Liv Rancourt's Blog, page 37

Halloween Blog Hop!

Today it’s my stop on the Still Moments Publishing Halloween Blog Hop, and to celebrate, I thought I’d post some of my very favorite Halloween music. So let’s get this party started with a little…

Time Warp!

And when we’re done with that, we can try the Monster Mash…the Groovie Goolies version…

And then we can go to the Dead Man’s Party…not much scarier than these hairstyles…

All because Every Day Is Halloween!

I know Halloween music doesn’t have the same street cred as, say, Christmas carols do, but a quick Google search will turn up some pretty fun stuff.  Here’s the theme from The Munsters, which my husband claims is musically superior to the Adam’s Family theme.

(Don’t ya just want to hang out with us at the dinner table some time?)

Enjoy the Hop and be sure and stop by the SMP Blog to check out the other fab Halloween posts that will be happening between now and 10/25.  And if you leave a comment with your favorite Halloween song, I’ll enter you in a drawing to win a copy of my newest SMP release, The Santa Drag. Okay, it’s a little early for Christmas, but still…You’ll also be automatically entered to win one of the grand prizes from SMP. Jump here to check out what they’re giving away!

Peace,

Liv

 

So many ideas…so little time…

Last week at the nursing conference, my goal was to leave with one concrete idea for a project I could do at work. I ended up with four, maybe five do-able projects.

There aren’t enough hours in the day.

Driving through Joshua Tree was one of the highlights of last week’s conference. I discovered I love the desert.

On top of that, I’ve got the ECWC next weekend, where I’ll be pitching an urban fantasy piece that still somewhat in need of revisions. And then there’s NaNo, and while I’m not signed up for the official deal, I’m hoping to do my own private NaNo-lite and knock out a 20k novella that’s been waiting patiently for my attention.  The working title is Choir Camp, and it’s a goofy little romance that’s about what happens when a group of music teachers get together for their annual  retreat.

When that’s done, all my lovely beta-readers will likely have returned their copies of The Hell Hotel with comments, and I’ll jump into revising that. And there’s a dystopian cross-country adventure that I started a couple years ago that I’d like to do something with. And I had a dream this morning that could turn into a paranormal steampunk thing. And my anniversary’s coming up. And I do still have children.

If only I had more time.

Part of this rant meditation on time stems from a blog post I read yesterday. My friend Tami Clayton‘s writing partner started his brand new blog with a post called Time Is Optional. In the post, he points out that humans are the only creatures who measure time. Animals couldn’t care less. He also pokes holes in the concept of time management, as if we can really control something that’s an artificial construct in the first place.

It made for interesting reading, and reminded me that the only time we have any control over is what’s happening right now. We can’t change the past nor can we affect the future.

Right now.

That’s all we’re given. So instead of fretting over all the things I’d like to do, I’m going to re-orient myself, finding a sense of gratitude for having the ideas in the first place and doing my best to keep my head in the moment.

What about you? How do you balance all the many demands that you face?

Peace,

Liv

Celebrating Survival…with Mackenzie Crowne

Two years ago one of my best friends was treated for breast cancer, and I bet if we went around the room here, most everyone reading this post can name someone close to them who has been affected by the disease. This post is dedicated to them, our loved ones who are survivors and to those who didn’t survive.

I first crossed paths with writer Mackenzie Crowne through Still Moments Publishing. She’s the one responsible for awesome confections of romantic fiction like That Dating Thing and Gift of the Realm. More recently she published Where Would You Like Your Nipple?, her take on what it’s like to navigate the breast cancer experience. Mac’s a survivor and a damned funny girl, and I encourage you all to check out her work…and make double sure you check out the video at the end of this post. Truly life-changing, that one!

Now here’s Mac…

~

Life is full of celebrations. We gather around an expectant mother, showering her with gifts for the coming bundle of joy. There are candles to be extinguished to mark the passing of yet another year. Graduations are a reason to gather, and happy tears flow amongst the dancing and throwing rice as we wish the newly wed couple well. As an author, the publishing of my first book was the excuse for one hell of a party, but nothing compares to the celebration when you can finally claim “I am a five-year survivor!”

As of October 4th I can make that claim. That awesome accomplishment is enough to make we want to do cartwheels, which I’d do, if I wasn’t sure I’d end up breaking a hip.

