ok time to get started on this goal, going to do it in chunks of 20:
1. brown eyes
2. long dreadlocks
3. black hair
4. brown skin
5. favorite color is pink
6. capricorn
7. big feet
8. knot-kneed
9. lucid dreamer
10. vegetarian
11. creative
12. writer
13. gardener
14. eco-friendly
15. quilter
16. DIY lifestyle liver
17. frugal
18. ambitious
19. night owl
20. united states citizen
I’m thinking of a woman I know, a filmmaker my age who is headed for a great success. She really deserves all the success that is coming to her, not only because she works so hard and stays so positive, but because she knows herself and is unafraid of naming and claiming what she wants in life. I really admire that a great deal. I do it too, but it’s always still such an interior battle with fear to make myself do what I want to do. I’m working on getting over this!
I have kinda always gone my own way and done my own thing but I was about 29 when I began to seriously follow my dreams. I’m 37 now and at the point where I know with confidence that this is what I do, because I’m now at a point where I feel able to share my dreams with others rather than secretly or silently pursuing them on my own or with just a few people knowing or being involved. It is definitely worth it but you must be prepared for the ire, contempt, and ridicule of others…or even just downright surprise. Sometimes other people have a low opinion of you or fixed ideas of what you are capable of, you just have to learn how to shrug off the naysayers and do your own thing. Make a plan and stick to it, know step-by-step what you need to do to bring your dreams to fruition. If you don’t know, find out. Use the library, Google, all the free resources out there to find out how to make a way. Then do it! You can do it!
“It was kind of scary; felt like learning to drive all over again.”
How I did it: Went out for a lesson with my husband, the same person who taught me to drive an automatic 12 years ago. He bought a stick shift car last year but it took me this long to work up my nerve to learn how to drive a stick. I’m really glad I learned how to drive a stick! It didn’t take long but I do need more practice.
Lessons & tips: First tip: relax. Then, ask whoever is teaching you how to drive a stick to go over each step one at a time. Make sure you understand what each step entails and how to do it. I didn’t even know what a clutch was nor the reasons why it’s necessary to switch gears. This surprised my husband but he was happy to explain it all.
It took me 1 day.
It made me Happy 
….also known as part 1: Effects of funding your creative life LOL. Seriously, I should do a post on that. I’m so wrapped up in various projects, I have to fight myself to avoid sleep burnout. Sleep is most important! Otherwise I won’t be able to do a good job at work nor be able to focus on my creative work. My goal is to sleep 8 hours a night, that seems so hard to do! because after work I have to spend time with my family, then hit my creative work. Lately I’ve been getting 6-7 hours a night, which is really, really good for me.
Look what my horoscope had to say yesterday:
Capricorn
You are able to mobilize your energy and accomplish a lion’s share of work, if you want. Understand what you have to offer and what you are capable of. Push come to shove. The unexpected pops up from out of left field.
Very pertinent for me! I love horoscopes when they match. I’m wondering what the unexpected is though…
I like the idea of an encouragement box, where you put in things that encourage you towards your creative dreams and goals. I’m somewhat of a minimalist in my physical surroundings, so maybe I will do a virtual one…
idea from jamie at Starshyne Productions
It’s been 3 days since I’ve been in direct sun, and my negligence in managing my winter depression showed itself today. I have been in a funky, despondent mood all day long. No, it started yesterday at work when I watched through the windows the snow falling all. day. long. Then worsened as I got in my car after my shift ended and realized I did not have my scraper. So I had to scrape the ice off my windows with a CD. It took about 15 minutes for my car to warm up, get de-frosted, get de-scraped, then I had to inch out of the parking lot because bigboxcorp which makes an eternity of money is too cheap to buy salt and/or hire someone to plow the parking lot. Then it got even worse as I crept down the hill and realized I was near out of gas…because I didn’t want to get out of my car all week to fill up. I knew I shouldn’t, but the thought of getting gas was just too much to bear, and I decided to risk it home.
