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By: shelf-employed,
on 3/28/2012
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My review of
The Midnight Zoo (as it appeared in the March 2012 edition of
SLJ)
The Midnight Zoo (unabr.). 4 CDs. 4.33 hrs. Prod. by Bolinda Audio. Dist. by Brilliance Audio. 2011. ISBN 978-1-7428-5126-6. $49.97.
Gr 7–10-- Like a 20th-century version of Avi's Crispin, who fled across 14th-century England, 12-year-old Andrej is without parents and adrift in Europe during World War II with his younger brother, Tomas, and infant sister in tow. Without destination or an understanding of the war that has divided them from their nomadic Roma clan, the siblings travel by night and sleep by day, sensing danger at every juncture. Andrej scavenges for their food and necessities for the baby. One moon-drenched evening, the trio arrives at a zoo in the ruins of a bombed village. They encounter a menagerie of talking animals, trapped in zoo cages with neither keeper nor keys. Throughout a surreal evening, the boys and animals share life stories. Through the animals, Andrej and Tomas begin to understand the nature of man and war. This understanding, however, offers more questions than answers. Richard Aspel's, rich and sonorous voice creates memorable characterizations for the many humans and animals in Sonya Harnett's novel (Candlewick, 2011), including German-speaking soldiers; his Aussie pronunciation requires a keen ear. Listeners who persevere will be rewarded with a stellar performance. With some aspects of fable, minimal dialogue, and heavy use of allegory, this artfully crafted look at the character of man and the concept of freedom may have limited popular appeal.
Copyright
© 2012 Library Journals, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
"That's what it takes to be a hero, a little gem of innocence inside you that makes you want to believe that there still exists a right and wrong. That decency will somehow triumph in the end." -Lisa Hand Those who know me well know since my son was a baby I have kept journals [...]
Today A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan has won the 2011 Tournament of Books at The Morning News–a round robin competition that pits books against books every March.
A team of literary judges decided each round of the competition, and all the judges voted on the final two books: Jonathan Franzen‘s Freedom and Egan’s novel. Egan earned nine votes; Franzen earned eight.
Andrew Womack concluded the contest with this vote: “How fortunate to find two books in the championship so comparable—both spanning decades (or beyond) and heavily centered on music. For me, this decision comes down to pacing, and Franzen is the Pink Floyd to Egan’s Sex Pistols; by the end of Freedom I couldn’t take another meandering guitar solo, while I was dazzled by how much Goon Squad packed into such a compact space.”
continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Today A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan has won the 2011 Tournament of Books at The Morning News–a round robin competition that pits books against books every March.
A team of literary judges decided each round of the competition, and all the judges voted on the final two books: Jonathan Franzen‘s Freedom and Egan’s novel. Egan earned nine votes; Franzen earned eight.
Andrew Womack concluded the contest with this vote: “How fortunate to find two books in the championship so comparable—both spanning decades (or beyond) and heavily centered on music. For me, this decision comes down to pacing, and Franzen is the Pink Floyd to Egan’s Sex Pistols; by the end of Freedom I couldn’t take another meandering guitar solo, while I was dazzled by how much Goon Squad packed into such a compact space.”
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins caught my attention quickly and held it fast throughout the rest of the book. The cliffhanger ending prompted me to buy the next two books without thinking twice.
A book like this makes you think about your situation as it is today and the direction everything is going. It is clearly set in a futuristic United States, but it's no future any of us (hopefully) would ever want. It has a corrupt government in every sense of the word. People nowadays may not be happy with the way things are going, but at least we aren't publicly whipped or shot if we want to speak out against things that are happening. We still have so many freedoms that The Hunger Games shows us we should be thankful for.
Who could live in a world where "games" are held every year pitting people–teenagers–against each other in a battle for their lives? Aside from that there is a constant fear of starvation or a fear of things getting worse than they already are, though that is hard to imagine. This government has torturous ways of dealing with difficulties that keeps everyone terrified.
One girl, a hunter who just wants to keep her family alive, especially her little sister, is faced with what she considers no choice. She enters the hunger games to save her sister from having to go. This sacrifice leads her down a road she can't turn away from. Her hunting skills and ability to out-think her opponents–and the government–are the only things keeping her alive. For now. But will the government let her truly win the games?
