Take pride in what you do. The kind of pride I’m talking about is not the arrogant puffed-up kind; it’s just the just the whole idea of caring — fiercely caring.   ~Red Auerbach

I read this quote today and it set my soul on fire. The ends of my fingertips are still smoldering.

Of the career paths I’ve walked in my life, I can say with gut-wrenching honesty I fiercely cared about my various vocations.

I’m saying this in a non-puffed-up-kind-of way, of course.

Sometimes my feet burned from the hot coals as I traversed the path, but when things mean enough to me, I’ll keep walking until I get to where I’m going. Plus, now I have some pretty neat callouses to give me cushion so I can continue walking the fierce-caring walk.

Having been formerly employed as a full-time writer, I suppose to some people that qualifies me as Writer with a capital “W.” I even still have an active Press Pass (yeah, with capital “Ps”). That said, anyone who writes is a writer in my eyes—Pass or No Pass.

As my good friend recently remarked to me while he was figuratively holding me on his shoulders during a pep talk, “You ARE an author. Own it!” (Thanks, mate! Shaka that and thanks for the reminder.)

Damn straight! And same to you. If you want to write, get to it! Don’t waste a second.

And while you’re at it, bring your caring ferocity along for the ride.

Blogging is a large slice of my writing activity and I approach all my writing efforts with that same fiercely caring heart. I want people to not only read my writing but to feel it down to their marrow. Can you feel it?

Think about this for just a few seconds: while you’re doing what you do in your life, whether it’s your regular day job or a weekend hobby, do you fiercely care? When you write a post, do you feel it in your bones and do your best to transfer that energy to your readers?

Why are you still reading this?

Head to the comments and tell me about something your fiercely care about. Or grab a piece of paper and a hot pink Crayon and spend five minutes describing the last time you did something you fiercely care about. Remember that feeling and bring it to more of the things you do.

Can we start a caring revolution?

As a follow-up to my previous post, THANK YOU for reading my and Tess’ posts and for your comments. I was blown away! I am confident that many people will feel loved as a result of YOU.

[Photo courtesy Mike Baird via Creative Commons license.]

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Meet Place, By Tony Single (click to visit website)

If you follow this blog, you know I host the Front Porch series about everyday stories—stories friends exchange on front porches, back yards, or in break rooms in snippets throughout our days. Here’s another installment, perfect for summer fun!

I have ants-in-my-pants excitement to have a special guest with me today. He’s Tony Single—an artist, comic genius, poet, blogger, writer, (I could go on and on). When I go to his blog, Trottersville, I love that I never know what I’ll find. His writer voice and personality are as warm as a june bug on a summer day.

To add even more warmth to the mix, the co-creator of Trottersville is Tony’s mate Cassy. She’s as sweet as pie and I’d love to have them both over for dinner.

Cool, crazy Cassy

Those two have so much fun, in fact, here’s a sneak peek from Tony:

Talented Tony

“Whenever Cassy and I are doing any chores around the house, we like to make up crazy weirdo songs on the fly. I’ll sing one line and Cass will sing the next, making sure that the last word always rhymes. We’ll just take it as far as we can for as long as we can, or until Cassy dissolves into fits of laughter. And then I’ll just keep doing it some more, all by myself, until Cassy’s stomach hurts. I’m evil that way!”

“But, Cass does something that always confuses me. Sometimes I laugh to myself like a crazy man about it… you know, when I’m alone and no one’s watching. Whenever there’s a mouthful of soft drink left in a bottle, instead of finishing it Cass will open a fresh bottle. I swear, she’d probably just keep on accumulating the unfinished bottles of drink until there was enough to build a house out of them! Strange girl that one. That’s why I love her.”

Without further ado, I’m pouring Tony a nice cool ginger beer while he stretches out in our woodland tent. Cassy is by my side with a bottle, too, I can already see her laughing at the whole arrangement. These two are a hoot!

Tony! I’m psyched to hang out with you. Your attitude, generosity and warmth are contagious. Thanks for being here.

First things first, it’s been a long time since I’ve been in a tent. But, I have such great memories of sleeping in the outdoors. I’d always have the wildest dreams. Also, I find that when I’m working on a project, it continues though my sleep.