Statistically the five-year milestone is huge for someone with a diagnosis of stage III breast cancer. I’m not a mathematician and pie charts and graphs make my eyes gloss over, but in laymen’s terms, this means my probability of living a long, healthy life is about the same as any woman my age, including those who haven’t experienced mastectomies, chemotherapy and radiation.

Can you say, hot damn?

But, my battle isn’t over. I met so many talented and dedicated professionals who had my back in my battle for survival. It’s important to me that I do my part to aide those women who are where I was five years ago. I hope I’ve succeeded in doing that with the release of Where Would You Like Your Nipple?, my lighthearted survivor’s guide to navigating the breast cancer abyss with humor and hope. 

In the meantime, I hope you’ll join me in spreading the word. Early detection is the key. So check those ta-tas, ladies, and remind your mother, sisters and girlfriends to do the same. And for some hunky inspiration…er information on how to do a proper self-exam and an app to remind you, here’s a you tube video you might enjoy.

You can find Mac on-line at mackenziecrowne.com

Buy her work here : Digital and Print

Facebook

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The Live Pitch

The next couple weeks are going to be busy. On Wednesday I’ll be flying to Palm Springs for the NANN conference (it’s a nursing thing) and I have to say I’m looking forward to my first trip to the high desert. Then I’ll barely be home and unpacked when the ECWC starts – that’s the Emerald City Writer’s Conference, sponsored by our local RWA group. Judging by the frequent and enthusiastic email exchanges that are going on in advance of the conference, it’s going to be a wild time.

Chose this photo in honor of my main character, who likes to knit.

One of the things I’m most looking forward to at the ECWC is the chance to pitch an agent. Okay, “looking forward to” might be a stretch. How about, “anticipating with alternating bouts of excitement and dread”? If nothing else, it’s been a chance to break out the big-girl-panties and craft a 1-2 minute presentation.

There’ll be a pitch practice session the first day of the conference, and the coordinators have sent out a series of emails that detail the steps to developing a strong pitch. In the interest of spreading the wealth, here’s my summary of the emails sent by the Pitchfest co-moderator Gina Robinson ( http://www.ginarobinson.com/ ).

1. Know your story. To borrow the first step from Michael Hauge’s book Selling Your Story In 60 Seconds , you need to REVIEW your story, to make sure you’ve got the in’s and out’s down cold. Who are the main characters? What’s the set-up? What are the conflicts? Why will readers care? If you can’t answer those questions, the agent won’t be able to either.

2. Come up with a strong opening line. Interestingly, the recommendation was to start with why you feel passionate about the work, rather than “This is a (fill in your word count here) (fill in your genre here)” statement. You can work in that information, if you do it creatively. The other recommendation (again from Mr. Hauge) was to leave your title till the end, so that the listener won’t get hung up on WHY you chose the title, rather than listening to your pitch.

3. Write the body of the pitch, including who (heroine/hero), what (motivation & conflict), and why (passion). Gina says that “three to three and a half paragraphs will yield an approximate 60-second pitch”  (email communication), which is your goal. Details will make it memorable, but be selective because you don’t have a lot of time.

4. When you’re done, cue the agent that  the pitch is over by thanking them and asking if they have any questions. You can also offer to send them a copy if they’re interested. Obviously, you’d like it if they immediately asked for a full manuscript, but if that doesn’t happen – or if they politely decline – have a strategy in mind. Ideas include asking for feedback on your pitch or offering to tell them about another one of your projects. The key idea I took from this step was to keep your wits about you, so that you can find a silver lining from any lukewarm response or outright refusal.

5. Practice your pitch. Time it, to make sure you’re within the one-minute limit, and practice some more. Get your crit partners to listen and give you feedback – although they may have read the piece, so might not be as objective as they could be. Have your spouse or your neighbors or your coworkers or the guy behind you in line at the grocery store listen, and practice till you’ve got it down cold. It’s okay to use notes during the actual presentation, but you need to have it in your bones so you’re not reading straight from a piece of paper.

