It's the birthday of essayist Michel de Montaigne, (books by this author) born in Perigord, in Bordeaux, France (1533). He is considered by many to be the creator of the personal essay, in which he used self-portrayal as a mirror of humanity in general. Writers up to the present time have imitated his informal, conversational style. He said, "The highest of wisdom is continual cheerfulness: such a state, like the region above the moon, is always clear and serene."
In keping with the theme of the personal essay, cheerfulness and writing, I'll share some thoughts about requesting favors from friends.
Recently, I discovered 2 coupons for Blue Buffalo cat and dog food online. They totaled $8, and that's a lot when you're feeding 8 animals! So, I sent requests to about 10 friends, asking them to please fill out the form (name, address) for these coupons and send to me when they arrived. Simple. One would think . . .
However, I got all kinds of responses. From "sure, will do." To, "will they send me junk mail?" To, "I tried to do it and they said I'd requested coupons before, which I hadn't."
To, "I'd be happy to, and I sent an extra one in from my husband's e-mail, too!"
From very helpful and "I get it" to no help at all and major confusion. Sheesh! Just goes to show, we're all living in a parallel world, marching to the beats of our own drummers.
One and all!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
THE VIEW Photos
“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Our time at THE VIEW was magical and flew by! We're home, now, resting and reliving the wonderful memories through pictures and thoughts.
Here's some of our highlights:
Friday, February 25, 2011
On Toni Morrison
It's the birthday of novelist Toni Morrison, (books by this author) born Chloe Anthony Wofford in Lorain, Ohio (1931). Both of her parents had moved up from the South, seeking a better life. In Lorain, her family moved around a lot, often living in tiny apartments above grocery stores. They didn't live in a black neighborhood so much as a poor one, filled with immigrants from all over the world. Despite the poverty, she said: "My parents made all of us feel as though there were these rather extraordinary deserving people within us. I felt like an aristocrat — or what I think an aristocrat is." Her mother — Who came from a family of musicians — sang while she did chores, everything from opera arias to the blues. Her parents told her ghost stories and folklore and stories of life in the South, and they encouraged her to read everything — she devoured Jane Austen, Gustave Flaubert, and Leo Tolstoy. And she listened to the radio. She said: "I was a radio child. You get in the habit of gathering information that way, and imagining the rest. You make it up. It was horrible to see pictures of Hamlet and Cinderella — it was awful. I hate to see pictures of my characters, good or bad — although I always compliment the artists."
She went to Howard University and then to Cornell for graduate school. She got a teaching job at Texas Southern University, and then at Howard, where she met a Jamaican architect named Harold Morrison. They fell in love, got married, and had a son named Ford. She kept teaching part time, but mostly stayed home and cared for her son. Her marriage started to unravel — she and her husband realized they didn't have much in common. She missed being able to talk about literature with someone. Feeling bored and isolated, she joined a writing group. She brought in some of her more academic work, but then she ran out of that, and it was her turn to bring in a piece. So she wrote a quick draft of a short story about a young black girl who wanted blue eyes. Everyone thought it was great.
When she got divorced, she had a three-year-old son and another on the way. She went home to Lorain for a while, then accepted a job as an editor with a division of Random House. She was working full time and caring for two young sons, but she decided to work on a novel on top of everything else. She said: "I was in a place where I knew I was not going to be for a long time; I didn't have any friends and didn't make any, didn't want any because I was on my way somewhere else. So I wrote as a thing to do. If I had played the piano, I think I would have done that — but I didn't have a piano and don't play. So I wrote." She expanded on the story she had written for her writing group. She said: "I was quite content to be the only reader. I thought that everything that needed to be written had been written; there was so much. I am not being facetious when I say I wrote The Bluest Eye in order to read it. And I think that is what makes the difference, because I could look at it as a reader, really as a reader, and not as my own work. And then I could say, 'This doesn't make me feel right,' and I could change it. That's what I mean by the distance. People always say that to be a good writer you have to read; that sounds like they're collecting ideas and information. But what it ought to mean is that you have to be able to read what you write critically. And with distance. And surrender to it and know the problems and not get all fraught."