What about you? Do you tend to sleep well, and what types of dreams amalgamate in you mind at night?

I tend to sleep very well, but on the rare occasion that I don’t it’s because I’ve either had a bad dream or I’m feeling sick. Fortunately, I don’t get ill too super often, but I do tend to remember all of my nightmares. I’ve dreamt about being at ground zero when an atomic bomb goes off. I’ve dreamt about being bashed by home invaders or torn to shreds by all the neighborhood dogs. I’ve even dreamt about being naked in public when every friend I’ve ever had seems to choose THAT very moment to walk on by. Good grief! I wish I could remember a lovely dream for a change!

Ha ha! I have those all the time! It’s so embarrassing, all those people walking by and me realizing that I forgot to get dressed that morning. Eee gads. Please drop me a line when you do have a good dream. Maybe you could practice by meditating before sleeping. It works for me. Think about what makes you happy, where you’d like to be or what you’d like to experience, and drift off to never land.

In fact, when do you feel the most happy, Tony?

I feel most happy when I’m creating something and it seems to be coming together in a satisfactory way. Whether it’s a comic strip, an illustration or a poem is immaterial to me just so long as I’m accurately conveying whatever thoughts and emotions I may be going through at the time. Only then do I feel that I have been truly productive.

I’m also most happy when I’m eating something that my darling Cassy has made. She makes the best minced beef wellington! Oh, and although you can’t eat them, she makes the best hugs by holding her arms out just so! She also makes the best totally unscripted and off the wall remarks I’ve ever heard. Oh, oh, oh, and she makes little crinkles around her eyes and mouth when she giggles. Hmmm… I’ll stop there before your readers start to vomit from diabetic shock!

Oh yeah, and something else! I love to read, I love to play video games and I love to listen to music! It seems like I’ve read everything from Darwin’s Origin of Species to anything by Philip Yancey. I’ve played my Legend of Zelda games to absolute death because their fantasy settings and engaging characters enthrall me. I’ve listened to the dark metal compositions of Virgin Black through to the alternative folk rock songs of Wovenhand, and even the likes of Johnny Cash and Natalie Merchant. My tastes roam far and wide, even to the movies I see. I like some of the big blockbusters just as much as some of the more obscure, indie films. Whatever grabs my emotions and imagination will usually keep me interested for a long, long time.

Tony, you are a nimble Renaissance man. You’re giving me lots of ideas and igniting my creativity. Who or what inspired your creative side?

I was inspired from a very early stage by the melancholy leanings of Charles M. Schulz’s famous Peanuts comic strip, and also by the lesser known Tove Jansson and her series of Moomintroll children’s books that were equal parts whimsy and strange. Certain animated television shows such as Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy, Rin Taro’s Prehistoric Boy Kum Kum, and Hayao Miyazaki’s Sherlock Hound also left a strong storytelling imprint on me. Over many years, I have borrowed artistic techniques from these artists and directors and infused them with my own sensibility to arrive at the style you see me drawing in today. These days, I’m also inspired by a lot of things such as books, music, movies, and other people. Potentially, everything that happens to me contains the seeds of inspiration.

I agree, Tony, so many things inspire me. As I age, I notice that people’s stories about their own lives inspire me the most.

That said, is there any advice you can give to aspiring artists out there (like little ‘ole me!)?

I’m in no position to be dispensing advice to anyone else for any reason whatsoever. I mean, what do I know, right? However, what I would say to you, Lori, is to draw, draw, and then draw some more. Draw until your arms almost drop off! Sure, it may have taken me a long time to get to my level of skill and ability, but I would absolutely be fooling myself if I thought I had arrived at the pinnacle of artistic perfection. Not even close. So draw, draw, and then draw draw draw some more. A lot more! Draw everything you see, and draw from the heart. You only get better (and continue to get better) if you hone your craft, and acquaint yourself with the goings on in the world as often as possible!

That’s great advice, Tony the Terrific. Keep doing, doing, doing, and at some point it will get easier. That’s so true. I’ll try to keep my arms from dropping off, though.