Now you might have noticed that I’m not providing you with examples from my work, and I’ll tell you why. I’ve got a pitch drafted, but until I try it out on someone besides the dog, I’m not ready to share it. Burnsie’s just not as critical as he might be, you know? He’s a good listener, though. And whether you’re working on a pitch or drafting a query or formatting for self-publication, I wish you all the best. If you have thoughts on how to make a strong pitch, don’t hesitate to share them in the comments here. I’d love to learn from your ideas.

Peace,

Liv

Burnsie the Dog, getting ready to offer some constructive criticism. And yes, he needs a hair cut.

 

 

The Secret Ingredient…

First I’d like to welcome all the hoppers from The Bewitching Home blog party. Welcome to LivRancourt.com! Leave a comment at the end of the post and I’ll draw a winner next week for a copy of Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft, which includes my story “An Accidental Witch” (jump here for an excerpt).

This morning I was in the kitchen chopping things and thinking about this post. I made a batch of chicken soup and then peeled some apples for applesauce, all the while turning around ideas about  the magic of cooking. See, years ago I read Like Water For Chocolate, which is a lovely little novel – it was a book before it was a movie, you know. The underlying idea was that the main character, Tita, infused whatever she was cooking with her emotions. Like, in one chapter, she had erotic thoughts about her true love Pedro while preparing quail with rose sauce, and it inspired her older sister to some uncharacteristically naughty behavior.

That’s yummy on a couple of different levels.

Then there are books like the Mystic Cafe Series by Rose Pressey. In this series, the main character Elly inherits a cafe from her grandmother Imelda, who informs her that the cafe sells some pretty extraordinary baked goods, and that Elly has the magical aptitude to carry on the family tradition. Adventure and romance ensue.

And all based on infusing food with magic.

It’s a fascinating idea, and this morning, as I peeled and sliced and seasoned, I imagined the kind of spell I’d put on my chicken soup and applesauce. If I could, I’d add a ‘good health’ spell to the soup, to keep my kids strong despite the cold damp weather. In addition to the honey and cinnamon, I’d add a scoop of joy to the apple sauce, to lift the mood of whoever eats it. I’d put in a dash of ‘positive self image’ for my teenage daughter, a pinch of  patience for my son, and a dollop of gratitude for my husband. He’s really a good guy.

As a witch, I’m a novice, but I know that intent is a key part  of any spell.  My motives may be good, though I suppose that there’s always a chance that the wrong person could get eat some of my magic food, with unintentional consequences. Heck, if that wasn’t a possibility, the books I mentioned would have a lot less conflict. Even so, I couldn’t help staring at the cutting board, willing the apples to carry a little extra joy and asking the chicken to hold some good health.

What about you? Do you believe food can carry magic? What would you make if you could?

Peace,

Liv

One last thing…here’s a link to the Bewitching Home Blog Party list, so you can check out  some of the other awesome posts. The theme is witchcraft in the home, and the posts have ideas and recipes and all kinds of tricks you can pick up…

 

 

The Santa Drag

In just over a week, my short story The Santa Drag will be released as a single short  by Still Moments Publishing. This story is one of my favorites, and I still owe my sister a huge favor for come up with the basic idea behind it. One day last fall I sent her a text message, telling her I wanted to write a Christmas-themed romance, and she suggested that the main character should be woman who takes a job playing Santa at the mall.

Really? Why not? It could happen. And Mack’s just the girl to do it!

Keep reading for a short excerpt , then keep an eye on the blog here and on the Still Moment Publishing website for release day information. Thanks! Have a great weekend!

Peace,

Liv

Things aren’t always what they seem, and this shopping mall Santa has secrets only her true love can reveal.

 

The Santa Drag

On a particularly busy Saturday, I was tired and thinking more about a double shot of espresso than I was about the pile of kids who wanted to sit in my lap. The weak winter sun was making its circle over the atrium where the Christmas Village was set up, and my roommate Shauna was buzzing by every so often to giggle at me from the sidelines. She was trying to get all of her Christmas shopping done in one day, which was a good trick for someone with as many fertile brothers and sisters as she had. 

“Come sit on Santa’s lap.” Maya, the photographer and kid-wrangler, invited the next kid in line approach my golden throne. Well, it was fake gold, but the kids didn’t know that. 

