Go to New Blog
I'm just posting in the new blog now.
Visit there at http://www.selenathomason.com/mt-static/.
Thanks for playing.
;)
Selena on 06.24.05 @ 05:10 PM EST [link] [No Comments]
I'm just posting in the new blog now.
Visit there at http://www.selenathomason.com/mt-static/.
Thanks for playing.
;)
Selena on 06.24.05 @ 05:10 PM EST [link] [No Comments]
I got a lot done today. I sent off a couple more submissions, bringing the total pending to ten – definitely a record. It seems I’ve been in a submitting mood lately, not so much a writing new stuff mood. But now I’m going to work on new scenes of stories started but too long neglected.
I’m trying to learn Dreamweaver but haven’t gotten very far. I did the introduction and tutorial today but didn’t find it helpful.
My main page [http://selenathomason.com/] is kind of boring design-wise right now but I guess it’s not bad for a beginner. Besides I’m a word-person not a picture-person. It’s the content not the visuals that are important to me. Still, I’d like to figure out how to do a banner at the top with a different background color, maybe find a couple cool pictures or graphics to use. But, that’s for tomorrow.
Selena on 06.23.05 @ 07:46 PM EST [link] [No Comments]
I finally finished reading Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers. (It’s a good book, I just kept keeping busy with other stuff.)
What sticks with me most from this morning’s 2 am reading (couldn’t sleep, too stressed) is that it’s best to keep your coping strategies flexible but that we tend to think that if an approach isn’t working that we just need to try harder.
So, what is the healthiest approach?
“Coping responses built around fixed rules and flexible strategies. This requires that we fight a reflex common to most of us. If something bad is happening and our attempts to cope are not working, one of the most common responses is to, well, go back in there and just try twice as hard to cope in the usual way. Although that sometimes does the trick, that’s rare. During times of stress, finding the resources to try something new is really hard and is often just what’s needed.” (p.412)
It’s that last line that particularly struck me in the wee small hours. “During times of stress, finding the resources to try something new is really hard and is often just what’s needed.” Faced with chronic stress and my usual strategies not working, I’ve been thinking of trying something new, making a change.
For more of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, check out these earlier posts:
http://www.selenathomason.com/bblog/archives/00000030.html
(part of the lost ones, so it’s far down the page, the 3-11 post)
and Recommended Books at
http://www.selenathomason.com/bblog/archives/00000008.html
Selena on 06.23.05 @ 10:37 AM EST [link] [No Comments]
Ok, so at least I didn’t waste the day. I did get a lot of writing in. I even sent off two subs. I’ve now got a total of seven subs pending. Could be a record.
Also got some new blog software, trying Movable Type this time. Check out the new blog at http://www.selenathomason.com/mt-static/
I’ll probably also post entries here for a while to be on the safe side. To quote “Beauty and the Beast” again – “I’ve been burned by you before.” Funny how that quote works in so many contexts.
Selena on 06.22.05 @ 08:26 PM EST [link] [No Comments]
I have the next three days off. I’m gonna try not to waste it. By which I mean, I’m gonna try to get some writing done.
Heather Sellers says “If you take one day off writing, your muse will take the next three.”
Sadly, that means I will probably be writing junk the next few days. But I’ve got to get back into it.
Selena on 06.22.05 @ 09:17 AM EST [link] [No Comments]
I didn’t see my dad today, but I had lunch with him earlier in the week.
I couldn’t ask for a better father than the one I’ve got. It’s one of the many advantages I’ve had in my life. Sometimes you realize that God has been so good to you that you don’t have a right to complain about anything. When I think of my parents that’s how I feel – too blessed to fuss.
My dad is a genius. Maybe all daughters think that. But my dad really is. Sometimes it seems like he knows everything.
Maybe it’s a memory I created in my head, but it seems that when I went through my questioning phase as a kid, my dad was always willing to provide a real and extensive answer. Instead of getting annoyed by my incessant questioning, he would answer “why is the sky blue” with an explanation of refraction. I didn’t always follow what he was saying, but I was always fascinating by it.
Once he showed me how to float a needle on water, along with an explanation of surface tension of course.
Maybe I got my love of learning from my dad. It certainly seems to be where my fascination with science came from.
My father is also the person who taught me that science and religion aren’t mutually exclusive, that science is really just striving to know God’s mind, to better understand His creation. And for that I’m truly grateful.
Happy Father’s Day everyone.