I admire your artistic abilities, Tony. But having gotten to know you better, I admire Tony the person as much as Tony the artist.

Can you dig deep and touch on spirituality with me? Have you ever changed your views about this topic?

Oh yes, that was many years ago when I finally decided to stop running and face my Maker instead. That was extremely difficult. Imagine your very being forcing you to go against everything you’ve ever held to be true and quantifiable, and instead nodding in affirmation to some strange divine paradox that some like to call “God”. The idea of there being one sure didn’t make sense to me, but a universe without some divine personality behind it all made a lot less sense. I had tried not to believe but just couldn’t do it. Richard Dawkins would be disappointed! And while my life has still had more than its fair share of ups and downs, it has turned out to be a decision that’s given me some much needed consistency.

I hear you there, Tony. I’m still trying to figure out where I stand on this and appreciate your perspective. I believe everyone should live what works for him or her. In some ways, I think the divine (faith, belief, whatever you want to term “it”) might be a moving target as we travel through life; I am fascinated by this topic. Thanks for being open and sharing.

Most of all, Tony and Cassy, you two are awesome and I hope I get to meet you two in person someday. Love to you both.

Step on up to the Front Porch and join us in the comments!

What tends to show up in your dreams?

Do you have hidden artistic talent?

Questions for Tony?

[Images courtesy Tony Single via Creative Commons license.]

___________________________________________________________

Previous (random) Front Porch Posts:
Front Porch: The Series
Front Porch: Not A Typical Day In The Park (With Tim Piotrowski)
Front Porch: George and the Power of the Human Spirit (With George Angus)
Front Porch: Of Bands, Explosions, and Cattle Auctions—Laughter (With Jay Schryer)
Front Porch: Brave, Bold Tess (With Tess Marshall)
Front Porch: Only in Lance World (with Lance Ekum)
Front Porch: My Sensory Deprivation Experiment (Yours Truly)

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Since I try not to focus on low points, even though they have their purpose in life, I decided to highlight some of my highs for 2010 thus far here at Jane Be Nimble (in no particular order). I invite you to check out the folks I’ve linked when you have time. You won’t be disappointed.

ONE: Being named one of 52 bloggers to watch in 2010 over at Steven Aitchison’s blog. Thank you, Steven! Check out this page to find some amazing bloggers. I’m humbled to be amongst these gifted people. (Namaste)

TWO: Visiting The World’s Strongest Librarian one morning to see he named one of his original songs after me (I’m still recovering from the shock)—somehow, I still don’t feel worthy of this one. Huge hugs and thank you to you, Josh–never take off that cape! Josh is an amazing musician and I highly suggest listening to his performances at his blog.

Click to View!

THREE: Super awesome to have Lance, Zeenat, and Gayze by my side supporting the RAOKA crusade (Random Acts of Kick Arse). To post about a theme the first Wednesday of the month about all things wonderful, the idea originally birthed by Sami May has been kept alive with the help of these raokin’ bloggers.

FOUR: Participants in the RAOKA crusade have chipped in by linking their posts to spread the spirit. Some of these rock stars include: The Exception, Eric Watermolen at Eden Journal, Mama Llama at All (Green) Thumbs, and Ted Hessing at Cubicle Warrior. Thanks, choir of greatness! If you’re a blogger and you want to join the fun, link your post to my RAOKA post (via the form at the bottom) and send me an email if you’d like to be sent a reminder email one-week prior to posting day.

FIVE: If you’re reading this, thank you! You’ve given me much enjoyment, encouragement, inspiration, and healing energy since this blog was born. I thank you from the deepest places of my heart.

SIX: Earlier I had decided I wouldn’t say anything about this, but, well, I’m proud of it and it happened to fit my mood today. This is my 100th post at JBN.

SEVEN: Visiting George Angus’ blog and finding he anointed me with the Beautiful Blogger award.

What? Little ol’ me?  George, you’re an amazing writer and friend and I appreciate you sharing this with me. One of the terms of acceptance is to disclose seven things you may not know about me. So, here it goes:

1:  Sometimes, I have a harsh type-A personality that gets in my (and other people’s) way. I’m working on softening my grip.