“No,” said a little girl with a stubborn crease between her brows. She was dressed in Seattle’s version of Christmas formal, a stiff, red velvet dress, likely made from organic fabric dyed with beets and rose hips. On her feet were two-toned leather MaryJanes that probably cost sixty-five dollars. At least the green corkscrew ribbons tied around her blond pigtails looked like they belonged on a child. I made myself as approachable as possible, getting down to her level and producing a big smile.

“Come on, Thula,” her mother said, tapping one French manicured nail on her cell phone. “Go sit up there with Santa so we can take your picture.” She sounded as if this was just one more thing to knock off the list.

“It’s okay, sweetie.” Maya put on her encouraging smile. Maya was a tiny thing, barely bigger than most of the kids we saw, with long dark hair, a tiny gold hoop pierced through one nostril, and bugged-out eyes that looked like they’d been molded out of chocolate. She was non-threatening as an adult could possibly be. The kid stared at her and bit down on her bottom lip. At least she wasn’t crying. Yet.

 “You want to come tell Santa what to bring you for Christmas?” I kept my voice pitched down somewhere under my sternum. It helped that I had one of those raspy lady voices that earned me a permanent spot in the tenor section whenever I sang in choir.

“No.”

Sometimes less is more when you’re dealing with preschoolers. We went back and forth for several minutes until  the kid went from biting her bottom lip to letting it pooch out and tremble. Never a good sign. Finally, after a ton of coaxing, she was more-or-less close to me,  squatting down on the other side of one of the big pretend presents that ringed my throne. That was good enough for her mom, and Maya snapped a picture.

When she was done, the little girl glared at me from behind the big, glossy red ribbon that topped the present. “Bring me a baby brother,” she bellowed and took off running. 

Mom’s glare was meaner than the kid’s had been.. Hey, it’s not like I made any promises.

The kid ran full tilt past the pseudo-Tyrolean houses that made the Village, and out through the crowds of shoppers. She stopped in the middle of an open space and  cut loose,  her sobs echoing around the smoky glass dome that covered us.We could hear her carrying on until she and her mom got swallowed up by the Ross store at the end of the north hallway. The whole place fell into a bit of a hush when she was gone, as  everyone exhaled in relief. This close to Christmas, none of us needed a crying child to ratchet up the stress level.

A young mother was next in line. She came into the Christmas Village and positioned a slightly damp baby on my lap, moving as if something hurt. The baby was so young that Mom still looked a little pregnant under her loose denim-blue shirt. Or maybe she was already pregnant with number two. I’m not so good with the principles of baby production. Well, I understand the basic concepts, but haven’t had that many opportunities to put them into practice.

The brief quiet was interrupted by a yodeling squeal that I recognized. I stared into the crowd until I caught Maya looking at me funny. I stuck on a smile as close to my normal, jolly-Santa shtick as I could get, and she settled back down behind her camera. The reason for my roommate Shauna’s squeal had me completely rattled. In the two or three beats I’d looked out from behind my wire-rimmed glasses as Mack-the-girl, I’d seen Shauna giving someone a big hug. A really handsome someone. Joe McBride. Joseph Timothy McBride. The actor. The real-life, got a soap opera gig and several commercials and you saw him in Scream 2 actor. The only guy I ever really loved.

 

Ooh, now she’s got a problem! Will Mack turn all Creepy-Kringle? Will Joe recognize her? What’s a Santa to do?  ;)

 

The May Lady Vanishes…with Pamela Turner

This morning I’m very pleased to welcome Pamela Turner as my guest. Her short story “The May Lady Vanishes” appears in Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft. It’s a fun little tale about lust and love and jealousy and justice and light stuff like that. There’s an excerpt at the end of this post. You should totally check it out!

LR: What’s the most compelling thing about your most recent project, the thing that’s kept your butt in the chair through hours of writing and revising?

PT: Looming deadlines? LOL Seriously, a determination to not only finish the revisions, but submit the manuscript before the end of the year. (I’m terrible about submitting stories.) I’m currently involved in a month long writing challenge and the support from other writers has helped keep me focused. And then we have NaNoWriMo… (Yep, signed up for that, too.)

 

LR: If you had to recommend one writing resource, either a class or a book or a workshop, what would that be? What’s had the most impact on your work?

