Tag Archives: Nano Poblano

Beware of the Ego with Blogging

“Vanity working on a weak head, produces every sort of mischief.” –Jane Austen

Blogging can be quite an ego trip don’t you think? It can really give you a fat head. I think anyone who blogs needs to keep this in mind. It is more worthy to maintain our humility.

Nice things we can do for each other as writers is to read each others work and try to be supportive of each other. I have found there are bloggers out there who do this and I really appreciate and admire them.

Give a genuine complement. There has to be something about someone else’s efforts you find praiseworthy.

Vanity is not exclusively a female trait. It applies to both male and female bloggers equally.

|Nano Poblano|

Sunday Rest

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Their_Day_of_Rest_(1919)_-_Ad_1 wikipedia

“She broke his heart with one of her biscuits.”

Here we are at Sunday and taking a day of rest again today. I was looking for an image and found the one above. This old film sounds like it would be funny even today. Carter De Haven was a comedy star of silent films and worked as director and in production with Charlie Chaplin on The Great Dictator and Modern Times. His wife, an actor as well, often worked with him. Her maiden name was Flora Parker. I found a photo of them on Wikipedia as well.

They were a handsome couple. I have watched a few of the old silent films. The actors had to rely on conveying so much with facial expression. The old black and white and their heavy make up did not always bring out their good looks. We can see from the photo they were beautiful.

Many of the old films are lost forever. It is amazing to me that the film above was made almost 100 years ago.

Happy Sunday!

|Nano Poblano|

SoCS Water-Light Night Rain

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After complaining about the gray weather and no rain predicted it did start to drizzle and rain lightly in the evening. Then later that night I heard that dripping noise outside again. I opened the patio door to check and turned on the patio light.

It was raining. Not heavily. But raining a slow gentle quiet wonderful dripping rain. The drops making a slow soft splashing noise in the pool and on the patio. What a wonderful sound.

There is that nice wet smell of the earth. And the smell from the smoke of a neighbors chimney.

We need a lot more rain in California.

|Nano Poblano|

and my friend |LindaGHillSoCS|

Cloudy Day, Light Gray

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Cloudy outside the window. The kind of cloudy where the sky is mostly light gray. Not the kind of cloudy I like, the cloudy when the sky is blue with some assorted fluffy white clouds. Or the kind of cloudy that has some dark grays that indicate a storm may be coming. This kind of cloudy is just sitting there. Pretty bland. No storm portended. Just kind of drab. Subdued. Damping down my mood a bit.

It would be fun to be able to take my box of crayons. The big box that has at least 64 different colors in it. To color the sky timberwolf, periwinkle, cadet blue, silver, purple mountain majesty, and wisteria.

What kind of cloudy do you prefer?

|Nano Poblano|

The Pleasure of a Good Mystery

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“Conflict and character are the heart of good fiction, and good mystery has both of those in spades.” –Diana Gabaldon

The DVD of Season 2 of Endeavour arrived by UPS today along with two books I had ordered. Notice that endeavour is spelled the British way. You know my American spell check now has a little squiggly red line under that British spelling. Oh well, I don’t care how they spell it I love this series. It is part of Masterpiece Mystery! on PBS. I have already watched Season 2 this past summer. I don’t remember every part of the stories so I will still enjoy watching it again. And my husband has not seen it.

The main character’s name is Endeavour. This is his first name. My English grandmother used to tell us that they used to name children with names that gave a purpose. I love the name and what it implies. Endeavour, like some of its synonyms such as be bold, dare, be courageous, brave, strive, utmost effort, one’s all, and one’s level best, is a good description of this detective’s character.

This series is a prequel about Inspector Morse which you may remember if you are a fan of British mysteries. This is Morse as a young man just starting out in police work.

His superior is Detective Inspector Fred Thursday. No he is not like our Joe Friday. He is a mentor father-figure to Morse. They have been developing a great relationship and bond.