These are five things that inspire me today:
You can rent your own private island
My friend told me now is the time to write a blank check from The Law of Abundance
I wrote what I thought was some garbage at a new writer's group that I joined [because I've recently moved to a new city] and instead of focusing on my poor writing the group focused on the pure emotion of the piece and urged me to include it in one of my stories, so I did.
It's my brother's birthday today and I remember when my other brother--who's afraid of travel--took the train from Chicago to Texas to be with us to celebrate my older brother's 50th not so long ago.
The people of Egypt and the journalists who continue to report despite the risk.
Having a blog can be a roller coaster ride. Some days you are going up that huge ramp and your stomach goes all queasy because you aren't sure. And then some days are the rush of the downhill and the thrill of what's next. I'm on the downhill today. I asked a simple question about daydreaming and am having a beautiful dialogue about freedom. Here's the first comment:
I’m daydreaming about freedom and wondering, simultaneously, if I can even define freedom.
Click here if you'd like to join the discussion. What does freedom mean to you?
I will start this piece by asking the questions… “What is FREEDOM?...”
Now as you have likely pondered that and come up with an answer, I will share with you some thoughts on why I came to address this topic “underground”. The idea of the “underground railroad” (and I think of this as an idea) was something that has been with me since I was a child. I recall hearing the idea for the first time thinking of it as a real thing or place, an intricate tunnel that had small trains taking people from the south to the north and essentially to FREEDOM. I recall as I grew older and found out more about what it really was and filling in the space of imagination with facts that it was truly about a rebellion against an institution… the institution of slavery.
Now as an author and illustrator I am typically conscious of the words that I use… This is important in the communication of ideas. It is important because in many ways we look to ignite the imagination of our readers to go deeper into the feelings of a situation. There are certainly books that inundate us with words where you have to refer to a dictionary to understand and there are books where the words are so sparse that your “minds eye” has to capture the rest. The beauty of a picture book is that you have the luxury of visuals to accompany your words and the power of that relationship can bring so much to life in ones imagination on the subject.
That is where Underground was born... in the imagination… I began this work asking myself… “what would it feel like to be on this journey?”… and essentially I began. In many ways this is likely how those who were in this situation thought. I have always had a problem with the impression that the word “slave” provoked in the mind. As a child we learn that slaves in this country were African people… but when you read the definition of what a “slave” is there is a much broader and deeper meaning. I believe that it is dangerous to define a people or their mindset simply by words. The institution of slavery is and was about the MIND, BODY and SPIRIT of ALL people involved. It is about captors and those captured and the effects that this idea has on all living amongst it. There were people during this time in our history that did not BELIEVE in this idea of slavery. People looked at the idea and felt many things about it I am sure… “this is NOT right…!”, “this is NOT who I am…!”, “this is NOT how people should treat others…!”, “this is NOT what I want to be for the rest of my life…!” and countless thoughts can be added to this list. So when I asked myself “what it would feel like to be on the underground railroad…?” I realized that I did not have to look far for those feelings. We have all felt trapped at some point in our lives and wanted to “break free” and I am no exception. As I learned more about the underground railroad I realized that it was a SPIRIT… the spirit of a living idea. It lived amongst those “stealing away” during this time in our American history and it lives today in the spirit of those trapped and bound where they do NOT feel free and look to “BREAK THE CHAINS THAT HOLD THEM”… we are all victums and we are all looking to escape
Nini Lost and Found by Anita Lobel
This second book about Nini the cat follows the award-winning Nini Here and There that won a Caldecott Honor in 2007. In this book, Nini discovered that the door to the house has been left open and escaped out into the garden. While the house was cozy, the outdoors was also fun. There were grasses, flowers, and an entire woods to explore. But when night falls, the woods became more frightening, darker and filled with noises that could be large animals coming after her. Nini hid under a tree, but realized that she could not just stay there. That’s when she heard voices calling her from the house. With a burst of courage, Nini ran home, through the open door that closed behind her. Back to the familiar things and smells and food. She was very happy to be home and safe, for now.
Lobel’s deep colored illustrations show both the comforts of home and the enticements of the outdoors as equally welcoming. The richness of the autumnal landscape brings a warmth to the outdoors, inviting both Nini and readers to explore. Children will understand Nini’s wish to escape, wander and explore. They will also understand her conflicting desire for safety and warmth. It is a gentle take on the theme of running away from home. When the book turns darker with nightfall, Lobel’s color palette turns to deep blues, blacks and browns. The contrast is distinct and makes for a more chilling moment when Nini is hiding and scared. The contrast is clear and effective.