WHY did I do that. I made it home ok, but the ride was sheer terror worsened by the fear I’d run out of gas. The highway had been plowed, but it had been snowing all day. The roads were so bad I couldn’t see the lines. Then it started snowing even harder…I slowed to a crawl. A few cars went by me, not going much faster. That made me feel better that everyone was driving so safe. Then a car slid off the road right in front of me. Oh my word, I was so frightened. The driver popped right out and someone stopped to help, but still it was a very shocking thing to see. A few miles down the road, I see a few other cars spun out, two of them crashed together. I was in tears, I just knew I’d be next because my car would stop because I’d run out of gas and then bam! I’d slide off the road trying to steer it to the shoulder or someone would hit me from behind if it stopped cold turkey.
I calmed myself down because I couldn’t see through the tears and the snow, and thank god I made it home ok. I raged at Mercury Man for causing me to live here (do NOT get me started on how he went back on his promise to move to Cali back in ’00). He just listened, looking alternatively guilty and bored. Then he just hugged me, and went back to watching some game. I was so angry at him! I still feel bitter, and have been mean and/or whiny toward him all day. I’ll give him credit for being patient with me about it, but that’s the least he could do since he refuses to move.
I thought I’d feel better this morning but did not. I awoke to the sound of two city workers in front of the house loudly talking, their snow plow had broken. What! I lay there wondering about snow that can break snow plows, then pulled the covers over my head. Later got up, realized we could not even get out of the driveway. Ugh. I had work to do today too.
I know what to do to handle this, I know what the problem is. I need sun, and though we were stuck car-wise I could still walk. But at the thought of going outside I got so scared I broke out in a full sweat. This is not a good sign…it is much too early in the season for me to get the winter horrors like this. I just could not face going out in all that icy muck. But I know it’s lack of sun that has me spiraling, and to break out of this cycle I have to get some direct sun. Last season winter depression barely touched me because I went out and walked every day, at least 30 minutes a day.
I was making random moaning and groaning noises all day, which at first amused the kids but as the day wore on they started getting worried. T-bop asked me, why does the weather make you feel bad? I tried to describe to him how it made me feel pressed flat to the floor, how it made me have a feeling of doom and gloom in my heart. It feels like Jack Frost is trying to kill me. He sat and talked with me for a while, I-bop offered to make me cocoa, and S-bop hummed me the tune of a song I wrote but could not remember. My babies helped me so much today.
Tomorrow is another day. I will try again. Jack Frost will be my friend.
This post written by Trula. Thanks for visiting Seed & Flame!
I put the old-new layout back on MSPmedia which I like ok, but I’d like a simpler version of it for the index page. I swear I used to know how to do CSS tables, but it’s been a while and I forgot. Re-learning in bits and snatches of time. The tutorial I’m using is from A List Apart and here is my tester page:
http://mspmedia.net/101.html
It’s grimy now! be warned LOL. Gonna crunch it out this weekend though.
This blog entry written by Trula. Thanks for visiting Seed & Flame!
I’m a bit of a navel-gazer, that’s so true right. People often ask me how I am able to write so much, I tell them note most of my writing is about me, me, me, my life, my viewpoint on this and that, and so forth. I’ve been committed to personal growth for a while now and as I grow bit by bit I’ve come to see how self-centered and ego-bound I am. At one time it would have hurt me to even acknowledge this to myself, so even just writing this shows me how far I have come. (but still have far to go! note the self-congratulation LOL). I have decided that in 2009 I will reduce the navel-gazing. In order to broaden my horizons, I need to look up, feel me. I’m learning nothing new by navel-gazing, my growth is hampered by always being so focused on myself.
Other resolutions! go back to school and start my road to getting a doctorate. I’ve had so many people tell me how hard it is going to be, I am now terrified. but! I will ignore those people cause truthfully I think they are just haters and want to put fear and doubt in my head because of their own issues. I am going to tell people from now on, Don’t put that hard on me! I will be fine.
Lessen my shyness and try to talk to people more. I finally figured out my shyness is based on my slowness to establish or clarify my personal boundaries with people. So I have a hard time talking to people because part of me thinks they will invade my personal space. There are so many cool people in my area I want to meet and who want to meet me, but I’m so shy I get all weirdo around people often.
