It's not a feature, but I've posted a new column in the gallery at Intrepid Media. It is rather heartfelt and very personal, but I think it recounts something that I'm sure happens to a lot of people, perhaps not everyone.
I usually save such personal pieces, as in personal matters that I don't feel comfortable sharing with everyone, for my personal journal, but I think this particular experience is one I wanted to share and put out there, because I needed to.
Up until I finally sat down and poured my heart out for eyes other than mine, I felt really weighed down by the emotions I was wrestling and struggling with in order to deal with it all. Writing this piece has been incredibly therapeutic, and I feel better now that it's out there than I have felt since what I talk about in the column took place.
My favorite thing about this column is it being a testament to the power of writing as a means of therapy. I really enjoyed writing this one, truly. There is nothing quite like it, I think, to have a vocation or passion that can do that for you when nothing and no one else can.
I do hope you will mosey on over there and take a look at R-E-S-P-E-C-T. You don't know what it means to me.
Thank you for reading my blog, and hopefully, my work over at Intrepid!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Olympians are so much cooler than me!
Ever since Friday night, the night the Winter Olympic games from Vancouver opened officially, I have done nothing productive beyond the things I have to do. It's kind of funny, because I find it ironic that in order to watch an event that is the ultimate tribute to physical excellence and dedication, I am doing nothing but sitting on my bum in front of the TV, feeling like a bit of a loser.
It's funny and it's kind of depressing. It's depressing, because whenever an event of recognition of this magnitude takes place, I can't help but feel a tinge of sadness at the fact that I have never had as much passion for anything as much as the athletes who pay with their sweat, tears, money, physical exertion and entire lives for one thing they love. Not to say that I don't have any passion or passions, I do, but it's not the kind of passion that prompts me to give up, say, my leisure time for it.
Of course, I recognize that not everyone, even the most dedicated of athletes, who practice everyday, can make it to the Olympics, but the point isn't so much the activities which these athletes have dedicated their lives to--I've never had an interest in being an athlete. What I am most affected and awed by is the dedication and total and complete commitment these extraordinary people possess, so much that they become role models and examples.
Imagine the hours upon hours one spends perfecting the same move, over and over again, for years and years. It's hard to keep at something this hard, especially when there is so much at stake, including health. It really makes you wonder how these people do it.
So, for this reason I watch and root for the best and feel awed by the skill and prowess of everyone competing in Vancouver, while reflecting on all the things I've done and do in my life, and thinking that my passions aren't so hot or urgent to give up what these people have given up and continue to give up to get to where they are.
On a lighter, less sentimental note: the Olympics are also inspiring in the sense that I always work out extra hard and feel more pumped up to get fit and do my best at whatever workout I am doing. Now, if I can just peel my eyes away from the TV, I think I will reap the benefits of such a motivational factor!
It's funny and it's kind of depressing. It's depressing, because whenever an event of recognition of this magnitude takes place, I can't help but feel a tinge of sadness at the fact that I have never had as much passion for anything as much as the athletes who pay with their sweat, tears, money, physical exertion and entire lives for one thing they love. Not to say that I don't have any passion or passions, I do, but it's not the kind of passion that prompts me to give up, say, my leisure time for it.
Of course, I recognize that not everyone, even the most dedicated of athletes, who practice everyday, can make it to the Olympics, but the point isn't so much the activities which these athletes have dedicated their lives to--I've never had an interest in being an athlete. What I am most affected and awed by is the dedication and total and complete commitment these extraordinary people possess, so much that they become role models and examples.
Imagine the hours upon hours one spends perfecting the same move, over and over again, for years and years. It's hard to keep at something this hard, especially when there is so much at stake, including health. It really makes you wonder how these people do it.
So, for this reason I watch and root for the best and feel awed by the skill and prowess of everyone competing in Vancouver, while reflecting on all the things I've done and do in my life, and thinking that my passions aren't so hot or urgent to give up what these people have given up and continue to give up to get to where they are.
On a lighter, less sentimental note: the Olympics are also inspiring in the sense that I always work out extra hard and feel more pumped up to get fit and do my best at whatever workout I am doing. Now, if I can just peel my eyes away from the TV, I think I will reap the benefits of such a motivational factor!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Long time, no feature!
Well, it doesn't happen as often as I'd like it to these days, but it has happened. A column I wrote after a very long hiatus from column writing has been featured at Intrepidmedia.com.
It is a simple declaration of my official acceptance of e-reading as an option alongside bound-book reading, and the title is oh so very cool: e-reader killed the bound book. Or so it thinks it did. It is the top feature through Monday, so if you want to see it at the top, you should make your way to the site no later than Sunday. Don't fret if you can't though, because you can always find it in the archives.
On a side note that has nothing to do with this bit of news, I wanted to announce a new blog I've started... actually, a blog I started a little while ago, but haven't quite gotten into just yet, but I plan to. It's called books 'n tomes and it's nothing more than me talking about the books I'm reading. I do hope you will add it to the list of blogs you'd visit every once in a while.
As always, thanks for reading!
It is a simple declaration of my official acceptance of e-reading as an option alongside bound-book reading, and the title is oh so very cool: e-reader killed the bound book. Or so it thinks it did. It is the top feature through Monday, so if you want to see it at the top, you should make your way to the site no later than Sunday. Don't fret if you can't though, because you can always find it in the archives.
