Chrysanthemums

I have a new article posted at Garden and Hearth - Flower Gardening about chrysanthemums. I love chrysanthemums, partly because they are so easy to care for and partly because there are so many blooms per plant. I can get lots of color in my house and yard with very little effort.

Autumn Blooms

I just posted a new article in the online magazine, Garden and Hearth. It's about autumn blooms. In the northern hemisphere, it's the right time to get started on fall gardening.

Avon Fanlit

Here's another writing contest. Avon, an imprint of Harper Collins, is sponsoring an online writing contest. Each week, the contest sponsors provide a direction and the participants write a chapter of a novel. Everyone votes and the best one is selected. Check it out if you have time.

Occitan and Cezanne in Provence

I decided to learn Occitan. It's not easy to find material for non-French speakers. I searched around and finally found some software. I've learned, according to the progress meter, about 500 words. My competency in the grammar section is not quite so good. I'm working on it, though.

Once I learned a language well enough to speak it. I tried to converse with a native speaker and found that language classes don't necessarily translate into conversational competency. It was rather embarassing. It was also disappointing. After spending all that time and money, I had expected a little better.

So, for Occitan, I am seeking out spoken media--movies, radio, and yes, television shows--so that I know what I know before I head out from my cozy English-speaking environment.

In my quest for Occitan materials, I set up my TiVo to search for shows on Provence and various other keywords that might turn up Occitan as a spoken language. Today it got me "Cezanne in Provence". It was an interesting hour-long biography of the artist, with lots of his paintings and the originals (landscapes, objects, photographs of people) shown. If you have a chance to check it out, and you have an interest, it's on PBS.

Sick Goldfish

One of my goldfish has become listless and uninterested in food this week. He just lies on the bottom of the tank while the other goldfish dash to the top of the tank. There is nothing obviously wrong with him--his color is good, his eyes keep track of what's going on around him, he swims away when another fish pesters him--he just isn't behaving like he used to.

After two days of him not eating, I started holding him and putting the flakes into his mouth for him. At first, he wriggled a lot, but now he just accepts it. He sees me approaching the tank and his goggle eyes follow my movements. Hopefully, he will be better soon.

Writing Contests

The writing contest at Haruah is still going on. The deadline is 10 Sep 2006. Prose or poetry.

As long as I'm talking about contests, I might as well let you know about the poetry contest over at Dragons, Knights, and Angels, an online fantasy magazine where every story contains at least a dragon, a knight, or an angel. You have a little over a month to become poetically inspired. The deadline is 30 Sep 2006.

How about a flash fiction writing contest at Ray Gun Revival, an online magazine devoted to the revival of that classic of science fiction, the space opera? The deadline there is 01 Sep 2006, so get writing!

School Registration

The local school district requires registration in the summer for all students, new or returning. I did that and filled out an enormous packet of paperwork. The registrar said, "Great!" I thought everything was fine.

Well, I took my child to school and she wasn't on any list for her grade. I went to the office and stood in line with the other parents whose children also weren't listed. There were a lot of us and it took a long time. The children were all small and many had very young siblings, so add lots of crabby kids to your mental picture of this event.

It was my turn and I found out that I was missing a paper. In the end, it turned out that the registrar does not have access to the computer while she is registering the kids. She inspects the pages we hand her and if everything seems to be in order, she sends us on our way. Later, when the information is typed in, the computer will notice missing bits or incongruencies and flag those kids. That's what happened with me.

I sound gripy--and I am--because this happened to me last year, too. But it's not as bad as it could be. I got my child registered in time for her to attend class that first day. She didn't have to walk in late and have everyone stare at her.

Ah, well, time to wind up a rather whiny post.

Contest at Haruah

Did I mention there's a writing contest at Haruah? No fee to enter. Prizes. Accepting poetry and prose. Get the details here. The deadline for entry is 10 Sep 2006. Hope to see you there.

Disburse/Disperse

I see this often. The innocent villagers see the evil overlord's ruthless soldiers coming to destroy their peaceful existence. The villagers, untrained in weaponry, have no choice but to disburse.

What? They're throwing money at the problem? Well, perhaps they are, but the next scene often shows our hapless villagers in many separate and distinct locations. This leads me to believe the author intended the characters to flee for their lives, rather than worry about their wallets. And besides, if the villagers had enough money to stop an army of bloodthirsty mercenaries in their tracks, why wouldn't they just hire their own band of mercenaries?

