A - Z Theme Reveal - DEATH

I already posted this once (on the wrong day, duh), but here it is again for anyone who missed it: My theme for this year's A- Z Blogfest is DEATH (who I really hope is like DEATH in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series), and all things surrounding the subject. It's an uncomfortable subject because I don't any of us are all that keen on dying, but it's good sometimes to talk about uncomfortable things I think.

"I meant," said Ipslore bitterly," What is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?" DEATH thought about it. CATS, He said eventually, CATS ARE NICE

So, what's your theme for A-Z, or are you taking the month off to avoid the madness?

Who do I love?

You may have seen this yesterday but if not, have a gander. THAT my friends is the cover of Dianne K. Salerni's new book, The Eighth Day, coming from Harper/Collins next year. I have had the pleasure of reading this book in a few of its incarnations and boy, do I love this book. I love Jax who discovers Grunsday - an extra day between Wednesday and Thursday - and Evangeline, the secret girl who lives next door. I love Riley, Jax's reluctant guardian who happens to possess the voice of command (and yeah, that's every bit as awesome as you think it is), and Tegan, who I would've LOVED to have had as my bff. So keep this title on your radar because it just might be the next big thing.

But wait there's more...Today is the The Norse Gods Blogfest, hosted by Alex Cavanaugh to celebrate Siv Maria Ottem's birthday AND the release of her new book, Secrets of the Ash Tree. Siv will be giving away a signed copy of her book to one lucky person. Special points if you visit her NEW WEB PAGE and like her Facebook Author page.

And now, without further ado, my favorite Norse God...

Yeah, sorry, I couldn't decide who was my most favorite Norse God...so I cheated a little and chose Yggdrasil, the famous tree, which is almost like a god.

To see what I mean you must first imagine the world as the Norse did, like levels stacked one atop the other. At the very top was Asgard, the realm of the Aesir or warrior gods and where Valhalla - the hall of the dead - was situated. Vanaheim, the home of the Vanir or fertility gods, was here, as well as Alfheim, the home of the light elves.

Midgard was the second level and the realm of men, surrounded by an ocean, and encircled by the terrible world serpent, Jormungand. Here also was Nidavellir, where the dwarves lived, and Svartalfheim, Land of the Dark Elves.

The third level is Niflheim, the world of the dead, where it was always winter and ever night. Hel guards the gates and the dragon Nidhogg lives here along with 'other unnamed serpents."

The axis for these three worlds is Yggdrasil, a timeless ash tree which will even survive the end of the world, and whose roots are connected to everything. Also known as a "Guardian Tree, Yggdrasil nourishes, and suffers from, the animals that inhabit it, feed it, and attack it." The Norns in turn care for it by drawing water from the spring of Urd, "and they besprinkle the ash so that its branches shall not wither or decay."
Beneath one of its roots is the Spring of Mimir whose "waters were a source of wisdom. Odin sacrificed one eye to drink from it." Seeking greater wisdom, he then hung from this tree for nine nights, his side pierced with a spear, so that he could learn the wisdom of the dead. Finally, Yggdrasil is so great that when Ragnarok (the end of the world) comes, "the ash tree will tremble and a man and a woman who hide within it, Lif and Lifthrasir, will survive the ensuing holocaust...and stand alone at the end of one cycle and the beginning of another in the world of time and men."*

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for reading to the end of this extra long post!



* from The Norse Myths - Introduced and retold by Kevin Crossley-Holland

Who do you love?

On October 9, Alex Cavanaugh will be hosting Siv Maria Ottem who is celebrating her birthday AND the release of her new book, Secrets of the Ash Tree, with a blogfest – The Norse Gods Blogfest. Siv will also be giving away a signed copy of her book to whomever actively parties the most on this day. Special points if you visit her NEW WEB PAGE and like her Facebook Author page.

Interested in blogging about your favorite Norse God? I am and I can't wait to see who other people blog about.

Dyson Sphere

As some of you know I'm working on a scifi novel called NO REST, hence my choice of subject matter for the A-Z blogfest. Among the many things I've learned about is the Kardashev scale which measures a civilization's technological advancement.