Selena on 06.19.05 @ 09:50 PM EST [link] [No Comments]
This story was recommended to me. I’m so glad it was brought to my attention that I’m gonna do you a favor and bring it to yours.
It’s “All That Glitters” by Pam L. Wallace and is available in "The Sword Review" at
http://theswordreview.com/contents.php
It’s a truly wonderful story.
There is a lot to love about this story, but here is what I especially loved:
1) a dreaming dragon,
2) a strong heroine who tells stories for a living,
3) the transformative power of not only dreams but stories and touch as well,
and 4) the bucking of tradition, not just for show or rebellion, but as a path to greater understanding and compassion.
Very nice.
Check it out.
Selena on 06.18.05 @ 09:39 PM EST [link] [No Comments]
I just watched the movie "Hitch." It was great.
Really, has there ever been a movie that Will Smith wasn't good in? If so, I haven't seen it.
Selena on 06.15.05 @ 10:18 PM EST [link] [No Comments]
I’m watching the country music video channel and Jo Dee Messina comes on with what you think is gonna be your standard “you done me wrong and I’m not taking you back” song. But then the line comes when she says why the offending ex-beau shouldn’t even bother trying to win her back and it’s because “my give-a-damn is busted.”
I laughed out loud.
A few times in the song she pauses to see if she’s feeling anything, but nope, nothing, still busted.
Hilarious.
Listen for yourself at http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/messina_jo_dee/879080/album.jhtml
Shoot, I may have to buy the CD.
Selena on 06.14.05 @ 08:25 PM EST [link] [No Comments]
On my way to work this morning, I encountered a deer on the sidewalk. Seriously.
It should be noted at this point that I live in a city. Sure, we have trees. But mostly we’ve got a lot of buildings and cars. So, I haven’t the faintest idea what this full-size doe was doing walking around my neighborhood.
I was on the sidewalk of my street when a deer turned the corner and was suddenly less than a car-length away from me. She stopped. I stopped. I said, “Honey, you gotta stay out of the street” before I’d even thought about it. (Talking to animals like they can understand me is just one of the crazy things I do out of habit.)
She stared at me for a while which gave me time to notice how big she was. Her torso was about at my waist. With her neck and head she was as tall as me. I was suddenly really glad she didn’t have antlers. Still, I was thinking that if she takes it into her head to fight, it will go badly for me.
Thankfully that’s when she turned away from the street and bounded into the nearest back yard. Taking my advice to avoid the street, I noted.
I stood there for a second because I could hardly believe what just happened. I looked around to see if anyone else witnessed the meeting, but there was no one of course.
“Wow, you don’t see that every day!” I said to no one in particular as I continued my morning commute.
Selena on 06.13.05 @ 09:04 PM EST [link]
I don’t have much to say today, so I’m just gonna point you to some good stuff over at Verbsap. http://www.verbsap.com/
I liked David Breeden’s story “Having a Look at Maggie.” Really nice twist at the end.
http://www.verbsap.com/2005june/breeden.html
Also, really liked John Warner’s “Frequently Asked Questions About The Toyota Prius.” It’s listed in the left column of Verbsap, but here’s the link to the page
http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/opinions/frequently_asked_questions_about_the_toyota_prius.php
And an older story, further down the main page, that I just LOVE is “Sugar” by Cheryl Diane Kidder. I recognized myself in that story.
http://www.verbsap.com/2005may/kidder.html
Now that’s good reading.
Selena on 06.12.05 @ 09:14 PM EST [link]
I need a vacation, but it’s a no-go so far.
So I did the next best thing, I sang my way through most of “Pump Boys and Dinettes.”
If you’ve never seen this musical and have the chance, I highly recommend it. It’s just about the most fun you can have in a theatre.
I admit it was the vacation song that’s been ringing in my head lately, but there is so much to love on this soundtrack.
Favorite tracks, besides “Vacation” of course:
“Fisherman’s Prayer,” “Be Good or Be Gone, “Mona,” “Tips,” and “No Holds Barred.”
Selena on 06.11.05 @ 05:43 PM EST [more..]
I’m supposed to get together with my step-daughter for lunch but I’m thinking of calling in sick.
What would Miss Manners say about canceling a social engagement just because I don’t have the energy to play nice and be social?
Selena on 06.11.05 @ 11:23 AM EST [link]
I heard back from one of the editors about the reworked story. He really likes it but sent me yet another list of things that are wrong with it. The magazine hasn’t rejected it yet, but it seems likely.
