How to make a sore throated girl better, Or... last night! This morning! Wonderful! Or...YAY!!! I found the blog of the author of a book I just got

I got the book at Tattered Cover in Denver. It's my favorite place in the world. Well, my favorite retailer in the world.

I got the sore throat from A. I had been making pre-emptive strikes via Vitamin C doses every two hours or so. And I avoided kissing him on the lips. Which wasn't fun...

But I got the sore throat.

Haven't missed work, and it looks like I won't have to. I still feel crummy, but much better, and I am amazed that I didn't have to go to a doctor and get a prescription to feel better per the old family tradition.

Last night I almost didn't feel like going out for dinner. But I did. And I had a rootbeer, which makes sore throats feel way better. And it has more lasting effect, I think, than over the counter stuff.

And the conversation was great and I felt much improved and just found I kept wanting to talk-- strange for someone with a sore throat-- NOT strange at all for me.

Then A and I spent about an hour in his hammock listening to music and cuddling and... ::sigh:: Simply put, I'm well-cared for and absolutely adored.

This morning I woke up at 5 (A has to leave for his job earlier than that) and went to my pretty pretty Jeep for the gifts I had left there. And I wrapped. And wrapped. Then called my parents. Then tried to sleep, but couldn't because I have two gifts left to wrap by 3 p.m. and I also wanted to update my blog (there are a bunch of handy links on that sidebar now, cheeky baby!!!).

So I got up, got online, and needed to find a link for a book I had bought myself at Tattered Cover.... It's How to Make a Living as a Poet by Gary Mex Glazner. I googled. And I think the 7th or 8th hit revealed a blogspot link!

I could not quite believe my eyes, but Glazner DOES have a blog at blogspot! HOOOOOORAAAAAAYYYYY!!!! :-)

So I posted and I linked. And I link again, for his book states clearly in its firstest pages that the book is intended to HELP SELL POETRY BOOKS. And I can think of few causes more worthy of promotion: Gary Mex Glanzer's How to make a living as a poet blog

So I commented on his latest entry WITHOUT reading it! ... Shameful... but I only did it because I was too darn excited to have the patience to read... because I wanted to update my blog.... because soooo many things.... And because it is always nice to have things to look forward to.

.... a final word or 800: My friend T L Reynolds, another fellow blogspot blogger, posted about Leaf Press. Here's another site to look forward to investigating. They state they publish poetry chapbooks. It looks like they have contests aplenty for poets. And I've heard they Web publish one unknown poet's poem every Monday.

It seems the Internet has more to offer than I previously imagined.

News: College paper pulls GLBT advertisement

Well, I'm not entirely pleased with this news, but I saw it working yesterday and emailed the link to myself with a promise I at least post the link.

Gay ad booted from school paper

Scared of Santa

Like many tots and children, I was PETRIFIED of Santa. I remember I didn't want to walk past him at the mall. I stuck to the storefronts and away from the center floor, where Santa sat, large, in charge... awaiting my behind and my wishes.

I'm certainly not alone! Here are pictures of children frightened of Mr. Claus, compiled with contributions to the Chicago Tribune Online: Season's Screamings.

Happy holidays.

Expect more news here in the next 24 hours.

Blue Mountain Arts looking for submissions

Blogger's note: This comes from an email I recently received. I do not know enough about copyright law to really encourage submitting your work here. I do have some information on the other side of town about copyright, and I do intend to post that information as a blog later this week. "Exclusive" sounds pretty scary. I guess if you aren't much of a poet (and not many people buy poetry anyway so this could be a good way of getting money for poetry), this is ideal. Also, if you copyright your work, which you can do in bulk once a year, this could be beneficial.

Forgive me that I am learning, oh blog-readers.

Blue Mountain Arts is a Boulder, Colo. based publisher of greeting cards,
books, and gift items. We rely on freelance writers to provide much of
the material we publish and thought your students or faculty might be
interested in submitting original
material to us for possible publication.

Our books and anthologies cover a wide-range of topics, including:
self-help, personal growth, young adult, teen/tween, family, and
relationships. The themes of our cards include: love, friendship,
family, encouragement, special occasions, and life dreams and challenges. It has
often been said that our cards express emotions people want to
communicate but don't always know how to put into words.