PT: That’s difficult to say, since each writing book and/or workshop brings with it its own strengths and weaknesses, depending on one’s needs.  Stephen King’s On Writing is one I recommend, along with Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat and Robert McKee’s Story.

 

LR: Which book or author has influenced you the most? What is it about their work that grabs you?

PT: Can’t say there’s one particular author. Albert Camus is a major influence, especially regarding human rights issues. (He wrote for Combat, a clandestine newspaper, during the Resistance.) Madeleine L’Engle is another. One of my favorite books by her is The Young Unicorns. I like that she wrote  stories that could be read by both young people and adults, and she never wrote down to her audience.

 

LR: We’ve both got short stories in Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft. How did you research your story? Do you practice witchcraft in RL?

PT: I don’t practice witchcraft, per se. I do some spell work and read the Tarot (for myself), but I don’t work within a structured framework, say like Gardnerian Wicca. I did research on the Maypole and the Beltane celebration, though. I knew that since Beltane celebrates life and love, I wanted this to be a love story, with a touch of suspense.

 

LR: How to you juggle all your hats (spouse, parent, worker-bee, housekeeper, writer)?

PT: I’ve learned to break tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks. I used to be the type of person who wanted to do everything  at once and ended up stressing. Of course, deadlines always have priority.

 

LR: What’s your favorite non-writing activity? Like, are you a closet Zumba addict? Could you macramé a plant hanger if you had to? Maybe you secretly want to appear on A Prairie Home Companion?

PT: Actually, a high school classmate went on to write for a Prairie Home Companion. My favorite non-writing activities are chess (I’m lousy at the game), photography, videography, drawing, and painting.

 

LR: What’s next on your horizon? Describe your current WIP(s) or other upcoming project.

PT: I’m working on a couple of angel urban fantasies, as well as some short dark fiction stories, which I hope to publish in a collection next year. My short dark fiction suspense story, “Family Tradition”, is scheduled to release this November from MuseItUp Publishing.

 

LR: Halloween is nearly on us. What’s your favorite holiday tradition? Samhain? Dios de los Meurtos? Trick or Treating?

PT: I’m not one much for celebrating holidays. Well, not in a big way. We do have candy for trick or treaters, and I did get to see a Dia de los Muertos display in San Francisco years ago.  Dia de los Muertos fascinates me and I would love to write a story based on it. Also, one thing I’d like to do this year that I’ve never done, is go on a Ghost Walking Tour of Old Louisville. That could be the start of a Halloween tradition.

~

Thanks, Pam, for playing along with my interview questions.  The Ghost Walking Tour of Old Louisville sounds like a blast. Here in Seattle there’s a Haunted Market Tour of the old Pike Street Market that’s a lot of fun – especially when you’re traveling with a troop of Girl Scouts! But that’s another blog post…

Here’s a short excerpt from  ”The May Lady Vanishes”…

A small package wrapped in brown craft paper sat on André’s porch. Strange. He hadn’t expected a delivery. André picked it up but there was no return address, only his name scrawled in black marker. His heart plummeted into his stomach. The writing matched the note. He took the package inside. Tearing away the wrapping, he uncovered a shoe box.

Trepidation filled him as he stared at it. What lay inside? He recalled reading how killers sometimes sent pieces of their victims’…

“Stop it!” Heart trip-hammering in his chest, he reached for the lid and, in one swift motion, yanked it off. Inside lay a cloth doll with yellow yarn hair and bound with black cord.

Dominic had placed a binding spell on Melissa.

~

Beltane – Ten Tales of Witchcraft is available from Amazon, Kobo, and Smashwords.

Bio – Pamela Turner drinks too much coffee and wishes she could write perfect first drafts. Writings include reviews, articles, poetry, screenplays, plays, and short fiction. Her 10-minute play “Brides of Deceit” was part of a local performance and “Cemetery” placed second in The Writers Place short/teleplay screenplay competition. Publications include “A Girl Like Alice” (Taproot Literary Review), Death Sword (Lyrical Press), “It’s in Your Blood” (Bites – Ten Tales of Vampires), and “Family Heirloom” (Scared – Ten Tales of Horror). She’s a member of RWA, Sisters in Crime, EPIC, and a supporting member of HWA. Beside coffee, she likes cats, cemeteries, and old abandoned buildings. You can find her at http://pamelaturner.net     

 

 

Dressing My Dreams

So I want you to shut your eyes and visualize something:

Me.