Exercise, exercise, exercise. It’s no longer a choice for me, it’s something I have to do for my health. Thank god there are so many activities I enjoy, like running and yoga and biking. I am working on changing my mindset to think of exercise as self-pampering 
Money! My main money goal for 2009 is to pay all my bills on time. This is a huge mental block for me, HUGE. I think I can do it though, I have managed to close out 2008 without a single checking overdraft fee, which is HUGE for me. Also, save more money. I finally figured out that the money I will save on late fees means more money I can…save. ultra duh!
There are more, but I will stop (see navel-gazing above ha ha). What are your resolutions for 2009?
This blog entry written by Trula. Thanks for visiting Seed & Flame!
I know so many people who claim to be this or that religion but who don’t live by the tenets of their faith. It’s like their religion is more of a social outlet or community outlet for them than a real belief they use as a guide for their actions and how they treat people.
I am not any particular religion and for many years I was agnostic. Until very recently actually. But the religious book I read most often is the christian new testament. I admire Jesus greatly, he was a tremendous human being and I have found some of his words to be full of common sense, wisdom and guidance.
When I think on this I recall when my mother asked me how was I going to teach my children to be good and decent people without religion or a belief in god. She was genuinely curious and very puzzled that such a thing was even possible. My mother is very smart and has an advanced degree, but she could not understand how anybody could be a kind, decent, and good human being without a belief in god. Yet even still, she is one of those people who does not really live her life according to the rules of her religion or seem to use her faith to guide her in any way. I find this very confusing.
One way I use my spiritual beliefs is to try and not cause intentional harm to anyone unless it’s a matter of life and death. I take this very seriously, even if it’s just an argument, just words. Words are very powerful and the misuse of them can have devastating consequences to someone’s emotional well-being. I am not always successful in understanding when I have hurt someone with my words, but when I do I try to make amends. If I can’t bring myself to apologize I definitely cease talking to them about it.
This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting Seed & Flame!
I get that people can use religion like a security blanket. I just get confused when I see people saying they believe one thing, even to the very safety of their supposed immortal soul, and act as if other people will forever be be damned or destroyed if they don’t believe the same thing, but then not even following the belief! I’m not talking about messing up every now and then because we all make mistakes. I’m talking about living life with a perpetual mean-spiritedness or not taking care of their family or cheating on their partner or whatever, then going to church like they are not living life wrong according to the terms of the same religion they use to vilify others.
I like learning about different religions and visiting different churches, One thing I have learned is that there are as many ways to go about religion as there are blades of grass on the ground. I like churches and religious people who really go about trying to spread goodness in the world.
This blog entry written by Trula. Thanks for visiting Seed & Flame!
So I opened a checking account, have had it a month or so, and have not overdrawn it or messed it up yet! Seriously, this is a record for me as I have serious money issues. The key for me is to reconcile it daily, but also when I have a transaction, to round it up to what I call the nearest whole dollar. So like say something cost $67.37, I round it up to $70.
This blog entry written by Trula. Thanks for visiting Seed & Flame!
I speak a few languages just a little bit. Born and raised in the United States so I’m fluent in English. After four years of high-school Spanish and living on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio for many years I can get by in Spanish. A year of Chinese in high school I can speak a few sentences. A semester of Japanese in college and all I recall is a few words.
A mere weekend in Montreal a few years back taught me more than years of studying a language via book ever did. It taught me that to learn a language, I must actually use it, be immersed in it, think in it. It prompted me to stufy French, of which I still retain a basic grasp. I’m tired of the basics. I’m ready to learn to speak, read, think, and dream in other languages.
This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting Seed & Flame!
Today I started two new jobs. One is an hourly job at an in-bound call center, the other I work from home and is a contract editing job with a large flat rate and completion bonus for each project. I got paid 1/2 of the payment for the current project upfront which is nice because I don’t get paid from the call center until near the end of the month. But just when I was cheesing over my money, the electric company is at the door early this morning with a shut-off notice. Whaaa-? I could have sworn I set up automatic payments months ago.