2:  While attending a week-long, intense scientific conference/workshop, I once projectile puked on my white shoes after finishing a morning run with a professor whose work I admired . (Not a pretty site—and yes, the spew made it to his shoes, too.) I had been running marathons for six months—no worries, right?—I didn’t take into account he was a speedy dude.

3:  I love pistachios.

4:  I can play multiple musical instruments (not at the same time).

5:  I once squeezed out a whole tube of toothpaste because I’ve always wanted to do that—’twas good fun.

6:  I’m a nail biter (I can’t believe I told you that).

7:  I used to love orchestrating elaborate practical jokes.

The second acceptance criterion includes me passing this award to 15 bloggers.

Like George said, I’m not normally into this kind of thing, but I’d love to support the sites I frequent. To those I’ve linked, feel free to pass it on or to not participate, it’s up to you. While there are many more sites that I’d love to tap, here are 15 sites I regularly visit (of course, George, you’re here, but against the rules to list you, right?) Again, no particular order:

1: Suzannah at Write It Sideways

2: Jonah at The Frontal Cortex

3: Gayze at Gayzehound

4: M at The Exception

5: Tess at The Bold Life

6: Lance at The Jungle of Life and The Feel Good Jungle

7: Zeenat at Positive Provacations

8: Tim at 360 Degree Self

9: Jay at Porsidan

10: Debbie at The Best Brain Possible

11: Larry at Story Fix

12: SuZen at Erasing the Bored

13: Hilary at Positive Letters

14: Patty at Why Not Start Now?

15:  Sara at A Sharing Connection

Your turn! I’d love to hear about a midyear highlight or two of yours. Lay ‘em on me!

Want to keep reading?

♦ Nine for 2009
♦ My Friday Shout Out

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Even though I’ve had to stop racing (e.g., marathon, triathlon, cycling, open-water swimming), I am aware that I dig into my racing and training memory banks often to power me though my day.

I’m capturing the essence of a few gems in this post—even if only to serve as a reminder to myself, but I hope you can grab something for yourself, too.

Seven things I learned from endurance training and racing

One: There is always someone who has gone farther than you and who is faster than you.

In Life: There is always someone whose circumstances are much more challenging than yours. Buck up.

Two: If you think you can’t, you’re right. No one can talk you into training twenty+ hours a week or racing for six+ hours at a time. No one is more convincing than your own mind.

In Life: If someone needs to talk you into something for you to pursue it, it’s usually not worth it. If you’re not already convinced you can do it, you can’t. Go for it and have faith in yourself!

Three: Avoid over training and never put off a good night’s sleep.

In Life: Be well rested and take good care of yourself. And just like the airline steward says, “Put on your oxygen mask first, then assist those next to you.”

Four: Pace yourself.

In Life: If you like doing something (blogging, anyone?), see in your mind’s eye what you’ll be able to manage over the long term, be realistic, and make corrections along the way—don’t burn out early on. My high school track coach used to say, “A steady pace wins the race.” Agreed, Coach Greg.

Five: Don’t become too smug or boastful about your accomplishments/awards/ranking. Putting yourself up on a pedestal only makes it easier to be knocked off.

In Life: Do what you’re doing it for the pure love of it. When other emotions get in the mix, your world can easily come crashing down. (Or as my Dad says, “If you want to become a big wheel, remember what dogs do wheels, honey.”)

Six: Visualize successfully overcoming the challenges you may experience before the race or training session.

In Life: You must be able to see in your mind’s eye the thing you want to obtain—and feel it with all five senses. You might not be able to get the results because you may not have a specific expectation (goal) and visceral feeling for the result. You must play it out in your mind’s eye—see what you want to happen with as much detail as possible.

Seven: Savor the hardships, savor the discomfort, because that’s what’s building muscle, power, and endurance. You must cause small “microtears” in muscles for them to heal—which is what triggers them to become stronger. Putting oxygen demands on your cells (aerobic bouts) will trigger your cells produce more mitochondria, which will supply greater energy when the demand arrives next time.

In Life: See the challenges you’re experiencing as adding to your “toolbox”. What you endure and overcome will become a tool for future use.

