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Showing posts from 2017

Book Review: Caged Eyes An Air Force Cadet's Story of Rape & Resilence By Lynn K. Hall

Caged Eyes An Air Force Cadet's Story of Rape & Resilience by Lynn K. Hall is one of those rare memoirs whose story stays with you long after reading. It was the book that poked my sleeping writing muse awake and had me vomiting (as they say and how it felt) more of my own memoir back out. A lot can be said about Lynn K. Hall's new book. I find it hard to summarize without giving too much of it away. It's a brave, honest, open, unforgettable, evocative memoir that will have you feeling a roller coaster of emotions from anger, empathy, understanding, hopefulness, disbelief, determination, and awe. I'm in awe of the way Lynn K. Hall was able to open up and reveal so much of her personal journey and traumas. As a writer, I'm well aware that when you publish a memoir, you can inadvertently put yourself out there to be scrutinized and judged. Caged Eyes is a foremost example of fearless writing. I had been reading a series of how-to books on screen wr...

Life Hack: DIY Bleacher Seat Cushion

One of the staples I keep in the truck of my car is my DIY bleacher seat cushion. Its a flat thin recyclable bag with a folded picnic blanket inside. This DIY is so simple, it seems too common sense to blog about. But I will since it phases me why anyone would buy one of those foam seat cushions I see on sale at sporting good stores and events. This one is on sale for $15! My DIY bleach seat cusion is way more functional than a manufactured bleacher seat cushion which has only one purpose. Having a blanket conviently stored inside makes it multifunctional.  You have a blanket on hand for those chilly early morning meets. And any time we are at outdoor events with my mom or inlaws, I'm prepared for the evening cold for them as well.  A shade for the afternoon sun. Fold it length wise for a multiple seat cushion, to reserve extra seat space, or to spread out your legs. (As a track mom of three sons, I can been on the bleachers for hours. I'm writing this b...

Book Review: Firsy-Time Filmmaker F*#^-ups By Daryl Goldberg

Daryl Goldberg's First-Time Filmmaker F*#^-ups is one of the more useful books I've read in a long time. I highly recommend it to not only aspiring directors, but to screen writers, film crew, and film actors as well, since it gives you a birds eye overall detailed perspective of the movie making business from what to look out for with legal issues, to who is responsible for moving the prompts on set. I've had the opportunity to be a part of a film crew before so reading helped me understand the ins and outs of what I had witnessed. It will give you an appreciation of what is needed in the making of a movie, as well as easy to follow instructional lessons on the lingo used on sets. I wish there were a lot more books just like this for all sorts of different topics to learn how things work from this easy to follow global yet detailed perspective. It's format is a great way to introduce a broad range of issues and give tips to rookies of common pitfalls.

Safari Books Online

Although I still love to hold a paperback in my hands, for the last few months I've been addicted to reading books on my tablet now that I have access to a seemingly endless amount of books online via Safari Books Online. I was able to get free access through my work since I'm in a technical field and Safari specializes in technical books. They have a wide collection of online books and videos ranging in subjects from photography, programming, networking, personal, and professional development. I love to browse the collection and add books to my reading lists. I have found and read books I probably would not have purchased since they are outside my field, but being that they book is free and I'm curious about the subject, I'm able to browse books from the comfort of my bed and I end up reading it to completion since I like what I'm learning. I would have been very reluctant to pay for an online library such as this in the past, but now that I've grown to ...

Creating Morning and Evening Rituals In 2017

For over a year now, I've been practicing extreme self-care. That means I don't run myself anywhere nearly as ragged as I used to, not for my art, other people, or events that are fun but end up costing  too much time, energy, and gas. The forms of self-care that have had the biggest impact and which I've been able to keep consistently  are my morning and evening rituals. I came up with an idealistic list for each. I added things I enjoy doing and want to be doing regularly. I say it's idealistic because the list has too many items to do on a typical workday/evening but having the variety of things to do as a possibility, helps to keep my mornings and evenings flexible and unique since I can pick and choose among my ways to start my mornings or close my evenings. I've become accustomed to the daily morning and nightly rituals I created for myself. It's been both healing and centering to have them in place. I have more patience on days when I wake up earl...