Type I is pretty much where we are and where we'll probably be for a very long time. Guillermo A. Lemarchand stated this as "A level near contemporary terrestrial civilization with an energy capability equivalent to the solar insolation on earth, between 10¹⁶ and 10 ¹⁷Watts."

A Type II civ is able to harness the energy radiated by its own star, for example by building a Dyson sphere (I know, you wondering when I was going to get to the title of my post, wern't you?), a hypothetical megastructure originally described by Freeman Dyson.^* Such a "sphere" would be a system of orbiting solar-power satallites meant to completely encompass a star and capture most or all of its energy output. 

As for a Type III, a civ of this type would be have access to the power comparable to the luminosity of the entire Milky Way galaxy, about 4 x 10³⁷Watts. Yikes.



* Freeman Dyson is a British-born American, theoretical physicist, and mathematician, who is famous for his work in quantum electrodynamics, solid-state physics, astronomy, and nuclear engineering.

Clones and cloning

SOURCE

A clone is a cell product or organism that is genetically identical to the unit or individual from which it was derived. Cloning is the process of creating genetically identical individuals.

Did you know that in 2006 the FDA gave its approval to meat which came from cloned animals, with no special labeling required? Or that Dolly, the first successfully cloned animal, was born only after 277 eggs were used to create 29 embryos, only one of which lived? Not good odds. Plus Dolly only lived 7 years and allegedly "had pathologies resembling accelerated aging." However, Ian Wilmut - part of the team who cloned Dolly - claims that her premature death was "unrelated to the deficiencies with the cloning process." To learn more about the risks of cloning click here.


One of the most interesting things I learned about cloning is the idea that it could bring back extinct species like the wooly mammoth and/or save those on the endangered list. However, "many conservation biologists and environmentalists vehemently oppose cloning endangered species - mainly because they think it may deter donations to help preserve natural habitat and wild animal populations." Sadly I have to agree with them.

Bottom line, we know how to clone, but we don't yet know how to do it exactly right, and there is still a question of whether we should. What do you think about cloning?

 

Top Ten Sleepers

If you know me then you know I didn't have to think twice about signing up for this blogfest, because I LOVE movies. But, because there are so many great movies in so many genres, I'm going to offer up a few movies you may not have heard of, or if you did you wrote them off.

Kick Ass directed by Matthew Vaughn, starring Nicholas Cage, Chloe Moretz, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. I remember seeing the previews and thinking, yeah, right, another horrible Nicholas Cage movie (and don't get me wrong, I actually like Nicholas Cage; I just think he makes poor choices). But guess what? This is a kick-ass movie. 
Memento directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Guy Pierce, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Joe Pantoliano (interesting pairing, eh?). This is the kind of movie you have to pay attention to. Blink and you'll miss something important. It's also the kind of movie you can watch again because you probably did miss something even if you were paying attention.
Punch Drunk Love directed by Paul Tomas Anderson, starring Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. One of my favorite love stories and the only Adam Sandler movie I like. Best line: "Take that Mattress Man!"
Shallow Grave, directed by Danny Boyle (we do Like Danny Boyle, btw), starring Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston, and Ewan McGregor. The premise is this: Three people living together in a four bedroom flat are looking for a house mate. The interviews they conduct are very unorthodox and very funny. Eventually the three agree on one prospective tenant. He moves in, locks his door, and is not seen again. (from IMDb)
District 9 directed by Neill Blomkamp, starring Sharlto Copley and David James. With the help of Peter Jackson I heard. Regardless. I own this movie now. And I don't purchase movies lightly.
Primer directed by Shane Carruth, starring Shane Carruth and David Sullivan. If you like moves that mess with time like I do, then you may like this. I wish this was in my collection.
Payback directed by Brian Helgeland, starring Mel Gibson, Lucy Liu, Maria Bello, and Gregg Henry. This is one of my favorite Mel Gibson movies, and based on the simplest of plots: a man is betrayed by his wife and partner, and survives to take revenge. Gibson is ruthless as Porter, and Lucy Liu is fabulous alongside Gregg Henry. I own this movie, too.
Donnie Darko directed by Richard Kelly, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a troubled teenager who narrowly escapes death and what happens after. It's also got the saddest song ever. I wish I owned this movie.
Leon: The Professional directed by Luc Besson, starring Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, and 12-year-old Natalie Portman in her first movie ever. Reno plays an assassin who  takes in the orphaned Portman whose parents are killed in a Police Raid.
The Grudge directed by Takashi Shimizu, starring Sarah Michelle Geller and Jason Behr (from Roswell, one of my most fave shows ever). This was my kind of scary movie, the kind that makes you shudder thinking about it after.