So I paid that bill then double-checked what I have set up to come automatically…nope, I hadn’t set it up. See this is how wacky I think about money: I set up automatic payment arrangements for two bills so in my head that means *all* my bills LOL. Duh! My therapist recommended I pay all my bills manually for a while anyway. I have an out of sight, out of mind relationship to money, bills, etc. but I have to face it head-on for a while.
Then I-bop needs a couple hundred for books & stuff. She has a scholarship which covers her books BUT the college bookstore does not carry supplies she needs for her photography class. We have to pay for that upfront from wherever store, then she gets an excess funds/refund check or whatever it’s called in October. My car also needs some work. So there goes my money right there. At least I got to cheese over it for a minute sheesh!
My short term goals are to get back on track with all my bills, and to set up a new bill paying system with Mercury Man. Pretty much he carries the family…all he wants me to pay is the utilities. Gas, electric, water. That’s it. and I can’t even do that most of the time. Oh and my student loan bill. But – he also can’t keep up with our other bills. At any given moment he’s juggling a few bills in the air, be it his car payment (my car is paid off), insurance, credit cards, his student loans, what have you. The only thing he pays on time is the house. We are going back to a shared checking account to pay all our bills from, a shared savings account, and maintaining our own personal savings accounts. He’s been pressing for this for a while…I have a huge terror of checking accounts (fees! fees! fees!) but I guess I will have to get over it and learn how to balance a checkbook, as well as actually put money in it, snort.
In a way I’m kinda bummed about the jobs because I wanted so very very much to work at my bookstore full-time, but that is simply not a sound financial move right now. I know I could get loans and stuff but that route is the road to doom for me, at least until I learn to handle my money. One of my favorite indie bookstores in Cleveland had to close this summer, the owner was heavily in debt and couldn’t keep it going anymore. He’s 60 or close to it and now has to find a job. That really scared me…it’s one thing to be 36 and scrounging, it’s another to be 60 and in that position. So I’ve had to really think about what would be best for me, my family, and our finances at this time…and that would be to have the bookstore open weekends for now (Fri, Sat, Sun). I have a couple friends who can hang out (for free!) and man the store all day Fridays, since I have to work. Then Sats & Suns I’ll be there.
But in another way I am excited about the jobs, way more excited and happy than bummed because it will be nice to have a regular, consistent flow of money coming in. This is a healthy infusion of cash I really needed. This gives me space, a moment to catch my breath and figure out how what I will do with my business, how I will make more money with my books and freelance writing and stuff. Right now I’m operating at a loss, for example I just paid for the publishing of a project (the Futuristic Motherhood book, if you remember me posting about it) so when I get money in from my biz, it’s more often catch-up than not. I really need an accountant. That’s another thing I keep putting off doing, even though my database crashed and my files/biz accounts are all jacked up. Some biz bills I have paid twice, some not at all!! Note to self: do that today, call around and get some help for this.
I wanted to write about my long-term goals, stuff about retirement and what-not but work calls! gotta go
I thought this was interesting:
Science fiction is difficult to define, as it includes a wide range of subgenres and themes. Author and editor Damon Knight summed up the difficulty by stating that “science fiction is what we point to when we say it”.[3] Vladimir Nabokov argued that were we rigorous with our definitions, Shakespeare’s play The Tempest would have to be termed science fiction.
According to SF writer Robert A. Heinlein, “a handy short definition of almost all science fiction might read: realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method.”[5] Rod Serling’s stated definition is “fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science Fiction is the improbable made possible.”
A common saying is that SF (or hard SF) is based on the question ‘What if?’ That is, SF asks what the possibilities could be under a certain set of circumstances. For example, a story could explore the questions ‘What if aliens visited Earth?’ or ‘What if humans colonised other worlds?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction
This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting Seed & Flame!
So I’ve been reading Barbara Stanny’s book Overcoming Underearning. It’s pretty good…one of the exercises in it is to write down increasing levels of income and note how they make you feel. I’ve been having the grand plan to make 6-figures for a while now, but have been doing all sorts of things to sabotage myself from realizing my income potential. I could not figure out why until I read this. At first I did the exercise by yearly amounts i.e 10k, 50k, 100k, up to a million, and nothing, I felt nothing one way or the other. So then I tried weekly amounts.