This simple picture book will be enjoyed by children for many different reasons. Some for the story of a cat, others will see the parallel with children running away, and others will enjoy the adventure at night in the dark. I look for books that can be enjoyed by many types of children for different reasons. This is most certainly one of them. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
Reviewed from copy received from Knopf.
By: Maryann Yin,
on 10/26/2010
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Plenty of celebrities–from Kristen Bell to Elizabeth Banks–have tweeted about Suzanne Collins‘ Hunger Games trilogy. But, not all of them have their very own talk show. That’s what sets Tyra Banks apart from all the rest. You can read Banks’ Twitter book review in the image embedded above: “Soooooo good!!!”
Shelf Life poked fun at the review: “That is especially impressive, since six o’s and three exclamation points is the highest possible score in Tyra’s rating system. (By comparison, she thought Twilight was ‘Soooo good!!’ and she broke with critical consensus by only giving the new Franzen a tepid ‘Soo good!’)”
Oprah Winfrey chose Jonathan Franzen‘s Freedom as this year’s book club pick. Could Banks review books in a post-Oprah world? Some feel that with or without Oprah, publishing will go on.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
It has been a very busy few weeks over here at BookFinds. To start, I was in the audience for Oprah’s Season Premiere and was part of the monumental show in which Oprah announced she was taking her entire audience to Austraaaaaaliaa! Yes, you heard that right. I am going to Australia for ten days with Ms. O and her audience of Ultimate Viewers. I make no secret of my love for The Oprah Winfrey Show and the Oprah Book Club in particular. I have read every single title and they have each had such a tremendous impact on my life at the time I was reading them. Well, sticking to that devotion, I am now reading Jonathan Franzen’s FREEDOM and have to say it might be one of the best books I have read all year! It questions how we look at our own freedom and challenges the belief that freedom is the path to happiness. I highly recommend you pick up this book because it will change the way you look at your world and make you see things in a completely different light. It is also a beautiful exploration into the way an ordinary life is actually extraordinary.
And finally, there was an interesting article in today’s Wall Street Journal about the perceived stigma of paperback originals. The writer points out that one book, in particular, that could change the way we look at paperback originals is David Nicholls critically acclaimed ONE DAY which was released in the US as a paperback original and has gone on to sell incredibly well.
Winner of The Familiars Arc is....
TAFFY
Congrads and email your address to me at [email protected].
NOTE: All packages to date will be mailed by Friday. If you have not gotten yours, it should be there next week.
NEWSFLASH
Mary Kole, agent at Andrea Brown is doing a webinar at Writers Digest. IT looks awesome so you should check it out! "Publish your children's, tween, and teen fiction in today's market". for only 79$. Looks like it covers:
- The essential elements of books written for younger children, tweens, and teens
- How your kid reader thinks about fiction and what they want
- What agents and editors look for in terms of pitch, writing, and book premise
- How to make your hook absolutely irresistible
- What separates an aspiring writer from a contracted author in this field
PLUS YOU can submit 1-2 pages of your work and all submissions are GUARANTEED a critique by instructor/agent Mary Kole!!! This is worth it alone...
==============
My Favorite Writing ToolsToday I wanted to
give you guys some writing tools I use. I could not write without them. Some you have heard of, some you may not have. BTW - I get no kickbacks or anything from these. It is just what I use as a writer.
1) MAC set up - - MAC AIR - I have had a couple Macs over the years - Old MacBooks, the new Macbook. I must say my MAC air is awesome. It's so light. You'd be surprised how much of a different 2 obs is when you take your laptop everywhere. It also has back lit keys. Now I never thought I'd have backlit keys but i must say it comes in very handy on airplanes (especially at night) and if I write in bed when hubby is sleeping. Now as a side note, I used to be a PC user. Anti MAC but I have converted. It takes a couple weeks to get used to it but you can get Microsoft word so it did not hinder my writing at all.
- Wireless keyboard and docking station. Since I wrote so much, the lap top was forcing me to look down alot. This is not good for someone who has bouts of vertigo. So my hubby got me a docking station. When I am at my desk, i dock my laptop so the screen is at eye level and use the wireless keyboard. That way I don't have to look down as much.
