NaNoWri Mo: Score!
I hit the 50K mark today. I'm relieved, yet I know I still have a lot of work to do on my first blog-novel. I never realized how much I actually had to say until I started spilling it onto a word document. I have so many stories in me. I hope I am graced with the time it takes to allow them to come out to be shared with you.
Good luck to all participating in NaNoWriMo. This is crunch time, and I have found it to be an exhilarating and inspiring time. I know you can do it!
At Thanksgiving time
The greatest gift you can bring to those you love is the refuge and refreshment which springs from your self, in grace.
- Jude
credit: Yorkshire Snowman
"He made the earth submissive to you. Walk in those regions, knowing that..." 67:15
You should expect grace, that which makes life more than manageable, but you look elsewhere, wanting some delight other than that.
Your conscious being, with what you've been given, should be like a beautifully laid-out park with wildflowers and cultivated wonders, a swift-stream with secluded places to sit and rest beside it.
When a grieving person sees you, he or she should recognize a refuge, refreshment, a generous house where one need not bring bread and cheese. There will be plenty.
- Bahauddin, father of Rumi
tanslation by Coleman Barks and John Moyne
Blog Showcase:
Matthew Gross
Since the election, I've have a bit of hard personal time with the Daily Kos site. It's certainly nothing against any of those fine folks at the Kos site. I expect this is only a temporary problem for me. There is simply too much of an influx of opinions and ideas, some too highly charged with emotion for me to see as any less than chaotic reformation of a party's ideology. I'm finding greater ability to harness the chaos which has followed in the wake of the virtual decapitation of the Democratic party leadership by seeking out individual opinion.
I was reading Matthew Gross' blog today and noticed some ideas and blogposts that I thought were well worth a mention.
A very important piece of advice, for me, is Matthew's:"... for the next three months, there won't be any marching orders [from the Dem leadership]. So do what you think is right, because it's more than most Democratic leaders will be doing."
I think Matthew's warning and advice, based on economic reality, would be well-heeded:"Rising interest rates, the falling dollar, massive trade imbalances (including in agriculture!), unsustainable consumer debt, and a government deficit that is only going to be reduced by a shell game-- all of this points to the Perfect Economic Storm...what do you think is coming? What are you doing about it?
Other recent posts of interest:
* Rumsfeld Can't Be Bothered to Sign KIA Letters
* 106
* McCarthyism, "moral values" style (a la Frank Rich)
Thanks, Matthew, for your valuable insight.
MEMRI Sends SLAPP to Prof Cole
MEMRI, an organization I've mentioned here before because of their decidedly anti-Arabic translations, sent a SLAPP letter to Juan Cole. (SLAPP stands for "Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation", a lawsuit brought against an individual or organization to basically shut them up).
MEMRI is using the same law firm as the one that's handling Neocon Richard Perle's crybaby libel suit against Seymour Hersh.
Professor Cole has reprinted the letter on his site. You could protest MEMRI's threats by writing to memri@memri.org. Better yet, write to the press. MEMRI is attempting to stifle freedom of expression here. Writing to them almost seems pointless. (Like appealing to the Bush administration, who I'm sure would not frown too sternly and cry "Tort reform!" about this particular case).
MEMRI's director is married to Dick Cheney's advisor. You do the math.
Academics may wish to consider writing to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
I'm wondering--why doesn't MEMRI release the amount and sources of their funding, in the interest of proving Prof. Cole wrong?
