Friday, December 12, 2008

Gratitude :)

A lovely bit of news...

Two of my poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize this year :) It's so cool when an editor not only likes your work enough to publish it in their journal, but also thinks it's good enough to nominate.

Special thanks to Susan Yount and Lissa Kiernan at Arsenic Lobster for nominating "The Noir Wife"...

And to Paul Stevens at The Shit Creek Review (scroll all the way down!) for nominating "An Introduction to the Archetypes".

(!!)

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

--tag--(I'm it!)

Via Brooklyn, (i.e. our lady of bloggerdom) six things I value...

1.) My family. I'm pretty sure most mothers would start off with family / child(ren). Okay, so I'm not being terribly original here, but without a doubt, I have to lead off with my family. They keep things interesting. I value being a mother, especially--what I've learned, how it's shaped my life and my work.

2.) All the wonderful, creative women in my life. The poets, writers, artists and other lovelies who inspire me. I'm grateful for both their work and their friendship.

3.) Solitude. Yeah, maybe that sounds strange on the heels of saying I value the people in my life so highly, but it's all about balance. Without solitude, I couldn't appreciate my family and friends, and (naturally) vice-versa. I also believe that a certain amount of solitude is necessary in order to incorporate the creative spirit into one's everyday life. So: I value the time I spend in my own company.

4.) Technology. This may seem odd, but it's a huge part of our lives, isn't it? Without it, I wouldn't feel as connected to the world of poetry & art & all things interesting (via the blogsphere, email, online journals, even B&N online and such things.) Think about it.

5.) The storytelling impulse. (In both others and in myself.) This can manifest as a film, a photograph (worth a thousand words, right?), a novel, a poem, maybe even a web site. (Yes, especially a web site!) To be human is to want to tell a story...Or listen to one.

6.) The present moment. It's all we have, really.

***

And now, just for fun, here's six things I value--the "B" side:

1.) Comfortable shoes

2.) Books, books, books

3.) Peel-n-stick stamps (No licking!)

4.) Home-cooked food

5.) Dogs & cats

6.) Unexpected kindnesses

***

Crikey! Am I supposed to tag someone now? Perhaps the lovely Nicole, as she visited me here most recently...

Monday, December 1, 2008

An Introduction to the Archetypes



Now available from Shadowbox Press!









***

Check out that cover art! Kudos to Melissa Culbertson for her awesome collage skillz :)


Also, two new poems are up at Mannequin Envy.

Today=Woo Hoo!

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

today, today, today...

Today is my annual pre-Thanksgiving baking extravaganza! So, naturally, it's all about the apple pie.

And the pumpkin bread.

If time allows, I hope to wrap up the fall issue this weekend! Tentatively, we should go live on Sunday, November 30th. (Unless we have a technological crisis--let's hope not!)

**Stay Tuned**

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

nothing.

Ahhh. I'm feeling existential this morning! Also, I'm killing a few minutes before I head out to take two (count 'em--TWO) grandmothers x-mas shopping.

Speaking of existential-ness: Has anyone else seen Cemetary Man (Dellamorte Dellamore) with Rupert Everett? Best. Zombie. Movie. Ever.

Seriously.

Otherwise, I'm working diligently on the fall issue (html issues continue to make layout challenging, but we'll get it done!), working on a little write-up for the very exciting Art & Poetry event with Missy and Melissa next spring, along with tackling some various and far less artsy and intriguing tasks.

Yesterday, Z. told me I had a way of explaining things that always made sense and made him feel better. I think that might be the best compliment I've received in a very long time.

:)

I'm still dealing with some major anxiety, but for the most part, I'm keeping busy enough to ignore it. I figure that's about as good as it gets.

Monday, November 10, 2008

So, I FINALLY saw Iron Man this weekend, after hearing all kinds of good reviews on the general awesomeness of RDJ & etc...

And, yeah, I enjoyed the movie (especially considering my current fascination with any kind of cyborg...) but admittedly, I was annoyed by (at least) ONE aspect of the movie:

Why are female characters (most notably Gwyneth Paltrow's "Pepper Potts"--don't get me started on that name, either---) always these static, wooden stereotypes in movies that seem intended to be guy-centric? (It also annoys me that movie execs assume that women dig sappy love stories and men dig action flicks--I LOVE sci-fi, hate anything to do with Nicholas Sparks (*gags*), and think female characters deserve better treatment in action films, comic books and the like...)

Granted, as an actress, I think Ms. Paltrow tends to play the same character over & over & over again (usually a prim & elegant lady of some kind--yeesh!), which bores me silly. I DO like Shakespeare in Love, but in general, I find her perfomances incredibly dull. However, I'm not sure another actress could have made this character any less boring & cliche.

I wish I'd liked the movie more. Three out of five stars, y'all. Sorry!


P.S. Yes, Robert Downey Jr. was excellent. I expected no less, really.