Cute, clever, and sensible.
Science and Storytelling
13 Jun 2013 Leave a Comment
in writing, YouTube find Tags: storytelling, brain, chemistry, empathy, distress, generosity
Good Stories: What Christians Can Offer
29 Mar 2013 2 Comments
in writing Tags: Christian, Dostoevsky, Evelyn Waugh, film, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Graham Greene, literature, Victor Hugo, writing
Yep, I think we need to work and think really hard to offer the world the sort of stories Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, Françoise Mauriac, Dostoevsky and Victor Hugo offered. But it would be worth it.
This weekend I finish my library class and start writing in earnest. Promise.
Relieved
18 Jan 2013 5 Comments
in customer service, kudos, opinion, writing Tags: averted disaster, blogging, disaster, good customer service, Google, mishap, Picasa, Wordpress
Last night I checked my blog and — horror of horrors — it was gone. Yeah, gone. The blog had been suspended and I didn’t know why.
I immediately emailed WordPress and started to fret. Why, why, why?
I had a cyber attack a couple years ago and worried something was recurring. Then I used Blogger and Google never responded to my queries and refused to offer any help or explain what had happened.
That was a long, painful incident and I lost a few blogs with years of posts and all the photos I’d paid to save on Picasa. I am no fan of Google as a result.
Surely, my beloved WordPress would be different. Right?
I’m delighted to say they are. This morning I got an email from a WordPress staff member. They checked out the incident and believe I was the victim of some weird spam incident. (So that’s the 399 hits to the China water post.)
WordPress promptly restored my blog.
Still it is a cautionary tale. I do back up my blog, which serves in part as an archive and public diary, by exporting it. You do this by going to your Dashboard, selecting Tools and then Export. Then WordPress saves everything on your blog onto your computer.
There’s no reason for all to be lost.
Alleluia! Thank you, WordPress.
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Puzzling
16 Jan 2013 6 Comments
in writing Tags: blog traffic, bloggingg, China
I checked my blog’s stats today and was quite puzzled. The graph looked really off. I’m not sure why but so far I’ve had 486 views, mainly from the US and the visitors are repeatedly consulting a post I did on China’s water. I’m in no way an expert on the water in China, though I know better than to drink it.
Go figure.
Related articles
- Four new weapons that China says frighten the US and Japan (chinadailymail.com)
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Bloggers, Books and Carl Sagan
04 Jan 2013 1 Comment
in musing, opinion, words, writing
"A book is made from a tree. It is an assemblage of flat flexible parts (still called "leaves") imprinted with dark pigmented squiggles. One glance at it and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, the author is speaking, clearly and silently, inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people, citizens of distant epochs who never knew one another.
A great post by a blogging friend. I must ruminate over which words capture this blog.
Word of 2013: Write
31 Dec 2012 Leave a Comment
in Career, welcome to my life, writing Tags: Moody Radio, New Year, New Years Resolution
This is the Day is a radio show on Moody Radio that I sometimes listen to. As the New Year approaches they’re encouraging listeners not to come up with a resolution, since most people don’t live up to resolutions, but to choose a word to “live into.” Today listeners called in and shared their words. A few words were: trust, discipline, repent, pray, stop, peace and promise. There’s a website dedicated to this One Word approach to New Years.
My word’s going to be: Write. I have a few unfinished projects that need time. It’s so easy to do everything else on a To Do list and let my writing slide. Magic elves are not going to finish my book or script. I’m starting today and will have time this break to move ahead with these projects. The trick is not adding other projects that allow me to avoid writing.
I like this one word idea as one word can help people change in many areas of their lives, while still maintaining a focus. If you sign up on the One Word website, you can check a box that triggers a regular accountability program via email.
What do I have to lose?
What would your word be?
Word of the Week
07 Aug 2012 1 Comment
in writing Tags: British, England, slang
Wazzock: (ˈwæzək) n. dialect (English) a foolish or annoying person
I read this in a Maureen Dowd editorial about Mitt’s bull in a china shop performance in the U.K. She saw the word in The Daily Telegraph.
I do love British slang.
I Crossed the Finish Line
27 Apr 2012 1 Comment
in writing
I finished the 100 pages for Script Frenzy 2012. Yep, 100 pages done.
It got me to find time for writing. But as I always say frenzy is the key word.
I’ll be the first to say that it’s a very rough piece.
As of today, 16,147 writers have written 244002 pages.
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Rules for Writing
20 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in writing Tags: hints, style tips
Rules for Writing. Helpful for bloggers of all stages of their blogging “careers.”
A Good Day
12 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
From the archives, February 2011
Yesterday I wrote 2500 words, 1000 more than my daily goal. I also walked around Chiang Rai saw 5 great wats, tutored my Afghani high school student via Skype, and worked out for an hour.
I attribute a good deal of this success to my surroundings. This Le Meridien resort has such zen-like quiet I feel I can do anything. So glad I used my Starwood points to come here.I wish I hadn’t delayed. Today I went online to try to book a room at the Le Meridien in Chiang Mai. I didn’t think they’d be fully booked. No rooms even for cash. Zannen. Back to the IMM hotel, which I’m happy with, though wouldn’t call it zen. I can hardly complain though. I’ve had great luck on the whole with accommodations.
smkelly8