We pay $300 for a work chosen for publication on a greeting card or $50
for a work chosen for one-time use in a book.


We would greatly appreciate your sharing this opportunity. I've pasted a copy of our writers' guidelines below. You may also request a copy of our guidelines by e-mailing me at write4us@sps.com.

We also accept book ideas or submissions. If you would like to receive
those guidelines, let me know and I will forward them to you.


Please send submission to:

Blue Mountain Arts Editorial Department WU

P. O. Box 1007

Boulder, CO 80306


Or e-mail them to: write4us@sps.com






WRITER'S GUIDELINES


Blue Mountain Arts is interested in reviewing poetry and writings that
would be appropriate for our greeting cards.

1. WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR: Contemporary prose or poetry written from
personal experience that reflects the thoughts and feelings people
today want to communicate to one another, but don't always know how to
put into words. Because our cards capture genuine emotions on topics
such as love, friendship, family, missing you, and other real-life
subjects, we suggest that you have a friend, relative, or someone else
in your life in mind as you write. Writings on special occasions
(birthday, anniversary, congratulations, etc.) as well as the
challenges, difficulties, and aspirations of life are also considered.
We are looking for new, original, and creative writings that do not
sound like anything we have already published.


2. WHAT WE ARE NOT LOOKING FOR: Rhymed poetry, religious verse,
one-liners, or humor. Try to avoid frequently overused words and
phrases, such as "special," "gift," "sending you a hug," "birthday
wishes for you," and "angel." We receive a large number of submissions
about mothers, sons, daughters, and love. For these themes, we only
consider writings that are refreshing and unique or that express
age-old sentiments in new and different ways. (Hint: Avoid lines like
"You were always there for me," "I remember when you were a baby," "I
am so proud of you," and "You are my dream come true.")


3. POSTAL SUBMISSIONS: Send to Blue Mountain Arts Editorial Department,
P. O. Box 1007, Boulder, CO 80306. Work should be typewritten; one
poem per page please. Your name should appear on every page. You may
submit as many poems at one time as you wish. If you would like a
response and/or to have your work returned, you must enclose a
self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) of adequate size, with the
correct postage. Be sure to include your name, address, and telephone
number with your submission, and please keep us informed of all address
and telephone number changes. Include your e-mail address if you wish
to receive periodic e-mail updates of our current needs.


4. E-MAIL SUBMISSIONS: Send to editorial@sps.com. PLEASE DO NOT SEND
ATTACHMENTS OR WEBSITE LINKS. Type or paste the text of your work(s)
into the body of the e-mail. You may submit as many different works as
you wish all in the same e-mail. Be sure to include your name, address,
and telephone number.

E-mail submissions will receive an automatic reply as receipt of your
submission.


5. SUBMISSIONS SELECTED FOR FURTHER REVIEW will receive a response by
postal mail within 2 to 4 months. We are unable to respond to e-mail
submissions that are not chosen for further review, so if you do not
hear from us within 4 months, you can assume that your work is no
longer under consideration.

6. PAYMENT: We pay $300 per poem for the worldwide, exclusive rights to
publish it on a greeting card and other products, and $50 per poem for
one-time use in a book. Publication procedures will be explained in
detail prior to actually publishing your work.


7. QUESTIONS concerning your submission can be sent to Blue Mountain
Arts Editorial Department, P. O. Box 1007, Boulder, CO 80306, or you
can e-mail us at editorial@sps.com. Please do not telephone.

8. COPYRIGHT: Your work need not be copyrighted prior to submission.
For information on how to apply for a copyright, please contact the
United States Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
20559.


9. SUBMISSIONS FROM OUTSIDE THE U.S. are accepted, but only in the
English language.


10. SEASONAL POETRY SUBMISSION DATES: We welcome material for the
following holidays. Submissions received after the dates shown may be
held for review until the following year.



Christmas & General Holiday: Sept. 12, 2005

Valentine's Day: Oct. 24, 2005

Easter: Jan. 9, 2006

Mother's Day: Feb. 27, 2006

Father's Day: Mar. 20, 2006

You... call.... that.... art...?

Some days there's no arguing about it -- I have the funnest job in the world.

Yesterday was one of those days!