Seen any of these movies? Do tell...

Happy Birthday Al - for real this time!

First, to those who are seeing this for the second time, I apologize. I goofed and scheduled prematurely :(
To those who are seeing this for the first time today, yay! and nice to see you :) This blogfest is brought to you by LG, Stephen Tremp, and Laura Eno and asks, where - or when - would you like to go if you had one round trip ticket through the wormhole. The only requirement is to explain your answer in 100 words or less.


Now, I'll grant that I'm tempted to take a trip back to the past but that tends to make me a little nervous because what if I changed something and it turned out badly?  Even a trip back to talk to myself and explain a few things could have unforeseen consequences so I think I'm going to leave the past where it is, behind me. Instead, I think I'll set my sights on the future and see where we are in a 1000 years. Have we invented faster than light travel yet? Do we have a colony on Mars? Have we conquered aging? Made clones? Traveled to far flung galaxies? Because that's what I'm most curious about, the future of us. And I have to tell you, if it's really cool...I might not come back :)

Where/when would you go?

Happy Birthday Al!

I couldn't resist this one. I mean, was I not just talking about wormholes? Anyway, this one asks where - or when - would I like to go if I had one round trip ticket through the wormhole. The only requirement is to tell you in 100 words or less.

Now, I'll grant that I'm tempted to take a trip back to the past but that tends to make me a little nervous because what if I changed something and it turned out badly?  Even a trip back to talk to myself and explain a few things could have unforeseen consequences so I think I'm going to leave the past where it is, behind me. Instead, I think I'll set my sights on the future and see where we are 1000 years in the future. Have we invented faster than light travel yet? Do we have a colony on Mars? Have we conquered aging? Made clones? Traveled to far flung galaxies? Because that's what I'm most curious about, the future of us. But, I have to tell you, if it's really cool...I might not come back :)

Where/when would you go?


ps you may be wondering where everyone else's posts are for this fabulous blogfest and for a short while, so was I - until I noticed the date glaring at me from beneath Al's picture. Yep, smarty pants here thought she was all kinds of organized and screwed up big time, posting a WHOLE MONTH early. Idiot! So, for those of you reading, you just might be seeing this post again, in March. Sorry :(

to A-Z or not?

This will be my third year doing this and while it is a ton of work coming up with posts nearly every day and visiting as many peeps as I can, I just love the challenge. Even more, I love coming up with a subject. Can you guess what I've chosen this year? I'll give you a hint.

What about you? Thinking about it? Waiting to sign up? Got your subject or winging it? Do tell. 



Oh, and if you can't guess what I've chosen I'll tell you Wednesday :)

It's all about you - Redux

So, here's the day when we get to re-post something we liked or something that went unnoticed. Mine is from this day, when I asked about you...


 Seriously. Today I want to know about you. It doesn't have to be anything earth-shaking, but it has to be about you and no one else. Like what you're doing right this minute (at work sneaking a peak at the blogosphere?), what you're writing (do tell), what you saw this morning when you first stepped outside (sunrise? A bird on wire? a dead mouse on your porch thanks to kitty?), what you had for supper last night (take out? homemade?), dreamed last week (yes, please - I find dreams endlessly fascinating), just finished reading (and was it any good?), or ... anything. It can be trivial or mind blowing, but I want to know about you.

Lightning Flashed - blogfest

Lightning flashed, illuminating the flat wet stones, grass grown long between them. Her feet stepped lightly, carefully, ankles flashing white beneath the hem of her skirts. She glanced back at the castle, shadowed by mist and rain, pausing long enough to see that her spell of gloom held before hurrying forward on silent feet.