Now, I’d like your help. Whether you’re an athlete, a chef, or knitting pro, have you noticed “tools” you’ve acquired that now translate to everyday life?

[Photo courtesy cygnus921]

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Fill in the speech balloon and win a custom web/blog button!

I’ve been creating my own science-related graphics since college and grad school, but have also branched out into other areas of graphic design.

(See examples of headers I’ve created for fellow blogger buddies, Jay, Tim, and Lance. I also designed and created my site layout, header, and buttons.)

Lately, I’ve been spending time honing my illustration skills.

For this chillax Friday, I thought I’d pose a little brain stimulation to you. In the illustration/cartoon in this post, which I completed in a dabbling/practice session, what is the woman saying?

Fill in the speech balloon!

Play along by adding your idea to the comment section below, or contact me directly.

On Sunday, April 18th (10 AM PST), I’ll have my husband pick his favorite (hint, hint: he likes humor just as much as me, but humor is not required). If you’re selected, I’ll work with you to create a custom button for your site. If you’re not a blogger or don’t have your own website, don’t let that stop you—I’ll make a custom image you can use to print on a greeting card, for example.

P.S. Thanks to Doug for posting a tutorial about the pen tool in Adobe® Illustrator. I’ve been curious how that bugger works for years—but hadn’t taken the time to understand until now. Woot!

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Hi All,

I’d like to introduce you to Brad, the author of Word a Day Wonder and fellow logophile. Sit back, relax, and enjoy Brad’s post today. Schmooze with Brad on Twitter, or get right to down to it by subscribing to his blog. You won’t be disappointed!

The Tao of Blogging ~ by Brad at Word-a-Day Wonder

Most people first start using the internet as consumers, logging on to absorb information or immerse themselves in entertainment. Some later become co-creators, adding comments to articles or publicly sharing conversations. A few have a larger vision, and break away from the herd to create new hubs of activity; they start blogs or websites.

In becoming a blogger, you essentially switch roles from follower to leader. As such, there is no set path for creating a good, successful blog; you have to forge it yourself. You can read about what others did until your eyes turn red, but what really matters is how well you apply your personal ingenuity and dedication to the project.

Since blogging is leadership in the electronic domain, the general principles of good leadership should apply to it. What are these principles? For this I will defer to Lao Tzu, author of the ever popular Tao Te Ching. The book has much to say about leadership, and while it would be absurd to reduce it to a blogging handbook, it may contain some insights that can change the way we work. Consider how the following passages might apply:

The greatest leaders are never seen, their presence is never felt.
Lesser rulers are loved and praised.

The most valuable material to subscribers isn’t your opinion or the happenings of your daily life, but widely usable information, ideas, or insights. The idea is not to build up a cult of personality. Your blog should be about yourself only if, as Lao Tzu said, you will be, “a pattern for the world,”—someone to learn from.

The Master has no possessions.
The more he does for others,
the happier he is.
The more he gives to others,
the wealthier he is.

Perhaps it was once only metaphor that you get richer by giving to others, but in the blogosphere, it is fact. Giving away guest posts, outbound links, and comments all create incoming traffic streams. The better the content you give away, the more it benefits you.

The tao is subtle, quiet, soft
A thread easily lost in the tumult
Therefore a wise leader feeds the belly and not the senses
Brings the people back rather than driving them on

Forget the sensationalism. You can write outrageous articles in attempt to make your visitors click on an ad or buy a product, but your tactics will not create an enduring business. Let your site be approachable rather than obtrusive, and people will be more likely to stick around.

The best businessman
serves the communal good.
The best leader
follows the will of the people.

Use keyword tools to see what people are looking for, but also ask how well your site meets the needs of those queries. Determine how you can deliver the most value to the greatest number of people, without just being a slave to keyword demand.

What is rooted is easy to nourish.
What is recent is easy to correct.
What is brittle is easy to break.
What is small is easy to scatter.

You don’t need to reinvent yourself to deliver value. Use what’s on hand. What stories, knowledge, skills, or insights do you have that would be worth sharing?