At my employer, YourHub.com , we're having a holiday illustration contest.

And we've received some great illustrations: A train at the North Pole... an elf talking to Santa on his cell phone... and the Sugar Plum Fairy visiting a house decorated with a very pretty tree

I thought it'd be fun to try my hand at illustrating the holidays, too. My friend took pictures of me as I worked, and added his input about what I should include. It was an hour full of laughter, and I think the story turned out to reflect the experience.

You can see my drawing, the story, and a photo of myself working on my illustration at my desk. It's called You call this art?

I also hope you'll leave a comment or rate my drawing at the Web site, if you have time.

Happy holidays!

News: Alas, he could've saved a lot of money...

Man jailed after beheading gecko

Just wanted to share a story I found while looking to update one of my Web sites at work.

Accidents

I think many writers will agree on one thing: rarely are there accidents in art-- just things that could use revision.

My professor just emailed me about a poem I had recently written. I had titled it "Maternal Voice". She referred to it only as "Maternal".

And I vote for that as a better title.

There are many instances of an intended word-- even an intended relationship-- fatefully turned into an unintended insight..... or apathetically, lazily, accidentally, mistakenly better.

Ah, sweet mystery of meaning.

;-)

Any other stories like that floating about? .... I know there are... Please share.

::offers a chair with good lighting and a nearby desk with pen and paper::

A proposal for National Poetry Writing Month

Dear readers (and honorable lurkers)!!!

I am MOST thrilled to have found for the writer in you today a couple different places to peruse.

First, I went to Teh Blogfather site, where blogs can be submitted for humorous review. And I saw one review that compelled me to follow through on the link, and lo and behold, I think I have a new best friend, even if SHE doesn't know it yet.

T L Reynolds is looking into a freelance writing career... and as she does so, she is SHARING HER REVELATIONS!!!! Donne's Holy Sonnets, that's brilliant and generous!!!

And inspiring.... I think I'll do the same on this blog (instead of just within email). The main focus, of course, will be on poetry.

(And a side note: If you live in the Denver metro area, or the Memphis metro area, then YourHub.com is THE PLACE for writers and photographers. You can post your work for free. It will appear on the site. It may appear in print, too. All copyright remains yours.

Milk it for all its worth. Get clips. Do you need travel writing clips? SUBMIT travel writing!!! Are you someone near Memphis or Denver who is trying to GET submissions for a publication? POST A PRESS RELEASE. Yeeehah. ;-))

::deep breath:: There are a lot of caps in this entry, because I AM excited. :-) I know it's soooo unjournalistic, and NOT AP style!!! :-P

Right. So that's the first great discovery of the morning. And a plug for YourHub.com.

My second great discovery, which inspired this post and its title, is this post at Living Poetry (A bloody beautiful site, and sure to be a favorite of mine, and OH HOW I MUST UPDATE MY LINKS AND ACTUALLY ADD BLOGS I VISIT REGULARLY!!!!): National Poetry Writing Month?

I think we need to launch this concept. There's been National Novel Writing Month for a few years or more (I've not done the research). I reckon I'll wait til the New Year to see if a Web site for National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo) pops up (and I've not researched that yet, either!!!). Then, if there is none, that's when I strike.

I plan to promote it hardcore, regardless.

You have been warned.

The zen and art of haiku and holiday package maintenance

Blogger's note: The use of the word "zen" here is misleading. In fact, readers' efforts to help the author find the zen in haiku and holiday package maintenance are encouraged.

Haiku is cool.

Well, mostly.

Actually, I'm not too fond of it. Ain't for me to write, just to read.

It's not meant for English, you see.....

My friend and fellow poetry workshopper, Steve, told my poetry group (finally named! The Liminal Wrablets of Hermes) a few months ago that an American writer gave the old haiku a facelift. That wonderful writer, whoever he is, has decided that English haiku must follow a 4/8/4 pattern, not 5/7/5. Because, hey, our language is different. It fits our syllables better, thank you.

I have a longtime friend who keeps a haiku blog: Pink Shoe Haiku

And she recently started an open haiku thread. So knock yourself out and pay a visit, even if just to see what everyone else has done.