The path soon narrowed, and the stones turned into steep steps that cut between a thick knot of tall trees, down to the river and the stone wharf, one of many the royal family maintained. This one, however, had been forgotten.

Or so she’d been told.

It didn’t look forgotten, she thought, noting the lack of debris revealed by each crack and flash.

She pulled her cloak closer, peered into the dark. Eyes narrowed, she scanned the shadowy tangle of wood and bramble that hid the wharf until the smallest of movements caught her eye. 

“Show yourself,” she said.

A moment later a light flared, and she let go an inaudible sigh, putting her knives away.

Her Master stepped forward, bringing the light with him. “I am glad to see you have not grown soft and forgetful…” he said, crossing the space between them.

And as soon as he was close enough to touch, the rain ceased above their heads. It still fell all around them, hard and fast, splattering against stone, filling cracks, hitting leaf and branch.

“We are safe now,” he said. “No one can hear our words, even if by chance you were followed.”

She didn’t ask how. Only envied the trick and wondered how long until she learned it.

“Soon,” he said, sensing her thoughts, her desire, “But first, the matter at hand, the reason you were sent here.”

She looked up at him, hope fluttering in her chest. Had the time come at last?

To read more flash fiction from this blogfest, go here - and enjoy :)

ps 303 words, a tad over...

Juliette

In the phonetic alphabet, Juliette represents the letter J. According to my Character Naming Sourcebook, the name Juliette means 'youthful' and I imagine we are all quite familiar with the character of Juliette from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliette. I personally love the Zefirelli film starring Olivia Hussey who is positively radiant as Juliette.

Juliette is also a novel written by the Marquis de Sade (published 1797-1801) about an amoral nymphomaniac. Napoleon ordered the arrest of the author, and as a result Sade was incarcerated without trial for the last 13 years of his life.

Lastly Juliette is an unincorporated community in Monroe County Georgia, named after Juliette McCracken, the daughter of a railroad engineer. The film Fried Green Tomatoes was filmed there, and after the filming,  the sets used for the town's main street were renovated into a tourist district, complete with a fully operational "Whistle Stop Cafe".

Delta

 

In the phonetic alphabet, Delta represents the letter D. According to my American Heritage Dictionary (1969), delta is also 1. The fourth letter of the Greek Alphabet Δδ 2. A usually triangular alluvial deposit at the mouth of a river 3. Anything resembling the shape of a triangle 4. In Mathematics A finite increment in a variable.


A delta ray is 1. An electron ejected (weeeeee!!!) from matter by ionizing radiation 2. The track of such an electron in a nuclear emulsion or cloud-chamber photograph.

A delta wing is an aircraft with sweptback wings that give it the appearance of an isosceles triangle.

But some of you might like this Delta best...

Delta Goodrem

She's pretty.

Charlie

In the phonetic alphabet, Charlie represents the letter C. During the Viet Nam war the Viet Cong (VC) were known in military slang as "Charlie", short for "Victor Charlie"

A few famous Charlies:

Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Rose
Charlie Brown

But my favorite is Charlie's Angels, starring Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, and Cameron Diaz.

Laugh if you will at my taste but this was a fun movie, "pure style-over-substance ... and the script, the whole script, injects enough camp to make this piece sit right there with the original TV show."*

Plus it has Bill Murray as Bosley. I mean, how can you go wrong there?



*from this review on IMDb

Bravo

fiat bravo albarth

 
In the phonetic alphabet, Bravo represents the letter B. Fiat made The Fiat Bravo and Fiat Brava, small family cars produced from 1995 to 2001. Bravo could also refer to:

a specialty arts channel in Canada, a Belgian comics magazine, a German television programme, an American cable television network, a Russian pop-rock band, an airline based in Madrid,a design of military submarines built in the then-Soviet Union, a fungicide, or a petty Italian lord during the 16th and 17th centuries.

But the most interesting Bravo I found was Charles Bravo, (1845-1876), a British lawyer fatally poisoned with antimony. According to Wikipedia, "The case is still sensational, notorious and unresolved. It was also known as The Charles Bravo Murder and the Murder at the Priory, as the crime was committed within an elite Victorian household at The Priory, a landmark house in Balham, London. The reportage eclipsed even government and international news at the time, and among those attending the victim was Royal Physician Sir William Gull. The victim took three days to die.

