"Write now is good."

Procrastination, side projects, and following true creative interests

2013-04-12T12:07:10-04:00

As I work on my school- and work-related projects, I keep a notebook nearby. Sometimes I pause to write down an idea, brainstorm a bit, or sketch something I am trying to figure out or would like to design more completely at a later time. I have notebooks full of these "interruptions," some of which have turned into constructive outcomes: groups that form for creative community and support, an idea to discuss with someone, blog...

Be part of a global writing community, this Friday, October 19th

2012-10-15T23:54:50-04:00

Image: "Miss A Writes a Song" by mrsdkrebs The National Day on Writing takes place on Friday, October 19, 2012. This year, its creator the National Writing Project (NWP) is being joined by the National Council of Teachers of English, the New York Times Learning Network, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), Edutopia, Mozilla Hive Learning Network NYC, and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting to expand the day’s reach. For 2012, the NWP’s focus is...

Where is your neighborhood Little Free Library?

2012-08-05T23:51:06-04:00

Photo: "Silverlake's Little Free Library" by Michael R Perry In 2010, Todd Bol and Rick Brooks joined forces to share their passion for literacy in a community-based way. They created Little Free Library, which encourages people to create spaces, often on their front lawns, where they can donate and borrow books. (See above picture as an example.) Others saw the benefits of having such a simple and accessible book exchange on their street and created...

July 14th, present and past

2012-07-14T22:52:02-04:00

An image from today's travels.

Mind the grocery store gap

2011-10-16T23:55:41-04:00

Image: "Empty shelves at a grocery story" by waitscm In many urban neighborhoods in the United States, supermarket shortages make it difficult for residents of these areas to buy affordable, healthy food. This lack can contribute to a host of health problems, including obesity and diabetes, as people tend to depend on fast food outlets, corner convenience stores, and bodegas for a majority of their meals. If these local venues do sell fresh produce, it's...

Searching for tweet-blogging

2011-01-05T10:58:38-05:00

Image via Hjem As I microblog (tweeting here) when I have a lot of non-blog writing to do, I've been looking for a way to feature choice tweets (of mine) on my blog. I tend to tweet interesting links I find, and I've been thinking about having a function to incorporate more lengthy discussion around a tweet. At this point, there is no fluid integration which allows tweeters/bloggers to pick a tweet and have it...

Playing with the moon

2010-11-19T14:00:14-05:00

These photographs of jeux lunaires — moon games — caught my eye. They're beautifully executed, playful and inspired. The above photo "Comme dans un tableau" — like in a picture — is one of many different images located in the online gallery of Laurent Laveder. Based on viewing his work, it looks like he often photographs life on earth during the evening and nighttime. You can purchase the book Quartier Libre by Laurent Laveder and...

Used-book dominoes

2010-10-24T18:49:51-04:00

The used-book-loving folks at Bookmans Entertainment Exchange in Arizona created this literary domino effect video. It captures my sentiment about bookstores: fun places full of information and wonder. Anyone have an idea about how many books were used? Via Galleycat

Friday needs a video

2010-10-22T12:44:42-04:00

I heard "Ready to start" by Arcade Fire on the radio yesterday for the first time. Enjoy!

"How to be alone" in a hyper-connected world

2010-08-29T13:23:02-04:00

"How to be alone" by filmmaker Andrea Dorfman and poet/singer/songwriter Tanya Davis is beautiful and perceptive in word, image and tune. After viewing the video many times, I realized that the benefits of being alone are visually implied in the film by Tanya's being in nature, outside or away from screens which constantly and digitally connect us to others. One of my favorite lines is "Start simple: things you may have previously avoided based on...