Through the years I’ve tried many programs to guard and protect my computers, not all programs have as many benefits as others. #4. McAfee is great at stopping everything including your computer from working fast. McAfee’s protection is amazing it scans everything, and is highly configurable, but in most cases it destroys computer performance. #3. AVG is another great title, first installation goes great, but watch out when it comes to upgrades. I’m also concerned when it came to the free version, my Norton’s found spy-ware attached to the AVG free. #2. Kaspersky is one of the best if you ask me, great speed and awesome protection. This program didn’t slow my system down, and it catches all the spy-ware, and asks questions when new software is changing the system, down side is the price. Last but not the least #1. Nortons this program has been revamped, completely rebuilt from the ground up, and you’ll love this, the company wanted speed to be it’s first priority! With it’s clean, fast, protection Nortons is the best in my book, easy to use and easy to upgrade, I found zero effort in protecting my computers! Many people have their favorites, what makes anything my favorite is it’s speed and ease of use! Good luck to you in your quest for PC protection, and if you need any help please visit bretttek.com 48038 Clinton Township MI Computer & Electronics Repair

“Bridget Jones’s Diary” is short one character on Yahoo! Movies:

It’s not the first time that Yahoo! has made this mistake.

Vampire Knight

MeruPuri

Red River

Wanted

Fruits Basket

Naruto

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Inuyasha

Shinshi Doumei Cross

Bleach

Special A

Death Note

Code Geass

Gakuen Alice

Howl’s Moving Castle

Spirited Away

***The titles that are in italic means I really want to do them!

“The imagination is usually characterized as the ability of the mind to form images, thoughts, melodies, or equations that are not present to the senses and have not been known or experienced in the past. It is the creative or constructive faculty of the human mind. The imagination gives rise to the idea of possibility, and to the contrast between what is and what might be. The power of the imagination comes from our ability to entertain alternatives to what we have experienced or have been told. The existence of imagination is perhaps the originating force of the ideas of freedom, choice, and the possibility of personal, social, and political change. If we were not able to imagine the world as other than it is, then taking an active role in change would be unthinkable.”

-from Herbert Kohl’s book, Should We Burn Babar?

Kohl’s book critiques Babar’s implicit celebration of colonialism, and a handful of other classic children’s stories. He also makes the call for more radical children’s literature. At school, we explore topics of social justice through storytelling and books. I’ve started to collect children’s books about social justice movements from around the world. The first picture book I read to this year’s convivial bunch is called, The Streets Are Free. It’s about a barrio in Caracas where the children have no place to play, other than the streets. A teacher helps them organize and articulate their demands for a playground, as well as a walk-out and march to city hall. The corrupt mayor uses them for a PR photo-op and an ersatz ribbon cutting, only to quickly abandon the project. Long story short, the kids organize the local families who come together to build a DIY playground.

I also have books about the LA janitor strike, a book of poetry written by Subcomandante Marcos of the Zapatistas, and a beautifully illustrated book, The Land of Terijian, which critics say romanticizes radical environmental groups. The later two books are obviously not part of the classroom library, and I try to lighten things up with books by authors such as Jon Muth which include Taoist and Zen characters.

Last year, in our classroom election, the kids were split between Obama and the socialist candidate, Gloria La Riva. Imagine that… amnesty, free education and healthcare sound like good ideas to eight and nine year olds. Teaching is my form of activism.

The image above is a photograph of the latest campaign graphic created by the Beehive Design Collective. It’s called the The True Cost of Coal. I took the picture at the 2009 SOA Watch mobilization at the gates of Fort Benning, in Columbus, Georgia. Hundreds of organizations converge in solidarity each year in opposition to the School of the Americas, whose graduates are known for horrific human rights abuses.

In this instance, a severe case of twitchy fingers.