I don’t know why this story is giving me so much trouble. I just can’t seem to get it right. But I like it too much to give up on it. At least so far.
I don’t know what I’ll do. I’ll have to think about it. But first, junk food.
Selena on 06.10.05 @ 07:21 PM EST [link]
I think I might be stressed out because this is what I just bought at the store:
BBQ potato chips
pint of Dove ice cream
salsa
tortilla chips
butter
tea
frozen cheese and bacon potato skins
Pretty clear sign, wouldn’t you say?
OK, so the truth is I knew I was stressed out before I caught myself buying all the junk food.
Selena on 06.10.05 @ 07:15 PM EST [link]
Also just saw the new Star Wars movie “Revenge of the Sith.”
I’m sorry to say I found the movie mostly boring. I have to be honest though, extended battle sequences don’t really do it for me. So if you’re into that kind of thing - and a lot of people are - you will probably like the movie.
But it didn’t work for me. The screen seemed often so crowded with stuff, so much visual noise and fast-paced action, that I couldn’t follow what was happening and didn’t care. I just tuned it out until something besides fighting happened.
The movie did have some good moments for me, though. It was interesting to see Anakin’s fall into darkness and what drove him there. And the scenes between him and Padme were good. When the movie focused on the characters instead of the machinery and effects, I enjoyed it.
I still don’t understand the android leader with a cough. Do robots get colds? Weird. And what’s with the “I’m evil so I’m gonna tilt my head down and look at you from under my eyebrows” thing that Anakin had going on? I didn’t understand that either.
I did like the line about how only a Sith would think in absolutes. It reminded me of a line from “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” something about how there can be no justice so long as it is absolute.
Truth exists in shades of grey.
Selena on 06.08.05 @ 08:32 PM EST [link]
I watched the movie "Fame" last night (well, most of it, then the power went out).
I had forgotten how good the movie is.
A few things struck me in particular:
1) Debbie Allen, who starred in the TV series and became a household name, is just a bit player in the movie. She only had two lines before the lights went out. There’s something hopeful in there for me.
2) The soundtrack is great. It makes me wish I had a working turntable so I could listen to the "Fame" album I’ve still got somewhere. I guess I’ll have to break down and buy the CD.
I always particularly liked the song "Dogs in the Yard."
"I wanna be bad
and not even care.
I wanna go out of my head somewhere.
I wanna run crazy
like the dogs in the yard.
Why can’t I fly tonight?
Why can't I sleep all morning?
I’m going out of my mind tonight,
That’s where I’m going."
[for full lyrics, check out http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/famemovie/dogsintheyard.htm]
3) I noticed in the movie that the few people who couldn't make it anywhere else (music and/or dance) ended up in the acting department. I don’t know what that means; I just thought it was interesting.
Selena on 06.08.05 @ 08:13 PM EST [link]
I haven’t had much time to post lately so here’s all the news.
First of all, I’ve been working WAY too much lately. I am so burnt out I’m crispy-fried. Seriously I should come with a warning label at this point: "Beware of grouch." MUST TAKE TIME OFF! A song from my adolescence plays in my head: “Don’t push me ‘cause I’m close to the edge.”
The good news is that the crazy time is over, my schedule’s getting back to normal, and I may even be able to take some time off soon. [Gasp!]
In other good news
• GH is good finally! Well, Friday's episode had a great last 5 minutes. A CarLo proposal! That came outta nowhere, but hey I’m game. The girls at O are losing their minds. Heck, I'm pretty excited myself. I can't wait to see today's episode. Rumor is Lo initially says no to Carly's proposal. Can't blame him. To quote from "Beauty and the Beast": "I've been burned by you before."
• Finally got the copyright dispute with Young Writer’s Club resolved. What a drama. The whole thing was just surreal.
• I got a nice, even hopeful rejection from a magazine I sent a story to recently. They said no but expressed interest in a rewrite and detailed the problems they had with the story. Turns out their points are nearly all valid. So their response is helpful. I’m reworking the story a little to address their concerns. I hope that when I resubmit it they will say yes.
And…
suddenly it's summer. It’s like someone waved a magic wand and “poof” it’s summer. No transition, just here it is. I wish I could spend it at the pool like I used to as a kid.
Hmm…maybe it’s time to visit the friends with the jetskies and the lake.
Selena on 06.06.05 @ 07:25 PM EST [link]
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