Definitions from Merriam-Webster online

Disburse -- transitive verb
1 a : to pay out : expend especially from a fund b : to make a payment in settlement of
2 : DISTRIBUTE

Disperse -- transitive verb
1 a : to cause to break up b : to cause to become spread widely c : to cause to evaporate or vanish
2 : to spread or distribute from a fixed or constant source: as a archaic : DISSEMINATE b : to subject (as light) to dispersion c : to distribute (as fine particles) more or less evenly throughout a medium
intransitive verb
1 : to break up in random fashion
2 a : to become dispersed b : DISSIPATE, VANISH
synonym see SCATTER

Life on Mars

What a nifty show. Detective Sam Tyler gets hit by a car in 2006, and wakes up in 1973. He is confused (who wouldn't be?), but he soon finds out that everyone there was expecting him. He supposedly transferred from another precinct. All the paperwork is there. He settles in and tries to bring the police procedures of 1973 up to the standards he is used to. This proves difficult with the lack of modern technology.

Technology isn't the only problem, though. Sam's boss is a thug--a thug who gets the bad guys off the street quickly and regularly, but a thug nonetheless. The others in the department range from complacent to antagonistic. Sloppy procedures keep Sam going back over the same ground repeatedly in order to find all the evidence.

By the end of the first show, we find out that Sam is in a coma in 2006, although the risks he faces in 1973 are real. Will he find a way back home? (Of course he will, in the series finale.) How will he get back home?

Life on Mars isn't just another excuse for groovy music and groovy clothes. In fact, the clothes are pretty ungroovy. The music is authentic, but unlike the bouncy tunes on other retro shows.

Oh, yeah, and there's always a twist at the end. Check it out on BBCA if you have the time.

Book Review -- The Complete Organic Pregnancy

Three-word summary: Wish I'd known.

The Complete Organic Pregnancy
by Deirdre Dolan and Alexandra Zissu
Harper Collins, 2006
ISBN 0-06-088745-1

The Complete Organic Pregnancy sums up its mission on the cover with its subtitle: "What you need to know--from the nail polish you wear to the bed you sleep in to the water you drink". The authors cover everything I researched for my own pregnancy and then many more things that never crossed my mind. Their thoroughness is evident in the lists of common products, their ingredients, and the effects of those ingredients on people.

The book is divided into three sections: Transforming, what to change before becoming pregnant; Growing, what to watch out for during the nine months; and Living, what to do once the baby is here. Each section is further broken down into manageable subsections: food, home and work environments, wellness, fitness and play, and beauty. Special subsections focus on situations unique to each time. For example, the subsection titled "Getting a Late Start" in the Transforming section offers a list of ten actions to take if you found out you or your significant other were pregnant before transforming.

Charts, lists, and sidebars organize information in an easy-to-reference fashion. Personal anecdotes from the authors, their friends and family, and well-known health and environment writers round out the presentation of information. The appendix includes several yummy and nutritious recipes, ranging from downhome to trendy.

The authors stay sane about every topic, no matter how potentially dreadful. They do not suggest that you replace all the furniture in your home if you find out the padding is toxic, or the stain contains a dangerous chemical; they do suggest steps to take to reduce any possible risks from the substances. This is not a book that would have scared me when I was pregnant, as some pregnancy books are well-known to do (and did). Rather it would have comforted me, knowing that I was doing as much as humanly possible to ensure my baby's best start in this world. And it would have filled in the gaps in my knowledge with simple recommendations for action.

The Complete Organic Pregnancy is thorough and touches on every topic imaginable. If there was one thing I would change about it, that would be to add citations for the studies and facts they quote. The copy I have is an uncorrected proof copy, so there may be plans to include a citations section before publication. I recommend this book for anyone pregnant or planning a pregnancy.

Samurai 7

Well, Kambei is still sitting in his cell, awaiting execution. I should have guessed the story would follow another direction. Ukyo made a move against the Emperor. Ukyo originally seemed to be a scion intent on indulging his whims, including a fixation on Kirara. In his last few appearances on the show, we have seen more of his true character. I suppose I will have to wait until next week to find out what effect Ukyo's coup will have on the samurai and how Kambei will escape.

A Portrait of Me

I got back from vacation last night. While I was there, this portrait was drawn as I reclined on two pillows, with my arms behind my head.

I spent most of my time in the pool and some of the time shopping. I hadn't been in a pool in a long time, so it took some time to remember the strokes in between being shot with a giant water gun and being jumped on by small children yelling "Watchmewatchmelookatmewatchthis!" Somehow, I managed not to sunburn too much.

The television at the hotel had an okay array of channels available, but I'd rather swim.

Branson

I'm just going to take a moment to point out that I have no interest in going to Branson. Undoubtedly, it's a nice place with nice people and nice things to do. But I have other things I want to do first. Places I'd like to see first.

Granada, Jerez, Natchez, Sequoia National Forest, Yosemite, Glacier, Vancouver, Macchu Picchu, the entire island of New Zealand (maybe both, I haven't decided), places in Japan, lots more...

So no more phone calls with fabulous three-day, four-night deals to watch shows. Okay?

Besides, I have TV shows to watch.