The Catharine Chronicles

Imperative

2012-02-07T14:17:00.000-08:00

Found this from another, long-since forgotten blog, and really, really liked it, so I thought I'd share. I was doing a lot of writing exercises at the time, and this one was one of the few that worked out well enough for public consumption. The exercises can be found in Brian Kiteley's book, The 3 A.M. Epiphany: Uncommon Exercises that Transform Your Writing. I highly recommend it. In Kiteley

THE IRAQ WAR - FULL CIRCLE

2011-12-15T22:28:00.000-08:00

I've posted this before -- found courtesy of the Wayback Machine -- of the post I made the day we invaded Iraq, on March 19, 2003. This month, the war in Iraq officially ends, and our troops will be out of Iraq by December 31st. As we wrap up, and hope and pray that we'll be done in Afghanistan soon as well, I'd like to thank a few people who performed above and beyond the call of duty.

That Newt... He's Such a Kidder...

2011-12-05T21:57:00.001-08:00

(Well, okay, he wasn't kidding, but he was funny, and in the Sowards family, that's often all that matters.) Newt used to espouse removing poor children from the custody of their parents and placing them in orphanages (because, theoretically, being poor is abusive to children). That idea kind of went over like a big ol' lead balloon back in '94, when Newt first proposed it. When then-First Lady

Newt Gingrich Demands that President Obama "Repudiate the Concept" of the 1%

2011-11-29T13:41:00.001-08:00

Apparently, the entire premise of 1% of the nation's population controlling 18% percent of the wealth has become, according to Newt Gingrich, a "concept". Really? It's just theoretical now? Well, of course it is. Because we'd have no way of being able to actually prove that a tiny handful of very wealthy control 18% of the entire nation's money. I mean, it's not like anyone keeps records on

Master Quote of the Day (or Maybe Even Week -- We'll See)

2011-11-18T03:50:00.001-08:00

"But too many people in finance are acting as if it were 2007. Whether it is investment bankers griping about Obama being a closet socialist, Wharton MBA students chanting 'Get a job' to OWS protestors, or the Chamber of Commerce, once a moderate voice, using its money and clout to try to preserve George W. Bush’s tax cuts for the rich, the message conveyed is the same: We don’t get

What Penn State Tells Us About Us

2011-11-15T04:45:00.001-08:00

I am in the middle of NaNoWriMo, and so I didn't want to take time out to write about anything else. But this just won't die, and I have to state my piece so I can let it go and go back to the novel. I have watched for the past several weeks about the events that have unfolded surrounding former college football coach Jerry Sandusky and the accusation that he has, for the past couple of

On The Eve of NaNoWriMo

2011-10-31T14:30:00.000-07:00

Midnight tonight.That's when it begins. National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) begins soundly at 12:01 am on November 1st. Got my story. Got my characters. Got my outline. I'm ready. Well, ready as I'll ever be. I've been rereading writers I admire -- Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Gilbert, Garcia-Marquez... Just to remind myself that someone else has done it before. Writing a novel at all is

iCreative v.2.0

2011-10-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

Someone needs to invent a software that creates ideas. No, I mean, creates them -- out of whole cloth -- from nothing. Because as I sit perched precariously on the brink of my third attempt at NaNoWriMo, I have nary a one. I can't write the novel I'm in the process of writing -- that breaks the rules. So, I have to come up with something fresh and new. I've consulted my brainstorming

Someone Saved My Life Tonight, Sugar Bear

2011-08-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

This book might very well have saved my life. Day One, Year One of Forever-Until-I-Die. I walked on the treadmill and wrote down everything I ate today. Written by Chris Crowley and Dr. Henry Lodge, it tackles the ideas and misconceptions of aging, based on modern scientific knowledge and on practical application. What we have thought of "normal aging" in the past -- memory loss, mobility

Anniversaries...

2011-07-09T10:51:00.000-07:00

A year ago, this little man came into my life, amid much drama and commotion. Today, he is officially no longer an infant, but a dyed-in-the-world toddler (he's been walking for two months now). He has grown from scrawny to plump, from inert to active (very!), from docile and content to curious and adventurous. He is good and naughty, happy and put out, puzzled and all-knowing. He is a

Searching for Enlightenment

2011-07-07T18:19:00.000-07:00

So much has been made lately about the significance of certain terms put into search engines, I thought I'd put myself on the hot seat, just to see what I was searching, and what people might glean about me. In this endeavor, I personally discovered several things about myself. I spend a lot of time online looking up stuff for work (I'll spare you those boring searches, since, technically, I'm

Summer Reruns: "The Smell of 'No-Palm' In The Morning"

2011-06-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

Originally posted on Independence Day, 2008, I felt that, in the wake of electing an African-American President, it was important to revisit the issue of racism and bigotry in America this Independence Day. I think it bears taking a look at our attitudes regarding race in America, since I believe racism and the passion to which people cling to it are as relevant today as they have ever been.