She published The Bluest Eye in 1970. By the time it was published, she had already started working on her second novel, Sula (1973). She has been writing ever since, and her novels include Song of Solomon (1977), Beloved (1987), and most recently, A Mercy (2008). She won the Nobel Prize in 1993.
A Mercy begins: "Don't be afraid. My telling can't hurt you in spite of what I have done and I promise to lie quietly in the dark — weeping perhaps or occasionally seeing the blood once more — but I will never again unfold my limbs to rise up and bare teeth. I explain. You can think what I tell you a confession, if you like, but one full of curiosities familiar only in dreams and during those moments when a dog's profile plays in the steam of a kettle. Or when a corn-husk doll sitting on a shelf is soon splaying in the corner of a room and the wicked of how it got there is plain. Stranger things happen all the time everywhere. You know. I know you know."
Toni Morrison said: "I read all the reviews of my work, collect them in fact. I am very interested in the responses I get to my work, not only because it reflects my own work's reception, but also because it reflects the way in which women's and African-American literature is received and discussed."
And, "The Nobel Prize is the best thing that can happen to a writer in terms of how it affects your contracts, the publishers, and the seriousness with which your work is taken. On the other hand, it does interfere with your private life, or it can if you let it, and it has zero effect on the writing. It doesn't help you write better and if you let it, it will intimidate you about future projects. But the downside is very small compared to the upside."
And, "My books are always questions for me. What if? How does it feel to ...? Or what would it look like if you took racism out? Or what does it look like if you have the perfect town, everything you ever wanted? And so you ask a question, put it in a time when it would be theatrical to ask, and find the people who can articulate it for you and try to make them interesting. The rest of it is all structure, how to put it together."
She went to Howard University and then to Cornell for graduate school. She got a teaching job at Texas Southern University, and then at Howard, where she met a Jamaican architect named Harold Morrison. They fell in love, got married, and had a son named Ford. She kept teaching part time, but mostly stayed home and cared for her son. Her marriage started to unravel — she and her husband realized they didn't have much in common. She missed being able to talk about literature with someone. Feeling bored and isolated, she joined a writing group. She brought in some of her more academic work, but then she ran out of that, and it was her turn to bring in a piece. So she wrote a quick draft of a short story about a young black girl who wanted blue eyes. Everyone thought it was great.
When she got divorced, she had a three-year-old son and another on the way. She went home to Lorain for a while, then accepted a job as an editor with a division of Random House. She was working full time and caring for two young sons, but she decided to work on a novel on top of everything else. She said: "I was in a place where I knew I was not going to be for a long time; I didn't have any friends and didn't make any, didn't want any because I was on my way somewhere else. So I wrote as a thing to do. If I had played the piano, I think I would have done that — but I didn't have a piano and don't play. So I wrote." She expanded on the story she had written for her writing group. She said: "I was quite content to be the only reader. I thought that everything that needed to be written had been written; there was so much. I am not being facetious when I say I wrote The Bluest Eye in order to read it. And I think that is what makes the difference, because I could look at it as a reader, really as a reader, and not as my own work. And then I could say, 'This doesn't make me feel right,' and I could change it. That's what I mean by the distance. People always say that to be a good writer you have to read; that sounds like they're collecting ideas and information. But what it ought to mean is that you have to be able to read what you write critically. And with distance. And surrender to it and know the problems and not get all fraught."
She published The Bluest Eye in 1970. By the time it was published, she had already started working on her second novel, Sula (1973). She has been writing ever since, and her novels include Song of Solomon (1977), Beloved (1987), and most recently, A Mercy (2008). She won the Nobel Prize in 1993.
A Mercy begins: "Don't be afraid. My telling can't hurt you in spite of what I have done and I promise to lie quietly in the dark — weeping perhaps or occasionally seeing the blood once more — but I will never again unfold my limbs to rise up and bare teeth. I explain. You can think what I tell you a confession, if you like, but one full of curiosities familiar only in dreams and during those moments when a dog's profile plays in the steam of a kettle. Or when a corn-husk doll sitting on a shelf is soon splaying in the corner of a room and the wicked of how it got there is plain. Stranger things happen all the time everywhere. You know. I know you know."
Toni Morrison said: "I read all the reviews of my work, collect them in fact. I am very interested in the responses I get to my work, not only because it reflects my own work's reception, but also because it reflects the way in which women's and African-American literature is received and discussed."