- Mighty Mouse - If you have a MAC (especially the AIR b/c it only has one
President Obama is taking a ten day vacation in Martha’s Vineyard with his wife Michelle and their two daughters. The President stopped in to the Bunch of Grapes bookstore in Vineyard Haven for some summer reading. He bought “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “The Red Pony” by John Steinbeck for the girls, as well as Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games.
For himself, he picked up the eagerly anticipated, highly praised and aptly titled “Freedom” by Jonathan Franzen. (This book does not go on sale for another two weeks but the store owner gave Obama an early review copy)
He even signed a copy of his book, “Dreams from my Father,” for a fourteen year old boy.
By:
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on 7/14/2010
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Sometimes when we talk to kids about issues going on in the world, like I wrote about on Monday with my stepson and the visiting priest from Africa who needs money for his church, it is hard for them to understand what we mean by freedom–especially if they live in a free country like the United States. It’s hard for them to imagine that there are places where children don’t have the freedom to go to school or church or the doctor when they are sick. Young children, especially, need concrete examples of what freedom means, especially if they are taking part in any type of donation activity (like collecting pennies for an organization like Loose Change to Loosen Chains).
This book, This is the Dream written by Diane Z. Shore and Jessica Alexander and illustrated by James Ransome, is a great picture book that can illustrate the concept of freedom. What I especially like about this bright and colorful book is the way it shows the United States before the Civil Rights movement, then some of the Civil Rights leaders, and then the way the country is now–with freedom for everyone. In the year 2010, the fact that black people used to drink from a separate fountain or ride at the back of the bus might be particularly shocking for our children since less than 50 years later, our president is black.
Here are a few verses from this great book:
“These are the fountains that stand in the square, and the black-and-white signs say who will drink there.”
“These are the leaders whose powerful voices lift up marchers demanding new choices.”
“This is the fountain that stands in the square and the unwritten rule is to take turns and share.”
Love it!!
In order for children to understand what it looks like when there’s not freedom and what it looks like when there is, you can use a picture book like This is the Dream by Diane Z. Shore and Jessica Alexander. Then you can explain to them how around the world in the 21st century, there are still people living without freedom, and we are collecting pennies to try and help them. The Civil Rights leaders helped in the United States, and now it’s our turn!
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on 7/5/2010
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photo by Beverly & Pack www.flickr.com
July 4th is always a good day for me. I love summer, I love festivals, and I love BBQ. I also love my husband, and it’s our anniversary–so even more reason to celebrate. I don’t always take the time to really think about what we are celebrating on July 4th; but this year, I thought about it more than usual. Probably because of this blog and the information I’ve been sharing about helping girls and women around the world, probably because of reading Half the Sky, and probably because of my two experiences building houses in Juarez, Mexico. Well, whatever the reason, here are some thoughts I had on freedom and education.
There’s no point in telling an American child or teen how lucky they are to go to school, to get a free and usually good public education, and to most of the time have a safe way to get to school. I know there are places in the United States where this isn’t necessarily true, and this is a disgrace. But for the most part, our kids are lucky to go to school and get an education. Some kids and teens are even starting to miss it about now if they go to a traditional school with a nine-month calendar. They’re ready for structure, friends, and some brain challenges.
When I was in Juarez, Mexico in a poor, desert community, kids didn’t get to go to school every day. If they did go every day, they went for a couple hours, and that was it. The reason was there was not enough room, supplies, teachers for all the kids in the area to go to school at the same time. So they had to stagger their schedules. As we all know, education is one of the best ways to fight poverty. Without an education, a person has a harder time getting a job and unfortunately, having a child at a too-young age. Kids in Juarez liked the days they went to school and wanted to go more–at least the ones I talked to with my limited (very limited!) Spanish. It’s a freedom they don’t have readily provided for them.
In Half the Sky, there are chapters and stories that discuss how dangerous it is for children to make it to school in some areas. The walk is far and hard, and they have to worry about being attacked by gangs or other tribes or criminals. They have to worry about being kidnapped and sold into the human trafficking system. And so their parent’s don’t let them go. Their parents would rather keep them safe. Many parents have no money to send their children to school, and education is not free or a freedom in these places.
I’m not saying we need to change our kids’ opinions of school, but we can help them see the good points and maybe their opinion will change on their own. We can talk about how happy we were to go to school and get an education, to pursue a career that makes us happy and pays for the things in our houses. If we have older children who can handle some of the heartbreaking stories in Half the Sky, we can share them. And we can do this at any time. We can be thankful for our freedoms at any time–not just at the beginning of July.