Shouldn't You Be Writing Something Just About Now

2011-06-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

And the answer is... of course, I should. Isn't that why I started this blog? So I'd have to write something, sometime -- even if it was something brief and meaningless? Of course it was. So, where are all these golden words of yours, I hear you ask? Where is this brilliant literary reverie? Hm. Well... er.... uh..... If you'll just tell me what to write, I'll be happy to accommodate. It's

The Miracle of Time and Timing

2011-06-10T18:12:00.000-07:00

Have you ever realized that at some point in the past you knew more than you do now? You find an old letter or a journal or a painting, and it occurs to you that, at that moment in time, something had imbued you with a wisdom you had somehow since forgotten? It's a little gift, I think, to realize that at some point we were smarter and better prepared for life than we thought. I've been lost a

Pain -- Nature's Way of Getting You To Perk Up And Pay Attention!

2011-06-02T12:09:00.000-07:00

Last blog post back in April, I went on and on about my intermittent, but persistently nagging back pain, and how it improved with the setting of boundaries. Back then, the level of my discomfort, according to the chart at the left, registered somewhere around a 4 or 5. By this time two weeks ago, it was up to around 7 or 8, and heading quickly into 9 territory. Turns out, it wasn't back pain

"Doctor, Doctor, It Hurts When I Do This."

2011-04-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

"So don't do that." It's an old joke, but also, it turns out to be rockin' good advice. My back has been causing me no small bit of difficulty lately. I've always had neck and upper back problems, mostly due to a minor congenital weakness in the cervical spine, and an old injury I sustained during my days of unrestrained exercise bulemia. Regular trips to a masseuse or a chiropractor and a

Neil Gaiman's The Writer's Prayer

2011-04-06T17:47:00.000-07:00

Because I need to read this every day before I write, I've decided to post it here. Author Neil Gaiman felt he needed a Writer's Prayer to keep him in right with his muse. I post it here, so I'll always be able to find it. I have included a link to a blog that has posted the MP3 of Gaiman reading the poem (way sexier than reading it here), if you want: A Writer’s Prayer* Oh Lord, let me not

Who's That Girl?

2011-04-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

I was about four when this photo was taken. I'm not sure where the robot come from, but I think I appropriated it from a neighbor boy. I love this picture of me. I wish I had a larger print, but my dad (who took the photo) only printed a small test shot. Somehow, though, when I look at this girl, I can see the entire world in her face. She's never been hurt, never been made to feel small,

Boomers Gone Bust Come Back

2011-04-05T08:08:00.000-07:00

Kent State University, May 4, 1970 Reading "The Age of Miracles: Embracing the New Midlife" (Hay House, 2009), Marianne Williamson's discourse on how our generation is handling mid-life, I was struck by what she had to say about why baby-boomers hadn't effected the kind of political change they'd so clamored for in the 60s and 70s. I'm particularly struck by the fact that I happened to

Collective Bargaining

2011-03-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

Before we begin, and I start to type things that make people cranky, let me just say that my heart lies with the public workers' unions in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and throughout the Midwest that suddenly find themselves under siege, thanks to a Republican declaration of war on labor unions everywhere. I come from a pro-union family. I have watched one parent walk a picket line (three times)

Things that Make Me Go... "Hmmm..."

2011-03-09T15:13:00.000-08:00

I get eighty messages a day on my gmail, telling me that I could have my penis enlarged and that a Nigerian prince is desperate for some banking assistance. But somehow, when it comes to letting me know my domain name on this website is set to expire, those emails never seem to get through. Feels good to be back. ~C~

Love Everlasting At Our Neighborhood Starbucks

2011-02-24T15:30:00.000-08:00

The old "Can I borrow your cellphone?" ploy -- that's how he approaches her. "Can I borrow your cellphone?" he asks her. "I got locked out of my office." She acquiesces pleasantly. And why not? He's cute, well-dressed, clean-cut -- not the kind of person you'd have to worry about handing your 3G smartphone over to for a moment. He dials a number of a colleague (presumably someone with a key

The First Decade of the Twenty-first Century: Taking Stock

2011-01-04T00:57:00.000-08:00

I was not nostalgic at midnight this past Saturday. Not even a little. I was so glad to see 2010 go, I almost cried from happiness. The first decade of this century has not been an easy one, in any way. Starting with election of an utter and complete nincompoop as the 43rd President of the United States, to the terrorist attacks in New York City, to the war, to the crushed American economy, the

Know Why Atlas Shrugged? Because He Read This Book & Even He Couldn't Care Less!

2011-01-03T13:50:00.000-08:00

Why on Earth anyone would want to make a movie of this turkey of a book, I'll never know. I broke up with a guy who told me that Ayn Rand was his favorite author and personal hero, and this book was her best in his eyes. I liked this guy... a LOT. But when I read this book, knowing it was the foundation for his entire belief system -- and it was sheer torture, let me tell you -- I knew our

Angels, Saxophones and Maroon Velvet

2010-12-24T00:02:00.000-08:00

Today would have been my mother's seventy-seventh birthday. I'm missing her this year -- not the actual mom, you understand -- but the mom of my memories. The mom who lives in that photo above. The happy, beguiling, carefree mom, before she was a mom. Before she met my dad. Before things all went kind of pear-shaped in her life. Last Sunday, Mark took me to a restaurant I'd never been to --