Endeavour is very intelligent and can sleuth out the cases before anyone else. It is a joy to follow along while he solves the mystery. He has a couple of nemeses who do not appreciate his stellar abilities. These nemeses are usually trying to get him into trouble or block his success. Though not as bad as a Professor Moriarty type nemesis.

The stories are complex and do not allow a quick resolution. That adds to the enjoyment. If you like mysteries and have not had a chance to see this series, I highly recommend it.

Do you like a mystery? Do you like British mysteries? American? or both?

Of course, I have my favorite American mystery writers like Michael Connelly and his Detective Harry Bosch. I like Henning Mankell’s Wallander books. There is a Canadian mystery writer I really like. Her name is Louise Penny and I love her Inspector Gamache.

How about you?

|Nano Poblano|

Going Home

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Can we go home again?

One of my all time favorite films is The Trip to Bountiful. It is a tour de force performance by Geraldine Page for which she received the Academy Award for Best Actress. Supporting cast members are John Heard, Rebecca De Mornay, Carlin Glynn and Richard Bradford. The screenplay is by Horton Foote based on his play The Trip to Bountiful. You might remember him because he did the screenplay for the film To Kill A Mockingbird.

One theme of this film is about the desire to return to the place where you felt most at home. The nostalgia for earlier times in our lives when we may have been happier.

Carrie Watts (Geraldine Page) is an elderly widow who is living with her son and daughter-in-law in a cramped apartment in Houston. She wants to make a visit to her family home in Bountiful, Texas once more before she dies. Her son and daughter-in-law can not or do not want to understand her need to make this one last trip.

She plots to hide her pension check and make her escape by bus or train while her son is at work and her daughter-in-law is out of the house. She has made attempts in the past but they have always caught her.

Carrie has some behaviors that really get under her daughter-in-law’s( Jessie Mae) skin. She loves to sing old hymns all day while doing housework and she is always rushing about the apartment in spite of her heart condition that brings on a few fainting spells.

The opening music for this film is an old hymn that gets me weepy every time I hear it, ” Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling. ” I am not really very religious. It is just very soulful to me. Anyone familiar with the old southern hymns will recognize many that Carrie is fond of singing.

Carrie needs to make this journey home to complete something in her life. To lay things to rest. As the film progresses we learn the story of her life.

Another theme in this film is the relationships between parents and children and how these relationships impact their lives. It is about how these relationships bind them together. And it is about how people can be bound to the land.

Have you wanted to return to an earlier time your life? Have you wanted to go back to a certain place? Would going back help to complete something in your life? Like completing a circle.

Have you even seen this film? What were your impressions of it?

|Nano Poblano|

All Quiet on the Western Front

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Today, November 11, is Veterans Day in the US. It is when we remember the veterans of our wars. It is too bad we have so many wars to remember but we can not forget the men and women who fought in them even if we hate to remember the wars.

I have noted that many of the British bloggers are remembering Armistice Day. My husband always reminds me that Veterans Day was originally remembered here for when WWI ended as well.

Just recently we watched one of our classic DVDs All Quiet on the Western Front. It was based on a book by the same title written by Erich Maria Remarque. The film was the winner of the 1930 Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director. This was before my time but I have been aware of this film for quite a while.

Even though this film was made long ago it still has a universal appeal and message. The setting is WWI but it could apply to any time and place.

It is about a young man and his friends who are caught up in the nationalistic fervor of their country during WWI. They are idealistic when they enlist and go off to fight for their country. The young men quickly become disillusioned and it becomes a fight for survival. This film gives a realistic depiction of what is what like for the soldiers who fought in that war.

The message of the film is the great human waste of war and how it swallows up our youth with all their potential lost.

|Nano Poblano|

The Nano Poblano Oddly Specific Gratitude Blog Hop

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My good friend Rachel has nominated me to add my list of things I am grateful for to this long list of what other folks in the Team Pepper are grateful for. Check out Rachel’s blog Could Do Worse – to read about adventures in London.