I’m reading more and more about modern-day abolitionists. I love this term! Many of them help people out of slavery and poverty and do this by providing an education. I’ll feature one tomorrow. Here are a few children’s books about freedom–most dealing with the past, but you can always apply these concepts to the world today:
The fourth of July. THANK YOU everyone who's fought to make us free here in the USA.
Why so many choose to celebrate this by shooting stuff into the air that makes really loud noise though is beyond me. Don't tell me I'm getting old because I hated it even when I was a kid. I think I came out of the womb saying "stop making that noise!". But anyway, fireworks, I don't know, I'll just be glad when its all over.
Saachi here on the right goes under the bed when it starts. Bless him - he's the biggest of the kitties, and also the most afraid one.
Phyllo on the other hand - not much ruffles him. Every night he's on the chair on the back porch, oblivious to it all. I still gather him up and bring him inside though, just to be safe.
He does have a thing for bags or anything lumpy he can lounge on. In the pic above he's on my mom's purse - which she obligingly left here for him (which meant she had to change to another one for summer, just so he could have this one, which he LOVES.)
Below, he's making my dinner nice and flat. That's what I get for eating fast food. But you haven't lived until you've had flat fries, I'm telling you.
In more artsy news, CPSA has posted a preview of the art for the Silent Auction for the upcoming show. Lots of pretty pictures.
Off to eat a hot dog and potato salad and feel patriotic - Happy 4th!
Spring
gives me wings.
I'm soaring!
For more six words, click here please!
(The stamps in the piece are from Caroline in Malaysia, my cousin in New Brunswick, Canada, and Jossie in London!)
The Firefly Letters by Margarita Engle
I have adored Engle and her poetry since first reading her Poet Slave of Cuba. This historical novel told in verse tells the story of early Swedish feminist Fredrika Bremer and her travels in Cuba. While in Cuba she inspires and changes the lives of two women, a slave named Cecilia and a wealthy young woman named Elena. At first amazed and shocked by the freedom Fredrika demonstrates, Elena warms to her as she begins to understand that the future could be different than just an arranged marriage. Cecilia finds in Fredrika a woman who looks beyond her slave status and a role model for hope. Told in Engle’s radiant verse, this is another novel by this splendid author that is to be treasured.
As with all of her novels, Engle writes about the duality of Cuba: the dark side and the light, the beauty and the ugliness. Once again she explores the horrific legacy of slavery without flinching from its truth. Against that background of slavery, she has written a novel of freedom. It is the story of a woman who refused to be defined by the limitations of her birth and her sex, instead deciding to travel and write rather than marry. Fredrika is purely freedom, beautifully contrasted with the two women who are both captured in different ways and forced into lives beyond their control.
Beautifully done, this book is an excellent example of the verse novel. Each poem can stand on its own and still works to tell a cohesive story. At times Engle’s words are so lovely that they give pause and must be reread. This simply deepens the impact of the book. Engle also uses strong images in her poems. In this book, fireflies are an important image that work to reveal light and dark, as well as freedom and captivity.
Highly recommended, this author needs to be read by those who enjoy poetry, those who enjoy history, and those who simply are looking for great writing. Appropriate for ages 11-14.
Reviewed from library copy.
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By:
Lizzy Burns,
on 11/27/2009
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Only a Witch Can Fly
by Alison McGhee, illustrated by Taeeun Yoo. Feiwel & Friends, 2009. Review copy supplied by publisher. Picture book.
The Plot: A young witch desperately wants to fly.
The Good: This story of learning to fly is written as a sestina. The repartition both lulls the reader and reassures the reader, while cheering on the young witch in her goal: flight. This also makes it a great read aloud; there is something about poetry that just works better when read.
On the surface, this is a story of try, try again, similar to stories of learning how to ride a bike or swim. But, this is flight. Something so much more than just riding or swimming; flying is about growing up and leaving childhood behind, it's about not accepting limitations, and it's about freedom.
Here is the young witch, finally flying, and its words that could cheer and encourage anyone: "Hold tight to your broom
and float past the stars,
and turn to the heavens and soar.
For only a witch can fly past the moon.
Only a witch can fly."
And I read those final words and thought, "and we are all witches."