On a side note that has nothing to do with this bit of news, I wanted to announce a new blog I've started... actually, a blog I started a little while ago, but haven't quite gotten into just yet, but I plan to. It's called books 'n tomes and it's nothing more than me talking about the books I'm reading. I do hope you will add it to the list of blogs you'd visit every once in a while.
As always, thanks for reading!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
I'm published!
It is not every day that I can say I have been published. It is also not everyday that I can say I have been published in a book full of great writing by excellent writers who are sure to rock the world with their fantastic writing and views on everything from everyday life to current events. I feel so humbled, yet so proud to be a part of this awesome endeavor.
If you want to read something that makes you feel like somebody out there understands you, or even if you want to read something that lets you see things in a different way in a fun and engaging way, Intrepid Media's 2009 and third volume of great writing collections is it, and it's super easy to get-- just click on the link below and download!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The truth about 'Twilight'
I have a confession to make. I read the Twilight series and actually found it to be brain candy, and albeit it was the kind that is mostly bad for you, it was still brain candy.
I picked up the first book because it was cheap and I was in sort of a reading rut and needed some oil for the old engine before I embarked on more legit reading material. I didn't plan on embarking on a four-book journey that would end with disappointment, but I embarked on said journey and came out with something other than lust for teenage vampires and werewolves.
To explain why I bothered in the first place, as a thirty-year-old woman, let me just say that as an aspiring writer who hopes to one day reach the same level of success as the smallest published author, I find it is best to see what makes readers tick, no matter how awful it is. From a writing standpoint, the Twilight books are nothing special, or particularly good. The writing is nothing a beginning creative writing student couldn't produce, and the characters are cliches when you peel the layers of the supernatural aspects they possess away.
From the brain candy standpoint, it seems to me that like Harlequin romance novels, the Twilight books give female readers from all walks of life and age groups (including moms who disturbingly share the same lust for Edward Cullen and Jacob Black as their teenage daughters) what they long for: a ridiculously good looking, sparkly or shirtless man who would rip the head off anyone who comes near the woman he loves, yet is sensitive and vegetarian.
Seems natural for women to want such things, but what takes me aback is the fact that these sex objects are teenagers. Sure, Edward Cullen is 100 years old, but he is essentially a teenager in appearance. It can't be that these grown women are in love with Edward Cullen's personality, because he simply doesn't have much of one, and even if he did, he still acts like a teenager. It's disturbing. Taylor Lautner, the actor who plays Jacob Black, the shirtless one told Jay Leno not too long ago that he was approached by a woman in her forties, who asked him to sign her Twilight underwear... in front of her teenage daughter, who was so embarassed she pleaded with her mom to stop.
In light of the Twilight craze that is obviously and inexplicably sweeping the best women off their feet nowadays I came across this piece that pretty much sums up what sets the Twilight series apart from all the other vampire romance, or just plain romance novels out there.
http://theoatmeal.com/story/twilight
You could say it is the characters, but as this piece explains, it's lack of character that drives all the girls (and sometimes guys) crazy for the vampire and werewolf who love Bella Swan.
So, let me sign off by saying that it was brain candy and I enjoyed it, but like in real life, I only lust after and fall in love with men of substance... that's men, who aren't jailbait. Who don't sparkle in the sun. Who don't walk around shirtless.
I picked up the first book because it was cheap and I was in sort of a reading rut and needed some oil for the old engine before I embarked on more legit reading material. I didn't plan on embarking on a four-book journey that would end with disappointment, but I embarked on said journey and came out with something other than lust for teenage vampires and werewolves.
To explain why I bothered in the first place, as a thirty-year-old woman, let me just say that as an aspiring writer who hopes to one day reach the same level of success as the smallest published author, I find it is best to see what makes readers tick, no matter how awful it is. From a writing standpoint, the Twilight books are nothing special, or particularly good. The writing is nothing a beginning creative writing student couldn't produce, and the characters are cliches when you peel the layers of the supernatural aspects they possess away.
From the brain candy standpoint, it seems to me that like Harlequin romance novels, the Twilight books give female readers from all walks of life and age groups (including moms who disturbingly share the same lust for Edward Cullen and Jacob Black as their teenage daughters) what they long for: a ridiculously good looking, sparkly or shirtless man who would rip the head off anyone who comes near the woman he loves, yet is sensitive and vegetarian.
Seems natural for women to want such things, but what takes me aback is the fact that these sex objects are teenagers. Sure, Edward Cullen is 100 years old, but he is essentially a teenager in appearance. It can't be that these grown women are in love with Edward Cullen's personality, because he simply doesn't have much of one, and even if he did, he still acts like a teenager. It's disturbing. Taylor Lautner, the actor who plays Jacob Black, the shirtless one told Jay Leno not too long ago that he was approached by a woman in her forties, who asked him to sign her Twilight underwear... in front of her teenage daughter, who was so embarassed she pleaded with her mom to stop.
In light of the Twilight craze that is obviously and inexplicably sweeping the best women off their feet nowadays I came across this piece that pretty much sums up what sets the Twilight series apart from all the other vampire romance, or just plain romance novels out there.
http://theoatmeal.com/story/twilight
You could say it is the characters, but as this piece explains, it's lack of character that drives all the girls (and sometimes guys) crazy for the vampire and werewolf who love Bella Swan.
So, let me sign off by saying that it was brain candy and I enjoyed it, but like in real life, I only lust after and fall in love with men of substance... that's men, who aren't jailbait. Who don't sparkle in the sun. Who don't walk around shirtless.
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