$200 a week made me feel panicky, stressed, angry and bitter
$400 a week made me feel like treading water
$600 a week made me feel ok, calm
$800 a week made me feel both excited and rested
$1,000 a week made me feel safe and protected
$1200 a week made me feel wary and nervous
and so forth. By the time I got to $2,000 a week I was a wreck. I actually felt frightened at the thought of making $2,000 a week! Isn’t that wacky? because that is 104K a year, the amount I have been blocking myself from making for-ever.
Doing this exercise helped me see that (at least until I figure out why making over $1,000/week twigs me out) my current income level/goal is $1,000, or $52,000 a year. So I’m going to aim for making this consistently for at least 6 months. I figure that consistency combined with therapy will empower me to get over myself and get myself to the level I need to be at.
I was looking at a few money managing programs, like mint and quicken. I was already using QuickBooks to help manage my biz finances, but then my computer crashed and I lost all my data. Instead of re-installing the software (it’s QuickBooks 2001, very old) I decided to try the new version of Microsoft Money because it can track both personal and business finances. It’s a free 3 month trial, but I already like it’s budgeting feature so may just go ahead and buy it before the trial is up.
I just read this book: Overcoming Underearning by Barbara Stanny. In it she talks about how women tend to undervalue their work and thus become underearners. And have other major money issues. One of my goals this year was/is to tackle my money issues; this is part of the reason I’m going back into counseling.
A large part of why I want to learn about money, make more money, improve my finances, etc. is that I became conscious of just how much my money issues have to do with how my family handled money. In short, I am allowing myself to be controlled by my childhood when it comes to money. Also seeing how my parents continue to have difficulty with money…my mother is 61 and still can’t balance her checkbook. Seriously.
I’m 36, have been working since I was 16, but have very little savings to show for the past 20 years of working. I don’t even know how to handle a checking account. All my credit cards are way behind, both business & personal. All my bills are behind. If I continue like I’ve been doing, I will be still be broke and scrounging when I’m 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 etc. I’ve always imagined that I will always work no matter how old I am (at least creatively, with my writing) but if I ever wanted to stop working, I want to be able to do so.
Even though I’m so bad with money I’ve pretty much been able to do whatever I want to. I’ve always prided myself on being able to do so much with so little…but now I see just how much more I could have been doing. I have a major attitude toward money and wealth, I used to strongly believe that having wealth was closely aligned with being an evil person. I’m beginning to see how this has stopped me from earning more money. It’s one thing to be hampered financially by the constraints of how much your job pays you, but with being a creative person, there is nothing stopping me from selling more books or creating spin-off products and services from my writing or selling my work to mainstream magazines (that may pay $1,000 for an article or essay) instead of/or in addition to selling my work to zines (that may pay $30 max, usually pay nothing at all). I’ve been giving away my valuable work! and not even realizing it.
How about you, what are your thoughts about money?
After an intense discussion with my husband I realized it really is best if I talk to a counselor about my money issues. It goes so much deeper than money, and obviously, after 12 years of being together and going through this with me, my husband is not able to help me with this. I need professional help. It’s hard to admit but more than that I am tremendously frightened about going. I have been helped with other issues by therapy in the past, but I have also been hurt. I don’t trust psychologists, therapists, counselors, what have you. At all. But I recognize I need help with this. So I will do what I have to do.
yah I’m kind of a heathen. Growing things impels in me an atavistic urge to build a cairn of stones.
Seriously though I ascribe to no particular religious belief, I am heavily influenced by Christianity and old-school testament. I am very interested in religion and have visited many different kinds of churches. I believe I have a resilient spirit that will rest in it’s time. Eternal? I don’t know. I’m willing to believe anything is possible.
This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting Seed & Flame!