Here’s what to do:

Add to the list with your own oddly specific bits of gratitude. Add as few or as many things as you’d like. Include a picture or two if you’d like… but you certainly don’t have to. Put your name at the top of the list to see where yours started and the next blogger’s begins.
Tag the post with the usual pepper tags and oddly specific gratitude.
Tag another pepper to add to the list by linking to their About page, but there’s a catch! When you tag the next blogger, be sure to include a bit about why you’re grateful to be in the same blogging world with them.:) (Try not to tag anyone who has already been tagged that way more people get to join in the fun.)

The List of Oddly Specific Gratitude

Nerd in the Brain:

the smell of wild onions when I mow the lawn
coffee makers (having the coffee already prepared in the mornings is magical)
the way my crazy dog barks likes a vicious beast at the horses across the road, but then cowers behind me like a needy wimp whenever a horse actually comes close
hearing my husband talk on the phone to the rest of his team at work… it reminds me that he’s not just my silly, sweet, awesome husband… he’s also my competent, responsible, highly skilled husband
opening a blank lesson plan book and imagining the possibilities to come
sausage balls
watching Grace’s enthusiasm for all things musical
the way I can hear a smile on Olivia’s face whenever we say hello or goodbye on the phone
knitting with really soft, squishy yarn

Not a Punk Rocker

10. Getting a random text when Matthew is in cell-signal range. (“Hi”)

11. Awesome stuff in the mail, including Legos and letters from friends, making me smile when I need it the most at the end of a long day.

12. Cherry chapstick.

13. Somebody found my blog by searching for “deadpool talks about political social issues” yesterday.

14. Skype and chat for keeping me in touch with friends in “real-time” when one or the other of us needs it the most.

15. Finding new blogs to read and follow through this challenge!

Jackie P (tobreathistowrite)

16. Having friends like I do here in the blogging world. You all make my days brighter.

17. My dog Sam. He loves me unconditionally, wish more people could love like that. Plus, he makes me laugh daily.

18.Coffee. Without it the world would be a much sadder and thirsty place. And I would be a much harder person to deal with.

19. All the bright and cheerful colors around. Something about bright colors makes me happy. The gold of the sun, the cerulean blue of the sky, the wonder of a rainbow, they never cease to make me glad I’m alive.

20. Books…… you all know what I mean.

Fish of Gold

21. Spell check. Even though it did just strangely try to correct my horribly botched spelling of “another” to “Antoine.” I don’t even know anyone named Antoine, spell check.

22. I’m grateful to myself for being the sucker who couldn’t walk away from my dog’s cage at the animal rescue. My failure to do so has converted 70 dog pounds into a metric ton of joy and unconditional love.

23. Male’s hilariously failed attempts at sexting.

24. My sense of humor. I wouldn’t have survived this long without it.

25. To the Peppers for continuing my harebrained Nano Poblano Blog Hop Story idea and turning it into something unexpectedly awesome. Go Team Pepper

26.I also second #18.

Knocked Over by a Feather

27. My aunts Oreo truffles. They are addictive.

28. Finding my comfy spot in bed.

29. Receiving a spontaneous real hug from my daughter, which rarely happens.

30. Watching stupid TV with my husband.

31. Hearing my mom call me sweetie or something similarly saccharine sweet on the phone

Mental Mama ( Mental in the Midwest)

32. the world’s best tiny mommy

33. Evie and Sissy Cats

34. lithium, depakote, and gabapentin

35. the world’s most amazing support network

36. good dark chocolate, preferably with cherries

37. the jumbo margaritas at Romeo’s – lime, on the rocks, extra salt

Mark Bialczak

38. My dear wife Karen for buying me two season tickets for Syracuse University football six years ago, going to every game with me (but one when she went on a cruise) since and turning home game Saturdays into Happy Happy days win or lose.

39. That Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle usually looks like this on the end of the living room couch and her specially covered ottoman daily come 10 p.m. after a day of enthusiastically ruling our Syracuse city home we call Little Bitty

40. That Karen talked me into going to the Paws for the Cause rescue dog event that March day four years ago when we saw Ellie marching around in her orange “Adopt Me” vest.

