Monthly Archives: January 2012

January 30, 2012

A much happier cat than Schrödinger’s

By Ellen Gregory

This gorgeous animation is about a cat in a box — a very happy and very much alive cat. A devilcat, perhaps, but one that is nonetheless loved and indulged. (See here for an explanation of Schrödinger’s Cat, quite another cat in a box.)

It isn’t the first Simon’s Cat video I’ve posted on this blog, but it turns out there are a heap I haven’t seen yet! This one rings particularly true for me and my devilcat — and probably for every other cat owner on the planet.

Go check out the Simon’s Cat site on You Tube when you’ve finished here for more awesomeness.

I have this (gasp) mostly empty bookshelf and my devilcat’s latest passtime is to play on the bottom two shelves as though she’s chasing her tail. Too funny.

Do you have a cat? Is yours a devilcat like Simon’s (and mine)? [My devilcat just clawed my wrist as I relocated her from the desk to the floor in order to type this post!]

What’s your cat’s funniest habit?

12 comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Clip

January 27, 2012

Get over it: English is a living language

By Ellen Gregory

Recently, a press release from the Plain English Foundation crossed my desk at work and immediately snagged my attention. It was titled “Fugitive emissions” tops the list of 2011′s worst words and highlighted such iniquities as Nicole Kidman’s ”gestational carrier” and the obfuscation “negative good” in relation to the effects of teeth whitening.

Now, I would argue these are in fact phrases, rather than words, but it’s an interesting and entertaining read, so I recommend clicking through and reading the above article.

It’s also completely indicative of one of the most fascinating things about the English language: its capacity to evolve.

In the case of PR-spun euphemisms like “fugitive emissions” (ammonia gas leaks), “gestational carrier” (surrogate mother) and “negative good” (er..?) the benefit to society is debatable; but there are plenty of fabulous new words in common use that we embrace without blinking. I refer of course to words such as “google” (verb), “blog” (verb, noun) and “tweet” (verb, noun) . . . and the list goes on. And will continue to go on for eternity.

The thing that gets my goat, however, is the bastardization of words. Every time a new bastardization makes it into the Oxford dictionary a small part of me dies inside. My pet hates are “orientated” (instead of “oriented”), “obligated” (instead of “obliged”) and “learnings” (*shudder*). There’s this one industry term I hate as well — “connectorized”. What’s wrong with “connected”, I ask you?

You might be interested in an online resource/community called Wordnik, which is attempting to log all the words and different meanings of English words coined by whomever and wherever along the way. Wordnik believes that words mean what we want them to mean — that if people want to use “cute” to mean something other than its original meaning (lovable, but ugly), then good luck to them!

Of course, the definition of “cute” changed decades ago, so we don’t bat an eyelid. But does that mean we should embrace a change in meaning for all words, should enough people start using them? The word “wicked” comes to mind, which to modern youth means something other than “terribly evil”.

So we have bastardized words, words with changed meanings, and completely new words, all simmering in the cauldron that is the English language — which already has origins in multiple languages. (Interesting factoid: apparently Shakespeare coined a staggering number of new words; there’s even some speculation he coined the word “bubble” for Macbeth, being the first to bring it into common use.)

Now, I’m really interested to hear what others think on this. What’s your feeling about the shifting sands of the English language? Do you hate bastardizations as much as I do? Should I just get over it and roll with the punches? What are your favourite new words?

 

32 comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Words

January 25, 2012

The craziness of TWO careers

By Ellen Gregory

Over the past few weeks I have finally come to terms with something: I have two careers.

There’s the day-to-day salaried position as a marketing and communications specialist with a global organisation that brings in the dollars. And then there’s my other writing career–my fiction-writing career (for many years my secret career)–that doesn’t (yet) provide any remuneration, but which nonetheless demands almost as much of my time and attention. (And, if I’m honest, all of my passion.)

I am not alone in this. Thousands of writers the world over juggle day-jobs, family and ‘other’ obsessions. As do many elite and amateur sportspeople, actors and visual artists, serial home renovators, food bloggers, hobby farm enthusiasts–even volunteers with various charities, churches and/or first aid organisations. The list goes on.

Everywhere I turn I see a friend with a consuming passion that is unrelated to whatever he or she does for a day job. Many are writers of course, but by no means all.

What drives so many of us to invest ourselves in two careers? Depending on one’s vocation it might be raw natural talent that won’t be suppressed, or a competitive spirit. Maybe hatred of idleness; perhaps a dream of simply achieving a personal challenge.

Or, at the end of the day, is it merely the sheer joy found in whatever the activity happens to be?