The Duck is my imaginary friend. Well not really imaginary, he’s an old mailbox I use as a garden decoration and have imbued w/life & personality. His name is The Duck and I often talk to him while out in the garden. He’s very wise and funny
Once a daughter of a friend told me I was so weird talking to The Duck. I said, You have imaginary friend. She said, But I’m 5! LOL
I guess he thinks we can’t distinguish between fiction and non-fiction. Buzz Aldrin blames sci-fi shows:
“I blame the fantastic and unbelievable shows about space flight and rocket ships that are on today,” Aldrin said in an interview during an ice cream party held by the National Geographic Channel at the Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., this week. “All the shows where they beam people around and things like that have made young people think that that is what the space program should be doing. It’s not realistic.”
Read full article
This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting Seed & Flame!
I’m submitting my books to Independent Publishers Group, a book distributor for independent publishers throughout the USA and worldwide. I like what they have to offer in particular this:
- All marketing services provided by IPG are either free, optional, or charged at cost. None are profit centers for IPG. IPG realizes it may or may not be good for a publisher to make a big investment in advertising, or to take space at a trade show, and doesn’t require a publisher to do so.
- IPG gives publishers greater options for publishing into more markets. Publishers can choose to produce titles for the academic, children’s, Spanish, computer, gift, or general trade markets and have each title aggressively sold to the appropriate market. Many titles cross over into multiple markets.
Indepdendent Publishers Group
This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!
I’m a multitasker and a recovering insomniac to boot. Usually when I’m up late I write, do stuff for my business, check email, do some housework, read, listen to music, etc. The only time I’m not multi-tasking is when I have my daily cup of tea and meditation on the porch. This helps me to stay even and calm, to just sit there for 5-10 minutes doing nothing but sipping my mug of tea. I like quiet reflection but other than this I don’t consistently do it every single day.
Lately I have found that I get much more done when I focus on each task; when I move from task to task rather than trying to do multiple tasks all at once. I’ve heard and read before that multi-tasking is really not more effective than just doing things one at a time but being the hard-headed type and slow to boot it took me some time to learn this on my own. I found this article that says that the reason why multi-tasking can be inefficient is because it slows you down mentally each time you have to shift gears to work on a different tasks:
Whether people toggle between browsing the Web and using other computer programs, talk on cell phones while driving, pilot jumbo jets or monitor air traffic, they’re using their “executive control” processes — the mental CEO — found to be associated with the brain’s pre-frontal cortex and other key neural regions such as the parietal cortex. These interrelated cognitive processes establish priorities among tasks and allocate the mind’s resources to them. “For each aspect of human performance — perceiving, thinking and acting — people have specific mental resources whose effective use requires supervision through executive mental control,” says Meyer.
apa.org/releases/multitasking.html
This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!
We’ve made it through the holidays and set up our resolutions. Today is January 4th, 2008, and some of these resolutions have already been broken. That’s ok, just try again. You know why? A resolution, no matter how vague, indicates that inside of you is a sincere desire to make a life-altering change. You may feel that life would be better if only you stopped smoking, lost weight, became nicer to other people, stopped drinking, or something along those lines. But yet your efforts to make positive changes in your life fail. This is painful and causes even the most willing person to give up.
You can make changes in 2008! The secret is to make a goal that is clearly defined with a beginning, middle, and end. Your goals need to be real and applicable to you. For example, many people want to lose weight, but what does that really mean? Some may need to lose 100 pounds while others may need to lose just 20. Be as clear with yourself as possible about what you really want to accomplish this year including what each goal is and when you want to accomplish them. Then be clear with yourself about how you are going to get the goal or goals done. Then follow your action plan.
Here is an example from my life. One of my goals is to stop drinking coffee. I am doing this cold turkey, which means without the aid of slowly reducing my coffee intake or drinking coffee-like substitutes. Here is my plan:
Beginning: January 1st 2008 1st day without coffee
Middle: all year but crisis point first 72 hours detox
End: Dec 31st 2008 will consider myself free of coffee addiction after one year clean
Alternates: No coffee-like substitutes but will drink herbal tea whenever hot drink is desired.
Stress/Cravings: When coffee cravings hit I will talk about, write about it in my journal, call a friend, go for a walk, do yoga, or simply cry.
Ok I’ve only cried once since quitting coffee LOL! My point is I gave and will continue to give myself space and permission to feel bad when the cravings hit, and to accept the feeling of loss I have over losing this addiction as real. Then the feeling passes and I’m ok. I made it through the crisis point, and I feel confident I will make it through the year because of my action plan.