The Funny Bits…was not my first choice. I’m not great at titles/names to begin with. (Actually I have a serious inferiority complex about titling. I mean, I’m a writer.) But on the day that I decided a blog was the answer I’d been looking for–I wasn’t drunk, I swear–I came up with some acceptable blog names. They all played on the same theme, some were cute, some were cheesy. But all were taken.

I grew increasingly frustrated. Didn’t WordPress know that I was trying to share my genius* with the world?!? Thwarted!

As will often happen when I’m frustrated and stumped, the connection between my brain and my fingers choked. It was about 0.1 second from the moment I thought, “the funny bits” to go time. A little brainstorming–well, okay, more of a gusty wind–and a finger spasm, and BOOM, I’m the proud new owner of a blog titled “The Funny Bits.”

I’m pretty sure this means that I will never again utter anything even slightly amusing. I doomed myself with that title. Doomed, I say!

Leave it to me to bumble and stumble through a door to say, “I’m here!” And you know, if you’re going to stumble through a doorway, you should turn it into one of those cool somersault rolls. Or at least try. Just sayin’.

And in that spirit…welcome to the world little ol’ blog of mine, I hope there is laughter and fun to be had, or at least just some regular blogging. *g*

*A note about myself for the readers–all two of them–that I may eventually, possibly pick up: when I say things about “my genius” I’m not serious. Tongue, meet cheek!

If anyone has actually been reading this blog from the beginning you will have noticed the name changing a few times. As a writer I find the titles to be the most difficult part of writing a poem, and it seems a blog is not very different.

A new year, a new title. Which will hopefully be the permanent name. I wanted to use the title of one of my poems and decided to go with The Crystal Calligrapher. Not only do I really like the poem, but after a life time of people making puns about my name, I figured I was entitled to do it too.

The poem The Crystal Calligrapher speaks about writing, which is the prime topic of this blog, and about painting with light; which is rather what we are doing as we blog. My words will be read, not on a page, but on a computer screen. I also like the idea of each entry being frozen in time, left to linger in cyberspace long after it was written, even after the writer has forgotten it and readers have faded away. Yet our words remain.

The Crystal Calligrapher (first published in Carapace)

the crystal calligrapher

is frozen in time

pen ever poised

painting with light

I wrote a majority of my novel to the lyrics of Regina Spektor, along with many other artists who are spectacular with words.  She made my 2009 list of inspirational music. Spectacular in the sense that their pitch, tone, and lyrics have the ability to stir up and influence our emotions, feelings and perspectives. To cause a smile or even to become completely melancholic.  To inspire. To discourage.  To simply just want to keep the “repeat” button on.

As 2009 comes to an end and my first novel is completed (editor reviewing one last tiny winy time), I’m home packing up all the elements that gracefully and at times frustrating, helped me put the pieces of my creative chaos and Isabella Reynolds my protagonist together as one. 

I’m collecting up the journals, emails, post it notes, research articles,  that once wall papered my apartment with an outline of thoughts, to literally begin a new chapter all over again.  A New Year, a new story, new chapters, and hopefully soon another book. 

My blog has kept me in touch with writing, looking for inspiration as well as letting inspiration find me.  It has kept me in touch with my creative side while my career takes me on different adventures.  However, the novel-writing process for me takes almost everything from me and I love it.  It requires energy, effort and emotions to wholeheartedly give into the entire process. I get butterflies in my throat when thinking of it.  That moment when I will take out a new set of orange post it notes, a legal pad, my Macbook, close my eyes and then open to start creating an outline for Act I, II, and III.  It is such an overwhelming feeling sometimes, that I can only wait to jump in, to get started, to start a story and see where it will end.  I love not knowing, as even as the writer, things change as I change.  Who knows where I will be, how I will see or feel, as I’m completing each chapter. 

There are so many talented authors, writers, poets, and musicians that affect me on a daily basis. There are a couple of people who are truly talented for simply who they are and in their being, who throughout this journey of mine helped me with my transformation into becoming a better writer.  Who have helped me become a better person through their own accomplishments and failures.  Showing me that no matter the case, just be.  To just be me.

