from writing stories and answering lots of questions.
Don’t get me wrong, I love your replies to the questions and the inventive stories you create, I just think it’s good to keep things simple every once in awhile.
The Challenge
While I did change the size of this photo so that it fits my site, I challenge you to tell me if I have modified it in any other way. If you think I did modify it, tell what you think I changed about it.
That’s your challenge. Please include your answers in the comment box.
Special Challenge
Now, I know some of you may want more. If The Challenge isn’t enough for you, I welcome you to invent your own special challenge and reply to it. If you do this, however, please be sure to include what the challenge is, as well as your answer. This is TOTALLY optional.
Have fun, be creative and enjoy:~)
p.s I will fess up about this photo in the comment box for this post on Thursday, August 12th:~)
by Sara on August 5, 2010
Haiku Syllables
For this poetry challenge, I wanted to learn how to write Haiku poetry. This type of poetry is structured in how it’s written. The most common form consists of a three-line stanza that has a total of 17 syllables, written with this pattern: Line One – 5 syllables, Line Two – 7 syllables and Line Three – 5 syllables.
I quickly realized that the first thing I had to do was remember how to count syllables again:~) I did what I used to do as a child, which is to tap my hand as I said the word. If I tapped once, the word had one syllable; twice it had two syllables, and so on.
Sometimes, this didn’t work so well. So, I did what any good blogger would do and went to visit Google. I found a syllable checker which allowed me to check my words for how many syllables were in them. Whatever did we do before Google?
Writing Haiku
For me, writing a Haiku poem was hard:~) As I started writing, I found that I couldn’t stop the poem at three lines. Before I knew it, I had written more verses.
While my poems all use the 5-7-5 Haiku structure, they aren’t true Haiku poetry, but rather my adaptation of it. I hope you enjoy them and forgive me for not being faithful to true meaning of Haiku poetry.
Coming Storm
Wind from storm picks up
Neighbor chimes sound like church bells
Birds fly home to trees
Old dog walks slowly
Thunder cries hurry inside
Too late; rain falls hard
Wet dog and scared me
Shake off the raindrops that fell
Pleased to be home safe.
Cycle of Life
Seeds sink into ground
Green bud raises flimsy stem
Flower opens in time
Dead flower falls down
Spreading seeds all over ground
Rain washes the seeds
Sun warms up wet floor
Tiny seeds couple with soil
Nature’s womb quickens
Life is a cycle
From planting seeds for flowers
To a baby’s cry
Lazy Cat
The lazy cat sleeps
Comfy in her double bed
Waiting to be fed
The lazy cat sleeps
Thunder booms loudly outside
Cat finds place to hide.
The scared cat must wait
Hidden away for storm to pass
No cat food alas
The scared cat comes out
Eats her fill, crunch, crunch, and then
The lazy cat sleeps
Closing thought: From now on, I’m going to include a section in these challenge posts about what I learned.
For this one, I learned that it’s important for me to have a beginning, middle and end with my writing. This is probably why story or narrative writing is my favorite.:~) Even so, I really enjoyed the structure and challenge of Haiku.
What about you?
How do you feel about Haiku poetry?
What’s your favorite kind of poetry?
Are you up for a dare? Can you write your comment in the Haiku style? More than three lines are allowed, but keep to the 5-7-5 structure.
by Sara on August 2, 2010
Note: I want to apologize to anyone who tried to access my site on late Friday and Saturday this week and found my site down. The problem hopefully has been corrected:~)
Sea nymphs, Greek gods and magic balls
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful sea nymph named Idothea. She was the daughter of Proteus, a prophetic old sea-god and the herdsman of the seals of Poseidon. She loved her father very much and they lived peacefully among the seals.
One day, however, Lamia, a shark-shaped sea Deamon rushed into the seal herd and began to kill them. Porteus immediately came to the aid of his precious seals. Lamia captured him as her prisoner, which had been her original purpose.
She told Idothea that she would release her father if Idothea brought her a human man to eat within a week. You see Lamia’s favorite meal was not seals. No, she was the devourer of men, especially sailors.
Because of massive storms, attributed to global warming created by the excesses of the Greek gods, human men had been unable to go out in their boats. As Lamia’s powers depended on her diet of sailors, she was becoming desperate.
Finding help
Idothea was terrified, but determined to find help. She went to the Nereides and told her story. The Nereides wanted to help, but as the protectors of sailors, they could not. Instead, they came up with a different solution.
They told Idothea that she had to find three glass magic balls. While each of these glass balls had separate powers, they were most powerful when used together.
The Nereides told Idothea how to find the glass balls and what she had to do with them to save her father. It would not be an easy task….
What is the ending?
Idothea needs your help in creating the ending of this story. She needs to find the magic glass balls and then use them to save her father. This is where the challenges come into play:~)
As usual, there are two challenges. You can do both or just one; it’s up to you.
The Challenge
You can choose to answer one, two or all of these questions. Of course, the more you answer; the more you help Idothea:~)
- Where can Idothea find the glass balls?
- What are the powers of each ball?
- How do the glass balls gain additional power when put together?
- What does Idothea have to do with the glass balls to release her father?
The Special Challenge
Using no more than 156 words, write the ending of this story, using the questions above.
An Exceptional 10...
Colleen
Davina
desk49
Hilary
JC
Lynn
Talon
