Categories
Just Shelley

Da train! Da Train

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

I was woken up in the middle of the night last night by a loud sound. As I lay in bed, confused, wondering if the neighbor was partying I heard what sounded like the train. For a very, very long time.

Finally, I drifted back to sleep.

Just watched local news — the train derailed right next to our housing complex. Luckily, no one was hurt. Also luckily, this trip they weren’t carrying nuclear waste or dangerous chemicals. Guess the Bird isn’t going to be glowing in the dark after all.

But now I have to find a back way to get to my library.

Categories
Weblogging Writing

Browsin’ them links, written’ them postings

Loren wrote a wonderful essay about To Kill a Mockingbird for the Banned Books project that’s a must read. For the record, I am also quite fond of this book, as well as the movie based on the book starring Gregory Peck.

I am aware that the book does use racially explosive and derogatory terms, the primary reason it appeared on the banned books list. However, the tight integration into the material makes the phrases/words an integral part of the story — they add to the richness of the scenes and provide defining nuances for both the time and the place.

In addition to the essay, following my earlier discussion about trying to write a weblog posting or two based on the style of writing demonstrated in whatever book just finished reading, Loren uses the style of writing from To Kill a Mockingbird in a new posting that, well, tripped me into a full throated, from the belly, rip-roarin’ guffaw.

Thankfully I work on home.

(Loren is packin’ his weblog and movin’ it over to that there Movable Type. This means that we’in these parts can comment and use these new fangled permalink things. That’s a rought smart move, boy.)

Categories
Just Shelley

Parting is such sweet sorrow

Well a bit of good news and a bit of other news: which do you want first? Okay, the good news it it.

I had an email from an editor at a major publishing company (not O’Reilly) about using excerpts from one of my online articles for their 2003 edition Social Studies text book. If this works out, this will be the first time I’ve had any of my non-computer related material incorporated into a book.

This email not only put a smile on my face, it drew forth a giggle. There, you heard it here: The Bird giggles.

If you’re interested, you can access the article online. It’s called Remembering Mount St. Helen’s. It recounts my experiences living in Yakima when Mount St. Helen’s blew up. You’ll find that it’s smaller than many of my weblog posts.

Now, on to the other news. As I hinted in the last post, I am closing down the Burningbird weblog. I may only shut down until I find a job. Or I may shut down for a few months, take a nice break, come back refreshed.

Regardless of the period of time, I did want to say that these weblog pages are going to be pulled in about a week. I’m in the process of looking for a job, and a search in Google on my name brings up these pages. Unfortunately, some of the things I’ve written about could potentially impact on me finding work. I know that free speech is guaranteed in this country, but let’s get real — if some HR person doesn’t like what I write, they won’t call about a job. I have to be practical.

When the pages are pulled my handy dandy RDF content management system will kick in and you’ll get a nice page saying something to the effect that I’m molting and I’ll be back when I’ve risen from the ashes.

In the meantime, I’ll miss you all. I once told someone that you can’t feel warmth through the wires, but that was a lie — you can.

Categories
Writing

Daily at the “Daily Summit”

I can’t tell you how much I enjoy reading David Steven’s frequent World Summit postings at the Daily Summit. Not only is he pointing out pertinent and relevant information of interest (to all of of us), he’s also providing an insider look into the proceedings that one misses with mainstream news reports.

Favorite line today, from recounted comments from NGOs:

 

“You have to be careful whether you catch him before or after a demonstration. He has a metabolism that thrives on tear-gas.”

 

Humor aside, hearing about the champagne and caviar lifestyle lived by the delagates who are meeting to, among other things, work out plans to prevent starvation around the world is sadly, and terribly, ironic.

Categories
Weblogging Writing

Trying something new

I’m trying something new: as I finish each book on my recommended and want-to read list, I’m attempting to incorporate a little of the author’s unique style into a few of my weblog postings. With this, I hope to get a better understanding of what I liked or didn’t like about each book.

For instance, I tried to use just a little of Sebald’s wonderful stream of conciousness effect from “The Rings of Saturn” in the posting The Three Boys.

Of course, I don’t have Sebald’s amazing ability in this regard, and I can’t possibly match his own unique genius. However, I’m hoping that this effort will allow me to explore the richness of each author’s writing in a more personal way, as well as to experience a little personal growth in my own writing. Trying on new suits to test the feel, as it were