As I pack up these items from my first novel (title now unknown as I’m back to a working title stage), I’m at home with Regina Spektor.  Well, listening to her that is.  Just a note, I can’t imagine the responsiblity of naming a child.  I look forward to it one day, but the title for a book weighs so heavy on my mind I wonder when the day will come to where I know 150% that is the perfect name for my pages.  Hopefully soon as I’m going to print in a couple of months! I have changed it three times this year.  The name for my protagonist, Isabella Reynolds came much easier to me and for my own reasons. I have confirmation on that. This pressure when we are always taught a book is judged by its cover, is not so helpful.

I have included two of my favorite Spektor songs below and my favorite lines. The ones that get me every time. Ones that always cause me to push the repeat on….  Wouldn’t it be nice, if we could have all the moments in life we needed or selfishly wanted on a repeat button? Then again, we need room for everything that is about to come…

“You are my sweetest downfall
I loved you first, I loved you first
Beneath the sheets of paper lies my truth
I have to go, I have to go”

“If you never say your name out loud to anyone
They can never ever call you by it”

CK

Shouldn’t the TV show be called “Seven Seagals Lawmen”?

I think someone at Yahoo! TV made a little goof.

It’s a truly scary collection on Yahoo! Movies. The Web site’s “Winter Horror Guide” includes some spooky spellings and terrifying typos, starting with the undercapitalized States and extraneous quotation mark:

Was it creepy carelessness that led to the mangling of Willem Dafoe?

and Benicio Del Toro?

The lack of consistency when it comes to treating movie titles is frightful:

Why use quotation marks around some, but not all, titles? And how does a supposed movie maven misspell Freddy Krueger’s first and last name?

Oh, the horrors!

Seriously, I don’t know if there is anything in the world quite as amusing as the titles of category romance. If there is one thing in the world that makes people think romance is worthless trash, I reckon those titles are up there as a contender. (They’re in close competition with the covers. Fabio is hard to beat).

My personal favourite from today:

Bedded for Passion, Purchased for Pregnancy.

How can you not laugh at a title like that? Talk about removing the mystery…

Writing a good title is a tricky thing.  I have found that most original titles are changed before the book is published.  Some writers are better than others in coming up with a title for their book.  Critique groups can help.  Also sitting down and coming up with a couple dozen titles can help spur a better title idea.  Thank goodness most editors will not turn down a well-written book because they don’t like the title, but if you are writing an article, a bad title could kill having someone pick it up.  Gary Provost has some additional tips to consider.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             A good title should make a reader curious.  A good title is a guide.  By telling something about the content of your story, it separates the appropriate readers for you story from those who would have no interest in it.

A good titile is short.  Don’t write, “Investigative Techniques and Conclusions Concerning the Proposal to Extend Client Services.”  Write, “Results of the Clinet Survey.”

A good title hints at the limits of information in the story; that is, it suggests the slant.  Don’t write, “How Sports Enriched My Religious Life,”  Write, “A Christian Looks at Baseball.”

A good title should reveal information, not hide it.  Don’t write, “Tips on an Improtant Purchase.”  Write, “Six Ways to Save Money Buying a Home.”

Hope this helps.  I suspect there are a lot of you who participated in NaNoWriMo, who will be working on a title soon.

Kathy

How to answer the infamous question, “What do you do?”

A job title can make or break a good first impression. You certainly don’t want to lie about your job history, but you do want to be descriptive. For example, “Accounting” is too vague, while “Management of A/R and A/P and Recordkeeping” carries both far more information and way more impact. How do you make sure the job title you use on your resume will be accurate and impactful?

We’re not talking about changing the title or position you held in a previous job, said Marsh Sutherland, president of Walden Recruiting. There’s no way he’d tinker with a client’s actual title, he said. Doing so “could be considered misrepresentation” on both his part and that of his client — far too steep a price to pay in return for more impressive-sounding titles. We’re talking about the title of your resume, what you call yourself and how you define what you do.