Let me tell you, that photo of the cover doesn't give the actual cover justice. The moon is a soft, light butter yellow that matches the font of the title and it just makes you go "oooohhhh... I must pick this up. I must touch this cover." The colors throughout the book are warm: black, brown, orange, green. Yoo shares details about her art at an interview with Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. And the young witch has striped stockings. I so, so want those types of stockings but alas, at my age cannot carry off that look.
The Poetry Friday round-up is at Becky's Book Reviews.
Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.
© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Last week I reported on efforts to ban SPEAK in CA, and TWISTED in KY and PA. Thankfully, all of the attempts to remove the books were defeated.
This week, things are worse.
Teachers at Montgomery High School in Mt. Sterling, KY have been banned from wearing Banned Books Week tee-shirts that feature a quote from To Kill A Mockingbird.
(Yes, that is where they tried to ban TWISTED, UNWIND, LESSONS OF A DEAD GIRL, DEADLINE, THE RAPTURE OF CANAAN, WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN'T KNOW and WHAT MY GIRLFRIEND DOESN'T KNOW)
The rationale for the ban was that wearing the shirts constituted political activity.
God, I wish I was making this up. But I am not. I will post a link to news coverage of this horrifying nightmare as soon as it is available.
Other book banning notes:
John Green blogged about parent demands in Leesburg, FL, that tighter restrictions be put on 40 books in the public library, included LOOKING FOR ALASKA. Be sure to watch the replay of John's vlog, "I Am Not A Pornographer." Genius.
Lee Wind has an EXCELLENT roundtable discussion with Ellen Hopkins, E. Lockhart, Jo Knowles, Jacqui Robbins, Sarah Brannan, and Frank Portman about challenges to their books. Read Part 1 now!
What can we do to protect books and readers and teachers and librarians?
If you live in Central New York, you can go to the Onondaga County Public Library at 5:30-7:30pm tonight to listen to Sonya Sones talk about her experience with book banning.
Read this wonderful interview with Chris Crutcher. Heed his advice about how to deal with censorship: "Never be intimidated. The loud voices for censorship actually represent a very small number of people. Judge yourself by your enemies as much as you judge yourself by your friends."
YALSA has some great suggestions on its blog.
If you don't have book banning attempts in your community, take the time to thank your local school superintendent and library board for their intelligent understanding of the Constitution. If you do have challenges to books in your community, speak out loudly.
And last, some wonderful news for a change: attendance records at the National Book Festival were shattered as more than 130,000 book lovers turned out to listen to authors in Washington, DC.
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[email protected] (Mark Blevis and Andrea ,
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Author: Vanessa Newton (on JOMB)
Illustrator: Vanessa Newton
Published: 2009 Chronicle Books (on JOMB)
ISBN: 9781934706909
Spot-on sixties-style illustrations, simple, springboard text and a soulful, sing along refrain shine a celebratory light on 18 individuals who stood tall and opened doors for generations.
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All seems about money! Projects shelved, people laid off, children pulled out of schools. People flying away overnight back home with no money, no jobs. It’s a laugh.
What a handful of greedy people of this world can shake it up. Why only 10% of this world are billionaires and trillionaires. People we thought we could look up; to respect and perhaps some had become role models for a lot of us both the young and not so young adults.
Today, these 10% of whom I would call greedy bees could break open and tear the world into shreds.
Families been torn apart, left separated. Children forced to stay away from fathers who have decided to move to avenues to fund the basics. Lovers who were to meet, and start life remain as they were.
Life has become reckless and left ruined. Peace which seems like a marathon, love that seems like a huge 900mts tall like the Burj Fantasy. What a laugh!
Let’s all laugh and really laugh loud. Shed all the hurt and let the tears drain away the negatives. Let’s take the stride and move again. Like the French emperor who lost several times and had to regain strength for the cause of freedom.
Today, each one of us is the French emperor. Time to wake up and desire freedom.
Freedom from hurt, freedom from being ruled by others, freedom from living on sheer means.
Time that we said, we are tired. Tired of being dependent.
Let’s start finding financial freedom! Perhaps the only way we can reunite the lost souls, the lost families, the lost lovers.
Let’s empower ourselves and stop being lazy anymore. Let’s make ourselves so strong that no bunch of these greedy Bee’s can desire to turn the scales of life of the entire world.
What greed can do? Perhaps somewhere we have been responsible too.