A tall, slightly overweight, middle-aged women dressed in yoga pants, a hockey shirt with a discreet Team Tigger logo on the front (because Tigger is nothing if not discreet), and a denim jacket.

I’d post a picture, but….well, no, I won’t post a picture. You’ve seen me before, at Target or out in front of your kid’s school or walking the dog. I’m the one with the glasses.

At least that’s me in real life. My dreams are a little different. I spend a lot of time on Pinterest (who doesn’t?), and one of my boards is called Vindemia Vestimenta, which is Latin for Vintage Clothing. The only criteria for inclusion on this board is that it has to be something I’d want to wear.  And interestingly enough, I’ve learned that the time period I’d most want to wear is about 1905 – 1915, with maybe a few years on either side.

Go figure.

To get an idea of my fashion dreams, here are a few photos (taken from public domain, not my Pinterest board).

This one actually kind of looks like me…twenty or so years ago…

I love the drapey fabrics and swirling skirts,  though I have to acknowledge that wearing any of these things on the  sideline of my son’s football game would probably raise some eyebrows.

Please ignore the rather frightened expression on the mannequin’s face. She can’t see you. Really.

The dresses are so body-conscious, yet they don’t reveal a bit of cleavage or extraneous bare skin. Amazing.

I would totally wear this. Somewhere.

I’d trade my denim jacket for a red velvet cloak with ermine trim and little gold cut-outs, even though the jacket is a Gap original purchased in about 1988, with the worn-out bits to prove it. I love all the attention to detail that you see in vintage clothing – the beading and embroidery and elaborate tailoring and construction. I could wear things that incorporate more of that detail, but real life tends to get in the way.

Doesn’t it make you want to swoon?

See? Everybody’s doing it.

Besides, it’s more fun to dream. I’m sure if I had to wrestle myself into a corset and dress every single day, I’d dream about yoga pants. You always want what you haven’t got, right?

Now what about you? What’s your fashion dream?

Peace,

Liv

Who’s a Geek?

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to be a guest on Debra Dunbar’s blog, and I was fairly pleased with the post and the response to it. So pleased, in fact, that I’m reposting it here. If you’re already read it, my apologies, and if not, I hope you enjoy!

Debra and I both have short stories appearing in Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft and she’ll be my guest in a couple of weeks. In the meantime I’m enjoying the heck out of her UF novel A Demon Bound. I started it a day or so ago and am just loving it.

 

The first time I went to Debra’s blog, I was scrolling through her older posts and came across one where she self-identified as a geek. Cool, that. Her pride in the term reminded me of my fourteen year old daughter who, a week or so into her first year at a new school, came home as excited as I’ve ever seen her.

“Mom, today I met the geeks! They are SO cool!!!”

If a fourteen year old says it, it is so. Geeks are cool, or at least they’re cooler than they were when I was in high school. 

But what IS a geek, exactly? Here’s what Wikipedia says:

The word geek is a slang term for odd or non-mainstream people, with different connotations ranging from “a computer expert or enthusiast” to “a person heavily interested in a hobby”, with a general pejorative meaning of “a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp[ecially] one who is perceived to be overly intellectual”.[1]

 

Wikipedia goes on to say that the term ‘nerd’ means almost the same thing, so from here on out I’ll use them interchangeably. I read a bunch of different explanations of what it means to be a geek (or nerd), and there seemed to be three common ideas:

·         They’re enthusiastic

o   Geeks are into all kinds of stuff, and the overarching theme is that they’re passionate about it. Whether it’s techno-toys or computer games or television series, they get into things in a big way. Think about all the elves, Romulans, vampires, Imperial Stormtroopers, and whatnot that show up at conventions. These people live it!

·         They’re into details

o   It’s the details that keep things interesting to a geek.  Here’s a quote from The Mary Sue, a girl-geek’s blog.