I’ve asked myself this question often and it always comes down to one thing: No matter how much I sometimes resent it, or can’t be bothered on any particular day, I write because I can’t not write. It’s that thrill in the pit of my stomach that won’t go away…

There’s a price of course. For those of us with two careers, there will never be enough time. There will always be the lack of sleep as we try to cram as much into every 24-hour period as we possibly can, and the resulting exhaustion. There’s the housework that doesn’t get done (like the dishes in the sink I haven’t washed for three days and the vacuuming that hasn’t been done in at least a month). And there are the shortcuts one takes with meals…

Is it worth it? Resoundingly yes!

So we sacrifice our TV time (and our social lives) and turn a blind eye to the mouldering bathroom and we progress our two careers as best we can. But it’s not easy. I am constantly aspiring to better time management and striving for the discipline to avoid the lure of leisure-time (yes, I have blogged on these two things before!).

And now over to you. If you are crazy enough to have two careers, how do you manage your time and self-expectations? What drives you to keep going? What’s the hardest thing you have to sacrifice? (Is your housekeeping as unruly as mine?)

Image: zirconicusso / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

31 comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Reflection

January 21, 2012

Martha Tilston’s take on Wall Street

By Ellen Gregory

For those not familiar with folk music, it might be easy to assume that today’s folk scene is entirely comprised of ancient dances and story ballads. Men and women in weird costumes jigging to the jolly sounds of fiddles and tin whistles… or the minstrel in the corner strumming a guitar and singing about the trials and tribulations of Tam Lin — right?

Well, yes… in part.

Don’t get me wrong, I love that stuff. (Maybe not the weird costumes.) But most contemporary folk musicians write their own songs and music. The need to tell stories and comment on social and political issues has not dwindled with time, and rare is the serious musician who performs entirely covers! They might embrace the traditional tunes and keep a few on their set list, but they’re certainly here to convey their own words, from the heart, to the audience.

The ‘clip’ below is from one of my favourites, UK songwriter Martha Tilston.

According to You Tube: A song inspired by people gathered down Wall Street, asking peacefully where does the money flow from, and who does it go to. The only true futures market is our children, and the planet they live on.

Enjoy.

 

6 comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Clip

January 18, 2012

The naming of cars

By Ellen Gregory

Another of my new year initiatives is to undertake Kristen Lamb‘s course for writers who blog. Its aim is to help our blogs be of interest to readers beyond other writers — basically to encourage us to blog about topics other than writing.

We’re in the third week of the online course now, and it’s getting exciting! (Although I heartily wish I’d signed up for it last year when I wasn’t working and had more time to devote to it.) The result is that this blog will likely undergo a mild transition in content over the coming weeks as I try out some of Kristen’s teachings.

Starting with greater diversity of topics!

So today I thought we could name my new car. It’s a Volkswagen Golf (‘ultra grey’) and I’ve had it for nearly three weeks now. It’s particularly momentous because I’d been without a car since last February, when I had to give my work car back, plus this is the first brand new car that I’ve ever actually owned.

It still has that new-car smell on the inside, and I’m ever-so careful when opening the doors onto the brick wall of my garage! I daresay I will weep when it gets its first scratch.

I didn’t name my previous car, even though it was red, nor the one prior to that; but my first car, a 1975 white Honda Civic, was Lynden Brianna Orb… and my friend’s, an even older bright yellow mini, was Artagel Arutha Silk. Guess what books we were reading back then?

For some reason I once again feel the need to name this new car… Maybe because I feel so liberated. (I’ve been telling people that I’d probably be in love with any car just now, yet I have to confess that my Golf is ve-ry Smart with a capital S.)

In the first week of ownership, the spirit of my Golf revealed itself to me (right), but an appropriate name has so far not manifested. So I am appealing to my blogfriends for help. Please feed me your suggestions and it’ll be, like, a competition. Without a prize (unless you count the honour of having named my car).

12 comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Poll

January 11, 2012

The Versatile Blogger – a show of solidarity

By Ellen Gregory

A lovely thing happened to me this week: the Versatile Blogger recognition was bestowed on me not once, but twice. Massive thanks to my new cyberfriends Julie Kenner/J.K Beck and Carrie Daws for the honour. I think it’s perhaps more a show of blogging solidarity and support as indication of any blogging genius on my part, but it’s very welcome all the same.

Anyway, there are evidently rules associated with this recognition. One must thank and apply links to the person who nominated one (as demonstrated above), reveal seven facts about oneself, and nominate a whole 14 new recipients who ideally haven’t received it already. (Although apparently in some circles one can nominate a mere five other bloggers — and this for me right now is ve-ry tempting.)