41.That my daughter Elisabeth was smart enough and confident enough and brave enough to go back to school this fall to get her associate’s degree and New York State certificate to become a physical therapist’s assistant, 2 1/2 years after getting her bachelor’s in biology.

42. That writing every day on markbialczak.com since Oct. 27, 2013 has turned out to be so much fun.

43.That Sheena Not a Punk Rocker talked me into hosting Nano Poblano this year, allowing me to meet so many interesting new bloggers! Wait. I want to add two more exclamation points to this one!!

Coulddoworse (Rachel or Lundygirl)

44. The park that I walk through four mornings a week

45. Iced fingers

46. Crochet and blogging; though never at the same time

47. making something beautiful

48. flowers

49. Hot toasted sandwiches with my family on a very rainy bank holiday.

50. beauty that you see in the detail

51. Great memories to mull over and enjoy.

Notes Tied On The Sagebrush

52. I am grateful that I was able to copy this whole list with pictures and get it pasted on to my post without messing it up at all, I hope.

53. I am grateful for my kids xoxo, and my husband xoxo

54. I am grateful to read good books, and watch good films

55. Good food, good wine and good friends

56. That I live in the state of California, USA

57. Discussions with my blogger friends and getting their support for my writing

The List of Oddly Specific Bloggers

Nerd in the Brain

Not a Punk Rocker

To Breath is to Write

Fish of Gold

Knocked Over by a Feather

Mental in the Midwest

Markbialczak.com

Coulddoworse

Notes Tied On The Sagebrush

I nominate Linda G. Hill because she has always been so gracious to me on her blog site. I really like the way she encourages all the bloggers in her events to read each others posts. It really helps promote community and is very nice for newcomers as well.

|Nano Poblano| among other things.

Our DVD Collection

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I love reading books and I love films.

We have quite a library of DVDs we have acquired over the years. We do not buy them as often lately. I borrow many DVDs from my local public library.

I recently purchased some great DVDs from PBS that I thought would be good additions to our collection. They were on sale so I decided to go for it. My husband and I have been watching them the past few days.

A perk of owning DVDs is that you can watch them over and over. If I haven’t watched something in a while I forget enough parts of it that I can enjoy it all over again. Or even if I remember the story, because I love them so much, I don’t care how many times I have seen them. Like re-reading a beloved book. I may even see more of the nuances that I may not have seen with the first viewing.

I like collecting older films or classics. We have a few. One reason I want to collect them is I am afraid that eventually we won’t be able to find them. That they won’t be available anymore. It is like old books that go out of print.

We just finished watching The DVD of Mark Twain by Ken Burns. Very good. It is a 2 Disc set. It covers Mark Twain’s life from beginning to end. It includes many great and funny quotes and excerpts from his books and some great photos. I really love many of his quotes and will be using them from time to time. There are interviews with some Mark Twain scholars, Hal Holbrook and Arthur Miller. It has special features that go into the making of the film and more Mark Twain quotes and photos.

The scholars, Holbrook and Miller share their knowledge, insights and impressions of Twain’s writing, motivations and personality. It is interesting to hear about the man behind the writing.

We all like to think that we are revealing our truth(s) with our blogs. Here is a quote from Mark Twain about honesty:

I think we never become really and genuinely our entire and honest selves until we are dead–and not then until we have been dead years and years. People ought to start dead, and then they would be honest so much earlier.

Do you like having your own collection of films? Have you watched this particular film about Mark Twain and what did you like about it or learn from it? Do you have some favorite classic or older films?

|Nano Poblano| among other things.

Day of Rest

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Now that I have found my voice I am getting tired of hearing myself talk.–D.

Introverts do not like making small talk. I think blogging daily is like trying to make small talk. I wondered if blogging is for introverts at all. I googled the topic and found an old blog about it. It claimed that introverts like to blog because it is easier for them in that they do not have to talk to someone face to face. That is probably true but on the other hand to endlessly blah, blah, blah is not the introvert way.

So today I am taking a day of rest from blah, blah, blogging. Happy Sunday!

Do you think bloggers are introverts or extroverts?

|Nano Poblano| among other things.