§  “Since a feeling of excitement is initially what spurred us to dig deeper, this means that our interests drive us into this wonderful cycle of bliss in which every detail we uncover makes us even more stoked about the thing that got us so stoked in the first place.”

o   To get a sense for the importance of details in the geek world, take a look on-line for blog posts on how the new BBC version of Sherlock Holmes is going to work itself out of the pickle it was in at the end of the last episode.  Sorry for the spoiler, but Sherlock died…or did he? Here’s a link to what might be the definitive post on the topic – and one that clearly illustrates the way a geek’s mind works.

§  http://eva-christine.tumblr.com/post/27733467733/iou-explanation-53-8-92-grimms-fairy-tales-cipher

·         They’re smart

o   It takes a bit of intelligence to learn Elvish and keep track of all the season of Dr. Who and build a server to set up your own Minecraft, um, playground (or whatever.  All I know about computer games comes from eavesdropping on my kids). The traditional image of a nerd includes thick-rimmed glasses and a pocket protector, and hey, you need that gear for your advanced calculus class, right? Whether it’s choosing the right fabric to construct your 9th century Celtic brat (cloak) for the SCA campout or spending six times as much for your laptop as you did for your car, there’s research involved. Which takes smarts. Which geeks (and nerds) not only possess, but value.

There are geeks I admire, like Joss Whedon and JK Rowlings. Some of my closest friends (both on the internet & in real life) are geeks. And apparently I’m raising a couple of geek children.

Go me!

So to finish off, I’m going to leave you with a mash-up of quotes from young-adult author John Green, who along with his brother Hank is responsible for the Nerdfighters vlog.  He pretty much sums up why it’s cool to be a nerd…or a geek.

…because nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff… Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can’t-control-yourself love it…Saying ‘I notice you’re a nerd’ is like saying, ‘Hey, I notice that you’d rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you’d rather be thoughtful than be vapid, that you believe that there are things that matter more than the arrest record of Lindsay Lohan. Why is that?’ (VlogBrothers Harry Potter & Nerd Insults)

So for all my geek and nerd friends, you rock! Keep on being your quirky smart funny selves.

Peace,

Liv

 

Team Sophia: School Days!

When last we visited with Sophia, she was in Hawaii on the beach at sunset. You can check out that post here.  It was a pretty significant moment because YOU, the readers of this blog, helped send her there, raising about $2000.00 to defray the costs of taking a special kid with special needs half way around the globe so she could see her grandparents.

Pretty cool, huh?

After a long and lazy summer…wait, no, Stacey and Sophia are NEVER lazy…check out the pic of Sophia tackling her first bike ride…

Anyway, before they knew it, it was time to start school Here’s Sophia on her first day…

And here’s one of Sophia in the classroom with a friend…

Sophia’s been having a great time! And her mom, Stacey, has something pretty important to say about Sophia’s experience so far. Here’s Stacey…

Today at school Sophia was the kid who got to choose first which “station” she wanted to go to. After looking at a few pictures, the other kids decided that she was pointing to the farm animal play station…you know…barns, little plastic animals, Old Mac etc. SO, the kid who got to choose second pipes up with “I want to play with Sophia”…then, well, it was the thing to do. She had servants galore setting up her little barnyard just right and holding animals in front of her telling her what each animal “says”….

Friends with kids, you can’t teach your kids to be this way. Put them into situations that allow them to EXPERIENCE differences…it’s the only way for them to know how to process and feel comfortable with differences. The big moment of the day was when we slid Soph down the big slide…all the kids were having a hard time taking turns. Adam(my favorite) asked if Sophia wanted to go again…then he offered to hold her…there is hope in this world my friends.

Now, the deal is, with all this new activity – school and PT appointments and such – Sophia needs help. The place where she and Stacey live isn’t currently wheelchair accessible, which means to get her in and out of their studio, Stacey has to carry her up and down cement stairs. As you can imagine, the bigger Sophia gets, the harder that task is so Stacey needs to raise $2500 to build a ramp that will make the studio wheelchair accessible.

You guys did an amazing thing by helping send Sophia to Hawaii, and now I’m asking for more help. Look for the PayPal ‘donate’ button here on the blog. 100% of any money you donate – and it can be as little as the cost of a fancy coffee beverage – will go directly  to a Bank of America account set up on Sophia’s behalf. If you don’t have the resources to donate right now, send one up to the higher power of your choice that we can get this done.

Thanks so much. You guys rock!

Peace,

Liv