Prevent trouble before it arises.
Put things in order before they exist.
The giant pine tree
grows from a tiny sprout.
The journey of a thousand miles
starts from beneath your feet.

If you have a clear vision you will be able to work out the details that arise. Changing the purpose of a site after it is established will lead to bad SEO, laborious reformatting, and disappointed subscribers. Before you walk a thousand miles, orient to the right direction.

Of course, these are only my interpretations. What insights can you come up with?

Brad is the author of Word a Day Wonder, a site that teaches vocabulary using amazing facts.

[Photo courtesy meemal.]

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Click to visit Amazon.com

By Bruce Frankel

~True stories of finding success, passion, and new meaning in the second half of life~

When Lisa from TLC books offered to send me this book to review—the subtitle had me at hello.

Who wouldn’t want to find passion and success at any and all points of our lives? While this book is geared toward those entering their second half of life, it certainly has applications for many other situations such as loosing one’s job as well as dealing with life-altering changes (divorce, an empty nest, or illness).

Please visit Suzen’s post, also on the book tour, for a very well-rounded review where I agree with every one of her points. Since I don’t want to swim water she’s already crossed, here are a few more thoughts on Mr. Frankel’s book from my perspective and some highlights.

Mr. Frankel describes thirteen people’s lives as they dawn into the “second half”. I enjoyed reading these stories since I love to read about people, no matter how old, young, challenged, or sanguine. That’s why I write the Front Porch stories here at JBN, too. I simply want to read about people—to steep in humanity.

Writing as a common-man baby boomer, Frankel’s stories form life canvases where the paints are newly minted activists, entrepreneurs, athletes, and artists. Each story is quite beautiful and inspirational. The resultant paintings are sublime.

For all the stories of wisdom, bravery, and fortitude in his book, Frankel’s writer voice shines brightest in the introduction.

“…I have experienced my own awakening about aging. Each of the elders in this book has challenged my thinking…My conversations with them have altered my own time line. They have convinced me that past failing can as easily prove preparatory as predictive. Age does not itself limit or enable us. The choice is ours.”

I read this statement. Then I read it again. And, yet again.

How powerful this is. Reread it yourself. “Age does not itself limit or enable us.”

How many times have you heard your friends or neighbors or children or yourself say, “I can’t do that now, by the time I’m done with school (or the workshop, or the internship, or labor, or [...]) I’ll be 30 (or 40, or 50, or 60, or 70 or [...]).

Stop! Just say no.

My neighbor is 93. Until very recently, he was more active than most adults I know. He’s a shining star in my eyes—and is still as bright as a comet.

If you want inspiration, ideas, and a real life manual-by-example for delving into meaningful pursuits with purpose, get this book. And if you like stories about people, not super-mega stars, rich, or famous people, but simply stories about people doing what brings them and others pleasure, this is it.

The author has extended to me the courtesy to gift one book to someone. If you are interested in reading this book, please indicate this to me in the comments below or contact me. I will put the names of those interested in a hat (OK, they will probably go into a brown paper bag) and I’ll ask my husband pick a name randomly. If you’re chosen, I’ll email you to provide an address to where you’d like the book to be sent.

That’s it! Easy schmeasy. (Drawing will be on Saturday, March 27th, 10 AM — comment or contact me to enter by 8 AM Pacific Standard Time March 27th.)

UPDATE, MARCH 27th: Lisa Allen (see comment below) has won the book give away—congratulations, Lisa! Let me know your thoughts about the book.

Create a great day everyone.

As my friend who is currently living the second half says, “It’s time to start living or time to start dyin’—it’s up to you.”

Visit TLC Book Tours

In accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, I have not received compensation for reviewing this book—I received a complimentary reviewer copy of the book. TLC Book Tours does not place restrictions on what I write and post about the book. I have no material connection to the author, publisher, or TLC Book Tours.

Related posts you may enjoy

♦   Book Review: The Harvard Psychedelic Club: Another Piece of the Puzzle

♦   On My Nightstand: The Thirteen

♦   On My Nightstand: The Next Thirteen

♦   Spotlight on The Wild Trees: Liking the Lichens

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A screen capture of the Omm Writer interface

I recently happened across a peach of a writing program—just a simple text processor that brings back the peacefulness to writing. It’s called, Omm Writer. (Currently in Beta V2 and only available for Mac users, sorry to you PC folks out there.)