Top of the resume

The job seeker’s title sits at the top of the resume above her Summary section, right below her name and contact information. Sutherland said he usually advises his clients to take cues from the job they’ve applied for. “I will often put the title of the job (on the top) so at first glance it appears the candidate is a perfect fit,” Sutherland says. “For instance, I am currently sourcing candidates for a Search Engine Optimization Analyst position. Guess what? I put ‛SEO Analyst Professional’ at the top of my resume submissions.”

Typical title mistakes

One common mistake seen by Beth Colley, principal of Chesapeake Resume Writing, is not including a title anywhere on the resume.

Another mistake she often sees is when job seekers include the old-fashioned “Objective” section, a section that nowadays is considered irrelevant and whose inclusion marks the resume subject as being out of touch with the current professional resume format. It might have been acceptable in years past to start a resume with an objective about how a job seeker is “seeking a position where I can utilize my gifts and talents in marketing and advance to a level of increasing responsibility,” but nowadays an objective at the top of the page simply means a job seeker is thinking of himself, not how he can help his potential employer.

Colley also sees unacceptably vague titles such as one resume that said “Public Advocate.” That job seeker’s profile included her “ability to direct complex projects from concept to fully operational status,” and it mentioned personality details such as being “highly organized” and a “detailed problem solver” who was “self-directed” and “creative.”

Just what type of public advocate, for what industry, was “not clear,” Colley says, “I totally didn’t understand what she was looking for.”

How to craft a title that’s broad, specific and narrowly targeted

Colley advises job seekers to use a “fairly broad title” that still targets the right industry but to then pair it with something they possess that’s in high demand in their industry.

Colley sets this type of title up in the format of “Broad title”—“Specific industry,” “Specialized skills or certifications.” For example, rather than using a broad title such as Project Manager, which could “literally be anything from construction to IT,” she advises her clients to use a slightly more targeted title heading. Some examples:

• Project Manager – IT Industry, DOD contractor with active Top Secret Clearance
• Project Manager – Civil Engineering, LEED & GBE Certified

Here are some other examples Colley cited that expand on less-informative titles such as CFO or Customer Service Representative:

• Chief Financial Officer – CPA, MBA with Controller and Financial Analyst Expertise
• Customer Service Representative – Inbound Call Center, 8 years of experience

“The whole point of resume development is to target the resume to a particular field or industry,” Colley said. “Job titles vary from one company to the next, so you want to pick a title that is recognizable to most employers and recruiters. By highlighting a marketable aspect about yourself or industry, the recruiter/employer will read for further information to see if you ‛fit the bill.’ Remember, if they read your resume for more than 15-20 seconds and you get a phone call, the resume has effectively done its job.”

Someone over at Yahoo! Movies is a little confused about punctuation:

There’s no apostrophe in the movie’s title, and the use of both a single and a double quotation mark is a tad funky. Actually, it’s very funky. And wrong.

2 Cor. 4:5 (MSG)-“Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. “

I am a qualified mechanical engineer. I worked for a leading consulting engineering organization for 31 years. I was trained in “process technology” in the yester years (that I stayed in USSR) and learned about the extraction of metals from the minerals.

After reaching a senior management level, I opted for voluntary retirement. I am also a member of the Institution of Engineers and as well as a member of the Institution of Metals. I am qualified to put an Engineer (Er) before my name. This prefixing is widely accepted in some foreign countries such as Romania, but it is seldom practiced in India. Medical and military professions invariably add their prefixing before names to identify their authority.

In religious circles, pastors and priests prefer this honor. In Christendom, it is now more or less a phenomena to add a Dr. (Doctor of Divinity) or Pr. (Pastor) or a Rev. (Reverend). Some feel quite awkward, if they do not put a prefixing such as Br. (Brother). They are not comfortable to put simply put a “secular” Mr. (Mister)!