Two inquests were held and the details were considered to be so scandalous that women and children were banned from the room while Florence [Charles' wife] Bravo testified. The first returned an open verdict, which meant that the jury confirmed the death as suspicious but was unable to reach any other verdict. The second inquest returned a verdict of wilful murder, but nobody was ever arrested or charged. The Bravo household broke up after the trial ended and the twice widowed Florence moved away, dying of alcohol poisoning two years later."

Alpha

In the phonetic alphabet, Alpha represents the letter A. According to my dictionary - a very old but perfectly serviceable American Heritage circa 1969 - Alpha is also 1. the first letter in the Greek alphabet 2. the first of anything; beginning 3. the brightest or main star in a constellation 4. first in order of importance. [Greek, from a Phoenician word akin to Hebrew aleph, ALEPH.]

Here are a few Alphas you may or may not be familiar with...


Alpha Centauri - if you're a Geek like me you know this is a double star in Centaurus, the brightest in the constellation, 4.4 light years away from Earth.

Alpha Crucis - but I'll wager you didn't know this was a double star, too, in the constellation Crux, approx. 230 light years away.

Alpha Leonis - Also a star, known as Regulus, in the constellation Leo.

Alpha particle - a positively charged composite particle.
Alpha privative - the Greek negative prefix

Alpha ray -  a stream of alpha particles
Apha rhythm - the most common electroencephalographic waveform found in recordings of the electrical activity of the adult cerebral cortex, characteristically 8 to 12 smooth, regular oscillations per second in subjects at rest. also called 'alpha wave.'

Plan A

I know I've mentioned it before - my plan for the A - Z Blogfest - but today is the day I actually tell you that the theme I've chosen is the phonetic alphabet, as taught to me by my ex who served as a Marine. I remember him teaching me the words at night, like a littany...Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Gulf, Hotel, India, Juliette, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, Yankee, Zulu. It may not look exciting at first glance, but hopefully, you'll learn some interesting stuff you might not have known.

And if you signed up for the fest let me know what your number is so I can look for you. If you didn't, well, sit back and relax and get some writing done while the rest of us crazy people try to do too much :)

theme

I was thinking about this in relation to the a-z blogfest because this year I actually have a theme as opposed to last year when I pretty much just winged it. I've also already started writing my posts in advance because I'm hoping to spend time checking out other blogs as well as make time for my regulars. If I schedule my posts in advance, I may be able to accomplish just that!

I was also thinking of theme as it has to do with writing, specifically, the theme of my  latest work in progress, LONG WAY HOME.* Because I thought about theme before I ever wrote the first sentence, before I even started outlining, plotting. I wanted a particular theme to run through the book. And I think this may be the first time I consciously thought about theme BEFORE starting to write.

Do you enjoy books with certain themes? Is theme something you think about before you start writing?

* working title - I like it, but it's been done a few too many times. oh well.

A Picture Paints 1000 Words Blogfest

235

a - z blogging challenge

That's what number I am on the growing list of A-Z bloggers so mark it down on your calender and go sign up! I had a ton of fun last year coming up with my own posts and seeing what everyone else came up with. I admit I kind of winged it but that's because I was more of a pantster back then but this time I have a plan and I'm pretty excited about it. Meanwhile if you want to know more about the person who started the whole thing, his name is Arlee Bird and if you want to know the history behind the challenge click here.

Meanwhile, I'll leave you with five things you might not know about me. Arlee had ten on his post for Saturday but since he's much more of a celebrity than I am I figured five would be all you could stomach :)

1. What is your favorite thing to wear?

Assuming it's summer, shorts and a tank, no shoes, please :)

2. Who is your favorite monster?

The Shrike, from Hyperion by Dan Simmons

3. If you could dress up as a literary character who would it be?

Lucy in A ROOM WITH A VIEW - because the clothes are divine.

4. What is your favorite fairy tale, urban legend, or nursery rhyme?

The White Cat

5. What is your favorite cause?

No Kill Nation and anything else that helps reduce pet overpopulation and eliminate needless euthanasia.