I knew I’d love this application when I went to the home page, and the first words read, “Your Mind, A Wild Monkey.”

Yup, pretty much right on the money.

It’s just a simple text processor, which can be used to capture your copy, write chapters of your book, or even to construct blog posts, and helps to tame the monkey mind because of its simplicity. You have the option to save your work either as an *.omm file for use within the application or the work can be saved as a *.txt file that can be imported into other applications like MS Word, etc.

Here’s the warm fuzzy about this treasure, the imagery is gorgeous (see my screen capture at the top of this post) and it also comes with several options for background music: chirping birds, a bubbling brook, chimes, etc. It gives me the feeling of using rich, creamy oil paints to craft my prose.

The introductory scene looks like what you see below, the text box and other option buttons disappear in a few moments fading to a scene like the top of the post, leaving the writer free to craft. Also, there are a few wallpaper options, but I love this snowy field view. It’s really a treat to be a writer with these types of tools at our fingertips.

Another screen capture showing initial view

To see a live demo, check out the omm writer website where you can view a video of the software as it is being used (very cool!).

Oh, and I can’t omit the fact that this is a FREE download. If you want to give it a try, it’s a very straightforward process and I highly recommend trying out this software. Also, for FCC compliance, I should tell you that I will not make any money for recommending this to you.

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February Theme: Passion (chosen by Dani, author of Positively Present )

As this month passed by in a flash, passion was on my mind.

As I’ve said in a previous post, what is on our mind makes us see “it” more often in our daily lives. That’s why I love RAOKA so much, it turns my head toward something different every month, helping me to see this amazing world in which we live.

Something kept appearing over and over—

My passion for narrative non-fiction books!

I’ve been meaning to post about some of my favorite books in this genre, so I’ll talk about three of them here since they tie so well into one of my deepest passions.

There’s something about being taken on a journey while we also get to learn something new along the way. It’s absolutely magical in my eyes.

1) In my previous post, I wrote about a book by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor. Please visit that post if you’re curious. I highly recommend this book.

2) “The Wild Trees,” about which I’ve also posted the fall of 2009. I love this kind of story, bridging adventure (climbing gigantic Redwood trees), nature conservation, and a slew of knowledge about nature (lichens!).

Click to view this book at Amazon.com

3) Another adventure-focused book about a guy and his girlfriend, who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, called, “The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind And Almost Found Myself on the Pacific Crest Trail,” by Dan White (a local San Franciscan).

I hope you check out some of these books. Always feel free to Contact Me regarding recommendations for narrative non-fiction books or memoirs. I’ve read, well, about a gazillion of them.

Plus, I’ve Identified Yet More Passion!

Similar to other RAOKA posts, I find that once I get going, I feel passion around me.  So, in addition to my passion for reading, I must make note of another passion for this month.

Seeing others truly identify and incorporate his or her passions into life!

Being a former running/triathlon coach, boss-lady, and business owner, there’s nothing that tickles me more than seeing people figure out where their passions reside.

(I don’t only mean big things like new careers, but also little things that people discover bring them joy throughout the day.)

A hiker's photo along the Pacific Crest Trail (click to visit PCT website)

Here are some examples:

1) Even though we haven’t heard the details yet, I’m excited for what awaits Sean Platt and his business partner David over at Collective Inkwell. It looks like they have something brewing that will help their passions flower. Yay for them!

2) A friend of mine in the corporate/biotech world is finding balance with her new baby, marriage, and work. She’s figuring out how to thrive. Good for her!

3) A friend of mine has stopped running an aspect of her business that she was consistently dreading. This one move has brought her a lot of joy. In this case, she realized this was no longer a passion. Thumps up!

4) A friend of mine has possibly met a potential life partner. My lips are sealed, but wow, talk about passion. Yippee!

5) My dear friend has decided to start training for a particular marathon. The person has a passion to finish in good spirits. Having a passion for a goal like this is one of the most beautiful passions to me. I can’t wait to see this person cross the finish line. Kaazah!