First, the seven things to be revealed about me…

1. I have a collection of carnivorous plants. I’ve been growing them since I was a teenager (I remember writing a year 12 informative essay on the subject) and many of the Sarracenia pitcher plants I have now are more than 20 years old! These days I’ve merged them into ornamental combination pots, in which the sticky-leafed Sundews grow like weeds.

2. I’m getting quite good at disposing of dead rodents. You see, I have this devilcat who keeps bringing them inside in the middle of the night (yes, I know I should keep her locked up) and depositing them half-mangled in the middle of my bedroom floor. The most recent one was arranged artfully in the doorway, just where I might stumble upon it in bare feet, bleary-eyed at 6am… (except I didn’t, thank goodness!)

3. When eating out, my favourite meal is breakfast. I’m really lucky where I live, because we have several excellent cafes with even more excellent coffee to choose from. It could be the coffee, or the eggs, or merely the ambience of lazing away an hour or two on a weekend morning (or sometime both mornings!), but I love it and if I miss a weekend I feel really deprived.

4. I love opera. My grandmother introduced me to opera when I was a young adult and there was a spare ticket going. Later, I accompanied her on a season’s ticket, just the two of us — real grandmother/granddaughter bonding time. My favourite moments tend to be duets and quartets etc, when there are wonderful harmonies threaded out of pure single voices. I think Bizet’s ‘In the depths of the temple’ from The Pearl Fishers is one of the all time most amazing sounds. My throat thickens now, just to think of it.

5. Every now and then I get adventurous. It rears up in me at odd times. For example, nearly two years ago I completed the Oxfam Trailwalker charity event (walked 100km in under 48 hours). When in high school I developed a fondness for rock climbing and bushwalking. I’ve trekked in Nepal too (although not as far as Everest Base Camp, which I would love to do one day). Currently I have a yearning to trek the Mont Blanc circuit in Europe.

6. I am fascinated by and drawn to birds of prey. Especially peregrine falcons.  I have no idea why. I do remember being entranced by the Catherine Gaskin novel, A Falcon for a Queen, long ago, in which a main character was never to be found without his beloved peregrine. Other than that…? In any case, I will sniff out any bird of prey sanctuary or flying demonstration. And get very distressed if they are stuck in cages and cannot fly.

7. I have a cracking recipe for New York Baked Cheesecake! I came across it from a friend of a friend years and years ago, and it’s never let me down yet. But it’s very very bad for you… although dairy is calcium and protein, right?

Gosh, that was harder than I expected. And now for the part where I pass on the baton of The Versatile Blogger! I nominate:

Natalie Potts

E. Markham

Jason Nahrung

Foz Meadows

Brian Holers

Jessica Chambers

Tracie McBride

I’m going with seven for now, and reserve the right (if I’m allowed) to nominate up to another seven in a few weeks’ time. I have a feeling I’m going to be introduced to a lot of cool blogs in the next month or two! But in the meantime, if you’re not following already, check out the blogs of the above fabulous people (and Julie and Carrie’s as well).

 

2 comments   |  tags: , | posted in Reflection

January 4, 2012

New year’s #WIP500 resolution

By Ellen Gregory

My resolution for this new year is very simple. I’m going to complete the draft of the novel I’m currently working on.

Of course, execution of this goal is unlikely to be simple. The longer I persevere with this fiction writing habit, the harder it seems to get. Possibly this is because I demand more of myself as time goes on.

Because I am someone who likes systems and structures and frameworks (and lists), I’ve tried to break this massive goal down into manageable processes. The most significant of these is my new daily target of 500 words. Whether I squeeze them in before work, or dribble them out at the end of the day, 500 words a day is the aim. This may not sound like much, but for me to keep that up for an entire year, on top of work and social engagements, will require a huge effort. I’m allowing myself to average them out over the week — a few more or a few less each day is OK, so long as the weekly word count is 3500. (And blog words don’t count!)

And then I heard about the #WIP500 project for 2012 launched by Cara Michaels. She’s done the maths for me – 500w every day for a year will yield 183K words — more than a novel. (Two novels for many genres.) She’s running totals on her web site and the interest from the online writing community seems to be escalating fast. Since this project aligned with my self-nominated quota, I decided to join in the fun. I think it will help to have Twitter friends to share the journey with, even if I am in a different time zone from most of the participating (US) writers and therefore out of sync with most of the conversation.

So that’s the plan. I started WIP500 on 2 Jan, but am trying to make up the words for 1 Jan across the week. There’s room for a little bit of cheating too, owing to Australia being so far ahead the USA on timezone. Means I could write pre-work this morning to make up words for yesterday, and still post them as 3 Jan words! The flip side of that is that I still need to write 500 words this evening… Better get onto it!

3 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Process

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