• blue hourglass

    The week that was

    The late, great speculative fiction writer Jay Lake used to write these wonderful story roundups on his blog that he called Link Salad. The feature was basically just a bunch of links to stories that had caught his eye during his daily/weekly Internet wanderings.

    I know that many of you follow me on other social media outlets, where the sharing of stories is something that I do with gusto. But I’ve received a general complaint about these posts: Both Facebook and Twitter make it so hard to find ’em. That’s where “The Week That Was” comes in. In this feature, I’ll highlight a handful of my favorite shares from the previous week, just in case you missed them the first time around.

    And here we go:

    STORIES

    Syria Suffers Record Death Toll – Syria’s three-year civil war has already killed more than 170,000 people, nearly a third of them civilians.

    Ukraine Rebel Chief Igor Bezler Threatens To Execute Interviewer – When interviewing a rebel leader nicknamed “the Demon,” don’t be surprised when he goes on a rant that suggests shooting the messenger.

    NRA Member Who Lost Sister To Gun Violence Tearfully Asks Senate To Protect Women – American women account for 84 percent of all female gun victims in the developed world, and more than a quarter of female homicide victims in the U.S. are killed by an intimate partner.

    2,500 Ground Zero Workers Have Cancer – The grim toll has skyrocketed from the 1,140 cancer cases reported last year.

    Homicide Victims’ Families Seek Justice, Retribution And Closure From Death Penalty – An AP reporter decided to talk to murder victims’ families about capital punishment. This is a side of the story that is rarely shared.

    In Push To Protect Big Coal, Alabama Officials Say New EPA Regulations Violate God’s Will – “I hope all the citizens of Alabama will be in prayer that the right thing will be done,” Alabama Public Service Commission President Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh said, calling on Alabamians to pray for a divine intervention.

    California Drought Reaches A Terrifying Milestone:

    california drought

    (Image by U.S. Department of Agriculture)

    OBITS

    Margot Adler, NPR Journalist And Pagan Activist, Died At 68 – Her book “Drawing Down the Moon” launched me on a spiritual journey when I was a teenager.

    Josefa A. Platzer, Founder Of Jo’s Cafe, Died At 81 – This is the first obit that actually made hungry.

    Carlo Bergonzi, Italian Tenor And WWII POW, Died At 90 – Can’t say I’m a huge fan of opera. However, Carlo had some serious pipes.

    VIDEO

    Hope For Paws Rescues Abused Pit Bull – These vids have the unique ability of simultaneously making me hate humanity and love people.

    QUOTE

    “Don’t think that if we’re all good girls, if we’re properly meek, if we don’t provoke our men, we’ll be safe. Good girls get hurt all the time. We are not the problem. I refuse to quietly accept that there is one set of rules for how men live and another set of rules for how women live. And still, at night in a dark parking lot, I will walk to my car with my keys splayed between my fingers like blades. Ain’t that some shit?” –Roxane Gay

    (Photo by Mishooo. Used with permission)

  • You Are Here

    Art that involves meeting in the middle

    “Stop thinking about art works as objects and start thinking about them as triggers for experiences.” –Roy Ascott

    If you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, The Art Assignment is a vlog that launched earlier this year. In the debut episode, hosts Sarah Urist Green and John Green introduced artists Douglas Paulson and Christopher Robbins. Then, the first assignment of the series was explained and the artists embarked on it. The first vid documents their adventures/misadventures.

    Unlike other blogs, however, The Art Assignment is meant to be interactive. Which is to say, the audience is also encouraged to do the assignments. Here are the instructions for the first one:

    1. Pick a friend and calculate the exact geographic midpoint between where the two of you live. You can use GeoMidpoint or other websites to calculate your midpoint, or even use a paper map.

    2. Decide on a date and a time to meet there and don’t communicate until then.

    3. Document your experience. You can do this however you’d like, using photos, video, text, drawings or anything else.

    4. Upload your documentation and share it online using whatever social media platforms you prefer, being sure to tag it with #theartassignment so they can find it.

    I see this as the perfect opportunity to not only experience art in a new way, but also to complete another one of my “firsts.” Who wants to play?

  • Writing - balled up paper

    Quote of the week

    “Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.” –Joseph Pulitzer

  • raven and books stamp

    A letterboxing adventure, part 2

    In an effort to dare myself to experiment more, I’ve set about about following Lu Ann Cahn’s example of engaging in fun and daring “firsts.” This is my list.

    One of these planned firsts involved going letterboxing, which, according to Atlas Quest “is an intriguing pastime combining artistic ability with delightful treasure-hunts in beautiful, scenic places.” You can learn more about it here.

    Last weekend, I put together a small bag of supplies (a rubber stamp, ink pad, letterboxing notebook, my cellphone) and piled into the car with M and our dog Duncan. The first park we visited turned out to be the wrong one, but after looking on the map for the actual location, we drove outside of town and parked next to a picnic pavillion. Then, the three of us trekked into the woods in search of the mysterious letterbox.

    Following the clues left on Atlas Quest, we climbed over trees, pushed aside leaves, stumbled over rocks, swatted away a million bugs and sweated buckets. Unfortunately, after about an hour of searching, M and I had reached the proverbial X on the map, but there was no treasure to be found.

    That’s right, our first letterboxing adventure was a total bust.

    I know there are people reading this who will say: “It wasn’t a bust. It’s the journey that matters, not the destination.”

    To those kind but delusional folks, I say PISH. If I could have teleported to the exact location and found the treasure, trust me, I would have. And I would have ended up a lot less hot, sweaty and annoyed.

    The only good thing about the whole experience was the end, in which we left the park and drove straight to Fast Eddie’s, one of our favorite ice cream stands. M and I both indulged in double scoops and Duncan cooled off with a small soft-serve vanilla in a cup.

    Despite this minor setback, I will not be deterred. Although our misadventure technically counts as a “first” and thus deserves to be crossed off my list, I plan to try again, because damn it, I must obtain at least one stamp!