I am neither proud nor ashamed of anyone calling me by first name without prefixing it. If he must prefix let my name, let it be Er. (Errand runner). I am retired from my vocation. Now I am an errand runner to my aged parents and also to the dear ones whom Jesus loves.

We have a message and we are also the messengers -the errand runners from Jesus to you. Who is qualified for such a job? We must keep the message as simple as possible and carry it faithfully in this generation to the next generation!

Jesus had the prefixing such as MS (Mary’s son), but was often referred to as the “man of sorrows.” He triumphantly finished what was entrusted to Him.

We are called to run the race with perseverance. We are to run in “such a way as to get the price.”

All of the “prefixing and suffixing” does not have any meaning!

At the end of the day, God will fix up everything. That is what matters. And that matters to us so dearly as we look forward in great anticipation!

So I have been playing around with inter-title ideas and cutaways – how do we feel about these?

Too whimsical? I want it to be light and fun and a bit nostalgic at this point… hmmmmm – early days

Had a small slew of rejections come in, and while I’d love to turn the stories around and submit somewhere else, most of the markets next on my list are closed right now.  Stupid holidays.  I guess I’m taking a couple weeks off submitting until things open back up.  In some ways this isn’t so bad.  It means that I three stories I can choose from for the first quarter of WotF if I decide I can’t get the novella formerly known as Werewolves in Space done in time to send it in.

Made a new spreadsheet for tracking submissions as well.  Before I just had a single rather messy page in excel with stories down one side and markets across the top.  But I kept adding stories and markets and it started to look like a giant mess.  So now there’s a master list of stories on the first sheet, and then each story has its own sheet with markets listed down the side.  Each row has room for date submitted, date rejected/sold (wishful future-thinking there), and a place to put any editor comments that might come back with it. (“graceful” “unexpectedly moving” “writing is top quality” always followed by some version of “this ultimately didn’t work for me, good luck elsewhere, send us more!”).  I have about 25 markets listed, not all pro-rate of course, but the few that aren’t are either damn close or else highly regarded.  This means that even if I wrote nothing new (which is practically impossible), it’ll be more than a hundred rejections before I run out of markets for my current 12 stories.  Not every story fits every market, of course, but each has at least 10-14 it can go out to.

In more thrilling news, or not, I finally have a working title for Chwedl that actually sounds readable.  So novel project #2, formerly known as “Chwedl” is now called “A Heart in Sun and Shadow”.  That sounds appropriately fantasy I think and somewhat captures the themes/images within the novel.  If I manage to sell this thing, I doubt that will be its final title, but hopefully this new title will catch the eye better than “incomprehensible word” did.

Now, if I could just figure out the title to novel project #3, and a good title for formerly “werewolves in space”.  Originally that novel was going to be called “Predators”, so I suppose I could title the novella such until its written at least.  Titles are funny things.  A good one makes me want to read something, a bad one might turn me away (though rarely).  This is even more true with short stories for me than books.  And yet titles are my least favorite part.  I suck at them.  I have a hell of a time thinking them up and always feel like I could have done so much better.  Just part of my process I guess.

Well, happy holidays.  I’m going to be right here, at the computer, busting my ass to try to make “A Heart in Sun and Shadow” into something someone might want to buy someday.  “Busting my ass” of course might also mean “working on novel project #3″, but hey, it’s all work, right? Right?

From a leaflet picked up inside Christ Church, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. One has to endorse and admire formality that isn’t stuffy, but merely respectful, which is formality’s actual purpose.