This blog entry written by Trula. Thanks for visiting Seed & Flame!
You may recall my question on story I read once in Omni magazine about mutated vegetation on shipwrecked island. I asked on Omnishrine and got an answer, coolness:
Ballard, J.G.–DREAM CARGOES
A lowly seaman takes charge of an abandoned toxic waste ship and makes his way to a garbage island, where he meets and becomes lovers with a biologist. She’s studying the new growths seeded and nurtured by the dumped wastes. He’s evolving into something other than human from his exposure aboard the ship. Great classic Ballard.
This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting Seed & Flame!
Check this out, it looks interesting: The Sword and Laser (S&L) is a science fiction and fantasy-themed book club, started by Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt. The main goal of the club is to build a strong online community of sci-fi / fantasy buffs, and to discuss and enjoy books of both genres.
http://swordandlaser.com
This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting Seed & Flame!
I used to love reading teleportation stories when I was kid, I thought they were the coolest. So far I haven’t used it in any of my stories, but I plan to. I remember when faxing became huge in the 1980s, I thought for sure we’d be teleporting by the 1990s, LOL. Clicking around the net I found this on the IBM website:
Teleportation is the name given by science fiction writers to the feat of making an object or person disintegrate in one place while a perfect replica appears somewhere else. How this is accomplished is usually not explained in detail, but the general idea seems to be that the original object is scanned in such a way as to extract all the information from it, then this information is transmitted to the receiving location and used to construct the replica, not necessarily from the actual material of the original, but perhaps from atoms of the same kinds, arranged in exactly the same pattern as the original. A teleportation machine would be like a fax machine, except that it would work on 3-dimensional objects as well as documents, it would produce an exact copy rather than an approximate facsimile, and it would destroy the original in the process of scanning it. A few science fiction writers consider teleporters that preserve the original, and the plot gets complicated when the original and teleported versions of the same person meet; but the more common kind of teleporter destroys the original, functioning as a super transportation device, not as a perfect replicator of souls and bodies.
Read full article on research.ibm.com
This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting Seed & Flame!
I have money issues. I told a therapist once that I didn’t really believe in money, and she was so startled! She told me in all her years of work she had never had anyone tell her that before, LOL. It’s true, I don’t believe in money as a concept, it really doesn’t make much sense to me. Work, trade, bartering, I get those, I just don’t understand the idea of money. If I did, maybe I’d believe in it, ha.
I have been reading about the law of attraction and working on manifesting more money in my life. I believe in this because anytime I ever really needed money, the exact amount I needed or the right situation for getting it came into my life seemingly out of the blue. So I have been working on making my cash flow regular and consistent instead of sporadic and based on dire need.
Having money sporadically and based on dire need is how I was raised. I have many siblings so I always thought my parents struggled with money because they had so many children, but once we were all grown and gone and I saw my parents still struggling with money I realized that their financial problems were because they refused to learn how to deal with money. My mother’s underlying belief is that money is evil/poverty makes you good or humble, and my father’s underlying belief system is that he can always make more money so why worry about what he does have.
I inherited both of these belief systems and have been working on breaking them from my mind, heart, and soul. I don’t have to struggle with money just because my parents did. I don’t! In addition to working on making more money, I am also working on learning how to manage money. I have come to see money as a tool and as a replenish- able resource so I don’t have to have scarcity fears about money or feel that money won’t be abundant in my life. An analogy I use is a vegetable garden. When I go pluck a ripe tomato off a plant, I don’t get scared and think I won’t have anymore tomatoes. Because I know the plant will produce more tomatoes. When the season changes and my garden ground lies fallow, I don’t get scared or worry because I saved enough veggies from the garden to get through the winter, and I laid in a thick layer of compost when I turned the garden over to rest for the winter. So I know come next spring and summer, I will have a good harvest.
I am trying to think of money in this same way. I am learning how to tend my money garden. It is not easy but I am learning.
This blog entry written by Trula. Thanks for visiting Seed & Flame!
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