Wannabe Cowgirl

Labels: comics

An "to give away" ad found in The Missoulian this morning while perusing garage sale postings:

2 hens, 2 roosters with cage. We're moving and the kid won't let us eat them. 880-6220

Labels: funny

Happy Independence Day! The Best Husband Ever and I are still in New Jersey visiting my family. We've done and seen quite a bit, as well as had the opportunity to see missed friends and relatives. So far we've partied down at an Italian restaurant for a family reunion, walked the Brooklyn Bridge with my best friend and maid of honor, unearthed a crab, swum in the Atlantic, photographed a lighthouse (among other things), cheered the Yankees and Mets on in person, strolled the Boardwalk, indulged in ice cream/Polish water ice, and -- possibly best of all -- chilled out. Today we're heading back into New York City to visit my favorite touristy haunt, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But we won't be hanging around for the fireworks. In fact, I hope to miss that rush of people entirely! I'll be quite satisfied with the local showing, if it doesn't get rained out. (Photo nabbed from the LA Times, of all places.)

Labels: fourth of july, holiday, new jersey, vacation

An article on the Montana primaries that I submitted to Associated Content today was not only accepted, but also became a featured news story on the site's front page!

Labels: writing

My browser's homepage is set for iGoogle, a personalized version of the Google website. With iGoogle, the signed-in user can add widgets that can range in function from helpful tools to games to social networking. My own iGoogle page, for example, has a widgets that display articles from The New York Times as well as top news headlines in general, a weather report device, my Google Reader RSS feed headlines, my Twitter feed, and a Flickr display.

One of my more frivolous widgets is the How-To of the Day. This displays two links to wikiHow, where the reader can learn how to do something. My favorite titles have to do with recipes or fitness, but they cover just about every topic imaginable, from parenting tips to dishwasher maintenance.

One of today's headlines caught my eye -- "How to be Artistic." Intrigued, I clicked through the link, curious as to how one goes about being artistic. Surely expressing oneself through an art form would be the number one tip, but what about the others?

Once on the wikiHow page for this topic, I found myself sadly in the wrong. The primary step in becoming artistic, according to the site, is to "start wearing unique clothes." Hmm. Only in step number two do we even start hearing about art -- "you know your talents, so use them creatively." Hardly a specific reference to making one's own art. Other tips include becoming more social, hanging out in coffee shops, and listening to unique music.

I suppose that writing poems and fiction is not enough to make me truly artistic. Neither is an active interest in photography, I imagine. At least I spend a good amount of time in coffee shops. I knew all those lattes would one day turn out to be good for something.

Labels: art, writing

As I biked out to begin my day yesterday, I saw women with stands standing at an intersection that I was approaching. I would have to wait with them to cross, and I groaned as I rode up, thinking they were pro-life picketers. I don't disagree with those activists, but picketing makes me uncomfortable. How effective can it be? Maybe that makes me a coward. I don't know.

It turned out that last morning's crowd were instead supporters of Hillary Clinton's campaign, urging drivers to "honk for Hillary." Yeah. I thought it was all rather hilarious (pun somewhat intended).

I find politics so over the top, and rather fluffy. (I'm not sure that's the word I'm looking for.) People get so worked up about politics, and seem to take such perverse pleasure and identity from rabid fervor. It's as if, as a nation , we have taken a decent system that actually dealt more or less efficiently with the real business of governing into a popularity campaign pervaded by a lot of wasted breath, wasted money, and a lack of general integrity. The way the whole 2008 campaign comes across to me is of just another form of entertainment. Do we idolize our politicians in the same way as movie stars, musicians, and other celebrities? I think so, and it leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

Is that completely pessimistic of me? I love America and appreciate my citizenship -- but surely we can do better. Right? Or am I just being unrealistic or naive? But I don't mind being naive, if I am -- you can turn that around to say that I'm actually hopeful, that I feel that there's a higher standard that we as a society and a government can aspire to, should be held to, and, most importantly, are capable of meeting.

Labels: 2008 election, politics

The first pass revision of my NaNoWriMo 2007 novel is finished! I can hardly believe the words as I write them. Finished? To be sure, I still have to type all of my edits and changes into the manuscript, but this remains a milestone both for the specific project as well as for my writing in general. This is the closest to that elusive ultimate finish line that I've ever taken any long fiction work -- and I want to keep going with it, to the end! I feel so excited to see where this story goes. Hopefully one day it will land in the hands of a publisher who wants to purchase it. For now, though, I will be more than satisfied to see my characters, plot, and writing skill develop.

Labels: nanowrimo, writing