Updated daily as far as I can tell, here's another impressive haiku blog at blogspot:
">James A Lockhart

And, finally, the director of the Colorado Poets Association led me to this haiku link:
The Colorado Poets Association's haiku page

As for holiday package maintenance, OH DEAR. I had virtually all of my holiday gifts purchased at least two weeks before Thanksgiving.

And I was in the mood to wrap them and bring them to Thanksgiving at my parents'.

But, no, I've absolutely NOT done anything close to that. And I have gifts to mail to Jerusalem.

I thought the holidays were about spending time with those you love. And warmth. And fun things. But now that I'm out of college and on a career path I can live with, I very much understand where the working world comes from.

Preparing for the holidays is a right pain.

YOU people can come get your pressies and we'll save the environment together by me not wrapping them:

Steve
Kathy
Nick
Julie
Yael
Mom
Dad
Mom2
Dad2
Ga-Ga

Oh man... And I'm going to be in the secret gift exchange at work, and I'm leaving for vacation Dec. 17...

And yeah, I did this last April, too!!!

I used to have myself a home on a BBC Web site. The premise behind it is the creation of a virtual Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Yes. It's based loosely on the Douglas Adams series.

I worked on some guide entries. One on Emily Dickinson, one on drums... I'm a big fan of both, but dunno why I didn't create a guide entry about RINGO, who is undoubtedly my favorite BEATLE.

And one about Beowulf.

Right. So here's that old post:

Things I'd like out of life
Apr 24, 2005

two weeks in Italy
time on Crete
visit with Lady Pennywhistle in Jerusalem
more kisses from Virgo2
flight courtesy of Virgo2
poker lessons/games with Virgo2
internship in Turkey
visit St. Petersburg with my friend Julie
spend time with Julie, in person, at least once every two years
touch down on all seven continents
publish at least one book
live happily: write and contribute for a living*
receive random roses.... at least once...
have a bath drawn for me without asking
Rethink grad school and travel plans in one year

And perhaps... Scotland and Ireland

*this means that I never run into debt and I can support myself and any dependents. Contribute means volunteer work/caring for others as well as submitting to various publications.

::post transimission concluded::

How far have I come?

Still working on:

visit with Lady Pennywhistle in Jerusalem
more kisses from Virgo2
touch down on all seven continents
publish at least one book
live happily: write and contribute for a living

I have apparently abandoned:
receive random roses.... at least once...

Why? I have realized that this was merely a materialistic representation of something I really wanted: To feel wholly loved and accepted. And I get that all the time, from one Virgo2, who is known here as Le Aviator (name subject to change).

The other items have been edited, or they go on the very very back burner:

The original, in their original order:

two weeks in Italy
time on Crete
flight courtesy of Virgo2
poker lessons/games with Virgo2
internship in Turkey
visit St. Petersburg with my friend Julie
spend time with Julie, in person, at least once every two years
have a bath drawn for me without asking
Rethink grad school and travel plans in one year


These would now be:
flight courtesy of A, which is happening in exactly 14 days. YAY!!!
more poker games with A
spend time with Julie, in person, at least once every ten years
visit St. Petersburg with my friend Julie
continue to enjoy baths (yes, they've been drawn for me!!! And yes, I shower every day)
two weeks in Italy?
time on Crete?
internship in Turkey?
Rethink career and travel plans

Now for my official, updated list of Things I want out of Life!

More A
Travel places I want to travel to:
Jerusalem
Greece
Turkey
Russia
Africa
Antarctica
MAYBE Australia (I worked with someone who's invited me to visit her there)
Asia
South America
Possibly Italy
Potenially Easter Island, or just some nifty, handy islands
To publish my bloody book, or at least feel I did a bang up job trying
To inspire other poets
To write for a living, and to try living as a freelance writer/layout person for at least 8 months straight
To probably realize I should wait til I get a position on the Antarctic Sun before I try working freelance, since then I can keep my good job and excellent insurance until then, at which point I may not have a job when I get back from The Ice.
To get over my issues with my mother
To have a clearer, more relaxed head so I can put forth energy into my "extra-curricular" writing
To submit three poems once a month. I feel I'll never get to this point. I WANT TO LET MY BRAIN AND TYPING FINGERS RELAX WhEN I'M NOT WORKING FOR THE PAPER!!!!

::ahem::

Thank you.