People often wonder (and ask) what to call a person ordained in the Episcopal Church. While this is, of course, always subject to preference or local custom, here is a (not so) brief guideline of what to call bishops, priests, and deacons:

BISHOP: The word Bishop comes from the Greek word episkopos (έπίσκοπος, from έπί “over” and σκοπός “seeing”) which can be translated as overseer, superintendent, supervisor, the first, leader, or foreman. From the word episkopos are derived the English words episcopacy, episcopate, and episcopal. The system of church government by bishops is called episcopacy. A bishop is a chief minister (servant) or chief pastor (shepherd) in the Episcopal Church, serving a number of churches that make up a diocese. A large diocese may have more than one bishop. In that case the chief bishop is called the diocesan, or ordinary. Assisting bishops are usually called suffragan bishops. An assisting bishop who will succeed the ordinary is a bishop coadjutor. In conversation all are addressed as “Bishop” (and LAST or FIRST NAME) (“How are you, Bishop?” or “What do you think, Bishop Smith?” or “May I introduce you to Bishop John?”). When writing a bishop, the form is The Right Reverend FIRST LAST NAME, and then Dear Bishop FIRST or LAST NAME.

The Right Reverend John Smith
Bishop of N
123 Church Street
Your Town, Your State 00000

Dear Bishop Smith:

PRIEST: This word comes from a Greek word, by way of Middle English preist from Old English prēost from Late Latin presbyter from Greek πρεσβύτερος (presbuteros) or πρέσβυς (presbus), presbyter, meaning elder. Usually a priest is the chief minister in a congregation. While forms of address depend upon the priest’s preference and local custom, in general in conversation a priest is addressed as Father (or Mother), with the LAST name, less often with the FIRST name, and less commonly, as Mister or Miss/Mrs./Ms. with the LAST NAME. If a priest has a Title (Vicar, Rector, Dean, Archdeacon, Canon), then the form may be the Title Alone (“How are you today, Vicar/Dean/Archdeacon/Canon?”), or (also if the priest holds a doctorate) with the Title and LAST NAME (“May I introduce you to Dean/Archdeacon/Canon/Doctor LAST NAME?”), or directly for Deans, “Mister/Madam Dean” or “Very Reverend Sir/Madam”, and Archdeacons “Venerable Sir/Madam”. When writing a priest the form is to use The Reverend FIRST NAME LAST NAME (priest) / The Very Reverend (dean), The Venerable (archdeacon) / The Reverend Canon (canon) / The Reverend Dr. (priest with doctorate), and then Dear Mister/Miss/Father/Mother/Dean/Archdeacon/Canon/Dr. LAST NAME.

NEVER refer to an Episcopal priest as “Reverend” – reverend is an adjective and always requires “The” before it and the FIRST LAST NAME or just The Reverend Mr./Miss/Mrs./Ms./Dr. LAST NAME. For Deans, it is The Very Reverend, for archdeacons The Venerable.

The Reverend John Smith/The Reverend Mr. Smith
The Reverend Dr. John Smith
The Very Reverend John Smith
The Venerable John Smith
The Reverend Canon John Smith

Dear Mr./Fr. Smith:
Dear Dr. Smith:
Dear Dean Smith:
Dear Archdeacon Smith:
Dear Canon Smith:

DEACON: A deacon, like a bishop or priest, is an ordained minister. Deacon comes from the Greek word diakonos (διάκοvος or διάκος), meaning servant. Deacons usually serve in local congregations and have a special ministry to the poor, the sick, the troubled, and the world. In conversation, deacons are addressed as Deacon/Mister/Ms./Miss/Mrs. LAST NAME or Deacon FIRST NAME. In writing, the form is The Reverend Mister/Miss/Ms. FIRST NAME LAST NAME, and the Dear Deacon/Mr./Miss/Ms. LAST NAME or Deacon FIRST NAME, according to preference or local custom.

The Reverend Mr. John Smith

Dear Mr. Smith/ Dear Deacon John/ Dear Deacon Smith:

So… What do you call a Deacon????? When speaking, Mister or Deacon (“What do you think about this, Mister Smith?” or “What do you think about this, Deacon?” / “May I introduce you to our deacon, Mr. Smith?” or “May I introduce you to Deacon John (or Deacon Smith)?”

OR… Just ask what the person prefers to be called!