Always thought, we are going to keep that job forever. Never bothered to do our jobs well, increase our productivity or add value beyond expectations.
We all lived in our comfort zone. Outrageously made excuses on delays. Wasted energies, wasted wealth. When is it that we are going to realize that somewhere each one of us has been responsible
Group-ism, Mafia’s at work, racism. Trying to pull each other down. Disrespected nationalities. Never worked together as a team and helped each other do our jobs better.
Die hard desire to succeed and yet kept kicking others who asked for help. Never thought that we need help too. All those ambitious people who knew the shortest way to succeed was to get others out of the way and make big salaries. Today they stand at a loss.
It’s time we all thought together, realized a few basics of living together in a society, whether it’s a society at home, work, a country or world at large. Time that we realized that united we stand.
Corporate governance is well asked for but what about personal governance. Who is going to tell us that other than our self realization?
How many of us realize that both knowledge and wealth only grows with sharing? And how many of us do that?
What about gratitude and love and all the goodness that only will attract bigger faith?
Who is going to teach us that?
We call ourselves self reliant as we are not beast but human beings who can think and desire. Guess Time had to play its strongest strike. A slap on the face and being stumped on the nose. Amnesia!
Are we going to awaken, realize and change after all?
By:
[email protected] (Mark Blevis and Andrea ,
on 7/1/2009
Blog:
Just One More Book Children's Book Podcast
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Author: Robbyn Smith van Frankenhuyzen
Illustrator: Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen
Published: 2009 Sleeping Bear Press
ISBN: 9781585364176
Doey eyes, gangly legs and silent, tangible devotion make this true tale of rescue, regret and release a thought provoking look at the value of life and freedom.
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By:
[email protected] (Mark Blevis and Andrea ,
on 6/24/2009
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Author: Idries Shah (on JOMB)
Illustrator: Natasha Delmar (on JOMB)
Published: 2006 Hoopoe Books (on JOMB)
ISBN: 1883536421
This delicately illustrated tale of travel and tragedy reminds us that today’s disaster just might be a necessary step towards the ultimate attainment of our heart’s desire.
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By:
[email protected] (Mark Blevis and Andrea ,
on 5/27/2009
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Author: Beatrice Schenk de Regniers (on JOMB)
Illustrator: Margot Tomes (on JOMB)
Published: 1976 Marshall Cavendish (on JOMB)
ISBN: 0761455469
Chapters.ca Amazon.com
With its chatty narrative, droll dialogue and playfully illustrated play-by-play, this plucky retelling of the traditional Slavic tale is practically bound theatre.
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Great ideas! I'm going to check out TweetDeck. I spend way to much time checking social media stuff :)
Oh yeah, headphones and Tweetdeck for the win!
And I keep considering ordering Scrivenger, but don't know what's holding me back :-(
I don't have a Mac - but will definitely be considering it for my next purchase - so many writers love it!
I do love TweetDeck and can't imagine being on Twitter without it :)
I do love myself some Tweetdeck. I also like the new internet browsers - chrome being my fave - because it doesn't force me to have a million windows open to have the websites I reference to most often available to me. Headphones. Pandora or iPod. Oh, and a door that shuts me into my office without the shrieking 5yo & 2yo is always nice too.
My blog Sister LOVES Scrivener and as I have a Mac, I'm seriously considering it. I just discovered Tweetdeck myself and love it--and just a month ago, I was terrified of all things Twitter. Who knew?
Interesting ideas. I use a free mind-mapping software called FreeMind for plotting. It helps me to organize my thoughts in a neater way since my notebooks often get very messy.
Great post!
Thanks for the tips. If I ever get on twitter, I'll check out Tweetdeck.
My goal is to get active on Twitter and Facebook over the coming weeks, so I'll definitely have to check into that Tweetdeck. Thanks for the ideas.
Pandora and headphones. They block out the fighting of my kids. :)
I love Tweetdeck too!
Scrivener rocks! That's really the only thing I use to write. I export to Word so I can send the ms to betas, but Scrivener makes the writing part easier. :)
*hearts Macs*
Thanks for the info on Mary Kole...I'm headed over there right now!
Also, loved all your tools. Write or Die sounds like a real kick in the pants!
I love your ideas! They are all good. I also need a good pair of glasses and word check (I love that thing)!
I love my laptop. I can take it anywhere in the house or backyard.
I want to try Write OR Die tomorrow.
I also like Pandora,Elana!