I could go on and on, but I’m going to stop here so you out there reading can join in. What are your passions? What has happened in the month of Feburary that has either ignited a passion you didn’t know you had, or have you observed anyone finding a small snippet of passion in his or her day?

Please share with me!

Oh yeah, I can’t forget next month’s theme, chosen by yours truly: LAUGHTER!

Create a great day!

♦  Check out January’s theme post: Gratitude.

♦  Or, read December’s theme post: Wacky!

♦  Or, visit November’s theme post: Beauty.

The RAOKA mission seeks to remind us that Random Acts of Kick Arse happen all around us. Each month, a member of Sami’s RAOKA groupies picks a new theme to focus our attention on something positive and good in this world.

On the first Wednesday of the month (or Thursday for you folks living on the other half of this world) we all post about what we’ve observed.

If you’re feeling the RAOKA love and have a post to add to the collection, Contact Me and I’ll add it to my post. Or, simply join us in the comments.

Sami at Life, Laughs & Lemmings
Lance at Jungle of Life
Dani at Positively Present
Gayze at Gazehound’s Animal Communication
Zeenat at Positive Provocations

Also, check out Cheryl’s RAOKA post at That Girl is Funny

[logo designed by Melissa at Operation Nice]

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I’m not sure how or when my logophilia took hold.

Two favorite words I’ve recently discovered comprise this post’s title. In case you’re like me and have no idea what these words mean, I’ll save you a trip to the dictionary:

Panglossian • \pan-GLAH-see-un\  • adjective
: marked by the view that all is for the best in this best of possible worlds : excessively optimistic

effulgence • \ih-FULL-junss\  • noun
: radiant splendor : brilliance

Now, if you get an email from me saying, “(Insert name), your Panglossian effulgence continues to amaze and inspire me.” you won’t spike your right eyebrow into an arc and think I’m a lunatic.

As a kid, I craved word games and books. Yes, I was a total geek as a kid. When other little girls were fussing over pink dresses and begging for ponies, I was ordering my 1,001 Word Games anthology, reading every Nancy Drew novel Mom had stored in the basement, pouring over every book J.R.R. Tolkien wrote, and perusing the Encyclopedia Britannica during breaks in the day.

I currently subscribe to Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day via my RSS reader long past the days I needed to build my vocabulary for the GRE.  Why? Because I find language fascinating.

When I see a word in a post or book that I don’t recognize, I quite enjoy the process of looking it up and logging its meaning into my memory’s filing cabinets. It’s kind of like going to an art museum and seeing a new painting, “Ooh, ooh, I wonder what the artist is trying to convey—maybe if I get to know the artist’s work better, I can figure out its meaning.”

For example, David Doolin used the word “Lagniappe” in rather useful post about web/blog essentials not long ago. I had to look up the meaning; what a cool word! I hadn’t seen it before and I felt like I had been given a gift—a new file for my cabinets.

That said, my logophilia is becoming a problem. As I continue to slowly grind away at my BOOK, one of the challenges I continue to face is adhering to the age-old writer’s suggestion: don’t send a ten-dollar word to do a two-cent word’s job.

But what if one LIKES ten-dollar words?? To me, ten-dollar words are like shiny things to ravens.

OK, OK, I get it. Of course, we shouldn’t write sentences like, “Lavage one’s hands before dinner,” because the word “lavage”, while it refers to rinsing and washing, is most commonly used when referring to rinsing a hollow organ (such as the sinus cavity). But, hey, I quite like the word “lavage” and often use it, albeit mostly for comedic effect.

I’ve had to fight off the years and years I was steeped in scientific writing. Where it’s preferred and more “humble” to write about one’s experiments in a third-person and passive voice. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had to swap around parts of a sentence to make them active and remove my geeky passivity. But, I’m getting better with practice.

I’m curious to hear about your reading preferences, logophilia, and/or writing challenges. When you see a ten-dollar word, are you inspired and excited to discover its meaning? Or do you think the writer is stuffy, pompous, or annoying?

Bring it, ‘O masters of Panglossian effulgence!

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