And, "The Nobel Prize is the best thing that can happen to a writer in terms of how it affects your contracts, the publishers, and the seriousness with which your work is taken. On the other hand, it does interfere with your private life, or it can if you let it, and it has zero effect on the writing. It doesn't help you write better and if you let it, it will intimidate you about future projects. But the downside is very small compared to the upside."
And, "My books are always questions for me. What if? How does it feel to ...? Or what would it look like if you took racism out? Or what does it look like if you have the perfect town, everything you ever wanted? And so you ask a question, put it in a time when it would be theatrical to ask, and find the people who can articulate it for you and try to make them interesting. The rest of it is all structure, how to put it together."
Friday, February 11, 2011
Amongst the Din. . .A Poem. . .
The Best Thing I DidThe best thing I did for my mother was to outlive her for which I deserve no credit though it makes me glad that she didn't have to see me die Like most people (I suppose) I feel I should have done more for her Like what? I wasn't such a bad son I would have wanted to have loved her as much as she loved me but I couldn't I had a life a son of my own a wife and my youth that kept going on maybe too long And now I love her more and more so that perhaps when I die our love will be the same though I seriously doubt my heart can ever be as big as hers | ||
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The Beatles' First Appearance on American TV
On this day in 1964, the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show for the first time, as teenage girls screamed hysterically in the audience and 73 million people watched from home — a record for American television at the time. Their appearance on the show is considered the beginning of the "British Invasion" of music in the United States. The Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show the following two Sundays in a row, as well. On this first time, exactly 47 years ago today, they sang "All My Loving," "Till There Was You," "She Loves You," "I Saw Her Standing There," and finally "I Want to Hold Your Hand" — which had just hit No. 1 on the charts.
Getting Ready to go on THE VIEW
Hi Phyll,
So glad to hear you found the perfect way to move forward! You're so right about being clear and courageous!
Love, Helen
On Feb 9, 2011, at 10:26 AM, Phyllis Perry wrote:
Hi Helen,Divine intervention came to our rescue whenwe stumbled upon Chelle at Groom 'n Go onPackard. She "got it" and helped us smoothout the mattes, for the show, but recommendedwe have Sweetie shaved (in the spring) so her coatcan grow in smooth from now on.She sent us home with dry shampoo (said wettingher coat would just make the mattes worse---andthe other groomer wanted to do that) and fragrancespray to freshen her up. She trimmed away someand rounded out her paws so now she looks like atoy stuffed dog-come-to-life.It was all a matter of finding the right groomer.One who would work "with us" and understandwhat we needed, now, in getting ready to go on TV.The other lady wanted to anesthetize Sweetie Suefor a long time and comb out all her mattes. Chellesaid that would've been horrible for her skin andpulled like crazy.And that's what it was: Crazy.We all have to be clear on what we want/need andhave the courage to stand up for our convictions---in anything.Look for us on Feb. 18th, 11 AM Channel 7, THE VIEW!Warmest wishes,Phyll and Sweetie Sue
Saturday, February 5, 2011
"The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence,
his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom."
his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom."
By: James Allen
People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.
~Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.
~Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Friday, February 4, 2011
Writers
It's the birthday of writer Stewart O'Nan, (books by this author) born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1961). He worked for years as an aerospace engineer, and when he came home from work every day he would go down to his basement and write. He learned to write by copying out sentences from writers like James Joyce and F. Scott Fitzgerald and Franz Kafka, and then trying to break them down into their component parts. He wrote some short stories and the drafts of two novels, but he wasn't satisfied with them.
Then, one summer, he got a job doing research on the writer John Gardner. He sifted through boxes of Gardner's drafts and revisions, and it was then that he realized how much work went into writing fiction. He said, "It was not brilliance or facility that was necessary, but the determination to bear and even enjoy the dull process of wading into one's own bad prose again, one more time, and then once again, with the utmost concentration and taste, looking for opportunities to mine deeper."
In 1994, he published his first novel, Snow Angels, about a murder in a small town in western Pennsylvania.
He said: "Writing fiction is impossible, or at least it seems that way in the beginning. Fiction is charged with showing us the way we truly feel and who we truly are, and to do this you have to write better than you're able to."
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